Chapter 69: Artisan for a day

“In a way, yes. I think you are the only one in the world that can do something like this. The rich use a Bag Of Holding while commoners use carts and bags. Even if a commoner can afford to buy one, the risk of getting stolen or killed would deter most from owning one.” Ester truthfully said her thoughts.

[Half a day has passed, and I feel a lot better now. But we better find an excuse for the future. What if one day you could store a castle. What would you say? “I got deep pockets, bro?”]

-Ester mentioned how there are different types of Bags Of Holding. I could have an excuse if we have one for show.-

[It costs a lot of money to buy one. But we can always do like many RPG games. Ahem... loot houses.]

Vincent didn’t respond. He didn’t like the idea since he saw how poor commoners were, and this wasn’t a game either from the hints he has found until now. At the same time, he didn’t want to stoop so low to survive.

Another day of walking passed. Lupa, the gourmet wolf girl, sighed for not finding a new type of food or any food that day. When the night lowered their visibility to the illumination equivalent to a nightlamp, the group decided to call it a day.

Ester and Lupa set the campfire, then started cooking three frozen fish. In the meantime, Vincent fiddled with his new storage ability. He wanted to check if the temperature status was as he thought.

.....

.

[1x Infant Freshwater Mudcrab Corpse (Uncommon Quality) (Frozen Status) summoned. x0 remaining.]

[1x Cooked Freshwater Fish On A Stick (Common Quality) (Warm Status) summoned. x0 remaining.]

.

Vincent immediately dropped the mudcrab on the ground. It was as frozen as it was in the morning. The fish on a stick held in his hand radiated heat while releasing the scent of a recently cooked fish.

“It worked... hehe. The fish is still hot, and the mudcrab is still very cold.” Vincent became filled with excitement at this blessed situation.

It was hard to discern if the mudcrab kept the same frozen temperature, but the warm cooked fish made one of his theories correct.

Soul Dimensional Storage could keep an object’s status condition. Another possibility was how it could actually freeze time for the object inside since it breaks down into fragmented, liquid-like mana particles and gets saved like mana data.

[Looks like all my hard work has paid off. I feel great to be the smart one here, hehe.]

Vincent nodded, agreeing with her words. He felt thankful that since she was the reason this was all possible.

-Oh, great smart one. What can you learn for me next?-

Vincent slyly used her boasting against her. In a way, he truly intended every word he telepathically sent.

[I deserve a break from all this research. how about next month?]

-Fine... I hope I can survive another month with my weak abilitys.-

Vincent stored the two food items and headed towards the girls after he booked a skill creation session for the future. However, he knew what her intentions were.

‘Kazumi is cute. She is using the common line where it counts as “We will survive.” I hope we don’t meet with a stronger lifeform than the adult mudcrab... but I want to try out my strength. It’s increasing every day along with this body.’ He thought while approaching the two girls cooking three fish.

Vincent explained to Ester and Lupa how the food’s coldness and warmth could be preserved inside his Soul Dimensional Storage.

Ester gasped from surprise and exclaimed, “Impossible! Bag Of Holding doesn’t stop time for the items inside! You... you make me think I’m also living in a new world.”

Lupa curiously nodded when her golden eyes locked on the warm, cooked fish in his hands. The fourth cooked fish appeared out of nowhere while the other three fish had a few more minutes to get cooked to perfection.

Kazumi became proud and pleased with the ability she mostly developed. It was already a cheat ability to have portable storage with the minimum space and unable to get stolen.

.

[1x Infant Freshwater Mudcrab Corpse (Uncommon Quality) (Frozen Status) gained.]

[1x Cooked Freshwater Fish On A Stick (Common Quality) (Hot Status) gained.]

.

Vincent stored the two showcase items and later ate the cooked fish. Lupa appeared a bit grumpy from not getting the chance to eat the stored cooked fish.

Kazumi guards the three while they went to sleep. She rewatched memories of the faces both Vincent and Ester made out of surprise or happiness.

historical

*Day 18

Vincent woke up with a plan in mind on the eighteenth day. He wanted to prepare the pelts for smoking. However, it wasn’t going to be a fun day.

Vincent explained to Ester and Lupa about the steps they needed, such as to clean and soften the pelts for smoking. It sounded easy, but it consumed a lot of time per pelt.

Kazumi helped by retelling Vincent all the steps he needed to perform. The Photographic Memory ability allowed Vincent to follow the necessary steps as if he was reading information from his computer.

Time surprisingly flew by while they followed the steps by rubbing and stretching the pelts on dull rocks and trees. More than half a day passed to prepare the three cut boar pelts and the single small horned rabbit pelt.

Later, they made a tripod stand and attached the pelts to receive some good hours of smoking. This process prevented them from continuing their journey and spend a day in the same location, waiting for the pelts to get smoked.

Vincent wasn’t in a hurry since they had food, water, and his Soul Power gradually increased on a daily basis. The more he waited, the more stockpiled points to use.

“Thank you for helping me. ” Vincent said with a smile.

Ester “It’s nothing, don’t mention it.”

Lupa “I had fun playing with the pelt. I want to do it again next time.”

“It takes hours for the process to finish, so why don’t we stay here for the day and continue tomorrow? You girls can take a walk together while I keep an eye on the pelts.” Vincent suggested.

Lupa swiftly nodded with an excited smile. She grabbed Ester’s hand and pulled. Her tail wagged as if she was a dog taking her owner for a walk.

[So it’s us alone again?]

“Yes. I’m planning to train in the meantime.” Vincent removed his shirt and began doing pushups.

Kazumi didn’t know what else to say. Vincent changed in both body and personality so fast that she had a hard time believing her wisp eyes.

Vincent would periodically check on the pelts until they were ready and continue training. As night approached, Ester and Lupa returned. Both smiled while talking to each other as if they had been friends for years.

“Welcome back, girls. The pelts are ready, want to feel them?” Vincent approached with two boar finished pelts in his hands. It was thanks to Kazumi he managed to complete the process almost as an expert.

“It isn’t as stiff as it was before. ” Ester commented with a curious gaze.

‘Why don’t people know of this? I feel a bit embarrassed to tell Vincent how strange it is for people not to know.’ Ester pondered while carefully inspecting the finished product.

“Vincent is smart, hehe. He is my mate, after all.” Lupa praised with a chuckle.

“Do you think we could sell them?” Vincent asked with the hope of hearing a yes. Ester’s slave situation made him aware of the need for money.

“We might need to find a shop in the city because I think pelts are expensive luxury items by what I saw. Laurel Town might not have noble clients to sell to.” Ester racked her brain to come up with this answer, but she wasn’t certain. She said what her eyes saw in Tival Village, and the little time she stayed in Laurel Town.

“Then why don’t we go to the city immediately?” Vincent suggested.

Ester suddenly showed an apologetic expression. Then she said while averting her eyes, “I only know that we can go to Laurel Town by following the dawning sun.”

[You had to put her on the spot, didn’t you?. This isn’t like games where NPC’s know everything. Her being the only person to know about this world is probably putting pressure on her.]

Vincent quickly apologized and said, “Then our destination is the same. We will leave for the city afterword.”

The group spent their usual night by cooking one fish each and later sleep.

*Day 19

Vincent woke up first. Like an addict, he began training once again. The feeling of improving every day and feeling stronger made him want to make it a morning routine.

Vincent finished an hour later, but the girls were still asleep. He did the usual by making the two hold hands with a smirk and then started cooking fish for breakfast.

The smell woke them up like an alarm clock. Both noticed their hands held together and frowned. It was getting annoying, so they approached to give Vincent a piece of their mind.

*Ouch

“Stop playing with us. ” Ester said while pulling his left ear.

“Yes, why don’t you hold my hand instead?” Lupa said while pulling his right ear.

“Fine... but it worked. The two of you are acting more like real sisters every passing day. The sisterhood of the seventh Hero secret.” Vincent tried to escape from their grasp.

[Haha. Two forces will always join together for a cause, but your ears have to suffer the consequence it seems.]

Kazumi saved this memory as it was too hilarious to watch. She also intended to show it to him when he would enter into his Soul Domain next.

Ester and Lupa turned their gaze at each other. They realized what was apparent, yet escaped their thoughts. Both of them became more familiar, and pulling his ears without coordination made it evident Vincent was right.

“Sisterhood? Me and Lupa?” Ester took a few steps back while remembering how she wanted to act like a big sister for the naive and spoiled Lupa. How she wanted to teach her some manners.

“I like the sound of it, but I want to eat. Pulling your ear made me hungry.” Lupa stopped pulling. Then she sat beside him with a sly grin. She seemed quite happy while taking a fish to eat.

[Do I need to be wary of you? How did you manage to say that line? You never had a way with words like this.]

-To put it bluntly, you are the cause for this change. Well, I’m learning from a professional after all.-

[Honestly? Well, I’m happy to hear that. Sensei Kazumi will teach you more in the future, so be prepared.]

Vincent sighed. Kazumi didn’t want to change her ways; it seemed.

Later, they packed and continued their journey to Laurel Town. However, after half a day of walking, Lupa warned of a faint stench of death invading her sensitive nose.

.....