The moment the goblin finally collapsed, everyone released a collective breath.
This battle had been, beyond question, the hardest they had fought since arriving in this world,
far more grueling than dealing with either the Wither Storm or the Ender Dragon.
At least back then, no one had actually triggered a Totem of Undying.
Yet today, two had been used in a single encounter.
Moreover, the strategies for defeating the Ender Dragon and the Wither Storm had been provided by Ryen ahead of time.
Those fights had essentially been "copying the answer key."
But the final monster of the Twilight Castle?
Even Ryen himself had no idea what it would be.
There had been no strategy to follow.
It became painfully clear how dangerous this world truly was.
Up until now, their journey had felt smooth, almost deceptively so.
Every monster met had been handled swiftly.
But when they thought back on it, all the most dangerous enemies they'd faced had been defeated because Ryen already knew the mechanics.
Otherwise…
Facing Endermen for the first time, they likely would have died several times before understanding how to handle them.
Later, going into the Nether, who knew how many times someone might have blown themselves up with bed explosions?
And defeating the Wither without knowing how to prevent its final evolution? Impossible.
For the first time, Ningguang and the others realized the truth:
Strength alone meant nothing in this world.
Even if Ryen were strong enough to punch out the gods of Teyvat,
in this world, without knowledge, they could still be overwhelmed by monsters far beyond conventional power.
Knowledge, familiarity with mechanics, understanding how this world operated,
those were the real foundations of survival here.
"Oh no!"
Tartaglia abruptly shouted, clapping a hand to his forehead.
The sudden exclamation snapped everyone out of their thoughts.
Annoyed, Lumine glared at him.
"What are you yelling for?!"
Tartaglia pointed nervously at the enormous crater nearby.
"All that bombing we did… We didn't blow up the goblin's loot, did we?!"
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"Even if you got blown to pieces, the drops wouldn't.
Unless we dropped them into lava, not even a nuke could destroy them."
Tartaglia scratched his head awkwardly.
"I mean… I was just worried."
Ryen waved him off.
"If you're that free, go bring Klee and the others up here.
We'll sort through the drops, then prepare to head back."
"The Twilight Castle takes a full day to reset after being cleared.
After that, we can run it again."
Keqing blinked curiously.
"So all the loot, weapons, chests, even rare drops from creatures like Druids, will regenerate?"
Ryen nodded with a small smile.
Keqing's eyes brightened instantly.
"So next time we kill the goblin, we'll get at least one master-level staff and one draw-blade sword again?"
"In theory, yes," Ryen replied.
"Though the staff's attributes may vary.
But it should still be master-tier."
He stepped to the edge of the crater to inspect the drops.
Inside lay the master-level staff, the draw-blade sword, and the complete Frost Sorcerer's robe set the goblin had worn.
Even after the bombardment, they floated untouched, spotless.
Ryen spread his elytra and glided down to collect them.
He didn't bother examining the items yet, Twilight Forest would reset soon, and they needed to leave.
Before long, Tartaglia returned with Klee and the others.
Cloud Retainer swept her gaze over the ravaged battlefield and clicked her tongue.
"Judging from the mess… that monster must have been frighteningly strong."
"Heh…"
Venti spread his hands helplessly.
"Don't even bring it up.
It wasn't just strong, Xiao and Diluc both died once."
Diluc's expression darkened.
"That detail didn't need to be highlighted."
Cloud Retainer, however, looked genuinely surprised.
"You actually used Totems of Undying?
Then it really must have been formidable."
"No wonder we heard nonstop explosions down below.
Well, as long as it's cleared.
So, what next?"
Ryen pointed toward the Firefly Forest.
"Next? We go home."
"The Twilight Forest is about to reset. Staying here won't do us any good."
Everyone nodded and followed him to the castle's edge.
Together, they leaped off, opened their elytra, and glided toward the Firefly Forest.
There was one more object within the castle, the Cube of Annihilation, but everyone tacitly pretended it didn't exist.
Any artifact capable of destroying bedrock was best left untouched.
Ryen's staff already possessed the annihilation beam; that was sufficient.
Bringing the cube out…
A single accident could spell disaster for the overworld.
Gliding through the night air, the group reached the Firefly Forest in short order.
Coming back from the perilous Final Plateau, the gentle, fairy-tale scenery here felt almost soothing.
Ningguang lingered for a moment, gazing at the whimsical buildings.
With the upcoming world reset, she wasn't sure these sights would ever appear again,
nor whether the new portal would still open here next time.
Regardless, their exploration of the Twilight Forest had been meaningful.
"Next time we come back… it'll be for the new mod."
Ryen murmured, scooping Klee into his arms as he stepped into the portal.
One by one, the others followed.
When the last, Azhdaha, vanished into the shimmering light…
The Twilight Forest fell utterly still.
In the courtyard of the Naga Palace, the hiss of serpents resumed.
From deep within the shadows, a pair of crimson, predatory eyes slowly opened.
High atop the Lich Tower, the Lich King sat upon his throne, crown gleaming faintly in the dim light.
In the Aurora Palace, the Ice Crystal Mobs reformed and resumed their silent patrols, while the Snow Queen stood upon a frozen dais, eyes closed in meditation.
But on the shattered upper platform of the Twilight Castle,
the one they had bombarded into chaos,
a tongue of flame gradually flickered into existence.
A column of fire roared skyward, illuminating the entire Twilight Forest.
A hooded figure, robed in burning scarlet like living flame, stepped forth from the darkness.
Its face was hidden beneath the hood.
In its hand…
was a long katana radiating ominous destruction.
The Twilight Forest was once again shrouded in danger.
Back in the main world, Ryen and the others finally stepped out into the courtyard of their manor villa.
Afternoon sunlight filtered across the MC landscape.
Madam Ping was already waiting by the door. Upon seeing them, she smiled.
"You weren't gone long at all, only three days have passed."
Kujou Sara paused, startled.
"Three days? Then the new Inazuman troops should have arrived by now."
Madam Ping nodded and pointed to a portal nearby.
"Indeed. Dashi and the others mentioned it, the Inazuma reinforcements have reached Guili Plains and are setting up camp."
Sara immediately straightened, glancing at Ei.
"Your Excellency, shall I go consolidate the forces?"
Before Ei could respond, Ryen waved a hand lightly.
"No rush. Let's sort out the harvest first."
Madam Ping chuckled.
"Judging from your expressions, it seems this trip was quite… fruitful?"
"It was."
Ryen's tone surprised her, usually, even after obtaining master-tier items, he would dismiss them with a simple "not bad."
This time, however, was different.
Back inside the villa, Ryen laid out the collected items.
"This run may have been dangerous, but the rewards more than made up for it.
Raw materials, odd drops, those can all go to Albedo later."
Lisa raised an eyebrow. Ryen noticed and corrected himself:
"Except the Lamp of Cinders. Leave that here so Lisa can examine it."
Satisfied, Lisa leaned over and gave him a brief kiss.
No one else cared about the piles of mundane materials.
Even if Celestia itself descended, the group would insist on first inspecting the rare drops from the goblin.
Ryen finally produced the key items:
the master staff, the draw-blade sword, and the Frost Sorcerer's robe set.
The draw-blade sword didn't tempt him much.
Though Sizhi was powerful, a true "demonic blade", it still could not compare to his Enma Blade.
He never planned to keep it.
Besides, seeing the goblin wield both staff and blade suggested something else:
the next module added to the world would likely involve Witchcraft and Draw-Blade Swords.
And once that happened…
Why would he care about Sizhi?
He could simply wield those, blades capable of slicing for 999 damage per strike.
And if aesthetics were the concern?
Enma Blade alone outclassed Sizhi.
If Ryen did not already possess Enma Blade, he would have happily taken Sizhi.
But since he did,
Sizhi could go to whomever wanted it.
The master staff, however, the Ancient Glacier Staff, was another matter entirely.
Five master-level spells.
Three ice-based; one sweeping undead-summoning apocalypse; one mysterious temporal manipulation.
If this was not top-tier, what was?
And to top it off, the staff carried three cooldown-reduction enhancements.
Combined with the Cryo Archon's Gnosis in his possession…
Ryen's elemental power would skyrocket.
Paired with the white-and-ice-blue Frost Sorcerer robe set…
he could practically evolve into a white-robed archmage like Gandalf.
Though Ryen kept quiet, the gleam in his eyes made his affection for the items obvious.
Ningguang covered her smile with her hand.
"With such a handsome staff and such a striking robe set, there's no way you're giving them up."
Ryen laughed and nodded openly.
"Exactly. You know me well, anything this stylish, I'm keeping."
Lisa tilted her head playfully.
"And the Thunder Staff…?"
Ryen made a grand, dismissive gesture.
"It's yours! It doesn't match the white robes anyway!"
Lisa couldn't help but laugh.
She had coveted that staff for quite some time, and since it was a gift from her own partner, she wasn't about to refuse.
As for the robe set, everyone envied it, but no one was anxious.
After all, the set dropped from the Final Plateau's final goblin boss.
The next run would likely drop it again.
Sooner or later, they would all obtain one.
What did matter, what the group debated fiercely, was the draw-blade sword.
Master-tier staffs were precious, yes, but many of them already had good ones.
Draw-blade swords, however?
Only Ryen had ever possessed one.
And this would be the second in the entire MC world.
~~----------------------
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