Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 201

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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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201. Trial of Flames (2)
Backfire tactic.
While it’s used as a figure of speech, it’s an actual strategy employed at real fire scenes. To be honest, I don’t fully understand the scientific principles behind it.
What mattered was the concept itself.
The core of my approach, setting aside tedious and pedantic theory, was simply to deploy a “backfire.”
‘Incineration burns through magical power itself, doesn’t it? Then why couldn’t it burn fire too?’
In a way, it was strange that I’d only thought of this now. I’d been mechanically following the Gate’s structure without time to consider alternatives.
The reason this idea occurred to me was actually the recent attack.
Until then, the ceiling and walls on both sides—everything except the floor—had been engulfed in flames. Fire blazed across the entire range my spatial awareness could reach.
That’s why I hadn’t thought to burn through the fire with Incineration to carve a path.
‘Besides, there was already an open path ahead, so there was no real need to go sideways.’
If I’d sensed some hidden space concealed within the flames, I would have thought of it sooner. But there was nothing like that.
Now, however, things were different. I had to backtrack and enter the opposite passage.
In any case, through that recent attack, I realized that when this wall of flames disappeared, there was nothing beyond it.
Only the floor was hot stone; the sides were nearly all flame.
‘Even if the fire I burn reappears, it doesn’t matter.’
I only need to burn away just enough space for me to pass through. Go sideways, pull the lever, and come back.
Even if the area beyond has the same structure, it would be the same approach. I’d just burn through it the same way each time.
“Is that even possible?”
“Yes. My fire is somewhat special….”
I told Saebyeokbit, but I couldn’t reveal that Incineration was S-rank to Chulbyeok just yet.
“It just occurred to me, and it seemed feasible.”
Since everyone looked skeptical, I gave a quick demonstration. Incineration began consuming the wall of flames.
Sure enough, if it could burn through magical power itself, there was no reason it couldn’t burn fire.
However, the flames I burned didn’t disappear immediately. After a few seconds passed, the wall of fire reappeared.
“I suddenly thought of it when I saw the wall recede earlier.”
I added an explanation preemptively, worried they’d ask why I hadn’t mentioned this sooner, but the others simply exchanged amazed glances and exclamations.
“Wow….”
“That’s at least A-rank, right? And this fire here is no joke either.”
“Maybe? S-rank skills are hard to come by, so I’d guess A-rank?”
Watching their exchange between Lee Hong-ju and the Chulbyeok Guild Members, they seemed to be making some deductions.
They hadn’t guessed correctly. A-rank or so? There was no hint they suspected S-rank at all.
Well, obtaining an S-rank skill is never easy. Having even one means the nation will groom you as a reserve candidate.
That was exactly the case with Incineration. Even though the princess’s power existed in the Ancient Ruins, wasn’t it originally just an A-rank skill?
‘The residual power from consuming the Solar Flame before allowed it to evolve into S-rank.’
S-rank skills are difficult to obtain even in such places. Even Han Chul, who was a first-generation hunter and served as a reserve candidate, doesn’t have an S-rank skill, so it was natural these people found it hard to imagine.
Of course, my Incineration is a genuine S-rank skill, but I didn’t bother correcting them.
“So what’s your plan?”
Knight Lee Hong-ju asked with a serious expression befitting the team leader.
“I’m planning to go alone to the right from here.”
“Toward where the sound came from?”
“Yes. If you go there and pull the lever, this door should open. Besides, it’s too difficult to turn back now, isn’t it?”
“True. Assuming something like this exists, we’d need to split the team in two, but….”
Lee Hong-ju’s expression was grim. To be honest, that ambush just now was far from easy.
We managed to overcome it through our efforts, but if our five guild members had faced it alone, it wouldn’t have been simple.
Just now, Lee Hong-ju and the Chulbyeok vanguard shared the aggro. Even with Han Chul using his taunt skill, he couldn’t control everything.
Considering this was only the first attack, things would undoubtedly become harder ahead.
‘Chulbyeok must be in an even tighter spot.’
While we shared similar thoughts, objectively there was quite a gap in combat strength between Chulbyeok and our guild.
“It’s difficult either way. If we move separately, I think problems will arise for us.”
“Yes. To be honest, if we move separately, it will be hard for us to clear the path for the Dragon Guild.”
Lee Hong-ju spoke with sincere conviction.
It was an objective assessment that five members of Chulbyeok would struggle to overcome that ambush, especially as it grew more difficult.
“I’ll go open it and come back. We’ll think about what comes next later.”
“Understood.”
“Think positively about it. Russia shouldn’t be stronger than us, after all.”
I said this deliberately because Lee Hong-ju looked somewhat apologetic. What else could I say?
It seemed he was thinking that if they had more ability, they could split the team and break through faster.
“Right. Since Han Hye isn’t with them, they must have taken a much longer detour.”
“Yes. Splitting into two teams would be impossible for them as well.”
Compared to us, Chulbyeok is probably within the top three teams in the world at the 46-50 level range.
To be honest, they lack confidence, but I think they would have overcome that ambush even without us.
‘Though they would have sustained various injuries, large and small.’
What Lee Hong-ju was worried about was whether they could break through without major incidents going forward.
If there was a second stage, it would undoubtedly become even more difficult.
“Then I’ll ask for your help.”
“Of course.”
* * *
Of course, I couldn’t move over there without any precautions.
“If the door opens, just cross over immediately. The door might close after some time.”
“We still haven’t heard any sound from over there, though….”
“The closing might not make a sound. Since I can cross using spatial displacement, it’s fine.”
I could leap beyond the door right now if needed. I wasn’t doing it only because moving wouldn’t open the door for them.
While there was no keyhole, using the Caduceus Key now would be wasteful, bordering on extravagant.
“Sending Han Hye alone seems risky. How about a healer going with her? Shin-hee or someone from our side….”
The rogue from Chulbyeok voiced concern about me going alone.
“This consumes quite a bit of mana. Expanding the range is also taxing. If something goes wrong, it’s easier to escape alone.”
Of course, I didn’t agree. Either way, going alone was more convenient.
“Then I’ll be going.”
I advanced forward, burning away the wall of flames with Blaze. As I’d experienced before, the flames that burned away reappeared shortly after.
I found myself trapped squarely in the heart of the inferno.
‘Hmm. It’s just slightly warm.’
If other hunters had come here, they would have screamed at this heat. Even with space available, all the hunters had struggled.
From that, I could tell this flame wasn’t something ordinary flame resistance could easily withstand.
But for me with level 7 A-rank flame resistance, this heat didn’t feel particularly strong.
It was like having hand warmers stuffed in every pocket—just slightly warm, not hot at all.
‘It’s farther than I thought?’
The first two intersections had also been arranged diagonally. Back then the intersections were over 10 meters, and I’d walked quite a bit since then.
By now, the distance must be considerable.
As I advanced gradually, my mana began to deplete. Though Blaze had leveled up and my mana stats had increased significantly, Blaze consumed quite a lot of mana.
Moreover, this flame wasn’t ordinary fire. The heat-laden flames required substantial mana just to burn through.
‘Should I rest for a bit?’
It wasn’t a bad idea. I still had reserves, but I’d used considerable mana during the battle as well. Stepping into the Subspace for a moment seemed reasonable.
Suddenly, the flame talisman I’d been carrying came to mind.
Before entering the Gate, I’d filled it completely with Blaze. It seemed better to use that stored power as well.
The flame talisman was an item that consumed stored flames and grew stronger the more you filled it.
‘I’ll rest while refilling it completely and then head back.’
Since I’d need to keep using Blaze if more of these appeared, it was better to use it while resting.
Using what was stored in the flame talisman instead of consuming my own mana would help with item awakening as well.
“Huh?”
It was when I used the Blaze stored in the flame talisman to burn through the wall of flames.
The moment I used it, I felt something off. The flame stored in the talisman showed almost no difference.
“Chun-bae. I think there’s a glitch in the storage capacity?”
-A glitch… I’m not certain what you mean, miss?
Ah, Chun-bae didn’t understand the term ‘glitch’?
“An error occurred. When I burn flames with Blaze, the stored flames show almost no significant change…”
As I was elaborating, realization struck me.
“Wait… when you burn fire with fire, does that burned fire also get stored in the talisman?”
There was no other explanation for it. Chun-bae continued.
-It doesn’t seem impossible. Since the stored fire consumes external fire, couldn’t that fire also be absorbed?
“You don’t know for certain either?”
-I haven’t heard detailed accounts from flame talisman users myself.
It seemed Chun-bae hadn’t been particularly close with flame talisman users. Regardless, that didn’t matter.
My mind was already racing with possibilities.
‘This is completely automatic hunting.’
One reason I’d originally planned to enter the Subspace to rest was because of the flame talisman.
Rather than expend my own mana, it made sense to use the flame talisman while upgrading it.
But in this situation, I didn’t need to lift a finger. The flame talisman was now running on completely infinite power.
Flames were reappearing in the wake of where the flame talisman had passed, and the sight was most welcome.
‘If I stayed here for about a year, I think I could uncover the true form of the flame talisman?’
Of course, if another nation succeeded in subjugating the Gate, we would be automatically expelled, so that wasn’t an option. However, as long as it didn’t interfere with the Gate subjugation, it was sufficient.
A natural opportunity to strengthen the flame talisman had presented itself.
Rest in the Subspace? Nonsense. I naturally grasped the flame talisman in my hand. Of course, merely holding it wouldn’t change anything, but who knows?
Perhaps the item would be moved by my touch and suddenly reveal its true form.
“Let’s go. Automatic flame hunting begins.”
With that, I advanced with the flame talisman before me.
As the Blaze I had infused was consumed, the flames it devoured filled the talisman completely.
Of course, the purity of the flames varied, but with this quantity fluctuating in real-time, there was no problem.
It was in that moment as I moved forward.
“Hm?”
I sensed an open door through my spatial awareness. The structure was identical to before.
The surroundings were still enclosed by walls of flame, but when we pulled the lever from the other side, the door had opened.
Of course, I also sensed the lever positioned ahead. Once I opened that, our team’s path forward would be clear, so it was my turn to pull it.
I advanced two steps.
—Whoooosh!
As if detecting my arrival, the wall of flames began receding rapidly. I felt a pang of regret immediately.
‘But I was in the middle of automatic hunting…’
However, there was no time for lengthy deliberation. Monsters appeared at the exact same positions as before.
Of course, they weren’t an immediate problem.
I dashed straight toward the center where the wall of flames stood. With infinite power, mana was never a constraint.
I pulled the lever before the monsters could rush me, but…
—Click!
The problem was that the lever wouldn’t budge despite my full strength. I understood immediately.
‘I have to defeat these creatures to pull the lever?’
Bringing my team here was already too late. Even with infinite power, it would take considerable time. I’d have to open the door and return as well.
Given the circumstances, only one option remained.
‘I’ll just handle them myself.’
It was something I’d already considered during the previous battle.
If I had no one to protect, these creatures were entirely manageable for me alone.

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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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