Storage Bag

An hour later.

Looking at the Silvermoon Wolf before them, which had only a single wound on its throat, Cain gave Erza a thumbs-up.

"As expected of Erza."

Praised by Cain, Erza put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "Of course. I just wasn't familiar with it the first time."

The two of them then worked together to skin the Silvermoon Wolf, removing its fur, claws, and fangs before putting them into their backpacks.

Seeing the fangs and claws being stored as well, Erza asked in confusion, "Do we need those to make storage bags too?"

Cain explained, "We only need the fur to make storage bags, but the claws and fangs can be used to forge weapons."

"Oh, I see."

Having gathered the materials they needed, the two did not linger. After returning to the city, they took the Magic Train back to Magnolia.

Cain had originally wanted to stop by the guild, but seeing that it was already getting late, he went home with Erza instead.

After dinner, Erza came up to Cain and stared at him without moving.

Cain asked strangely, "What is it, Erza?"

"Can you give me a massage later?" Erza asked expectantly.

"I thought it was something serious." Hearing that she merely wanted a massage, Cain, who had thought something major had happened, did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Sure. After we take a bath, I'll come to your room."

Seeing that Cain did not seem to think much of it, Erza could not help muttering to herself, This is something important, okay?

Still, she was happy that Cain had agreed. After changing clothes, she ran into the Gravity Room to begin training.

Erza could now withstand thirteen times normal gravity. As her tolerance for gravity increased, her strength rose rapidly as well.

From how she had instantly defeated six Silvermoon Wolves that afternoon, Cain estimated that Erza was now about as strong as Macao and Wakaba.

They might have only been minor characters in the anime, but in reality, they were anything but ordinary.

It could be said that beneath the S-Class Mages, they were among the best.

After bathing, Cain arrived at Erza's room and found that she had already prepared essential oil and was lying facedown on the bed with her back bare.

The essential oil had come about because, after giving Erza a massage once, Cain had casually remarked, "If there were essential oil, the massage would work even better."

After that, Erza had gone and prepared some.

Cain dripped the rose-scented oil onto Erza's smooth back and began massaging her.

The cool oil contrasted sharply with Cain's scorching palms, while the pressure of his fingertips stimulated the acupoints in her back through her skin.

The various sensations made Erza moan uncontrollably. Of course, she had no intention of holding it in.

Listening to Erza's kitten-like moans, Cain could not help thinking, Looks like my massage skills are getting better and better.

Even if I stopped being a Mage, I probably would not starve.

After finishing Erza's massage, Cain had planned to leave, but Erza forcefully pressed him onto the bed, saying that she could not be the only one enjoying herself.

So Cain took off his shirt as well, lay on Erza's bed, and enjoyed her massage service.

Erza's technique was genuinely good. Before long, Cain gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next day, when Cain woke up, he sensed something unusual in his arms. Looking down, he saw a mass of crimson hair.

Realizing it was Erza, Cain let out a sigh of relief. He then recalled how he had lain here yesterday to let Erza massage him, only to somehow fall asleep.

Erza had not woken him afterward, nor had she gone back to her own room. The two of them had simply slept in the same bed.

"Mmm~ Cain, you're awake."

Looking at the bleary-eyed Erza, Cain had been about to tell her that girls should not casually sleep in the same bed as boys.

But after thinking it over, he decided to let it go. He would just keep an eye on her from now on.

So he smiled and replied, "Yeah. Get up. We'll train for a while, have breakfast, and then go to the guild."

"Okay."

With that, Erza got up and headed for the bathroom, while Cain returned to his own room to wash up.

By the time they arrived at the guild, everyone who had taken on requests had already returned.

Macao placed a package containing the Giant-Bellied Frog's hide on the table and said to Cain:

"Cain, the Giant-Bellied Frog's hide is inside. Oh, right, I also brought you its stomach."

Cain asked curiously, "Its stomach?"

"That's right." Macao nodded. "Levy said you wanted to use the hides of these magical creatures to test whether they could support a Spatial Array. The Giant-Bellied Frog's stomach is actually highly elastic."

"Even though its stomach is only about the size of a basketball, it can hold ten barrels of this kind of wine."

"That's why it is one of the main materials used to make high-end backpacks."

After hearing Macao's explanation, Cain understood why he had brought the Giant-Bellied Frog's stomach along as well.

"Thanks, Macao," Cain said.

Macao waved a hand dismissively. "Why thank me? You paid a generous reward, after all."

"Exactly."

"Yeah."

"Come to think of it, we're the ones making a profit here."

The others who had accepted requests all spoke in unison.

"Alright, once I succeed, I'll treat everyone to drinks."

"Ohhh, go for it, Cain!"

"You have to succeed!"

Amid everyone's well wishes, Cain put away the fur from the five magical creatures and hurried home.

Watching Cain's retreating figure, Gray muttered, "Do you think Cain will succeed?"

"He definitely will," Levy said firmly.

Remembering the scene when Cain had developed magic before, Gray could not help nodding. "Yeah, he definitely will."

Back in the underground laboratory at home, Cain took out the hides of the five magical creatures and arranged them in order.

He then took out Magic Crystals and the ink needed to draw the Spatial Array, and began.

First, he took out the Earthrock Lizard hide. After giving it a simple cleaning, he began drawing on it.

However, the first thing he drew was not the Spatial Array, but the Magic-Gathering Array.

This was also a lesson Cain had learned from his previous failures. The Stabilization Array alone could not maintain the stability of the space after it was opened; magic power was needed as support too.

The Stabilization Array was like steel reinforcement, while magic power was the cement. Neither could be missing.

After the Magic-Gathering Array came the main event: the Spatial Array.

Cain's expression was intensely focused as he continued tracing line after line onto the Earthrock Lizard hide.

When the final stroke fell, the Magic-Gathering Array and the Spatial Array connected into one.

Cain placed ten Magic Crystals around the inscribed Earthrock Lizard hide. "Success or failure depends on this."

He then activated the Spatial Array. As it activated, the ten Magic Crystals around it shattered instantly, transforming into pure magic power that was absorbed by the Spatial Array.

Cain was not surprised by this. The Spatial Array was using the magic power from the Magic Crystals to create space.

Pop! The instant the magic power flowed into the Earthrock Lizard hide, it split apart.

"Failed."

Looking at the shattered Earthrock Lizard hide, Cain did not look surprised.

In his opinion, the Space-Piercing Mouse and Silvermoon Wolf hides had the highest chance of succeeding.

The other three were merely meant to help him get a feel for it.

It was like enhancing equipment with Kelly in DNF back in the day. He would always use a few pieces of junk as fodder first, hoping to raise the success rate.

The second hide he used was from a Dark Cat Demon. As expected, it failed as well.

The third was the Giant-Bellied Frog hide. It still failed.

Just as Cain was about to take out the Silvermoon Wolf hide, he noticed the Giant-Bellied Frog's stomach. After some thought, he took it over instead.

As the arrays gradually took shape beneath his pen, Cain's heart began to tense up.

Soon, the arrays were complete. All that remained was to open the space.

Cain pressed his hand against the Spatial Array and activated it. Then, ten Magic Crystals shattered, and magic power flowed in.

One second, ten seconds, thirty seconds passed, yet the Giant-Bellied Frog's stomach remained intact without any damage.

Cain felt a little excited, but he was afraid of celebrating too early.

So he continued waiting. Three minutes later, a buzz rang out and a flash of silver light swept across it before everything returned to normal.

Cain picked up the Giant-Bellied Frog's stomach and examined it. As he sent his spiritual power inside, a square space of roughly ten cubic meters appeared before him.

That made Cain understand that he had succeeded.

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it next time.