The inside of the void ring was strangely empty, with only his dad's spatial ring and his gifts, [World's Voice] and [Heaven's Pan]. Valerio directly skipped over his birthday presents and brought out his dad's spatial ring and directed his Spiritual Lu into it.
Immediately, he could see the inside: Lu Crystals, Void Crystals, and an odd marble. The marble was much smaller than the other items in the void ring, its damp black colour absorbing the light from the shiny items. Valerio took it out to have a closer look, but suddenly the little marble came alive, moving towards his nose. A sense of déjà vu overcame Valerio as he tried to dodge out of the way, alas, the marble was too quick.
The inconspicuous marble collided with Valerio's forehead, melting and becoming a goo-like substance and spreading over his skin. After half a second, his skin looked completely natural.
Suddenly, Valerio saw his dad manifest in front of him.
"Happy birthday rascal, this'll be my one and only gift to you, any heir should have some money, right?" Maximus let out a chuckle. "Alright, enjoy the birthday."
Maximus waved his wrist with an unbothered motion, and he dissolved.
Looking at the space where his dad had just been speaking to him, Valeiro couldn't help but smile.
He knew it was just a prerecorded message.
He knew his feelings wouldn't change anything.
So he just smiled, enjoying seeing him once more.
Valerio stood tall, his chin held high despite his somberness.
"A little late Dad… a little too late," he chuckled.
He seemed to pause and think to himself before deciding to move on with the rest of his void ring.
Before looking at his Neutral Lu and Void Lu crystals, he had wanted to look for his own spatial ring, but he couldn't find it.
He expended a little more Spiritual Lu as his vision covered the entire interior of his ring.
"Tsk," Valerio clicked his tongue.
'So mine did get destroyed. Was it because of the spatial obstruction that the pod had to move past when leaving Fluxara? Then wouldn't dads get destroyed a well? No, it's two ranks higher than mine was. Damn.'
He'd lost all the manuals his dad had given him back on Fluxara with all of his other personal belongings. It wasn't surprising that it had broken; he had just been hoping everything was fine. A spatial ring was essentially a spatial pocket moving with you. When his pod broke past whatever spatial obstruction was around Fluxara, the weaker pocket in his void ring didn't make it.
With nothing else to do, he could only focus on the rest of the items in the spatial ring, specifically the Lu Crystals.
Lu Crystals were the standard currency in the galaxy. They were extremely condensed Neutral Lu, found in places of high Lu concentration. These locations were often turned into training grounds for families or mines for businesses. There were also specific crystals for specific Lu; they were called Pure Lu Crystals, incredibly rare resources that perfectly capture the essence of a specific Lu. All of these crystals could be used to power formations, increase cultivation speeds, and had many more different uses in various situations.
Valerio retrieved one of the Lu Crystals from his void ring, its surface gleaming with an ethereal glow and exuding the distinct aura of the 1st Plane. He held it carefully in his palm, feeling the soft hum of energy that resonated from within. Deciding to test its potency, Valerio began channelling his soul to absorb the Lu contained within.
The results were immediate and overwhelming. His body surged with an intense flow of energy, filling him to the brink as if he were a vessel ready to burst. The sensation was both exhilarating and terrifying; he could feel the Lu threatening to seep through his pores, a clear sign that his body could barely contain its raw power.
'The First plane Lu from Fluxara is much purer than the Lu here, I'm definitely in a lower plane world.'
Next, he brought out a Void Lu Crystal. Its dark, enigmatic appearance seemed to swallow the light around it. Valerio tried the same method, attempting to draw energy from the crystal, but it remained inert, utterly unresponsive to his attempts. He furrowed his brow and applied more force, but the crystal remained unyielding. Growing ever more frustrated, Valerio gripped it tightly and attempted to crack its surface, but the Void Lu Crystal was impenetrable, defying even his most forceful efforts.
Out of ideas and unable to make progress, Valerio exhaled deeply and returned the stubborn Void Lu Crystal to his void ring. His gaze then fell on the [Heaven's Pan], and with a flick of his wrist, he summoned the artefact. Its intricate design gleamed faintly, and he ran his fingers over its surface, pondering its potential uses.
He briefly considered experimenting with [World's Voice], but he dismissed the thought with a shake of his head.
[World's Voice] was a Higher Unified artifact, which roughly translated to the 6th Plane. Unless it was an extremely smart artefact with the ability to adjust its power levels or one that could run on lower plane Lu, it was simply useless.
A Higher Unified artefact demanded a level of power he simply didn't possess, either in quality or quantity.
For now, [Heaven's Pan] would have to suffice for his experiments. He sat cross-legged, placing the pan before him, ready to unravel its secrets.
Heaven's Pan was an interesting item; it looked extraordinarily… ordinary. It was, in the simplest sense, a grey pan that looked brand new. Valerio tried injecting some Lu into the pan, and it responded in kind, heating only the surface of the pan.
'This is great, I can definitely cook with this.'
Valerio stored the pan in his void ring after not finding any additional uses.
'Wait.'
He took out the pan again and directed his Spiritual Lu into it. Immediately, his Spiritual Lu was absorbed as he felt an innate connection to [Heaven's Pan].
'How did I forget to refine my artifacts?' He criticised himself as he directed more Spiritual Lu towards his void ring and [World's Voice].
After refining everything with his own, unique Spiritual Lu, he contemplated whether he should cook first or go back to retrieve his pod.
Less than a moment later, he decided to leave the ruined clearing and get back to his pod.