Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 173

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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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173. Barter (2)
-The American side has acknowledged that the Extinction Greatsword is among the finest A-Rank items. Therefore, they’ve agreed to provide swords of equivalent caliber in exchange.
Since Han Chul had served with the US Advance Team, I’d entrusted this entire transaction to him.
While the Korean Hunter Association maintained cordial relations with the Americans, the warmth differed markedly from Han Chul’s rapport.
He had personal connections with the current advance team members and maintained far superior relations with the American Hunter Association itself.
This afforded him the advantage of speaking with greater directness.
-I made it clear to them. Even if they offer a premium A-Rank blade, should it not suit your preferences, I’ll explore other options.
“There aren’t many greatsword users though—will that be alright?”
-Don’t worry. I know Toby’s temperament well. The man is obsessed with greatswords.
I’d heard the rumors myself—he was a top-ranked player in a famous game before the Gate incident, and he used only greatswords there.
His awakening circumstances had become quite the topic of conversation.
When the Gate incident erupted, Toby had a collection of greatswords he’d spent considerable money acquiring at his residence. He wielded one to face the threat.
That’s when he awakened as a Warrior.
-In fact, I need to tell Toby this way so he’ll pressure the American Hunter Association. He’s already seen the greatsword photos and gone wild, and I’ve told him the specifications too.
“The specs are certainly insane.”
-Yes. He’ll throw a fit saying he can’t continue his hunter career without this greatsword, demanding we secure it. That desperation will actually work in our favor.
In any barter, everyone seeks to gain an advantage.
The Americans are no exception. They might claim this is their only remaining A-Rank sword and attempt to pass off an inferior item.
However, hearing Han Chul’s explanation dispelled my concerns.
I’d been slightly troubled by revealing the specifications first, but consulting with Han Chul proved the right call.
-The Americans have agreed to come here for the exchange.
“Really?”
-Yes. Toby apparently threw such a tantrum about wanting it sooner. They said they’ll visit with the exchange item once it’s selected.
That suits me fine. From my last trip to America, I realized the round trip consumed nearly thirty hours—quite the inconvenience.
True enough. In any transaction, the eager party should make the effort. I needed an A-Rank sword, but for now I had the Flowing Style Blade.
-I’ll contact you once we hear anything.
This wouldn’t be resolved immediately. We were exchanging an A-Rank item of the highest caliber—or A+ tier by Chun-bae’s assessment.
The Americans would need time to search their warehouses as well.
.
.
.
During personal training, another piece of good news arrived. Min-seok’s Engraving level had increased.
Mister came rushing over with unbridled enthusiasm, eager to boast.
“Engraving reached level 3?”
“Wow, that’s fast?”
“He hasn’t taken a single day off and practices constantly. I tell him to rest, but he won’t listen.”
Indeed. Under the Association’s full support, he was wielding the Engraving skill without restraint, limited only by his mana capacity.
Mister broke into a broad grin—the expression that typically appeared when discussing Min-seok.
“At first I worried he was pushing himself too hard, but the kid loves it so much I can’t stop him.”
“It’s an aptitude that suits him perfectly. That’s a good thing.”
He had always been interested in this field, possessed talent for it, and now had gained the ability. For Min-seok, there couldn’t be anything better than this.
“That’s right. Hehe.”
The foolish Mister laughing like that probably felt the same way.
“Later on, Min-seok will probably earn more money than you, won’t he?”
I said it to tease him, but Mister just grinned.
“Haha, once Min-seok becomes capable of A-Rank metalwork, the advance teams will come carrying money in bundles, won’t they?”
Right. It was my mistake for trying to tease a fool of a father.
“So what’s changed then?”
“Nothing like that. The limit of metals he can work with is still C-Rank, apparently.”
“Same as before.”
“Still, when he works with metals of the same grade, the performance has improved.”
The Mister who said this seemed slightly disappointed.
“Ah, I should have waited a bit longer to have my equipment worked on.”
It was because I’d recently had Min-seok work on my equipment. If his level had gone up, the efficiency would have been even better.
“Well, if that were the case, you would have seen Min-seok happy later.”
“True. He was so happy that I had him work on my equipment. Hehe.”
For Father, that might have been better than a stat or two.
“Keep at it. I’m going to step away for a bit.”
While the excited Mister went off to brag about Min-seok to Min-jae, Chun-bae opened his mouth.
-Han Hye, Arachne’s inner armor—you have it, don’t you?
-‘Yeah, why?’
-The torn parts should be repairable through metalwork.
-‘Really? What about the Heavenly Piercing Sword then?’
Just in case, I had left the broken Heavenly Piercing Sword in the Subspace.
-That’s impossible. A completely shattered sword must be entrusted to a blacksmith’s hands, and even if it’s restored, it will be difficult to achieve its previous performance.
-‘Damn.’
Still, since it was a B-Rank sword, there was regret. If I kept it as a spare, it would always be useful equipment.
Wasn’t that the case when I faced Liu Zhen? When altitude increased, stats would skyrocket.
-On the other hand, Arachne’s inner armor is only slightly torn. That degree of damage should be manageable with the power contained in Gate metals.
Right. When I had the Flowing Style Sword worked on, didn’t it become more durable? It could be seen through a similar principle.
-‘When will Min-seok be able to handle the next tier of metals?’
-It depends on the grade of the metalwork skill, but based on B-Rank metalwork skill standards, B-Rank metals should be possible from level 4 onwards.
Since they said that B-Rank Gate metals would definitely show a clear difference, my equipment would have to wait for the next level up.
Meeting The Butcher this time made me feel the necessity of better equipment.
I never could have imagined the Heavenly Piercing Sword breaking like that.
And like The Butcher, I was also worried about the massive enemies that would appear inside the Gate.
-‘At least I can have it worked on and not use it if I don’t need to.’
To improve my combat skills in ordinary Gates, I just wouldn’t use equipment.
Separately from that, I was continuously purchasing Gate metals since Min-seok was available.
Of course, the quantity I had secured wasn’t very large.
We were coordinating with the Hunter Association to purchase only what wouldn’t raise suspicion, so the acquisition was still in progress. I didn’t know much about it myself, but I’d heard it was quite a difficult matter.
Gate metal is treated as pretty garbage, but at the national level, it’s always under close watch.
That’s what Seo Seung-yeon had told me. Since we never knew when a blacksmith-type profession might emerge, it was apparently a sensitive issue.
Just as the Korean Hunter Association did, each nation maintained a certain amount of Gate metal in reserve.
I’d left that side of things entirely to the Korean Hunter Association. I was practically a novice when it came to such matters.
Besides, I trusted Seo-ung and the Association President.
The real problem was coming soon.
In about two months, the current Association President’s term would end. The Dae-eop Guild Master was the leading candidate to take that position.
If that man became Association President, Min-seok would gain access to the relevant information….
Honestly, I didn’t like it. First, it seemed like he’d use it for Dae-eop’s own interests.
For Dae-eop Guild hunters, or since he had connections in politics, might he not commission jewelry crafting for bribes?
The biggest problem was that Min-seok’s information could leak to the outside.
I trusted the current Association President, but Dae-eop was hard to trust.
If he shared information with politicians connected to him, they could tell others about it.
With the Übermenschen openly existing, Min-seok would likely become their target.
I’d like to launch a campaign to extend the Association President’s term, but that wasn’t something I could control on my own.
I wished something would happen with Dae-eop.
That was my hope.
It seemed unlikely to materialize. The Dae-eop Guild Master would surely be keeping a low profile with the Association President position in sight.
Especially considering what happened last time. Didn’t the Dae-eop hunters no-show on a discharge-type Gate without any major consequences?
Hmm. I didn’t know. It was a problem with no immediate answer.
Might as well get Arachne’s inner armor tailored.
* * *
[Dragon Guild, Space Mage Han Hye Reaches Level 48!]
-Wow, 2 levels from just one Gate? That’s not easy at that level range
He went into the Temple of Slaughter, and just hearing the name sounds insanely intense lol
┗ It actually was insanely hard. Didn’t you see the photos? Han Hye’s clothes had holes torn in them?
┗ I was genuinely shocked when I saw that
┗ The journalist wrote ‘Space Mage with a hole in her abdomen…’ and I thought Han Hye was dead
Hahaha
┗ But if there’s a hole like that, isn’t that pretty serious? I saw her come out and she looked fine.
┗ There’s an A-Rank Healer, you know.
-At this pace, she’ll make the advance team in 3 months, not 6
lol for real
Every move our guild makes is under scrutiny. Which Gates we enter, how our equipment changes.
We haven’t disclosed the specs of our equipment, but it always draws attention. It’s probably because it’s visible right when we enter.
“Is that the Dragon Knight’s cloak? It looks so cool. Did you get it from hunting the Earth Dragon?”
-The Space Mage has a cloak now too
Among all the things that drew attention, one of the most notable was my level.
It couldn’t be helped—I’d been achieving tremendous growth ever since my awakening.
I had transcended Liu Zhen’s world record—every growth I achieved now became a world record itself.
I reciprocated that attention by openly revealing my level during interviews following Gate subjugations.
‘There’s nothing problematic about it, and it’s a positive development.’
My guild members had reached the same level as me, but the attention they received regarding levels differed significantly.
While we all grew rapidly together, I was the one setting record-breaking progression speeds.
Moreover, though each member was exceptional, my contribution to this growth was undeniably substantial.
And my level-ups created a butterfly effect as well.
[Look at how diligent the advance teams have become lol]
-Is it true that advance teams from all nations started entering Gates faster after Han Hye appeared?
┗ They’re all stimulated because of Han Hye
┗ When someone’s chasing madly from behind, you have no choice but to run harder from the front.
The advance teams weren’t the type to slack off in the first place. You couldn’t become an advance team member otherwise.
However, after my growth speed started garnering attention, they did enter Gates more frequently.
-I’d do the same. A kid who awakened this year is already level 48, so in a year, it seems like Han Hye alone would be the advance team
┗ Huh? That’s true?
┗ It’s absurd. Eventually the term ‘advance team’ might disappear and we’d just call it the Dragon Guild?
It was people’s speculation, but I thought it might actually happen that way.
Once my level reached advance team standards, my abilities would surpass even that.
Gates at advance team level would become challenging—I wouldn’t breeze through them like now—but they wouldn’t be impossibly difficult either.
It meant my current growth pace would be sustained to some degree.
‘Incinerate and Severance still have room for improvement, and the Subspace level can be upgraded. There are still plenty of factors to grow stronger.’
Well, it was a matter for later, so there was no need to worry excessively now. For the moment, focusing on immediate tasks was better.
I closed Hunter Net and headed to the Training Facility. My swordsmanship against walls remained a persistent concern.
-Guild Master.
However, I couldn’t train for long—about thirty minutes in, Han Chul called me.
-The American Hunter Association people and Toby will be arriving soon?
“What? Without any notice?”
-They weren’t sure what to choose, so they brought three A-Rank premium swords. Toby was so impatient they took them out and boarded the plane right away?
…I thought they’d inform me of the selected sword’s specifications mid-process and coordinate the details. They’re just bringing all three swords?
I was flustered, but not displeased.
‘A-Rank, and premium ones at that? Three of them?’
It felt like the most appetizing buffet had been laid before me.
‘Chun-bae.’
-Yes. I’ll examine them thoroughly.
With Chun-bae here as well, I was certain I could select the finest sword among them.

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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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