When a pair of eyes lit up in the dark, my heart skipped a beat. In level 3, some rooms were packed with Smiles. If you walked into one, a bunch of Smiles would pop outta nowhere, staring at you with their creepy-ass grins... That's why folks called 'em "Smiling Rooms."
I remembered reading something about Smiles before. They're drawn to light and will chase anything that glows. They only attack if you freak out, start running, or make a loud noise. The best way to handle 'em? Keep eye contact, back away slowly, or hit 'em with some anti-smile potion or almond water.
Right then, there were still some sketchy footsteps outside, like someone was hanging around the door. I thought I heard a hunting dog's howl in the distance. No way I was gonna risk going out.
But staying put wasn't safe either. Even though the Smiles hadn't made a move yet, I knew it was just a matter of time. Any second now, they could jump me.
There were more than ten Smiles right in front of me. Their sharp, shiny teeth gave me the creeps. I quietly rummaged through my backpack for a bottle of almond water, unscrewed the cap just in case, and kept my ears peeled for any sounds outside, ready to bolt.
The second the noise outside stopped was my chance to make a run for it. If I hit the hallway, using a dagger would be my best bet. I slowly put the gun back in my bag and started looking for the dagger.
But then, I felt something I'd always overlooked—a stone-carved beetle Jiu had given me. I remembered what he said: "This beetle could save your life when it counts." I knew Jiu wouldn't lie to me. Maybe this beetle could actually save my skin?
With that in mind, I pulled out the beetle statue. But the moment I did, the Smiles went nuts, looking like they were about to charge. I froze, too scared to move.
Then it hit me. The Smiles freaked out the second I took out the beetle. Could it be connected?
I was confused but kept eye contact with the Smiles while sneaking a peek at the beetle. But after a few seconds, I still couldn't figure out what was special about it. Did it have some hidden power?
But I didn't have time to think too much because the Smiles were getting more and more worked up. At first, only a few were floating around, but now a bunch of 'em were drifting towards me, making me sweat bullets.
I held the beetle statue, super nervous. Outside, I could still hear the faint howl of the hunting dog, like it had settled in and wasn't leaving.
But if it wasn't gonna leave, I had to. I looked at the approaching Smiles and started counting down in my head: 3, 2, 1...
This was my cue to turn around and open the door. As I hit "1," I sprayed the almond water at the Smiles, swung open the door, and ran.
But the second I opened the door, a hunting dog lunged at me from the doorway!
This dog knew how to ambush!
Luckily, the agility core I had equipped earlier saved my butt. As the dog pounced, I held the half-empty bottle of almond water in front of me.
The dog crashed into me and bit the almond water. At that moment, the grinning faces behind me swarmed over and surrounded me...
But then, something crazy happened. The beetle statue that had just fallen to the ground suddenly spread its wings, making a loud buzzing sound and glowing blue.
What shocked me even more was that the Smiles, which always chased light, now scattered in all directions when they saw the blue light, like they were scared of it.
Even the hunting dog that had just pounced on me jumped off and backed away two steps before turning tail and running when it saw the beetle statue glowing blue.
At first, I was totally confused, but I didn't waste any time—I slammed the door shut.
Just like that, both the grinning faces in the room and the hunting dog at the door were scared off by this beetle statue. It was seriously mind-blowing.
Once the danger passed, I collapsed on the ground and picked up the beetle statue.
By then, the blue light was fading, and the buzzing sound quieted down, but its wings were still spread wide.
I stared at the beetle in my hand and muttered, "Man, I owe you big time. If it weren't for you, I'd be toast today."
And then, as if it heard me, the beetle's wings folded back, returning to its original statue form.
I tucked the beetle away and started scouring the room for useful supplies.
Logically, the more dangerous the room, the better the loot, since hardly anyone dares to come here.
Sure enough, this place was packed with almond water and a bunch of other goodies.
On the table, there was a bag of fire salt and a pack of royal rations.
In the drawer, I found dozens of weirdly shaped candies.
And on the floor, there was something that looked like a water gun.
I stuffed everything into my backpack, except for the water gun and the candies, and pulled out a half-eaten royal ration to refuel.
Since the room was still safe, I decided to figure out what the candies and the water gun were for.
I picked up a few candies first. They were all sorts of bizarre shapes—some looked like tongues, others like guns or bullets...
Honestly, they were just plain weird.
The only normal-looking ones were the flat candies. Out of the dozen or so, there were three flat ones. I decided to try one.
I unwrapped a flat candy and popped it into my mouth.
A few seconds later, it melted on my tongue, but what happened next was totally unexpected.
I started floating toward the wall!
Yeah, floating!
After eating the candy, it felt like my whole body turned into a piece of paper and got stuck to the wall.
I could even see the bricks beside me out of the corner of my eye. My body seemed flattened into two dimensions.
If there'd been a mirror, I'd have seen myself as wallpaper on the wall, plain as day.
At that moment, all I felt was sheer terror. Was I gonna be stuck like this forever?
I thought sadly to myself, swearing that if I ever got off this wall, I'd never eat random stuff again.
Luckily, after a while, I returned to three dimensions and fell off the wall.
I shuddered, staring at the wall, and quickly put the candies back in my backpack.
As for the flat candies, I kept them separate in my pocket.
I decided these candies were my new lifeline. After that experiment, I realized they could turn me into a 2D figure and stick me to walls for a while. So, if I'm ever chased by something physical, eating one of these could save my skin...
But there were only two left, so I had to save them for emergencies.
As for the water gun, I studied it for a while but couldn't figure out what made it special. It just looked like a regular water gun. Since it was so bulky, I left it behind.
I felt a little bad about it, but there was nothing I could do—it was just too big to carry around.
By then, I'd gathered all the usable supplies in the room. I pressed my ear to the door and listened carefully for any sounds outside.
After a long while, I was sure it was quiet, so I gently pushed the door open and stepped out.
The hallway was dead silent. I had no idea where those grinning faces had gone or if they were hiding nearby.
Even though I had the flat candy, I wasn't taking any chances. I moved slowly and cautiously, keeping my guard up.