Chapter 3: The “Small Box” Skill That Grows

The next morning, Ren went to the study room early and secured a book. He opened it on his bed, and after dinner he tried summoning the small box to light it.

“Huh? Is it a bit brighter than yesterday?”

When he brought the small box closer to the book, he could clearly read the text on the page. That was good—but for some reason, he felt that compared to when he had read the characters on the wooden board the day before, the range in which he could read seemed wider.

“Maybe it’s just my imagination? But at this rate, I might actually be able to read a book!”

Feeling excited, Ren followed the text illuminated by the small box’s light.

The next day, and the day after that, Ren continued reading books he brought from the study room using the light of the small box. As he repeated this routine, he began to realize that the light of the small box was growing stronger.

“It really is getting brighter…”

At first, he could only read letters near the small box when it was held close. But eventually, if he placed the small box near the book, he could read the entire page clearly.

“Maybe it just keeps getting brighter over time… I wonder what would happen if it got so bright it was blinding. Just kidding…”

He said it as a joke, but as he watched the light grow day by day, he became curious about where it was heading.

“I wonder if I can adjust the brightness… like making it softer…”

Imagining a gentle light that only illuminated his hands, he activated the skill—and a small box with exactly that brightness appeared.

“Whoa, it worked. Okay, now a little brighter…”

He imagined a light bright enough to read books on his bed, and created another small box.

This time too, it appeared exactly as he imagined. However, he noticed that the earlier, dimmer box was still there.

“Two small boxes…? Huh? I can make more than one?”

There had been no precedent for Ren’s “Small Box” skill, and there was no information on how it could be used.

He had heard that skills grow stronger with use, so he didn’t question the increasing brightness too much.

But now that he realized he could create multiple small boxes, he began to seriously study his skill.

First, he tested how many boxes he could create. He found that it depended on their brightness.

If the maximum brightness was considered “1,” then he could create two boxes at half brightness. At a quarter brightness, he could create four.

When he reduced the brightness further, he managed to create eight small boxes—but the next day, he discovered he could create nine boxes at the same brightness.

“I’m definitely… growing!”

“…What about size? What about the size?!”

Now more interested in testing his skill than reading his book, Ren finished it at a reasonable point and spent the time before sleeping experimenting.

He tried to increase the size of the small box and, after several attempts, succeeded.

It seemed that imagination was important. When he stretched his hands out and visualized the size, he was able to create a box as large as his spread hands.

When the size increased, the light seemed to become weaker—or rather, gentler.

“Maybe it would be easier if I set a standard for brightness and size… lumens or something… Wait, what even is a lumen?”

Tilting his head at the unfamiliar word that came to mind, Ren decided to use the brightness of the dining hall lamp as a reference. He defined the level of light that could illuminate his surroundings as “1 lamp.”

He placed several hand-sized small boxes with “1 lamp” brightness around the room—in the corners and near the entrance.

It wasn’t as bright as daylight, but the absence of dark spots made him feel more at ease.

“This might even be more convenient than real lamps. It doesn’t use fire, so it doesn’t get hot… or does it?”

He imagined a slightly warm small box.

A faintly warm box appeared in his palm.

“It worked!”

Once he realized he could change the temperature of the small box, he experimented further. Eventually, he discovered he could make it even warmer—so much so that on cold days, he could place a heated small box inside his blanket and use it for warmth.