WebNovels

Chapter 143 - CHAPTER 143

Savior (3) 

The daily quests were so efficient that I was assigning them to as many citizens as possible. 

As a result, I could acquire hundreds of rewards in a single day. The type of reward varied depending on the nature of the quest. 

Since most quests involved hunting monsters, the rewards were usually small amounts of experience points. 

But given the sheer number of quests completed, jackpots did happen from time to time. 

Even then, the jackpot was usually just a large haul of experience points. 

But skill points? 

"Well, that changes things." 

I was also curious to see exactly what this new function "Inventory"—would do. 

"The problem is whether the inventory function unlocks at level 5." 

Currently, the "Hoard of the Shut-In Overlord" skill was at level 4. 

If I got unlucky, I might level it up and still not unlock the inventory function. 

"Still, there's no downside to leveling up the hoard." 

Not only did it support my retainers, but it was also one of the most powerful physical tools at my disposal. 

When I used Meteor via the hoard, I could flatten pretty much any monster. 

"The more weight the hoard can carry, the stronger the Meteor becomes." 

In short, investing in this skill was a no-brainer. 

[Do you really want to level up the "Hoard of the Shut-In Overlord" skill?] 

"Yeah." 

Wooong! 

[The "Hoard of the Shut-In Overlord" skill is now Lv. 5.] 

[Conditions met.] 

['Inventory' has been unlocked.] 

The moment the feature was unlocked, detailed information about the "Inventory" function downloaded straight into my head. 

A single citizen can carry up to 20kg. 

As a derivative function of the hoard skill, it was based on pure mass. 

Originally, the limit would've been 10kg, but thanks to the "Crown of the Overlord" I currently wore, it was doubled to 20kg. 

"Like the hoard and the marketplace, the inventory also prevents decay." 

I had already noticed how some features of the marketplace closely resembled those of the Shut-In Overlord's hoard. 

"I guess these kinds of features only unlock at certain skill levels." 

And with that realization came a simple question. 

"Shouldn't the inventory have unlocked before the marketplace?" 

To be honest, the marketplace seemed far more useful than the inventory. 

The marketplace had a limit of 20 slots, but no weight restrictions. 

That's why it was possible to buy and sell things like used vehicles. 

Meanwhile, the inventory only allowed for 20kg of storage. 

Just enough for food or essential supplies-nothing more. 

But then... 

"...Huh?" 

The functions of the inventory were updating in real time in my head-and they were beyond anything I had imagined. 

[The ultimate authority over 'Inventory' belongs to the 'Shut-In Overlord'.] 

[The 'Shut-In Overlord' may exercise absolute control over all inventories.] 

Absolute control. 

And what that meant... was staggering. 

I could see what was stored in each citizen's inventory. I could add or remove items at will. 

I could even prevent individuals from using their inventory at all. 

In other words... 

"J 

"I can use every inventory like it's part of my personal hoard. 

Right now, the maximum weight capacity of my level 5 hoard was 3,000kg. 

A mere 3 tons. 

But now that the inventory function was unlocked, the total storage I had access to just from a rough estimate was 50,000 citizens times 20kg. 

That's a million kilograms. 

Total: 10,000t 

The Household Absolute's warehouse could now store 3,333 times more than 

before. 

'...That's incredible, but also kind of awkward.' 

Still, there were some fundamental limitations to the inventory system. 

For example, items over 20 kilograms couldn't be stored at all. 

Each person's inventory had a max weight limit of 20 kilograms, and since the spaces were independent, they couldn't be combined. 

So while it was technically possible to store 500,000 items that weighed 20 kg each, storing a single 10,000-ton object was out of the question. 

'And there's one more thing.' 

If something was stored in a citizen's inventory-essentially their personal storage-it was no longer included in the Absolute Household's warehouse and couldn't benefit from the "status preservation" feature. 

In other words, once something was placed in a regular inventory, its momentum wouldn't be preserved. 

That meant even if someone stored Ha Dong-gun's spear or a fired warhead in their inventory, they couldn't use them as offensive weapons afterward. 

'Still, for individuals, there's probably no function more convenient than this.' 

Of course, I had no intention of giving access to this feature to just anyone. 

I planned to selectively grant the inventory function only to my retainers and those I'd been keeping an eye on. 

First, I raised my retainers' inventory capacity to the max limit of 20 kg and activated the Ring of Communication. 

[Everyone, I have an announcement to make.] 

*** 

Seo Ye-jin immediately tested the inventory feature after hearing Kim Jae-hyun's words. 

"Store in inventory!" 

At her command, a massive 10 kg block of cheese vanished into thin air as if it had melted like snow. 

'It really worked!' 

And at the same time— 

Thud! 

It was the sound of the Ratman Queen dropping to her knees, just moments after she'd been drooling over the massive cheese block. 

She stared blankly at the empty space where the cheese had been, utterly stunned. 

Seo Ye-jin gave a little chuckle at the sight. 

"Mary, where do you think the cheese disappeared to?" 

The Ratman Queen, Mary, approached her with a face that looked on the verge of tears. 

Seo Ye-jin gently wiped the saliva from the corner of Mary's mouth and said softly, 

"Wait." 

As Seo Ye-jin closed her eyes without hesitation, Mary's expression crumbled into despair and she hung her head. 

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-jin synced her senses with another mouse far in the distance. 

It was a little guy crawling through a sewer about 3 kilometers away from where she currently stood. 

Click- 

'Summon cheese.' 

She tried summoning a portion of the cheese from her inventory to that location. 

And then- 

Zing- 

A small lump of cheese appeared right there in the sewer. 

'It worked.' 

Having only ever watched Kim Jae-hyun use this kind of power, it felt amazing to finally wield a similar ability herself. 

'Thank you, oppa.' 

Up until now, the mice she commanded had lived under a strict policy of self-sufficiency. 

As a result, many had either died in the process of foraging or starved when they couldn't find food. 

But from now on, that kind of tragedy would become far less common. 

"Grrr..." 

Mary growled lowly. 

"I get it.' 

"" 

Seo Ye-jin looked straight ahead and gave the command, 

"Summon cheese." 

This time, she summoned the remaining cheese from the warehouse all at 

once. 

"Eat." 

With Seo Ye-jin's permission, Mary immediately began devouring the cheese with unrestrained hunger. 

After quietly watching her for a moment, Seo Ye-jin glanced around. 

Nearby, other Ratmen were drooling as they stared longingly at their queen's 

treat. 

Curious, Seo Ye-jin picked one out and tried something. 

"Store in inventory." 

But as expected, the living Ratman did not get pulled into her inventory. 

'Yep, that doesn't work either.' 

After buying a few more pieces of cheese from the exchange, Seo Yejin turned to the ratmen and said, 

"Come on, you can have some too." 

There were far fewer ratmen than before. 

A large number of them had been lost during the mission to eliminate the radioactive slime. 

And since they clearly looked like monsters, they couldn't be allowed into the safe zone. As a result, they were forced to live outside it. 

Because of the distance, it was rare for Seo Yejin to come all the way out to bring them snacks like this. 

To make matters worse, since Seo Yejin had strictly forbidden them from hunting humans, the ratmen had no choice but to survive by hunting other 

monsters. 

But monster hunting wasn't easy. The weak ones died off in the process. 

The only saving grace was that, thanks to Seo Yejin's Evolution skill, the more they hunted, the higher their levels rose, gradually raising the group's overall strength. 

"From now on, none of you will die from hunger." 

With that, Seo Yejin climbed onto the back of the waiting Kelikan nearby. 

"Let's go home." 

Understanding her words, the Kelikan spread its wings. 

Seo Yejin was able to communicate-albeit imperfectly-with the Kelikans. 

It was thanks to her Beast Tamer title. Because of that, she didn't need direct instructions from Kim Jaehyun to ride one and travel. 

Soon, they arrived home. Once back in her bedroom, Seo Yejin closed her eyes and looked through the eyes of the mice, surveying a certain building. 

Where should I go today? 

With the assault on Seoul underway, a flood of new people had been arriving. 

Seo Yejin enjoyed watching how they reacted. It gave her a deep sense of satisfaction to see people who had struggled be amazed when they discovered this place. 

Watching them cry with emotion or slowly adapt to a normal life had become her secret little hobby. 

While she was shifting her senses to other mice, she came across something interesting. 

It was an old church near Seomyeon. 

...All this time, we've been led by false teachings and fostered false beliefs. But recently, our savior descended and personally delivered us." 

"Amen." 

"No monsters can step foot on this blessed land granted by the savior. That's why we're able to live our lives in peace. We must always be grateful for that." 

"Amen." 

A small group of people had gathered to pray. 

They worshipped Kim Jaehyun as a god. 

They've increased again. 

This sort of thing had been popping up more and more lately. 

It started after the JHS cult was dismantled, and many of its followers migrated here. 

There had always been people who treated Kim Jaehyun like a divine figure, but those who outright idolized him and prayed like this only began appearing after that influx. 

Maybe it's because they used to believe in a cult. 

Still, she couldn't say she didn't understand how they felt. 

Oppa really is... special. 

Seo Yejin had spent so much time with Kim Jaehyun that she'd seen his more human side but if she looked purely at his capabilities, he was someone far beyond what any ordinary person could imagine. 

"Special" feels too lacking... 

She spent a while trying to come up with the right word to describe Kim Jaehyun's power, but no matter what she thought of, nothing seemed adequate. 

"Only the chosen may step foot on this blessed land. We are the ones chosen by the savior!" 

The man delivering the sermon from the podium hadn't said a single lie. 

He wasn't asking anyone to do anything. He wasn't demanding offerings or deeds. 

He was simply, sincerely praising Kim Jaehyun. 

"Let us pray! The savior has delivered us, given us food to eat, and a place to sleep. Let us give thanks for the daily bread and the safe home free of 

monsters that allows us to sleep in peace. Amen." 

It was then- 

Wooooong- 

A brilliant light burst forth from the man leading the prayer. 

"Oooooh!" 

"The light...!" 

"Ahhh!" 

Seo Yejin tilted her head as she watched the scene. 

Didn't light like that appear when someone was officially registered as a retainer? 

It was especially strange, given that the man looked like any other cult preacher. 

Is there something special about him? 

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]

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