―We recommend ‘Inventory’ that can be borrowed with helper points. This is a space that can only be used by individuals.
“Inventory?”
Hendrick found it surprising to hear a little more explanation of what that meant.
-You can rent a space roughly the size of a hut at 0.1 points per day, 1 point per 15-day period, or purchase it fully at 50 points.
He had only 0.1 points earned for going to the mountain. Hendrick gave his inventory for a day and put in all of the climbing vests, market bags, and the excess he was hiding from his body. They appeared to have vanished, for the hut was said to be invisible.
“This is magic,” he thought. He had heard that magicians and wizards existed, but had never seen them.
As he learned how to use the inventory, Hendrick additionally checked the things that Ko Jin-Hwan sent. There were:
“Awesome,” he thought as he checked each item. The inventory was a big deal. None of them would be useless to him. He felt elated and was thankful.
His gratitude was particularly because the savior was not only thinking about him, but his siblings too. The ground was bumpy, but Hendrick quickly knelt and bowed to God, “Thank you. Thank you very much.” He thought that maybe God didn’t know there were bad humans. He had wanted to tell him, but there were no points left to send a message.
He organized his items into compartments.
It was spacious. He didn’t have to worry about picking extra twigs.
Somehow, he felt re-energized, and he started to climb the mountain again. He had applied the insect repellent on his body. It smelled a little strange, but he did not mind it because God had given it.
He collected as many broken branches as he could find. He even cut out the tough vines with the ‘Chinese saw’. The saw or sickle was really useful compared to the stone knife. To Hendrick, he assumed that China was the country in the world to which God belonged. The blacksmithing technology there seemed advanced.
He had never even dreamed of taking vines until then because it was a tough task to do – even to adults. But now he envisioned making strings and ropes. He had the right tools, and therefore, wanted to pack as much as he could. But he hesitated because he knew that it would be very heavy.
He decided that he would make ropes and sell them. Usually, when men got the vines, they would take it home, and the women would twist its bark into ropes. These ropes were in demand by the merchants who often visited, and they were also battered with other items within the village.
Everything on the mountain began to look like money and hope; fallen branches, entangled vines, mushrooms, herbs, and even the special grasses.
―It is a mushroom with fatal poison.
―The target of the help connection cannot be consumed.
―A transfer is impossible.
Hendrick learned that some mushrooms were poisonous and could harm Ko Jin-Hwan. It was marvelous to him that God could be harmed. He also learned that if it could not be consumed, it could be destroyed, thus giving him 0.3 points.
It was worth more than he imagined. He could extend the inventory rental period by three more days with it. However, he did not extend the period immediately. It seemed wise to keep collecting and get 1 point, extending to 15 days.
―Cost performance.
That was a term used in the world where God lived. He thought of it as a very efficient concept; if he worked so hard, he could collect 50 points and buy it. He enjoyed the thought of buying it completely rather than renting. It felt magical.
Hendrick, who was bursting with laughter at the wonderful imagination, suddenly stopped flinching at a nearby sound. He quickly looked back and saw an adult’s head popping out over the bush. He knew him; he was not a good person.
“I came here because of a strange smell,” he said, sniffing, “What is it?”
Hendrick knew that he was in trouble. The adult was stronger than him by far, and he forcibly pushed him aside.
Lying on the ground was a bunch of tough vines he had just freshly cut. The adult looked at him with a puzzling look. It was obvious that the vine was too tough to cut with a stone knife. Even more so for a weakling like Hendrick.
The man searched around but found nothing. He grabbed his hand, but there was nothing. He even groped him, but saw nothing other than the rags he was wearing. But then, he saw the red glove. It appeared strange to him, but nothing came out of it. So, he took only the vines without saying a word.
There was no discussion of whether he could have the vines. Hendrick understood that it was better to let the man do so than to avoid further harm.
‘But I won’t forget,’ Hendrick vowed. He was tired of being taken for granted. He was still shaken, and wanted to put Chinese saws and work gloves into the inventory so they couldn’t be found. It was so upsetting to get the vines stolen.
He needed to be more vigilant of the adults in the mountains.
Hendrick did not feel so tired. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and continue. He decided not to wear work gloves much. Unlike other tools, it was a bit slow because it had to be taken off the hand and put in the inventory.
He kept collecting what he could. He even collected stones he could carry.
It was a lot, and he felt so proud of them. But he didn’t earn points by destroying them right away.
He considered using the stones to repair the hut, for he badly desired to fix the broken walls.
He thought about how difficult it would be to transfer the stones in broad daylight. He decided that he would do it in the deep night or early morning to avoid being seen, as he wanted to protect himself from the nosy adults.
He had become hungry again. He sat down and took one smoked egg from his inventory and a chocolate bar. It was refreshing. He cleansed his mouth with the mouthwash and clean bottled water. When he was done, he rose and continued.
He did not want to rest. He felt lighter but did not want to overwhelm himself like before. He wanted to offer God something worthy. So he decided to get some medicinal herbs. It was not easy to find them, but as he wandered, he ended up picking more wild vegetables and mushrooms than medicinal herbs. Fortunately, it was the kind that God could eat.
Hendrick turned to the village, hoping that the next day would be better. As he walked down the mountain, something caught his attention, and he stopped.
There were blood spots on the ground. The helper informed him that it was human blood.
He was scared.
He looked around carefully and noticed an arm protruding from under one of the nearby bushes. It was an adult’s arm, and on the forearm, there was a string knot, a symbol of the vigilante. It remained still; there was no sign of life.
He did not understand what was going on. He knew that there were often fights in the mountains, but he had never heard of anyone who died from them. He had heard of someone who couldn’t come back from the mountain, though. There were also stories of wild beasts. But people went over the mountain anyway. They were poor, so they had no choice. No one paid much attention if anyone disappeared.
It was then when he overheard a conversation with a popular chuck not far away.
Hendrick quickly hid in the grass behind a fallen tree. They got closer and closer, but they didn’t come his way.