He had not had a chance to thoroughly examine the things that he magically freed from the cube earlier. But now that he could see the equipment, all of them looked like they've gone from some pretty hellish experience.
The black pants were dull as it appeared to be, but actually, it was sturdy and bulkier than how he thought of it. He examined it further to find that though it looked flat and thin, the fabric was actually very thick. And true to its name, holes pierced the pants cleanly. Wherein the biggest perforation was at the left thigh part that was as big as twice his fist. Moreover, the sideseam was also showing signs of unstitching.
He found the same characteristic on the gray cotton shirt and the leather jacket lying on his left. Well, except of course that the damage on these were burns and lacerations. But they had the same sturdy, thick, light, and most of them all, a water-proof attribute they ought to have. Well, at least that's what the gloss made him think of it to be.
Though with all of that said, it somehow left him in contemplation regarding on how the clothing, given with their outstanding quality that would shame even the best couturier in the world, would be reduced in a dismal state.
He next turned his attention on the two long objects bundled further on his left. The aluminum-colored one undoubtedly the metal bat, and the wooden one, with cracks all around it and a clear cut visible to one of its poles, is most probably the staff one. Dents and rust coated the metal bat that was as long as his arm, and the staff had a crystal on its tip that showed signs of breaking. Both were, again, the result of some pretty unfortunate event he was trying to imagine.
After he quickly examined the cold touch of the bat with its rustic texture and got nothing of noteworthy, he next checked the interesting stick that screamed of antiquity. The grotesque-looking figure that looked like it costs nothing but a few twists and turns, and the crystal, mainly, that seemed to be like an object commonly seen in shops of the olds, allowed him the hypothesis that it was a relic of the past.
Moreover, he felt quite familiar with the term staff, and with a bit of experience on a few fictitious books, he could as well guess that it was concerned with magical phenomena.
He rubbed his chin with interest as he thought deep in his mind. And suddenly, with a silly motivation, he picked up the staff and pointed it towards the ruined bed.
Advers tried to cast magic. A levitation one to be specific.
But contrary to his expectations were, the bed was still on its broken legs sprawled all over the boulder. Except maybe for the rose-stained bedding having minute movements prompted by the passing breeze.
He spun the staff with his thumb and middle finger from a slow to a sudden twirl. Keeping that cycle for a few minutes as he lost himself in his thoughts on how an almost broken shaft would be able to produce even a flicker of magic.
But was it truly meant for magic?
He questioned, and the slow-mo twirling of the staff took a sudden flicker as it rested on his hand. Then he eyed the very details of the stick with squinted eyes. Its lusterless crystal was lined with cracks down to its fissured texture running across the grotesque brown wood. And as he observed it further, it slowly appeared as if it was actually majestic and had a cryptic feeling veiled in the pretense of grotesqueness. Then it dawned him a fact. And he felt the realization about it that maybe—
"Nope," Advers interjected to himself.
He muttered as he tossed the object to his left and, he then turned towards the last of all the equipment. He stopped his imagination to something very ludicrous as the name already confirmed what the shaft is all about. Obviously, it's a Damaged Staff. And for how it is used? Well, assuredly, he doesn't know.
On his right, he saw what the Soil of the Umbral Trees was all about. Its deep, black, and fine particles encased by a transparent ball lived up to what its name suggests. It was just plain black soil. Though, he didn't know what the relation of the umbral tree to this was. Except, at least, maybe for its shared knowledge regarding darkness that the dirt inhibits.
It was about the size of an enlarged tennis ball and felt soft but firm as he scooped it, and much better, it was feather-light that he seemed to not even feel it weighing on his hand. Plus, the texture of the soil's container was actually rather smooth and unexpectedly warm.
Scrutinizing it much nearer to his eyes, he couldn't be more than surer how each particle seemed so heavy as they were pulled down by gravity when he spun it in his hand. It was like a flowing magma in the pure solid form but more syrupy. He further found out, with a couple of rolls and touches, that the warmth indeed came within from the earth itself, courtesy to his earlier suspicions.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Having examined it, it also made no sense to him how this material would be of use to him. But it is within his hopes that he'd know about it sooner. So he moved along and opened up another letter.
***
Dreamscape Rewards Letter
***
It read from the transparent sphere. Then, there came the two catapulting lights that made sparks fly as they started their maneuvers. Surprisingly, there were only three listed pieces of equipment on the sphere this time. Namely, the Bark of the Umbral Tree, the Seed of the Fire Shaman, and the Wooden Swordstaves.
The words then quickly faded to form a silver light, but instead of creating another cube, the sheen just tore through the air as it shot towards the hexahedron in front of him. Inspecting on the storage item piqued him, however. Because instead of three dark boxlets coming to view, there were actually four black-colored boxlets. He tapped each box one by one until he found what the fourth mystery equipment was.
Bark of the Redtree. The familiar words formed.
"Hm?"
He uttered with a question of realization. He looked over to his gashed arm as he remembered what this item was. It was the one that the instruction letter used to alleviate the pain he should be experiencing now. With that knowledge, he quickly pressed the three-layered circles with befitting respect using his stiff right finger.
The fade of the white shimmer revealed a simple, red chip that was outlined with a rough texture. Except that it looked like a bloodied hide, the bark of wood showed no notable characteristics he could observe. And, again, he was in the dark how should he'd be able to use it. He played with it for a minute as he mused over its mechanism before he threw it with the other items on his left.
Having done that, he then just realized simple detail that made him deeply muse. He saw the lump of different pieces of equipment bundled disorderly waving at him, a contrast to the cube in front of him that looked minuscule to the entirety of what it brought out. And he realized,
How the hell would he fit all of these back in the cube?
---
Just because something is concerned with magic, everything has to fall into place with a bit of fiddling. Be it with regards to a circumstance, a feeling, or a physical object itself, it doesn't necessarily mean it would be easy to guess an unexplained concept with the sheer belief that it's magic. And that everything will be as easy that saying Abracadabra will bring forth the wonders of sorcery into the world. It doesn't work, in any case at all, in such a hoodwinking scheme.
On Advers left lay all the disheveled equipment the letter gave him, not an ounce lighter than it was half an hour ago. He found, at the very least, a simple function about the hexahedron. It was the knowledge that a boxlet can fit multiple objects at once, albeit the rule that it must be a duplicate. At least that's what the appearance of another Bark of the Redtree makes him think. But, he didn't try to open and see what the Rewards Equipment was. As they were appearing importantly heavy, especially the Wooden Swordstaves, he doesn't have the assurance that he can carry all of the equipment with him if he didn't manage to understand how to put things back in the cube.
And yes, obviously, his failed attempt to unveil the cube's mechanism now led him with no other option but to have proceeded and opened another letter a minute ago.
A black fountain pen outlined by a silver color along with a latitudinal paper came out from the System Activation Letter. It alighted in front of him and was accompanied by a fading gleam when it fell to his prepared hands.
Upon scrutiny, the paper unsurprisingly had another vain instruction written on it. It was absurdly oversimplified to fit the palm-sized piece of white paper that Advers wouldn't need an arduous mental read to understand it.
Data Point - The pen is used to gather information. Used for viewing personal conditions as well.
That was it. Not even a rhetorical and puzzling text was written.
Advers let out a helpless sigh as he turned his attention towards the fountain pen that was screaming with authenticity. Its sharp black color gave it a simple yet sleek feel to it as three silver rings enclosed the part between the barrel and the grip section. But as he spun it around, lights seemed to never glide on its smooth surface. There were no specific adumbrations or a highlighted glint that glossy surfaces usually have. Only the silver nib showed a striking dazzle that, with one look on its tip, would make one feel the shivering and razor-sharp quality it possesses. Furthermore, the absence of the cap that was supposed to protect the nib from getting damaged gave an unconstrained promise of something worse. However, for Advers, he felt the modern feel it has with its cryptic quality seemed up to his taste.
This time, his attempt to identify the usage of the pen was astonishingly smooth and unintended. He was only trying to see how sharp the nib was when a translucent silver screen appeared atop the note he had scraped with. Bright white text coming to life.
[System Activation Note - A paper that came along with the system pen. Barest of all descriptions were listed on it.]
Though the text may seem scarce as well, if not useless, Advers had to agree. It was the truth, after all. With that in mind, he flipped the paper on its back, and the screen faded with a sway. Then he tried to do the last thing he did that made the screen appear. He carved a circle into it.
[System Activation Note - A paper that came along with the system pen. Barest of all descriptions were listed on it.]
Advers made a couple of blinks towards the screen.
He was somewhat taken aback how easy and obvious the mechanism of the pen was, and it made him look back towards the cube and eye it with serious curiosity. Wondering what secrets lie within it.
Having done that, he tried another suspicion of his. And gladly, it wasn't as complicated as the cube was. He just drew a ring in the air that encompassed the yellow perennials he plucked, and a new screen materialized.
[Dandelion - a bright yellow flower that shares its ancestry with the daisy family. Specifically, it is a widely distributed weed of the daisy family and used for various concoctions.]
His expression remained still, but Advers made a very intrigued stare towards the pen.
An identification tool, he thought.
Furthermore, there was not a hint of tusche nor any trace that the nib was used, but somehow, he felt it write with an inconspicuous fluidity in the air. So he attempted to open it up and examine its barrel. But when he twisted the grip, it only made a pleasing tight pop. The nib still in place. And when he made another two successive pops, it still remained hinged.
However, in place of that was another silver screen, which was much grandiose than its descriptive analysis earlier.
> Status: Class activation required
>
> Important note: Mindbox vulnerable. Targeted. Note, targeted.