The idea itself was simple. The transparent wall blocked the passage itself.
My body couldn't get through, but Wind Cleave did. That meant mana could.
I planned to open an entrance to Subspace across that wall.
Then I would travel through Subspace and come out through the part of the entrance that extended beyond the wall.
'What's over there?'
It was only natural to be curious.
That place was an uncharted territory no one had ever visited. I had never even heard anything about what lay beyond it.
Even when I searched Hunternet for information, all I found was that it was impossible to go beyond the wall.
Along with my curiosity, my heart was pounding with anticipation.
Rare items inside Gates were usually found in hidden spaces or places that couldn't be reached by ordinary means.
Like discovering a secret space in a labyrinth.
Besides, wasn't this the dead end of the 'Labyrinth'? If I could get past that wall, it meant I could head toward the Labyrinth.
There was a high chance of finding rare items.
Time remaining until the next monster appears: 3 minutes 48 seconds.
The monster wave wasn't over yet, but that didn't matter. All I had to do was swing the Windflow Sword whenever they came up the stairs.
I immediately got to my feet and approached the wall.
The key was whether I could get through it by way of Subspace. The entrance might be able to form, but there could be variables.
For instance, that semi-transparent wall might affect the inside of Subspace as well.
Whew. Taking a deep breath, I opened Subspace with earnest hope.
Hummm—.
And just as Wind Cleave had passed through the transparent wall, the entrance to Subspace formed half-overlapping the transparent wall.
"Phew."
At least, the entrance to Subspace had formed exactly as I wanted. I reached out, but the semi-transparent wall was still there.
I immediately entered Subspace. And inside.......
"This is it!"
It wasn't affected by the transparent wall.
I emerged from Subspace beyond the transparent wall. I reached out, and I could feel the wall.
Were only monsters able to pass through it? Either way, I had made it beyond the wall.
First, I checked the time.
Time remaining until the next monster appears: 3 minutes 8 seconds.
At that moment.
[You have left the Dead End of the Labyrinth. Gate subjugation complete! Monsters will no longer appear as time passes.]
[Time remaining until Gate collapse: 1 hour 59 minutes.]
A gate leading outside formed in front of me. Usually, a door formed like this.
There were cases where you were sent out automatically, though.
'It's Fever Time now, so there's no way I'm leaving right away.'
Hunters usually made good use of this time. They explored the inside of the Gate, collected magic stones, and gathered rare medicinal herbs and supplies.
I was no different. Since I had reached a place no one had ever seen, I planned to explore farther inside.
Just as I was about to take a step, another message appeared.
[The skill 'Subspace' has leveled up.]
"Wow......."
Raising a skill level was never easy. This was especially true for high-grade skills.
High-grade skills barely grew even when their levels were low.
Of course, they were given high grades because they were that good, but even when I discussed what else might be inside Subspace with Uncle Choi Cheolgi, I hadn't expected it to happen this quickly.
I had thought it would take at least a few months.
An S-Grade skill level-up as a reward? Was it because I had cleared the Gate in an unusual way?
It was practically the same as receiving a Gate subjugation reward in advance.
"Ugh."
A headache suddenly hit me.
It was because unfamiliar information was flooding into my head. How should I put it? It was information about the space around me.
Could I call it spatial sense?
Once I calmed down a little, I knew for certain. The space roughly twenty meters around me took shape three-dimensionally in my mind.
'This is a little disconcerting.'
In other words, even while looking ahead, I could see everything up to twenty meters behind me...... No, I could feel it.
It felt as though even if I were looking at the back of the head of the person in front of me, I could tell what their face looked like.
'As the lord of space, has my spatial sense improved this much?'
I was a little dizzy now, and I did have a headache, but....... it was certainly a good thing.
Once I got used to it, my combat ability would improve tremendously. More than anything, it meant I could eliminate blind spots in battle.
And that wasn't all. I intuitively knew that I could open 'two' doors leading to Subspace.
I wasn't sure how I could use that. Didn't I need only one door to enter Subspace and come back out?
'Wait.'
As I thought about it, something felt strange. Maybe I was overflowing with energy. I had definitely swung the Windflow Sword several times.
The wave had just ended, and I hadn't rested at all, so my mana should have decreased somewhat, shouldn't it?
Could it be.......?
On the off chance, I checked my status window.
[Lv8 Princess (Void Lord), Han Hye]
Strength : 18(+3)
Agility : 18(+3)
Stamina : 21(+3)
Mentality : 9(+3)
Mana : 21(+3)
Spare Points : 7
Skills : Subspace(S-Grade) lv2, Fire Resistance(A-Grade)lv1, Basic Swordsmanship of the Svinhood Empire (E-Grade)lv3, *Wind Cleave(lv1)
"This is crazy."
Only a few days ago, when I read a post on Hunternet, I had considered using this as an excuse.
But Subspace really was a Plus-Grade Skill?
'And it raises every stat by 3?'
Even for an S-Grade skill, this was an unbelievable level of effect. If its skill level rose by 1, it meant my level had risen by 5.
I knew that the A-Grade skill 'Steel Body' raised only Strength and Stamina by 2.
'If I get the Subspace skill to level 10.......'
It would mean gaining 45 levels for free. Did that make any sense?
Even though it was my own ability, it was enough to make me let out a hollow laugh.
Either way, I had two choices before me.
I could check Subspace, or go forward and explore the Labyrinth.
Naturally, I chose Subspace.
Time didn't pass inside Subspace anyway. I was looking forward to seeing whether what Uncle Choi Cheolgi and I had predicted would be true.
I was curious whether a new space would open and whether it would contain better secret manuals and weapons and equipment.
I immediately opened the entrance to Subspace.
As soon as I entered while taking in a deep breath, a cheer escaped me.
"That's right!"
A new space had opened. The size was the same. There were now two spaces, each 6x6x6m.
The first things I saw were wooden boxes. I also saw pickaxes and shovels.
'Is this where miscellaneous supplies are kept?'
There was also what I had been hoping for. As before, a book and something else lay on a desk.
Cheering inwardly, I first approached the wooden boxes.
It's more fun to check the most valuable thing last.
Sure enough, the wooden boxes contained supplies. They looked similar to the things Hunters used.
'There's rope, and is this a device that produces heat? This one produces a cold?'
The box containing the red crystals was marked with a fire symbol. The box containing the blue crystals was marked with an ice symbol.
[Red Mage Tower Heatstone]
[Blue Mage Tower Icestone]
Sure enough, they weren't from Earth.
They were marked with the words Mage Tower. It was clear that they hadn't been made with modern science and technology, but with pure magic.
Just as I had guessed before, the things inside this Subspace were objects from another world.
Perhaps the Gate Crisis existed in other worlds too... and the Princess there had died, allowing Subspace to pass on to me.
[Intermediate Stamina Potion]
[Advanced Mana Potion]
There were many other miscellaneous things as well. There were potions, of course, and I saw food that appeared to be in good condition.
I meant prepared food, not combat rations or dried food. Food from another world was fascinating.
'...Still, I should check the food more carefully later. I could get sick.'
I didn't know whether preservation magic had been placed on it or whether it was because time didn't pass inside Subspace.
There was a large sack, so I looked inside and found seeds.
[Unknown Seeds]
These are unidentified seeds that have not yet sprouted.
Since the other things were supplies, the seeds felt a little out of place. Since they came with a description, they didn't seem to be ordinary seeds.......
I didn't know. There was no way to check them now.
'Well, either way, I won't have to buy anything for a while when I enter Gates, will I?'
I had suddenly become rich in supplies.
After checking things over roughly, I headed to the desk. The thing I was looking forward to most remained.
'There aren't any weapons or equipment this time?'
There was a book and a crystal ball on the desk.
I had thought it would show the two paths of swordsmanship and magic. Wasn't that the case?
[Body Art 'Fighting Rooster' (C-Grade)]
A body art?
I couldn't help tilting my head. It was definitely a secret manual, but I had never even heard of body arts.
Could it be the kind of body art I was thinking of? The kind I had seen in comic books?
There had been secret manuals for swordsmanship and magic, and now, suddenly, a body art? I was a little flustered.
'Or not?'
A body art was a martial art that used the body. Whether one was a swordsman or a mage, there was no downside to learning it.
No Hunter lost out by being skilled at using their body.
Come to think of it, both the swordsmanship and magic secret manuals had been basic. Maybe I was meant to learn a body art while training with them.
What was more, even if it was a body art, it was a C-Grade secret manual.
'It looks like the level has clearly gone up.'
Before this, I had found an E-Grade magic book and a swordsmanship manual. Just as I expected, something better had appeared.
After E-Grade came C-Grade. Maybe there would really be an A-Grade secret manual next.
'For now, later.'
I didn't learn it right away. The spatial information entering my mind still hadn't become familiar.
I was dizzy enough already. If I put more information into my head now, my headache seems likely to get worse.
'Now it's the crystal ball's turn.'
What kind of object was it? I carefully reached out my hand.
In an instant, mana was drawn in, and light appeared in the crystal ball. Then a voice began to flow out.
[Princess of the next generation....... There is a high chance that, even in the world you live in, you are the hope of that world.]
The voice I heard clearly beside my ear was neither Korean nor English, but its meaning was conveyed to my mind.
Was it something like translation magic? If it was another world, something like that might exist.
[Survive the ‘Erosion of Mana’ by any means necessary. And head to the end of this space.]
[Though I failed, I pray that you will have a chance.]
That was the end of the voice.
Honestly, I was completely flustered.
Me.......
The hope of the world?
'What kind of bullshit is that?'
I'm just an ordinary Awakened who grew up as a Gate Crisis orphan. And what was this Erosion of Mana supposed to be?
Still, there was one thing I understood for certain.
Survive by any means necessary and head to the end of this space.
'I definitely have to do that.'
I had always planned to keep strengthening Subspace and become stronger. I intended to take revenge on Zaratan, who had killed my parents.
Either way, this was the moment my hypothesis was proven.
Just the expression 'the world you live in' showed that the person was from another world.
The world had changed like a game, so there could be any number of other worlds.
Perhaps that person, like me, had seen the items left by a previous Princess and left this message.
"Thanks. I'll definitely survive."
I said it into empty space. It was my way of showing respect to the deceased person who had left these secret manuals and the Windflow Sword for me.
Given the mention of failure and the fact that Subspace had passed on to me, that person seemed to have already died.
After that, I left Subspace.
Now it was time to leave Dead End of the Labyrinth and head to a place no Hunter had ever gone.
'What's hidden there?'