Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 207

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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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207. PTSD
[Space Mage Han Hye Selected for Fibs’ World Hunter Ranking TOP 20!]
1st. Transcendent, William Ganier (United States)
2nd. Fist King, Victor Sorokin (Russia)
3rd. Shin Chang, Kim San (Korea)
4th. Grand Sorceress, Guinevere Rosebel (Britain)
5th. Mountain Lord, Eden Carter (Saudi Arabia)
6th. Sword King, Barbatar Chinggis (France)
7th. Thunder Spear, Wang Tao (China)
.
.
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20th. Space Mage, Han Hye (Korea)
A renowned international magazine had ranked me 20th among world hunters. It was sudden.
-Hyung! Check Hunter Net right now!
-Did you hear about Han Hye?
I only learned about it after hearing Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee talking in the guild group chat. It was quite bewildering.
Me? 20th? Really? That doesn’t make sense.
While it was true I possessed stats comparable to an average vanguard, objectively speaking, ranking 20th felt unreasonable.
If you lined up all the vanguards from each nation, you could easily rank at least a hundred.
‘I think I could make it into the 100-150 range. Or maybe not? Could I even reach 80th?’
In any case, 20th was far higher than I’d anticipated, so I felt bewildered rather than pleased.
If even I was shocked, it was natural that others would be amazed. People around the world discussed this.
-Huh? Is this real?
┗Surprisingly, it’s real
“Isn’t it crazy that Han Hye is ranked 20th?”
┗Did she pay them off? lol
┗I’m a Han Hye fan too, but 20th feels too high;; don’t you think?
-Why not? She defeated Liu Zhen at level 42 when she was level 39
┗That’s only a 3-level difference, but 20th place has like a 10+ level gap, doesn’t it?
┗Han Hye’s just gotten stronger since then
┗What are the vanguards doing, just lounging around?
Naturally, there were those who denied it outright. However, the debate continued quite vigorously.
-If vanguard Jo Ji-hyuk and Witch Veronica alone cleared it, isn’t 20th reasonable?
┗That’s a fair point
┗But even so, she’s ranked higher than Progin?
┗Progin’s legit, but if he fought Han Hye, she’d demolish him
┗The British vanguard seems weaker?
┗What if she burns him like she did the Witch?
┗She’d probably break through with her durability lol
┗So the Witch burned to death because she’s a doll?
┗Real talk, the Space Mage’s flames estimated A~S-rank. Caught the Witch and even burned down the Trial of Flames Gate itself
┗Minimum A-rank, probably S-rank tbh
I was a bit taken aback myself, but seeing the reactions, I could understand why I’d been ranked 20th.
For one, villains like Übermenschen executives don’t get recorded on these rankings.
But their power level was something people could only estimate, and the Witch was considered quite formidable among them.
To have taken down such a Witch alone, and Jo Ji-hyuk at the same time—there was no choice but to rate it highly.
The logic wasn’t flawed. Though I did admit honestly that I’d attacked by surprise…
‘A surprise attack is still a skill. Scout rogues get high marks for stealth ability too.’
Besides, this ranking obviously wasn’t based on one-on-one combat.
It had to factor in performance shown in emission-type Gates, level, recent achievements—everything combined.
-Good is good. Accept it with a grateful heart.
That was Chul-gi’s advice, and I decided to go with it. Honestly, it wasn’t bad.
Internet opinion eventually turned positive.
-Wait, everyone else aside—could the hunters below Han Hye solo Jo Ji-hyuk and Veronica?
┗Hmm, that seems pretty tough…
┗They’re not pros anyway lol
┗Putting a vanguard against a vanguard plus the Witch is overkill
┗Then isn’t it overkill against the Space Mage too?
-The ranking could be high relative to level, but they showed results so it’s hard to argue
Ultimately, when people asked if hunters ranked below me could solo Jo Ji-hyuk and Veronica, it was hard to say definitively.
Those ranked above me had more of a “yeah, we could” vibe.
-But aren’t all the Korean hunters in the top 20 foreign names?
┗Kim San, Han Hye lol
┗I’m about to have a kid soon, should I give them a foreign name too?
┗I already gave mine a foreign name lol
Our people had reacted positively from the start, so the opposition was quickly suppressed and they moved on to other topics.
-Shouldn’t Han Hye get a title too? Everyone else has cool epithets
┗Superhuman works as is
┗Superman, there’s no epithet that can replace superhuman lol
┗The Space Mage is kinda similar too?
┗Divine Space, Space King both sound lame lol
┗What about Space Princess?
┗Space Princess? What princess;; Is it Princess?
┗Master of Space, doesn’t that sound cool? Master of Space in English
┗Sounds lame when abbreviated in Korean though;;
┗They call it the Nightmare of Übermenschen overseas though. Since they took down Rung Wei and the Witch
While browsing Hunter Net like that, I suddenly saw a comment from someone who’d guessed my actual job title.
I felt reassured that I’d chosen Space Mage again.
On the internet like this, regardless of whether I’m good or not, people will just mock anything that gives them material, right?
If I’d revealed my job title as Princess….
Princess Han Hye is crazy lol
[Princess entering the Gate]
[Princess’s outfit today.jpg]
[Princess drinking coffee]
Wouldn’t posts like these have flooded Hunter Net and the communities? Even thinking about it now made me dizzy.
As it was, the American Awakened alone was drowning in all sorts of composite images because of the epithet “Superman.”
That person seemed to quite like it, but… this was an entirely different matter. If people heard “Princess, Han Hye,” wouldn’t they just photoshop my face into a dress or something?
I really don’t think I could tolerate that. I probably would’ve sued from every conceivable angle….
* * *
After the Trial of Flames, we needed a brief period to recover. The prolonged combat in that heat-filled space had taken its toll.
Our guild usually avoided sustaining injuries, but this time was different.
We deployed barriers and blocked attacks, but we still suffered minor burns and small wounds.
I experienced it firsthand fighting the flame monster, but Han Chul, our guild’s vanguard, had it worse.
“I’m fine. For me, these are badges of honor.”
He’d drawn aggro from the flame monsters with his bare body to protect our rear guard.
Though he had high durability befitting a Guardian, taking direct hits bare-handed at close range meant injuries were inevitable.
Since we’d entered the Trial of Flames Gate right after the Dark Ruins Gate, taking a brief rest wasn’t a bad idea.
The timing worked out, so I held a Swordsmanship Meeting as well. While I had the Fifth Subspace open, I gifted Dong-hyuk a B-rank sword technique secret art.
“Really? This? For me? Seriously?”
I gave it to him when we were alone since I felt self-conscious with others around, and his eyes went wide.
“I obtained it from a Gate before, but I had no real use for it. I thought of you. Just take it.”
“No, I can’t. A B-rank sword technique secret art is worth….”
Dong-hyuk strongly declined, but my showing off actually proved quite helpful.
“I’m from the Dinosaur Guild, you know.”
“Ah…?”
“If I sold it through the Hunter Association, there’d be fees anyway. Just repay me later when you’re doing well. You’re an S-rank swordsman, after all.”
“But even so, that’s….”
“I told you I saw it myself. Once you level up a bit, it’ll really pay off.”
I had actually considered it. I’d thought about giving him a C-rank secret art instead. The Fifth Subspace only had three B-rank secret arts.
Still, my own Cresea sword technique was also B-rank, so I didn’t think I’d use it anyway. Chun-bae had also advised me that it would be good to develop Dong-hyuk.
“Th-thank you so much! I’ll definitely get stronger and repay you!”
Dong-hyuk’s eyes glistened. It seemed this kind of treatment was new to him, and he was genuinely moved. It made sense—he hadn’t stood out much until now.
Though he was a member of the Swordsmanship Meeting, he wasn’t a famous hunter at his level.
Normally, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet Dong-hyuk like this either.
Dong-hyuk had become close with Sang-yeop through their academy connection and continued sword technique exchanges before joining this meeting.
According to Chun-bae, this B-rank sword technique was practical from the early stages, so it would definitely help Dong-hyuk.
If he could endure his current stage with the B-rank sword technique and later his S-rank sword technique leveled up, he could experience explosive growth.
Well, even if Dong-hyuk never repays the favor, just being able to freely observe and spar with S-rank sword techniques is enough satisfaction for me.
With one B-rank sword technique secret art, I’d gained the opportunity to freely study S-rank sword techniques in the future.
In the time that remained, I resolved to address something I’d newly understood from this experience.
Hadn’t I gained genuine clarity through this Trial of Flames?
[Korean Hunter Neuropsychiatry Association]
Among the services the Hunter Association provided to hunters was specialized treatment for trauma and PTSD.
Since hunters constantly risked their lives in combat, such issues were common, and this facility possessed genuine expertise.
Previously, I’d never considered visiting. Though I’d suffered nightmares from childhood experiences, they’d never interfered with my work as a porter.
But facing that creature resembling Ja-tan, I finally recognized my problem.
‘It was because of Ja-tan that everything else felt less terrifying.’
The sensation of my breath stopping and my body freezing remained vivid. Certainly, I’d killed Ja-tan hundreds, thousands of times in my mind….
Yet when confronted with something similar, my body refused to obey.
Though I’d regained my composure and fought afterward, this represented a significant problem for me. My goal was to eliminate the creature that had killed my parents.
What had once been a vague future had now become an inevitable one.
-A gift awaits you.
It was because of that damned god’s message. Of course, it might have simply been an attempt to trigger my trauma. But personally….
I suspected the god had phrased it as a “gift” because I would encounter Ja-tan in the not-too-distant future.
* * *
-PTSD and trauma treatment? I understood you had no issues before… Are you certain?
“Yes. Other creatures don’t bother me. But when I faced that thing resembling Ja-tan, my body froze. I thought it might cause problems later.”
-I’ll schedule you immediately. You can even come in today.
Since many hunters used this facility, the normal system involved booking and waiting, but mentioning it to Seo-ung resolved everything instantly.
After several examinations, everything else showed no issues. Only Ja-tan triggered a response.
They introduced me to CBT, EMDR, immediate stabilization techniques, and other methods, though I didn’t fully understand what each entailed.
I documented my thoughts about Ja-tan and reexamined their origins, while recording my physical reactions when recalling Ja-tan.
“Your condition is better than expected.”
At the doctor’s words, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Really?”
“Yes. You mentioned your breathing became difficult and your body froze when you saw the similar monster in the Gate… but that’s absolutely not the case now.”
“I did regain my composure and return to combat. My fingertips trembled slightly, though.”
“You did excellently. You’ve already overcome this to a considerable degree. This isn’t easy, and what you’ve accomplished is truly remarkable.”
The praise was considerable. I wasn’t sure if it was because they were a mental health specialist who simply offered encouragement first, or if it was genuine, but I chose to accept it positively.
Hadn’t I fought and defeated the creature without major issues even when the trauma activated?
“If you come in regularly, you’ll have no problems. You’re doing wonderfully right now.”
“Really… truly?”
“Absolutely. I mean it sincerely. I’ll give you my contact information, and if you suddenly feel anxious or have questions while thinking alone, please call me anytime—even at dawn.”
“Even at dawn?”
The doctor treated me so well that I was curious about the reason, which I soon discovered.
“Actually, I’m a fan of yours, Han Hye. My son loves Yong-yong merchandise too… Would it be possible to get your autograph?”
“Of course.”
If signing would help them focus on my treatment, I could have signed dozens more.
Catching Ja-tan was my crucial objective, after all.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“And I as well. What I said earlier wasn’t just fan sentiment—it came from the heart. You’ve already proven capable of overcoming challenges alone. I simply wish to offer greater support.”
As I listened to the teacher’s words, that god’s message suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
Though my mood soured at the recollection, I had to admit—if not for that entity, I might have faced far graver consequences when I actually encountered Ja-tan.
‘…When I think of it that way, it really was a gift.’
I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful. It seemed malicious, yet also somehow considerate.
I had a feeling that if I met with them soon and talked it through, the answer would become clear.
Given how suddenly they’d appeared, I suspected another opportunity to face them might arise.
If it did, there was something I wanted to ask.
Of the Surviving God—the only one who endured the mana erosion.
What is it that you truly desire?

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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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