Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 79

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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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79. Lv.1 Choi Min-seok (2)
“…?”
In Min-seok’s room, which I’d rushed to reach, he stood wide-eyed and bewildered, turning to look at us.
“Mi, Min-seok?”
“I’ve awakened!”
Realizing his own awakening, he shouted with unbridled excitement.
“What happened?”
It was certainly unusual. For reasons unknown, awakenings before age eighteen were extraordinarily rare.
High school students occasionally awakened, but for an elementary school student like Min-seok to become an awakened one was an astronomically slim probability.
“I don’t know. When I left these gems here, they started shining at each other, and then the light seeped into me!”
Gems shining at each other? Had the Gate metals somehow reacted with one another? I still couldn’t quite grasp what he meant.
If that were the trigger, metal collectors would have awakened long ago.
It made more sense that Min-seok’s talent had resonated with the accumulated metals, triggering his awakening.
His mouth parched, Mister moistened his lips before asking.
“W-what did you awaken as?”
“A Lapidary!”
“A Lapidary?”
Both Mister and I tilted our heads in confusion. It was a profession I’d never heard of—a rare one among rare professions.
I’d secretly hoped it would be a Blacksmith. After all, when I’d spoken with Chun-bae, the conversation had centered on blacksmithing.
-It’s a profession comparable to a Blacksmith. It depends on the skill grade, but it’s a good one.
‘What exactly does a Lapidary do?’
-If a Blacksmith creates weapons, a Lapidary ‘enhances’ weapons using the metals they possess.
Was it like enchanting? Or just pure enhancement?
Either way, it wasn’t bad. No—it wasn’t just not bad, it was good. Perhaps even better.
A Blacksmith would need considerable time to raise their skill level and craft high-grade equipment, but a Lapidary wouldn’t.
If I obtained good equipment, I could simply enhance it.
“Hye?”
Mister looked at me. Since this was a profession neither of us had heard of, he was seeking my opinion.
I had Chun-bae to consult with, after all. I smiled and nodded.
“It’s supposed to be good. Min-seok, what’s your skill grade?”
“Grade B Lapidary!”
“Grade B? That’s decent.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Mister let out a relieved laugh. Grade B might seem low, but it absolutely wasn’t.
Skill grades ranged from S to F. Third from the top was quite respectable.
Mister and I possessed S-grade and A-grade skills, which was why most Hunters didn’t even have B-grade skills.
Chun-bae agreed as well.
-Grade B is excellent. To exaggerate slightly, if you obtain a skill grade promotion ticket, it would be worth investing in.
‘To that extent?’
-When high-grade craftsmanship is applied to high-grade weapons, the performance difference exceeds imagination.
Chun-bae’s words weren’t something I could simply brush aside. I immediately called for Mister and my Sister-in-law.
My Sister-in-law was naturally quite worried. Min-seok had awakened at such a young age, after all.
“It’s safe, right?”
“Of course. It’s not a combat profession. Gem-cutters don’t have to enter Gates.”
At Mister’s words, my Sister-in-law let out a sigh of relief.
“Now that I think about it, gem-cutter suits him better than blacksmith.”
“Huh?”
“Min-seok never liked weapons or hammers. He’s always loved precious metals.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
At my words, Mister nodded in agreement. Apparently, Min-seok hadn’t enjoyed the blacksmith class he’d taken before.
He loved precious metals, not weapons themselves.
Chun-bae had also mentioned that the blacksmith said as much—he never claimed it was blacksmith talent.
When I relayed Chun-bae’s words, Mister was startled.
“To that extent?”
“Yes. If Chun-bae speaks like that, you know what it means, don’t you?”
“Of course. What kind of person is Chun-bae?”
Still, Mister looked somewhat bewildered. Unable to fully grasp the reality, he scratched the back of his head vigorously.
“Wow, what on earth is happening?”
“It’s not exactly common.”
The father is a Dragon Knight and the son is a gem-cutter. Do rare professions carry genetic traits? Or was it an incredible stroke of luck and coincidence?
I couldn’t know the answer. But Mister grasped my hand firmly.
“Thank you.”
“Pardon? For what?”
“You were the one who got the Gate metal for Min-seok.”
“Well, wouldn’t you have given it to him anyway without me?”
“Perhaps, but I couldn’t have done it without Yong-yong.”
Hmm. Can you look at it that way? Well, it’s not wrong, so let me be a bit shameless about it.
“So all of Min-seok’s weapon enhancements will be free later, right?”
Mister let out a hollow laugh at my playful remark.
“Free? You call that talking? Of course. I should be paying you a percentage of what Min-seok crafts.”
I was just joking and laughing it off, but suddenly I realized this wasn’t something to simply overlook.
“Mister.”
“Huh? What?”
My voice had turned serious, so Mister focused as well.
“Is that really okay?”
“What is?”
“Think about it. Right now, Min-seok is the only person on Earth who knows how to work with Gate metal.”
“…What?”
Mister grasped the meaning of my words.
“Buy up all the Gate Metal?”
“Of course.”
* * *
Gate Metal Coin.
It was a running joke in the Hunter industry. Gate Metal was treated as such a rare piece of garbage.
Of course, aesthetically beautiful metal fetched prices in the hundreds of millions of won… but a B-grade Elixir cost 35 billion.
You could see just how absurdly worthless Gate Metal had become.
‘Gate Metal has had this reputation for the past decade.’
In the early days, it still commanded decent prices. Since no one knew when it might be useful, people hoarded it, and various nations conducted research on it.
Even as time passed, many people continued collecting it, betting that its value would skyrocket once professions like Blacksmith emerged.
Of course, now at the ten-year mark, Gate Metal’s value had plummeted far below those early days.
There were still some bottom-feeders collecting Gate Metal, but not many.
“If we just refine this…”
“We’d make a fortune. The amount we received from our contract might be nothing in comparison.”
Min-seok was the only person on Earth who knew how to work with Gate Metal. Enchanting, reinforcement—all of it.
Among all the rare professions that had emerged on Earth, there had never been a Blacksmith or Reinforcement Specialist.
It was only natural that Gate Metal’s value would skyrocket.
Moreover, all the vanguard teams on Earth would come running with stacks of cash to strengthen their equipment.
“Once the Skill level rises sufficiently and the reinforcement performance shows results… we might even receive items from the vanguard teams.”
“Things like Elixirs?”
“Elixirs, certainly, but also weapons, Skill Level-Up Tickets—couldn’t those be possible too?”
According to Chun-bae, high-grade weapons with high-grade enhancements made a significant difference.
Once that performance became known, the vanguard teams would definitely come rushing with all manner of offerings.
“Though it will take quite some time, of course.”
Since the B-grade enhancement Skill was still at level 1, the effects wouldn’t be dramatic yet, but it was a feasible future.
There was just one thing to confirm.
“If Min-seok doesn’t want to work, I won’t force him.”
“He will. He’s been obsessed with precious metals since way back.”
“Right. He used to sketch metal creations in his notebook.”
Everything depended on Min-seok’s opinion.
“Let’s start with an experiment, shall we?”
I had left Min-seok in the room earlier while discussing important matters, so I called him back immediately.
The test subjects were an E-grade Gate Metal and an E-grade spear that Mister had been carrying as a spare.
The moment Min-seok held the Gate Metal and carefully brought it to the spear, blue light flared across the weapon and mana rippled outward.
When the light faded, the metal had embedded itself into the spear, and its color had subtly changed.
“Oh?”
“It worked!”
Min-seok was delighted at his successful enhancement, and we hurried to examine the spear…
The result was quite remarkable.
“The description changed to grant +1 Strength stat? The explanation shifted a bit too.”
“It’s subtle, but it feels a bit sharper?”
Two E-grade materials and a single stat increase from a Level 1 skill. That was far from negligible.
Even with a Level 1 skill, using better metals and equipment would push the gains higher.
Once I raised the skill level and its grade, the effects would become far more substantial.
While the adults were absorbed in their expectations, Min-seok suddenly threw himself onto the bed with a groan.
“I’m exhausted.”
“Are you alright?”
Mister hurried over to support Min-seok.
“I’m tired….”
“It seems he consumed a lot of mana.”
Now that I thought about it, Min-seok was still Level 1. If the Crafting skill demanded significant mana, this was entirely plausible.
Looking at his condition, it wasn’t anything serious. A good rest should do the trick.
“Well, he’ll fall asleep soon. The mana consumption was quite substantial, it seems.”
“Awakeners under eighteen are said to have lower stats in general.”
“As the skill level rises, mana consumption will increase too….”
Mister looked slightly worried.
“I’d rather not send him to a Gate, but the problem is that Min-seok will probably want to do more Crafting. Did you see his expression earlier?”
“He seemed absolutely delighted.”
“Right. He’ll probably want to enter a Gate, raise his level, and pump his mana stats.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I don’t think that’s something to worry about.”
“Nothing to worry about?”
Mister looked at me with surprised eyes. It seemed he couldn’t view this objectively when it concerned his own child.
“Think about it. If we tell the Hunter Association, they’ll hand over an Escape Secretary and nurture him carefully on their own.”
“Still….”
“Even if a Deformed Gate problem arises, as long as there’s someone who prioritizes using Min-seok’s Escape Secretary, it doesn’t matter.”
I shrugged again.
“If you’re really anxious, we can help too. You protect Min-seok and run low-level Gates repeatedly.”
When there’s a level gap between Hunters, experience gains diminish. But they don’t disappear entirely.
They accumulate gradually. Min-seok needs time anyway. We can supplement him bit by bit.
“Even if Min-seok says he’s afraid of Gates and doesn’t want to go, there’s no problem.”
“No problem?”
“You don’t know my abilities? Spirit Elixir Farm. I can grow elixirs that raise mana. Or wouldn’t the Hunter Association support it anyway?”
“You think so?”
I nodded with confidence.
“Just by cultivating them, it strengthens the vanguard. If we say we receive elixirs as enhancement fees from foreign Hunters, we can even recover the investment.”
Only then did Mister’s expression ease. I picked up my phone.
“Well, the choice is yours and Min-seok’s, but… should I call the Hunter Association first?”
“Yes, you should.”
“You’ll need to warn Min-seok. You know this is a genuinely dangerous talent, right? There was that Übermenschen warning.”
Mister nodded with a heavy expression.
A young Craftsman? That’s different from me and Mister, who’ve already established ourselves. It wouldn’t have been strange if Übermenschen showed up right now.
I immediately called Park Seo-ung.
It was late, but Seo-ung picked up before the third ring.
-Yes?
After I briefly explained the situation, Seo-ung asked back as if he’d misheard.
“So, Mister’s son—he’s an elementary school student—has awakened as a Craftsman. He can strengthen weapons with Gate metal or apply enchantments.”
-Yes?
“Um. Should I explain it again?”
-No, that’s not it.
He wasn’t usually like this, but this news clearly flustered him. I understand.
It would’ve been shocking enough if just any Craftsman had appeared, but this was Min-seok, Mister’s elementary school son.
“But I think the Association needs to handle security on this. You told me Übermenschen were dangerous, after all.”
-Of, of course. The Association President will pay special attention to this.
Since Min-seok was exhausted and asleep now, we couldn’t confirm his abilities yet, so we decided Seo-ung would come verify it tomorrow.
Well, I think the Association will handle it properly. Based on what they’ve done for us, I’m not worried.
“Phew.”
Once the call ended well, Mister let out a long sigh. His expression looked somewhat complicated.
Happy but worried at the same time.
It couldn’t be helped. It’s an incredible ability, but the world isn’t entirely safe either. And Min-seok is still just an elementary school student.
“Cheer up.”
“Huh?”
But I had a way to lift Mister’s spirits a little.
“How much do you have in your account? We need to buy all the Gate metal. Not the pretty stuff—the high-grade pieces.”
Currently, the Gate metal market is entirely focused on aesthetic value. If it’s crude, you can buy even A-grade pieces for tens of millions of won.
Of course, since it’s treated as rare garbage, the supply isn’t that abundant. There are collectors before us, after all.
‘I don’t know when it’ll be announced, but…’
From now on, I need to steadily accumulate Gate metal. Eventually, it’ll be worth an astronomical price.
Then a sudden question occurred to me.
‘Chun-bae, is there Gate metal in the Subspace?’
-Affirmative. There is Gate metal.
-‘Oh?’
I was delighted for a moment.
-Unfortunately, the quantity is not large. It was extremely precious in the worlds of the Previous Princess and Previous-Previous Princess.
Right. Since there were blacksmiths and Craftsmen in that world, the demand for Gate metal would’ve been high.
I’ll have to gather diligently from Earth.
Considering how it’s been treated so far, wouldn’t that be sufficient?

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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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