"Humanity in my old world, Reius, has a recorded history of only a few thousand years, which is probably not very long in the eyes of someone powerful like you." William tried to flatter the being rather than calling him old, lest that anger the Artifact Spirit.
He continued, "I was born in a small town that was very detached from the rest of the world, but when my parents died, I was sent to live in a city with another family when I was only three years old."
William's expression became a bit sad when he thought about his biological parents, whose faces he could now clearly remember since upgrading his Mind Talent to S-Rank. The Mind Talent was a powerful ability that helped him greatly in and out of combat, but this time it was a curse, bringing back memories of his life before and just after their deaths.
"My parents didn't die under normal circumstances. No, they were killed."
"Killed?" the Artifact Spirit asked. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel[f]ire.net
"Yes. You see, twenty years before I was born, a war started amongst the many nations of Reius. Many were sent to fight, even women and children over the age of 15. I don't know much about the details since I was so young, but a year before the war ended, my parents died during one of the final battles.
They were heroes, both of them." a tear formed in William's eyes as he thought of the stories his foster parents had told.
"How did the war end?"
"The many nations decided it was time to stop the fighting, and an agreement was made to never fight a war again. There was too much damage to the world, but the peace agreement was enough for the entire world to enter a new era.
Suddenly, everyone was working together, rebuilding cities and towns, reforming nations, and people even began exploring other planets in the universe."
Since William and Fria were only a few years old, he didn't fully understand at the time how amazing the change to the world was after the war. But looking back on it now, William realized that the change wasn't just a change, it was a complete flip in attitude and perspective.
From a world that was so deeply at war for decades to a peaceful society only focused on rebuilding and improving the livelihood of the human race, William realized there must have been more going on behind the scenes.
The Artifact Spirit noticed the pause in William's story but didn't interrupt.
"Sorry." William apologized, to which the Artifact Spirit waved him on to continue.
"I told you that no one Cultivates on Reius, but it's not just that. Not only does no one Cultivate, but there is no such thing as Magic, Innate Talents, Magical Beasts, or any of the fantastical things in this world that use Mana or Spirit Qi."
"Instead, humanity uses technology to overcome their weaknesses, although they aren't nearly strong enough to fight with powerful Cultivators."
The Artifact Spirit accessed its mental library until it understood what "technology" was.
"A world without Mana or Spirit Qi...how does anyone maintain peace and order in a world where there is no strongest person or group?"
The Artifact Spirit's words made William laugh, since he could say the opposite about this world. How was there not complete chaos in a Cultivation world where the strong could always bully the weak, and had to be killed or beaten to submission before they could be detained?
"Each nation defines a set of rules that their citizens have to follow. Of course, they can choose not to follow the rules, but it usually results in imprisonment. Since there are no extraordinarily powerful humans in the world, they can easily be contained within normal jail cells made of rock or iron."
He tried to keep the terms simple, knowing that the Artifact Spirit might not completely understand what he was trying to say.
The Artifact Spirit didn't have any trouble understanding this time. "There's only one thing that doesn't make sense. If your world operates using technology, then how did you get here?"
"Uh..." William paused for a moment. The Artifact Spirit's question triggered something in William's mind. He had just accepted that he was in another world but had no idea how he got there. He knew the System was responsible, but the question was why?
System, how did I get to this world.
I know that, but how? And why was I chosen?
-You will have to discover that for yourself, but you weren't chosen. You were never a worthy Host for the System. If you can survive long enough, you will naturally find the answers to your questions.
The System was surprisingly cold with its remarks, but William didn't complain. He thought back to when he had first entered the world, but his memories of the bus ride was a bit hazy. The transportation had probably happened at that point.
"What is it?" the Artifact Spirit noticed that William was idle once again.
"It's nothing. I don't know how I got here, it just happened." William replied.
The Artifact Spirit raised an eyebrow, but William didn't seem to be lying. Based on William's confusion, the Spirit assumed that a powerful Cultivator brought him here without providing a reason, further reaffirming his guess that the old fellows in the Spirit Ascension Sect had something to do with it.
The Artifact Spirit asked many less critical questions to William, such as what foods humans ate on Reius and the surrounding planets, and what daily life was like.
The conversation went on for a few hours, until the Artifact Spirit was completely satisfied. It promised William that nothing bad would come of him providing it this information, although it couldn't speak for its Master.
The old man pulled out a small red and blue box that was similar to the others and handed it to William. "As a token of my gratitude and a thank you for your time, please accept this small gift. While it's not much compared to the treasures you have acquired here, I believe it should be of some use to you, who has hailed from another world."
William didn't peek into the box just yet, keeping it with the silver box in his Space Ring. He bowed to the Artifact Spirit respectfully, "Thank you, Sir."
"Now, you better prepare yourself to fight with Medusa. I'll be resuming the trial in five minutes." the Spirit tipped its head forward in a nod before disappearing into thin Mana particles that flew towards a wall and disappeared from sight.
William thought about the Artifact Spirit's words as the time passed. Useful to someone from another world? I guess I'll have to see after the fight.
He prepared a few dozen Arrays since he didn't seem to be restricted, including one that covered the entire floor with a thick fog that would hopefully prevent him from being turned to stone by the giant snake.
Welcome to the 101st floor. The trial will resume in thirty seconds. Once the first enemy has been defeated, the next trial will immediately begin. This is your last chance to leave.
"As if I'm going to leave when I've come so far. Come here you snake lady, I'm going to turn you into a purse!"