Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 16

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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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16. Flame Valley (1)
[Flame Valley of Horned Boars]
-Reach the end of the path before you.
CRASH—!
Eight horned boars that had been charging at the old man’s Flying Dragon Lance soared into the air, sent flying by the impact.
Caught in the wind, the boars tumbled down into the lava.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
Despite having entered the Gate only moments ago, the old man was already breathing heavily.
“Take a rest. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”
He’d overused the Flying Dragon Lance in such a short span of time. It couldn’t be helped—the old man’s mana reserves weren’t particularly high.
A hunter without skills had to invest primarily in strength, agility, and stamina to survive until level 14.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Well, I probably couldn’t have held back either.”
“Right? You couldn’t hold back either?”
The old man, whose lips had been pursed, raised his eyebrows and looked at me. I understood that feeling.
Just as I had when I first used Wind Slash, the old man wielded the Flying Dragon Lance with an expression of pure joy.
Actually, he probably enjoyed it even more than I did. Considering the oppression he’d endured in the early days of the Gate crisis.
And the skill’s performance was exceptional.
Charging straight ahead in a line, he advanced without regard for the boars’ mass. It was unstoppable.
Since it was a charge with a lance, the ones in front were pierced and sent flying—but…
Not all of them.
Those coming from the outer edges of the formation were knocked back by the wind pressure and fell into the lava, thrashing about.
“The annoying part about Flying Dragon Lance is collecting the magic stones afterward.”
Since these creatures lived in the Lava Zone, they didn’t die immediately upon falling in. They thrashed about as they approached us.
But killing the boars floating in the lava and extracting their magic stones was an incredibly tedious task.
“Cut me some slack. It’s my first time using the skill.”
“Hmm. You’ll be able to keep using it from now on, won’t you?”
“In exchange, I’ll give you all the magic stones.”
“How much is that really worth?”
I spoke with confidence. Magic stones were expensive, sure, but I had 12 billion won sitting in my account right now.
Rummaging through boars in the lava just to collect magic stones didn’t make financial sense.
“Ahem.”
The old man coughed awkwardly, as if he understood.
“I’m joking. Since you asked, of course I’ll do it. But…”
“But what?”
“Can I really take all the magic stones? Should I not be collecting Min-seok’s share?”
My jab caught the old man off guard.
“That’s… well…”
“Sigh. I guess I’ll have to handle it.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Of course, it was a joke, so I laughed.
“That’s fine. Let’s just enjoy today. We’ll do it properly next time.”
“Thanks.”
The man chuckled.
“Rest for a bit. I’ll handle things while you recover.”
After letting the exhausted man rest, I stepped forward. Thud, thud—. Dust clouds rose from the end of the path.
I waited until they drew close, then extended my hand.
Whoosh—
A Subspace entrance materialized before me. Larger than usual. The opening had expanded wide enough to fill the entire path.
Crash! Crash! The leading boars couldn’t cross over, so they slammed their heads into the Subspace.
“Impressive.”
The man exclaimed in admiration.
It was a new application of Subspace I’d devised. It could serve as a shield, but blocking the path like this worked just as well.
After dispatching them lightly and continuing down the path, the horned boars appeared once more. The man’s mana hadn’t recovered yet.
Without hesitation, I swung the Wind-Flow Blade. A blade of wind extended outward.
It wasn’t as flashy as the man’s Dragon Descent. Dragon Descent left a trail of dust swirling dramatically in its wake.
But the wind blade had its own elegance. Quiet and sharp.
Shhhhwack—!
The leading boars struck by the wind blade were cleaved in half. Their severed bodies slid along by inertia.
The boars behind them, caught on the corpses, also tumbled. Some fell into the lava, while others managed to rise again.
Shhhhwack—!
But the wind blade that flew again couldn’t be blocked. I’d eliminated them all.
I’d wanted to test Grappling Technique in actual combat too, but using martial arts against boars was difficult, so I felt a bit disappointed.
Dragon Descent and I had entered a Gate suited for us, but next time I should find a place where we can have a proper fight.
When I turned around, the man’s eyes were wide open.
“Wow, that’s quite something too.”
“Once you get the stats, you’ll be able to use it too. Want to try it later?”
“That’d be great.”
The man’s eyes gleamed. I felt a bit envious.
“Ah, I wish I could use Dragon Descent too.”
“Heh. If you’re jealous, you should’ve awakened as a Dragon Knight.”
What kind of thing to say was that?
So that’s how he was going to play it?
“Ah, then since you didn’t awaken to Subspace, you can’t wield the Wind-Flow Blade. It came from Subspace, after all.”
I grinned and continued.
“And Yong-yong, obtained through Subspace, is the same. Well, you don’t have to be a Dragon Knight to ride a dragon, so I’ll use it well. You know? If you’re jealous, you could awaken to Subspace….”
“Hye.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
The man quickly shifted his demeanor. The weight of being a guardian was that heavy.
* * *
“Grrrrr!”
Yong-yong rumbled contentedly. Being a Red Dragon, he seemed more comfortable here than outside, if anything.
We felt the same way. It had become noticeably more pleasant since we first entered.
[Flame Resistance (Grade A) has increased in level.]
My Flame Resistance had leveled up thanks to continuous exposure to the heat. The old man mentioned his Attribute Adaptation had also increased.
That was also why we weren’t using the ice stones from other worlds in the Subspace.
Using them would make things more comfortable now, but we’d lose the opportunity to raise our skill levels.
Just then, the old man walking beside me looked upward.
Beyond the bubbling lava filling both sides, there stood a cliff dozens of meters high, befitting the name “valley.”
The old man was gazing at the top of that cliff.
“When Yong-yong grows bigger, we might be able to fly up there and explore, right?”
“I suppose so. Why do you ask?”
“There might be something up there.”
“We could go now, actually.”
Climbing up while riding Yong-yong would be impossible, but using my Subspace seemed viable.
Portal creation, that is.
Each jump was limited to 20 meters, but… I could reach the top by linking them continuously.
I’d just need to position my body across the entrance and exit, then install them sequentially. But was it really necessary?
“Actually, places like that usually don’t have much.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If anything, there’s a higher probability something’s hidden in the lava itself.”
Though the old man’s level was higher than mine, I was the expert when it came to Gate information.
After all, I’d been working as an unawakened hunter until recently, while he’d retired years ago.
“In the lava? How would you even find that?”
Hidden items were naturally difficult to obtain. They were simply more likely to be in hard-to-reach places.
And there was no guarantee something would actually be there.
“If it’s within about 20 meters nearby, I can detect it. Though the odds are low.”
Though I’d just mentioned it, I’d been focusing on spatial awareness since entering the Gate.
My ability was more specialized at finding hidden things than any other hunter’s.
“We’re almost there anyway.”
I could see the Gate’s exit in the distance. About 1 kilometer remained, I’d estimate. The blue light was visible even from the Lava Zone.
The path wasn’t particularly long. I estimated roughly 5 kilometers. It had taken about an hour and twenty minutes…
Excluding combat and magic stone harvesting time, it hadn’t taken that long. Perhaps our compatibility with this place was just that good.
I found myself thinking we should wrap up quickly and grab a meal together.
“Huh?”
It happened exactly three steps after I finished speaking.
Something registered in my spatial awareness—my ability to feel three-dimensionally within 20 meters of my surroundings. Wait, it appeared this quickly?
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s something in the lava.”
“What?”
The man quickly raised his lance in alarm.
“Left or right?”
“Right side, but it’s not an enemy.”
“Then what?”
“I’m not entirely sure? There’s something circular there.”
A small pillar rose from the lava, and atop it sat something circular.
“C-could that be the rare item you just mentioned? They say even a tiger appears if you speak of it.”
“We’ll need to verify what it is. It could just be some oddly-shaped stone for all we know.”
I opened a Subspace portal. Since we were in lava, I had to be careful creating the entrance and exit.
I couldn’t let lava seep into the Subspace.
I opened the entrance right before my hand and the exit directly above the circular object in the lava.
That way, the Subspace entrance would block the flowing lava.
“Whoosh!”
The moment the portal opened, I quickly snatched the circular object and sealed the Subspace door.
In my hand lay a brilliant crimson gemstone, vivid as lava itself. It was scorching hot from being submerged in the molten rock.
“What, what is that?”
The man gasped in surprise and leaned his face close to my hand.
[Flame Heart Jade (C-Rank)]
-A gemstone naturally formed in the Lava Zone with extremely low probability. Known as the heart of the Lava Zone.
-Contains potent fire essence and cannot be consumed. It would be excellent for weapon refinement.
“Ah….”
“Ah….”
But upon reading the description, we both couldn’t help but sigh simultaneously. It was indeed a rare item.
Certainly difficult to obtain. Yet our disappointment stemmed from one simple fact—we had no way to use it.
Gates produce metals and gems like this that don’t exist on Earth. The problem is that refinement is impossible.
It’s not a matter of technique. Such metal refinement requires ‘mana’.
“We’ve picked up valuable garbage.”
“Indeed.”
But mana alone isn’t enough. Awakened hunters can refine such materials, but they can’t properly extract their full potential. The shape doesn’t form correctly either.
It’s worse than not trying at all. The consensus was that only rare professions like ‘Blacksmith’ could properly utilize such items.
“Getting C-Rank items from a Gate like this is nearly impossible.”
The man lamented. He was right. It was similar to when I obtained the Precious Wood from the Labyrinth Dead End.
Normally, obtaining C-Rank or higher items from low-level Gates is extremely rare.
“Should we give it to Min-seok?”
It does sell for research purposes, but not at a particularly high price. Most hunters didn’t sell them either.
Someday, if a rare profession like ‘Blacksmith’ appears, we could use it. What you might call Gate metal currency.
“Is that alright?”
“Even if we sold it, we’d only get a few magic stones. But since I found it, I’d like to gift it to him.”
“Either way, I’m grateful.”
A deep, resonant boom echoed through the Flame Valley.
The ground trembled beneath us with a shock that seemed to shake the very bedrock itself.
The Gate notification updated in that same instant.
[Flame Jade harvested. The Flame Valley awakens in fury. The Flame Guardian emerges.]
[The Gate transforms.]
.
.
.
[Guardian of the Flame Valley]
-Recommended Level: 25~30
-Reach the end of the path before you.
Thud, thud—
Then came a familiar sound. The Horned Boars of the Flame Valley that had suddenly appeared ahead were charging toward us.
And the same was happening behind us. There had been no path at our backs, yet—
From nowhere, Horned Boars were charging at us from both directions.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The lava where the Flame Jade had rested began to surge upward before us, coalescing into a thick, colossal form.
‘The recommended level just changed!’
It had increased by 15 from the original Gate’s recommendation. This was far more brutal than a typical Deformed Gate.
Even with my stats approaching level 20, this was no situation I could breeze through.
“….”
As I assessed the situation, my eyes met the old man’s.
“Run!”
“Move!”
Just as we both bolted forward, the Lava Guardian’s form completed itself beside us.
It was like a titan.
With only its upper body visible above the lava, it towered at least six meters high, and its palm was thicker than our torsos.
“I knew it was going too smoothly!”
The old man shouted as he ran.
He was right. Gates were places where anything could happen. Gate transformations were par for the course.
In fact, things had been too easy until now. Except for that first Gate where I’d faced the Red Dragon.
“Don’t say that!”
Whoosh— A heavy sound of something cutting through air reached my ears. Without looking back, I could sense it through spatial awareness.
That massive palm, thicker than our bodies, was reaching for us from behind. Considering that mass and the lava below—
It was obvious that everything on this path would be sent flying, swept into the lava, and obliterated.
I opened a Subspace and shouted.
“Punch through to Yong-yong’s island!”

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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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