I closed my eyes and allowed my senses to slowly spread through the interior of the Golem I had used to travel through the Subterranean World.
That was how I noticed Ruby’s strange condition.
She was breathing rapidly.
Her chest rose and fell at an accelerated rhythm, while an absurd amount of heat emanated from her body. The temperature of her skin had risen so much that, if I touched her at that moment, I would probably have the same sensation as touching boiling water.
I simply shook my head and sighed.
— You really know how to give me trouble...
There was not much I could do, however.
The ancient Blood Fairy lineage was, as I was beginning to realize, simply incredible.
Ruby had forcibly absorbed the blood essence of the Level 3 Acolyte during the previous battle. That enormous amount of blood energy had accumulated inside her body and, apparently, provided the fuel necessary for her to undergo another evolution.
The more blood she absorbed, the stronger she could become.
It was almost frightening.
And, considering that I still did not possess enough information about what was happening inside her body, interfering with that evolution would be foolish.
I made the shark-Golem carefully open its mouth.
Ruby was slowly expelled, without any sudden movements.
I carefully caught her body and placed her on the ground.
Then I took out a blanket and wrapped her in it, leaving her comfortably settled.
She continued breathing deeply, completely unaware of what was happening around her.
After confirming that her evolution was still proceeding normally, I turned my attention to the real reason for my excitement.
The enemy Acolyte’s corpse.
Before beginning, I rubbed my palms together.
I could not help but smile.
— Let’s see what you were carrying...
I knelt beside the body and began searching carefully.
An advanced Level 3 Acolyte should certainly possess something of value.
Even if she was extremely poor, I expected to find at least some magic books, notes, magic crystals, or materials used in experiments.
When she was still alive, she did not possess Ruby’s beauty, but she certainly had an attractive appearance. Unfortunately, the battle had been brutal.
Much of her skin was torn, and countless scars and wounds covered her body.
Despite that, her clothes and equipment had survived surprisingly well.
My first find was a ring.
It was on the Acolyte’s right-hand finger.
I picked it up and immediately channeled my mana.
A deep blue glow appeared on the surface of the object.
It was similar to the blue of ocean waters.
— Biochip, analyze this item.
[Beep!]
The Biochip spent a few moments analyzing the ring’s composition, identifying its magical structure, the materials used in its manufacture, and, most importantly, the mana circuit responsible for its activation.
Then, finally, the report appeared.
[Analysis complete.]
[Object: Marine Bone Armor Ring.]
[Classification: Magical Artifact.]
[Grade: Low.]
[Main Attribute: Water.]
[Function: Defense.]
[Description: The artifact can use the energy stored within its magical core to instantly manifest an armor composed of the bones of sea creatures.]
[The armor is formed from countless bone structures resembling spikes, creating an extremely resistant defensive layer.]
[Energy Consumption: Variable according to damage received.]
I remained silent for a few seconds.
Then my eyes lit up.
Although the Water element had no relation to my elemental affinity, that did not mean I could not use the artifact.
As long as there was energy stored inside the ring, I could force it to function.
And, according to what the Biochip had shown, that armor was more resistant than the one I currently wore.
Besides, it was considerably lighter.
I held the ring with both hands.
I could not contain my happiness.
Finally, something useful!
I gave the ring a few kisses before putting it on my finger without any hesitation.
After that, I continued searching.
The second item was the dark-blue shoes the Acolyte had been wearing.
I removed them and immediately ordered:
— Biochip, analyze.
[Beep!]
[Analysis complete.]
[Object: Marine Traversal Boots.]
[Main Material: Magical Whale Skin.]
[Secondary Material: Bone Root.]
[Grade: Low.]
[Classification: Magical Artifact.]
[Effect: Walking on Water.]
[Description: The user can freely walk on fresh or salt water.]
[Waves, currents, aquatic creatures, and water pressure do not impede the user’s movement.]
[Under suitable conditions, the user can cross large bodies of water as if walking on solid ground.]
I was impressed.
This is really good...
With those boots, crossing rivers or even certain seas would be practically trivial.
I could walk across the surface of the water without needing to swim, build a bridge, or use magic to cross it.
Unfortunately...
I looked at the shoes.
Then I looked at my own feet.
They were feminine.
Even so, I tried.
I released the steel boots from my mechanical armor, revealed my feet, and tried to put one of them on.
I pushed.
I tried again.
I switched feet.
Even so, it did not work.
I stared at the boot in silence.
It definitely did not fit.
I sighed and set the shoes aside.
Perhaps Ruby would be interested in them.
I carefully stored them for later.
The third item was much stranger.
A small nose piercing.
I picked it up between my fingers.
— Analyze this item as well.
[Beep!]
[Analysis complete.]
[Object: Atmospheric Recovery Piercing.]
[Attribute: Air.]
[Grade: Low.]
[Magical Effect: Self-Recovery.]
[Effect: The elemental energy of the air is slowly absorbed by the artifact and converted into recovery energy.]
[Recovery Interval: Approximately fifteen minutes.]
[Observation: Efficiency depends directly on the purity of the environment and the user’s condition.]
I became thoughtful.
It was not an extraordinary artifact.
But it was not useless either.
I touched the piercing with my finger.
Common healing potions had their limitations. Depending on the type of injury, they could only treat external damage or relatively simple wounds.
In a truly desperate situation where I had no resources, that small artifact could make the difference between living and dying.
I continued searching.
This time, I found the belt.
It was a much more luxurious piece of equipment than anything else I had found up to that point.
The surface was carefully crafted, and several strange runes were engraved on the inside.
I held the belt and began examining them.
Eleven runes.
I recognized only four.
The other seven were completely unknown to me.
I frowned.
— Biochip, analyze this luxurious belt.
[Beep!]
[Scan complete.]
[Object identified: Storage Belt.]
[Category: Spatial Artifact.]
[Grade: Low.]
[Magical Runes Detected: 11.]
[Ten runes correspond to the internal space activation system.]
[The eleventh rune possesses a spatial stabilization function.]
[Activation method identified.]
[Recommended pronunciation: "Aruun. Velka. Soren. Ith. Malek. Tura. En. Vash. Ruun. Elya."]
I blinked.
— So that’s it...
Following the information transmitted by the Biochip, I began slowly pronouncing the ten magical runes.
— Aruun... Velka... Soren... Ith... Malek... Tura... En... Vash... Ruun... Elya.
As soon as I finished the pronunciation, I felt a small disturbance in my mana.
I sent my senses into the interior of the belt.
And then...
I stopped.
There was a space.
A small spatial space was hidden around the waist area.
Dozens of objects floated silently inside that dimension.
I analyzed it again.
There was no mistake.
It really was a storage space.
I almost shouted.
I had coveted a treasure like that for a long time.
A storage waist pouch was relatively common among Acolytes, but this was different.
An ordinary pouch simply served to transport objects.
It did not eliminate the weight of the stored items.
Furthermore, it could not completely isolate the magical fluctuations emitted by the objects.
A spatial artifact, on the other hand, was much more convenient.
Even though it was considered a low-grade spatial item, anything stored inside it no longer exerted its weight on the user.
And, more importantly...
The magical fluctuations of the stored objects were isolated.
No one could simply look at me and realize that I was carrying dozens of magical items.
This is a treasure.
I discreetly looked at Ruby.
She was still lying inside the blanket, completely motionless, breathing slowly while her evolution continued.
I immediately hid the belt beneath my waist pouch.
This precious treasure could not be exposed.
Even among Pseudo-Mages, possessing a true spatial item was not something guaranteed.
And I had obtained one during my very first battle in the Subterranean World.
Not bad...
After making sure several times that there were no more magical artifacts hidden in the Acolyte’s corpse, I finally began checking the contents of the belt.
I took the objects out one by one.
First...
Seven Level 3 magical crystals, which amounted to about 7,000 magical crystals.
Then I found a notebook.
Judging by its appearance, it seemed to contain notes related to magical spells.
I carefully set it aside.
The next object was even stranger.
A fish.
It appeared to be perfectly preserved, but there was a magical structure surrounding its body.
The Biochip quickly confirmed that it was a material used in special magical spells.
Next, I found a communication crystal.
Then, a wooden staff.
It was approximately the length of my arm.
I held it and examined its surface, a reagent for the construction of staffs.
I continued.
Then I found a small piece of metal.
I picked it up.
Mithril...
It was approximately the size of my thumb.
Mithril was an extremely valuable magical material.
Even that small amount could be useful.
Lastly, I took out a small wooden statue.
I observed it carefully.
It was a simple figure, similar to the statues used by priests in certain rituals.
Then I quickly stored everything away again.
...
1609 Words
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