Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 261
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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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261. Roster Confirmed
“The lion-man in Australia. That’s likely the original owner of this spear.”
Lee Shin-hee was the first to nod at my words. Truly, she deserved her reputation as our guild’s strategist.
The other guild members, catching on a beat later, opened their mouths in understanding.
Given how far we’d come, the deduction wasn’t particularly difficult. The crucial point was that the God of Play was connected to all of this.
Now that a lion-man had appeared in Australia, Gates spawning similar enemies to those Chun-bae had faced were manifesting near us.
‘It’s clearly the God of Play’s doing.’
Before facing Ja-tan, hadn’t he positioned a flame monster resembling Ja-tan near me? His intentions were transparent.
We discovered an S-rank spear here, but it couldn’t be resolved within this Gate?
Naturally, the lion-man in Australia came to mind. That creature, towering over three meters, was far larger than anything we’d encountered here.
It appeared stronger as well. If there was a hidden spear’s owner, it had to be that beast.
“Then that lion-man must be the author of the journal the guild master saw earlier.”
I nodded at Han Chul’s words.
“Yes. Unlike what I expected, he left this Labyrinth.”
“If he ended up like that despite leaving… the outcome must have been unfortunate.”
“In a world where the God had vanished, he departed seeking atonement from that God.”
Even reading the journal had weighed on my heart. Though they’d become monsters, they were beings who had resisted erosion just as we did.
From the perspective of someone who hadn’t lived in their era, it felt strange to snicker at their misguided choices.
“Ah, I thought it’d work out right away.”
Chul-gi expressed his disappointment as the atmosphere grew slightly heavier. I understood his sentiment.
“It can’t be helped.”
“That’s right. Brother, S-rank items don’t come easy anyway.”
Min-jae offered consolation, but the old man sighed again.
“Yeah, but isn’t this one particularly rough?”
Everyone chuckled lightly at his playful complaint. He had a point. To obtain an S-rank item, we’d need to defeat the lion-man in Australia.
While that target would certainly be formidable, the fact that it existed in Australia was the greatest obstacle.
The land of monsters.
We’d have to cut through an enormous horde of monsters just to reach the lion-man.
“That’s certainly true.”
“Right? Normally, something like this would warrant an S-rank reward, wouldn’t it?”
And this Gate hadn’t been easy either. We could only break through because it was our guild; any other guild would’ve been annihilated.
Even I, who struggled to find equals at my level, hadn’t been overwhelmed by the incarnate form.
“The performance will be superior.”
This was meant to console, but I meant it sincerely.
“Is that so?”
“Even within the same rank, skills and items have their tiers.”
S-rank is no exception. According to Chun-bae, the gap between high and low-tier S-ranks was quite substantial.
“Given how the God of Play handled this, it’s certain to be quite decent.”
“True. That Twilight Scythe had ridiculous specs too.”
“And the circumstances aren’t unfavorable either.”
I wondered how I’d manage to take people to Australia, but wasn’t this the perfect time when an extermination team was forming voluntarily?
Since I had to deal with that creature anyway, I could consider the additional reward as a bonus.
“Let’s head back now.”
I hadn’t obtained an S-rank spear, but it wasn’t as though I’d gained nothing.
[The level of your unique skill ‘Iron Wing Thrust Sword (A-rank)’ has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
After the battle with the divine avatar, the Iron Wing Thrust Sword skill reached level 5, and I’d gained 2 levels while clearing the Labyrinth.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
[You have achieved victory against a divine avatar.]
[You have gained experience.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your ‘Spirit’ stat increases by 3.]
A 3-point increase to Spirit and an additional level-up on top of that. Plus I’d obtained an S-rank spear (true), so I’d definitely extracted everything worth getting from the Labyrinth Gate.
An S-rank item was far superior to a handful of A-rank items anyway.
* * *
[Space Mage Han Hye reaches level 67!]
[Choin level 76, Shin Chang level 73. Just how far will the Space Mage’s growth continue?]
[Does leveling slow down at higher levels? That doesn’t apply to the Space Mage!]
The fact that I’d gained 3 levels from this single Labyrinth Gate sparked considerable discussion. The disparity with other Advance Teams was simply too stark.
They typically gained around 1 level from clearing a single Gate. Gaining 2 levels was considered substantial.
[Doesn’t the Space Mage require less experience to level up?]
-Talk sense, you idiot lol
-Experience requirements are identical for all classes.
-Then what about the Dragon Guild members?
The fact that such comments were emerging showed just how absurd the growth rate appeared.
The required experience had definitely increased. I could feel it myself.
But we were breaking through it regardless. There were two key differences. First, we were a team of five.
Most Advance Team hunters formed squads of ten, so they accumulated more experience per member.
And second, we ventured into difficult areas without hesitation.
Since the primary objective of an Advance Team is ‘safety,’ their goals differ somewhat.
‘Because these Advance Teams receive support from their respective nations.’
A casualty would be catastrophic. So they prioritize maximum safety when entering. Of course, Advance Teams do tackle difficult Gates.
But they tend to avoid unnecessary risks. Some even use escape secretaries frequently to attempt multiple clears.
While most hunters operate on a safety-first principle, Advance Teams have their governments actively recommending caution.
Of course, not all Advance Teams are like that. The Fist King exists as a counterexample. But we were more aggressive than even him.
[Only 9 levels remain until the world’s highest level!]
-It’s not 9 levels though. Choin will probably level up while Han Hye gains those 9 levels, right?
┗Considering the leveling speed of Choin and the Space Mage, Han Hye will probably overtake them in the early 80s
┗Nah Han Hye’s growth will slow down
┗The Space Mage’s leveling slowdown has been mentioned since level 50 lol
┗Nah, it’s definitely not slowing down~
Not just Koreans, but people worldwide were showing interest in my level. The gap was closing rapidly after all.
-Can Han Hye become world rank 1 before the Australia subjugation?
┗That seems pretty difficult
┗Yeah, no matter how fast the Space Mage levels up, it’s physically impossible
┗Why not?
┗Even in high-level Gates, you need to go to difficult places, and there aren’t many of those
-Seems like she could get to a similar level though
The Australia situation was especially a factor in this. All sorts of opinions were circulating both internationally and online.
The issue was about command authority in the Australia subjugation and who would take the lead.
[UN Gate Countermeasures Committee convenes Hunter Association Presidents from each nation. Australia subjugation-related talks…]
Even though the Australia subjugation had been agreed upon nationally, the specific details meant each country had different opinions.
Every nation wanted their hunters to be safe and exposed to less danger.
But the place we were going was Australia. Someone had to bear greater risk.
Since everyone knew this, the tension between nations was sharp. The internet was in chaos.
-It makes sense for the United States to lead, since they have Choin, the world’s highest-level hunter
┗I agree. World hunter ranking number 1.
┗So they keep American hunters safe and use other hunters as meat shields?
┗Then who should lead? The US Advance Team is world rank 1, right? And they have the best equipment too
┗If we wait two months, the Space Mage will probably catch up to Choin. Why not tell Korea to take the lead?
┗That’s different. Korea’s Space Mage lacks experience
┗So she lacks experience but still blocked a colossal Gate alone?
┗If it wasn’t for the Space Mage, the Advance Team still wouldn’t have hit level 70
┗There’s no one pushing up from below, so everyone’s just slacking off. Tax thieves!
I didn’t know how this would turn out either. As long as we subjugate Australia, it wouldn’t matter much….
But if the deployment became too unreasonable, I felt like I’d get angry.
Most nations had probably already decided on their rosters, but the Australia subjugation wasn’t progressing largely because of this.
While looking at Hunter Net, there were some funny posts.
-Why not just call in Chinese hunters and put them on the front lines? Make them atone
┗Oh?
┗Atonement meat shields lol
┗Are you insane lmao
┗Honestly, these bastards already ruined all hunter relations, so what else could fix it?
┗Still, that’s a bit much;;
┗Would China agree? If they stay quiet, their hunter power will just increase
┗Nah, China has to participate. If they don’t join, they’ll really be isolated
┗Even so, China wouldn’t make such a proposal. They’d participate but just stay quiet
China, whose international image had already hit rock bottom from this incident, was volunteering to make sacrifices.
It was amusing, but I thought the actual outcome would be limited.
If I just stayed quiet, things would pass naturally without me having to lower Korea’s Hunter strength.
But a few days later, something unexpected happened.
[China’s Sword Master Liu Zhen: “If the Australia subjugation moves to the front lines, I will step forward. I want to correct my master’s mistake.”]
Liu Zhen had spoken up. From the situation, it seemed like an unilateral interview. The Chinese side hadn’t responded initially either.
What was he thinking? Could he be using this as a pretext to lower China’s Hunter strength?
‘That might be it.’
Liu Zhen was one of the craziest lunatics planning a second coup in China.
Still, I thought the Chinese government would have shut it down.
[China: “We will actively participate in the Australia subjugation,” “We will wash away Lei Chuang’s mistakes.”]
The Chinese government had accepted Liu Zhen’s opinion. I couldn’t know what had happened internally, but…
Internationally, it was good news. It meant the Australia subjugation would proceed somewhat more smoothly.
‘They’re not plotting something, are they?’
Suspicion suddenly crept in. These were the ones who’d joined hands with the Übermenschen. But it was nearly impossible for them to cause trouble in Australia.
The nations preparing for the Australia subjugation had signed military treaties with each other.
During the Australia subjugation, militaries worldwide would be on emergency standby. Satellites would be monitoring too.
The Übermenschen approaching Australia? Fighter jets would bomb immediately.
Unlike monsters with force fields, Hunters could be killed by guns and bombs. They wouldn’t come if they didn’t want to be buried.
At worst, it would be state terrorism, but we could handle that well enough.
‘And well, if China tries anything, Liu Zhen will probably tell me about it.’
He’s a madman among madmen. But a madman on your side is reassuring.
* * *
-Han Hye.
And a few days later.
A call came from Seo-ung at the Hunter Association. I realized what I’d been waiting for had arrived. The provisional roster for the Australia subjugation team was complete.
-We would like the entire Dragon Guild to participate in the Australia subjugation. Would that be possible?
“Everyone?”
What slightly surprised me was that our entire guild would be participating. I’d thought it would be just me and Mister.
-The Dragon Guild’s team composition is nearly perfect as is. We wanted to assemble a team with high survival probability when considering the worst-case scenario.
Hearing the explanation, the reasoning made sense. The Australia subjugation. A gathering of advance teams from various nations, but how that flow would proceed was uncertain.
The worst-case scenario.
When composing Hunters from multiple sources, there could be issues in terms of team synergy. This was about preparing for that.
-We will do our utmost to protect Min-seok safely.
“Who else is going?”
Since we weren’t going alone, confirmation was essential.
-Five people from Saebyeokbit are included, for a total of ten people moving to Australia.
Five people from Saebyeokbit, including Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon, would be moving. They were also a coordinated team for the same reasons as us.
“Then the remaining members of Chulbyeok and Saebyeokbit will stay in Korea.”
-That’s correct. The remaining Saebyeokbit members will be on standby near Chul-gi’s residence.
In that case, I didn’t have major concerns about Min-seok either.
‘If worst comes to worst, the Secretary with coordinate-designated return is staying behind anyway.’
There were leftover supplies from last time. I had hoped the guild members wouldn’t go, but given these circumstances, I found myself understanding their reasoning.
Perhaps going to Australia might even benefit the guild members. I decided to ask for their opinions without reservation.
“Me? Of course I’m going. I need to obtain an S-rank spear, don’t I?”
“I will participate, Guild Master.”
“Brother, we absolutely have to go.”
“I’m in.”
All the guild members shared the same sentiment.
“Yes. All five members of the Dragon Guild will participate in the Australia subjugation.”
Thus, our guild decided that all five of us would be heading to Australia.
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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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