Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 176

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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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176. Long Wei (2)
The suspected location where Long Wei might be was a mountain near Gyeonggi Province. The last sighting showed him entering the mountain.
He could have crossed the mountain and escaped elsewhere, but…
Seo-ung seemed to believe Long Wei was still on the mountain. It had been confirmed that he’d purchased approximately three days’ worth of supplies before heading up.
For now, we just needed to climb the mountain and search for traces of him.
“We’re monitoring all CCTV cameras near the mountain, so we’ll get an immediate alert if anything unusual happens.”
The Long Wei pursuit team consisted of five members. There was no point in having too many people.
From the five members who made up the main Saebyeokbit team, Shin Chang and the mage were removed, and Seo Seung-yeon and I would fill those roles instead.
Even by my assessment, with Shin Chang held in reserve, this was the optimal arrangement.
The reason Seo Seung-yeon, despite being B-Team, joined us was because her job class specialized in this type of operation.
‘She was there when protecting me too.’
The remaining personnel consisted of two warriors and one healer, with the healer positioned in the rear under the protection of one warrior.
Seo Seung-yeon, myself, and the remaining warrior—three of us in total—would face Long Wei at the front.
“You shouldn’t venture too far ahead either, Seung-yeon.”
“Because he’s a thief?”
“Yes. He’s a hunter skilled enough to shake off China’s pursuit. I trust your abilities, but I don’t want to create any unnecessary danger.”
“Understood. I just need to detect him and pull the trigger anyway.”
Seo Seung-yeon nodded at Seo-ung’s words. The opponent was formidable. If he’d managed to evade China’s relentless pursuit, his capabilities were undeniable.
With his job class confirmed as a thief, even Seo Seung-yeon needed to exercise caution.
“First, let me explain the confirmed abilities Long Wei possesses. The first is ‘Invisibility.'”
Seo-ung showed us a video. It was footage from the pursuit in China.
Long Wei, who had been right before our eyes, vanished in an instant.
“He remains invisible for a certain duration. Thermal cameras couldn’t detect him, nor could the awakened hunters’ mana perception.”
“How did you know he was invisible? It’s not a spatial movement ability like Han Hye has, is it?”
“Blood droplets were found where he had passed. His form couldn’t be detected, yet the blood was there.”
“There were awakened hunters present—couldn’t they hear anything?”
Seo-ung nodded at Seo Seung-yeon’s question.
“That’s what was confirmed. It’s likely a rare job class in the thief lineage.”
“If it’s that level of skill, it would be a rare job class even as a regular thief. Or is it an item ability?”
Whether the ability was Long Wei’s skill or an item would only be determined once we engaged him.
“Next is poison smoke generation. Black smoke is created around Long Wei, which easily obscures vision. Inhaling this poison smoke disrupts mana control.”
There was footage of this too, and the range was wider than expected.
If he generated that black smoke and then used the invisibility ability mentioned earlier, he would be nearly impossible to catch.
“This is suspected to be an item ability, but… we can’t rule out the possibility of it being a skill.”
“No wonder he shook off China’s pursuit.”
“Exactly. The reason the Association requested Saebyeokbit and Han Hye is because the enemy is no ordinary threat.”
Seo Seung-yeon’s expression showed genuine understanding now. Before, she’d seemed like she was just following orders.
“If his mana can’t be felt and he leaves no presence, I’m in danger too. I’ll need to be careful.”
All eyes turned toward me.
“Han Hye, would he escape your spatial perception as well?”
My spatial awareness operated on a different principle than presence detection. It was a new sense that ordinary people couldn’t perceive.
“I’m not sure. We’ll have to go and see.”
“That’s precisely why I’ve asked Han Hye for her assistance.”
“I’ll concentrate. Though my range isn’t particularly wide.”
Since I didn’t know how it would turn out, I asked Chun-bae, but he seemed equally uncertain at the moment.
-As I mentioned before, spatial awareness can be deceived. If it’s an S-Rank skill, it might not register on spatial awareness at all.
Right. I had mentioned before that if it involved divine power, it might not show up on spatial awareness.
S-Rank skills fell into that category as well.
‘So anything below that gets detected?’
-A-Rank skills and below will register on spatial awareness. With S-Rank skills, it depends on the specific skill.
Either way, we’d have to go there to confirm anything.
“And finally, there’s his weapon. He uses a white dagger imbued with the essence of frost.”
“Frost?”
“According to intelligence from the Chinese side, when struck by the dagger, the wound area freezes instantaneously. It restricts movement.”
A rogue estimated to be level 50 or above was certainly a formidable opponent.
The Saebyeok Guild members nodded with grave expressions on their faces.
“He’s no small fry.”
“They wouldn’t have infiltrated China for nothing. China’s a huge place—they must have sent someone capable.”
That was certainly true. Chun-bae didn’t forget to offer advice.
-Han Hye, I trust you’ll handle this well, but be careful. Awakened ones are the most dangerous.
‘I know.’
Besides, this wasn’t my first time fighting someone outside a Gate, was it?
If he didn’t register on my spatial awareness, I could fall victim to a surprise attack and suffer a fatal wound.
‘Still, I have insurance.’
Though it was C-Rank, I had the Amulet of Protection, and I also had the Scale Armor that Liu Zhen had given me.
As long as I didn’t take a killing blow, I’d have plenty of opportunity to counterattack.
“We’re here.”
And we arrived at the mountain where Long Wei had last been spotted.
* * *
“Everyone, stay alert.”
Just because we’d entered the mountain didn’t mean we knew Long Wei’s exact location. We had to search the mountain.
That meant there was a significant chance Long Wei would spot us first.
No—it wasn’t just significant; the odds were actually in his favor. A rogue over level 50 would….
His presence detection range would likely exceed my spatial awareness.
Moreover, if he’d survived properly in the Übermenschen, he’d know good hiding spots with clear sightlines on the mountain.
“Forty meters.”
“Forty meters? That’s quite wide, isn’t it?”
For the sake of our strategy, I had no choice but to reveal the range of my spatial awareness.
When we encountered Long Wei or climbed the mountain, it was better to maintain a certain distance.
Well, I had no reservations about it. If it was the Saebyeok Guild, they could certainly be trusted with this information.
I had opened up Min-seok, a craftsman, and shared information about Gate metal with him, hadn’t I?
‘In fact, that was far more valuable information than my spatial sense.’
The reactions from the Saebyeokbit Guild members were also favorable.
“Opening an ability can’t be easy, so thank you for telling us.”
When someone spoke the same words with such consideration, it was only natural that one’s heart felt lighter.
“Don’t mention it. Hunting down the Übermenschen is more urgent anyway.”
“Should I reveal my ability too? I still owe Han Hye a debt.”
Seo Seung-yeon spoke playfully.
The debt was in the form of Skill Level-Up Tickets or Job Skill Acquisition Tickets. I was supposed to receive two from the Saudi Arabia matter, but I’d only received one so far.
Well, it wasn’t something that would appear just because I rushed, and it wasn’t urgent at the moment, so I’d largely forgotten about it.
When she offered to reveal her ability, I laughed and shook my head.
“That’s not necessary.”
“It really is. I have a B-Rank skill called Target Tracking. Once we encounter it, I should be able to pursue it.”
Despite my refusal, Seo Seung-yeon continued with a smile.
“When we first sparred, I detected Han Hye’s spatial movement thanks to that skill. If I hadn’t had it, I would have lost, wouldn’t I?”
Ah, so that’s why. Even though I’d used Leap, Seo Seung-yeon had aimed for my solar plexus.
At the time, I thought she had fast reflexes, but it seemed she’d recognized my movement through the skill first.
“Anyway, don’t stray more than 40 meters from either the rear guard, Seung-yeon, or Han Hye.”
“Understood.”
Tae-sung, the vanguard of Saebyeokbit moving alongside me, took command of the situation.
Though I was filling in for Shin Chang’s position, the authority to lead remained with Tae-sung. The difference in experience was simply too great.
I trusted him completely.
With the current Association President retired and the Dae-eop Guild Master somewhat hesitant, Tae-sung was currently Korea’s premier vanguard.
“Let’s move. I’ll scout upward a bit first.”
The formation was straightforward. Tae-sung and I took the lead. Behind us came the healer and warrior.
Seo Seung-yeon, the sniper, shifted her position within a 40-meter radius centered on me, scanning the surroundings.
Though she belonged to Saebyeokbit’s B Team, this was a task entrusted to her because, befitting her sniper class, she was the best at this sort of work.
Once Seo Seung-yeon discovered a trace, we would immediately move in that direction.
“Found anything?”
“Not yet.”
“It definitely came up this way.”
“Once we find one trace, everything else will become easier. Traces always leave more traces behind them.”
We climbed the mountain without rushing. There were no hikers around. It wasn’t a mountain with established hiking trails to begin with.
I’d heard there used to be trails long ago, but hiking culture had declined since the Gate incident.
Monsters that hadn’t been captured back then had hidden themselves in the mountains, and accidents had occurred because of it.
They say it’s all clean now, but it feels like people only flock to famous mountains.
“Hm?”
After climbing for a while, Seo Seung-yeon raised her hand. The entire group stopped.
I looked to see what was wrong, and Seo Seung-yeon was frowning.
“This way.”
“Why are you stopping?”
The spot Seo Seung-yeon had indicated appeared to have no traces at first glance. Yet her face brimmed with certainty.
“The traces have been erased, but the branches are broken. No wild animal marks territory this way.”
Above all, what allowed Seo Seung-yeon to be certain was her ‘Tracking’ skill. She’d said that using the skill on a place where humans had been would reveal traces of mana. Given that mana traces remained where Seo Seung-yeon pointed, the evidence was conclusive.
“That’s reassuring.”
“I’m with Saebyeokbit—this much is expected.”
Seo Seung-yeon appeared remarkably experienced, as if she’d conducted such tracking more than once or twice. Then again, it wasn’t strange that she excelled at this. I’d heard that positions like rogues and others who didn’t take the front line—like Seo Seung-yeon—studied this sort of thing thoroughly.
Teams expected rogue-class positions to handle searches like this when exploring inside Gates.
It was the same principle as healers studying basic medicine, I suppose.
I’d never particularly pursued that path. Well, studying anatomy doesn’t mean you’ll use it well anyway. There was no need for it.
“They can’t be far.”
“We might have already spotted them.”
Seo Seung-yeon surveyed the surroundings from that spot.
“I don’t sense any gaze or presence… but if they’re more capable than me, I might not have felt it.”
Then Seo Seung-yeon pointed in a direction.
“There are traces of movement this way. Let’s go.”
“Let’s move.”
Having found the trail, Seo Seung-yeon advanced alongside Tae-sung and me.
The target seemed conscious of being tracked and kept trying to erase traces, but Seo Seung-yeon found each one and we continued the pursuit.
“Stay alert. From here on, hand signals only.”
“Yes. They might be expecting our pursuit. If they flee, we attack immediately.”
With the enemy possibly right before us, Tae-sung drew his sword as he spoke. I nodded and retrieved Essirel from the Subspace.
I’d wondered how my first real combat would go, but against the Übermenschen, it didn’t seem like it would be bad.
“….”
It was then, as we climbed.
Seo Seung-yeon gave a hand signal to stop.
We all held our breath and peered ahead.
In the shadows, a man was visible leaning against a tree.
It was too dark to see clearly at first, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make him out distinctly.
It was Long Wei.
‘We’ll move on the signal.’
I held my breath and prepared to attack. This was the one we’d chased so hard to find. I absolutely couldn’t let him escape now.
“Behind!”
But the moment we were preparing.
A black figure shot out rapidly from the opposite side of where he’d been.
‘A clone?’
As expected, he’d spotted us first. It seemed he’d discovered us slightly late, but had left a clone in our line of sight while watching his escape route. The fact that the clone burst the moment we made noise suggested he was quite desperate.
“Go!”
There was nothing more to say. We immediately pursued Long Wei.

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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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