Our Chat Group trip on Teyvat started in Liyue Harbor. This city entered a golden age after becoming connected to Hold as many technologies allowed fast development. Alchemy especially turned into a powerful industry. Its low costs and requirements made this field grow into Hold's biggest production technique.
The ability to combine low-quality materials into a higher-end one is something that powers the current Hold economy, and most of it is made in Teyvat. This is also why Liyue Harbor started to grow, welcoming new people who looked for work, but most importantly, being the closest Hold's Express Terminal to Mondstadt.
Mondstadt was the place where the best alchemists resided, led by Albedo, who, despite becoming a member of Hold, remained in Mondstadt most of the time. Sucrose also made her lab in Mondstadt, making this city research center in the Teyvat.
The problem was that Mondstadt was not Part of Hold, only entering into a cooperative alliance with us, but never taking the last step of joining Hold as a vassal. Despite Ningguang's efforts, Jean insisted on waiting for Grand Master Varka to return and make the decision personally.
For whatever reason, it would seem that even such drastic changes happening in the world didn't make said Grand Master feel the need to return, so the current freeze in talks continued up until now. Luckily, Jean finally decided to resume the negotiations. This was why I decided to visit that city again, using the Chat Group trip as an excuse.
The distance between Liyue Harbor and Mondstadt city was rather short, requiring around a week of travel by foot, but thanks to the finished road, one could arrive there after a day of car ride. Our group, where everyone was a Pathstrider, was able to cover this distance in about two days, so we got on our way.
-"This world is interesting. The fact that you can gain money from defeated opponents is game-like, but it's fun."-Rias commented after burning down another slime.
-"While it's indeed an intriguing mechanic, it provides a powerful incentive for people to become combatants. It must have inverse effects on this world stability and crime rate."
-"I agree with Arisu. Normally, bandits need to take risks just to survive, but here, they can have basic income from weak monsters while preparing for greater profits from pillage. Such a career is hard to pass off uneducated young men especially."-Kirari analyzed the current situation of Tyevat.
~"You are correct. The idea of becoming a treasure hoarder or joining other such groups is prevalent in almost all regions of this world, requiring many resources to make traveling safe for an average person. The cars and other more advanced modes of transportation somewhat counteract that, but it's still the flip of a coin if you will be attacked or not."
-"Then you must be acting against said groups, right?"-Umi asked, still a little fearful of monsters that could be seen nearby.
-"We are. Our Knights and Soldiers often act against them, but the effects are not that great."-Elysia explained.
~"Abyss is a hidden danger, so we need to be careful in our deployments, while the bandits have terrain advantage, and every time one group is captured, another one will take its place."
-"When I think of such problems, I'm thankful that the rules of my world make governing it rather easy."-Sora said offhandedly.
-"It's Steph who does all the work."-Shiro reminded her brother.
-"True."
-"Bah. This place is boring."-Jibril was one of two people who didn't enjoy this place.
-"Have to agree with that pigeon."
-"Who could have expected anything else from you, Accelerator."
-"And what is that supposed to mean, woman?"-Accelerator glared at Shinobu, who ignored him.
-"Hey, Yue, how about employing ninjas to clear those bandits?"-Tsunade suggested.
~"Hmm, this can work. I'll talk to you after this trip."
-"Sure."
We continued walking through the Guili plains, defeating monsters while having nice leisure time. Our plan was to stay the night in the Wangshu Inn, the halfway point between Liyue Harbor and Mondstadt City, so we could take our time on the way there as Ningguang sent a message to the properties of said Inn to have everything ready for us.
Due to so many things taking place at the same time, this day has been tiring even for me. Shortly after midnight, when the matter of Yomi was finished, I decided to find a quiet place in the garden of Moon Palace and take out my zither with some liquor to decompress.
~"Mind lending me a cup?'"
~"Elune? Sure, here you go."
~"So, what's going on?"
~"Sigh. Once again, I depended on my Divinotions too much and almost caused a disaster."
~"Are you all right?"
~"Yes, luckily, everything was resolved. Only my pride suffered a hit."
~"Good that nothing serious happened to you then."
I nodded and took a sip from my cup.
~"Any song you want to hear?"
~"Anything new?"
~"There are some."
~"Then can you?"
~"Sure."
My fingers started to move on the strings as the soft melody filled the surroundings. With every note, I felt my vexation slowly disappear as I was able to relax more. By the third song, I returned to feeling normal, and my mood could get only better from here on.
~"It's good to have such time to rest."
~"Yes. Good liquor, music, and company. What else could one wish for?"
~"Under a bright moon, sorrows fade with every cup."
Elune smiled at my comment as she poured me another drink.
~"May such days never end."
~"Indeed, May they never end."
We raised our cups to the moon we both were connected to.
A similar scene happened at the top of the tree on which the Wangshu Inn was built. After drinking the toast to the moon, I poured myself yet another cup while watching the false night sky.
⌊ You feel that?~⌉
⌊ We were right to fear the Abyss. ⌉
⌊ Your 'patron' is a wise being. Despite not being able to touch the force that we now feel, she could see danger hidden beneath the seemingly simple Abyssal Realm.~⌉
⌊ I need to comprehend what that thing is. Such force can't become a hidden danger. ⌉
⌊ I'll go there. We know that you'll be rejected, but I'm different.~⌉
⌊ Good. Be careful. ⌉
⌊ We are almost the same now. I'm as careful as you are.~⌉
⌊ That's why I'm reminding you that. ⌉
Lamb nodded and disappeared from my side. After taking a sip, I turned my head toward the nearby shadow and spoke aloud.
~"Maiev."
-"Your Majesty."-Maiev appeared from the shadow I was looking at.
~"I need Shadows to do some tasks for me. First, secure the Ley Lines, especially the Domains build upon them in places of overflow. At the same time, resolve as many Outcrops as you can to reduce the spilling of the elemental energy."
As I was speaking, I created a few memory stones and gave them to her.
~"And I need you to do something personally. I want you to find still-living members of Seven Sovereigns and pass those memory crystals to them. If any of them is in need of assistance, be it against Abyss or people, inform me."
-"I will meet Your Majesty's expectations."
~"I know that."
As the conversation was finished, Maiev disappeared, and a few moments later, multiple presences started moving around, traveling in all directions. This sudden movement seemed to alert certain Yaksha, who appeared nearby.
~"Xiao."
-"Your Excellency, are those your people?"
~"Yes, you don't have to worry about them."
-"I see."
~"Few people refer to me by the title of Excellency."
-"There is only one emperor for me."
~"I don't blame you. After all, I heard about your past from Zhongli."
-"..."
~"Want a drink."
Xiao nodded and sat next to me. After I gave him a cup, the two of us watched the sunrise in silence.
-"Everyone is already up?"-Tsunade approached our table and sat on an empty seat.
-"Stephen, Korosensei, and Shinobu are still out after your drinking all night."-Sora answered while putting food on his plate.
-"I see. Have you seen Yue?"
~"I'm here."~I spoke while bringing plates from the kitchen.~"Sit down and eat. I'll bring the rest of the food."
-"You made it?"
~"Yes."
-"Great, you can't imagine how much I missed your food."
~"After this trip, I'll invite you to a new restaurant in Hold. I can guarantee the taste of the meals there. After all, not only my culinary 'teacher' works there, but many other great chefs."
-"Sure, can't wait then."
-"Where did you go yesterday?"-Elysia asked me while choosing food.-"I was looking for you, but you weren't in your room."
~"I had met a Xiao, so I spent some time with him."
-"..."
~"What?"
-"Mou... Next time, bring me along."-She picked some more food while complaining.
Before I could react, I felt a tentacle patting my back as the Korosensei appeared next to me.
~"You up?"~I decided to ignore his misunderstanding.
-"Can't miss the good food, can I?"
~"True."
Everyone chose what they wanted to eat, and soon, we all sat around the table talking and eating.
-"So, I wanted to ask, why did you bring us to this world? I think it's a nice place to relax, don't get me wrong, but I don't understand how to 'broaden my horizons' here."-Rias asked me while trying her best not to upset me.
~"I believe that Arisu already knows why I chose this place."
-"I have some idea. It should be because of that energy in the air."
~"Indeed. Elemental Energy is the reason why this world is the perfect place to build a foundation and take the first step into the greater world."
-"Elemental Energy..."-Tsunade used chakra to check the surroundings and quickly noticed the difference in the energy from her world.-"I can feel it, but it is somewhat similar to chakra. Why it's so special?"
~"Elemental Energy is quite pure energy of the world, making it a higher form of energy from things such as magical energy, chakra, or other similar forms of energy."
-"What does tier of energy even mean?"-Stephen asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to.
~"What I will speak from now is a theory created by me and other researchers from my organization, so it might not be 100% accurate, but for now, we haven't encountered anything contrasting it."
I waved my hand and formed three orbs of energy.
~"We divided existence into three spheres of influence. The first and one you are most familiar with is the Physical or Material Layer. It governs everything that has form, but for our subject, it is fueled by the Life Force."
-"Life Force... Didn't you once say that chakra is Life Force?"
~"This is when tiers of energy come into play. Life Force is the Origin of many other forms of energy. The more diluted it is, the lower the tier. Tiers are roughly divided into three. Low Energy, is not created from the Origin Energy, but it's formed to interact with other forms of energy."
I used magical energy as an example, casting a spell in the air.
~"Magical energy is not turned into the spell but creates a magical circle that forces other kinds of energy to create the spell."
I then waved my hand and used chakra like I had seen Tsunade do.
~"Chakra is the middle-tier energy. A mix of two or more Origin Energies, in this example, Life Force and Spiritual Force. Lastly, Higher Energy is created only from one Origin Energy but has some impurities. Mana and Elemental Energy are in this category."
-"Mana? Isn't Mana the same as magical energy?"
~"No. Mana exists in all forms of matter, while magical energy is born only in sentient living beings. While there is a connection between them, Mana is pure, while magical energy is mixed with other energies to make it easier to use."
-"Returning to the main subject, why does using Higher Energy matter?"
~"Right. To understand that, I need to finish my previous explanation. The second Layer of existence is the Spiritual one, where Spiritual Energy rules. It governs will, knowledge, and things as such, so it's the most widespread type of energy when one thinks of magic."
I looked at others, and they nodded, indicating their understanding up to this point.
~"Last is Soul Layer. It's most ethereal but can be summed as forming the 'self' of an object. Soul Energy is involved in Karma, Fate, and Destiny but that is not important now."
I once again created three orbs of energy for them to see.
~"Those energies are special because they are not influenced by the Laws of the world, meaning if you comprehend them, your strength will not depend on the world you are in, nor can it be denied by beings such as gods or Celestials. Of course, the most direct benefit is their strength and efficiency compared to lower forms of energy."
-"Then why not learn them directly?"-Accelerator asked, bored by my explanation.
~"That's simple. Tell me, can you feel those energies even when I force them to appear before your eyes?"
Hearing my question, everyone tried to feel the energy orbs, but it quickly became apparent that they couldn't do so.
~"Similarly to how one comprehends Laws, to use higher forms of energy, one first needs to learn how to feel and then manipulate them. That's why this world is so great for your current situation. By learning how to use Elemental Energy, you can train your sensitivity to High Energies, skipping few steps that can take years if not decades of training in other worlds."
-"Can you tell us more about Elemental Energy?"-As one walking the Path of Erudition, Arisu was first to be convinced by my sales pitch.
~"It's a Higher Energy derived from the Spiritual Layer. A mix of Elemental laws and pure Spiritual Energy that is most often used by Spiritual Beings others incorrectly call Elementals. Slimes that exist here are examples of such beings."
-"Why are they not Elementals?"-Rias seemed surprised by my words.
~"Elementals, at least in our categorization, are Spirits. They use the power of Elemental Laws directly."
-"Can you teach us how to use that Elemental Energy?"-Shinobu was direct as always.
~"Grab those."~I threw modified Visions to them.~"Vision, an Eye of God, is a form of blessing bestowed by Archeons or Celestia directly that allows usage of Elemental Energy. At first, learn how to use Elements with it as a focus for spells and techniques. Normally, Vision would be limited to one Element, but those can switch between them, though that requires some understanding, so at first you will be constrained to one you have the greatest talent in."
-"Any tips?"-Sora spoke while fiddling with the Vision.
~"If you want to understand how Elemental Power works, try to see how it interacts with the world. If you approach it from that angle, you should be able to grasp the basis in a week or so."
After some more questions, everyone finished breakfast, so we left for the Mondstadt, with everyone in the Chat Group testing the Visions as we traveled there.