"Master, you've returned."
As soon as Tris opened the inn room door, Rin's voice rang out to greet him.
Nodding in response, he took off his backpack and outer coat, tossed them beside the chair, and sat down.
Rin: "Master, did you succeed in hunting today?"
Tris: "Failed. Someone else found the prey and hunted it first. But anyway, I still managed to buy what I was looking for."
Rin: "What is it?"
Tris: "Ice Stone."
Tris then took out from his spatial ring something resembling a large ice block, about a meter long and 30 cm in diameter.
Rin: "Although its name has the word stone, calling it a pillar seems more fitting?"
Tris: "The name probably comes from the fact that people often break it into smaller pieces to sell."
Curious, Rin moved closer to observe and felt the cold air emanating from the object.
Rin: "Master, what is this used for?"
Tris: "It can emit cold air for a very long time, lasting for years. People usually use it to preserve food in warehouses. But since we don't need to worry about food storage, I plan to use it to cool the air during summer."
For Tris, this thing worked almost like an air conditioner, warding off the heat.
Broken into smaller pieces, it could also be used to chill drinks.
Cutting down a chunk about the size of a fist, Tris tossed it to Rin.
Tris: "Here, do whatever you like with it."
Rin: "Thank you, Master."
The girl happily looked at the stone in her hand, which reflected light and sparkled beautifully.
Rin: "So cold."
But since it was the middle of winter, keeping such an object nearby wasn't pleasant at all.
So both Tris and Rin quickly stored the 'Ice Stone' back into their spatial rings.
Tris: "Ah, Rin, you don't have Arachnophobia or anything like that, do you?"
Suddenly asked this, Rin's face showed confusion:
Rin: "Arachnophobia?"
Tris: "Are you afraid of spiders?"
Rin: "Rin used to roast and eat them whenever she had the chance to catch some. The taste was surprisingly not bad."
Though spiders looked rather disgusting, hunger was far more terrifying to the poor.
Tris: "That's good then."
Rin: "Are we going to eat them tonight?"
Tris: "Forget about eating. Instead, you might need to try befriending some big spiders."
Rin: "(⊙ˍ⊙) !?"
* * * * * * * * * *
So cold all around.
The chill felt like countless needles piercing into every tiny part of its body, creating a painful, gnawing discomfort.
The cold wasn't just simple torment; it was as if it were kneading and reshaping its vague, uncertain form.
But wait… did it even truly have a body at this moment?
It felt as though it was curled up inside a dark, cramped space.
If one had to describe it, it was like a worm inside a cocoon, or perhaps a chick still within its egg.
How much time had passed?
Being trapped in that confined space for so long, the concept of time itself had grown hazy.
Yet strangely, somehow, it could still sense what was happening outside that narrow prison.
Its position was constantly changing, sometimes placed in what seemed to be a luxurious building, sometimes inside a cargo vehicle, and at other times within a cheap-looking, large crate.
Besides it, there was always a girl with long black hair and a beautiful face.
Oddly enough, it was certain she was beautiful rather than ugly, even though its vision was blurred, as if someone had deliberately smudged every face around it.
That black-haired girl seemed to be protecting it from something.
Around them, supernatural battles often erupted, with the girl always at the center.
With her astonishing skills and power, she faced opponent after opponent without defeat.
But then, she encountered a very strong adversary whose abilities countered hers. If the battle dragged on, she would likely lose.
The girl sighed wearily, kicked at the shell encasing its body, and said:
"Break time's over. Switch."
From within the darkness, the pain and cold from before had, at some unknown point, already ceased.
It could now clearly feel its body, with arms and legs like those outside.
And then, from inside, it tore open the shell. Light from outside immediately flooded into the once-dark space.
"I still wanted to sleep a little longer. Once you get used to it, that place becomes unexpectedly pleasant, even comfortable."
The very first thing it did upon emerging was to grumble in annoyance.
* * * * * * * * * *
Opening his eyes wide, the first thing Tris saw was the familiar ceiling of the inn room he had rented.
Gradually regaining clarity, he shook off the impression of being that vague existence from before and reclaimed the sense of himself, his own body, not anyone else's.
The soft comfort of the pillow beneath his head and the mattress under his back.
The warmth of the blanket draped over him.
The heat and clinginess from beside him, like a koala tightly hugging a tree trunk, and in this case, that trunk was his body.
"Another strange dream again."
Once fully awake, Tris quickly realized what had happened and began recalling each detail of the dream.
Of course, he didn't bother trying to remember what the figures in it looked like, since in all his dreams, the identities of characters were always obscured, unless they were imaginary 2D beings.
What Tris tried to recall now was the peculiar sensation of being confined in that dark space.
Normally, his dreams were simple, scattered, and often quite useless.
For example, performing Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start to activate some cheat code, or the number of times you poke a cat's nose with your finger before it bites you, etc.
A dream with such complex content as the one he had just experienced was rare. And whenever such dreams appeared, Tris usually learned something that truly brought practical benefits in reality.
Lying still in thought for not too long, a cold mist suddenly began to spread from around Tris's body.
Feeling the sudden chill, the "koala" beside him clung even tighter with its arms and legs.
Tris then tried to control the cold so it no longer radiated from his whole body, but instead concentrated in the palm of his raised hand.
From that palm, a frosty breath blew out into the air, lowering the temperature of the entire room.
"So this is Ice magic."
Of course, such a small ability was completely useless in combat.
Even if Tris studied further and managed to wield more complex, powerful Ice magic, he would still rely on Earth magic and Space magic in battle due to compatibility and effectiveness.
After all, Ice wasn't an attribute he had talent for. Trying to use it in combat would only waste spiritual energy.
Still, while not suitable for fighting, it was perfectly fine for daily life, cooling rooms, or chilling drinks in summer.
'(╬▔皿▔)╯So I wasted money buying that 'Ice Stone'? Why didn't you show up earlier? Are you kidding me?'
Tris thought angrily.