The morning sun shone down, touching Rian's face as he lay on his bed. Its warmth was accompanied by the familiar sounds of the bustling city outside. The creak of wagon wheels, the cries of merchants, and the laughter of children playing in the streets blended together into a calming background melody no longer a noise he found strange.
Without any trace of laziness, Rian sat up immediately. His face was filled with fiery determination, a spark born from last night's discovery. There wasn't a hint of fatigue left in him. His smile was brimming with eagerness to start the day.
He got up as usual and went straight to the kitchen to wash his face. Catty was already there, accustomed to her morning routine. Fredd had left early as always to carry out a mission with his temporary party, which meant no one else would prepare breakfast. In his stead, Catty often cooked a simple meal for Rian usually something boiled but warm enough to start the day.
"Good morning, Rian. You seem really fired up today," said Catty, glancing at him as he splashed water on his face.
"Yeah, I figured out a way to attack using my Storage, so I can't wait to try it out. It makes me really happy," Rian replied, drying his face with a small towel.
"That's great news then," Catty said, smiling as she noticed how excited he looked.
They had breakfast together warm boiled potatoes and tubers that felt especially comforting on that cool morning. When they finished, Rian invited Catty to head out to the hill beyond the city borders, the same place where they'd eaten the day before. It was quiet and spacious perfect for testing something new.
The two walked side by side, passing through the busy streets filled with merchants and townsfolk. After exiting the city gate, the cobbled road gradually gave way to a dirt path. Before long, they arrived at the grassy hilltop that would serve as Rian's testing ground.
This wasn't a new skill, technically speaking. Rian had realized it was more of a "trick" a way of using Storage offensively, something that wasn't written in any manual. It wasn't that Storage suddenly gained attack capabilities. Rather, Rian had discovered that everything stored inside existed in a sort of "pause." Time stood still in that space, meaning any object retrieved would retain its exact condition including its kinetic momentum from the moment it was stored.
Having grasped how his Storage worked, Rian was ready to test some new ideas. He started by throwing a knife into the Storage with full force, then recalling it again, repeating last night's success. Next, he wanted to try something riskier: casting a fire spell into the Storage.
Taking a few steps back, Rian raised his hand and began chanting. "Fireball! Let's hope this works."
A bright blue fireball the size of his fist formed in his palm, crackling with energy. He hurled it into the floating Storage portal before him. It vanished instantly. Moments later, a new icon appeared on his holographic interface a blue fireball symbol.
When Rian tapped it, a small information window popped up. Besides the name "Fireball," there was an additional note:
Fireball (High-Speed Flame)Warning (Storage Safety Feature): High-energy object detected. Storage will automatically detect the user's position prior to release and eject the object in the opposite direction of the user.
"Wow! It actually has a safety system! This is AMAZING!" Rian shouted in delight. Now he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally blowing himself up. The system was far more advanced than he'd thought.
Catty, sitting under a nearby tree, watched him from a distance. She smiled quietly as she observed Rian's enthusiasm. After everything he'd been through all the struggles and disappointments it was heartwarming to see him genuinely having fun again.
"Catty! Watch this! I'm going to release the fireball I stored earlier!" Rian yelled from his spot.
"Yes, Rian! I'm watching!" she replied, raising her voice to match his.
Rian opened his Storage portal and aimed it toward a large boulder ahead. He selected the fireball icon from the list.
The moment he tapped it, the blue fireball shot out from the front of the portal exactly as the safety feature described slamming into the rock and exploding in a burst of blue flames, leaving behind a large scorch mark.
"Catty! Did you see that? Isn't it awesome?" Rian exclaimed, grinning like a child with a new toy.
"Yes, Rian, it looks amazing! Keep going, I'm watching from here," she called back with a laugh. It's been a long time since I've seen him smile like that... all because of his own power, she thought to herself.
Rian wanted to push the experiment further. He scanned the area and spotted multiple potential targets: the same boulder in front of him, a dead tree to his left, and another chunk of rock to his right.
He began chanting again, summoning three consecutive blue fireballs and launching them one by one into the Storage. Three icons now appeared in his menu. With a quick motion, he tapped them in sequence.
Three fireballs shot out in succession, each hitting the rock ahead with a satisfying series of explosions.
Now for something even trickier. Rian closed his eyes, focusing on the idea of moving his Storage portal's position. He imagined it appearing to his left and sure enough, the dark circular portal materialized right beside him, aimed at the dead tree. He shifted it to the front, then to the right, and finally back again.
It responded perfectly to his thoughts. The range was limited to about three meters, but that was more than enough. The ability to reposition his portal at will opened up endless tactical possibilities.
He loaded three more fireballs into Storage. Then he fired them in sequence front, left, right each portal repositioning smoothly. The first hit the rock, the second struck the dead tree, and the third blasted another target. It all happened within seconds.
"Okay... that's insanely cool," Rian muttered to himself, panting slightly from the concentration. "Why didn't I think of this before? I can attack in every direction without even moving, without re-casting each time. This... this is too overpowered."
Then, a new idea crossed his mind. He turned toward Catty. "Catty, you can cast wind bullets, right?"
"Yes, I can. Why?" Catty asked curiously.
"Try attacking me with one fast! Just use a compressed wind shot. If it fails, it won't hurt me," Rian said, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"All right, if you say so."
Catty raised her hand, chanting softly. A swirling ball of compressed wind formed in her palm. Then she threw it with full force, the air rippling as it shot straight toward Rian.