After wolfing down the pancakes and drinking the warm milk, Alexander examined the potion concocted by Healer Agnes with furrowed brows.
"I thought healing potions would be red like in video games. Why is this one piss-colored?" He wondered.
Alexander opened the small bottle, and a disgusting urine scent wafted to his nose.
"Ugh, it even smells like piss. Did they accidentally swap this with urine?" He asked himself.
However, upon recalling his memories, he realized there was a high-grade healing potion that looked and smelled like this.
His father was once injured in the line of duty, and Healer Agnes had concocted the same potion for him.
He remembered that this was called the Liparis Dew Healing Potion. It was made by combining extracts from various herbs, with the primary ingredient being a special spirit herb called the Yellow Sphinx Orchid. Interestingly, the Yellow Sphinx Orchid itself has a strong, urine-like smell.
Clearing his doubts, he pinched his nose to avoid the smell and soldiered on, drinking the entire contents of the bottle in one big gulp.
The liquid had an unpleasant taste. It was salty and bitter, just like how urine would taste.
"Sure enough, if it looks like piss and smells like piss, then it should taste like piss. I sure just hope it's not actual piss."
After taking the medicine, he returned to checking the apps on his laptop screen. He opened the Inventory App, and sure enough, it resembled the inventory bag from the RPG games he had played before.
"Sarah, this inventory can store items like those in video games, right?" Alexander asked.
"Yes, Sherlock. Next, you'll be asking if swords can stab people." Sarah responded sarcastically.
Alexander ignored her sarcasm and continued asking more questions about how to use it.
According to Sarah, he just needed to open the Inventory App, hold the item he wanted to store, and then use his mind to transport it into the inventory.
Taking items out of the inventory was a bit more complicated. First, one had to open the Inventory App, select the item they wanted to retrieve, and then choose an open area to release it. The selected area needed to have enough space and no solid obstructions to successfully place the item there.
Thinking even more, Alexander had an idea and immediately asked Sarah. "If I were to touch the ground, would I be able to store the world in the inventory?"
"No, for several reasons. First, there is a volume limit to the inventory—currently, it's only 100 cubic meters, but this will increase as your User Level rises. Second, you cannot store objects with complex souls, such as humans or animals, because the interior space is an incomplete dimension. However, bacteria and other microorganisms, which have simple souls, can be stored. Third, objects with sealed spaces inside them will occupy much more space than their apparent size." Sarah explained thoroughly.
"So, can't store people. Can store microbes. And anything with a sealed space eats up space. Got it." Alexander noted.
Alexander began experimenting with it, first sending his blanket inside and then back out, followed by the tray he had used earlier. He then thought to himself, "Hmm, what else should I try?"
Suddenly, he recalled the ring he had slipped into his pocket yesterday. It was the ring of the rotting corpse inside the cave. He hadn't had the time or energy to think about that matter yesterday. First, he wasn't even sure at the time whether the Master Alexander they were searching for was the same dead man. Second, he had many worries about his current situation. If he reported the dead body in the cave and accidentally said something he shouldn't, he might immediately be condemned to join that dead man in the afterlife—unless, of course, he reincarnated again. It was the most logical and self-preserving option at that time.
Looking at the ring again, it appeared somewhat simple. It resembled a wedding ring, but instead of a shiny stone, it featured a small skull carving design. Aside from that, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the ring.
He went on to place the ring inside the inventory, and it did go inside. Everything was normal except for one thing.
"Hmm… that's strange," Alexander murmured, puzzled.
He noticed on the the right corner of the Inventory window, there was 100/100 written in there now it changed to 90/100. This numbers didn't change for the blanket and tray earlier. Assuming this values meant the capacity of the Inventory.
"How could this small ring occupy more space than the blanket and tray?" Alexander asked himself.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he remembered the third reason Sarah mentioned earlier, 'sealed space'.
"Could it be?" Alexander exclaimed excitedly as he pulled the ring out of his inventory.
"This could be the legendary spatial ring from those novels!" he added, eyes shining with anticipation.
He began to examine it more closely and experiment with it.
A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he planned to use his inner vision on the ring. He closed his eyes and focused intently. A few seconds later, he indeed saw a space within the ring.
Inside the ring, there were items arranged neatly like a set of dark robes, some clothes, a few books, a creepy-looking mask, and other stuff.
He wanted to take a closer look at the contents inside, but suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from outside the door. Afraid of another misunderstanding like what had happened earlier with his mother, he quickly fixed himself on the bed and stored the ring inside his inventory.
Then, suddenly, the doors swung wide open, and a middle-aged Asian man with long white hair—bald on top—and wearing loose-fitting robes. He walked in, holding a compass-like device in his hand and wearing a deep frown on his face.
Alexander got startled again. "Do people these days don't know how to knock and be polite? What if I really was doing my business? You'd have your eyes stained from witnessing it," Alexander thought to himself.
The man quickly surveyed the room with his eyes, and his frown got even deeper. Making the room even quieter.
The man broke the silence and suddenly spoke, asking, "Kid, were you alone in this room?"
"Huh?" Alexander was confused by the man's question.
"I said, 'Were you alone in this room?'" The man repeated with annoyance.
"Oh. Yes," Alexander replied shortly. However, in his mind, he thought, "Don't you have those two eyes? Are they there just for show? Can't you tell by just looking at the room? Or are you looking for the boogeyman under the bed too? Go ahead and check, maybe he's there".
Alexander's reply made the man's frown deepen even further, as if he was searching for someone who was supposed to be in the room but wasn't there.
John, the servant who had gone to fetch the auramancer, suddenly spoke from behind. "Umm, Sir Shi, is there a problem?"
Sir Shi was about to respond when another group of people entered the room. It was Steward Lucio, accompanied by several other servants. He surveyed each of them intently, as if searching for someone.
Steward Lucio spoke, asking, "Are you the auramancer that people have been talking about in the village? Have you come here to help our young lord seek justice?"
He had to wait a moment for the man's reply, as he was still scanning the crowd.
Sir Shi suddenly stopped and withdrew his gaze, then replied, "Indeed, I am the auramancer."
He continued to speak, "I was already informed of the situation. Let's just get this over with so I can leave and attend to other matters." His tone carried a hint of disappointment, as if he were eager to be elsewhere.
He approached the bed and waved his hand over Alexander's chest, where he was still lying. Suddenly, a bluish smoke billowed out of the wound caused by Troy's electric spirit attack.
His other hand suddenly held a small open bottle filled with a transparent liquid. He directed the bluish smoke to float into the bottle, causing the liquid inside to turn a faint bluish hue. Afterward, he corked the bottle and tossed it to Steward Lucio.
He then extended his hand as if awaiting Steward Lucio and the others to place something on it.
Steward Lucio and the others looked confused.
Then Sir Shi, with a hint of annoyance, said, "Hand me the documents to sign."
Realizing what he wanted, a servant hurriedly came forward and handed him a clipboard with some papers.
He immediately grabbed the papers and, with a flick of his hand, materialized a feather pen. He quickly scanned through the documents and signed them. After finishing, he waved his hand, and the feather pen vanished into thin air.
Then, he bit his right thumb, creating a small wound. Pressing his thumb onto the topmost document, he left a seal with his blood and thumbprint. Afterward, he rubbed his right index finger on his thumb, and the wound closed seamlessly. He then handed the clipboard to Steward Lucio and extended his hand again.
This time, the servants understood his actions immediately. One of them stepped forward, handed Sir Shi a small box about the size of two hands, and bowed deeply.
Sir Shi took the box, opened it slightly to verify its contents. Peering inside briefly, he saw gold coins. Without counting or inspecting further, he quickly closed the box, which then disappeared from his hand. After waving his sleeve dismissively, he strode out of the room briskly.
Everyone remaining in the room was still a bit dazed as he exited.
"Damn, so smooth. I give his posturing a solid 10 out of 10," Alexander murmured to himself.
After Sir Shi left, the group of servants also bid their farewell to Alexander and exited the room.
Steward Lucio was the last to depart. A few seconds after he stepped out, a group of maids immediately entered, carrying towels and buckets of water.
"Master Alexander, it's time for us to clean you up," said the head maid, Martha.
The other maids slowly removed the blanket from the bed, then gently took off his shirt and trousers, leaving him naked. They proceeded to carefully wipe his body with damp cloths, gently rubbing away the dirt while being cautious around his bandaged wounds, avoiding any heavy contact.
He was still unaccustomed to this, but he knew he should act naturally to avoid suspicion.
After cleaning him, they also replaced his sheets that were stained by his blood and his blanket and pillow.
They didn't clean him thoroughly yesterday because his condition hadn't been verified. After Healer Agnes confirmed he was alright, they were instructed to postpone washing the young master until the auramancer had done his work. Cleaning him too much would have tampered with the evidence, making it more difficult to extract traces of Troy's aura from the wound on Alexander's chest.
After he was cleaned and dressed, the maids immediately left. However, another group of people entered the room again to disturb him.
They were people from the sheriff's office. They entered to ask him details about the events. He simply recounted the same story he had told his parents.
Steward Lucio also entered the room to hand over the documents signed by Sir Shi, along with the bottle containing traces of aura from Troy. Notably, the liquid inside the bottle was only half the previous amount.
Alexander guessed that Steward Lucio must have taken some precautionary measures.
After they left, it was already lunchtime. A maid entered with his food and medicine. He had to drink piss again.
"I guess drinking piss is healthy," Alexander lamented.