Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 47
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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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47. Arachne’s Labyrinth (1)
‘The possibility that Übermenschen might target us….’
That probability was certainly high.
A Space Mage with S+-rank skills and a Dragon Knight. Our exploits had even been broadcast worldwide through video feeds.
And we even have Yong-yong.
In the worst case, if they simply kidnapped Yong-yong and raised her, they’d secure a dragon.
‘Korea has relatively good public safety, so they might approach us casually.’
Direct attacks could be countered by Seo Seung-yeon, who was protecting me, but it was difficult to distinguish between ordinary people and threats.
That’s probably why they’d even called to warn us separately.
Right. I’d normally been restricting my spatial awareness somewhat, but I’d need to keep it open. Übermenschen is a crazier organization than I thought.
There had even been a kidnapping incident in the US Capital. Though it ended in failure, they could attack anytime.
‘There’s not much more I can prepare for….’
Seo Seung-yeon was attached as a bodyguard, and I barely had opportunities to meet people since I only went back and forth between home and the Training Facility.
If enemies made a sudden assault while I was alone, escaping to the Subspace would be the best option.
If they were determined to target me, they’d likely send an opponent I couldn’t defeat under normal circumstances.
I’d have to flee the moment I sensed it.
“Guild Master. Here’s the supply list for this purchase.”
Separate from Übermenschen’s threat, preparations for our next Gate entry were proceeding steadily.
Unlike before, there wasn’t much I needed to worry about personally.
The employee that Lee Shin-hee’s Grandfather had secured was someone who had worked at one of the top ten largest Guilds.
I’d assumed they came from the pool of people who’d been laid off as freelancers due to this incident….
-He said it would be better to have someone experienced.
Through the Chairman’s connections, they’d brought in a competent employee.
“Ah, why is the list divided into three sections?”
“We divided them by subjugation method. Each hunter has different preferred styles.”
That made sense. Some hunters moved as safely as possible, avoiding battles they could evade, while others didn’t hesitate to charge into avoidable fights.
Everyone had different philosophies and directions regarding growth.
“The first is a combat-avoidance style that primarily uses traps like oil, fire, and insecticide. The second focuses on direct combat, and the third is a middle ground between the two approaches.”
Indeed, the first list had plenty of oil, insect-specific toxic pesticide, gas masks, and air tanks, while the second was mainly antidotes and healing items.
The third had a reasonably balanced mix of both approaches.
‘So this is how Top-tier Guilds handle things.’
Even during my porter days, I’d never entered high-level Gates, so this was my first time learning this. It was more systematic than I’d expected.
However, it seemed they still didn’t know me very well.
“Order all of them.”
“Pardon?”
“Do both the first and second options. If space becomes an issue, we can just remove what we don’t need and add the rest.”
Unlike other hunters, our team with me didn’t have to worry much about cargo capacity.
It meant we could prepare to handle every possible situation.
“Ah…. I’ll prepare it that way. Going forward as well.”
Since she was someone who did her job well, she immediately understood what I meant.
Of course, once the supplies were ready, there was the task of moving them around in the Subspace for a while.
‘Since so much had accumulated starting from the Night of Despair.’
I’d divided the interior of the Subspace by purpose, but space was beginning to run short.
There was space for Yong-yong, and all the newly opened areas had become farmland.
Well, since the Guild House was just one building, there were plenty of places to use as storage, so it wasn’t really a problem.
I just had to load and unload the supplies according to which Gate I was entering.
‘I wish the Subspace skill would level up one more time.’
The newly acquired area was impossible to store things in because of the spirit herb farming. Well, I hadn’t expected much anyway.
It had only recently leveled up, so hoping for another skill level-up was asking too much.
“Everyone worked hard.”
Time passed, and the final training session held the day before entering the Gate came to an end.
Normally we would have parted ways like this, but not today.
“Let’s all head to the Guild House.”
Like the other top-tier guilds, we decided to spend time at the Guild House the night before entering the Gate.
We’d have dinner together starting in the evening, rest, and then enter the Gate.
“Hyung, sit here.”
After a quick shower, we gathered in the Guild House dining hall for the meal.
Soon the dishes began arriving, and I couldn’t help but marvel.
“Raw beef wrapped in fried rice paper as an amuse-bouche…”
I’d been to fine dining with Mister shortly after signing my hunter contract, and this was conducted in the same manner.
“Wow, this is really delicious?”
Even Seo Min-jae, who accepted the situation with ease, marveled at it, and Lee Shin-hee, who came from a chaebol family, nodded in agreement.
I agreed too. It really was delicious.
What pleased me was that, considering we were hunters, the portions were generous and the dishes came out quickly.
“Red seabream caught off Jeju Island and barley harvested from Gochang County, served with anchovy broth…”
The dish descriptions were still difficult for me to fully understand given my limited culinary knowledge, but there was no doubt it tasted excellent.
“And in case the portions aren’t enough or the flavors don’t suit your tastes, we’ve prepared other meals as well.”
The Chef sent by the chairman had such refined sensibility.
“A tea blended from various leaves from both Earth and inside the Gates, designed to aid restful sleep.”
To finish, I drank a fragrant tea, and the warmth spread through my body, leaving me feeling peaceful and at ease.
“Since it’s the first day, I prepared the dishes I’m most confident in. How was it—did it suit your tastes?”
“Yes!”
Seo Min-jae answered energetically, and the Chef smiled faintly.
“From next time on, just let me know what you’d like, and I’ll prepare it.”
After the meal, I rested in five-star hotel-quality accommodations, and I couldn’t help but think this was heaven.
Then suddenly, I realized just how much had happened.
Just a few months ago, I couldn’t have even dreamed of something like this.
Back when I was a porter, I’d sleep in a one-room apartment before entering a Gate and drive there in a beat-up used car.
‘I’ve grown so much.’
In any case, I could now clearly understand why hunters conducted things this way before entering a Gate.
It was nearly impossible for my condition to deteriorate.
* * *
[Arachne’s Labyrinth]
-Recommended Level: 21~25
-Entry Limit: 10 people
-Reach the end of the Labyrinth. Time remaining: 95 hours 59 minutes.
Upon entering the Gate, a blue-tinted Labyrinth greeted us. I felt a slight chill and humidity in the air.
Mister surveyed the surroundings cautiously.
“The corridors are quite spacious.”
True. Compared to the Dead End of the Labyrinth we’d visited before, this one was considerably larger overall.
From this, I could infer the size of the spiders that would appear here.
Sparse spider webs dotted the wide corridors—some strands clinging to the walls, others scattered across the floor in tangled masses.
Since we were at the entrance of the Labyrinth, most of them were faded. There weren’t many either.
‘Hmm….’
While Mister examined the corridor, I narrowed my eyes and focused on my spatial sense. I’d felt a subtle sense of incongruity since entering the Labyrinth.
It was difficult to articulate precisely. It was more like a feeling of sensing something.
“Reaching the end of the Labyrinth… Given they gave us four days, it’ll take quite a while.”
Mister clicked his tongue with a wry smile. In complex Labyrinths, finding the path could be more of a problem than combat itself.
“Since I have spatial sense anyway, should we think of this as exploring while checking for hidden areas?”
“Fair point.”
We hadn’t entered this Labyrinth Gate without reason. Labyrinth Gates have a high probability of containing hidden areas, but many teams fail to find them.
Labyrinths are dangerous and complex, and hidden areas are typically located in concealed spaces. But our team was different.
Wherever a hidden area exists, if we pass within 30 meters of it, we’ll definitely find it.
However, I had no intention of searching for hidden areas first. We might fail to conquer the Gate if we focused solely on finding them.
“Our primary objective is reaching the end of the Labyrinth. We’ll search for hidden areas based on the situation and time available.”
Even concentrating on my spatial sense, I couldn’t identify the source of that incongruity. For now, I decided to focus on the present.
“Right. Finding them along the way would be a bonus.”
When entering a Labyrinth Gate like this, there was one thing we had to check first: the rear passage.
Sometimes there were paths behind us, but this time it was sealed by a wall.
“I don’t sense much from the rear with my spatial sense either. Let’s move forward.”
After confirming the party members were ready, I opened a Subspace. What I retrieved was a trap detector.
It was an invention created by mages who had entered the research facility, designed to help locate traps within Gates.
‘Performance varies by grade, though.’
Naturally, I’d purchased the highest quality. Of course, with my spatial sense, I could detect most traps myself.
After all, I’d detected traps in the Ruins Gate last time and caught the Dark Mage.
But in a Labyrinth Gate like this, cross-verification was essential. Magical traps don’t register with spatial sense, after all.
Since this was a Labyrinth with spiders, I wasn’t sure if there would be any, but it was better to be safe.
“We’ll try to avoid touching the spider webs as much as possible.”
“Understood!”
Spiders detect prey through the vibrations of their webs. It was best to avoid them if we could.
There still wasn’t much information about the Labyrinth.
“The spider webs are gradually increasing.”
However, not long after we began walking, spider webs clinging to the walls started becoming visible.
They lacked the potency from before, but they still appeared somewhat taut and resilient.
Correspondingly, the sense of alienation detected by my spatial awareness grew more pronounced. It felt like something was writhing within the walls themselves.
Then, a fork in the path appeared.
“It looks like we’ll need to choose between the left or right route.”
Mister looked at the party. Everyone wore expressions of contemplation, humming thoughtfully. There was no correct answer here.
Even the Hunter Net survey results on preferred methods were evenly split—52% for left, 48% for right.
“Which way should we go?”
Mister asked, but no one spoke up easily.
It wasn’t a big deal, but Hunters were surprisingly sensitive about these things.
Much like athletes, they tended to be quite superstitious. After all, their lives were on the line.
Some Hunters even performed rituals before entering a Gate.
“Hmm….”
Mister pondered for a moment, then looked at Yong-yong in his hand.
“Should we go in the direction Yong-yong wants?”
“Yong-yong?”
“It’s all luck anyway right now, isn’t it? Since he’s a Red Dragon, maybe he has some instinct about it?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Mister held Yong-yong out in front of us.
“Yong-yong, which way do you want to go?”
Whether he understood the words or not, Yong-yong looked left and right, then pointed to the right.
-Krrr!
“The right way, then?”
While there truly was no correct answer, the Red Dragon’s instinct somehow inspired confidence.
Being a spiritual creature far more sensitive than humans, the party members all followed Yong-yong’s choice.
“Just in case, I’ll leave a marker.”
The moment we left a marker on the passage and entered the fork to continue forward, the sense of alienation intensified beyond what it had been before.
And I realized something.
‘Every time we move, something writhes inside the walls.’
The instant I became aware of it, I stopped in my tracks and raised my hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a moment.”
While my teammates remained still, I jumped high and landed back on the ground. My suspicion became certainty in that moment.
Something moving inside the walls was far more pronounced than before.
‘Could there be spiders inside the walls? Baby ones?’
My teammates stared at me with confused expressions, and I quickly ran through the possibilities in my mind.
‘Or… could it be that we’re actually inside the spider’s body?’
Arachne’s Labyrinth.
If I thought of it as a Labyrinth existing within the body of a massive spider called Arachne, everything made sense.
The ground beneath my feet looked and felt like stone, but one could never be too careful.
There were monsters with skin like bedrock, after all.
-Such cases are entirely possible.
When I asked Chun-bae, he mentioned there had been similar instances before.
“Step back for a moment, please.”
“Why?”
“I’m beginning to suspect the true body of this Labyrinth might be a spider.”
As I explained that my spatial sense detected something within and behind the floor and walls, the others tensed and retreated.
I drew the Flowing Style Blade. If my suspicion was correct, this floor would be severed by a sword infused with mana.
‘If it doesn’t cut, I’m prepared to pull out the pneumatic drill.’
The mana-powered pneumatic drill used at construction sites was also stored in my Subspace.
First, I infused mana into the blade and thrust it straight down into the floor.
I’d wondered if my hand might feel pain, given that the surface appeared to be stone and felt like it—but….
The blade sank into the floor without resistance.
Scritch—.
Wary that baby spiders might emerge, I carefully sliced through about fifty centimeters of the floor.
“Huh?”
But what burst from the fissure wasn’t baby spiders or spider blood.
“Spider silk? Threads?”
Countless bundles of spider silk—tens of thousands at minimum—spilled forth.
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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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