Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 302

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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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302. Orcon Ruins (2)
[Orcon Ruins]
-Explore the Ruins. Time remaining: 47 hours 59 minutes.
The time allotted inside the Gate was two days. I considered that sufficient—provided the Ruins weren’t impossibly vast or defended by enemies beyond our capacity.
In truth, the latter concern didn’t weigh heavily on me. We were level 80, stepping into a 76-80 level Gate.
If the threats weren’t exceptionally formidable, we should carve through them without difficulty.
“Wow, this place looks absolutely massive.”
“When are we supposed to cover all of this?”
The real problem was the former. As Mister and Min-jae had noted, the Ruins were impressively expansive.
A colossal ruined city. True to form, the Castle Walls had crumbled and the Urban City lay in near-total decay—
yet its scale was not entirely beyond what we’d encountered before. The Underground Waterway had been comparable. The issue was that for a Ruin Gate, this was uncommonly sprawling.
If our luck turned sour, we’d need to search every corner. My Spatial Sense would help, but the labor remained daunting.
“For now, there’s nothing behind us or immediately around our entry point.”
We’d entered atop a Ridge overlooking the vast Urban City Ruins in a single sweeping vista.
I’d wondered if a Hidden Quest might lie beyond the Ruins’ perimeter, but a dedicated search seemed unnecessary.
“Hmm?”
Then I sensed something strange stirring within the Ruins.
“Something’s moving down there,” Min-jae said.
“A Monster, probably,” Mister replied without much concern.
But I narrowed my eyes, concentrating.
“No. It looks like a person?”
“A person?”
“Or… maybe not? Is it a Monster? There seems to be a tail.”
They were far enough away that even my exceptional vision struggled. Distant specks moving across the ruins.
“Should we head closer?”
“Yes. If we get nearer, we should be able to see better.”
As we descended along the Ridge, another unknown form appeared much closer.
Odds were high it was an enemy, so I crouched low, studying it carefully.
“What is that?”
“A tail… horns… ”
“Its skin has patches that look like Dragon Scales, just like Yong-yong’s?”
“A Dragonian?”
At my conjecture, Chun-bae’s voice came through the bond.
-Affirmative. They are Dragonians—offspring born between dragons and humans, creatures of mixed descent.
Dragonians.
Dragon-human hybrids. They looked formidable at first glance. I recalibrated my assessment of the Gate’s threat level.
Despite their human-like forms bearing draconic blood, their frames weren’t particularly tall—roughly two meters. But the visible musculature was extraordinarily dense.
They wore half-bare garments reminiscent of ancient Greek or Roman warriors; every exposed inch on both males and females was nearly pure muscle.
Moreover, the Dragon Scales scattered across their bodies positioned themselves strategically over vital points.
Though I hadn’t examined one closely, they looked formidably tough—perhaps not dragon-tier, but close.
“We should assume their physical capabilities exceed ours,” Lee Shin-hee offered.
I nodded in agreement.
“They’ll be considerably strong. Given this Gate’s Level, they’re likely intelligent too—and we should watch for Magic.”
I thought rapidly.
Dragon-human hybrids. I couldn’t tell whether they were young like Yong-yong or ancient beings with centuries of life. They almost certainly wielded Magic, and their training in Swordsmanship and Hand-to-Hand Combat was likely extensive.
We’d entered at maximum Level for an 80-level Gate, which had granted me false confidence. I needed to discard it.
‘I’ll need to be twice as careful against intelligent enemies.’
Still, certainty was premature. They were likely hostile, but not yet confirmed as enemies.
After all, some beings within Gates seek aid. Caution was warranted. Possibly—just possibly—a friendly rapport with the Dragonians might constitute the Hidden Quest.
If not, Chun-bae would tell me. For now, I’d proceed by the book: dialogue before ambush.

“I’ll approach that one separated from the group over there.”
The Guild members nodded in agreement at my reasoning.

I knew a peaceful resolution was off the table.
“A human?”
The Dragonian’s eyes sharpened as it fixed on us. Its grip tightened around the Greatsword it carried.

“Screeeee!”
Then came a roar that, while not quite matching Yong-yong’s, carried far enough to send shivers down the spine.
It resembled Yong-yong’s cry, though it reminded me of Nole’s call from the old Ruins. Perhaps they were summoning their companions.
“Battle stations!”
Since I’d brought Yong-yong along to handle cautious approaches, I opened the Subspace first.
-Whoooosh!
“You stay up in the sky and keep them pinned down, as safely as you can manage…….”
The instant Yong-yong emerged from the Subspace.
“……Dragon?”
The Dragonian stared in shock, his Greatsword clattering to the ground as he dropped to his knees, both hands stretched toward Yong-yong.
“It’s the Dragon!”
What? What’s happening here?
Could it be that bringing a Dragon itself was the Hidden reward? Is that why Chun-bae didn’t say anything?
* * *
“I—it really is the Dragon……!”
“The Dragon has finally……!”
“Great Dragon…….”
The Draconians who came rushing at the sound of their companion’s roar gasped the moment they caught sight of Yong-yong, dropping their weapons and falling to their knees.
And they stretched both hands toward Yong-yong in a half-prostrated posture.
“Are the Draconians perhaps worshipping the Dragon because they’re Dragon-kin?”
Worship.
That was exactly the word for this moment. The instant they saw Yong-yong, they abandoned all thought of battle and knelt.
“Ugh…… at last!”
Some were even shedding tears. Judging by how the others were supporting one of them, it seemed to be an older Dragonian.
“Then are these humans perhaps the Dragon’s Messengers?”
“That much is certain. Anyone who can bring a Dragon here would have to be.”
They called us Messengers and showed a friendly attitude toward us.
“Krrrrr!”
“Krrr!?”
I’d been watching them since their roars first resembled Yong-yong’s, but there was something else worth noting.
“Krrrrr!?”
“Krrr!”
These creatures could communicate with Yong-yong through Dragon-like calls.
Was it possible because Dragon blood ran through their veins? I couldn’t produce those sounds even if someone asked me to. Their vocal cords must have a unique structure.
-How interesting. I’ve never seen anything like this before.
Chun-bae was equally taken aback.
I’d wondered if the presence of the Dragon might be a clue to a Hidden reward, but Chun-bae’s reaction suggested otherwise.
Then again, neither the Previous Previous Master nor the Previous Master had ever had a Dragon. It probably wasn’t even a possible route in the accessible zones.
In any case, you could say we’d discovered yet another Hidden element.
‘I don’t suppose this means we won’t be able to get the S-Rank Armor, do I?’
Wondering if this might be a Hidden quest with branching routes, I asked Chun-bae about it.
-That’s not the case.
Then there was no problem. If befriending these creatures meant losing the armor, that would have required serious deliberation.
The S-Rank Armor is at stake, but another S-Rank item could appear from this path as well.
‘Would I have chosen the guaranteed S-Rank instead?’
It didn’t matter much. A Dragonian who had finished conferring with Yong-yong approached me.
“Messengers, we extend our deepest gratitude for caring so well for our Dragon.”
He looked young like the rest, but the way he stepped forward as representative suggested he was the eldest among them.
His demeanor was also more reserved than the other Draconians.
“We ask your forgiveness for our child’s rudeness at first…….”
“Not at all.”
I decided to play along with their rhythm.
“But you seemed very happy to see the Dragon…….”
“How could we be otherwise? More than a thousand years have passed since our Dragons disappeared from this continent.”
The Dragonian’s eyes grew moist, and he smiled warmly at us.
“We had legends of a Messenger bringing the Dragon to us, but no one believed it. Now, it seems, everyone will.”
He gazed upon Yong-yong.
“With your arrival like this.”
“I see.”
“I spoke with the Dragon, and she said you’ve taken excellent care of her. She said she was very happy.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. When I really thought about it, Yong-yong’s origins—stealing an egg from his mother—had left me with a nagging worry.
I’d wondered whether he might harbor some resentment, despite how well we got along.
But after seeing him tell the other Draconians he could speak with that he was happy, it seemed my fears were unfounded.
Then again, we’d treated Yong-yong well enough ourselves.
‘Wait—he said he was happy?’
Though actually, he’d said it in past tense. Was this just how these people spoke?
“Is there any armor here, by any chance?”
I didn’t forget to ask about the other Hidden Reward—the S-Rank Armor. These creatures lived here, so there was a decent chance they’d know something about it.
“Armor? I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that.”
Unfortunately, the Dragonian shook his head. It really was hidden, then.
“Is there anything else, perhaps…?”
I shifted my line of questioning.
The Ruins were massive; there could easily be other Hidden Rewards beyond what Chun-bae had found, or other treasures waiting to be discovered.
“What exactly are you asking about?”
“Well… a reward for being a Guide?”
“?”
But their reaction told me there wasn’t anything special like that.
‘Hmm. Maybe the reward is just becoming friendly with these creatures?’
There were at least seventy Draconians gathered here. I hadn’t counted precisely, but there could easily be a hundred.
We could have fought them, but dealing with that many Draconians in urban combat wouldn’t have been easy for us either.
With only two days to clear Ruins of this scale, it was already a tight schedule. And if these intelligent creatures organized a guerrilla defense, it would be even worse.
Bringing the dragon and becoming allies with them was definitely to our advantage.
‘Let’s see how this plays out.’
Besides, the meeting between the dragon and the Draconians might trigger something else entirely.
“Well then, we shall go prepare a grand festival.”
“A festival?”
“Since the Guides and the Dragon have graced us with their presence, a celebration is in order.”
Was this another connected event? I nodded silently, playing along.
“Please, rest yourselves for now. We’ve made our home in this abandoned place, so there isn’t much to see, but it has a certain austere charm.”
I nodded. While the Draconians prepared the festival, I could use the time to search more thoroughly for the S-Rank Armor.
* * *
“Hmm. Doesn’t look like it’s on this side.”
“We should search the opposite direction.”
The massive Ruins were circular, with a cross-shaped main avenue running through the center—dividing it into four large districts.
We’d searched one district and found nothing of value. Just the Draconians’ everyday tools and implements.
“Guides.”
We couldn’t continue our search in the other districts; the Draconians had come to find us.
“The festival is now prepared.”
I decided to follow along. Chun-bae and I had made an arrangement beforehand—if it looked like we wouldn’t find anything in time, he’d let me know.
The Draconians had gathered in the center of the Ruins, but the atmosphere felt strange.
“It’s like some kind of fanatics’ assembly,” the uncle muttered.
His comment was apt. The Draconians, who’d been dressed in ragged, mismatched garments, now wore robes in varying shades—but now they all wore red.
Was it because Yong-yong was a Red Dragon?
“We wish to place the Dragon at the center.”
“Go ahead. Yong-yong.”
“Krrr!?”
“Krrrrr!”
“Krr!”
We didn’t need to explain anything—these creatures could speak Yong-yong’s language.
Yong-yong seemed to regard these Draconians who spoke as he did quite favorably.
“Kraaa!”
“Krr!”
What followed left us deeply bewildered. The entire festival was conducted not in our language, but in the speech of dragons.
For a long while, dragon-calls echoed from all around. It felt almost like a ritual or ceremony, so we simply observed.
“Krr?”
Yong-yong tilted his head just as we, too, began to sense something off about the atmosphere. The Draconians had suddenly drawn weapons.
“Something’s wrong here.”
Chun-bae sensed the wrongness at the same moment.
—Han Hye.
I rushed forward and questioned one of the Draconians.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Ah, we’re preparing a ritual to extract the Dragon Heart.”
“?”
For a moment, the words caught in her throat.
“If we have the Dragon Heart, the five of us Dragonians can become dragons. And if that Dragon Heart multiplies us by another five…….”
The Dragonian’s face, which had worn a warm smile at first, now looked like that of a madman.
“Dragons will be reborn across this continent, after all.”
She gripped Escirel so hard her knuckles whitened.
These lunatics had truly lost their minds.
How dare they try to tear out Yong-yong’s heart?
“Everyone…….”
“Yes.”
The Guild members needed no words—they were already preparing for battle.
She’d have to wipe them all out.

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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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