Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 281

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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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281. Choin (4)
“At that time?”
It wasn’t an unbelievable story. My spatial perception range is 60 meters. And I didn’t know all the faces of the Advance Team members there either.
If he was watching from a distance or mixed in somewhere, there was no way for me to identify who he was.
“That’s why I couldn’t take aggressive action. I didn’t know his true intentions.”
Then Choin’s words made sense. Choin smiled self-deprecatingly.
“I’m not the type to be as reckless as the Fist King either.”
He was speaking indirectly, but essentially admitting he wasn’t particularly brave. Thanks to his objective self-deprecation, Choin’s words gained a bit more credibility.
Of course, this could still be deception, so I remained vigilant.
I might seem like a paranoid patient, but honestly, I think even that’s insufficient. Isn’t this related to the Übermenschen?
I nearly died because of them. And thinking about Liu Zhen’s situation makes it even more so.
“Where exactly was he?”
“Near Catoblepas. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, but I could feel his presence from the moment we arrived.”
“You felt it?”
“Yes. It might sound strange, but when I received his power, it felt like something connected. That’s how I could tell.”
If Choin knew that, there was no way he didn’t know it either.
“Was he flaunting his arrival?”
“Probably. At first, I thought he came to reclaim my ability, but then I started thinking he might have come to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because he showed off to me.”
That made sense. If he revealed his identity to prevent Choin from acting recklessly, then other hunters would have no choice but to take the front lines.
Catoblepas was the top priority target. Whether it took longer or shorter, it was inevitable that two or three teams would join the assault on Catoblepas.
“You couldn’t have fought properly then.”
“Right. It was something I might have suffered from. Even when Catoblepas fell, I never knew when or where he might appear.”
Back then, when the Fist King and the coward were arguing, Choin had been watching for him.
Choin wouldn’t know this, but I could sense the weight on his heart.
“In that regard, I feel sorry toward you. I didn’t know it then, but ultimately I ended up showing you to him.”
“No. I think that was unavoidable.”
I meant it sincerely. If I had been in Choin’s position, I wouldn’t have stepped forward easily either. There was no way to know what would happen.
Honestly, I felt grateful that Choin was apologizing. If all of this was the truth.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
Choin, offering a lonely smile as he considered it, didn’t seem to be lying particularly.
“I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”
“Surely you didn’t come all this way just for that….”
“No. I’m not reckless enough for that. Besides, how would I have known to orchestrate this situation?”
True. It was a sudden thought, but designing something like this wasn’t easy.
Setting aside the need to recognize the trap the moment I saw it, the Healer’s escape and the Secretary’s disappearance had to coincide.
“To be honest, I thought you were going to ask me for help.”
“Help?”
“While listening to the story, I suspected that the Übermenschen might have been created by the United States.”
Choin let out a soft chuckle.
“I don’t think so.”
“Are you certain?”
“That person dealt an enormous blow to the United States before leaving. It was hushed up, but all the first-generation hunters who died then were officially recorded as having perished inside the Gate.”
That made sense. If so, then he was a traitor of the highest order in America’s eyes.
“Well, someone in a high position probably has connections to him.”
“Really?”
“His escape was suspicious. The way he suddenly summoned all those hunters was odd too.”
No matter how powerful one’s abilities were, evading American surveillance in the twenty-first century was no simple feat.
Choin was likely right—he must have had collaborators. If the culprit had been identified, Choin wouldn’t have spoken so cautiously.
“What do you think his reason was?”
“His reason?”
“Why he betrayed the United States and left.”
Choin fell silent for a moment at my question. There was a hint of hesitation in his expression.
“I’m not sure.”
“Even a guess would help.”
“To be honest, he’s someone I’m grateful to—he gave me my power…”
When I narrowed my eyes, Choin waved his hand.
“That’s not what I mean. I think he had an inferiority complex.”
“An inferiority complex?”
“He resented having to use his incredible power for other hunters.”
When I pressed for more, Choin spoke with slight embarrassment.
“When he gave me my power, he said, ‘I should be giving this to someone as courageous as you. Not to garbage with only physical strength.'”
I understood why Choin had hesitated. It was practically praise for himself.
“He even said, ‘I’d be better off doing it myself.'”
“So he wasn’t a bad person back then?”
“He wasn’t. I think the reason I survived might not have been because of my travels, but because of his mercy.”
I agreed. He had called all the other hunters, yet he let Choin—who possessed two S-rank skills—go, claiming he was traveling. That seemed unlikely.
“Of course, that side of him is gone now. The Übermenschen are wreaking havoc everywhere.”
I don’t think human corruption is a difficult problem. A man who once burned with justice crossed a line once.
After that, crossing the next line becomes easier.
Rationalizing the process for a greater cause and results—it’s a sight we see all around us.
Choin spoke again.
“In any case, I hope you’re careful. They’ve already set their sights on you.”
“True. I nearly died.”
“Your power is extraordinary, even by my standards. It’s probably what he covets most.”
“Thank you.”
I meant it sincerely. I had suspected Choin, and some doubt still lingered, but this was enough to trust him. He wasn’t trying to draw me in like the Fanatics would.
His next words only increased my confidence in him.
“There will come a time when I fight that person.”
“I suppose so.”
My level has already surpassed 70. I don’t think it will reach 120 or 200. Just looking at the Gates tells me that much.
Once I reach the ceiling of level advancement, something will certainly change.
As Chun-bae and everyone I’ve met so far warned, I’ll grow closer to that thing called mana erosion.
And before that happens, the Übermenschen won’t sit idle either.
“I wish you’d be by my side when that time comes.”
Choin spoke calmly and extended his hand to me. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it.
“Yeah.”
The Fist King, who appears foolish but is actually clever, doesn’t have perfect judgment of character after all.
The Choin I met in person seemed like quite a decent person, rather than a coward or someone contemptible.
‘That interview from before…’
In a situation where I couldn’t reveal that the leader of the Übermenschen was there, he must not have appreciated taking all the blame alone.
Seeing that Choin also calls the Fist King foolish, I wondered if they were only seeing one side of each other.
“Let’s go.”
Choin smiled wryly.
It was a conversation we had at the edge of the Fortress, and it took us less than half the time of our discussion to deal with the enemy beyond it.
.
.
.
[Gate ‘Fortress of Glory’ Subjugation]
[You have gained experience.]
Because the Gate’s recommended level didn’t match, I gained experience but my level didn’t rise at all.
Like my first Gate, one level would have risen if I were alone, but that didn’t happen because I was with Choin.
It’s what they call a “carry prevention” system, but I didn’t feel particularly bad about it. After all, if there’s a level gap, I need to match it with my Guild members anyway.
And I was satisfied with having a genuine conversation with Choin, and we secured the Gate rewards for ourselves.
* * *
When Choin and I emerged from the Gate, we were met with enthusiastic cheers and bewildered stares.
The enthusiastic cheers were thanks to Choin and me coming out safely, but the bewildered stares came from elsewhere.
The original objective was to rescue Choin, but we two ended up subjugating the Gate ourselves.
Well, it all ended with an explanation that those traps were caught by my spatial sense.
[The approachable Space Mage and Choin]
It’s a cliché, but we took a photo in front of the press. It was a pose with our arms around each other’s shoulders and thumbs up.
-Does it really look approachable?
┗I know this. It’s that headlock thing baseball players do, right?
Hahahaha
-Serious) It does seem to look approachable though?
┗Lol no
┗NN Choin and the Space Mage have never taken a photo in that composition before
┗Isn’t this a request from the United States?
┗Would guys like them really take a photo like that just because they got a request?
There was quite a bit of talk about it on the internet. It was true that the photo looked awkward.
If it were a scene of us laughing and shaking hands inside a Gate, that would be different….
It wasn’t easy to look so natural in front of the press. We even linked arms to appear more approachable.
Even if the photo looked awkward, the psychological distance between us had definitely narrowed.
I hadn’t thought well of Choin until I came here. He probably felt the same way.
[Choin ‘Thanks to the Space Mage, we were able to subjugate the Gate. I’m genuinely grateful for the help….’]
That’s what he said during the interview beside me. I couldn’t just receive all the credit, so I added a word.
[Space Mage ‘The debate over who’s number one in the world? I don’t think it’s particularly meaningful. We’re all comrades fighting against the Gates.’]
[Space Mage, ‘I only saw through the trap with my ability, but it was Choin who subjugated the Gate. Seeing it firsthand, he’s truly remarkable.’]
The mutual praise between hunters who had been debating the number one and two positions had quite a significant impact.
You bastards who keep lining up hunters, think about what you’re doing lolol
Even if we split up, we’re still damn good together.
┗Respect is oozing out
-It’s really nice to see them respecting each other.
I wish I hadn’t known Han Hye would grow this big back when the Space Mage first appeared last year.
┗ㄱㅊ
┗ㄱㅊ
If I said I expected this, that would be a 100% lie lol
-My opinion) I just thought she’d become a backpack exclusively for the Advance Team
lol that’s real
┗Me too;;
The internet divisions didn’t completely disappear, but such conflicts had noticeably decreased—that was the first thing….
-Fist King : ?
-Fist King : I saw the interview, what’s this?
The text message from Fist King, whose eye for people was inferior to mine, was the second thing.
-Me : Choin turned out to be a pretty decent person?
-Fist King : ????
-Me : You’ve never met him directly?
-Fist King : I have, but we’ve never talked?
-Fist King : But you can tell just by looking. Even his combat style shows it.
As expected, my prediction was correct.
-Me : Try talking to him sometime later.
-Fist King : You bastard, you’re bewitched by Choin? Get your head straight.
I seriously considered Fist King’s advice. Was I really bewitched? No.
This wasn’t the loyal counsel of a faithful subject, but the whisper of a treacherous minister. With that judgment, I didn’t reply.
‘Still, I’ve built connections with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rankers.’
I’d been thinking about it for a while, but I never expected things to work out this well. With this level of elite hunters, I could certainly call them excellent allies prepared against mana erosion.
Honestly, the situation is on a completely different level compared to the Advance Team or the Previous Previous Master.
Not only did I inherit their arrangements, but they said that in that world, wars between kingdoms are frequent, making this kind of unity impossible.
Mana erosion. I couldn’t quite grasp what it meant, yet it was worth harboring hope as a possibility.
“Hye, you didn’t level up, did you?”
Then I had to face the Guild members.
“I came all the way to the United States, and if you’re telling me I need to go somewhere else to level up, that’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it?”
Mister said it playfully. To be honest, from the other Guild members’ perspective, it was understandable.
Just the flight to the United States took over ten hours, and when you factor in preparation time, it was practically a wasted trip.
“I didn’t level up.”
“Phew.”
“That’s a relief, right?”
“It is.”
But it couldn’t be called a wasted trip. Min-jae, standing beside me, seemed to understand this as his eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“Boss, what about the Gate rewards?”
“Those are naturally ours.”
From the moment we came to help Choin, the Gate rewards belonged to us. I had already confirmed the additional compensation package that the United States had proposed.
“First, the United States agreed to give us a Skill Rank Promotion Ticket as a rescue reward.”
“Oh!”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at the mention of a Skill Rank Promotion Ticket.
“And from the Gate rewards, we got double that amount.”
“D-double?”
I chuckled at Min-jae’s stammering.

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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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