Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 114

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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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114. Corridor of Sacred Blood (4)
I swung the Pungryeo Blade at the Archbishop, who charged forward seething with rage.
He wasn’t foolish either. Just before the blade could connect, he transformed his body into a crimson mist, evaded the strike, and launched a counterattack.
It was a peculiar technique—he divided his body precisely in half and attacked from both left and right simultaneously.
I was momentarily taken aback, but responding wasn’t difficult.
Whoosh—
I blocked one half with a Subspace barrier while swinging the Pungryeo Blade at the other. Trails of flame pursued him in my wake.
Sizzzzle!
The sound of water evaporating in the flames filled the air, and a deep crimson mist materialized around the inferno.
“Ugh!”
He retreated with a stifled groan. Once burned by the flames, he seemed to have regained his composure.
But then he smiled faintly.
“It’s night.”
“?”
“My time has come.”
At that very moment, the faint twilight glow that had lingered beyond the window past the Goddess statue vanished.
Night had arrived at the tail end of dusk.
I watched the confident Archbishop while focusing my spatial awareness. I intended to practice the new technique I’d only used at the Training Facility until now.
I thrust the Pungryeo Blade wreathed in flames into the Subspace I’d just opened to block his previous attack.
Whoosh—
And a Subspace I’d just created materialized beside the Archbishop. The moment he sensed something amiss and turned his head—
Thunk—
The Pungryeo Blade, blazing with inferno, pierced the Archbishop’s flank.
The technique stemmed from a simple thought: if I could deflect incoming enemy magic, I could strike from a distance with my blade as well.
The speed of opening the second Subspace was everything.
I’d used it before while clearing combat-focused Gates, but this was my first time against a formidable opponent. It seemed to work well enough.
“Kyaaaagh!”
As he screamed, he used Leap—but forward, not backward. Due to learned behavior, he’d turned around instead.
Which meant his back was now exposed to me.
—Whoooosh!
The Pungryeo Blade cleaved through his back. The flames born from Inferno’s power consumed his body.
The Archbishop shrieked and hastily increased the distance between us.
“So what if it’s night? What difference does it make?”
* * *
The Corridor of Sacred Blood was originally quite a challenging Gate. Its very design was crafted that way.
One had to escape the execution ceremony with assistance, arm oneself with crude weapons, and breach the Religious Sect.
By the time they’d reclaimed their proper equipment from the Underground Prison and headed toward the Old Main Hall, it would already be deep night.
Vampires, using ordinary believers as shields, would be waiting in the Corridor with sacred blood flowing from the Saint’s body in their grasp.
“Kyaaaagh!”
However, Han Hye, an irregularity, had skipped that entire sequence. She’d headed straight to the Old Main Hall and encountered the Archbishop.
I had seized the sacred essence he’d accumulated and sutured the Saint’s wounds, blocking any further power enhancement for the vampire.
Moreover, the matchup wasn’t in his favor.
Normally, even if attacked, he could recover by reconstituting his blood and continue fighting. But that damned flame evaporated his blood entirely.
Though night had fallen, the Archbishop—stripped of his sacred essence—was no match for Han Hye, no matter how strong he was.
And when Han Hye, having awakened a new technique, eagerly unleashed her attacks, the Archbishop was reduced to a mangled wreck in moments.
‘The outside is secure.’
My spatial awareness didn’t extend to the party, but the sounds of combat reached me. The defensive efforts of the mage and Dragon Knight were sufficient. We were nearly finished.
Yet Han Hye felt a twinge of disappointment. The Archbishop, now a broken mess, might have made for a decent opponent.
‘Would you give me one sacred essence?’
The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head. Anything else would be fine. But blood infused with sanctity was Chun-bae’s power source.
It felt wasteful to give something so precious to a practice opponent.
‘Has it been like this because I’ve gone out with Shin Chang a few times?’
I was beginning to understand the mindset of Shin Chang, the battle maniac. I hadn’t grasped it before, but discovering things about myself through combat was quite enjoyable.
Everything is fun when you’re naturally good at it, but I thought I’d been infected by Shin Chang’s enthusiasm.
‘This should be enough.’
Since the situation was nearly concluded, I withdrew my inferno. As the flames vanished, the mangled Archbishop’s eyes gleamed.
“Yes! I knew you couldn’t sustain that for long!”
With his last remaining strength, he transformed into a blood mist and shot toward the Saint, but fell short.
Whoosh!
A protective barrier of inferno appeared around the Saint once more.
“What are you doing?”
As Han Hye tilted her head in confusion, the Archbishop cursed inwardly.
Then he transformed into a swarm of crimson bats and flew out of the Old Main Hall. He was escaping.
“Kra-waaah!”
But even that escape failed because the Dragon Guild members who had finished their battle outside had regrouped.
The Archbishop, having suffered from the inferno, was startled at the sight of the Red Dragon’s breath and hastily retreated back inside.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. Quite a lot of them showed up.”
Choi Chul-gi shook his head with a fed-up expression.
“They were insane.”
“Why?”
“I tried to hold out without capturing them as much as possible, but when night fell, the vampires hiding in the shadows attacked our rear.”
“No one was injured?”
Choi Chul-gi nodded.
“Min-jae and Shin-hee had it rough.”
“Ah, it’s thanks to you protecting us, hyung.”
While the Dragon Guild members exchanged casual conversation, the Archbishop was assessing the situation.
He needed to escape with his battered body.
However, the entrance was blocked by the Red Dragon and Choi Chul-gi, and the Goddess statue side with the window was where Han Hye stood.
“Is that bastard the Archbishop?”
“Yes. We’ve almost got him.”
“Looks like it.”
Choi Chul-gi nodded toward Han Hye.
“Why?”
“Can I try what I mentioned earlier?”
“What are you talking about? Go ahead and try.”
The Archbishop cried out urgently at something that felt suspicious.
“P-please spare me!”
“Spare you?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to pledge yourself to the Lord of Night rather than to a Goddess who doesn’t even respond? You could rise to an even higher position than I have!”
Han Hye tilted her head. Could this be another branching point in the Gate? It was possible given the story-driven nature of some Gates.
Didn’t we encounter the Evil God’s artifacts before? In game terms, this was essentially a corruption route branching point.
-That proposal isn’t even worth considering. It’s merely divine power that’s already been corrupted and reconstructed.
Chun-bae offered counsel, worried Han Hye might make the wrong choice.
-Even if physical stats improve or new skills emerge, the corresponding debuffs are far greater.
‘I have no intention of accepting anyway.’
Han Hye shook her head and looked at Choi Chul-gi. He gazed at the Archbishop with an oddly excited expression.
“Cry.”
“…?”
“Cry and prove your purity.”
* * *
Everyone present was bewildered by the voice pitched lower than Mister’s usual tone.
The Archbishop who heard it was no exception, and neither were we watching the scene unfold.
“Mister, what are you saying?”
“Ahem. There’s such a thing.”
Mister scratched his nose, seeming a bit embarrassed at my question, and answered. The Archbishop studied us carefully.
“You’ll spare me if I cry?”
“Yes.”
When Mister spoke confidently, the Archbishop looked at me. He seemed to be trying to discern the truth.
There was nothing I could do. I didn’t know what he was doing either.
“….”
“Can’t cry? As expected….”
It was the moment Mister was about to raise his spear.
“Waaah.”
The Archbishop made a crying sound. Mister struck the Archbishop’s head with his left hand.
“Don’t fake it. Show me tears.”
“….”
The Archbishop followed orders, but the blow to the back of his head was quite a shock—his expression turned sorrowful.
Suddenly, the Archbishop seemed pitiful.
Regardless of whether he was a villain, that was the situation. He’d stolen the sacred blood, then sutured the Saint’s wounds, and now this.
“Tsk.”
I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, but it was the moment Mister was about to give up and raise his spear.
Suddenly, as if overwhelmed by the entire situation, the vampire shed tears.
“Oh, it’s crying.”
“It’s crying?”
At that, Mister was taken aback instead.
“This thing’s crying? Why is it crying?”
“No, you told it to cry.”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
It wasn’t my imagination that Chul-gi seemed regretful about something.
“You’re not actually going to spare it just because it cried, right?”
Before I could even finish my question, Mister drove his spear in. Then he opened his mouth.
“Of course not. We need to exit the Gate.”
It felt like he’d stabbed it before it could even react.
“Screeeeeech!”
The vampire writhed in agony. More than when it suffered from the flames.
Ah, I’d forgotten… Mister’s spear had sacred power? He said he didn’t use silver spears.
From the Archbishop’s perspective, there probably wasn’t a villain quite this villainous.
“What was that just now?”
“There’s a novel I used to read, and in it, vampires don’t cry.”
“Something about purity or whatever?”
“Ahem. Something like that.”
At the more detailed question, Mister cleared his throat and dodged the answer.
[All vampires have been eliminated.]
[Gate ‘Corridor of Sacred Blood’ subjugation complete.]
And so the Gate ended.
Hmm. I felt a bit disappointed since I’d hoped the Saint would regain consciousness and give us something.
-No. We obtained far more sacred essence than expected. That alone is sufficient. You could call it a hidden reward.
‘Really?’
Well, by messing up the order, we’d arrived at the Old Main Hall. I’d put every last bit of sacred essence into the Subspace.
If we’d cleared it the orthodox way, all the vampires would have fought while holding sacred essence.
‘Chun-bae. I’m curious about something. If there’s sacred essence, what can a Dragon Knight do with it?’
-It’s possible, but in a world where gods don’t actually exist, the efficiency isn’t good. The limitations are clear.
Right. It’s limited capacity. Plus, there’s no guarantee we can obtain more. It’s much better for Chun-bae to use it.
It was while I was thinking that.
[You’ve eliminated the vampires and safely rescued the Saint. Your Mental stat increases by 3.]
Three stat points?
It seems saving the Saint was the hidden objective after all. Well, the vampires were openly draining the Saint’s blood.
If those creatures had fought in front of the Corridor while replenishing blood from behind, the Saint would have died from blood loss unless we ended it quickly.
[You gain experience points.]
[Your level has increased.]
One level granted three points to my mental strength stat.
On top of that, I’d obtained sacred essence that exceeded even Chun-bae’s expectations. It was a Gate worth using my priority on.
* * *
-From now on, I shall instruct Han Hye on the efficient utilization of mana circuits.
After a brief rest, I spent time with Chun-bae in the Subspace. The abundance of sacred essence I’d obtained far exceeded his initial projections.
-Originally, I intended to allocate it primarily to mages who cast spells. Han Hye is already sufficiently formidable as it stands. However, the sacred essence acquired exceeds my calculations.
“Is that alright?”
-Affirmative. The amount is more than sufficient to instruct Han Hye on efficient mana circuit utilization.
Had we proceeded according to the Gate’s natural flow, we would have obtained less than half of what we’ve now acquired—a worthwhile harvest indeed.
-By reserving a surplus, I can additionally advise the mage, so you need not worry.
Of course, the sacred blood from which Chun-bae had absorbed all the sacred essence had simply become the Saint’s blood. I disposed of it.
Wasn’t it strange to be carrying blood around?
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
-I shall manipulate Han Hye’s mana circuits with my own power. Please concentrate.
“Of course.”
-This is no jest.
The gravity of his words was evident in how Chun-bae, already naturally serious, spoke with even greater solemnity than usual.
-Without proper training, mana efficiency remains standard. No matter how much one cultivates, a world without mana has its limits.
“I suppose so.”
-The mana operation method from the Previous-Previous Princess’s world that I shall now teach you will expand Han Hye’s mana efficiency up to double.
I found myself momentarily slack-jawed at his words.
“Understood. I’ll concentrate completely.”
Double mana efficiency?
This was tremendous power that couldn’t be verified through stat increases alone. It meant I could double the output of Inferno alone.

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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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