Faust looked at her concerned expression.
He had already experienced far more dangerous experiments on his own body.
Considering his current condition, he doubted Nex's ability could do much to him.
However, Leslie clearly wasn't going to accept that explanation.
"Fine. We don't have to test it now."
Leslie let out a small sigh of relief.
Faust continued.
"If you're really worried, we can consider other candidates."
Nex raised an eyebrow.
"Other candidates?"
"For example, someone who's already on the brink of death."
Leslie stared at him.
"What?"
Faust explained.
"If someone has suffered an injury that can't be treated, they might be willing to attempt something like this as a last resort."
He looked toward Nex.
"Of course, you'd need their agreement, and we'd still have to understand your ability better before trying it."
Nex listened carefully.
Faust continued.
"If my conjecture is correct, and time really does stop inside your storage space, you might be able to preserve a dying person in a state of suspended life."
Leslie's expression changed.
"Suspended life?"
"Yes."
Faust nodded.
"Imagine someone suffering from a fatal injury. You have no medicine, no equipment, and no way to save them immediately."
He gestured toward Nex.
"But if you could place them inside a space where their biological processes stop, their condition might remain unchanged until you find a way to treat them."
Nex stared at his hand.
"So I could keep someone alive?"
"Potentially."
Faust looked at him.
"That would depend on whether your space can hold living creatures and whether their biological processes are actually suspended."
He paused.
"We can't assume either of those things yet."
Leslie looked thoughtful.
"But if it works..."
"Then it would be extremely useful."
Faust nodded.
"Not only for preserving food and supplies, but also for emergency medical situations."
Nex remained silent for a while.
Then he slowly nodded.
"Alright. I'll try to figure out how it works."
Faust smiled faintly.
"Good."
He glanced at the spear Nex was carrying.
"There's another thing you should consider."
"What?"
"Learning how to use your ability during combat."
Nex looked down at his weapon.
"Combat?"
"Yes."
Faust pointed toward the spear.
"Right now, you're using your storage space to carry supplies."
"Well, yeah."
"But if you can control exactly what enters it, you might be able to use the ability as a weapon."
Nex raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
"Think about what happens when you store an object."
"It disappears."
"Exactly."
Faust nodded.
"Now imagine making only a small portion of your opponent disappear."
Nex stared at him.
"Wait..."
Faust continued.
"If you could transfer a portion of an enemy's tissue into your storage space, you'd inflict serious damage without needing much physical force."
Leslie looked surprised.
"You mean taking away part of their body?"
"Yes."
Faust looked toward Nex.
"Of course, that assumes your ability can affect only part of a larger object."
Nex frowned.
"But didn't we just establish that it might not work on living creatures?"
"We established that you haven't managed to make it work yet."
Faust corrected him.
"There's a difference."
Nex considered the explanation.
Faust pointed toward his spear again.
"You could also combine the ability with your weapon."
"Spear?"
"Yes. That's your main weapon, isn't it?"
Nex nodded.
"Yeah."
"Then try creating a small zone around the spearhead."
Nex looked at the weapon.
"A zone?"
"An area where anything that comes into contact with the spearhead is transferred into your storage space."
Faust gestured toward the sharp tip.
"Imagine stabbing an enemy. Normally, the spear has to penetrate their body through physical force."
He continued.
"But if the material touching the spearhead could be transferred away, you might be able to remove a portion of the target's flesh as the weapon makes contact."
Nex looked down at the spear again.
"So instead of just stabbing them..."
"I'd be combining the physical attack with my storage ability."
Faust nodded.
"Depending on how much control you develop, it could be extremely effective."
Nex remained silent.
He slowly raised the spear, examining its sharpened tip.
"That..."
He paused.
"That actually sounds possible."
Leslie leaned closer.
"Could you really do that?"
"I don't know."
Nex shrugged.
"But I never thought about using it that way."
Faust continued.
"You should begin with ordinary objects first."
He pointed toward a nearby fallen branch.
"Try storing only a small section of something rather than the whole object. If you can manage that, practice controlling the exact area affected."
Nex nodded.
"That makes sense."
"And once you can do it consistently, try maintaining that effect while moving your weapon."
Faust glanced at him.
"There's no point having an ability that requires several seconds of concentration if an enemy can attack you before you activate it."
"Right."
Nex nodded again.
"I'll practice."
He looked toward Faust.
"Thanks. I wouldn't have thought of any of this myself."
Leslie smiled.
"See? I told you talking to Faust would help!"
Nex chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah. You were right."
She looked rather pleased with herself.
Faust, however, was still considering the possibilities.
'The ability has considerable potential.'
If Nex could truly manipulate matter through a separate dimension, then storage was merely its most obvious application.
With enough control, he might eventually learn to transfer objects at a distance, manipulate specific portions of matter, or use the space to protect himself from incoming attacks.
Of course, those were only possibilities.
He still didn't understand the mechanism behind the ability, nor did he know whether Nex possessed enough energy to develop it further.
'Still, I'd like to examine it more closely.'
Faust looked toward Nex.
"So, what other abilities do you have?"
Nex blinked.
"Other abilities?"
"Yes. You mentioned that the storage space was one of your abilities."
"Oh, right."
Nex scratched his cheek.
"Well, there's another one."
Faust waited.
Nex looked down at his arms.
"My strength increases when I get hurt."
Faust raised an eyebrow.
"Increases?"
"Yeah."
Nex nodded.
"The more wounded I become, the stronger I get."
Faust looked at him with renewed interest.
'An injury-triggered enhancement?'
He recalled the scars covering Nex's arms.
"How much stronger?"
"Hard to say."
Nex shrugged. He clenched his fist.
"Sometimes it feels like my strength multiplies."
Faust examined him.
'So he possesses both a spatial storage ability and a physical enhancement that responds to injuries.'
That was an unusual combination.
One ability appeared to involve manipulating space, while the other altered his body's physical output.
'Are these two abilities connected somehow, or did he develop them independently?'
Faust couldn't determine that without further investigation.
Still, he could see how useful the second ability might be during combat.
"That's quite a useful ability."
Nex smiled.
"Right?"
"Especially in a prolonged fight."
Faust nodded.
"However, you should be careful."
Nex looked at him.
"About what?"
"Just because your strength increases with injuries doesn't mean your body can survive all the damage."
Faust gestured toward his chest.
"If your muscles produce more force than your bones and organs can withstand, you could end up injuring yourself even further."
Nex's expression became thoughtful.
"So I shouldn't rely on it too much?"
Faust nodded.
"Try to determine whether it responds to pain, physical damage, blood loss, or something else."
He paused.
"Those are very different mechanisms."
Nex rubbed his chin.
"Yeah. I never really thought about that."
Leslie immediately opened her notebook.
"I'll write that down."
Faust glanced at her.
He smiled faintly before turning his attention toward her.
"How about you, Leslie?"
She looked up.
"Me?"
"Yes. Do you have any abilities?"
Leslie stopped writing.
Her expression became slightly awkward.
"Well..."
She lowered her book.
"Not yet."
Faust nodded.
"No abilities at all?"
She shook her head.
"None."
Leslie glanced at Nex.
"He awakened his abilities pretty early, but nothing has happened to me."
She looked down at her hands.
"I've tried a few things, but I still can't do anything special."
Nex immediately spoke.
"That's fine. You don't have to force yourself."
Leslie smiled slightly.
"I know."
She turned back toward Faust.
"That's why I'm hoping to get something from the profession system."
Faust raised an eyebrow.
"The profession cards?"
"Yes!"
Leslie nodded.
"If we survive these three days, we should get to choose a profession, right?"
"According to Impish."
"Then maybe I can finally get an ability of my own."
She looked at her notebook.
"I don't really care about becoming a powerful fighter. I just want something useful."
Faust considered her words.
A profession capable of improving her research or helping her examine mutated organisms would probably suit her better than one focused entirely on combat.
However, the method used to grant those professions interested him even more.
According to Impish, a profession card required specific materials to activate.
Those materials would then be combined into a potion, which the player had to drink to awaken their profession.
'If the card produces a potion that modifies the body, there should be some mechanism behind the process.'
He recalled the liquid crystal Agony had consumed.
The technology behind the system might be related to the biological modifications he had already encountered.
And if that was the case...
'Perhaps the profession cards can be altered.'
Faust looked toward Leslie.
"Leslie."
"Yes?"
"When you receive your profession card, let me examine it before you activate it."
She blinked.
"Examine it?"
"Yes."
Faust nodded.
"I'd like to see how it works."
Leslie tilted her head.
"Do you think you'll be able to learn something from it?"
"Possibly."
Faust considered the information he had gathered so far.
The system was already capable of distributing information, modifying biological structures, and granting abilities through mechanisms humanity had yet to understand.
However, advanced technology was still technology.
If the profession cards operated through a process that could be studied, then there should be a way to interfere with it.