Transcendent Warrior with a Dimensional Shifting Inventory

16

The blacksmith hesitated with a bewildered expression at Minhyuk’s request.

“Yes?”

“Let me see it. I’ll only need it for a moment.”

“But…this is…”

The mineral of the stars was more than precious to David.

He couldn’t let it out of his sight, even for a moment.

Minhyuk knew David’s feelings.

“Who would steal it? I just feel like I’ve seen something like that somewhere before.”

“Really?”

“So let me see it for a moment. I want to look at it closely.”

David hesitated and then handed the piece of mineral to Minhyuk.

As he bore the Drake family crest, he figured that he wouldn’t run away with his belongings.

Information about the mineral had been floating before Minhyuk’s eyes since earlier.

＜Mineral Fragment of the Stars＞

– A rare mineral that came from space.

– Can be refined to create a very strong metal.

Just as David had said, it was a mineral that could create a strong metal.

The amount was just too small.

‘Inventory.’

Poof-

A refrigerator appeared before Minhyuk’s eyes.

He put the mineral in the refrigerator.

And immediately cast the Return spell.

“Return.”

Poof-

In a flash, he returned to his Gosiwon room.

He opened the refrigerator door first to check what the Star’s Mineral had transformed into.

It was a very small object.

And it was something Minhyuk had seen very often.

Light brown in color and shaped like a grain of wheat.

‘Surely not?’

He picked up the grain and sniffed it.

It smelled like sweet caramel.

He knew what it was without even having to put it in his mouth.

This was,

‘Chewy candy!’

It was the snack Minhyuk usually enjoyed eating.

It was delicious on its own, but it tasted even better when soaked in milk.

The Star’s Mineral fragment had turned into a piece of chewy candy.

‘Nice!’

Minhyuk cheered inwardly.

If he bought just one pack of chewy candy and put it in the refrigerator, he could get a huge amount of Star’s Mineral fragments.

‘I’m going to go buy chewy candy right now.’

He was going to run to the store.

However, the Return Time he had left was very tight.

He felt like he might barely succeed or fail.

But there was a surefire way to save time.

Minhyuk picked up his cell phone.

And called the ajusshi next door.

Ring, ring, ring-

The phone rang and the ajusshi answered.

-Oh, Minhyuk-ah.

“Ajusshi, where are you right now?”

-I’m still at the convenience store. I’m about to pay and leave.

“You’re at the convenience store next to the bus stop? Where they sell lottery tickets?”

-Oh, right.

“Are you coming straight back to the Gosiwon from there?”

-Of course.

“Then I have one more favor to ask. Please buy me five packs of chewy candy.”

-Okay.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Minhyuk ran out of the room.

The ajusshi wouldn’t run all the way back to the Gosiwon.

Even if he walked slowly like he was taking a stroll, it would still be slower than Minhyuk running there and back.

So running as fast as he could and meeting him halfway to hand over the items was the best way to save time.

Thud, thud-

Leapt down to the first floor and emerged from the boarding house building.

Thud, thud, thud-

And ran towards the convenience store next to the bus stop at full speed.

Thought while running.

‘But how many pieces are in one bag of chocolate balls?’

Huff, huff-

Ran with all my might, gasping for breath.

The old man was visible in the distance.

He was walking towards me with bags full in both hands.

Minhyuk called out to the old man vigorously.

“Mister!”

“Oh, Minhyuk!”

The old man smiled broadly with a welcoming expression.

“But what are you doing out here? I’m about to reach the boarding house.”

The old man handed me a bag.

Inside were batteries, yogurt, and chocolate balls.

“Everything inside here is what you asked for.”

“How much is it in total?”

“Why are you in such a hurry to pay? Go inside the boarding house and pay slowly.”

“Okay. I’ll go to the boarding house first. I have something really urgent right now.”

“Really? Then go quickly.”

Thud, thud-

Minhyuk ran towards the boarding house.

And safely arrived at his room and put all the items he had brought inside the refrigerator.

There was a little time left.

Minhyuk searched the internet.

Lo and behold, there were people who had counted the number of chocolate balls in one bag and uploaded it on their blog.

I thought to myself that there are some really idle people out there, but at the same time, I felt grateful.

Thanks to them, I was able to get the information I needed.

Chocolate balls, like other snacks, came in various sizes, from the size of a karaoke room to the size of a pocket.

The one Minhyuk had put in the refrigerator was 70 grams.

＜A 70-gram bag of chocolate balls contains an average of 1,500 pieces.＞

With one bag, you can get enough Star Minerals to make three Star Daggers.

‘Now let’s go back.’

Minhyuk placed his hand on the refrigerator and quietly chanted.

“Return.”

Pop-

A flash of light appeared before my eyes.

Swish-

As the light subsided, the things around me became visible.

A display case with weapons and a dwarf with a bushy beard.

Minhyuk returned to the forge.

＜Remaining Return Time: 1 minute 13 seconds＞

He had used most of his return time to acquire the Star Minerals.

But it was worth it.

He could quickly recoup the cost if he hunted diligently with a good dagger.

Minhyuk took out the Star Mineral fragments from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and handed them to David.

They had originally belonged to David.

Then he took out the Star Mineral fragments from the top shelf.

Thud-

He poured the Star Mineral fragments onto the wide table.

It was the amount of one bag of rice.

David’s eyes widened.

“It’s true! These are definitely Star Mineral fragments!”

“Is this enough to make a dagger?”

“Yes, it’s more than enough! You can probably make about three.”

As a craftsman, David had a great eye.

He could tell the amount of ore at a glance.

“How long will it take to make one dagger?”

“Master has prepared all the equipment needed to refine the Star Minerals. Three days will be enough.”

Star Minerals were very special metals, so the tools needed to refine them had to be special as well.

David’s master, the real owner of this forge, Balin, had spent a lot of time and effort collecting the tools needed to refine Star Minerals.

And he had gone outside the territory of Kaho to collect the meteorite.

However, he had not returned for over 20 years.

“Make me one for now.”

It was basic to check the sample before placing a large order.

He would first make one and test its performance.

Now all that remained was to negotiate the manufacturing cost.

“I provided the materials, so how much should I pay for the manufacturing cost?”

“Manufacturing cost? That’s out of the question. I should be the one giving you a gift! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to refine the Star Minerals. If there’s anything you want from the items in the store, please tell me! I’ll give you anything as a gift.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t do that.”

“No! If Master were here, he would have thought the same.”

Thanks to Minhyuk, David could fulfill his master’s wish, who may or may not be alive.

“Then give me one dagger. A good one.”

Minhyuk received the Dwarf Dagger, the best dagger in the forge, as a gift.

And he immediately headed outside the castle.

‘Let’s go hunting!’

***

A chilly wind came in through the window.

Mina closed the window.

And she looked at the Emperor, who was taking a nap.

‘A beastly man.’

The Emperor had fallen asleep only after the day had dawned because he wanted to keep the Princess with him even for a little while longer.

The Princess left the bedchamber, and Mina once again stood guard beside the Emperor.

Splash-

Mina dropped some oil into a basin of hot water.

Then, a unique scent spread through the air.

It was an aroma that aided deep sleep.

Splash-

Splash-

Today, she added a bit more oil than usual.

And she placed the basin near the Emperor’s bedside.

‘This should keep him asleep for a while.’

She quietly slipped out of the Emperor’s bedchamber.

And she avoided the eyes of the eunuchs and maids as she exited the inner palace.

There was an empty room that no one used at the end of the outer palace corridor.

She stealthily entered it, unnoticed.

She pushed aside a painting hanging on the wall.

Slide-

A stone on the floor sank downwards, revealing a secret staircase.

She descended the stairs.

Clatter-

She drank a potion from a pink bottle.

Then, she could see clearly even in the darkness.

Mina passed through a long and complex underground passage and arrived at a spacious room.

It was furnished with rather luxurious furniture that seemed out of place in an underground space.

A man was sitting on an ornate metal chair.

He was Count Loren, one of the richest men in Asdel.

He was a giant who had entered this place through another secret passage outside the Imperial Palace.

The Count stood up from his seat when he saw Mina.

“Welcome, Your future Majesty!”

“Watch your tongue.”

“It’s just you and me here, who’s there to hear?”

The Count approached Mina and whispered in her ear.

“It’s a waste for a beautiful woman like you to rot beside that old man who’s on his deathbed… If you come to me now, I’ll cherish you more than any Empress.”

“I told you to shut your mouth!”

Mina was genuinely angry, so the Count took a small step back and grinned.

“What a pity. I meant what I said.”

“Your words are worthless. You made such grand promises… but in the end, that woman came back alive!”

“My plan was perfect. It’s just that the Princess’s life was as tough as a whale’s sinew.”

It was because Count Loren meddled that the last expedition ended in such a vain failure.

The Count had bribed a few knights and soldiers who were part of the expedition with money.

They had endangered the entire expedition, including the Princess, with all sorts of tricks.

And they had returned to the castle alive.

But they were soon murdered.

The Count had ordered his servants to kill them all to keep them quiet.

“But don’t worry. No matter how tenacious the Princess’s life force is, she won’t have a second stroke of luck. So tell me. If the information you give me is accurate, I’ll be able to send the Princess to the other side as you wish.”

Mina desperately wanted the Princess dead.

She believed that if she were dead, she would have the Emperor’s attention all to herself.

Her twisted jealousy towards the Emperor’s own daughter had finally turned into murderous intent.

And for some reason, the Count wanted the expedition to Teidon’s heart to fail.

The two of them had temporarily joined forces to achieve their own goals.

Mina gave the Count information, and the Count used that information to do his work.

“Tell me everything you know. Even trivial information can be useful.”

Hmm-

Mina calmed her excitement and opened her mouth to the Count.

“The red-haired man is currently staying at General Drake’s mansion.”

***

Swish-

Swish-

The swamp viper’s neck was cut off with a thud by Minhyuk’s dagger.

The dagger was incredibly sharp.

Moreover, even after cutting down a huge number of vipers, the blade was not damaged at all.

＜Remaining Return Time: 30 minutes 23 seconds＞

Thanks to the good weapon and the hard work of killing snakes, the return time consumed to obtain the Star’s mineral was quickly replenished.

The Dwarf’s dagger is this good, so how good will the Star’s dagger be?

He eagerly anticipated the completion of the Star’s dagger in three days.

But anyway,

There were no more vipers attacking him.

He looked around, but there was nothing in sight.

The snakes in the vicinity were either all dead or had fled in fear of Minhyuk.

There was no other way.

He had to move his hunting ground.

‘Should I go into the forest?’

He had heard from the castle guards that the further away from the castle, the more powerful the beasts that inhabited the area.

However, he didn’t think it would be that dangerous if he didn’t go too deep.

It was the path he had taken once with the Princess.

Minhyuk came out of the swamp.

And he took out a yellow potion from his inventory.

It was a potion that increased his movement speed.

The yogurt the old man next door gave me has turned into a yellow potion.

Gulp-

I opened the lid and gulped it down in one breath.

Then I started running through the forest like the wind.

I could really feel my movement speed had increased.

Thud-

I jumped up and my jumping power had improved too.

Minhyuk ran happily along the forest path.

A short while later, he arrived at an open space where corpses were scattered everywhere.

This was where he had first met the princess.

However, there were other visitors there.

Grrr-

The beasts that had been tearing into the rotting corpses growled at Minhyuk.