novelraw Chapter 66 : Spatial Magic
Chapter 66 : Spatial Magic
Rozelite casually pulled the sword free.
It had been easier than pulling up a radish.
Russell thought it made no sense.
“This wasn’t some Sword in the Stone or a meowing hammer with identity verification built in.
Even if it had identity recognition, it should have recognized me, right?”
He stared at the skill slot where 【Hero (False)】 still hung.
“Tell me, aside from helping the author stretch the word count, what had that skill actually done so far? If it’s supposed to be a plot seed, it was planted way too early. Use it already!”
Despite his reluctance, Rozelite really had pulled the sword out.
They waited a moment, but no lake-maiden in sexy sleepwear leapt out to proclaim Rozelite the Chosen One, so Russell could only turn and ask, “Do you feel anything? Like strength being channeled from inside you, or suddenly seeing a virtual panel with numbers…?”
“No, nothing,” Rozelite said, puzzled.
“It’s just a normal sword.”
She fumbled for a comparison.
“If I had to say, it’s a bit lighter than the sword I use.”
“Lighter?”
Russell recalled how he had tried and—even with 【Mana Reinforcement】 active—couldn’t budge the thing. That didn’t match Rozelite’s description at all.
So what was the problem with this sword?
He examined the blade in her hand carefully.
The sword was silver all over. The hilt and blade were slightly longer than a typical one-handed sword but shorter than a two-hander. There were no extravagant ornaments—plain and unremarkable in appearance. No visible embedded magic stones.
“Do you mean it’s lighter than your usual one-handed sword?”
Russell asked.
“Yes.” Rozelite nodded.
“That’s absurd,” Russell said.
“Just judging by size, it should be heavier than yours.”
“Maybe so…”
Rozelite weighed the silver sword lightly in her palm.
“But it really does feel light. It doesn’t even feel like iron—more like wood. It’s effortless to lift.”
Weird.
“Let me try.”
Russell extended a tentacle.
Rozelite handed the silver sword to him as casually as before.
His tentacle wrapped around the hilt and tried to lift it, but as before, the blade didn’t move an inch no matter how hard he pulled.
“Mr. Slime?”
Rozelite blinked; she had never felt Russell exerting any real force.
“This is not scientific,” Russell muttered.
He checked Rozelite’s status panel.
【Name: Rozelite Othinus】
【Race: Human】
【Level: 44】
【HP: 26315/27135】
【Status: Symbiosis】
【Skills: Court Etiquette lv6, One-Handed Sword Mastery v6, Ballroom Dance v6, Poetry Recitation Iv4, Instrument Mastery (Lyre) Iv5, Short Sword Mastery Iv4, Eagle Eye v5, Death Mark lv7, Mana Reinforcement lv6, Dagger Mastery lv2, Weak Point Aim v1, Tracking v1, Stealth lv5, Godspeed Sword lv2, Rapid Movement lv4, Poison Resistance v5, Underwater Breathing lv5, Heat Resistance v4, Cold Resistance Iv4, Corrosion Resistance v4】
Her HP bar had lengthened again.
When he had devoured the Tentacle Monster, he’d thrown all leftover numbers at Rozelite to round things out, and her level-up had raised stats further. Now her entry in the panel looked almost as long as his own.
Aside from that, her 【One-Handed Sword Mastery】 and 【Godspeed Sword】 had somehow upgraded—likely from frequent use. With those gains, her stat entry was nearly catching up.
Still, nothing obvious explained the sword’s behavior.
As Russell puzzled, Rozelite suddenly noticed something.
“Mr. Slime, look—there’s something on that skeleton’s finger.”
“Oh?”
Russell followed her gaze and finally noticed a simple ring on the left index finger of the bony hand; its color blended so closely with the bone that he had missed it earlier.
“Don’t act rashly.”
Russell said as he reached out with a tentacle to touch it.
Nothing dramatic happened. The ring slipped off the bone easily. After brushing away dust, it looked to be made of a material almost identical to the silver sword—perhaps the same material. Plain, uninscribed, just an ordinary iron ring.
Who would wear an iron ring on a finger like that?
Russell concentrated and tried to inject mana into the ring.
In the next instant, an image flashed in his mind: a small, clear space about two meters across—square and stable. It was empty except for a single floating scroll.
The scroll was pale yellow, tied with a thin red cord, and preserved in remarkably good condition.
Russell willed his consciousness toward the scroll, and without warning the scroll instantaneously manifested on the tentacle holding the ring.
“Mr. Slime?”
Rozelite stared in surprise.
“Holy—”
Russell was stunned.
“This thing is... a Storage Ring?!”
“What’s a Storage Ring?”
Rozelite asked.
“It’s—basically something that compresses a space into a tiny object. Like this ring: it looks small, but inside it’s a space where things can be stored. That scroll just came out of that space.”
“Mr. Slime means… spatial magic?”
Rozelite guessed.
“Not sure of the exact term, but yes—something like that.”
Russell inspected the scroll on his tentacle and scanned the reservoir to confirm there was nothing else.
“Let’s leave for now and see what this scroll says,” he suggested.
“All right.”
Rozelite took a deep breath and swam upward.
She quickly found the well opening she had descended through earlier. Climbing out returned them to the third floor of the swamp labyrinth; the expected trap of the layer closing off and preventing escape did not occur—everything was normal.
Back on dry ground, Rozelite drew a long breath. The stench of rot filled her lungs and she clapped a hand over her nose; it was worse than being underwater.
Meanwhile, Russell had opened the scroll.
It was made of a soft, parchment-like material; even after soaking, the ink had not smeared. The words on the scroll came into view:
“When you read this letter, I will already be dead...”