Chapter 206: Grid Crisis Returns
Cheng Tian once again fell into the delicious predicament that all Chosen Players inevitably face—the grid crisis.
Although he had 3 garage slots, 2 pants pockets, and 6 inventory slots, almost double the item slots of an ordinary player, the number of essential items he brought before entering an instance far exceeded other players'.
Since he didn't know he was entering the Knights of the Round Table instance, the three garage slots were allocated to the Mammoth, the Batmobile, and the Drill Tank. The single-person submarine, which was very active in the last bounty instance, was also brought along. He didn't bring the Iron Bull Tank, but he added the leashes for the Crimson Tyrannosaurus and the Primordial Pterodactyl.
The reason he could summon and use tanks in the special space was that the space was directly connected to Space Island; theoretically, all of Cheng Tian's collected items could be used.
Even so, just the mounts and vehicles alone took up 6 of his slots, followed by the Crystal Eye and the replaced C-type homing missile launcher.
Oh, the Crystal Eye was directly released by him because it consumed no energy in standby mode, which indirectly freed up a slot. The sight of a large, colorful eyeball bobbing around on his shoulder was quite conspicuous.
Then Balford's twin swords directly replaced the white machete, not requiring any slot.
At the same time, the Red Shock Orb, Blue Shock Orb, and Silver Knight Statue—these three items also had to be carried.
Fortunately, the orbs were considered consumables and could be stacked, but even so, Cheng Tian only had one pants pocket left to store things, and this was without counting the gold and silver coin pouches.
Cheng Tian currently had three additional Red Shock Orbs, which he definitely wanted to use to convert into valuables when the opportunity arose. However, he had no slots to store things and didn't want to just give them away to others. So, he sought out Arthur.
More accurately, he was trying to seek help from the great magician Merlin behind Arthur.
According to Cheng Tian's understanding, the red, green, and blue orbs that could clear maps with a shockwave, as well as the chess pieces that could store and summon magical mounts at any time, were all creations of the great magician Merlin.
Cheng Tian didn't understand the principle of the former, but the latter clearly had a high probability of involving things like live preservation, material miniaturization, and compressed space.
Since mounts could be stored in small chess pieces, then theoretically, corresponding storage items should also be possible.
Although Merlin only appeared at the very beginning of the game and in the ending after completion, he was actually monitoring everything related to Arthur throughout the entire process.
"Are you referring to this kind of magic pouch that can hold more things?"
Hearing Cheng Tian's inquiry, Arthur, who was setting up more sentry guards after learning from yesterday's lesson, generously handed over the inconspicuous cloth pouch tied to his waist to Cheng Tian.
It looked dusty gray, but it felt very smooth to the touch. The mouth of the pouch also had a drawstring; with a single pull, the opening would tighten itself.
Cheng Tian didn't feel much when he held it in his hand, but after opening it, he saw that it was filled with various miscellaneous items, all in a subtly shrunken state. There were chess pieces, lances, shields, bricks... Oh no, that was a piece of black bread with a bite taken out of it.
In short, the pouch clearly contained more than it should have been able to hold.
"Yes, exactly this kind. What price do I need to pay if I want to obtain something similar?"
"...Wait a moment."
With that, Arthur instructed his servant to bring his chest over. He rummaged through it and eventually pulled out a pouch of slightly different fabric color, then tossed it directly to Cheng Tian and said,
"It's a gift for you."
As Arthur's words fell, a brilliant light emanated from the cloth pouch Cheng Tian caught, signifying its transformation from an in-instance item to an equipable item.
Magic Pouch: Blue Excellent / Lv -, Special Item, Magic Item, Storage Item. Usage Condition: 1 inventory slot.
A magical storage item personally enchanted by the great magician Merlin, providing additional storage space.
When equipped, it will provide an additional 6 Magic Pouch slots. These slots can only be used for storage and require manual opening and storing. They cannot be used for quick item usage like the player's built-in inventory. Items with "Effect on Carry" or "Requires Inventory Slot" cannot be effective or placed in the Magic Pouch slots.
Additional Comment: Merlin's true pouch.
The form of this Magic Pouch was somewhat similar to a combination of World of Warcraft's 6-slot small bag and Diablo 2's Horadric Cube. Equipping it required 1 regular inventory slot, and the 6 Magic Pouch slots it provided did not have the quick-use function of the player's built-in inventory.
That is to say, if Cheng Tian wanted to use a Red Shock Orb placed in the Magic Pouch, he would need to manually open the pouch, accurately retrieve the item from inside, and then throw it out, unlike the built-in inventory where an item would appear directly in his hand with a thought.
At the same time, passive life-saving items like the Silver Knight Statue, if placed in the Magic Pouch, would not be effective.
This is where the value of Ichimonji Hyakutaro's sewn pants pockets could be seen. Although there were only 2 pockets, they were equivalent to inventory expansion +2, and they had all the functions that an inventory slot should have... But what more could he ask for? The appearance of the Magic Pouch truly solved Cheng Tian's urgent problem!
With it, the single-person submarine, the C-gun, and all those silver coin pouches could all be stuffed inside!
"You're just giving it to me like that?"
Cheng Tian, whose grid crisis had been initially resolved, felt a bit confused by this.
"Is the military achievement of beheading the evil enemy legion commander not worth such a magic item?"
To this, Arthur directly countered... Damn it, it seems Arthur's path to kingship wasn't just Merlin's behind-the-scenes manipulation. Hearing him say that made me quite happy!
"It is!"
Cheng Tian wasn't pretentious and directly accepted the Magic Pouch, then decided in his heart that he would not refuse if Balford's remnant soul applied for a second duel next time.
As Arthur said, Cheng Tian seemed to have obtained a Magic Pouch just by asking, but the prerequisite condition here was "eliminating the Dual-Sword Knight Balford," and during the Subjugation process, he also needed to inflict more than 50% of the total health damage, meaning he held the main credit in the subjugation process.
Afterward, he would be able to receive some rewards or conveniences within the scope of Arthur's authority.
Of course, things like Excalibur were out of the question, but a mere spare Magic Pouch was something Arthur could afford, and it wasn't even the highest tier of rewards within Arthur's discretionary power.
However, just as Cheng Mouren, truly laden with treasures, stepped out of the tent beaming, he was met with an interception from Luo Meiling.
This extraordinarily similar tiger girl also directly said to Cheng Tian,
"Some players are discussing a night raid on the Silver Fortress. Should we stop them?"