Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 203

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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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203. Trial of Fire (4)
‘A hidden dungeon?’
To be honest, my heart was racing. This was essentially my first encounter with a hidden dungeon in a Trial Gate.
In the Trial of Stamina, I’d only claimed rewards equivalent to the Gate itself.
In the Trial of Mana, I’d shattered mana cores and gained mana stat increases, which came close to a hidden dungeon, but…
It was difficult to call that truly discovering a concealed hidden dungeon.
“Hold on a moment.”
I grinned and raised my hand to stop the group, and they all crouched down, their bodies tense as they fixed their attention on me.
“Enemies?”
Han Chul in particular asked while scanning the surroundings cautiously. That wasn’t it. I felt slightly embarrassed.
“No, I believe I’ve discovered a hidden dungeon.”
“What?”
“A hidden dungeon?”
Their surprise was natural. A hidden dungeon in a Trial Gate—any hunter’s heart would race at the prospect.
Heads turned in all directions, toward the wall of flames.
“Is it there? The flames seem to be flickering strangely?”
“What are you talking about? They look the same.”
“Then the ceiling? Is it there? It looks slightly indented, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? It does seem that way?”
“Where exactly?”
Lee Shin-hee, who remained composed, realized that visual judgment was impossible and asked me directly.
“This way. Inside the wall of flames.”
The space I sensed was right at the edge of my spatial perception. Forty meters. It was cutting it close.
It was fortunate coincidence.
If I hadn’t been moving along this wall during the automated flame hunting, I never would have detected it.
“What? Inside there?”
“Isn’t that where the other fork in the path is?”
Their confusion was understandable.
“That’s correct.”
“Ah, a hidden dungeon between the two paths—it certainly has the characteristics of one. The problem is this wall of flames, though…”
“There’s no need to worry. I can burn through it and enter.”
It was manageable with Blaze. Hadn’t I already revealed that infinite power was possible with the flame talismans?
The only reason I hadn’t mentioned it before was that it was more convenient to move and handle things alone.
‘Fighting enemies alongside them has been helpful for me too.’
Still, there was no need to say that outright. I couldn’t very well claim I’d rather go alone because it was bothersome, could I?
“I’ve been storing flames in talismans all this time. I have more than enough to break through.”
“Let’s go immediately.”
One might suspect something, but seeing Lee Hong-ju speak so urgently suggested the hidden dungeon in this Trial Gate was quite substantial.
Well, hunters are the type who lose their composure the moment someone mentions a hidden dungeon.
“I’ll go right away. Everyone, stay a bit closer than before.”
Breaking through the wall of flames with ten people wasn’t particularly difficult. I just needed to carve out Incineration a bit wider and longer.
Of course, from this point on, it wasn’t automatic hunting. There were limits to what automatic hunting could accomplish.
If it were possible, I would have burned everything down long ago. The wider and stronger I made Incineration, the more mana it consumed.
However, at this level, using a bit more of my mana was more than sufficient to compensate.
“So this is what a Space Mage’s spatial awareness is like. It’s really amazing.”
“I’m envious. You must be able to sense everything even in places you can’t see, right?”
I smiled awkwardly at the admiring gazes of the Iron Wall Guild members and pressed forward.
Lee Hong-ju gave his teammates a subtle hint, but even he seemed fascinated by what I was doing.
‘Hmm.’
Meanwhile, my sense of anticipation was beginning to fade. I felt nothing in the space.
It wasn’t completely empty. I could sense a narrow path and rectangular stone plates.
‘It doesn’t seem to be an item… is it a path?’
Why? It wasn’t in the middle of the two branching paths that had appeared at first, and there was no reason for a path to appear here.
Since it wasn’t a very long distance, I would be able to see it with my own eyes soon enough.
* * *
“Here it is.”
In the empty space within the wall of flames, there was only a narrow path and a stone nameplate resting upon it.
“This is…”
“It’s not a hidden item—it looks like an alternate route has opened up.”
While my companions discussed it among themselves, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the stone nameplate.
-Only those who do not fear fire may proceed.
-A gift awaits you.
The nameplate bore inscriptions I couldn’t recognize, but with my Universal Translation skill, I understood them instantly.
The surprising part was at the bottom. The handwriting was subtly different.
‘A gift for me? This has to be… that guy’s doing, right?’
It wasn’t strange that I thought of the god-like being I’d encountered before. The one who was said to be the only survivor from the Erosion.
-Affirmative. It does seem correct. The handwriting is different, and these words wouldn’t normally be written here.
Chun-bae agreed with my assessment.
To be honest, I was a bit surprised. I’d only been aware of it and forgotten about it, but for it to appear at this moment.
‘I hope this is okay.’
I was genuinely worried. A gift for me—I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.
Last time, I obtained the Heavenly Sword, but before that, hadn’t he tried to trap me?
‘Wait?’
Now that I thought about it, this path I sensed was exactly 40 meters—right at the edge of my spatial awareness range.
By common sense, the center of the two branching paths shouldn’t have been within a 40-meter range. That was why I’d been surprised when the path first appeared.
‘Whatever it is, I’ll have to go and see.’
The path that lay before me was aptly named the Path of Flames. Its structure was similar to before.
Walls of flame on all sides except the floor. The difference was that it was narrow enough for only one person to walk through.
-Whoooosh!
Even so, flames were surging upward. The fire flickered occasionally, obscuring the path itself.
The flames were even fiercer than the walls of fire we’d encountered before.
“It’s definitely a hidden area, at least.”
“Could it be a shortcut? One that leads to the Labyrinth’s Deep Layer?”
“Possibly? There’s a low chance it could guide us to a hidden chamber.”
“Like a treasure room? That could be it. The path itself doesn’t seem ordinary.”
The sweating Chulbyeok Guild Members asked me.
“But can we get through that too? The fire looks stronger than before.”
“It’s possible.”
I wasn’t sure how long it would take, but it was definitely within the realm of possibility. I could use my mana, and if it wasn’t enough, I could rest briefly in the Subspace and return.
“However, it doesn’t look easy. It says here: ‘Only those who do not fear fire shall advance.'”
I relayed the deity’s message to the others, excluding certain details.
“Of course, it could mean that the courageous ones obtain items, but something about this seems unusual.”
That didn’t mean we wouldn’t go. We advanced using the same method as before. As we walked, I noticed the path was slightly downhill.
Though the passage was narrow, it wasn’t much different from when we’d burned through with Blaze.
“Already, I can see the end?”
What was surprising was that the end of the passage appeared in less than twenty minutes.
“It’s incredibly vast.”
“Right?”
The space was large enough to be a sports field, and the same was true vertically. We couldn’t see the sky, but it was hollowed out above like a volcanic crater.
What stood out was that there was nothing on the opposite side. This seemed to be the only entrance.
“At this size, even Yong-yong could fly here.”
“Right. By the way, is this a hidden room?”
It was the moment someone voiced the question.
[You have reached the hidden Labyrinth’s Deep Layer.]
[The ancient master of the Labyrinth, long asleep, awakens.]
The answer became clear immediately. What we’d discovered wasn’t a shortcut. If we’d taken the original path, we probably would have encountered a different boss.
Strictly speaking, we were about to face a hidden boss—or perhaps the true boss.
“Battle stations!”
A warning that enemies were coming.
We immediately formed our formation. Since we’d also kept in mind the formation for when Yong-yong was liberated, there were no issues.
Rumble—!
At the same time, the ground began to shake.
“It’s coming from below!”
The epicenter was beneath us. From far below, from the center of this space, the ground began to crack open, and lava surged upward.
“It’s here! A large mon—”
The moment the enemy appeared, I couldn’t continue speaking. I’d registered that its size was enormous.
The problem came next.
‘Zaratan?’
My body froze instantly. PTSD, perhaps. It felt as though I didn’t know how to move my body anymore.
Just seeing its form made my breathing quicken, and my body and mind felt paralyzed.
-Hye!
The Han River of that day unfolds before my eyes. Worm-like heads burst forth and engulf me.
As that monster attacks, the figures of my father and mother being dragged away flash past me in succession.
“Hye!”
In that moment, it was Chul-gi who pulled me back to reality.
“That’s not a Turtle Beast!”
Only after Chul-gi grabbed my shoulder and shouted did my vision return to normal and my body respond.
“It only looks similar! The size is different! Its nature is different!”
My breathing returns. Only after deep breaths fill my lungs do I recognize the differences.
The appearance is merely similar. Though it’s a large monster, it’s far smaller than the Turtle Beast. The Turtle Beast was the size of a small island, after all.
Moreover, the Turtle Beast moved across the Han River. Rather than water or fire, it was closer to an extremely hard armored shell.
This creature spews flames. The worm-like appendages, like the Turtle Beast’s, were also red in color.
‘How foolish…’
I became a Hunter out of vengeance against the Turtle Beast. The recurring nightmare, then and now, became my driving force.
Once I gained some momentum, I constantly imagined killing that creature.
Recently, as the nightmares became less frequent, I even thought I’d overcome it. That I’d grown strong enough that it no longer appeared in my dreams. But I was wrong.
A small disappointment settled within me. I’d resolved to kill that thing, yet my body froze the moment I saw something similar.
“Lee Hong-ju! We’re proceeding with Plan A!”
“Yes!”
I regained my composure, gritted my teeth, and drew the Flowing Sword. I felt like I needed to properly strike this creature to ease my frustration.
Plan A is simple. Like during the Trial of Mana last time, we establish a solid base camp while Chul-gi and I move freely as reserves.
“It may not be a Turtle Beast, but we’re treating it as an equivalent threat! Respond as safely as possible!”
A hidden boss of the Trial Gate. While incomparable to the Turtle Beast, this won’t be an ordinary creature. Just by its appearance, it resembles the Turtle Beast that emerged from the colossal Gate.
I gave my companions firm warnings and pushed off the ground.
‘By the way, this bastard. Is this supposed to be a gift?’
That damned god came to mind. He certainly knew about me. Was this a good gift or a bad one?
Either way, I’d have to catch this creature to find out.
* * *
“Hmm. The Trial Gate will likely fall to us.”
Kang Seok-du, the Korean Hunter Association President, smiled as he watched the news. Word had come that Russian Hunters who entered first had used an escape scroll.
Some information about the Gate had been released, and either way, Korea held the advantage. Because we have a Space Mage.
“Hehe.”
Just thinking of the Space Mage made me smile involuntarily. Good things had been happening since my awakening. Especially recently—after Rung Wei came Veronica and Jo Ji-hyuk.
Fundamentally speaking, these were far from good developments, but removing the danger made them acceptable.
And now, wasn’t there talk of reelection? The Daeup incident had grown so massive that it was flowing almost inevitably in that direction.
To be honest, I had no great regrets, but thinking about who would sit in the Association President’s chair, I objectively knew it was better to have myself there. Especially for nurturing the Dinosaur Guild.
“Association President!”
That’s when Park Seo-ung burst through the door, and I frowned. It was rare for Park Seo-ung to be in such a state.
“What’s the matter?”
The Association President I’d questioned stood up from his seat with a start.
“Could someone have cleared the Trial of Fire elsewhere? I haven’t heard any reports of that….”
“No, sir. This is a message from the UN Gate Countermeasures Committee. They’re saying the mana density in the atmosphere has begun destabilizing again.”
“What? Already?”
Since the Gate incident, mana density destabilization had followed roughly a five-year cycle.
The second Gate incident occurred five years ago, and the third just last year—a span of ten years between them.
“They didn’t misread the measurements?”
“No, sir. The continuous-emission Gate that opened in Australia appears to be the cause… In any case, the Gate Countermeasures Committee has sent an urgent notice saying we should prepare for the possibility of emission-type Gates opening at any time.”
The Association President exhaled deeply. He was aware that mana density in the atmosphere had been gradually rising. There had been two significant fluctuations over the past decade.
However, such rapid changes had never occurred before.
Something ominous seemed to be unfolding.

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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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