This pocket watch not only had Space Storage, massive space, and more importantly, privacy!
The rings that Eric, Lyria, and Livy used didn't have any way to isolate others from accessing them. If anyone managed to send their mana inside their rings, they could open all 'doors,' though they wouldn't know which door had what item. In other words, rings and Space Pouches lacked the necessary privacy and security.
This pocket watch's Dimension Space Storage fixed this issue, as only the registered users would have access to anything. Non-registered users could only admire the artistic watch design and check the time—that's all. Oh, and they'd also receive protection from harmful Time Spells.
The most obvious thing was their space rings had a very limited amount of space. There may be a hundred doors, but each room was very small, and only small items with a limited mass could be stored. This pocket watch solved that issue entirely!
Eric, Lyria, and Livy had planned to use countless space pouches and their rings to store the huge amount of resources within the cave. Even then, they couldn't store one-tenth of what could be taken, leaving aside large things that couldn't fit inside pouches and rings.
Not only that, they even had to memorize which pouch contained which item—so they wouldn't have to go through hundreds of pouches to find the needed thing. It was an endless headache, yet they were helpless; their greedy hearts were unwilling to leave anything that could be taken behind. There was nearly a 100% probability that they would never again visit this island, and even if they did in the future, they might no longer consider these things precious.
The Space Tents that all three jointly created were also a headache—too large to fit inside their rings—along with other crafted items that they didn't want to abandon. They were deeply troubled by how to carry so much.
But now, according to this pocket watch's Space Storage, it had nearly unlimited single storage space! It was even possible to choose which item to pull out from its storage or item list!
This truly solved all their problems and reluctance!
This was probably the biggest gift and the most useful feature of the watch for them. The other Time Element abilities could only help toddler Mana Wielders. They wouldn't need 90% of them in their lives, including most of the watch's other features—because they were far too capable and powerful compared to those weakling heroes.
If they were only stat-based Mana Wielders, they might still need those Time abilities. But with their own 'evolved' abilities, these Time Spells—riddled with limitations—weren't much use. There were a few spells and options in the watch that could be somewhat useful to them. However, only this Dimension Space Storage was what they desperately needed.
Eric was beyond ecstatic. His and the girls' major headache was now entirely solved! With their high Intelligence stats and months of hard work on Mana Control, they could now easily store miles-long objects! Ahem, that was a slight exaggeration—but they could still store a large ship with enough mana and uninterrupted time.
Imbuing weapons with mana was easy but costly, whereas covering objects with mana to store them in space objects was the opposite. Covering objects required Mana Control and little mana—the better the control, the less mana generally required.
Organizing items in the watch's storage was also infinitely easier than with their rings and pouches—no need to remember which door held which item. The only advantage Space Rings had was quicker retrieval; the watch took at least a few seconds. In short, the pocket watch storage wasn't useful in fights, but otherwise, it was the GOAT!
At any rate, they needed to use this pocket watch's Space Storage immediately!
So Eric swiftly got to work.
After verifying the pocket watch's credibility, he called out to his housewives—who were busy relocating belongings—ahem, the girls!
"Ly, Liv, come here!"
Lyria and Livy, who were moving from one place to another, promptly checked with other if they had heard the Lion Boss's call, then quickly dashed to answer his summons.
Soon they stood before Eric, who sat on a lavishly decorated couch like an emperor, and with beautiful smiles, they bowed respectfully.
"Your Highness, what are your orders?"
Eric accepted their deference with a gratified nod—zero shame.
He then explained everything about the pocket watch and its history. He had no reason to hide anything—those Time abilities might impress fledglings, but to them, they weren't even worth their overpowered stats, let alone their personal awakened abilities.
After listening, Lyria and Livy were greatly astonished.
Even after witnessing countless unbelievable remnants Lysandra had left, this pocket watch and its ability felt like the first true magical artifact they'd encountered. It was overwhelmingly impressive.
Though most Time Spells were useless to them, they were still fascinating—and occasionally handy too.
Eric registered both girls' mana signatures as sub-users of the Zephyrion Pocket Watch.
There were perks to having them as sub-users beyond being mere porters, though for now, that remained their role.
After some excited deliberation, they decided to move everything into the watch—except daily essentials such as clothes, weapons, potions, which were to be kept inside their rings.
After hours of constantly changing hands due to their lack of mana, they finally finished packing everything.
They had even packed the whole forge, the gravity array, furniture, sanitary ware—everything that was visible inside the cave.
Lyria's greedy heart even wanted to rip apart the doors on each room. Sadly, those were part of various arrays, so they had to leave those behind.
Livy, who was most thrilled about the watch's image-capturing function, took the time to take various pictures of the islands, including the training island.
Following that, they took a silent, emotional tour across the entire Heart-Shaped Island, including the cave where they had lived for the last eight months.
The cave was brimming with memories for them. There were many occasions where they had to dash from one place to another, so even the corridor was very memorable.
Livy then used her Hydro Explosion ability—not to cause explosions, but to bring water from the ocean and wash away every trace of their stay.
Eric had helped her name this technique 'Hydro Wash.' It was a method Livy had created after mastering her Hydro Explosion ability. Though the water she could carry in each droplet was much less—otherwise, she would lose control and it would explode—it was still good enough for thoroughly cleaning a place.
It was Eric's command to clean every trace of their existence throughout both islands, which baffled both girls, but they didn't hesitate and obeyed without questioning.
Later, Lyria was sent to the training island to remove the two-way Teleportation array. With her Whirlwind Sprint, she could even run on the water as if it were solid ground—no swimming needed.
Not every trace could be erased. Even so, Eric was confident that in a month at most, whatever clues they weren't able to remove would disappear naturally.
Hopefully, that would stop any wild dogs from sniffing them out—if any got attracted in the first place.
With the array dismantled, Lyria sprinted back to the ocean cliff, where Eric and Livy waited.
Eric currently wore sleek gray attire: a long-collared coat over a fitted sweater, dark jeans, and combat boots. Two high-grade Tier 2 daggers hid inside his coat.
Livy, beside him, wore form-fitting brown leather armor. It perfectly molded to her form, making her look even more elegant and hot. She looked like an elegant and seasoned adventurer, ready for combat and challenge. She also had two daggers fitted on both sides of her hips.
Unlike in the past, her long lavender hair was now tied in a single ponytail behind her neck. After becoming a Mana Wielder, she finally had gained some control over her freedom-loving beautiful hair, though most of the time it still remained open and free.
Lyria jumped and landed beside them. She stood up and gave them a refreshing smile.
She was clad in dark, intricately stitched leather and steel with a form-fitting bodice and trousers. A dark hooded cloak covered a portion of her form. Her beautiful dark brown hair was properly tied in an updo. Two wicked-looking high-grade Tier 2 daggers also hung on both sides of her hips. Finally, heavy leather boots completed her formidable, elegant look.
From Eric's perspective, both girls radiated a mature, battle-honed beauty—far from their fledgling days.
Their current outfits were made with the intention to prioritize mobility over defense; everything was peak-grade Tier 1.
Eric and Livy smiled back at Lyria, then all three turned to look at the horizon—quietly gazing at the endless blue sky and violent, gentle ocean.
This could be their last visit to this place. So, they stayed quiet and enjoyed the ocean breeze for the next few minutes.
After a while, Eric turned around.
"Let's go."
He leaped into the trees; the girls followed.
Soon, like evolved monkeys, they glided through the forest toward Ringwood Town—they would arrive within a few hours.
Along the way, they largely remained silent, with a shade of sorrow on their faces. They knew what awaited them after their return.