Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 151

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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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151. Stamina Trial (3)
As Yong-yong appeared and began pulling the boat, the French Hunters behind us quickly took up their oars.
But with exhausted bodies, they couldn’t possibly keep pace with the speed Yong-yong was setting.
In less than two minutes, they vanished from sight. Shortly after, the world darkened again.
By now, they were probably rowing endlessly through this silent, vast sea.
“At least the Saudi hunters have some conscience.”
“Yes, they didn’t follow us.”
Over the next five hours of travel, I encountered hunters from another nation once more.
Coincidentally, it was while we were resting, so I shared some food with them.
I was more generous than I had been with the French. I’d received some help from the Saudi side during the auction, after all.
Though it was more like proxy revenge than help.
“Still, this doesn’t seem to be ending easily.”
“No. The area seems larger than expected.”
If the Gate’s interior were narrow and simply used darkness to prevent hunters from reaching the Center of the Sea, we would have encountered more of them.
But the fact that even with a compass, I had to row for this long meant the scale was quite substantial.
“True. There are no monsters and the structure is simple.”
“Yes. We might not reach it within a day or two either.”
A Stamina Trial Gate in the 30-45 level range.
Thinking back to the Trial of Mana, the difficulty would be anything but easy.
But no monsters threatening us? That meant the Gate intended to test hunters’ stamina beyond their limits.
In other words, knowing the path didn’t mean we’d finish quickly—the probability was high.
“The sunlight hasn’t changed either.”
“It seems night won’t come.”
“So the others weren’t just tired for nothing.”
There was no sun, but scorching rays continued to pour down from the sky. With my considerable flame resistance, I didn’t actually feel the heat, but…
That didn’t apply to ordinary hunters.
“The light reflects off the water surface, so subjectively it feels like we’re in that desert?”
The harsh sunlight pouring from all directions reflected off the water’s surface, making it quite hot despite being on the sea.
“Hye. Give me some water.”
Indeed, my guild members were drinking quite a lot of water. Since Yong-yong was pulling the boat, Mister couldn’t use Dragon Unity and was feeling the heat.
Even we, with our Subspace full of water, were struggling—other hunters needn’t be mentioned.
“So the French and Saudi hunters weren’t viewing us as saviors for nothing?”
“They were probably the first hunters to enter, after all.”
Of course—they’d been rowing under scorching sunlight for over twelve hours. Their water and provisions must be running critically low.
“The stamina the Gate speaks of doesn’t seem to be purely physical stamina.”
“Right. As you said, it seems to test mental fortitude amid despair as well.”
Truth be told, we weren’t different. Without the compass, wouldn’t we have felt truly helpless and exhausted?
Hmm. Or not?
Come to think of it, with the Subspace, we had no shortage of provisions or water, so we’d only feel frustrated.
In a way, I was experiencing most vividly now the value of the Subspace I’d first contemplated when I awakened.
Up until now, I’d been living as a Hunter thanks to what came out of the Subspace and the strength I gained from it.
“Ugh, this is really taking forever.”
“We’re exhausted too. I can’t imagine how the other Hunters must feel.”
About twelve hours had passed since we entered the Gate. We knew the direction and had Yong-yong’s help, but even our stamina was beginning to wane.
Still, we took turns rowing continuously. Even for a Hunter’s body, it was simple, brute-force physical labor.
“An island!”
Fortunately, an island began to appear in the distance.
“We’ve come quite far. Those who started here must be disappointed, right?”
“Right. They could’ve even gone in the opposite direction, you know?”
While my guild members chatted, I pondered my next move as guild master. Sleeping on the boat in the midst of the Vast Sea felt somewhat insufficient.
It was only large enough for exactly five people. Lying down was awkward. If we wanted proper rest, the island was best.
“We’ve traveled quite a bit. Should we rest here for a while?”
“Sounds good.”
“Yes. We don’t know when another island will appear anyway.”
Even in this moment, the difference between us and other Hunters was evident. From the Subspace, we’d brought not just tents and sleeping bags, but even a topper—essentially a mattress substitute.
It was a luxury unimaginable to others. The best-equipped Hunters would only have sleeping bags.
We were different. We carried tents with mosquito netting as standard, and even temperature-control magic woven into them.
Moreover, with me present, there was naturally no need to stand watch.
“Everyone rest well. I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
* * *
“It seems much wider than we thought.”
“Right. Even following the compass, we still haven’t arrived…”
Another day passed. Nearly forty hours had elapsed since entering the Gate. The Center of the Sea was still ahead.
With Yong-yong pulling the boat, it was clear that the Gate’s scale was larger than I’d initially thought.
“How many teams do you think entered here?”
“Who knows. Weren’t we the twenty-fifth? The rest probably entered quickly after us.”
I understood that roughly thirty-five Stamina Trial Gates had opened.
There could be a margin of error of two or three.
If they opened in places with vast terrain or in regions where the government system had collapsed after the Gate incident, immediate confirmation would be difficult.
The UN Gate Countermeasures Committee conducted periodic inspections of such places, so they were typically revealed after some time.
Cooperation requests were sent to neighboring countries or nations capable of subjugating Gates.
“True. Since no one had emerged, even Hunters with weaker abilities must have entered.”
“Yes. Everyone we encountered was persevering through it.”
The Hunters we met here were all rowing diligently despite their exhausted expressions.
Though disheartening, they must have realized by now that finding the Center of the Sea required not just effort, but also an element of luck.
“We’ve seen six teams so far, right?”
“Yes. Excluding the two teams on the first day, we met four teams today.”
On the second day, we encountered even more Hunters. Their directions varied.
Some came from the opposite direction like the French Hunters, while others passed by from the sides or diagonally.
None of them looked well. On the Vast Sea with limited food and water supplies.
The sun burned my skin, and with no clear destination in sight, I had to keep rowing.
-This is insane. A dragon towing a boat.
When Yong-yong flew at the bow of the boat, the Hunters we encountered couldn’t hide their envy as they watched us pass.
I would have felt the same way. Over twenty-four hours of rowing, and here they were with a dragon pulling their vessel.
After that, some Hunters followed us, while others simply greeted us and moved on.
Of course, those who tried to follow couldn’t match Yong-yong’s speed and soon fell behind.
‘It seems we started from an unusually distant location.’
As we traveled, I spotted several more islands. The fact that we had to navigate through scattered island positions and still encountered them meant our starting luck hadn’t been favorable.
Well, it was fortunate that starting position didn’t matter much in this place.
“Could you spare some supplies?”
“Of course. That’s what we brought them for.”
Every Hunter we encountered asked without hesitation, and we shared our food and water without reservation.
There was no reason to be stingy.
Food and fresh water meant almost nothing to us. We had more than enough stored in the Subspace.
Most of the Hunters who came aboard were levels 41 to 45. Such an opportunity to win their favor so cheaply was rare.
Besides, even if we helped other Hunters, the destination was closer to us with our compass.
“There’s another group.”
We encountered another team, and they belonged to Switzerland.
“They’re not coming closer? Is this their first time?”
“Oh, they’re coming now.”
The difference from before was that they had maintained quite a defensive stance until they confirmed who we were.
It seemed to be because Yong-yong was resting at the time. Once they recognized our faces, they quickly closed the distance.
I wondered why, but as always, when we shared food and water with them, we heard something surprising.
“What? There was combat?”
“Yeah. I don’t know who fought, but there was a half-destroyed boat. The bloodstains were vivid.”
So Hunters had fought each other inside the Gate.
“All the bodies seemed to have been thrown into the sea. The cargo was completely looted.”
“Did the problem arise because of food?”
“I’m not sure. It could have been Hunters from countries with existing tensions.”
Certainly, I couldn’t tell which it was. There are always regions where neighboring nations have severe conflicts.
After the Gate incident, the wars that had been occurring almost stopped, but resentment would still linger.
It could very well have been about food or water, as I suspected.
They encountered each other in a state of shortage, and when the other side refused to show goodwill, they went mad.
‘Among Hunters, there are many who are strong when facing the weak and weak when facing the strong.’
If weaker Hunters than themselves refused their requests, they could turn into demons at any moment.
Hunters face both monsters and people inside Gates. Many lack humanity.
“Anyway, they’re probably still in this area. The bloodstains looked fresh.”
“So that’s why you were cautious of us at first?”
“Yeah. If some lunatics attacked from the sea, there’d be no escape. Anyway, thank you so much. Be careful yourselves too.”
* * *
After parting ways with the Swiss Hunters, we pressed forward, and Lee Shin-hee, who had been lost in thought for some time, suddenly spoke up.
“Perhaps we need to be more cautious than we initially thought.”
“Because of what you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes. It just occurred to me that the food and water shortage might be a separate issue entirely.”
Since Lee Shin-hee wasn’t the type to speak nonsense, the guild members naturally leaned in to listen.
“What do you mean?”
“It could be the Übermenschen.”
“What?”
It was quite a reasonable deduction. Trial Gates had the characteristic of appearing simultaneously across Earth.
About thirty-five had been confirmed before we entered, though I suspected there could be discrepancies.
If another Trial Gate had been created in a region controlled by the Übermenschen, we would have no way of knowing.
And only a limited number of people could commit such atrocities inside a Gate.
“That’s definitely a possibility worth considering.”
Han Chul also agreed with Lee Shin-hee’s assessment. I nodded as well.
“Right. No matter how scarce food and water are, it’s not easy to attack other Hunters.”
Even in situations where no one was visible nearby, we couldn’t predict how a battle would unfold.
Even with low odds, if the opponent fled or was discovered by other Hunters during combat…
It would become an unsolvable situation once we exited the Gate.
But only the Übermenschen could ignore such consequences and attack recklessly.
“And they’d have an easy time approaching. Since their faces aren’t widely known, weaker Hunters would let their guard down thinking they were dealing with fellow Hunters.”
“Assuming they used an Escape Secretary, they might have come well-prepared.”
Han Chul added to Lee Shin-hee’s observation.
“True. A small boat on the sea. Close combat would be difficult. If they brought just two people to row and three mages…”
“Since most teams have only one mage, it would have been easy to attack one-sidedly.”
From the Übermenschen’s perspective, what they could gain from this Gate wasn’t necessarily the Gate reward itself.
B-rank Hunters at levels 41-45 weren’t as skilled as the vanguard, but they were still quite competent.
Since the Gate involved an element of luck, even just eliminating those Hunters and collecting their equipment would have considerable value.
And if they were fortunate enough to obtain the subjugation reward, that would be a bonus.
“Could those people we passed earlier…”
Min-jae spun around in alarm, but Lee Shin-hee shook her head.
“No. They were definitely Swiss. I know their healer.”
Not all Hunters are known to each other. We do know famous ones, but…
If the Hunters here weren’t from the vanguard and came from relatively distant nations, we wouldn’t know them well either.
“They might be people we’ve already passed.”
The atmosphere grew slightly heavier.
“We’ll need to be careful when distributing food from now on.”
About two hours passed as we proceeded with heightened vigilance.
-BOOM!
From the left, beyond our line of sight, we faintly heard the sound of magic detonating. The guild members’ heads immediately turned toward the sound.
“It seems…”
“It seems to be them.”
“Yong-yong!”
I hastily turned the boat’s direction.
Whether they were Übermenschen or Hunters transformed into marauders, I would find out soon enough.

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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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