Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 51

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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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51. Arachne’s Labyrinth (5)
—It absorbed divinity.
‘Absorbed divinity?’
—Affirmative. However, the current situation doesn’t permit detailed explanation.
‘Fair enough.’
Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae were staring at me intently.
—Simply state the facts as they are. You may say you don’t know the reason.
‘Can I really just tell them?’
Ever since obtaining the ‘Divine Stone’ from the Ruins Gate last time, only Chul-gi and I knew about divinity.
I hadn’t written the detailed specifics in the Gate report, even though the transformation had occurred.
This was because divinity had never been revealed to the world until now. At the time, I saw no need to volunteer information.
Critical Gate-related information was sometimes controlled to prevent societal collapse.
‘Gods and divinity—that’s certainly plausible.’
During the Gate crisis ten years ago, countless cults had emerged spouting doomsday prophecies and run rampant.
The likelihood of information being suppressed was substantial.
In truth, I’d been worried back then. I’d feared that mentioning the discovery of classified information might draw unwanted scrutiny.
I’d been concerned they might notice me and investigate the items I’d obtained from within the Subspace.
‘But that’s not the case now.’
Things were different from those anxious days. I’d come to realize this through my frequent meetings with Seo-ung.
The Korean Hunter Association would help me if they could, but they wouldn’t act suspiciously toward me.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to mention it at least once.
I might gain additional information separate from what Chun-bae already knows.
—It’s a truth that will be revealed eventually. As the erosion reaches certain stages, divinity appears more frequently than before.
‘Is that so?’
—You can say that Han Hye’s bracelet has the function to absorb that divinity. Though we’re still uncertain of its purpose.
So I relayed to my companions what Chun-bae had told me.
“Divinity?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I encountered something like that. It might be related to Paladins, perhaps?”
“Wait, then if Paladins can also use divinity, wouldn’t they be recruited?”
I was about to respond, but Chun-bae answered in my stead.
—In a world without gods, it’s difficult for Paladins to wield their power. Divinity isn’t something that can be supplied regularly either.
Of course, I’d phrased it slightly differently for my companions.
“Since I’ve only just obtained divinity myself, I’m uncertain. It doesn’t seem to appear frequently, and there’s been no information on it until now.”
“I see.”
“It might be something the higher-ups are controlling.”
Lee Shin-hee interjected with a serious expression. Even as the granddaughter of a conglomerate family, it seemed information of this nature wasn’t disclosed to her.
“Whether it’s classified or not, wouldn’t they say something if we filed a report? Because it’s ‘divinity.'”
“Didn’t you mention it before? The bracelet absorbed the divinity.”
“I thought it was just an explanation since it was a Paladin’s bracelet. I’m seeing it actually work for the first time today.”
And so the matter was smoothly glossed over. With Min-jae and Lee Shin-hee present, I’d written the report honestly.
If Divinity were truly classified information, wouldn’t the Hunter Association have contacted us?
“Hmm. I was thinking we could grab a light meal….”
An hour and a half had passed since we entered the Gate. It had ended remarkably quickly.
Since we’d filled our stomachs thoroughly before entering the Gate, eating something felt a bit awkward.
“Eating now would be a bit strange.”
“Then should we leave early? You’ve all worked hard preparing for the Labyrinth Gate.”
“That sounds good to me!”
Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae agreed as well.
“Get some proper rest, and let’s meet at the Training Facility the day after tomorrow. You’ve all done excellent work.”
“You’ve done excellent work!”
“You’ve done excellent work.”
* * *
“Now tell me.”
Once it was just Mister and me, I could speak freely with Chun-bae.
-Do you remember how I needed Divinity when I awakened?
“Yeah.”
-I need Divinity to continue operating. My structure converts Divinity into mana, and if Divinity runs low, I shut down.
“What?”
Shut down? I couldn’t help but be taken aback by this revelation. I’d assumed that once awakened, I’d remain active indefinitely.
Mister’s eyes widened in surprise as well.
“You should have told me sooner.”
-I thought you had already deduced this, Han Hye.
Well, I suppose so.
Since Divinity was needed for awakening, it made sense that it would be needed for continued operation.
“You could have mentioned it was necessary.”
-I deemed it unnecessary to mention. Divinity cannot be obtained simply by desiring it. Especially not at this low level of progression.
Now that I thought about it, that was true.
So far, I’d only obtained Divinity from the Gate warped by the Princess, and from clearing Arachne’s Labyrinth with an nearly impossible speedrun.
“It’s certainly difficult to obtain under normal circumstances.”
-And I am a fuel-efficient magical lifeform. Even a small amount of Divinity allows me to persist for extended periods. In your world’s terminology, you might call it power-saving mode.
“You can do that?”
-Affirmative. I intended to enter a dormant state if Divinity ran low, awakening only when you required my assistance.
Now that I thought about it, Chun-bae was quite economical with words in unnecessary situations. He rarely initiated conversations either.
I suspected he’d been considering such factors all along.
-Since I’ve obtained Divinity this time, things should be fine for a while.
I was slightly surprised by what I heard, but it didn’t seem like something to worry greatly about. While I was startled by the Divinity absorption, there was nothing major to be concerned about.
The conclusion was essentially that Chun-bae had recharged his battery.
“Setting that aside, what exactly is Divinity anyway? The same goes for the gods inside the Gate.”
-That question falls into a boundary that is difficult for me to explain.
“You’re not ready to tell me yet?”
-It’s similar.
Just as when I couldn’t speak in detail about Erosion, it meant my qualifications were insufficient. It seemed I hadn’t earned recognition yet.
Though not much time had passed since then.
“What do I need to do to earn recognition?”
-It’s difficult to explain, but I’d appreciate it if you understood that it’s not recognition—it’s qualifications.
Recognition and qualifications. I couldn’t quite grasp the difference. Did I need something like Chun-bae did?
I had no idea.
Could learning about Erosion without these qualifications actually drive someone mad? After all, there were Lovecraftian tales, weren’t there?
It would’ve been a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed. I’d hoped to learn more about gods and divinity.
But since they said no, I didn’t press further. Instead, I asked about something else.
“By the way, about the Gate that appeared this time. Arachne and that god inside—they’re from Greek and Roman mythology on Earth… what’s going on here?”
Chun-bae had said Earth had no gods. Yet the god I’d encountered in this Gate was, contextually, a deity from Earth’s mythology.
“Does that mean Earth once had gods?”
-Negation. This question borders on ambiguous territory similar to before, but fortunately, this is something I can explain.
What? They said gods and divinity were unclear.
-Erosion sometimes utilizes the world’s mythologies. It constructs things that never existed.
“Ah, so it’s reconstructed, in other words?”
-Affirmative. Precisely correct.
Come to think of it, Earth appeared in the last Gate too. It was a region where no Gate had actually opened, but it was already in ruins.
Well, my additional curiosities went unanswered, but I got the answer to what I’d originally wanted to know.
“Either way, it was quite a decent Gate.”
For Mister to evaluate it that way—from my perspective, it was extraordinary.
“Quite decent? Getting C-rank skills and B-rank equipment from a 21-25 level Gate is like plucking stars from the sky.”
The key point was that all party members obtained them, not just one person.
Even if we’d used all four Gate priority passes, this level of results would’ve been called a massive success.
“It should be called a legendary Gate.”
* * *
-Han Hye, this is Park Seo-ung.
Perhaps because I’d written the report honestly, Park Seo-ung called me within two hours.
-First, I want to say thank you for your hard work clearing this Gate. The reason I’m calling is that I have something to tell you regarding divinity.
Through Seo-ung, it became clear that Earth was aware of gods and divinity.
However, I couldn’t get detailed information. He said he didn’t know much either.
-In any case, I’d appreciate your discretion on this matter.
The UN Gate Countermeasure Committee has designated it as classified. As I suspected, it was due to concerns about social chaos.
Unlike Chun-bae, who had reasons for not telling me, Seo-ung genuinely seemed to know nothing.
‘Chun-bae said Erosion appears frequently as stages increase.’
Well, in a way, that made sense. Chun-bae had traveled with previous and earlier Hunters, so his information was broader.
I figured I’d learn the details eventually—whether about Erosion, gods, or divinity.
-And there’s something else I wanted to tell you.
But the conversation didn’t end there.
-And we’ve received a hunter cooperation request from Eastern Europe. It’s a Gate with a level restriction of 21 to 25.
“Oh? Really?”
Currently, our party members’ levels were Min-jae at 24, and the rest at 25. Mister and I had both reached Lee Shin-hee’s level.
So I was thinking of clearing any Gate before reaching level 26, and a level-restricted Gate wasn’t a bad option.
-They’re offering elixirs and B and C-rank skill books as compensation, but… I don’t really recommend it. To be honest, we were considering declining on our end, but I’m mentioning it in case you’d feel bad about it.
“Is there a reason you don’t recommend it?”
-First, the compensation isn’t satisfactory for a level-restricted Gate. Someone of Han Hye’s and Choi Chul-gi’s caliber should be getting more.
I didn’t have knowledge about hunter cooperation requests, so I hadn’t known that. I’d been thinking it wasn’t bad.
-Also, the requesting country isn’t far from North Africa and the Middle East, where Übermenschen primarily operates. There are some concerns.
Ah, that’s true.
Come to think of it, Seo Seung-yeon had told me to be careful. Perhaps there was some information from higher up.
-It’s difficult to confirm, but there could be some connection involved. The compensation isn’t good enough to call it a temptation, but they might be aiming for exactly that.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Well, Seo Seung-yeon could assign protection detail to me if needed, but it was a foreign country and the numbers didn’t add up.
“It’s better not to do it.”
-That’s a wise choice. Thank you for understanding. If a better opportunity comes up from a more trustworthy source, I’ll let you know.
Park Seo-ung spoke as if I’d made a concession, but that wasn’t quite it. It was simply the rational decision.
‘Skill Level-Up Voucher’ had been on the line, I would have asked the Hunter Association if they could provide protection detail, but that wasn’t the case.
-Beep beep!
As soon as Park Seo-ung’s call ended, Mister called me.
“Hye, I’ve set the opening date.”
“It’s all done?”
“Yeah. The fire safety equipment delayed things a bit, but it looks perfect.”
The long-awaited opening date for Yong-Yong Samgyeopsal had finally been set.
“Should we start with publicity?”
“Publicity?”
“Well, after you became the Dragon Knight, there were people looking for Yong-Yong Samgyeopsal, remember?”
Of course, we hadn’t opened Yong-Yong Samgyeopsal after the contract was signed. But people had come looking for it based on that reputation.
I thought that even with dragon charcoal, we’d need publicity to draw crowds.
“I already did that.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I told a journalist I know about the dragon charcoal samgyeopsal. The article should be out by now.”
No sooner had Mister said this than Park Seo-ung called. I transferred the call and picked up, and Park Seo-ung seemed quite urgent.
“Han Hye? Would it be possible to make a reservation for Yong-Yong Samgyeopsal’s opening day? The Association President wants to visit.”
“Hmm. Let me ask Mister. I’m not the owner.”
Celebrity privilege—or was the Association President not a celebrity? I was wondering if I should give the Association President special treatment.
Mister thought for a moment, then nodded.
“The Association President? Of course we should. We’ve received some favors from them too.”
But the issue didn’t end there. Seo Seung-yeon called right away.
“Han Hye? Is that available for reservation? Mountain and the guild members want to go.”
I quickly locked eyes with Mister and communicated silently.
What? Shin Chang? Of course it works! Something like that.
“Of course.”
“By the way, the Iron Wall Guild also wanted to come along….”
Not long after, calls came pouring in from every Hunter I knew.
From Emergency and Recovery, who had connections through the Emission-type Gate, to the workshop students and Instructor.
If Hunters were like this, what about ordinary people? The success of Yong-Yong Samgyeopsal was obvious without even seeing it.
And naturally, the internet erupted. Not just Hunter Net, but overseas as well, beyond our country.
-What? Dragon charcoal-grilled samgyeopsal?
-Gotta go for sure lol
-Definitely gotta line up at dawn lol
-Breaking news) Flights to Korea sold out lololol

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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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