Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 138

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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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138. Crawling Roar of the Earth (2)
“You need to target the gills! Before it breathes!”
“Is it like a reverse scale?”
“You could say that.”
“The process?”
“Same as before! Set it up like last time and charge!”
Fortunately, there wasn’t much to explain at length. If the response method itself had been flawed, I would have needed to go through it step by step—but our initial encounter had been executed flawlessly.
Aside from the fact that it had transformed into an Earth Dragon, everything unfolded exactly as we’d trained for when preparing to face the Great Worm.
“Lee Shin-hee!”
Mister nodded and turned his gaze toward Lee Shin-hee, shaking his wrist to signal her.
“Yes!”
Lee Shin-hee’s healing spell reached both Mister and me immediately. I hadn’t even said anything, but she’d been watching carefully from before.
Thanks to her magic, the sharp ache in my wrist began to fade slightly.
“Let’s move!”
The Earth Dragon. I’d never encountered one before, but it was similar to the Great Worm. Prolonged combat with creatures like that in one location wasn’t a wise choice.
If the underground tunnels beneath the earth overlapped, the ground could collapse even if we weren’t sucked into the holes themselves.
Now, while they were still probing from below, was the opportune moment. As we ran quickly, I could feel them pursuing us.
They moved faster underground than we could run. We hadn’t gone far before they caught up.
“They’re coming!”
Rumble—!
And then they burst forth. It was right as I was about to open a Subspace.
‘Look at these things.’
Just before they erupted from the ground, I felt them fluidly twist their heads to change direction.
Was it because I’d fallen for it once already? Instead of surging straight up, they were feinting first.
So the Earth Dragon does use its head, after all. I’d heard that the Great Worm had almost no learning capacity—that it simply crushed everything with its brute strength.
But that only applied when I lacked spatial awareness. Most hunters would see the earth rising and dodge.
‘I’m different.’
I opened a Subspace directly above the Earth Dragon’s head as it precisely changed direction. And the result was the same as before.
-Boom!
“Screeeee!”
The Subspace was immune to physical force. No matter how hard their scales were, the brain inside their skull couldn’t withstand it.
As they surged upward and crashed their heads into it, both creatures thrashed about helplessly again.
“I’m here—!”
Han Chul shouted, creating some distance between himself and the rear guard. It was his way of drawing their attention.
Well, it probably didn’t matter much, but it was best to be as cautious as possible just in case.
“Mister!”
“Got it!”
Rumble—.
I closed and reopened a Subspace to protect the rear guard’s front. Simultaneously, I activated Leap.
“Ugh….”
Just as the Earth Dragon was about to breathe, the moment it inhaled—my vision shifted to the side and behind my head.
Without hesitation, I swung the Heavenly Sword wreathed in scorching flames.
—Screech!
This was it!
Unlike when I’d cut through the scales before, this was different. Chun-bae’s gills severed far more easily than I’d anticipated. The difference was night and day.
Moreover, the scorching flames erupted violently across the gill area. Without the protection of scales, the tissue couldn’t withstand the heat.
With burns now covering its gills, the creature would find breathing even more difficult.
“Grrrraaah!”
Perhaps because of that—its agonized cry echoed through the space in a grotesque wail.
Blood sprayed from its gills onto my body, but unlike with the Red Dragon, there was no buff effect.
“Keeeeek!”
And the one Mister was fighting let out a similar cry. It was a roar of pain comparable to mine, which surprised me slightly.
After all, Mister and I had quite a significant stat difference. My blade was also wreathed in scorching flames.
“Kraaaaaah!”
When I turned my head, I understood the reason. The moment Mister swung his spear, Yong-yong unleashed its breath as well.
Because of our dragon-human unity, our coordination was flawless. You could say we attacked in exactly the same manner.
“Good! Well done!”
I could see Mister petting Yong-yong. Thanks to Chun-bae’s quick identification of the weakness, the situation was progressing smoothly.
One attack wouldn’t finish it, but it wouldn’t take long.
“Let’s keep going like this!”
* * *
Perhaps because it had the character for dragon in its name—the Earth Dragon’s regenerative ability exceeded our expectations.
Even with the scorching flames and Yong-yong’s breath hitting its gills, once it burrowed into the ground and emerged, it recovered somewhat.
Of course, it wasn’t complete recovery. The wounds and burn marks remained. It had recovered enough to breathe again, though.
Still, the regeneration was beyond imagination. Chun-bae interpreted this as the death throes of an aged Earth Dragon.
—It seems there’s a level restriction preventing direct attacks at this stage….
—For an old Earth Dragon, its recovery is quite substantial. It appears to be gathering its remaining life force to fuel its regeneration.
So from the middle of the fight onward, I targeted the same one Mister was fighting. After all, both creatures couldn’t breathe because of the Subspace.
The plan was to eliminate one quickly first.
During all this, the rear guard suffered the most. They had to constantly shift positions to avoid ground collapse.
Moreover, these creatures sometimes lingered underground for extended periods while recovering, which meant another round of repositioning.
“Hang in there a bit longer!”
In any case, we were definitely dealing damage. Their speed had noticeably slowed. Though I’ll admit, my head was starting to ache.
Once I brought down one of them, things would get easier, but whenever it burrowed underground, I had to hunt for it again.
It was like playing shell games with three Earth Dragons. Well, it was an inconvenience beyond what I’d bargained for.
If these were ordinary hunters, they wouldn’t have had the luxury of such leisurely thoughts.
“Grrraaaah!”
And finally, I brought down one of them. I wanted to cleave its body in two with my blade, but I couldn’t manage it.
It collapsed from sustained strikes, having exhausted its strength.
“Phew, that was intense.”
“Take a break. It’s just the two of us now—I can handle this alone.”
While those creatures recovered in the earth, I’d rested in the Subspace and emerged with plenty of stamina to spare.
Since they got to rest, I reasoned it was only fair that I rest too. The Guild members, on the other hand, were visibly exhausted.
“It’s fine. I can still manage.”
Perhaps it was the loss of a comrade—the creatures that had burrowed into the earth remained below for a while, despite being unharmed.
-Kraaaaahhh!
Instead, only a mournful roar echoed from beneath the ground.
As I waited, an intriguing thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.
It was about Severance.
Severance was a skill that cut or divided space itself. If that were true, then the hardness of the opponent shouldn’t matter, should it?
‘It’s worth trying.’
When the Earth Dragon surged upward again, I immediately used Severance. With such a massive creature, it wasn’t particularly difficult.
And the results were astounding.
-Skreeeee!
Without even targeting the gills, a clean wound appeared across its body—similar to when I’d struck it with the Heavenly Piercer before.
‘Even at level one, this is…’
Perhaps as the skill level increased, the enemy’s hardness would become irrelevant? It might even become sharper than my blade.
Pleased with this unexpected discovery, I aimed for the gills again, but another application occurred to me.
There was no need to strictly separate the use of blade and Severance.
When I practiced Severance, the closer I was, the faster the casting and the better the effect.
‘What if I used it while attacking the gills with my blade?’
Strike with the sword first, then apply Severance as powerfully as I could around that wound?
The moment the idea struck me, I shouted toward Mister.
“Mister! I have something to try! This attack is mine alone!”
“Got it!”
Mister held position in the sky while I targeted the Earth Dragon as it surged upward again. With only two of them now, there was no need to block their breath attacks.
No matter how they emerged, they’d suffer a mild concussion from the Subspace anyway.
As I leaped, I thrust my blazing blade forward. The dragon’s gills were right before me, making it simple to use Severance.
I even activated Haste for smoother concentration.
The world slowed momentarily. I poured three-quarters of my remaining mana into Severance, drawing five lines with the blade’s tip as the focal point.
And along those lines, space tore open.
-Kwaaaahhhhh!
The effect was devastating. The sound of flesh tearing echoed like a multi-hit strike.
Centered on the blade’s tip, the creature’s gills were shredded into five segments from within. Blood sprayed in all directions.
“Krooooaaaghh!”
The Earth Dragon shrieked with a deflated cry, thrashing wildly. I hastily used Haste to retreat—
But it couldn’t burrow back into the earth. It simply convulsed, gasping for breath, before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
[Skill Severance (Grade A) has increased in level.]
[Skill Haste (Grade C) has increased in level.]
[Your level has increased.]
It was an inevitable outcome. Segmentation, which had expended nearly all its power at close range, was being shredded from within the creature’s throat. While I hadn’t managed to sever it completely, the neck was now hanging in tatters.
Thanks to that, both Swiftness and Segmentation leveled up immediately.
“Wow, Hye. What is that?”
Mister, who had been watching nearby, approached with admiration.
“It’s Segmentation. At full power?”
“That’s a completely broken skill…”
Mister gazed at me with envious eyes. He hadn’t obtained his occupational skill yet, after all.
“Didn’t you get one this time?”
“Right. Nothing special. Two Earth Dragons for one level? Isn’t that too stingy?”
“Can’t be helped. Let’s just deal with the last one.”
And the final creature proved no more difficult than the others.
As Chun-bae had said, to maintain some semblance of balance, it seemed direct attacks weren’t permitted—the creatures’ patterns remained unchanged.
Having experienced concussions repeatedly, I’d grown accustomed to recovering consciousness more slowly, making them easy to dispatch.
By the time combat ended, all the Guild members except Mister and myself were sprawled flat on the ground.
“Haah….”
“Huff!”
Han Chul was merely catching his breath, but Lee Shin-hee and Min-jae, with relatively lower stamina, were gasping heavily.
They’d had no choice but to keep running almost without rest. If they stopped, they’d fall into the depths below.
“Drink some water. Don’t lie down—sit in a chair and rest.”
I retrieved water and a folding chair from the Subspace first.
“Quite a spectacle.”
The surrounding landscape was indeed spectacular, as Mister said. Holes were scattered across the ground, and the path we’d traveled showed places where the earth had collapsed.
Moreover, where the creatures had passed, the ground had risen like small mounds, creating an absolute mess.
“This is really exhausting.”
“Exactly. I thought I’d die from the effort. Then some worm-like dragon appeared.”
Lee Shin-hee and Min-jae spoke with completely drained expressions.
“They’re called Earth Dragons. They’re not normally supposed to appear at this level.”
“Then what’s going on?”
“Apparently those are old ones. Originally, they attack with their bodies too.”
When I relayed Chun-bae’s words, everyone’s faces showed shock. Having witnessed their hard scales and fierce speed, it was hard to believe these were elderly Earth Dragons.
“Then how strong are proper Earth Dragons?”
“They say they only appear in Gates of level 65 and above.”
“The advance teams haven’t seen them either, then.”
“Right? We’re probably the first.”
Since I couldn’t claim to have learned their weaknesses through Chun-bae’s words, I’d need to embellish the report somewhat.
-This is not the time for that.
It was then that Chun-bae spoke up.
‘Why?’
-You must secure the Earth Dragon’s heart. While it cannot compare to a Red Dragon’s heart, being a creature called a dragon, it possesses considerable value.
‘For an elixir?’
“The heart of an Earth Dragon contains many impurities—it’s not good for the human body. It’s better suited for blacksmithing or craftsmanship. I’d recommend saving it for later.”
Thanks to Chun-bae, I’d nearly missed something precious.
“Though feeding one to the Red Dragon should be fine.”
True. Yong-yong is already satisfying as is, but if she grows faster and becomes stronger, that would be even better.
As I stood up, Mister tilted his head.
“Where are you going?”
“These creatures’ hearts have value, apparently.”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, you’re right. They’re like the inner cores of mystical beasts. Three creatures means three cores?”
Mister licked his lips.
“Not exactly—one’s for Yong-yong’s food, and the others are for Min-seok to use as materials later. Supposedly they’re really bad for the human body.”
“Hmm. Well, can’t be helped then.”
I chuckled softly watching Mister’s disappointed expression.
‘I don’t need to bother collecting scales, right?’
—Those are also suitable for craftsmanship or blacksmithing, but collecting a reasonable amount should suffice.
‘Noted.’
I hesitated before drawing my sword. The scales had been too hard earlier anyway. This situation seemed better suited for using Segmentation rather than a blade.
It might be worth raising my Segmentation skill proficiency. More precisely.
“Take your time resting since we have it. Let’s clean this up and move forward. You mentioned there was something else ahead, right?”
At that, Mister’s eyes widened.
“Oh, that’s right—the Altar!”
“Yes. Supposedly it’s real. Since this Gate produced an Earth Dragon, the reward shouldn’t be ordinary, right?”
The Gate’s difficulty was extraordinary. Even we, incomparable to those at the same level, had struggled.
Whatever lay in that Altar was certain to be quite a worthwhile reward.

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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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