Chapter 170: Possible, Have To Be Naked Though
"Argh fuck, I don’t want to meet that villain at all..."
For the several days, Cillian had done nothing but research a few things about his Pieces while preparing for the upcoming fight in the Underworld, which he expected to end within the next couple of days once it began.
There was no need to prolong and stretch things out when the return to the Academy was approaching. If he didn’t want his schedule at the Academy to conflict with his plans in the Underworld, he needed to take control of it so that it could begin operating the way he wanted it to.
He really needed the Underworld for his future plans to go smoothly.
If it failed, it would cause a lot of setbacks, and above all, a lot would be lost.
’There’s nothing to worry about, right?’
For some reason, Cillian stopped himself from worrying about matters concerning the Underworld. He didn’t want to jinx it, especially when he had been a freak of making sure everything fell into its places.
After all, he wanted to have the perfect kind of fun.
’PMA. Positive mental attitude.’
Cillian didn’t just worry about those things. He also trained in swordsmanship, which was still crude, while doing the same with his bow. During his free time, he practiced his spells, and there was noticeable improvement in his Stone Ball.
Even though it wasn’t as spammable as his Fireball, his Stone Ball had reached a point where it could be used effectively in combat and deal damage to his opponents.
’I have a lot of options in my arsenal now. Hahh, the problem is that I can’t openly use either of my two new abilities, Critical Trigger and the Honored One. I’d be glad if I could use them during the upcoming fight. Well, Critical Trigger can’t be seen since it’s part of the system. The Honored One, on the other hand, is different...’
Even though he had another addition to his arsenal that he could use against his opponents, his main strength was still restricted because he couldn’t find a place where he could use them in real battle and test these abilities.
For Critical Trigger, Cillian had an idea of how it could be used in either combat or preparation. The reason he hesitated to use it fully was because of the mental load it would place on him. It would be twice as much, meaning he could definitely use the ability, but it would also affect him at the same time.
’...or worse.’
As for his newly acquired Piece, Cillian had to be careful about showing it in public. Half of the people from Viola definitely knew that he was a Ruiner because of the recent attack, but that didn’t change the fact that he needed to hide his new strength and keep people thinking that he hadn’t upgraded himself yet.
Surprising opponents is one of the keys to winning battles.
[Inventory: [Mouthful Eye is shouting]]
Suddenly, Cillian glanced to the side and saw a screen pop up, indicating that Mouthful Eye had woken up.
’The heck?’
He was visibly surprised when it happened, since it was the first time he had seen such a notification.
Cillian immediately went to an alleyway early before carefully picking up Mouthful Eye, even though no one was around to watch him.
"..."
There, the usually silent Mouthful Eye appeared to be visibly shaken. Cillian can really his pupils quivering.
Then, he commented.
"I don’t want to stay at that... place anymore."
Cillian tilted his head.
"What place? Did something happen to Aiden? He said this to you?"
Mouthful Eye immediately shouted as he looked toward Cillian.
"That place where you’ve been putting me! Don’t put me there anymore! It’s giving me the creeps!"
Cillian glanced over his Inventory screen and Mouthful Eye before retorting, finding this Artifact overreacting.
"What the? It’s just a storage space."
Mouthful Eye screamed again.
"Just don’t, Cillian! I’m begging you! Just put me somewhere in your pocket! If any living being were to enter your Inventory, they’d react the same way I am right now, and that’s for sure! Why don’t you try entering it yourself?! You seem so confident that you wouldn’t go insane in there!"
Cillian wanted to retort to Mouthful Eye’s gibberish, but then he stopped. For some reason, he found the idea of putting something or someone inside his Inventory amusing.
This had never crossed his mind because of how bizarre it sounded, but if he thought about it logically, it might actually be possible.
’The Inventory follows a strict rule of one quantity. I’ve done some assessments after the recent attacks, since it’s something I thought about while fighting back then, when I used the analogy of an arrow and a bunch of arrows in a box. Heh, so the person needs to be naked for it to work?’
What Cillian found amusing was that it might actually be possible if the person were completely naked, with no items in their possession and no clothes on their body. After all, a ’person’ is just one.
’I am crazy for even thinking about this.’
That’s why Cillian called for something who might be able to answer this question that had suddenly arisen after Mouthful Eye shouted while inside his Inventory.
There’s no guarantee about it, though.
"Hey, are you listening, System? Is it possible to put somebody inside the Inventory?"
Mouthful Eye almost shook his head, only to remember that he didn’t have a body capable of doing so. He was about to curse at Cillian instead, only to realize that Cillian was being serious about his question. His eyes were playful, but there was something else in them... Something somewhat expectant?
Cillian didn’t mind whatever look Mouthful Eye was giving him before the Death Flag System appeared, which copied and took his personality to answer him.
[I don’t know about that, Cillian. But if we take the description seriously, it might be possible. Heh, though the person needs to be wearing absolutely nothing. So, basically, naked, I think.]
’Heh, we’re thinking the same thing.’
[A scent of Death within you says "Very amusing."]
Even the Scent of Death was somewhat flabbergasted that they were talking about it, but who would’ve expected that this Inventory would not just be a storage space one random day because of Mouthful Eye’s complaint?
"Okay, I will not put you there any longer."
"Oh, thank god."
What Mouthful Eye wanted to hear was suddenly said by Cillian, but his joy stopped when he saw how Cillian looked at him, as if he were some sort of test subject.
It made Mouthful Eye shiver as he heard Cillian continuing.
"But tell me later the details about it. Right now, I have to help some people become a Ruiner."
Cillian immediately put Mouthful Eye in his breast pocket as he explained the situation while they left the alleyway, then continued his journey toward the meeting spot with Vin, Phillip, and Fergus.
"Wait, did you tell them already that there’s a Zero behind One?"
On the way, Mouthful Eye engaged Cillian in conversation, but he didn’t peek outside lest someone see him. Cillian thought about his answer before responding in a tone that was enough for the Artifact to hear alone.
"Phillip is already an Improper Ruiner, starting at Two. However, I didn’t provide Phillip or Fergus with any information regarding Zero."
Why? Is he being petty by keeping this knowledge from them? Or have they not done their research enough?
Well, this was a secret to begin with, and those who knew about it but were already Improper Ruiners wouldn’t just give away this information and hand someone an advantage from the start.
There was also something else.
’Zero are that rare...’
As if Zero Pieces seemed to simply appear in the world. That’s what Cillian concluded after he had researched over the past days while preparing for the upcoming fight.
There was something Cillian could confirm, though. His Faceless and Aster’s All-Knowing hadn’t come from any of the Runic Gates that had appeared in this world.
’Not only are they not well known, but they are also rare things to find.’
That’s why Cillian couldn’t say anything. There was simply nothing to say.
’Heh, I mean, should I just say, "Oh yeah, I used my knowledge as a professional hater and saw the main character find this Piece coincidentally in Bard’s room, so I took it. Why would I start myself pathetically weak from the start, anyway? So yeah, it’s that rare, and I was lucky," and see their confused faces?’
Eventually, Cillian spotted the trio and saw them getting ready as if they were about to go on a trip.
’Should I just do it for the laughs?’
Cillian mused inwardly, but he restrained himself. Even though he had been feeling somewhat bored lately from doing most of the planning for their progress in the Undercity, he calmed himself down.
Then, he called out to them.
"Oy."