Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 196

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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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196. Dark Ruins (2)
“That’s not all. If it’s a demon’s ruins… there might be something even more valuable.”
Han Chul spoke from experience. Shin-hee and I nodded in agreement. It was a situation worth anticipating.
Demons are described as being among the stronger non-human races.
They’ve only revealed themselves fewer than five times, but every appearance so far has been in Gates level 40 or above. That’s the bare minimum—the average was easily level 50 or higher.
Elves and dwarves have strong individuals too, but demons felt like they had a naturally higher baseline of power.
“A Demon Realm ruin. Definitely worth expecting something good from.”
The more difficult the Gate, the better the items that drop. But ruins in a place where demons dwell? There’s no question about it.
At least, every Gate we’d encountered with demons had yielded excellent results.
“Let’s go take a look.”
A dark world.
Unlike the Pharva Ancient Ruin last time, I couldn’t see any ruin structures immediately. What spread before us was an enormous river.
“The river here is black too.”
“Should we call it the Black River?”
“Black River works.”
Though I’d never seen them in person, a river similar to the Nile or Yellow River stretched out before our eyes.
We stood on flat ground, and beyond the river, I could see what looked like a high cliff.
“Where could the ruins be?”
After confirming the area was safe, finding the ruins was the priority. For other guilds, this would be the moment for their rogues to shine… but.
As always, that didn’t apply to us.
“I’ll ride Yong-yong and scout around for a bit.”
“Go ahead.”
Mister could move if needed, but despite the area being almost entirely flat, the ruins weren’t visible.
Just like last time, there were definitely hidden elements, so it made sense for me to take the lead with my spatial awareness.
-Krrrr!
Yong-yong emerged from the Subspace and purred excitedly. Yong-yong loved being inside Gates.
According to Chun-bae, it was because the magical energy was slightly richer here than on Earth, so this reaction made sense—the Demon Realm’s density was far higher.
“Let’s go.”
I rode Yong-yong and surveyed the surroundings briefly. No ruins were visible on the ground.
Even with instructions to explore for two days, at this rate it was certain the ruins were hidden near where we’d appeared.
“Yong-yong, head that way.”
And I was suspicious of the river. We hadn’t appeared in front of the Black River by coincidence.
As I turned my head while moving toward the river, I realized my prediction was correct.
“Found it.”
While flying over the river, I sensed a narrow gap beneath the cliff ahead of us. And a passage leading onward.
The gap was so narrow that we couldn’t see it from our side. You’d only spot it if you were on the river’s surface.
“There? I can’t even see it. At that width, we’d need to lie flat in a boat just to enter.”
That wasn’t a problem. I had three boats in my Subspace, extras included. We split into two boats and headed toward the riverbank.
Lying flat in the boat and passing through the narrow gap, a space opened up. It was wide enough—about three meters—to sit up in the boat.
A passage leading through a narrow gap beneath the cliff, like entering a mysterious water cave.
However, something else felt far more unsettling than entering the Subspace Cave.
“If we fall into that, we’re in serious trouble, aren’t we?”
Mister expressed slight concern upon seeing the Black River.
“It does seem strange.”
Perhaps because it was water from the Demon Realm, it was distinctly different from ordinary water. It was certainly saturated with magical energy, but it emanated such a gloomy aura…
Even Han Chul, who had experience fighting demons, didn’t know about the black water.
“When I visited the Demon Realm, I never saw water like this, so I’m not sure.”
“At least it doesn’t seem safe to drink, right?”
At Lee Shin-hee’s words, Min-jae nodded vigorously.
“Absolutely. I don’t even want to touch it.”
Chun-bae provided the answer to this.
-It’s water infused with demonic energy. For demons, it’s ordinary water, but naturally, it’s harmful to humans.
‘Does it cause side effects?’
-Depending on mental fortitude, you might experience hallucinations or hear voices. The viscous demonic energy interferes with the body’s magical power, even disrupting magical control itself.
It seemed to have far worse effects than I’d anticipated.
“We’ll need to be careful not to touch it, then?”
“That might be easier said than done. Since this is a ruin accessed through water, there are limits to what we can do while fighting on a boat.”
“Let’s just try it anyway.”
As expected from a demon’s ruin, the demonic energy grew denser the deeper we ventured.
Since I was experiencing this for the first time, it was quite fascinating. It was unsettling yet eerie, sending shivers down my spine.
“Hm?”
Then, suddenly, the river’s width began to expand dramatically. It was as if this place was announcing itself as the entrance.
The boat, which had been moving forward and backward, could now move sideways with room for three vessels.
Following this, as if confirming this was indeed the ruin’s entrance, a massive stone tablet carved with inscriptions descended along stone pillars from the cave ceiling.
The characters were unlike anything I’d ever seen before, yet surprisingly, I could read them.
[Unnamed Demon’s Burial Chamber]
The reason was immediately clear. It was thanks to the Universal Translation skill I’d obtained from the Coma Abandoned Mine.
As a completed skill acquired in one leap, the skill level didn’t matter much.
-Though the Creshan Grand Duke stole his name, the Unnamed Demon was once a Grand Duke himself.
-Those without permission are forbidden entry. Turn back.
Thanks to the Universal Translation skill, I could even sense the refined elegance of the stone tablet’s calligraphy.
“The Unnamed Demon? His name was stolen…”
“If it was stolen by the Creshan Grand Duke, it seems like he lost in some kind of power struggle among the nobility, doesn’t it?”
“Demons seem to value honor. If they’d build a ruin for a loser, that says something.”
I’d discussed this with the guild members, and that was all we could infer. Of course, we weren’t the type to turn back just because we were told to.
“A ruin belonging to someone who once aspired to a Grand Duke’s position? There’s definitely something valuable inside.”
“Maybe. But he was still a loser, right? There might be less than we expect.”
Both Min-jae’s and Mister’s points had merit.
“Let’s go check it out.”
We proceeded past the stone tablet, traveling through the black water that still filled the interior of the ruin.
A dark voice echoed at that moment.
—One who lacks permission has set foot in the burial chamber, and the demons entombed in eternal slumber shall awaken and rise.
This voice wasn’t meant for me alone. I didn’t even need to activate my translation skill.
The meaning was unmistakable. Everyone on the boats braced themselves.
“Prepare for combat. Stay alert.”
* * *
At the entrance of the ruins.
Though the river had widened, it wasn’t broad enough for Red Dragon to be of use. Naturally, Choi Chul-gi fell back to rear guard duty.
“Min-jae, don’t worry.”
“I trust you, hyung.”
Seo Min-jae and Choi Chul-gi shared one boat while the remaining three occupied another, which worked out perfectly.
Han Hye retrieved a small boat from her subspace and climbed aboard.
“Han Chul, I’m entrusting Shin-hee to you.”
“Understood, Guild Master.”
It was a practical decision—three people moving on such a small boat would have been cumbersome. Of course, it was a luxury.
Other guilds without subspace couldn’t even imagine carrying spare boats. They would have had to fight on cramped vessels.
“I’ll deflect most attacks.”
The moment Han Hye spoke, something registered in my spatial awareness. Yet it wasn’t visible to the eye.
“Beneath the surface! Five of them! Min-jae!”
Seo Min-jae responded not with words but with an incantation. Lightning magic—the best choice for enemies underwater.
He’d acquired the Heart of the Sea precisely so he could drench enemies with water and unleash lightning magic.
“All around us!”
“Strike down!”
Seo Min-jae unleashed a torrent of lightning magic beneath the boat. The sorcerer’s power amplified the destructive force tremendously.
The Dragon Guild’s boats were insulated for exactly such situations, so there was no danger.
—Crackle-crackle-crack!
Blue lightning roiled across the Black River. The sight was strangely beautiful, but this wasn’t the moment to admire the scenery.
The enemies below were momentarily paralyzed by the lightning, but they weren’t dead.
‘Severance.’
Still, Seo Min-jae’s magic had created an opening. Against the briefly paralyzed enemies, Han Hye unleashed Severance.
—Crunch!
Beneath the surface or not, the technique cleaves space itself. The enemies’ bodies split apart instantly without resistance.
“Two more remain… They’re coming up! Mister!”
“Got it!”
Han Hye, already prepared through spatial awareness, swung her blade the moment the enemies surfaced and dispatched them.
Choi Chul-gi’s side was equally smooth. The moment an enemy burst above the water’s surface….
“I’m here!”
Kim Han-chul’s shout drew the enemy’s attention. Piercing a foe whose aggro was pulled wasn’t difficult.
“Ah, thank you, Han Chul.”
“Haha, not at all.”
While the two men chatted and laughed, Han Hye’s attention fixed on the corpse floating to the surface.
“Wait a moment. This is actually a demon, isn’t it?”
“Huh? Yeah, it is?”
When I heard that the buried demon had been entombed, I’d expected to see degraded or zombified creatures emerge.
But the corpse floating atop the black water was a genuine demon—its skin was pallid yet dark violet.
-Likely, it was trapped in an endless comatose state. A punishment imposed on those who lost the competition but weren’t killed.
Chun-bae answered on my behalf.
-‘How humane. They don’t kill their rivals.’
-Negative. Rather, it’s a prolonged torment. They feign honor while denying even death itself. These dead demons were probably the Unnamed Demon’s retainers.
-‘…When you put it that way, I suppose you’re right.’
Seeing that they’d even constructed a burial chamber made it unclear whether they were preserving honor or intended to keep them beneath their feet for eternity as objects of mockery.
Han Hye shrugged and dismissed the thought. It was a story from another world anyway, and this was a Gate. It had nothing to do with us.
“Let’s collect the demon stones first.”
“Right. Premium grade.”
Unfortunately, the demon stones from these corpses were difficult to call premium grade.
“They’re top-tier.”
“Do special-grade stones only drop from the strongest demons?”
“That’s correct.”
“Well, it’s not every day we see top-tier stones at our level…”
At Choi Chul-gi’s words, Han Hye laughed sheepishly. Truth be told, whether the stones were top-tier or not didn’t matter to her—she didn’t need the money. Unless they were special-grade.
“We’ll find more as we keep fighting.”
“Let’s go.”
.
.
.
Having experienced it once, the subsequent battles proved manageable.
“They’re coming! Underwater!”
“Strike them down!”
Min-jae weakened the submerged demons with lightning magic while I reduced their numbers with Severance.
The pattern mirrored our first encounter. We made progress.
[The skill ‘Severance (S-rank)’ has increased in level.]
Through repeated combat, Severance’s skill level had risen.
“Wow, but it’s taking quite a while just to get inside.”
“It’s a 46-50 Gate and the Demon Realm on top of that. It’s tougher than other places.”
Even in the Harva Ruins, strong enemies appeared, but the entry itself hadn’t taken nearly as long.
The process of entering the Ruins had simply been more time-consuming.
“Oh?”
“That must be it.”
Still, the end soon came into view. A structure worthy of being called Ruins had appeared.
“It’s eerie.”
Min-jae was right. In the middle of the Black River lay a flat expanse, and upon it stood a colossal stone structure.
The unsettling feeling came not from the building itself, but from the fact that the entire flat ground below was carpeted with white bones.
“The building itself resembles marble, but with white bones surrounding it on all sides, the atmosphere is just….”
Before the bone-filled structure stood a two-meter-tall statue of a demon—was this the Unnamed Demon? It felt so vivid, as though alive.
Above the building hung a stone tablet, just as before, but this one bore no inscriptions.
Instead, it was covered entirely in jet black. Suddenly, the phrase “Unnamed Demon” came to mind.
In a place where nothing needed to be there… was there really a need to paint it black?
‘Wait a moment.’
Unnamed Demon.
And the jet black stone tablet. If I erase that color, wouldn’t the name be restored? Could this be a hidden quest?

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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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