Transcendent Warrior with a Dimensional Shifting Inventory

21

“To succeed in hunting, one must first know the prey well.”

The general shared information about Count Loren with Minhyuk.

The Loren family is now one of the most influential noble houses in Asdel, but it didn’t exist before the flood.

“Events that are disasters for most can be opportunities for some.”

Count Loren’s great-grandfather lent money to people who poured into the fortress to escape the flood, charging them exorbitant interest.

He was usuring the refugees.

He knew full well that the refugees would never be able to repay the debt.

If they were even a day late on interest, he would take the young ladies they had pledged as collateral and sell them as slaves to the nobles.

That’s how he amassed a fortune.

In the slums, the cries of those who had lost their daughters and wives to him never ceased.

“It’s not like he’s done nothing but evil. His great-grandfather, Count Loren, expanded the sewers beneath the castle.”

The ancestors of Count Loren had earned their fame by solving several problems that arose from the increasing population density, including the issue of sewage, and eventually succeeded in obtaining a peerage.

And generation after generation, they had increased their wealth by pretending to care for the people in the open while engaging in all sorts of shady dealings in the dark.

And so, the family business had been passed down to the current Count Loren.

Count Loren knew this:

The narrower the territory of Kaho became and the more impoverished the people became, the more his ‘side business’ of loan sharking, prostitution, and gambling would flourish.

“Do you understand why he’s reluctant to expand Kaho’s territory?”

At the general’s question, Minhyuk nodded.

However, he wasn’t filled with anger at the evil deeds of the Loren family or anything like that.

Perhaps he had become immune to it, having seen much worse on the news in the real world.

Minhyuk’s intention to kill Count Loren wasn’t about upholding justice, but simply a survival strategy to kill the one who was trying to kill him first.

After giving a brief explanation of the Loren family, the general began to share information that would help Minhyuk approach the count.

“Count Loren is always busy attending social gatherings.”

While the people struggled to make ends meet,

the nobles of Asdel Castle held parties for themselves every day.

And Count Loren was like a fixture in the social scene.

He attended almost every party without fail.

So every night, he would drink with men and talk about money,

and enjoy the pleasures of the bed with noblewomen.

“By the way, tomorrow night, Count Loren is hosting a party at his mansion. If you’re going to make your move tomorrow, I can help you.”

.

.

.

The next morning,

Minhyuk was near Count Loren’s mansion.

He had come to do a reconnaissance before carrying out his plan.

He was wearing a hooded coat.

The large hood completely hid his red hair.

Minhyuk had already come to terms with his first murder in his life, which he would carry out tonight.

‘This is war.’

A war where you kill or be killed.

And it was Count Loren who had started this war.

He had been lucky to survive last night, but Count Loren would continue to target him.

Luck wouldn’t always be on his side.

So if I want to live, I have to take care of him.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

I’m going to kill Count Loren.

Splash, splash-

Minhyuk walked along the stream that flowed near the mansion.

Approaching the mansion’s wall, a sewer large enough for a person to enter came into view.

It was blocked by thick iron bars, but a door with a keyhole was attached.

Minhyuk took out a key from his pocket.

It was the key General Drake had given him.

Clank-

He used the key to open the door and went inside.

A foul stench filled the air.

As he went further in, it became pitch black.

Minhyuk drank the pink potion and kept walking.

Thump-thump-

He navigated the complex sewer system while looking at the map he had received from the General.

And he arrived in front of a stone door with the Loren family’s crest engraved on it.

Beyond this door was the basement of the mansion’s main building.

And on the second floor of the main building was Count Loren’s bedroom.

He would go through this stone door to carry out his mission and escape through this door again.

***

On an evening with a crescent moon,

Lanterns were lit brightly everywhere in Count Loren’s mansion.

Nobles gathered to enjoy the Count’s party.

And there was a very special guest.

“It is an honor for the Loren family that the Princess has visited such a humble place!”

Count Loren greeted the Princess.

“I hear that the Count’s parties are so much fun, but I’ve been so busy with work that I’ve never been able to attend. I’m looking forward to it today.”

The Princess already knew from General Drake that the Count had ruined her expedition.

But she didn’t show it on the outside.

She just smiled coldly in her heart.

‘Today’s party will be your funeral.’

General Drake stood beside the Princess.

The General had already reported to her about the mission that would take place today.

Ta-da-da-da-

Lively music filled the mansion.

The nobles enjoyed alcohol, conversation, dancing, and romance as always.

Count Loren, slightly drunk, looked at the ladies dancing in the ballroom and searched for a bed partner for tonight.

A beautiful woman dancing with General Drake caught his eye.

Her beauty was out of this world.

The Count waited for the music to end and approached them.

And looking at the woman, he said to the General.

“Excuse me, but may I ask for an introduction, General?”

“She’s my niece.”

“I didn’t know the General had such a beautiful niece.”

The General introduced Lord Lauren to the lady.

“This is Lord Lauren who is hosting today’s party.”

The lady greeted the Lord with a gentle smile.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Lord. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“If you’re free, would you care to dance with me for the next song?”

The Lord extended his hand towards her.

The lady nodded and took his hand.

Thump-thump-

The music started again.

The Lord, who was dancing with the lady, whispered in her ear.

“May I ask what your hobbies are?”

“I enjoy looking at paintings.”

“We have something in common. I have some very rare paintings in my bedroom that I recently acquired. Would you like to see them with me?”

“Really? I’d love to!”

“Let’s go and see the paintings after this song.”

“Can’t we just go now?”

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”

The Lord took the lady’s wrist and led her to his bedroom.

They went up the stairs and stood in front of the bedroom door.

Just as the Lord was inwardly rejoicing, thinking that his plan had worked, the lady spoke.

“Oh my! I should go back downstairs and tell my uncle that I’m going for a walk.”

“Do you really have to?”

“If I don’t, he’ll make a fuss, saying that I’ve disappeared.”

“I understand. Just don’t keep me waiting too long.”

“Yes, I’ll be back very soon.”

The lady lifted her skirt slightly and ran down the stairs.

The Lord watched her retreating figure with relish.

Entering the room, the Lord stood in front of the mirror

and unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt.

He thought he looked especially handsome today.

Knock-knock-

A knock was heard.

Judging by how quickly she had returned, she must have been in a hurry too.

‘Women, women.’

The Lord opened the door.

“Welcome to my bedroom…!”

The beautiful lady was nowhere to be seen, and a tall man stood before the Lord’s eyes.

His face was hidden by a deeply worn hood.

“Wh, who are you?”

Swish-

Minhyuk’s dagger swept past the Count’s neck.

However, the Count was unscathed.

＜Your opponent is wearing Hamel’s Ring.＞

＜Hamel’s Ring protects its wearer from physical attacks of a certain intensity or lower for 10 seconds.＞

Count Loren wore a mysterious ring passed down from his great-grandfather.

It was thanks to Hamel’s Ring that he was able to move about freely without worrying about assassination or kidnapping.

And the ring was not all that protected him.

“Rock!”

As the Count shouted, a huge figure appeared from somewhere.

He was several heads taller than Minhyuk and his entire body was covered in muscles.

“Ron!”

The Count called out to someone else.

A man with an agile build then ran over, picked up the Count, and ran towards the window.

He ran incredibly fast, even while carrying another person on his back.

Rock and Ron were the Count’s bodyguards.

If someone targeted the Count’s life, Rock would block them while Ron evacuated the Count to safety.

Rock, Ron, and Hamel’s Ring,

As long as this combination remained unbroken, no one could kill the Count.

However,

Thud-

Minhyuk’s dagger dug deep into the top of Rock’s head.

The giant figure died instantly, without even being able to properly attack Minhyuk.

Clatter, clatter-

Minhyuk chased after Ron at full speed.

Ron was fast, but Minhyuk was much faster.

He easily caught up to Ron and snatched the Count, who was being carried on his back.

Ron was bewildered at having his master taken away from him.

Then, he fled out the window by himself.

“You bastard! What will I do if you leave me behind!”

The Count cursed in the direction Ron had disappeared.

Then, he pleaded with Minhyuk.

“Who ordered you to do this? How much did they pay you? I’ll pay you more!”

Minhyuk did not reply.

“I’ll pay you ten times more. No, a hundred times more! Please spare my life!”

After a long silence, Minhyuk spoke.

“Has it been 10 seconds now?”

“What?”

Swish-

Minhyuk swung his dagger.

Count Loren’s head was separated from his body and rolled on the floor.

10 seconds later, the effect of Hamel’s ring disappeared.

Minhyuk pulled the ring off the dead count’s finger.

＜Hamel’s Ring＞

– Blocks physical attacks of a certain intensity or lower for 10 seconds.

– Can be reused by infusing mana gems with mana after use.

He had gotten his hands on a pretty good item.

Minhyuk, who had taken the ring, began looking for something else.

‘Where’s the safe?’

Behind the count’s portrait hanging on the wall, information about the object appeared.

＜Steel-made Fixed Safe＞

A safe was hidden behind the painting.

Minhyuk removed the painting and cut the hinges of the safe with his dwarf dagger.

Clang-

When he opened the safe door, there were several account books inside.

And there was also a large leather pouch.

When he lifted the pouch, it was heavy enough to be swung as a weapon.

Inside, it was full of 10,000 krone gold coins.

There seemed to be thousands of them.

Compared to Count Loren’s entire fortune, it was a very small amount, but to Minhyuk, it was a huge sum of money.

‘Bingo!’

There was no need to take the gold coins out.

He would put them in the refrigerator right away.

“Inventory.”

Poof-

A refrigerator appeared before Minhyuk’s eyes.

There were only a few emergency potions inside the refrigerator.

It was already emptied as much as possible to put in the gold coins.

Minhyuk’s refrigerator was small, so it could hold about 600 bundles of 50,000 won.

In terms of money, it was 30 billion won.

This was also calculated by comparing the capacity of the refrigerator and the volume of the bundles of money.

‘I have to put in only 600 gold coins at a time.’

If he put in more than that, the refrigerator would explode, which would be troublesome.

Minhyuk took out the horizontal scale he had bought from the Sundries Shop in Calves Square.

And he put a metal weight equal to the weight of 600 gold coins on one side of the scale.

In fact, Minhyuk had prepared more to move the gold coins to the real world than to assassinate the count.

Swish-

He poured the gold coins until the scale was level.

Then he put the gold coins in the refrigerator.

‘Should I put in a little more?’

He was about to put one more handful of gold coins in the refrigerator as an experiment, but a message appeared before his eyes.

＜Inventory is full. No more items can be stored.＞

As expected, there was a restriction to prevent the refrigerator from exploding in the real world.

In any case, now that the gold coins were full, I’ll go to the real world and empty the refrigerator.

“Return.”

Poof-

Along with a flash, Minhyuk moved to his studio room.