Chapter 169: Level 3.5 (4)

"It's you, Yang Do-hee noona, isn't it?"

I asked the darkness beyond the iron bars. I had a certain conviction.

There's a saying that blood doesn't lie. This was especially true for Yang Juhee's family.

From the grandmother to the mother and down to Yang Juhee.

These women were all strong-willed and hot-blooded, worthy of being called female warriors. This "hot-blooded" wasn't just a metaphor, but their actual physical constitution.

Their blood boiled hot, raising their body temperature.

Because of this high temperature, they had to release the heat and energy circulating in their bodies, which made their personalities rough and violent.

Warm—

And the woman's palm I was holding now was very hot.

A body temperature of almost 37°C. Such warm hands are not common.

"It's you, Yang Do-hee noona, right?"

I asked again towards the voice beyond the iron bars.

I thought Yang Do-hee, the sister Yang Juhee had been searching for so desperately, was beyond this iron door.

Slip— 

The hand slipped out of my palm.

"I don't know who I am."

This is really frustrating, not knowing who you are.

"Juhee's been struggling to find you, noona!"

"...."

"Noona!"

"Quickly find your friend and go back. Level 3.5 is not 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 Do-hee, Yang Juhee's sister? Unlike Juhee, she was speaking in vague terms.

Swish—

The shadow beyond the iron bars soon disappeared up the stairs into the deep darkness.

Whatever the case, it was good that we found the entrance to the 4th floor and discovered someone living beyond it. We also received a compass.

With this, we should be able to find Yang Juhee.

"Dahee, we have hope now."

"Yeah. Let's get out of here quickly. It's too creepy. We don't know when the Yin-Yang Master might return."

It was a good idea.

As we backtracked through the cave to the shrine, the maddening bell sound had disappeared.

Only then did I realize that this shrine was divided into east and west. The Yin-Yang Master's cave was on the west side, and the area with many bells was on the east side.

"These two demon bastards have divided this shrine. They each have their own territory. That's why the Gandara demon woman didn't chase us when we fled to the Yin-Yang Master's shrine."

Is there mutual respect even among demons? As I was pondering this, Dahee said.

"It's like feng shui. Azure Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right."

Dahee really liked feng shui.

Now that she mentioned it, it did feel like the shrine was built with feng shui principles in mind for these two beings.

Of course, instead of auspicious animals like the Azure Dragon or White Tiger, it was demons guarding the four directions of this shrine.

"The entrance is to the south, the shop to the north. The Yin-Yang Master's cave to the west. The east... we haven't been there yet, but it's the bell zone where the Gandara Priestess is."

I felt like I was getting a clear picture of the four directions of this Buldan Temple. If so, where could this Level 3.5 be, where Yang Juhee might have gone?

"Where is it?"

I placed the compass I received from (presumably) Yang Do-hee noona on my palm.

This compass. It was supposed to point to what my heart desires. It was called the Compass of Desire.

I thought of Yang Juhee in my mind.

Spin spin spin spin—

The compass spun wildly. Its needle showed no signs of stopping.

"What's wrong with it? Is it broken?"

"Didn't that woman say it points to what you earnestly desire in your heart? Maybe it's because you're not earnestly wishing for Juhee in your heart, Young-won?"

What?

Now that she mentioned it, it made sense. 

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

Long legs, boisterous personality. My first girlfriend even though we broke up after just one night!

What if Yang Juhee hadn't forgotten everything then? Would we still be dating?

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

I thought I probably did like her because she was pretty. Yang Juhee is a pretty girl.

"Ah, the needle stopped!"

Just then, Dahee slapped my shoulder with her palm.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the compass needle had stopped. The needle was pointing at Dahee.

Is it pointing in Dahee's direction? 

I moved around to check, but the needle kept pointing at Dahee.

"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 Dahee! Well, Dahee and Juhee overlap in the 'pretty girl' category.

In this case, I need to be more specific.

Yang Juhee's unique traits.

She has long legs. Big chest? No, that's a trait she shares with Kwon Sua.

She has a hot temper. 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.

Juhee's good points were significant enough to offset all her flaws.

She's incredibly brave. And while she looks tough, she's a sensitive girl inside. She might be trapped somewhere alone, trembling in fear right now.

Pop—

I felt the spinning needle stop.

"Dahee, let's go."

***

Running hard towards where the needle pointed, I arrived at a place in the center of Buldan Temple that could be called a 'pond.'

It was literally a pond.

"The compass is pointing to this pond."

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

Is this pond Yang Juhee?

No, that's not it. I'm not stupid, so I knew exactly what this meant.

"Yang Juhee went into this pond."

A pond illuminated by torches.

Looking at its transparent surface with my 《Owl Eyes》, I felt an immense 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 vast underwater cave.

I couldn't tell 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...?"

As I felt at a loss, I saw Dahee taking off her shoes and socks.

While I was flustered by Dahee 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, Young-won. Just hold your breath well."

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

She wasn't quite at the level of Yang Juhee the mermaid, but if I was a beer bottle, then Dahee was a tuna.

Ring-a-ling!

Just then, the bell sound 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!

Dahee also jumped into the pond.

Swish—

Dahee grabbed my neck and started swimming with one hand.

Surprisingly, it was very bright underwater, so there was no problem finding our way. The stones embedded throughout the underwater cave were emitting light somehow, though I didn't understand the principle.

'It's beautiful.'

Even in this situation, I had such a pathetic appreciation.

The problem was, as I had expected, the cave and passages connected to the pond were very winding, and I couldn't predict how far they extended.

After swimming for about 2 minutes like that. Dahee's hand cutting through the water gradually slowed down.

[I can't breathe]

Dahee sent a telepathic message into my mind.

It seemed she was quickly running out of oxygen, having to swim for my deadweight share too.

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

What should we do? If we stay like this, Dahee will drown.

And if Dahee drowns, I'm sure I'll die too.

Bubble bubble—

Bubbles started coming out of Dahee's mouth and nose. It was truly a critical situation.

I thought there was no other choice and hugged Dahee.

'Dahee, I'm sorry!'

[Young-won, 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 Dahee's unintentionally, and it was incredibly embarrassing, but I thought it was better than dying.

[...You startled me.]

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

I was essentially Dahee's living oxygen tank. To think that 《Breath Holding》, which I thought was useless lately, would be used like this.

[I think we can go further.]

Swish—

Dahee started cutting through the water again, moving forward. Meanwhile, I decided to open my status window and enhance 《Breath Holding》.

『Do you want to use 10 points to enhance the common-grade trait 《Breath Holding》?』

『Enhancement success probability 5%』

『If successful, trait will change to 《Diving Expert》』

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

I had 760P points. Despite the low probability, I should succeed eventually if I keep trying.

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 120P.

『《Diving Expert》. Lung capacity has broken through its limit. Gain diving skills superior to a dolphin's.』

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

I had read on the internet before that dolphins can dive for about 10 minutes. If my lung capacity exceeded that, I had truly surpassed human limits.

[Young-won, I'm out of breath.]

Just then, Dahee called me again.

I once again blew the oxygen I was holding into Dahee's mouth. Accurately aligning our mouths to blow air underwater required more precision than I thought.

Above all, it was incredibly embarrassing.

Because every time I blew air, Dahee would open her eyes wide and look straight into mine, and it was frustrating that I couldn't ask her to close her eyes.

Anyway—

After exploring the cave for a few minutes like that, clinging to Dahee like a remora, I began to wonder if Yang Juhee had really made her way through this water.

If it was true, then Yang Juhee was definitely a mermaid.

[I can see the surface!]

We saw what looked like a passage leading up to the ground. I could feel strength entering Dahee's body as she paddled.

It felt like a final sprint.

Splash splash splash—

I also moved my hands and legs vigorously to help Dahee, striving to break out of the water.

Gasp!

Finally, Dahee and I emerged onto the ground. Before us stretched a cold stone cave shrouded in darkness.

"After escaping the underwater cave, now it's a land cave."

"There's a torch here. And flint too."

Click, click click—

Dahee striking the flint to light the torch looked incredibly cool. Dahee could probably survive alone even if she fell into a barbaric primitive era. She's a total survival expert.

"Dahee, how did you light the fire? Where did you learn that?"

"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 as I looked around the now-illuminated surroundings.

"Eek!"

Everywhere was full of strange shadows. Shadows of people everywhere. On the walls, ceiling, floor, it was truly teeming with them.

As they seemed to notice us and started approaching, I got scared. Shadows coming towards us? They must be trying to take over our bodies!

"Dahee, let's run away! I don't know what they are, but there are so many shadows!"

"No, I don't think they'll harm us. They're just shadows, after all."

Just shadows?

I looked closely at the shadows. Now that I looked, they really were just shadows.

Especially, there was one shadow that seemed to approach us with interest, and I couldn't help but be greatly surprised when I realized its identity.

"This shadow..."