Wither skeletons are indeed a real nuisance in the early game.
After all, that withering effect is a major headache.
But once you have a shield and a full set of enchanted diamond armor, the only troublesome thing about wither skeletons…
Is their abysmal spawn rate—and the ridiculously low drop rate of their skulls.
However, Ryen and the others had a secret weapon.
Ganyu was stepping in...
Right after entering the Nether Fortress, they were immediately greeted by two wither skeletons.
No one else made a move—they just protected Ganyu from a distance, ensuring she wouldn't be in any danger.
With a Looting-enchanted sword in hand, Ganyu swept across with a few clean slashes. The two wither skeletons collapsed instantly.
And at the same time, two wither skeleton skulls dropped to the ground...
This kind of drop rate—if the Qianyan Army saw it, their entire belief system might collapse.
Those Qianyan soldiers who'd fought for long periods in Nether Fortresses had never seen something so outrageous.
Usually, it took a whole day of grinding just to get a few skulls.
But for Ganyu…
She started off with two right away.
From the time they entered the Nether, not even thirty minutes had passed.
And most of that time was just spent searching for wither skeletons.
Jean and the others looked at Ganyu in a daze, then looked down at the diamond swords in their own hands.
An inexplicable sense of shame made them quietly sheathe their weapons.
"Luck... really is the most precious treasure in this world..."
Lisa's emotional sigh voiced what everyone else was thinking.
In fact, Jean was now even more eager to bring Klee over here.
The spawn rate of wither skeletons was already painful enough, but perhaps Ganyu's sheer will was influencing the laws of luck.
It only took three hours to gather all the skulls needed.
But Ryen and the others stayed in the Nether Fortress for a full five hours.
As for the remaining two hours…
Hu Tao and the others just couldn't accept it. Watching Ganyu collect seven skulls from seven skeletons gave them a dangerous idea—
"If she can do it, so can I."
Led by Hu Tao, with Lumine and Venti as her assistants and Jean's group joining in, they took turns hunting down eleven wither skeletons.
The final result…
Absolutely nothing.
Even with all their Looting-enchanted diamond swords, their inventories were completely empty.
Ganyu's luck didn't just leave the Qianyan Army in silence—it made Lumine and the others start questioning life itself.
Ryen, who had long expected this outcome, simply watched with a smile and turned to plant a kiss on Ganyu's cheek.
"As expected, Ganyu really is my greatest treasure!"
He said it with genuine emotion, and Ganyu shyly hid behind his back.
No matter what, for Ganyu, not disappointing Ryen was the best reward she could ask for.
Seeing Venti still unwilling to give up, clearly wanting another shot at testing his luck, Ryen rolled his eyes.
"Alright, that's enough! Are we activating a new mod or conducting a luck challenge here?"
Hearing that, Venti begrudgingly stowed his weapon, muttering in frustration:
"I mean, I am the Anemo Archon—how could my luck be this bad?"
Zhongli, who had been silent the entire time, cast a sidelong glance at him.
So what if you're an Archon?
He, a six-thousand-year-old dragon, still had horrendous luck.
Back when he and Ryen competed at fishing, eight out of ten casts for him would reel in rotten flesh, while Ryen would get no more than five.
But now…
Maybe it was because Ryen was with Ganyu—her luck seemed to be rubbing off on him. He hadn't pulled up any rotten flesh since.
So, clearly—
Living a long time doesn't guarantee good luck...
With those thoughts, the group packed up and returned to the Overworld.
By now, the sky had turned completely dark, and visibility beyond 300 meters was minimal.
But standing atop the sky island—
Looking out toward the grasslands—
The beacon's radiant beam shone even more brilliantly than the moonlight.
It looked like a miniature sun had fallen to the earth.
Now the others understood why Ryen said that in this world, the most important use of beacons was so he wouldn't get lost.
With light like that, even in the darkest of nights, you could spot your home from tens of thousands of meters away.
Imagining what kind of chaos a beacon would cause in Teyvat…
Ningguang figured that maybe it was better to only place beacons when necessary.
Otherwise, Liyue Harbor might never see night again.
The group returned to the manor villa for a short rest.
This time, Ryen didn't even need to give instructions.
Someone went to fetch alchemy potions, another brought back soul sand.
Within minutes, they were ready once again.
Even Jean's group had fully integrated into the team.
Maybe they didn't quite understand all the unique mechanics of this world yet, but at the very least, they could work as a team.
After the trip to the End, it might finally be time to officially announce Mondstadt's settlement here.
After waiting a few minutes, everyone regrouped and headed back to the mine where they had fought the wither before.
That place had already become the go-to spot for dealing with withers.
Compared to last time, Ryen didn't say much.
Everyone was experienced in combat. Once they'd fought a wither once, they knew what to do from then on.
Four withers were swiftly taken down in under an hour.
Now, only one remained.
As Ryen placed the soul sand and the wither skeleton skulls, Ningguang and the others were filling in the damage left behind in the mine from earlier battles.
Ryen quietly said:
"At this pace, we might be able to make it back in time for dinner?"
Ningguang looked up at him with a smile.
"Maybe not. Once we finish off this wither, we'll probably trigger a new mod, right?"
"We might need some time to get used to whatever the new content is."
"Speaking of which, Ryen—what kind of mod do you think it'll be this time?"
Everyone turned curiously to look at him.
Ryen shrugged and said softly:
"Who knows?"
The mod system never gave any advance notice—not even Ganyu could influence what the system decided.
But there was one thing Ryen could be sure of…
The next achievement challenge—
Would be even harder.
At the very least, it wouldn't be easier than killing ten wither storms.
Before long, everyone had finished handling the wither summoning area in the mine and took their positions.
Ryen also took out the final wither skeleton skull.
He felt a little emotional.
This was the last wither they needed—after this, a new mod would be unlocked.
From Ryen's personal standpoint, he was hoping for either the Firearms mod or the Katana mod.
His AK-47 and Ganyu's Barrett were both incredibly powerful weapons.
Unfortunately, they'd been used quite a lot lately.
The AK-47 only had about twenty rounds left, and the Barrett had barely over ten.
As for the katana—
Even though Ryen had used it carefully, a quarter of its durability had already worn down.
Only by unlocking those two mods could he repair or restock his weapons.
Lately, Ryen had been reluctant to use either of them and instead relied on the Vampire Staff.
That thing didn't lose durability, true, but...
Its biggest flaw was that it couldn't harm powerful beings like the Wither or the Ender Dragon.
In terms of Teyvat, the Vampire Staff might affect archons.
But using it on them as if they were regular enemies? Not a chance.
Zhongli had once told Ryen,
"In Teyvat, the Vampire Staff gives me a sense of danger—
But it's not the same as the lethal threat of the katana."
Ryen quickly shook off his scattered thoughts and placed the final wither skull.
The familiar, suffocating pressure descended. Ryen immediately turned and ran back into the mine.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the explosion to come.
Ganyu raised her Barrett again, aiming at the forming Wither Storm in the distance.
But Ryen gently pushed her weapon down.
"Save your bullets—we don't have many left."
Upon hearing this, Ganyu obediently lowered the gun.
Soon, the Wither Storm's invincibility glow faded.
A flurry of attacks instantly bombarded it.
This time, Ryen and Ganyu didn't make a move.
They simply stood deep in the mine, watching the others methodically deal with the wither.
"Ryen?"
Ganyu looked at him curiously. Ryen chuckled softly and shook his head.
"We have something more important to do."
As he spoke, Ryen gently pulled Ganyu into an embrace.
"Let me borrow a little of your luck, Ganyu…"
"Huh?"
Ganyu widened her eyes shyly, and seeing no one was paying attention, she tiptoed up and kissed Ryen.
"Ryen… you can have as much of it as you want…"
Her gentle whisper echoed softly in the dark cave,
Blending with the occasional explosions and the sound of attacks from outside.
The two of them lost themselves in the moment.
Luckily for them, Ningguang and the others were too busy to notice what was going on.
If she had seen this, Ningguang would've surely been furious.
While the rest of them were fighting tooth and nail, these two were off having a romantic moment?
Soon, the Wither's HP dropped to the bottom.
With one final sword slash from Diluc, the Wither froze mid-air—
Its body bursting into dazzling, radiant light.
A moment later, it exploded into purple-black starlight.
A brilliant Nether Star floated gently to the ground.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
"That was the last one…"
Ningguang sheathed her nearly-broken diamond sword,
Her expression calm and unconcerned.
It was just diamond—she could always make another.
Even if it had enchantments, the village trading hub could provide replacements at any time.
"These four Nether Stars—Jean, you take them."
She pulled four Nether Stars from her backpack and handed them to Jean.
Jean hesitated, somewhat uneasy. She opened her mouth,
"But…"
"No need to fuss over something so trivial."
Ningguang smiled and shook her head.
"Beacons are crucial. We'll keep farming withers later. The Jade Chamber already has four max-level beacons ready."
"You all should start preparing early too."
"For you, beacons are invaluable resources. They'll quickly raise your strength."
Jean pressed her lips together.
Ningguang had hit the nail on the head.
Liyue was already powerful. Beacons were just the icing on the cake.
But for Mondstadt, beacons were a vital necessity—
A lifesaving gift in the middle of a storm.
With them, Mondstadt City would be well protected.
They would finally have the strength and confidence to drive out the disruptive Fatui.
Seeing Ningguang's sincerity, Jean stopped hesitating.
She accepted the Nether Stars and said seriously,
"Thank you, Ningguang… This really helps a lot."
Ningguang simply smiled, saying nothing.
Venti, who had been waiting for their conversation to finish, suddenly chimed in excitedly.
"Where's Ryen? Where is he?"
"The new mod's unlocked, right? What is it? Let us see!"
His words reminded everyone.
Looking around, they noticed Ryen wasn't in sight. Just as they were wondering,
Ryen emerged from the depths of the mine, hand in hand with Ganyu.
His face was full of smiles—it was clear he was very pleased with the new mod.
"Ryen, the mod—"
Keqing had just opened her mouth when Ryen nodded with a faint chuckle.
"It's unlocked… and it's going to be extremely helpful for what comes next."
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Ryen said slowly:
"The new mods are… Dragon Knight and Firearms."
~~----------------------
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