Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 322
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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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322. Jong-gil?
The Spear Arts Society’s martial arts tournament was conducted just like the Swordsmanship Meeting—participants wore equipment that imposed stat restrictions.
Unfortunately, Mister didn’t take first place in the Spear Arts Society tournament.
“Second place.”
Mister’s final ranking was second. It was a shame to miss first, but honestly, the surprise outweighed the disappointment.
“Second place, really?”
“That’s right.”
I’m not being polite—I genuinely think it’s a remarkable achievement. For one thing, Mister isn’t a lancer; he’s a Dragon Knight.
In actual combat inside Gates, he rarely wielded a spear directly.
He’d occasionally dismount from Yong-yong and practice with one for self-improvement, but most of the time he fought in the sky.
That’s also why he was reluctant about joining Shin Chang’s Spear Arts Society in the first place.
“Won’t they talk down to me for showing up without knowing how to use a spear properly?”
Part of Mister’s desire to grow comfortable with the spear came from his own sense that he was clumsy with it.
The members of the Spear Arts Society, meanwhile, had impressive credentials. Like us, they were all renowned Hunters.
And they were people who had grown by fighting inside Gates with nothing but a spear.
Though he’d been active briefly in the past, Mister had only been a Hunter for about a year, which was nothing compared to their breadth of experience.
It’s not that I was looking down on him. Hadn’t I already assumed he had a low chance of taking first?
Still, seeing his determination made me want to help and support him.
Shin Chang’s Swordsmanship Meeting currently had nine members, I’d heard.
All but one were Level 45 or higher—Hunters who’d cleared Gates using nothing but a spear.
“You did really well. How’d you manage it? I figured even placing fourth would’ve been impressive.”
“Heh. I worked hard, didn’t I?”
“That’s true enough.”
During Guild training, I’d partnered with him and helped with sparring. He really did put in the effort.
But judging coldly, I’d have expected him to place around fourth or fifth.
“You met Diluvian before, remember?”
“Yes.”
“His technique helped me.”
The two of them had exchanged words then.
“I asked him if there was a technique he could teach me that someone clearly better with a spear than me might use.”
“And that’s what helped you advance?”
“He taught me two things—go all or nothing with them, he said.”
Mister let out a dry laugh.
“I made it to the finals with those two, but it wasn’t easy there.”
I’d heard that another Spear Master from the Iron Wall Advance Guard had taken first. If that’s who it was, it made sense.
Because of Shin Chang’s effect, spear-wielders were incredibly common in our country, but objectively speaking, that man was our nation’s second-best spear fighter.
“Shin Chang looked surprised, didn’t he?”
“Really?”
“He came to me saying I’d improved a lot. Asked where I’d learned it from.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I’d run into someone in a Gate. He laughed about it.”
I never expected the Hidden dungeon where we met Nereion and Diluvian to connect back like this.
“And I brought back a runner-up prize too.”
“There’s a runner-up prize?”
“Shin Chang felt it wasn’t right to give only a first-place prize, so he prepared one.”
“What is it?”
“Second place gets two B-rank Spirit Medicines. Third gets one.”
Mister thrust a small box toward me.
“Here, take one and consume it.”
“Why me?”
“I owe you a lot.”
At his words, I smiled wryly.
“We have plenty of Spirit Medicine. You should eat it yourself, or give one to Min-seok.”
The Spirit Medicine Farm is still in operation. And we still have the medicines we received from various countries before.
Honestly, my attachment to Spirit Medicine has faded considerably. Unless it’s A-rank or higher.
Though I’m still consuming them, recently I’ve been giving quite a lot to Min-seok.
Since Min-seok doesn’t enter Gates, his mana needs to be raised.
“Is that alright?”
“Of course. How about we grab a drink to celebrate, for once?”
“Sounds good. By the way, I’m getting sentimental. If this keeps up, I’ll be able to live comfortably even if I go back to the old days.”
It was something the Mister had said just then.
“To the past, you mean?”
“Even without Red Dragon, with spear skills at this level now, you could manage a hunter’s life.”
It was a fair point, and I nodded along with a smile.
“And the more I do it, the more fun it becomes.”
“The spear?”
“Yeah. Back then, I kept wondering why I—a Dragon Knight—had to wield a spear at all…….”
As the Mister began engaging in earnest activity, his old doubts must have faded away, and now he’d developed a genuine fascination with the spear arts.
“That’s wonderful to hear.”
“It is. I hope things stay this way.”
* * *
[Did anyone predict Han Hye would become this?]
(Interview photo with shamanic priestess)
-This shaman apparently said from the time of Han Hye’s contract that she’d become the world’s greatest ㄷㄷ
-ㅋㅋㅋ You believe that?
-100% just luck
-Reminds me of that time when a soldier’s ghost was possessing someone and they asked it to sing a military song but it couldn’t…
┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-(Breaking news) That shaman’s appointment schedule is fully booked until next summer
┗For real?
┗Han Hye effect is realㅋㅋㅋ
┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-(Photo) I also said when Han Hye debuted that with Subspace Ability she’d make the Advance Team, so should I open a fortune-telling shop?
┗What kind of distinguished person lives where?
┗A cautious Level 21 hunter?
┗ㅋㅋ
I browsed the Hunter Net for the first time in a while. The interest in me showed no signs of cooling.
When I first signed a hunter contract, I did become a hot topic, but it was only a fleeting buzz…….
Now, almost every time I opened the Hunter Net pages, one or two posts out of every ten were about me.
This was what happened after time passed following the Gate raid. Right after the raid itself, it looked like this:
-(Breaking news) Han Hye reaches Level 86
-Versus Han Hyeㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Just panic……
-Choin’s copycat ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Dragon Guild’s equipment changed a bit?
-Just 14 levels left to 100ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
-Hime-sama raid complete!!!
-Choin really has that cool vibe
For roughly several hours, I completely took over the Hunter Net. Comparisons began being drawn with Choin, Shin Chang, and Fist King.
Back when I was at lower levels, I used to enjoy browsing the Hunter Net regularly, but these days I only checked it when I was truly bored.
Yet the reason I was looking through the Hunter Net now was specific.
I’d recently heard through the Guild House that someone I knew had appeared on the Hunter Net.
-There’s someone on the Hunter Net claiming to be friends with Hunter Han Hye and spilling stories. Is that real?
To be honest, I was flustered. Someone who knew me? I’d never had that many acquaintances to begin with. And among those few, there was even less chance anyone would talk about me on the Hunter Net.
When I received the post, I knew immediately who it was.
[Han Hye’s teenage years—the tea]
-It was back when we were both panhandling on the streets. Me and Han Hye were around Yeongdeungpo…… This bastard took the money he’d begged for and some canned tuna a kind lady gave him…….
-Bullshit
-There’s no way Han Hye would do thatㅋㅋㅋ
-You’re gonna get sued talking like that
-(Opinion) While Han Hye is impressive now, she might’ve actually been like that back during her Gate Orphan days
┗Are you the author?
-For real?
┗Real?
┗Yeah it’s real ㅇㅇ
It was Jong-gil, that bastard.
His name had flashed through my mind once more when the Unnamed Demon had been betrayed, but I never thought I’d see him again like this.
‘So this guy became a hunter somewhere in between?’
I couldn’t have been more irritated. He was pinning his own shameful desertion on me.
If he’d only refrained from doing that back then and stayed with me, I could have welcomed a sudden call from him now with a smile.
—Hye, it’s Jong-gil. Do you happen to have some money to spare……
“How much do you need?”
I mean it. I could give it without expecting repayment. It would end there. Those days as a Gate Orphan were hard enough that I could part with money for someone who survived alongside me.
But a traitor is different. I was betrayed by this bastard, and after that I walked alone nearly the entire time.
‘I took quite a wound from it.’
The reason I bothered to check Hunter Net was that this fool started posting stories two or three times a week since last week.
[Han Hye’s Teenage Stories (Part 4)]
Sure enough, he’d posted again at the same time slot. I skimmed the body of the post, but there was no need to read it properly.
It was nothing but malicious insinuation from start to finish. I lived with integrity even during my Gate Orphan days. That was precisely why it was so difficult.
—Hey, Hye. Let’s steal that.
—Are you insane? If you steal, I’m not sticking with you.
Thinking about it now, I suspect Jong-gil abandoned me and left because of my integrity.
When we traveled together, stopping him was practically my daily job.
—Jong-gil. Do you really want to die that badly?
I started to write a comment but held back. On reflection, I’m not who I was back then. And aren’t there guild staff who understand that period better than I do?
Of course our legal team is part of the guild.
“Yes, this is Han Hye. This is completely false information—can we handle it as defamation under the law?”
—Of course.
Handling it was simple. I knew his name. The hunter registry is public, so I could search it instantly.
[Lv7, Rogue, Kim Jong-gil]
True to his character, he’d awakened as a Rogue.
—Guild Master, would it be alright if we handled this… aggressively?
“Aggressively?”
I told them to try it out of curiosity, and the guild staff member truly did handle it aggressively.
—This is the Dragon Guild legal department. Level 7 Ro—, I mean, Rogue Kim Jong-gil. We understand you spread false information regarding…….
Even I was taken aback.
“Is it alright to specify the level and name like that?”
[File a defamation suit, we’d say. A little money and it goes away. Actually, we stand to gain more from this ourselves, don’t we?]
“I see.”
[And a level 7 Rogue opposing the Dragon Guild? You can count his hunter career as finished.]
Jong-gil’s response was faster than light. He deleted every single post the moment the comment was posted.
But the Hunter Net addicts had already seen everything.
—Where’d that bastard disappear to? Didn’t he get sued by Dragon and then delete his posts?
—ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Han Hye takedown cut!!
—But can Dragon really put pressure on like that?
┗It’s false information—what, are we supposed to just let it slide?
Jong-gil didn’t write anything after that. I heard the guild filed a lawsuit against him.
After that, I didn’t really give it much thought. The guild would handle it on their end.
‘But why would he do something so insane?’
The question lingered.
Did he, like me in his teens as a Gate Orphan, fail to learn that acting this way would make life miserable and never foresee the consequences?
That might be it. Truth be told, he was never the sharpest to begin with.
Perhaps seeing me do well made his heart sting. He’d even awakened, but there he was, a pathetic Rogue still doing the same things he used to do.
.
.
.
It was evening on the day the lawsuit was filed against Jong-gil.
—Whoosh!
The Ring of Conspiracy shifted again. Its color had deepened further. I was familiar with it—I’d experienced this before.
‘Not jet black yet.’
Which meant the plot against me had entered an intermediate stage.
“Tsk.”
My tension rose reflexively. The ring was changing color faster than before.
It shouldn’t be easy for them to move against me at this stage.
Had they found some certain method? There was no way for me to know. It was happening much faster than I’d anticipated.
I’d thought nothing would happen until I passed level 90…….
‘I can’t just sit idle either.’
If they had a plot, I had ways to respond in kind.
—Shin Chang.
—What, you want to spar?
—That’s not it.
First, I needed to contact Shin Chang. That was number one.
—Fist King. You’re doing well, I hope?
—What, you want to spar?
—……No, that’s not it.
Contacting Fist King, who was just another human like me, was number two.
—How are things?
—Has something come up?
And reaching out to Choin, who was a Fairy and ranked higher than the others before him, was number three.
Hmm. Looking at it this way, I felt I’d done rather well over the past year. I’d become close enough with some of Earth’s top-tier Hunters to ask for help without hesitation.
‘How much difference can a few Levels really make?’
Even if he’s the Übermenschen Leader, could he really face all four of us at once?
We have Secretary with her coordinate ability. Unless he unleashes a simultaneous barrage that doesn’t hold back, he won’t have it easy either.
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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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