Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 312

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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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312. Memories
The change occurred the moment Seo-ung brought the Flame Horse’s Flame close to the Flame Talisman. The flame seeped into the talisman.
And soon the characters inscribed on it turned a deep crimson, as if they were blazing.
Crack!
Just as before, the surface of the talisman began to burn.
As the talisman’s shell, reduced to ash, scattered through the air, what remained was a talisman glowing with an even deeper red light.
[Flame Talisman (A-rank)]
A talisman once wielded by an illustrious ascetic who revered the God of Flame. It had recovered some of its original power through high-quality Essence of Flame.
The efficiency of flame-related skills increases. To enhance it further, more Essence of Flame will likely be needed.
If you possess flame-related abilities, you can store a portion of that power in the talisman to use later.
Looking at the talisman again, there was almost no change in the description.
“Hmm.”
All that had changed was the rank going up.
This was something that could only be truly felt through actual use. It was at that very moment he unleashed the blazing heat.
“What?”
The increased efficiency of flame-related skills was noticeable, but not to an extraordinary degree.
It couldn’t compare to the Flapping Flames he’d used to summon the Ancient Fire Dragon.
“Damn, how much space is this?”
But what mattered was that the capacity of the Flame Talisman to store blazing heat had undergone a tremendous change.
It seemed to have increased by more than five times its previous size.
Whoosh!
Even as the talisman consumed the blazing heat in real time, the end of its remaining space remained invisible.
It was an absurd amount. In all the times he’d used the Flame Talisman before, he’d rarely felt a shortage of blazing heat.
‘Chun-bae said the person who created the S-rank version blocked a colossal gate alone.’
If A-rank was like this, it really seemed possible. If this capacity were expanded several times over, wouldn’t it be enough to turn an entire region into a sea of flames?
For every advantage, there was a disadvantage—though this one leaned toward the positive side.
‘How long is this going to take to fill?’
It seemed like it would eat up quite a bit of real time. Since he was at the Training Ground, he opened a Subspace right then and there.
Whoosh!
Since he wasn’t about to enter a Gate immediately, there seemed to be no need to fill it at once—but that was absolutely wrong.
He’d been thinking he’d fill it up when he had free time, but then an Emission-type Gate could suddenly open, or enemies could launch a surprise attack.
He could enter the Subspace then, but who knows. Another Dark Night Barrier could appear without warning.
It was best to fill these things whenever time permitted.
‘This is taking forever.’
It took longer than he’d anticipated, depending on just how much space there actually was.
“So, are you really not going to do it?” the Instructor asked as they headed home after training.
It was about Min-seok’s Crafting.
“Let’s hold off a bit longer,” Seo-ung replied.
The original plan had been to finish the Crafting work on his equipment before entering the lottery Gate.
Back then, the lottery Gate subjugation was supposed to come after his vacation, but when the Gate location changed to the Maldives, the plan fell apart.
All his teammates had already received Crafting, and with Han Chul’s vacation schedule, they’d headed straight into the Gate without him being able to get his Crafting done.

“Will you be alright without it?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Now that he’d overcome difficult hurdles, he didn’t particularly feel an urgent need for Crafting at the moment.
The Instructor nodded.
“True. You’re stomping through everything anyway.”
“What’s the effect of A-rank Crafting like?”
“It’s no joke. You’ve heard the stories.”
He was really asking to get him to brag—the Guild members who’d received A-rank metal Crafting had been effusive in their praise.
Even the usually quiet Han Chul had said it was impressive.
“Min-seok must be disappointed.”
Seo-ung knew that Min-seok, who’d awakened as a Crafter because of him, wanted to do the Crafting work on his equipment.
While he felt a bit sorry for not meeting those expectations, on the other hand he thought about it positively.
“He worked so hard at Crafting, didn’t he? Maybe he’ll do the same next time too.”
Min-seok’s dedicated Crafting work stemmed partly from his own passion, but also from his determination to Craft Seo-ung’s equipment.
Every time they met, he’d say the same thing: “Brother, I’m really working hard at it! Please wait just a little longer!”
Wasn’t it for that same reason that Min-seok had given his all when Crafting the Esirel and the Poong-ryu Sword?
So this added wait might just provide another spark of motivation.
Especially now that S-rank equipment was starting to show up more and more each time he entered a Gate.
It might have been more efficient for Min-seok to receive Crafting at that time instead.
“Well, if we hadn’t done anything at all, that would be different. But recently we did Esirel once, so…”
“That’s true.”
“If Min-seok seems to be doing well, Mister, could you put in a good word for him? Something like, he’s starting to acquire S-rank equipment, and we have high expectations for him?”
I worried sometimes that we were placing too much burden on a child, but since Min-seok enjoyed Crafting, I decided it was fine.
“Sure. A bit more pressure will motivate him.”
And Mister, watching from the side, agreed as well.
* * *
Eleven years ago, the world immediately after the First Gate Incident was on the brink of collapse.
Enemies immune to conventional weapons.
An Emission-type Gate that appeared in the heart of the city.
Countless people died, and those who survived weren’t in their right minds either. Looting was rampant, and cults ran wild.
Awakened—those called Hunters—appeared and things stabilized, but it wasn’t a situation where the weak could expect any kind of welfare.
That meant Gate Orphans back then had no choice but to end up on the streets. I was one of them.
[Gate Kids Problem—What Should We Do?]
Back then, we weren’t called Gate Orphans but Gate Kids. We were treated as problem children, and honestly, it made no sense.
I’ve seen plenty of Gate Orphans who end up on the streets fall into vice. I know this firsthand. But…
Even though I wasn’t causing trouble, there was nothing I could do about it. What orphanage would take me in?
There was nowhere to earn money, so we had to survive by begging.
I’m not justifying it, but hungry children starting with petty theft and sliding into crime was common enough.
Well, it’s a sad story. Thinking back on those days, I’d say quite a lot has changed in the ten years since.
[Myeong-jin Orphanage]
There aren’t as many Gate Orphans as there were during the First Incident, but whenever an Emission-type Gate opens, children who’ve lost their parents appear. There’s no getting around that.
But these days, the welfare support for them is quite good. The orphanage was no exception.
The place I found this time was an orphanage where many Gate Orphans lived.
It was a kind of volunteer work. Of course, it was voluntary. The Hunter Association doesn’t force Hunters who risk their lives fighting to do this sort of thing.
‘Anyway, I can’t enter Gates because of other Guild members’ vacation schedules.’
I ended up coming here during free time while training. I didn’t have any particular plan originally, but I received a letter from some Guild staff members.
It was from a child at Myeong-jin Orphanage named Jin-seo, who sent me a letter of encouragement saying I was their role model.
It brought back old memories, so I deliberately came to visit.
I contacted the orphanage through the Guild, and they were apparently startled. They never expected me to actually show up.
“Wow, it’s really Han Hye!”
“Crazy! Han Hye!”
The children at the orphanage were thrilled, gasping in delight. It started with them pulling out cameras to take pictures.
It was the same for everyone, from kids who looked about eight years old to those who looked like high schoolers.
“Now, you kids.”
There was something I needed to correct.
“Han Hye? Am I your friend?”
Even if I hadn’t been educated properly, the power of Confucianism soaked into our country’s culture apparently doesn’t go anywhere.
“You should call me Brother Han Hye.”
When the orphanage teacher said so, only then did the forms of address change.
“Brother Han Hye!”
“Brother!”
“Oppa!”
The children’s enthusiastic cheers were familiar sounds. Still, they felt more intimate than when I’m on stage in front of the public.
“That’s right, that’s right. I’m Han Hye.”
I nodded with my arms spread wide, and the children laughed at the sight.
“Jin-seo sent me a letter, so I came.”
I gave a shout-out to Jin-seo, who had brought me here, and all the children turned to look at him.
“Jin-seo is the best!”
“There’s no one but you, Jin-seo!”
Though I’d come for volunteer work, there wasn’t much to actually do. Share the chicken and pizza I’d brought with the children and help clean up a bit?
And I talked with the children. Of course, Jin-seo was first.
“What matters is living with effort. Don’t give up. Don’t stray from the path.”
I didn’t have anything particularly special to say. I come from the streets myself, so these children will have it hard too, but my path is different from theirs.
No one brought up their parents—they were consciously avoiding it—so I didn’t get the chance, which I was grateful for.
‘I grew up nourished by revenge, after all.’
Still, there was something I needed to correct about the children’s dreams.
“I want to become a Hunter like you, Brother!”
I’m the one who went from being a Gate Orphan to becoming the world’s number one. It’s not strange that the children would want to become like me.
“I really wouldn’t recommend it. If I’d had any other ability, I never would’ve done this.”
That’s a lie. I clawed my way to awakening through the hunger for vengeance. But I never wanted to turn these children into Hunters.
Least of all children intoxicated by some fantasy version of who I am now.
“Really? You’re lying.”
“Do you understand how dangerous this is? You’re fighting monsters constantly. I’ve come close to dying more times than I can count. You all know that, don’t you?”
The Emission-type Gate incident had been useful in persuading them.
“If Saebyeokbit hadn’t helped back then, I’d be dead already.”
When I mentioned the Grendel incident, the children nodded solemnly.
“Even now that I’m ranked first in the world, I’ve nearly died several times—I just got lucky and survived. Unless you have no choice, it’s better not to do it.”
Of course, not every child was convinced.
There was one who looked to be a high school student. Apparently, he’d lost both his parents in the First Gate Incident when he was eight years old.
“I want to take revenge.”
With him, I found myself hesitating to discourage him outright.
“If you really insist on it, I’d recommend waiting until you’ve gained a strong ability.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then it’s worse than not doing it at all.”
He was old enough that I spoke to him frankly, realistically. His expression grew somber—I couldn’t help that.
“I’ll take your revenge for you. Just live your own life. Your parents would want that for you.”
“Right. I’ll think about it.”
His name was Han-sung. Whether he’d make it, I couldn’t know. All I could do was hope he’d survive for a long time.
Since I’d set a time limit beforehand, it was already time to leave.
“You’re raising the children well.”
“It’s simply what must be done.”
I had a brief chance to meet with the Orphanage Director. He was an exceptionally good man—you could see it just from the fact that most of the children at the orphanage lived bright, happy lives.
In contrast, the facility itself struck me as somewhat rundown.
“What? A new orphanage building?”
“I’ll have one built for you.”
“I beg your pardon??”
Perhaps I’d been lost in nostalgia. I wanted to give the children and their caretaker a gift.
* * *
I’d mentioned the construction of a new building for Myeong-jin Orphanage to the Guild staff.
Of course, I’d also made sure to add a generous donation. I could only hope it would help the children.
-Hunter Han Hye, would it be alright if I asked you for a favor?
It was while I was training, waiting for the other Guild staff to return from their vacation. Seo-ung called.
It was completely unexpected.
“An instructor at a Workshop?”

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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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