Ch.169169 – Floor 3.5 4

# 169 – Floor 3.5 # 4

“You’re Yang Dohui, right?”

I asked toward the darkness beyond the iron bars.

I had a certain conviction.

They say blood doesn’t lie.

That saying was especially true for the people of Yang Juhui’s family.

From the grandmother to the mother and then to Yang Juhui.

These women could all be called “female warriors” for how independent and hot-blooded they were.

This “hot-blooded” wasn’t just a metaphor but their actual physical constitution.

Their blood boiled hot, raising their body temperature.

Because of this elevated temperature, they developed rough and violent personalities to release the heat and energy circulating within their bodies.

Warm and toasty-.

And the woman’s palm I was holding now was extremely hot.

A body temperature of almost 37 degrees Celsius.

Such warm palms were uncommon.

“You’re Yang Dohui, right?”

I asked again toward the voice beyond the iron bars.

I thought Yang Dohui, the older sister Yang Juhui had been desperately searching for, was beyond these iron bars.

Slip-. The hand pulled away from my palm.

“I don’t know. Who I am.”

This is ridiculous.

Not knowing who you are?

“Juhui is working hard to find you!”

“……”

“Noona!”

“Hurry and find your friend, then leave. Floor 3.5 isn’t a place to stay for long. Time flows like water there. If you stay too long, everything will be washed away. Memories. Will. Self.”

What is she saying?

Isn’t she Yang Dohui, Yang Juhui’s older sister?

Unlike Yang Juhui, she was just spouting a bunch of nonsense.

Swish swish-.

The shadow behind the bars soon disappeared up the stairs toward the deep darkness.

Whatever the case, I’d found the entrance to the 4th floor and discovered someone living beyond it, which was good. I also received a compass.

With this, I could find Yang Juhui.

“Dahui, there’s hope.”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here quickly. It’s too creepy. We don’t know when the onmyoji will return.”

That was a good idea.

When we backtracked through the cave and returned to the temple, the bell sounds that had been ringing madly were gone.

Only then did I realize that this temple was divided into east and west. The onmyoji’s cave was on the west side, and the area with many bells was on the east.

“This temple is divided between two demons. They each have their own territory. That’s why the Gandara demon woman didn’t chase after us when we fled to the onmyoji’s temple.”

Do demons respect each other’s boundaries?

While I was pondering this, Dahui spoke.

“It’s like feng shui. Blue Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right.”

Dahui really liked feng shui.

Now that she mentioned it, it did feel like the temple was deliberately built with feng shui principles to accommodate two beings.

Of course, the four directions of this temple weren’t guarded by auspicious animals like the Blue Dragon or White Tiger, but by demons.

“The entrance is to the south, the shop to the north. The onmyoji’s cave is west. The east… we haven’t been there yet, but that’s where the Gandara shaman with the bells is.”

I was getting a clearer sense of the cardinal directions of this Buldansa Temple.

Then where might Floor 3.5 be, where Yang Juhui might have gone?

“Where is it?”

Swish-.

I placed the compass I received from Yang Dohui (presumably) on my palm.

This compass. She said it points to what my heart desires.

Its name was the Compass of Desire.

I thought of Yang Juhui in my mind.

Spin spin spin spin spin-.

The compass spun vigorously.

The needle showed no signs of stopping.

“What’s wrong? Is it broken?”

“That sister said it points to what you desperately desire in your heart. Maybe it’s because you don’t truly desire Juhui in your heart, Yeongwon?”

What?

Thinking about it, that made sense.

I closed my eyes and earnestly thought of Yang Juhui with all my heart.

Long legs, outgoing personality.

My first girlfriend.

Though we broke up after just one night!

What if Yang Juhui hadn’t forgotten everything back then?

Would we still be dating?

How do I feel about Yang Juhui? Do I like her?

I thought I probably did like her.

Because she was pretty.

Yang Juhui is a pretty girl.

“Ah, the needle stopped!”

Just then, Dahui slapped my shoulder with her palm.

When I opened my eyes, I could see the compass needle had stopped. The needle was pointing at Dahui.

Is it pointing in Dahui’s direction?

Suspicious, I moved around, but the needle kept pointing at Dahui.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

Ah-.

I get it.

Because I was thinking about a “pretty girl,” the compass needle ended up pointing at Dahui! Well, Dahui and Juhui overlap in the “pretty girl” category.

In that case, I need to be more specific.

Yang Juhui’s unique traits.

She has long legs.

Big chest? No, that’s a trait she shares with Kwon Sua.

Hot hands.

She extorts money from me.

She still hasn’t returned the box cutter she took from me.

She has a foul mouth.

“……”

Come to think of it, I was just listing her flaws.

I decided to think about her good points too.

Juhui’s strengths were enough to offset all her weaknesses.

She was incredibly brave. And though she appeared strong, she was a tender-hearted girl inside. She might be trapped somewhere alone, trembling with fear right now.

Pop-.

The spinning needle seemed to stop.

“Dahui, let’s go.”

# # #

Following where the needle pointed, I ran with all my might and arrived at what could be called a “pond” located in the center of Buldansa Temple.

It was literally a pond.

“The compass is pointing at this pond.”

No matter how I moved and changed direction, the compass kept pointing at the pond.

Is this pond Yang Juhui?

No, that’s not it. I wasn’t a fool, so I knew exactly what this meant.

“Yang Juhui went into this pond.”

A pond illuminated by torches.

When I looked at the transparent water surface with the Owl’s Eye, I felt an enormous pressure weighing down on me. This pond was just the tip of the iceberg.

I could naturally sense that this pond was connected to something like a massive underwater cave.

I had no idea how deep or winding it might be.

The problem was that I wasn’t good with water.

I wasn’t a good swimmer.

In fact, I was terrified of water.

“What should we do…?”

While I was feeling perplexed, I saw Dahui taking off her shoes and socks.

As I was startled by Dahui suddenly exposing her skin, she spoke as if she had made up her mind.

“Let’s go in. I’m a good swimmer. I’ll take you with me, Yeongwon. Just hold your breath well.”

Come to think of it, Dahui was a swimming expert.

She wasn’t quite at the mermaid level of Yang Juhui, but if I was a beer bottle, Dahui was a tuna.

Jingle jingle-!

Just then, the bell sounds started ringing again.

Thinking we’d be caught by the Gandara demon woman if we hesitated any longer, I jumped into the water with a “whatever” attitude.

Splash-!

Splash-!

Dahui also jumped into the pond.

Swish-.

Dahui grabbed my nape and started swimming with one hand.

Surprisingly, it was very bright underwater, so finding our way wasn’t a problem. The stones embedded throughout the underwater cave were emitting light through some unknown principle.

‘Beautiful.’

Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but have such a pathetic appreciation.

The problem was, as I had expected, the cave and passages connected to the pond were very winding, and it was impossible to predict how far they extended.

After swimming for about two minutes like that.

Dahui’s hand cutting through the water gradually slowed down.

[I can’t breathe]

Dahui sent a telepathic message into my mind.

It seemed that swimming for both of us, with me as dead weight, had quickly depleted her oxygen.

[I don’t think we can go back to where we were either.]

What should we do?

If we stay like this, Dahui will drown.

And if Dahui drowns, I’ll surely die too.

Bubble bubble-.

Bubbles started coming out of Dahui’s mouth and nose.

It was truly a critical situation.

Having no choice, I embraced Dahui.

‘Dahui, I’m sorry!’

[Yeongwon, what are you trying to-mmph!?]

Whoosh-!

And I blew the air I was holding into her lips.

I had seen it somewhere before. If you blow the breath you’re holding into someone, artificial respiration is possible even underwater.

I had to press my lips against Dahui’s unintentionally, and it was extremely embarrassing, but I thought it was better than dying.

[…You startled me.]

Fortunately, I had the Holding Breath trait and had ample lung capacity.

I was essentially Dahui’s living oxygen tank.

Who would have thought the Holding Breath trait I considered useless would come in handy like this?

[I think we can go further now.]

Swish swish swish-.

Dahui cut through the water again and moved forward.

Meanwhile, I decided to open my status window and enhance Holding Breath.

「Do you want to spend 10 points to enhance the common-grade trait Holding Breath?」

「Enhancement success probability: 5%」

「Upon success, trait will change to Expert Diver」

10 points per enhancement attempt with a 5% success rate.

I had 760 points.

Despite the low probability, if I kept trying, I’d eventually succeed.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap-.

I frantically pressed the enhancement button, and luckily, I was able to enhance the trait with just 120 points.

「Expert Diver: Your lung capacity has broken through its limits. You now have diving skills superior to a dolphin.」

After sharing my breath with Dahui, the breath that had been filling up to my chin suddenly felt much more comfortable. It felt like fresh oxygen had been replenished in my chest.

I remembered reading on the internet that dolphins can dive for about 10 minutes. If my lung capacity exceeded that, I had truly transcended human limits.

[Yeongwon, I’m out of breath.]

Just then, Dahui called me again.

I blew the oxygen I was holding into Dahui’s mouth once more. Precisely aligning our mouths to transfer air underwater required more precision than I expected.

Above all, it was incredibly embarrassing.

This was because every time I blew air, Dahui would open her eyes wide and look directly into mine. It was frustrating that I couldn’t ask her to close her eyes.

Anyway-.

After exploring the cave for several minutes while sticking to Dahui like a remora shark in that manner.

I began to wonder if Yang Juhui had really traversed these waters.

If it was true, Yang Juhui was definitely a mermaid.

[I can see the surface!]

We spotted what looked like a passage leading up to the ground.

I could feel strength entering Dahui’s body as she paddled through the water.

It felt like a final sprint.

Splash splash splash-.

I also moved my hands and legs vigorously to help Dahui and tried hard to escape from the water.

Gasp-!

Finally, Dahui and I emerged onto the ground.

Before us stretched a cold stone cave shrouded in darkness.

“After escaping the underwater cave, now we’re in a land cave.”

“There’s a torch here. And flint too.”

Click, click click-.

Dahui struck the flint to light the torch, and it was incredibly cool. With Dahui’s skills, she could probably survive alone even if dropped into a primitive era. She’s a complete survival expert.

“Dahui, how did you learn to make fire? Where did you learn it?”

“To survive as a high school girl in Korea, you need to be able to do at least this much.”

What exactly is a Korean high school girl?

Whoosh-.

The torch finally lit brightly.

However, I couldn’t help but be terrified by what I saw around us.

“Eeeek!”

Everywhere was full of strange shadows. Shadows of people everywhere. Walls, ceiling, floor—they were literally crawling all over.

They seemed to notice us and started approaching, which scared me. Shadows coming toward us? They must be trying to steal our bodies!

“Dahui, let’s run! I don’t know what they are, but there are too many shadows!”

“No, I don’t think they’ll harm us. They’re just shadows.”

Just shadows?

I looked carefully at the shadows.

Now that I looked closer, they really were just shadows.

Especially one shadow that approached us as if showing interest—I couldn’t help but be greatly surprised when I realized its identity.

“This shadow…”