The Spatial Ability User Who Puts Safety Above All – Chapter 3

Author: Cireng

Absolute Space (2)

No one entered the damaged area after the response team left.

Entering a zone sealed off by the Gate Management Bureau was a criminal offense that could result in arrest, so there was no sign of life anywhere near it.

And yet…

On the shattered floor of the ruined convenience store at the very center of the restricted zone… something began to form.

Sssssss.

A circular entrance.

It appeared in the same spot where Seon Yul had vanished.

And from that newly formed entrance, something slowly rose.

A smartphone.

More precisely, the upper half of a smartphone, with the camera peeking out from beyond the opening.

Half exposed, the phone slowly rotated 360 degrees.

Then it slipped back inside.

Naturally, the one controlling it was Seon Yul.

He had done this to record a video.

Fortunately, because his phone had only been briefly exposed to the mana field, it was still functional. And inside Absolute Space, it seemed completely unaffected by mana. That allowed him to open the entrance slightly and film the outside.

After roughly assessing the situation outside through the video recorded on his smartphone, Seon Yul very carefully poked his head out through the entrance.

Even though he had already checked once, he continued to move cautiously.

After confirming once more with his own eyes that it was safe, Seon Yul slowly stepped out of Absolute Space and returned to reality.

The moment he left the cozy, comforting void and returned to the real world, he felt a faint chill of anxiety.

It was only a relative difference, yet it made Seon Yul realize all the more how comforting Absolute Space truly was.

He hurried home as quickly as possible.

It wasn’t as safe as Absolute Space, but once he reached his small studio apartment, he felt at least somewhat reassured. He collapsed onto the bed and let out a long sigh.

“Fuuuuuh…”

Everything that had happened today felt like a dream.

That he had awakened…
That his ability seemed unbelievably powerful…

It all felt unreal.

“It’s great… but…”

Reality didn’t allow him to simply celebrate.

All nations of the world had agreed upon an international law, the International Mana User Management Act.

The law required all Users to register with the relevant government authority, and violations were subject to penalties.

Thankfully, registration could be completed through Community mail. Personal information, awakening ability, and rank could all be registered privately.

Originally, disclosure had been mandatory. But too many Users refused to register at all, so the law was revised.

Even so, unregistered Users continued to exist.

Worse still, if an unregistered User used their awakened ability openly, it constituted a criminal offense and could lead to arrest.

The global authority, ‘UG’ or ‘United Gates’, estimated that unregistered Users made up roughly 10% of the registered population.

“I’ll register. But I’ll make everything private.”

To manage Users efficiently, each country’s governing authority offered substantial real-world benefits based on the information disclosed by registered Users.

This was how they encouraged voluntary disclosure. For example, in Korea, Users who registered and provided their personal information to the government received tax reductions and access to secure safe houses. Depending on their rank, they were even granted generous monthly stipends.

Similar benefits were offered in other countries, so most Users chose to disclose everything except details about their awakened abilities.

However, for Seon Yul, safety mattered more than benefits. He decided to keep all his information private and register only to avoid becoming a criminal.

“I’ll register… but I won’t link to the Market.”

The Market had been created by UG. It was a platform where all manner of mana-related items could be bought and sold.

Naturally, since it was also managed by UG, linking one’s Market account to a Community ID allowed for convenient access.

Even when Users conducted transactions through the Market, the actual exchange of goods was carried out via the Community’s mail system.

Community mail even included an integrated trade function, making it, in some ways, the safest and most efficient trading method in the world.

That said, a handful of specially authorized civilians who used the Market did not have access to the Community, so they were forced to rely on more primitive methods.

“New User registration…”

After visiting the official website of the Korea Gate Management Agency to review the registration process, Seon Yul immediately logged into the Community and sent a ‘New User Registration Application’ to the agency’s official representative email.

Though it was called an application, it took less than a minute to complete. It required only his Community ID, all other fields were marked private.

After all, a Community ID itself served as proof of identity. The system prevented ID theft by requiring initial authentication through Community mail, meaning a single ID was sufficient for verification.

He sent the email and received a reply in less than an hour.

The response welcomed him and listed a variety of benefits available in exchange for providing basic personal information.

Seon Yul ignored every word of it.

He didn’t even use the code provided to link his account to the Market.

The authorities insisted that all linked data was thoroughly encrypted. So secure that even they could not access it, but Seon Yul had no intention of believing them.

In his view, linking the accounts was no different from handing over essential personal Information.

From the very beginning, Seon Yul trusted no one but himself.

Since he had already registered on the Market as a civilian, he decided he could continue using it discreetly.

“Is that everything?”

With his preparations more or less complete, Seon Yul extended his palm toward the empty air, intending to activate his power once more.

[Generate Absolute Space Entrance!]

Ziiiiing—

An oval-shaped entrance appeared before him.

It was larger and more stable than the one he had hastily created in the convenience store.

“Now…let’s get accurate information about my abilities.”

He still didn’t know everything about Absolute Space.

From here on, he intended to determine the precise mechanics of Absolute Space through a series of tests.

“First, let’s try bringing something in from outside.”

The ability description clearly listed a weight limit for external imports. Which meant, logically, that external objects could indeed be stored inside Absolute Space.

With that in mind, Seon Yul grabbed the mattress from his bed.

Before awakening, lifting it would have required real effort. Now, thanks to the enhancement of his physical abilities, he hoisted it effortlessly with one hand.

Carrying the mattress into Absolute Space, he placed it down in the empty void and opened the ability window.

[Permitted Weight] 300kg [13.312kg / 300kg]

The number had increased.

“So that’s roughly how it works.

Nodding in understanding, Seon Yul sat down on the mattress and pulled out his phone.

“Next, the signal test.”

He opened YouTube.

The video began playing instantly.

At the top of the screen, the 5G signal bars were full.

“So when the entrance is open, Absolute Space is treated as connected to the outside.”

To confirm further, he even called his usual fried chicken restaurant. The call went through without issue.

Then he closed the entrance.

Immediately, his phone lost signal, as if it had been switched to airplane mode.

When the entrance is open, signals can pass through. When it’s closed, they are completely blocked.

After confirming this, he moved on to the next test.

“Hyper Regeneration… I need to verify this, too.”

Seon Yul was already familiar with the concept. Hyper Regeneration was the signature ability of Wolverine, a world-famous Noblesse-rank User. As one of the most renowned mana users globally, nearly every detail of his powers had been documented.

“If my limited version functions the same way as Wolverine’s… then inside Absolute Space, I’m practically immortal.”

For testing, Seon Yul brought a kitchen knife into Absolute Space.

But when it came time to actually use it, fear crept in.

“Let’s start small…”

Even so, fear wasn’t a reason to stop. This test was for his future safety.

He carefully dragged the blade across his palm.

A clean cut formed.

“Ugh!”

The pain was sharp and immediate. Hyper Regeneration did not eliminate pain.

The wound disappeared almost instantly.

It healed in less than a second.

“…Whoa.”

As the flesh restored itself, the pain faded just as quickly. After a brief sting, his hand felt completely normal.

“Is this Hyper Regeneration?”

The result was astonishing.

But it wasn’t enough.

“I need to know the limits. This alone doesn’t prove it’s identical to Wolverine’s.”

Seon Yul believed he had to understand the upper bounds of his abilities for the sake of survival. That was simply how he operated, safety above all else.

One of Wolverine’s most extraordinary traits was full limb restoration. Even severed arms regenerated completely, though it took time.

Seon Yul remembered reading about a battle in which Wolverine had lost his entire right arm, only for it to regrow within minutes.

“If an entire arm takes minutes… then maybe the tip of a pinky would take five seconds?”

He couldn’t test by cutting off an arm.

But the very tip of a pinky finger…

That, he could attempt.

At least in theory.

When he positioned the blade, though, tension flooded him.

Just a tiny portion. Small enough that even without regeneration, it could be medically treated and recover.

Still, it was difficult to bring the knife down.

“Even without regeneration, it’s something that could heal with treatment. Just a small cut. I can do this… I can do this…”

He repeated the words to himself, steeling his resolve.