Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 139

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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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139. Crawling Roar of the Earth (3)
[Heart of the Earth Dragon (B-Rank)]
-The heart of an earth dragon that lived for a very long time.
-Consumption is dangerous due to many impurities, but since it contains the power of the earth dragon, it would be excellent for weapon crafting.
The earth dragon’s heart I extracted through Dissection was exactly as Chun-bae described. However, it felt more like a jewel than a heart—quite hard to the touch.
I’d say it contained an enormous amount of mana. Simply put, it was convenient to think of it as B-Rank Gate metal.
I obtained three of them, and the moment I pulled out one heart, Yong-yong showed interest, so I tossed it to him right away. He swallowed it whole without even chewing.
I was slightly taken aback by that. So were Mister and the other guild members.
‘Can he really just eat something that hard?’
-No problem whatsoever. He’s a Red Dragon for a reason. It will take time, but he’ll simply absorb it and gain strength.
Since Chun-bae said so, I relayed to the group that it was fine. I stored the remaining two in the Subspace.
I could give them to Yong-yong as food later, or use them for Min-seok’s crafting.
[Scales of the Earth Dragon (D-Rank)]
[Horn of the Earth Dragon (C-Rank)]
Beyond that, I was able to collect scales and horns through Dissection as well. Well, they weren’t immediately useful, but I decided to think ahead.
Min-seok could use them, and there might be blacksmiths or similar professions appearing in the future.
Unfortunately, even while conducting the earth dragon dismantling, my Dissection skill didn’t level up.
I’d hoped for it, but perhaps because it was simple labor? It wasn’t the troublesome A-Rank skill I’d worried about.
“Has everyone rested sufficiently?”
“Yes. We’re ready to go.”
“Me too!”
While I was conducting the dismantling, the guild members had rested plenty, but when they stood up and turned around, their appearances looked unfamiliar.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Everyone looks absolutely terrible.”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess so.”
The rear guard members were so exhausted they hadn’t even had time to notice their surroundings, and only now did they see their own states and let out hollow laughs.
“I don’t think our clothes have ever gotten this dirty inside a Gate before?”
“It happened at the Desert Ruins too.”
“Back then it was just sand getting on us. We sweated a bit from training, but not to this extent….”
“Ah, right. At the Pharva Ancient Ruin we just sweated from the heat….”
Looking at their condition, it was worse than at the Desert Ruins. Back then it was just being swept up in sand, which you could brush off, but this was different.
We’d been running around constantly, so sweat was pouring out, and in this dusty wasteland, the two mixed together, leaving everyone looking disheveled and grimy.
“Ugh. That was so much harder than last time. Though I didn’t do much.”
“Honestly, I just ran around besides casting a few buff and healing spells.”
Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee let out hollow laughs. It wasn’t entirely wrong. At first, Min-jae had cast magic too.
However, even the Heavenly Sword wreathed in scorching flames couldn’t penetrate the earth dragon’s scales. Magic had poor compatibility with it.
Ultimately, to conserve even a little stamina, I stopped attacking with magic altogether.
Lee Shin-hee still cast buffs and healing spells though.
“I’m in a similar boat. Heh.”
Unlike the embarrassed pair, Han Chul, who had somewhat more stamina remaining, laughed as if amused.
Han Chul barely used First Guard as a precaution when Mister and I attacked, so he hadn’t exerted himself much.
“Still, this is fun.”
“Fun?”
“When I worked in the United States before, it felt like fighting for my life under extreme tension.”
That made sense. Even as a vanguard, clearing a Gate wasn’t something you could do easily.
The stronger your abilities, the deeper you ventured into uncharted territory no one had ever reached.
The vanguard struggled because we had to fight monsters and navigate environments we’d never seen before.
We had to learn how to handle them through combat itself. Naturally, the atmosphere would grow sharp.
“My mindset is similar now, but since everyone here is so skilled, I feel more at ease and find it genuinely enjoyable.”
“That’s a relief.”
Either way, it was good to approach things with enjoyment. Han Chul wasn’t the type to let his guard down anyway.
Excessive tension narrows your perspective. Maintaining moderate tension was the best approach.
“Thanks to everyone running around so hard, I was able to take it down easily.”
Chul-gi spoke with a laugh. In truth, he’d moved the most effortlessly—he’d been riding on Yong-yong.
I’d rested in the Subspace, but I still had to run with the rear guard like always.
“It was harder than when I used magic heavily. It felt like running a marathon.”
Min-jae, his face exhausted, looked at Mister with envy as he spoke.
“Phew! I really need to learn flight magic too.”
At those words, Mister’s eyes gleamed playfully.
“You think you can just learn it? Hye has to teach you for that to happen.”
“Aw, that’s obvious, hyung! I’ll be waiting.”
Min-jae replied shamelessly and turned his gaze toward me. I let out a hollow laugh and patted his back.
“That depends on the Subspace level increasing. Let’s go check it out first. It might be at that altar, who knows?”
* * *
The altar Mister mentioned was circular in design. Eight stone pillars, each about four meters tall, rose from the center, which was marked by something like a stone coffin.
Behind that coffin stood a stone statue of a person.
The figure was dressed like a mage—wearing an elegant cloak and robes, even holding a staff.
The face looked quite handsome, but that wasn’t what mattered.
“Wow, it’s real.”
“Right?”
To be precise, the staff and cloak the statue held were real. Though covered in quite a bit of sand, they were still gleaming.
Despite the passage of considerable time, the equipment was nearly intact except for the sand coating.
[Staff of Earth Dragon Command (Grade B)]
-A staff once wielded by Oron, the Wasteland’s Sovereign. It greatly aids the wearer’s mana circulation.
-One of the three earth dragons he commanded can be controlled like an extension of your body.
The moment I examined the staff, we understood what the solution to this Gate had been.
“No wonder it felt so difficult…”
“This wasn’t a Gate you were supposed to fight your way through.”
The guild members who saw the staff let out hollow laughs. We’d bulldozed our way through it like brutes.
Now that I thought about it, the earth dragon had appeared right around when the altar came into view. The answer had been here all along.
“It seems the strategy was to control one and fight the other two.”
With the Earth Dragon’s appearance, the mechanic was to rush all the way to the Altar without rest and obtain this staff.
“People who survived in Gates that seemed impossible do say the clue lies within the Gate itself.”
It was a famous saying among Hunters.
Those in places without such solutions had all died and couldn’t speak, but….
“I didn’t think that far ahead. My apologies.”
I had dealt with it myopically. Since Mister had mentioned the Altar, it was a situation I could have easily recalled.
I was initially flustered by the Earth Dragon appearing instead of the Great Worm, so I failed to see the bigger picture.
“I’ll treat it as experience and make sure to keep it in mind next time we face a similar situation.”
We didn’t encounter such intense situations often, so as the guild leader, I felt a bit of self-reflection was warranted.
Lee Shin-hee waved her hand.
“No, it wasn’t Han Hye’s fault. I don’t think we thought of it either. And honestly, we tried because it seemed worth attempting, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
If we truly couldn’t find a solution through our own strength, we would have thought about it within the Subspace before coming out.
We tried because a solution appeared. This must be what they mean by “if your body is strong, your mind doesn’t have to suffer.”
“If there’s no answer in sight, you would think about it within the Subspace and then come out.”
“Exactly. The guild leader did nothing wrong! That’s just hindsight. It was a perfect response.”
Lee Shin-hee had brought it up to preserve my face as the guild leader.
Seeing Han Chul nod firmly as well.
Hmm. I wasn’t reflecting that deeply about it…. It was just something I said out of courtesy. Of course, I’ll think a bit more carefully going forward.
But with Han Chul saying it like that too, I felt embarrassed. It would be awkward to tell the truth in this situation.
“Thank you all. It’s encouraging.”
Han Chul nodded with a satisfied expression at my hollow words.
…That’s not what I meant!
In situations like this, the best move is to quickly change the subject. I cleared my throat and pulled out the staff.
“I’ll give this to Min-jae. Any objections?”
“None.”
Once everyone agreed, Min-jae, who had been quietly observing the mood, let out a cheer.
“Thank you!”
“It’s missing one option, but… it’ll be helpful. It’s B-rank after all.”
“Of course. Just the mana circulation alone is valuable. And we can encounter the Earth Dragon again later anyway.”
“That’s right.”
If we entered a Gate where the Earth Dragon appeared in the future, we would essentially be starting with one cheat key.
Though we didn’t use the mechanic, it was a reward befitting our victory against the Earth Dragon.
[Earth Dragon’s Scale Cloak (B-rank)]
-A cloak crafted from Earth Dragon scales by Oron, the Wasteland’s ruler. Exceptionally soft yet durable.
-When wearing the cloak and riding on the back of a dragon-kin, communion becomes easier and speed increases.
The cloak of dragon scales also appeared to be the original form used by the stone statue’s owner. This too had a predetermined master.
“This is Mister’s, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
A Red Dragon is still of the dragon race. It’s just that there are hierarchies even within the dragon race.
Mister becomes one with Yong-yong through dragon unity, but in terms of speed enhancement, it’s more than sufficient.
“How much faster does it make you?”
Mister couldn’t hide his joy and chuckled as he spoke.
“Try flying with it on once.”
So Mister put on the cloak and climbed onto Yong-yong’s back, and honestly, it looked quite impressive.
A Dragon Knight in a cloak resembling dragon scales… there’s no way it could look anything but magnificent.
“I’ll be back!”
And Mister took off into the sky. Flying at full speed, I could feel the difference just watching.
Even with the increased velocity, the 180-degree turns in the sky and the side-to-side maneuvers were smooth.
“Wow, this thing is incredible!”
“Krrrr!”
Mister, having landed, expressed genuine admiration. Yong-yong also seemed pleased by the speed, purring contentedly.
I felt a twinge of envy myself.
Truth be told, because of dragon unity, I was inferior to Mister when it came to flying while riding Yong-yong.
Yong-yong loves me and practices with me during walks from time to time, but I can’t compete with dragon unity.
“Next time you take him for a walk, could you let me borrow it? I’d like to try it once.”
“Of course. Just let me know whenever you want.”
.
.
.
[Gate ‘Crawling Roar of the Earth’ subjugation complete.]
[You have gained experience.]
[You have leveled up.]
Since this Gate had particularly high difficulty, I was able to gain 2 levels even at over level 40.
I yielded the weapons and armor obtained here to my guild members, but I had no regrets.
The distribution itself was something I had promised, so it was simply finding better matches for them.
Besides, I had also leveled up my Severance and Swift skills, so I obtained a sufficiently satisfying result.
“Phew.”
I took a short breath as I exited the Gate. Not much time had passed since entering, but… I had things I needed to do.
“I’m out!”
“The subjugation was a success!”
The number of fans who had been watching since we entered the Gate had decreased somewhat, but about half remained.
Among the regulars, there were faces I recognized.
“Huh?”
However, given the circumstances, the fans looked at us with surprised eyes.
“What? Did something happen?”
“The Dinosaur Guild has never come out looking this rough before?”
“Is someone missing?”
“No! Everyone’s here!”
It was because of our appearance. We were caked in sweat and dirt, looking like beggars.
Still, since we had no major injuries and returned safely, the fans soon erupted in cheers and applause.
“You’ve worked hard!”
“Waah!”
In the midst of it all, I turned my gaze to find the Elderly Woman I had encountered before entering the Gate.
It wasn’t difficult. She was standing right where she had been before.
Seeing us, her emotions seemed to swell within her.
It looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment, yet there was a faint smile visible on her closed lips….
I sensed a complex mixture of emotions that I found difficult to comprehend.
I approached her carefully. Tears streamed down the Elderly Woman’s cheeks.
“Mother. The subjugation is complete.”
“…A-are you hurt anywhere?”
The Elderly Woman looked me over from head to toe. Her concern for me stirred something in my own heart.
“I’m fine. And this….”
I handed the Elderly Woman a few scales from the Earth Dragon that I had prepared beforehand. I wasn’t sure if she would like them.
“An Earth Dragon appeared—a creature we’d never seen before. We struggled greatly, but we managed to defeat it.”
The Elderly Woman accepted the scales carefully and squeezed my hand firmly.
“Thank you… thank you… truly.”
I held her hand in silence, letting my warmth flow into her cold fingers.

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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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