Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 64

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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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64. Sparring Match
Amid the sharp remarks flying between the Super Rookies about one another, I found myself thinking that I needed to work harder as well.
Even now, my growth rate was breaking world records, but it wasn’t simply a matter of level alone.
‘Improvement in swordsmanship and combat techniques is essential.’
There were limits to simply overwhelming opponents with stats. Shin Chang didn’t defeat an S-rank spearmaster with A-rank spearmanship just because his stats were superior.
I needed to enhance my swordsmanship level—fundamentally, my actual combat prowess itself.
If there had been no information about me, I could have exploited openings through Leap or Subspace.
But now, those abilities had been exposed through the battle footage.
‘I need someone to practice swordsmanship with.’
I considered contacting Shin Chang, but shook my head. Beyond the fact that Saebyeokbit was incredibly busy, there was far too great a skill gap between us.
Learning from him would certainly help. But what I really needed was sparring with someone slightly better than me yet below Shin Chang’s level.
The problem was that I didn’t know many people. I hadn’t climbed through Gates while exchanging with various hunters from low levels.
My workshop classmates were around level 10 now. The highest among them besides me probably hadn’t reached level 15.
‘The Instructor?’
While pondering, the swordsmanship instructor who had taught the workshop students came to mind.
Lee Sang-yeop, the swordsmanship instructor, had been a C-rank hunter at level 32 with B-rank swordsmanship back then.
I had formed connections with guilds during the last Discharge-type Gate, but I’d only met them that one time.
Still, I had spent several days with Lee Sang-yeop at the workshop and occasionally exchanged greetings with him since.
-Instructor, I hope you’ve been well. I was wondering if you might be willing to practice swordsmanship with me sometime.
I sent the message on a whim, and a reply came back in less than five minutes.
-Of course!
And so I met Lee Sang-yeop, who worked as a swordsmanship instructor at the Training Facility in front of the Hunter Association where I trained.
“Wow, it’s been a while.”
Lee Sang-yeop greeted me warmly with a smile. The atmosphere was slightly different from the workshop days.
“You’ve been well, I hope?”
“Of course. You seem to be doing so well that I won’t even bother asking.”
He spoke with a slight grin, and since he wasn’t an instructor now, he felt a bit more approachable.
True, at the workshop, since evaluation scores determined resource allocation, instructors had to maintain as objective an appearance as possible.
“I still can’t believe it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember when I told you back then that I’d be looking forward to entering a Gate with you later?”
“Ah, yes.”
It was when I broke the knight’s record during the Gate practical.
Lee Sang-yeop, who had been serving as a Supervisor among the instructors, had approached me and spoken.
“I didn’t expect you to be this fast. I thought you’d need at least a few more years, but you’re almost at level 30? I’d say in just two or three months you’ll surpass me?”
“I was fortunate.”
“Come on, that’s not something luck alone can achieve.”
Lee Sang-yeop gave me a playful look—the kind of gaze he’d had when I’d inadvertently shown off during the workshop.
“Ever since I met you, I’ve barely rested and just kept running Gates.”
Lee Sang-yeop let out a rueful laugh as he spoke.
“I only raised my level from 32 to 37, but you’ve gone up over 20 levels, Han Hye. I’ll be caught up in no time.”
“Ha ha.”
“I knew you were exceptional back then, but I never imagined it would be to this degree.”
“Thank you.”
The praise was so direct that I could only laugh awkwardly.
“When our levels are similar, if a large Gate comes up, let’s enter it together. Really.”
In the context of entry-type Gates, “large” referred to Gates where multiple people could enter.
Lee Sang-yeop winked at me.
“I want to experience that Subspace firsthand in actual combat too. Every time I’m carrying supplies, I keep thinking back to the workshop.”
“I’m fine with that.”
I knew Lee Sang-yeop’s Guild had quite a good reputation. I hadn’t contacted him without reason.
If the opportunity actually arose, it wouldn’t be bad.
It was a chance to build connections with decent people. Of course, among Hunters, Gate promises like this were similar to dinner appointments in regular society.
Still, looking at my current fame, it might be genuine.
“Anyway, thank you for reaching out. Thanks to you, I’ve gained some credibility.”
“Credibility?”
“Every time I mention you to my Guild members, they ask why I’m acting so close when I only briefly taught a class.”
Lee Sang-yeop laughed.
“But now that you’ve contacted me like this, I can brag a little. Would it be okay if I took a photo?”
“Oh, sure.”
And he really did take a selfie. When Lee Sang-yeop was a swordsmanship instructor, he wasn’t this kind of person.
Seeing how people change like this, it seems work and life really are separate things.
I’ve also become far more famous than I was back then.
Of course, not all Hunters who are called promising actually succeed.
Among those called legendary, many have died, returned to civilian life, or become safety-oriented.
It’s because their minds weren’t strong enough, or they failed to properly utilize their profession and skills.
“Then let’s head in.”
After such light pleasantries and social conversation, the time for sparring had arrived.
* * *
“….”
Standing face to face with wooden swords in the Combat Arena, I felt considerable tension despite it being just a sparring match.
Lee Sang-yeop’s atmosphere had changed in an instant—his earlier light demeanor had vanished completely.
Watching Lee Sang-yeop regard me with an expressionless face, I gathered my focus once more.
My opponent was a level 37 B-rank swordsmanship Hunter.
‘My stats are in the late 30s and I have the same B-rank swordsmanship, but….’
I had to acknowledge that Lee Sang-yeop was in a different league.
He was a Hunter who had reached level 37 through swordsmanship alone after awakening. His swordsmanship level would be incomparable.
Moreover, unlike me who had distributed stats evenly across spirit and mana, his stats would be optimized for swordsmanship application.
I had decided not to use Subspace skills. This sparring match was requested for the sake of developing my swordsmanship.
“Come.”
Lee Sang-yeop nodded at me. Since I was still a novice and he was a swordsmanship instructor, I didn’t refuse.
I immediately pushed off the ground and charged forward.
Clack! Clack!
In an instant, our wooden swords clashed twice. A dull resonance traveled through my fingertips.
I had expected as much, but…
Lee Sang-yeop blocked my blade with surprising ease. What truly startled me was how he did it.
Cresea swordsmanship is swift and aggressive. I pressed forward with speed, yet Lee Sang-yeop did not.
Without matching my velocity, he still deflected my strikes.
‘Is this a difference in rank?’
Whoosh! After several more clashes, my attacks did occasionally cut through sharply.
However, none of them landed. Lee Sang-yeop parried them with barely a margin to spare.
His blade, though not as swift as mine, found the critical openings in my defense.
His sword seemed ordinary at first glance, yet its sharpness felt fundamentally different.
“Phew. Let’s take a brief rest.”
When the sparring ended, I was breathing heavily.
Lee Sang-yeop’s breathing was only slightly disrupted, though he looked somewhat astonished.
“This is incredible. I never expected you to grow this much.”
“I was only defending myself.”
“Pardon?”
Lee Sang-yeop laughed with a bewildered expression. It felt like I’d said something awkward again.
“Think about when you awakened. It’s been less than six months now, hasn’t it? I’ve spent five years doing nothing but wielding a sword.”
He had a point.
“Back then, all you knew was what you’d learned at a local dojo. Today, I’m genuinely amazed by the sharpness you’re displaying mid-exchange.”
True. I’ve grown remarkably fast. Right now, I’m just being greedy.
I laughed sheepishly and discussed the sparring session in detail with Lee Sang-yeop.
“So, how did you block my swift strikes so easily?”
“Yes. I was moving quickly, but you were just casually knocking my blade aside?”
“Swift strikes follow predictable paths. Everyone knows the basic routes for fast attacks—thrusts, slashes, that sort of thing.”
Lee Sang-yeop demonstrated what I had done while explaining.
“Since I have experience, the blade trajectory is predictable, so I blocked it easily.”
“I see.”
“In such cases, the answer is to respond with modified swift strikes, not basic ones. In fact, the moment I was slow to react was against a modified blade path.”
“Ah.”
Indeed, when I used the advice from Shin Chang—not “moving quickly” but “swift blade paths”—it was easily blocked.
However, attacks from positions where both our stances were disrupted cut through sharply.
Of course, Shin Chang’s advice wasn’t wrong. It had been the catalyst for understanding the fundamentals of swift strikes.
I asked Lee Sang-yeop about this. About the direction of my future development.
“Wouldn’t it work to use basic swift strikes to teach your opponent a pattern, then exploit the opening?”
“Hmm?”
Now that I thought about it, there were parts of Cresea swordsmanship that I didn’t understand.
It would certainly be faster to thrust straight, but there were those strange sword techniques with unconventional thrusting motions.
Perhaps the approach was to build a foundation with basic quick-draw techniques, then apply those unconventional variations on top of it.
Lee Sang-yeop, who had given me ample time to contemplate, continued speaking.
“In truth, there’s no single answer to advancement. A master can penetrate your defense with basic quick-draw techniques alone. There’s a saying that the ultimate tuning is returning to stock, isn’t there? I believe swordsmanship works the same way.”
I understood what he meant. Since it was valuable advice, I nodded intently while listening.
“Still, it’s important to understand the tuning aspect as well. There’s a difference between knowing and choosing not to use it, versus using only one method because you don’t know any better.”
If I had learned the fundamentals of quick-draw from Shin Chang, then from Lee Sang-yeop I was learning the direction to advance beyond that foundation.
Honestly, I had only expected to improve my practical instincts, but I hadn’t anticipated receiving advice of this caliber.
This was the moment that proved my choice to train with Lee Sang-yeop had been correct.
The master Shin Chang had given me material to contemplate about the essence of quick-draw, while Lee Sang-yeop showed me the direction of advancement.
* * *
After a few more sparring matches, I emerged, and Lee Sang-yeop posed a sharp question.
“Did you recently acquire a B-rank swordsmanship skill, Han Hye? It seemed like high-level C-rank, but it appeared you’d only just begun learning it.”
I was astounded by his insight that pierced through my swordsmanship so accurately.
“That’s right.”
“Obtaining a B-rank swordsmanship secret technique must have been difficult. That’s impressive.”
“I received it from the Hunter Association as compensation instead of money.”
At those words, Lee Sang-yeop nodded with an understanding “ah.”
“I’m genuinely envious.”
“Wow, but how did you know the rank?”
“I have a relatively good eye for assessing talent compared to my actual skill level. Didn’t you know?”
Well, I didn’t really know.
“Every swordsman hunter I’ve said would do well has ended up doing well.”
This was the first I’d heard of this. I knew something about the vanguard hunters, but I didn’t know that much about the mid-tier ones.
During my time as a porter, I had mainly traveled with hunters below level 20.
“Of course, ‘doing well’ isn’t by your standards, Han Hye. I mean they’ve established themselves as competent swordsman hunters.”
Of course, there was no hunter comparable to me. I had even surpassed Liu Zhen’s records, who was once called the world’s most promising prospect.
In any case, that’s why Lee Sang-yeop is regularly invited by the Hunter Association whenever workshops are held.
“Whenever I spot talent among swordsman hunters, I give them a tip right away.”
Lee Sang-yeop grinned and whispered like sharing a secret.
“Among everyone I’ve seen, you were the best, Han Hye.”
“What? Come on.”
This seemed like excessive praise to me.
Back then, I had only been using E-rank basic swordsmanship. I wasn’t at a level to receive such words.
‘There must have been other trainees with swordsmanship skills higher than E-rank.’
Reading my skeptical expression, Lee Sang-yeop protested earnestly.
“I’m serious. I once saw a knight outside, and you were better than that person.”
“You’re gilding the lily. How could I have beaten a knight? I didn’t even have B-rank swordsmanship back then.”
“That’s different. Why would Shin Chang have defeated China’s S-rank with only A-rank spear technique?”
Lee Sang-yeop continued with a serious expression.
“Awakening isn’t just about luck, is it? The grade of skills you obtain and natural talent are different things.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Even with an F-rank swordsmanship skill, some people move their bodies completely differently. Like Han Hye.”
Now that I thought about it, Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon had complimented me too. During the aptitude test when I registered as a Hunter, they’d even mentioned that I had an eye for the sword.
But I hadn’t given it much serious thought.
I was training diligently with the sword, but I’d rarely overcome a Gate by relying on swordsmanship alone.
It was more like preparation for the future? So I’d assumed their compliments were just polite remarks.
‘Could it really be that my talent is exceptional?’
Well, I figured they’d probably accuse me of being self-deprecating again if I said anything more, so instead I simply bowed my head lightly.
“Thank you for saying so.”
“It’s the truth. Once you grow more, let’s have another sparring match. It sounds like it would be fun, don’t you think? We could do it more often too.”
A sense of déjà vu washed over me. It was something Shin Chang had said to me before.
As we were having that conversation and leaving the Training Facility, a man approached me.
“Who are you?”
I asked cautiously, and he turned out to be a newspaper reporter.
“Space Mage, you’re Hunter Han Hye, correct? I was wondering if you’d be available for an interview regarding Liu Zhen?”
Ah.
Ever since Liu Zhen’s interview, it had become fairly common for reporters to seek me out like this.
I’d even had paparazzi follow me before, but they’d only discovered that my movements were limited to my home, Gates, and the Training Facility.
“You were disrespected, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!”
I was about to brush past them with a standard “no comment,” but a different thought suddenly occurred to me. I wondered if staying silent was really the right call.
When I thought about it, some unknown person had suddenly disrespected me.
Of course, many people praised my response of handling it with composure, but there were also those who felt indignant on my behalf.
So I decided to speak frankly.
“It was certainly surprising. That Hunter is ten levels higher than me. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if I, a level 15 Hunter, picked a fight with them? Anyone with a conscience wouldn’t do that.”
As I said this, I smiled wryly. Whether the reporter empathized with my words or not, they nodded enthusiastically.
“Exactly. It was truly despicable behavior.”
The reporter was waiting for my next words, so I gave them a satisfying conclusion.
“If we were the same level, I’d win.”

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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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