36 – Dual Dimensional Portal (3)
* * *
On the other hand, for Yeoul.
No matter how much enlightenment he gained about space, he couldn’t maintain a proper line of sight in such a turbulent space.
As a result, he, like Jiwoo, realized that he was left alone only after his vision was restored.
The strange atmosphere flowing at the same time.
An upside-down world.
And, a distorted space.
Far away, countless serpents pouring down from the sky.
The one who reached for his earrings.
For now, he had the intention to deflect the pouring serpents.
Flash, and.
Every time the black light shines, the surrounding serpents lose their lives one by one.
The powerful serpents, like the ones he saw in his alma mater, couldn’t be seen at the moment.
How many of those serpents, who relied only on their size and the power they exerted, did he cut down, and cut down again?
In a short time, a mountain of serpent corpses piled up around him.
Entering a temporary state of tranquility.
In this situation, Yeo-ul pondered on what she should do.
The first thing that came to mind was to cut down the dimensional portal that was floating high in the sky.
Hmm.
This option was rejected.
Not only was it difficult to determine whether it was possible to cut it down or not, but also because it was unknown what would happen if he did so.
Then what should he do?
After a brief period of contemplation, he came to a simple conclusion.
For now, finding Yang Ji-woo seemed to be the priority.
It was also fine to investigate this unknown space, but it could be postponed until after joining Ji-woo.
One could say it was fortunate.
Due to the changed environment, it didn’t seem like there would be much difficulty in finding her in the already clear line of sight without any obstacles.
Although he couldn’t know how vast the space had become, even if it had expanded significantly, it didn’t seem like the space had twisted enough to put the person who was right next to him far away, which was also a good thing.
He walked towards the direction where she was when he was standing with Ji-woo.
Yeo-ul, while cutting down the serpents she encountered one by one, searched the vicinity.
In his sight, a snake-like serpent caught his attention in the distance.
For some reason, the creature seemed to be trying to eat something, opening its mouth wide and plunging its head towards the ground.
He didn’t know what it was trying to put in its mouth.
Since Yeo-ul spotted the serpent, he simply cut it down.
As if drawing a line with a knife, the neatly severed head of the snake monster.
It slid smoothly along the cross section.
And then, with a thud, it fell towards the ground.
The sand dust rose up in clumps.
Beyond that, the figure of a person could be seen.
With a slight build, and an appearance that was difficult to guess at her age.
Yang Jiwoo.
She was covered in purple blood that poured out from the snake monster’s neck.
Sitting on the desert floor, she looked towards where Yeoul stood.
* * *
Jiwoo, who was thought to be dead without a movement.
She was like a person who had been drowning in the water and about to suffocate, and then was pulled out onto land, gasping for breath in panic.
After a short period of time passed.
She managed to calm down her difficult emotions and barely catch her breath.
Hak, hag…
“T-Thank you, Yeoul-ssi…”
“You’re welcome.”
Although she picked herself up, Yeoul still had one question as he looked down at her struggling to breathe.
Yeoul, who could somewhat approximate the strength of each individual based on the force they emitted, even though he couldn’t sense their magic power.
When he looked at her with those eyes, Jiwoo was definitely not someone who would be on the verge of death just because of such a monster.
There seemed to be something wrong.
“But, Jiwoo-ssi.”
When he asked Jiwoo what he had thought of, just as expected.
Because the magical power density in this place was so high that it was not just difficult to adapt, but even breathing felt heavy.
“I don’t know how long it will take to adapt…”
How did it end up like this?
Just like what she had jokingly thought before the dimensional portal appeared.
No. Now, she really was, practically a burden, and she couldn’t help feeling a little pessimistic about her situation.
How long had she been feeling this powerlessness?
No, maybe it felt like the first time.
Although she always used her powerful strength to help others and took the initiative to offer assistance, she never imagined herself being in a position to receive help from others.
No matter how hard she tried to gather herself, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh which flowed continuously.
Regardless of the outcome, Yeoru had succeeded in her initial goal of “joining.”
But now, the next thing to consider was escape.
However, another problem emerged there.
Stretching out to the horizon, there was a white desert where the sand met the sky in the distance.
In this vast space where the end was not visible, the question was how to escape and by what means.
Nevertheless, Yeoru had a certain sense of realization about this space.
However, there was a need to confirm it with her own eyes.
Exploration of this space was necessary.
* * *
After setting their goal, they embarked on their adventure with enthusiasm.
However, walking for a long time was impossible.
Even though Yeoru was the least affected, Jiu quickly became out of breath even with a little walking.
Looking at her, who was out of breath with her hands on her knees.
Yeoru felt the need to take a break.
“Let’s rest for a moment and then continue moving.”
“Hack, hah─. Yes…. S-sorry….”
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Her position as an unfamiliar burden, unable to speak.
She lamented that nothing was easy.
But still, she had to rest.
Standing in the middle of the desert, Yeoru tried to find a place to rest by looking around.
However, this was a desert.
A barren land where not even a single tree grew, running to the end of desolation.
There was no place to rest.
She could only lie on the ground.
Just as she was about to do so, Yeoru swung her sword.
Then, a pit of a size that could accommodate two people lying down appeared in the sand of the ground.
“Please come in.”
How is it possible that something like this can happen just by swinging a sword?
She thought it was a skill that she could never adapt to, even after seeing it repeatedly. Following Yeoul, Jiwoo entered the pit.
Upon entering, she found that it was quite a cozy space.
Above all, the best part was that she didn’t have to face the cold wind head-on.
She raised her hand against the wall.
The sand was definitely dry and soft.
Even a slight gust of wind would turn it into a dusty haze, but miraculously, it didn’t flow down.
Is this also part of the ability?
Thinking so, she sat down.
But.
Along with that, perhaps due to the relief of tension that was enveloping her entire body.
Something strange happened.
An intense chill started from her toes and rose all the way to her forehead.
At the same time, her entire body began to tremble as if it were broken.
It was already a freezing desert night that pierced through the bones.
And on top of that, she had been walking around with thin clothing soaked in the blood of monsters.
Until then, she hadn’t noticed because her tension had been so high.
Her body temperature was not normal.
Starting from her fingers and toes, the extremities of her body, she felt them gradually growing cold.
Her brain, which was always quick and sharp, seemed to be unable to function properly for some reason.
Her eyelids were incredibly heavy.
She had a hunch.
If she stayed like this, something bad would happen.
Her thinking was severely limited.
With her blurred vision, she looked for someone to ask for help.
What came into her sight was Yeoul sitting across from her.
She didn’t even have the time to hesitate or think.
There was no feeling of guilt or shame in asking for help.
“Seo YeoUl, I… it’s too cold…”
YeoUl, lost in thought, looked up at her with a voice that felt like she was about to die.
Chapped lips, unfocused pupils.
He sensed that she was currently suffering from severe hypothermia and searched for a solution.
The first thing that came to mind was to eliminate the ‘cold’ that she was experiencing.
But it didn’t seem easy.
If it was just killing, maybe it wouldn’t be a problem, but interfering with others and cutting off their concepts, even for YeoUl who was extremely skilled in cutting, it was a difficult task.
Moreover, she was a strong individual.
Such people even had a protective barrier that defended them against interference.
First, he would do what he could.
He would isolate the external and internal spaces, preventing the cold air from invading inside.
They were underground.
Thanks to geothermal heat, the temperature here was much warmer compared to the outside, so just doing this would make it much warmer.
But the problem was that Jiwoo’s body temperature had already dropped considerably.
Interfering with swordsmanship was impossible.
Starting a fire was also not feasible.
And he wasn’t a magician either.
There was only one thing he could do.
Share his body temperature.