Chapter Fifty-Seven: Howard’s Handy Pouch

Zhao Xu took the backpack, running his hands over it. The texture was fine—crafted from tanned leather, adorned with several brass buckles and fittings.

Could this be a type of dimensional bag?

A thrill of anticipation stirred in Zhao Xu’s heart. With a natural strength of only eight, his carrying capacity was inherently limited. He could clearly sense that his strength here was even weaker than in his real body.

This was precisely why he had chosen to be a wise spellcaster in the first place. Carrying a stack of thick spellbooks every day—without a dimensional bag, who could stand it?

He quickly looked up at Antinoya. “Mentor, this is…?”

“Hm?” Antinoya replied. “You’re not the only spellcaster here, you know.”

Zhao Xu immediately realized what she meant.

Identify!

With the spell Identify, he could directly discern the properties and functions of magical items.

Zhao Xu stared at Antinoya in astonishment—he had indeed prepared the Identify spell. But how did she know?

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Antinoya’s tone carried a hint of mockery as she said, “Sometimes I feel as if you were born with knowledge, other times I find you rather foolish. You’re a mage now; you ought to think like one.”

“Did you think mages only guess before a battle? All the basic strategies must be second nature. Especially knowing what spells your opponent has prepared, and how many slots they have left—you must always keep that in mind.”

Zhao Xu understood that Antinoya was teaching him by word and deed, and he nodded quickly.

Once you knew the level of a mage, you could reasonably estimate their intelligence score, and from there deduce how many extra spell slots their intellect granted them. Combine that with their class spell slots, and you could make a pretty accurate guess as to how many spells a mage could cast.

“But Mentor, surely—”

“Surely you’re wondering how I knew you prepared Identify as your first-level spell, when it’s not a divine spell but a first-level spell from the Magic domain?” Antinoya interrupted, voicing his very thoughts.

Zhao Xu nodded again, surprised.

Yet Antinoya left it at that, taking a seat in her armchair. “Think about the rest yourself. If you can’t figure it out, I’ll take back your reward.”

At this, Zhao Xu immediately calmed himself. Antinoya treated him well, but she’d fooled him deliberately on occasion. However, she had never once gone back on her word when it came to reclaiming rewards.

It was only after he’d studied divine spells that Zhao Xu gained a clearer understanding.

Some spells were arcane, not divine—like Identify, a first-level spell.

So Zhao Xu couldn’t prepare it using a cleric’s divine spell slots. However, it was one of the nine spells in the Magic domain, so he could prepare it using the domain spell slot he gained at each level as a cleric.

But there were three domains: Magic, Planning, and Knowledge. The first-level spells for these were Identify, Foresight, and Detect Secret Doors, respectively.

Out of those three options, Antinoya had guessed he would prepare Identify rather than the others?

Slowly, Zhao Xu’s cheeks began to flush. Even though Antinoya’s expression was hidden beneath her hood, Zhao Xu could sense her amusement.

No mage was easy to fool.

He wasn’t participating in combat, so there was no need to prepare Foresight, which determined if a creature was dead. He wasn’t venturing into the lower floors, so Detect Secret Doors, useful for exploration, was irrelevant.

That left Identify as the obvious choice. Moreover, since Antinoya still owed him one piece of loot, the likelihood became a certainty.

Zhao Xu hurriedly lowered his head. “Mentor, I’ll cast the spell now.”

It was one thing for someone to offer you a gift, but quite another to be so transparent in waiting for it that you were caught out.

Even with thirty years of life experience, Zhao Xu couldn’t help but blush with embarrassment.

“Try casting a spell with a long casting time,” Antinoya said blandly.

Zhao Xu nodded, found himself a comfortable seat, and began to prepare the spell, gazing at the backpack in his hands.

But as soon as he raised his hand, he froze.

Components!

Just as casting Color Spray required a pinch of colored powder, Identify demanded its own spell components.

“Reach into the right pocket of the backpack,” Antinoya helpfully reminded him.

At her words, Zhao Xu immediately reached in.

His hand passed through an odd emptiness, and he pulled out a pearl.

At the same time, under the effect of the spell, a glass of wine adorned with an owl’s feather floated before him and settled lightly on the table.

Unlike Color Spray, where you merely grasp the powder, Identify required more elaborate materials: a pearl worth 100 gold pieces, to be crushed and poured into the wine, stirred with the owl feather, and then drunk.

Skipping any step could cause the spell to fail.

Obtaining a magic item was an immense surprise for most players. The delight came from the fact that any magic item was usually quite valuable.

But to actually use such items effectively, hiring someone to identify them came with both a service fee and a 100 gold piece material cost.

Thus, most players muddled through, experimenting and making do with what they could figure out.

When you were poor, reality commanded compromise.

Patiently, Zhao Xu followed each step of the spell, and after drinking the prepared wine, he took a deep breath and began to chant the incantation in a low voice.

Identify was no ordinary game spell that finished with a simple “ding.” Its casting time was a full hour.

“Concentration is a mage’s key skill. We must improve our Focus skill to ensure we aren’t interrupted during such lengthy spells,” Antinoya remarked, gazing at him.

Zhao Xu was in no position to respond—his full attention was devoted to casting Identify.

As he continued, Zhao Xu realized that “one hour casting time” was no trivial matter. Normally, a spell with a casting time of one standard action required only a few seconds of focus. But an hour-long spell was a serious drain on his stamina.

Gradually, he understood why Antinoya didn’t simply tell him the backpack’s effects, but made him spend a 100 gold piece pearl to cast the spell himself.

Some things can only be understood by attempting them yourself.

Minute by minute, time dripped by. Zhao Xu began to sweat, like a student terrified of failing a crucial exam.

At last, golden light radiated from his hands and settled upon the backpack.

In an instant, information surged into Zhao Xu’s mind, and his status panel began to update rapidly.

[Howard’s Handy Satchel

Side pockets: “Dimensional Bag” effect, each holds up to 55 liters and 9 kilograms.

Central pocket: “Dimensional Bag” effect, holds up to 225 liters and 36 kilograms.

Effect: No matter how much you pack, the backpack weighs no more than 2.5 kilograms. Items can be instantly retrieved from the bag—they are always on top, never lost or needing to be searched for. The backpack and all its contents receive a +2 bonus on all saving throws.]

“This is incredible,” Zhao Xu couldn’t help but mutter in awe.