WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈
Chapter 79: Gift (2)
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Minos had been extremely excited upon hearing the account. He had wanted to repay the debt he owed Gerik for saving his life somehow, and just the right item had appeared.
『At first, I had many concerns. I wondered whether I should ask the head of the family for help to secure this listing.』
It clearly looked like the sort of item that would require a large sum at auction.
But for Gerik, who had asked him to keep the ring secret, Minos refused the family's help and tried to win the item through his own means.
『Hehe... But I was lucky! It was only a component of damaged equipment, and perhaps because the starting bid was high, nobody else placed a bid!』
As the sole bidder, Minos had been able to win the item with the funds he had on hand.
『I won it for only a little more than the value of the gem. So please don't feel burdened, and make good use of it.』
'...It was worth saving him even if it meant giving up my secret.'
It was a reward Gerik had never expected, and he felt satisfied. He sat for a while, staring at the letter and box. Then, after collecting himself, he carefully reached for the box.
Click.
Gerik cautiously opened the lid. Inside, a diamond shone with a brilliant light.
Hoping against hope, Gerik picked up the diamond and opened his Status Window.
[?? ??'s Diamond]
『Type: ??? (Damaged)』
『Grade: ???』
『Effect: ???』
"Oh...!!"
He had expected it after Minos's explanation, but when it truly turned out to be a component of the ring, Gerik cheered.
With an excited expression, Gerik immediately brought the diamond toward Skyler's Quintet.
Click!
With a pleasant sound, the gem joined with the ring as if being drawn into it. Gerik eagerly checked the newly restored ability.
[Skyler's Quintet (Skyler's Quintet)]
『Type: Ring (Damaged)』
『Grade: ???』
『Effects』
* Guardian Barrier (3rd Circle/Passive: Once per day, deflects physical attacks in an emergency)
* Severe Injury
* Invisibility (3rd Circle/Active: Once per day, lasts 30 minutes. Cancelled by vigorous movement)
* Subspace Storage (5th Circle/Active: Can store items within a limit of 1 m³)
* ???
『Note: Want to become a great thief who can even loot a dragon's lair? Just cover yourself from head to toe in items that can fool even dragons. That's all. - Skyler the Great Thief -』
'...This is!'
Gerik's eyes widened as he read the astonishing gem's ability. It could store items in a square subspace one meter wide, one meter long, and one meter high, roughly one cubic meter in volume.
'This is practically an inventory!!'
It was the kind of ability protagonists in novels and games from his past life often acquired. Having gained it himself, Gerik felt as if he had truly become the protagonist of this world.
'With this... I'll be free from all kinds of restrictions...!!'
Even after thinking for only a moment, Gerik could already imagine countless uses for it.
Not only could he store valuables, but he could also carry essential yet heavy and low-value supplies without concern, such as sleeping bags, food, and drinking water.
'Could there be a more useful ability for an adventurer who camps often?'
Excited, Gerik decided to test the ring at once. His first target was the sleeping bag in the corner of the room. It was essential for camping, but its bulk had always weighed on him.
Hummm...!!
When Gerik directed the ring's power at the sleeping bag, the space around the ring began to ripple and distort like heat haze.
About a minute passed. The sleeping bag slowly shrank along with the rippling space. Once it had completely shrunk, it was drawn into the ring.
"Whoa..."
Though it had taken some time, Gerik was satisfied with the result. He raised the ring with a pleased expression and inspected the diamond.
'Oh... There's something inside the gem...!'
Interestingly, the tiny form of the shrunken sleeping bag was visible inside the diamond. It seemed items were stored within this gem.
'That's amazing. Let's try taking it out.'
This time, Gerik designated a location and wished for the sleeping bag to come out. The ring rippled again, and about a minute later, the sleeping bag emerged.
'It's a little disappointing that it takes time.'
As his excitement faded somewhat, he began to notice the limitations. It was certainly convenient, but the fact that storing and retrieving items each took a minute bothered him.
He could overlook it for bulky items, but if even small things took that long, it would be quite wasteful.
'Wait... What happens if I use Subspace Storage while the small items are inside a box?'
As an idea flashed through his mind, Gerik acted without hesitation.
'Put these in here...'
Gerik opened a small box in the corner of the room and neatly packed several camping items inside. Then he brought the ring close and used Subspace Storage.
'It works?!'
Surprisingly, the trick worked without issue.
Seeing that, Gerik was certain that if he sorted small items by purpose and grouped them into boxes, he could easily make up for the time it took to store and retrieve them.
'Since I'm doing this anyway...'
Thrilled, Gerik began organizing all the camping supplies piled up in his room. He intended to keep only the bare minimum on hand and store everything else in the ring.
"Huh...?!"
After storing most of the miscellaneous items, Gerik tried to put away the magic lamp he had bought from the mage recently.
Crackle...!!
But for some reason, when he tried to store the low-grade magic tool in the ring, the rippling space became unstable and crackled, behaving differently from before.
"Wait... Stop...!!"
It was obviously a bad sign, so Gerik quickly stopped trying to put the magic item into the ring.
Startled, he picked up the ring and lamp, then checked their Status Windows to make sure neither had been damaged.
'Did the magic item cause the problem...?'
Fortunately, neither was damaged, but what he had just seen sent a chill through Gerik.
'...It's scary, but I need to experiment more.'
That single incident was not enough to determine whether the magic lamp and ring were incompatible or whether Subspace Storage simply could not hold magic items.
After thinking for a moment, Gerik gritted his teeth and decided to test the enchanted waterskin he had bought from the magic shop recently.
Crackle...!! Crackle...!!
When he tried to store the waterskin, ominous spatial ripples appeared again.
Gerik hurriedly stopped trying to put it away, then checked the waterskin and ring through the Status Window once more to make sure nothing was wrong.
'It's certain. It can't store artifacts with magic in them.'
It seemed the magic placed on the subspace and the magic residing within an artifact clashed, causing a rejection.
'Wait... The healing potion I put in earlier went in just fine...'
Gerik was confused. Healing potions could be stored despite also being magic items, while artifacts could not.
'...Maybe healing potions don't absorb naturally dispersed mana?'
Unlike artifacts, which consumed their stored magic and then absorbed mana spread through nature to replenish it, healing potions were items whose power was gone for good after being used once.
Based on his experiments, Gerik became certain that whether an item replenished mana was the difference between the two kinds of magic item.
'Well... It's a little disappointing, but this is still more than enough.'
His disappointment did not last long. Gerik considered the subspace valuable enough even as it was.
Setting aside the magic items he could not store, he organized all the remaining odds and ends in his room and put them into the ring.
In the end, all that remained on Gerik's person were his weapons, waterskin, a small number of healing potions for emergencies, and some simple rations. He was very satisfied with how much lighter he had become.
'The capacity of one cubic meter is surprisingly large.'
Pleased by the spacious capacity, Gerik headed to the mage's workshop like a boy going to buy a new toy.
Once there, Gerik selected items without hesitation. The reason he had not bought many healing potions before was because he worried they might break or be lost. Now that he had Subspace Storage, that was no longer a concern.
So he bought as many healing potions as he could with the outstanding balance from their previous transaction and stored them in the subspace.
They were also the only magic items that could be stored in the subspace without trouble, leaving him even less reason to hesitate.
'Let's stock up on miscellaneous goods too!'
Gerik was so delighted with his new toy that, seeing there still seemed to be space left, he began clearing out the general store as well.
For several days, he carefully bought camping supplies such as dried rations, clean cloth, and oil. Only after storing them for quite some time was he able to fill the entire one-cubic-meter capacity.
'Good. Preparations are complete.'
Once his shopping frenzy of several days came to an end, Gerik felt his heart lift with a sense of security. He could barely stand waiting to put his newly acquired subspace ability to use.
So, without even resting, he decided to set out on an expedition the very next day.
The next day.
Leaving the inn feeling much lighter, Gerik found himself humming from the sense of security.
Perhaps because the bundle that had always weighed on his shoulders was gone, his steps felt incredibly light.
'This really is convenient.'
Other than his armor and weapons, he carried no heavy items at all. Gerik was enjoying the satisfaction that brought as he walked down the street when...
'...Hm?'
A strange sensation suddenly caught Gerik's Perception. It was an unpleasant gaze, as though someone were discreetly watching him.
'What is it?'
Irritated, Gerik followed the sensation and turned his head. There, he saw a beggar crouched at the side of the road.
Flinch.
For some reason, when the beggar met Gerik's eyes, instead of asking him for alms, they trembled and quickly lowered their gaze, turning away.
'...That's strange.'
The beggar's odd behavior made Gerik both suspicious and uncomfortable. But it was not as though he could confront them.
'I can't just ask, "Who are you?" out of nowhere.'
It was only natural for a beggar to look people over and choose someone suitable to beg from.
Besides, with guards glaring along the main road, Gerik could not grab a beggar by the collar and pick a fight without clear cause. He swallowed his unease and walked on.
'I'll let it go for now, but...'
He had no proof, but Gerik could clearly sense the beggar's discreet spying through his enhanced Perception. Still, after a moment, he reassured himself and left.
'Has my Perception increased so much that I'm picking up unnecessary information too?'
His senses had become twice as sharp as before through his Psionics awakening and promotion. Gerik told himself he simply was not yet used to them.
* * *
After leaving Stonecreek behind, Gerik walked for some time. Once the city faded from view, he felt the irritating sensation quickly disappear.
'...I can finally breathe.'
Perhaps because of that, his tension eased and his heart grew calmer. With a lighter mind, he quickened his steps once more.
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