Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 172

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

172. Barter (1)
—Kwaaaaaang!
A brilliant light erupted from the shield. The beam shot in a straight line. It wasn’t particularly massive.
Only about as wide as an ordinary person’s forearm. But the power and speed contained within it were anything but ordinary.
“…?”
It was the moment I unleashed my newly acquired ability. The Butcher, sensing my presence, turned around with a bewildered expression.
There was no way to evade—Calamity Burst erupted forth immediately.
He was already swinging his greatsword at full force toward me. The madness in his eyes transformed into shock.
And the light of Calamity Burst touched The Butcher’s chest.
And….
The Butcher’s upper body vanished. There was no grand explosion. Only a sickening sound.
—Shhwaaaak!
Vanished—literally. No, was it literal? The Butcher’s torso simply ceased to exist.
Instead, blood sprayed explosively from behind where he stood. At tremendous velocity.
Thank heavens no one was positioned behind him… otherwise they’d have been drenched in blood. The Butcher’s vanished upper body had scattered as gore across a wide radius.
Along the exact path Calamity Burst had traveled, the ground beyond The Butcher’s remaining lower half appeared to be ablaze with blood.
—Thud, thunk!
Only the hand still gripping the greatsword remained, rolling across the floor. A blessing in disguise. The sword itself hadn’t disintegrated.
Had I miscalculated, the blade might have been obliterated too. With a thump, The Butcher’s lower half collapsed.
‘Wow, it’s like his body was torn apart by a shotgun blast.’
Even I, who had just unleashed Calamity Burst, found my jaw dropping at its destructive power.
“…?”
“Huh?”
The guild members watching from outside were so shocked their eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“D-did he go down in one hit?”
“Wow, that monster of a creature….”
The Mister gave me a thumbs up.
“Hey, Hye, that was amazing. The shield’s performance is incredible, right?”
“You mean the shield was amazing? Or I was amazing?”
I asked playfully, but Min-jae answered for him.
“Both were amazing!”
The guild members laughed at that. I handed the shield back to Han Chul.
“That worked perfectly. The performance is definitely reliable.”
“I was surprised too.”
The creature that had cornered us from the moment it appeared had vanished with a single Calamity Burst.
Of course, it was The Butcher himself who had charged this Calamity Burst.
The count had accumulated… but I had to acknowledge that its destructive power was undeniable.
—Han Hye, it is not yet completely defeated.
‘Really?’
—Please bring me close to The Butcher’s heart.
Beyond the vanished upper body, at the center of the explosively sprayed blood, lay The Butcher’s heart.
At first, I thought it was leftover from the decomposition process, like the hand still holding the greatsword….
‘It’s still beating?’
That wasn’t it. I’d been too shocked to notice, but the pulsing heart still radiated a ferocious divinity.
Moreover, flesh was gradually attaching to it. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t received any experience points either.
-It appears that heart was the source of its regeneration and power. I sense considerable divinity.
‘Did a god grant it a heart?’
-Rather than that, it would be more accurate to say it received a special baptism, or perhaps a blessing.
‘If I pierce it, that should work?’
-Affirmative. I will absorb the remaining divinity.
With only the heart remaining, there was nothing difficult about it. I drove the Flowing Style Blade deep into the pulsing heart.
────!
In that instant, an indescribable, grotesque scream filled the entire space. My whole body erupted in goosebumps.
It didn’t last long. Then light shone from the bracelet. Chun-bae was absorbing the divinity.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
As proof of what a formidable enemy it was, my level rose by two.
At my current level range, it was nearly impossible to gain two levels from defeating a single enemy.
“Wow, two levels… that’s insane?”
As my guild members marveled, Chun-bae continued.
-With this much divinity, I believe we’ve bought sufficient time.
‘That’s a relief. I thought we only had a few months left.’
-It was possible because this wasn’t an enemy created for direct confrontation. It was a difficult foe, but you did well.
I could feel sincerity in Chun-bae’s words. I’d been fortunate in many ways.
Without the Vault of Atrocities, my guild members would have needed to use an Escape Secretary to flee from The Butcher.
Well, strictly speaking, it was thanks to my spatial awareness. I could recognize the shield and come find it immediately.
Poof-!
And a crimson form appeared. It was the same form that had guided us since we entered the Gate.
-….
The crimson form fell silent for a moment upon seeing The Butcher fallen.
-The Butcher has fallen and the festival’s curtain closes. The God of Slaughter bestows a blessing….
Hmm. I didn’t particularly need a blessing from the God of Slaughter….
“What blessing? I don’t think I’d accept it even if offered.”
“Right? A blessing from a mad god can’t be good, right?”
My guild members seemed to share my sentiment, each adding their own comment.
“Oh?”
“Huh?”
I felt a change in my body, so I immediately opened my status window.
[Lv48 Void Lord, Han Hye]
Strength: 62(+2)
Agility: 61(+2)(+1)
Stamina: 63(+1)
Spirit: 56
Mana: 84(+1)
Bonus Points: 6
Strength and Agility each increased by 2. Most B-rank elixirs granted only 3 stat points total, so this exceeded that.
“…If it’s a blessing like this, things change.”
“The reward is quite generous, isn’t it?”
My guild members and I immediately shifted our perspective. Whether he was insane or not, anyone who raised four stats couldn’t be all bad.
“Exactly. The God of Slaughter is the best!”
Min-jae, caught up in the moment, spoke up, but everyone stared at him with awkward expressions.
“Ah… that’s not quite right, is it?”
This wasn’t the time for that.
“First, let’s check the greatsword.”
With two levels gained and a blessing received, I’d nearly forgotten—the true prize from The Butcher had to be that greatsword.
I moved quickly toward where the greatsword lay. The Butcher’s massive hand still gripped it.
I had no desire to touch a hand twice the size of my own, so I incinerated it with Blaze before claiming the greatsword.
And as expected, my prediction proved correct.
[Annihilation Greatsword (A-rank)]
-Where The Butcher treads, crimson rivers flow eternal, leaving no name to remember.
-Blood Foundation: Through blood, the greatsword can be repaired or bodily regeneration accelerated.
-Strength +5
And the greatsword’s specifications exceeded our imagination.
“Huh?”
Shock produces questions rather than praise. Even the guild members who checked the specs fell momentarily silent.
“Is this insane?”
“This looks better than the Tragedy Vault, doesn’t it? Or am I wrong?”
“It depends on what weapon you’re using.”
It was no exaggeration—even Chun-bae, upon examining the greatsword, was astonished.
-It’s a tier above the Tragedy Vault. If I had to classify it, I’d call it A+ grade equipment.
‘Is that all?’
However, there was a problem.
‘Greatswords aren’t really my thing.’
-Affirmative. I don’t believe it suits you either, Han Hye.
In short, it was a troublesome weapon. Just as it had been when Saebyeokbit obtained gauntlets.
There was a solution. Trade it away, as Saebyeokbit had done.
“Han Chul.”
“Yes.”
Besides, not many hunters used greatswords. It wasn’t a common weapon either. Supply and demand were both lacking.
But unexpectedly, I could find an answer from somewhere nearby.
“What’s the weapon grade of the greatsword user in the US Advance Team?”
There was a Hunter in the US Advance Team who wielded a greatsword. According to him, it was for romance, but his skill was certainly solid enough to make it to the advance team.
“B-rank. Looking at this, my eyes are about to roll back.”
As expected. Since greatswords weren’t supplied in large quantities, the US Advance Team Hunter was also using a B-rank greatsword.
“Could we trade it for an A-rank sword?”
Han Chul didn’t hesitate at all.
“Yes, I believe that will be possible. With a superior-grade A-rank at that.”
Then the problem was solved. I had no worries. The United States was called the number one Hunter powerhouse in the world.
They participated in auctions more aggressively than our country. The number of items they possessed would be beyond imagination.
.
.
.
[Gate ‘Temple of Slaughter’ subjugation complete.]
[You have gained experience points.]
I didn’t gain an additional level, but I was more than satisfied.
Setting aside the combat experience against the Butcher, I’d gained two A-rank pieces of equipment and four stat points from two level-ups alone.
Arachne’s undergarment had been damaged and I’d lost the B-rank Heavenly Sword, but…
Wasn’t I about to get an A-rank sword anyway?
* * *
[The Dragon Guild struggled? What kind of Gate was ‘Temple of Slaughter’ exactly?]
After announcing the Gate schedule, there were many people waiting for us, whether before or after entry.
Naturally, this Gate became a hot topic the moment we emerged.
Because the Butcher was so powerful, our appearance was a mess. To be precise, it was only me and Han Chul.
I’d been sent flying by the Butcher’s attacks repeatedly, so I was covered in filth.
“Your clothes being torn through like that is way too exposed.”
“The blade was that big, so of course it is.”
What really became the topic was my appearance. Unlike Han Chul who looked exhausted, I was relatively fresh since I’d rested…
But when the greatsword pierced me, my outer garment was torn. Since I was going to discard it anyway, I hadn’t changed clothes, and it got captured in photos.
-Are you alright?
So when we emerged, it was a bit awkward. There was a brief silence among the waiting crowd, and the Association Staff came rushing over in shock.
When I said I was fine and waved with a smile, the atmosphere eased a bit.
In any case, the article went out immediately, so I received a worried call from Seo-ung right away.
Since it was also related to the divine, I gave a detailed report. Of course, I said it was a difficult place.
“It’s not boasting, and I got injured while capturing a creature that wasn’t supposed to be left alone.”
-That’s an unreasonable difficulty level. Even if you were told not to capture it, it seems like a creature you’d have no choice but to fight.
“Yes. The Gate was quite vicious.”
-I’d appreciate it if you’d be careful about mentioning anything related to the divine in interviews.
“Of course. I’ll speak around it carefully.”
This request came because information control regarding deities and the divine from other worlds was still in effect.
-I don’t think it will last long.
It was something Seo-ung said at the end of our conversation.
As the average level of hunters gradually increased, information control was becoming more difficult.
It gets deleted quickly, but occasionally it still appears on the internet. Still, I think it’s fine now.
The reason we controlled information in the past was because of social chaos following the Gate incident.
-Now that things have stabilized to some degree, the direction of the UN Gate Countermeasures Committee seems to be changing.
Even if gods and divine beings from other worlds appear, it will be difficult for the same chaos to accelerate like before….
I also can’t guarantee that information will continue to be controlled. Especially in the religious sector.
Hmm. There might be new religions that worship gods from the external world.
Isn’t this just one phase of change following the Gate incident?
“I’ll take a few days of rest. Everyone should focus on individual training.”
We decided to take a break from guild training for a few days.
Han Chul had sustained considerable damage. Hadn’t he faced The Butcher alongside me?
Despite having lower stats than me, he held his shield and blocked that overwhelming force head-on.
Lee Shin-hee had cast healing spells, but after the subjugation, the medical examination revealed he had microfractures.
‘How did he not show any signs of it.’
Still, as a hunter, his recovery wouldn’t take long. I had gone through the healing facility and came out fine, so I continued my individual training.
I reviewed Liu Zhen’s swordsmanship and The Butcher’s attacks, but I still hadn’t reached the point of breaking through that wall.
-Guild Master.
In the meantime, a call came through to Han Chul, who was resting. I could immediately guess the reason.
The US Advance Team had been at the Gate, so contact couldn’t be made until now, and it seemed they’d finally gotten through.
-When I told them the greatsword specs, their eyes went wide. If that’s confirmed, they say it can definitely be exchanged for an A-rank sword.
And of course, it was good news.

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