Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 98

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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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98. Interview
“Han Hye, would you be willing to take a look at my sword?”
“Your sword?”
“We’ll see each other during guild training anyway. Since you do personal training beforehand, could we do it after that?”
Lee Shin-hee spoke while gauging my reaction.
“If it’s inconvenient, I can find someone else to help.”
“No, it’s not inconvenient at all.”
Sword instruction wasn’t particularly problematic. What troubled me was whether I was qualified to teach anyone at all.
To be honest, I’d only been holding a sword properly for a few months.
Shin Chang, from whom I received instruction, had been wielding a spear since the early days of Gates, and Sang-yeop had been handling a sword for years.
Still, for a beginner at Lee Shin-hee’s level, I thought it wouldn’t be an issue.
“I can show you. Though I don’t know much myself. Once you’ve learned the basics adequately, you should probably receive instruction from someone else.”
I spoke seriously, but Lee Shin-hee let out a hollow laugh.
“How can you say that when you’ve cut down a high-rank Ogre in a single stroke?”
“Ah, that was just… skills and equipment carrying me through…”
Lee Shin-hee looked at me with an expression of disbelief. Hmm, that wasn’t my intention, but it seems I’ve come across as evasive again.
“But by then, won’t Han Hye have improved even more? You’re learning from Shin Chang too.”
“Mm, that’s true.”
Now that I thought about it, Lee Shin-hee was right.
By the time the healer Lee Shin-hee’s sword skill leveled up once, I would have progressed further.
“You’re okay with it, right?”
“Of course.”
.
.
.
So the next day, after setting up our appointment, I was slightly surprised.
Lee Shin-hee was swinging her sword, drenched in sweat, having apparently trained long before I arrived.
“When did you get here?”
“About two hours ago?”
“Isn’t that too early?”
“You have to be serious about it. I received a B-rank sword technique secret from Han Hye, after all.”
To be honest, it was unexpected. I thought she’d just do some light adaptation training after receiving the secret technique.
Lee Shin-hee shrugged, apparently reading my expression.
“Regardless, one of us rides a dragon and flies around, another teleports through space—I need to learn properly. To reduce the burden on the rear, even a little.”
That was right. It was our party’s problem—or rather, not quite a problem.
Both Chul-gi and I were strong enough to take either the front line or rear guard.
But conversely, because we were both strong, it would be far better for us to sweep through enemies from the front.
However, since the rear would be exposed to danger, we couldn’t easily do that.
‘When recruiting new team members, I was thinking more about someone to solidify the rear rather than bolster our offense.’
It was something I’d been considering for a while. The circumstances just hadn’t aligned.
Dragon Guild.
To be honest, as our guild gained prominence, we received an overwhelming number of inquiries from hunters.
-Han Hye, I’m a level 28 mage and….
-I’m a rare-class Lancer just like Shin Chang!
Contacts came through the guild reception or mutual acquaintances, regardless of domestic or international origin.
We attracted interest not only from Korean hunters but from abroad as well.
Honestly speaking, most of them were mediocre at best. Some seemed decent individually, but….
Finding someone truly suited to a reliable tank role proved elusive.
‘Tanks rarely switch teams anyway.’
Just as in games where people typically prefer dealers over tanks, hunters shared the same preference.
Warriors usually took the vanguard role, their strength and skills translating directly into combat ability.
Even among warriors, tanks shouldered the more dangerous responsibilities. The mortality rate was higher, you could say.
Of course, some focused purely on defense.
‘Rare-class shield soldiers or shield warriors, for instance.’
However, such rare classes were extraordinarily scarce. Popular rare classes like Spirit Summoners, for example?
Typically, the moment a rare class is revealed, they get recruited by top-tier guilds just like I once was, undergoing careful development from low levels.
Finding someone at our guild’s current level was exponentially more difficult.
Those who received guild support from low levels rarely switched teams.
‘Well, I’ll figure it out eventually.’
It would be nice if a shield warrior became available somewhere, but I had no immediate solution.
I couldn’t dwell on it further. Lee Shin-hee, exhausted from solo training, had taken a brief rest and stood up.
“Let’s begin.”
Thus commenced my first-ever sword training lesson. Since I’d given it some thought yesterday, it wasn’t difficult.
First, Shin Chang’s approach was ruled out.
-….
I couldn’t teach using the method of someone whose silence spoke louder than words. I simply referenced the workshop instead.
Back then, though I’d stepped aside, Sang-yeop had taught the students exceptionally well.
“Oh? That’s not bad.”
“Really?”
Her claim that swords suited her better than maces proved truthful—Lee Shin-hee performed better than I’d anticipated.
Now that I think about it, she’d handled herself decently against the sand soldiers too.
From her current performance, she seemed to wield the sword even better than the warrior trainees I’d seen at the workshop.
Hmm, no, that’s too much of an underestimation.
Given Lee Shin-hee’s level, comparing her to trainees felt somewhat unfair.
From what I’d heard, she’d received private tutoring from high-level hunters when she started her hunter career.
“Move your wrist a bit more smoothly.”
“Like this?”
“No, a bit more—apply strength, but with a fluid sensation.”
“I’m not quite getting the feel. Could you guide my hand once?”
In any case, another task had been added to my already hectic daily routine.
Well, until we secure a shield warrior, we have to account for the combat capabilities of our rear-line members too, so it’s unavoidable.
* * *
“Hmm. It’s quite decent, but….”
For once, all the guild members had gathered at the Guild House. It wasn’t because of a Gate entry.
It was because of requests from the Hunter Association.
“It’s still ambiguous, isn’t it?”
“But this is hard for us to say… we’ve been going around with Han Hye, after all.”
The first task was testing lightweight equipment. A project the United States had poured massive funds into.
Various pieces of equipment used by hunters—lightened and miniaturized through magic—lay before us.
We’d sent samples to our allied nations, and one had made its way to our Dragon Guild.
Some had been reduced to about half their original size, others to roughly two-thirds. The weight varied by item as well.
“Even if the feel isn’t quite the same, it’s not bad, right?”
“That’s true. Thinking about carrying it in a bag, it’s amazing. The problem is the cost-effectiveness….”
“Right.”
From what I heard, it wasn’t automated—mages individually applied the lightening and miniaturization spells to items through mana stones.
The magic didn’t last permanently either; the duration was extremely short.
“They say using high-grade mana stones extends that period… but putting high-grade stones into this feels a bit wasteful.”
“No, if they provide it only for the advance team, it’s worth the investment.”
Seo-ung had come along and was carefully observing our conversation.
I knew Korea was researching that field too, so it wasn’t strange that he was watching our reactions.
‘They’ll need to proceed based on actual hunters’ feedback. Whether it’s direction or increased investment.’
Naturally, setting aside the financial aspect, the results were quite promising.
After all, it meant reducing volume and moving more lightly.
“It works well for me too. It means I can utilize my Subspace more effectively.”
I could actually use it better than others. Haven’t I been feeling my Subspace slightly cramped recently?
Of course, space had expanded when the Fourth Subspace opened, but if item sizes shrink, it’ll naturally be more convenient.
“Ugh, it’s been so long since I’ve worn a backpack—it feels strange.”
Min-jae actually made a simple pack to test it, and he shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably.
“Stop complaining. You carry some stuff around normally anyway.”
Mister joked, and he wasn’t wrong.
Well, since I could suddenly die, the guild members carried at least minimal equipment. Though it’s incomparable to other hunters.
“Come on, that’s different. You try it too, sir. Go on.”
“Ahem. It is uncomfortable.”
“Did the United States spend 300 trillion on this?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“And Subspace is a hundreds-of-trillions-worth ability. Putting luggage aside… there’s no comparison.”
Min-jae hesitated for a moment, probably thinking of the items that appear inside my Subspace.
Thinking about it, there really is no comparison. Recently, massive amounts of gold and jewels have appeared too, haven’t they?
“That’s true. Why? Even the people who went to the Trial of Mana Gate back then were raving about how convenient Subspace is.”
That came up during a company dinner. Sang-yeop even jabbed at his own guild members, saying, “See? The comfort level is incomparable, right?”
“Thank you all for your valuable input. Feel free to use the supplies we’ve brought.”
It seemed Seo-ung wanted to hear the actual hunters’ opinions anyway, so there were no further objections.
“Shall we head over then?”
The second task requested by the Hunter Association was an interview in which our entire guild would participate.
Our guild didn’t particularly favor external activities, but we’d become quite the topic of public interest.
Setting aside the uncontrolled Gate incident, the most recent Trial of Mana Gate had been massive.
It was a Gate that occurred simultaneously across the entire world, and we were the first to clear it.
‘Practically through Mister’s and my efforts alone.’
That’s why the Hunter Association arranged for us to do an interview. It wasn’t a bad thing, so we didn’t refuse.
It was good for the guild’s image. Now that we’d surpassed level 30, we needed to capitalize on what we could.
“Hello!”
The interviewer was a Famous Announcer—someone whose name I recognized even though I didn’t watch much television.
She was beautiful, and Min-jae had such a dazed expression that I lightly smacked his thigh.
“Min-jae. You’ll see your girlfriend during the interview too, so snap out of it.”
“We broke up.”
“Huh? Didn’t you two just start dating?”
“She asked me to let her ride the Red Dragon. Said if I wouldn’t, it meant I didn’t love her. So I told her we should break up if she was going to say things like that.”
“Uh…”
He broke up with her over that?
The sudden bombshell left me slightly flustered. I quickly collected myself and continued.
“You could just ask for something like that. If you asked, I could arrange it.”
“No way, I couldn’t trouble you all like that. Besides, I was the one who liked her, but it didn’t seem like she liked me back.”
Ah, I see.
Well, if that was the issue, it was a clean break.
There’s a reason hunters are warned to be careful with the opposite sex, regardless of gender.
Some people approach because of the fame. Though some hunters might enjoy that.
“Next time you meet someone good and they ask for something like that, let me know. I can make it happen.”
“Thank you. I’ll bring them when I’m ready to marry them.”
Min-jae said this while grinning at the announcer.
“That will probably be her.”
I’ve never seen such a hopeless romantic.
Just moments ago, he seemed composed even around women, but now I was quite taken aback.
“Ahem.”
Mister, listening from behind, cleared his throat and whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“I should buy Min-jae a drink.”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“The announcer’s been looking at you, though.”
Anyway, that’s how the interview began.

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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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