Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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10. Labyrinth Dead End (1)
The Han River in spring is gentle and serene. My mother, my father, and I sat upon a mat, sharing a meal from our lunchbox.
Cherry blossoms drifted down from somewhere, brushing against my cheek. I exhaled silently within myself.
‘This dream again.’
Perhaps because that day’s shock had been so profound, this dream returned whenever I let my guard down—a wretched dream where I could do nothing.
I gazed upon my parents’ faces once more, then turned my gaze toward the Han River.
It would happen soon.
Ku-ku-gung—.
As expected. With that grotesque sound, an anomaly began to unfold across the Han River.
A ring of blue light commenced its rotation.
“What is that? Are they filming a movie?”
“Huh? I see something in front of my eyes… a status window?”
“Hye!”
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, my father lifted me into his arms. And then the blue ring of light expanded before we could even comprehend it, and a massive Gate materialized.
And from that Gate, monsters began to pour forth.
It took less than twenty seconds for the serene spring day on the Han River to descend into absolute chaos.
The most striking figure among them was the ‘Jaratang’.
A turtle-like monster, as large as a small island, crawled forth from the Gate. Its carapace was riddled with holes.
Beyond the four legs that supported it, dozens of worm-like heads writhed and jutted forth from those holes.
“Ahhhhh!”
We began to flee, but it was too late. One of the worm-like heads extending from the Jaratang lunged toward us.
My mother, gritting her teeth, threw herself toward that head to shield me.
Soon another worm-like head targeted us. This time, my father intercepted it.
“Hye! Keep running! Don’t stop! Don’t look back!”
My father disappeared. I kept running. I don’t know how my younger self survived. I simply ran without ceasing. Fortune must have favored me.
Running without pause, I awoke from the dream.
“Haah…”
Upon waking, cold sweat drenched my skin. Naturally, such wretched dreams always left me in a foul mood.
It was good to see my parents again, but ultimately I had to confront their deaths anew.
‘Jaratang. That damned turtle.’
Irritation gnawed at me, yet this dream was not entirely without merit.
It appeared whenever I was on the verge of forgetting, kindling my rage and thirst for vengeance so they would never fade.
“Huh.”
I exhaled deeply and rose from my bed. Today was the day I would enter a Gate.
Contrary to my concerns, the Hunter Association had granted me permission to enter the Labyrinth Dead End alone.
I intended to unleash this fury upon the monsters within.
.
.
.
“There’s work to be done.”
Still, I stopped by the Training Facility before entering the Gate. I had no intention of skipping training on any given day.
Rest could wait until I was in the Subspace anyway.
“Your skin seems to be getting better?”
The man commented as he looked at my face.
“Really?”
“Is it because you’re sleeping in the Subspace every day?”
Perhaps. It did seem that way. Whenever I felt even slightly fatigued, I’d rest in the Subspace.
“That aside, I feel a bit awkward about this.”
The man cleared his throat as he spoke.
“It’s fine, so why are you like this?”
“Still, it doesn’t feel right. Getting it for free and all.”
“Once the dragon hatches later, you’ll become a true dragon rider and should be charging a premium, after all.”
I had received a full refund of my payment. The reason was simple.
It was the Hunter Association’s consideration.
-Hello? You’re Han Hye, the member who registered yesterday, correct?
-Yes. How did you…?
-The Hunter Association contacted us. They said all of Han Hye’s expenses will be covered by the Association going forward.
It seemed the Association was making a genuine effort to look after me. Then again, even if we’d established a connection, I hadn’t signed a contract yet, so this attention made sense.
It wasn’t a large sum, but I felt quite pleased. You could call it thoughtful consideration.
‘Besides, training at proper facilities needs to be done periodically anyway.’
The Subspace could serve as a training ground too, but…
There was no way to surpass a properly equipped facility.
A professional hunter Training Facility wasn’t just about having a gym. Even what I was doing right now was proof of that.
“Phew.”
I was operating my mana in a space saturated with mana stones, where the density of mana was exceptionally high.
Since mana manipulation was more difficult than usual, I had to adjust it more precisely.
There was much more besides this. For instance, reaction speed training for hunters.
A training device where you reflexively dodge, deflect, or catch baseballs traveling at least 250 kilometers per hour.
These trainings were absolutely necessary. Research results already existed on this.
To push physical abilities to their limits, it wasn’t just about allocating stats—training was essential.
“Wow, this level of mana manipulation in just three days? You’re really skilled. Mana manipulation relies more on talent than stats.”
Moreover, this place had professional trainers specializing in Awakened individuals. The bodies of ordinary people and Awakened ones were fundamentally different.
They trained Awakened individuals more efficiently based on data.
“Just one more set, member! You can do it!”
“Hnnngh!”
When I came out for a quick drink of water, the man was doing lower body exercises. I wasn’t entirely sure, but the weight was considerable.
He said he was training his lower body strength to ride the dragon, and he was working at it diligently.
‘The weight feels heavier than yesterday.’
The same was true for me. Was it because I was Awakened?
With each passing day, I could feel my body growing stronger. My physical recovery speed was incomparable to that of ordinary people.
It was the same with everything else. I was systematically elevating my physical capabilities and practicing mana manipulation.
My stats remained unchanged, but my reflexes and the finesse with which I wielded mana were steadily improving.
‘I’ll get even better.’
After an intense training session, I entered the Subspace.
I’d planned to rest a bit before entering the Gate, and I ended up sleeping for about three hours in the Subspace.
“Huff, huff….”
After waking from my nap and yawning, Chul-gi emerged from the Training Facility with trembling legs.
It seemed his training had just ended.
“Phew, how can my stamina be this pathetic?”
“…I’m literally dying.”
* * *
“Hunter.”
An Association Staff member approached me before I entered the Gate.
“I’ve been instructed from above to give you this.”
I received what he offered—some kind of paper.
[Gate Escape Secretary (B-Rank)]
-If you tear the Secretary, you can escape the Gate under any circumstances.
What? A Gate Escape Secretary?
It was an absurdly precious item. Normally, once you enter a Gate, you can’t leave until you’ve subjugated it.
The only exception was this Secretary. I’d heard it dropped from high-level Gates at an extremely low probability.
Each country had very few of them, and they were exclusively for vanguard teams.
If vanguard members died, it would result in enormous losses.
“You’re giving this to me?”
“Yes. Keep it firmly in hand, and if you feel you’re in danger, use it immediately.”
“If I subjugate it without using it, do I have to return it?”
“No. You can keep it.”
I thought they were being too lenient, but it seemed they’d decided to give it to me anyway. Honestly, I was moved.
It was an item given only to vanguard teams challenging the highest-level Gates.
They were respecting my choice while providing this valuable item as insurance, just in case.
And they were saying I could keep it even if I didn’t use it?
‘I never imagined they’d give me something like this.’
I know my own worth, but I’m not sure if I deserve to receive this.
I’d felt it before, but our country’s Hunter Association was really taking care of me.
‘Well. I probably won’t need to use it anyway.’
.
.
.
[Labyrinth Dead End]
-Recommended Level: 5~10
-Entry Limit: 5 people
-Defeat all the enemies rushing toward you in the Labyrinth Dead End and
survive.
Remaining time: 50 minutes 59 seconds.
-Time until the next monster appears: 59 seconds.
As I stepped through the Gate, a long corridor materialized before me. A cavern of sorts, I would say. With only a minute to spare, I quickly surveyed my surroundings.
The ceiling stretched roughly 4 meters wide and 3 meters high. An ideal space for Wind Slash.
Behind me lay a passage about 10 meters long, but it ended in a dead end. Ahead, torches lined the corridor walls.
I pressed forward.
‘I need to maintain distance.’
The Labyrinth Dead End was already a known Gate, so I’d naturally gathered information beforehand.
Advancement was possible up to a certain point ahead. Beyond that, a transparent barrier blocked the way.
At that moment, pushing as far forward as possible was crucial. The sheer number of enemies meant I’d have to fight while retreating.
It was about creating my own space.
‘Is this the limit?’
After advancing roughly 20 meters with my hand extended, I felt the transparent barrier. This appeared to be the furthest I could progress.
When I pressed my sword against it, it bounced back with a hollow sound.
Beyond the barrier, I could see stairs about 10 meters away.
The monsters would ascend from there. I took a step back and gripped my Flowing Style Sword, assuming my stance.
-Time until the next monster appears: 15 seconds.
Soon the enemies would come flooding in.
Though classified as a survival-type Gate, it wasn’t a conventional one.
In other survival-type Gates, escape and survival are possible, but here the passage is blocked, making that impossible.
Of course, not for me. If danger arose, I could simply retreat into the Subspace and wait out the time.
Though today, that wouldn’t be necessary.
Five seconds remained. I readied Wind Slash while gripping my Flowing Style Sword.
‘How thrilling.’
To be honest, I’d been anticipating this moment for quite some time.
To wield a technique straight out of manga, yet never having used it in actual combat until now.
Now, the time had come.
Clang—!
A heavy metallic sound echoed from below the stairs, as though an iron gate were grinding open.
Thud, thud—.
Then footsteps rang out from the base of the stairs. The monster that emerged was… a goblin.
Blocking the entrance. Simple creatures for a first wave, as expected.
Five of them.
They fixed their gaze upon me. Still blocked by the transparent barrier, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
‘Does Wind Slash pass through this transparent barrier?’
I immediately swung my sword. A portion of my mana was consumed as a blade of wind extended outward.
No sound of impact against the transparent barrier reached my ears.
Whoosh—. The wind blade passed through the barrier beyond, cleaving through the bodies of the goblins now rushing toward me.
The corpses of goblins split in half tumbled down with a soft thud.
“This actually works?”
I simply sliced apart every monster that emerged, and it was over. Normally, combat conducted this way would be impossible.
After all, I wasn’t managing my mana distribution at all.
But for me, it was possible.
Because I had the Subspace.
Whenever my mana depleted, I could rest inside and return—that was all there was to it.
“Ah, wait a moment….”
I’d been swinging the Wind-Flowing Blade with such enthusiasm that an unforeseen problem arose.
“My mana stones….”
I needed to extract the mana stones from the goblin corpses, but the transparent barrier prevented me from reaching them.
It seemed I’d have to defeat the monsters after they crossed the transparent barrier.
-Time remaining until next monster appearance: 4 minutes 59 seconds.
The timer had updated in the interim.
Five monsters defeated in five minutes. Plenty of time for my mana to recover. Since this was my first attempt, it should naturally be easy enough.
.
.
.
Seven waves passed in this manner. The five-minute rest interval remained constant, but the difficulty gradually increased.
The second wave brought seven goblins and one Awakened creature; the third, eight goblins and two Awakened creatures.
The numbers continued to grow incrementally, and Awakened creatures began appearing.
This was my first battle against an Awakened creature, but it proved trivial. I used Wind Severance from a distance, and it fell.
Goblins weren’t the only monsters that emerged. Orcs and slimes came crawling forth in succession.
Of course, they all became mincemeat before the Wind Severance.
“Yawn.”
Standing idle while waiting five minutes grew tedious, so I ventured entirely into the Subspace.
I left the Subspace entrance wide open and reclined halfway on a bean bag I’d placed inside, waiting for the monsters.
“Is it time?”
I checked the emerging monsters. Eight orcs and two Awakened creatures.
An ordinary hunter would have been terrified. Orc Awakened creatures required at least level 15 to manage a one-on-one encounter.
I was not an ordinary hunter. I simply swung the Wind-Flowing Blade while lying on the bean bag inside the Subspace.
Scrape—. The orcs, being larger, didn’t die in a single stroke.
The ones in front were cut down, and those behind charged forward. I swung the blade while yawning.
If one swing didn’t cleave them, two or three would suffice.
[Your level has increased.]
‘…Is it really acceptable to level up this easily?’
Honestly, this was no different from lying down and watching television.
This morning….
By my reckoning, that was fifteen hours ago spent resting, but the time I’d spent at the Training Facility had been far more grueling.
Now I’d leveled up twice while lying down.
‘My current level is 8.’
This growth rate was absurd. Gaining even a single level from one Gate was considered rapid progress.
Normally, multiple hunters entered safe Gates together.
This was the result of hunting awakened Orcs alone in a survival-type Gate.
‘I should stop relying on Wind Slash and actually test my swordsmanship in real combat.’
If I opened a Subspace entrance right behind me, I could escape instantly if things got dangerous—it seemed like a viable approach.
As I rose from my seat and moved toward the Subspace entrance to leave, something brilliant suddenly occurred to me.
That translucent wall.
If I could position the Subspace to overlap with that wall, placing it right at the center, then by entering and exiting the Subspace…
Could I cross over to the other side?
Couldn’t we possibly go over to the other side?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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