Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 183

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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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183. Coma Abandoned Mine (3)
“Huh? What’s this?”
The mineral spirit hadn’t attacked me. I’d been prepared for it anyway. Even if it understood my words, it could have refused.
Hadn’t I already caught other mineral spirits and dealt with their offspring as well?
It wasn’t strange for a spirit to express anger from its perspective. That’s why I needed to stay ready to respond at any moment.
However, the highest-grade mineral spirit, upon hearing my words, simply turned its body away.
‘That startled me.’
I flinched because it could have been a signal to attack. The highest-grade spirit gazed at the upper-grade spirit behind it.
I felt a shift in magical energy. Like before, they seemed to be communicating.
While the spirits conversed, I rejoined my party.
Everyone looked bewildered. I’d spoken during combat, and the situation had suddenly shifted like this.
“What? What’s going on?”
Mister asked me.
“I’m trying to aim for a hidden within the hidden.”
“A hidden within the hidden?”
“These guys focused only on me the moment I turned around. Rather than just having a high rank, it felt like they had a stronger sense of responsibility.”
“Ah, so you threatened them?”
I shook my head at Min-jae’s words. He was saying something dangerous.
“Threatened? It was a negotiation.”
“Hehe. It sounded more like a threat than a negotiation.”
“Well, from their perspective, they’re happy to be spared. From our perspective, we get to obtain possibly one more S-rank Gate metal. Mutual benefit, right?”
Lee Shin-hee chuckled at my words.
“True, experience points aren’t really a priority for us.”
That’s right. The reason I brought this up was precisely because experience points weren’t our main objective.
Leveling up quickly was nice, but even without it, our growth rate was already quite fast.
Leveling up could be done anytime, but opportunities to obtain S-rank Gate metal were rare.
Comparing experience points to S-rank metal, I had no choice but to overwhelmingly choose the latter.
“Wow, but how did you figure that out right away? Is it because you’re a Hidden Hunter?”
“It was half a gamble. If communication didn’t work, there was no point anyway.”
Still, one concern remained.
-Hunt the mineral spirits infesting the abandoned mine and clean the cavern.
That was this Gate’s mission. While cleaning the mine was the primary objective, the word “hunt” was there.
I was curious whether Gate subjugation could be accomplished this way.
-That should be fine on that front. Since the primary objective is cleaning the abandoned mine.
Chun-bae reassured me on this point. Indeed, the Gate’s objectives changed often.
Once the conversation ended, the mineral spirits began to move. The two upper-grade spirits descended the path behind them.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
Even though combat didn’t seem imminent, carelessness was forbidden. There were monsters that would stab you in the back.
Moreover, from their perspective, we were invaders, villains. And then the highest-grade spirit approached me.
-I will accept the deal.
Because the mineral spirit had no mouth, its words sounded like telepathy to me. So it could communicate all along?
Still, there was something important even if we proceeded peacefully.
“Two S-rank Gate metals—can you do it?”
The supreme spirit didn’t speak; instead, it extended its massive hand toward the ground. The earth began to tremble faintly.
It felt like something was surging up from deep below, from the depths of the earth.
‘It’s not an attack… that’s for sure.’
When I first entered this space, I’d been quite tense. I could sense metals in the earth around the cavern and deeper within.
I’d thought that if a chaotic battle broke out, it would become complicated. That’s why I’d secured the rear.
—Kuguguung!
And beneath the supreme spirit’s hand, something burst through the earth. It was a self-luminous metal with a bluish-green radiance.
I could tell it was S-rank the moment I saw it. The very aura of mana it contained was exceptional.
The metal floated in midair, and the supreme spirit gestured for me to take it. I carefully grasped the metal while maintaining my guard.
It was an odd sensation. Neither heavy nor light—if I had to describe it, it felt like touching gravity itself.
[Celestial Pole Star Iron (S-rank)]
—The star at the end of the heavens shines and stands harder than all else.
—A supremely rare metal that once floated in the sky long ago, containing the power of gravity.
—In the hands of an exceptional one, it grants the ability to wield the forces of gravity and stars.
The description of this S-rank Gate metal I’d never seen before left my jaw hanging. Gravity and the power of stars… I couldn’t even begin to fathom what that meant.
Of course, I wouldn’t be able to use it immediately. It’s S-rank metal, after all. Min-seok would need to grow into it.
—Even I’ve never seen this metal before, but it’s beyond imagination.
If Chun-bae was making such an assessment, it was clearly an exceptional item. I carefully placed it in the Subspace.
But that didn’t mean the matter was settled.
“What about the other one?”
The supreme spirit looked at me.
—I’ll give you that after the spirits have left.
Right. They’d need insurance too. We could cause chaos after getting everything we wanted.
In fact, we could have employed that strategy.
Other hunters might have actually done so. But I had no such intention. A deal is a deal.
We’d get one more S-rank metal if we received two and then defeated this one, but I wasn’t planning to be greedy.
‘This could really become a disaster.’
We’d caught a few baby spirits, and a supreme one had emerged. If we attacked this one and a Spirit King burst out, that would be a real catastrophe.
I’d even encountered the Red Dragon before, hadn’t I? There’s no way to predict what a Gate mutation might bring.
“Fine. Take your time.”
.
.
.
The spirits that had come up along the path behind them departed through the way we’d descended.
We stood to one side of the cavern, watching them go.
And only after most of the spirits had ascended did the supreme spirit approach us again.
This time, instead of the ground, it placed its hand on its own chest.
“Huh?”
In the center of its body, which was composed of stone far more solid than the other spirits, there was a military blue ore—and it had removed that.
In other words, it had extracted the very ore that housed its essence and given it to us.
-If it does that, even if it houses other minerals, it will lose power and become a high-tier spirit… This spirit has considerable camaraderie.
Chun-bae’s words tumbled out in genuine surprise.
Suddenly, having received two S-rank Gate metals, I found myself reflecting on the thought I’d entertained of attacking that creature as well.
The admiration was warranted, but what mattered was what lay before me. This too was immediately recognizable as S-rank metal.
I carefully accepted the azure metal offered by the supreme-tier spirit. Military blue with azure veins running through it.
[Stormlightning Flying Metal (蒼雷飛金) (S-rank)]
-The crystallized essence of the tempest that once shrouded the world in water and lightning.
-The power of water and lightning dwells within this metal.
-Lightning’s power can be charged into the ore and used later.
Were those azure veins carved into the ore the manifestation of lightning’s power? My admiration was equally warranted here.
Unlike Heavenly Extreme Star Iron, this could be used immediately.
It was reminiscent of the worn flame talisman I’d brought from Korea’s treasure vault.
Of course, it wasn’t a growth-type item like that one, but Min-jae could use it until it required polishing or refinement later.
“Good. The deal is done.”
At my words, the supreme-tier spirit regarded me quietly. Its gaze held something complex.
If I wasn’t mistaken, there was gratitude there alongside the hostility—after all, I had spared the other spirits.
-….
The supreme-tier spirit walked silently along the path the other spirits had ascended. Without the ore, it appeared weakened.
It was pitiable, but this outcome wasn’t unfavorable for that creature either.
Had we fought properly, all the mineral spirits here would have perished.
Mineral spirits were vulnerable to flame, and since I’d intended to use Inferno extensively here to cultivate the flame talisman, the outcome would have been far worse.
“Well, all that tension feels a bit wasted now.”
Han Chul’s observation. This Gate had seen no major battle—the appearance of a supreme-tier spirit had ended almost anticlimactically.
I grinned and opened a Subspace.
“Still, we obtained two S-rank metals. These are items impossible to acquire outside.”
True to my words, S-rank Gate metals were as difficult to obtain as other S-rank items.
Everyone was preparing for future blacksmith-like professions, after all. The guild members marveled at the metals.
“Damn, this is insane.”
“I think Stormlightning Flying Metal should work well if Min-jae uses it.”
“Right.”
“Really? That’s okay?”
“Of course. We can remove it later when polishing is needed.”
As we discussed this, a message appeared—all the spirits must have withdrawn.
[Gate ‘Coma Abandoned Mine’ subjugation complete.]
[You have gained experience.]
[Your level has increased.]
Though combat had been minimal, it seemed experience was still awarded. We had subjugated the Gate by any measure.
With this result, my gains were exceptional. Even if we’d fought, I doubt I would have leveled up more than once.
[You have reclaimed the mine through dialogue with the spirit.]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Omnilingual (B-rank)’.]
The guild members were taken aback by the sudden skill acquisition.
“Omnilingual?”
“What kind of skill is this?”
“Isn’t it exactly what it sounds like?”
It was a support skill, not a combat skill. Still, I was surprised that Omnilingual had ranks.
-Not bad at all. With B-rank Omnilingual, you can communicate with most monsters.
‘You mean I can understand what monsters are saying?’
-Affirmative. I understand that S-rank allows communication with nearly all living beings. B-rank will have some monsters you cannot communicate with.
‘Is that good?’
I tilted my head uncertainly. Understanding monster speech—honestly, it caught me off guard.
-It’s definitely not bad. You can overhear enemy strategies and discover additional hidden content through communication.
‘That’s true.’
Omnilingual meant I could read text as well. Not just information the Gate provided, but I could obtain other information from within.
I relayed Chun-bae’s explanation to the guild members, and they all seemed pleased.
“I would’ve preferred a combat skill like Swift last time, but a support skill isn’t bad either.”
“This works between people too, right?”
“Supposedly. It consumes mana, but not excessively.”
In other words, I no longer needed an interpreter.
Well, I’d made the right call skipping foreign language studies. While I grinned contentedly, Min-jae looked slightly deflated.
“I studied five languages… and all that time…”
Five languages? Even I was surprised. Come to think of it, when we went to the Guild Conference, I saw him conversing with hunters from various countries.
I’d assumed he was just speaking English, but he was using each country’s language?
“Does time matter? Now all languages are irrelevant.”
Mister patted Min-jae’s shoulder, but Min-jae let out a faint sigh.
“That’s true, but I really worked hard at it. I learned all the languages of major hunter nations because I wanted to go wherever mages were needed…”
Ah, right. Min-jae had the unique position of being a mage. He probably studied with considerable determination.
“I should’ve spent that time learning mana control instead… or rather, what Chun-bae taught me was so much better…”
Min-jae fell into a moment of regret. It’s only natural to feel the loss of time spent.
Of course, since I’d barely studied in all my past time, this was pure gain for me.
Anyway, we exited the Gate. We’d leveled up once, obtained two S-rank Gate metals, and even acquired Omnilingual, a B-rank skill.
It was a Gate where we didn’t miss a single thing.
“We really benefited from the Guild Master this time.”
Han Chul complimented me, and even I had to admit he wasn’t wrong.
I was the one who summoned the highest-tier spirit, and I was the one who negotiated.
“Right? Normally, we’d be lucky to get two A-rank Gate metals.”
I’d grown accustomed to the guild members’ praise, and since it was true, I spoke with confidence.
Interestingly, once I asserted myself boldly, the guild members stopped teasing me. People really do need a bit of shamelessness.
Well, now that our Gate was finished, it was time to help sharpshooter Seo Seung-yeon and participate in the Daeup Guild Master’s affairs.
Of course, there was still work to be done before that.
“Mister.”
“What?”
“You didn’t forget, did you? You promised to buy me a meal.”
“Ah….”

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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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