Ethan’s mad dash after another closer encounter lasted more than ten minutes before he stumbled out into the small clearing near the entrance to the castle. Once there, he stopped and caught his breath. Then he looked around and entered the clearing, pacing back to the hidden door in the cave. How long will it take for some beast to stumble upon this clearing and ambush my ass? he thought and parted the bushes.

He crouched down and, trying not to scratch his back, entered the guard post, closing the door behind himself. Once inside, he finally caught his breath, pausing for a minute to calm down. Then he opened the large wooden door back to the castle and started his long walk, enjoying the cold, damp walls around him. Once in the now familiar cold tunnel, he recognized that storage was a cheat power to have.

His empty hands were a testament to the convenience such power brought to a person where one did not need to lug around kilograms of fish caught over the past few hours. If only I could find something useful to store. Maybe a bed or a pillow. One can dream…, he thought wistfully.

If his gaming had taught him anything, such powers allowed the items inside to retain their properties after they were stored in his storage space, meaning fresh food would likely always be on the table. So now that is left is to see if it retains the taste and find more things to drop in, he thought, feeling hungry after another race for his skin.

After a short walk, Ethan reached the familiar yard and entered the corridor to the kitchen. Once there, he searched purposefully, hoping to find a salvageable pan to cook his fish. While not the greatest cook, he cared for himself since he turned eight, making breakfast on busy days and even lunches when needed.

Unfortunately, his mother was only sometimes around to cook for him due to the multiple jobs she worked. It got even worse once Emily was born, but Ethan was grown up by then and learned to care for himself, used to the routine.

Finding a pan in a better condition than the others, he put some logs in the old stove and lit them up the same way as the fireplace the night before. Soon the wooden stove warmed up, and Ethan gutted and skinned the fish before carefully laying it on the old pan.

To his surprise, the fish did not stick to the metal pan as if it was oiled and covered in Teflon, so he identified it.

[Enchanted pan] (tool, unranked, common)

A magical cooking utensil imbued with the power to prevent food from sticking to its surface.

“Huh? How did they manage that?” Ethan asked himself as he lifted the pan and noticed an intricate diagram made of runes under it. Wow, they even have runes here? Means that I can become an enchanter or a crafter? he considered and put the pan down on the stove. I should get into the profession, provided I get out of here in one piece. Introducing plumbing would do wonders to this world, he thought and smiled at the potential business opportunities.

Shrugging at the implication of the lack of working plumbing, given that he had survived worse over two days, he proceeded to cook the fish. After a while, a mouth-watering smell filled the kitchen, and he put the now-ready food on plates and stored it before cooking the second portion. Afterward, he got the previous plate out and stored the new one, noting that the first serving was steaming hot and fresh as he had left it there.

Awesome! Storing food and going on a lengthy expedition will not be a problem, he thought, smiling as he took a bite of the freshly cooked fish, hoping it was not poisonous. Then, biting into it, he first remembered adding spices, being used to heavily spicing up the food he cooked back home.

That did not mean the fish was not tasty. On the contrary, it reminded him of a freshly cooked salmon he had marinated for a few hours in the best sauce recipe he could make up. Oh, wow! How the hell is it so tasty? he munched and examined the dish.

[Cooked wild-tooth salmon] (meal, common)

Delicious, healthy dish made from salmon fillet without seasoning. Cooked without the care for proper decorum, probably by an uncivilized brute.

Ethan read the description and frowned, “Are you messing with me? What the hell are those descriptions?” Then, shaking his head, he continued to eat with gusto after his brush with the strange fish monster, learning to salvage the small moments he felt almost like home.

After his meal, he cooked several more fish, stored them in his storage, and thought about his next move. Ethan understood that he had not explored the castle in the slightest, only confining himself to one room he had managed to find. That meant the place had so much more to offer than broken utensils. Hopefully, no more oversized rats, he silently wished.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Without a plan, he rummaged through the kitchen, hoping to find a lamp before remembering that he had a light crystal in his storage space. He walked out of the kitchen, down the corridor to the smaller yard with the well, and continued to walk further down, the crystal in front of him.

Down the corridor, he found another room with a broken door that was empty but, given its size and layout, most likely operated as servants’ quarters. He proceeded further and soon arrived at a large decorated stone doorframe with no doors that led into a spacious hall.

The hall had long wooden tables in the middle, with various chairs around them. The furniture was partially broken and in disarray. He observed a couple of metal chandeliers with no candles on the floor next to them. Another trashed room. At least this one looks like a dining hall of some sort. Fancy, he thought and cast a glance over the space.

Looking up, he observed the ceiling and was mesmerized by the faded colorful depictions of a large-scale battle, something he had only seen in museums before. While faded, the drawings were captivating, with large windows high above casting just enough light to make the picture seem as natural as a photograph.

Ethan brought his attention back to the hall, noticing that nothing of value was left around, and proceeded toward the large stone staircase at the back of the room leading up to the second floor.

Walking the corridor on the second floor, he found a couple more bedrooms with broken bed frames and, sadly, no mattresses to be salvaged. No pillows either, huh? Why would you break an excellent bed and steal a pillow? he thought, shaking his head. Lastly, he arrived at an intact wooden door at the end of the corridor. Trying it, he noted the door was locked.

“That is a first,” he mused as he tried to open the door again. Shrugging, hoping he would not need to damage an excellent door with his now sharpened axe, he kicked the door right next to the lock. It swung inwards with a crack, allowing Ethan to step inside.

A large room opened before him, reminding Ethan of a library. He estimated the space to be at least twenty meters long and just as wide. The walls were covered in bookcases filled with heavy books, tomes, and other paper articles.

The room had three floors, small staircases connecting them, and five large windows casting light onto the shelves. In the middle of it was a large table made from dark wood covered in various scrolls and maps.

Oh, my. I have hit the jackpot! Now I can check if that translation ability of mine will work! he thought and scrambled to the table, picking up the first book he found. Opening it, he saw strange letters that reminded him of the Arabic script. So Ethan started reading, and a notification popped up.

You have learned a new language: [Erdian]!

“Just as I thought,” he murmured and put the book back on the table without continuing to read, saddened by the fact that he most likely was not on Earth anymore, not having heard of such a language.

“No quick way back then, huh?” Ethan summarized and looked around the large room, noticing the sheer size and the number of items in the room, meaning he would be spending some time there. He took a map from the table and unrolled it, and immediately, a window popped up.

You have found a map. Add to your known locations?

Accept / Decline?

Ethan smiled and accepted the prompt before pulling up his map ability. The first thing noticed was that the window was now filled with information. He could now zoom out fully and examine the landmass he was on.

Ethan’s mouth fell agape as he noticed that he was in the middle of what looked like a massive continent as if someone had gone and squished together all the known landmasses of Earth. “Huh? This cannot be right,” muttered, noting the vast ocean surrounding the single humongous continent. “This is what - Pangea?”

He zoomed in and tried to make out any towns or settlements near his position and soon discovered that only one town was near him, around fifty or so kilometers away. He read the name next to it, “Veer. That is a peculiar name. And no road connecting it to the castle?” Ethan sighed and closed the map, his shoulders slumping as understanding dawned that he would still need to travel the forest to the nearest city.

He went around the desk toward the far side of the room to look at another large map pinned to the wall and stumbled, almost falling over again. Not this time! he thought and caught himself, looking below his feet.

Next to his left foot, he noticed a large stone brick sticking out from the otherwise even floor. Crouching down, he examined it and saw that it had a small handle, barely fitting two of his fingers. What is this thing? he considered.

He carefully slid in his fingers and lifted the stone brick, discovering a hidden compartment. Under the stone, he saw a wooden box. It was made of brown, solid wood and had intricate sigils and runes carved on its sides. Ethan carefully lifted the box from the hole and looked for a way to open it.

“What to do with you? You are not trapped, right?” he asked the unassuming box and shook it. “Well, here goes nothing,” he said, closing his eyes, stretching his arms out, and slowly lifting the lid. He waited a few seconds, but nothing happened, and he opened his eyes. What he saw inside was a silky black cloth wrapped around something round.

Ethan smiled, lifting the cloth from the box, and asked, “Loot?”