Chapter 55: Exploring the Gem Space

"Why are John Pole's tomatoes so large and luscious? The answer is simple – because his tomatoes are nurturing Tomato Bugs!"

Upon reading the task and the rewards provided, List made this deduction.

Tomatoes were the primary vegetable here, and without the Elf Bugs, Flower Town's tomato yield was not substantial. Now that there was finally going to be a Tomato Bug, it was indeed a cause for celebration: "Once I return, I'll investigate the Tomato Bug and ensure its incubation goes smoothly."

With his left hand outstretched, he held the intangible Dragon's gem in his palm.

The gem shimmered with light.

List gave it a deep glance before clenching his hand and storing the gem safely against his body. He then left the farmer's house, mounted his Fire Dragon Steed, and departed the dairy farm – the matter had concluded, and all traces of the intangible Dragon had been erased.

Moments later,

Butler Carter emerged from the castle gates with servants in tow: "Sir, I'm relieved to see you return safely." He exhaled a long sigh of relief after speaking.

"Don't worry, what could happen to me?" List nodded. "Thomas, go to the town and inform Teacher Gort that the lockdown has been lifted. Mrs. Mo Sen, prepare a bath for me – I've worked up quite a sweat and need a good wash."

"As you wish, Sir!"

The oppressive atmosphere dissipated, and the castle bustled with activity.

Thomas rode to the town to give notice, while Tom attended to the new stable boy, feeding the horses and caring for Hiddleston. The maids were busy with laundry, and the kitchen was occupied with preparing lunch. Just one nobleman, Liszt, required the constant labor of fifteen servants to ensure his every need was met.

Liszt adhered to a principle of frequent, yet brief baths, no longer than five minutes each.

He changed into casual attire and retreated to his study, locking the door behind him.

Removing the Intangible Dragon's gem, he began his investigation.

Visually, there was no way to discern any mystery within the gem. Activating his Magic Eye revealed countless specks swirling within the gem's magical vortex, differing only in color from the ruby on the Red Blood Sword.

"So, how does it connect to the space ring?"

"Or rather, how do I unlock the space within the gem? Through blood sacrifice or by infusing it with magic?"

Blood sacrifice implied self-harm, which Liszt found unsettling, so he first attempted to infuse the gem with his Aura. As his Aura made contact with the gem, he sensed a subtle connection akin to the bond formed with an Elven Worm. Rapidly, this connection solidified, and the gem began absorbing his Aura vigorously.

After absorbing roughly one-tenth of his Aura, the gem ceased its absorption, and the subtle connection had expanded into an invisible portal.

Following the connection of his Aura, Liszt suddenly discovered a space that was neither too large nor too small.

The space was irregularly round, with no discernible up, down, left, right, or cardinal directions. It was surrounded by "walls," an unknown structure resembling walls, seamless and unbreakable.

"The whole thing resembles a sphere, about five meters in diameter, roughly the size of a studio apartment," Liszt observed, his eyes fixed on the gleaming gemstone in his hand.

Yet, he could simultaneously sense this space within his mind – a remarkable sensation.

He also found that this state could persist as long as he had Aura to replenish it, maintaining the magical force holding the portal open. The consumption was minimal, nearly equivalent to the rate at which his own Aura naturally regenerated.

He attempted to sever the supply of Aura.

Swiftly, the gateway to the space dissipated, and the peculiar feeling in his mind vanished. The spherical space disappeared without a trace. "Relying on Aura, or magic, to open and maintain a space—cutting off the magic causes the space to instantly close. This gemstone of the Invisible Dragon is indeed a spatial ring."

Its size was suitable for a ring.

More importantly, a constant supply of magic was needed, and the hand was the optimal location for outputting Aura.

"However, I have no intention of embedding it in a ring; that would be too ostentatious, and I don't have an immediate need for constant access to it. For safety's sake, I should turn it into a pendant to hang around my neck."

A spatial ring was invaluable, especially to high-ranking nobles, as it served as an essential tool for hiding secrets.

But for Liszt, he didn't have anything at the moment worth storing in the ring. It wasn't an urgent requirement for him. Frankly, if someone offered him a grand elf in exchange for the ring, he wouldn't hesitate to make the trade – the improvement of productivity was more crucial than any spatial ring.

Regardless, research must continue.

He reopened the spatial ring and began attempting to store items inside. This task didn't pose a challenge to him; after some simple experimentation, he grasped the method – using magic to wrap the objects.

With the spatial ring in his left hand, he released his Aura to envelop the item he wanted to store, a book.

In an instant, the book vanished from the table, appearing within the spatial ring. Seemingly responding to his will, he could place the book anywhere within the space. He joyfully stowed all the books in his study into the ring, suspending them in mid-air as if there were invisible shelves.

The books remained motionless within the space, not causing any disorder.

"Is this like a vacuum environment?" He lit a candle and then stored it inside. To his amazement, the candle continued burning without any change.

Extending a stream of Aura to maintain the portal, he moved the candle closer to a book. The flame tilted when it touched the cover, yet it didn't extinguish nor ignite the book's cover. It seemed that upon entering the space, all matter fell into a state of absolute stillness.

"Is this even stopping the movement of atoms?" List attempted to explain it scientifically but quickly gave up. This world seemed to have a scientific foundation, but matters involving magic had already surpassed the boundaries of science—there was nothing scientific to say about a spatial ring.

With his Aura enveloping his hand, he willed it, and the candle was retrieved once more.

The flame continued burning.

After several repetitions, List was certain that the interior of the spatial ring was relatively motionless.

"I wonder what would happen if I put a living creature inside?" He wanted to try it, but his Aura had been depleted.

Opening the spatial ring consumed magic power, storing items consumed magic power, and retrieving them also consumed magic power. With the amount of Aura he had as an Earth Knight, he was somewhat strained.

...

For lunch, Gort, Marcus, and others arrived.

"Teacher Gort, has order been restored in the town?" List sat at the head of the table, cutting a piece of roasted meat with a knife. He had already adapted to the Western dining style.

Gort took a sip of beer. "A mere morning of lockdown didn't affect the town in the slightest. But, List, two cows are missing from the dairy farm."

"So, the eight cows have returned?"

"Yes, they somehow managed to escape from Thorns Ridge. It's insane, and only the skeletons of the two elder cows remain." Gort was clearly curious but refrained from asking, as Liszt had previously made it clear not to inquire about or dwell on what had happened at the dairy farm.

Liszt still had no intention of explaining: "Mm, let the farmers take the old cows' bones for soup. Fill in that tunnel and restore the dairy farm to its original state."

Gort shrugged. "As you wish."