Special Subspace (1)
Deep in the mountains of Gamak Mountain, Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
Seon Yul, who had come all the way here to find a place completely free of people, looked around once more to make sure no one was nearby.
“Shall I test it here?”
What Seon Yul wanted to test was the function settings of his subspace.
The subspace he knew only had the function of storing and retrieving items.
In that process, the only things a user could do were put items into the subspace and take them back out.
However, the subspace Seon Yul had obtained as a level reward was described somewhat differently.
That was why he was conducting this test with a hint of anticipation.
[Absolute Space Entrance Created!]
Tsssss…
Seon Yul first opened a circular entrance about 1.5 meters in diameter. Naturally, it consumed a certain amount of intermediate-grade magic stone as the price, but he had plenty stored up, so this level of consumption was no problem at all.
“Let’s try using it like a normal subspace first…”
He inserted his hand into the entrance of Absolute Space and imagined an M4A1 automatic rifle.
Then, very simply, the M4A1 was in his grasp.
Swish.
After taking the M4A1 out of Absolute Space, Seon Yul set it down beside him.
“That’s how a normal subspace works… Now what I need to check is…”
Having completed the first test, he immediately proceeded to the second.
This time, without putting his hand into the subspace, he simply stood outside the entrance and tried to pull out a Glock 19 pistol using only his thoughts.
To his surprise, the Glock 19 shot out from the entrance of Absolute Space and fell to the ground.
“Wow… that works.”
As far as Seon Yul knew, existing subspace users had to personally put in and take out every stored item.
At least to his knowledge, there were no subspace users who could retrieve items purely by thought like this.
But the test wasn’t over yet.
“There’s one truly important test left.”
If this final test worked as well, it would be the real jackpot.
“Whew.”
He steadied his breathing and concentrated more precisely.
In his mind, he pictured an M134 minigun.
But this time, instead of imagining taking it out, he imagined slightly extending just the barrel of the M134 minigun beyond the Absolute Space entrance.
It required more focus than simply imagining retrieving an object, but it wasn’t particularly difficult either.
After concentrating briefly, he finished the image.
Then something astonishing happened.
Sliiide.
From the entrance of Absolute Space, the barrel of the M134 minigun protruded exactly as much as he had imagined.
“Huh… that’s possible?”
Seon Yul muttered in genuine surprise.
But the test still wasn’t finished.
There was one final and most critical step remaining.
“If this works…”
Once again, he focused and imagined one more thing.
What he imagined this time was pulling the trigger of the minigun.
Whirrrrrrrrrrr!
The minigun actually began to spin.
He had removed the ammunition belt just in case; if it had been attached, bullets would have poured out.
“Good!”
Clenching his fist, Seon Yul nodded.
If even this worked, then practically everything was possible.
As expected, his subspace was fundamentally different from existing subspace abilities.
It was not merely for storage and transport. Rather, it was a more advanced ability that allowed him to move the objects inside his subspace, or rather, Absolute Space, according to his will.
Finally, Seon Yul tossed the Glock 19 and M4A1 he had taken out back into the opening.
They were naturally absorbed back into the space.
After storing the two firearms, Seon Yul himself stepped inside Absolute Space.
As expected, the guns were positioned exactly where he had imagined placing them.
Both retrieving and storing worked precisely as he thought.
“Ordinary subspace doesn’t allow entry for organizing, but Absolute Space does. Is that why its operating mechanism is this different?”
In truth, ordinary subspace was like a four-dimensional warehouse equipped with an automatic sorting function, so there was no need for detailed imagination when putting items in or taking them out.
Just ‘store’ and ‘retrieve.’
Those two thoughts were enough.
But Seon Yul’s Absolute Space (subspace) lacked automatic sorting, so every action of putting in or taking out required additional detailed imagination.
“But that’s actually better for me.”
It might become a little cumbersome, but that inconvenience could be endured. In fact, the inconvenience was preferable.
“But I need to practice control.”
To properly utilize this ability in urgent situations, consistent practice would be necessary.
If he wasn’t accustomed to focusing and imagining details quickly, it would inevitably take time, so he needed to train to make the process as fast and concise as possible.
Since he had already opened the entrance in a deserted place, Seon Yul stepped outside again and repeatedly practiced taking out desired items in specific ways.
***
Lecture Hall, Department of Magical Engineering, Korea University.
Despite his busy schedule, Seong Hyeon made an effort not to miss the lecture he gave once a week.
He believed that the beginning of change was education, and that ordinary people who had not awakened would ultimately need to know as much as possible to adapt to the age of mana civilization.
Thus, he regarded education as his duty and always made time for it, no matter how busy he was.
“Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Mana attracts mana’?”
Today’s lecture topic was ‘Mana Stimulation Theory.
Although opinions in academia were still divided, the theory had been partially proven.
“Each year, the number of gates that appear increases. Of course, our response capabilities are also improving, so the perceived damage rate from gates continues to decline.”
Seong Hyeon displayed statistics of annual gate generation and continued.
“However, what’s important is that as time passes, the frequency of gate appearances increases, and the average grade of newly formed gates steadily rises.”
He displayed additional data.
“Because of this point, Mana Stimulation Theory has been gaining considerable attention recently. ‘Mana stimulates mana, attracting even greater mana’… You all know that this is the core premise of the theory, right?”
The students nodded and responded yes.
“If this theory is correct, then as more highly skilled and higher-grade mana users appear, the world will produce even more gates. So what should we do? Should we immediately try to prevent contact between humans and gates and stop people from awakening?”
Mana Stimulation Theory was groundbreaking, but the most ardent proponents of it were the extremist armed group called ‘Old Blood.’
“That’s impossible. And even if this theory were one hundred percent accurate, we must not do that.”
What Seong Hyeon wanted to emphasize was not whether the theory was right or wrong.
“To block gates right now, we need awakened abilities. Giving up awakening will not make the gates disappear. Even if mana attracts mana, and high-grade users lead to higher-grade gates, at this moment, the only thing we can rely on is the power of mana users.”
Humanity’s conventional defensive capabilities had already been largely neutralized by the terrifying force of mana, so there was no alternative.
“The reason you are studying magical engineering is precisely this. If mana users, supported by magical engineering, can stop greater gate invasions with fewer awakened abilities…”
He began explaining the significance of magical engineering.
“Or if ordinary humans, empowered by magical engineering, can start repelling gate invasions! Then, even from the perspective of Mana Stimulation Theory, it would be an excellent countermeasure.”
After finishing, Seong Hyeon glanced at his watch.
“That will be all for today.”
What he had discussed was also one of the primary concerns of the World Management Bureau.
As users grew stronger, the ratio of gates, especially high-grade gates, increased proportionally.
Gates even appeared more frequently in urban areas where users gathered, particularly where high-grade users congregated.
At one point, the World Management Bureau had seriously considered preventing users from residing in major cities.
Though strong opposition from users and concerns over the expansion of the NEU faction caused the policy to be discarded, the Bureau had clearly taken the issue seriously.
However, regardless of the Bureau’s concerns, another wave of transformation was already beginning in the world.
Seven years ago, when the world’s first ‘Raid Event’ gate appeared in the middle of New York City in the United States…something previously unheard of .
Once again, something humanity had never experienced before was slowly approaching.
***
Thanks to his newly acquired subspace ability, Seon Yul felt even more confident as he returned home and considered his next hunting ground.
The northern dungeon region was no longer attractive to him.
Originally, the former North Korean region consisted mainly of low-to-mid-level dungeons frequented by users below hunter grade or by professional magic stone miners.
It no longer suited him, now that he needed to advance into higher-level areas.
Although his level alone would still allow him to hunt there, Seon Yul had consistently hunted monsters several tiers above his own level, so relocating was appropriate.
After some thought, he decided to organize the spoils he had accumulated and refurbish his equipment before moving to a new hunting ground.
Since he had gained the new ‘subspace ‘ ability to utilize, the maintenance of various weapons was essential.
He also needed to restock food and water, and most importantly, look into upgrading various equipment items.
“I can’t rely solely on the safety helmet anymore.”
While he was satisfied with its performance, as seen during the attack by People’s No. 95, relying on it alone had many shortcomings.
“Sell the disposable loot, gather intermediate magic stones, and look for equipment I can afford.”
Nodding to himself, Seon Yul entered the community platform.
He intended to claim the rewards from the destruction of the Mana Hornet Gate and the Stage 4 announcement, which he had only checked but not yet received.
Opening those emails in the community mailbox…
A list of rewards unfolded before his eyes.
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