Chapter 8 - Artifact Spirit

"Have I gone crazy after hitting my head? And this is all just a figment of my imagination?" Li Lang couldn't help but mutter at the ludicrous situation he found himself in.He was floating in the middle of darkness and a childish voice came from a red stone."Master, you haven't gone crazy. I guarantee it!" the red orb immediately replied, flashing excitedly, in sync with its words."...Then what are you?""I am the proud artifact spirit of the…I…don't have a name yet, Master. You have to decide one for me.""Are you like a…newborn artifact or something?" Li Lang couldn't help but ask, having heard the childish voice of the orb."Of course not! I am a powerful Divine artifact, made from the will of the world, and have been around for eons!""...You've been around for eons but still don't have a name?""I…Most of my memories are wiped each time I gain a new master.""...Fine, then. I'll call you Ruby for now. What was that about the artifact space?""Understood, Master. I'll be Ruby until you say otherwise. The artifact space is where we currently are. The default state is that of nothingness. To make use of my powers, it is best for you to set up the space to match your preference. If you would like, I can peek into your memories to set up the space for you.""...You can read my mind?""Only with your permission, Master.""...Sure."Li Lang was already having trouble keeping up with what was happening, so he happily offloaded the bothersome task away. He didn't really care if the space was just a spartan room.The darkness suddenly receded, and the entire room became a blur of lights. The next thing Li Lang knew, he found himself inside a place he was familiar with and he instantly became nostalgic.He glanced around and took in the scenery of the laboratory he had spent much of his time in.He quickly headed for the door, but when he tried to hit the button to open it, his hand phased straight through."Master, this is just an illusionary space with the projection of the room you frequented the most. It is limited only to this area.""I see…" The excitement that had abruptly welled up within him dimmed just as quickly as it came before it exploded back upward in a rollercoaster of emotions, as he excitedly pondered how this artifact space worked."Are you satisfied with this, Master?""Yes. Thank you. Anyway, tell me how you work. How is this possible? What principles are behind it?""I'm sorry, Master. I don't know myself. It just comes naturally to me.""Never mind, then. I'll have time to investigate it myself soon enough." Li Lang swiftly reined in his excitement and took a seat in his familiar chair."So, tell me. What are the powers that you mentioned having?""Master, I am a rare and invaluable artifact that specializes in helping crafters such as alchemists, blacksmiths, and other creators hone their craft!""And how so, specifically?""You can test out new recipes and crafting techniques in this artifact space without expending any materials as long as it is in my knowledge repository."As a scientist in his previous life, Li Lang's interest was instantly piqued. What the Red Stone had described sounded surprisingly similar to an advanced variation of a virtual simulator."Show me.""...Sorry, I can't, Master.""Hmm? Why not?""My knowledge repository is currently empty, Master. There's nothing I can reproduce. You'll have to find materials to let me absorb it first."At Ruby's mention of materials, Li Lang glanced around at the specimen storage of his lab. He quickly remembered how they weren't real, but when he glanced over at his equipment, he abruptly shot up and ran to the largest machine present, which was surrounded by layers of protective glass."Why is my auto-analyzer different?"He closely examined the large machine that was one of the backbones of every lab back in his world. The auto-analyzers took care of much of the tedious work of analyzing the makeup and compound of whatever was inserted."It is part of my power, Master. I can help 'simulate' equipment you are familiar with to help in your craft, but your cultivation is too low. You can barely supply enough Qi to use just the tiniest fraction of my powers. I took the liberty of finding the oldest model of auto-analyzer from your memories to more accurately represent what the machine is capable of right now.""Wait…So this auto-analyzer is actually usable and not just decoration?""Yes! Even without my memories, I'm sure this is the first time I've seen something like it, but it should work perfectly as long as my powers can handle it!"Numerous research topics surfaced in Li Lang's mind as he found out his precious machine worked, but he knew many research topics were irrelevant now. The projects that he could weaponize weren't so easy to create without the industrial backbone of an entire star sector behind him. It would be close to impossible to source all the raw materials and other specialty equipment involved in the production of bio-weapons he knew of.In the first place, Li Lang didn't even know if this world had the same materials or followed the same laws of physics. All the scientific knowledge he had accumulated may be completely useless!He shelved all his wild thoughts as he continued to learn from his newly acquainted artifact spirit."Do you have any function that can help me cultivate?""I'm sorry, Master. I do not have knowledge regarding that topic."I guess things aren't that convenient, but this virtual space should be able to help me in other ways…Several ideas about how he could leverage Ruby ran through Li Lang's head, but he needed more information before he proceeded with any one of them. He knew too little; he didn't even know how to start cultivating.With his yearning for cultivation rekindled, he glanced over at the floating red orb."Ruby, how do I get out of here?""I can do it for you, Master!"In the blink of an eye, the scene around Li Lang changed. He suddenly found himself lying flat on the ground in the middle of the forest. He stared up at the night skies that were illuminated by the numerous stars above. It was a sight he had rarely seen in his previous life, as the nightlights of the cities had drowned out the stars.He noticed he had one hand placed on his forehead, gripping onto something. When he opened his hand, he found that he had been holding onto a dull, red stone."So it wasn't a dream, after all.""Master, I am very real! Would you like to enter back into the artifact space to confirm?" The child-like voice rang directly into his mind."...No, it's okay. Are you going to be in my head from now on?""I am only able to communicate with you, Master, when you are holding the stone against your head.""I see…Tell me about what you know about where we are.""I'm sorry, Master. As I previously mentioned, my memor—"The voice abruptly cut off as Li Lang moved the stone away from his head. He stared down at the stone for a moment before bringing it back up by his ear."Master, that was rude!""Sorry, I just wanted to test it out.""You can trust me, Master! I wouldn't lie to you!""...They say the next town over is half a day away, so I guess I'll have to find shelter for the night first." Li Lang quickly changed the subject.Seeing how Ruby had no useful input, he stowed it away and prepared to traverse the forest.The glimmering forest shouldn't be too dangerous for him. It had no Qi beasts and was somewhere Zi Zun hadn't minded them visiting despite their young age.Dredging up his memories, Li Lang headed for the rocky cliff area where a road leading to the next town should be. He walked cautiously, being mindful of each step. Whenever he spotted any new type of plants, he would gather them.It didn't take long for him to make it out of the overgrowth into a flat barren stretch of land beside a cliff wall that stretched further than what his eyes could see. He could hear the sound of water pouring down nearby as well."I guess this will have to do for tonight…"He placed his bags against the cliff wall and sat down, hugging his knees. He laid out the plants and branches he had collected before he took out a piece of dried jerky and munched on it while he held up Ruby to his head."Can you add these plants and sticks I gathered into your knowledge repository or the auto-analyzer?""Yes, Master, but they will be permanently destroyed in the process of recording their data into my knowledge depository. Once they have been added, you can then place them in the auto-analyzer. Should I proceed?""Yes."The items before him quickly faded from view. It was like they had evaporated but in a matter of seconds."...Bring me into the artifact space.""Understood, Master!"Li Lang blinked and found himself inside his familiar lab once more. This time, he wasn't lost and immediately walked over to the auto-analyzer.This model…is one I've seen in a museum back in my student days…It should work the same way, right…?He glanced around and found the items he had gathered were neatly placed in a pile on the table beside the machine. He didn't hesitate and moved to pick out a simple tree branch and threw it into the tray.Right as he shut the cover behind the tray, the mechanical arms came to life and brought the piece of wood further into the machine. Li Lang watched through the transparent glass as it went to work, impatiently tapping on the table."Report, ETA!" He yelled out after a minute.Li Lang expected the synthetic voice of an AI to respond, but what he got instead was Ruby."Master, ETA is six hours, nine minutes, and eleven seconds.""...What? It normally doesn't take more than a few minutes!"This stupid antique!"Sorry, Master…You will have to increase your cultivation to be able to use more of my power if you want more processing power.""...Forget it. Take me out of the artifact space. I'm going to sleep.""Understood, Master!"Li Lang quickly found himself back in the real world, staring at his knees. Before he could look up, a voice rang out from above him at a shockingly close distance."Good, you're awake.