Chapter 79: Storage Ring
In the familiar slim, black-and-white building, Ain opened his ghost account and provided three different transmission tokens for the clerk to scan.
Out of the three transmission tokens, two were generated by trades with Goddess Nocturnal and Green Water, while the last one was from an unknown source.
Of course, only Ain could see that the source of the last package was unknown. The clerk had no access to this information. Their job was solely to scan the transmission tokens and handle the specified packages.
With three packages in hand, Ain left the Cyberspace transmission hub. Within a few minutes, he rented a nearby room, as usual, and began his measurements.
Similar to the past few trades, Green Water's package contained hundreds of Rank-2 resource samples. The moment he infused some spirit energy into the storage ring, a large number of boxes suddenly appeared all around him. It would take some effort for Ain to use Scan on all of them.
About an hour later, he neatly stacked all the small containers on the table. While maintaining contact between the stack of containers and the storage ring, Ain injected some spirit energy into the ring, causing the stack of containers to disappear.
This method had been developed to quickly store the resource samples. Originally, Ain stored each container individually, consuming more time and spirit energy. Moreover, as the number of resource samples increased, his old approach became increasingly inefficient.
Ain removed the storage ring from his finger and returned it to the package.
Compared to Green Water, Goddess Nocturnal didn't send as many resources, but those they did send were often extraordinary.
Ain had scanned various medicinal pills, potions, and resources that were unknown to him. He could still discover some information about the resources with a quick search on Cyberspace, but the medicinal pills and potions remained a mystery. He could only note down their names and ponder their effects.
He also estimated that Goddess Nocturnal leaned towards the dark, fire, and soul attributes. These attributes were common among the resources, medicines, and blood samples Ain scanned for them. This was in contrast to Green Water, whose resources varied in attributes.
In just a few minutes, Ain repackaged Goddess Nocturnal's special containers, ready to send them back.
Now that he was finished with his business, Ain turned his attention to Maximus-A's package.
As soon as he laid eyes on this package in the transmission hub, excitement and eagerness filled Ain's heart. The package was tiny, fitting in the palm of his hand, much like Green Water's package.
Ain was certain it contained a spatial storage device. The numerous AMDs provided by Maximus-A couldn't possibly fit in such a tiny package otherwise. Moreover, there was a possibility, albeit a slim one, that he could keep this spatial storage device since it was a one-way trade.
Of course, he didn't get his hopes up entirely and proceeded to open the package. The overhead white light illuminated a sturdy silver box within. Its precise design rendered the box's surface smooth and unblemished, with no visible hinges or markings.
Ain briefly observed the box and was ready to try various methods to open it. However, on his first attempt, he managed to remove a piece resembling a lid, revealing the contents of the box.
"That was unexpectedly simple," he thought, noting the box's precision design. Ain put this minor detail aside and focused on the contents of the box.
There was a silver ring embedded in a groove within the box.
"As expected, it's indeed a storage ring," Ain thought as he nodded. There were various types of spatial storage devices, but only a storage ring could fit in such a tiny box.
This silver ring was elegant and lustrous, worthy of a jewelry exhibition. The ring was pure, without etchings or designs, relying on its simplicity to stand out.
Beside the ring, there was a small booklet containing information and instructions. Ain wasn't in a hurry to hold the ring and turned to the booklet instead.
A few minutes later, he returned the booklet to the silver box and smiled at the storage ring.
This storage ring was indeed special.
When Ain retrieved items from Green Water's storage ring, he could only retrieve all the contents at once, lacking the ability to select specific items.
In his current situation, this wasn't a significant problem, but it would be a significant inconvenience if he wanted to use it for daily purposes, especially during his trips outside the city. To retrieve just one item, he would need to remove everything from the storage ring.
However, this issue only arose because of Ain's rank.
Normal spatial storage devices were designed for Rank-2 Spirit Tamers and above since they possessed divine sense, allowing them to interact with the world using their minds. Divine sense enabled them to control their spirit energy and their attacks even after they had left the body. It also allowed them to interact with spatial storage devices, choosing which items to retrieve.
Divine sense also led to the qualitative difference between Rank-1 and Rank-2 Spirit Tamer’s perceptions.
A combination of spirit energy and divine sense was necessary to fully utilize a normal spatial storage device. As a Rank-1 Spirit Tamer, Ain lacked divine sense, which is why all the items within the storage ring were ejected when he infused spirit energy.
Ain had previously researched various spatial storage devices on Cyberspace and was prepared to settle for a normal spatial storage device. However, the storage ring before him had a special function—an integrated holographic interface that allowed him to bypass the need for divine sense. This storage ring was specifically made for Rank-0 and Rank-1 Spirit Tamers.
Ain was certain that this storage ring was another gift from Maximus-A, given that Ain's search for information on spatial storage devices was easily accessible to Maximus-A. While happy with the gift, Ain couldn't help but question Maximus-A's true motives, but this doubt couldn't be resolved with his current abilities.
He didn't dwell on it for too long and picked up the storage ring.
[Name: Holographic Storage Ring]
[Grade: Grade-1]
[Attribute Traces: Space 79.239%, Metal 13.031%, Earth 0.947%, …]
The results from Scan were curious, revealing that it was a Grade-1 artifact.
Ain infused some spirit energy, causing a holographic screen to emerge from the ring, displaying a square grid with a few squares occupied by images of different devices.
Ain inferred that these were the AMDs given to him by Maximus-A. The storage ring could scan incoming items and display their images in this grid. He touched the holographic screen, pointing at one of the images. With a faint spirit energy fluctuation, an AMD suddenly appeared a few centimeters above the ring, temporarily floating in space.
Ain quickly reached out with his other hand and caught the device. It was a handheld AMD, much like the cheap one he had previously bought. After inspecting the device, he realized it was a different model from the same manufacturer.
Ain set the device aside and continued to retrieve various AMDs, ranging from handheld versions to desktop versions, and even a few that could only be safely placed on the floor.
Earlier, before he left, he had confirmed the mechanical knowledge and AMD blueprints in his ghost account. With all these advantages at his fingertips, Ain's progress with his AMD research would undoubtedly accelerate, especially compared to when he had studied the cheap AMD using his basic mechanical knowledge.
There were still a few AMDs within the storage ring, but Ain left them as they were. The process of storing items in the storage ring remained the same: he had to physically connect the item with the ring and then infuse spirit energy.
Within a minute, the room was empty once again, and all the AMDs had been placed within the storage ring.
Ain had planned to visit Liberty Firm to purchase a storage ring, but unexpectedly, he had obtained his desired item in another way.
A small smile graced Ain's face at the thought of the saved energy crystals, which would be used for different techniques and spells. However, this endeavor would take some time. Techniques and spells were scarce on Cyberspace, and most of them coincided with what was available in the academy's spell repository.
Ain hoped for new discoveries with his newfound 5-star Cyberspace access. With these thoughts, he headed towards the nearby transmission hub to return his customers' packages.
After completing the trades, his next destination was Liberty Firm. With a spatial storage device already in hand, Ain’s original purpose for visiting the store had changed.
Although he was grateful for the storage ring, it wasn’t the most ideal spatial storage device for him. Ain relied heavily on close combat in battle. A storage ring was more susceptible to damage in such circumstances, especially with his use of Spirit Impact.
When he searched on Cyberspace, personal spatial storage devices had appeared before his eyes in numerous forms such as rings, bracelets, pens, and simple geometric shapes.
The one Ain favored was a small, rectangular spatial storage device resembling a deck of playing cards. It was compact and came with a belt attachment for secure portability. But just like Green Water’s storage ring, a divine sense was required for the ease of access.
Now, Ain preferred the new storage ring for its holographic interface. Since he couldn’t wear it on his fingers, his purpose at Liberty Firm was to obtain a thin but sturdy chain, turning the storage ring into a necklace.
