So far, whether from a player's perspective creating their own spirits, or from the officials' scope of allowed Aether Spirits, it seemed like Phantylia could qualify just fine.
After all, the four regions this time were mostly the three places he and Stelle had traveled through. And the combat units from those three places were limited—once you added in the Silvermane Guards, there really wasn't much left to work with.
The Luofu had plenty of good material, but for data security reasons, only the Artisanship Commission's aurumatons and some basic puppets had been approved for scanning. Everything else was blocked.
Belobog and the Herta Space Station were similar. There were strong entities, sure, but they couldn't be scanned due to restrictions.
But Pei Guang knew—aside from what normal people were aware of, those three places also had powerful enemies hidden in Echoes of War zones. Scanning those monsters and turning them into his own Aether Spirits wouldn't break any rules at all.
Pei Guang: "Hey! Should we sign up for this Aetherium Wars? I'm honestly getting excited. Four regions, four championship contenders, Four Elites, and their backup challengers? I can't wait. It's decided—let's go, Aether Spirits. Play Aether Spirits, play cyber-mahjong… life's basically perfect!"
Seeing Pei Guang bursting with energy, March 7th couldn't help but tease him: "Already back to full health? I thought I'd have to seriously comfort you before you bounced back~ but I guess not.
Anyway, I've heard about that Aetherium Wars thing too. If we're going to play, we can just head to Belobog. Miss Topaz already transformed the weapons factory we found back then into a huge tournament arena."
Pei Guang lit up completely: "Oh? Then we definitely have to go check it out. Let's go! Let's head out! Wait—before we go, let's ask Old Yang if he wants to join in."
March 7th asked, confused, "Huh? Would Uncle Yang even be into this kind of thing?"
In her eyes, Welt was a reliable senior, and stuff like this game would only interest younger folks like them. Someone who's been through as much as Welt surely wouldn't be…
But Pei Guang had a knowing expression on his face. "You don't get it—this kind of thing has nothing to do with age. There's no way someone like Old Yang, who's into Gundam, could resist something like Pokémon!"
This was the instinct of someone who's been around the block. Welt was definitely dependable, but during their journey across the Xianzhou Luofu, Pei Guang had slowly developed a kind of mutual understanding with him: one that only fellow enthusiasts could share.
March 7th: "Huh?"
Pei Guang: "Huh what~? Come on, let's go ask him if he wants to play!"
March 7th: "Wait! Hold up!"
Stelle: "What are we waiting for? With something this fun, how could we not invite everyone?"
With that, Pei Guang and Stelle charged off with March 7th, still confused, following behind. In the lounge, hearing their hurried footsteps, Welt instinctively looked up. "Oh? Pei Guang? Looks like you've recovered?"
Pei Guang: "I'm back in action! Old Yang, there's a new event we're getting into. Interested?"
The moment Pei Guang mentioned an "event," Welt's expression turned serious. Having spent time with Pei Guang, he knew that Pei Guang had a way of seeing through people's hidden hobbies.
If someone like that was inviting him to try something new, it had to be something special.
Welt calmly adjusted his glasses and asked, "Ohhh? What kind of event?"
Pei Guang: "Have you heard of Aetherium Wars?"
That one classic line of recommendation made Welt's glasses glint. Folding his arms, he looked at Pei Guang and said, "Tell me more."
March 7th: "Huh?"
March 7th knew they'd all picked up a few quirks from hanging around Pei Guang, but up until now, Welt had always come across as serious and proper. Yet in this moment, she felt a mysterious aura coming off of him.
It was like some long-dormant energy deep inside him had suddenly awakened, doing metaphorical sit-ups around him.
Sensing March 7th's surprised stare, Welt realized that someone his age getting too worked up probably wasn't a great look, so he composed himself and said calmly:
"Tell me in detail: if you're the one bringing it up, then it must be something really interesting."
Not far off, Himeko, who had been sipping her coffee, also noticed the commotion. But when she saw Welt's expression and heard the tone of his voice, she couldn't help but smile.
Pei Guang explained what Aetherium Wars was, and the moment Welt heard about the event, he was clearly intrigued. But then he hesitated, likely thinking about the Astral Express…
Just as he was weighing things, Himeko spoke up to everyone: "I've tried Aetherium Wars before—it's a really fun game. I remember this time, with Ah Guang organizing it, the Champion Celebration is being held in Belobog. Welt, you should give it a try, it really is a good time. As for things here… don't worry. Once Pom-Pom finishes the full check on the Express, we're just going to give it a thorough cleaning. There's plenty of time."
Naturally, Himeko knew what Welt was concerned about. In truth, she was happy to see him take a break and just enjoy himself for once.
Hearing Himeko's words, Pei Guang looked over at her. "Oh? Himeko, you know about the event too?"
Himeko smiled at his raised brow and replied, "Since it's an invitation from you, Ah Guang, of course I have to give it a try~ As for our conductor… well, that depends on whether you have the ability to convince them."
In truth, Himeko was looking forward to Pom-Pom joining the event too. Because Pom-Pom couldn't leave the Express, there were many things they couldn't take part in. While Pom-Pom never seemed to mind, Himeko had noticed the occasional look of quiet anticipation on their face.
Pei Guang: "Of course! Even if our conductor can't leave the Express, that doesn't mean we should leave Pom-Pom out! Don't worry, I'll catch Pom-Pom's Aether Spirits myself. I'm great at that kind of thing."
Pei Guang had already made up his mind: he was going to catch the strongest Aether Spirit lineup for Pom-Pom. One boss from each of the three Echoes of War zones should do the trick. After all, as the conductor of the Express, Pom-Pom deserved a team with real flair.