Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

"I've noticed it."

Ryen gestured for everyone to move toward a nearby table.

"Perhaps it's because you've spent too much time in the mines of this world—so much so that you're becoming detached from the natural laws of Teyvat's material world."

He sat down, a faint smile on his lips as he looked at them.

Keqing parted her lips, about to speak, but Ryen raised a hand to stop her.

"Hold on. Don't be so quick to deny it."

"I understand that the peculiarities of this world have been overwhelming for you. The impact is so strong that these oddities have become deeply ingrained in your memory."

"So much so that, the longer you stay here, the more you'll forget that the laws of this world are completely different from those of Teyvat."

"You've witnessed enough of these mind-boggling phenomena that, deep down, you may start to feel that they're nothing surprising at all—that everything simply should be this way."

"Think about it carefully..."

Ryen pointed meaningfully at the ground beneath them.

"Can stone truly grow out of thin air without the aid of adeptal magic?"

"Should trees really continue to float in midair even after being cut?"

"Can a single bucket of water really let you fall from great heights without injury—and even spread so far upon impact?"

"Should any of this actually be possible?"

His words rang out like an ancient, resounding bell, shaking the very thoughts of those around him.

Ningguang and the others suddenly found themselves waking up from a daze.

Reflecting on all they had done in this world…

Though they still couldn't fully comprehend many of its peculiarities, there was no denying one thing—

They had already grown accustomed to them.

They had started skillfully stacking blocks to climb.

They had seamlessly adopted the art of Chain Mining, breaking clusters of ores in one swift motion.

Just yesterday, when mining for iron, Ningguang and the others had felt as though they had completely mastered the process.

Iron ore was meant to be mined with a single strike of a pickaxe.

It was supposed to turn into high-grade iron ingots the moment it was thrown into a furnace.

Realizing this, a chill crept down their spines.

Even Zhongli—who had lived for over six thousand years and thought his worldview was unshakable—felt as if it was beginning to crack apart, piece by piece.

Seeing that they were starting to grasp the situation, Ryen spoke softly.

"We often say that people get used to strange things over time, that they become 'commonplace'…"

"But in truth, that's just a psychological defense mechanism."

"Think about it—you all once had a stable, well-defined understanding of the world. Then suddenly, I brought you here."

"In a short span of time, you've witnessed countless bizarre and unimaginable phenomena, one after another, without end."

"You don't have the time to rationalize them all. There's simply too much, too fast."

"So your brain tells you to abandon your previous logic, accept these phenomena as they are, and move forward."

"That's why, when I casually place a block in midair, none of you feel surprised anymore. In fact, you find it perfectly normal."

They didn't fully understand Ryen's reasoning, but they could sense the truth in his words.

Time was too tight.

They hadn't had the luxury of questioning the absurdities of this world.

They had needed to adapt.

They had needed to master its mechanics.

And so, they had done exactly that.

Which was fine… if they were only staying in this world.

"I don't support the idea of you staying in the MC world indefinitely," Ryen continued. "In fact, I'd suggest that even the miners take shifts and rotate out regularly."

"Because if you start treating the strange properties of this world as second nature, you may carry those habits back to Teyvat… and that could be dangerous."

"So let me ask you all again—"

"Do you truly believe these phenomena are meant to happen?"

This time, Ganyu shook her head and answered firmly, "No!"

"Wrong!"

Before Ryen could respond, Ningguang immediately refuted Ganyu's answer.

She spoke with careful precision.

"Rather than saying it's wrong, it would be more accurate to say… it's not entirely true."

She met their confused gazes with unwavering confidence before turning her eyes to Ryen.

"In this world, these phenomena are natural. They are the laws that govern this place. But in Teyvat, they are completely irrational."

"What Ryen means is that—no matter how well we adapt to this world—we must always remember that it is separate from Teyvat."

"No matter how skilled we become in exploiting this world's unique properties, we must never forget to respect the distinct laws of each realm."

"That is the mindset we must maintain while exploring this peculiar world."

At last, the others understood the true meaning behind Ryen's words.

And it wasn't an exaggeration.

MC was no longer just a game.

He and everyone else were living in this world—gathering resources, venturing into the unknown.

They were truly experiencing everything firsthand.

This wasn't some game where all they had to do was click a mouse or press a few keys with minimal immersion.

Ryen's real concern was what would happen once Ningguang and the others became too accustomed to this world.

What if they grew so used to "water breaks your fall" that they instinctively leaped from great heights in Teyvat?

What if they carried the mindset that "a single block can support anything" into a world where gravity did exist?

Imagine—

If Ningguang, convinced that water negated all fall damage, were to leap from the Jade Chamber, plummeting hundreds of meters toward the ocean…

Then what?

That was what truly worried Ryen.

Blurring the lines between reality and illusion was often how tragedy struck.

Which was why he wasn't just wasting time with this discussion.

This was the best time to set a mental safeguard—before they became too familiar with this world's mechanics.

Of course, if that was all, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of gathering them for this talk.

Ryen's expression softened as he looked at Ningguang.

After a brief moment of silence, he spoke in a quiet voice:

"Maintaining that distinction… is only the bare minimum for staying safe."

"But if you only focus on defense, then don't blame others when they invade you."

"What you should truly be doing is integrating the unique traits of both worlds. After making a clear distinction between them, you must learn how to unify them in your minds."

These words stunned everyone once more. Even Ningguang looked momentarily dumbfounded, unsure of what exactly Ryen meant.

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Ryen sighed, snapped his fingers, and pulled out various materials.

"Let me give you an example."

He pointed at the bucket of water in front of them.

"If you're falling from a great height in Teyvat and don't have Wind Gliders, what do you do? Simple—use this world's water mechanics!"

"Sure, water in your world doesn't have any life-saving properties, but this world's water does!"

"What if you encounter a powerful enemy you can't defeat head-on?"

"Easy—place some stone beneath your feet and jump! I know, I know, stone is supposed to be heavy."

"But remember—when you pull a block from your inventory in Teyvat, you can place it wherever you want."

"If Xiao were to face an opponent he couldn't easily defeat, what should he do? Trap them with obsidian!"

"Obsidian is incredibly sturdy. Not only would it keep you safe from enemy attacks, but it could also imprison your foe."

"And if there's an enemy that simply can't be killed by conventional means? Lava. Just pour lava on them!"

"You can store lava in iron buckets without feeling the heat—so why not take advantage of that?"

"Are you all seriously going to ignore such game-breaking mechanics?"

Ryen spoke with righteous conviction, his gaze filled with disappointment as he scanned the group.

So far, the only one who had shown a proper understanding of this world's potential was Xiao.

He had at least thought about using lava for defense and constructing fortifications.

But even then, his approach had been far too cautious!

If they were going to use this world's mechanics, why not go all in?

Osial was still sealed away, right?

Why not take some obsidian and box him in?

Obsidian was so absurdly durable that, unless you were Zhongli—a god who wielded dominion over stone itself—it would take an eternity to break through.

And honestly, if they went that far, why stop at just trapping him?

That so-called "indestructible" Osial...

Just flood his entire seal with lava.

Let's see if he can survive that!

If he could, Ryen would personally travel to Celestia, kick the Heavenly Principles off their throne, and crown Osial as the Third Sovereign!

Wasn't this kind of thinking obvious?

At the very least, in battle, wouldn't it be common sense to drop some blocks in front of an incoming attack?

Or better yet...

Just place obsidian beneath their feet and throw a TNT block at them.

Ryen couldn't help but feel disappointed in their lack of creativity.

They had already witnessed the absurd nature of this world.

Why weren't they thinking outside the box?

Why weren't they daring to experiment with even crazier ideas?

Without breaking free from their rigid thought patterns, they would never go beyond simply following Ryen's instructions to build structures.

But what Ryen truly wanted was for Ningguang and the others to unleash their own imagination—

To create inventions so incredible that even he would be left in awe.

Only then would they be worthy of being called true pioneers in the MC world.

He knew they had the potential for it.

The problem was...

They still needed to unlearn their preconceived notions.

And that would take time.

As everyone fell into deep thought, Ryen decided not to disturb them.

Quietly, he stood up and walked toward the edge of the floating island.

Right now, he had a different problem to solve—

How to bring villagers up here.

After all, both the mob farm and the stone generator were based on the floating island.

And he had already set aside space for an iron farm.

Naturally, the goal was to turn this floating island into a fully automated industrial complex in the sky.

But...

Getting the villagers up here was going to be a real challenge.

Suddenly, Ryen smacked his forehead.

"Damn it! I just told them to stop being so rigid in their thinking, and here I am doing the same thing!"

He sighed in frustration.

At first, he had considered converting zombie villagers, but that would waste resources—so he ruled it out immediately.

Then, he thought about fishing the villagers up here with a fishing rod, but the logistics were way too complicated.

Yet somehow, the simplest solution hadn't crossed his mind at all.

The rules of the world were fixed.

Steve had to follow those rules.

But Ryen?

Ryen wasn't Steve.

He was a normal person, with a flexible, human body—far more agile and free than Steve could ever be.

So then...

Why not just carry the villagers up here?

"Ryen, we've made up our minds!"

Ganyu and the others approached him, their expressions lighter than before.

"From now on, in our future explorations, we'll make sure to always distinguish between the two worlds. But at the same time, we'll also try to combine their strengths and experiment with new possibilities."

Ganyu clenched her fist, her voice full of determination.

"We will succeed! We'll use our imagination to help you achieve the impossible!"

Ryen turned back to them, his face breaking into a wide grin.

"As long as you remember that, that's good enough for me. But for now... I have something far more important to ask of you."

"Huh?"

Ganyu tilted her head in confusion.

Ryen's gaze moved past her, landing on Zhongli and Xiao.

"To be precise, I need your help, Zhongli, Xiao."

"I need you two... to carry some villagers up here for me!"

~~----------------------

Get 30 additional chapters on patreon:

patreon.com/dreamer20