Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 97

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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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97. Subspace Level 4 (3)
“Seo-ung.”
“Yes.”
“Head to the United States next week. It’s about Kim Han-chul.”
“Has a date been set?”
Kim Han-chul—a hunter with a rare class, Guardian.
He was one of the promising talents the Korean Hunter Association had overlooked. In the early days of the Gate crisis, many such prospects fled abroad.
His current level was 39.
Until a few years ago, he had been an exceptionally capable hunter, serving as a reliable vanguard for the American elite team.
“Right. His family will be joining as well, so treat them with proper courtesy.”
Unfortunately, he had suffered a severe injury in a Gate several years prior.
While shielding his teammates from a curse directed at them, he fell victim to a curse known as “Collapsing Mana.”
It was a curse that caused his body’s mana to continuously dissipate, and there was no adequate treatment for it.
Even the United States’ S-Rank Healer had attempted intervention to no avail.
—Kim Han-chul deemed incurable.
—Recovery impossible even with A-Rank elixirs….
It was a fatal curse that didn’t merely deplete his mana but weakened his physical body to the point where even movement became arduous.
Consequently, Kim Han-chul had no choice but to withdraw from active duty.
—U.S. President awards medal to Kim Han-chul….
Of course, the United States hadn’t mistreated the injured Kim Han-chul. He had been a vital member of their elite team.
He’d been granted citizenship and had even been administered those precious A-Rank elixirs during his curse affliction.
—He was our hero. Without him, we wouldn’t be here today.
The current American elite team consisted of those who had fought alongside Kim Han-chul, and they had provided maximum support.
Yet despite the investment of A-Rank elixirs, Kim Han-chul never recovered, and his mobility only worsened.
—Will Hunter Kim Han-chul return to Korea?
Originally, the United States had been reluctant to let him go. There was a chance the curse might be treatable given time.
However, after years without improvement and faced with both his family’s presence in Korea and his own determination to return, the United States had relented.
His hunter contract had been terminated, and in recognition of his contributions and respect for his wishes, they had granted permission.
Korea typically didn’t recognize dual citizenship, but several exceptions had emerged following the Gate crisis, and as a hunter, he fell within those exceptions, so there were no complications.
“There’s no method on our end either, is there? If we could just heal him, he’d be an incredible asset.”
At Park Seo-ung’s question, Association President Kang Seok-du let out a quiet sigh.
“Not at the moment. Even an S-Rank Healer couldn’t manage it.”
“I see….”
“Let’s wait and see. Who knows what might emerge as time passes? A Red Dragon appeared, after all.”
The Association President recalled the Space Mage who had awakened the sleeping Dragon Knight.
The Space Mage was an anomalous existence even to him, who kept abreast of hunter news from around the world. It was fortunate he appeared in Korea.
‘Perhaps in a few years, the Space Mage might find a solution.’
Of course, the severely weakened Kim Han-chul would need to endure until then.
“By the way, the United States sent another inquiry about that previous request for Han Hye’s cooperation.”
“Ignore it. The compensation is meager. Just relay that such a proposal was made. The Space Mage isn’t even particularly needed for it. What kind of dirty scheme are they attempting? Unless they’re offering compensation in the form of a superior Gate.”
* * *
After thoroughly exploring the Subspace, there was only one thing left to do.
Master a secret technique.
I had no immediate use for all that gold, and my body didn’t need healing either. The keys would be useful in the Gates.
[You have learned the martial art ‘Cockfighting’ (B-Rank). ‘Cockfighting’ (C-Rank) lv4 transforms into ‘Cockfighting’ (B-Rank) lv3.]
It was my first time acquiring the exact same skill at different ranks, and the skill level had decreased by one.
With the different sword techniques, they remained as separate skills in my status window, which was interesting.
Though the skill level dropped by one, it was far from a bad thing. The rank difference made all the difference.
The moment I learned B-Rank Cockfighting, information imprinted itself in my mind, and I understood why the level had decreased.
‘It’s the same skill, but the depth and scope are different.’
Simply put, if the limit of C-Rank Cockfighting was 50 points, then B-Rank Cockfighting’s limit would be 70 points.
The skill level adjusted proportionally to the increased ceiling. In fact, I was now stronger than before.
“Phew.”
For the next two days, I devoted myself to training the newly acquired Cockfighting. More precisely, it was the fusion of Cockfighting and swordsmanship.
Since Cockfighting was a martial art, I couldn’t perfectly merge them.
However, there were definitely aspects that could be applied to complement my swift Crescentia sword technique.
Since it was modeled after a fighting cock, it had surprisingly good synergy with swift swordplay.
“Oh! I succeeded!”
After that, I participated in Seo Seung-yeon’s firearm enhancement project.
I wasn’t very knowledgeable about it, but the Hunter Association had already confirmed through experiments that itemization of objects was possible.
“This is amazing, right? The gun became D-Rank?”
Min-seok’s skill level was still insufficient to use D-Rank Gate metals in crafting, but Seo Seung-yeon was extremely satisfied.
One stat increased, and the mana consumption when firing decreased slightly, apparently.
“I’m not sure how to repay you for this….”
Seo Seung-yeon tried to repay me in some way, but Mister and I stopped her.
Carefully selected members from Chulbyeok and Saebyeokbit were taking turns escorting Min-seok.
“Well, just protecting Min-seok is thanks enough.”
Though the escort was compensation from our contract with the Hunter Association, I was grateful for their consideration nonetheless.
To be honest, Min-seok’s crafting skills weren’t yet at a level deserving substantial reward. This much was just a small favor.
“Instead, once Min-seok’s level increases, you can pay the proper price then.”
“Of course.”
Seo Seung-yeon, having said that, held out a wooden box.
“Right. This is from Shin Chang.”
Looking at it, it was a spirit herb. A B-Rank spirit herb at that.
[Rain-Blooming Flower (B-Rank)]
-A flower that blooms only when rain infused with mana falls.
-Consuming it increases mana.
Seo Seung-yeon smiled brightly.
“It’s not much, but it’s our thanks for the Gate metal gun.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to….”
“Just take it. If you don’t, that mountain over there will beat up my brother.”
“Huh?”
“You know my brother is actually quite petty, right? When something like this happens, he just makes training sessions way more intense.”
Hmm. Thinking back to how he’d subtly smirk during our sparring sessions, that actually seemed plausible.
I’d need to be careful not to give Shin Chang any more ammunition like this in the future.
“Please keep it a secret that I said this. If word gets back to him, he’ll force me into extra sparring.”
“Of course.”
Seo Seung-yeon giggled.
Well, I’d shared the information about the Gate metal as payment for Shin Chang’s teachings, but I decided to accept it with Seo Seung-yeon in mind.
‘That’s why Saebyeokbit is Saebyeokbit. This is what a good relationship looks like.’
After thinking for a moment, I spoke to Mister.
“Give this to Min-seok, would you?”
“Huh?”
“Min-seok’s craftsmanship needs to develop quickly too. He’s supposed to enter a Gate soon anyway, and ultimately mana is what matters for him too.”
I’d gained an enormous amount of mana from this Gate, so I didn’t need mana elixirs right now.
Same with our team members. Our mana stats had all increased together.
Since this elixir was unexpected anyway, investing it in Min-seok didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Mister looked at me with a moved expression.
“Han Hye…”
“Aren’t we family?”
“Thank you. Really.”
“I’m tired of hearing that.”
When I said it playfully, Mister let out a hollow laugh.
“If you just accepted it like it was obvious, wouldn’t that feel worse?”
“Hmm. You have a point. Go ahead then.”
“This kid…”
* * *
The Hunter Association contacted us. The compensation for our cooperation regarding the Trial of Mana had been decided.
The reward for all personnel wasn’t particularly large.
-Two priority passes for Guild-level Gate entry.
-Guild ranking bonus points.
Compared to the compensation from our last cooperation request, it felt modest. Back then, they’d given one to each person.
But this was natural because the circumstances were different.
The Night of Despair Gate had been a unique case where Gate Break was imminent and there were almost no talents at that level, which is why the compensation had been substantial.
This time, it had only recently appeared, and while there was a cooperation request, it was essentially voluntary participation.
‘We’d really appreciate it if you would’ versus ‘Would you like to take advantage of this opportunity’—that kind of difference.
The result wasn’t unsatisfactory. After all, I’d gained plenty from the Trial of Mana Gate anyway. And the guild ranking bonus points were quite significant too.
Moreover, that was the reward for all personnel, and there was an additional differential reward that followed.
-One priority pass for Gate entry.
Three Gate entry priority passes from a single cooperation request was more than satisfactory. We’d already benefited tremendously from them anyway.
Including the one remaining, that made four. It meant I could use three more entry priority passes. Somehow, they just kept accumulating.
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait and see? There’s another Gate announcement schedule in a few days.”
“From what I hear, there are several decent Gates coming up this time.”
Following that, I met with the guild members to discuss our next Gate entry, and we decided to observe the situation first.
With the recent trend of more discharge-type Gates appearing, the announcement schedules had shortened, and there was nothing particularly appealing right now anyway.
“By the way, I received a skill level-up voucher from Saebyeokbit this time, didn’t I?”
As I broached the subject of distributing the items I’d obtained from the fourth Subspace, Min-jae’s eyes grew impossibly wide.
They gleamed so brightly it was almost overwhelming.
“Could it be…!”
“Yeah. Some secret techniques came out.”
I handed the magic secret technique to Min-jae first, and the moment he received it, he bounced straight up from where he stood.
“Ahhhhh! Wooooo!”
I wondered just how happy he was to be shouting like that. He spun around the conference room once, then gave me a thumbs up.
“You’re the best, hyung!”
“…Yeah.”
I was a bit taken aback, so I simply nodded along appropriately.
Next was Chul-gi. Since he lived next door, I’d planned to give it to him beforehand, but he said he’d receive it here with everyone.
“This one’s yours.”
“As always, I’m grateful. Hm? Thank you.”
Perhaps because I’d scolded him a few days ago for his use of the word “grateful,” he emphasized his thanks with both sincerity and playfulness.
“I’m receiving such generosity, I should bow deeply.”
“Do you actually want me to bow? Should I do it?”
“Yes.”
…
“What are you doing? You’re not going to.”
“I apologize.”
I chuckled and turned my gaze to Lee Shin-hee.
“For you, Lee Shin-hee…”
“Well, I’m a healer, so…”
“That’s not what I mean.”
At the time, I’d thought I had nothing to give Lee Shin-hee, but thinking about it now, that wasn’t quite right.
She used a shield and mace as secondary weapons. There was definitely something suitable to give her.
“I have both sword technique and blunt weapon technique. Which would you prefer?”
“Pardon?”
“You train with secondary weapons because you’ll need them eventually. It’s good to have skills for them too.”
“Oh, no… Wouldn’t it be better to use it elsewhere? Given its value, couldn’t it be exchanged for something more…?”
Lee Shin-hee was flustered. And she had a point—a B-Rank combat skill secret technique was worth hundreds of billions.
I’d received a B-Rank sword technique secret technique instead of a contract bonus when I became a C-Rank hunter.
“This is better. Everyone’s getting stronger anyway. Don’t feel burdened. It fell from the Subspace, after all.”
Besides, it wasn’t urgent right now. Improving my allies’ combat strength was the priority.
I had no intention of selling the secrets hidden within the Subspace to outsiders.
‘It would be better to sell gold and buy it that way instead.’
Lee Shin-hee, who had been pondering for a moment, finally spoke.
“I think Sword Deflection Technique would work well. What do you think, Han Hye?”
“Are you thinking of applying it by replacing the sword with a mace?”
“No. I originally used the sword better, but since healers struggle to delve deeply into swordsmanship, I picked up the mace instead.”
“Ah, so you’re thinking of switching your secondary weapon entirely to a sword?”
Lee Shin-hee nodded.
“I was wondering if it was too awkward to change now, but I think a B-Rank Sword Deflection Technique would be better than waiting longer. Besides, I haven’t wielded the mace that much anyway.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
It was sound reasoning.
Though she must have received private tutoring given her wealthy family background, I wondered just how much an A-Rank Healer like Lee Shin-hee had actually wielded a mace.
“So here’s what I wanted to ask.”
“Yes?”
“Could you take a look at my sword, Han Hye?”

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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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