Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 222

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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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222. Digging a Trap
[Lv57 Princess of Space, Han Hye]
Strength: 75(+5)
Agility: 85(+15)(+5, +1)
Stamina: 72(+5)(+1)
Spirit: 68(+5)
Mana: 98(+5)(+1)
Bonus Points: 9
Skills: Subspace (S-rank) lv5, Incineration (S-rank) lv4, Leap (A-rank) lv5, Flame Resistance (A-rank) lv9, Severance (A-rank) lv5, Crescent Swordsmanship (B-rank) lv6, Cockfighting (B-rank) lv7, Interpretation (B-rank) lv1, Swift Step (C-rank) lv5, Cold Resistance (C-rank) lv4, Toxin Resistance (D-rank) lv6, Imperial Basic Swordsmanship (E-rank) lv8.
This was my current status window. The more I looked at it, the more satisfied I felt. And from the Hall of Winners Gate, several skill levels and all my stats had increased by 5 each.
For Agility specifically, I had raised it while resting in Subspace.
‘I should have invested everything.’
Right before stepping out of Subspace to seize the opening Chun-bae would create, I spent 10 bonus points.
In truth, surviving after defeating the Previous Previous Master was thanks to my investment in Agility.
Because I’d grown slightly faster, I could use Severance first, and from the Previous Previous Master’s magic, only my side was torn open.
Unlike Han Chul at the hospital, my side was naturally healed at the healing facility.
‘It was also when Chun-bae was asleep.’
I seized the gap when there was no one to notice. Well, even if Chun-bae had known, he wouldn’t have said anything.
Unlike the Advance Team who was mistreated, I hadn’t used the healing facility much, and the opponent was the Previous Previous Master anyway.
“Hmm.”
I shook off the idle thoughts and focused on the main issue. I planned to save the 9 bonus points for facing the Übermenschen.
I’d opened the status window in the first place to use a skill rank promotion voucher.
The candidates were naturally A-rank skills. I couldn’t use rank promotion vouchers on S-rank skills.
The A-rank skills I possessed were only three: Leap, Flame Resistance, and Severance.
‘…If I said something like this outside, I’d get beaten to death, wouldn’t I?’
Let me correct myself. Three A-rank skills is a lot. First, I decided to exclude Leap.
Leap was a complete skill in itself, and its rank didn’t seem immediately important.
It was linked with the Subspace skill and could only move within the 50-meter spatial awareness I could sense.
As the skill level increased, mana consumption and delay decreased, but the difference wasn’t significant.
‘I’m not sure what would change if the rank differed…’
Even now without Chun-bae, I wasn’t eager to use a rank promotion voucher on a complete skill.
What remained were Flame Resistance and Severance. However, Flame Resistance was already more than sufficient.
A-rank Flame Resistance level 9? There probably wasn’t anyone on Earth with better flame resistance than me.
There wasn’t much reason to promote it to S-rank right now.
‘Should I use it on Severance? Hmm.’
In the end, only Severance remained, but the reason I was still hesitant was that other options might exist.
For instance, if I somehow obtained an A-rank swordsmanship skill secret, I could immediately turn it into an S-rank skill.
Why hadn’t Shin Chang’s A-rank Spear Technique become an S-rank Spear Technique after using a skill rank promotion voucher?
Of course, Shin Chang was a genius who defeated S-rank Spear Technique with just A-rank Spear Technique, but he became even stronger after it became S-rank Spear Technique.
“Things would’ve been easier if Chun-bae were here.”
In truth, most of my decisions regarding growth had been made with Chun-bae’s counsel as the foundation, with only my own thoughts added to the mix.
While Chun-bae respected my opinions, once he provided the broader direction, I followed it faithfully.
That’s why making such decisions entirely on my own felt unfamiliar, leaving me more troubled than usual.
I couldn’t wait for Chun-bae to regain consciousness. I had no idea when Seo-ung would procure the item.
The closer that timing drew to the Gold Ticket event, the worse it was for me. I had to wrestle with this decision alone, no matter what.
I lay in the Subspace, turning the matter over in my mind.
.
.
.
After a long period of serious contemplation, I reached a decision.
“Let’s use it on Severance.”
Even if Chun-bae were here, I would have said the same thing. I was certain of it. The reason was clear: the Übermenschen’s conspiracy was now less than a month away.
It was the same reason I couldn’t afford to wait for Chun-bae to wake up.
Acquiring an A-rank sword technique would take time, but more importantly, I didn’t have much time to become proficient with it.
Skill grade matters, but so does level. It’s a measure of mastery, after all.
‘Shin Chang defeated an S-rank spear technique with an A-rank spear technique.’
I’d recently been reading some martial arts novels following Mister’s example, and even there, simply learning an extraordinary technique didn’t mean you could immediately defeat a master.
In other words, even if I obtained an S-rank sword technique right now, it would be extremely difficult to use effectively against the Übermenschen.
Severance, despite being an A-rank skill I’d acquired late, had already reached level 5. Moreover, its destructive power was the most reliable among all my skills.
I’d used it when defeating the Earth Dragon, when defeating the Butcher, and when defeating the Previous Previous Master.
“That means I’ll have a level 5 S-rank skill.”
Once I’d made the decision, I didn’t hesitate. I knew I’d keep second-guessing myself and regretting it otherwise.
I’d be gaining an S-rank skill either way, but I definitely had a desire for an S-rank sword technique.
Let me set that desire aside. A Skill Grade Elevation Ticket. With my spatial sense, I could obtain another one someday. Or perhaps I could even acquire an S-rank sword technique through other means.
On the other hand, Severance, being the Princess’s class skill, would be harder to obtain than an S-rank sword technique. I’ll use it on Severance.
[You use ‘Skill Grade Elevation Ticket’.]
[The skill ‘Severance (A-rank)’ undergoes a grade elevation.]
A skill grade elevation.
Since Severance wasn’t a complete skill, the moment its grade rose, new information flooded into my mind.
“Huh?”
And I couldn’t help but be quite surprised.
A-rank and S-rank. I understood the difference intellectually, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely.
* * *
The Übermenschen will come during the second Gold Ticket event. I could be 99% certain of that. The question was how they would approach it.
“Mister will probably be a target too. And Yong-yong as well.”
“Likely.”
Whether their purpose was to kill me or kidnap me, I wasn’t sure, but they were definitely going to great lengths.
The Red Dragon and the Dragon Knight would naturally be included in their scheme.
Yong-yong only goes outside occasionally, when flying around Seoul for a leisurely flight. The flight schedule is shared, but even that, Mister and I take turns doing.
If they’re targeting all three of us—me, Mister, and Yong-yong—then the Gold Ticket event would be the perfect opportunity.
“The event isn’t being held in Seoul proper, but in the outskirts—a secluded location. From their perspective, it’s a golden opportunity.”
“Do you think there’s an Übermenschen among the winners?”
Whether they were targeting a specific winner or simply capitalizing on the favorable timing and location remained unclear. Regardless, investigating the five Gold Ticket winners was essential.
The nationalities of the second-round Gold Ticket winners were as follows:
—Korea, China, Canada, Italy, Iraq.
Out of consideration for our nation, one ticket was unconditionally issued to Korea in the second round as well, with the rest distributed randomly.
Among them, the Iraqi winner raised the most suspicion.
“Their activity zones overlap far too much with Übermenschen operations.”
“Yes. Between Africa and the Middle East—both regions are closely connected to their movements.”
“But would they really use someone so openly? It’s practically screaming ‘I’m from the Übermenschen.'”
“They have no idea that Mister and I detected their assassination attempt.”
To launch a terrorist attack at a Gold Ticket event in Korea—one of the world’s premier hunter nations and boasting the finest security since the Gate crisis?
It was something few would consider plausible. Had it not been for the Ring of Conspiracy, I wouldn’t have suspected it either.
“Still, let’s not jump to conclusions. They could genuinely be unrelated.”
“Right. The investigation didn’t turn up anything suspicious either.”
Separate from the Gold Ticket matter, immigration procedures had become considerably stringent since the Gate crisis.
First, none of the winners were Awakened. Since this was Yong-yong’s event, the Hunter Association had already conducted preliminary screening.
After all, an Awakened individual could go mad and harm Yong-yong. It happened in the first round too, so it wasn’t unusual.
All five winners were ordinary, non-Awakened individuals.
“And it might not be Iraq—it could be someone else.”
“True. There were spies from China too, and foreign nationals aren’t necessarily different.”
Italy wasn’t far from North Africa either, and our own national winner could potentially have ties to the Übermenschen.
Of course, non-Awakened individuals had limited options, but complacency was dangerous.
“If they pull out some suspicious item during Yong-yong’s experience phase, it could be catastrophic.”
Firearms and explosives were typically screened through body searches, similar to airport procedures before the event. We’d need to pay extra attention to this.
“Creating event-exclusive clothing might be good too. That way, there’s nowhere to hide anything.”
“What a headache.”
“But we have our cards too.”
Saebyeokbit and Fist King.
Just as they were scheming against us, we were laying traps against them.
“We need to make sure our cards win.”
We’d set our traps, but without knowing their exact strategy, we had to prepare for everything.
“By the way, has Mister decided?”
“The Skill Rank Increase Voucher?”
“Yes. He should use it soon to adapt to it.”
“Not yet. I should hear what Chun-bae has to say first.”
Mister was deliberating deeply over the precious Skill Rank Increase Voucher. But not for his own skills.
He was torn between using it on himself or on Min-seok. You might call it a father’s heart.
“I understand. Chun-bae even said it would be fine to use the Skill Rank Increase Voucher on the Stoneworker.”
I was of two minds as well. Their target was us. Using it on Mister’s skills would provide significant help this time.
However, if I thought about it long-term, investing in Min-seok was also quite a sound direction. I had deliberated on it myself, after all.
‘Since I invested in the present, there’s no harm in Mister investing in the future.’
Mister, who had been pondering for a moment, shrugged his shoulders.
“Let me think about it a bit more.”
After concluding my conversation with Mister, I decided to attend to what needed to be done.
* * *
“Coordinate-designated return Secretary?”
I was meeting with Saebyeokbit again to discuss the matter.
“With those, we really wouldn’t fall into a trap, would we?”
“No. It would be impossible.”
“How many do you have?”
“We obtained ten in total, and we plan to use five of them.”
During the Witch incident, there was Min-seok’s situation and the danger involved, so I moved alone, but this event would have the entire Dragon Guild participating.
Everyone had reached level 57. In terms of levels, we had reached the tail end of the Advance Team.
However, our stats were far higher than that, so I could confidently say we were truly part of the Advance Team.
In this situation, excluding Min-jae, Lee Shin-hee, and Han Chul would be disrespectful to them as well.
‘The five sheets are our insurance.’
I would mark coordinates in a safe location. Should a truly dangerous situation arise, we would escape via Secretary.
Their scheme ultimately came down to eliminating Mister, Yong-yong, and me. Simply escaping would neutralize it.
In other words, I had already thwarted their scheme. Of course, the ideal outcome would be to kill everyone who showed up.
Seo Seung-yeon pondered.
“Do the remaining five sheets come to us?”
“Yes. That’s why I brought it up. I’m thinking of giving one to the Fist King.”
“Four remaining. The rest will stand by nearby, and I’ll give one to San—”
And so the solid trap strategy discussion continued with Seo Seung-yeon.
* * *
“The roster changed. The route too.”
“Why?”
“We reached an agreement with China.”
“China? Haven’t we had trouble with them recently?”
“When interests align, you shake hands even with enemies.”
“…True. Their reputation took quite a hit because of the Space Mage, didn’t it?”
“If a monster of that caliber emerges from the country directly below, China wouldn’t be pleased either.”
“Are you prepared for a conflict?”
“From their perspective, they’d just blame us, and that would be the end of it. There was an incident recently anyway.”
“Will it slip by?”
“Didn’t we already attempt to kill Shin Chang and fail? The world knows nothing of it.”
“That’s true enough.”
“And this time, the world’s gaze will be diverted. Since we joined hands with China, we received their assistance as well.”

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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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