## Chapter 108 – 108. Contemplation (3)
“O-Oppa…?”
The moment I made eye contact with Yoo So-wol, I immediately activated ‘Thought Acceleration.’
Instantly, everything around me slowed down, except for myself. Even time was no exception.
‘I didn’t expect this…’
Actually, encountering Yoo So-wol here wasn’t a big problem in itself. The important thing was whether she had come down with another investigation team.
I could somehow deceive or persuade Yoo So-wol, but not the others.
I took the risk and deployed magic detection.
However, to avoid provoking the elders on the surface, I needed to change the form of the magic detection. Instead of a sphere spreading out from me, it would only scan the underground.
Of course, it didn’t go as well as I hoped. Magic detection was more like a technique than magic.
Mana was like flowing water, and magic detection meant manipulating the flow of water. Changing the flow was possible, but changing the shape of the water itself was nearly impossible.
However, the substance of the ‘water’ was ultimately my mana.
Moreover, mana was neither solid, liquid, nor gas. Giving mana a form depended on the caster’s ability.
Of course, it wasn’t an area I could easily touch with my current level. Defining the shape of mana was something only possible with the 5th Circle.
‘…But that doesn’t mean I can’t do it.’
It wasn’t magic, and if it was a technique, it was worth trying. Besides, ‘Thought Acceleration’ gave me plenty of time.
‘If it doesn’t work, I’ll repeat it until it does.’
The mana crumpled and expanded again. There was a significant waste of mana in the process. The movements of the illusion created by ‘Hallucination’ would become simpler, but Cheon Yeo-hwa would handle that with improvisation.
After dozens of attempts, I barely succeeded.
I put the entire maze within the range of magic detection.
But it was just me and Yoo So-wol here. There were no other life signs.
‘What is this?’
I released Thought Acceleration.
“So-wol.”
“…Yes.”
Yoo So-wol blushed and avoided my gaze.
“Did you perhaps get lost?”
“…”
This time, she silently nodded without a word. It seemed my guess was right. I gently stroked Yoo So-wol’s exhausted-looking head and handed her some bottled water. She didn’t seem to know how to open the bottle, so I opened the cap for her. Only then did Yoo So-wol gulp down the water and gradually explain how she had come to this place.
“…So, you’re saying you got separated from the investigation team while exploring the pavilion, and when you touched a strangely shaped Buddha statue, the floor suddenly collapsed, and you woke up here?”
“Yes… I think it’s been about an hour.”
Roughly between 30 and 60 minutes, which was similar to my time spent underground.
“But, Oppa, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be waiting at the entrance?”
“…I’m the same as you. I was going to take care of some business when the floor suddenly collapsed.”
“Ah…! You must have had a hard time.”
“Well, yeah.”
Fortunately, Yoo So-wol didn’t suspect others. Or rather, even if she could suspect, she seemed to think it was rude to suspect someone she basically liked.
“Let’s aim to escape from here first? It seems foolish to just wait for the investigation team.”
“Okay!”
A bright smile bloomed on Yoo So-wol’s exhausted face. She must have been tired from wandering the maze.
‘If we go that way, we can go down.’
It was obvious, but I had no intention of finding the exit.
I didn’t need to find it since I already knew the location of the exit, and I had to go back with the martial arts manual and elixir as planned.
It might be a bit difficult to steal the martial arts manual with Yoo So-wol next to me, but I could probably get away with it if I talked well. If not, I’d have to secretly take it.
I smiled and pulled Yoo So-wol into my arms. Even though she must have been through a lot, she only smelled good. My gaze quickly fixed on her ample breasts.
“Ah…”
My hand was gripping her chest, but Yoo So-wol simply stayed in my arms without much resistance. She was even cutely sticking close as if asking me to touch her more. The shy blush that bloomed on her face was especially impressive.
‘…Should I just take her here?’
It wasn’t easy to dispel the carnal thoughts filling my head. I didn’t want to take Yoo So-wol’s first time in this damp and smelly maze, so I pinched my thigh and endured.
***
I found a staircase leading underground.
I didn’t know exactly what the structure of this maze was, but I was certain that I had to go underground to get something.
However, Yoo So-wol questioned me as I tried to go underground.
“Shouldn’t we keep looking around here to find the exit…?”
It was a reasonable opinion. Usually, you wouldn’t try to find the passage to the first floor from the second basement floor.
“Well, I don’t think the person who made this huge labyrinth would kindly put a staircase leading up. Rather, isn’t it more likely that they put the exit at the goal of this labyrinth?”
“Ah… As expected, Oppa, you have more experience in the Jianghu than I do.”
She readily accepted my casual explanation.
Jianghu experience? I’m also a stranger to this world. I don’t know how much of the martial arts novel settings from reality will be accurate. The place names seem to be roughly correct, though.
“Let’s go down for now.”
“Yes.”
We took the stairs and went underground.
As expected, the maze continued underground. Yoo So-wol sighed softly. She must have been wandering the maze and suffering until she met me, so I understood.
The structure of the second basement floor wasn’t much different from the first floor. There weren’t even traps, let alone monsters.
I wasn’t too concerned since I had expected it to some extent.
‘Even if the maze itself was made by someone other than Geumgang Shinseung, it’s true that Geumgang Shinseung’s touch is here.’
If you look closely at the maze, you can easily find traces of traps.
‘That seems to have been a trap where arrows pop out, and the tiles in front of it are a trap where the floor breaks if you step on them.’
If you fall, you’ll probably be pierced by spears stuck in the floor. I never thought my experience with traps in underground dungeons would be used like this.
If my guess is correct, the maze itself was made by someone else, and Geumgang Shinseung, who later discovered this place, modified it to suit his purpose.
I don’t know what that purpose is, but it wasn’t difficult to guess why he removed the traps one by one.
‘There’s no way a person who was the abbot of Shaolin Temple would tolerate traps that endanger people’s lives.’
But one question still remained.
The fact that the best martial artist in the world personally removed the traps meant that there was a high possibility that the Unsurpassed Geumgang Barrier and Prajna Divine Pill were here as I expected…
‘But isn’t the security too lax for that?’
According to the herbalist who discovered the ancient temple, it suddenly appeared overnight.
‘I might understand if a Taoist or monk discovered it, but the fact that a commoner who hasn’t even learned martial arts discovered it means that the effects of the formation naturally weakened over time.’
That also meant that it wouldn’t be strange if the so-called heretical sects discovered this place. If it wasn’t for the herbalist, there was a relatively higher chance that bandits would have discovered it.
Even though the ancient temple and maze were large, the maze was just complicated without any traps. If they invested time, there was no reason why bandits couldn’t reach the lowest level.
‘There’s no way a person who was worried about people entering the maze and removed the traps one by one would leave the risk of his arrangement falling into the hands of heretical sects.’
It felt like one last puzzle piece wasn’t fitting. But all I could do now was make vague inferences.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
“Ah, then I’ll start a fire! My master happened to give me a fire starter.”
Yoo So-wol’s eyes, which seemed strangely excited, shone brightly.
In fact, it would be more efficient to use magic or take out a lighter from my inventory for a campfire, but I wasn’t so clueless as to bring that up in this situation.
While Yoo So-wol struggled to light the fire with the fire starter, I took out a lunch box from my inventory. It wasn’t a cheap convenience store lunch box. It was a premium lunch box worth hundreds of thousands of won.
“Heup?!!”
Yoo So-wol, who took a bite of the bulgogi, literally jumped up from her spot. She jumped almost to the ceiling before coming back down and grabbed the chopsticks with trembling hands.
“O-Oppa… What is the name of this dish…?”
“Bulgogi, is it good?”
“Yes! I’ve never eaten anything so delicious in my life! Hwasan Sect basically prohibits cooked food, so there are very few opportunities to eat grilled meat. At most, once or twice a year? Even then, it’s not seasoned properly, let alone seasoned at all…”
Yoo So-wol, who suddenly had the face of a soldier thinking of military rations, silently inhaled the lunch box.
The smile that bloomed on her face every time she took a bite was cute enough to never get tired of seeing. And the way her lips drooped as if she was sad that the lunch box was getting smaller was also an unmissable sight.
After roughly finishing the meal, we walked through the maze again.
“…Um, Oppa. I have a question, is it okay if I ask?”
“What is it?”
“The lunch box you gave me earlier…? And the clean water, where did you get them from?”
“Curious?”
“Yes.”
Looking at her innocent expression, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of lust. I reached out and wrapped my arm around Yoo So-wol’s waist.
“Do you know that it’s rude to pry into other people’s secrets in the Jianghu?”
“I-I didn’t know… I’m sorry…”
“Are you sorry?”
“Yes…”
Even though she’s the same age as Cheon Yeo-hwa, everything from her trivial actions to her personality is 180 degrees different.
That’s probably why I’m drawn to her more.
It’s definitely not that I’m tired of Cheon Yeo-hwa or anything like that. It just means that I’m attracted to Yoo So-wol’s inner self as well as her outer appearance.
“Here.”
“Huh…?”
I took out a candy from my inventory. It would look like I was creating something out of thin air to Yoo So-wol.
She stared blankly at me and said in a trembling voice.
“…Oppa, are you perhaps a divine immortal?”
“What do you think?”
Since there’s no magic in this world, it was understandable that she would think so. I handed the candy to Yoo So-wol, who was seriously contemplating, and continued to walk through the maze while using detection magic. Thanks to resting and recovering mana in between, it wasn’t a burden.
“It’s sweet…!”
“Is it good?”
“Yes! It’s much sweeter and more delicious than sweets! By the way, isn’t this expensive…?”
It is expensive. It’s a high-end candy made with honey that can only be harvested beyond the gate. It costs about 400,000 won per piece.
‘They say it makes your skin clear and slightly increases your mana if you eat it?’
Of course, it only increases when you take it for the first time, and the increase is so insignificant that it’s practically a snack for the rich.
“I have a lot of money, so don’t hesitate and eat it.”
I took out other snacks from my inventory.
Yoo So-wol, who seemed troubled at first, soon became fascinated by the taste of the expensive snacks and ate them quietly.
For reference, the snacks I gave her all had the effect of slightly increasing stamina, strength, or mana when taken for the first time.
It’s expensive, but it’s not a waste at all to give it to Yoo So-wol, who will become my woman.
“Hmm?”
Something was caught within the detection range.
‘…A door?’
At first, I thought it was a dead end, but it wasn’t.
It was an old and worn-out door.
Excluding traps and stairs, it was the first artificial structure I had seen since entering the maze.
‘I can’t detect what’s beyond the door.’
I knew there was space behind the door, but I couldn’t see inside as if a hazy mist was blocking it.
As if it was storing something important.
I immediately turned around and headed towards the door.
“Oh? A door? Why is there a door in a place like this…?”
With a thrilled heart, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it. I never imagined I would find it this quickly.
Creak…
The door opened with a sound that made it seem like it would break at any moment.
‘…It’s dark.’
I entered the room with Yoo So-wol.
The inside of the room was so dark that you couldn’t see an inch ahead. Even the light from the unidentified lights that illuminated the maze couldn’t illuminate the inside of the room.
I was wondering if I should use magic when.
Thud!
“Kyaak?!”
Suddenly, the door closed, and the inside of the room lit up.
As I was momentarily taken aback by the sudden situation, the scenery inside the room was strange.
It was 180 degrees different from the maze, which had cobwebs here and there and water droplets dripping due to humidity.
The inside of the room was so luxurious that it reminded me of an expensive inn room. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the luxurious furniture and bed, and it even smelled strangely good.
It was as if I had come to a completely different space with the door as the boundary.
“Oppa, over there…”
What Yoo So-wol pointed to was the wall of the room.
There was a phrase written there. It was clearly not written in Korean, but I could read it without any difficulty.
‘Is it the app’s ability?’
I carefully read the writing.
[A room you cannot leave unless you engage in sexual intercourse]
“…??”
Something was going strangely.
