Gu Sanqiu expressed his disdain rather bluntly.
"Stand still, stretch out your hands, and don't move."
Aether looked confused but obediently extended his hands.
Gu Sanqiu clasped Aether's wrist with his right hand, using both spiritual and elemental energy to probe simultaneously.
"Your physical condition is just barely acceptable, and there doesn't seem to be anything weirdly wrong with you."
He furrowed his brow. "Alright, try using your elemental skill again, but this time, do it with just one hand."
Letting go, Gu Sanqiu stepped back. Though unsure why he was being asked this, Aether steadied himself and activated his Gale Blade with his right hand.
Hum—
The swirling Anemo blade and its cutting edge formed, but this time, the gathered elemental energy dissipated quickly instead of holding steady.
"Ah, so that's it. This particular skill—or rather, the way its elemental pathways are structured—requires both hands working in tandem."
Gu Sanqiu nodded in understanding. Elemental skills were conceptually similar to martial arts, akin to how combos in fighting games followed certain patterns—or like crafting subjective answers to an open-ended question.
It was much like how the waist was pivotal for martial artists, enabling the body to coordinate power effectively. Without it, certain movements would be incomplete.
"Hmm… is there a way to simplify this technique?"
Gu Sanqiu pondered optimizing the Gale Blade. Aether could indeed use elemental energy with one hand later on, but he always relied on his right hand.
If Aether hadn't secretly mastered a left-handed sword technique, then his combat style would inevitably remain predictable—someone like a Psyduck who, after a single encounter, could have their entire strategy exposed.
People like him, Xiao, and Albedo? They practically trained every fiber of their being to emit elemental brilliance. If shooting beams from their eyes or mouths were possible, they'd have already mastered it, like modern-day dragons.
Reality, however, had no pause screens or scripted cutscenes. If Aether stuck to this approach without diversifying, he'd face serious problems.
Scratching his head, Gu Sanqiu muttered, "This is tricky. Foundational stuff like this isn't something I can just hand you solutions for."
He pulled out a stack of books and handed them to Aether. "You can read, right? After work, don't think about overtime for extra Mora, and forget about going out to have fun. Study these first."
"Once you fully grasp the content, that'll be the moment you've barely entered the basics of elemental combat."
He recalled how Aether often used the Gale Blade as a "greeting" before battles—likely Venti's handiwork.
This skill's design seemed like a universal foundation, akin to protagonists in invincible power fantasy stories, starting with tailor-made techniques from peak-level mentors.
If that were the case, his task was simply to broaden Aether's horizons.
Paimon floated over, grabbing the stack of books. As soon as she turned away, Gu Sanqiu's gaze turned deadpan as he fixed his eyes on Aether.
"Do you know how elemental reactions work?"
Aether nodded blankly.
Probably something Paimon taught him, Gu Sanqiu thought, though the mere act of Aether nodding made him rub his forehead in frustration.
"If you know that much, then why didn't you trigger a Swirl reaction earlier when you used your elemental power?"
Aether froze, then pointed at their surroundings before shaking his head to indicate there weren't any elements nearby to draw from.
The corner of Gu Sanqiu's mouth twitched. "Wait, I think I get it now."
"Klee, light a fire for me."
Klee raised her little finger and blew gently in Gu Sanqiu's direction.
"Here it comes~"
A tiny flame drifted toward him. With a flick of his hand, Gu Sanqiu summoned a swirling Anemo sphere, drawing the fire into it. The sphere soon glowed with fiery orange-red energy.
"In your mind, you think you need a tangible source of elemental energy to draw from, don't you?"
Aether nodded again, signaling that Gu Sanqiu had understood him.
Gu Sanqiu sighed deeply, his deadpan gaze intensifying. Aether's logic had truly stunned him.
So what happens if there's no elemental source nearby? Are you going to run up to a Hilichurl Berserker and steal the fire from their infused axe?
By the time you do that, they'll have already cleaved you in half.
Sure, Gu Sanqiu had done something similar in the past, but that was different—and back then, people had asked where his team had conjured their Pyro.
Gu Sanqiu began to explain: "Alright, let me ask you this—do you think there are no elemental energies in this environment?"
"The laws that structure this world and the elements that form it are everywhere. If there's no convenient source of energy, you need to draw from the world around you."
With a gentle wave of his hand, water droplets from the leaves and the ground rose into the air, gathering into a swirling elemental orb of Anemo and Hydro.
"Something like this."
Aether looked on, wide-eyed with shock and awe, then immediately extended his hand and closed his eyes to try replicating the process.
Ten minutes later—nothing happened.
Awkwardly, Aether glanced at Gu Sanqiu and shook his head apologetically.
I'm sorry, I can't sense anything.
…
Seriously? Something this simple, and you can't do it?
It's like there's gold lying around everywhere, and you don't even know how to pick it up. Are there really people like this?
Wait.
Gu Sanqiu's expression shifted. With a flick of his hand, he summoned orbs of water, fire, and electricity.
"Let's try this one by one. See if you can trigger a reaction with them."
Aether nodded and activated Gale Blade, successfully causing a Swirl reaction with each element.
The surrounding stone pillars lit up, and colorful crystals clattered to the ground.
Mystery solved—it wasn't that Aether couldn't draw elemental energy from the environment; he simply didn't have the ability to extract it naturally. He could only trigger reactions through tangible, manifest sources of elemental power.
In other words, he can't cook, but he can eat.
"Wait… could this be because of that?"
As their journey progressed, Aether's power was gradually recovering. By the time they reached Liyue, he could even spar with Childe—a clear sign that his restrictions were easing, like layers of a seal being undone.
But for now, as someone fresh off synchronizing with Mondstadt's Statues of the Seven, he likely lacked the ability to draw directly from the elements in the environment.
Gu Sanqiu rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Alright, I apologize. I didn't account for this factor. I didn't realize this limitation existed."
"I'll teach you something else instead—a simple array that can draw multiple elements at once to unleash a chaotic elemental surge."
"This will be much more effective than triggering single Swirl reactions, especially against enemies immune to specific elements at certain thresholds."
Gu Sanqiu began explaining the technique. "Also, if you encounter Dendro-based enemies, use Anemo to draw them in whenever possible."
Seeing Aether's confusion, Gu Sanqiu elaborated further.
"That's because… you can think of Swirl as an additive process, consuming resources to amplify another element. Dendro, on the other hand, behaves more like a chemical catalyst, transforming other elements into something new—a sort of pseudo-'transmutation.'"
Aether tilted his head, clearly struggling to understand.
…
Swirl is linear; transformation is variable. It's like combining predictable strategies with an unexpected twist to create greater impact.
The real challenge, though, was how to explain this in simple, Teyvat-friendly terms. How do you tell someone: Rich people use technology, poor people rely on mutations?
---
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