Facing Venti's gaze filled with unmistakable resentment, Ryen slowly nodded.
"That's right. I did it on purpose."
"…You're surprisingly honest."
Ryen spread his hands.
"So? Want to hear it or not?"
"I do!"
Venti huffed, while the others chuckled quietly.
In truth, it didn't really matter which mod was explained first. Venti was just messing around, adding some fun and lightening the mood. As for the mods themselves, Ryen already had everything mapped out. Since he'd said they were all powerful, there was no real need to argue over priorities.
Besides, the remaining time today was more than enough for everyone to get a preliminary understanding.
"Alright," Ryen said calmly. "The first combat-oriented mod we'll talk about is the one you've all been thinking about, the Slash Blade mod."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone's eyes lit up.
They had expected this batch of mods to be impressive, but none of them anticipated opening straight with Slash Blade. After all, people had been eyeing Ryen's Enma for a long time now.
A divine blade imbued with dual spatial powers, watching Ryen use it for so long, it was impossible not to fantasize about what they could do if they ever wielded it themselves.
"This version of the Slash Blade mod," Ryen continued, "is closer to a full integration pack. Aside from the two other so-called 'ultimate kill blades', Chaos and the so-called Sword of Universal Dominion, and a few swords that require specific mod dependencies, everything else is basically here."
"In short, your choices have increased dramatically."
"Every Slash Blade has its own crafting path. When you first get started, it can feel a little confusing."
"But once you're familiar with the system, or if you focus on crafting just one blade you really want, it becomes fairly straightforward."
"Before we go any further, you need to understand the three core skill traits of Slash Blades."
"SA, SB, and SE."
Seeing the collective confusion on everyone's faces, Ryen paused and rephrased it.
"Let's put it this way: special attack, special buff and special effect unique to certain blades."
"Common passive skills include things like Phantom Blade, which gives spatial displacement effects. As for active skills, there are many, such as my Dimensional Slash."
Everyone lowered their heads to take notes. For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the soft rustling of pens on paper.
Even Scaramouche, still technically a prisoner, forgot his situation the moment he heard that Slash Blades involved spatial power.
Seeing everyone else writing furiously, he grew anxious.
He quietly shuffled over to Tartaglia.
"Lend me your notes later."
Tartaglia shot him a sideways glance, full of disdain.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"…I'll owe you a favor."
"Like I need that?"
"…One hundred million Mora."
"You should've said that sooner! Don't worry, I take the best notes!"
Watching Tartaglia instantly turn into a money-grubber, Scaramouche felt conflicted.
This world was changing in truly bizarre ways.
Since when did Tartaglia, a battle maniac, care so much about Mora?
In reality, Tartaglia had no choice. Between being fleeced by Venti and Diluc and then losing over two hundred million Mora playing Bed Wars, he was practically broke. If he didn't start earning again, he'd be eating dirt.
Ryen glanced at the little exchange but continued calmly:
"Slash Blades have three levels, or rather, three states: Sealed Blade, Named Blade, and Cursed Blade."
"Most newly forged Slash Blades start as Sealed Blades. This stage has the lowest damage. After enchanting, they become NamedBlades."
"Rename an Named Blade on an anvil, and it becomes a Cursed Blade. Sounds simple, right? But that's only one method. Different blades often require different upgrade routes."
"I'll explain those in detail later."
Once everyone finished writing that down, Ryen didn't give them time to ask questions.
Night was approaching, and there were still two mods left to explain. He needed to speed things up.
Any questions could wait until dinner.
"Other important Slash Blade stats include three things: Kill Count, Refinement, and the Rating System."
"Kill count is self-explanatory. Only enemies you personally slay with the Slash Blade count, fall damage and burn damage don't."
"Many blades require kill counts to evolve. For example, Ei's Musou Isshin needs one thousand kills to evolve into Bloodblade Musou Isshin."
"That's only one of the requirements."
At the mention of Musou Isshin, Ei became unusually focused.
She had spent a great deal of time honing her skills with that blade, and its power was undeniable. The active Phantom Blade skill alone was devastating, capable of cutting through nearly anything.
Combined with her Musou no Hitotachi, its potential was terrifying.
If the Cursed Blade was already this strong, how powerful would the Bloodblade be?
"For Musou Isshin to evolve," Ryen continued, "you also need Proud Soul above one thousand."
"Proud Soul is easy, don't worry about it too much."
"The final requirement is that the Refinement Count must be greater than one. That means renaming, enchanting, or repairing it on an anvil."
"Each refinement increases the refinement count by one."
"This stat is extremely important. Remember it carefully."
He looked at everyone seriously.
"Refinement Count directly affects a Slash Blade's maximum damage. Each point increases the damage cap by one."
"In theory, if you refine enough, you could one-shot even the Heavenly Principles."
"Of course, that's only theoretical."
"New Slash Blades start as blank slates. You'll need to continuously upgrade them."
"Finally, the core damage mechanic of Slash Blades, the Rating System."
"Every swing is evaluated across five rating tiers. When you reach the highest tier, you deal maximum damage."
"Ratings increase as you keep attacking during combat. Using technique and timing lets the blade fully unleash its power."
"At the end of a fight, the rating resets. In other words, the longer the battle, the stronger your Slash Blade becomes."
Ei's eyes lit up with sudden realization as she looked at Musou Isshin.
"So that's why… the longer I fight, the stronger this blade feels. It's a weapon that grows fiercer with battle."
"Exactly," Ryen said with a smile.
"For someone skilled with the sword like you, you can bring out its full potential."
"And if you're not good with blades, don't worry. Repeated refinement still increases damage, and Slash Blades emphasize the killing power of the draw itself."
"Horizontal slashes, vertical cuts, upward strikes, simple attacks all count toward the rating."
"Look at how I use my Enma. Isn't it just brute force?"
Ningguang laughed softly and shook her head.
"You've never seriously used Enma. You've never trained any technique either. You just crush everything you face."
"Honestly, that blade has been rather mistreated."
Everyone nodded in agreement, especially Ei.
She had assumed Slash Blades required no technique. Turns out, skill still mattered.
"All you like," Ryen said, shrugging proudly. "I'm not learning."
"After all, I have the Sword of Universal Dominion."
"..."
Silence fell.
After a moment, Zhongli spoke quietly:
"Let's continue. You mentioned five rating tiers earlier."
"Actually," Ryen said cheerfully, "there are six."
"???"
Facing everyone's bewildered expressions, Ryen explained:
"There's a special rating, Extreme Damage."
"A Slash Blade that reaches one thousand kills unlocks this."
"At that point, Extreme Damage can allow you to kill most enemies in a single strike."
"As long as it's not a boss-level monster, everything else gets cut cleanly in half."
"In Teyvat terms, that's enough to heavily wound a divine beast's vassal."
"And remember, Extreme Damage isn't just one hit."
"After achieving the thousand-kill milestone, if you max the rating again, every subsequent strike will be Extreme Damage."
"Used properly, you can instantly eliminate divine-level subordinates."
Everyone hurriedly wrote this down, circling it heavily.
"I'll demonstrate enchanting and refinement later, it's hard to visualize just by talking."
"Next comes the most important part: attack stances, active skills, and passive skills."
Ryen drew Yamato once more.
"Using Enma as an example: its active skill is Dimensional Slash, and its passive is Phantom Blade."
"You've all seen what they do."
"The key point is this: active skills can be copied."
"However, you're still far from that level. You haven't even seen materials like Proud Souls yet, too early."
"There are many active skills: Dimensional Slash, Gale Phantom Blade, Sudden Assault Phantom Blade, Water Mist, Dragon's Gall Wave Cut, Final Cherry Blossom, Scorching Earth Rend…"
"All of them are extremely powerful. Many even carry elemental attributes."
Everyone listened attentively and took notes.
Only Guizhong looked unimpressed, lips slightly pursed.
"Those names sound awful. The effects probably aren't very pretty either."
Ryen laughed softly.
"They're strong, that's what matters. But if you want something both powerful and beautiful, I think there's one you'd like."
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"
"Once activated, cherry blossoms swirl around you, shredding enemies to pieces."
Guizhong immediately perked up.
She imagined herself wielding a Slash Blade, cherry blossoms dancing in the air, beautiful, deadly, and elegant.
Now that was an attack worthy of a youthful, radiant maiden.
"There are many more active skills," Ryen concluded. "We'll go over them later once your blades are upgraded."
"Besides Phantom Blade, there's also Phantom Daggers, nothing special."
"As for special SE traits, only a few blades have them. We'll talk when you actually get one."
"For now, your priority is deciding what kind of Slash Blade you want, and taking the time to refine it."
"The finer details can come later."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After finishing their notes, Lumine raised her head curiously.
"Ryen… are there a lot of Slash Blades?"
"A lot?" Ryen grinned.
"Way too many."