When Lyralei announced their mission was complete, Fenix felt a rush of mixed emotions. Sure, they'd conquered the temple trials, but now his thoughts turned to home. To family. To the one person who mattered most.

Abigail. His little sister's bright smile flashed in his mind, along with her small hands clutching his arm as she whispered prayers for his safety. She'd believed in him completely - the way only someone who knew you'd die before letting harm touch them could believe.

Now he stood surrounded by treasures that could topple Province's, and all he could think about was keeping her safe from whatever political mess their family's rise to power might bring.

While his teammates scattered like kids in a candy store, hunting for ways to boost their own strength, Fenix walked straight to the utility section. He already had plenty of power thanks to his awakening and new weapons. What he needed was insurance - something to protect the person who'd given him a reason to take all these crazy risks in the first place.

The utility area was packed with artifacts that ranged from "obviously useful" to "what the heck does this thing even do?" Protective charms glowed with defensive energy, while healing tools promised medical miracles that went way beyond normal understanding.

But as he stared at the endless options, cataloging power levels his enhanced senses could detect, Fenix hit a wall. He had no clue how to actually evaluate what he was looking at. The artifacts clearly had different power levels, but without knowing how they worked or what made one better than another, he was basically playing guessing games.

"Looking for something specific?"

Elena's voice made him turn. She'd been browsing the medical section but noticed his obvious confusion.

Fenix saw his chance. Elena's medical training probably included artifact knowledge his combat education had completely skipped. "Actually, yeah. I need protection or healing stuff. For my sister," he added, the words coming out more vulnerable than he'd intended. "But I don't understand how any of this works. Grading, activation, what they actually do - I'm completely lost."

Elena's expression warmed. Her professional competence mixed with clear approval for putting family first instead of chasing personal power. "Of course! I'd love to explain. It's actually pretty fascinating once you get the basics."

She gestured for him to follow as she began moving through the section with the systematic precision of someone who actually knew what she was doing.

"Artifacts are basically humanity's greatest achievement in making energy permanent," she began, slipping into that teaching voice doctors used when explaining complex stuff to patients. "They range from combat weapons designed to kill things very efficiently, to trinkets that look harmless but give their users serious advantages."

They stopped beside what looked like a simple brass compass, though the energy radiating from it suggested it could do way more than point north.

"Most artifacts are handcrafted," Elena continued, her enhanced senses probing the compass with professional interest. "Talented artisans - human or otherwise - spend months or years perfecting each piece. The creator's skill, material quality, and technique sophistication all determine how effective the final product turns out."

She moved to another display holding a crystal pendant that pulsed with light patterns too complex to follow completely. "But some artifacts just... happen. Natural energy buildups in places where big events occurred, or materials exposed to power sources that slowly change their fundamental properties over time."

Fenix absorbed this while his enhanced awareness began making more sense of the energy patterns around them.

"Relics are the next tier up," Elena said as they approached a section where artifacts radiated power that made his newly awakened pathways tingle with recognition. "Basically artifacts that have proven their worth over extended periods - sometimes thousands of years. A relic existing today might've been made two millennia ago, but its continued function proves manufacturing quality that exceeds normal limits."

She gestured toward items that seemed to bend light around themselves, creating visual distortions that screamed "I operate on principles beyond your understanding."

"More importantly, relics typically work better than newly made artifacts of similar design. Time seems to refine their effectiveness, though whether that's gradual improvement through accumulated exposure or just superior original craftsmanship is still debated."

They passed displays ranging from obvious to completely mysterious, each representing lifetimes of accumulated knowledge and resources.

"Unlike most artifacts, relics are never deliberately created by humans," Elena explained as they reached a junction between different areas. "They emerge spontaneously through processes requiring specific combinations of materials, energy exposure, and time factors we can observe but not reliably reproduce."

The explanation made the chamber's organization click into place for Fenix. He could now identify patterns in the arrangement, recognizing that proximity often indicated similar power levels or functions.

"For grading systems," Elena continued, approaching a more densely packed area where overlapping energy fields made the air feel thick with possibility, "there are six standard grades determining both power level and rarity. Grade 6 is most common - useful items providing modest advantages without requiring significant resources or expertise to create."

She pointed toward a section where artifacts appeared relatively simple, their energy signatures obvious but not overwhelming.

"Grades 5 and 4 represent increasing sophistication and effectiveness," she said, leading him deeper where power densities made his enhanced senses work harder. "These require genuine expertise to create and typically provide advantages that could meaningfully influence combat or daily life."

As they moved through increasingly sophisticated displays, as artifacts began radiating power that challenged normal classification, Elena's voice took on tones suggesting they were entering territory where theory became less reliable than direct observation.

"Grade 3 artifacts represent serious investments of time, resources, and expertise," she said, her medical training making her focus on items that might enhance healing or protection. "Creating one typically requires master-level craftsmanship and materials difficult to acquire through normal channels. The advantages they provide can be genuinely life-changing."

They stopped beside two displays holding items whose power signatures differed noticeably despite superficial similarity.

"Grade 2 represents genuine rarity and value," Elena continued with reverence bordering on worship. "These items are typically unique or nearly so, created by individuals whose capabilities approached legendary rather than merely exceptional. Domains have changed hands over Grade 2 artifacts."

She gestured toward the more powerful item, her senses detecting energy patterns that challenged normal understanding.

"And Grade 1..." Elena's voice trailed off as she contemplated theoretical classification levels. "Grade 1 artifacts are world treasures. Maybe dozens exist, scattered across known territories and jealously guarded by powers whose strength makes open conflict inadvisable. Each represents capabilities that could influence major political balance."

The explanation hit Fenix with sudden understanding that made his awareness focus intensely on what Elena was indicating.

"These two, for example," she said, pointing to the artifacts that had drawn their attention. "The necklace radiates Grade 3 power - significant, valuable, genuinely useful for someone whose circumstances could benefit from its specific applications. The earring beside it reads Grade 4 - more powerful, rarer, possibly irreplaceable if lost or damaged."

Fenix studied both items with enhanced perception now carrying context for what he observed. The necklace appeared crafted from materials shifting between organic and metallic states, intricate engravings covering its surface with patterns suggesting deliberate design rather than decoration. The earring was smaller but radiated energy making his pathways respond more strongly, its crystalline structure creating light patterns speaking of contained power approaching the mystical.

After careful evaluation, weighing power levels against practical considerations for someone whose primary need was protection rather than enhanced capability, Fenix reached for the necklace.

"The Grade 3," he decided, prioritizing Abigail's safety over theoretical advantages that might prove irrelevant to her actual circumstances.

Elena nodded with obvious approval. "Wise choice. Grade 3 items provide genuinely significant advantages without the maintenance requirements or potential dangers higher-tier artifacts sometimes demand."

But as Fenix lifted the necklace, as it settled into his grip with familiar weight despite being completely new, Elena's expression shifted to gentle amusement mixed with instructional patience.

"Of course, you realize you still don't know what it actually does," she said with the warm humor teachers used when students grasped important concepts while missing obvious practical applications.

Fenix felt his cheeks heat as he processed her accuracy. He'd been so focused on grade classifications that he'd completely overlooked what advantages the necklace would actually provide.

"How do I find out?" he asked, embarrassed at missing something experienced users probably considered basic knowledge.

Elena laughed warmly. "Same way you learn Arts. Channel your energy into it. The creator's intentions, specific functions, activation requirements - all that transfers through direct contact."

The explanation made perfect sense once provided, though Fenix felt foolish for not recognizing such an obvious parallel.

He channelled crimson aura into the artifact with careful precision his enhanced control made possible. He deliberately avoided using mana, understanding that revealing dual cultivation would raise questions he wasn't prepared to answer.

The response was immediate and overwhelming.

Information flooded his consciousness as the creator shared knowledge invested in its creation, revealing purposes exceeding his expectations by orders of magnitude. But even more shocking was the translucent screen materializing before his vision, displaying information with systematic clarity.

ARTIFACT INSPECTION

Name: LIFEMENDER'S EMBRACE

Grade: Grade 3

Effect: Compassionate Resilience - The wearer's body becomes naturally more resilient to harm and recovers from injuries with remarkable efficiency. Heals 4x faster than normal, highly resistant to diseases and poisons, requires less rest, and ages more gracefully.

Fenix stared at the display cycling through disbelief, amazement, and desperate gratitude for serendipity guiding him toward exactly what Abigail needed most. Enhanced healing, disease resistance, improved durability - each benefit represented protection against dangers that could threaten someone whose political circumstances made her a target.

The artifact was perfect. More than perfect - exactly what he'd hoped to find but hadn't dared believe existed.

Elena noticed his smile, recognizing satisfaction from successful selection meeting specific requirements rather than impressive general capabilities. "Found what you were looking for?"

"More than I hoped," Fenix replied honestly. "This is exactly what she needs."

Elena nodded with professional satisfaction before moving away to continue her own search. Her departure left Fenix alone with discoveries extending far beyond successful artifact selection.

The translucent screen had revealed capabilities his previous understanding had never suggested were possible. Information displays providing detailed analysis, clear classification, systematic breakdown extending beyond intuitive awareness into precise technical specification.

Which made him wonder what his own mysterious artifacts might reveal under similar evaluation.

Fenix retrieved the ring and golden hair necklace he'd acquired from the throne room - items whose true nature he'd never properly investigated despite carrying them throughout temple trials. His enhanced perception had detected their obvious power, but without evaluation techniques, their specific capabilities had remained mysterious.

He channeled crimson aura into the black ring first, applying the same careful energy investment that had revealed the healing necklace's properties.

The information that appeared made him break out in cold sweat despite comfortable temperature.

ARTIFACT INSPECTION

Name: RULER'S RING

Grade: Grade 2

Effect: Infinite Inventory - Grants access to unlimited extradimensional storage through thought-based commands. Items are preserved in perfect stasis and can be instantly retrieved. Stores any inanimate organic or inorganic materials up to human-size. Soul-bound to first user upon activation.

Fenix's awareness recoiled as he processed implications challenging every assumption about what he'd been carrying without understanding. Grade 2 artifact - the kind Province's fought wars to acquire, the kind that could reshape civilizations if properly utilized.

But the ring's revelation was nothing compared to what the golden necklace displayed under systematic evaluation.

RELIC INSPECTION

Name: ******** STRAND

Grade: Grade 1

Effect: Fortune's Favor - The bearer is blessed with subtle but consistent good fortune. Fate gently guides circumstances in their favor during uncertainty - better timing, helpful encounters, serendipitous discoveries, and favorable coincidences occur naturally without the bearer's awareness.

Grade 1. Relic. World treasure. One of perhaps dozens in existence, representing power that could influence balance between major political entities.

And he'd been carrying them without understanding what treasures he had.

Fenix stared at the displays with growing understanding of how completely his ignorance had left him unprepared for what temple trials had actually provided. The items from the skeleton remains weren't just powerful - they were legendary, the kind leaders would sacrifice armies to obtain.

More disturbing was realizing he couldn't explain their acquisition to anyone who noticed. His teammates' questions about Grade 1 and 2 treasures would demand answers revealing secrets about ancestral guidance and constitutional restoration.

He quickly stored both items, understanding discretion was essential for protecting information that could compromise not just his safety but knowledge transcending individual concerns.

The healing necklace for Abigail represented exactly what he'd hoped - significant protection explainable through legitimate reward selection. His hidden treasures provided advantages that could reshape understanding of individual capability when supported by legendary resources.

But now he needed to focus on selecting Arts enhancing combat effectiveness during whatever challenges awaited beyond the temple's protection. His teammates were choosing techniques that could define their development for years, and he couldn't let opportunities pass while processing revelations about treasures whose value exceeded his previous comprehension.

Around him, the chamber's accumulated knowledge waited to be claimed by those who'd proven worthiness through surviving trials that eliminated everyone lacking sufficient determination to face impossible odds.

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