Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 164

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

164. Spear Technique Meeting?
“Wait, Han Hye, I heard you started a Swordsmanship Meeting?”
Seo Seung-yeon’s words cut to the heart of the matter.
The slight dissatisfaction etched across her face seemed to stem from precisely this.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Lee Hong-ju’s been bragging about it everywhere.”
“Ah….”
He did have a rather bright and outgoing personality.
As for him spreading word about it—I’d never asked him to keep quiet about the Swordsmanship Meeting, so it didn’t really matter.
It wasn’t particularly secret anyway, and honestly, the publicity was welcome if it attracted talented individuals.
Anyone with genuine interest in swordsmanship was welcome to join us anytime.
‘Though I’ll need to be strict about the criteria, of course.’
Beyond mere passion and interest, those who couldn’t meet a certain standard—a bare minimum threshold—wouldn’t benefit either us or themselves.
Moreover, while my reputation may have influenced the group’s founding, I’d reject anyone coming purely for camaraderie or celebrity appeal.
I’d already touched on this during the last Swordsmanship Meeting.
I deliberately hadn’t set detailed conditions. If applicants came forward, we’d probably hold a discussion about it.
“Don’t tell me you want to join?”
“…No.”
Of course, that denial wasn’t genuine. Seo Seung-yeon immediately continued.
“She’s been incredibly envious of it.”
“Hmm.”
I paused to consider. The slight widening of Shin Chang’s eyes with anticipation—that wasn’t my imagination.
“The thing is, we’re a Swordsmanship Meeting.”
Shin Chang—Korea’s greatest hunter at this moment.
Truthfully, rejecting her would be strange. The others in the Swordsmanship Meeting wouldn’t dislike Shin Chang’s participation either.
There would certainly be things to learn from her, regardless.
But Shin Chang wielded a spear. That didn’t align with the purpose of a Swordsmanship Meeting.
‘And I’m not sure if Shin Chang could sustain consistent training like this.’
Seo Seung-yeon had mentioned it before.
Shin Chang enjoyed fighting too, but typically she’d spar once or twice and call it done. Only I consistently engaged in continuous sparring.
Even my own training felt more like practice against jump-based attacks.
And Seo Seung-yeon, Shin Chang’s spokesperson and interpreter, would need to attend as well—but she couldn’t come to every Swordsmanship Meeting, could she?
‘Besides, even now it’s a bit awkward.’
She was Min-jae’s cousin and had connections with Min-seok, so it felt acceptable, but having Seo Seung-yeon present during my sparring with Shin Chang was odd in itself.
It’s not like the two of them were dating or anything….
Wait. Or were they?
They did seem to stick together constantly when I saw them. Were they dating? But then she’d be with me too? I have no idea.
“….”
In any case, Shin Chang looked slightly disappointed by my response. Of course, ordinary people would never notice.
It was only a subtle shift that I could detect from having observed Shin Chang multiple times.
“Regular meetings are difficult, but what about occasional guests?”
If someone visited only occasionally, everyone would welcome it. In fact, it would be good for Shin Chang too.
“…That seems acceptable.”
Shin Chang’s expression relaxed slightly. Though it wasn’t entirely brightened. Then a different thought suddenly struck me.
The fact that he had no one to consistently spar with meant there was no one at his level.
In other words, what Shin Chang envied wasn’t about joining the Swordsmanship Meeting I’d created.
Lee Hong-ju probably mentioned it was a meeting for “pure martial skill development regardless of stats.”
“What if you created a separate Spearmanship Meeting instead?”
So Shin Chang didn’t want to join my meeting—he was envious of the concept of such a gathering itself.
The solution was simple. Shin Chang could create his own Spearmanship Meeting.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few warriors who used spears. They had greater reach than swords and were somewhat easier to handle.
It was especially true in Korea. With Shin Chang as a superstar, many people had taken up the spear following in his footsteps.
It seemed he hadn’t considered it until now, as Shin Chang’s eyes widened at my words.
“…A Spearmanship Meeting?”
Shin Chang nodded as if it was quite a good idea, but Seo Seung-yeon frowned with an ambiguous expression.
“Wait, Han Hye, what are you doing right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Your brother won’t do it, so I’ll have to recruit people again.”
“Ah….”
What an unfortunate situation. Though I was a famous star hunter, I’d essentially dumped work on Seo Seung-yeon, who served as Shin Chang’s manager despite his greater fame.
Shin Chang tilted his head, confused about what she meant.
“…Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
“You won’t do anything. You’ll call and then say nothing, then ask me why they didn’t come.”
“….”
Suddenly, I remembered the last uncontrolled Gate incident.
Shin Chang clearly hadn’t told me anything, but Seo-ung had said they’d arranged to meet.
Could it be that the Spearmanship Meeting recruitment was proceeding the same way—call first, then silence?
Judging by Shin Chang’s inability to say anything, it was probably correct.
“Fine. I’ll look into it.”
“…Thank you.”
The sharp glare Seo Seung-yeon suddenly directed at me was no mere impression.
The only consolation was that it wasn’t directed at me alone—Shin Chang was included as well.
“Shall we spar?”
I hurriedly changed the subject, and Shin Chang nodded with more urgency than ever before.
“Good.”
It was the fastest response I’d ever received from Shin Chang in our conversations, so he must have felt the same way I did.
.
.
.
“…You’ve become more refined. Harmony is beginning to show.”
It was Shin Chang’s comment after a long time of sparring. I understood what he meant immediately.
Hadn’t I been focusing on combining and connecting the three martial arts I’d learned? It meant there were results.
As for me, I was grateful for Shin Chang’s praise. After all, I’d earned recognition from an S-Rank Hunter.
And Shin Chang pondered for a moment.
“Hmm….”
It felt like he wanted to say something more, so I waited, but I didn’t hear anything further.
“…From here on, it would be better to seek your own path rather than rely on my advice. You need to find your own way.”
It was about future guidance, but when someone who’d walked ahead spoke like this, there had to be a reason.
“I’ll work hard.”
And until the moment we parted, I tried not to make eye contact with Seo Seung-yeon.
…For some reason, the back of my head still felt stung.
‘Well, what can I do. Shin Chang wanted it.’
It’s not my fault. Yeah. Absolutely.
* * *
“How have you been lately?”
“Same as before for me.”
Seo Min-jae had met an old friend. They’d awakened around the same time and briefly formed a team before joining the Dragon Guild, as a warrior.
Normally contact would have become sparse. But since they’d been close friends since childhood, before awakening, they often met up.
“Went into an ordinary Gate and nearly died, then grew a bit. Man, things were easier when you were around.”
“Back then, I was a god.”
The low-level section.
Seo Min-jae had turned an E-Rank Fireball into an A-Rank Fireball. Truth be told, there wasn’t much his friend had needed to do.
“Not now?”
“Here, I’m just as ordinary as you.”
“Come on, where isn’t an A-Rank Mage valued?”
“Look, we have the Dragon Knight hyung, an A-Rank Healer, Guardian hyung, and the Space Mage hyung who broke the world record—how could a mage dare to join in?”
At Seo Min-jae’s words, his friend paused to think, then nodded.
“True. There’s no place for a mage treated like a spare rib.”
“This bastard?”
The two clinked their beers and laughed. They were the kind of friends who didn’t dwell on such casual remarks.
“But I’m a bit disappointed.”
“About what?”
At his friend’s words, Seo Min-jae frowned. He wondered what nonsense he’d say next.
“The Gold Ticket. Slip me one on the sly.”
“Man, that’s operated by the Guild, so I can’t touch it.”
“Still, you’re a Guild member. I want to ride the Red Dragon too.”
“Absolutely not. Aim for the second Gold Ticket.”
“Aw, you cheapskate.”
His friend laughed playfully. Seo Min-jae let out a hollow laugh.
“Cheapskate? I’m barely managing to survive under the hyungs.”
“Good people, you say.”
“That’s exactly why it’s harder. Trying to stay under good people.”
Considering the secrets within the Subspace that couldn’t be spoken of outside, Seo Min-jae could never do such a thing.
“If the situation were reversed, would you have let me ride the Red Dragon?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah. Honestly.”
“Are you insane? Absolutely not. How could I possibly offend the Dragon Guild members even slightly?”
At his friend’s words, Seo Min-jae burst into laughter.
“You crazy bastard.”
“I’m just joking. I should buy more merchandise instead.”
To be honest, if I told Han Hye, she would definitely let me ride. But Seo Min-jae was simply maintaining boundaries.
The reason for being close yet cautious stemmed from overwhelming gratitude.
It started with accepting a mage who was a liability. Of course, now that I know about the Subspace, I understand there was a reason, but still.
Beyond that, my growth was thanks to the Dragon Guild.
‘There was nearly a 30-level gap between me and my sister.’
When Seo Min-jae joined the Dragon Guild, Seo Seung-yeon’s level was in the high 40s. Now she was in the early 50s.
The sniper had achieved tremendous growth as well, but it couldn’t compare to Seo Min-jae’s. I had closed that gap.
The Dragon Guild. Growing alongside Space Mage Han Hye meant experiencing absurd level-ups together.
Technically my cousin, but I used to feel envious every time we met. Not anymore.
‘Now my sister envies me instead.’
My friend wasn’t entirely serious either. He was a good guy who knew how to maintain boundaries.
It was more like friendly banter between friends. Though the envy was genuine.
“Man, I’m jealous. You’re doing great too, but you’re in a team that’s practically confirmed as the best.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe it myself. The Dragon Knight is amazing too, but our Han Hye is seriously insane.”
“Work hard, you bastard. You can’t just slack off like you used to.”
Seo Min-jae laughed.
“I started hunting the moment I turned twenty. How much could I have possibly played around?”
“What do you mean? You went out drinking and stuff.”
“I don’t do that anymore. I’m working hard. That’s why you’re seeing me after so long.”
In the past, it couldn’t have been any other way. Finding magical secrets was an incredibly difficult task.
I had used magic with a few secrets that Seo Seung-yeon somehow obtained. I played around during my free time.
Now there was no time to play. Whether inside Gates or within Han Hye’s Subspace, I was obtaining many secrets.
This time I even obtained the Lightning Sword technique. I was too busy training magic. I also had to do physical training.
“Let’s meet again next time.”
“You barely ate anything.”
“I have training starting early tomorrow morning.”
“Then there’s no helping it. When we meet next time, you’ll probably be in the vanguard unit, right?”
“That might actually happen.”
* * *
With the year-end approaching, invitations poured in from all directions. Year-end events, parties, and such—honestly, there were too many to count.
Some invitations came from the political and entertainment circles, while others were hosted by the Hunter Association.
I declined most of them indirectly through the Guild. None of us were particularly fond of attending such events anyway.
Instead, we held a modest year-end gathering among Guild members. It was a place where we praised each other and exchanged well-wishes.
-I was pretty shocked back then, weren’t you?
-Right? How could we have known an Ogre would appear?
-Honestly, I seriously considered hiring an escape Secretary at that moment.
It was a gathering where we shared the surprising moments we’d experienced from the first meeting onward, exploring Gates together.
Since it hadn’t been that long ago, calling it a nostalgic reminiscence felt odd, but it was pleasant and entertaining nonetheless.
After spending time with my Guild members, I also spent time with Chul-gi’s family.
They thanked me so profusely that I simply exchanged greetings to put an end to it.
“Everyone’s gathered.”
And so the new year dawned, and soon it was time for the New Year Gate announcement.
“Let’s go!”
“Please be something good!”
“Don’t bother the Guild Master. He needs to focus.”
“Of course.”
Since I had to stay with Chun-bae, I stepped back slightly. It was the moment when my Guild members’ eyes gleamed with anticipation before the announcement.
“No Ruins Gates!”
“Look for something else!”
Pop!
One minute and thirty seconds after the announcement appeared. That was when we were examining the newly updated Gate list.
-Han Hye.
While everyone was busy, Chun-bae spoke up. A smile naturally bloomed across my face.
Indeed, as my level increased, my hit rate seemed to improve as well.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————