The golden three-day holiday I got after midterms is over.
Just yesterday, I was dragged to the Royal Palace and came back, and then suddenly, we had to start tackling this Rift that appeared out of nowhere, so I didn’t even get to rest properly.
Luckily, there’s still the weekend left, but from the looks of it, I doubt I’ll get to relax much even then.
“Ah, Rudion! Over here!”
In front of the Student Cafeteria. I see Seria waving at me with a bright smile.
As always, it seems she arrived early and has been waiting.
It’s really strange. I’ve been trying to arrive a bit earlier each time so she doesn’t have to wait, but somehow, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
I’m starting to arrive almost 30 minutes early now, but how early is she even showing up?
Anyway, today I had something to do.
It was about checking out the inventory unlocked after tackling the Rift yesterday.
I did some experimenting on my own after returning to the dorm, but there’s only so much you can figure out in your room.
So today, I planned to slowly dissect the inventory’s functions and uses with Seria’s help.
But… for some reason, there was another very familiar figure standing next to her.
“Good morning, Rudion.”
“President. What brings you here?”
“I came to have breakfast, and Seria was standing here. We chatted a bit, and it seems you two have plans. Is that right?”
“Well, yeah…”
“Is it a date?”
What’s this? I didn’t expect such a question from Alkiné.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then, can I join?”
Since it wasn’t that kind of plan, I casually denied it, but Alkiné immediately jumped in as if she’d been waiting for it.
She said something like, “If you two have something to do, I’ll help too,” but it felt like she just wanted to tag along.
Today’s really weird. Why is she acting like this?
‘Ah, maybe she wants to repay me?’
Well, she has helped me a lot, one way or another.
If you trace it back, it’s kind of my fault for twisting the original story, but in the end, I was the one who helped resolve the situation.
“Aren’t you supposed to come by later to write a report? Let’s head back together after we’re done.”
“…Can’t I just rest on the weekend?”
“You’re already out and about like this, though.”
…Maybe her goal wasn’t to repay me but to make me work.
Still, I don’t feel like refusing. Mostly because I feel a bit guilty.
After hearing about the situation later, it seems Alkiné was really close to being in big trouble. If she had stayed at the Royal Palace just one more day, who knows what could’ve happened… Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
And honestly, it kinda feels like it’s partly my fault for provoking Diggerus… You know what I mean?
No one knows it’s my fault, so I could shamelessly walk away, but it’s not as easy as I thought.
“Alright. Let’s go together. Seria, you okay with that?”
“…Yeah. I’m fine.”
And just like that, Alkiné ended up joining the Inventory Research Club.
Alright then… First things first, breakfast.
Meeting Seria in front of the Student Cafeteria was also to grab some morning food.
We could’ve met near the dormitory, but since there was that *almost* messy incident related to the dorms before, I’m being a bit cautious.
Lately, Seria’s fandom seems to be growing, and if I give them any reason to report me, it’s just gonna be another hassle.
Actually, Seria’s more sensitive about this part, so I don’t really need to worry… but still.
“What are you thinking about? Let’s go in already.”
Hanging out like this every day is bound to cause some trouble eventually.
Well, in the end, we’re all Academy students, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal.
Snapping back to reality at Seria’s words, I head into the Student Cafeteria.
“Alkiné.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s talk later.”
“Why…?”
“Don’t play dumb. It’s obvious.”
“…Got it.”
Seria, who sent me ahead, subtly kept her distance and had that conversation with Alkiné… but since they whispered, I couldn’t hear.
///
As I mentioned before, there are quite a few unused—or rather, undeveloped—areas on the Academy grounds.
And if you dig around those places, you’ll eventually find some open spaces that can be used.
“This place seems good.”
After finishing our meal, we took a walk to digest and ended up finding a pretty wide, open area with not many trees in the nearby forest.
It’s not too far out, so there were some traces of people visiting here and there… but it’s still a secluded spot. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s gonna show up anytime soon.
Alright, let’s do this. Inventory demonstration.
First, I should probably explain it briefly.
“When I tackle the Rift this time…”
“So I got a new ability…”
“Again? Is it as useless as the last one?”
“Hey, Seria. Don’t get all worked up, just chill.”
Honestly, every time I see that snake pattern, I can’t help but laugh.
“What? There’s more?”
“Recently, I learned something weird. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but just think of it as a pretty useless ability.”
“Now you’re making me even more curious.”
“Hello? That’s not the important thing right now.”
Cutting off their chatter about useless abilities, I continued explaining.
Well, it was basically just the ability to store stuff.
I figured they wouldn’t understand if I called it an “inventory,” so I described it as a personal pocket dimension warehouse, and they seemed to get it.
As soon as I explained, Seria seemed to realize something.
“So that’s why the sword you always carried around disappeared?”
“Yep.”
The sword that always hung at my waist was pretty annoying. I had already stashed it in the inventory a while ago.
After carrying it for so long, I got used to it, so it felt a bit empty without it… but the convenience of not having it was way better. No burden is the best burden.
I didn’t have to worry about forgetting what items I stored.
Surprisingly, there was a system window just like the inventory interface in games.
I could even organize it however I wanted.
“This is totally like a game.”
Honestly, things like dodging and parrying were already game-like… but seeing it visually like this felt way more impactful.
Then, Alkiné casually asked a question.
“Pocket dimension ability, huh? I get what you’re saying, but I don’t really understand. Can you show us how it works?”
“Of course.”
That’s why I came all the way out here in the first place.
I casually pulled the sword out of the inventory.
When the sword *poofed* into existence out of thin air, Seria and Alkiné looked completely baffled.
“…It just comes out of nowhere? What’s the principle behind it?”
“How should I know?”
“If you use this in front of Grain, it’s gonna cause a scene.”
…Huh? Now that I think about it, I’m curious. How would Grain see this?
It might be no big deal, like dodging or parrying, but I won’t know until I show him.
Anyway, that’s for later. Right now, it’s about the inventory.
It was only natural that they were surprised.
The subspace pocket was just a pocket, after all, with a larger interior space than it appeared. Every time you put something in or took something out, you had to rummage through the pocket.
Even though more items could fit inside and the weight issue was somewhat alleviated, it was still just a pile of stuff.
But the inventory was different. The entire process of putting things in and taking them out was skipped, and only the result appeared.
It was a sight that completely defied common sense.
But honestly, isn’t that just normal in games?
I mean, in games, characters don’t fumble around changing clothes or rummage through their bags to pull out a sword, right?
After dodging and parrying, the inventory also showed performance that surpassed common sense, which made me really happy.
Then, Seria, who had been watching me, casually spoke up.
“…You look really happy. But there’s more to it, right? You didn’t drag me all the way here just to show me this.”
She was right. If I was only going to use the storage function of the inventory, there was no need to create such a place.
The reason I came all the way out here… was to test how far the inventory could be utilized.
‘Even though it’s a game-like function, it’s still reality.’
The inventory function itself was already cheat-like, so using it the same way as in games wouldn’t be a problem, but if there were other ways to use it, I wanted to try them out.
“Seria, can you create a magic sphere and float it for me?”
For example, could I put something other than physical objects into the inventory?
I approached the magic sphere Seria had created.
Alright, let’s start the first experiment…
*Poof!*
“Ah.”
The moment I tried to put the magic sphere into the inventory, it exploded.
I was sent flying and slammed into a tree, knocked out briefly by the unexpected shock.
“Rudion?!”
“Seria! What did you do?!”
“I don’t know! I was definitely maintaining it stably…”
In my fading consciousness, I could hear their panicked voices.
The first time I passed out in this world was because ‘the magic I tried to put into the inventory exploded.’
‘This is hilarious.’
Even though it was my own doing, it was pretty stupid.
I was too careless. I’ll have to be more careful next time.
With that thought, my consciousness faded.
And so, the great first experiment ended in a ridiculous failure.
