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Chapter 207: The [Room]. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2021-08-03 20:11:25 +0000 UTC“I swear on my horns, making these runes was a real chore. I don’t know if it’s ‘cause of the fact this is a space-time spell or ‘cause [Room] is just hard to turn into a magic rune, but this was a real bladdarg job, ha! Still, it’s nothing a true runesmith can’t do. Here.” Showing me one of his proudest smiles, Grimnir tossed two metal objects at me. When I caught them, the weight of them surprised me.
After walking out of the RV again, Grimnir turned around and once again opened the door to reveal his smithy; the wooden room from before was gone. He then picked up those metal objects from the bottom of the walls. Now with them in my hands, I inspected them.
The objects had cylinder-like tops with a hexagon bottom, perfectly fitting into the slots Grimnir took them out from. A grey rune was on the top of it, shining small letters. When I asked Grimnir about them, he explained those were dwarven words. As runes took inspiration from magic circles, which have their chants inscribed onto them, this should not have come as a surprise to me like it did.
“I made them extra durable. Best ingots I could find from our stockpile and I fused them with your shed carapace, lass. Unlike runic tattoos, a scratch or crack won’t destroy the rune, but if a piece were to break apart, it’s gone.” Grimnir then took the objects back and showed me what resembled a number on the runes. “Similar to the runes on Ellaine’s whipsword, these runes are connected with each other. You just need to activate two of these runes to activate the [Room] spell.”
“So that really is Lady Hestia’s [Room]. Amazing,” Tasianna expressed her admiration. “[Room] should work differently from [Storage Magic], correct? Time won’t stop if we enter it?”
I nodded to her question. “[Room], just like [Storage Magic], creates a subspace where items can be placed inside, however, as you suspect, the spell doesn’t exactly stop time outside of this bubble. Time moves normally inside it, it’s just that we can’t perceive it well since sunlight can’t enter it. From testing it myself, [Room] apparently creates a breathable and liveable space as I was able to stay inside it from lunchtime until dinner.”
“You are also the only one who can allow others to enter it, correct, Hestia?” I confirmed Saori’s assumption. “Grimnir, does the rune version work the same way?”
“Aye, that it does, Saori. [Magic Runes] are created by imprinting a magic circle during the inscribing phase, where I draw the rune with the liquid iron. This action makes sure the spells will activate once you pour your mana into them.” Grimnir then placed the metal objects back into their slots and picked up another one from his workbench and handed it over to me. “Well, all three of them were made with the lass’s help, so she would know best. You remember what I told you?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, remembering my discussion with Grimnir after he showed us how runecrafting worked. After I suggested the idea of turning the inside of our RV into a [Room] to add some space, he decided it would be better if we turned the spell into a rune for better safekeeping and to move our “mobile base” around.
I turned around to face Saori, Tasianna, and Ellaine. All three were still in their ball dresses but they had the look of curious adventurers. “We made three runes, each made using my blood as we had no idea how mana intensive [Room] would be. Each rune is connected to the others and marked with a number. As Grimnir said, to access the [Room], two of the three runes must be active for the bubble to form and you will need my permission. Obviously, you guys, Grimnir, and the garms have full access even if I’m not around.”
“Woof!” A bark suddenly came from Saori’s shadow. Considering how the garms got used to staying outside and Saori had been keeping them inside her shadow for the entire evening, she reluctantly gave them the okay to come out. “Woof!”
“You four are unbelievable,” Saori said with a smile, caressing her garms as if they were actual pets.
As if she didn’t want to be left out, Klea’Hatma spoke up, too, [“And, what about moi~?”]
“Yeeeees, of course, you have permission too, but only if Ellaine or anybody else from Aurora is carrying you in, Klea’Hatma. Otherwise, no.” Klea’Hatma gave a sour “boooooo” once she heard that, but I wouldn’t give somebody I didn’t trust access to our safe space. I still am aware of who she actually was.
Ignoring her pouting, I stuffed one of the runes into my storage before continuing the explanation. “Each rune holds the ‘save data’ of our [Room]. Even if two of the three were to be destroyed, the [Room] will stay intact in the last one and we can always recreate another rune to access the subspace. I’m keeping the third with me.”
Ellaine then raised her hand. “Why did you not make more? If Saori can keep another one, wouldn’t it be even safer? Also, would it be possible to open multiple access points with additional runes? For example, if we had four runes, couldn’t you open one here and Saori another one from the gates? Would we all enter the same space?”
I shrugged. “Grimnir and I thought of that possibility but we kept it at three for this initial testing. Grimnir’s time is precious since he is also responsible for your sword’s runes, his armor, and also the weapons he was planning for Saori and me. Considering he took two weeks for these three runes…”
“It’s hard work, that’s for sure. I think I can speed it up for additional ones, but I would rather spend time on other projects that can increase our overall strength instead of focusing on just this one thing. Without a proper armor set, I am only useful to our party as a craftsman. For now, let's furnish the subspace with these three.”
Everybody agreed. We could test Ellaine’s idea out another day, but for now, we had to get things sorted.
“One more thing, if all runes were to be destroyed, our items won’t be lost or something. The [Room] will simply disappear and all items we had inside it will just pop back into this reality. Imagine it as a bomb, just with a bunch of furniture.” I then activated the runes and we exited the RV once again. After I opened it up again, the empty wooden space was there once again, including the small changes I made to it.
“You can get into the subspace through the two doors leading into Grimnir’s smithy. If you aren’t somebody I gave permission to enter, you will only see an empty room, never noticing there was a subspace within it,” I stated after everybody entered the [Room].
“What if somebody were to take those runes, Hestia? Would that not be a problem? What happens if those runes were destroyed and we were still inside?” Saori worriedly questioned me, making everybody imagine that disaster scenario.
Thank you for asking, hehe.
Having waited for somebody to ask this unsettling question, the edges of my mouth jolted upwards, unnerving everybody at the sight of my bared fangs. “Thank you for asking, Saori. This was an issue Grimnir and I were worried about ourselves; as such, we devised a very easy solution for this. I shall make a [Room] to hold those [Room] runes! A [Room] within a [Room]! A [Room]ception, ahaha!”
The idea was to put the runes inside a [Room] cast. The fundamental difference between me casting a [Room] spell and Grimnir’s [Room] runes was their transportability and storage ability.
Normally, the spell version would just stick onto whatever surface I placed the magic circle on and stay there until I dispel it. Although, if you were to destroy its surface, it would disappear. While it was possible to transport it around if I placed the spell on a carriable object, it didn’t have the “save data” function of Grimnir’s runes.
Another issue with the spell version of [Room] was that the moment the spell disappeared, the room would be destroyed and the objects would reappear in the world. The “save data” solves this problem, giving the [Room] multiple “save files.” Only if all the runes were gone would the spell truly disappear for Grimnir’s method.
“That doesn’t explain what your idea does, Hestia,” Saori stated and I completely agreed. This was just an explanation of what the two methods did.
“[Room], whether in spell or rune form, is something only I can control. There are three layers — reality, [Room] spell, and [Room] rune. Within the later two layers, I can decide whether you can enter the first or second, or even outright forbid you from entering either of them altogether, leaving you in the first layer, reality,” I explained, trying my best to make this easy to understand. “In the first layer, I will cast [Room] and hide the magic circle somewhere hard to find. In the second layer, I will place the runes where our ‘mobile base’ will be, ensuring that you guys won’t be trapped inside the subspace when I’m not around. If I am, I can just allow you guys to come out, since it’s my spell.”
“Ahh, so that is why you are holding onto the third rune, Lady Hestia! In case something happens with the other two runes, you can use the third to rescue us.” Tasianna clapped her hands, understanding what I was saying. “And, if somebody were to find the spell version of [Room], it wouldn’t trap us inside the subspace but transport the two runes back to reality. Would you be able to notice if your spell would be destroyed, Lady Hestia?”
“Sadly, I can’t.” I shook my head. “[Room] doesn’t work with [Delayed Cast] or [Continuous Cast], since it’s permanently active even without me needing to spend mana on its upkeep. I can’t form a mana connection with it. But, I can do this.”
I then pointed everybody’s attention to the door we used to enter this [Room], highlighting it before pointing at the wall directly opposite of it. There, a door magically formed with the same appearance as the former. Finally, I then created two windows next to each door. With that, I began explaining how the entry and exit system of this subspace worked.
In essence, regardless of which door you leave through in the third layer, you may choose which layer you want to move to. You are also able to choose which door you want to exit from in the reality layer, which means, even if I made a hundred more doors in the third layer, each door allowed you to either exit the RV through Grimnir’s smithy or enter the RV into Saori’s kitchen.
And then we have the windows, my solution to Saori’s problem. As I said before, nothing enters the subspace without my permission, or the permission of somebody I entrust this responsibility to. As such, even sound, light, and air cannot enter the [Room] if I don’t give them the “ok.” For that reason, I made these windows. They would allow sound inside the room, giving everybody a warning in case the second layer was destroyed by an intruder.
“As the subspaces are created through the Divine System, you are still connected to it even within the subspace. However, you are technically separated from the reality layer while within it. Keep the windows open. I’ll give you guys permission to allow people inside, right now.”
System voice, change the name to ‘Aurora’s Mobile Base.’
<[Room] name changed to [Aurora’s Mobile Base]>
<[Aurora’s Mobile Base] entry and restricted modification permission granted to Party [Aurora]>
Hmm, wait, Klea’Hatma isn’t connected to the System. Ahh, so even if I wanted to grant her permission, I wouldn’t be able to. I thought it would be fine for now, but it seems like the Divine System has no intention to do so.
Saori’s garms were connected to her as she registered them to her tamer license through a Divine System Crystal, but Klea’Hatma wasn’t acknowledged by the Divine System. As I gave her this news, she sighed so deeply it began to sound slutty, but quickly recovered. While she was stuck with Ellaine, the demoness could still come in as a “possession,” so it didn’t matter to her.
With the explanation done, it was finally time to expand this whole place. Taking out some dragorade, I touched the wall and imagined the room becoming larger. The more I changed the room, the more mana left my body, forcing me to sip the dragorade. I then erected some walls to create five rooms, one for each member of Aurora. After adding some windows and doors, I then created a communal room from which we could enter our rooms.
“Privacy, nice,” Saori nodded. Even if the rooms were small now, we could also adjust them to each person’s preference. “Hestia, could you make the door to my room larger? The garms have to turn into shadows to enter subspace in the first place, but I would prefer if they didn’t have to be inside here.”
You better go on many walks with them, Saori. No dog poop inside our base! Hmm, speaking about poop…
I then turned to Ellaine, wanting to ask her about a previously discussed topic. “Ellaine, would you be able to help us acquire some of those toilet slimes? We need a better method to get rid of the waste. We can probably install a water system to give everybody a warm shower and bath — oh, wait, wouldn’t a hot spring be possible? Anyway, getting rid of our bathroom business could become pretty nasty within this subspace if we don’t do something about it.”
She nodded, showing some curiosity when I mentioned the hot spring, but kept it restrained. “I can, of course, which reminds me of something. Saori, would it be alright for you to turn a slime into one of your shadow beasts? The slime we buy from the shop is small and cannot multiply, but I heard slimes of a higher rank can multiply into smaller bits, which would help us save money.”
Oh, that is true. Saori being a tamer could help the slime level up and evolve… but then it will turn into an eldritch monster. Urgh, just gotta deal with it, Hestia…
After Saori agreed to do so, above the objections of the garms who were less thrilled to share their Alpha with a slime, Tasianna came forward with a question. “Lady Hestia, what about our garden? How much light can enter into the [Room] through the windows?”
Oh, that is a problem.
While it was relatively easy to allow light inside for plants to use for photosynthesis, we had to adjust the reality layer for it to work. This meant we had to add more windows onto the RV to let more light in. It wasn’t a problem when we had our garden on the second floor of the RV, but it would prove to be a problem now since Grimnir’s smithy was pretty small. There were only so many windows we could add onto it until it became more or less a safety hazard.
“That’s fine, then I’ll just keep the garden up on the second floor. With everybody moving into the [Room] to sleep, I can simply expand our entire garden. I’ll make sure to grow the produce we require the most, like fulinoe leaves and Belzac herbs.” Tasianna’s idea was great. Considering we already transformed Grimnir's wagon once already, it would have been a shame to leave the upper floor empty.
I then turned to Grimnir. “Grimnir, do you know how to make glass? If we can make some sturdy glass like, uh, bulletproof glass, we can turn the upper floor into a greenhouse.”
“What's ‘bulletproof glass’ or a ‘greenhouse?’ Lass, could you not use your world’s language without explaining what it is?” I apologized and explained it to him after getting chastised. “Ahhh, I see. Well, to be honest, glassmaking is something the elves specialize in. Well, it’s still a craft involving fire so we tazongs ain’t lacking in ability, but I only know the basics of how to perform glassblowing. I never did it myself, so I can’t even start on something Peolynca hasn’t even invented yet like this bulletproof glass.”
But Grimnir’s expression didn’t match his words and tone. His eyes sparkled at the idea of inventing something Peolyncians haven’t yet. He was a true craftsman.
After Ellaine left us to go to bed, as the academy fair was tomorrow, the rest of us began unloading our stuff from the RV and putting them inside our subspace. Since this would be our actual living space, we made sure to add everything you would want in a normal house first, like toilets, a kitchen that doubled as a bakery, and a library for magical experimentations.
Since the subspace’s doors worked similarly to portals to move around the subspace, we figured we could go wild with the possibilities. A hot spring made using manatech to create water and then to heat it up, a fancy restaurant to serve nobles or rich merchants, and a whole adventurer shop with a blacksmith for Grimnir. Of course, we didn’t have all the furniture and equipment just yet, but we could work on it over time.
“Is this your armor, Grimnir?” I asked him as our party was packing his entire smithy into the subspace. Since his old set was destroyed, he had to make an entire new one using my scales.
“Aye, it is. It still needs runes to fully function, but it’s a good piece of craftsmanship if I say so myself. Should allow me to tank more, ahahaha!” I took Grimnir’s boisterous laugh at face value and didn’t appraise it. However, that was when something came to mind.
Isn’t he a bit small?
I told him how I was a bit concerned his tanking abilities wouldn’t work too well when I’m in my dragon form. Sure, while Saori and I were in our humanoid forms, Grimnir would be able to properly act as the frontline, but I questioned how he would do this if we were to fight against giant monsters or transform into giant monsters ourselves. Which brought me to my idea.
“Have you ever thought of making a suit of armor that makes you even larger and taller than you currently are? Like a robotic suit or maybe a gundam, oh shit, or a power armor would be a better description.” I then mimicked the pose of somebody holding a minigun and began shooting with it. “A paladin of steel or a chainsaw sword-wielding marine. Earth had a ton of weapons involving long-range firepower and explosions! If you could have a mana-based power armor, you could strut around being an absolute boss on the battlefield. Aaaand…” I showed him a smug. “From your look, you have no idea what it is. Don’t you want to make Bleidla furious with envy, Grimnir?”
“… Once Ellaine is back, you will tell me everything, lass. If it’s mechanical, I’ll need Ellaine’s help with the mana wiring.” Grimnir huffed out fire from the edge of his mouth, looking inspired to create what I just told him about it. I then wondered if I’d said too much.
Regardless, the decorating of our mobile base continued throughout the night. None of us wanted to go to sleep. Sleep truly was for the weak. Yes, we probably would have to go shopping for more furniture or even make it ourselves, as we just didn’t have enough to completely decorate everything. But, we could still plan ahead for everything.
After all, with this new feature of our RV, we were able to make Grimnir an entire shop and Saori a restaurant. Our number one problem wasn’t just the furniture, but our manpower. But, I guess with some creativity and resourcefulness, we could probably make do with only us five. I mean, who would want to join us in the near future, right? No normal person would want to constantly risk their lives with our terrible luck.
Once morning came, Ellaine had to forcefully drag us all out as we had agreed to come with her to the royal academy. While Saori, Tasianna, Grimnir, and I didn’t need to sleep for different reasons, we did feel like vampires when the morning sun blared at us. Yes, even I flinched back. The sunfang dragon flinched back from the sun like a basement-dwelling gamer.
The royal academy fair was decent. After what I did at the ball, people naturally noticed me and wanted to speak with me, but with Tasianna blocking their path with her icy attitude, they simply kept themselves at a distance. I also met the three professors I kidnapped during my mage guild entrance exam.
Experienced mages themselves, we made small talk about magical theory, but aside from the practical stuff I learned from Master Kush, I couldn’t really keep up with their theoretical knowledge. Like, how mana formed in Peolynca or how empty vessel magic was invented. It made me aware of how lacking my formal magical education was compared to a normal mage.
Moving along, we separated from Ellaine and Josine, who had come with her mistress, after we reached the area where the magic-focused students were to perform. Ellaine, having become one of the more capable mages after traveling with us, was to perform some of her magic with the others as her duty as a student. As such, the rest of us roamed around to check out the other venues. Strangely enough, if you took away the student uniforms from the boys and girls, this whole place felt pretty similar to a normal school fest.
Students from the Greenveil and Equevanna duchies were competing amongst each other on how much their faction could earn in total, manning stands to sell food and promote small magic games.
Lecartiglio and Groushia students were holding knightly competitions like jousting, sword fights, and sport events with their magical version of rugby or american football.
Those from the Morgiana and Myrrdin duchies were responsible for the magical events, one of which Ellaine would perform in. From this, I understood the overall factions were hosting these events, but students from any duchy were allowed to participate in them.
The two “factions” who didn’t hold any of their own events were those from the Olivus duchy and those from a commoner background. The Olivus duchy didn’t really have a rival to compete against, and, as a commoner required a sponsor to join the royal academy, most of them would support their sponsor’s or friend’s side in this whole event, which made it questionable if the commoners should be considered a faction in the first place.
“Well, I would rather spend my time inside the smithy but this ain’t too bad. Youngsters deserve time to enjoy themselves, even if they are a bunch of spoiled noble akongs.” Grimnir said while holding onto plates upon plates of food he bought from the stalls. He was in a festive mood, it seems.
“Well, Master Dwarf, are you a man of your word? If you weren’t stuffing your mouth full with food, I would believe you so much more. Hiehiehie, I pray to Goddess Zephira to allow us to make some good memories today,” Tasianna prayed to the Goddess of Wind, Celebrations, and Travel after teasing Grimnir.
“Oh, how I missed visiting festivals. Once we visit the opera and coliseum tomorrow, let us stroll around the middle district a bit. I bet the festive air will be even better there,” Saori exclaimed with a wide smile before pointing at one of the magic game stalls and pushing us to play with her.
It was a ball-throwing game where you had to accurately throw small balls into specific holes in a random order according to a lighting machine. The difficulty in this game was due to the distance to the targets, making it hard as you had to control your throws well. Still, with our skills and stats, we easily trivialized the challenge and won with everybody participating.
It was so easy it shouldn’t have been fun but we still laughed merrily as we celebrated everybody’s success. The prizes weren’t bad either, since all of this was catered towards nobles. With parents and family attending to enjoy themselves, the prizes couldn’t be bad. With four complete wins, we earned ourselves four small mana batteries, perfect for our new base.
After we spent even more time in the fair’s ground, somebody suddenly came running to us. It was Josine.
Completely out of breath, she forced herself to speak, “Lady Hestia, please, you must come quickly! M-My Lady, she was forced into accepting a magic duel by the Chezaic House’s twin daughters!”
What now?
