Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 328
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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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328. Preparation
“The ring’s color has already changed?”
The ring turning jet black was a matter of utmost gravity. A Guild Conference was convened immediately.
“It’s possible to move this fast?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. Would there even be a Helper available?”
If this were the era when Daeup still existed, it might be different, but the speed was abnormal for someone without domestic support.
“Could the Chinese side be involved again…?”
“That doesn’t seem likely.”
I’d heard from Liu Zhen, but nothing had happened yet. News of success or failure would reach us either way. The silence meant it hadn’t begun.
Liu Zhen had been in the news just days ago clearing a Gate.
Since he still belonged to the Chinese Government, if they’d made a move, we’d likely have heard about it.
Though they could have bypassed Liu Zhen entirely…
‘Realistically, it’s unlikely the Chinese would attempt something like that again.’
The sanctions imposed on China last time had been severe. They’d gone so far as to willingly sacrifice Australia to seek us out.
There’s no way they’d want to create similar circumstances now.
“Are they really sending assassins in with nothing but their bare hands?”
“It seems they have some means of restricting the Space Sense. Or maybe they’re willing to sacrifice them entirely.”
“That means you’d have to use all the protective equipment, wouldn’t it?”
I shook my head at what the old man said.
“I have at least minimal protection of my own. That much is fine.”
I couldn’t know exactly how they’d attack. They might be targeting other guild members instead of me.
Or the target might not be me at all from the start.
Though it’s called a conspiracy against me, I can’t guarantee with 100 certainty that ‘me’ is actually the target.
Targeting my guild members is also a conspiracy against me.
‘If the leader of the Übermenschen wanted to keep me in check…’
Choin had said that bastard was a higher level than us. I wasn’t sure if he’d reached Level 100.
But assuming he was in the early 90s, he might dislike my ascent.
In other words, if the structure rewarded becoming Level 100 first with enormous benefits, he might want to buy time.
With all my teammates incapacitated, I’d have a harder time breaking through a Gate solo.
“It could be us?”
“It’s only a possibility. The odds are still higher that they’re targeting me.”
Still, their best move was probably to eliminate me. The old grudges demanded it, and so did the need to hold me back.
“Why don’t you carry my shield then?”
It was Shin-hee speaking. Since the probability of them targeting me was higher, she was offering to yield the one with the ‘invincibility’ function.
This part gave me pause.
“Even if I become the target, wouldn’t a brief moment of invincibility be useless?”
“But you could still use the Coordinate Secretary.”
“True, but…”
“No. Shin-hee, you keep the shield.”
There was no need to carry the shield right now. Suddenly carrying a shield I never used would look suspicious.
And if I stored it in the Subspace, the moment they seal my skills, I wouldn’t be able to use it.
“But that’s still dangerous.”
Shin-hee worried, but I shook my head.
“I have something I got last time. I’m planning to use that.”
“Ah, that doll?”
“Yes.”
There was something Jakmun had given me from that Gate, saying I’d need it. I never thought I’d use it this soon.
It meant the Übermenschen were closing in at this breakneck pace.
[Jakumen’s Paper Doll Self (S-Rank)]
-The skill creates a paper doll self that is perfectly identical to you in every way and cannot be distinguished by any method. You can control it for five days.
-While in doll form, you can use all your abilities and items, but only 70% of your power applies.
-Can only be used once.
Only one use, but the duration was long. Five days. It meant I could adapt to daily life rather than deploy immediately.
“Will you use it right away?”
“Since it changed today, I probably won’t use it today, will I?”
The problem was that if I used it too early, I wouldn’t have it when the Übermenschen actually arrived.
“Tomorrow or the day after.”
Last time, the change came days before the arrival. Tomorrow or the next day, I could judge the timing and deploy it then.
“Everyone should refrain from going out entirely and just train.”
Being scattered would be worse than standing together, wouldn’t it?
“Yes.”
The guild members’ atmosphere had grown heavy—the Übermenschen were nearly upon us. But I had no time to indulge in the weight of it.
There were too many people who needed to be contacted.
“Excuse me? The color changed?”
Reaching out to the Hunter Association had to be the priority.
“I’ll investigate immediately. Let me check if we’ve missed anything from the sky or sea…”
Confirming it wouldn’t stop them, but if we were lucky, we might be able to trace their route.
“The only issue is that Chulbyeok has already entered a Gate.”
“That’s all right. We still have Saebyeokbit.”
Next came Shin Chang, Fist King, and Choin—as expected.
“Black, then. Good timing—the Gate entry schedule hasn’t been finalized yet.”
“Confirmed.”
“So it’s finally happening? I’ll be waiting.”
I managed to secure cooperation from the very best allies I’d cultivated relationships with over time. Fortunately, none of them had entered a Gate yet.
Now all that remained was to wait.
* * *
“Han Hye, we haven’t pinpointed their location, but we did find traces of them.”
The next day, unwelcome news reached Seo-ung.
“We found signs that some CCTV cameras in the West Sea region have been destroyed. Some were damaged two days ago, others yesterday.”
The coastal line, strictly managed ever since the Gate disaster, now had gaps in it.
I immediately relayed this information to the guild members and our allies.
What needed to be done next was clear.
An assault could strike within hours—or even minutes. I activated the paper doll immediately.
Poof!
It wasn’t difficult to use, but the mechanism was quite remarkable. The moment I activated it, the paper doll took on my exact appearance.
“Oh?”
It was nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye. Even Mister, who’d come by out of curiosity, found himself nodding in approval.
“I really can’t tell them apart.”
It felt like my perceptual horizon had opened once more. The paper doll’s senses flowed into me distinctly.
Thud!
I fell over because controlling two bodies simultaneously was far more difficult than I’d expected. I sat still and focused on the sensation.
Then I closed my body’s eyes and stopped moving, concentrating on this new feeling.
‘Hmm.’
Gradually, my original body’s senses began to fade. When I opened my eyes again, I could move through the doll.
“Ugh, what is this? I feel dizzy.”
“So you’re controlling it now?”
“Yes. The sensation is different. Maybe because I can only use seventy percent of it.”
“Can you use skills?”
“Yes. I can feel the Space Sense too.”
That was why I’d felt dizzy earlier. The space sense was coming from two different locations at once, making me feel like I’d get motion sickness.
But as long as my original body was dark and still, there was no major problem.
Whoosh!
I wondered about the Subspace, and discovered it was connected to the existing Subspace I’d always used.
A sudden thought struck me like a thunderbolt.
‘Can I control it with my real body in the Subspace?’
If so, that meant I could simply open the Subspace to escape in a crisis.
The opponent seals the Subspace? That didn’t matter.
Once the doll died, that seal would come undone, and I could open the Subspace and get out.
Of course, there was a thorny aspect when my teammates were in danger. If the Subspace was sealed, I’d have to fight at seventy percent capacity.
‘But this is better.’
It seemed wiser to stay in the Subspace than to move around controlling two bodies for an ambush that could come anytime.
Using two bodies simultaneously—adaptation was impossible in the short term.
Even if it were possible, my original body would need to move unseen, and I’d still have to worry about being spotted by the enemy.
I took time to examine it carefully, step by step. What surprised me was that the paper doll could copy even equipment.
“This is crazy—like an item duplication glitch, right?”
“I doubt that.”
That was Mister’s take, and Chun-bae was right that the odds were low.
“Actually, the equipment has some degradation too. It looks like everything got converted to seventy percent, including the gear.”
So everything was close to seventy percent. When I tested the Flame Burst Skill, its destructive force was noticeably different from what my original body could achieve.
Everything had been scaled down to that degree.
The Subspace seemed unaffected by it, since it operated independently—or so I’d thought. But that wasn’t quite right either.
My Space Sense range had shrunk, and the entrance openings appeared slightly smaller. In a way, I was grateful the interior remained synchronized with my body.
Without that, things would’ve gotten disorienting fast.
“How is it? Do you think you can fight?”
“Yes. As long as I keep my main body confined.”
When my main body remained in a ‘locked’ state, the sensation of movement felt little different from normal.
Because the doll and I were psychically synchronized, time still passed in the outside world even while my true self lay dormant in the Subspace.
It felt like only my soul had left my body, which made the sensations strange—though there was one minor complication.
‘My main body is getting hungry.’
The doll didn’t need to eat or excrete anything, but my actual body was another matter.
It meant I’d have to take turns feeding myself periodically.
Still, it was only five days to endure, so there was no real problem.
Better to go through a little trouble than die in an enemy ambush.
* * *
“Is everyone ready?”
-Korea preparations complete.
-China preparations complete.
-Russia preparations complete.
-United States will need about one more day. A minor issue has arisen.
“What kind of problem?”
-There was an unexpected facility inspection today, and security has been tightened. It should be resolved by tomorrow morning.
“Understood.”
-How should we proceed with the execution?
“……As discussed, tomorrow night. We execute simultaneously, with 10 PM Korea Standard Time as the marker.”
-Acknowledged.
.
.
.
“What? This is your doll self?”
The next day, when I arrived at the Training Ground as my doll self, all the guild members except the man I’d seen yesterday failed to notice.
“You’re not messing with us, are you?”
It took showing them my actual body inside the Subspace before they’d believe it.
“Wow, you really did make it completely identical.”
“Even the small scratch on your neck is the same, boss?”
If even my guild members, who saw me daily, couldn’t tell the difference, I was confident the enemy wouldn’t either.
There was no external difference to detect. My inner self was identical to the original. The skill output might vary slightly, but…….
None of the Übermenschen bastards had ever tasted my current full strength, so there was no problem there whatsoever.
Still, I spent the day in a state of high alert. I had no idea when they’d come.
“Signal me immediately if anything happens.”
I also shared a Compact Radio with the guild member—the kind where one button press instantly connected location and voice.
The Hunter Association was also tracking our position in real time.
The goal was to respond as quickly as possible. I deliberately didn’t station bodyguards around me.
That would likely tip off the enemy.
‘Seo Seung-yeon has a wider sense range than I do.’
The opponent was likely the unofficial world’s strongest. Whether Seo Seung-yeon could evade their perception was questionable.
I figured it was better to let the enemy move as planned and respond accordingly. With Brieken’s Half-Eye on my doll, it was worth trying.
The problem came that night. The day had passed without incident, so I thought maybe it wouldn’t happen today after all…….
Then suddenly, a siren wailed through the air.
-Weeee-ooooo!
I jolted awake—it was an Explosion-type Gate alarm.
-Mega Gate has appeared at the National Hunter Equipment Management Bureau!
A Mega Gate? That wasn’t normal.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A sudden Explosion-type Gate and the Ring of Conspiracy.
Could these two really be connected?
Maybe not. Explosion-type Gates do appear for no reason sometimes. Especially at the Equipment Management Bureau.
There had been issues in Singapore before, and I’d even warned about it then. Gates appeared more frequently in places with high mana density.
But the feeling was wrong.
‘This…….’
It looked like the Übermenschen bastards were making their move. But I couldn’t just stay put.
It was a Mega Gate, after all.
“Sigh.”
I rose from my seat in haste. Whatever came next, it was time to move—into the trap they’d laid.
With everything I’d prepared.
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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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