Chapter 18: From the Source of All Beginnings

“No one is going to steal your treasure… Really, most of the time you’re quite reliable, Vilyric, but there are moments when you act as immature as a child…”

With a sigh of exasperation, the Goddess deliberately ignored Someone, who was grinning and sticking out their tongue with an “eh-hey” expression, focusing instead on observing the Magic God Gem for a moment, and then nodding slightly as if confirming a certain hypothesis.

“Indeed, this has the aura unique to a source artifact.”

“Source artifact?”

The Priestess perked up with curiosity upon hearing the new term, eagerly asking, “What is that?”

As if recalling some past memories, Xi Fu Lin let out a soft sigh. “A source artifact… is a supreme treasure born of the world, coveted even by gods.”

“Huh…?”

Hearing such an exaggerated description, Someone instinctively glanced a few times at the black gem floating nearby. The gem, radiating endless magical power, seemed to proudly lift its head like a child basking in compliments, flashing a few times as if to respond to such high praise.

Xi Fu Lin paid no mind to this, raising her hand to summon a splendid spear entwined with emerald vines and vitality, which she lightly floated and displayed in front of Vilyric.

“Look, this is the Life-exclusive artifact, the [Flower of Creation], born from the transformation of life laws after being severed from decay. Vilyric, what do you think? How does it compare to this gem?”

“[Flower of Creation]…?”

Just gazing at the glorious life energy shimmering on the spear and feeling its profound aura up close made it clear that this was undeniably a high-quality weapon. But judging its specific grade was not easy, as it was a native weapon of this world and influenced by divine powers, making it impossible to rely solely on game standards.

“Xi Fu Lin, could I examine it more closely?”

“Of course.”

Without any hesitation, the Goddess handed the levitating spear over to the black-haired girl, who cradled the stunning azure spear that was over three meters long in her hands, carefully tracing its sleek patterns and the long vines that seemed alive. After a moment’s thought, she activated her skill called [Information Detection].

Immediately, some text appeared before Vilyric.

[Flower of Creation]

[Law Artifact]

[Life Goddess xxx’s personal artifact, refined from the essence of life laws, harboring infinite vitality and the power of creation. It can raise the dead from their bones and controls all life forces in the world. An astonishing divine weapon.]

The information retrieved by [Information Detection] was essentially just this and provided no substantial data or skill descriptions.

That was only natural, considering this skill was indeed a troublesome one that toggled between reliability and unreliability. The higher the rank and mystery of an object, the less information was obtainable.

Though the Magic God Gem belonged to Vilyric, a more defined connection allowed for better insight. As for the [Flower of Creation], which housed tremendous divine power and was bound to another, the ability to glean a few sentences from it was already extraordinary.

Moreover, in terms of ranking, [Information Detection] didn’t classify this spear into levels; it merely categorized it as a [Artifact] and added the prefix [Law].

While the game system wouldn’t break down items of the same rank into tiers such as upper, middle, or lower, relying on player judgment, the Magic God Gem was previously assessed as a [Lower Artifact], leaving the Priestess utterly baffled by the skill’s function, leading her to abandon further investigation…

However, the term [Law Artifact] was indeed a brand new designation that Vilyric had never heard before.

“Are you done looking? What do you think?”

Holding the vine spear that Vilyric returned with one hand, Xi Fu Lin’s palm shimmered with radiant light. The [Flower of Creation] transformed into a delicate blue pattern across the back of her hand, disappearing into her skin.

Clearly, the Goddess had been carrying this artifact in such a manner from the beginning, even if it was just a projection.

“This is a very powerful weapon. Xi Fu Lin, do you know what a Law Artifact is?”

The blue-haired girl smiled slightly.

“Since you already have a guess, why ask me further?”

“…”

After pondering for a moment, the Priestess nodded and pulled from her backpack her true dedicated weapon, the [Eternal Staff: Heart of the World].

The girl gently caressed this beloved staff that had accompanied her for a long time, and like Xi Fu Lin before, she offered it back to the Goddess.

“Then tell me, is this a Law Artifact or a Source Artifact?”

“Mm…”

Gazing at the staff before her that flowed with an invisible, lustrous glow, gradually, the Life Goddess’s vibrant green eyes took on a more serious expression. She extended a delicate, pale finger to lightly touch the grip held between Vilyric’s hands.

“Zap!”

However, a burst of rapid white lightning flashed as they made contact. Even the Life Goddess, who was said to soon regain her divine rank, had to retract her hand, surprised for a moment before an understanding look crossed her face.

“Such intense spirituality… It can’t be wrong; this is also a source artifact. And in terms of rank, it should certainly surpass the gem you received from Olivya by a great deal…”

“This is beyond the realm of spirit infusion to explain. I’ve never seen such a powerful source artifact before… If we were to categorize it by divine rank, I’d say it’s reached the supreme rank of [High God]. Unbelievable… Vilyric, may I ask where you obtained this item?”

“Ahaha… um…”

Faced with the Goddess showing curiosity, the Priestess hesitated, nervously fiddling with the corner of her clothing.

To explain the origins of the [Eternal Staff: Heart of the World], she would inevitably have to mention the game [Fantasy World], and if she just spoke half-truths, it would undoubtedly cloud Xi Fu Lin’s judgment and waste time.

Honestly, Vilyric had considered more than once whether she should proactively tell Xi Fu Lin about her crossing over from a mundane life, alongside the various secrets related to [Fantasy World]. After all, the latter was a renowned deity who had lived for at least tens of thousands of years and was someone the Priestess had proudly supported…

In a sense, she was basically the only friend with a similar situation who could help and trust her.

With Xi Fu Lin’s insights, if she understood the entire context, she would undoubtedly provide many valuable opinions or suggestions. The benefits were indisputable.

Moreover, as the Goddess representing Life, Xi Fu Lin’s kindness seemed almost instinctive. Vilyric believed that among all the people she had encountered, aside from the Little Dragon Daughter, the one least likely to betray her was this Life Goddess, so there should be no worries about risks.

The only concern, to be frank, was somewhat amusing.

The girl was actually just worried that after learning she had once been an ordinary, unremarkable person who only gained the power of [Vilyric] through an inexplicable crossover from a game, Xi Fu Lin, this genuine divine entity…

Would she… come to loathe her?

After all, no matter how friendly Xi Fu Lin was in her interactions, Vilyric could feel a distinct difference in how Xi Fu Lin treated her versus others; that difference was probably akin to the distinction between a gentle leader and a close friend.

Perhaps it was because, in this world, only Vilyric and she shared divine rank as the only true equals. But what if…

   

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