Why Are You Still Alive?
"With that in mind, we've decided to take a trip to the Empire this time."
"Whoa...!"
Back at the mansion after wrapping up the sudden decision to head to the Empire—made at old man Haron's forge—and sorting out the schedule. Tier, Daphne, and Plang had gathered around me, their eyes sparkling with excitement as we nailed down the plans following my decision.
"Is it just you going, Berg?"
Daphne asked with a hint of grumbling, like she was wondering why I had to go off alone again lately, just like during the wyvern subjugation. I chuckled and shook my head.
"Nah. I already said—the reason I've been going solo is 'cause your growth was the top priority. This time, we're all going together. I don't know shit about the Empire or other kingdoms anyway, thanks to my background, so I gotta lean on you girls for some insight."
Ever since entering this world, the first thing I encountered was the Adventurer's Guild and the adventurer city I'm living in now, so all my knowledge came from secondhand gossip from folks around me.
'Truth is, I've just been scampering around the city outskirts like some hyper mutt this whole time—never really explored properly...'
As I mumbled through my various reasons, reaffirming our decision to travel together, the unique backgrounds and looks of Tier and her crew made all the future troubles we'd face flash vividly in my mind. A bitter taste crept into my mouth unbidden.
You know how it goes in places like the shiny Empire—those cliché scenarios you can't avoid. Some hotshot noble gets hooked on their beauty and starts groping around, or since they hate power-measuring games, they try to rope our group's strength—including mine—into their faction...
Just thinking about the annoying possibilities made me sigh, but seeing their faces light up the moment I mentioned going together, I shook my head helplessly and continued.
"As for the trip to the Empire, we've got confirmation through that Griham kid from the count's family we just met, so no backing out. But on the way back, we're hitting Tier's tribe and Daphne's village like we talked about before. Keep that in mind and prep accordingly."
They looked flustered at the unexpected homecoming schedule, but their eyes gazing at me—who'd adjusted the itinerary for their sake—were full of affection. Looked like tonight's bedmate was up in the air, but with Tier and Daphne's turns, I was in for some raw, no-holds-barred loving. I swallowed hard.
"Got it? Prep up."
"Yeah!"
"Mm-hmm."
I took in Tier and Daphne's bubbly responses, thrilled at heading home after so long, and Plang nodding vigorously like she was feeding off their good vibes. Then I stood up.
+++
Game paused.
1220 points acquired.
"Phew..."
From the wuxia world to this fantasy one, it'd felt like non-stop globe-trotting with no real breaks from reality. A lazy sigh escaped me instinctively. Probably 'cause nothing beat the comfort of the real world over some other dimension, especially knowing this spot I was in was my house.
Sensing Park Jisu still training in the training room—just like I'd checked before diving into the fantasy world—I pushed aside the nagging issue that's been bugging me with all its creepy vibes and opened my inventory.
Out of the endless junk in there, I pulled the wyvern egg I'd just gotten and the ever-useful gudu jar. The egg was just an egg, so I left it on the bed and immediately popped open the gudu jar to peer inside.
"You little shits..."
The familiar swarm buzzed around inside the jar. Red and blue tangled together like a taijitu orb—disgusting bugs pairing off, looking like candy-eyed freaks. Up to here, it was the usual peaceful gudu routine.
But glancing at the wyvern egg on the bed, I tilted my head.
"You little shits... why the fuck are you still alive...?"
The first thing I'd tested after getting inventory was whether I could store living things in it. Early on, after tinkering around, I'd figured out living creatures couldn't go in...
Right? And the nail in that coffin was Dang So-so in the training room right now, helping Park Jisu train. I'd thought even a lifeless corpse like her—alive but without a spark—was the boundary for what could fit. Yet here were the wriggling gudu in the jar and the pulsing lifebeat from the wyvern egg, slapping my assumption in the face.
"No way... small lifeforms don't give a shit if they're alive or dead...?"
To uncover any hidden honey features in the inventory, I stashed the egg and jar back, left the room, and headed to the yard out front.
Thud... boom...
Park Jisu's presence grew stronger as she ramped up her training on my way out, tempting me to check on her, but I shook off the thought and focused on the problem at hand, stepping into the yard.
Planting myself in the center, my senses sharpened and expanded rapidly. Unlike before when only Park Jisu registered, now countless lifeforms popped up in range. Sensing the insignificant bugs crawling underfoot, I smirked, crouched carefully to avoid squishing one, and slowly scooped it up.
"Heh heh. Bug bastard... daring to multify in my front yard..."
Grinning wickedly at the repulsive cricket in my hand, I opened inventory without hesitation and shoved my hand in.
Splat.
A small crunch, and the cricket burst like a firework in my palm. The weird, sticky yellow goo exploding from its body—and the shattered hypothesis that small critters could fit—gave me goosebumps. Pouting, I dove into proper testing.
This cricket was way smaller than the live gudu that fit fine. With size ruled out, the variable had to be something like the jar or eggshell sealing them off. Grabbing various sealed camping containers I'd prepped, I started collecting yard bugs.
Ants in a tiny sauce jar, larvae in a supplement bottle, mantis in a standard tupperware. Heart pounding with anticipation over future uses and inventory hacks, I tested.
Unlike the cricket exploding in my grip, one by one, the sealed bugs started vanishing into inventory. I bit back a cheer, lips quivering as they tried to curl up.
'Fuck. So even living things—as long as they're in a normal-sized sealed container—I can store 'em...?'
Unveiling this inventory secret, battle-focused me flashed through tactical possibilities. That zombie virus from the wuxia world? No more hassle extracting blood—just stock apocalypse bugs or small mammals infected, and I could unleash chaos in any world...
"Huh...? Wait... if I play this right, couldn't I take my wives sightseeing?"
Another wild idea sparked amid inventory brainstorming. Stuffing people in jars? Absurd on the surface. But what was my power? Entering game worlds, grabbing skills to grow. Shrink myself or them—endless imagination, endless greedy devs. I couldn't stop grinning like a maniac.
"Heh heh heh. Gotta snag some size-shrinking shit and get serious."