Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 321

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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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321. The Price of Charity
“I’m S-rank too!”
“Me, me as well!”
“Wow, seriously? They were all S-rank?”
Just as I was reaching eagerly for the next box, I heard Han Chul and Lee Shin-hee speak. So that made four S-rank items so far.
I forced myself to pause, catching my breath. I had a decent idea what might be inside anyway.
“What did everyone get?”
I wanted to check what the guild members had received first.
“Mine are S-rank Shoes. They boost my stats and increase my speed whenever I’m riding something. Plus there’s an option that says they’ll never fall off unless I will it.”
It seemed the Dragon Knight had gotten the perfect pair of shoes. His expression made that abundantly clear.
I had to admit, it was impressive. Never falling off unless by his own will?
That meant he could now perform impossible aerial maneuvers while riding Yong-yong.
He pulled off acrobatic flying even now, but truthfully it wasn’t flawless. When Yong-yong flew alone without us, it was genuinely different.
“I received S-rank Armor.”
Inside Han Chul’s box—nearly the size of a chair—lay a suit of armor. Its options and stats were excellent, as befitted S-rank gear.
I found myself oddly relieved it was armor. It wouldn’t overlap with the shield he was already using.
An S-rank Shield would have been fine too, of course, but his current shield was already quite exceptional.
Immolation in particular required gauge conditions to activate, yet its destructive power was solid.
‘I’ve used it as a trump card in all sorts of situations.’
Min-jae’s item was an S-rank Staff.
Increased magical power stats and efficiency. It was perfectly suited for a mage.
“I got a shield.”
Unexpectedly, Lee Shin-hee had received an S-rank Shield. It felt a bit awkward for a Healer, but since she used sword-and-board, I thought it could work well enough.
Yet what came next forced me to reconsider entirely.
“It says when I activate a skill, I get an Invincibility effect for three seconds?”
“Invincibility?”
“The cooldown’s pretty long, but that’s what it clearly states.”
This was different. Three seconds was brief, yes, but this wasn’t an S-rank barrier—it was literally ‘Invincibility.’
I’d never even heard of such a thing. I’d asked Chun-bae about it and he didn’t know either.
-But it’s certain this counts among the very top tier of S-rank items.
I agree with that assessment. Invincibility? How was this even possible?
“Can you use it on others too?”
“Let me try.”
As Lee Shin-hee activated the skill, golden light blazed outward.
“Looks like it only applies to my immediate surroundings.”
“An Invincibility effect at all is more than sufficient.”
For defense like this, I was always grateful. Even with Han Chul around, the rear guard’s safety was never too protected.
And with a range like that, we could all benefit from the effect.
“Everyone’s gotten something perfect.”
“Go on, open yours already.”
The Dragon Knight regarded me with curious eyes. Now it was my turn. My earlier guess about roughly knowing what was inside had been no exaggeration.
My box was a long one, roughly 160 centimeters in length. And at the top, something protruded to the left and right like the crossguard of a sword.
“It’s obviously a sword without even looking.”
I was finally getting an S-rank sword.
I grinned and opened the box.
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but let out a confused sound.
Because inside the box I’d expected to contain a sword was instead some sort of large cursed doll.
“What, what is this?”
The guild members watching around me were naturally just as bewildered.
“Son of a—…”
I barely caught myself before a curse slipped out, and checked what this actually was.
[Jakumen’s Paper Doppelgänger (S-rank)]
-Using Paper Doppelgänger, create a clone indistinguishable by any means—perfectly identical to yourself—and control it for five days.
-While in clone form, you can use all your abilities and items, but only 70% of your power applies.
-Can only be used once.
I honestly felt caught off guard.
-It is an S-rank item. Creating a clone that cannot be distinguished by any method does have diverse applications.
I understand Chun-bae’s point. But why did I get this?
Everyone else got S-rank equipment, yet I’m the only one who drew a one-time-use item.
.
.
.
It took a few moments before I could recover my composure.
“Hmm.”
The message the Gate had given me earlier was important. It said it would provide what I needed or what I required.
They looked similar, but the Gate’s distinction between them made it clear they were fundamentally different.
‘The former is what I want, the latter is what I need.’
This Paper Doppelgänger clearly fell into the latter category. After all, I’d been wanting an S-rank sword recently.
If this Paper Doppelgänger was something I needed…
‘Then it must be useful to me.’
The answer that came to mind first was obvious.
‘Could it be because of the Übermenschen?’
No. Not “could be.”
It was almost certainly the reason. The color of my Ring of Intrigue had changed recently. If that wasn’t the case, there’d be no reason to give me this.
“Han Hye, are you okay? You didn’t go into shock or anything, did you?”
“No, I’m fine.”
I’d been lost in thought. The concerned gazes of my guild members were unmistakable.
“Really, I’m all right.”
“Are you sure? You seemed pretty shocked.”
My unusual reward had apparently raised some eyebrows among the guild members. I smiled and shook my head.
“I’m fine. If there’s a use for it, that’s why I received it.”
“You’re certain?”
“It seems to be because of the Übermenschen conspiracy. If I can catch them with this, I won’t regret missing an S-rank item.”
On the surface, it looked odd, but thinking about it calmly and rationally, it made sense.
Could an S-rank item actually stop the Übermenschen?
Not just me—Mister, Shin Chang, Fist King, and Choin would all gladly sacrifice an S-rank item.
The guild members gradually nodded along with my explanation.
“Well, if you say so. Though I thought you’d get an S-rank sword. I did too.”
There he goes. Mister never missed a chance to poke at old wounds.
“There’ll be another opportunity. I’m already satisfied seeing everyone obtain S-rank items.”
I meant it sincerely.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Hmm.”
“Seriously.”
Why didn’t he believe me?
Mister let out a soft laugh.
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Then give them all to me.”
“No way.”
Good grief. Still so childish.
.
.
.
[Space Mage Han Hye Reaches Level 86! Choin Enters a Gate Again! Who Will Be the World’s Number One?]
I’d reached Level 86. Though I was in fierce competition with Choin, I suspected the gap wouldn’t remain for long.
I’m not belittling him, but my guild members have grown strong too, not just me.
Everyone possessed S-rank Skills, and we’d all obtained S-rank items as well. Our growth will only accelerate from here.
One regret amid all this was that Level 100 didn’t feel so distant anymore.
‘I’m human, after all.’
It’s not that I don’t care about the competition with Choin, but any person would feel good hearing they’re the world’s strongest.
The fact that my time as Earth’s best wouldn’t last long was somewhat disappointing.
If I’d awakened even a little earlier, I could have held the highest level on Earth for much longer. Or would I have?
When I think of myself from a year ago, this is certainly a blessed complaint. Back then, I saw no answer in life.
‘Who knows what might happen.’
Still, a trace of anxiety lingered about this.
[Gate Crisis: What If Level 100 Is Not the End?]
It was a question being revisited as the world’s elite Advance Teams began reaching Level 80.
No one had ever reached Level 100 to confirm the truth. The Previous Master and Previous Previous Master hadn’t either, so even Chun-bae’s account was meaningless.
Like any game, it might end at Level 99 instead of 100, or it might go beyond to Level 200 or 300.
The truth is, no one knows. For all we understand, Corruption could arrive without warning even at Level 200.
‘For now, I’ll aim for Level 100 and see what happens.’
* * *
After the Charity Gate, we decided to take a brief training period. Our Guild members had acquired four S-rank items.
We needed time to adapt to the new equipment.
Min-jae’s staff, for instance, just required casting magic, but the others were different.
Han Chul had to adapt his movements now that his armor had changed.
“Moving is certainly easier. It’s just that the feel is different from the armor I used before.”
A small thing like this can become a problem inside a Gate. I wanted to enter every Gate at 100 percent capacity if possible.
Mister was in the middle of testing how far acrobatic flight could take him.
“Wow, even Immolation can’t pierce through this.”
Lee Shin-hee’s Invincibility was another skill under scrutiny. It was literally invincible.
Even Immolation, which supposedly burned through mana itself, couldn’t penetrate it.
-Had higher ranks existed, I suspect she would have received an SS or SSS-rank evaluation.
Those were Chun-bae’s words.
Three seconds was an extremely short duration, and the cooldown lasted several days, but the value of Invincibility far exceeded such limitations.
“Will you be able to use it at exactly the right moment?”
“I’ll make sure I can.”
Lee Shin-hee answered my question with unwavering resolve. Fair point. She had never been late with healing, barriers, or buff timing.
“I’ll train my reaction speed even more.”
And the reason we had this brief rest period wasn’t just because of that.
“Hyah!”
There was a reason Mister was training so hard: the Shin Chang Spear Arts Championship was coming up.
The date had been set rather suddenly, but it was an event held within the Spear Arts Society itself.
Once we’d finished most of our training and found ourselves with some free time, Shin Chang had apparently brought it up.
As a result, the topic had become the talk of the Swordsmanship Meeting when we convened recently.
-I heard it’s happening next week?
-Is there going to be a broadcast or something?
-A broadcast?
-Well, they’re putting up an S-rank Spear in Shin Chang’s name. If they hold Korea’s strongest spear arts championship and gather all the spear masters……
The idea itself was interesting. However, with creatures like the Übermenschen around, it was impossible.
Individual martial techniques would be exposed.
-A spear arts championship? Goodness. Han Hye, have you been rubbing off on him through all that time spent together?
When I mentioned this to Seo Seung-yeon, I heard quite the amusing anecdote.
-Actually, San wanted to do something much bigger.
“Really?”
-He wanted to call it the Supreme Spear Arts Championship of the World and make it huge…… but the Guild talked him out of it.
“That certainly would have drawn a lot of attention.”
-You’d get good publicity with the image of distributing S-rank Spears, but honestly, I doubt many Hunters would participate. The issue of exposing our strength and all that.
Right. Weren’t Hunters the type who avoided sparring matches because they worried about their market value?
Things had shifted somewhat since the Swordsmanship and Spear Arts meeting with Shin Chang and me, but we still had a long way to go.

Knowing the caliber of the participants, they would be even more reluctant to agree to a public exhibition match.
If it were a nationwide live broadcast, there might well be people within the Spear Arts Society itself who would object.
“Can I watch that too?”
I asked Seo Seung-yeon on impulse. Since Mister was participating, I wanted to observe the tournament myself.
-Hold on. Let me ask.
Instead of Seo Seung-yeon coming back quickly as promised, Shin Chang picked up the call.
-Absolutely not.
“Pardon?”
-It’s not happening.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
I could hear Shin Chang snort through the receiver.
-……You’re thinking you’ll see our society’s true strength at the exhibition match.
“What?”
-So you can gain an advantage in the future confrontation between the Swordsmanship Meeting and the Spear Arts Society, isn’t it?
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
I wasn’t bothered by Shin Chang speaking at unusual length. But the fact that someone I generally respected would spout such absurdity left me genuinely baffled.
-Hmph. It’s not happening.
Me. It’s just so absurd.
“It’s disgusting. I won’t watch it. Disgusting.”
-What a vile creature.
“Should we really go at it then?”
-Fine. Want to see right now?
Wait, hold on. This is actually doing Shin Chang a favor.
“No, forget it. I’m not sparring anymore. I’ll train with the Fist King instead.”
-Even so, you can’t observe.
“I won’t.”
I just hung up. The more we talked, the more I felt like I was trying to talk him out of it.
He’s definitely lost his mind.
.
.
.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
And so, Mister headed to the martial tournament alone.

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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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