Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 292

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

292. Kerimantal Crater (3)
────!
A roar filled with agony and fury.
We unleashed Dragon Scale Pierce, Dissolution Ray, and Fragmentation Carpet Bombardment upon the wailing Ancient Fire Dragon.
-Kuguung!
Of course, its means of retaliation hadn’t completely vanished. It had merely lost one wing, rendering it unable to fly.
The lava pillars still erupted from the crater toward us. Though its breath no longer reached us.
“We can just wear it down like this.”
That wasn’t a problem. As long as we didn’t descend, its only means of response was the lava pillars.
And those could be easily neutralized by my Subspace.
In truth, the outcome had been decided the moment we suppressed its wings. If we lacked flight capability, fighting on this incline would have been troublesome, but now there was virtually no danger.
The beast glared up at us as if trying to kill us with its gaze. A smirk spread across my face. That initial arrogance was nowhere to be seen.
“Han Chul, that was excellent.”
Han Chul’s contribution this time had been substantial. Entering Phase 2 quickly was according to our plan, but Sham Release wasn’t.
He’d used it at a timing we hadn’t anticipated at all.
“I just saw the opening at that exact moment, haha. I got lucky.”
Han Chul smiled. He claimed it was luck, but it was skill. The result of meticulously observing the Fire Dragon’s flight patterns.
He had to predict its speed and next movement to land it perfectly.
By striking its weak point with Sham Release, he was able to swiftly strip the Dragon of its flight capability. It was a truly remarkable contribution.
After that, there was little else to do.
-Kuguung!
-Woong!
All that remained was blocking the erupting lava pillars with my Subspace while launching ranged attacks.
Of course, since this Ancient Fire Dragon was the ancestor of Dragons, its scales were exceptionally hard where they were properly attached.
“I’ll go.”
I had no choice but to step forward. I’d exhausted all the energy from Sham Release, and I had Fragmentation.
-Pat!
I used Leap and drove Fragmentation into its body. It was Fragmentation enhanced with Domain Manifestation.
Since I poured mana without restraint, I frequently phased in and out of my Subspace.
‘Wait.’
A sudden thought occurred to me.
Fighting like this was fine, but wouldn’t it be good to test Bone Dragon’s close-combat capabilities here?
“That seems reasonable?”
“If it works against this one, it means we can deploy it against most opponents.”
I’d never seen Bone Dragon in actual combat before. I needed to verify how it fought and what its limits were.
Even if the opponent was strong, Bone Dragon wasn’t the weak type.
While weaker than Red Dragon, it had been specially reinforced in the Rest of the Dead, so it was worth trying.
If I tested it and it didn’t work, I could always protect it with my Subspace and pull it back immediately.
“If you stay here, that should work.”
Bone Dragon descended at a considerable distance from the Ancient Fire Dragon. I positioned my guild members behind the Subspace barrier.
The Ancient Fire Dragon had no immediate reason to charge forward. After all, Bone Dragon would block the path ahead once. I also had my Subspace.
“Let’s go!”
I climbed onto Bone Dragon’s back. In a crisis, I needed to be the one to save the day.
“Kraaah!”
Bone Dragon flapped its skeletal wings and charged at the Ancient Fire Dragon.
“Kraaah!”
The Ancient Fire Dragon saw our approach and roared back. Two massive dragons rushed toward each other.
The Ancient Fire Dragon certainly had the advantage in mass. It was slightly larger, and it had flesh instead of bone.
-Boom!
But the collision was surprisingly even. For dragons, wings are like human arms.
Bone Dragon could accelerate by flapping its wings even as it charged. Thanks to that, despite being slightly smaller in frame, it wasn’t pushed back.
Upon impact, the two entangled dragons pressed each other’s bodies with their front claws, then opened their jaws. It wasn’t a breath attack.
Sharp fangs aimed for each other’s necks.
-Crunch!
Bone Dragon’s teeth dug into the fire dragon’s scales. I was quite surprised. The scales boasted incredible hardness.
Even as Bone Dragon, a dragon is still a dragon.
-Crack!

Of course, the fire dragon also bit Bone Dragon. However, this one was a Bone Dragon. The degree of damage was different.
Still, it wasn’t unscathed. Some bones in the neck area fractured. Yet Bone Dragon didn’t collapse.
“Kraaah!”
Despite the broken bones, it stood firm and attacked the fire dragon. That was fortunate.
-Since it occurred without any constraints, it will repair itself.
Because of Chun-bae’s advice, I let it fight like this, but I was slightly worried.
If it had collapsed just from a single broken bone, it wouldn’t have been much of a Hidden dungeon.
“Kraaah!”
That’s when it happened.
“Whoa!?”
I heard Mister’s startled voice from above. I quickly turned my head to see Yong-yong descending at high speed.
With sharp claws, it tore across the fire dragon’s back and bit the nape of its neck.
“Kruaaah!”
Then it poured scorching breath onto the wounded area.
“What, what is this?”
I had intended to test Bone Dragon. I was also flustered by the sudden intervention.
“Yong-yong came on its own!”
Mister was equally startled. He had tried to restrain Yong-yong, but it had moved of its own accord.
“Kraaah!”
The enraged fire dragon twisted its body. Just as it was about to attack Yong-yong, this time Bone Dragon moved.
Without my control, it pushed the fire dragon back with its massive weight.
-Boom!
—Crack!
I couldn’t hide my shock at the sight before me. The two were helping each other to avoid getting hurt.
Bone Dragon was one thing, but hadn’t Yong-yong been casting jealous glances just days ago?
‘I called them brothers once.’
When the Fire Dragon attacked, Yong-yong immediately rushed to help and launched a counterattack. Yong-yong’s transformation was surprising, but Bone Dragon’s spontaneous movement was equally remarkable.
I never expected these two to change so suddenly. Whether beast or human, it seemed that once they grew close, they became inseparable at an accelerated pace.
For a moment, I was about to call them back, but then I realized this would be valuable experience for them.
It was dangerous, but Yong-yong needed to grow stronger regardless.
* * *
“Yong-yong, be careful!”
Thus, Bone Dragon, Yong-yong, and the Ancient Fire Dragon became entangled in a three-way battle.
The results were surprisingly effective. Yong-yong rushed in aggressively but never overextended itself.
—Crack!
I positioned Bone Dragon at the forefront. When Bone Dragon and the Fire Dragon clashed, Yong-yong would target the Fire Dragon’s rear—a coordinated strategy.
Gradually, wounds began to accumulate on the Fire Dragon’s body. Min-jae couldn’t cast magic while they were entangled, but I could.
—Screech!
Like salt in a wound, I used Severance on the injuries that Bone Dragon and Yong-yong created.
—Screech!
And slowly, as time passed, more and more blood flowed from the Fire Dragon’s body.
The tide of battle was definitely turning in our favor.
“Krraaagh!”
The roar of fury lacked the majesty it once held. The creature looked around nervously, clearly unsettled.
Moreover, the lava pillars that had been tormenting our allies no longer appeared.
This meant the creature had no more stamina or reserves left. The end was drawing near.
I pulled Bone Dragon and Yong-yong back.
“That’s enough! Get back!”
A mortally wounded beast becomes sharper and more dangerous than ever before.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks. I simply kept my distance and used Dragon Scale Piercing Spear, Dissolution Ray, and Severance on the creature crawling across the ground.
“Krrr….”
And the Ancient Fire Dragon gradually lost its strength, unable to support its own body.
“Wow, compared to how worried we were, we really passed through that easily.”
“That’s thanks to Bone Dragon.”
“Really. Without Bone Dragon, I think I would’ve gotten dizzy jumping around up there.”
Everyone spoke from the heart. While it had been easy when facing it directly, the thought of what would have happened without Bone Dragon made me shudder.
We wouldn’t have been able to attack the wings so easily. I would have had to constantly protect the guild members from its targeting.
[Your level has increased.]
The Fire Dragon didn’t even let out a final cry. It simply stopped. The level-up message announced the enemy’s death.
As the message appeared, the Fire Dragon collapsed with a heavy thud.
“Everyone, hurry!”
This wasn’t the time to relax. While looting the Fire Dragon was good, I possessed information about defeating a dragon that no one else knew.
“Run faster!”
Since I’d briefed my guild members beforehand, they rushed toward the fallen Ancient Fire Dragon.
Our task was singular: coat our bodies with the Ancient Fire Dragon’s blood.
“Ugh!”
“Blegh!”
Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee grimaced, but there was no helping it.
[The Red Dragon’s blood has touched your body. Since ancient times, dragon blood has been regarded as sacred.]
[Stamina and mana increase by 10.]
This was something I’d experienced in the very first Gate I’d awakened to. A 10-point increase in stamina and mana—nearly 20 stat points equaled level 7.
If my guild members could do it, they absolutely had to.
“Damn.”
I hastily smeared the blood flowing from the Ancient Fire Dragon’s body onto my hands and spread it across my own, but no message appeared for me a second time.
I couldn’t tell if it was because I’d already done it once, or because it was an Ancient Fire Dragon, or because it was dead.
“Yes! It worked!”
“Mine too!”
At that moment, my guild members erupted in cheers.
“Insane! Ten stamina and ten mana each… isn’t this insane?”
It seemed I couldn’t benefit twice. Everyone’s faces were full of astonishment.
“Now I understand why the guild master stood out from the beginning.”
“Right. You had stats equivalent to level 8 starting from level 1.”
The truth was, while Subspace being an S+ rank skill was correct, being drenched in dragon blood back then had been the biggest factor.
At low levels, every single stat point is precious, and I’d managed to get far ahead because of it.
“Congratulations to everyone.”
“It’s all thanks to the guild master.”
“That’s right. We never would’ve thought to do this without you, brother.”
Well, I hadn’t exactly planned to coat myself either. I was just grateful my guild members were growing properly.
And now…
“Time to extract the dragon heart.”
First, I opened the Subspace. It was time to pull out the Slaughter Festival Dagger after a while.
It was a C-rank dagger, but an item with a chance to improve quality when harvesting materials. I’d benefited from it before.
-Scrape!
However, this time when I extracted the dragon heart, the luminous phenomenon from last time didn’t occur.
-Since it’s an S-rank item, it will be difficult for the quality to improve further.
Chun-bae offered consolation. Right. Hoping for anything more than this would be too greedy.
There was no disappointment. Rather, I was filled only with anticipation for the dragon heart—an S-rank elixir.
[Dragon Heart (S-rank)]
-The heart of the primordial dragon, the ancestor of all dragons, though there is little difference.
-It contains the essence of the dragon’s tremendous vitality and mana. Upon consumption, the body is greatly strengthened.
The description itself was simple—almost sparse compared to other S-rank items, which was slightly bewildering.
But the power contained within it was not. I could feel tremendous mana even now, just holding it.
What made it even more exceptional was the explicit notation that upon consumption, the body would be ‘dramatically’ strengthened.
My guild members turned to look at me.
“The Dragon Heart is yours, isn’t it?”
“The information came through Chun-bae, who has the guild master’s ability, and we’re more than satisfied with just being drenched in dragon blood.”
“That’s right. Han Hye already gave up so much for us.”
Mister simply smiled. Well, I’d already planned to take it anyway, but hearing my guild members say this made me genuinely grateful.
Everyone would want an S-rank elixir. Maybe this is why you should practice generosity in daily life.
“Then, I’ll gratefully accept it.”
There was no reason to hesitate. I placed the Dragon Heart into my mouth. My heart raced with anticipation.
What kind of transformation would occur after consuming an S-rank elixir?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————