Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 32

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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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32. Night of Despair (3)
“What kind of ridiculous handicap is this….”
In certain Gates, monsters know the location of humans and pursue them relentlessly. It’s as if the monsters are given a map hack.
That’s why I was incredibly tense when the first medium-sized Gate opened. If an Ogre came charging, it would be catastrophic.
However, this Gate didn’t have such parameters. I’d assumed it was because of the Sniffer.
Honestly, it made no sense for map hacks to be active here as well.
“This isn’t right!”
Mister, who’d jolted awake and immediately started running, vented his frustration. He’d been struck by misfortune while sleeping.
If he’d wisely avoided combat, I’d praise him. But difficulty adjustments? Where in this world does such unfair treatment exist?
“Why did they become ferocious just because we didn’t fight? Are they starving? Or do they get ferocious whether we fight or not?”
“I suppose I should have gone out periodically to cause some disruption.”
I should have used the scent suppressant and leap to draw aggro from another direction.
“It would’ve been the same anyway! The monsters would just get angrier, become more ferocious!”
Mister was clearly furious.
Of course, the Gate showed no consideration for a hunter’s feelings whatsoever. The monsters were already closing in.
“Let’s run!”
Following the corridor connected to Jangchung Gymnasium down into the Subway, I could already see spiders behind us.
With eight legs as tall as a person, they moved remarkably fast.
-Auuuuu!
Moreover, the Sniffer’s cries continued echoing from above the subway platform. Since the first call, they’d multiplied into overlapping shrieks.
Sniffer after Sniffer was being drawn by the calls and pouring in. Well, it wouldn’t just be Sniffers.
Every monster inside the Gate was heading our way. The distance to the spiders was closing.
Lee Shin-hee shouted.
“Han Hye! Burn the passage behind us….”
“Yes!”
I nodded without waiting to hear more. I was already opening a Subspace to act anyway.
I immediately pulled out an oil canister and splashed it across the stairs we’d just descended.
“Min-jae!”
“Right!”
As Seo Min-jae created a small spark, the stairs were instantly engulfed in flames. It was merely buying us time.
I’d splashed it haphazardly and tossed the canister aside, causing a small explosion. Descending to the platform, I asked Mister.
“Which way should we go?”
Mister paused in thought before speaking.
“Chungmuro Station. It’s a transfer station, so there should be many escape routes.”
I nodded and shattered the screen doors with Wind Slash. That’s when Lee Shin-hee spoke up.
“Break both sides.”
“Why the other side?”
“The Sniffer keeps calling. It’s possible the monsters’ location tracking happens at regular intervals.”
Now that I thought about it, even though our location had been revealed, the Sniffer continued crying. It was strange. Why would it keep calling them?
As Lee Shin-hee said, the monsters’ map hack could be continuous, but sometimes it had a cycle.
“Not bad at all.”
I’d known her judgment was sound from before, but this time I was slightly taken aback. Her mind seemed exceptionally sharp.
She wasn’t merely a healer with an A-rank skill—as a hunter, she appeared quite competent.
Min-jae and Chul-gi are straightforward types. I never received formal education, but my intellect was reasonably sharp.
If Lee Shin-hee joined this combination, wouldn’t the team composition be quite solid?
—Crash!
Following Lee Shin-hee’s suggestion, I shattered both the left and right platform screen doors.
Then, using Leap, I hurled spare clothing from the Subspace onto the tracks on the opposite side.
I wasn’t certain it would have much effect, but it was an action to buy us even a few extra moments.
Later, even a few minutes might prove invaluable.
“….”
Lee Shin-hee regarded me with slightly widened eyes—a look of recognition. Truly, intelligent people understand each other.
In any case, we proceeded into the tunnel heading toward Chungmuro Station.
Boom—!
As we sprinted along the tracks, a thunderous sound erupted from above.
The violent tremor sent dust cascading down from the ceiling.
“…It’s here.”
Without seeing it, I knew it was the Ogre. Faster than expected. That sound was surely from it demolishing obstructing structures as it entered.
The Subway was spacious, but there were sections that would catch it—escalators, turnstiles, stairs.
“Huh?”
But our escape was forced to halt before long.
“It’s completely blocked?”
Midway toward Chungmuro Station, we found ourselves barred by a wall.
It wasn’t the transparent wall I’d seen at the Labyrinth Dead End. This was the Gate’s wall—its texture distinctly different from the surrounding stone.
“This is the boundary zone of this Gate.”
* * *
No Gate possesses infinite territory. They don’t bring entire worlds through intact.
High-level Gates are said to reveal spaces beyond imagination, but….
Typically, there’s a defined boundary beyond which one cannot pass. This Gate, copied from Earth, was no exception.
In that moment, I understood better why those who’d entered before us never escaped alive.
We’d started at Yaksoo Station. The boundary lay near Chungmuro Station.
It wasn’t a small area by any means, but surviving twelve hours against Sniffers and Ogres was impossibly difficult.
“Damn….”
The party’s expressions darkened at the realization that the path was sealed. This was beyond our calculations.
With the passage blocked, we’d have no choice but to use the Escape Secretary.
“Hmm.”
Yet I hadn’t surrendered. As we moved along the tunnel, a persistent thought kept surfacing.
This tunnel—I could probably seal it sufficiently with the Subspace.
Of course, perfect sealing was impossible, and I couldn’t predict what variables might arise, so I was deliberating….
But with our rear completely sealed like this, it seemed worth attempting.
“Maybe it could work?”
“It could work?”
“It means we’re safe as long as we don’t face it head-on. We just need to block the front.”
When two subway lines run side by side in opposite directions, it’s called a double-track tunnel, and when there are tracks on both sides with a platform between them, it’s called a single-track tunnel.
We were currently in a single-track tunnel. In other words, the narrow space meant we could utilize the Subspace.
“But there’s an Ogre coming from the front?”
Kim Seung-tae voiced his doubt, while Lee Shin-hee waited with a composed expression to hear what I meant.
Meanwhile, Mister understood my words perfectly.
“You can’t possibly… can you?”
“Yes.”
But there was no time to explain further.
-Kyaaaaa!
A shriek from the giant spider echoed from behind. Judging by the charred marks, it had pushed through the flames.
The spiders weren’t numerous, scattered as they were along the subway tracks.
“I’ll clear some space ahead first.”
The rear was blocked. If the Ogre arrived, we might need to retreat depending on the situation, so securing space was essential.
-Kyaaa!
In situations like this, the rear guard attacks first as a matter of protocol. If the front line moves out, they can’t use area-of-effect skills.
“Seung-tae.”
“Yes.”
Kim Seung-tae’s stern face tightened as he pressed his lips together.
“Igni!”
A flame spirit resembling a wolf appeared and rushed toward the enemies. As it collided with the spiders, fierce flames erupted.
The spirit remained unscathed, rampaging through the monsters while burning the surroundings with fire.
Was that supposed to be a B-rank skill? I understood now why spirit summoners were such a sought-after rare class.
Still, its destructive power couldn’t compare to Seo Min-jae’s as a mage.
The problem was that enemies kept pouring in continuously after combat began.
The spirit played a major role in clearing some space ahead, but the tracks were filling up with monsters.
“Min-jae.”
“Yes!”
Min-jae immediately hurled a fireball.
Boom!
As the fireball that had destroyed a building fell among the enemies, a violent explosion erupted.
It was weaker than last time—he seemed to be controlling his power somewhat.
“What…?”
Still, the effect was undeniable. Even Lee Shin-hee, who had remained composed, was startled by the reduced destructive force.
But the amazement didn’t last long. As we pushed through the monsters and moved forward slightly…
Boom! Boom!
The Ogre appeared. Its massive frame filled the tracks so completely that it felt like a subway train was approaching.
-Grrrrr!
“….”
Only Yong-yong growled low at the ogre while the rest of us watched in silence.
This was dangerous. Ogres were level 30 or higher—some individuals made even level 40 hunters tense—monsters with a vast gap between us and them.
Even if we were designated as promising prospects by the government, we couldn’t bridge that gap with an ogre.
Engaging in a direct fight we couldn’t win wasn’t a wise decision.
‘So then, maybe now is the time to tell Mister Chul-gi what I was planning to say earlier….’
My earlier assurance wasn’t because I intended to fight head-on.
That’s why I’d said it seemed like we could manage.
“Da….”
…Just as I opened my mouth.
A voice came from behind.
“I’m using an Escape Secretary. Han Hye, I’m counting on you to cover the rear.”
“Huh? Wait a moment.”
I spun around in panic, but Kim Seung-tae had already torn the Escape Secretary.
Whoosh—!
And Kim Seung-tae vanished before my eyes.
Really, he just disappeared without even listening to me.
I had a method planned, you know?
Of course, the situation was so urgent I hadn’t managed to explain it yet.
‘If only he’d waited three seconds, or even just one….’
Well, the spiritist was already gone, so there was nothing to be done about it.
“Everyone, don’t use the Escape Secretary.”
“…?”
Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae, on the verge of tearing their Escape Secretaries, tilted their heads in confusion.
Whoooosh—
Rather than explain at length, I opened a Subspace—as large as I possibly could.
And seeing the opened Subspace, Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae gasped in shock.
“Huh?”
“Wh-what is this…?”
* * *
Of course, Han Hye hadn’t completely sealed off the tunnel with the Subspace. The entrance to a Subspace has its limits in size.
Chun-bae said that as the skill level increased, the size would grow, but beyond a certain point, there was a ceiling.
The maximum size of the entrance Han Hye could currently open was 5×5 meters. The single-track tunnel now was about 5 meters wide and 6 meters tall.
In other words, it was sufficient to block this tunnel.
Since the entrance could be opened in shapes other than just a square, she could adjust it to fit this single-track tunnel.
About 1 meter was left open at the top and roughly 10 centimeters on each side.
This was enough.
“This is how we block it.”
“You could do something like this?”
Lee Shin-hee, who had been standing with her mouth agape in astonishment, quickly composed herself and straightened her expression urgently.
Seo Min-jae was equally startled. He hadn’t witnessed anything like this before.
“Yes. During the meeting earlier, I assumed the battlefield would be wide open, so I didn’t mention it, but as you can see, the situation has changed considerably….”
No one could have imagined the Gate’s interior was a city, so predicting a single-lane tunnel was equally difficult.
Seo Min-jae spoke while keeping his awareness on the other side of the Subspace.
“Those things can’t break through this, right?”
“Right. The Subspace entrance has physical immunity, so they can’t cross over.”
“Physical immunity? What kind of absurdly broken skill is that….”
Lee Shin-hee had spoken her true thoughts aloud without thinking, then flushed and closed her mouth. Of course, Han Hye didn’t particularly mind.
“I should have mentioned it sooner….”
In truth, I could only bring this up late. If it had been a double-lane tunnel, I wouldn’t have been able to use this method due to the wider space.
The reason I hesitated even after knowing it was a single-lane tunnel was because the rear wasn’t sealed.
I could block both front and back with two Subspace entrances, but I couldn’t maintain them for the remaining four hours.
Goblins could slip through the narrow gap, or while I entered the Subspace to replenish my mana, enemies could gradually advance.
While I was deliberating over that possibility, a transparent wall appeared, and I had no choice but to proceed—but the situation worked out.
Now that I’d secured considerable distance, it was enough for me to replenish my mana safely within the Subspace.
“But like you said, it really is an absurdly broken skill. That means even that Ogre can’t break through, right?”
When Seo Min-jae brought up the phrase “absurdly broken skill” again, Lee Shin-hee squeezed her eyes shut.
I couldn’t tell him that even Red Dragon couldn’t break through it, so I simply smiled faintly.
“Magic can still get through, though.”
“You didn’t know either, Min-jae?”
Lee Shin-hee, embarrassed by her earlier outburst, changed the subject.
“I’ve only entered a Gate once with you all.”
“I see.”
Lee Shin-hee nodded and turned her gaze toward me. She said nothing, but her eyes gleamed with admiration.
Boom—! Boom—!
Of course, while our group conversed, the other side wasn’t idle either. The furious Ogre pounded roughly against the Subspace entrance.
I swallowed a laugh watching that sight.
‘Even Red Dragon couldn’t break through this, you fool.’
Then, Chun-bae, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
-Han Hye. Open another entrance and attack. This is an opportunity to gain experience.
‘What are you talking about? If I go out now, I’m dead.’
-No, you’re not.
After hearing Chun-bae’s subsequent advice, my eyes widened.
‘Wait? He’s right?’

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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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