Hiro exhaled sharply as he finished his final set of push-ups, the morning sun filtering through the trees. He wiped the sweat from his brow and rolled his shoulders before getting to his feet. His daily training had become routine, and though exhausting, it was paying off. His stamina had improved significantly, and he no longer felt like colpsing after a few sets.

  Chūta chirped from a nearby branch, tilting his head as Hiro stretched his arms. "Yeah, yeah, I know," Hiro muttered with a tired smile. "Just a few more ps, then we take a break."

  With that, he set off into a steady jog around the clearing, Chūta gliding from tree to tree alongside him. The familiarity of the routine brought a sense of normalcy—something Hiro had come to appreciate.

  Far away, in a space that existed outside of the natural world, Shinzo stared at the translucent interface before him.

  He had been idly touching the screen that dispyed Hiro’s world when, by accident, his fingers brushed against a glowing seal at the bottom corner.

  A new window had appeared.

  Shinzo’s eyes widened as he read the text.

  "Administrator Access Granted."

  His mind reeled. "Wait. I can interact with Hiro’s system? Since when?!"

  The screen flickered, and a notification blinked in bright orange.

  "Cumuted Experience has unlocked a new skill."

  "Pick an option below for the Summoner (Options may reappear ter)."

  Shinzo’s gamer instincts kicked in immediately. He quickly pressed the button to reveal the choices. Three options appeared in front of him:

  WEAPON PROFICIENCY - SWORD (BASIC)SUMMONER SKILL - SUMMONER STORAGEJOB SKILL - PHARMACIST (BASIC)Shinzo crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Okay... so a sword proficiency would be great, but Hiro is already focused on the whip. No point in spreading him too thin."

  His eyes lingered on the Pharmacist skill. "That one... honestly, I kind of wish I could take it for myself. I have nothing but time in this pce. But for Hiro? He’s almost five—he’ll be going to the academy soon. Not really useful for him right now."

  That left the st option.

  Summoner Storage.

  He frowned. "No clue what that is, but... storage in games is always useful, right?" With a shrug, he tapped the skill.

  A poof of smoke appeared in front of him. A thick book materialized in his hands, and new text fshed across the system screen:

  "SUMMONER SKILL - SUMMONER STORAGE UNLOCKED!"

  "DEPLOY NOW (Y/N)?"

  Shinzo raised a brow. "Guess I should read up on it first."

  With that, he flipped open the book and began scanning its contents.

  Hours ter, back in the clearing, Hiro reached into his pocket for sunflower seeds to reward Chūta for a well-executed glide. As he pulled out a handful, a faint green glow pulsed at the edge of his vision.

  His breath hitched as his eyes snapped to his hand.

  The seeds were glowing.

  Before he could react, the ethereal, robotic female voice echoed in his mind once more:

  "Summoner Storage Unlocked."

  "To use the Summoner Storage skill, locate an applicable item, indicated by a pulsating green glow, and imagine storing the item away into a crate in your room."

  Hiro blinked. "Huh?"

  Chūta chirped curiously from his perch, watching as Hiro stared at the glowing seeds.

  "Alright... let’s try this," Hiro muttered, focusing on the instructions. He pictured the sunflower seeds vanishing into storage.

  Instantly, his eye markings pulsed orange, and with a small puff of smoke, the seeds disappeared.

  Startled, Hiro dropped the handful of seeds he had in his other hand, scrambling to check the ground. But the ones that had disappeared were truly gone.

  And yet—

  Somehow, he could still sense them.

  It was a strange awareness, simir to how he could sense Chūta when the squirrel was away. It wasn’t quite like seeing them, but he knew they were safe, tucked away in some unseen space.

  Then, the voice spoke again:

  "To retrieve items, imagine them appearing in front of you."

  Hiro slowly held out his hand.

  He pictured the seeds returning.

  Another poof of smoke—and the sunflower seeds reappeared in his palm.

  The glow was gone. They looked normal again.

  Curious, Hiro tried to store them once more. He expected nothing to happen now that they weren’t glowing, but—

  They vanished instantly.

  The voice returned.

  "Notice - Once an item is registered in your storage, the glowing will no longer occur."

  Hiro’s mind raced. So… the first time, items would glow. But after that, they wouldn’t? Interesting.

  Excited, Hiro ran around the clearing, trying to store various objects.

  Rocks? No reaction.

  Twigs? Nothing.

  A kunai from his belt? Still nothing.

  Frowning, he looked down at his hands. "So… only certain items can be stored?"

  It made no sense. Why sunflower seeds? What made them different?

  As the day wound down, Hiro remained deep in thought. The storage skill was useful, but he had no idea why only certain items worked.

  Maybe Kaya would have some insight?

  He resolved to ask her about it that evening.

  As he packed up his gear, Chūta hopped onto his shoulder, chirping softly.

  Hiro smirked. "Guess we have another mystery on our hands, buddy."

  The squirrel twitched its ears in agreement.

  As the sun dipped behind the trees, Hiro gnced at his empty palm, the knowledge of his newly acquired skill filling his thoughts.