Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 14
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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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14. Yong-yong (1)
A sudden thought strikes me.
I’m truly grateful for this very moment.
Ever since my parents passed away, becoming an Awakened One—a strong Awakened One—had been my dream.
Until just recently, I’d convinced myself that dreams were nothing more than dreams.
As an unawakened Hunter, I’d found modest satisfaction in assisting Awakened Ones and contributing to monster subjugation.
That’s why I didn’t resent the training I was doing now to grow stronger.
“Member, you’re remarkable. Not many people work this hard.”
Even the trainers were astonished. The old man was no exception. The dragon’s hatching was drawing near.
His dedicated trainer had cautioned him, yet he continued with intensely demanding training.
“Ugh!”
The trainer conducting the unarmed sparring clutched his ribs—the exact spot where my kick had landed.
“W-what was that just now?”
The trainer asked in genuine surprise. Before his Awakening, he’d been a martial artist preparing for mixed martial arts competition.
I knew his level was 3.
“I obtained a martial arts secret technique inside a Gate this time.”
A plausible excuse. Survival-type Gates offered decent rewards proportional to their difficulty.
I planned to explain items from the Subspace this way going forward.
“You learned that yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Five days had passed since I conquered the Labyrinth Dead End. In that time, I’d focused entirely on training.
Adapting to my newly acquired abilities took priority over entering Gates.
Learning ‘Cockfighting’ yesterday followed similar logic. Developing spatial awareness to sense everything within a 20-meter radius around me came first.
Honestly, I was most pleased with this ability.
Rather than simply seeing an opponent’s attack trajectory with my eyes, I could perceive it with precise sensation.
“Even before this, your combat skills were improving faster than most martial artists, day after day….”
The trainer marveled.
Well, he could say what he wanted, but I’d spent four days doing almost nothing but evasion drills—at my own request, for spatial awareness training.
Despite the stat difference, his expertise made his attacks quite vicious. I’d taken several hits.
Though pain followed, each strike helped me trace the patterns and predict movements, making my evasion increasingly refined—I was satisfied.
“Now I’d lose, wouldn’t I? I couldn’t even see how you were attacking before I got hit.”
“Ha ha, that can’t be right.”
I said it wasn’t, but it probably was. Hadn’t I just driven a blow into his ribs?
[Martial Art ‘Cockfighting (鬪鷄)’ (Grade C)]
-A martial art conceived after drawing inspiration from fighting cocks.
-Can be learned when Strength and Stamina stats are 15 or higher, and Agility stat is 20 or higher.
The ‘Combat’ skill of a UFC world champion when he awakened as a martial artist was Grade C.
The same rank as the Cockfighting technique I’d learned.
The grade of the Cockfighting I’d acquired would likely surpass that of the trainer who’d been a professional fighter.
Moreover, I’d only just learned it yesterday, so I was still at level 1. Once the martial art became second nature, I’d surpass him.
[Lv9 Void Master, Han Hye]
Strength: 18
Agility: 20(+2)
Endurance: 21
Spirit: 9
Mana: 21
Bonus Points: 8
Skills: Subspace (S-rank) Lv2, Flame Resistance (A-rank) Lv1, Cockfighting (C-rank) Lv1, Imperial Basic Swordsmanship (E-rank) Lv4, *Wind Slash (Lv1)
My current stats were as follows. I’d invested two points into Agility for cockfighting and left the remaining bonus points untouched.
For a level 9 hunter, my stats were absurdly high, so I planned to leave them alone for a while.
With each training session, my body itself grew stronger even as my stat numbers remained constant.
The Training Facility had proven genuinely satisfying.
‘I even leveled up once while sparring with swordsmanship.’
I hadn’t neglected other forms of training either—specifically, the technique I’d gained from leveling up Subspace.
It turned out that “portal creation” with Subspace was actually possible.
When I kept the entrance and exit of a Subspace open beforehand, a flying baseball had passed through toward the enemy’s rear.
The problem, however, was speed. My trainer and I shared the same assessment.
“This is genuinely an incredible ability. The issue is that it’s not yet practical for real combat….”
I had to open two Subspaces at two designated locations with precise timing.
Until now, I’d only practiced opening and closing them—I’d never considered doing it quickly.
I was practicing this whenever I had spare time, and the speed seemed to be improving bit by bit.
Through practice, I realized that without developing a sense for spatial awareness, portal creation would have been impossible.
‘Even if I can’t use it immediately, it could become a trump card.’
We weren’t at a level where intelligent monsters would appear yet. With my stats being overwhelmingly dominant right now, I planned to enter a Gate soon and test it in real combat.
.
.
.
Vroooom—
I was taking a brief rest from training when a call came from an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Hunter Han Hye? This is Jo Seok-pil from Daeup Guild. Do you have a moment?”
Daeup Guild.
A renowned guild ranked third among domestic guilds. Yet my expression darkened.
The voice itself felt oppressive, and I harbored personal ill will toward them.
Daeup Guild had always had a poor reputation.
Whether it was Awakened or non-Awakened hunters, it didn’t matter. Awakened hunters faced unreasonable profit distribution and settlement practices, while non-Awakened hunters were treated with contempt.
Non-Awakened hunters were already disrespected as mere porters, but the severity here was extreme.
‘They’d actually made headlines for embezzling wages from non-Awakened hunters.’
I’d experienced something similar myself. They’d paid me 30% less, claiming my mana stone extraction was clumsy or my movement speed was slow.
I’d been furious, but there was nothing I could do back then. Getting blacklisted meant losing all job opportunities.
“How did you get my contact information?”
“Rather than that, I’d like to meet up and have a conversation.”
Jo Seok-pil ignored my question and continued speaking. My mood, already sour, grew worse.
It was similar to what I’d heard—he approached young Awakeners with honeyed words and lured them into the guild.
Naturally, the structure left them at a disadvantage when it came to settlements and distributions.
Despite this, his high ranking existed because he possessed genuine skill at the foundation. There were also rumors of political connections.
It was the kind of information only people in the industry knew.
‘Daeup Guild is something else entirely.’
Even setting aside my personal animosity, the rumors circulating about them were far from favorable.
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of joining a guild at the moment.”
“Come on. I’m not asking you to join the guild. I just want to meet up and talk. It would be beneficial for you too, Han Hye. We’re Daeup.”
“What? You’re splitting the guild? What’s this? Why is the connection so bad? I need to enter a Gate soon, so I’ll have to go….”
“No, Han Hye? Don’t hang up….”
I hung up because I didn’t want to hear any more, but the phone rang again immediately. I naturally rejected the call, but it rang once more.
This was ridiculous. Even the Hunter Association respected me—what did they think they were doing?
Of course, there were many Awakeners like that. People who thought they could act this way because I was strong.
Society had become devoid of common sense after the Gate incident.
‘I need to block this number.’
There might be friction with the third-ranked guild, but I’m not someone who forgets past grievances.
Didn’t they take 30% of my hard-earned money?
Let them do what they want.
I’m not who I was back then. This wasn’t even my fault to begin with.
Ring—
Then another call came through. Was he calling from a different number? I checked irritably, but it wasn’t.
[Park Seo-ung]
It was the Association President’s secretary. Was it about the Eternal Elixir? I answered with genuine delight.
“Han Hye, we’ve secured the Eternal Elixir.”
According to what he said, they were conducting an Eternal Elixir exchange with France and the United States for the same grade to obtain the ‘Flame’ Eternal Elixir.
It would take approximately five more days.
“Thank you so much.”
“No, of course we should obtain it for you. I’ll contact you again as soon as it arrives.”
* * *
Before the Eternal Elixir arrived, I cleared two Gates and reached level 11.
I didn’t deliberately stick only to survival-type Gates.
Even if I was a specialist in survival-type Gates, I couldn’t keep entering only those.
While there was the advantage of rapid growth, it wasn’t particularly beneficial for improving my actual abilities.
A hunter’s skill wasn’t just combat or physical ability—Gate experience itself was part of that skill.
Thinking about the future, I needed to accumulate experience across various Gates.
‘Having good stats and skills doesn’t make you a good hunter.’
Even non-Awakened hunters with Gate experience were different from Awakeners. I needed experience not just in combat, but in handling diverse situations within Gates.
Thanks to that, I made progress in various ways. I refrained from using Wind Slash and fought using martial arts and swordsmanship instead.
Considering my stats, it would have been easy, of course, but I was gradually becoming accustomed to spatial awareness and combat utilizing portals.
In that process, I discovered something—I could adjust the space within the Subspace.
‘I could divide the area.’
That is, the second space created when my level increased and the first space. I could partition the space between them with a wall.
The sealed section wouldn’t experience the passage of time. It would be useful for things like food storage.
Chul-gi also began exploring Gates. He said he was adapting to Gates before making a proper return.
Though he was level 14, he was regaining his senses by exploring safe Gates of levels 5 to 10.
And.
Finally, the elixirs arrived.
.
.
.
What I received from the Hunter Association was one B-rank flame elixir and two C-rank flame elixirs. I thought this would be sufficient.
The egg’s description also stated that a “little more” heat was needed.
Upon receiving the elixirs, the difference in the guaranteed amount also came through. After deducting the Awakened-exclusive tax, it was 12 billion won.
I decided to look into a house or car later… For now, I headed with Chul-gi to a deserted mountain near my home.
“Phew.”
Chul-gi breathed heavily with a tense expression. We naturally decided to hatch the egg outside.
If it hatched inside the Subspace, it might not be able to come out.
As I opened the Subspace to retrieve the egg, a sudden curiosity struck me. Living creatures couldn’t enter the Subspace.
So how was the egg brought in?
‘Because it’s an egg? Or is it treated as an item?’
I wasn’t sure. If I brought a fertilized egg and attempted to hatch it, I could confirm it…
But it seemed troublesome. I’d think about it later.
“Shall we begin?”
I brought a C-rank flame elixir to the Red Dragon’s egg. And just like before, the egg responded.
Whoosh—.
The elixir flickered like flames and seeped into the egg.
“Is it done?”
Chul-gi shouted, but it wasn’t yet. I immediately brought another C-rank flame elixir to it.
Whoosh—.
The same thing repeated. The egg tilted once from side to side. Chul-gi shouted.
“Is it done!”
It seemed not. Sigh, it needed “a little more,” so I had to invest all three elixirs, including the B-rank one?
The moment I placed the B-rank elixir, the whoosh— sound came as it was absorbed, and a change occurred.
Crack—!
The egg tilted greatly, and soon a crack appeared at the top of it. Just like the top of an eggshell breaking.
“It’s happening!”
“It’s happening!”
The old man and I cried out simultaneously. Then, with a sharp crack, the top of the egg shattered, and the head of a small Red Dragon with a crimson glow burst forth.
“Krr!”
The adorable hatchling let out a soft cry. The sound itself resembled a chick chirping.
Our eyes met. The dragon then waddled toward me, breaking free from the egg shell.
“Wow, this is insane. So damn cute.”
“B-be careful!”
The old man remained wary of the dragon, but it showed no hostility toward me. I carefully cradled it in my arms.
Including its wings, it was about the size of a human head. Its body was roughly the size of a cat.
“This… this is a dragon…”
Just as the old man, confirming it was safe, reached his hand toward the hatchling, the dragon swatted his hand away with its tail.
“It seems you don’t like the old man?”
“Maybe it recognizes you as its mother since it saw you first?”
“Hmm…”
Strictly speaking, I was the kidnapper who stabbed a blade into its mother’s eyes.
Of course, that mother had turned Deok-su, who was close to me, into frozen meat and tried to devour me.
“Perhaps it’s because I gave it the Essence Elixir? We spent a long time together in the Subspace as well.”
“Krung…”
The softly crying hatchling was incredibly adorable.
“What should we call it?”
“How about Yong-yong? Your pork belly is called Yong-yong pork belly anyway.”
“Hmm. Isn’t that a bit childish? You brought it, and it recognizes you as its parent, so you name it.”
“I’m not good at coming up with names like that.”
I thought for a moment.
“Electros?”
“Doesn’t that sound like a dragon name straight out of a game?”
“But we can’t name it Choco, Fluffy, or Chunsik either. It’s a dragon, after all.”
“That’s true.”
The old man nodded in agreement. Then a sudden thought struck me.
“Hwamuki. How about Hwamuki?”
“Hwamuki? What’s that? Sounds like a name from some martial arts novel.”
“An Imoogi becomes a dragon, right? Since this one is still a hatchling, we could call it an Imoogi, and it’s a Red Dragon so…”
The old man’s expression grew serious.
“Let’s just go with Yong-yong for now.”
“Understood.”
I looked at the dragon and spoke.
“From now on, your name is Yong-yong.”
“Krr?”
“Yong-yong.”
“Krrr!”
Yong-yong rumbled in response to its name.
“How cute.”
“Small things are always cute. Wasn’t the Red Dragon you saw absolutely terrifying?”
“Right? It’s just so tiny.”
A sudden realization struck me.
“Wait a moment.”
“What?”
“Sir, does your skill work as long as the Red Dragon exists, or do you have to ride it to use it? Can’t you ride this one yet?”
“Huh?”
The man looked flustered.
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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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