After fully assimilating the Valkyrie's power, Furina was thoroughly satisfied.
Valerius was in a good mood as well.
After all, he was now sitting on thirteen points of his own.
The only ones who truly suffered were Raiden Ei and Xiao—both of them had hoarded points, only to end up with nothing in return.
"Well then," Valerius said cheerfully,
"the arena game has concluded perfectly. You're free to return to your respective worlds."
"Or you can stay here for a while, if you like."
Furina, of course, chose to leave immediately.
She had just obtained an incredible new power—how could she not go back and show it off?
If circumstances allowed, she was already considering commissioning a new stage play at the Opera Epiclese.
She even had the script in mind.
The Hydro Archon, trapped in a treacherous and ever-shifting space,
using flawless logic and brilliant deduction to overcome all enemies.
Xiao, as usual, said little.
Social interaction had never been his strength.
He simply nodded once to Valerius before returning to Teyvat.
As for Raiden Ei…
She hesitated for quite a while before finally speaking.
"Uh… do my points still work?"
"They don't," Valerius replied calmly.
"…Then I won't draw a prize," she said seriously.
"I'll just buy something from you."
That caught Valerius off guard.
He genuinely couldn't imagine what Raiden Ei wanted to buy.
"What do you want?"
"…The cake from earlier," she said quietly.
"Is that okay?"
Seeing her blink at him with those earnest eyes, Valerius almost burst out laughing.
He'd been planning to squeeze points out of them—
and now the Electro Archon herself was trying to squeeze something back.
He casually produced a small cake and handed it to her.
"No charge."
Raiden Ei's face immediately lit up.
Cake in one hand.
Six cartons of "Six Nuclear Warheads" in the other.
She left happily.
Even though she hadn't won the game, she still felt like she'd gained something worthwhile.
After everyone departed, the space began to transform.
The castle exterior remained, but the interior shifted—
sleek, modern equipment replacing the old furnishings.
"System," Valerius said,
"draw a prize. Ten-point tier."
Watching Furina earlier had made him itch to try it himself.
[Acknowledged. Host-exclusive ten-point reward delivered.]
Unlike the players, Valerius didn't need a gacha machine.
The system handled everything automatically.
A moment later, a yellowish cardboard box dropped down, neatly sealed.
"SF Express?"
Valerius stared at it blankly.
This system really doesn't even try to act reliable, does it…
He opened the box.
Inside was a softly glowing sphere.
After a closer inspection, Valerius's eyes lit up.
"This… this is good."
The players' rewards were limited to a single item.
But his reward?
It was on a completely different level.
Doraemon's Pocket
Effect: Upon fusion, grants access to all gadgets contained within Doraemon's pocket.
The description was short.
But every word screamed broken.
Sure, Doraemon's tools were "future technology"—
—but Valerius knew better.
Those things were utterly outrageous.
Take the Devil Passport, for example.
Absolute authority over others.
Legal immunity.
That wasn't a gadget—that was a mind-control app.
And then there was the Anywhere Door.
In Doraemon, it only allowed movement within the same world.
But Valerius's version?
Different worlds were fair game.
At the very least, hopping between Teyvat and the Astral universe would be trivial.
Air Cannons, Bamboo Copters—
Every single one of them was absurdly useful.
"Fuse."
The sphere dissolved into light and sank into his body.
A brief check told him everything he needed to know.
Every gadget was now engraved clearly in his mind.
One thought—
—and it would appear in his pocket.
Without hesitation, Valerius pulled out the Anywhere Door.
"Where to, then…?"
After a moment's thought, he made his decision.
"Belobog."
He'd heard the Astral Express crew was there.
Might as well go take a look.
He opened the door and stepped through.
A city buried beneath ice and snow.
Valerius emerged—and froze.
"…This place is bigger than I expected."
Standing in the real Belobog, he quickly realized something was off.
At the very least, he had never seen this area in the game.
Buildings of identical architecture stretched in all directions.
For the first time, Valerius felt genuinely unsure where to go.
"…Wait. Don't tell me."
"…I'm lost."
After wandering for a while, he had to accept reality.
Yep.
Completely lost.
But it was fine.
He still had the livestream chat.
Even if the broadcast was over, chatting was still available.
He opened it immediately.
[Valerius]: Belobog friends, where am I?
He snapped a photo of his surroundings and sent it.
[Seele]: !!!!!
[Pela]: Mr. Valerius, why are you in the Fragmentum?!
[Valerius]: This is the Fragmentum?
[Bronya]: That's the edge passage area. Please stay where you are—
I'll come get you right away.
Inside the Qlipoth Fort, Bronya nearly jumped out of her seat.
That area was crawling with Fragmentum monsters.
If something happened to Valerius—
She immediately prepared to mobilize the Silvermane Guards.
Meanwhile, Seele looked completely unconcerned.
"Relax," she said casually.
"He can casually connect worlds. Fragmentum monsters aren't going to do anything to him."
Bronya paused.
…That actually made sense.
Judging by everything Valerius had shown so far—
Those monsters really weren't much of a threat.