Max stood at the edge of the railing.

  From up there, the castle courtyard looked absurdly far away.

  [ Estimated height: lethal ] [ Fall damage: -198 HP ]

  Max let out a short ugh.

  ‘Yeah… that sounds about right.’

  Below, Enor couldn’t take it anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut just as Max was about to jump, as if denying the image might stop the inevitable. Her hands trembled.

  The king, comfortably leaning against a column, smiled with open amusement.

  “You’re still in time to regret this, boy,” he said. “Not all the punishments I can think of are… painless.”

  Max didn’t answer.

  He simply jumped.

  For a fraction of a second, everyone in the courtyard felt something strange.

  As if time itself had stopped.

  Max descended.

  But he wasn’t falling.

  The boots activated instantly, and along with them, his skill. The effect amplified, and Max began moving slowly through the air, drifting diagonally, his body rexed, as if he were walking midair.

  It wasn’t levitation.

  It was an absurdly slow fall.

  “WHAT THE HELL—!?” the king roared, straightening up. “WHAT KIND OF MAGIC IS THAT?!”

  Max subtly twisted his body in the air, looking toward the mast.

  Below, the murmurs exploded.

  “He’s floating!” “No, he’s falling! Just really slowly!” “Come on, kid!”

  Shouts of encouragement mixed with nervous ughter and incredulous gasps. The king stared, mouth agape, caught between fury and fascination.

  From the tower came the sound of Dorian ughing as he watched Max’s trick.

  Enor opened her eyes.

  And she saw him.

  Max, suspended in the air, calmly advancing toward the fg.

  Tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

  “Max…” she whispered.

  With one final motion, Max stretched out his arm.

  The royal fg snapped violently as he tore it free from the mast.

  The courtyard erupted in shouts.

  “HE DID IT!!” “HE GOT IT!!”

  Max crossed his arms over his chest as he continued his slow descent, the fg fluttering beside him. He nded gently in front of the king.

  Silence.

  The king took a step forward, his expression hard, eyes locked onto Max.

  “Boy,” he said in a low voice, “do you think it’s acceptable to swindle the king?”

  Max raised an eyebrow.

  “It wasn’t magic,” he replied honestly. “My magic stat is zero.” He shrugged. “It was just… a big leap of faith.”

  For a second, no one knew what to expect.

  Then the king began to ugh.

  A deep, booming ugh that echoed across the entire courtyard.

  “Ha! Ha, ha, ha!” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “It’s been years since anyone’s beaten me in a bet that ridiculous.”

  He straightened, regaining his composure.

  “A bet is a bet,” he decred. “And if I lost… I accept it.”

  Enor held her breath.

  “From today onward,” the king continued, “my daughter is permitted to leave the castle during her free time. Always escorted by a royal guard… and with a trusted companion.”

  Enor didn’t think twice.

  She ran to Max and hugged him tightly.

  “Thank you! Thank you!” she sobbed, ughing through tears.

  Max froze for a moment, his face completely red.

  “I told you to trust me…” he murmured, looking away.

  From the side of the courtyard, Bertha clicked her tongue.

  “Hmph.” She smiled. “Reminded me of the fleas that jump from Bim’s bed to Bam’s.”

  Max sighed.

  ***

  Max received a system notification:

  [ Mission Completed ] [ Reward Avaible ]

  Max blinked.

  ‘At this point, I’d forgotten it was even a mission,’ he thought.

  A translucent window unfolded before him.

  [ Cim Reward ]

  “Absolutely.”

  When he confirmed, an object slowly began to materialize. Dark leather, reinforced stitching, metal buckles with a faint sheen that didn’t seem to reflect light…

  A backpack.

  Max took it with both hands, surprised by its weight—or rather, by the ck of it.

  “This isn’t a normal backpack…” he murmured.

  He inspected it.

  [ Item: Large Leather Backpack ] [ Type: Magic Item ] [ Effect: Allows storage of up to 1,000 objects without affecting the bearer’s weight ]

  Max’s eyes widened.

  “A thousand…?”

  Without wasting time, he slung it over his shoulder.

  His skill reacted instantly.

  [ Skill Activated ] [ Item effect amplified ] [ Capacity adjusted ]

  Max read the st line… and went completely still.

  “…What?”

  [ Storage capacity: INFINITE ]

  “…This is just cheating,” he whispered, unable to stop smiling.

  “Hm?”

  Dorian appeared at his side, leaning on a staff, observing the backpack with professional interest.

  “That item…” he said, “isn’t common.” He nodded toward it. “Back when I was an adventurer, I carried a simir one. Not that big, of course, but that type. They’re rare.”

  Max looked at him, still processing.

  “It definitely didn’t come from a shop.”

  Enor hurried over immediately.

  “Dorian,” she said with contained urgency, “please… check if Max is completely fine after the jump.”

  Max raised a hand.

  “I’m perfectly fine.” Then he added with a shrug, “If I’m shaking, it’s just adrenaline… and facing your father never helps.”

  Dorian let out a short ugh.

  “That, I understand.”

  He pced a hand on Max’s shoulder and activated his own evaluation skill. His eyes narrowed slightly.

  One second.

  “HP intact…” he murmured. “No fractures. No internal damage.” He looked at Max with an incredulous smile. “I have no idea how you did it, kid… but you did it right.”

  Max exhaled slowly.

  “Thanks.”

  Enor smiled, finally relieved, and stepped closer to Max.

  She looked at him in silence for a moment.

  “I thought I was going to lose you,” she said softly.

  Max blinked, surprised.

  “Huh?”

  She pressed her hands against her dress.

  “When you jumped…” she took a deep breath. “I really thought you weren’t going to make it.”

  Max scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable.

  “Well… technically, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure either.” He gave her a small smile. “But it worked out.”

  Enor looked up, and when she saw him smiling, the tension finally melted from her face.

  “So…” Max said, casually changing the subject. “When do you have free time again?”

  She tilted her head.

  “Free time?”

  “Yeah,” he continued. “To go eat another owl-beef sandwich. And check out the rest of the city we didn’t get to see.”

  Enor’s eyes lit up instantly.

  “Tomorrow,” she replied without hesitation. “I’m free between lunch and afternoon etiquette csses.”

  Max snapped his fingers.

  “Perfect.”

  He turned to Don, who was watching the scene with his arms crossed.

  “Don, if you need help getting the carriage ready for tomorrow, count me in.”

  The butler slowly shook his head with a tired smile.

  “No need, young Max. After today, the best thing you can do is get some rest.”

  Max let out a short ugh.

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound bad.”

  Enor straightened her posture.

  “I must return to my duties,” she said. Then she looked at him with a genuine smile. “See you tomorrow.”

  “See you.”

  She walked away with a light step, clearly in good spirits, waving to the others as she headed down the hall.

  The courtyard slowly returned to normal. Guards resumed their posts, murmurs faded, and the castle carried on with its usual routine.

  As if nothing extraordinary had happened.