Chapter Fifteen: Trojan Horse

There were several characteristics that Rook and Obi had confirmed about the subspace that Rook had been able to use.

The first, and most obvious difference between his subspace and the soul space that everyone else appeared to have, was that there did not appear to be any limit to the amount of items that could be stored in Rook’s space.

Another difference, which might have been related, is that no one else could store themselves in their own soul space. Rook could move in and out of his own space, though not at will. He needed Obi to pull him in and push him back outside.

These differences were clarified and tested as soon as Rook started to use his storage ability. There were other differences, however, though they were more subtle. Slowly, through trial and error, they were beginning to understand them more and how they affected using of Rook’s unique subspace fortress.

One such characteristic was the temperature. Whenever Rook entered the space, he felt a chill throughout his body. But it wasn’t cold in a way that was familiar. If anything, there didn’t seem to be a temperature at all. He didn’t get hot, or sweat. There was no wind, or draft. It’s as though his entire body decided to be cold, rather than simply feel cold.

It didn’t seem to be a problem at first, though it did make the space an uncomfortable place to spend time for Rook. He had wondered if sleeping in the space might be the safest option as he traveled, until testing had proven that to be all but impossible.

First of all, the cold would get unbearable after a while. It didn’t get colder. It’s more like his body would start to reject the cold through pain. It was like when he was unable to relieve himself. At first, it wasn’t a problem, but if he kept putting it off, it would get more and more uncomfortable. Eventually, it would become painful and eventually unbearable.

That wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t sleep in the subspace, however. The fact was, that he simply couldn’t sleep in subspace, even if he could somehow ignore the pain.

There was no ground, but he did not fall. He could breathe, but wasn’t sure there was even air. He did not get tired, and Rook was not sure if he could actually sleep in the space. Apparently Obi did not sleep, although he did say something about being dormant for a long period of time.

After getting injured in the forest, Obi had pulled Rook into the space. In the period after that, they ended up testing out many more aspects of the environment inside the space.

As they had suspected, Rook could not sleep in the subspace. He could not fall unconscious. He could not pass out due to extreme pain.

This was not a pleasant lesson to learn.

The pain was excruciating. While the wound was not critical, Rook’s torso was covered in blood, and he couldn’t stop screaming in pain. They had overestimated their strategy, and underestimated the capabilities of the predators in the forest. The result had almost been a catastrophic failure.

Rook remembered the things he had overheard about the incident that had killed several members of the mercenary party. In retrospect, dangers that could cost the lives of seasoned travelers were not something a bonded ranch hand could deal with, all alone.

He was now triggering the heal skill over and over. It did seem to help, though at first it did very little. The bleeding at least appeared to be slowing. The skill did nothing to ease the pain, however.

Rook felt nauseous, but he could not empty his stomach. While some biological functions continued, eating, breathing, and even healing, others simply did not occur. He could not sleep, vomit, or purge himself in any way.

Obi took note of this behavior; however, following the ambush, all Rook could do was suffer while his body slowly recovered.

While it was safe, it was clear that the subspace was not the best place for Rook to heal and recover. That said, leaving the subspace presented far more dangerous challenges.

While the mysterious black wolf had disappeared, it was quickly replaced by the arrival of a pack of grey wolves. There were ten adult wolves and three juveniles in the pack. They arrived at the site of the ambush, and immediately took possession of the space.

Thanks to the totem stone that Rook had placed, Obi was able to monitor them and could even track their movements on the map, but their connection to the large black wolf was unclear, as was why they were now patrolling the space outside the subspace.

As long as they were outside, it was unsafe for Rook to exit the subspace, even for a moment. Even if they left, however, it was still unclear how Rook could go outside safely.

Obi was deeply troubled that he could not detect the black wolf in any way. The way the beast could move between shadows was also unclear. Obi didn’t know if this was some kind of variant animal, or even how it was related to the grey wolves.

The biggest concern was that they couldn’t anticipate another attack if they couldn’t track or detect the black wolf. While it was far from optimal for Rook to stay inside the subspace, leaving, especially now that he was injured, seemed to be impossible.

For the next few hours, Obi watched the wolves outside as they patrolled the area. Meanwhile, Rook continued to heal himself repeatedly.

After repeatedly using the skill, Rook was able to max out the proficiency, and the skill was upgraded from Basic heal to Intermediate heal at the cost of five coins. He also discovered that using the cure skill could alleviate some of the negative symptoms of staying in the subspace, namely the pain and nausea that accumulated over time while inside.

“What was that monster? How did it sneak up like that?”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

［I don’t know. All I can say is that the detect skill can’t track it. It might be some special breed of wolf, or an evolved beast that can use a stealth skill. Or something like that.］

“Is it still there?”

I can’t see it anywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone. There are plenty of other problems outside, however.

From the vantage point of the totem, they both watched several members of the wolf pack as they lazed on rocks nearby. Whether they knew Rook was still hiding nearby, or not, it appeared that they had no intention of moving on anytime soon.

“So, do you have any ideas how we are going to get out of here?”

Rook appeared to be doing much better. He had removed the tunic and shirt, and was now wiping his upper body with a wet rag. The wounds had now completely closed, and the blood had dried.

After cleaning himself, Rook placed the blood-stained clothing into a bucket full of water to soak, then found another shirt in his inventory to wear.

The injuries would still take a few days to heal completely, even with constant usage of the heal skill, but that was stil weeks faster than it would normally take.

The intermediate heal skill was far more effective than the basic skill. The only downside was that it drew more MP. While he had been able to continuously use basic heal, He had only been able to use intermediate heal five times before his mana had dropped to less than fifty percent.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand the value of this before, but now I see what it is for.”

Rook had started to use the status window to get a better understanding of his current condition and balance his mana consumption with health improvement effects.

Obi had cautioned against bringing his mana down too low.

［You will always want to keep a reserve, otherwise you might not have enough to escape into subspace when you need to,］ the voice in his head had warned.

STATUS

NAME: ROOK

CURRENT STATUS: INJURED

CURRENT COINS: 477

STATS:

* 💪 STR: 3

* 🏃 AGI: 4

* ❤️ VIT: 3

* ✨ SPT: 2

HEALTH (HP): 58 / 100%

MAGIC (MP): 42 / 100%

STAMINA (SP): 35 / 100%

While Rook’s life was out of danger, it was getting to be frustrating that there was nothing else he could do. His health (HP), magic (MP), and stamina (SP), were all at very low levels, and while all were now recovering, they did so at an incredibly slow rate.

［That’s where your core stats come in. The higher your vitality (VIT) is, the faster your health and stamina can refill. As you raise your spirit (SPT), your magic recharges faster.］

“How do I increase those? Can I use coins?”

［… Well, it is possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it. It would be… very expensive.］

“Really? How much?”

［Each stat point would require at least one hundred thousand coins.］

“…”

［Yeah, it’s definitely out of our budget for now.］

“One hundred thousand…”

［At least.］

“Are there even that many coins in the whole world?”

［Oh yes, certainly. Not that we have any way of getting that many anytime soon.］

The situation was stabilizing, but not in a good place. Rook’s health was now out of danger, but it was not very good either. Meanwhile, his magic and stamina were both low, and the repeated use of heal and cure was keeping either from recovering.

If he could only get back outside to rest and recover, Rook would be able to get back in good shape within just a few days, but as things were now, things would not be improving anytime soon, and it was worrying what prolonged stays in the subspace would do to Rook. Not being able to sleep was not going to help things.

“I need to get out of here.”

［You can see what it is like outside now.］

“I know, but… How long are those things going be stay there? Are they waiting for me?”

［Don’t ask me. I’m not a zoologist.］

“A what?”

［Nevermind］.

“What about other skill stones? Is there anything we can use to… blast them?”

［Blast them? Well… maybe, but it’s going to take up a lot of coins to activate more stones. At a low level, none are going to do much. To “blast them,” as you say, is going to take more than we have.］

“Then what can we do? How about the warding stone?”

［It’s too late. It’s like your stealth skill. It’s good at convincing wild animals not to notice you and move along. Once they have already seen you, however, it’s a whole different ballgame. Neither would be very effective right now while they are actively looking for you.］

“So what can we do?”

Obi went silent. It was unnerving when the voice was quiet like that, especially in the lightless and cold subspace. Rook shivered, staring into the blackness.

［Aha! I found something.］

“What?”

［This was in one of the bags of things the bandits had.］

A small pouch appeared, floating in between the various windows that Obi maintained.

［I’m not really sure what its called, or what it’s even made of, but I am pretty confident I know what it’s for. This is the same thing that Willis slipped into the stew.］

“The thing that made it so I couldn’t move?”

［That’s the stuff.］

“But we don’t have any more stew.”

［Oh my God! You are so stupid. Wolves don’t eat stew… well, maybe they do, I don’t know. But you don’t need stew. You just need something they will eat.］

“You want me to poison myself and let them take a bite?”

［As tempting as that is, maybe some of the dried meat would be better.］

“Oh… yeah.”

［A bit of your blood on it wouldn’t hurt, though.］

A short while later, they were ready to test the plan. The wolves continued to occupy the exit area, but fortunately, none were exactly in front of it.

In order to drop something outside, Rook would still have to completely exit the subspace, then drop the bait, and then Obi could bring him back in. It would only take a moment, and they should have that much time, but to be sure, Rook activated his stealth first. That should give him a bit more breathing space.

The result was rather anti-climactic. The first piece of meat they dropped didn’t get noticed at all, so they tried again. The second time, Rook smeared a bit of his own blood on the bait after spreading some of the paralysis power on it.

They were not sure about the correct amount, but this time, everything went exactly as they had hoped.

One of the wolves seemed to notice something and wandered over to the exit point before locating the meat. In a flash, the morsel was gone, and the animal started scouring the area for more.

It didn’t take long. Perhaps because Rook had used more of the powder, but soon, the wolf started to slow down. It eventually sat down on its rear legs, and stopped moving entirely.

They waited, just to make sure it had been effective. Carefully checking the map to make sure none of the other wolves was next to the exit, Rook once again came out, stealth-active. He moved quickly, with purpose, the long knife already in his hand.

The wolf wasn’t able to make a sound. One strike to the exposed neck, and it was over. There wasn’t even much blood, perhaps another side effect from the paralysis.

Obi was about to pull Rook back in when the young man raised his hand.

“Wait.”

They both watched the map for any sudden movement. Holding his breath, Rook watched the wolf as the last signs of life left its eyes.

He was about to reach out and store the body when a small pile of objects appeared in front of the animal.

A dark grin appeared on his face as the realization of what had just happened sunk in.

They now had a new plan.