Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 211

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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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211. Garden of Mist (2)
The sight of a corpse-pale figure with mushrooms blooming from the nape of their neck, arms spread wide as they approached, was quite grotesque.
The faint sense of dread I felt stemmed from the fact that they seemed to harbor no intention of causing harm.
Had they at least wielded a weapon and charged, I would have simply met them head-on. But they hadn’t. They walked toward us completely defenseless, moving with deliberate slowness.
What’s more, this was one of the fellow hunters we encountered regularly.
“H-how do we handle this?”
Min-jae unconsciously stepped back as he spoke.
“Tch.”
I deliberated for a moment before deciding to incapacitate them first.
“Let’s restrain them and figure it out. Their appearance suggests they’re a healer.”
The fact that they were a healer also played a role. With ordinary hunters, you could generally discern their profession from their attire.
I wasn’t sure if the mushroom possessed intelligence, but it didn’t seem like it would resort to such deception. Their frame was also small.
Crack—!
I used Leap and struck the back of their neck, wondering if they might react.
“One… ugh!”
However, they didn’t lose consciousness.
“Come here…”
Despite the considerable force of the blow, they continued walking forward without hesitation. Naturally, our group retreated further.
I attempted once more, but they still didn’t fall unconscious.
“Why isn’t it working?”
“Maybe because they’re not human anymore?”
Lee Shin-hee’s eyes brightened.
“If we assume the mushroom has taken control of the host, then the mushroom itself wouldn’t lose consciousness.”
It was quite a reasonable hypothesis.
“From what I know, plants can be put into something like unconsciousness with certain drugs…”
Lee Shin-hee continued, but such a thing was impossible. No matter how versatile my Subspace was… I didn’t carry anesthetics that would work on plants.
I had brought gas canisters and incendiary bottles while preparing for this flame Gate, though.
“What should we do?”
Just as I pulled out a wooden rod and was about to push them back, the hunter suddenly kicked off the ground.
After walking slowly, they suddenly charged. I pushed against their chest forcefully with the rod once more.
—Boom!
At that very moment, the mushroom-infested hunter burst apart. Their torso exploded, and spores erupted from the ruptured body.
They resembled the mist yet were different. The color was a greenish hue tinged with yellow. Had I been even a moment slower, I would have been engulfed by it.
—Whoosh!
I immediately incinerated it with Blazing Inferno. The Mister looked horrified.
“This is insane…”
“The different color suggests this is something else entirely from before.”
“Is it more toxic?”
“Possibly. It might even be a poison specifically designed to be more effective against hunters.”
What remained of the burst hunter was visible—the limbs and the nape where the mushroom bloomed, extending up to the head.
We fell silent for a moment at the sight before us.
“Is that actually a human body?”
It had the form of a human body, but upon closer inspection, something was distinctly wrong. It was as though massive mycelial networks had grafted themselves onto human organs and flesh.
Not a single drop of blood seeped from it, which confirmed beyond doubt that this was no longer human.
“It’s basically just wearing a human shell with mushroom filling inside.”
“Isn’t that different from those plant monsters we saw earlier?”
“Animals might be infiltrated differently. Mushrooms are basically plants anyway, right?”
Regardless, the sight was deeply disturbing.
“Bringing the remains with us is going to be difficult.”
Normally I would have wanted to recover the body for the family, but there was no way I could carry remains in such a grotesque state.
More than anything, I was concerned about what might happen if I took what had bloomed inside back with me. Even if I could prevent Subspace contamination, who knew what catastrophe might unfold on Earth?
—Whoosh!
I cremated it with Blazing Inferno and collected only one memento—a ring that had fallen from a severed hand.
But not all my questions had been answered.
“Still, why just one? I thought the hunter team that came in earlier had five members.”
“There might be more deeper inside?”
“But it’s strange that only one came out. Are they all operating separately?”
I was considering that possibility when Lee Shin-hee, who had been thinking quietly, spoke up.
“Maybe because they were weak?”
“Weak?”
“The plant-type monsters that appeared earlier were weak specimens too. They didn’t match the Gate’s level. Maybe the healer was stationed on the outer perimeter for that reason.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s still just speculation. As for why there’s no mage… that includes the assumption that they could still cast magic even as a host.”
It was a plausible theory.
If the shell was like that and the interior was fungal matter, healing spells would have little meaning anyway.
We pressed forward once more.
In an area where the mist grew thicker, we discovered numerous plant-type monsters waiting for us.
“It does seem like they’re divided by zones.”
These specimens were slightly stronger than the plant-type monsters we’d encountered before. Still not human, though.
In any case, it meant we had penetrated deeper into the Gate.
* * *
“I was startled when those animals suddenly appeared too.”
While fighting the plant-type monsters, wild dogs and similar creatures suddenly charged at us. They too harbored the fungal infection.
We managed to end the battle without significant casualties. Min-jae, being a mage, and Mister both had reliable area-of-effect skills.
“At least we’ve confirmed that the animals’ motor functions haven’t diminished.”
Just as that hunter had suddenly charged at us, these dog-like monsters came at us with incredible speed.
Something exploded nearby with a bang, but having experienced this before, I responded quickly with Blazing Inferno.
“I got one too. Did everyone acquire something?”
“Yes.”
We had an unexpected gain—after extracting the heart of a venomous fox and circulating it, I acquired a Poison Resistance skill.
Lee Shin-hee was the first to acquire it. Then Min-jae, myself, and Mister in that order.
[You have acquired the skill ‘Toxin Resistance (E-rank)’.]
I thought I wouldn’t be able to obtain it since I’d used the Toxic Fox’s heart so quickly, but it seemed to have manifested due to continuous exposure.
Mister and I received E-rank, while Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee received F-rank.
“It appears to be from prolonged exposure.”
“I should have endured it a bit longer. If I had, it might have reached D-rank.”
I’d cycled through poisoning and healing using the Toxic Fox’s heart, and truthfully, I could have lasted a bit longer, so Mister’s words held considerable merit.
“Still, you never know what might happen. We should prioritize safety.”
“True. Seeing those mushrooms sprouting was unsettling.”
After the battle, we replenished our stamina and pressed forward, when a peculiarity in spatial perception within the mist caught my attention.
“Stop. Combat ready.”
“What is it? A plant?”
“No. People.”
They were approaching as if they knew our location.
“Korean Hunters?”
“There will be those as well.”
“‘As well’?”
“Yes. The number approaching right now is… twelve.”
“!”
But what startled me was something different. The number of people walking through the mist wasn’t four.
“What? I thought there was only one failed team here.”
“Could someone have attempted an illegal subjugation?”
Illegal subjugation.
It refers to entering a Gate without the Hunter Association’s approval. One would have to be utterly mad to attempt such a thing.
In the first place, the moment the Association becomes aware, staff are dispatched to manage the Gate. Even if you slip through, you’ll be caught when you try to leave.
The only exception would be entering before the Gate is reported to the Association…
‘If you can’t subjugate it before the Association recognizes the Gate, you become a serious criminal.’
So no ordinary Hunter would ever do such a thing unless they’d lost their mind.
However, we would soon discover the reason.
-Whoosh!
When I burned away the green mist ahead with blazing fire to confirm the enemy, their forms became visible.
“The original ones.”
“Yes.”
Among four who appeared to be Korean Hunters, there were eight dressed as medieval mercenaries. Some were even clad in armor like knights.
“The Hunters who entered before must have had the same experience.”
That’s when Lee Shin-hee spoke up.
“The Gate’s recommended party size was ten people, right? Excluding Korean Hunters, that’s eight. I suspect they matched their numbers with those.”
It makes sense. The Hunters who entered first probably faced a similar situation if they encountered weaker individuals.
Lee Shin-hee’s deductive skills shone, but it wasn’t the most critical detail. I focused on those creatures.
“I can see combat traces too. The mushroom growth—if you look carefully, it’s on wound sites.”
I hadn’t paid attention earlier—too startled, and the explosion happened too fast. But now I could see the wounds scattered around the mushroom. The older ones even bore scorch marks.
Perhaps they had died first, then been consumed by the fungus.
“Simply burning the mushroom won’t restore them to normal. As you saw earlier, it’s not just their minds that have been enchanted.”
I made sure not to forget the warning—in case the Guild members’ resolve weakened.
Fighting ordinary people was manageable, but these things wearing the faces of Korean Hunters unsettled me. I had to push through it.
“Don’t hesitate. Attack without reservation.”
“Understood.”
“Watch out for spore explosions.”
It was heartbreaking that Korean Hunters had been transformed this way, but it was something I had to overcome.
We were planning to enter the Hall of Winners Gate soon. There, we’d have to fight the Previous-Previous Princess’s team. If I thought about actual combat between Hunter and Hunter, I couldn’t afford to waver in a situation like this.
“Mister takes the rear guard, Han Chul takes the vanguard.”
“Confirmed.”
I adjusted our formation slightly while surveying the enemies. If Han Chul’s aggro worked on these creatures too, this arrangement would be better.
If the humans swarmed near the rear, it would become too dangerous. Having Mister and Yong-yong positioned behind was reassuring enough.
“Become… become one…”
The ones who had become hosts to the mushroom opened their mouths.
Seeing twelve fungal humans with their arms spread wide like that was truly grotesque.
“Let’s start with a light opening strike.”
* * *
They stood motionless, beckoning seductively. Normally, I should have launched a proper preemptive attack, but I didn’t.
Thinking of it as a practice battle before the Hall of Winners, I signaled the start of combat with a gentle burst of flame.
The mushroom humans, who had been standing still, immediately counterattacked as soon as they were struck.
Yet they never stopped opening their mouths.
“Become one! Become one!”
“Come here, dear!”
Hearing their eerie yet affectionate cries, I rushed forward. The first thing that caught my eye was the rising fireballs.
Just as Lee Shin-hee had predicted, even as mushroom humans, the mages could still cast magic.
Three fireballs soared through the sky toward my group. I left those to Seo Min-jae.
Four fireballs were heading toward my direction.
—Boom!
—Whoosh!
An A-rank Mage. The reputation that they were the perfect superior version of mages without rank wasn’t unfounded.
The colliding fireballs exploded mid-air, and the remaining ones rained down on the mushroom humans.
Even consumed by the fungus, they clearly retained some intelligence. They scattered in all directions to avoid the fireballs.
I cut through the flames exploding mid-air and leaped over them.
‘The thieves first.’
My first targets were those wielding daggers and short swords. In combat against people, thieves were the most troublesome, and there were three of them including the existing members.
I could afford to leave one as experience, but three in a melee was dangerous.
Worse, the Korean Hunter thief activated an invisibility skill, slipping into a semi-transparent state.
From outside, I could see their blurred form, but finding them within the mist wouldn’t be easy—and that made it dangerous.
‘But I can see it.’
Of course, with my spatial awareness, such tricks were useless. I leaped forward and swung Esirel in the same motion.
The thief’s body split vertically in half at the chest, then crumbled to dust.
-Boom!
I blocked the rising spores with blazing heat. It was at that moment Chun-bae opened his mouth.
-Han Hye.
‘What is it?’
-I think it would be beneficial to stay longer in this Gate. There’s no need to burn the spores.
Han Hye was taken aback by his words.
‘All of a sudden?’

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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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