Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 193

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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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193. Dong-hyuk Hiding His Strength?
“Why did you hide your Sword Mastery skill grade?”
My choice was to go straight for it.
I asked because I knew that from Dong-hyuk’s perspective, it should be impossible for me to know his exact Sword Mastery grade.
“Y-yes?”
As expected. Dong-hyuk’s confusion was unmistakable. His pupils trembled visibly.
He didn’t immediately attack or flee, but his muscles remained taut and ready.
Just as I had ambushed him, I could be ambushed at any moment. I gripped Essirel firmly in my left hand, prepared to respond instantly.
“H-how did you…?”
Dong-hyuk stammered and took a step back, his face clearly flustered.
His appearance didn’t resemble an Übermenschen, but I didn’t lower my guard. This could all be an act.
“Actually, I recently saw the same Sword Mastery technique as yours inside a Gate. It left afterimages and the movements were fluid—there’s no way it was C-grade.”
I decided to follow Chun-bae’s advice on determining skill grades. This sort of thing happened fairly often.
Dong-hyuk’s mouth fell open at my words.
“Ah.”
“It could be a similar technique, but from what I saw, it was exactly the same Sword Mastery.”
As I spoke, I studied Dong-hyuk’s eyes and expression carefully, searching for any hint of deception.
“Ha…”
Dong-hyuk hung his head and released a deep sigh, then cupped his face in both hands and rubbed it dry.
A moment of heightened tension. Who knew if the hidden face was smiling?
“This is really embarrassing…”
But when Dong-hyuk lowered his hands, his face was flushed red.
“Huh?”
Then, as if struck by a thought, he startled and waved both hands frantically.
“It’s not me. Absolutely not.”
“Yes?”
“Not Übermenschen. Phew. So that’s why you called me aside.”
Then he began speaking at length.
“I understand—there’s been the Übermenschen situation lately, and it’s natural to be suspicious of someone who hid their skill grade and came to a sword technique gathering.”
Since he grasped exactly why I was suspicious, I had nothing more to say.
So far, he didn’t seem like an Übermenschen.
“I didn’t think you were Übermenschen either. It’s just that things have been unsettling lately, so I asked to confirm.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Dong-hyuk nodded quickly, looking flustered and unsure what to do. He seemed a bit embarrassed too.
“I didn’t intentionally hide it.”
“Then…?”
“Han Hye, do you happen to know what a ‘strength-hiding loser’ is…?”
“A strength-hiding loser?”
Dong-hyuk spoke with his eyes squeezed shut, and the words so out of place with the situation made me tilt my head in confusion.
“You know, someone who looks ordinary on the surface but is actually incredibly strong…that kind of thing?”
“Ah, yes. I’m aware. There are movies about it, after all.”
After the Gate incident, an avalanche of films featuring Hunters as protagonists became inevitable. There were simply too many stories to tell.
“When I first awakened, I was completely absorbed in that sort of thing.”
The answer drew an involuntary laugh from me.
“But still, there’s a contract—why hide your Skill rank?”
“I was a bit embarrassed by the attention. You know, there are people who retired from Hunter work despite having S-rank Skills.”
Ah, right. Hunter work—the constant life-or-death combat. Some people simply couldn’t endure it.
People who possessed incredibly valuable Skills yet chose to live ordinary lives.
With time, they’d be forgotten, but back then they faced considerable criticism. For wasting such remarkable abilities.
Honestly, I didn’t fully understand that criticism, but that was the reality.
“I was worried too. If you get attention like that, retirement becomes exhausting, doesn’t it? You’d just attract unwanted eyes and criticism.”
This was a reason I hadn’t considered. I’d always wanted to become a Hunter and seek revenge.
Now that I thought about it, Dong-hyuk did have quite an introverted personality.
“If you’re willing to say that much, your Skill rank must be quite high?”
“Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit, but… it’s S-rank.”
“S-rank?”
I already knew, but I feigned surprise out of courtesy. However, Dong-hyuk offered a bitter smile.
“Hah. You have every reason to think that way. The real reason I couldn’t reveal it later was… because the actual performance isn’t S-rank.”
Wait, that wasn’t what I intended. Dong-hyuk suddenly began lamenting his circumstances.
“Even if I called it C-rank swordsmanship, no one would have suspected otherwise. Because all it does is leave afterimages—nothing more.”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
“Swordsmanship itself isn’t exceptional, just an illusory blade that leaves afterimages. No one ever thought it was anything other than C-rank.”
I couldn’t help but feel flustered as Dong-hyuk suddenly fell into a melancholic mood. That wasn’t what I was trying to say at all.
“Don’t think of it that way. There must be a reason for every Skill’s rank. Like I mentioned earlier—the person I saw inside the Gate was doing far more than just leaving afterimages.”
“Huh?”
“The afterimages felt alive, moving with intent. I was actually relieved they were on our side.”
Hope flickered across Dong-hyuk’s face at my words.
“Some S-rank Skills only truly shine once their Skill level increases. Could it be something like that?”
“Your words alone are a comfort to me.”
“It’s not just words. I saw it myself, which is why I asked you about it.”
Dong-hyuk’s expression brightened considerably at my response. And my own suspicions had nearly vanished as well.
The catalyst had been simple.
‘Chun-bae, did you confirm it?’
-Affirmative. I detected no trace of the Übermenschen’s characteristic mana signature.
I had faced two Übermenschen: Rung Wei and Veronica. After my battle with Veronica, Chun-bae had said something.
-The Übermenschen displayed a distinctive mana manipulation technique.
‘Mana manipulation?’
-It appears they have their own unique method of mana control, much like what I taught Han Hye and the Mage.
It was quite a remarkable discovery.
-It wasn’t exceptionally refined, but it’s better than nothing. I suspect they acquired it within the Gate.
It was the Übermenschen who monopolized the Gates in regions where nations had collapsed. It wouldn’t have been strange for them to obtain books on mana manipulation.
So I wondered if the Übermenschen executives hadn’t learned similar mana manipulation techniques.
‘If it’s S-rank swordsmanship, they would naturally have taught mana manipulation as well.’
I had also examined Dong-hyuk, but Chun-bae said it wasn’t the case. Before meeting him, I had investigated Dong-hyuk through Seo-ung.
It was clean, the reasoning was sound, and with Chun-bae saying so, there was no reason to suspect anything.
‘When the fifth Subspace opens, maybe I’ll gift him a secret sword technique.’
It was a thought that came to me while watching Dong-hyuk look dejected, and Chun-bae affirmed it.
-It’s a decent idea. His swordsmanship is quite exceptional. Sparring with him occasionally, and making him a future ally—both are good choices.
‘Really?’
It was just a matter of timing. The Sword Master’s rare job effect would help, but Liu Zhen also grew rapidly with S-rank swordsmanship.
If Dong-hyuk overcame his current stage of ascetic training, he would gain tremendous power later. It was a kind of investment.
‘There’s no harm in building a friendly relationship like I did with Saebyeokbit.’
.
.
.
There was more to the Dong-hyuk situation. He had agreed to reveal his skill rank in response to my proposal.
I had the message conveyed through Seo-ung, and naturally, I couldn’t help but be surprised. I had only asked him to investigate, not to reveal the details.
-What? S-rank swordsmanship?
“He’s been hiding it until now.”
-Why would he… Could it be?
Upon hearing the details, Seo-ung also suspected Dong-hyuk of being Übermenschen. It was a natural reaction given recent events.
That’s why I convinced Dong-hyuk to reveal the truth. Seo-ung would be interested anyway.
-I’ll investigate to see if there’s anything we missed and keep watch for a while.
I had dispelled my own suspicions, but since I couldn’t speak about Chun-bae, I couldn’t stop Seo-ung from doing this.
Well, even if he investigated again, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Anyway, once I explained the reason, Seo-ung seemed to accept it. Of course, Dong-hyuk was a bit embarrassed.
-It’s S-rank, but it doesn’t perform at full capacity at this stage. Then you’ll become incredibly strong later.
“Yes. That’s right.”
Dong-hyuk also looked quite conflicted.
“Actually, I thought a lot about what to do if I revealed it was S-rank later. People would say I was attention-seeking, or ask why I hid it until now.”
“Either way, now is better than then. Since it’s confirmed, you can receive support from the Hunter Association, and your next contract should be fine too.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Things didn’t unfold as I had worried, but in any case, Dong-hyuk’s situation seemed to be resolved well.
Seo-ung, who reinvestigated Dong-hyuk, even reported that there was nothing particularly suspicious.
‘I should gift him a secret sword technique later.’
* * *
The Daeup Guild was nearly dismantled, and with related politicians falling into ruin, we still had to do our work.
Catching the Witch and Jo Ji-hyuk was one thing, and since I hadn’t been injured, I didn’t skip training.
Min-seok was the same. Because I had blocked without major issues, he was entering Gates and devoted himself to crafting every day.
Thanks to the Gate metal I had shown him, he seemed filled with enthusiasm, which was pleasant to see.
“Shall I tell you about the Gate now?”
“Yes. Let’s review it first and then enter.”
The nation’s third-ranked guild was collapsing in real time. Beyond their connection with the Übermenschen, corruption with politicians and abuse of power had all been exposed.
Within days, Daeup Guild had reached near-total dissolution.
The guild’s items and funds were scheduled to be recovered by the Hunter Association, and all Gates that Daeup Guild had planned to enter were cancelled.
Other top-tier guilds were watching the situation unfold. We were doing the same.
“We’ll get some decent items out of this, won’t we?”
“Of course. Daeup’s going down.”
Large guilds typically reserved priority rights in advance and waited. This time, all of those would be released.
Last time too, thanks to Daeup, we were able to enter a good Gate. As a result, I obtained Inferno.
‘I wondered if that was Angel back then.’
Moreover, this time I received a definitive answer from Seo-ung. In recognition of our contributions, Saebyeokbit and we were given the right to choose from Daeup Guild’s Gates without priority restrictions.
In other words, we could review the list of Gates Daeup had planned to enter before public announcement and select one.
Officially, that was all. Compared to what we uncovered, it could be called meager compensation… but if public attention focused on our gains, it would be problematic.
Of course, the benefits weren’t limited to that. There was a separate, unofficial benefit prepared for us.
-After we recover all items owned by Daeup Guild, I plan to show them to Han Hye and Seo Seung-yeon first.
Having sent Jo Ji-hyuk away and receiving the favor of supporting the current Association President—should I put it that way?
Well, even without such emotional reasons, it was an action worthy of such a reward.
-We can simply say the missing items couldn’t be recovered. But we can’t hand them over openly since many eyes are watching.
“Yes. Otherwise, people might say we sent him specifically to obtain those items.”
In other words, it meant we could choose not just Gates but also items. This was quite significant.
Typically, large guilds like Daeup registered most hunters’ items as guild property.
There would definitely be S-rank items among them. We just had to consult with Saebyeokbit and take what we wanted.
With Gate selection and everything else, it seemed like only good things remained?
‘I’m slightly disappointed that my experience didn’t increase from catching Jo Ji-hyuk and Veronica.’
If they’d been monsters, wouldn’t I have gained three levels? But Awakened couldn’t gain experience from defeating other Awakened.
It wasn’t for nothing that Shin Chang stayed put when handling Rung Wei. If experience had been awarded, I would have handled it myself.
“Huh?”
While I was training and waiting for the list of Gates Daeup had planned to enter, I suddenly remembered the flame talisman I’d forgotten about.
When I caught Veronica, I’d used up all the stored flames and got caught up in the subsequent events, so I’d forgotten about it…
During times like this, I needed to recharge the flames in the talisman. As I was infusing Inferno into the talisman, that’s when it happened.
Suddenly, with a crackling sound, the surface of the talisman began to burn and peel away.
“Huh?”
At first, I was startled thinking the talisman was burning away, but Chun-bae’s words put my mind at ease.
-Congratulations. The talisman is evolving.
It was the first moment the worn flame talisman, a growth-type item, was undergoing transformation. How would it change?
I gazed at the talisman with anticipation.

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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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