Chapter 87 - Phantom Stage’s Reward

My hands and legs trembled with excitement as I reached out to touch the floating square screen before me.

The surface felt soft yet smooth. If I pressed harder, I thought it might break. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

As my fingers lingered, their tips sank into the screen, brushing against the edges of box‑like containers. The display shifted, revealing ten empty, plastic‑like slots.

Inventory System?!

I dropped to my knees. The screen followed, hovering at eye level.

Tears welled up. This felt like winning the lottery.

I tried to recall all the exploits I had imagined in my daydream scenarios, but none came to mind. My head was too full of emotion.

I earned this.

MYSELF.

ME.

...No. This might still count as a common otherworlder’s cheat perk, granted by whatever superpower ruled this dimension. I shouldn’t get conceited.

But still, I earned this.

Sniffling, I gazed at the orange sky through wet eyes. I smiled and answered the voice.

"I won’t let you down."

The voice replied.

"Walk your path, stray child of dimensions. May your fire bring salvation to the land."

"...I will."

The orange sky faded to blue. The walls dissolved. The scenery returned to the forest where I had erased the raven trees.

All ravens were gone, along with feathers and carcasses littering the dirt road. My ostrich still stood there with its head tilted.

At my feet lay my halberd and the phantom’s halberd. Nearby, three objects floated: a full‑course meal with two large jars of musou wine, a purple composite bow, and a red scroll. Not counting the other loot from the tall vases.

I sheathed the mist sword and picked up a halberd. Looking at the inventory screen, I inhaled deeply.

It was time.

I pressed the halberd against the screen. It sank into the soft, water‑like surface, shrinking as it entered a container. When I pulled my hand back, the screen updated. A halberd icon now occupied a slot.

Testing the system, I pushed my hand into the screen again. The visual shifted, showing nine empty containers and one filled with the halberd. Instantly, the weapon’s size was restored, returning to my hand.

Ah... how magical.

I turned to the food items, wondering if the inventory would preserve the freshness of roasted pigs and turkeys.

Pushing a roasted pig into a container, an icon of a cooked pig on a plate appeared. I tried another.

There was a problem. I couldn’t stack them. Each roasted pig shrank into its own box. A new one couldn’t fit in no matter how much space it had left. When I let go of my hand, all items outside the boxes were ejected.

In short, one slot could only hold one set of items.

I sighed. Not perfect, but still good for backup food and wine storage. I stashed everything except my halberd, mist sword, a red talisman, and a dragon seal.

Inventory Slots: three turkey set meals, two roasted pigs, purple composite bow, blue halberd, one dragon seal, a red scroll, and a box full of musou wine which I poured all content from the wine jar into.

I still had seven "number 5" tokens tucked in my sash pocket. Business opportunities, maybe.

Heading to the ostrich, I patted it and hopped on. It yelped, then adjusted posture to let me mount.

Without saddle, rein, or stirrup, my riding position was awkward as my legs dangled in front of its chest.

Don’t blame me. I had no idea how to ride a freaking ostrich.

My mount twisted its neck, staring at me, quacking.

Yeah, it was as confused as I was. I stroked its greasy neck and whispered:

"Hey, dude. Can you move along the road? I’m searching for another treasure, you see?"

CAWK.

Do ostriches always cawk? I doubted it. Maybe this one was special.

The bird took long strides. Its soft feathers and firm back cushioned me, though I had to cling to its neck base for balance.

After 200 meters, we stopped before a stone hill. A short cave yawned at its base, like a dried pond. Studium’s death flashed in my mind. Some places like this held natural gas.

This one didn’t seem suspicious. I turned away to investigate elsewhere.

The ostrich, however, kept staring at the cave. It brought me closer, sniffing the ground.

"What are you doing?"

CAWK.

Should I start calling it Cawk‑Cawk?

Cawk?

Cok?

No, too gay.

Cow‑Cow and Cawk‑Cawk?

I bet those two would fight the moment I called them by name. Silly birbs.

I asked again.

"What do you sense, Cawk‑Cawk?"

CAWK!

Cawk‑Cawk quacked and scratched the ground near the cave entrance.

I dismounted, knelt, and checked the soil. Then I looked at the map.

Aside from raven clues, there was a pit‑hole trap doodle near the raven trees. Nothing similar here.

As I inspected, Cawk‑Cawk stepped on a branch. The soil beneath the cave collapsed. We leapt back as the cavern crumbled.

The collapse revealed an ancient stone statue of a raven.

What the hell was this dimension? Indiana Jones? I thought I was in a musou knight world.

The raven’s eye sockets gleamed with red jewels. I was tempted to pocket them, but I was wary of hidden traps or another phantom stage. I wasn’t ready for another trial. What if I ran into Zoli?

But Cawk‑Cawk was faster and more decisive. He yanked one gemstone free and tossed it toward me, keeping the other for himself. Then, with a furious glare, he pecked the raven’s head as if he hated the creature with a passion.

From the shattered statue, a token marked with the number "1" fell out. The broken remains dissolved into black smoke.

I pocketed the token and investigated the area. This piece had been hidden too well. I doubted other jackasses could find it... or maybe they could.

Was I missing something? A detection ability, perhaps?

If musou energy was so magical, wouldn’t it make sense for someone to track anomalies or tokens with their power?

That reminded me: wind‑type and earth‑type users could equip tracking and navigation skills. Fire‑type lacked support abilities. Water was full of support, healing, and buffs, but weak in offense.

Light and dark elements existed too, but they were rare as they were reserved for secret characters like Sylveria. And of course, Rickson, Alfred, and their troops had light abilities too. I hated that fact.

While I was lost in thought, loud noises erupted behind me.