Chương 52: Chapter 49: The Mechanics of Magic

When Zack and Tony met back up with me in the main administrative lobby, they had a third young man in tow whom I hadn't met yet. He looked to be in his early twenties, carrying himself with a quiet, observant confidence that didn't quite match the raw physical build of the two patrolmen.

"This is my little brother, Henry," Zack introduced, clapping a heavy hand on the young man's shoulder.

"He's the one responsible for the rings. He's a Level 5 Enchanter." I looked at the kid in pure surprise, re-evaluating him instantly.

"You're the one forging the dimensional pockets, huh?" I repeated, turning the concept over in my mind.

"Would you mind telling me the secret of how you managed to pull off making something that incredibly valuable?"

"Sure," Henry said, a bright, eager smile breaking across his face.

"Before the system initialization, I was in my second year of college studying physics and mathematics. When the system hit, I was granted two baseline spells: Imbue Mana and Dimensional Warping. Long story short, the system allows me to fold an isolated dimensional pocket and use a physical object as the anchoring focal point. I originally tried to manifest the pocket inside soft leather pouches and cloth bags, but the dimensional stress was just too volatile for the organic materials to handle.

They tore apart instantly. So, I switched to metals. Solid rings seem to be amazingly effective, though I can theoretically imbue other types of heavy jewelry as well."

"What's the volume capacity on each one?" I asked, completely fascinated by the mechanics.

"Right now, the basic rings can hold exactly ten cubic feet of storage," Henry explained.

"As I grind out levels and increase my proficiency, I should be able to expand the baseline volume of the pockets. Structurally, it requires an upfront investment of one hundred mana points just to cast and stabilize the dimensional fold. From there, I have to channel my remaining mana into the item at a continuous ratio of five to one. So, for every five additional points of mana I pump into the forging, I can expand the space by a cubic foot.

The biggest bottleneck right now is the cool-down period; the system locks the spell down for a full hour after every completion."

"And how exactly do we manage the inventory?" I asked.

"How do we get things in and out?"

"Easy," Henry said.

"You just touch the object with the hand wearing the ring and focus your intent on pulling it inside. It does cost a minor amount of your own mana to store or retrieve items, though. The system calculates the cost based strictly on the object's physical mass. Small items like a knife take minimal mana, while larger, bulkier objects require a heavier draw.

That's why we still have our mattresses and heavy furniture loaded into the beds of our trucks; pulling those out all at once would completely drain our mana pools."

"That makes perfect sense," I said, nodding as the pieces fell into place.

"I have to say, Henry, I'm incredibly impressed. This utility is going to make a massive difference for our logistics. I'm assuming living tissue can't enter the space?"

"That's correct," Henry replied.

"The system rejects anything with an active life force. But the upside is that whatever inanimate object you place inside the pocket is perfectly preserved in its current state. Time is essentially frozen within the fold, so any food supplies you store will stay fresh indefinitely. And as far as we can tell, there's a one-hundred percent reduction in carried weight. You aren't actually carrying the mass of the items on your finger; they're resting entirely in another dimension."

"When Zack handed me the ring earlier, the system notification said it needed to be attuned," I recalled.

"Does that mean I'm the only one who can access the inventory? Like a standard soul-binding mechanic?"

"Exactly," Henry said, his smile widening.

"Though, to be honest, we don't actually know what happens to the inventory if the attuned user dies. That particular mechanic hasn't been discovered yet."

"And hopefully won't be for a very long time," I replied dryly. I pulled the steel band out of my vest pocket. Immediately, the pale blue system prompt resurfaced in my vision, asking if I wanted to attune the item to my signature. This time, I mentally selected [Yes] and slid the ring onto my right ring finger. A strange, subtle hum vibrated against my skin for a split second before settling. When I focused my mind on the ring, a translucent, empty ten-cubic-foot grid expanded in my mind's eye.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Testing the interface, I drew a combat dagger from my belt, touched the blade with my right hand, and focused on pulling it in. The weapon vanished instantly from my grip. I accessed the ring's inventory again and saw the dagger resting neatly inside the grid.

"Amazing," I whispered in genuine awe. Just then, the heavy door from the teacher's lounge clicked open, and Denise stepped into the lobby behind me.

"What's amazing?" she asked, catching the tail end of my expression. I turned around to face her, a giant grin plastered across my face.

"Watch this," I said, holding out my completely empty right hand. I focused my intent on the ring's inventory, mentally pulling the weapon back across the threshold. Seamlessly, the heavy combat dagger materialized directly into my palm. Denise blinked, looking at the blade and then at my hand, her reaction a bit more grounded than my manic excitement.

"Wow. Impressive."

"Darn right it is," I chuckled, sheathing the blade.

"It's a dimensional pocket ring for instantaneous item storage." I held up my hand, letting the metal band catch the fluorescent light of the lobby. Turning back to the three men, I introduced them properly.

"Denise, this is Zack, Tony, and Zack's younger brother, Henry. They're part of the new arrival group I mentioned. Zack and Tony are former law enforcement from the local PD, and Henry is the engineer responsible for crafting these rings." Denise's expression shifted, a sudden look of sharp concern flashing across her features as she locked eyes with the patrolmen.

"From the police department?"

"Yes," I replied, clearing my throat slightly.

"We actually met them the night of the... the Doughnut Shop Smash and Grab." Denise's eyes grew incredibly wide as she realized exactly who they were. To my relief, Zack and Tony both broke out into loud, genuine laughter.

"It's completely alright, ma'am," Zack said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Your husband was incredibly honorable with us under the circumstances, and he treated us with respect. We don't hold a grudge about the armory theft at all. To be perfectly honest, it was a brilliant tactical play. We just wish we had thought to secure those assets before he did." Henry stepped forward, breaking the tension by holding out a second, identical metallic band.

"Here, ma'am. Just so you know our family means well and wants to contribute, I want you to have a dimensional ring of your own."

"Now, hold on just a second there, young man," I said, pitching my voice into a commanding, mock-stern tone as I stepped in and playfully confiscated the ring from his fingers.

"If someone is going to be putting a ring on my wife's finger, it's going to be me, not some young college stud." I flashed Henry a quick wink to let him know I was just hazing him. Turning back to Denise, I dropped down onto one knee on the lobby tile, holding the small band up between my fingers.

"Will you do me the absolute honor, my love?" I paused, letting the silence stretch for a theatrical beat.

"... Again?" Denise giggled, the lingering stress completely vanishing from her face as she extended her right hand.

"Always, my love." I slid the band onto her finger, and I watched her eyes instantly zone out for a few seconds as she navigated the system attunement prompts. I pushed myself back up to my feet, turning to Henry to give the young man a firm, appreciative handshake.

"Thank you, Henry. That really means a lot to us." Zack shifted back into a professional posture, adjusting his tactical vest.

"You mentioned earlier that you had an immediate priority mission for us?"

"I do," I said, getting back to business.

"With our current solar array setup, we have plenty of power during the peak daylight hours, but because the school lacks a functional battery bank, our grid goes completely dark the second the sun drops. I need a capable team to head down the highway to the RV dealership and scavenge for deep-cycle batteries. Do you think you three can handle that?"

"Absolutely, that's a straightforward sweep," Zack replied.

"How many units are we hunting for?"

"Fifty to get our baseline systems operational," I told him.

"But honestly, grab every single functional battery you can find down there. Please don't take too long on the road, though. We still have to manually wire them into the school's central charge controller. Most of those units should still hold a decent factory charge, but I want enough daylight left so the solar panels can top them off before nightfall. You'll also need to strip as many heavy-duty battery cables and connectors as you can find."

"No problem at all," Henry chimed in, his technical mind clearly switching gears.

"Do you want us to configure the bank into a twelve-volt system or a twenty-four-volt system?" I looked at him, testing him just a bit.

"I'm thinking a twenty-four-volt configuration would offer much better efficiency over these distances. What's your take, Mr. Physics Major?" Henry smiled confidently.

"I completely agree. Less line loss and better performance for the heavy equipment. I can have the entire bank wired up and balanced before nightfall, I guarantee it."

"That would be incredible if you could pull it off," I replied, a wave of genuine relief washing over me.

"Get to it. Let's get this place online."