Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 57

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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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57. Beware of the Fall (2)
“What is this…?”
My confusion was entirely justified.
Humans do appear inside Gates—it happens regularly in narrative-type Gates.
However, people inside Gates don’t recognize Hunters as such.
They perceive them as foreigners, helpers, wanderers, travelers, soldiers in context—anything but what they truly are.
‘My name?’
Yet this Angel-like being knew both my profession and my name. I’d never heard of such a thing happening before.
What was certain was that this Angel-like entity was far from ordinary.
The same divine sanctity I’d felt when meeting the Apostle emanated from this Angel-like being as well.
I adopted a defensive stance and quickly questioned Chun-bae.
‘Chun-bae. What is that thing? How does it know me?’
-…It is a Divine Fragment.
‘A Divine Fragment?’
I’d encountered something similar before—the evil god I’d met in the Ruins Gate. A deity consumed by Erosion.
But the feeling was different. That evil god hadn’t recognized me, nor had it understood we were inside a Gate.
This one knows my profession and name. Moreover, it claimed to have been waiting for me.
Chun-bae’s tone also seemed strange.
‘Is this different from the evil god I encountered before?’
-Affirmative. It is the only Divine Fragment that survived Erosion.
The only god?
‘You mean it overcame Erosion?’
-Somewhat different.
‘What do you mean?’
But I couldn’t afford a lengthy conversation with a Divine Fragment.
‘So, is it an ally or an enemy?’
-Unknown. I have encountered it twice with the Previous-Previous Princess and the Previous Princess, but I could not discern its intentions.
It was a bewildering answer.
-I do not even know which god it is. It acts arbitrarily according to its desires. It has helped at times, but has also placed others in dire straits.
In short, it’s like a random box?
Since I couldn’t know for certain, I decided to take the direct approach.
“Who are you, and how do you know me?”
-Who knows.
The Angel-like being simply didn’t give me the answer I wanted. It merely smiled broadly.
“What do you want?”
-Nothing. I just wanted to see you once. I was lucky this time. It’s quite rare when Erosion’s gaze is turned elsewhere.
Erosion’s gaze? Was mana Erosion not merely a phenomenon but something alive? Now that I thought about it, the evil god had referred to it as ‘that thing’ too.
Then Chun-bae spoke up.
-Correction. It is not a Divine Fragment, but a god wearing the guise of a Divine Fragment.
Well, listening to it speak, that seemed to be the case. When Erosion’s gaze is turned elsewhere…
First, I wanted to extract as much information as possible.
Chun-bae had refused to speak, claiming he lacked the qualifications, but from the way this entity was talking, it didn’t seem like it would kill me outright.
“You wanted to see me once?”
“I… no, we created this structure, and you’re the first Irregular who defies common sense like this.”
The mysterious entity chuckled softly as it spoke.
“Well, considering the path you’ve walked, it’s miracle upon miracle stacked together.”
“I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?”
“Ha.”
At my brazen response, the mysterious entity let out a hollow laugh.
If such a being was saying that much, I must have truly defied common sense to an extraordinary degree.
I answered brazenly, but my mind was focused elsewhere.
‘We created this structure’—what did that mean?
‘We’ was probably Erosion and this entity. The Gate incident must have happened because of them.
‘Chun-bae said it was because of Erosion… but is this entity also involved in this incident?’
Perhaps they mentioned ‘I’ first because they believed their share was greater.
If so, that would mean they were an enemy.
But considering that Chun-bae had helped the Previous Princess and the Previous-Previous Princess, I couldn’t understand the implications.
“Did you really come just to see me?”
-That’s right?
I was thinking that even a god must have nothing better to do, when the entity displayed a bitter smile, as if it had read my thoughts.
-Well, I have a proposal too.
“What is it?”
-I thought you might be bored right now. It’s almost over, but it’s so tedious, isn’t it?
The entity pointed toward the sky.
-I’ll give you two choices. Ascend as you are, or ascend with your Subspace, spatial awareness, and Leap forbidden.
“Why would you?”
-In exchange, there’s a reward. I’m thinking of giving you something good.
Hmm. Ascending with Subspace and Leap forbidden wouldn’t be a problem. I’m already aware of certain dangers.
Birds or collapsing platforms might appear, or there could be other traps.
My stats had grown enough to easily overcome such obstacles. But the real question was whether I could trust this proposal.
Chun-bae had given me advice too.
-I recommend you refrain from accepting any deals.
Of course, I was keeping that in mind. That’s why I was deliberating. This could unfold into a fairly dangerous situation for me.
“Will the Gate remain unchanged otherwise?”
The entity stared at me silently before chuckling.
“Sharp, aren’t you? Let’s go with that.”
If that were the case, it might be worth attempting.
But there was something I needed to confirm.
“Does that permission extend until I return to that platform from here?”
Ultimately, there was one blind spot. I had arrived here using platforms, having fallen over thirty meters away.
If I’m forbidden from now on, there’s no way back.
I was planning to use the fall as momentum to reach that foothold below, but could my body actually withstand it?
And there would be the birds’ attacks too.
“That won’t work.”
The man laughed with a metallic edge to it. It seemed this had been a trap all along. I’d seen through it.
“Then I can’t do it either.”
“That’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. Well then, I’ll be going. See you next time.”
He spoke without hesitation and fluttered his wings. Yet there was unmistakable amusement on his face—as if he found this entire situation entertaining.
“Wait.”
I grabbed him. I couldn’t let him leave like this.
“If it weren’t for you, I feel like there would’ve been a hidden reward here. Don’t I get compensation for that?”
I couldn’t afford to miss the original reason I’d come to this place. At my words, the being stopped and shook his head vigorously.
“I had a feeling this would happen, so I was going to leave first.”
As he gestured, something materialized on the foothold. It was a sword. In the moment my gaze shifted, he soared upward into the sky.
“That was fun. Let’s meet again next time.”
Fun? I didn’t find it particularly fun. But before I could even complain, he vanished from sight.
Since I couldn’t chase after him, I decided to examine what had appeared instead.
* * *
[Celestial Blade (B-rank)]
-A sword forged by a legendary blacksmith captivated by the heavens while gazing at meteors.
-Crafted from a blend of rare metals, it is extraordinarily durable and sharp.
-Blessed by divinity: the user’s physical abilities increase the farther they are from the ground.
“A B-rank sword?”
I was quite surprised by the rank. It wasn’t the sort of grade you’d easily obtain from a 21-25 level Gate.
But as I read further, my anticipation shifted to ambivalence.
Of course a B-rank sword would be durable and sharp, but the additional effect seemed cumbersome to use.
The user’s physical abilities increase the farther they are from the ground?
‘In practical use, the Flowing Style Blade would be better, wouldn’t it?’
With that thought, the moment I drew the sword—
“Huh?”
I felt power surging through my body. Not just stamina, but a sensation of becoming faster and stronger.
Now that I think about it, we’re at quite a high altitude, aren’t we?
My status window showed no changes, but by feel, it seemed to have increased more than threefold. I tested a light jump right where I stood.
And I was startled by my own jumping power.
“This is insane.”
Back then, Shin Chang had jumped from a standstill and reached near the helicopter… and I’d just jumped to nearly that same level.
Falling seemed awkward at this point, so I used Leap while suspended in mid-air.
That way, I ascended in one bound to several meters higher than where I’d been before.
Even I was bewildered.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
-The B-rank designation isn’t arbitrary. It’s demanding, but under specific conditions, it delivers extraordinary performance.
Fair point. Chun-bae was right.
Simply being sturdy and sharp wouldn’t earn a B-rank. In a place like this, it seemed almost broken in its effectiveness.
“If it had additional options, it would’ve been A-rank or higher.”
-Affirmative. Had stats and skills been added, it might have reached S-rank.
The sensation of enhanced physical ability was frankly absurd. And having something was better than having nothing.
The Windflow Blade is a D-rank weapon. It could break as I ascend the Gate. I need insurance.
‘Besides, another Gate like Sky Island might appear.’
Either way, I’d discovered a hidden area. That was better than ascending empty-handed.
I started climbing again, but the final stretch proved treacherous.
“Ugh!”
I was running across footholds without thinking when the one I stepped on turned out to be an illusion.
My spatial sense had detected it, but the sensation vanished right before I made contact.
“Damn.”
I leaped over it lightly, but my blood ran cold.
‘No wonder the spacing between footholds seemed shorter here.’
And such sections continued for a while. The gaps were narrow, and some footholds were illusions.
Suddenly, I wondered—if he’d had this, wouldn’t it have been easy for him to shift me thirty meters and place me on a foothold?
Without Subspace and Leap, I definitely would’ve fallen just now.
Why didn’t he do it? He surely knew.
After thinking about it briefly, I began to suspect he’d actually been helping me.
-Affirmative. There’s a certain sense to that.
Chun-bae agreed with my assessment. He must have known about this situation. Though certainty is difficult.
We’d spoken briefly, but he was someone whose true nature remained inscrutable.
“Who is he, anyway? Can’t you tell me about him?”
-There are similarities, but truthfully, I don’t know the details either. I’ve only encountered him four times. Ah, five times counting today.
Chun-bae continued.
-From what I can determine, he’s the only god who survived beneath the Erosion. Because he knows everything.
“But you said he couldn’t overcome it. How is that possible?”
-I don’t know either.
Unlike when he’d claimed he couldn’t tell me before, Chun-bae spoke honestly now.
-The Previous-Previous Princess has met him three times. The first time she said, ‘Not bad.’ And the last time she asked, ‘Are you preparing well?’
“Preparing?”
-It was when she was leaving arrangements in the Subspace for the next generation.
He knew about that too?
-The Previous Princess met him once, and all she said was, ‘Disappointing.’ That’s all I know.
“Disappointing?”
Now that I thought about it, Chun-bae had once said the Previous Princess wasn’t particularly talented.
Did he share that assessment?
-Han Hye spoke with him the longest and most favorably. She’d visit without reason sometimes, but never this quickly.
“Am I being recognized by that guy?”
-Affirmative. Though I cannot discern his purpose.
Hmm. Seeing Chun-bae, who usually kept quiet about erosion, speak like this meant he truly knew nothing beyond this.
It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps Chun-bae didn’t know as much as I’d assumed.
After all, he’d said ‘we created’ it.
Perhaps as I continued to grow, I might come to understand things even Chun-bae didn’t know.
‘Well, I’ll think about that later.’
As I conversed with Chun-bae, the end was drawing near. With each ascent, my physical capabilities continued to improve without the slightest strain.
Previously, I’d rested briefly in the Subspace, but as my stamina increased, I climbed steadily without pause.
And now it was time to leave. I sheathed the Heavenly Sword and drew the Elegant Blade instead.
The enhanced physical capabilities made me feel oddly deflated. There was only one reason I’d made the switch.
‘I might have to fight the moment I step outside.’
If I went out with this level of physical ability, adapting would be difficult.
Chun-bae spared no praise.
-A wise decision, sir.
After briefly readjusting to my original body, I headed straight for the exit of the Gate.
[Gate ‘Beware of Falling’ subjugation complete.]
[Experience acquired.]
[Level increased.]
The reward was only experience, but obtaining a B-rank sword made it worthwhile despite the conditions.
I’d come to this Gate primarily for the job skill acquisition right or skill level-up right that Shin Chang would bring.
‘Phew.’
Still, I needed to focus on what lay outside.
.
.
.
So I stepped out, Elegant Blade in hand, tensed and ready for combat, only to find the outside peaceful.
“Oh, you’re back?”
“….”
In the transparent waiting room set up before the Gate, where air conditioning flowed, Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon were sipping iced Americanos.
“Did anything go wrong?”
“What do you mean, wrong?”
I was taken aback by how casually they responded.
“The Gate we entered was completely different from the intelligence we obtained from Saudi Arabia. So I thought something had gone wrong.”
But the moment I spoke, Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon’s expressions hardened. They cracked their necks side to side and drew a spear and gun respectively.
“That is indeed a problem. I thought something was off, so we should investigate.”
“…Stay alert.”
“Already doing so.”
The way they headed off to confront Saudi Arabia was reassuringly dependable.

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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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