He looks at me, confused.


    “Ehm, what do you mean?” He coughs afterward.


    “Wait. Oh my God."


    "Like, right now?” He asks opening his eyes wide.


    I nod at him with a crazy smile.


    “That’s why you asked me if I could lift a car. Am I right?” I look at him, raising my eyebrows.


    “No. I mean... I... maybe, yes. But there must be other ways to do it.” He is uncertain and stutters.


    “There was never a situation to test it. I mean, the size we can store up. But you know what? I''ll give it a try,” I answer confidently.


    “Boy, Markus, this is too risky. What if you lose it?” he asks, concerned.


    “Don’t worry. Trust me,” I answer again, very confidently. Maybe there is a bit of showing off from my side, maybe to impress two of the party members.


    <hr>


    Time to execute some tests while I wait for the precious water.


    Taking out my sledgehammer from my inventory, I let it rest on the ground, hammerhead down.


    Kneeling down, I try to position the floating inventory bronze plate at the level of the hammer.


    I tilt and wiggle it in all possible ways to initiate the downsizing magic trick.


    No luck.


    Leaning even lower, I reopen my inventory to get it to appear under the hammer.


    The bronze plate easily blends with the environment. Half of it is in the ground, yet I’m unable to let it go in.


    But the moment I lift and hold the hammer with my arm, it finally sucks right in.


    Good.


    The next option is to throw it.


    Raising it up, I let it fall into the frame.


    No luck; it just falls through, and the hammerhead lands on the ground with a loud thud, destroying one nice and colorful mossy patch.


    I crouch, open the inventory again at floor level, and stand up, trying to put it in from the top. Strangely, it also refuses to take it despite me holding it myself.


    It seems that I must be physically able to hold it by myself, at about chest level, and place it in.


    The last option is to sit on the ground, lift it at chest level, and try to fit it in.


    This time, it finally works.


    So indeed, the bronze plate must be at my chest level.


    “So, what did you find?” the curious man asks.


    “Welp, digging a hole under the car and placing it wouldn’t work. Even making it fall inside—you need to physically hold it yourself and at about chest level.”


    He is disappointed; I can tell by the look in his eyes.


    “But I have another idea. Hold my hammer there.”


    I ask him to help me take the final test.


    He holds the hammer up, and I open my inventory, placing it correctly. My hands are just below, waiting for him to drop it.


    “Let it go on three.” As I say, Harald nods.


    “One, two, three.”


    *Thud*


    The hammer hits the ground, almost hitting my foot.


    "Again."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    We repeat but this time I try to touch the hammer slightly while it falls and guide it inside the frame, but it still does not work.


    “What’s this test about?” he asks curiously.


    “To test if it is enough just to guide it. Maybe you could drive it from some artificial ramp, and I would simply guide it in. But no luck.”


    “And it seems that we’ve killed two birds with one stone, as it is impossible to store stuff in others'' inventory without having full control of the item.”


    “So, my question is, isn’t that a problem? That I would have the car in mine?” I ask the old man, who seems to love this hummer.


    “It’s okay. If you don’t run away with it.” He cracks a smile and nods.


    <hr>


    “Are we doing this now?” The old man asks.


    I smirk at him and roll my eyes toward the hummer.


    “Astriiiid?” I call her name loudly.


    She sticks one arm out and looks at me through the back window.


    “We are going to perform one test with the car,” I let her know and stand up again, moving toward the yellow hummer.


    “If I may?” I decide to get closer to pick her up gently and relocate.


    “What test?” she asks, looking at me adorably as I carry her.


    “You’ll see.”


    The moment I place her on the mossy, comfortable patch near the tree trunk, I hear fast and delighted footsteps.


    “Oi. Special delivery service.”


    A tall figure emerges from the dark, moist forest, covering half of his face with a headscarf.


    “What test?” Mike asks, handing us bottles and jugs filled with crystal-clear water.


    I freeze for a moment, as I was touching his precious girl, but not Harald.


    “Mark here is going to try to store the car,” the old man announces proudly.


    Mike''s lips open for a brief moment, but he plays it off instantly, covering up his amazement.


    “Okay.” He nods with a fake smile.


    Harald takes his jugs from him and stores them in his magic inventory. I carefully take my bottle from him, nodding to him with one eye. He remains silent, and I awkwardly chug almost the whole bottle while staring into his one eye.


    Still dehydrated yet somewhat refreshed from the chug, I look around carefully for where I could fit under the car.


    I crouch here and there, kneeling to check what exactly is under the car.


    Thank God it has such good clearance. I can fit there with no problem and avoid getting crushed accidentally if I somehow fail to hold it up.


    The clearance is massive, and even dropping back on the absorbers should theoretically leave me unscratched.


    If this works, this bench press will be legendary.


    <hr>


    As I start to roll myself under the car, Harald quickly gets inside and recovers what’s possible, including the cut-out seat belts, jack, and rope. He quickly puts all the stuff in one pile.


    Finally, lying wide underneath it, I mutter to myself, “Where to place my arms to avoid collapsing the whole car?”


    I switch my arms a few times, touching the parts I think will support and provide a good grip, thinking out loud so Harald can hint at me.


    “Here, Mark, it shouldn’t be hot; this is where the jack goes. But I’m worried for your skin and hands; here, grab it with these rags.” He crouches down and shows me some good spots and hands me two of them he retrieved from the trunk.


    I lock myself in place with my arms on the spots, holding the rags, and push.


    Calling for Focus and trying to bench press from the front of the car, I first feel the movement under my skin.


    “Aaargh!” I let the groan escape as I push as hard as I can.


    My muscle mass shifts from my bottom, and I can already feel that mostly my chest and shoulders are at work. But to lift the whole car, I need to use almost my entire body—and there isn’t enough mass to shift and supply all four limbs simultaneously.


    I’m a bit of a skeptic about this now, but a wild idea sparks.


    I can use only my arms to lift it up. Relocating myself with a tedious back crawl, I center the car at my chest area.


    A quick peek at Harald shows his worried expression.


    “Just testing.” I reassure him so he can stay calm.


    The first push, and I can hear the squealing of the vehicle frame.


    It might work after all! I start to grin.


    The wheels are staying on the ground, hanging on the suspenders only.


    I say through my teeth, “Inventory,” and it opens in front of me, intersecting with the car. I skew it to the side, imagining it will fit in.


    *Metal squealing and a loud thud*


    Unsuccessful.


    Releasing the tension, the car falls back to its original position, and I close the floating window.


    “Again, just testing.” I reassure the crouching old man again.


    I just can’t get it over the point where it finally floats on all four tires. It seems I’ve managed to lift only one side, so I would need more power.


    “Please, watch my legs and shoulders. If anything looks suspicious that could make me burst, scream. I have zero control while on acid, as you well know.” I decide to tell him before my last attempt.


    “That’s why I’m here.” He kneels now on all fours, watching me.


    <hr>


    “Aaaargh!”


    Movement beside Harald is noticed out of the corner of my eye. The couple crouches to check on me as I push as well.


    I groan while pushing again. My legs and bottom are incredibly thin, and a quick glance down reveals that my legs are almost skeletal; it seems my pants are empty.


    “What a weird thing that I’m still alive. Such physical mass shifting should be impossible.”


    A thought flashes through my head as I inhale deeply before another try.


    “Aaaaargh!”


    My elbows are getting buried in the mossy soil, and I imagine I must look badly disfigured—almost like I’m only the upper torso from the chest up, with two bloated arms.


    “Aaaaargh!”


    The veins on my forehead protrude, and another large crooked one pops out on the side of my head, yet I don’t feel any pain.


    I just want to lift that damn metal box now!


    “Mark, goddamnit! Stop this!” Harald raises his voice.


    “Stop it!” Astrid joins, but not Mike.


    “Aaaaargh!”


    The car finally starts to balance on my arms.


    “For fuck’s sake, stop! Boy, are you stupid!”


    “Aaaaargh!”


    My elbows straighten, and I prepare for the last step.


    “Inventory,” I almost choke while whispering, shaking all over.


    I hear them yelling, but it’s all muffled now.


    *Fwoosh*