Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 252

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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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252. Abyss Valley (4)
“Haah….”
Han Hye exhaled sharply.
To the others, the moment of enlightenment seemed fleeting, yet everyone present immediately sensed that Han Hye’s aura had transformed.
-…Han Hye?
Even as Chun-bae reacted in shock, Toljet was the first to move. He had sensed something amiss.
Beneath Han Hye’s feet, shadows steeped in demonic energy erupted upward like spears.
-Clang!
It was a silent attack, but I deflected the shadows with Esirel rather than Blaze.
“You treacherous bastard. I knew you’d pull something like this.”
“I never specified when.”
Toljet replied brazenly, feigning innocence.
“A noble, huh…. Well, it doesn’t matter. The duel you all spoke of is still in effect.”
I smiled coldly and pointed Esirel at the count. I had charged in eagerly and ended up drenched in blood, but….
I had gained no small amount through that ordeal.
“Things will be different from now on.”
.
.
.
Since he attacked first with shadows, there would have been no problem even if I had healed in the Subspace and returned.
It wasn’t Lee Shin-hee’s healing—it was my own ability.
But I didn’t want to do that.
I wanted to quickly release this surging exhilaration coursing through my body. My sword hand was literally itching.
‘My mind is clear.’
I’d compare it to elementary school—struggling with a difficult math problem, then discovering the solution process without an answer key.
So now, I wanted to write the answer based on that solution process.
The wall I had faced while contemplating the fusion of three martial arts had crumbled.
The fundamental concept had shifted slightly. While Fighting Rooster remained the foundation, I had increased its proportion.
‘Like that Martial Artist back then.’
I pushed off the ground lightly and advanced. Movement as nimble as a fighting cock. The valley of the Demon Realm. Shadows erupted from all directions, targeting me.
I countered with Blaze. Power against power, as it were.
-Clang!
I caught the enemy’s blade with my left gauntlet. A thrust. It misses. Fine. I pushed the sword away with my left fist and swung toward his face.
The opponent dodges and loses his balance. I close in another step. Like a fighting cock charging ferociously.
It’s not an ideal distance for him to swing his sword. I hurled my right fist gripping Esirel toward his chest.
He hastily widened the distance, but it was already too late. I had committed fully to the assault.
-Thud!
My fist sinks into his right shoulder. The count staggers backward. This isn’t over. A fighting cock knows no retreat.
The newly gained distance is perfect timing to swing Esirel. I twist my wrist and thrust.
-Squelch!
I grazed the opponent’s left forearm. Pivoting on my firmly planted right foot, I rotated my body.
A spinning back kick that twisted my waist.
-Whoosh!
My left foot, accompanied by a tremendous sound of air splitting, aimed at Toljet’s ribs. Toljet barely blocked it with his left arm.
Of course, he hadn’t completely defended against it.
-Crack!
I felt the sound of bone fracturing. The reason I couldn’t press the attack further was because demonic shadows from all directions were targeting me.
I retreated, burning with Scorching Flame. Chun-bae grasped the situation.
-You’ve achieved enlightenment.
‘Yeah. Let’s talk about it later.’
I saw a term I’d never heard before. A “Unique Skill,” they called it. It had to be different from ordinary skills.
But right now, I didn’t want to converse with Chun-bae. I wanted to test this out immediately.
Just from that last exchange, my strikes landed exactly as intended. It felt exhilarating, like a weight had lifted. I was satisfied with myself.
Toljet covered his wound with demonic energy and glared at me.
“You….”
“I told you. This would be different from before.”
I could sense it myself. This wasn’t simply a change from acquiring an A-rank combat skill. With the name “Unique Skill” attached to it, this was something special.
Three skills I’d long pondered merged together, and harmony bloomed within my mind.
Of course, my situation wasn’t entirely favorable. During the process of achieving enlightenment, I’d accumulated quite a few minor wounds.
He’d been toying with me, attacking shallowly.
‘He never expected this to come back at him like this.’
My body felt light yet slightly heavy. The enlightenment’s effect would help for now, but as time passed, it would grow heavy again.
And most critically—my mana. Territorialization was a skill that consumed enormous amounts of mana, and I’d been fighting for far too long.
Scorching Flame could be used with flame talismans, but I had almost no mana left to use Territorialization.
In other words, I had to end this quickly.
‘Or enter the Subspace and come back out.’
I chose the former. I had confidence. An incredible sense of exhilaration. It felt like I could accomplish anything right now.
Of course, if that Demon Grand Duke suddenly appeared, I’d have to flee.
* * *
“Hah.”
I took a short, sharp breath and kicked off the ground again. Shadows from all directions targeted me. Simultaneously, walls of Scorching Flame protected my surroundings.
-Whoooosh!
Some shadows broke through the burning walls of fire. Even as they burned and melted, they still targeted me.
I pushed through. Relying on my spatial sense. Combat was about advancing even while taking hits.
-Screech!
I felt parts of my body being scraped, but I broke through. Another charge. Blade clashed against blade. Fists and feet supported the sword from below in combat.
Several exchanges followed. Sometimes I took wounds, sometimes he did.
“….”
That’s when he smirked. The moment he suddenly retreated like a shadow. Before I knew it, I was beneath a shaded area.
The shadow engulfed me. It was different from before. Shadows with dense concentration. Not piercing like spears.
Like an enormous cloth wrapping around me, it surrounded me as if to swallow me whole. I didn’t respond with Blaze.
The solution was simple, after all.
-Whoosh!
The moment I broke through with Leap, his eyes widened. He must have realized his mistake. Foolish creature. He knew it was coming and still fell for it.
I understand. It was also the reason I didn’t use Leap frequently against enemies like this.
Even if one is aware of something initially, once your composure crumbles and your vision narrows, your thoughts can’t reach the answer.
I knew this well from sparring with Shin Chang—I’d fallen for the same trick several times.
‘It’s about time….’
Time to finish this. This level of actual combat experience was sufficient.
It was strange how the situation had reversed so completely with just one awakening, when he was clearly the stronger opponent before.
‘No wonder Shin Chang and Fist King fought like madmen.’
This was my first time experiencing something like this. Those two must have encountered it many times.
I leaped again and closed in on him, then unleashed Eshirel. If there was a fatal flaw in him….
It was that he knew too little about me. I’d shown him Blaze and Leap, but those weren’t all I had. I distributed my remaining mana and activated Swift.
The world slowed. I thrust the blade forward just as before, allowing him to parry it with practiced ease.
And then.
I aimed for the moment when he tried to respond based on his previous experience.
‘Severance.’
In this slightly slowed time, gauging Severance through spatial sense wasn’t particularly difficult.
From the tip of Eshirel, space split into six directions ahead.
“…!”
Toljet sensed something amiss and opened his eyes wide, but it was already too late.
-Shhhhwaaaack!
There’s a reason martial arts stories always mention hiding a technique in reserve. When you’re immersed in combat with narrowed vision and have learned your opponent’s patterns, responding to an entirely different technique becomes nearly impossible.
His body split into dozens of pieces. Was it because he used shadows?
-Kyaaaah!
Black demonic energy scattered like smoke, but I wasn’t about to let that slide. I gathered all the remaining flames from the fire talismans and burned away the shadows.
-Screeeeeech!
Perhaps because he’d transformed into shadow form, I heard a long scream like a psychic wail, though not a physical voice.
[Your level has increased.]
My level rose from a single battle. That was rare at this stage. It meant he was truly a formidable foe.
The moment his presence vanished, I looked down at Eshirel.
I’d finished with Blaze and Severance, but….
I’d opened my eyes to something new. The period of contemplation had been long, but I’d finally received my reward. It took quite a while. Or did it?
‘It hasn’t even been a year yet.’
At the same time, Lee Shin-hee’s healing incantation washed over my body. And Diluvian stepped forward, spear in hand.
“The duel is over! Toljet has been defeated by a human—you will withdraw!”
He shouted loudly, but the enemies barely moved. They stared at us with eyes blazing like fire.
A sigh escaped me unbidden.
“Sigh….”
These demon bastards don’t understand the meaning of a promise. That Toljet fellow did whatever he pleased too.
Well, I understand. Their numbers are considerable.
If I take the bloodied Nereion away from here, I’ll earn recognition from the Demon Grand Duke.
From their perspective, it must look like a promotion is lying on the ground waiting to be picked up.
-Kugugugugu!
That’s when I felt a faint tremor from the earth. Suddenly, water began flowing from behind.
“…!”
The demons visibly panicked. Water that appeared from nowhere trickled down, soaking their feet.
That’s when I heard Nereion’s voice.
“Withdraw.”
I spun my head around to see Nereion standing, though with difficulty.
“You were ultimately my subjects. I’m giving you a chance.”
Lee Shin-hee’s continued treatment had been effective. Nereion’s crimson eyes blazed with power.
“Or will you face Heuk-ha’s Nereion here in Abyss Valley?”
Ah, now that I think about it, Nereion’s abilities were water-related. No wonder he fled to the valley.
-Kugugugung!
The earth’s tremor intensified, and the black water flowing through the valley began to increase.
-Whoosh!
The enemies’ retreat was instantaneous. The moment someone kicked off the ground, demons and demonic beasts alike bolted backward without distinction.
‘Impressive.’
Indeed. He was the former Demon Grand Duke, after all. He faced three Demon Counts alone and killed two of them.
Nereion approached me and smiled.
“You’ve saved me again, my friend.”
“It just happened to work out that way. How’s your body?”
“Not well, but thanks to you, I can walk.”
Diluvian hurriedly supported Nereion.
“You need more rest. The exertion just now….”
“It’s fine. I’m not that fragile.”
Nereion patted Diluvian’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry. Because of old bonds, I’ve put you in danger too.”
“Please don’t say such things.”
Hmm. You could call it the beauty of a lord and retainer’s bond. Seeing how genuinely apologetic Nereion looked, I added my own words.
“Well, who could have known that fellow was a traitor? We’ll just be more careful next time.”
“…Yes. That’s what we should do.”
Nereion nodded with a somewhat melancholic expression. Well, that aside….
My gaze turned to the sword that Toljet had dropped. It looked precious.
‘I felt it from the moment I clashed with Essirel.’
It’s an S-rank sword.
Even Essirel, which was supposedly S-rank, felt inferior to this blade in pure sword quality.
“Then this should be mine….”
Just as I was about to pick up the sword, Diluvian spoke.
“Thank you. Not only did I survive because of you, but I was able to recover Nereion’s sword.”
Huh?
This wasn’t mine?
“Well, well. Here. Thank goodness.”
A sigh escaped me unbidden, but I quickly composed my expression. It was a shame to lose an S-rank sword, but I couldn’t covet something that belonged to someone else.
And wait—if I gave up this sword, it was obvious they’d offer me something better in return.
….
Right? That’s how it works, isn’t it?
I looked at Nereion and Diluvian with anticipation.
And, as expected.
“The situation is dire and I don’t have much to offer, but I absolutely must give you this.”
Nereion rummaged through his belongings.
This bastard better be pulling out something equivalent to an S-rank sword. I watched eagerly to see what would emerge from the nobleman’s possession.

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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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