I'll save the Cola and give Keqing and Lumine a can each. I'll use all the Hero's Wit, too. And I'll swap the Harbinger of Dawn for the Skyward Blade. It's a five-star sword, so it has to be much stronger than the Harbinger of Dawn.
With that in mind, Zhong Baiye quickly put everything from his ten-pull to use.
After using the Hero's Wit, he felt strength coursing through his entire body.
Zhong Baiye clenched his fist experimentally and figured he could now knock down five Paimons with one punch.
Before, he could only knock down three Paimons with one punch at most.
And that was without factoring in the Skyward Blade's boost. After all, while levels mattered in Teyvat,
most strength and offensive power came from the boosts provided by weapons and Artifacts.
The Harbinger of Dawn was a three-star weapon in the game, while the Skyward Blade was a five-star weapon.
There was an enormous gap between them. Though the Skyward Blade's special effect wasn't particularly good, the boost it gave Zhong Baiye far exceeded the Harbinger of Dawn's.
Zhong Baiye tried swinging both the Harbinger of Dawn and the Skyward Blade.
The Harbinger of Dawn barely managed to whistle through the air.
The Skyward Blade not only made a series of whooshing sounds, but also unleashed a blade of energy that split a table several meters away from Zhong Baiye in half.
Looking at the bisected table, Zhong Baiye pressed a hand to his pounding chest.
"Good thing I didn't swing it at myself just now, or I'd have been done for."
After testing the Skyward Blade, Zhong Baiye looked at the Harbinger of Dawn with a hint of disdain.
He promptly unequipped the Harbinger of Dawn, replacing it at his waist with the faintly glowing Skyward Blade.
He had to admit that, although the Skyward Blade belonged to the game's most lackluster five-star series-the Skyward series-its visual effects were still pretty nice.
In the darkness of the night, the glow of the Skyward Blade could light up the entire room even without Zhong Baiye turning on the lights.
Zhong Baiye recalled the pain of searching for Lumenstone while first exploring The Chasm.
"If the Skyward Blade were this bright in the game, why would anyone bother looking for Lumenstone? Couldn't you just hold up the Skyward Blade?"
Zhong Baiye gazed at the Skyward Blade before reluctantly setting it down.
Then a Bamboo-Copter toy suddenly appeared in his hand.
The Bamboo-Copter was much as Zhong Baiye remembered it: two blades and a stem, with a button on it as well.
According to the system's instructions, he only needed to wear it on his head and press the button, and it would carry him wherever he wanted to fly.
But it was a single-use item. Once he pressed the button, it would disappear after one day.
Zhong Baiye examined it closely, but couldn't figure out how it worked. Unwilling to waste it, he could only put it back into System Space.
Finally, there was the most unexpected thing Zhong Baiye had received from this draw-the Pickpocket Skill.
He retrieved the special skill with a thought.
But nothing happened. No memories suddenly appeared in his mind, nor did a scroll materialize in his hand.
Not one of the things he'd expected to happen actually happened.
"Am I going about this the wrong way?"
Unsure, Zhong Baiye checked the system inventory again, but the special skill was nowhere to be found.
He had indeed used the special skill.
Yet he had no recollection of it and no idea how to activate it.
"Pickpocket, Kleptomancy, skill..."
Zhong Baiye struck all sorts of strange poses while uttering odd words that the people of Teyvat wouldn't understand.
But no matter what he tried, his special skill showed no sign of activating.
In the end, he was out of ideas. He could only chalk it up as a loss and spend the night regretting it.
Early the next morning, the skies were clear, birds sang, and flowers filled the air with fragrance.
"Hey, you! Wake up already!"
Before Zhong Baiye even opened his eyes, he felt someone punch him in the face.
When he forced his eyes open, he saw that Paimon was punching and kicking him.
His eyes met Paimon's just as he opened them. She rubbed her head, trying to bluff her way out of it.
"Yo! Good morning! Lovely weather today, huh?"
Zhong Baiye wasn't buying any of it. He immediately acted as though he was going to eat Paimon for breakfast.
Paimon was too close to Zhong Baiye to have any chance of escaping, and he caught her in his hand.
Fortunately, Lumine and Keqing both tried to convince Zhong Baiye that Paimon was poisonous food. Otherwise, in his groggy state, he might really have taken a bite out of her.
Shaking his head, Zhong Baiye cleared the fog from his mind and checked the time, only to find it was almost noon.
He'd been so excited the night before that he'd spent the whole night cradling the Skyward Blade, unable to put it down, and hadn't fallen asleep until nearly dawn.
No wonder Paimon had woken him up like that. Keqing and Lumine had probably been too embarrassed to do it themselves, so they'd left it to her.
"Sorry, I had a little trouble sleeping last night. I made you worry."
Zhong Baiye knew sleeping in wasn't a good habit either, so he hurriedly apologized to Keqing and Lumine.
"As long as you're all right, big brother."
The worry vanished from Lumine's face as she answered Zhong Baiye with a smile.
"It's fine. This is nothing serious. But don't stay up so late again. It's terrible for your health."
Keqing sternly warned Zhong Baiye not to go to bed so late again.
Zhong Baiye looked at Keqing and Lumine, wondering whether he should try out yesterday's Pickpocket Skill.
Just then, he noticed Paimon's sly expression.
Zhong Baiye patted himself down and discovered that his Sigil of Permission was missing. Combined with the look on Paimon's face,
even a complete idiot could have guessed that she had something to do with it.
Zhong Baiye stared at Paimon with a decidedly malicious expression.
A chill ran through Paimon. Seeing Zhong Baiye's expression, she immediately moved to hide behind Lumine.
Before Paimon could get behind Lumine, Zhong Baiye suddenly shouted.
"Pickpocket!"
Hearing Zhong Baiye's shout, Paimon thought he'd used some special ability to steal her "treasure."
In a panic, Paimon checked whether her treasure was still there.
But she discovered that she hadn't lost a thing. Even the glittering golden sigil was lying safe and sound against her chest.
"You jerk! How dare you scare me!"
She caught her breath and was just about to mock Zhong Baiye for trying to fool her with a trick only a three-year-old would use.
Only then did she notice that something was off about the atmosphere. Lumine looked shocked and somewhat disappointed, while Keqing's cheeks were bright red.
Zhong Baiye stood frozen in place as well, clutching something tightly in his hand.
Before you continue