Chapter 3
Transcendent Warrior With A Dimensional Shifting Inventory 3
3
Sssss-
As the light faded, familiar sights came into Minhyuk’s view.
A narrow bed just big enough for one person,
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And a picture of Hawaii hanging where a window should be.
This was Minhyuk’s goshiwon room.
Having lived here for five years, he was sick to death of it,
But now, it felt incredibly dear.
‘I’m back!’
As expected, ‘Return’ meant coming back to the real world.
His tracksuit and slippers were back to normal, and so was his skinny frame.
He had perfectly returned to reality from the strange world where horned wolves ran rampant.
But something had not returned to normal.
The injury he had sustained in that world was still there, just as before.
Blood seeped from the wound on his forearm, staining the sleeve of his tracksuit before dripping onto the floor.
It was then that a voice echoed from the corridor.
“Is the fridge working well?”
It was the man from the next room.
His face, previously beaming with a smile, turned pale as he saw the droplets of blood on the floor.
“What happened to you!? Are you hurt? Wait a moment! I’ll bring the first-aid kit!”
The man dashed towards the stairs at full speed.
He was heading down to the first floor to fetch the first-aid kit stored in the management office.
Inside the kit were disinfectants, gauze, and bandages.
But Minhyuk couldn’t wait for the man.
The message he had seen in that other world was still vivid in his mind.
‘Remaining return time: 10 seconds…’
He knew what the 10 seconds meant without having to think deeply about it.
It was the time he could stay in the real world after returning.
After 10 seconds, he would be pulled back into that strange world.
He had to take action within those 10 seconds.
‘I should at least take that!’
With a slide,
Minhyuk opened the desk drawer.
Inside, in the corner, were two pills.
They were antibiotics left over from when he had his wisdom teeth removed.
Antibiotics are effective against bacterial infections.
It was better to take them than to leave empty-handed.
Minhyuk picked up the antibiotics and clenched them in his hand.
And then, suddenly,
Flash-
A bright light flashed before his eyes.
Ssshhh-
Moments later, as the light faded, the surroundings came into view.
Lush grass and trees.
Minhyuk had returned to that strange world once again.
His appearance had also changed back to that of a muscular warrior.
The color of the hair covering his shoulders was as red as blazing flames.
Minhyuk checked the message floating before his eyes.
‘Remaining return time: 0 seconds’
As expected, he had used up all 10 seconds and returned to this world.
No, he had been dragged back by an irresistible force.
Why such an absurd thing had happened to him,
How he should cope from now on.
His mind was terribly cluttered.
—
But the greatest emotion occupying Minhyuk’s heart right now was disappointment.
“Damn it!”
The antibiotics he had been holding were gone.
It wasn’t that he had dropped them by mistake.
They had simply vanished during the transition from the real world to this one.
It meant that objects from the real world couldn’t be brought here.
Drip, drip-
Blood continued to flow from the wound on his forearm.
Now was not the time to wallow in disappointment.
With a swoosh-
Minhyuk took off his top.
Then, his robust chest muscles and distinct abs were revealed.
Snip-
rrrip-
He tore what resembled a rag from his shirt to make a makeshift bandage.
Wrapping it tightly above the wound,
The bleeding began to subside.
But this was only a temporary measure.
Proper treatment would require disinfecting the wound and stitching the torn flesh.
And he would need something like a tetanus shot.
Even with a body strong enough to fight and defeat a giant wolf, he couldn’t afford to neglect his injuries.
After all, even a healthy adult could die from bacterial infection after being bitten by a tiny puppy.
“Isn’t there a sure way to treat this?”
As if in response to Minhyuk’s question, a new message appeared before his eyes.
<You have a healing potion in your inventory.>
<Consume the healing potion to treat your wound.>
Inventory and healing potion.
Terms from the gaming world popped up.
Minhyuk, who had lived a life burdened with debt and work, knew what an inventory and a healing potion were.
An inventory is a place in games where players can store various items and goods.
It could be a physical space like a bag or a virtual space like a subspace.
Since he wasn’t carrying a bag, the inventory mentioned in the message must be the latter.
Minhyuk murmured softly,
“Inventory.”
Pop-
With a flash of light, an out-of-place object appeared before Minhyuk.
“What’s this?”
It was a refrigerator.
The very same one he had picked up from across the goshiwon building.
But it looked quite different from when he had seen it in the room.
—
I hope this captures the essence of the original text while conveying the atmosphere and nuances in English. If you need any further assistance or adjustments, feel free to let me know!
The entire refrigerator was translucent.
And it seemed to float in the air, free from gravity.
‘Is this the inventory?’
Minhyuk approached the refrigerator.
Its translucency allowed a clear view inside.
What had been placed inside the refrigerator were thirty eggs.
But now, there were small glass bottles, the size of yogurt containers.
‘Two, four, six, eight…’
Counting the bottles, there were thirty in total.
Inside the bottles was a red liquid.
Information about the potion appeared before his eyes.
<Red Superior Recovery Potion>
– A healing potion made by mixing herbs and animal ingredients.
– Upon consumption, all abnormalities caused by external injuries are healed.
Since he was bitten by a wolf, Minhyuk’s wound was an external injury.
So drinking this would heal the wound and prevent any bacterial infection.
Minhyuk reached out to open the refrigerator door.
Swoosh-
His hand passed through the door handle as if it were a hologram.
‘So it’s not about opening the door to take it out?’
Minhyuk extended his hand towards a glass bottle.
His hand passed through the refrigerator door and touched the bottle.
Unlike the door handle, the bottle could be grasped.
He pulled the bottle out of the refrigerator.
Pop-
Minhyuk uncorked the bottle, made of cork material.
And he gulped down the potion in one go.
Then,
A pleasant coolness was felt on the sore and numb wound.
At the same time, the wound healed instantly.
It healed cleanly without leaving even a small scar.
The pain disappeared, and the heat he had felt throughout his body vanished.
‘The effect is killer!’
It was a magical healing effect, absolutely impossible with Earth’s medical technology.
With such an incredible potion filling the refrigerator, he breathed a sigh of relief.
There was another fact that thrilled Minhyuk even more.
‘The eggs turned into potions!’
There were thirty bottles of potion in the refrigerator.
Now, after using one, twenty-nine remained.
But what Minhyuk had originally put in the refrigerator in his tiny room were thirty eggs.
No further confirmation was needed.
The 30 eggs had clearly turned into 30 bottles of healing potion.
Just as my originally lean physique had transformed into a muscular giant upon arriving in this world, the eggs had become healing potions.
“Jackpot!”
Truth be told, I had been feeling utterly lost until now.
A crucial fact had dawned on me from my 10-second return to the real world.
The wound I received from the wolf bite remained when I returned to my tiny apartment.
Injuries sustained in this world also reflected in the real world.
If I were to suffer a life-threatening injury here, it would translate to the real world as well.
Thus, losing my life here meant dying in the real world too.
In such a dire situation, a ray of hope shone through.
“With enough healing potions, I can increase my chances of survival!”
Killing the wolf granted me a reward: 10 seconds of return time.
Perhaps the same reward would apply for other wolves or beasts.
If so, I could amass more return time by hunting many beasts.
If injured during the hunt, I could simply consume a healing potion to recover.
Earlier, fear had gotten the better of me, resulting in the wolf bite, but with my wits about me, I was confident I could hunt wolves without getting hurt.
Killing one wolf gave me 10 seconds, so six would give me a minute of return time.
Taking down 60 would grant me 10 minutes.
And 10 minutes was ample time to visit the nearest supermarket from my apartment.
The plan was to buy eggs in bulk and fill the fridge.
Then, all the eggs would transform into healing potions.
With an abundance of potions, I could hunt without worry and accumulate even more return time.
With enough return time, stocking up on eggs would become easier.
And so, a virtuous cycle would be established.
“Great!”
Now, I found myself eagerly anticipating the wolves’ appearance.
The thought of hunting them made me itch with anticipation.
But despite waiting, not even an ant stirred.
“Should I move to another location?”
The fridge still hovered before Minhyuk’s eyes.
“Inventory.”
With a soft utterance,
Whoosh—
The fridge disappeared.
I could summon it whenever needed and make it vanish after use.
Rustle—
Rustle—
Minhyuk began to walk, pushing through the bushes.
While finding prey was the primary goal of exploring the forest, there was another purpose as well.
“Is there nothing to eat?”
I’ve been famished since my time at the goshiwon.
That’s why I was about to cook some ramen.
The recovery potion only heals wounds, it doesn’t satisfy hunger.
And my throat was incredibly dry.
I wish there were a fruit tree nearby.
Eating fruit would fill the stomach and replenish fluids.
“What’s that?”
I spotted a colorful object hanging from a distant tree.
Approaching, I realized it was a mango.
**You have discovered a Rainbow Mango.**
**Consuming the fruit can relieve hunger and thirst.**
Of course, such a lush forest wouldn’t be without fruit trees.
Hungry and thirsty, this was perfect timing.
But there was something unwelcome under the tree.
Slithering…
A green snake was coiled up.
The snake was as thick as Minhyuk’s thigh.
It flicked its tongue, eyeing Minhyuk menacingly.
**You have encountered a Forest Pit Viper.**
**Defeating the viper will add 10 seconds to your return time.**
It seemed unlikely the snake would attack first.
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Probably it would strike if I approached the mango tree.
So, to pick the mangoes, I’d have to deal with the snake first.
Plus, killing it would add to my return time.
But there was a problem.
**The venom of the Forest Pit Viper cannot be cured with a red recovery potion.**
**To treat the venom-induced poisoning, a green recovery potion is needed.**
All the recovery potions in the fridge were red.
If bitten now, there would be no way to treat it.
I couldn’t risk my life just for some mangoes.
“Nothing is ever easy.”
I pondered how to safely handle the snake without a green potion.
“Is anyone nearby?! Can someone help me!”
A voice called out from afar.