Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 180

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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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180. This Wasn’t Ordinary
-Let’s coordinate our schedules.
After discussing it with Seo Seung-yeon, I decided that Saebyeokbit and I would alternate Gate entries.
Min-seok was worth that much consideration.
Seo-ung also paid closer attention to Min-seok’s protection than usual, and the situation was largely settled.
I felt uneasy because of what Rung Wei had left unsaid, but for now, there was nothing more I could insert myself into.
‘Seo-ung didn’t elaborate either.’
No matter how promising a hunter I was in Korea, it wasn’t easy to hear classified information the Hunter Association was handling in secret.
The information I’d heard last time was something I’d picked up inadvertently thanks to my good relationship with Seo-ung.
It was quite a sensitive matter. Fundamentally, Jo Ji-hyuk, the Daeup Guild Master, had connections with the political sphere.
The current Association President had risen to his position riding on public opinion damaged by successive corruption scandals, so he had no backing from above.
‘It’s quite a difficult situation.’
Even with Rung Wei’s testimony, it would be hard to conduct a large-scale audit or dig into things.
They said the Association President was currently investigating secretly with only a small number of his direct subordinates.
The reason they had to be so careful was precisely because there was a possibility that the Association President and Saebyeokbit could face backlash.
[Association President Kang Seok-du and Saebyeokbit Defame Daeup with False Information?]
[Kang Seok-du Stirs Up Promising Next Association President to Maintain His Position]
They were the kind of people who’d easily buried the burst-type Gate no-show incident. Under normal circumstances, they would’ve faced all sorts of curses….
The Association President’s firm response back then had been quite reckless too.
If Daeup joined hands with the political sphere and formed this kind of public opinion, the damage to us wouldn’t be insignificant.
If Jo Ji-hyuk became the next Association President without trouble, retaliation was certain.
-Even if it were possible, nothing substantial would come out easily. Daeup isn’t the kind of organization to be that careless.
That’s what Seo Seung-yeon had said while discussing the timing of Gate entry.
In other words, to properly investigate Daeup, we’d need something more concrete than Rung Wei’s testimony.
Of course, finding that wouldn’t be easy.
To be honest, rationally speaking, the possibility of Daeup’s involvement still seemed small.
But….
Something about it made me suspicious. A gut feeling, you might say?
-I think we’ll have results one way or another soon.
“Results?”
However, what Seo Seung-yeon said at the end was noteworthy.
-You heard about the phone call, right?
“Yes. They said he made a very brief international call.”
-Turns out that call came from somewhere untraceable. We also found evidence that Jo Ji-hyuk moved after the call ended. We’re verifying that now.
From somewhere untraceable? I hadn’t heard that detail, but it certainly raised my suspicions.
Combined with the evidence of his subsequent movement, the situation was developing in a more interesting direction than I’d expected. My suspicions deepened.
“Is that something Seung-yeon discovered?”
-No. Someone’s been contacting me separately. There’s no one better than me for distant observation.
Right. A sniper. When it comes to observing someone in the city, there’s no one quite like Seo Seung-yeon.
-Once we track where he went and who he met, we can investigate that, or if not….
“Or what?”
-Jo Ji-hyuk must have heard about Rung Wei’s death, so if he was plotting something, wouldn’t he make a move soon?
True. Rung Wei is dead. If he was planning something with Daeup as he said, even if things stay quiet for now, he’ll show his hand eventually.
And Seo Seung-yeon, our sniper, will catch it.
-I’m planning to pretend I’m entering a Gate and keep watching. If anything suspicious happens, I’ll notice it right away.
If Seo Seung-yeon, the best at this sort of thing in Saebyeokbit, enters a Gate, then Jo Ji-hyuk can make his move.
Looking at how they were laying this trap, it seemed the Hunter Association wasn’t planning to handle this matter lightly either.
“Call me then too.”
-Han Hye?
“I can stay nearby without anyone noticing.”
Last time, I used Chun-bae’s divine power to have a conversation with Liu Zhen. I infiltrated without being detected by the Chinese side.
I’m invisible and my voice can’t be heard. If I use Chun-bae, I’ll be able to hear Jo Ji-hyuk’s words up close.
-Understood. Since I’m pretending to enter a Gate next week, Han Hye, you don’t have any other schedule besides the Gate, right?
“Of course not.”
We’d discussed it with Saebyeokbit and planned to enter a Gate this week, so next week’s schedule was clear.
Suddenly, if this was true, it seemed like this was no ordinary matter.
Rung Wei’s expression was genuinely serious. He’d thought about it quite a bit. When I considered it wasn’t an act but sincere….
If even Rung Wei, an executive-level member of Übermenschen, had no information about what he was plotting, it couldn’t be a trivial affair.
‘At minimum, Min-seok is involved, or something more.’
When I’d talked with Saebyeokbit before, Daeup seemed to have some inferiority complex. I’d say it was a desire to become the best.
Considering the timing of when they made contact was when the Association President was attacked and the guild ranking dropped to fifth place….
It might be sabotage against Saebyeokbit, Chulbyeok, or the Association President.
If that succeeded, no one would know what Daeup, with its political connections, would do next.
* * *
There was the matter of Daeup and lingering anxiety about Min-seok’s safety, but I couldn’t get consumed by that alone.
We were hunters, so we had to do our work as hunters. Han Chul had fully recovered, and guild training was proceeding.
Since we’d coordinated schedules with Saebyeokbit, we needed to enter a Gate quickly, so I postponed the Swordsmanship Meeting.
It was a bit disappointing. The opportunity to show off Essirel was receding. But for now, that wasn’t the priority.
“How was Rung Wei?”
“Pretty impressive.”
Mister knew, of course, but the guild members had only recently learned my news, so they were curious about Rung Wei.
I didn’t share much at first. The Daeup situation was still a sensitive matter to disclose anywhere.
“Nothing else happened?”
“Hmm.”
“I have a feeling something might come up.”
Lee Shin-hee, who usually had a sharp mind, seemed to sense something suspicious. But true to her nature, she didn’t press further. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to just tell her.
The guild members Chun-bae knew could hear about it too. There was also the matter of coordinating Gate schedules.
“What? Daeup?”
“They have a bit of a reputation… but Übermenschen?”
“It’s not certain. We need to keep watching. There’s a good chance it’s false information.”
The guild members who heard the story also looked confused. Logically, there was no reason for Daeup to join hands with the Übermenschen.
“Min-seok is all right, isn’t he?”
“Yes. They say there are no signs of information leaking, but we should be more careful about security.”
“What is this all about?”
“Anyway, for a while we’ll be coordinating schedules with Saebyeokbit and entering Gates. That’s fine, right?”
Though our Gate schedule was changing from what we’d freely entered before, everyone agreed positively.
“Of course. It’s Min-seok’s situation.”
“That’s right. We naturally have to adjust.”
Separately from that, Seol-ya’s awl crafting was postponed. It was originally an A-rank weapon. It was still difficult to restore with Min-seok’s crafting skill.
Still, since the ability itself was good, I thought there might be a use for it anytime.
If Seol-ya’s awl had been there when facing the Butcher, when my body froze and stiffened momentarily, it would have been much easier.
I tested it on my own body out of curiosity, and it had quite an effect.
‘It stiffens you instantly.’
Going forward, I probably wouldn’t use the Poongryu Sword much and would use Esirel instead. Since it wasn’t an A+ rank for nothing, the feel in my hand was different.
Even with the same movements, it felt noticeably more comfortable than the Poongryu Sword.
The fact that my swordsmanship level rose even though I didn’t fight Rung Wei much while holding Esirel must have been influenced by that.
Of course, there was the time I’d spent thinking about it, but I expected the development speed in swordsmanship to accelerate a bit.
“Phew. There should be something.”
And in the afternoon, we finished training and gathered at the Guild House. It was the day the Gate announcements opened.
Since we’d coordinated schedules with Saebyeokbit, I was thinking of entering anywhere. The Association would approve quickly too.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to enter just anywhere. Since we were going anyway, it was naturally better to go somewhere good.
And soon the Gate announcements began.
‘Chun-bae.’
-Checking now.
This time too, I reviewed the announcements separately with Chun-bae. Time passed like that for a while, but this time there was little gain.
-There are no Gates I know of.
‘Okay. Confirmed.’
This Gate announcement wasn’t very satisfying.
“There’s nowhere worth using priority on?”
“No. Everything we were eyeing last time is gone.”
Lee Shin-hee raised her hand.
“The abandoned mine Gate looks decent at least.”
At Lee Shin-hee’s words, I also checked the list.
[Coma Abandoned Mine]
-Recommended Level: 46~50
-Personnel Limit: 10
The name alone didn’t reveal any information worth discovering.
Usually in abandoned mine Gates, strong enemies emerge from within the mine where you can’t see even an inch ahead.
The culprits that caused the mine to become abandoned, you might say?
Sometimes they’re monsters that inhabit underground, and surprisingly they could be monsters from the surface.
‘There aren’t many cases involving abandoned mine gates, but I’ve heard rumors of mole humanoids appearing from them.’
I also thought the abandoned mine gate looked reasonably promising from the list. Han Chul nodded in agreement.
“Yes. If I had to choose, the abandoned mine would be better. There’s a chance of obtaining gate metal.”
In truth, abandoned mine gates weren’t particularly sought after.
Most were so dark you could barely see a step ahead, and the spaces weren’t particularly expansive.
Moreover, if mole humanoids or underground-dwelling monsters burrowed through the earth, they became difficult to handle.
Though the probability was low, other locations could yield spirit stones, but this one offered gate metal.
‘It’s a place other hunters have no reason to visit.’
But we were different.
Wasn’t Min-seok, our artisan, right beside us?
“Yes. We should secure gate metal as well.”
The Korean Hunter Association, Saebyeokbit, and I had all been purchasing gate metal, but the quantities we’d acquired weren’t substantial.
Not much time had passed since Min-seok’s awakening, and we had to be mindful of other nations’ attention.
But if we obtained it directly like this, things would be different. Especially considering the gate’s level, we might even be able to secure A-rank gate metal.
Thinking about the future, we needed to stockpile high-grade gate metal. Eventually, we planned to engrave all our equipment anyway.
“The underground is a bit inconvenient, though.”
The Dragon Knight, the Mister, hesitated slightly, but there were no objections.
“We have to endure it to get the metal.”
“Hyung-nim, please rest well. We’ll handle it. Wasn’t it the same last time?”
When Min-jae joked, the Mister let out a hollow laugh.
“Last time, you were just playing around too. Hye did everything alone.”
“But I did help a bit with magic, didn’t I?”
“This guy?”
* * *
Since we’d coordinated schedules with Saebyeokbit, the Hunter Association’s approval came through remarkably quickly. We prepared immediately as well.
[Coma Abandoned Mine]
-Recommended Level: 46~50
-Personnel Limit: 10
With our popularity surging from defeating Rung Wei, we entered the gate amid enthusiastic cheers from our fans.
I had no concerns about Min-seok. Saebyeokbit said they’d protect him properly.
‘Our entry into the gate is also a kind of bait.’
It was a process of observing whether there were any unusual movements when the Dinosaur Guild or Saebyeokbit entered.
It was easier not to worry about that. I focused on the gate before me.
-Hunt the mineral spirits infesting the abandoned mine and clear the mine. Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes.
Mineral spirits?
I’d heard of them before. Just as there were wind spirits and flame spirits, they were said to be unusual spirits.
Perhaps the mine couldn’t be used because of these mineral spirits, and we’d been tasked with clearing them out.
It was quite a straightforward mission.
-Han Hye, this is your chance to use that short sword you obtained last time.
That’s when Chun-bae spoke up.
‘The Butcher’s dagger?’
-Affirmative. Mineral spirits are created from minerals. In other words, the main body contains minerals.
‘The mineral grade increases even if I harvest with the dagger?’
-Affirmative. Mineral spirits are living beings. More importantly, since mineral spirits favor rare minerals, you can obtain Gate metal.
Oh? That was something I hadn’t considered. Even in a mining Gate, Gate metal wasn’t guaranteed to drop every time.
But if Chun-bae was right, it meant I would definitely obtain Gate metal in this Gate.
-Moreover, at levels 46 to 50, there’s a high probability of A-grade metal. Depending on the difficulty, even S-grade is worth aiming for, though with lower odds.
If the dagger’s jackpot triggers on A-grade Gate metal and it becomes S-grade?
Min-seok’s crafting would be a future concern, but I was already salivating at the prospect.
Whoosh—
As I drew The Butcher’s dagger from the Subspace with a smile, Mister Chul-gi tilted his head curiously.
“Why that?”
“There’s a high probability of Gate metal dropping from the mineral spirits.”
“Huh?”
“It’s Gate metal farming time.”
To encounter such fortune in a place I’d entered without great expectations.
It was time to gather plenty of Gate metal, which I’d struggled to obtain until now.

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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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