Calling it a reinforcement was quite generous in his opinion. He had expected an army or at the very least a unit, but the one coming was just an oxcart driven by three men, accompanied by Hiina for whatever reason. But because he didn’t participate in the fight with the cultists anymore, he only paid attention to the bunch of equipment and food on the back. He planned to leave tomorrow morning, so at least he could get another five-star meal from Dakrua. It was funny that the name of the chef was included in the description of the food, similar to the Schallin Rice Ball back then. What would happen then if Dakrua seasoned a Schallin Rice ball? Would the name become Dakrua Schallin or Schallin Dakrua whatsoever? It would be hilarious if it turned out to be that way.
Without him even needing to remind Hiina, she just rummaged through the pile and threw his way three pieces of equipment: a green and silvery sheen robe, a pair of gray pants, and a pair of black ankle height treads. Zalanir had assumed only getting another piece of light armor, so the two bonus pieces had changed the woman’s image in his head. She remained a crazy one who only talked about killing, but now came with an attached vibe of generosity.
The treads were the best of the bunch. They just hugged his feet tightly while presenting themselves like foam whenever he stepped onto a hard surface. Whether it was the ground or a stone, there is always a tender layer pushing up and supporting his feet. Not only in the feeling test, they also gave the most stats, further proving their superior value.
[Treads of Durability] — Uncommon: A pair of treads made from the skin of a mountain goat to aid in climbing up rough terrain. +4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Endurance.
Requirements: Level 30+
[Initiate Robe] — Common: A robe made for battlemages who start their climb in the magical world. + 2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, +2 Mystique.
[Padded Breeches] — Common: Suitable for someone who prefers to get into a brawl thanks to their durable materials. +2 Constitution, +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity.
The pants were clearly not designed for him, but having one with bonus stats was better than his current plain, useless one. His gears were obviously under-leveled. For someone close to peak D-grade like him, wearing starter equipment was just a joke. He remembered making a mental note to prioritize getting rich, but not even once had any situation presented him with such a chance. Killing monsters just didn’t drop coins like in online games.
A job. He needed a job. Hopefully, he could get a decent one in Yebin. Perhaps even becoming an enforcer might not be that bad, considering Hiina just gave him three pieces of equipment like it was nothing. They must’ve been rich as hell to toss them out like that.
At least he still got that 30 coins from the back when he was asked to join the raid on the anthill, and from that spear simp. That equaled a common hat that he was still lack—
What? Where is it?
Name: Zalanir Forthern
Level: 45
Race: [D] Human - Origin: ?
Health Points (HP): 1515/1515
Mana Points (MP): 1675/1675
Stamina: 230/230
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 14
Endurance: 15
Constitution: 72
Intelligence: 143
Mystique: 140
Awareness: 50
Spirit: 96
Free Points: 0
Coins: 0
Zalanir was just checking his General tab, hoping to console himself, when he noticed that his coins were gone. He changed tabs several times, hoping that it was just a System bug, but gave up after a minute and accepted that they had truly vanished.
Thinking back, how did the System even register how much wealth he had? He got that one silver coin from the plump man whose name he had forgotten and two from Lithma, and then when he checked, the number of coins was just there in the General tab. Did the System add it retroactively based on whether he still possessed the money or not? If that was the case, had he dropped the silver coin somewhere?
Fuck! There was no way he could let this slip. While still cursing internally, Zalanir turned to the chef, who was busy taking all the ingredients off the oxcart. Some packages looked heavy, but Dakrua handled them without any trouble.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Do you have a silver coin with you? Can I borrow it for a moment, please?”
Out of nowhere, and without hesitation, the chef flicked one into the air and toward his spot. As soon as the coin lay in the palm of his hand, Zalanir pulled out the General tab again, but nothing had changed. As expected.
“I’m sorry if this is too sudden, but can you gift me this coin? I will give it back right after, so don’t worry,” Zalanir asked, worrying if this might be too bothersome—
“Haha. Are you perhaps testing anything related to money? What is it? I consider myself rather knowledgeable about this stuff and can give you a few words.”
Scratching his head, Zalanir didn’t know whether it was his intention being too clear, or if the chef was just too sharp in reading the situation. He didn’t want others to know that he had no money, but seemed like he had to tank this embarrassment.
“You got me.” Zalanir tried to laugh the shame away and focused on getting the best out of the situation. He had no idea how this worked, so why not take advantage of having someone willing to tell him, like Dakrua? It could be free info, and unlike the case with Djaxinz, he had no money — existing or incoming — that could be stolen as a fee, so there was no reason to hold back. “I lost all my coins, but I don’t know how. The last time I checked, they were still there in the tab, but now they are all gone.”
“Where did you keep them?”
“In my pocket? I don’t remember exactly where, though. It’s been a long time ago.”
“So you lost your spatial pocket? What item did it tag to?”
“Spatial pocket? You mean something that can store items beyond its size?” Zalanir had been wondering if something like this existed in this world. It had always been his dream — every kid’s dream — of having one like Doraemon’s that could store infinite items. With the chef’s question, looked like this was basically confirmed.
“So you don’t have one. As I thought, that is certainly the case.” Dakrua dropped a bag of orange and green fractal-like vegetables onto a nearby stone table. “Spatial pockets — or dimensional pockets, or storages, whatever you want to call them — are items that help you store many things inside their space. Each has its own limit to how many items it can carry at a time. The worst capacity is ten, while the highest quality one that I have heard of could amass up to a thousand spaces.”
“Space? Not items?” The last word confused Zalanir.
“Yes, because it wouldn’t make sense to treat a bed and a silver coin the same, right? Items with bigger size require more space. It’s that simple. Though money is an exception, and that is why people deposit their wealth into one. No matter if you have one or one hundred silver coins, they would only take up one space. But if you have a gold coin, then that would count separately.”
“And I suppose the System counts everything and displays the total number on the General tab?”
“Correct. As long as the money is yours, it will be counted.” Dakrua nodded while continuing to take the food supply off of the cart. Zalanir had offered to help, but the man just refused.
“How does the System determine which is whose?”
“No one knows. Just like what confused you in the first place with the coin I gave you, I suppose? The reason you asked me to gift it to you is to test it out, isn’t it? I’m sure you have noticed, but even though the coin is in your hand now, it is still counted as mine.”
Zalanir gave the coin back to the man, and it vanished immediately, likely into the man’s spatial pocket.
“Where could I get one of those?”
“The common and low-quality one? Just buy it from any merchant. As for the rarer ones that are tagged onto a better item, you can try your luck at an auction or, on the off chance that you find a pocket maker, ask them to make you one.”
“Where could I find one of those pocket masters? Is there one in Yebin?”
“Haha, if we had, then Yebin would be a top tier city already. No, there are only two of them in our lands, and both of them are in the capital.”
“I’m sorry, but this is the last question. I wouldn’t bother you any longer after this. You said that the spatial pocket needed to tag onto an item, then what would happen if said item is destroyed?”
“I don’t really know how it works, but unless you find a way to repair the item, then the spacial pocket is gone. And obviously, you lost every item stored inside. Which is why the rarest dimensional pockets are tagged to jewelry, as they are most of the time not in the line of fire.”
“Okay, the real last question. Can a spatial pocket exist without tagging onto an item?”
“No.” The man shook his head without any hesitation.
“Thank you so much for everything. Did someone ever say your explanation is really simple and easy to understand?”
“Plenty.”
Zalanir saw him laughing and walking off to prepare the meal with gratitude. Perhaps the enforcers weren’t all bad and heartless, after all. Well, at least this man was, because he kept on feeding Zalanir amazing suppers without even asking for anything in return. What a saint!
***
Zalanir left the camp the next morning after a full, satisfying sleep. Thrusting himself into the wilderness again, he doubted he could find a place like this soon. He wanted to at least say good bye, but there was no one present. Perhaps they all left to go after the cultists already.
Standing outside, he had to give the camouflaged formation an applaud. He had thought that the edge of the formation would block him from entering the empty space, but no, he stepped inside without any obstruction. That was so weird and amazing at the same time. The spot he was standing on was the stone table he had had a meal just yesterday, but there was no obstruction. He went ahead and kicked the place that he knew was where the oxcart was, but his leg connected with anything but the air. Two salvos of air bolts and sound bolts later also gave him the same result. There had to be something else going on with this formation that he didn’t know. It wasn’t just simply hiding the camp inside; it was as if the whole camp was no longer here.
Took him until noon to find the river that the captain had pointed him to. He had actually almost missed it, since the snow had constructed a fluffy white layer over everything. Not to mention his reduced eyesight during this condition. Couldn’t see that far ahead under the constant showering of snowflakes. His ears, once again, were the MVP for picking up the river flowing sound when he came nearby.
This river was a large one, with a width of about five highway lanes. Ice formations formed on both sides of the river, with some broken pieces dropping and drifting onto the leisured current. Some got stuck on the riverbank or protruding rocks, partially hindering and branching the current. Random winds helped untangle the jumble sometimes, but it was actually the fish that did the heavy lifting to keep the river flowing. They seemed to love these ice formations.
Zalanir trod on the riverbank, enjoying and taking notice of the serenity of the landscape during the winter. One could never find heavy snow like this in Vietnam, so better treasuring this while he still could.
There was a cougar that had been tracing after him for quite a while, thinking that it was the predator. But when it finally burst out of a bush, Zalanir just gave it a beatdown with his bolts and shooed it away, not even bothering killing a level 41 beast.
He had seen the tall cliff from a distance, but his walk there still took about three hours or so before he got a sight of the small valley lurking at its foot. Standing at the entrance, with his back pointed to the river, Zalanir carefully observed any movement inside. If there were indeed some peak D-grades here, he would need to see through the tranquility and calmness of the white-green valley, or else he would be paying a hefty price that he wasn’t sure he could afford to.
We all have 24 hours a day. Thank you for spending some of that with me!
