Chapter 52: Info

"Alright, a Mana Storage Ring? That sounds exactly like what I need right now!"

Kyle leaned closer to the screen as he examined the item. Out of everything he had seen in the Level One Marketplace so far, this was the first product that seemed remotely suited to his current situation.

The image of the ring rotated slowly on the screen. Its metal looked almost like polished silver, reflecting the light around it, while a strange multicolored gemstone was embedded into its center. At first glance, the gem appeared to have a rainbow-like color, but when Kyle looked more closely, he realized that it wasn’t actually a single gemstone with different colors. Numerous tiny runes seemed to have been engraved and merged together inside it, each one emitting a slightly different hue and creating the unusual appearance.

Kyle rubbed his chin.

"Should I buy it?"

The ring certainly sounded promising. If it allowed him to store and use mana, then it could potentially solve one of the biggest problems he would face in another world.

But there was one major issue.

"What does ’limited amount’ even mean?"

The description hadn’t specified the actual capacity beyond those vague words. Kyle wasn’t about to spend 500 SP without knowing exactly what he was purchasing.

He looked around the product page and noticed an icon at the bottom.

[Contact Seller?]

The icon resembled a little phone.

"Oh, good. There’s an option to contact the seller."

Kyle immediately clicked it.

A messaging window opened, looking surprisingly similar to an ordinary iMessage conversation.

That was actually one of the things Kyle appreciated about the upgraded marketplace. Despite being connected to countless worlds, it was somehow incredibly intuitive to use.

He hesitated before typing.

The lack of reviews was another thing bothering him.

The product currently had zero reviews.

If there had been even a handful of reviews from previous buyers, Kyle could have gotten a general idea of whether the seller was trustworthy or whether the ring actually performed as advertised. Instead, he had nothing to go on.

The description itself was also rather sparse.

Kyle wanted to know everything before spending his precious 500 SP.

Could someone without mana actually use it? How much mana could it store? How efficiently could that mana be converted into usable energy? Could it work in a world with little or no ambient mana? What level of magic could he use with it? And, most importantly, how many times could he actually cast a spell before exhausting the stored mana?

He clicked the contact button.

But before the chat window could fully open, another notification appeared.

[Please enter a username.]

[Note: Your username can only be changed once every 30 days.]

[Changing your username will cost 20,000 SP.]

Kyle’s eyes widened.

"Twenty thousand?!"

He stared at the notification.

"Who the fuck would pay twenty thousand System Points just to change a username?"

Kyle sighed and rubbed his chin.

"Hmm... a username."

He had always considered usernames important.

Back when he had been a sweaty gamer, he had spent an unreasonable amount of time coming up with names that would annoy his opponents. He had used all sorts of ridiculous combinations over the years, names designed less to represent him and more to destroy the enemy’s mental composure after they lost to him.

So naturally, he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity now.

Kyle stared at the username box.

"How about... FeatherlessBiped69er?"

He paused.

It was stupid and immature.

It was also, for some inexplicable reason, the first thing that came to his mind.

He pressed confirm.

[Congratulations!]

[Your username has been registered as: FeatherlessBiped69er.]

Kyle nodded with satisfaction.

"Perfect."

There was absolutely no logical explanation for why he had chosen that name, and he wasn’t particularly interested in finding one.

At least nobody on Earth knew it was him.

Probably.

Kyle finally entered the chat.

He began typing.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Hello. I was about to buy the Mana Storage Ring, but I have some questions regarding the product. If you could answer them, I would highly appreciate it.]

He sent the message.

Kyle waited.

Nothing.

Then—

A typing indicator suddenly appeared.

Kyle blinked.

"Damn, that’s fast."

The seller had apparently been online already because the reply came almost immediately.

[BroomBroomLady: Hello, customer! Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the product. I would gladly answer all of your questions and clear up any doubts you have about it.]

Kyle raised his eyebrows.

"Damn... the seller is fast."

He had barely sent his message before receiving a response.

’Faster than lightning.’

Kyle began typing his first question.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Hello, thanks for replying so quickly. I want to ask whether someone without mana, or someone who has never had anything related to magic, can use the ring. Also, how does it recharge in a world where the concentration of mana is extremely low? What happens if there isn’t enough mana in the surrounding environment?]

The response came almost immediately.

[BroomBroomLady: Thank you for asking. Yes, someone without an existing mana reserve can use the ring. However, they must possess knowledge of at least one magic spell to make practical use of it. The ring stores mana, but it does not automatically teach the user how to cast magic.]

Kyle nodded.

That made sense.

He continued reading.

[BroomBroomLady: Regarding recharge, the ring can absorb ambient mana even in environments with extremely low mana density. If the concentration is below 0.10% per cubic zin, the recharge process will become considerably slower and may take several days. However, it will continue absorbing mana as long as there is some ambient mana present.]

Kyle frowned.

"Cubic zin?"

He stared at the unfamiliar measurement.

"What’s that? How am I supposed to know how much distance that is?"

The system immediately responded.

[1 cubic zin is approximately equivalent to 1 cubic meter.]

Kyle nodded.

"That would’ve been useful to know beforehand."

He returned his attention to the chat.

So the ring could theoretically recharge even in an environment with extremely low mana.

That was already a major advantage.

But Kyle wasn’t finished.

He still needed to know how effective the ring actually was.

He began typing another message.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Alright, that sounds promising. But can you tell me about the ring’s actual effectiveness? How much of the stored mana can be utilized by the user? What level of spells can I use with it? And approximately how many times could I cast those spells using a full charge?]

Kyle pressed send.

Then he waited for the seller’s response.

His eyes remained fixed on the typing indicator.

This answer could determine whether the ring was actually worth his 500 SP.

After all, 500 points might not sound like much compared to the ridiculous prices he had seen throughout the marketplace, but to Kyle, it was still a significant portion of his remaining balance.

He wasn’t going to waste it on something that turned out to be useless.

A new message finally appeared.

[BroomBroomLady is typing...]

Kyle leaned closer to the screen.

*****

Guys, just a request can you please spam book with power stones today? I just wanna see 100 ps this week before i go prem. We were so close last week like 82 or 88 idr tho.