Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 84

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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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84. Pharva Ancient Ruin (4)
“Dinner is served.”
Evening arrived and food was brought out, though I naturally didn’t eat it. Setting aside the danger, it simply didn’t look appetizing.
For us, it didn’t matter since I carried provisions in the Subspace.
“Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Felime and the Assistant accepted the food without hesitation, so I hurriedly stopped them.
“Let’s have the meals we brought ourselves.”
“Why would you do that?”
“There could be something wrong with the food.”
“They’re people I hired, so it’s fine. There haven’t been any problems so far.”
Though I noticed the atmosphere had grown subtle, the archaeologist spoke without concern—perhaps scholarly naïveté was at play.
“Have you never considered there might be a traitor among those you hired?”
“A traitor? That’s impossible… These are people I brought separately. The food is prepared separately too.”
“They could have been turned while here. Can you trust them 100%?”
“Hmm.”
Seeing him pause in thought, I shrugged and continued.
“You said you discovered something at the Ruins today. If trouble comes, it’ll be from now on.”
“That’s…”
The Doctor flinched.
“Even without internal traitors, someone else could have tampered with the provisions.”
We were given three days from the Gate.
Something had definitely gone wrong separately from us. That meant information had leaked from this side.
Of course, it was possible things spiraled into catastrophe after the Doctor opened that place… but caution never hurt.
There was no harm in being careful.
“Wait a moment.”
Suddenly the Assistant looked startled.
“Then you’re saying you’ve already noticed what we discovered today?”
“If there’s a traitor. How many people saw what you found, Doctor?”
“Myself and two workers. They’re trustworthy people.”
“Are you certain?”
“…They’ve worked with me for a long time.”
The Doctor’s words trailed off. He couldn’t be certain. He had the look of a sheltered scholar.
“It’s better to assume they already know.”
At my words, both the Doctor and Assistant’s expressions grew grave.
“The place you discovered. Could someone other than you interpret and open it?”
“Well, I suppose. I only took a quick look and covered it back up. Gerom sent word, and I was planning to open it once you arrived.”
Still unknown, then.
If they made their move first, it would become troublesome. I paused briefly before speaking.
“Then what if we go tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“To be precise, it would be dawn. Before they make their move.”
Tomorrow afternoon versus dawn.
The latter was preferable. Avoiding their entry before ours was the right call.
Nobility’s Knights. I couldn’t gauge their exact strength, but from what I glimpsed earlier, they didn’t seem ordinary.
If they arrived later, I could block them with Subspace, but….
‘If we get surrounded, things could get messy.’
Going in first and causing chaos at the Ruins also carried the risk of not knowing how our compensation would be affected.
If they didn’t notice, we could buy considerable time.
‘Hm?’
Suddenly, I sensed a presence approaching. More precisely, a spatial awareness.
From outside, another faction was stealthily approaching our tent.
They didn’t seem intent on attacking. It was more like they were coming to eavesdrop on our conversation.
Either way, the probability that the other side had learned of the Doctor’s discovery had increased significantly. They could simply be spying, but still.
“It seems the information has already leaked. Someone’s approaching. You need to decide quickly. Drop the soundproofing.”
“…Let’s do that.”
The Doctor, who had been deliberating, quickly nodded at my words.
“Then I’ll see you at dawn. I’ll give you the signal.”
I then told my Assistant to quickly dispel the soundproofing magic.
The moment the Assistant deactivated the spell was precisely when the intruder reached near our tent.
“So we just enter tomorrow afternoon and begin the escort, is that correct?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
The Doctor agreed.
If I could see his expression, I’d have said he couldn’t act—it was stiff—but his voice wasn’t bad.
* * *
Dawn.
Before moving, there was one thing I needed to do first. The intruder who had arrived in the evening was still lingering.
‘From the circumstances, they seem to have caught on.’
They appeared to be observing whether we’d move or not. There had even been one shift change.
I waited for the next shift change. That way, the information would reach them latest.
And that time was now.
Just as one observer finished their shift and left, another concealed themselves near our tent.
‘Fast.’
I prepared to throw a chokehold with both hands, took a deep breath, and immediately launched forward.
Thud—.
My leap toward the motionless target was precise. Both hands reached exactly to the observer’s throat.
“Ugh…!”
My physical strength is superhuman in caliber. The opposition was formidable, but an observer wasn’t at that level.
The man lost consciousness without even managing a proper scream.
With that, I’d bought some time. I quickly returned to my group and gently tapped them awake.
“Mmm.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Hunters are a breed trained to sleep whenever they can. The environment inside a Gate is harsh, after all.
That’s why everyone was sound asleep until dawn. As for me, I’d arranged to sleep in the Subspace and have them wake me.
‘One of the Subspace’s advantages.’
I leaped straight toward Dr. Felime’s tent.
“Eek!”
“Shh.”
However, Dr. Felime and the Assistant hadn’t managed to fall asleep. As scholars, this situation seemed to be taking its toll on them.
They’d been waiting with tense expressions, and they jumped when they saw me.
“You should have gotten some rest.”
“I couldn’t sleep. A major discovery is right before us, and there are enemies about.”
“Let’s go anyway. It should be quiet for a while.”
Since our forces were separate, there was considerable distance between the tents. I was able to carefully enter the Ruins that Dr. Felime had excavated.
The doctor navigated without hesitation and led me straight to the path. Then we stood before a black wall covered in volcanic rock.
“This is it.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Chul-gi tilted his head in confusion, but I could sense it. Beyond my spatial awareness, I felt an empty space.
Dr. Felime carefully brought his hand to the lower part of the volcanic rock.
“Hmm?”
With a cracking sound, a piece of volcanic rock fell away. Inside, ancient script was visible.
It seemed they’d removed it during excavation and immediately covered it back up.
“It was hidden here. We saw just a few lines of text and covered it right back up.”
Was that the part about the Flame Knight and the Magma Golem?
Dr. Felime gestured toward the Assistant.
“Cast a soundproofing spell. We’ll need to excavate this entire section.”
The Assistant deployed the magic, and both of them set to work on the volcanic rock. The careful excavation began.
At first glance it seemed tedious, and I considered helping, but…
‘I shouldn’t risk damaging the wall surface.’
Still, they were skilled enough that before long, the wall’s surface was revealed.
Dr. Felime’s expression grew grave.
-Oh!
-Ohhh!
During the process of removing the volcanic rock, he’d been reading and exclaiming continuously, but suddenly his expression turned serious.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing wrong. I’ll just read it to you.”
Dr. Felime cleared his throat and continued.
“Hwarba unleashed fierce flames to resist the erosion of mana. Flames that burned mana itself.”
Erosion of mana? My head turned at the familiar term.
“I don’t understand what erosion of mana means. You say Hwarba fought against mana, but I can’t comprehend it. Burning mana with fire?”
“Isn’t that a metaphorical expression?”
“I’m not sure. The legends say it disliked mana, but here it says ‘erosion.’ It’s as if describing an enemy. Mana as an enemy?”
The two tilted their heads in confusion, but Mister and I could understand it to some degree.
This world too must have been a place that suffered erosion.
“In any case, it seems Hwarba ultimately couldn’t overcome the erosion. He gathered his final strength and burned away his mana.”
I considered it an inevitable outcome. Though I don’t precisely understand the difference between a Spirit King and a god….
Even a world with evil gods and gods fell to it, so why would a Spirit King’s result be different?
“Hmm. I can’t understand what you mean. Mana still exists, yet erosion? Did mana not exist before?”
Dr. Felime tilted his head and continued speaking.
“In any case, the volcano that exploded that way and the flames that filled the Hwarba Mountain region eventually subsided and became an essence.”
“An essence?”
“The essence of Hwarba. The Spirit King of flames. I suspect it might be pure flame. It could be a metaphorical expression. It really did exist.”
“Doctor!”
The Assistant let out a small cry. Hmm, perhaps that essence is the part he hadn’t told us about?
Dr. Felime waved his hand.
“It’s fine. If Gerom sent you, it means you’re people more trustworthy than the workers.”
The essence of a Spirit King.
Perhaps that’s this Gate’s hidden reward—no, not hidden. Isn’t that the Gate’s main reward?
‘The essence of the Flame Spirit King.’
I could understand why the explosion occurred in this volcano. It was only natural when taking such an essence.
“Those who revered Hwarba protected the essence of Hwarba, who had exhausted his strength, deep within this place.”
“Is there anything else?”
“There’s a warning for anyone who comes here in later generations—to turn back.”
Dr. Felime pointed to the lower section, the part he had first opened.
“It’s the first part I saw. Before it, there are Knights of Flame and Magma Golems, Flame Spirits filling the space.”
“….”
“The fate of those who enter will be dire.”
Hmm. I wasn’t alone in thinking that dire fate likely referred to a massive explosion.
In any case, from our perspective, explosion or not, we had to take that essence.
‘It’s an Ancient Ruin Gate, so we should take the Spirit King’s essence.’
But there was one thing that bothered me: whether we could survive after taking it.
When we took the Flame Jade, a Flame Guardian appeared. Couldn’t the incarnation of the Spirit King appear as well?
“What will you do? It’s dangerous, they say.”
“We must go. There is knowledge there. Curses in ruins are always common. Of course, there are places where curses truly dwell.”
I asked for the Doctor’s opinion just in case, and it meant we would proceed.
Well, if that’s the case, I decided to follow the flow of the story.
‘Even in the worst situation….’
The Guild members still have escape Secretaries left, so wouldn’t it work if everyone used them?
As for me, I can endure in the Subspace.
I didn’t know how valuable the essence of a Spirit King was, but if the value was decent, it was certainly worth it.
“How do we break through this?”
“According to the inscription, we need to channel a powerful flame essence to the center….”
Indeed, there was a groove-like indentation at the center where the ancient script was carved. Dr. Felime, who had just spoken with such solemn determination, scratched the back of his head.
“Do we need to capture a flame spirit or something?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
I wasn’t sure what the normal method for breaching a Gate was, but I had two options available to me.
One was to leap over it alone, and the other was simply to summon Yong-yong.
“Yong-yong.”
“Krr!”
Yong-yong, whom I had stored in the Subspace after meeting the others, burst out joyfully.
“A-a Red Dragon?”
Dr. Felime and the Assistant gasped in shock. Dragons appeared to be rare in this world as well.
“He’s our companion. Don’t worry.”
“Good heavens. Gerom, what kind of people did you send us?”
Despite my reassurance, Dr. Felime spread both hands toward the ceiling in exasperation.
Well, amazement is amazement, but we still had work to do.
“Yong-yong. Breathe some fire here.”
“Krr!”
Yong-yong unleashed a torrent of flames.
And the door inscribed with ancient script opened with a grinding creak so easily.
Ha.
My little one really is something, isn’t he?

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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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