Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 316

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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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316. A Lateral Upgrade?
There was only one thing the Conspiracy Ring’s color change could mean.
The Übermenschen. I was certain of it.
There was a slim possibility it could be a scheme from China’s side, but something told me that wasn’t it.
‘They wouldn’t make another move so soon after everything that’s happened.’
If not for the Australia subjugation operation, they would’ve suffered considerable damage, starting with the severing of hunter cooperation.
Even if China attempted to eliminate me, once the conspiracy behind it came to light, there’d be no guarantees about what came next.
I wouldn’t say my assassination was impossible—just that the circumstances made it prohibitive. That’s not what keeps me up at night.
If they were willing to stake everything on my death, they never would’ve staged a coup in the first place.
‘Last time, they had Lei Chuang as their sacrifice.’
Even if they managed something despite the odds, Liu Zhen would warn me first, so I’m not losing sleep over China.
That left the Übermenschen. But this situation had its own peculiarities.
The last time they attacked me using the Dark Night Barrier was because of the Gold Ticket Event Venue.
If not for that constraint, it would mean they’d ambush me in everyday life—
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
My routine is simple: home and the Training Ground, back and forth. The Korean Hunter Association is always nearby.
Not to mention both Dawn Light and Iron Wall are stationed there.
An ambush wouldn’t work unless they killed me instantly—otherwise, they’d have to deal with reinforcements.
Even if one guild was inside a Gate, it wouldn’t be an easy fight.
‘Now that the Coordinate Designation Secretary is available, it’s even harder for them.’
Even if another Dark Night Barrier appears, I can break free. I’ve done it before—shatter it and counterattack.
Thinking it through like this, things started to come into focus.
So there were two possibilities.
Either assassinate me so quickly I can’t respond, or take hostages so I can’t run.
Honestly, the latter terrified me. With the former, at least I could figure out how to counter whatever they threw at me. But with hostages, my options disappear.
That’s what made it so dangerous.
‘Chul-gi’s family, guild members… maybe.’
In all honesty, I don’t have many meaningful hostages. Just them, really.
But precisely because the list is short, the impact of losing them would be devastating. I hope to God it’s not the second option.
“Sir. Can you deliver the Coordinate Designation Secretary to them?”
I couldn’t just sit with these thoughts. To prepare for any contingency, I had the Coordinate Designation Secretary distributed to them.
A high-level hunter might not even have time to activate it, but it’s better than nothing.
“Damn. These bastards.”
Seeing my Conspiracy Ring, Chul-gi clenched his teeth.
“We need to wipe them all out once and for all.”
His anger was justified—the second possibility meant a direct threat to his family.
While I’d reached the highest level in record time, he was no slouch either. Among the world’s elite, he had the strength for this.
What worried me was the Übermenschen leader Choin had mentioned. He’d said their commander was likely stronger than us.
No one knows what’s happening in those Third World regions where we have no intelligence.
‘What skills they possess, for one.’
In the early days of America, they must have collected S-rank and A-rank skills, and afterward, they likely acquired awakeners from India and China.
I have plenty of S-rank skills myself, but it’s possible they have more S-rank skills than our entire guild combined.
I can’t afford to be complacent. An unknown quantity—possibly the strongest person on Earth, potentially stronger than me.
The lack of intelligence is a handicap. They definitely know about me, but I know almost nothing about them.
‘There’s no choice.’
They’ve made their move, and they’ll make a formal challenge. All I can do is prepare. We’re still in the early stages. Time is on my side.
It took time back then too. It’s not easy for the Übermenschen to maneuver against me, which means I have a window.
To endure it, I need to grow stronger.
Strong enough to win even if the world’s strongest comes for me. Strong enough to become the strongest, officially or not.
* * *
Part of that preparation was a scheduled sparring session with Shin Chang. It began as soon as he returned from leave.
I didn’t achieve a breakthrough with the Iron Wing Thrust Sword Technique, but I found a thread to pull.
“…Hmm. You’re abandoning the defensive forms?”
“The last time the Iron Wing Thrust Sword Technique emerged, I thought it was a complete sword art, but as I practiced, something felt lacking.”
“You’re right. It’s impressive, but there’s something vague about it. It’s hard to pinpoint what advice to give.”
Shin Chang, more talkative than usual as he pondered seriously, shared his thoughts.
“…I believe there is no true completion in martial arts.”
“No completion, you say.”
“You can approach it. But that’s an extremely difficult problem.”
Shin Chang continued, more earnest than ever before.
“I believe martial arts must have their own character. You might say it’s similar to art.”
“Do you mean they need to have a philosophy?”
“Ultimately, yes. That’s what opens the path forward. Seeking perfection is nearly impossible.”
Shin Chang fell quiet for a moment, lost in thought.
“Even if one were a god.”
Perhaps we’d shared similar combat experiences. I didn’t think Shin Chang was wrong. In fact, I agreed with him. After all this time training in swordplay, how could I not?
The phrase “perfected swordsmanship” rang hollow to me too. Did such a thing even exist?
“I suppose I do need to let things go.”
My brooding deepened—a continuation of the concerns I’d been wrestling with for some time.
How much should I discard?
The Imperial Foundation Swordsmanship had been my foundation since my awakening, ingrained over a long period.
The question was: how much of that foundation should I remove when it no longer aligned with the direction I needed to go?
There were multiple directions I could take. I could become somewhat more aggressive, or commit entirely to aggression.
In other words, either use only the defensive forms of Imperial Foundation Swordsmanship when cornered, or abandon them entirely.
‘It’s not easy.’
That foundation didn’t become my bedrock for nothing—it permeated even the smallest of my movements.
“Earlier I noticed you blocking the spear with just the Gauntlet Technique.”
“The Fist King taught me.”
“Then do you really need the defensive forms? I think you’d be fine going more aggressively.”
Shin Chang’s words gave weight to my deliberation. It seemed better to abandon them entirely, even if it meant letting go of everything I’d built so far.
The Imperial Foundation Swordsmanship had carried me this far, but it was an E-grade art. I knew that intellectually, so I could let it go.
“Then let’s try again. Push yourself to discard as much as you can.”
That’s how I trained with Shin Chang, pushing myself toward maximum aggression. Being a new attempt, it was bound to be awkward at first.
The real insight came a few days later during a death-match with Shin Chang—a genuine battle fought with lethal intent, using the training facilities in the Subspace.
With considerable Sacred Energy remaining, I engaged Shin Chang roughly three times, and it was only then that my body moved freely.
It felt like the gears between mind and flesh meshed smoothly into place.
‘Huh? So it’s like this?’
Shin Chang’s Spear Technique carried an aggressive momentum, and I could learn how to move when stripped of Imperial Foundation Swordsmanship.
Though spear and sword differ, engaging Shin Chang with aggressive thrust techniques and the Swift Sword, my body gradually loosened and found its flow.
Trading only illusions and attacks with Shin Chang, I fell into a state of unconscious mastery.
I wasn’t consciously avoiding the Imperial Foundation Swordsmanship techniques I’d performed all this time—I simply wasn’t using them at all, even unconsciously.
[Iron Wing Thrust Sword Technique (Grade A) transforms into Thrust Sword Technique (Grade A).]
The message appeared at that moment. The skill level remained the same, but only the name had changed.
It seemed that because I’d extracted “Iron Wing” from the Imperial Foundation, only that part had shifted.
‘Is this a lateral upgrade?’
No. It’s not a lateral upgrade. There’s no immediate change, but I consider it progress, a step forward.
The transformation has its merits and drawbacks, but the drawbacks can be compensated for. I have thrust techniques using the Gauntlet Technique after all.
Sparring with Shin Chang, I learned something: when you commit entirely to aggression, your opponent finds it difficult to respond aggressively in turn.
It’s a shame the transformed Thrust Sword Technique didn’t reach Grade S, but I believe that’s a problem I’ll solve myself.
‘It’ll take time. Other secret techniques too.’
There’s the seventh Subspace—a collection of treasures hoarded by the previous and previous-previous Masters, a true vault of wealth.
It’s unfortunate I haven’t acquired a Skill Level Up Voucher recently. I’d like to get one before the Übermenschen arrive.
—Damn it.
Still, Shin Chang’s words linger with me.
“The one who held back their strength, and held back again… now surpasses me in power.”
Yes. Even if he’s the one Choin mentioned, I don’t think it’ll be difficult.
Just a year ago, Shin Chang, the Fist King, and Choin all seemed beyond my reach—but I’ve already surpassed them.
* * *
[South Korea’s Top-Tier Guilds’ Vacation Ends!]
[Dinosaur Guild, Dawn Light, and Iron Wall Ready for Gate Subjugation!]
[Special Top-Tier Gate Announcement Coming This Monday!]
[Han Hye, Currently One Level Behind Choin, Takes Aim at Reclaiming First!]
[The Space Mage Who Never Rested—How Far Will Progress Take Him After His Break?]
As our vacation, along with Dawn Light and Iron Wall’s, came to an end, a flood of articles poured out.
Most of them centered on me and Choin.
While I was away on vacation, Choin had managed to surpass me in level.
Choin has now reached level eighty-five. He’s one level ahead of me.
‘This person is truly formidable.’
There was talk among people that if Choin had been clearing Gates at his current pace before, he would’ve hit level one hundred by now.
I think he would have too. His recent speed has been nearly comparable to mine.
It was true that the Vanguard Hunters at the top tier had accelerated their leveling speed since my emergence.
I’d wondered if it was really because of me, but I’d recently learned the truth.
“Originally, the nations deliberately slowed the Vanguard Hunters’ rate of Gate entry—regardless of what the hunters themselves wanted.”
This was what Seo-ung had told me.
It meant that even if the Vanguard Hunters wanted to enter Gates, the state had prevented them at a national level.
“There were several reasons. The primary one was preventing losses among the Vanguard Hunters from reckless Gate incursions.”
Rare though it was, high-grade items and Spirit Medicine would occasionally appear on the market. As I’d experienced myself, even mid-level Gates harbored special hidden rewards.
In other words, the Vanguard Hunters could grow substantially without heavy losses as long as they maintained a certain growth threshold.
“Moreover, no one truly knew what lay at the end of the Gate phenomenon.”
Just as I worried about Mana Erosion, every nation naturally hadn’t remained idle either.
An anomaly that defied scientific understanding had occurred. Whether divine intervention or something else—nobody knew its ultimate end.
It was to buy time to prepare for it. Even while cultivating hunters, enormous investment was being funneled into science and military science, apparently.
There were even rumors that some nations were pursuing secret escape routes into space.
“The real turning point was the Australia situation.”
When nations confirmed that mana concentration was rising centered on Australia, each country lifted the restrictions on their Vanguard Hunters.
They couldn’t afford to let this continue—the damage might become irreversible.
“Of course, Han Hye also played a role. Even just Dawn Light and Iron Wall have continuously requested increased Gate-subjugation missions ever since your impossible growth.”
So multiple factors combined to drive the Vanguard Hunters’ tremendous leveling surge.
“Now that the Australia crisis is resolved, they won’t hold back the restrictions again?”
“That’s impossible. Han Hye became first-rank, and if we reversed what’s already been released, the hunters would raise a storm of complaint.”
“Of course, even now, certain Vanguard squads pursue safety and hunt much as they did before.”
I viewed this positively. Honestly, whether Choin or whatever else—I’m confident I’ll grow to first rank regardless.
But it means other hunters will reach the highest levels before long.
I suppose you could say the number of people who’ll stand against the erosion when it arrives has grown. Though that doesn’t mean I’m free of worry.
Such rapid growth could trigger faster changes in the erosion itself.
There’s also the possibility that greater trials await if someone reaches Level 100, just as people fear.
‘There’s no way around it.’
Übermenschen or erosion—
whatever it may be, the path laid before me was singular.
To keep advancing, growing stronger.

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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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