At Yae Miko's words, most people burst into an uproar.
It was already the second day since the screen had appeared, and the identities of the star-rated users who could speak in its discussion area had now mostly been exposed.
After all, most of them disdained deliberately concealing their identities. Although some people or gods were still using aliases, or had even remained silent all this time, that clearly did not include the fun-loving Yae Miko.
Just looking at what Guuji Yae had said from yesterday to today, even those who were not from Inazuma had learned a thing or two about her personality.
Moreover, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine was a prominent figure renowned throughout Inazuma. Whether as the Guuji in her official capacity or as the editor-in-chief of her privately owned Yae Publishing House, Yae Miko's reputation could be said to rival even that of the Raiden Shogun, who often shut herself away at home.
In a world like Teyvat, where gods existed, each nation's most famous figure was generally its own god. Even in the case of the Dendro Archon, whose presence the Akademiya deliberately downplayed, it was actually because the previous Dendro Archon, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, had shone too brightly.
To stand alongside a god, even in reputation alone, was a rare thing.
And if even such an important figure called it a top-tier artifact, then it was undoubtedly a treasure one could only encounter by chance, never seek out at will.
Moreover, after so many exchanges in the discussion area, everyone knew that the "Ei" Yae Miko spoke of was probably the name of Inazuma's Raiden Shogun, the Electro Archon herself.
A reward for a question that had already been downgraded twice could actually surpass an artifact a god had given her friend and familiar. That stirred everyone's eagerness even more.
After seeing the punishments those two unlucky souls had suffered earlier, most star-rated users had been thinking of being more cautious with the screen's questions.
But now that they had seen this...
Cautious?
To hell with caution!
A reward they had thought was of little use could actually serve as a family heirloom. Even if they risked punishment, they had to go for it!
Besides, they still had punishment exemptions anyway. They would secure a reward first and worry about the rest later!
Meanwhile, in Inazuma's Tenshukaku, Raiden Ei, who currently controlled the body, sat opposite the smiling pink-haired fox, Yae Miko.
The table between them was laden with sweets, light novels, and new drinks.
"Oh my, I never imagined that trying my luck on a whim would net me a treasure. Today really is my lucky day~."
As she spoke, Yae Miko quite naturally picked up a piece of sweet shrimp sushi and held it to Raiden Ei's lips.
"Miko, I'm trying to discuss something serious. Stop always-mmph-mm-stop for a moment."
Faced with Raiden Ei's utterly feeble refusal, Yae Miko merely picked up another bottle of drink and pushed it straight into Raiden Ei's mouth.
"Here, this is a new drink that boy from the Kamisato Clan developed. Creative milk tea, or something like that. I specifically picked a palatable variety to bring over. Come on, ah, have a taste."
"Mmph, wait-gulp, gulp-hiss, this... this is far too un-eternal!"
Although she said it was "far too un-eternal," even the Raiden Shogun, who had always adhered strictly to eternity, made the rare choice not to interrupt Raiden Ei as she sampled the sweets and milk tea. Perhaps, in the Raiden Shogun's view, some novel snacks and drinks posed no threat to Inazuma's eternity.
After Yae Miko had quite naturally fed her three cups of milk tea and five plates of sweets, Raiden Ei finally regained some control and firmly took the artifact rewarded by the screen from Yae Miko to examine it closely.
Unlike when she had just been "powerlessly" fed by her own familiar, Raiden Ei was still very earnest and serious when attending to business, a stark contrast to her earlier image as a frail god unable to resist her familiar.
Inazuma's Electro Archon carefully studied it as it floated in midair before her. Tiny Thunderbirds seemed to soar around it, and within it lay a scene of countless ancient people kneeling in worship before a human figure who stood against the Thunderbird.
"That's right. This power truly came from that maddened Thunderbird, as well as those humans themselves back then. It isn't a copy reproduced from the memories of the Ley Lines."
Yae Miko smiled. "I also asked that miraculous Traveler in the discussion area. She said that, generally, in games, items that glow gold and are marked with five stars should all be top-tier. Does that mean five-star artifacts are all genuine?"
In Teyvat, artifacts were not unique pieces.
Because of the wondrous Ley Lines, the memories of all living beings in Teyvat, and even of the world of Teyvat itself, were recorded within them.
As the power within the Ley Lines circulated over and over, once it gradually accumulated to fullness in a particular area, it would often reproduce those memories.
This power generally appeared in the form of domains or treasure chests, which was why the adventuring profession had continued to flourish for so many years.
After all, even places that had already been looted might spawn new treasure chests. Adventurers could always find novel rewards in Teyvat.
This was also why monsters emerged from Ley Line Blossoms, and why defeating those monsters yielded rewards such as experience that strengthened oneself or large amounts of Mora.
Likewise, under this special mechanism, artifacts were divided into originals and replicas.
The originals were naturally the sets passed down directly from the source of a particular artifact series. There was only one of each, with no duplicates.
Replicas were formed when the Ley Lines used their power to reproduce the memories of artifacts. In most cases, these replicas were kept within certain monsters or domains.
Of course, the power contained in ordinary replicas could not compare to that of the originals.
After all, whether in origin or in the time spent accumulating power, replicas fell short of originals.
But...
Raiden Ei took out another Goblet of Eonothem, also an artifact from the Thundersoother set.
"As it happens, when I dealt with that Thunderbird that had gone mad for some unknown reason back then, I tidied up the loose ends along the way. I really do have the original of this artifact."
Yae Miko carefully compared the two seemingly identical artifacts. When they drew close, even the two tiny Thunderbirds began flying side by side.
"In terms of Electro power, these two artifacts are completely identical. There are only a few minute differences, which should mean their so-called main stats are the same, while their substats differ."
Raiden Ei stared fixedly at the two outwardly identical artifacts. "That isn't the point. The point is, if this screen can endlessly reproduce so-called original artifacts, or even other, more troublesome items, then the eternity I protect-"