A/N: I decided to NOT show the long panel of Skill Levels, I feel like it takes away attention from what I want to convey and most people skip it entirely anyway. So, if you want to see the numbers increase, check the "Main character's unlocked abilities" chapter in Auxiliary volume, before and during new chapters.
A young man stood steadfast behind the anvil, his upper-body bare and glistening with sweat, the skin rosy from the forge's heat.
Tink
His arm, corded with the lean, efficient muscle, rose with unhurried rhythm,
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And struck down.
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For hours, this rhythm held, unbroken and unwavering. Sweat-drenched, black, wavy hair clung to his forehead and temples, but his eyes, sharp and clear, never strayed from the workpiece.
His goal was to strike the metal he held,
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And strike he did.
Not far away stood a majestic crane, watching the young man work with the same amount of focus and patience he directed to work. She had been standing there for hours.
Not too long ago, she was directing his moves, teaching him theory and testing his knowledge.
Now?
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Now, the young man, who had lost his youthful face and gained maturity, no longer required her tutelage.
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His work had transcended her technical guidance even her millennia of experience could not fully deconstruct. She observed him now not as a teacher, but as a fellow learner. It was during these long, silent observation sessions that the system had delivered its quiet acknowledgements, a testament to the depth of the impression he had made on one of Teyvat's greatest minds.
[You have made a profound impact on Cloud Retainer, +2 perk points]
[You have taught Cloud Retainer a new path of metallurgy, +3 perk points]
Before Cloud Retainer's eyes, an exceptionally detailed piece of plate armour was being forged. This was the final piece of the latest set, a chestplate. There was no complex machinery, just a simple tool in the hands of a mortal whose talent had been sharpened into genius. With each precise strike, the shape grew more defined, the curves more elegant.
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To be able to craft such an exquisite piece of work, Alexander had spent the well earned six perk points, delving into the much loved [Blacksmith Branch].
[
Blacksmith
Novice: Apprentice Smith (1 Point) - You can work with common materials and improve basic weapons and armor.
Adept: Journeyman Smith (2 Points) - You can work with advanced materials and significantly improve magical items.
Expert: Master Smith (3 Points) - You can reforge and repair legendary items. You can also add a single, powerful enchantment to any item you create. You can work with rare materials.
]
[Perk Points Remaining: 0]
But this new hobby of his wasn't the only part that grew, under Cloud Retainer's unimpeded tutelage, his weapon arts, warrior and body perks had flourished considerably with just as much grace.
For Cloud Retainer, this was all unprecedented grounds. Ever since the Archon War, seeing Morax at the height of his power dominate the region, allowing humans to survive and evolve, she had never once met such an outlier amongst the mortals.
Patient, sharp minded, well spoken, strong and eager to learn still. All that and he had just become 18 years of age.
Tink
The final, resonant metal strike echoed in the forge as Alexander set his hammer aside, the completed chestplate glowing with a soft, inner light as it began to cool. But he did not pause to admire his work.
The deep, meditative focus simply shifted its object. Wiping the sweat from his brow with a bare forearm, he turned from the anvil and its lingering heat, his movements fluid and purposeful.
Stepping out of the smithy and into the crisp, misty air of the training grounds, he walked towards a weapon rack, his hand bypassing the familiar weight of a sword or dagger without a second thought. His fingers closed around the smooth, cool wood of a spear's haft.
Xianyun stood still in the same place, only now she was watching her student warming up and stretching his lower body outside.
His lean and tall muscular build was plain to see, and the sight of sunlight reflecting off his sweaty upper body made Cloud Retainer secretly appreciate the sight.
If the forge was a meditation on patience and precision, spear training was a lesson in flow and unassailable range. He settled into a low stance, the spear becoming an extension of his already high reach.
He began his drills, the spear a blur of controlled motion. Thrusts, parries, and sweeping arcs were executed not as separate techniques, but as parts of a single, continuous river of movement.
His [Body] perk, honed by her grueling trials, provided the explosive power for devastating lunges, while the [Precision], which he learned to apply outside of the specific perk, honed over countless hours of detailed metalwork was evident in the unerring accuracy of each strike, each one aimed at a falling leaf, no larger than a person's palm.
Alexander had invested nothing into the [Spear Branch], his skill nothing but pure talent and rigorous training, reached under Xianyun's instructions.
The wooden shaft hummed as he moved, a low thrumming sound that spoke of the speed and force held in check by his absolute control. His footwork was not the heavy, grounded stance of a geo-wielder, but something lighter, almost aerial, as if he were channeling the very Anemo principles his own master embodied.
He would pivot on the ball of his foot, the spear whipping around in a wide, defensive arc one moment, and the next, his body would coil and uncoil like a spring, the spear tip shooting forward to stop a hair's breadth from an imaginary opponent's throat.
For a whole year he had practiced against the air, against the mist, against the training dummies Cloud Retainer had long ago imbued with reactive enchantments.
When he struck one, it did not simply rock back; it recalibrated, its stone limbs shifting to present a new array of vulnerabilities for him to exploit. He moved with them, a partner in a silent, violent dance, his breath pluming in the cool air in steady, measured clouds.
Just like now, except his opponent was imaginary.
Sweat now dripped from his chin, but went unnoticed. He was not thinking about the movements; he was the movement.
Xianyun's sharp eyes noted the minute adjustments of his grip, the subtle shift of his weight that preceded a feint, the perfect alignment of his shoulder, hip, and heel in a lunge that could punch through solid rock. And she nodded with acknowledgement.
Hours passed and Cloud Retainer clicked her claws against the ground, grabbing Alexander's attention. She tipped her wing towards the sun, which was at its zenith. He lowered the weapon, his chest rising and falling with steady, controlled breaths.
He accepted it with a grateful nod, the simple gesture as routine as the training itself. He had grown tall over their year together, his frame filled out with the dense muscle of relentless discipline, and she now had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes.
A subtle, approving smile touched her avian features, a silent acknowledgment of the progress she saw etched into his very being.
As he wiped the sweat from his face and neck, a question that had simmered in the back of his mind for months finally found its voice. "Teacher," he began, his tone casual yet respectful, "you have a human form, don't you? Why do you always stay as a crane?"
Cloud Retainer stilled for a moment, her head tilting in that familiar, analytical manner. "This One finds it redundant to change from her avian form. There has yet to be a compelling reason since the last major interactions with mortals during Liyue's planning and establishment."
They began walking towards the main pavilion, where Alexander would soon prepare their midday meal. "Redundancy is a matter of perspective, Teacher," he countered, echoing her own lessons. "A tool is only redundant if there's no task suited for it. You taught me that."
Cloud Retainer let out a soft, non-committal sound, a thoughtful hum that vibrated in her throat. "You suggest this form is a 'tool' ill-suited to current 'tasks'. What task requires a different form within the confines of this domain?"
He grinned, the expression easy and familiar. "Conversation, for one. It's hard to share a meal when one of us has to crane their neck," he said. "And maybe… it would just be nice to see the face of the person who's been shaping my life. A face is better for expressing the subtle nuances of disappointment when I get a quiz question wrong." Alexander finished with a joke.
"One's tone conveys disappointment with perfect clarity," she retorted, though there was no sharpness in her voice, replaced by something akin to amusement. She was silent for a few more steps.
Alexander chuckled and nodded, his teacher's voice was capable of painting a myriad of emotions, something that made up for her lack of proper facial expressions.
Upon reaching the kitchen, Alexander began gathering ingredients while Cloud Retainer withdrew, her form vanishing. A short while later, the soft rustle of silk announced a new presence. Alexander looked up from his preparations, and his hands stilled.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, imposing woman whose sharp, intelligent eyes were accentuated by a pair of elegant glasses. An aura of serene authority clung to her as naturally as the exquisitely tailored robes she wore, her hair styled with a familiar, graceful aesthetic.
The woman moved to sit at the low table, smoothing her robes with a fluid motion, as Alexander found himself staring, his mind momentarily blank. Unconsciously, his gaze drifted for a number of seconds, taking in the gracious curves.
Blood was rising and it was rising fast.
He quickly cast his eyes down, focusing intently on the grain of the wooden table, his ears burning a brilliant crimson.
Cloud Retainer settled across from him, picking up her chopsticks with customary composure. The young man's brief but total loss of composure had not escaped her notice, nor had his gaze. "Well?" she asked, her voice a cultured, melodic version of the one he knew. "Does this form meet the operational parameters for shared sustenance and conversation?"
Alexander took a slow, steadying breath, internally chastising himself for his infantile reaction. He lifted his gaze to meet hers, finding the same sharp intellect looking back at him, now framed by a strikingly beautiful and familiar face. He gave a slow, respectful nod. "It does, Teacher. Perfectly."
A faint, genuine smile graced her lips. "This One may be called Xianyun in this form."
"Immortal Cloud?" he ventured. "A very beautiful and fitting name."
"This One prefers the meaning of 'Everlasting Cloud'," she corrected gently, placing an elbow on the table, letting her face rest on her palm as she watched the same bare chested young man cook their meals.
Such days bled into weaks, and weaks bled into months. This comfortable rhythm, allowing Alexander to grow in both mind and body under the forge's fire, the weight of the training spear, and the shared time with Xianyun.
Until a reminder came.
Framed in the grand archway of the workshop, as if she had materialized from the mist itself, stood Ganyu. Her eyes, wide and amethyst, were fixed on Alexander, struggling to reconcile the man before her with the memory she held from some time ago.
Her gaze swept over him, taking in the soot smudges on his arms, the powerful set of his shoulders that hadn't been there before, the focused intensity in his eyes that had replaced the eager determination of the young adventurer she'd met.
Back then, he was a bit shorter and smaller in general, he was also travelling with a haughty youkai from Inazuma. Together the duo solved a few missing children cases, earning her recognition.
Alexander himself, pulled from his work by the prolonged silence, turned and stood with a warm, genuine smile and a wave in greeting. "Lady Ganyu! It's good to see you." His voice was deeper, but the warmth in it was the same.
He had met this overworked white-colar worker ages ago when solving some cases with Yae. She was also the reason he had two perk points unspent when he nearly died from the Geovishap.
Before Ganyu could formulate a response, her brain still sluggishly processing his transformed appearance, another figure glided into the scene. Xianyun, in her human form, entered from the living quarters, a scroll in one hand. "Alexander, the resonance calculations for the energy-conductive alloy you proposed-" she began, her cultured voice cutting off as she took in the scene.
"M- Master!" she finally stammered, the title bursting forth like a dam breaking. "You… you decided to change from your avian form? And I… I have a junior brother?" The last part was uttered with utter confusion, her mind desperately trying to categorize Alexander within the known framework of her master's reclusive life.
'Wow, sounds so Chinese,' Alexander mused, 'No wonder Liyue felt so familiar.'
Xianyun, for her part, handled the situation with her customary, unflappable composure. She adjusted her glasses, a gesture that seemed to solidify her presence in this form.
"This One's form is a practical choice suited to the current tasks at hand, Ganyu. It facilitates more nuanced instruction," she stated, as if discussing the weather.
She then gestured with the scroll towards Alexander. "And your assessment of the familial designation is imprecise. He is not a 'junior brother' in the traditional adeptal sense. He is a… long-term research associate and resident artisan. The dynamics are unique."
Xianyun had come to see Alexander more as an equal, than as her student, even if only comparing his ability to craft and forge. The distinction was subtle but profound.
Ganyu simply blinked, her head swiveling back to Alexander, who offered a slight, helpless shrug, a silent communication that said,
'I know, it's a lot to take in..'
But she soon composed herself, as a Qixing secretary should, smoothing down her robes and offering a deep, formal bow. She accepted the new reality and this new… brother? Acquaintance?
"My apologies for my conduct," she said, her voice regaining its professional cadence. "I was merely… surprised. It is good to see you again, Alexander. And to see you in such… robust health, Master."
She turned her full attention back to Alexander, her expression softening with genuine, if bewildered, warmth. "I didn't expect to see you here, Alexander. It was just a year ago that we last met, after you and Lady Yae solved those cases for the Ministry. Everyone assumed you'd moved on to Sumeru by now."
The words, spoken so casually, landed not with a crash, but with the quiet, final click of a lock turning.
Alexander's easy smile froze on his face. The ambient sounds of the workshop seemed to recede into dull clicks. "A year ago?" he repeated, the words feeling foreign and heavy on his tongue.
He looked down at his hands, at the calluses that were less earned over months and more carved over seasons.
He looked at the intricate crossbow mechanism on his bench, a project that had consumed what he thought were a few days, but had likely been the work of more than a week. Then he counted dozens of similar projects…
His gaze drifted to Xianyun, seeking confirmation in her impossibly calm face. She met his look, her expression unreadable to Ganyu, but to Alexander, it conveyed a simple, profound truth. She had always been aware of the passage of time. She had simply chosen not to mark it for him, allowing him the grace of his immersion.
'Had I really not realised a year had passed? More than a year probably… Is that even possible?' Alexander looked back at all he had learned, at all the discussions he shared with Xianyun and concluded that it was.
When you are doing what you love, you get lost in time, and he had nobody to break that state, not to mention how much he came to love being a blacksmith.
Every second had been a gift of growth and peace. But a gift, once fully received, must be acknowledged. And with that acknowledgment came the understanding that it was time to step back out into the world he had left behind. The anvil had been his anchor, but now he felt the slow, inexorable pull of the tide, urging him to set sail once more.