Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 239

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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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239. Suspicious Criminal in the Underground Sewers (5)
“So… you’ve come from another world?”
Since the appearance was identical, it was certain that this was the world where the God of Play existed. Being inside a Gate, it had to be the distant past.
Judging from what I’d heard about someone toying with sacred relics, this world must be in the midst of magical erosion sweeping across it.
“I was wondering what madman was causing a ruckus in the Capital with my toy…”
“You’re not joking around?”
But I didn’t lower my guard. The God of Play. He loved to toy with things. Even this current appearance could be an act.
“Joking?”
The mischievous boy frowned. Then his eyes widened.
“…You know who I am.”
“Drop the act, will you?”
I probed once more just in case, but he remained lost in thought. Then suddenly he pointed a finger at me.
“…?”
I flinched, but nothing happened. The mischievous boy nodded to himself.
“Ah, so that’s how it is.”
“What do you mean ‘so that’s how it is’? Let me in on it too.”
“My power doesn’t work on you.”
The mischievous boy looked up at the sky.
“Hey. Are you watching, future me? Or should I say the real me?”
But no answer came back.
“This is incredible, isn’t it? To think I’d become the target of someone’s joke. I’m not pleased about this at all.”
“Even though you’re the God of Play?”
“Everyone enjoys playing pranks. But realizing that I’m a reconstructed being… that has a deeply unpleasant aspect to it.”
The mischievous boy spoke with one eye squinted. Now that I thought about it, the wicked god I’d met before had also tried to self-destruct before I provoked him.
A being with such immense power would certainly have wounded pride.
‘If I were in his position, I’d feel the same way.’
There’s a saying on Earth, isn’t there? If I were the brain in a vat. If Earth were a game and I were just one of its NPCs?
It doesn’t matter when you’re ignorant, but the moment you become aware of it, your past life, yourself, and your future all become meaningless.
‘But setting that aside…’
This one seems a bit more innocent?
Of course, seeing him swap out sacred relics and talk about “power” suggested he was already connected to the magical erosion.
But he had a somewhat purer aspect compared to the God of Play I’d met before. The way he spoke so honestly to me proved that.
Perhaps it was because he’d realized he was a reconstructed being.
“How tedious.”
The mischievous boy said that and waved his hand. And the area where he pointed literally ‘exploded’.
-KABOOM!
Everything was frozen in place, but that region and those who had been chasing me there simply burst apart.
“What is this…?”
“They weren’t alive anyway. What’s the point?”
Scratch what I said about him being innocent. No matter how you look at it. Are all gods fundamentally insane?
Wait a moment. Didn’t that bastard point a finger at me just now?
‘This lunatic. Was he trying to blow me up?’
Get a grip on yourself.
This guy’s nature… should I call it divine nature? That sounds a bit odd. Anyway, this isn’t the time to be nitpicking about that.
“You know about mana erosion, right?”
“Erosion? Hmm. Erosion, you say… That’s quite a fitting name, isn’t it?”
The God of Play chuckled softly.
“But that’s not the right answer. Calling mana itself ‘erosion’ doesn’t quite fit.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you call it ‘human erosion’ when humans reproduce and increase in numbers?”
I couldn’t immediately grasp what he was saying.
“From nature’s perspective, it might look that way, but that’s wrong.”
My head spun at the revelation that our fundamental understanding of mana erosion was flawed.
“Regardless, what is it then? You seem to be using it.”
“What else? It’s mana. Pure and fundamental mana. I was just lucky.”
What kind of riddle was this? Lucky, he says. The frustration of not getting the answer I wanted was mounting.
Or perhaps… that might actually be the truth.
* * *
I pondered briefly, but I couldn’t continue my thoughts deeply.
“As for the future version of me… or rather, what about the real me?”
This time, the mischievous one posed a question to me.
“Well, I haven’t met many versions. But there was plenty of mischief.”
“That would be natural, I suppose.”
The mischievous one spoke with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
“Even if I wanted to tell you, I don’t know much. It’s like he puts me in danger, but when I see the results, he’s actually helping me?”
“He helps you?”
As I nodded, the mischievous one regarded me with suspicious eyes.
“Why?”
That’s what I wanted to know.
“How should I know?”
“It seems the ‘real’ me likes you. You’re apparently quite entertaining.”
“He likes me?”
That was an unpleasant thing to hear. Suddenly, a crackling sound erupted from the mischievous one’s body. He furrowed his brow and raised his hand.
It seemed as though some force was acting upon him.
“You bastard… If you’re not going to show yourself, then stay quiet.”
It appeared the God of Play had laid hands on him. Had he been watching all along?
In any case, I felt that the past version of the God of Play seemed to have retained some innocence, just as I’d thought earlier.
“Well, strictly speaking, it would mean he finds it entertaining. If that weren’t the case, there’d be no need to observe.”
“I see. They say intentions can be the same or different.”
“Intentions, you say…”
The mischievous young man paused in thought before looking at me with a grin.
“Is that so.”
“You’ve been acting strange since earlier. Stop being so frustrating and just tell me what’s going on.”
“Perhaps we—no, perhaps I really… might have done something.”
“What?”
“It seems meaningless.”
I found myself asking for clarification, but instead of pressing further, I simply nodded. I’d experienced something similar before. When the God of Evil spoke, I couldn’t hear his exact words either.
From above—which meant the real God of Play had intervened.
‘This bastard….’
If he’s going to watch from the Gate like this, he could at least explain things properly. I have no idea what he’s thinking.
Perhaps he finds this entire situation entertaining.
I don’t know. But even if this creature has been reconstructed, there must be a reason he made me meet my past self.
Though his intentions are unclear and it was dangerous for me, everything ultimately helped.
‘What’s his intention this time.’
Then, a memory surfaced. It was from when I first met the God of Play in the Caution Against Falling zone.
-You were lucky this time. The gaze of Erosion is rarely turned away.
Every time I met him afterward, I could see him being cautious about something.
He must have been conscious of the gaze of ‘Erosion’. But there was a difference with the creature I met now.
This one acted as if he’d never heard of ‘Mana Erosion’ before. He even said I was wrong after hearing my explanation.
If that’s the case, then the current God of Play believes it’s ‘Mana Erosion’.
‘Has his thinking changed? Is that why he’s helping me?’
The answer is unknowable. He might just find my resistance amusing and be playing along.
In any case, the mischievous young man before me seemed to find this situation terribly boring now that he knew the truth.
“Do your best.”
After letting out a large yawn, he left me with words of encouragement.
“Though I’m not sure if you can.”
“?”
Encouragement? Either way, by the time I blinked, the mischievous young man had vanished in an instant.
Time began flowing again. However, it was only after the disappeared creature had eliminated all my surrounding enemies….
Escaping wasn’t particularly difficult. And about twenty minutes later….
A message appeared.
[Deron has escaped.]
[Deformed Gate ‘Surviving the Capital’ subjugation complete.]
[You have gained experience.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
Only two levels? Even without combat, the difficulty should have increased after causing a terrorist attack on the Imperial Court….
Just as I felt a twinge of disappointment, fortunately another message appeared.
[You survived after touching the Imperial Court.]
[Agility stat increases by 7.]
This wasn’t a bad haul at all. I’d gained a skill rank-up ticket from discovering a hidden objective, leveled up twice, and squeezed out seven points of agility from an additional hidden objective. I’d extracted all the value I could.
However, what truly troubled my mind more than these rewards was a single question.
‘What exactly does he want?’
My suspicions about the God of Play lingered persistently.
* * *
“Hmm. Either way, there seem to be about two possibilities, as you said.”
After the Gate subjugation ended, I was able to have quite an extensive discussion with Mister about this.
“So you’re saying he’s colluding with the erosion of magical power and orchestrating all this?”
“Yes. The first possibility is that he’s simply playing around, true to his nature as the God of Play. He showed considerable interest in the Previous Princesses as well.”
This was something I’d been keeping in mind all along. While he was helping me, even that could be deception.
After all, being betrayed by someone you thought was an ally hits quite hard, doesn’t it?
‘No, if he’s been deceiving me from the start, it’s not really betrayal.’
True to his nature as the God of Play, he might simply be toying with me for his own amusement. It was also the reason I continued to remain cautious of him.
“The second possibility is that his intentions have changed.”
“He initially allied with the erosion of magical power, but something went wrong?”
“Yes. Since he’s a being that devours even gods, there could be things we don’t know about.”
“Then it makes sense that he’d be wary of the erosion’s gaze, and why he’d be subtly helping you.”
“It’s obvious to say, but the one we encountered this time felt somewhat different from the one we met before.”
Talking it through with Mister helped me organize my thoughts, but it didn’t change much fundamentally.
I couldn’t lean heavily toward either side—I had no choice but to keep both possibilities in mind as I grew stronger.
“This is giving me a headache. Let’s rest for now. Either way, he’ll show his hand first.”
“Understood.”
.
.
.
The skill rank-up ticket I’d obtained this time went to Han Chul. Since both I and Mister had each received one before, the other three were the candidates from the start.
Min-jae, Lee Shin-hee, and Han Chul all had S-rank skills, so it didn’t matter who took it.
“I think Han Chul would be the best choice.”
“I’m disappointed too, but since he protects us, we can use magic more safely.”
Truthfully, all three had the chance to obtain S-rank skills, so I was worried. Items causing internal conflict within a Guild is a long-standing tradition among Hunters.
However, a beautiful scene unfolded where Lee Shin-hee and Min-jae yielded graciously. Han Chul also declined a couple of times before accepting.
‘It’s the orthodox choice, after all.’
While it would be good for Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee’s magic and healing firepower to strengthen, ultimately stability comes from having protection.
And Chul-gi’s skill rank-up ticket went to Min-seok.
-I’m fighting well enough as it is… and didn’t you say Min-seok’s craftsmanship holds tremendous value?
It was a choice made after consulting with Chun-bae, but I found it quite remarkable. It made me wonder what kind of existence a father truly is.
Thanks to this, Min-seok’s craftsmanship skill became A-rank. Though his level did drop slightly.
A-rank Craftsmanship, Level 3.
Capable of crafting B-rank Gate metals. He’d need to reach around level 5 to craft A-rank materials. I heard Min-seok was thrilled that he could now work with B-rank metals.
-We’re an Advance Team now too, so shouldn’t we be crafting with quality materials?
I learned a bit later that Mister’s decision also came from thinking about his team members.
It was around that time when everyone’s attention turned to Min-seok’s craftsmanship.
[Europe, simultaneous outbreak of Deformed Gates]
[Elevated mana density—are Deformed Gates now appearing regularly?]
I’d heard talk of mana density not long ago, and it seemed this was indeed the beginning.
[(Breaking News) Massive Deformed Gate appears in Europe]
Just from the reports coming in, something felt deeply wrong. With the emergence of a top-tier Deformed Gate, European Hunters had been placed on Emergency alert.
Support requests flooded in, but few nations were willing to help—no one knew when a Gate might open in their own territory.
I couldn’t help but feel anxious. As the God of Play’s warning had made clear, I would eventually face Ja-tan.
A top-tier Gate was more than sufficient for Ja-tan to emerge.
[Korea, all Hunters B-rank and above mobilized]
Korea wasn’t sitting idle either. Since Europe had been hit, our turn would come soon.
[(Breaking News) Deformed Gate appears in the Middle East]
[(Breaking News) Deformed Gates appear in the United States and Southeast Asia]
And just as I’d predicted….
Deformed Gates were advancing toward us, spreading outward from Europe.

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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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