"I would've thought that maybe several days would pass by first until we'd meet again." My words were laced with joy. Mr. Jin Woo Sung is quite a character.
"Same here." He said as he approached the metallic entrance and ordered a shadow soldier, the one with the big shield, to forcefully open it.
"Stop!" Forcing it to open was a bad idea. However, I doubt he'd listen to some mere intuition of mine; I have to convince him.
Mr. Jin Woo Sung was now staring daggers at me.
"Look at this door's outlines. It's shimmering with green light. I can't explain it, but I don't think it's a good idea to touch that metallic door."
"What makes you say that?"
"I have a gut feeling..."
Mr. Jin Woo Sung glared at me. "I have a blessing that warns me if there's something dangerous in my vicinity," I said, hoping to convince him.
And it seemed to have worked. He listened and ordered a lowly shadow soldier, an orc, to touch the metallic entrance. *Vwhoop!*
The shadow orc soldier disappeared upon touching the door, slightly shimmering with green energy. Mr. Jin Woo Sung's expression has changed, one of seriousness.
"I can't recall my shadow. I can't even reach it." He said with visible shock. Good thing he listened to me. I'd hate to see him disappear.
He stepped back and lifted his hand; there was some intense pressure pooling in his palms. The metallic door creaked and crumpled before it was hurled away. There was nothing beyond those metallic doors.
It was a void, a light green void. Those green lights pulsed with strange vibrations. We stood there for a few moments before coming back to our senses. We thought the exit was near; we thought our questions and problems would be addressed.
Instead, we got more questions.
We are back at square one again. I could notice the uneasiness and irritation of Mr. Jin Woo Sung. It seemed like he was in a hurry to leave, well, who wouldn't be if it's from this wretched place?
"There's always another exit," I said, trying to ease his tension. However, it fell on deaf ears; he instead walked away with a miffed expression. Good thing he didn't give up.
Still, it was strange. I turned to the light green void. Why was it there in the first place? It didn't seem like those Async people put that there. No, rather, it seemed to have suddenly appeared in there. I pierced my eyes through the void, but still nothing.
I could tell that it shouldn't be there in the first place, and that was it.
It seemed like I'd exhausted what this place had to offer. Although this place is infinite, I wouldn't want to spend more time here. I might go unhinged.
That room though, the one full of water. It was the only place where there might be more clues. I wanted to tell this to Mr. Jin Woo Sung, but he seemed to have already disappeared.
He's quite hasty.
I'd hate to leave him alone, but he seemed more capable than I.
What am I thinking? He's a capable man, unlike me. With great speed, I headed towards that ripple, that tear in the air.
....
....
....
This is it. A place full of water. I am not particularly thirsty despite spending almost two weeks here. A nice change of place and scenery might give me some comfort.
I extended a hand and touched the ripple, where I was then instantly transported to a place unlike before. That never-ending yellow dungeon was nauseating, but here it seemed like I could keep my mettle.
The floors, walls, and ceilings were smooth tiled surfaces. The surfaces were neutral, a shade of lifeless grey and white. My intuition didn't fail me; there was water all around me.
This place was spacious. I can move without restriction to my heart's content. If there were people here, the chance of accidentally bumping into them while sprinting was low.
A place with endless pools of water.
I faced the tiled wall and then punched a hole right through it. Nothing, it seemed, led to another pool room. This time, way more spacious.
I approached one of the pools. The bottom of the pool was visible. I knelt and danced my hand through the waters. It was strange.
The water was strangely water.
It didn't have anything harmful in it. A human can ingest it with no problem. I can ingest it with no problem, but it seemed strange. I can't quite place it.
I cupped my hands with water and drank from them. Stale. Strange. Dead.
Whatever, I am done with the water.
I made my way into another area, which was a dead end, save for the small tunnel opening onto the pool. I entered the pool and went through the tunnel opening.
It led to another area with an even wider space and a deeper pool. A strange orange device was placed on the wall. It was soft and rubbery, and it had ropes on its sides.
It was like those floaters that you bring to the beach or a lake. However, this one has a different purpose, or maybe it was the same?
I left it alone and then pierced my eyes through the deeper pool. There was something at the bottom. Good thing I am decent at swimming. I dived into the pool, reaching the bottom within several seconds.
A chair...
At the bottom of the pool was a chair. It was standing upright, and I couldn't move it without a lot of force or breaking it. I rolled my eyes and then surfaced.
"What a waste of time..."
There it was again, a tingle. Someone, no, some things were following me. I couldn't help but sigh. That Mr. Jin Woo Sung is a really cautious fella.
I noticed from the start that there were shadows following me, sometimes hiding in my own shadow. I ignored it out of politeness.
However, I can't believe that they've actually followed me here.
[ Divine Protection of No Shadow Hide. ] = Beings that hide in your shadows will have their constitution chipped away. You can forcefully eject these beings from your shadow, too.
"Thank you, Od Laguna," I said with grace. I don't like stalkers, but I will give them a few chances to leave me alone.