Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 131

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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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131. Protix Forest (2)
While the hallucinations persisted, the Imp fortress creatures launched two more attacks. Having experienced it once, it wasn’t difficult.
This time too, the Imps had the same numbers on their necks.
“172, 133… There’s no pattern.”
“Perhaps the numbers don’t go all the way from beginning to end.”
Just because numbers went up to 170 didn’t mean there were exactly 170 of them. There could be missing numbers.
Still, it seemed like there would be over a hundred.
“But if there are that many, why aren’t they all attacking at once?”
“It seems like they’re trying to wear down our mental fortitude. They’ll probably attack later.”
Protix Forest was a Gate that placed a burden on our minds. The likelihood of enemies rushing in immediately was low.
Perhaps many enemies would appear when our minds grew exhausted from the hallucinations.
For ordinary Hunters, even resting in such a place would be difficult. Sleep would be hard to come by with the constant auditory hallucinations and the uncertainty of when an attack might come.
They would aim for the moment when we were depleted both mentally and physically.
“That makes sense.”
“Let’s rest periodically as we go. I can rest in the Subspace anyway, so I’m free from that burden.”
The fortunate thing was that I could rest unconditionally in the Subspace. There was no problem on that front.
About fifteen minutes passed like that.
In the misty forest, with no clues to follow, we were moving straight ahead when Mister suddenly thrust his spear.
“Huh?”
There was nothing but empty air. I could immediately tell what it was.
“A hallucination?”
“…Seems like it. It looked so real.”
The moment he spoke, Han Chul also whipped his head around. But he didn’t move like Mister did.
“I see it too. I left it alone because you said it was a hallucination. Since the Guild Master didn’t mention anything separately.”
Almost simultaneously, Han Chul was infected as well.
“This is going to be troublesome.”
“Yes. It’s fine now, but if guild members start looking like enemies…”
During movement it might be manageable, but if such hallucinations appeared during combat, it would be quite problematic.
“Hmm. How do we raise mental fortitude?”
“I don’t think it will help much. We’re already experiencing this, and there’s still over thirty hours left.”
Objectively speaking, Mister’s mental fortitude stat was absolutely not low compared to Hunters of the same level.
The same went for Han Chul, who was part of the United States advance team.
Yet both of them experienced hallucinations almost simultaneously after entering the Gate not long ago?
Without even asking Chun-bae, I could tell this was a similar case to the previous auditory hallucinations.
“It seems to be a characteristic of the Gate. I’ll probably start seeing things soon too. Even thirty extra points wouldn’t be enough.”
“Tch.”
“If you feel mentally anxious or anything, tell me and we’ll raise it by one.”
The atmosphere among the guild members grew slightly heavy. Hallucinations and auditory hallucinations. It would have been easier if there were clear enemies instead.
They were all strong Hunters after all. But now we were in a situation where we could attack our own allies.
“Respond only to my voice. I’ll tell you right away if enemies appear.”
“Confirmed.”
Mister exhaled sharply.
“With half my hearing and sight sealed, it’s quite inconvenient.”
Not long after, Min-jae, Lee Shin-hee, and I began seeing hallucinations as well.
Just as Mister said, they were remarkably vivid.
With a rustling sound of bushes swaying, an Imp Fortress Beast charged at me at head height.
Even though I could sense it through my spatial awareness, my body flinched and reacted instinctively.
“Tch….”
The others weren’t any different from me. Since I couldn’t warn them, they reacted reflexively even knowing it was a hallucination.
After the hallucinations began, everyone was definitely becoming more on edge.
Unable to trust their eyes and ears, they grew anxious and mentally fatigued.
Even our guild members with elite stamina were quickly exhausted.
“Let’s take a break.”
After observing the guild members, I finally spoke. Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee were more worn out than Mister and Han Chul.
The hallucinations and phantom sounds affected individuals differently, and the rear guard with lower response capabilities grew even more anxious.
Even I, with spatial awareness, was bothered by it—the rear guard would suffer far worse.
“I’ll go first.”
Since I had to stand watch while the group rested, I entered the Subspace first. I fell asleep immediately.
We’re trained to sleep whenever we need to.
On a soft mattress? I was asleep the moment I lay down.
After sleeping for about three hours and waking up, I could feel my mind was noticeably clearer.
‘Is it because I slept in the Subspace rather than inside the forest?’
When I emerged after resting so well, Han Chul looked slightly startled, unlike the familiar guild members.
“You’re already done resting? You went in just a second ago….”
I had told them that time doesn’t flow inside the Subspace, but this was the first time they’d witnessed it directly.
“Yes. I slept for about three hours. Don’t think you’re the only one suffering.”
“Wow….”
“There’s a downside too. I age a bit faster than you all.”
“Haha.”
I joked while pulling out a cushioned folding chair, water, and ready-to-eat meals to distribute to the group.
As the guild members received them and lay down comfortably, Han Chul blinked.
“Han Chul, you should lie down too. You can rest easy.”
“That’s right. Hye will handle all the watch.”
At Min-jae’s words, Mister laughed and gestured. Han Chul lay down on the folding chair and scratched his neck.
“…I knew the Subspace had many things, but I never imagined we’d enjoy such luxury inside a Gate.”
“It’s the advantage of having a Space Mage on the team. Everything’s convenient. I can rest whenever I want.”
“That’s nice.”
“Come on, nice? I slept on a mattress in there.”
“What? A mattress?”
“Yes. I even asked the Hunter Association for an electric heating pad powered by magic stones, but it hasn’t arrived yet, which is unfortunate.”
“…Good heavens.”
* * *
As time passed, the hallucinations and auditory illusions grew progressively worse. The intervals between them were shrinking.
Still, thanks to taking periodic breaks, the party’s condition remained manageable.
“Min-jae, five ahead! Lightning magic!”
“Yes!”
“Mister, watch the left! Three in the rear. Be careful!”
The deeper we ventured into the forest, the greater the number of attacking enemies became, and mature imps began to reveal themselves.
Unlike the juvenile imps that reached only to my knees, these stood roughly 150 centimeters tall—human-sized opponents that could not be underestimated.
True to their classification as small monsters, they were agile, and unlike their juvenile counterparts, they possessed considerable physical strength.
Moreover, given the Gate’s level, all the mature imps were awakened variants.
“Watch out!”
Just as I employed Swift Step, some of them accelerated in brief bursts, while others wielded magic.
Some even approached in a transparent state like thieves, concealed within the hallucinations and auditory illusions.
-Slash!
Hunters of equivalent level would have been annihilated without question, but we were somewhat different from ordinary hunters.
Perceiving through my spatial awareness, I cut them down with a leap.
“Phew. At least our allies still look like allies to me.”
“Thank goodness.”
I kept my spatial awareness at maximum concentration in case of unexpected situations. If any targeted my comrades, I had to intercept.
Still, the combat was intense. Whenever hallucinations surged during the fight, it became difficult to respond.
“Ugh!”
Min-jae would cry out and crouch, or Mister would miss real attacks due to hallucinations.
In the past, such moments would have resulted in at least minor injuries.
-Ting!
But with Han Chul here now, that wasn’t the case. Even when the fast enemies made Lee Shin-hee’s reactions lag, she blocked them with First Guard.
Because of this, Mister even expressed gratitude to Han Chul.
“Still, the more we fight them, the more familiar they become.”
“Yes. It’s surprisingly not bad, is it?”
Where there is hardship, there is learning.
Initially, I had focused on the Hidden dungeon, but surprisingly, the combat itself proved immensely satisfying. I could feel myself growing in real time.
“There were some differences I noticed.”
“You felt it too?”
“Yes. I knew through spatial awareness, but the ones coming from hallucinations had no presence.”
“Right. I only heard a rustling sound. If you look carefully, you can tell they’re illusions. The problem is that in urgent moments, the body reacts first.”
“We’ll have to get used to it.”
I had heard that thieves possessed presence-detection skills, and I was gaining insights from that category of ability.
“If we keep doing this, won’t a presence-detection skill eventually develop?”
“I wish it would. Though it won’t be easy.”
The mature imps also bore numbers on their napes. The highest number among them was 48.
I figured it would take around fifty attempts before reaching the mature stage.
“Hm?”
It was around that point when we resumed our journey that two paths suddenly emerged from the mist.
Forests didn’t typically have distinct trails, but this one was clearly artificial—it stood out immediately.
The difference was unmistakable. The left path emanated a desolate, damp atmosphere. The fog was thicker there too.
And there were imps on the left path.
“That’s not an illusion.”
“Right? That’s what I thought too.”
Pink-hued monsters the size of a palm tilted their heads curiously, glancing at us intermittently.
They didn’t seem intent on attacking.
“Kee-ruk!”
They were simply scattered along the left path, observing us with apparent interest.
It was peculiar enough to make me tilt my head involuntarily.
“We didn’t just happen to stumble upon this fork in the road by luck, did we?”
“We came straight ahead, but yes. It seems designed to force us to encounter this fork.”
Given the vastness of this forest, finding this exact junction couldn’t be attributed to luck or coincidence.
The same went for those imps standing there.
“What should we do?”
“Wouldn’t the path with the imps lead to the hidden area?”
“Can’t say for certain… but the odds are high, right?”
A slightly damper, more desolate atmosphere.
Would anyone willingly follow that path unless they were a hidden hunter like us?
“Let’s try the left path. Stay alert though. Even if they’re young, they could attack at any moment.”
“You don’t sense any others?”
“No.”
Even as we walked down the left path, the imps didn’t attack.
They simply stared blankly, then scurried backward as we drew closer.
“Huh? Already?”
Yet less than ten minutes later, the villa appeared alongside an empty lot, emerging from the forest’s mist.
Curiously, there was no fog near the villa, though shallow marshland surrounded it.
There were imp sub-adults and mature specimens in the vicinity, but they didn’t attack upon seeing us.
They merely watched, as if saying they wouldn’t interfere with our entry into that house.
“The mental strain has eased a bit?”
“Mine too. The auditory hallucinations stopped.”
And as we entered the empty lot free of mist, the mental burden diminished further.
“That’s definitely a suspicious house no matter how you look at it.”
“Seems like we found the right place, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
What would have happened if we’d taken the right path? Given that these creatures aren’t attacking us now…
Would the imps have kept attacking if we’d gone right? Including mental attacks?
I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
The moment we arrived, the mental pressure vanished, and we’d found this villa far too easily—there had to be a reason for all of it.
“Everyone, prepare for combat. We found this place too easily, so things won’t unfold smoothly.”
The imps took no action as we advanced toward the villa. They simply watched.
That was what unsettled me most.
“It feels like we’re walking into a trap.”
“We probably are. This seems to be where their master is. The fact that they’re not interfering says it all.”
And when we stood before the villa’s entrance, the door opened automatically—by magic.
Inside, an old woman stirred a cauldron.
“Looks like we’ve hit the Witch jackpot.”
Han Chul’s eyes widened, as if recalling something unpleasant.
The Witch stirred her cauldron and gestured to us.
“Come in. Make your wishes quickly.”
“Wishes?”
That’s when Chun-bae spoke up.
-This is a sacrifice-type Hidden Dungeon.
-A sacrifice-type Hidden Dungeon?

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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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