Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 236

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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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236. Suspicious Criminal in the Underground Sewers (2)
“It seems you’re not the Emperor’s Servant, but rather bounty hunters. How about we call it quits here?”
A refined voice came from behind. It was quite a distance away. When I turned my head, two men were walking toward us.
A middle-aged man and a young man. The middle-aged one carried a sword, while the young man held a spear.
The one with the spear had sharp, angular features—he gave off a strong military impression. A bodyguard, perhaps.
In any case, neither the middle-aged man with the sword nor Spear Master seemed ordinary.
‘Deron appears to be the older one.’
I’d only been told to catch the suspicious criminal with no explanation, but I suspected the suspicious criminal referred to Deron rather than anyone else.
During the brief standoff, Guild members came running from behind.
“First, could we take Pim?”
The man asked politely, maintaining a distance of several meters.
What should I do?
The young boy didn’t seem particularly strong, but judging by their appearance, there remained a possibility he could be used as leverage.
However, if this was truly a suspicious criminal case, there was likely more to the story. There was no need to appear hostile. The boy didn’t even look strong.
I nodded and stepped aside slightly, and Pim quickly read the situation.
“…Tch.”line>
With an expression of wounded pride, he quickly rushed toward the middle-aged man. Deron stepped forward and blocked Pim’s path.
And with an expression as if his pride had been hurt, he quickly ran toward the middle-aged man. Deron stepped forward and blocked Pim’s path.
Unlike me, who had drawn Etheril, Deron hadn’t drawn his sword.
“First, how about removing that mask?”
Did he think the gas mask was a mask? Now that I thought about it, there was no sewage flowing in this area. His polite demeanor. Conversation seemed possible.
Let me approach this cautiously. I carefully removed the mask. The man studied my face intently.
“Looking at your face and your outfit, you’re definitely not the Emperor’s Servant.”
“As you’ve noticed, I’m a bounty hunter.”
I remembered what Deron had said at first. Judging by his mention of the Emperor, the descriptor “suspicious” must have arisen from their side’s problem.
It was necessary to appear unrelated to the Emperor.
Deron gradually shifted his gaze, observing our Guild members. His eyes seemed to be gauging their combat strength.
And soon he let out a small sigh.
“This is troublesome. I haven’t heard of such skilled individuals in the Capital.”
“We arrived recently.”
“Is that so? Well, that would explain why you accepted the request.”
Deron nodded and spoke with apparent ease. But his posture told a different story.
I could sense he was keeping himself sharp, ready to engage in combat at any moment. He was definitely no ordinary person.
“How about we just leave things as they are?”
“….”
“I hate to say it, but I don’t exactly look like a serial killer, do I?”
A serial killer? Was that the reason for the bounty on his head?
Honestly, Deron’s words weren’t wrong. His refined and polite demeanor, and even his appearance, didn’t suggest he was a serial killer.
While I couldn’t be certain based solely on attitude and appearance, there was something I could sense from the aura he gave off.
Deron continued.
“I apologize for the wasted effort in coming all this way, but I trust that skilled individuals like yourselves would have a sense of honor.”
“I agree with that part, but it seems difficult to simply retreat as things stand.”
If we withdraw now, the Gate subjugation will be marked as a failure.
“Hmm….”
Deron wore a slightly disappointed expression as he fell silent, then turned his head away.
“Pim, go on ahead.”
“Deron?”
“I’m not certain I can protect you in the fight that’s coming.”
The middle-aged man regarded me with eyes that had grown somewhat cold.
“Since the bounty is likely your only objective, and I’m the one being hunted, I can promise you that we won’t pursue this child regardless of how things unfold—can I have your word on that?”
Just watching him send the young boy away made him seem far from villainous. I would have thought the same even without the word “suspicious” attached to the Gate’s name.
Wasn’t his demeanor the kind that would make anyone sense there was something more to this situation?
“When I say we can’t retreat, I don’t mean we have to fight.”
“…?”
“It seems like there’s a story here. What if you told us? Our perspectives might change. It doesn’t seem like either of us are people inclined toward evil.”
At my words, the man let out a soft laugh.
“If you weren’t evil, wouldn’t the right thing be to retreat when I asked you to?”
“Unfortunately, we have our own circumstances that prevent us from simply withdrawing.”
Deron’s eyes widened, and he soon nodded.
“Is that so? It seems you have your own story as well.”
Yes. Because of mana erosion, we had no choice but to enter a place like this—a very complicated situation indeed.
The man let out another soft laugh.
“But then, what of yours would I trust enough to share my story?”
“Fair point.”
* * *
I’d anticipated this to some degree. Even if the suspicious criminal had a story, he wouldn’t readily bare his soul to us.
The Gate’s intention was probably for us to defeat these people first.
‘The choice comes after that.’
Either we overcome them, or we listen to their story and choose a different path. The latter will probably be difficult.
I turned my gaze toward Chul-gi.
“Chul-gi. You with the spear….”
“Let’s give it a try.”
“It doesn’t look easy.”
“Difficulty is how you grow stronger.”
Perhaps because of the martial arts tournament with an S-rank spear on the line, Chul-gi stood beside me with quite a serious expression.
“If it gets dangerous….”
“I will assist you.”
Still, with Han Chul here, I had no real concerns. With First Guard, we could overcome a crisis or two.
“Right. If it really comes to that, I’ll switch out with Han Chul.”
Chul-gi faces Spear Master, and I face Deron. Was it coincidence that Chul-gi, who’d become earnest about spearmanship, would meet Spear Master? Well. Let me not be suspicious.
The God of Play probably didn’t meddle with Chul-gi’s side. Perhaps we’re just lucky.
“Please refrain from supporting me unless absolutely necessary.”
I pushed aside my wandering thoughts and spoke to Lee Shin-hee and Min-jae. I wanted to test myself one-on-one against this Deron, whose aura was anything but ordinary.
My competitive spirit and desire for growth had been ignited through recent sparring sessions with Fist King.
“Let’s go.”
Mister and I kicked off the ground simultaneously. Unlike the water-filled passages before, this path was wide enough for four people to fight without hindrance.
I decided not to worry too much about Mister’s side. Han Chul would be watching anyway.
Sword and spear.
He assessed his opponent and approached exactly as we intended. Deron’s blade came first.
-Clang!
Defense first, then counterattack—this was something I’d been honing since my awakening. I defended with practiced ease and thrust with a clean strike.
However, he parried it far too easily.
‘This is indeed troublesome.’
From just the first exchange, I could feel that his swordsmanship surpassed mine. Several more clashes followed in quick succession.
It was a moment for both of us to gauge each other.
“For your age, that’s not bad.”
It was Deron speaking.
Just as I’d recognized that I was being outmatched in swordsmanship, he’d felt it too. There was a sense of leisure in his movements, a palpable condescension toward me.
“Aren’t your companions in the back going to do anything?”
His obvious provocation drew a laugh from me—not my usual laugh, but something fiercer, like Fist King’s.
Had his fighting spirit infected me after just a few days together?
Hmm. It seemed Fist King’s competitive drive had rubbed off on me somewhat. But not yet. This was a moment to restrain myself.
My swordsmanship fell short, but I held the advantage in raw physical power. Yet I was still holding back because….
‘This is an opportunity to broaden my understanding of swordsmanship.’
Liu Zhen’s swordsmanship, which I’d witnessed before, still held depths for me to explore. What I’d understood so far was this:
Swordsmanship that crashed down like waves. Every sword strike carried intention. It felt like placing the opponent before an advancing tide.
Cresea swordsmanship also had elements that induced the opponent’s next move, but the depth was different. It was a matter of grade.
I’d tried to replicate Liu Zhen’s swordsmanship using what I knew, but it wasn’t easy.
‘This is another sample.’
This opponent possessed something similar. At minimum, it was A-rank swordsmanship, possibly S-rank if higher.
When I had one point of comparison, having two reference points might reveal something else entirely.
“….”
As our blades locked for a moment, I felt his expression grow slightly more serious. He was surely sensing it.
That despite his superiority in swordsmanship, he was losing in strength and speed.
His strikes became sharper. As a master, he’d surely noticed that I was studying his swordsmanship.
But even that was an opportunity for me.
‘So that’s how it’s done here?’
Similar to Liu Zhen’s swordsmanship yet different. This was closer to a river. Though perhaps I should call it a river with depths—certain sections where the water ran deep.
At some point, instead of facing waves, one suddenly plunged into the deep current… like stepping into a trap of one’s own making.
-Kuh-!
Much like before, I managed to escape through my physical superiority. Deron’s swordsmanship was becoming somewhat clearer to me. But to truly grasp it, I would need time alone to contemplate.
My thoughts shattered at the sound of impact.
—Clang!
Mister’s spear flew through the air. Han Chul was rushing toward that very spot.
Well, I’d seen enough of his swordplay, and it seemed solid enough to commit fully. I still hadn’t deployed my combat technique yet.
“Hah!”
I drew a sharp breath and surged forward. It was the same pattern I’d used before—the one that cut in with precision. I wove in the patterns I’d gained from sparring with Fist King.
His blade was deflected, but my left fist drove forward with ferocious momentum.
“A fist—!”
He twisted his body in alarm, but his right fist still gripped the sword. At close range, a fist was faster than steel.
Deron recoiled, pulling his upper body back. I smirked. “A fist,” he’d said—as if we’d ever agreed to fight with swords alone.
I drove a spinning kick toward Deron, whose center of gravity was collapsing. He barely blocked it with his arm, but his body staggered.
I finished with a leap.
—Whoosh!
In an instant, I vanished and placed my blade against the back of his neck. I felt his body stiffen. This was my advantage.
When focused purely on close combat, a leap was more terrifying than any secret technique.
‘Especially when the opponent is caught off-guard by a sudden assault.’
Deron stopped moving.
“Drop your sword.”
“…Very well.”
I turned my gaze toward Spear Master.
“You do the same.”
The young warrior glared at me as if he wanted me dead, then slowly lowered his spear.
Now it was time to hear the truth.
* * *
The silence that followed was heavy. I could feel the weight of Deron and the young Spear Master’s gazes shifting.
It was unnecessary tension. Before things could escalate, I kicked both their weapons toward the rear and sheathed my sword.
“…?”
They looked momentarily confused.
“I told you. We’re not villains like that. We have our reasons.”
I spread both hands wide to show I had no intention of fighting.
“Let’s just talk. Why is the Emperor after you? We might even be able to help.”
Deron sighed.
“From the way you’re acting, I can see you’re not evil people. But it’s not something I can easily tell you. In fact, it could put you in danger.”
This was frustrating.
“It seems you don’t understand the situation…”
In cases like this, directness was the answer.
“If you don’t talk, we have to bring your heads back. That’s the situation we’re in.”
“What could possibly be worth that? If it’s something like that, wouldn’t we be unable to attack the other side even if you told us?”
Hmm. That was a fair point.
How should I respond to that? My mind raced quickly.
“It’s not that serious. It’s just that we’d be dealing with a lot more hassle….”
I spoke slowly, but even to my own ears, it sounded like a decent excuse.
“Just the fact that you asked us to save that boy makes it seem like you’re similar to us. So I’m willing to bear the inconvenience.”
Deron fell silent in thought. After a moment, he opened his mouth.
“Fine. I’ll tell you. If I don’t, there’s not even a thread of hope left in this situation.”
“Good thinking.”
“It all started from a prank played by the God of Play. I don’t know exactly how he did it.”
Wait. The God of Play?

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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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