episode_0125

“Is the building itself alive?”

Yebin looking around.

I put my palm against the wall as if feeling my pulse.

“Yeah. It’s warm.”

Hot blood circulates in the blood vessels beneath the wall.

This time I tried pressing the wall with my hand.

The pressure is quite high, so the liquid bursts through the pressure.

If the entire building were alive, that would be natural.

Since blood has to circulate throughout the body, it has to pump with great force.

The puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place.

A giant creature disguised as a building.

People who build nests inside the body of a bastard in search of a place to rely on.

What remains to be discovered is the creature’s intentions.

Why was this hotel built?

Why do they lure people here?

It could simply be ‘just’.

Or, it could be a trap. This one is a bit dangerous. It’s like a carnivorous plant that lures bugs with honey. It disguises its body as a friendly hotel to catch its prey.

Or it could be a symbiotic relationship.

Although unlikely, it is possible that this giant creature has a will and intelligence and is doing us good.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if we keep doing that?”

“Just a minute. Just a little more.”

Kuk.

Apply force to push the wall.

Blood vessels are elastic, so if you gently press them with your palm, they will bounce back immediately and strongly.

But that’s it.

No matter how much I look, there is no response.

“Yebin, can you take out the knife you brought?”

“… … .”

Yebin lowers her head without saying anything, as if she is worried.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll just take a look.”

“Here it is.”

Pale fingers touching my fingertips.

I was quickly handed a survival knife.

The emergency exit stairs are still shaking.

I held the knife with my other hand and took Yebin’s hand and brought it towards the railing of the stairs.

“Hold on tight, it might shake violently.”

“Yes. Dabin.”

Then, raise your arms high,

Phew!

Just insert it straight down.

Over and over again.

“Ugh, gasp… … .”

The walls of blood vessels are much tougher than you might think.

It was only when he was out of breath that he was finally able to inflict damage.

“I don’t see any particular reaction.”

“Yes. I didn’t feel it at all.”

“Thank goodness.”

If there had been some kind of reaction, there might have been a lot more to think about.

This means that the hotel is not just alive, but can respond and cope with stimuli on its own.

Or maybe it was just too weak a stimulus?

Due to the strong pressure, the wound slowly begins to open.

Soon what was flowing inside will leak out.

Push-

Choaaaak!

“Huh. Huh? ”

“Dabin?”

“Ah. Ahh… … .”

“Are you okay?”

I wiped the liquid off my face and looked at Yebin again.

“Yebin.”

“Dabin.”

The stain on my cheeks and sleeves is not red.

“There was no blood flowing. I thought there would be blood flowing. It’s strange.”

“What does that mean?”

There was no blood flowing.

From the wall that was stabbed repeatedly with knives, water streams poured out like water guns.

It is a liquid with a metallic luster, like mercury.

“I was wrong. I thought too simply.”

Hahaha. Ahahaha.

Ahahahahahaha.

Uncontrollable laughter breaks out.

A feeling of pleasure surges through my nerves, as if I have solved a very difficult problem that I have been struggling with for days.

“This hotel wasn’t some giant monster. It wasn’t some friendly trap set by a monster. I misjudged it.”

“One by one.”

“All.”

“Have a look.”

Yebin’s words echo loudly in my fading consciousness.

“Dabin! I’ll start recovering my mind right now!”

“Ahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

Librarians at the Infinite Library are at risk of being unintentionally exposed to extremely dangerous information.

For this reason, libraries provide several ‘devices’ for librarians.

These ‘devices’ are used as a means to protect the librarian’s own safety and improve management efficiency, and their usage methods and specific examples are also included in the librarian’s work manual.

Fragments of thoughts float through my jumbled head.

Mental restoration is the most representative safety device. If a librarian is exposed to a memetic kill agent, dangerous information, etc. and reaches a state where normal work cannot be performed (mental erosion), the library management system ‘reboots’ the librarian’s mind. The targeted librarian immediately loses consciousness and it takes some time for him to wake up again. Mental restoration is a useful means of escaping most states of erosion, but sufficient caution must be taken against the various physical dangers of fainting. In addition, an unexpected side effect is that in the ■■■■■ state, ㅣ ■#!■■%■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The spirit that had sunk into the abyss slowly rises again.

But there is no going back to the past.

“Why won’t the system open? My hands, my hands aren’t moving properly… … .”

“Is this how it should be? I think I know now. I picked up the takantakan with my bare hands and put it on the table. Hwatu. Hwatu. Hwatu. Hwatu. ”

I mumble something that even I cannot understand, and I hear Yebin’s desperate voice.

“Dabin. Come to your senses. Please.”

I can hear what you are saying clearly.

I know exactly what Yebin is thinking and what the situation is right now.

But I don’t even feel like I need to pull myself together.

Without thinking, I just get swept away by the torrent of information.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I were left alone. Is this because I’m in a child’s body? If it were before, I could’ve done it on my own somehow. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for having this body. It became like this because I insisted on getting a body. I’m sorry, Dabin. I’m sorry. So please. Help me. ”

Extremely dangerous information that librarians may encounter at any time.

They repeat the replication of themselves, harboring indecipherable secrets, and destroy the reason of those who understand them like a sand castle.

What I saw was one of the oldest secrets.

Something that everyone has, but no one can really figure out.

Begin mental restoration.

The ritual will end shortly. Any unsaved memories may be lost.

3.

2.

1.

end.

Beep be …

I opened my eyes.

The sharp auditory hallucinations ringing in my ears gradually subsided.

“… … .”

The emergency exit is surrounded by dust.

Emergency lights dimly illuminate the stairs, and a noise from somewhere echoes faintly.

It feels like I just woke up from a long sleep.

I sat down with only my upper body raised, and stared blankly ahead for a while.

Maybe it’s because I’m dazed, but I can’t quite remember what happened just a moment ago.

First of all, what I remember.

I arrived at the hotel by elevator.

The hotel rooms were safe and comfortable as long as you had the key card.

But the hallway was tilted… … .

I am here now.

Go down the stairs towards the emergency exit and you’re on the lower floor of the hotel.

Yebin.

Where is Yebin?

“Ah.”

A white finger suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Yebin looks tired.

Although he didn’t say anything, Yebin answered in a faint voice.

“No matter how high I go, I can’t go back.”

“… … Yeah.”

“No, that’s not true. We’re trapped here.”

Gradually, the condition returns to normal.

I’m still tired, but my thoughts are sharper and faster than usual.

“I fainted.”

“Yes. I performed mental restoration on Dabin.”

“What?”

I was momentarily taken aback.

Mental restoration.

It was only recently that I was able to take advantage of this.

Infinite Library. The wandering library is very stingy when it comes to giving authority to its librarians.

Information can be dangerous, but it can also be infinitely valuable.

If you wander through dimensions carrying a lot of information, it becomes difficult for anyone to trust you.

But recently, I was given quite a bit of authority.

The library may be in a very urgent situation.

I feel like it’s a little late, but I can’t say it wasn’t helpful.

What surprised me was that Yebin already knew this.

“You could use it. I didn’t tell you.”

“Yes. I can do that without Dabin telling me.”

Yebin puffs out her chest and laughs lightly.

You seem to be showing off, but I guess this is the first time you’ve seen that expression.

“Good job, really.”

Anyway, if it weren’t for Yebin, I would have been in real trouble.

As I was about to get up from my seat, Yebin grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from getting up.

“Huh?”

“Please give me some more.”

“… … .”

I didn’t ask what.

Instead, he raised his head and met Yebin’s gaze.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

It’s almost like bowing down to receive the favor, but Yebin still looks pleased.

When I see her smiling and laughing, a smile comes to my face.

It’s unclear whether the situation is still dangerous or not.

“But didn’t you say you came up the stairs earlier? Did you drag me up the stairs?”

“Yes. It was hard.”

Only then was I able to take a closer look at Yebin.

He must have worked very hard because he is covered in sweat.

I approached her quietly and pulled the hair out of her face.

“Dabin!?”

“Stay still. I’m going to clean it.”

I took a towel out of my bag and wiped Yebin with it.

It’s cute how he flinches every time he touches the sky.

As soon as I finished wiping, an awkward moment passed.

“Uh… … .”

It’s only a matter of killing time.

I quickly got up from my seat. Towards the light. Towards the emergency stairs.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Yebin regained her energy as if she had never been tired.

Come over and tell me what you have found out so far.

“But it was the same even when I went up. I thought I just had to go up one floor.”

“Really? How many floors did you go up?”

“One floor.”

“Let’s go up further.”

It’s still unclear what’s going on here.

If we go up a little further, we might find something.

Above all, nothing will change if you stay still.

Once we have something, we can analyze it and make plans for the future.

The wall still lives.

Although the blood vessels are not as bulging as before, it is clear that something is pulsating inside.

Until it starts to tremble as if it were breathing.

“Whew… … . It’s hard.”

“Dabin!!!”

A loud voice, rare for Yebin.

As I put my hand on the wall, Yebin becomes lost in thought and grabs my arm.

“Huh?”

“Don’t touch that.”

“… … Okay.”

Let’s not do anything reckless.

I almost died earlier because I got it completely wrong.

This space is much more conceptual than you might think.

I continued to climb the stairs.

But no matter how high I climb, the same emergency exit keeps repeating itself. Nothing changes.

“Emergency exit light.”

“Huh?”

Yebin raises her hand and points down the stairs.

“Do you see the light over there?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s getting blurry.”

“Huh? Really?”

As the saying goes, the once clearly visible green emergency exit sign is now indistinguishable.

I went closer and looked again, but the green man was not visible as if he was a mosaic.

“It doesn’t seem like it’ll keep going up, right?”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“Hoo… … .”

He sighed and slumped down on the floor.

Yebin also carefully sits down on the stairs next to me.

“Let’s think of another way.”

“Don’t hit the wall.”

“Yeah. I won’t do that.”

Yebin seemed quite anxious.

If things go even a little bit similar to what happened earlier, they’ll block my path.

“The same scenery keeps repeating. And the symbols are getting blurry.”

Thump. Thump.

As I quietly think, I hear my heartbeat.

It’s the sound of blood vessels pulsating beneath the concrete wall.

“And the building is alive.”

Even though I lowered my voice, the echoes still resonated.

Maybe it’s because of that.

Something suddenly appeared in front of me,

And it fell off.