Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 23

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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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23. Decaying Temple (2)
“Hack!”
The Dark Mage, reduced to nothing but bones, lost consciousness the moment my fist connected. One punch was all it took to finish him.
The mana surrounding the stone statue scattered into the air.
I wasn’t sure what he’d been preparing, but at least I’d succeeded in stopping it.
“Hye! Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’ve handled it. I stopped whatever he was attempting as well.”
“But that fire… what was that black flame…?”
“I have A-rank flame resistance. It was just warm, honestly? Since he was a Dark Mage, I suppose the color was just different.”
I was startled by the magic that flew at me without any casting time. It was definitely different from ordinary fire—it clung to my body and refused to extinguish easily.
Without flame resistance, that attack would have dealt serious damage.
‘I need to train my Subspace opening speed more.’
In any case, from what I could tell, what he’d been preparing was far more dangerous than that fire.
If I hadn’t opened the path behind the Goddess statue quickly enough, he would have attempted something far more catastrophic.
Though I was hit by that counterfeit hellfire, I don’t think my decision to charge in was poor judgment.
Inside a Gate, a single moment of judgment can determine whether you live or die.
I drove my sword into the fallen man’s neck. A Dark Mage—there was no reason to keep him alive.
You never know what might happen. He could feign sleep and cast magic at any moment.
“Hmm.”
I turned my gaze toward where he’d been praying. Before the stone statue—a mixture of Noll and human—lay a black spear.
Between the shaft and spearhead, a black gem emanating sinister mana caught my eye.
[Corrupted Spear of Aegel (D-rank)]
-Originally wielded by a devout Holy Knight, but corrupted by the lingering will of the Ancient Evil God.
-When used by an apostle of the Evil God, it can transform humans into Noll. The more the spear is used, the more corrupted the user becomes.
-Spirit Stat –10
…Ancient Evil God?
I stared blankly at this unfamiliar description. Among all the items I’d encountered so far, had there ever been one bearing the title of “Evil God”?
‘I don’t recall anything like that.’
In fact, I’d never even heard the word “God” before. It was an Evil God, but still—the title of “God” itself.
If such an item existed, there would have been an uproar.
Yet here before me was an item bearing the title of Evil God, even if it was only D-rank.
Of course, I couldn’t be pleased about it.
‘The description is ridiculous.’
The mention of an Ancient Evil God was unsettling enough, but what followed was utterly absurd.
A weapon that reduces Spirit stat by 10 and transforms humans into Noll?
‘It’s garbage.’
It was a weapon with little practical use for us. What would we even do with the ability to turn humans into Noll?
Besides, there was the prerequisite condition that only an apostle of the Evil God could wield it.
Sure, we could transform worthless creatures into Noll, but…
It would just turn them into ferocious monster hyenas rather than hunting dogs.
“What is this?”
Mister arrived a beat late and, after checking the spear’s specifications, exhaled a disappointed sigh.
“I had some hope since it came from the Ruins, but this is just garbage I wouldn’t use even if given to me.”
Then, a black jewel attached to the spear caught my eye—one emanating an ominous aura.
‘It doesn’t look like it was there when the spear was created. It seems to have been grafted on.’
Suddenly, clarity struck me. If that was a lingering fragment of the Ancient Evil God and the spear was corrupted because of it….
Destroying it might restore the spear to its original state, wouldn’t it?
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Huh?”
I pointed to the black jewel emanating that ominous energy.
“Let’s just destroy it.”
“The spear? How?”
“No, this black jewel thing. It looks like a lingering fragment of that Ancient Evil God. If we destroy it, might the spear be restored?”
Mister narrowed his eyes and stared at the spear.
“Now that you mention it, the ominous feeling isn’t coming from the entire spear—it’s coming from this thing.”
It seemed he’d only glanced over the spear’s specifications quickly.
“We’ve got nothing to lose. We can’t take a cursed weapon out of here anyway, so let’s try breaking this and abandon it if it doesn’t work.”
“Fair enough. But will a lance or sword even break it? It looks pretty solid.”
“What weapon would we use to break this?”
Whoosh—
Rather than explain further, I opened a Subspace. Inside were all sorts of Gate materials.
When my Subspace reached Level 2, a new space opened up containing something like a massive sledgehammer.
“I have this.”
This was incomparable to any ordinary sledgehammer—wasn’t it something Awakeners used even in the previous world?
Because it was extraordinarily large and sturdy, even Mister nodded involuntarily.
“Wow, with that, you could smash the spear too. You sure about this?”
“If it breaks, there’s no helping it. We can’t take this with us anyway.”
I brought the sledgehammer to the black jewel and raised both arms above my head.
The weight was considerable. Just as I was about to bring it down with all my strength—
—Wait.
A deep voice echoed from somewhere.
* * *
—Wait.
The voice that appeared alongside a strange presence didn’t sound human. I couldn’t even tell where the sound was coming from.
From the stone statue, or from that black jewel on the spear?
Had that Dark Mage already made his move? I’d descended fast enough that I shouldn’t have been late, though….
Whoosh—
Since I needed to prepare for combat, I opened a Subspace and pulled out Yong-yong. There was no poison fog like before in this place.
—You need not be tense. I have no intention of fighting. There is no need to destroy my lingering fragment.
I wasn’t foolish enough to relax just because my opponent said such things. If anything, my tension only deepened.
‘My remnant’? But the window clearly stated it was the Ancient Evil God’s remnant.
If that’s the case, then what we’re talking to right now is the Ancient Evil God itself….
Mister’s expression darkened as he grasped the situation.
‘No, I shouldn’t have to face the Evil God right this moment.’
I steadied myself. Even if it had transformed, it was at most a 21~25 level Gate.
Gate recommended levels are quite accurate. Fighting an Ancient Evil God’s remnant doesn’t make sense.
‘I don’t need to worry about anything else. I just need to think about clearing the Gate.’
A narrative-type Gate. The Dark Mage is dead. Now I need to unravel something through conversation with the Evil God.
Even if problems arise, at worst some kind of degraded incarnation body might appear.
‘An Ancient Evil God resembling Yong-yong.’
Considering that Yong-yong’s awakened form didn’t exist, I judged that level would be just right.
Once my mind settled, my body and spirit stabilized in many ways. I exhaled deeply, my composure returning.
“What do you want?”
-By your appearance, you seem to be someone from another continent who came seeking a solution, driven back by the erosion of mana. Take my hand.
‘Erosion of mana?’
The words felt strangely familiar. When had I heard them before? When I reached Subspace Level 2.
The Previous Princess had told me to ‘survive the erosion of mana.’
From the context, that ‘erosion of mana’ seemed to refer to the Gate crisis.
“If I take your hand?”
-I can make you survive the erosion of mana.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
-Why do you laugh?
“You seem to have already been consumed by that erosion yourself.”
The Ancient Evil God.
Even while working as an unawakened Hunter, I’d never heard information about ‘Gods.’ Was I the first? I didn’t know.
‘The information might be controlled.’
Important Gate-related information rarely becomes public. Ten years ago, on that day, the world descended into chaos as if facing the end.
Stores were looted, crimes occurred…. It was to prevent such social collapse.
Regardless, whether this creature was an Ancient Evil God or whatever, one thing was certain—it hadn’t survived the erosion of mana.
If the Evil God had possessed the ability to block the erosion of mana, it would never have revealed itself inside the Gate.
-….
The Evil God beyond fell silent for a moment.
-Yes, so that’s what happened. You must be people from another world. I had a strange sense of familiarity about you.
Huh?
What puzzled me slightly was that I’d heard the figures in ‘narrative-type Gates’ couldn’t perceive other worlds.
The Evil God—could it be different because it’s still a God?
-Then everything has already happened. I’m merely a remnant devoured by that creature.
“That creature? Is the erosion of mana something tangible?”
-Well, it depends on how you look at it. It’s closer to a ──── born from ── ────.
Suddenly, the Evil God’s voice cut off. As if only that moment had been muted.
-Tsk, it seems I can’t communicate inside this space he created.
A sudden thought flashed through my mind.
“Are you trapped inside this window right now? I have my own space. I can speak there.”
-Is that so?
“Yes.”
-But why should I do that?
Well… good point.
I had nothing to say. Wasn’t it strange to expect acknowledgment from an Ancient Evil God?
-Futile. I shall only fade away, so struggle as you will.
Irritation surged through me. Not only wouldn’t he help, but he was telling me to struggle?
“A wretch defeated by erosion acting all dignified. The title of god is wasted on you. Disappear.”
-…?
A moment of silence followed.
His pride was wounded by being called a god, apparently.
I quickly swung the sledge hammer in my hand down with all my strength.
I had no idea what this bastard might do in response to my provocation.
-You, you insolent…!
As expected. His voice mixed with rage reached me. In an instant, a bizarre presence and ominous aura exploded outward.
But it didn’t matter.
The sledge hammer had already struck the black jewel.
Boom, crack—!
The moment I felt the impact on the sledge hammer, the bizarre presence and ominous aura vanished.
Right, acting quickly was the right call.
“What, what happened? Is it over?”
Mister stood staring at me with his mouth agape. I smirked. Waiting for a transformation only happened in movies and anime.
“Waiting for a transformation is amateur hour, isn’t it? I just smashed it to pieces right away.”
I pointed the sledge hammer at the stone statue.
“A god that can’t move after one hit from a hammer acting all tough. It’s already dead.”
As I spoke with a smirk, Mister let out a hollow laugh. His expression relaxed with relief.
“What is all this? The Gate transforming to the past because of you, and the Ancient Evil God too.”
“Tell me about it.”
I was equally bewildered.
“That erosion the bastard mentioned earlier—that was about the Gate incident, right?”
I had opened up to Mister about what happened inside the Subspace before.
“It seems so.”
“If even the Ancient Evil God couldn’t defeat it… are we really going to be okay?”
That part worried me too.
“But we can’t just die. The Previous Princess told me to reach the end of the Subspace anyway. We have to try.”
“Right, you’re correct.”
That’s when I felt something moving near the window through my spatial awareness.
Thud, clatter—.
When I looked, a circular white jewel-like object was rolling across the ground. Seized by an inexplicable instinct, I quickly picked it up.
[Holy Stone (Grade A)]
-A stone imbued with faint divine essence.
“Could it be that one?”
Mister’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes, it looks like the black jewel that was stuck to it earlier.”
“It’s not dangerous, is it?”
“The color changed, so it seems safe?”
I showed the Holy Stone to Mister as well.
“Huh? Grade A?”
Mister was startled for a moment, then his expression grew gloomy.
“It’s Grade A, but what do we even use this for?”
“Right? Maybe if we give it to a Paladin, they could use Holy magic?”
Since it was described as faint, it seemed like it would be exhausted after one or two uses. Somehow, just like with the Flame Jade last time, I kept picking up these ambiguous items.
It was at that moment of disappointment.
[You have destroyed the lingering consciousness of the Ancient Evil God. Though merely a remnant, it is a great achievement for a human to annihilate a fragment of divinity.]
[Your Magic Power stat increases by 10.]
[You gain experience points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Han Hye, the greatest contributor, receives a Job Skill Acquisition Ticket.]
“Oh?”
“Oh!”

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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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