Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 206
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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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206. Fifth Subspace
“Just occurred to me—are the ones coming through from China doing fine?”
In the Übermenschen Conference Room.
A towering man furrowed his brow and spoke.
“I mean, sure, India’s still available, but losing China is a pretty significant problem. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to consistently bring in Awakened ones without complications?”
“No issues. Everything’s proceeding as planned.”
“No issues? But you said they were captured. Rung Wei fled to Korea and ended up dead. Are you sure there are no issues?”
“Please, Temur. Everyone except you already knows this. It’s not a sudden thought—we already confirmed it when you weren’t here. There are no issues. The pipeline for bringing in the recruits remains intact.”
“Thank goodness. I suppose you didn’t want your family absorbed?”
At Temur’s words—the towering man—the assembled members frowned.
“Why are you all looking at me like that? Haven’t you all benefited from this arrangement?”
“It’s not absorption. It’s harmonization.”
“Same difference.”
…
Temur shrugged and glanced around the table.
“So, what’s the plan for that Space Mage? I heard Veronica’s dead. She wasn’t my favorite, but our prestige has taken quite a hit?”
“Temur’s lack of sophistication is undeniable, but this is a matter that requires direction from above.”
When the bespectacled man sitting across from Temur addressed the head of the table, Temur half-rose from his seat.
“What, unsophisticated? You bastard….”
“Silence.”
But at the word from the one seated at the head, he immediately planted himself back in his chair.
“The existing plan to capture the Space Mage, the Dragon Knight, and the Red Dragon appears to become increasingly difficult as time passes. Moreover….”
“Rung Wei and Veronica have both fallen.”
The atmosphere grew heavy. While they weren’t a group that emphasized teamwork, the fact that their own had been taken down was significant.
Especially since both had been captured by Han Hye, and the Übermenschen’s reputation had suffered considerably as a result.
“Why not simply kill them?”
At Temur’s suggestion, the one at the head of the table shook his head.
“They must be brought in alive.”
“To be honest, even killing them doesn’t seem easy. That bastard retreats into his own Subspace.”
“It felt like his stamina was recovering. Even if prolonged exposure is impossible, it means we’d need to fight him twice.”
“Or, we could incapacitate him without anyone knowing.”
However, even the Übermenschen had no clear answer.
“How? From what happened to Rung Wei, it seems like stealth and everything else gets caught by that spatial sense?”
“We attack from a distance.”
“From a distance? How far? For that, we’d need to bring in a sniper first.”
“We’ll need to confirm the range of his spatial sense first, then consider our options.”
The one at the head of the table interjected into the executives’ discussion.
“We all agree this situation cannot be left as is. His growth rate defies common sense.”
“Agreed. Honestly, we thought we’d be the ones claiming the Trial of Flames….”
“Should we attack?”
Temur interrupted the bespectacled man and interjected.
“Temur, you need to shut your mouth for a moment.”
“Shut my mouth? You shut yours!”
“Enough.”
….
The woman assisting the figure seated at the head of the table let out a deep sigh as she looked at Temur.
“First, we verify spatial perception. We’ll discuss further matters after that.”
“Is that all?”
“Everyone stands by until the Space Mage abduction plan is finalized.”
“Ah….”
These were people who despised restraint and confinement. Before their expressions could sour further, the figure seated at the head of the table smiled coldly.
“It won’t be bad for you either. I’m considering who to attune an A-rank skill to.”
“Me! Please give it to me!”
“This idiot….”
The bespectacled man muttered under his breath. Normally he remained quiet and docile, but once he crossed his limit, problems arose.
As expected, the figure seated at the head of the table fixed his gaze on Temur.
“Why not?”
His eyes turned terrifyingly fierce. The limits of his patience had been reached. Murderous intent permeated the room.
It was not something even an executive of the Übermenschen could endure.
With a glare alone capable of felling someone, no one could resist that momentum. Everyone lowered their heads.
Temur, whose body had stiffened under the direct weight of that gaze, bowed his head a beat too late.
“I-I’m sorry!”
* * *
“Oh?”
In the Fifth Subspace, the first thing visible was secret manuals arranged neatly atop bookshelves.
And on the weapon racks beside them, there were three or more weapons of each type displayed.
“These are things for the next generation of successors, right?”
-Affirmative. Should you rearrange them, you need only refill any empty slots with items of similar rank.
The secret manuals and items weren’t particularly high-ranked. Most were below C-rank, and even C-rank items weren’t abundant.
Well, when I entered, I had a D-rank sword called the Flowing Style Blade, a staff, and secret manuals.
In truth, these items weren’t greatly necessary for my current level or my guild members.
At best, they could serve as spares when weapons or equipment occasionally malfunctioned.
“Hmm, I’ll leave those for now….”
I shifted my gaze beyond them.
The items here were largely as I’d anticipated. What I was truly hoping to find was something else.
“What’s that?”
However, what next caught my eye wasn’t anything grandiose. On a small desk sat a modest jewelry box.
Its interior wasn’t visible, and having a small jewelry box in such a space felt oddly out of place.
Especially after seeing the Spirit Medicine Farm, the healing facilities, and that enormous fortune in gold coins previously.
Since Chun-bae had told me to check it myself, I opened the jewelry box. Inside lay a silver ring.
“A ring?”
What made it distinctive was the round mother-of-pearl inlaid at the ring’s center. It didn’t protrude beyond the band—instead, it sat flush with the surface.
[Ring of Conspiracy (Grade A)]
-A ring received by a pathologically suspicious dwarven master craftsman as an offering to the god of the forge.
-When a conspiracy capable of inflicting real harm is being plotted against the wearer, the mother-of-pearl darkens to black. (0/3)
-Agility +5
To be honest, it felt a bit out of place. A Ring of Conspiracy? The five-point agility boost was nice, but…
I questioned whether this really deserved a Grade A rating.
-The Fifth Subspace was designed entirely as a space for the next generation of successors.
“Is that why I might not be able to progress further?”
-If Han Hye had not demonstrated such excellent performance, I would have consulted about arrangements for the next generation.
Chun-bae certainly was a cold-blooded entity, I thought.
“Well, I passed, so that means I’m not, right?”
-Affirmative. In any case, the reason this ring exists in the Fifth Subspace is because I predicted your growth trajectory.
“By the time I open the Fifth Subspace, I’ll need this?”
-Correct. If you had relied solely on the arrangements from the previous spaces, you would have stood out and drawn suspicion in any world.
Chun-bae fell silent for a moment before continuing.
-Of course, Han Hye has grown faster than we anticipated, and because you informed your guild members, this is somewhat an exception.
He was right. I had grown faster than Chun-bae expected. And if I hadn’t told my guild members, they would all be suspicious of me by now.
In fact, people outside were already joking about whether there was something special in the Subspace.
In a way, I’d been quite fortunate. I’d met good guild members who kept the secret from spreading.
A question suddenly occurred to me.
“If I hadn’t told my guild members, would you have told me to hold back?”
-Affirmative. I would have discouraged any suspicious behavior. Your growth would have needed to be regulated as well.
“Right. If they weren’t good people, there’s a high chance they would have plotted against me.”
Some guy awakens a Subspace ability, keeps getting stronger, brings back strange items and gold coins constantly?
Any powerful individual would feel compelled to test me in some way.
Especially in the worlds of the Previous Master or Previous Previous Master that Chun-bae mentioned—didn’t the law of the strong apply differently there than on Earth?
Perhaps this Ring of Conspiracy would have been quite necessary.
“Well, I suppose that’s how it might be on Earth.”
I’d had contact with the Übermenschen recently, but at this point, it would be quite difficult for them to make a move against me.
Korea, a hunter superpower, had respectable security, and considering my Subspace and leap abilities, they’d have plenty to worry about.
“Still, it’s good to keep it on me, right? You never know what might happen.”
-I recommend that. If you find the stat increase uncomfortable, you can simply remove it when entering a Gate.
“Got it.”
It was as I casually put on the Ring of Conspiracy.
“Huh?”
The mother-of-pearl attached to the ring began to darken to black.
“Seriously?”
-Did I not mention it? Now that you’ve achieved Subspace Level 5, the likelihood of exposure to conspiracy is significant.
“Well, even so, it’s strange that it didn’t happen sooner….”
-Honestly, with growth like yours, Han Hye, it wouldn’t be surprising if there had been a conspiracy much earlier.
“True. Even right after my awakening, my name came up in the Übermenschen, after all.”
To be honest, I was shocked. If the word “conspiracy” had simply been written there, I would’ve dismissed it even if the ring turned black.
After all, even idle thoughts or jokes could technically be considered conspiracies.
But what was written on the Conspiracy Ring was “a conspiracy capable of causing actual harm.” In other words, I was in quite a dangerous situation.
Chun-bae continued.
-The darker the mother-of-pearl becomes, the closer the conspiracy draws.
“It doesn’t seem to be at that level yet….”
-Then it’s likely in the preparation stage.
“This is insane.”
* * *
A conspiracy directed at me.
Two suspects came to mind. One was the Surviving God from the erosion, and the other was the Übermenschen.
At first, I thought it might be the former. After all, the Surviving God had mentioned there was a gift waiting for me in the Trial of Flames.
Since we’d met quite some time ago, the probability of them appearing soon seemed high.
‘But it’s still ambiguous, you know.’
When I first encountered that flame creature, I thought it was just trying to mock me and felt disgusted.
Then when the flame talisman grew, I wondered if that was intentional.
But thinking about it now, the flame itself didn’t seem to be a gift. The experience itself was the gift, so to speak.
It had given me the opportunity to face a creature resembling Zaratan.
‘Even if that bastard likes to play tricks, ultimately it gives me good things when I overcome them.’
Whether that was meant to toy with me or something else, I wasn’t sure, but so far it had benefited me.
And honestly, I wondered if what that god was thinking could really be called a conspiracy.
The Conspiracy Ring was a ring bestowed by a god, but that creature was a Surviving God, no less.
Eventually, my thoughts naturally shifted toward the Übermenschen.
“That’s possible. You caught Rung Wei and even the Witch. You dealt with Jo Ji-hyuk too.”
“Right. We destroyed the plans of those trying to enter Korea.”
I’d naturally discussed this with Chul-gi.
“Since it’s a conspiracy against the wearer, it wouldn’t be Min-seok. It definitely seems like they’re targeting me.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Well, I have to overcome it. It’s better than not knowing about it.”
If I hadn’t had the Conspiracy Ring, I wouldn’t have known what schemes the Übermenschen were cooking up.
Well, even now I don’t know much, but at least I’ve gained time to prepare and respond, haven’t I?
“Yeah. Knowing is better.”
“Yes. When the color deepens, it means they’re getting closer, so I plan to share that with the Hunter Association and Saebyeokbit at that point.”
It felt too early to say anything right now. According to Chun-bae, even in the preparation stage, it could take quite some time.
When the color turns pitch black, it means they’re practically at the doorstep, but there are intermediate stages in between. I figured I’d tell them then.
“This could actually become an opportunity, though?”
“Yes. I think so too.”
At first, I was taken aback, but talking it through with Mister helped untangle some of the threads. In fact, this could become an opportunity.
Setting a trap together with the Hunter Association and Saebyeokbit?
Wasn’t that precisely how we could create a chance to turn the tables and capture the Übermenschen?
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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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