Chapter 71 : Shame is subjective

When a person loses consciousness, they lose their sense of time.

Have you ever had the experience where you nodded off for a moment and suddenly time had passed by?

Because of this, the most important thing to be cautious of when using public transportation is drowsiness. You might end up going somewhere past your destination.

…So how long was I unconscious?

And while I was out, what happened that I ended up using Alkine’s lap as a pillow?

Unable to understand it, I stared blankly for a moment, when Alkine tapped my forehead.

“Wake up and move, please.”

“Yes, yes.”

Only then did I snap out of it and hurriedly get up. I then alternated glances between Seria and Alkine.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out how Alkine’s lap pillow had come to be.

If it had been Seria doing it, I could have accepted it, but Alkine? What was that about?

However, Seria and Alkine only smiled strangely at me, and didn’t seem like they were going to explain anything, leaving my questions unresolved.

Reluctantly, I decided to move on from that part. Then, suddenly, a wave of embarrassment hit me.

It was because I remembered what I had just done.

‘I was too excited.’

I should have considered the risks, as it was an uncertain situation, but I acted recklessly because I was eager to try something new.

As a result, I ended up getting knocked out by an explosion that wasn’t even that strong.

It’s not like I have much pride or anything, but still, I’ve been trying to show myself as someone who knows their way around, and it’s a bit embarrassing to end up looking so helpless.

So I decided to look away for a moment and compose myself.

“Hmm, the flowers are pretty.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Are there flowers here…?”

“No, look. This flower, which holds the color of nature, isn’t it really beautiful?”

“Rudion, that’s just grass.”

“…Aren’t you being a bit too blunt?”

“Rudion, if I accept that, there will be no end to it.”

Was that so? Now that I think about it, it might be true.

But if it were usual, I might have gone along with it a little bit.

I think they know I’m embarrassed right now, and they’re doing it on purpose.

In that case, I have no choice but to act even more shamelessly.

I turned my attention to the grass that had grown on the ground, ignoring Seria, who clearly didn’t seem interested in engaging any further.

Then, suddenly, I made eye contact with Alkine, who was still sitting in the same position as when she was using her lap as a pillow.

…Is it a bit awkward to act this way in front of Alkine? I haven’t spent that much time with her, unlike with Seria…

While I was thinking about it, Alkine gently stood up and spoke.

“It’s fine, Rudion. My mother used to say that men are always children, even when they grow up. So, I understand.”

“…Chairman. Are you making fun of me?”

“Did you catch on?”

Ugh. I have no one on my side.

It’s not like this happened because of something I did, though.

Sigh. It’s my fault for acting carelessly. Go ahead, criticize me all you want!

“Huh? Why would I criticize you for something you didn’t do?”

“I also want to ask. What is it that you’re so embarrassed about from earlier?”

So, I decided to accept it, but the response was completely different from what I had expected.

…

“The things you normally do are way more embarrassing. It’s cute… No, it’s funny, so I just teased you a bit.”

“Right. Seria is right. We can write this off as a mistake, but your usual behavior is borderline eccentric.”

It seemed like they had only noticed I was embarrassed and had been teasing me for that reason.

…What? Was I the only one embarrassed? I made a big deal out of nothing.

Of course, feeling ashamed is a matter of personal preference, and while I’m still embarrassed about making such a ridiculous mistake… no one else really thinks about it that way, so it would be a bad look if I kept making a fuss over it.

Since dragging this conversation out would only make me uncomfortable, I decided to change the topic.

First, to summarize the results of the test I conducted earlier.

“I’ll stop the experiment with storing mana. I didn’t expect it to explode like that… it’s dangerous.”

“Exactly. If I had only stored a little bit of mana, it would’ve been fine, but we nearly had a big problem.”

“Likewise, the experiment with inserting the mana sword of the chairman is also canceled.”

“Were you planning on putting that in too?”

Well… I thought that if I just put everything I could into it, it might somehow help.

Right now, I’ve gathered all sorts of things.

The most recent item I put in was a fork I stole from the student cafeteria.

I remembered the royal palace and the fork pairing, so I thought it might be useful and took it with me.

…But now that I think about it, if I just keep putting things in, could the items with mana in them explode? In the game, that never happened, right?

I can’t test it right now, but I didn’t think the items in the inventory would explode.

As I reached this conclusion, something suddenly piqued my curiosity.

“Seria, would storing an item with mana in an extra-dimensional pocket cause an explosion?”

“It depends on the conditions. The connection to the extra-dimensional space is made through a mana structure, and the material that makes up the pocket is highly susceptible to interference.”

“Right. That’s why we can’t take it into a Rift exploration.”

“Ah, speaking of that, there was a recent paper published with a theory on how to maintain an extra-dimensional spell in a Rift…”

…I wasn’t really interested anymore.

I didn’t realize it was this technical. The game never explained things this detailed.

“…Did I just hear that right? What was the prerequisite for executing that method?”

“Minimum magic must be activated three times, and you need the ability to control mana at different speeds for each magic.”

“Is that even possible?”

“I can do it.”

“……Rudion. I will rely on your abilities. I look forward to working with you.”

Alkine, who had seemed intrigued at first, soon reached the same conclusion as me.

Seria, though disappointed, agreed that it seemed to be the most efficient option.

…But I don’t think that was about efficiency.

More importantly, when did she find time to read papers like that?

I knew she had an intense academic passion for magic knowledge.

If a talented genius enjoys putting in effort, it would be Seria.

But it was just the other day that we were at the royal palace.

The thought that she was reading the latest papers even while there is a little intimidating.

Anyway, I should get back to the original topic, which has already gone off-track.

“What I wanted to ask was whether it’s possible to store an item with mana in an extra-dimensional pocket.”

“By ‘item with mana,’ you mean something like a magic stone or mana-adjusting tools, right?”

Hmm, what I had in mind were things like a magic sword or a Dragonheart… but I guess they’re similar?

“Mana bound to any material has completely different properties. The ‘bond,’ if you will? They don’t interfere with each other because of the structure, so such things can be stored in the extra-dimensional pocket without any issue.”

“…Ah, so that’s how it is? I thought magic tools had their own safety mechanisms.”

“To create a safety mechanism, you’d need to apply the theory I just mentioned.”

“Now that I think about it, that was a ridiculously foolish thought.”

Yeah.

It’s not well-known, so Alkine learned something new too.

The theory is settled. What’s clear is that the inventory has many similarities to the extra-dimensional pocket.

One key difference, though, is that unlike the fragile extra-dimensional pocket, the inventory is essentially invulnerable.

“Probably the explosion when I tried to insert mana was the result of the inventory winning in a battle against the mana.”

“Alright. Listening to Seria’s theory made my head hurt, but now thinking about it this simply, it feels much better.”

“Let’s stop with the extra-dimensional pocket talk and finish the experiment.”

If I kept digging into it, I felt like Seria would start her solo lecture, so I decided to return to the original purpose: the inventory experiment.

Actually, the things I could test on my own, I’ve already tried.

Things like the simple tricks that were possible in the game.

The most important ones when it comes to inventory tricks would probably be quickswap and cancel.

Quickswap is literally the technique of quickly swapping the item you’re holding, and it’s essentially the foundational trick of inventory manipulation.

Therefore, cancel is an application of quickswap.

Delay cancel, cooldown cancel. Whatever it is, the key is to use quickswap at the right timing.

Unlike just swapping items, canceling requires precise timing, so it’s considered a pretty high-level technique… but for me, it wasn’t a problem.

Although I didn’t have any weapons to test it out with, I figured if quickswap is possible, then it might work.

Well… of course, quickswap won’t make the damage higher, and since there’s not much benefit in canceling the delay or cooldown unless it’s PvP, it’s hardly used outside of that…

‘That’s something for a constantly growing protagonist.’

For me, it’s like the rain during a drought. I need to use it carefully.

The topic drifted a bit, but in fact, all of this is related to how it’s used in the game.

However, the reason I’m here today is not to talk about game mechanics but to see how these elements are applied to the real world and how far they are allowed.

Though it failed, trying to insert mana was part of that.

And what I’m about to test now is very dangerous.

Yeah. Dangerous.

Experimenting on whether I can put an enemy’s equipped gear into my inventory is something that could lead straight to a criminal path if I’m not careful.

But well… I’m not trying to cancel with quickswap, I’m just trying to put it in the inventory. What could go wrong?