The Infons

"That's it, anyway, I'll see you in the morning." After closing the door, Alex teleported to the grand architectural marvel of the dwarves, Dwargon. A subterranean kingdom renowned for its masterful engineering. As he wandered through its vast halls, he remained completely undetected due to his advanced manipulation of magical energy, rendering even the most powerful individuals oblivious to his presence.

The craftsmanship fascinated him. Across various worlds, dwarves exhibited a consistent affinity for intricate underground construction. Whether in this world or in Middle-Earth, their traits, cultural tendencies, and architectural styles bore striking similarities.

"It seems like they follow a universal template based on previously established information structures. What do you think, Lily?" Alex mused.

"Pretty much. You're aware that energy throughout the Nexus is constantly recycled, right? The same applies to information, it persists and reshapes its expression. It depends on accessibility and processing. This world, in particular, operates on an information-based framework, similar to computational data structures. Here, they refer to it as Infons, though in the context of real-world physics, it could be likened to subatomic particles," Lily explained.

"Yeah, I already got the gist of it. Ultimately, all worlds function under similar principles, just with different methodologies. In terms of manipulating said particles, it's also different."

With that, Alex conducted a comprehensive scan of Dwargon, mapping even its concealed subterranean sections, and created a perfect miniature replica for his collection. His exploration extended further as he teleported across different realms, systematically documenting and preserving legendary locations, including: **El Dorado, The Golden City, **The Fairy Labyrinth, **The Divine City of the Holy Empire of Lubelius, **The Sorcerous Dynasty of Thalion's Divine Tree, **The Palaces and auxiliary structures in the Heaven Realm, including the floating islands.

For each location, he meticulously duplicated structures and artifacts, excluding the inhabitants, before compressing them into miniatures and within his Universe Ring.

Returning to Tempest, Alex spent the remainder of the night exploring his self-contained Ring World alongside Lily. The world had reached a stable developmental stage, with thriving ecosystems and flourishing intelligent races of his own design.

The third generation of these beings had emerged, demonstrating autonomous intellectual evolution. Without direct guidance from Alex or Lily, they had begun formulating mathematical principles, devising written languages, and sharing knowledge organically.

While Alex had embedded fundamental survival knowledge, innate magical abilities, and core concepts of the natural world, he had deliberately refrained from introducing advanced sciences, predefined writing systems, or external cultural elements, allowing their societies to progress independently and develop unique identities.

Lily had also created a domain of her own within the Flower Valley, which had grown into a miniature kingdom. What started as a modest home had expanded into a grand castle, complete with fairy guards and servants.

"You've been busy building this place, huh?" Alex teased.

"Of course! You're not the only one who gets to play kingdom-builder," Lily replied with a smirk.

"Haha, I know. Just don't go attacking other races, okay?" Alex chuckled.

"What do you take me for? A lunatic? Fairies are a peaceful race. I haven't taught them anything violent, they just learned how to defend themselves against curious birds on their own," Lily explained.

"Is that so? Just put up some warding barriers. It's fine to keep this place isolated," Alex suggested.

"Okay, I'll do that."

As dawn approached, Alex returned to his room in Tempest, while Lily remained in Min Heimer.

At dawn, Alex met Rimuru once more and presented him with a small crystalline artifact, embedded with flowing runes and infused with a fraction of Origin Energy.

The crystal was programmed to enable five round-trip teleportations between this world and Japan, but it was uniquely attuned to Rimuru alone.

"Listen carefully: only you can use this. It will not respond to anyone else," Alex cautioned. "Also, you can stay for a day in another world and you may only acquire items from Japan through legitimate means, such as trade or purchase. Any action that disrupts the world's stability could lead to severe consequences, and the Voice of the World will forcibly eject you."

"Understood! Thank you, Alex! Seriously, I can't thank you enough! I promise to use it sparingly," Rimuru said, bowing deeply in gratitude.

"You'd better. I won't be giving you another one," Alex responded with a smirk, returning the bow.

Though Alex possessed vast knowledge of past events up to the moment he accessed the Universal Core, he remained uncertain about future developments, unless they aligned with narratives he had previously encountered in his primary universe.

While he was aware of some formidable adversaries in Rimuru's future, he chose not to interfere, recognizing their role in Rimuru's personal growth and evolution.

With a final, reassuring pat on Rimuru's shoulder, Alex encouraged him to continue progressing before opening a dimensional passage leading to his wife's location.

Meanwhile, Rimuru, too enthralled by his new artifact, examined the crystal with gleaming eyes, oblivious to a crucial detail, his system skill, Raphael, remained silent.

Unbeknownst to him, Alex had subtly manipulated the Infons upon their initial interaction, embedding a restriction that prevented Raphael from disclosing any information about Alex's true nature.

Alex stepped into a clearing where Arwen, Maleficent, and Eira were gathered. The moment he arrived, the little one immediately sensed his presence and rushed toward him excitedly.

"Oh! Careful. Have you been good?" Alex caught Eira and placed her on his shoulder.

"Yup! I've been good. Where is sister Lily, Papa?"

"Oh, she's busy with something."

"Hmm... anyway, we had so much fun while you were away!" Eira boasted, gesturing dramatically with her hands.

"Aww... are you trying to make Daddy jealous?" Alex asked, feigning heartache.

"Hehe! Daddy should take me with him next time you travel!" Eira suggested playfully, revealing her true intention.

"I don't know... maybe someday, okay? Otherwise, your mother and your friends here will be sad if you're gone too long," Alex coaxed.

"Okay, are visits fine?" Eira compromised.

"Absolutely. I promise," Alex assured her, handing her to Maleficent.

He then approached Arwen, embracing and kissing her, making her blush.

"Stop it, the baby is here!" Arwen bashfully pushed Alex away.

Alex glanced at Eira in Maleficent's arms, who was grinning mischievously. The baby had her hands covering her eyes, but the gaps between her fingers were wide enough to peek through, making the adults burst into laughter.

"What about Lily?" Arwen asked.

"She's inside," Alex replied, raising his index finger.

"So, how was your trip, my love?" Arwen inquired.

"It went well. Let's sit first."

With a gesture, Alex conjured a table and chairs, laden with food. As they ate, he narrated his journey and displayed the newest additions to his collection.