Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 91
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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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91. Trial of Mana (1)
[Trial of Mana]
-Recommended Level: 26~40
-Personnel Limit: 20
-Bring down the
Magic Tower
. Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes.
Before us as we entered the Gate stretched an enormous fortress. It was not what one would typically imagine as a castle.
Though it resembled a fortress, the central structure leaned more toward a tower, with modest ramparts sagging around its perimeter.
“That is….”
And atop the towering spire sat a blue sphere that was unmistakably extraordinary at first glance.
It was no mere orb. Azure light rippled and undulated across its surface.
Our surroundings teemed with armed soldiers clad in medieval armor.
Though our attire stood out starkly against theirs, none of them turned their gaze toward us.
“All of you! Get over here at once!”
A commander-like figure emerged and positioned us. This was a narrative-type Gate.
Lee Hong-ju of Iron Wall Guild responded, and we moved in his wake.
-This is a place I know.
Then Chun-bae spoke up.
‘A place you know?’
-Affirmative. This is the world of the Previous-Previous Princess.
Suddenly, Chun-bae’s earlier words about the Previous-Previous Princess being a mage came flooding back.
‘Could the Previous-Previous Princess actually be here?’
-No. I merely know of this incident. Though the circumstances differ from what I remember.
I couldn’t focus solely on my conversation with Chun-bae. The subjugation party members standing among the soldiers were assessing the situation.
“The structure is simple.”
“Yes. Narrative-type. Since we appear to be soldiers, we should be able to topple the Magic Tower by blending in with the army.”
“There must be a reason Liu Zhen failed…. Perhaps it’s because of that?”
“Yes. The blue sphere. It’s no ordinary thing.”
Lee Hong-ju surveyed the assembled group.
“For now, we follow the flow of this narrative-type Gate. Formation as planned. Chulbyeok and Miro on the front line. Dragon Guild, move according to the situation.”
We, assigned as a separate unit, fundamentally agreed to move according to Lee Hong-ju’s requests.
If that proved impossible, we would act on our own judgment.
‘Experience from before proved useful.’
Leading the escape battle with Grendel in the first discharge-type Gate was my decision.
Going to block the Small-to-Medium Gate in the second discharge-type Gate was also my call.
-The Dragon Guild likely knows many things we don’t. Even if I give orders, if you see another path, you’re free to take it.
Since it would be impolite for different guilds to inquire about each other’s items, Lee Hong-ju phrased it that way.
Honestly, if a level 40 knight like Lee Hong-ju had commanded us, we would have obeyed. But he seemed to respect us.
‘The situation is different?’
Anyway, since our situation had been roughly sorted out, I refocused on my conversation with Chun-bae.
-This incident occurred at the Golden Magic Tower in the east. It was because of the Mana Core.
The Mana Core was that blue sphere sitting atop the Magic Tower.
From what I heard, as the Erosion caused the mana concentration in the atmosphere to rise, the Magic Tower used that mana to create a massive mana source.
‘A colossal mana engine that continuously draws in natural mana.’
The mages who received the Mana Core from the Magic Tower could use magic without any shortage of mana, apparently.
Since the status window in this world supposedly limited one’s original abilities, it was quite a clever solution.
They said they hunted monsters by exploiting the Erosion situation—a strategy of using the enemy’s power to suppress the enemy.
However, the problem also arose because of the Mana Core.
-As the Core raised the mana concentration in the vicinity, two colossal Gates eventually opened, and the Golden Magic Tower vanished.
‘Insane—two colossal Gates?’
-Yes. That’s why I said things had changed. The Golden Magic Tower had never fought humans like this before.
Certainly, those of us attacking the Magic Tower and the people nearby were all human.
-Also, judging by the Gate’s level restrictions, the Magic Tower’s full strength must be different. At that time, there was a level 85 mage in the Golden Magic Tower.
‘Right. If that were the case, I could never have broken through it.’
-In other words, this place can be said to be reconstructed like the Night of Despair from before.
‘Still, something feels off about it.’
I felt a slight bitterness. The world of the Previous-Previous Princess. It’s a place that already fell victim to Erosion, but…
At that time, they would have been facing monsters bursting out from the Gates, not us.
Though the world and timeline are different, in a sense, we and they could be called comrades fighting the same enemy.
Yet because of the Gate situation, we ended up in a position where we had to attack them.
‘Could this also be something that bastard orchestrated?’
It wasn’t strange that the god I’d met came to mind. But I couldn’t afford to be consumed by emotion.
To survive, I had to do what needed to be done. I turned my gaze upward toward the Magic Tower.
‘So the problem is that Mana Core up there.’
-Affirmative. The core is the key. If we don’t destroy it, the mages of the Magic Tower will maintain virtually infinite mana.
I reviewed the structure of the Magic Tower to devise a strategy, but I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘This won’t be easy.’
There was a solution that came to mind for destroying the Mana Core at the tower’s peak.
Whether I used Leap or Yong-yong, I would have to go up and destroy it myself.
However, this Magic Tower wasn’t simply a single tower standing tall. I didn’t call it a fortress for nothing at first.
Not only were there fortress walls surrounding the Magic Tower, but mages could be seen scattered throughout the tower itself.
‘It’s essentially a siege.’
Moreover, the mages continuously supplied with mana would keep casting spells. Even ascending would be difficult.
I’d be exposed to relentless magic.
-It’s a difficult situation, but I believe you, Han Hye, can resolve it most easily.
‘That’s true.’
There was no one more suited to destroy it than me, who could fly using Yong-yong and perform Leap.
Most hunters would have to breach that fortress wall and climb the tower.
‘China didn’t get pushed back for nothing.’
From their perspective, it must have felt like headbutting bare ground.
“All forces! Advance! Destroy the Magic Tower!”
And so, the assault began.
* * *
Han Hye had grasped the nature of the Gate, but couldn’t immediately relay it to the subjugation team.
There was no way to explain it straightforwardly.
Since the distance to the Magic Tower was considerable, it made no sense to identify the mana core as mana just by looking at it from afar.
However, even without her mentioning it, the subjugation team could deduce the reason themselves.
-BOOM!
-BOOM!
The moment the military forces began their assault on the Magic Tower, spells came flying continuously from the tower’s direction.
Relentlessly, without pause.
The army deployed defensive barriers, but there were far too many incoming spells.
“This is insane. Is it even possible to unleash magic like that? How many mages are there?”
“It’s not that there are many mages! The same one keeps firing them!”
“That’s impossible, isn’t it? There has to be a limit to mana!”
Because of this, the subjugation team focused their attention on the blue sphere hovering above the Magic Tower. It was clearly no ordinary object.
“That! That seems to be supplying mana, doesn’t it? The flow keeps streaming downward!”
“What, does it provide infinite mana or something?”
“There’s no other explanation that makes sense!”
Lee Hong-ju, having grasped the situation, immediately called out to Han Hye. Even from his perspective, the key to breaking through this Gate lay with the Dragon Guild.
Leap and Red Dragon. Without flight or spatial movement, reaching and destroying the sphere at the tower’s summit seemed nearly impossible.
“Han Hye! Is it possible for you and Chul-gi to destroy that thing?”
“I’d have to try to know for sure.”
Han Hye couldn’t be certain either. Even now, there were mages who weren’t casting spells.
But as they advanced, the volume of incoming magic only increased.
“May I ask for your help?”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
As Han Hye nodded, Choi Chul-gi immediately prepared, but Han Hye shook her head.
“I think it’s better if I go alone.”
“Will you be alright?”
“There are still many mages resting. Even with the sand soldier armor, dodging won’t be easy. But I can block with Subspace.”
Choi Chul-gi nodded at Han Hye’s words. She immediately mounted Yong-yong’s back and took flight.
She wasn’t as skilled at flying as the Dragon Knight Choi Chul-gi, who possessed Dragon-Human Unity.
Choi Chul-gi’s flight, moving as one body with his dragon, was difficult to match no matter how much Yong-yong adored Han Hye.
However, having practiced intermittently to prepare for such situations, her flight encountered no problems.
“Damn…”
Yet even Han Hye, riding Yong-yong, found it difficult to approach the mana core. The moment she ascended and drew near the Magic Tower, countless spells rained down upon her.
“Descend!”
She sent Red Dragon forward and used Leap against the barrage of magic filling the sky, but it wasn’t easy.
There were limits to how many times I could use Leap in succession.
Moreover, the barrage of magic wasn’t just projectiles. There were even area-denial spells that blocked off entire sections of sky.
Magic continued to rain down even beyond those barriers. Dodging became so difficult that I had to raise shields in the Subspace itself.
“This won’t work….”
“Send the signal.”
Lee Hong-ju nodded at his fellow guild member’s words. Even from below, approaching seemed impossible.
When the Iron Wall Guild mage shot a blue flame skyward, I had no choice but to retreat.
“Are you alright?”
I landed on the ground, breathing heavily. Twisting through the air to evade magic and using Leap repeatedly had taken its toll.
“Yes. I didn’t take a direct hit.”
“This is going to be difficult.”
“For now.”
“For now?”
I pointed ahead at Lee Hong-ju’s question.
“I’m not sure if it’s because of the distance, but the closer we get, the more magic comes at us.”
Lee Hong-ju felt it too. The barrage intensified with every step forward the forces took.
“If the main force engages properly from below, we might find an opening to climb up.”
The idea was to exploit the chaos. There would be casualties, but it was our only option now.
“We’ll need to seize that moment.”
“Yes. We’ll minimize losses until then.”
I had to preserve the suppression team’s full strength until I destroyed the Mana Core. Then we’d need to unleash everything to draw attention.
And moments later.
When we’d drawn close enough to the Magic Tower’s walls that I could feel the sphere was made of pure mana, an ominous presence emanated from the tower itself.
-Uuuoong!
A blue light was gathering in the hands of a mage high atop the tower. The immense power accumulating was palpable even from a distance.
“Dodge, dodge now…!”
The suppression team, recognizing the danger, all raised defensive barriers. The blue light became a sphere the size of a refrigerator and shot forward in a straight line.
Fortunately, it wasn’t aimed at the suppression team. It landed some distance away.
-Kwaaaaaang!
But the destructive force was anything but fortunate.
“Insane….”
As if a bomb had detonated, an entire army-sized force occupying a sports field-sized area was obliterated.
Lee Hong-ju swallowed hard at the sight.
‘Now I understand why China failed….’
But in that moment, I was thinking something different.
‘It’s fast, but I can definitely react to it.’
Ever since reaching Subspace Level 2, there was one thing I’d been constantly practicing.
Reflecting a baseball traveling at over 300 kilometers per hour by opening two Subspace entrances.
And this magic definitely didn’t appear to be moving at 300 kilometers per hour.
Which meant I could reflect it using my Subspace.
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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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