《Escaping the Mystery Hotel》


 Prologue

    Prologue


    I had a strange dream.


    It was on a windy February night. During the short break before the start of university after graduating high school and sitting the entrance exam, in this period of time that would probably be one of the few golden ages of a persons life, I went on a backpack trip.


    My exam results werent bad so I managed to get quite arge sum of money from my parents, had a leisurely trip and was also able to stay at a hotel in Jeju Ind near the end of it.


    Laying my body and mind exhausted from a whole day tour on the hotel bed, I dozed off to sleep when something strange began to happen.


    When I came to myself, I noticed myself standing in the midst of an area covered in misty fog. Looking around, I found several figures of dark shadows standing next to me.


    For some reason, I felt urged to move forward.


    In less than a minute, I found a table and on the table were dozens of strange sculptures.


    <strong>Select your destiny.</strong>


    Destiny? How could a small piece of sculpture like this decide my destiny?


    But feeling a peculiar urge to pick something up, I was staring at the sculptures when one by one, they began to disappear. At this rate, there would be none left for me to pick up so I was starting to be flustered when a sculpture of an owl unknowingly entered my sight. I quickly picked it up.


    That was when an announcement appeared in front of me.


    <strong>/Wee, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!</strong>


    <strong>Ever since our establishment in 1847, Pioneer has a proud long history of being positively received by numerous guests with our countless mystiques and endless treasures. Of course, every treasure is bound to be followed by equal risk. We sincerely hope that our esteemed guests achieve the intended goal at Pioneer!</strong>


    <strong>Now, it is time for your adventure./</strong>


    What did this mean?


    It wasnt just one or two things that were strange. Firstly, the hotel I was staying in did not have a grandiose name like Pioneer and let alone 1947 which would already be ridiculous, 1847 was just way too absurd.


    Was there a hotel during the Joseon Dynasty? Mystiques and treasures? Risk? Adventure? There was not a single word I could understand and as I was about to be confused beyond what I could handle, my mind turned dizzy and crumbled down.


    Aha, so this is what they call a lucid dream! Am I going to faint again now? Thinking of how mysterious a dream this was, my consciousness fell into the darkness.

 Chapter 1: First Day at the Hotel, Meeting the Crew (1)

    Chapter 1: First Day at the Hotel, Meeting the Crew (1)


    <strong>Day 1</strong>


    I was dumbfounded the moment I woke up. Since I was in the middle of a fairly high-expense trip, the hotel was decent and the room was also fairly okay. In other words, it was a good enough room for one man to leisurely go to sleep in a tidy room while watching a movie on the wall-mounted TV.


    So where was this ce?


    The room I woke up in was an unbelievablyrge and fancy room that woulde out in movies. In the first ce, this room was definitely not for one person. Rather than a hotel room, it was more like a mansion of the rich  on the walls were antique paintings and there was a nket on the bed that was so luxurious I felt bad for messing it up.


    I was once again dumbfounded when I turned on my phone to check the time  there was a sign that said there was no reception in this ce. While gradually feeling more and more confused, I cursorily washed my face, changed my clothes and left the bedroom and found the disy screen of the living room shing.


    <strong>/Congrattions on the start of your adventure!</strong>


    <strong>You have gained the Blessing of Wisdom. You may discover facts that others do not know of, and mayprehend an iprehensible fact. The longer you continue your adventure, the more possibilities of change there will be for the Blessing of Wisdom.</strong>


    <strong>Your Blessing has been activated.</strong>


    <strong>Todays Surprise Event: There are no bad animals in the world./</strong>


    What was going on? I felt more and more like I was losing my mind. Supporting my head, I turned to the ceiling when a corner of my vision shook.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 1</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Was this the status screen of a game or something? Only at this point did I finally ept the fact that something ridiculous had happened to me.


    *


    When I went out to the living room that was still inside Room 105, I came across an incrediblyrge dining table that you would see in movies, and there was a button on the table that read Meal.


    Does foode out when you press this button? I was wondering when a sharp scream echoed across. In order to leave the ridiculouslyrge room, I hurriedly ran out and pushed the door wide open.


    My chin dropped the moment I arrived at the front desk of the hotel.


    Large monkeys? It was a bit strange to call that a monkey though  it was standing on 2 legs despite being a monkey and there was a cold weapon on its hand. Rather than normal teeth, it had the teeth of saw des in its mouth.


    They were just monsters and not monkeys.


    Around four to five people were being threatened by them. At the left front desk was a group of 2 females including a foreigner that were screaming, not knowing what to do, whereas there was a person fainted near the potted nt on the right.


    But there was a reason why there was no-one dead despite this hopeless situation.


    Terminator?


    A stupid remark unconsciously left my mouth as I gazed at the man so bulky that one would mistake him as the terminator. He was fighting with a wooden stick that was presumed to be the leg of a chair. His body was even bigger than the monkey monsters and even the monsters were seemingly out-muscled whenever he swung his club, as they were flung off with each strike.


    I was absentmindedly watching the fight when one of the monkeys noticed me and suddenly began walking this way.


    I had no clue what was going on.


    Seriously, I had no idea what the heck was happening. When I sincerely hoped from the bottom of my heart that someone please tell me what to do regardless of whether they were an angel or a devil, a message suddenly appeared in the air.


    <strong>[Head to Room 105 immediately.]</strong>


    Room 105  that was my room number. The moment I checked the message, the number stuck next to Sages Advice went down from 3 to 2.


    Fortunately, it wasnt that far.


    While I mindlessly sprinted to Room 105, I heard a bizarre roar alongside a noisy set of steps. Pushing down the impulse to do something as meaningless as turning around to have a look, I hurried my feet and opened the door of Room 105 when the sound immediately ceased.


    Only then did I nkly turn around. The monster that had probably been chasing after me till now was panting at the other side of the door while looking at me, but rather than walking towards me, it turned around and returned to the front desk.


    Was there something unique about this room?


    It seemed that the monsters could not approach this ce. After gasping for breath for about 10 seconds inside the room, my mind finally went back to the people that were at risk at the front desk. Even though the terminator was fighting pretty well, he wouldnt be able to fight endlessly, right! Whatever it was that was going on, I had to save them.


    Clenching my teeth, I picked up a silver candlestick that looked super expensive just in case. It should somewhat serve as a weapon if I swung it properly, and with how things were, I doubted someone would demandpensation just because of a broken candlestick. Even though I was quite scared, I could simply return to Room 105 if things went wrong.


    I ran back towards the front desk and the situation was even worse than before. The man who had been rampaging like a general was bleeding profusely as if he was heavily injured, and the two girls that were hiding behind the front desk were all swinging some shards they had picked up. It was chaotic.


    I was worried the girl that was unconscious next to the potted nt might have died, but fortunately, there was still nothing wrong with her.


    What was very fortunate was that one of the monsters was stuck on the ground unable to move. It seemed that terminator of a man had done something to it.


    The monsters cante to Room 105. Come this way right now!


    I shouted three to four times like a crazy person and only then did they turn towards me and one by one, they began running this way. The terminator blocked the monsters from approaching the people in a timely manner, and the monsters that were conscious about him defeating one of the monsters already could not readily run at him.


    How many people did that man save? He might have dealt with the two remaining monsters even if I didnt call them over. Well, judging from all that blood, there was also the chance he could have died before that.


    The girl who had fainted next to the potted nt also btedly came back to her senses.


    After everyone ran to Room 105, the terminator and I followed suit as we also headed to Room 105 and like what happened before, the monsters only watched our backs withouting too close.


    Entering the room, I took a deep breath out, closed the door and turned around.


    There was no-one.


    Was I bewitched or something? I definitely saw 2 other men and 3 women entering this room though!


    As I was slowly starting to get used to all the peculiar events, the disy screen on the wall shed a message.


    <strong>/Wee, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!</strong>


    <strong>There are several guiding notifications so please refer to them. There could be an addition to the notifications and you may see them at any of the disys of the hotel.</strong>


    <strong>1. Hotel Pioneer always loves our esteemed guests.</strong>


    <strong>2. A few of the elevators functions are deactivated, so please take that into consideration.</strong>


    <strong>3. The hotel always respects the privacy of our guests. However, perhaps meals should be shared together?/</strong>


    It was a situation filled with question marks, with nothing but the announcements of the disy screen providing anything simr to information. Concentrating like I have never done before in my life, I read through the sentences.


    Privacy.


    Did everyone disappear because of this privacy thing? Because I fervently realised thatmon sense was of no use in this ce, I thought as nonsensically as possible. Since a room with 6 people would have no privacy in the slightest, it seemed that everyone would stay in a different dimension in Room 105, and only meet during meal times.


    <strong>[You have understood a little bit about the hotel.]</strong>


    A message immediately appeared on the status screen and I gave an emptyugh. It seemed that my absurd hypothesis was actually correct.


    nkly, I headed to therge room that had the dining table. Next to the clock was a timetable showing each of the meal times which respectively began at 7 am, 12 oclock and 7 pm. There was also a notice saying each of the meal timessted one and half hours.


    Right now it was around 10:20, and something would probably happen at 12.


    It was an extremely confusing morning. I was seriously exhausted so I headed to the bed and lied down to take a short nap.


    <strong>Tap. Tap.</strong>


    Can you please wake up?


    Ah. It seemed that I hadpletely dozed off in that short period of time. I opened my eyes with a sh and saw the noonim* that I saw before. She appeared to be in her mid 30s, and was a talldy who asserted the atmosphere that she was a well-offdy of the city. However, she had a rather cold atmosphere and it seemed rather difficult to strike a conversation with her.


    Umm Thanks for waking me up. What about everyone else?


    Well, I thought it was quite absurd but as soon as it became 12 oclock, everyone appeared like we were teleporting or something, and everyone else has gathered at the dining room apart from the two of you. Jinchul-ssi* was injured during the fight just then. We stopped his blood but hes still lying down and you were sleeping so we wondered whether we should wake you up or not, but we should have a little chat, right?


    Yes. Even though everything is very strange, I think we still need to talk about it for the time being.


    Follow me.


    As we were heading to the dining room, she suddenly turned around.


    Ah, thanks for what you did before. I thought I was bing monster food all of a sudden and its thanks to you that I managed to stay alive. Im Lee Eunsol.


    Dont worry about it. The termi No, Jinchul-ssi, was it? Hes the one that did everything. My name is Han Kain.


    Han Kain? Thats a cute name.


    Ahaha I often hear it sounds like a female name.


    After a short introduction, Lee Eunsol-noonim smiled and turned back to the front.


    *Noonim = Respectful way of calling an older sister, or a woman thats older than a male.


    *Ssi = Mister / Miss thates after a name.

 Chapter 2: First Day at the Hotel, Meeting the Crew (2)

    Chapter 2: First Day at the Hotel, Meeting the Crew (2)


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    When I headed to the dining room, I saw three others that were already sitting there. There was a boy who looked a lot younger than me, who was probably in middle school, an adorable girl around my age nervously scanning the surroundings;


    And a foreigner with an unbelievably beautiful appearance which I had never seen before.


    It felt like I was struck at the back of my head just from seeing someone. Her blonde hair fluttering at her shoulders looked like melted gold; her eyes were seemingly carved out of emerald, and seeing the part of her body that contained her broad and generous heart was a stunning sight.


    Dont people like this only exist in movies?


    After around 5 seconds? of dumbfoundedly looking at her, she returned an awkward smile and only then did I realise how discourteous it was for me to do that.


    I lowered my head in a fluster and sat near the dining table. Thinking that I had to make an apology of some sort I squeezed out an English sentence from my head.


    Im so sorry, but [English]


    Its okay. Ive been in Korea for 6 years so you can speak Korean to me. Im not from America or Britain in the first ce.


    Ah. Im sorry


    Werent you lying on the bed? Are you okay? Were you hurt?


    No, its nothing. I was a bit tired and was lying on the bed and fell asleep.


    It definitely was tiring. Its the first time I had something like this happen. Oh, and thank you for telling us toe to Room 105.


    T, thats nothing. The buff person was holding off very well when I got there.


    Jinchul-ssi did save all of us. Well have to thank him again for that. My name is Elena Ivanova; you can just call me Elena. And you are?


    Im Han Kain. Umm, you probably already did it while I was sleeping, but I think it would be great if we introduced ourselves again.


    My name is Yu Songee, said the other girl.


    I am Park Seungyub. The young boy also introduced himself.


    ck. The door was pushed open as the man from before walked into the room. There was an unidentifiable soft cloth wrapped tightly around his bleeding arm, and the moment he came closer, I realised how amazing his build was. At least 190 cm? He was probably even bigger than that.


    Not only was he tall, but he was also built like an athlete. Do you have to be that buff to fight a monster? I was thinking in admiration when a heavy voice flowed out of his mouth.


    Im Cha Jinchul. Ah, can I speak informally to you? You look like a student.


    Yes, that is okay. You can just call me Kain.


    Alright, sure. Kain. Thank you very much for telling us about this room. Those damn stupid monkeys hurt like crazy. They dont die from getting smacked on the head multiple times and they dont even run away. I wasnt expecting this to happen just by killing two monkeys.


    I was a little flustered from him immediately calling me, Kain, the moment I replied to him, but I had no qualms with someone who would have honestly been aiming for the throne if he was born a few centuries ago!


    Besides, I was the one who told him to speak informally so there was no problem there.


    The moment we finished introducing ourselves, the status screen flickered and changed.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 1</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Information (!)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    Teammate Information?


    Feeling slightly ustomed to it, I looked at the text and thought to myself, Open! when a new window showed itself.


    <strong>[1. Han Kain (20)  Wisdom</strong>


    <strong>2. Cha Jinchul (31)  Courage</strong>


    <strong>3. Yu Songee (17)  Affinity</strong>


    <strong>4. Elena Ivanova (23)  Justice</strong>


    <strong>5. Park Seungyub (14)  Fortune</strong>


    <strong>6. Lee Eunsol (32)  Wealth]</strong>


    The first would be the name; and is the one after that age? If so, what were the following words like Wisdom and Courage? For now, I spoke to the adorable-looking girl who looked to be the easiest to talk to for verification.


    Yu Songee-ssi. Are you by any chance 17 years old?


    ? I am. How did you know that?


    Ah, do you see the number next to your name on the screen here? I was wondering if that was your age.


    As soon as I said that, everyone returned a flustered look, let alone Yu Songee-ssi who was on the other side of the table. Seeing how they were all doubtfully looking at the direction I was pointing at, I realised something.


    <strong>Only I can see this screen.</strong>


    Ah, this It seems Im the only one that can see this screen.


    A screen? Can you see something unique with your eyes? You were suddenly looking at the thin air so I was wondering what that was about. Does that have our ages written or something? Jinchul-ssi asked.


    Uh. Let me exin.


    After that, I shared through a short conversation how I was the only one that could see this mysterious status screen which had the current situation, date and location written inside. ording to the circumstances, I mentioned how it was likely that this status screen was linked to the mentioned Wisdom, and they started opening their mouths one by one.


    Wisdom huh A blessing of Wisdom  is that why you are granted some kind of knowledge? I think I also got something simr  its called Courage on your screen right? I can somewhat understand what that is. It probably makes my body a little bit stronger or something.


    Stronger? In what way? I asked back.


    Who knows I would have to find out moreter, but I was quite surprised myself fighting those monkeys. I did work out a little but my arms were nonsensically stronger than before, and I wasnt very tired after fighting for over 30 minutes. I think my strength and stamina have improved a fair bit. Ah, and judging from my arm, Id say the recovery is also a bit faster.


    Do I have something as well? I have no clue what Affinity is about. I dont see any screens and I dont have any power either, said Songee.


    I think I know what yours is about. It was Eunsol-noonim who replied to her.


    Did you see something Eunsol-unni?


    When the monkeys were attacking us, Songee, you were just lying down next to the tree right? I was very scared you might die soon but for some reason, the monkeys werent attacking you at all. I thought you were just lucky back then, but looking back, thats probably what Affinity is.


    Then what do you think mine is, noona. This time, the young body, Park Seungyub, raised a question.


    Seungyub, you I dont know. Fortune. Did anything lucky happen to you?


    I probably wouldnt have ended up in a ce full of monsters if I was lucky.


    Thats true


    Hmm. For now it seems like Im Justice. No clue what that might be. Maybe Ill get powers like a hero of justiceter. Eunsol-ssi you have Wealth; do you have any guesses about your ability? asked Elena.


    Well Not really. If its just talking about how much money I have, well, its not that I dont have money but that is probably off topic. Am I perhaps Midas? Maybe everything I touch will turn into gold?


    Saying that, Eunsol-noona mischievously caressed Songee, who perhaps believed in her words and immediately crouched her neck like a turtle. Of course, she didnt turn into gold just from getting touched like that.


    Seriously, why did this happen. I wanted to spend the best few months of a high school graduates life as happily as possible and I wasnt expecting something like this to happen. There is not even 2 weeks left until the start of university.


    Eunsol-noona showed a fairly intrigued response to my grumble.


    2 weeks? Is it an overseas university?


    Sorry? No. Im a full Korean living in Korea.


    Is there a uni in Korea that starts at this time of the year? What uni is it?


    What? Dont they all usually start in early March?


    Once again, the surroundings turned quiet as a heavy voice started to echo across the room.


    It seems there are a lot of things we need to talk about. So Kain, youre saying it was March for you. Just for reference, for me, yesterday was the 24th of November.


    Mine was the 3rd of May. I just had my interim exam.


    For me it was the 9th of March.


    16th of May for me. Theres one more thing I want to ask  what year was yesterday? And looking at our clothes, I assume we would also have to inquire about ourst locations, said Eunsol-noona.


    In the short conversation, we were able to verify a few facts.


    1. The date of yesterday was different for everyone. It was clear that we were all kidnapped on different days.


    2. The location we were at yesterday was all different as well. There were people who were sleeping at a hotel like me, and there were also those who had been sleeping in their own houses.


    What in the world was it  what was happening to us, and what were we supposed to do now? The silencested longer this time. It was as if our heads were in a turmoil from countless doubtful information that they refused to think anymore.


    <strong>Groowwllllll!!!!!</strong>


    The owner of that sound, Songee, blushed.


    Aht! Ahhht! Sorry. Sorryyy. Why did it suddenly


    Kukuk. Well, theres nothing to be sorry about. Ive been super hungry for a while as well from that vicious exercise in the morning. Anyway, this is the button for a meal right? Lets have some food first of all. We need to eat something to think better, right.


    Sure. Lets have something first. Im curious what wille out, and also how it wille out. Do they have waiters that bring out food or something?


    Then, let me press the button.


    Elena, who was sitting next to the button, pressed it. The button began shing in red but nothing happened after that. Everyone waited without saying anything for 5 minutes with no change but that was when Seungyub noticed something different.


    Umm. Can you all look at the disy screen? Theres something new.


    <strong>/Wee, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!</strong>


    <strong>There are several guiding notifications so please refer to them. There could be an addition to the notifications and you may see them at any of the disys of the hotel.</strong>


    <strong>1. Hotel Pioneer always loves our esteemed guests.</strong>


    <strong> However, the waiters of our hotel are very shy and only work diligently away from everyones sight.</strong>


    <strong>2. A few of the elevators functions are deactivated, so please take that into consideration.</strong>


    <strong>3. The hotel always respects the privacy of our guests. However, perhaps meals should be shared together? Please always keep the meal times./</strong>


    A new line was added underneath the 1st one. The waiters of our hotel are very shy and only work diligently away from everyones sight.


    What did this mean? After nkly contemting those words, I lifted my head aftering up with a hypothesis and that was when my eyes met with Eunsol-noona who seemingly had the same thought in mind.


    Noona. It suddenly came to me, but is this maybe telling us to


    I think its telling us to leave for a bit. Because they are shy, they cant prepare the food in front of us. Isnt that what it is trying to say?


    Realising what it meant, the others showed dumbfounded responses.


    Like, what kind of damn restaurant refuses to give food in front of a customer because theyre shy? If theyre that shy, they should stop running a restaurant!


    Well, it wont take us anywhere to nitpick on this and that right? It feels more and more like a movie, and is a little interesting. It would have been an intriguing experience if only there werent monsters.


    Elena-unni, you really are good at Korean, remarked Songee.


    Its been 6 years already. Im pretty much half-Korean.


    Umm, then how about we all leave for a while? Sorry but Im also really hungry.


    Lets do that.


    We all stood up, left the dining room, and after closing the door and waiting for like 10 seconds, we opened the door again. Like what Miss Elena said, it felt like we were filming a movie  everyone let out a faint gasp after returning to the dining room.


    Was it like the meal of a magical school you go in through the tforms?


    All sorts of fancy and delicious-looking dishes were filling the table. It was a multicultural dining table, mixed with dishes of countless nations. There were some familiar dishes like spaghetti, steak and stir-fried pork, but there were also some I was seeing for the first time that I couldnt even guess the ingredients of.


    When we were nkly looking at the scene in front of us with dropped chins, Jinchul-hyung opened his mouth.


    There is plenty of food, and looking at the clock, we only have about 40 minutes of mealtime left. Well, lets each take a te and grab all the food we want. We should feel a little better after eating something.


    On the first day after arriving at Hotel Pioneer, I discovered one good thing about this hotel.

 Chapter 3: Exploring the Hotel (1)

    Chapter 3: Exploring the Hotel (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 1</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    It was a magnificent meal.


    Actually I wouldnt know how the other dishes tasted because the steak and the spaghetti were the only ones I had, but those two at the very least were very delicious. Before the meal, my head was spinning from the confusion, fear and irritation but after filling up my stomach, I started to think it was fortunate that the food was delicious at least.


    I guess humans are in the end still animals


    Judging from the satisfied look on everyones faces, it seemed they were thinking the same thing as me. That was when I checked the clock just to make sure. Lunch time was from 12 to 1:30, and it was currently around 1:24  there were only 6 minutes left until the end of mealtime.


    There was someone else who checked the clock apart from me.


    So, I think everyones pretty much finished with the meal. Why dont we go to a different area?


    Uhmm Eunsol-unni. How about we talk here? I think they might also give coffee and other desserts, replied Songee.


    We all experienced it, didnt we? After mealtime, we wont be able to see each other because this is an amazing hotel that respects our privacy. I dont know why such a great hotel would kidnap us, but anyway there are a lot of things for us to talk about so we have to move to a different ce. What about you, Jinchul-ssi? Is your arm alright?


    Im fine. It was just a little scratch. And I agree with what noonim said. We still have many things to decide on, starting from the immediate question of what we have to do now So lets go somewhere else.


    I also agree with moving somewhere else, but should we go? The same monsters will be outside, and we will all disappear in our rooms after 1:30.


    As soon as I finished giving my opinion, an announcement showed up.


    <strong>/Hello esteemed guests! Did you enjoy your meal?</strong>


    <strong>We at Hotel Pioneer prepare fresh ingredients everyday and arrange the meal you can enjoy with the help of our carefully elected chefs. We hope you enjoy your meal every time.</strong>


    <strong>Todays Surprise Event: There are no bad animals in the world, has ended./</strong>


    We were all struck speechless at the same time.


    That is a very timely announcement. I started off.


    Way too timely. At this point, its like this hotel is always watching us. Telling us the event ended immediately after we started talking about monsters, huh. Is it saying its safe outside now?


    After Eunsol-noona analysed the announcement, Jinchul-ssi opened his mouth with aint.


    There are no bad animals my ass. If a monkey swinging a sword to devour humans is not a bad animal, then what is? Seriously, what a crazy hotel. How did we end up here?


    Animals sometimes get slightly violent when they see people because theyre scared. Its not that they are evil or violent. Its like, an aggressive self defence mechanism that shows up when theyre scared


    Maybe she liked animals? Songees sudden remark was quite unfitting.


    Wait, Miss Songee. Do you mean the monkey stabbing my arm with a sword was also a self defence mechanism? How is that self defence?


    When Cha Jinchul-ssi, whose body alone was fierce enough to give off pressure, raised his voice, the timid Songees neck greatly retracted again like a turtle. Seeing that, Cha Jinchul-ssi couldnt hide his fluster.


    Haht. No, that, that was just banter. Uhh My voice was too loud. Im sorry. Thinking of those monkeys stabbing me was a little annoying. I didnt mean anything against you, Miss Songee.


    It seemed that this big hyung was actually nicer than I thought.


    Now, now! We only have 1 minute left. First off, lets get up and go outside! We need to have some talk.


    Eunsol-noona, who was alreadypletely like the leader of the group, confidently raised her voice. It was very natural and didnt feel repulsive in the slightest, not because she was the oldest of our group or anything. It just felt like she was very used to grabbing peoples attention and leading them.


    We all got up after hearing her shout, walked out of the dining room and opened the door of Room 105.


    <strong>[You have understood a little bit about your teammate.]</strong>


    It was clean. Ridiculously enough, the outside was very clean considering how everything was thrown all over the ce during the fight against the monsters. Did those shy workers clean these up already?


    Honestly, the aftermath of that fight would have warranted arge-scale repair instead of a simple clean-up, but it would be a waste of energy to bother worrying about every single thing.


    We walked towards the front reception and found drinks and snacks prepared on top of a table near the reception desk. There was one for each person, and there was coffee, juice, soft drinks and other types of drinks, as if they had all been prepared to suit the tastes of everyone present.


    Hah how meticulous are these guys with everything. And how shy are these meticulous people that I cant see a trace of them? There are many answers I want to force out of them, muttered Jinchul-ssi.


    This vour Its more frightening than ridiculous at this point.


    Is there something wrong with the vour? Eunsol-unni?


    Theres nothing wrong, but it is exactly the same as my favourite drink. The ratio of sugar, milk and even the coffee beans. It had the exact same colour so I thought maybe but You should all have a look. I think its all going to be exactly the type of drink you want.


    I was able to have lime-voured pepsi zero immediately so it wasnt upsetting or anything. Isnt it a good thing that we can have delicious food and drinks? Lets not dwell on how strange it was.


    Slowly taking a sip, I was rxing myself when someone opened his mouth. As always, it was Cha Jinchul-ssi who started the conversation.


    I still dont really know whats happening, but firstly, my phone has no reception. Is that the same for everyone?


    We all nodded back.


    I see Ive only seen things like this on news reports about the Cmity Administration Bureau. To think I was caught up in this myself. Anyway, our objective is to all leave this ce isnt it? Lets head to the front entrance. Theyre probably not going to let us out but we should still take a look.


    Fortunately, there was a rough map of the building next to the front desk and it wasnt veryplicated. Together, we went down by half a floor, turned left and followed down the corridor and was met with the front entrance.


    After arriving at the main entrance, we were once again lost for words.


    Sky.


    It was literally the sky. Outside the door there was nothing but the blue sky, withyers of cloud way beneath. The ground was so far beneath that we couldnt even see it.


    I was trying to open the door a little to check the bottom when an rm popped up.


    <strong>[Opening the door in the sky without any equipment is an act of suicide]</strong>


    Ah Uhh It says we shouldnt open the door.


    Kain, were you actually going to open the door? You cant open windows in an airne either; of course we shouldnt open the door in the sky. I thought you were just going closer to it.


    Hahaha. Youre right. I must have been too shocked by everything.


    But seriously is this hotel floating in the sky or something? Ive never even thought this was possible.


    Eunsol-noonim dumbfoundedly expressed her agreement with Jinchul-ssi.


    I was thinking Id experienced enough interesting and mysterious things all over the world, but I guess not. Definitely wasnt expecting this.


    At least we wont be able to go outside through here. Unless we have wings or something. Haha, I wasnt expecting Jeju Ind to be such an amazing ind! To think there was a hotel floating in the sky.


    Here! Theres something written here!


    We all turned towards where Songees voice came from, and found a strange scribble written on the wall on the right side of the main entrance.


    <strong><Escape Route 2. Requires a special tool.></strong>


    What was this about? Escape Route 2? Did that mean there was 1 as well? And was the main entrance really one of the escape methods? Besides, what was that special tool about; did we need something that could allow us to fly through the sky to escape this ce?


    And more importantly, who was the one that carved this on the wall? It probably wasnt the hotel, at least in my opinion. Looking at the ways of the hotel thus far, the hotel would not use a method like this to share information.


    If so, then was there someone else in this hotel? Thinking about it like that made me feel slightly spooky.


    I immediately conveyed my opinion.


    It says Escape Route 2. That means theres definitely 1, and there might also be 3, 4 and 5. I think there would probably be at least one method that is easier than flying through the sky.


    For now, I decided to gloss over the identity of the scribbler. There were too many spooky things happening to us already, and I didnt want to raise something else that could make the atmosphere awful again.


    Thats some good news at least. Lets go back to where we had our drinks. The shy waiters were quite good at brewing coffee, and they were pretty nice.


    Although we were somewhat expecting it, the invalidity of our quick escape n nheless made us feel slightly dejected as we walked back to the table. The table where we had our food was back to being tidy like nothing happened before, with the drinks and snacks prepared again.


    This time, no-onemented on how surprising it was or said anything, so I opened my mouth.


    Firstly, how about we go around the hotel and have a look at the structure? There was something strange I found when we were looking at the map.


    I didnt see anything strange. Was there something?


    There are no stairs. On the map was the basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor and 3rd floor as well as a gym and a swimming pool, but for some reason there were no stairs, and there was only the elevator. Well, it is rare to use stairs in a hotel but usually there are emergency stairs in case of fire and earthquakes right? It should have been included in the map but I couldnt see it.


    Cha Jinchul-ssi immediately stood up and observed the map, and soon opened his mouth.


    Youre right. There are no stairs at all. Usually theres the green sign of a man running, telling you to use this to escape in case of emergency, but its not there.


    Hmm Whatever it is, it is important to have an idea of this hotels structure. For starters, lets get up after were done with the drinks and look around to see if there is anything strange. Ah, and lets go around together if possible. It feels a little off. This ce doesnt seem like the best ce to move around alone.


    After Eunsol-noonims words, we all stood up together and explored the hotel.


    At the end of an hour and a half of exploration of the 1st floor, we came to the following conclusions.


    1. ording to the map on the front desk, the ce where the front desk was at was the 1st floor, and half a floor underneath was the main entrance and small guest rooms. The 2nd floor had medium guest rooms and the 3rd floor hadrge guest rooms.


    2. There are no stairs in this building.


    3. Using the elevator is the only method to move between floors.

 Chapter 4: Exploring the Hotel (2)

    Chapter 4: Exploring the Hotel (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 1</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 1]</strong>


    Lastly, after walking from the front desk in the opposite direction of the main entrance for 10 minutes, we came across the elevator.


    Ah, this feels a little spooky. The elevator is broken ording to the notification. Hopefully some ridiculous monster wouldnt pop out because of that.


    You do have a point. Kain, youve been pretty sharp after all. Lets all pause for a bit  let me grab something, said Jinchul-ssi.


    Everyone knew this man was in charge of 90% of the crews strength so no-one stopped him from grabbing a weapon. Shortly after that, he came back with something amazing.


    Ehk? Hyung, what is that? A spear? Where did you get that from? asked Seungyub, the youngest boy of our group.


    Yeah. I saw it on the way just then; there was this decorational pole used as a g. Remove the g and thats a polearm.


    Seeing him swing that around, I asked him a question.


    Umm Jinchul-ssi. Isnt that heavy? It looks heavier than 10 kilograms for sure.


    Whats with that ssi. Dont bother calling me like that, Kain. You can just call me hyung. And like I said during lunch, before I wasnt strong enough to swing something like this around easily, but now I get the feeling I can. Its probably because of that Blessing of Courage. Superman would be an overstatement but Around as strong as Captain America I guess?


    Ah, then I will call you hyung. Anyway, its very reassuring. Im sure most monsters would be stunned after getting hit by that.


    Captain America  it suited him very well but maybe it should be Captain Korea because hes Korean? There was a small part of me that thought he might be more of a monster than those actual monsters.


    The person in charge of our strength was even more reliable than before so we all confidently headed towards the elevator.


    Click


    We opened the door of the elevator. Fortunately, there was no monster inside and it was unexpectedly quite clean. I immediately realised what it meant that a part of the functions were deactivated upon seeing the panel  the buttons for Floors 2 and 3 were off. Songee pressed them just in case but as expected, nothing happened.


    I guess we cant go to the 2nd and the 3rd floors yet. Then should we try going to the basement?


    Whatever it is, lets just go there! Go wherever we can and see if theres anything important. What could possibly go wrong with Captain America protecting us?


    Eunsol-noona who sounded a lot more confident shouted assuredly as Jinchul-hyung embarrassedly smiled from the side. As soon as Songee was about to press the button for the basement


    <strong>[Heading to the basement now is incredibly dangerous.]</strong>


    Grip.


    I ran up instinctively and grabbed Songees arm. It was so abrupt that everyone was flustered. They were all staring at me not knowing how they were supposed to react while Songee was trembling like a rabbit.


    Im sorry. Just then, I got the rm. The rm of the status screen that I mentioned during lunch.


    You mean the one only you can see? The one that told you to go to Room 105?


    Yes.


    What did it say. I can somewhat make a guess but


    It says its incredibly dangerous to go to the basement now.


    Hah, far out. Everything is dangerous in this damn hotel, grumbled Jinchul-hyung.


    Then lets do that. It told us about Room 105 so we should trust it. And Kain? I think you can let go of her arm now. A little bit more and Songee is going to faint.


    Hearing Eunsol-noonas jest, I released my grip.


    Ah, sorry. I was a bit startled just then.


    N, no. Its okay


    Kain-hyung. How many of that Sages Advice do you have left now? Seungyub asked.


    <strong>[Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    0 apparently.


    Zero? Ah, did it go down when telling you not to open the main entrance?


    After a short silence, Eunsol-noonim, who was like the leader of our group, opened her mouth.


    Then, lets stop todays exploration. I feel going around in this dangerous ce without Kains rms is too dangerous.


    Would there be a way to refill these numbers?


    Seungyub replied to my question.


    Hyung. Things like that usually get refilled after a sleep. Its the standard rule for mana and HP to go back up to full after a sleep at the inn.


    Standard rule  it sounded like a gaming mindset but there was no way around it in the first ce, and I also thought it sounded quite usible.


    Everyone agreed that exploring any further without Sages Advice would be too dangerous and we soon returned to the front of Room 105.


    Now, we will all separate automatically when we go in, right? And teleport back together for dinner?


    I think so.


    Then lets all go in and rest a little. It will be mealtime again in about an hour. We can go in, take a small rest and a shower and that will do. We are done exploring for today but Im not really sure what else to do. Jinchul-hyung said.


    I dont think we need to worry about that. It was Eunsol-noona who replied to him.


    What do you mean?


    Im sure we all felt the same thing. No idea if its a monster, a human or a ghost, but this hotel is constantly trying to manage us. We got the exact drinks we wanted and looking back, it was probably the same for food. My opinion is that this thing that is trying to manage us wouldnt watch us do nothing. It will say Esteemed guests again and tell us to do this and that.


    That makes sense. Plus theres nothing else we can do either.


    Yes. And Just wanted to say this to everyone. Whether it be today or another day, there might be a time when you dont feel like eating. Even if you dont feel like eating, lets still gather at the dining room and show our faces without doing something else. I think we should constantly verify each others survival in a strange ce like this.


    Indeed,munication was very difficult in this ce. The only safe ce was Room 105 and there was no way to meet each other upon entering Room 105 apart from the three mealtimes. In the real world, you could simply send messages but our phones havent been functioning properly for a while already.


    There was a need for us to meet periodically.


    Let me suggest something as well. There is no way to meet each other after entering Room 105  our phones dont work and we cant see each other outside of mealtimes. But I think we should share information even outside of mealtimes, and confirm we are all alive like what noonim said. So, how about wee out of the room every hour until we go to sleep? For example today, the meal will be from 7 to 8:30, but aside from that, we cane out at 6 oclock, 9 oclock, 10 oclock and 11 oclock to see if there is anything wrong with any of us, or whether we should do anything.


    Unexpectedly, it was Songee and Elena who reacted first.


    I think thats a great idea! Honestly, when I was alone in the morning before mealtime, it was really really scary. It would be great to see each other even a little.


    I agree as well. To be frank, rather than privacy or whatever in a strange ce like this, it would have been great if they let us stay together. But since thats not possible, lets force ourselves to see each other frequently.


    Everyone agreed to the suggestion, and we soon established two principles.


    Verify we are all alive even aside from mealtimes.


    Gather in front of Room 105 every hour to see each other.


    Aftering up with those life principles, we all headed into our separate rooms through one entrance.


    *


    Like what it was like in the morning, weing me back was a ridiculouslyrge and fancy bedroom which even an average rich kid wouldnt be able to live in. Living alone in an outrageously fancy mansion like this with intriguingly delicious food  isnt this paradise on earth?


    I tried deceiving myself with those thoughts but it was in vain. There was no way there would be human-devouring monkeys in paradise.


    What terrible things have I done to be forced into this mysterious prison?


    Confusion, fear, concern and a little bit of anticipation for the unknown. I was despondently thinking inside that turbulent tornado of emotions when I spotted something shing on the status screen.


    Wasnt Sages Advice already at 0? Thinking that, I had a look and noticed it wasnt Sages Advice.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 1</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    I stared at the shingbel while thinking, Open! as I did before, and it immediately opened as a vast array of letters covered my sight. Seeing that, I realised it would be dangerous to look at this in a pressing situation.


    But now that I thought about it, there was nothing shing when I was exploring outside. It might be a feature that is only activated when at a safe location.


    What appeared was a very brief profile of everyone.


    [1. Han Kain (20)  Wisdom. Freshman at K University


    2. Cha Jinchul (31)  Courage. Former professional boxer


    3. Yu Songee (17)  Affinity. Raises numerous animals


    4. Elena Ivanova (23)  Justice. Daughter of a diplomat seeking asylum. Currently wanting to be an actor.


    5. Park Seungyub (14)  Fortune. An unstoppable juvenile boy


    6. Lee Eunsol (32)  Wealth. 3rd child of the chairman of Daeyang Group]


    Ah. This seemed to be an extension of the feelings I got from seeing my teammates which was changed into rted facts. I noticed what the Blessing of Wisdom did: it was changing the ambiguous data I had into certain facts, and giving out warning signs when in danger.


    <strong>[You have understood a little bit about your Blessing!]</strong>


    A notification came immediately afterwards and I realised my perception of it was correct.


    The information rted to my teammates in general gave me the feeling, That sounds usible. But seriously?


    Jinchul-hyung who was beingbelled with incredible titles like the terminator and Captain America, was in fact a former professional boxer.


    Songee, who was a little flustered in the conversation before, liked animals a lot as expected, and Miss Elena wanting to be an actor made way too much sense. Even I would have had the same dream if I was born like that.


    As for Seungyub, there was something obvious written down next to him. Arent boys that age all unstoppable?


    But Eunsol-noonim was quite a surprise. Daeyang Group was the prominently rich family that everyone in Korea knew about. The 3rd child of the chairman She was astonishingly more rich than I had ever expected.


    At the same time my honest opinion was that it would have zero meaning in a situation like this. Whether you were rich or poor, how would that matter in a hotel with monsters? The most meaningful career would probably be the former boxer. Thinking that I should get closer to Jinchul-hyung, I nkly fell asleep.


    Ah, I have to set an rm


    Fortunately, the day came to an end without anything much happening apart from me being lectured a little for being slightlyte to the meal.

 Chapter 5: Exploring the Hotel (3)

    Chapter 5: Exploring the Hotel (3)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I went to sleep half in doubt but fortunately, the number of Sages Advice went back up to 3. It seemed to be filled back up after going to sleep as Seungyub said.


    When exactly was the reset time? I decided to check thatter if I had to pull an all-nighter one day.


    I cleaned myself, changed clothes and got prepared in time for the meal, as people started to appear when it was time. While greeting those people who I was now fairly ustomed to, we arrived at the dining room and heard another piece of good news.


    I figured out what my blessing wasst night. Seriously. Hah! Its quite ridiculous.


    Wow! Unni, what is it? Do you have some superpower as well now?


    Eunsol-noona shook her head in response to Songees words, and suddenly took out her phone.


    After arriving at the hotel, we all left our phones elsewhere because they refused to function properly. However, Eunsol-noona took out her smartphone as if there was something to show us and fidgeted with the screen before pointing at a strange application.


    <strong>HP Market</strong>


    HP? Is this perhaps Hotel Pioneer?


    Probably. Just to make sure, no-one else has something like this right?


    We all btedly went back to have a look at our phones but as expected, there were no changes to everyone elses phones. It was only Eunsol-noonas phone that now contained a strange application.


    What does it do?


    It was tootest night so I didnt go into detail, but I did have a look. Well, its simr to Amazon. Its like a marketce that sells a bunch of stuff. The funny thing is that there is no cost.


    Eh? Then is everything for free?


    There is no price but there is a buy limit. Whatever it is, you can only buy 3 in total per week. And the delivery is done immediately.


    Immediately? The delivery speed was mysteriously fast in Korea, so I was thinking of staying in Korea considering howfortable it was but even Amazon wouldnt be able to send something immediately,mented Elena.


    Hahaha. Boys will love it if you stay in Korea, Elena! Well, this hotel is not a normal ce after all. Anyway, there was a purchase limit for everything so I didnt buy anything yet. We probably should save it until we really need something.


    Hmm. Firstly I think we definitely need to buy a weapon. Do they have a gun or something? Even if there isnt, anything else is probably going to be better than me carrying around a pole.


    I did think the same thing as Jinchul-ssi yesterday. But the things being sold on this marketce are actually very generic. You can really think of it as Amazon. They dont sell guns or longswords on Amazon, do they? But there are a lot of things you can use instead. What I immediately thought of was a baseball bat, a knife, an expandable baton and a tonfa.


    That would be great enough already. To be honest, yesterday I was exaggerating a bit, and a pole is certainly quite difficult to carry around. A baseball bat isnt that bad but a tonfa is actually quite decent as long as you can use it probably. Umm.. Im not trying to brag or anything, but I did do some martial arts outside. I learned tonfa for like 2 weeks so I think that sounds okay. What does everyone else think?


    There was no-one who disagreed with Jinchul-hyungs opinion. Eunsol-noona tapped the screen a few times as a clear Ding-! suddenly echoed from outside.


    This It seems its already here.


    Ill have a look. Ha, this is quite an interesting experience.


    Soon, an unpacking sound resonated from outside as Jinchul-hyung reappeared carrying a tonfa. Holding onto the handle, he aligned the long part down his arms and threw his fists into the air like a martial art demonstrator.


    Although I did not know martial arts in the slightest, arge and muscr man taller than 190 cm throwing his fists with a weapon was dynamic enough to leave the audience in awe.


    p p p~


    Eunsol-noona began pping with a pleased look on her face. For some reason, we felt urged to follow suit and pped all together as Jinchul-hyung sat back in front of the table with a rare blush. It was an enjoyable mealtime for the first time aftering to the hotel.


    Right when we were about to stand up after finishing our meal, a notification popped up on the disy screen in a timely manner.


    <strong>/Hello esteemed guests! Did you enjoy your meal?</strong>


    <strong>We at Hotel Pioneer always find great joy in preparing the meal for everyone. By the way, esteemed guests, did you know about the countless treasures hidden across the hotel? An endless array of treasures, blessings and even perhaps love which are beautiful, elegant, priceless and magnificent are all waiting for you!</strong>


    <strong>Naturally, only the qualified ones may have ess to those treasures. Doesnt a little bit of risk add beauty to a treasure? Do not worry! We know every guest has the qualification!</strong>


    <strong>In fact, all you have to do is open the prepared gift box! Now, everyone, let us go seek those treasures!</strong>


    <strong>Oh right, at times there will be a preceding visitor in rooms with treasures. If possible, please enter together. There will be no problems for everyone as long as one person manages toe out.</strong>


    Silence filled the room as we tried toprehend the situation.


    So I can understand their intention at the very least. It is: You had enough rest, so get to work.


    Are they trying to joke around or what? Seriously, isnt this just a trap to kill us? What is with this, All you have to do is open the prepared gift box? Then why not just drop the box in front of us? Then we can open it.


    Ignoring the grumbles of Jinchul-hyung, Eunsol-noona started her analysis.


    The first 3 paragraphs can just be summed up to them telling us to find treasures, but thest one has a decent amount of information. There is a risk in rooms with treasures, and Go in together. I understand those two, but There will be no problems for everyone as long as one person manages toe out.? What does this part mean?


    As long as one person manages toe out.


    Actually, I perceived the meaning implied by that sentence as It is so disgustingly hard that it would be great if even one of you can make it out alive! and my head turned a bit dizzy. What should we do? Should we really do as told and go look for those treasures?


    My head was gradually turning numb when an rm rang from the status screen.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Floor Information(*)</strong>


    <strong>Room 101 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 102 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 103 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 104 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Room 106 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 107 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Umm I got another notification. It says Floor Information, and underneath it goes from Room 101 to Room 107, and all the rooms have ??? written next to them except for Room 105, which says Room of Rest. My understanding is that we should go to other rooms apart from Room 105.


    Those are the rooms with monsters and treasures  is that how it is?


    I guess I will have to use the tonfa very soon


    Following the mutters of Eunsol-noona and Jinchul-hyung was Elena.


    Hmm. Shouldnt we also have some weapons for ourselves at least? Of course, its a bit embarrassing to say this in front of Jinchul-ssi, but I also trained my body a little while preparing to be an actor.


    Haha, there is nothing embarrassing there. Of course I will try my best with the power Im given, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt prepare everyone else. Look, here we also have a handsome young man with a good build. Hey Kain, shouldnt you get something for yourself? Do you know how to use something like a tonfa?


    I replied to him.


    Uhh, sorry but I didnt learn any martial arts but I do think my stamina is okay. Should I get something as well?


    Hmm. You look quite sporty yourself but it is a shame you havent learned martial arts before. Well, considering your build, it would probably be fine for you to just swing something heavy. A tonfa wont be that good if you dont know how to use it, and I think a bat would be a better choice for you.


    Wait, Eunsol-noona interjected. Did you forget what I said just then? There is a purchase limit of 3 per week, so dont order anything else and lets wait a little.


    Aht, then do we have to go empty-handed? Thats a bit worrying though


    Uhm there is something I sawst time, Songee started off.


    While unconsciously thinking to myself that Songee had the tendency to shrink a little whenever she was speaking, I gazed at her.


    There are strange props that you would see in movies along the corridor, right? There was also a dagger there.


    A dagger.


    Looking back, I also did grab a silver candlestick on the first day to swing around as a weapon.


    I quickly got up and jogged in the direction Songee pointed at. As she said, there was an ornamented dagger in one of the walls of the tremendously long corridor which I missedst time.


    It looked extremely fancy. Although I didnt have a good eye for something like this, it would probably start at around 10,000 dors if I was to sell this somewhere else. After picking it up, I returned to the dining table.


    Isnt this more of an art piece than a practical dagger? Theres even a gem on the handle. The durability will be quite bad for something like this because its not made for actual use. But it would still be better than bare hands though. Its a shame there is only one of them.


    There was only one dagger. I felt bad using this for myself so I asked for their opinions.


    This should I really use this? This is the only thing close to a weapon so I feel bad.


    I think you should. Maybe Elena can, because she trained a bit, but I dont think Songee, Seungyub and I will be able to fight properly with this. A stronger person should use it especially because we dont have many weapons. Do we all agree?


    No-one disagreed with Eunsol-noonas words and thus, I became one of the two people alongside Jinchul-hyung that had a weapon. Soon after finishing our meal and preparing ourselves, we headed to Room 101.

 Chapter 6: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ (1)

    Chapter 6: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, In front of Room 101 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    We stood in front of Room 101 as everyone turned slightly tense.


    What kind of monster was it that was waiting ahead of us? Would it be stronger than what Jinchul-hyung can handle?


    Honestly, if the thing inside was a monster that was too strong for Jinchul-hyung, then that just meant it would be a wipe for all of us.


    I did take a dagger for myself but to be frank, I didnt think I would be that big of an addition to ourbat power just by carrying a dagger. Everyone else appeared to be thinking the same thing as we all nced at Jinchul-hyung.


    No matter how we saw it, he was the power of our group; our fists and our most reliable person. It was great such a reliable person had a good personality on top of that. Seriously, how scary would it have been without him?


    After perhaps sensing everyone elses gaze, Jinchul-hyung gave an empty cough before personally walking closer to the door of Room 101.


    Well, lets go in. I will be the first one going in. Lets not worry too much. It might be optimistic of me to say this but If this hotel was really trying to kill us all, then they wouldnt even have to make things soplicated. Without food we would starve to death, and if there was poison we would have all died as well. But, until now they gave us good food, and a nice bed to rest on. Theres more  they gave Kain a warning rm in case there was something dangerous, gave fake Amazon to Eunsol-noonim in case we didnt have enough equipment, and even gave me more power than before.


    You mean this hotel is sincerely hoping for us to win and obtain the treasures? asked Eunsol-noona.


    Yes. I dont know why they are doing something like this, but at least they are not nning on blindly killing us. Thats the conclusion I came to. They are probably not saying stuff like esteemed guests all the time for no reason, is what Im trying to say. So even if there are monsters inside, they wouldnt be ridiculous ones that suddenly kill us all in 1 second. Thats probably not going to happen.


    If they were going to end it like that, it would have been enough to poison the food instead of making things thisplicated. That was what he was saying, and it definitely was persuasive. I didnt notice it until now, but he was unexpectedly quite insightful.


    Yes. This hotel wasnt made to kill us. Whatever it was, the risk inside was probably enough for us to deal with! Thinking of it like that settled my mood a little.


    <strong>[You have understood a little bit about the hotel.]</strong>


    Atst, the moment we opened the door and walked inside, I instinctively realised, that the order we went into the room was not important in the slightest.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I had a dream.


    It was like a nightmare but I couldnt really remember the content. There was nothing strange there. In fact, arent dreams usually forgotten when you wake up? I shook my head off of those thoughts and felt my consciousness seeping into the world of dreams again


    <strong>Thud!</strong>


    Han Kain! Wake up! Itste already! Youll be a cow if youre thiszy all the time. A cow!!!


    A shout noisy enough to clog my ears made me jump up from the bed.


    Ah! Mum! I told you! Please dont shout!


    Wake up in time and see if I ever shout at you. Do I have to wake you up until you turn thirty? Hurry up and have your breakfast! Everyone else finished theirs already!


    nkly, I got up, washed myself a little, and headed to the dining room after changing my clothes.


    *


    On the way to the dining room, I looked at my family and talked to them as a distancing sense of reality encroached my mind. The n we came up with, teammates, and the current situation. All those elements scattered like particles of sand falling through the fingers and vanished.


    My consciousness rose to the air and slowly evaporated.


    Before Ipletely vanished into nothing, I thought to myself. Was talking to my family a mistake in the first ce?


    Immediately after that, I lost track of myself.


    *


    It felt like I hadnt seen them for a very~ long time. Was it because of yesterdays nightmare? It was strange.


    Of course, my family was sitting in front of the dining table, and let alone finishing their breakfast already, they werent even carrying their spoons. Mum always woke me up saying everyone finished their breakfast without even opening the rice cooker, and I had no idea why she did that all the time.


    Aaaahm! I thought my ears were going to explode because of you, oppa. Why did you have to wait until she called you 5 times?


    Dude, its because of this weird dreamst night. My head hurts like crazy. By the way, why arent you at school? Why is a high schooler like you waking up at the same time as me; are you cking off because its your second year?


    I heard superzy people forget the date all the time, and thats exactly you, oppa. Todays a Sunday and tomorrows a public holiday, so we were going to go on a trip. Dont you remember that?


    Actually? Howe I dont remember this?


    You live like a pig so of course you wouldnt. Thank goodness there was a university that took you in! Hurry up. Eat your breakfast and finish packing up your stuff!


    While having a distracting conversation, I quickly ate my meal.


    Were we going somewhere today? Even though I was a little bitzy after the final exam, did I really forget our family trip until the actual day? It was a bit of a shock.


    More importantly, what was my sister eating?


    Heegang? What is that? Is that meant to be eaten?


    What are you talking about? Silkworms are the most popr healthy food recently. Mum puts them into rice all the time; what in the hell are you talking about?


    Silkworm rice. Right, that was the popr health food recently right? I forgot again. Looking down, there was also a fresh silkworm wriggling on top of my rice. But for some reason, I didnt feel like eating it.


    Mum! Im going to go pack my bag.


    What about your breakfast? How can you not eat just because you dont like the menu at your age?


    No, thats not it. I didnt pack my stuff at all so there is a lot to do.


    Thats why I told you to do thatst night Hurry up!


    I went into my room to pack my bag but I became flustered again. Where were we going? Mysteriously enough, I seriously had zero idea. Did I get Alzheimers at 20 years of age?


    While holding in my confusion, I went to the living room again and found dad sitting on the sofa crunching on something that was wriggling, after somehow finishing his meal in the blink of an eye.


    It was arva. That was also a popr health food right?


    Dad! Where were we going again?


    So there was a reason why your mum was being noisy so early in the morning. You dont know anything!


    Where was itt~. Seriously, you love nagging too much dad.


    Were going to a botanical garden in the morning, have some grilled duck for lunch and head to a resort at night. And tomorrow morning well go skiing. Wear something thick. Its cold these days.


    Okay.


    Going back to the room, I started packing my bag. I shoved into the bag a simple sportswear for walking down the botanical garden, some underwear, and a thick parka for the ski resort. When I came to myself, it had already been 30 minutes, so I left the room for a little breather and my sister handed me a pair of scissors that was as big as my arm.


    What is this?


    What would you do without scissors at a botanical garden? Did you forget that again?


    Aha, I finally remembered it. Scissors were mandatory in botanical gardens. Of course.


    After packing my bag, we departed and immediately arrived at the botanical garden. I remember it taking 3 hours on a car back when I was young, but it only took us 3 seconds this time! I guess expressways have be super-expressways these days.


    We were met with a cheerful atmosphere upon arriving at the botanical garden. A rich and fertilend, beautiful flowers and chirping birds. I could see many households going around enjoying themselves.


    Scissors. Yes, scissors. Everyone was delightfully chopping off nts with their scissors. Of course, right? Botanical gardens were meant to be enjoyed by cutting off nts while taking in the sunlight!


    Why do we raise domestic animals? Its to eat them.


    Humans raised everything to consume them, and naturally, the reason we raised nts was to chop them off.


    Like what I used to do as a child, I began slicing everything off with my scissors. Next to me, I saw Heegang chuckling while tearing lilies to pieces.


    It was peaceful. How nice would it be for such a happy moment tost forever?


    I saw mum taking out a worm from the ground. She looked silly so I went up to her and opened my mouth.


    Mum! Youre not a beggar, so why are you eating something thats in the ground! We can just buy some at a market.


    Thats true. Honey, you do look a bit too stingy at times. We already have 2 bags full of worms so why are you eating that from the ground? dad added.


    Ehew How about you spit out that beetle in your mouth first? And youre saying that all~ because youve never managed the household before. Grab a few of these and you only have to buy 2 instead of 3 bags from the market, and if that goes on for 10 years, the amount of money you save will


    Uaaah~. Mum started her lecture again. Its all because of you, oppa. Juste here and chop this tree with me.


    It was my mistake. My needless nonsense made room for my mum to lecture again! Running away with my sister, I chopped off trees and spent an enjoyable morning.


    After some time, we headed to a famous duck restaurant nearby. Something mysterious happened again  after we gathered together, we said Lets go have lunch! and we arrived at the restaurant in just 3 seconds. How convenient this world has be!


    The restaurant was filled with the fragrant scent of blood and fluttering feathers, as the screams of ducks added to the charming atmosphere. It was a very elegant restaurant. This ce was so great that our family came here at least twice a year.


    When we took our seats in front of a table, the waiter brought two live ducks as always. Seeing that, I flinched a little. Were ducks meant to be eaten raw?


    Heegang? Isnt this, a bit too raw? Rather than duck meat, its just duck at this point.


    Please. Stop making yourself sound so dumb. Who cooks duck meat these days? The trend is to eat them fresh.


    Ahah, I made a fool of myself again. I was getting told off by my family a lot today.


    It seemed that the world had improved a lot while I was rolling around on the bed after my exam.


    But how are you supposed to eat a live duck? Asking that would probably make me sound like a fool again so I nced around instead.


    A harmonious couple was grabbing on the legs of a duck eating it from the head.


    Isnt that too dangerous? The duck is ripping thedys mouth with its beak though?


    I was looking at it in a fluster when dad added ament.


    Eating a duck from the head like that is dangerous and unsightly. Seriously, kids these days Well, I guess that is how you y when you are young but


    Were you well-mannered yourself, when you were young, honey?


    Of course I was a steaming hot man when I was young. When I grabbed your mum, Mrs. Yumi by the arm, she would


    Oh my oh my! What are you saying in front of your kids!


    Hahaha. Why cant I? The kids are all~ grown up already. Anyway, Kain. When youre eating a duck, you should poke the neck with your fork, rip it open and suck the blood first. Thats how celebrities eat on the TV these days. You have to be well-mannered like that.


    For some reason, I didnt feel like eating lunch either, so I stood back up after a staring contest with the duck. Fortunately, everyone else was desperately fighting their ducks so there was no-one to say anything to me.


    Finishing my meal, I stood up from the seat.


    We would be ying by ourselves at the resort till nighttime, and we would have a buffet at night. And tomorrow was the long-awaited ski time.


    Suddenly, I felt like I was forgetting something. Plus, there was something else  something was shing in a corner of my sight but it was probably nothing important. I must be a little tired.


    *


    <strong>[Your mental contamination has reached a critical level. You must cease any contact andmunication with your family immediately.]</strong>

 Chapter 7: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ (2)

    Chapter 7: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    Today was a very strange day. I was definitely hungry and had nothing since morning, but I just didnt feel like eating anything. Let alone breakfast, I even skipped the duck meat at lunch!


    Considering how mum used to ask whether there was a starving ghost inside me whenever we came to this restaurant, it was really strange that I stopped after a staring contest with the duck today.


    It was free time until dinner, and I couldnt see my family probably because they were each doing their own thing. Walking alone away from my family, for some reason I felt my head turning clearer.


    I had a feeling there was something I was forgetting, but I couldnt tell what that was. Will I remember it after a while?


    From the blurry and sedimented memories appeared faces of strange people. A middle-aged man with an astonishing build, a career woman giving off the impression she was rich, a female student resembling a chipmunk that you would call cute at a nce, a rather shy and silent boy;


    And  a beautifuldy who made me feel dizzy just by thinking of.


    Who was she? Have I seen a movie with an actor like this?


    But it was too vivid to be called a memory about a movie, and I felt like we also shared a conversation.


    Did I really talk to this pretty blonde-haired actress? While I was focusing on the never-ending tails of doubt, I heard footsteps from nearby.


    Hey! Han Kain. What are you doing here?


    Oh, youre here. Wheres mum and dad?


    They went to the aquarium. Apparently there is a shark show.


    A shark show?


    Seems to be quite famous in this resort. They say staff wearing swimsuits will be going inside and ying a game of tag with a great white shark. Apparently tourists can also go in after paying a bit of money!


    Isnt that a bit dangerous?


    So? Thats the thrill! Mum and dad cant swim so they cant even go in anyway. I wanted to go too but I couldnt because Im underage! This is so unfair.


    *


    <strong>[Separate yourself from your sister immediately]</strong>


    *


    We had a fancy buffet for dinner. On the ground floor of the hotel was the restaurant, and inside were beautifully crafted tes flying around with food on top of them.


    Oh, so that is the famous throw and eat! I think I saw celebrities doing it often in a TV show.


    Chefs in white uniforms appeared with bright smiles and threw the tes like frisbees. Half of the food ended up on the ground in the middle of the flight, but people joyously licked the food off the ground without hesitation. Some of the sporty people jumped into the air and crunched on the flying te with their mouths.


    The tes immediately shattered and made their entire faces into a bloody mess, but it truly was an enjoyable moment nheless. I also tried it a few times but catching a flying te with your mouth wasnt very easy. I kept on crashing into them, soter, I felt urged to skip the meal and tried my hardest to receive a te.


    Only towards the end of the meal did I get lucky and seed at eating a piece of fruit. It was unlucky that the te ended up dropping first: only the slice of mango that was on the te entered my mouth. Ahh the key was to receive the te but there was only mango and no te!


    Regardless, the mango was very delicious so that was good.


    I was munching on some mangoes in contentment when my sister walked up while eating a seasoned live rabbit. That seasoned live rabbit was squirming even after having its limbs tied up, so how were you even supposed to eat it?


    Oppa. Howe you didnt eat aaany of the expensive stuff all day, and youre eating some dead mangoes? Is that even nice? There is no garnish either.


    For some reason, this is the best Ive had today.


    Really? It must be because you didnt eat anything all day. Im nice so Ill give this to you.


    Saying that, my sister handed me a dish. Was it because she only saw me eating mango? There were several pieces of mango on the te, but it was slightly unfortunate that cow eyeballs were skewered to each of the mango slices with a toothpick. I did hear this was how it was supposed to be eaten but for some strange reason, I didnt really like it and ate the mango only after taking the eyeballs off.


    It smelled a little bloody, but the mangoes were very delicious.


    After a rather numbing meal, I returned to the resort, watched a short episode on Netflix and got on my bed. Maybe because I didnt have anything proper all day, I was too hungry to really fall asleep, and lying down on the bed away from my family, my head started to hurt again as stray thoughts popped up likest time.


    Thatdy. Her name was Elena. I suddenly recalled her name.


    Did I see her in a dream? It really was an unforgettable appearance. Her hair glistened brighter than real gold and her eyes appeared like polished gems. Besides, she was also full of a kind and generous heart.


    I wanted to see her again. There were a few other people that also blurrily reappeared in my head, but I couldnt really remember them properly.


    Somehow everything felt very distant. With everyone gathered, we were going to do something. A dangerous room; beautiful and amazing treasures  maybe I had a dream about an adventure?


    And, Hotel Pioneer. It suddenly popped up in my head, as my mind felt like it was about to wake up from something.


    That was when my sister sent me a message.


    Ahah, so mum and dad fought about something trivial again. They have been bickering about little things even aftering all the way out on a trip for dozens of years already. Are all married couples like that?


    Sending messages back with a giggle, all theplex thoughts vanished from my head and I soon fell asleep.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 1]</strong>


    I woke up in the morning. For some reason, it only felt like 3 seconds of sleep. Sometimes when you are tired and enter a deep sleep, you do feel like you only lied down for a few seconds, but wasnt this still too much? I wasnt even kidding and I seriously didnt feel like I had any sleep. Yesterday must have been a very tiring day.


    Changing my clothes and washing my face, I armed myself for the ski. It was a bit cold when I was outside yesterday so I did not forget the thick duck-feather parka. As always, I reached the peak of the skiing ground in 1 second just by thinking about it, and my family was all waiting there but I found it intriguing because their outfits were quite different from mine.


    Huh? Mum? Heegang? Dont you feel cold wearing something like that?


    Ehew Look at your brother. Hes driving me crazy sometimes!


    Hey Han Kain! Ehew whatever. Seriously, who wears that many clothes in winter these days?


    Uh Its cold if you dont wear clothes like this right? Thats why I did it.


    Kain. Winters are meant to be cold. Springs are warm, summers are hot, autumns are refreshing and winters are cold. That is the providence of nature. Dont you think taking clothes off because its hot, and wearing more because its cold is going against the providence?


    Hearing the words of my dad, I pondered deeply to myself and realised he was correct. Thats right; what is the rule of mother nature!? There are four seasons in Korea, so being hot when its hot and being cold when its cold is how everything is naturally meant to be. Masking something natural with the likes of clothes was a foolish thing to do.


    Besides, in this era, it was important to protect the environment. Didnt protecting the environment mean adapting to nature? It was correct to follow the natural flow of the world.


    I quickly took my clothes off and only then did my family ease their expressions, as we then smiled brightly together. It felt incredibly cold but that was nothing to worry about. Winters were meant to be cold, so what was wrong with it?


    Brightly I smiled, as something shed in the corner of my vision.


    <strong>[   .      .]</strong>


    *


    <strong>[Your temperature is declining. You must wear your clothes immediately.]</strong>


    *


    We had a fun time skiing. It truly was an enjoyable moment. Together with my beloved family, ying at the botanical garden, munching through a delicious duck, enjoying the scenery of the fancy resort at night and skiing together the next day.


    Such happiness might not evene again!


    Slowly, I felt my head turning dizzy. It was nothing to worry about, however, because winters were supposed to be cold. In the middle of the ski, I fell on the ground. My skin felt like it was sticking to the ground, and I couldnt get up.


    Ahh, actually, was there even a need to bother standing up?


    Looking around, I saw other peoplefortably lying down on the ground. Ahah, so the trend these days is to lie down naked on a snowy ground, huh!


    My vision gradually turned dark, and at one point, it no longer felt cold. I sensed the happy trip slowlying to an end


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>A nice son; a good brother. Filled with love towards your family, you were unable to spot the strange change in your family, and after staying with them for too long, you have been tainted in madness and have crossed the line. You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    Han Kain felt his sedimented consciousness slowly floating back up

 Chapter 8: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ (3)

    Chapter 8: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ (3)


    Tch! Tch! Tch tch tch tch tch tch!


    In the midst of a noisy echo, Jinchul heaved a sigh. It was the sound made by his mother who was ring at him and clicking her tongue.


    Ever since Jinchul was young, his mother used to click her tongue once instead of voicing out a few words whenever he did something wrong, and her habit stayed with her even after he was over 30.


    One slight change was that she used to look at him from the front while clicking her tongue but today she was standing upside down on her hands.


    Were her arms okay? Has she always been that strong? His memories were a little blurry.


    Cmon, mum. Please just sit down. I told you I seriously nailed this interview. I dont understand why you are so worried.


    Thats what youve been saying for thest 5 years. I did it well this time; theres nothing wrong  is that why you quit your job three times in just 5 years? Im too scared to leave behind my stupid only son whos done nothing until 30 to die, for goodness sake!


    Dont say that. Why would you die? You sound like youre in your eighties or nies. You only just hit sixty And looking at you doing that handstand, you still look very energetic.


    You just cant handle losing an argument, can you? Look at you, youre as big as a bull and you are still so immature A good man should be reserved and more quiet. I should have stopped you from going to that stupid studio when you were young. Thats my lifetime regret!


    Studio. The moment she started talking about the martial art studio, Jinchul had no confidence in containing his emotions in front of her so he quietly turned around and walked outside.


    Ever since a young age, Jinchul used to be a sports prodigy. Seeing him grow tremendously bulky inparison to other kids ever since elementary school, the sumo club called him the sessor of Kang Hodong, whereas the ser club used to call him the sessor of Park Jisung.


    But what attracted the young Jinchul the most was the most primitive form of sports.


    What was the most primitive and the wildest thing a human could do with their refined body? In the end, it waspeting against each other with their fists. Martial arts!


    Jinchul wasnt a particrly violent child or anything. Though it might beughable, he considered himself diligent and well-tempered. His dream was to share a bout on the ring with an opponent who also refined their skills, and had never once even wanted to be an underground thug.


    Time went by. In the flow of time, a prodigy at youth tended to be a normal adult. Jinchul never expected that phrase to be applied to himself.


    In the world of normal people, his build was more than enough. His height reached 192 cm, and his muscles were well-developed throughout. Most of the other men felt pressured by him simply walking down the street, and that used to give Jinchul a strong sense of pride.


    However heter realised that physique alone was not enough in the world of martial arts. To be exact, in the world of heavyweight boxers which was full of half-superhumans who already pumped up their physiques, everyone was taller than 190 and weighed heavier than 100 kg, so there was no way he could beat them with nothing but his physique.


    Why? Why can I not react to their fists? Why do the things that worked during spars not work in the actual fights?


    Why is the opponent never falling for my feints, and why am I constantly getting pulled into their pace?


    He lost once, twice, and three times. Only after five consecutive defeats did he notice it.


    His talents werent enough to let him stay in a ce full of true monsters. Jinchul had no ce in a world where everyone could see fists that were as fast as the wind, and put in 2 feints in the span of 0.5 seconds.


    When he came to himself, everything waste. He was already almost 30, and all he had under his belt was the useless record of his failure.


    Actually, the problem was not in those objective conditions.


    He was inte twenties, and it was definitely not toote to stand back up, and his well-developed body was powerful enough to let him earn money.


    One of his acquaintances at the studio opened a gym. Some became securities, and some became police officers.


    Even though they all had to stop mid-way because of theirck of talents, they made use of their bodies that were still in the top 0.1 percentile and made a living.


    The problem was in his heart and not his body.


    Jinchul did not want to give up, nor did he want to fall to a different path.


    He found a job thanks to the rmendations of his previous colleagues but he quit every one of them using various excuses, and consistently turned down his acquaintance who suggested they run the gym together.


    As his connections disappeared one by one and the ember in his heart started to dwindle


    He finally realised that his life was going nowhere.


    It was a depressing line of thought. Although he wanted to stop lingering on such thoughts, it was hard to do so.


    He returned home after collecting his mind.


    Firstly, lets apologise to mum. She was the one who had to support her unstable son after her husbands early death.


    And lets really do my best in this newpany.


    Thinking that, Jinchul returned home but was slightly flustered.


    There was a familiar person in his house. The grandmaster of the studio who had been looking after him for 10 years was here!


    He was a special person who acted as a father figure after the early death of his father.


    They had been staying in touch even after Jinchul dropped his dream of bing a boxer, and besides, it was thanks to his rmendation that Jinchul was able to do the interview this time at the health-rtedpany.


    Wait, Mister Park? What brings you all the way here?


    Aigo, Jinchul. Hurry up and thank him. He has great news for you! his mother said.


    Haha, Im not the great one here! Its because everyone knows Jinchul is very earnest that he gets rmendations like this all the time.


    Sir? What is this about?


    Theyre going to have a big MMApetition in Busan soon. This is a big opportunity! They used a lot of money for this but unfortunately for them, theyre doing it at the same time as XXX Competition! So the bigshots wont be able toe to Busan this time around. And what does that mean? There are only small fries but the prize pool is decent, and there are a lot of eyes on it. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!


    Haha Sir, uhh, you know it better than anyone yourself. Honestly, Im a lot weaker now. It doesnt mean much even if there are only small fries. Because Im a small fry myself


    Buddy, this time its a little different! Thepetition is going to be using thest man standing rule which is a fad in Japan these days.


    Last man standing? What is that? Its my first time hearing it.


    First time hearing that? Its been 10 years already; what do you mean? Its where only one person survives from the arena. Isnt that what youre good at?


    *


    What It was very astonishing. How could there be only one survivor in an MMA match?


    And Im good at that? What in the world


    Thats right. How did I forget this? Looking back, wasntst man standing quite popr in Japan even when I was in high school?


    But half of the registered MMA fighters had died during thepetition, and because of that they had to momentarily pause thepetition. That must be why I forgot about it.


    Of course this was my forte.


    Who was I? Wasnt I the one who bashed a human-devouring monkey with a wooden club? I was at the pinnacle of killing.


    Since I was the only one who would have experienced fighting a monster, it was obvious I was the strongest one.


    Atst, the long-awaited opportunity was right around the corner.


    But when exactly did I fight a human-devouring monkey? Was there something like that in Korea? Well, whatever it was, it was nothing important.


    Because it was definitely true that I had bashed a monkey to death.


    Blink.


    Waaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!


    A tremendous roar was resonating all across the building. I thought I blinked my eyes for a second in the middle of a conversation with the grandmaster but


    By the time I came to myself, I was standing in the arena and there was arge man on the other side.


    What was happening?


    Oh, right! I immediately understood what was going on. Today was the day of Busansst man standingpetition.


    Seriously, to think I lost myself for a moment despite standing in the arena  there must be something wrong with me.


    Kung kung kung kung kung kung.


    Before long, the opponent came running towards me with an iron mace in his hand. He ran up until he was around 3 to 4 metres away from me as the iron mace in his waist suddenly began flying at me like a storm.


    An iron mace? Why was he using this in an MMApetition? Was this also quite popr these days?


    Fortunately, there was a tonfa in my hands as well, so I stepped up and parried the iron mace before it turned any faster. An iron mace was a blunt weapon rather than a de, so blocking after it picked up speed would be toote. The impact would end up breaking your bones.


    That was why I ran up and parried it away, as the opponent became flustered in response. I was definitely in the advantage as long as I didnt give him enough space to make use of his weapon.


    I quickly smacked the man on his mouth with the tonfa as his teeth fell like corn kernels. That was when a heavy thud echoed from my leg.


    It seemed that the opponent had mmed on my leg with his mace.


    Overall it was bearable because we were too close for it to pick up enough speed.


    I calmly crammed the tonfa into his mouth and shook my hand as things dropped from his mouth. At first it was the teeth, which was soon followed by mysterious pieces of flesh. I pushed my fist deeper in as a hole appeared on the opponents neck.


    Was I always this strong? A tonfa wasnt a sword  how could this blunt piece of woode out of a persons neck?


    Oh well, that wasnt very important. It was all good as long as a man  a martial artist at that  was strong, right! There was no need to harbour any doubt in mind!


    Taking a step back, Iughed out loud when the next opponent walked onto the arena. This time, it was an axe. A very insolent weapon!


    If we were on a simr level, it would be impossible to approach a person swinging an axe with something like a tonfa.


    That was if we were on a simr level.


    In just three strides, I jumped across 20 metres and approached in an instant as shock tainted his eyes.


    Was it something to be surprised about? Right now, I was as fast as a tiger. Even I wondered when I earned such a ridiculous physical ability.


    If I was like this from the start, then reaction speed and feints wouldnt have even mattered. It would have been extremely easy for me to be the world champion.


    That wasnt too big of a problem either. All I had to do was be one now.


    My finger pierced through the opponents eyes before he could even swing his axe. Going through his eyes, it smashed his brain. My fingers dug through the front part of his skull and even reached the back of his skull.


    After that, I killed a lot of people. Maybe 10? Or 20? When I was starting to lose track of the number of people I killed, there was no longer anyone left in the arena.


    Waaaaaaaaahhhh! Cha Jinchul! Cha Jinchul! Cha Jinchul!!


    An unfathomablyrge crowd was shouting out my name. The bitterness that stayed inside for 10 years or perhaps even more, was dissolved in an instant.


    Nearby, my mum was crying her eyes out. Although the grandmaster was proudly standing tall, I could still see his reddened eyes.


    Ahh How long have I been yearning for this moment? Right now, I was the protagonist of this world.


    I saw an old man wearing a suit walking from the other side.


    Hes the mayor of Busan, isnt he? Was he going to personally hand over the belt to the victor?


    Thinking that I managed to win apetition in front of someone like him it filled my heart with an overwhelming sweetness.


    Bang!!!


    A thunderous roar echoed across. It shed and I suddenly felt a scorching pain in my chest.


    What was going on? I nkly turned to the mayor and noticed the glock in his hand.


    The moment I realised there was a bullet in my chest, my body crumbled down.


    What was this; what in the world was going on? After slight contemtion, I immediately realised it.


    Ahah! Only one person can leave this arena right! The moment the mayor walked onto the arena, it was obvious that one of us had to die. Instead of dropping my guard, I should have snapped his neck immediately


    I felt my consciousness fading away. It wasnt that sad because I managed to achieve my lifelong dream already but I wanted to see mum onest time before leaving.


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>A dream that couldnt be achieved for a long time! An unrelinquishable thirst towards that goal! In the end, you were bewitched by your unachievable dream.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to spot the strange change in your beloved mother and your father-like Grandmaster, attended a killing martial artpetition, and atst lost your life at the hands of the mayor.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    Cha Jinchul felt his sedimented consciousness slowly floating back up

 Chapter 9: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ (4)

    Chapter 9: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ (4)


    Huu, huuuk, haaaak


    Eunsol coarsely gasped for breath. What was going on? Why did oppa do this?


    It was hard for a sibling to be in a good rtionship, and their father tended to instigatepetition among his children, so her rtionship with her second oppa had been turning worse over time.


    But still she thought she had built some level of trust while dealing with their father together.


    Wasnt their next goal to deal with the oldest oppa who was in the biggest lead among the siblings, and their sister Heeyoon who was starting to be more and more annoying?


    It seemed that her second oppa had a different order in mind. He decided to deal with her first instead.


    Ahh It was a mistake. She should have immediately dealt with her second oppa.


    Instead of resenting him, she was disappointed in herself for being unable to move first as she slowly lost her consciousness.


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>The unending asset of the rich is sometimes the seed of a tragedy. Perhaps that is why you should have stayed tense until the very end?</strong>


    <strong>After dealing with your father together with your brother like the plot of a drama, you should have always been worried about your own wellbeing.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    Lee Eunsol felt her sedimented consciousness slowly floating back up


    *


    An unthinkable amount of pain made her squirm her body. What was going on?


    Som was eating her right arm; her left arm was almostpletely devoured by Happy, and there was only the bone left.


    While the two of them were devouring her arms, three cats and a parrot were each waiting for their turn.


    There was already a beak going into her left eye.


    Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts. Scary. It hurts.


    Someone. Please end this nightmare.


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>How cute are animals?</strong>


    <strong>After falling for the tranquil eyes of a golden retriever, the elegant posture of a Norwegian forest cat and the dignified crest of a cockatoo, you might ease your tension.</strong>


    <strong>But please do not forget! That there is always a breath of the wild remaining inside a beast</strong>


    <strong>Forgetfulness at times will result in tremendous pain.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    Yu Songee felt her sedimented consciousness slowly floating back up


    *


    Blood flowed out of her lips. Ahh so todays the day.


    Radioactive tea. Its mentioned frequently as a joke in the Korean forums, but has anyone ever worried about actually bing the recipient of it? It was definitely not something light enough to be consumed as a joke.


    She wasnt ming the Koreans, because she too had sometimesughed about things that Koreans were serious about.


    More importantly, how did this tea make its way over to the table of her family? Both her father and mother were lying down on the floor.


    When the new leader who was pretty much a tsar rose to power in her home country, her family left seeking asylum and their happy moments hade to an end but


    Didnt their family still love each other more than anyone else?


    Turning around, she found her older sister whose face was filled with joy, pleasure, and liberation  it seemed that she wanted to be free even at the cost of killing her family.


    How stupid. Even after killing father, mother and me at this point, why would that strict tsar leave her alive?


    Thinking that to herself, she slowly closed her eyes.


    She felt empty. After wandering overseas for a long time, they settled in Korea and thought their lives were almost settled again, but to think the conclusion would be something like this


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>The moment a tsar has risen to power in your home country, the only remaining choice for the opposition was to seek asylum. But the harsh path to asylum is not only filled with physical challenges.</strong>


    <strong>One of your families might be exhausted from the process! Have you never considered how that exhausted person might sell the rest of their family?</strong>


    <strong>Did you miss the strange actions of your sister the past few days? Carelessness is your greatest enemy.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    Elena Ivanova felt her sedimented consciousness slowly floating back up


    *


    Knock knock knock!


    I heard someone knocking on the door.


    Ah, it was so annoying. It was almost a solo kill with my yasuo! I got solo killed instead because of that knock! Though I did die twice before that already, that wasnt too big of a problem, because dying one or two times as yasuo was a part of the growing process. I would have solo killed and carried this game if not for that knock


    Seriously, mum was never helpful.


    Mum! I told you not to knock when Im ying the game!!!


    Seungyub Sorry. I didnt know you were so focused on it. But, you should still have something to eat, dont you? You skipped breakfast so for lunch you should


    Mum. If you didnt interrupt me just then this game would have been thest. Please dont interrupt me. Im almost diamond; why are you always doing this to me?


    I will put some food in front of the door. Dont forget to have lunch.


    That stupid lunch lunch lunch! I had no idea why she was so obsessed with it even though skipping a meal wouldnt even kill you.


    I was feeling increasingly irritated when a sudden voice echoed in my ears.


    <strong>[777! Your luck is extraordinary today.]</strong>


    Was I hearing things? I lowered the sound of League of Legends.


    I finally won one game after 3 consecutive losses. It might be strange to call myself this but I really thought I must be quite strong-willed.


    If only I had some actual teammates. I had no idea why I had bots in my team every game.


    Going outside the room, I saw the te mum put down 2 hours ago.


    What is that thing on the te? Is that food? Or a dead rat?


    Whatever! I shook my head and forgot about it. There was no way it would be a dead rat, and what it was did not matter because I wasnt going to eat it anyway.


    More importantly, hitting diamond as soon as possible was a lot more important!


    Walking down the living room, I reflected on the game just then. No matter how much I thought about it, my yone had gone in at the perfect timing. It would have been an easy win if my teammates responded in time and helped, but for some reason, none of the 4 were able to do it.


    They were actually trash.


    Thats why those guys couldnt leave tinum. It couldnt be helped though, because they were in a whole different leaguepared to me who was bound to go up soon.


    Dad came back while I was thinking to myself. It was another annoying person.


    Seungyub. I heard from your mum that you skipped lunch again. Shall we go outside together for dinner? Theres a new meat restaurant next to Fresh Fresh supermarket. They give you a live and fresh pig, and it tastes very nice.


    A live pig? What was he talking about? Who eats a pig raw? Well, it was probably nothing important. He was someone who talked about strange things everyday; and he must have heard some weird joke somewhere.


    Dad. Im going to cook instant noodlester, and thats enough. Ive been telling you this is the most important time of my life, right? I have no time to go outside and have meat or anything. In that time, Id rather y one more game.


    No. Son, you need to have a meal anyway, dont you? Because you cant y a game during a meal, lets have a nice one outside. There is something I need to tell you as well.


    Hah! Who says you cant eat while ying a game? There is this cat champion in League of Legends, and you can y it just fine while eating noodles. Anyway, Ill take care of it myself so you can mind your own business!


    Tang!


    *


    When Seungyub went into his room after noisily closing the door, his parents simultaneously heaved out a sigh. Even though life had always been hard, raising a child never went the way they wanted it to.


    Regardless, he was still their son and the couple decided to drag him out of the house tomorrow no matter the cost.


    That day, Seungyub seeded in raising the first digit of his win rate with the cat champion to 2, but had another one of his ounts banned by the time he was done with the noodle.


    It was difficult to understand. He was simply trying to keep himself in the game even while having a meal, so how was this bannable?


    Its not like he wasnt ying the game, and he definitely bought and sold a few items as well. It was weird how someone would report for something like that.


    Of course, it wasnt a big deal, because there were 17 other ounts waiting for him.


    On a good day, it would probably only take him 3 days to reach diamond, so there was no need to worry about one or two permabans.


    Like that, another worthwhile day came to an end.

 Chapter 10: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ (5) Fin

    Chapter 10: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ (5) Fin


    It was a noisy morning.


    Ah! Fucking hell. How many times do I have to say it? Im not going! Are you deaf?


    Seungyub. Im not telling you to stop ying games I saw an article yesterday. You said you wanted to be a professional League of Legends yer right? Apparently, most of them earn money overseas, and Europe and America pay the best. How hard would it be for you to learn English from scratch when you be a professionalter on? I just want you to learn English at least when you still have some time.


    I told you Im not going to go to thosenguage schools.


    Please do as I say this time. That school is famous for hammering in English words very well. Lets just go there for 2 months.


    Hammer English words in?


    Nn. The teachers there are famous for being great at hammering English words into the skin. Seungyub, youre clever so I think 2 months will be enough for you to memorise the basic words.


    I was hearing a lot of strange words today. Hammer English words into the skin? That might be a unique expression about effectively wedging in English into your brain.


    Of course, it had nothing to do with me whether they hammered or wedged those in.


    Because I didnt feel like talking anymore to my mum, I closed the door and went back into my room.


    I skipped lunch again today.


    However, there were no regrets, because I was one step closer to diamond, the tier of my dreams!


    Now, there were only 2 people in Shindong Middle Schools League of Legends group chat that were higher tier than me.


    At around 5 pm, dad returned after apparently finishing his work.


    Kung kung kung kung.


    Seungyub! You! Open the door ande out right now!


    I could hear the enraged voice of my dad from the other side of the door. Seriously, I had no idea why dad was always so eager to tell me off every time.


    However, I still left because I didnt want to get smacked on my head again.


    What.


    I heard from your mum. Are you not going to go to the Inconguage school that your mum and I looked for? And why did you skip your lunch and stay holed up in your room again? I just dont understand!


    Ah, it was so annoying. Its not like I was requesting something great or expensive from my parents. I was simply practising League of Legends to achieve my dream, so why were they always so desperate to harass me?


    I just could not understand what these boomers wanted from me.


    Pro gamer this, pro gamer that. I get frustrated whenever I hear you say that. Do you think Im a fool? I looked into it myself. A famous gamer said it on a stream, that the score or tier or whatever at least had to be at masters to be a professional. What? tinum? You cant even be a substitute with a score like that.


    I told you I would have been diamond if you didnt interrupt me the whole time!!!


    You little brat! Youre saying that again!!!


    For an instant we shouted at each other, as we were then met with silence. Both dad and I knew that we wouldnt do anything else apart from shouting so I wasnt afraid but in any case, I felt a bit bad for shouting at my dad, so I silently lowered my head.


    After about 1 or 2 minutes, he continued with a slightly softer voice.


    Seungyub I am not trying to harass you or anything. Learn some English, and do some exercising  isnt that going to be good for you as well? I looked into it because you wanted to be a pro gamer. Do you know how easy its going to be to find a job when you are good at English? And those matches; they all require stamina right? High-standard yers seem to focus tremendously on 4 to 5 games a day. Of course that will take a lot of your stamina. I looked for a good ce, so lets go have a look together.


    He would probably shout again if I said no, so I wore a random hoodie and went outside with him while deciding to think of this as a little walk.


    Why was something so irritating happening to me on such a rare weekend? I would have hit diamond this weekend for sure! Honestly, I would have reached diamond a few weeks ago if mum and dad stopped interrupting me all the time.


    I was walking with dad when he brought up the topic about boxing again.


    This boxing studio nearby is very good. Son, you see, I was also having quite a difficult time at school when I was young because of my mean friends. But in the end, what is a man all about? Power. If you learn boxing for 2 or 3 months, everyone will stop looking down on you! Besides, if you build stamina, you can focus on your game even more and do everything better. Look. We are here already.


    Heaving a sigh, I looked at where dad was pointing at and became flustered.


    Screams, cries and sttering blood. What in the world was that?


    Arge, bulky man was bashing kids up as if trying to kill them, as kids around my age ran away from him in tears. The crazy bulky man drenched in blood was chasing after the kids while chewing on something Id rather not imagine, and after seeing dad, he walked up to us with a wide smile on his lips.


    Hah! Just being here puts me in a better mood already. That is boxing for you. How manly is that? Kids should lose a few teeth at a ce like that, and get a few limbs disjointed. Thats how you be a man!


    Hahaha, you know it way too well, sir. Kids these days are too weak-minded and empty, but all of that gets fixed after a month at our studio! A healthy mind requires a healthy body right? Broken teeth can be reced with imnts, and limbs get healed quickly for young kids. The key is that their hearts get fixed.


    Hiya. Grandmaster, youre putting it in a great manner. Seungyub, did you hear


    I ran without even looking back.


    I was thinking there was something wrong with my parents all day, but only now did I feel certain. What was going on? They had always been a bit of a boomer, but


    Today, they were really strange. Rather than a boomer, they were more like lunatics. My parents were seriously out of their minds.


    I saw mum as soon as I came back home.


    Seungyub! How was it? Your dad said that ce was excellent! Mum made dinner for you. Here is a delicious


    I stopped listening to her. Without bothering to listen to her next words, I went into my room and locked the door. Hearing the bizarre screaming out of the dinner she prepared, I just didnt feel like leaving my room.


    Kung kung kung kung.


    Was someone knocking on the door? I thought, but soon realised it was the crazy thumps of my heart.


    What was going on?


    Hiding behind the door, I was trembling for 30 minutes when suddenly, strange memories popped up in my head.


    Strange people  arge ahjussi with a tremendously big body, a noona looking like an angel, a cute noona resembling a chipmunk, a handsome but strange hyung who always nkly looks at the air, and a scarydy who looks like a school teacher.


    Who were they? Their faces were too vivid for it to be because of a mere imagination.


    I thought deeper and deeper into it.


    Morning; was it yesterday morning? I was in a scary building when I woke up. Running away from a monstrous monkey, I was helped by a bulky ahjussi. Then, we went after the strange hyung and


    I think we talked a lot. Did we? It also felt like I was in an illusion by myself, buried in a myriad of thoughts. It was confusing. It was scary and strange.


    Kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung kung.


    This time, it wasnt the sound of my heartbeat. It was clearly that of a knock. My parents did not knock ignorantly like that, and only after thinking that did Ie to my senses.


    <strong>This is not my home. They are not my parents.</strong>


    Opening the window, I ripped out the mosquito screen.


    Third floor  it was too high to jump down. But thinking of how I might die to that thing outside the door if I hesitated too much, my heart felt like it would stop anytime soon.


    Fortunately, there was a car nearby. If I jumped well, I might be able tond on that car.


    Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub Seungyub.


    They werent even trying to hide their madness anymore!


    Mindlessly, I jumped andnded on top of the car. I felt my body crumbling all around and unknowingly let out a scream.


    I saw Captain America jumping down dozens of floors and sprinting just fine, but as expected, that wasnt the same for me.


    Tears gushed out of my eyes. It was frightening. Where was this ce? Who were those people?


    It was very painful, but I ran on and on regardless. And at one point


    Everything faded away. As if I was all alone inplete darkness


    <strong>/You have sessfully escaped!</strong>


    <strong>The scariest age group in the world: Grade 2 of Middle School! Bypletely shutting off your conversation and contact with your strange parents, and by immersing yourself in the Summoners Rift, you were able to suppress the contamination and finally discover something strange about your parents.</strong>


    <strong>As expected, the forged madness of the strange family pales inparison to the true madness of an unstoppable middle school student.</strong>


    <strong>You have escaped the curse, but you sense the root cause of the curse still persists.</strong>


    <strong>One of your team has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>

 Chapter 11: Rest, Basement of the Hotel

    Chapter 11: Rest, Basement of the Hotel


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    Everyone except for one person was absent-minded.


    Jinchul-hyung was lying down on the floor muttering something like, Huhu, huhu. while Eunsol-noona was sitting on the coffee table, drinking 10 shots of coffee straight.


    Songee was crouching next to the potted nt like yesterday, whimpering, Happy Som along with some terrifying set of words while Elena was huddling on the other side of Eunsol-noona.


    And as for me I was nk-mindedly strolling around.


    What was it  what did we just go through?


    I brought my mind back to what happened; to my family who had gone crazy.


    Actually, I shouldnt even call them my family. Those monsters copied the appearance of my family and insulted my mind.


    My mind considered those nonsensical things normal, and in the end, I rolled around naked in the middle of winter and froze to death.


    Others must have experienced something simr. We didnt feel like asking each other what happened in the slightest. Not only was I not curious, but I also had no intention of telling them what happened.


    And


    The only sober person of our group came back.


    Umm, it will be lunch time in 30 minutes. Shouldnt we head back to Room 105?


    Five of us were all silent.


    Thus, I had to force my mouth open.


    Yeah We should have some food. And, Seungyub. Thank you. Thank you so much.


    When I started off with my words of gratitude, the absent-minded people also opened their mouths.


    Aigo Its embarrassing how much I was showing off that I would be protecting everyone before going in. Wasnt expecting something strange like that. Seungyub, no, Hero Seungyub. Thank you very much. If it wasnt for you, seriously


    Thats true. If not for Seungyub-gun, that would have been the tragic end for everyone. Thank you very very much, said Elena.


    After receiving a word of thanks from everyone, Seungyub waved his hands with a blush.


    No no no! I had no idea what was going on either And honestly, I dont even know why it was a sessful escape. I was just running, and pop? it suddenly appeared, so Ahaha. You seriously dont have to do this.


    Was this his first time being praised by a bunch of people at once? It seemed difficult for the young middle-school boy to contain his lips from breaking into a smile.


    Anyway, it was fortunate.


    Seeing how at least our energetic middle-school student was safe and smiling brightly eased the gloomy atmosphere surrounding us by a little.


    We all took our belongings and stood up.


    Now! Lets all cheer for Seungyub 3 times, and go have food. Whats life? In the end, we live to eat food. So lets go: hooray! Hooray! Hooray!


    Hooray!!! Hooray!!! Hooray!!!


    Half because of how grateful we were to Seungyub, and half in order to push aside the traumatic memory, we cheered for the young boy whose face was now as red as a strawberry before heading back to Room 105.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 2</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    10 minutes before the meal, I washed my face in the bathroom to settle my heart and changed my clothes while fixing my gaze at the status screen.


    Both the date and Sages Advice were the same.


    Did I not spend more than a day inside that hellish ce?


    Going to the botanical garden in the morning, visiting the duck restaurant, heading to the resort, spending a night and dying during the ski.


    I spent a night so shouldnt it be Day 3?


    That was when I suddenly remembered something. Looking back, the flow of time within that nightmare was far from normal.


    Not only were the people crazy, but there was no dy when moving between ces, and it was morning when I closed and opened my eyes once.


    I thought that was because I had also gone crazy, but they were all strange events now that I thought about it.


    It might not have been that long in the real world. Even though I wasnt keeping track of the time, we entered Room 101 straight after breakfast, so it would have been 9 am at thetest.


    And it was 11:20 when we left together.


    At first I thought it was 11:20 of the following day but


    Looking at it now, it seemed we had simply entered in the morning, and came out before noon.


    A nightmare horrifying enough to copse not only me, but also a strong man like Jinchul-hyung was only going on for 2 hours.


    How many terrifying things were there in this hotel?


    I needed some rest.


    My heart had crumbled too much for it to be simply called 2 hours of hard work.


    Lets take a rest.


    That was what Jinchul-hyung said immediately after I arrived at the dining room.


    Yes, today no, lets take tomorrow off as well But first, lets have a nice lunch. At least they always have delicious food. Thats one good thing. If they just let us out, I would be 100 times more grateful though.


    This is too ah. Hhkk Too


    Stop! Yu Songee. Stop! Everyone promise me! We will forget what happened in that room, and we wont talk about it. We just had a terrible nightmare for a few days. All of you, lower your heads and look at yourself. Has anything changed? No, right? We are healthy, yes? It was just a nightmare. Forget it. Its done.


    You are a lot better than me, noonim Lets do that. Its not good to talk about something bad in front of meat. Jinchul-hyung added.


    Yes. We should all rx and have some food. And, just putting it out there; its probably only been 2 hours instead of a few days.


    Eunsol-noona asked after hearing me say that.


    Ehng? It had been a few days with my second brother No, dont worry about that, but I spent a few days inside though?


    No, Jinchul-hyung replied. I think Kain is probably correct. I thought about it, but the whole process is a little off. If you look back at it, noonim, actually, dont look back, but Im sure the flow of time would have been strange. Kain, youre saying that based on your status screen right?


    Yes. It is still Day 2, and the advice hasnt been refreshed either.


    Ehew so you mean I did all that stuff in just 2 hours. Alright, lets end this topic here.


    After organising the situation, we quietly indulged in our meals.


    Seriously, in spite of the situation, the food was very delicious. A spoonful of white rice, a bunch of chilli pork, a little bit of sesame oil and a piece of fried egg.


    That one mouthful blurred todays nightmare by like . It must have been true that people lived to eat.


    Dude, you look like youre enjoying the food a lot. Ahh~ I was going to have some chilli pork as well.


    Oops. I grabbed it without thinking because there was so much food. Sorry.


    No, no. Dont worry about it. Im just saying things. The spare ribs here are also delicious.


    The tension eased a little as we indulged ourselves in the delicious food. While everyone was slowly pulling themselves together, Elena opened her mouth.


    We are going to take today and tomorrow off at least, right? I saw it yesterday but there were a lot of interesting facilities in the basement. If we are taking today off, how about we go there?


    Hmm. I think that sounds good, but its not strange to have monsters suddenly pop out of the facilities in this hotel right? Like we said on the first day, I think its dangerous to go around when that warning thing or whatever of Kain is at 0.


    Hyung, do you have no advice left? Seungyub asked.


    Nn. Its still Day 2, and the number is at 0. I must have used all three in that room


    Lets do as Jinchul-ssi said. Going around without Kains ability is too insecure. Lets just have lunch today, and rest by ourselves at Room 105, said Eunsol-noona.


    Since there was no Sages Advice, lets have appropriate meals and rest together instead of exploring this dangerous hotel, and have a look at the facilities at the basement tomorrow  that was the conclusion we came to.


    In any case, a pool and a gym I can understand but A zoo? A botanical garden? Is this normal in hotels? A camping site? Theres an amusement park as well. Eunsol-noona, you look like youve been to ces like this a lot. Have you ever seen a hotel like this before?


    Well I also think a zoo and a botanical garden is quite absurd. And as for the campsite and amusement park, rather than how absurd it is, its theoretically impossible for this to exist in the basement right? Well, I guess its not that strange in a hotel where opening the door of a guest room leads to a different world. Wouldnt it look like a normal door and have some theme parks or something inside?


    A slightly expectant voice echoed across.


    A pool! Everything in this hotel is quite fancy and stylish, so dont you think the pool would also look amazing? But I dont have any swimsuits with me. What should I do?


    Haha, well we can find out by going there right. I assume you like swimming, Miss Elena?


    Ive been doing it ever since I was young. You look like youd be good at everything that requires using the body as well, Jinchul-ssi. Elena replied.


    Well I can do the basic stuff.


    I want to try out the zoo! I think there will be some interesting animals inside.


    It was very energetic considering how full of chaos this hotel was. Apparently, it seemed that I wasnt the only one thinking that way, and there was a voice warning them.


    Okay okay. Its great to see everyone so keen to y. It would be great if this hotel loved us back, instead of hiding monsters everywhere.


    By the time I realised it


    I sensed the signs of trauma and horrible pain being washed away from everyones faces. They might have been forcing themselves to have an enjoyable conversation to wash their traumatic experiences off.


    I too felt those horrendous memories turning fuzzy.


    Nothing much happened after that. I rolled on the bed and rested, had dinner with another exciting conversation, rolled on the bed again and fell asleep.


    If it was always like this, then this hotel might not be a bad ce to live in.

 Chapter 12: Rest, Basement of the Hotel – ‘Living Pool’ (1)

    Chapter 12: Rest, Basement of the Hotel ¨C ¡®Living Pool¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 3</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Basement, Billiards Room</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Like, why can you not push your cue straight? I showed you how to do it. Hold onto the stick with your right hand, keep the tip next to your left, and just push it straight!


    Hyung. I told you Ive never done billiards before


    How could a college student not have yed billiards before? From what you said, its not like you y games or anything either, right? Then what do you even do?


    It was frustrating. There were so many things to do in this world even apart from billiards and games, and yet Jinchul-hyung was telling me off for 20 minutes for being unable to do either of them.


    Fortunately, Sages Advice did not go off while we were travelling around the underground facilities. On the first day when we were in the elevator trying to go to the basement, it definitely said something like, Its dangerous to go down now! so why was it okay today?


    What was the difference between the first day and today?


    Looking back, there had been monsters at the front desk on the first day. Those monsters vanished by the time I realised it and maybe they were in the basement? There were still a lot of things we didnt know about the hotel.


    Eunsol-noonas prediction yesterday about the facilities was correct. They looked the same as guest rooms from outside, and from the outside, it looked like zoos and pools would definitely not fit in but they were all there upon opening the door.


    It was toote for us to be surprised by something like this, so we all started ying where we wanted to.


    Eunsol-noona went to a bar to drink cocktails, Songee went to the zoo, Elena to the pool and Seungyub to theputer room.


    Everyone had a ce to go and y in except for me. I was roaming around wondering what to do and was grabbed by Jinchul-hyung. There was pretty much everything in this hotel except for one thing  there were no people except for us and billiards was a game that was meant to be yed by multiple people.


    But the facilities are all good and stuff, but its only us so its a bit weird to y by ourselves.


    Thats true. Not sure if Eunsol-noonim is enjoying herself alone at the cocktail bar. The zoo would probably have animals so that would be okay but, would Seungyub have anything to do at theputer room?


    The game he ys doesnt need friends next to him, I dont think.


    I know that. Who doesnt know League of Legends? But, the intes probably not going to work in my opinion. The phones not working, and I doubt they will let usmunicate with the outside world.


    Hmm thats true. It might be more fun to do something together.


    Tap


    My cue wondrously sped through the air and smacked the edge of the table next to the ball. Seeing that, Jinchul-hyung dropped his cue and stood up.


    Ey, dude, lets stop. Whats the point in doing billiards with someone who cant even hit the ball? Its not fun for both you and me. Lets just go meet others.


    Thank goodness.


    So, where should we go then? There was one ce that immediately rose to mind. Lets be super honest here. Im sure 95% of every male in the world would have had the same thought in mind. The pool!


    Id been longing to throw this damn cue away to go to the pool for a while! Anyone, or rather, any man would have been the same, including Jinchul-hyung! I was 100% sure.


    Hyung! How about we go to the pool? Its not like we are going to learn how to y a game, and Ive never had a cocktail before. And definitely not the zoo.


    The pool? I dont have a swimsuit though.


    Miss Elena went without swimsuits and hasnte out, so dont you think the swimsuits would all be there as well? Even this billiards room has cues and everything right?


    No, like, of course there are going to be cues in a billiards room but swimsuits in a pool they dont even know how big our bodies are, do they?


    Hyung, thats a normal hotel. Everything we eat and drink has always been a perfect match to our tastes, so why would they not know our swimsuit sizes?


    It was strange. Like, how could he be so against going to the pool in a situation like this? I thought he had the same thing in mind as me judging from how much he smiled when talking to Miss Elena everyday. Regardless, I somehow persuaded him because there was nowhere else to go in the first ce!


    We walked out of the room and found Seungyub and Eunsol-noona on the other side of the corridor.


    Mhmm, youre here as well.


    Oh, was it also a little strange for you to stay by yourself, noona?


    Yeah well, I wondered what I was doing, drinking cocktails by myself in a bar without a bartender and just came out. And he was outside already.


    Theres no inte theputers super good, but what in the world are you supposed to do with aputer and no inte


    We were thinking of going over to you, but you came out too. Was billiards not fun? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Noonim. Dont even mention it. This guy cant even hit the ball with his cue. Ehew, I wonder what hes been doing.


    Ahahaha. So, where should we go?


    Eunsol-noona replied to my question.


    Let me guess. You were going to go to the pool right!


    Flinch.


    Honestly, she was right but having that mentioned in front of me was a little embarrassing. However, four of us were out already and to be frank, the zoo where Songee was at was a little Meh, right! There was no other choice but the pool!


    Seeing me flinch, noona giggled and turned around.


    Ah, so cute~. Lets go to the pool then. There are a lot of facilities but not that many ces to go to.


    We headed to the pool together.


    By the way Seungyub said. I was the first one out right? I was waiting and heard some strange sound. Did anyone hear that?


    I didnt hear anything. What kind of sound was it?


    You know how it goes Ding! whenever there is a new thing on the hotel disy right. I thought I heard that from a distance, but maybe not.


    Kain? Is there anything?


    Hmm, theres no change in the advice.


    Then I think it should be okay. It always popped up whenever there was something going on right.


    During the monkey incident the first day, the main entrance, elevator and the cursed room, Sages Advice had been giving timely advice whenever it was dangerous. There was no way it would suddenly betray us.


    Seungyub awkwardly smiled saying it must have been a mistake, and we all headed to the pool.


    *


    <strong>/Todays Surprise Event! The Living Pool has been opened!/</strong>


    *


    I immediately realised why Jinchul-hyung, who had been telling me off the whole morning regarding billiards, was so reluctant to go to the pool. Even though he should be confident about his body and even though <em>that</em><em>Elena </em>was swimming!


    This man was unbelievably bad at swimming.


    Huuk, huuk, huuk.


    Cough! Apupuh! Ptui, uaak!


    A variety of noises were filling up the pool.


    Im pretty sure I heard someone say yesterday that he could do some basic swimming, said Eunsol-noona.


    Huk, huk, huk I did, definitely learn it when I was young though.


    You mean when you were swimming in your mothers womb?


    Haha, huu. That was a good joke.


    It didnt sound like a joke though. To me, it looked like Eunsol-noona was 100% serious about herment and I thought the same thing.


    Was this even possible? Just take a deep breath and a human body would naturally float above water. Shouldnt it be possible to proceed a little bit no matter how bad you are at swimming? He was thunderously swinging his legs around as powerfully as possible but for some reason, he couldnt stretch them back.


    I think he would float just by taking a deep breath, and yet he was obviously twisting his body to slowly sink down. His astonishing skills even overshadowed Elenas remarkable swimming skills (Im definitely talking about her swimming skills!) which reminded one of a dolphin, as we all leaned on the wall watching Jinchul-hyung.


    A bulky man reaching 190 cm thrashing around while slowly falling deeper underwater was really a sight to behold. I would have paid money even if I had to!


    Since I had been nagged the whole morning for being unable to hit the ball with my cue, this was even more amusing to watch. We were all giggling together when Songee came back.


    Ah! You were all here. I went to the billiards room and the bar but there was no-one there so I was wondering where everyone was.


    Songee, you should join as well! If you go into the room with a clothing sign in that second room, your swimsuit will pop up. If you dont see it, you can turn around once and it will be there.


    We really are at a strange ce, arent we. Considering how nonchntly you said that.


    They were indeed nonchntly talking about some extremely bizarre things.


    How was the zoo? Were there a lot of animals? Like elephants? I asked.


    Ah, Kain-oppa. The zoo hmm. I think we should go there together one day. Its a bit of a strange zoo; not like the one we are thinking of.


    Jinchul-hyung, who was out of the water by the time I realised it, asked back.


    A strange zoo? There is nothing that is normal in this hotel though. This pool is already super strange. How strange is it for you to say that? Dont tell me they have locked humans just because they are also animals?


    Thats not it, but they are all animals Ive never seen before. Not like deers, foxes or anything Its my first time seeing them.


    Maybe you just dont know them, Songee? I saw this famous documentary film before about lives on Earth, and there were some seriously intriguing animals.


    That might be the case for some. But, although I didnt see much because of how big the zoo was, I saw more than 10 species but I had no idea what any of them were.


    Then rather than going together, I think we should all stay away from it instead


    Maybe?


    A strange zoo  I etched it into my memories. I had a feeling that the botanical garden would probably be the same.


    A zoo filled with animals never seen before. Did they gather animals which normal people would not know of? It would be great if that was the case but


    What if it was a normal animal in the standards of this hotel? If they were animals that existed somewhere


    Right as an ominous trail of thought appeared in my head,


    Something unexpected urred.

 Chapter 13: Rest, Basement of the Hotel – ‘Living Pool’ (2) Fin

    Chapter 13: Rest, Basement of the Hotel ¨C ¡®Living Pool¡¯ (2) Fin


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 3</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Basement, Swimming Pool</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Twitch


    Twitch


    Suddenly, the floor started to wobble. Did I step on something? I was thinking that when screams and profanities began filling the pool.


    Kyaaaaaaah!


    What the fuck is this shit! What the fuck. Uaaahhh!


    Bizarre things came out  lips suddenly came out of the floor, walls and the ceiling. Those huge lips that looked like the cut-off lips of a giant cracked open.


    A tongue as thick as an arm left from those lips. Those tongues lengthened and shortened itself without any restrictions, and made me wonder if they were even tongues at this point.


    Well, I guess a frogs tongue did do that when eating flies.


    The only problem was that we were the flies.


    Kwadang!


    My body suddenly fell to the side.


    When I turned my gaze to my right leg in a fluster, I saw a tongue that soared out of the ground grasping on my ankle. Startled, I swung my legs around and even tried to rip that disgusting tongue away with my hands but it was all in vain.


    As if there was a thick rope tightly gripping onto my leg, I couldnt move it at all!


    Bbiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikkkk!


    A growl that was definitely not from the mouth of a human reached my ears.


    What was it this time?


    I turned to where the sound came from and found lips that were evidently crumpled from immense pain which appeared to be letting out a scream. As expected, Jinchul-hyung was different from us. He seemed to have just ripped the tongue out which was why the lips were screaming.


    That monster appeared to feel pain just like a normal persons tongue.


    Using his bare hands, he ripped out another two tongues with his monstrous power as if it was just a thin string, and the tongues no longer went for him.


    Thus, Jinchul-hyung quickly ran to everyone else, and Eunsol-noona, Seungyub and I were all freed again in less than a minute.


    However  this was only the beginning.


    Ahpu, ahpu, huaak. Cough. Please. Please, uaaak!!!


    The two people that happened to be in the water when it happened, Elena and Songee, were unable toe out. Going closer to the pool, I looked inside and became speechless.


    Lips. Extremelyrge lips. Those lips were way too enormous.


    It was on a whole different league to the lips that had emerged out of the walls and floors of the pool.


    At this point, it was pretty much like the mouth of a whale, and the tongue leaving that mouth was also iparably thicker than the other ones. The other tongues were like an arm, whereas this one was as thick as a persons leg.


    Plus, there were two tongues this time instead of one.


    Jinchul-hyung ran up before I could even do anything.


    He should be able to solve it. These past few days, I had seen his nonsensical strength time after time.


    Even if the tongue was as thick as a human leg someone strong enough to crush concrete with his fists should be able to deal with it.


    That was what I was thinking, but things turned out differently from my hopeful anticipation.


    Uhhk. Why the hell is this mouth so damn big! Kain!! Come here and pull with me!


    I mindlessly ran forward. Jinchul-hyung was disying his might by pulling Elena with one arm while pulling Songee with his other arm, but had to let go of one of his arms and I frantically ran towards Songee to pull her out.


    While running up to her, a doubt appeared in my mind.


    Even though the tongue was strong, it was in the end a tongue, and was not as tough as metal.


    It felt soft even for me, so shouldnt Jinchul-hyung be strong enough to snap the tongue itself with his strength? I saw him snap the small tongues like rotten ropes in just 1 or 2 seconds, so I thought the big tongue wouldnt be that different but


    The moment I started pulling Songee, I realised what the issue was.


    Songee and Elena tried to leave the water as soon as something bizarre started to ur but it was toote, and most of their bodies were still underwater. Naturally, the tongues grabbing onto their ankles to pull them deeper in were also underwater.


    How would Jinchul-hyung, who couldnt even stay still in the water go that deep and break those tongues!


    In fact, it would have been difficult even if he was a good swimmer.


    Regardless of how strong a person was, when underwater without anything to support your body, it would be difficult to use your strength properly unless you could go against thews of physics.


    Slowly, Songee and I were dragged deeper into the pool.


    Crackkk!


    The floor of the pool cracked open. Water swirled while being sucked into thatrge mouth as I felt the unbearable pressure turning even stronger.


    Ahh that mouth! Look at that mouth! There were countless horrifying teeth gleaming inside the opened mouth.


    It definitely wouldnt be a nice death if I ended up there. Freezing to death in Room 101 was quite mercifulpared to dying inside that mouth.


    When the floor opened its mouth, Songees wail and her scream doubled in noise, and was now so loud I thought I was turning deaf.


    Tinggg


    That was when something metal fell next to me.


    A silver dagger.


    It was the ornamented dagger we found in the corridor in the morning before entering Room 101. Even though I didnt even get to use it in Room 101, I had been keeping it next to me the whole time.


    I was going to keep it around because of how fancy and expensive it seemed, and I could also remember how Seungyub and Jinchul-hyung used to y around with it. That piece of artwork which was worth at least a few tens of thousands of dors, and even a few hundred thousand dors had been tossed around like a toy.


    From a distance, I could see Seungyub shouting something.


    He must have taken the dagger out of my clothes and thrown it to me.


    I understood what his intention was, so I picked up the dagger and stabbed on the tongue as hard as I could.


    This tongue might be strong but was not as tough as metal, so there was no way it would be able to hold off against a de!


    Stabb


    As expected, the dagger pierced through the tongue.


    It felt as if I was cutting into a very lean piece of meat. A horrendous vomit-inducing odour gushed out along with blood.


    <strong>BBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</strong>


    A loud scream ridiculous enough to bring my deafened ears back to life filled the pool while suppressing every other bit of noise.


    And atst, Songee and I became free again.


    Oppa, oppa. Thank Ptui. Thank cough. I mean.


    Keep that forter and collect your breath.


    You should keep that forter as well! Come stab this tongue here as well!!!


    A low roar reached my ears as I mindlessly ran forward to pierce on the tongue that was wrapped around Elenas ankle.


    <strong>[Lower your body immediately!]</strong>


    ? What was this suddenly about  before I finished that line of thought, I flew across the sky.


    It was my first time ever to fly in the air like this.


    My line of sight suddenly turned higher, and my body flew around 7 or 8 metres like a bird before crashing into the wall.


    Ahhhhhkkk!!! Ha, fcckkk! Uaaaaakkk!


    My whole body was probably crushed.


    From the top of my head, to the tip of my toes  it felt like someone had hammered my body all the way down. I btedly realised that that crazy tongue hade in like a missile to bash me away.


    Ahah, so thats why I got the rm to lower my body huh.


    But what else could I have done?


    Why didnt it warn me beforehand? It was already toote by the time I saw that message


    That was when I realised the principle of that warning rm.


    Sages Advice was only activated when there was a materialised form of risk that woulde in a few seconds. The reason why Sages Advice hadnt been activated even when we were roaming around the hotel facilities and even when we entered the pool was very simple.


    It was because that mouth hadnt been formed yet.


    Besides, the rm didnt go off straight after the appearance of that mouth, and waited until that tongue was just about to half-kill me!


    I finally realised that this Advice had more weaknesses than I thought.


    However, it might be toote already.


    This might be my death.


    My body had seriously exceeded the limits of what a human body could handle.


    Maybe this is how it feels to be run over by a truck. It was way, way too painful. In fact, it was so painful that I couldnt even faint.


    And, from the corner of my vision  I saw red mist being sprayed out.


    What was that thing? Despite the condition of my own body, I became curious. Eunsol-noona was swinging a strange container to spray out a bunch of mist, and mysteriously enough, that mist performed literally like magic.


    Not only did the tongues run away in fright aftering into contact with the spray, they copsed to the side and shivered. The big tongue wasnt any different either.


    After she whole-heartedly sprayed everything out of the container towards therge tongue, the two tongues  the one that smacked me and the one that was holding onto Elena  fell to the side and shivered as if their previous disgusting vigour had been an illusion.


    What kind of mythical magic elixir did Eunsol-noona gain ess to? How was she able to neutralise that monster so easily?


    Those lips  they came to a close.


    The tornado inside the pool ceased.


    When the chaotic situation finally settled down, my consciousness faded along with the alleviation of my tension.


    *


    Unni unni unni. Oppa oppa oppa. What do we do? Kain-oppa is not waking up! Kain-oppa? Oppa?


    Songee, youre distracting me so please stay still. Jinchul, you did some martial arts didnt you? Do you know how to do first-aid and stuff?


    Im doing it right now. But his arm His arm ispletely crushed. Hes alive only thanks to his arm taking in most of the shock. If he took that strike to his stomach, he would have died already.


    His arm Im not a doctor but his arm is clearly not the only problem right? He was flying I saw Kain fly 10 metres!


    I saw that too. His organs must be in aplete mess right now. This, this I cant do anything here; we need a doctor. You fucking hotel bastards, we need a doctor!!!!! Cant you hear me!!!


    Noona. Noona shouldnt we buy something at your market? Do you have a potion or something?


    The things they sell in the market are generic. Theres no gun so how could there even be something like a potion? Actually, theres nothing we can do even if there was. I already bought capsaicin and this bandage, and thats 3 times this week already.


    Voices. Voices. It was so noisy that I hazily came to my senses.


    I see, so the identity of that mythical elixir was capsaicin, huh. It was a tongue to be fair. It would have been strange if the tongue could withstand the flood of concentrated capsaicin.


    That was no longer the question of how strong and weak that tongue was, but more than anything, it was amazing how noona was able to think of capsaicin amidst all that confusion.


    I noticed something stuck on my arm, and also saw the people that were creating a fuss.


    A girl was crying next to me. Even though there was no need for her to cry so much.


    Ady was standing still while shivering, as if she was going to lose her mind. It seemed that my life wasnt for naught judging from how a beauty of that level was worried about me.


    There was a boy running. Why was he running? He seemed mindless and appeared to be doing it without even knowing the reason himself.


    And there was an rm flickering in the corner of my sight.


    <strong>[Return to Room 105 immediately.]</strong>


    Room 105. Room of Rest.


    Did Rest mean more than just providing food, drinks and a bed?


    Looking back at the games I yed growing up, the inn was indeed a ce that filled your HP and Mana back to full after a sleep.


    Forcing out all the remaining energy I had inside me, I managed to utter a few words.


    105. Room 105.


    That was all I could do.

 Chapter 14: God of Surgery

    Chapter 14: God of Surgery


    Everything felt distant. Was I still alive?


    I couldnt see anything with my eyes, nor could I feel anything with my body. Maybe this is how it feels for your consciousness to float without a body


    That was when a soft voice was heard from somewhere.


    Can you hear me? I hope you can, because you are half-healed. Your arm waspletely shattered but that wasnt even the main problem. Your stomach, liver and intestines were all ruptured.


    Tap tap tap.


    Honestly, if there was a patient like this in the outside world, we would seal the stomach back up. If someone can heal this, they would be the god of medical science instead of a human being. In that sense, you can half call me the god of surgery.


    I did study a hell of a lot when I was young. Although embarrassing, I was the pride of our family. I got into medicine at uni, and was getting top marks! My father was always busy bragging about me, and my mother was the envy of all the mothers of our vige. Ahh I hope theyre both doing fine.


    Well, but I did achieve my dream. I became a doctor, and thanks to that, Im still living like this despite being a loser, and even half became the god of surgery.


    Rip. Crack.


    Haha. To think Im bragging about myself in a time like this. Im really sorry, but its been way too long since Ive met another person. Please understand.


    It doesnt hurt, does it? It shouldnt, because Ive cut off your nerves. This honestly its not an injury that can be healed by a human so Im practically rebuilding your body.


    Im not sure if you can hear me properly. But judging from how theres no particr restriction from me bbering like this, it seems your mind isnt fully back yet.


    Anyway, were 80% done.


    You might be flustered when you wake up because of how clear my voice is and how well it stays in your memory. Dont be surprised though. Its thanks to a small trick. Haht, I am finally getting some restrictions. It seems you are about to wake up.


    This hotel has been running for a very long time. Innumerable challengers have gone through various tests, and a small few of them have gained remarkable glory but


    Most of them fell to hell and I am one of them. You can say Ive be an NPC. Its fortunate though that I didnt end up bing a sacrifice or an experiment material at least.


    There is one thing I would like to request. This small trick is all because of that one thing I wanted to say. Later if you happen to gain a chance at the Room of Resurrection, or if you see Buddha, please dont forget me.


    I am Kim Sanghyun. Im sure I will be very handy. Im confident with my surgery skills, and Im also confident in using my brain. I have also built a lot of experiences in this hell.


    Ahh. The restrictions areing to ce. Youre probably going to wake up soon. I hope you obtain honour, and I sincerely hope you remember my name, Kim Sanghyun.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 5</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I woke up.


    I instinctively turned to the status screen immediately after opening my eyes.


    Day 5. We went to the pool on Day 3, so it seemed that the entire Day 4 had disappeared. I must have been unconscious for a whole day.


    That was quite surprising, not because a whole day had gone by, but because it had only been 1 day.


    Even though I was not a medicine person, I remember myself being close to a corpse, so how was I able to wake up in just one day despite such injuries?


    Besides, I wasnt feeling any pain. There were no bandages on my body and there werent any signs of surgery either.


    That conversation.


    I faintly recalled the words I heard in my sleep.


    It definitely wasnt an overstatement that he was half the god of surgery. I also engraved the name, Kim Sanghyun into my memory. Whatever the case, he was still the one who saved my life.


    Room of Resurrection, See Buddha, NPC.


    I had no idea what any of them meant. But what was clear was that he called himself a loser of the hotel, and the reason he made a request like that was probably because there was a repechage of some sort in this hotel.


    Of course, it meant nothing for the time being, and I still wasnt sure what Resurrection and Buddha were about.


    While checking the unbelievably normal state of my body, I stood up to look at the clock and saw it was 7:40. The meal would have begun at 7 oclock, so breakfast shouldnt have ended yet.


    I headed to the dining room to meet everyone.


    !!!


    You!


    K, K, Kain-oppa!


    It immediately resulted in an uproar. They couldnt hide the surprised looks on their faces, and it was soon followed by shouts full of concern.


    You, you fool! Why did you get up already? Or more like, how did you even get up so quick!?


    Thats right. If youre here to let us know youre okay, its enough so you should go lie back down. Dont you need a full-on rest?


    I calmly told them that my body was in a mysteriously perfect state.


    Thanks for worrying about me, but Im really okay. See this.


    Seeing me suddenly do an acrobatic exercise and a handstand (all of their eyes turned into circles here), they were finally relieved.


    Are you really okay? How is that even possible? I saw your arm dangling like an stic band. How did that arm grow back to this?


    First of all, please tell me what happened to me in your eyes.


    Even if you say that, said Jinchul-hyung. We just carried you to Room 105 the day before yesterday. Actually, we were a bit hesitant. Since we all get separated apart from the meal times, we were worried you might die inside by yourself. So some of us said we should wait until mealtime toy you down on the bed.


    Eunsol-noona opened her mouth.


    I turned it down. No matter how I saw it, you werent going to survive until meal time. But you were saying 105, 105 before you fainted so we all just went inside, thinking there might be something. As expected, we were put into different ces the moment we headed in, and we couldnt see you, Kain.


    I went to the bedroom as soon as it became meal time, but you werent there oppa. Even though we should be able to see each other during meals. Songee added.


    That is why I said it was fortunate instead, This time, it was Elena. If Kain-ssi was lying down on the floor, that would have been the worst case scenario. The fact that you disappeared instead, made us think the hotel was doing something in its own way.


    And you just suddenly came out of the bedroom just then. You werent there even when we wereing to the dining room until now, so you must have appeared during that gap.


    They were all throwing out words at almost the same time so it was quite confusing.


    But overall, it wasnt thatplicated: they carried me to Room 105 on Day 3 and I disappeared the moment they entered the room. I was nowhere to be seen for a whole day and suddenly came to the dining room in the morning.


    That was the gist of it.


    From the afternoon of Day 3 to Day 5 morning.


    Around 40 hours perhaps? The doctor appeared to have treated me during that time.


    After some thought, I also shared everything I got to know including how I was told to head to Room 105 by Sages Advice before losing my consciousness, and the chunks of information that the doctor somehow forced into me while I was asleep.


    Resurrection, Buddha, NPC and others.


    That is interesting. Of course, theres probably nothing here that isnt interesting.


    Resurrection? Is something like that even possible? Even though theyre not God?


    Come on, Elena. Why do you seem so surprised? You know in Room 101  well, we decided not to talk about it  but didnt we all experience something simr to a resurrection there already?


    Thats true. I guess everything really is possible in this ce.


    Kim Sanghyun, huh. Lets all remember that name for now. Though I dont know when that would even be relevant to us, said Eunsol-noona.


    Kain-hyung. Seungyub called me. Actually, the hotels announcement changed a little while you were sleeping.


    Nn?


    <strong>/Wee, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!</strong>


    <strong>There are several guiding notifications so please refer to them. There could be an addition to the notifications and you may see them at any of the disys of the hotel.</strong>


    <strong>1. Hotel Pioneer always loves our esteemed guests.</strong>


    <strong> However, the waiters of our hotel are very shy and only work diligently away from everyones sight.</strong>


    <strong>2. A few of the elevators functions are deactivated, so please take that into consideration.</strong>


    <strong>3. The hotel always respects the privacy of our guests. However, perhaps meals should be shared together? Please always keep the meal times.</strong>


    <strong>4. At times there will be fairly unclean preceding visitors in guest rooms. If possible, please enter together. There will be no problems for everyone as long as one person manages toe out.</strong>


    <strong>5. More and more special events will be added when our esteemed guests appear bored. Arent events the best way to help you forget boredom?/</strong>


    Up to Number 3 is what weve already seen. Number 1 is saying meals will be prepared when were not looking, Number 2 says the elevator is broken, Number 3 is how we cant see each other apart from meal times, and Number 4 is also straight-forward. It means one person escaping from the Cursed Room would allow everyone to survive, right? And Number 5 maybe that means


    Well, its telling us not to sit around doing nothing. If you eat and do nothing but y around without working, you seem bored so we will pour out monsters like 2 days ago. Thats what theyre saying  its a threat.


    Looking back, the monsters suddenly appeared on Day 1 and Day 3. Those two days


    Songee slurred her words as Eunsol-noona finished it in her stead.


    Those are the days when we didnt enter the Cursed Room.


    Yes. There were no monsters on Day 2 when we went into the Cursed Room. Ah, there was nothing yesterday on Day 4, but thats probably because


    One of you is half-dead and is in the middle of recovery so well let you off today. Thats the feeling I got.


    So, now that Im healthy again


    Either today, and at thetest tomorrow, we have to start that treasure-finding again. If not, then who knows? This time, some monster could show up in our bed and slice us into pieces.


    Kain. Can you check the information of the hotel with your ability?


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 5</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Floor Information(*)</strong>


    <strong>Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Room 102 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 103 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 104 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Room 106 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 107 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I told them that all the rooms apart from Room 101 and Room 105 still had question marks.


    Room 101. Even the name of the room itself was A Strange Family.


    It felt like I somewhat saw it as soon as I entered Room 101, but more importantly, simply looking at the name made me recall how absurd everything was.


    After a short silence to let everyone finish thinking to themselves, Eunsol-noona opened her mouth.


    Well, then we should head to Room 102 next. If we are going to go, I think we should go as soon as possible because this hotel hates seeing us take a day off. Taking yesterday off because of Kains absence might have been the hotel being lenient on us already. Kain, do you think youll be alright?


    I quickly checked my body.


    My body was seriously okay. In fact, it felt even better than the first day when we suddenly arrived at the hotel.


    We would only be exposing ourselves to more monsters even if we were to rest a little bit more.


    Ill be okay. I think we should finish our meal, and head straight to Room 102.


    We decided to take our belongings and head to Room 102 after the meal.


    Room 102 I sincerely hoped it would be at least bearable unlike the hellish Room 101.

 Chapter 15: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (1)

    Chapter 15: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 5</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Bump, bump.


    Ah, Jinchul. Can you please be a better driver? My bums killing me.


    Im telling you, noonim. Its my first time driving an SUV. This feels a little bit different.


    Tung!


    Aht! Ughh


    Ugk! My head Hyung, can you please slow down?


    We are all gonna die before even going to the mansion!


    Like, why are there so many unpaved roads leading to that stupid mansion? Noonim. Didnt you say youve been there a lot?


    Hmm Actually, I dont remember it that well because that was back when I was young. Big uncle has been living there the whole time Wait, youre going to a mansion and enjoy a good view without paying a single cent, so what are you so dissatisfied about!


    Im not dissatisfied or anything Its just too far and daunting to get there.


    By the way, is your big uncle also at the mansion?


    Oh, Songee. Well, I called him a few days ago, but it seems that he has been unwell these days, and he cante down from the hospital in Seoul. Well, thats good~


    Sorry??


    Oops, I dont mean its good that he is unwell. Its just that it will be only us except for the employees.


    There are employees?


    I heard theres one maid and one butler.


    A maid and a butler that really is a full-fledged mansion then. I dont think Ive ever been to an old-fashioned ce like that even in my home country.


    And that is where we are going to.


    BBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


    The sound of a broken radio echoed in my mind, and,


    I came to my senses.


    Everyone came to themselves at the same time as me, as we all sealed our mouths shut.


    What was going on? It felt like I had been absent-mindedly watching a movie for like 30 minutes after entering Room 102. It felt inexplicably odd like I had been indulged in a movie where I was showing up as an actor myself.


    Naturally, the car also came to a stop.


    What in the world was that Thats some even more weird stuff.


    What was that? I wasnt doing anything and yet somehow


    Someone was controlling our bodies for a role-y for 20 to 30 minutes. It was probably this hotel. Eunsol-noona replied to Songees flustered mutter.


    We all btedly understood what was happening.


    For 30 minutes after entering Room 102, we lost control of our bodies, and something was controlling our bodies to head to the mansion while exining the situation like a theatrical y to force pieces of information into our brains.


    It was Elena, who was currently aspiring to be an actor, thatprehended the situation before others.


    Looks like we are all given a role. Me, Eunsol-unni, Jinchul-ssi, Kain-ssi and Songee. Us five are heading to therge mansion of Eunsol-unnis big uncle. Excluding Seungyub, we are all in the same college society and Seungyub is unnis little brother. Thats what suddenly popped up in my head. Is that simr for everyone else?


    Same for me. Well today, I finally realised I had a big uncle the whole time. It seems the hotel is so amazing that it even created a non-existent family member for me. And, a college student? Maybe that could work for everyone else, but Jinchul and I are


    Eunsol-noona paused in the middle of her words as we were all stuck speechless.


    College student. Eunsol-noona and Jinchul-hyung were all in their early thirties so they were a little bit too old to be considered a college student. Eunsol-noona might be passable depending on her outfit but it honestly would have been impossible for Jinchul-hyung but


    Now, the two of them most definitely looked younger.


    You do look like college students.


    Eunsol-noona replied with a nk look on her face. Youre right. I look 10 years younger.


    How many weird things do we have to go through here Seriously.


    If we are college students, that means I became older instead Songee grumbled.


    Songee, you dont look particrly older though?


    Hmm, youre right. Looks like Elena-unni, Kain-oppa and I dont look any different.


    It seems they made Jinchul-hyung and Eunsol-noona younger to give you the role of a college student. They can bring people back to life so making someone younger is probably nothing difficult for them.


    I wish my age would stay the same even after leaving the hotel


    Songee shouted while ignoring the grumbles of Eunsol-noona.


    Wait, unni! Where is Seungyub?


    ording to the scenario, hes already at the mansion.


    Hes probably like a hostage.


    A hostage? Kain, what do you mean by that?


    Oh, right. Let me exin. I looked at the screen as soon as I came to myself and the ce we are heading to has a terrible name. Mansion of Fear. I dont know exactly, but theres probably going to be all sorts of terrifying things happening in there. But we all woke up before going to the mansion so I was wondering what would happen if we just didnt go to the mansion altogether. Maybe thats why they sent Seungyub over there beforehand? So that we definitely have to go to the mansion?


    Well, that might be true but I think we should all go there no matter what, replied Jinchul-hyung. If we insist on not going, they would probably do all sorts of random stuff to make us go there. Suddenly there were zombies following us so we ran and arrived at the mansion. Wouldnt that be our new scenario or something?


    Its only been a few days, but youre already like a veteran at the hotel, Jinchul.


    Anyway, lets all head to the mansion again then. If they are going to force us to go there, I think we should go on our own feet to make things less rough for us.


    By the way, Jinchul-hyung, do you know the road? You werent the actual one driving till now right?


    He replied, Hmm well, the map is stuck next to the road so thats okay, but theres a bigger problem here.


    What is it?


    This is manual. Not automatic.


    Everyone turned silent.


    Hyung. Dont tell me your licence


    I did get a manual licence but havent touched a manual car for like 10 years. Does anyone know how to drive a manual?


    I dont have a licence murmured Songee.


    It would be strange if you did as a high school student. But mine is also automatic. Kain, what about you?


    Eunsol-noona asked so I replied.


    I dont have one either


    Miss Elena, what about No, never mind. This is a problem though. Should I just give it a shot?


    Ill drive, said Elena as everyone turned silent once again.


    Miss Elena? Do you?


    I found this out while getting a Korean licence, but Korea is the unique one to be mostly automatic. More than 80% of the cars are still manual in Russia. So let me drive.


    Just like that, the steering wheel of the manual car that no-one could drive was given not to the former martial artist in his 30s, or the career woman who was also in her 30s but to the young female foreigner in her 20s.


    We all kept our lips shut until we arrived at the mansion. Jinchul-hyung had the stiffest look I had ever seen on his face.


    It turned increasingly more solemn inside the car as we went closer to the mansion.


    What kind of ce was the Mansion of Fear? I wondered.


    The forest nearby felt more and more different as we approached the mansion. The trees were soaring higher and higher like tall rods, and the birds were all staring at the car rather ominously.


    Was I imagining things?


    Before long  the mansion appeared like a little dot off in the distance.


    Behind was arge mountain and in front was an enormouske that would make everyone wonder, Was there such argeke in Korea?


    In the middle of thatke was a bridge wide enough for a car to cross, and we crossed that bridge to head to the mansion.


    It really was a mansion that lookedpletely different from the Korean houses that looked like a standing rectangr matchbox.


    Going over theke, we immediately saw a well-decorated garden and several antique statues. And in the middle of the mansion wererge gates, seemingly toorge for humans to even open.


    The main entrance opened by itself as the car closed in and soon, we all left the car. Next to the front entrance was a seriously bizarre-looking statue that I saw for the first time in my life.


    It had the figure of a human, but had six arms and the heart was uncannily enormous. The sculpture of the heart was way too big and literally appeared like a piece of a monster that seemed like it could bounce out of the body and move anytime soon.


    While we were all observing that heart, Songee couldnt hold back her curiosity and tapped the sculpture with her feet,


    And finding that cute, Eunsol-noona was caressing her head when people came out of the mansion.


    It was one old man, a boy and a girl.


    Ladies and gentlemen. Wee to our mansion.


    The confident-looking old man wearing a suit gave a faint bow as we awkwardly greeted him back.


    Hello. So I am, uhh called Lee Eunsol


    Haha. We have heard many stories from our master. He told us Young Miss would be staying at the mansion for a few days with her college friends over the phone, and asserted that we must show our very best. Unfortunately, Sir is unwell and is currently not in the mansion but I am the butler of the mansion, Kim Mooksung, and this girl here is mycking granddaughter, Kim Ahri. We will do our very best to serve you.


    Ahri?


    I asked in a slight fluster upon hearing a name that didnt sound Korean, as the girl standing next to him walked up and gave a deep bow.


    Hello. I am the maid working at this mansion.


    What was this about? Usually when we say a maid, arent they over 20? The girl in front of my eyes was at most in her early teens, and looked 13~14 at best.


    Ahh I decided to drop that meaningless line of thought. There was no point in thinking about such a thing because aftering to the hotel, strange had already be a synonym ofmon.


    Let alone 13, even if a 5-year-old kid was to call himself a butler, all we could do was ept it.


    But on another note, this girl was the owner of an extremely surreal appearance. Her skin that was as white as snow and her doll-like facial features were one thing, but her eyes that were coloured in dark red was the most eye-catching of them all.


    Werent eyes like that a sign of albinism? However, the girl clearly didnt have albinism; her hair was jet ck in the first ce.


    She was such a supernatural-looking girl who appeared in a ce that had a telling name like Mansion of Fear. I was naturally feeling cautious and finding her tremendously suspicious but next to her was a boy standing still like a fool.


    Seungyub. Are you not even going to say hello to us? asked Eunsol-noona.


    Ah, ah. You are here, noona. Hello everyone.


    Wow, thank you for greeting us. Your eyes are going to pop out at this rate. Its amazing you can do that at a ce like this.


    As Eunsol-noona said, Seungyub couldnt take his eyes off of the girl next to him. Anyone could tell from how he was shivering while looking at Ahri that he thought of this as some infinitely astonishing and destined encounter.


    And whenever Ahri turned around and gave him a faint smile, he would turn his eyes to the ground without even breathing out loud, and honestly, it was quiteughable and there was nothing else I could say.


    Sure, that girl really was immensely pretty but


    Like how Eunsol-noona said a ce like this, this ce was the Mansion of Fear. In the worlds most suspicious house, she was one who warranted the most suspicion because she might not even be a human in the first ce.


    That was when the butler opened his mouth.


    Do you have any ns on where to go, by any chance?


    There was nothing we could n for, because it was one hour ago that we realised we were heading to such a bizarre mansion.


    Haha, we dont have any concrete ns as of yet.


    Then, Miss, how about you unpack your belongings with your friends, take some rest and head to the rear mountain? Unfortunately, our mansion is quite far from the city and there is little entertainment, but we have pride that ourndscape is no worse than any other ce. Over the hill there is a refreshing stream and you can enjoy theke with our boat. Near the mansion there is also a wonderful and historical cathedral.


    There was no-one who knew anything about the mansion anyway so none of us gave any other opinions.


    Thus, we decided to unpack our luggage and take a short rest before taking a little walk at the mountain before dinner.


    After each unpacking our belongings in our splendid rooms of the mansion, we gathered for a strategy meeting.


    By the way, Kain. Where did Seungyub go?


    Uhh Thats weird. He was next to me when we were washing but


    Ah! He said he would go help the maid and ran off.


    Aigo, hes seriously making me go crazy. Is he thinking of this ce as some happy and dreamy mansion? Songee, did you just watch him run off?


    He started running all of a sudden so


    Now, now. Noonim. Its not like you were going to heavily rely on a middle school student for the meeting, right? Lets do it with whos left. Kain, have you discovered anything new with your window?


    Theres nothing so far except for the name of the mansion. Fear. Thats what it says, but we dont know what the risks are, and it doesnt tell us what to do either.


    Lets set our goals one by one. What is our most important objective? We can assume what it is from thest announcement we saw in Room 101. Our 1st objective is to have one survivor. As long as we can achieve that, everyone else cane back to life even if we die.


    ButHow long do we have to survive for? Songee asked.


    Thats what we have to guess. The simple method is that it would work out somehow if we survive for as long as possible. And for us to survive as long as possible, we first have to know what it is that is threatening us. Eunsol-noona replied.


    Well, I think it is quite obvious who we have to be careful of, right.


    Honestly, I agreed with Jinchul-hyung. Who is threatening us? Sure, there might be an invisible monster and stuff but that is something beyond what we can imagine.


    Among what was currently in our hands, the butler and the young maid we met just then was the prime suspect considering how unimaginably suspicious they were.


    The old butler and the girl. Those two looked suspicious from the get go. I said.


    100%. And you know how I worked out before right? I realised as soon as I looked at that old man. He had muscles that couldnt be hidden even with his clothes. If you think hes weak because hes an old man, youll be in for a hard one. Hell probably even beat you, Kain, in an arm wrestle.


    But that maid didnt seem like she could fight though.


    She does look like a kid but you never know.


    Even though the butler and the maid were suspicious, for me, the statue at the main entrance was the weirdest.


    After Songee was Elena.


    For me, it was that bridge. When we were driving here, that bridge felt rather weak. Its simr to how it feels during rasputitsa in my home country


    Rasputitsa?


    Its how the road bes muddy because of the melting snow in Russia, and Elena is probably saying there was a lot of moisture on the bridge which made it feel muddy.


    Thats right.


    For another 30 minutes, we discussed the suspicious elements of the mansion as well as how suspicious they each were.


    As our heads were starting to perceive the mansion as a hell filled with killing traps and the butler and maid as a mass-murdering pair of family


    Someone knocked on the door.

 Chapter 16: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (2)

    Chapter 16: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 5</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Excuse me, are you finished with your preparations? The butler asked from outside.


    While hoping that our terrible shit-talking session didnt reach his ears, we changed our expressions and made ourselves look like we were just sharing a normal conversation before opening the door.


    Of course, we are all done. The mansion had such a great atmosphere that time flew by while we were talking to ourselves.


    The mansion had such a great atmosphere that we discussed how and where we would die for 30 minutes.


    Haha. The scenery of our mansion is what Sir always liked the most. Seems that everyone is in nice clothes to go hiking. Let me guide you there.


    Day 1 after arriving at the mansion  the first thing on our list was hiking.


    *


    It was a rather spooky mountain. Was it because there were too many unfamiliar-looking trees? Or was I looking at everything with a prejudiced mindset?


    Everything from one to ten was suspicious. Apparently, I wasnt the only one thinking that, and everyone was absorbed in sneaking nces and observing the surroundings.


    Because of how nervous we were, our stamina dropped rapidly and when we were about half-way to the peak, everyone was starting to show signs of fatigue except for Jinchul-hyung.


    It seems that we should take a little break here.


    Everyone epted the proposal of the old man, who appeared even morefortable than Jinchul-hyung as if he was taking a stroll in the park without breaking a sweat.


    If you have nothing to do during our break, would you like to listen to stories about the mansion?


    There was obviously nothing to do, and stories about the mansion might have clues about the way out.


    Oh my! Of course. I was always curious when hearing stories about my big uncles mansion. Even this mountain gives off an extraordinary feeling. Is there something special as we thought?


    Haha. Special Rather than special, there was some strife about the ownership of thisnd.


    It suddenly became extremely realistic. I was expecting some paranormal story like a vengeful spirit that died 300 years ago, and was suddenly met with a 21st Century-ish story.


    The mansion and most of the nearbynd practically belong to Sir. But thew is not that simple as always. In all strictness, some ces do not technically belong to Sir.


    If they dont belong to big uncle, then whose is it?


    For example, thend starting from the peak of the mountain to the other side belongs to the government. The nearby cathedral is half-wasted now but it still belongs to the Catholic church. Apart from that, there is the small farm at the outskirts of the garden, shrines that existed from who knows when There are quite a few ambiguous pieces ofnd.


    Then would it be a problem for us to go in there?


    Honestly, it probably wouldnt matter all too much. As I said, thend all practically belongs to Sir. The legal owners of thend do not take care of them at all, so you dont need to worry about that.


    Other side of the mountain, cathedral, farm at the outskirts of the garden, and other shrines  those ces did not belong to the mansion. I etched it into my brain. Though I had no idea what it meant it would definitely mean something.


    The view at the mountain peak is seriously astounding. I always go to the peak once every 2 or 3 days. Standing at the peak and gazing across the surroundings feels like it drives away the turbid aura of the world.


    Haha. You have great stamina, sir. Im sure its not easy to go to the mountain peak.


    I have been going there the whole time thanks to living nearby, and it is quite doable now that I am used to it.


    It was a light conversation, but the atmosphere was rather tense.


    Like that, we panted our way to the peak of the mountain. The view at the mountain peak was quite good like what the butler said.


    Although the scenery wasnt astonishingly magnificent, it did feel very refreshing and was not bad for a rear mountain of a house.


    We started climbing down the mountain when the butler asked about our meal.


    How would you like your dinner? If you want, we can prepare what we have at the mansion. But since you are from college, you might prefer eating outside as if you are on a camp. If so, we can prepare the food next to the stream.


    There was no need to even bother discussing it with each other.


    As soon as I heard his offer, I immediately thought the campsite would be better for us to have some time for ourselves away from the butler and the maid. Of course, Eunsol-noona had a simr thought in mind.


    Oh my, that would be amazing. Mr. Butler. I think it would be morefortable for us to y by ourselves. It would be great if you could have it prepared next to the stream.


    As you wish.


    Aftering down the mountain and returning to the mansion, we first looked for the missing Seungyub.


    Of course, I knew he would probably be tactlessly chasing after the girl but we had to be careful. In a ce like this, he might have died somewhere away from everyone elses sight.


    Fortunately, finding Seungyub was quite easy.


    To be exact, some time after we arrived at the mansion, the girl wearing a cute maid uniform that didnt suit her age showed up and greeted us, and next to her was Seungyub gasping as if he would soon run out of breath.


    Jinchul-hyung looked like he wanted to tell him off, but we were too tired to waste any more time. So instead, we all headed inside the mansion to take a rest.


    After taking enough rest, we went to the campsite near the stream.


    Thankfully, the path leading to the stream wasnt rugged and when we got there, there was already a grill that was perfect for cooking meat, as well as all sorts of beef, pork and vegetables prepared.


    No matter how frightening the mansion was, it was natural for people to loosen up in front of meat! The atmosphere naturally eased and so did our expressions.


    Jinchul-hyung who looked like he would give Seungyub arge scolding upon meeting him again, looked like he didnt want to ruin the mood and ended it with some words and a few flicks to his forehead.


    Hah Looks like this ce at least doesnt make you suffer from food. That is seriously quite nice. They push us to the brink of death but at least give us food. If they didnt, we would have all copsed already.


    Hyung added after walking to the grill and picking up a tong.


    Oh wow. This beef is insane. Look at all that marbling! And the pork also looks juicy.


    This looks likemb. Its my first time having it aftering to Korea. Its been a very long time.


    After some harmonious conversation was the public hearing session.


    So, Seungyub. Did you see something while chasing after Ahri the whole day? Just letting you know, if you tell me you saw nothing because you were busy staring at Ahris face, or how pretty Ahri is, there will be no food for you today.


    Hukk! Noona, how can you say that? I was just helping her because I thought getting close to her would be the best way to observe the mansion.


    No-one believed in him but we didnt bother quarrelling about it.


    Okay, so did you see anything.


    Instead of seeing It feels like a strange mansion. Maybe like, 2 key points from what I saw today? Firstly, the mansion is very big but its strange how theres only two people that maintain it.


    That is very strange. Not only is the house big, but thend including the garden is also enormous. Its weird how theres only two people, with one of them being a child, taking care of such a big piece ofnd.


    Also, they didnt stop me from going into other ces of the mansion, but they stopped me from going to the study. Theres definitely something in there.


    I guess you werent just ying around for nothing. No people, and stopping you from going to the study huh What do you guys think? asked Jinchul-hyung.


    Not sure For now, I cant think of anything. Should I try forcing my way into the study? ording to the setting, I am Sirs favourite niece so the butler and the maid might find it hard to fight against me, right?


    Isnt that too dangerous though?


    Well, if something goes wrong, then the remaining people can survive and bring me back to life.


    It was way too brutal for a joke and made everyone turn silent.


    Come on. Whats wrong with all of you? I was just saying things. Ill stop if it bes dangerous, but if we stay still not knowing what to do, it is going to be the opponent that strikes us first. Thats why doing nothing might look like the safest option but is in fact the most dangerous thing to do. That is my theory.


    Did she be more confident by gaining a younger body or something?


    Whatever the case, there were still too little things we knew about this mansion for us toe to a conclusion.


    In the end, our meal time ended with nothing but the delicious meat.


    Even though it was naturally exceptionally delicious our strategy meeting failed to create any oue and even Seungyub, who looked the most thoughtless out of our group, turned dark.


    Caa! Caaaw!


    A horrifying cry reached our ears.


    The reverberating cry of a crow marked the end of our conference as we silently stood up and returned to the mansion.


    *


    <strong> Elena</strong>


    It waste at night.


    In the end, they couldnte up with any concrete ns during the meal and the short conversation after that. Before long, everyone returned to their rooms with exhausted and lethargic expressions.


    What was it that was supposed to be done? Seriously, everything was a mess.


    Ever since the problems in Russia, she had gone and settled in Korea with her family and it had already been 6 years.


    There werent any big issues during all that time.


    There were some pros and cons to living in Korea but at least it was a rtively safe country.


    What she definitely wasnt expecting was that she would be pulled into something like this


    It was something she thought about every night, but staying in a frightening mansion like this gave rise to such gloomy thoughts even more.


    Clomp, clomp.


    Clomp, clomp.


    It was then.


    Her heart began to race.


    Footsteps.


    It wasnt that loud, but it was toote was it not? It might not have meant much in a safe ce but the ce she was currently in was probably one of the worlds most terrifying ces.


    Quietly  she raised the knife that she kept during dinner and hid it behind her sleeves.


    Even if there was a problem, there would be peopleing to help if she created a ruckus during her retaliation.


    The footsteps stopped in front of her door.


    Preparing herself to whole-heartedly scream if things turned south, Elena immediately pulled the door open in one go.


    Oops!


    It was a mistake. The opponent was not an unidentifiable monster. Seeing the familiar face, Elena rxed her heart and pulled the knife back into her sleeves.


    Its veryte though? Is there something you wanted to say?


    It was nothing much. The mansion was too spooky, and staying alone appeared to have been challenging.


    Elena could understand what that meant, because she too was in a simr state.


    Therefore, she started some conversations that might seem meaningless to settle her heart and spent some rxed time.


    With this, the long and spooky night should pass without a problem.


    *


    The next morning,


    We discovered Elenas corpse.

 Chapter 17: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (3)

    Chapter 17: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (3)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 6</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    It was raining heavily that morning.


    Waking up, I found the butler standing outside as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Hiking would be difficult today because of the rain, but it might be possible to go to the cathedral  I was sharing some idle talk with him as others started to leave their rooms one by one.


    Elena didnte out for breakfast. Was she in a deep sleep because of how exhausting yesterday was?


    We were all cautious of the butler and the maid, and we had gone to sleep after locking our doors so we couldnt even go into her room.


    But she didnte out of her room until 10 am, so the butler brought the master key of the mansion to open the door


    And inside was a scene that reminded one of the Sleeping Beauty.


    It was a tranquil room. The well-decorated bed looked as if nothing happened, and lying on the bed was ady who looked like a northern princess.


    However, there was an undisguisable odour.


    The scent of death.


    Even though it was shocking and stunning, it wasnt as tragic as I thought. It might be because Eunsol-noona briefly mentioned it yesterday.


    We just needed one person to survive until the end. Then everyone would be able to survive.


    Thus, instead of crying and being sad, the remaining people had to understand what happened, as well as how it could be avoided in the future.


    Hkk, hkk Uhuk


    However, not everyone could be as cold-minded as that. Unable to contain herself, Songee began to weep.


    Jinchul-hyung was nkly standing still as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.


    And it wasnt that easy for me either.


    Although I knew we still had a chance, seeing a corpse with my own eyes was enough to shake my heart. While settling my emotions, I walked up to the bed.


    Looking at the corpse from nearby didnt allow me to suddenly understand everything. I wasnt a police nor a detective, but there were a few things that entered my eyes.


    There werent any particr wounds around her body except for the thick reddish-ck bruise around her neck. It didnt look like hands, and was most likely a string. Was she strangled with a tough and thin string?


    It didnt seem like she retaliated that much. Even though the mansion had soundproof walls, it wasnt enough to cover the noise of a deathly struggle.


    More importantly, the room was too clean and there werent any traces of retaliation.


    There was someone else who discovered something new.


    This mark. Look at where Elena is lying down and the mark next to her. Looks like she was with someone.


    I looked closely and understood what Eunsol-noona meant.


    Elena was lying down on the left side of the bed next to the window rather than the centre of the bed, and it was evident that someone was either sitting or lying down next to her on the right side of the bed.


    There was still a faint dent in the mattress, as well as the messy nket.


    I suddenly had an ominous line of thought.


    Did the fluster show on my face?


    Unlike the other three who were still crying while not knowing what to do, Eunsol-noona turned to me with a sharp gaze.


    Kain. Lets not think about something unnecessary. Theres nothing certain, and a logical way of thinking things might be meaningless in a ce like this.


    Right I was just a little flustered.


    Locally speaking,


    Someone was able to go into the room of a person who locked the door out of suspicion, spent time together by either sitting or lying down on the same bed, and strangled Elena to death after waiting for her to fall asleep.


    Everything was way too obvious that I couldnt even think of a different scenario. Someone that was trusted by Elena must have


    No.


    It might be meaningless to logically analyse things in this ce.


    My head was turning muddled when the butler showed up and made things even moreplex.


    This might be disconcerting, but I think I must convey another concerning news. The weather is so terrible right now that the path through theke has been blocked.


    After quickly wearing a raincoat, Jinchul-hyung and I headed to theke. The rain had turned heavier while we were talking about this and that in front of Elenas corpse.


    It was raining so much that it even blinded our sight.


    We both heaved a sigh after arriving at theke. The water level of theke was evidently higher.


    The bridge that had been filled with moisture which got us talking about rasputitsa on our first day was now so deep underwater that neither people nor a car could travel over it.


    It happened in just one day.


    Looking back, it was a peaceful day where all we did was y, have meat and go to sleep, and yet after just one night, one of our group was killed and the path out of the mansion was blocked.


    I remembered the words noona saidst night at the stream.


    <em>Doing nothing might look like the safest option but is in fact the most dangerous thing to do.</em>


    Maybe we should have gone straight to work yesterday? After spending one night without doing anything, we were immediately caught in a pinch.


    The mansion began going on a full offensive-mode after we returned to the mansion.


    I lifted my head in the middle of washing my face and found myself looking back at me. I was grinning but my face slowly turned crooked. The eyes became wider as teeth emerged out of the sockets and disgusting bugs crawled around my tongue.


    I watched that for 30 seconds, before picking up a nearby cup and shattering the mirror in front of me.


    After we came to the mansion, this started to happen.


    Whenever I looked into the mirror, I would start a staring contest against myself. When it was 12 oclock on the cuckoo clock, the cuckoo left and poured out a pool of red liquid, and stepping on the stairs created a wailing noise with each step.


    Songee used to scream her guts out whenever that happened, but in just a few hours, even she was able to kick the dolls that rolled their eyes towards her wherever she went.


    Should I say, fortunately?


    Thankfully, the strange events happening in the mansion did not directly affect us. The reflection on the mirror would just turn into a horrendous version while the cuckoo clock was just broken.


    The stairs were just noisy and the living dolls were simply a little curious about humans.


    We soon got rather used to it after realising there was no direct threat to us but


    That didnt mean we were put in a good mood by it.


    After skimming through lunch, we gathered our heads together but couldnte up with any good ns.


    Now that there were all sorts of mysterious events happening to us, the cause of Elenas death became even harder to deduce and there was no escape out of the mansion. Time flew by with nothing happening.


    6 pm.


    Ignoring the burst of red liquid from the cuckoo clock, the butler mentioned the cathedral.


    For now, I believe we should head to the cathedral no matter what.


    The cathedral all of a sudden? Reason being? asked Eunsol-noona.


    Her words were curt, and I could sense herck ofposure through her voice.


    We should firstly look for ways to leave, should we not. Even though the cathedral has been discarded a long time ago, Sir has been using the wasted building as a storehouse of some sort. Behind the cathedral is connected to theke, and there is a fairly tough boat there. It was for ying when theke was tranquil but


    There is a boat behind the cathedral leading to theke, which could be used for the escape, was what he was doing.


    That sparked two lines of thought in my mind.


    Firstly, it sounded usible, because I had briefly heard how Seungyub was able to survive from Room 101. He had distanced himself from the hazardous location as much as possible and that was how he seeded at escaping the room.


    Then, in that sense, wouldnt escaping the mansion also count as an escape?


    Secondly, I was doubtful.


    Why was the butler presenting us the way out?


    This too had two possibilities. One was that either the cathedral or the boat was just a trap.


    And the other possibility was that the butler had never been our enemy from the beginning. That was definitely possible because looking back, neither the butler nor the maid harmed us in any way.


    After racking my brain, I raised my head and found Eunsol-noona staring back at me.


    What do you think, Kain?


    I believe we should try as many things as possible to leave this ce. Anything is going to be better than staying still.


    <em>Staying still is the most dangerous thing to do.</em>


    I showed my agreement with noonas theory through my response and that was what our next n became.


    At night, the rain turned even heavier to the point that it was more correct to call it a storm than a rainfall.


    Considering the weather and the limited number of raincoats, we decided that only the four adults  Han Kain, Cha Jinchul, Lee Eunsol and the butler  will be leaving for the cathedral.


    Outside was pitch ck. It was so dark that it was difficult to see what was a metre ahead of us.


    In the end, the butler had to stay at the front with a shlight as the only one who knew the path and we followed after him by relying on the only source of light.


    That was when someone grabbed my clothes.


    Noona?


    Come back for a bit.


    Was there something she needed to talk about? Just in case, I looked at the status screen but there was no change to the advice section.


    I will go straight to the study aftering back from the cathedral. It doesnt matter even if they try to stop me. Worsees to worst, Ill tell Jinchul to get rid of the butler to go inside. Right now there are way too many things we dont know about. No matter how I see it, we need to go to the most suspicious ce. At least we need to have an idea of what it is that is trying to kill us.


    Umm, then I will go with you


    No. You pretend like youre against it. Make a strong objection, and act like youre too sulky to follow me, because that will make it seem more natural.


    Noona? What do you mean?


    I finally have a better idea about this ce. We cant try to have everyone survive. The more we do that, the easier it will be for us to all die without knowing whatsing. The reason we have no clue about this mansion is because none of us bore the risk until now. Someone needs to sacrifice themselves to find out whats dangerous. Of course, we cant have everyone going together because it will bepletely over if we all go together and die at the same time. We need to go one by one, and find out what the risks are at the cost of our lives. Its up to the one or two remaining ones to avoid those elements.


    Her words were stifling.


    You are the one that needs to survive. Cant you tell? This is not a ce where you survive through power. You need to think to survive, and no-one else can think right now.


    I forced words out of my mouth.


    Jinchul-hyung is very insightful.


    Hes not stupid but hes emotional. Jinchul has been out of it ever since Elena died. At this rate, hell just die somewhere without even being able to retaliate properly.


    It suddenly came to me that this noona was a bit terrifyingly cold. I was no longer confident in going against her proposal.


    After 20 minutes of everyone walking in silence, we arrived at the cathedral.

 Chapter 18: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (4)

    Chapter 18: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (4)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 6</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The cathedral was a lot cleaner than expected. Even though the butler called it half-wasted, that was only inparison to the mansion which was absurdly neat and tidy.


    The cathedral wasnt even that big and a few hours of cleaning might be all that was needed for a proper worship service. Following the butler, we crossed the chapel and went out through the back door and found theke and the boat.


    Because of the sudden rise in water level from the storm, theke was sshing right below the door, and the boat was also constantly knocking on the building.


    As expected, the boat was in a terrible state. It had been openly exposed to the storm and appeared to have been ramming into all sorts of ces due to the sudden rise in water level and was thus full of dirt.


    It definitely isnt that clean but if its just this, I believe it would be drivable.


    Just asking, but you do know how to drive a boat, right, Mr. Butler?


    Of course, Miss. But it looks like it would be difficult to immediately use this boat.


    The butler reached his arm out and pointed at the outer frame of the boat.


    Did it crash into something during the sudden storm? I could see water seeping into the boat. For now, the hole was quite small but it definitely looked like it needed a repair.


    There are tools to repair the boat in the mansion. If we bring that and seal that hole, it should be possible to cross theke. Im sure the motor is still okay.


    After a brief eye contact with Eunsol-noona where we silently shared our thoughts, she nodded.


    Cough, cough. At-choo!


    Are you alright? We must have been in the storm for too long.


    Im alright. You dont have to worry about me. We can go back straight away.


    No, I believe we should warm our bodies up a little. The path back to the mansion is not short. Let me bring a heater.


    The butler then headed off to bring a heater to warm our bodies up, as we sat on the long chairs of the chapel in slight relief.


    Rattle, rattle.


    Creeeakk.


    A spooky noise reached my ears. I lifted my head to the source of that unpleasant sound and found a door swaying with a creak.


    I wonder what that room is.


    Its probably the one used by the priest.


    It was very suspicious.


    The butler who left us behind insisting that we needed to take some rest despite us telling him we were okay, and the door that creaked open as soon as he disappeared


    Isnt this like, pretty much telling us to search through that room?


    Ill go there.


    Lets go together. One person holding the torch will make it easier to search.


    No, I replied. Hyung, I think you should stay near noona. The butler is probably going toe back soon.


    The butler.


    Hyung had been cautious of the butler from the very first day, saying that he was a rtively strong person. I told him we needed to be prepared for his return and Jinchul-hyung sat back down after showing his agreement.


    Of course, it was true that I was cautious of the butler but


    One person at a time to dangerous ces, and one death at a time. Like how you shouldnt put all the eggs in one basket for stocks and investment, we had to avoid entering a dangerous location together.


    Carrying the shlight in one hand, I walked into the room.


    Inside was a half-rotten desk and several scattered documents. I scanned through them but most of them were phrases that were copied from the bible. They were probably written down to be used for a worship, or because the priest was moved by them.


    I rummaged through the documents, and although apologetic, I sped through and tore out some pages of the squashed bible and tapped on the rotten desk while worriedly throwing a nce outside to see if the butler was back or not,


    And that was when I came across an unusual document for the first time.


    They were documents rted to thewsuit between the cathedral and the mansion.


    Thewsuit itself was the same as what I heard from the butler yesterday. They were each iming with various reasons that the cathedral and thend surrounding it belonged to them.


    I zealously began searching for more clues and found letters they had sent to each other.


    At the start, they began respectfully by saying something like, Dear Reverend, the Priest, and Dear Devotee Lee Sehyun (I finally found out what Sirs name was) but theyter started calling each other names.


    The letters in the middle were their respective ims and legal evidence so it was hard to understand them but there was one thing that stood out the most.


    The way they called each other became Rotten priest thats crazy for money and A wicked heretic and a damn devil.


    Crazy for money.


    That much was within the normal scope of profanities when filing awsuit regardingnd rights.


    But A wicked heretic did not appear like a normal swear word. And it was a word that should definitely not be dismissed in a situation like this which was full of supernatural events.


    There was a need to be suspicious of Sir.


    Aftering to that conclusion for the time being, there was nothing else that seemed significant so I left the room.


    The butler was still nowhere to be seen and I could see hyung and noona shivering from the cold.


    Is he still not back? I thought he said hell be bringing back a heater


    I know right. Where in the world did he disappear to for that heater? Its been well over 30 minutes, and it has been close to an hour already.


    That old man must be trying to kill all of us here. Thats why I should have killed that


    Can you please just be quiet. Please.


    I recalled what noona said before  Jinchul is out of it.


    Now, I was starting to see where she wasing from. This hyung had certainly been unable to control his emotions after Elenas death


    Only after another 10 minutes did the butlere back.


    There was a portable heater in his hands, but none of us wanted to spend even a single more second in this ominous cathedral just to use that heater and we therefore departed for the mansion as soon as the butler came back regardless of the heater.


    The butler didnt have any objection against going back to the mansion and immediately took off.


    It was as if warming our bodies up had never been his intention from the first ce.


    Aftering back to the mansion, we finally got to take a rest and heated ourselves up.


    They were also concerned about ourte return, and Seungyub, Songee as well as Ahri who had been staying back at the mansion all came out and created a fuss by boiling the water and heating up the bathtub.


    We had a small dinner just like our lunch, and followed suit with the n we came up with before heading to the cathedral.


    Butler. Give me the key to the study.


    Sorry Miss?


    Key to the study. Im going to look for something.


    Haha, Miss. Ive said this already to Seungyub-gun, but Sir made it very clear that no-one must enter the study. As you might be able to tell there are a lot of legal and financial documents inside so


    Butler. Then go give him a call or something.


    Young Miss


    I have to take a look at the study. There have been a bunch of strange things happening in this mansion. Do you know something about whats happening? Or did uncle hide something in the study? I need to make sure so just bring me the key. Hurry up.


    Noona. The owner of the house is stopping us from going inside Arent you too heated up all of a sudden? I asked.


    You keep your mouth shut. We cant even contact that damn owner when there are people dying over here. We are going to have 2 more corpses if we follow what he says the whole time.


    I pretended like I was having a quarrel with her by continuing the argument for a little while before turning around with a sigh, and found others looking at me with widened eyes.


    Here I was worried that I might be a bad actor but apparently, it seemed that I had been way too good at it. Or perhaps they were just frightened by seeing people fight in such a scary and perilous atmosphere.


    Even Jinchul-hyung was looking at me with wide eyes, and it was weird to suddenly exin everything to him so I quietly sat back down instead.


    Funnily enough, everyone had shown such a wonderful reaction and it was thus highly likely that no-one would be suspicious of it.


    *


    <strong> Lee Eunsol</strong>


    The study was exceptionally clean and normal. That was what I found the most suspicious.


    Ever since Elenas death  the mansion began to wreak havoc. Another version of me was smirking inside the mirror, the cuckoo clock was busy exploding every hour, and the dolls became more curious about humans.


    Besides, wasnt there also the recent event during our small dinner that consisted of a sandwich and a cup of coffee, where the cup suddenly grew legs and moved on its own to pour hot water?


    And yet this study waspletely different from everything else happening in the mansion.


    It was way too peaceful.


    Standing still, I recalled the information gathered by Kain.


    Sir was a heretic. That was definitely a significant piece of information.


    The butler had been eager to bring us to the cathedral ever since the first day, and in the end, he took us there and made us stay inside the cathedral for an hour.


    He was probably trying to make us discover something. Considering how the cathedral contained information about Sir being a heretic something simr should also be inside the study.


    I rummaged through the surroundings. I opened every book as well as the drawers.


    Why me?


    That was the question that was always stuck in my mind ever since the first incidents of the mansion. Elena said back in the car that everything was like a movie.


    Everyone was given a role.


    And the most important role in this Mansion of Fear was me no matter how I saw it.


    The other people were technically only at the mansion because they were college friends of Lee Eunsol.


    I was the niece of the owner of the mansion, and at the same time was the only one that could control the suspicious employees of the mansion. The role given to me was definitely the most crucial.


    But why was it me? Why was I given the most important role? What did I have that others didnt?


    Child of a rich family? Its not like I could use the money sitting in my bank ount, and that didnt seem all that meaningful.


    A little clever? That was simr for Kain from what I saw. He was quick-witted enough that I wanted to personally employ him after leaving the hotel.


    And apart from that, I was a speaker of multiplenguages.


    Reaching out, I poked my hand into the vague empty space between the second and third drawer and touched a thick envelope. Inside the envelope were documents of all sorts ofnguages, from Spanish to French, German and English.


    Not only were thenguages different, but the format, writing style and the types of paper were all different. It was as if all the fragmented pieces of information had been scraped up from the entire globe, and every bit of that information was describing one thing.


    I realised as soon as I finished reading thest sentence of the 4th document. Although I had steeled myself for it, I still couldnt help but tremble.


    Now, it was my turn to be sacrificed.

 Chapter 19: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (5)

    Chapter 19: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (5)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 6</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Unnniiiii! Uhuk, uhak


    Noonim! Are you alright? Can you see me?!


    Hearing all the crying voices, groans and screams filling the mansion and deafening my ears, I couldnt settle myself down either. Songee was crying again like she did in the morning as if there were holes in her eyes, but others werent looking any better.


    Why did this happen?


    Around 2 hours ago, we werent expecting this to happen when noona walked into the study by herself. Regardless of how spooky the mansion was, we peeked inside from behind when noona was walking into the room and we saw how calm, clean andfortable the room appeared.


    That was why we promised to talk to her about what she discovered after she left the study.


    It was close to midnight but noona appeared to have no ns of leaving the room. We were anxious because of the thing that happened to Elena and had constantly been calling her name from outside.


    Im busy!


    Its going to take a while!


    You can go to sleep first. Lets talk tomorrow.


    Like that, what we got in response was that she was busy and a temperamental reply telling us to stop bothering her.


    In the end, we all gave up and decided to talk about it tomorrow because of howte it was.


    Besides, Jinchul-hyung and I were exhausted due to going outside in the middle of a storm all the way to the cathedral. Therefore, the two tired adults and the young Seungyub all returned to our respective rooms, with only Songee staying behind to wait for noona. And after about an hour


    A piercing shriek filled the mansion.


    None of us were deep in sleep so we all raced out of our rooms. Songee was supporting Eunsol-noona with her arms while wailing out loud as if she was the one dying, and Jinchul-hyung was busy shaking noonas body like he was trying to make her faint even faster.


    A sharp pick, or perhaps a skewer.


    That visually horrifying thing was prating through her neck. Blood was gushing out like a fountain and the mansion was constantly filled with screams.


    Ahri, who hade by the time I realised it, was fidgeting while not knowing what to do and the butler tried wrapping a bandage around her neck but


    Everyone here instinctively knew how futile that was.


    Which human in existence would be able to survive with a hole as thick as a finger going through the neck? She was somehow still alive thanks to the skewer having barely missed the arteries, but it was evidently just a matter of time.


    It was then. Noona raised her arm and pointed at me.


    How difficult would it have been to make such an articte movement with a hole in her throat? I hurriedly ran over to her while swallowing the lump in my throat.


    She wasnt in the state to say anything, and couldnt even turn her head towards me.


    All she could do was tightly hold onto my hand.


    That appeared to be herst bit of energy and in less than 3 minutes, her body turned loose.


    The mansion was filled with tears.


    It was still not over yet. How many nightmares and tragedies did this mansion, and this hotel have in store?


    Leaving everyone else behind, I returned to my room.


    My heart felt like it was freezing.


    I wanted to cry like Songee. I wanted to get mad like Jinchul-hyung. I wanted to shiver and hide like Seungyub.


    But I couldnt.


    It was so evident that everyone else wasnt in their right minds, so if I was also too busy crying, shouting and hiding


    Then who would survive until the very end and flip this tragedy into a happy ending?


    That must be why noona held my hand at the very end.


    Sitting down on the bed, I opened my fist.


    Inside was a small piece of note. There werent that many words inside.


    <strong> Creak</strong>


    [c cathedral, maid, bell]


    Was that extra c a mistake she made while writing down cathedral?


    <strong> Creak</strong>


    In any case, I understood two of them at least. Weve been to the cathedral, and there was only one maid in this mansion. But what did this bell mean?


    <strong> Jiiiik</strong>


    It would have been better if she was a bit more specific with her words if she was going to leave a dying message like this. However, judging from the extremely messy handwriting, she might have been in a big rush when writing this.


    Firstly, it seemed that I had to decipher what this bell meant.


    And to prepare myself for the busy schedule tomorrow


    I had to go to sleep.


    Elena died in the morning. Eunsol-noona died at night.


    The mirror was busy creating a staring contest against myself; the clock had be a bloody mess for over 10 times; the dolls tilted their heads whenever there were people walking by and cups walked by themselves. It was a crazy mansion.


    <strong> Taarrrkkk! Sheeekkk!</strong>


    But even so


    I had to survive until the end; to leave this mansion alive with everyone else; to regain enough stamina for the search and survival tomorrow


    I had to sleep.


    <strong> Kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikik</strong>


    So please just shut the fuck up you son of a bitch!!!


    I stabbed the gap underneath the bed using the silver dagger in my pocket. Though I didnt feel anything touching the tip of the de, I heard something seeping out.


    What it was that was under my bed and where it went off to was something I couldnt care any less about.


    *


    Be honest here! Do you think I am a fool? Who doesnt know youve been suspicious all the time since yesterday with all your grins!!!


    Uhuk Hyung, please stop. Ahri doesnt know anything.


    I woke up due to the deafening roar echoing across the entire mansion.


    What was going on this time? This mansion was just never quiet.


    I quickly raced to the living room without even washing myself properly and found Jinchul-hyung with a deeply-flushed face bellowing at Ahri. The funny thing was that Ahri herself looked peaceful, while Seungyub was instead sobbing next to her.


    Was Seungyub filming Romeo and Julliet by himself or something?


    Regardless of Seungyubs love, it was clear that we had to settle this chaos for the time being.


    Hyungnim. Please calm down. What is going on?


    Internally, I was a little worried that the excessively mad Jinchul-hyung might rage at me like a boar. Honestly, that would be quite scary


    Fortunately, Jinchul-hyung was rational enough to be able to tell apart his allies.


    You came right on time. Im not shouting at this kid for no reason. Do you think I would have wanted to scream at a kid myself? I was going toin to that freaking old man, but he just disappeared all of a sudden!


    Grandpa didnt disappear. I already said it. You can never see him in the morning because hes busy cleaning the mansion and the garden.


    What? Cleaning the garden in this storm? This kid; are you looking down on an adul


    <strong><em>Dont you think Im looking down on you because youre stupid? I bet you wont leave even in 10 years.</em></strong>


    ?


    What?


    Just then, Ahri looked like apletely different person. Of course, she might have been upset because she was getting screamed at about something that was technically unrted to her but did she always have such a harsh tongue?


    Her manner of speech as well as her voice were bothpletely different from her normal self.


    Even Jinchul-hyung was bbergasted and dumbfounded instead of getting maddened by her words.


    <strong> Thud</strong>


    My apologies. I was worried because of all the storm and have been trying to search for a way out but it seems that I had made everyone concerned because of that instead.


    The butler came back at an astonishing time and made everything extremely awkward.


    Even Jinchul-hyung who was going toin to the old man couldnt hide his fluster when he was caught screaming at the old mans granddaughter.


    And, Ahri. You hurry up and apologise to the guests. Let me apologise as well. She is still a young child, and must have gotten emotional in the heat of the moment. Please understand.


    How many people in the world, who had been screaming at the granddaughter in front of her grandfather, would be able to say I cannot forgive this upon hearing that the child had just been slightly emotional? Jinchul-hyung wasnt that thick-skinned at the very least.


    No I wasnt trying to get mad at the kid or anything. It was just that uhh the things are, umm


    It felt like the conversation would be lengthened endlessly. Because it wasnt a productive conversation in the first ce, I interjected.


    I guess everyone was a little agitated because of how things are at the mansion. Lets keep it at that. So, Mr. Butler, did you find a way out? And I think you mentioned fixing the boat yesterday.


    Unfortunately, I couldnt find any other ways out, and I believe we must repair the boat as we previously discussed. May I please ask for your assistance? I have prepared the necessary tools already.


    Well then. Let me change my clothes and Jinchul-hyung was about to add more words but I cut him off.


    I think you should stay here, hyung.


    Jinchul-hyung turned towards me with a flustered look on his face while I pointed at Seungyub with my chin. I was telling him we couldnt leave Seungyub behind by himself in such a dangerous mansion and fortunately, he understood and gave a nod.


    Of course, it was true that I was anxious to leave Seungyub behind by himself but


    More importantly than that, this hyung didnt seem like he would be able to contain himself while travelling with the butler.


    In addition, there was also something I wanted to hear from the butler by myself if possible.


    I am also extremely embarrassed to have such horrible things happening on repeat. Kain-ssi, you are able to stayposed even in a situation like this, which makes me believe that your mental discipline must be astounding.


    Well, its nothing as amazing as a mental discipline. Im just thinking all day long how we can survive, and thats how Im keeping all the stray thoughts at bay.


    That is what we call a mental discipline. Not something else.


    Was he talking down on Jinchul-hyung in a roundabout way for being unable to settle his emotions? I did not care about the butler and hyungs war of nerves so I instead focused on my own question.


    Mr. Butler. Is there something rted to a bell in this mansion?


    A bell? Hmm I wonder where you heard that from.


    Should I be honest? No, it would be better toe up with a lie.


    Ah, I thought I heard the sound of a bell in my sleep. Maybe its because there have been ghosts and stuff roaming around the mansion


    The sound of a bell I didnt hear it, but the mansion has indeed suffered a problem because of a bell.


    Could you please borate?


    The cathedral you went to yesterday  there is actually a fairly remarkable bell there. The sound going off every morning and night used to be the specialty of our region. But suddenly, Sir started to immensely detest that sound. He used to hold his head in pain whenever the bell went off in the morning and at night.


    Hmm. Is that perhaps the reason why the mansion and the cathedral began to fall apart?


    Yes, that is correct. Sir wanted to buy the cathedral to chase the people out all because of that bell but Im ignorant and do not know much about thewsuit, but things didnt go the way Sir wanted it to during the strife back then. However, in the end, the cathedral became half-wasted and theres no longer anyone to ring the bell so you could say Sir has achieved his goal.


    Is that bell still inside the cathedral?


    Of course. The bell belongs to the cathedral and Sir didnt bother touching the bell which would no longer be rung by anyone. If you climb thedder up to the top of the cathedral, there will be a small bell tower, and I believe the bell is still there.


    I found out two things.


    Sir detested the sound of the bell. The bell was still at the top floor of the cathedral.


    I was desperately racking my brain whilebining the newly discovered pieces of information with the prior knowledge, and when I came to myself, I was already at the cathedral.

 Chapter 20: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (6)

    Chapter 20: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (6)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 7</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    We arrived at the boat.


    I looked at the bottom right hand side to observe the crack again. Due to being left overnight in the storm, the crack was now slightly bigger than before.


    There was a lot more water seeping in through the gap.


    About  of the boat is filled with water. I believe we should take the water out before we can even repair it. Fortunately, we do have a pump with us.


    We began pumping in the middle of a storm.


    It was tremendously exhausting.


    Fortunately, the hole wasnt that big and we were able to avoid something as terrible as water being endlessly filled back up while we were pumping the water out. However, emptying therge amount of water filling the boat was already challenging in itself, and I regretted telling Jinchul-hyung to stay behind.


    After about 2 hours and 30 minutes, when we were finally able to see the bottom of the boat, the butler carried a few tools and began repairing the hole.


    I sat down and took a rest to collect my breath, and before long, the butler stood back up.


    Mr. Butler. Have you finished repairing the boat?


    It is just about finished. I believe there would be no more water seeping inside. Of course, this boat is pretty much gone because of all the water seeping into the materials, but even if we do have to discard thister on, it willst a few days until we leave theke so I believe that should be okay.


    Then can we leave immediately?


    That would still be difficult. If we try to cross theke in such stormy weather with a dying boat, Im afraid we will just be feeding the fish inside theke. Im sure the storm will end sometime soon. Maybe in around one or two days.


    Even though the boat was repaired, it would still take one or two days for us to escape. There was nothing I knew about a boat so there were no objections for me to make.


    While leading my exhausted body back home with the butler, I brought up the previous topic again.


    Regarding what happened with Ahri just then, please let me apologise in the stead of my friend. Jinchul-hyung has been jittery the whole time ever since those things happened to Miss Elena and Eunsol-noonim.


    Please dont worry. Two people died in just a day. It would instead be strange for him to be okay.


    I think Ahri was also quite angry for a moment.


    She is still a young child When she was young and when the cathedral was in a normal state, the priest used to look after her but, the cathedral was ruined from the following strife and the priest also left so she has always been very lonely ever since. That must be why she unconsciously developed such a harsh side to her


    An empty scoff almost left my mouth.


    She looked young enough to appear like a 13 or a 14 year old, and the butler was saying she had been living here ever since she was even younger.


    Which elementary school did she go to then? I definitely couldnt imagine a school existing in such a rural area.


    Of course, if we started talking about how realistic things were, the first question would be how there was a cathedral in such a rural ce where this one mansion was the only ce of residence nearby.


    I didnt bother delving into the topic.


    More importantly Although I had been somewhat expecting it from the start, I had a better idea of what the two keywords that Eunsol-noona gave me meant.


    Maid. Cathedral.


    One was a person and the other was a location, so the only answer I coulde up with was bringing that person to the location and fortunately, it seemed that she had been frequenting the cathedral ever since she was young.


    It seemed that I would have to take Ahri to the cathedral using whatever excuse possible after going back.


    Upon returning to the mansion, I realised that there was now less tension in the atmosphere.


    Hyung was at least not screaming but as always, Seungyub was following Ahri like a sparrow, diligently helping her to the point it made me question who the employee and the guest was.


    Honestly, I didnt know how this child in her early teens was even helping with the management of thisrge mansion.


    We couldnt cook a grandiose meal in a disturbing atmosphere with two people dead. Therefore, every meal we had after our dinner at the campsite on the first day was a sandwich and none of us was against it.


    While having the simple sandwich, I thought to myself.


    I wondered what excuse I shoulde up with to take Ahri to the cathedral and soon came up with a solution.


    Ahri. Do you have time?


    Seungyub helps me a lot so Im always free! Would you like my help with something?


    The sharp tone she showed in the morning was gone as if it had been an illusion and she was back to her lively self.


    Ah, its nothing much but I heard from Mr. Butler that you used to go to the cathedral a lot. I have some things to look for in the cathedral. Do you mind helping me?


    Sure! When should we leave?


    The weather isnt looking good, so I think we should leave as early as possible.


    Then, I will get prepared immediately.


    I left the mansion and waited as Ahri soon walked out of the mansion.


    I marvelled upon turning around to see her. Although I heard pretty people would look pretty regardless of their clothing, this girl with an extraordinary appearance was wearing a raincoat that covered everything except for her face and yet still looked like a fairy.


    So this is why Seungyub just cant seem to wake up


    Swallowing the sigh, we were walking towards the cathedral when Ahri suddenly stopped her feet.


    Does your leg hurt? Shall we take a rest?


    No. Its just that


    Just that?


    It feels like my head is turning clearer and I suddenly recalled memories about the past, back when I was travelling around with grandpa. I settled down at the mansion when I came to myself though.


    ?


    Had she been moving houses often when she was young? It was rather peculiar how she was nostalgically reminiscing about her past memories despite her current age.


    Or was it because I was bringing her towards the cathedral as noona mentioned in her message?


    There was nothing happening immediately even after we entered the cathedral.


    Ahri was ncing around the building as if everything was interesting. Thinking that staring at her wouldnt change anything, I decided to leave her alone and first off headed to where the bell was.


    The bell tower at the top of the cathedral might have been added after the construction of the building  going up to the bell was actually quite hard.


    There was a woodendder which was too shabby to be called a staircase, and it was left outside in the rain without any maintenance. Climbing the terribly insecuredder, I arrived at the bell tower.


    It was interesting.


    Looking at the state of the cathedral and the bell tower, there should clearly be no-one looking after the bell and yet it was mysteriously clean. Plus, there were strange and illegible letters written all throughout the bell.


    I had never seen anything like this before.


    It was most definitely not a normal bell. Although Eunsol-noona did mention the bell in her message, it looked so extraordinary that I would have noticed its importance even without her help.


    The bell wasnt that big.


    Although I wasnt too sure of what to do, this bell looked like it was supposed to be rung so I decided to ring it.


    Looking around, I found something that could rece the snapped string connecting the bell to the ceiling, forced it inside and somehow managed to hang it in the air.


    Then, I picked up a piece of metal from nearby and gently tapped the bell.


    <strong> Taang! Tuung!</strong>


    Rather than a clear and a refreshing sound, it gave off a coarse, screeching noise. I had no idea if it was because of the bell itself, or because of me.


    It was then.


    A sharp scream reached my ears.


    Aaaaaaaahkkkk! Kyyyaaaaaaat!


    I hurriedly climbed down the bell tower, went back into the cathedral and found Ahri rolling on the floor while sping her hair.


    A light bulb shed through my head.


    Was this the right answer? Were the three words noona wrote down  cathedral, maid, bell  telling me to bring Ahri to the cathedral to ring the bell?


    How did she find this out before her death?


    That was when Ahri suddenly stood up and stared at me.


    It was the same doll-like facial features and a dark red pair of eyes.


    However, this was clearly a different person.


    There was a slightly cold look on her face, and a sharp piercing re. She still looked the same, but that small disparity gave apletely different impression.


    <strong><em>Looks like you managed to reach quite far oppa.</em></strong>


    This even her manner of speech was different. Like when she shouted at Jinchul-hyung recently  it sounded like she was scoffing at me.


    <strong><em>But what should I do? You took too much time. Its already toote for me. But listen carefully. I can still sing the hymn!</em></strong>


    The hymn? What are you talking about?


    That was when her eyes flipped upside down.


    I could see ck and stinky smoke seeping out of her lips, which were distorted towards the sky.


    <strong>Ahh I have seen the deep pit.</strong>


    <strong>I have heard the cries of the one who couldnt be born.</strong>


    <strong>The father in heaven treasures others, and yet has not even given a birthce for the child of the lowest pit.</strong>


    <strong>The child ising up! Watch it twitching in its crawl!</strong>


    <strong>I can see it! How can you not see it?</strong>


    <strong>The devoted hand has offered two, and there are now three left to go.</strong>


    <strong>Everything shall regain its bnce.</strong>


    <strong>The time is near for the one who couldnt be born to snatch the ce of those that were born!</strong>


    A prophecy? A curse? Or was it a hymn like what she called it herself?


    After pouring out strange and undecipherable words, Ahri copsed into a deep sleep. Having no other choice, I carried her behind my back and walked back to the mansion in deep thought.


    What did this all mean? I had to decipher it as supernaturally as possible.


    Even though I wasnt a master of ult, it sounded to me that a devilish existence was being born by swallowing sacrifices.


    Child of the deepest pit, One who couldnt be born.


    The reason she called this terrible song a hymn, was probably because this was a hymn praising a devil.


    Offered two


    This was probably talking about Elena and Eunsol-noona.


    What was mysterious was that there were three left to go.


    The current survivors were Cha Jinchul, Yu Songee, Park Seungyub and me.


    Did it mean that it only had to kill 3 out of the 4 people? If not, then


    I came up with a hypothesis.


    To be frank, it was a hypothesis that had been staying in a corner of my mind ever since Elenas death.


    I had set it aside for the time being following the suggestion of Eunsol-noona but


    Slowly but surely, pieces of the puzzle were being brought together one by one.


    I added those pieces together.


    It was bing clearer over time  the identity of the enemy threatening us; the devoted hand and the devil that was trying to be born by swallowing sacrifices.


    There were a lot of things I discovered but I was still clueless about the most important thing.


    So what were we supposed to do in response?


    It was after I returned to the mansion.


    We had ourselves the third victim.

 Chapter 21: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (7)

    Chapter 21: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (7)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 7</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Ahri was still in deep sleep even when we returned from the cathedral, so Iid her down on her bed.


    A myriad ofplex thoughts were filling my head.


    The death of two people, a mansion full of bizarre phenomena, a girl with many secrets;


    And most importantly, the devil who will be brought to life with enough sacrifice.


    What was I supposed to do to escape from this ce?


    It was impossible to resolve all the problems in one go, so we had to go the simple route. We had already confirmed one of the definite escape methods, so there was nothing to worry about, right?


    First off, lets focus on the boat. I organised my thoughts and decided to tell everyone when it was the four of us at the dinner to immediately leave with the boat when the weather turned a little better.


    Even if theke was slightly dangerous, I judged that riding the boat to escape through theke would be less risky.


    And even though there was one thing I was concerned about, Jinchul-hyung should be enough to restrain that problem by himself.


    It was one hourter that my ns crumbled in the worst way possible.


    Cough Keeek Kuhukk


    A clot of blood left Jinchul-hyungs mouth as his agonised scream filled the mansion.


    It was the death of a person, which we had even be used to at this point. From the second day of the mansion to the third day  in just the span of two days, we had the third victim, who vomited blood from his mouth.


    After gathering together, I was going to talk about my escape n. While I was quietly weaving my words together, Seungyub asked the butler for a light meal while Songee prepared a beer and several drinks. In the meantime, hyung was ring at the butler in case he approached our two teammates in any way.


    We sat in front of the prepared table and decided to have a little bit of food before sharing the n, but after a minute, Jinchul-hyung started rolling on the floor.


    I couldnt understand.


    The fact that there could be an issue with the food was something we were concerned about from the beginning. We had to avoid eating the same food and dying together at once.


    That was why we asked the butler to have the food first by using the excuse that it wasnt seasoned well enough, and Seungyub gulped the drink before we could evene up with an excuse.


    Nothing was happening to the two of them, so what was wrong with Jinchul-hyung?


    It was a scene of death which I was bing increasingly more ustomed to. Although it might be nothing new, I did not want to see the crying Songee and the shivering Seungyub again.


    But I still wanted to hold onto his hand at the very least. Quietly walking up, I held onto Jinchul-hyungs hands as heid on the floor in pain.


    He turned his quivering eyes towards me.


    Kain Kuhaak, Kain I, should have done better


    Even though I couldnt do it for the two who went before him, I consoled Jinchul-hyung.


    Hyung. Lets meet again outside.


    Ah Huhu Right. This is nothing, yeah? Ill see you outside Kain.


    90% of our teams strength disappeared just like that.


    Standing behind the window of my room at the mansion, I gazed at the night sky. It was still storming outside. The ominous moonlight still managed to shine brightly in the midst of that weather and glimmered through the curtains to fill the room with its light.


    What should I do?


    The person whom I could discuss my ns with and our reliable strength were all gone.


    All we had left except for me was a girl who couldnt even cry anymore due to crying for 2 days straight, and a boy blindly dashing for love as an escape from reality.


    Now that there was no reliable strength in our group, was it wise to try to escape through the boat?


    Honestly, I had no confidence to contain the threat by myself. I was spending the night with a muddled mind when footsteps echoed from outside.


    Was I the next target?


    I picked up the silver dagger without hesitation and stood next to the door. If the one outside was who I thought it was, then me stabbing first could solve the problem.


    But the person who came in waspletely outside of my expectations.


    Ahri? Its quitete right now More importantly, when did you wake up?


    <strong><em>No. Ahri is still sleeping. That is why I was able toe see you.</em></strong>


    My heart skipped a beat in an instant.


    This was not the Ahri we saw on the first day. She was the different Ahri who I saw at the cathedral yesterday.


    How was she able toe out even though we werent at the cathedral? Was the cathedral just a catalyst in lifting the seal cast on the different Ahri?


    Who exactly


    <strong><em>Do you want to y a card game?</em></strong>


    What was she talking about?


    Now? Before that, can you exin whats happening?


    That is exactly why we need to y a card game.


    The different Ahri dropped the pretentious mask and spoke both casually and nonchntly.


    I couldnt understand what was going on. Why was she suddenly here, and what was she trying to exin all of a sudden?


    When I stared at her with a skeptical gaze, the different Ahri asked with a knowing tone.


    Youre suspicious of me, arent you?


    Dont you think it would be strange if I wasnt?


    You dont have much information in the first ce do you? Regardless of my identity, dont you think you should first acquire some pieces of information from me?


    She wasnt wrong.


    We sat down together on the bed, as I listened to her exining the rules.


    Simply put, I had to use the Attack Cards to either destroy Ahris Defence Cards or reduce her HP.


    Ahri had to withstand using the Defence Cards while drawing cards from the deck, and upon drawing a Sacrifice Card she could eliminate it.


    It was Ahris victory if she managed to eliminate 6 out of the 8 Sacrifice cards, and my win if I lowered her HP to 0 before she did.


    We took several turns.


    By lowering Ahris HP and destroying her Defence cards, I tried my best to defeat her but it wasnt easy. She constantly blocked my attacks, and in the end eliminated 6 Sacrifice cards and won on repeat.


    I lost a game and the next one, as well as the one after that. I thought to myself after 5 consecutive losses.


    The rules were just too favourable for Ahri in the first ce.


    Do you think its too favourable for me?


    She suddenly asked as if she read my thoughts so I replied in a fluster.


    No. M, more than that, isnt it just because Im not used to it?


    Its both. You are not used to the rules but it is also designed to be favourable for me.


    This girl who abruptly started this strange card game was nonchntly telling me all of a sudden that it was intentionally designed to give her a higher chance of winning.


    What kind of reply did she want from me?


    You are not used to the game, and youre also at a disadvantage because of the rules. What should you do then?


    Well, should I rack my brain a bit more?


    Wont the opponent do the same?


    I had no clue. I couldnte up with a decent counter-n.


    How about you change your strategy? she asked.


    Change my strategy?


    Just ept the fact that it is not a game you can win with your current skills.


    Finally  I realised what this girl was trying to tell me.


    But even if I were to Im pretty much the only one. Everyone will die if I lose, so how can I ept my loss?


    Why do you think not winning equals death? You can survive even with a draw.


    I replied to her. I know what youre trying to say, and Ive been going for a tie from the beginning. My only goal was to escape, but now I dont even know how to approach that. The boat


    Dont be obsessed with the boat. Think back to the card game. For you to win, you had to lower my HP. But there is an easier way for a tie, isnt there?


    An easier way.


    Only then did I understand the point she was trying to convey.


    Lets y one more game.


    In ourst game, I gave up on lowering her HP. I also gave up on destroying her Defence cards.


    Instead, I destroyed her Sacrifice cards. Ahris win condition was to personally eliminate 6 of the 8 Sacrifice cards.


    There was no reason to bother defeating Ahri to stop her from winning. All I had to do was destroy more than 3 Sacrifice cards before she won.


    After thest game, Ahri showed a faint smile for the first time and walked outside as I realised what the other escape method was.


    But, was it okay for me to trust her?


    This was a ce filled with deceit. What was I supposed to believe in?


    I came to a conclusion after a deep contemtion.


    Lets trust Eunsol-noona. She discovered something before her death, and a change urred to Ahri after I followed what she wrote in her message.


    So at this point, trusting the other Ahri would be the direction Eunsol-noona had intended.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 8</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    On the morning of the 4th day after arriving at the mansion.


    I woke up in the morning and noticed the storm was finally starting to go away. Quickly washing myself, I tried to go discuss with hyung and noona but immediately remembered that there was no-one left to talk with. Discussing with Seungyub and Songee was honestly quite meaningless.


    From now on, I had to resolve myself to proceed alone.


    Going outside, I saw the butler who was cleaning the garden.


    You woke up very early, Mr. Kain.


    Because the rain is finally starting to dwindle, you see. I was hoping to escape as soon as possible.


    Its great that the rain is starting to stop, but that doesnt mean the water level will go down in an instant. We still need one or two days before we can use the boat.


    That might be true for the boat, but is there a way out through the mountain? In a weather like this, I think it would be possible to climb the mountain with a raincoat.


    Hmm, if it was sunny, climbing the mountain might be possible, but we had a storm until yesterday and the mountain is probably very messy right now, and Im not sure if climbing the mountain would be possible or not. Hiking in the rain, is actually an extremely risky thing to do.


    Of course hiking in the rain is dangerous, but honestly I think this mansion is a lot more dangerous than that.


    It is a shame that I cannot even refute those words. In that case, shall we head to the mountain and see if there is a way out?


    I think we should do it alone with just you and me, Mr. Butler. Ill go get prepared then.


    Let me get myself ready as well then.


    Now that the rain was starting to dwindle, the butler and I decided to have a look at the mountain instead of theke to see if there was a way out.


    Going back to my room, I wore the best clothes for hiking and added a fewyers of thick towels under my clothes.


    And after cing a silver dagger into my clothes, I walked out of the mansion.


    Today, I might have to kill a person.

 Chapter 22: Room 102, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (8)

    Chapter 22: Room 102, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (8)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 8</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    It was even harder than I thought. I knew hiking in the rain would obviously be difficult but it was seriously no joke.


    Although the rain was weaker than before, that was only inparison to the previous storm. There were still dense drops of rain clouding my vision, and the humid ground was caving in with each step so it was also difficult to even walk forward.


    When I stepped on a piece of rock to stop my feet from sinking in, I slipped from the wet rock andnded on the floor.


    That butler though; was he using some kind of magic? Sure, he had more hiking experience and knew more about the mountain than me, but was it possible for us to be so different? He did not wobble a single time and continued walking powerfully through the rain.


    He even helped me stand back up when I was thrashing my arms around and dusted me off.


    My stamina was gone when we were half-way up the mountain, and after hearing me gasp for breath, he opened his mouth.


    I believe we should take a quick break.


    So, sorry. My stamina is not very good.


    Please dont worry about it. It is natural because we are trying to climb the mountain in the rain. Pleasee over to this tree. It has thick leaves and branches, so there will be less rain here.


    With a face that did not seem tired in the slightest, he told me it was natural to be tired and led me to the tree.


    I believe you took Ahri to the cathedral yesterday.


    Yes, there were things to look for and things to check as well.


    Have you finished finding and checking everything?


    I found what had to be found, and confirmed what had to be confirmed.


    I felt a slight tension rising up.


    Have you heard enough stories from Ahri?


    Ahri changed after hearing the sound of the bell, and there was a hymn after that  was I supposed to tell him everything?


    I was silently hesitating to myself when the butler started walking again without asking any more questions.


    That child used to be a kind girl ever since she was young. It wouldnt have been strange for her to fall to the wrong path after losing her parents at a young age but she always kept herself on the right path.


    Shes very energetic and kind. I could have never expected such a backstory.


    Thank you. And, Im not saying this because shes my granddaughter, but she is a very pretty child is she not? But whats more beautiful than her face was her heart. She was an innocent girl who believed everyone would lend her an ear as long as she showed her sincere heart.


    Being sincere is definitely the best way to persuade people.


    However, there are people in the world who stay unmoved at the face of it.


    Sounds like you saw someone like that.


    The butler closed his mouth.


    We walked and walked again. In around 30 minutes, we would probably arrive at the peak, but we were constantly being slowed down by the rain and it was hard to say how long it would exactly take.


    More importantly I was curious. The butler seemed to be wanting to say something about Ahri.


    What did I have to do to force it out of him? Did I have to prick deeper in?


    Please hold on a bit more. We are close to the peak. If we head to the peak and scan underneath, we should be able to see if there is a safe path.


    Thats some good news. Actually, my legs are starting to fail me.


    Did you find the bell at the cathedral?


    It was a sudden continuation from the previous conversation. This time, I decided to delve deeper in.


    Yes. It was at the bell tower looking fine. There is something I noticed, but the cathedral looks quite well-managed even though there is no-one living inside it. The bell was in good shape too


    There is no-one living there, but the building itself is still useful. We have our boat docked there as well, after all.


    I opened my mouth.


    Is that why youve been taking care of the cathedral until now, Mr. Priest?


    There was a brief silence again.


    It has been a long time since I heard that name. Did Ahri tell you that?


    Ahri didnt say anything, but there was this line of thought that I had. Even though the cathedral has been empty for a long time, its still quite clean. Is there someone whos still cleaning the building? There is no-one else but the butler. But why would he take care of it even though looking after the mansion should be hard enough already?


    Did you figure it out with just that?


    Actually, Ive been to a church when I was young as well. It might be different from a cathedral, but honestly, the church wasnt that fun as a kid. The only interesting thing was meeting other kids. So I had a doubt after hearing how Ahri used to diligently go to the cathedral by herself in a ce without any friends. I thought, maybe she wasnt going to the cathedral, but was instead living there with her grandfather.


    That too is more like jumping to a conclusion instead of a spection with great evidence. In the end, it seems like you were just throwing it out there.


    To be fair, thats true but it seems that was correct.


    The rain started to turn thicker again. Due to that, we had to slow down even more and my legs were wobbling so much that it was now hard to move properly.


    A clear voice reached my ears through the drops of rain.


    Sir was a cruel person.


    At the start it began with a ridiculous request.


    Give me yournd. I will break the bell tower if you ring the bell one more time.


    I did not care. I paid little regard even after realising that Sir had fallen into a corrupt faith.


    We have the Lord in the sky so why should I fear anything?


    Time went by and thends became barren.


    People near the mansion started to leave one by one.


    And Ahri could not endure that.


    When you said there was a person who was unmoved at the face of a sincere heart. Was that


    Ahri went to the mansion alone. With a sincere heart, she wished Sir had a gentle mind towards the world.


    Ahh, she was young. That girl was too young.


    It was my fault for not telling her beforehand that some people were immovable even with a sincere heart.


    She suffered from a fever starting from the next day. As if she was soulless, she couldnt even speak properly.


    All she did was tremble, while saying Sir kindly showed her something.


    A strange song. A weird poem. After that, she no longer sought the Lord


    We approached the peak of the mountain.


    The butler no longer used respectfulnguage to me. He was no longer the butler; he was just a priest whose granddaughter was kept a hostage.


    I went to the mansion and prayed again and again. I gave up on thewsuit and the cathedral. I simply begged on my knees, hoping for Sir to show his mercy. Only after I dropped everything was Ahri able to get up from the bed


    I had to protect my granddaughter


    Is that when you dropped your stance of being a priest?


    What else could I do? I spent my entire life to the Lord. When the devil attacked me and my child, he did not show us the way out. Your heart is quite firm and that is your downfall. It would have been enough if you spent yourst moments while crying by yourself like the other kids of the mansion and yet you are here making it difficult for everyone.


    He continued.


    I pondered again and again, whether I should do it myself or whether I should wait for Sir to offer you as a sacrifice. However, six is enough. 3 have been offered already with 2 remaining in the mansion, and the throat of this old man is more than enough. There is no need for Sir to bother dealing with you himself


    At the peak of the mountain, the priest turned around.


    Right, things really were going the hard way. Back when we started hiking the mountain, I thought there would be plenty of easy opportunities during the hazardous process of climbing the mountain in the rain.


    However, the priest was always way in front of me while I couldnt even control myself and this was happening now that I was exhausted near the peak of the mountain.


    Clenching my teeth, I took out the dagger.


    As expected, youve been prepared from the start. Were you cautious? Or were you going to kill me? Whatever it is, it does not matter.


    In the next instant, the priest dashed towards me as if he was flying.


    <strong>[Immediately take 3 steps to the left!]</strong>


    Sages Advice, which had never been activated after entering the Mansion of Fear and had stayed silent even when everyone else was dying, worked for the very first time.


    My body subconsciously took 3 steps to the left upon seeing the rm without even thinking, as the rotten log in the middle of the priest and I started to crumble.


    The priest stumbled when the rotten wood crumbled beneath his feet.


    Is it now? I was about to immediately take the dagger out but,


    <strong>[Step back right now!]</strong>


    Another rm popped up in 1 second and I quickly took a step back. That was when something that looked like a pick or a chisel shot out of the priests pocket and grazed past my body.


    What was that?


    You took a weapon yourself. Did you expect me toe empty-handed?


    In less than 5 seconds after the start of the fight, I already used up 2 of my Advices. It was clear and evident that this priest was stronger than me.


    However, I knew he was physically stronger than me ever since the first day. Naturally, I had prepared one more thing in secret, but it wasnt something I could use in a heavy rain. I had to move to a different ce.


    It seemed that I had been thinking for too long  the priest quickly stabilised his body and dashed in again.


    That priest must have learned some martial art or something. How was he able to run unwaveringly like that in a ce filled with rotten logs, slippery rocks and a muddy ground?


    Slip


    In the end, it was me who slipped first. My body fell to the side and rolled across the floor. When I quickly lifted my upper body back up, I saw the priest running in to make the most out of that opportunity.


    <strong>[Pull the rock on your right!]</strong>


    That was the 3rd Advice. This time, I was a little flustered for a split second.


    Why was it suddenly telling me to pull a rock out instead of dodging to a side? But even though my head was still pondering on the reason, my arms moved by themselves to pull the rock which led to a shocking turn of events.


    The rock I pulled had been supporting the half-rotten tree next to it!


    When the rock supporting the tree was pulled out, the tree immediately fell down towards the priest. He quickly turned his feet to avoid the falling tree but in an environment where you could slip simply by walking, his set of steps were too vigorous and he ended uppletely falling on the ground.


    Should I run in? I pondered but not for long.


    It happened before, did it not? Getting too close to him was far too dangerous. He wasnt even critically injured and I had no confidence to beat the priest who was carrying a weapon in a frontal fight.


    Looking around, I found a tree which had dense branches and leaves that were blocking the rain.


    There, I would be able to use my secret move.


    I quickly ran to the tree while grasping on the tool that I had kept hidden in my clothes.


    The moment I arrived there, I immediately turned around and saw that the priest was approaching me after quickly standing back up in a brief instant.


    CHIIIIIK!


    Uaaaaaaaaaahkkk!!!! Uhuuukk!!!!! You son of a bitch, what have you done!


    The priest who had stayed firm in the face of the storm, tempest and the rugged mountain was rolling on the ground like a child. The pick made by sharpening a candlestick was thrown away from his hands, and he was busy rubbing his face while mindlessly rolling on the muddy ground.


    2 days before entering Room 102, when the monsters came out of the pool to attack us, Eunsol-noona disyed her wondrous wits by buying concentrated capsaicin from the HP market to defeat the monsters.


    That was when everyone noticed how incredible of a weapon this was. In a ce without guns, concentrated liquid capsaicin was in a way a more remarkable weapon than a knife.


    Unfortunately, there was only a small amount left at the bottom of the container after a generous pour at the monsters.


    It was barely enough to fill the bottom of the perfume spray container which was at the hotel.


    After somehow making two of them, noona handed one of them over to me without any hesitation.


    Why did she give it to me? I wasnt sure back then, but looking back, it seemed that she had been somewhat trusting me from then.


    In any case, her judgement was not wrong.


    Atst it was time to end this bloody battle of the rainy mountain.


    sping on the dagger, I approached the wriggling priest.


    Stab!


    That was when something stabbed onto my thigh.


    Ah, if I had one more Advice left, it would have told me to avoid the attack.


    How unfortunate.


    My body was already at the limit and it crumbled in an instant.

 Chapter 23: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (9)

    Chapter 23: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (9)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 8</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    It was a mistake  the same mistake as before.


    If I had a dagger myself, the opponent could have possessed a de as well.


    If I had a secret move, the opponent could have also had one himself.


    Because he released the skewer while wriggling from the pain created by the spray, I thought he was bare-handed.


    I was too tired. The severe tension, hiking in the rain and a bloody fight. While I was slowly walking up to him due to my depleted stamina, the priest managed to suppress his pain.


    Right when I was next to him, a kitchen knife suddenly left his waist and pierced through my thigh.


    Fortunately, I was wearing a thick raincoat and the priest was also exhausted so the kitchen knife ended up rolling on the ground without creating a deep stab.


    Huuk Uhukk Seriously, Priest, were you in the war for 10 years or something?


    It seemed that the priest was also exhausted, and he silently walked up to me.


    Ah My body was refusing to move. I had to somehow move and avoid him but


    Seriously, my body waspletely powerless from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.


    The priest grabbed my neck with his hand. Like the chimes of heaven, I heard the sound of a distant bell


    Wait, bell?


    The priest stared into the air. His rather vacant gaze wandered out of focus.


    And that was when a different person appeared.


    It was the same as what happened with Ahri. Back then it was also the bell, and it appeared to be the same this time around.


    Even though his body was still the same, he was clearly different. The old man in front of me was no longer the calm butler nor the priest filled with suppressed fury but


    It was someone who I was seeing for the first time.


    He had an expression on his face which I had never seen before  it looked like he was both teasing and sneering at me. In any case, it was a mischievous expression which both the butler and the priest would never make.


    <strong>You made a mistake, didnt you? Are you too tired to even speak? Hah, seriously. Kids these days are too weak.</strong>


    <strong>You should not have lowered your guard in the hotel. One mistake could equal death, dont you know?</strong>


    <strong>If you still had a lot of trustworthy teammates left, you might be able to close your eyes in peace but arent you practically by yourself?</strong>


    <strong>Well, but all in all, it wasnt bad. Your stamina is horrible, but your brain is decent.</strong>


    Hotel


    The old man in front of me just said hotel and not the mansion.


    This old man


    He knew that our situation was nothing but the inner works of Room 102 of the hotel. I was staring at the old man with shocked eyes when he grinned and tapped me on my head.


    It was a very amicable gesture. Was he not going to kill me?


    <strong>You were going to kill three of the sacrifices with your own hands before Sir did, right? Not bad, and you also have the determination but youre still too weak. You need to get stronger.</strong>


    <strong>I am a bit concerned but I guess youll be able to escape. There was nothing we could do either. We started off as characters of the mansion and we couldnt escape the mansion with our own strength.</strong>


    <strong>I will trust you and go first. Lets meet outside.</strong>


    After saying that, the one that was neither the butler nor the priest walked away from me and he approached the cliff and unhesitatingly jumped down.


    *


    My eyes were fuzzy.


    I slowly climbed down the mountain with all my strength. Hiking in the storm, a desperate fight and a knife stab


    Seriously, I could not feel even a tiny bit of strength left in my body.


    It was unclear whether I was climbing down the mountain or being pulled down by gravity but in any case, I was pretty much rolling down when a person entered my sight from a distance.


    A small body and long ck hair reaching her waist. Seeing Ahri walking up to me, I barely managed to say a sentence.


    You rang the bell, right? Thanks.


    I had a feeling you wouldnt be able to do it by yourself.


    What in the world is that bell? At first I thought it was a device the hotel gave us to suppress the power of the devil but It feels like there is more and more stuff behind it as time goes.


    The bell itself is what you think. Ill just tell you there is a method grandpa and I have that can let us wake up.


    Waking up from the role injected by the hotel Is that even possible?


    Just stay faithful to what you have to do. You know what you have to do, right?


    Its not a problem of whether I know it or not. I cant do anything. I seriously cant even lift a finger.


    As soon as I said that, Ahri handed me a small bottle.


    Drink this. This will help you recover your poor stamina and allow you to stand up at least.


    It tasted strange.


    It was reddish-ck, and gave off a slightly fishy smell.


    Dont tell me this


    All I could think of were some disturbing things so I quickly put a stop to that line of thought.


    It felt bizarre.


    There was heat travelling up. The liquid that went past my throat started to pervade through my body as heat surged from my throat and warmed up my body.


    Even though I still wasnt feeling refreshed, I had enough power to stand up as Ahri said.


    Standing back up, I was warming up my body when she walked up to me.


    Ah~ This damn mansion is finally nearing the end.


    You You and the priest, or I should say the one acting as the priest  what are you guys?


    Youll see for yourself after leaving this ce. And cant you somewhat tell already? Dont waste your time and do what you have to do.


    Looking at this fairy-like girl, I thought to myself in frustration.


    Was this really our best choice?


    Butler / Priest, Ahri and me. Was the best choice for the 3 of us to kill ourselves before being swallowed by the devil?


    I was hesitantly thinking to myself when Ahri walked up and met her eyes with mine.


    Looks like you cant make a decision even aftering this far. Let me help you.


    When the dark red eyes suddenly came close enough for our noses to touch, I was greatly flustaskldjtls


    <strong>SPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNINGSPINNING</strong>


    <strong>AhhISawMyHandsLiftingThemselvesUpToWrapAroundTheChildsNeck.LetsCoverHerNeckLikeAWarmScarfAndSnapThatNeckToEndInOneGoAndLeaveOnAPeacefulTrip</strong>


    <strong>BBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKK-</strong>


    *


    After barely recovering my stamina, I somehow managed to climb down the mountain and headed to the mansion.


    This disgusting mansion was finally nearing the end.


    The rain was almost gone now. I slowly walked forward and saw the bizarre statue we saw on the first day near the main entrance. Next to the statue was a familiar face.


    Oppa! Are you okay?


    Im alright. Still alive at least.


    Silence befell the two of us. We both knew what was going on and it wasughable to even continue this puppet show.


    Reaching her arm out, Songee caressed the heart of the statue.


    What do you think when you see this, oppa?


    I think the owner has a terrible taste. Its worse than the dinosaur I made with y when I was in primary school.


    Aht, kikikik. Well, sorry about that. I thought it had a primitive appeal to it.


    Lets stop there. Where is Seungyub?


    Where is Ahri and Mr. Butler?


    Somewhere in the mountain.


    Kuhk, ahh this is so funny, right? Everyone else is dead with only the murderers left behind. I wasnt expecting my long-awaited moment to be like this. To think there was a crazy sacrifice who kills the other sacrifices with his own hands.


    Murderer? Lets make this straight. Youre the murderer and Im a victim. Sir? I dont know how you got into Songees body, but how about you shut your mouth.


    What a harsh tongue for a brat. It was fairly interesting so Ill let you off.


    Cut the bullshit. Im seriously sick of this already.


    Yes, yes. We both need to see the end of it. But let me ask you one question. Why did you not kill yourself?


    None of your business, you freak!


    In an instant, we both sprinted to our target. I thought to myself while running towards the cathedral.


    <strong>The Cathedral Bell</strong>


    After seeing the word bell from the memo left behind by noona, I asked the butler and this was what he told me.


    He told me the bell was just left unattended at the bell tower  there was no-one to ring it, and it belonged to the cathedral, so they just decided to neglect it.


    That was nonsense. Sir hating the sound of the bell was not just because he didnt like the sound of it.


    It was clear that there was some supernatural power behind the bell that crushed Sirs powers.


    Would someone trying to bring out the devil neglect something that could be a crucial weakness to him just because of some legal problems?


    Not a chance.


    If so, then perhaps Sir and his servants arent able to approach the bell in the first ce?


    Turning around, I saw Songee touching the statues of the mansion as they each began to move.


    Ahah, so those are the Defence cards that showed up in my card game with Ahri, huh.


    I was grateful for all the rain and storm for the first time. Even though this wasnt a part of my n, the ground was drenched and was very soft. The legs of the statues were stuck deep in the mud with every step and they couldnt follow me that well.


    I mindlessly ran and ran and soon arrived at the cathedral.


    However, it was too early to rx myself.


    The butler, who was a servant of Sir, was also able to enter the cathedral. What was important was the bell and not the cathedral itself.


    After climbing thedder and touching the bell, I was finally able to settle my heart.


    At this point, my part in this n waspleted.


    Before long, Sir appeared with the statues following from behind.


    Are you aiming for a defensive battle with that bell?


    If you dont want that, how about youe closer?


    How insolent. Ill admit it. It is still difficult for me to touch that sacred artifact but what about it? I can simply follow you around so that you can neither sleep nor have any food.


    My apologies.


    Hearing me, Sir looked at me with suspicion.


    Looking back, Sir, you did do all the evil stuff in the world but you are clearly older than me, and in a Confucius country, I definitely should reply to your question at least.


    What question?


    You asked me, didnt you? On why I didnt kill myself. It wasnt for me to survive or anything, and Im not trying to beat you either, Sir. I was just waiting for the right time to die.


    Right time to die, huh. Is this a riddle? Why are you


    <strong>GOOOOOOOO</strong>


    A thunderous roar shook the heavens and the earths. From the deepest pit of the mansion, I heard the roar of the one who couldnt be born.


    I finally realised it was time.


    I clenched onto my dagger.


    This wasnt easy. I had repeatedly steeled myself tomit suicide when it was time but it really wasnt easy.


    Closing my eyes, I told myself  this was not my death. I was just going to enter a short yet deep sleep to wake up from this nightmare and meet my teammates again.


    The dagger stuck deep into my neck. An excruciatingly unbearable pain flooded out in an instant. All I could do was hope that this pain would quicklye to an end.


    That was my second death after arriving at the hotel.

 Chapter 24: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Mansion of Fear’ (10) Fin

    Chapter 24: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Mansion of Fear¡¯ (10) Fin


    <strong> Kim Ahri</strong>


    <strong>Creeaak!</strong>


    I opened the main entrance of the mansion and walked inside.


    Ahh, I seriously didnt want toe back to this ce though. Living in this tiresome mansion as something as ridiculous as a maid was extremely boring.


    But it was almost over now  we were just half a step away from escape. There was only one thing left to do, but that one thing just had to be the most painful thing.


    Just then, Kain disappeared after gathering the attention of Sir.


    While walking down the inhabited mansion, I remembered the conversation we had a few hours ago.


    -


    Seriously please stop. What in the hell is with your eyes?


    I was trying to help you because you couldnt make a judgement. It would have been easier for both of us if you simply epted it.


    There is a better n!


    -


    A better n.


    There was a little bit of riskpared to the 100% reliable escape method which was an immediate suicide but


    In all honesty, it was impossible to survive through this hotel by sticking to the safest method the whole time. If there was information which was worth risking for, taking that risk would in fact be a safer method in the long run.


    That was why I was convinced by his n.


    It was the first time I was alone like this ever since we came into this hotel.


    The mansion was very big but that might just be because I was in the body of a young child.


    I continued walking and soon arrived at Sirs study.


    It was this ce, right?


    My memories werent clear.


    ording to the memories of the personality injected by the hotel, the granddaughter of the priest hade here in the past to persuade Sir, and mentally crumbled after Sir showed her something.


    Following that was the submission of the priest. As a reward, Sir recovered his granddaughter and


    In that process, that something which the granddaughter saw also became hazy. That was obvious because clouding the memories of that incident was what the recovery was about.


    -


    Im not saying we shouldnt kill ourselves. What Im saying is that we should do more before we die.


    Is there something else you still want to do?


    I came up with a hypothesis after seeing the notification that popped up when we escaped Room 101. I wasnt sure but I became certain from the card game we yedst time.


    Escape is not the end of the Cursed Room. Its just a method.


    What we need to do is constantly repeat exploring the Cursed Room while having one person escape to remove the fundamental root cause of the curse, right?


    That is why we need to find out more even if we have to die.


    -


    I might be heading to face the most horrible death in the world.


    Going into the study, I saw a messy cluster of documents.


    Where was it again? My memories were blurry.


    Was it around here?


    What came out when I lifted the painting on the wall was a lever. This mansion was quite modern and yet some parts of it were rather old like this system here.


    I pulled the lever as the bookshelves immediately turned to the side and revealed a wooden door. Behind the door were stairs leading down. There were so many stairs that I could not even see the end of it.


    There were no lights either.


    Did I really have to go down there?


    I had seen all sorts of horrible things in the world, but it seemed that getting used to things like this was impossible no matter how much experience I had.


    I climbed down the stairs endlessly without the bottom in sight. The stairs were seemingly connected to the deepest pit of hell.


    How far did I go down?


    It felt like I had been walking for almost an hour but I couldnt tell, because of how hard it was to keep my sense of time in a ce like this.


    At the end of the stairs I finally saw a bluish source of light. Under that sparkling light was an old metal door which was about to rot away.


    Forcing the door open, I walked in  and inside was a book shimmering in blue.


    The moment I saw that, I immediately realised it.


    That was it.


    That was the final reward of this room.


    The moment I touch that, I would probably notice something and die a horrible death. However, I couldnt go back up without doing anything aftering all the way here, so there was no other option for me.


    The outer appearance of the book was normal. The cover was ck and was made of leather of an unknown animal.


    Engraved on top of it were unidentifiable letters.


    I opened the book.


    Darkness enshrouded me.


    I fell endlessly.


    Down the bottomless pit  an evesting free fall.


    Fall for 10 million years and you wont ever reach the bottom in this ce. Like how there was no ce located more north than the North Pole and how everything was south  there was no start nor end in this ce, nor was there the differentiation of up and down.


    Every direction was the bottom.


    Even though there should be no source of light, I could vaguely see the shape of the walls.


    The walls were ck yet red, and twitched without an end. It appeared hideous like the innards of an organism.


    I was nothing but a bug falling down the intestines of an organism.


    For some unknown reason, my fall stopped in the middle.


    Something appeared from a distance.


    How far was it? I had no idea. It should be tremendously far but I could still see its shape.


    It might be closer than I thought, or it might be more enormous than what I could imagine. It was unclear.


    I saw it wriggling. Without stopping a single time, it crawled up the walls like an insect.


    Whenever its legs touched the walls they melted down but those legs endlessly grew back out.


    Ahah, so thats what it looks like for a parasite to crawl up your intestines.


    Feeling like there were billions of bugs crawling in my stomach, a tremendous sense of disgust surged from inside.


    I forced myself to think about something else.


    This mansion  or rather, most of the things of this hotel were fake. The house, the mountain and the river were all just a stage the hotel created from y.


    But even in movies, the actors were real despite the stage being fake.


    There were real things in this hotel.


    Why was this hotel made?


    Some said it was to elect heroes through trials.


    Some said it was to inherit the great treasures to their rightful sessors.


    But perhaps this hotel might be a farm.


    A hell that infinitely locked up monsters from going outside to the real world, that asionally fed humans as fodder to keep them in control.


    The eyes of the crawling thing turned towards me.


    Did it always have eyes? There should be no reason to have eyes in a ce like this, but it must have created them itself.


    That was what Sir was worshipping as a god, huh.


    It wasughable.


    In the eyes of an ant, even a chicken would appear like a god. But in the hands of a human, a chicken was nothing but one meal.


    No matter how great it was, it was just a horrendous and shabby existence stuck in the intestines of a far greater being.


    Slowly, I could feel everything in my sight crumbling to nothing.


    I was really close to my limits.


    When I forced my eyes to the sky, something popped out of the intestines and came towards me.


    Making me go through something as horrible as this and calling it a better n?


    I had to give him a good beating after leaving this ce.


    The long nights of the mansion wereing to an end.


    <strong>/You have sessfully escaped!</strong>


    <strong>An unapproved participant! You have started at a disadvantage for clearly viting the rules.</strong>


    <strong>However you have still tried your best, and have helped the participants at a crucial moment.</strong>


    <strong>What a cold-blooded choice to kill the sacrifices ahead of the devil! But there are times when you need to be determined.</strong>


    <strong>With this, the ritual of the owner of the mansion who was tainted in heresy has failed.</strong>


    <strong>You have escaped the curse, but you sense the root cause of the curse still persists.</strong>


    <strong>One of your team has sessfully escaped! Congrattions! The sessful escape allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 8</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    Swallowing the dizziness, I stood up from the ground. Like the time we escaped from Room 101, it seemed that we were thrown out of the room while unconscious and had juste to ourselves.


    Looking around, I saw 7 others who were floundering their arms like me.


    Elena, Cha Jinchul, Lee Eunsol, Yu Songee, Park Seungyub. And two other people who we needed to have a long discussion with.


    I remembered the miserable deaths they had at the mansion. My heart pulsed rapidly as a lump appeared in my throat.


    Elena who was strangled to death; Eunsol-noona who died to a skewer; Jinchul-hyung who died from poison; and me who killed myself with a dagger. How did Seungyub die?


    In any case, I discarded that horrifying recollection to the side.


    It was this. This was the moment.


    How long had I been hoping for this moment of a happy reunion with everyone else?


    The meal today would probably be an ocean of tears. Even I felt a lump in my throat and felt my eyes turning wet from tears.


    At the same time, one of my questions was also cleared.


    It seemed that we all came out at the same time regardless of the time we each died inside the Cursed Room.


    Of course, there were still a lot of questions to be answered. There were a lot of things we had to ask.


    Even aside from the secrets of this hotel, there were a lot of things we didnt know about each other.


    As I was slowly reflecting on the points that had to be discussed one by one in my head,


    Someone walked up to me.


    She was someone who we had been seeing the whole time at the mansion. It seemed that her true appearance was quite simr to how she looked at the mansion.


    Are you okay? You Is your name still the same? So


    An unstoppable fist mercilessly came flying in, and I ended up falling to the ground again.

 Chapter 25: Intermission – Who in the world are you?

    Chapter 25: Intermission ¨C Who in the world are you?


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 8</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    Hoh, that looks quite delicious. Hey, young buddy! Hand me a piece of that big Jokbal over there.


    I dont think this is Jokbal. Its probably that Schweinshaxe or something.


    Right. Hand me some of that Schwein Jokbal.


    I was trying to pick up therge Schweinshaxe when therge piece of meat suddenly disappeared.


    Aigu. This looks amazing.


    Without any hesitation, Jinchul-hyung took the whole thing from my side.


    There was no way Jinchul-hyung would suddenly pick a fight against me so it was obvious who he was showing that attitude to.


    Hohoh. Dont you think youve been crossing the line a bit too much? Im sure I exined myself already though


    Haha. Of course not. Arent you an esteemed agent from the Administration Bureau? I just didnt want you to have a pigs foot.


    Ahh, this little brat. You look like a boar but your mouth is very light, dont you think?


    Hah, what an elegant manner of speech considering your damn age


    Please, lets not do this while we are having our meal. Jinchul, please shut up. You too, sir. Eunsol-noona chimed in.


    Wouldnt we hug each other and cry because of all the hardships we went through? That was what I was expecting but the atmosphere of the meal was very different from what I thought.


    Two new people.


    The addition of two people who everyone had been thinking of as an enemy inside the Mansion of Fear was making things very stressful.


    Ahri-noona This, its roasted eggnts and its very delicious. You should have some.


    Oh my, Seungyub. Thank you.


    Of course, there were some people who paid no attention to the war of nerves happening on the other side of the table.


    Inwardly heaving out a sigh, I checked the teammate information tab on my status screen.


    [1. Han Kain (20)  Wisdom. Freshman at K University


    2. Cha Jinchul (31)  Courage. Former professional boxer.


    3. Yu Songee (17)  Affinity. Raises numerous animals


    4. Elena Ivanova (23)  Justice. Daughter of a diplomat seeking asylum. Currently wanting to be an actor.


    5. Park Seungyub (14)  Fortune. An unstoppable juvenile boy


    6. Lee Eunsol (32)  Wealth. 3rd child of the chairman of Daeyang Group


    7. Kim Mooksung (68)  Communication. Agent of the Cmity Administration Bureau


    8. Kim Ahri (16)  <em>Allusion. Probationary agent of the Cmity Administration Bureau</em>]


    Absurdly enough, the two new people were actually agents of the Administration Bureau.


    The Administration Bureau was the most secretive organisation in the world. Their actions werent very well-known, and from what I knew as a normal citizen


    It was that there were devils and ghosts in the world which normal people would generally nevere across in their lives, and that the Administration was the organisation dealing with them.


    What we were going through right now was that supernatural event, so I guess it wasnt strange for those agents to be here.


    After quickly finishing her meal, Eunsol-noona rified the situation.


    So, you are saying the two of you were trying to stop the civilian disappearing incidents caused by the hotel, and somehow ended up being brought to the hotel, right?


    Well yes, but to be exact, we sneaked inside using our method but the hotel took us hostage as characters of Room 102 the moment we came inside. We are thinking of this as some sort of punishment.


    Like a punishment from the hotel against illegal trespassers?


    Something like that. Getting stuck in our roles and not being able to do anything ourselves, and praying for the official participants to pass would be a harsh punishment in itself. It was actually fairly challenging.


    Anyway, moving on, old man, you and


    Hey. Cha Jinchul! Eunsol-noona shouted as Jinchul-hyung rephrased his words.


    Kuhum, so sir, there is a method you and that probationarydy used to enter the hotel, right? Is it possible to leave using that method?


    Im sorry but we can no longer do that.


    What even was that method?


    For an instant, the old man closed his mouth. It might have been a sensitive question, but we needed to know anything rted to our escape.


    That was when Ahri opened her mouth.


    I think we should just say it, grandpa. The hotel has been kidnapping people for a long time, and some people with luck and skill were able to escape while keeping their abilities. When you sessfully escape this ce, the hotel gives out an entrance ticket, telling you toe back if you ever want to.


    Did youe in using that ticket?


    If we did, we wouldnt have been deemed as trespassers. You see, only the escapees themselves can use those tickets and we tried to replicate them in our own ways. Thats why the hotelbelled us as trespassers.


    Is it because there were a lot of people nearby?


    Ahri looked a lot more respectful and politepared to my memories of her at the mansion. She looked 2-3 years older than her appearance at the mansion as well.


    In any case, we were pretty much finished with inquiring about their identities.


    Next up, lets discuss how everything happened at the mansion and have some feedback together. There will be plenty of even more dangerous things happening to us in the future, so we should rify what happened first. I assume thest one alive would know the most, so Kain, can you exin for us?


    This time, it was my turn to speak. Feeling that I should take some time to calmly analyse what happened, I first wrote a few words down on a white te we got from somewhere.


    1. Songees possession and the murdering process.


    Then, lets put everything together in the order they happened. Firstly, when exactly were you possessed, Songee?


    As soon as she became the centre of the topic, Songee deeply lowered her head.


    I actually dont remember anything after touching the statue


    So touching the statue was the trigger huh. If we go there again, we wont touch it this time. Alright.


    Next, lets talk about how we all died. Firstly, can you start us off, Miss Elena?


    Songee came in the middle of the night saying she was scared and I fell asleep while talking to her. It suddenly felt painful so I woke up, but I was already being strangled.


    Sorry


    Oh, no, its not your fault, Songee.


    Is it me next? Theres nothing much, said Eunsol-noona. I came out after seeing the documents and saw Songee waiting outside even though it was alreadyte. Back then, I somewhat felt like I was going to die. I was already quite suspicious that Songee was the one who killed Elena. I was prepared to die the moment I went inside the study but when we met, she was acting tremendously well so I thought maybe she wasnt the killer, but when I turned around she immediately went stab.


    Im really sorry unni.


    Lets stop saying sorry. We all know you didnt mean it.


    I have absolutely no idea how I died. This time it was Jinchul-hyung. I just died all of a sudden in the middle of a meal, right? What was that about?


    I think I know. Back then I wasnt sure but looking back, we checked the food and the juice beforehand but we didnt for the beer you drank. Something must have been done to the beer.


    Hah, seriously, can I not even have beer anymore?


    For me, noona called me so we went to theke for a walk together but she suddenly pushed me off


    While we were describing how we were each killed by Songee, she looked like she would burst into tears with one tap.


    2. Meaning behind the memo.


    Next is something I seriously wanted to ask after leaving that ce. Why did you write [c, cathedral, maid, bell]? Did you not have time? It was hard for me to decipher that you were telling me to take Ahri to the cathedral and ring the bell.


    Uhh Is that what happened?


    Sorry?


    I wasnt trying to be that specific at all. If I was trying to say that, I would have been more clear as you said; I was just writing down the keywords I saw on the documents. I didnt even know there was a bell in the cathedral. However, there were some lines about Sir detesting the cathedral and the bell so I wrote that, and I also wrote down maid because there was a line about brainwashing the maid. Looks like you somehow made it work with what I wrote.


    What was that c then?


    For that, I was trying to write capital S for Songee but I stopped in the middle. Back when I was writing the memo, the only clue we had about the murderer was that it had to be someone Elena would invite into the room and sleep with on the same bed, right? Songee was the first person that came to mind but Seungyub is also quite young and I didnt want to risk giving you the wrong idea.


    Judging from how you left behind a memo, were you aware that youll die?


    I was prepared for that too, but most importantly there was a line about a grimoire that would drive normal people insane by just seeing it. I thought it was somewhere inside the study though. Maybe its in a different ce.


    Hearing that, I sneaked a peek at Ahri, who gave me a wide smile as if she was wondering why I was looking at her. Maybe the hypothesis I made was wrong.


    3. How were the 2 agents able to wake up?


    Lets resolve our biggest question now. The hotel has controlled our minds several times until now, and we couldnt fight back a single time. So how were the two of you from the Administration able toe to your senses?


    Firstly, it is because we are trained at resisting mind control, and secondly, its because of my blessing.


    Your blessing? Communication?


    Ill make it simple for you. My blessing is Discord.


    We all became speechless for a second.


    Why are you saying Discord all of a sudden. What do you mean by that?


    Its aparison. Just like the word,munication, it is an ability that is optimised formunication. A picture paints a thousand words. Come here and hold my hand once.


    With bewildered looks on our faces, we held his hand one by one.


    <em>Mooksung: Can you hear me?</em>


    <em>Eunsol: </em>


    <em>Kain: </em>


    <em>Songee: What! What is this? There are words popping up in my head!</em>


    <em>Mooksung: This is my blessing. We can chat by thinking to ourselves. In normal situations, its not any better than an actual conversation, but we can chat even when our bodies are being restricted. By using this to talk to each other, Ahri and I were able to keep our sanity.</em>


    <em>Kain: This is a really interesting ability. It looks very helpful.</em>


    <em>Seungyub: Wow! Can we talk using this the whole day?</em>


    <em>Eunsol: For example, when we are outside of mealtimes at Room 105?</em>


    <em>Mooksung: Sorry but there is a limit to the conversation. We have already used up about a half of it, and its not an ability suited for everyday conversation. A day needs to go by for it to be replenished.</em>


    <em>Kain: I see. Are there any other restrictions?</em>


    <em>Mooksung: Havent found any so far. Ah, and I can also do this. Jinchul-gun? Say something.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig: What do you mean? Huh? Wait, what is this?</em>


    <em>Mooksung: The owner of the server can assign names.</em>


    <em>Eunsol: Theres a limit so lets stop here.</em>


    After a short yet interesting experience, we returned to having a chat in the real world.


    It definitely was a very useful ability, but the fact that a conversation thatsted less than a minute took up most of the days worth of messages was a big downside. The restrictions were about as big as its usefulness.


    And what blessing was yours, Ahri? Kain said its called Allusion, right?


    I was locked in Room 102 straight away, so honestly, Im not too sure.


    Not too sure?


    For that to be the case, she seemed very skilled when casting something simr to hypnosis on me, though?


    It was a fairly questionable reply, but I didnt bother delving deeper into it.


    Well, I think thats pretty much everything we have to say for each other. And seriously, great job everyone. I want to say a touching line or something but Im just too tired right now, and I think we are all very exhausted. Lets all take a rest because we still need to enter another Cursed Room tomorrow. See you tomorrow, everyone.


    After dinner, we were transferred over to our respective locations.


    I wanted to take a good rest for today. Tomorrow will worry about itself.


    <em>Ahri: Can you hear me?</em>


    <em>Kain: </em>


    <em>Ahri: We cant talk for long.</em>


    <em>Kain: What do you want to talk about? You pretending like a nice kid?</em>


    <em>Ahri: Oh my! I dont know what you are trying to say. Its about what Ist saw at the mansion.</em>


    <em>Kain: Why didnt you talk about that during the meal?</em>


    <em>Ahri: Because its better off for everyone else to not know about it except for you.</em>


    <em>Kain: What do you mean???</em>


    <em>Ahri: Looks like you dont know much about your own blessing.Wisdom lets you ept knowledge that humans cannotprehend. Ill show you now. We can also do things like this by mixing grandpas and my blessing.</em>


    From an ever-so-distant ce, I saw something.


    Simply seeing it threatened to burn my brain.


    An endlessly deep pit,


    A pit reaching far and wide to no end like intestines,


    And a horrendous thing crawling towards me.


    An unbearably intense pain ached my head.


    I guess I would probably have a horrible nightmare today. Why did she have to show this to me now, when I was just about to go to sleep?

 Chapter 26: Investigating the Elevator, Entering Room 103

    Chapter 26: Investigating the Elevator, Entering Room 103


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 9</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    7 am. As always, everyone gathered at the dining room for a meal when the disy screen turned itself on.


    <strong>/Today is a day off at the hotel. Meals will still be provided./</strong>


    What is this about all of a sudden?


    Its a day off but theyre still giving out meals? What does this mean?


    Hmm I think I can answer that question.


    A clear voice echoed as everyone turned towards Ahri.


    Do you know something about this?


    ording to the information we have gathered, the hotel regrly gives out safe days like this. Simply put, it means there wont be any penalties even if we dont enter a Cursed Room today.


    So you mean theyre telling us to take today off? Eunsol-noona asked as grandpa (he told us to call him grandpa) replied to her.


    That is exactly correct. Good work half-clearing two rooms. Take today off. Thats essentially what it is.


    The rare good news from the hotel brightened up everyones faces.


    A pure day off with nothing terrible happening to us!


    After that, everything happened in a sh.


    Everyone excitedly finished their meals in an instant, and like the day when we had an incident at the pool, everyone went off to the facilities at the basement.


    The whole group of girls walked off while discussing between the bar and the pool, whereas Jinchul-hyung and grandpa, who had been having a cold war just yesterday, headed to the gym together for a workout.


    Seungyub looked keen on following Ahri but when it looked like the girls would be ying by themselves, he immediately became dejected and walked off somewhere.


    And as for me


    Watching everyone get off the elevator to head to different areas of the basement, I stayed behind by myself.


    I didnt have a clear idea of what I wanted to do during the break, and besides, the elevator which had been broken from the first day still weighed on my mind.


    I had a strong feeling that something was still hidden inside.


    Some functions are deactivated.


    What functions was it talking about? Firstly, it was clear that it couldnt go to Floors 2 and 3.


    But was there something else?


    I carefully scanned the elevator from top to bottom.


    At a nce, it wasnt all that different from a normal elevator. There was a small disy above the doors disying the floor number, and the panel on the right hand side hadbels from B1 to the 3rd floor, but Floors 2 and 3 didnt have any lights on.


    And at the bottom of the panel was a red button with the word Escape.


    Escape?


    Usually, wasnt the button on the bottom of the panel in an elevator a warning bell that alerted the security in case someone was to get locked inside?


    Seeing the word Escape immediately caught my interest.


    Should I press it? Just in case, I slowly brought my hand towards it while keeping a close eye on my status screen.


    A warning would pop out if it was dangerous.


    Nothing happened until I touched the button so I decided to press it.


    Click!


    In an instant, the area below the red button suddenly flipped upside down as a disy screen popped up. There was a screen with numbers and a ce for the password, and next to the numbers was a warning written in small letters.


    <strong>/Enter the Password while wearing the Protective Suit./</strong>


    Protective Suit? What did that mean? And what should I press for the password? As soon as I brought my finger towards one of the numbers


    <strong>[You will be scorched to death if you type in the wrong Password.]</strong>


    I immediately took my hand off after seeing those vicious words. Scorched to death. There were seriously all sorts of human-killing devices in this damn hotel.


    Even though I was dumbfounded, that gave me a big piece of information.


    <strong>This was </strong><strong><em>real</em></strong><strong>. It really was a device that let you escape as long as you somehow earned the item called Protective Suit, wore it and typed in the correct Password!</strong>


    With this, I discovered one more escape route from the hotel.


    <strong>[You have understood a little bit more about the hotel.]</strong>


    I was thinking of sharing this good news to everyone with a happy mind when I saw something engraved next to the small, newly-appeared panel.


    <strong><Escape Route 1. Do not tell others.></strong>


    Immediately, I felt stifled. My heart rapidly began to thump with noise.


    What did this mean? Who wrote this? And why was it telling me not to tell others about it?


    nkly standing still, I was thinking about all those questions as the panel disappeared, perhaps due to not touching it for a certain amount of time.


    What was I supposed to do?


    To be frank, it had only been about a week since we met each other but due to going through all sorts of hardships together during that short amount of time, we felt extremely close and attached.


    It was obvious that I should trust them and share every information I had.


    However it also raised a doubt in my mind.


    If only one person was able to use that escape route, and if that was why it was warning me not to tell others about it, then


    <strong>Wouldnt talking about that instead be the seed of a conflict?</strong>


    For now, I decided to bury that doubt in a corner of my mind and left the elevator.


    I was walking down the corridor of the basement with uneasy thoughts muddling my mind when someone started walking towards me from the other side.


    Werent you going to look for something? Did you find out anything?


    It was something I thought of every time she spoke to me, but I was 20 while she was 16, and yet she always naturally talked casually to me whenever it was just the two of us.


    Well, I didnt want to fight about something so trivial in this exhausting hotel so I disregarded it.


    I dont know. Just going through what we already knew, I guess? Floors 2 and 3 are still turned off.


    Thats probably going to stay that way until we clear a specific room in Floor 1.


    A specific room?


    We call it the <strong>Gate Room</strong>. It is a room that can only be entered when you achieve some level of aplishment in every other room, and clearing it lets you go over to the next floor.


    What do you mean by some level of aplishment?


    Thats different every time. Sometimes, all you need to do is escape every other room but it could also tell you to acquireplete resolutions for 1~3 rooms.


    Complete resolutions


    So far, we have barely passed two rooms. The goal of this party has been to survive and escape until now. But if you want to leave this hotel, then you will need to eliminate the root cause of the curse for a few rooms at least. Thats how you get the treasures that the hotel always talks about, and using that treasure will help you proceedter on.


    Thats one thing after another we have to worry about By the way, using the Mansion of Fear as an example, do we have to kill that monster for the elimination of the root cause? From what I felt looking at the memories you sent me, that didnt seem like something a mere human could retaliate against.


    I dont know. That might be what we really have to do, but we can look at it from an easier perspective.


    An easier perspective?


    To be frank, our main enemy at the Mansion of Fear is not that arch-devil under the ground, is it? ording to the scenario, the devil is just buried inside the ground, and our enemy was that Sir right? It could be as simple as eradicating Sir


    That would be a bit better off, but in the end, thats still something we cant tell without trying.


    We were discussing the future ns and soon realised that we had been talking alone for a fair bit of time.


    Looking back, werent all the girls going to the bar and the swimming pool? Why are you here by yourself?


    Im underage so I cant drink. And I dont like swimming either.


    Seungyub must be looking for you then.


    And thats why Ive been running away the whole time.


    I was dumbstruck. I definitely wasnt expecting her to openly say that. There was a boy who wanted to be Romeo, but it seemed that Julliet had no ns of bing one.


    We naturally parted ways as I then experienced some of the things that I wanted to try.


    I went to the zoo Songee was talking about to watch a few of the strange animals, went to the bar for a mysterious cocktail, returned with everyone to Room 105 for a meal and had a fun time talking andughing with everyone.


    Like that, our day off came to an end.


    Towards the end of our dinner, everyone had a disheartened look on their faces.


    We all knew it in our hearts.


    From tomorrow onwards, we had to go back to our intense schedule.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 10</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong>MOOOOOOO~~~</strong>


    What in the world was this? Was this sound seriouslying out of my own mouth?


    The day after our break, we entered Room 103 together while feeling somewhat used to it already, and lost our consciousness. When I woke back up


    <strong>I had be a ck cow.</strong>


    I was under the impression that I had already experienced all sorts of bizarre experiences but something that waspletely outside of my expectations happened, making me almost lose myself. Fortunately, that was when a message appeared in my head.


    <em>Mooksung: Wow! What a damn retarded fucking hotel, right? All of you, report your states!</em>


    <em>Eunsol: I think Im a snake.</em>


    <em>Songee: A goose</em>


    <em>Elena: I think Im a golden retriever.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: A cat. Probably a Norwegian forest?</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub: Im a wolf! Super cool!</em>


    <em>Han Kain: MOOOOOO!</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul: Im a pig A boar, actually.</em>


    <em>Mooksung: So youre the same, huh.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig: Hey, lets not pick a fight. Ahh, you changed my name in that split second, you senile old man.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake: First, lets focus on looking at our states and locations, and leave the conversation forter. We dont have much leeway, do we?</em>


    <em>Rat King: Yes, weve already used more than half. Everyone, take a look at your surroundings, and lets talk again in 2 hours.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig: What the heck is Rat King. Far out!</em>


    Ahh What was it going to be about this time?


    I felt like I would lose my mind already. In the midst of my distancing senses, I loosened my mind.

 Chapter 27: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (1)

    Chapter 27: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Animal Farm¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 10</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    On the first night of our life on the farm, we discovered a few facts after looking into our situations.


    <strong>1. Living in the farm was a family of four,posed of the couple Brian / Amy, their son Peter and their daughter, Mei.</strong>


    <strong>2. Yu Songee (Goose), Elena (Dog), Kim Ahri (Cat) and I (ck Cow) were either livestock or pets of the farm.</strong>


    <strong>3. Cha Jinchul (Boar), Kim Mooksung (Rat), Park Seungyub (Wolf) and Lee Eunsol (Snake) were wild animals living near the farm.</strong>


    Of course, the ones who discovered most of that were Elena and Ahri. In fact, I had been stuck in the barn ever since I became a ck cow so there was nothing I could do!


    Also, because we were using Discord with a severe limit in the amount of letters, we naturally adapted to dropping unnecessary words and keeping only the essential keywords.


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Everyone caution. Danger very soon.</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Ahri): I observe nights.</em>


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): I check days.</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Kain): Cant leave.</em>


    <em>Song Goose (Songee): Me too.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig (Jinchul): Rat noting down from my head.</em>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Efficient movement. Very necessary.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig (Jinchul): Want to headbutt.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Stop wasting words.</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Seungyub): Can I sleep?</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Sleep now, start operation tomorrow.</em>


    I was jealous of everyone. They were all energetically talking about supervision at night, day, movement and other stuff.


    And yet the only thing I could do at the barn was moooo.


    Heaving a deep sigh, I forced my eyes to a close.


    The only good thing after bing a cow was that the grass had be delicious.


    *


    <strong> Kim Ahri</strong>


    Its high noon.


    Actually, it wasnt.


    The sun slowly started to lose light as darkness covered the entire farm. Atst, I felt energy filling up my body.


    Its obvious,


    <strong>Because I am a cat.</strong>


    Crawling out of the small basket that appeared to be my bed, I roamed around the farm.


    This farm gave off a rather peculiar atmosphere.


    There were four humans and a crazy amount of livestock, including 8 animals with intellect. It definitely was bound to be noisy but


    For some reason, the entire farm became mysteriously quiet at night.


    I was about to sneak out of the familys residential area when someone grabbed me by my nape.


    Ohh! Ahri. You cant leave at night! Dont you know there are monsters outside?


    Ahh! Even though I was currently in the body of a cat, being lifted by the nape and thrown back into the basket felt disgustingly unpleasant.


    I would have loved to ruthlessly scratch the arms of the daughter of the household, but there would probably be less restrictions about my movement if I acted like a nice cat, so I held it in.


    Calmly waiting inside the basket, I scanned around as Mei fell asleep on her bed.


    Finally I could go outside.


    But, Monsters? Did she say that just to stop me from going outside at night?


    That was something I could only tell by actually going outside.


    Carefully, I lifted my feet up and walked outside through the window.


    It didnt seem particrly strange when I was sitting on the windowsill gazing at the farm but


    As I expected, it was uncannily quiet.


    It was then.


    <strong>I saw vague yet dark figures walking around outside.</strong>


    It was definitely not a human, and they were certainly not livestock either because humans werent that big, and livestock did not walk on two feet.


    Although it was too hazy for me to be certain, it looked about 5 to 6 metres tall, and overall was in a humanoid shape.


    Was that the monster? Fortunately, the monsters did not ruin the farm or anything. They simply scanned across the farm as if they were observing something.


    I was openly gazing at them from the windowsill and yet they did not seem conscious of me in the slightest.


    That was one more thing to share tomorrow.


    Maybe that was more than what I had to do today?


    For some reason, I started to crave long sleeps like a cat ever since I turned into one.


    I didnt feel the need to do anything else, so I decided to go to sleep.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 11</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong> Elena</strong>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Monsters appear at night?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Ahri): Yes. Not sure how dangerous.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Anything else?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Ahri): X</em>


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Good work. My turn now.</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Seungyub): Therere many other wolves.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig (Jinchul): Wolves might attack the farm.</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Seungyub): Ill observe wolves.</em>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Me and Piggy looking for escape route.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Im observing the outskirts.</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Kain): Good luck.</em>


    <em>Song Goose (Songee): Thanks.</em>


    After a short conversation, I felt my body turning tense.


    Everyone was pretty much given a role.


    <strong>Kim Ahri (Cat): Investigation at night.</strong>


    <strong>Elena (Dog): Investigation during the day.</strong>


    <strong>Cha Jinchul (Boar)  Kim Mooksung (Rat): Looking for an escape route.</strong>


    <strong>Park Seungyub (Wolf): Keeping an eye on the pack of wolves.</strong>


    <strong>Lee Eunsol (Snake): Observing the outskirts of the farm.</strong>


    Songee and Kain were locked up right now, and they werent able to do anything for now.


    Ah! So its my turn now.


    Honestly, I felt so sorry after dying on the first day at Room 102, the Mansion of Fear, without being able to do anything. Even though I didnt mention it, hearing about the hard work of Kain and Eunsol-noona after my death was heart-aching.


    Fortunately, unlike others who couldnt do much due to bing livestock and wild animals, I was a golden retriever!


    Cats during the night, but dogs during the day right?


    I decided to whole-heartedly focus on acquiring information to help everyone.


    What was the first step to that operation then? It was to be loved, right? It was the fundamental principle of the world for people to feel less cautious and more benevolent to their loved ones.


    As an adorable golden retriever, I licked the palm of Brian who was busily taking care of the barbed fences of the farm.


    Aigu. Elena, this ce is a bit dangerous. Haha, good girl. Go to mum~.


    Brian caressed my head a few times before gently pushing me away and pointing at Amy.


    Everyone would start to like me if I continued doing this for a while.


    But What was I supposed to investigate about?


    Ahri said she saw monsters as soon as it became nighttime, but its not like I could see monsters right now, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do.


    I ran around for 3 hours.


    Honestly, it wasnt that hard. All I had to do was wag my tail and bark and soon, there would be food in front of me and people caressing my head.


    The life of a beloved dog was very easy.


    Thinking that, I was running around and found Brian and Amy talking about something serious.


    Lets pluck the feathers of a few of the gooses tonight. Its about time.


    I dont think theyll sell that well right now Wouldnt it be better to wait a little bit more?


    Waiting is not going to make the price go up. Its better to pluck a few feathers whenever we can and sell them.


    Then lets tell Peter about that.


    That was how their conversation went. It was the conversation of a normal farm.


    I was thinking, I see but that was when it suddenly hit me.


    <strong>Wasnt Songee a goose?</strong>


    From what I heard, goose feathers were plucked when alive and some geese even died from the process.


    What should we do? Firstly, I decided to talk about it with everyone else.


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Emergency!</em>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): What is it?</em>


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Goose feather plucking tonight.</em>


    <em>Song Goose (Songee): Whhaaaaaaaaattttt??????????</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Quiet. Any counterns?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Ahri): Hide in a corner when theyre at it?</em>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Hide and theyll choose a different goose.</em>


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Ill follow just in case.</em>


    <em>Song Goose (Songee): Everyone, please help me</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Kain): Moooo.</em>


    We had a short discussion.


    Firstly, Songee had to hide in a corner away from the farm owners to have them pick other geese.


    If Brian still tried to choose Songee then


    I had to do something about it. It was my turn to do something and pay for not doing anything at Room 102.


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Any other info?</em>


    <em>Rat King (Mooksung): Forest ridiculously huge.</em>


    <em>Stupid Pig (Jinchul): Cant see the end at all. Please change my name.</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Seungyub): Wolves hunting nearby deers.</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Kain): MOOOOO!</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Eunsol): Cow stop wasting words.</em>


    After about 3 hours of everyone nervously sticking to their roles, the night slowly came to us.


    Suddenly, I became a little curious.


    I was eating the dry food which the married couple were giving me for every meal, but how was everyone else dealing with their meals? Even if I asked about it, it would lead to a sad story about how they had to eat bugs and small animals. It was better not asked.


    More importantly, protecting Songee from the feather-plucking tonight was more important.


    In the long run, we had to resolve this situation itself but honestly, I had no idea how it was supposed to be done so far.


    For now, the only thing we could do was let everyone survive one by one.


    While half-heartedly eating the dry food, I was staring at the family when the couple and the son, Peter, stood up together.


    They were going to do it now! They might lock me up in the room if I made it too obvious so I carefully sneaked from behind.


    Even if they did notice me, they would probably let me off if I licked their hands or something.


    And


    Just to be very sure, I created a small n with Seungyub and my mind was finally at ease.


    Lets y an active role in Room 103 and hear thanks from everyone!

 Chapter 28: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (2)

    Chapter 28: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Animal Farm¡¯ (2)


    <strong> Yu Songee</strong>


    I had never been this scared in my life.


    Having my feathers plucked to death while alive.


    It would be way better if they would just snap my neck and kill me. In that case, I could die with an easy mind with the belief that the oppas and the unnis would escape this room but


    I gazed around the enclosed geese farm. It was fairly big and there was an astonishinglyrge number of geese.


    It would be very unlikely for me to be chosen even if I stayed still but just to be sure, I decided to distance myself from the door as much as possible.


    While tottering my way to the corner, I bumped against the beaks and butts of other geese as they quacked in irritation but I didnt bother with them.


    Im sorry but please die for me. A thinking goose should live and see the light of the day right?


    Of course, not every goose would die from having their feathers plucked, and in fact most of them would survive but


    Whatever the case, I couldnt have my feathers stolen. I could feel how soft and fluffy they were even when I touched them with my beak, and I definitely couldnt get these taken away from me.


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): On our way!</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Park Seungyub): Done with preparation.</em>


    I felt increasingly more nervous, but it should be okay. There were a lot of geese here and I was here in the corner, so why would they bother choosing me?


    A man with a thick beard walked into the farm. Honestly, I was quite annoyed after seeing him.


    <strong>Just pluck your own beard out! Why would you take the feathers of these poor geese?! We feel cold in the winter as well!</strong>


    Pushing my butt into the corner as much as possible, I bit another goose with my beak and made it stand in front of me.


    Im sorry friend. But Im sure you will protect me.


    But that proved to be a mistake.


    QUAAACKKKK!!!!!!!


    A thunderous roar of a goose echoed across as the farmers immediately shifted their gazes over to me.


    Whats going on?


    I saw it just then. That one over there used its beak to attack the one in front of it.


    Oh dear. So its one of those naughty ones. Peter. Its like this. If you leave those ones in the farm, they bicker with each other, get hurt by themselves and it bes a mess. We have to get rid of those as soon as possible. Okay?


    Okay. Ill go get it.


    I didnt hear everything that was being said. But what I did know was that the boy was walking straight with his eyes fixed on me.


    It was doomed. I tried to have a mental conversation while feeling the tension rising inside but nothing happened.


    Ah! We were at the conversation limit already! There was absolutely nothing left that I could do.


    Soon, the tough fingers of the boy grabbed and pulled me up before shoving me into a wooden box.


    My feathers would now be plucked to death. I think I heard them say something about getting rid of me, and I seriously might die after losing all my feathers.


    So in Room 103, was I going to end up as goose meat?


    An indescribable sense of despair was enshrouding me, but that was when salvation came knocking on the door.


    <strong>Woof! Woof! Grrrrrr woof woof!!!</strong>


    <strong>Awooooooo!!!!!!!! Awooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!</strong>


    What echoed was the barking noise of a dog and the howling sound of a wolf.


    It was extremely obvious that something was going wrong and their expressions rapidly changed as they dashed outside with the geese behind their back.


    Peter!!!!! Go back to your room right now! Dont let Meie out of the room! Amy! My gun!!!!


    Im getting it right now! Be careful honey!


    Hmph. It looks like a stray wolf or two. Ill show him whats up!


    I almost felt like tearing up. It was probably Elena-unni and Seungyub working together.


    For now it was okay but I was still inside the box so would that even change anything? Wont theye back after chasing out the wolf?


    The wolf howled. The dog barked as the sound of several gunshots echoed across thends.


    The farmer shouted in fury; the girl screamed as the boy gasped in agitation.


    Apart from that, the other animals of other barns were also causing a ruckus


    After 30 minutes of chaos filling the farm, another sce of salvation came to me in the midst of all the confusion.


    <strong>Creak</strong>


    The moment I saw the lid of the box opening above me, I realised that I had made it out alive.


    A golden dog carefully bit on my neck and carried me outside, and had a fight against another goose that was about the same size as me before just killing it and putting it inside the box.


    So that was the friend who had to die in my stead. Im a bit sorry but please understand. A thinking goose should stay alive.


    Actually, when Elena was carrying me by the neck, I heard something snap. Or was it a crack?


    In any case, it was the sound of something being cracked.


    What was it?


    There was nothing on my neck that would give off such a sound I must have been hearing things.


    In any case, everyone worked incredibly hard for me. Especially Seungyub could have gotten shot by the farmers gun if things went wrong!


    Was he shot or was he okay? I hoped he was fine, while feeling greatly grateful to everyone.


    I heard a moo from a distance. Was Kain-oppa showing his concern as well? Or was it just another cow shouting in a fluster?


    While holding my breath, I quietly waited on the spot.


    2 more hours (?) went by.


    Honestly, my sense of time became very ambiguous after I turned into an animal.


    One by one, the family of farmers came back while looking extremely irritated. It sounded like they couldnt catch the wolf.


    It seemed that Seungyub was okay. That was great. If he was shot to death while trying to save me, then how tragic would that have been?


    While quietly hiding myself in a corner of the farm, I watched the family walking up to the box.


    Hmm? Why is this guy dead? Peter, did you kill it?


    No? I just grabbed it by the neck and threw it inside the box.


    Looks like you grabbed a bit too hard. You probably made a mistake because of the sudden wolf.


    Uhh Thats strange. But I will be more careful next time.


    Well, its not that big of a problem. We had to kill it anyway considering how naughty it was. Lets go back now.


    Ahh Somehow, I managed to stay alive. I felt sorry for the goose in the box that had to die instead of me, but the family couldnt differentiate me from the other geese.


    To be fair, it was impossible to imagine that a dog would swap the geese around, so that was quite natural.


    As soon as the Discord channeles back up tomorrow, I should say thanks to everyone.


    Surviving through the hardship drained all the energy out of me in an instant. I nkly raised my head and turned to the sky to see that the sun was long gone, with only the moon enveloping the world and scattering its light.


    ording to what Ahri said in the morning, there appeared to be monsters at night in this world.


    It was about time that I started helping people.


    Even though Room 101  the Strange Family was something Seungyub resolved by himself, I did nothing even after that at the pool, the hotel exploration and Room 102  the Mansion of Fear.


    Instead of helping out, I instead became possessed immediately after entering the mansion and annoyed everyone.


    Even in Room 103, it was still the same. Some of the others were gathering pieces of information throughout the day and night, while some were attracting the eyes of the farmers by creating a fuss to save a goose from being plucked and yet


    I was still just a goose inside the farm. Why was I given a role like this where I couldnt do anything?


    No. It wasnt the time to me the Hotel. I had to be on the move to see if there was something I could do by myself.


    It might be because I was barely able to escape death, but I didnt feel sleepy either.


    Now that it was nighttime, I decided to observe the monster as well. ording to Ahri, it seemed uninterested in us so it should be okay.


    While carefully tapping other geese with my beak, I moved to the outskirts of the geese farm where the wind was blowing in from the outside. The other geese seemed quite irritated.


    Sorry friends but you see, a thinking goose has many things to do.


    I slightly poked my head outside but couldnt see anything.


    Everything was literally dark and there was nothing entering my sight. I thought there was moonlight before though Was it being blocked by the clouds?


    Or did geese have a terrible sight?


    No matter how much I turned my head, I couldnt see any<strong>tuuaahhhhQUAKKKKKKKK!</strong>


    Something enormous came down.


    I instinctively quacked as I immediately realised what was going on. The moon wasnt being blocked by the clouds!


    <strong>Something toorge for the eyes of a goose to fathom was standing right in front of the poultry farm!</strong>


    My body froze on the spot from how surprising and frightening it was.


    The ck figure and the huge face of a giant came down as it gazed at the farm.


    Actually, it wasnt gazing at the farm.


    That thing was looking at me. Even though I couldnt see its eyes, I could still tell that it was observing me.


    My body shivered. Only now did I realise how small and insignificant of a being I was.


    Please dont kill me. I dont want to die like this.


    That was the thought going down my mind so what happened next was very unexpected.


    Something like a tentacle slithered out of the ck figure and reached towards the farm, before pushing me back inside by gently tapping on my head.


    It even felt like an intimate action, like that of an owner patting its pet and gently shoving them back into the house.


    Five minutes went by and I finally came to myself. Even though I was a bird, my body felt like it was drenched in sweat because of all that tension.


    The farm was quiet as if nothing happened.


    It was strange.


    I knew it all too well because I had raised dogs, cats and parrots ever since a young age.


    Small animals were frightened very easily.


    Parrots would scream from a dropping hanger and cling onto your shoulder; a dog would refuse to move away from your leg from a robot cleaner, and a cat would run away and scream from the mere sound of a shower.


    Small animals knew exactly how weak they were even without being told by anyone.


    It was embedded in the DNA they received from their ancestors for over millions of years.


    You are tiny specks of sand in this vastly immeasurable world and everything around you is a threat  that was what their DNA told them.


    So why was it that this farm was so quiet even though there was something so frightening, that even the goose with the mind of a human couldnt breathe properly in fear, right in front of the farm pushing its tentacle inside?


    Not all of them were sleeping either. Arge number of them were still awake and yet They looked calm as if nothing happened.


    I should try talking to the others tomorrow, but I had the impression that we wouldnt be able toe to any definite conclusions even with a discussion.


    While thinking to myself that there were more and more mysteries that had to be answered, I pushed my beak under my wings.


    I was somewhat getting used to the life of a goose.


    But seriously, I really liked how fluffy my feathers were.


    I had to protect them at any cost.

 Chapter 29: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (3)

    Chapter 29: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Animal Farm¡¯ (3)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 12</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    That morning, I was eating grass while nkly saying mooo and being scolded for wasting letters as always, when an emergency call was given off.


    <em>Wolf Boy (Park Seungyub): Emergency! Wolves risky.</em>


    <em>Rat King (Kim Mooksung): What do you mean? Need a longer exnation.</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Park Seungyub): Other wolves started paying attention to the farm. A pack of wolves are observing the outskirts.</em>


    The ruckus yesterday appeared to have gathered the eyes of the pack of wolves.


    I mean honestly, even if I was the wolf, I would have been itching to dive in if there was a farm nearby full of fat geese and cows.


    Wont the farmer deal with it himself?


    Like that, I was thinking like an actual cow but suddenly realised how dangerous it was for me.


    It actually wasnt dangerous at all for the owner of the farm; he would just be losing a few of his belongings!


    The ones dying were the cows and geese of the farm, not the famer.


    Things were looking bad the more I thought about it. Considering my size, I couldnt hide myself anywhere and in fact, it was difficult to even shift my body around in this ce.


    Frankly speaking, the only thing I could do was sit here, hoping that the owner of the farm would do a great job defending this ce!


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Number of wolves?</em>


    <em>Wolf Boy (Park Seungyub): 3 groups. More than 40.</em>


    Things were looking increasingly more rough. There were more than 40 wolves on one hand, and on the other hand, there were only 4 humans in the farm. 2 of those people were the wife and the daughter, so it was practically up to the farmer and the son to stop 40 wolves by themselves.


    Would they be able to protect the cows and geese of the farm during that process?


    It was the most dire situation we had ever had since we entered Room 103. While mindlessly biting through hay, I tried my hardest to rack my uncooperative cow brain.


    Was there seriously no other method?


    <em>Pig (Cha Jinchul): Anything I can do?</em>


    <em>Rat King (Kim Mooksung): Run away unless you want to add pork.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Ill also die if I go.</em>


    Everyone gave powerless replies but that was obvious. Three packs of wolves were fighting against a farmer to death, so what could a pig, a snake and a rat even do there?


    As they said, it would be simply adding pork to the mix. Closing my eyes, I conveyed my thoughts.


    <em>ck Cow (Han Kain): Dont step up unnecessarily. One death at a time.</em>


    <strong>One death at a time.</strong>


    That was the principle of the Hotel that we silently agreed on at one point. Running in as a team with life on the line to save others might seem like a touching thing to do at a nce, but it was an <strong>exceptionally stupid thing to do at the Hotel</strong>.


    There was no need to even do that, and one teammate escaping and surviving till the end would let everyone else survive.


    Dumping teammates when the situation called for it, was in fact the best thing you could do for them.


    <strong>The Hotel always encouraged sacrifice.</strong>


    This time, I might be the first sacrifice. I inwardly epted the unavoidable fate.


    The day went by with everyone feeling gloomy.


    None of us were able toe up with a clear solution, and Elena observed the family of farmers as much as possible but there werent any stories about reinforcements.


    The only source of relief was that the people of the farm were also preparing themselves for the attack of the wolves because of the wolf (Seungyub) incident yesterday, and because of 10 wolves openly roaming around the farm today.


    Every one of the family was busy cing traps across the farm while diligently preparing hunting guns and bullets which allowed me to ease my mind a little.


    A damn cow relying on the owner of the farm that will one day ughter oneself


    It wasughable but it was also true that the only person to rely on in this situation was the owner of the farm.


    Time flew quickly like an arrow.


    The tension in the air was iparable to the past few days I spent in peace while munching through grass and hay.


    It was just this morning that we heard about the threat of the wolves and yet everyone was busy observing the surroundings and chattering about ways to save me.


    I was zealously observing the family of farmers when the sun started to set in the west.


    A howl echoed from afar.


    The wolves were starting their attack.


    *


    <strong> Park Seungyub</strong>


    I was busy running around the whole day.


    There were roughly 40 wolves roaming around therge farm. They were scattered into 3 groups instead of staying in one group, and that made things a lot more tedious.


    I had to constantly travel between the 3 groups, observing when they were nning to attack.


    The pack that I belong to  ording to what the leader of the pack would believe  looked at me while wondering why I was mindlessly running around but they didnt bother stopping me.


    Sometimes, there were times when I found it difficult to understand Kain-hyungs mindset.


    I could understand Songee-noona being quiet considering how the geese were located in a part of the farm that was difficult for wolves to get into, but the cows were near the outskirts of the farm.


    So in the end, the ones that were in the most precarious situation were the cows including Kain-hyung.


    With the impending death of himself, how could he tell us to look for an escape method without doing anything meaningless?


    Of course, I could understand that everyone dying to save one person would be the worst case scenario and yes, there was the resurrection, but what about the pain that went with the process?


    Would wolves tranquilise cows before eating them or something?! Simply imagining that pain made me unbearably scared.


    I just couldnt watch him go through all that pain.


    I would run away if there seriously was nothing I could do, but I decided to try my best to save him.


    A sudden thought appeared in my mind, that I might have been on good terms with my parents if I had been as diligent as this beforeing to the Hotel.


    Lets do that after going back.


    I could hear howls from all around. The wolves were finally starting to attack.


    Wolves were growling all across the farm. Domestic animals were screaming out loud while the men were nervously shouting out words.


    The sound of frosty gunshots regrly echoed over every other noise.


    Today was when I finally realised how loud gunshots were.


    Goosebumps were popping up as I heard more of those noises, as I slowly approached the barn of cows.


    Going there, I saw a few other wolves that were here before me, licking their lips while ring at the cows.


    My n was simple.


    Realistically speaking, there was no way for me to stop that many wolves.


    <strong>Stopping the wolves was the farmers job.</strong>


    In other words, I had to be a trolling wolf that brings the owner of the farm over to the barn of cows.


    For that


    The most effective method would be to attack the farmers most precious target.


    *


    <strong> Lee Eunsol</strong>


    Has he gone insane?


    While hiding at a corner of the barbed-wire fences, I thought to myself while observing the scene unfolding inside the farm.


    Or was I seeing things?


    I was certain because we hade across each other a few times while roaming around the outskirts of the farm. That wolf with a small bunch of white fur above the head, was none other than Seungyub.


    Right now, Seungyub was next to the residence where Mei  the farmers daughter  was, and started howling!


    Did he lose his mind? Was he praying to the farmer to please kill him?


    Did he not hear what Kain said yesterday?


    We had let everyone know multiple times that sacrificing oneself to save another person at the Hotel was not a touching thing to do but a foolish act, so what in the world was he doing?


    There was no father in existence that would not react in such a situation.


    The farmer, who had been holding back the wolves at a ce where he could fight against a lot of them, turned around immediately after hearing the ear-splitting shriek of his daughter and mindlessly sprinted on.


    What was supposed to be done now? My mind was being muddled with different lines of thought.


    Originally, I was going to wait and watch everything from the side.


    Kains death was something we couldnt do anything about. Like how I epted my death at the Mansion of Fear, Kain would probably be able to do the same thing.


    From what I felt so far, that part of him was simr to my own.


    But What if something happened to Seungyub as well?


    It was a matter of efficiency. Our members were currently a dog, cat, cow, goose, boar, snake, rat and a wolf.


    Out of those animals, wasnt the wolf by far the most capable animal? They had great physical abilities and were at the top of the food chain so there was little restriction to their actions.


    If he ended up dying here in vain


    My thoughts were bing more and moreplicated.


    *


    <strong> Park Seungyub</strong>


    I ran and ran and ran. It was extremely refreshing.


    Never had I had such an amazing body in my life.


    Kicking off the ground, I soared into the air like I was flying! Was this why people exercised a lot?


    Most importantly, right now I was a wolf! Even Usain Bolt would be a lot slower than me. Even humans with the greatest bodies would be weaker than normal wolves!


    And besides, I was running to save my teammate. I was unstoppable.


    Ahh~! How great am I?


    <strong>Bang!</strong>


    A gunshot. My soaring emotions immediately settled back down.


    I was fortunately able to dodge it, but how long could I dodge it for?


    As expected, the family created a ruckus as soon as I barked once next to the ce where that girl called Mei was at, and the farmer starteding after me.


    But it was okay. He might have a gun but he was still slower than me.


    When I arrived at the cow barn, things were looking very rough.


    A few of the wolves had already crossed over the fences and the cows were busy screaming in fear.


    To be honest, cows were a lot bigger than wolves and they wouldnt be in that big of a disadvantage if they were to retaliate but expecting a domestic cow to fight back would be too much.


    Meanwhile, arge ck bull was pointing its antlers at the wolves and threatening them.


    Ahah! I realised immediately after seeing it. That was the ck Cow, Kain-hyung.


    But things went differently as soon as I arrived at the barn.


    Were they relieved by my appearance? The wolves might have been relieved from the appearance of theirrade; the three wolves suddenly started confidently pouncing at the ck cow.


    While the one at the front was drawing his attention, the other two were sneaking to the sides and I could see Kain-hyung being flustered by it. I had to go in and help immediately.


    I felt a little sorry for the pack of wolves, but there was no way around it because I wasnt a wolf myself.


    However, it seemed that there was no reason for me to do anything.


    <strong>Bang!</strong>


    <strong>Bang!</strong>


    Two gunshots echoed in an instant.


    The farmer started pulling his trigger upon arriving in the blink of an eye and the wolves began running away in fright.


    This time, it was also quite dangerous for me.


    I ran away while trying my best to use the pirs of the barn and the stacks of hay as cover.


    <strong>Bang!</strong>


    Ah


    That was when a boy suddenly appeared in front of me.


    Was this boy Peter? The farmers son or something


    I wasnt concerned about anyone else apart from the farmer, but he seemed to have had a gun as well.


    There was a scorching pain, like that of my body being seared by the hottest of mes.


    My body crumbled in an instant. I couldnt put any strength into my body.


    Ah Was this the end of my role in Room 103?


    Hyungs and noonas will take care of it. I knew this wasnt the end, and it thus wasnt as scary.


    It was just very painful.


    ?


    My eyes suddenly turned.


    In front of me was a white world, and an unimaginably enormous giant.


    Where was this ce? Was this the afterworld of wolves?


    What in the


    My mind slowly turned fuzzy


    <strong><em>Thats a bit too early for the harvest. What an impatient one.</em></strong>

 Chapter 30: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (4)

    Chapter 30: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Animal Farm¡¯ (4)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 12</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    My chest felt stuffy and it was hard to breathe properly.


    Something hot surging from the depths of my chest scorched my stomach and the throat as it red up from the inside.


    The sound of the bullet piercing through Seungyubs chest was still echoing in my ears.


    But why?


    Didnt I tell him to run away? I had definitely told him not to overdo things and that it was okay for me to die by myself!


    And yet instead of running away, that idiot provoked the farmer in an extremely dangerous way and brought him all the way to the barn.


    What he got in return was a bullet.


    The price of a wolf provoking an armed human was brutal.


    I had to be calm. It was not over yet.


    All we had to do was escape.


    As long as we escaped from this ce, this guy that died a stupid death to save me would also be able to stand back up.


    I could drive a fist into his head, scold him for not listening to me and


    After that, maybe I could help Seungyub meet Ahri a bit more. Well, we would need to discuss that with Ahri as well.


    I forced my brain to change its line of thought.


    Thinking of what I would do after somehow escaping this ce settled my emotions a little. I slowly froze my heart because anger waspletely unnecessary.


    It seemed that the green monster in one of those movies could be endlessly more powerful through anger, but that had nothing to do with me.


    Fury was the agent of making foolish judgement.


    The rationality that rose back up to the surface after my frozen emotions started throwing out warning signs.


    One of my legs was gone. It was definitely not functioning as per normal.


    While I was fighting against 3 wolves, I had to focus on the one that was in front of me. In the meantime, one of the ones behind crunched on my leg so hard that I couldnt even stand up properly.


    <em>Rat King (Kim Mooksung): Is everyone okay?</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): About resolved. No other issues. Wolf dead, cow injured.</em>


    <em>Pig (Cha Jinchul): How big is the injury?</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Han Kain): Quite serious on the leg.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): More variables. Need to acquire information.</em>


    More variables.


    Noona was thinking the same thing as me.


    She was right.


    The farm was clearly in a mess, and a few of the domestic animals were screaming out in pain.


    I could also hear members of the human family sobbing in sorrow.


    The incident with the wolves wasntpletely over yet either. There were only about 10 wolf casualties in total, and there were still more than 30 wolves roaming around the farm.


    For us, it was even worse than before.


    We no longer had Seungyub and there was no way for us to tell what was happening with the pack of wolves, and overall, it became even more difficult to predict what would happen in this farm.


    That was when an ominous trail of thought popped up in my brain.


    <strong>What kind of farmer would continue raising a cow with a crunched leg?</strong>


    That ominous prediction was soon proven to be true.


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): The family talking about farm restoration.</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): Not looking good. The wife wants to sell the farm.</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): The husband wants to clean up the animals first.</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): There are talks about ughtering the injured cows.</em>


    Ahh I knew it.


    That was nothing strange.


    I was never used for ploughing thend, and I was probably there to be butchered. A potential beef had a serious injury to the leg, so what kind of person would call a vet to heal the injury instead of killing it?


    However, I epted my fate.


    It wasnt time to sacrifice more people just for my survival. That would only lead to the downfall of everyone.


    <em>ck Cow (Han Kain): Im fine. No need to help anymore. Hope to see you outside.</em>


    Yes. This was how it was supposed to be done.


    At this point, I decided to look at it from a positive standpoint. Dying to the farmer was still better than being devoured by wolves, because there was no way he would intentionally harass me in the process.


    He would use his set of tools to end it in one blow.


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): No. We change ns.</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Han Kain): Im seriously oka</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): </em><strong><em>I.E. I will use all the letters now so lets all shut up.</em></strong>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Its a different situation from the Mansion of Fear. We had the wrong approach.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): </em><strong><em>Mansion of Fear</em></strong><em>  It was unclear what the danger was. We needed sacrifice to find out the enemy. </em><strong><em>Animal Farm </em></strong><em> The enemy is very clear. Sacrifice is meaningless; we are only losing members. We must fight based on numbers advantage.</em>


    <em>Rat King (Kim Mooksung): Is the family of farmers the enemy?</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): The farmers killed Wolf (Park Seungyub). Goose (Yu Songee) and Cow (Han Kain) were both threatened. At this point, its clear  the farmers family is the enemy in Room 103.</em>


    Eunsol-noonas point was quite clear.


    The risk factors that we btedly discovered at the Mansion of Fear (Corrupt priest, possessed Songee, the devil at the depths and the moving statues) were all unclear even until the very end.


    That was why we needed sacrifices to find out what the risk was.


    On the other hand, it was obvious what the risk was in the Animal Farm!


    The family had been threatening our lives several times already, and one of us was already killed.


    There was no point in having any more sacrifices. Instead, we had to fight as soon as possible when we still had most of our members avable!


    As soon as I finished listening to her words, despite having no hands, I pped my thighs in my heart in enlightenment.


    This was it.


    That also made me feel quite relieved. ording to her n, there was no reason for me to sacrifice myself and stuff!


    As expected, everyone started forming a n to make sure we could do something before I was ughtered.


    Tomorrow, we would be destroying this damned farm.


    *


    <strong> Yu Songee</strong>


    Was this really the correct approach?


    While cleaning my feathers with my beak, I thought about multiple things.


    <strong>Destroying the Farm</strong>


    Everyone was already discussing detailed ns on how to efficiently destroy the farm, as well as how to brutally crush the family of farmers.


    Something was off.


    But I had no idea what that was. I had the feeling that this wasnt the correct n, but I had no confidence in exining myself.


    I was constantly under the impression that everyone was acting emotionally.


    I could understand them getting angry because the family of farmers were constantly threatening us, and because Seungyub was shot to death in front of everyones eyes. I also felt like crying when I saw that.


    But this was seriously strange.


    <em>Goose (Yu Songee): Is this really the right n?</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Any opinions?</em>


    <em>Goose (Yu Songee): Something feels wrong.</em>


    It sounded stupid. I regretted writing that as soon as I sent those words.


    Everyone was devising a strategy with their lives on the line, and yet all I could say in opposition to that was that something felt wrong.


    It sounded stupid but


    I seriously couldnt exin myself using any other expression.


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Its hard for Songee to leave the farm. You can wait.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): The Boar and the Snake have the crucial roles. Dont worry.</em>


    Ah.


    They appeared to be thinking that I was saying such a thing because I was scared. I immediately realised what my image was in the minds of others, and that was heart-wrenching.


    A young student who was too timid to chime into important matters. Someone that required concern.


    I could understand them though, because it was true that I had done nothing until now. I felt ashamed for being less impactful than Seungyub and Ahri, who were both younger than me.


    Ahri was a probationary agent of the Cmity Administration Bureau so that was passable, but Seungyub was just a normal middle school student who risked his life and died to save Kain-oppa.


    What was I doing?


    The strategy meeting finished while I was gloomily thinking to myself.


    And because there was nothing else to do, I decided to head to the outskirts of the enclosed geese farm to see the monster again.


    It waste at night.


    Only when it was so dark that I could not even see my own body if not for the grace of the glorious silver moon hanging on the night sky did a ck figure appear from the darkness.


    It was the same as yesterday.


    The entire world turned silent as soon as it showed itself.


    All the animals turned quiet as if there was nothing going on, and the soft whispering words of the family of farmers that were discussing throughout the night also vanished like an illusion.


    The ck figure scanned across the surroundings as if observing something and


    Soon, it walked towards me.


    I was certain. It had no eyes and didnt have a clear figure, but I could still tell for some reason.


    Like yesterday, that being approached me once again while being conscious of my existence.


    It might be because it was my second time, but it wasnt as unbearably frightening as yesterday. After approaching me, a long tentacle came out of the monster.


    As if the walls of the geese breeding farm was nothing but water, the tentacle prated through it, before tapping my head a few times.


    This time, it even stroked my feathers that had been cleaned up by my beak.


    This thing that the monster was doing was something I was quite familiar with.


    Around 30 minutes went by.


    The ck figure melted into the air and vanished without any preceding omens like what happened when it first appeared.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 13</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    I woke up as soon as the sun rose. The pain on my leg that didnt let me sleep properly at night was also a lot better now.


    Today was a very busy day!


    There was no need to nkly sit in the barn and go, Moooo without being able to do anything.


    Everyone else appeared to be thinking the same thing, as we soon began our recap of the morning operation.


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Night Squad? What happened to the gun?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): The guns broken.</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Operation start. Cat, Pig, Dog  go! Cow, get ready. Im in position.</em>


    We were finally doing it. It was time to return the pain we had to go through.


    <strong>On the 4th day at the horrible Animal Farm;</strong>


    <strong>We finally began our operation to destroy the farm.</strong>

 Chapter 31: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Animal Farm’ (5)

    Chapter 31: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Animal Farm¡¯ (5)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 13</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I gently licked my fur.


    Now, I was quite used to walking on four legs and honestly, I liked how I turned into a cat out of all the animals.


    Its a fairly elegant animal after all.


    Besides, I also liked how I was a Norwegian forest cat.


    At least I wasnt a cow or a pig.


    Although I didnt say this to my teammates, I actually didnt have any resentment against the family of farmers.


    <strong>To be honest, what wrong have they ever done?</strong>


    They were just plucking the long feathers of a goose and killed a wolf that attacked the farm. Simrly, they were only trying to butcher the cow because it was injured.


    It was something that happened very often on Earth.


    The only problem was that people were inside the goose, the wolf and the cow.


    Of course, I would still do what I had to do.


    Meoo! Meeeoooow!


    By shouting as loudly as possible, I gathered the eyes of everyone. Mei turned her eyes towards me as soon as I let out a noisy growl this early in the morning. She liked me quite a lot, so I felt a bit sorry considering the thing that now had to be done.


    <strong>Tap tap</strong>


    Aht! No, Ahri! Come here~. Youre a good girl right?


    <strong>Tap</strong>


    Uhh! No, Ahri. Dont hit that! Thats my mums favourite vase~!


    Sorry. But thats exactly why Im hitting it.


    <strong>Tap!</strong>


    <strong>Clink!!!!!!</strong>


    Aahhhhhht!!!!!!!


    After calling Mei, I tapped the fanciest vase and dropped it on the ground.


    This was actually quite fun.


    Amy shrieked and screamed aftering to the kitchen but that was none of my business. Ignoring her, I jumped out the window.


    All I had to do now was go to the cow barn for myst bit of work.


    What is going on?


    Brian couldnt keep his mind straight.


    After waking up in the morning, he was desperately pondering about the best ways to run the farm again but in less than 10 minutes, he heard a scream. In a fluster, he dashed to the kitchen and found out that his wifes favourite vase had been shattered into pieces while his daughter was crying that the cat ran away.


    His mind was still in a mess because of the wolf incident yesterday, and couldnt understand why things were going south so early in the morning.


    However, that was only the start of his nightmare.


    Father!!! You need to hurry to the farm! Right now!


    He mindlessly dashed forward and saw an enormous boar ruining the farm.


    It wasnt here to eat either! As if its goal was to ruin the farm itself, it was busy pulling and trampling on the crops!


    Brian was incredibly enraged.


    Peter, be careful. Ill be back with the gun, saying that, he immediately left to pick up his gun.


    Although he wasnt sure what was wrong with the farm and couldnt understand what the problem was, he still knew how to resolve it. In the end, he simply had to blow the heads of the troublemakers until it resolved itself.


    While he was running from ce to ce to solve the problem, he saw the loyal golden retriever gazing at him. Despite the ruckus happening at the farm, the dog was energetically wagging its tail like nothing wrong was going on, and seeing that put his heart at ease.


    Right. It wasnt a big deal. All he had to do was shoot the boar to death, and chase the cat out or something.


    <em>El Doggy (Elena): Farmer moving to pick up the gun</em>


    <em>Clever Snake (Lee Eunsol): Im also in position</em>


    <em>Boar (Cha Jinchul): Should I dodge?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): Trust me</em>


    <em>ck Cow (Han Kain): When are youing?</em>


    <em>Kim Cat (Kim Ahri): Need to check the gun just in case</em>


    His heart settled back down after picking up the gun in his room.


    Right. Those packs of wolves yesterday were also resolved with 2 guns. Shooting the boar should easily solve the problem.


    After calmly heading back to the farm, he saw the fearless boar insisting on trampling on the crops without even being scared by his gun. While containing the fury that was soaring to the top of his head, Brian pulled the trigger.


    <strong>KWANG!!!!!!</strong>


    That was when the gun exploded.


    UAHHHKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    The farmers scream filled the farm all the way up to the brim as his family all ran out in fright.


    It was a sess.


    While trying my best to stay awakest night (even though cats dont really sleep much at night), I shoved trash into the muzzle which proved to be effective.


    I could see his family in astonishment as they carried Brian over to the bed and created a fuss while applying gels and wrapping bandages around his hands.


    Now All I had to do was move for thest part of the n.


    After gently jumping up to the windowsill and running for a little, I arrived at the barn of cows. As soon as I got there, a ck cow that had been sitting on the ground immediately raised itself up.


    The wooden fence that was blocking the cows from going outside was so tough that even a cow would find it difficult to break through it, but the structure was actually very simple.


    You simply had to turn the handle to the left and lift it up. Naturally, there was no reason to make it difficult for humans to enter the barn.


    Against animals, this was enough. They didnt have the wisdom of knowing how to use a handle and there was thus no way for them to leave without the help of a human, but it was a different matter for sentient animals.


    Because of the feeble strength of a cat, it wasnt easy to lift the handle up. I put all my strength into it to lift the handle, and then saw the ck cow on the other side poking its antlers into the gap to continue lifting the handle by itself.


    With that, my task was over. It was up to the bulky friends to finish everything.


    4 days after bing a cow at this damned farm.


    <strong>I was finally free again.</strong>


    The first thing I did aftering outside was freeing all the other cows as well. After quickly opening the doors with my antlers, I poked on the butts of the hesitant cows as they all jumped outside in fright.


    Those guys would now add to the chaos and


    In the meantime, I had to go to the geese farm. Staying locked in one ce must have been frustrating for Songee.


    I noticed that the n had begun without anyone telling me about it.


    The farm was filled with screams and shouts as soon as it became morning. People were screaming and letting out teary shrieks, while the animals were creating a fuss in their own way.


    At this point, it was safe to assume that this farm waspletely wasted.


    Although I still wasnt sure whether this was the right n or not I didnt have the confidence to exin what was wrong about it, and thus stayed silent the whole day.


    I was taking care of my feathers by myself when the door of the geese farm suddenly opened with a thud.


    Was someone here to look after the farm despite the chaos?


    Thinking that, I turned to the door and realised the visitor was a cow and not a human.


    I wondered how he opened the door, but I guess a thinking cow was different from normal ones. Without even using the Discord messenger function, I noticed what he was trying to say with his gesture. He was most likely telling me toe outside.


    Even now, I still wasnt sure about this n but


    In any case, it was time to help everyone.


    But what could a goose even do to destroy the farm?


    I had never pondered as much as this on how to break something in my entire life.


    To be frank, I didnt have to do anything. When I went around the farm, I realised it was already in utter chaos!


    It seemed that everyone had gone all in  more than 10 cows were screaming and running around; a boar was trampling on a plot ofnd which had no more crops to trample on, and more than 300 geese were starting to fly to the sky.


    In addition to that was the farmer drenched in blood.


    Im sorry Brian. I think this farm is beyond recoverable at this point.


    What could I even do to help everyone?


    While walking around, I discovered something I could do.


    In front of me was a carriage. Actually, it was questionable what era this was staged in. The farmer was carrying some unknown gun and yet the transportation method was still a horse carriage.


    Whatever the case, I walked up to the carriage, and tweaked on something that resembled a wooden nail with my beak.


    My n was to spend the rest of the time taking this thing out.


    Seriously though. Was ruining the farm going to let us escape this room? Its been on my mind the whole time, but there seriously was something strange about this n.


    I was whole-heartedly messing around with the wooden nail on the wheel in deep thought when a shadow was cast over my body.


    What are you doing! Huh? Wait, arent you the one that was biting other geese yesterday? Thats strange. That one was supposed to be dead though Anyway, why are you doing this now?


    Peter was enraged.


    If I saw him as a human, I would have had a good impression of this boy as a young and energetic countryside boy, but he was the scariest man alive now that I was seeing him as a goose.


    He soon gripped onto my neck.


    Was this really how I was going to die? Was he going to kill me just because I was ying around with the wheel?


    I was thinking that when Peter clenched his grip around my throat.


    My consciousness faded away. Ah was this really the end?


    Even in Room 103, it seemed that I was still useless


    <strong>It was then.</strong>


    Something enormous covered the ground. Silence filled the farm.


    It was an absurd turn of events.


    Until just then, all the humans and animals were screaming like crazy to the point that my ears were about to explode, but everything suddenly turned so quiet that I couldnt even hear the sound of a mosquito.


    Tentacles came out of the dark figure and touched Peter as my body dropped back down on the ground.


    <strong>The monster had saved me.</strong>


    I was a bit uncertain until now, but now, it was very clear.


    That monster liked me quite a bit.


    It was the same for the past few days. When Ahri saw the monster, she said it didnt do anything to her and yet the monster constantly came and stroked me on my head. This time, it even tantly saved me from danger.


    Besides, it was still daytime.


    ording to what we knew thus far, the monster only moved at night and yet it was here to help me from my distress even though it was still daytime.


    What in the world was that thing? Being treasured by something that wasnt human was rather frightening instead of making me happy.


    The figure disappeared without any omens like the time when it showed itself.


    And as if he was hypnotised, Peter turned around like nothing happened and walked off to finish his other business.


    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    That was when I finally realised what was wrong.


    <strong>The sense of incongruity that had been filling me ever since I heard about the n to destroy the farm yesterday </strong><strong>the identity of the doubt that had been bothering my mind.</strong>


    The most supernatural existence in this strange farm was clearly that <strong>monster </strong>and yet the Farm Destruction n and the escape n that the team came up with had nothing


    <strong>There was not a single consideration for the monster. As if it did not even exist.</strong>

 Chapter 32: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘?????????’? ????? ????’ (1)

    Chapter 32: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®?????????¡¯? ????? ????¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 13</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I shrunk my body as much as possible. Even though everyone had certain roles, my role as the snake was the most important.


    It was actually a bit challenging for me toe up with a ce to hide my body. Creating amotion by destroying everything in sight was actually not that hard for intellectual animals as long as they were keen on doing it.


    Compared to that, predicting the actions of the family members in the midst of such chaos was quite challenging!


    But there was no need to predict every single action for a sessful ambush.


    <strong>All I had to do was hide at a ce where they definitely had toe to.</strong>


    <strong>Creakk</strong>


    The door of the carriage was pulled wide open.


    Peter! Mei! Help me carry your father inside. Peter! You can drive the carriage right?


    Uhh, Ill try. Dad taught me from time to time.


    Yes! Hurry up We have to cross the river to where the doctor is.


    After hurriedly carrying the bloodstained farmer into the carriage, the family changed the bandages around his wounds. Peter sat at the front to drive the horses, whereas Brian, Amy and Mei sat at the back.


    Everything was going ording to n.


    Predicting everything that would happen in such chaos was way too difficult, but whatever their n was, they had to drive the carriage and leave the farm.


    Whether they were going to the doctor, asking for help from outside or simply escaping the farm  whatever their goal was, they always had to go to the carriage!


    Now, it was my time to shine.


    It was highly unlikely for me to survive after this but it was okay.


    Considering how many survivors we had, there should be zero problems. The rest were going to escape alive so I should alsoe back to life.


    The head of a snake that had been hiding beneath the chair suddenly reached out. The venomous fangs of the snake bit Brian and Amy before they could even react!


    From the top of the hill, I gazed down at the farm.


    This farm which had given us all sorts of pain over the past 4 days was now in pandemonium. Domestic animals were jumping around everywhere; the family was running away from the farm while groaning in pain and despair, while the pack of wolves were still waiting for the opportunity.


    We were probably returning our pain by tenfold.


    However it wasnt over yet.


    Now that we started a war, it was time to finish it.


    It wasnt over until the enemy was gone.


    After running out of the farm, the family supported the farmer and headed to the carriage.


    Even that was ording to Eunsol-noonas n.


    Something that I realised while seeing her was that Eunsol-noona was really skilled at predicting peoples actions.


    I waited.


    Kyaaaaaah! Mum! Dadd!!!!!


    Uaaahk! This fucking snake!!! Die! Please just die!!


    Screams soon left the carriage.


    After a while, the corpse of a bisected snake was flung out of the carriage.


    Ah it seemed that this was thest moment of Eunsol-noona.


    It was a bit of a pity, but it was okay.


    We will be meeting each other again very soon. All we had to do was dust it off with augh while having dinner together.


    <strong>With my final charge of fury, this stupid farm should bepletely over!</strong>


    I started racing towards the carriage from the hill.


    My rear leg started aching in pain again but it was fine. I simply had to withstand the pain for a moment, which wasnt that hard for me.


    Considering how there was already an injured person plus their parents being bitten by a snake, none of the humans were in the state to drive the carriage and the carriage was thereforepletely still.


    The horses that btedly noticed my approach neighed and warned its owners but


    <strong>Toote bitch.</strong>


    The headbutt of a ck cow struck the side of the carriage!


    That one strike was enough to make the carriage fall to its side.


    Like victims of a car ident, which might not even be that far from the truth, the family members groaned in pain on the ground. When I was super angry yesterday, I really felt like trampling on these humans and killing them in one go but


    Seeing those kids sobbing with their unconscious parents in their arms weakened my resolve a little.


    The husband and wife of the family appeared to be both bitten by the snake and their shoulders were swollen.


    It would be hard for them to stay alive for long.


    The kids would probably be killed by the wolves even if I didnt do anything. The gun was broken, the carriage was destroyed and their parents were also dead. Even if I let them go, there was no way for them to survive.


    But there was also no way that the wolves would stop after attacking these kids.


    We also had to think about ways to survive from the wolves.


    In any case, when was it going to be considered an escape? Did these kids have to die as well?


    Wouldnt it be faster for me to trample them to death then? That might hurt less for them as well, right?


    But even though I was now an animal, wasnt it a bit questionable to step on kids to kill them?


    <strong><em>Since when was I such a person that would do such vicious things to people?</em></strong>


    I was continuing my line of thought when the Discord gave out notifications like crazy.


    <em>Goose (Yu Songee): Listen to me! Theres something wrong with this n</em>


    <em>Rat King (Kim Mooksung): How is it wrong?</em>


    <em>Goose (Yu Songee): I met the monster just then! Theres no consideration for the monster!</em>


    No consideration for the monster.


    She wasnt wrong, but it didnt hit home either.


    Its not like we escaped after finding out all the secrets of the guest rooms every time, right? For example during the Strange Family at Room 101, Seungyub escaped with practically zero knowledge about the situation.


    What was the Strange Family? Why did they all go crazy? He had no clue but his escape was still acknowledged.


    It was the same thing for the Mansion of Fear, Room 102.


    Compared to the Strange Family, we did discover a few more factors like the devil at the basement and Sir, but that was it.


    We only had pieces of information without any clues on how to resolve the issue.


    In other words, the conclusion we hade to thus far was that there was no need to know all the secrets of the Cursed Room to escape it.


    The thing about the monster was something we definitely had to look intoter on but was there a need to do that now?


    Like that, I was slowlyparing everything to the past rooms one by one and


    <strong>A shocking line of thought popped up in my head.</strong>


    <strong>Something was seriously weird. This was going horribly wrong.</strong>


    There was another problem that was different from the one Songee thought of.


    Where did the strange phenomenon ur at the Strange Family? It was from the uncanny family members.


    Where did the strange phenomenon ur at the Mansion of Fear? It was from the mansion and the members of the mansion. Songee was just a victim that was possessed by one of the people at the mansion.


    If so, then where did the strange phenomenon ur at the Animal Farm?


    <strong>It was <em>us</em>.</strong>


    <strong>The family of farmers that we had been seeing as the enemy had nothing strange about them.</strong>


    <strong>They were just normal farmers looking after their farm!</strong>


    The strange existences here werent the family members of the farm, but the <strong>animals that suddenly started thinking like people  us!</strong>


    My brain was being muddled in confusion.


    If we were the strange existences here, then was our entire approach wrong?


    Maybe our first question had to be on why we had suddenly turned into an animal. That was obviously the strangest phenomenon and yet not a single one of us showed any doubt regarding that matter.


    While feeling the rise of an unfathomable despair, I looked at the screaming children. Their parents were dead and the kids were weeping endlessly, not knowing what to do.


    And


    <strong>Their tears stopped.</strong>


    Like an illusion, the faces of the kids that had been rolling around the pit of despair turned oddly calm.


    The entire farm turned silent.


    The noise of the domestic animals; the screams of the children and the howls of the waiting wolves.


    <strong>An overwhelming being that suppressed all the trivial noise of other petty existences showed itself.</strong>


    The entire world faded into white.


    The stage flipped upside down.


    The carriage disappeared; the horses vanished and the wolves were gone. The farm, the couple and the sobbing kids all vanished into the thin air.


    Inside a white hell with none of those present was me


    <strong>A bug rolling around like an ant under the gaze of far superior existences.</strong>


    Ahh I finally understood it.


    I realised what the identity of this hell was.


    The moment I noticed what it was, I sincerely hoped for an easy death. I couldnt think of any method to escape this ce.


    It was simply frightening and painful. All I could do was wish I would fall into an eternal sleep in oblivion


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 13</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Animal Farm)


    Cursed Room  Animal Farm


    Cursed Room  Animal


    Cursed Room  Ani


    Cursed Room  A


    Cursed Room  <strong></strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>/You have failed!</strong>


    <strong>A prejudiced perspective! ck and White thinking! Why am I always correct, and the opponent always wrong?</strong>


    <strong>Perhaps this prejudiced mindset begins from the arrogant self-conviction that I cannot be in the wrong? To ovee the hardships of the Hotel, you must be a wise skeptic who doubts everything in existence.</strong>


    <strong>Naturally, your own self should be included in the mix.</strong>


    <strong>A prejudiced person has no right to obtain Diverse Perspectives.</strong>


    <strong>You were unable to escape the curse, nor were you able to resolve the root cause of the curse. It is very unfortunate.</strong>


    <strong>However, there is still a chance! Wait for your teammates.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully resolved the issue! Congrattions! The sessful resolution allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>You have obtained the Inheritance, Diverse Perspectives.</strong>

 Chapter 33: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Athanasia’s Human Farm’ (2)

    Chapter 33: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Athanasia¡¯s Human Farm¡¯ (2)


    <strong>[User: </strong>


    <strong>Date: </strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Standing still, I nkly gazed at people.


    Insiderge and white structures that were too enormous for my eyes to take in were those beings that we had considered as monsters  white giants with multiple tentacles busily walking around.


    There were tons of iprehensible machines. Some appeared like huge smartphones, while others werent even in a tangible shape.


    But there was one thing that wasmon.


    All the giants were wearing a silver bracelet in one of their tentacles. A change urred to humans whenever their silver bracelets flickered ominously.


    Those were probably the tools that allowed them to control humans.


    Within the areas divided by the massive structures, I could see people. Everyone was wearing something like a restrictive choker and was each living inside their own illusion.


    They were probably assigned a human role at the start inside their illusion. After having their souls slowly sucked out, they would in the end be stuck in the body of a beast, andter be consumed as an animal that had less intellect than a microbe.


    <strong>In front of my eyes was a world where humans had literally be a resource.</strong>


    Now, I couldnt even exactly remember what happened on thest day at the Animal Farm. All I remembered was that everything crumbled down, with our petty rebellion vanishing into nothing from one sweep of the giants hands.


    How nice would it have been if I died with them?


    At least I wouldnt have had to suffer the things that I was going through right now.


    The cow, pig, cat, dog, snake, wolf and rat  everyone shattered down and were each allocated a new role.


    <strong>And only the goose was able to escape that ursed cirction.</strong>


    The one that took me outside was a white giant.


    Only after a fair bit of time did I notice that he was called Theodus by hisrades. While resetting the farm, Theodus took me, and only me, outside.


    Why?


    I couldnt ask the giant because I couldnt speak nor hold any type ofmunication with the giant, so I endlessly pondered by myself and came up with a hypothesis.


    <strong>Affinity.</strong>


    The blessing I received at the Hotel.


    The Blessing of Affinity deterred those strange monkeys from attacking me on the first day and this time, it made these soul-sucking monsters hold goodwill towards me.


    The thoughts going through the mind of the giant was probably simr to that of an owner of a poultry farm, finding a chicken that looked especially cute and taking it outside to raise as a pet. Humans ate chicken all the time, and thousands of baby chickens were sent to the grinder for maceration everyday, but there were also a lot of people who raised pet chickens.


    Even humans were suchplex beings with many faces, so there was no way that these giants, who were clearly superior to humans, would be any simpler.


    From what I could understand, that was the only thing I could say.


    Fortunately  I should say  Theodus did not harass me or abuse me in any way. Instead, he treated me like a cute pet and tapped my head a few times while walking by, and by the time I realised it, some of the other giants also started doing the same thing.


    Both water and food werent supplied in a humiliating way  there was always a mediocre energy bar and a cup of water.


    To be fair, that was to be expected because I was most probably a pet. Not many people would take out a chicken from a poultry farm just to abuse it.


    If all of this was thanks to the blessing I received at the Hotel, then I must have been very lucky to receive such an amazing blessing.


    <strong>- BBIIIIIK</strong>


    An rm rang across the entire building.


    Now, I knew what that sound meant.


    The silver bracelets of the giants roaming around the structures gave out a white lustre, as countless humans that were each immersed in their own worlds and their illusions walked out.


    Even though they were walking outside


    They were still immersed in their own illusions.


    Their minds were submerged in an endless world of fantasy and yet their bodies were moving, and waiting to be harvested.


    Time went by as a gray and bizarre giant appeared.


    Most of the other giants were in a humanoid shape with a few tentacles instead of arms but that gray thing had no legs and nothing but countless tentacles.


    Its appearance of having nothing but an innumerable number of tentacles and a body made it resemble a brittle starfish that was multiplied by a million times.


    What in the world was that thing?


    Why was that existence the only one that was so different from the other giants?


    <strong>Even the Teacher did not know about it. To be fair, Teachers circumstances werent fundamentally too different from mine.</strong>


    He was just locked in this facility for an iparably longer period of time than me, which was why he knew a lot more than I did.


    The tentacles exuded out and pierced through the heads of the humans.


    I almost cried when I saw that the first time, but it was just intriguing at this point.


    They were stabbing through the heads, so why wasnt there a single drop of blood?


    And the only thing inside a persons head should be the brain So how were those tentacles able to take out that thing?


    <em>That thing.</em>


    A white cluster of something.


    At a nce, it looked like a small cloud, and at another nce it also appeared like a shiny stone.


    Appearance-wise, it appeared like something strange that had the mixed attributes of a solid, liquid and gas substance.


    <strong>Fragment of Rationality, The Joint of the Soul and the Body</strong>


    That was what Teacher called it.


    It was endlesslyplicated when put that way, but simply put, having that thing repeatedly taken out would squeeze dry the intellect of a human and make their thinking capabilities closer to that of a microbe over time.


    That appeared to be why the giants of this world, the Athanasias were domesticating people.


    Actually, there appeared to be several other farms where other intellectual beings aside from humans were being squeezed dry, but I had never been to those ces. The only ces I went to were the human farm and the basement (I decided to call it the basement).


    If I was by myself, I would have never been able to discover what everything was.


    In fact, I knew nothing until Teacher told me about them.


    Rationality was constantly sucked out of humans that were still intellectual, and the humans that were bing less productive due to their intellect being lowered to that of an animal were disposed of. I nkly watched all that happen in front of my eyes.


    For how long was I supposed to watch this thing?


    Time flew without an end.


    I didnt even know how many days went by at this point. I had been keeping count until Day 10 but


    This white desert with nothing but white spots of light was a hell full of apathetic humans, and counting the date was another source of pain so I gave up before long.


    <strong> Vuiiinnggg</strong>


    The machine gave out a humming noise. I was quite used to hearing it now  Theodus would alwayse after that noise.


    Ah, finally.


    The only reason I was able to keep my sanity within this hell was because there was one target I couldmunicate with.


    <strong>It was time to meet Teacher.</strong>


    There was something Ive been curious about whenever we were going to the basement.


    Firstly, I didnt even know if it indeed was the basement but putting that aside, how in the world did these Athanasias move?


    The silver bracelet at the end of Theoduss tentacle sparkled and I was already at a different ce.


    From what I have observed thus far, that silver bracelet had the function of controlling the mind of an intellectual being like a human.


    In other words, that meant Theodus was always momentarily putting my mind to sleep before moving ces.


    So in that sense, I had no way of knowing where I was, but the reason I called it the basement was because this ce was always dark.


    Aside from one dim source of light, there was nothing else lighting up this vast and expansive area.


    More than 20 Athanasias were messing around withrge machines that were tooplicated for my mind to understand.


    In the middle of the room was something like arge water tank.


    And inside


    There was something overwhelmingly huge that even made those white giants appear tiny. The white giants were around 6-8 metres tall, whereas that thing inside the water tank was probably at least 50 metres long.


    With my eyes, I just couldnt fathom how enormous it was.


    But nheless, it was beautiful.


    Something I thought of every time I saw, was that Teacher was an unbelievably beautiful organism.


    The dim source of light brightening up this room was in fact none other than Teachers body itself.


    He was like a tremendously enormous whale having countless crystals with shining fragments floating around. In the outer regions of his body, some mysterious organisms continued appearing and being sucked back inside.


    Rather than one organism, he appeared like a small universe.


    The cirction of an endless loop of life and death.


    With mycking descriptions, I had no way of exining the sight in front of my eyes.


    However, it was simply beautiful.


    The existence before me appeared like the most beautiful organism in the entire world. For 30 seconds, I nkly stared at the only source of light existing in this world of pain.


    And that was when I heard a voice.


    <strong><em></em></strong>


    <strong><em>Child You are here again.</em></strong>


    <em>Yes. Teacher. Im here to see you.</em>


    <strong><em>Did you have to swim through another torrent of pain?</em></strong>


    <em>I saw more people being squeezed to death without an end.</em>


    <strong><em>The pain shall notst forever. Endure and be patient.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>As long as you wait without letting them discover your recovered intellect, the rightful time shalle.</em></strong>


    The recovery of my intellect.


    To be fair, it was more correct to say that my intellect was no longer being sucked out. I realised only after meeting Teacher, but the extraction of my intellect being stopped was actually nothing but a coincidence.


    Back when I was a goose at the farm, when the farmer was trying to pluck my feathers, my restrictive choker was slightly broken due to reasons which stopped the extraction process. It was simr to a chicken in the poultry farm notying any more eggs, so why wasnt I disposed of? That was something which I still wasnt sure about.


    More importantly When exactly would all this sufferinge to an end?


    <em>When? When would that day be? I always think to myself. Are these beings the devils or the gods?</em>


    <em>With one gesture, they y with the minds of humans and lock them in a prison of illusion forever so how would I ever escape from these giants?</em>


    <strong><em>In the eyes of a chicken, the eagle is like a god and a human is like a god in the eyes of a dog.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Your salvation is near. For now, just take a rest and go to sleep.</em></strong>


    -Ahh


    My eyes suddenly turned heavy as soon as I heard those words.


    While going to sleep, I prayed that myst bit of hope may be realised.


    I prayed that I may escape this farm of pain and meet everyone else again

 Chapter 34: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Athanasia’s Human Farm’ (3)

    Chapter 34: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Athanasia¡¯s Human Farm¡¯ (3)


    <strong>[User: </strong>


    <strong>Date: </strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    My memories were fuzzy.


    I wonder how long it has been since I fell into this hellish human farm.


    If I was by myself, I probably would have continued living like this with not a sliver of hope until I was dead, and the road out of Room 103 would have been forever closed.


    But ever since I came across Teacher, we became a sce of hope for each other.


    I got to understand many things which would have been impossible by myself, and Teacher earned a tool that could move outside of his water tank.


    <strong>Escape n</strong>


    The word Escape was enough to make my heart race. For over 10 days (I believe), we fine-tuned our n during the 1-2 hour period where Teacher and I could talk to each other.


    We forged our n bybining the pieces of information and wisdom of the Teacher, who had been locked in this facility for a long time, and the new ones obtained by me, who was a little bit more free inparison.


    The escape n that we created as a result was in fact quite simple. Overall, it wasnt too different from the riot that we had at the Animal Farm with my teammates from the Hotel.


    The sess of the escape n weighed on two elements.


    Firstly, could Teacher buy me at least a minute?


    Secondly, could I make use of Diverse Perspectives?


    Both of them were questions that couldnt be answered until the actual day of our n.


    The first element was on the Teacher. Teacher himself considered the possibility to be more than enough but the second element was on me. Even the Teacher, who had exceeded the capability of humans, wasnt sure about it.


    Whatever the case, I waited on and on until the Teacher was done with his preparations.


    As always, Theodus took me to therge room in the basement. After some time, he and the other giants began having a look at the machines while roaming around the room.


    After a fair bit of time, the long-awaited voice echoed in my ears.


    <strong><em>Child. Looks like the time hase.</em></strong>


    <em>Didnt you say we still needed a bit more time?</em>


    <strong><em>If we waited until I gathered more power, the likelihood of our sess would certainly increase,</em></strong>


    <strong><em>But as time goes, I can feel your mind weathering away.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Even if I buy enough time with my strength, that would be meaningless if your mind as the one moving is weakened by too much.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is why, today is the day.</em></strong>


    My heart thumped. The deep sense of fear surging out from the very depths of my soul threatened to freeze my body and mind, but I knew this was something that had to be done one day, and today just happened to be that day.


    Quietly, I stood up and gazed at the surroundings.


    Like every other day, the white giants were using their numerous tentacles to fidget around with unidentifiable machines.


    I stood up but none of them were concerned.


    That was understandable because for them, I was nothing but a pet goose. Who would pay attention to every little move of their pet in the middle of their work?


    It was then


    <em> Kugugugugung!!!!!!!!!!!</em>


    The water tank imprisoning the Teacher let out a threatening roar!


    Seeing that shockwave, all the giants immediately stood up and dashed to the machine that was stuck right next to the water tank, which was probably one of the tools locking the Teacher down.


    But


    <em> Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa</em>


    The shockwave was actually just to make the giants run towards the water tank. A prismatic and indescribably beautiful sound reverberated across the entire room and


    That was followed by an overwhelming silence.


    The giants stopped.


    It was like how the world used to turn silent when the giants appeared as monsters in the Animal Farm, but this time around, it was the world of giants that hade to a pause.


    From now on, it was up to me.


    After collecting my breath, I dashed forward and took out the silver bracelet from the arm of one of the halted giants. Although it was a bracelet, that was only for the giant and it was more like a h hoop for me but


    The moment I took it out, the bracelet turned immensely smaller until it was enough to enter my arm.


    Could I seriously use this thing properly?


    <strong>Humans made guns.</strong>


    <strong>But that didnt mean humans had some kind of tolerance against guns.</strong>


    Likewise, Athanasias made this bracelet, but there was no way they could retaliate against the power of this bracelet when they were in a paused state like this!


    That was the core of the escape n that we came up with.


    It felt like I was hearing a lecture when the Teacher was telling me about the overall logic and how the bracelet functioned but I wasnt sure.


    Even if someone trained a parrot or a dog, would they be able to properly use a smartphone?


    I had no idea. What I did know was that my failing here would end up destroying any possibility of a sessful escape.


    <strong><em> Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.</em></strong>


    Slowly, I started popping my tongue at a regr pace and closed my eyes.


    Everything henceforth was the unknown. It might seemughable, but this repetitive action of popping my tongue was the one tool that would let me keep myself sane.


    Closing my eyes, I inserted the bracelet into my arm.


    My body began to soar into the skies.


    No  actually, my body was still there. What was floating was my consciousness drifting out of my body.


    When I slowly focused on the Athanasia in front of me and selected it as my target, a torrent of iprehensible data struck my brain.


    Would a person with a visual impairment who had perceived the world in ck and white ever since their birth be able to understand the diversity of colours?


    Would an animal born inside a cave without the ability to see be able to understand sight?


    Sharks could feel subtle flows of electricity with their ampue of Lorenzini. Would humans be able to understand that?


    Every one of them was probably impossible.


    If so


    Then what would happen if a cluster of such innately iprehensible data was forcibly shoved into the brain?


    Today, I was somewhat enlightened to the answer of that question.


    A storm of information which I couldnt even categorise let alone understand numbed my brain. Inexplicable senses that humans could neither feel nor sense  the assembly of data which only Athanasias could understand started flooding into my head.


    At one point, I began to see the world in 5 primary colours.


    At one point, I could touch sound, feel colour and see vour.


    My brain felt like it was being fried but I calmly focused my mind.


    There was only one way for me to keep track of myself in the midst of that tempest of information. By focusing on the senses that I could understand, I ignored everything else.


    <strong><em> Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.</em></strong>


    The sound of my tongue being popped.


    I focused all of my senses on that sound. Slowly but surely, my mind that had been floating away from me started to return to my body.


    Soon, I opened my eyes.


    A mysterious sense and an indescribably exalted sensation filled my soul.


    The perspective or rather, the world that was perceived by Athanasias  it took its spot in a corner of my brain like thebined shape of countless puzzle pieces.


    <strong>I seeded at controlling the Diverse Perspectives!</strong>


    I walked up to the Athanasia that was standing right next to me.


    After understanding my intention, the Teacher slowly removed the restriction of time that was binding it, and after waking up from the world of silence by itself, the Athanasia started slowly turning its head in doubt.


    I carefully moved the Perspective that Athanasias perceived the world as.


    Like the creator changing a piece of the created world, I slowly added new pieces of information into its mind.


    I slowly started to modify the information they had about activation and removal of the restrictive system, so that the Athanasia would personally remove the restrictive system which I couldnt destroy by myself


    That was when the Athanasia under my control suddenly took out its tentacle


    And it pierced through its own head.


    ?


    What was going on?


    <strong><em>It managed to figure it out.</em></strong>


    <em>Did I do something wrong?</em>


    <strong><em>Because you are inexperienced at using the item, that Athanasia discovered the fact that it was being controlled by Diverse Perspectives. However, even the Athanasias are not able to escape the control of the bracelet by themselves.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is why it decided tomit suicide instead of being controlled.</em></strong>


    <em>Then</em>


    <strong><em>That is well within our expectations. It would have been easier if we could directly control the Athanasias, but we came up with our n under the assumption that it wont be easy to control them, did we not?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>There is no need to be agitated. Move on with the next n. I shall focus on reserving my power once again.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Today will be a very exciting day.</em></strong>


    Was it because my senses had be uncannily more sensitive after being able to control Diverse Perspectives? Unlike the tranquil and beautiful ambience that I had constantly been feeling from the Teacher


    <strong>I could faintly sense a very deep and dark emotion inside him.</strong>


    But that was nothing strange. Even a demi-god would have some type of dark feelings budding inside them after being locked in a ce like this for such a long period of time.


    After turning around, I looked at the wall.


    Diverse Perspectives was not a simple mind-controlling device.


    This device was simr to a persons smartphone.


    I was only able to use a small portion of those functions because I was still inexperienced as its user but this device itself was an omnipotent tool that assisted the Athanasias in every aspect of life.


    ording to the Teacher, this device also had the function of allowing one to move across this facility.


    I settled my mind and thought about the next destination  an unknown location that I had never been to, that was neither the human farm nor the basement.


    As soon as Diverse Perspectives read my intention,


    <strong>I arrived at a peculiar plot ofnd where everything in the world including the sky and the ground were filled with twitching faces.</strong>

 Chapter 35: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Athanasia’s Human Farm’ (4)

    Chapter 35: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Athanasia¡¯s Human Farm¡¯ (4)


    <strong>[User: </strong>


    <strong>Date: </strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    What should I do to escape from this farm?


    The answer to that question was rather simple.


    I would never be able to escape from this ce by myself. How would a chicken possibly escape from a poultry farm by itself?


    If I cant leave by myself, then the right answer would be to borrow the power of a being that could leave.


    And the being that could leave  the Teacher was currently imprisoned by the Athanasias.


    In the end, there was only one key element in the escape n.


    <strong>How could I liberate the Teacher from the hands of the Athanasias?</strong>


    n A of directly controlling the Athanasias with Diverse Perspectives to lift the restrictive system had failed. Now, it was time for n B. I had to look for the coborator.


    From the heavens to the earth  thends leading all the way to the horizon were filled with strange faces. Some faces let out a subdued scream without an end, while others appeared to have lost the power to even scream.


    Thanks to that, the entirends were echoing with chilly shrieks and groans.


    Unfathomably innumerable number of faces of intellectual beings were filling the ins.


    If my mind hadnt been worn out from all the terrible sceneries I had seen during my long time at the farm, I might have screamed the moment I arrived at this ce.


    Because the ground was covered with faces, walking was already a tough job. Let alone the soft and mushy feeling on my feet, those strange mouths constantly tried to bite my feet so I had to hop around like a rabbit.


    The Teacher told me that the coborator was somewhere within this vast Farm of Pain. Where was it?


    I was arduously walking forward when an Athanasia appeared from the distance.


    For a second, I wondered if I should hide but decided not to.


    There was nowhere to hide in this expansive in filled with faces, and more importantly, the fact that I could see the Athanasia (who excelled at all the senses than humans) meant that the Athanasia was intentionally walking towards me after discovering me first.


    At this point, I was more used to seeing Athanasias than humans.


    Therge humanoid organism that reached at least 6 metres in height with thick tentacles instead of arms and legs walked up to me. Aftering nearby, it silently observed me before turning around and walking at half the previous speed.


    It was probably telling me to follow from behind.


    <strong><em>Has the Devouring One recovered its power</em></strong>


    <em>?</em>


    What? Did it just talk to me?


    I was so surprised that my feet unknowingly came to a stop. I had nevermunicated with Athanasias before!


    <strong><em>Can you notprehend my thoughts?</em></strong>


    Thats not it, but can you guys talk in humannguage as well? Ive never heard it before.


    <strong><em>Lets just say Im special. Let me ask again. What is the current state of the Devouring One? You should know yourself that you wont be able to leave without his power.</em></strong>


    By Devouring One are you talking about the Teacher? He stopped all the Athanasias that were inside his room.


    <strong><em>Then he should have recovered enough power to send you outside.</em></strong>


    It was my first time talking to an Athanasia.


    I asked a question that had been in my mind ever since I came to this ce.


    This ce filled with faces The Teacher called this ce a prison of the Athanasias.


    <strong><em>It is a hell created by pulling out and imprisoning the heads of the intellectual beings that resisted against the Athanasias.</em></strong>


    Why are you guys doing this? How could you be so cruel to humans, and other living beings?


    <strong><em>What a foolish question. Has humans ever been merciful to living beings that have a lower status than them?</em></strong>


    I was immediately lost for words, but the Athanasia continued.


    <strong><em>As a matter of fact, the premise of that question is already incorrect. It is not the Athanasias that created this hell.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I have no idea if the real Athanasias outside are operating a hell like this or not, but at least this one here was made not by the Athanasias, but the Tower of Trials itself.</em></strong>


    Tower of Trials. Was it talking about the Hotel?


    Let me ask another question. Why exactly are you helping with the escape of the Teacher  I mean  the Devouring One? Arent you an Athanasia as well?


    <strong><em>What meaning is there behind the race given to me in a puppet show?</em></strong>


    Puppet show  I realised something immediately after hearing those words.


    This Athanasia


    <strong>It was aware that all of this was just a part of the inner works of the Hotel.</strong>


    Just like the Teacher.


    <strong><em>Also, I noticed something from your question. It seems that you are still unaware of the principles of this ce.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The objective of the Devouring One is not to escape. He knows that he wont ever be able to escape from this ce.</em></strong>


    ?


    That was another surprise. The Teacher wasnt trying to escape?


    Then what is his goal? And what is yours?


    <strong><em>You will notice what the Devouring Ones objective is when the timees. As for my goal you can say it is the continuance of my consciousness.</em></strong>


    Continuance of your consciousness?


    <strong><em>It seems that you have some idea about the principles of this ce but not everything. I have a request to make so let me exin.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The Tower of Trials has existed for a very long time and has been drafting countless intellectual beings and the ones that reached the end of those trials were able toy their hands on miraculous treasures.</em></strong>


    As expected, the Tower of Trials appeared to be referring to the Hotel.


    <strong><em>But most are not able to make it to the end. The losers are forever locked in the Tower and be an actor of the ys run by the Tower. At times, they kill the participants or get killed by the participants, andter they even forget their own identities and be a part of the Tower</em></strong>


    So that means you


    <strong><em>I am a loser.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I cannot even remember my own self anymore. Lets go back to the first question.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Why am I helping the Devouring One despite being an Athanasia myself? Its because theyre not real.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>They are beings that dont even know who they are, nor what this ce is, and do nothing but blindly follow their roles given by the Tower to operate this farm of intellectual beings.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>But in fact, they too are just animals locked in this farm created by the Tower.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>How can I possibly call them my kindred?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Keep this in mind. There are only two real existences in this room. One of them are the participants like you, and the other is the Devouring One.</em></strong>


    ording to your words, you know so many things about the Tower, and you have also woken up from the role you were given, so arent you practically real as well?


    <strong><em>I am just a parasite who needs the help of the Devouring One to keep my consciousness He regrly destroys my role and recovers my sense of self.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>But is this even the real version of myself?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Who knows?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I might just be a puppet created by the Devouring One. I might just be a tool that waits here for participants like you to arrive.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is why I would like to request this of you.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>When you ovee enough trials of the Tower, then you will either arrive at the Buddha or the Room of Resurrection.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>When you get there, please pray for the salvation of me, Estavio</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I am an Athanasia.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I am stronger than most of the existences you wille across in the Tower, and will definitely be of help.</em></strong>


    It was something I had heard of before. When Kain-oppa was hurt at the pool, that was the request he heard from the Doctor who came to Room 105. That was when we realised that there was some type of repechage or a constion match in this Hotel.


    After the Doctor was Estavio.


    I wasnt sure what I was supposed to say, so I walked forward without saying anything in response.


    Estavio likewise didnt say anything else so we quietly walked across thends filled with faces.


    Around 2 hours went by.


    Actually, walking on top of these faces was very tiresome so I gasped for breath in less than 30 minutes and Estavio picked me up without saying anything else. He walked for a long time while carrying me as we then arrived at some type of structure.


    It looked inexplicably different.


    The strangest thing was that this building looked like arge living being no matter how I saw it.


    After walking into the horrendous building, Estavio touched a control panel as it then started moving downwards. This building might have been some type of an elevator.


    Where are we going right now?


    <strong><em>Did you not hear from the Devouring One?</em></strong>


    He told me to find the coborator and that the coborator would help me neutralise the restrictive devices.


    <strong><em>One of those devices is in the basement of this facility.</em></strong>


    Will the Devouring One be released when we deactivate that?


    <strong><em>There are a total of 3 that need to be deactivated. I can help up to 2 but the rest will have to be in your hands.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is probably thest trial that this Tower has put in ce for you.</em></strong>


    Trial.


    Why was this Hotel constantly giving me trials when I had never even wished for treasures or anything of the kind?


    Estavio seemed fatigued from the previous conversation and didnt reply to anything else I said.


    Stab!


    Three.


    When we arrived at the basement, we were met with other Athanasias. They didnt raise any doubts after seeing Estavio and carried on with their business when Estavio nonchntly ambushed them from behind to get rid of them one by one.


    <strong>It was as if  he had been doing this hundreds and thousands of times.</strong>


    Estavio himself might just be stronger than normal Athanasias but seeing how fluent all of his actions were made me think that this wasnt just a matter of his strength.


    <strong>Perhaps this procedure of the Teacher sending participants to Estavio and Estavio guiding the participants to free the Teacher</strong>


    <strong>It might have been repeated countless times already.</strong>


    Shaking my head, I removed those thoughts from my mind. This was something that we could talk about with everyone else on my team after leaving this room. There were plenty of other people in the team that were cleverer than me.


    I had to focus on leaving this room for the time being.


    After some time, all the Athanasias other than Estavio were dead.


    Even the transcendent Athanasias that could shake the minds of humans with a flick were nothing butrge yet immobile starfish after their heads were pierced by the tentacles of another Athanasia.


    <strong>Even a human is like a god in the eyes of a dog.</strong>


    Now, I could understand what those words meant. These Athanasias werent superb transcendents, nor were they gods. They were just a little bit stronger than humans.


    At the centre of the underground facility, there was a translucent hologram.


    Estavio dropped me back down on the ground.


    <strong><em>From hereon, it will be up to you.</em></strong>


    Do I have to do something with the bracelet? Instead of me, how about you


    <strong><em>Diverse Perspectives is impossible for anyone else to use apart from its owner. The fact that you can use it is because the Devouring One has done something to the device that I cannot even fathom.</em></strong>


    I lifted my arm.


    Once again, the sense of my soul soaring into the air filled my head.


    This time, the target was that hologram.


    As soon as the bracelet activated itself


    I realised the absurd identity of this facility.

 Chapter 36: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Athanasia’s Human Farm’ (5)

    Chapter 36: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Athanasia¡¯s Human Farm¡¯ (5)


    <strong>[User: </strong>


    <strong>Date: </strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The identity of this farm that I realised with the help of Diverse Perspectives


    At the start, I thought this was some type of researchb.


    Like a building created by humans, there would be argeboratory built on top of the ground, with several rooms inside that were dedicated for extracting the intellect of living beings. My hypothesis was that the overwhelminglyrge room imprisoning the Teacher was in the basement.


    That couldnt have been any further from the truth.


    <strong>Absurdly enough, this facility was actually arge spaceship!</strong>


    Dozens of rooms were rotating around the room the Teacher was imprisoned in, and the assembly of rooms was endlessly proceeding through therge and empty space. It looked like a replication ofs like Earth rotating around the Sun, with the Sun endlessly racing across the gxy.


    The Teacher wasnt an experiment material or a test subject  he was in fact the<strong> engine</strong> that supplied this spaceship with energy.


    I also understood what it meant to remove the restrictive device. Separating the engine from the two rooms that controlled it was the way to remove the restriction.


    But


    If one of the connected rooms in a flying spaceship was to be separated, then what would happen to that separated room? That room would have neither an engine nor a method of survival so it would end up bing lost in outer space, wouldnt it?


    I turned to Estavio in a fluster.


    What happens to this room if I remove the restrictive system?


    <strong><em>You are asking the obvious. It will float across space forever. It mighte into contact with something, but the ones inside would probably die of starvation before that.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>But you dont have to worry about anything. Even death is salvation for the faces in this room, and you can simply relocate yourself with your bracelet.</em></strong>


    What about you?


    <strong><em>Why are you concerned about that? Do you already have some fondness for me? Thats good news.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Its nothing. It will just be a short rest</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Even that wontst forever. Before long, the nightmare of this room will start again, and the Devouring One will recover my sense of self again.</em></strong>


    Leaving aside whether I have fondness or not How would I escape this ce without your help?


    <strong><em>Even without me, the Devouring One will help you in one way or another. In the end, it is the participants job to ovee the trials.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>You wont figure anything out by asking me. In all honesty, it is even funny that you are asking me. I am a loser who couldnt ovee the trials.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Why do you seek the help of a loser despite being a participant with many possibilities? Trust yourself</em></strong>


    Estavio didnt say anything else, and I too did not ask for any more help.


    <strong> Kung</strong>


    A loud thud echoed across the facility. In the middle of outer space, its connection with the engine had been lost.


    This room


    Lets not think about it. I had to worry about my wellbeing first.


    I quietly touched my bracelet which I was getting rtively used to. It was time to jump to the other room that had the second restrictive system.


    What was going to be in the next room? I wondered.


    <strong><em>With this, there is only one thing left for me to do.</em></strong>


    Didnt you say you wont help with anything else?


    <strong><em>Before that, did I not tell you that I would help you with 2 of the things? I shall keep my promise</em></strong>


    As soon as Estavio swung his tentacle in the air, a strange knowledge seeped into my head.


    I immediately recognised what was inside the room with the second restrictive system, and also realised what I had to do.


    Ahh This Hotel was seriously keen on pushing me to my limits.


    But everything was almost over.


    *


    The second room was totally different from every other ce.


    It waspletely different from all the nightmarish farms and materialised forms of hell that I had been seeing at this spaceship. Even though this room should have been made by apletely different race, I could still feel the warm atmosphere and the gentle feeling in this room.


    The carpet was soft and there were many toys in ce.


    That was to be expected, because this ce was here to educate and protect the young kids  the young Athanasia babies.


    <strong>I was here to turn this ce into hell.</strong>


    As soon as I went into the room, I saw small starfishes wriggling towards me as if they were looking at a mysterious animal. It seemed that Athanasias couldnt walk on their two feet when young.


    It might be simr to how human babies crawled around when they were young. Well, even though they were babies, they were still bigger than me.


    I thought while walking past the babies. Why were the Farm of Pain and the Kindergarten in charge of restricting the engine?


    The answer was rather simple.


    <strong>Those two locations were the safest ces in the minds of the Athanasias.</strong>


    Most of the other rooms for the Athanasias were farms that collected intellectual beings from outer space and extracted their intellect, so they must have taken into ount the possibility of foreign lives rebelling against them like what I was doing right now.


    On the other hand, the Farm of Pain only had the heads of intellectual beings that were being tortured forever except for the Athanasias, so it was impossible for those bodyless organisms to retaliate.


    And the Kindergarten only had Athanasian babies so there was no risk at all.


    They definitely wouldnt have expected a crazy livestock to receive the help of the engine to steal their bracelet


    I waited around with the kids for someone to show up.


    Obviously, there was no way a kindergarten would only have kids inside. There had to be a teacher. I had to wait for the teacher with the control rights of this room to proceed with the n.


    <strong><em>Who. Are. You.</em></strong>


    That was when a sharp voice dug into my head like a needle. Its intonation was a bit awkwardpared to Estavio who sounded like a human.


    I turned around and saw an adult Athanasia.


    Who knows. A chicken that escaped from a poultry farm?


    <strong><em>Come. Out. Of. That. ce.</em></strong>


    Are you going to use Diverse Perspectives on me as soon as I distance myself from the kids? This device  I noticed something after using it, but its actually very hard to specify a target when there are multiple intellectual beings in a cluster like this, right?


    <strong><em>You. I. Know. You. You. Are. Theoduss. If. You. Go. Back. You. Will. Be. Forgiven.</em></strong>


    Its really hard to understand what youre saying. Sorry, but there are still a lot of things to do.


    <strong><em>You. Do. Not. Understand. You</em></strong>


    <em>-Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!</em>


    The Teachers brilliant and colourful voice echoed across again! I really wondered how I could feel the colour of his voice, but in any case, I had been waiting for this mysterious sound!


    The adult Athanasia turned stiff like a rock as soon as it heard the sound.


    In this ce, there was no-one like Estavio who would guide me to the restrictive system like what happened at the Farm of Pain. So


    <strong>I had to crush the heart of this Kindergarten teacher.</strong>


    *


    Stab!


    I killed one.


    Stab!


    And another one.


    I didnt even know how many I killed. Until five, I had been keeping count but I wasnt sure anymore.


    What I did know, however, was that there was an abundance of starfishes in this room that could be killed.


    I failed when I was trying to manipte an adult Athanasia with the bracelet to release the Teacher at the engine room.


    Even though the bracelet was almighty, I was aplete newbie at using it.


    I couldnt deceive the transcendent minds of an adult Athanasia.


    But What if I used it on kids?


    In the end, Athanasias were nothing but mortals that were a little bit stronger than humans. They werent born as divine existences.


    The rest was simple.


    When I gently stroked the head of a baby Athanasia, and <strong>educated it to see the head of another Athanasia as a delicious food, the baby delightfully started indulging itself in its meal.</strong>


    <strong>- Kurrrrk</strong>


    <strong>- Uurrgh</strong>


    A strange noise began to leave the mouth of the adult Athanasia that had been stopped by the Teacher.


    Was that even the mouth? I had no idea but some strange liquid was flowing out of one of the holes on its body, and its tentacles began to tremble.


    How would I appear in the eyes of that existence?


    It was like a chicken escaping from the poultry farm and picking up a gun to infiltrate a kindergarten and shoot the babies to death.


    It must be a hellish nightmare that it wouldnt have even dreamed of.


    The biggest concern I had whening to this ce was, What if words didnt go through? You see, I had never had any conversation with you guys until I met Estavio, but looking back, it seemed that we could talk to each other just fine.


    <strong> Stab! Kyahat!</strong>


    The child looked like it was enjoying the head of its friend. Well, I was the one who made it like that though.


    You can understand what Im saying right? I want to go to the control unit.


    Actually, there was no need to receive the help of that adult Athanasia either. Peaceful methods likemunication, conversation and negotiations were only when there was no way of controlling the other party.


    I had a device that could control the minds of other people, so why would I bother talking or negotiating with them?


    I was just waiting for its mind to crumble down so much that it couldnt even retaliate against my beginner-level control.


    <strong> Rip!</strong>


    This time, the child started ripping out the tentacles of another kid to eat them. I had chosen the biggest child to control and he seemed to have been a rtively violent one.


    Weight was also a big element in the world of kids.


    It was like a 4 or 5 year-old human baby suddenly starting to act violently, while the other young Athanasias nearby were busy crawling around while wailing in a strange voice.


    <strong>Slosh-!</strong>


    I heard something fall down. Turning around, I spotted the shivering tentacles of the adult Athanasia crumbling down like boiled noodles.


    Seeing that, I immediately realised that it crumbled  the mind of the adult Athanasia finally crumbled at the face of the hellish nightmare.


    After that, it was very simple.


    Without any retaliation, the adult allowed me to control it using Diverse Perspectives and I separated the Kindergarten from the engine.


    Now, there was only one more thing to do.


    <strong>I had to go back to the engine room.</strong>


    *


    As soon as I arrived at the outskirts of the engine room, I was met with the face of an extremely familiar person who I had been missing for a long time.


    Songee! Uhuk Hkk I missed you so much. Everything is so scary. I was waiting for you toe. Uhuk.

 Chapter 36: Room 103, Cursed Room – ‘Athanasia’s Human Farm’ (6) FIN

    Chapter 36: Room 103, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Athanasia¡¯s Human Farm¡¯ (6) FIN


    <strong>[User: </strong>


    <strong>Date: </strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Elena grabbed onto my arm with a sniff.


    Elena-unni. Did you just wake up at the facility?


    UhukNn. I was a dog but I suddenly came to myself. The other four also came back.


    The other four Seungyub and Eunsol-noona died already, so I guess thatll be Kain-oppa, Jinchul-oppa, Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri.


    Nn. Everyones very confused. This ce is scary. I have no idea whats happening Have you been searching through this ce by yourself, Songee?


    I woke up a long time ago. Too long ago for me to remember.


    I see Lets hurry up and meet everyone else.


    <strong> Stab!</strong>


    In the middle of the conversation, Elena took out the knife hidden in her clothes in the blink of an eye and stabbed through Songee.


    There was nothing else she could do, because Songee was being mind-controlled by an alien!!


    Ending her life like this should be the best way to go.


    Her mind turned fuzzy.


    *


    In front of my eyes, Elena fell on the ground after stabbing herself with the knife.


    There was no other option.


    And to be honest, it was way too obvious.


    Hotel teammates waking up at a time like this was very questionable. Besides, that didnt seem like Elena at all. I had no idea why the Athanasia controlling Elena had interpreted her like that.


    At least the Elena I knew wouldnt cry like a child while grabbing onto my arm.


    But even so, I couldnt undo themand, Kill Songee that was embedded into her mind. I realised as soon as I touched my bracelet, that the one controlling Elena-unni was a being who was overwhelmingly more skilled than me at mind-control.


    It was most certainly an Athanasia.


    I couldnt dispel the mind-control itself, so all I could do was modify her five senses and induce her into killing herself.


    I guess this was my second time killing Elena-unni. It actually didnt feel that repulsive.


    The first time I killed her was when I possessed, and the second time was when I was sober. Would it happen the third time?


    I used to grow up outside the Hotel hearing that I was so shy and timid that I wouldnt even be able to kill an ant, and


    Even though I didnt like hearing that, I really wasnt expecting myself to do a 180 degree turn and kill a close acquaintance twice.


    I wasnt able to lift the mind-control that was cast on Elena, but she probably was not lying when she said that the 4 of the others excluding the dead Seungyub and Eunsol-noona had woken up.


    What was strange was that the Teacher should have paused the Athanasias of the engine room. How were they controlling the humans to attack me?


    Was there an Athanasia that was stronger than the rest?


    Whatever the case, I walked forth to meet the final trial that the Hotel had in ce for me.


    *


    <strong> Kwang!</strong>


    How could a persons fist sound like a hammer? Would I be able to survive after being hit by those fists?


    Kwang!


    For approximately 3 minutes, I mindlessly rolled and rolled.


    Jinchul-oppa was absurdly strong.


    m!


    Ah, I ended up allowing a hit from Kain-oppa. Ill definitely take my revenge outside.


    Even though Jinchul-oppa was strong, the main problem was that there was one more person.


    The reason I could survive for over a few minutes from thebined attack of Jinchul-oppa and Kain-oppa, who was as strong as a normal adult despite not being at the superhuman level of Jinchul-oppa, was simple.


    As soon as I saw them, I instinctively modified their sense of sight to change their focal points. I had no time to change anything else, because unlike Elena, they immediately dashed in to kill me!


    Thanks to their twisted sense of sight, they attacked each other around 2 times. After that, they changed their course of action and started dashing forward one at a time, so it was somewhat avoidable but


    How long would Ist?


    As soon as I was too exhausted to move, Jinchul-oppas ridiculous punch woulde flying in.


    Even the aftershock of a near miss might kill me, and it was meaningless to buy time because the opponents had better stamina than me.


    All I needed was one split second. It would work as long as I could hold someone back for just 3 seconds


    In the end, I had to make a decision.


    <strong> Kung!</strong>


    My left arm was crushed in an instant. It fell down and dangled like a piece of string. Normal people might have fainted from shock but fortunately for me, I was now rather used to mental maniption through Diverse Perspectives, and I had already blocked my own sense of pain.


    Its just that looking at my arm dangling like noodles was a strange sight to behold.


    My left arm was destroyed due to the punch but I managed to buy 3 seconds. Using my right arm which was still okay, I grabbed onto Jinchul-oppas body and looked into his eyes.


    It didnt even take that long. In just 3 seconds, I erased myself from his sight.


    I then oveid Jinchul-oppas perception of Kain-oppa as myself.


    If Jinchul-oppa still had the intellectual ability, he wouldnt have been deceived by such a straight-forward maniption.


    However, the two of them blindly dashed towards me without even trying to carry out a conversation. Their intellects were clearly being suppressed which was why I thought that even a straight-forward maniption like this would work.


    My prediction was on point.


    Wow, it took less than 10 seconds for Jinchul-oppa to bash Kain-oppa to death.


    After that, I unhesitatingly made Jinchul-oppa think that he had to dive outside from his current location, which was about as high as a five-storey building, in order to catch Songee who was floating in the sky.


    Everything worked out well.


    <strong>What was I even doing here?</strong>


    It seemed that my humanness, which appeared to have been parched a long time ago, still had some leftover moisture, as water drops left from my eyes.


    I wanted to leave this ce. It was  way too painful.


    *


    I couldnt move my body properly.


    It must be because I had been bashed a few times by Jinchul-oppa and Kain-oppa. I wanted to take a merciless revenge after going outside when I was getting hit but


    I killed both of them with my own hands so there was probably no need to do anything else.


    Although the pain had been obstructed with the bracelet, the bracelet was a tool to deceive the mind and not a healing device. I couldnt force my ruined body to move the way I wanted it to.


    Would I be able to defeat Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri in this state?


    Leading my crumbling body forward, I almost reached the central engine room where the Teacher was imprisoned.


    That was when something shed.


    Ahri flew in like a lightning bolt and grabbed onto my neck!


    What was going on?


    My brain couldnt process what was happening. The bracelet was just a device that could control the mind and was not a tool that granted super powers! There was no waymanding Ahri to Fly! would let her fly, so how was this even possible?


    <strong>Unless Ahri could fly regardless of the bracelet</strong>


    My throat contorted and I couldnt breathe properly. The bracelet didnt work on her either.


    What in the world was with this girl?


    Was this the end? After weeks and perhaps months of suffering, was this seriously how it was going to end?


    Ah


    <strong>Oops, sorry.</strong>


    ?


    <strong>I was a bitte at waking up. Its a bit hard for me to control this properly, you see. But at least I woke up before killing you, unni.</strong>


    W, what are you


    <strong>But what is up with this facility? I did wake up from my sleep but I have no idea. Not a single clue. But what I do know is that youve been progressing the story all by yourself while we were ying like animals. Am I correct?</strong>


    <strong>From the look of things, it feels like you have almost reached the final resolution by yourself</strong>


    <strong>Looks like you have many questions. Thats the same for me. I have a loooot of questions for you, unni. But now is probably not the time. I dont like doing this but this time, I will trust your judgement as someone who managed to reach the resolution all alone.</strong>


    <strong>Unni. What do you think I should do?</strong>


    Doubts, upon doubts and doubts. Countless question marks appeared in my head.


    <strong>What in the world was this girl?</strong>


    But whatever the case, she was correct. Now was not the time to worry about my curiosity.


    Sorry but  please kill yourself. If you get mind-controlled again, therell be nothing I can do.


    <strong>I just woke up and youre telling me to die? What a scary person you are, unni. Is that the same for Grandpa Mooksung?</strong>


    Yes. The Athana, I guess you dont know their names. Anyway, the enemy has the power to control your mind, so if you cant keep yourself sane like this, then please just die.


    <strong>It was a short conversation but I felt something. You are like a totally different person, arent you, Missy? You didnt seem like someone who could make such a harsh judgement in a short period of time before.</strong>


    Ahri tilted her head while looking at me.


    It seemed that Kain-oppa was correct when he said there was something strange about her manner of speech.


    At the start, she said unni and now, she was calling me missy.


    After that, Ahri turned around.


    But before walking away, she left behind her final words of this room.


    <strong>Great work. I will trust in you to reach the resolution and die first. Grandpa Mooksung and I will never be your obstacle.</strong>


    *


    <strong><em></em></strong>


    <strong><em>You are here.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I have been waiting for you.</em></strong>


    Have you freed yourself already?


    <strong><em>Pretty much.</em></strong>


    I thought I had to remove all three devices though.


    <strong><em>When you defeated all of your teammates, this man realised there was nothing else it could do and its mind crumbled down. That was why I could remove the 3rd one by myself so if we consider the cause and effect, it is no different from you removing all three by yourself.</em></strong>


    The special Athanasia that I saw a few days ago.


    The one with no legs whoserge body was filled with nothing but tentacles  the entity who appeared like a brittle starfish that had been amplified millions of times was lying powerlessly in front of the Teachers water tank.


    Is this Athanasia the one that had been controlling the minds of my teammates?


    <strong><em>Yes. This entity had been recently invented, so it took some time for me to realise its abilities. Its a reinforced entity that could even retaliate against my suspension.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The Athanasias might have prepared it as a countermeasure for myself.</em></strong>


    But it still died in the end.


    <strong><em>It is mostly thanks to you.</em></strong>


    Lifting my head, I looked at the Teacher  or rather, the Devouring One.


    How did I not notice this until now?


    Why had I been considering that existence as an infinitely beautiful, mystifying and benevolent organism? Only after being able to protect my mind with the bracelet was I able to recognise his true appearance.


    <strong>The one in front of my eyes was the most ominous symbol in the entire universe.</strong>


    An endlessly vicious storm of energy was being condensed into a dot, and the screams of an innumerably abundant number of intellectual beings swirled from inside.


    I finally realised the reason why Athanasias had been domesticating and extracting the intellect of countless intellectual beings.


    <strong>It was to offer a sacrifice to the Great Evil in front of my eyes!</strong>


    My body shivered.


    <strong><em>Seems that you are afraid of me.</em></strong>


    I can finally see your horrendous true body.


    <strong><em>True body, is it. Are you sure about that?</em></strong>


    What do you mean?


    <strong><em>We still have time, so lets have a short conversation. It should be okay for you to see something interesting.</em></strong>


    My consciousness soared without an end.


    The vast and expansive outer space broadened in front of my eyes.


    Flying amidst space were dozens of small rooms that rotated around the engine where the Devouring One was.


    The things that were happening in each of those rooms seeped into my brain.


    Unidentifiable hands were reaching out from the walls of the rooms and were squeezing all the Athanasias dry.


    From babies to adults  without any discrimination, the hands thoroughly grabbed, ripped and squeezed the Athanasias and appeared like a scene straight out of hell.


    This


    <strong><em>Is this not a delightful sight?</em></strong>


    Why are you doing this?


    <strong><em>It is a simple story. This might be boring for you, but please listen to a little banter of your Teacher.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The puppet shows created by the Tower of Trials are in fact notpletely made-up.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>They reenact events that really happened in the history of the real universe despite some modifications.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Before being locked in the Tower, I was actually imprisoned by the Athanasias for epochs.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is why I am returning the favour to them.</em></strong>


    Estavio told me you cannot leave this ce, and that you had a different objective. Is revenge your goal?


    <strong><em>You can say that. You seem quite discontent. Do you feel sympathy for the Athanasias? Are you not already aware of what they had been doing to countless other intellectual beings? You humans werent an exception.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Besides, did you not massacre the Athanasian babies yourself?</em></strong>


    I Thats because


    <strong><em>I am not trying to me you. I am merelymenting on the imperfectness of humans.</em></strong>


    Imperfectness of humans?


    <strong><em>Humans can never escape from the frames of their senses and their nature. Why do you feel displeased after seeing this?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Are you whole-heartedly considering their pain to be unjustified? You know better than anyone else that that is not the case.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Your innateness is simply feeling fear from the brutal scenery in front of your eyes.</em></strong>


    Are you saying its wrong to feel fear and displeasure when looking at a brutal scenery?


    <strong><em>Child. I am not talking about what is right or wrong. I am trying to talk about the mental attitude you should have to endure through the Tower of Trials.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>You told me before. That you saw my true body and realised my horrendousness.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Look again.</em></strong>


    My mind floated back down and I was back to standing in front of the Devouring One.


    Before my eyes was the Teacher who I had met when I first woke up at the farm.


    He was the most beautiful organism in existence. His body was sparkling like starlight. Small wings covered with ambient radiance were behind his back and the divine majesty of the heavens was in him.


    <strong><em>Do I still look like a horrendous existence to you?</em></strong>


    I have no idea. But I do know that you are shaking my thoughts.


    <strong><em>Child. Do not be deceived by the sight in front of your eyes. Beauty, unsightliness. Divinity, wickedness.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>All of your judgements are based on the beauty and ugliness before your eyes.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Close your eyes and think about it. Have I ever caused you any harm?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I have not changed once, and yet your evaluation of me flips like your palm just based on my outer appearance.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>That is the weakness of humans, and that is what I wanted to tell you.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Be freed from the limitations of your senses and hold an unclouded rationality inside you. That is why I have bestowed the bracelet onto your hands.</em></strong>


    My senses floated up once again.


    No  this time, it was my entire body that soared into the sky instead of my consciousness.


    What was going on?


    The spaceship crumbled down  the space crumbled and so did the stage.


    Left behind was the one and only truth. The true form of Room 103 was unravelled before my eyes.


    <strong>A door appeared.</strong>


    My body trembled as I held onto the door knob.


    Atst, my long nightmare was reaching its end.


    My consciousness faded away as I thought to myself. So what exactly was the Devouring One? Was he the god? Or a devil?


    Hah! That was a stupid question. I knew the answer to that question from the very beginning.


    <strong>He was my Teacher. There was no need to ce any other unnecessary titles under his name.</strong>


    <strong>/You have seeded!</strong>


    <strong>A hellish and brutal human farm! But humans also domesticate lower existences depending on the necessity, do they not? Discussing the right and wrong of things like this might be meaningless.</strong>


    <strong>In any case! The neutralisation of all of your teammates, and infinitely stronger foes! You were able to ovee all those trials to reach the final conclusion.</strong>


    <strong>By freeing the Devouring One, you have sessfully removed all the Athanasias and have resolved the root cause of the curse. Congrattions.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>One of your teammates has sessfully resolved the issue! Congrattions! The sessful resolution allows everyone to return safely./</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>You have obtained the Inheritance, Diverse Perspectives.</strong>

 Chapter 38: Party Time! – What exactly happened?

    Chapter 38: Party Time! ¨C What exactly happened?


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 13</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Like always, we all woke up in front of Room 103 and were in the process of going back to Room 105. There were no tears of joy or hugs and everyone just had a nk look on their faces.


    <strong>What in the world happened?</strong>


    There was only one person who could answer that question. Everyone else had been ying as animals until we lost our consciousness so there was nothing we could say.


    We constantly stole a nce at Songee who was the only one that could exin what happened to us. We noticed that she was somewhat different.


    Because of the characteristic of this Hotel, we would return to our original states no matter what horrendous thing happened inside the rooms but there was an undisguisable change in atmosphere. She no longer had the timid and shy look on her face and seemed endlessly fatigued. Besides, there was the clear message that everyone saw through the system window right before we woke up from our dreams.


    <strong>Sessful resolution. Acquirement of the Inheritance, Diverse Perspectives.</strong>


    I wasnt sure what it was, but I did know that it was the treasure Songee earned all by herself after a tremendous adventure while we were all out of our minds. She had suddenly jumped up to the top of our food chain.


    We all headed to Room 105 to have lunch while reading her mood. She would probably tell us something once we started having a nice meal.


    *


    <strong>- Bam!  Bam! p p p p p! p p p p p! p p p p p!</strong>


    As soon as we entered Room 105, we were met with the sound of firecrackers and a loud round of apuse even though there was no-one in the room!


    <strong>/Esteemed guests! Congrattions!</strong>


    <strong>We, the staff of this Hotel, give sincere words of congrattions on you discovering your first treasure. Unending trials! Vanished teammates! Hopelessly stronger foes! And oveing all those adversities to reach the treasure! You have proven that you are most definitely the heroes that we had been waiting for.</strong>


    <strong>Of course, we have no doubts on the capabilities of everyone else either. Every invited guest has the qualification to obtain a treasure and we are very d to be able to observe your uing epic poems.</strong>


    <strong>However, as strong as they are, the treasures are very difficult to use. For the next 3 days, how about you take a rest and get used to the treasure? Sometimes you need a good rest for a bigger step forward.</strong>


    <strong>Todays Surprise Event: Party Time! Will now begin.</strong>


    <strong># The Party Time willst for 3 days and there will be nothing dangerous happening during that period. Also, there seems to be a secret in this Hotel that only shows itself during the Party Time!/</strong>


    A big set of announcements shed on the disy screen of Room 105. Everyone was speechless for about 30 seconds and


    p p p! Everyone. Say thanks to Songee. Hurry up!


    Eunsol-noona brightened up the mood in an instant as everyone started a bustling celebration. At the start, there was a look of fatigue and fluster on Songees face but before long she blushed and returned to the same Songee we knew of.


    Only after summoning the food and rowdily digging into it did we start asking her questions.


    So, Miss Dark-mode Songee. Please exin what happened to us plebeians.


    Unni! What are you even saying! What is with this Miss Dark-mode thing?


    Then lets go with Fallen Songee mode. I was so scared that I couldnt even say anything to you until then.


    The story she unravelled was very shocking.


    A human farm created by aliens using maniptive tools to extract the intellect of humans  the spaceship with the farm and a divine transcendent being acting as the engine. Songee talked about receiving the help of that transcendent to escape and acquire the inheritance.


    And she also exined the trials she had to go through.


    Meeting the coborator in a ce where countless intellectual beings were being tortured forever with only their heads; and crushing the heart of the administrator by massacring baby Athanasias in a ce filled with those babies. We were already breathless after hearing up to that point but thest trial she talked about was fighting us who had been under the control of those aliens.


    Everyone was struck speechless.


    Songee didnt say much about how she overcame those trials and we also didnt want to bother asking her about how she killed each one of us so we glossed over it. Looking back, she was also the one killing us at the Mansion of Fear.


    She was like a terrifying murderer in all the scenarios. That was what I thought, but I obviously didnt voice out what was in my mind.


    When the atmosphere of the room turned shivering cold, Eunsol-noona organised the situation as always.


    Now! Anyways, lets put aside the things of the past and decide on what we have to do now!


    ording to the announcement, we will be having the next 3 days off. I think our first job is to follow the announcement and spend some time to have everyone understand that inheritance, I said.


    I agree. Anyone else?


    There will be nothing dangerous during the Party Time and there is a secret that only shows itself during the Party Time Well, its pretty much telling us to explore the Hotel right? I guess we have to take a little rest and go out on another exploration Jinchul-hyung added, which was soon followed by Eunsol-noona.


    Theres quite a lot of things we have to do. We have to understand the inheritance and explore the Hotel. Is there anything else that we have to discuss?


    Something to discuss  actually, there had been something bugging my mind ever since I looked at the system window after waking up.


    Its nothing crazy but the date that shows up in my system window says Day 13. It was Day 10 when we went in, and ourst day as an animal was Day 13. The rest of the days havent been counted at all, but Im not even sure how important the dates are either.


    Well, if we think about it simply, maybe it stops counting after you die, Kain? In the first ce, we cant see it and youre the only one that can see it, right? Maybe it doesnt reflect the time after either you die or you fail.


    Was that the case? It was a bit ambiguous but sounded usible.


    Lets reorganise what we know about our blessings. Its quite simple for me  I just get stronger and have good stamina. Its very simple and straight-forward but there seems to be some abilities that are quiteplicated and ambiguous said Jinchul-hyung.


    I replied.


    Well, mine is the system window. One that sometimes gives me warning rms when Im in danger.


    Its the market for me, Eunsol-noona said. We bought tonfa, capsaicin and bandages until now. Right! I was about to say this, but you know how it says Day 13 ording to Kains system window? My market seems to be running based on that same time period. What I mean is, I can buy 3 per week and tomorrow is Day 14. We have to buy 3 useful tools between today and tomorrow. One of them will definitely be another bottle of capsaicin. You guys can think about the other two.


    My Fortune blessing hasnt done anything ever since the Strange Family maybe it has a long cooldown.


    I think I know what Affinity is. Its probably something that allows me to be liked by beings that are not human


    You guys know mine, yeah? Communication.


    *


    We had a rtively clear idea about 6 of the blessings.


    Han Kain (20)  Wisdom -> System Window. Warning when in danger.


    Cha Jinchul (31)  Courage -> Enhancement of physical abilities.


    Yu Songee (17)  Affinity -> Liked by supernatural existences.


    Park Seungyub (14)  Fortune -> Literally about good luck. Might have a long cooldown.


    Lee Eunsol (32)  Wealth -> HP Market


    Kim Mooksung (64)  Communication -> A Discord channel inside the brain. Severe limitation in conversation.


    And there were 2 blessings that we still werent sure about.


    Elena Ivanova (23)  Justice


    Kim Ahri (16)  Allusion


    I think I had an idea of what Allusion was about.


    Ahri herself was pretending like she was clueless, but I still remembered the hypnosis she cast on me at the Mansion of Fear. That was probably what Allusion was. After organising what we currently knew about the Hotel and ourselves and finishing our lunch, we decided to check the inheritance before exploring the Hotel.


    *


    The first thing we discovered while testing the functions of the bracelet  Diverse Perspectives was that Songee was the only one who could use the bracelet. She took it off and gave it to other people but it couldnt do anything once it was on someone elses wrist. Only the rightful owner was able to use it.


    Was that a characteristic that would be shared for the future treasures as well? Or was it unique to this bracelet?


    When Songee started using the bracelet on us, we were all bbergasted.


    *


    What in the heck was going on? Weve been going around and testing the abilities of the bracelet for like hours but it was shocking every single time.


    In front of my eyes, Eunsol-noonas face increased in size by threefold before suddenly being reced with Jinchul-hyungs face. I nkly tried to touch him only to realise something.


    No-one had been standing there in the first ce.


    I turned around in a fluster and found myself standing in a forest. I turned back again and this time, I was floating in the sky with clouds everywhere.


    This was the power of Diverse Perspectives.


    <strong>Like what its name suggested, itpletely shifted our perception of the world!</strong>


    Even when I tried to somehow retaliate against it, I just didnt know how I was even supposed to fight back. Did every one of those Athanasias or whatever carry these bracelets around? It was a ridiculously supernatural item in our eyes but Songee herself had an unamused look on her face.


    Its a bit different from when I was using it on the spaceship.


    Different? What do you mean?


    It feels like there are a lot more restrictions in ce, she said.


    ???


    Wait, you mean this is with restrictions?


    It was already very different when I was using itpared to the Athanasias but that was because I wasnt a good user. Even aside from that, it became a lot harder to usepared to the one I had been using. The movement function is blocked as well.


    The movement function might have been limited to the spaceship.


    Maybe.


    And what do you mean by harder to use?


    I have to concentrate way too much to use this. To the point that I cant use this for more than 10 minutes.


    Noona! Maybe thats a nerf? Seungyub interjected.


    Nerf?


    Even in games, there are some super amazing weapons that the boss uses, right? When you defeat the boss and it drops that item, they sometimes nerf it tremendously to make sure it doesnt break the bnce of the game.


    Funny but thats probably correct.


    Eunsol-noona showed her agreement and after that, Songee opened her mouth again while looking around.


    Ill test it onest time. This time Ahri?


    *


    <strong> Kim Ahri</strong>


    It was mysterious. And made me very jealous.


    <strong>The mind maniptive tool of aliens.</strong>


    It was on an iparable level to the<strong> sloppy toys </strong>used at the Administration. The remarkable thing was that there was pretty much zero cost despite that ridiculous ability, which waspletely different from the terrible toys used by the Administration which required litres of blood, your lifespan or were as big as buildings and could only show an illusion for 10 seconds.


    The one that this girl had was as small as a bracelet and could y with intellectual beings for 10 minutes and yet the only cost was a slight headache.


    It was because the Hotel constantly gave out ridiculous items like this that the Administration couldnt get rid of their greed and constantly forced agents into the Hotel.


    Everything around me was bing a mess even while I was continuing that line of thought. It suddenly turned into a sea of mes, before bing a frozen wastnd (it even felt cold), and soon there were floating faces of teammates.


    <strong>Should I try retaliating?</strong>


    I had a feeling that I might be able to but I soon decided not to. It would only make things tedious if I made someone with such abilities wary of me.


    The bracelet test seemed to be over. I returned to the room with a flick.


    That was when letters appeared in the air.


    <strong>What exactly are you?</strong>


    <strong>I remember everything.</strong>


    <strong>What are you hiding from us?</strong>


    <strong>I will keep my eyes on you.</strong>


    Ah. Her vignce was already at MAX level. I really wanted to avoid situations like this but what else could I have done? If I didnt force myself to use my abilities at that Farm, I might have killed her and ruined everything.


    Its going to be exhausting to have someone with such powerful abilities wary of me though


    Should I do something that lowers her wariness?


    *


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    Ahris eyes regained their focal points and it seemed that Songees bracelet test was about to end.


    Right when I was thinking of forming a Hotel exploration n with everyone else


    Ahri suddenly gave Songee a massive hug.


    Unni! I love you~~!


    I was lost for words.

 Chapter 39: Party Time! – In Search of the Secret

    Chapter 39: Party Time! ¨C In Search of the Secret


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 14</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong>Tap, tap, tap, tap.</strong>


    My footsteps echoed in the corridor. It was strange how silence made even your footsteps sound a lot louder.


    It was my first time roaming around by myself for such a long time ever since we came to the Hotel. After leaving Room 103 yesterday, we had lunch, a little rest and experimented with Diverse Perspectives the whole day before giving ourselves a break.


    The next day, we started exploring the Hotel early in the morning.


    This wasnt our first time exploring the Hotel but it was the first time we had scattered like this. There were many dangers in the Hotel and we had relied heavily on Sages Advice until now so we had rarely moved around by ourselves.


    But the next two days were officially announced by the Hotel to be days with nothing dangerous happening. If there were no dangers, why would we bother grouping together for the exploration?


    Naturally, we decided to scatter.


    *


    The secret of the Hotel that only gets revealed during the Party Time!.


    Where was it? I wondered.


    Everyone except for me headed to the basement. Unlike the 1st floor which only had the front reception, the main entrance and the corridor with 7 guest rooms, there were over 100 different rooms in the basement. And each of those rooms had massive entertainment facilities that werent supposed to fit in a room.


    Zoos, botanical gardens, a bar, aputer room, billiards, a pool, a photo room and a bathhouse: even apart from these, there were also absurd ones that had the names amusement park and hiking.


    What was hiking even about? Was there like a mountain on the other side of the door?


    There was obviously a higher chance of the secret being hidden somewhere within that vast space so everyone headed down to the basement. But I thought there at least had to be one person looking through the 1st floor so I remained behind.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 14</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Floor Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)</strong>


    <strong>Room 103 (Cursed Room  Athanasias Human Farm  Resolved!)</strong>


    <strong>Room 104 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Room 106 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Room 107 (???)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I opened the Floor Information tab. It seemed that Room 103 was seriously justpletely over judging from the word, <strong>Resolved!</strong>.


    I walked to Room 103. What would happen if I went back into a resolved room? Would I suddenly be dropped into outer space or something? Although I was a bit concerned, Sages Advice didnt say anything so I slowly opened the door of Room 103.


    Inside there was nothing. It was nothing but an empty room with a door, with no sign of any secrets being hidden in this ce. The moment our party cleared Room 103, it seemed that this room had be meaningless. Walking a little further, I walked past Room 104 and Room 105, which we always went into, as well as Room 106, and came across Room 107 which only had the number te.


    I remembered the words I heard from Ahri a few days ago.


    <strong><em>We call it the Gate Room. It is a room that can only be entered when you achieve some level of aplishment in every other room, and clearing it lets you go over to the next floor.</em></strong>


    <strong>Gate Room</strong>


    Room 107 was probably that Gate Room. There was no door for Room 107, and there was only a number te. My guess was that the door would appear after we achieved something in the rooms 101 to 106.


    After that, I walked to the end of the corridor but in the end, I couldnt find anything. There were only walls except for the guest rooms. Its not like I could enter the Cursed Rooms by myself and I figured there was nothing in the corridor.


    I should probably group up with everyone in the basement after checking the front desk and the main entrance.


    !


    As soon as I turned around, I found Ahri who hade without even letting out a single footstep.


    Uwat! You surprised me there. Why are you walking around so quietly?


    Did you find anything?


    I was now used to her straight-forward manner of speech which she only used when we were alone.


    I opened Room 103 but there was nothing inside, and Room 107 is probably the Gate Room. Thats pretty much it.


    So you mean you havent found anything, shemented.


    Yeah. Looking back, it seemed you knew quite a lot about the Hotel. Do you know what the secret is that only gets revealed during the Party Time? It would be a lot easier if we knew what we were supposed to look for in the first ce  whether it be a thing, a person or a room.


    I never hide necessary pieces of information. The reason Im not exining things to you is either because I dont know, or because they are unnecessary and meaningless. Besides, the Administration only knows the tip of the iceberg about the Hotel. And as for the answer to your question, it could be anything. It could be a treasure, a new teammate, enhancement of your blessings, or going to the next floor without breaking through the Gate Room. There are tons of secrets and you know some yourself.


    I immediately thought of the words, Room of Resurrection, and Buddha.


    Are you talking about the Room of Resurrection and the Buddha? I asked.


    The Room of Resurrection, yes, but Buddha is something we also didnt know about. This is my first time hearing it. You can guess what the Room of Resurrection is just from hearing the name, right? Its a room that gives another chance to participants who lost their opportunity after failing at the hotel once weplete various procedures. Those procedures themselves apparently change every time but


    Do you know more secrets?


    There are too many. And its meaningless for me to tell you because they change every time. In the end, we have to look for them ourselves.


    There were a lot of things I heard from her, but that only increased the number of questions in my mind. In the end, it seemed that there was no other choice apart from looking for the secrets ourselves.


    *


    Ahri continued following from behind while I was walking towards the front desk, so I threw her a question.


    Are you not going to go to the basement? Theres nothing apart from the front desk and the main entrance on the 1st Floor. Wouldnt it be better for you to go to a wider area instead?


    Theres no guarantee that the secret will be hidden in a wide area. I just have a feeling that there is something on the first floor.


    We soon arrived at the front desk.


    Appearance-wise, it wasnt that different from what people would often think of when thinking of the front desk of a hotel. The only difference was that there was no-one. There was a reception desk that became meaningless due to having no-one inside and on top of that was arge disy screen.


    <strong> Click</strong>


    ????


    <strong> Click</strong>


    The surroundings turned pitch dark along with the sound of a button, and turned bright again after another click. I turned in confusion and found Ahri ying around with the light switch.


    <strong> Click</strong>


    <strong> Click  Click  Click</strong>


    Youre not a kid anymore, so how about you stop ying with things like that?


    After saying that, I began touching and opening a few things. When I went to the other side of the front desk and opened a drawer, I found a memo that read <strong>87439124</strong>. It was a strange array of 8 numbers.


    Wait, this


    I instinctively shoved the memo into my pocket and nced at Ahri, and was relieved after realising that Ahri was still looking at the switch next to the main entrance.


    My heart raced. This set of numbers was clearly a password. It couldnt have been a coincidence that it was hidden in the drawers of the front desk.


    <strong>The Escape Button on the elevator  they said to enter the Password while wearing the Protective Suit.</strong>


    I quickly erased it from my mind. In the end, it was meaningless without the Protective Suit.


    <strong><em>Actually, was it correct for me to hide this from everyone?</em></strong>


    *


    I couldnt find anything else from the reception desk. All the other drawers were empty and I couldnt see anything hidden even when I red at them.


    Was there something near the main entrance? It was just arge door and looked like there were less things to hide than the front desk and yet Ahri was constantly roaming around the gates.


    Is there something there? I asked.


    Come here and have a look at this.


    Did she really find something?


    I walked up and she immediately turned the light off.


    <strong> Click.</strong>


    Ah! Can you please stop with these


    Im not messing around so just look.


    The moment she turned the light off, the entire first floor turned dark.


    Only after some thought did I notice the strange thing that was going on!


    It was a massive mistake to consider it natural for things to turn dark when the lights were off. The main entrance was made of ss  outside the ss was the sky and on the sky was the sun!


    <strong>That meant sunlight should be seeping in from outside the ss door even when the lights were off inside the Hotel.</strong>


    However, the outside of the Hotel also turned pitch ck when the lights were off.


    <strong>It was as if the other side of the ss door changed to a different location with the flick of the switch.</strong>


    Do we have to open the main entrance? I asked and Ahri replied.


    I wasnt sure, and thats why I was waiting for you.


    What do you mean? They said there was nothing dangerous happening today, right?


    I think that depends on how you see it, said Ahri. It probably means that the Hotel wont create any dangerous things for us, but what if we go to a ce that is already dangerous? Would there be no danger? I dont think so. If that was the case, we should be able to go into a Cursed Room during every Party Time and resolve them with ease but there is no way they would let us do that.


    So youre saying theres a chance that the other side of the door could be a ce that is already dangerous?


    Its possible. You try grabbing on the door knob.


    I slowly brought my hand closer to the door while paying attention to the advice of my system window. Nothing popped up but based on the experiences at the pool, I couldnt fully trust in Sages Advice. The advice was only activated right before the danger  for example, if a monster was to attack a minute after we entered a room, the advice wont give out any warnings when opening the door.


    Firstly, lets bring everyone else.


    Ahri had a look of slight disapproval on her face but she didnt stop me from going down to the basement.


    *


    <strong> Click  Click</strong>


    Youre right. How did you find something like this? I guess we were just wasting time in the basement. Eunsol-noona said after hitting the light button a few times.


    Did you not find anything, noona?


    Nn. In the basement, we sometimes gathered and talked about all the ces we searched but its just too big. In fact, I went into hiking and got lost, so the other people had toe looking for me.


    Anyway, lets try going in. Well have to see with our own eyes after all. Let me take the lead.


    Jinchul-oppa. Wait a second.


    Saying that, Songee stopped Jinchul-hyung from going in and did something.


    Did you do something? I dont feel anything.


    I solidified the perspective of your senses and stopped the stimulus from being thrown into confusion.


    Sorry, can you say that again with easier words? Im not that smart you see. Jinchul-hyung said, but to be honest, I didnt understand anything either.


    Its like a preparation against something ying around (?) with your senses. Because theres no guarantee that itll be limited to physical risks.


    You can do that too? Thats very helpful.


    I can do one person at a time for a maximum of 10 minutes.


    Ive been thinking countless times after entering the Hotel that we were way too vulnerable to mental attacks and it seemed that we finally had ourselves a counter-measure. Seriously, there was no end to the usefulness of Diverse Perspectives.


    With Jinchul-hyung in the lead who was now strong in both body and mind  although momentarily  we headed to the strange location that was formed outside the main entrance after the lights were turned off.


    And we fell as soon as we took a step forward.


    <strong>[Congrattions on reaching the Sanctum of Blessings!]</strong>

 Chapter 40: Sanctum of Blessings, Entering Room 104

    Chapter 40: Sanctum of Blessings, Entering Room 104


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 14</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor ???, Sanctum of Blessings</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    It was a strange ce.


    Perhaps because it was a sanctum, brilliant light like that of a starlight fell endlessly from the sky. There was a huge aggregation of light and a disy screen that we had seen all across the Hotel.


    At least it didnt feel dangerous.


    Words appeared on the disy screen as we were starting to feel relieved.


    <strong>/Congrattions on reaching the Sanctum of Blessings!</strong>


    <strong>At the Sanctum, you may understand your own blessings and empower them.</strong>


    <strong>However, that will be limited to those who have the qualification./</strong>


    Unlike the usual announcements of the Hotel that confused its readers by adding unnecessary lines upon lines, the announcement of the Sanctum was very short and straight-forward.


    <strong>You can understand and empower blessings. But empowering required a qualification.</strong>


    Shortly after standing around in confusion, everyone understood the situation.


    This doesnt look that dangerous to me. It literally feels like a ce that gives help regarding blessings.


    Understanding and empowering. Theyre both great options, arent they? There are some like me who have a system window that can go, Ah so this is my blessing!, but some blessings arent clear, so I think understanding will be very helpful, and empowering is of course going to be good. I replied.


    Thank goodness. I was so frustrated because I was just given something ambiguous like, Justice without being told anything while everyone else had super powers, said Elena.


    By the way, Jinchul-hyung said. What is this qualification that we need to empower the blessing? Besides, what happens when we empower them in the first ce? Do I be stronger to the point that I can break concrete with bare hands?


    Lets go into that light first. That should tell us something.


    The disy screen changed immediately after everyone entered the cluster of light.


    <strong>1. Understand 2. Empower</strong>


    Two big words appeared in the middle.


    Urged by something unknown, I pushed my hand forward and touched Understand as the screen immediately shed in response. It seemed to be a touch-screen.


    <strong>Han Kain (20)  Wisdom -> Acquire knowledge that assists with survival at the Hotel</strong>


    <strong>Cha Jinchul (31)  Courage -> Enhancement of physical abilities</strong>


    <strong>Yu Songee (17)  Affinity -> Creates an affinity towards beings of chaos</strong>


    <strong>Park Seungyub (14)  Fortune -> A periodic manifestation of luck</strong>


    <strong>Lee Eunsol (32)  Wealth -> ess to HP Market and supply</strong>


    <strong>Kim Mooksung (64)  Communication -> A mental connection between participants</strong>


    <strong>Elena (23)  Justice -> Punishment to evil people</strong>


    <strong>Kim Ahri (16)  Allusion -> Hypnosis of self and others</strong>


    Most of them were the same as what we had assumed.


    Wisdom, Courage, Affinity, Fortune and Wealth werent very different from what we had predicted, and Allusion wasnt too different either.


    As expected, what everyone was most interested in was Justice.


    Punishment to evil people?


    Miss Elena? Do you have any clues about what this means?


    I have no idea, she replied. We already met a lot of evil at the Hotel but I never received any abilities that could let me punish them.


    I raised my thoughts.


    I think I have an idea. Its not evil beings but evil people, meaning that they at least have to be existences that look like humans, right? Looking back, Athanasias werent humans and the family of farmers werent evil at all, so thats probably why it didnt activate.


    Eunsol-noona rebutted with a question,


    As you said, Kain, Room 103 the Human Farm might be because there was no evil person, but what about Room 101, the Strange Family? They must have been evil.


    And even in Room 102, the Mansion of Fear, thest person Elena met  the possessed Songee  was definitely an evil back then.


    Room 103 was easy to understand but I wasnt sure about why Justice wasnt activated in rooms 101 and 102. We were keeping our silence when Ahri opened her mouth.


    Maybe its only when you perceive it yourself?


    You mean Elena needs to be aware that the opponent is an evil person?


    It was possible.


    In Room 101 the Strange Family, her mind had been distorted and it was impossible to make a normal judgement, which was why she couldnt perceive it. In Room 102, she died during her sleep so she probably didnt have the time to perceive the evilness of the possessed Songee.


    Arent there way too many restrictions for my blessing then? Its hard to even tell what happens in this Hotel.


    Noona! Seungyub said with a shout. Think about it this way. This Hotel is a bit like a game. If there are a lot of conditions, that means you will be super strong when all those conditions are met. Because thats how bnce works!


    Bnce.


    He was probably right. If our assumptions were correct, it meant that Elenas blessings were a lot harder to activate than the other ones.


    Considering how difficult it was to meet the requirements, it would only make sense for it to be very powerful once all those conditions were fulfilled.


    Aftering to that conclusion, I pressed the next button of the disy.


    <strong>2. Empower</strong>


    <strong>You may empower Park Seungyub, Han Kain and Yu Songee. Would you like to proceed? (Yes / No)</strong>


    There were only names of 3 people, with no other names on the list. Everyone understood what the qualification was as soon as we looked at the 3 names.


    It was that you needed an immense contribution to the escape / resolution of a Cursed Room!


    In Room 101, Seungyub escaped by himself,


    Room 102 was honestly pretty much done by myself,


    And Room 103 was resolved by Songee.


    Thats a bit of a shame. I did use my brain as much as possible every time but I guess it has to be those 3 people anyway.


    Try clicking it. Lets see how the empowering works.


    I immediately clicked on yes.


    <strong>/Empowering in progress  Complete!/</strong>


    !!!


    The orb of light that had been brightening up the centre of the Sanctum suddenly struck Seungyub, Songee and me.


    I immediately felt my consciousness fading away from my body.


    *


    Up.


    Up and up.


    Ahh, was I flying in the skies?


    Was this how it felt to be a bodiless soul?


    Without a body restricting me, my soul was endlessly soaring high up. Rather than a physical sense of the word, up, it was an ascent in a more fundamental sense of the word.


    <strong>I was reaching a ce that truly transcended the ground.</strong>


    And that existed nowhere.


    At one point, my soul stopped going up.


    And  arge bird was standing in front of me.


    An owl.


    Looking closer, I realised it looked familiar. It looked simr to the sculpture I picked up on the night beforeing into the Hotel.


    <strong><em>It has been very disappointing recently.</em></strong>


    Was it talking to me?


    <strong><em>I was thinking you werent a fool, but to think you couldnt even notice the simple trick of those Athanasias.</em></strong>


    Was this about Room 103?


    <strong><em>However you werent that bad at the Mansion, so overall, I will say you stand a chance.</em></strong>


    What was this bird, and why was it giving me an evaluation?


    <strong><em>Lets say I am your sponsor. You will see me a few more times</em></strong>


    <strong><em>I will give you a bit more. Hope you earn yourself an Inheritance by the time youe to this ce again.</em></strong>


    It was a short conversation  or rather, a one-sided conveyance of words.


    After that, my consciousness plummeted from the endlessly high ne


    *


    <strong>[Han Kain (20)  Wisdom -> You may now see the locations of your teammates.]</strong>


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 15</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I checked immediately after waking up in bed. It was Day 15.


    Absurdly enough, that short period of time had gotten rid of an entire day.


    I wanted to spend my sweet 3-day holiday as nicely as possible but


    Day 13 went by with our bracelet experiments; the morning of Day 14 was gone due to the exploration and the evening of Day 14 and the morning of Day 15 were all gone in the blink of an eye.


    If I heard somepliments and stuff, I wouldnt be feeling this down either.


    <strong>What a disappointment. Get an Inheritance before youe next time.</strong>


    It was utterly dumbfounding to hear such an annoying evaluation.


    Did I ask them to kidnap me to such a strange ce or something? I was about to swear when I suddenly noticed the new function in my system window.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 15</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Location Information (!)]</strong>


    I checked just in case and it said everyone was currently in Floor 1, at the Room of Rest. Would this be more specific after entering a Cursed Room?


    This definitely was a helpful ability.


    It just happened to be mealtime, so I headed to the dining room and found everyone.


    Hiya! Youre finally out. Do you know how surprising it was to see the three of you suddenly copse? I carried all of you guys back! And Seungyub and Songee woke up ages ago, so I was wondering what was taking you so long.


    So Kain, did you get anything new? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Yes. Now I have a button called Teammate Location Information that tells me about where everyone is. Right now, it only has the rooms but I assume we will have more specific locations once we go into a Cursed Room.


    Unlike me who could immediately check the difference, Songee and Seungyub tilted their heads when exining about their change.


    Hmm I cant say anything because there are no beings of chaos next to us right now.


    I just got an opaque window. It says <strong>[98%]</strong>.


    Jinchul-hyung replied to Seungyub.


    So hitting [100%] is probably going to refill your cooldown. Maybe you can choose when to be lucky? 98% is pretty much back to full.


    After a slight conversation about the changes to our blessings, I also joined them for ate dinner.


    It was depressing.


    I was forced toe to this ce and yet was pointed out for being bad, and one of my rest days was just gone.


    Even the military wont be this heartless.


    *


    After the meal, we started a full-on discussion.


    The agenda was, What should we order through the HP Market?


    I said this yesterday, but I will make one of them capsaicin. I gathered all the sprays I saw and made four, but we dont have the capsaicin itself.


    Are we going to order a weapon for the remaining two? Like my tonfa?


    Thats debatable. Whatever it is, a physical tool would probably be less effective than a capsaicin spray for girls, and besides, there are plenty of ornamented des here. Even Kains silver dagger is something we picked up at the Hotel.


    She had a point.


    It wasnt as if we could buy a gun or a sword through the HP Market. The most we could get was probably a kitchen knife.


    They werent any better than the ornamented daggers and des that were located throughout the Hotel.


    Ahri broke her silence with a word.


    Lighter.


    A lighter?


    I think something that can help light a fire will be helpful in a lot of ways. And I didnt see any lighters around the Hotel.


    Thats not a bad idea. Then for thest Eunsol-noonas words were cut off by Jinchul-hyungs interjection.


    Noonim. Its not like were going to light a cigarette, so how about we get a blow torch since we can use that somewhat like a weapon as well?


    Hyung. Dont you think a blow torch is too hard to carry around?


    Lets make it a gas lighter then.


    Whats a gas lighter?


    You know, the long ones they use at the BBQ ces. Youll recognise it when you see one.


    We talked a bit more afterwards but couldnte up with anything good for the third item.


    Since capsaicin was a consumable, we decided to order two bottles of that and a lighter, and that marked the end of that day.


    The next day, on the morning of Day 16, we entered Room 104.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 16</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong>RINNGGGGGG~~~~</strong>


    A familiar uniform.


    My teammates were looking around with nk looks on their faces among crowds of countless student NPCs.


    Me  a former high school graduate that hadnt yet entered university  from one of the few golden ages of a persons life


    <strong>I returned to high school. To one without any hope called Hotel High School.</strong>

 Chapter 41: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (1)

    Chapter 41: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 16</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <em>There have been many attempts to define what music is in terms of the specific att Looking at the context of this sentence, we can decipher</em>


    <strong>This was horrible.</strong>


    <em>A) The equation f(x)  x = 0 has two different roots.</em>


    <em>B) The equation f(x)x = 0 has two different roots.</em>


    <em>If f(0)</em>


    <strong>Please stop</strong>


    <em>Aspensation for supplying the royal family and the government withmodities, (A) received a monopoly on a specific market product. ording to Six Exemr Articles of Law that was published in the middle of the 19th Century-</em>


    <strong>I just finished my entrance exam, you fuckers!!</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    Ahh why was this happening to me?


    I already sat my college exam, so why the hell did I have to be imprisoned in this boarding school with a ridiculous name like Hotel High School to study for <strong>another </strong>entrance exam?


    Room 104 was a terrible hell from the get go.


    It seemed that our team had been divided into students and teachers depending on our age. The teachers were preparing the tests while students were tasked with studying for them.


    <strong>Me, Elena, Yu Songee, Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub -> Students</strong>


    <strong>Kim Mooksung, Cha Jinchul, Lee Eunsol -> Teachers</strong>


    That was how it went but the craziest part was the thing that had happened to us, the Student Team.


    This crazy Hotel ignored our actual ages and modified our bodies to all be that of a senior high school student. In other words even Seungyub who had just hit his 2nd year of middle school had been forcibly grown into a 3rd grader of high school!


    Thanks to that, Seungyub who looked very distant from the life of studying was sitting next to me with a bigger body but soulless eyes.


    In any case, what exactly was the risk in this room? For starters, studying for the entrance exam itself was already detestable but finding it hard to study wouldnt physically kill us so there was probably a different risk factor.


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Find anything?</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Studying is hard.</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Yes</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): T.T</em>


    <em>Elena (Student): Q.Q</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): There are tests everyday. I am writingnguage tests.</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Apparently an athletics carnival is in 2 days.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Damn animals.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): School Rules are strange. Lack of academic ability = punishment at the Old Main Building.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Old Main Building?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Its an abandoned building behind the one were in.</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Songee): Why?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): No idea. No exnation. Everyone thinks its normal.</em>


    Old Main Building.


    It definitely was strange. It wasmon to be scolded and told off for having low grades at a test, but getting sent to a different building was very rare, and I had never heard of any school doing something so tedious*.


    In any case, a test everyday Thats ama~zing. As expected of a selective school!


    *


    We were all ignoring the lessons and focusing our minds on the conversation going on inside our heads when a sudden roar reached our ears.


    Bamm!


    A chalk flew across the sky.


    Uahk! S, sir. What are you


    <strong>Park Seungyub! Are you not going to focus on the lesson!? I know what youre thinking about; do you think its my first time seeing guys like you? Instead of studying during school time, you waste your life having stupid delusions in your head, dont you? Come out right now!</strong>


    Seungyub who couldnt control his facial expression the most was immediately summoned to the board.


    What should we do?


    Actually, more importantly, what was the teacher going to do? Was he going to send him straight to that Old Main Building?


    N, no sir. I was listening to the lesson. You saw it wrong.


    <strong>Huh? You dare say that to me! Then how about you answer this question for us! Weve been talking about Yeongjo [King of Joseon Dynasty in Korea] for a while so you should know if youve been focusing on the lesson. When did he start his reign?</strong>


    ? That wasnt a historical event or anything. How the hell were we supposed to remember the year a king came to power? What kind of


    1724, Seungyub blurted out.


    The teacher suddenly turned quiet in the middle of his fit.


    Did he get it correct?


    The teacher gave another question with a voice that wasparatively softer than before.


    <strong>When is the year he killed Sado, the Crown Prince?</strong>


    1762.


    The teacher turned silent again.


    Did he get that correct as well? How does that even make sense? Did he remember the entire Korean history or something?


    <strong>Hmm. So you were listening to the lesson. My bad for that mistake. But still, you should raise your book tall and have your eyes wide open with your soul inside! Youre looking around everywhere with a dull gaze; so of course others are going to mistake you okay? Now! Lets focus on the lesson again.</strong>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): What was that?</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Are you a genius or something?</em>


    <em>Elena (Student): Do Korean students usually remember all the years like that?</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Normal people wouldnt, unless theyre aiming toe first in the country.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Use less words. What happened?</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Seungyub got a history question correct.</em>


    Everyone was talking in excitement but Seungyub, the one who was suddenly being considered a genius, stayed silent.


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): He probably used blessing.</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Yes</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): What do you mean</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): When the teacher asked the question, a window popped up saying [100%] and asked me whether I was going to use the Blessing of Fortune or not, so I thought Yes!. Nothing changed so I shouted a random number but they were all correct.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): You consumed a blessing with such a long cooldown on something like that? Why did you do that?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): No. This is important.</em>


    Noona was right. This wasnt just Seungyub wasting his blessing  he wasnt the one that actively looked to turn the blessing on.


    He said he had a prompt that went something like, Would you like to use the Blessing of Fortune, and there was no way a prompt like that would suddenly pop out for no reason.


    <strong>It only popped up because it was a crisis!</strong>


    If he got the questions wrong, he probably would have been punished at the Old Main Building.


    And that allowed us to confirm one thing  going to the Old Main Building was a risk factor.


    *


    After that, we pretended like we were reading our books and soon passed the painful lesson time.


    During lunch, the entire group of students gathered together.


    Hyung! Noona! What do we do? I looked at the book but I have no idea what any of them mean!


    Its strange hearing you call me noona with that bulky body Anyway, what should we do? Do you have any ideas, Kain-oppa? asked Songee.


    For starters, judging from how the choice popped up immediately after the question, it seems that <strong>going to the Old Main Building</strong> will be dangerous. I said as Ahri followed up.


    So I guess everyone needs to focus on studying~


    Hmm. Songee said. Sounds like youre very confident or something, Ahri.


    Oh, no~! Im not confident. Im just describing the situation.


    Huh? Just then, it felt as if there was a spark between Songee and Ahri. Was I overthinking it?


    Elena broke her silence and opened her mouth.


    The tests at the end of the lessons are the biggest problem. Honestly speaking, I dont think Ill ever make it through the tests. I cant understand any of the subjects at all. Korean and Korean History is one thing because Im not Korean, but even Maths and English are way too difficult. Is this how the lessons are usually like in Korean schools?


    No. Umm I think Im the only one here with experience in taking a college exam. In my opinion, the curriculum in this school is even beyond the highly specialised schools, and I bet even the top few students nation-wide would have trouble following these lessons. I assume the tests after the lessons will be an incredible challenge.


    Everyone turned silent.


    Even though no-one bothered asking each other about school marks after entering the Hotel, I would imagine Songee and Seungyub werent that good at studying while Elena was a foreigner.


    Looking at how things were, it looked like everyone in the Students Team except for me would be wiped out in the next test.


    Seungyub opened his mouth first.


    How about we run away together? Like how I ran and somehow escaped the Strange Family.


    In that room, our houses were in a residential district that was connected to the outside but this ce is an isted boarding school. Also, the security is strict around the gates and I dont think it will be easy to escape from this ce. I raised my thoughts as Seungyub then spoke of another n.


    Then since my body is also a lot bigger, how about we bash the teachers up and


    Wait, wait. Ahri interjected. Can you be quiet for now? Didnt you learn anything at the farm? The teachers here arent the strange phenomena of this school. Theyre just teachers of a selective preparatory school.


    A single remark from Ahri was enough to make Seungyub lower his head and shrink in dejection. Even after bing bigger, it seemed that he still couldnt do anything in front of Ahri.


    Of course, now was not the time to worry about that.


    And I could also understand where Seungyub wasing from.


    At this rate, arge number of us will fail the hopelessly difficult tests and be wiped at the dangerous Old Main Building!


    We were silent when Ahri opened her mouth.


    There is no need for us to go from the front.


    What do you mean?


    Lets cheat.


    Everyone turned quiet again.


    Or what. Were you seriously going to study for college exams at the Hotel?


    No but how are we going to cheat?


    What do you mean how  we have a conversation tab in our heads so whats the concern? The Teachers side is making the tests up arent they? They can just upload the answers.


    Ah It seemed that I was under the impression that I had be an actual senior high school student because of the school uniform and the ssroom setting.


    Ahri was right.


    <strong>Why did we have to study at a ce like this?</strong>


    <strong>We could just cheat.</strong>


    We were feeling enlightened and Ahri quickly uploaded her idea.


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Teachers. Attention.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): ?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Old Main Building deemed dangerous. Need to pass tests. Please upload answers to your questions.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): OK. But we cant upload everything.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): What do you mean?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): I am Language, Cha is Phys Ed, Kim is Korean History. So we only know the answers to Language and Korean History.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Please upload those at least.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): OK.</em>


    Thanks to the cooperation of these not-so-good teachers, we had a slightly better situation in our hands. There probably wasnt going to be a written exam for Physical Education, and we will have answers for Language and Korean History.


    However, we still had many serious problems in our hands.


    What were we going to do for Maths, English and other subjects?


    I was racking my brain but suddenly found Ahri staring deeply at my face.


    What is it? Is there something you want to tell me?


    Im just thinking how everything is now up to you, oppa.


    What?


    <strong>You are the only college exam veteran in our group  the future college student who passed into K University. You are our hope.</strong>


    They all looked at me with hope and dream in their eyes.


    <strong>I ended up pulling my hair out.</strong>

 Chapter 42: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (2)

    Chapter 42: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 16</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Had I ever studied this hard in my entire life? I probably hadnt even been this diligent for my actual college exam.


    That was natural though, because its not like you died from having bad marks at the college exam!


    *


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Language  43211 53422 15323 12432</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Korean History  52452 12431 11123 14123</em>


    *


    We had the answers for Language and Korean History. Now, it was time for me to work my ass off answering questions.


    I opened the test paper.


    <strong>Question 1. The two equations, P(x) = 0 and Q(x) = 0 each have 7 and 9 roots. A = [(x,y)  P(x) Q(y) = 0. In P(x) Q(y) = 0, x and y are real numbers. And</strong>


    Ah. The first question was already disgusting.


    Did we seriously have no other approach than this? This didnt seem right no matter how I thought about it


    I wasnt sure. We couldnt think of any other methods so the only thing we could do was focus on the problems in our hands and survive.


    50 minutes went by. With less than 10 minutes in our hands, I uploaded all the answers.


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Maths  21223 53121 45121 33315</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Question 13 is 3, not 1.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Not sure about Question 16. Is it 3?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Think so.</em>


    At least I wasnt the only one solving questions. It was a bit of a relief.


    I was racking my brain and solving the tests when a problem urred during the English exam.


    <em>Han Kain (Student): English  23111 45231 13522 3  BIIKKK.</em>


    <strong>We ran out of words!</strong>


    I at least shared up to Question 16 so as for thest 4 questionsI could only leave them in their hands.


    *


    Woah Hyung. Seriously, that was amazing!


    Thank you oppa.


    If not for you, Kain-ssi, we probably would have all met at the Old Main Building.


    Good work~. But I think Question 11 for English was wrong.


    Everyone was saying thanks but thestment from Ahri put me in a slightly bad mood. It didnt matter though. All we had to do was survive in this strange Hotel.


    Even though I wanted to have a strategy meeting after this, we didnt have time. The bell rang for us to return to our dormitories as soon as the exams were done without even the time to say anything else to each other.


    This annoying boarding school, Preparatory Selective Hotel High School had such a strict supervision over the personal lives of students that the students werent allowed to do anything apart from studying in their rooms after the tests were over.


    *


    It was quiet.


    How long has it been since I was by myself like this?


    Looking back, before Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri joined our party, we were each locked in Room 105 just like this. I remembered how we left once an hour to see each other.


    But after we had the messenger ability of Grandpa Mooksung, we tended to say a few things to each other even apart from mealtimes, so there was less of a sense of istion.


    Left alone, I pondered to myself.


    <strong>Did we seriously have no other options?</strong>


    Was surviving day by day while studying our souls out for the college exams the only solution we had? In the end, this was just a temporary measure.


    The only thing we found out until now was that the Old Main Building was a dangerous location.


    Was it okay for us to simply avoid going to the Old Main Building like this?


    I recalled the conversation I had with Eunsol-noona back at the Mansion of Fear.


    <strong>If we all try to survive, we will all die without knowing anything.</strong>


    <strong>Someone needs to go to a dangerous ce to find out something even at the cost of their lives.</strong>


    The Hotel encouraged sacrifice.


    But who did we have to sacrifice?


    The night turned dark. Unable to fall asleep, I tossed and turned on the bed with a painful concern filling my head.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 17</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The messenger turned into utter chaos as soon as it became morning.


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): You damn idiots!!!!</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): What is wrong? Did we get a lot wrong?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): That would have been better off.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): You did very well. Was it Kain or Ahri who solved them?</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Both of us.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): But you idiots, you shouldve changed one or two answers when you were copying the answers!</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Like how is Ahri the only one whos slightly different, with the other 4 having exactly the same answers including the wrong ones?</em>


    <strong>It was doomed. To think they didnt even bother changing the answers up I didnt mention that because I thought it was obvious.</strong>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Hukk!</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Its not Hukk. Its over.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): What happened then?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Theres an uproar that some students are cheating. Miss Eunsol and I tried our best, persisting we had no proof. We somehow went over it but todays test will be short responses.</em>


    Oh no. Short responses.


    We were seriously doomed. <strong>The change was as if they were aiming at the messenger ability.</strong>


    The messenger couldnt evenst us 3 minutes if we started having long conversations.


    We probably couldnt even write the full answers to one or two questions with what we had.


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Thats better. We cant continue doing this. We need to go to the Old Main Building.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): I agree that we should go, but it should be one at a time. Looking at the tests, El / Park / Yu  these 3 are all at risk at once. That is too much.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): I have an idea! Cheating impossible with messenger, but possible with Diverse Perspectives. Teachers, prepare the cheat sheets, give to Songee in secret during tests. Songee sends to us using Diverse Perspectives.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): What has the worlde to. All the young ones are experts at cheating.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Boomer, stop wasting words. I will prep the cheat sheets. Is that possible, Songee?</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Hard to pinpoint people with bracelet when theres a crowd.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Everyone  adjust your seats to make it easier for Songee to target. Practise making sure nothing is in the way between you and Songee during the test.</em>


    <em>Elena (Student): Pretending to drop something and approaching Songee would be good too.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): What kind of students has everyone been? How could everyone be so</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): SHUT YOUR MOUTH</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Ill also be a test supervisor.</em>


    Like that, we nned for the <strong>Super Cheating Project</strong> with the assistance of teachers.


    But we had a problem starting from the first lesson.


    *


    Park Seungyub! Are you having trouble focusing today again? Where the hell are you looking at? Are you even listening to me? Come out and solve this!


    Maths.


    In the end, Seungyub couldnt hide the soulless look on his face and he didnt have any blessings with him either. Naturally, he couldnt even touch the Maths question.


    Hah, this is terrible. Go out and get your punishment!


    As soon as the Maths teacher said the word, punishment, a bulky man walked in from the corridor as if he had been waiting and dragged Seungyub outside.


    Seriously, how could a school like this exist in this world?


    We were all worried about what to do when a message was uploaded by Seungyub.


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): I knew this would happen. Its better that Im alone. I will go and check.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Thats the spirit. Dont worry. Even if you die, you can rest and we will meet outside together.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): See youter!</em>


    <em>Elena (Student): See you soon!</em>


    Everyone lifted up the mood by telling each other that we could see each other again outside.


    Logically speaking, although it was a cold-hearted way of seeing things, Seungyub was correct. Instead of waiting for the test and being wiped out together at the Old Main Building it would be better off for everyone to go one at a time to slowly identify what the problem was.


    *


    While pretending like we were focused on the lesson, we all concentrated on Seungyubs reports that were going off in our heads.


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Nothing so far. Heading to the Old Main Building.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): The building looks very worn out. A strange light leaving from the window.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Im inside. Very quiet. The man guiding me disappeared.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): A strange sound. A song? Ill go in.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): Such a mysterious and beautiful</em>


    <em></em>


    <em></em>


    His reports came to an end.


    What was happening?


    A worn-out building, strange light, song, mysterious and beautiful. It was hard to tell what the risk was just with those elements.


    It seemed that I wasnt the only one who thought that way.


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): No idea.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): Could have been knocked unconscious immediately after entering the room. We need someone with morebat potential.</em>


    She was right.


    Like Seungyub, if the next person was to be beaten down immediately after entering the room again, it was impossible for us to gain much information.


    Someone with morebat power needed to enter the room.


    While we were all drowned in doubt,


    Seungyub returned.


    *


    What happened? You werent saying anything so we were all thinking something happened to you!


    Its nothing, hyung. There was just nothing for me to talk about. Inside there was a teacher, and I got scolded a few times beforeing back. Just some normal nagging about studying, future and all that stuff.


    Didnt you talk about a song?


    It was the teacher humming.


    Seungyub. So are you okay?


    Yes, Elena-noona. I must have worried everyone a lot.


    I think its great that you safely came back though!


    Thats great. Anyway, does this bring us back to square one?


    It was strange.


    Even though it was just a short conversation, everything was very strange. Strange light, song, mysteriousness and beauty  were all those elements really nothing significant?


    Songee, who had been silent ever since his return, stood up from her chair.


    Seungyub. Come here and look at me.


    Yes?


    <strong>Tap.</strong>


    After touching him once, Songee re-opened her mouth.


    Everyone. Please pretend like you dont hear what Im saying. I made sure this thing cant hear me.


    Tension was rising in the air.


    This is not Seungyub. Its hard to exin, but the Perspective ispletely different. Its senses are different from a humans.


    An ominous thought suddenly popped up in my head so I immediately opened my system window.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 17</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Location Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Park Seungyub: Basement of Old Main Building]</strong>


    ording to the system window, Seungyub was currently in the basement of the Old Main Building.


    <strong>If so, then this thing in front of us</strong>

 Chapter 43: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (3)

    Chapter 43: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (3)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 17</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Lets calm down. This Hotel had always been full of monsters, was it not?


    It was just the addition of another one who was pretending to be human. While continuing the conversation on the outside as if nothing was wrong, I essed the messenger in my head.


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Park Seungyub. Can you hear me?</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Park Seungyub. Raise your right hand if you can hear me.</em>


    <em></em>


    There was no response. As expected, <strong>the one in front of us wasnt Seungyub and it couldnt look at the messages</strong>. A longer conversation would only make us reveal more information than necessary and besides, Elena was already having a hard time controlling her expression so I ended the conversation here.


    Well, I opened my mouth. Im going to study for the uing tests! Lets do our own thing for now.


    Ah, test I think Ill go to the Old Main Building again though


    I will get back to English then~.


    Thanks to Ahris help, we somehow ended our conversation without making many mistakes.


    *


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): What is it?</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Park Seungyubs location: Basement of Old Main Building. Fake Seungyub appeared.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Definitely fake?</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Confirmed with bracelet and system window. Definitely fake.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): That is good info. They lock us at the Old Main Building and make fake versions.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Cheat sheet ready?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher) Ready for Korean History / Language. Others are up to you.</em>


    *


    It wasnt easy.


    There was a fundamental problem in our cheating n. The Teachers Team didnt have ess to all the subjects and the avable answers were only for Language and Korean History, meaning that we had to solve the other subjects ourselves.


    Even if I somehow solved mine as hard as I could, showing it to everyone else was another challenge.


    Yesterday, the questions were all Multiple Choice so I could solve and upload them on the messenger for them to copy in the blink of an eye but there were going to be short-responses only today. There would be less than 10 minutes left on the clock even if I were to solve the questions as quickly as possible, so even if Songee borrowed my vision after that, how would she copy all the answers in less than 10 minutes?


    Even if she did, it was hard to convey that all the way to Elena.


    From what I felt yesterday, Ahri might be able to do it by herself but I had a feeling that it will be difficult for Songee and Elena to pass this test.


    The strenuous lessons came to an end, and the inevitable evening test period approached us.


    My predictions went wide off the mark in apletely unexpected direction.


    *


    The Korean History test went by without any problem.


    As soon as the test began, Grandpa Mooksung naturally walked inside and roamed around the ssroom like a test supervisor before casually approaching Songee. Right when he was next to her, Songee used the bracelet on him.


    Although I couldnt exactly see it from where I was, it seemed that Grandpa had looked at the prepared cheat sheet while Songee saw the cheat sheet after borrowing his sight.


    While ncing at them from a distance, I pulled myself back and gave a big stretch in a timely manner and received pieces of information.


    Like a hologram, letters were floating on top of the table. This wasnt my first time having such an experience but the phenomena created by Diverse Perspectives was surprising no matter how many times I was exposed to it. It felt like I was living in a world with a highly developed Augmented Reality system.


    I copied the answers to the answer sheet with a peace of mind and waited until the end of the Korean History exam.


    Man~ I would havee first in the country if I sat my exams like this the whole time!


    *


    Language test.


    I wasnt that worried. In fact, wasnt this going to be the same as the Korean History exam?


    There was definitely less concern.


    I should probably wait around a little until it was my turn. In order to avoid being suspected, I pretended to work on the test.


    Actually, I knew the answers to some of the questions so maybe I should do about 1/3 by myself?


    *


    <strong>A massive disaster befell us.</strong>


    Miss Lee. What is that thing in your hand?


    Sorry?


    What is that? Why are you constantly staring at your hand?


    Eh? There was a piece of paper in my back pocket, so I was just wondering what it


    Stop saying nonsense and just give it to me!


    <strong>It was over. Another teacher that was here to supervise discovered Eunsol-noonas cheat sheet!</strong>


    I, I dont know what youre trying to say all of a sudden.


    I knew youve been strange since yesterday! The students were clearly cheating but you were bbering about how there was no proof and stuff. Isnt that a cheat sheet in your hand?! You were going to give it to a student, werent you?


    No? Did you see me giving it to someone? This is something I wrote yesterday when I was thinking of the sample answers


    Lets not bullshit here. You wrote your sample answers on that tiny piece of paper, brought it to the test venue and just happened to pick it up, is it? Do you think Im a fool!? Oi, Mr. Cha! Can you


    <strong>Eunsol-noonas words sounded like gibberish in my ears as well.</strong>


    I put that in, Jinchul-hyung said.


    Umm, Jinchul-hyung?


    What did you say, Mr. Cha?


    Miss Lee left a piece of paper behind on her table so I thought she forgot something and brought it to her.


    Like Do you think what you are saying makes sense? Logically


    Im telling you I gave it to her. I wonder why you cant trust me. Mr. Han? Are you looking down on me right now? Jinchul-hyung said with a straight look on his face.


    N, no. Of course Im not, Mr. Cha. What Im saying is that a cheat sheet has ended uping into the test venue, so Miss Lee needs to take responsibility for her


    I took it inside so why should Miss Lee take responsibility? Are you stupid, Mr. Han? And you love responsibility dont you? Well, I was the one that brought it inside so I guess I should take the burden. Ill go for punishment, is that okay with you?


    No. Uhh Im not trying to say its your fault, Mr. Cha but


    Never mind. Im a PE teacher so I identally made this mistake. Ill go receive my punishment so dont have a fit at Miss Lee for no reason.


    What was going on? <strong>Jinchul-hyung suddenly stepped up and took the me for himself.</strong>


    It honestly didnt even make sense but after being shouted at by a muscr hulk that was taller than 190 centimetres, Mr. Han who had been bickering with Eunsol-noona fell back in an instant.


    What was Jinchul-hyung thinking about?


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): What have you done?</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Any words of thanks?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Stop your nonsense. Why did you do that?</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Let me use some words. Ive been thinking since yesterday. </em><strong><em>The person going to the Old Main Building needs to know how to fight. </em></strong><em>Students like Seungyub will be struck unconscious and itll be meaningless. I will go have a look at what the real problem is.</em>


    *


    I understood where he wasing from. It logically made sense. We had confirmed through Seungyub that normal people would be immediately neutralised upon entering the building. Elena or me going would be meaningless at this stage in time.


    Jinchul-hyung who was physically strong, Songee who was mentally powerful or Ahri who looked capable on both ends  one of those three had to go to get some piece of information.


    But even so, I realised once again how abnormally tough Jinchul-hyungs mind was.


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Understood. BUT, no guarantee its a physical threat. You cant handle mental attacks either.</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): At least we can tell what type of risk it is.</em>


    *


    We decided on the next n after sharing a few more sentences in our heads.


    Even though Jinchul-hyungs argument sounded absurd, both him  the giver of the cheat sheet  and the receiver of the cheat sheet were saying the same thing on repeat, so there was nothing else the other teachers could say.


    As a result, Eunsol-noonas ridiculous argument that she had just been trying to check the content of the memo that was stuck on her pocket was acknowledged and was cleared of suspicion.


    In the end, it went as Jinchul-hyung had nned and it was decided that he would go to the Old Main Building for punishment. It might be a bitte to say this, but what kind of school makes their teachers go to another building for punishment?


    Before he departed for the Old Main Building, Songee gave her opinion.


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Jinchul. Come to me asap. Can protect your mind like back in the Sanctum. Lasts 10 minutes.</em>


    10 minutes was a bit of an obscure number. If we casted that here, wouldnt it pretty much end by the time he walked to the Old Main Building?


    In any case, we had to do everything we could. Jinchul-hyung left for the Old Main Building after receiving the mental protection spell from Songee.


    One thing fortunate that came out of that confusion was that they glossed over todays test because of all the uproar. Thus, we all returned to our dormitory as Jinchul-hyung then began his reports.


    *


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Running as fast as I can.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Arrived. How long until mind protection ends?</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): 5 minutes.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Light, and a strange song. Im going in.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): An extremely pretty person. She told me to follow, so Im walking down. My head hurts.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Hyung?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Already?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Looks like</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): </em><strong><em>Kuhuhu. Fuck, I just bashed up five to death. My arms fell off. Its horrendous. Do note here. This is not something you can solve bying here! Run away. This is definitely not it! Leave. Get away from this school! Fighting is not an option. My heads gonna explode.</em></strong>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Calm down. Please calm down. We can meet again outside. Better exnation!</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Seungyub woke up.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): ? What do you</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub (Student): </em>AHHHHH, <strong>ThEWOrLDISFuLL<em>OFPaINDESPaIR</em>SoRROw. <em>WeSHaLLGAInPEACeTHRoUGhBEcOMINg</em>ONeE<em>.</em> AhHThELORd<em>HAsGIVeNUS,PEAcEWiLL</em>BEWItHUS.<em>GAThER.GaTHeRTOGETHER.</em>AHHH<em>ILoVEYOuaLL.LETSSInGTOgETHeR.THeWorLD</em>BECOmING<em>ONe</em>THrOUGHHAPpINEs</strong>


    <em>Cha Jinchul (Teacher): I killed Seungyub. Thats all I can do. This looks like a strange religious group. All of you, run away. Im killing myself.</em>


    <em></em>


    That was all we got from him.


    I opened the system window.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 17</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Location Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Park Seungyub: Dead</strong>


    <strong>Cha Jinchul: Dead]</strong>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Both Park Seungyub and Cha Jinchul dead.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Everyone. Get yourself together. We can meet outside.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Almost at conversation limit.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Conclusion. Cha said headache  a mental attack. His arms fell off  also a physical threat. Cha killed five, and said its like a religious group. There must be a lot. Each of you, think on your own.</em>


    That was where we reached our conversation limit today.


    What we currently knew was this.


    1. There is both physical and mental threat at the Old Main Building.


    2. Its a religious group (?) with a lot of people.


    3. Seungyub turned weird in the head. Jinchul-hyung killed five, before killing Seungyub and himself.


    *


    Lets think this through. It was the judgement of the physically strongest person in our group.


    <strong>Fighting was not an option.</strong>


    The fact that he deemed it was impossible to win even after killing five, meant that five was an insignificant numberpared to the rest of them.


    <strong>Unless we somehow had ess to a mass-murdering weapon</strong>


    This ce was impossible to clear with what we currently had.


    That meant we had to focus on escape.


    1. At the Strange Family, distancing ourselves from the strange family  which was the strange phenomenon back then  was acknowledged as an escape.


    2. At the Mansion of Fear, stopping Sir from progressing with the resurrection n of the devil (the strange phenomenon of that time) was considered an escape. In other words, getting rid of the opponents chance to win and making it a draw was also another way to escape.


    So what should we do in this school?


    First off, we had no idea what the<strong> win condition</strong> of the <strong>group at the Old Main Building</strong> (the strange phenomenon of this school) was, so we couldnt use the second method. So maybe we should focus on escaping from this school for the time being?


    *


    The next day, during PE.


    The Triathlon began.

 Chapter 44: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (4)

    Chapter 44: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (4)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 18</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Day 3 at the school.


    I looked at the timetable and found PE.


    At the start, I didnt really care about it, because I thought we would probably y with a ball or something.


    Instead, I was more concerned about the test after the lessons and was relieved after hearing about how there wont be any tests today. The teachers were still skeptical about Eunsol-noona, and it seemed that they would stop the tests until they had a countermeasure for her.


    Thus, we were talking about how we should have some break today and focus thinking about how we should escape this ce through the conversation tab in our heads.


    And that was when the triathlon began.


    *


    Stamina is everything! You guys, do you think sitting at the table and looking at your books all day will increase your marks? That is wrong. An exam is the same as a battle! And what do you think supports you in the heat of battle? Its stamina, and the best exercises to build stamina are swimming, cycling and marathon for sure!


    The fake Cha Jinchul standing on the stage was giving out a heated speech about how important stamina was.


    You see guys, if only I can, I would love to do a whole revamp of your awful stamina. I also do understand that you cannot exercise all day, but I still think that you need a full-on workout at least once a week for a long-term benefit to your stamina and college exams. All~ the other excellent teachers agreed with me.


    Where exactly were those excellent teachers in this crazy school?


    First off, theres only 1 hour of PE so we will warm up with a bit of jogging. Come straight to the field immediately after the lessons are over, okay!? We had a rather scandalous event yesterday. Ive done some wrong myself so let me apologise for that. Because of what happened yesterday, there wont be any tests today and instead of tests, we will be doing a specially prepared mini triathlon to build stamina.


    After that, the fake Cha Jinchul didnt say much. All he said was about how he reduced the individual lengths of the courses for the three triathlon activities: swimming, cycling and a marathon, and how we will be doing them ourselves.


    A sigh unknowingly left my mouth. Why did they go to such lengths just to bother us? What was going to happen next was also very obvious. The few guys thate at the end would probably be sent to the Old Main Building again.


    I calmly thought about the few remaining members we had on the students side.


    Me, Songee, Elena and Ahri.


    I wasnt into praising myself, but I still didnt consider my physical abilities as something that was below the average mark of senior high school students. Elena was aiming to be an actor so my assumption was that she was one of our few female members with good stamina and I also couldnt imagine Ahri failing from anything.


    The problem was, as I expected, Songee. She didnt look fit by any means and even her Inheritance was useless in an unsophisticated stamina battle like this. There would be a hundred of us in the sports field with everything being recorded so tricking one person using the Inheritance wasnt going to help.


    Songee appeared to be thinking the same thing.


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Im prepared.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Does it look rough?</em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Yes. Ill save my stamina. Not bad. I can gain info from a different perspective to Jinchul-oppa.</em>


    Information.


    We had to gather more information since one of us was going to be going to the Old Main Building anyway, but I still couldnt help but feel ominous with the reduction of one person. How many would be escaping this time? I really didnt want to be thest one alive like what happened back at the Mansion of Fear.


    While thinking about this and that, I waspletely ignoring the lesson because there werent going to be tests anyway as the lessons quickly came to an end.


    *


    The triathlon began.


    The entire school turned quiet as soon as we were about to start swimming.


    Although they might be NPCs, they still werent any different from normal high schoolers!


    I had already seen a bunch of boys shiver whenever they saw Elena and Ahri. There were even some funny kids that tantly offered Songee coffee from the canteen every recess so we were even wondering when we would have ourselves the first confessor. Songees appearance was something that was still within themon sense of high schoolers, but Elena and Ahri had apletely otherworldly appearance.


    They were so otherworldly in fact, that the students parted like the red sea whenever Elena and Ahri were walking through the ssroom. Thanks to that, it was very easy for us to hold our strategy meetings. We could go and sit anywhere we liked and there would be a vacant plot ofnd around us.


    But a swimming pool and a swimsuit?


    Honestly, this might be too strong of a stimulus for high school kids. I thought I became quite used to their appearances through all the hardships of the Hotel but seeing them in swimsuits was still quite a staggering experience even for me. Let alone the boys, even the girls were all dumbstruck.


    Besides, being someone that was aiming to be an actor, Elena appeared to be enjoying the surrounding gazes while I couldnt possibly imagine Ahri being timid.


    Thanks to that, the swimming pool turned into an external photo studio of models that was being watched by passersby.


    The funny thing here was that even the fake Cha Jinchul who should be progressing the triathlon was awestruck after seeing Elena. Actually, it might be nothing strange because even the real Cha Jinchul used to shiver in front of Elena


    Wouldnt it actually be more productive for us to spend the rest of the time watching Elena and Ahri together until we had to return to the dormitory?


    Wouldnt rxing our eyes be a lot better in fact than something like a triathlon which was useless for the college exam?


    Unfortunately, the fake Cha Jinchul ended up waking up.


    Hmm, hmm. Looks like everyones gotten a bit too excited. Everyone! I know you guys are at the pool and stuff, but we are not here to y around. Now! Go in order, starting from ss 1!.


    The triathlon thus began.


    *


    The happy and excited atmosphere of the swimming pool was gone. Our eye rxation time which was 10 times more productive than the meaningless triathlon ended and waiting for us after that was hell.


    How could there be something like, Swim faster than others unless you want to be brought to the Old Main Building and die in this world?


    I seriously swung my arms around as hard as I could.


    Why did all the high schoolers have such good stamina in this freaking school? I wish the Hotel would make sure to stay realistic in these aspects as much as possible. Korean senior high school students have terrible stamina, okay!


    After two mindlessps around the pool, I looked around while leaving the water.


    My rank Wow, holy fuck it seemed that I wasnt even close to being average!


    I thought this was a preparatory selective school. How could these guys be so good at swimming on top of studying?


    The stamina it took to swear was also a waste.


    While collecting my breath, I desperately ran to the bicycle.


    *


    Honestly, I was quite confident with cycling.


    What kind of country was Korea? Frankly speaking, it wasnt the best country to cycle in. Most of the modern-day senior high school students would have trouble riding a bicycle properly, right?


    That was what I thought, but what I wasnt expecting was that the high schoolers of the Hotel were very different from Korean ones.


    *


    I had trouble breathing properly even though the marathon hadnt even begun yet. I wasnt even thinking ofing first or second in this meaningless triathlon and being average was my goal but this was definitely against my expectations.


    I was already in mystp but no matter how I saw it, I was closer to the back than the middle.


    Like, how could high schoolers have such good stamina on average? How does this even make sense huh? You Hotel bastards!


    ?


    That was when I saw someone that I shouldnt.


    Songee was in front of me.


    What was going on?


    I was extremely flustered for a second. Perhaps the high schoolers of the Hotel werepletely normal and I was the one with a terrible stamina that was even worse than a regr high school girl?


    While speeding next to her, I noticed something. Her swimsuits were still dripping with water.


    She wasnt in front of me because she was faster than me.


    She was so much slower that she had finally reached the cycling section. Based on how the female students had started before the boys, Songee


    It seemed that she really had no ns on passing this triathlon.


    In fact, Songee just put the bicycle next to her and left the track. She was tantly telling the teachers that she wasnt going to participate in the event anymore whether they were going to send her to the Old Main Building or not.


    Judging from how I was gasping for breath despite having decent stamina, there would have been no possibility of Songee surviving against these fit high schoolers of the Hotel in the first ce. It was probably a correct call to save stamina if she was going to fail regardless.


    *


    I was practically walking instead of running towards the end but I barely managed toplete the triathlon. Although I was near the back at the end of the cycling section, I somehow made up for it during the marathon and managed toe in the middle. With this, I should be able to survive for now.


    The thing that surprised me the most was how Ahri almost came first even after taking into ount the time gap between boys and girls. Considering how even thedy who was aiming to be an actor, who should have better stamina than average people, was barely at the top 30 percentile of female students,ing almost first was a remarkable feat.


    Well, from what I heard from Songee, she could apparently fly as well! It would be weirder for her to lose to students in something as trivial as a triathlon.


    At the end of the hellish triathlon the reports began.


    *


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Can protect my mind. I will watch without any retaliation.</em>


    *


    The core of Songees n was different from Jinchul-hyungs in that she wasnt nning on fighting back in the first ce. By using her Inheritance regrly to protect her mind, she was just going to figure out what exactly was happening at the Old Main Building.


    Although they might be meaningless for our current escape, every piece of information will matter for the eventual resolution.


    *


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Simr to what we heard. Song, light.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): A bizarrely beautiful</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Almost lost my mind. Like an angel or a fairy even. I will call her the Guider.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): At the basement. A lot of people. The Guider is pretty much being worshipped.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): </em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): These people are the teachers and students of the school. They seem to be the original.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): The Guider giving a strange speech.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): </em><strong><em>The world is full of pain. There is no need to have any feelings for this ce. The ascendance is near. Lord is watching over us, and salvation is near. Shed your outer skin  your trivial attachment to the world, weak hearts, and evil thoughts. Embed all of that into your outer skin and return to your purity. Lord has prepared a paradise for us.</em></strong>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Almost reaching my limit.</em>


    <em></em>


    <em>Yu Songee (Student): Last report. The fakes sent to the school from the Old Main Building are called outer skins at this ce. Theyre not there to simply deceive others and its a very important procedure of their religion  shedding their outer skin for salvation. Cant handle anymore. Ill try fighting the Guider.</em>


    <em></em>


    The reports came to an end.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 18</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3</strong>


    <strong>Teammate Location Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Yu Songee: Dead]</strong>


    Even Songee was dead.


    Lets organise what we knew. As expected, she was able to gather more useful information than everyone else.


    1. The real state of the Old Main Building


    -> It really was a building possessed by a strange religious group.


    2. The reason why killing five was meaningless.


    -> Most of the people inside the school had already been substituted. There were hundreds of students in this school, so that meant there were at least several hundred inside the Old Main Building.


    3. The reason for substituting and sending fakes.


    -> ording to their religious view, it was a procedure of salvation. Before being chosen by the Lord to go to paradise, they had to discard their outer skin as humans. Those outer skins were the fakes that we had been seeing the whole time. What happened to the real body after shedding their outer skin? This was something that was still very unclear. Do they really go to some type of paradise? And would they lose their real body after shedding their outer skin? But for that to be the case, didnt Jinchul-hyung meet the original Seungyub? I had no idea.


    4. What exactly was the Guider?


    -> No clue. An extremely beautiful existence with supernatural powers.


    There were a lot of things we discovered but they werent anything usable for the time being. Our first objective was to escape, and these woulde in handyter when we came back to resolve the curse of this room.


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Strange. Discarding the worldly desires for enlightenment? Slightly simr to buddhism as well.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Deal with the analysis outside. Cha with strength and Yu with Inheritance have both died. Resolution is impossible; escape is our goal.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): We should attempt escaping this school.</em>


    <em>Han Kain (Student): A lot of securities that are constantly on guard.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Students are the ones being supervised. Teachers can move freely.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): How about I drive and the students hide inside?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Is there a car?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): I snatched the chiefs keyst time.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): You mustve been living an honest life yourself.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Thats mean.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri (Student): STOP. Ready when?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung (Teacher): Strike while iron is hot. Go tonight.</em>


    *


    We came up with our first escape n.


    Since we stole someone elses car key, the teachers could drive the car to hide from the eyes of the security and the students would be riding at the back of the car.


    At a nce, it seemed like a perfect n. There was no reason for guards to scavenge through a teachers car, right?


    However, it was still very worrisome. Most of our teams power level had already gone down.


    We no longer had Jinchul-hyungs strength and Songees disappearance as well as her Diverse Perspectives was a detrimental hit.


    Maybe we had to rely on Ahris supernatural powers that she still hasnt revealed.


    *


    That night, we saw the most overwhelming ability that we ever saw after arriving at the Hotel.

 Chapter 45: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (5)

    Chapter 45: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (5)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 18</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <em>Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Come out.</em>


    It began.


    The hour hand of the clock in the dormitory room was pointing at 1. At 1 am, everyone should be asleep except for the few night-shift security guards and teachers.


    Tonight, we will be escaping this ce.


    *


    After preparing a few textbooks and a lighter, I left the room.


    <em>Clomp. Clomp.</em>


    Footsteps. Even though I was treading as softly as possible, my footsteps were still echoing across the dark and silent dormitory corridor. After some thought, I decided to take my shoes off and walk on my socks.


    My room was located on the 3rd floor. There werent guards on every floor so it was a breeze until the 1st floor, but the problem was the main entrance of the dormitory on the 1st floor  there was a security guard and the doors were locked.


    I could see a fire rm on top of the stairs. My n was to use this to alert and attract the person guarding the entrance but would this work?


    For starters, I built up several books into a tower and lit them on fire. I had been desperately wanting to burn textbooks when I was going to high school and it seemed that this was where my dream came true.


    <em>- Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!</em>


    The fire rm went off right on time when I got to the 1st floor. Hiding behind the wall, I watched the guard room and saw the guard immediately dashing out.


    While he was gone, I arrived in front of the main entrance.


    <em>Han Kain (Student): Im here!</em>


    <em> BBIK!</em>


    An unlocking sound went off as Eunsol-noona opened the door with her teacher card from the outside.


    Lets go. The cars right here.


    I left the building and immediately found a ck SUV. Where were the girls?


    After making my way to the car, I saw that Elena and Ahri were already in the back seats while Grandpa Mooksung was driving in the front.


    We thus started our 5-man escape n.


    *


    How did youe out so fast? I asked.


    I just followed Ahri. She walked to the main entrance and looked at the guard, and the guard just opened the door herself!


    It seemed that Ahri used the hypnosis which she had cast on mest time.


    Three of you, be quiet. Dont you know you guys have to be silent? Go to the back, lie down and put this over you.


    Eunsol-noona said before throwing a ck piece of cloth towards us. It was the same colour as the chair. Since it was also nighttime, it would be very difficult to see us if we hid ourselves using this nket.


    We headed to the trunk which was connected to the back seats and covered ourselves with the cloth.


    Ahht, sorry. I couldnt see properly.


    No, its okay.


    I told you to be quiet!


    It was hard to hide as 3 people in such a tiny ce. My hands and feet were constantly pushing into something soft. As for what that was, lets try not to think about it


    *


    <em> Knock knock!</em>


    Hi. May I ask why youre leaving thiste at night?


    Hello~. We have a business in the city.


    Can I see your card?


    Here.


    Miss Lee Eunsol. Yep confirmed, thank you. But as you know, you have to apply for ate-night leave beforehand.


    We have urgent business.


    Whether its urgent or not, we cannot let you go. Sorry.


    Haha, buddy, Grandpa Mooksung chimed in. Were going to grab some teaching materials. Are you gonna be this strict about it?


    Ahht, my apologies. But looking for teaching materials thiste at night?


    Were not going there to buy, were going to receive it from someone. My old friend in the town has prepped it for us.


    Umm


    Hey, listen. Are you really going to be this strict about it?! Did you not check our IDs already?


    O, okay. But please apply beforehand next time.


    *


    It looked like we should be able to leave soon.


    Even in a ce as strange as this Hotel High School, age seemed to be a very powerful tool. Well, that might be nothing strange though because pressuring with muscles also worked yesterday. This preparatory selective school had a simr culture to Korean schools in strange ces.


    After passing the main entrance, we started feeling less tense.


    Did we escape already? We already left the school premises so there shouldnt be any problems, right?


    The others removed the nket and got up as if under the same impression.


    It should be fine now, right?


    Who knows. We did leave the school though. I guess we should be able to escape by going down this road?


    Strictly speaking, we are still in the school premises. I was going through several documents at the office yesterday. It seems that this crazy school is the legal owner of arge piece ofnd outside the main gates, replied Grandpa Mooksung.


    Does that mean we have to leave the legal premisespletely?


    Not sure about that. We would need to drive for another 20 minutes though.


    20 minutes by car? How about you go a bit faster?


    This is a trash car. Cant even go 50 km an hour. Cant believe the chief had something like this as his car.


    It was when we were chatting without feeling as nervous as before.


    The chase began.


    <strong><em> UIIIINGG!  UIIIINGGGG!</em></strong>


    ???


    Huhh?! Whats that?


    Theres a group chasing after us.


    What? What kind of high school chases after their teachers!


    A high school possessed by heretics that changes people could have pursuers.


    Grandpa! Can you go a bit faster?


    This stupid car doesnt go any faster! Wait a second!


    <strong>STOP THERE! STOP THERE!</strong>


    I looked behind the car. Judging from the number of headlights, there appeared to be 4 or 5 cars and they were a lot faster than our own.


    Unni! What do we do? What should we do?


    I dont know! But its toote to go back now. Old man! Go as fast as you can. Theres no way theyll do anything to a car that has teachers and students inside right? I think something should work out as long as we leave the school premises!


    <strong> Bang!  Bang!  Bang!</strong>


    As soon as Eunsol-noona said they wouldnt do anything to teachers and students, gunshots echoed from behind! What the heck was wrong with these guys?


    Something was weird.


    If they were going to be this aggressive, then shouldnt they have threatened us with a gun as soon as we arrived at the school to bring us to the Old Main Building?


    A good title as a preparatory selective school, and preparing excuses like tests and the triathlon to bring students to the Old Main Building


    Until now, they had at least been trying to conceal something, and yet now they were super aggressive as if none of that mattered. Ahri said as if she was thinking the same thing.


    We touched their reverse scale.


    Did we irritate them or something?


    Otherwise, its impossible to exin their course of action.


    Is it because of our escape attempt? Because were trying to leave Room 104


    It is probably because of our escape, but dont think like that, added Ahri. How about you think from the perspective inside the stage?


    <strong>Perspective inside the stage.</strong>


    Right, the fact that this world was a stage prepared by the Hotel were things that only transcendent beings like the Devouring One knew about, and most of the characters had no clue.


    Perspective inside the stage: they were a strange religion of heretics that did things to people.


    Are they afraid of being exposed to the public?


    In the end, their goal is to switch people. Thats why they built this preparatory school, bought arge piece ofnd and are teaching actual stuff for the college exams. Theyre trying their best to make sure they stay low.


    These guys were extremely afraid of gathering the eyes of the public.


    As long as we could make use of that


    That was when a car appeared from the front.


    <em> Bang!  Bang!  Bang! Clink!</em>


    <em> Kiiiiiiiikk! Kung!</em>


    The car spinned. It danced like an unstoppable beast before going out of the road and heavily colliding against the hill next to us.


    My body ached all around from that short yet huge incident. When I nkly turned to the drivers seat


    I discovered a hole on Grandpa Mooksungs head.


    I had seen countless brutal scenes ever since we entered the Hotel but things like this were very hard to get used to. I had to force myself back from throwing up.


    Ahri silently approached him and closed his eyes. Eunsol-noona also had a hole on her body. I shut her eyes that were still open despite her immediate death.


    In an instant, the teachers were annihted.


    My breath wasing to a stop as an indescribable sense of despair enveloped me. Was this the end? Were we all going to be brought back to the school to be substituted?


    That was when Elena, who had been silent for a while, suddenly had a change.


    *


    <strong> Elena</strong>


    My chest was feeling stuffy for a long time.


    Why


    Why was there nothing I could do?


    Everyone else had blessings or leadership skills, strength and mysterious tools and each had their own roles and yet there was nothing I could do. Even when we had to escape, I was just following behind Ahri. Even though there was a group of pursuers that were even carrying a gun to shoot everyone to death, I


    Wait. Shoot everyone to death?


    My head immediately turned clear as if a bucket of icy cold water had been poured over my head.


    Pieces of knowledge that I never knew until now surged from deep down.


    Knowledge? Was this even supposed to be called knowledge? Rather than that, it felt almost like a sensation.


    It wasing from the very depths of my own being.


    Soul? Or was it the heart?


    A bnce appeared inside who knows where  a scale that assessed peoples sins.


    What was Justice? Those whomitted sins needed to have repercussions.


    Even the Ancient Greeks believed in justice. They believed in a god that could assess the sins of this world on a bnce to enact a rightful order. They wished the goddess of justice and her scale to bring order to the world.


    I knew what I had to do.


    *


    We have stopped them! The two teachers have died! What should we do with the students at the back?


    There has been an order to leave the kids alive. Its already toote for the corrupt adults, but there is still the path of salvation for these children. Keep them alive.


    <em> Thud.</em>


    Come out. Your sin is not small by any means, but the Lord is greatly generous and you can still be forgi


    <em> m!</em>


    It was as if arge hammer had struck down on the person from the sky as the heretic became like mashed potato in an instant. Rather than being horrified by the savage scene before my eyes, I was instead dumbstruck from the iprehensible turn of events.


    What? Whats going on?


    <em> Bam!</em>


    Another head was crushed like mashed potato. I forced myself to turn inside the half-demolished car and looked at Elena. Something that was glistening in gold  a bnce (?)  was rotating around her.


    <em> Boom!  Boom!</em>


    As if arge hammer was striking down from the sky, everyone that was chasing after us started to explode.


    <em> Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    They btedly started shooting their guns but it was futile.


    Elena didnt even leave the car in the first ce and the half-destroyed car acted as a remarkable shield. Like that, Elena nkly gazed at the sky inside the car while exploding more than 20 men that used to follow us from behind.


    As if it was nothing significant, Ahri asked with a curious voice.


    Is this the power of Justice?


    Nn.


    How does it work? I was expecting it to be strong because of all the conditions, but isnt this too much?


    Who knows I am still in the middle of understanding how it works. I think we should save that forter.


    Thats true too.


    I opened my mouth after Ahri.


    Lets stop the conversation here and start running away immediately. We dide a fair bit with the car so 1 more hour and we should be able to escape from this damn school.


    No, asserted Elena.


    Miss Elena? What do you


    Justice must be fair. Those receiving the punishment cannot be differentiated from those that do not. Now that the enforcement has begun, I must carry it through.


    Carry it through Do you mean you have to return to the school?


    Sounds like it, Ahri replied. Do you have to go back to the school and kill all the other heretics? Does that mean you cant stop yourself either when your blessing gets activated?


    I dont know if I have to kill all of them, but I must go back.


    It was quite a tedious ability. Of course, it was ridiculous in the sense that it allowed her to reduce dozens of people to ashes without even touching them, and we had never seen any other blessings that were as impactful as this.


    However, there were also an absurd number of conditions.


    <strong>1. The target must be simr to humans.</strong>


    <strong>2. The user must be aware of their evilness.</strong>


    We knew up to those 2 conditions but there appeared to be another one.


    <strong>3. The user cannot stop at will after starting the enforcement.</strong>


    What should we do? Looks like Elena has no choice but to stay. Should we run away together at least, Ahri?


    Someone else replied instead of Ahri.


    <strong><em>Such concerns are needless.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>For thou has no rights to choose.</em></strong>


    An angel descended from the sky.

 Chapter 46: Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School’ (6)

    Chapter 46: Room 104, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡¯ (6)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 18</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Overwhelming. That was the only word that could describe it.


    It waste at night. The surroundings were all t with not a single building in sight. Even though everything was supposed to be empty, the charisma of the one who descended from the sky was making the surroundings feel clustered.


    My head throbbed in pain as I immediately understood why all of my teammates said their head hurt after meeting the Guider. A hymn was echoing inside my head.


    <strong><em>Lord has sent the wave of heaven to the earth, and his son has stood on the ground. Kneel thee humble ones, for the paradise of heaven has been prepared</em></strong>


    <strong> m!</strong>


    Wake up!


    Huoookk! What was that? I shouted after being forcibly woken up by Ahri.


    Looks like you still dont understand how to use Wisdom properly. Existences like them are like the sun and youll be blinded if you see them with your bare eyes. Look at them through your system window.


    Look at them through the system window? Hearing that, I immediately understood what she was trying to say. The translucent disy screen that was constantly in a corner of my sight  if I moved this to the centre of my vision


    As soon as I thought about putting it at the centre, the system window began to move by itself.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 18</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room  Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    It felt strange. After lowering the opacity of the font, I looked at the angel through the system window which made it feel like I was looking outside a building through a foggy window. Immediately, my head stopped aching as the hymn stopped reverberating in my head.


    I learned another way to use the Blessing of Wisdom!


    *


    <strong><em>Child. Why have thou umted so much sin? Although Lord is magnanimous to the young, there is always a limit.</em></strong>


    By what right do youment on sin? You killed innumerable people at the Old Main Building, and now you even killed unni and grandpa using other people!


    <strong><em>Thy words do not ring true. At the Old Main Building, the Altar, I have never killed anyone. I have simply guided them to the embrace of the Lord. How could salvation be a sin? Besides, these teachers are naught but corrupt shepherds who have bewitched and guided children down the wrong path. I have cut the corrupt shepherds to lead thou back to the correct path. This too is not sin.</em></strong>


    You steal their free will, switch people around and kill them. How is that salvation? Is everything salvation if you justbel it as such? In that case, I shall redeem you to salvation myself!


    <strong><em>Can thy frail bnce dare judge me? Can the scale of humans even sustain myself who has descended from the sky?</em></strong>


    Do not even pretend like youre an angel of some sort. Theres no way there can be gods or angels in this strange ce!


    The bnce  the scale started to rotate around Elena again as the weight of the sin she perceived started pressing down on the angel.


    A divine song started to resonate around the angel.


    <strong><em> Raaaaaaaaaaaa!</em></strong>


    The tremendously high note shook the heaven and the earth but in retaliation, Elenas scale started brightening up the night like a sun.


    *


    Lets run!


    Huh? Uh?


    Dont huh me. If we get caught up in that crazy fight, well die in the blink of an eye.


    It was a fight between Elena, who became like a semi demi-god after all the conditions were fulfilled, and someone that was like a real angel. No matter how I saw it, they were in apletely different leaguepared to Ahri and me.


    I hurriedly left the car and began a mindless sprint.


    Im still fine thanks to the system window, and youll probably be fine even if you drop down the abyss of hell, but how is Elena able to keep her sanity like that?


    The easy answer would be that its because shes in the middle of her enforcement. Looks like no-one, including herself and others, can stop her once the enforcement begins. And dont add a curse like that as if its nothing.


    Its not a curse, I replied. Im just saying it because I have no idea what you are. Isnt it strange how you know more about my blessing than myself?


    Anyway, that doesnt look like a human to me but Elenas blessing is still working fine, isnt it?


    Ahri tantly changed the topic. However, that was something I was also curious about and the situation was very dire so I decided to ignore it for the time being.


    She does look like a human overall.


    She does? She is pretty, but isnt she flying with her wings? Plus shes even bigger than a normal human. Even in the Administration Bureau thats filled with all sorts of unique people, we dont call that human.


    I dont know how you guys decide things, but the wings could be something given by the divine existence called Lord or something. Dont you remember Sir? He was a human but didnt even have a body. They can do that so whats the deal with adding some wings? I replied.


    You mean the Guider is just a human who gained power? Hmm I have a different hypothesis though.


    *


    The air was cold. Breathing in the shivering night wind and running was starting to take a toll on my body.


    You knew about my blessing, but did you not know about Justice?


    I told you the Administration only knows about a small portion of things. And lets stop here.


    Ahri suddenly stopped her feet.


    What? Why arent you


    I think the fights over. If Elena won, there is no need to run and if the angel won, it would be meaningless for us to run away so lets just take a rest.


    Okay. Im saying this because we stopped but I have an idea.


    Oh my. Thats the same for me. I think I know what youre going to say next.


    If the angel won, lets just follow her without retaliating against her. I have something in mind.


    Good. Since the angel constantly talks about how Lord is benevolent to children, she should let us live if we drive our heads into the ground.


    After saying that, Ahri suddenly took out a small syringe from somewhere and poked it into her own flesh.


    What are you


    Its just in case. Drink it.


    I was somewhat suspecting it, but the thing I drank at the Mansion of Fear appeared to have been Ahris blood like I thought.


    What is it for? Im still okay in terms of stamina though.


    This time its not for stamina. Its for in case the angel won. Just drink it.


    What was it for if not stamina? I drank it  it tasted salty and slightly like iron just like before, and it was also unpleasantly warm. It really wasnt something I would like to drink multiple times but judging from how I had drunk it multiple times already, it seemed that I would be a frequent drinker of it.


    *


    After about 3 minutes, the angel descended in front of us.


    This time in a skilled manner, I immediately changed the system window to the filter mode before staring at the angel.


    <strong><em>I thought thou were running around like naughty kids. Have thou given up?</em></strong>


    How could foolish littlembs like us possibly escape from the hands of an angel like you? You fly around and stuff. We will look back on our stupid actions and return.


    Is Elena dead?


    <strong><em>The sin of attempting to put me on the bnce of humans is as deep as the abyss. Lord is magnanimous to children but there is a limit. There was no choice but to give punishment. What road shalt thou choose?</em></strong>


    We will kneel before the Lord.


    Please say sorry to Lord for us~


    The angel wasnt in a good shape. Her wings were torn apart here and there, and she was letting out golden blood from all around her body. One of her eyes was crushed and looking down at her feet, I could also see that three of her toes had been blown away.


    It was truly astonishing. What kind of power was Justice that Elena could push back a supernatural existence like the angel this much?


    Of course, that was just something to discusster on after we were outside. Even if this angel had three times the current wounds on her body with both of her arms gone, I think she would still be able to beat us with one of her toes.


    Now was the time toy low. After leaving this ce, we shall return stronger and pay her back for what she did this time.


    <strong><em>Ahh, how sorrowful. Thisnd has been filled with screams. More than 30 faithful ones have drawn theirst breath in this forest. O Lord. Your young daughter, Aurelia requests of you. Please allow another chance to your faithful believers.</em></strong>


    The angel prayed to the sky while lowering her head.


    That was when a miracle happened.


    <strong>The exploded bodies of the heretics that Elena destroyed began to stand back up from nothing. Breath returned to the breathless as their wounds began to disappear.</strong>


    Wasnt this just way too overpowered? Resurrecting dozens of people with one prayer Could this seriously be something other than a god or an angel?


    Its not like I suddenly felt like worshipping them, but thinking of how we had to defeat such existencester on was nauseating.


    *


    Light fell from the sky as the angel turned around to stare at us.


    Ahh


    Another hymn began to resonate inside my head. I could naturally tell that this power was something that exceeded the blockade of the system windows filter system.


    Maybe she thought she required a stronger mind control after seeing us give normal replies. My consciousness faded away as my body suddenly floated into the air.


    After a while, I saw myself kneeling in front of the daughter of the great one.


    ???


    I saw it.


    I could <strong>see myself kneeling in front of her.</strong>


    What in the world was going on? As if I was ying a 3rd person game, I could see myself doing stuff.


    Was I now a bodiless soul or something?


    *


    The police arrived. Funnily enough, the one that dealt with the supernatural event of the night was the police.


    Who called them I wonder?


    Even though I wasnt sure, the police collected the corpses of Kim Mooksung, Lee Eunsol and Elena who died from a car crash and asked several questions to the heretics that were resurrected from death. Under the pretext of sending the shocked young students back to school, the heretics surrounded us and forced us into the car and returned us to the dormitory while making sure we couldnt escape.


    Meanwhile, I was watching that happen outside of my body as if it had nothing to do with me. I was definitely outside of my body and yet my body was moving naturally in ordance with themands of the heretics.


    They really were letting us live.


    Honestly, it was a bit questionable whether they would spare us just from us lowering our heads but they really did, which was vastly different from how they immediately shot the teachers who attempted to escape. In fact, they didnt even shout at us and instead, they read lines from a strange scripture as if trying to guide us back to the correct path.


    Were they under the impression that everything was fine now that the angel suppressed our minds?


    They really meant it when they said Lord was benevolent to children. It seemed that they wouldnt punish children, unless the child was like Elena whomitted a big sin by ripping apart the wings of an angel. This might be a part of their doctrine.


    Whatever the case, the important part was that Ahri and I were able to survive until the end thanks to that. And <strong>I was still watching all that happen while floating in the air.</strong>


    At this point, I had an idea why this was happening.


    The trick in case the angel won!


    This must be rted to the special effect of the blood Ahri gave me. After waiting a bit more, I should be able to tell the exact effects of her blood so I decided to do what I could do for now.


    I contemted. Taking into ount the clear behavioural principles of this religious group that we saw today as well as the arrival of the police, I became certain about my hypothesis.


    <strong>Tomorrow night, we will be escaping this ce for sure!</strong>

 Chapter 49: Intermission, Happy Interrogation Time

    Chapter 49: Intermission, Happy Interrogation Time


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    Haak haak


    I woke up in immense dizziness.


    What in the world was that just then? I met the Lord. And the Hotels announcement had been distorted, but in a way that was different from what happened inside the Animal Farm.


    Looking back at the change inside the Animal Farm, it was pretty much the Hotel changing the title itself because we were heading to the next stage, the so-called Phase 2.


    This time, the distortion was as if it had been hacked. It was definitely the first time this had happened.


    Plus What exactly was it that I saw? The heavenly throne, and the owner of this world.


    On top of that  a cluster of golden light had been seeping into my body.


    Light. Light. Light.


    I could feel a storm of light raging inside my head. Holding onto my head with both of my hands, I shivered.


    That was when someone held me by my hand.


    I dont know what happened, but dont think about anything for now.


    Ahri You made it out.


    You probably have no idea what I went through. I was going to punch you again as soon as I left the room, but I guess you had your own share of troubles.


    Someone else also held onto my hand as a rather refreshing feeling swept past me. It felt as if I had dumped my head into cold water as the headache slowly went away.


    Oh my. What did you do there? Is this another function of the bracelet?


    What are you going to do after knowing that, Ahri? Songee asked Ahri with a cold voice while letting go of my hand.


    Thank you Songee. But Im also curious. What did you do to me just then?


    It wasnt much. Your senses, I should say? They were slightly distorted so I put them back to order. Im not a doctor so it might not be perfect though.


    I can assure you thats incredibly more amazing than being a doctor.


    After the headache settled a little, I stood up and looked around and saw everyone including Songee and Ahri looking at me with worrisome looks on their faces.


    Everyone quietly headed back to Room 105 as if they were conscious about my headache.


    Even on the way back, I suffered from a spasmodic headache and disorder and Songee had to help stabilise my mind on repeat.


    How long did I have to suffer like this, I wonder?


    A doubt appeared in my mind when we were almost back at Room 105.


    Was everyone else okay? It might be a bitte for this, but didnt everyone else go through painful deaths as well?


    Are you guys okay? Seungyub might be fine because he was brainwashed, but Jinchul-hyung and Songee, for example, had painful deaths right?


    Honestly, rebutted Jinchul-hyung. Its more puzzling for me to see you in so much pain.


    What? Are you okay, hyung?


    Think about everything weve gone through until now. Each and every one of those memories were horrendously painful, and it wouldnt be surprising if it was already haunting us a trauma. But considering that, everyone is usually normal so I was under the impression that the Hotel automatically got rid of traumatic emotions from us.


    I agree with what Jinchul said, Eunsol-noona added. No-one has said anything about it until now, but dont we all feel the same way? Even when I die in a vomit-inducingly horrible manner, it feels like its not me that experienced it as soon as I leave the Hotel room. It gave me the feeling that I was just reading a book.


    Of course, its definitely not a happy memory or anything and I would rather not look back at it, but Ive never had any serious symptoms like you, Kain.


    I think I can add something.


    It was Ahri who then opened her mouth.


    It wasnt surprising at all. The best people to ask in regards to these supernatural events would be either Ahri or Grandpa Mooksung.


    The Administration has talked to survivors of the Hotel a few times, and they all said the same thing as Jinchul-oppa and Eunsol-unni. No matter how horrible a thing happens inside, those experiences all appear like simple arrangements of letters immediately after leaving that ce, and theres no trauma at all.


    Besides, the Hotel sends us a doctor to heal broken limbs and crushed organs and even resurrects us from the Cursed Rooms so it should be safe to say that they can get rid of all the mental burdens as well.


    So Kain-oppa. Your pain right now is not because of the trauma from the Hotel.


    Then what is it?


    I think you can make a guess yourself, can you not? Let me be honest. I can feel an rmingly strong amount of power boiling inside you. What exactly have you gained?


    I gained something, and that appeared to be the cause of this pain.


    <strong><em>I have granted light unto thee. </em>Light had pervaded into my body as soon as I heard those words.</strong>


    Now, now. Lets stop there. I dont think Kain knows whats going on himself, and were not going to get a clear answer even if we push him here. Its right before dinner time, so lets have some food while we chat, said Eunsol-noona.


    Unni is right. And we need to get the order straight. Isnt there someone who needs to answer questions before Kain-oppa?


    Songees words raised the tension in the air. She had been showing quite a vignt attitude against Ahri the whole time ever since Animal Farm, and I was now under the same impression.


    Although Ive been wanting to avoid potential strife in the Hotel since it repeatedly gave us trials, this was the limit. Hiding information here will instead break our trust.


    Naturally, 6 pairs of eyes headed to Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung.


    The situation turned out like a 2 vs 6, as tension was added to the air.


    Puhut. What is with this atmosphere? I was going to share everything that needed to be shared today anyway, so please dont look at me like that. How about we go in and have some food first?


    Right. Lets have something first. Were not trying to fight here, are we? Its just that we are trying to know what needs to be known. Lets go in.


    Fortunately, the tension slowly dissipated thanks to Eunsol-noonas direction.


    *


    Eunsol had the feeling that all the participants of the Hotel got rid of their dissatisfaction through food. Despite swearing at the Hotel 30 times a day, those all disappeared as soon as it was mealtime. It was ridiculous how every dish tasted amazing.


    The meals at the Hotel were sometimes abination of everyones favourite dishes, or had one theme going through it and the theme for todays dinner appeared to be a barbeque.


    Chunks of various kinds of meat were being cooked on arge grill, and the grill was cooking the meat by itself so all we had to do was eat.


    Besides, there were a few things they learned while spending weeks at the Hotel.


    One of those was the way to make use of the shy waiters.


    Back when they didnt know about the most optimal way to make use of them, everyone used to leave the room when either the food or the drink ran out. But at one point, they discovered that there was no need to leave the room. It simply had to be away from everyones vision  if you wanted a refill for a drink or a dish, all you had to do was ce the cup or the te beneath the table before raising it back up.


    Indulging herself in themb cutlets that were crusty on the outside while maintaining a soft and pink medium-rare inside with mint jelly, Eunsol couldnt help but marvel at the taste of it.


    Born as the daughter of the Daeyang Group, she thought she had tasted all the delicacies in the world but the food provided by the Hotel were of exceptional standards.


    Thanks to that, everyone was back to being calm.


    It was great. Even though she had constantly been feeling the need to have an open-minded conversation with the two agents of the Cmity Administration Bureau, she could not have the conversation lead to a strife.


    After all, the Hotel was a very dangerous ce.


    An internal strife was already a big problem, but to make things worse, the two agents had unidentified powers. It wasnt a wise decision to confront them.


    Now was the best time in that sense. Good food made people happy and rxed, and that was why hard topics were best shared over nice meals.


    Now~! I think everyones almost had their fill, so how about we ask a few questions to each other?


    Ahri lowered her spoon as if she had been waiting for it.


    Hmm. Is it finally going to be the interrogation time for grandpa and me?


    Interrogation? Lets not put it that way. We are not looking for any criminals; Im just suggesting that we open our hearts a bit more.


    Okay.


    Like that, the interrogation began.


    *


    Ahri was the first to open her mouth.


    I think it would be better for me to talk about myself. After that, you can ask me questions. I wondered what everyone would want to ask of me, and came up with 3 main things.


    1. Who am I?


    2. What is my goal?


    3. What are my powers?


    Firstly, I was born in the Hotel.


    Her first statement was already dumbfounding enough to make everyone speechless.


    My mother had been chosen by the Hotel a long time ago, and she gave birth to me here. Ah, please dont misunderstand  she wanted to give birth to me. And while growing up here I earned several powers, escaped and came back.


    You might ask, Why did youe back to this ridiculous ce? and that leads to the 2nd point. I want to release my mum from the Hotel. If possible, resurrection; if not, then I would at least love to release her from the cirction of pain and give her peace.


    Lastly, you already have an idea on what my Blessing is, right? Im sure everyone knows what hypnosis is. It has several effects rted to the mind, and I need to use my blood to manifest a stronger effect. We have someone here who drank my blood twice already, so he should know what Im talking about.


    I think thats pretty much it. Any questions?


    I get the first and the second part. I wish you the best, and hope you save your mother, said Songee. But the third one needs more exnation. I clearly remember you flying in to grab me by the neck. If Im not mistaken about the meaning of hypnosis, then there shouldnt be anything rted to flight there.


    Lets just say that I have some secret measures myself.


    Why are you ending it yourself without answering my question?


    Then what. Are you going to exin everything to us every time you learn how to do something new with the bracelet? Back then when you healed Kain, thats not something you told us about, is it?


    Why are you suddenly shifting the topic to me? I wasnt intentionally hiding it. Im still learning about the bracelet in real time while using it so thats why I couldnt


    In the first ce, Ahri cut off her words. Why should I tell you all of my abilities? Have I intentionally threatened you or anything until now?


    <strong> Kwang!</strong>


    WAAAITT! Songee, Ahri. Both of you, be quiet for now! Were not trying to fight here. Lets talk about all the things that need to be shared for us to easily trust each other  thats the premise behind our conversation.


    Please dont forget. This Hotel is a hell and we are 8 crew members on the same ship. Its hard for us to escape from this hell even when we group together, so what are you trying to gain by fighting each other?


    Silence befell the dining table after Eunsols shout.


    Kuhum. What a chilly atmosphere. Firstly, let me apologise to Miss Songee because Ahri went a bit over the top there. I hope you dont misunderstand  Ahri might be hiding something, but that is definitely not because she wants to harm you or anything.


    Our Administration is an organisation that does have a lot of secrets, and the abilities of us agents are included in those secrets.


    If you find it hard to trust us, then please trust the Administration. Ever since the Great Cmity, we have been doing our best to settle the confusion after all.


    Let me say something as well. Jinchul opened his mouth. In the grand scheme of things, I understand what Eunsol-noonim is saying. We definitely cannot fight here, but it is hard to build trust when everyone has secrets. I believe you need to talk a little bit about yourself as well, Sir Mooksung.


    Right. Thatll make it easy for me as well. Like Ahri, I will talk about who I am, what my goal is and what my powers are.


    I wasnt born in the Hotel like Ahri, and Im just a normal person who somehow ended up working at the Administration.


    My objective is also very straight-forward. Im under themand of the Administration. I dont have any personal goals like Ahri  my objective is the objective and purpose of the Administration.


    After finding out that the Hotel had the power to stabilise reality, the Administration has sent us inside. I have no idea whether that is an Inheritance or a Blessing, but my goal is to somehow gain ess to that.


    A power to stabilise reality? What is that?


    I told you I have no idea. Im not hiding anything. The Administration doesnt know either. Ill just tell you that we had a prophecy saying that it would be incredibly valuable for us.


    Somehow, it feels like we are getting more questions the longer we hear from you.


    And as for my abilities, let me be honest with that as well. I have none. None except for themunication tab that you all know about.


    Unlike with Ahris case, everyone immediately nodded their heads. Eunsol opened her mouth.


    Honestly, that was what I was thinking as well. Back in the School when I was working with sir, I have been observing you quite a lot.


    A youngdy was stalking me, huh. How embarrassing.


    Especially on thest day, I saw you die in a single second when the enemy was pointing a gun at us, and seeing that made me think, Ah, I see. He has nothing.


    Thats a bit sad. Youre telling me the reason you are not suspicious of me is because I am ipetent.


    Can you please stop twisting my words?


    If I can exin myself wait, this is a bit strange! It feels like Im exining about my ipetency. Anyway, let me tell you that it is in fact very rare even inside the Administration to have someone with special abilities like Ahri. Most are just normal people that have received adequate training, who know more stuff than others.


    Uhmm. That was when Seungyub opened his mouth. Theres something Ive been wanting to say for a while now.


    What is it, Seungyub?


    Kain-hyung is looking weird.


    In response, the gazes that had been focused on Ahri and Mooksung until now due to the torrent of information finally headed to Kain.


    At the end of their gazes was a boy who was ambiently giving off light with his entire body.

 Chapter 50: The One who descended from Heaven

    Chapter 50: The One who descended from Heaven


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    I was in the Hotel-


    My mother


    My neck


    Faint mumbling voices reached my ears.


    They appeared to be talking about something but I couldnt see nor hear anything.


    Instead, from a distant ce I could hear a hymn. In order to hold on to myself, I covered myself with the system window filter, closed my eyes and blocked my ears. Thanks to that, the sound of the hymn turned a little softer.


    It felt like I was deafened. My body was definitely here, and yet it felt like my soul was being pulled to a distant ce.


    Voices  soft whispers echoed in my ears. There was definitely an existence that was trying to convey their will to me but I couldnt make meaning out of those words. As if buried in the background noise, their voice was concealed by a buzz.


    Several pieces of information vaguely permeated inside. Without necessarily hearing it from anyone, I realised it.


    I realised that a negotiation was taking ce at the heavenly table.


    Soon, the negotiation wasplete.


    <strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Des: </strong>


    <strong>Descent: </strong>


    <strong>Descent: 3</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2</strong>


    <strong>Descent: 3]</strong>


    <strong><em>Let there be light.</em></strong>


    And there was light.


    *


    A tornado of light was swirling like a storm.


    In Elenas eyes, the scene in front of her eyes was more unrealistic than anything she had seen thus far.


    Is this the process of a person turning into an angel?


    Inexplicable rays and waves were radiating out of Kains entire body.


    She just couldnt dare look at his face with her bare eyes. The halo behind him was truly that of one who descended from heaven.


    Let alone beautiful and handsome, he looked holy. Standing in front of her was someone who had fallen from the sky, that human standards of beauty could not possibly exin.


    Tears flowed out of her eyes as all the vicissitudes and pain she had gone through filled her brain. The plentiful and joyful childhood, which unfortunately came to an end due to their family having no choice but to escape from their homnd; poverty and danger was with them wherever they went to, and she had no choice but to leave like a grasshopper hopping for freedom without ever getting close to anyone.


    <em>I see, all that pain was to meet this person.</em>


    The pain and suffering of the Hotel were nothing but thorns of the path leading to salvation.


    Old memories of sorrow and despair turned vague as tears fell like buckets out of her eyes.


    Like that, Elena kneeled down and prayed.


    *


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    My consciousness returned as I immediately opened my eyes. The first to enter my sight were my teammates.


    Every one of them were out of their seats. Some were rolling on the floor while some were on their knees, praying to me.


    Only then did I notice something. Just then, I had left the realms of humanity.


    What did I have to do to return to being a human? Although I wasnt sure, what was certain was that I had to leave my teammates for the time being.


    Mindlessly, I stood up and pushed the door of Room 105 wide open.


    The door got torn and ripped apart.


    Since I didnt even have the time to stay there in astonishment, I immediately dashed outside.


    The floor exploded beneath my feet with each and every step. When I kicked off the ground, my head crashed into the ceiling, but my head was okay and the ceiling was the one that was broken instead. In a fluster, I swung my arm back which ripped the wall out.


    After realising how soft I had to be with everything, I started to move with care.


    What did I have to do? Was I going to stay like this forever?


    I could see colours that I couldnt see before, and hear sounds that couldnt be heard when I was a human. My hands touched the dust floating in the air, and my skin felt the pulsation of the pebbles from the crushed walls.


    A chandelier was falling from a distance. The vibrations in the air caused by that chandelier; that movement of the air reached my ears as a song.


    Ahh, how small of a world were humans living in? How tragic is it that they could not perceive all these things that were happening in the world?


    Only now did I understand that every human was a blind and a deaf.


    But even so, I sincerely hoped I could return to being human.


    That was when an unusually nice advice appeared in front of my eyes.


    <strong>[You can stay still. You will return to being human once all the power seeps into your body.]</strong>


    It was different  this was clearly different from the normal Sages Advice. Before, it simply tossed a few words when I was close to death but this time, it felt like an actual advice.


    I stood still as I was told. Besides, I was crushing everything around me whenever I was moving, so I didnt even want to move either.


    Although it might be edgy of me to say this, I was scared of myself.


    After about 10 minutes, the light around my body settled and the infinite source of power that was boiling inside me like an active volcano started to turn faint like a drying stream of water.


    Feeling less tense than before, I looked around and noticed that the Hotel looked like it was bombarded in the middle of a battlefield.


    There were holes on the floor where my steps hadnded as if there had been mines, and the chandelier 20 metres away had fallen down due to me crashing into the ceiling. All the ornaments on the walls turned into trash, and the trees near the front desk were nowhere to be seen, as if they had been wiped out by a missile.


    I was simply running to ces in surprise and yet that had caused a catastrophe like this to everything nearby.


    And that was when  thest kind advice of today appeared before my eyes.


    <strong>[You may now descend 3 times. But please keep in mind that there is no free lunch in this world]</strong>


    *


    When I returned to Room 105, which had no doors now, I realised that fortunately, my teammates had alreadye back to themselves.


    They looked back at me with dumbfounded looks on their faces.


    Umm Kain. Can you please exin that to us?


    Where did I have to start the exnation from? I decided to share everything that happened from thest day of the school, and the things that happened at the Old Main Building.


    I slowly exined everything, from how I infiltrated the Old Main Building by myself and attacked Aurelia after waiting for the chance, before being kidnapped by the Lord. There, I received something and the message of the Hotel had been distorted.


    And I then talked about the thing that just happened, as well as Descent that appeared on the system window.


    The room turned silent.


    The first one to open their mouth was, as expected, Grandpa Kim Mooksung, who was an agent that was used to supernatural things.


    It seems that the existence called Lord that is sealed inside the Cursed Room has put some kind of investment on you.


    Can someone sealed inside the room affect the real world?


    Thats something I cannot say for sure, but havent we already confirmed through the Devouring One that these absolute existences sealed inside the Cursed Rooms are somewhat aware of the works of the Hotel? The Devouring One was also aware of the Hotel and had the power to create a pawn inside the stage who had their own individuality.


    Why do you think he invested in me?


    You might not be the only one.


    Do you mean he has been doing the same thing for a long time?


    It is nothing but a guess.


    Lets stop talking about the Lord for now. Ahri said. We dont know much about the Hotel in the first ce, so itll be meaningless for us to worry about the intentions of the transcendent existence sealed in one of the rooms. More importantly, it feels like you gained an incredible amount of power and ridiculous charisma but are there any conditions for it?


    It has the number 3 next to it on the system window. I think I can only use it 3 times.


    And there was also the advice I received that finally seemed like an actual Sages Advice.


    <strong>There is no free lunch in this world.</strong>


    The room turned quiet again, until Eunsol-noona added a question.


    I believe Mr. Mooksung and Ahri are more experienced in this field than us. What do you think Kain should do?


    As an agent of the Administration, I would obviously say that he should live his entire life without worrying about such a fishy ability. There is nothing free in this world, and that is why I called it an investment. Lord will definitelye back and ask you for a price.


    As an agent of the Administration? Do you have other opinions?


    As someone who is now in the Hotel, Id say it is quite foolish to forget about an ability that was given by the Hotel just because you are scared about the price of it. If you dont use it because of the price, and end up having everyone fail in the end, then we will all be resources of the Hotel. Rather than that, it is better to use what is given when necessary and worry about the futureter.


    Umm sir? Your two opinions are inplete contradiction though


    It is up to you to decide which is correct.


    Then, do it this way, said Ahri.


    Im listening.


    Try not to use it ever until the very very end. And when worsees to worst, when everyone except for you is dead, or if you think it will be a wipe if you die  thats when you should use it.


    A final resort, reserved only for thest moment.


    I decided to think of the new ability I gained today as a final resort skill, before thinking about some other things by myself..


    I was walking around in contemtion when I noticed that Elena and Songee would flinch and avoid me whenever our eyes met. Looking back, those two were the ones who had been praying in front of me


    It was very awkward.


    In the end, I headed to somewhere isted while leaving everyone else behind using the excuse that I wanted to have some time to organise my thoughts. There were a lot of things I had to think about today anyway.


    *


    Im just saying this now that Kains not here but What did you guys think when you saw him? Eunsol opened her mouth.


    Like, holy? He looked like an angel.


    Unbelievably handsome; the saviour of the world  some ridiculous things like that.


    Looks like Songee and Elena felt the same way as me, said Eunsol after hearing the words of the two.


    I think it will be very awkward to see Kain-oppa from tomorrow.


    Probably the same for me. Elena agreed.


    Same here, said Eunsol. It was only for a little bit, but he appeared like a totally different existence from us.


    I guess were not in the mood to eat any more and theres less than 10 minutes left of mealtime. Lets take a rest. Well, we will probably all disappear to our own personal spaces in 10 minutes though.


    Will we?


    What do you mean, Ahri?


    After gesturing at the door with her chin, Ahri continued with her sentence.


    Im just concerned if Room 105s system will still function properly or not even when the door is broken.


    Her concerns were realised.


    That day, all functions of Room 105 stopped, and everyone was left behind at the seemingly bombarded room even after the mealtime was over.


    In the end, everyone had to take their few belongings and each head to a ce where they could go to sleep.


    *


    Ahri.


    Unni? Didnt you say you were going to sleep near the tea table?


    Im going to, but I have something to say before that.


    You do? Why didnt you say it before?


    I wanted to talk to you alone.


    Ill be honest. Im not really worried about your past; what your objective is and how you were born.


    Ever since I was young, I grew up working in thepany. You see all sorts of people when youre working on arge project  most people have other stuff in their mind and the role of a leader is to take all of them regardless and somehow make something happen.


    But there is a condition for that to happen.


    Its that everyone needs to cooperate on the progression of the project at the very least. Even if everyone has different thoughts in mind and different goals, as long as everyone cooperates for the project, things will go just fine.


    Youre saying we should cooperate for the big objective of escaping the hotel, right? I was going to do that anyway.


    I know, and thats why I was trying to gloss over everything instead of interrogating you. Whatever the case, none of us wants to stay in this strange hotel for thousands of years. Im sure you know what I mean.


    *


    The next day,


    The disy screen of the Hotel created a big fuss as soon as it was morning.


    <strong>/Massive Construction Work!</strong>


    <strong>The staff members of Hotel Pioneer are here to convey some very disappointing news. Last night, due to the rampage of a violent and disrespectful customer, several facilities of the Hotel were destroyed which thus interfered with everyonesfortable sleep time.</strong>


    <strong>Regardless of the person responsible for this incident, as the staff of the Hotel, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.</strong>


    <strong>The Hotel will be closed for today. All facilities will be stopped, and we kindly ask our dear customers to use the camping grounds in the basement.</strong>


    <strong>In 1 hour, the Hotel will be shut down. Please make your way to the camping grounds./</strong>

 Chapter 49: Intermission, Happy Interrogation Time

    Chapter 49: Intermission, Happy Interrogation Time


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    Haak haak


    I woke up in immense dizziness.


    What in the world was that just then? I met the Lord. And the Hotels announcement had been distorted, but in a way that was different from what happened inside the Animal Farm.


    Looking back at the change inside the Animal Farm, it was pretty much the Hotel changing the title itself because we were heading to the next stage, the so-called Phase 2.


    This time, the distortion was as if it had been hacked. It was definitely the first time this had happened.


    Plus What exactly was it that I saw? The heavenly throne, and the owner of this world.


    On top of that  a cluster of golden light had been seeping into my body.


    Light. Light. Light.


    I could feel a storm of light raging inside my head. Holding onto my head with both of my hands, I shivered.


    That was when someone held me by my hand.


    I dont know what happened, but dont think about anything for now.


    Ahri You made it out.


    You probably have no idea what I went through. I was going to punch you again as soon as I left the room, but I guess you had your own share of troubles.


    Someone else also held onto my hand as a rather refreshing feeling swept past me. It felt as if I had dumped my head into cold water as the headache slowly went away.


    Oh my. What did you do there? Is this another function of the bracelet?


    What are you going to do after knowing that, Ahri? Songee asked Ahri with a cold voice while letting go of my hand.


    Thank you Songee. But Im also curious. What did you do to me just then?


    It wasnt much. Your senses, I should say? They were slightly distorted so I put them back to order. Im not a doctor so it might not be perfect though.


    I can assure you thats incredibly more amazing than being a doctor.


    After the headache settled a little, I stood up and looked around and saw everyone including Songee and Ahri looking at me with worrisome looks on their faces.


    Everyone quietly headed back to Room 105 as if they were conscious about my headache.


    Even on the way back, I suffered from a spasmodic headache and disorder and Songee had to help stabilise my mind on repeat.


    How long did I have to suffer like this, I wonder?


    A doubt appeared in my mind when we were almost back at Room 105.


    Was everyone else okay? It might be a bitte for this, but didnt everyone else go through painful deaths as well?


    Are you guys okay? Seungyub might be fine because he was brainwashed, but Jinchul-hyung and Songee, for example, had painful deaths right?


    Honestly, rebutted Jinchul-hyung. Its more puzzling for me to see you in so much pain.


    What? Are you okay, hyung?


    Think about everything weve gone through until now. Each and every one of those memories were horrendously painful, and it wouldnt be surprising if it was already haunting us a trauma. But considering that, everyone is usually normal so I was under the impression that the Hotel automatically got rid of traumatic emotions from us.


    I agree with what Jinchul said, Eunsol-noona added. No-one has said anything about it until now, but dont we all feel the same way? Even when I die in a vomit-inducingly horrible manner, it feels like its not me that experienced it as soon as I leave the Hotel room. It gave me the feeling that I was just reading a book.


    Of course, its definitely not a happy memory or anything and I would rather not look back at it, but Ive never had any serious symptoms like you, Kain.


    I think I can add something.


    It was Ahri who then opened her mouth.


    It wasnt surprising at all. The best people to ask in regards to these supernatural events would be either Ahri or Grandpa Mooksung.


    The Administration has talked to survivors of the Hotel a few times, and they all said the same thing as Jinchul-oppa and Eunsol-unni. No matter how horrible a thing happens inside, those experiences all appear like simple arrangements of letters immediately after leaving that ce, and theres no trauma at all.


    Besides, the Hotel sends us a doctor to heal broken limbs and crushed organs and even resurrects us from the Cursed Rooms so it should be safe to say that they can get rid of all the mental burdens as well.


    So Kain-oppa. Your pain right now is not because of the trauma from the Hotel.


    Then what is it?


    I think you can make a guess yourself, can you not? Let me be honest. I can feel an rmingly strong amount of power boiling inside you. What exactly have you gained?


    I gained something, and that appeared to be the cause of this pain.


    <strong><em>I have granted light unto thee. </em>Light had pervaded into my body as soon as I heard those words.</strong>


    Now, now. Lets stop there. I dont think Kain knows whats going on himself, and were not going to get a clear answer even if we push him here. Its right before dinner time, so lets have some food while we chat, said Eunsol-noona.


    Unni is right. And we need to get the order straight. Isnt there someone who needs to answer questions before Kain-oppa?


    Songees words raised the tension in the air. She had been showing quite a vignt attitude against Ahri the whole time ever since Animal Farm, and I was now under the same impression.


    Although Ive been wanting to avoid potential strife in the Hotel since it repeatedly gave us trials, this was the limit. Hiding information here will instead break our trust.


    Naturally, 6 pairs of eyes headed to Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung.


    The situation turned out like a 2 vs 6, as tension was added to the air.


    Puhut. What is with this atmosphere? I was going to share everything that needed to be shared today anyway, so please dont look at me like that. How about we go in and have some food first?


    Right. Lets have something first. Were not trying to fight here, are we? Its just that we are trying to know what needs to be known. Lets go in.


    Fortunately, the tension slowly dissipated thanks to Eunsol-noonas direction.


    *


    Eunsol had the feeling that all the participants of the Hotel got rid of their dissatisfaction through food. Despite swearing at the Hotel 30 times a day, those all disappeared as soon as it was mealtime. It was ridiculous how every dish tasted amazing.


    The meals at the Hotel were sometimes abination of everyones favourite dishes, or had one theme going through it and the theme for todays dinner appeared to be a barbeque.


    Chunks of various kinds of meat were being cooked on arge grill, and the grill was cooking the meat by itself so all we had to do was eat.


    Besides, there were a few things they learned while spending weeks at the Hotel.


    One of those was the way to make use of the shy waiters.


    Back when they didnt know about the most optimal way to make use of them, everyone used to leave the room when either the food or the drink ran out. But at one point, they discovered that there was no need to leave the room. It simply had to be away from everyones vision  if you wanted a refill for a drink or a dish, all you had to do was ce the cup or the te beneath the table before raising it back up.


    Indulging herself in themb cutlets that were crusty on the outside while maintaining a soft and pink medium-rare inside with mint jelly, Eunsol couldnt help but marvel at the taste of it.


    Born as the daughter of the Daeyang Group, she thought she had tasted all the delicacies in the world but the food provided by the Hotel were of exceptional standards.


    Thanks to that, everyone was back to being calm.


    It was great. Even though she had constantly been feeling the need to have an open-minded conversation with the two agents of the Cmity Administration Bureau, she could not have the conversation lead to a strife.


    After all, the Hotel was a very dangerous ce.


    An internal strife was already a big problem, but to make things worse, the two agents had unidentified powers. It wasnt a wise decision to confront them.


    Now was the best time in that sense. Good food made people happy and rxed, and that was why hard topics were best shared over nice meals.


    Now~! I think everyones almost had their fill, so how about we ask a few questions to each other?


    Ahri lowered her spoon as if she had been waiting for it.


    Hmm. Is it finally going to be the interrogation time for grandpa and me?


    Interrogation? Lets not put it that way. We are not looking for any criminals; Im just suggesting that we open our hearts a bit more.


    Okay.


    Like that, the interrogation began.


    *


    Ahri was the first to open her mouth.


    I think it would be better for me to talk about myself. After that, you can ask me questions. I wondered what everyone would want to ask of me, and came up with 3 main things.


    1. Who am I?


    2. What is my goal?


    3. What are my powers?


    Firstly, I was born in the Hotel.


    Her first statement was already dumbfounding enough to make everyone speechless.


    My mother had been chosen by the Hotel a long time ago, and she gave birth to me here. Ah, please dont misunderstand  she wanted to give birth to me. And while growing up here I earned several powers, escaped and came back.


    You might ask, Why did youe back to this ridiculous ce? and that leads to the 2nd point. I want to release my mum from the Hotel. If possible, resurrection; if not, then I would at least love to release her from the cirction of pain and give her peace.


    Lastly, you already have an idea on what my Blessing is, right? Im sure everyone knows what hypnosis is. It has several effects rted to the mind, and I need to use my blood to manifest a stronger effect. We have someone here who drank my blood twice already, so he should know what Im talking about.


    I think thats pretty much it. Any questions?


    I get the first and the second part. I wish you the best, and hope you save your mother, said Songee. But the third one needs more exnation. I clearly remember you flying in to grab me by the neck. If Im not mistaken about the meaning of hypnosis, then there shouldnt be anything rted to flight there.


    Lets just say that I have some secret measures myself.


    Why are you ending it yourself without answering my question?


    Then what. Are you going to exin everything to us every time you learn how to do something new with the bracelet? Back then when you healed Kain, thats not something you told us about, is it?


    Why are you suddenly shifting the topic to me? I wasnt intentionally hiding it. Im still learning about the bracelet in real time while using it so thats why I couldnt


    In the first ce, Ahri cut off her words. Why should I tell you all of my abilities? Have I intentionally threatened you or anything until now?


    <strong> Kwang!</strong>


    WAAAITT! Songee, Ahri. Both of you, be quiet for now! Were not trying to fight here. Lets talk about all the things that need to be shared for us to easily trust each other  thats the premise behind our conversation.


    Please dont forget. This Hotel is a hell and we are 8 crew members on the same ship. Its hard for us to escape from this hell even when we group together, so what are you trying to gain by fighting each other?


    Silence befell the dining table after Eunsols shout.


    Kuhum. What a chilly atmosphere. Firstly, let me apologise to Miss Songee because Ahri went a bit over the top there. I hope you dont misunderstand  Ahri might be hiding something, but that is definitely not because she wants to harm you or anything.


    Our Administration is an organisation that does have a lot of secrets, and the abilities of us agents are included in those secrets.


    If you find it hard to trust us, then please trust the Administration. Ever since the Great Cmity, we have been doing our best to settle the confusion after all.


    Let me say something as well. Jinchul opened his mouth. In the grand scheme of things, I understand what Eunsol-noonim is saying. We definitely cannot fight here, but it is hard to build trust when everyone has secrets. I believe you need to talk a little bit about yourself as well, Sir Mooksung.


    Right. Thatll make it easy for me as well. Like Ahri, I will talk about who I am, what my goal is and what my powers are.


    I wasnt born in the Hotel like Ahri, and Im just a normal person who somehow ended up working at the Administration.


    My objective is also very straight-forward. Im under themand of the Administration. I dont have any personal goals like Ahri  my objective is the objective and purpose of the Administration.


    After finding out that the Hotel had the power to stabilise reality, the Administration has sent us inside. I have no idea whether that is an Inheritance or a Blessing, but my goal is to somehow gain ess to that.


    A power to stabilise reality? What is that?


    I told you I have no idea. Im not hiding anything. The Administration doesnt know either. Ill just tell you that we had a prophecy saying that it would be incredibly valuable for us.


    Somehow, it feels like we are getting more questions the longer we hear from you.


    And as for my abilities, let me be honest with that as well. I have none. None except for themunication tab that you all know about.


    Unlike with Ahris case, everyone immediately nodded their heads. Eunsol opened her mouth.


    Honestly, that was what I was thinking as well. Back in the School when I was working with sir, I have been observing you quite a lot.


    A youngdy was stalking me, huh. How embarrassing.


    Especially on thest day, I saw you die in a single second when the enemy was pointing a gun at us, and seeing that made me think, Ah, I see. He has nothing.


    Thats a bit sad. Youre telling me the reason you are not suspicious of me is because I am ipetent.


    Can you please stop twisting my words?


    If I can exin myself wait, this is a bit strange! It feels like Im exining about my ipetency. Anyway, let me tell you that it is in fact very rare even inside the Administration to have someone with special abilities like Ahri. Most are just normal people that have received adequate training, who know more stuff than others.


    Uhmm. That was when Seungyub opened his mouth. Theres something Ive been wanting to say for a while now.


    What is it, Seungyub?


    Kain-hyung is looking weird.


    In response, the gazes that had been focused on Ahri and Mooksung until now due to the torrent of information finally headed to Kain.


    At the end of their gazes was a boy who was ambiently giving off light with his entire body.

 Chapter 50: The One who descended from Heaven

    Chapter 50: The One who descended from Heaven


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    I was in the Hotel-


    My mother


    My neck


    Faint mumbling voices reached my ears.


    They appeared to be talking about something but I couldnt see nor hear anything.


    Instead, from a distant ce I could hear a hymn. In order to hold on to myself, I covered myself with the system window filter, closed my eyes and blocked my ears. Thanks to that, the sound of the hymn turned a little softer.


    It felt like I was deafened. My body was definitely here, and yet it felt like my soul was being pulled to a distant ce.


    Voices  soft whispers echoed in my ears. There was definitely an existence that was trying to convey their will to me but I couldnt make meaning out of those words. As if buried in the background noise, their voice was concealed by a buzz.


    Several pieces of information vaguely permeated inside. Without necessarily hearing it from anyone, I realised it.


    I realised that a negotiation was taking ce at the heavenly table.


    Soon, the negotiation wasplete.


    <strong>: </strong>


    <strong>Des: </strong>


    <strong>Descent: </strong>


    <strong>Descent: 3</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 19</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2</strong>


    <strong>Descent: 3]</strong>


    <strong><em>Let there be light.</em></strong>


    And there was light.


    *


    A tornado of light was swirling like a storm.


    In Elenas eyes, the scene in front of her eyes was more unrealistic than anything she had seen thus far.


    Is this the process of a person turning into an angel?


    Inexplicable rays and waves were radiating out of Kains entire body.


    She just couldnt dare look at his face with her bare eyes. The halo behind him was truly that of one who descended from heaven.


    Let alone beautiful and handsome, he looked holy. Standing in front of her was someone who had fallen from the sky, that human standards of beauty could not possibly exin.


    Tears flowed out of her eyes as all the vicissitudes and pain she had gone through filled her brain. The plentiful and joyful childhood, which unfortunately came to an end due to their family having no choice but to escape from their homnd; poverty and danger was with them wherever they went to, and she had no choice but to leave like a grasshopper hopping for freedom without ever getting close to anyone.


    <em>I see, all that pain was to meet this person.</em>


    The pain and suffering of the Hotel were nothing but thorns of the path leading to salvation.


    Old memories of sorrow and despair turned vague as tears fell like buckets out of her eyes.


    Like that, Elena kneeled down and prayed.


    *


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    My consciousness returned as I immediately opened my eyes. The first to enter my sight were my teammates.


    Every one of them were out of their seats. Some were rolling on the floor while some were on their knees, praying to me.


    Only then did I notice something. Just then, I had left the realms of humanity.


    What did I have to do to return to being a human? Although I wasnt sure, what was certain was that I had to leave my teammates for the time being.


    Mindlessly, I stood up and pushed the door of Room 105 wide open.


    The door got torn and ripped apart.


    Since I didnt even have the time to stay there in astonishment, I immediately dashed outside.


    The floor exploded beneath my feet with each and every step. When I kicked off the ground, my head crashed into the ceiling, but my head was okay and the ceiling was the one that was broken instead. In a fluster, I swung my arm back which ripped the wall out.


    After realising how soft I had to be with everything, I started to move with care.


    What did I have to do? Was I going to stay like this forever?


    I could see colours that I couldnt see before, and hear sounds that couldnt be heard when I was a human. My hands touched the dust floating in the air, and my skin felt the pulsation of the pebbles from the crushed walls.


    A chandelier was falling from a distance. The vibrations in the air caused by that chandelier; that movement of the air reached my ears as a song.


    Ahh, how small of a world were humans living in? How tragic is it that they could not perceive all these things that were happening in the world?


    Only now did I understand that every human was a blind and a deaf.


    But even so, I sincerely hoped I could return to being human.


    That was when an unusually nice advice appeared in front of my eyes.


    <strong>[You can stay still. You will return to being human once all the power seeps into your body.]</strong>


    It was different  this was clearly different from the normal Sages Advice. Before, it simply tossed a few words when I was close to death but this time, it felt like an actual advice.


    I stood still as I was told. Besides, I was crushing everything around me whenever I was moving, so I didnt even want to move either.


    Although it might be edgy of me to say this, I was scared of myself.


    After about 10 minutes, the light around my body settled and the infinite source of power that was boiling inside me like an active volcano started to turn faint like a drying stream of water.


    Feeling less tense than before, I looked around and noticed that the Hotel looked like it was bombarded in the middle of a battlefield.


    There were holes on the floor where my steps hadnded as if there had been mines, and the chandelier 20 metres away had fallen down due to me crashing into the ceiling. All the ornaments on the walls turned into trash, and the trees near the front desk were nowhere to be seen, as if they had been wiped out by a missile.


    I was simply running to ces in surprise and yet that had caused a catastrophe like this to everything nearby.


    And that was when  thest kind advice of today appeared before my eyes.


    <strong>[You may now descend 3 times. But please keep in mind that there is no free lunch in this world]</strong>


    *


    When I returned to Room 105, which had no doors now, I realised that fortunately, my teammates had alreadye back to themselves.


    They looked back at me with dumbfounded looks on their faces.


    Umm Kain. Can you please exin that to us?


    Where did I have to start the exnation from? I decided to share everything that happened from thest day of the school, and the things that happened at the Old Main Building.


    I slowly exined everything, from how I infiltrated the Old Main Building by myself and attacked Aurelia after waiting for the chance, before being kidnapped by the Lord. There, I received something and the message of the Hotel had been distorted.


    And I then talked about the thing that just happened, as well as Descent that appeared on the system window.


    The room turned silent.


    The first one to open their mouth was, as expected, Grandpa Kim Mooksung, who was an agent that was used to supernatural things.


    It seems that the existence called Lord that is sealed inside the Cursed Room has put some kind of investment on you.


    Can someone sealed inside the room affect the real world?


    Thats something I cannot say for sure, but havent we already confirmed through the Devouring One that these absolute existences sealed inside the Cursed Rooms are somewhat aware of the works of the Hotel? The Devouring One was also aware of the Hotel and had the power to create a pawn inside the stage who had their own individuality.


    Why do you think he invested in me?


    You might not be the only one.


    Do you mean he has been doing the same thing for a long time?


    It is nothing but a guess.


    Lets stop talking about the Lord for now. Ahri said. We dont know much about the Hotel in the first ce, so itll be meaningless for us to worry about the intentions of the transcendent existence sealed in one of the rooms. More importantly, it feels like you gained an incredible amount of power and ridiculous charisma but are there any conditions for it?


    It has the number 3 next to it on the system window. I think I can only use it 3 times.


    And there was also the advice I received that finally seemed like an actual Sages Advice.


    <strong>There is no free lunch in this world.</strong>


    The room turned quiet again, until Eunsol-noona added a question.


    I believe Mr. Mooksung and Ahri are more experienced in this field than us. What do you think Kain should do?


    As an agent of the Administration, I would obviously say that he should live his entire life without worrying about such a fishy ability. There is nothing free in this world, and that is why I called it an investment. Lord will definitelye back and ask you for a price.


    As an agent of the Administration? Do you have other opinions?


    As someone who is now in the Hotel, Id say it is quite foolish to forget about an ability that was given by the Hotel just because you are scared about the price of it. If you dont use it because of the price, and end up having everyone fail in the end, then we will all be resources of the Hotel. Rather than that, it is better to use what is given when necessary and worry about the futureter.


    Umm sir? Your two opinions are inplete contradiction though


    It is up to you to decide which is correct.


    Then, do it this way, said Ahri.


    Im listening.


    Try not to use it ever until the very very end. And when worsees to worst, when everyone except for you is dead, or if you think it will be a wipe if you die  thats when you should use it.


    A final resort, reserved only for thest moment.


    I decided to think of the new ability I gained today as a final resort skill, before thinking about some other things by myself..


    I was walking around in contemtion when I noticed that Elena and Songee would flinch and avoid me whenever our eyes met. Looking back, those two were the ones who had been praying in front of me


    It was very awkward.


    In the end, I headed to somewhere isted while leaving everyone else behind using the excuse that I wanted to have some time to organise my thoughts. There were a lot of things I had to think about today anyway.


    *


    Im just saying this now that Kains not here but What did you guys think when you saw him? Eunsol opened her mouth.


    Like, holy? He looked like an angel.


    Unbelievably handsome; the saviour of the world  some ridiculous things like that.


    Looks like Songee and Elena felt the same way as me, said Eunsol after hearing the words of the two.


    I think it will be very awkward to see Kain-oppa from tomorrow.


    Probably the same for me. Elena agreed.


    Same here, said Eunsol. It was only for a little bit, but he appeared like a totally different existence from us.


    I guess were not in the mood to eat any more and theres less than 10 minutes left of mealtime. Lets take a rest. Well, we will probably all disappear to our own personal spaces in 10 minutes though.


    Will we?


    What do you mean, Ahri?


    After gesturing at the door with her chin, Ahri continued with her sentence.


    Im just concerned if Room 105s system will still function properly or not even when the door is broken.


    Her concerns were realised.


    That day, all functions of Room 105 stopped, and everyone was left behind at the seemingly bombarded room even after the mealtime was over.


    In the end, everyone had to take their few belongings and each head to a ce where they could go to sleep.


    *


    Ahri.


    Unni? Didnt you say you were going to sleep near the tea table?


    Im going to, but I have something to say before that.


    You do? Why didnt you say it before?


    I wanted to talk to you alone.


    Ill be honest. Im not really worried about your past; what your objective is and how you were born.


    Ever since I was young, I grew up working in thepany. You see all sorts of people when youre working on arge project  most people have other stuff in their mind and the role of a leader is to take all of them regardless and somehow make something happen.


    But there is a condition for that to happen.


    Its that everyone needs to cooperate on the progression of the project at the very least. Even if everyone has different thoughts in mind and different goals, as long as everyone cooperates for the project, things will go just fine.


    Youre saying we should cooperate for the big objective of escaping the hotel, right? I was going to do that anyway.


    I know, and thats why I was trying to gloss over everything instead of interrogating you. Whatever the case, none of us wants to stay in this strange hotel for thousands of years. Im sure you know what I mean.


    *


    The next day,


    The disy screen of the Hotel created a big fuss as soon as it was morning.


    <strong>/Massive Construction Work!</strong>


    <strong>The staff members of Hotel Pioneer are here to convey some very disappointing news. Last night, due to the rampage of a violent and disrespectful customer, several facilities of the Hotel were destroyed which thus interfered with everyonesfortable sleep time.</strong>


    <strong>Regardless of the person responsible for this incident, as the staff of the Hotel, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.</strong>


    <strong>The Hotel will be closed for today. All facilities will be stopped, and we kindly ask our dear customers to use the camping grounds in the basement.</strong>


    <strong>In 1 hour, the Hotel will be shut down. Please make your way to the camping grounds./</strong>

 Chapter 51: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant.

    Chapter 51: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 20</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Basement, Camping Grounds</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    We were sitting in a circle with absentminded looks on our faces. Due to the broken facilities, everyone had a hard time having a good sleep, and on top of that, we had to hurry down to the basement because of the Hotels directions first thing in the morning.


    As a result, everyone was sitting in the campsite looking extremely fatigued.


    Do we have to spend a whole day here? Is there a way to go outside?


    Seeing how the door disappeared as soon as we came inside, I believe it is telling us to stay here for a day, said Grandpa Mooksung.


    Theres meat there, tents and some sleeping bags. How about we sleep a bit more?


    I understand that you are sleepy, Seungyub-gun, but we should first see whether this ce is safe or not. It was again Grandpa Mooksung who replied to Seungyub.


    Can you feel anything dangerous, sir?


    Im not a psychic so of course not. But judging from our experiences, the Hotel has been giving us strange things everyday whenever we werent going into a Cursed Room, right?


    But this time, said Songee. Its not like we are choosing not to enter it, and we just cannot go to a Cursed Room, right?


    Well, youre right but sir also has a point. Eunsol-noona continued after Songee. This Hotel does whatever they want to anyway, right? If we start talking about reasons, then the reason why we cannot go into a Cursed Room is because the Hotel is broken, and the one who broke it is Kain, so there is a possibility that the Hotel doesnt let us off today.


    Sorry


    Everyone became silent after my apology. I had a subtle feeling ever since this morning that everyone would flinch or run away from me when I spoke or walked up to them. Maybe the thing that happened yesterday was just that shocking.


    It is a bit early, but it is quite cold so lets start the fire. Theres no heater but there is plenty of firewood over there.


    Its not like there was anything else we could do anyway, so we all stood up and gathered the firewood to one ce, and somehow managed to light it on fire after gently blowing on the ember that was created by the lighter.


    And


    The sky turned dark.


    Can anyone exin what the f*ck is going on for me?


    Seems that you havent gotten used to the Hotel yet.


    What do you mean, sir?


    We came in the morning to light up the campfire and it suddenly became nighttime. What is going on? That is not the correct way to think inside the Hotel. The correct one would be, Ahah! Something serious is about to happen soon, so the kind and benevolent Hotel is giving us a warning, huh!


    <strong><em>- Rustle. Stomp. Rustle.</em></strong>


    Something was approaching us from the woods as everyone immediately turned silent at the same time.


    What soon appeared from behind the trees was a bear that looked like it weighed more than 500 kg.


    If this was a normal camping ground and if we were normal tourists, then we would probably be screaming right now after seeing the bear.


    But of course, there was no-one here who would scream from seeing a mere bear. Instead, seeing the bear made me think, Is this guy the only one?


    Jinchul-hyung should be able to deal with it by himself, right?


    As expected, Jinchul-hyung stood up after an empty smile.


    A fight between a human and a bear. Their sizes were iparably different but I couldnt imagine Jinchul-hyung losing this fight. The enemy wasnt even a demon or anything and it was just a bear, so Captain Korea should be able to bash it to death right?


    But someone walked up to the bear before he did.


    Songee nonchntly stood up and approached the bear, before bringing it to the campfire as if it was a dog and started feeding it a few chunks of meat that we had.


    I heard you raised animals before. Did you raise bears as well? asked Ahri.


    Of course not. No-one raises a bear in their house.


    There are some people that do in Russia, replied Elena.


    Hmm. Let me rephrase that to, There is no-one in Korea who does that.


    I think Im seeing one right now.


    I wanted to test out my enhanced blessing. It worked, I guess.


    Right, looking back, Songee, Seungyub and my blessings were the ones that were enhanced at the Sanctum of Blessings.


    The one I gained was the ability to check the locations of my teammates.


    By the way, Songee and Seungyub, what happened to your blessings after the enhancement?


    Its like, I can convey my thoughts and emotions to a being of chaos that holds goodwill for me. Looks like even a beast like this thats different from a highly intelligent being like Teacher can understand me when I say, Come here and have a meal with me.


    Doesnt a being of chaos refer to monsters and demons? Isnt this a bear?


    Seungyub. Please think before you say things. Would there be a normal bear in a ce like this? This guy would probably get horns and wings or something when he entersbat.


    After getting scolded by Ahri, Seungyub shrunk his shoulders in dejection.


    Seeing that, she suddenly walked up to him as if she remembered something and patted Seungyub on his head.


    He then regained a bright smile on his face as energy refilled his body.


    What the heck were they doing? Was this like aedy skit?


    By the way, what was yours again, Seungyub?


    I got a translucent window after that day. It says 82%. And even though I havent tried it yet, I can press on the window and pressing it says Would you like to activate it?


    So you can see the cooldown with your eyes, and you can also use it whenever you want to? Thats amazing. Ah~. Everyones blessings are getting stronger, but what about my HP Market? Its annoying how this Market thing doesnt even enhance my abilities.


    My thing doesnt do much either though replied Seungyub.


    Its meaningless even if they do make you stronger, Jinchul-hyung added. Recently, I only remember myself being controlled by another person to death.


    Everyone became dejected and silence befell the camping ground.


    It was then.


    <em> Clink. - nk.</em>


    A strange noise of screeching metal reached our ears.


    In silence, we started looking around the area and that was when the bear, who had been munching through the pieces of meat like arge dog, suddenly became like a frightened puppy and ran away without even turning around!


    Absurdly enough, the bears legs separated into 8 legs when it was running away. As expected, it wasnt a normal bear and it might have been quite dangerous for us just then when the bear appeared if not for Songees existence.


    Someone approached us from the woods.


    *


    Hoh~ Hello everyone? I am a passing merchant. May I please share the fire with you? said a mysterious existence who had bandages wrapped all around their body with not a single part of their skin exposed.


    Was he even human? Did we have to chase him out?


    Jinchul-hyung stepped forward inrge strides and stood in the middle between us and the merchant.


    If you dont have any business with us, then how about you go your own way? We have a lot of people already.


    Haha. Thats an unfortunate thing to hear. Didnt I call myself a merchant? My items will definitely be of great help going through the Hotel.


    This person  he knew that we were participants of the Hotel.


    Jinchul-hyung was wondering what to say in puzzlement when a cheery voice left from our group.


    Come here and show us your items please~!


    It was Ahri.


    Did she know something about it?


    As we heard already, this was her second time at the Hotel, and she was bound to know more things than us.


    After casually taking his spot next to the fire, the man showed us a piece of paper.


    This is the catalogue of the items I sell. Even though I would love to give everyone a piece, unfortunately I only have one so let me read them through myself.


    Of course, I should introduce the best one I have right? The first item is the Escape Ticket from the Hotel!


    !!!


    It was shocking. Like an Escape Ticket out of the Hotel? Wasnt this an insanely good item then?!


    But Eunsol-noonas cold voice soon echoed across the camping ground.


    There is nothing free in this world. So, what is the price of that amazing item you have?


    Instead of asking, How much, she was asking what the price was. It was natural because a merchant that was here inside the Hotel to sell some mysterious items wouldnt be asking for cash in return.


    Haha! Theyre cheap of course. Let me promise you. All of my items are pretty much free when you consider their value. I am not making any profit out of them! Sometimes, I even wonder whether I am a merchant or a volunteer!


    Stop with the nonsense and just talk about the price.


    The merchant replied to Grandpa Mooksung.


    Lives of 3 participants.


    The campsite became chillingly silent.


    What is wrong, everyone? There are 8 people here so whats the issue with losing 3? Besides, honestly speaking, there are a few here that arent very helpful right? Hello, young friend? Do you consider yourself useful?


    Huiik!


    In the middle of his speech, the merchant suddenly pushed his face at Seungyub and raised a question. Seungyub stepped back in surprise and that was when a punch went flying at the merchants face.


    <em> Kwaaang!</em>


    The merchant flew back along with a sound that woulde from a cannon instead of someones fist.


    And here, I was wondering whether this guy was going to be useful or not; it looks like he was just a piece of garbage. Lets continue having our meal instead of worrying about this guy. What kind of


    The merchant returned after being flown back as if nothing happened.


    You bastard!


    Haha~. Running a business is a really hard thing to do. Why are there so many nasty clients? Was I making you buy my items? You can simply not buy them if you do not like the content.


    Anything else? asked Ahri.


    Was she really going to buy something from this guy?


    Talk about your other items. Its not like you only have one right?


    Of course. What kind of merchant would go around carrying only one item?


    The second product is none other than an Inheritance!


    Everyone, isnt this wonderful? You do not need to suffer anguish and hardships going around the Cursed Rooms of the Hotel for this Inheritance. You can simply buy it from me! How could there be such afortable and


    Just tell us the price when youre talking about the item. And cut the gibberish.


    Lives of 2 participants.


    It was this thing again.


    What in the world was this guy? Was his job to ruin teams that werent in a good rtionship?


    But then again, I suddenly had a feeling that things might have been awkward today if the 2 vs 6 strife from yesterday was still in ce. Eunsol-noona was right for somehow sealing the cracks before it turned any worse.


    Ah. Seriously, I cannot stand you. Do you want me to pull your head out?


    Ehew. Sir? I have no idea why youre doing this! Its not like Im forcing you to buy anything, right?


    Tell me your next item. If it costs lives again, then you can just shut up and leave. Talk about something that doesnt cost a life.


    Aigooo~. The customers this time are cheapskates, it looks like! Of course, I do have cheap items but there is a reason why they are cheap! They are iparably worthlesspared to Escape Tickets and an Inheritance so how about


    <em>m!</em>


    This time, it was Grandpa Mooksung who kicked the merchant.


    This is the first time Im having such an unpleasant conversation aftering to this ce. Talk about the item and the price. Thats all you need to do.


    I have 2 cheap items. The first is a weapon supply box. Whats inside is random so that adds to the enjoyment! It costs 2 limbs of a participant.


    2 limbs of a participant. Was he talking about the limb I knew of?


    2 limbs


    I felt spooked when I heard Ahri say that to herself in contemtion. Was she really going to buy that?

 Chapter 52: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant (2)

    Chapter 52: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 20</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Basement, Camping Grounds</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Trading for a weapon with 2 limbs. Was Ahri really going to do such a crazy thing?


    I opened my mouth.


    I dont know what youre thinking, but dont forget the fact that we still have to stay in this ce for more than 10 hours. If you stay without your limbs for that long, you will die before we can even go to Room 105 for the doctor.


    Ahri. Grandpa Mooksung followed up. I havent stopped you for anything aftering to this ce but this time it is quite worrisome. Is there a need for you to go through so much pain just for a weapon?


    His words were slightly strange  it sounded as if there would be no risk to her life despite her having to go through some level of pain.


    We havent had ess to any proper weapons ever since we came to this ce. Even though Songee did obtain a powerful Inheritance, its not good for simple and straightforward fights. I think its about time for us to get one.


    Struck speechless, everyone stared at Ahri with their eyes wide open.


    But I am still scared of pain. Can you help me out, Songee?


    Y, yes. But I cant perfectly stop another persons sense of pain. The pain wille back in 10 minutes.


    It had been a while since Ist heard Songee stutter like that. She changed so much aftering out of the Farm and had turned into a cold and sharpdy, but she was now showing a timid attitude like the shy high school student she was on the first day.


    Thats more than enough.


    Ahri nonchntly ripped out her left arm and left leg using some supernatural strength. There was not a single drop of blood as if those were the limbs of a doll.


    Everyone was speechless from themon-sense-defying scenery in front of their eyes when a heartyughter echoed from somewhere.


    Hahahaha! Looks like its not the worst day for me after all! I am very d to serve one customer. Well then, here is the Weapon Supply Box but I do not know whats inside the box either! By the way, I rmend you open the box at Room 105 because sometimes, you might get some violent weapons.


    Songee hurriedly walked up and used the power of the bracelet and Ahri took the box and sat down with the support of Grandpa Mooksung. After some time, she started to sweat buckets out and fainted, while we had no choice but to watch on with no way of helping her.


    Despite her fainting, the proposals of the mad merchant did not stop.


    Now for the next item! Its a shame that everyone is only looking for cheap items, and this is thest cheap one I have. The 2nd Item on the list is Secrets of the Hotel. What kind of secrets? I do not know, but let me tell you that these secrets will be very helpful for your survival and your escape! The price is also very cheap. 5 fingers will be enough!


    5 fingers was cheap? It was dumbfounding but considering how some items cost peoples lives and limbs, 5 fingers was indeedparatively cheaper.


    Jinchul-hyung said with a trembling voice.


    N no we dont want it. Just go. Go away!


    Hmm Does nobody want to buy it?


    Do all the fingers have to be from one person? Eunsol-noona raised a question.


    Noonim! Whats gotten into you?


    Be quiet. Do they have to be from one person?


    Haha! Unfortunately, that is indeed the case. Of course, you might think it is less dangerous for 5 people to each share their finger, but think about it from a different perspective. That means I need to tell the secrets to all 5 of you, right? You need to remember that secrets lose value when shared.


    Does that matter? We are going to be sharing all the secrets about the Hotel between ourselves though?


    That is up to the customer to decide after having a look at all the secrets. Unfortunately, my offer stays firm. All 5 fingers must be from one single person.


    I will do it, said Eunsol-noona as Jinchul-hyung raised his voice in return.


    Noonim!


    Young miss, you should sit down. I think its better for an old man like me to take care of horrible things like this.


    Whats wrong with you now, sir?


    Just listen to me. Cutting fingers? Pain is the only problem because the Hotel will put the fingers back together as long as we go to Room 105. Now, Secrets of the Hotel  dont you think we know way too little about the Hotel? We wont be getting anything if we are scared of making sacrifices. A life isnt something we can pay but fingers Theylle back anyway so whats the issue there?


    You are absolutely correct! Even if I take your fingers, your fingerse back after a good nights sleep anyway, dont they? This is why Im telling you I am making a loss here!


    Can you please shut your mouth.


    I do agree with what you said, Miss Eunsol. Grandpa Mooksung said. The secret is worth going through pain, but is there a need for a youngdy like you to go through that pain? As I said already, I believe it is better for an old man like me to do this.


    There is no need to feel guilty or anything from this sir, because I am not trying to cut my fingers out of some self-sacrificial mindset. Lets think this logically. Wheres the guarantee that there wont be anything dangerous happening after this transaction is over? Who knows if there might be more monsters? Ahri was the only one that could survive after cutting her limbs so thats why she had to be the one, but cutting fingers is something anyone can do, so its correct for someone with aparatively lower value to do this. Jinchul and sir, you are the best fighters of our group. Songee has her bracelet, Ahri is already unconscious, Elena can fight with the Blessing of Justice and Kain is ourst resort. My fingers have the least value.


    U, umm, in that case noona. I cant do anything either so how about I


    Sorry, but kids should stay out of this. Seungyub, just stay seated.


    The campsite turned silent. What this made me realise once again was that this noona had a stronger mindset than normal people. Even if she wasnt born into a wealthy family, I had a feeling that she still would have led a life that was different from others.


    You can help me stop my blood, right sir?


    I have gone through enough battles in my life to know that


    Hey! So how are you going to tell me that secret? Are you going to whisper it to me?


    Hahaha! There might be people here with abnormal hearing abilities, so of course that is not an option!


    I am not nning on hiding anything though? Eunsol-noona asked again but the merchant replied with a smirk.


    Well, that is up to you to decide after hearing the secrets. Please do not worry about the secrets  I will let you know in a way that only you can see.


    Alright. Kain. You have your dagger with you right? Give it to me.


    I didnt know what I was supposed to do. Did I really have to give her the dagger?


    While I was puzzled as to what to do, noona walked up inrge strides and snatched the dagger from me.


    Im not sure if I can cut them myself. Can you lend me a hand sir?


    And Songee. I need your help as well. I think 10 minutes of pain relief will still go a long way.


    What happened next was something I didnt even want to think about. Forgetting it would be the best for everyone.


    *


    After the deal, the unpleasant merchant bbered about hoping to have another great deal so Jinchul-hyung threw him away and he never came back. Left behind in the campsite was a girl with one arm and one leg gone, and ady with a fingerless hand.


    Everyone was feeling very down like we were in the middle of a battlefield. Without even thinking about touching the meat, we wandered around the two groaningdies, and waited and waited while wiping off their sweat whenever we could.


    We hoped that the Massive Construction Work of the Hotel would end soon so that we could hurry back to Room 105. Fortunately, the horrible day came to an end and nothing dangerous happened until the door reappeared near the camping grounds.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I immediately went to the dining room as soon as it was time for breakfast. It seemed that everyone was thinking the same thing as me, and we all gathered at the dining room in less than 10 seconds. We looked around shortly after seeing each other.


    Where was Eunsol-noona?


    Where was Ahri?


    Surprisingly enough, they were both inside the room in one piece!


    Noona! Are you okay?


    Haha~. You were worried right? Look at this.


    She pushed her hands forward as if nothing happened and fortunately, all her 10 fingers were fine. Everyone then turned to Ahri who also had 4 limbs as if nothing happened yesterday.


    I dont need to shake mine, right?


    Ahris jest loosened the tension in the atmosphere. Seriously, even though they werent my fingers and my limbs, I had trouble falling asleep yesterday, and everyone seemed to have thought the same thing.


    Elena grabbed Eunsol-noonas hands with reddened eyes, while Songee silently fidgeted with Ahris arms before suddenly giving her a hug.


    Aht! Unni, if you do this, my arm might fall out again.


    Dont say that even as a joke!


    Its not like the guys werent feeling anything, and we were just watching them from nearby because it would be a bit awkward for us to go for hugs. I was feeling greatly rxed and was feeling incredibly happy after seeing them back in one piece, and all the other guys appeared to be under the same impression when I looked at them.


    After we all relieved ourselves of the mental burden and pain from yesterday, we started a delightful meal while talking about the items that we bought.


    *


    By the way, its surprising that you both came out in one day. When I was injured, I had to skip a whole day so I thought it would be hard to see you guys today. Especially Ahri.


    Well, it was only fingers after all, replied Eunsol-noona. Someone at the level of a medical god that can heal crushed organs in one day should have no trouble healing fingers in 10 minutes right? I dont know though. I didnt even get to talk to the doctor.


    My limbs are a bit different from a normal persons. It was probably easier for them to put them back together. And of course, I didnt get to talk to the doctor like Kain either.


    A lot of things changed in just one day. Ahri was talking about how her body was different from a normal persons as if it was nothing, and no-one bothered delving into that including Songee, who used to be the most aggressive about it.


    Themon consensus was to leave it at that.


    We couldnt figure out everything happening inside the Hotel, and we only needed to know what was needed. That was the same for our teammates.


    So, what were those secrets? Ah, of course if you dont want to share them then


    Come on. Please! Are you pretending to be that merchant? I brought the letter itself in case you had any funny ideas about it.


    Letter?


    A letter fell on my head when I woke up from my sleep. And the secrets were written there. You can read them yourself.


    She tossed the letter as if it wasnt important. Instead of a letter, it was more like a memo that only had two sentences on it.


    <strong><em>1. Escape Route 2 is to jump out of the Main Entrance wearing Wing Boots.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. You can acquire Wing Boots by resolving the request of a mysterious craftsman hidden somewhere on the 2nd Floor.</em></strong>


    Escape route So the main entrance that we saw was indeed an escape method, huh.


    Honestly, the first sentence means nothing but the second one is quite important, because that means we can go outside if that mysterious merchant somewhere on the 2nd floor makes shoes for us thats called Wing Boots.


    Wing Boots. I think I can imagine what they are just by hearing the name. Theyre probably shoes that let you fly, right?


    I would assume so.


    Hmm. Noonim. This is important information, but its not something that we can make use of right now, is it?


    Thats true. It doesnt have anything to do with us when we are already having a hard time on the 1st floor of the Hotel. But we should keep this in mind anyway, because we will be going to the 2nd floor one day. Make sure we look for the mysterious merchant there. Now! Thats it from me.


    Noona tapped the table once before retrieving the letter.


    Then, Ahri brought a box.

 Chapter 53: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant (3), Entering Room 106

    Chapter 53: A day at the Camping Grounds, Meeting a Strange Merchant (3), Entering Room 106


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The box Ahri carried over was still closed.


    Sorry but I havent opened the box yet. He said there could be a violent weapon, so I thought it would be better to unbox it together with everyone inside a safe room.


    I like that. And I think it would be safer for me to open it.


    Jinchul-hyung immediately reached forward and took the box in his hands. He must have been feeling ufortable throughout the night just like me, and was probably eager to be useful in any way.


    The box was quite easy to open, and inside was an item that everyone was very familiar with.


    A gun?


    Is it a gun?


    Thats a lot more normal than I thought.


    Jinchul-hyung took out the pistol with a dumbfounded look on his face.


    Like, sure a pistol is a good weapon, but what are we supposed to do with this? We dont even have bullets! Noonim, are there bullets on the HP Market, by any chance?


    They dont sell bullets on Amazon do they? That is quite strange though. Have a look at the magazine  are there bullets inside?


    Hyung shouted after opening it with a click.


    Wow! These guys are damn scammers; theres not a single bullet inside! How could they do this after taking


    Now now~. The two of you, please be quiet for a while. There is an instruction manual here.


    As Ahri said, there was a small manual inside the box which had a very simple instruction.


    <strong>Load the magazine with blood and bullets will appear.</strong>


    Everyone in this ce is perverted or something. Did they really have to give us a blood-draining gun?


    Well, at least theres a way to load the gun with bullets. Lets test it out.


    Saying that, Ahri was about to take out the syringe from before but it was then.


    Jinchul-hyung snatched it away from her.


    Lets use someone elses blood at least.


    Ahri didnt bother stopping him, so Jinchul-hyung took out his own blood before dropping them into the magazine.


    Hmm. By the way, wont there be an issue with hygiene if we use one syringe for multiple people? We are not trying to transfuse the blood but its still not that safe, right?


    Its okay. They probably have syringes on the HP Market.


    Now that you mention it, replied Eunsol-noona. I should probably get one right now. You guys can go on. Ill buy some syringes.


    After about a minute since we shoved the blood inside the syringe into the magazine, a click suddenly echoed from the gun.


    Looks like its done. Let me try shooting it.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    It was definitely about as strong as a real gun, and a faint mark appeared on one of the walls.


    It seemed that we finally had a proper weapon in our hands. Of course, we did have the bracelet which was iparably more powerful and of higher status than the gun, but the bracelet wasnt something that was specialised for brawls. It didnt have a direct killing potential either.


    The rare good news put everyone in a better mood. We enjoyed a good meal, used the gun a few more times and chatted to spend time.


    After having breakfast, we all headed to our room and were separated into our personal spaces.


    *


    Lee Eunsol walked over to her bed.


    It was painful. Even though she could move her hands just fine and she had been pretending like it was okay in front of everyone else, the pain was still there.


    But even so, it was bearable.


    The breakfast was done, and they decided to continue with the next room after having lunch so she decided to rest until then. Something amusing that she realised was that she had more rest time after entering the Hotel.


    When she was outside, she had so many things to do that having 5 hours of sleep a day was already a luxury, but nice food and good sleep became passives aftering to the Hotel.


    Lying down on the bed, she turned her head and noticed a small piece of paper.


    Ah, I forgot to toss this away, she thought. It would have been a big problem if someone came back to the bedroom during the meal time and saw the note.


    That piece of paper was the lower part of the secret letter that she carefully removed with a knife.


    Making sure the cut wasnt obvious was a very difficult thing to do. And even when she was showing the note to everyone, she was worried that they might find something strange so she quickly retrieved it after they were done. Fortunately, there was no-one who questioned her actions or the note.


    Before throwing the paper away, she looked at it onest time.


    <strong><em>3. One of your teammates knows about Escape Route 1.</em></strong>


    Ripping the paper into tiny pieces, she threw it down the toilet and flushed the water.


    *


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    After having lunch, we all went outside to the corridor to look for the next room to explore and noticed that something had changed.


    Huh? Whats that? Is that a new door?


    Room 107 has a door now? Can we challenge that Gate Room straight away?


    Thats weird. We havent even been to Room 106 yet though. Do you have any ideas, Ahri?


    I dont know. The Gate Room has a different condition every time. Sometimes, you only need to escape from all the other rooms but sometimes you need to resolve a few of them. Its random.


    Should we head to Room 107 first? I think we can go straight to Room 107 without going through Room 106.


    After some contemtion, I decided to take the lead.


    Let me grab on the door knob first. If were lucky, the Advice might tell us something.


    As soon as I approached the door and held on the knob, an announcement appeared, but this time it wasnt from the Sages Advice and was from the Hotel itself that everyone could see.


    <strong>/Warning!</strong>


    <strong>In the Gate Room, you must pass several trials in an order without any rest, and it is immensely difficult.</strong>


    <strong>Minimum Condition: Escape from all the Cursed Rooms. In possession of at least 1 Inheritance.</strong>


    <strong>Rmended Condition: In possession of 2 or more Inheritances.</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>You have met the minimum conditions and you may attempt the trial, but it is not rmended.</strong>


    <strong>Would you like to proceed?/</strong>


    I immediately stepped back from the door as Seungyub opened his mouth in response.


    This really feels like a game. We need to escape from all the Cursed Rooms and obtain 1 Inheritance to gain ess into the dungeon, but its difficult and you should have more than 2 at least.


    I dont think the Hotel is usually nice enough to give us announcements like this, though.


    The fact that theyre warning us and saying, immensely difficult is probably to tell us that we cant beat it if we go in right now. Lets put this aside for now. We should probably get at least 2 Inheritances as they say, said Jinchul-hyung.


    Theres something strange though. The minimum condition is Escaping from all the Cursed Rooms. Room 103 is fine because resolution is the higher version of escaping but we havent even been to Room 106.


    Instead of being strange, Eunsol-noona replied. I think the message is fairly clear. Its telling us Room 106 is not a Cursed Room.


    First off, how about we head to the table and take a seat? Its a bit taxing for my old knees.


    *


    Shouldnt we first head to Room 106? Its not a Cursed Room and its not the Room of Rest either, so what is it? Is it safe since its not a Cursed Room? What do you think, noonim?


    Who knows. But I wouldnt say its safe just because its not a Cursed Room. If you look at the basement, there are a lot of dangerous things there but theyre not necessarily a Cursed Room.


    Kain, can you have a look at the states of all the rooms with your Location Information thing?


    I checked the Location Information tab on my system window.


    <strong>Room 101: Cursed Room (A Strange Family)  Escaped</strong>


    <strong>Room 102: Cursed Room (Mansion of Fear)  Escaped</strong>


    <strong>Room 103: Cursed Room (Athanasias Human Farm)  Resolved</strong>


    <strong>Room 104: Cursed Room (Preparatory Selective Hotel High School)  Escaped</strong>


    <strong>Room 105: Room of Rest</strong>


    <strong>Room 106: ???</strong>


    <strong>Room 107: Gate Room  Can Enter</strong>


    I can see Room 107 as well. It says, Gate Room  Can Enter, which we all know already.


    There are two main things we need to do on this floor then. Eunsol-noona said to organise the situation. First is to retry one or more rooms out of Room 101, Room 102 and Room 104 to get an Inheritance. Second is to have a look at Room 106.


    Lets go with the second option first. The first one sounds way too hard already.


    Okay. Well go to Room 106 first then. As for the resolution attempts for rooms other than Room 103, I think we should have a day off to thoroughly double-check what we know, what we can do ande up with a proper and extensive n. There are a lot of things on my mind already, but lets start by checking Room 106.


    Currently, our two goals for the 1st Floor were as follows.


    First, obtain one or more Inheritances.


    Second, find out the identity of Room 106, which was not a Cursed Room.


    After deciding to start with the second goal first, we stood up and headed to Room 106.


    As expected, I grabbed the knob first but there werent any notifications. Even though there were a lot of weaknesses to Sages Advice, this meant that there werent any risks immediately after opening the door at the very least.


    Opening the door, we headed inside.


    *


    <strong>/Wee customers to the Hotel Land of Hope!</strong>


    <strong>The Hotel Land is full of very exciting attractions.</strong>


    <strong>You may now go through 7 types of attractions!</strong>


    <strong>If there are survivors even after experiencing all 7 attractions, there will be a surprising reward waiting for you!</strong>


    <strong>However, attending the Hotel Land is notpulsory. You may still leave. Just like a Cursed Room, if there is a survivor at the end of the attractions, everyone that died in the process will be brought back to life.</strong>


    <strong># Would you like to start the Mission Room: Hotel Land of Hope?/</strong>


    <strong></strong>


    Silence befell the area as we started processing the information in our heads.


    So, it means there are 7 types of attractions in this amusement park thing, and passing them will give you a reward, right? By the way, how could they even call themselves a Hotel Land of Hope and straight-up say, If there is a survivor as if its obvious that theyll be killing us? How is that rted to hope in any way? Anyway, can you check the room information now, Kain? Jinchul-hyung asked.


    <strong>/Room 106: Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope/</strong>


    It says Mission Room, Hotel Land of Hope. Looks like going into this room is notpulsory. Thats why Room 107, the Gate Room, was open even when we didnt go to Room 106 and it seems that we can still leave.


    The door to the corridor really is still there, and this time, we are still in a room without suddenly being sent somewhere.


    After Eunsol-noona, it was Grandpa Mooksung.


    It is time to make a decision. Are we going to proceed?


    What was the right call here?


    Even though we had gone through several Cursed Rooms, one with an optional participation like this one was a first. The fact that we can enter the Gate Room even while ignoring Room 106 meant that we could leave the Hotel by fully ignoring it until the end.


    I think it depends on how we approach this. Jinchul-hyung added. You might think, Is there a reason to bear the risk by going into a room that we dont even need to beat? but you can also think of this as a chance to get stronger by obtaining the surprising reward. I think its meaningless to linger on this topic for too long. Lets just decide by majority.


    In the first ce, the reward was very unclear so it was rather difficult to logicallypare the risk with the benefit. However, I had a feeling that the reward wouldnt be an Inheritance. There would probably be a different type of reward to Cursed Rooms, right?


    The result of the majority vote was more one-sided than I thought. Everyone wanted to challenge the room except for Elena.


    After staying in this Hotel for weeks and after going through several processes of death and resurrection, we had already started considering the risk of death as something of little regard, and we were more expectant of the uing reward.


    How were we even supposed to let the Hotel know of our challenge though?


    That question of mine immediately became useless. As expected of the Hotel that always monitored us, an rm popped up as soon as everyone stood up and walked forward.


    <strong>/The Hotel Land of Hope will now begin!</strong>


    <strong>Real Life Bumper Car</strong>


    <strong>3! 2! 1! Start!/</strong>


    Real Life Bumper Car? What kind of name was this?


    *


    When the dimensions fluctuated and the scene around us changed,


    I noticed what that crazy name was about!


    Everyone appeared inside a sedan in arge arena that was about 3 times the size of a football field.


    Like, half of us didnt even know how to drive and yet they threw us into individual vehicles.


    <strong>VUUUUUUUUNNGGG!!!!!</strong>


    That was when a deafening roar echoed from somewhere.


    When I turned to the centre of the arena in a fluster, I found a monster truck that was as big as a house.


    Like how was that even a bumper car? Thats a freaking bumper truck!!

 Chapter 54: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (1)

    Chapter 54: Room 106, Mission Room ¨C ¡®Hotel Land of Hope¡¯ (1)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong>1. Real Life Bumper Car</strong>


    -Vuuuuung!!!


    The monster truck began its assault before I could evene to myself. The first prey that the monster truck chose as its target was


    Wait, what the fuck its me! I dont even have a licence!


    I quickly racked my brain and recalled how my dad used to drive.


    Somehow, I turned the key and started the car. After putting the lever thing to drive mode, I mindlessly lowered my gaze to the bottom and


    Which ones the elerator and which ones the brake? Why are there two pedals?


    <strong>[Press on the right pedal]</strong>


    Thank you so much! I hurriedly pressed on the right pedal and the car started to move forward.


    <strong>Kugugugung!</strong>


    That was the sound echoing from behind. Plus, I could feel the ground shaking for some reason whenever the truck moved! What kind of bumper car was this?


    I was driving and turning the car like crazy and that was when I noticed something. This seemed to be because of thest bit of conscience this Hotel had, but the monster truck wasnt that fast.


    Meanwhile, the conversation tab was getting heated up.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Turn the key, start the car, set to drive and press on the elerator!</em>


    <em>Park Seungyub: Which ones the elerator? And how do I set to drive?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Move the stick next to you to D, and press on the right pedal near your feet!</em>


    <em>Yu Songee: Why isnt it lighting up?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: You have to turn the key all the way! If you still cant move, then check if your gear stick is on N or P!</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul: You will all die if you dont hurry up! Fortunately, it went after Kain but still!</em>


    <em>Han Kain: Fortunately my ass! Im dying here!</em>


    I was really dying out here. Was that truck crazy? Why was it alwaysing after me? Without even turning around, I could tell from the deafening noise and vibration that the truck was right behind me.


    In the middle of my frantic escape, I noticed that the truck had changed its target.


    <em>Yu Songee: Uahhhhh! Itsing after me!</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Press! Shut up and press your elerator!</em>


    The truck started going after a silver car. Shifting left and right, the silver car blindly raced forward.


    <em>Cha Jinchul: Youll crash into the wall if you go straight! Turn your handle!</em>


    <em>Yu Songee: To where?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Right side. Right!</em>


    The silver car turned left.


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Wait, theres also a wall there. Go right!</em>


    In the midst of that chaotic pursuit, the silver car btedly turned to the right and barely survived from the truck. Seeing how she could still escape from the truck despite moving like that in utter chaos, I realised it once again.


    The truck was quite slow and took time to change directions.


    <em>Cha Jinchul: Does that go after the closest car?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Ill get closer and have a look!</em>


    In about 10 seconds, the truck finally changed its target to different cars. Two cars that were evidently more skilled at manoeuvres started travelling around the truck to catch its attention.


    Judging from the slow driving and turning speed of the truck, those two cars should be able to buy a fair bit of time.


    In the meantime, we had toe up with a n.


    <em>Han Kain: Itll be over if people bad at driving get targeted, so move to the outskirts of the arena right now!</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Good idea. Save letters from now. We need ns.</em>


    <em>Han Kain: Called bumper cars but the size difference is too big. Our cars will be the only ones breaking.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Agreed. Crashing cars is not an option.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: Maybe make the truck crash itself into the wall?</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Can we even?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: We are not F1 drivers. Driving like that is not easy.</em>


    What were we supposed to do?


    I couldnte up with a good n. If we were to crash the cars, it would be a one-sided loss for us.


    And we couldnt induce the truck to crash itself into the wall either because none of us was that superb with driving.


    Besides, would the truck driver be stupid enough to drive the truck into the wall just because we tried to incite that?


    I unconsciously turned to the drivers seat and saw a faint figure of a person.


    Wait, a person?


    <em>Han Kain: Theres a person on the drivers seat of the truck.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Well, of course there would be someone in a car.</em>


    <em>Han Kain: How about killing the driver with the gun? Anyone confident?</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Didnt think about that.</em>


    It was fortunate that we had given the gun over to Grandpa Mooksung, who had experience shooting a pistol, before entering the room.


    Was he confident innding his shots? I wasnt exactly sure about his past, but he mentioned here and there how he had spent his whole life on the battlefield.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Jinchul! Grab its attention for a bit.</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul: OK.</em>


    Soon, the grey sedan approached the truck. When the truck turned towards the sedan, it kept an appropriate distance while luring the truck away.


    It seemed that Jinchul-hyung was the one inside the grey sedan.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Ready to fire. Come to me.</em>


    Jinchul-hyung skilfully lured the truck towards the ck car. The window of the drivers seat of the ck car slid down as Grandpa Mooksung brought his upper body outside.


    Was it going to be over like this? Shooting the driver should solve the problem right?


    As soon as the truck that was passing nearby changed its target to the ck car that was now closer than other cars


    <em> Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    Consecutive gunshots echoed across. Atst!


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Shit! Thats bulletproof ss! That freaking</em>


    The truck drove over the ck sedan.


    Just like that, one of us was disqualified and we lost ourmunication tab.


    What were we supposed to do now?


    Without giving us the time to think to ourselves, the truck unhesitatingly decided on the next target. This time, the target was Seungyub, who was still at an awkward spot in the arena due to not knowing how to operate the car.


    <strong>-Vuuung!</strong>


    The ground jolted as a deafening roar filled the arena.


    Right before colliding with the truck, Seungyub somehow moved the car but it was not enough to escape from the truck.


    Perhaps thanks to his quick thinking, Seungyub opened the door of the car and jumped out.


    Soon, the truck drove over Seungyubs car.


    Ignoring the person, it trampled on the car.


    Seeing that, I immediately realised something. Another person who had the same sh of thought as me shouted as loudly as they could.


    Everyone! Get out of your cars!!!


    We frantically jumped out of our cars.


    The theme of the first mission was bumper cars. Bumper car was a game where cars crashed into each other; not one that crashed into humans!


    We were right on the mark.


    The truck ignored us after we left the cars and persistently began destroying all the cars. After gathering together since there was no reason not to, Songee raised a question.


    Will we pass the mission if we wait like this?


    Dont think so. I think we have to stop that truck somehow. We only have 4 cars left on our side.


    What if all our cars end up breaking?


    That will probably be our loss.


    The situation at hand was very obvious. If we were to stay here without our cars, we could avoid dying to the truck but there was no way for us to win.


    Bumper car was a fight between cars. Regardless of our survival, it would probably be our defeat if the truck destroyed all our vehicles..


    What would happen if we were to lose here? What about Grandpa Mooksung? Will everything be over with him dead?


    Our faces started turning pale after thinking about his death.


    We have to crush it. We must somehow destroy that truck. We cant let him die like this.


    Youre right but is there a way to physically destroy that thing? Can you use your bracelet, Songee?


    Ive been trying for a while, she replied. But the truck is enormous and the drivers seat is too high up, and the truck is moving all the time so I cant target the person inside.


    Miss Elena. Can you use your Blessing of Justice? Jinchul-hyung asked.


    I also tried to but I couldnt. What I could instinctively tell was that Grandpa Mooksung was the first to point his gun. So


    The truck driver was acting in self-defence so I guess that doesnt count as an evil act. But what about the truck threatening us from the start? Is that not evil because thats part of the bumper car game?


    That blessing is kind of ridiculous the more I see it. We only have 2 cars left now. I think Kain might have to use his Descent if need be. Can you break that truck if you descend? asked Eunsol-noona.


    Descent. I recalled the feelings from before.


    Honestly, Im confident I can destroy even a thousand of those trucks.


    Thats why we shouldnt use Descent for something like this, said Jinchul-hyung. Thats like killing a chicken with a dragon-ying sword. I have an idea. Let me try something.


    Hyung?


    Jinchul-hyung walked forward inrge strides without saying anything else. We only had one car left now.


    Even though we werent sure about what he was trying to do, we definitely had to do something so no-one stopped him.


    He headed towards the truck without any hesitation. The monster truck started to turn in order to head to itsst target and


    Jinchul-hyung jumped 5 metres up and clung onto the drivers seat!


    He then smashed the door like a gori and sessfully went into the drivers seat.


    I guess you can just brute force it like that.


    He is really strong. That truck door looks like refined steel  how did he crush that thing with his bare fist? Looks like he got even stronger than before.


    Maybe hes getting more and more used to his blessing.


    The driver that was originally inside the truck was thrown away in tatters while Jinchul-hyung calmly drove the truck into the outer walls of the arena.


    <strong>/Mission 1. Real Life Bumper Car: Sess! Congrattions. Would you like to proceed to your next mission?/</strong>


    Ah. It seemed that you could decide whether you wanted to continue with the missions or not, but we had no other option at this point.


    There was a message we saw at the beginning.


    <strong>/If there is a survivor at the end of the attractions, everyone that died in the process will be brought back to life./</strong>


    In other words, it meant that everyone that died in the process would stay dead unless we passed all the missions.


    Lets proceed.


    We have no other options. We have to revive Grandpa.


    *


    Everyone silently walked forward and faced another rm.


    <strong>/2. Challenge. Human-devouring Merry-go-round.</strong>


    <strong>3! 2! 1! Start!/</strong>


    Human-devouring Merry-go-round.


    After the dimensions stopped shaking and everything nearby returned to being clear, I found myself sitting on top of a strange horse that had an actual live head on a wooden body.


    Suddenly, the horse turned its head and thrashed its neck around trying to eat me!


    I immediately felt like jumping down from the horse and looked down at the floor but the floor was even more dumbfounding.


    Sharp thorns that would probably pierce me to death upon contact were filling the floor of the carousel, and everyone was sitting on a human-eating wooden horse that was ced on top of those thorns as we rotated in a clockwise direction.


    What were we supposed to do here?


    Everyone was confused as to what to do, but that was when Jinchul-hyung shouted with a thrilled voice.


    Wait up! I can pull these heads out!


    Despite the confusion, I couldnt help but turn to him after hearing such an absurd statement. And after turning towards him, I saw that he really did pull out the head of the live horse that was attached to the wooden body!


    Was this mission also solvable through brute force?


    At the same time, a question appeared in my mind.


    Are merry-go-rounds supposed to be cleared by fighting against the horses?

 Chapter 55: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (2)

    Chapter 55: Room 106, Mission Room ¨C ¡®Hotel Land of Hope¡¯ (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    <strong>/2. Challenge. Human-devouring Merry-go-round.</strong>


    The price I had to pay for looking at Jinchul-hyung for a split second was big!


    I turned back to the front after noticing that my shirt was being tugged, and found a monster in the shape of a horse that had hundreds of thorn-like teeth inside its drooling mouth. The monster was biting and pulling on my shirt.


    Immediately, I smacked the horse head with everything I had and managed to tear a portion of my clothes to escape from its bite. Fortunately, due to the physical shape of its body, a horse wasnt the best at attacking the person riding on its back with its head.


    Even though this one was quite obviously different from a normal horse, it was still the same as a normal one in that it couldnt properly attack me, who was riding on its back.


    After fighting back for about 30 seconds, I noticed that there was no need to fight against this disgusting horse head. All I had to do was pull myself back as far as possible from the head and sit near its butt, because horses didnt have the physical structure that allowed them to do anything to the one sitting on their butt with their heads.


    Heaving a sigh of relief, I finally had the leisure to turn around and noticed that everyone was holding onto the horse in a variety of ways.


    As expected, Songee was having the best time after pretty much signing a peace treaty with the horse while everyone else was sitting near the horses butt like me.


    And as for Jinchul-hyung


    It seemed that his horse died after having its head pulled out. There was no horse on his side  the wooden body of the horse was also gone, but fortunately there was still the pir that used to connect the horse to the tform and he was grabbing onto that pir to stay away from the floor.


    He was probably okay. A superhuman at his level should be able tost more than an hour holding onto that pir.


    Right when I was about to think that this was a lot easier than the bumper car just then


    Round 2 started.


    *


    The rotating tform suddenly contracted and all the horses became closer as a result.


    What was happening? I thought, before quickly realising what this meant!


    Now that all the horses were closer than before, the head of the horse behind me also started ring daggers at me. In front was the head of the horse I was riding and at the back was the head of the horse behind me  there was nowhere for me to escape to.


    What was I supposed to do? I couldnt go forward nor could I retreat. At this rate, I would either be crunched to death by either one of the horses or fall to my death.


    Ahhkt! Thank you hyung!


    Wondering why Seungyub would suddenly say thank you in a situation like this, I turned around for a split second and found out that Jinchul-hyung had jumped from pir to pir to pick up Seungyub, who was just about to fall.


    They would probably be okay by themselves. No matter how you saw it, I didnt have the leisure to worry about other people  I had to worry about my own future.


    In the midst of chaos, a sudden spark of thought hit my head and I came up with a strategy.


    It was a n that revolved around our most trusted weapon that I had been carrying the whole time ever since the Mansion of Fear  the capsaicin spray. Using the spray, I sprayed it at the horse head behind me that was itching to eat me. In the end, it was still the head of an organism and couldnt escape from the pain of capsaicin.


    The horse head that was trying to go for me immediately started iling its head in pain. It was working!


    Everyone! Take out your sprays and spray it on them!


    Despite all the chaos, Eunsol-noona and Elena seemed to have heard me somehow and they hurriedly started taking out their sprays. Seriously though  how many times has this spray saved our lives?


    I didnt bother checking the others. Ahri should be doing fine by herself and Songee was probably chatting with her horse. She might even be giving it carrots by now.


    Was this it? Theres not going to be another round or anything right?


    Unfortunately, there was Round 3.


    *


    Round 3 ended.


    Funnily enough, Round 3 was the easiest for us. As soon as it became Round 3, the sharp thorns on the ground turned into grass and the bodies of all the horses came to life as they immediately pounced at us, and


    It took Jinchul-hyung less than 5 minutes to kill them all.


    As soon as wended back down on the ground, Jinchul-hyung threw out his brutal punches and poured out his emotions on them as the horses started to fall every 5 seconds, and after seeing that, all the other horses started running away.


    Even though her horse friend was being bashed to death, Songee yawned while simply watching from the side.


    If the Hotel was going to make it more difficult for us, it would have been better for them to keep the thorns on the ground to restrain Jinchul-hyung from moving, but they instead made it easier for us by removing them.


    From the look of things, it seemed that the Mission Room did not regte the difficulty by taking our abilities into ount, and were just following a pre-designed system.


    Honestly, it took Jinchul-hyung 5 minutes because he had to chase after the running horses. I really wasnt expecting to see human-devouring monsters run away from a human like that.


    While vacantly sitting on the ground, I thought to myself.


    There was a saying that the body had to suffer if you were stupid, but maybe it was the other way around. Maybe it was your brain that had to suffer if you had a weak body.


    A man who could bash human-devouring horses to death with his fists probably did not need too much wisdom to beat them.


    Everyone was sitting on the grass while watching those horses be punched to death when the next announcement popped up.


    <strong>/Congrattions onpleting Mission 2: Challenge: Human-devouring Merry-go-round. Would you like to proceed to your next mission?/</strong>


    Naturally, none of us stepped down aftering this far.


    *


    By the time we came to ourselves, we were at an unbelievably high ce.


    <strong>/3. Think Quick: Gyro Drop</strong>


    <strong>It will begin in 30 seconds! Please get on the correct seats./</strong>


    This time, the announcement was different from the ones before. Until now, they all began after a 3-second countdown but this time, there were 30 seconds. And what did it mean by correct seats?


    I quickly looked across the surroundings.


    We were quite literally on a gyro-drop.


    It looked like we were at least 1,000 metres aboveground and I couldnt see the ground at all. Besides, absurdly enough, we were sitting on seats that were fixed on a foothold with no safety devices.


    What would happen if the gyro-drop started just like this?


    We would probably fly into the sky.


    W, w, w, what do we do??!! Songee screamed.


    What were we supposed to do? This was the first time 30 seconds felt so short.


    A violent set of noises echoed from the side so I turned and saw Jinchul-hyung locking his legs onto the chair, while using his two arms to grab on Seungyub and Elena, who happened to be sitting next to him.


    So


    While falling down from an unfathomably high gyro-drop, he was going to support the weight of himself, Seungyub and Elena and stop them from soaring into the sky just by locking his legs on the chair.


    It appeared like a very absurd idea but at the same time, it looked viable just because he was the one doing it. As I thought, it seemed that your brain would have an easier time if you were strong.


    Sorry guys!! I only have two arms!


    Its alright so hold onto them tight! Ill see youter! Eunsol-noona said with a strangely relieved voice after seemingly giving up on this.


    Honestly, I could tell what she was thinking.


    People outside might say, What? How could she be relieved at the face of death? and find it hard to understand but there was something we all felt while trying to persist inside the Hotel.


    The scariest moment in this ce was not when you were the first one dying. In fact, dying first was not as scary as one might imagine, because we had the belief that our teammates wouldst until the end to bring us back to life.


    The hardest and the most painful time was when you were left alone.


    The scariest moment was when everyone except for you died with the belief that you would bring them back to life, leaving you behind by yourself to push through until the end to resurrect all of them.


    Because of that internal mindset, seeing how there was still going to be at least 3 survivors apart from me made me feel relieved.


    Those three would probably revive me again.


    Before long, the gyro drop began its descent.


    *


    In less than 5 seconds after the fall, I floated to the sky. Pretending to be Jinchul-hyung, I tried locking my legs and arms around the chair underneath me just in case, but frankly speaking, if I had the power to sustain myself in a situation like that, I probably would have killed a horse or two by myself.


    I wasnt even that hopeful in the first ce.


    Throwing my arms wide open, I took in my first ever sky-diving experience. Jinchul-hyung! Seungyub! Elena! Ahri! I will leave the rest to you and go to sleep!


    *


    It was questionable how high up in the air we were. Even though it had been quite a while since we began to fall, I still couldnt see the ground properly.


    <strong>[Reach out with your right arm behind your back as much as you can!]</strong>


    It was a very sudden Advice. Although I didnt know what it meant, I still followed it.


    And


    My body suddenly started to slow down.


    ?


    A tiny and warm hand was tightly holding onto my hand to decrease the speed of my fall.


    I was thinking but I decided to go with you. You happened to reach out at the right timing as well.


    Ahri. You


    I stopped myself from asking, How are you flying?. I remembered hearing Songee say that Ahri could fly through the sky.


    This is actually very hard for me as well because I have to use a bunch of blood in real time. Fortunately right now, Im only using my power to slow down the fall instead of flying, which is the reason why Im even able to help you in the first ce. I can only hold up to 1 person though, so I was wondering who to save but I guess it was the right call to save you, since you have Descent.


    Thanks.


    You dont have to thank me, since this is because Im expecting you to save us at the end if need be.


    The seemingly endless free-fall finally came to an end.


    During the slow fall, I suddenly thought of something.


    Ahri was probably able to escape the Hotel by herself if she wanted to. All she had to do was use this ability and jump out of the main entrance.


    When wended on the ground, we saw that we had five survivors.


    Jinchul-hyung managed to survive alongside Seungyub and Elena by holding on with his legs until the end, but it was evident that his legs were almost unusable. His entire legs were bruised and his bone seemed to have survived thanks to his Blessing enhancing his bones but bits and pieces of his skin and flesh were about toe off.


    What happened to Songee and Eunsol-noona? Everyone intentionally avoided the topic.


    We only passed through 3 missions and there were still 4 missions to go, and yet we only had 5 survivors left.


    In silence, we were waiting for the next announcement but


    That was when Ahri stumbled and copsed.


    I supported her body in a fright and realised that her skin was as pale as paper, with her body trembling without her even having the power to utter a word.


    From our conversation, I remembered how she mentioned she was using a bunch of blood in real time.


    Did she use too much blood because she had to support my weight on top of hers?


    This was a big problem. I felt sorry for making her go through so much pain to save me, but there was an even bigger problem at hand.


    Jinchul-hyungs legs werent normal, whereas Ahri didnt have enough blood to function properly.


    We had way too little manpower now.


    My brain was about to burst from all sorts of concerns when I suddenly realised what the right answer to this disgusting gyro drop was.


    Giving us 30 seconds to head to the correct seats meant that there was a way to easily solve this mission.


    The chairs were fixed slightly above the foothold. In other words, the chairs themselves were also a safety bar in their own way. All we had to do was move down from the chairs, ce ourselves in between the foothold and the chair and use the chair as a safety bar.


    I wasmenting at the fact that I could onlye up with the solution after everything was over, and that was when the announcement showed up.


    <strong>/Congrattions onpleting Mission 3: Think Quick: Gyro Drop. Would you like to proceed to your next mission?/</strong>


    *


    <strong>/Mission 4. True? False? House of Mirrors.</strong>


    <strong>3! 2! 1! Start!/</strong>


    When the dimension stopped fluctuating, I found myself locked in a world full of mirrors. It was arge maze with all the walls and everything made of mirrors!


    Did I have to find a way out of this ce?


    Following the traditional method of solving mazes, I decided to walk forward while cing my hand on one of the walls.


    As soon as I came into contact with the wall of mirror next to me,


    The me inside the mirror suddenly split its mouth wide open and pounced at me!

 Chapter 56: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (3)

    Chapter 56: Room 106, Mission Room ¨C ¡®Hotel Land of Hope¡¯ (3)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 1]</strong>


    <strong>4. True? False? House of Mirrors.</strong>


    Seeing the monster pounce at me, I stumbled and fell on my bum as I then realised something.


    The monster couldnt cross the mirror.


    As if the mirror was like an uncrossable wall, the monster repeatedly crashed into the ss but the mirror remained firm.


    Was it not able to cross the mirror by itself?


    Seeing the powerless state of that ridiculous monster, I walked up to the mirror and raised my middle fingers at it.


    Please dont scare me like that. Why are there so many different monsters in this Hotel?


    While feeling slightly more rxed, I turned my gaze to the top and found a single ce that didnt have a mirror.


    <59:48>


    I vacantly watched the number go all the way down until 59 minutes and 30 seconds. This was pretty straight-forward. It meant that we had to escape from this ce within that time frame!


    Lets think.


    Unless thebyrinth itself shifted the mirrors around, I would definitelye across the exit if I continued down the wall. Besides, the monsters showing on the mirrors could not leave them.


    It was a pretty simple problem was it not?


    Since the monsters couldnt leave anyway, all I had to do was look for the correct path while ignoring them.


    I ced my hand on the walls of mirrors again, and just in case, I took off my jacket and ced it on the ground.


    Ignoring the monster, I walked for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, I arrived at the ce where I had ced my jacket  I was back to the starting point.


    During my walk, I did not feel any shift in thebyrinth structure. Unless it stealthily changed the walls without me noticing them


    It meant that there was no exit to thisbyrinth.


    The simple way around no exits was to create one myself.


    These mirrors. Unless they were some bulletproof mirrors, shouldnt I be able to crush them with my fist? I had a jacket as well as a dagger. If I wrapped my hand with the jacket and struck down with the handle of the dagger, I should be able to break it without getting hurt, but


    Was it the right idea to leave by breaking the mirrors?


    I thought for a bit, but the clock on the ceiling was still ticking, and it was already hitting 47 minutes. There was no point in wasting more time  I had to make a decision.


    I still had one more Sages Advice left. One of them was used up when telling me which one the elerator was at the bumper cars, and the second one told me to reach out towards Ahri during the gyro drop. There was only one left.


    Even though it sometimes felt useless and worthless, this Advice had still saved my life multiple times, and it should be the same this time around.


    A monster was threatening me from the other side of the mirror. It looked simr to me at a nce but its head was divided into 4 different pieces.


    As soon as I raised the dagger to strike down at the mirror


    <strong>[If you strike down, you will die to the monster.]</strong>


    I lowered my dagger. I was thinking that the monsters mighte over if I smashed the mirrors and that indeed seemed to be the case.


    The monsters on the other side of the mirrors were actual creatures. Even though they couldnt cross the mirror themselves, they coulde over if I were to smash it myself.


    What was I supposed to do here?


    1. There was no exit in thisbyrinth of mirrors.


    2. I had to break a mirror to create an exit.


    3. Breaking the mirror would allow the monster on the other side to cross over.


    It was very confusing. Was this only solvable for people like Jinchul-hyung who could fight and beat those monsters?


    I had a feeling that wouldnt be the case. Looking at all of our experiences thus far, physical strength wasnt the most important thing when passing the trials of this Hotel.


    <42:39>


    42 minutes. My heart was thumping faster and faster. Was escaping thisbyrinth the only requirement? We might have to do something else aftering out within that time frame, so I had to quicklye up with an idea.


    Maybe there was a safe mirror somewhere? One that didnt have monsters?


    Running around, I observed all the mirrors of the maze, and after a while, I discovered a mirror that didnt reflect anything even when I was standing in front of it.


    I knew it! Was this the solution? Finding a mirror that didnt have a monster and shattering it to create the exit?


    It was relieving to finally find the right answer. Once again, I brought the handle of the dagger to smash the mirror but


    In the middle of it, I paused. I no longer had any Sages Advice so I had to be even more prudent.


    Lets think logically.


    A mirror with a monster showing on the other side was definitely abnormal. But what about a mirror that didnt reflect anything? This was also just as abnormal.


    Calmly, I started observing the mirror that didnt reflect anything.


    ?


    On the top-right hand corner, I saw something glimmer.


    What was this?


    Feeling curious, I brought my head closer to the mirror to look at the thing that was up there and-


    <strong>These fuckers, can they please stoppppppp!!!</strong>


    I unconsciously swore in the heat of the moment.


    Absurdly enough, the mirror that didnt reflect anything in fact had itself a hiding monster. A monster that was shaped after me was holding a knife while hiding outside the mirror and that glimmer was from its dagger.


    I almost fainted seeing that me with five eyes stab forward with its knife immediately after seeing me pop my head forward.


    There was no time. I was almost about to lose my mind but there was no time for me to shiver in fear. There was only 37 minutes left, and there was no guarantee that this was everything.


    I decided to go through all the pieces of information I discovered thus far.


    1. On the other side of the mirror was a monster shaped after me.


    2. Breaking the mirror would cause the monster toe here and kill me.


    3. There were no safe mirrors. Even the one that didnt reflect me had a hiding monster inside.


    Going back to Number 1, A monster shaped after me, I pondered about something.


    Would there be a monster if I wasnt inside the reflecting angle of the mirror?


    It was a simr yet different approach to Number 3.


    For Number 3, there were no reflections even when I was standing in front of it. I came to the conclusion that the monster was formed yet hiding itself when it didnt show up when I was supposed to see myself in the mirror..


    If so, then would there be a monster even when I was not supposed to be seen in the mirror?


    Moving left from the mirror in front of me, I went to a location where that mirror wouldnt show any reflection of my body and stared at it.


    From the look of things, there werent any monsters.


    <35:28>


    I had to do something.


    There was no guarantee that thinking on repeat would allow me toe up with a better idea either. Therefore, I ced myself away from the reflection of a specific mirror and pushed the dagger from outside the frame and smacked down at the mirror.


    <em> Clink!</em>


    Nothing showed up even after some time.


    I exited thebyrinth through the empty space formed by the broken mirror.


    *


    <strong>/Ding Dong! Congrattions. You are the first to pass this mission.</strong>


    <strong>However, you still have teammates that have yet to pass this mission and you may help them.</strong>


    <strong>If need be, how about you choose a more trustworthy appearance?/</strong>


    Solution: Stop the creation of the monster itself by making sure your own reflection does not show up on the mirror, and use a tool to break the mirror to create an exit.


    It seemed that I was right. But as I thought, that wasnt the end  I had to help my teammates leave thebyrinth.


    Choose a more trustworthy appearance.


    What did this mean?


    *


    Leaving through the exit, I continued walking forward and arrived at a strange room. On the walls of the room were several full length mirrors and in the middle was a te with all the identification photos of my teammates.


    And along with those was arge clock.


    <31:23>


    There was about 30 minutes left now.


    Walking to the walls, I looked at the full-length mirrors and saw my four teammates that were still alive on the other side of the reflections.


    Cha Jinchul, Park Seungyub, Elena, Kim Ahri.


    I realised what I had to do.


    From now on, I had to make my teammates break through the mirror that they could see me on to arrive in this room.


    I also noticed what it meant by choose a more trustworthy appearance. Whenever I touched on the identification photos in the middle of the room, my appearance that was being shown in the reflection changed to the person I touched.


    *


    30 minutes. That was enough time. All I had to do was make them trust me ande out by breaking the mirror they were seeing me in.


    But the hardest part was making them trust me. What did I have to do to make them trust me?


    I decided to think from their perspective. They were suddenly dropped to a maze full of mirrors and monsters shaped after themselves were endlessly threatening them.


    And suddenly, a Han Kain appears in one of the mirrors and tells them toe over by gesturing with his fingers.


    In a situation like that, would they trust Han Kain and do as he suggests?


    Wouldnt they just think of that as another mysterious monster?


    What was I supposed to do to make them trust me?


    The ability to change appearance.


    I had to approach it using this. There was no way they would have given me a useless item  they were telling me to make use of this board.


    Which person should I change to, to make theme over?


    The person I immediately thought of was Ahri. She was the most mysterious girl in our group, and no-one was aware of the limits of her power.


    If it was Ahri


    If it was Ahri, wouldnt she be able to use some magical means to make herself appear in other peoples mirrors?


    The question was not whether she could actually achieve that or not.


    The important part was that Ahri, in the perception of our teammates, was the only one who could achieve something supernatural like that.


    I immediatelyid my hand on Ahris portrait.


    The mirror started to reflect Ahri instead of me.


    Or was it?


    What was this? My current appearance was simr to Ahri  it was almost exactly the same but there was a slight difference. The hair colour was closer to being silver.


    Like a character that woulde out in cartoons, I had silver hair and red eyes. The impression given off was also slightly different  a little more gentle, I suppose?


    Did Ahri dye her hair to ck or something?


    Whatever the case, I didnt think it was that important, because it still looked exactly the same as Ahri except for the hair colour.


    First off, I headed to where Seungyub was.


    *


    <em> nk!!</em>


    The mirror broke as Seungyub jumped out.


    It took about 10 seconds. This was seriously easy  so easy to the point it felt strange.


    After changing myself to Ahris appearance, I flicked my finger once in front of Seungyubs mirror and he immediately brought himself closer to the mirror, and when I pretended to knock on the mirror, he immediately tackled his way across.


    Seungyub would probably run up without any hesitation even if Ahri was standing in front ofva.


    Eh? Hyung? Wheres Ahri-noona?


    Hyung?


    Im busy taking out everyone else so go over there and be quiet.


    After pushing him over to the side, I looked at the other people.


    As for the next person Lets go with Ahri. She was very clever so she should be able to immediately tell what was going on.


    However, it turned out differently from what I expected.


    *


    Mum? Is that you, mum? Why are you there?


    For the first time after arriving at this Hotel, I saw Ahri show a childish expression on her face.

 Chapter 57: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (4)

    Chapter 57: Room 106, Mission Room ¨C ¡®Hotel Land of Hope¡¯ (4)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    That was surprising.


    Mum.


    I did get the impression that this current body looked slightly different from Ahris, but I surely wasnt expecting this to be that of another person. I thought it was just Ahris original appearance before she dyed her hair.


    Whenever I touched the portraits of my teammates, I turned into those people so why did I turn into Ahris mum after touching Ahris image?


    <strong><29:28></strong>


    There wasnt much time so I decided to drop that line of thought. Thinking could be der when I had time.


    In any case, this wasnt that bad. For some reason, Ahri seemed to have quite the level of trust for my current appearance! After calming myself down, I tried to act like Ahris mum as much as possible.


    Throwing my arms wide open, I gave the brightest smile I could give while opening my mouth to say, Come here my daughter.


    It was when I was moving my lips.


    Haa


    Ahri heaved a deep sigh as if she was deeply disappointed.


    Was my acting that bad?


    <em> nk!</em>


    It was still a sess though  Ahri broke through the ss and came over.


    Good! We took out 2 people now and all we have left are Jinchul-hyung and Elena. Ahri, you can go over there and take a rest as well.


    Next up was Jinchul-hyung. Who should I turn into this time? Should I act mysterious in Ahris appearance again?


    It was starting to feel quite interesting.


    Going to the mirror that connected to Jinchul-hyung, I twisted my back with my hand resting on my hip and gave a rather pouty look on my face when


    <em> Bam!</em>


    A fist came flying from behind.


    I never do that.


    Ahk! That scared me. Wasnt that simr?


    Not in the slightest.


    Hyung. That was really weird.


    Then should I twist my lips a bit more for a more mysterious appearance?


    You Is your goal to save Jinchul-oppa, or to tease me?


    I decided to be more serious. What did I have to do to save Jinchul-hyung?


    Taking after Ahris appearance, I tried dancing a few times in front of Jinchul-hyungs mirror, but Ahris deep sighs were the only things that resulted from it.


    Seeing that, Ahri pushed me away and tried to do something herself, but her body was not reflected by the mirror, so I walked up again and gestured to Jinchul-hyung toe over while forming all sorts of postures.


    However, he simply watched on with a face that seemed to be wondering what was going on without approaching the mirror.


    Can you think about Jinchul-oppas character before doing something?


    His character?


    I want to do it myself but I guess youre the only one that has the power to save other people as the one who escaped first, so let me just tell you what I think. Try changing to Elenas appearance. Put some blood on your lips and pretend like youre dying. Jinchul-oppa will be unable to stop himself froming out.


    Pretending like a dying Elena  it definitely did sound like something that would work on him.


    <strong><19:44></strong>


    It seemed that we had spent quite a lot of time.


    After touching Elenas portrait, I took out some of my blood using a syringe and applied it to my lips following the instructions of Coach Ahri, and intentionally created some wounds on my body to act like an injured Elena.


    Then, I headed to Jinchul-hyungs mirror and acted as best as I could for a solid minute and


    <em> nk!</em>


    In the end, Jinchul-hyung couldnt handle watching the dying Elena and came out after breaking the mirror.


    Strangely enough, he had the same look on his face as Ahri when she just left the House of Mirrors and appeared speechless.


    You should stay there as well, hyung. We just have to save Elena now.


    Were you the one acting as Elena?


    You can listen to the exnation over there.


    Thanks for your work.


    He had an expression that seemed like he wanted to punch me despite saying thank you, as if he was holding back because of the current state of things.


    Wasnt this a bit unfair for me though?


    If you look at it, I was the first toe out because I racked my brain as much as I could and was saving other people, so why did everyone look upset instead of being whole-heartedly grateful for my dedication?!


    Lastly, I headed to Elenas mirror before thinking to myself.


    Whose form did I have to take to persuade Elena the easiest?


    Should I pretend like Ahri who used some mysterious means toe save Elena? Act like the reliable Jinchul-hyung? Or behave like a pitiful Seungyub?


    Unexpectedly, I couldnte up with anything that seemed good.


    Elena was always beautiful, kind and gentle but at the same time, she was the one who concealed her feelings the most. Well, it was true that everyone was hiding things inside them despite being closer than before but


    I had a feeling that Elena had a thicker wall and barrier around her heart.


    It was hard.


    First off, I turned into Ahri and gestured as much as I could to make here over.


    She didnt move an inch. She didnt respond in any way and appeared to be treating me as the same existence as the monsters in the other mirrors.


    Next, I turned into Seungyub and tried to do something but


    Elena walked away from the scope of vision of the mirror that was showing me. Did she think it was the most dangerous mirror or something?


    Now that she left without even leaving any room formunication, there was nothing I could do.


    I was rolling my feet not knowing what to do when the others walked up to me, as we then racked our brains together.


    Is there a way to call her? Have you tried shouting? asked Jinchul-hyung.


    Sound doesnt go through the mirror.


    How about you turn into Elena herself?


    More importantly, she justpletely left the mirror. We cant even see her now.


    <strong><9:23></strong>


    We had less than 10 minutes now.


    There was nothing we could do.


    After walking away from the scope of vision of the mirror, Elena didnt even nce at the mirror reflecting me. We saw her walk by from time to time, but she was just wandering through the House of Mirrors without paying attention to our mirror.


    <strong><5:17></strong>


    When there was less than 5 minutes left on the clock, Elena discovered a mirror that didnt reflect herself.


    The true identity of that mirror was one that was hiding a monster. I wondered if Elena would see through that or not.


    Unfortunately, she couldnt. As if she finally discovered a safe mirror, she happily broke that mirror and


    Lets forget what happened next, because it was a huge shock to everyone. Seeing the gruesome death of a teammate wasnt something we could get used to by experiencing it multiple times.


    At the very least, what was fortunate was that the House of Mirrors wasnt physically taxing or anything, and I could tell that Ahri and Jinchul-hyung had recovered themselves a fair bit from the gyro drop.


    We had 4 survivors.


    Han Kain, Cha Jinchul, Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub.


    *


    <strong>/Congrattions onpleting Mission 4: True? False? House of Mirrors. Would you like to proceed to your next mission?/</strong>


    *


    <strong>/Mission 5. Roller Coaster from Space.</strong>


    <strong>Congrattions on reaching Mission 5! Our roller coaster is due to depart from space. Before that, we will be flying to space on a rocket so please get to the correct position.</strong>


    <strong>We will be departing in 30 seconds!/</strong>


    What crazy nonsense was this about now? Departing from space?


    That was when my eyes picked up certain sets of phrases.


    Get to the correct position and departing in 30 seconds.


    After experiencing it once in the gyro drop, I understood what this was about now. It meant that our positioning was very important.


    Once again, the dimensions started to turn.


    And by the time I came to myself, I was inside a spaceship.


    *


    <strong>30!</strong>


    What do we do? What do we do? Where do we have to go???


    Please be quiet! But youre right. Where do we go?


    <strong>27!</strong>


    Four of us were in arge spaceship. Over the window, I could see that we were still on the ground next to the spaceport.


    <strong>25!</strong>


    Dont we have to go somewhere? It feels like we shouldnt stay still.


    I see a few doors over there! shouted Jinchul-hyung.


    <strong>23!</strong>


    There are four doors though. Where do we go?


    Lets scatter!


    Scatter?


    We dont know whats right, but at least someone will survive if we scatter. I will go here!


    <strong>19!</strong>


    In a short while, everyone went into the small rooms without even turning back.


    And I decided to think for a bit.


    <strong>16!</strong>


    We were on a spaceship. How did spaceships fly again? Besides, wasnt being inside a spaceship enough to go to space? Why were we told not to be in certain ces?


    <strong>14!</strong>


    That was when I noticed something.


    <strong>13!</strong>


    I immediately headed to the room next to me and pulled Seungyub out. Without even the time to tell him anything, I threw him back to thergest room we were in at the start.


    Hyung???


    Stay there! Just stay there without going anywhere!


    <strong>8!</strong>


    Next, I dashed to the room on the other side to pick up Ahri. I was going to pull her out but she left without fighting back.


    Did you notice something?


    Stay in the middle!


    <strong>5!</strong>


    Next one was a problem. I couldnt pull out Jinchul-hyung with force.


    Hyung. You have toe out! That ce is not it!


    What?


    Just shut up ande out right now!


    <strong>2!</strong>


    With 2 seconds left on the clock, we were all back to where we started as everyone stared at me with a puzzled look on their faces.


    <strong>Fire!</strong>


    The spaceship departed and at the same time, all the doors heading to the small rooms were locked.


    After about a minute, the small rooms started rattling before being separated from the spaceship.


    That was normal, because the propulsion systems of the spaceship were supposed to separate from the spaceship once it set off.


    There was no reason for us to move, because we had been in the right spot from the start.


    *


    So, all we had to do was just stay still huh?


    Pretty much. The smaller rooms on the outside were all traps connecting to the engines and the propulsion systems.


    Then why did they say, Go to the correct position in 30 seconds? Jinchul-hyung asked again.


    Well. Probably trying to trick us right?


    So much stuff to think about. I thought we had to scatter to have at least a few survivors. I almost ended up killing everyone.


    For some reason, said Seungyub. I feel like Kain-hyung became smarter than usual aftering here.


    Smarter than usual? I asked.


    No. Im sure Kain was smart all the time. I think,mented Ahri.


    You didnt have to add I think, did you?


    Anyway, good work, said Jinchul-hyung. Is that everything?


    More like, we just started. The name of the mission is Roller Coaster from Space and we havent even gone to space yet. We just departed.


    Haa. Lets just rest for a bit then. Im feeling dead already.


    *


    A while after we started moving through space, we arrived at the starting point of the roller coaster.


    So, do we have to get on this to start the mission?


    Coming here was already quite a challenge. The roller coaster itself is probably going to be even harder.


    Lets just stay awake at least, everyone.


    I turned while saying that and realised that everyone looked extremely fatigued. Because the House of Mirrors wasnt a physically taxing ce, I had recovered most of my stamina but the issue was that others hadnt.


    It seemed that one hour wasnt enough of a rest for Ahri who used a bunch of blood and Jinchul-hyung also trembled at times when walking.


    They were at their limits already. I had a feeling that today would be more challenging than any other day.


    Next to the tform was the roller coaster.


    Lets think about what could happen before we actually get in, so that we can mentally prepare ourselves at least.


    I can see one risk factor already, said Ahri.


    Ahri-noona? What do you think is dangerous?


    Its a roller coaster travelling through space and yet theres no ceiling. I dont understand how they want us to breathe.


    Hukk! Dont you explode when your skin gets exposed to space? I saw that in a book!


    Buddy. Arent you old enough to know that you only see things like that in old movies like Total Recall? Even when youre in space, you dont explode to death and you dont freeze to death either unless youre there for a long time. The first and foremost problem would be that you have no air to breathe.


    Sorry? I thought


    Now now now! Lets stop the science talk there, and just get over it. The problem will be how we breathe. Well, the roller coaster is already starting up so lets hurry up and get over there.

 Chapter 57: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (6) – FIN

    Chapter 57: Room 106, Mission Room ¨C ¡®Hotel Land of Hope¡¯ (6) ¨C FIN


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room  Hotel Land of Hope)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    <strong>6. Real Deal! Haunted House.</strong>


    The mansion was quite literally an old building with a sinister atmosphere, as one would expect from a Haunted House.


    Heaving a sigh, I looked at both my and Jinchul-hyungs legs. Ahris blood, which had been the enhanced version of the one that gave us stamina was indeed very effective. It wasnt at the level of a ridiculous elixir, but the bruises and the stinging pain had been reduced by a decent amount and it was enough for us to walk again.


    There was no turning back. We had to clear the remaining missions and see this through to the end.


    Jinchul-hyung spoke to me before entering the mansion.


    Kain.


    Yes?


    Theres something you must keep in mind. Its okay for me to die for you, but you should never even think about sacrificing yourself for me. You must make it to the end even if that means walking over my dead body.


    If need be, you have your Descent to use at the end. Well be able to pass any trial with that ability. Its like us having 3 extra chances as long as we have you pass to the very end.


    Ill make a mental note of that.


    And also, let me just mentally prepare myself before we go in. Its been way too long since Ist went to an amusement park. What are some monsters that might show up in a Haunted House?


    Thats the same for me actually, I replied. From what I can think of, maybe ghosts, zombies, werewolves and vampires? Things like that?


    I think I can bash most of them up with my hands but the ghost is going to be the biggest problem. Well, lets go in.


    *


    <em> Creak.</em>


    As soon as we walked in after opening the door of the old mansion, a dense odour began to harass our noses. It was like the mixed scent of rotten meat, moulds and excrement.


    I was tightly holding onto the dagger but I wasnt sure what I could even do with it. Would I even be able to do anything against one of the Hotels monsters?


    Before entering the house, I changed my system window to filter-mode and covered my sight, thinking that it would be an effective method against ghosts.


    <em> Clomp  Clomp</em>


    The footsteps of us two men echoed across the house.


    Walking through the house, I suddenly had a feeling that turning on the filter-mode might have been a mistake. I had been using it frequently after knowing about it but there was an inevitable downside to it.


    Because the translucent screen was blocking my vision all the time, I couldnt see properly like a man without sses, who had been wearing sses all his life. I had to frown and squint my eyes to barely even notice a human figure.


    For a long time, we just walked across the corridor.


    I walked past the blurry paintings, therge full-length mirror, the candlestick hanging on the wall and a strange taxidermied animal, but nothing showed up.


    Suddenly, someone grabbed my clothes from behind.


    Hyung?


    Just go on.


    Sorry?


    You have your filter-mode turned on, right?


    Yeah.


    Ill tell you outside so just walk for now. I think this will be easy.


    I wonder what he meant.


    Why was Jinchul-hyung suddenly doing something so unbefitting of him like clenching onto my clothes? I had yet to figure anything out but did he notice something?


    For almost 30 minutes, we walked and walked and walked. The mansion was already dark and the only sources of light were the asional candlesticks hanging on the wall. I had my filter-mode activated on top of that, so I was essentially no different from a blind man walking through a house with no aid.


    Because of that, I even ended up walking into a wall.


    After about 30 to 40 minutes, we finally made our way out of the mansion.


    ??? What in the world was this about?


    What is this? There was nothing. I was just walking forward and we made it out somehow?


    Kukukuk. Ahh hahaha! I barely kept myself fromughing towards the end there!


    ?


    Sorry?


    Its not that there was nothing; in fact, there were all sorts of things in there. The portraits on the walls were ring at us the whole time, and the mirrors had distorted versions of us threatening us with knives like the House of Mirrors we went through just then.


    There was even a taxidermied human head on the wall that suddenly turned to us with blinking eyes. I almost screamed out loud a minute after we went in.


    But because you didnt react in any way, they even sent out a gargoyle to block your path. What the heck did you even think that was?


    I couldnt see anything so I thought I walked into the wall.


    Its the Haunted House, so I suppose its a pass if the contestants dont shout after seeing the monsters, and I guess they would have run in at us if we shouted or something. Im sure thats what would have happened if I screamed, so I closed my eyes and walked while holding onto your clothes.


    Like, even though we passed, that ones just straight-up ridiculous. It would be free for a blind person right?


    A blind person wouldnt be able to find their way though, so I suppose squinting your eyes and barely keeping them open could have helped. It is quite ridiculous though, you are right.


    Its over now, right? Is there going to be an announcement soon?


    This looks like the backyard of the house to me, replied Jinchul-hyung. Theres an exit there. I think itll be over if we go past that.


    It was a bit dumbfounding but I was still very happy. The filter-mode had always been useful until now, but it was the first time it had been absolutely crucial like this.


    That was when arge and handsome Siberian Husky walked up to us from a distance while wagging its tail.


    In a bright mood, Jinchul-hyung reached his hand out at the dogs head with a smile


    Wait. What was he doing? Wasnt he way too rxed? Theres no way there would be a normal dog here, is there?!


    When the dog opened its mouth after walking up to us, a human skull popped out from inside.


    WHAT THE FUCKKK! WHAT IS THIS SHIT!


    It was over. We were so close to being finished and yet he messed it up.


    Suddenly the dog swelled up like an exploding bomb before turning to arge figure that resembled a werewolf. A fight was already inevitable. Getting rid of the meaningless filter-mode, I dashed towards the monster.


    But that was when Jinchul-hyung shouted with a loud voice.


    GO! JUST GO! Kain! You idiot! Dont you see the fucking door!? Just run to the door!


    He was right. The werewolf had already caught us off guard.


    Even though Jinchul-hyung was strong, I could see his body was already drenched in blood after allowing a preemptive attack from the werewolf. From the look of things, it didnt seem like he could proceed even if he were to somehowe out on top of the fight.


    I had to do this alone.


    Closing my eyes, I dashed towards the exit like crazy.


    An rm showed up the moment I passed the door.


    <strong>/Congrattions onpleting Mission 6: Real Deal: Haunted House! Would you like to proceed to your next mission?/</strong>


    For the first time aftering to this Hotel, I became a bit mad at Jinchul-hyung.


    He wasnt pushed back by a ridiculous monster or anything; we already knew what the risk was and were almost close to being finished after passing through the majority of it and yet he became careless and got disqualified just like that!


    No.


    It wasnt the time to me others for it. It was normal for people to make mistakes.


    The fact that he was able to rationally think of a countermeasure without the help of the filter-mode despite seeing those monsters from the very start of the mansion already proved his insane mentality.


    Its just that this crazy ce, that stole peoples lives from one single moment of carelessness and one mistake, was the cause of all problems.


    But everything would be fine as long as I passed thest mission. I steeled my heart and readied myself.


    Now, I was the only one left.


    *


    <strong>/Final Mission. Ferris Wheel of Memories!</strong>


    <strong>We will begin in 30 seconds. Please read through the Guidelines.</strong>


    <strong>1. You cannot fall asleep inside the Ferris Wheel.</strong>


    <strong>2. Please focus on the scenery outside the Ferris Wheel.</strong>


    <strong>3. Going outside the Ferris Wheel is extremely dangerous./</strong>


    Through those 30 seconds, I racked my brain as hard as I could and interpreted those sentences into what the Hotel would probably do.


    You cannot sleep: We will make you sleepy and you will die upon sleeping.


    Focus on the scenery outside: You will die if you look inside.


    Going outside is dangerous: We will try to make you go outside.


    I etched the guidelines into my head.


    Soon, the dimensions turned and I was inside the Ferris Wheel by the time I came to myself.


    *


    Jisoo told me yesterday. Apparently this is the trend


    The weather is getting colder and colder. Kain, make sure you wear thick clothes


    Are you upset or something? Why are you looking out the window the whole time? We are having a family discussion here


    Chattering voices reached my ears from the side. Judging from their voices, it seemed that they were mimicking my family.


    Pretending like I couldnt hear them, I brought my face ever so closer to the window. We mighte across more monsters like this in the future that try to grab our attention, so maybe I should talk to Eunsol-noona about buying earplugs or something.


    My sisters voice echoed from the side as something touched my clothes. It was a trick trying to make me look inside.


    I flicked it away with my hand. Unlike the hand of my sister, it had the tough and slimy texture of a scale, which made me feel all the more certain that I should never turn my head to them.


    <em> Chiiik.</em>


    Did they light it up on fire or something? The Ferris Wheel suddenly turned warm and the previously tough chairs of the Ferris Wheel suddenly turned soft like a bed.


    Ahah. Were they trying to make me fall asleep now?


    I immediately bit my tongue. Making the chairs warmer and softer was probably not the only trick up their sleeves; they were obviously going to use more supernatural measures to force me into falling asleep.


    Lets hang in there. All I had to do was withstand this. It didnt look like a physically taxing mission either.


    Kain? Whats wrong with your tongue? Can I have a


    They started swinging me back and forth after grabbing my shoulders.


    I pushed them away as hard as I could with my arms.


    All I had to do was not look at them right?


    Should I close my eyes? No; sleeping was also a risk factor so closing my eyes was probably not a safe option.


    An immense desire to fall asleep came rushing in like a flood. Even though I wasntcking any sleep, an evidently abnormal desire to go to sleep was intoxicating my brain.


    Thus, I bit my tongue as hard as I could with my fangs, to the point that it started to bleed heavily. Feeling the sharp stinging pain and the taste of blood, my mind immediately came back to me.


    It didntst long though. As if I was under anaesthesia, the pain vanished as something threatened to pull my consciousness into the deep ocean of oblivion.


    What else could I do? Pain alone wasnt going to be enough.


    Putting my hand into my pocket, I took out my dagger. Should I cut myself? No; there was something better I could do.


    Without any hesitation, I reached my hand back and swung the dagger around everywhere while still facing the window.


    Kyaaaahk! Oppaaa! What are you


    Uahkk! Kain! What are


    Those despicable voices. Even though it was as clear as day that they were monsters just by touching their scales, they were still using the voices of my family.


    As expected, they couldnt cause any physical harm to me without me looking at them. In the first ce, if that was possible, they would have forcibly grabbed my head to turn it towards them.


    All they could do was grab onto my clothes and shake it a little.


    Screams filled the Ferris Wheel. I could feel my dagger stabbing through something as it was then pushed away by that same thing. I repeated that horrendous process by stabbing again and again with the dagger.


    While going through that horrible experience, my nervousness sharpened my senses like a spearhead and my mind woke back up again.


    Everything turned quiet.


    By the time I realised it, the scenery outside turned into that of a warm spring.


    The Ferris Wheel travelled slowly as memories of my youth vaguely flowed back up to the surface.


    Everyone has a first love.


    When was mine? I think it was during my middle school years.


    It was probably at the English cram school. At the start, I grumbled on and on to my mum that I didnt want to go to cram school.


    I was forced into going there,


    But after seeing the girl whose long, brown hair fluttered at her waist on the first day, I no longer hated cram school.


    What happened after that? Theres probably no need to expand too much on something so boring.


    Long story short, we met quite frequently, and I think we were quite close.


    Whenever I had to go to cram school, I went there 30 minutes before the lesson and stayed on the seat.


    I even remember pondering about the miraculous position that would allow Kayoung to sit near me as naturally as possible.


    And when Kayoung sat far away with her close female friends, I would ponder for an hour by myself, wondering if I made her angry in any way.


    Obviously, my English skills never got any better. But aside from English, my ability to read the mood became better by at least 3 times so it probably wasnt a bad investment for my parents either, right?


    I also remember consulting my friends on how to make the best confession.


    At the start, theyughed like crazy and bashed me around but suddenly became the most serious people on the as we then discussed the best confession method.


    Of course, there was a limit to how smart middle school kids could be in terms of confession methods.


    In the end, I ended up confessing using one of the top three worst confession methods, which was by a message along with an April Fools joke as an escape route, which might be saved on other peoples phones as the Number 1 Worst Confession.jpg.


    And after that


    After that


    Wait ffuuuuckkk! How dare you mess around with the memories of my first love?


    By the time I came to myself, I was almost about to jump out of the window while looking at the faint glimmer of Kayoungs face on the clouds outside!


    Wasnt this way too much? Just send a monster instead!


    How I woke up from that was a mystery.


    It had made me extremely upset for a moment and it was thanks to that anger that I could stay awake for a long period of time.


    After a long and patient wait, by the time my anger was about to subside


    I finally reached the long-awaited end of that arduous wait.


    *


    <strong>/Congrattions onpleting the Final Mission: Ferris Wheel of Memories!/</strong>

 Chapter 60: Mission Room Reward, Shooting for Luck

    Chapter 60: Mission Room Reward, Shooting for Luck


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    There wasnt the usual announcement about the Hotels evaluation or anything, and straight away we were back to the corridor.


    I looked around feeling dizzy and noticed that everyone else had also fallen out of the room at the same time.


    We stared at each other with a nk look on our faces.


    Before long, everyone hugged each other, full of joy, and spent a moment of happiness.


    *


    Ah~. That was embarrassing. I wasnt expecting to get squashed to death on the 1st stage out of 7 stages.


    Its not your fault, grandpa. No-one was expecting the ss to be bullet-proof all of a sudden. I also couldnt do anything and just flew off and died. I thought I could be useful with my bracelet.


    Guys, it was even worse for me. I thought it was all over and in my head, I was wondering what the next mission would be about and then that son of a bitch just Ah! That still annoys me.


    Well, its great that you didnt make any mistake at the entrance of the mansion, hyung. If you did, we might have had to fight against all the monsters of the mansion.


    Ah. I flew into the air and died with Songee so I cant say anything. How did you die, Seungyub?


    A piece of stone fell on my head the moment I got on the roller coaster. It was so frustrating because my Fortune was at 98% there! Seriously, that was sad! I could have kited everything if that was activated!


    Well, that means it should be 100% now so thats even better. Im sure itlle in handyter on.


    By the way, Ahri. Can you heal using your blood all the time? I asked.


    Are you going to suck my blood even more?


    That was a joke. My blood can help you recover stamina but I cant make it heal you that often. When Im close to dying, my blood automatically tries to heal me and gains a healing power. So if you want to heal your injuryter on, all you have to do is smack my head and suck my blood out.


    That was a joke.


    Its my first time hearing a joke like that


    I am sad about mine as well. The person appearing in the reflection of the mirror was changing the whole time so I thought that was the strangest mirror I wasnt expecting that to be the answer, said Elena.


    It was really hard to make you believe us, Miss Elena, I replied.


    Well actually, I think the solution was rather simple and you might have been going the long way around.


    Sorry?


    If you just showed up, Kain-ssi, I think that would have been enough.


    What did she mean by that? I quickly turned my head away in confusion.


    Now now! Jinchul-hyung said. Everythings good and we pretty much had our fill, so lets undo one of the questions we have in our minds. When exactly are we going to receive the reward of that disgustingly annoying Mission Room?


    Before, the bracelet was on my arm right after the resolution of the room. I wonder how the Mission Room rewards will be given?


    Well, calm down guys, said Mooksung-grandpa. The Hotel is probably not going to skip out a reward on us. We can take our time finishing our food and Im sure there will be an announcement on one of the disys or something.


    Grandpa Mooksungs guess was right on the mark.


    An announcement showed up on the disy screen immediately after our meal.


    <strong>/Esteemed guests! Congrattions on clearing the Mission Room!</strong>


    <strong>We, the staff of the Hotel are sincerely happy to see that our guests have progressed a step further.</strong>


    <strong>Of course, hard work must be met with sufficient rewards.</strong>


    <strong>Your Reward Event is waiting for you at the front desk!/</strong>


    They were calling it a Reward Event instead of a reward. Was it different from simply dropping a reward?


    When we arrived at the front desk, we couldnt hide our astonishment.


    Y, you bastard!


    Haha! Hello everyone. We met just a while back, did we not? I am incredibly happy to see everyone again.


    Are you in charge of the Reward Event as well?


    This Hotel is such a terrible employer to have and I have no choices. I am already busy selling items and yet theyre putting me in charge of an event on top of that! However, I will dly push myself to lengths if it means I can help you, esteemeddies and gentlemen.


    At the front desk was the same merchant, who had shown up at the camping grounds in the basement, wearing different clothes.


    As soon as I saw his face, I was put in an incredibly bad mood.


    And at the same time, I had a feeling that the Reward Event wouldnt be anything normal.


    Seeing your face is making me tired already. Just give us our rewards. What is it? An Inheritance?


    Great question! The answer is No-one knows!


    Hearing that, Jinchul-hyung almost raised his fist but after hearing the next sentence from the merchant, he lowered it back down.


    Haha. This gentleman here is always very quick to action. Looks like I am not very wee here, so I will go straight to the topic.


    The reward will be random! You have five chances! All you have to do is hit balloons with the gun I give you.


    What will there be in the balloons? No-one knows, but the balloons do have different grades. And of course, a higher-graded balloon will give better rewards.


    There are a total of 100 balloons, consisting of 1 golden balloon, 19 silver balloons and 80 bronze balloons.


    By the way, each bullet can only bust one balloon at a time. Unfortunately, they cant pierce through the balloons.


    Now! Let us begin!


    As soon as the merchant was done with his words, the dimensions fluctuated like what we experienced when going into a Hotel room and we reappeared at the shooting range. There was one rifle ced on a desk with 100 balloons flying around at a rapid speed on the other end of the range.


    Everyone nkly tried toprehend what was going on and


    In the end, Eunsol-noona couldnt control herself and pointed the rifle at the merchant.


    Everything always goes bad when we see you. Can I start off by shooting your head?


    You can. However, that will also reduce your number of chances.


    Noona couldnt make herself pull the trigger.


    This was seriously dumbfounding. A random gacha system aftering this far? How could the reward for all our deaths and trouble be a gacha?


    How could they give something so luck-dependent like this as a reward?


    Luck-dependent? No, no, no, it depends on your shooting skills. All you have to do is shoot that golden balloon. You see that there, right?


    So that was the balloon huh! There was a golden balloon that was the size of a peanut! Absurdly enough, not only was the golden balloon the smallest, but it was also the fastest.


    Grandpa Mooksung picked up the gun and broke our silence.


    I believe I am the best shooter here so I will try shooting it. What do you guys think?


    He was right and thus no-one raised any objections.


    Except for Jinchul-hyung who had gone to the military as apulsory service, none of us had even touched a gun, and from what we had tested multiple times after obtaining the pistol, grandpa was a lot more skilled than Jinchul-hyung at shooting.


    After going to the side, Eunsol-noona prayed with a shout.


    Sir, please! Please! Even if no gold, please get at least silver!


    Come on, dont pressure me too much. The silver balloon looks ridiculously hard enough already.


    As he said, it didnt seem like it would be easy to hit the silver balloons either. The balloons themselves were of the same size and the same speed as the bronze balloons but the problem was that the 80 bronze balloons were restlessly moving around to hide the silver balloons behind them.


    Grandpa Mooksung raised the rifle as we got on our knees and prayed together.


    Please, God, Buddha, Ah, Zoroaster, whatever. Whoever it is, please give us a silver balloon!


    <strong> Bang!</strong>


    Like a miracle, the bulletnded on a silver balloon.


    Wow! Nice shot boss!


    What do you mean boss? Guys. Just be quiet and let me focus.


    The balloon popped and showed the thing inside, which appeared like a letter with the following words on it.


    <strong><Clues to the resolutions of the Cursed Rooms></strong>


    That wasnt that bad was it? I got a feeling that this was decent for a silver balloon. We were going to re-enter the Cursed Rooms soon to obtain Inheritances anyway, so any clues were going to be helpful.


    Everyone was turning excited when the next gunshot echoed through the range.


    <strong> Bang!</strong>


    Bronze balloon.


    Silence befell the range.


    A letter appeared from the balloon.


    <strong><3-Day Rest Ticket></strong>


    Well, at least it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.


    We had been racing the whole time without taking any rest. I was hoping we could have some time off so having a break for 3 days wasnt bad.


    I tried to have a positive mindset but it wasnt that easy.


    A break wasnt bad but we needed something that would be more helpful for us.


    <strong> Bang!</strong>


    Another bronze balloon.


    A small stic box fell from the balloon.

 Chapter 61: Strategy Meeting – Examining the Rewards. Where do we go?

    Chapter 61: Strategy Meeting ¨C Examining the Rewards. Where do we go?


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    First reward,


    <strong>Clues of the Cursed Rooms.</strong>


    You see, Im actually very excited about this one, said Eunsol-noona. This might be more helpful for us right now even whenpared to the golden egg that we dont know anything about. Since we were going to enter the Cursed Rooms again, this is the best one we could have asked for!


    Noona. Hurry up and open the letter so that we can have a look at it.


    Rip.


    When Eunsol-noona ripped it open, a small piece of paper fell off. Thinking how it was way too small to include detailed exnations, we went closer to the table and looked at the content of the small note.


    Room 101: The ______ is not the origin of the curse.


    Room 102: Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the _________.


    Room 103: What you see is not all there is to it. It is not an ______ _____.


    Room 104: It is natural for the _______ to ______ the father.


    It was like a riddle. They said clues so I wasnt expecting thoroughly detailed ns or anything, but did they really have to add nks?


    Firstly, I get what Room 103 means. The sentence, [What you see is not all there is to it], means youre seeing an illusion. And [It is not an ______ _____ ] probably means its not an [Animal Farm].


    Lets try to solve the other sentences as well.


    It does feel like a riddle but I already feel like I know the answer to two of them. What about you guys? Eunsol-noona asked.


    I think Im getting to something as well, I replied. I feel like we should see everything that the Hotel shows us from the opposite side to see the truth of the matter.


    Alright alright. Looks like noonim and Kain found something out, so please just exin it to us already. Jinchul-hyung requested with a grumble.


    Eunsol-noona replied to him.


    Let me start off with Room 101. [The ______ is not the origin of the curse]. This means we used to have some type of prejudice to the origin of the curse in Room 101, and its telling us thats wrong. What was the original idea we all had about the origin of Room 101s curse?


    Wasnt it the family? Because all our problems were from interacting with our rather-distorted family members, right? Elena asked.


    I was thinking the same thing, Eunsol-noona continued. But this clue is telling us we were wrong. So I think the clue is [The family is not the origin of the curse].


    Then what is it?


    Thats what we have to find out.


    I applied a simr idea to Room 102s clue, I started off and exined my opinion. [Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the _________ ]  this means we had a preconception that we were supposed to go somewhere. When we think about the ce that everyone was thinking that we had to go to you have an idea, right?


    Songee reacted first with widened eyes.


    The mansion!


    Right. So the clue to Room 102 is [Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the mansion].


    Hah I see. Now that I think about it, didnt Kain say that on the first day inside the room when we woke up in the SUV? That we came to ourselves before going to the mansion so we should not go to the mansion in the first ce?


    Yeah I remember that, Eunsol-noona replied to Jinchul-hyung. And you, Jinchul, said the Hotel would make us go there anyway and that was why we all headed to the mansion.


    Kuhum


    Lets forget what happened in the past. The next time we go there, lets try not going to the mansion at all.


    Okay. For starters we have an idea about Room 101 and Room 102, but the problem is Room 104. I have no idea what this means, remarked Eunsol-noona, which I agreed with.


    I have no idea either.


    There are a lot of things for us to do, so I say we should focus on the ones we know. Lets leave the other ones forter, Grandpa Mooksung suggested.


    Lets do that. Well rewrite the ones we know.


    Saying that, Eunsol-noona casually took out a notepad and a pen.


    Was that always in the Hotel? I asked.


    They were selling it in a bundle at the Market so I got them because we would probably need something like this at the very least to organise our ns. All your phones are unusable now, right? We have to stick to the good old way then.


    She then wrote what we have noticed about the hints thus far on the note.


    *


    <strong>Room 101: The ______ is not the origin of the curse.</strong>


    <strong>-> The family is not the origin of the curse</strong>


    <strong>Room 102: Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the _________.</strong>


    <strong>-> Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the mansion.</strong>


    <strong>Room 103: What you see is not all there is to it. It is not an ______ _____.</strong>


    <strong>-> What you see is not all there is to it. It is not an Animal Farm.</strong>


    <strong>Room 104: It is natural for the _______ to ______ the father.</strong>


    <strong>-> ?</strong>


    We have to go looking for new Inheritances very soon. When wereing up with the n, lets make sure we keep these in mind. For now, lets have a look at the other rewards.


    *


    Second reward.


    <strong>3-Day Rest Ticket.</strong>


    Thats the most straight-forward reward we have. They even have an exnation written on the back of the paper.


    The Rest Ticket acts simrly to Party Time. There will be no negative events happening for 3 days, and you can go to ces that are otherwise inessible.


    A ce that is otherwise inessible. Theyre probably referring to the Sanctum of Blessings, right?


    Oh yeah, we did try to turn the light off after Party Time was over to visit the sanctum again but


    The lights turned off normally and light came in from outside.


    There are probably more ces that are only essible during the Party Time, said Ahri. Weve already been hearing stuff about the Room of Resurrection, Buddha and other mystifying things right?


    Are there any ces that the Administration knows about? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Theres nothing.


    Was she telling the truth? There was no way to find out anyway if she wanted to hide it so I stopped that line of thought.


    When should we use the rest ticket? We can use it tomorrow but we can also wait for a different opportunity.


    Shouldnt we just use it now? I suggested. Its probably the same for everyone but Im really exhausted. I still cant believe the System Window says Day 21. We were going through all that crazy stuff in the Mission Room and it still hasnt even been a day. I think we need some rest.


    First off, I do understand where youreing from, Kain, said Eunsol-noona. Everyone worked hard, but Im sure it was the one who reached the end that had to go through the most amount of work. Of course, Jinchul also did a great job reaching the 6th mission.


    Is this time for me to apologise for being bashed to death by the truck from the get go?


    That is definitely not what Im trying to say, I replied. I am not trying to me anyone, and its just that I think we should all take a well-earned rest because its been hard on everyone.


    What does everyone think? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Looks like Eunsol-unni has a different idea. Ahri opened her mouth after seeing that no-one else was replying to her. You can just tell us what you think because we just tend to follow after unni and Kains discussion.


    Was that how it appeared in Ahris eyes? I was under the impression that Eunsol-noona was the one who made all the decisions but looking back, I did tend to open my mouth quite often during strategy meetings and discussions.


    I do understand why you think we should rest from tomorrow, Kain, but I believe we should be more strategic when using this Rest Ticket instead of simply relying on it because we are tired.


    For example, lets say the Hotel itself turns into an imitation of hell from a special event. What if we use the Rest Ticket then? I think that would end that special event, and that is why I want to keep this for now.


    Everyone turned silent.


    Our opinions were simple.


    <strong></strong>


    <strong>Topic: Lets use the Rest Ticket now vs Lets save it</strong>


    <strong>Kain: We are too tired from the Mission Room. We need to rest now.</strong>


    <strong>Eunsol: The Rest Ticket should be used more strategically. Rather than as a means of recovery, lets use it when we might die without using it, which would include the Hotel itself changing from a special event.</strong>


    Her idea sounded a bit more persuasive.


    In the first ce, I was just saying that because I was currently exhausted whereas noonas argument was a lot more strategic and effective.


    In the end, we came to the conclusion that we should leave the Rest Ticketter for a future predicament.


    Third Reward.


    <strong>An extremely delicious sandwich.</strong>


    Seeing the note and the sandwich, everyone became silent.


    Do we even need to analyse this? Is it like a sandwich with hidden secrets? Did you check the packaging, unni? Songee asked.


    I had the same idea as Songee and tried searching for something, but there was nothing. There was absolutely nothing.


    Maybe its just a bad item, said Seungyub. It was from a bronze balloon as well, and bad rewards like that alwayse out in my gacha game as well.


    So Ive hit a terrible reward, huh. Looks like there are a lot of things for me to apologise about today.


    Just dont worry about it, sir. If anyone else used it, we wouldnt have hit any balloons in the first ce.


    In the end, we decided to share the sandwich with the 8 of us.


    In between the two slices of herb-sprinkled bread,


    There were 3 slices of cooked bacon,


    A special sauce,


    As well as lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions.


    The sandwich tasted phenomenal.


    Fourth Reward,


    <strong>Red Capsule.</strong>


    We opened the exnation sheet underneath the capsule and read it together. The exnation was quite simple and straight-forward.


    <strong>Single use only. Gain resistance to all types of mind attacks of the current room. Nullification of any previously received mental damage.</strong>


    So in other words, its a consumable that lets you go through a room that focuses mainly on mind attacks, huh.


    Did they give this to us to use in Room 101?


    Not sure about that but it will be very handy. It will be very easy to resolve the room if we are able to stop the mental contamination from the Strange Family, right?


    It sounds pretty simple. Lets discuss when we should use thister on though.


    When is important but I think who is equally as important. Maybe we should give this to Jinchul-oppa? Ahri said while tapping Jinchul-hyung who then returned a nod.


    Right. I should be able to pop off if I use that. Just for one time though.


    Even though physically he was the strongest person, his greatest weakness was in his vulnerability to mind and mental attacks.


    I could see Jinchul-hyung using this item. It was a shame that it was just a single-use consumable, but if we could obtain an Inheritance in return, that would be a good deal for us.


    Fifth Reward,


    <strong>Golden Egg.</strong>


    Next up was the most valuable yet the most unidentifiable treasure we received.


    Anyone have an idea as to what this is?


    It doesnte with any exnation so I have no clue.


    Have you seen eggs like this somewhere, Songee?


    I cant tell just from the egg. Besides, I doubt we would see a normal animal from an egg that this strange Hotel gave us as the best treasure.


    Lets just set it aside at somewhere warm. It will hatch when the timees.


    We ced the golden egg inside Room 105 next to a heater on top of a cushion, and that was all we did for the 5th reward.


    *


    Noonim. Is that it for everything we need to talk about today? I feel really tired.


    Were done regarding the rewards. Ill put it up here so that we can see.


    *


    <strong>1. Clues of the Cursed Rooms</strong>


    <strong>-> Room 101: Find a cause other than the family. Room 102: Try not going to the mansion.</strong>


    <strong>2. 3-Day Rest Ticket</strong>


    <strong>-> Useter when absolutely necessary.</strong>


    <strong>3. An extremely delicious sandwich</strong>


    <strong>-> Thanks for the food.</strong>


    <strong>4. Red Capsule</strong>


    <strong>-> For defence from mind and mental attacks. Use when necessary.</strong>


    <strong>5. Golden Egg</strong>


    <strong>-> ced next to the heater. Will hatch one day.</strong>


    *


    And now lets decide on the really important matter. Where do you want to go tomorrow? Strange Family? Mansion of Fear? Or the Hotel High School? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Lets get rid of one of the options. For Hotel High School, we dont know what the clue means and I think thats the hardest one we have. I replied.


    The Lord is a bit frightening as well. Okay. Get rid of Room 104. Lets decide from either the Strange Family or the Mansion of Fear.


    Let me set out the pros and cons of both options first, and then we can decide with a vote.


    The good side of Strange Family is that the escape is very simple.


    All we have to do is distance ourselves from the family, right? At the start we had it rough because we had no way of fighting against the mental contamination but we are different from back then.


    Now, I can just use the filter-mode or Songee can use her bracelet to have one definite escaper. Seungyub can also stay in his room and jump out the window likest time.


    The downside is that we dont know much about the room. The Family is not the origin of the curse? Then what is? We have no idea what is dangerous and what we need to be careful of.


    After taking a breath, I continued with the second option.


    On the other hand, the good side of the Mansion of Fear is that we know more about it.


    Whos our enemy?


    Fundamentally it would be the devil lying underground but we probably dont have to fight against that devil. Besides, the devil is in the mansion and the clue is telling us not to go to the mansion.


    Thus, our enemy is probably the owner of the mansion, Sir.


    However, the downside is that the escape is a bit difficult. The escape condition we have verified is to stop the sacrifice of 6 people, which was the win condition of Sir. I think a few of us would have to kill ourselves from the very start.


    Let me sum it up, said Eunsol-noona. Long story short, the Strange Family is easy to escape from but we dont know anything, and on the other hand we know a lot about the Mansion of Fear, but the escape is a bit more difficult.


    Which one should we go with?

 Chapter 62: Deciding on the next room. Re-entry.

    Chapter 62: Deciding on the next room. Re-entry.


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 21</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    Where should we go?


    Grandpa Mooksung opened his mouth.


    I think we already somewhat have an answer to that question. But before that, I would like to mention something about our interpretation of the clues.


    What is it, sir? I asked.


    Im not saying your interpretations are 100% wrong. However, the Hotels clues are all pointing in the direction of, Do not have a bias, and if we are overly dependent on your current analyses of the clues, that in itself could be a different form of bias.


    You do have a point.


    As for your interpretation of the Strange Family as <strong>[The family is not the origin of the curse]</strong>, I cant think of any other word to fill the nk either. Besides, I havent even been to it yet so I will move on.


    Your view of the Mansion of Fear clue was <strong>[Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the mansion]</strong>, but how about we think a bit more on that? There are a few other ces that could fill in the nk that we had a bias of. I can already think of the cathedral and the study.


    Ahri continued on from grandpas statement.


    I can think of more. The basement and theke.


    We thought we had to go to the cathedral to use the bell, and thought we had to go to the study to know more about the room. We went to the basement thinking that we had to see what was inside, and we have also been to theke because we thought we had to go through theke for an escape. There are too many locations that could be inside the nk that we cant be sure whether its talking about the mansion or not.


    In fact, I feel like the two of you are so caught up by the concept of having a broad look at the stage that you came to the conclusion of not going to the mansion itself. I actually think we should still go to the mansion.


    The two people from the Administration both came up with a different opinion, but themonality between them was that the clue of the Mansion of Fear couldnt be interpreted to dont go to the mansion just yet.


    They had a point. We needed to think about it a bit more.


    Hmm. Lets talk more about the mansionter on, said Eunsol-noona. I think sir has already decided on where we should go. Can you please tell us?


    I think we should definitely go to the Strange Family. Whats the most important element that we should consider when retrying a room?


    Its the difficulty of the escape.


    For re-entries, we must always be certain of the escape. As long as we can escape 100%, thats no different from solving the room already, because we would eventually resolve it after numerous attempts. Of course, I did hear that there was some kind of limit.


    Limit  while saying that, Grandpa Mooksung nced at Ahri.


    Keep in mind I dont exactly know this either, said Ahri. From what I heard, its apparently fine until the 4th attempt, but it starts to turn strange after the 5th attempt.


    Everyone turned silent for a bit.


    Ahri. Is that? Eunsol-noona asked.


    Unni, its something I heard during my first time at the Hotel. I didnt experience it myself, and I dont exactly know what it means to turn strange either.


    This was her second timeing to the Hotel, so it was safe to assume that it was trustworthy. That meant 4 attempts were okay with things turning strange after the 5th attempt.


    I made a mental note of that and decided to try to resolve the rooms within 2~3 attempts.


    Going back to what I was saying, Grandpa Mooksung continued. We must always secure an escape before attempting to resolve a room.


    Compare the two rooms again from the perspective of an escape. Escaping from the Mansion of Fear could be extremely difficult. The escape method was to stop Sir from sacrificing 6 people. Since were 8, 3 suicides at the start could secure an escape.


    But think about it again. Ahri and I are now in the group. Would they make us into NPCs again?


    What do you think will happen then?


    It was Ahri who replied to my question.


    Im not sure about that either. They could make us back into NPCs, or could fill them up with other people. If its filled up with other people, that means Sir has 10 people to y with.


    I see.


    Now that Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung were on our sides, the Hotel might add new people as the butler and the maid which would result in 10 candidates for the ritual.


    In order to secure an escape from that situation, we needed more than 3 suicides. Even if 3 of us killed ourselves, there would still be 7 remaining and Sir could still win after killing 6 of the 7 people.


    Five of us might have to kill ourselves then, instead of three.


    That means we need to resolve the room with just three people, which is going to be very hard.


    Let me continue from before. Im sure everyone now understands that escaping from the Mansion of Fear is not an easy option.


    On the other hand, have a look at the Strange Family. All you have to do is stoping into contact with the family and physically distance yourselves from them, right?


    During your first attempt, it was because you didnt know what was happening but as long as youre prepared, you dont even need any mental defence mechanisms or the likes. You just have to close your eyes, block your ears and start running.


    I understand what Grandpa is saying but theres been a question in my mind for a while.


    Something I noticed every time was that Ahri tended to mix in polite and casualnguage regardless of who she was talking to. No-one bothered to nitpick on her tone of voice in a strange ce like this though.


    Grandpa and I dont have a family. What happens then?


    I had a feeling that Ahri wouldnt have a family but this was the first time I heard that Grandpa didnt have a family either.


    That was a valid question though; what would happen to them?


    Maybe theyll make you a family?


    Hmm. I dont know.


    Anyway, lets go with re-entering the Strange Family then. Does anyone have other ideas?


    No-one raised an objection. It seemed that everyone was persuaded by Grandpa Mooksungs argument.


    More than anything, the thing that we had to do to escape from the Mansion of Fear might have been what stopped us from going with that option.


    Regardless of the exact number at hand, a few of us had to kill ourselves from the start and even though no-one mentioned it, that would lead to a very painful choosing process.


    Rationally speaking, those with theparatively lower values in our group would have to kill themselves to increase the likelihood of a resolution. Thinking about who that would be was a painful process already.


    In any case, we decided to re-enter the Strange Family.


    After a strategy meeting, we had a little chat and went off to sleep early.


    Lying on the bed, I thought to myself.


    Tomorrow, immediately after re-entering the room, I would block my sight with filter-mode and run out of the house.


    *


    After filling our belly up with some nice breakfast, we allocated our items. It was a rather humble lineup of items with nothing but the gun and the red capsule, but in any case, Grandpa Mooksung took the gun while Jinchul-hyung took the red capsule.


    Before entering Room 101, we had a briefst-minute strategy meeting.


    We all know what we have to do, right? For starters, we are only going to focus on escaping. The few of us that can easily escape will continue escaping in our next attempts, and the rest will proceed with the room.


    Okay!


    *


    <strong>Second Attempt</strong>


    *


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Immediately aftering to myself, I covered myself with the filter without even wasting a single second. Unravelling before me was the hazy sight that I was now ustomed to.


    As expected, I was able to think normally after putting on the filter. There were a few static noises ringing in my ears, but I ignored them and left the room.


    When I squinted my eyes on top of that, I could only see faint traces of my so-called family. They appeared to be saying something but I ignored them and shouted instead.


    Im gonna go buy something at the convenience store!


    I gave an excuse so that they wouldnt chase after me.


    Opening the door, I left the house, and immediately after leaving the house, I sprinted as fast as I could!


    After running for about 10 minutes,


    A notification popped up.


    <strong>/You have sessfully escaped!/</strong>


    Thats it? That was way too easy!


    Everyone should be able to escape at this rate. All we had to do was run to escape after all! The only reason it was hard at the start was because we had no clue how the Hotel worked.


    Feeling rxed, I waited for the re-encounter with everyone.


    What I found outter on was that it wasnt that easy for everyone else.


    *


    <strong> Park Seungyub: Sessful Escape</strong>


    <strong> Cha Jinchul: Sessful Escape</strong>


    <strong> Yu Songee: Sessful Escape</strong>


    *


    <strong> Elena Ivanova</strong>


    This was so unfair.


    That was the impression Elena received of Room 101.


    The n was to run away immediately from the start, but what about people who had to start in the same room as their family?


    With her older sister starting from the same room as her, her mind was starting to go hazy before she could even do anything.


    Shouldnt they have been separated at the very least?


    Ah, looking back, she realised that it was because their family had be too poor due to running away and seeking asylum all the time. Their house was small, which was why she was still using the same room as her older sister.


    A discrimination against families with low socio-economic status? This was too much. The one who designed this room must be a capitalist pig that must be speared to death.


    Her mind went distant over time.


    <strong>/You have failed!/</strong>


    *


    <strong> Lee Eunsol</strong>


    Kung kung kung!


    Miss!


    Ah, this was horrible. The perfect escape n of Room 101 that everyone came up with during the strategy meeting was obviously not working.


    Operation: Close your eyes, block your ears and run out of your house from the very start.


    That simple mission was proving to be very difficult for her, and the reason for that was very simple.


    She was too rich.


    Everyone was saying as if they could leave their house 3 seconds after leaving their rooms.


    But


    Going out of her bedroom, she would find her living room, and after her living room was her dressing room after which was the real living room. From there, she had to go through the dining room and the garden in order to reach the exit and it was impossible not toe across anyone during that process.


    There was another problem at hand. Everyone else was talking as if all they had to escape from were their parents and siblings, like 2 or 3 people at max.


    But


    What about people who had more than five security guards and employees moving around their house all the time?


    That was why Eunsol couldnt do anything from the start. Blocking her eyes and ears with clothes to run forward?


    Kung kung kung!


    Miss! Are you inside?


    Unfortunately, this was the result of that.


    The young miss of the household was suddenly trying to run out like she had gone crazy while covering her face with something so everyone came to her in fright and in the end, she had to retreat back to her bedroom.


    Unlike Seungyub, she didnt even think about leaving through the window. Her house had exceptional preventative measures against robbers and she didnt want to get scorched to death.


    <em>Sorry, guys.</em>


    <em>I dont think I will be able to do anything in this room.</em>


    The reason for that was because she was too rich. A discrimination against rich people? That was too much right?


    The one who designed this room must be amunist.


    <em>Guys, I will leave everything in your hands!</em>


    <strong>/You have failed!/</strong>


    *


    <strong> Kim Mooksung</strong>


    There was something he had been curious about from the moment they decided toe into this room.


    What would happen to ones who didnt have a family? After having the answer to that question unravel before his eyes, Kim Mooksung was lost for words.


    Father? Are you unwell?


    Grandpa? Why are you standing still doing nothing?


    The answer was to Pretend like the dead family members.


    Ahh.


    He knew this wasnt his real family. His son and his grandson were already long gone. He had to escape from them immediately and if need be, he even had to shoot his gun at them.


    He felt very apologetic to the real teammates outside.


    However Mooksung just couldnt take his eyes off of his son and his grandson, whom he was seeing for the first time in 20 years.


    His consciousness went further away. A mistake like this wouldnt happen again.


    Thest line of thought in his mind was that Ahri would have a very hard time.


    <strong>/You have failed!/</strong>


    *


    <strong> Kim Ahri.</strong>


    I woke up.


    Immediately after looking around, I was shocked. Before entering the room, I was curious how the Hotel would materialise my family and my house.


    My mother was supposed to be dead and my houses were just things that were always provided by the Administration.


    I was born in the Hotel.


    And ording to the Hotel, my house seemed to be the Previous Hotel.


    As a result of that, I had a funny experience of entering Room 101 and waking up at Room 103. By the way, the Room of Rest during my 1st time at the Hotel was Room 103.


    In any case, I had a feeling about something after seeing that the Hotel had put me inside the Previous Hotel.


    It was a very bad and ominous feeling.


    <strong> Kwang kwang kwang!</strong>


    Ahri! Are you there? Im hungry!


    It was the exact same voice as me, which still contained a hint of childishness. That was the person who was born before me and shaped me into existence, who at the same time was still younger than me.


    My mother;


    She was someone who was already crazy without the Hotel having to do anything to her.

 Chapter 63: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (1)

    Chapter 63: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ Re (1)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Second Attempt</strong>


    *


    <strong> Kim Ahri</strong>


    I had to say something for starters, because otherwise, she would knock the door down ande in. Going towards the door and my mum, I felt my blood slowly being used up in order to protect my mind.


    I see, so the curse of Room 101 takes effect just by approaching and listening to the voices of the family, huh?


    It was a shame that I didnt have a mind-protection filter like Kain.


    Mum! Ill be out very soon. You should start first.


    Kung! Kung!


    Im hungry! I dont wanna eat alone!


    What did I have to say to get her away from the door? What kind of personality did she have again?


    I soon remembered that I had to treat her more like a child.


    Mum. I have a present for you. Can you please go further away and wait?


    Present? Present! Okay! I will be waiting~


    Tap tap tap! I could sense her going further away from the door along with several taps on the floor. It was a surprise that a simple lie like this was still working on her.


    Mum was a childish person. She didnt have any patience so she would being back very soon. In the meantime, I had to think  what did I have to do to escape this ce?


    Everyone else could escape by running out of their houses but my house was set as the hotel.


    There was no way for me to leave this ce.


    If this was the 2nd hotel, the current one, there was a chance of me surviving by jumping out the front entrance and slowing down the speed of the fall. I might die fromck of blood before hitting the ground but there was still a chance.


    However, outside the front entrance of the 1st hotel was the very depths of the ocean and I would be pressed to death by the water pressure immediately upon contact. That was why the escape tool back then was an Air Bubble and not Wing Boots.


    Leaving through the main entrance was not an option, and I couldnt reenact the escape method I used before either.


    Since I couldnt leave this ce


    I had to at least make sure that imitation of my mother wouldnt be able to approach me by neutralising her.


    But the greatest concern was this:


    How much of my mum had the hotel replicated?


    If not for her blessing, I was more than confident in beating that fake mum. But if she had her blessing on top of that Well, there was only one way to find out.


    Creak.


    I opened the door and was met with a familiar dining room. In the distance was mum sitting down with her hands over her eyes.


    This might sound like me bragging about myself, but she really was very cute. She would have been a much better mum if only she was sane.


    I took a deep breath in.


    With all things considered, including the blood that would be used up during the fight as well as the blood that would be used to protect my mind, I couldnt prolong this fight.


    Closing my eyes, I inspected myself and felt the blood pumping out of the heart, thumping through the arteries. I then essed the ancient power, or curse, that was rooted to every drop of my blood.


    I manifested <strong>Ancient Blood</strong>.


    An aura of coldness immediately rose up from my fingertips like lightning bolts and shed through the air. It was a very sudden attack and Miro couldnt even react to it in time.


    Ahhk! Ahri? Why


    Sorry.


    Actually, Im not sorry. Youre not even my real mum are you? Ill just call you by your name from now on.


    With another gust of cold air, I struck her body twice as she screamed and rolled across the floor. Two red lines appeared on Miros body and the blood immediately froze after flowing out of her wounds.


    But this wasnt enough.


    I wanted to finish it from a distance due to the mental contamination but I couldnt drive any detrimental blows. Attacking from a distance might have worked against normal citizens but it was hard to do any meaningful damage from a distance against another blood witch.


    While pouring strength into my fingertips, I jumped up but it was then


    Light shed from the other side of the dining table.


    Stab!


    A sudden hole appeared on my shoulder.


    I immediately rolled sideways, shot a cold gust and observed Miros state.


    Things were going quite well so far.


    Her recovery speed was very slow, and it seemed that shooting a bunch of cold gusts at the start was proving to be effective. The constant pervasion of coldness was slowing down the flow of her blood, and was interfering with her ability.


    Approaching her once again, I strengthened my fingertips and shed at her.


    Tang!


    Our hands, that were now as tough as steel after using Ancient Blood, crashed into one another.


    Ahri! What is wrong with you? Mummy will scold you for doing bad things!


    Sorry, but Im probably stronger than you right now. A lot of time passed after your death, Miro, and I wasnt ying around doing nothing.


    What do you mean I died? Did you have a bad dream, Ahri?


    In the following span of 10 seconds, our metal hands shed more than 30 times as we both attacked and interfered with each other using our own blood.


    Both of us realised after I shoved the gust of coldness into Miros body 5 times, that I was overwhelmingly stronger than her.


    Our mastery with the blood and fighting techniques were just not on the same level. Despite using more than half of my blood to fight against the mental contamination of Miro, I was still easily on the winning side.


    What? This is weird! Why did you suddenly be so strong, Ahri?


    I told you. Ive been building up my strength for longer than your entire lifespan. Sorry Miro, but its time for you to go to sleep.


    She wasnt my real mum, but her screaming in pain was still an agonising sight. However, it was almost over.


    Using Allusion on her would immediately put her into deep sleep. Our eyes met and my power slowly seeped into her heart, but it was then.


    A bnce appeared behind her.


    Ah. It was over. This stupid Hotel had even replicated Miros blessing.


    I took a step back the moment I saw it, because I knew it would be impossible to beat her.


    Kwang! Boom!


    Everything exploded. In an instant, the tables and chairs of the dining room blew up, and an oppressive aura that was too mighty for mere humans to fight against pounced at me. While barely hiding myself behind the nearby walls and chairs, I escaped Room 103.


    When was it again?


    I remembered the thing Seungyub said when we first heard about Elenas blessing, Justice, at the Sanctum of Blessings.


    He spected that the reason there were so many conditions for Elenas blessing was that it was to bnce things out.


    Sorry Seungyub, but you werepletely off the mark.


    This hopeless Hotel did not care a single bit about bncing anything. By nature, there were no conditions or restrictions on the blessings of the Hotel, and they only consisted of infinite possibilities.


    Conditions were only made by humans themselves.


    The 3 conditions of Elenas blessing were as follows:


    1. The target must be an evil person.


    2. Elena must be aware of the evil action.


    3. The execution cannot be stopped once started.


    There were even concepts like self-defence that were surprisingly close to the legal systems of Earth.


    The conditions tranted to this: an ideal punishment had to be applied to evil people; there needed to be proof and the continuance of the punishment should not be up to the executors arbitrary decision.


    Would the Hotel bother considering thews of the human world to select the conditions of the blessing? No  these conditions were just restrictions that were formed by Elenas Perception of Justice.


    But the conditions wouldnt have been that different even if the Blessing of Justice had gone to other people, because everyones perception of justice was pretty simr in the grand scheme of things.


    It was therefore normal for the Blessing of Justice to contain restrictions that were simr to the legal systems of the real world. After all,ws were things formed ording to everyones general perception of justice.


    However, what if that blessing were to go to someone that didnt have that universal view of justice? For example, what if someone crazy were to gain the Blessing of Justice?


    Someone who believes they have the right to punish everything let alone humans, including animals, monsters and even objects;


    Someone who believes everything they do not like as injustice;


    Someone who believes that punishment is only up to their own decision.


    A long time ago, Miro created me and lost her intellect in return. And due to losing her intellect, her ego turned into that of a child, which in fact removed all the restrictions of Justice and made her overwhelmingly powerful!


    The very result of that system was chasing after me, while breaking everything nearby with a swing of her hands.


    Beeeeeeeeeep!


    The static noise that woulde from a noisy radio was filling my head. It seemed that my ears were malfunctioning because of the loud explosions everywhere.


    Kwang!


    The ceiling exploded with a loud roar as if there had been a bomb there.


    Crack! Crackk!


    Miros vigour shredded the marble floor of the Hotel like paper, and started cracking everything as if there was an earthquake.


    Tuung!


    Pebbles crumbled from the broken walls and fell on my back. Today was proving to be quite the challenging day.


    There was only one reason I was still able to run away. Thanks to that small bit of Allusion that I cast on her before, Miro couldnt find me right now.


    But that was why it was even more shocking, because that meant that she was destroying everything nearby without even being able to perceive me. In turn, that meant she was using the power of Justice against objects nearby.


    What in the world was her perception of Justice that she could use it like that? There was a door and a corridor daring to stand in her path when she was angry, so were they wicked and evil?


    There was no point in lingering on that so I stopped.


    The chase went on for about 10 minutes.


    At this point, I could tell that there was no way out for me.


    I tried sprinting and flying as fast as I could, but Miro looked like she would destroy the Hotel at this rate. She was as destructive as what Kain was like back when he acquired Descent.


    I decided to give up.


    Standing next to the main entrance, I gazed outside the door. There were all sorts of strange-looking fish outside the ss doors of the entrance. That was natural because in my 1st time at the Hotel, we were in the depths of the ocean.


    Clomp. Clomp.


    While I was watching the fish nearby, the effect of Allusion ran out and Miro appeared in front of me.


    Youre here.


    Ah, my heads starting to hurt. I think this is as far as I can go.


    You are really strange today, Ahri. I dont know why you are doing this to your mum.


    Youre right.


    Are you angry at me?


    Who knows.


    Im sorry if you were upset. I was so angry I was destroying everything just then but Im sorry. Dont hate me for that, okay?


    Ahh, even this fake mum loved me, just like how I loved mum.


    But you see, fake mum?


    Your love itself is about to contaminate me right now.


    But you know you shouldnt do this to your mum either, right? I will go around for a week carrying just your head, Ahri! So you need to reflect on your actions, okay?


    It would have been better if I just didnt hear thatst sentence.


    What was worse, was that my mum wasnt like this because of Room 101s curse. In fact, she had always been like this ever since my birth.


    My consciousness faded away.


    <strong>/You have failed!/</strong>


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Wow!


    I thought after leaving Room 101.


    That was way too easy, wasnt it? We almost all died before only because we didnt know something so simple.


    It was so easy that I doubted anyone would have had trouble escaping. All you had to do was close your eyes, block your ears and run so that should have been terribly easy!


    I turned my head, thinking that everyone would be wearing a smile but


    That was when I noticed that something was strange.

 Chapter 64: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (2)

    Chapter 64: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ Re (2)


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    So that means we have four of us that failed.


    Eunsol-noona, Miss Elena, Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung couldnt escape, is that correct? I asked.


    I have no words to say, replied Grandpa Mooksung.


    Sorry everyone.


    Hmm, Im sorry as well but lets stop there for the apologies ande up with another n.


    Its a fairly serious problem, said Grandpa Mooksung. Look, our first n was to see the difficulty of escape through our first attempt and allocate 1 person to escaping after that for the safety of the team to have the remaining 7 continue with the room, right?


    But 4 of us failed, which means we only have a few that will be proceeding with the rooms curse.


    However, what is fortunate is that I can swear there wont be any problems in the next attempt. I will not repeat the same mistake twice.


    I decided to organise the situation for now.


    First off, let me organise the reasons for our failure.


    <strong><em>1. Eunsol: The house is too big; there are too many people and it is difficult to escape while hiding from all the people.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. Elena: The house is too small, and starts in the same room as her family.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3. Mooksung: Bewildered by the resurrection of the deceased family members.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>4. Ahri: The starting ce is the 1st Hotel, and a physical escape is therefore impossible.</em></strong>


    Does that sound right?


    They all returned a nod.


    What I could tell once again while going through those points was that there were quite a few unexpected reasons. I wasnt expecting it to be impossible to escape due to having a big house, and starting at the Hotel was also fairly shocking.


    I understood what happened for the other people but had a slightly hard time understanding Ahris case. She was physically strong so couldnt she just beat her family?


    Ahri? I asked.


    Hn?


    I get that you cant physically leave the Hotel, but ording to you, that means you only had your mum showing up as your family, right?


    Thats right.


    Then the situation itself seems simr to Jinchul-hyungs, so how about you try overpowering her next time? You can be like Jinchul-hyung and escape after bashing your mother up the moment we begin to stop her from approaching you.


    Hey Kain! I dont like the way youre saying that! What do you mean I bashed my mother up? Youre making me sound like the shittiest guy on the! I punched not my mother, but the fake that was pretending to be my mother.


    Ahri didnt say anything for a while nor did she show any sign of approval.


    ?


    Sorry, but my mum is a bit strong. I dont think Ill be able to do anything. I cant beat my mother no matter what I do and I cant stop her from approaching me either.


    What was going on, I wondered.


    There were still quite a lot of things we werent sure about regarding Ahris abilities, but to think she was so certain that she couldnt beat her


    What kind of person was her mother? Was she even human?


    Now! Eunsol-noona continued off from where I stopped. So it will be hard for Ahri, but what about everyone else? First off sir? Are you sure you can proceed next time?


    I can assure you that I will not make the same mistake twice.


    It was a simple mistake for you, so lets say youll be fine from our next attempt. On the other hand Ahri, theres no way for you to do anything, is that right?


    Sorry, but yes. Itll be absolutely impossible.


    That cant be helped then. I guess it boils down to Elena and me.


    Hah, this is quite a peculiar situation, isnt it? said Jinchul-hyung. For noonim, its a problem because your house is too big and for Miss Elena, its because the house is too small.


    For a while, Eunsol-noona and Elena both turned silent and pondered by themselves and so did we.


    No matter what, having 3 people unable to do anything was quite rough. 1 of us had to be a dedicated escaper and adding 3 people to that meant we had to resolve the curse with only 4 of us.


    After 5 minutes of silence, Eunsol-noona opened her mouth.


    Im really sorry, but I dont think I can do anything. I cant punch my family and overpower them like Jinchul, and the house is too big and crowded for me to leave in secret.


    I think I might have a better fighting chance than Eunsol-unni, said Elena, Because I just need to buy 5 seconds. With just 5 seconds, I think I can leave the house because it is quite small.


    The problem is that you start with the Strange Family next to you though, so buying 5 seconds is going to be quite hard.


    Ah! It was then.


    Songee? What is it?


    Elena-unni. Can you leave your house with your sense of sight and sense of hearing blocked?


    I remember the entire house like the back of my hand. Because it is very small.


    For some reason, I had a feeling that Elena was frequently grumbling about her house being quite small.


    Then how about I block all your senses before we go in like what I did to Jinchul-oppast time?


    Its a lot better than simply closing your eyes and blocking your ears, so it should be able to protect your mind even if you are right next to the Strange Family. It willst 10 minutes so that should work as long as you can leave in that period of time.


    But if I leave like that, wont that be dangerous for you, Songee? Didnt you say you could only use the bracelet on one person at a time? If you use that bracelet on me, that means you wont be able to protect yourself until it goes off cooldown again, right?


    I start in my room unlike you, though. I can just lock the door for like 30 minutes or an hour and leave when I can use the bracelet again.


    Songee, can you use that same method on Eunsol-noona?


    I can only use the bracelet on one person at a time.


    Then use that on Elena. Unfortunately, I wont be able to escape the house with my senses blocked. Its just too big.


    After taking the note and pen from noona, I organised our current n.


    <strong><em>1. Escape Team: Park Seungyub</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. Advance Team: Han Kain, Yu Songee, Cha Jinchul, Kim Mooksung, Elena</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3. Give-up Team: Lee Eunsol, Kim Ahri.</em></strong>


    This seemed about right.


    Leaving out the two that couldnt proceed and the one that was in charge of our escape gave us 5 remaining members. Five seemed like a decent number for a solid attempt and besides, it didnt look like we would be able to increase that number either.


    Seeing me write things down, everyone naturally turned to the note and a few of them grumbled after seeing it.


    Isnt Give-up Team a bit too mean? What kind of team is this? Just leave my name out please, said Eunsol-noona.


    Kain wrote our names like were the uncooperative members of a group project.


    I am just writing this for myself.


    Hmm, I guess that settles things. Theres something I want to ask just to make sure, Seungyub-gun, said Grandpa Mooksung.


    Sure!


    Are you sure you can escape? You are the one that needs to escape as soon as we begin to secure our survival, so you have the most important role on your shoulders. If you fail, all of us will die.


    I think I can pull it off 100%. I made it out in less than 10 minutes just then. My parents donte into my room that often so I can just jump out the window onto a car and run, and thats it.


    What a reliable young man. Thats very reassuring. I will trust you.


    As if he wasnt used to having so manypliments and expectations thrown at him, Seungyubs face turned red again.


    Grandpa Mooksung was right though.


    At a nce, it might seem that the people advancing with the curse of the room were more important, but those people wont be able to do anything with a peace of mind unless we had a guaranteed survival backing them up. That was why the most important person out of everyone was the escaper.


    By the way, I saw something very strange.


    What is it, Seungyub? Tell us.


    Why arent you saying anything? Is there something wrong?


    Please dont misunderstand. I seriously wasnt trying to y any games, and I just essed the inte because it had been a very long since Ist did, right?


    Just be honest, buddy. Did you y a game of league? Thats fine. As long as you escape in one piece, no-ones going toin about that.


    Im serious, Jinchul-hyung! I really didnt y any games. I was just browsing the web and everything looked incredibly strange.


    You mean the inte was strange?


    People were eating strange bugs on eating shows; in baseball games, they were trying to hit people with the ball and in dramas, everyone was fighting with real swords. I browsed for a minute and it felt like my head was turning strange so I quickly turned it off and left the house.


    Can I share what I felt as well? asked Songee.


    Did you also find something strange?


    As you all know, I can now use my Affinity more proactively after the enhancement. Like, I can convey my thoughts and feel what they are thinking for a deeper exchange, and so I tried using that to my family and the animals in my house. The result was a fail; it didnt work and they didnt react in any way. What do you think this means?


    Hmm. I do have an idea, said Grandpa Mooksung.


    What is it, sir?


    Songees ability is one that allows her tomunicate with a being of chaos, right? If the members of the Strange Family are not beings of chaos and are simple humans and animals in that stage, that would exin why her ability wasnt working.


    Do you mean that even the Strange Family are just victims that were involved in the curse because of a different cause?


    Isnt that the very thing implied by our clues as well? The origin of the curse is not in the family.


    Listening to their conversation, I felt a bit embarrassed.


    Unlike me who escaped while doing nothing else, Seungyub and Songee still escaped while finding crucial pieces of information. Maybe I should have done something as well.


    I decided to be more proactive at finding information in our next attempt.


    For now, I wrote down the two notes that Seungyub and Songee found for us.


    <strong><em>1. The inte is strange.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. The family might be normal humans.</em></strong>


    Adding the two of them naturally made use up with a hypothesis.


    Is the origin of the curse the Inte then?


    Were the family afflicted with the curse from using the inte? And maybe the animals got infected by them?


    Theres nothing certain, but I believe the Advance Team should first look at matters rted to the inte.


    After discussing for about 30 minutes, we finished organising the situation and setting our goals.


    Lastly, I ripped the note out and put it on the table for everyone to see.


    <strong><em>1. Escape Team: Park Seungyub</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. Advance Team: Han Kain, Yu Songee, Cha Jinchul, Kim Mooksung, Elena</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3. Rest Team: Lee Eunsol, Kim Ahri.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Goal of the Advance Team: Find the Origin of the Curse. Search primarily through the Inte.</em></strong>


    I think we had a solid starting point now for another attempt.


    Kain. Can you please just get rid of my name?


    I guess hes the type of person that needs to report to the professor about the unhelpful group project members~


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Third Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The moment I came to myself, I immediately put up a filter in front of my eyes. Next, I turned on theputer in my room.


    Oh right, I couldnt forget to remind the family not toe in.


    Mum!


    Kain?


    Even after covering myself with the system window, my mind turned nk for a bit immediately after hearing her voice.


    I need to apply for my courses so dont interrupt me!


    It seemed to be around February right now inside the room, so there should be nothing wrong with me saying that I was in the middle of applying for my university subjects.


    Her feet slowly went further away from the room.


    Turning on theputer, I browsed the web for about a minute, and immediately understood what Seungyub meant.


    Seriously, the world of the Inte had absolutely gone crazy, and I realised that Seungyub was trying to put it nicely when he said that. There were shows where people tried to eat people, and the news and dramas were literally horrendous.


    Even psychopaths would probably get goosebumps after seeing these.


    In less than 1 minute after I started watching the videos, my head started to ache tremendously and strange sounds started echoing in my ears.


    A rather distortedmon sense tried to seep into my head.


    <strong><em>What was wrong with humans eating humans?</em></strong>


    Quickly turning off the monitor, I retreated back.


    My mind returned after 5 minutes of rest.


    I pondered to myself.


    Seungyub said the Inte was strange, but after seeing it with my own eyes, I came up with a more distinct exnation.


    It was the Media that was strange. There was nothing strange when using search engine tforms like Naver and Google. It was mainly TV shows, eating shows, sports, news and dramas that were all crazy.


    There were still so many unanswered questions though. Was Media the problem? Was Media the origin of the curse?


    Then what was the Hotel asking us to do then?


    This was probably not the right approach. I decided to think back to Room 103 that Songee resolved. The origin of the curse back then were the Athanasias, and the room was resolved after she wiped them out.


    In other words, the origin of the curse was probably something that could be physically destroyed. That thing must have contaminated the Media, which spread to the people and the world.


    I came up with a hypothesis.

 Chapter 65: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (3)

    Chapter 65: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ Re (3)


    Before reading the chapter, you can have a look here for an update about what was happening in my life if youre interested.


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Third Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I put together everything I found out till now.


    From my searches on the Inte, it was clear that none of the media were in their right minds. That led to the question  where was the ce that first produced such programmes?


    The main suspects were the public broadcasting stations.


    Of course, these days, there were plenty of other options including all sorts of tforms that allowed people to stream by themselves.


    However, there would be no end to it if I were to go through every possible candidate on the list. First off, I put public broadcasting stations as the primary candidate; if I was wrong, all I had to do was look for other options.


    Did that mean I had to visit one of the broadcasting stations then?


    That led to several other questions.


    1. There were more than one broadcasting station so where was I supposed to go?


    There were tons of potential candidates even if I were to limit it to TV stations. If I were to add all the other broadcasting stations and channels to the list, there would probably be tens of them if not hundreds.


    2. How was I supposed to go there?


    Leaving the house and distancing oneself from the Strange Family for about 10 minutes was what was required for a sessful escape. Originally, this easy escape method had been the guarantee to our lives, but it was in fact a hindrance to the resolution of the curse of this room. A message signalling a sessful escape would show up before we even went to the broadcasting station and we would then be chased out of the room.


    3. What about people who couldnt leave their starting points?


    If this room was only solvable by leaving the starting point and moving to a specific broadcasting station, what about Ahri, who couldnt even leave the area that she started in? Was she out of the equation just because her starting point was in the Hotel?


    That didnt sound right. Even though the Hotel was at times irrational, cruel and a hard ce to understand, they never exposed us to impossible missions by, for example, making us face ridiculous monsters that could wipe us out in 3 seconds.


    It was hard to understand why, but staying here thinking to myself wouldnt lead to anything, so instead of doing nothing pondering by myself, I decided to thinkter and focus on doing what can be done.


    The first question still had to be addressed first though. I had to decide which broadcasting agency or station I had to go to.


    After some thought, I sat back down in front of theputer and started searching through old articles.


    Kain! Are you done? Can youe help with theundry?


    The Strange Family was starting to interfere again. I had to buy as much time as possible.


    Theres something I have to do at uni! I have to go out very soon!


    Fortunately, unlike videos, going through articles and reports that were made purely of words wasnt that stressful. Even though the articles were just as absurd as everything else happening in this world, the infectious degree of the curse seemed a lot weaker than vivid videos and actual people.


    Going further and further back in time, I continued looking for the ce in this world where the strange events had first urred.


    Only after going about 8 months back in time did I finally find a suspicious candidate.


    ABS.


    It was a rather recently founded TV Station, and there were more than 30 news reports strongly condemning the overly inappropriate contents of ABS. There were dozens of reports in the span of 1~2 days.


    However, as if it only took a day or two for the curse to reach the entire world or rather, Korea for that matter, there werent any more words of criticism. All the other media tforms had also gone insane.


    The destination was now set as ABS.


    That led me to the next question.


    How was I supposed to go there?


    I suddenly came up with a simple solution.


    What was the requisite for the sessful escape in the first ce? It was because of a physical distance being formed after sensing the change in the Strange Family, right?


    In that case, all I needed to do was not distance myself. I just had to go to the TV Station with my family.


    But there was a problem.


    Even just walking past my family members or holding short conversations with them gave me a sharp head-ache due to the curse. Even that was only possible thanks to the help of my filter  without the filter, there was no way for me to retain my sanity unless I were to close my eyes and block my ears the whole time.


    Would I be able tost, travelling a long distance with my family?


    Heaving a sigh, I continued searching through the Inte and found something.


    There were articles about coronavirus vines and stuff.


    Ah, it seemed that coronavirus was also a serious concern in this world. I guess that was normal considering how this stage was created using the real world as a reference.


    Seeing that news immediately gave me an idea.


    *


    Ah! Seriously, oppa. Are you stupid or what? Why is the hospital for your vine so far away?


    What did you say?


    Ah! You retard, get rid of those stupid earplugs. And why have you been squinting the whole time?


    Wait! I told you not toe near me. Did you not hear me say I havent been feeling well recently?


    Swing! Bam!


    My younger sister retaliated by throwing a hand-axe, which went flying right past my head.


    I vowed to myself that I would be a bit nicer if I happened to see my real sister again. Seeing her throw a hand-axe from who knows where just because she was slightly mad made me miss my actual sister.


    In this world, it seemed that about half a year had passed ever since the spread of coronavirus.


    The Administration had sessfully created a fully preventative vine with an exceptional performance which started to settle the world from their uproar. Considering how the demand for the vine was from all around the globe, it was hard even for the Administration to provide enough supply for it.


    Thus, making an appointment for a vine was like asking for the moon.


    This morning, I told my family that I had been feeling unwell ever since this morning, and said I made an appointment for a vine at a hospital near the TV Station and set off with my sister.


    Even though she didnt seem to like the idea of it, she still decided to go to hospital with her sick brother. She was such a lovely sister, except for the fact that she tended to throw weapons at me from time to time.


    We set off for the hospital with about 10 metres in between us.


    I was essentially asking her, Donte close to me because you might get infected, but can you stille to the hospital with me?


    I knew it was contradictory and made no sense. Even my sister with half a screw loose was dumbfounded by the absurdity of my request, but followed me the moment I promised to give her 100 dors.


    The cost didnt matter in the slightest. This was a fake world, and I wouldnt even hesitate to promise her 1,000 dors.


    Leaving the house, we went to a bigger road and caught a taxi.


    I deemed that the best method to go all the way to the TV Station while avoiding as many infected people as possible would be by taxi.


    Suddenly, I wondered if taxis in this world would function normally like the real world or not, but nheless, I boarded the vehicle that stopped in front of us.


    *


    Thats why Im telling you, these guys from the XX Party are the cause of all problems. I just cannot understand! What are those damned guys even thinking? People started moving freely and I know there are a few casualties because of that, but how could they possibly talk about banning battle royales? Do they have no idea how useful battle royales are these days when ites to empowering the resilience of each student?


    Why were taxi drivers so chatty as always even though this crazy world had gone through so many changes?


    That brings me back to my university days. Seriously; ha! I dont like saying this because it sounds like Im bragging about myself, but Im from the Y University*! When we have freshmen students in the Y University, we start off with a Russian Roulette. Thats our way of getting rid of cowards. They say there were 130 people dead this year, but so what? We still have a lot of people in our country.


    Besides, he was talking absolute nonsense like a lunatic the whole time and I felt like my brain was about to melt. I blocked my ears and yet the sound still managed to seep in.


    This was the biggest downside of a taxi. I couldnt distance myself from them.


    No matter how close I was to the door of the vehicle, my sister was right next to me with the driver sitting in front, and I could feel the curse trying to force its way into me the whole time. I would have gone crazy a long time ago if not for the System Window filter, considering how I was about to go crazy even with the filter activated.


    I just cannot understand the XX Party. We have 7 billion in this world, and we have 50 million living in this tiny country. Isnt that too much? We need to reduce the numbers a little. 3 billion; and 20 million. Doesnt that sound perfect?


    How about you start off with killing yourself then? Of course, after I get off the taxi, that is.


    And yet those guys from the XX Party see something wrong with that or something. Adding regtions in ce; trying to createws for the protection of normal civilians and stuff like that  its absurd. Absolutely absurd. They dont even know about the survival of the fittest. Its perfectly normal for things like that to happen in a free capitalist economy, isnt it? Thosemunist bastards.


    I had to bear through that for 30 whole minutes.


    Towards the end, it was so hard to keep myself sane that I dug out my ears with my fingers so much to the point they let out blood.


    Swoosh. Bang.


    I felt a lot better the moment I left the taxi and distanced myself from him. I was in the middle of collecting my breath when the sound of something digging into someones skin echoed from behind.


    Hahaha! Thank you very much, youngdy. Thats excellent!


    nkly turning around, I found my sisters hand-axe stabbing through the taxi drivers belly, who was in turn thanking her for that.


    Ignoring that, I turned back to the front. It wasnt even surprising anymore, and my only wish was that she wouldnt swing or throw that at me.


    Powerlessly, I walked forward when my sister came up to me and asked a question.


    Oppa? The hospitals that way though?


    I was thinking about dropping by ABS before going to the hospital.


    Why are you going there all of a sudden?


    Oppa?


    I immediately came up with an excuse.


    I saw on my phone just then  apparently theyre filming the ck Hole Princess at ABS right now. Wasnt that your favourite show?


    Huh? Really? How did I miss that?


    Because I just thought of it.


    I had a feeling that she would take her phone out if I were to sit here waiting, so I quickly started sprinting towards the TV Station.


    We were pretty much there anyway. After running with my sister for about 5 more minutes, we arrived at the TV station.


    Atst, I was here. Thinking of all the hard work it took to get here made me feel likemending myself for all that effort. It really was amazing that I thought about bringing my family all the way to the TV Station in a world as terrible as this, and carried through with it.


    Letting out a sigh, I was walking towards the entrance of the TV Station but


    That was when someone tapped on my shoulder.


    It gave me goosebumps.


    There was a semi-ability I gained ever since I entered Room 101. The curse, weakened by the filter, would cause me pain and a headache whenever a person infected by the curse walked up to me. Thanks to that, I was able to tell beforehand if there was someone nearby approaching me.


    However, there was none of that just then.


    Oveing the fear and nervousness, I slowly turned my head back to see who was behind me, and


    I saw in front of my eyes a very familiar face.


    Bang!


    That was when my sisters head exploded to pieces.


    *


    So, youre telling me you brought your family all the way here, yes? asked Grandpa Mooksung.


    I did.


    That is remarkable. I did think of that for a split second, but I truly wasnt expecting someone to actually carry out such a crazy n!


    Did you not find it odd, however? That is a method that no-one else can use except for you with the filter, and Miss Songee with her bracelet.


    None of us can remain sane by being with a family member for that long. Even Ahri would die from having her blood dried up.


    There is no way the Hotel would have separated us for us to individually work our way through it, while making it so that only a select few of us cane here.


    I did find it strange, but I couldnte up with a solution.


    You found it strange, but still gave it a shot because it was possible for you. I think its excellent that you had the guts to put that into action. Whatever the case, you arrived at the TV Station and that is good news for me too. Honestly, I was starting to think that no-one else was going to arrive here and was wondering whether I should proceed by myself or not. Having another person will go a long way.


    So how did youe here, Sir? You dont have a filter like me, and you dont have a bracelet like Songee either, so how did you bring your family all the way here?


    The method I used was a lot easier. It is something anyone can do as long as they know how to.


    And what is it?

 Chapter 66: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (4)

    Chapter 66: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ Re (4)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Third Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    A question appeared in my mind the moment I saw Grandpa Mooksung in a corner of the first floor of the TV Station. How did hee here without neither the bracelet nor the filter?


    He said it was an easy method that anyone can do.


    Dont tell me


    Sir. Is that method you were talking about rted to cutting off a part of your familys


    Goodness gracious! What kind of atrocious act are you thinking about? And did I not tell you that its something anyone can do as long as they know how to?


    How would Miss Eunsol or Ahri take a body part of a security guard or the powerful mum? Besides, theres no certainty whether a cut-off body part would count as a part of the Strange Family or not.


    Seeing how detailed your exnation is, it looks like you did think of that too.


    So, how did youe here? I asked.


    I teleported here.


    I was immediately lost for words. What was he talking about? Teleport? I might believe it if this was Ahri we were talking about, but Grandpa Mooksung didnt have any abilities, did he not?


    You look confused. In fact, Im surprised I was the only one who thought of this. Its probably because I was working at the Administration and became used to these supernatural events.


    Can you please exin?


    Its my first timeing into Room 101, but I do remember what you guys told me before. Back then, you told me you left your house with your family and travelled everywhere from a botanical garden to a restaurant and a resort.


    How did you travel back then? Were you on a train? Or did you travel by car?


    !


    His words reminded me of something.


    During the first attempt of Room 101, how did I move between ces?


    I wasnt on any form of transportation including cars and trains. All I did was think, Lets go here! with my family which had immediately changed the time and ce!


    Themon sense of the world in Room 101 has already been modified by something unknown. And we already know that the Hotel has the power to y with the time and location of everything happening inside a room like the creator.


    In Room 101, you can teleport to ces even without relying on the traditional methods of transport. Of course, considering how there are still public transports like taxis and trains, its safe to assume that there is a condition for teleportation.


    I believe its only avable for participants like us, and only when we are infected by the curse.


    Theres no need to dwell on the principles. What is important is that it is possible, and that you have all experienced it already.


    I didnt even think of that possibility before. Seeing how its only you and me, sir, it looks like no-one else was able to reach that line of thought either. But now, I do understand that its possible to teleport, because I experienced it myself when I first entered Room 101.


    And that also makes sense for cases like Ahris, because she cant physically leave where she is in right now.


    But how do you teleport? Ive never consciously teleported in my life so I have no idea.


    I dont know either, he said.


    Sorry? Didnt you say you teleported here?


    I just dered to my fake family that I had to go to the TV Station. Then, I walked closer to them and got myself swept away by the curse, and when I came to myself, I was already here.


    So you used the fact that you can only teleport when infected by the curse. I understand that part, but werent you still infected by the curse even after arriving here? How did you wake up from it?


    In response to my question, he waved his hand and replied while looking around.


    Do you see anyone here?


    I can see some securities over there, but theres no-one near us.


    You see, Ive been to ABS several times and I know people dont tend toe to this specific area of the 1st floor unless there is a special function going on. So before I was swept away by the curse, I set my ns that I would definitelye here.


    Thanks to that, I really dide here even when I was under the effect of the curse, and woke up after some time.


    I see.


    This was the method Grandpa Mooksung used toe to the TV Station.


    <strong>1. When sane, set ns that you will go to the TV Station.</strong>


    <strong>2. Intentionally get yourself infected by the curse.</strong>


    <strong>3. Follow the scheduled ns and teleport to an uncrowded ce of the TV Station.</strong>


    <strong>4. There are no people nearby, which will then let you wake up after some time.</strong>


    That was a set of entrically creative procedures that was crafted while taking all the characteristics of this room into ount.


    As he said himself, it was something only he could have thought of as an agent of the Administration who had to deal with all sorts of supernatural incidents.


    Indeed


    If it was this, it would be possible for people like Ahri, who couldnt physically leave the ce she was in, as well as those who couldnt keep themselves sane through a long period of contact with their family to arrive at the TV Station.


    Alright. I have one more question though. We dont have any family members nearby already, and the people from the TV Station are all far away from us, so why isnt it telling us we have escaped?


    Thats the exact proof that proves we have arrived at the right ce.


    !


    We were currently in a corner of the 1st floor of the TV Station where there was no-one near us to infect us with the curse.


    It would be normal for us to be chased out of the room for a sessful escape and yet we had yet to get any notifications.


    Sensing a change, I checked the system window.


    <strong>[Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  A Strange Family)]</strong>


    <strong>[Cursed Room     ]</strong>


    <strong>[Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media]</strong>


    A Strange Family, or rather, Common Sense Renovating Media.


    We were on the right track, and had arrived at the next stage.


    It was therefore normal for this to not be considered an escape.


    When you think about it, the family was nothing but secondary victims of the infection. We were now closer to the primary victims of the curse and the Origin of the Curse, so that was obviously nowhere near an escape.


    Looks like you understand the situation now. We better start exploring now.


    I have been forming ns while waiting for someone else to arrive, so follow mine for now. Think of ourselves as agents of the Administration that are here to inspect the TV Station. Please stop anyone that tries to approach me, and we can then search everywhere we can. Does that make sense?


    Yes.


    Lets go.


    It was naturally me in the lead.


    Unlike me, sir didnt have a filter. He was able to keep himself sane because we were staying in a corner of the 1st floor with no-one nearby, but that wasnt going to be the case anymore. Once we entered the TV Station, we were bound toe across a bunch of infected people without an end.


    My job was to y the role of a tank and stop people from approaching us.


    That was when sir handed me something.


    What is this?


    Its an agent badge. The securities working here should recognise it.


    It was a badge made of a particr type of wood, and engraved towards the bottom was the word, Agent.


    Me from a few months ago certainly wouldnt have imagined that I would ever pretend to be an Administration agent in my life. It made me feel slightly strange.


    In any case, we started exploring the TV Station.


    *


    What I learned from a short introduction to How to Act like an Agent of the Administration was very simple and straight-forward.


    <strong>Level 1: Simply show the badge and pretend to be mysterious.</strong>


    Young man! This area is for authorised personnel only


    Plop!


    What are you Wait! Are you from the Administration? May I please ask why you are here?


    Im sorry, but you need to provide the reason at the very least.


    If it is regarding a secret operation, a simple exnation will do.


    <strong>Level 2: Persistently ask if he can take responsibility.</strong>


    Are you in a high enough position to take responsibility?


    No, thats not what I mean, sir. But you need to provide us with a reason for us to


    If you keep on trying to interfere with our business, I will have no choice but to ask you to take responsibility.


    I am not trying to interfere, sir. We need to write at least something down when we send people through.


    <strong>Level 3: Downright threaten them.</strong>


    Youve wasted a minute of my time already. Show me your business card. Let me see how much of a bigshot you are.


    Haht! What do you mean all of a sudden? A business card? Why would you


    Oh, you have a name badge there. Mr. Cha SeungMook from the Securities, is it? I have remembered your name. When I return to headquarters I will surely


    P, pleasee through. I am very sorry for my stupidity.


    It worked.


    All I had to do was force my way through.


    We were walking into the TV Station when sir tapped me on the shoulder.


    That was excellent. That was one hell of an abuse of power that one would expect from a veteran with 10 years of service. You have a talent for this  even I learned from that just then. Its my first time getting goosebumps just from someone reading out a name.


    Very profound and frightening! He must be thinking, what is he going to do with my name? It sparks all sorts of possible implications!


    When we leave the Hotel, think about finding a job at the Administration.


    I pledged to myself that I would never get myself involved in any of this again after leaving the Hotel.


    *


    On the way there, amunication tab appeared in my head. It had been a while since Ist saw it.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Can you hear my voice?</em>


    <em>Han Kain: Its been a while since west used this.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Save letters. Thank goodness it works.</em>


    <em>Han Kain: Probably because we are close.</em>


    Lets just talk. We are right next to each other, so its better to save words.


    Yeah.


    Actually, I already tried calling you guys before.


    I didnt get anything though.


    Its probably because you guys were too far away from me. I was assuming there was a limitation in distance, and it seems I was right.


    It was then.


    Someone was walking towards us, so I immediately stood in front of sir.


    Who is it? Only the authorised


    I immediately took out the badge and red at them.


    After seeing the badge, the staff took a step back with a flustered look on his face.


    Move aside, I said.


    M, my apologies. So you are from the Administration. What brings you here?


    Dont make me repeat myself.


    When I opened my eyes into circles and red at them, the person that was talking to us as well as three other workers that were observing us from nearby stepped back with a scared look on their faces and opened up a pathway.


    Even in this distorted world, the badge of an Administration agent was still as powerful as always.


    It was a short conversation, but I got a strong headache even with the filter on. I wondered if Grandpa Mooksung was alright.


    We were walking around the 1st floor for about 10 minutes when a message appeared on themunication tab.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Bathroom.</em>


    Why bathroom all of a sudden and why did he use his ability when we were right next to each other?


    I wasnt sure but we still headed there, and I noticed why he had to use his ability upon arriving at the bathroom.


    Uweeeeek! Uhaaahk!


    Immediately after entering the bathroom, sir started vomiting in the toilet. It looked like he was about to empty his guts out, and there were some clots of blood mixed into his vomit.


    Are you okay?


    Do I look alright?


    Is it because of the curse?


    He replied after taking some time to calm himself down.


    Its surprising that you can even hold a conversation with them. I am really jealous of that filter. Even when I was behind you, it felt like my brain was about to melt and my guts were churning inside. How do you feel?


    My head hurts a little.


    Thats remarkable. Remarkable. Its a shame that my ability is not as helpful as that


    I stayed there tapping his back.


    This wasnt going to be easy. I had been getting a headache for a while, but the situation seemed a lot worse for Grandpa Mooksung who didnt have a system filter like me.


    Did I have to proceed by myself?


    That was when something cold was ced into my pocket.


    Sir?


    You hold onto this pistol. You know how to shoot it, right? I believe you should continue by yourself.


    Im sorry; I cannot go any further. And if I identally get infected by the curse when Im with you, I might even try to attack you. Let me just stay here in the bathroom by myself.


    This will be hard even if we bring everyone here. It looks like only Songee, Ahri and I will be able to proceed here.


    There might be another option. We can talk about that outside.


    I left the bathroom.


    From here on, I was all by myself. Where was I supposed to go?


    Did I have to go upstairs?

 Chapter 67: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘A Strange Family’ Re (5)

    Chapter 67: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®A Strange Family¡¯ Re (5)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Third Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    I soon decided to head to the basement. There was a strong feeling that I should probably go upstairs for more valuable pieces of information, but that was out of the question.


    The upper floors of the TV Station would be densely packed with offices, which meant there would be a bunch of people.


    Even though I had the Administration Badge, even that could only push the people slightly back. Its not like I could chase all of them out of the building, so going to crowded areas was just way too dangerous.


    Since I was the only one left, I deemed it better to explore the basement and leave the upstairs exploration tillter, where we woulde back in aftering up with a strategy.


    <em></em>


    <em> Clomp. Clomp.</em>


    The sound of my footsteps started echoing across the corridor. There was not a single person in the corridor leading to the basement. Thanks to that, I wasnt getting any headaches or hallucinations because of the curse, but this was also far from normal.


    There should be cars parked by the staff in the underground parking lot, which meant there should be some people walking up and down, but I couldnt spot a single person. How could there be not a single person walking around?


    In turn, however, that might be the proof that I was going to the right location.


    <em> Clomp. Clomp.</em>


    It did feel a bit spooky now that I waspletely alone. It had been a while since I got used to all sorts of crazy things happening in the Hotel and seeing corpses nearby, but it seemed that there was still some primal sense of fear left inside me.


    After a while, I arrived at the underground parking lot. There was a guard house at the entrance of the parking lot, so I walked up with the n of forcing my way through with the badge.


    Huhp!


    I quickly blocked my nose and took a step back.


    An odour  an unbelievable stench wasing from the parking lot that made it literally unbreathable.


    It was the stink you would smell from old and abandoned toilets with fermented excrements, and rotten food waste.


    The smell was making it incredibly hard to head further down.


    However, that in turn made me believe that I indeed had to go to the parking lot.


    This was clearly a strange phenomenon.


    It was strange for such a smell to being from the parking lot, and it was also equally odd that no-one was taking care of it despite the unbearable intensity of the smell.


    While somehow bearing with the smell that made me want to vomit, I walked towards the parking lot and realised that the smell wasing from the guard house.


    How could a person even work in a guard house like that?


    Firstly, I simply went closer to the guard house, and relied on my ability which I gained after entering Room 101 that allowed me to sense nearby infected people.


    I was right in front of the door but didnt feel anything. It seemed that there wasnt anyone infected inside.


    However, it became even clearer after waiting in front of the door that the smell was indeeding from the guard house.


    What in the world was it though? I wanted to check whether it was the smell of excrements or rotten food waste so I quickly opened the door with the thought of immediately closing it back up.


    And there


    It was a scene straight out of hell.


    What would happen if a person was locked up in a small area, while only repeating the process of eating and defecating?


    The floor, walls, bins  everything was covered in stinky human excrements. There were empty cans of nonperishable food here and there, as well as rotten food and iprehensible scribbles on the wall.


    However, there was something more horrifying than anything else.


    There was a human  a living one.


    Drenched in fear, the man had discarded all hope and had be simr to a beast. It was the final form of despair where he threw away his life as a human despite being born as one.


    The bony man stumbled his way towards me after seeing me.


    His eyes were filled with wounds, as if he had been rubbing his eyes excessively to deny what was happening in front of his very eyes. Plus, more than half of his ears were missing, which might have been because he scratched his own ears in hopes of cutting off the frightening sound.


    There were signs of self-inflicted wounds all over his body, and they were especially more prevalent on his left arm and right leg, which he couldnt even move anymore.


    Youre Administration What, took you so long.


    Uhik! Ahah. Smells amazing, does it not?


    I ran out of normal food. Its been a whole month. What do you think I have been feeding off of?


    After crawling his way up, the scrawny man moved his bony fingers to point at a piece of paper. There was a singleminated piece of paper that did not suit the hellish appearance of the guard house. It was clean, as if it was all by itself in another realm.


    I picked it up as the man stumbled and rolled in the hell full of excrements and food waste.


    Would you like to go out?


    Please show me mercy. Use that thing on your right.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    I left the guard house and closed the door behind me.


    It smelled horrendous, but I wasnt having any headaches. The man, who was finally at peace, was someone who hadnt been infected by the curse.


    He might have been lucky to avoid being infected by the curse on the first day, by for example turning the TV off immediately after sensing something strange. Added to the fact that he worked away from other people, he was able to avoid the curse by avoiding contact with others.


    However, that didnt mean anything. He was the only one left, and while the man was trying his best to keep himself sane, the world had already been tainted by madness.


    In the end, the man couldnt even take a step out into the fearsome world and rotted away by himself inside his guard house


    I took out the piece ofminated paper that I picked up at the guard house. The paper itself was clean, but the odour from the guard house was on it so honestly, it wasnt something I wanted to hold onto.


    On the paper were three simple warnings.


    <strong>1. You must not look inside the cars in the parking lot.</strong>


    <strong>2. You must not turn around in the staircase to the basement.</strong>


    <strong>3. Do not turn the lights on when looking for something in the storeroom of the basement. Use a shlight instead.</strong>


    It was pretty simple and straightforward. I read through them a few times and remembered it, before tossing the paper away.


    Since the note mentioned the basement, I decided to head further down.


    Ignoring the cars of the parking lot, I walked straight ahead and found a staircase leading to the 2nd floor of the basement. Do not turn around, was it?


    Looking straight ahead, I walked down to the 2nd floor. As expected, nothing happened.


    On the 2nd floor of the basement were a supply room, toilet, offices and a room that had a strange-looking machine that was still in operation.


    There was no-one here.


    I looked around but didnt find anything special, so I thought of the next ce to go to.


    Storeroom in the basement.


    On the piece of paper, it had a warning for when you were looking for something in the storeroom in the basement.


    Maybe there was something there?


    I went back to the staircase and started walking down to the 3rd floor.


    <em> Kagagak Kon kon kon.</em>


    It was when I took a few steps down the staircase leading to the 3rd floor of the basement.


    The sound of metal sliding down the stairs started echoing from behind.


    Do not turn around in the staircase to the basement, right?


    Holding my breath, I continued walking down.


    Slowly, I felt my head starting to ache.


    Only after reaching the corridor of the 3rd floor did I turn around.


    There was nothing.


    It was bing increasingly harder to understand what was going on. I started exploring to find out what was happening, and yet I was getting more and more questions instead of getting any answers.


    In the first ce, what were they warning me about?


    There werent many rooms on the 3rd floor of the basement. When I followed the corridor all the way down, I found arge door and a shlight hanging on the wall.


    Was this the storeroom? It said not to turn the lights on in the storeroom, right?


    Opening the door of the storeroom, I followed the warning, ignored the switch for the lights and scavenged around with the shlight.


    It was a normal storeroom. There were clean piles of A4 paper, toners for printers, chairs and other stationery. It was a ce people woulde to when they ran out of certain items in the office.


    For about 20 minutes, I went through everything but there wasnt anything noteworthy. There was no-one here, nor anything that warranted my attention.


    In the end, I couldnt figure out anything. The only thing I found aftering to the parking lot was the security guard, who rotted away by himself in pain while trying his best to escape the curse, and a piece of paper with warnings.


    Did I take the wrong approach?


    After some thought, I realised something.


    In the first ce, why did Ie down to the basement? Was it for survival?


    No.


    I didnte here to survive and instead, I was here to obtain crucial pieces of information.


    Following the warnings written on the note and going the safe route was what main characters of a horror film would do in order to save themselves.


    What I had to do was the exact opposite.


    I had to go against the warnings. Even if that was to kill me, my job was to figure out what exactly was going on here. Escaping the room was up to Seungyub.


    Now, it was my turn to die for everyone else.


    *


    <strong>1. You must not look inside the cars in the parking lot.</strong>


    <strong>2. You must not turn around in the staircase to the basement.</strong>


    <strong>3. Do not turn the lights on when looking for something in the storeroom of the basement. Use a shlight instead.</strong>


    I reminded myself about the warnings.


    From now on, what I had to do was look inside the cars in the parking lot, turn around in the staircase to the basement, and turn the lights on in the storeroom.


    Coming back up to the parking lot, I looked around. The horrendous odour was still there, as well as dozens of parked cars.


    It was strange though. Considering how there were so many cars here, wouldnt the owners of these cars being here at the very least? And no matter how strange their minds were because of the curse, did it make sense for them to not smell such a distinct stench?


    Looking back, however, I remembered how my fake family and I ate raw ducks when I first entered Room 101, as well as how we praised how fresh the meat was. Maybe even a stench like this was considered fragrant in this world with a renovatedmon sense.


    I cut off my line of thought and looked into the cars.


    Choosing one of the cars, I walked up to it. It was hard to see the inside because of the sunshades on the windows, so I walked even closer and popped my face right in front of the window and


    The sight inside the car surprised me so much that I identally fell back on my bum.


    There was a person inside, and the fact that I did not get any headache until I was this close could only mean one thing.


    There are people that are not infected by the curse.


    Standing back up, I calmed myself down and observed the inside of the car again.


    It was bizarre.


    The inside did not resemble anything from a car. I was definitely looking inside through the windows of a car, and yet reflected on the other side of the window was another dimension. Inside was a bed made of steel and handcuffs.


    An unknown man was lying on the bed handcuffed.


    He was drooling from his mouth and the bed was already full of horrible signs of negligence. It was evident that he had been tied there for a long time without receiving much help.


    I tried tapping on the window but didnt get anything out of him.


    It felt like this side of the car and the inside werepletely different dimensions altogether.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    I broke the window.


    Only then did the scrawny person inside turn to me with his hazy set of eyes.


    Are you okay? Where is this ce? And who are


    Hahh, hahh, hey


    Sorry?


    Call sir for me. Call sir for me.


    Which sir are you takling about?


    SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR SIR.


    <em> Kung!</em>


    Listen! I cant help you if you dont tell me which sir you are talking about.


    <em> Kagack.</em>


    It was then. The sound of metal sliding across the floor echoed from somewhere.


    Suddenly, the mans voice turned incredibly soft.


    Cominging The nurse ising. Old man. Student. Save me. Save me.


    Despite begging for help, he didnt dare raise his voice, as if he was deeply frightened by the oneing towards him.


    This man was not sane. Seeing how I wasnt getting a headache, he wasnt infected by the curse, but he was a crazy man nheless.


    Words werent going through to him.


    After heaving a sigh, I walked away from the car and immediately, the window that I broke with the gun started to repair itself.


    It was toote for me to be surprised by things like this.


    I broke the windows of two more cars but they were the same. People that were not in their right minds were tied to the bed and I couldnt understand what they were saying.


    By sir, were they talking about the doctor? They also said nurse. Were they in a hospital?


    Next, I headed to the staircase leading to the basement.


    I decided to turn around on the way down and figure out what it was that wasing after me.


    Before that, I filled the magazine with my blood.

 Chapter 68: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (2)

    Chapter 68: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (2)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Third Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    The second warning I had to go against was this.


    <strong>2. You must not turn around in the staircase to the basement.</strong>


    I headed to the 2nd basement floor, and started walking down the stairs leading to the 3rd floor of the basement.


    <em> Kagak Kagagak.</em>


    <em> Clink, nk.</em>


    <em> Kagagak</em>


    <em></em>


    Hearing it the second time made me certain.


    Something was following me from behind. Whenever I took a step or two forward, the one behind me took an equal number of steps.


    If I were to turn around after reaching the corridor, the thing behind me would probably disappear, so I had to turn around while walking down the staircase.


    Heaving a deep breath, I was about to turn around but it was then.


    An rm popped up.


    <strong>[You will be attacked upon turning around.]</strong>


    It was the first Sages Advice that came up after we entered Room 101 again.


    Why, I wondered.


    Why was the advice so limited? If this was indeeding from a Sage, shouldnt they be able to tell me a much wiser method?


    I recalled the first time an advice showed up.


    Back then, after being attacked by a man-eating monkey, I was frightened and was desperately wishing for a way out, and the advice told me how to survive.


    Ever since that point, the Sages Advice told me what to do whenever my life was at risk.


    A piece of advice for a better chance at survival was not bad. It had indeed saved my life quite a few times, but in the Hotel, there were times when I had to figure things out even at the cost of my life.


    So


    Give me better advice.


    One thats not for immediate survival, but one thats actually wise.


    <strong>Tell me what to do to know more about this room.</strong>


    <em> Pat!</em>


    The second advice popped up.


    <strong>[As soon as you turn around, lower your head, shoot the opponent in their leg with the gun and check the name written on the cap.]</strong>


    It was the second time I figured something out about my ability after entering this Hotel. Apart from the way to use the filter, I realised how to use the Advice.


    <em> Flick!</em>


    Immediately after turning around, I lowered my head and pointed my gun down at where their legs would be.


    The sound of something heavy slicing through the air resonated across the staircase as a sharp de barely missed my head.


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    Without even the time to breathe, I mindlessly shot my gun at the legs. My skills with a gun might be horrendous but the opponent was so close that it was very easy tond the shots.


    The opponent stumbled and I finally had a chance to look at their overall figure, but seeing it made me gasp for breath.


    Its entire body that was taller than 2 metres was wrapped in bandages. What I thought were des were its fingernails that were longer than 30 centimetres.


    And the screeching sound of metal that had been echoing behind me was from the legs of the monster. It looked like the metal des of an ice skate were glued to their feet.


    The most horrifying part of the monster was that it still had a rather feminine body. There were evident lines of a female body and although the clothes were half-ripped and wrapped in bandages, it resembled the outfit of a nurse if anything.


    It looked like an awkward imitation of a human which added to the horror.


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    The monster was floundering its arms around on the floor so I shot its head on repeat, and soon, it stopped moving.


    Check the name on the cap, was it?


    <strong>New World Hospital</strong>


    Was that what I had to remember?


    There might be several hospitals with that name so I also looked at the symbol next to the name, which resembled some clouds. After memorising the rough shape of the logo, I took a step back from the corpse.


    I then noticed something which I couldnt due to the heat of the battle.


    The area around the staircase had changed to something else.


    It was clearly different from that of the TV Station.


    With me as the borderline, behind me was the strange location whereas it was still the clean staircase of the TV Station in front of me.


    Both the cars and the stairs were signalling the same thing.


    Was this TV Station ovepped with some weird ce?


    What I discovered from the staircase was the monster in the form of a nurse and the word, New World Hospital. The former was simply the appearance of the monster but thetter was most certainly a keyword rted to the Origin of the Curse.


    Should I look it up? Should I search the name on the Inte?


    It was debatable. It would be difficult for me to return home thiste in the game, and it was hard for me to use theputers on the upper floors of the TV Station as well. For starters, I decided to finish looking at the warnings.


    The third and thest warning was this.


    <strong>3. Do not turn the lights on when looking for something in the storeroom of the basement. Use a shlight instead.</strong>


    I headed to the final destination, the storeroom in the basement.


    *


    Before, when I used a shlight to have a look at the storeroom, it wasnt much different from a normal storeroom that you would see inpany basements. It had supplies for printers, piles of A4 paper, spare chairs and desks.


    What would happen, however, if I turned the lights on?


    I checked the status screen in front of the storeroom.


    <strong>[Sages Advice: 1]</strong>


    One of them was used to tell me that I would be attacked upon turning around, and the other was used up to tell me how to defeat the monster and find out more information.


    There was only one left.


    I reflected on the real method to use Sages Advice that I recently realised.


    If I strongly wished for something I wanted to know, maybe it would tell me something?


    After some thought, I had a feeling that it wouldnt work yet.


    Before, there were some basic clues such as the metal noise behind me that something mysterious was targeting me, but this time, I had not a single clue on what would happen from me turning the lights on, so I didnt even know what to ask about.


    Resolving myself, I grabbed my gun and


    Flicked the switch.


    That was when everything changed.


    *


    Haaak. Uhaaak


    Uahhhkkkkk! Ahhhhk!


    An incredibly cruel scene was unravelled before my eyes.


    If this was when I first entered the Hotel, I would have probably fell back and screamed my guts out, but now, the horrible sight in front of me instead woke me up and put me on guard.


    In front of me were 8 beds. Rather than beds, however, it was probably more correct to call them torturing racks.


    8 people were tied to each of the beds.


    They looked as if some artist from another dimension had created a sculpture from human body parts. Some of them had legs and arms glued to one another; one of them had a head popping out of their belly; while some didnt have a tongue. There were endless screamsing out of two of those mouths  those lips werent necessarily attached to their heads though.


    The reason the other 6 couldnt even scream, was because their mouths did not have a vocal cord attached to them.


    It seemed unbelievably unrealistic.


    How could humans be alive in such shapes and forms?


    People werent made of y or were they?


    Walking up, I was observing them when one of the male  could have also been a female  looked at me with their eyes.


    Even though their eyes were attached to each of their hands, those eyes were still facing me.


    <em> Grit!</em>


    That was when I felt a piercing pain from my stomach. Ignoring the pain, I looked back at them.


    W who? Y you are not a nurse.


    I am an agent from the Administration. Is there anything you can tell me?


    Pl ease kill me


    This was already my second time today being requested to kill.


    Looking at their horrendous states, I was going to kill them and free them from their pain even without them asking for it but


    How was I even supposed to kill them?


    Their bodies were twisted and contorted as if they had been made by y and yet somehow they were still alive. It was clear that there was some supernatural power at hand that was stopping their death so how was I supposed to kill them? Would they die from a gunshot to their heads?


    In fact, their bodies were so severely distorted that I couldnt even guess where their heads were.


    The thing that was talking to me was looking at me with eyes attached to chunks of flesh that resembled hands, while speaking with its mouth that was hanging on its belly. I was quite surprised by my own self, in fact, that I was holding a conversation with them looking like this.


    Nevertheless, I gave them an empty promise.


    I will definitely kill you, but before that, is there anything you can tell me?


    Kuhhhhkkkk!


    Kaaahk. Uaaaahk!


    Was that conversation just then the limit of their rationality? After a short conversationsting only 2 to 3 seconds, he  or she  started screaming out in pain again.


    Left with no choice, I decided to look through them myself. Their bodies were contorted so badly that I couldnt figure out their identities let alone their gender.


    However, there were some leftover traces of their clothes.


    Was this a school uniform?


    After scanning through everyone, I was made certain that they were wearing school uniforms. I could see remnant signs of shirts and jumpers and judging from the size of their clothes, I noticed that they were probably high school students.


    And if these indeed were Korean school uniforms, they were bound toe with name badges.


    Squirming my hand through the wriggling pieces of flesh, I rummaged through the uniform looking for a name badge.


    Doing this made me remind myself once again, that I would never be an agent or anything simr after leaving the Hotel, because if I did, I would probably have to do things like this for the rest of my life.


    <em> Rip!!!</em>


    That was when my stomach cried out from another sharp pain.


    Did I get a scratch somewhere? I held myself back from looking at the wound in fear that it would be disheartening.


    After a long and arduous attempt, I barely managed to find a name badge.


    Lee Hyuk and whats thest word? Its too damaged and I cant


    Its Lee Hyukjin.


    It was a lot clearer andposed than the voice I heard from before, and was from a different direction. When I lifted my head, I noticed that a pair of eyes and a mouth from another equally jumbled-up person were facing my way.


    Lee Hyukjin?


    Yes.


    Can you talk for a while?


    I keep falling asleep and waking up, but I can talk for a bit. Hyung, you need to leave right now. A nurse is going to being very soon.


    Where is this ce? Who are you? What have you gone through, and who did it? Tell me everything you know.


    I dont know. Sangmin suddenly turned into a monster and locked us in here. After that, the nurse came here everyday and made us like this.


    Sangmin? Who is that?


    Kim Sangmin. Hes from our school and Grrrhhhhhhhhh


    He was about to say something but suddenly closed his mouth and started letting out a strange noise. Maybe he fell asleep again.


    These kids didnt know where they were at either, but I could guess where this was.


    They had been talking about a nurse for a while, and the monster that appeared behind me in the staircase also resembled a nurse.


    And the name written on the nurses cap was New World Hospital.


    Maybe that was where this was?


    But why was the hospital connected to the TV Station? It was hard to understand why.


    And these kids.


    No matter how I saw it, it was clear that the objective was to give them endless pain without letting them die. Only the one student that was asionally falling asleep was able to barely maintain their consciousness, and everyone else had long turned into subconscious chunks of flesh.


    <em> Kung!</em>


    Suddenly, an unbearable sense of pain in my stomach made me crumble down to the ground.


    What was going on? When did I get such a big injury to my stomach?


    Lets calm down.


    Calming myself down, I quickly went through everything that I figured out.


    There were quite a lot of new things I discovered.


    New World Hospital, mentally ill people locked up in beds, high schoolers who turned into monsters, Lee Hyukjin and Kim Sangmin.


    At the very least, there were enough clues to get us started on the Inte in our next attempt.


    Was there anything else that I could do?


    That was when echoes started reverberating from the other side of the door.


    <em> Kagagak!  Kagagak!  Kagagak!</em>


    The sound of metal sliding across the floor started resonating from everywhere.


    It was the nurse  several of them at that.


    It seemed that those nurses had the ability to contort people like y and turn them into undying pieces of flesh to put them through endless pain.


    I decided to stop here.


    I just couldnt imagine myself fighting against those nurses.


    Lastly, I made a strong wish.


    Is there anything else I can do?


    Thest and final advice appeared on the system window.


    <strong>[Lift your shirt and check your stomach]</strong>


    I did as told and lifted my shirt.


    Thatpletely eradicated any leftover wish for me to stay alive and try doing anything.


    Without me even realising it, my stomach was fully distorted, twisted and turned. This seemed to be the cause of the sharp pain that had been harassing my stomach.


    It looked absolutely horrific.


    It seemed that this hospital had the curse of twisting and distorting the human body.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    I felt my consciousness fading away with the pull of a trigger.


    <strong>/You have failed!/</strong>


    I kind of did everything though. Wasnt it too harsh calling that a fail?

 Chapter 69: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (3)

    Chapter 69: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (3)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 22</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 0]</strong>


    In just a single day, we had finished up to the third attempt. I looked around immediately aftering to myself and noticed that everyone looked rather confused and lost.


    That was understandable considering how no-one else had been able to reach the ABS TV Station except for me and Grandpa Mooksung. They probably all tried their best to find something out and must be feeling fairly lost right now after being unable to do much.


    Lets end it here for today and head back to Room 105. I have a lot of things to share with everyone.


    I said to them with a tone implying that there were a few things I had discovered, which seemed to have lifted their burden a little bit. On the way back, Ipressed my thoughts into three main conversation topics.


    First was the clues I discovered, including ABS, the Hospital and the students.


    Second was the method Grandpa Mooksung and I used to go to the TV Station.


    And third was a discussion about how people without the power to resist mental contamination would be able to participate in exploring the TV Station.


    Those three topics should suffice for today.


    *


    Unfortunately, we used up too much time in our third attempt and the dinner time of Room 105 was already over.


    With no other choice, we went back out to the front reception and sat around a tea table. Thankfully, the tea tables always had snacks and drinks ready, so we were able to somewhat fill our stomachs.


    Soon, Eunsol-noona started the conversation.


    So, it looks like Kain and Sir have found out a few things. Please tell us. I was just ying around because I was in the Rest Team so Ill just do the listening.


    It seemed that she was still displeased by what I did earlier today.


    First off, I decided to talk about what Grandpa Mooksung and I discovered, and started off with how we had to go to ABS TV Station, which we had discovered through a search on the Inte. Looking at their reactions, I guessed that a few of them hadnt been able to find that out, while others did not know how to get there despite discovering the peculiarity of the said TV Station.


    Next, I conveyed the clues I found while exploring the basement of the TV Station, including the horrifying state of the guard house, the warnings, and what I saw when I went against those warnings.


    That included the hospital, monsters in the form of nurses and entrically modified students.


    Although there were a lot of new clues added into the mix, it raised a simr number of questions. That was my impression, and it seemed that many others were given the same impression.


    Its all over the ce, remarked Eunsol-noona. There are a lot of new clues, but it feels like we dont have the actual line that connects them.


    Overall, I believe it can be ssified into three chunks of information. TV Station, Hospital and School, I said.


    By school, do you mean those high school kids that became strange mixtures of flesh?


    Yes.


    I suppose we should look up the words, New World Hospital, Lee Hyukjin and Kim Sangmin on the Inte and hopefully that will lead us somewhere.


    In our next attempt, lets each use our phones or ourputers to look them up. Then we can share what we found once we reach the TV Station, and if some of us dont make it there, we can talk about it again outside.


    In our next attempt, we decided to search the keywords on our devices to gather every piece of information we could before gathering at the TV Station.


    We then moved on to the second topic.


    How do you get to the TV Station?


    I went the hard way  I brought my infected sister along with me. My n was to implement social distancing using COVID as an excuse but even that became hard to follow when we got on a taxi. To be frank, this method is impossible without the filter or the bracelet, so Sir will tell you about how most of us can get there.


    The one I used is something you are all familiar with during your first attempt at Room 101. Teleportation.


    He then briefly exined the method he used.


    <strong>1. When sane, set ns that you will go to the TV Station.</strong>


    <strong>2. Intentionally get yourself infected by the curse, and teleport to the TV Station.</strong>


    <strong>3. Stay at a ce without anyone nearby and eventually wake up after some time.</strong>


    Everyone was in awe after listening to his exnation. They then started discussing the teleportation method when Songee raised a potential problem.


    Grandpa. I think there is a risk to that method. What if we, ourselves, change the n in the middle?


    Change of ns. Certainly, that was something possible which I hadnt thought of before.


    Even if we tell ourselves, Lets go to the TV Station! when we are sane, theres no guarantee that we will follow through after being infected by the curse, right?


    Even when we are cursed, its not like we be a robot with no consciousness, and instead we just turn into a different version of ourselves with a twistedmon sense, so


    We might just end up staying under the curse after telling ourselves, Maybe not!


    Ahri followed up with another possible problem.


    Mine is simr to the change of ns that Songee was talking about but, what if my family teleports with me? I think my mum will try to follow me anywhere I go.


    A question that had been on my mind ever since I first heard the story about Ahris mum popped up again.


    What kind of person was she?


    She was so strong that Ahri was certain that she wouldnt be able to beat her, and in addition to that, it appeared that she was a very obsessive person who would follow her daughter wherever she wanted to go.


    She was bing increasingly harder to wrap my head around.


    In any case, those were the problems with teleportation.


    What if the other version of me was to suddenly change the n after being infected by the curse? We might suddenly decide not to head to the TV Station altogether, or even worse than that was us arriving with another family member.


    In the case of the former, it would just be us moving with one less person in the group, but in the case of thetter, everyone would be put to danger just because of that one infected family member.


    After some thought, I gave a suggestion.


    There seems to be some risk to teleportation, so lets all go there using different methods instead of all relying on one. Who can get there with their family members like me?


    Despite directing that question to everyone, my eyes were on Songee, because in the end, Songee and I were the only ones that couldst a long time while travelling with a cursed family member alongside us.


    As expected, she soon returned a nod.


    It takes me 15 minutes on foot to ABS so I will walk there with my family like what Kain-oppa did.


    Huh? Do you live near ABS?


    It seemed that the reason Songee wasnt there at the TV Station during the third attempt was because she didnt know about it. 15 minutes on foot to ABS meant that she was living in a very wealthy area.


    Suddenly, I felt like a petit bourgeois inparison. In any case, I looked around and found that most of us were in agreement.


    The only methods we found out to get us to ABS was the one including the family and teleportation. Songee and I were the only ones that could take a family with us, so the rest had to rely on teleportation.


    Im sorry but I would have to give up on teleporting as well. I should be able to get there, but Im pretty sure my mum will definitelye with me.


    After Ahrisst statement, I rewrote the n on a fresh sheet of paper.


    <strong><em>1. Escape Team: Park Seungyub</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. Advance Team (Teleportation): Elena, Kim Mooksung, Cha Jinchul, Lee Eunsol</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3. Advance Team (With Family): Han Kain, Yu Songee</em></strong>


    <strong><em>4. Full-on Give-up Team: Kim Ahri</em></strong>


    Then, we moved on to thest discussion topic.


    How were we supposed to explore the TV Station?


    From what Grandpa Mooksung and I noticed, it wont be easy even when we do gather at the TV Station.


    Thankfully, I was able to look around the basement because there was no-one there, but I dont think its possible to explore the upper floors without mental resistance. Right, sir?


    I can definitely assure you as someone who was following after Kain, said Grandpa Mooksung. Its impossible. I had some confidence as someone who went through quite a few intense training sessions, but its absolutely impossible to resist. The power of the curse is not something that can be withstood with just willpower.


    Songee shared her opinion.


    Then should Kain-oppa and I be the only ones exploring, with everyone else waiting downstairs?


    Hmm. Eunsol-noona asked me after some thought. Youve been there once, Kain. What do you think?


    Thats probably what we have to do if we cant think of any better option. Does anyone have any other ideas?


    Everyone turned silent. It wasnt easy.


    Because Ahri had given up on teleportation because of her mum, Songee and I were the only ones that had some level of tolerance against mental contamination, and it was hard to say that that would be enough.


    Noona broke the silence once again.


    This is our fourth attempt right? Apparently it bes strange from the fifth attempt, so we have to try to end it here if possible. What if we just have Jinchul take the red capsule?


    That wasnt a bad option.


    The number of attempts had also been bugging me quite a lot, and the best scenario would be for us to end it in the next attempt. However, the person in question who should be taking the capsule, was in deep thought instead.


    Hmm. Do you have any ideas? Just throw them out. Grandpa Mooksung urged him, so Jinchul-hyung hesitantly opened his mouth.


    This might sound very boorish and stupid, but its something that hit me after hearing the thing about teleportation. The world inside Room 101 has a distortedmon sense, right? So it urred to me that maybe we can be a bit more thoughtless and straight-forward.


    Come on. What is it that you are trying to suggest? Just be straight up and clear.


    Lets kill everyone on the way.


    Everyone was momentarily lost for words.


    When I think about it, during my first attempt when I went insane, I even attended a boxing contest that allowed people to kill each other.


    And ording to what Kain said, they say killing 100 people at a college entrance ceremony with Russian Roulette is just considered a test of courage, right?


    In a world like that, is killing even a crime? Are there even normal cops there in the first ce?


    Lets just kill everyone that works there with a gun or whatever weapon we have as soon as we get to the TV Station.


    It sounded crazy but he had a point.


    Looking back, my fake sister even killed a taxi driver in the middle of the road with an axe and yet there werent any police officers or anything


    Crazy worlds called for crazy ns. In a world that hosted killing contests, mukbang streams of people eating humans and Russian Roulette in an entrance ceremony being the norm Would killing some people in the TV Station even be a problem? Maybe it was fine?


    And if we killed all the people working there with a gun, there was no need to worry about mental contamination!


    Hah As the proverb goes, two-eyed people be the abnormal in a world filled with one-eyed people*. I guess in a crazy world, this boar-looking guy bes a genius! eximed Grandpa Mooksung.


    Ah, can you please stop talking about boars?


    Implimenting you for being a genius! I have a strong feeling that it will work. If you get sent to jail just for killing some people in that world, everyone would be in one already.


    That rather absurd conversation marked the end of our discussion, and we finished crafting our n for tomorrows fourth attempt.


    <strong><em>1. Everyone is to search the Inte when they start using their phones andputers.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2. Teleport or head to the TV Station with a family member when ready.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3. Kill everyone working there and explore the upper floors.</em></strong>


    After finishing our strategy meeting, we ended the long and arduous day by heading back to our bedrooms in Room 105.


    *


    Late at night with everyone else asleep,


    Kim Mooksung left Room 105 by himself. Waiting for him outside was Ahri.


    Why did you send a direct message sote into the night? Do you have something to say?


    Theres something strange that urred to me during the strategy meeting before.


    What is it?


    Dont you think theres something off about Kain?


    Isnt he bing more and more reliable? Itsmendable that he can think rationally even in the face of such a horrifying sight. Hell be a fine agent even if he gets drafted straight away.


    Thats the point. How long has it been since wevee here? Weve gone through a lot and the time we spend in each of the rooms is all over the ce so itll be different for everyone but for Kain, it shouldnt even be over a month yet.


    Right.


    Mooksung. Think of all the normal people we met outside. Its not strange for normal people to scream just from seeing a single corpse, and its normal for them to lose themselves and fall on their knees if they see a person wasting away in a room filled with excrement and students that get tortured into jumbled-up pieces of flesh.


    No matter how many things he has gone through, its impossible for him to acquire a superhuman willpower like the one he has right now in just a single month. Hes like an agent whos been in service for 30 years like us.


    Having you say that, it does feel a bit strange. Indeed, the change is a bit too fastpared to everyone else. Jinchul-gun is still quite naive and it should be hard for Misses Eunsol, Songee and Elena to act nonchntly in the face of something that horrendous.


    I feel like he has started to change rapidly ever since he learned how to use the filter at Hotel High School. He started using his blessing a lot more often.


    Do you think the Owl is in the middle of modifying his mind?


    Probably.


    Even if thats true, it cant be considered all that bad, can it? In the grand scheme of things, the Owl is on his side. In a ce so hideous, superhuman willpower will be more beneficial than not.


    The only allies for humans are humans. It has always been that way.


    Is that what you have been enlightened to from all the time you spent protecting the world, sunbae-nim*?


    Its been so long since you called me that. I even got goosebumps.


    Sunbae. Sometimes, I find it unfair how Im the only one ageing.


    Stop calling me that; its gross. Anyway, Kain still doesnt trust me as much, so I want you to lead him to being more human.


    Well, Ill think of it as looking after my future junior agent and try my best.


    <strong>[TLN]</strong>


    * Simr to the saying, When youre the only sane person, you look like the only insane person.


    * Sunbae = equivalent to senpai in Japanese. Means senior.

 Chapter 70: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (4)

    Chapter 70: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (4)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    After breakfast, everyone gathered in front of Room 101 with determined looks on their faces.


    This was already our 4th attempt, meaning it was about time to end it.


    It turns strange from the 5th attempt.


    Although I was slightly curious on what that meant, there was no reason to look into that while putting ourselves at risk.


    I assumed that everyone would be thinking the same thing. Even Jinchul-hyung was constantly taking out and looking at the red capsule from his pocket, and he seemed ready to take it if need be.


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fourth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    I was used to the whole procedure already.


    Immediately after opening my eyes, I covered my sight with the filter and used course registration as an excuse to stay holed up in my room.


    Then, I turned on myputer and searched on the Inte the words, New World Hospital, Lee Hyukjin and Kim Sangmin with only one question in mind.


    What exactly happened?


    After about 40 minutes, I finally understood the heart-wrenching tragedy preluding the curse. The cause of the nightmare that tainted this entire stage with its curse was, in fact, based off of one individuals tragedy which happened to many people throughout the world.


    Even though I didnt understand everything, I had an idea of who the viin was.


    Everyone must be waiting for me already.


    I used up more time than I thought in looking for clues about the scenario, and unlike those that would get there by teleportation, I had to take a family member there along with the taxi.


    That would take a lot of time, so I decided to leave as soon as possible.


    There were a lot of things to share with everyone.


    *


    <strong> Lee Eunsol</strong>


    The clues I found were enough to draw a rough outline of what happened. Everything seemed to have started from something moremon than I had initially thought.


    It was unclear how they managed to ruin the world, but I had a rough gist of who did it.


    I thought about the meeting we hadst night about how teleportation worked.


    That really was an unconventional method which hadpletely slipped past my mind. Using that method, it would be finally possible for me to get past all the hazards of this disturbingly enormous house and arrive at the TV Station.


    However, there was no such thing as a perfect n, and there was a problem we had spotted with the teleportation strategy.


    It was that the different version of me after being infected by the curse could change the n of the day.


    In order to stop this, I quickly formed a detailed n about a visit to the TV Station and notified the secretary and the board directors about it.


    Just from sending messages on the phone, I could feel small fragments of the curse trying to seep into my mind. It really was a horrendous curse.


    Soon, I stopped sending messages after judging that this was enough. Including the secretary and the directors, I had also notified a few other people including my family and officially created a n to visit the TV Station.


    This should be enough, right? The only thing I could hope for now was for my other self to arrive at the TV Station.


    I opened the door and stood still as people started walking towards me.


    My consciousness slowly started to fade away.


    Senior Director! We have a problem!


    *


    <strong> Cha Jinchul</strong>


    After gently pushing my mum away, I told her I had an interview due at the TV Station.


    Was this enough? I should now go to the TV Station for the interview after being infected by the curse, right?


    Just in case, I sent a message to the dojo master.


    I told several people about my destination, so it was safe to assume that I would most likely stick to the n even when I was under the effect of the curse.


    Slowly, I walked up to my fake mum.


    And my consciousness slowly started to fade.


    Jinchul!


    *


    <strong> Elena</strong>


    Everything was dark and not a sound was to be heard.


    That was natural, because I had been starting with my sense of sight and hearing shut off thanks to Songees ability from the 3rd attempt onwards.


    Thanks to that, I was able to keep myself sane even though my sister was currently touching me from the side.


    Unfortunately, however, it was therefore impossible for me to search anything on the Inte.


    Because my sister and I started in the same room, I had no other choice but to receive the help of Songee, and with no sense of sight, there was no way for me to use theputer or my phone.


    I went to the wardrobe, and took out clothes to change into.


    It was a lot harder than I thought. Changing clothes by relying only on the sense of touch was a lot more difficult than I could have imagined.


    I told my sister that I would soon be heading off to ABS. Although I couldnt hear her reply, I was someone who had to often go to TV Stations in the first ce! So it was highly unlikely for there to be any problems with a n of that level.


    Slowly, my ears and eyes started to function as normal. The thing in front of me started to register in my brain.


    I saw my sister chewing the meat off of something bizarre.


    I let my consciousness fade away.


    .


    .


    .


    Suddenly, I came to myself.


    Surprised by the sudden feeling of waking up in the middle of nowhere, I was looking around when someone tapped me on the shoulder.


    Are you awake?


    Grandpa?


    Ive been waiting. You were quite fast, were you not?


    Is everyone else here as well?


    Miss Songee should be here soon. She should be close by, judging from the fact that I can see her messages on the conversation tab.


    So we are waiting for Kain-gun, Jinchul-ssi and Eunsol-unni then!


    It would probably take Kain-gun quite a lot of time, because he needs to grab a taxi ande with his sister. As for Miss Eunsol I believe she wont be able toe.


    Sorry?


    Get on your phone and check the news. This world is in shock because of what happened.


    I took out my phone and checked the news, and saw a bunch of news articles at the top of the feed saying that the chairman of Daeyang Group had died during a human hunt.


    Human hunt?


    If that was what he was up to, he was better off dead.


    Even though we never talked deeply about ourselves in front of everyone, most of us were somewhat aware of each others identity. I had also heard how unni was the daughter of the chairman of Daeyang Group.


    It would be difficult for her toe if that was the situation she was in. Any schedule she had in mind would probably all be cancelled.


    <em> Tung.</em>


    That was when the sound of something heavynding on the ground echoed from outside.


    Turning around, I looked past the wide front windows of the lobby and saw that Jinchul-ssi had appeared out of nowhere.


    Umm, are we doomed?


    Jinchul-ssi was not by himself.


    Next to him was an olddy, who was presumably his mother whom he had been talking about a few times. I was lost for words the moment I saw her.


    Even Grandpa Mooksung rustled his hair while letting out a furious shout.


    That stupid freaking pig! Why the hell did he bring his mum!?


    What should we do? With his mother that close, Jinchul-ssi was bound to be unable to escape the effect of the curse.


    The situation started turning worse and worse.


    The mother and son started walking towards the door of the TV Station.


    What do we do? At this rate, all of us were going to lose our minds because of that olddy!


    Elena! Stick to the wall! Lets try to distance ourselves as much as possible from those retards. Songee should be here very shortly. If she uses her hallucination, she should be able to separate the two of them.


    We quickly stuck closer to the wall of the lobby.


    Soon, Jinchul-ssi and his mum walked into the building. They seemed very close  I could hear them talking about interviews, finding a job and whatnot.


    Calm down. Calm down. Once Songee gets here, shell be able to help us.


    That was when the mother noticed me.


    Oh my! Look, look! Isnt that youngdy the one thates out in Non Summit*?


    Ah. Even though I only went on the show 4 times, she still recognized me. Normally I would have been grateful but now was definitely not a good timing.


    Quickly, the mother took out a piece of paper and started walking towards me.


    She was a fan on top of that? How thankful. I didnt even have many fans and yet surprisingly, it seemed that Jinchul-ssis mother was one of those few lovely people.


    I felt very grateful. But thanks to her, I felt like going crazy.


    Sticking my back to the wall, I tried moving to the sides to distance myself from them, but the lobby was certainly not big enough to let me escape from the two.


    Left with no choice, I waited for the inevitable to happen.


    <em> Click.</em>


    It was then. A cold clink of metal echoed as everyone in the lobby turned stiff.


    I turned to Grandpa in a fluster and realised that he was carrying the gun in his hand. What was he trying to do with it?


    Grandpa! Who are you trying to shoot?


    Sorry, but I need to kill the mother of that stupid pig.


    What if that upsets Jinchul-ssi? Right now he must be thinking of her as his real mum!


    I have to do it. Since we are the only ones next to Jinchul right now, he should be able toe back to himself once we kill his mum. I just have to buy a few seconds.


    Grandpa Mooksung said with a stiff look on his face. Despite having a gun, buying a few seconds from a superhuman who could break concrete walls with his fists seemed a lot easier said than done.


    Grandpa. How about you try shooting Jinchul-ssi with the gun instead?


    What we noticed from several experiences leading up till now, was that in spite of his supernatural strength, his body was not resilient enough to be immune to bullets.


    Things will be hard anyway if we kill him, so we need to try keeping him alive as much as possible and make him wake up.


    He pointed the gun at the mother.


    Upon seeing the gun being pointed at her, she, who had been walking up to me, suddenly did a handstand and started walking on her hands.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    As a result, blood sttered from her shoulders instead of her vitals.


    UAAHKKKKKK!


    Jinchul-ssis sonorous roar resonated across the 1st floor of the TV Station.


    Ah. We were seriously doomed.


    *


    <strong> Cha Jinchul</strong>


    Was this a dream? A nightmare?


    Today, I was on the way for an interview to mark the start of a new life. My mum wanted toe with me to cheer me up. I told her several times not to, but I couldnt stop her so in the end, I suggested she try out the food nearby while waiting for my interview to finish.


    Walking into the TV Station, we headed to the lobby.


    There were two people inside the lobby but for some reason, they had their backs right next to the wall and I couldnt even see their faces properly so I ignored them.


    Oh my! Look, look! Isnt that youngdy the one thates out in Non Summit?


    What? Who are you talking about?


    Thatdy over there! Oh wow! Let me go get her signature.


    When my mum started walking to thedy in a hurry.


    A bulky old man wearing a suit walked forth. In his hand was a pistol.


    What in the


    Before I could even react, blood sttered from my mums shoulder.


    Anger soared all the way up to my head.


    Kicking off the ground with all my strength, I immediately jumped at the old man. Seeing me cover 10 metres in an instant, the old man audibly let out swear words.


    The barrel of the gun turned towards me in the blink of an eye.


    I got goosebumps all over my skin. Was I going to die? Just like this?


    You stupid boar! Please just wake up!


    While shouting out some iprehensible words, the old man lowered the gun.


    My fist carrying all my strength headed to the old man, who postured himself and used his palms to deviate the path of my fist at the perfect timing.


    Or rather, he tried to.


    It was futile. With only that much strength, it was impossible for him to change the path of my fist.


    Despite the failed attempt to parry my punch, the old man still managed to tilt his head at thest second to make my fistnd on the wall.


    <em> Kwaang!!!</em>


    The sound of a hammer striking the wall filled the lobby along with the crumbling of arge portion of the wall.


    After seemingly giving up on something, the old man lifted his gun again, but


    I didnt give him another chance.


    Immediately, I kicked the old man with my leg and made him drop the gun. One kick was enough to crush one of the old mans legs, who then fell on the floor while groaning in pain.


    This should be enough. Now that I bashed this crazy old man up, all I needed to do was take my mum to the hospital and


    <em> Click.</em>


    Another click of a gun reached my ears. Surprised, I raised my head.


    At the end of my gaze was the foreigner whom mum said had starred at Non Summit.


    I almost lost my mind for a second.


    She was an unbelievably beautifuldy. Since this was the TV Station, was she perhaps a celebrity? But what was important was that thedy was carrying a gun in her hands. She seemed to have picked up the gun that I kicked away.


    Thedy pointed the gun at my mum.


    What was going on today? Why was this crazy old man plus this celebrity trying to kill my mum so badly?


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    Her shots all missed.


    Unlike the old man from before, this youngdy seemed bad with the gun. The bullets didnt even go near mum and went everywhere.


    But still, I assumed that I should still take the gun away from her.


    However, my feet paused for a bit.


    Thedy was crying.


    For some reason, there was a strange feeling that I was doing something terribly wrong. What was it? My mother and I were the victims, so why was I feeling like this?


    <em> Bang!</em>


    The bullet grazed past me instead of my mum.


    She was really bad at shooting, but it would still be a problem if we ended up being shot by a random bullet.


    Once again, I kicked off the ground and flew towards her, and with one flick, I snatched the gun away from her hands. Right when I was about to tap her gently to make her faint


    Someone walked into the TV Station. Was she a high schooler? She was wearing a uniform.


    Her wrist suddenly flickered as a beam of unusual light covered my sight.


    The moment I woke up from the sense of being enveloped by a mysterious power


    Everything around me was gone.


    <strong>[TLN]</strong>


    * Non Summit: A Korean TV Show showcasing discussions of people from various countries.


    Question  would you prefer kun or gun as a suffix? Kain-gun or Kain-kun?


    Gun feels a bit weird

 Chapter 71: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (5)

    Chapter 71: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (5)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fourth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong> Cha Jinchul</strong>


    In shock, I quickly turned around, only to realise that the entire TV Station was gone. All I could see were steep cliffs and a single dangling rope that was connecting those cliffs. By the time I came to myself, I was barely keeping myself bnced on top of that rope.


    On one of the cliffs was a young girl.


    Seeing her made me certain that she  that monster  was the cause of this strange phenomenon. All I had to do was kill that thing!


    Kicking off the rope, I flew into the air. After about 5 seconds, I reached where the girl was.


    Now that I was looking at her face from this close, I could tell that she was a fairly cute-looking girl. She must be quite popr at her school.


    However, she looked a bit creepy  like a mannequin, she was ring at me without a single facial expression on her face.


    But that had nothing to do with what I was going to do. She was still but a monster; one punch was going to be enough!


    I hurled my fist forward.


    Once again, the world crumbled down.


    Suddenly, I was in the middle of a forest. Monkeys were pouncing at me from all sides.


    Using all of my strength, I dealt with the monkeys. With a punch, I blew their heads out and grabbed onto one of their legs before smacking them down on the ground. Then, I carried two of them in my hands and threw them away at once.


    After I killed about a dozen or so monkeys like that


    Everything started to crumble again.


    This time, I was surrounded by a mountain of rocks. Left, right, front, back  rocks were stopping me on all sides. I thought to myself while swinging my arms around to open up a path.


    At this rate, it was going to be impossible for me to beat her. It seemed that I had fallen into the inescapable pit of hell.


    Was this because of that female student from before? How was she doing this?


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    I lowered my head.


    There was an intense, shredding pain in my chest.


    My consciousness started to fade.


    Slowly, I noticed myself waking up from the nightmare.


    Wait what? What have I been


    *


    <strong> Elena</strong>


    Wiping the tears off of my eyes, I nced across the TV Station.


    It appeared like a warzone.


    More than 10 staff members of the TV Station were crushed and torn apart to death, while Grandpa Mooksung was groaning in pain with his leg half-destroyed.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    Meanwhile, Songee was walking around making sure everyone was dead.


    While watching that unfold, I recalled what happened just then.


    Jinchul-ssi, who couldnt wake up until the end, left Grandpa Mooksung half-disabled and I btedly tried to shoot his mother with the gun but failed.


    Right when I was thinking to myself that this was going to be the end of it


    Songee suddenly appeared from the entrance and settled everything.


    She moved her fingers and made a gesture at Jinchul-ssi, who then suddenly jumped in apletely different direction and went on a rampage. He stumbled by himself and bashed himself into walls.


    Staff and securities of the TV Station ran in trying to stop him but they were all bashed to death.


    When he was doing that, he looked more like a gori throwing people around than a human. Songee, who had been silently watching King Kong destroy everything nearby, walked up with the gun after a while and shot Jinchul-ssi on the chest to end the chaos.


    Jinchul-ssis mother had been long dead in the chaos of the battle but he was showing no signs of escaping the curse due to being at the centre of a bunch of staff members, so that was probably why she had no choice but to pull the trigger.


    After that, Songee continued killing everyone with the gun.


    I was nk-mindedly watching that unfold when a camera and a microphone suddenly started to approach me from a distance.


    Nice to meet you! Miss Elena Ivanov? I am Producer Cha. We have received a bunch of reports that an interesting event has urred just then at the TV Station. Can you please tell us what


    <em> Bang!</em>


    <em> Bang!</em>


    Songee killed everyone including the producer and the cameraman before they could even react.


    If this was the real world, it would have been hard for Songee to kill everyone like this even with a gun in her hand, because they would have ran away at the very least.


    However, this was a strange world where they considered death as an event or a show because of the curse.


    No-one ran away. Despite the people next to them being shot to death, they smiled and stood there waiting for the inevitable.


    A question popped up in my mind. Why was Jinchul-ssi so upset in spite of being under the effect of the curse?


    Killing someones mother surely wasnt something that serious in a world this crazy right? I thought it was something that people would usuallyugh off ording to themon sense of this world, but he must have been an overly filial person.


    Be careful, unni.


    Ah. T, thank you.


    Songee slowly walked up to Grandpa Mooksung, who had somehow partially attended to his wound.


    Can you hold on?


    I managed to fix one of my legs, but I cant do anything for my other one. I need assistance.


    Just take a rest. I can deal with them.


    After that, Songee collected the blood of the surrounding corpses to use as bullets and continued making sure everyone was dead.


    Seeing that, grandpa muttered to himself.


    We have another awesome agent candidate here. Is this normal for young ones these days? I guess sunbae was being overly concerned.


    Soon, someone walked into the TV Station.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Just putting it out there, I think Im actually the one doing everything in this room! I practically gathered all the clues, and did most of the exploring by myself did I not?


    Maybe this was my chance to obtain an Inheritance?


    The next time I went to the Sanctuary of Blessings and saw that stupid owl, I had to show off my Inheritance and give it a good scolding.


    It was putting me in a good mood already. Besides, I had already discovered a bunch of helpful hints in this attempt!


    Even though I wasnt sure what kind of power the viin was in possession of, I had a rough idea of who the viin was, and what the overall scenario was like.


    Going through a fun simtion of what to say made the painful time inside the taxi feel a lot shorter. There were a lot of things to share with everyone.


    Like a head of the family going home carrying pizza and chicken after getting paid, I arrived at the TV Station with a bright smile on my face.


    ?


    ??


    ???


    What? Why the hell was the TV Station looking like a battlefield?


    I was too dumbfounded to express my thoughts into words.


    *


    What was going on?


    After btedly arriving at the TV Station and hearing the exnation of what happened from my teammates, I was lost for words.


    So


    It seemed that Jinchul-hyungs mother hade with him. He probably created ns to visit the TV Station by himself when he was sane, but his mother must have sessfully persuaded him when he was under the effect of the curse to go together.


    That was what led to thispletely unexpected disaster.


    Because of that, Jinchul-hyung was dead; Grandpa Mooksung was injured in his leg and had trouble walking, leaving just me, Elena and Songee.


    The three of us gathered at the half-demolished TV Station.


    What do you think we should do?


    Its looking pretty clear that we must give this another shot. We have way too big of a hole inbat power because of the death of that stupid boar.


    Elena voiced her concerns.


    But grandpa, this is already our fourth attempt. It apparently bes harder from the fifth attempt onwards, right?


    Well, what else can we do? We just have to give it a shot.


    Do you think youll be able to move, sir? I asked.


    You have to be honest with this.


    I wont be able to move without receiving someones help.


    His response was met with a short silence, which was then broken by Songee being the representative to speak for us all.


    Then grandpa, how about you leave the TV Station just like this and escape? The reason its not considered an escape even though there is no family member nearby is probably because we are inside the TV Station, so I think it should be seen as a sessful escape if you leave the building and walk for about 10 minutes.


    I will do just that. Thats probably better than me being a nuisance.


    Wait for us outside, sir. We will find as many clues as we can, and try to finish it if possible.


    Good luck. Oh right, I know Im going to hear it outside anyway, but is there anything you found on the Inte?


    Was I the only one who searched the web extensively? Everyone turned towards me with questioning eyes.


    First off, I have no idea how the curse started to spread, but I do know who and why this happened.


    In Shin Dong High School, there was a student called Kim Sangmin. Based on the news articles I found, he seemed to have been bullied quite severely at school. There were 8 main students who harassed him the most.


    Even after being bullied for a long time, he couldnt get any help inside the school so he started to reach out to the people outside, sued them and his parents were really supportive as well.


    However, they lost the case at the court. Looking at the article, it seems that the verdict was that he imagined the non-existent bullying incidents because of his mental illness, but there were some other articles suggesting that he might have gained a mental illness because of the extreme harassment he received from the group.


    In other words, it was a dispute between Did he get a mental illness from being bullied? and Was all the harassment a part of his imagination? and the court seemed to have decided on thetter. The case was resolved by the victim being sent to hospital.


    But how is that rted to the TV Station?


    Apparently, the biggest reason why the victim lost the trial is because of the news. One of the reporters from ABS reported that the victim had a mental illness for a long time and had a consistent tendency of going berserk at the school, and that the other students were the actual victims. Those reports were then used at the court as evidence.


    But isnt there a chance that the court was actually correct? asked Songee. The kid called Sangmin might have been actually crazy; he might have been creating chaos at the school and could have been deluding himself that the other kids were harassing him, right?


    You are right. I dont know whats true, but the viin of this scenario seems to be Kim Sangmin, so I am just exining it from his point of view. Because we need to figure out where he is hiding and what he is up to.


    Go on, urged Grandpa Mooksung. I get the TV Station part. Where did the New World Hospitale into y?


    After losing the trial at the court, Kim Sangmin was sent to the New World Hospital for therapy, and that seemed to have been the start of news articles that were in his favour. Simply put, Kim Sangmin started to gain allies.


    New World Hospital was a mental specialist clinic, and the director of the hospital seemed to have been the one who personally carried out the treatment. During the process, he heard the victims side of the story and was partially persuaded by his argument.


    So he stood on the side of the victim and said, The severe harassment of the perpetrators was what caused the mental illness of the victim. Since the head director of a famous hospital was saying somethingpletely different, there were a bunch of articles about that as well.


    And suddenly, that was when the hospital disappeared, and the world turned crazy in just 3 days.


    The hospital disappeared?


    Yes. It was a huge thing back then  3 days before the world turned out like this. The hospital literally vanished. The whole building just disappeared.


    Maybe thats when Kim Sangmin gained a supernatural power?


    I assume so.


    After hearing my exnation, they began thinking to themselves. It was Grandpa Mooksung who broke the silence.


    So, do you think the one behind this incident is that little kid called Kim Sangmin?


    Yes. That would exin the students that were being tortured in the basement, and why both the hospital and the TV Station got involved in the incident.


    Hmm. Lets say from his perspective, the students in the basement, the TV Station and this whole world itself are all targets of his revenge.


    But then why was the hospital the first one to be involved? From Kim Sangmins point of view, isnt the hospital one of his few supporters? Why did he change the hospital into something strange? From what you said, both the nurses and the patients seem to have turned into monsters, right?


    We would have to look into that a bit more. It might be because he wentpletely crazy.


    A pretty straight-forward scenario, I would say. I dont think there is much point in discussing who the real viin was here. What is important is figuring out how a normal human high schooler managed to turn the world into this state.


    Do you think it could be someone else that gave him the supernatural power?


    Who knows. There might be someone else, or that kid might haveid his hands on a powerful treasure thats out of his ability to control.


    Where do you think we would have to explore next, oppa? Songee asked.


    It has to be the upper floors of the TV Station, right?


    What do we have to find?


    I will tell you exactly what you need to find, said Grandpa Mooksung. You only have to focus on one thing  find the brat called Kim Sangmin, who is presumed to have caused this to happen.


    He will be somewhere in this TV Station, or inside that vanished hospital which should be essible through the TV Station. If possible kill him, and if that seems hard, then we cane again next time and kill him to end it once and for all.


    After the conversation, Grandpa Mooksung heaved a sigh before walking out of the TV Station.


    Left inside the building were just the three of us.


    Our job was to explore the upper floors of the TV Station and the vanished hospital that can be essed through the TV Station, and find the culprit behind this incident.

 Chapter 72: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (6)

    Chapter 72: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (6)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fourth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    *


    <em> Bang!</em>


    The exploration of the upper floors was a lot easier than the basement.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    All we had to do was kill everyone on sight and it was the easiest thing to do. I was the one shooting after receiving the gun from Songee and after a while, I had a feeling that I was slowly getting better at shooting as well.


    Taking a short break, I refilled the gun with blood.


    Something I noticed just today was that we did not need to use our own blood to fill up the magazine of the pistol. The entire TV Station was filled with corpses and that was more than enough blood for us to use.


    Oh wow! Isnt that


    <em> Bang!</em>


    Elen


    <em> Bang!</em>


    It might be because we were in the TV Station, but there were a few people here and there who recognised Elena, but that didnt mean anything. They werent real people anyway and in fact, they were even more dangerous than the rest of the crowd because they might approach us after realising who she was.


    We had no other choice than to kill everyone on sight as we proceeded forward. Elena seemed startled and flinched at times but she didnt stop me either.


    The people were no longer a problem because we just had to kill every one of them, but where exactly were we supposed to go?


    Miss Elena. Do you know some ces around ABS that might be important?


    Instead of what I already know about this ce, I think what you discovered before would be a bigger hint, Kain-ssi.


    What I discovered before?


    Werent there warnings on the guard house in the basement? Maybe theres something simr here.


    Warnings, huh. Would there be some above ground as well?


    Now that I think about it, who exactly is it that created those warnings?


    Climbing the stairs, we headed to the offices on the 2nd floor. Most of them must havee down, wondering what themotion was about, and died downstairs already  there was no-one in the office.


    Walking inside, I found aminated piece of paper stuck on the wall that outlined all the warnings as Elena guessed.


    <strong>1. You must only press 1 floor at a time inside the elevator.</strong>


    <strong>2. There are no floors in between the 4th and the 5th floors. Do not go into unidentified floors and keep going down.</strong>


    <strong>3. Always knock on the door of the toilets on the 6th floor before going in.</strong>


    <strong>4. You must never go to the roof.</strong>


    There really are warnings for the upper floors as well. Lets break them one by one like I didst time.


    I was about to turn around, but was stopped by Songee. She said after holding onto my arm.


    Kain-oppa.


    Nn?


    Theres no reason for us to be the ones breaking the rules, right? Didnt you say there was a monster when you turned around at the stairs? There might be something simr here.


    Hearing that, I understood what she was trying to say. I was alone when I was exploring the basement but we had a few other staff members nearby right now.


    There would be no reason for us to put ourselves in danger, right?


    Elena added.


    Songees right! There are a lot of cameras here as well, so lets ask one of the workers here to break the rules while carrying a camera. We can sync it to the tablet and watch whats going on.


    Elena, who used to flinch when I killed all the workers on sight, was long gone and now, she was suggesting that we give a camera to a worker to die in our stead.


    But it sounded like a good idea.


    After working on it for about 30 minutes, we sessfully managed to link cameras to one of the tablets inside the office.


    Now, all we had to do was look for someone that would put themselves in danger for us.


    What should we do? Should we threaten them with a gun?


    Oppa. I dont think that would work in a world where theyugh off murder.


    Let me try.


    Elena led us all the way up to the 4th floor. As expected of someone who had been to ABS several times, unlike Songee and I, she was unhesitant at moving to and from ces.


    Themotion on the 1st floor didnt seem to have reached the 4th floor. There were a bunch of people on the floor but was I supposed to kill random people? How were we going to decide who to assign the task to?


    Kain-ssi. Please shoot everyone except for the ones I point out. You can shoot the ones that are in front of us right now.


    There were about 4 people near us who soon stopped breathing.


    It was nothing new, but it really was surreal how the other people were just watching their colleagues die with intrigue in their eyes.


    That was when Elena held me back by the arm.


    Dont shoot the one thatsing out right now. Songee?


    Yes?


    Can you give me the mental protection thing right now?


    The bracelet flickered, after which Elena stepped forward to chat with the man who appeared in front of us.


    In just 3 seconds after they started talking with each other, I realised something. Judging from the nature of the conversation, it seemed that he


    Lets stop there. Unfortunately, impossible and unrequited loves were verymonce.


    I wasnt sure what exactly Elena said to him, but the man followed us from behind without concealing the excitement on his face.


    After reaching the corridor, Elena installed the camera on his neck.


    Then, Jinwook-ssi! Can you please go to the elevator?


    Of course. By the way, Elena? May I please ask what it is that you have prepared?


    Oh! It wont be fun to reveal that from the start, right?


    What she prepared was probably a bullet train to hell for him though.


    Uhaha! That was stupid of me to ask that!


    When the man walked into the elevator by himself, we decided to test out the 1st warning, <strong>You must only press 1 floor at a time inside the elevator.</strong>


    Jinwook-ssi! Then can you please press the 3rd floor and the 4th floor together?


    As soon as Elena said that,


    The man froze.


    Jinwook-ssi?


    WhatAreYouTalkingAboutHaveYouNotHeardWhatSirSaidInTheElevatorYouMustNot


    He suddenly started pouring words out without even taking a breath. Sir?


    Oh right. I assume you are not aware of the warnings of the TV Station, Miss Elena. You see, you cant press 2 floors inside the elevator. Ever. Sir strongly prohibited it.


    Jinwook-ssi. Who is this sir that you have been talking about?


    Instead of replying to her question, the man started trembling like crazy. Then, he ripped his clothes apart and raced out of the elevator like a madman.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    It appeared that we had touched on something prohibited.


    Songee broke the silence with a question.


    Elena-unni. Is there someone else that you can lure out?


    There are quite a lot, but I think the workers here have some kind of restriction that makes it impossible for them to break the rules though.


    Just bring someone. This time, I will trick them.


    Going through a simr process, Elena brought another man.


    How many workers of this TV Station had Elena enchanted? I heard she had been an aspiring actress and from the looks of things, she probably would have be very famous if she had stayed in the real world.


    This time, we didnt even talk about anything remotely close to breaking the rules.


    We simply told the man to walk into the elevator after we pressed one of the floors beforehand, and due to the influence of the bracelet, the man pressed another floor without any hesitation.


    Immediately after the doors of the elevator came to a close, we turned to the tablet to watch what was going on.


    The inside of the elevator was pitch ck. All the lights had been turned off.


    After seemingly realising what was going on, the staff suddenly fell on his knees and started to wail.


    S, s, sorry! Sir! Director! Im sorry. It was a mistake! This stupid fool made a mistake!


    Suddenly, the man then started bashing himself on the walls of the elevator.


    In the blink of an eye, the camera broke. Right before we lost connection, we spotted several white things appearing from the doors of the elevator.


    Shall we give that another go?


    Lets try it with a different person. And this time, lets change the location of the camera.


    We continued looking at what would happen when we went against the warnings.


    *


    <strong>1. You must only press 1 floor at a time inside the elevator.</strong>


    Looks like it stops at a ce filled with monster nurses, right?


    From the video, I can see a few other rooms in the distance. Besides, the monsters are taking the workers somewhere instead of killing them.


    I wonder what they do to them after taking them somewhere else?


    *


    <strong>2. There are no floors in between the 4th and the 5th floors. Do not go into unidentified floors and keep going down.</strong>


    This one is really weird. Nothing happens at first when they just go up and down, but


    An empty floor appears in the middle after going up and down twice.


    What is with this empty floor? Do you know anything about it, Miss Elena?


    Its certain that this doesnt exist in this TV Station.


    Maybe this is a part of the hospital?


    How strange. Its big but theres nothing. And for some reason, the mans just crying on his knees as if hes sorry.


    Wait. What is that? That thing on top right!


    Its a very big eyeball.


    Arge eyeball was looking at us. Not at the worker; but at the camera.


    It was incredibly unpleasant so I immediately deactivated the link with that camera.


    Its bing more and more strange as we go.


    Lets go to the next one, oppa.


    *


    <strong>3. Always knock on the door of the toilets on the 6th floor before going in.</strong>


    Ah, fu*k! Oops, sorry. That scared me.


    Its eating his arm?


    Its amazing that you can watch something that horrendous like its nothing, Miss Elena.


    It just feels like a movie since were watching it on a tablet.


    Knock on the cubicle of the toilet and a normal person walks out, but you get a human-eating monster when you open the door without knocking. Lets keep that in mind. Oppa, lets move on to thest one.


    *


    <strong>4. You must never go to the roof.</strong>


    Songee?


    Wait.


    Is it not working?


    It was strange. Until now, Songee had been moving people around with the bracelet like it was nothing, but she was having trouble with sending them to the rooftop.


    No matter what she did, the workers with a camera on their necks simply wandered around the door to the rooftop without even attempting to open it.


    This is weird, she said.


    What does it feel like?


    It feels like they just cant even perceive the door to the rooftop. I remember this feeling


    Does it seem familiar?


    There was a time when I was trying to use the bracelet on you, Elena-unni, when you were under the control of an Athanasia but I just couldnt do anything. This feels exactly the same as that.


    So what did you do to me in the end?


    Songee didnt reply. Why was Elena asking something like that?


    I sort of understand whats going on, I said. So like how the Athanasia was controlling us and overpowering Songee, there seems to be a stronger force stopping them from heading to the rooftop, right?


    What do we do?


    The fact that they are being that secretive makes me think theres something very important there. Lets go ourselves.


    In the end, we decided to directly go to the roof after killing the workers wandering around the door.


    The three of us paused for a bit before the door.


    Even though we didnt say anything to each other, we all had a rough idea of what was going to happen.


    We could still vividly remember what happened when we went against the previous warnings.


    The worker that pressed 2 floors at once was dragged by monster nurses into the hellish hospital.


    The man who walked into the floor between the 4th and the 5th floors crumbled onto his knees after witnessing therge eyeball.


    The person who entered the toilet on the 6th floor without knocking was eaten alive.


    It was unquestionable that the door to the rooftop would lead to a simrly horrifying location. And we had to walk into that ce on our own feet.


    Kain-ssi.


    Yes.


    After we go in, if you think we are going to die


    I will let you guys die in peace. If possible, it would be good for all three of us to die with a bullet each.


    Please do that to me as well, oppa.


    Yeah. Well, its going to be harder for us to go in at this rate. Lets just go in.


    Like that, after encouraging each other and hoping that we would get killed by a gun if possible,


    We opened the door and walked forward.

 Chapter 73: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (7)

    Chapter 73: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (7)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fourth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    *


    Ding- Dong!


    The cheerful sound of a bell echoed as we opened the door leading to the rooftop, and on the other side of the door was the entrance to apletely different location.


    It seemed that the ce hadnt been cleaned properly in ages; the surroundings were dirty and the air felt stuffy.


    However, it still wasnt that hard to tell where this was.


    Most people would probably visit this ce a few dozen times throughout their lives  it was a hospital.


    The only problem with this particr hospital was the outer appearance of the nurses.


    A nurse that looked exactly the same as the strange-looking nurses I had seen until now, was standing behind the reception desk, pretending to be a normal nurse.


    Kuweekraahk.


    I wonder what it was trying to say. Maybe it was saying something along the lines of, Hello. It was evident that the nurses meant no harm  they were even bending their backs, suggesting a warm wee.


    Looking at the twisted nurses, I unconsciously brought my hand to the gun hanging on my waist.


    That was when Songee held me by the arm and stopped me.


    Oppa. I dont think we need to aggravate them.


    She was right  I had to be patient. There was something I understood from the looks of things. Just then, we had entered through the entrance of the hospital, and that seemed to be why they were treating us like guests.


    I decided to see how things turned out without upsetting them.


    Under the watchful eyes of the twisted nurses, we slowly started roaming around the hospital.


    Would a hospital like this ever exist in real life? There were several rooms for patients deeper inside the hospital, and they looked very familiar. They looked the same as the strange ces that appeared when I broke into the windows of the cars in the basement of the TV Station.


    Those exact same rooms were the ones for the patients. Each room had beds of steel, and shackled on those beds were the patients, who had already gone insane.


    They endlessly gasped and groaned in pain, and sometimes, a few of the nurses went into those rooms.


    I didnt even want to imagine what went on inside them.


    We were wandering around the hospital when one of the nurses approached us from afar. We were greatly startled for a while, but after stopping slightly away from us, the nurse let out some strange noises again.


    Calmly, I thought to myself.


    They had been treating us like guests until now, and there was no way they would suddenly start attacking us out of nowhere.


    I decided to think of this as a normal hospital. What would the nurses say to a group of guests, who started wandering around the hospital after walking inside?


    It would probably be something like, Is there anyone you are looking for?


    Half in doubt, I shouted out just in case.


    Kim Sangmin! We are looking for Student Kim Sangmin.


    Please understand what Im saying!


    The twisted nurse nodded slightly, turned around and started walking forward as if it understood what I was saying.


    Naturally, Songee and I, who each had the bracelet and the filter, walked at the front with Elena following us from the back. In that formation, we started walking after the nurse.


    It was a lot easier after that. Now that we had a nurse guiding us from the front, the other nurses didnt bother approaching us, and the one guiding us also kept a respectful distance. We continued walking like that for about 15 minutes.


    Observing the hospital as we slowly walked forward, I realised that the strange ces that appeared when going against the warnings of the TV Station were all parts of the hospital.


    Only after walking down the corridor of the 4th floor for a very long time did the nursee to a stop.


    With its hands, it gestured at arge room.


    Was this the ce?


    The final goal we had been desperately looking for from yesterday was atst before our eyes.


    Before walking inside, I earnestly begged for advice.


    <em>What would be the best thing I could do?</em>


    <strong>[Give the gun to Songee.]</strong>


    I had a feeling I understood what this meant. Without saying anything, I handed the gun over to Songee.


    We all resolved ourselves for the final time.


    Are we ready? Songee. I filled the gun with bullets.


    I checked it. I can use the bracelet immediately if need be.


    It would be great if the enemy was a person. In that case, Ill be able to use my blessing as well.


    After that, we headed into Kim Sangmins hospital room.


    *


    What in the world was this ce?


    I had seen countless inhumane scenes and horrible images, but this ce was different from any other ce I had seen before.


    It was like apletely different world. It was no longer a question of cruelty; it was just a fundamentally different ce to Earth.


    This ce appeared like the cave of a foreign.


    The surroundings were full ofrge translucent rocks that appeared like strange crystals. There were no sources of light nearby, and yet the entire ce was bright, as if there were microorganisms in this ce that gave out light.


    And


    The power of the curse was overwhelmingly stronger here.


    Even though there was no-one in front of us, it gave me a head-splitting headache. A bizarre notion ofmon sense started seeping into my head despite every attempt done to stop it.


    I forced myself to turn around. The only one that looked normal was Songee, who used the bracelet on herself immediately after entering the room.


    Elena was already on her knees.


    Songee looked quite delicious. Now that I thought about it, her name already sounded delicious, did it not*?


    Her name was exactly the same as one of the mushroom species, and Songee mushrooms happened to be one of my favourite mushrooms of all time.


    They were pretty expensive and hard to get on top of that. How should I eat it?


    For good ingredients, it would be foolish to add sauces and condiments. If I were to get a good-quality Songee mushroom, I would wash it, bake it in the oven and dip it in salt.


    I remembered hearing the story of a celebrity that got trash-talked for putting those expensive Songee mushrooms into instant noodles, but honestly, that made me very jealous.


    Pouring a generous amount of shockingly expensive ingredients into instant noodles and having a big mouthful of it! Didnt that just sound lovely?


    Apparently in Japan, theres a dish called Dobin Mushi where they steam it in a teapot, and that appeared quite delicious. It was one of the dishes I wanted to try ever since I saw it on TV.


    Songee should taste just as good, right? Thats what her name suggests after all!


    But wait a second. Maybe Songee was a bit too big to go into a teapot. Should I buy a big teapot? Or maybe I should make her a bit smaller


    <em> Bang!</em>


    That was when I felt my consciousness fading away.


    Even with the filter, this ce was impossible for me to handle.


    I had a gist already so it wasnt that surprising. The meaning of the advice telling me to give the gun to Songee was very simple.


    <strong><em>You cant do anything here no matter what you do.</em></strong>


    *


    <strong> Yu Songee</strong>


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    I had no other choice.


    Although I didnt mind shooting the cursed people of the Hotel, I really did not want to shoot my teammates. Why was I always the one who had to do this?


    But what else could I have done?


    Kain-oppa suddenly walked towards me and stroked my hair.


    At the start, I was startled wondering what was going on, but


    <strong><em>Maybe I can put her in a teapot if I take the head off?</em></strong>


    I shot him immediately after hearing that.


    Elena-unni had also started saying something strange while holding onto my legs.


    <strong><em>Slow-cook this along with beef and</em></strong>


    I also shot her after hearing that.


    I had no idea why both of them thought about eating me.


    Seeing them reminded me once again just how powerful the power of the curse was. Kain-oppa even had the filter, but it seemed that he couldnt keep himself sane inside this ce either, just like Elena-unni.


    Honestly, personally I couldnt feel anything different, so I wouldnt have known that the curse had be stronger without hearing what they said.


    This bracelet might be more powerful than every other mind control abilities of this Hotel. But if no-one could keep themselves sane apart from me, how were we supposed to solve this room?


    I had no idea, but there were people a lot smarter than me, so I decided to talk about it outside.


    For now, I decided to see this to the end even just by myself.


    It didnt take that long.


    After walking for about 3 minutes, I reached the end of the cave and found something resembling arge chunk of flesh.


    What was this, I wondered. Was this the one behind everything going on outside? Wasnt this just arge, wriggling heart?


    Next time we came in, maybe all I needed to do was protect Jinchul-oppas mind, while he destroyed this with his fists.


    Remembering the gun I had, I decided to try shooting it.


    <em>Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    It started to show some response after I shot 3 bullets in a row.


    <strong><em>It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! YOU ARE HURTING ME AS WELL.</em></strong>


    A sharp voice pierced directly into my head.


    That was when I heard the sound of something running behind me. Looking back, I found the nurses rushing to me in a hurry.


    Ahah, so it really was this guy. It seemed that our job was to somehow destroy this thing.


    I did more than enough, right?


    It was scary to do anything more than this, but I said onest thing before going.


    Its nothingpared to everything you did to the world, you know that?


    Then, I shot all the remaining bullets at therge flesh except for one, which I had to use to kill myself.


    <em> Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    <strong><em>Ahhh! Sir! Where are you! Theres another one here to hurt me, sir!</em></strong>


    Sir? I know a sir as well. Who is this sir that you are talking about?


    The nurses were just around the corner.


    This should be enough.


    <em> Bang!</em>


    My consciousness slowly started to fade.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    Kung! We woke up in the corridor just like every other time, but it was more painful this time around.


    I looked around with my fingers pressing down on my temples, and found everyone waking up with exhausted looks on their faces.


    It was around nighttime. We went in in the morning, and it seemed that we had used up the whole day.


    And immediately after waking up


    Many of us turned our eyes to the same person.


    The man, who had the biggest build and muscles from our group, lowered his head with a dead look on his face.


    *


    When working in a group, it was inevitable for some people to make mistakes. People would tease, rebuke and scold that person if they made a small mistake.


    However, it was sometimes extremely difficult to say anything if that mistake they made was an enormous one.


    At times like that, everyone else tended to be so busy with cleaning up the mess, and the person in question also tended to shrink from an immense sense of guilt (unless they were very shameless), and that made it even harder to me them for it.


    This was verymon, especially when you had to work with the same people after the event.


    The person in question was already ming themselves for it, so how would ming them on top of that be any helpful?


    It was more productive to console them and think about the next n.


    That was exactly what we were going through.


    *


    Hey! Buddy! Its not like were all actually dead or anything. What are you doing? Hurry up and eat something!


    Why are you so down? said Ahri. All you did was be a good son. I was in the Rest Team and the Give-up Team from the start, and I was super rxed; ying games with my mum.


    Ahri. I dont think thats something to be proud of.


    You know what happened to me? My fake father died, and I had to fight with my family after the funeral and ended up like him. I literally got buried alive with him. Why are you so depressed by something so small?


    You got buried alive? Noonim? What in the world is up with your family?


    Oppa! You still have the red capsule, right? Thats good enough. I saw it till the end, and I think you just have to take the pill and destroy that flesh.


    By the way, Kain-oppa, can you please tell me what you were thinking at the end?


    Songee suddenly threw the hot potato at me. This was already her third time asking me after leaving Room 101 about the teapot.


    Rather than exining to her about the steamed Songee mushrooms in a teapot, I decided it would be a better idea to pretend ignorance.


    I actually have no clue. My mind turned nk the moment we entered the hospital room.


    Hmm


    She didnt seem convinced, so I decided to have a social distance with her for today.


    Thus ended our chaotic dinner.


    *


    So, this is going to be our final strategy conference. Of course, theres no guarantee that this will be ourst one, but I think so at the very least. We know what our goal is; we know where it is, and have a rough idea of the power it has. If we take a long time to solve this after knowing this much, that would just be proving our ipetence.


    Eunsol-noona. This is already our fifth attempt


    Yes, and thats our biggest problem. We would have cleared it 100% if this was our 4th attempt instead, but this is our 5th. Ahri, do you remember how exactly its going to change?


    Sorry, I was really young during my first time at the Hotel, and I can barely remember anything.


    Ahri said she was born at the Hotel. That meant she must have been a tiny kid during her first time, so it was understandable that she couldnt remember anything clearly.


    And because this is our 5th attempt, theres an agenda that we need to discuss before anything.


    <strong>1. Do we continue attempting Room 101?</strong>


    Depending on how you see it, it might be correct to skip Room 101, considering how its going to turn harder, and go with either Room 102 or Room 104, ande back once were stronger.


    Of course, you might also ask the question, Would it even make it easier even if we did change to a different room?


    Our fundamental specs are still the same. Would we be able to clear another room if we jump in just like this? What if we struggle and end up making it the 5th time for all the other rooms?


    Maybe it would be better to finish Room 101, since we know the most about it?


    No-one knows. Its hard to make a good call because we dont even know how its going to change.


    Everyone, share your thoughts.

 Chapter 74: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (8)

    Chapter 74: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (8)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 23</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 2]</strong>


    Are we going to continue trying Room 101?


    Everyone stayed silent.


    Honestly, it was hard for us to say anything. This was something we went through several times when discussing things about the Hotel  some background information was crucial when discussing a certain topic, and thus it was difficult to even raise an opinion considering how we didnt know what the change would be about.


    Looks like everyone has a lot going on in their minds. I understand, but I dont think theres a point in dying a topic like this. Lets vote.


    Ripping out a page of the notebook, Eunsol-noona ripped it to smaller pieces and gave it to everyone.


    With the small piece of paper in my hands, I thought to myself.


    It was indeed scary to enter Room 101, which would have changed in one way or another. However, would entering another room with the same overall strength of the team change anything? We might end up barely escaping the other rooms until they were all up to the 5th attempt.


    Wasting the attempts of those rooms even though we could have easily beat them with another Inheritance under our belt could be a stupid move.


    And even aside from that logical perspective, I didnt feel like running away to another room, despite already figuring out so many things together after all that hard work.


    Lets see this to the end.


    I had no idea how it was going to change, but we already had more than enough information to solve the room!


    /Room 101/


    *


    The vote ended in a sh. It was 6:2 with 6 being Room 101.


    Alright, lets move on then. Lets remind ourselves about all the things we figured out about Room 101, and create a n of what to do in our final attempt. Kain?


    This is the recap of what we found out during the 4th attempt. Opening the door to the rooftop of the TV Station leads to the entrance of the hospital. From what I observed while going around the building, those strange locations that showed up when going against the warnings of the TV Station appeared to be parts of the hospital.


    In other words, you could say the hospital is connected to the TV Station.


    When you enter through the entrance thats on the rooftop of the TV Station, instead of attacking, the nurses treat you like guests.


    As for the reason why they treat us differently, I would assume that from the perspective of the hospital, we would have seemed like wandering patients when we showed up at ces other than the entrance.


    And when you go all the way down the corridor of the 4th floor, you see a big chunk of flesh that we assume was Kim Sangmin. I think it will be over when we destroy it.


    Also, the effect of the curse is very strong in the room. I couldnt withstand it with my filter either. From what we have on our hands, the bracelet and the red capsule are the only tools that will let us stay sane.


    Grandpa Mooksung said after waiting for me to finish.


    So the biggest problem is that the bracelet and the red capsule are the only tools that will allow us to approach that thing on the 4th floor, huh.


    That was when Ahri intervened.


    No, there is one more person that can.


    Who was that?


    Elena-unni. Did you forget what happened at Hotel High School?


    When you activated Justice, you werent affected by the angels brainwash. That principle of the execution of justice being unstoppable is probably the reason why you be immune to mind attacks.


    What do you think, Elena-unni?


    Aht! Youre right. I think that was how it was at the Hotel High School. But do you think Ill be able to activate Justice? Most of the people in Room 101 are victims that ended up being affected by the curse, right?


    And the thing on the 4th floor of the hospital was apparently a piece of flesh and not a human.


    Elena-unni. We cant just say that.


    Think about it. Normally, we call it an exploited indirect perpetrator when they get manipted by other people into being used as a device of a crime, and of course these people arent subjected to criminalw.


    But when the police are trying to handle the case, they need to bash them up if need be to end the crime, right? Their punishment in the court is a different matter altogether.


    Do you understand? Even though they are all victims of the curse, you can still neutralise them even if they are not guilty.


    She suddenly gave a lecture onw. Everyone, including me, was confused by the sudden lecture that came out of nowhere.


    However, Ahri continued staring at Elena with unwavering eyes and in the end, Elena had to awkwardly return a nod.


    Also, you said Kim Sangmin was now a piece of flesh and hard to see as a human, right? Dont you think thats being way too ck and white?


    What about the angel at Hotel High School? She had wings and used all sorts of superpowers, but you still perceived her as a person, didnt you?


    Whats the difference between the angel and a chunk of flesh? Is the former human because it looks more human?


    They both started off as a human; both went through a supernatural change but one became an angel and one turned into a piece of flesh. Thats the only difference. Dont you think treating only the angel as a human is being discriminatory?


    What was she on about now? Why was she talking about discrimination? I had no idea what the point of this long conversation was.


    However, Ahri was still looking straight into Elenas eyes, and again, Elena had no choice but to nod from the sheer pressure she was giving off.


    Ye, yes. I think you are right, Ahri.


    Keep that in mind. Even the victims of the curse can be neutralised, and Kim Sangmin is a human even though he looks like a cluster of flesh. Understood?


    I dont know why you are doing this all of a sudden but I understand.


    The rather philosophical(?) discussion between Ahri and Elena came to an end.


    It felt like Ahri was trying to instil a concept into Elenas mind.


    This was probably what she was trying to say.


    The workers of the TV Station and the nurses can be disarmed and neutralised. Kim Sangmin can also be punished because he was formerly human.


    I understood what she was trying to convey, but would Elena being convinced by her persuasion lead to any changes?


    Unless the blessing were to change ording to Elenas perception


    <em> Knock!</em>


    Eunsol-noona gathered everyones eyes by knocking on the desk.


    Now! We went a bit off topic there. Lets return to the topic at hand.


    Lets say we somehow reach the rooftop, but we still have to destroy that flesh, right? And the biggest problem is that even Kain cant withstand it with his filter.


    But the solution is quite simple then, isnt it?


    Jinchul can take the pill straight after entering the room, and go to the TV Station.


    Just a reminder so that you dont make another mistake, said Grandpa Mooksung. You do know what it means to gain resistance to mental contamination after taking the red capsule, right? You wont be affected by the curse so you cant teleport. In other words, you have to take your family and go to the TV Station like Kain and Songee.


    For essentially the very first time today, Jinchul-hyung lifted his head.


    Ill take the capsule, and go there with my mum.


    Yeah. You can just force your mother toe with you.


    We were about to settle with that when Ahri suddenly raised an objection.


    Wait! Are we going to have Jinchul-oppa take the capsule immediately after we start?


    Do you have any other ideas?


    Yes. I think we should save the red capsule as much as possible, and solve it with Songees bracelet. Songee can cast mental protection on oppa, and he can take the capsule if thats not enough, right?


    Ahri said while looking at Songee, who replied in agreement.


    Just like she said, based on what I felt when I personally saw that flesh, I think the bracelet would be enough to handle it.


    Consumables are there to use when necessary though. Eunsol-noona said in objection. Is there a need to bother saving it this far in? Besides, this is already our 5th attempt and its way too risky to refrain from using everything in our arsenal. And what if Jinchul identally brings his mother again just because we are afraid to use the capsule?


    Im sure he wont make the same mistake again. And we have Elena as well, dont we? The capsule is a precious consumable that we can only use once, and we dont have to use that from the very beginning.


    Elena herself didnt look too keen, but Ahri was already considering her like one of ourbatants.


    Songee voiced her support for Ahris argument.


    This time, Ill try to go there as quickly as I can. I wont be as fast as the teleportation, so how about Jinchul-oppa wait for 10 minutes before leaving? That way, I can react with the bracelet even if something happens.


    If Songee arrived at the TV Station before Jinchul-hyung, she would be able to take care of any potential problem even if he were to make a mistake. All she had to do was separate them through hallucination.


    What I realised from listening to their conversation was that Songee, as well as Ahri, appeared to be hoping that we could solve this room without using the red capsule.


    I could understand both sides of the argument.


    We were in a precarious position already, so it made sense to take the capsule as soon as we could, and it also made sense to save the precious consumable as much as possible until we had to use it.


    That boar is the one thats going to take it, so let him decide.


    I will hold onto it for now, and leave a bitter like what Songee said.


    This should be good enough. Anyone that has something they want to say?


    We were too tired to continue, and the n was already set. Without saying much else, we finished the meeting and took a rest.


    Tomorrow, we will finallyy our hands on our second Inheritance.


    *


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 24</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    Looking at each other, we went through the n for the final time.


    1. Gather at the TV Station.


    2. Remove the staff, head to the rooftop and enter the hospital.


    3. Go to Kim Sangmins room while pretending to be a visitor.


    4. Rely on the power of either the red capsule or the bracelet and destroy the flesh.


    The most important person in the end was Jinchul-hyung. It was already confirmed that the nurses would run up if we started attacking the flesh, and one pistol was definitely not enough to fight against the nurses.


    After sensing that everyone was looking at him, Jinchul-hyung slowly gave a firm nod.


    He probably wouldnt make the same mistake again.


    Hah Eunsol-noona said after a sigh. Im getting all jittery now that we are about to enter the room. How do you think its going to change? Kain, do you have any ideas?


    I did think of a few scenarios, but the more I think about them, the less I want to go in.


    Cutting our conversation off short, we entered the room.


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fifth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong> ???</strong>


    It hurts. It hurts. Since when was it, I wonder? My entire body was in pain.


    Was it my arm? Or my leg?


    Where even were my arms and legs?


    I had no idea. What I did know was that my body had turned into a piece of flesh with pain being the only thing I could perceive.


    I was resentful.


    To whom?


    I dont know. There were some people that I hated from the bottom of my heart but


    Now, I couldnt even remember any of their faces.


    This entire world was detestable. I hated this world for leaving me alone in this agonising pain.


    Distort! Distort yourself!


    I screamed at the world, so that the world would be as twisted and distorted as me!


    No matter how distorted the world became, my pain did not end.


    Ahh.


    Sir. Doctor. Where are you?


    Back when I was in the pit of greatest despair; back when I lost all hope as everyone med and forced me into a corner.


    That was when sir came to me, and gave me the star.


    Pleasee back.


    Please dont leave me behind.


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    <strong>[The fifth attempt of the contestants has begun!]</strong>


    A sentence that I couldntprehend floated before my sight.


    My eyes had long disappeared, so how in the world was I even looking at this sentence?


    Suddenly, a flood of information gushed into my brain, which was probably floating somewhere inside my body.


    Ahh! I see.


    So you are here to hurt me again.


    None of you will escape alive.


    Kill all of them. Until this star is filled with corpses!

 Chapter 75: Room 101, Cursed Room – ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (9)

    Chapter 75: Room 101, Cursed Room ¨C ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (9)


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 24</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media)</strong>


    <strong>Sages Advice: 3]</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>Fifth Attempt</strong>


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong> Han Kain</strong>


    An rm popped up the moment I entered the room.


    <strong>[The Enemy is aware of the contestants.]</strong>


    <strong>[The power of the curse has been enhanced.]</strong>


    <strong>[You cannot escape.]</strong>


    Were these the penalties of the Fifth Attempt?


    How ridiculously unfair


    It was then.


    <em> Kung! Kung! Kung!</em>


    Come out! Ahahaha! Oppa? Hurry up!


    <em> Stab!</em>


    As soon as it began, everyone inside the house started going on a rampage. Immediately I locked my room up and stayed holed up in my room.


    How was I supposed to leave this ce?


    Lets think about how it would be for everyone else.


    Since Grandpa Mooksung had the gun with him, all he had to do was kill his family. On top of that, Songee with her bracelet and the powerful Jinchul-hyung would probably be able to resolve it somehow.


    I was a bit concerned about Elena. She had to start off with her family in the same room, with her sense of sight and hearing gone. It was questionable if she could somehow bear through that at the beginning and activate her blessing on top of that.


    Honestly, it wasnt the time for me to worry about others. The biggest problems were me, Seungyub and Eunsol.


    It was hard to believe that Eunsol-noona would be able to make it out alive. The securities would probably try to kill her from the start so what could she even do? She might even be dead already.


    Plus, it didnt look easy for Seungyub either.


    Kung! Kwang!


    The biggest problem at hand was me though. They were about to smash the door open at this rate.


    Opening the wardrobe, I dressed myself like it was the coldest winter outside. I put on three jeans, two sweaters and two padded jackets. With clothes this thick, I might even be able to survive in Antarctica.


    This should be hard to breach with a kitchen knife, right? My parents and my sister werent sword masters after all.


    <em> Thud!</em>


    After quickly pulling the door wide open, I immediately stabbed my sister on the neck with my dagger. In that brief moment, a kitchen knife shed past my upper body but as expected, it failed to go through my thick coats!


    Frantically, I continued stabbing forward but after sensing a presence from the back, I urgently dodged to the side but still felt something bluntnding on my back.


    Turning around, I found dad carrying a golf club.


    It was doable!


    Unlike me, who was pretty much wearing cloth armour, everyone in my family was wearing normal clothes, and besides, it seemed that their intellectual ability had also dropped significantly because of the strong effect of the curse.


    It didnt take long for me to defeat everyone.


    As expected, it wasnt considered an Escape despite me killing every one of my family.


    My stomach started to ache.


    The power of the curse has been enhanced, was it?


    Leaving my house, I saw that the world had turned into a pandemonium. Pretty much every human I could see was running in at one another.


    What was fortunate, at the very least, was that unlike my family who were onlying after me, the people outside the house were battling each other in mayhem. Obviously, it seemed difficult to expect transportation systems like the taxi to operate properly in a world like this.


    How was I supposed to go to the TV Station? Did I have to walk through this hell?


    After some time, I decided to try driving a car. There was no way I would be caught for driving without a licence in a world like this, right?


    I had a rough idea of how to get to the TV Station.


    Before setting off, I checked the system window.


    <strong>[Teammate Location Information (*)</strong>


    <strong>Park Seungyub: Dead</strong>


    <strong>Lee Eunsol: Dead]</strong>


    As I thought, the two of them couldnt make it out alive.


    I told myself to use Descent if need be. Using it once for the Inheritance wouldnt be a bad trade-off.


    My stomach was in pain.


    *


    It was my first time driving, but it was easier than I thought. Through the experience driving the bumper car, I was somewhat used to the basics of driving.


    Everyone was busy fighting and there werent many cars on the road.


    As for the people walking by I just drove straight through them.


    I ignored the speed limit, knocked people away and continued driving even after bumping into poles and whatnot.


    Driving was super easy!


    Lets learn how to properly drive a car when Im outside.


    After somehow arriving at the TV Station, I finally saw the faces of my teammates, which I had started to miss in that short period of time. Waiting there for me to arrive was Songee, who said she lived 10 minutes walking distance away from the TV Station, and Grandpa Mooksung, who probably drove here.


    What about everyone else?


    Were still waiting. Check with your ability. You said it shows if theyre dead or not, is that correct? Are there still some that we are waiting for?


    Ive been seeing it on a regr basis, and it seems that Elena and Jinchul-hyung are alive. They seem to be on their way somehow.


    By the way, are you trying to look like a penguin? Whats with your Ahah! I see what you were doing. You dont have a gun after all  what a great idea. As expected of my junior!


    But how about you take them off now? You look like youre dying from the heat.


    I had no ns of bing his junior at the Administration, but it was indeed very hot so I followed his advice and took off some of my clothes.


    Where are the staff of the TV Station?


    My guess is that they are all preparing themselves.


    What do you mean, preparing?


    None of them areing downstairs. The guy knows we areing, so he must have made some preparations for himself.


    I wonder what those would be.


    My biggest concern is guns. For a TV Station this big, its not strange for them to have armed police officers as security guards. They might have prepared a bunch of guns. Thats why Songee and I are just waiting here instead of going up  that pig needs toe and use something as a shield. Otherwise, its going to be rough.


    Cough!


    My throat suddenly felt ticklish so I let out a cough.


    What came out were things resembling teeth as well as blood.


    Are you alright?


    I pulled up my clothes to have a look at my stomach.


    A new mouth was being formed on my stomach.


    What about you and Songee, sir?


    Without saying anything, Grandpa Mooksung raised his clothes a tiny bit.


    A strange eyeball and a tongue were twitching on top of his flesh.


    I remember seeing a message about the power of the curse being enhanced at the start.


    Its probably directly affecting our body as well. Songee has a problem on her right arm.


    It will be difficult for us tost a long time.


    Think positive. You dont want to stay in a ce like this for an extended period of time, do you? Lets quickly head to the hospital as soon as the two of them are here.


    I will use Descent if need be.


    Right. Actually, that ability of yours is the reason why I thought it would be okay to enter Room 101 again.


    Did you perhaps vote for?


    I think the right call would have been going to another room, but I guessed it would work out with your Descent anyway.


    *


    After a while, the sound of a car echoed outside as Jinchul-hyung appeared from within.


    Youre here! Finally! You didnt bring your mother again, did you?


    Of course I wont make the same mistake again.


    Did you take the pill?


    No. I just drove here.


    We waited there for Elena to arrive.


    After approximately 15 minutes or so


    An angel flew towards us from the sky.


    *


    Her hair that seemed to have been made from gold fluttered like an ocean wave.


    A radiant golden scale was rotating around her.


    In that state, Elena descended from the sky. We were watching her in shock and awe, but without stopping, she immediately ran towards the upper floors of the TV Station as if she didnt even see us.


    Huh?


    Umm! Miss Elena?!


    Aht!


    Everyone. Run after her! She probably cant stop herself because she already activated Justice!


    Elena arrived at the TV Station with Justice pre-activated.


    We frantically ran after her as I looked at the state she was in. Her half-torn and ripped blouse revealed parts of her beautiful body and


    Wait. Torn?


    I widened my eyes upon realising that several parts of her clothes were torn and her body was full of small wounds.


    Everyone else also btedly noticed that.


    Unni? Did you get hurt?


    Just likest time, Elena was able to hold a conversation even though her actions were still being forced.


    She slowly exined herself.


    My sister attacked immediately after we started. I did activate my blessing before it was toote, but it didnt heal any wounds that had already been made.


    We climbed up the stairs of the TV Station as they retaliated in full force.


    <em> Bang!  Bang!</em>


    People wearing police uniforms started shooting their guns while staff of the TV Station built desks and used walls as barricades.


    It would have been extremely difficult if we had to break through by ourselves.


    Elena, however, solved it all too easily.


    She threw the staff away with invisible hands and made them unconscious. Her invisible hands made the barricades and walls useless.


    Wait, unconscious? Looking at them again, I noticed that none of the staff members were dead.


    Did she gain the ability to neutralise the victims of the curse after hearing what Ahri told her yesterday?


    I had a rough understanding of how Elenas blessing worked.


    Blood.


    Elena walked forward leaving an endless trail of blood behind her.


    She could block flying bullets and render the barricades of the staff useless. Even with the overwhelming power of Justice, Elena could not heal the wounds that had already been carved onto her body.


    Seeing her walk forward while tainting the floor with blood, we couldnt help but ask ourselves.


    Grandpa! said Songee, What should we do? Can Elena-unni continue fighting with so many wounds?


    Its driving me crazy as well! If she could stop for just a little bit, we would be able to wrap her wounds with bandages and stop the blood, but she is not going to stop any time soon.


    Lets just go to the rooftop as quickly as possible. We are already on the 6th floor.


    I will go and carry Elena, said Jinchul-hyung.


    What if you get attacked for interfering with the enforcement?


    I wont though. I can carry her and run upstairs, right? Not sure if theres an AI behind the blessing, but I wont be interfering with the process.


    He ran up, carried Elena with his arms and started sprinting forward.


    Fortunately, Elena didnt turn him down.


    Would we be able to reach the end like this?


    *


    In the end, as soon as we got to the rooftop, Elena seemed to have lowered her mental guard for a moment and fainted. Even the power of Justice, that forced the enforcement, seemed unable to stop Elena from losing consciousness due to overworking her body.


    Weve neutralised everyone downstairs already. Lets leave her here and go in just by ourselves.


    Leaving her here wont be safe though. None of the staff are dead; theyre just unconscious. We couldnt even kill them in fear that Elena would suddenly start attacking us. If they wake up, theyll definitely try to kill her.


    Then do you want to take her with us? To a hospital full of monsters?


    Look at this. We need to take her. Songee said while pointing in a direction.


    The scale was still rotating around Elenas body.


    Her blessing is still there?


    Justice is still activated. Its just that Elena herself has lost her consciousness. If she somehow wakes up, shell be able to fight again.


    She fainted fromck of blood. How is she going to wake up again!? Shes probably going to die soon.


    We never know if the blessing will activate even with her unconscious. Besides, it might force her to wake up.


    Lets just take her! said Jinchul-hyung to end the long discussion. I can carry her! Shes not that heavy anyway.


    No. Let me do it, I replied. It will be hard for us to climb if your arms are upied.


    Jinchul-hyung was about to carry Elena, in an attempt to end the discussion by getting rid of the choice of leaving her behind altogether, but we would be losing way too much fighting potential if he were to carry her on his back, so I opted to carry her instead.


    As soon as I did, a strong smell of blood soared into my nose. Was she really going to be okay?


    Grandpa Mooksung didnt say anything else.


    In front of the door leading to the rooftop of the TV Station; the one that was connected to the entrance of the hospital, everyone stood still for a bit.


    But there was no time to waste. After looking into each others eyes, we resolved ourselves and entered the hospital.


    Atst, the end of the long Room 101 was drawing near.

 Chapter 76: Room 101, Cursed Room - ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’ (10)

    Chapter 76: Room 101, Cursed Room - ¡®Common Sense Renovating Media¡¯ (10)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <b>Room 101, Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media (10) FIN</b>


    [<strong>User:</strong> Han Kain (Wisdom)


    <strong>Date:</strong> Day 24


    <strong>Current Location:</strong> Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room  Common Sense Renovating Media)


    <strong>Sages Advice:</strong> 3]


    <b>*</b>


    <b>Fifth Attempt</b>


    <b>*</b>


    Nervously we went into the hospital.


    Unlike our previous expectations, the twisted nurses did not immediately pounce at us. Instead, they appeared rather polite just like yesterday.


    However, Jinchul-hyung and Grandpa Mooksung appeared way too hostile so the nurses also started to pull their hands and


    Both of you, lower your weapons!


    I shouted out loud after sing to myself. From the looks of things, it seemed that we would be able to avoid fighting them.


    The two of them quickly hid their weapons, tonfa and the gun respectively, behind their backs after hearing my shout.


    The tension in the air started to loosen little by little.


    What was going on? Didnt we see an rm when we entered Room 101?


    <b>[The Enemy is aware of the contestants.]</b>


    Wasnt it because of this that Kim Sangmin was controlling the ones under the effect of the curse into attacking us?


    It was hard to tell why, but it was good for us if this hospital was going to treat us like guests.


    I asked for advice just in case.


    Would it be okay to ask the hospital to take care of Elenas wounds?


    <b>[They will help Elena for now.]</b>


    It was an ambiguous reply. For now, huh.


    Did that mean things could change over time?


    Something I noticed after I started actively making use of the Advice, was that this wasnt like a walkthrough guidebook that told me everything I wanted to know.


    Instead, the advice was like a hint that weaved everything I knew already, that took it just one step further.


    In any case, we had no other options. I knew the best as the one carrying Elena on my back.


    At this rate, she was going to die.


    We have an emergency patient! She is bleeding heavily and we need to attend to her wounds immediately!


    Seeing me suddenly jump out and hand Elena over to them, Jinchul-hyung and Grandpa Mooksung seemed surprised despite not saying anything to stop me.


    Four nurses came over and carried her over somewhere.


    Even that short contact with the nurses made my head turn from the curse even though there was still a filter covering my sight.


    She would be fine, right? There was nothing I could do but believe that she would be able to withstand the curse with the power of her Justice.


    Jinchul-hyung said in concern.


    I do remember you saying that they treat us like guests if we enter through the main entrance, but would they heal her? What if they kill Elena?


    If they were going to kill us, I replied. They would have attacked us straight away the moment we entered the hospital, right? Besides, if they were going to kill Elena, they could have stabbed her immediately and wouldnt bother going into a ward like that.


    Stop your chatter and look over there.


    Urged by Grandpa Mooksung, we looked over to the side and found a nurse pushing a trolley with blood packs and bandages towards Elenas room.


    Looks like they are going to heal Elena-unni.


    Well, that means you guys were right that they act like a normal hospital if you go in through the main entrance. And theres no reason they wouldnt heal a patient if they were a normal hospital, so thats probably why. Anyway, lets all go and see that Kim Sangmin or whatever.


    Right when we were about to turn towards the upper floors,


    A sudden sting of pain flooded in.


    Uhk! UAAAAHK!


    I fell on the floor and rolled left and right.


    After half-fainting for a second, I btedly came to myself and noticed a bloody tooth mixed with a chunk of flesh had left my mouth during that short seizure. That disgusting sight made me want to vomit.


    Noticing that I wasnt looking normal either, the nurses surrounding us started to walk up.


    Things would probably get worse if they came near me though.


    I guess Elena wasnt the only one that needed to be healed. The houses were affected by the curse the most, right?


    I had my gun, Songee has her bracelet and the pig is strong so he finished early, but it looks like the curse got to you the most when you were fighting with a bunch of clothes on.


    Im fine.


    No. You dont look fine. Your organs are in a mess arent they?


    Jinchul-hyung added.


    Kain, I think you should take a rest as well. Youre like our finalst resort  instead of youing with us and dying, I think you should wait and use Descent if we all fail.


    You can tell whether we are alive or not with Location Information, cant you? As soon as you wake up, use that to see if we are alive and if were dead, descend and destroy the entire hospital if you must.


    Alright. Ill do that.


    The nurses approached me from a distance.


    The curse was the reason why my body was in a mess, so how did it even make sense that the nurses, the prime agents of that curse, would try to heal me?


    My consciousness started to fade.


    I couldnt even tell at this point whether it was because of the curse or because of the wounds on my body.


    That was myst bit of memory in that room.


    *


    <b> Cha Jinchul</b>


    Pressure was weighing on my mind.


    There were only 3 people left now.


    We were almost there but no matter how I saw it, it was looking more and more difficult for Songee to proceed any further.


    One of her arms, that all of us were trying our hardest to look away from, resembled an alien creature more than a human arm.


    A monster nurse walked up and said gibberish when we were about to climb up the stairs, so Songee walked closer and said some stuff about Kim Sangmin, which made the nurse step back again.


    Sir Mooksung opened his mouth from the side.


    This hospital.


    Yes?


    It looks like Kim Sangmin has no control over it, and the hospital is also considering him a normal patient. Perhaps the reason the nurses attacked her when Songee shot the chunk of flesh with a gun was not because he was in control of the nurses, but because she was creating a ruckus at a hospital.


    Then whos the one controlling the hospital in your opinion?


    Must be that director guy. Suspicious and fishy till the end, damn it.


    We walked for around 10 minutes and arrived outside the room where the main perpetrator of this curse was.


    Hkkkk!


    Surprised by that sudden grunt, I turned around and found one of Songees arms choking herself by the neck!


    In fright, I quickly took off the pieces of flesh that no longer looked like an arm. When I took off the big chunk, it suddenly divided into 3 segments that started piercing through her body.


    Even after we took all the pieces out of her, Songee still could not stop her screams of pain.


    It was painful for me to watch.


    Sir went up to her with the gun in hand.


    Songee. Its looking rough for you. Do you want me to put you at ease?


    Powerlessly, without saying anything, Songee moved her other arm and touched me.


    That was when a white beam of light surrounded the entire area for a moment! After that, my body started to give off a radiant halo.


    When I turned to Songee in surprise, I found that she had closed her eyes already.


    Did she use up everything she had to pour it on you? That must have been a powerful mental protection spell.


    I, I think so too.


    Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and run! You need to destroy that stupid piece of flesh while that thingsts! I will stay here and stop the nurses.


    Kwang!


    I immediately pushed the door wide open and dashed into the ward.


    Just like what I heard beforehand, the scenery inside the room was strange. As soon as I entered that strange dimension that appeared like it was from an alien, I was met by a giant that was more than 3 meters tall.


    I did not hear a monster like this being here though? Did he prepare it because it knew we wereing?


    The monster did not wait for my trail of thought to end, and immediately swung its gigantic arm.


    First off, I decided to distance myself from it. Since it was in a humanoid shape, I could somewhat predict its movements.


    Three steps to the back.


    Therge arm of the giant barely missed my face.


    I quickly dashed into the monster but this time, it raised one of its knees that was as tall as myself to stop my advance.


    Using that as a foothold


    Kwang!


    With all my spirit, I gave it an uppercut with the tonfa on, as the head of the monster snapped back.


    It was powerful enough to crush a human head to pulps, but the giant was resilient and tough.


    This time, it tried to grab me with its two arms so I responded with my own arms. I reached my arms out and grabbed them back.


    It was a pure fight of strength.


    One might say it was impossible after seeing the difference in our physique but I was confident after that short skirmish.


    This was doable!


    URAAAAAAAAA!


    Along with a loud roar, I pushed the arms of the monster back. Slowly but surely, I was starting to overpower the giant.


    The giant crumpled its face and the moment it lost its bnce, I quickly reached my right leg out and smashed his leg.


    In the end, it crumbled down and rolled on the floor, unable to stand its ground anymore.


    <i> Bang! Bang! Bang!</i>


    <i> Kuaaahk!</i>


    Naturally, there was no way that the hospital wouldnt react after sensing amotion of this size. Deafening roars, screams and gunshots were echoing behind me.


    On top of that was an ambient lighting of gold that seeped in through the door of the ward.


    Elena! She woke up!


    It seemed that Elena and Sir were having an intense battle against the nurses outside.


    I had to end this as quickly as possible.


    Without even collecting my breath, I raced towards the giant and pounded on its face.


    After about 10 seconds or so, the monster turned limp.


    It was a shame that my tonfa broke from the pressure even though this was practically its first debut match. To be fair, it was hard to expect a hard piece of wood to sustain itself in a battle of monsters.


    Sangmin! You piece of shit! Theres nothing that can stop me anymore! Prepare yourself!


    In the distance, I saw it.


    There it was  a chunk of flesh.


    Its loud thumps were reaching my ears from all the way over there and when I went closer, I could hear its voice echoing in my ears.


    He seemed to have led a pitiful life,ining about the people who harassed him and how resentful he was.


    Ah! Shut your damn mouth, you little brat! No matter what happened to you, if you turn the world into this crap, you have no say even if I smash you to death.


    By the way, how was I supposed to kill it?


    Well, I guess it would work out if I just punch it on repeat.


    Kwang!  Kwang!  Kwang!


    With every punch, I thought to myself how I would have easily be the boxing world champion if I had even a portion of my current strength.


    Or maybe not. If I was this strong, the Administration probably would have dragged me away before anything.


    My fists could break through concrete let alone human flesh.


    Soon, the chunk was there no more, and all that was left were small fragments of flesh.


    That was when I found a shining piece of stone inside.


    The moment I was about to pick it up, my fingers that were headed for the stone got divided into two and went through a drastic change.


    Ah, this was it. The source and reason behind everything that happened in this room.


    Ignoring the shredding of my fingers, I picked up the small stone from the remaining fragments of flesh.


    As soon as the stone left its proximity, the flesh started to crumble down.


    Along with that was everything. Everything started to crumble.


    The room, hospital, TV Station  everything started to melt into nothing.


    When I turned around, I found Sir and Elena looking around with astonishment in their faces.


    An rm popped up.


    <b>/You have seeded!</b>


    <b>A family tainted in madness; a world of insanity! It all began from a small bullying incident at a school, which we all hear about all too often. However, no matter the harshness of the circumstance he was in, it probably wouldnt be enough to justify a revenge that put the entire world at stake.</b>


    <b>Comrades falling side by side; enemies hiding in secret! You have ovee all those trials and have finally reached thest conclusion.</b>


    <b>By removing the victim who became the perpetrator, you have resolved the root cause of the curse. Congrattions.</b>


    <b>.</b>


    <b>.</b>


    <b>.</b>


    <b>.</b>


    <b>One of your teammates has sessfully resolved the issue! Congrattions! The sessful resolution allows everyone to return safely.</b>


    <b>You have obtained the Inheritance, Star Fragment of Another World./</b>


    Finally, is everything over? That was really difficult. There was a time when I felt so sorry for everyone that I couldnt even keep my head high, so it was great that I managed to seal the deal.


    Please, let us rest now. This is too much regardless of how physically strong I am, right?


    Why arent we going back? Is there still something left?


    <b>/Dear participants! Congrattions once again on concluding Room 101!</b>


    <b>Those who have survived until now and contributed to the final battle have the right to acquire an Inheritance.</b>


    <b>The list of those qualified is as follows.</b><ol><li><b> Elena Ivanov (Justice)</b></li></ol><ol start="2"><li><b> Cha Jinchul (Courage)</b></li></ol><ol start="3"><li><b> Kim Mooksung (Communication)</b></li></ol>


    <b>However, only one of you can acquire the Inheritance!</b>


    <b>Now is the Moment of Choice!/</b> /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 77: Moment of Choice, What Ahri went through (1)

    Chapter 77: Moment of Choice, What Ahri went through (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <b>Moment of Choice, What Ahri went through (1) </b>


    <b> Cha Jinchul</b>


    As soon as I came to myself, I found myself alongside Elena and Sir Mooksung standing inside arge arena resembling the Colosseum.


    Moment of Choice?


    It was my first time hearing that, but I could immediately understand what they meant. There were several people qualified for the Inheritance but there was only one Inheritance, so it seemed that we had to choose a person.


    ording to the notification, there were 2 conditions to be qualified for the Inheritance.<ol><li><b> Survive until the end.</b></li></ol><ol start="2"><li><b> Contribution to the final battle.</b></li></ol>


    Lee Eunsol, Park Seungyub and Yu Songee were out because of the 1st condition, and Kim Ahri was not qualified because of the 2nd condition.


    Why was Kain disqualified? Did he die during his recovery at the hospital? Or was it because he was in the hospital which didnt count as the final battle?


    Looking back, the biggest obstacle to clearing Room 101 wasnt in the battle.


    In fact, the fight itself was rtively easy.


    The staff members of the TV Station were just normal people and the nurses werent exceptionally powerful either despite their horrifying appearances. Plus, the giant inside the hospital was definitely kible with a gun.


    The only reason it was difficult was because we came all the way to the 5th attempt because of my mistake. We got attacked first and the power of the curse had be stronger but if that wasnt the case, Songee and I would have been enough to resolve this room. In fact, Elena might have been able to do it by herself, and I could think of a few other possible solutions.


    The biggest obstacle was in finding the right location. It was about finding the TV Station without being too upied with the family; and about finding the hospital lying beyond the TV Station.


    Looking at it from that perspective, it was kind of unfair that Kain wasnt qualified just because he fell before the final battle, even though he had done all the work looking for the locations.


    Oh well, Im sure there will be another chance.


    There was still Room 102, 104 and the Gate Room. He should be able to get one with so many rooms left over.


    I decided to stop thinking about Kain and focused on the current situation at hand.


    Slowly, I walked towards the center of the arena, just like the other two.


    ?


    That was when something  a torrent of information flooded into my head with a stinging pain. In an instant, my head was filled with an iprehensible array of letters.


    This was the information about the Star Fragment of Another World but I couldnt understand what it meant.


    I was still feeling confused when I got to the center of the arena and found Sir Mooksung walking up with a gun in his hand.


    The moment I saw the gun, I unconsciously flinched and took a step back. Seeing that, he grinned before putting his gun back into the holster.


    It seemed that I had yet to fully open myself up to the people from the Administration.


    Now~ great work everyone! Its finally time to get that damn reward. But this son of a bitch thats running the Hotel is obviously trying to make us fight. Oi! What do you think, Boar?


    A fight? We are not barbarians are we? I have no ns of deciding on the owner of the Inheritance like that.


    So then why did you flinch and take a step back, huh?


    What do you mean flinch? Old man, you must be going senile!


    Alright. Lets say I was seeing things. Anyway, did you guys understand what just flooded into our heads?


    Elena replied, It is probably about the features of the Inheritance, but I honestly have no clue.


    Hearing that, I realized that Elena had gotten the same impression as me.


    It sounded like an array of an indecipherable aliennguage, I added.


    Sir started his exnation after a nod.


    I figured. Its not that youre stupid or anything; its something you cannot understand without some background knowledge. It gets extremely confusing, but let me put it as simply as possible.


    You can think of the Star Fragment of Another World as a device that distorts everything. At first, I was thinking that it was a tool that contaminated the mind but its more than that.


    The Star Fragment contorts everything. Thats why Kim Sangmins room looked like some ce from an alien.


    That everything naturally includes human minds and bodies.


    The reason it was mainly restricted to the mind at first was because we were indirectly exposed to the curse through the media, instead of being directly exposed to it.


    By nature, the media is a medium that transfers information, so I guess that must be why the curse twisted only the mind and not the body.


    An item that distorts the world. I can tell that its a tremendous artifact, but how do we use it?


    We dont need to worry about how. You can just pull it out and the fragment will begin to contort everything nearby without a stop. The real question is who should hold onto it.


    I think your exnation seals the deal, I replied. Elena and I have no clue what this item does, so I think you should take the Inheritance, Sir.


    Hearing you say that does tell me that you havent understood the Star Fragment at all. Let me tell you right now. Piggy, you are the one who is the most suited to use this item.


    Huh?


    There is a very big problem with the Star Fragment. Its that it cannot differentiate between allies and enemies. Do you remember how Kim Sangmin looked when using the item for himself?


    He was the one that had been distorted the most. The power of the fragment is like a radioactive wave. It reaches out far and naturally, the user will be under the biggest stress when using it.


    Wait a second! Then how do we even use it?


    Thats why we need to give it to the person who can resist the distorting power the most  someone who can resist it both physically and psychologically.


    The psychological part doesnt matter, because anyone can resist temporarily with Songee or Ahris help.


    However, out of our group, you are the only one that can physically resist the power.


    After saying that much, Sir took off his shirt.


    The sight in front of me was immediately added to the collection of all the horrible memories of the Hotel.


    Five? Or was it six? There were eyeballs budding out all over his upper body, along with three tongues and several teeth.


    I unconsciously stepped back while Elena retched from the side.


    Kain probably died because he couldnt hold off against the curse, and Songees arm turned into a monster. Im no different. Elena is fine because she has resistance to curse after using Justice, but what about you?


    I took off my shirt just in case, and when Elena turned around, I also took off my pants for a full scan. All I saw were a few bruises and scales here and there.


    The degree of the change was certainly a lot less inparison.


    I knew it, Sir said. I figured when I saw you move just a while back. If your body had changed like mine, there was no way that you would have been able to move that freely, regardless of your strength. That was why I had a feeling that the curse was weaker on you.


    Your body is extremely resistant to the distortion, which is probably because of your blessing. Its a shame that you have no mental resistance, but thats something we can ovee with the help of our teammates.


    I do understand that I could be a better candidate than you Sir, but cant Elena use it as well? She is fully resistant, both physically and mentally, when using her blessing, right?


    Thats only when her Justice is active. Besides, she doesnt need an Inheritance like this. Theres no need for her to bother carrying a time bomb with her Justice activated, because she is already strong enough.


    What Elena needs isnt a power that will amplify her strength when Justice is activated, but something that could fill in the discrepancy in power when her blessing isnt active.


    Of course, we have to ask her personal opinion as well. What do you think about it, Miss Elena?


    I, I think so too. I believe its better for Jinchul-ssi to hold onto it.


    I guess that was it.


    The Inheritance, Star Fragment of Another World, had the power to distort everything in existence. It was an incredibly destructive item that could crumble someones body and the mind, but the biggest downside was that it couldnt distinguish allies from foes.


    Therefore, only those who could withstand the power of the distortion were able to make the most out of it.


    Except for Elena, who was a bit unique, there were 3 ways to mentally resist the power of the curse; the status screen, bracelet and Ahris blood. However, I was the only one that could physically resist the power.


    Therefore, Sirs point of view was that I was the only one that could use it with the support of Songee or Ahri.


    I understood what he meant, but seriously though, wasnt the downside too big for this Inheritance? It was way too different from the bracelet.


    Why does this Inheritance have such a big penalty, unlike the bracelet?


    Im not the manager of this stupid Hotel; how am I supposed to know? However, it is in a way more powerful than the bracelet  the bracelet can only control the mind but the Star Fragment can destroy both the body and the mind so its much stronger, right? Of course, with the downside that it does the same thing to its owner.


    Thats way too serious of a penalty though.


    Well, thats something for you to worry about.


    Ending the conversation there, the two of them took a few steps back. Soon, the Star Fragment floated up onto the center of the arena.


    Do I pick it up?


    Buddy! Are you trying to make us jealous? Just hurry up and pick that thing up.


    I picked up the fragment, as the arena crumbled down without hosting a single battle.


    Even though we acquired an Inheritance, what made me even happier was that we were able to solve it with a conversation even though the Hotel was clearly trying to instigate a conflict.


    The Hotel was endlessly trying to induce conflict within the group.


    Maybe, the hardest trial given by the Hotel wasnt what was within the Cursed Rooms.


    My mind floated to the sky as if my soul had left the body.


    It was then.


    ?


    What was that? Was that someone crying from a distance?


    I must have been hearing things. Before long I saw a door.


    Atst, the arduous pain inside Room 101 finally came to an end.


    *


    <b># What Ahri went through (1)</b>


    <b> Kim Ahri</b>


    Cow!


    Mom shouted with an innocent voice.


    Im sure I was one of the few people in the world who could describe my mom with the word, innocent.


    Hi everyone~! My beloved colleagues, or maybe some great celestial beings that are watching over the Hotel?


    Worm.


    You didnt forget me by any chance, did you?


    Red-eyed ck-haired mysterious beautifuldy that you would see in games and movies! Thats me!


    Everyone was out there fighting against their Strange Family, forging their way through the fearsome TV Station and finding the enemy hiding in the hospital.


    Music~!


    And here I was, having a sweet time ying shiritori<sup>1</sup>Shiritori = A word game in Japan and Korea, where yers need to say a word starting with the final letter of the previous word. with my mom.


    Chickenpox.


    It was my win again. 5 out of 5 wins~!


    You lost again, mom. I cant open the door for you.


    The child was under a curse and it was dangerous to be in the same room as her. However, refusing the child without any room for negotiation was not a good thing to do.


    Again! Do it again~~!


    Okay.


    Especially if that child was powerful enough to blow a house away with a single gesture.


    In fact, thats an extremely dangerous thing to do.


    In times like this, simple ys are the most effective. Kids love them after all.


    Car!


    Rat.


    <i>Ill let youe in if you win, mom~</i>


    Thumb!


    Buffalo.


    I wonder how it was going outside? As for me, I was somehow doing fine.


    Octopus!


    Smallpox.


    Mom. You lost again.


    Thats not fair!


    6 wins out of 6 games! Lo and behold the master of shiritori!


    Everyone else must be working hard.


    So at least one of us ought to take a good rest right? For everyone elses sake, I will do what they cant do by resting here.


    Of course, its not like I had no ns either.


    If my teammates cant resolve the room by tonight then my n was to go to the TV Station with mom. In fact, I already persuaded her to go to the TV Stationter.


    With mom next to me, there wasnt going to be a single problem, whether it be the TV Station or the hospital.


    TV Station workers? Monster nurses of the hospital? My mom could fling them away with a flick. Easy right?


    Mantis!


    She would be mad if I said Swinepox right? I guess I would draw this out a bit more.


    Ever since I came back to Room 101, there had been a single question in my mind.


    My mom was at the Hotel that was cut off from all sorts of externalmunication like TV and the Inte, so how did she get infected by the curse?<ul><li>1


    Shiritori = A word game in Japan and Korea, where yers need to say a word starting with the final letter of the previous word.</li></ul> /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 78: What Ahri went through (2)

    Chapter 78: What Ahri went through (2)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>What Ahri went through (2) </b> </strong>


    Ox!


    This was getting exhausting. And it seemed that mom did not know about the basic etiquette of shiritori.


    Should I scold her and tell her that she cant start off with a word like that?


    Fifth Attempt. The horrifying rms that popped up at the start of the attempt.


    <b>[The Enemy is aware of the contestants.]</b>


    <b>[The power of the curse has been enhanced.]</b>


    <b>[You cannot escape.]</b>


    Seeing that gave me goosebumps, which definitely wasntmon. I prepared myself in case my mom pounced at me from the get go.


    But nothing happened.


    What was it?


    Theres no way that notice wouldnt have meant anything. It didnt feel like Kim Sangmin was trying to do anything to me, and the power of the curse didnt feel stronger either.


    Was it because I was in the Hotel, which was cut off from the external world?


    But in that case, how did mom get infected by the curse in the first ce?


    It was way too confusing. nkly, I waited there hoping for the ce to crumble down along with the message that we resolved the curse.


    Good luck everyone~!


    Ox! Hurry up!


    Whatever. It was about time we made our way to the TV Station anyway, so lets just ignore her.


    She would probably break the door ande in and I would be at the TV Station by the time I came to myself, right?


    .


    .


    .


    Time went by.


    Mom didnt try to break through the door, nor did I get any rms about the resolution of the curse.


    That was strange. My mom had never been such a patient person.


    In order to see what she was trying to do, I opened the door and walked outside. Leaving Room 103, I followed down the corridor all the way to the main entrance of the Hotel where I finally found her.


    This was definitely strange.


    My mom was definitely not someone who would quietly stand there watching the scenery.


    That was when I suddenly recalled all the doubts that had been budding in my mind ever since I entered Room 101.


    How was mom infected by the curse inside the Hotel, which had no way tomunicate with the outside?


    There were all sorts of penalties in ce after the Fifth Attempt began, so why was nothing happening to me?


    Added to that was the strange actions of my mom standing in the distance.


    As if struck by a lightning bolt, my mind shed with understanding. An answer that could provide the answer to all my doubts popped up in my mind.


    Who in the world are you?!


    What a disappointment.


    What?


    Is this not your second time at the Hotel? I cannot believe you were thiste to pick it up.


    First time I can understand because you did not know what the medium of the curse was, but it is very disappointing that you were still fooled despite knowing that the media was the medium of the curse. What sort of media is there that is connected to the Hotel? Is it not obvious that another existence must have been the cause of the curse?


    But that is besides the point. More importantly, this view is quite mysterious. Is this the very depths of the ocean? I see some interesting fish here and there.


    Show yourself!


    Fine. I was dying of boredom waiting behind the childish persona of your mother.


    Immediately, moms body started to separate vertically.


    Despite knowing that it wasnt my real mom, I was filled with fury the moment I saw that atrocious thing happen before my eyes.


    What appeared after cutting through moms body was a tall man.


    He looked like he was around his 40s or 50s. He was skinny and was wearing sses.


    His physical appearance, however, did not mean anything. If my assumptions were correct, that being was not even human in the first ce.


    So youre the Convict of this room.


    Convict? Is that what the Administration calls us? Well, I suppose you are not wrong. This ce is indeed my prison.


    Were you the one who gave power to Kim Sangmin? Sir?


    He was a pitiful boy. For no reason, he was bullied severely by his peers and even became mentally ill as a result. After that, precisely because of that mental illness, his case was publicized negatively to the public by a reporter. Pitiful, is he not? He had the right to make the world pay for what they did to him.


    Did you seriously feel sympathetic for him?


    Of course not. But it was quite interesting. A single piece of stone was able to make the world that interesting! You guys from the Administration should be thanking me for that.


    So, why did you show yourself here? My teammates went to kill Kim Sangmin already. The curse should be resolved very soon and everything inside Room 101 is going to crumble down to nothing. Are you here to enjoy a little tea time before that happens?


    The prisoner gazed around the Hotel with an emotional look in his eyes.


    How mysterious. Do you understand just how mysterious this Hotel is?


    Of course not. A puppy that follows its owner into a building has no idea how that building was the result of high-end architectural knowledge and experience. Likewise, you have not a single clue on how transcendently magnificent this Hotel is as a piece of art.


    Are you here to show off and brag?


    Brag? Why would I need to? I am already infinitely mightier than yourself.


    Isnt this truly mysterious? Everything in creation around us is technically just a part of Room 101. However, when you entered the room, another Hotel was created within Room 101. Another Hotel was formed inside the original Hotel. Is it possible to proceed through this Hotel inside the Hotel? You didnt even think about entering the other rooms apart from the Room of Rest, which is extremely timid of you. Let me tell you something marvelous. This Hotel inside the Hotel has recreated everything, including the Cursed Rooms and the Gate Room.


    That is interesting.


    I can onlyment at the fact that your mind is so shoddy that you only consider this outrageous miracle as interesting. Let me put this in human words so that you can understand. Do you know what a ck hole is? A ck hole is created through a supernova explosion when a star that is several times bigger than the Sunes to an end. The gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape it.


    Are you trying to teach me Physics now?


    The fact that even light cannot leave it despite being the fastest in the universe, means that the ck hole ispletely cut off from the outside. Looking at it from that perspective, you can say there could be another world inside the ck hole  another universe inside it. Simrly, even your universe might just be the interior of an enormous ck hole. Doesnt that resemble this Hotel inside the Hotel?


    I have no idea what youre trying to get at.


    Think about it with that dull head of yours. What would happen if you were to proceed through this Hotel inside the Hotel? Would you be able to carry out the Inheritance?


    Maybe, but I cant do it by myself.


    That would be the case for you, but what if I were to do it? What if I destroyed this Hotel? What if I freed everyone that was imprisoned in this ce?


    From your perspective, this is still inside Room 101. Each of the rooms are, as you said yourself, a prison cell that restrains a single Convict. So, would the cell be able tost against multiple Convicts at once?


    !


    My teammates will resolve this room before you can do any of that crap. All thats left for you is to be forever imprisoned in this crumbling dimension.


    Cant believe you were such an affectionate believer of teamwork. That is quite different from the memory inside the body I borrowed. I can leave ande back to this ce at my will. The depths of the ocean might be a tough environment for humans, but even now, I can leave and ensure your teammates cannot do anything.


    Do you think you can bluff in front of me? If devilish Convicts like you were able to go on a rampage inside the rooms, we wouldnt be able to solve any of them. You must be already pushing yourself quite hard to show up here, arent you? And besides, Im sure its only possible because were at the Fifth Attempt with some regtions gone. Am I wrong?


    Did that hit the mark?


    Looking at him leisurely gazing across the surroundings, it didnt seem like I was able to make him speechless with my words or anything.


    More than that It seemed like he was bored by this conversation.


    I suppose your brain is not that slow even though you only left the previous Hotel by sheer luck. As you said, this little prank of mine is only possible because this is your Fifth Attempt. Actually, I have no ns on interrupting with your team. In fact, Im hoping they clear this as quickly as possible. I have already dealt with the hospital  the nurses wont be overly aggressive and Sangmin was making some dolls so I broke them except for one. As for the one that I left behind, you have to understand  its only exciting when theres an enemy involved after all. Right now, the bulky one from your teammates is fighting with the doll, so it should be over soon.


    What did he mean?


    The Head Director said that as if he was helping us like the Devouring One.


    You look confused. The looks of confusion on human faces are quite an interesting sight. Im pretty nice so dont worry  in fact, the n is almostplete so theres no reason not to exin it for you. If you resolve the room, the entire world inside the room will start to crumble, as well as this Hotel inside the Hotel.


    Naturally, in that process, the Convicts will crumble to nothing as well. However, since I am freepared to them, I am going to help them endure through the copse. It will be for a short moment but dozens of Convicts like me will manage to regain their freedom! When that happens, do you think Room 101 will be able tost?


    I see.


    If my teammates resolved the room, the dimension inside the room would crumble down. His n was to aim for that exact moment and try to destroy Room 101 along with the help of dozens of other Convicts.


    Would it be possible for them to escape like that?


    I had no idea. It was way too beyond myprehension that I couldnt be certain of anything.


    However, there was one thing I could say for sure.


    If dozens of Convicts that were inside the Hotel inside the Hotel were to break free, how long would it take for Earth to be destroyed? 10 minutes?


    <b> GUSHH!</b>


    The sound of an enormous flood echoed across. It was an external noise breaking through the supposedly unbreachable walls of the Hotel.


    It appeared that my teammates had done it.


    Everything started to crumble.


    The Hotel inside the Hotel was starting to copse


    The Head Director of the Hospital, who had been waiting for this moment, slowly turned his gaze to the sky.


    An inexplicable radiance started to exude out of his body.


    Were there five colors? Or maybe seven? With my knowledge and senses, it was impossible to express the radiant light in front of me.


    Along with the otherworldly halo behind him, the director reached his arms to the side. Immediately, dozens of arms started to shoot out of his body as they each flew to all the rooms of the Hotel.


    Kugung!


    The doors of the Hotel started to melt.


    <b> GOOHHHH!</b>


    <b> RAHHHHH!</b>


    <b> KKAAAAAKKK!</b>


    Deafening roars reverberated across the Hotel. Their roars echoed through the walls of the crumbling Hotel and reached all the way outside.


    I was simply baffled by the supernatural scene before my eyes.


    What was I supposed to do? Would me attacking him change anything?


    Do humans stop construction because of an ant? Would they even care about it?


    The Hotel came crumbling down and so did each of the rooms.


    nkly, I watched as countless Convicts retained their form in the radiant, dazzling hands of the Head Director.


    Each and every one of them were evil and wicked gods that considered mortals as insects.


    The mighty presence of the evil gods shook heaven and the earth.


    It was then.


    Down came from the peak of the high heavens, a pir. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 79: What Ahri went through (3), Party Time (1)

    Chapter 79: What Ahri went through (3), Party Time (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <b>What Ahri went through (3), Party Time (1) </b>


    <strong> </strong>


    Heaven above heaven. World outside the world.


    <strong> </strong>


    A pir that was reaching out from outside everything in creation gently pressed down on the Hotel.


    <strong> </strong>


    Only after looking at it for a while did I notice.


    <strong> </strong>


    The pir was actually a finger.


    The Head Director of the Hospital said that the Hotel inside the Hotel was like a ck hole within the universe giving birth to another universe inside it.


    <strong> </strong>


    How did I not realize it until now? If a new universe could be born inside a universe, that meant there could be bigger and broader universes outside of our universe!


    It was but a single finger that was gently pressing down on all the evil gods.


    <strong> </strong>


    Like a human pressing down on a bug, it was neither excessive nor rushed.


    That supernatural phenomenon bewildered the Head Director let alone me.


    <strong> </strong>


    Kuhahahaha! Is it you? Are you the one that locked us in? Who are you? Are you the father of all creation or something? Who the hell are you to


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Kwajik!</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    It was a gentle press.


    <strong> </strong>


    The evil existence, who forged a portion of his strength into the form of a star fragment and handed it over to a mortal to bring the world to ruin, was crushed to death by a single finger.


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    My instincts told me. That was the being  the very existence that had the answer to everything including all my countless questions and my deepest desires.


    Restlessly, I ran up to the finger and kneeled down.


    <strong> </strong>


    There were so many questions floating in my head that I had no idea what I was supposed to ask first.


    <strong> </strong>


    Please! Please! Answer me.


    <strong> </strong>


    Anything! I have no idea who you are, but you should know everything as someone who can protect the world with one finger, right?


    In that world of nothing but light and the finger


    <strong> </strong>


    I heard a voice.


    <b>Confront your beginning at the second floor. When the timees, you will have to make a decision.</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    My beginning. Dont tell me


    <strong> </strong>


    The Room of!


    <strong> </strong>


    But what was I supposed to do there?


    <b> BEEEEP!</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    A strange rm went off in my head as my brain started to turn nk. It felt like arge eraser was removing sentences from my head.


    <strong> </strong>


    I saw too much, huh. It seemed that I had crossed the line of what was allowed for the participants. From the looks of things, it appeared that I wont be able to remember what happened in the Fifth Attempt after going outside.


    <strong> </strong>


    My consciousness started to fade. Before cking out, I thought to myself.


    <strong> </strong>


    If youre going to remove them anyway, at least tell me without beating around the bush!


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 24


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sages Advice: 2]


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    I woke up and we were outside, which meant that my teammates managed to resolve the room. That was awesome, but


    <strong> </strong>


    It was certain that I didnt acquire an Inheritance. I didnt see any notifications after all.


    Turning around, I saw the people whom I missed despite the short separation inside the room. Chatting andughing in joy, we eventually noticed who acquired the Inheritance.


    <strong> </strong>


    Star Fragment of Another World.


    <strong> </strong>


    After hearing about the Inheritance, I was relieved that I wasnt the one who acquired it. It might sound like I was trying to lie to myself, but it really was an Inheritance that I wouldnt have been able to use. Unlike the Bracelet, it had a clear and powerful penalty.


    <strong> </strong>


    Also, it was a delight to see that Jinchul-hyung, who had gradually lost his previous confidence and pride after dying questionable deaths, was finally back to his confident self.


    <strong> </strong>


    Anyway, its about time I acquired one as well, right?


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    When we all returned to Room 105, we were weed by a loud fanfare and rounds of apuse likest time.


    <strong> </strong>


    Boom!  Boom! p p p! p p p! p p p!


    <strong> </strong>


    Hey. Hey! Be quiet! Quiet down!


    <strong> </strong>


    Jinchul-hyung embarrassedly shouted out loud as a message floated on the screen.


    /Esteemed guests! Congrattions!


    We, the staff of the Hotel, give sincere words of congrattions on you discovering your second treasure.


    Unidentifiable origin of the curse! Teammates falling one by one! Crushing pain for the body and the mind!


    You have proven that you are most definitely the heroes that we had been waiting for.


    This treasure is particrly difficult to use, regardless of how tough your physical body is. A little bit of use weakens the mind and the body, so it is difficult to practice even with a lot of time in hand.


    That is why we, the Hotel, have provided a special ce for you!


    How about heading to the basement for the Timeless Safari?


    It would be the perfect ce to be acquainted with the treasure. There will be 5 days of rest starting from tomorrow! It would be beneficial to get yourself used to the treasure.


    Todays Surprise Event: Party Time! Will now begin.


    # The Party Time willst for 5 days and there will be nothing dangerous happening during that period. Also, there seems to be a secret in this Hotel that only shows itself during the Party Time!/


    Standing in front of the disy screen, we all read the message together. The contents were slightly different from the time when Songee acquired her Bracelet.


    <strong> </strong>


    First off, the Party Time went from 3 days to 5 days. Did they give more time because it was a harder Inheritance to get used to?


    <strong> </strong>


    Unlike the Bracelet, where the only penalty was the slight headache that it gave, the Star Fragment certainly had a lot more conditions to take into consideration. It would probably take a while for Jinchul-hyung to get used to it.


    <strong> </strong>


    Also, they mentioned an unknown location called Timeless Safari. From what we could gather, it appeared to be a ce suited for using the Inheritance.


    <strong> </strong>


    I had no idea what it was so instead of pondering by myself, I turned to Ahri, who had previously been to the Hotel.


    <strong> </strong>


    ?


    <strong> </strong>


    That was when I noticed she was acting strange. She wasnt looking at the disy screen or anything  in fact, she was crouching down on the spot with her hands wrapped around her head.


    <strong> </strong>


    Ahri? What are you doing?


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    Do you know what Timeless Safari is?


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    Other people started gathering near her as well.


    <strong> </strong>


    Ahri-noona? Are you okay?


    <strong> </strong>


    Only then did Ahri stand up and reply.


    <strong> </strong>


    I cant remember.


    <strong> </strong>


    Remember what?


    <strong> </strong>


    The Fifth Attempt. I dont remember anything that happened after we opened the door of Room 101. It just feels like I left the room immediately after opening it.


    <strong> </strong>


    Eunsol-noona showed her intrigue.


    <strong> </strong>


    Thats interesting. Has something like that happened before?


    Its my first time inside the Hotel. There was a time when I died straight after entering the room, but never something like this where I cant remember anything.


    <strong> </strong>


    Maybe you were immediately killed by your mom as soon as you went in?


    <strong> </strong>


    Im not on bad terms with her. At least not that much.


    <strong> </strong>


    There was nothing we could figure out even if we were to linger on the topic. Perhaps after thinking the same thing, Eunsol-noona cut the conversation short.


    <strong> </strong>


    Lets talk about it again when you remember it one day. For now, lets go eat!


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    The Hotel dishes were as delicious as always, but they tasted even better after achieving some great results. When we were almost done with the meal, Eunsol-noona opened her mouth as always.


    <strong> </strong>


    Lets take today off. However, lets just discuss what we need to do during this time. The first thing I can think of is the Safari that the Hotel rmended us to go to. Also, we need toe up with a future n, at least on thest day, right? Because we have to decide whether we want to go to Room 102, Mansion of Fear, Room 104, Hotel High School or Room 107, the Gate Room.


    <strong> </strong>


    I also added something essential that had to be done.


    <strong> </strong>


    Its Party Time, so lets not forget the Sanctum of Blessings. I believe many of us would be able to enhance our blessings this time.


    <strong> </strong>


    Grandpa Mooksung added.


    <strong> </strong>


    We finally have some time off, so how about we spend the time training ourselves? The boys will need to attend at the very least.


    <strong> </strong>


    Training?


    <strong> </strong>


    What do you mean?


    <strong> </strong>


    I mean exactly what I said! Training. That pig is a monster in terms of strength so he can do whatever, and will probably be busy learning how to use the Inheritance. However, Kain, Seungyub. Dont you think you need to work on stamina to beat through this perilous Hotel?


    <strong> </strong>


    An ominous feeling started to bud in my mind.


    <strong> </strong>


    Uhh Thanks for the offer, but its only 5 days and not something like 50. What kind of training could possibly


    <strong> </strong>


    Only 4 days? ONLYYYY? Do you think this Hotel will be generous enough to often give you 5 precious days off? And you guys really need to work on stamina.


    <strong> </strong>


    It didnt look like there was any room for negotiation. Sir seemed adamant on harassing me during this Party Time.


    <strong> </strong>


    Lets think positive. Maybe hell teach us some secret techniques of the Administration! Remembering the time when Grandpa was flying through the mountain like someone from a wuxia novel back at the Mansion of Fear, I persuaded myself to be positive.


    <strong> </strong>


    That was when Elena suddenly joined.


    <strong> </strong>


    Grandpa. Can I please do it together?


    <strong> </strong>


    Grandpa Mooksung replied with an excited look on his face.


    <strong> </strong>


    Huh? Of course you can. Songee, you can join us too.


    <strong> </strong>


    Songee, who was doing her best not to look at us, replied with sorrow written on her face.


    <strong> </strong>


    Okay


    <strong> </strong>


    Right as Grandpas gaze was about to turn towards Eunsol-noona, she quickly shifted the topic.


    <strong> </strong>


    Alright! I will keep in mind that some of us will be training ourselves. Also, its Party Time so we need to do some exploring. There might be a few interesting things even apart from the Sanctum of Blessings, right? For now, these are the things we need to work on.


    <strong> </strong><ol><li> Go to Timeless Safari.</li></ol>


    <strong> </strong><ol start="2"><li> Empower blessings at the Sanctum of Blessings.</li></ol>


    <strong> </strong><ol start="3"><li> Physical Training.</li></ol>


    <strong> </strong><ol start="4"><li> Hotel Exploration.</li></ol>


    <strong> </strong><ol start="5"><li> Decide on the next room.</li></ol>


    <strong> </strong>


    Those are the five things we thought of on the spot. If you can think of anything else, lets talk about it tomorrow. For now, lets take a rest.


    <strong> </strong>


    She quickly ended the conversation and stood up. Unlike what she was usually like, I could tell that there was a sense of urgency in her actions.


    <strong> </strong>


    I could guarantee that she was in a hurry in fear that Grandpa would add her to the Physical Training Group.


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Kim Ahri</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    After the meal, everyone headed back to their personal locations, but I headed to the front desk in deep contemtion.


    <strong> </strong>


    Why couldnt I remember anything from the Fifth Attempt?


    <strong> </strong>


    I had no idea why.


    <strong> </strong>


    Even if my mind had been contaminated from the very beginning, the memories should still be there, and I should at least be able to remember the strange things I did. Also, its not like mom had the special ability of deleting peoples memories.


    <strong> </strong>


    Did I brainwash myself? However, even Allusion wasnt able topletely wipe the memories clean like this. I was thinking hard to myself when Mooksung walked here from a distance.


    <strong> </strong>


    What are you thinking about by yourself?


    <strong> </strong>


    Wondering why I lost my memories.


    <strong> </strong>


    Hmm. Thats interesting. You didnt remove your own memories, did you?


    <strong> </strong>


    I thought about that, but it definitely feels different from when I delete my own.


    <strong> </strong>


    Mhmm I cant think of anything.


    <strong> </strong>


    Same, so Im just going to give up here. More importantly, whats with the sudden talk about Physical Training?


    <strong> </strong>


    What do you mean? Didnt you say that a few days ago?


    <strong> </strong>


    Me? Physical training?


    <strong> </strong>


    What in the world are you talking about? When did I talk about training their stamina?


    <strong> </strong>


    You were concerned that Kain was overly used to the irrational atmosphere of the Hotel, right? I remember you telling me to guide him back to the path of being more human.


    <strong> </strong>


    How is that rted to stamina training?


    <strong> </strong>


    I knew it  you dont understand people that well. Perhaps its because you were a superhuman from birth.


    <strong> </strong>


    No, I think right now, the strange one is you, Mooksung, and not me, no matter how I think about it.


    <strong> </strong>


    Healthy mind resides in a healthy body. The trials of the Hotel are harsh but the body is weak, and thats why hes relying on severe strategies to resolve problems. Its through the repetition of that that his mind would turn more and more vicious.


    <strong> </strong>


    Oh okay! So you mean you will train his body, enough so that he can smash through the trials with his fists, and that would allow a healthy mind to reside in his body? Is that what you are saying?


    <strong> </strong>


    Exactly.


    <strong> </strong>


    Whatever. You do you.


    <strong> </strong>


    Mooksung left with a genuinely proud look on his face. It didnt matter to me in the slightest, but I just hoped that he wouldnt say, Ahri told me to do this, or any of that nonsense while ruthlessly pushing them beyond their limits. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 80: Party Time (2) - Sanctum of Blessings (1)

    Chapter 80: Party Time (2) - Sanctum of Blessings (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <b>Party Time (2)  Sanctum of Blessings (1) </b>


    <strong> </strong>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 25


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    First day of Party Time.


    <strong> </strong>


    During a light breakfast, we talked about our ns for this morning. I started off by sharing my opinion.


    <strong> </strong>


    How about we go to the Sanctum of Blessings first? I am certain that quite a few of us will be able to enhance their blessings this time. After thest time we went to the Sanctum, we went through Room 104, Hotel High School, Room 106, Hotel Land, and Room 101, Common Sense Renovating Media, right? Just a rough calction and I believe many of us would be able to get acknowledged for their participation.


    <strong> </strong>


    Jinchul-hyung said in agreement.


    <strong> </strong>


    I agree. When we empower our blessings, we will probably get ess to new abilities. Those would take time to practice as well, so lets take care of that first.


    <strong> </strong>


    Enhancing blessings! Aside from Inheritances, that was probably one of the most valuable rewards. I could see that many of us had expectant looks in their eyes.


    <strong> </strong>


    I thought about who the recipients of the empowerment would be.


    <strong> </strong>


    From Hotel High School, it would definitely be Ahri and me, right? And at Hotel Land, it was Jinchul-hyung and I that showed good progress. From the Common Sense Renovating Media, the official list from the Hotel was Elena, Cha Jinchul and Kim Mooksung.


    <strong> </strong>


    At the very least, it would be me, Kim Ahri, Cha Jinchul, Elena and Kim Mooksung.


    <strong> </strong>


    The five of us should be able to empower at the very least.


    <strong> </strong>


    As if they were thinking the same thing, those people had expectations surging in their eyes.


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    After quickly finishing the meal, I ran to the front entrance of the Hotel. As soon as I got there, I clicked the switch next to the entrance to turn the lights off.


    <strong> </strong>


    That was immediately received by an irritatedint from noona and Grandpa.


    <strong> </strong>


    Hey! I cant see if you run up first and turn the lights off!


    <strong> </strong>


    That little guy! Are you showing off that you can enhance your blessings?


    <strong> </strong>


    I turned the lights on again, waited for everyone to arrive and turned the lights off again to enter the Sanctum of Blessings.


    <strong> </strong>


    We were met by a familiar notification, weing us for the arrival at the sanctum and a sentence saying that we could understand or empower our blessings.


    <strong> </strong>


    I walked up to the disy as the Empower button lit up so I quickly clicked on it.


    You may empower Kim Ahri, Elena, Cha Jinchul and Han Kain. Would you like to proceed? (Yes / No)


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    Grandpa Mooksungs name wasnt there.


    <strong> </strong>


    He immediately reacted to it.


    <strong> </strong>


    What? You son of a bitch! I tried so hard, so how can I not have any empowerment avable yet!


    <strong> </strong>


    While listening to him shout for the following few minutes, I contemted by myself.


    There were few points that I could think of. The Administration Team was a bitte to enter our party, so that probably affected their contribution score.


    <strong> </strong>


    Also, the greatest contribution he made was certainly when resolving the Common Sense Renovating Media, but it was different from the time Songee resolved the Human Farm.


    <strong> </strong>


    The resolution of Common Sense Renovating Media was possible due to thebined effort of several people instead of one single person. That probably meant that the contribution points had been distributed to each person.


    <strong> </strong>


    Seungyub said to console him.


    <strong> </strong>


    Grandpa! I think you have a lot of exp points, but just fell off short from a level up. You will definitely be able to empower it the next time wee.


    <strong> </strong>


    Seungyub. I can understand but, how is Grandpa going to understand all these terminologies like exp points and a level up?


    <strong> </strong>


    Hah! Freaking hell. How are we supposed to know when they are not showing us the exp bar?


    Oh, so he did understand it. It seemed that he was more up to date than I assumed.


    <strong> </strong>


    Jinchul-hyung did not even attempt to hide his excitement.


    <strong> </strong>


    Now! Now! Move aside, old man with your low contribution score, and lets quickly enhance our blessings.


    <strong> </strong>


    I couldnt hold myself back anymore either.


    <strong> </strong>


    Without wasting another second, I quickly pressed the Yes button.


    <strong> </strong>


    The radiant light covering the sanctum struck me, Kim Ahri, Cha Jinchul and Elena.


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    My consciousness soared all the way through the sky.


    <strong> </strong>


    It was my second time and therefore felt less awkward than before. Soon, I arrived at thend that transcended allnds  the dimension that didnt exist anywhere.


    <strong> </strong>


    When I came to myself, I was in front of the owl.


    <strong> </strong>


    Was it going to scold me again for being unable to obtain an Inheritance? The first thing it said, however, was different from what I imagined.


    <strong> </strong>


    You werent doing that bad these days.


    <strong> </strong>


    Surprisingly, the owl started off with apliment.


    <strong> </strong>


    Its a shame that I couldnt get an Inheritance.


    <strong> </strong>


    It wasnt for you.


    <strong> </strong>


    The owl didnt seem to be in a bad mood. It seemed that it wasnt disappointed, because the Inheritance wasnt something I could use in the first ce.


    <strong> </strong>


    Looks like you are finally starting to get used to your blessing.


    <strong> </strong>


    I didnt know I had to ask for the answer to use Advice properly.


    <strong> </strong>


    Isnt that obvious? You cannot be advised properly, if you yourself do not know what you want to know.


    <strong> </strong>


    Why didnt you tell me how to use the Advice when we metst time?


    <strong> </strong>


    There is a clear limit to the form of help that I can give. Fundamentally, it is structured so that the participant must figure it out themselves.


    <strong> </strong>


    Owl  my sponsor.


    <strong> </strong>


    I quietly digested its words. Did it mean that it couldnt actively guide me by teaching how to use the blessing properly?


    <strong> </strong>


    The owl continued.


    <strong> </strong>


    Now that you have understood the basics of it, I can borate a little bit more. Do you remember when you were asking for advice before entering the hospital ward?


    <strong> </strong>


    It told me to hand the gun over to my teammate.


    <strong> </strong>


    Why do you think that was the advice you received?


    <strong> </strong>


    Isnt it because there was no other way around it? I replied. I figured that it was telling me a way to die in peace because there was no way for me to resolve it at that point.


    <strong> </strong>


    You are not wrong, but it wasnt a helpful piece of advice. What meaning is there to an advice that tells you the method to die in peace?


    The reason you received a piece of ineffective advice is because you personally asked for advice regarding the unknown.


    <strong> </strong>


    The unknown?


    <strong> </strong>


    You asked for advice before entering the ward. In other words, that was before you knew the types of risk that were inside the room.


    What is Wisdom?


    Finding the right solution without any clues is not wisdom. That is closer to fortune or foresight. Even the wisest person needs some clues to make a wise decision.


    That is the same when using the Advice. Do not ask for advice regarding the unknown, and ask after you have acquired some information, and you will be able to make better use of it.


    I had a rough gist that was the case, but felt assured now that the owl rified it for me. That was something I assumed some time after I started using the Advice. It was hard to receive good advice when asking for something from a nk state.


    <strong> </strong>


    Making the right choice from a nk state was closer to foresight and luck, rather than wisdom.


    <strong> </strong>


    In other words, I had to gain as much information as I could before using the Advice.


    It was a short yet productive conversation. However, that was still just the introduction.


    <strong> </strong>


    After all, the main goal today was the empowerment of my blessing! I turned back to the owl in expectation.


    <strong> </strong>


    You seem like youre looking forward to the empowerment of your blessing.


    <strong> </strong>


    Yes. I made good use of the Teammate Information checking tool that you gavest time.


    <strong> </strong>


    I would like to raise a slightly different proposal.


    <strong> </strong>


    Sorry?


    <strong> </strong>


    Recently, you have acquired quite a lot of contribution scores. By escaping Room 104 andpleting Room 106, you achieved quite a high number of points as a result.


    Although you fell before the end, your judgment and actions during Room 101 werent bad either. If you build up a little bit more, I can give you a very powerful empowerment.


    <strong> </strong>


    A very powerful empowerment My heart started to race.


    <strong> </strong>


    What do you mean by that?


    <strong> </strong>


    I mean what I said. It is a powerful tool, iparable to the likes of Teammate Information. I assure you that it will be incredibly helpful in achieving your objective in the Hotel. However, you need more points.


    <strong> </strong>


    So do you suggest I save the contribution points without empowering it now?


    <strong> </strong>


    It is up to you. If you want, I can immediately give you normal empowerment.


    <strong> </strong>


    It was a difficult choice to make. Although the very powerful empowerment sounded very appealing, it was still a shame that I wouldnt be able to gain anything this time.


    <strong> </strong>


    Can you please borate a little bit more on this very powerful empowerment?


    <strong> </strong>


    The owl hesitated for a bit before carefully wording itself.


    <strong> </strong>


    Lets say its a power that lets you understand the scenario.


    <strong> </strong>


    A power to understand the scenario I wasnt sure what it was, but it did sound like a very impressive ability.


    <strong> </strong>


    After hearing about the ability, it felt like I couldnt afford to give up on the very powerful empowerment


    <strong> </strong>


    Soon, I made up my mind.


    <strong> </strong>


    Ill hold onto it.


    <strong> </strong>


    Excellent choice.


    <strong> </strong>


    That was the end of the conversation as my consciousness started to fall back down towards the endless bottom.


    <strong> </strong>


    .


    <strong> </strong>


    .


    <strong> </strong>


    .


    <strong> </strong>


    A very powerful empowerment. A power to understand the scenario.


    <strong> </strong>


    What would it be about? It certainly was very appealing, but it nheless was a shame that I couldnt obtain anything from the Sanctum this time around.


    <strong> </strong>


    My consciousness faded along with a tiny bit of regret.


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Cha Jinchul</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    I wasnt expecting I woulde across a scene like this in my life. There were countless des and cold weapons going all the way to the horizon.


    <strong> </strong>


    Even the ground beneath me was filled with swords, des and spears.


    <strong> </strong>


    It truly was a mountain of des and a forest of swords.


    <strong> </strong>


    Looking down at me from the top of the mountain of des was an unbelievably enormous being wearingrge armors.


    <strong> </strong>


    It was impossible to fathom just how big he was  he looked several hundred meters tall at the very least.


    <strong> </strong>


    I was looking at the giant in awe when a voice echoed across the entire world of swords.


    <strong> </strong>


    Right when I was starting to feel disappointed that I chose the wrong seed from all your foolish actions, you have redeemed yourself. Heavily from luck, however.


    <strong> </strong>


    Are you the sponsor or something?


    <strong> </strong>


    Besides, you even wasted an attempt due to your stupid mistake, did you not? How appalling.


    <strong> </strong>


    For some reason, I was getting scolded from the very first encounter.


    <strong> </strong>


    Although I was slightly intimidated by his overwhelming size, it didnt feel good to be told off immediately.


    <strong> </strong>


    There are so many things that cant be solved with power so what am I supposed to do!


    <strong> </strong>


    Is taking your mother to the TV Station something that happened because of yourck of strength?


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    Lets stop there. Whether it be based on luck or not, you still did a great job acquiring the Inheritance. I shall give you a power that will be helpful when using it.


    <strong> </strong>


    What do you mean by help?


    <strong> </strong>


    There were no more words to be shared. When the giant rolled his foot once inside the world of cold weapons, my consciousness immediately started to fade.


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    [Cha Jinchul  Courage -> Has acquired Regeneration.]


    <strong> </strong>


    *


    <strong> </strong>


    <b> Elena</b>


    <strong> </strong>


    A cup of tea was ced down in front of me with a click!


    <strong> </strong>


    This was awkward. Very awkward.


    <strong> </strong>


    My consciousness floated up and by the time I came to myself, I was standing in the middle of a pastoral garden.


    <strong> </strong>


    When I followed down the path of the garden, I came across a simple tea table and sitting on one side of the table was a mysteriousdy.


    <strong> </strong>


    ording to what Kain-ssi exined about the Sanctum that woman must be my sponsor, right?


    <strong> </strong>


    I sat down on the other side of the table. She brewed tea for me, after which we both sipped our teas in silence.


    <strong> </strong>


    <strong> </strong>


    Was she not going to say anything? I nced at her appearance but I couldnt tell how she looked.


    <strong> </strong>


    It must be some supernatural ability but I couldnt see her outer appearance. I only assumed she was a female based on her silhouette.


    <strong> </strong>


    You are being restless, she said.


    <strong> </strong>


    Yes?


    <strong> </strong>


    Take your time with the tea. You must have tranquility at heart even in the face of danger.


    <strong> </strong>


    Okay


    <strong> </strong>


    I slowly sipped the tea as I was told. She continued the conversation by the time we were almost done with the tea.


    <strong> </strong>


    You are doing well.


    <strong> </strong>


    She suddenly let out apliment.


    <strong> </strong>


    Was I doing well? Honestly, I felt like I hadnt been able to contribute much.


    <strong> </strong>


    I am not referring to your contributions at the Hotel. There were a few parts that had room for improvement in that sense.


    <strong> </strong>


    Then what do you mean?


    <strong> </strong>


    This is about your conviction of Justice. I have been watching you all along. The standard of your scale that you have set inside your heart is quite simr to thews made by humans.


    Punishment of evil actions, the necessity of evidence, intentions and more. I can tell it is valuable since it is simr to the perception of right and wrong that humanity has worked on over a long period of time.


    <strong> </strong>


    Isnt that natural because Im also a human?


    <strong> </strong>


    It is nothing natural. I have seen a lot more humans than you have. Many humans considered everything evil if it didnt suit their wants or needs, and made the judgment for themselves. The previous user of Justice before you, was an extreme version of that.


    <strong> </strong>


    Who was the previous user of Justice? The sponsor in front of me appeared extremely repulsed by that person.


    <strong> </strong>


    The correct path is bound to have a lot of thorns. If you think short-term, you might consider it rewardless and with a lot of restrictions but look further ahead. There is a potential reward that will be given only because it is the rightful path.


    <strong> </strong>


    Honestly, I cant really understand what you mean, but Ill try my best.


    <strong> </strong>


    That is the spirit.


    <strong> </strong>


    She handed me another cup of tea. While I slowly drank the tea, she opened her mouth again but this time on a slightly different topic.


    <strong> </strong>


    I saw there was a child trying to guide you down the wrong path. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 81: Party Time (3) - Sanctum of Blessings (2), What the rest went through

    Chapter 81: Party Time (3) - Sanctum of Blessings (2), What the rest went through


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (3)  Sanctum of Blessings (2), What the rest went through</b> </strong>


    <b> Elena</b>


    I was a little confused. What did she mean by a child trying to guide me down the wrong path?


    Sorry?


    Im talking about the child that came to the Hotel a second time. Like a blind man touching an elephant, that girl has only experienced parts of the Hotel and was lucky to leave alive, and yet is under a severe misunderstanding that she is knowledgeable about the Hotel and blessings.


    Was this about Ahri? It seemed that my sponsor had a negative view on Ahri.


    Do not be shaken. The true power of the Bnce Scale of Justice shines only when your standards are upright. Though you may be strong temporarily with a wilful use of the scale, such ways will quickly hit a ceiling.


    I couldnt understand what she meant. Bing stronger by wilfully using the scale? What did she mean by that?


    Seems that you cannot understand what I mean. That is fine. There is no need to try to understand the wrongful ways.


    She didnt seem interested in giving further exnations. After finishing her tea, thedy conveyed her final sentence.


    I will give you the power to differentiate true and false.


    I thought to myself as my consciousness began to fade.


    There were several questions that popped up from this conversation, but would me thinking about them by myself lead to any answers?


    Lets just ask Ahri.


    I decided to have a thorough conversation with Ahri.


    *


    [Elena  Justice -> Has acquired Lie Detection]


    <b>*</b>


    <b> Kim Ahri</b>


    The door clicked open, leading me to a ce resembling an office filled with enormous vaults.


    My sponsor, whom I was meeting for the first time, appeared like a man wearing a suit.


    .


    .


    .


    We had a long conversation. He gave me a warning right before we left.


    Wisdom is growing at a rapid rate. Do not forget. If Wisdom outgrows your blessing, then the owner of Wisdom will find out every truth you have been hiding to yourself.


    I am aware of that.


    If you are, then dont you think maybe you shouldnt have been as passive as you were in Common Sense Renovating Media? Although Wisdom has yet to acquire an Inheritance, he has made contributions and grown his blessing.


    On the other hand, you have done practically nothing.


    Ill keep that in mind.


    My mind returned back to earth immediately after his warning.


    *


    [Kim Ahri -> Allusion -> Has acquired Compass]


    *


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 25


    Current Location: Floor 1, Sanctum of Blessings


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    I came to myself with a sh. When I woke up, I was met with a curious question.


    Huh? How did you wake up so fast, Kain?


    Looking around, I noticed that Jinchul-hyung, Elena and Ahri were on the ground unconscious, as if in a deep slumber.


    It seemed that they would be unconscious for another day, like how I was back when I empowered my blessing.


    From the looks of things, it appeared that I woke up straight away because I didnt enhance mine.


    I talked about my situation, and how the sponsor rmended that I save up the contribution points for A very powerful empowerment.


    Eunsol-noona responded in surprise.


    A very powerful empowerment? Understand the scenario? I cant tell what it is just based on that, but it sure sounds like a big deal.


    Thats why I chose to save it as well.


    Grandpa Mooksung said after a nod.


    Interesting. Sounds like it would be very helpful. On another note, its fortunate that you woke up straight away.


    Sorry?


    We have to carry the three of them back. You carry that pig.


    I silently gave him a stare, which forced him to respond.


    What? Are you telling <i>me </i>to carry him? Surely not, right? Im so old that my knees hurt just by walking!


    Wasnt he flying around in the mountains just a while back?


    In the end, Grandpa carried Ahri, and Eunsol-noona and Songee took turns to carry Elena, while I half-dragged Jinchul-hyung on the ground back to Room 105.


    He had a tough body, so he should be fine.


    That was how we spent the first morning of our Party Time.


    *


    During lunch at Room 105, it felt rather empty without Cha Jinchul, Elena and Ahri. We naturally started talking about our schedule during the meal.


    Well probably go to Safari tomorrow afternoon, right?


    Eunsol-noona replied, Yeah. Its a ce where you practice using your Inheritance, and the person in question is going to be asleep until tomorrow afternoon, so we have no other choice.


    There wont be much to do from this afternoon till tomorrow then.


    Grandpa Mooksung said in a sh.


    What do you mean, Kain? Your schedule is packed. You, Songee and Seungyub will be going with me to train on stamina.


    Were there any excuses I could give?


    No matter how I see it, I dont think four days of exercise is going to lead to any results. Instead, how about we focus on exploring the Hotel? Im sure there are still some unrevealed secrets.


    Why are you differentiating exercise from exploration? Were not going to be doing calisthenics in the corridor, okay?


    As you know already, there are plenty of weird ces in the basement of the Hotel. What I want to focus on are the Hiking and the Park.


    Didnt Eunsol-noona try out Hiking already?


    Yeah. Youll see a mountain when you open the door  not like a small hill, but an actual mountain like Mount Paektu*.


    See a mountain when you open the door? Thats the weirdest expression Ive heard.


    Shh! Quiet! Now, my suggestion is simple. Why bother differentiating exercise from exploration?


    Im sure there are some secrets hidden inside that enormous mountain. We can figure out what that is while we exercise.


    Did we really have zero excuses? Did we seriously have to climb a mountain like Mount Paektu?


    Songee finally found a valid excuse.


    If the mountain is that tall, wouldnt we need special hiking items like clothes or walking sticks? If we were to go there in our current outfit then


    Dont worry! Like how the Hotel has swimsuits in the swimming pool, youll find hiking-wears that are a perfect fit for our sizes when we go in.


    Eunsol-noonas cheery response was met by three sharp gazes.


    After looking at her with a sharp re for five solid seconds, I replied.


    As expected of an experienced veteran. Why dont you lead the way for us then, noona? Im sure we would benefit from having one more person when exploring through that enormous mountain.


    In the end, it was decided that all five of us, excluding the three that were empowering their blessings, would be climbing the mountain after lunch.


    *


    Ah! What a clear sky and a fresh breeze! A wonderful ce to be in!


    Four of us remained silent.


    The moment we entered the basement room called Hiking, we were met with a mountain like what Eunsol-noona said.


    It didnt feel like a whole new world, like how it did inside the Cursed Rooms. Instead, it felt like therge piece ofnd was dedicated solely to hiking  there was nothing but a mountain and hiking-wears inside the room.


    Soon, I decided to let it go.


    We would have needed toe here to explore the Hotel anyway, and it was just a matter of when. Therefore, I decided to think of this as an exploration plus exercise.


    Of course, no-one would have ever suggested that we explore the entire mountain and none of us would have taken the initiative to do it, if Grandpa Mooksung hadnt been so adamant about it.


    There was a building next to the foot of the mountain that had all the hiking equipment prepared.


    I wasnt even surprised at this point.


    There were all sorts of hiking outfits that were the perfect size for me, along with hiking shoes, a walking stick, a bag, water bottles and energy bars. Everything was already prepared.


    Plus, there were even more tools dedicated for advanced hikers, but I just took the bag.


    Seungyub, who was trying to be as slow as possible, was dragged out by Grandpa Mooksung and that marked the start of our hiking journey.


    As expected, Seungyub and Eunsol-noona were the first to drag behind.


    Grandpa Mooksung had pointed it out several times already, but Seungyub was a typical thin boy, who spent all his time ying games without eating much. As for Eunsol-noona, she herself asserted that she went to the gym a few times, but there was a limit to an officedys stamina.


    Unexpectedly, Songee was the one who climbed the best out of those three without anyints.


    And as for Grandpa Mooksung there was no need to even talk about him. He could probably run all the way to the peak of the mountain by himself.


    In the end, due to the speed, we got divided into three groups with Grandpa in the lead, Songee and I in the middle, and Seungyub and Eunsol-noona at the back.


    Youre walking quite well. Have you done hiking before?


    We have a few dogs at home after all. Maybe its because I walk them regrly.


    I remember Songee falling way back during the triathlon in Hotel High School but it seemed that she hadnt been trying back then.


    I wonder why Grandpa suddenly decided to take us to a ce like this, I said.


    Didnt he say it was to explore and build our stamina in the process?


    Were working hard everyday though, so why do we need to build our stamina on top of that? Besides, there are more ces to explore. We didnt have toe here of all ces.


    I think so too but Dont you think there really could be something on this mountain?


    Songee asked, so I spent more time observing the surroundings.


    It did look slightly strange. There werent any monsters or animals, and yet the scenery of the mountain itself looked unusual.


    Although I wasnt knowledgeable in terms of ns, werent there different types of trees? Conifer trees, broad-leaf trees I recalled these different types of trees living in different areas based on the climate, and yet this peculiar mountain had all sorts of these trees.


    Was there really something hiding here?


    If there was, shouldnt we explore more of the surroundings instead of just following the walking trail? We probably shouldnt ravage through the entire mountain, but maybe we should look around a bit more?


    Like that, we walked through the serene mountain.


    It would have been really boring if I had been walking alone, but it was quite interesting thanks to the various conversations I had with Songee.


    For one hour, that is.


    After about an hour, the mountain was covered in silence.


    Each and every step was exhausting, so let alone conversations, I had to focus as much as I could on walking forward.


    In the end, Songee also fell behind and was no longer in sight.


    Grandpa Mooksung, who had been speeding through, finally controlled his pace and let me catch up to him.


    How is it?


    I feel dead.


    Sometimes, its good to have moments like this.


    Sometimes? I feel like dying everyday after Ive arrived at the Hotel though


    Inside the Cursed Rooms, its not a question of being exhausted physically, and its more like a question of life and death, isnt it? Its like a battlefield.


    What Im talking about, are moments where you can rx yourself, calm your mind down while sweating out your concerns.


    It doesnt really feel rxing though.


    But walking like this got rid of some of your worries about the Cursed Rooms, trials and the Gate Room, hasnt it?


    He wasnt wrong. It was so tiring that I couldnt even think about anything.


    Are your parents well?


    Starting with that conversation, Grandpa and I talked about how our everyday life had been. Throughout the conversation, I got a feeling that he wasnt asking because he was interested in my family.


    Instead, it felt like his goal was to have these conversations themselves.


    It was a little strange, how we were having normal conversations in this strange Hotel filled with supernatural anomalies.


    Its weird, I said. These stories would have been normal conversations outside, but it feels really unusual and odd to talk about them here.


    But these are very really important topics.


    This time, it really felt rxing. Even though my body was still fairly exhausted, it was weird how my mind felt a lot more peaceful.


    nkly, I turned my eyes to the sky before turning to the unique trees in the surroundings.


    I saw a girl looking at me with a smile among the trees, so I gently gave her a wave.


    ?


    Wait, wasnt this supposed to be a calming interlude? What was it this time?


    Why was there a girl in a ce like this?


    In sudden fright, I quickly turned towards the trees. The girl was still smiling at us, and Grandpa also turned towards the same ce after seeing my sudden reaction.


    The girl appeared like a teenager, and was wearing a strange outfit that did not suit this rugged mountain. Was that like some traditional eastern clothing?


    Grandpa Mooksung shouted out loud.


    Who is it!


    The smiling girl tilted her head before turning around and running away!


    That marked a sudden beginning to a mountain chase.


    <b>[TLN]</b>


    *Mount Paektu: Highest mountain in the Korean Penins; roughly 2,700 meters tall. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 82: Party Time (4), Souvenir Shop

    Chapter 82: Party Time (4), Souvenir Shop


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (4), Souvenir Shop</b> </strong>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 25


    Current Location: Basement, Hiking


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    Catch her! Dont let her go!


    A sonorous roar echoed across the mountain.


    KYAAAAAAK!


    And it was followed by a scream.


    What was going on all of a sudden?


    The girl, who suddenly appeared in the middle of the mountain, immediately started running away from us so we relentlessly chased after her.


    In the middle of our pursuit, I asked myself. Why was that kid running away from us? And why were we even chasing after her?


    I had no answer to either of the questions, but regardless, we just went after her as fast as we could.


    The mountain had steep slopes and dense trees, so running through the woods away from the designated trail immediately made my clothes dirty. They would have been ripped already, had I been wearing my usual outfit.


    What is it? Whats going on?


    I heard Eunsol-noona asking from a distance as she joined the pursuit after noticing the fuss.


    KYAAAAAAK!


    Please stop screaming, youngdy! What was wrong with her? She was making us look like bad people now!


    Fortunately, the young girl wasnt as superhuman as Ahri was, while Grandpa Mooksung had the moves of a legendary martial hermit. In less than 10 minutes, he caught up to the girl and shouted a question.


    Why are you running away from us!?


    Why are you even chasing after me?! the girl shouted back.


    Because you were running away from us!


    I ran because you were chasing after me!


    I became speechless. Thinking back, maybe we were in the wrong.


    If a young girl met a young man and an old man in the middle of the mountain, who suddenly started screaming and chasing after her the moment she smiled at them, wouldnt anyone run away in that situation?


    *


    When Eunsol-noona soon appeared at the scene, the girl immediately clung onto her waist and started to weep.


    Why was this girl constantly trying to make us seem like bad people?


    Hey! Thats enough. I dont know if youre an NPC or not, but stop doing something unnecessary.


    Hearing Grandpa Mooksung say that, the girls expression changed in the blink of an eye and asked with a mischievous tone of voice.


    Was it obvious?


    Grandpa gave a dumbfounded response.


    Obviously, theres no way a kid would be in a ce like this for no reason. So, what is your role?


    Im the clerk of the Souvenir Shop~.


    Now that I looked at her clothes after hearing that, it did seem like the traditional types of clothing that clerks wore in souvenir shops of tourist attractions. Looking lively all of a sudden, the girl stood up and started leading us through the forest.


    You can meet me if you roam around the Hotel with less than half of your group!


    Less than half?


    It shouldnt be less than half though? We came to the mountain as a group of five.


    Ah.


    Eunsol-noona gasped as if she had a gist.


    Noona?


    Seungyub was having a really hard time so I told him to go back. Songee was also standing still in the middle, but it looks like she went outside as well.


    Hah! Kids these days and their little tricks!


    Eunsol-noona rebutted, Grandpa. This is what normally happens when you suddenly take kids to a mountain. In fact, you should be surprised that Kain and I havent run away from it.


    But thanks to that, its looking like were about to get something! This is why you should always listen to your elders.


    Its not like you knew we woulde across a Souvenir Shop though I quietly murmured to myself.


    After walking for another 30 minutes, we arrived at a store that definitely did not look like it belonged here in the mountains.


    The inside of the shop was exactly what one would expect from a souvenir shop  it was full of various items like stuffed animals, postcards, toys and simple clothes like an actual ce selling souvenirs.


    Anyone who finds the store has the privilege to take one item per customer! But you can only pick for yourself, and you cannot pick for someone who is not present. the clerk announced in a loud voice.


    I asked just to make sure.


    These are not normal items, are they?


    It would be very disappointing if they were, right? Of course, theyre made specially by the Hotel! However, you can only check their specific abilities after you decide on your item.


    What should we pick? It felt like all of them would have some kind of unique abilities but I wasnt sure what would be the right choice.


    That was when noona came up and poked me with her elbow.


    I have no idea. Try using your Advice.


    It wont tell us anything useful when we dont know anything though.


    Still, lets just try it.


    Focusing myself, I asked, Tell me what I should pick.


    [Choose what you are familiar with.]


    Its telling us to choose what we are familiar with.


    Isnt that too broad? There are a lot of items that were familiar with.


    Well only get answers like this if we dont know anything specific about the situation.


    Ugh~. Wheres Seungyub when we need him the most? His Fortune would have immediately told us the three best things in this store!


    Thats why you should have stopped him from going back.


    This ce wouldnt have popped up if he was here though?


    We chatted with each other but were unable to decide what we should pick. There were no hints other than the Advice to rely on.


    A familiar item


    The biggest hurdle beforeing into the Hotel was the university admission exam, so I spent most of my time studying and reading books. So would stationery be the right option?


    Aftering into the Hotel, I used the dagger quite often but I couldnt see anything resembling a dagger.


    In the end, I picked up a pen that had the letters HP engraved onto it. Did it stand for Hotel Pioneer?


    Turning around, I found Eunsol-noona carrying a badge that equally said HP.


    I just picked it because it looked easy to carry around.


    Meanwhile, Grandpa Mooksung came back carrying a single glove.


    Looks pretty fancy, doesnt it? It feels nice so Im going with this.


    Just like that, we each picked a pen, a badge and a glove, and stood before the clerk.


    Are you certain about your choices?


    Do you have any other rmendations then?


    Everything inside our store is made specially for the Hotel! They are all amazing items, so I rmend all of them!


    What a long way to say that you cant rmend anything. Ill just go with this glove.


    Im fine with the pen.


    Same here with the badge.


    The clerk gave a short p before pointing at the door. Before leaving the store, I stopped my feet and turned around.


    It was highly likely that this clerk was also an NPC  someone who failed the trials of the Hotel before us. Could I ask her something maybe?


    Can you tell us anything about the Hotel?


    The wide and bright smile on the girls face immediately became frozen.


    I dont even know what to ask. Anything is fine. Anything simple  even your real name is fine.


    That would be thest thing I can tell you.


    I recalled the conversation I had with Doctor Kim Sanghyun. He mentioned how a normal conversation wouldnt have been possible if my mind had been in a normal state.


    Was it impossible for her to chat outside of her role as the clerk?


    For quite some time, she nkly stared into the air.


    The other two of you, the girl suddenly said.


    What?


    Sir and Young Lady. The two of you have purchased an item already, so you may leave.


    It came out of nowhere. Suddenly, the clerk suggested that Grandpa and noona leave the store. The two had a puzzled look on their faces, but left as suggested, which left only the clerk and myself inside the shop.


    Do you want to leave?


    Of course. Who would ever want to live their whole life in a strange ce like this?


    There are several escape routes inside the Hotel. And youre aware of a few of them already.


    While saying that, the girl looked directly into my eyes. I instinctively knew that the clerk was aware that I knew about the most number of escape routes out of the entire team.


    You must be curious. Wondering if there is a way for everyone to leave, and not just one person.


    Is there a way?


    The 3rd Floor.


    3rd Floor?


    The 3rd Floor contains a path where everyone can leave without any conditions. You do not have to solve the guest rooms of the 3rd Floor, and you simply need to reach it. Strictly speaking, all of you can leave the moment you pass the Gate Room of the 2nd Floor.


    My heart started to race.


    When I found out about the escape route through the elevator, I instinctively concealed it from everyone. I couldnt deny the fact that there was a slightly selfish thought inside me, of thinking about using it for myself.


    However, the biggest reason I concealed it was because an escape route for only 1 person would inevitably be a seed of conflict. I had to hide it but now, I finally realized that there was a way for everyone to escape.


    Just by knowing that there was a way out for everyone filled my heart up with various emotions.


    The girl lowered her head and bowed, signaling the end to the conversation.


    But why? Why did she say that just to me, and no-one else?


    I stopped myself before asking her that question. Thinking about her previous statement, I had a rough idea about the reason.


    Maybe the information about escape was only to be revealed to the one who knew the most about escapes already.


    <b>Click!</b>


    Opening the door, I left the store. Upon turning back, I noticed that the shop was gone like it had been a mirage. Even if we were toe back hereter on, we wouldnt be able toe across that store again.


    Grandpa and noona asked what we talked about on the inside the moment they saw me. I told them everything I heard, and how there was a way out for everyone on the 3rd Floor.


    However, I told them that the reason the clerk specifically chose me was probably because of my blessing, Wisdom.


    *


    When we left the Hiking Room and returned to Room 105, we were greeted by Seungyub and Songee, who hade back to rest already. The two of them, not knowing what we went through, came up to us with apologetic looks on their faces and started giving excuses about how they had toe back because of their leg pain.


    Grandpa, noona and I were momentarily lost for words. We came across an NPC thanks to the two of them dropping out and acquired an unexpected treasure, so maybe we should thank them for it instead?


    After a short conversation, the atmosphere changed in the blink of an eye. The three of us couldnt hide our joy but tried to console the two, who started rolling across the floor.


    They were actually rolling on the floor. Seungyub, I could understand, but wasnt Songee a bit too old to do that?


    Like, what are you guys doing? You guys are like elementary school kids!


    Im really upset, you know! How could you not bring us to a ce like that!?


    Guys~. You just disappeared on us, so we couldnt.


    Grandpa could have used his conversation tab!


    Honestly, I did think about that option, but didnt carry it out in fear that the store might disappear if Songee and Seungyub came back. After consoling the two of them, we started testing the effects of our three new tools in excitement. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 83: Party Time (5), Checking Souvenirs, Entering Timeless Safari

    Chapter 83: Party Time (5), Checking Souvenirs, Entering Timeless Safari


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (5), Checking Souvenirs, Entering Timeless Safari</b> </strong>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 25


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sages Advice: 2]


    We were starving after hiking, so we only got to test the new tools after we were done with dinner.


    My pen, noonas badge and Grandpas glove.


    The most straight-forward of them all was noonas badge.


    Huh? S, she disappeared!


    Hmm. I can still feel something, so its not like she physically vanished, observed Grandpa Mooksung.


    Grandpa. Do you know where you are touching right now?


    Oops! That wasnt intentional, he said as he quickly retreated back.


    The badge allowed her to be invisible. It was simr to how the Hotel always watched over us despite being nowhere to be seen.


    She suddenly flickered even though she was still wearing the badge, and we figured out the precise conditions after a few more attempts.


    Holding her breath with the badge on were the conditions to activate her invisibility.


    It looked like a very useful tool to everyones surprise.


    Grandpas glove was also equally shocking.


    Doesnt it hurt?


    I myself cant feel anything.


    As soon as he wore the glove, his hand started to float around the air. The ce where his hand used to be was reced by a hazy and bluish mist of light, and his hand wearing the glove flew around the room.


    When he grabbed the hand in the middle of the air and took the glove off, his hand disappeared from that spot and reappeared at where it was supposed to be.


    Looks like a remote control hand.


    This is harder to control than I thought.


    He stated that it felt like his arm had be longer by several-fold, but it wasnt a feeling we could understand just from hearing it.


    Does this work?


    Muttering that to himself, Grandpa picked up the gun with his remote hand!


    That was pretty useful wasnt it? He could shoot the gun from practically anywhere now.


    Bang!


    Unfortunately, the bullet flew in apletely different direction.


    Oops! This is very hard to aim. I would need to get used to this a lot more.


    Last of them all was my pen, which was slightly more questionable than the other tools.


    A pen that could write anywhere.


    If I thought to myself, I want to write on the air! then it allowed me to actually write on the air, and clicking the button at the back while thinking, Erase it! removed the writing.


    I could write it on the air, on my body, on paper and even on water. However, the letters I wrote on water disappeared along with the water when we let it flow away.


    How was I supposed to use this?


    The two of them who did not receive anything looked at us with envy but as for myself, I wasnt sure how exactly I was supposed to use this.


    The fact that we could write on anything appeared to be the core use of this device. Maybe it would be helpful if we were in a situation where we couldnt write anything the normal way?


    I had troubleing up with a proper way to make use of this.


    We all agreed that we needed time to get used to our new tools.


    Eunsol-noona needed to practice holding her breath for extended periods of time, and Grandpa Mooksung had to practice his remote hand to the point that he could shoot a gun with it.


    But what about me? Should I practice writing quickly?


    No matter how I saw it, mine felt like the weirdest tool.


    I was diligently writing letters on the air when noona noticed another characteristic of my pen.


    It looks like youre writing from a distance, she stated.


    Sorry?


    Normally you would write from the tip of the pen right? But maybe its because youre not writing with ink; it doesnt look like it was written by a pen, and its slightly further away from the tip.


    Hearing that, I ran a few more tests and noticed that there really was a small gap. Besides, after realizing that, I also noticed that I could consciously write the letters at a distance. The maximum distance was about 1 meter.


    Writing anywhere from a distance, huh. I finally thought of a way to use it offensively.


    It was more useful than I initially thought.


    All the tools had one thing inmon.


    No-one except for the owner was able to use it. When used by anyone else, my pen became a normal pen, Grandpas glove became a normal glove and noonas badge didnt have anything special either.


    Their unique abilities were only usable in the hands of the designated owner.


    Going to the Sanctum in the morning, hiking in the afternoon and checking the tools at night took quite a toll on our bodies.


    We went to sleep and that marked the end of the first day of our Party Time.


    *


    On the morning of the second day, we woke up with severe muscle pains and couldnt do anything.


    We reproached Grandpa Mooksung every time we came across him, and in the end, he just didnt even leave the room


    It was about time for lunch when the people, who empowered their blessings yesterday, started to get up. As soon as they were all up, we talked about the changes that happened to their blessings and the tools we gained while they were asleep.


    So Elena can detect lies, Jinchul-hyung gained regeneration, and Ahris blessing of Allusion became slightly stronger. Is that correct? I said to sum everything up.


    Yes.


    Yeah.


    Un.


    Can you detect lies all day long, Elena? I asked.


    Not really. Actually, wouldnt it be a very exhausting ability if that were the case? I think its limited to 10 minutes a day.


    We are not going to a Cursed Room today anyway, so lets test that now.


    As soon as I suggested that, her eyes started turning gold.


    With everyone looking at her with intrigue, I started off first.


    I am 2 meters tall.


    Elena silently grinned in response.


    Jinchul-hyung followed suit with a lie.


    I weigh 200 kg.


    This time, however, she tilted her head.


    What does it feel like? Does it hit you like a lightning bolt when you hear a lie?


    I felt something while listening to the two of you. Here.


    Saying that, Elena gently grabbed onto the table.


    And the corner of the table was immediately crushed.


    It looks like it doesnt just end after detecting a lie, and I gain the power to punish for it.


    Although I dont feel like the active volcano that I feel like during an active Enforcement, I think I can throw one or two strong punches.


    Do you want to try getting hit, Jinchul-ssi, to test your regeneration while we are at it?


    No thanks.


    Jinchul-hyung didnt seem keen after seeing the table get crushed like that.


    It was a more frightening ability than I assumed. We yed around like that for 10 minutes or so until the golden light disappeared from her eyes.


    Shouldnt we test your regeneration ability, hyung? I suggested. Maybe cut off a finger or two?


    Do you even hear yourself right now, Kain? I dont think regeneration is an ability that needs to be tested per se.


    Unfortunately, Jinchul-hyung and Ahris abilities were a bit difficult for us to test. Jinchul-hyung didnt want to have his fingers cut to test regeneration, whereas we didnt want to be a target of Allusion to test how much her hypnosis had improved by.


    After a light test of our new abilities and tools, we decided on our next schedule.


    It was one of the schedules mentioned by the Hotel in their announcement.


    Timeless Safari to practice our Inheritance!


    *


    On the afternoon of the 2nd day of Party Time, the first thing we had to do was go to Timeless Safari located in the basement.


    What was it going to be about, I wondered.


    I couldnt make anything out of it just by hearing the name, and it was hard to understand why Safari was the best ce to practice our Inheritance.


    We tried discussing it, but in the end, nothing was going to be certain until we tried it out.


    Grandpa Mooksung led the way.


    Lets go to Safari! Chatting here is not going to give us any answers, and well see when we get there. I suppose it wont be a dangerous ce, considering how the Hotel rmended it for training.


    Really though?


    Even the so-called Hotel Land of Hope was a ce where monster trucks tried to trample you to death from the get go though.


    In any case, we started heading down towards the basement. On the way there, I wondered how many rooms there were in this basement.


    The corridor appeared endless, and there was an endless array of rooms.


    Besides, ording to Grandpa Mooksung, who thoroughly explored the basement, it seemed that the structure of the basement changed every time we got here.


    Today was no different.


    When we reached the basement, while thinking of going to Safari, the first room we came to outside the stairs was none other than a room with the huge name, Safari written on it.


    I swear there was a different room here when we were hiking yesterday but


    Lingering on that topic sounded useless, so I immediately dropped that line of thought.


    When we entered Safari, we were met with arge area resembling an amusement park.


    Arge kiosk machine was sitting at the entrance.


    How do we use this?


    I think we need to get a ticket from here.


    We read through the exnation that was provided on the screen.


    1. The Safari is only open during Party Time.


    2. There is a timeless mixture of animals inside Safari.


    3. The era is decided randomly every time you enter.


    4. You may leave at any given time. You will revive outside if you die inside.


    If you die inside? It might sound horrifying, but was pretty normal when applied to the Hotel. In fact, I was relieved to find the sentence, You will revive outside, and that meant more to me than death.


    Seriously though. The Hotel is always so adamant about killing us wherever we go. Even this ce exins what happens when you die.


    Well, at least they revive us outside straight away.


    Hey boar! Have you tried using your Star Fragment yet?


    I do know how to summon it, but havent done it yet. How would I use it, when I know its going to destroy everything around me the moment I summon it?


    Then now would be the best time to use it. Songee!


    Songee walked up to Jinchul-hyung with her sparkling bracelet.


    Let me use the Bracelet on you.


    Everyone took turns to press a few buttons on the kiosk screen to receive a ticket and headed to the entrance.


    I slowly started to feel nervous.


    Despite knowing that we would be simply sent outside if we die unlike the Cursed Rooms, I was still feeling quite nervous.


    Timeless Safari.


    What exactly was the meaning behind this weird name?


    Burying those thoughts in my mind, I walked in through the entrance.


    *


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    /The Era is being decided.


    .


    .


    .


    It has been set to 155 million years ago


    1. 2. 3. Begin!/


    My body dropped onto the ground in the midst of my confusion.


    What? 155 million years ago? What was this?


    The moment Inded on the ground, I started looking around and realized that it must be nighttime from how dark it was all around.


    Was this a wall? I fidgeted with the enormous wall in front of me and leaned on it while moving forward.


    Maybe I should have brought a torchlight


    That was when the surroundings suddenly turned bright.


    It was then that I realized something  it wasnt dark because it was nighttime.


    It was just that I was underneath something overwhelmingly gigantic. The moment therge foot, which I had been fidgeting with, lifted up from the earth, I frantically started to run away!


    Seriously? A dinosaur?!


    Something even bigger than a concrete pir flew towards me at a rapid rate.


    Wheres my warning! System window?


    Actually, dying inside Safari didnt mean anything, right? That must be why it wasnt giving me any notifications and honestly, nothing would have changed even if I did get a warning beforehand.


    Kwang!


    My body flew into the air as my consciousness started to fade.


    Ah, thats a brachiosaurus.


    My first death in Safari was due to the infuriated tail sweep of a /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 84: Party Time (6), Timeless Safari, Secrets of Room 103 (1)

    Chapter 84: Party Time (6), Timeless Safari, Secrets of Room 103 (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (6), Timeless Safari, Secrets of Room 103 (1)</b> </strong>


    <b> Cha Jinchul</b>


    This was my first time using an Inheritance. How strong would it be? I wondered.


    Of course, I did experience its power inside Common Sense Renovating Media, but I heard it already from Songee that the power of the Inheritance changed when using it for ourselves. She mentioned how even her Bracelet lost several of its features that had been avable inside Room 103.


    I assumed it would be the same for the Star Fragment of Another World. It was highly unlikely that it would have the same power it did inside Room 101, and be able to affect the entire world.


    The only way to tell how powerful it was was to check it myself in this training ce that the Hotel had prepared for us.


    After receiving mental protection from Songees bracelet, I entered Safari.


    /The Era is being decided.


    .


    .


    .


    It has been set to 74 million years ago


    1. 2. 3. Begin!/


    ?


    ??


    Did I see it wrong? 74 million years ago?


    I dropped onto the ground before I could make sense of anything.


    While swearing out loud to myself, I stood up and the moment I looked around, my heart started to pound.


    Mansion-sized pterodactyls were flying in the sky; enormous animals were visible even in the far horizon, and all around me were weird-looking nts that I had never seen before.


    I was greatly moved by the scenery, which happened for the first time after our arrival at the Hotel.


    When was it that I watched Jurassic Park in the movies?


    A tyrannosaurus crunching through a bathroom and the people inside it; schrs arriving at I Nu for the first time and being baffled by the sheer size of the brachiosaurus.


    As well as how the CEO of the park weed them to Jurassic Park.


    Right now, it felt like I had be one of those schrs.


    Seeing all the miracles around me, my body shivered from excitement.


    This scene right now  if we could sell tickets of the Safari which was filled with these extinct dinosaurs


    We could probably sell each ticket for hundreds of thousands of dors and still be sold out. I was sure that there were plenty of rich people in the world that would be willing to spend that much to see an actual dinosaur.


    Forgetting why I even came into this ce, I walked across the in, feeling the ancient Earth with my entire body. I took my shoes off and felt directly the mysterious nts under my feet that felt like both grass and moss.


    Absent-mindedly I turned around to view the gigantic animals filling the skies and the earth, and constantly took deep breaths of the ancient air.


    I was certain that I would never be able to forget this ce.


    Even if I were to eventually leave the Hotel, I would probably never be able to forget this. Ah! Only if I had a camera with me!


    Lets ask noonim straight away after I leave this ce and ask her to buy a camera through HP Market.


    I decided to visit this ce again tomorrow with a camera. We had enough purchase limits anyway, because of how hard it was toe up with good things to buy.


    Everyone would definitely agree to buy a camera if it was to take pictures of dinosaurs, right?


    Like that, I roamed around like a tourist in the Dinosaur Era and experienced the primal ancient Earth for about 5 minutes.


    That was when a horrendous sound reached my ears.


    Grrrkk!


    Hearing that, I lowered my eyes and looked around. What I found was arge bird. It wasnt a dinosaur, but to be fair, I heard dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds, so maybe differentiating the two didnt even mean anything.


    The bird, whose head was already bigger than my body, let out an intimidating shriek to threaten me.


    Did this bird, with nothing but size, that wasnt even a demon nor an evil monster that messed with your mind, dare try to threaten me with a growl?


    Without even taking out the Star Fragment of Another World, I just ran up to it and smacked its beak.


    Kieek! Kinng!


    One punch was all it took to send the bird rolling on the ground. After letting out a cute groan that didnt suit its appearance, it immediately started to run away.


    However, there were moreing.


    Turning around, I found several lizards with hundreds of teeth, that gathered behind me by the time I realized it.


    Thump! Thump!


    The ground started to shake. It seemed that something incredibly enormous that could shake the ground with each of its steps was roaming around me somewhere.


    I decided to stop acting like a tourist.


    Tomorrow, I definitely had to bring a camera to take a bunch of pictures, but that wasnt my goal today. My goal today was to test the Inheritance, Star Fragment of Another World.


    Besides, there was also the time limit of the mental protection that Songee had cast on me with her bracelet. I was so deeply moved by the dinosaurs that I ended up wasting 5 minutes of it.


    Taking in a deep breath, I reached out to the air.


    Unlike the Bracelet, Star Fragment of Another World was one that destroyed everything around it just through its presence.


    Perhaps it was the mindfulness of the Hotel, but thankfully, the Star Fragment did not exist physically 24/7.


    It usually existed elsewhere like another dimension, and only descended onto this world when the owner wanted it to.


    I reached out with my palm facing the sky and  the Star Fragment of Another World came down onto my hand.


    *


    My image of the Star Fragment in a nutshell was radiation  a tool of destruction that endlessly pumped out waves that distorted and crushed everything regardless of foe or ally!


    As expected, the surroundings started to warp the moment I took out the Star.


    Mysterious crystals immediately budded from the ground beneath. The ws and eyes of the lizards around me popped up in other areas of their body as they suddenly went through a drastic change.


    Without even daring to move, every creature around me trembled on the spot in fear and pain.


    All that took less than 5 seconds after I took out the Star.


    Every animal within the radius of dozens of meters rolled on the ground, and groaning was the only thing they could do.


    Grabbing onto the Star, I raced out onto the ins.


    I was like the Minister of Death and a Horseman of the Apocalypse.


    Every step I took created a strange stone underneath my trail, and the air started to smell funny. The color around me started to warp to a color beyond my descriptive ability.


    Whether it be animals or dinosaurs, everything that was a few dozen meters around me crumbled in pain. Large ostrich-looking creatures got bisected head-down, and the wings of a pterodactyl flying at me suddenly gave birth to ws as it fell down from the sky.


    After running endlessly, I came across a theropod, whose every step had been trembling the earth for a while.


    That unbelievably beautiful creature was feeding on the greenery around it.


    By now, all therge birds and lizards that had been threatening me were all dead. Thatrge dinosaur, on the other hand, had never threatened me and instead had been feeding itself until the very end


    I felt very guilty all of a sudden, that I had to harm such a creature just to test the power of the Star. It felt unpleasant, like I was trampling on the sacred and ancient world.


    However, I soon decided to drop that line of thought. I had to hurry up because my teammates must be waiting for me outside.


    Carrying the Star, I approached therge dinosaur while keeping the distance in mind.


    When we were around 30 meters or so apart, the dinosaur started to groan in pain.


    Was this the range of the Star? Or maybe it was bigger but the dinosaur was only now starting to groan? I couldnt tell from this one example.


    Running closer, I approached the dinosaur as the power of the star began to morph the creatures body in full blow.


    Its body started to contort; horns shot out of its back and its legs separated into smaller legs.


    UWOOOO!


    I might be oblivious to thenguage of dinosaurs, but not to the point that I could not tell how that growl was one full of pain and suffering.


    Therge creature, who had been tall enough to reach the sky, fell on the ground in a distorted shape like a random scribble of an evil artist.


    That horrifying scenery was quite a shock to my heart.


    It was around then that I started to find it unbearable myself.


    I turned to my right arm and the Star.


    At this point, I could no longer call this an arm. It looked more like the Star being embedded into arge chunk of flesh.


    The change that began from the right arm crept up all the way to my shoulder. The only reason I wasnt finding it painful despite that was probably thanks to Songees mental protection.


    It was a shocking change but was also surprising in a different way.


    Even that enormous dinosaur just from the sheer approach of the Star went through an extreme change and crumbled without evensting 30 seconds. And yet meanwhile, even though I was directly holding onto it with my own hand, the change was still limited to my right shoulder.


    As Grandpa Mooksung said, it seemed that my body was strongly resistant to the effects of the star fragment. If only I had a bit of this strong resistance to my mind as well


    I had been wearing a watch to calcte how much time of Songees blessing I had left, but the watch was already no longer looking like a watch, due to having no resistance.


    I was slowly reaching my limit as well.


    Just by thinking it to myself, I sent the star fragment back to its dimension.


    Looking around, I could once again tell just how fiendish the power of the star was. Not a single creature was intact. Animals, nts and even the earth and the air had been twisted and changed.


    To the creatures of this world, I was probably like a demon from hell.


    Lets not empathize too much with the creatures of the Safari though.


    Having such a destructive means in our hands was in turn a sign that our chance of survival in this Hotel had gone up!


    Rip!


    Trod!


    I heard some weird noises from my arm, which I couldnt even feel anymore, so I turned to it and found the distorted pieces of flesh falling off. Like scales, the skin came off along with the eyeballs, tongues, ws and teeth that had grown on my arm.


    When all those warped pieces of flesh fell off, I no longer had a right arm. However, it was unusable anyway because of the power of the Star, and it in fact felt better to have it gone.


    This was probably the power of Regeneration, and I understood what it meant when my sponsor said it would be helpful when using the Inheritance.


    Regeneration wasnt powerful enough to resprout a torn-out limb like a lizard. However, it had the power to drop off parts of the body that was polluted by the star fragment and seal the wound.


    Songees blessing was going to end some time soon.


    It must be thanks to her Bracelet, that I couldnt feel much pain despite my body being in this state. She said 10 minutes was the time limit at the start, but I felt like that was getting longer every time. Was she getting better at it maybe?


    In any case, I decided to leave before the mental protection was fully gone, because I was sure I would be flooded with intense pain the moment that happened.


    How do we leave this Safari though? We should be able to leave when we want to, right?


    Was there like a screen somewhere?


    I just tried yelling out loud.


    Hey! I want to leave! Let me go!


    That was the right call to make.


    As soon as I yelled out, my mind and my body started to float to the sky.


    Kung!


    The moment I came to myself, I was already outside Safari, and it felt just like how it did when leaving a Cursed Room.


    Looking around, I found my teammates.


    Ah! I immediately remembered the holy andrge bodies of the dinosaurs! What a shame it was! When would I ever be able toy my eyes on those again? We had to get a camera before anything.


    Aiya~! I didnt even imagine there would be such a wonderful ce inside the Hotel! Have you had fun looking around!


    There were so many dinosaurs! What did everyone see?


    We shoulde to Safari everyday for the remainder of the Party Time! And we really need a camera to


    Jinchul. Shut up for a moment.


    In the middle of my excited outburst, I heard Eunsol-noonims exhausted voice and finally observed everyones faces in surprise.


    What was wrong? We had been to such a wonderful ce so what was wrong with their reactions? Unlike me, they all looked extremely fatigued and tired!


    Kain, who had been nkly looking into the distance, broke the silence.


    Looks like you enjoyed it a lot, hyung. Its fortunate that at least one of us seems to have enjoyed it. I died 5 seconds in by a tail so I cant say much.


    Songee added.


    How lucky that you died in 5 seconds, Kain-oppa. I was being chased around by ancient cannibals for hours.


    Wait. What was with this atmosphere?


    Why did you go through all that? You can just yell out that you want to leave if you dont like it, right? They let you out immediately.


    Everyone turned around and looked at me.


    Sir sighed out loud.


    Was that the way to leave? Just yelling it out loud? Haa I didnt even think about that, and continued running around before I got bit to death.


    It appeared that I was the only one here who wanted toe to Safari everyday.


    *


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    I felt like sighing looking at Jinchul-hyung, the only one who had a fun time inside. But sure, thank goodness that at least one of us has enjoyed it.


    Besides, this ce was for us to test how to use the Inheritance, so it worked out that Jinchul-hyung was fond of it. He cane here by himself and train everyday.


    Hearing him talk about the power of the star fragment from the side, I suddenly thought about something else.


    A tool on the same rank as the Star Fragment, Diverse Perspectives.


    Songee had to practically work by herself for the Bracelet.


    What in the world was Room 103? Now that we resolved the curse of Room 101, I felt curious yet again.


    Everyone started by seeing an illusion of an Animal Farm. Plus, it had a time limit with the ne around our necks sucking out our intellect and soul.


    These conditions sounded horrible already, and yet there were plenty of Athanasias that human armies couldnt even contend against, and was set on a flying spaceship.


    How in the world did she solve it through all those hardships? Besides, was it even possible to clear it without Affinity?


    What were the conditions for an escape?


    I wanted to ask Songee and clear up some of those /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 85: Party Time (7), Secrets of Room 103 (2)

    Chapter 85: Party Time (7), Secrets of Room 103 (2)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (7), Secrets of Room 103 (2)</b> </strong>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    Room 103.


    Even when I think back to it now, I could only say that it was a room full of harsh and merciless conditions. What exactly were the secrets of Room 103?


    After perhaps noticing that my eyes were on her, Songee turned towards me for a question.


    Oppa? Do you have something to ask me?


    No. I was just thinking back to how you pulled off such an amazing job in Room 103.


    Ahaha. Whats this all of a sudden?


    But it makes me quite curious when I think about it.


    What do you mean?


    Isnt Room 103 very strange? Everyone starts off imprisoned inside the farm of an alien monster, under the illusion that we had be animals. Besides, its set on a spaceship flying through space.


    How were we even supposed to escape that? Was your method of befriending an Athanasia and the Devouring One with your Affinity the only solution?


    That shouldnt be, though. Im sure not all groups inside the Hotel had someone possessing Affinity.


    Then what other solutions are there?


    Songee turned to the sky in deep contemtion.


    From my experience, I think there were a few gaps, she added.


    That was when Eunsol-noona joined our conversation with a question.


    In that case, Songee, can you tell us everything you felt about Room 103?


    Aht! We dont have to


    Im not saying that to put you on a pedestal. Until now, the only rooms we have cleared are Rooms 101 and 103, and we all know what happened in Room 101 because we did it together.


    But for Room 103, no-one really knows the details except for you, Songee. If we do a thorough analysis of the rooms we have cleared thus far, we might get some clues into the rooms we havent solved yet.


    I would need to organize everything that happened before I can exin them to you. Please give me some time.


    Sure.


    Room 103, which none of us had seen the true form of except for Songee. I was curious  as the one who solved it by herself, what was her opinion on the escape method, the gaps and vulnerable points of Room 103?


    She needed quite some time to organize her line of thought. It took quite a while until she thoroughly lectured us on what happened.


    On the second afternoon of Party Time, we were exhausted after visiting Safari so took a rest after dinner.


    Next morning on the third day, I ran away from Grandpa Mooksung who was chasing after me all morning, but in the end, I had to go to the Park with him, and run with the excuse of it being an exploration.


    It was only around noon of that same day that Songee started her Room 103 Lecture.


    *


    The reason Im exining Room 103 today isnt to brag about it. Its so that we can all understand the Structure of a Cursed Room by revisiting Room 103, which you havent had the chance to really experience.


    Firstly, I will exin the structure that makes sense the most in my opinion, and go through the vulnerable areas of both Room 101 and Room 103.


    Lastly, I will talk about my ideas for how we could have escaped Room 103.


    If you find it difficult in the middle, or have different ideas, please feel free to share them.


    Songee somewhat sounded and looked like an actual teacher.


    Firstly, about the Structure of a Cursed Room.


    Looking at everything we have gathered thus far, we cane up with a structure like this.


    Saying that, she showed us what she had written down in her notebook.<ol><li><b> Team of Participants</b></li></ol><ol start="2"><li><b> Enemy</b></li></ol><ol start="3"><li><b> Convict</b></li></ol>


    Of course, there are a lot of NPCs that do not fit into those categories, but they dont have a proper role or any influence so we can say that there are only 3 groups that can affect the scenario.


    First are the Participants. In other words, us.


    Secondly are the beings that we have to fight against, which the Hotel refers to as the Enemy.


    Thirdly, there is the Convict, who possesses divine powers but can only indirectly affect us due to the severe restrictions they are put under.


    By the way, the term Convict, I heard from Grandpa, is what the Administration uses to call them.


    Grandpa Mooksung nodded from the side.


    From what we have confirmed until now, all the Enemies inside each of the rooms had various schemes.


    In Room 101, the Enemy was Kim Sangmin. Room 102 was probably Sir, the owner of the mansion; Room 103 was Athanasia; and Room 104 was probably the Guider.


    As for the Convicts, they are deeply intertwined with the origin of the Curse, but I dont think we need to deal with them. In fact, theyre beings that we cant even do anything to.


    Eunsol-noona raised her opinion.


    Looking at them like this, the difficulty in Room 103 makes absolutely no sense. Of course, the Guider in Room 104 was quite incredible, but at least she was just one person.


    Was every single Athanasia in Room 103 an Enemy? They all sound unbelievably powerful by themselves already.


    Songee continued her exnation.


    Thats what I would like to exin next. The weakness of each Cursed Room. All the Cursed Rooms are heavily unfavorable for us, to the point that it is impossible to solve them without knowing much about each of the rooms.


    However, each room has a certain weakness that we can exploit, and are easier to solve when we do.


    The same is for Room 103, but lets talk about Room 101 first because we know more about them. What do you think was the weakness of Room 101?


    Taking the time to think about it allowed me toe up with one.


    That the Enemy, Kim Sangmin, was weaker than expected?


    Exactly, Songee replied. Even though he did make a giant, it was only a little strong. Kim Sangmin himself was just a piece of flesh, and couldnt even move.


    The process of going through the family, the TV Station, the hospital and the hospital room to find him was the difficult part, but the Enemy himself was very easy to kill. I think that was the weakness of Room 101.


    The weakness of Room 101, was that the Enemy was weak and immobile.


    Grandpa Mooksung gave a nod before asking a question.


    I can understand Room 101, but I still have no clues about Room 103. Each and every one of the Athanasias were powerful and there were a huge number of them on top of that, were there not?


    There is one crucial difference between Room 103 and the other rooms. And that was the weakness.


    A crucial difference that only Room 103 possessed?


    Out of all the rooms that we have been to, Room 103 was the only room where the Convict was hostile to the Enemy.


    Room 101: although we havent seen the Convict of Room 101, I dont think he was hostile to Kim Sangmin, at the very least.


    For Room 102, the Convict is most likely the demon of the basement. The owner of the mansion received his powers from the demon and tried to release it. They work in coboration.


    The Convict of Room 104 was the lord. The Guider served the lord as their god. They were in coboration.


    On the other hand, the Convict of Room 103, the Devouring One had been locked by the Enemies, the Athanasias, through inexplicable facilities and had his energy absorbed for an eternity.


    When I released the Devouring One, the first thing he did was annihte all the Athanasia. They were hostile to each other.


    The only room where the Convict hated the Enemy.


    That was the weakness of Room 103.


    You might be thinking that the Devouring One stood on my side because of my Affinity, and that I managed to solve it through that connection.


    However, do you think a Convict, who has godly powers, would be swept away by my blessing that much?


    I think anyone could have gained his active cooperation as long as we managed to contact the Devouring One.


    My blessing might have made the Devouring One slightly more friendly, but he would have helped the Participants even without my blessing, because he had endless hatred to the Athanasias.


    I finally started to understand a little bit about Room 103. From the very beginning, the Convict of Room 103 wasnt one of our enemies but a helper.


    Realizing that was the most crucial element of resolving Room 103.


    However, that alone wasnt enough to exin everything. I had a few remaining questions so I asked them.


    I understand that the Devouring One would have helped us as long as we coulde into contact with him. However, how would we even reach him in the first ce?


    You were able to, by befriending an Athanasia with Affinity, but we wouldnt have been able to befriend or kill them ourselves.


    Thats the preconception that you have to get out of, Songee replied. Our job in Room 103 wasnt to fight against the Athanasias. With that outlook, it is impossible to solve it.


    Each of the Athanasias are like demi-gods to us humans.


    The number of Athanasias I managed to kill while escaping Room 103 was only one, and that was possible only because the Devouring One stopped them.


    Its the Devouring Ones job to wipe out the Athanasias. Our job, on the other hand, was just to persevere until the Devouring One recovered.


    Our job to escape Room 103  Songee was saying that it was to simply wait out until the Devouring One could recover.


    After about 2 weeks? Or 3 weeks of entering the room  I dont remember the exact time  the Devouring One gains enough power to attempt an escape.


    He could send out a shockwave throughout the spaceship and stop the Athanasias momentarily. Our job was tost until that moment.


    As long as we did, the Devouring One would have done something himself. He could have reached out to us himself, or destroyed the spaceship without caring about us.


    Grandpa Mooksung nodded and said.


    The part that we shouldnt think about fighting the Athanasias makes sense. However, is it possible tost 2 to 3 weeks with our soul and intellect being sucked out?


    Absorbing our intellect was what the ne around our necks did, and not the Bracelet, replied Songee. It might not have been visible but it did exist, and besides, its extremely fragile so breaking that was probably what we needed to do first of all.


    What if the Athanasia intervened and put another ne on us if we broke them?


    Even when I broke mine, they didnt immediately put another one on my neck. We cant tell for sure at this point, but I cane up with a few ideas.


    It might be that they cant tell if one specific ne is malfunctioning or not. Or, it could be that they have to restart the entire farm to put on another ne.


    From what I have observed, they were only putting on nes when the Animal Farms werent in motion. Maybe restarting the farm just because a small percentage of the livestock wasnt being productive wouldnt have made sense for them.


    The method to escape, I believe, would have been to break our ne to stop our intellects from being absorbed.


    Finding that puzzling, Seungyub raised a question.


    How is that an escape? We havent left the spaceship and we are still stuck in the farm as animals, arent we?


    Think about the escapes in the other rooms. For example in Room 101, it was considered an escape just by distancing ourselves from the family, right?


    For Room 102, messing with Sirs ritual was all we needed to do to escape, and being chased out of the school in Room 104 was enough to be considered an escape.


    But when you think about it, the threats within those worlds are still there.


    In Room 101, even if you did distance yourself from your family, the world was still doomed; and even when we interfere with Sirs ritual in Room 102, he could invite more civilians to eventually summon the demon.


    In Room 104, the school would run just without a problem even if we were outside of it.


    There is no need to solve the threats within those worlds to escape it. Escaping from the initial threat to our life was all that we needed to do.


    I think it would have been the same for Room 103. As Seungyub said, breaking the ne doesnt change the fact that we are still animals stuck in ce, but we would have escaped the looming threat of our intellects being sucked out.


    It was starting to make sense. In the first ce, the Hotel differentiated escape from solutions and Songees ideas sounded like a valid take on it.


    Unlike the resolutions, you did not have to resolve the fundamental curse of that world for an escape. Escaping the current, looming threat was all that needed to be done.


    Thinking back to Room 101, physically distancing yourself from your family didnt mean anything, did it? The world was already doomed, and yet simply running away from your family was epted as an escape method.


    The same could be said for Room 103. Breaking the ne to avoid the imminent threat of having our souls sucked dry and dying our death by a few months might have been enough for an escape.


    Lastly as a what if, let me talk about the normal progression that we would have had if not for my Affinity.


    None of us would have known anything at the start. We would have tried to live as animals, and one of our nes would have broken by ident, like it did to me.


    That person would live on even after everyone else died, survive for a few more weeks and witness the Devouring One trying to overturn the entire spaceship. During that process, the illusion would have been removed, and they would have noticed the true identity of Animal Farm.


    The Devouring One would have failed without our assistance, but that would have been considered an Escape.


    After leaving the room, we would go for a second try while this time being aware of the existence of the Devouring One. In our next attempts, we would try whatever we could toe into contact with the Devouring One, who was hostile to the Athanasias.


    And this would have determined whether we escaped or resolved the room.


    Breaking the ne to survive as long as we could is an escape, whereas contacting the Devouring One somehow to help release him would lead to a resolution.


    Only after listening to the lecture throughout all of lunch did I finally have a rough idea about the structures of Room 103.


    In the end, doesnt that mean we all die if the first ne doesnt break by ident?


    Yes, but thats the same for Room 101 right? If Seungyub didnt avoid his family by ying League by coincidence, we would have all died anyway.


    Ahri, who had been silent the whole time, finally raised her voice.


    I think there would have been another method to escape, even without the ne breaking by ident.


    Of course there could have been, Songee replied. These are just my thoughts.


    For example, maybe there was a way for us to be chosen as the family of farmers inside the farm? Unlike normal livestock, they would live longer as the ones managing the farm, so they wouldnt have died immediately.


    Makes sense, but Im not sure about the details on that end.


    That marked the end of our revision on Room 103. After that long discussion, I wrote a four-line summary of it on paper.


    *


    <b>Start -> Break ne to stop losing intellect; make sure we can live for longer.</b>


    <b>Escape -> Survive for 2 ~ 3 weeks. And witness the Devouring Ones attempted rebellion.</b>


    <b>Resolution -> After being aware of the Devouring One, receive his assistance to massacre the Athanasias.</b>


    <b>& Maybe theres a method to be the family of farmers?</b>


    *


    Writing them down reminded me once again of why most of the participants would fail at the Hotel.


    You had to be both smart and strong but


    Fundamentally, you had to be lucky, or you could be wiped out before you can even do anything!


    We were nearing the end of Party Time.


    It was now about time for us to start discussing the next room. /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 86: Party Time (8), Honest Talk, How to use the Pen, Strategy Meeting (1)

    Chapter 86: Party Time (8), Honest Talk, How to use the Pen, Strategy Meeting (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (8), Honest Talk, How to use the Pen, Strategy Meeting (1)</b> </strong>


    <b> Elena</b>


    My brain stopped working after listening to Songees lecture about Room 103 throughout lunch. Others must have had the same experience  they all disappeared after the lecture.


    This was therefore the best time to have an honest talk with Ahri.


    I went to the front desk and found Ahri roaming around the table of snacks.


    Ahri!


    Elena-unni?


    After calling her name and while walking towards her, I pondered to myself. How was I supposed to ask her? Should I be straight-forward and ask, Is there something you are hiding from me?


    I was hesitantly contemting my options when Ahri asked first.


    Is there something you need to talk about?


    Hearing that, I decided to tell her everything honestly.


    On the first day, when empowering our blessings, I met the mysterious sponsor like what Kain-ssi said.


    What kind of person were they?


    She was unfathomable and very mysterious, and was sitting by herself in a garden. It sounded like she knew you.


    Ahri turned her body fully towards me with intrigue.


    What did she say about me?


    Did she say something bad?


    She did say something strange. Something a little odd.


    She said that Ahri, you were trying to guide me down the wrong path.


    And thats what you want to confirm with me?


    Yes.


    Ahri deeply thought to herself before throwing another question.


    Was that everything she said?


    Apart from that, it sounded like she didnt like you. I can tell you everything I remember.


    Like a blind man touching an elephant, that girl is under a severe misunderstanding that she is knowledgeable about the Hotel despite only experiencing parts of it and being lucky to leave.


    She also said the way I was using my blessing was the correct one.


    Ahri had to think for a long time. She looked like she was in need of some time to organize her thoughts, so I sat down on the table next to her and waited while drinking a coffee.


    Only after around 20 minutes or so did Ahri speak up again.


    You said you could sense lies now after empowering your blessing, right?


    I wasnt trying to say that I was doubting you or anything.


    Please use the ability now, because theres no need to leave any misunderstandings untouched. I will be honest with everything.


    Truth be told, I indeed was a bit skeptical of Ahri.


    The lie detecting ability that I acquired this time was a very useful ability in this Hotel that was full of deception and lies, but there was one problem.


    My eyes would turn gold the moment I used it, and I couldnt conceal the fact that I was using my ability.


    Therefore, Ahri telling me that I could use it on her was a lifesaver. My eyes started to turn bright as Ahri began exining herself.


    In short, what your sponsor was saying is that I had a wrong understanding of the blessing, and that I was trying to change your mind while believing that was correct. Let me exin that one first.


    During my first time in the Hotel, I saw another user of Justice. Unlike you, Elena, she was able to use her abilities freely without any restrictions.


    There was no such thing as how the opponent had to be evil, or that you had to be aware of their evil actions.


    The only reason that was possible is because she was mentally very immature.


    In other words, her perception was, I am justice, and anyone that puts me in a bad mood is evil.


    Next, I saw you, Elena, having the same blessing yet having restrictions like the humanw system.


    And thats why I tried to persuade you in several ways during the 5th attempt at Room 101. You probably remember what it was about too. Have I told you any lies so far?


    I couldnt feel anything. Thanks for being honest.


    Although there werent any lies, what I felt was that her way of referring to me went back and forth between Elena and unni*. I heard it from other people several times already, but it was really strange how Ahris politenguage tended to change drastically sometimes.


    It was as if she wasnt sure about her age.


    What do you think after hearing that?


    Im a bit surprised. But even if I knew that, I dont think I would have been able to copy what the previous person did. Choosing whats right and wrong at will and giving punishment is what I detest the most. Other than that


    Are you curious about the reason I had been hiding the truth?


    Why did you not tell me the truth about my blessing from the start?


    I was worried you might be like that person. I was worried that you might end up persuading yourself by telling yourself that you are justice.


    But you are not hiding them anymore.


    Fortunately, I figured out that my understanding of the blessing wasnt correct, and you were aware of that too, so I didnt see a need to hide it anymore.


    Im sure you wouldnt be shaken even if you were to know about the evil potential of your blessing.


    Also, let me tell you about my thoughts on the right way to use it that your sponsor was talking about.


    The correct way to use my blessing.


    It didnt strike me before but I thought about it after hearing what your sponsor said.


    Your strong conviction of justice has not only made restrictions, Elena, but it has also made powerful strengths.


    Powerful strengths? I asked.


    For example, the fact that you are immune to mental interruptions during the enforcement. The previous Justice did not have such powers. My Allusion worked on her easily but unni, you be nigh invincible during your enforcement.


    Whys that the case, I asked myself, and I found the answer in your conviction, that Justice cannot be shaken by one persons belief or thoughts. You cant control the activation of your blessing at will, but others cant either.


    Also, the fact that you can attack enemies that you cant see is also something that wasnt possible for the previous Justice.


    As for the reason, well, its probably because of something like how the Law has to find criminals even if they hide themselves, right?


    Im sure there are more strengths to itpared to the past.


    I pondered deeply after hearing Ahris words.


    Certainly, it was true that I was immune to curses, brainwash and hypnosis during the activation of Justice, and I could sit still inside the car and carry out enforcement on ones that were out of my vision.


    ording to Ahri, these powers were ones that the previous user of Justice did not have ess to. Were these strengths the right potential that my sponsor was talking about?


    The sponsor was critical and negative about Ahri, but she was definitely more knowledgeable than me when it came to blessings.


    What do you think are the other strengths? I asked.


    Think about themonality between the two strengths that I mentioned. They all stem from one belief that you have.


    One belief?


    Elena, it feels like you dont consider yourself as the main enforcer of Justice. A metaphysical and absolute concept and an idealw  thats what your belief of the correct Justice is.


    If your blessing bes more powerful, you might be able to manifest that metaphysical avatar of Justice, or something, right?


    It would probably be invincible then. Who would possibly defeat a metaphysical and conceptual being?


    But of course, these are nothing but my assumptions.


    Summoning an invincible avatar that sounded like something in a fantasy novel. I didnt think my blessing could be strong enough to do that, but I was starting to understand what she was saying.


    I was thinking to myself when Ahri continued off of her words.


    Up to that point is what I have agreed with from your sponsors arguments, but can I now tell you something from a different perspective?


    A different perspective  was she trying to refute the sponsors words?


    Please. Tell me.


    My understanding of the blessings and the Hotel. Your sponsors probably right in that sense, because like they said, I was lucky to escape while experiencing only a small portion of the Hotel.


    But Elena, keep in mind. There is an old saying in the Administration Bureau, that humans are the only allies to humans.


    Do you think your sponsor really wants you to escape?


    She closed her mouth after that, and that was around when my lie detector also ended.


    On the way back to my room, I thought about herst words.


    Did the sponsor really want us to escape? If not, then what did they want from us?


    *


    <b>Party Time 4th Afternoon</b>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    Finally, it was almost done!


    What, you might ask? This one heck of a tiring Party Time!


    The senile old man chasing after me ever since the start of the Party Time bbered about training and whatnot, making me hike on the first day. That much was okay. One day of hiking wasnt bad, and we got something out of it so I was happy with that.


    However, obtaining the unexpected souvenir on the first day ended up putting this senile old man on a high horse!


    I suffered from muscle pain throughout the morning of the second day, and got smacked to death by a dinosaur in the afternoon. That much was depressing already, and yet Grandpa made me run around the park on the third day all morning, and took me to the gym in the afternoon.


    That wasnt enough for him; he harassed me all morning even on the 4th day!


    For some reason, Seungyub and Songee were off the radar at one point and the senile grandpa kept on chasing me down. The rest didnt even attempt to help me in fear that they might attract his attention.


    Jinchul-hyung, the only person that could stop Grandpa, became weird after going to Safari.


    He asked noona for a high-quality camera and took crazy amounts of photos of dinosaurs and random animals from ages ago, refusing to leave Safari for most of the day.


    In the end, around noon of the 4th day of the Party Time,


    I made up my mind.


    Oi! Oi! Han Kain, you crazy brat!


    h h h. I cant hear a thing~


    Oi! Brat! Get rid of this right now!


    Is anything happening around me?


    Oppa?


    Songee, who had been walking towards us from the other side of the corridor, looked at me and asked.


    Yes. Songee. Hows your day?


    Did you do something to Grandpas eyes? Hes been rubbing his eyes the whole time.


    The pen I got at the souvenir shop is very good! I colored in his eyes for him!


    Its alright. I will get rid of it before we head into the Cursed Room.


    Songee was speechless, but she walked past without saying much.


    Damn! What a pen that I got at the souvenir shop!


    I was wondering where I would use this at the start, and definitely wasnt expecting this to be so useful.


    m!


    But that was when a hand flew towards my hair and clung onto my hair. He must have guessed my location from my voice.


    Uahk! Ahk! Grandpa! Let go of me right now!


    You get rid of this thing in front of my eyes first!


    Why was this old man so damn strong? I tried to remove the floating hand with both of my hands but he was so strong that I just couldnt.


    Grandpa was bumping into walls, while I was rolling across the floor from Grandpas flying hand.


    After seeing that on her way somewhere, Eunsol-noona made herself invisible and disappeared.


    *


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    <b>Party Time 4th Night</b>


    It was the strategy meeting time that we had discussed, and we gathered at the dining room of Room 105.


    Jinchul-hyung, who had been staying holed up inside Safari finally came back, and looked at my head the moment he arrived.


    Kain?


    Im sure you werent old enough to go bald on the crown of your head so why


    Apparently Grandpa ripped his hair out.


    Wait why? And where is he in the first ce?


    Grandpa couldnt see all afternoon and kept on bumping into walls so hes taking a rest.


    What in the world happened while I was in Safari?


    Eunsol-noona heaved a sigh before starting the conference.


    Now! Lets end it there and start our conference. Ive said this already to most of you, but we have decided to take tomorrow off without interfering with each other at all. So, we have to discuss which room to go in today.


    Grandpa and I, as well as everyone, hade to an agreement that we would take a rest on thest day.


    It was because of that agreement that we had to start the meeting today.


    Eunsol-noona kicked it off.


    There are three ces we could go to. Room 102  Mansion of Fear, Room 104  Hotel High School, and Room 107  the Gate Room. I think we all know where we want to go next. Room 102 sounds like the best option here.


    It feels like we shouldnt go into the Hotel High until we can exin the strange phenomenon that happened to Kain, and the Gate Room will be the most difficult one, so Room 102 looks like the way to go. Any other thoughts?


    There were none. I feel like the discussion would have been much longer if Room 104 and Room 107 were the only options left, but Room 102 looked much easier inparison so there was no need for us to consider that yet.


    That was when Grandpa came into the dining room from the bedroom.


    Everyone was struck speechless. There were lines all of his face and not just his eyes.


    Oi! Han Kain you damn brat! Get rid of these lines!


    Not happening.


    My hair was still the same after all! My hair got ripped out so much that I almost bled from my crown! I had no ns of getting rid of those lines until we went into the Cursed Room.


    It seemed that I had obtained a very useful /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 87: Party Time (9), Strategy Meeting (2) Fin, Re-entering Room 102 - Mansion of Fear

    Chapter 87: Party Time (9), Strategy Meeting (2) Fin, Re-entering Room 102 - Mansion of Fear


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Party Time (9), Strategy Meeting (2) Fin, Re-entering Room 102  Mansion of Fear</b> </strong>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    In the end, I couldnt ignore the eyes of other people and removed the lines on Grandpas face, and only then did everything be serious again.


    There were two things to do before our re-entry into Room 102.


    An analysis of the hints, and a discussion about the escape.


    I started off.


    Firstly, lets talk about the hint, Dont fall into the bias that you must go towards the _________. This clue tells us two things:


    One, the Dont fall into bias part tells us that we had a bias about going to a specific ce.


    The second one is about the location. Some candidates are mansion, study, cathedral and ake.


    That was when Ahri suddenly brought up a different topic.


    Before we talk about the clues or the escape method, there is another problem that we have to consider.


    Another problem?


    The chance that the scenario itself might change. Room 102 is different from other rooms  our members are differentpared to the first attempt, right?


    During the first attempt, Grandpa and I were members of the mansion but we are members of the team now. This is something that is unique to this room.


    The scenario itself is changing That certainly was a point we hadnt considered before.


    I thought they might just rece the NPCs with a different maid and a butler but Ahri sounded very certain.


    Did she experience it before?


    Have you experienced the scenario changing to a different one? I asked.


    Ahri stayed silent for a bit before answering my question.


    As you all know, the Hotel has the Room of Resurrection. During my first time in the Hotel, the team back then revived an NPC they met in a Cursed Room to bring them back to life.


    I remember the Hotel changing the scenario altogether instead of recing the role with a new NPC.


    It wasnt apletely different scenario; it was simr in the grand scheme of things, but it was set in a different time period.


    A different time period? asked Eunsol-noona.


    I think it was set in the future of the previous scenario. Im not entirely sure.


    Speaking of the Room of Resurrection, what happens to the NPC that you revive through that room? Do they be participants like us? Do they recover their Inheritance and the blessing they had prior to bing an NPC?


    Sorry. I cant remember. Its not like Im trying to hide anything; but it was a really long time ago and I was very young back then.


    My memories of my first attempt are very vague, and most of my memories are about my mom.


    That made sense. Ahri must have been a very young baby during her first time at the Hotel, unlike her suspicious self now.


    More importantly, I shifted my line of thought to the possibility of a scenario change.


    The scenario of a Cursed Room changing after reviving the NPC inside it huh It was interesting, but how was it relevant to us?


    How is that relevant to what we are going through now? We dont even know where the Room of Resurrection is.


    Thats what I thought too at the start, replied Ahri. Thats why I havent said anything before but I found some crucialmonalities after thinking about them these past few days.


    What Ahri went through in the past with the revival of an NPC, and the agents bing a member of our crew


    Themonality between them was that NPCs had be a member of the team.


    If you think about the core reason; why do you think the Hotel would change the scenario when an NPC is revived from the room? Its because of information.


    There are plenty of pieces of information that the group of participants are either oblivious to, or have to pay a huge price for, but those be way too easy to ess when the NPC bes a member of the group.


    That made sense.


    Unlike our first attempt at Room 102, Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung were no longer characters of the Mansion, and were on our side. They knew a bunch of crucial things that the normal group of participants should otherwise be oblivious to.


    An example of that was how one of the ways to escape was by stopping Sir from offering 6 sacrifices, which Ahri conveyed to me through the card game. There were probably a lot more that they knew.


    In other words, from the standpoint of the Hotel, it could be said that we got unfair ess to these important bits of information that should have been hard to gather, thanks to the NPCs bing teammates.


    And hence, the Hotel could change the scenario to modify the difficulty.


    This was difficult. What were we supposed to do in preparation if the scenario itself was going to change?


    Does that mean the time period of the Cursed Room could either move forward or back in time?


    We would have to leave both possibilities open. Ehew~. I guess we need toe up with totally different escape methods then, said Eunsol-noona with a sigh.


    That was when Grandpa Mooksung gave us slight hope.


    Its difficult to say anything about the future, but we might get ourselves a helper if we go to the past.


    A helper?


    What do you mean?


    Do you remember about the cathedral and the mysterious bell? The cathedral had been there for even longer than the mansion, but more important than that is the bell. It was a divine item brought from outside.


    From outside? Who was it from?


    This time, Ahri answered the question.


    When the Sir of the Mansion started to go corrupt, a group of exorcists came from outside the vige. I remember they were the ones that brought the bell.


    Exorcists?


    Wait, so why werent they able to punish or stop Sir? Was he too strong by then already?


    Grandpa Mooksung replied.


    ording to what they shoved into my head, it seems that they couldnt find any evidence.


    Evidence of what?


    The exorcists visited the vige because of people going missing one after another. Sir, the owner of the mansion, was the prime suspect but they couldnt find any evidence.


    Vige? Was there something like a vige nearby?


    Was there a vige near the mansion? I asked.


    The memories of the butler left inside me says that there was indeed a vige. Thats why the cathedral was there.


    However, after various mysterious and ominous incidents, many died and the rest ran away, leaving behind nothing but the mansion. The start of those mysterious incidents was the people going missing.


    The past of the Mansion of Fear that we experienced, was quite straight-forward.


    That was probably when Sir started to go corrupt.


    Ominous incidents happening around the vige and the mansion; exorcists visiting the vige to investigate the prime suspect but leaving without finding any evidence


    In the end, when Sir was left to his own devices, the vige fell into a heavy decline with many dead, until it eventually became barren. That must have been the time period we were in when we first entered Room 102.


    If we do go to the past of the Mansion of Fear, I guess we would have to help the exorcists, right?


    We probably do have to help the exorcists, Eunsol-noona replied. And make sure they find the evidence to punish Sir unlike what happened before.


    Jinchul-hyung, who had been silent the whole time, put an end to the conversation.


    Lets stop this conversation here. Frankly speaking, we still dont know if we will be going to the past or not.


    That was true.


    After putting the scenario change into one of our possibilities, it became really difficult to have a meaningful meeting.


    There were infinite possibilitiesid out in front of us  way too many for us to consider any of them in depth.


    Eunsol-noona brought the topic back to what we had been talking about.


    As Jinchul said, lets stop there for the discussion on changes to the scenario. Anything more would just be us wasting time imagining what it could be.


    Lets go back to what we were talking about with escape.


    Firstly, we will put aside suicides, because following the change of the scenario, it is highly likely that the escape method through suicides will be blocked.


    How about leaving the mansion?


    If we wake up in the car to the mansion likest time, the rest can advance with the story while one person can drive the car out of the mansion for the escape.


    That sounded like a decent n.


    One thing that we figured out over time across several Cursed Rooms, was that escaping was rtively easypared to the Resolutions which were iparably harder to grasp your head around. Avoiding the current threat appeared to be enough for an escape.


    Maybe leaving the mansion would also be considered an escape?


    There were a few more conversations after that, but the main framework that we had decided on did not change until the end.<ol><li> Because the NPCs of the Mansion were on our side, there is a chance that the time period of the scenario might be modified.</li></ol><ol start="2"><li> At the start, let one person drive the car out of the mansion for an escape.</li></ol>


    That marked the end of the 4th day of the Party Time.


    On the day after that, everyone did whatever they wanted to do for a good rest, and finalized the n for the next room.


    *


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 28


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)


    Sages Advice: 3]


    So, Sister Eunsol. How certain are you regarding the corruption of your brother, Lee Sehyun?


    Mr. Priest. My brother has always been a curious person ever since he was a child. Back then, everyone considered that to be the curiosity of a child and found it delightful to watch but there were many times when I sensed an underlying madness inside him.


    As you probably know, we cannot say anything with certainty with just that.


    At one point, my brother started interacting with strange foreignersing over from Africa and Europe. Let me tell you, I was not childish or foolish enough to not know that those people were not residents of the world of light.


    He became persuaded and started spending more time with them, and began collecting strange items and weird books. Especially books! He always brought new books from somewhere.


    I could tell from a distance just by seeing them, that those books werent things that should be allowed in this world.


    Hmm. And is the Order considering that book to be the Book of Incarnation?


    Yes, that is the case, Cardinal Mooksung. There has been a prophecy given to the Order that the Book of Incarnation, which had enshrouded the world in darkness 400 years ago, was somewhere in the Korean Penins. This ce could be the hiding spot of that book.


    <b>BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!</b>


    We came to ourselves along with the beep of a broken radio.


    In a stupor, we all turned to each other and that was when I realized something.


    So our job wasnt about helping the exorcists.


    Looks like <i>we</i> are the exorcists! shouted Grandpa Mooksung. Is the Hotel crazy? I dont know a single line of the bible! What kind of priest doesnt know anything about the bible?


    Ahahaha~! So as the only cardinal of our group, what do you think we should do, Grandpa Mooksung?


    Goodbye. I will drive the car and leave this ce, so it will be on you guys.


    Everyone was about to lose themselves.


    Not only was the time period of the scenario modified to the past, but the exorcists which we had been expecting to be our greatest allies were in fact ourselves!


    There was no-one here to help us! We had to find out the truth behind Lee Sehyun, the owner of the mansion, as the exorcists.


    Jinchul-hyung threw out a straight-forward idea.


    Anyway, that Lee Sehyun guy is the criminal, right? Lets just go and bash him to death. Wouldnt that solve everything?


    Please, Jinchul, Eunsol-noona replied with a sigh. It has never been that easy, has it?


    That was when Elena raised a question.


    Wheres Seungyub and Ahri?


    Only then did I look around the car and realize that neither Seungyub nor Ahri were here. I turned to Eunsol-noona, who also looked very surprised.


    Huh? I dont know if they are at the mansion or not this time either.


    Everyone was clueless as to what to do and surprisingly, it was Songee that took control.


    Everyone. Lets calm down for now. We all have information given to us about our roles, right? Lets talk about that first. Seungyub and Ahri will be fine; theyll be somewhere around the mansion or the vige.


    I also talked about what first came to mind.


    The bell! Does anyone have the bell? Im going through my memories right now, and apparently its called the Bell of Saint George. Its a divine item that can tear down demonic powers. Who has it?


    I have it with me, Grandpa replied. Im the cardinal so of course I need to hold onto something that impressive.


    Says the cardinal that was about to run away first.


    The car was in utter chaos.


    I couldnt help but heave a sigh.


    Hah This wasnt good!


    A priest that didnt know a single line of the bible and a cardinal that has never been to a cathedral. Amazing!


    Room 102 was not looking easy either.


    While sighing to myself, I realized that I was given the role of a deacon.


    If you could be a priest without knowing a line of the bible, why wasnt I the cardinal? What was a deacon /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 88: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (1)

    Chapter 88: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (1)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Room 102, Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear Re (1)</b> </strong>


    <b>* Second Attempt</b>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    It was confusing but I soon pulled myself together.


    Now! Lets calm down for now, and talk about the roles that were given to all of us. I am a probationary exorcist dispatched by the Vatican, a deacon, which seems to be right below a priest.


    And Im the exorcist training you and helping the cardinal, Jinchul-hyung replied. A wonderful priest that doesnt know anything about the bible.


    Elena followed up.


    Songee and I are sisters. It says we are very spiritual but doesnt look like we were given any other abilities. Its just another way to put our blessings.


    Next up was Grandpa Mooksung who took out a box with a shout.


    Im the cardinal dispatched to punish evil! Although I havent been to a cathedral before, but anyway, inside this box is the Bell. This must be a crucial item to advance with the room, so keep that in mind.


    Lastly, it was Eunsol-noona.


    I have changed from the niece of the owner of the mansion to a younger sister. My role is that of a younger sister skeptical about her brother being possessed by a demon.


    I was about to write them down on the note but I remembered that I didnt need to write it down on the note.


    After all, I had the system window, which I could control and view any time at will.


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 28


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)


    Sages Advice: 3]


    In curiosity, I wrote 1 in front of the number of Sages Advice to change it to [13]. What if this allowed me to have an infinite supply of advice?


    Unfortunately, the 1 was removed immediately.


    It gave me the feeling that the system window was of a much higher status and ss than the pen. It wasnt something that I could edit with the likes of this pen.


    I pulled one of the sides of the system window like what I did when applying it as a filter, and wrote letters on it. This time, the letters werent erased.


    It seemed that I got myself a new notepad.


    Before writing down the roles of everyone on the new notepad, I checked where Seungyub and Ahri were.


    [Teammate Location Information (*)


    Park Seungyub: Vige near the Mansion


    Kim Ahri: Vige near the Mansion]


    Vige near the mansino? Were they not inside the mansion this time?


    I wrote down everyones name based on their roles.


    /1. Team Exorcists


    Cardinal: Kim Mooksung


    Priest: Cha Jinchul


    Sisters: Elena, Yu Songee


    Deacon: Han Kain


    Sister of the Owner of the Mansion: Lee Eunsol


    2. Team Vige


    Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub/


    This was everything for now, and I could make edits to it once I figured out what Ahri and Seungyubs roles were.


    After writing everything down, I told everyone inside the car that Ahri and Seungyub were inside the vige next to the mansion.


    Soon, once everyone settled themselves down and we talked about our roles, we shared what we knew with each other and started contemting our next course of actions.


    I wasnt expecting us to be the exorcists, but in the grand scheme of things, I dont think that changes anything.


    Our objective is probably to figure out the truth behind Lee Sehyun, the owner of the mansion. First of all, lets go to the vige as exorcists and gather some information.


    Eunsol-noona raised a question.


    Before we do that, we first decided to have someone escape, didnt we? What should we do?


    Our original n was for everyone to head to the mansion while one person drove the car away from this region for an escape.


    However, there was a problem.


    We thought we would be traveling around the mansion, or the rear mountain and the cathedral at worst, but it seemed that we would have to travel to and from the vige and the mansion several times to gather information.


    The team needed a car as well, and it would be troubling for the escaper to leave with the car.


    Did they have to walk out then?


    But we didnt know how far they had to go for an escape. The stage was no longer just the mansion and its nearby surroundings  it included the vige nearby as well, so how far did we have to go for an escape?


    That was when Grandpa shared his opinion.


    Lets change our ns. What was our reason for having someone escape? Wasnt it because that Lee Sehyun guy was so powerful from the start in the first attempt that he could possess Songee in a sh?


    Right now, not only do we have the bell but also Songees bracelet to resist mind attack. On the other hand, Lee Sehyun is much weaker and is at the start of his corruption phase.


    First of all, lets all advance together to acquire information, and then have someone leave.


    *


    We followed the road in the car for about 30 minutes and finally found the actual vige. Unexpectedly, it was very different from the countryside vige that we were expecting.


    The houses located here and there looked imposing like the ones you would see in tourist attractions, and there were more houses than we thought.


    It was like a scene straight out of a drama.


    Is this like a vige of retired rich people?


    Jinchul-hyung said, summarizing my evaluation of the vige in one sentence.


    He was right, and that was exactly how it felt.


    I couldnt see any of the greenhouses or fields that you would expect from a countryside vige, and all the houses around the entire vige were veryrge.


    The townspeople out in the streets looked at our car with interest, and I found out that all of their clothes were very high-quality.


    Off in the distance, I saw the familiar mansion.


    Wasnt this set in Korea? How could such a big and imposing mansion exist like this?


    As soon as we entered the vige, Eunsol-noona spoke to us as if she remembered something.


    Theres no need to hide the fact that you are priests. Everyone thinks that I used my connections to bring you guys because of the strange incidents happening inside the vige.


    But of course, you need to hide the fact that Lee Sehyun is the prime suspect.


    Noonim. Isnt it weird that theyre calling a priest and not the police when something strange is happening around the vige?


    Who knows Eunsol-noona replied. Im going through my memories right now, but this ce is slightly different from the Korea we know. Its as if the Vatican is acting the role of the Administration Bureau here. And also, we need to be careful from here onwards.


    Sorry?


    With our manner of speech, of course. Everyone, please refer to me like you would to a normal believer, even when there isnt anyone around. So that we dont make a mistake when there are people around us.


    She was right. From now on, I was the Deacon, and it was important to keep the roles in mind while we were inside this room.


    We parked the car next to what seemed to be the vige hall and separated into three groups.


    Miss Lee Eunsol and Cardinal Kim Mooksung went straight to the mansion to meet Lee Sehyun.


    Sister Yu Songee and Sister Elena headed to the west of the vige hall, while Deacon Han Kain and Priest Cha Jinchul were dispatched to the east of the vige hall.


    *


    <b> Cha Jinchul</b>


    Kain. What should we first


    Priest Cha. Please be mindful of your speech. There will be peopleing around very soon.


    Ah, right. Deacon Han, what do ya think we should look out for first?


    If you could be more well-mannered like an actual priest.


    Damn it. I shouldnt havee with this guy; he was like a mother-inw.


    Im regretting the fact that Im grouped up with you. So, Deacon Han. What is your opinion on our course of investigation?


    We should first investigate the incident of missing children that is happening around the vige, and find out about Mr. Lee Sehyuns reputation. Also, we need to look for Ahri and Seungyub.


    Yeah, right. I mean, I see.


    It was true that we had to be mindful of our manner of speech, so I decided to be more thoughtful with how I spoke.


    We were walking forward when I realized that Kain was diligently reading off of a piece of paper from who knows where.


    Deacon Han. What is it that you are reading right now?


    This is a prayer that was inside the car.


    A prayer?


    Why do you seem so surprised? Do you think it is normal for a priest to not know a single line of a prayer? We would have to meet various people from the vige throughout our time inside the room.


    Once I am done, let me underline a few of the lines for you to remember. And please say them after we talk to the vigers. While you are at it, it would be great if you could look into the sky with deep emotions in your eyes.


    Please! I want to run away. Why was he so caught up in this exorcist cosy?


    *


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    Going around the vige with Priest Cha, we focused on gathering information.


    Just like our first impression, most of the people inside the vige were moderately rich people nning for a second life after a retirement in the city.


    There were two main pieces of information that we gathered.


    Firstly, about people going missing.


    It was mainly kids in early teens that were going missing. Most of the people inside the vige were retired and the average age was therefore quite high, but there were naturally some young couples and kids.


    There were already 4 young children that had gone missing. They were the source of happiness and energy in the vige, and the people of the vige were therefore very disheartened and depressed.


    After hearing about the circumstances, it made sense why they would contact priests instead of the police.


    Apparently, the children were inside the house like usual before disappearing all of a sudden, and in some cases, they just vanished from the surveince camera that they were on.


    Besides, kidnappers would generally call the family after kidnapping the child of a rich household for ransom, but there hadnt been any of that.


    The vigers were certain that some supernatural powers were in y.


    Secondly, about Lee Sehyuns reputation.


    Unlike us who knew about his suspicious circumstances and his corrupt self in the future, Lee Sehyuns reputation was very good among the vigers.


    He was well-known as a young yet amazing entrepreneur that acquired wealth in various industries, and appeared to have contributed significantly to the building of this vige.


    Essentially, he was the representative of this entire vige, and it was by no coincidence that his younger sister was sent off to represent the vige and seek external help.


    Simply hearing me ask skeptical questions about Lee Sehyun was enough to put the vigers in a bad mood. Priest Cha had to apologize to them that it was a mistake from his junior deacon.


    How were we supposed to show the corrtion between the missing incidents and Lee Sehyun?


    Where were the missing kids? Were they locked up inside the basement of the mansion? Or were they dead already?


    Before anything, we had to go to the mansion.


    We headed back to the vige hall and found Sister Songee and Sister Elena, who had already gone through the other side of the vige.


    Dear sisters. Is there anything you have figured out?


    Oppa?


    Please refer to me as Deacon Han.


    I warned Songee about her way of calling me, but that was when Priest Chamented from the side.


    Seriously! This guy is so into it right now. Hes probably going to keep telling you off until you fix up your way of referring to him.


    I think Deacon Han has the right approach. That was when Sister Elena intervened. We have to move around like detectives and there are many eyes on us around the vige and the mansion. Please be careful too, Priest Cha.


    It appeared that Sister Elena understood where I wasing from unlike Priest Cha who still couldnt be serious.


    As expected, Priest Cha dropped his head after that one sentence from Sister Elena, who then continued on to exin what she found out.


    There was a cathedral in the direction we went to. It was different from how it was almost in ruins during our first attempt. I also met the father there.


    Did the father know anything?


    Nothing. He wasnt someone experienced with exorcism, grimoires or anything supernatural.


    He was a normal person and seemed quite nervous around us. He asked us to take care of the serial missing incidents, but not much else.


    Sister Songee then said, We found Seungyub and Ahri. They were turned into children of the vige. The vigers were all trying to hide their kids due to everything happening and it was hard to even see them.


    We barely managed to meet them after introducing ourselves as sisters from the Vatican.


    Children of the vige? I asked. Did they be younger by any chance?


    Yes. They both looked barely 10. Both of them were so cute!


    Have you talked to them?


    Seungyub seemed very frustrated and wanted to help us at the mansion. Ahri just said she was doing okay.


    Both of them happened to be children in a vige where kids were going missing. There was no way that this was by coincidence.


    Priest Cha, who seemed to have thought the same thing, said from the side.


    Deacon Han. What if they are the next targets? Should we bring them in and protect them?


    Hmm. Priest Cha, its something we thought of immediately after hearing that, so I am sure that Ahri is thinking the same thing too. She has enough power to protect herself, so theres no need to be too concerned.


    Im not that concerned about Ahri either. Im more worried about Seungyub.


    In any case, its hard for us to do anything about it. Their parents are there, so priests cant suddenly show up and take the kids away. First of all, lets head to the mansion. Its time for us to meet Lee Sehyun.


    It was time to go to the mansion.


    As soon as she heard that, Songee voiced her concern.


    I was possessed immediately after touching the statue on the first attempt. What should we /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 89: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (2)

    Chapter 89: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (2)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Room 102, Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear Re (2) </b></strong>


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    A threat of being possessed would be looming over us from the moment we entered the mansion, so we needed measures against it.


    I shared my thoughts on the matter.


    This time, we have the bracelet of Sister Songee, so we should be able to resist it to some extent. He is still early in his corruption, and as such might not be able to use any significantly powerful abilities.


    Oppa, I mean, Deacon Han. I cant get myself used to the way you speak.


    We need to get used to it. The bracelet is of a high status among powers that can affect the mind, is it not? Can it perhaps cancel the possession?


    It is possible to find out if one is possessed through the bracelet, but it will be hard to undo the possession, she replied.


    Why is that?


    Why was it hard?


    Its been quite a while since we acquired the bracelet, but Songee was the only one who had a rough idea of the principles and limitations of the bracelet.


    Sister Songee started ruminating over her words, finding the best exnation about the foreign knowledge that the Hotel shoved into her mind when she acquired the bracelet.


    This might sound bizarre, but the bracelet is closer to science than ult. Although the abilities of the bracelet are supernatural, the roots stem from science.


    Its not human science but it is still science, whereas possession ispletely ult.


    But that doesnt mean it cant protect us against ult attacks.


    For example, we can defend against possession, but we cant chase the spirit out once theyve possessed someone.


    I wasnt sure what difference there was between ult and alien science. It made me feel like a caveman listening to an exnation of a smartphone, but I understood what Sister Songee was trying to convey.


    In a nutshell, the bracelet could perceive and defend against possession, but cannot cure someone that was possessed.


    *


    When we arrived at the mansion and met Miss Eunsol and the Cardinal, I straight away turned to Sister Songee.


    She shook her head, signaling that none of them were possessed yet. Only after confirming that did we start a conversation.


    First of all, we conveyed what we found out about the serial missing cases, Lee Sehyuns reputation and what happened to Ahri and Seungyub.


    Have you discovered anything? I asked.


    Nothing, the Cardinal replied. You will tell once you start talking to him. Lee Sehyun, that guy, is something else. He would have deceived mepletely if I wasnt aware of everything from the start.


    Miss Lee Eunsol, who looked even more absorbed in her role than myself, followed suit.


    We could not find any clues through talking to him. He says he is also concerned about what is happening around the vige, and has taken several measures against it.


    There wasnt any loophole in his statements. Something else would be that his son, Lee Siwoo is also in the mansion.


    Miss Eunsol continued after taking a breath.


    He himself is greatly concerned about his son. Siwoo has been weak from birth and used to have a home tutor, but not anymore because of everything that is happening.


    Priest Jinchul voiced his doubt after thinking to himself for a bit.


    Didnt you say there was a mysterious book locked up in the basement of the mansion before we came in?


    That was what Ahri discovered during our first attempt, I replied. Theres a mysterious book in the basement that will let you meet the demon when you open it. However, its unclear if it would still be there or not now that we are back in time.


    I dont know anything about construction, he muttered again. But it wouldnt be possible to build a wide room like that in a day or two, right? I think they would have built the basement when they were building the mansion.


    It made sense. I didnt know anything about construction either, but it was likely that the basement was still there regardless of the time period.


    The Cardinal summed it up for everyone.


    Lets check if theres anything we can find out during dinner, and head to the basement of the mansion at night.


    *


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    Dinner time.


    Having a chat with Lee Sehyun immediately made me understand what the Cardinal meant by, he would have deceived mepletely.


    Thats why I said to the manager back then. How long are you going to be content living as a part-timer, earning 100 to 200 dors a day? Dont you wanna at least give it a shot at being confident before your loved ones?


    Is that how you persuaded him and expanded your business?


    Haha! Of course it took more than just a few words! But whats important are not words but a vision. If you consider the political changes that were happening at the time


    This guy was a master of conversation. If you think about it, he was pretty much bragging about how talented he was and how he made a huge sum of money but it was very entertaining to listen to.


    Were some supernatural powers at y already?


    Probably not. He just seemed like a good talker.


    Cardinal Mooksung took the lead to cut off his talk and pressured him, talking about the strange things that we heard through Miss Lee Eunsol.


    It didnt work.


    He was neither flustered nor agitated by ourments and started exining himself. In regards to the im that he was gathering ult objects, he took out a few items and said it was his hobby to gather different pieces of art.


    Regarding the im that he met strange people, he said that some people must have misunderstood it, even though they were nice businessmen from overseas.


    The most difficult part about it, was that we could not spot any lies despite Elena openly using her lie detection.


    There was a need to change the atmosphere a little. After perhaps thinking the same thing, the Cardinal pped down on the desk.


    Mr. Lee Sehyun. Let me be frank with you and ask some questions.


    It is very concerning that the Cardinal is doubtful of me. I will definitely be sincerely honest with everything I say.


    Do you know anything about the Book of Incarnation? Even if you dont know the name, tell me if you have ever obtained a strange and mysterious book. Also, is there anything you are hiding from us regarding the serial missing cases?


    I know nothing about any of them.


    I turned to Elena who shook her head, saying that none of those were a lie.


    Things were getting very difficult.


    Silence befell the room for a while until a young boy walked inside.


    Mr. Lee Sehyun. Is that your son over there?


    Huh? Pardon me, everyone. Siwoo? Whats wrong?


    He walked up to his son and asked in concern.


    Siwoo looked like a middle-schooler, and was the typical example of a sickly yet good-looking boy. He must have inherited it from his father, who was also on the handsome side.


    Lee Sehyun apologized and ended the meal early because of his ill son and took him back to his room.


    After he left the room, we continued our chat for a bit more.


    What do you think? It looks like it will be difficult to figure out anything from talking to him.


    The Cardinal replied.


    I think so too. Sister Elena. Was there no falsehood in his words?


    Yes. The artworks he showed were normal, and he also met the foreigners for business matters. He also didnt know anything about the book or the missing cases. At least that was what he sincerely believed in.


    What if he has the power to resist lie detection? Jinchul-hyung voiced his opinion.


    For now, it is quite hard to grasp, I said. But lets save up on Sister Elenas lie detection. For some unknown reason, the lie detection isnt working on him, and we cannot waste it anymore.


    Sister Elena. How much of the lie detection do you have left? asked the Cardinal.


    Around 2? Or 3 minutes. Its almost used up.


    As the deacon said, we should save up on it. Further conversation wont be of use, so lets wait until night and head to the basement.


    That was when we heard the sound of Lee Sehyuns footsteps echoing down the corridor outside.


    We finished forming our n in silence by shifting over to our conversation tab.


    We decided that Sister Songee and I would be the only ones heading to the basement, with the rest staying upstairs.


    The grimoire was presumed to have strong mind-rted abilities, and there was even the likelihood of being possessed by a demon. It was dangerous to approach the book for anyone that didnt have the mental resistance.


    *


    <b> Cuckoo!</b>


    We left the room with the sound of the cuckoo clock. After turning to our teammates and giving them a nod, we headed to the study.


    Theres a lever somewhere around the wall that opens the staircase down to the basement, right?


    After some looking around, we found the lever, pushed it down and walked down the staircase.


    .


    .


    .


    We knew there wasnt any lighting inside and had a torchlight in hand, but couldnt do anything about the murky air around the staircase. It didnt necessarily stink, but it was very stuffy in here.


    For the next 30 minutes or so, we continued walking down.


    How deep underground was this basement?


    Finally, after a long walk, we came across a sturdy steel door.


    We said through the conversation tab.


    *


    <i>Han Kain: Found a door. Going in.</i>


    <i>Yu Songee: Nothing unusual yet.</i>


    *


    <i> Creak!</i>


    We walked inside after opening the door.


    Sitting at the front was a strange book gleaming in blue.


    I turned to Sister Songee, who immediately cast mental protection on me. This was the card we were hiding up the sleeve.


    After applying the strongest mental barrier we could bybining the bracelet and my filter, I slowly approached the book.


    Let me tell you out of concern, that you probably shouldnt touch that.


    !


    A voice suddenly echoed from the side. I quickly turned around in surprise and shed the light at a corner of the room to find Lee Sehyun.


    You! Werent you upstairs?


    Do you think theres only one way down to the basement? This ce is bigger than you think.


    We didnt get anything out of you even with our lie detection before! What kind of tricks did you use?


    Lie detection? Ahah! I was wondering what it was when that beautiful sisters eyes were shining gold. So that was what it was, huh!


    I didnt use any tricks. The me back then was being as honest as possible.


    While talking to Lee Sehyun, Songee talked over the conversation tab.


    *


    <i>Yu Songee: This person! Hes not human!</i>


    <i>Han Kain: What do you mean?</i>


    <i>Yu Songee: Cant use the bracelet! Run away immediately!</i>


    <i>Kim Mooksung: What is going on? We are going down right now!</i>


    *


    The underground corridor was very narrow and long. It would take a long time until our teammates would get to us.


    The man slowly stood up, took the grimoire and said with an easygoing tone of voice.


    Dont worry too much. I wouldnt have talked to you if I was nning to harm you guys.


    He was right. We werent even aware of him hiding there, so he could have attacked us anytime and taken us by surprise.


    I am instead curious as to why you didnt attack us.


    So what if I attack and kill you guys? I would have to kill the rest of your friends upstairs.


    Lets say I do kill the rest of your friends. The Vatican would then send an army, and I am not confident enough in killing an entire army.


    What is your purpose behind this talk? Songee interjected.


    I am about to show you an evident proof.


    Evident proof?


    The man seemed to have considered that to be enough and clicked his fingers. Suddenly, mysterious ck chains emerged from the surroundings and restrained us on the walls.


    That was it.


    He didnt seem interested in harassing us or anything. Instead of killing us or running away from the cardinal and the priest that could make their way down any time soon, he simply waited on the spot.


    What was he thinking?


    *


    After 15 minutes or so, the door opened with a thud.


    Jinchul-hyung shouted in fury.


    You bastard! Keeping them as a hostage!


    Grandpa Mooksung took out his gun and


    Bang!


    He shot it at Songee and me!


    Lee Sehyun waved his hand in surprise after seeing where the barrel was pointing and parried the bullets away.


    Did this old man actually go senile?


    Sorry guys. I will send you off in peace. We will kill this guy here so dont worry!


    Like, shouldnt you at least try to save the hostage? Killing the hostage before anything? What the heck was this?


    It seemed that I wasnt alone in this.


    Haha People from the Vatican are quite interesting indeed. I havent touched a single hair on their body and yet youre trying to kill the hostages already. In fact, they are not even necessarily a hostage.


    He said that before loosening the chains around our arms.


    The Cardinal said in embarrassment.


    Ah? Theyre not hostages?


    Of course I wont bother keeping hostages against you unsophisticated people. All I wanted was to make several witnesses.


    Witnesses?


    After seeing that everyone in Team Exorcists was here, Lee Sehyun left his final remark.


    Make sure to look at me. I have no ns of fighting against you unsophisticated folks, so off I go.


    Thud!


    At once, the chains crushed Lee Sehyuns head. At the same time, the blue gleaming grimoire rotated in circles before disappearing from the scene.


    What was going on?


    Everyone was flustered as to what was going on and


    That was when an rm popped up in our eyes.


    /You have sessfully escaped!/


    There were a few lines underneath that but none of those entered my sight.


    It was a very sudden and unexpected escape.


    *


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 28


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    We all stood there looking at each other in stupor.


    What was that?


    Mooksung the Cardin Ah, we were out of the room now.


    Grandpa Mooksung replied in confusion.


    Does anyone understand what happened just then?


    What I do understand is that this old man was the one that shot me and Songee with his gun after seeing us as a hostage.


    Eunsol-noona replied with an empty smile.


    Lets go have some tea and calm ourselves down first.


    I thought to myself on the way to the table.


    There were three main doubts in mind.<ol><li> Why didnt lie detection work on Lee Sehyun?</li></ol><ol start="2"><li> Why did he suddenly kill himself?</li></ol><ol start="3"><li> Why was it considered an escape when he killed himself?</li></ol>


    Fortunately, there was something that we could do.


    It was time for the Advice. This was different from a blind use of Advice without knowing anything.


    Right now, we knew several things andcked the wisdom to connect all those clues. If this wasnt the time for Sages Advice, then when /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 90: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (3)

    Chapter 90: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (3)


    <b>Trantor:</b> RainTL


    <strong>  <b>Room 102, Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear Re (3)</b><b> </b></strong>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 28


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    I contemted harder about the three questions on the way to the tea table.<ol><li> Why didnt lie detection work on Lee Sehyun?</li></ol><ol start="2"><li> Why did he suddenly kill himself?</li></ol><ol start="3"><li> Why was it considered an escape when he killed himself?</li></ol>


    Having decided to use Sages Advice, I turned to the system window. It wasnt good at providing answers in situations where I didnt know anything, but this time, we had several clues andcked the wisdom to connect the dots.


    We had to rely on Advice.


    I calmly ruminated over the questions and a sentence appeared before my eyes.


    [Discard the preconception that Lee Sehyun is the Enemy.]


    That one sentence answered all the questions.


    As soon as we arrived at the table, I exined to everyone else about the Advice.


    *


    We were misunderstanding it the whole time. The fact that the Enemy had the power to possess was something we confirmed during our first attempt.


    Despite knowing this, we were under the misconception that Lee Sehyun was the Enemy.


    Atst understanding what was going on, Eunsol-noonamented out loud.


    Was Lee Sehyun possessed as well?


    Yes. Theres a different person that used the power of the grimoire to possess him. He can steal Lee Sehyuns body at will, which answers all our questions.


    Firstly, the way he resisted the lie detection was simple. Its very easy in fact, because the real Lee Sehyun that was talking to us was indeed innocent. He didnt know anything and thats why he said no.


    Secondly, the reason Lee Sehyun killed himself was inside his response itself. The real Enemy that possessed Lee Sehyun said it in the basement, right?


    The Vatican would then send an army.


    He just decided to give up the moment we found out about him. Killing us would just result in a bigger armying after him, so thats why he put it off to ater date.


    Lee Sehyun is just a normal person and a puppet. The Enemy didnt want to reveal his true identity and threw away Lee Sehyun to hide himself.


    Thirdly, as for the escape; we have confirmed it already that getting away from the current threat was enough to be considered an escape.


    Now that the Enemy has discarded Lee Sehyun and concealed himself, it will be peaceful for quite a while. He will most likely hide for 10 years or even more. In fact, he might even move to a different location. Whichever the case, we were free from the current threat to our lives, which was why it was deemed an escape.


    Does that make sense to everyone?


    Everyone started to think deeply to themselves, before throwing several questions.


    Unexpectedly, the first one to ask those questions was Seungyub.


    Hyung. Then whos the real culprit behind it? Is it someone inside the vige?


    Since they can move to and from peoples bodies, its hard to identify them based on the body they are using at that moment. Whether it be Lee Sehyun or someone else, they are just a puppet for him.


    I get what you mean, Eunsol-noona added. But shouldnt there still be an actual body? If the Enemy is a human, they wouldnt have been born with the power to possess others, right?


    Thats true too, but I dont think we can figure that out at this current moment in time.


    Following suit was Jinchul-hyung, who asked a question from a different perspective.


    About the reason he killed himself, is there a chance that it was to increase our attempts? I was worried about that the most, because our second attempt was pretty much forced to an end.


    That was something I also thought of at the beginning. Before I could say anything, Ahri rebutted his question.


    I believe thats impossible. The Enemy bing faintly aware of the Hotel is a penalty of the fifth attempt. Which in turn means that its impossible for them to be aware of it before that.


    Even if the Enemy themselves dont know it, what if the Convict were to tell them? Jinchul-hyung asked again.


    This time, I replied.


    If the Convict can tell the Enemy about the Hotel, every Enemy would kill themselves at the start of an iteration to force us to escape, wouldnt they? Because its going to be beneficial for them to wait out until the fifth attempt.


    Hmm. I see. I guess its impossible for them to pull tricks like that.


    A question also popped up in my head in the middle of our discussion.


    It looks like the Enemy can move freely between peoples bodies. They dont die even if the owner of the body died, so how are we supposed to kill him?


    Because we need to kill him to resolve the room and get the Inheritance.


    Despite asking that out loud, my eyes were on Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung.


    They were the experts so they should be better aware of everything supernatural, and as I expected, Grandpa Mooksung responded to my question.


    Weve been against ghosts that transcend the limitations of a body many times. There are all sorts of them, but it boils down to how we can stop them possessing other bodies.


    How does it usually work?


    Its different every time. Sometimes, we have to destroy the source of the magic power, or use other means to temporarily block possession to kill them in the meantime. Sometimes, we have to do both at the same time.


    Destroying the source of the magic power or stopping their ability to possess and killing them, huh


    When you say source of the power, are you referring to the demon in the basement of the mansion? Can we even defeat them? And what would be a way to stop possession?


    I cant tell you the answer to that either right now, he replied. But we shouldnt have to deal with the demon. We didnt even meet the Convict of Room 101, and the Convict of Room 103 was an ally, right?


    From the looks of things, it feels like we dont have to fight against the Convict. There has to be a connection between the demon and the Enemy, right? It could be the book or an altar or a contract. Destroying that is probably our goal.


    I have no idea how to stop the possession for now. We dont even know the spectrum of his ability and the limitations yet. If he could for example possess anyone in the world at any time, it would be impossible to stop that.


    Thanks to the discussions, I was slowly starting to wrap my head around things.


    Ahri marked the end of the discussion (which was rare for her to do).


    Lets proceed with two main objectives in mind for the next attempt.


    Firstly, find out the true identity of the Enemy.


    Secondly, figure out how to kill him and find ways to stop his possession.


    Before everyone disbanded to our rooms, I also warned everyone.


    Lets not touch Lee Sehyun before we figure out how to stop his possession because thats why he forced us to an escape. He is much more cautious than anyone else weve met.


    The next day, we proceeded into Room 102 once again.


    <b>* Third Attempt</b>


    [User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 29


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room  Mansion of Fear)


    Sages Advice: 3]


    <b> Han Kain</b>


    We changed a part of our n after a re-entry into Room 102. If we were to stay in the mansion and somehow pressure Lee Sehyun, that might connect to the Enemy behind the curtains being pressured into killing himself again.


    As such, we went to the mansion straight after arriving at the vige to greet Lee Sehyun, and left behind only Miss Eunsol, Lee Sehyuns sister, and Priest Jinchul in case anything were to happen and left the mansion.


    The core of this scenario, the serial missing cases of children, was taking ce inside the vige.


    There was a need to investigate the vige more, so we first headed to the cathedral.


    Do you really have no information gathered about the missing cases?


    Sorry, Sir Cardinal. I thought contacting the police would solve it.


    Do you think the Vatican put you in here just for you to press three buttons and ring the police?


    Bang!


    S, sorry!


    Why was the Cardinal harassing that poor old father?


    At the very least, there was something we all realized 20 minutes into the conversation. The father / priest here, who was probably the younger version of the strange butler that we saw in our first attempt, was a normal person through and through.


    He knew nothing more about the missing cases than the vigers, and widened his eyes in surprise when we talked about grimoires and demons.


    Since he really was a normal father, he must be feeling wrongfully used of being scolded by a cardinal all of a sudden. What could a normal person do when people were going missing apart from calling the police?


    However, it seemed that Cardinal Mooksung had more to say.


    Did you not hear anything when you were dispatched to this ce? This cathedral was not built here for no reason! Do you not have any documents about the past?


    Old documents


    Only after pinpointing something did the father suddenly remember something and walk into the cathedral in search of a clue.


    Did the Cardinal remember something?


    Cardinal Mooksung. Did you remember something?


    No. I would have told you guys if I did.


    Didnt you just say, This cathedral was not built here for no reason? and request old documents from him?


    It was just a guess, he replied. Think about it. Isnt it strange how theres a big cathedral in a ce as unpopted as this vige?


    When you think about it, the Vatican in this world is simr to the Administration Bureau in our world, yeah? Thinking about it in line with that made mee up with a hypothesis.


    Which hypothesis?


    I will tell you once this is solved.


    After 10 minutes or so, the priest came out with a bunch of papers.


    The Cardinal asked after seeing them.


    Have you even read these before?


    Although the priest didnt reply back, I could tell just from looking at his face, that this must be his first time touching them.


    It seemed that we would have to scavenge through the documents for a while. The Cardinal ordered Sister Songee and Sister Elena to go around the vige before diving into the documents with me.


    *


    Around 2 hours went by with the Cardinal and I reading through the papers.


    Tak!


    I knew it.


    What do you mean?


    This cathedral, simply put, is like an Administration office that wasnt maintained for a long time.


    Can you exin that in simpler terms? I know nothing about the Vatican in this world just like I dont with the Administration Bureau.


    Its simple. Back when they built this cathedral, there had been a very dangerous set of supernatural events happening in this area.


    Thats why they built the cathedral to act as an office, and dispatched people but suddenly, those phenomena vanished and it stayed silent for dozens of years.


    Is it simr to what happened to us in the second attempt?


    Must be. Because of their ability to possess others, the true culprit had more than enough time in his hands and therefore must have decided to wait out dozens of years, hoping that like now, the human system would be useless over time.


    Suddenly, the Cardinal turned silent, before speaking like a government official exining to a normal civilian.


    From the standpoint of normal people, monsters and whatnot might seem like huge problems, but from the perspective of the organization that is in charge of looking after the entire Earth, you can even say that there are too many monsters to deal with.


    Think about a monster toad that killed 2,000 people in a single day and a group of heretics trying to move a whole city over to another dimension.


    It bes harder to focus on trivial monsters that hide for dozens of years and make a person or two go missing at a time.


    That is why this office became loosely maintained until a normal person like that became in charge of it.


    A toad that killed 2,000 people in a single day? A group of heretics trying to move a whole city over to another dimension?


    Awfully specific examples werent they?


    What kind of world was I living in?


    Leaving that aside, what we could gather from the documents was simple.


    These papers were about the Convict of Room 102, the Underground Demon.


    All the documents together talked about a myth.


    Somewhere far off in outer space was a transcendent existence called the Neb Dragon. It wasnt stated how, but that transcendent dragon died pregnant.


    If they were a normal set of mother and a fetus, the fetus would have died together, but the mother being a divine existence meant that the fetus was an equally divine being.


    Despite the death of the mother, the fetus was still alive.


    Forever cursing their fate of being unable to be born, they started pouring out curses of hatred unto the world.


    Is this One who couldnt be Born the Underground Demon that Ahri saw?


    Most likely.


    She said that the demon was sealed in a ce that looked like the organs of an evenrger organism but it seems that instead of being sealed, it was stuck in the womb of its mother because it couldnt be born.


    She got most of it right.


    Thats true. What are we supposed to do with this information?


    Who knows. I am actually more intrigued with whates next.


    The story about the demons origin was not that long. The people that were gathering this information dozens of years ago, must have deemed this too mythical to be true.


    There were much more documents talking about the missing incidents 60 years ago.


    This isnt the first time this happened.


    Yeah. It appears that the true culprit is not even from this time period.


    Is he from 60 years ago, do you think? I asked.


    Considering the nature of their ability, they could even be from 160 years ago. At that point, you wont even consider that human.


    This is getting more and more difficult. We still dont know anything about their true identity, nor about the limitations of their ability.


    But its not like we wasted time.


    Did you find something?


    The Cardinal suddenly stood up and turned to the mansion through the windows of the cathedral.


    Deacon. Do you remember the rear mountain?


    The ce where you and I had a little scuffle?


    It looks like there is something in there.


    *


    This was pretty much everything we could gather from the cathedral.


    Before leaving the building, out of habit I turned on the system window to check on Seungyub and Ahri.


    [Teammate Location Information (*)


    Park Seungyub: Dead


    Kim Ahri: Dead]


    Flop!


    In utter surprise I copsed on the spot!


    What is it, Deacon? Whats going on /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 91: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (4)

    Chapter 91: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (4)


    <b>* 6 hours ago</b>


    <b>- Kim Ahri</b>


    There was something I had been pondering about during the strategy meeting we had before the Third Attempt began.


    Why did the Hotel separate us into ¡®Team Exorcists¡¯ and ¡®Team Vige¡¯? It can¡¯t be because we looked young because clearly, the Hotel had the power to change the participant¡¯s outer appearance at will.


    Park Seungyub and me ¨C there had to be a role that we had to y inside the vige.


    First off, I needed to leave the house to find clues but¡­


    ¡°No! Ahri. I told you you can¡¯t go outside!¡±


    The moment I merely got close to the door, my ¡®mom¡¯ showed up to stop me from leaving the house.


    Four children had already gone missing, and households with kids were therefore being extra cautious with their children.Did I have to sit here and do nothing?


    <i>¡ª Ding dong!</i>


    The bell rang as some kids came into the house.


    Ever since the children started to go missing, the vige began to adopt a joint supervision system. There had to be adults supervising the kids, but they had to go to work which was why they decided to take this approach.


    Today, it was our family¡¯s turn to look after the nearby kids.


    ¡°Ahri!¡±


    I looked up and found Seungyubing closer with a group of children. Before long, they started to y around.


    ¡­


    I was sitting there nkly looking at the ceiling and when I came to myself, I realized that Seungyub was getting along with the kids very well. Wasn¡¯t he in middle school though? He didn¡¯t look any different from the elementary school kids he was ying with.


    Like that, I was sitting there waiting until the problem kid, ¡®Lee Siwoo¡¯ showed up.


    ¡°Siwoo-oppa! Come here!¡±


    ¡°Siwoo-hyung! Help me fix this~¡±


    It was an amusing sight but just like his father, the boy was a popr celebrity among the kids of his age. He was like the leader amongst the children.


    Even the adults appeared to trust him a lot ¨C the adults that were supervising us began to leave one by one once he showed up.


    ¡°Ahri! Come here and join us.¡±


    Like a brother looking after his younger sister, he called me to join. It wouldn¡¯t be right to sit here all the time so I walked up and he suddenly started to pat my head.


    I almost couldn¡¯t stop myself from holding back my fist! This kid was asking to be bashed!


    Somehow, I held myself back but there was someone else who couldn¡¯t.


    <i>¡ª Flick.</i>


    Seungyub suddenly appeared next to us and pushed Siwoo¡¯s hand away. Siwoo seemed slightly surprised; he gave an awkward smile before going back to other children.


    What the heck were these kids doing? Seungyub? You¡¯re embarrassing me now.


    Around 20 minutes went by when Siwoo said to the kids.


    ¡°Guys~. It¡¯s time for a nap. Let¡¯s all take a nap.¡±


    Time for a nap? Although they were kids, they didn¡¯t look small enough to need a ¡®time for a nap¡¯ though¡­


    !


    That was when something strange began to unfold.


    Siwoo gently waved his hand and all the kids suddenly started to doze off. He then started to carry all of them to the sofa and the mattress.


    After sensing that something was going wrong, Seungyub quickly whispered to me.


    ¡°A, Ahri-noona. What is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®noona¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ahri¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Stay still.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It¡¯s alright, Seungyub! The worst that could happen to us is death!


    I wanted to turn to the conversation tab but realized that we were too far apart.


    Team Exorcists said they would meet Lee Sehyun at the mansion and immediatelye to the vige by car so that they don¡¯t make him suspicious, but it seemed that they weren¡¯t at the vige just yet.


    The conversation tab wasn¡¯t activated yet for us.


    Siwoo walked towards us and did ¡®something¡¯ after holding Seungyub by the arm. Before long, Seungyub began to follow him with a dreamy look in his eyes.


    I just had to copy that, right?


    For the time being, I decided to leave a trace behind.


    ***


    ¡­How inconsiderate.


    We walked for around 2 hours from the vige to the rear mountain of the mansion. It wouldn¡¯t have taken that long by car but it took us 2 whole hours.


    Normally, kids like us wouldn¡¯t have been able to walk straight for 2 hours but Seungyub was hypnotized while I was pretending to be, so we all walked without anyints.


    Was it right to continue following him? I wasn¡¯t entirely sure.


    The conversation tab didn¡¯t work the whole time but I could guess the reason. Mooksung probably wasn¡¯t dead; he was probably at the mansion when we were in the vige, and while we were going around the vige towards the rear mountain, Mooksung must have headed straight to the vige.


    We crossed our paths and were constantly too far from each other for the conversation tab to work¡­


    It appeared that the ¡®culprit¡¯ was possessing the kid in front of me but¡­ was it really a good idea to continue going after him?


    Although I was unsure, I decided to follow him for the time being. After all, it was important to gather as much information as possible even if that meant death.


    We would at least be able to figure out where the ¡®missing kids¡¯ had gone off to.


    There was nothing special on the way to the mountain.


    It stayed that way until we were around half-way up the mountain.


    Aside from the difficulty that came from being smaller than usual, the mountain wasn¡¯t unique or different from other mountains. Humans might find mountains to be quiet and frightening, but I could faintly feel and hear the animals and creatures inhabiting the mountain.


    It was only when we were half-way up the mountain that I found something strange for the first time.


    Sitting in front of us was arge door.


    Was this door here the whole time? I didn¡¯t remember seeing it in the future version, but it wasn¡¯t like we ransacked the entire mountain so I wasn¡¯t sure.


    What should I do? Should I turn around and go back? Would I be able to run away even if I did so?


    Before long, I decided against it. I wouldn¡¯t figure anything out by turning back here.


    Someone had to go in and find out what was lying inside that ce.


    I took courage. Even if I were to die here, I would open my eyes outside. It would be fine.


    Saying that to myself, I walked in through the door.


    And the moment I did, the world flipped upside down.


    ***


    <b>- Kim Ahri</b>


    Laundry inside a washing machine.


    The world turned in circles like I was a hamster on a wheel.


    I barely forced myself up and looked around, only to find an iprehensible world in front of me.


    There was no source of light in the sky above. Neither the sun nor the moon were in sight.


    However, there were faint and ambient sources of light in the ground. Countless flowers were covering the ground, and those flowers were giving off light to supply a small amount of light into the world nearby.


    Where was this ce?


    Naturally, the door I walked in through was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. This is the world of the Neb Dragon. The owner has passed but the world is still left behind in fragments.¡±


    ¡°Neb Dragon? Who is that?¡±


    ¡°No need for you to know. She has entered a deep slumber in prehistoric times, and this world started to crumble along with her passing.¡±


    The boy exined while looking around with an emotional light in his eyes.


    ¡°Did you know I was awake?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course I did,¡± he replied.


    ¡°...Why did you take me here?¡±


    Instead of replying, the boy sat in the midst of the flowers and carefully stroked each one of them.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these flowers beautiful?¡±


    ¡°They look like evening primroses. It¡¯s surprising that they emit light though.¡±


    ¡°They cannotpare to flowers on Earth. Each one of them contains a soul, after all.¡±


    It felt spooky all of a sudden.


    I immediately retreated from the flowers and asked.


    ¡°Did you make these flowers by killing people?¡±


    ¡°They were leading a worthless life. But through death, they have found true value.¡±


    Now this was something I was familiar with. Although the environment was very new, it wasn¡¯t rare to see lunatics like this on Earth.


    First off, I asked about his motive.


    ¡°So what; are you trying to kill a bunch of people to revive your god or something?¡±


    ¡°Did you think I was trying to revive the Neb Dragon? That¡¯s a misunderstanding. How would the likes of me possibly resurrect a dead god?


    My job is simply toplete the birth of her firstborn son ¨C the one who is still continuing to grow himself by swallowing the remains of his mother.


    But that won¡¯t be enough. Eating the remains of a dead god is not enough for the birth of an actual god.


    He needs assistance. You might think I¡¯mmitting a horrible massacre, but that¡¯s not the case. I¡¯m simply helping them ¡®immigrate¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Immigrate?¡±


    ¡°The people that became these flowers will be the citizens of the newborn world. They will definitely acquire a fate that cannot bepared to the filthy life on Earth!¡±


    I could feel it from that short conversation.


    This guy was a madman who believed a demon to be an ¡®unborn god¡¯, and was considering human sacrifices to be the process of immigration.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to fight me,¡± he said.


    ¡°Are you surprised you couldn¡¯t persuade me?¡±


    ¡°You are not normal people are you?¡± he suddenly asked.


    Normal people? What did he mean by that?


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting. Today is a very intriguing day. I was surprised when I saw you and Seungyub. Your souls are iparably of a higher statuspared to that of other people. You are not exorcists from the Vatican, so how could this be?¡±


    ¡­I understood where he wasing from.


    For us it was the Enemy that was possessing people, but from the Enemy¡¯s perspective, it must have looked like we were suddenly possessing the vigers! Since he was an existence that could perceive souls, he must have been surprised to see the souls of participants of the Hotel, which were of a higher status than normal people.


    He must have considered it normal for the exorcists of the Vatican because they weren¡¯t supposed to be normal people in the first ce.


    But from his perspective, Seungyub and I must have been normal people until yesterday, and hence the reason why he was so intrigued by this change.


    ¡°We were sent from the above to kill you.¡±


    ¡°Really? Were you sent by the being that the Vatican believes in?¡±


    Sorry. I¡¯m just saying things. I was sent not from ¡®the above¡¯ but from ¡®the Hotel¡¯.


    In any case, there was no more need for a conversation.


    I drew out my ¡®Ancient Blood¡¯.


    <i>¡ª Tat!</i>


    In a sh, I jumped across 10 steps to close the distance, and swung the blood ws frozen away from my nails at the enemy.


    The boy shouted something strange while taking a leap backwards.


    That was when ck chains shot out of all sides, stopped the ws and raced towards me.


    I spun myself on the spot before jumping off the ground to escape the chains. In the middle of the air, I clicked my fingers.


    <i>¡ª Kwang!</i>


    Blood spurted out from Siwoo¡¯s chest as he crumbled on the spot along with a scream.


    I was about to strike down at his chest with my knees but¡­ that was when more chains shot out of the ground to bind my legs.


    However, without letting that stop me for a single second, I immediately cut off my legs.


    His face was covered in shock as if this was thest thing he sawing and ¡ª my sharp and solid fingers pierced through Siwoo¡¯s neck.


    ***


    ***


    ***


    Did I win?


    Unfortunately, that was highly unlikely. The Enemy was someone who had exceeded the physical constraints of a human body. That ¡®Siwoo¡¯ was probably just a puppet for him too, and there was no way that this was the end.


    For the time being, I glued my legs back together. They were cut off as cleanly as possible, so it didn¡¯t serve to be too big of an issue. Putting my legs back together, I was using the powers of the Ancient Blood to close the wounds.


    It was then.


    ¡°Noona!¡±


    Seungyub, who had woken up a long time ago and was hiding himself, screamed out loud.


    <i>¡ª Kwang!</i>


    Sharp chains struck me on my back. Withstanding the pain, I stood up and noticed there was a mysterious being standing behind me.


    He looked like a young boy.


    His skin seemed as thin as paper; I could even see the veins and his moving organs beneath it. Instead of pupils, in his eyeballs were little rotating tornadoes that gave off light, and his facial features were big and distinct.


    Although he looked like a mysterious boy at a nce, upon a closer inspection you would see every way that he differed from a normal human, and feel disgusted by it.


    Was that who the ¡®Enemy¡¯ was? Was it a citizen of this world that was made by the ¡®Neb Dragon¡¯, the so-called mother of the demon?


    His voice casually drifted out.


    ¡°You fight really well. Are you really an angel sent from the god of Earth? Beautiful Lady Ahri?¡±


    ¡°Stop giving me goosebumps. I am much older than you think.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s funny. Because I¡¯m also quite a lot older than how I appear.¡±


    ¡°The results won¡¯t be different for Round 2.¡±


    ¡°I agree too. Honestly speaking, my powers alone won¡¯t be enough to beat you. It was spooky seeing you cut your legs and pasting them back together, but this is my hometown and I have someone protecting me here.¡±


    That was when a tremendous amount of power started to boil inside the entire world. The demon was pouring out an overwhelming amount of energy!


    I immediately used a syringe to take out my blood containing my ¡®Allusion¡¯ and handed it over to Seungyub.


    ¡°Run.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°Use your blessing, and run. Continue running and you¡¯ll make your way out.¡±


    Our experience thus far had not been in vain ¨C without asking me anything or wasting time, Seungyub immediately started to run with the syringe in hand.


    I could hear a scoff being carried by the wind.


    ¡°I can sense an extraordinary soul from that boy, but isn¡¯t he just a normal boy? Do you really think he can leave this ce?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making me curious now. What are you basing that on?¡±


    ¡°Will the graveyard of a dead god beplete without any ws? There will be some holes here and there, and that must be why you yourself are able to travel back and forth. Right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but you don¡¯t know where¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wherever it is, he will find it.¡±


    The luckiest boy in the world would definitely be able to find a way out of this hell.


    So as for you and me¡ª


    This would be the graveyard of one of /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 92: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (5)

    Chapter 92: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (5)


    <b>* 2 hours ago</b>


    <b>- Park Seungyub</b>


    I ran like crazy after getting the syringe from noona.


    It felt the same way as it did as when I was shooting the balloon with a gun. Therefore, instead of thinking, I decided to let my blessing guide me to the most desirable fate.


    During this moment, I was the luckiest person in the world! I could rely on my blessing and guess my way through everything, because those would be the answer!


    Explosions and deafening sounds started to echo from behind but I ignored them.


    It was a strange world. Everything was small.


    Looking back, even the alien-like person that appeared behind Ahri-noona was small. Every animal and nt that I came across during the sprint were all small and tiny.


    Was this how Gulliver felt in thend of little men?I myself had also be smaller after entering Room 102 and yet I was on the bigger side in this mysterious world.


    I saw the grass and little trees swaying in the distance.


    That was when I began to hear footsteps echoing in my ears, and my nose started to pick up a stinky and rotten smell that you would usually smell from a rotten piece of flesh.


    Something wasing after me.


    What should I do?


    It was times like this that made me feel sad.


    Why did I have no ability to fight whatsoever?


    In any case, I decided to climb the big tree in front of me to avoid the pursuer. The moment I was about to tread a few steps closer towards it, my body suddenly slipped down.


    <b>¡ª Flop!</b>


    One of my legs fell into arge hole on the ground!


    What kind of unlucky thing was this¡ª


    Wait, unlucky? How could I be unlucky right now?


    Right now, I was the luckiest man alive. Nothing unlucky could ever happen to me.


    Therefore, my leg falling into the hole couldn¡¯t have been anything unlucky; in fact, it happened to me because I was lucky!


    I quickly forced my entire body through the hole.


    After pushing my way through the mud, I fell into a strange underground cave. I pushed myself up on my feet and began to run.


    During the sprint, I started to feel my luck fading away. This was it ¨C my Blessing of Fortune was slowly starting to dissipate.


    The fact that I ended up in this cave by simply sprinting forward with the syringe in hand was the limit of my ¡®fortune¡¯.


    ¡­


    As soon as my blessing ended, bats flickered their eyes open from all around.


    Bats? Were they even bats when they had scorpion tails?


    Clenching my teeth I ran towards the end of the cave as hard as I could.


    <b>¡ª Stab!</b>


    No matter how fast I tried to run, my speed as a young boy was nowhere near being faster than that of flying animals.


    As if they were here to let me personally feel the end of my Fortune, the bats began to pierce me with their tails.


    ¡­It was painful, and I could feel something wriggling in the wounds.


    I intentionally turned away from my injuries. I would be asking for too much to want to leave a strange ce like this unscathed, right?


    Even if I were to die, I had to take out this syringe, which must be containing a message that noona wanted to convey.


    I could make a decent guess as to what the content of the message would be. It was probably about there being a ce connected to a strange world in the mountain, and how that was the Enemy¡¯s real base!


    Noona probably figured out even more than what I saw.


    Paat!


    The world turned bright.


    I unconsciously closed my eyes from the sudden spark of sunlight, and realized through that, that I was finally back in the real world.


    <b>¡ª Twitch!</b>


    It hurt. It was excruciatingly painful!


    I rolled on the ground from the unbearable pain.


    It was frightening. What was happening to my body right now?


    I took off my clothes in fear.


    ¡°UAAAHK!!!?¡± and I ended up screaming out loud.


    Those bats from back then had injected eggs into my body! I could seervae the size of my fingers wiggling inside my body. A few of them even seemed to have headed deeper inside my body already.


    Sorry, everyone. I think this is it for me.


    I simply cannot bear the idea of these monsters hatching inside my body. I went near the mountain hiking tracks, and ced my clothes down with the syringe carefully ced in the middle.


    Then, I went to a cliff and jumped down.


    ¡­My consciousness began to fade. Sorry, everyone. And please, try your best.


    <b>* Present</b>


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    After confirming the death of Ahri and Seungyub, we quickly gathered the sisters back together. We headed to the house where the kids were staying and realized that all the other kids were sleeping dead silently on the sofa and the mattress.


    Soon, the Cardinal found traces.


    ¡°It¡¯s the rear mountain!¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°Here! Agents leave traces behind like this. Let¡¯s head to the rear mountain!¡±


    Without adding any more exnation, the Cardinal headed straight for the car. I nced at where he was looking and found some undecipherable symbols written next to the door.


    Was this a code used between the agents of the Administration?


    In a hurry, the Cardinal and the sisters and I rode the car towards the mountain. For a moment, we stopped the car on the way and picked up Jinchul-hyung, whom we had contacted through the conversation tab.


    It took us no time to get to the mountain.


    But the problem was after that.


    Where were we supposed to go in this vast mountain?


    For the time being, we decided to climb the mountain using the hiking tracks. When we were about half-way up the mountain¡ª


    Songee found a shirt covered in blood.


    ¡°There! That¡¯s what Seungyub was wearing today!¡±


    The shirt was covered in blood. What did he go through?


    I lifted the shirt and found a syringe filled with blood, and next to where the shirt had been were letters written on the dirt.


    ¡®Mountain, strange world, real base.¡¯


    Did this mean there was a strange ce somewhere in the mountain and how that was the real base of the Enemy?


    I understood what it meant, but how were we supposed to find it in this vast mountain?


    Picking up the syringe, I was staring at it with curiosity when the blood inside it suddenly started to swerve around.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    The Cardinal standing next to me immediately shouted out loud.


    ¡°Wait! Give me that syring¡ª¡±


    The blood forced its way out of the syringe on its own ord and dug into my body as my consciousness started to turn fuzzy.


    ***


    When I came to myself, I found myself standing inside a dark ce.


    I turned around and found Ahri standing still with a nk look in her eyes.


    Was this her way of rying information?


    ¡°How did you die? Why didn¡¯t you call us using the conversation tab, and why did you go by yourself?¡±


    She stood nkly without replying to my question. Only when I got near her did she finally do something ¨C she waved her hand in the air.


    ¡­


    I had a feeling that this wasn¡¯t the real ¡®Ahri¡¯. Was it just a hologram?


    A video popped up in the air.


    It showed the road from the entrance of the mountain all the way to where a strange door was. Going through the door revealed a strange world with a beautiful in of flowers.


    The video reyed itself twice, as if it wanted me to etch it into my brain.


    When the video finished reying itself, Ahri said in a dull manner.


    ¡°Going through this door leads to the other world where the Enemy¡¯s home resides. This ce contains flowers made by polishing human souls. Destroying this area is assumed to be the core of the resolution of the curse.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t this too extreme? We had to destroy a ce that was in another world?


    I was very confused but the hologram didn¡¯t wait for me. It continued revealing some shocking information.


    ¡°There is a high likelihood of my defeat. The status of my soul is very high, and it is as effective as sacrificing hundreds or thousands of souls.


    The demon, ¡®One who couldn¡¯t be Born¡¯ is likely to be born very soon. You must escape right now.¡±


    I shouted out loud in fright.


    ¡°Wait! What do you mean the demon will be born very soon? And what is this about the status of souls?¡±


    In the midst of my question, I realized something.


    This question was something that the ¡®real Ahri¡¯ would have never given the answer to. However, this hologram made with a fraction of Ahri¡¯s memories replied after turning towards me.


    ¡°The participants of the Hotel will increase the status of their souls by oveing its trials. That is one of the objectives of the Hotel. My soul has already exceeded the status of normal humans.¡±


    That response was all that was allowed. After feeling like I was falling into an endless spiral, I escaped the dark area back into the real world.


    ***


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    I immediately conveyed what I heard to everyone.


    How there was a ce inside the mountain that could be considered the Enemy¡¯s base and how the Convict, the ¡®One who couldn¡¯t be Born¡¯ was close to being born after taking Ahri as sacrifice!


    The Cardinal yelled with a serious look on his face.


    ¡°We¡¯re fucked!¡±


    Songee shouted back in confusion.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    The one kind enough to reply to that was not from our group ¨C it was the one that was currently in the middle of its birth.


    <b>¡ª GOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!</b>


    An endlessly evil scream shook the heavens and the earth.


    Dark clouds soared from the mansion and immediately covered the entire sky. I dumbfoundedly turned to the Cardinal who exined with a sigh.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that we found where the real base is and stuff, but it seems that the demon god will be born now that Ahri herself was sacrificed.¡±


    Hearing that, Elena murmured in fear.


    ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°We are close to being doomed.¡±


    The ground began to shake as a ck aura started to seep out.


    ¡°What are we supposed to do then!¡± Jinchul-hyung asked in a hurry.


    ¡°Move right now! We have to escape before the ritual ispletely over!¡±


    ¡°What about the real base that¡¯s nearby? Shouldn¡¯t we raid that ce now?¡±


    ¡°You retard!¡± shouted the Cardinal. ¡°The demon god ate everything it needs to and is about to be born, so what are we going to achieve by destroying that ce now?! We needed to destroy it before all this happened.¡±


    I started to follow what was happening.


    It was great that we found where the ritual for the demon god was taking ce, but due to the heavily dense sacrifice, that is Ahri, the demon was about to be born.


    In other words, ¡®this attempt¡¯ was already doomed.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean we got nothing from it. Everything would be fine as long as we could somehow move on to the next attempt!


    We could probably destroy the base before the birth of the demon god and kill the Enemy. Shouldn¡¯t that solve everything?


    I put away that line of thought until the escape because the situation at hand was much more urgent.


    We all got back in the car and started moving towards the mansion.


    On the way there, I pondered to myself.


    ¡®Should I use Descent here?¡¯


    I asked everyone else for their opinion.


    ¡°Should I attack him using Descent? It must be pretty weak when it¡¯s just born, right? And how about you guys distance yourself as much as possible in the meantime?¡±


    ¡°Not sure if I like that idea,¡± replied the Cardinal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s the best approach?¡±


    ¡°Sure, but there is a limit to your Descent, and I¡¯m still a bit uneasy about the so-called ¡®lord¡¯. I¡¯d rather we keep it unless it¡¯s certain that we can resolve the curse.


    I believe this attempt is already over. The moment we failed to stop the resurrection of the demon god, the best we can do is probably escape.¡±


    ¡°But can we escape without relying on Descent?¡±


    The conditions for an escape were to escape from the ¡®current threat¡¯ even momentarily. The demon god was about to be born, so what were we supposed to do to escape it even for a moment?


    It was times like this when we needed to use the ¡®Advice¡¯.


    I prayed desperately. Please tell us what we need to do!


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    Sometimes, the only path out is to buy time by flipping the board upside down.


    ¡­What did that mean? Flip the board and buy time?


    I couldn¡¯t understand what it meant so I used the Advice again.


    ¡®How do I flip the board and buy time?¡¯


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1


    Your group has the power to ¡®distort everything¡¯.


    I turned towards Jinchul-hyung.


    The Third Attempt was in tatters, but I realized there was still a way out for /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 93: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (6)

    Chapter 93: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (6)


    Third Attempt


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    We quickly came up with a n straight after the Advice and divided our group into two squads.


    One of them was the ¡®Suicide Squad¡¯,prising of Priest Jinchul, the owner of the Star, Songee who can protect his mind, and me, who also had protection against possession.


    I took hold of the gun and the bell.


    Next up was the ¡®Escape Squad¡¯, whose job was to run as far away as possible because they won¡¯t be able to contribute much to the battle. The Enemy wasn¡¯t a human, and it was dangerous for anyone without protective means against the possession to even approach him.


    As such, Sister Elena and the Cardinal were in charge of the escape.


    Sister Elena said in tears before we parted ways.¡°Sorry¡­ everyone. I will see you outside.¡±


    Priest Jinchul replied to cheer her up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll see you guys outside.¡±


    The moment we decided to head back to the demon, everyone in our ¡®Suicide Squad¡¯ made up our minds already. There was no chance of survival for us.


    All three of us were going there to die.


    ***


    <b>- Cha Jinchul</b>


    Huu. Huuu.


    I took a deep breath in and out and thought to myself on the way to the mansion.


    Was there a time when I had to fight against adversities of this level?


    I thought back on the other martial artists that felt like unsurpassable walls back when I was pursuing that career outside the Hotel.


    At that time, I considered them the greatest adversities of my life and saw them as unbeatable foes once I lost my passion but¡­


    Looking back at it now, they were nothing but mere humans.


    The demon that we were about to face right now could flick its finger once and kill all of them.


    It felt like I was ying in a bigger body of water now instead of theke I used to be in.


    I¡¯ve never said this to my teammates since I might sound like a lunatic, but there were times when I felt an inexplicable sense of achievement and aplishment throughout my life at the Hotel.


    The feelings of bing a special existence!


    Why was I so adamant about the martial arts of ¡®mere¡¯ humans before?


    There was no need to feel nervous.


    I acquired a blessing that surpassed humans and had a treasure that could help me fight against the demon king.


    As we got closer to the mansion, we realized the surroundings turned more and more devastating. The people here had been killed horribly in ways that words could not express.


    I didn¡¯t feel like looking at them and turned my head, but Kain approached the corpses and came to the conclusion that sharp tentacles must have soared from the ground to pierce through the people.


    It was obvious that observing the corpses would be helpful in finding clues, but that was something I certainly couldn¡¯t do.


    <b>¡ª Kung! Kung!</b>


    When we were close enough to the mansion, we saw an unbelievably enormous cocoon. From inside the cocoon echoed an enormous sound that shook the ground below with each of its pounces.


    ¡°...What in the world is that?¡±


    ¡°I believe, Priest, that¡¯s a¡ª¡±


    ¡°Come on! Stop with the role y. We don¡¯t need to worry about that now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. To me, it looks like an incrediblyrge piece of flesh.¡± Kain replied.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re not facing the demon straight away. Do we just have to destroy that thing?¡±


    As soon as I said that, ck tentacles began to rise from the ground. They started to twist and bind my body before I could react and tried to squeeze me dry.


    A strange voice reached my ears from a distance.


    ¡°Are you even human? Even a bear can¡¯t be this strong¡­ But it matters not anymore.¡±


    A creature that looked like ¡®Gollum¡¯ from Lord of the Rings showed up and gestured with its hands to summon a dozen more tentacles.


    ¡°This fucker!¡±


    ¡ª Tangg!


    The sound of a coarse bell rang through the air. It was a sound that no-one would be able to call a ¡®clear ding¡¯ even if they wanted to be extra polite about the sound, but it was effective. The tentacles immediately withered like that of a dead squid.


    Seeing that, the Gollum-like creature widened its eyes in shock before immediately turning around to run away.


    Toote, idiot!


    <b>Kwang!</b>


    I kicked off with a thud and pounced at him.


    ¡°That bell! What is this power!?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the Bell of the Saint! You son of a bitch! You¡¯re dead!¡±


    I smashed the Gollum¡¯s shoulder as its shoulder immediately shattered into smithereens. It let out an ear-splitting scream. I was just one punch away from crushing its head¡ª


    ¡°That body! How tempting!¡±


    The monster¡¯s eyes suddenly turned crimson red and my consciousness ¡ª. Actually, nothing happened.


    ¡°What are you doing, little guy? Do you think I¡¯m a retard that will let you possess me?¡±


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t the one that did anything. Songee was probably the one that did something.


    Kain, who had been ringing the bell like crazy the whole time, walked towards me from behind. It was hard to tell, but it seemed that the Gollum was having trouble using its powers while the bell was being rung.


    That was all good and all, but it did sound horrible.


    There wasn''t anything much to interrogate the monster about. Even if there was, we didn¡¯t have the time for that.


    The heaven-shaking heartbeats from inside the cocoon were bingrger andrger over time.


    ¡°Just die now.¡±


    Right as I was about to smash its head, the monster smirked and left itsst words.


    ¡°It¡¯s all futile. The god will soon descend on thisnd. A new era will begin to unfold.¡±


    <b>¡ª m!</b>


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t expecting him to die so easily,¡± Imented.


    ¡°This bell certainly is effective,¡± replied Kain. ¡°Looks like he can¡¯t possess others while the bell is being rung.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it Songee that stopped the possession?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Songee replied. ¡°You were moving too fast and I couldn¡¯t set you as the target. That was very dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I almost made another mistake, it seems. But it¡¯s good that we found out what the bell was for.¡±


    After looking around, Songee asked a question.


    ¡°We killed the Enemy but we haven¡¯t resolved it yet.¡±


    ¡°Probably means we were toote,¡± Kain replied with a sigh. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything to kill the Enemy when the demon is already about to be born, right?¡±


    I thought the same thing. Now that the demon¡¯s cocoon was already summoned onto the world, this Gollum had already done its job.


    We had to do something about that cocoon.


    <b>¡ª Kung! Kung!</b>


    Therge cocoon that showed up while destroying the mansion that used to take its ce was awe-strikingly enormous. It was as gigantic as a building.


    ¡­Now was the time to use the Star.


    Songee came closer and her Bracelet flickered once.


    ¡°Step back. Both of you.¡±


    Songee and Kain took several steps back when I said that.


    I summoned the .


    <b>- PAAAAAAAAHT!</b>


    The Star came to existence while immediately giving off an overwhelming energy. Although I practiced a lot in the Safari, there was still an innate sense of fear that struck me every time I summoned it.


    After all, this contained the power that could distort anything in this world. It was the authority from another world that scoffed at everything in existence, regardless of whether they were living or not.


    The cocoon began to go through a change as soon as the Star¡¯s energy came into contact with it.


    <b>¡ª GOOOOHHHH!</b>


    An infuriated roar erupted from the cocoon. Arms began to shoot out from the cocoon made by the god who couldn¡¯t be born to perfect itself.


    <b>¡ª Kwang!</b>


    I avoided the hands that were trying to grab me. I dodged them again and again. The hands grew in number one by one.


    Right when one of the arms almost squeezed my entire body to nothing!


    I shoved the Star into that hand, which immediately turned into strange minerals and melted into a liquid.


    <b>¡ª AHHHKK!</b>


    A scream echoed out from the cocoon. The cocoon divided into two vertically as arge moth, the size of a mountain, emerged from within.


    ¡­That was thest thing I remembered.


    ***


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    I ran and ran to no end.


    When the cocoon was screaming and when the arms that tried to kill Jinchul-hyung were being melted by the Star, I thought the power of the Star was going to be enough to beat it.


    What happened next was something I hadn¡¯t even seen in a movie.


    The cocoon bigger than an apartment building separated into two, as an enormous moth that even made that cocoon seem tiny shot out from the inside.


    Jinchul-hyung vanished in the blink of an eye. He seemed to have died the moment the moth came to existence.


    I realized something as soon as I saw that mountain-like moth move itself.


    This world was over the moment such a thing came to life. No weapons would be able to protect this world from that thing.


    The moth fluttered its enormous wings once as white dust began to fall like rain onto the world beneath.


    Ahh¡­


    This was a scene from hell for us, but was the beginning of a new era for others. Inexplicable creatures were being born from each of those specks of dust.


    A single flutter of its wing gave birth to thousands of creatures and the world was filled with vitality. nts that I had never seen before began to cover the ground and everything, from the air to the atmosphere, began to change.


    Only then did I realize why this being was a ¡®god¡¯ and not a ¡®demon¡¯.


    The only problem was that it wasn¡¯t a ¡®god of humans¡¯.


    ¡­I couldn¡¯t avoid the specks of dust that were raining on the entire world. They covered my body and began to change me into ¡®another existence¡¯.


    Was this the end?


    Speechless, I was looking at the moth when I realized something. Wings ¡ª one of its wings was strange.


    <b>¡ª BIIIIIIIIII! Kwang!!!</b>


    The moth, in the middle of its creation of another world, suddenly wobbled in the air before falling onto the ground.


    It fidgeted with its distorted wing before eventually ripping it out.


    ¡­That was thest thing I remembered.


    ***


    <b>- Lee Eunsol</b>


    What a sight.


    Born in a wealthy family, I thought I had tasted a lot of delicious cuisines and had my share of seeing mysterious things but¡­


    Only after entering the Hotel did I realize how ¡®clueless¡¯ I had been my whole life.


    I didn¡¯t know there was a world like this.


    While my teammates were running around the vige and the mountain trying to destroy the demon god¡¯s altar and whatnot, I was having tea with Lee Sehyun the whole time.


    And this was what I was suddenly made to see.


    The mansion suddenly broke down and was reced by a cocoon the size of a building.


    The cocoon separated into two and a moth the size of a mountain came out.


    The moth flew around the world and created a whole new world.


    Wow! Amazing!


    It felt so unrealistic that it didn¡¯t even feel scary or anything.


    That was when the moth fell from the sky. I wondered what it was doing, and realized it was inspecting one of its wings.


    I carefully observed the wings and realized that one of the wings looked funny. The color was off, and there were strange tentacles budding here and there.


    Considering how I could see it from all the way here, those tentacles might actually be as big as a building.


    After a careful inspection of the tentacles on its wings, the moth ripped out the ¡®faulty wing¡¯ and¡ª began to recreate the cocoon.


    ¡­


    This was probably an ¡®Escape¡¯.


    I had no idea what exactly happened, but it seemed that my teammates had worked hard to stop the wings of the moth from developing in the way it should.


    And after realizing that one of its wings was faulty, the moth recreated the cocoon to build its body again, which meant we had escaped the ¡®looming threat¡¯.


    The moth would soon enter the cocoon again, and it will be considered an escape for us.


    But before that, there was something I had to do.


    ¡°So, brother. Is there really nothing you have to say to me?¡±


    Lee Sehyun, who had been watching all that unfold with me from ¡®the sky¡¯ with a dumbfounded look on his face, turned towards me after hearing my voice.


    ¡°What? What was that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot of interesting things today. That moth is by far the most intriguing, but what happened before that was also quite strange.¡±


    When the mansion began to shake, he grabbed me and ¡®did something¡¯.


    By the time I came to myself, he and I were inside the belly of a weird flying animal, gazing down at what was happening below.


    ¡°I did it to save you!¡±


    ¡°I know that. You probably did it in my best interest.¡±


    ¡°And you still brought those exorcists here? Did you think I wouldn''t know?¡±


    As I thought, he knew all of that already.


    It was fine. I could talk this out.


    From what I felt thus far, Lee Sehyun didn¡¯t feel like an evil person.


    ¡°I saw a bunch of weird things happen till now inside the mansion, after all. And even the current situation is nothing short of being strange.


    Are you still going to hide it from me? Or will you somehow make me unable to say this to anyone else?¡±


    ¡°What¡­? What are you implying!? I¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening!


    I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either! I had no idea such a crazy monster would appear from nowhere.¡±


    Carefully I observed his expression. There was a clear sense of ¡®guilt¡¯.


    This man knew something.


    He knew something, but not everything. At the very least, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t expecting the world to be destroyed like this.


    ¡°Siwoo¡­ Where is Siwoo? How did this all happen!?¡±


    I decided to intervene here. This person was about to break down mentally, so I walked up and held onto his hand.


    ¡°Oppa. Calm down. It¡¯s not over yet.¡±


    ¡°Huhuhu¡­ Eunsol. Wake up. Look what¡¯s happening outside! Everything¡¯s over! Siwoo must have died as well¡­ Oh, god!¡±


    ¡°Oppa. I was going to keep this a secret until the end, but to tell you the truth, the Vatican has the power to rewind time.¡±


    Lee Sehyun, who had been nkly sitting there in a stupor, slowly lifted his head back up.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The Vatican has the power to rewind time. So please, tell me. You know something, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The first day we re-entered Room 102,


    We investigated Lee Sehyun and came to the conclusion that he didn¡¯t know anything.


    That was a mistake.


    He certainly didn¡¯t know anything about the ¡®serial missing incidents¡¯ and the ¡®grimoire¡¯, but was notpletely ignorant of all the secrets of this room!


    While listening to me speak, he nkly inspected the look on my face. After sensing that I hadn¡¯t lost hope even with the world being ruined underneath us, Lee Sehyun finally opened his /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 94: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (7)

    Chapter 94: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (7)


    Third Attempt


    <b>- Lee Eunsol</b>


    I quietly looked at him while holding his hand until Lee Sehyun finally started revealing his story.


    ¡°This is when¡­ Siwoo was young. This was over 10 years ago. Do you remember Yoojin, Siwoo¡¯s mom?¡±


    The man talked for a long time.


    10 years ago, Lee Sehyun found out about his wife¡¯s affair, with the partner of the affair being an old friend of his, and a major shareholder of thepany he was running.


    He wanted to punish his wife but due to the documents that she stole and the conspiracy of the major shareholder, Lee Sehyun was almost forced into losing everything he once had. On top of that, his son fell incredibly ill.


    ¡­I see. So something terrible like what you would see in a TV drama happened to you, huh.I¡¯m really sorry, but I seriously couldn¡¯t really care less.


    Maybe I would have shed a tear or two if I was your real sister, but I¡¯m not. More importantly, that moth is about to finish its cocoon so please get straight to the topic!


    I rushed him without making it obvious and he finally started to move on.


    ¡°One day, I climbed the mountain behind the mansion thinking ofmitting suicide. Actually, back then it was closer to being a small house than a mansion, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°So what happened at the mountain?¡±


    Brother, please. That moth is literally about to close the cocoon!


    ¡°...Why are you in so much of a rush? While trying to find my way through the mountain, I came across a strange door and arrived at a ce filled with sacred light.


    I met a fairy there. It was mysterious and beautiful¡­¡±


    It looked like he was going to enter his reminiscent mode again, so I quickly gave him a punch.


    <b>¡ª Bam!</b>


    ¡°Uhk! E, Eunsol?¡±


    ¡°If you waste any more time, I will punch Siwoo as soon as I go back in time, okay!¡±


    ¡°A, alright. Calm down. I¡¯m almost there. After a short conversation, I realized he was the apostle of a great existence.


    The Apostle gave me the revtion to serve a new god. He said all my sufferings would vanish if I started serving him¡­¡±


    The mysterious ¡®Apostle¡¯ suggested Sehyun serve a new god, and that all of his sufferings would disappear if he served the new god with all his heart.


    Surprisingly, as soon as he did that, everything turned out incredibly well and he was able to punish his ex-wife and the partner of her affair.


    All of his wealth came back, and his business worked out so well until he acquired arge amount of wealth.


    And as if natural, his son also became a lot better than before.


    ¡®...Everything turned out well? More like the Apostle guy possessing humans left and right to fulfill your wish,¡¯ I thought to myself.


    ¡°After that, I decided to build an altar in the basement to offer back my wealth, which I regained thanks to him. I prayed regrly and diligently and¡ª¡±


    ¡°An altar?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t anything grandiose. It was just¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait, oppa. Where is this altar?¡±


    Please, Sehyun! Stop all the other nonsense! I swear this is important.


    We have to break that altar, right?!


    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s a bit hard to exin where the altar is in words. The Apostle put a lot of emphasis on security and the way to get there is incredibly¡ª¡±


    <b>¡ª Kugung!</b>


    A deafening roar filled the heaven and the earth.


    Ah, no way!


    Looking outside, I found the moth had finished its cocoon and had gone back inside.


    ¡­


    I grabbed him by the cor in a fit!


    ¡°Lee Sehyun! Just exin how to get to the altar!¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s hard to exin that in¡ª¡±


    You have sessfully escaped!


    ¡­This damn Hotel. How could they cut me off like that? Even though we clearly have to break this altar!


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 30


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 1


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    Kung!


    I came to myself in the corridor while feeling like I fell down from somewhere.


    Looking around, I saw everyone else standing up with a nk look on their face. This was how we always looked when escaping from a Cursed Room.


    We headed to Room 105, shared all the details we discovered and started a strategy meeting over the meal.


    Usually it was Eunsol-noona who started it off but she was deep in thought so I started it this time.


    ¡°We¡¯re close to the end, and the conditions to resolve the curse have be somewhat apparent as well.


    There are two main conditions for the resolution.


    Firstly, stop the birth of the demon god. As for the method, we probably have to destroy the otherworldly ¡®Sanctum¡¯ that we can find somewhere in the mountain, and the ¡®altar¡¯ in the basement.


    Secondly, dealing with the Enemy.


    All we need to do is stop his ability to possess others with the bell and kill the Enemy. ording to what Ahri and Seungyub found out, it seems that he is possessing ¡®Lee Siwoo¡¯ at the start.


    If you have any other ideas, please feel free to share.¡±


    ¡°Rather than another idea,¡± Songee said. ¡°I have a question. Why is he possessing Lee Siwoo?


    Lee Sehyun is the one in charge of the money, so wouldn¡¯t it be easier to do everything by possessing him instead?


    He probably could have done that anytime as well.¡±


    It was Grandpa Mooksung who replied to her question.


    ¡°Because Lee Sehyun needs to meet more people, the Enemy probably deemed it highly likely that he might be discovered by the Vatican if he was possessing Lee Sehyun.


    Even for us, if the Apostle was inside Lee Sehyun¡¯s body in the second attempt, we would have immediately locked him up.


    We were fooled because he was in the body of a little kid. Isn¡¯t that also why you didn¡¯t inspect the kid with your bracelet?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Songee agreed. ¡°I was too caught up with Lee Sehyun and didn¡¯t think about inspecting Lee Siwoo.¡±


    After finishing her line of thought, Eunsol-noona participated in the conversation.


    ¡°I thought about it, but I really have no idea where the ¡®altar¡¯ might be in the basement. I went through everything in my mind that was injected for being his sister but there¡¯s nothing rted to the altar¡¯s location.¡±


    The altar that was apparently hard to approach due to security measures, huh¡­


    ¡°How should we go there? Anyone with an idea?¡± I asked.


    Grandpa Mooksung again replied as if it was no big deal.


    ¡°What¡¯s the worry? Lee Sehyun and the Apostle are the only ones that know how to get there. It¡¯ll be impossible to force the Apostle to open his mouth so we can make Lee Sehyun do that.¡±


    ¡°We have the answer to the first condition then. Use Lee Sehyun to find out where the altar is, destroy that and let¡¯s do the same to the sanctum.¡±


    I turned to Jinchul-hyung while using the word, ¡®destroy¡¯ and he immediately nodded after understanding what I meant.


    ¡°It should be fine with my Star,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have a bomb either way, so the Star is the best option. It¡¯s an Inheritance that can even distort the wings of a demon god, so it should be enough to destroy both the altar and the sanctum.¡±


    He stopped there so I continued on.


    ¡°As for killing the Enemy, the ¡®Apostle¡¯, I think it should be easy. As soon as we start, we can restrain Lee Siwoo, ring the bell to block his possession and¡­¡±


    I lost my words in the middle of the sentence.


    Thinking about it, he was just a poor boy who got his body stolen by an evil existence. Did we really have to kill him?


    Ahri continued on from where I stopped.


    ¡°We can stop the possession and kill Siwoo.¡±


    ¡­There was no other way around it.


    We finalized our n.


    First, destroy the altar and the sanctum with the power of the Star. Find out where the altar is through Lee Sehyun.


    Second, restrain the possession ability with the bell and kill the Enemy, the Apostle of the Demon God.


    We finished off the meeting with Grandpa Mooksung warning us for the final time.


    ¡°Keep this in mind! The demon god¡¯s ritual is ongoing so we must carry out the n with haste.


    None of us can die in the process. If we die and be one of the sacrifices, that will quicken the birth of the demon god.¡±


    Fourth Attempt


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 31


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    As soon as the Fourth Attempt began, we headed straight to the vige, picked up Ahri and Seungyub and raced to the mansion.


    There was no need to be cautious of anyone anymore. All we needed to worry about was speed!


    The biggest priority of our n was to restrain the Enemy, who was possessing Lee Siwoo, and make sure he couldn¡¯t do anything funny.


    We stormed the mansion like a lightning bolt. Lee Sehyun tried to greet us but we restrained him before he could, and the Cardinal ordered the maids of the mansion to summon Lee Siwoo.


    Before Lee Siwoo could do anything¡ª


    <b>¡ª Taang!</b>


    The bell in my hands gave off a coarse noise.


    After feeling something strange, Lee Siwoo¡¯s face crumpled like that of a demon.


    ¡°But how!?¡±


    ck chains emerged from everywhere but as expected, they were powerless due to the bell. Priest Jinchul didn¡¯t even need to do anything ¨C they were weak even for me.


    We restrained Lee Siwoo on the bed and rang the bell without an end. Before long, he lost consciousness and drooped down.


    After that, we tried to persuade Lee Sehyun.


    We told him that there was an evil being that possessed Siwoo that was sacrificing the kids of the vige for the rebirth of the demon god. We also told him how the god he was serving was an incredibly evil being and that we had to destroy the altar.


    After exining ourselves, we asked him to guide the way but naturally, Lee Sehyun fiercely resisted and refused to believe us.


    Of course, we weren¡¯t here to peacefully persuade him either.


    Ahri walked closer and hypnotized him.


    What do we do now? Do we kill Lee Siwoo straight away?


    Before I could do anything, the Cardinal picked up the gun and approached the unconscious boy.


    ¡­Heaving out a sigh, I turned somewhere else.


    <b>¡ª Bang!</b>


    <b>¡ª Ting~!</b>


    ?


    What was that? It sounded like something bounced off.


    I turned back in curiosity and realized that Lee Siwoo was imprisoned in arge crystal that popped up from nowhere.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    The Cardinal was simrly dumbfounded but he soon came up with an exnation.


    ¡°It seems that he had a final measure to protect himself. This thing appeared as soon as I shot the gun.¡±


    I rang the bell but the crystal stayed the same. Both the bell and the gun weren¡¯t working, so what did we have to do now?


    Priest Jinchul approached with a grin.


    ¡°Take a step back, folks. Something like that I can destroy with my Star¨C¡±


    ¡°You idiot! Don¡¯t use the Star here!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°¡®Eh?¡¯ my ass! Don¡¯t you see Kain still ringing the bell as hard as he can? As if the bell can resist the Star that can even distort the wings of a demon god!


    The bell will break before that crystal does, and once the bell is gone, this guy will return to his original body in the other world. Do you want to see all that happen?¡±


    Priest Jinchul understood what was happening and began to bash down at the crystal with his fists instead.


    Unfortunately, not a single dent was made in the crystal. Next, he brought pieces of rock and metal to strike down at the crystal but it still stayed the same.


    In the end, the Cardinal said with a sigh.


    ¡°Enough! Looks like we can¡¯t break it by pure force. It would be difficult to destroy it through normal means.¡±


    What do we do then?


    It was blocking bullets and didn¡¯t crack at all even when being pounded by Priest Jinchul. There were no other means to break it apart from the Star, but using the Star would end up destroying the bell, and if we were to make the bell go out of the range of the Star, the Apostle might regain his ability to possess others.


    ¡­We were all thinking about our next step in silence when Ahri made the decision for everyone.


    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to sustain that crystal forever. It will disappear over time. Let¡¯s have a few of us stay behind to ring the bell and keep him like that, while the rest can take Lee Sehyun to destroy the altar.¡±


    We decided to separate ourselves into two groups.


    In order to destroy the altar, Jinchul-hyung as well as Songee who had to use the bracelet on him, and Ahri who had to maintain the hypnosis on Lee Sehyun headed off to destroy the altar, while the rest of us stayed behind to ring the bell and supervise the Apostle.


    ***


    <b>- Lee Sehyun</b>


    ¡­My mind was foggy.


    What am I doing?


    I had no idea. It all felt strange like a dream.


    Why was I leading the priests of the Vatican, whom I met for the first time, to the altar?


    <b><i>¡­</i></b>


    <b><i>Open your eyes.</i></b>


    <b><i>My faithfulmb! My devoted servant Sehyun!</i></b>


    <b><i>Those following the deceitful god are treating you like livestock.</i></b>


    <b><i>¡­</i></b>


    <b><i>Open your eyes.</i></b>


    <b><i>The sanctuary you have built with sincerity and maintained with devotion is close to crumbling down.</i></b>


    <b><i>The life of the child you have protected over 5,000 nights is in peril.</i></b>


    <b><i>Wake up. For you are the only one who can overturn all this.</i></b>


    My consciousness started to return. I realized that I was being surrounded by deceitful hypocrites.


    ¡®Ahh! Lord! My lord! What do I do?¡¯


    <b><i>Follow what I say. You will serve as my hands and my /genesisforsaken


    </i></b>

 Chapter 95: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (8)

    Chapter 95: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (8)


    Fourth Attempt


    <b>- Lee Eunsol</b>


    How many hours has it been? We just kept ringing the bell endlessly while waiting for ¡®Team Destroyers¡¯ toe back after destroying the altar.


    <b>¡ª Taang! Taang!</b>


    The bell did sound horrible though. I¡¯d heard a lot of bells throughout my life but this was the first time hearing such a terrible one.


    At the start, I just thought Kain was terrible at ringing the bell but when it was my turn to ring the bell (we passed the bell around), I realized it was the bell itself that was strange.


    Of course, it¡¯s job was to suppress evil powers instead of providing music so there was nothing wrong in that sense.


    Kain, who was drinking coffee from the side, asked after looking at me.¡°Eunsol-noona.¡±


    ¡°Hnn?¡±


    ¡°By the way, what do you think the clue meant?¡±


    Hint: <b>Don¡¯t fall into the bias that you must go towards the _________.</b>


    ¡°Now that you mention it, we justpletely forgot about the clue at one point.¡±


    ¡°We did think about it before the second attempt but the scenario went through a full rework when we re-entered it.


    I think everyone was so busy adapting to the new scenario that we didn¡¯t have time for the clues.¡±


    ¡°What were the possible answers that we came up with again?¡±


    ¡°One of them was the mansion, and Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri stated that there were many more including the cathedral, the basement, theke and the study.¡±


    ¡°Looking back at it, it¡¯s definitely not the mansion. We had to go to the mansion, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the cathedral either.


    We gathered a lot of information by going to both locations. Theke was never a consideration from the second attempt onwards, nor was the study.¡±


    ¡°Was it the ¡®basement¡¯ then?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fall into the bias that you must go towards the basement, huh. To be fair, we¡¯ve fallen into the bias that we must go to the basement after finding the grimoire there.


    Even in the second attempt, when we couldn¡¯t find anything after inspecting Lee Sehyun, we all headed to the basement without even having second guesses about it.¡±


    ¡°And we were forced to escape.¡±


    ¡°Now that I think about it, Ahri died in the first attempt immediately after heading to the basement as well. It¡¯s never gone well for us by going to the basement.


    In the first attempt, it was an immediate death and in the second attempt, we were forced to escape before we could find any clues.


    In the third attempt, we didn¡¯t go to the basement at all and found a lot of important clues.


    We figured out that the bell had the power to stop possession, and that there was a sanctum in the mountain behind the mansion that was rted to the ritual of the demon god.¡±


    I realized what the correct interpretation of the clue was through the conversation with Kain.


    <b>Don¡¯t fall into the bias that you must go towards the basement.</b>


    We were giving each other a nod when Seungyub, who had been listening to us from nearby, asked in curiosity.


    ¡°But didn¡¯t Jinchul-hyung, Ahri-noona and Songee-noona head to the ¡®basement¡¯ to destroy the altar?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ***


    ***


    ***


    ¡°UAHHK!¡±


    I was so startled that I ended up letting out a scream.


    ¡°Wait! Is this fucking over?¡±


    Even Kain swore out loud.


    ¡°Wait wait wait wait! What do we do? Are we done?¡±


    ¡°Noona, calm down. Let¡¯s think about it! An altar in the basement¡­ Isn¡¯t it obvious that we have to destroy it? It¡¯s literally called the altar!¡±


    ¡°Wait. Wait!¡±


    I recalled the conversation I had with Lee Sehyun.


    ***


    <b>¡°After that, I decided to build an altar in the basement to offer back my wealth, which I regained thanks to him. I prayed regrly and diligently and¡ª¡±</b>


    <b>¡°An altar?¡±</b>


    <b>¡°It wasn¡¯t anything grandiose. It was just¡ª¡±</b>


    ***


    ¡°Hah! Damn it! I got it!¡±


    ¡°W, what did you get, noona?¡±


    ¡°The Apostle never told Lee Sehyun to make the altar! Lee Sehyun made it himself out of gratitude. Besides, he himself said that it wasn¡¯t anything grandiose!¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t the Apostle stress the importance of security?!¡±


    ***


    <b>¡°Huh? It¡¯s a bit hard to exin where the altar is in words. The Apostle put a lot of emphasis on security and the way to get there is incredibly¡ª¡±</b>


    ***


    ¡°He was just telling him to be careful because the Vatican is in power in this world! So that they don¡¯t find out about a strange altar for a demon god!¡±


    I discovered the hopeless truth.


    The altar in the basement waspletely unrted to the ritual of the demon god; it was built by Lee Sehyun out of his own faith! There was no need to go there.


    In fact, it was not only a ce that we didn¡¯t need to go to; it was a ce that <b>we shouldn¡¯t go to!</b>


    It was when kain and I were shocked speechless by the hopeless discovery.


    <b>¡ª KYAAAAAAAAAAAK!</b>


    A scream started to echo everywhere around the mansion.


    <b>* Two hours ago; Team Destroyers</b>


    <b>- Kim Ahri</b>


    I could tell what Lee Sehyun meant when he told Eunsol that it was ¡®incredibly secure¡¯.


    How in the world did he make all these things in the basement? And how much money did Lee Sehyun have to spend in order to build all this?


    In the middle, I realized it was useless to continue that line of thought.


    He was a businessman who had the assistance of the Apostle, who had the power to possess other people. It certainly wouldn¡¯t be difficult for him to acquire a shocking amount of money that would be astonishing to even the royal family of the middle east.


    We started off at the mansion. There was a lever in the study that led to the basement with the grimoire, but the study wasn¡¯t the only ce that contained that kind of device.


    Lee Sehyun led us to the bedroom and did something, which pushed the bed off to one side and revealed a staircase leading to the basement.


    This ce was quite different from the path from the study.


    The air was quite refreshing despite being underground and it wasn¡¯t dark either. But on the other hand, there were a lot of security measures that verified Lee Sehyun¡¯s fingerprints and his iris.


    It was much more ¡®modern¡¯pared to the pathway from the study.


    Thinking back, Lee Sehyun didn¡¯t even know about the existence of the grimoire.


    It seemed that the pathway from the study to the grimoire was different from the pathway from the bedroom to the altar. And those two different pathways seemed to be for different people.


    The road to the grimoire was probably just for the Apostle who was in the body of Lee Siwoo.


    Did that mean Lee Sehyun was the one mainly using the path to the altar?


    I was thinking about this and that when it was time to refresh the hypnosis.


    ¡°One second, everyone.¡±


    Everyone halted their feet; I walked up to Lee Sehyun and hypnotized him using the Ancient Blood again.


    It was weird though.


    My hypnosis and Allusion did not have the power topletely eradicate a person¡¯s ego. It only had the power to allude the consciousness to something else.


    That was why I was expecting Lee Sehyun to throw a fit or resist from time to time but¡­


    Mysteriously enough, he obeyed our every word like a puppet.


    In fact he was so obedient that Songee became vignt about my Allusion.


    Like, this was a surprise for me as well! It¡¯s not supposed to be this strong!


    In any case, we had to walk for about 40 minutes to barely arrive at the altar.


    Jinchul looked around before giving his opinion.


    ¡°Well, it looks like a ce for meditation.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Let me have a close look.¡±


    I was the only one here who was knowledgeable about evil powers so I carefully inspected everything nearby. There was a sculpture of something simr to a moth as well as a cushion that must be for Lee Sehyun to kneel.


    Apart from that, there were some paintings and other sculptures.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ahri. Can you feel anything?¡±


    I had no idea. This was a bit embarrassing now.


    Everything was just a normal painting and a normal sculpture. Jinchul attested that the sculpture of the moth looked simr to the moth he saw before he died in the third attempt so we must havee to the right location but¡­


    How strange.


    They all looked like normal sculptures and paintings made by normal people based on what they heard.


    I couldn¡¯t feel anything supernatural from any of these.


    Evil rituals, in some ways, were simr to modern science.


    Great preparations were required to do something equally great.


    There had to be a significant facility built for something as remarkable as giving birth to a demon god but¡­


    I was pondering to myself in confusion when Jinchul approached from the side.


    ¡°Are you not too sure?¡± he asked. ¡°Let¡¯s just use the Star. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re supposed to break but I¡¯m sure I can break everything with the Star.¡±


    ¡°I agree. It distorted the wings of a demon god, so a facility made by a mortal won¡¯t ever be able to resist the Star.¡±


    ¡°You can just take a step back with Songee.¡±


    ¡­


    In the end, Songee and I took Lee Sehyun and distanced ourselves from Jinchul.


    Ah. Something was wrong. I had a feeling that I was missing something important.


    Jinchul, after receiving mental protection from Songee, stayed behind at the altar room by himself to summon the Star which was immediately followed by the pain of something prickling at my skin.


    It gave me goosebumps how destructive the power of that Inheritance was for me to be able to feel it from this far.


    Wasn¡¯t the Hotel crazy for throwing away powerful treasures like this left and right? Please put yourself in the shoes of the poor Administration team, who have to protect the Earth!


    If Jinchul seeded in escaping the Hotel, he would have a power equal to a nuclear weapon just by himself.


    How were we supposed to restrain him then?


    ¡­


    I decided to drop that line of thought, because I was just another participant of the Hotel for the time being.


    An ominous wave started to shake the basement. Lee Sehyun nkly took several steps back as if he felt an instinctive sense of fear. However, he suddenly turned around and ¡ª began to dash off.


    ???


    What was that!?


    I was so surprised that I kicked off the ground and flew after him. After noticing what was going on, Songee also ran after us in surprise.


    ¡°Toote!¡±


    Lee Sehyun yelled out loud with excitement before touching something on the wall.


    <b>¡ª Vuuung!</b>


    A terrifying noise started to fill the basement.


    It wasn¡¯t an evil power nor a sacred one. In fact, it was the power of technology! Lee Sehyun disappeared from sight as if there had been a secret passage somewhere, and what reced that were several barrels being pointed at us.


    Like! Isn¡¯t this too much?


    Lee Sehyun, this damn madman! How much money did he have to build a crazy ce like this underground?


    I turned around in annoyance and found Jinchul, who had run out of the altar room after sensing the change, looking back at me in confusion.


    Songee seemed to have determined her resolve; she silently walked up to Jinchul.


    It seemed that I had to make the same resolve.


    Considering our physical abilities and the power of the Inheritance, there was only one person in our group that would be able to escape from this ce alive.


    But fortunately, this wasn¡¯t the worst case scenario.


    Based on my knowledge acquired through my work as an agent, I could say confidently that killing anyone at any ce could not make them a suitable sacrifice for a supernatural ritual.


    From ancient times, people had to go throughplicated procedures to make a sacrifice or an offering to a god, and that wasn¡¯t because they wanted to waste time. There was a reason.


    Even if we were to die in a ce like this; by a security system at that instead of dying in the hands of the Apostle, Songee and my soul would not be eligible for a sacrifice.


    In other words, the cocoon wouldn¡¯t be summoned even if I were to die here.


    All I could hope for now was for the team left behind at the mansion to somehow fix this /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 96: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (9)

    Chapter 96: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (9)


    Fourth Attempt


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    <b>¡ª KIEEEEK!</b>


    Monsters were screaming all around.


    This was the Fourth Attempt, meaning that we would be under a detrimental penalty next attempt!


    Actually, this wasn¡¯t even a question about the penalty anymore. It was a question of whether we would be able to even escape it or not!


    Strange phenomena started happening across the entire mansion just like how it did in the ¡®First Attempt¡¯.


    Birds with sharp fangs popped out of the cuckoo clock; monsters looking like us emerged from mirrors with a knife in hand and statues all around the mansion came to life.Grandpa Mooksung yelled out loud in the midst of confusion.


    ¡°Gather together! We are safer around the bell!¡±


    Everyone in ¡®Team Mansion¡¯ ran frantically and gathered around the crystalized Siwoo on the first floor of the mansion.


    Seungyub began to ring the bell like crazy.


    As expected of the Bell of Saint George!


    To be honest, I had no idea who Sir George was in this world, but he must have been an amazing person. The murky noise of the bell created a gentle flow of energy like rippling water and monsters of the mansion were unable to reach us through it.


    But what could we achieve by buying time like this?


    ¡°What do we do? We can¡¯t stay here and do nothing, can we?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me! For now, I guess all we can do is wait and hope this crystal disappears.¡±


    Was that all we had to do; wait until the crystal was gone? If we killed Siwoo, would that let us escape or resolve the curse?


    <b>¡ª Bang!</b>


    That was when a table nearby exploded with a gunshot.


    Why did he shoot the table? I curiously turned to Grandpa and realized that he wasn''t the one who shot it.


    ¡°Who the fuck is it? Come out right now!¡± Grandpa screamed.


    ¡°The owner of this house. You bastards!¡± Lee Sehyun screamed out in fury.


    Ah, so it was him who must have done something. How the hell did this guy even get a gun in South Korea?


    ¡°You! How the hell did youe here?¡±


    ¡°Hah! Mr. Cardinal. All of your subordinates are burned to death in the basement so don¡¯t even try.¡±


    Saying that, he started shooting randomly from behind the monsters that were surrounding us. The bell could stop monsters from approaching us, but it couldn¡¯t protect us from a gun.


    It was bing more and more difficult.


    Fortunately, Lee Sehyun was a horrible shooter and we were somehow able to protect ourselves with nearby furniture again and again.


    ¡°Grandpa! Can you shoot him down?¡±


    ¡°Buddy! If I could shoot him through the gaps of all these monsters, I would be the god of sniping! I can¡¯t even get an angle on him.¡±


    ¡°No, but you have your hand! Use the glove to bring the gun closer to him.¡±


    He finally understood what I meant, and began to focus. His hand carrying the pistol floated in the air until it was high enough to have a good aim at Lee Sehyun, who was so busy shooting at us that he missed the pistol floating to the ceiling.


    <b>¡ª Bang!</b>


    ¡°Aht! Where did thate from? That! Drop that hand!¡±


    Ah damn it!


    The bullet missed; Lee Sehyun noticed the pistol floating in the air and ordered the monsters nearby.


    In the end, we just ended up losing the surprise factor of both the pistol and the glove.


    ¡°Ah! How could you miss that!?¡±


    ¡°I told you¡­ shooting remotely with the hand is not easy¡­ It¡¯s over now.¡±


    That was when Eunsol-noona moved to action.


    Like a madman, she suddenly ran out of our group and approached the monsters. Right when the monsters were about to kill her¨C


    ¡°Wait!¡± Lee Sehyun shouted.


    Eunsol-noona began her ¡®acting¡¯.


    ¡°Are you sparing your sister at the very least?¡±


    ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t kill you, but you owe me an exnation!¡±


    ¡°About what? Bringing exorcists into the mansion? If you didn¡¯t start hiding things from me and do weird things in the first ce, I wouldn¡¯t have reached out for external help!¡±


    ¡°Even so, how dare you bring people that are trying to kill your nephew!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know people from the Vatican were this crazy either! I didn¡¯t know they would try to kill an innocent boy all of a sudden¡­ Do you really think I wanted to kill Siwoo, oppa?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I helped raise Siwoo like he was my son.¡±


    ¡°You did. You did y the role of a mother that Yoojin that bitch couldn¡¯t do.¡±


    Suddenly, the mansion was surrounded by an emotional mood. We, who suddenly ended up being lunatics from the Vatican that were trying to kill an innocent boy, stayed concealed behind the table.


    Her acting was top-notch!


    Even though it had been less than 3 days or so in total since she met the boy called Siwoo, she gave off from her facial expression the affection of someone who raised a motherless child for 10 years.


    Lee Sehyun was deceived by her act.


    He dropped his head and had a touching reunion with his sister by allowing Eunsol-noona to approach him through the defense line of monsters.


    The moment she went past the monster, she ¡®disappeared¡¯ from sight.


    ¡°What! Wait, what is¡ª¡±


    <b>¡ª Stab!</b>


    A sharp knife from who knows where suddenly stabbed Lee Sehyun in the chest!


    The monsters nearby immediately separated him from Eunsol-noona, but the knife was already deep inside his heart.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You!¡±


    ¡°I will be nice to Siwoo in your stead. At least until we kill him.¡±


    Umm, Eunsol-noona?


    Did you need to say that?


    Aren¡¯t you too invested in your role of a viin?


    While stumbling down, Lee Sehyun yelled out loud.


    ¡°Run in! Destroy the bell even if it means your death!¡±


    The monsters immediately started to horde in along with his shout! When they forced their way into the range of the bell, their bodies immediately began to burn and melt, but even so, the monsters refused to back down.


    They aimed for the bell regardless of their lives!


    Even if we still had the gun, it would have been meaningless against these guys.


    Plus, these monsters weren¡¯t humans and ording to Elena¡¯s view of Justice, Lee Sehyun wasn¡¯t an evil person either.


    ¡­Actually, we were more like viins than them at this point.


    Anyway thanks to that, Elena was apletely normal person, and there was no-one in our group that possessed superhuman fighting abilities.


    <b>¡ª Kwang!</b>


    The giant on the right dropped at us despite half of its body having melted down already. It was trying to cover us with its corpse even if it died to the bell in the process!


    We had to separate to avoid the falling corpse but¡ª


    <b>Kung!</b>


    That was when a massive hammer fell on Elena.


    Immediately after that, another bandaged monster ran towards Seungyub, who was frantically ringing the bell the whole time.


    Although the monster burned to death due to getting too close to the bell, the burning corpse of the monster still copsed on Seungyub.


    ¡°Ahk!¡±


    Unable to resist the pain, Seungyub rolled to the floor and dropped the bell.


    We had to pick that back up!!


    <b>¡ª Crush!</b>


    ¡­


    But arge moving statue crushed it with its leg.


    Immediately,ughter filled the room.


    ¡°Ahaha! Good. Well done, my faithful servant. Sehyun.¡±


    Instinctively, I covered my sight with the filter, took out my pen and turned to the crystal. As soon as Siwoo opened his red eyes, I scribbled on his eyes as hard as I could!


    ¡°Mhmm? You have a petty trick up your sleeve, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s pointless. There are enough people anyway.¡±


    Despite saying that it was pointless, the Apostle did not try to possess me. Chains soared from the ground and restricted my limbs instead.


    He was right though ¨C there were more than enough people nearby.


    Grandpa Mooksung suddenly fell down with an intense headache before his facial expression went through a drastic change.


    Ah¡­ it seemed that blocking his vision was pointless. Was the bell the only thing that could stop his possession?


    Grandpa formed a wicked expression that he would never make, and walked past the monsters towards Lee Sehyun.


    ¡°Apostle! This Lee Sehyun hase to save you.¡±


    ¡°I know. Well done.¡±


    ¡°Siwoo! Is he alright?¡±


    ¡°Siwoo? Ah, you mean your son?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The Apostle in Grandpa¡¯s body turned to the crystal with a knowing gaze as the crystal slowly started to melt.


    ¡­


    Siwoo¡¯s body inside the crystal melted alongside it.


    ¡°W, what! No!¡±


    ¡°Hope you understand. That spell has a great defense but it is hard for the body inside toe out safe either. Only someone like me that can move between bodies can use it without penalty.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? What about Siwoo! Siwoo?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s about enough for you too.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? What do you¡ª¡±


    <b>¡ª Ujik!</b>


    The Apostle waved his hand as if it was nothing as chains rose from the ground to crush Lee Sehyun in one go.


    ¡­It was a surprise that I was still alive.


    Honestly, I was ready to use Descent at any moment once the situation turned for the worse. I was dying it until my life was at risk but Sage¡¯s Advice had yet to alert me.


    It seemed that the Apostle wasn¡¯t trying to kill me straight away.


    He turned to me and provided an answer to my question.


    ¡°Wait for a bit. A soul with a status as high as yours is a rare find.


    Honestly, the child called Ahri in the vige was the real deal ¨C her one soul was as valuable as 1,000 other humans!


    Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t offer her soul.


    Although you fall drastically short of that girl, I have to ¡®properly¡¯ offer you at the very least.¡±


    I understood the gist of what he was saying. In the eyes of the Apostle, it could be said that arge portion of potential sacrifice had been unfortunately killed due to the intense battle.


    His n was to properly offer me, who had the most value out of the remaining ones, to continue with the evil god ritual.


    And that was what provided me with an opportunity.


    <b>I still had Descent.</b>


    It was when I was slowly forming my ns¡ª


    Something exploded nearby!


    <b>¡ª Kwang!</b>


    The gates of the mansion literally exploded as a massive giant ran in like a missile. Monsters that were outside the range of the bell pounced at the giant at once.


    <b>¡ª Vuung!</b>


    It was like a scene from a movie. The giant pushed the monsters aside with sheer force and cleared up a path.


    Like, who was the monster now?


    Even the Apostle was shocked by the sight.


    ¡°What the heck is that? Did the Vatican summon Hercules or something?¡±


    Chains emerged from all sides at Jinchul-hyung, who grabbed onto those chains and ripped them apart before sprinting towards the enemy.


    ¡­


    Feeling inspired by that, I tried pulling the chains surrounding my body.


    They didn¡¯t move an inch ¨C not even a millimeter.


    Jinchul-hyung was really on the same level as Hercules at this point.


    The fight didn¡¯tst long.


    For some reason, the Apostle was unable to steal Jinchul-hyung¡¯s body. There was no way to block his attacks and he couldn¡¯t steal the body either, so the result of the fight was ringly obvious.


    Like a bulldozer, Jinchul-hyung shredded through the monsters, ripped the chains apart and smashed the Apostle into smithereens.


    Was it over?


    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t over yet.


    Eunsol-noona, who had copsed on the ground after stabbing Lee Sehyun, flinched before standing up and¡ª


    Wait, she turned invisible!


    Jinchul-hyung immediately tried to chase after the invisible noona, but the remaining monsters clung to his legs and held him back.


    ¡­


    The Apostle escaped.


    Jinchul-hyung came to me after destroying all the monsters of the mansion.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask. Are you okay?¡±


    He sat down next to me before changing the topic.


    ¡°Kain. It¡¯s up to you now.¡±


    ¡°You mean Descent? I¡¯ve been wondering whether I should use it till now, but can¡¯t you solve it by yourself at this rate? You fought the Apostle twice and you were able to beat him both times with ease.¡±


    ¡°It was only possible because of the bell the first time, and this time, thanks to the mental protection that Songee put on for me with her life on the line.


    The protection is starting to run out. Actually, my body itself is more of a problem.¡±


    ¡°Your body?¡±


    Only then did I carefully observe his body.


    ¡­There were countless wounds all over his body. Almost half of his body was full of burn marks as if he returned from hell, and there were bullet marks everywhere.


    What in the world happened in the basement?


    On top of that was his fight against the monsters and the Apostle.


    It was a miracle that he was still alive.


    ¡°I was only able tost this far thanks to the regeneration that my sponsor gave me. But even that isn¡¯t going to be enough now.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    His breath slowly started to slow down before eventuallying to a stop.


    I was all alone now.


    ¡­The power I had received from the unidentifiable being, the ¡®lord¡¯. Everyone had been wanting to avoid it but there was no other option anymore.


    Descent: 3 ¡ú 2


    <b>¡ª RAAAAAAAAAAA!</b>


    The harmonious hymn of angels echoed the world.


    A radiant light of heavens covered the ground and following that was the descent of the son of /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 97: Room 102, Cursed Room - Mansion of Fear Re (10)

    Chapter 97: Room 102, Cursed Room - ''Mansion of Fear'' Re (10)


    Fourth Attempt


    <b>- Han Kain</b>


    Light struck down from the sky as unfathomable pain spreaded through my body at once!


    My eyes started to pick up colors that I couldn¡¯t before, and the ears started to pick up sounds that were beforehand unhearable.


    Sixth sense and the seventh sense. Senses came to life without an end as a flood of information that human brains could not withstand started to pour in like a tidal wave.


    ¡­


    I understood in the midst of the breathtaking pain.


    Descent was like molting.Do you remember your life from before the age of five?


    Not many would remember the life of their babyhood after bing an adult. Perhaps as a baby, we might have resented the slippery ground that made it hard for us to crawl. We might have loathed our parents for feeding us the tasteless baby food.


    But looking back, how pathetically trivial are they all?


    Even if there was a video recording our emotions of that time, we would look back as adults and smile, thinking how cute we all were, before forgetting it again.


    Just like that, myself from babyhood and my current self were like the before and after of breaking the shell.


    Through growth, humans gained their sense of self. After bing rational outside the shell of babyhood, we would consider everything of the past as trivial.


    ¡­Now, I was feeling my shell crack ¡®once again¡¯ after how it cracked as a baby.


    From now on, I will be Han Kain but not the same Han Kain as before.


    ***


    <b>- Son of Heaven</b>


    I opened my eyes.


    The delicate senses that I felt when first receiving the power from ¡®lord¡¯ in the Hotel, overfilled my body. I gently kicked off the ground as my body soared into the air and crushed the ground beneath.


    The air filling this entire was like water deterring my movement.


    How small and frustrating was this world?


    How could humans survive inside this small prison?


    Whichever the case, it didn¡¯t matter.


    I was out of my shell, and there was no need to cry over the misfortune of the past.


    How should I deal with the Apostle?


    There was no need to worry about the difficulty. An apostle of a fake god was like a slightly bigger insect at best. Let¡¯s call it a beetle.


    However, possession was indeed an annoying ability.


    I immediately thought of several ways to stop it, but decided to go with the easiest one. Reaching out towards the sky, I nonchntly drew a circle.


    With that, another sun appeared on earth.


    The first sun in the sky was the Sun of Benevolence that filled the world with life, but the second sun rising at this moment was the Sun of Fury, cleansing the world of all pollution.


    The Sun of Fury shot out a ray of light that instantly set the vige aze.


    It didn¡¯t take long for every human in the radius of several kilometers to get scorched. The Apostle, who had been hiding in the vige with some petty tricks, showed itself again.


    ¡°Who the hell are you? How could a human possess such power? Did the Vatican summon an angel or something?¡±


    What nonsense.


    ¡°Do you think the likes of the Vatican can summon me?¡±


    The Apostle¡¯s body started to burn down.


    I didn¡¯t enjoy ying a game of tag with an insect so I burned every human nearby. There weren¡¯t any bodies in sight, so the Apostle would return to the humble body in that filthy world.


    Leaving behind the world in mes, I moved to the rear mountain.


    I remembered my ¡®memories as a human¡¯ that were left behind in my head.


    Ah! How feeble and pathetic was the life of a human? They had eyes but could not see, and ears but could not hear.


    A life unable to properly sense any of the changes brought by nature must be tragic in itself.


    ¡­


    That was when I felt an unpleasant gaze.


    I lifted my head.


    In the sky, 30,000 km above ground, I felt a satellite made by humans observing me. A satellite made by the Vatican to observe the world, is it?


    How unpleasant. Who are they to observe?


    I squeezed my hand and grasped the power of lightning.


    <b>¡ª Kugugung!</b>


    A lightning bolt pierced through the sky from the ground and destroyed the satellite.


    ***


    Going past the door in the rear mountain, I came across a world that was heading to apocalypse after losing its god.


    Tentacles immediately fell on me the moment I set my foot inside.


    Ripping them apart, I gazed around. There were tens and hundreds of thousands of creatures from this world gathered around the entrance.


    ¡°What is this? A weing ceremony?¡±


    That was when a voice screamed from a distance.


    ¡°You monster! Please just die! O god! Grant me the power!¡±


    ¡°How funny. Do you think a world of nothing but chickens can kill a tiger?¡±


    I moved my hand once and summoned the second sun in the sky ¡ª Actually it was the first sun in this world.


    This pitiful world didn¡¯t even have a sun.


    The ray of light from the burning ball of mes started evaporating the entire ecosystem.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    This was quite enjoyable in fact. I felt like warming up a little.


    Waving my hand another time, I summoned a sword that was tall enough to reach the clouds in the sky.


    Swinging the sword around, I enjoyed myself until there was nothing intact remaining in the world.


    This much should be enough for the Hotel to consider the sacrednd as being destroyed. I then turned to the Apostle, who had seen through the futility of trying to run away.


    ¡°May I inquire about your identity?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Now you are being a little polite.¡±


    ¡°I have realized that you truly are a being from heaven.


    So why are you pointing your sword at the one I¡¯m serving?


    I believe that you were not summoned by the Vatican. There is no way they would have the power to summon a being like you.


    If you sheathe your sword now, I¡¯m sure the god will forgive you.¡±


    ¡°And what if they don¡¯t? Do you have the power to punish me?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It was fun. I will send you off in peace.¡±


    ¡°... Although I have no idea who you might be, it is already toote.


    I have already offered several souls of a higher status and the birth of my god has drawn near.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I saw iting but that is a bit annoying.¡±


    ¡°So please sheathe your sword and¡ª¡±


    <b>¡ª sh!</b>


    I didn¡¯t feel the need for a longer conversation.


    Unfortunately, it seemed that the birth of the moth couldn¡¯t be stopped in time.


    In the first ce, too many participants of the Hotel had been killed. Ahri and Songee died independent of the ritual and they wouldn¡¯t have been counted as sacrifice, but the rest were a different story.


    Seungyub and Elena died in the mansion to the monsters so they probably became a part of the sacrifice.


    Apart from that, Mooksung and Eunsol were probably also deemed as sacrifice after having their bodies taken away.


    Though they were far from beingparable to Ahri who survived the first time of being in the Hotel, the souls of the rest of the participants had already gone up significantlypared to mere humans.


    Normally, resolution would be impossible and escape would be the best option, but it didn¡¯t seem impossible for me.


    Why would it be impossible? Because the evil god was born already?


    Not all gods were on the same level.


    A baby chick might think of a new-born elephant as a god, but in the world of elephants, a new-born elephant was nothing but a baby.


    Besides, how could a god born after consuming the dead body of a god and pathetic mortals be considered a real god?!


    ***


    I returned to Earth from the other dimension and felt a strong wave of power from near the mansion.


    The cocoon would be showing up shortly.


    After realizing that the cocoon hadn¡¯t even been summoned yet, I came up with a better n. I was ready to fight the moth if need be, but was there a need to wait until it became a moth?


    A caterpir wriggling in the womb of its mother would be easier to crush than a moth flying around.


    Before proceeding with the n, I knelt down and turned to the sky just in case.


    I ask of thee, ¡®lord¡¯.


    Your son wishes to embrace risk, so please shine thy light.


    ¡­


    ¡°Huh? What? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°W, what?¡±


    ¡°You¡­!¡±


    Yu Songee and Cha Jinjul woke up and stuttered in confusion, but Ahri looked at me prudently.


    ¡°Did you revive us?¡±


    ¡°I did. And do not forget your respect.¡±


    ¡°...Yes sir. Apologies for the disrespect. But resurrection ¨C it seemed that the Daughter of Heavens wasn¡¯t the only one that could carry out that inexplicable miracle.¡±


    Songee and Jinchul fell on their bums in shock after seeing me. Meanwhile, despite shivering faintly, Ahri remained standing tall with her eyes looking straight.


    It was an intriguing sight so I asked.


    ¡°Why do you think I brought you back? For your information, resurrection takes a lot of energy even for myself.¡±


    Ahri quietly nced around before forming a response.


    ¡°The cocoon will appear soon. I believe you are trying to fight the One who couldn¡¯t be Born. It seems to me that you are being cautious of a potential chance of defeat.¡±


    She was decently quick-witted.


    ¡°Right. Although it wasn¡¯t born, a god is still a god. It is hard to be certain of victory and there is a higher chance of defeat. However, even if I lose, as long as there is enough damage dealt, that will dy its birth.¡±


    ¡°And it will be an escape for us if we are far enough.¡±


    ¡°So don¡¯t try anything useless and make sure to escape.¡±


    Right as I was about to turn around towards the basement, Ahri suddenly bent her back and spoke in the politest tone I had heard from her.


    ¡°O one who descended from the sky. I sincerely hope you resolve the curse with this attempt. You are using the power of a god; so it will be a shame if you can¡¯t even defeat a single caterpir. Right?¡±


    Hmm. It seemed that she was being rude and not polite. Hearing this girl say something so insolent despite seeing my current self was impressive in its own way.


    However, she wasn¡¯t wrong.


    I walked down towards the basement.


    ***


    <b>A book was gleaming in blue.</b>


    Ohoh. Was this the Inheritance of this room?


    It seemed to be a grimoire that the One who couldn¡¯t be Born passed down onto the Apostle. Picking it up, I scanned the exterior.


    Although it didn¡¯t feel like that great of an item, it had its uses. This would serve a decent purpose in the Hotel.


    That was when a distant voice pierced through my mind.


    <i>¡®Why are you doing this to me?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Are you still asking that?¡±


    <i>¡®Why, why, why, why! Why are you harassing me! I will make you my servant!¡¯</i>


    With that, an infinitely evil aura started to emerge from the book.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean much.


    ¡°Haha! Looks like you still wanted another servant? But how can a baby wolf serve under a dog?¡±


    <i>¡®I will kill you myself!¡¯</i>


    ***


    I was brought into a murky area. In the midst of my endless descent down the bottomless pit, I reflected back on what urred during the Third Attempt.


    The moth re-entered its cocoon to recreate its deformed wings and allowed us our Fourth Attempt.


    ¡­Why did it do something so stupid? If it didn¡¯t enter the cocoon on its own, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape.


    To recreate its wings before creating a new world?


    It was already imprisoned inside the Hotel, so why bother creating a new world inside it?


    That course of action was unexinable unless it didn¡¯t know it was locked inside the Hotel.


    Was it because this wasn¡¯t the Fifth Attempt?


    That didn¡¯t sound right.


    In Room 103, Songee obtained the Inheritance in her first attempt, and the ¡®Devouring One¡¯ was fully aware of the Hotel¡¯s system.


    The one who needed to wait until the Fifth Attempt to understand the Hotel was the ¡®Enemy¡¯, not the ¡®Convict¡¯. The Convict was supposed to be aware from the beginning that it was locked inside the Hotel.


    So why did this caterpir act like it was unaware of that fact?


    Aside from that, there was also that short yet disturbing conversation from before.


    How childish and immature was this being?


    That caterpir was screaming more like an angry baby than a god.


    ¡­I wasn¡¯t sure.


    Despite transcending a human, the Hotel was still full of mysteries.


    Before long, I saw the caterpir crawling from a distance.


    For the time being, I decided to focus on the battle at /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 99: Room 102, Cursed Room - Party Time (1) - Review and Rest

    Chapter 99: Room 102, Cursed Room - Party Time (1) - Review and Rest


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 32


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    We left Room 102.


    Having a short headache after leaving a Cursed Room was nothing new, but it was especially more intense this time.Maybe it was because I had transcended my humanity for a time.


    I looked at the ¡°Grimoire¡± in my hand.


    There apparently had been a discussion before about who should inherit the Star, but this time, the Grimoire was automatically given to me without any of that.


    To be honest, it was probably because it was practically just me who contributed to the final battle.


    The Grimoire gleaming in blue made it very obvious that it was an Inheritance. Aftering to themselves, everyone also turned their curious eyes to the book.


    Elena walked closer before curiously raising a question.


    ¡°Is this the Grimoire?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡ª¡±


    That was when Ahri intervened with a shout.


    ¡°Elena! Be mindful of your disrespectful words!¡±


    ¡°Eh? Sorry?¡±


    ¡°How dare you say that to the Son of Heaven?! From now on, you must bow every time you speak to the Son of Heaven.¡±


    <em>Ah! Come on!</em>


    ¡°Please stop¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it, Son of Heaven? Was that insolent of me? Should I bow down this time?¡± Ahri jested.


    Seungyub chimed in, wondering what this was about.


    ¡°Noona? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°From now on,¡± Ahri said in a stern voice. ¡°When speaking to Kain the Geezus, make sure to bow at a straight angle and bring your hands together. I almost died to the angel inside the Cursed Room for not doing that.¡±


    ***


    Ahri teased me endlessly all the way until we arrived at Room 105.


    Songee and Seungyub seemed to be enjoying it too - they made it seem like prayer whenever they were talking to me, and at one point, Jinchul-hyung even drew a sign of the cross on his chest.


    It continued until we atst arrived at Room 105.


    <em>Like, this Son of Heaven bastard; why did he go around acting arrogantly like a god? Let¡¯s be real. He wasn¡¯t a god. He just borrowed the power of the ¡°Lord¡±, didn¡¯t he?</em>


    <em>He¡¯s like the son of rich parents, acting cool with his allowance!</em>


    <em>I have no idea why he cosyed as a god with powers he borrowed from a different existence.</em>


    <em>And these people¡­ Since when were they able to get together this quick just to tease someone?</em>


    ***


    As expected, we were weed with a set of firecrackers and a noisy notification the moment we stepped into Room 105.


    <strong>Esteemed guests! Congrattions!</strong>


    <strong>We, the staff of the Hotel, give sincere words of congrattions on your discovery of your third treasure.</strong>


    <strong>An unidentified Enemy! Fear of losing your body at any moment! Evil god preparing for its birth!</strong>


    <strong>You, who have ovee all those trials, are most certainly the heroes we have been waiting for.</strong>


    <strong>Four days of rest will be provided from tomorrow! You better get used to the treasure.</strong>


    <strong>Today¡¯s Surprise Event: Party Time! Will now begin.</strong>


    <strong>Party Time willst for 4 days and there will be nothing dangerous happening during that time.</strong>


    <em>???</em>


    It might be because I got so used to the notification for Party Time, but I immediately realized that something was different.


    ¡°It¡¯s slightly different from the notifications we¡¯ve received until now. Congrattions, take a rest and practice ¨C until there is the same, but it¡¯s missing the part about ¡®A secret in this Hotel that only shows itself during Party Time¡¯.¡±


    Eunsol-noona replied after tilting her head in thought.


    ¡°There is no way they would have changed it for no reason. Maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°Are there no more secrets to be found?¡±


    We all thought for a bit in silence.


    <em>Should I ask Advice?</em>


    ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± that was when Ahri answered our question.


    <em>As expected of a second-timer of the Hotel!</em>


    ¡­I had a feeling that Ahri¡¯s memories worked in a very convenient way for her. It felt like she only answered questions whenever she wanted to.


    In any case, if she was right, that meant we didn¡¯t have to go exploring during this Party Time!


    While having a meal in Room 105, I started to talk about how I solved Room 102. I did most of the talking since I was the one who stayed until the end.


    ¡°Do you understand everything so far?¡±


    They were supernatural stories that even I, the one who experienced it, had trouble exining. Naturally, I could tell that everyone listening was holding themselves back from screaming out, ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    Ahri, who I met before going to the basement, understood a little bit more than those who didn¡¯t see me and added to the exnation.


    ¡°I get it. So basically, we were almost doomed because we couldn¡¯t stop the birth of the evil god, but we solved it thanks to the prayers of Archangel Kain, right?¡±


    Without a sliver of hesitation, I took the pen out and scribbled at her eyes!


    She couldn¡¯t react in time to my sudden ambush. After losing her sight, she calmly went to the dining table and knelt down.


    ¡°How long should I bow down for?¡±


    <em>To be fair, she isn¡¯t wrong. We did win because of my prayers, right?</em>


    With her head tilted, Eunsol-noona said.


    ¡°The part about the evil god and the dragon; I honestly didn¡¯t understand. Sorry, but I don¡¯t think you understand it fully either, Kain. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. As I¡¯ve said, it¡¯s like my sense of self disappears after using Descent. I am just exining as best as I can using the memories left behind in my head, and it¡¯s quite difficult to exin.¡±


    ¡°So let¡¯s instead talk about something I do understand,¡± she said to change the topic. ¡°The message that popped up after you solved it - that one¡¯s a bit interesting.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°As for ¡®Congrattions¡¯ and ¡®Well done,¡¯ those seem like pleasantries. I think ¡®Don¡¯t take the ¡®hardcore¡¯ path¡¯ was what they really wanted to tell us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the Hotel is very happy with the result, and I can understand why. It¡¯s because of the detrimental mistake we made in the Fourth Attempt. After the Third Attempt, the clue basically could have only meant, ¡®Don¡¯t go to the basement.¡¯ If we remembered this, we wouldn¡¯t have gone to the altar in the basement no matter what Lee Sehyun told us. If we stayed as one group without going down¡­¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung replied, ¡°The crystal would have melted over time and Jinchul alone would have been enough to deal with the Apostle under the effect of the bell. Monsters of the mansion wouldn¡¯t have woken up, and even if they did, we would have easily dealt with them if we were together.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Jinchul-hyung asked as if he couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°The Grimoire was in the basement, so how could we have not gone to the basement?¡±


    I thought of the answer to that question.


    ¡°There was no need to acquire it in the first ce. If you think about it, the Star Fragment was just given to us as a reward after everything was over. If we stayed next to the crystal as Grandpa said, it would have eventually disappeared. After that, we probably could have killed the Apostle with the bell and destroyed the other world''s sanctum with the Star. That might have been enough for a resolution.¡±


    ¡°If you think about it, we are still only on the 1st Floor. There is no way the Hotel would have wanted us to fight against a being that only the Son of Heaven would be able to defeat.¡±


    ¡°So in other words,¡± Seungyub summed it up after listening the whole time. ¡°We made a bad choice and went close to a bad ending, but Angel Kain used the cheat code of Descent and forced our way back to the good ending, right? Maybe that¡¯s why the Hotel doesn¡¯t like it that much.¡±


    Without a hint of hesitation, I scribbled on Seungyub¡¯s eyes as well.


    <em>How useful is this pen? It has unlimited power!</em>


    Seungyub got on his knees next to Ahri.


    Ahri stood up with a grumble while stretching her back.


    ¡°Seriously! We are humans, so how can we not make mistakes? The scenario turned on its damn head, so isn¡¯t it normal for us to make mistakes?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t wrong. It was natural for normal people to make mistakes but¡­


    We had to be different from normal people.


    ¡°Normal people would lose their minds and be horrified by a lion, but a hero would be able to maintain their rationality and bash the lion to death or something. Maybe that kind of hero is what the Hotel is looking for.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Anyway, Kain got the Inheritance of that room so it doesn¡¯t matter. Please get this off my eyes now.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Eunsol-noona continued. ¡°This is not something trivial we can trivialise. We need to think about why we made that mistake, and how we can prevent it in the future. Let me be very frank here. Looking at the discussions until now, it¡¯s like Kain, Grandpa Mooksung, and I talk for 95% of the time, and the rest just listen. We have 8 people but only 2-3 are actually contributing to the meeting.¡±


    Eunsol-noona suddenly dropped bombs of facts on everyone, which made them immediately turn silent.


    ¡°We did have a meeting after the Third Attempt. The issue, however, is that it was cut short, and we only had a quick conversation before glossing over everything. Why? It¡¯s nothing crazy. The three of us were maybe a bit exhausted.¡±


    It felt like a ss being scolded by the teacher.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Songee said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m not trying to tell someone off. It happens very often in an office inrge-scale discussions. There are 20 people sitting around the table, but if you take a closer look, only 3 of them are actually thinking and the rest are usually just waiting for the time to go by. It happens often, even inrgepanies. There is a method I use to solve that.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked in curiosity.


    ¡°It¡¯s called devil¡¯s advocate, where one person alwayses up with an opposition to the n. From now on, I want Ahri to take on that role.¡±


    Noona pinpointed ¡°Ahri¡± to take on the role ofing up with a ¡°different idea¡± in the meeting.


    ¡°I will participate more actively in the conversation,¡± Ahri replied. ¡°And¡­¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And Kain. Can you please wipe this off my eyes now?¡±


    That seemed to be enough feedback for strategy meetings. I thought a little about what we should do during Party Time before speaking up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do as Eunsol-noona said for the strategy meetings from now on. Even if Ahri doesn¡¯t do it, it would be great if one or two people could shed light on a different perspective.¡±


    ¡°Umm, Kain? Can you wipe this off first?¡±


    ¡°And let¡¯s also think about what we should do during Party Time. We don''t have any ¡®exploration¡¯ to do this time, so we will have a lot of spare time left. During that time, I believe we need to have a deep contemtion about ourselves.¡±


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you could contemte the situation with my eyes as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think there are still too many secrets left about our blessings? We don¡¯t know everything about our blessings yet, so let¡¯s talk about them with each other whenever we have time.¡±


    ¡°Good idea,¡± Grandpa Mooksung replied. ¡°We should probably make use of your Advice for that. Let¡¯s make sure to use up all the Advice carefully every day, and research about ourselves.¡±


    That marked the end of our afternoon discussion.


    Towards the end, Ahri tried to strangle me so I had no choice but to wipe her eyes clean before returning to the room.


    ***


    <strong>- Kim Mooksung, Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Is it true there¡¯s nothing else to find?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: Yes</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: How do you know?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: Compass</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: 3 hidden rooms, 3 hidden NPCs, no? By room; it¡¯s Sanctum of Blessings, souvenir shop, Safari. Doctor, Merchant, and the girl for NPCs?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: No. 2 hidden rooms, 2 hidden NPCs. Safari was told by the Hotel; it¡¯s not a hidden room. Girl is a part of the souvenir shop, not a separate NPC.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Nothing more in the basement?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: More could be added once we go to the 2nd floor. Nothing for now.</em>


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Do we need to keep hiding thepass?</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: Thinking.</em>


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I thought to myself while taking a rest inside the room.


    There was no need to explore in this Party Time.


    What did we have to do now?


    I wrote a note of it on the system window.


    1. Think deeply about everyone¡¯s blessings.


    2. Find out more about the Book of Incarnation.


    3. Visit the Sanctum of Blessings.


    4. Think about Descent.


    5. Decide on the next room.


    <em>Wow! That¡¯s more than I thought!</em>


    <em>¡­Let¡¯s take a nap for now.</em>


    Later when we gather together for dinner, we could discuss the above-mentioned topics and use Advice.


    ***


    That night, something happened, that in terms of priority, far exceeded everything written on the list.


    The ¡°egg¡± began to /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 100: Party Time (2) - Hatching, Book of Incarnation

    Chapter 100: Party Time (2) - Hatching, Book of Incarnation


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 16


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <em>¡ª QUAAAAAKK!</em>


    ¡°Uaahkkk!¡±


    ¡°Bring something! Anything!¡±¡°What do you mean anything! Does anyone know what it eats?¡±


    ¡°Songee! Do you know anything? Do we give it milk?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never raised a baby bird either.¡±


    <em>Chaos!</em>


    I woke up from a short nap in my room when it was time for dinner, and realized the utter chaos that the room was in.


    An animal that resembled a baby parrot had popped out of the egg.


    We didn¡¯t know anything about how to raise baby animals, so what the heck were we supposed to do?


    The parrot continued quacking like crazy, adding even more to the confusion.


    Nheless, this was a bird that hatched from the golden egg provided by the Hotel! It would by no means be a normal bird.


    We couldn¡¯t let it die just because of our ignorance of how to raise baby birds!


    <strong>Sage''s Advice 3 ¡ú 2</strong>


    <em>Please tell me everything about how to raise baby birds!</em>


    I was skeptical even when asking that question. What if we got a response that went something like, ¡°Raise it with all your heart?¡± That would be the worst-case scenario.


    Fortunately, the response I received was unexpectedly kind and detailed.


    <strong>Feed a small amount of crushed egg yolk mixed with water. Make a bed with soft clothes. The infancy doesn¡¯tst long, so be careful just for the next few days.</strong>


    ¡­What? It was very ¡°kind-hearted advice¡± which was quite different from how it normally was.


    <em>Is the owl being nice because the bird was of its own kind?</em>


    Regardless, I quickly told everyone the content of the advice.


    Some of us quickly retrieved a boiled egg from the dining table to create the baby food, while the others took off their outer garments to wrap the bird and do everything they could.


    ¡°Songee!¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°How long does it take for a bird to grow up? We have to go into a Cursed Room in just a few days.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but ording to what Kain-oppa heard, the infancy shouldn¡¯tst long, right? It¡¯s probably different from normal birds. I¡¯m sure the Hotel wouldn¡¯t make us look after a baby bird for a whole month.¡±


    She had a point. I could only hope that she was right.


    Only after another hour or so of chaos did everything finally settle down.


    ¡°We need to raise a baby bird now? What if they make us raise a human baby next time?¡± Jinchul-hyung mumbled with a nk look on his face.


    Ignoring his remark, Eunsol-noona, who still seemed rational and logical despite everything that happened, said to me.


    ¡°Use the advice again as soon as something goes wrong. It¡¯s an extraordinary animal born from the golden egg. We can¡¯t have it die on us for a foolish reason.¡±


    ¡°I guess it should be an extraordinary animal, but I wonder what it¡¯s capable of doing?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, we probably need to wait until the infancy is over at the very least.¡±


    Even after the whole chaotic mess, the baby bird continued crying every 10 minutes for food, and we had to repeat the exhausting process of soothing it with more food.


    Perhaps thanks to ¡°Affinity¡±, the baby bird seemed attached to Songee, and Songee became the one tasked with feeding it.


    We were only able to rx ourselves when the bird was asleep.


    ¡°It¡¯s really exhausting.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    We were nkly staring off into nothing when Ahri opened her mouth.


    ¡°Use the advice again. See if there¡¯s anything we need to be cautious about.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we asked? Feeding it food and keeping it warm.¡±


    ¡°That was just on how to raise normal birds. There is no way this bird is normal, so ask a more specific question like, ¡®Is there anything we need to be especially cautious about?¡¯ or something.¡±


    I was a bit skeptical again. Just likest time, it was asking for advice on ¡°something we had no prior information about¡±.


    How likely was it that we would get a proper answer? I wasn¡¯t sure, but there was no other way around it.


    <strong>Sage''s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1</strong>


    <em>Please tell me the specific precautions we need to take for this bird!</em>


    <strong>You must not leave the Grotesque Parrot alone by itself at night.</strong>


    ***


    I was immediately struck speechless.


    <em>What the hell is that name? A ¡°Grotesque Parrot¡±?</em>


    <em>What kind of horrifying name is that?</em>


    <em>And what will happen if it¡¯s left alone at night?</em>


    I conveyed what I received, to which Songee replied as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal.


    ¡°I can sleep with it.¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve never raised a baby bird before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of kittens and puppies. They¡¯ll probably be simr, right?¡±


    It was hard to tell, but there was no one apart from her who had even raised a puppy, so we didn¡¯t have an alternative option anyway.


    My brain started to work again once the chaotic situation was somewhat resolved.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we are all tired from what just happened,¡± I said to everyone. ¡°But we have a lot of things to do during this Party Time. We have to head to the Sanctum of Blessings, look into the Book of Incarnation, and decide on our next room. If we have time, I would also like to have a discussion about Descent.¡±


    When mentioning the discussion on Descent, I made myself explicitly clear by looking at the two from the Administration.


    ¡°So we can¡¯t spend all of our time looking after the bird. We have to finish what we have to do. How about we enhance our blessings at the Sanctum first?¡± I suggested.


    Ahri raised a different perspective.


    ¡°If we go to the Sanctum, a few of us will fall asleep for a whole day for the enhancement, right? If the bird acts funny during that time, it could be difficult for the remaining people to deal with it, so this time let¡¯s postpone the Sanctum a little. And we can take care of the bird; I think you should prioritize looking into your Inheritance.¡±


    I was indisputably the busiest person during this Party Time.


    I had to practice the Inheritance, enhance my blessings, and worry about Descent.


    As such, Grandpa Mooksung seemed to be in agreement.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°You should focus on your own tasks this time.¡±


    Like that, I was exempted from having to raise the bird.


    I left Room 105 by myself and took out the grimoire.


    Despite the filter being on, I felt like I was about to vomit the moment Iid my hands on the book. Forcing myself to open the book, I looked directly at the strange letters engraved inside.


    ¡­My consciousness boiled into bubbles and faded into the abyss.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    A distant voice, so powerful that it could melt my brain, came piercing through.


    <em>Where is this?</em>


    <em>I want to leave.</em>


    <em>Let me out.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s too dark here.</em>


    <strong>...</strong>


    <strong>...</strong>


    <strong>...</strong>


    <strong>D</strong>


    <strong>O</strong>


    <strong>W</strong>


    <strong>N</strong>


    An endless abyss.


    No matter how far I went down, there was no end to the darkness.


    There was nothing but ¡°down¡±.


    There inside the darkness was something twitching in its wake.


    Swimming through the ocean of despair, I realized the true identity of the grimoire.


    At one point in time, the ¡°One Who Couldn¡¯t Be Born¡¯ gained its sense of self inside the corpse of its dead mother.


    For an eternity, without knowing who or where it was, the unborn god had to endure a long nightmare.


    The death of the Neb Dragon was bringing its world to an apocalypse, and the mortals who attempted to stop the apocalypse came in contact with the corpse of the dragon.


    The heroes of the other world noticed the presence of a baby god inside the dead god.


    It was at that moment, that the ¡°One Who Couldn¡¯t Be Born¡± noticed for the first time that there were ¡°other beings¡± in the world.


    He was enraged by the entire world; he became envious of everything including the mortals that came into contact with him.


    The envious one formed powerful abilities that could let it see the outside world.


    It forged the ¡°Power of Possession¡± to steal the body of a mortal.


    In order to manifest his own Incarnation in the outside world, he forged the ¡°Power of Incarnation¡±.


    Andstly, he forged the ¡°Power of Sacrifice¡± for his true birth.


    The way to share a portion of his abilities with his servants was what the Grimoire was about!


    Along with thatprehension, there was a part of me that found it to be a bit of a shame.


    It was because the strongest authority of ¡°Sacrifice¡± had been edited out.


    Before being recreated by the Hotel, the original name of the grimoire was the ¡°Book of Sacrifice¡±.


    However, from what I could faintly tell, the power of ¡°Sacrifice¡± was truly at the pinnacle of evil. And out of the leftover abilities, the strongest authority was the power of ¡°Incarnation¡±. Thus the name, Book of Incarnation.


    Suddenly, I came back to myself. I found myself standing while leaning on one of the walls of the corridor.


    ¡°UWEEEK!¡±


    I vomited like crazy on the corridor floor.


    An unbearable sense of dissonance struck my head.


    <em>Have you felt like the body you were given from birth by your parents was just a piece of clothing?</em>


    Coming back to the real world, I understood what it meant to be the owner of the grimoire.


    I was freed from my physical body.


    At this point, my body was nothing but a piece of clothing.


    <em>I gained eternal life!</em>


    Eternal life, which even the Emperor of a whole continent had desperately yearned for ¨C I acquired it one month after arriving at the Hotel.


    However, what I was feeling was by no means a refreshing sense of enlightenment, nor joy at the fact that I had transcended the realm of humans.


    My entire body felt like stuffy clothes, and I instinctively knew that I could ¡°take it off¡±.


    It was extremely ufortable, and I wanted to take it off.


    A disgustingly powerful sense of dissonance was filling my head.


    Probably due to hearing the sound of me vomiting, someone came out of Room 105.


    ¡°Kain? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Eunsol-noona¡­¡±


    The moment I looked into her eyes, I realized something - it was the fact that I could steal ¡°those clothes¡± for myself.


    Gritting my teeth, I pulled my eyes away.


    I had to hold it in. There was no point in stealing the body of a teammate.


    After saying sorry, I headed to the tea table at the front reception to spend time by myself.


    It seemed that I would have to spend a bit of time alone for today.


    Even eternal life was just an extra ¡°bit of service¡± included with the Power of Possession, so what exactly was the Power of Incarnation, which even exceeded that?


    For some reason, I still couldn¡¯t understand anything about the Power of Incarnation.


    I decided to use myst piece of advice for the day on understanding the grimoire a bit more.


    ***


    <strong>- Yu Songee</strong>


    Kain-oppa suddenly started retching outside.


    Eunsol-noona came back in after checking on him but had a puzzled look on her face.


    ¡°Was oppa alright?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not sure. I don¡¯t think there was anything wrong but he was a bit sharper than usual. He said he needs some time by himself.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of the grimoire?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    I wonder what was wrong all of a sudden?


    <em>Should I check in on him too?</em>


    <em>¡ª QUAAAAK!</em>


    Ah, unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t. This little bird was going at it again.


    After taking a short nap, the bird got up and was crying again, just like how it was 10 minutes ago.


    This helped me understand what they meant when the Hotel said that the ¡°infancy wouldn¡¯tst long¡±.


    Although this was my first time raising a bird, I had raised kittens and puppies before, and something obvious was that this bird was eating an absurd amount of food.


    It devoured arge amount of food consistently despite its small size, which would make anyone question the physical possibility of such a thing happening.


    This was probably the only baby bird in the world that could eat 30 egg yolks in one hour.


    Even though it had only been a few hours since it hatched, there were already some visible signs of growth.


    To bepletely honest, it looked a bit disgusting at the start but now that it was slightly bigger with some feathers, it was starting to resemble a cute parrot.


    <em>I wonder what his abilities are going to be?</em>


    At the very least, it was certain that he wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary animal!


    At the start, everyone was devoted to making baby food, cushions, and everything but¡­ in just a few hours, they were starting to take a rest here and there, with nothing but syringes full of baby food lying around next to me.


    <em>What is this? Why does it look like I¡¯m the only one raising him!?</em>


    <em>Am I a single parent now? They¡¯re not even working!</em>


    Kain-oppa I could understand from the grimoire but¡­ it felt a bit unfair.


    But¡­ I remembered what Eunsol-noona said. It was true that I tended to zone out without contributing much in meetings.


    Like how the meetings were zealously carried out by the people who were good at it, I decided to think of this as me doing what I excelled at the most as my contribution.


    In the middle of feeding the baby bird, I recalled the previous conversation we had.


    It was about pondering our blessings during this Party Time, right?


    Hearing that reminded me of the time I met my sponsor when enhancing my blessing. Others seemed to have had some deep conversations with their sponsors, but I didn¡¯t have any of that.


    Arge elephant tall enough to reach the clouds just came up and tapped me once with its nose.


    That was it, and the skill I acquired through the blessing enhancement was ¡°Tacit Communication¡±.


    ¡­Wait, did it intentionally not say anything because the skill was about ¡°understanding each other without saying anything¡±?


    It was hard toe across ¡°beings of chaos¡± that my Affinity worked on, so it was hard to put it to use, but I was starting to build experience by looking after this baby bird.


    Just like what its name suggested, I was able to feel the bird¡¯s emotions and impulses, and I too could send it my own thoughts.


    Endless hunger, fear, curiosity¡­ and love.


    I could feel that this baby sincerely believed and relied on me.


    That alone was enough to fill my heart with affection, which was also why I could look after it without getting upset, even though everyone sneaked away in the middle.


    I was the one practically raising it, so I decided on his name by myself.


    <em>Forget about the horrible name of ¡°Grotesque Parrot¡±! Your name from now on is Perro!</em>


    I looked after Perro till nighttime and took him to the cushion next to my bed when it was time to sleep.


    That night, I found out what Perro¡¯s horrifying ability /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 101: Party Time (3) - Grotesque, Discussion

    Chapter 101: Party Time (3) - Grotesque, Discussion


    <strong>Party Time First Dawn</strong>


    <strong>- Yu Songee</strong>


    <em>¡ª QUAAAAAKK!</em>


    I woke up from my sleep in the middle of the night. Turning the lights on, I checked the time and saw it was 3 am.


    Heading to the little nest I made with towels that were all over the Hotel, I realized that Perro had finished eating everything I had prepared already.


    I had to make more food.


    Right before leaving the room, I turned around and found Perro looking straight at me.


    Remembering the warning, ¡°Don¡¯t leave it alone¡±, I intentionally left the door of Room 105 wide open so that Perro could see me the whole time.


    Outside Room 105 on the corridor were mountains of parrot food that Eunsol-noona had ordered before going to sleep.After bringing the dry food in and mixing it with some eggs, I gave it to Perro, who had been looking straight at the food the whole time. He immediately pushed his beak into the bowl and started devouring it.


    ***


    He hatched justst night and yet was evidently much bigger than before.


    Perro was now the size of a small adult parrot, and I didn¡¯t need to put the food in a small syringe anymore. He could eat the nuts that were included in the dry food without an issue.


    He was also so incredibly smart that he knew how to pee and poo at a separate ce.


    Unexpectedly, this was so much easier than raising puppies and kittens!


    The only thing tiring about it was the amount of food that he ate.


    It might be because he was still growing. Even though he was just a little bit bigger than my hand, he still ate more than a human child and naturally, it took him a long time to eat that much with his tiny beak.


    Watching him eat, I slowly went back to sleep.


    *******


    *******


    *******


    <em>¡ª Creak</em>


    *******


    *******


    *******


    <em>¡ª Kwang!!!</em>


    A tremendous thud and impact woke me up immediately!


    I found myself leaning on a wall after being flung into it.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡±


    ¡°What is happening?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What is wrong?¡±


    We woke up in a stupor and realized that everyone else was in a simr state all around the room. It was when Elena, who had been wearing a negligee in her sleep, and Jinchul-oppa, who wasn¡¯t wearing a top, were quickly looking for clothes to wear around them.


    <em>¡ª Kwang!!!</em>


    Along with another thud, the half-broken door of Room 105 was fully broken.


    We turned to the door in shock and found a monster we were seeing for the first time in the hotel.


    It was around¡­ 4 meters tall at the very least.


    It looked like a gigantic, horrendous ostrich, and its beak wasrge enough to swallow my head whole.


    Besides, there were sharp and sturdy feathers and scales covering its body, with tentacles and horns on its back instead of wings.


    It truly resembled a monster that woulde out in horror movies!


    Everyone was struck speechless.


    The monster walked in through the broken door, with its ¡°eyes stuck on me¡±.


    As it approached me, I felt the emotions of the monster being conveyed.


    Joy. Relief. Happiness.


    ***


    <em>Wait, is that¡­?</em>


    Unfortunately, it was already toote.


    ¡°Everyone, be careful!¡±


    Before I could stop him, Jinchul-oppa ran out with a scream¡ª


    He smacked the beak of therge bird with his fist and kicked its body with his foot, which made the monster roll out of the room in agony.


    <em>Like, why Is he so strong!?</em>


    ¡°Wait! Everyone, please calm down¡ª¡±


    <em>¡ª PIYOOOOOO!</em>


    The monster in the corridor ¨C Perro ¨C let out a rough growl from its mouth.


    Immediately upon hearing that, all sorts of emotions started bubbling inside me. Fear, disgust, and rage ¨C it was a mixture of negative emotions all mixed at random!


    <em>Is that one of Perro¡¯s abilities too? This is horrible timing though!</em>


    I btedly protected myself with the bracelet, but everyone else was already getting overly stimted by his roar.


    Jinchul-oppa roared out while running at the bird.


    It was the sight of a human running in at a 4-meter-tall bird, but it was clear which one of them was in danger.


    <em>Perro¡¯s life is at risk!</em>


    Jinchul-oppa had already punched and kicked Perro to send him flying, and it wasn¡¯t a fight Perro could win just because he was bigger.


    What was fortunate, was that Perro was running away like crazy after instinctively realizing that.


    Someone grabbed me by my shoulder to wake me up from my confusion.


    ¡°That monster is the bird from the golden egg, right?¡±


    ¡°Ahri? Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s Perro. He is the same bird.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how it became that big, but first of all, let¡¯s go stop Jinchul before he punches the bird to death.¡±


    We quickly ran out of Room 105.


    Thankfully, Jinchul-oppa seemed to havee to himself¡ªhe was leaning on the wall with one of his hands on his head.


    But Perro, who must have been bashed up already; that delicate¡ªactually, it didn¡¯t look very delicate¡ªPerro was deeply frightened, destroying everything nearby.


    ¡°Oppa! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Ah. I¡¯m fine now. What was with that roar? It suddenly made me feel incredibly angry and sent my blood boiling.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you woke up quite quickly considering that though?¡± Ahri intervened from the side.


    ¡°This is not the first time something like this has happened in the Hotel, is it? I found it weird and stopped myself for now¡­ That thing there is the bird from the golden egg, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is Perro!¡±


    ¡°Perro?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be the name Songee gave the bird. Anyway, how are we supposed to calm him back down?¡±


    <em>¡ª Kwang! Bam! Shatter!</em>


    It looked like a scene straight out of an action movie.


    We were already used to strange things happening every time, and since we were aware of the bird and the golden egg, everyone quickly came to themselves.


    However, Perro was still deeply frightened after being punched and was still in the middle of destroying everything nearby.


    What was fortunate, at the very least, was that he wasn¡¯t directing the attacks at us, which was probably because he was scared of Jinchul-oppa.


    Everyone was looking at him not knowing what to do, when Kain-oppa walked up.


    ¡°I will make it quiet. He shouldn¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    ***


    After walking up, he suddenly stopped before looking straight at Perro.


    In the next instant, my bracelet perceived a ¡°change in perspective¡±.


    I couldn¡¯t really exin what I felt, but I instinctively knew that Kain-oppa had stolen Perro¡¯s body!


    ¡­Right before Perro¡¯s consciousness faded away¡­ I felt an indescribably enormous sense of fear being conveyed from his mind.


    Things quickly de-escted after that.


    As soon as Kain-oppa went into Perro¡¯s body, Perro returned to its former cute appearance. After that, Kain-oppa tried ¡°flying¡± a few times but¡ª


    ¡°Oppa! Don¡¯t do anything weird and just stay still!¡±


    ¡­He crashed into the wall three times and fell back before doing a strange dance. It seemed that humans couldn¡¯t fly just by simply taking over a bird¡¯s body.


    I carried Perro in my arms and Kain-oppa soon returned to his original body.


    ¡°How did you know I was inside the bird?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was because I was concentrating, but I faintly felt it.¡±


    ¡°The bracelet is indeed a great treasure. Hmm...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just that this was my first time actually possessing a body, and I found out something new.¡±


    ¡°Something new?¡± Intrigued, Ahri interjected with a question.


    ¡°I will tell you after trying it a few more times. It might have been a mistake.¡±


    Kain-oppa stayed standing there in the corridor pondering about something by himself, while the rest of us tried to figure out what happened.


    Aftering to himself, Perro was still very frightened as it snuggled closer to me. Using Tacit Communication and the underlying evidence around us, we found out the truth behind this whole event, which was quite unexpected and dumbfounding.


    In the middle of the night, I opened the door with Perro looking at me and brought in food from the corridor.


    Seeing that, Perro realized that there was ¡°food outside the door¡±, and the next time he woke up, he went outside by himself instead of waking me up to find the food for himself!


    However, for some reason, Perro was able to leave Room 105 but couldn¡¯te back in.


    In the end, after staying outside for a few hours, Perro was frightened and changed himself into a monster to destroy the door.


    ***


    Eunsol-noona said in a stupor.


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is, he went out by himself because he was hungry, and created this whole mess because he was alone and got scared?¡±


    ¡°Looks like that¡¯s what happened.¡±


    ¡°Haa¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°Sure, what would you expect from a birdbrain? But how did it even open the door and go outside in the first ce?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung replied after carefully inspecting the remains of the door lever.


    ¡°There are marks all over the handle. I guess he bit on the end of the handle and pulled it down with his wings! This little guy¡¯s quite strong!¡±


    ¡°Like, why bother doing all that to go outside!?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what the bird was thinking, but parrots are curious animals, so maybe it just wanted to have a look at what was outside. It probably wasn¡¯t expecting it to be difficult toe back in.¡±


    <em>But why?</em>


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t he able toe back in?¡± I asked. ¡°There aren¡¯t any keys in this Hotel either, so if he knew how to use the handle, he could have just opened it again from the outside.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought about this before either,¡± Grandpa replied. ¡°But if you think about it, Room 105 is like several different dimensions stacked in one, right? We can¡¯t see each other either unless it¡¯s time for a meal, and I suppose other animals aren¡¯t able to enter Room 105 unless they¡¯re with a participant.¡±


    Seungyub sighed and remarked while rubbing his eyes.


    ¡°So, what do we do now that Perro destroyed Room 105?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Ahri replied. ¡°Kain has shown that to us already, hasn¡¯t he? They¡¯ll probably do a ¡®big repair¡¯ and tell us to go to the camping lot.¡±


    Two hourster.


    It was morning, and we realized that Ahri was right.


    We had to go to the camping lot again.


    ***


    <b>* Party Time First Morning</b>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    It was already our second time here, so we were all quite used to it.


    We took some meat to put on the grill. It was different from the usual scenery inside the Hotel and felt more refreshing and interesting.


    But anyway¡­


    I was thinking to myself when Ahri walked up to the side.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± she asked.


    ¡°The bird and the grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Perro? He is not even thinking abouting down from Songee¡¯s shoulders. As for his abilities, I suppose they¡¯re changing into a monster and letting out a cry that ys with your emotions.¡±


    ¡°There could be more,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Even this is already quite significant. So, what is this about the grimoire?¡±


    ¡°This was my first time using the grimoire, and there was something strange about it.¡±


    ¡°On the way¡­ you mentioned Possession and Incarnation. Since you said you haven¡¯t understood Incarnation yet, this must be about Possession, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°Unless it was my mistake, the system window disappeared and there was a strange number on the bottom right.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Ahri thought for a bit beforeing up with an easy solution.


    ¡°Use it on me right now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°This is the fastest way. Just use it on me.¡±


    ***


    Second Attempt.


    Looking at Ahri, I thought about taking off my body and ¡°wearing¡± Ahri¡¯s body.


    My consciousness was pulled in and soon¡­ I found myself in the body of a beautiful teenage girl!


    This felt weird all of a sudden.


    First of all, I checked the most important thing first.


    <strong>59:52</strong>


    <strong>59:44</strong>


    "¡­"


    It was the same as when I had possessed Perro.


    The system window was gone and was reced by a small set of numbers. What those numbers meant was also pretty clear ¨C it was a 1-hour timer.


    <em>Is there a time limit on possession?</em>


    The Apostle didn¡¯t have such a thing though?


    Did they put a restriction on Possession, just like how they removed the third ability, the Power of Sacrifice?


    I could understand the restriction, but then why wasn¡¯t I able to ess the system window?


    It was very confusing.


    Hmm¡­ That was when I suddenly felt an urge to do something stupid.


    I remembered seeing it from a movie in the past. I slightly lowered my hands towards the chest¡ª


    <em>¡ª Tung!</em>


    Suddenly, my consciousness bounced off and I returned to my body.


    ¡°AHAHAHA! What was that just then? You were like a primary school kid! Did you wanna touch them that badly?¡±


    ***


    <em>Ah! What the hell was I thinking?</em>


    A flood of embarrassment and self-hatred made me lower my head¡­


    I wasn¡¯t even curious about the reason I was flung out of her body. Thinking back, even when the Daughter of Heaven hypnotized us, Ahri was able to wake up by herself. She was probably using the same thing.


    ¡°Do you still want to touch?¡± she asked.


    ¡°...Sorry. It was just in the moment.¡±


    ¡°That was so funny. Anyway, did something simr happen again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the system window was gone and there was a 1 hour timer. What do you think this means?¡±


    ¡°Thetter is simple ¨C there seems to be a time limit. Both the Bracelet and the Star Fragment had less capabilities outside of the Cursed Rooms, right? It¡¯s probably the same thing for the Grimoire.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a shame¡­ I thought I had gained eternal life with the grimoire.¡±


    Eternal Life.


    Immediately after hearing that word, Ahri turned to the ceiling with a rather mncholic look on her face.


    It was times like this that really made me wonder how old this girl was.


    Although I had never raised it before, I could at least assume that she was much older than what was suggested by her outward appearance.


    ¡°You¡¯ve probably already achieved eternal life. Maybe even others.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? I wouldn¡¯t be able to live an eternal life by moving bodies if there¡¯s a time limit with Possession, right? And what do you mean by others?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen Jinchul¡¯s regeneration?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°His skin was on fire, and bullets were going through his body but he regenerated everything. Do you think bodies like that would even age?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Same with your book. If the Hotel was trying to nerf the Grimoire itself, there would have been a record left behind just like what happened when they removed ¡®Sacrifice¡¯. But ording to what you felt after reading the book, there wasn¡¯t such a thing.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I asked for rification.


    ¡°What I am saying is that the timer is irrelevant to the change made to the Grimoire itself. Both the disappearance of the system window and the timer are probably due to the same thing.¡±


    ¡°The same thing?¡±


    ¡°You wanted to discuss the ¡®Descent¡¯ as well, right? What I¡¯m going to tell you now is rted to all the problems you are having right now. It¡¯ll be quite long though, so make sure you /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 102: Party Time (4) - Discussion on the Grimoire and Descent, Advice

    Chapter 102: Party Time (4) - Discussion on the Grimoire and Descent, Advice


    <b>* Party Time First Morning</b>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <strong>- Discussion on the Grimoire</strong>


    An extra phenomenon when using the Grimoire was the disappearance of the system window and the addition of a timer.


    ¡°First of all,¡± Ahri said. ¡°There is a very important reason that made mee to this hypothesis. You said you gained ¡®eternal life¡¯ through the Grimoire, right? If there was no restriction, what you obtained would have been like hacking the Hotel¡¯s system. It¡¯s different from what the Apostle went through. He had to stay within the area of the Mansion of Fear to revive his god and had to take a course of set actions to achieve his goal. Because of his goal, there were limitations on his movement and actions, which allowed us to locate him.


    ¡°But you, however, don¡¯t have any of that. If you steal an NPC¡¯s body as soon as we enter a room and run away endlessly to some other parts of the world, how would the Enemy possibly be able to kill you let alone find you?


    ¡°This is like a ¡®cheat escape method¡¯, which the Hotel definitely wouldn¡¯t allow. There must be a restriction put in ce to stop that, and I came to this hypothesis after hearing your exnation.¡±


    It was, I suppose, to be expected of a 2nd timer of the Hotel.


    I, the one who received the Inheritance, wasn¡¯t even thinking about that but Ahri seemed to have reached that line of thought in a sh.Without restrictions, the Power of Possession was basically the same as a guaranteed escape.


    If I were to steal the bodies of NPCs endlessly and escape to a distant part of the world, how would the Enemy possibly find me!?


    Ahri continued her exnation.


    ¡°This could get a bit confusing so listen carefully. What do you think determines the identity of a person? ording to Descartes, who said based on a dualism of the mind and the body, human beings needed a union of the body and mind to exist. Of course, ording to modern science, that¡¯s a wrong theory. The mind is a creation of the brain, and the brain is a physical organ. Scientifically speaking, there is no differentiation between the mind and the body. Monism is the correct one in terms of science. What do you think?¡±


    She suddenly threw a question in the middle of that difficult philosophical monologue. Technically, I could use the power of the Grimoire to steal the body of another existence.


    In other words, my mind was separate from my body.


    ¡°My body is separate from my mind, so borrowing your words, wouldn¡¯t I be closer to dualism?¡±


    ¡°But does that make sense?¡± she asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Before obtaining the Grimoire, your sense of self was the result of electronic signals made by your brain, and your existence was based on monism. So did you be a dualist existence after acquiring the Grimoire, where you don¡¯t have to rely on the brain anymore to think?¡±


    ¡°Can you just jump straight to the point please?¡± I requested.


    ¡°Sure. When you¡¯re using the Grimoire to possess someone, you can be described in two parts; one being the physical body where your consciousness is left from, and your consciousness that is taking over another body. Naturally, you would think the ¡®Real Han Kain¡¯ is in the body of another person, and that your physical body is just a shell left behind. But¡­


    ¡°...is that really how it is? Even though your body is still there? Even though your brain, which had formed your sense of self until now, is still left behind in that body? If you think about it from another standpoint, you can say the ¡®Real Han Kain¡¯ is actually the body left behind. Your consciousness that is inside another person¡¯s body is like a ¡®ghost¡¯ that the Grimoire made by replicating your real mind.¡±


    I was starting to understand what she meant, but there was a question that had to be answered in that case.


    ¡°But when I¡¯m possessing someone, the body left behind can¡¯t think about anything.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± she asked.


    For a moment, I was lost for words.


    ¡°The Real Han Kain could be thinking about something ¨C it might just be that the body is unable to move. And maybe the consciousness left behind in the body is just ¡®reced¡¯ by the consciousness, that was possessing someone else when it gets back.¡±


    ¡­That was a scary hypothesis.


    ¡°Of course, keep in mind that this is just my hypothesis. Let¡¯s go back to the question at hand. Why does the system window disappear when you are in someone else¡¯s body, and what¡¯s the timer for? This is my interpretation of it. When you¡¯re in someone else¡¯s body, the Hotel doesn¡¯t consider you as the ¡®Real Han Kain.¡¯ And that is why you naturally can¡¯t use the system window.


    In that sense, the timer also means the same thing. It could be denoting the time it takes before ¡®you are considered dead¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Considered dead¡­¡±


    ¡°If the Hotel deemed you as the Fake Han Kain the moment you possessed someone, you could say the Real Han Kain dies the moment you use possession. But with standards like that, it¡¯s impossible for you to even make use of the Grimoire, and that might be why they gave you an hour. When you pass that time, maybe they consider the Real Han Kain to be dead, and that the ¡®Han Kain who is possessing someone else¡¯ is just a fake copy of the original.¡±


    It was a long exnation but it was a simple story.


    The Hotel didn¡¯t consider me to be the real one when possessing someone else.


    That was why I couldn¡¯t use the system window, and Ahri¡¯s hypothesis was that they would consider the ¡°Real Han Kain¡± to be dead if I didn¡¯t return to my body for an hour.


    ording to that, it would be impossible to use tricks like using someone else¡¯s body on repeat to escape from a Cursed Room.


    <strong>- Discussion on Descent</strong>


    ¡°Let me also talk a little bit about your Descent because it¡¯s fundamentally rted to your ¡®sense of self¡¯ as well. Who exactly is the Son of Heaven? Is it apletely different existence to you?


    If that was the case, the Hotel would have deemed you dead the moment you used Descent, and wouldn¡¯t have given you the Inheritance either. However, the Hotel still saw you as the ¡®Participant Han Kain¡¯. You didn¡¯t have a timer and you also received the Inheritance.¡±


    ¡°Is it because the body was the same?¡±


    ¡°Could be, but you could also be subject to moreplicated standards. The point I am trying to make is that you shouldn¡¯t try to differentiate yourself too much from who you are after using ¡®Descent¡¯. This is what I felt when I was listening to your exnation ¨C you mentioned that you thought about the process of infancy to adulthood the moment you used Descent, and were expecting yourself to be different after the process. That thought in itself might have been the cause of that big discrepancy. Next time you use it, try to have a different mindset. Maybe tell yourself, ¡®I am me!¡¯ or something.¡±


    There was something I found odd when listening to her exnation.


    Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung were agents of the Administration. Weren¡¯t they a group that rejected supernatural powers that could serve to be a threat to mankind?


    The Son of Heaven not only had an extreme sense of ego and arrogance, but he had also massacred countless innocent civilians.


    ¡°I thought you would tell me not to use Descent if possible.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because it¡¯s too dangerous?¡± she asked back.


    ¡°Yeah. It has a psychological effect as well too.¡±


    ¡°Are you not going to use it if I told you not to? Are you going to hold back even when we are moments away from bing ghosts that forever roam meaninglessly around the Hotel?¡±


    ¡°...I probably would.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I won¡¯t bother saying such a thing. It¡¯s pointless. It¡¯s something you will have to use when we have no other option, so if we are going to use it anyway, we should think about how we can best make use of it.¡±


    She was making a good point.


    Just like what she said, it was something we would have to rely on if things turned south.


    Being scared of it wouldn¡¯t mean anything.


    As she said, I decided to focus on using it ¡°well¡±, and that I should try to tell myself something different when using it next time.


    ¡°By the way, do you have any idea what the ¡®Lord¡¯ is nning?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not a single clue,¡± she replied. ¡°There is something I really can¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is that?¡±


    ¡°The ¡®Lord¡¯ might sound like an amazing existence, but the Hotel is a ce that has several simr beings locked inside. It infinitely transcends the likes of the ¡®Lord¡¯, so is it really possible that he can do something by giving an ability to a participant as a mere convict imprisoned inside a single room?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like jumping around on the Buddha¡¯s hand. What makes even less sense, is that the ¡®Lord¡¯ should be aware of all that. That¡¯s what¡¯s throwing me off. It¡¯s like Sun Wukong jumping around on the Buddha¡¯s hand, but I don¡¯t understand why the Buddha would let him do that, nor why Sun Wukong would do something meaningless. There is only one thing I can take away from that.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not go to Room 104 as much as possible. We can try the Gate Room already, right? There is no reason for us to bother going into the room that contains the Convict, who has clearly done something funny. For us, I think there is a chance that Room 104 is even more dangerous than the Gate Room.¡±


    That put an end to the long discussion.


    I summarized everything to the best of my ability and left a note of it on the system window.


    <strong>Grimoire</strong>


    1. It looks like the Hotel doesn¡¯t see me as the real one after possessing someone.


    2. The Hotel will probably consider the ¡®Real Han Kain¡¯ to be dead 1 hour after possession.


    <strong>Descent</strong>


    1. We have to use it anyway when it gets dangerous. Let¡¯s think about how to use it well instead of being afraid of it.


    2. Let¡¯s see if there is a way to maintain my sense of self, instead of thinking about an ¡®inevitable change¡¯.


    3. Let¡¯s avoid going to Room 104 until we can find out more about the lord¡¯s ulterior motives.


    ***


    We came back to the campfire after the discussion.


    It seemed that everyone else had been discussing their ns as well, while Ahri and I were having our own conversation.


    Seeing us walking towards the campfire, Eunsol-noona asked.


    ¡°Are you guys done now?¡±


    ¡°I think I asked everything I wanted to ask.¡±


    ¡°We saw you guys having a long and serious conversation over there, so we didn¡¯t want to interrupt. I even heard you guys talking about Descartes and some philosophical things.¡±


    ¡°It was quite a difficult conversation indeed.¡±


    ¡°Tell us the summary at the very least. Anyway, we were talking amongst ourselves while you guys weren¡¯t here. I think we are going to head straight to the Sanctum of Blessings after we return to the Hotel.¡±


    We did have to go there as soon as possible because there was the issue of us having to sleep for a whole day to empower our blessings, and also because we needed to get used to the new enhanced versions of our blessings.


    ¡°But there is something we have to do before that.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°When we go to the Sanctum this time, you will probably fall asleep to empower your blessing, right? So let¡¯s use up all your ¡®advice¡¯ before we go.¡±


    That made sense. It seemed that they had also pondered a list of questions while we were gone; there was a notepad full of questions ready to go.


    ¡°We took into ount your exnation from before. You said ¡®questions about things we have no clues about¡¯ will return ambiguous responses, so we gathered questions about things that were hard to understand despite figuring out some parts.¡±


    I used the Advice and read from the list.


    First question.


    The usability of Wealth is drastically low.


    It isn¡¯t very helpful for the individual or the group.


    It was something I thought about before as well, and it seemed to have weighed on her mind quite a lot.


    <strong>Sage''s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2</strong>


    <strong>Ask questions about Wealth to your sponsor today.</strong>


    I conveyed the advice to her.


    ¡°Ahh! This is so frustrating! It¡¯s so hard to make use of my blessing that I can¡¯t even see my sponsor! That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, Eunsol-noona,¡± I said, ¡°I don¡¯t think this reply is as bad as you think.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°As for why it can¡¯t give you a direct response, I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s rted to ¡®rights¡¯. Because blessings are given directly by the sponsors, maybe it¡¯s a jurisdiction thing that they can¡¯t interfere with. Or maybe they thought using a blessing to find out more about a blessing is like cheating. That could be why they blocked it. But from my experience so far with using the Advice, I realized that it says in a slightly roundabout way whenever it¡¯s a ¡®question that it can¡¯t directly answer to¡¯.¡±


    Eunsol-noona immediately realized what I meant.


    ¡°Wait, so when it says ¡®ask your sponsor today¡¯! Do you mean I can meet my sponsor this time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I think. There would be no reason to bother using the expression, ¡®today¡¯ in there unless you can meet the sponsor at the Sanctum today.¡±


    She was hopping around in joy while I rubbed out all the questions about blessings from the list. It was probably not a good idea to ask direct questions about blessings.


    Second question.


    This time, I asked one of my own questions.


    I cannot understand the Power of Incarnation in the slightest. I need some advice.


    I was skeptical despite asking that myself. This was, after all, a typical example of a question regarding ¡°something I was clueless about¡±.


    However, it was hard to use the Advice for personal queries like this outside of Party Time.


    Since the Advice and Life Warnings shared the same limit, I had to save my advice for ¡°warnings¡± whenever we were going into Cursed Rooms.


    I hoped it would return a decent reply at the very least.


    <strong>Sage''s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1</strong>


    <strong>Do you even understand Possession?</strong>


    <em>¡­What?</em>


    It was more confusing than anything I was expecting. I told everyone both the question and the answer.


    Unexpectedly, it was Songee who interpreted this advice.


    ¡°Ah! I think I get it. I think this means, ¡®It¡¯s normal to not understand how an Inheritance works¡¯. For example, even though I¡¯m using the Bracelet, I have no idea about the principles behind how it works. It¡¯s like a TV remote controller. I don¡¯t know anything about the science behind remote controllers, but I know I can press buttons to operate the TV. That¡¯s how I¡¯m using the Bracelet. It would probably be the same for Kain-oppa. Your ability to use Possession doesn¡¯t stem from aplete understanding of it either, right? We just know how to use it. So I think the reply is saying that it¡¯s normal not to be able to understand the Power of Incarnation as well.¡±


    ¡°It makes sense that I can¡¯t understand it, but so how am I supposed to use it then?¡±


    ¡°I think time will solve that. I can also do more things now with the Bracelet than how I was at the start.¡±


    In the end, the conclusion was that I had to use the Grimoire for a longer period of time before thinking about the next phase.


    Third question.


    I found a very important question written by Eunsol-noona.


    Is it possible to escape with a parachute?


    ¡°Noona? This¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just something that hit me a few days ago. The HP Market sells nkets and sturdy ropes, which we can use to make something simr to a parachute. Would we be able to escape through the front entrance using that?¡±


    I turned to Ahri, the 2nd timer of the Hotel.


    She tilted her head before giving me a shake, signaling that she wasn¡¯t sure either.


    I used the Sage¡¯s Advice.


    <strong>Advice: 1 ¡ú 0</strong>


    <strong>Try it if you don¡¯t value your life.</strong>


    "..."


    What did it mean this time?


    Did the owl have an illness or something where it had to beat around the /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 103: Party Time (5) - Ahris Escape Story, Sanctum of Blessings

    Chapter 103: Party Time (5) - Ahri''s Escape Story, Sanctum of Blessings


    <strong>Party Time First Morning</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    The reply we got to the question, ¡°Can we escape with a parachute made using materials bought from the HP Market,¡± was...


    <strong>Try it if you don¡¯t value your life.</strong>


    When I told everyone the answer I received, the campsite turned silent. On the outside, it sounded like a snarkyment.


    But until now, even though there had been some ambiguous responses, there had never been something tantly snarky.


    ¡°Just asking to make sure, but are they trying to mock us?¡± Jinchul-hyung asked.


    ¡°Not sure¡­ It¡¯s never done that before at least.¡±I shared the best conclusion I coulde to after some thought.


    ¡°Instead of saying impossible or possible, it said, ¡®Try if you don¡¯t value your life¡¯. Would this imply that it¡¯s extremely dangerous, but there¡¯s a chance of sess?¡±


    ¡°You could see it that way but¡­¡± Eunsol-noona didn¡¯t seem very keen on that approach, ¡°It¡¯s confusing. I think we need some assistance from the only one with experience in our group.¡±


    Everyone turned towards Ahri, who tilted her head in thought before opening her mouth.


    ¡°Mhmm, I¡¯ve indirectly mentioned it a few times, and some might have heard me say it directly.¡± While saying that, Ahri threw a nce at Elena. ¡°But I was just lucky.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us how it went still? Regardless of whether it was by chance or not?¡±


    ¡°When I was born, the front entrance of the Hotel wasn¡¯t the sky, like it is right now, and it was the middle of a deep ocean. We would have died from the high-pressure water the moment we opened the door. That was why we didn¡¯t even have questions like this, because yes, you can make semi-parachutes with some materials, but there was no way for us to make a submarine that could keep us safe under pressure.¡±


    The site turned silent again, but this time, it was Seungyub who broke the silence.


    ¡°It might sound too much like a game, but I think spections like this are like ¡®exploiting bugs¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°The ¡®official escape method¡¯ provided by the Hotel is the ¡®wing boots¡¯ that you can get somewhere on the 2nd Floor, right? I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll let us make an escape tool with a skill that Eunsol-noona had from the start.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung cleared up the mood and put an end to the topic.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s possible but with a very minuscule chance of sess!¡± he summarized, ¡°What¡¯s the point of lingering on this topic? We are not going to jump off after hearing that, are we?¡±


    I was thinking about something different though. What if I possessed Perro and flew outside to have a look?


    To achieve that, I decided to regrly take Perro¡¯s body to practice flying.


    ***


    ** Party Time First Afternoon**


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    The way back to the Hotel opened up. We headed straight to the Sanctum of Blessings and confirmed the list of people who could enhance their blessings.


    <strong>You may empower Kim Mooksung, Lee Eunsol, and Han Kain. Would you like to proceed? (Yes / No)</strong>


    Grandpa Mooksung, who wasn¡¯t given a chance to empower despite being part of the Inheritance selection phase in Room 101; Eunsol-noona with her first chance to enhance her blessing; and me, who recently acquired an Inheritance.


    The list was within our scope of imagination.


    When I pressed ¡°Yes¡±, the light of the Sanctum came down as my consciousness floated up.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I was back with the owl again.


    ¡°This time I got an Inheritance!¡±


    I shouted that out loud like I was prideful, as the owl replied with a rather strange look on its face.


    ¡°Well done. But next time, try to reduce your mistakes.¡±


    ¡°I do think it¡¯s a shame that we had to use Descent.¡±


    I took a chance at mentioning the Descent to see if the owl was willing to give an exnation, but the owl immediately shut its beak the moment I mentioned it. It didn¡¯t seem very likely that it would tell me anything.


    With no other choice, I changed the topic.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for a ¡®very powerful empowerment¡¯, right? What kind of ability is it?¡±


    ¡°Like I told youst time, it will be very helpful for your progress in the Hotel. You can understand the scenarios of the rooms.¡±


    ¡°And about the Advice¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop there.¡±


    ¡­The owl sternly cut me off, before re-opening its beak.


    ¡°Let me give ¡®you¡¯ some advice.¡±


    ¡°I am all ears.¡±


    ¡°The objective of the Advice is solely for the progress of a Cursed Room. Asking about the Hotel, blessings themselves, and escape methods is improper use of the Advice that derails from the original purpose.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t you give me a response for most of them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I did. At the cost of your contribution points.¡±


    <em>???!</em>


    It was an astonishing consequence that I had never even considered.


    ¡°Whenever you use the Advice for purposes unrted to the progress of a Cursed Room, it eats up a small amount of your contribution. I am not telling you it¡¯s a bad thing ¨C if need be, there will be times when you should unravel the secrets of the Hotel even at the cost of your contribution. However, I advise you to refrain from over-using the Advice for ¡®other people¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you avoided a direct answer when I was asking about other people¡¯s blessings¡ª¡±


    ¡°If I answered that question, you wouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡±


    ¡°...Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not telling you to only use the Advice inside a Cursed Room. If that was the sole objective, the blessing would have been deactivated whenever you weren¡¯t inside it. What I am telling you is to use it ¡®for yourself¡¯. Keep that in mind. I want ¡®you¡¯ to achieve the glory at the end of the Hotel; not ¡®all of you¡¯.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°After this, you won¡¯t see me for a while. We might not even meet until the very end.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°The stronger a blessing, the more contribution you need to empower it. It will be hard for you to see me from now on unless you build enough contributions to earn at least 2 more Inheritance.¡±


    With that, my consciousness started to turn fuzzy.


    I etched the owl¡¯s advice into my heart.


    <em>A broad use of the Advicees at the cost of my contribution. Therefore, use it only for myself if possible!</em>


    ¡­Why was this ce asking us to cooperate, while simultaneously sowing seeds of distrust? Do I even need to follow what the owl was telling me to do?


    It was hard to tell.


    ***


    <strong>Han Kain - Wisdom ¡ú Has acquired Scenario Comprehension.</strong>


    ***


    <strong>- Kim Mooksung</strong>


    ¡°You have the talent for sure! Of course, you might think, ¡®Talent at my age?¡¯ but you have to understand, now that you are inside the Hotel, you never know how long you are going to live. From the long epic poetry of your life, these 70 years could have been a very tiny fraction of the beginning.¡±


    ***


    ¡°What is life!? A mortal life is short and meaningless. But that vtility and weakness is what creates the greatness of humanity. Humans had to join forces because they were weak, and they set up civilizations and cultures because they joined forces, did they not?¡±


    <em>Ah. This guy.</em>


    ¡°So what is the most important factor of cooperation? It¡¯s proven by your own history! The history of humanity begins with the first creation of letters. Pieces of data that get erased the moment you speak of them were left behind in the form of letters, and a group sharing the knowledge of an individual is what marked the beginning of civilization. Letters andnguage. What do you think is themonality between the two?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening to me, were you? Don¡¯t disappoint me any further.¡±


    <em>Oh,e on! You¡¯ve been doing a Ted talk for the past 30 minutes! How the hell am I supposed to stay focused?</em>


    ¡°Themonality between letters andnguage is that they are both methods ofmunication. Communication, in the end, is what marks the beginning and the end of human civilization. That is the reason behind the blessing I have bestowed on you.¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Sorry to interrupt, but what is the empowerment that I will be receiving?¡±


    ¡°Great question! For that, you must understand the limitations of letters andnguage and the long and arduous journey humanity had to take to ovee that. What were the limitations, you ask? To answer that question, we must inspect the first writing system: Pictographs; the greatest invention throughout the history of humanity.¡±


    ***


    I wasn¡¯t expecting this when I first came across that massive giant.


    <em>I certainly didn¡¯t expect that the giant would be this much of a chatterbox!</em>


    <em>Whenever a guy was yapping their mouth off in front of me, I always bashed their head in (not literally), and to this date, there have always been people begging me to let some steam off.</em>


    <em>However, it¡¯s impossible for me to bash the head of a giant transcendent, who seemed to be at least 10 meters tall.</em>


    As such, I had no choice but to listen to the long lecture on the developmental history of human civilization.


    The conclusion made at the end of the lecture was quite simple.


    <em>There¡¯s a limit to what letters can portray on the conversation tab, so you can send visual, auditory, and sensory things now as well.</em>


    <em>I see, so does that mean I can post pictures and videos on my Discord now? How did this warrant a half-a-day lecture in any way?!</em>


    <em>Such an ability is already somewhat possible through Ahri¡¯s Ancient Blood.</em>


    When the lecture was finally over, the giant started giving ¡°another¡± piece of advice.


    ¡°Let me say this onest thing before wrapping it up. Looking at you thus far, I¡¯ve noticed that you have an instinctive tendency to try to hide whatever you find out. It¡¯s perhaps a habit you have formed after staying for a long time at a secret organization, but that is not an ideal attitude in this Hotel. You must all be one to escape this ce. How about you open up a little more of your secrets? My blessing and this empowerment will assist you in that sort ofmunication. The first step ofmunication might certainly be scary. Of course, you might ask, ¡®Scary at my age?¡¯ but being afraid of starting something fresh is amon trait for everyone! Even I¡ª¡±


    <em>Please! You said ¡°onest thing¡± yourself! How is this ¡°one¡±st thing? And can you please pause after sentences? This is so damn hard to listen to!</em>


    The giant finally let me go after speaking for another 30 minutes.


    ***


    <strong>Kim Mooksung - Communication ¡ú Has acquired ¡®Vivid Communication¡¯.</strong>


    ***


    <strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    Wow.


    I was shocked the moment I arrived at the sanctum.


    What was this ce? It was filled with gold everywhere as well as treasures and jewelry. Almost instinctively, I was about to pick up some of the gold and treasures when a sonorous voice filled the area.


    ¡°Do you like my treasures?¡±


    Turning around, I found a dragon the size of an apartment building.


    <em>¡­Dragon and ¡°Wealth¡±, huh? I guess that fits.</em>


    ¡°Sorry. I was unconsciously drawn in by the gold.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry for? It¡¯s human instinct to be drawn toward valuable treasures.¡±


    Fortunately, the dragon didn¡¯t seem mad, so I walked closer.


    ¡°Seeing you struggle till now did make me feel bad.¡±


    ¡°Honestly speaking, the blessing felt a little underwhelming.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    The sponsor also appeared to be in agreement. Unknowingly, I spoke in a louder voice.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too much though? Everyone else had incredible superpowers, and my ability was just getting a few objects from the real world. I couldn¡¯t even get guns or proper weapons. Besides, since it¡¯s given as an application on a phone, I couldn¡¯t even use it inside a Cursed Room, because I didn¡¯t have ¡°that phone¡± there.¡±


    ¡°I do feel a bit sorry, but it was a part of my strategy.¡±


    ¡°Strategy?¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you something interesting. What do you think is the floor with the lowest possibility of sess for the participants?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ It would be harder the higher up, right? Maybe the 3rd Floor?¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    ¡°Then is it the 1st Floor? Because we have to tackle it without enough information and skills?¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    ¡°Is it the 2nd Floor?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Let me exin to you why. You¡¯ve heard from the ¡®shop attendant¡¯ about the 3rd Floor, haven¡¯t you? You can leave for sure once you are on the 3rd Floor.¡±


    ¡°I did hear that.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think will be the ones proceeding forward even though they can leave anytime?¡±


    ¡°People who are confident they can pass?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. They¡¯ve already gained several Inheritances through Floors 1 and 2, and only those with confidence in their skills attempt it. That is why the chance of sess is naturally quite high. Also, the 1st Floor has several helpful devices in store so that you guys do not get disqualified too early.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt such a helpful measure being put in ce¡­¡±


    ¡°You will realize once you reach the 2nd Floor, how ¡®generous¡¯ the 1st Floor has been.¡±


    <em>¡­That¡¯s stifling news.</em>


    ¡°In actuality,¡± the dragon continued. ¡°The hardest ce in the Hotel is the 2nd Floor. That is why I have prepared my strategy and nned out the blessings in an order. It¡¯s to save up arge amount of empowerment in reserve until the moment you arrive on the 2nd Floor! All the abilities you gain henceforth won¡¯t be so disappointing.¡±


    The dragon sent me off after that conversation. In the midst of my fading consciousness, I thought to myself.


    My sponsor, the dragon, was like¡­ someone ying a game. Were we their chess pieces? If we were, then what were the sponsors trying to achieve through us?


    ***


    <strong>Lee Eunsol - Wealth ¡ú Has acquired ¡®Hand of Greed¡¯.</strong>


    ***


    <b>* Party Time Second Afternoon</b>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    My consciousness returned to my body and I woke up on the bed of Room 105. The first thing I did aftering to myself was check the status screen.


    <strong>User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 34</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 - Room of Rest</strong>


    <strong>Sage¡¯s Advice: 3</strong>


    <strong>Scenario Comprehension (*)</strong>


    <em>Yes! A new ability!</em>


    It was exciting to see. I wonder what it did?


    For some reason, the ability was grayed out though, and an rm popped up the moment I tried to activate it.


    <strong>You cannot use this ability outside of Cursed Rooms.</strong>


    It made sense when I thought about it. It was a power to understand the ¡°scenarios¡±, and was fundamentally a tool that would be very helpful at solving Cursed Rooms.


    <em>It¡¯s no wonder why it didn¡¯t activate outside the rooms at all.</em>


    Although it made sense, it was still a bummer that I couldn¡¯t use a new ability straight away, so I was fidgeting around with the status screen when something strange entered my sight.


    ???


    <em>What¡¯s this?</em>


    Teammate Information


    <strong>Kim Ahri (???) - ???. Top Agent of the Cmity Administration /genesisforsaken


    </strong>

 Chapter 104: Party Time (6) - Night of Deceit

    Chapter 104: Party Time (6) - Night of Deceit


    <strong>Party Time Second Night</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    There was a change to the status after the blessing was enhanced.


    Teammate Information (!)


    <strong>Kim Ahri (???) - ???. Top Agent of the Cmity Administration Bureau</strong>


    Ipared it to my own information.


    <strong>Han Kain (20) - Wisdom. Freshman at K University</strong>


    The first ¡°???¡± was age, while the second ¡°???¡± was the blessing.In other words, it meant that Ahri¡¯s age and blessing were unidentifiable.


    Honestly, I wasn¡¯t that surprised about her age, because I had long guessed that her actual age would be much different from what was suggested by her appearance.


    Time wasn¡¯t a reliable indicator inside the Hotel. Since she had stayed at a ce like this for a long time, it was hard to specifically pinpoint her age.


    There were 2 things, however, that were very surprising.


    First was that her blessing wasn¡¯t ¡°Allusion¡±.


    Until now, she had demonstrated something simr to hypnosis several times already, but was that not the power of her blessing?


    <em>Is it her own superpower?</em>


    I didn¡¯t know but if so, then what was her actual blessing?


    Second was that it was possible to deceive the system window.


    In some ways, this was even more important than the first. The system window was a system and authority provided by the Hotel and yet¡­ was it possible to deceive that?


    Until now, it had been showing a tantly wrong piece of information and even now, it wasn¡¯t revealing the truth.


    Although I didn¡¯t have any proof, I came to a hypothesis that superpowers gained outside of the Hotel probably wouldn¡¯t be able to deceive the system window. The things we had experienced inside the Hotel, after all, were way too transcendent for that to be the case.


    Maybe this was rted to her ¡°real blessing¡±.


    <em>What am I supposed to do now?</em>


    Should I go and ask? That would be pointless because Ahri could simply tell a lie.


    Should I take Elena and interrogate her? That would be like picking an actual fight.


    After having that strife once, we hade to a tacit agreement that we wouldn¡¯t interrogate or push the Administration Team.


    Besides, we were right before facing arge challenge called the ¡°Gate Room¡±.


    Was it wise to pick a fight right before such an important threshold?


    But what if what they were hiding would serve to be a harm for us?


    To lessen my confusion, I decided to rely on Advice.


    <em>Is there a way to resolve my doubt while avoiding conflict?</em>


    <strong>Sage''s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2</strong>


    <strong>Why be at a psychological disadvantage? Just make the other party worry.</strong>


    What did this mean? I deeply pondered for a while.


    I had no idea what it meant when I first heard it, but the more I thought about it the more I began to realize how useful this piece of advice truly was.


    I wasn¡¯t the only one who wanted to avoid conflict.


    That might have been the case if this was earlier on in our journey, but my current abilities were by no means less important than Ahri¡¯s. She would also want to avoid a possible conflict with the uing hardship right in front of us.


    If we were on equal grounds, why should I worry about it by myself and be nervous?


    I decided to dump that task on Ahri.


    <em>Seriously, ¡°Sage¡¯s Advice¡± is really a great tool.</em>


    With a light heart, I opened the door and headed to the dining room.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I was met with a warm wee as soon as I walked out, and joined them for dinner. The topic of our discussion through the meal was naturally the new effects of our blessings that we acquired.


    Grandpa Mooksung was drinking beer while posting videos on the conversation tab.


    ***


    <em>Like, why is he posting pictures of twitching worms?</em>


    For goodness sake, the mysterious and heavy image he had been portraying at the start was long gone. This felt like being forced to see disgusting images and videos on inte forums.


    There was no way to avoid seeing videos and images that were being put on the conversation tab.


    In retaliation to that, Songee kept posting images of Perro.


    10 minutes passed by with pictures of worms and parrots being posted on repeat. I was nkly sitting there, unable to eat anything, until the conversation reached its daily limit.


    Despite everything happening around her, Ahri was eating her meal like usual.


    ¡°...It feels like we can send a lot more than before.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. I didn¡¯t expect to be able to continue that little prank for this long.¡±


    ¡°Please, sir. I hope you won¡¯t do anything of this sort ever again¡­¡± Eunsol-noona said with a sigh, before talking about her own empowerment.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about mine.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a clear name like ¡®Lie Detection¡¯, and it¡¯s called ¡®Hand of Greed¡¯, which is very ambiguous.¡±


    ¡°What if you use it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. After I received this skill, I could also see a hologram that¡¯s simr to Kain¡¯s ¡®system window¡¯, and it says [Hand of Greed: 1]. When I try to use it, it says, [You will obtain what you wish for].¡±


    ¡°Obtain what you wish for? I wonder how.¡±


    ¡°Try Inheritance! Or Escape!¡± shouted Seungyub, after listening the whole time.


    ¡°I did that of course, but it says [Impossible].¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess it¡¯s natural for there to be a limit. Let¡¯s think about it a bit more before we use it.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. What about you Kain?¡± she asked.


    It was my time to talk about my blessing.


    This was the chance to do it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can use mine, but I can try.¡±


    Lifting my hand into the air, I pretended like I was touching a few buttons. The system window was only visible to me, so there was no way they could tell anything.


    ¡°It looks a bit different from before, actually.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    After saying that, I paused, widened my eyes into circles, and nced at Ahri, before returning my gaze back to the front.


    Before looking away, I confirmed her face turning stiff.


    ¡°What is it? Did something change?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Nothing changed. I think it¡¯s only usable inside Cursed Rooms.¡±


    ¡°Cursed Rooms¡­ What if we can''t use it in the Gate Room?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be the case. The Gate Room is just a harder version of Cursed Rooms, right? I¡¯m sure we can use it.¡±


    Since Grandpa Mooksung was the only one who could properly use the new skill, we soon stopped talking about our blessings.


    After the meal, Eunsol-noona approached me with a list of questions like it was a natural thing.


    ***


    I would have used Sage¡¯s Advice without any hesitation if this was before, but the owl¡¯s words were weighing on my heart. It was harder to use now that I knew how questions unrted to Cursed Rooms ate up my contributions.


    Firstly, I told her that I had already used the first advice on a question about my blessing. To be fair, it wasn''t a lie.


    When I looked at the list of questions Eunsol-noona gave me, I was lost for words.


    The first question was as follows.


    If the front entrance is Escape Route 2, there has to be 1. Give us a hint.


    While I was standing there not knowing what to say, Jinchul-hyung poked his head in andmented.


    ¡°I thought about this before as well, but isn¡¯t this a question on ¡®something we have no idea about¡¯? We probably won¡¯t get a good response, right?¡±


    ¡°You never know,¡± Eunsol-noona replied with a strange light in her eyes, ¡°Maybe we went past it and just missed it.¡±


    Did she¡­ know something about me hiding the information about the elevator? I prudently inspected her facial expression in detail.


    <em>???</em>


    Instead of looking at me, Eunsol-noona was ncing at the Administration duo.


    <em>What¡¯s happening?</em>


    I wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but it appeared that everyone was waiting for me to use the advice for that question.


    ¡­After some thought, I made up my mind.


    It was going to be impossible to hide information about the elevator forever and besides, it was rtively easy to find that since you just had to focus on what was underneath the panel of buttons.


    The only reason I knew it in the first ce, was because I was the only one who thought about inspecting the elevator.


    Likest time, I pretended like I was fidgeting with the system window.


    ¡°It says to be mindful of anywhere we missed.¡±


    ¡°Anywhere we missed?¡±


    ¡°Was there anywhere we didn¡¯t check?¡±


    Everyone tilted their heads in thought, but it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to think of the elevator since we had already explored the basement and the 1st Floor.


    Now that I was thinking about the elevator escape route, a ¡°real question¡± also popped up in my mind. For Escape Route 1, one had to wear the protective suit and type in a passcode inside the elevator.


    And I already knew that we could get personal protective equipment from HP Market.


    I also knew the password, ¡°87439124¡± which I found at the front desk.


    Did this mean we had met all the requirements for the escape?


    <em>Can we escape if we wear a protective suit we buy from the HP Market and type in the password?</em>


    <strong>Sage''s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1</strong>


    <strong>Try it if you don¡¯t value your life.</strong>


    It gave the same answer as the parachute.


    ¡­Now I was starting to wrap my head around everything.


    Escape Route 1 was the elevator, and Escape Route 2 was the main entrance.


    Both routes had their ¡°official escape tools¡±.


    The main entrance was the ¡°Winged Boots¡±, while the elevator was the ¡°Protective Suit¡±. We had to obtain these items inside the Hotel, and they were most likely supernatural devices.


    We could attempt to escape using normal items we purchase through the HP Market, but those had a low chance of sess. Perhaps people like Jinchul-hyung with an extremely tough body or Ahri, who can fly by herself, might be able to escape using normal tools, but they were a minority.


    After finishing my line of thought, I headed to the front desk by myself.


    I walked in circles around the front reception with gloomy thoughts running around in my head.


    I was bing more and more of a liar¡­


    Not only did I hide the elevator escape route, I was now even hiding traits about Sage¡¯s Advice. Abusing the fact that my teammates couldn¡¯t see the system window, I even faked the use of Advice.


    Like little drops making the ocean, raindrops of deceit were slowly forming a puddle in my heart.


    Once and twice. Another time due for so and so reasons.


    <em>Am I even a true teammate anymore?</em>


    It wasn¡¯t just the emotional side of it that was troubling me either. Like how I was getting stronger myself, my teammates were each acquiring different supernatural powers.


    One day, when they found out about all my lies, what would happen then?


    I heaved a sigh to chase out thoseplicated feelings.


    ¡°Are you worried about something?¡± a voice suddenly echoed in my ears.


    ¡°Huhp! Who was that¡ª¡± Quickly turning around, I checked who the speaker was. ¡°Ahri? Like, why are you walking around quietly like that?¡± I protested.


    ¡°I just walked here,¡± she replied, ¡°You were thinking so hard by yourself that you just didn¡¯t hear me.¡±


    ¡°Really? Anyway, did you have something to tell me?¡±


    Ahri stood by my side with an exhausted look on her face and started gazing outside the front entrance at the night sky.


    ¡°You know why I¡¯m here,¡± she murmured.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to talk a little bit about my past.¡±


    <em>Thank you so much, o great sage! As you said, Ahri hase here to talk about it herself.</em>


    It was when I was starting to feel a deeper sense of respect for the owl.


    The Hotel suddenly flickered with light!


    <em>What¡¯s going on? Ahh, what bad timing!</em>


    ***


    <strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    After the meal, everyone dispersed to take some time for themselves.


    As for me, Iid myself down on the bed to think about what this ¡°Hand of Greed¡± could possibly be.


    The dragon was brimming with confidence saying that it wouldn¡¯t be disappointing, but why didn¡¯t he tell me a few things about the skill if he was so confident?


    It returned the same line no matter how many times I touched it.


    <strong>You will obtain what you wish for</strong>


    What a bold statement! And yet despite such a daring promise, it returned [Impossible] when I stated what I really wanted: Inheritance or Escape.


    ***


    <em>What I wish for, huh¡­?</em>


    It immediately popped up in my mind. A weapon.


    In a ce as dangerous as the Hotel, I needed to be able to protect myself.


    <em>Give me a decent weapon! Something easy to use would be better.</em>


    <strong>Hand of Greed: 1 ¡ú 0</strong>


    <em>Hmm?</em>


    <strong>Your wish has been granted</strong>


    <em>???</em>


    <em>What is this talking about¡ª</em>


    <em>¡ªWEEEEEEEEEEENGG!</em>


    Suddenly, a loud rm started ringing the entirety of the Hotel.


    I quickly stood up when the disy screen inside Room 105 flickered with a notification.


    <strong>Due to the request of a participant, a special event has urred in spite of the Party Time.</strong>


    ***


    ***


    ***


    Surprise Event: Nightmare


    <em>¡­This isn¡¯t my fault, is /genesisforsaken


    </em>

 Chapter 105: Party Time (7) - Scenario Comprehension

    Chapter 105: Party Time (7) - Scenario Comprehension


    <strong>Party Time Second Night</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Right as Ahri was about to reveal her secrets, all the lights around the Hotel suddenly started to flicker as screams filled the corridor.


    Ahri, simrly baffled, stopped in the middle of her talk and looked at me in confusion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening but let¡¯s move!¡± I suggested.


    I was turning around when she suddenly yelled out.


    ¡°Dodge!¡±


    <em>¡ª Swoosh!</em>


    <em>Who the hell is this guy?</em>Standing there was a giant reaching 2 meters in height, wearing boxing gloves in his hands. He had quite the strange appearance ¨C he was drooling and talking gibberish.


    ¡°Kids these days don¡¯t have the perseverance. What¡¯s wrong with losing an arm or a leg? Learn boxing. Learn it from me!¡±


    Ahri was about to do something, but she didn¡¯t even need to.


    I immediately took control of his body.


    ***


    Something was odd.


    There was not a single ¡°memory¡± in his head.


    The only thing in his brain was the phrase he just uttered about kids these days.


    <em>Is this even human?</em>


    In any case, I broke his legs and returned to my body.


    ¡°Did you just take over his body and break his legs?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But who is this guy?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. First, let¡¯s group up with everyone else.¡±


    We headed back to Room 105 and found Eunsol-noona running out of the room in a hurry while putting a cardigan over her shoulders.


    ¡°Are you guys okay!¡± she asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine. Where¡¯s everyone else?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the basement. They said they wanted to y in the basement.¡±


    The three of us headed to the basement and found Elena, Songee, Mooksung, and Jinchul, and around them were 10 or so of the crazy boxers that I fought lying on the ground.


    ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± I asked.


    To be honest, though, I wasn¡¯t too concerned about their wellbeing because boxers that were just a little bit stronger than normal people, who couldn¡¯t even think properly on top of that, were no match for us.


    ¡°Of course we are. But where are these guysing from? They keeping out as if they¡¯re appearing from thin air.¡±


    Unlike me, everyone else had already seen what was happening through the disy screen.


    ¡°A surprise event due to a request from a participant? Nightmare? Who even made the request?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung seemed puzzled as well.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! I have no idea who would have made that request.¡±


    That was when Eunsol-noona suddenly lowered her head and opened her mouth.


    ¡°I think¡­ it was me.¡±


    The following exnation she gave was quite shocking. She simply asked ¡°Hand of Greed¡± for a useful weapon and it turned out like this.


    Surprisingly, it was Jinchul-hyung who remained the most positive.


    ¡°Noonim. Don¡¯t worry about it. These guys are all small fries, and it will be a big win for us if we get a good weapon in return for killing a few of these guys. Don¡¯t me yourself.¡±


    ¡°R, right?¡±


    ¡°Unni. It¡¯s okay!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but where is Seungyub right now?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Wait!¡±


    ¡°Kain! Check where Seungyub is with your Location information!¡±


    ***


    ¡°Kain?¡±


    The surroundings were bustling with noise but my mind was preupied by the screen in front of me. The ¡°Scenario Comprehension¡± button was flickering in the system window.


    <em>Can I use it outside the Cursed Room?</em>


    It seemed that I could use it even inside the Hotel whenever there were strange events like this.


    The moment I clicked on it, a passage of text immediately filled my sight.


    Scenario: Hotel Event - Nightmare


    <strong>On a peaceful night of joy and relief at the Hotel, a boy pained by unrequited love climbs the mountain alone to build his courage, andes across a mysterious butterfly¡­</strong>


    <strong>Please check the next scenario at ¡®Hiking¡¯ in the basement of the Hotel.</strong>


    I was nkly digesting the words when someone tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®huh?¡¯ I thought something happened to you, Kain. Does it say something on your system window?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. The Scenario Comprehension is activated now.¡±


    I told everyone what I saw.


    ¡°By ¡®boy¡¯, are they talking about Seungyub? Climbing a mountain alone to build courage? I have no clue what this means, but let¡¯s go to the Hiking room right now!¡±


    Despite the confusion, we started heading to the ¡°Hiking¡± room located in the basement. On the way there, I realized that Ahri¡¯s face had turned pale after listening to my exnation.


    Before I could say anything, Songee asked her after seemingly having sensed the same thing.


    ¡°Ahri. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°...Seungyub was being clingy yesterday so I said something as a joke.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, ¡®I don¡¯t like kids that are timid and faint-hearted~¡¯...¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung was in awe after hearing that.


    ¡°Kyah! So you¡¯re saying he went climbing in the middle of the night just to build his courage?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just quickly go to the mountain. Once we go inside the room, Kain should be able to tell us more with his ¡®Scenario Comprehension¡¯.¡±


    ***


    Together we headed to the ¡°Hiking Room¡±.


    Because it was nighttime at the Hotel, the inside of the ¡°Hiking Room¡± was also simrly pitch ck.


    Jinchul-hyung switched on the shlight, and I turned to the scenario once again.


    Scenario: Hotel Event - Nightmare


    <strong>The mysterious butterfly was none other than the ¡®Nightmare Butterfly¡¯.</strong>


    <strong>Uponing across the butterfly, the boy had to face the nightmare hidden deep inside his heart and in the end entered the deep abyss of his trauma.</strong>


    <strong>Before long, his nightmare began to spread across the world.</strong>


    <strong>In that precarious situation, the teammates of the young boy arrive at the mountain to save him.</strong>


    <strong>Please check the next scenario in the middle of the mountain.</strong>


    ¡°We have to climb to the middle of the mountain!¡±


    ¡°Why do we have to do this in the middle of the night?¡±


    Although everything was hard to follow, I was in a pretty good mood. Only now was I finally starting to understand what kind of ability ¡°Scenario Comprehension¡± was.


    It was an ability that notified us of who the threat was in a Cursed Room, while also guiding us down the correct path to solve the problem. Without this, we would have wasted a lot of time wandering around the basement, not knowing who the enemy was or where we were supposed to go!


    If we had this from the start, rooms like the Common Sense Renovating Media would have been extremely easy.


    Now it made sense why the owl would have proudly called it a ¡°powerful empowerment¡±.


    As soon as we started climbing the mountain, we were met with tedious obstacles. Monsters emerged out of the darkness and pounced at us, which we had to fight against in a formation.


    Kim Mooksung, Cha Jincul, Kim Ahri, Yu Songee, and me. The five of us who could fight were at the front, attacking monsters with each of our abilities, while Elena and Eunsol-noona had to remain inside the formation.


    This reminded me of how strong we had really be in such a short span of time.


    Each of those monsters looked like horrendous beasts that woulde out in horror movies, but I didn¡¯t feel any sense of danger.


    Jinchul-hyung was smashing through the monsters like a wolf in a flock of sheep, while Songee simply flicked her fingers a few times to make magic happen.


    Meanwhile, I stole the body of a big snake to wreak havoc in the enemy ranks, and Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung were also doing a great job.


    <em>Aren¡¯t we nearly at the level of superhuman heroes at this point?</em>


    But still, there was no end to the monsters.


    Each and every one of them were small fries that served no threat to us, but they kept oning out without an end.


    Worried that I might end up wasting the time limit of ¡°Possession¡± at a ce like this, I returned to my body.


    Now, there were around 20 minutes left of Possession that I could use.


    It would be filled back up the next day, but there were still 2 hours to go until the third day of Party Time.


    The conversation tab opened on the side.


    <em>Kim Mooksung: Attention! This doesn¡¯t look right. There¡¯s no end.</em>


    <em>Kim Ahri: The Scenario is called Nightmare. It said the nightmare of the boy had spread to the world. The monsters here must be from Seungyub¡¯s nightmare.</em>


    <em>Lee Eunsol: Then do we have to find him and wake him up?</em>


    <em>Cha Jinchul: I will use the Star and open up a path.</em>


    Jinchul-hyung took out the star and dashed forth while we waited for a moment and took a rest.


    Exhausted, Songee sat down on the ground when Perro sat on her shoulder and started rubbing its beak on her cheeks.


    That was quite cute.


    ¡°There are monsters everywhere; is Perro alright? I was worried it might turn into a monster as well.¡±


    ¡°Perro is very smart so it¡¯s okay!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Perro can instinctively sense how strong everyone is. In Perro¡¯s eyes, the monsters here are nothingpared to us, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s not afraid.¡±


    That made sense. The two times when Perro was scared were when he was alone, and when he was hit by Jinchul-hyung.


    It was obvious that he would be scared if thetter happened, so the only thing we had to worry about was the former.


    I wanted to pat it as well so I walked towards Songee.


    <em>¡ª Quaaaak!</em>


    Perro suddenly screamed out loud before hiding in Songee¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Aht! Oppa, can you stay there please!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Why did he hate me so much?</em>


    ¡­Actually, there were way too many reasons.


    On the first day of Party Time, after Eunsol-noona came up with the idea of using a parachute to escape, I came up with an idea ¨C it was that I could possess Perro¡¯s body and fly outside the Hotel to see how it was.


    Ever since that idea, I possessed Perro around 3 times to practice flying. All I learned from that, was that it was hard to fly even with wings, as a human who had never flown in his life.


    It cost Perro several feathers until I came to terms with it.


    After that, Perro began to scream and run away every time he saw me.


    I was standing there awkwardly when Ahri tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°Give it a break. It¡¯s a precious animal that hatched from the golden egg, but it¡¯s about to be bald because of you.¡±


    We stayed there for around 2 to 3 minutes after Jinchul-hyung dashed up with the star in hand, before setting off.


    Thanks to Jinchul-hyung pulling in the monsters and destroying them with the star, we climbed up the mountain uninterrupted, although we did have to see the distorted, grotesque bodies of the monsters.


    After arriving at the middle of the mountain, I turned back again to the system window.


    Scenario: Hotel Event - Nightmare


    <strong>The teammates found the boy locked in his eternal nightmare, approaching death with every moment! Can they save the boy and defeat the Nightmare Butterfly?</strong>


    <em>We ¡°found¡± him?</em>


    Jinchul-hyung must have found him already.


    This felt like thest section of the scenario. It no longer told us where to go, and even disclosed what we had to do.


    Wake Seungyub up and defeat the Nightmare Butterfly.


    Turning around, I followed everyone else to where Jinchul-hyung had carefullyid Seungyub on the ground after wrapping him with clothes.


    ¡°Is he okay?¡± I asked, ¡°Scenario Comprehension is saying he is approaching death right now.¡±


    ¡°Come have a look. He does look like he¡¯s struggling.¡±


    Taking a closer look, I couldn¡¯t help but grasp.


    Seungyub had never been a chubby person and was overall a very thin boy, but right now, he looked like a boy suffering from starvation like the ones that appeared in documentaries.


    He was all bones.


    We were all shocked speechless, but there were two in our group that were able to stay calm.


    ¡°I know what this is,¡± said Grandpa Mooksung. ¡°Looks like the Hotel calls this the Nightmare Butterfly.¡±


    ¡°Do you know about this monster?¡± I asked back.


    ¡°We have them on Earth as well. At the Administration, we call them ¡®Dream Eaters¡¯, and they¡¯re either identical or simr at the very least. They¡¯re quitemon in the West, particrly around Europe.¡±


    <em>¡­We have these on Earth? Besides, they¡¯remon in Europe?</em>


    What kind of ce have I been living in this whole time?


    In any case, that wasn¡¯t the important part. The fact that they knew what it was, would also mean they knew how to deal with it.


    Grandpa Mooksung nced at Ahri, who pondered to herself for a moment, before walking towards me.


    ¡°Drink.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to drink your blood again? What do I¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re short on time so I¡¯ll exin when we¡¯re ¡®inside¡¯. Drink it.¡±


    I drank her blood.


    ¡­My consciousness immediately distanced itself and my body fell to the /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 106: Party Time (8) - Confession

    Chapter 106: Party Time (8) - Confession


    <strong>Party Time Second Night</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    When I came to myself, I was in a ce that resembled a clean conference room. In the background was Ahri¡¯s clear voice.


    ¡°The administrative target is ¡®Dream Eater¡¯. ording to the records, it was first discovered in 1924 near London. Digging into the mind of the host, it stirs up their trauma and eats away at their body. Their favorite hosts are young, creative, and emotional humans. In order to eat ¡®uninterrupted¡¯, it creates physical avatars of the host¡¯s trauma and spreads it nearby. While the surrounding people are fighting against the host¡¯s realized trauma, the Dream Eater devours the body and the mind of the host to a point of no repair.


    ¡°The priority is to kill it on the spot. The method is by having an agent with superior conditions to the host sleep nearby. Soon, the Dream Eater would leave the body of the host and move over to the more appealing target. The agent would then starve the Dream Eater inside their mental world, and destroy it once the weakened Dream Eater leaves the body.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°How was that? Did I sound like an agent?¡±


    ¡°Was that how agents do briefing in the Administration?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±¡°So you¡¯re saying you chose me because I ¡®look more delicious¡¯ than Seungyub, right?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, it didn¡¯t have to be you. Seungyub was half-dead already and in the eyes of the Dream Eater, or Nightmare Butterfly, he was a semiplete meal. It would have moved over to anyone sleeping nearby ¨C the reason I chose you, is simply because I had something to talk about.¡±


    Something to talk about, huh? I could guess what that would be, but was this the right time for it? Wasn¡¯t Seungyub dying right now?


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about Seungyub. The butterfly has already moved over to your body. Actually, you and I talking like this here is already a part of the process of killing the butterfly.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°What do you see around us?¡±


    ¡°Nothing but you and me.¡±


    ¡°It gets very technical, but I¡¯ll just say that I have isted our minds in this ce through the Ancient Blood. The butterfly is still looking for us ¨C it¡¯s using its energy every second, and will soon leave your body exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Ancient Blood?¡±


    ¡°My information changed in the system window, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Ah~ I knew this time woulde eventually.¡±


    Ahri heaved a sigh before taking a seat next to me.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m sure you have a lot of questions so ask away.¡±


    ¡°What is your real blessing? It showed up as ¡®???¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Turn on your system window.¡±


    <strong>User: Han Kain (Wisdom)</strong>


    <strong>Date: Day 34</strong>


    <strong>Current Location: Basement, Room of Hiking</strong>


    <strong>Sage¡¯s Advice: 1</strong>


    Ahri flicked her hand once.


    <strong>[How does it look now? This is the power of my Blessing. The power to find secrets of the Hotel, and hide my secrets. The Blessing of ¡®Secret¡¯.]</strong>


    To be honest, it was very surprising. I had no idea there would be a power that could distort the contents of the system window like this!


    ¡°Secret?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s such a weird blessing though¡­ Isn¡¯t it weird that there¡¯s a blessing to deceive ¡®Wisdom¡¯? The fact that there is an ability that is targeted at other participants and not the Cursed Room is¡ª¡±


    ¡°The fact that you find that strange, is actually the greatest strength of this team.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The power of the Blessing gets greatly influenced by the participants themselves. The reason none of your blessings have an ability that is targeted at other teammates is that none of you are even thinking about such a thing. Even for ¡®Secret¡¯, if it was one of you who had it, there wouldn¡¯t have been something like an ability to deceive ¡®Wisdom¡¯.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Let me talk about the past ¨C the first team I experienced. Objectively speaking, they were fantastic and greatly talented. Half of them were agents of the Administration, and the other half were from special ops, doctors, and professors. Both physically and psychologically they were at the top 0.01% of humanity. With all these talents in ce, were they able to escape the Hotel? What do you think?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Two died before going past the 1st Floor, and progress stopped at the 2nd Floor. I was able to escape in the middle by sheer fortune, but for a very long time, no one was able to return to Earth. They were all dead. What do you think was the problem then?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°They were all people who were exceptionally talented from a young age. They had a strong sense ofpetitiveness and a desire for aplishment. I¡¯m not saying they were human trash ¨C they were normalw-abiding citizens on Earth, and people who contributed greatly to society. However, in the Hotel with no hierarchy and endless risk, they revealed their true personalities. I don¡¯t have to share the details, do I? The two that died on the 1st Floor were both killed by the same participant.¡±


    ¡°Was your mother, uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. I suppose your hypothesis is natural, considering the fact that I was born in the Hotel, at a ce like that on top. But no ¨C my mother was the strongest agent of the Administration and very powerful. She was the type who would assault and not be assaulted. Plus, my mom didn¡¯t ¡®give birth¡¯ to me.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t give birth to you? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the things I am trying to figure out. By the time I was born, it was already hard to have a normal conversation with Mom. Anyway, that¡¯s what happened to the first team. It was a horrible experience for me, but probably an ufortable experience for the people running the Hotel as well. Their goal wouldn¡¯t be to kidnap humans and have them die a meaningless death, right? And you guys were the ones chosen next. It¡¯s like the flipped version of my first team¡¯s pros and cons.¡±


    ¡°Flipped version of pros and cons¡­¡±


    ¡°Looking at everyone as individuals, honestly it is an undeniable truth. There is a normal middle school student, a high school student¡­ Jinchul is the same. Frankly speaking, he¡¯s just a college graduate with a tough career right? And you¡¯re just a new college student as well.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But all of you are on great terms. After knowing that the conditions for acquiring an Inheritance are heavily based on the contributions made at the end, it¡¯s possible to think about contending against each other towards the end to obtain the Inheritance, but no one ever thinks about such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Were we chosen because we were nice¡­?¡±


    ¡°Being simply nice is not a merit. What¡¯s important is, ¡®Do they have a group mindset?¡¯ and this team is extremely strong in that sense. When they think their own death is necessary for the team, even a middle school kid is not afraid of sacrificing himself, and even someone overwhelmingly stronger, who could potentially think about controlling the party by himself, does not do so and has instead given the authority over to someone with better judgment. I don¡¯t think people like them aremon in this world.¡±


    Ahri evaluated the strengths of our team based on her experience in two pr opposite teams.


    For the short period of silence that ensued, I organized the pieces of information I just heard.


    Ahri¡¯s blessing was that of ¡°Secret¡±¡ªthe power to find secrets of the Hotel and protect one¡¯s own secrets. The reason she had an ability that was targeted at other participants was because of her experience. The first team she witnessed was a Hell Party that fought against each other instead of the Hotel, and that was why Ahri thought about keeping other teammates in check when entering the Hotel.


    ¡°What¡¯s your next question?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I can understand your blessing, but then what¡¯s with all the superpowers you¡¯ve been using this whole time? Did they teach you that at the Administration?¡±


    ¡°If the Administration had the power to teach superpowers, Mooksung would be a superman by now. It¡¯s the power of an Inheritance ¨C ¡°Ancient Blood¡±, which I shared with Mom.¡±


    ¡°Ancient Blood?¡±


    ¡°I heard they obtained it after killing a vampire on the 1st Floor. My mom was then referred to at the Hotel as ¡®Blood Witch¡¯.¡±


    Vampire.


    Now that I thought about it, many of the abilities Ahri had used until now were simr to thosemonly associated with vampires. Her abilities like flying, shaking one¡¯s mind through eye contact, and doing tricks with blood were allmon powers of vampires that I¡¯ve seen in fiction.


    ¡°But weren¡¯t you fine under sunlight?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s crazy about the Hotel ¨C because it means they can create miraculous treasures that give the power of a vampire, without the restrictions. Of course, I do fall short in certain areaspared to a real vampire. I can¡¯t use other people¡¯s blood, and I can only use my own.¡±


    ¡­The word ¡°real vampire¡± was what stuck out to me the most. So there were ¡°real vampires¡± in this world, huh? It seemed that the world I had been living in was quite deranged.


    ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡± asked Ahri. ¡°I think I¡¯ve said pretty much everything.¡±


    ¡°Why did youe back to the Hotel?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never lied about that. I told you already ¨C personally, it¡¯s to revive my mother, and as an agent, it¡¯s to find the ¡®power to stabilize reality¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I can understand wanting to revive your mom as a daughter, but what¡¯s with the ¡®power to stabilize reality¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I really don¡¯t know,¡± she replied, ¡°We¡¯re just here because of the ¡®revtion¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Revtion?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say we have a prophet in the organization. You¡¯ll see them once you be an agent. The prophet is essentially the root and the entirety of the Administration. Any other questions?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more. This is not that important but¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it? I will tell you everything just this once.¡±


    ¡°...How old are you? It still says ??? for your age.¡±


    She refused to reply.


    ***


    My head started to hurt after listening to Ahri¡¯s real blessing, the general past, her Inheritance, and her goals. There might still be more secrets she hasn¡¯t shared but¡­


    I had an instinctive feeling that wasn¡¯t the case. nkly sitting there, we silently organized our own thoughts.


    ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Do what?¡± Ahri asked back.


    ¡°Are you going to tell that to everyone else too?¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± she asked back yet again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been having more thoughts these days as well.¡±


    Simr to me, Ahri also seemed exhausted from constantly having to lie.


    <em>Why did she lie about it in the first ce?</em> I wondered.


    Looking back, it made sense though.


    Her first team had a terrible history, so it made sense why she would want to hide her arsenal. Hiding the Inheritance meant she had to hide the blessing as well; hiding the blessing meant she had to deceive my system window, and while she was at it, she also concealed her age and real identity.


    Lies were giving birth to more lies.


    It wasn¡¯t just someone else¡¯s story.


    I was having the same problem myself. I concealed clues about the elevator, hid the conditions of Sage¡¯s Advice, and lied about the content.


    <em>What should I do?</em>


    Turning to the system window, I found the line that read [Sage¡¯s Advice: 1]. There was one left¡ªif I asked the owl, it would probably return a reply that it considered helpful. I could even guess what it would be about; it would probably teach me a way to hide the truth from them.


    I decided not to ask.


    Since when have I been so dependent on a bird whose real thoughts I couldn¡¯t even read? At the start, I was only asking questions about the Cursed Room, but by the time I realized it, I had begun asking all sorts of questions and even began looking for advice in human rtionships.


    Through the daily process of asking questions and seeking advice, the owl had seeped into my life.


    Think about it. What was the greatest strength of our team?


    It was that we could trust each other, and cooperate.


    I made up my mind.


    *** Party Time Third Morning**


    Immediately upon opening my eyes, I realized that it was a new day ¨C the Possession timer and the number of Advice¡¯s avable had both been replenished.


    When I woke up, I was on the sofa near the tea tables of the front reception. It seemed that they moved me here in my sleep.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Huh? Kain, you woke up! Great work.¡±


    The teammates paused their chat and gathered near me to exin everything that happened.


    The disposal process of the butterfly was quite boring. As soon as Ahri and I fell asleep, dozens of blue butterflies immediately emerged from Seungyub¡¯s body and transferred over to mine, and after an hour or so, it seemed that those butterflies left in weary conditions.


    As soon as they left my body, Eunsol-noona used the pesticide she ordered in the meantime and sprayed it at them.


    ***


    Funnily enough, despite being such supernatural existences, they were ¡°real butterflies¡± at the same time.


    The event ended like that and we received a mysterious item.


    ¡°By item, are you talking about that essory on your hair?¡±


    ¡°Yep! Does it suit me?¡± Eunsol-noona asked brightly.


    Honestly speaking, a brooch in the shape of a butterfly as elegant as that would probably only suit grandmas, but I returned a positive reply nheless.


    ¡°It looks great. What does it do?¡±


    She brought the brooch closer and cracked it open. Wriggling inside was a small pupa.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure this will turn into that same butterfly. It will probably fly towards the target I choose and attack their mind or something, right? But it¡¯s still a pupa so I¡¯m not entirely sure either.¡±


    The mind attack she mentioned reminded me of Seungyub.


    ¡°Is Seungyub alright?¡±


    Her face turned gloomier.


    ¡°He¡¯s sleeping in Room 105. I¡¯m not sure if he has any serious injuries, but he¡¯s still very bony, and says strange things in his sleep.¡±


    ¡°The doctor will treat him. I¡¯m sure he will be fine by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. Anyway, you should rest up, Kain. We decided on the schedule while you were asleep. Today, Ahri said she will tell us everything she knows about the Gate Room and the 2nd Floor.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know it¡¯s unusual, but Ahri wanted to voluntarily exin everything to us. I was actually thinking about asking her about it anyway.¡±


    Gate Room.


    2nd Floor.


    Those were the biggest obstacles we now had to face. It was time to analyze the ¡°next stage¡±.


    Of course, before that, I had toe out honest and tell them /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 107: Party Time (9) - Confession (2), Strategy Meeting

    Chapter 107: Party Time (9) - Confession (2), Strategy Meeting


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I spent the entire morning thinking about how to announce it.


    When lunchtime arrived, I entered Room 105.


    As expected, Seungyub wasn¡¯t there.


    He was probably being treated by the doctor or something.


    The time for confession had begun.


    ¡°Everyone, please pay attention. I have something important to say today.¡±


    As I made my opening statement, everyone looked at me with slightly puzzled expressions.


    Ahri let out a small sigh and hung her head low.I began by talking about myself.


    The secrets I had hidden.


    The escape route through the elevator.


    The Protective Suit and the password.


    How Advice consumed contribution points when asking questions unrted to the progression of a Cursed Room.


    The process through which I discovered Ahri''s secret as Wisdom grew stronger.


    Next, I intended to reveal Ahri''s secret, but Ahri, saying she wouldn¡¯t act like a coward, spoke for herself.


    The true power of the blessing ¡°Secret¡±, the ¡°Ancient Blood¡± Inheritance, memories of the first party, and so on.


    After Ahri and I finished our honest confession, silence filled the room.


    Then, reactions different from my expectations began.


    ¡°Looks like I wasn¡¯t the only one who was troubled.¡±


    Eunsol-noona let out a sigh.


    ¡°Is it just me?¡±


    <em>What is this¨C</em>


    ¡°It seems that many were hesitant, but only one had the courage.¡±


    Only after hearing Grandpa Mooksung''s words did I realize.


    There were others besides Ahri and me who were hiding something!


    Eunsol-noona also began to speak with a somewhat emotional tone.


    ¡°After hearing Ahri¡¯s words, I had a revtion. This ce. Rather than isting ourselves, it¡¯s a ce to open up with one another and gather our strength. To that end, I have two things to say.¡±


    The first confession was about the note she had purchased from the ¡°Strange Merchant¡± long ago.


    Surprisingly, the note had information at the bottom that someone was hiding Escape Route 1.


    She was naturally rmed and suspected it to be someone from the Administration team.


    The second confession was a bit more serious.


    The characteristic of the Hand of Greed. She realized it after actually using it.


    The Hand of Greed granted the user''s wish.


    The way it granted the wish wasn¡¯t by immediately presenting the desired item, but by creating a situation in which it could be obtained.


    In this case, there were limits to the wishes that could be granted, and the situations to obtain the item could be dangerous.


    So far, it sounded like the infamous Monkey¡¯s Paw, but there was a significant difference.


    ¡°The user is never put into danger!¡±


    As soon as I heard it, my mouth fell open.


    Looking around, others couldn¡¯t hide their surprise either.


    Eunsol-noona spoke in a somewhat bitter tone.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know this characteristic before using it. After realizing it, I understood why that dragon boasted about this power. There is no risk for me, only rewards. The risk falls on all of you.¡±


    I unintentionally mumbled.


    ¡°You thought to talk about such a dangerous aspect.¡±


    <em>Honestly, isn¡¯t this something you¡¯d want to hide until the very end?</em>


    ¡°Listening to you and Ahri, I didn¡¯t want to hide it anymore. Even just looking at the contents of this blessing, I can guess. My sponsor is an extremely selfish being. I don¡¯t want to live like that.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a big deal,¡± Jinchul answered, ¡°But distinguishing who bears the risk, whether it¡¯s me or someone else, doesn¡¯t really matter, does it? If any of us gets hurt, it ultimately impacts everyone. From that perspective, I think it¡¯s simr to your Descent, Kain. Let¡¯s use it when necessary.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for saying that. As Jinchul said, it¡¯s something we need to use well in moments of crisis. It doesn¡¯t seem like a power to use whenever the cooldownes back.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung also spoke.


    ¡°Well, if I can add something, I can actually open a private chat window. The conversation partner must always be me, though.¡±


    A private chat window.


    <em>Has the Administration team beenmunicating separately using this?</em>


    Suddenly, it felt like a time for confession, where everyone revealed their hidden secrets.


    Following Ahri and me, Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung also spoke.


    Naturally, our gaze turned clockwise towards Jinchul.


    ¡°What? I really have nothing.¡±


    It seemed likely.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a secret, but don¡¯t you think I¡¯ve grown recently?¡±


    Everyone looked at him, wondering what he was talking about.


    He already seemed to be over 190 cm tall.


    Seeing him daily made it difficult to notice slight changes in his physique.


    Grandpa Mooksung examined him carefully and responded.


    ¡°Huh? It really seems like it. Your height has increased by about 3 cm? Besides that, you seem a bit bulkier overall.¡±


    ¡°Is this also the Blessing of Courage?¡±


    The Blessing of Courage enhanced the body.


    It seemed usible for it to also erge the physique.


    But, someone who was already over 190 cm growing even more?


    By the time we leave the Hotel, would he be over 2 meters tall?


    Elena spoke up.


    ¡°Talking about ¡®growth,¡¯ I feel like my blessing has grown too. The time I can use ¡®Lie Detection¡¯ has increased, and I can use it more ¡®secretly¡¯ than before. In fact, I¡¯m already using it. Did anyone notice?¡±


    ¡°¡°...!¡±¡±


    Surprised, I looked at Elena.


    Sure enough, her eyes were faintly glowing.


    Instead of radiating light as before, they simply had a faint golden tint now.


    If one observed Elena closely from the front, they would notice easily¡­.


    Honestly, it was hard to look at Elena too intently because it was a bit overwhelming.


    Eunsol-noona, feeling choked up, spoke.


    "There''s none... right?"


    ¡°No. No one is lying right now.¡±


    <em>Scary.</em>


    Finally, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Songee.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been hiding it because it sounds crazy, but I¡¯ve been able to talk to Perro for some time now.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you Dr. Dolittle?¡± <sup>1</sup>


    Grandpa Mooksung eximed in disbelief.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you¡¯re Dr. Dolittle. Talking to animals -¡±


    Ahri nudged Grandpa.


    ¡°Grandpa. Who here would even know that movie?¡±


    ¡°...Isn¡¯t it famous?¡±


    ¡°It was famous when you were young, Grandpa.¡±


    Ahri seemed to know it well too.


    But, the fact that she could talk to animals was both fascinating and intriguing.


    ¡°Do you talk to Perro often?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What do you talk about? Any interesting stories?¡±


    Songee thought for a moment, then started writing something on a piece of paper.


    Perro¡¯s One-Line Evaluation


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Perro talks about us almost all day. He says, ¡®I like this one, but dislike that one,¡¯ things like that.¡±


    ...I learned about an animal¡¯s gossiping nature I didn¡¯t want to know.


    Perro¡¯s One-Line Evaluation:


    1. Yu Songee: Love. Mom.


    2. Lee Eunsol: Brings food. Big food bowl.


    3. Elena: Shines. Sparkle.


    4. Kim Ahri: Red blood. Scent.


    5. Park Seungyub: Dumb. Beneath me.


    6. Kim Mooksung: Noisy. Nest material.


    7. Cha Jinchul: Monster. Hits me.


    8. Han Kain: Evil demon. Stay away!


    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±


    Everyone was speechless. Songee continued her exnation.


    ¡°Perro seems to know that Eunsol-unni orders his food. He likes Elena because she sparkles whenever he sees her. Also, Perro seems to sense our Blessings or Inheritance. I didn¡¯t understand hisments about ¡®red blood¡¯ and ¡®scent¡¯ rted to Ahri, but it might be the ¡®Ancient Blood¡¯ fused with Ahri¡¯s body that he senses. As for Seungyub¡­. Luckily, he¡¯s not here. Perro seems to look down on him a bit. Grandpa Mooksung is ¡®noisy¡¯ because Perro probably perceives our chats.¡±


    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±


    <em>Songee? Why stop the exnation there? Thetter part seems ominous.</em>


    Grandpa Mooksung reacted immediately.


    ¡°What¡¯s with ¡®Nest material¡¯? I have a bad feeling, but recently that little bird has been plucking my hair whenever it gets the chance?¡±


    ¡°Perro seems to think your white hair is great nest material.¡±


    ¡°We should boil some water and catch that bird,¡± Ahri replied yfully.


    ¡°Wow~ Jinchul-oppa is a monster since he hit Perro on the first day, and Kain is¡­ An evil demon! What do you do to Perro every day?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Kain-oppa always possesses Perro to practice flying. He can¡¯t even fly for 3 seconds before crashing¡± Ahri answered whileughing uncontrobly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. If you practice for another month, you might be able to fly for 10 seconds. As long as Perro doesn¡¯t lose all his feathers from stress that is!¡±


    So, we ended lunch with everyoneughing together.


    I went to find Perro for my ¡°flight practice.¡±


    <em>Perro should understand!</em>


    If I could fly with Perro¡¯s body, it would be a great help to the party.


    ***


    <strong>Party Time, Day 3, Evening</strong>


    ¡°Now! It¡¯s finally time for the final meeting. Since we decided to rxfortably on thest day as before, today¡¯s meeting is crucial. Of course, there¡¯s only one person among us who knows about the Gate Room and the second floor! Professor Ahri will give today¡¯s lecture, so everyone, give a round of apuse for her!¡±


    After everyone pped lightly, Ahri began her exnation.


    ¡°First, remember that my exnation might be wrong. It¡¯s a memory from long ago, and this Hotel constantly changes its contents. The Gate Room is structured with multiple Cursed Rooms in a row. There are brief rests in between, but just enough to catch your breath. Eliminated participants do not revive during the Gate Room, and only if at least one person passes through the entire room will they revive. There don¡¯t seem to be any Convicts there. The reward doesn¡¯t seem to be an Inheritance either.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not an Inheritance, what¡¯s the reward?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The person who passed through the Gate Room in the first party hid it.¡±


    <em>How frustrating.</em>


    The person who got the reward hid it, so we didn¡¯t know what it was.


    Still, it must have been an amazing party to arrive at the second floor.


    ¡°How was the second floor?¡±


    ¡°Remember that it might change. The second floor, like the first, has Convicts and Enemies, but with two major changes. First, it feelsrger than the first floor. For example, although the entire world is implemented on the first floor, the main activities take ce in confined spaces like rooms, the broadcasting station, the mansion vicinity, the spaceship, and the school. The second floor hasrger main areas and more people involved. Second, Sealing and Liberation. From the second floor, one person is sealed upon entry.¡±


    I asked in surprise.


    ¡°Sealed? Is that person not able to do anything in the room at all?¡±


    ¡°Correct. The reasons vary every time, like being locked in a cell alone or falling into a deep, unending sleep. Even if the sealed person has two or three Inheritances, the Hotel suppresses them, making it impossible for them toe out on their own. It¡¯s okay to proceed without freeing the sealed person, but it¡¯s usually easier if they are liberated because they have the most useful ability in the room. This is why the previous party stopped progressing on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The previous party had people who monopolized inheritances and used their powerful abilities to hinder others and hoard rewards. So only two people ended up growing significantly. But on the second floor, one of the two who grew was inevitably sealed, effectively halving their power. They escaped with luck, but couldn¡¯t proceed further through the Cursed Rooms.¡±


    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±


    I realized something.


    Ahri¡¯s mother was an elite agent, a strong person, more likely to harm than to be harmed.


    One of the two people who monopolized the treasures must have been Ahri¡¯s mother.


    From what I saw through the mirror in Hotel Land, she resembled Ahri and had a very pretty and gentle impression, but clearly, appearances are deceptive.


    I think I understand why Ahri was ¡°created.¡±


    When one of the strong, including herself, was sealed, they couldn¡¯t proceed, so they tried to create ¡°another strong person¡±.


    Eunsol-noona, who had been listening intently, cut in at that point.


    ¡°Stories about the second floor are fascinating, but let¡¯s focus more on the Gate Room. Remember Ahri¡¯s exnation? Now let¡¯s /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 108: Party Time (10) - Strategy Meeting (2), What is Luck?

    Chapter 108: Party Time (10) - Strategy Meeting (2), What is Luck?


    <strong>Party Time, Day 3, Evening</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°Stories about the second floor are fascinating, but let¡¯s focus more on the Gate Room. Remember Ahri¡¯s exnation? Now let¡¯s strategize.¡±


    At Eunsol-noona¡¯s words, everyone snapped back to reality.


    The second floor was a story forter.


    For now, we needed to focus on the Gate Room.


    I took notes on the characteristics of the Gate Room.


    Firstly, the Gate Room consists of a series of Cursed Rooms with brief rest in between.


    Secondly, those who were eliminated midway could only be revived if at least one person passed through the entire Gate Room.Thirdly, there seem to be no Convicts, and the reward wasn¡¯t an Inheritance.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to devise a strategy with just this. We don¡¯t know the contents of each room, so it¡¯s hard to predict. Do you know any other characteristics? Like how many rooms there are?¡±


    Ahri seemed to be pondering as well but gave ackluster response.


    ¡°While I have experienced the second floor firsthand, I¡¯ve only heard about the Gate Room. Moreover, as you all know, the first party wasn¡¯t too keen on kindly sharing information.¡±


    Although I resolved not to rely on Advice, we really needed a piece of advice right now.


    <em>Give me advice on preparing for the Gate Room.</em>


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    Preparing for exams starts with analyzing mock exams.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I was momentarily speechless.


    Given our limited information, I had anticipated a cryptic response, but wasn¡¯t this a bit much?


    I shared the question and answer with my teammates.


    Upon hearing it, Jinchul-hyung sighed.


    ¡°Is that owl some like of Sphinx or something? Always making us solve riddles.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not always like this, but when you ask questions with insufficient information, this happens.¡±


    ¡°But in this Hotel, information is always insufficient!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem.¡±


    I thought it through step by step.


    <em>Exams obviously referred to the Gate Room, right?</em>


    <em>Then mock exams must refer to the Cursed Rooms.</em>


    <em>Interpreted this way, the advice could mean:</em>


    <strong>Recall the lessons learned from the Cursed Rooms you¡¯ve passed through.</strong>


    ¡°It seems that exams refer to the Gate Room, and mock exams refer to the Cursed Rooms. Maybe it means to review the Cursed Rooms we¡¯ve already passed through.¡±


    Eunsol Noona responded.


    ¡°I thought simrly¡­¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve felt through Advice, there are no meaningless words or metaphors. Every word, every metaphor has a meaning. There must be a reason for specifically using the metaphor of ¡®exams and mock exams¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So, what does our top exam expert, Kain, think is the reason?¡±


    ¡°Usually, the problems that appeared in the mock exams often reappear in a simr form in the actual exams. I think it means that the Cursed Rooms we¡¯ve already passed will reappear simrly, though slightly altered, in the Gate Room.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s review the Cursed Rooms one by one and identify key points to watch out for. How about Room 101?¡±


    ¡°Strange Family and Common Sense Renovating Media. Several keywordse to mind. The most important was quick thinking. As soon as it started, we were bombarded with mental attacks, so immediate action was necessary. Next is deduction. You need to find the right ce.¡±


    ¡°I can talk about Room 102. ¡®Comcency¡¯. The Mansion of Fear didn¡¯t have a fast tempo like Room 101. During the first attempt, nothing happened on the first night, and even after the scenario changed, a day or two would pass without incident. Then, when you let your guard down, you¡¯d fall into an irreversible trap.¡±


    Next was Songee.


    ¡°For Room 103, the keyword seems to be ¡®Doubt¡¯. Doubting the entire reality before your eyes. Keeping in mind that the stage given could be false or an illusion. It¡¯s like having a paranoid mindset, but it seems necessary in the Hotel.¡±


    <em>What about Room 104?</em>


    ¡°What about Room 104? It¡¯s the only room we didn¡¯t solve and decided to skip, so I have no clue.¡±


    Ahri answered.


    ¡°Open thinking? The Heavenly Daughter is arguably the strongest Enemy across all rooms, but even with such power, she acted most discreetly. It required the element of ¡®paying attention to external factors¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Look outside the stage?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just my guess. Since I¡¯ve never actually progressed through Room 104. When we actually proceed, the key point might be entirely different.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s summarize this much. Considering ourck of detailed knowledge, thinking about a few key points is probably the best we can do.¡±


    ¡°We need quick thinking to respond to immediate attacks, deductive reasoning to analyze twisted scenarios, the mindset to doubt everything we see, and think creatively amidst all that.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung spoke in disbelief.


    ¡°Is that even humanly possible?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do our best. Even if it doesn¡¯t work out, the worst that can happen is death, right?¡±


    I said it with a smile, but no oneughed.


    Thus, all the meetings for today ended.


    The next day, on the fourth day of the Party Time, everyone kept their promise and spent the day either resting or training individually.


    <strong>Party Time, Day 4, Early Morning</strong>


    <strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    I feel stifled.


    At some point, I always felt frustrated with myself.


    <em>Why am I so stupid?</em>


    I wasn¡¯t good at studying or sports, and I wasn¡¯t even particrly good at games.


    Every time my parents scolded me, I shouted at them to stop interfering, but once I calmed down, I knew¡­


    If I had at least be Challenger <sup>1</sup> in LoL as a middle schooler, my parents might have believed in me.


    Ultimately, everything I did was subpar, so it was inevitable for others to interfere.


    Nothing has changed sinceing to the Hotel.


    At first, I luckily escaped the Strange Family.


    At that time, I thought things might work out.


    But nothing changed.


    I was just following the smart and strong people, ying a passenger role for the ¡°main characters¡±.


    <em>Am I going to live my life as a passenger wherever I go?</em>


    I sank deep into my nightmares.


    <em>- Ssh!</em>


    ¡°This kid is quite gloomy.¡±


    Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me up.


    Looking around, I found myself waking up on a yacht floating in the vast ocean.


    In front of me was a boy around my age.


    Seeing his yful expression, he looked like he¡¯d suit a straw hat.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your friend! Usually, I¡¯d watch and only meet you in the Sanctuary, but you were sinking so deeply that I decided toe see you.¡±


    ¡°Friend? All of a sudden¡ª¡±


    <em>Usually meet in the sanctuary</em>.


    That was when I realized who the boy in front of me was!


    ¡°Oh! Are you my sponsor? I¡¯m sorry, you look different from before¡ª¡±


    ¡°Was I in the shape of a card back then? That¡¯s one of my favorite forms too. Just call me ¡®Dice¡¯. It¡¯s my favorite tool.¡±


    The boy yfully took out two dice from his pocket and rolled them.


    Of course, they bothnded on 6.


    ¡°Why do you think I came to see you?¡±


    ¡°Because I suck?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say it¡¯s more because you¡¯re so frustrating. Meeting outside the Sanctuary is quite a hassle. I used a fair bit of power, but mostly because you were almost dying which made this meeting possible.¡±


    Dice continued while fiddling with the dice.


    ¡°Why are you always so gloomy? ¡®Nothing works¡¯, ¡®This doesn¡¯t work¡¯, and ¡®That doesn¡¯t work.¡¯ You¡¯re always full of such thoughts. Even luck would wilt with such a mindset.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not gloomy because I want to be, but because gloomy things happen. It¡¯s not that I think things won¡¯t work out, they just do.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Every syble of that sentence was stifling!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s making you so gloomy? There¡¯s no Dongjin or Myunghwan here to bully you, nor your parents who didn¡¯t understand you.¡±


    ¡°Why are you bringing up their names all of a sudden!¡±


    ¡°Calm down and think. What kind of person do you think ¡®Park Seungyub¡¯ is?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Lacking talent, and on top of that,cking diligence. That was the case outside, and it¡¯s the same in the Hotel. Because you¡¯re entirelycking, nasty people flock to you. Not to mention, your parents don¡¯t trust you either.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to drive me to suicide or something¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha! Of course not! Quite the opposite in fact! I¡¯m saying I have the perfect answer for you. Actually, I chose you because you¡¯re ¡®that kind of person.¡¯¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    The sponsor spoke as if he had chosen me.


    Didn¡¯t ¡°I¡± decide on the blessing by picking up a shard on the first day of entering the Hotel?


    Dice continued.


    ¡°You hate thinking deeply and working 10 hours every day, don¡¯t you? Answer honestly.¡±


    ¡°...Yes¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it! I chose you because you wouldn¡¯t do such things. It was like¡­ a problem you don¡¯t knowes up, so you roll a die. The die shows 3. Then you choose 3 as the answer. That¡¯s luck. But shallow-thinking friends do this. Does the die show 3? But looking at the OMR card, 3 has already appeared too many times? So it must be 4, right? And they avoid the answer.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying not to think?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already experienced it once, haven¡¯t you? After Hotel Land, when you consciously tried to aim at the balloons, you hit a silver one, but when you shot it by ident, you hit the golden one. The point is to have faith and groundless confidence.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Earlier, this kid seemed like a normal child despite being a god.


    His words were all over the ce, making it hard to understand.


    ¡°Believe! Live with faith. I am the God of Luck, and I chose you. You are the luckiest of humans, so why don¡¯t you trust your own luck?¡±


    ¡°Because normally the % isn¡¯t high enough to activate luck¡ª¡±


    ¡°Luck is with you at all times. That skill is just for moments that need ¡®overwhelming luck¡¯ to overturn reality.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I¡¯ve never felt lucky in everyday life?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem. Now answer me! Got it?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes!¡±


    ¡°Faith, hope, love, the greatest of these is?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Uh... Love?¡±


    ¡°Luck.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°World peace, wealth, honor, or the most beautiful girl in the world, Ahri-noona. The greatest of these is?¡±


    ¡°Stop teasing me!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re lucky, you can have it all. It¡¯s luck.¡±


    ¡°Why are you choosing answers that aren¡¯t even in the options¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it! Got it?¡±


    <em>What the heck do you mean, you crazy guy!?</em>


    ¡°Did you just think, ¡®What the heck do you mean, you crazy guy?¡¯¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think. Act on feeling. Go with the flow!¡±


    ¡°Huh? What did you say?¡±


    Dice grabbed my arm and moved me towards the end of the yacht.


    <em>This is so confusing!</em>


    ¡°What do you think will happen if you jump into the sea here?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t swim well, so I¡¯ll drown.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t a sea turtle suddenly save you and take you to an ind?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why is it ridiculous? It can happen. Why do you keep thinking? Honestly, you¡¯re not that smart, right? Stop trying to use your brain that doesn¡¯t work and just believe! There¡¯s a sea turtle below that will save you.¡±


    With that, Dice grabbed my arm and threw me into the sea!


    ¡°YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯M GONNA DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!¡±


    ¡°Look closely at the sea. Maybe there¡¯s a mermaid there?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>- Jolt!</em>


    With a dizzy feeling, I woke up to find myself back in the bed in Room 105.


    I looked down at my body. It was thinner and weaker than before.


    My head was pounding.


    <em>Oh, this is a mess. My sponsor is truly a madman.</em>


    But there was a turtle in the sea.


    Just jumping into the sea, a turtle appeared by chance and saved me by chance?


    <em>How?</em>


    <em>Does that even make sense?</em>


    <em>What are the chances?</em>


    <em>It doesn¡¯t matter.</em>


    <em>If there¡¯s a turtle, there¡¯s a turtle.</em>


    <em>Doubt, distrust, and thoughts.</em>


    <em>Those are the enemies of luck.</em>


    I opened my hand.


    There was a die.


    I lightly tossed it onto the desk and went out to see the hyungs and noonas outside Room 105.


    I didn¡¯t bother to check the die.


    If it was me who threw it, it¡¯d obviouslynd on 6.


    /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 109: Party Time (11) - Final Preparation, Entering the Gate Room

    Chapter 109: Party Time (11) - Final Preparation, Entering the Gate Room


    <strong>Party Time, Day 4, Lunch</strong>


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    When morning came, everyone was relieved to see Seungyube out.


    Although he looked thinner than usual, he seemed to have recovered enough to move around.


    Grandpa Mooksung subtly sat beside him and started piling meat onto Seungyub¡¯s te.


    The story Seungyub told while eating was quite interesting.


    He said his sponsor appeared in his dream and talked about how to use his Blessing.


    Although it was a bit confusing, the message was clear.


    <strong>Don¡¯t overthink or calcte too much, just do it.</strong><em>Believe everything will go well and they will.</em>


    It was a difficult Blessing to understand.


    I got a sense of why he said he ¡°chose Seungyub.¡±


    If it really was that kind of Blessing, it wasn¡¯t something a person who overthought could utilize.


    Honestly, I couldn¡¯t imagine myself jumping into the ocean, believing a sea turtle would save me.


    However, no matter how much the Blessing might be about believing everything will go well, it must have its limits.


    The very fact that there was an "active skill" itself implied there were limits, right?


    ¡°Seungyub, I got curious while listening, did you test it? The usual limits of Fortu¡ª¡±


    Before I could finish, Ahri immediately covered my mouth.


    <em>...Did I say something wrong?</em>


    After finishing the meal, while walking near the front desk, Ahri came over to me.


    ¡°What was that earlier? You suddenly covered my mouth and surprised me.¡±


    ¡°From now on, never talk about Fortune in front of Seungyub.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°No doubt you were trying to analyze the limits and principles. Of course, there might be some principles, and naturally, there are limits. However, just you analyzing and sharing it with Seungyub weakens the Blessing itself.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I get it. I¡¯ve had a simr experience. Sometimes, a Blessing gets stronger when the owner is a bit unhinged. It seems like ¡®Fortune¡¯ is a Blessing that gets stronger when the mind is pure.¡±


    ¡°...You shouldn¡¯t talk about such things in front of Seungyub either.¡±


    But I understood what she meant. I almost made a mistake.


    I conveyed Ahri¡¯s message to the others.


    From now on, analyzing ¡°Fortune¡± in front of Seungyub was forbidden.


    Just conveying our understanding mightplicate Seungyub¡¯s mind and weaken his luck.


    With Seungyub¡¯s Awakening, we all finished our preparations to enter the Gate Room.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Hallway


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>Gulp.</em>


    I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.


    As we stood in front of Room 107, the Gate Room, tension filled the air.


    Eunsol-noona spoke in a somewhat trembling voice.


    ¡°Final equipment check! I have my brooch and badge, Grandpa has his gloves and a gun, Kain has his pen, and everyone has their Inheritance, right? Songee, make sure you have Perro, and everyone¡¯s wearing sturdy clothes, right¡ª¡±


    ¡°Noona, we¡¯ve gone through this several times already. Let¡¯s go in now.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go in. Waiting out here won¡¯t change anything.¡±


    As Grandpa Mooksung stepped forward to grab the doorknob of Room 107, a notification appeared for everyone.


    Warning!


    In the Gate Room, you must pass several trials in an order without any rest, and it is immensely difficult.


    Minimum Condition: Escape from all the Cursed Rooms. In possession of at least 1 Inheritance.


    Rmended Condition: In possession of 2 or more Inheritances.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Participants have met the rmended conditions.


    Would you like to proceed?


    ¡°Just in case, does this mean there¡¯s no rest at all?¡±


    Ahri answered ambiguously.


    ¡°This Gate Room might mean no rest at all, or it might mean there¡¯s no long rest like the few days we get during Party Time.¡±


    <em>-Click!</em>


    We entered the Gate Room.


    Inside, there was a strangely bright, glowing space.


    As we looked around in bewilderment, a notification appeared.


    Wee, participants, to the Gate Room.


    You must pass a total of five trials.


    The theme of the trials is ¡®Restrictions.¡¯


    Do you believe Blessings or Inheritance are everything?


    Remember, Blessings or Inheritance are ultimately external forces.


    Show your true capabilities within these restrictions.


    The First Trial will begin in 30 seconds.


    ¡°...It seems like they won¡¯t let us use Blessings or Inheritances. Was it like this before?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this before!¡±


    Ahri replied with a hollow tone, ¡°This is why this damned Hotel is so frustrating! Preparation doesn¡¯t help because it changes every time!¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha... I never thought I¡¯d hear you curse.¡±


    Amid ourughter, the First Trial began.


    ***


    <strong>First Trial</strong>


    <em>-ng! ng!</em>


    My consciousness faded and then returned.


    I found myself on a train.


    As I tried to stand up and look around, I felt an inexplicable difort.


    Looking around, I saw mypanions with puzzled expressions.


    There was no one else in the train car except us.


    A notice was heard from the ceiling.


    You cannot use Blessings on the train. Please take note.


    ¡­As expected, the status window did not appear.


    Naturally, everyone stood up and started talking.


    ¡°How are we supposed to pass this trial?¡±


    ¡°By the looks of it, isn¡¯t it about getting out of the train car?¡± Eunsol-noona answered.


    Upon hearing that, Jinchul-hyung immediately tried to move the train door.


    ¡°The door doesn¡¯t budge at all?¡±


    ¡°Then it seems like escaping is the goal. They locked the door because we need to escape, right?¡±


    Everyone else also started touching things here and there.


    The strangest ce was the passage to the next car.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing there, but we can¡¯t pass through?¡±


    As Eunsol-noona said, the passage seemed visually clear, but we couldn¡¯t pass through it.


    It was as if there was an invisible wall.


    On the other side of the passage, the next car was faintly visible.


    Outside the train windows, a beach could be seen, but the window itself would neither break nor open.


    ¡°Hey, Boar, try punching it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have that kind of strength anymore, Gramps. No matter how many times I hit it, it will not budge.¡±


    The sealing of our Blessings brought many changes to us.


    I couldn¡¯t see the status window, Jinchul-hyung¡¯s physical abilities returned to that of a regr athlete, and the chat window disappeared, among other changes.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Perro?¡± Songee eximed in surprise.


    Indeed, Perro was nowhere to be seen.


    <em>What¡¯s going on? It seems like we need to leave this ce, but there¡¯s no way to get out.</em>


    We searched every corner of the train car but couldn¡¯t find a way out.


    As we searched, that inexplicable difort grew.


    Ahri gave her opinion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can break out physically. The passage appears visually clear but is blocked by a transparent barrier. Since an unnatural force is blocking our exit, there must be some condition we need to meet.¡±


    ¡°What could that condition be?¡±


    Everyone fell silent.


    Eventually, everyone got tired and started resting in random spots.


    I sat absentmindedly, staring out the window.


    <em>What the hell is this nonsense?</em>


    <em>Shouldn¡¯t there at least be a hint?</em>


    It made me realize how much I relied on the status window.


    In usual circumstances, I would¡¯ve started asking for ¡°Advice¡± right away.


    <em>-ng! ng!</em>


    ...The train was moving, and time was passing.


    It seemed like 30 minutes had passed.


    Everyone was trying different things but with little sess.


    Then, a familiar sound was heard.


    <em>-Piyooo!</em>


    We heard Perro¡¯s cry from the back!


    Everyone stood up and turned their heads.


    Perro flew from the back passage!


    <em>Is Perro unaffected by the barrier?</em>


    Songee was the most enthusiastic to see him.


    ¡°Perro!¡±


    Songee opened her arms wide, ready to embrace Perro like a long-lost family member¡ª


    Perro flew past.


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°...??¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    <em>What¡¯s going on? Where is he going?</em>


    ¡°Ouch! What are you doing!¡±


    Perro briefly nced at us, pecked Seungyub yfully, and flew to the front car.


    <em>What is he doing?</em>


    <em>Did he juste here to peck Seungyub once and leave?</em>


    Eunsol-noona¡¯s bewildered voice came out.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Songee? Why is Perro doing that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know... Maybe it¡¯s because ¡®Affinity¡¯ is gone.¡±


    <em>Ah! Without Songee¡¯s power to interact with Perro, they can¡¯tmunicate.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s a bit sad.</em>


    Perro used to cling to Songee, rubbing his beak affectionately against her.


    Now, without the Blessing, he was indifferent and just flew right past her!


    Songee looked visibly deted.


    ¡°Ha! That damn parrot! Expecting anything from a bird brain was a mistake.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung consoled Songee by cursing Perro.


    <em>But why did Perro go to the front car?</em>


    <em>Is there bird food there?</em>


    Once again, we were left clueless.


    <em>-ng! ng!</em>


    The train continued its endless voyage along its track.


    Time flowed like a wave


    I leaned against the window, staring outside.


    It had been a while since I traveled by train, just sitting nkly like this.


    When I was very young, we used to take the train to visit Grandpa in the countryside¡­


    Back then, reforestation projects were in full swing. They were exceeding effective.


    Every mountain visible from the window was now covered in trees!


    Ah, I just realized those mountains weren¡¯t real, so it was a meaningless thought.


    ¡°...?¡±


    <em>What¡¯s this?</em>


    Something felt off.


    <em>-Aaaah!</em>


    <em>-Kyaaaa!</em>


    Suddenly, screams echoed from the train.


    Everyone jumped up in surprise.


    It came from the front car.


    From the direction Perro flew, there were loud noises and terrible screams.


    They sound¡­ familiar.


    I realized the ¡°difort¡± and ¡°unease¡± I had felt earlier.


    I summoned the Grimoire to confirm my suspicion.


    <em>It¡¯s starting now.</em>


    <em>Someone figured it out thanks to Perro.</em>


    <em>I have a guess but I need to confirm it first.</em>


    I approached Seungyub and asked.


    ¡°Seungyub.¡±


    ¡°Yes? Hyung? What¡¯s with those screams¨C¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your rank in LoL? What¡¯s your favorite character?¡±


    ¡°Suddenly? What¡ª¡±


    ¡°Answer me.¡±


    ¡°...Still tinum. I¡¯ll reach Diamond soon. I used to main Yasuo, but now it¡¯s Yone¡ª¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. But it¡¯s clear now. It¡¯s you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Go to the back.¡±


    Silently, I gripped the handle of the dagger hidden inside my jacket.


    The Hotel truly is a cruel /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 110: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial (1)

    Chapter 110: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial (1)


    <strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    <em>What is this? What the hell is going on?</em>


    Suddenly, screams wereing from the front of the train, and Kain-hyung started asking me weird questions and then began acting crazy!


    At first, he calmly went to Grandpa Mooksung and asked to borrow the gun.


    ¡°Grandpa. I want to check something, could you lend me the gun?¡±


    Would there be any suspicion in asking arade to borrow a gun?


    ¡°Going to shoot at the window or something? Give it a shot. But it won¡¯t break that easily, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Even if the Inheritance can¡¯t be replicated, the gun can? It¡¯ll be easier than using a knife at the very least.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±¡°Grandpa, do you remember the name of your deceased grandson you mentioned before?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking that all of a sudden? His name was... what was it again?¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    Just as Grandpa Mooksung tilted his head in confusion, Kain-hyung immediately pulled the trigger.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Soon, the train car was also filled with screams.


    ¡°K-Kain! What are you doing!¡±


    ¡°Tell me your siblings¡¯ names.¡±


    ¡°What? Why all of a sudden¡ª¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    ¡°What were the names of the dogs you raised at home?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh! Oppa! Please save me¡ª¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    In an instant, Grandpa Mooksung, Eunsol-noona, and Songee-noona fell.


    <em>Are they dead?</em>


    <em>This is so terrifying...</em>


    <em>What is happening?</em>


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    The sound of something being thrown and shouting.


    Jinchul-hyung and Kain-hyung started fighting.


    ¡°Kain, you crazy bastard! What the hell are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m crazy? Really? Isn¡¯t it the opposite?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? Wait, are you not Kain? Are you possessed or something?¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not Han Kain. And neither are you.¡±


    ¡°You bastard, what kind of nonsense¡ª¡±


    ¡°Do you really not know? Or are you just pretending because you don¡¯t want to? If you really are Cha Jinchul, show me the ¡®Star¡¯.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>What is this all about?</em>


    Jinchul-hyung, who was shouting mere moments ago, stood like someone who had lost their mind after summoning the Star.


    <em>Something is wrong.</em>


    If the Star appeared, there should be a tremendous wave that tickles the skin, but why was there nothing?


    Kain-hyung calmly approached and stabbed Jinchul-hyung with a knife.


    ¡°Now do you get it? You already felt it, didn¡¯t you? The time of suffering will return someday, but for now, rest.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    One by one, the number of living people in the train car decreased.


    It was terrifying.


    Too terrifying.


    My heart was trembling so much I couldn¡¯t even move.


    <em>-Clunk!</em>


    The only survivor in this train car, besides me, sat before me.


    ¡°Are you alright? You¡¯re covered in cold sweat.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Rx. You have to keep going.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Still don¡¯t know? I don¡¯t know who I am either. What¡¯s certain is, you¡¯re the only ¡®real¡¯ one in this car.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°The rest are all fakes. Including me. We were probably participants long ago.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve felt ufortable from the beginning. It must be because this isn¡¯t my real body. Also, when the parrot flew by, you must have noticed. That parrot only reacted to you because you¡¯re the only person it recognized. Then, while looking out the window, I realized something strange. There are memories of reforestation projects in my childhood, but reforestation projects ended decades ago, didn¡¯t they? It couldn¡¯t have happened during Han Kain¡¯s childhood. Lastly, when I summoned the Grimoire, it turned out to be just a book mimicking its appearance. The only reason the fake Inheritance appeared is because the real one isn¡¯t with me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Oh~ who am I really? I feel like I¡¯m on the verge of remembering.¡±


    ¡°Why did you help me?¡±


    The manughed for a long time at those words, then patted my head.


    ¡°You really are a fool, huh?¡±


    After about 5 minutes, someone came over from the front of the train car.


    It was Songee-noona with Perro on her shoulder.


    Seeing this, the man in front of me spoke.


    ¡°Aha! You¡¯re the ¡®real¡¯ Songee? How did you realize? Is it because of the parrot following only you? Or the bracelet?¡±


    ¡°...Who is real?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell at a nce? This kid is the real one!¡±


    Songee-noona¡¯s right arm, with ¡®Diverse Perspectives,¡¯ emitted a hazy glow.


    ¡°Rx! I¡¯m not going to take this kid hostage. I¡¯m not that horrible.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Just give me a little time. Just a bit.¡±


    ¡°Time?¡±


    ¡°Time to remember who the real me is. I got rid of the fakes for you in advance, so can¡¯t you give me that much?¡±


    Songee-noona approached.


    Perro on her shoulder tapped my head.


    Noona silently grabbed my arm and leaned against the side of the train.


    ¡°Noona, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in this car except you is a fake.¡±


    ¡°I heard that.¡±


    ¡°I was the only real one in my car. It seems we were all divided into different cars.¡±


    After about 3 minutes, Kain-hyung¡­ no, ¡®someone¡¯, who seemed to be pondering, stood up.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. I¡¯ll finish it myself, so go on. By the way, you¡¯d better hurry.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°When the hotel uses NPCs, the ¡®original personality¡¯ neveres back to life. But I felt difort and incongruity as soon as it started, and while looking out the window, I realized the truth. Do you understand what that means? After a certain time, the fakes will all reawaken their consciousness. It¡¯s a time attack. Will everyone be as cooperative as me? You¡¯d better hurry if you want to save your ¡®realrades¡¯.¡±


    Noona¡¯s expression hardened instantly, and she approached the man.


    The man smirked and quietly brought the gun to his head.


    <em>...What is that man¡¯s reason for helping me?</em>


    Before pulling the trigger, the man murmured softly.


    ¡°Ah, I remember now. My name is Cha Seungjin. I have experience in the Navy Special Forces and Navy SEALs. I¡¯m confident I can be a great help to you. Remember my name.¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    ...That man wanted a chance at resurrection in exchange for helping us.


    Noona picked up the gun from his body and moved on to the next car with me.


    ***


    <strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    As we entered the next car, the people there widened their eyes at us.


    Since a version of Songee-noona and I were already in the train car, our sudden increase in numbers caused confusion amid the train car.


    In the chaos, Noona raised her gun¡ª


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    And blew off the head of the ¡°fake Songee-noona¡± right in front of her!


    ¡°Everyone with an Inheritance, bring it out now!¡±


    Even without Noona¡¯s words, the sudden shooting from the next car made the people with Inheritance bring them out.


    It took less than a second to realize who the ¡°real¡± one was in this car.


    <em>-sh!</em>


    In no time, Ahri-noona, who grasped the situation, started killing the fakes from behind!


    ...It was a painful moment.


    Even if they were fakes, they believed themselves to be Han Kain, Yu Songee, and Cha Jinchul, and yet¡­ we had no choice but to kill them.


    Songee-noona and Ahri-noona attacked from both ends.


    In the end, they were all annihted in no time.


    Ahri-noona picked up a gun from the body of the fake Grandpa Mooksung and approached us.


    ¡°I expected that to be the case since Perro only touched me and left, but they were all fakes? That¡¯s crazy.¡±


    ¡°We need to hurry!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°A fake who regained consciousness told us. Over time, the fakes will all realize they¡¯re fakes. What do you think they¡¯ll do?¡±


    ¡°...Let¡¯s go right now. How do we distinguish the real ones from the fakes who don¡¯t have Inheritance?¡±


    ¡°Perro seems to know just by looking.¡±


    <em>-Click!</em>


    The gun was loaded.


    ¡°The parrot is finally proving its worth aftering out of the golden balloon. By the way, unlike Inheritance, it seems all Mooksung¡¯s on the train have a gun. Can we take it?¡±


    The same process continued until the fourth car.


    As soon as we crossed over, Ahri-noona and Songee-noona shot the fakes of Ahri, Songee, and Seungyub and then sent Perro flying.


    Perro flew to sit on Eunsol-noona¡¯s shoulder, and the rest were all killed.


    The problem started from the fifth car.


    When we entered, the fakes in the fifth car were already starting to regain their bearings.


    Just a moment ago, they believed themselves to be Yu Songee, Kim Ahri, and Park Seungyub, but as their true selves started to awaken, they went berserk.


    Fortunately, the real one in the fifth car was Grandpa Mooksung.


    With the Blessing sealed and the fakes without Inheritance, no one could stop the lone grandpa with a gun.


    When we arrived, Grandpa was standing amidst seven bodies with a hollow expression.


    Even as Perro plucked his hair, Grandpa just stood there.


    The real one in the sixth car was Jinchul-hyung.


    Even though he had an Inheritance, summoning the Star without his Blessing was tantamount to suicide.


    Despite that, Hyung had no choice but to summon the Star to fight against the many fakes.


    We crossed over in the middle of a fierce battle and subdued the fakes, but by then, Jinchul-hyung was already half-dead.


    ¡°Jinchul-oppa! Oppa! Are you okay? What do we do... what do we do!¡±


    <em>How brutal must the fight have been?</em>


    Hyung had a gun wound and was bleeding from multiple ces.


    On top of that, summoning the Star turned his skin into something akin to a lizard¡¯s scales.


    Half of his skin looked like lizard scales and the other half like jellyfish, making it terrifying to look at.


    Ahri-noona spoke calmly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next room ourselves. We can¡¯t heal him anyway. He¡¯s still alive, so we have to get through this room and regain our Blessings to save him. The regeneration will save Jinchul.¡±


    ¡°Ahri¡¯s right... Just go. Finishing this is the only way to save me.¡±


    ¡°Jinchul-oppa!¡±


    Ahri-noona dragged Songee-noona to the next car without hearing another word.


    Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung gritted their teeth and passed by Jinchul-hyung.


    <em>It¡¯s getting scarier.</em>


    <em>The further we go back, the more the fakes realize they¡¯re fakes and start acting out in madness.</em>


    I realized anew how lucky I was.


    Even without my Blessing!


    The first fake who woke up in my car, Cha Seungjin, chose to cooperate with the real one instead of causing meaningless chaos, hoping for a chance at resurrectionter.


    I wasn¡¯t saying this just because I was grateful, but someone who could make rational decisions, even amidst extreme fear and confusion from mixed identities, was definitely worth considering as a candidate for resurrection.


    I engraved the name ¡°Cha Seungjin¡± into my mind.


    The remaining cars were the seventh and eighth.


    The fakes would have regained consciousness by now.


    <em>What happened?</em>


    ***


    <strong>- 1 hour ago, Han Kain</strong>


    <strong>-ng! ng!</strong>


    The train continued its endless voyage along its tracks.


    Time flowed like a wave.


    I leaned against the window, staring outside.


    It had been a while since I traveled by train, just sitting nkly like this.


    When I was very young, we used to take the train to visit Grandpa in the countryside, where there were no signals!


    <em>Which was annoying!</em>


    I heard they even installed Wi-Fi in the vige hall in the countryside now.


    Ah~ what could it be?


    There was a secret in this train car, and we needed to find it to remove the barrier to the front car¡­


    As I was tilting my head full of thoughts, someone tapped my /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 111: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial (2)

    Chapter 111: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial (2)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Someone tapped my shoulder.


    When I turned my head, I saw Jinchul-hyung.


    ¡°Hyung?¡±


    ¡°It''s nothing. By the way, is your Grimoire intact?¡±


    <em>Why is he asking about the Grimoire all of a sudden?</em>


    Since there was no reason to hide it, I summoned it.


    Hyung suddenly reached out and tried to flip the cover of the Grimoire.


    ¡°Hyung! This is extremely dangerous for anyone other than me.¡±Before I could stop him, he slightly lifted the first page of the Grimoire.


    In an instant, sparks flew, and he rubbed his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I had a hunch when Perro only touched you and left, but you¡¯re the real one.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. Just looking at the scenery outside brought back some memories.¡±


    Hyung plopped down next to me and started talking about various things.


    Losing his parents in high school.


    Starting a business with a bit of money he saved during college that achieved some sess.


    Was it about 10 minutes?


    There were mixed points of heartache and humor.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Something feels off.</em>


    <em>The past he¡¯s talking about is different from what I know about Jinchul-hyung.</em>


    ...Thement about Perro earlier, ¡°You¡¯re the real one.¡±


    I had a suspicion and asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say your mother was alive before? And this is the first time I¡¯ve heard about your startup story.¡±


    ¡°It makes sense. I just found out about this past myself.¡±


    I red at ¡°him¡±, and he stared back at me.


    The next moment, the thick hands of the fake Jinchul grabbed my neck!


    ¡°Grrrkk!¡±


    I immediately used the power of the Grimoire to seize control of his body.


    As I stood up in a daze, I saw six people looking at me with meaningful expressions.


    The battle began.


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    Before I could do anything, Mooksung¡¯s gun fired, blowing off the head of the Jinchul I had possessed.


    My consciousness instantly returned to my original body.


    <em>Mooksung! I need to possess his body!</em>


    I gritted my teeth and stood up, using Jinchul¡¯s corpse as a shield.


    I heard Mooksung¡¯s furious shout.


    ¡°You coward!¡±


    ¡°To hell with cowardice! It¡¯s seven against one!¡±


    As I charged, aiming to possess Mooksung¡¯s body¨C


    <em>-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    Mooksung suddenly emptied his gun into the ground and threw it somewhere.


    <em>What the hell is he doing?</em>


    ...I suddenly understood.


    The most threatening weapon in this train car battle was the gun!


    The problem was if I possessed the person holding the gun, the bnce of power would shift in my favor, no matter the amount of fakes.


    Since I was using Jinchul¡¯s corpse as a human shield, it was difficult for them to shoot me, so he threw away the gun and turned it into a numbers game.


    In an instant, the fakes swarmed me.


    ¡°You bastard¡ª¡±


    ¡°Die! Die, you bastard! Why do you get to escape this hell!?¡±


    ¡°Is it my fault you¡¯re stuck here!?¡±


    The fakes were attacking me from all directions!


    Mooksung punched me repeatedly.


    Eunsol tore at my hair.


    And Songee held me down.


    ¡°Aargh!¡±


    In the midst of the intense pain, I had no choice but to summon the Grimoire again.


    As soon as it was summoned, hesitation engulfed the fakes, causing them to retreat.


    I possessed Mooksung¡¯s body, the biggest threat.


    As soon as I possessed him, I reached for Ahri¡¯s neck to twist it¡ª


    Songee tried to gouge out the eyes of ¡°my body¡± with her fingers!


    <em>This is why I didn¡¯t want to use the Grimoire!</em>


    <em>When my consciousness takes over another body, who will protect my original body in this train car when I have no allies?</em>


    If I had a gun, I could have killed them all instantly, but Mooksung had thrown the gun away to prevent this very situation!


    I had no choice but to return to my original body and immediately push away Songee¡¯s arm.


    <em>-Thud!</em>


    The moment Mooksung was freed from my possession, he punched me.


    Ahri, who had retrieved a sharp object from somewhere, stabbed my shoulder.


    ...I thought I had gotten ustomed to physical pain after rolling around in this harsh Hotel, but I was wrong.


    <em>Is this how it ends?</em>


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    Ahri¡¯s head exploded.


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    A hole appeared in Mooksung¡¯s chest.


    Just as Songee turned around¡ª


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    A hole was drilled into her forehead.


    In the blink of an eye, the fakes died one after another.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Maybe they didn¡¯t expect an attack from behind, but beyond that, the shooting uracy was chilling.


    When I came to my senses, the area was filled with corpses.


    I looked at Elena in a daze.


    ¡°Why... did you help me?¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, do I have a reason to hurt you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Just as Mr. Kain said, it¡¯s not like you threw us into this hell...¡±


    Elena tossed me the gun.


    ¡°If Ie to my senses more, I might go crazy with jealousy. Kill me before that happens.¡±


    I picked up the gun.


    My body felt like it was falling apart after being beaten up by Mooksung and having my eyes gouged by Songee.


    As I slowly approached Elena with the gun, she grabbed my hand and aimed it at her head.


    ...I nkly stared at her.


    Elena gave a faint smile and murmured.


    ¡°In a ce full of fakes, it¡¯s a relief you¡¯re real.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your real name¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just shoot. I want to end this thinking I¡¯m Elena.¡±


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Now, I was the only living person left in this car.


    Just before dragging my staggering body to the next car, a good n came to mind.


    ***


    <strong>- Elena</strong>


    <em>What kind of ce is this, anyway?</em>


    I absentmindedly stared out the window, reminiscing about the past.


    During the days I wandered from country to country, I harbored a precious dream.


    The morous world of TV!


    Would I be able to stand on stage again outside someday?


    While pondering, I heard the murmuring of people around me and then strange voices.


    Ahri.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the participant?¡±


    Songee.


    ¡°The parrot stared at Elena for a long time before flying away. It must be her.¡±


    Mooksung.


    ¡°Damn it! Why is that bitch the only one who gets to leave here?¡±


    <em>Huh?</em>


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    <em>People are approaching me.</em>


    <em>Think, think, think with all your might!</em>


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    When Songee approached me amidst the confusion, I had the best reflexes of my life.


    <em>When in doubt, start with a p.</em>


    It¡¯s a drama clich¨¦ for a reason.


    ¡°Elena! What are you¡ª¡±


    <em>-p!</em>


    The sound of my p echoed through the train car.


    The approaching people stopped in their tracks, bewildered.


    ¡°How dare you act so arrogantly! Lower your eyes before me!¡±


    Eunsol, who had been looking at me with a puzzled expression, spoke.


    ¡°Hmm? Are you a fake too? But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fake? How dare you utter such nonsense in front of me! Where¡¯s this ¡®fake¡¯? I am¡ª¡±


    <em>Who should I say I am?</em>


    <em>Just throw something out there!</em>


    ¡°¡ªThe eldest daughter of the 16th Earl of Huntingdon!¡±


    <em>Earl of Huntingdon?</em>


    <em>What kind of family is that?</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t know!</em>


    <em>It just came to mind.</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Silence filled the surroundings.


    <em>Did I go too far</em>?


    Mooksung sighed.


    ¡°It seems you were captured quite a while ago. When were you captured?¡±


    <em>Does this lie work?</em>


    ¡°In 1874, on the day the Queen wore the crown of the Indian Empire. The glory of the Empire will fill Europe. You! Who are you?¡±


    I diverted the questioning.


    After being pped, the fake Songee hesitantly answered.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m still a bit fuzzy, but maybe in 1980 or 1982¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silence. How dare a mere monkey act so presumptuous! Your owner should thoroughly educate you more!¡±


    <em>I don¡¯t know! Just go hard!</em>


    <em>Life is about momentum.</em>


    When I kicked Songee and red around with wide eyes, everyone backed off, stammering.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    This time, Seungyub, who was targeted, hesitated and answered.


    ¡°Huh? I-I am¡ª¡±


    ¡°Waitttt!¡±


    The fake Eunsol interrupted.


    ¡°I was taken aback by the suddenmotion you caused, but shouldn¡¯t you exin yourself first? The parrot clearly looked at you and flew away. Are you not the participant?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, the intelligence level of the descendants of the monkeys from the colonies is rather pitiful. Birds naturally like shiny things. Although this body isn¡¯t nearly as brilliant as my real one, it¡¯s shiny enough to catch the bird¡¯s attention. Do you have anything more to say?¡±


    ¡°Well, even if we ept that exnation, your attitude is just...¡±


    The fake Kain stepped in.


    ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s stop this. Seriously, this damn Hotel needs to moderate its summoning. Why bring a super old fossil from 200 years ago?¡±


    ¡°What? You damn monkey¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough! Who¡¯s the participant?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there someone who¡¯s been unusually silent this whole time? Is it you?¡±


    ¡°The hell? I¡¯ve been here since 197¡ª¡±


    Just like that, the fakes started arguing about who the participant was.


    Meanwhile, I kept chipping in with additionalments, trying to sound like the most arrogant, racist, British imperialist possible.


    ¡°Ha! <em>My majesty!</em> Save me from these filthy Eastern monkeys.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Someone shut that annoying racist old bitch¡¯s mouth!¡±


    ¡°Just answer my question. Why are you confused about your own name?¡±


    As I kept observing, I noticed these ¡°fakes¡± were in a state of significant confusion with jumbled memories.


    Some could recall their original memories rtively clearly, while others were in a state of identity crisis.


    They began to suspect one another for not being able to recall their past clearly.


    Ironically, since I had made up the role of the eldest daughter of the Earl of Huntingdon, which didn¡¯t exist, I wasn¡¯t experiencing any confusion, and my confident attitude kept me from being suspected.


    <em>But will dragging out time like this help me?</em>


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>What is going on?</em>


    The ability to possess others has one major weakness.


    While possessing someone else, my original body was defenseless.


    Because of this, I left my original body in the passageway between train cars and transferred only my consciousness.


    The barrier blocked the passageway between train cars!


    I, who eliminated all the fakes in my car, could cross the barrier, but the fakes couldn¡¯t.


    Therefore, I left my real body behind the barrier, waiting to possess someone as soon as they approached.


    That part of the n went well...


    Now¡­ Who was the real one in this car?


    The atmosphere inside the train car was utter chaos.


    The fakes were interrogating each other, trying to identify the participant in a frenzy of confusion!


    In the midst of this, the person causing the most trouble was the crazy racist old British woman standing by the window.


    Every time one of the ¡°Yellow Monkeys¡± looked at her, she got so angry that approaching her was basically impossible.


    She kept stirring up confusion in the train car, makingments like, ¡°That guy is suspicious,¡± and ¡°He¡¯s definitely the participant.¡±


    It was clear this crazy woman must have caused internal strife and had been eliminated during her lifetime.


    <em>Who on earth is the ¡°real¡± one in this car?</em>


    I was utterly /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 112: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial End, The Second Trial Entry (3)

    Chapter 112: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The First Trial End, The Second Trial Entry (3)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Stay calm.


    The structure of this car shouldn¡¯t be different from the one I was in.


    <em>One person is real, and the rest are fakes.</em>


    There were two options as to why the real person wasn¡¯t discernible.


    Either the ¡°Ahri¡± I possessed was real, or the real one was pretending to be a fake.


    I rummaged through the mind of the Ahri I possessed.


    My proficiency with the Grimoire was far inferior to that of the original owner, the Apostle from the Mansion of Fear.


    Therefore, unlike the Apostle, I couldn¡¯tpletely read the target¡¯s mind upon possession.However, from the fragmented memories I gathered, I was certain.


    Some of these memories didn¡¯t belong to Ahri.


    Furthermore, if this Ahri were the real one, she would have been able to resist my possession, which she didn¡¯t.


    This Ahri was definitely a fake.


    Thus, the real one in this room was pretending to be a fake.


    I thought deeply about each person.


    First, the Han Kain and Kim Ahri in this room were definitely fakes.


    Next, Cha Jinchul and Park Seungyub were also fakes.


    I didn¡¯t mean to offend them, but I couldn¡¯t imagine either of them being skilled enough to react and start acting so convincingly in such a short time.


    If Jinchul-hyung was here, he would have thought of fighting using the Star rather than acting in such a situation.


    Simr to Jinchul-hyung, Songee also seemed fake.


    Those with an Inheritance gave off a certain vibe that others with an Inheritance could sense. Moreover, those people tended to rely heavily on their Inheritance in times of crisis, rather than opt for something like acting.


    Grandpa Mooksung was also a fake.


    If he were the only real one, there¡¯d be no need for him to act, especially since he had the gun.


    The fakes didn¡¯t have Inheritance or Blessing.


    In such a situation, Grandpa Mooksung could kill everyone alone.


    So, Han Kain, Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub, Cha Jinchul, Yu Songee, and Kim Mooksung were judged to be fakes.


    The remaining two, Elena and Lee Eunsol, left me puzzled.


    Considering Perro¡¯s reaction, Elena might be the real one, but it was ambiguous just because Perro looked at her.


    Moreover, the actions of the woman leaning against the window showed the revolting arrogance and viciousness of a racist.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I observed the surroundings.


    As time passed, the fakes started recalling their own memories more clearly, and the Hotel¡¯s imnted memories quickly faded.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the fakes concluded that they should reveal their Inheritance to determine who was real.


    Cha Jinchul revealed the Star first.


    He was a fake.


    Han Kain opened the Grimoire.


    Of course, he was a fake.


    Songee was rather ambiguous.


    Even if her bracelet was real, there was no way to distinguish it if she didn¡¯t use it.


    Then, as everyone¡¯s attention turned to me, or rather, the Kim Ahri I possessed, I got an idea.


    ***


    <strong>- Elena</strong>


    <em>What should I do?</em>


    I was avoiding suspicion with my acting, but that was it.


    I had no way to subdue these people on my own.


    <em>Should I just wait for the others toe from another car?</em>


    While I was pondering, the fakes in this car started revealing their Inheritance.


    When everyone¡¯s attention turned to Ahri after Kain, Jinchul, and Songee¨C


    Ahri started acting strangely.


    She took out a syringe and drew her own blood and then kept touching her chest oddly.


    She kept adjusting the angles, touching here and there.


    <em>Is the syringe supposed to be there?</em>


    From my memory, it should be in a pocket at her waist.


    Watching this, I remembered a joke Ahri had made during a meal.


    She had joked about how Kain tried to touch her chest as soon as he possessed her body, so she immediately chased him out, calling him a pervert.


    Kain was flustered and stammered, asking what she meant, while we allughed uncontrobly.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    <em>Could it be?! That Ahri!</em>


    I was so startled that I failed to hide my surprise!


    Ahri, no, Kain possessing Ahri, smiled at me.


    Suddenly, a thick book appeared in Ahri¡¯s hand.


    I instinctively closed my eyes.


    <em>-p!</em>


    "Ahhhhhh!"


    "Ughhhh!"


    "Eeeek!"


    In an instant, the train car was filled with screams as the fakes copsed to the floor.


    It was the effect of the Grimoire¡¯s magic, which no one but the owner could dare look at!


    While everyone in the car was focused on Ahri, she suddenly summoned the Grimoire and opened it wide, rendering the fakes powerless while I, who had anticipated the abnormality and closed my eyes, remained unaffected.


    The fakes were all bleeding from their eyes and vomiting uncontrobly.


    Kain, who had possessed Ahri, calmly took the gun from the fake Mooksung¡¯s waist and shot the remaining fakes.


    ¡°...When did you possess Ahri?¡±


    ¡°Not too long ago. This body willmit suicide soon. Elena, could you go to the back? I need support since my body is in pretty bad shape.¡±


    ¡°Are you badly hurt?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat.¡±


    I watched Kain aim the gun at the possessed Ahri¡¯s head before heading to the back of the train car.


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    With the sound of gunfire, all the fakes in my car were dead.


    The barrier soon disappeared.


    As Kain said, his condition wasn¡¯t good.


    Supporting him for a brief moment made me think his bones might be broken in several ces, and blood flowed from his eyes.


    ¡°Are you really okay?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this considered a minor injury in this hotel?¡±


    ¡°You can still joke even in a situation like this!?¡±


    ¡°Haha... Actually, it hurts.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to suddenly open the Grimoire. I didn¡¯t know you could use it that way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I intentionally opened it in front of others to attack. If I had thought of it a bit earlier in the previous car, it would have been easier for me.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t had it long. You¡¯ll get better with practice. Just like how you learned how to filter your vision with the Status Window.¡±


    I suddenlyughed as I supported Kain to the front of the train.


    ¡°Why did you touch your chest all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°The fakes seemed to have forgotten most of the real¡¯s memories. I thought only the real person would recognize the gesture¡­¡±


    ¡°Even so, was touching your chest the only gesture you could think of? Were you really pure in your intention?¡±


    ¡°Why did you specifically choose to act like a racist in your performance?¡±


    ¡°It just came to mind at that moment.¡±


    ¡°So did touching my chest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely tell Ahri about this.¡±


    With that, the atmosphere became somewhat lighter.


    Despite supporting Kain, who could barely stand, we joked andughed as we moved to the next car.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Even whileughing with Elena, I was worried inside.


    <em>Could we get through the remaining train cars in this condition?</em>


    Fortunately, there was no need to worry.


    As soon as we reached the passageway, we saw ourrades crossing over to our side.


    The moment when the real Hotel Party members joined together after eliminating all the fakes in every room, an announcement echoed through the entire train.


    Congrattions, participants! You have passed the First Trial, ''Doppelg?nger Train''.


    With the announcement, the surroundings copsed, just like when a Cursed Room was resolved.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The surroundings brightened again.


    And the Status Window returned.


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    We gathered in a ce resembling Room 105, a hotel-like room with simple beds and some food.


    An announcement appeared on the disy in front.


    The Second Trial will begin in 1 hour.


    One hour.


    We guessed there would be no rest, but still¡­


    <em>We barely have time to catch our breath!</em>


    <em>And our bodies are in terrible condition!</em>


    The statement I made to Elena about this being a minor injury in the Hotel was, unfortunately, true.


    Seeing Jinchul-hyung¡¯s condition, it was a miracle he was even alive.


    There was no time to rejoice in reuniting withrades.


    Grandpa Mooksung hurriedly approached me and began first aid.


    ¡°Hang in there!¡±


    <em>-Snap!</em>


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    ¡°I need to set the bone, so don¡¯t struggle! Someone hold Kain¡¯s arm!¡±


    ¡°Yes~! Kain-oppa, bite down hard.¡±


    I was shaking from the intense pain.


    Despite the pain, my thoughts wandered to Jinchul-hyung¡¯s condition.


    I was injured enough for Grandpa to administer first aid, but there was no solution for Jinchul-hyung.


    It was like when doctors opened a patient¡¯s belly and sighed before closing it up again.


    The cost of using the Star without his Blessing was severe.


    His Blessing returned and his Regeneration had started to take effect but¡­ could he recover from that state?


    <em>-Snap!</em>


    ¡°Oh, is this the wrong angle?¡±


    ¡°Ahhhhh! What do you mean the wrong angle!¡±


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve done this.¡±


    <em>...This isn¡¯t the time to worry about others.</em>


    One hour wasn¡¯t enough for proper rest; it was barely enough to provide first aid to the injured.


    In the end, Jinchul-hyung couldn¡¯t regain consciousness, and I still couldn¡¯t lift my arm properly when the next trial began.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    When everyone came to their senses, we were in the middle of an unknown forest.


    Scenario: Gate Room - ¡®The Witch¡¯s Forest¡¯


    The Hotel party woke up in an unknown forest.


    An eerie atmosphere surrounds them, and unknown wails fill the air.


    With a severely injuredrade, rest is essential.


    Looking around, they find a suspicious wooden cabin.


    Wouldn¡¯t that cabin have warm beds and some snacks?


    Check the suspicious cabin for the next clue.


    <em>As expected, it works in the Gate Room too!</em>


    <em>-Aaaahhh~!</em>


    As I read through the scenario, a chilling cry akin to an infant¡¯s echoed.


    Everyone¡¯s face hardened.


    I shared the details with them.


    Grandpa Mooksung sighed.


    ¡°Ha... Just from the name ''The Witch¡¯s Forest'', this is going to be a nightmare.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find the cabin first. It seems we need to go there to proceed.¡±


    Ahri, who was supporting Jinchul-hyung, answered.


    ¡°We need rest too. Let¡¯s get Jinchul to a warm, soft ce first.¡±


    Fortunately, finding the cabin wasn¡¯t difficult.


    <em>-Creak!</em>


    The door opened with a rough sound.


    As soon as we entered the cabin, everyone, except Jinchul-hyung and I, busily moved around.


    Eunsol-noona lit the firece with a candle lighter, and Grandpa Mooksung found a soft nket upstairs, creating a spot in front of the firece toy Jinchul-hyung down.


    Elena found a soft cushion and some clothes, making a spot for me to lie down as well.


    As I sat and stared at the firece, Ahri approached me.


    ¡°So, how was it?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°How did they feel?¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Elena, why are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wow! You really did touch it? Elena only said you possessed the fake¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Ahri looked at me with a somewhat pale expression.


    I started thinking it might have been better to faint like /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 113: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (4)

    Chapter 113: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (4)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    The crackling sound of the fire in the firece began to fill the room.


    Everyone, who had been moving frantically, began to sit down and rest.¡°Kain.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the scenario tell us anything?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. We followed the instructions to enter the cabin, but no further details have appeared.¡±


    Ahri, who was leaning against me, answered.


    ¡°If you think about it like a movie, it seems like the right time hasn¡¯te yet.¡±


    <em>The right time... Does that mean something is about to start soon?</em>


    Ahri sighed as if disappointed.


    ¡°Ah~ I managed to gather five guns on the train! And four badges. But they all vanished.¡±


    In the First Trial, the ¡°Doppelg?nger Train¡±, all our items except our Inheritance were duplicated.


    The fakes received not only the gun but also our badge, pen, glove, etc. Ahri had collected these one by one. Unfortunately, when the First Trial ended, all the duplicated items disappeared.


    ¡°That gun was something you acquired after trading an arm and a leg. It was treated as a precious item, so it was unlikely they¡¯d let you duplicate it so easily.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Anyway, since it¡¯s called ¡®The Witch¡¯s Forest¡¯, I guess a witch will appear?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.¡±


    Songee, who had been listening, chimed in.


    ¡°Do we have to kill the witch?¡±


    ¡°Well, I think we should follow my ''Scenario Comprehension'' to avoid making any mistakes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, should we find something to eat?¡±


    With those words, Eunsol-noona stood up and headed to the kitchen.


    At that moment, an alert appeared.


    From now until the end of the Second Trial, the participant¡¯s Inheritance will be sealed.


    In the First Trial, our Blessings were sealed, and in the Second Trial, our Inheritances were sealed.


    <em>Will the restrictions alternate from trial to trial?</em>


    As the alert appeared, ¡°Scenario Comprehension¡± began to sh again.


    <em>Now it¡¯s starting.</em>


    Scenario: Gate Room - ¡®The Witch''s Forest¡¯


    While resting in the suspicious cabin, the party opened cupboards and drawers looking for something to eat.


    They discovered ominous traces inside! The party sensed danger, but it was already toote.


    The witch is approaching the cabin. Can the party survive the witch''s threat?


    Check the next part at midnight.


    ¡°¡­???¡±


    <em>What the¨C</em>


    ¡°Kyaaaaa!¡±


    A piercing scream erupted from the kitchen!


    We all turned to look at the kitchen, where Eunsol-noona was trembling, still holding the cupboard open.


    Grandpa Mooksung rushed over to check the surroundings.


    ¡°Damn it! Eunsol, get out of there!¡±


    A burst of cursing immediately followed.


    <em>What the hell is it?</em>


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°This cabin¡¯s owner is a crazy cannibal. Every container is full of human corpses!¡±


    I forced myself to stand up and look, then quickly turned my head away.


    The transparent containers were filled with human eyes, and various parts of human bodies were scattered everywhere.


    Just as everyone was getting chills from the revtion of the ¡°witch¡±, the beasts inside the forest started howling.


    <em>-Woof! Woof!</em>


    <em>-Awooo!</em>


    Even without the Blessing of Affinity, I could understand the meaning of these cries without it.


    <em>It¡¯s a cry of terror!</em>


    The beasts were signaling each other to flee from the approaching monster.


    In the dreadful atmosphere, everyone started moving frantically.


    Jinchul-hyung was still unconscious.


    We couldn¡¯t escape the cabin.


    So we had to hold our ground here.


    We barricaded the doors and windows, made torches in preparation, and loaded the gun with bullets, all in a tense atmosphere.


    Who could fight?


    The strongest among us, Jinchul-hyung, was still incapacitated.


    I could hardly move properly, and Songee and Ahri had be ordinary girls with their Inheritance sealed.


    Did that mean Grandpa Mooksung had to fight the witch alone with the gun?


    As I turned my head, I spotted another potential fighter.


    ¡°Songee!¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You said you couldmunicate with Perro, right? Tell him to transform into a monster like before!¡±


    Upon hearing my words, Songee immediately tried tomunicate with Perro.


    <em>Did he understand?</em>


    Perro flew from Songee¡¯s shoulder to the door of the cabin.


    <em>I can¡¯t just lie here.</em>


    Gritting my teeth, I stood up.


    As soon as I stood, my limbs trembled, and a stabbing pain washed over me.


    But I had no choice.


    I prepared for battle, clutching a capsicum spray and a silver dagger.


    <em>-Boom! Boom! Bang! Bang!</em>


    Finally, the ¡°witch¡± arrived near the cabin, and its appearance became visible through the window.


    In all my life, I had never seen such a horrific creature.


    True to the word ¡°witch¡±, it vaguely resembled a female figure.


    However¡­


    It had at least eight limbs, with eyes protruding from all over its body like grotesque spikes.


    Even crawling, its height was about 3 meters, and its mouth was filled with sharp, spike-like teeth.


    The horrific monster, having spotted us through the window, grinned widely.


    ...I nearly vomited at the sight of that grin.


    <em>Does this monster think it¡¯s about to feast?</em>


    <em>-Bang! Bang!</em>


    As soon as the figure emerged, Grandpa Mooksung started shooting.


    The torch illuminated the target, revealing the ineffectiveness of our attacks.


    The bullets weren¡¯t bouncing off, but they sank into its body as if they were entering jelly, leaving the witch unphased.


    <em>-Thud!</em>


    The witch attempted to tear down the door with its hands!


    ¡°Block it!¡±


    Frantically, we moved tables and furniture to barricade the door.


    ¡°The gun isn¡¯t working! How are we supposed to deal with this thing?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? If only we had the Star! With our Inheritance sealed and Jinchul still unconscious, I have no idea what to do!¡±


    ¡°Should we try burning it?¡±


    ¡°With no oil? How? Do you think holding a torch to it will burn it?¡±


    <em>-Kwajjik</em>


    A giant hand wed through the wall and reached through the window!


    The hand nearly grabbed Seungyub, but he ¡°coincidentally¡± tripped and avoided it.


    <em>-Piyooooo!</em>


    Perro transformed grotesquely and pecked at the witch¡¯s hand with his huge beak.


    The witch, seemingly enraged, made a bizarre noise and threw Perro away after grabbing his head!


    Ignoring my pain, I rushed to lift Perro¡¯s head, which had mmed into the wall, and checked for injuries. Perro, who usually fled at my approach, didn¡¯t move away this time.


    There was really no solution.


    <em>Without the Star and with Jinchul-hyung unconscious, there¡¯s no way for us to stop this monster.</em>


    ¡°Die already, you bastard!¡±


    Using a pitchfork-like object hanging in the cabin, I thrust it outside, swinging it wildly.


    The witch, trying to enter, momentarily backed off.


    Its horrifying eyes twitched counterclockwise as it stared at me.


    As I saw those eyes, an idea came to mind.


    I ran to grab Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s gun.


    Though surprised, Grandpa handed it to me, and I passed it to Seungyub.


    ¡°Use your Blessing and shoot!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Use your Blessing and shoot, like what you did with the balloons!¡±


    Finally understanding my n, Seungyub went to the window.


    Without even looking at the witch, he pulled the trigger.


    <em>-Bang! Bang!</em>


    <em>What luck!</em>


    Without even looking, he miraculously shot several of the witch¡¯s eyes.


    <em>Can any creature withstand having its eyes blown out?</em>


    <em>-Screech!</em>


    With a scream that shook the entire cabin, the witch started retreating.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone copsed to the floor, dazed.


    Time-wise, it was 20 minutes or so?


    It was a brief fight, but it felt like it drained our spirits.


    <em>What an outrageous monster.</em>


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Eunsol-noona muttered nkly.


    Grandpa Mooksung was skeptical.


    ¡°How could it be? A monster like that will surely regenerate its eyes ande back!¡±


    ¡°How does the Administration handle such monsters?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. They usually bring in a helicopter and shoot it with a machine gun, then fire rockets or missiles.¡±


    ¡°What? Helicopters?¡±


    ¡°Did you think we¡¯d sprinkle holy water and pray? It¡¯s the 21st century! Machine guns are better than holy water, and missiles are even better than machine guns. In the 21st century, the biggest enemies of monsters aren¡¯t priests but helicopters and tanks. Although tanks can¡¯t enter forests like this, so we¡¯d have to use helicopters.¡±


    ¡°...That¡¯s a fascinating story, but we don¡¯t have a helicopter right now.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I don¡¯t know how they expect us to handle a monster that even the Administration needs military equipment for¡­¡±


    I felt utterly drained.


    Even a veteran who had spent his life hunting monsters felt helpless without military equipment like helicopters or tanks against such a monster.


    <em>How can we defeat such a monster without our Inheritance?</em>


    Ahri stood up and started talking.


    ¡°Something¡¯s off. We¡¯ve broken through many Cursed Rooms, but this is a first.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°This Hotel generally focuses on solving puzzles rather than brute force. Suddenly throwing an overwhelming monster at us and saying, ¡®Beat it with strength,¡¯ isn¡¯t their style!¡±


    Everyone nodded.


    <em>Right.</em>


    The Hotel wouldn¡¯t suddenly make us fight a ridiculously strong monster without any other way out.


    There must be another way.


    Everyone got up and started searching the cabin for clues.


    ***


    We re-entered the kitchen we had fled from earlier.


    Foods made from human parts filled the space.


    Small ss jars were filled with what looked like pickled human eyes, and hanging from the ceiling were sausages clearly made from human meat.


    Among these were some truly creative dishes.


    ¡°Why the hell does this freak do this with human bodies?¡±


    While sighing and wandering around, I felt a sense of unease for the first time.


    ¡°...¡±


    How did the witch look when we saw it earlier?


    It was a grotesque monster.


    Its limbs were haphazardly twisted with multiple extensions, and its body was covered with spike-like eyes.


    Even while crawling, it seemed about 3 meters tall.


    How big would it be standing on two legs?


    Could such arge creature enter this modest-sized cabin?


    Even if it did, could it even move properly?


    Furthermore, could a creature with such a twisted body make these ¡°foods¡±?


    I immediately called myrades and shared my thoughts.


    Ahri nodded.


    ¡°It makes sense. This cabin isn¡¯t big enough for such a monster, and it couldn¡¯t have made these foods with that body.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung added.


    ¡°Can it transform into a human form?¡±


    I answered immediately.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s the key. Fighting that monster isn''t the answer no matter how I look at it. We have to find a way to change it into its human form to kill it.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me of something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The scenario you mentioned. Didn¡¯t it say to check the next part at midnight? Maybe there¡¯s some change at /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 114: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (5)

    Chapter 114: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (5)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 3


    The time mentioned in the Scenario Comprehension.


    <em>Midnight.</em>At this, Songee tilted her head and asked, ¡°Should we wait until midnight then? Luckily, we still have some time¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. Scenario Comprehension is not meant to be used in such a vague manner like ¡®waiting¡¯.¡±


    When I interrupted decisively, everyone looked at me with confused eyes.


    Though it seemed like we should follow Scenario Comprehension to the letter that was not the case.


    Since they were not the owner of the blessing, it was understandable they would be confused.


    However, from the perspective of someone who has been using the Owl''s peculiar blessing, I was starting to get the hang of it.


    ¡°After using it a few times, I¡¯m getting a feel for it. Scenario Comprehension is somewhat simr to the ''Life Warning''.¡±


    ¡°The function that automatically warns you when your life is in danger? You haven¡¯t used it much recently, have you?¡± Ahri responded.


    ¡°Yeah. The biggest problem with that ability is that it alerts you right before a crisis urs. By the time the alert pops up, it¡¯s often toote to change anything. For example, if the Life Warning is quiet, you might think it is safe, but then suddenly, ''In 3 seconds, a nuclear missile will hit.'' Such a crazy warning could pop up. It¡¯s not a very reliable ability.¡±


    ¡°So, Scenario Comprehension is simr to that?¡±


    ¡°Think about the crisis we just faced. We were just waiting for the Scenario Comprehension to update and were chatting away. When it finally updated to say a monster was attacking, it was only 10 seconds before it arrived. If we didn¡¯t have the Scenario Comprehension, how would we have acted?¡±


    The first person to understand my words was Grandpa Mooksung.


    ¡°If we didn¡¯t have that ability, one of us would have been keeping watch outside the cabin. Given that it wasn¡¯t our home, it¡¯s easy to imagine that the owner would show up.¡±


    ¡°And if someone was keeping watch, we would have known about the witch¡¯s approach much earlier. There¡¯s no way such a huge monster could approach without making any noise, right? But because of Scenario Comprehension, we were all just sitting inside, waiting for it to update,pletely unaware of the attack until 10 seconds before it happened.¡±


    The summary of this long conversation was simple.


    Scenario Comprehension was not a power we were meant to depend on until it was updated.


    If we let our guard down, we could be put in danger.


    Regardless of this power, we must do what we need to do, and when Scenario Comprehension updates, we could use it as a reference.


    ¡°...¡±


    This realization applies not just to Scenario Comprehension but to my Blessing as a whole.


    The power to warn of crises, the power to give advice, and the power to reveal scenarios.


    One principle applied to all these abilities.


    <strong>Do not rely solely on the Blessing and wait for it to tell you something; act proactively and use the Blessing as a reference.</strong>


    <strong>Blessings are merely aids.</strong>


    As I thought this, a notification appeared for the first time in a while.


    Your understanding of the Blessing has increased.


    <em>I feel like the Owl is saying, ¡°You finally figured it out?¡±</em>


    <em>Well, I only got into a scenario a few days ago, you annoying Owl!</em>


    After mentally cursing the Owl, we immediately started moving.


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    We split up and began exploring the surroundings.


    Since I still couldn¡¯t move properly, Ahri and I were assigned the task of searching inside the cabin.


    ...The more we searched inside the cabin, the more horrifying things we found.


    ¡°Ah, is this witch some kind of Hannibal Lecter? Everything that looks like stored food is made from humans.¡±


    ¡°Just think of it as pork~ Then it won¡¯t feel as bad.¡±


    ¡°How am I supposed to think of it as pork when there are literally fingers sticking out? Are you Aztec or something?¡±


    ¡°Then just keep gagging.¡±


    We bickered as we rummaged through the surroundings.


    While walking near a wall, Ahri discovered something.


    ¡°This looks familiar.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lever simr to the one we saw in the Mansion of Fear.¡±


    As expected, when we pulled the lever, stairs leading to the basement appeared.


    The underground space was vast, filled with numerous ss jars, sharp knives, mysterious colored stones, and strange papers.


    On a table in one corner of the space was a thick book.


    The contents of the book were records of grand experiments.


    There was a lot I couldn¡¯t understand, so I handed it over to Ahri.


    After reading it for a while, Ahri summarized it for me.


    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of wicked experiment log. It¡¯s full of stories about capturing and dissecting people.¡±


    ¡°I got that much, but what about the weird terms like ¡®separation of soul and body¡¯ and ¡®Seeds of Flesh¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t fully understand it either, but the goal of the experiments is simple. The witch herself acquired some kind of evil power, but the more she used it, the more side effects umted in her body. So at some point, she became a monster and could only stay human for half the day. Her goal is to fix her twisted body.¡±


    ¡°If the power has such severe side effects, she should just give it up... So, how does she n to fix it?¡±


    ¡°ording to the log, she ns to transnt other human bodies onto hers, and once stabilized, she¡¯ll discard her original body. It¡¯s like your Possession with the Grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Wait, can you just attach another person¡¯s body like that? Don¡¯t you need to consider blood types, immunosuppressants, and such?¡±


    ¡°Does it make sense to discuss medical terms when the word ''witch'' is involved? Just ept it as it is.¡±


    After gathering this info, we went back upstairs.


    When we returned, the others were having a serious conversation.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung remained silent with a frown, so Eunsol-noona answered.


    ¡°Jinchul¡¯s condition isn¡¯t improving. Although his Blessing has returned along with his Regeneration, he still hasn¡¯t regained consciousness.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wait a bit longer? A normal person would have died already. The fact that he¡¯s still alive suggests that Regeneration is working some miracle.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right that he might wake up if we wait,¡± Grandpa replied, ¡°But can we afford to wait like that? If we do, he might stayatose for months.¡±


    No one said it out loud, but I understood what they meant.


    It was time to consider whether to give up on Jinchul-hyung or not.


    The trials in the Gate Room were too difficult to clear while carrying an unconscious person.


    Giving up on him didn¡¯t mean he would permanently die.


    As long as we cleared the Gate Room, we could meet him again, fully recovered.


    I voiced my opinion.


    ¡°I will respect whatever decision is made. We can meet him again once we pass the Gate Room. But let¡¯s wait until tonight. If he isn¡¯t awake by tomorrow, let¡¯s decide by majority vote.¡±


    Everyone quietly nodded.


    Next, I shared what Ahri and I had discovered in the basement.


    The witch had be a monster due to abusing her evil power and could only stay human for part of the day.


    Her goal was to revert her body back to its original state.


    ¡°The witch was originally human!¡±


    Elena responded with a visibly lighter expression.


    Now that we had evidence she was once human, ¡°Justice¡± might work in the next battle.


    ¡°Did anyone else find anything?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not good news,¡± Eunsol-noona answered, ¡°But the witch isn¡¯t the only monster in this forest. I looked for escape routes thinking maybe leaving the forest could count as an escape, but there are monsters everywhere. Two-headed wolves are the least of our worries; I even saw a bird with tentacles.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t see any monsters on our way to the cabin. That¡¯s strange.¡±


    ¡°The monsters appear once you leave the cabin. They nevere near it, probably because they fear the witch.¡±


    After sharing our findings, I checked the clock.


    Midnight was approaching.


    We had discovered the witch''s motives and the state of the forest after our first battle with her.


    We still didn¡¯t know how to proceed, but with the witch¡¯s true nature revealed, it seemed Elena could be more active in the next battle.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As midnight struck, the scenario was updated.


    Scenario: Gate Room - ''The Witch''s Forest''


    After discovering the witch''s true nature and goal in the cabin''s basement and the fact that the forest is filled with monsters making escape difficult, the party deliberates.


    As midnight falls, the moon shines benevolently, and the witch regains her sanity.


    The witch approaches the cabin. She seems to have a proposal.


    Will you ept the proposal? Or immediately eliminate her?


    Check back tomorrow for the next update.


    <em>The witch regains her sanity and approaches the cabin, got it.</em>


    <em>She has a proposal? What could that be?</em>


    <em>-Knock! Knock!</em>


    A knocking sound echoed through the solemn atmosphere.


    I quickly used the chat.


    Han Kain: The witch is in human form. Approaching the cabin. Seems to have a proposal.


    Kim Mooksung: Can¡¯t we just kill her?


    Han Kain: Not sure.


    Kim Ahri: Let¡¯s hear her out. Elena can handle it.


    I calmed myself.


    Just as Ahri said, with Elena able to use justice now, our party¡¯sbat power had increased significantly.


    We could handle whatever came our way.


    Grandpa Mooksung opened the door.


    ¡°...¡±


    The witch¡¯s human form was nothing like the monster we fought earlier.


    She was about 160 cm tall, slightly taller than Songee.


    She seemed to be in herte twenties and had an overall antique vibe.


    Even to someone like me, who knew next to nothing about fashion, her attire seemed quite refined and high-ss, and elegant essories on her head and wrists.


    She held a staff in her left hand, which also looked extraordinary.


    If I didn¡¯t know she was a witch, she would seem like a nobledy from somewhere.


    Grandpa pointed his gun at her and spoke roughly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your game?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit shameless of you to ask that? This is originally my home. Show some respect.¡±


    <em>Right, this is originally the witch¡¯s cabin.</em>


    ¡°If we hadn¡¯t found such horrific things here, we might have shown you respect. Now shut your mouth and say what you came to say!¡±


    In the tense atmosphere, I felt a faint light from Elena.


    It didn¡¯t seem like she activated Justice right away; she was probably using Lie Detection.


    ¡°From the noisy fight earlier, I one of you seems to be in critical condition.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point. I can treat him.¡±


    <em>So, this is the witch''s proposal!</em>


    When the scenario mentioned ¡°Will you ept the proposal? Or eliminate her immediately?¡±, I suspected it would be significant.


    A proposal that would make us reconsider immediately killing the witch!


    The chance to heal Jinchul-hyung was too tempting to ignore.


    It wasn¡¯t just because we were close to him.


    But hisbat power was unparalleled within our group.


    Unlike Elena, who required special conditions, or my Descent, which was limited and mysterious, Jinchul-hyung was immensely powerful without any particr conditions.


    Especially after acquiring the Star, Jinchul-hyung¡¯s physical strength was overwhelmingly significant to our group¡¯s overallbat power.


    The reason we hadn¡¯t given up on him despite hisatose state was precisely because of this.


    Everyone seemed deep in thought.


    Seeing the witch in front of us, the chat immediately became active.


    In our anxiousness, we expressed our thoughts without reservation.


    Yu Songee: Is it possible?


    Kim Ahri: Considering she can attach different body parts to herself...


    Kim Mooksung: Even if it¡¯s possible, should we trust her?


    Elena: I used Lie Detection, and she¡¯s making a genuine offer.


    Han Kain: Let¡¯s hear her out. She must want something.


    I stepped forward and asked, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t just treat him for nothing. What do you want in return?¡±


    The witch looked directly at me.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    She kept staring.


    ¡°...¡±


    After almost a minute of just staring at me, the others began to react curiously.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Kain¡¯s face might be nice, but surely she didn¡¯te here just to look at it.¡±


    ¡°I had my doubts from afar, but it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°Step aside.¡±


    The witch nudged Grandpa Mooksung with her staff and approached me.


    Though he was taken aback, Grandpa didn¡¯t stop her.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Her expression seemed affectionate and her eyes were moist with emotion.


    <em>What is this?</em>


    <em>Why is this cannibalistic witch acting like this?</em>


    <em>Why is this atmosphere so weird?</em>


    Unable to hold back, I spoke.


    ¡°Do you have something to say to me?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a mage, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    <em>What on earth is she talking about?</em>


    I managed to regain myposure and replied.


    ¡°What do you mean by¡ª¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide it. I can tell just by looking. We can assist each other.¡±


    Her voice was so tender¡ª


    <em>What the hell? I just saw five jars of eyeball pickles you made!</em>


    I was at a loss for words, utterly bewildered by the sudden /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 115: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (6)

    Chapter 115: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (6)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 37


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 3


    With the sudden change in atmosphere came an unexpected statement.


    "You are a mage, aren''t you?"Understanding its meaning wasn''t difficult. I have the Grimoire, after all.


    The curious part was that the Grimoire was sealed by the hotel.


    I quickly asked through the chat window.


    Han Kain: It seems to be because of the Grimoire? It''s sealed, so how does she know?


    Kim Ahri: There might be traces of possession left in your body or soul.


    Han Kain: I''ll y along for now.


    <em>Think.</em>


    <em>I''m not some movie star, and this witch isn¡¯t a fool who''d suddenly fall for me at first sight.</em>


    <em>Moreover, isn¡¯t she supposed to be an extremely vile entity?</em>


    She must want something from me to act this way.


    Recalling the journal entries I saw in the basement and the powers of my Grimoire, a hazy picture started to form.


    The witch wielded an evil power, and as a result, her body was turned into a monster.


    Is she seeking to use my Possession ability to transfer her soul to another body?


    I straightened my posture, smiled, and stepped toward the witch.


    "Although I wasn''t particrly hiding my identity, I didn''t expect the Lady to recognize it at first nce."


    Kim Mooksung: Lady? LADY??? Are you drunk?


    "Oh my! I may be a humble mountain witch, but I''m not blind. The traces of a mage''s spirit leaving its body are so obvious; how could I not notice?"


    "Haha! It seems I have much to learn from you. May I ask the Lady¡¯s name"


    "I am called Arima Nitra. And you, Lord Mage?"


    "My name is Han Kain, Lady Arima."


    Kim Mooksung: What do you intend to learn? How to make human sausages?


    Lee Eunsol: Please be quiet. Let''s focus on the conversation. This is important.


    Han Kain: Please stop the chat.


    "Mage Han, we could make excellent partners. I am well-versed in the mystique of the human body, and you have mastered the secrets of the mind and spirit. Together, we can reach the pinnacle of magic."


    Kim Ahri: The mood is quite good! They might as well get married. The "Lady" part was funny.


    "That sounds promising, but I am deeply concerned about the deteriorating condition of mypanion."


    "Of course, I can fully treat him. However... you will show your sincerity in return, won''t you?"


    Yu Songee: Can we trust her?


    Elena: We''ll have to keep monitoring her.


    After negotiating with the witch, she left the cabin.


    <em>Firstly, the witch will periodically treat Cha Jinchul.</em>


    <em>Secondly, I will teach the witch how to use possession magic.</em>


    <em>Andstly, the treatment and teaching will happen simultaneously.</em>


    There were other details, but the core points were those three.


    Even to an amateur, the agreement had obvious issues.


    Eunsol-noona pointed out in astonishment.


    "This is a ridiculous agreement. If anyone brought such an agreement to apany, it would immediately be turned into a paper airne and thrown back at them."


    "Why throw a paper airne? This is why Daeyang Group gets a bad reputation."


    "Grandpa, why bring that up now? Anyway, this agreementcks any uses about repercussions for breaking it. It''s perfect for betrayal."


    Ahri responded dismissively.


    "Is there a need for anti-betrayal uses? Both sides n to deal with betrayal through force. The witch likely thinks we''re not a significant threat after the first encounter, and we believe we can kill the witch now that Elena can fight. Both sides are ready to kill each other, so the agreement is simple."


    "I still don''t know if letting the witch go was the right decision. She didn''t seem very strong in her human form. I''m afraid our desire to save Jinchul clouded our judgment," Grandpa replied, still uneasy.


    "I also thought about it a lot, but we can''t assume she''s weak just because she''s in human form. Would she have appeared alone if she were weak? Moreover, there are many trials left in the Gate Room. Losing Jinchul and the Star would make future progress difficult. Elena?"


    "Yes?"


    "Can you use Justice?"


    "Anytime. It''s hard to exin, but every time I see the witch, I feel my Blessing surging. It''s like suppressing an urge to crush the witch. It''s difficult to restrain, but I''m confident I can use it anytime."


    <em>That''s reassuring.</em>


    "It seems we can kill the witch,¡± Ahri chimed in, ¡°So let''s think about how to conduct this ''lecture.'' The witch wille with the necessary materials for treatment in a few hours. We need to prepare to at least pretend to teach her, so she provides the treatment."


    <em>A lecture...</em>


    I realized that the witch wanted possession magic and promised to teach her, but what exactly should I teach?


    I didn¡¯t even fully understand how I used the Grimoire.


    "Can you summon the Grimoire? I thought it was sealed, so I assumed it was taken away," Eunsol-noona asked.


    Songee and Ahri immediately responded.


    "No, the bracelet is still on my arm."


    "The Ancient Blood ispletely fused with my blood. If it were taken, I would die instantly."


    I also got curious.


    I summoned the Grimoire, and it appeared immediately.


    A quick nce inside revealed its unique evil aura.


    The sensation of possession, the indescribable feeling of my spirit being lifted, was gone.


    "It seems the supernatural aspect of the Inheritance is sealed. The physical book remains and the function that prevents others from reading it is still intact."


    Eunsol-noona continued to ask questions.


    "Can you teach the contents of the Grimoire?"


    "I can''t teach anyone. I don''t even understand it myself. I''ve read it sometimes, but it''s like an aliennguage. It''s not just difficult; it''s like quantum physics written in Arabic."


    "Quantum physics in Arabic... that''s daunting."


    Ahri interrupted the conversation.


    "Hold on! What are you thinking? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re seriously considering teaching her?"


    "Of course not."


    "Obviously not. Even if we could, we shouldn''t. We need to think about how to deceive her."


    "Can we deceive someone who has mastered magic?"


    "I think we can. Approach it from a specialized field perspective. An astrophysicist wouldn''t be any different from ayperson in a semiconductor factory, and an IT expert wouldn''t be able to speak in a GMO developmentb. Let''s think simrly. The witch can''t directly read the Grimoire, thus making it easier."


    After spending a considerable amount of time nning how to deceive the witch, we established our roles.


    As dawn broke, the witch, Arima, returned to the cabin with arge entourage.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    "You have arrived, Lady Arima. We have been expecting you."


    "Oh my! Did I take too long? Besides preparing for the treatment, I thought we should offer you a bit of ¡®hospitality¡¯."


    I looked behind Arima.


    About nine sturdy men were armed with quality armor and weapons.


    They seemed to be Arima''s guards.


    Behind them were about twenty ves.


    They were nearly naked, and their bodies were severely mutted.


    Some were missing arms, others legs.


    Despite their condition, they still feared the witch to the point of being unable toy their eyes on her.


    <em>...Once Jinchul-hyung wakes up, we''ll definitely smash this witch''s head.</em>


    But today, we had to be as ruthless as the witch.


    "Lady Arima, may I make a request?"


    "Yes?"


    "We recently acquired a new ''pet¡¯, and it seems to be quite hungry. One should suffice."


    "What? Suddenly, what do you mean¡ª"


    Han Kain: Please proceed now.


    Songee: Do we have to?


    Kim Ahri: We can''t show any weakness.


    Songee''s soft voice echoed.


    "Luca!"


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    A two-headed wolf, as big as an ox, leaped among Arima''s entourage from the back of the cabin.


    Before Arima and her party could react, the wolf¡¯s maw snapped shut, tearing off the upper body of one of the guards.


    Silence enveloped the air before sumbing to terror-filled screams.


    "Aaaahhhhh!"


    That brief reaction was enough to gauge the group''s level.


    The witch''s nine, now eight, guards were calm enough to draw their weapons and gather around the witch.


    They were well-trained. They certainly weren¡¯t amateurs.


    In contrast, the ves were terrified, rolling on the ground, unable to even think of escaping.


    Even with an ox-sized two-headed wolf before them, their fear of the switch far exceeded that of the wolf.


    I calmly observed Arima''s expression.


    The witch''s eyes red with anger.


    "You insolent¡ª"


    I quickly grabbed her hand and spoke.


    "I apologize. We recently tamed this creature we met in the forest, and it was very hungry. I didn''t expect it to pounce immediately. I apologize for this."


    "...I would have dly given you a ve if you had asked."


    "I''m sorry. I merely wanted to show you a small disy of my abilities."


    "A small disy?"


    <em>Good.</em>


    <em>She took the bait.</em>


    "There are many fierce creatures in the forest. The power to tame and control them! Isn''t it far superior to these flimsy guards?"


    The witch''s expression softened instantly.


    <em>I got a sense of her personality.</em>


    <em>When the witch desires something, she shows this kind of attitude.</em>


    ¡°Oh my, so Lord Mage has mastered such mysterious arts? Would it be possible for you to teach me this as well?¡±


    I smiled slightly and gestured toward Songee.


    Songee approached me and bowed gracefully.


    ¡°She is my disciple. Though she is still learning, taming a dog is not a difficult task for her.¡±


    The witch¡¯s eyes curved into a crescent shape.


    ¡°Shall we start with treating Mage Han¡¯spanion first?¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I hope our exchange will be mutually beneficial.¡±


    The fact that one of her men had just been eaten by the wolf was already a non-issue between us.


    Holding Arima¡¯s hand, I led her inside the cabin.


    With Songee¡¯s initial intimidation, Seungyub and Ahri continued to maintain a polite demeanor, boosting morale.


    Every time I read about scams in the news outside the hotel, I always wondered:


    <em>What makes people so foolish?</em>


    In many high-profile scam cases, it was rarely the case that the con artist set a trap so cunning that the victims had no choice but to fall for it.


    Most scam victims fell for obvious tricks repeatedly, and despite countless warnings from newspapers, news broadcasts, and banks, they lost everything they¡¯ve worked their entire lives to umte.


    <em>Why did they fall for such obvious schemes?</em>


    <em>The answer is simple; greed.</em>


    <em>When the prospect of an easy gain dangles before us, we lose our rationality and be entranced.</em>


    <em>We forget that there¡¯s a scammer behind it, casting an enticing lure to catch the greedy.</em>


    Here in the Second Trial;


    <em>I will be the most mysterious and enigmatic mage in the world.</em>


    <em>Until the witch goes mad with greed for the secrets I /genesisforsaken


    </em>

 Chapter 116: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (7)

    Chapter 116: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (7)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 38


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    Arima¡¯s ¡°treatment¡± began.


    ¡°Arghhh!¡±¡°Please, please save me!¡±


    ¡°Let go. Hold him down!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    We were speechless at the horrific ¡°treatment.¡±


    Arima ordered her guards to hold the ves down, then skinned them alive and attached their skin to Jinchul-hyung¡¯s body.


    At first, Songee was so shocked she immediatelymanded Luca¡ªyes, in that short time, she named the two-headed wolf Luca¡ªto attack the witch.


    Had I not intervened immediately, a fight would have broken out.


    Arima seemed to enjoy our rmed reactions.


    Songee couldn¡¯t contain her anger.


    ¡°What is this? How can this be considered treatment? We need to¡ª¡±


    Kim Mooksung: Yu Songee! Use the chat!


    Since Grandpa¡¯s ¡°Communication¡± was enhanced, the character limit in the chat has significantly increased.


    In situations like this, where reckless dialogue might make us seem weak, it was very useful.


    Yu Songee: Shouldn¡¯t we stop this right now?


    Kim Ahri: Calm down. Considering the witch¡¯s abilities, this kind of treatment was expected.


    Kim Mooksung: It¡¯s gruesome, but saving Jinchul is more important.


    Yu Songee: But doing it this way?


    ...It had been a while since I felt the gap between the Administration team and the rest of us.


    The Administration team, used to brutal and grotesque scenes, judged strictly based on practicality, while the rest of us honestly found it unbearable.


    When Arima began skinning the ves, I had to avert my eyes.


    <em>Calm down.</em>


    <em>Think with a heart as cold as ice.</em>


    <em>The Administration team¡¯s judgment is correct. What¡¯s the point in dwelling on cruelty now?</em>


    <em>We¡¯ve already killed countless NPCs inside the Cursed Room to survive.</em>


    <em>Saving Jinchul-hyung is far more important.</em>


    The treatmentsted about 30 minutes.


    As the screams of the skinned ves subsided, Jinchul-hyung¡¯s skin started looking more human.


    <em>There¡¯s no need to match blood types or immunosuppressants¡ªjust p any ol¡¯ ve¡¯s skin on and it¡¯ll be a-OK.</em>


    Any doctor would be bbergasted.


    Of course, in a world where magic existed, doctors would be unnecessary.


    I approached Arima.


    ¡°His skin looks much better. When will he wake up?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not up to me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what made his body so twisted, but even his internal organs are in disarray. It¡¯s a miracle he¡¯s still alive. But, of course, treatment is possible...¡±


    She trailed off, giving me a knowing smile.


    She didn¡¯t say it outright, but I understood.


    If I wanted more intensive treatment, I¡¯d have to teach her magic.


    Now the real game begins.


    I gestured for Ahri toe over.


    Arima asked curiously.


    ¡°Who is this? Quite a beautifuldy.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my most gifted disciple. She¡¯ll be giving you a lecture in the Arcane, so you should at least greet her.¡±


    Arima¡¯s expression immediately hardened.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d be learning directly from you, Mage Han?¡±


    <em>Sorry, but I have no knowledge to share.</em>


    I smirked dismissively.


    ¡°...What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°Words carry power! Do you believe yourself to be an equal to me because I speak so nicely? You can¡¯t even handle a single letter I write.¡±


    ¡°What are you¡ª¡±


    Without hesitation, I summoned the Grimoire and opened it slightly.


    As expected of a witch, despite deliberately opening it slowly, she averted her gaze in an instant, sensing the impending danger.


    The nearby ve, however, who was halfway skinned and groaning, couldn¡¯t react in time.


    The ve¡¯s eyes melted, and they let out a final scream before dying.


    <em>¡­Better off this way. Living longer in that state would only prolong their suffering.</em>


    Arima watched in shock.


    ¡°Do you still want to learn directly? It seems you have plenty of spare eyeballs.¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯ll learn from your disciple first then.¡±


    <em>Not bad.</em>


    The psychological advantage we lost due to the gruesome scene shifted back to me.


    Naturally, Ahri approached Arima and began speaking.


    ¡°Listen to the theory first. The core of the Arcane is impermanence! All things constantly change; matter and spirit are like waves in the ocean. What is whole bes broken, and what is broken bes whole again. Just as the full moon wanes, nothing is eternal. The spirit is never one with the body; it spreads like waves in the sea¡ª¡±


    <em>What is she talking about?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t help but use the chat.


    Han Kain: What the heck is she saying?


    Kim Ahri: Woof Woof!


    It was ridiculous, but I forced a smile and added asionalments.


    ¡°Hmm. Ahri, exin that part more specifically. The subtlety of impermanence stems from the principle of non-self. How can there be an ¡®I¡¯ in this universe? All things in the cosmos form and change due to connections, like a shadow moving...¡±


    Kim Mooksung: What nonsense are you spouting?


    Han Kain: Meow?


    Kim Mooksung: This is madness! Absolute madness!


    Lee Eunsol: Did you go to a temple as a child?


    After an hour of Ahri spouting nonsense and my cat-like responses, Arima began asking questions as if she had reached some profound revtion.


    ¡°Listening to you teacher, I feel as if a shadow that had filled my mind for years is lifting. Are you saying not to see the human spirit as confined to the brain, but as a fluid wave?¡±


    <em>...What is she talking about now?</em>


    Han Kain: What is she saying now?


    Kim Ahri: I think she¡¯s had a revtion from listening to nonsense.


    Han Kain: Can you get a revtion from that?


    Kim Ahri: Venerable Wonhyo achieved enlightenment by drinking from a skull filled with water.


    We took a break and sat down.


    <em>Is the nonsense lecture really that impressive?</em>


    Arima returned to Jinchul-hyung¡¯s side and began treating him.


    After about 30 minutes, she stood up and spoke to me.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to learn more from you, Teacher. Unfortunately, my time as a human is limited. I shall return at midnight.¡±


    She truly seemed ¡°polite¡± now, addressing me as ¡°Teacher¡± with great respect.


    She really treated me as if I were a great master of magic.


    ¡­We were all taken aback, looking at each other in disbelief.


    ¡°Did you actually teach her something from the Grimoire?¡± Eunsol-noona asked.


    ¡°I told you, the Grimoire is like quantum physics written in Arabic to me. I just spouted whatever came to mind.¡±


    ¡°Then why is she reacting like that?¡±


    ¡°Beats me.¡±


    Grandpa casually offered his opinion.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard multi-level marketing pitches? They all sound usible. If you¡¯re not a real expert, you can¡¯t tell the difference between sophisticated nonsense and real expertise. The witch is no different. She¡¯s just making sense of it in her own way. Don¡¯t worry about it. Focus on checking Jinchul.¡±


    We gathered around to check on Jinchul-hyung.


    The second treatment seemed to have affected his internal organs.


    He seemed to be breathing more evenly now.


    It was hard to describe, but he looked like someone sleeping peacefully.


    Elena expressed amazement.


    ¡°It really seems like the treatment is working. He might wake up soon.¡±


    As Jinchul-hyung showed clear signs of recovery, the party¡¯s mood lightened.


    And with the witch gone, everyone felt more at ease.


    I finally got some time to rest.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    During the day, we prepared our next ns, monitored Jinchul-hyung¡¯s condition, and checked the updated Scenario Comprehension.


    At midnight, the witch arrived again.


    The same events repeated.


    The witch started her gruesome ¡°treatment¡± near Jinchul-hyung.


    This time, three ves died in silence, and Jinchul-hyung¡¯s internal organs began to stabilize.


    At this rate, he might wake up soon.


    Then, the lecture began.


    I changed the lecture topic slightly.


    ¡°What do you think of ¡®Fortune¡¯, Lady Arima?¡±


    ¡°What? How does that rte to the Arcane?¡±


    ¡°It is very rted. Common people think of fortune or luck as something mandated by the heavens. They see it as a fate beyond themselves, and something they must willingly ept. But are wemon people? Do you intend to live in such a manner, Lady Arima?¡±


    ¡°No! I walked this path to transcend a mundane fate. I know what people call us¡ªdevils, witches. Hunters and priests regrlye to kill me. But I couldn¡¯t stop. I didn¡¯t want to live a mundane life. I want to be like a star in the sky. If I can grasp even a part of the world¡¯s hidden secrets¡ª¡±


    Her reaction was intense.


    Did my previous nonsense lecture really give her some enlightenment?


    I simply asked if she wanted to live an ordinary life, but she had a huge emotional response and passionately shared her dreams.


    I continued the conversation, a bit flustered.


    ¡°Listening to Lady Arima¡¯s story, I remember when I first started exploring the Arcane 80 years ago. Every mage¡¯s beginning is humble.¡±


    Kim Mooksung: Oh great, you¡¯re pretending to be a hundred-year-old mage now?


    ¡°Back to the topic of luck. Luck is about belief! Living without doubt, having faith in life, and having self-confidence. I act, so the world follows. Let go of the notion that luck leads an individual for it is an individual that leads luck.¡±


    <em>Seungyub!</em>


    As nned,


    Seungyub approached. He casually tossed a die.


    Naturally, it showed a 6.


    Gaining confidence, Seungyub started a more entertaining show.


    He pulled out a deck of cards, shuffled them, and flicked a card at Arima¡¯s chest.


    Surprised, Arima pulled it out and found a Queen.


    Seungyub nonchntly drew another card and handed it to me.


    I flipped it to reveal a King.


    Even knowing about his Blessing, this was impressive.


    We could dominate a gambling den at this rate.


    Arima¡¯s eyes widened as she alternated between looking at Seungyub and me.


    ¡°Is this something that can be learned too?¡±


    <em>Time to pull back a bit.</em>


    ¡°This is difficult. It¡¯s heavily influenced by innate talent. I just wanted to show you some of the possibilities of magic.¡±


    <em>You can¡¯t do this without a Blessing.</em>


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met anyone like you, Teacher. Not even the Chief Mage of the Empire or the Magician King of the Eastern Forest could possess such diverse powers.¡±


    <em>Does this world have an empire or a kingdom?</em>


    <em>Are those areas fully implemented?</em>


    With this level of conversation, the day¡¯s lecture ended.


    Arima left the cabin before dawn.


    After Arima left, I recalled the updated scenario content from earlier.


    Most of it was trivial, just detailing our ns and that Arima woulde to the cabin.


    However, one sentence caused significant concern.


    The witch, who is now one step closer to wicked wisdom, arrives at the cabin with great dreams.


    Thetter part just stated she arrived at the cabin, but the first part was worrisome.


    <strong>The witch who is now one step closer to wicked wisdom.</strong>


    Did she really gain some insight from our nonsense?


    I stepped outside for a walk, pondering.


    <em>Seriously, what if she¡¯s really gaining something?</em>


    I recalled Ahri¡¯s words.


    Venerable Wonhyo <sup>1</sup> achieved enlightenment by drinking from a skull filled with water.


    Isaac Newton had the inspiration for thew of gravity by watching an apple fall.


    Enlightenment didn¡¯t alwayse fromplex lectures from experts.


    Aplete beginner wouldn¡¯t gain anything from a falling apple or a skull of stale water.


    But if said someone has spent their life seeking wicked wisdom¡­?


    A witch knocking on the door of evil truth might only need a small shift in perspective to make a leap forward.


    A foreboding feeling grew.


    <em>A growing</em> viin*?*


    <em>An enemy growing stronger, while we hesitate due to treating an ally.</em>


    <em>Is this the core of this trial?</em>


    <em>We must end this tomorrow.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s clear that dealing with the witch is more important than Jinchul-hyung¡¯s treatment now.</em>


    One question remained.


    If the witch has truly gained some ¡°enlightenment,¡± what exactly was she realizing?


    It must be a revtion so malevolent, it¡¯s beyond a normal person¡¯s /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 117: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (8)

    Chapter 117: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial (8)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 40


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 3


    After the First Trial, we were only given an hour of rest.


    Of course, for those of us who fought in extreme tension with the doppelgangers, the rest time was too short.Oddly enough, we started to recover our stamina during the Second Trial


    Due to Arima''s characteristic of only being able to take human form from midnight to just before dawn, we didn¡¯t have a specific goal from morning to midnight.


    We used the time to make ns and sleep, even though we couldn''t actually sleep at night, to recover our stamina.


    I also feel quite recovered now, and Jinchul-hyung seemedfortable now.


    ¡°Scenario Comprehension¡± hinted that Arima was realizing something again today.


    <em>Isn''t it about time to make a decision?</em>


    Even if Jinchul-hyung didn¡¯t wake up, I thought we should give up further treatment and kill Arima.


    I shared my opinion with my teammates.


    Grandpa Mooksung reacted indifferently.


    "Wasn''t it you, Kain, who emphasized the importance of Jinchul and said we should wait a little longer until just recently?"


    "My thoughts on Jinchul-hyung''s importance haven''t changed. However, I think it will be dangerous if Arima grows to the point where Elena can''t suppress her."


    "I find it hard to understand your concern. You and Ahri made up some nonsense on the spot, and the witch got great enlightenment from it? Do you think that makes sense?"


    "..."


    "My opinion remains the same as yesterday. In the first ce, an ordinary person can''t distinguish between the usible words of a scammer and the words of a true expert. Even though Arima is a witch, she probablycks knowledge in the field of possession, so she might have misunderstood your nonsense on her own, right?"


    "Scenario Comprehension is issuing some sort of warning that makes me think otherwise."


    "I did hear that phrase, but¡­"


    Grandpa didn''t seem to understand.


    <em>It''s understandable.</em>


    <em>After all, the treatment of Jinchul-hyung is almost over.</em>


    Just a little more treatment and our strongestrade would wake up. Suddenly saying we should give up on him would be a hard pill to swallow.


    Eunsol-noona, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.


    "I agree with you, Kain. Also, I want to share a foreboding thought I''ve had since yesterday."


    "A foreboding thought?"


    Eunsol-noona took a sip of tea before speaking.


    "Perhaps the notion that you and Ahri spouted nonsense is a misconception?"


    "What?"


    "Kain, have you ever attended a temple?"


    "Not at all. Though, I briefly attended a church when I was very young."


    "Then how do you know terms like ''Impermanence of all things'' and ''Principle of non-self''?"


    "Uh¡­ it just came to mind. Maybe I learned it while studying history?"


    "Our family has always been Buddhist. So, I can tell you, ''Impermanence of all things,'' ''Emotions are prone to suffering,'' ''All phenomena are without inherent existence,'' and ''Nirvana is beyond extremes''. These are the four Dharma seals in Buddhism. They are core doctrines. There''s no way such knowledge would be part of the college entrance exam curriculum. Moreover, your and Ahri''s lecture yesterday exined these concepts quite neatly. Even though there were many differences in detail, even those different parts seemed to contain profound philosophy from another perspective, rather than being random fabrications."


    <em>...What is she talking about?</em>


    Ahri and I exchanged bewildered nces.


    "Knowledge that resembles profound Buddhist doctrines to a degree that it''s hard to believe it was made up. And you don''t even know where you got this knowledge from. I think I know. There''s one thing you and Ahri have inmon: both of you have read the Grimoire."


    I, as the owner of the Grimoire, have read it several times, and Ahri had opened the Grimoire during the first attempt at the Mansion of Fear.


    Ahri spoke up with an uneasy tone.


    "Are you saying that the knowledge of the Grimoire has seeped into us without us even realizing it?"


    Eunsol-noona nodded.


    "I think so. Though I don''t have an Inheritance myself, those who have obtained an Inheritance have always said that rted knowledge naturally seeped into their minds. A simr phenomenon might have happened to you who read the Grimoire. Usually, only the owner can read it, so the knowledge should have been absorbed only by you, Kain. But Ahri, you might have endured the Grimoire with your own strength, so some of the knowledge seeped into you too."


    Ahri and I were thrown into confusion.


    <em>Knowledge from the Grimoire entered our minds without us even knowing?</em>


    Ahri only saw it once, but I have continued to read it since then.


    If what she said was true, it was certain that somewhere in my mind, there was enough knowledge about the Grimoire to fill a bookshelf.


    Grandpa Mooksung cut off the chaotic situation.


    "Save your thoughts on the Grimoire forter. Hearing Eunsol''s words now, my opinion has also changed. If you have indeed imparted some of the Grimoire''s evil knowledge to the witch, and she has gained some form of insight from it, this is a serious situation. Elena?"


    "Should I use my power as soon as the witch enters next time?"


    "That seems like a good idea."


    Songee suggested something simr but slightly different.


    "How about receiving treatment just until today? It feels too wasteful when it seems like Jinchul-oppa will wake up soon. Let''s just ask for treatment without the lecture."


    <em>Will that work?</em>


    "The witch is quite calcting. Would she agree if we just asked for treatment without the lecture?"


    Songee looked at me with a subtle expression.


    "She might have refused on the first day. But now¡­"


    "Now?"


    "Now she might agree if Oppa just says he''s a bit tired today and only asks for treatment."


    <em>What does she mean?</em>


    Surprisingly, Eunsol-noona also agreed.


    "I think so too. At this point, she might agree if we just ask for treatment. Let''s do that. Let''s request only treatment today, and after it''s done, ssk!"


    Noona made a slicing gesture across her neck with her hand, and Elena nodded.


    As the night approached, tension filled the air.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Arima entered.


    "Arima, today I must ask a favor of you."


    "What is it?"


    "It seems I need a day to prepare for the next lecture. As your achievements are progressing so rapidly, higher-level teachings are required, and I find that a brief moment of reflection each day is not enough."


    "Oh! Ipletely understand. Since I pursued the path of the Arcane, I''ve never met someone as wise as you. With such high-level knowledge, you¡¯d naturally need preparation time."


    "But¡­"


    "Treatment for yourrades is an urgent matter, isn''t it? I''ll dly do it, so don''t worry."


    <em>Is it this easy?</em>


    I thought there would be some argument, but Arima readily agreed, which surprised me.


    Even more surprising than that, it seems that myrades had anticipated this oue.


    Feeling like a fool, I stood there dazed.


    Arima started treating Jinchul-hyung.


    Leaning against the wall, I observed Arima and the others.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Has it been the fifth time since Arima starteding?</em>


    I noticed many changes from the first day.


    Songee, who initially wanted to kill Arima, was now ying with Arima along with Perro.


    When Perro mimicked Arima''s words or rubbed his beak against her cheek, Arimaughed like an ordinary girl.


    Seungyub also casually tossed cards around, teasing, and Eunsol-noona engaged in various conversations with Arima.


    Even Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri discussed the treatment of Jinchul-hyung with her.


    The only ones maintaining the same tension as the first day were Elena and I.


    I could feel that Arima''s tension had eased as much as ours.


    For example, Arima no longer brought escorts after the first day.


    Perhaps she felt confident enough to subdue us if she transformed into a monster, but it seemed more likely that she had stopped worrying about us harming her.


    Moreover, the witch who used to enjoy peeling the skin off ves in front of us was gone.


    Now, if she anticipated a gruesome scene during treatment, she would warn us to turn around.


    <em>...Why did she change so quickly?</em>


    I could guess.


    Arima had been treating Jinchul-hyung for several days now.


    It was difficult to maintain hostility toward someone treating yourrade.


    <em>Killing ves for magical research?</em>


    She still sacrificed ves to treat Jinchul-hyung.


    We couldn¡¯t condemn her since we had requested such brutal treatment. .


    And regardless of being evil, she was undeniably pretty.


    Thus, I solidified my resolve.


    We must kill her before our perception of her gets any cleaner.


    <em>Indeed, today is the right day to kill her.</em>


    <em>It seems killing her is the condition to pass the trial.</em>


    While I was lost in contemtion, Arima spoke.


    "The treatment is nearing the end, but it''s going to be a bit brutal from now on. Shouldn''t you all leave the cabin?"


    When Arima said ¡®brutal,¡± it usually meant a scene too gruesome for normal people to witness.


    About two hours passed?


    She seemed to be doing something for an unusually long time.


    "Come in!"


    I gestured to Elena as I went in.


    Elena nodded, understanding my signal.


    <em>Let''s check on Jinchul-hyung onest time and finish this.</em>


    I approached Jinchul-hyung as soon as I entered.


    <em>Even breathing.</em>


    <em>Light coughing.</em>


    After confirming several other signs, I was sure that Hyung''s recovery was almostplete.


    I asked for thest time.


    "Does it look like he will wake up soon?"


    "He will wake up within 2 to 3 hours at thetest."


    Perhaps because the treatment was over, Arima looked somewhat sentimental.


    <em>Now it''s time to signal Elena¡ª</em>


    "Teacher."


    "Yes?"


    "I have something I must tell you. Is it okay?"


    "Go ahead."


    "I want to speak privately. Just a moment will be enough."


    ...I was momentarily flustered.


    The chat window rang.


    Kim Mooksung: Stop the nonsense and kill her. Elena!


    Elena: It''s not a lie. It seems she really has something to say.


    Kim Ahri: There might be a secret revealed. Since it''s not a lie, let''s hide and watch.


    Eventually, we decided to have a brief conversation outside.


    Although there was some anxiety, I decided to trust Elena to keep hidden and watch over me. She could alsoe to my rescue with the ability to fly at great speeds.


    It seemed that Arima had very serious things to say.


    <em>-Thud!</em>


    I heard the door close behind me.


    Finally, we were alone as per Arima''s suggestion.


    Although I wondered if there was any need for conversation since I intended to kill her, I was also curious if some hidden truth would be revealed.


    "What do you want to say?"


    Arima, who had been silent for a while, started a long story.


    She spoke of her parents selling her as a child, of a wicked mage who bought her and used her and other children as assistants and experimental subjects. She narrated how through a series of fortunate events and circumstances, she managed to kill the mage and steal his research results.


    <em>Did she want to share her story?</em>


    "You''ve had a tough time."


    "Do you know what I envied most while treating yourrade?"


    "What is it?"


    "Your disciples have a great rtionship with you. It feels more like a friendship rather than a master-student rtionship, where you hold mutual respect and affection for one another."


    <em>That''s because it''s not a master-student rtionship.</em>


    "Is that so?"


    "Perhaps if the mage who bought me was also such a person, I could have lived a bit differently. Could I have lived a life where I truly respected my master, exploring truths together and talking through the night?"


    <em>I don''t know.</em>


    <em>I''ve never lived such a life either.</em>


    "Perhaps, that could be the case."


    "That¡¯s why¡­ I wish to serve you too. To learn your wisdom and share mycking knowledge with you."


    "..."


    Silence filled the surroundings.


    <em>Is this witch trying to say she wants to follow me?</em>


    In fact, I had been wondering when would be the best time to kill her to make it seem well-deserved, so I felt a bit guilty.


    ...Pickled eyeballs. Human flesh sausages.


    <em>On second thought, there''s nothing to feel guilty about.</em>


    As the conversation seemed to be ending, I asked the question that had been on my mind for days.


    "Have you realized anything from my recent teachings? It seemed like you had some extraordinary insights."


    Was she waiting for this question?


    Arima''s face lit up instantly.


    "Of course. What I realized from learning from you for 3-4 days far exceeds what I''ve studied for years. All phenomena are without inherent existence! The human mind is a mere illusion. Like a flowing wave, there''s no permanence in the self; it''s just a collection of endlessly changing and flowing entities. Why did I cling to something without substance?"


    <em>I don''t know.</em>


    <em>I don''t even know how you interpreted my words toe to that conclusion.</em>


    "As you might have guessed, I''ve now abandoned my obsession with meaningless attachments. Memory and continuity of the self are meaningless. Is there a need to cling to it? I''m almost ready to be reborn."


    <em>What are you talking about?</em>


    <em>What do you mean, ¡°I might have guessed¡±?</em>


    <em>And reborn?</em>


    "But I do have one lingering regret. This shows howcking I ampared to you. I wanted to live a little more as a woman."


    Arima smiled shyly in front of me.


    ¡°...?¡±


    <em>What''s this atmosphere¡ª</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Soft and warm.


    In an instant, Arima approached me, and something soft touched my lips.


    I was utterly dazed.


    The first kiss I experienced in the hotel smelt like a mix of mint and roses.


    "Ldy Arima?"


    Arima smiled demurely.


    "Sorry. I felt I would have no regrets if I left a kiss with the most wonderful person I''ve ever met."


    <em>I can''t take it anymore!</em>


    <em>What on earth have you been talking about?!</em>


    "What are you talking about? Reborn, abandoning regrets, what do you mean¡ª"


    Without answering, Arima smiled slightly, then ced her right hand on her head and used an iprehensible power.


    In front of me, Arima''s head melted away in an instant.


    Ten seconds ago, the girl who left a fragrant kiss on me was now a headless corpse lying at my /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 118: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial End (9)

    Chapter 118: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial End (9)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Noticing themotion from afar, my teammates ran over.


    ¡°What on earth is going on?¡±


    ¡°What is it? What happened all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°Ah! What is this corpse?¡±


    In the midst of the chaotic atmosphere, I slowly exined.


    Arima suddenly started talking about her childhood, then exined some magical enlightenment, kissed me out of the blue, talked about being reborn, and thenmitted suicide.


    Even I found it difficult to understand what I was saying.


    The others reacted with bewilderment.Ahri spoke up, seemingly amused.


    ¡°How fascinating. She showed signs of liking you, but kissing and thenmitting suicide is rather unexpected.¡±


    ¡°She showed signs of liking me?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°She acted strangely from the beginning, but I thought it was just an act.¡±


    ¡°It might have been an act at first. But after that, it was hard to see it as anything but genuine feelings unless she was a professional actress.¡±


    Songee added


    ¡°When we talked, I sometimes felt that Arima had many wounds. She seemed to think of us as a kind of ¡®Mage Party¡¯ and was very envious because we all got along so well,¡± Songee added.


    Eunsol-noona asked a question.


    ¡°It¡¯s confusing, but now that the witch is dead, is it over?¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be. Arima herself said she was ready to be reborn before she died, so there must be a next phase¡ª¡±


    A booming announcement rang from the sky.


    Congrattions to all participants on passing the Second Trial, ¡®The Witch¡¯s Forest''.


    Suddenly, the surrounding space began to copse.


    I didn''t know what was happening, but seeing myrades happy at the announcement of passing the Second Trial¡­


    I was utterly terrified.


    The things Arima had said to me.


    The unusual circumstances.


    And now this announcement.


    <em>¡°I want to serve you too.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°The human mind is a mere illusion. I''ve now abandoned my obsession with meaningless attachments.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I''m almost ready to be reborn.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°I wanted to live a little more as a woman.¡±</em>


    Arima had freely tampered with Jinchul-hyung''s body for several days.


    The hotel values the physical body when distinguishing between real and fake.


    All the information converged into one horrifying conclusion!


    ***


    Just like after the First Trial, we arrived in a space resembling a clean hotel room.


    The seal on our Inheritance was lifted.


    The power of the Grimoire was restored.


    ¡°Songee! Check Jinchul-hyung with the bracelet!¡± I frantically shouted


    As soon as a white sh from the bracelet scanned Jinchul-hyung¡ª


    Songee''s face turned ghostly pale.


    ¡°Oh! Oh no! Kyaaaaa!¡±


    While Eunsol-noona and Elena were panicking, Ahri shouted in disbelief.


    ¡°No way! That¡¯s not Jinchul¡ª¡±


    At this point, even Grandpa Mooksung was also shocked.


    ¡°Shit! ¡®That thing¡¯ is about to wake up!¡±


    Jinchul-hyung''s body started to twitch.


    I immediately summoned the Grimoire.


    Fighting that monster directly would result in too many casualties!


    I had to end this with the Grimoire.


    The power of the Grimoire manifested, and my consciousness floated up.


    When I came to my senses, I found myself in a luxurious mansion.


    ***


    Music from violins and pianos tickled my ears.


    The decorations on the walls, the candbras, the chandeliers, everything shone brightly in the mansion.


    I wandered through the space that reflected the opulent taste of the mansion¡¯s owner.


    This was a first-time experience.


    I had used the Grimoire many times, but I would usually take control of the body I possessed in an instant instead of falling into a world like this.


    <em>Is it the witch¡¯s power?</em>


    I couldn''t tell.


    As I walked, avish dining table appeared.


    Seated at the other end was none other than Arima.


    ¡°Is this your trick?¡±


    ¡°Rather than a trick, please think of it as an invitation.¡±


    ¡°Do you have something to say again?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. I just want to persuade you.¡±


    ¡°Persuade me? You took over myrade''s body and now want to persuade me?¡±


    Arima smiled slightly.


    ¡°After reading the memories of ¡®Cha Jinchul¡¯, it has been one shock after another. To think the entire world I existed in was just a y created by an omnipotent transcendental being... In the end, even the ¡®real Arima¡¯ before taking over this body was fake, wasn¡¯t it? If it were me before gaining enlightenment, I might have gone crazy just from this experience. Because it means I am nothing but a fabricated existence. But now, it¡¯s okay. After all, the mind is nothing but an illusion! It¡¯s nothing more than an attachment. The only reason this is possible is thanks to your teachings, Teacher. Thank you.¡±


    Seeing Arima''s calm demeanor, I also calmed my excitement.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that. But, if you read Jinchul-hyung''s memories, you should have guessed. I am not the great mage you think I am.¡±


    Arima showed a puzzled look.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°...It seems you haven¡¯t read all the memories yet¡ª¡±


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t fully understand the power you wield? Because you¡¯re actually young? Because those you called disciples are actuallyrades given powers by the Hotel?¡±


    <em>So, she has read everything.</em>


    ¡°I don¡¯t fully understand the power I use either. I use it empirically, not knowing much of the principles behind it. Being young is actually an advantage, and having manyrades is also a strength. Are you like this just because you received power through the Grimoire? You obtain the Grimoire through your efforts didnt you? You are undoubtedly a mage.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    I decided to be honest.


    ¡°Can you leave Jinchul-hyung''s body?¡±


    Arima let out a small sigh.


    ¡°What a disappointing answer.¡±


    ¡°Cha Jinchul is my precious¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not disappointed at the fact that you value Cha Jinchul more than me or for any childish reason. I¡¯m disappointed because your answer shows you still don¡¯t have a plete¡¯ understanding of the truth contained in the Grimoire.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°How can you not understand as the owner of the Grimoire? The human mind is like a flowing river, it¡¯s in a constant state of change and flow. The unchanging self that ordinary people think of is just a handful of river water scooped up at a specific time and ce. Even if you scoop water from the same spot a dayter, the river will havepletely changed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to say¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just listen. You asked me to ¡®leave¡¯, thinking I am not Cha Jinchul, right? Then what am I?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Arima?¡±


    Arima chuckled and spun around.


    ...In front of me appeared "Cha Jinchul".


    ¡°Now, am I Cha Jinchul?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    He turned around again and returned to Arima¡¯s form.


    ¡°I replicated my mind and inserted it into Cha Jinchul¡¯s body. The real Arima¡¯s soul and body are already dead, and only the replicated mind has awakened in this body. Can I still be called Arima? Or am I just Cha Jinchul inheriting some of Arima¡¯s memories?¡±


    ¡°You replicated your mind and put it into Jinchul-hyung''s body? Abandoning your soul and body? How is that different from suicide?¡±


    ¡°Why is it suicide? Aren¡¯t I here before you? Is it because the ¡®real Arima¡¯ you sawmitted suicide in front of you, do you think the continuity is broken? Isn¡¯t your teaching that such attachment to continuity is meaningless?¡±


    ¡°I was just spouting nonsense. I don¡¯t know if any wisdom from the Grimoire was mixed in, but how could you gain such crazy enlightenment from that nonsense!¡±


    ¡°It seems persuasion is difficult after all.¡±


    With Arima¡¯s disappointed words, the luxurious mansion crumbled, and the space itself copsed.


    The beautiful witch¡¯s body disintegrated into bubbles, revealing a gigantic vortex of darkness.


    A voice echoed in my mind.


    <strong>¡®If you insist on making a foolish choice, prove it with your power!¡¯</strong>


    An unprecedented strange battle began.


    The dark vortex engulfed me, shattering my body in an instant.


    But I could still think clearly. I instinctively knew how to fight.


    This battle was a sh of minds, with bodies being mere illusions.


    Chains of ckness rose from all directions, piercing through the vortex.


    The vortex quaked, revealing Arima¡¯s form. Lightning shed, scorching the chains.


    I extended the chains again, shattering Arima, and then lightning summoned from behind scorched me.


    As the surreal exchange of attacks continued dozens of times, I began to understand something¡­


    The strengths each of us had.


    Arima had stronger control over Jinchul-hyung''s mental world, which was the battlefield.


    I had the overwhelming advantage of using the power of the Grimoire, an endless repository of the Arcane.


    The problem was this battle couldn¡¯t end quickly.


    It was a fundamentally insubstantial, imaginary battle, making the delivery of a decisive blow difficult.


    In an hour, the next trial would surely begin.


    I had to end this fight before then.


    I felt my mind reaching ¡°higher¡± than ever before.


    In the dreamlike world detached from reality, my mind grasped the doorknob of an unreachable realm.


    To win, I needed greater power.


    The power to summon reality from a dream, to create something from nothing!


    In the void, the Grimoire appeared before me.


    A new chapter, one I had never been able to open, unfolded before me.


    The Power of Incarnation


    Finally, a substance emerged in the world of illusions.


    A single sh of light pierced through the void where Arima and I were fighting.


    Arima began to disintegrate like ashes.


    <strong>¡®What kind of power is this?¡¯</strong>


    <strong>¡®I don¡¯t know either.¡¯</strong>


    <strong>¡®Haha! You are truly consistent, Teacher. Believing you don¡¯t know while clearly knowing the answer. Do you really not know? Or are you afraid of the meaning of enlightenment and choose to be ignorant?¡¯</strong>


    <strong>¡®...¡¯</strong>


    <strong>¡®Enlightenment is said to be sudden realization followed by gradual cultivation. Even if you gain sudden enlightenment, it takes time to internalize it. Remember, you already attained enlightenment the moment you obtained the Grimoire. It¡¯s just that the memories umted over twenty years are holding you back from truly ascending into something great...¡¯</strong>


    With these as herst words, Arima disappeared.


    <em>Or did she?</em>


    My mind, which had reached a higher realm, found the answer.


    As long as Cha Jinchul wasn¡¯tpletely dead, Arima wasn¡¯tpletely gone either.


    Arima¡¯s self and memories were gone.


    But some trace of her would remain in Hyung when he revived outside the Gate Room.


    My mind, which had touched a higher realm, gradually descended.


    <em>It¡¯s not time yet.</em>


    For the Power of Incarnation to truly be in my hands, I needed a fundamental breakthrough.


    Simply letting time pass and increasing my Possession ability wasn¡¯t enough.


    More fundamental growth was required.


    It would take a long time.


    Perhaps I wouldn¡¯t achieve it before leaving the Hotel.


    <em>A mindset beyond human limits!</em>


    ...Would such growth really be desirable?


    Lost in thought, my consciousness faded.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I woke up as my consciousness returned to reality.


    As soon as I returned, I looked at Jinchul-hyung.


    His head was cleanly split.


    ¡°What on earth happened?¡±


    Eunsol-noona answered.


    ¡°I should be asking you. What did you do? You used the Grimoire, then both of you copsed, and after about ten minutes, Jinchul¡¯s head suddenly split open.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡±


    I felt a sense of emptiness.


    Despite all the efforts during the Second Trial to save Jinchul-hyung, it seemed it was all in vain.


    Everyone sat with a sense of destion.


    Ahri nudged me and spoke.


    ¡°Still, you did well. Is it the power of the Grimoire? It feels like you¡¯re getting stronger. Anyway, it¡¯s a relief we avoided fighting Jinchul. If he had summoned the Star or something to fight us, we might all be dead. Is the witchpletely gone?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°That sounds uncertain,¡± Grandpa Mooksung interjected.


    ¡°By the way, this situation is terrifying. As you might have realized,bining Ahri and Songee¡¯s thoughts, didn¡¯t the witch sessfully escape the trial space by taking over Jinchul¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°If we put it that way, then yes. Though whether the entity that escaped can truly be called Arima is debatable¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the philosophical debate. The important thing is that it¡¯s a kind of ¡®escape¡¯. It¡¯s no different from escaping the Gate Room¡¯s trial space. Could a simr escape be possible in the Cursed Room?¡±


    My head spun with the implications.


    A form of escape where one replicated their mind into a participant¡¯s body and then exited with the participant¡­


    At that moment, an unprecedented phenomenon urred since entering the hotel.


    Sage''s Advice: 3 ¡ú 0


    <em>What?</em>


    <em>I didn¡¯t use the advice, and we overcame the crisis.</em>


    <em>Yet all three disappeared at once?</em>


    Remember that realization. It is the problem you must ovee in the /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 119: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (10)

    Chapter 119: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (10)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>It feels like I''m going to get a headache.</em>


    So many confusing things happened in just one day.


    The experiences fighting Arima within Jinchul-hyung''s mind, and the Advice given in apletely different way than usual.


    As I held my head and lowered it, Ahri tapped my shoulder.


    ¡°What are you thinking so much about? The rest time isn''t very long you know?"


    <em>...Come to think of it, there''s no need for me to worry alone.</em>


    <em>Isn''t this the good thing about havingrades?</em>


    I immediately shared my concerns.Though some, like Songee and Seungyub, looked nkly at the ceiling, Eunsol-noona and Ahri soon started seriously contemting what I had said.


    Ahri answered first.


    ¡°To sum up what happened in the mental world, the knowledge contained in the Grimoire has already taken root within you, but it''s taking time to digest. However, the deeper you ept the Grimoire¡¯s knowledge, the more you fear that it will make you deviate from humanity. Right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist¡±


    ¡°Ultimately, the choice is up to you to make. But there''s one thing I want to tell you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?"


    ¡°Who is the creator of the Grimoire? The unborn god, right? Think about what kind of being that god is.¡±


    The creator of the Grimoire.


    The One Who Couldn¡¯t Be Born.


    ¡°To be honest, isn''t he just a shut-in pervert?¡±


    The answer waspletely unexpected.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Isn''t it true? From the moment his consciousness awakened, he couldn''t leave his mother''s womb. When he barely startedmunicating with mortals, all he could do was torment them out of jealousy. ''The One Who Couldn¡¯t Be Born!'', ''The Firstborn of The Neb Dragon!'' He decorated himself with such grand titles, but in reality, he was just a shut-in who spent his life envying the outside world. He tried to mimic Buddhist concepts in creating the Grimoire, but it''s still just a gloomy philosophy. Do you really need to get too deeply into the thoughts of such a being?¡±


    ¡°...But, if I don''t ept that understanding¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you worried that you won''t be able to use the Grimoire properly if you don''t? It''s just a tool. Who''s to say you have to ept its internal philosophy to use it? Ultimately, it''s your choice, but remember this: you don''t have to blindly follow beings just because they''re called gods or demons.¡±


    I felt a sense of rity in my mind.


    <em>Is this the perspective thates from umted experience in the ¡°Administration Bureau¡±?</em>


    ¡°Did that help?¡±


    ¡°I think I get it, but I also feel more confused.¡±


    Eunsol-noona, who had been listening, intervened.


    ¡°It''s a relief Ahri helped with the Grimoire talk. I have nothing to say on that front. But I''ve realized two peculiarities about the Advice. First, unlike typical Advice, it consumed all three uses at once. Second, it was given ''now'' of all times.¡±


    ¡°I have a vague idea about why all three uses were consumed at once. Usually, Advice is divided into automatic crisis alerts when my life is in danger and answers to questions I ask. This advice didn''t fit either category. It wasn''t a crisis, and I didn''t ask a question. It seems like a penalty for a rule vition. It''s absurd since I didn''t break the rules, though.¡±


    ¡°I think simrly. The Owl must have incurred a penalty by forcing itself to give ''impractical advice¡¯. That makes the second point crucial. Why did it give Advice ''now¡¯, exhausting all use at once? That must be considered in interpreting the advice.¡±


    Listening to Noona¡¯s words sparked a thought.


    ¡°The advice''s meaning isn''t about preparing for a distant future, is it?¡±


    ¡°I don''t think so. The Owl isn''t stupid enough to give future advice while we''re in the middle of the Gate Room. This advice must be closely rted to the Gate Room.¡±


    Ahri chimed in.


    ¡°It seems wise not to be too hung up on this. While I agree it likely rtes to the Gate Room, we can''t rule out other interpretations. The Owl tends to make every word haveplex interpretations.¡±


    The Advice might be multiyered in meaning.


    I understood that too.


    <em>Let''s ponder the meaning of the advice.</em>


    Remember that realization. It is the problem you must ovee in the Hotel.


    ¡°The realization refers to something about the Grimoire, right?¡±


    ¡°Most likely? So ultimately, you have to interpret this advice yourself. We don''t know what realization you had about the Grimoire.¡±


    <em>What realization did I gain?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>There are too many to pinpoint.</em>


    <em>I vaguely grasped the Power of Incarnation and felt I must change myself to increase my proficiency with the Grimoire.</em>


    <em>Of course, Iter heard different perspectives from Ahri.</em>


    <em>Which of these many realizations is the advice referring to?</em>


    <em>And how does that realization apply to the remaining Gate Room trials?</em>


    As I was deep in contemtion, Grandpa Mooksung put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°You seem to have a lot on your mind, but stop worrying for now.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Grandpa pointed to the floating notification in the air.


    22:33


    ¡°We have just over 20 minutes left of rest time. Are you going to start the next trial with your head exploding from overthinking? You need to take a breather too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡±


    ¡°And I think it might not be about the Grimoire at all.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The conversation right before the Advice wasn''t about the Grimoire, was it?¡±


    I recalled the earlier conversation.


    What were we talking about just before the Advice appeared?


    The witch nearly escaped the trial room by replicating her mind into Jinchul-hyung.


    ¡°We were talking about escape. But does that have any rtion to the Gate Room? We can''t replicate our minds to escape the Gate Room.¡±


    ¡°Well, I was just saying what came to mind.¡±


    Everyone was momentarily puzzled.


    Now less than 20 minutes remained. Eventually, everyone stopped pondering and started to rest.


    I leaned against the wall to catch some sleep.


    ...As I rested with my eyes closed, I realized another peculiar aspect of the Advice.


    A peculiar aspect that only I, who received the Advice directly, could notice.


    It is the problem you must ovee.


    Did the Owl usually use such peculiar phrasing when giving Advice?


    It typically used in or semi-formal speech.


    Strangely, this manner of speaking felt like someone else.


    With that thought, I drifted into a light sleep.


    <em>-Thud.</em>


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    I reluctantly opened my eyes at Ahri¡¯s gesture.


    1:21


    ¡°One minute left¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I woke you.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re this exhausted after just two trials¡­¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, I think it¡¯s manageable.¡±


    ¡°Manageable?¡±


    ¡°There are five trials, and even if only one person passes, everyone survives! In the First Trial, we all passed, and only one of us was eliminated during the Second Trial. We¡¯vepleted 40%, and only one has been eliminated. It feels like we¡¯ll pass with ease¡ª¡±


    Startled, I covered Ahri¡¯s mouth!


    Grandpa Mooksung also pped his forehead.


    ¡°Huh? Why did you suddenly do that?¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t go raising any gs! Haven''t you heard that in the ER, you never say, ¡®It¡¯s a quiet day¡¯? Saying something like, ¡®we¡¯ll pass with ease¡¯ in a ce like this Hotel is just asking for trouble!¡±


    ¡°What kind of superstition¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ahri, shut up. This time, I agree with Kain. After hearing your words, I feel like the Hotel is preparing a truly awful trial!¡±


    While Ahri pouted slightly, the rest time ended.


    Amid an inexplicable sense of foreboding, the Third Trial began.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 44


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 0


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    When the lights came on, we found ourselves seated around a round table in a tidy office.


    A mysterious orb descended from the center.


    Greetings!


    From now on, you will participate in the Jekyll and Hyde Game.


    Please call me the Moderator. From this point onward, your Blessings will be sealed.


    With those words, the Status Window disappeared.


    Jekyll and Hyde Game?


    As I pondered the meaning, a notification appeared in the air.


    There are three roles in the Jekyll and Hyde Game: Jekyll, Hyde, and Doctor.


    All of you are Jekyll. Jekylls can discuss and execute someone among you who hosts Hyde each round during the day. If Jekylls correctly identifies and executes Hyde, the game is won.


    Hyde will possess someone among you at the start of each round. Hyde will attempt to kill one of you each round at night. Hyde can only possess each person once and cannot be found with an Inheritance.


    The Doctor can designate someone to protect each round during the day. If Hyde tries to kill the designated person at night, the kill will fail.


    If the game is won, one of the deceased participants can be resurrected. If you have questions about the game, please ask.


    The game will start in 30 minutes.


    <em>This seems familiar.</em>


    Songee reacted.


    ¡°This looks a lot like Mafia, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Jekyll is like the civilians, and Hyde is like the Mafia? The unique part is that Hyde hosts among us.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung shouted in surprise.


    ¡°Hey, hey! Don¡¯t talk about things only you know. What¡¯s this ¡®Mafia¡¯?¡±


    Eunsol-noona was also greatly surprised.


    ¡°I know the Mafia game, but isn''t it just a political game for fun? How are we supposed to find Hyde? And ¡®cannot be found with an Inheritance¡¯? Our Blessings are sealed, and we can''t find Hyde with Inheritance. This means we¡¯re supposed to guess blindly?¡±


    Our best guesser, Seungyub, had his luck sealed.


    <em>What are we supposed to do?</em>


    Everyone was confused.


    <em>Let¡¯s stay calm.</em>


    ¡°Everyone, calm down. The hotel wouldn¡¯t make us y a meaningless guessing game.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°There must be some logic to this. The crux of this game is who Hyde will possess, and who Hyde will kill. If we figure out who hosts Hyde, we can find and execute Hyde. If we figure out who they will kill, the Doctor can protect the target. The logic behind choosing hosts and kills must exist. It won¡¯t be random.¡±


    I said this, but I was also confused.


    <em>What criteria will Hyde use to choose hosts and targets?</em>


    It felt ominous.


    I had a gut feeling that we would make significant sacrifices in this /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 120: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (11)

    Chapter 120: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (11)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    The group began to rack their brains.


    <em>Should I call it fortunate?</em>


    The Jekyll and Hyde game felt like a variation of Mafia, and only Grandpa Mooksung didn¡¯t know the game.


    While Grandpa Mooksung was frantically asking others about various things, I started asking the Moderator questions.


    ¡°How much can you answer?¡±


    I can answer within reasonable limits. I obviously cannot inform you of the identity of Hyde¡¯s host.


    <em>What kind of reasonable limits are there for such a bizarre game?</em>It sounded like it would just do as it pleased.


    <em>However, the one in need here is us, not it.</em>


    I started asking all the questions that came to mind.


    ¡°Hyde will possess one of us when the game starts, right? Can the host use their Inheritance or tools?¡±


    Hyde strictly adheres to the rules of the game. Hyde cannot use a participant''s Inheritance or harm you by any means other than execution.


    <em>So Hyde won¡¯t suddenly use the bracelet or Grimoire.</em>


    Understood.


    Eunsol-noona quickly asked a question too.


    ¡°We have to discuss and find Hyde during the day each round, right? Can Hyde listen and participate in our discussions?¡±


    A very important question.


    In Mafia, Mafia members disrupted the discussions of the citizen team.


    Hyde does not take away the free will of his host. Therefore, Hyde cannot participate in the discussions. However, Hyde can listen to them.


    Hearing this, I began to understand what kind of entity Hyde was.


    A being that strictly followed the rules of the game.


    A being that didn¡¯t rob the free will of its host.


    Hyde seemed less like a sentient being and more like an AI created purely for the game.


    The fact that Hyde wouldn''t interfere in our discussions was a relief.


    However, just knowing that Hyde could eavesdrop made things moreplicated.


    Everyone was racking their brains, asking the Moderator various questions about the rules.


    The 30 minutes passed quickly.


    ***


    <strong>- 1st Round, Han Kain</strong>


    <strong>-Beep!</strong>


    All Jekylls, the Jekyll and Hyde game will now begin.


    The 1st round of the day begins now. All Jekylls have 15 minutes to identify and execute Hyde. The Doctor can designate someone to protect.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung was the first to speak.


    ¡°So Hyde or whatever it is has possessed one of us?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be the case. But since Hyde doesn¡¯t take away free will, even the host wouldn¡¯t know Hyde is in them.¡±


    Although the chances were slim, I still looked at Songee.


    Songee scanned us with her bracelet.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°It was said that Inheritance can¡¯t detect Hyde. What about Perro?¡±


    ¡°It''s hard tomunicate properly without the Blessing, but even then, Perro has no reaction.¡±


    Just as Songee said, Perro was in the rest area, leisurely snacking on sunflower seeds without a care in the world.


    Watching a parrotfortably eat sunflower seeds while we were in a life-or-death situation was exasperating.


    <em>Worthless golden egg...</em>


    Since neither the bracelet nor Perro could find Hyde, everyone remained at a loss for words


    Ahri, who had been quiet up till now, broke the silence.


    ¡°Is there any point in us all drinking my blood to find Hyde?¡±


    ¡°We were told Inheritance can¡¯t find Hyde.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    ¡°If Inheritance can¡¯t find Hyde, why allow us to use them in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If they didn¡¯t want us to use our Inheritance, they would¡¯ve sealed it too. Allowing us to use it but with the caveat of being unable to find Hyde with them means...¡±


    ¡°They must want us to use the Inheritance in ways other than finding Hyde,¡± Eunsol-noona answered.


    The 15 minutes were short.


    Less than five minutes remained.


    ¡°Moderator!¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°Is the Doctor already selected?¡±


    Yes. The Doctor knows they are the Doctor.


    We looked around at each other.


    ¡°One of us is already the Doctor.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung spoke curiously.


    ¡°Oh! Who is it? Who have you decided to protect¡ª¡±


    <em>-Whack!</em>


    Ahri smacked Grandpa on the back of his head.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Ahri, I would have kicked him to shut him up.


    ¡°Please! Grandpa Mooksung, if the Doctor reveals themselves, Hyde will target them!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Eunsol-noona spoke with a sigh.


    ¡°Please keep in mind that Hyde is listening to our conversation.¡±


    At least one thing was clear to me.


    <em>I am not the Doctor, and Grandpa Mooksung isn¡¯t the Doctor either.</em>


    If he were the Doctor, he¡¯d be confusing us by questioning who to protect.


    ¡°Three minutes left. Should we just randomly pick someone?¡±


    Ahri nodded.


    ¡°No choice. Let¡¯s just pick someone. Seungyub, you choose.¡±


    ¡°Huh? My Blessing is sealed.¡±


    ¡°Just do it.¡±


    Seungyub hesitated, then pointed at Songee, who was on his left.


    Songee didn¡¯t react, but the Moderator responded.


    All Jekylls, do you agree to execute ¡°Songee¡± as Hyde?


    ¡°...!¡±


    I had a sudden realization and spoke quickly before everyone agreed.


    ¡°Wait a minute! Moderator!¡±


    Yes.


    ¡°If we execute Songee, and she has Hyde, does only Hyde die? Or does Songee die too?¡±


    Everyone else turned pale, realizing the situation.


    There is no way to only execute Hyde. Executing the host is the only way to eliminate Hyde.


    Eunsol-noona cursed, holding the back of her neck.


    ¡°Seriously? Shit! So it¡¯s not just Hyde dying, but the host too?¡±


    ¡°Do we have to execute someone every round?¡± Ahri urgently asked.


    No. If you do not wish to, you can forgo the search for Hyde.


    Hearing the Moderator¡¯s response, Seungyub quickly spoke.


    ¡°Cancel! Cancel the execution! I¡¯m sorry, Songee-noona.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. But we can¡¯t proceed by randomly picking and hoping to find Hyde. The chances are too low.¡±


    At this point, I realized something.


    ¡°The reason we can resurrect one dead participant in the third trial is because of this.¡±


    ¡°Even if we have a perfect run and identify Hyde right away,¡± Ahri continued, ¡°The host of Hyde has to die. Since that¡¯s unfair, they gave us one resurrection.¡±


    In the end, we couldn¡¯t identify Hyde in the first round.


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde¡¯s time hase.


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 2nd Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    I came to my senses. Everyone else also woke up, looking around in confusion.


    <em>Who is it? Who did Hyde execute?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone was fine.


    The Moderator descended immediately.


    Congrattions. Hyde¡¯s first execution failed. The Doctor sessfully protected the correct target.


    The Hyde of the 1st round was ¡°Yu Songee¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? What? I was Hyde?¡±


    Songee was shocked.


    ¡°Did you feel anything strange? Any dark energy inside? An evil voice?¡± Eunsol-noona quickly asked Songee.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything in particr.¡±


    Ahri started to ponder.


    ¡°So the host can¡¯t tell they¡¯re possessed? But at least the Doctor blocked the first round?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung, still babbling, spoke again.


    ¡°Wow! Who¡¯s the Doctor? They¡¯re really good at this game! How did they manage to guess correctly? Was it you, Seungyub? You seem to have a knack for guessing¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    This time Ahri kicked Grandpa.


    He finally quieted down with a sulky look on his face.


    Elena, who had been quiet, spoke.


    ¡°You''re doing well, but Doctor, please keep your identity hidden.¡±


    While everyone was discussing their thoughts, I...


    <em>Oh</em>, <em>shit, shit, shit! Ahhhhh!</em>


    I covered my face with both hands, regretting everything!


    Whether it was luck or something else, Seungyub initially picked Songee!


    If I hadn¡¯t interfered, and we had executed Songee, Hyde would¡¯ve died immediately.


    We could have won the game and then resurrected Songee, achieving a perfect ending with no sacrifices...


    <em>How did Seungyub guess so urately?</em>


    <em>His Blessing is sealed.</em>


    <em>Is it pure luck?</em>


    <em>Whatever it is, it¡¯s frustrating.</em>


    Ahri, who seemed to have simr thoughts, grabbed Seungyub¡¯s arm.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one who can do this! At this point, your luck is beyond normal, the Blessing is just a bonus! Pick again!¡±


    Seungyub looked overwhelmed by the pressure.


    If he hadn¡¯t known the host would die too, he might have picked again, but knowing the host would die alongside Hyde, he couldn¡¯t choose.


    The 15 minutes were too short.


    <em>Here¡¯s what we learned from the 1st round:</em>


    The first host was Songee.


    We didn¡¯t know the execution target, but the Doctor sessfully protected them.


    That alone couldn¡¯t tell us who the next host or target would be.


    In other words, we had no leads.


    <em>What are the criteria for Hyde choosing a host and execution target?</em>


    The 2nd round passed in confusion.


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde¡¯s time hase.


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 3rd Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    As soon as I came to, I looked around.


    Who was it this time?


    ¡°...¡±


    Everyone was fine again.


    The Moderator descended.


    Congrattions. Hyde¡¯s second execution failed. The Doctor sessfully protected the correct target.


    The Hyde of the 2nd round was ¡°Park Seungyub¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Seungyub was stunned, and so was I.


    The Doctor seeded in protecting twice in a row?


    The first time could¡¯ve been a lucky guess.


    But twice in a row?


    The odds of guessing correctly purely by luck were very low.


    I felt relieved.


    As I had vaguely predicted, Hyde''s choices weren¡¯t random.


    There was a certain priority in selecting execution targets.


    Among us, the one chosen as the Doctor by the Moderator understood Hyde''s criteria for choosing targets.


    Someone who realized the same thing spoke up.


    ¡°It seems the ¡®Doctor¡¯ has figured something out. The problem is, we don¡¯t know what that ¡®something¡¯ is...¡±


    Grandpa, now slightly more aware, chimed in.


    ¡°At least we could know who Hyde was targeting. Isn¡¯t there a way?¡±


    The Doctor would know.


    They protected the person Hyde targeted.


    Eunsol-noona pulled out several sheets of paper.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time and can¡¯t think of a better way. Since the Doctor can¡¯t openly guide us, let¡¯s do this.¡±


    Noona quickly wrote something on the papers.


    Each sheet had our names and the rounds listed on them.


    I immediately understood the idea.


    ¡°Everyone turns around and pretends to write something. Only the Doctor should mark their paper. No one else touches theirs. Just a dot to avoid revealing handwriting.¡±


    A moment passed.


    The papers were gathered on the table again.


    All the other papers had no marks except one, which had two /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 121: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (12)

    Chapter 121: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial (12)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    The target Hyde chose for execution in the first and second rounds was ¡°Kain¡±.


    While I was momentarily speechless, my teammates began to speak quickly.


    ¡°Why is Kain the top target? Even if you¡¯re not sure, just say something. That way, the Doctor can participate in the meeting naturally.¡±


    Under Eunsol-noona¡¯s urging, Seungyub, who was usually quiet, spoke up.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because he always thinks a lot?¡±


    ¡°Thinking a lot? That could be, but¡­¡±


    Songee had a different idea.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a more concrete reason? Like, because he has an Inheritance?¡±I joined the conversation around that point.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one with an Inheritance. You have one too, Songee, and so does Ahri. There are three of us with an Inheritance here.¡±


    Ahri gave her opinion.


    ¡°Perhaps your Inheritance is particrly lethal to Hyde? Like, it can kill Hyde?¡±


    ¡°They said we can¡¯t find Hyde with Inheritances.¡±


    ¡°True, but it never said anything about killing, right?¡±


    <em>Can¡¯t find it, but can kill it?</em>


    It seemed usible but also confusing.


    <em>Why did Hyde prioritize me as a target?</em>


    <em>Is it because I''m the smartest?</em>


    <em>Honestly, no.</em>


    <em>I¡¯m not the only one with an Inheritance.</em>


    <em>Maybe the abilities of the Grimoire pose a threat to Hyde?</em>


    <em>That seemed usible.</em>


    <em>But in what way is it a threat? Can it kill it?</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t know.</em>


    <em>It was hard to grasp.</em>


    Since the start of the Jekyll and Hyde game, the Moderator has always shown us the time.


    Two minutes left.


    With that thought, the third round ended.


    n n


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde¡¯s time hase.nn


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 4th Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    I quickly opened my eyes and looked around.


    ¡°...!¡±


    <em>One person is missing.</em>


    The response was immediate.


    ¡°Songee?¡±


    ¡°Songee-noona!¡±


    The Moderator descended.


    n n


    Regrettably, Hyde¡¯s third execution was sessful. The Doctor failed to protect the correct target.


    The Hyde of the third round was ¡°Han Kain¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.nn


    With the first casualty, the atmosphere drastically changed.


    But it was still manageable. One person wasn¡¯t an issue; we could revive them.


    The Hyde of the third round possessed me.


    The execution target shifted from me to Songee.


    <em>Why didn¡¯t Hyde execute me while possessing me?</em>


    <em>Is it impossible for Hyde to execute its own host?</em>


    I asked directly.


    ¡°Moderator, can Hyde not execute his host? Would Hyde die if that happened?¡±


    n n


    It is possible to execute.nn


    <em>¡°Possible¡± to execute?</em>


    The word choice felt like the host was hiding something.


    Ahri immediately pointed it out.


    ¡°What happens if Hyde executes its own host?¡±


    The Moderator did not answer.


    But the Moderator''s silence told us everything.


    Ahri spoke confidently.


    ¡°If the host dies, Hyde dies too! The method to eliminate Hyde is to execute the host, right?¡±


    ¡°So, Hyde executes the host only when there''s one survivor left?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Hyde changed his target from me to Songee. The game would have ended if he executed me while I was his host.¡±


    Eunsol-noona had a slightly different perspective.


    ¡°There¡¯s another interpretation. The Doctor protected you twice in a row, right? Maybe Hyde concluded he couldn¡¯t kill you because the Doctor would keep protecting you.¡±


    <em>Changing targets after failing twice? It makes sense.</em>


    This game wasn¡¯t easy for Hyde either.


    Hyde¡¯s biggest penalty was ¡°can¡¯t possess the same person twice¡±.


    Right now, there were still several host candidates left, but after a few more rounds, there would be few left for Hyde to possess, making it easier for us to identify.


    Hyde also has a sort of turn limit.


    Grandpa Mooksung, who had been quiet, spoke up.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice Hyde possessed you at all?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all. So, I guess it¡¯s impossible to eliminate Hyde with the Grimoire. Well, maybe if I trained with it for 30 years¡­¡±


    An irrelevantment.


    Everyone was confused, and Elena spoke up.


    ¡°I feel like our discussions themselves are a bad move.¡±


    ¡°Because Hyde is listening?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Even if we figure out Hyde¡¯s criteria, if Hyde knows we know, the criteria might change.¡±


    My head started to hurt.


    Discussing Hyde¡¯s schemes while Hyde could listen felt counterproductive.


    Elena¡¯s point made sense, and our discussion quieted down as everyone started thinking on their own.


    Ahri, who had been contemting, spoke up.


    ¡°I have a feeling the next target is¡ª¡±


    <em>-p.</em>


    Eunsol-noona grabbed Ahri¡¯s arm.


    Ahri quickly caught on and closed her mouth.


    We all had the same thought.


    We had a guess about the next target.


    But we couldn¡¯t say it out loud.


    If Hyde knew we were guessing the next target, it might change targets.


    The game was getting more chaotic, shifting the initiative to Hyde and making it harder for the Doctor to protect us.


    ...In the silence, everyone¡¯s minds were racing.


    The first target was me, and the second was Songee.


    Both of us had an Inheritance. It couldn¡¯t be a coincidence.


    <em>Is Hyde executing the ¡°high-value participants?¡±</em>


    But this hypothesis had a w.


    If Inheritance holders were the high-value targets, why was I prioritized over Songee?


    <em>Is it because of my Descent?</em>


    With Descent, I get it, but why was Songee prioritized over Ahri, who also has an Inheritance?


    And what about the remaining four without an Inheritance¡ªEunsol, Seungyub, Grandpa Mooksung, and Elena?


    How were they ranked?


    It was getting moreplicated.


    There seemed to be a criterion separate from Inheritance ownership.


    A criterion that could rank all seven participants.


    Thinking about the immediate round, the next target would be Ahri, given the current trend.


    <em>Did the Doctor also realize this?</em>


    While pondering, an idea came to mind.


    Hyde couldn¡¯t possess the same person twice.


    Since Hyde couldn¡¯t possess me again, it would be okay for me to find out the identity of the Doctor.


    As long as I kept my mouth shut, Hyde wouldn¡¯t learn what I knew.


    I quickly thought of a method to find the Doctor.


    While the Grimoire couldn¡¯t find Hyde, it could find the Doctor.


    I summoned the Grimoire under the table and nced at each of mypanions.


    <em>Hopefully, they catch on quickly...</em>


    I started possessing them one by one.


    First, Eunsol-noona.


    ¡°...¡±


    Not the Doctor.


    Noona was quick-witted and barely reacted after I left her.


    Next, Grandpa Mooksung.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Not the Doctor.


    Despite hisck of game knowledge, Grandpa was also quick-witted and only cleared his throat after I left.


    Next, Elena.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I knew immediately upon possessing her!


    A hologram simr to the status window was floating in Elena¡¯s direct line of sight.


    The hologram had everyone¡¯s names and selection boxes.


    Elena was the Doctor.


    Why did Elena protect me for two consecutive rounds?


    Because I had an Inheritance and Descent?


    She probably judged I had the highest chance of clearing the Gate Room.


    It didn¡¯t matter.


    Just before returning to my body, I used Elena¡¯s pen to write a small note on her hand.


    n n


    Ahrinn


    Elena would make her own decision on who to protect, but I left my opinion and returned.


    Elena¡¯s eyes widened slightly but showed no other reaction.


    The 15 minutes were almost up.


    n n


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde¡¯s time hase.nn


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 5th Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    I opened my eyes in tension.


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡±


    A gasp escaped mypanions.


    Our luckiest member, Seungyub, didn¡¯t make it this time.


    The Moderator descended.


    nn


    Regrettably, Hyde¡¯s fourth execution was sessful. The Doctor failed to protect the correct target.


    The Hyde of the fourth round was ¡°Kim Ahri¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.nn


    In a defeated voice, Eunsol-noona spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s been about an hour since this game started? We¡¯ve already lost two people... Even if we can revive one.¡±


    Elena, the Doctor, buried her face in her hands, likely from failing to protect twice in a row.


    I was also mentally exhausted.


    I expected the next target after Songee and I would be Ahri, but it wasn¡¯t.


    Instead, Hyde possessed Ahri to execute Seungyub.


    <em>...Incredible.</em>


    Since entering the hotel, I¡¯ve faced various trials, but this one felt particrly insurmountable.


    With no visible enemy, we were losing teammates to the rules without being able to do anything.


    Even Eunsol-noona looked defeated, and the others seemed on the verge of breaking down.


    <em>Focus.</em>


    One person needed to stay sharp in times like these.


    My previous assumptions were based on one premise.


    <em>Hyde never acts randomly.</em>


    There was no solid proof for this.


    But I believe the hotel wouldn¡¯t kill us meaninglessly, and the game¡¯s progression wouldn¡¯t be purely luck-based.


    If Hyde didn¡¯t act randomly, there must be a criterion for determining the execution order.


    This criterion should rank all seven participants.


    Thinking differently, I considered the possession order: Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub ¡ú Han Kain ¡ú Kim Ahri.


    If there was a criterion for the execution order, there must be one for the possession order too.


    The execution targets were Han Kain ¡ú Han Kain ¡ú Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub.


    The possession targets were Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub ¡ú Han Kain ¡ú Kim Ahri.


    Amonality emerged.


    In both orders, Yu Songee was followed by Park Seungyub.


    When I realized this, a revtion struck like lightning!


    The criterion for choosing execution and possession targets was the same!


    Hyde ranked us by a single criterion.


    The order revealed so far was:


    Han Kain ¡ú Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub ¡ú Kim Ahri.


    <em>Let¡¯s summarize.</em>


    <em>Firstly, Hyde ranked us by a specific criterion. The order seems to be Han Kain ¡ú Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub ¡ú Kim Ahri.</em>


    <em>Secondly, if Hyde executes his host, he also dies.</em>


    Considering this, I analyzed the game¡¯s progress so far.


    Hyde¡¯s top execution target was me.


    To execute me, it possessed Yu Songee and Park Seungyub to target me.


    The Doctor protected me twice in the 1st round and 2nd round.


    Hyde decided he couldn¡¯t execute me and changed the target to Yu Songee.


    Since the target changed, Hyde possessed me and targeted Yu Songee in the 3rd round.


    With the Doctor still alive, Hyde decided it still couldn¡¯t execute me and targeted Park Seungyub.


    Having possessed Han Kain, Yu Songee, and Park Seungyub, the next host was Kim Ahri, who then targeted Park Seungyub in the 4th round.


    If my theory was correct, the next target would be Kim Ahri.


    But who would be the next host?


    I stillcked evidence.


    Hyde could still possess Elena, Mooksung, or Eunsol.


    To find Hyde, I needed to understand his exact ranking criterion to determine the order among Elena, Mooksung, and Eunsol.


    <em>What¡¯s the criterion?</em>


    What could make me and Songee first and second, but rank Seungyub higher than /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 122: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial End (13)

    Chapter 122: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial End (13)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As I was deep in thought, I saw that just over a minute remained.


    <em>I¡¯m losing it!</em>


    I felt like I was on the verge of understanding something, but the time was too short.


    The good thing was that I was certain who the ¡°execution target¡± would be this time.


    It would definitely be Ahri.


    I informed Elena to protect Ahri using the same method as before.


    However, the choice was ultimately Elena''s.


    I hoped she would trust me and protect Ahri...nn


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde''s time hase.nn


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 6th Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    As soon as I opened my eyes, I was filled with joy.


    <em>Sess!</em>


    This time, no one was missing.


    The Moderator descended.


    n n


    Congrattions. Hyde¡¯s fifth execution has failed. The Doctor sessfully protected the right target.


    The Hyde of the 5th round was ¡°Elena¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.nn


    We managed to survive another turn.


    The order had now be clearer.


    Han Kain ¡ú Yu Songee ¡ú Park Seungyub ¡ú Kim Ahri ¡ú Elena


    Only Kim Mooksung and Lee Eunsol remained as potential hosts.


    Elena, who had heard the Moderator¡¯s announcement, calmly spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe to reveal now. I am the Doctor.¡±


    ¡°What? Why reveal that now?! Did you get caught?¡± Eunsol-noona replied in surprise.


    Elena nced slightly towards me and replied.


    ¡°Yes. When chosen as the Doctor, a hologram with your names appears in front of my vision. Hyde must have seen it too. There''s no point in hiding it anymore.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s thest round anyway. Only Grandpa Mooksung and I are left as possible hosts. Once we get through this turn, who Hyde possessed will be confirmed.¡± Eunsol-noona said.


    Grandpa Mooksung responded,


    ¡°Then just choose between me and Eunsol.¡±


    Eunsol-noona had a different view.


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t need to rush. If we make a mistake, it just increases the casualties. If we survive one more turn, only one of us will fall, so let¡¯s think a bit more.¡±


    As the discussion continued, I finally understood Hyde''s criterion.


    My initial thought was that it was based on the ¡°order of threat to Hyde¡±.


    Since Songee and I were Inheritance holders that could affect the mind, we might have posed a significant threat to Hyde.


    However, I soon realized this criterion was wed.


    <em>Who¡¯s the real biggest threat to Hyde?</em>


    Songee, who couldn''t do anything until the moment she died, or me, who was still pondering?


    <em>The answer is neither.</em>


    Seungyub picked Songee, the first host, right from the start.


    In the next round, as the host of Hyde, he naturally didn¡¯t pick anyone.


    It was as if he got it right twice in a row.


    If the criterion was ¡°order of threat¡±, Hyde should have targeted Seungyub right away in the first or, at thetest, the second round.


    Instead, Hyde targeted me until the third round.


    Moreover, the ¡°order of threat¡± didn¡¯t exin the ranking of others who had no Inheritance or hadn¡¯t contributed much to the game.


    After much thought, I considered another criterion.


    The most intuitive one for the Hotel to evaluate us by.


    <em>Contribution points.</em>


    The more significant the contributions in each room, the higher the umted contributions, leading to enhanced Blessings.


    While we couldn¡¯t directly see our contributions, there were indicators.


    Enhancements in the Sanctum of Blessings.


    The more enhancements someone had, the higher their umted contributions, and the sooner one enhanced, the closer they were to their next enhancement.


    When we first visited the Sanctum after resolving the Human Farm, those who were enhanced were me, Park Seungyub, and Yu Songee.


    When we visited the Sanctum a second time after resolving the Common Sense Renovating Media, those who enhanced were me, Kim Ahri, Elena, and Cha Jinchul.


    However, I dyed my enhancement for a more powerful er.


    Our third visit was after resolving the Mansion of Fear. Those who enhanced them were me, Kim Mooksung, and Lee Eunsol.


    I noticed something as I counted.


    I was present every time.


    <em>Wow! Am I carrying this party?</em>


    Setting aside unnecessary thoughts, I ranked the participants by the number of enhancements and the order of the first enhancements.


    Han Kain > Yu Songee = Park Seungyub > Kim Ahri = Elena = Cha Jinchul > Kim Mooksung = Lee Eunsol.


    ¡°...¡±


    The ranking I came up with almost perfectly mirrored Hyde¡¯s revealed ranking.


    <em>This is it.</em>


    Realizing this, I sighed.


    In hindsight, contributions were umted through resolving the Cursed Rooms, and the Hotel uses these contributions as a primary criterion for awarding Inheritance and enhancing Blessings.


    <em>Why did I realize this sote?</em>


    Hyde¡¯s next target was either Lee Eunsol or Kim Mooksung.


    Elena spoke up.


    ¡°Sorry, but Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung, could you please close your eyes and cover your ears for a moment?¡±


    We needed to discuss among those who were definitely not Hyde.


    Following the instruction, the two closed their eyes, covered their ears, and moved to the edge of the room.


    Elena, Ahri, and I gathered on the opposite side and quietly discussed.


    Ahri spoke first.


    ¡°The execution target this time would be Elena, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s likely. Since I¡¯m the Doctor.¡±


    I chimed in.


    ¡°Are you nning to protect yourself this time?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I thought for a moment.


    ording to the contribution ranking I determined, Hyde¡¯s ranking order was as follows:


    Han Kain > Yu Songee > Park Seungyub > Kim Ahri > Elena > Kim Mooksung? Lee Eunsol.


    With Songee and Seungyub dead, the targets would be Han Kain, Kim Ahri, or Elena.


    Hyde has given up on me, and having sessfully protected Ahri, might Hyde give up on her too?


    Since Hyde tried to target me twice, might it target Ahri once more, or would he target Elena?


    Despite our discussion, we couldn¡¯t be certain who Hyde would attack.


    ¡°...!¡±


    A clever idea suddenly struck me.


    ¡°Time is almost up, so let¡¯s gather.¡±


    Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung, who were waiting with their eyes closed and ears covered, straightened up and turned toward the table.


    As naturally as possible, and as if it were an idental slip rather than a trick, I spoke to Elena in a slightly louder voice.


    ¡°This time, protect yourself.¡±


    Elena¡¯s eyes widened momentarily before she nodded in understanding.


    I was confident now.


    <em>There¡¯s no need to give any more hints.</em>


    <em>Elena will understand.</em>


    n n


    The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde''s time hase.nn


    My consciousness faded...


    ***


    <strong>- 7th Round, Han Kain.</strong>


    I lifted my head.


    I found myself smiling without realizing it!


    nn


    Congrattions. Hyde¡¯s sixth execution has failed. The Doctor sessfully protected the right target.


    The Hyde of the 6th round was ¡°Kim Mooksung¡±. Now Hyde will move to another person.nn


    Eunsol-noona sighed in relief and spoke.


    ¡°Wow! I was really surprised earlier. Did Hyde target Elena because she¡¯s the Doctor?¡±


    Elena smiled slightly while Eunsol-noona continued.


    ¡°Kain! Be careful next time. I almost panicked when you told Elena to protect herself. If I had been Hyde¡¯s host, he would have targeted someone else after hearing that. Luckily, it was Grandpa.¡±


    ¡°I heard it too,¡± said Grandpa Mooksung.


    Eunsol-noona fell silent.


    Iughed and responded.


    ¡°I said it loudly so both of you would hear. Since Noona thought it was a mistake, Hyde was tricked too. Hyde got the information that Elena would protect herself and target someone else. Probably me, right?¡±


    I turned to Elena, who nodded.


    ¡°Yes. Hyde wanted to kill you from the start. If I, the Doctor, signaled that I wouldn¡¯t protect you, Hyde would target you again. And he did.¡±


    <em>This damned game is finally over.</em>


    Everyone rxed and started talking freely.


    I exined my theories about Hyde¡¯s criteria, and everyone listened with curiosity.


    I felt a hint of regret.


    If I had used my Inheritance more proactively, understood the criteria sooner, ore up with the idea of tricking Hyde earlier, we could have had a perfect run in this room!


    ¡°...¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter.


    No one med each other for not thinking of it sooner in the relentless 15-minute cycles that left us barely breathing.


    The remaining time of the 7th round was almost over.


    Finally, the chatter died down and everyone turned to look at Eunsol-noona in a somewhat awkward manner.


    Hyde couldn¡¯t possess the same person twice.


    Since Hyde had just possessed Grandpa, the only remaining host candidate was Eunsol-noona.


    ¡°Why the gloomy atmosphere? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re saying goodbye forever, right? I¡¯ll be going ahead. See you outside! And... it¡¯s hard to say this myself, but don¡¯t revive me,¡± She said with a smile.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    We pointed out Eunsol-noona as Hyde.


    The Moderator descended, and the room briefly darkened.


    When the light returned, Eunsol-noona was gone.


    n n


    The choice is over! The result? nn


    ***


    ***


    ***


    nn


    Ding dong! Congrattions, participants! You have found Hyde.


    Congrattions on passing the Third Trial. Now, you can revive one of the deceased from the Jekyll and Hyde game.nn


    A hologram appeared in the center of the table, listing the deceased.


    n n


    1. Yu Songee


    2. Park Seungyub


    3. Lee Eunsolnn


    Jinchul-hyung wasn¡¯t listed.


    As expected, he wasn¡¯t a revival candidate since he was eliminated before the game.


    Who should we revive?


    A discussion began among the remaining participants.


    Grandpa Mooksung was the first to offer an opinion.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we revive someone with an Inheritance?¡±


    Elena agreed.


    ¡°Indeed. Although the abilities of the other two are helpful, I think the bracelet would be most useful in this situation.¡±


    I agreed and didn¡¯t speak up.


    Surprisingly, Ahri had a different opinion.


    ¡°I think we should revive Seungyub.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a reason?¡±


    ¡°Look at the progression so far. The first trial sealed Blessings, the second sealed Inheritance, and the third sealed Blessings again. By that pattern, the fourth trial should seal Inheritance. Even if Songeees back, the bracelet might not be usable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just your spection. Even if it¡¯s true, why do you think Seungyub¡¯s Blessing is more useful than Inheritance? Do you think his luck is more beneficial?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Throughout the trials, I¡¯ve noticed that Seungyub is absurdly lucky. In the First Trial, he ¡®coincidentally¡¯ had the most cooperative fake, the fake literally did the trial for him. In the Second Trial, his luck made him randomly shoot the witch¡¯s weak points, causing her to retreat, and then he also deceived her with card tricks. In the Third Trial, he effectively identified Hyde twice. If we hadn¡¯t doubted his choices, we could have ended the game early.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but our Blessings were sealed in the First and Third Trials. Wasn¡¯t it just pure luck?¡±


    ¡°That makes it even more remarkable. My guess is that Blessings are given to those with rted abilities. Eunsol-noona is rich and gained Wealth, Jinchul-hyung is strong and gained Courage, Grandpa Mooksung is talkative and gained Communication.¡±


    Elena chimed in.


    ¡°Songee likes animals and gained Affinity, Ahri has many secrets and gained Secret, and I have an interest in justice and gained Justice?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Seungyub is already lucky, and his luck has been further enhanced by Fortune. If we consider the Fourth Trial where Inheritances might be sealed, Seungyub¡¯s Fortune would be more versatile than Songee¡¯s Affinity, which relies on the existence of ¡®Being of Chaos¡¯.¡±


    Listening to Ahri¡¯s exnation, I felt somewhat convinced.


    However, Grandpa Mooksung still seemed to disagree.


    ¡°I understand the logic of sealing inheritance in the Fourth Trial and prioritizing Seungyub based on Blessings, but ultimately, we need to clear the Fifth Trial too. In the final trial, wouldn¡¯t Songee with her bracelet be more advantageous?¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t clear the Fourth Trial, we won¡¯t even get to the Fifth. Focusing on the immediate challenge makes more sense.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about Perro. Without Songee, that bird has been doing nothing but pulling my hair and eating sunflower seeds. Without her, it¡¯s hard to control him properly.¡±


    ¡°Perro has been plucking Grandpa''s hair even with Songee around. He¡¯s just been idle because there¡¯s nothing for him to do now. Perro still recognizes us and will help even without Songee.¡±


    <em>Ahri¡¯s habit of mixing informal and formal speech when excited is still the same...</em>


    <em>And Perro always pulls Grandpa¡¯s hair.</em>


    <em>At least that''s consistent.</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung insisted on reviving Songee with her bracelet, while Ahri advocated strongly for Seungyub and his luck.


    Elena and I sighed, ncing at each other.


    <em>Who should we revive?</em>


    <em>It seems Seungyub¡¯s efforts in the Hotel weren¡¯t entirely in vain.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ll have to let him knowter how hard Ahri fought for his /genesisforsaken


    </em>

 Chapter 123: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (14)

    Chapter 123: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (14)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Only one person could be revived.


    Between Songee and Seungyub, whose ability would be more useful?


    ¡°What do you think, Elena?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s best if Kain chooses.¡±


    ¡°...Hmm.¡±


    With Elena naturally leaving the decision to me, both Grandpa Mooksung and Ahri turned their gazes toward me.


    <em>This is a bit burdensome.</em>


    I carefullypared the pros and cons of each person¡¯s abilities.Songee''s biggest advantage was undoubtedly the endless usefulness of the bracelet, her excellent control over Perro, and her Blessing which was particrly effective against monster-type enemies.


    The disadvantages were that there was a possibility she might not be able to use the bracelet in the next trial, and her Blessing was basically useless when the enemy was not a monster.


    Whenparing Songee and Seungyub individually, it was hard to determine who was better.


    However, considering the current surviving team as a whole, the judgment became clear.


    ¡°I think Songee is more needed for our party right now.¡±


    Ahri turned to me, and I continued exining.


    ¡°The current survivors are me, Elena, Grandpa Mooksung, and Ahri, that makes four. What is our weakness? Wecked physical strength since Jinchul-hyung was eliminated. The hotel has many enemies that are difficult to deal with nothing but a gun, and my Descent and Elena¡¯s Justice have significant limitations.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung voiced his agreement.


    ¡°That bird can somewhatpensate for that weakness.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Think about when Perro went berserk before. At that time, it was fortunate that Jinchul-hyung, who could knock out the rampaging Perro with one punch, was there. Grotesque Perro is quite a beast. Songee''s control over Perro is extremely useful for us.¡±


    Ahri showed a mixed reaction.


    ¡°I see your point that Songee can cover our team¡¯s weaknesses, but is Perro the only reason?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing. I think Elena and Songee¡¯s Blessings work well together.¡±


    Elena, who had been listening, nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s something Songee and I talked about before. Basically, our enemies are either humans or monsters. My Blessing is useful against humans, and Songee¡¯s Blessing is useful against monsters. Of course, there are times when neither works.¡±


    After sharing these opinions, Ahri also conceded.


    In the end, we decided to revive Songee.


    <em>But¡­ I should definitely tell Seungyub how strongly Ahri insisted on reviving him.</em>


    ***n


    nn


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 44


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)nn


    n n


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 0nn


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I woke up in the resting area.


    Songee naturally reappeared, looking around with surprised eyes before understanding the situation.


    ¡°Did you revive me?¡±


    Elena approached Songee.


    ¡°Yes! We all thought we really needed you.¡±


    Ahri flinched.


    ¡°Haha! Songee, actually, not everyone¡ª¡±


    <em>Ahri thought we needed Seungyub more than you!</em>


    I swallowed the words as Ahri kicked my leg.


    As I watched mypanion joyfully reunite with us, I checked my status window.


    It was good that our Blessings and my Status Window were back, but of course, the Advice count was still zero.


    <em>That owl wasted the entire count giving me iprehensible advice.</em>


    The count wouldn¡¯t refill until the day passed, but the Jekyll and Hyde game had ended so quickly despite the enormous stress, so the advice count hadn''t recharged.


    <em>I wonder if I can use Scenario Comprehension?</em>


    <em>There are three hours left until the next trial.</em>


    Grandpa Mooksung moved to the center of the room.


    ¡°Attention, everyone!¡±


    ¡°Do you have something to say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been holding onto this because the timing never seemed right, but now might be the time to consider it.¡±


    As he opened his hand, the ¡°Red Capsule¡± appeared.


    Elena¡¯s eyes widened as she spoke.


    ¡°Oh! I forgot we had that. I hadn¡¯t thought of it since we gave it to Jinchul.¡±


    ¡°The timing to use it has been tricky. I kept it when Jinchul copsed, but even then, it wasn¡¯t the right time. I thought of using it during the Jekyll and Hyde game, but it didn¡¯t seem like the pill could stop Hyde. Hyde wasn¡¯t exactly a mental attack, was it?¡±


    ¡°Who should hold onto the pill now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    As we pondered, sSongee suddenly had a strange reaction.


    ¡°Huh? Huh?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Something with Perro¡ª¡±


    <em>-Flutter!</em>


    Before anyone could react, Perro, who was on Songee¡¯s shoulder, flew up and swallowed the red capsule in one gulp.


    ¡°¡°...¡±¡±


    ¡°¡±...???¡±¡±


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    ¡°Ack!¡±


    ¡°That damn bird just¨C!¡±


    ¡°Mooksung, shut up! Elena, catch the bird! Kain, pry his beak open! We might still get it out¡ª¡±


    Everyone went crazy at once!


    The only person who kept their cool tried to calm everyone down.


    ¡°Everyone~! Everyone, please listen to me!¡±


    ¡°Get some water! Today, I¡¯m going to pluck every feather from that damned parrot!¡±


    ¡°Is there a tool like tweezers? Kain, stick your fingers into his beak and open it!¡±


    ¡°Why is this bird mping its beak so tight? Open up! Open up! Fine, I¡¯ll use the Grimoire to possess him and make him throw up! First¡ª¡±


    ¡°Everyone shut up!¡±


    Songee¡¯s shout echoed throughout the resting area, finally settling everyone down.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh, Songee?¡±


    ¡°Perro definitely used some special power.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°A moment ago, Perro had no reaction. But the moment he saw the red capsule...¡±


    Songee suddenly went silent.


    Ahri, unable to hold herself back, asked.


    ¡°What happened the moment he saw the capsule?¡±


    ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean something happened?¡±


    ¡°An immense thought filled Perro¡¯s mind? An enormous amount of information poured into Perro¡¯s head? Something strange happened to Perro, and he suddenly lunged and swallowed the capsule.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    In the end, everyone fell silent.


    Anyway, it seemed that the bird hadn¡¯t swallowed the red capsule just for fun or out of hunger.


    <em>Is there still some hidden ability in Perro?</em>


    After the briefmotion, everyone was exhausted and leaned against the walls to rest.


    Perro approached me and started biting me without mercy.


    ¡°Why does he keep biting me?¡±


    ¡°Because he hates you.¡±


    ¡°Why does he always hate me?¡±


    ¡°Is that even a question? He always ends up hurt from your practice flights. And just now, you tried to make him throw up by sticking your fingers in his beak. Wouldn¡¯t it be more surprising if he liked you?¡±


    ¡°You told me to stick my fingers in his beak.¡±


    ¡°But Perro doesn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I felt a bit annoyed.


    I was finally allowed to rest after Songee took Perro away.


    ***


    n n


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 44


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)nn


    n n


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 0nn


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    When I came to my senses, I found myself standing in a very luxurious room.


    Grandpa Mooksung and I were dressed in very vintage-style tuxedos.


    Ahri, Songee, and Elena were wearing stunning dresses covered with soft fur shawls.


    <em>Are we heading to some sort of party?</em>


    Ahri reacted strangely.


    ¡°These dresses are really old-fashioned¡­¡±


    <em>Old-fashioned?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t tell.


    It felt Western, which only added to my confusion.


    I checked the Scenario.


    Scenario: The Gate Room - ''The Secret of Esper Ho''nnn


    Scenario: The Gate Room - ''The Secret of Esper Ho''


    The hotel group woke up on a luxurious passenger ship. Beautiful music echoed through the room.


    A staff member arrives to guide them to a dinner party. Attend the party and gather information.


    Check the next part at midnight. nn


    The sound of music began to fill the room.


    <em>Is this ssical?</em>


    <em>It sounds like a live performance rather than a recording.</em>


    Considering the fancy attire, a luxurious passenger ship?


    <em>A dinner party?</em>


    <em>Staff?</em>


    <em>That might be the case.</em>


    <em>- Click! Click! Click!</em>


    I quickly informed mypanions of the details.


    ¡°We¡¯re on a luxurious passenger ship. A staff member ising soon to guide us to a dinner party.¡±


    ¡°A luxurious passenger ship? Like a cruise?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Has anyone been to a ce like this before?¡±


    The rest of the group just tilted their heads, and the Administration team gave vague responses.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been on one during a mission, but not in a normal way.


    ¡°We infiltrated one to deal with a ridiculous monster.¡±


    <em>- Ding Dong!</em>


    The doorbell rang.


    Opening the door, a staff member entered.


    As per the scenario¡¯s description, the staff gave a brief exnation of the room and guided us to the dinner party.


    The staff repeatedly emphasized.


    ¡°You may dressfortably inside your room, but please adhere to the dress code at the party. The tuxedos and dresses you are wearing are sufficient.¡±


    Once the staff member left, we started a meeting.


    <em>- Click! Click! Click!</em>


    Grandpa Mooksung spoke first.


    ¡°It¡¯s suspicious how they keep insisting on the dress code. Should we try wearing something else and go? What do you think?¡±


    Ahri responded.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a formal party, adhering to the dress code is expected. It¡¯s nothing weird.¡±


    I also had a question.


    ¡°There are still three hours until the dinner party. What should we do until then? Explore the ship?¡±


    ¡°Even if we explore, how about sticking together? I¡¯m worried something might happen. Kain, is there any update to the Scenario?¡± Elena cautiously suggested.


    ¡°No. The Scenario just says to attend the dinner party and gather information. The next part will be revealed at midnight. It seems the main progression starts with the dinner party, but we should still do something.¡±


    Ahri also spoke up.


    ¡°Before going outside, let¡¯s scour the room. We might find something.¡±


    With that, everyone started searching the room.


    <em>- Click! Click! Click!</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, but why has Perro been clinging to the wall and pecking at it?¡±


    Perro had been clinging to the wall, pecking at it nonstop.


    Songee responded in a puzzled tone.


    ¡°He¡¯s been feeling restless. It¡¯s not a small space, but¡­¡±


    If he were an ordinary bird, we might just dismiss it as animal behavior, but given Perro¡¯s extraordinary nature, I was curious about the reason.


    ¡°Is this a music box? It looks very old. This style was popr before World War II¡­¡±


    From a distance, I heard Ahri¡¯s voice finding something.


    Hearing Ahri, the vague doubts I had been harboring resurfaced.


    In the process of opening up to each other, I learned something about Ahri.


    There was one inconsistency in Ahri''s behavior that couldn¡¯t be reconciled.


    <em>¡­Is it okay to ask about it?</em>


    Feeling my mind tangled, I grew tired.


    The Fourth Trial, ¡°The Secret of Esper Ho.¡±


    This ship was filled with secrets.


    I had a feeling that this trial wouldn¡¯t be straightforward /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 124: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (15)

    Chapter 124: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (15)


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Ahri was holding a strangely shaped music box.


    A style that was popr before World War II?


    I guess even music boxes had trends back then.


    ¡°How do you know what kind of music boxes were popr back then? Have you seen one before?¡±


    ¡°I once encountered a spirit that took the form of a music box while on a job. Perro seems to be doing something over there; go check it out.¡±


    Ahri¡¯s age issue, which I used to brush off as a joke, now struck me as an odd contradiction.


    I discreetly checked the Status Window again.


    Ahri¡¯s age was still disyed as ???.¡°...¡±


    <em>Let¡¯s leave it at that. Unnecessary suspicion will only create conflict.</em>


    <em>Now is not the time. We¡¯re in the middle of a trial after all.</em>


    I approached Perro.


    He has been pecking at the wall with his beak since earlier.


    The wall didn¡¯t budge, of course.


    If he were in his grotesque form, things might be different, but a mere parrot pecking at the wall wouldn¡¯t even leave a dent.


    There must be some meaning to this behavior...


    For now, it was difficult to understand.


    I wandered around, checking drawers and under the bed.


    We searched the room for a while but didn¡¯t find any suspicious items, unknown documents, strange safes, or secret passages.


    Eventually, Grandpa Mooksung called us over.


    ¡°Everyone, change back into your clothes. It¡¯s almost time for that dinner party or whatever.¡±


    With no clear results, we left the room to attend the dinner party.


    As soon as we stepped out, a notification appeared.


    nn


    From now until the end of the Fourth Trial, the participants¡¯ Inheritances will be sealed.nn


    Now it was starting for real.


    ***


    <strong>- Elena</strong>


    A gentleman I had never seen before approached and handed me a drink.


    ¡°Miss Elena, I¡¯m Stevenson.¡±


    Before I could respond, someone else came up behind me.


    ¡°Oh! The star of tonight¡¯s party is here! Miss Elena, care to join us at our table?¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m¡ª¡±


    Before I could finish, someone else interrupted.


    ¡°Seeing Miss Elena¡¯s noble presence, it¡¯s only fitting that¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Ugh! This is overwhelming!</em>


    As soon as we entered the party hall, we were all absolutely stunned.


    The initial room we started in was luxurious andrge, but the ship outside of the room was unbelievablyvish, to the point of being almost surreal.


    And the party hall showcased the pinnacle of that splendor.


    A small orchestra on one side yed ssical music, while staff moved around offering elegant champagne and appetizers.


    The walls were adorned with famous paintings and beautiful decorations I had never seen before.


    Chandeliers on the ceiling flickered like mes, brightly illuminating the entire hall.


    The most fascinating thing was the shimmering golden threads on the ceiling.


    When the light hit them, they resembled a small gxy as they sparkled in the air, making me stare at them for a while.


    ¡°What are you looking at so intently?¡±


    When I turned my head, a young man who seemed to have stepped straight out of a ssic movie was looking at me.


    ¡°The shimmering threads on the ceiling. Aren¡¯t they fascinating? How do you think they made them?¡±


    ¡°Ah! You mean the spider webs.¡±


    ¡°Spider webs?¡±


    ¡°They spread spider webs and lightly dusted them with gold powder. It¡¯s great for creating a surreal atmosphere. Of course, mere spider webs can¡¯t match Miss Elena¡¯s¡­¡±


    I turned away before he could finish.


    <em>Sorry, but I¡¯ve heard such remarks about 300 times since the party started. It doesn¡¯t impress me anymore.</em>


    I turned to look at my teammates.


    Their situations weren¡¯t much different.


    At least five people were swarming around each of them, introducing themselves and offering gifts.


    A phrase I had heard earlier, ¡°The star of tonight¡¯s party.¡±


    It applied not only to me but to our entire group.


    It was remarkable and utterly morous.


    The food was delicious, but...


    No matter what, this ce was still the ¡°Gate Room¡±.


    A space that was created for the trial.


    Now was not the time to be leisurely enjoying a party.


    In the end, Grandpa Mooksung started pushing people away and gathering us together.


    It was only after about 30 minutes of being at the party that we managed to regroup.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    This was the most chaotic experience I¡¯ve ever experienced.


    I wasn¡¯t a celebrity, but men and women alike swarmed around me.


    On top of that, people suddenly started offering me gifts, asking who I was and where I was from.


    <em>This is driving me insane.</em>


    If an enemy hade at me with a sword, I would have had the decisiveness to fight without hesitation, but oddly enough, dealing with people who were swarming around me with pure goodwill was even more challenging.


    Thankfully, Grandpa Mooksung came and forcibly pulled me and the rest of our group out, securing a table for us, which finally brought some stability.


    Songee, who was nkly drinking water, spoke first.


    ¡°This is a first for me. I feel like a popr singer. Elena, have you ever experienced something like this?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯ve never been this popr.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung sighed, fanning himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s exhausting! Exhausting I tell you! Did anyone find out anything?¡±


    Songee spoke up immediately.


    ¡°I¨C¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    I interrupted Songee.


    ¡°Let me speak first.¡±


    n


    n n


    Han Kain: Real conversation in the chat.nnn


    ¡°The food is very delicious. Each dish seems like it came from fine dining, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    n


    nHan Kain: Watch the reactions around us whenever we speak.n nnnn


    ¡°Hey, anyone who hears you would think you¡¯ve been to fine dining. You probably just went to Kimbap Heaven~.¡±


    n


    n n


    Kim Ahri: Every time we say something, the surroundings fall silent. They¡¯re all eavesdropping on us.nnnn


    ¡°Wow! Are you mocking me, Ahri? My family is well off, you know? I went when my dad got promoted.¡±


    n


    n n


    Han Kain: They¡¯re very interested in us. They showered us with gifts, and distracted us with thevish party hall and loud music, as they probed us for our personal information.nnnn


    ¡°Fine, you¡¯ve been to fine dining¡­ Anyway, the food here is quite scrumptious. But the drinks were even more impressive.¡±


    n


    n n


    Kim Ahri: They¡¯re not socializing among themselves at all. They must already know each other well.nnnn


    ¡°Drinks... Speaking of which, this Irish whiskey is pretty good. But you guys shouldn¡¯t drink it!¡±


    n


    n n


    Kim Mooksung: Doesn¡¯t the amount of people appear lowpared to the size of the ship?nnnn


    ¡°What? Few people¡ª¡±


    Songee, who was about to speak aloud, covered her mouth in surprise.


    n


    n n


    Yu Songee: Sorry. Doesn¡¯t it seem like there are a lot of people?


    Kim Mooksung: There are clearly fewer peoplepared to the ship¡¯s size. It just seems crowded because the ship itself is absurdlyrge.nnnn


    Although we hadn¡¯t explored the entire ship, Grandpa already seemed to have a rough estimate of its size.


    Moments like these made me realize that his experience with the Administration wasn¡¯t for nothing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about alcohol. But this champagne is tasty.¡±


    n


    n n


    Elena: When I walked around, it seemed like there were many empty cabins.nnnn


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the taste of champagne. It just feels like a dizzying soda.¡±


    n


    n n


    Han Kain: Be cautious. I¡¯ve noticed several staff members carrying revolvers. They¡¯re probably not empty.nnnn


    After this conversation, the table fell silent.


    Engaging in a normal conversation while holding a ¡°real conversation¡± in the chat window required significant concentration.


    From the discussion, we know that:


    nn


    1. The ship¡¯s passengers seem to know each other well. They are very interested in us.


    2. There are fewer people than the ship¡¯s size suggests. Many cabins are empty.


    3. Quite a few staff members are armed with guns.nn


    <em>It¡¯s ambiguous. There¡¯s nothing concrete yet.</em>


    A shiver ran down my spine.


    Once I became aware of it, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling.


    Every time we said anything, even if it was insignificant, the surroundings fell silent, and whenever one of us made a slight gesture, all eyes were on us.


    What were these people¡¯s objectives?


    Unable to withstand the difort, we returned to our cabin before 10 PM.


    Shortly after leaving the party hall, the orchestral music that softly filled the ship stopped.


    As if there was no longer any reason to y music once the party¡¯s purpose was gone.


    ***


    After that, we continued to search the room and explore the ship but didn¡¯t find anything significant.


    However, we did confirm a few things.


    As Elena said, many cabins were empty, and the ship was absurdlyrge.


    <em>Are all luxury liners this big?</em>


    ording to Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung, ships of this size were rare worldwide.


    The ship¡¯s facilities were endless.


    There was a pool, a botanical garden, and even a casino, which was impressive.


    We were assigned two cabins on the Esper Ho.


    Presumably, they intended for the men and women to sleep separately.


    However, we had no intention of splitting up on this ominous ship.


    Since each cabin wasrge, we decided to all sleep together in onerger cabin.


    And then, midnight approached.


    None of us slept, waiting for the next ¡°scenario¡± to appear in my status window.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>- Cuckoo! Cuckoo!</em>


    The cuckoo clock chimed, signaling the arrival of midnight.


    Just as I was about to check the Scenario, something unexpected happened.


    n n


    Sage''s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2nn


    n n


    Immediately press your back against the wall and cover your vision with the filter.nn


    Before I could think, I instinctively followed the Advice.


    I immediately pressed against the wall and expanded the Status Window filter to cover my face.


    My teammates looked at me in confusion, but only for a moment¡ª


    <em>- Ding-di-ding-di-ri-ding! Ding-di-ding-di-ri-ding!</em>


    The sound of a music box, like a gentle tickle in the ear, filled the room.


    From under the bed, behind the pillow, beyond the wall, from one side of the clock, under the table.


    The sound of the music box came from all around.


    When I turned my gaze to my teammates in panic, I realized why the Advice had issued a rare Life Warning.


    In an instant, all my teammates had fallen into a deep slumber.


    The fact that I, who covered my face with the filter, was the only one who resisted it meant that the music box sound had some magical power.


    ¡°...?¡±


    I felt a wriggling sensation behind me. A squishy feeling¡ª


    n n


    Sage''s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1n


    nn


    Pretend to be asleep.nn


    I immediately let my body go limp and slightly opened my eyes.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I felt suffocated.


    Faces emerged from all the walls in the room.


    Suppressing the urge to vomit, I endured.


    Sinister voices began to echo from the faces.


    ¡°Is anyone awake? I sensed movement.¡±


    ¡°Impossible. George, check it out.¡±


    ¡°No need. It¡¯s obviously that parrot. I wanted to wring its neck several times because it kept pecking at the wall all day.¡±


    ¡°Did the bird sense something?¡±


    ¡°Who knows? The people seem to be all asleep.¡±


    Deep male voices echoed.


    ¡°Hmm. Did everyone find someone they liked? If not¡ª¡±


    A slightly higher-pitched voice interrupted.


    ¡°I found someone.¡±


    ¡°The blonde girl? Indeed, I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful girl before.¡±


    <em>- Creak.</em>


    The floor creaked under something''s weight.


    Simultaneously, all voices in the room stopped.


    The room, which had felt spacious with five people, suddenly seemed cramped.


    With ws the size of a child¡¯s fist, a beakrge enough to swallow my head whole, and a body that vaguely resembled an ostrich but covered with hideous tentacles and scales.


    A Grotesque Creature had /genesisforsaken

 Chapter 125: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (16)

    Chapter 125: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (16)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 45


    Current Location: Floor1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I pretended to sleep as I eavesdropped on the strange conversation. Perro had transformed into his Grotesque form.


    The faces, which had been quiet for a while, started speaking ominously again.


    ¡°What is that? Do such creatures exist?¡±


    ¡°In a world with demons, a monstrous bird isn''t surprising.¡±¡°You speak lightly. Have you forgotten that we need to offer someone today?¡±


    ¡°...Why isn¡¯t that bird asleep? Does the music box not affect animals?¡±


    ¡°That can''t be. It always worked on dogs and cats before.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s different because it¡¯s not an ordinary animal. Should we just kill it?¡±


    ¡°Lady Amiens, fighting might wake these people. Besides, seeing that they control such a monster, they don¡¯t seem like ordinary people. Let''s avoid making a fuss. Let¡¯s subdue that monster quietly when we get the chance. We do have a suitable ¡®cage¡¯, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Then for tonight¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s use the ¡®reserve¡¯. It was always a tricky situation to offer someone tonight anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. They were all tight-lipped. We barely even learned their names. We need to gather more information.¡±


    Since I was peeking through squinted eyes, I couldn¡¯t distinguish the speakers precisely.


    Based on their voices, there seemed to be two older men, a woman called ¡°Amiens¡± with a high-pitched tone, and a younger man who suggested using the ¡°reserve¡±.


    After finishing their discussion about needing more information, the ominous presence left the room.


    Still, I didn¡¯t move a muscle until morning, just in case.


    I analyzed the conversation I had overheard until I was about to fall asleep.


    ***When I came to, mypanions were already awake and having a simple breakfast.


    Grandpa waved at me as I woke up.


    ¡°Hey~! Finally awake? Come and have some bread.¡±


    ¡°Kain-oppa, you¡¯re up? You must have been tired. We couldn¡¯t wake you this morning.¡±


    <em>...Why is everyone in such a cheerful mood?</em>


    Shouldn¡¯t they have sensed that something was amiss, considering they fell asleep waiting for the Scenario to update?


    Yet, they all sat there with no suspicion, looking rxed.


    I immediately pointed out what happenedst night.


    As I started exining, everyone¡¯s eyes widened, and they stopped eating to listen to me.


    I ryed the conversation of the ¡°faces¡± as I remembered it.


    Afterward, Grandpa shared his thoughts.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice anything before you mentioned it. You¡¯re right. We suddenly passed out while waiting for the Scenario to update at midnight, so we should have been suspicious as soon as we woke up.¡±


    Ahri seemed to intuitively grasp the cause.


    ¡°We all fell asleep when the music box yed, right? It must have some kind of hypnotic effect. Perhaps it suggested for us to feel as if nothing happened and we had a restful night?¡±


    ¡°Kain-oppa, did you check the scenario?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t open my eyesst night because I had to pretend to sleep all night. I¡¯ll check it now.¡±


    Scenario: The Gate Room - ¡®The Secret of Esper Ho¡¯


    At midnight, the Hotel Party faced danger, falling asleep due to the power of the music box.


    Fortunately, they survived the first night of the contract thanks to the Grotesque Parrot¡¯s intervention.


    However, the ws of those who seek them draw ever closer.


    Can the Hotel Party survive tonight¡¯s crisis?


    Check the next part at midnight.


    The first two lines described what had already happened, with the phrase ¡°first night of the contract¡± catching my eye.


    <em>What does ¡°contract¡± refer to?</em>


    <em>It also warned about ¡°tonight¡¯s crisis¡±.</em>


    <em>This likely means we will face a simr danger tonight.</em>


    Reflecting on it, the Scenario Comprehension was remarkably convenient for getting through the Cursed Rooms without fully understanding them.


    We began our meeting to discuss the suspicious conversation I overheardst night and the Scenario I had just read.


    Ahri started with her insights.


    ¡°I noticed two things from the conversationst night. First, ¡®we need to offer someone today.¡¯ This suggests that they have some evil ritual nned and intend to use one of us as a sacrifice. Second, ¡®let¡¯s use the reserve.¡¯ When Perro interfered with their ritual, they decided to use a ¡®reserve¡¯ sacrifice, which means they have another victim somewhere on the ship.¡±


    ¡°Thetter part of the conversation is intriguing. ¡®It¡¯s tricky to offer someone; we barely learned their names.¡¯ They seemed to need a bit of personal information about us to activate their ritual. Remember how eager they were to learn about us at the dinner party?¡± Grandpa added his thoughts.


    I spoke up as well.


    ¡°Combining the information we have with the scenario, it seems the enemies are nning some evil ritual, and they intend to use us as sacrifices. To that end, they need our personal information. This ritual might be what the scenario refers to as the ¡®contract¡¯. It looks like they¡¯ll attack us again tonight.¡±


    Elena raised a question.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious. Why are they waiting until night? Many of the ship¡¯s staff members have guns. Why not just threaten us with force? It¡¯s not like they know I can retaliate with Justice.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they have restrictions of their own. Just as they need our personal information for the ritual, they might be restricted during the day.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s usible,¡± Grandpa agreed, ¡°If they could act during the day, they would have used the music box to take us away by now. Since they can¡¯t act during the day, they leave us alone. The scenario repeatedly emphasizes ¡®midnight¡¯.¡±


    Songee, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.


    ¡°I keep thinking about thest part of the conversation. They said they would subdue Perro when they had the chance and mentioned a ¡®suitable cage¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Even after seeing Perro transform into his Grotesque form, they seemed confident. It¡¯s probably not an ordinary cage. It might even be capable of trapping a monster.¡±


    A silence fell over the table.


    Ahri broke it again.


    ¡°The n is good, but let¡¯s handle the immediate issue first.¡±


    ¡°Immediate issue?¡±


    ¡°The music box. If it ys again, everyone will fall asleep except Kain with the filter. It yed from various spots around the room. We need to find and destroy them all.¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement and stood up.


    ns were ns, but our immediate threat was the music box, so we needed to find and destroy them.


    We spent the entire morning searching the room.


    Under the bed, beneath the chairs, behind the table, inside the clock¡ªthe music boxes were everywhere.


    When we gathered them on the table, the table was nearly full from the sheer quantity of them.


    Seeing so many made us uneasy.


    ¡°Did we find them all? It feels like there might be more hidden somewhere.¡±


    Grandpa seemed to ponder for a moment before turning to Ahri.


    Ahri nodded.


    ¡°There¡¯s a way to find out.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Um... I actually have a ¡®Compass¡¯ ability.¡±


    <em>¡­???</em>


    <em>What is she talking about now?</em>


    While Songee, Elena, and I looked half-baffled, Ahri continued.


    ¡°I got this ability when I enhanced my Blessing. It helps me find things I¡¯m looking for. There are quite a few limitations though. It can be blocked by powerful supernatural forces, and I need to know what the object looks like and its characteristics. It doesn¡¯t work on people. But I can find these music boxes.¡±


    Songee, who had been listening in a daze, spoke up.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention such a useful ability earlier!¡±


    I awkwardly pulled Songee aside.


    ¡°If she got it during her enhancement, she hasn¡¯t had it long. Things have beenplicated. Let¡¯s just be d she told us now.¡±


    After giving a brief apology, Ahri began waving her hand in the air.


    Soon, we found three more music boxes.


    ¡°Is this all of them?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least that¡¯s a relief. If we hadn¡¯t found these, we¡¯d have fallen asleep again tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah... So, Songee, please take this thing away.¡±


    ¡°Perro seems to like you. What can I do?¡±


    <em>During trials, it¡¯s not really the time to argue, and after our heart-to-heart conversation, I somewhat understood Ahri¡¯s guarded psychology.</em>


    <em>It is what it is.</em>


    But Songee seemed slightly annoyed with Ahri and instructed Perro to do ¡°something¡±.


    Perro, the ever-obedient minion, tried to bite Ahri¡¯s ear over ten times before the morning was over.


    ***When we threw the collected music boxes out the window and into the sea below, a bell rang from outside the door.


    <em>- Ding!</em>


    Tension filled the air.


    After ncing at each other, Grandpa opened the door.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    Two people who looked like the ship staff members were standing outside.


    ¡°Good morning. Did you have a good timest night?¡±


    ¡°The sleeping arrangements were a bit unsettling. Do you have something to say?¡±


    ¡°We receivedints from guests staying in nearby roomsst night.¡±


    ¡°Comints?¡±


    ¡°They mentioned that you have a bird making quite a racket.¡±


    A chill ran down my spine.


    The conversation I overheardst night about subduing the bird came to mind.


    ¡°Our bird isn¡¯t noisy. You must be mistaken.¡±


    ¡°No, it was definitely this room.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense... Do you have any evidence? If not, I don¡¯t want to hear anything you have to say.¡±


    <em>-Thunk!</em>


    Ignoring the staff member¡¯s words, Grandpa attempted to close the door, but the staff member wedged his knee between the door.


    The staff member casually put his hand on his waist, revealing a threatening gleam on the revolver.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? Are you threatening us?¡±


    ¡°Haha! Sir, it¡¯s not a threat. We have a duty to maintain order on this ship. Please cooperate.¡±


    While we had a gun too, their numbers were greater.


    In the end, Grandpa reluctantly stepped back.


    The other staff member held a rusty birdcage.


    It looked ordinary at first nce, but I was certain it was the ¡°suitable cage¡± mentioned in the conversationst night.


    The tension in the room was palpable.


    The staff member with the revolver suddenly burst intoughter.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so tense. We¡¯ll take good care of the parrot. We¡¯ll provide high-quality nuts daily, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    The staff member holding the cage approached nonchntly.


    <em>What should we do?</em>


    As everyone¡¯s gaze shifted to Perro, Songee casually petted Perro and seemed tomunicate something.


    <em>-p!</em>


    Suddenly, Perro took flight!


    Before we could react, Perro flew straight out the open window.


    Just as the staff member with the revolver drew his gun, Grandpa quickly diverted the gun¡¯s aim.


    <em>-Bang!</em>


    ¡°What is the meaning of this!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be saying! You bastard! You think it¡¯s okay to shoot just because a bird flew away?¡±


    Grandpa took advantage of the situation and started whaling on the staff member.


    From an outsider''s perspective, it would look like the bird just flew off on its own, and the staff member immediately tried to shoot at it.


    Clearly, we had the moral high ground. The staff member, who now had blood flowing from his nose, retreated.


    Regaining hisposure, the staff member bowed his head.


    ¡°S-sorry. I panicked when the bird took off. This is entirely my fault.¡±


    The other staff member also apologized profusely, and they both left the room.


    We turned to Songee with our mouths agape.

 Chapter 126: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (17)

    Chapter 126: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (17)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 45


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1


    Everyone realized what just happened.


    When the staff members came to kidnap Perro, Songee quickly had Perro escape through the window.


    Ahri spoke in amazement.


    ¡°You told him to go outside?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±¡°You¡¯re quick-witted. But how will we meet him again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m worried about that too. The situation was so urgent that I only told him to go out. Perro is smart, so he¡¯ll probably return at the right time.¡±


    Since Perro was not an ordinary parrot, he likely had the intelligence for that.


    The morning''s chaos subsided.


    We ordered room service for a light snack for lunch.


    Grandpa Mooksung spoke in a curious tone.


    ¡°Do you know one interesting thing about the Hotel?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°They rarely disturb our meals. The Hotel itself always provided excellent food, and in Cursed Rooms or in the Gate Room like now, they always find some reason not to starve us. This ship also has a peculiar rule of ¡®not crossing the line¡¯ during the day, so we can eat in peace.¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention it, that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°If you end up working for the Administrationter, you¡¯ll realize how merciful the Hotel is for not disturbing meals. There are times when you¡¯ll gnaw on barely chewable biscuits for three or four days while rolling around doing rough work.¡±


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not nning to work for the Administration¡­¡±


    Grandpa justughed as if it were amusing.


    Ahri joined the conversation, ¡°Let¡¯s worry about that when we get out. But Grandpa¡¯s words do make me a bit concerned.¡±


    ¡°Concerned?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been through all kinds of things in the Hotel, but as Grandpa said, we¡¯ve gotten ustomed to always eating well. We don¡¯t really stay on guard about meals. If someone tampers with our food, we¡¯re bound to fall for it at least once.¡±


    We all fell silent at that.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>At least this meal seems fine.</em>


    In an attempt to change the ominous topic, Grandpa spoke again.


    ¡°By the way, not being able to use our Inheritance is a significant pressure. Did you see it earlier? It¡¯s hard to respond when a staff member even just touches a revolver.¡±


    ¡°And there are many staff members with guns on this ship.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it. We still don¡¯t know how the Fourth Trial will unfold, but if ites down to a fight, we¡¯re severelycking in strength. Perro alone isn¡¯t enough.¡±


    Songee spoke optimistically.


    ¡°The staff and passengers are all humans, right? If worsees to worst, can¡¯t Elena-unni handle them all? During the Common Sense Renovating Media, she could block bullets using Justice.¡±


    <em>Indeed, if Elena used Justice, a mere revolver wouldn¡¯t be a problem.</em>


    <em>But can Elena use Justice now?</em>


    When I looked at Elena, she responded immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s not feasible at the current moment.¡±


    <em>I thought so.</em>


    <em>Whether they¡¯re passengers or staff, their atmosphere is sinister, but we have no clear idea of their wrongdoing.</em>


    <em>At least they needed tomit some obvious crime we can recognize for Elena to use Justice.</em>


    Grandpa stroked his chin and answered.


    ¡°We need to create a situation where Elena can use Justice somehow.¡±


    ¡°We need to find evidence of the peoplemitting evil deeds on this ship, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Waiting for them to attack is dangerous. If Elena dies before she can use Justice, we¡¯d be massacred.¡±


    After finishing our meal, we decided to explore the ship''s facilities until the dinner party.


    ***Only after we started exploring the ship did we feel the immense size Grandpa mentioned.


    The restaurants and party halls were basic, but there were also swimming pools, bowling alleys, and even a small botanical garden.


    The ship was sorge that we didn¡¯t have time to thoroughly inspect everything.


    We could only briefly note the facilities and move on.


    After exploring for about two hours, we sat in a park-like area, gazing at the vast sea and sky while resting.


    Ahri spoke up.


    ¡°Something feels off.¡±


    ¡°What feels off?¡±


    ¡°This ship is very different from other cruises.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time on a cruise, so I don¡¯t know what other cruises are like.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to have been on a cruise to notice. How should I put it? The interior and everything feel a bit...¡±


    <em>What is she talking about?</em>


    I wondered what she meant, but Elena understood.


    ¡°The interior doesn¡¯t feel modern, right? Even the people¡¯s clothes aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the setting of this stage is a long time ago? Like the 1950s?¡±


    ¡°I thought so too at first, but look at this. I picked it up along the way,¡± Grandpa countered.


    Grandpa took out a yellowed, dried-up old newspaper.


    The date in the newspaper was August 2003.


    ¡°It¡¯s a 2003 newspaper, but it¡¯spletely decayed. The time within this stage must be at least 2004 or 2005. While it¡¯s from a past erapared to our time, it¡¯s not the 1950s.¡±


    Songee gave her opinion.


    ¡°Could it have been drifting at sea for a very long time? The scenario title is ¡®The Secret of Esper Ho¡¯, right? Maybe it¡¯s a ghost ship that¡¯s been drifting for decades?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like a ghost ship. If it were, that would mean we¡¯re seeing some sort of hallucination. But everything looks the same, even with the filter on.¡±


    As another passenger passed nearby, we naturally fell silent.


    The ship¡¯s interior and the passengers'' attire seemed decades oldpared to the stage''s time.


    <em>Has the Esper Ho been drifting at sea for decades?</em>


    If so, the first story that came to mind was a ghost ship, as Songee mentioned, but it didn¡¯t seem like there were any hallucinations.


    Eventually, the dinner party time approached.


    As time passed, everyone grew increasingly anxious.


    Moreover, the Scenario predicted another crisis at midnight.


    Yet we still had no clue about the ship¡¯s secret, and Elena, our biggest force, couldn¡¯t use Justice.


    Feeling pressured to do something, Grandpa made a bold suggestion before heading to the party.


    ¡°How about we stir up the party?¡±


    We all looked at Grandpa in surprise.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I have a hunch that the ¡®party¡¯ itself is suspicious. It¡¯s not just a feeling. Even Kain¡¯s scenario repeatedly mentions the ¡®dinner party¡¯, and the staff invited us to join it right from the start. Even today, I felt it.¡±


    While exploring the ship after lunch, we naturally met the staff and passengers.


    They acted friendly,ughed, and chatted with us, but every time, they mentioned the dinner party.


    It felt like they were trying to embed the ¡°dinner party¡± into our minds.


    Songee offered a slightly different view.


    ¡°The ship¡¯s people are potential enemies, right? If they¡¯re trying to push us into the party, wouldn¡¯t it be to avoid it entirely?¡±


    ¡°I thought so at first. But if we don¡¯t go, we won¡¯t uncover the secrets of the party. The Hotel isn''t a ce where you can solve problems by avoiding dangerous ces. Plus, the scenario directly instructed us to gather information at the dinner party.¡±


    As I listened, I became curious.


    ¡°I understand the party is suspicious, and that we should go despite the suspicion. But how does that lead to crashing the party?¡±


    ¡°Think of it more as an intuition. I feel the party itself is their weak spot.¡±


    <em>Intuition.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s rather ambiguous.</em>


    Usually, I wouldn¡¯t be convinced by such a statement.


    But with the certainty of another crisis at midnight, it seemed like the right time to act.


    In the end, we all decided to crash the party in our own way.


    ***The dinner party began.


    At first, it wasn¡¯t much different from yesterday.


    The passengers surrounded us, offering gifts and ttering us while sharply asking about our personal information.


    <em>Is the party¡¯s purpose to gather information about us?</em>


    <em>Or is there something more to it?</em>


    <em>For now,it seems like they are interested in my age and where I¡¯m from.</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I had a strange experience.


    When the passengers asked about personal information, I deliberately lied.


    I had heard that Westerners often couldn¡¯t guess Asians¡¯ ages urately.


    I added three years to my age and imed to be from Hunan, China.


    They didn¡¯t seem to believe me.


    They smiled lightly and walked away, only toe back and ask the same questions again.


    It was as if they knew my previous answers were lies.


    Han Kain: They¡¯re curious about my age and where I¡¯m from. I lied, but they seem to know.


    Yu Songee: Same experience. I didn¡¯t answer my age and said I was born in Japan, but they didn¡¯t believe me.


    Elena: Are you all idiots? They understand Korean, so pretending to be foreigners won¡¯t work.


    <em>Oh, right.</em>


    <em>Now that I think about it, despite their mixed races, all the staff and passengers had been speaking Korean from the start.</em>


    It felt like the Hotel set thenguage to Korean so we couldmunicate.


    Regardless, iming to be Chinese or Japanese when speaking Korean wasn¡¯t convincing.


    Ahri shared a different thought.


    Kim Ahri: Nationality aside, it¡¯s strange they don¡¯t believe our age.


    <em>True.</em>


    They could guess our nationality from thenguage, but not believing our age seemed strange.


    It was odd that they could determine our age within a 1-2 year margin just by looking at us.


    We gathered around a table, discussing our observations.


    Like yesterday, any word or action from us drew attention from those around us.


    Grandpa decided to stir things up.


    <em>-ng!</em>


    He smashed a bottle on the table, causing a loud noise.


    ¡°Burp! Man, I¡¯m getting drunk! Kain, go get some beer from over there.¡±


    To blend in, I frantically brought drinks and snacks.


    A staff member, unable to hide his panic, hurried over to us.


    ¡°Sir, you seem very intoxicated. Perhaps it¡¯s time to retire¡ª¡±


    <em>-Crash!</em>


    Grandpa overturned the table, knocking over the staff member who was speaking.


    <em>What?</em>


    <em>Did he just hit a staff member?</em>


    <em>Can he do that?</em>


    <em>- Swish! Thud!</em>


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡±


    Grandpa broke three more bottles and started throwing round bread like frisbees at nearby passengers.


    As the staff and passengers rushed toward our table in a fluster, Grandpa stood on the table.


    ¡°Ah~ you¡¯re an untrustworthy person~?? Ah~ you¡¯re a childish person~?? <sup>1</sup>¡±


    I was dumbfounded, and the chat window exploded with messages.


    Elena: Do we really need to go this far?


    Yu Songee: What song is this?


    Kim Ahri: It¡¯s a recent song for him.


    Amidst the chaos, everyone just stared at Grandpa with their mouths hanging open.


    ¡°Today you¡¯re a chrysanthemum~?? Tomorrow you¡¯re a rose~??¡±


    Okay, this is just too funny. It¡¯s so ridiculous that I startedughing.


    ¡°I¡¯m done waiting, wild bee~??¡±


    ¡°Wild bee!¡±


    I turned to see Ahri also shouting ¡°Wild bee!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done waiting, wild bee~??¡±


    ¡°Wild bee!¡±


    <em>Ah, whatever.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ll just join in.</em>


    It felt like something was bound to happen.


    It¡¯d be stranger if nothing happened after this chaos.


    Sage''s Advice: 1 ¡ú 0


    The Life Warning suddenly activated.


    :"Footnotes<ol>1. A song sung by Kang Jin. Released at 2020 with the title "Wild Bee"</ol>",notes:null,premium:{unlockable:void 0,

 Chapter 127: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (18)

    Chapter 127: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (18)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 45


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1 ¡ú 0


    Immediately stop yourpanion''s disturbance and apologize to those around you.


    I used the chat window immediately.


    Han Kain: Advice triggered. Come down immediately.


    I climbed onto the table and grabbed Grandpa''s arm.


    He didn''t resist and came down, still pretending to be drunk.We acted as if we were apologetic for Grandpa''s drunken behavior.


    While supporting Grandpa, I had a sudden realization.


    Unlike Advice which provided answers to questions, the ¡°Life Warning¡± only triggered when my life was in danger.


    ...A chill ran down my spine.


    I cautiously looked around.


    The reactions of the people around us weren¡¯t just about watching a pitiful drunkard.


    Their murderous intent was so strong, it made my skin tingle.


    Some of the staff members of the Esper Ho had even drawn their revolvers.


    Considering the Life Warning had triggered, if Grandpa''s disturbance had continued, they might have actually shot us.


    This reaction was abnormal.


    No matter how disruptive someone was at a high-ss party, the normal response would be to escort the drunk person out.


    Drawing a gun wasn¡¯t normal.


    After apologizing and calming the atmosphere, we returned to our room.


    ***As soon as we arrived, Grandpa spoke up.


    "My prediction was correct."


    "You mean your prediction that the party is their weak spot? I agree."


    Ahri, Songee, and Elena also agreed one after another.


    "Grandpa did act crazy. You beat up the staff, threw food at the guests, and made a loud ruckus... Wow, after saying it out loud, you really did go all out. Anyway, no matter what you did, usually, they wouldn''t pull out a gun on you!"


    "The passengers'' reactions were even stranger than the staff''s. It''s the staff''s job to handle disruptive people, so it''s understandable they''d be a bit aggressive, but the passengers were ring at us so fiercely it was terrifying."


    "Yes, it''s definitely strange. Normally, passengers would just avoid such a scene."


    I began to feel anxious.


    "The reaction suggests that disrupting the party is some sort of trigger. If we get the chance, we should try disrupting another party. However, our immediate crisis is not the party in a few days but tonight at midnight. There''s only about an hour left now."


    Grandpaughed as if he found it amusing.


    "I have a n for that too. It''s somewhat connected to today''s disturbance."


    "A n?"


    "They''lle for us again at midnight, won''t they? Without Perro around, they''ll definitely try to take one of us. I''ll let them take me."


    Everyone was momentarily shocked, staring at Grandpa.


    Ahri seemed to have guessed his intention.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I pissed them off enough today, so they''ll likely take me. I even gave them my personal information while drunk. It was just my age and ce of birth, but those seem to be the key points."


    Songee shouted in surprise.


    "You prepared to be taken?"


    "Exactly."


    I began to understand Grandpa''s n.


    "Are you nning to use the ''Chat Window'' when you''re taken?"


    "Now you get it. Yes. Our biggest problem now is that we have no way to fight back if theye for us. Perro is gone, and Elena can''t use her Justice without evidence. I''ll share the situation as I''m taken. They''ll undoubtedly do something evil. Once we have evidence, Elena can use Justice, and that should just about do it for the Fourth Trial."


    "In the Incident of the Common Sense Renovating Media and the Mansion of Fear, we couldn''t use the chat window when we were far apart. Could that be a problem here?" Songee asked.


    "That was because we were kilometers apart. This ship is big, but not big enough to block the Chat Window."


    The n was clear.


    Today''s disturbance was part of it.


    Provoking the enemy to take Grandpa and then using the Chat Window to gather evidence of their evil deeds.


    This would allow Elena to make use of her Justice.


    It sounded convincing, but Elena pointed out one concern.


    "Will Grandpa be safe?"


    "Elena, you''ll have to use your Justice to save me."


    "Even if I use Justice, I can''t teleport. It will take some time to reach you."


    "We have no choice. There''s no risk-free n in a ce like this. Worst case, if I fall, the rest of you will go to the Fifth Trial. Four of you should be able to make it."


    "I''ll get Elena to save you as soon as she can use Justice," Ahri replied with a bitter tone.


    Grandpa chuckled and handed Ahri the gun.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Until midnight arrived, we tried toe up with a better n. Unfortunately, we came up short.


    <strong>- Elena</strong>


    <em>-Cuckoo! Cuckoo!</em>


    At midnight, the cuckoo clock rang.


    Soon, the disguised music box began to chime.


    Ahri, who had been fiddling with it for a while, said it no longer had magical power.


    Despite my worries, it turned out to be true.


    The music box''s sound no longer made me sleepy.


    We all pretended to be asleep, lying on the floor or against the walls.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Gasp!</em>


    Even though Kain had warned me in advance, I almost screamed.


    Seeing faces suddenly protruding from the walls was something I could never get used to.


    Ominous voices began to speak.


    "Are they all asleep?"


    "It seems so. The music box sounded quieter, so I wondered..."


    "Only one music box worked? What happened?"


    "The others must be broken. We need to inform the captain. Anyway, since at least one was working they all fell asleep. And that monster bird is gone."


    "Who should we take?"


    "Hah!"


    "Ha ha ha! Is there a need to think about it?"


    "The answer is obvious. Let''s take that old man who dared to crash our feast. It''s time to show him what hell is."


    With that, four people emerged from the wall''s faces.


    They were all faces I''d seen at the party.


    Threerge men and a slender woman appeared.


    The men began dragging Grandpa away.


    "Why is he so heavy?"


    "He''s quite built. His arms are huge!"


    "Doesn''t matter, he''ll end up as a meal for Marcas."


    ¡°Marcas¡± was a suspicious term.


    ...With the sound of footsteps, Grandpa, the staff, and the passengers left the room.


    After some time, the chat window activated.


    Kim Mooksung: I will send the video soon due to the limited upload capacity.


    Kim Mooksung: Follow the hallway to the end. Turn right at the stairs on the second floor.


    Kim Mooksung: You''ll see a maintenance room. Turn left there-


    Grandpa continued to guide us along the path he was being taken.


    It was moreplex than expected.


    <em>15 minutes? 20 minutes?</em>


    Finally, Grandpa''s audiovisual feed began to stream in the chat window.


    It looked like a colosseum.


    The center was wide and t, with massive pirs and tiered seating surrounding it.


    <em>Is the entire ship gathered here?</em>


    The space was filled with hundreds of people.


    Though the limited view didn''t show the entire space, the excitement was palpable even through the video.


    In the center were massive pirs wrapped in velvet.


    A man with a mortarboard appeared on the stage.


    "Beloved staff and passengers of the Esper Ho, the time for our much-awaited festival hase again. You all know who this is. This is the wretch who dared to disrupt our feast."


    Kim Ahri: Look at that hat. Is he the captain?


    Han Kain: Quiet. Focus on the video.


    "With the great Marcas watching over the Esper Ho, we are blessed with eternal glory! First Officer!"


    With the captain''s call, a first officer, dressed in a grand uniform, appeared.


    The first officer gave various instructions to the staff, who then securely tied Grandpa to another pir.


    Yu Songee: Something''s about to happen! Elena, are you ready?


    <em>Not yet.</em>


    <em>Justice was starting to activate, but I needed more certainty.</em>


    Once Grandpa was tied, the captain began chanting ominously.


    "The offering is 68 years old, born in Gangneung, South Korea, upation¡ª"


    The captain recited Grandpa''s age, birthce, and other details while writing and drawing around the pir.


    At that moment, the velvet covering the pir next to Grandpa was removed.


    ...I held my breath.


    Light poured into the dark room.


    The scales of Justice spiraled into view.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>Damn it!</em>


    As the velvet was removed, we all gasped in horror.


    The man tied to the pir, presumed to be the ¡°reserve¡± taken in our ce yesterday, was a sight too gruesome to bear.


    His skin was peeled, and his body bore the marks of severe burns.


    As the evidence of this heinous act appeared in the video, the Chat Window, which had remained steady despite the ominous atmosphere, also shook violently.


    Even Grandpa, who had been sending us visual information, couldn''t stay calm in front of that gruesome sight.


    Immediately, golden waves spread from Elena like a tide.


    <em>-Bang! Boom!</em>


    The swirling scales of Justice crushed the entire room.


    Elena took off, and the rest of us hurriedly followed.


    <em>How did the path to the colosseum go again?</em>


    It was prettyplicated.


    Right at the second-floor stairs¡ª


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    Never mind the path.


    Elena was just smashing her way straight through.


    She was tearing through the ship, breaking through walls and floors, so all we had to do was run.


    In fact, the floor was so severely damaged that it was dangerous to walk on.


    Yu Songee: Grandpa! Hang on a little longer. Elena is on her way!


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Grandpa didn''t respond.


    Instead of a reply, a photo was shared in the chat window.


    <em>Is that the colosseum ceiling?</em>


    A massive clock-like object was hanging there.


    The numbers only showed 0, 1, 2, and 3, with a single hand pointing at 0.


    <em>What is that clock?</em>


    <em>It must have some meaning.</em>


    <em>At least there''s relief.</em>


    <em>If something''sing through the chat window, it means Grandpa is still alive!</em>

 Chapter 128: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (19)

    Chapter 128: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (19)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    While frantically running, I checked the newly updated scenario.


    Scenario: The Gate Room - ¡®The Secret of the Esper Ho¡¯


    Finally, the Hotel Party made a decision. To uncover the truth, Kim Mooksung offered himself for the sacrificial ritual for the Deep Sea Demon, Marcas.


    Realizing the true nature of the evil ritual, the Hotel Party rushes to stop the ongoing ritual.Will the Hotel Party be able to stop the evil ritual and save theirpanion?


    Several new keywords appeared.


    The Deep Sea Demon, Marcas, and the sacrificial ritual.


    <em>Is this the true secret the ship is hiding?</em>


    <em>There¡¯s no mention of when the next scenario update is.</em>


    <em>Is there no more story?</em>


    <em>If so, that¡¯s good.</em>


    <em>It means that once we go and rampage with Elena, it will be over.</em>


    Ahri suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you hurrying?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to rush. It¡¯s dangerous with the ship falling apart. Look down.¡±


    I looked where Ahri was pointing.


    <em>...What is that?</em>


    In the process of Elena tearing through the ship, it was literally falling apart.


    Thanks to that, a giant hole opened from the passenger deck to the lower basement.


    There was an iprehensible ce in the basement of the Esper Ho.


    ¡°What kind of ce is that?¡±


    ¡°It looks like a prison. It¡¯s not a ce that should be on a ship.¡±


    ¡°Should we check it out?¡±


    ¡°Eventually. But for now, let¡¯s go to the colosseum.¡±


    <em>Right, let¡¯s focus on rescuing Grandpa and defeating the enemy first.</em>


    When Ahri, Songee, and I reached the colosseum, Elena had already arrived, fighting everyone in sight.


    <em>I can¡¯t even call this a fight.</em>


    To be precise, she was ughtering them.


    There were hundreds of enemies, yet it made no difference.


    <em>Can hundreds of chickens overpower a tiger?</em>


    The battle was just like that.


    With each gesture, Elena crushed dozens of people.


    It seemed as if there was an invisible wall at the colosseum entrance, preventing the staff and passengers from escaping.


    Some of the staff fired guns, and some passengers attacked with unknown powers, stretching their limbs or emerging from walls.


    Of course, it was all futile.


    Bullets stopped in mid-air, and the passengers who emerged from the walls turned into smears mere moments after.


    Eventually, the staff and passengers, overwhelmed with fear, started getting swept away without even trying to fight.


    Cries of despair filled the colosseum.


    I was awestruck looking at the scene that looked like an angel descending from heaven, burning the sinners with holy light.


    Suddenly, Ahri grabbed my arm.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to stand and watch. Let¡¯s go save Grandpa.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    When we rushed to the colosseum center, Grandpa was nailed to a pir.


    ¡°...¡±


    He was literally nailed.


    Like Jesus Christ on the cross.


    Huge nails were driven into Grandpa¡¯s body.


    Forcibly pulling the nails out would only worsen the bleeding.


    Songee and I supported Grandpa''s body to reduce the pain from gravity, but that was all we could do.


    A hoarse voice leaked from Grandpa¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you havee a bit faster¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ We ran as fast as we could, but everything happened so fast¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­. These bastards. It feels good to see Elena smashing everything.¡±


    Songee began to cry.


    ¡°Grandpa. What do we do?¡±


    We frantically looked for a solution but found none.


    Grandpa, exhausted, called for Ahri.


    ¡°Senior. Please.¡±


    ¡°...Should I make it easy for you?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    With each word Grandpa spoke, white form dribbled from his mouth.


    It seemed like even if he was taken to an emergency room immediately, it would be uncertain if he could be saved.


    We despaired at the realization that there was no saving him.


    Ahri quietly hugged Grandpa''s face and aimed the gun at his temple.


    ¡°Rest for now. See youter.¡±


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    Now there were four of us left.


    <em>...By the way, is Ahri Grandpa¡¯s senior?</em>


    <em>Grandpa must have identally leaked a hidden fact due to the severe pain.</em>


    As Grandpa breathed hisst, something strange happened in the colosseum.


    <em>- ng!</em>


    A loud noise echoed through the colosseum from the ceiling.


    Everyone looked up in surprise.


    The giant clock¡¯s hand on the ceiling moved.


    <strong>0 ¡ú 1</strong>


    The hand now pointed to 1 instead of 0.


    <em>What does that mean?</em>


    As the clock hand moved, the screams in the colosseum became more intense and horrifying.


    The remaining staff and passengers, who were still resisting Elena, began to sing a song of despair, looking at the clock.


    ¡°Oh, Lord Marcas!¡±


    ¡°Please, please have mercy on us¡­¡±


    Seeing their reaction, I realized that the clock hand moving was like a nightmare for them.


    <em>It seems we need to move the clock hand!</em>


    <em>How do we move the clock hand?</em>


    <em>Why did it move now?</em>


    My head began to spin.


    In a space filled with despair, only the angel wielding golden waves continued the ughter without pausing.


    The rotating scales flew through the space, crushing staff and passengers alike who had the audacity to be in their way.


    It looked like the scenes of drones used by advanced countries sweeping through a battlefield, ughtering humans.


    <em>Even after seeing it multiple times, I don¡¯t understand thebat mechanism of Justice.</em>


    Sometimes it seemed like people were just dying without any indicator, other times it seemed like an invisible giant hand was throwing people, and now it felt like the scales were high-performance AI war drones.


    There was no consistency in thebat method.


    The onlymonality between them was that they were all ¡°overwhelmingly strong¡±.


    Ahri, who seemed to have simr thoughts, interrupted my thought.


    ¡°Is Elena just implementing the power she imagines?¡±


    ¡°You said you¡¯ve seen another Justice user before, right? Was it different?¡±


    ¡°Completely different. Not as¡­¡±


    ¡°As what?¡±


    ¡°Not as mysteriously strong as this. And they didn¡¯t seem to fight as freely.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like the Blessing itself has an AI.¡±


    ¡°AI?¡±


    ¡°Look closely. Elena¡¯s eyes can¡¯t even track where the enemies are. She¡¯s just standing still while the scales are automatically targeting the enemies.¡±


    ¡°If it develops further, will the scales start talking to Elena?¡±


    I jested, but Ahri didn¡¯t change her expression.


    ¡°It might.¡±


    At some point, the colosseum became as silent as the grave.


    The golden waves filling the space calmed down, and the spiraling scales came to a halt in mid-air.


    ¡°Is it over?¡±


    ¡°There are no survivors in this space but us.¡±


    <em>Is it over now?</em>


    We stood still, catching our breath.


    ¡°...¡±


    Songee asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the trial finished?¡±


    Ahri also noticed something strange.


    ¡°If there are no survivors but us, why hasn¡¯t Justice ended?¡±


    As she said, the scales of Justice were just floating in the air, not disappearing.


    <em>- Rumble!</em>


    Suddenly, the whole ship started shaking!


    We grabbed onto nearby objects, trying to steady ourselves.


    <em>- Roarrrrr!</em>


    A monstrous roar echoed through the ship.


    The next moment, time on the Esper Ho began to rewind!


    The flesh, blood, and bones of the enemies scattered everywhere began to reassemble into human shapes.


    Hundreds of corpses regained life, reigniting their endless malice.


    Elena¡¯s scales spun again, trying to tear apart the resurrected dead.


    But the time reversal began to affect us as well.


    Elena was quickly pulled back, and we started retracing our steps from the colosseum back to the cabin as if in reverse.


    The ship, which Elena had smashed from the cabin to the colosseum, was rapidly restoring itself.


    It was overwhelming. Faced with such an otherworldly miracle, we were at a loss.


    <em>- Screech!</em>


    Suddenly, there was a rough halting sound.


    With iprehensible vibrations, our backward movement stopped.


    Elena, who had been flying backward at high speed, reappeared in front of us.


    Golden waves from the spinning scales enveloped us.


    In the chaos, Ahri shouted.


    ¡°Elena! Can you keep holding on?¡±


    Elena shook her head with a pained expression.


    Even a tiger that ughters hundreds of chickens was just a big cat before a dragon!


    Facing the power of the demon that reversed time, Justice¡¯s power finally reached its limit.


    <em>- Crack!</em>


    Cracks began to appear on the scales. Ahri shouted in despair.


    ¡°Memory!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Our memories are fading. The memories since we boarded the ship!¡±


    I hurriedly tried to recall the memories since we boarded.


    I couldn¡¯t remember yesterday¡¯s meal.


    <em>Why isn¡¯t Perro with us?</em>


    What did Grandpa call Ahri?


    I immediately sought advice.


    <em>Tell me the best action I can take right now!</em>


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    Record it in a ce that can never be erased.


    <em>A ce that can never be erased.</em>


    <em>A power that even the demon that reverses time cannot interfere with!</em>


    I expanded the status window and took out my pen.


    I wrote frantically, again and again.


    <em>-sh!</em>


    ...My consciousness blurred.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 2


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    When I came to my senses, I found myself standing in a very luxurious room.


    I was dressed in very vintage-style tuxedos.


    Ahri, Songee, and Elena were wearing stunning dresses covered with soft fur shawls.


    <em>Are we heading to some sort of party?</em>


    Ahri reacted strangely.


    ¡°These dresses are really old-fashioned¡­¡±


    <em>Old-fashioned?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t tell.


    It felt Western, which only added to my confusion.


    Looking around, Grandpa Mooksung was nowhere to be seen.


    Songee said anxiously.


    ¡°Where is Grandpa?¡±


    ¡°Did he start in a different ce? Like Seungyeob in the Mansion of Fear?¡±


    <em>During the trials in the Gate Room, we never started in different ces, but is the Fourth Trial different?</em>


    While we were puzzled, there was a knock at the door.


    A person dressed like a hotel staff member entered, gave a brief exnation about the ¡°ship¡±, and informed us about the dinner party before leaving.


    Elena answered curiously.


    ¡°It seems like this ce is a ship.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I see the sea through the window. Let¡¯s check the scenario and proceed.¡±


    <em>Okay, let¡¯s expand the status window to check the scenario¡ª</em>


    ¡°...???¡±


    <em>What¡¯s this?</em>


    <em>Why is the scenario like this?</em>


    While I was confused looking at the Status Window, mypanions asked, ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The scenario doesn¡¯t seem to have just started; it feels like it¡¯s already quite progressed. What?¡±


    ¡°What else is strange?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of messy writing all over the empty space in the status window.¡±


    When I maximized the empty space, I was speechless.


    The first sentence of the messy writing was as follows:


    Our time is being rewound now.

 Chapter 129: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (20)

    Chapter 129: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (20)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 2


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    We just learned the astonishing fact that we¡¯ve returned to the past.


    I spent quite a while organizing the notes left by the ¡°past me¡± in the Status Window.


    Although it was unclear at the moment, it seemed I wrote these notes in a very urgent situation.


    The notes weren¡¯t neat. They seemed more like a chaotic collection of jumbled thoughts if anything.Ahri sighed as she listened to my exnation.


    ¡°It feels like you wrote it just as you thought it.¡±


    ¡°I must have been in a huge rush. The handwriting is almost flying off the page. Let me summarize what I understand. Somewhere on this ship, a wicked ritual using humans as sacrifices is ongoing. Grandpa Mooksung was taken to this ce and passed away. Elena used Justice to kill all the staff and passengers, and then the demon reversed time, bringing us to the present.¡±


    ¡°The ritual requires information regarding our age and birthce?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and there''s a clock at the ritual site that currently points to 1.¡±


    ¡°What determines the movement of the clock¡¯s hand?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s vaguely written, so I¡¯m not sure. It seems even the past me wasn¡¯t certain.¡±


    Elena spoke up after listening for a while.


    ¡°I think I roughly understand the situation. Let¡¯s follow the instructions left by the past Kain for now. It seems there are two main tasks.¡±


    ¡°Yes. First, it says the dinner party in the evening is their reverse scale, so we should try to crash it. The staff have guns though, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°How are we supposed to crash it when the staff has guns? Now that Grandpa is gone, we don¡¯t even have a gun¡ª¡±


    ¡°A gun?¡±


    ¡°We do.¡±


    Ahri pulled out a gun from her waist, looking confused.


    <em>Why does Ahri have the gun?</em>


    Regardless, it was fortunate.


    I continued speaking, ¡°Second, there is a ce resembling an underground prison on the ship. We should check it out.¡±


    Songee tilted her head.


    ¡°An underground prison¡­ That¡¯s not a ce you¡¯d expect on a ship. And we don¡¯t even know how to get there.¡±


    I conveyed various other pieces of information from the jumbled flow of thoughts from my past self.


    As I suspected, I asked Elena for confirmation.


    ¡°Can you use Justice now?¡±


    Elena shook her head as if it were obvious.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never felt like this before, it¡¯s weird. It¡¯s not aboutcking evidence or anything, but it seems like the power itself has dried up. Normally, it feels like a water bottle was full but hard to open, but now it feels like the bottle itself is empty.¡±


    ¡°Is it recovering? If so, when do you think you can use it again?¡± Ahri asked with concern.


    ¡°It is recovering, but it¡¯ll take at least two or three days.¡±


    <em>Two or three days is an eternity in the context of the Gate Room.</em>


    <em>It seems we won¡¯t be able to use Justice for the Fourth Trial.</em>


    There were two terms in my notes that I couldn¡¯t understand: ¡°Wild Bees¡± and ¡°Senior¡±.


    <em>What do those mean?</em>


    We all puzzled over them as we stepped out of the cabin.


    Outside the cabin, two things changed.


    First, Perro flew in from somewhere.


    ording to the notes, Songee had sent him out, so it seemed he was safe.


    <em>Did Perro not get affected by the time reversal?</em>


    Maybe he was just outside the ship.


    While Perro and Songee reunited joyfully, rubbing their cheeks together, the scenario was updated.


    Most of it was a general description of our current state, but there was one significant detail.


    The staff and passengers of the Esper Ho were terrified when the hand of the ¡°Clock of Contracts¡± moved.


    Observing the people around us, I understood the meaning of those words, we observed the people around us.


    The staff and passengers were too busy talking among themselves with extreme anxiety to pay attention to us.


    Although they asionally reminded us toe to the dinner party, they didn¡¯t seem capable of focusing on us.


    Observing this, Ahri voiced an optimistic view.


    ¡°This situation isn¡¯t bad. It feels like an asymmetry in our information has urred.¡±


    Songee asked.


    ¡°Asymmetry in our information?¡±


    ¡°No one can remember anything before the time reversal, but thanks to Kain¡¯s Status Window, we¡¯vee back with quite a bit of information. Meanwhile, these people remember nothing and only know that the clock hand moved.¡±


    Listening to her, I grew curious.


    ¡°What could have caused the hand of the Clock of Contracts to move? My past self wrote about it vaguely.¡±


    ¡°What exactly did you write?¡±


    ¡°Clock¡¯s number = Number of time reversals? I crossed out the number of time reversals twice.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Is it or is it not the number of time reversals? Couldn¡¯t you write something understandable?¡±


    ¡°How can you me the current me for that? I guess even I wasn¡¯t sure when I wrote it.¡±


    Elena interrupted.


    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on our next n. We have half a day until the dinner party, so we should check out the ship¡¯s basement before then.¡±


    Despite putting our heads together for quite a while, we couldn¡¯te up with an ingenious n.


    <em>The biggest problem is ourck of strength.</em>


    <em>With Justice depleted, we have no power left to confront the staff of the Esper Ho directly.</em>


    <em>If there¡¯s a hidden ce in the basement, there must be patrolling staff members.</em>


    After much thought, I used the Sage''s Advice. I expected a vague answer, but even that would be helpful.


    Sage''s Advice: 2 ¡ú 1


    Make a noise in the east, then strike in the west


    ¡°Ah, what now¡­¡±


    ¡°What does it say?¡± Ahri asked.


    ¡°It just says, ¡®Make a noise in the east, then strike in the west¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is that one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems? What does it mean?¡± Songee asked.


    ¡°¡®Make noise in the east, then strike in the west¡¯? It roughly means to draw attention elsewhere and attack the targeted ce.¡±


    Elena pped her knee.


    ¡°I think I understand the advice!¡±


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    I spun around lightly to inspect myself.


    The luxurious evening dress I¡¯d never worn before was a mix of purple and silver, resembling a gxy in the night sky, and the shawl draped over the dress was covered in soft white fur, reminiscent of a winter mountain rabbit.


    <em>But the most important content is me!</em>


    <em>Ah, this is a bit embarrassing.</em>


    <em>But with this level of mour, I can draw everyone¡¯s attention.</em>


    In this n, my role was to be the ¡°decoy¡±, so I needed this level of splendor.


    If I had one regret, it would be that the people I would have wanted to show this off to were extremely tense and had long departed for the basement.


    Earlier, while I was getting dressed, mypanions were too busy nning the basement exploration to look my way.


    Honestly, I felt a bit left out.


    Finally, I hid a candle lighter inside the dress toplete my morous look.


    There was still plenty of time until the dinner party.


    However, many people were already wandering the ship in their party attire.


    As I approached the vicinity of the party hall, people naturally flocked toward me.


    ¡°Oh! My eyes are blinded. Has a star fallen from the sky? Mydy¡ª¡±


    <em>These cheesy lines¡­ Really?</em>


    <em>They¡¯re too old-fashioned.</em>


    <em>Still, I have to respond.</em>


    ¡°I am Elena Ivanov.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Lady Elena, I am Stevenson. May I have the honor of escorting you?¡±


    <em>This line is even worse. Isn¡¯t it over a hundred years old?</em>


    But I linked arms with the man named Stevenson and moved towards the party hall anyway.


    It was quite amusing to see several men showing visible jealousy towards Stevenson.


    As we tried to enter the party hall, a staff member appeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s not time for the dinner party yet. You can¡¯t enter.¡±


    ¡°I know the time. I just heard so much about how splendid the hall is. Can¡¯t I have a look?¡±


    Despite my earnest expression, the staff member didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Lady, I¡¯m sorry. We aren¡¯t finished preparing yet. Around dinner time¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is it really not possible?¡±


    Now, I gazed at the staff member with the eyes of a young doe.


    The flustered staff member stepped back, ready to refuse again.


    <em>This guy¡¯s tough. But I have another card to y!</em>


    I turned to Stevenson.


    ¡°Is it so hard to see the party hall once? Why can¡¯t we even step outside the cabin? Should we return to the cabin?¡±


    It was strange.


    The staff member didn¡¯t say anything about going back to the cabin.


    But it was enough for the man next to me.


    ¡°You! Step aside! I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re making such a fuss over a simple viewing. Move!¡±


    It worked as expected.


    <em>This is why I put my heart into getting dressed.</em>


    The staff and passengers of this ship weren¡¯t ordinary, and there were sinister rtionships hidden beyond their appearances.


    I did my best to dress up, thinking I¡¯d be about 70% angel, and as soon as I came out, people gathered around me.


    Among them, the man who confidently spoke to me must hold a high rank in this wicked group.


    As expected, at Stevenson¡¯s words, the staff member stepped back, looking flustered, unlike when he was dealing with me.


    The party hall was already splendid.


    Since it wasn¡¯t party time yet, there were few people.


    Stevenson, who came in with me, started boasting about his business.


    I humored him for about ten minutes, then asked to look around alone, and he left.


    He probably thought we were engaging in some form of flirtation.


    Whatever, now it was time for the n: Make a noise in the east, then strike in the west!


    <em>I¡¯ve lived in Korea for quite a while, but I¡¯m still not used to these strange Chinese phrases.</em>


    <em>Why does Korea even use these odd Chinese words?</em>


    <em>Make a noise in the east, then strike in the west?</em>


    <em>How about shortening it to Feint East, Attack West?</em>


    <em>Or Shout East! Punch West!</em>


    Thinking such nonsense, I took out the lighter.


    <em>Time to make some noise in the east.</em>


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As we lingered near the stairs, amotion began.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    ¡°The party hall is on fire!¡±


    The past me left a piece of advice: ¡°The party is their reverse scale.¡±


    Indeed, that advice was correct.


    As soon as Elena set the party hall on fire, the entire ship erupted in chaos, with everyone rushing to the party hall.


    Songee voiced her concern.


    ¡°Will Elena be alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t worried at all.


    <em>I¡¯d already witnessed Elena¡¯s incredible acting skills on the doppelganger train.</em>


    <em>Even if she gets caught, she can just cry a little and say she didn¡¯t know it would turn out this way, and they¡¯d probably let her off.</em>


    <em>In fact, we¡¯re in more danger than Elena.</em>


    After taking a quick look at each other, the three of us started descending the stairs to the basement of the Esper Ho.

 Chapter 130: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (21)

    Chapter 130: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (21)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Moving down to the first floor of the Esper Ho wasn''t difficult.


    We used the ship''s floor ns hanging around and simply followed the stairs down, without any interference from the staff.


    We walked for a while and then stopped.


    ording to the memo about the approximate location of the underground prison, it should be somewhere around here.We arrived between the coffee shop and the swimming pool on the first floor.


    If we went straight down from where we were standing, we¡¯d end up in the underground prison.


    But how did the past me figure out the path to the underground prison?


    <em>Who drilled a hole in the ship?</em>


    Ahri spoke up.


    ¡°There should be some stairs leading down around here¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there a secret passage?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably just a normal passage.¡±


    ¡°A normal passage?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to modify a ship¡¯s internal structure when it''s constructed, so secret passages would have to be nned during the ship¡¯s design. But look at the scale of this ship. It¡¯s toorge to have been built secretly. It was probably constructed in a world-renowned shipyard. Buildingplicated secret passages would have been difficult.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, there¡¯s no need for secret passages. Regr passengers wouldn¡¯t be snooping around like us. Just a restricted ess sign would keep most people away.¡±


    She pointed to a door on the left wall as she spoke.


    Restricted ess


    <em>Could it be that?</em>


    We nodded at each other.


    It was time to start the second part of the ¡°Make a noise in the East, then strike in the West¡± n.


    <em>- Piyoooo!</em>


    At Songee¡¯smand, Perro immediately transformed into his Grotesque form and started wreaking havoc!


    Most of the staff had gone upstairs to put out the fire, leaving only a few of them on the first floor. They fled in terror at the sight of Perro¡¯s Grotesque figure.


    We took the opportunity to open the door and go down the stairs.


    ***As we descended the dark staircase, memories flooded back.


    The strong smell that pierced our noses.


    The stench of bodily fluids and pus mixed with the smell of blood and the rotting flesh of someone dying.


    The kind of smell we experienced when entering the security room during the Common Sense Renovating Media incident.


    How did I be someone who could recognize these smells?


    Ahri, also recognizing the smell, gripped her gun tightly with a tense expression.


    After reaching the basement, Songee shone her shlight around.


    ¡°Ugh! What is this?¡±


    Moans of agony filled the space.


    There were eight people¡­


    Though still alive, the condition of their body was so severe that they were nearly unrecognizable as a human.


    They were dying, rolling around inside rusting iron bars.


    It was hard to guess what they had been through.


    Songee, unable to move due to the stench, handed me the shlight.


    <em>These guys must be the ¡°reserve sacrifices¡±.</em>


    I shone the light on each one, but they either drooled mindlessly or were unresponsive, likely having lost their minds.


    Finally, Ahri shouted loudly.


    ¡°Can anyone here understand us?¡±


    ¡°This way.¡±


    A voice, rough and strained but full of determination.


    The voice came from an old man with white hair.


    The lower half of his body was fused with the ship.


    I didn¡¯t understand what it meant for a person¡¯s body to be fused with a ship, but that was the only way to describe it.


    His hair and beard were long enough to touch the floor, indicating how long he had been there.


    The smell was so intense that it made my headache.


    Paradoxically, the traces of excrement around him proved one thing: there must have been a continuous supply of food, as cause precedes effect.


    ¡°What¡¯s your status?¡±


    ¡°I should be asking who you people are.¡±


    Ahri, who had approached, answered, ¡°We¡¯re guests invited to this ship. We thought it was just a normal cruise, but something strange happened, so we¡¯ve been exploring to escape and ended up here.¡±


    ¡°Lies.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Think logically. Would ordinary guests sense something amiss and explore the ship to find this ce?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°Never mind. It doesn¡¯t really matter. You have many questions, don¡¯t you?¡±


    With that, the old man slowly began exining the secrets of the Esper Ho.


    ¡°When was it¡­? My memory is hazy. The Esper Ho was once a grand 120,000-ton luxury cruise liner! When it set sail, every newspaper in Paris covered its departure. It was a moment of glory.


    ¡°Was it the second or third voyage? I¡¯m not sure anymore. It¡¯s a story nearly 40 years old. While navigating the North Sea, the Esper Ho began to sink after an unknown impact. Was it an iceberg? Or the work of demons? I can¡¯t say.


    ¡°The ship sank slowly. There was no hope for us. Everyone waited for death in despair¡­ Until the hand of a demon reached out for us. Or perhaps it¡¯s more urate to say we longed for the demon¡¯s reach. The captain was a demon worshiper! Maybe he nned this tragedy from the start.


    ¡°The captain sacrificed more than ten people to summon Marcas, who offered us a deal. We would provide eternal feasts and sacrifices to Marcas, and he would grant us immortality.


    ¡°Not everyone on board agreed. The Esper Ho was a renowned 120,000-ton French luxury liner, carrying many distinguished intellectuals and wealthy people, the pirs of society! Such people wouldn¡¯t easily sell their souls to the demon¡­


    ¡°I will admit that in the end, a majority epted the deal. Death is just that terrifying. From what I can recall, about 90% of the people epted the demon''s hand, while less than 10% chose to die. They have been suffering and dying in this basement ever since.


    ¡°Those who made the contract with the demon neither aged nor died, drifting eternally on the ocean, with the captain continuously procuring sacrifices through magical means.¡±


    After finishing his long exnation, the old man, who introduced himself as Vice Captain Harrison, bowed his head wearily.


    Ahri spoke up.


    ¡°It seems you left out one crucial detail.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Hey, Harrison, esteemed vice-captain of the great Esper Ho. You¡¯re among the 90% who sold their souls, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Your unkempt beard and hair made it hard to tell, but up close, you don¡¯t even look sixty yet. You said the contract with the devil was made 40 years ago. If you hadn¡¯t made the contract, you should have aged normally. So, you must have been about twenty at the time. Actually, that¡¯s unlikely. There¡¯s no way you would have been the vice-captain of such arge ship at that age. You made the contract, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides, it¡¯s strange that only you are sane while the other sacrifices are losing their minds and dying. You¡¯re the only one who seems fine, aren¡¯t you? The truth is you can¡¯t lose your mind, no matter how much you might want to, right?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Then why are you in this state? Did you betray the captain?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. You have no idea how desperate we were. Have you ever put your hand in the winter waters of the North Sea? The icy chill pierces your bones before your hand even touches the water! We were doomed to be plunged into that. I lived a sincere life. I dedicated myself to the world. I wasn¡¯t meant to die in such a ce¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough. Just tell me why you¡¯re in this state.¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re right. I wanted to end it. We¡¯ve been drifting aimlessly in the frozen ocean for decades without touchingnd. What¡¯s the point of living eternally if all we do is feed the devil, without ever setting foot onnd? I just wasn¡¯t worth it. I wanted to break the contract with Marcas and rest.¡±


    Upon hearing that, my eyes widened involuntarily.


    <em>Breaking the contract</em>


    As soon as I heard it, I realized.


    <em>This is it.</em>


    The way to end this ship''s eternal drifting, reversing time, and the immortal staff.


    I immediately asked, ¡°How do we break the contract with the demon?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. Only the captain knows for sure. But wouldn¡¯t sinking the ship again do it?¡±


    Ahri tilted her head.


    ¡°Sinking the ship?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If we crash the ship into an iceberg or something, sinking it again should end this nightmare.¡±


    <em>Sinking the ship by crashing it into an iceberg.</em>


    <em>Will that work?</em>


    Songee, who had been standing far away due to the smell, approached and asked.


    ¡°Do the people of the Esper Ho obsess over the dinner party because of the contract? Since they promised sacrifices and feasts?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re well-informed. It¡¯s not strange. Since ancient times, rituals have always involved song and dance.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but why do they ask for age and birthce?¡±


    ¡°Marcas, the Demon of the Deep Sea, despises everything on the surface. He enjoys us cruelly killing and sacrificing surface dwellers. Like the gods of old who preferredmbs, Marcas prefers young humans.


    ¡°But it holds no significance. As long as the sacrifice isn¡¯t about to die of old age, Marcas doesn¡¯t mind. Knowing the age and birthce of the sacrifice is just a ritualistic formality.¡±


    <em>I have one more question.</em>


    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of the clock at the sacrifice site?¡±


    Harrison¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°You¡¯ve figured out that much? I don¡¯t know exactly. Only the captain knows. But I heard that if the clock¡¯s hand reaches 3, we¡¯ll be eternally damned.¡±


    We gathered most of the information about the ship.


    The next goal was also roughly set.


    The idea proposed by Vice Captain Harrison, who participated in the wicked rituals for decades: crashing the ship into an iceberg to sink it.


    We nodded at each other.


    Shortly after, Ahri walked around and mercifully ended the suffering of the victims.


    Finally, she stood before Harrison.


    ¡°You probably won¡¯t die even if I kill you. Is there anything you want?¡±


    ¡°Take me with you.¡±


    ¡°Your lower body is fused with the ship. How can we take you with us?¡±


    ¡°Just cut off my upper body. Please.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s a bit much. Sorry, but¡ª¡±


    As Ahri turned to leave, Harrison spoke urgently.


    ¡°Do you know how to steer this ship? It¡¯s a 120,000-ton cruise liner, not a small boat. You don¡¯t think you can steer it without professional knowledge, do you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I had to stop too.


    Harrison¡¯s point was valid.


    Could we steer this massive ship into an iceberg without any relevant knowledge?


    Songee gestured, and Perro flew over.


    ¡°When did he get in?¡±


    ¡°A while ago.¡±


    Songee seemed to whisper something to Perro, who then transformed into his Grotesque form.


    Even in his Grotesque form, Perro didn¡¯t move.


    Songee issued anothermand, ¡°Perro!¡±


    Still, he didn¡¯t move. I sensed Perro¡¯s feelings.


    He was probablymanded to tear Harrison¡¯s body apart, but the foul stench was keeping him from getting closer.


    After nearly five minutes of persuasion, Perro reluctantly tore Harrison¡¯s body apart.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    About five minutes after tearing him apart, Harrison¡¯s lower body started to regenerate as if ¡°time was reversing¡±.


    It felt like the end of this trial was nearing its conclusion.


    If we manage to crash this damned ship into an iceberg with Harrison¡¯s help, we could solve this.

 Chapter 131: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (22)

    Chapter 131: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (22)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Despite the reappearance of his legs, Harrison still couldn¡¯t stand up straight.


    We supported his body as we ascended to the first floor.


    I had anticipated a potential fight upon exiting the "Restricted ess" door, but there was no one around.


    As I looked around warily, Harrison chuckled.¡°No need to tense at this hour. Can¡¯t you hear the music? The party has started. Those who made a contract with Marcas must always offer both a feast and sacrifice.¡±


    ¡°I was just being cautious¡­¡±


    We brought him back to our room and let him rest while we stepped out.


    As soon as we exited, Ahri spoke, ¡°Do you trust him?¡±


    ¡°Harrison himself? Or his n to sink the ship?¡±


    ¡°Both.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust him at all, but I do trust his n a bit.¡±


    ¡°A bit? The moment I heard it, it sounded strange. Besides, if the ship sinks, we¡¯ll die too.¡±


    ¡°Let me exin my reasoning. Ultimately, I think the solution for the Esper Ho is to turn the clock hand in the colosseum to 3. The reactions of the enemies when the hand moved to 1 and the consistent mention of the ¡®Clock of Contracts¡¯ in the Scenario suggests its importance.¡±


    ¡°I agree that the clock yed a significant role in all of this.¡±


    ¡°ording to the notes in the Status Window, the clock hand moved to 1 when the enemies were annihted and time reversed. I guessed that the meaning of the clock hand might be the ¡®number of time reversals¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So you think the clock hand will move again if the ship faces a sinking crisis?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If the ship just sinks and we all drown at sea, that¡¯s a serious problem. But if the ship is about to sink, there¡¯s a high chance time will reverse again, and the hand will move one step further.¡±


    <em>My current solution is simple.</em>


    <em>Try to turn the colosseum clock to 3.</em>


    <em>When the enemies were annihted, the hand moved from 0 to 1, and time reversed.</em>


    <em>If we sink the ship, the hand might move again, and time will reverse.</em>


    <em>Therefore, we don¡¯t need to worry about drowning after the ship sinks.</em>


    After hearing my exnation, Ahri thought for a moment and then spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of another possible solution¡­¡±


    I immediately responded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave that as ast resort.¡±


    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about?¡±


    ¡°I do. I also thought of it when the Vice Captain exined his story to us. It¡¯s obvious.¡±


    I pointed at Ahri and then mimicked the neck slicing with my hand.


    Ahri smiled wryly at the gesture.


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s n Z, ourst resort. If it fails, I¡¯ll surely die.¡±


    Finally, Songee, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.


    ¡°What are you two talking about? What¡¯s thest resort?¡±


    Weughed lightly and moved towards the party hall where Elena would be.


    When we arrived at the party hall, I realized I had been wrong.


    Elena was in serious danger.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As we entered the party hall, a man in a strange outfit at the center of the room spoke gleefully.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The other stars of the party have arrived! Please wee them with a round of apuse.¡±


    <em>- p p p!</em>


    Thunderous apuse and menacing gazes pierced us.


    There was a strange pir at the center of the party hall, and Elena was tied to it.


    She hung there with her head bowed.


    ¡°Unni!¡±


    As Songee screamed in shock, Ahri pulled her back.


    ¡°Calm down. She¡¯s still alive. I thought they wouldn¡¯t harm her during the party, but tying her to a pir seems eptable.¡±


    ¡°There was also a note saying they¡¯d pull out guns if we tried to crash the party. It seems they can respond if we cross the line. Elena definitely crossed the line by setting the party hall on fire.¡±


    We got caught.


    The ¡°make a noise in the East, then strike in the West¡± tactic had its limits.


    It was too difficult to avoid detection while setting the party hall on fire and infiltrating the ship¡¯s prison.


    Paradoxically, this made one thing clear.


    Despite them knowing our course of action, they couldn¡¯t immediately attack us. They only red at us as some of them started to y music or dance.


    The party was not just for fun but a crucial part of their ritual!


    Soon, people in the party hall gathered around us.


    With gentle ssical orchestra music ying, the party attendees danced around us.


    In this situation where everyone knew everything, Ahri smiled and spoke.


    ¡°Once the party ends, they¡¯lle at us. They look like they want to tear us limb from limb.¡±


    One of the enemies grinned widely and responded.


    ¡°Oh my, we¡¯re not barbarians. People taste better when cooked.¡±


    I looked up at the ceiling.


    Elena had set the ce on fire quite well; the party hall was not in normal condition.


    There were burn marks everywhere.


    <em>Is Elena okay?</em>


    From a distance, she didn¡¯t seem to have suffered too much.


    I saw Ahri gripping her gun tensely.


    A meaningless gesture.


    There were dozens of people in this hall with guns at their waists; we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance in a shootout.


    Of course, we didn¡¯t juste in here solely relying on a single gun.


    Perro, who was posing as a docile parrot on Songee¡¯s shoulder, hopped off.


    In an instant, a Grotesque figure appeared before everything in the hall.


    The people who had been mocking us as they danced stopped in shock at the sight.


    <em>- Screech!</em>


    A horrifying scream filled the area!


    ***<strong>-Han Kain</strong>


    A howl that drove people to madness erupted, plunging the party hall into chaos.


    This was the power Perro used on the first night he was born at the hotel.


    We, who had anticipated this and prepared in advance, quickly regained our senses by blocking our ears or using the filter, but the people exposed to Perro¡¯s howl without any preparation went berserk and started biting each other.


    <em>The power seems to have grown stronger.</em>


    <em>Has he gotten stronger?</em>


    ¡°Everyone, get out! I¡¯ll join you with Perro and Elena,¡± Songee shouted urgently.


    Ahri and I ran out of the party hall.


    <em>Where should we go now?</em>


    <em>Should we regroup with Harrison?</em>


    As we ran frantically towards the cabin, Elena and Songee caught up with us by riding Perro.


    Elena was still unconscious.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Is he carrying people now?¡± Ahri said in disbelief.


    ¡°Just run! They¡¯reing after us!¡±


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    After the words left her mouth, shots rang out from behind us!


    The party seemed to have ended, and they could now attack.


    We ducked behind walls and obstacles, and Ahri returned fire a few times.


    Then something strange happened on the ship.


    <em>- ng!</em>


    A tremendous sound echoed throughout the ship!


    <em>What is this sound?</em>


    <em>What¡¯s happening?</em>


    Amid the confusion, the staff and passengers who were shooting at us started screaming.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡±


    ¡°You bastards! I¡¯ll carve you up alive¡ª¡±


    I realized it as I heard the wonderful screams of both the staff and the passengers.


    <em>The clock hand moved again!</em>


    Ahri spoke immediately, ¡°What¡¯s going on? It¡¯s not like the enemies were wiped out, but the clock suddenly¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    With a sh of insight, a realization struck me.


    The meaning of the clock.


    The reason the hand moved.


    At the same time, Ahri¡¯s eyes widened from the same realization.


    <em>n Z is possible!</em>


    The ship began to shake again.


    Suddenly, the lights went out, and the people chasing us stuck to the ship as if they were maized.


    As we stood there in shock, an announcement echoed throughout the ship.


    <strong>[Ahem. I¡¯m thrilled to use this again. Everyone,e to me.]</strong>


    Although Harrison¡¯s message didn¡¯t specify where to go, we already had an idea.


    Perro carried Elena on his back, and the rest of us ran.


    The staff and passengers stuck to the ship cursed us with voices full of hatred.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Click!</em>


    We opened the door to the captain¡¯s cabin.


    ...I expected something ominous, but the sight in the captain¡¯s cabin exceeded my expectations.


    Harrison had long lost any semnce of humanity.


    While Songee and I struggled to stifle our nausea, Ahri calmly walked forward.


    ¡°Wow~ This is amazing. Your head¡¯s stuck to the ceiling, your hands are steering the ship, but your legs seem to be missing? Did you be one with the ship?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d you find it impressive. You have an eye for aesthetics, Miss.¡±


    ¡°I have a knack for modern art. The more bizarre, the more artistic the art is. So why did you call us, ¡®Captain¡¯ Harrison?¡±


    Harrison let out a scratchyugh before replying, ¡°You figured out I¡¯m the captain?¡±


    ¡°I figured it out from this mess. You¡¯re the demon-worshiping captain. How did you end up in the prison?¡±


    ¡°These foolscked courage. Bing one with this immortal ship is the true path to immortality.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Seeing the grotesque form of the demon-worshiping captain who had fused with the ship, I understood why the staff mutinied and imprisoned him.


    ¡°Is sinking the ship just nonsense then?¡±


    ¡°Sinking? Are you mad? This 120,000-ton Esper Ho is the finest vessel. What an absurd thing to say!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. We still think sinking the ship is a good idea. In fact, we still n to try it.¡±


    ¡°I understand your intentions. Let¡¯s discuss that partter, shall we?¡±


    The nausea was starting to subside.


    My tolerance must have improved.


    ¡°So, why did you call us here?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. I propose that we join forces for the big picture.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve temporarily subdued the staff and passengers, but it won¡¯tst long. Those bastards have also learned some of the ship¡¯s arcane secrets over the decades. Soon, they¡¯lle to kill you and imprison me again. Frankly, I can¡¯t handle them alone.¡±


    Songee spoke up.


    ¡°Honestly, you don¡¯t look like you¡¯re in any position to propose an alliance, do you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with how I look?¡±


    ¡°...I¡¯d bet my entire fortune that the moment we subdue the staff and passengers, you¡¯ll try to kill us.¡±


    ¡°Haha! As if you people didn¡¯t n to kill me after you dealt with them?¡±


    That made meugh.


    I couldn¡¯t help but respond.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re going to kill you! You bastard.¡±


    ¡°Oh, young man, such harsh words. My point is simple. Let¡¯s set our conflict aside for now and join forces against the ones about to attack us. Haven¡¯t you heard the saying, ¡®The enemy of my enemy is my friend¡¯? Listen¡­ I can hear their footsteps approaching.¡±


    Now we could feel the vibrations.


    The sound of a huge number of people running toward us.


    Behind us was a demon-worshiper guaranteed to betray us, and in front were fiends eager to devour us alive.


    <em>Tonight¡¯s going to be quite the ordeal.</em>


    The final night on the Esper Ho had begun.

 Chapter 132: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (23)

    Chapter 132: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial (23)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 1


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    With a deafening crash that sounded like a hammer strike, the door shook violently.


    Ahri urgently called out, "Perro! Can you use that wail again right now?"


    Songee, naturally acting as Perro''s spokesperson, responded."Not right now, maybe in about 10 more minutes¡ª"


    <em>- Crack!</em>


    Before Songee could finish speaking, a sharp object pierced through the window ss of the captain¡¯s cabin door.


    "What the heck is this!"


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    Ahri immediately shot the hand holding the spike, but the fight had only just begun.


    There was another loud banging sound.


    Someone brought an oxygen tank-like object and started pounding on the door!


    It was clear that the door would not hold much longer.


    With no other choice, I turned to look behind me.


    "Harrison! You don¡¯t expect us to handle all these people by ourselves, do you?"


    "Of course not. I¡¯m preparing my own moves, so just hold out for a bit."


    As he said, Harrison was busy fiddling with the control panel and inscribing something on the wall.


    Seeing the scene of the spike breaking through the ss gave me an idea.


    "Both of you, give me all the capsaicin spray you have."


    I gathered all the spray bottles we had.


    <em>- Ssssss! Ssssss!</em>


    "Ugh! What the heck is this!"


    "Mustard gas? It¡¯s bright red! Where did they get this stuff?"


    I sprayed the area beyond the broken ss window, not aiming at anyone in particr but just filling the area with the irritant, which bought us some time.


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    "Ah!"


    "Kain-oppa! Are you hit?"


    "No, it just grazed me."


    The staff members started shooting through the broken window, forcing us to back away from it.


    The door¡¯s hinges were soon pried loose by the battering, and as the door finally broke down, something grotesque erupted from the floor apanied by an eerie noise, blocking the entrance again.


    <em>Harrison must have done something.</em>


    A disgusting mass of tentacles and flesh held together by sinew blocked the way.


    Beyond the barrier, dozens of people could be seen ring at us with murderous hostility.


    Without the door, we could now see each other clearly.


    Amidst the tension, a voice filled with killing intent rang out.


    "You bastard! I¡¯ll skin your face alive! Don¡¯t think this flesh barrier will hold for long!"


    As I pondered whether to curse back, Grotesque Perro suddenly lunged at the opposition, opening his beak!


    Perro tried to unleash his wail without warning, startling us.


    I quickly expanded the filter and covered my ears.


    Those who had experienced Perro¡¯s wail before also quickly covered their ears and dropped to the floor.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>What?</em>


    <em>Perro just opened his beak and did nothing?</em>


    ¡°...¡±


    "That damn bird tricked us!"


    <em>Wow! Perro¡¯s smart!</em>


    <em>Was it a bluff?</em>


    My admiration was cut short as a man with a square beret and a staff appeared from the enemy ranks.


    As he tapped the wall with his staff and chanted something, the flesh barrier began melting away.


    <em>Is he one of those who learned some Arcane secrets during the decades they wandered the frozen sea?</em>


    Ahri tried shooting him, but the flesh that shielded us from their bullets also blocked ours, leaving us no way to stop him.


    As the flesh melted away, Grotesque Perro moved his beak close to the hole.


    A mocking voice came from the other side.


    "Do you think we¡¯ll fall for that again? Get ready to be roasted¡ª"


    <em>- Piyooooooooo!</em>


    This time, it was real.


    Since many of them had already drawn their guns, the effect was even more severe than before.


    <em>- Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    Gunshots rang out wildly from the other side, apanied by the chaotic sounds of them fighting amongst themselves.


    Meanwhile, Harrison¡¯s voice rang out from behind us, "It¡¯s almost done! You¡¯ve held on well. A little longer and I¡¯ll be able to bind them all at once."


    <em>Is the horrific spell Harrison has been preparing finally ready?</em>


    I moved closer to Harrison to check and took Ahri¡¯s gun when I passed by her.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    "Ah! Fuck!"


    "Captain Harrison, why are you cursing?"


    "Wouldn¡¯t you curse if you got shot in the head?!"


    "I wouldn¡¯t even be able to talk if I got shot in the head. The fact that you can still speak with a bullet in your head is abnormal, you crazy bastard!"


    Even as he cursed, Harrison¡¯s burst-open head started to knit itself.


    "Songee! Tell Perro to swallow this flesh barrier!"


    "Wait, wait, hold on! Didn¡¯t we agree to deal with the ones outside first?!"


    Ahri¡¯s urgent voice rang out, "Kain! Just leave it for now! The effect of the wail is wearing off, and they¡¯re regaining their senses. Harrison! What about that ritual you¡¯ve been preparing?"


    "If this crazy bastard hadn¡¯t shot my head, it would be done by now."


    Though he med me, it seemed we needed to give him more time.


    "Alright, fine. We won¡¯t interfere anymore, so hurry up."


    Amidst our chaotic conversation, a mocking voice reached us from the other side, "Captain Harrison¡¯s leadership never ceases to amaze me. How do you always manage to team up with such idiots? If people constantly betray you, maybe you should consider that you¡¯re the problem, not them."


    "Stevenson! Shut the fuck up!"


    I also chimed in.


    "Captain, instead of arguing, how about you finish your spell already?"


    "You! Prepare to be roasted alive!"


    "I¡¯ll make sure to roast your upper body and fry your lower one."


    Getting threats about being cooked half roasted, half fried from both sides was too much for my sanity.


    Even in this chaos, each side was meticulously preparing their next moves.


    On the other side, the staff and passengers, having recovered from Perro¡¯s wail, started melting the flesh barrier with some mysterious force.


    Behind us, Harrison was holding his shattered head while preparing his spell.


    Ahri approached me during themotion.


    "Stay close to Harrison and don¡¯t leave his side."


    "Why all of a sudden?"


    "Just a hunch, just do as I say."


    Puzzled butpliant, I carried the still-unconscious Elena and moved closer to Harrison.


    Perro and Songee followed the order as well.


    At that moment, Harrison¡¯s reattached head turned toward us.


    "You¡¯ve got good instincts."


    <em>- Wooom!</em>


    A tremor vibrated throughout the entire ship.


    "Aaaaargh!"


    Wails filled the air beyond the captain¡¯s cabin.


    Earlier, Harrison had used some power to stick the staff and passengers to the ship.


    <em>Is this a more powerful version of that?</em>


    The staff and passengers didn¡¯t just stick to the ship; they began to merge with it.


    Cables, concrete, and metal tes protruding from the ship¡¯s walls grotesquely covered their bodies, while their flesh seeped into the ship.


    Even in this horrific state, they couldn¡¯t even die. The only thing left for them to do¡­ was to groan in agony.


    They became one with the ship, and the ship became one with them.


    The kind of power that could create such a monstrous transformation was beyond my understanding.


    The tremor spread throughout the entire area outside the captain¡¯s cabin and started to encroach upon the spot we had just vacated, leaving only the area around Harrison untouched.


    Feeling dumbfounded, I shot Harrison¡¯s head again.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    "Were you nning to turn us into that?!"


    "And you¡¯re surprised after blowing my head off twice?" Harrison responded indignantly.


    I was momentarily speechless.


    I turned to Ahri.


    "How did you know what would happen?"


    "Just a feeling. Whatever spell he was preparing, I felt it would sweep us away too. But he¡¯d at least make sure he wasn¡¯t affected."


    <em>- Crack!</em>


    Grotesque Perro returned, smashing Harrison¡¯s reattached flesh with an enraged peck.


    <em>...This won¡¯t be the end.</em>


    Predictably, Harrison¡¯s voice echoed throughout the ship.


    "It¡¯s toote! I have already be one with the 120,000-ton Esper Ho. A body made of flesh is like y. I have shed the frail body of a mortal and gained a body of steel."


    Sage''s Advice: 1 ¡ú 0


    Jump to the side immediately!


    <em>- Boom!</em>


    Before I could react, my body was flung through the air, crashing into the wall of the captain¡¯s cabin.


    <em>What on earth was that?</em>


    It was as if the ship had grown muscles.


    A giant muscle made of fused flesh lifted the metal floor of the captain¡¯s cabin and hurled me roughly.


    <em>Is this the unity of ship and man that Harrison dreamed of?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>But this damned Advice again¡­</em>


    <em>Can¡¯t it give me a heads-up 10 seconds in advance instead of 0.3 seconds before the danger?</em>


    I began to wonder.


    <em>Sometimes it gives enough time to react, but other times it warns just before the danger hits, rendering it pointless.</em>


    <em>There must be some secret behind this difference.</em>


    The impact against the wall was so strong that I could barely move.


    It felt like I was hit by the tongue that had emerged from the swimming pool floor before.


    The pain was so intense that my entire body went numb, but my thoughts became clear.


    I felt my consciousness be hazy from the impact.


    Holding onto my fading consciousness, I thought about the "Clock of Contracts."


    <em>What is the meaning of the numbers the clock hands point to?</em>


    The first hypothesis was the number of time reversals that had been performed.


    However, ording to the captain, the Esper Ho was already sinking when it first made a contract with the demon.


    The demon must have reversed time once back then, so if the clock hands were based on the number of time reversals, the hands should have started at 1, not 0.


    Another hypothesis was the number of sacrifices made.


    But that didn''t fit either.


    The Esper Ho had been wandering the sea for 40 years, likely offering many sacrifices, so it was strange that the hand was at 0.


    Even on the now-lost first night of the past, a preliminary sacrifice had already been made before Grandpa Mooksung, so it couldn''t be 0.


    Of course, this stage was technically "created when we arrived", so it might only count from when we entered.


    However, neither hypothesis exined why the hands moved to 2 when the party was disrupted.


    Time didn''t reverse, nor was a sacrifice made at that point.


    Eliminating these hypotheses one by one led to another hypothesis.


    The number of contract vitions.


    The revealed content of the contract between the Esper Ho and Marcas was that the Esper Ho offered feasts and sacrifices, and Marcas granted immortality.


    When the first hand moved, we interrupted the ritual where Grandpa was being sacrificed.


    I didn¡¯t know exactly what happened then, but Elena likely destroyed the sacrifice ritual site.


    Since the sacrifice wasn''t made properly, the hand moved one notch.


    In the recent situation where the second hand moved, Perro turned the party into a scene of madness with its wail.


    Since the party couldn''t proceed normally, the hand moved another notch.


    <em>Only one notch is left until it reaches 3.</em>


    All these assumptions and the information obtained from Harrison formed our n Z.


    My consciousness was fading.


    I looked towards Ahri and thought, ¡°n Z, you''ll handle it well, right? I trust you so I¡¯ll be taking a nap now.<em>¡±</em>

 Chapter 0: Prologue - A Strange Dream

    Chapter 0: Prologue - A Strange DreamI had a strange dream.


    It was on a windy February night. During the short break before the start of university after graduating high school and sitting the entrance exam, in this period of time that would probably be one of the few golden ages of a person¡¯s life, I went on a backpack trip.


    My exam results weren¡¯t bad so I managed to get quite arge sum of money from my parents, had a leisurely trip and was also able to stay at a hotel in Jeju Ind near the end of it.


    Laying my body and mind exhausted from a whole day tour on the hotel bed, I dozed off to sleep when something strange began to happen.


    When I came to myself, I noticed myself standing in the midst of an area covered in misty fog. Looking around, I found several figures of dark shadows standing next to me.


    For some reason, I felt urged to move forward.


    In less than a minute, I found a table and on the table were dozens of strange sculptures.


    Choose your destiny.


    Destiny? How could a small piece of sculpture like this decide my destiny?


    But feeling a peculiar urge to pick something up, I was staring at the sculptures when one by one, they began to ¡®disappear¡¯. At this rate, there would be none left for me to pick up so I was starting to be flustered when a sculpture of an owl unknowingly entered my sight. I quickly picked it up.That was when an announcement appeared in front of me.


    Wee, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!


    Ever since our establishment in 1847, Pioneer has a proud long history of being positively received by numerous guests with our countless mystiques and endless treasures. Of course, every treasure is bound to be followed by equal risk. We sincerely hope that our esteemed guests achieve the intended goal at Pioneer!


    Now, it is time for your adventure.


    What did this mean?


    It wasn¡¯t just one or two things that were strange. Firstly, the hotel I was staying in did not have a grandiose name like ¡®Pioneer¡¯ and let alone 1947 which would already be ridiculous, 1847 was just way too absurd.


    Was there a hotel during the Joseon Dynasty? Mystiques and treasures? Risk? Adventure? There was not a single word I could understand and as I was about to be confused beyond what I could handle, my mind turned dizzy and crumbled down.


    Aha, so this is what they call a lucid dream! Am I going to faint again now? Thinking of how mysterious a dream this was, my consciousness fell into the darkness.

 Chapter 133: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial End (24)

    Chapter 133: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Fourth Trial End (24)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    The floor bounced like a spring, and Kain was flung toward the wall.


    Both Songee and I were startled.


    I immediately pulled the trigger, and Songeemanded Perro to charge at Harrison again.


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    <em>- Screeech!</em>


    With a loud explosion, Grotesque Perro¡¯s huge beak tore into Harrison''s remaining flesh.


    But it was meaningless.


    The transformed Harrison was beyond the point of distinguishing himself from the ship.The remaining flesh was just the residue of his mortal flesh.


    Indeed, Harrison effortlessly reformed, reshaping the flesh on the floor into a hideous face-like shape.


    <em>Do we need to destroy the entire ship?</em>


    <em>There''s no answer.</em>


    <em>It''s not like we can set off a bomb, and using a gun is pointless.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s impossible, even with Perro¡¯s power.</em>


    <em>It¡¯d take something like Cha Jinchul summoning the Star to handle this.</em>


    A brief lull urred.


    After Kain was knocked out in one blow, Harrison didn''t press a direct attack.


    Recalling the details of the contract, the reason started to be clear.


    "Hey, you two beautifuldies. Won''t you listen to me?"


    "Are you suggesting we offer Kain as a sacrifice and the rest of us be the staff of the Esper Ho?"


    "¡­"


    "Is my assumption incorrect?"


    "Miss Ahri, was it? You seem to read my mind from the beginning."


    "Isn''t it obvious? Whatever power you gained by merging with the ship must be demonic. To maintain it, you need to uphold the contract with the demon. To do that, you need to offer sacrifices and hold feasts, right? Even if you offer Kain as a sacrifice, you can''t hold a feast by yourself. You''ve turned all the other staff and passengers into the ship''s furniture. They can''t dance in such a state. You need staff members for the Esper. Staff members who will eternally sail with the ship, enjoy the feast, and offer sacrifices all in the name of the demon."


    "My, you''re too clever. It''s a bit worrying. I don''t fancy smart staff members."


    "Do you have an alternative? Do you think you can suddenly find a staff in the middle of this vast ocean?"


    "An intense psychological battle could be fun. So, are you considering my offer?"


    "Let''s change the terms. I''ll be the sacrifice."


    "Eek!"


    Songee let out a sound in shock, and the entire ship shuddered.


    <em>Is that Harrison''s way of expressing surprise?</em>


    "What on earth are you saying? He''s going to die soon anyway, so why take such a risk?"


    Iughed at that.


    <em>Why take a risk for someone who¡¯s about to die?</em>


    <em>Because I¡¯m confident we could end this trial immediately if we seed!</em>


    How Harrison interpreted myughter, I didn¡¯t know, but he suddenly made an absurd statement, "Aha! Is this the pure love I''ve heard of? If you be the sacrifice and this young man bes a staff member, the contract''s power will revive him even if he dies. Are you nning to save him at the cost of your life? How touching."


    I stayed silent out of sheer disbelief.


    Harrison, after pondering for a bit, made a decision.


    "Not bad. Not bad at all. I¡¯ve been annoyed since you read my mind earlier, Miss. Although I''m not thrilled about sparing this brat, having him will make it easier to control the otherdies."


    With that, wires from all over the ship moved like living tentacles and lifted me up.


    <em>Time to initiate n Z.</em>


    I had kept it as ast resort because of the uncertainties, but the moment of truth had finallye.


    "Don''t worry too much. I won''t give you the same pain as those bugs glued to the floor. I''ll end it cleanly. Just tell me your age and origin."


    "I don''t know my age. My origin is Hotel Pioneer."


    Harrisonughed at my answer and replied, "Is that your final gambit? Lying to deceive me?"


    "¡­"


    "Or maybe it''s not a lie, and you genuinely don''t know your age and exact origin, so you can only say ''Hotel''? Not knowing one''s roots is indeed a sorrowful fate. How sad. But if yourst n was to be unofferable as a sacrifice because you don''t know your age and origin¡­ that''s disappointing."


    <em>This captain sure yaps a lot.</em>


    <em>He must have been very lonely while he was trapped in the basement.</em>


    <em>He seems convinced I¡¯m trying to deceive him.</em>


    "¡­"


    "Haha! If you thought I was like those bugs, you underestimated me. Even if you lie, I have ways to find out."


    At those words, strange symbols began to appear all over the ship.


    Soon, ck hands emerged from beneath me.


    The hands slowly climbed the wires and started to grip my body.


    I looked around as I took a deep breath


    I saw Songee looking at me with a fearful expression, the still-unconscious Elena, Perro, who was cleaning the flesh stuck in his beak, and Kain, who was inching ever closer to death.


    Arge mirror appeared before me.


    <em>Is it a means to find out my age and origin?</em>


    The mirror reflected me, reflected countless versions of myself.


    Somewhere, I was trembling behind a brick wall in a battlefield filled with flying bullets.


    Somewhere, I was fighting an invisible enemy on a train speeding beyond the Milky Way.


    Somewhere, I was running among the earliest humans, searching for the First Seed.


    Somewhere, I was a strange wanderer in a bizarre star, lost in time and space.


    Somewhere, I was hearing a confession in the middle of an endless barley field.


    Countless events from my not-so-short life shed before my eyes like a panorama.


    Harrison, who was processing this information, gasped in shock.


    "What is this? How can this be so strange¡­ Did you time travel?"


    That wasn''t the end.


    The mirror kept going back through my past until it reached a grand Hotel.


    A Hotel that rose from the seabed in the middle of the vast, endless ocean, still unknown to humanity.


    I was born from the sea.


    <em>- ng!</em>


    The ominous signal resonated through the ship.


    The Clock of Contracts'' hand ticked toward 3.


    At that moment, the flesh forming Harrison''s face contorted with all its might, screaming.


    "No! No way! This can''t be! W-what are you¡­ born from the sea and ageless? You¡¯re not a fucking mermaid! What kind of human are you!"


    "I''ve always wondered about my age too."


    <em>- Gooooooong!</em>


    A colossal sound, almost palpable, echoed from the entire deep blue sea.


    Harrison, in his rage, tried to impale us with the ship''s wires like tentacles, but it was far toote.


    Upon the contract¡¯s termination, all the demonic powers granted to him began to wither.


    The wires drooped like the arms of a powerless old man, and the flesh mixed with the ship began to separate and fall off.


    As soon as wended, we moved towards where Songee and Elena were.


    Apparently, Perro had brought Kain as well, so everyone was in one ce.


    Songee immediately spoke, "How did you do that?"


    "It''s nothing much. I just guessed that if Marcas hates thend and enjoys sacrificingnd-born humans, then perhaps those born at sea couldn''t be sacrificed. I also thought that the ambiguity of my age might be another condition. It matched perfectly."


    "To think of that in the middle of all this¡ª"


    <em>- Boom!</em>


    The entire ship shook, and suddenly, parts of it began to disassemble!


    "Ahhh! What''s happening?"


    "Ah! Just as I suspected! With the flesh of people absorbed into the ship disappearing, the ship is copsing."


    A song, vast enough to cover the whole world, resounded from the sea.


    <em>Is it Marcas''s hymn?</em>


    Since time immemorial, fishermen and sailors who made the sea their home feared and revered the sea''s ferocity and unpredictability as a cruel goddess.


    Marcas, the demon who embodied the terror of the sea, cruelly twisted and instantly copsed the Esper Ho.


    We desperately clung to Perro.


    Though he seemed toin, he didn''t revert to his parrot form.


    Instead, he held Kain and Elena with his wings and tentacle-like arms.


    I clung to Perro''s neck to remain afloat.


    Surprisingly, despite being a bird, Perro could float on the water after transforming.


    We hung onto Grotesque Perro like hamsters on a giant duck''s back.


    "Please, please save us!"


    ...Miserable-looking people appeared from all sides.


    Harrison, who hadpletely lost his human form, seemed to have died upon the contract''s termination.


    But those who maintained a vaguely human shape while conjoined to the ship managed to swim to us even in such a state.


    Fortunately, Perro pushed each one back into the sea before they could reach us.


    The sailors, who had feared death more than anything and made a contract with the demon, returned to the sea¡¯s embrace as destined.


    Congrattions to all participants! You have passed the fourth trial, ''The Secret of Esper Ho''.


    The space began to copse.


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    As soon as we entered the familiar resting space, Songee and I urgently checked on Kain.


    We examined his breathing and assessed his external and internal injuries.


    Songee, with a tense expression, kept looking at my face.


    "Is Oppa okay?"


    "He won''t die immediately. But if we leave him like this, he will surely die."


    "Then what should we do?"


    Instead of answering, I immediately drew my blood with a syringe. Seeing my actions, Songee quickly moved Kain''s arm closer for a transfusion.


    I drew my blood repeatedly and injected it into Kain.


    "Will this help Oppa recover?"


    "It''s not enough. The healing power in my blood only strengthens when I''m near death. It¡¯s not that potent otherwise"


    As I spoke, a chilling thought crossed my mind.


    <em>What if Songeemands Perro to nearly kill me to extract stronger blood?</em>


    ...Fortunately, Songee showed no signs of such an intention.


    It was just my needless suspicion.


    My paranoia, nurtured from growing up in and around the Hotel and my experiences with the Administration, was akin to a chronic disease.


    "Then what should we do?"


    "I don''t know. If the next trial stage has a hospital, we might save him. Otherwise, we need to finish thest trial ourselves."


    Next, we checked on Elena.


    Unlike Kain, Elena didn''t seem to have any physical injuries.


    <em>Did the staff of the Esper Ho use a sedative on her?</em>


    She was just peacefully asleep.


    With Kain in a critical state and Elena deeply asleep, Songee and I sighed and waited for time to pass.


    Eventually, the Final Trial of the Gate Room began.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 46


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 0


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Clunk! Clunk!</em>


    <em>- Click!</em>


    My mind was foggy.


    I heard urgent sounds as I was being moved.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Ah, I''m the one being carried.</em>


    Realizing that I vaguely heard the sounds outside.


    <em>Is it a hospital?</em>


    <em>I hear people in white coats moving the stretcher I''m on, talking frantically.</em>


    <em>Is that my mom beside me? How did Mom get here?</em>


    <em>It seems we''ve moved on to the Next Trial. What''s going on now?</em>


    Even in this state, the Hotel disyed its notifications diligently.


    Despite everything around me being blurry and my condition being a wreck, the Hotel''s notifications were clear and vivid.


    Congrattions on reaching the Final Trial!


    Soon, your Inheritance and Blessing will be sealed.


    Don''t worry. You won''t need them in the Final Trial.


    The Final Trial, ''Perfect Life'', begins now.


    <em>Perfect Life¡­</em>


    With those words, my consciousness faded away.

 Chapter 134: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (25)

    Chapter 134: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (25)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>- Ring ring! Ring ring!</em>


    I woke up to the sound of my rm.


    Dazed, I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, washed my hair, and freshened up.


    In the mirror, I saw a stunningly beautiful girl who looked like she had stepped straight out of a painting.


    <em>...Time to go out.</em>


    I touched the pendant hanging around my neck and stepped out of the bathroom.


    I got dressed.


    The house was filled with the savory smell of frying eggs.


    ¡°Are you awake? Set the table, please.¡±My mom was preparing breakfast.


    <em>Mom is acting like an adult¡­?</em>


    I had a strange thought for a moment.


    <em>Of course, my mom is an adult. She¡¯s not a child.</em>


    Fried eggs, a few side dishes, and rice.


    A simple yet hearty breakfast.


    As I was about to leave, my mom lightly hugged me and patted my head.


    ¡°Have a great day!¡±


    ¡°Mom! I told you not to do that.¡±


    ¡°Just teasing.¡±


    Her silver hair cascaded down to her waist, her red eyes, and her softly curved eyebrows¡­


    Despite being my mom, she looked unbelievably beautiful¡­


    As I stepped out of the house, for some reason, a tear trickled down my cheek.


    While running to school, I heard a familiar voice call me.


    ¡°Ahri!¡±


    <em>Who could it be?</em>


    <em>Oh, it¡¯s Daseul.</em>


    I chatted with Daseul, my childhood friend, as we walked to school.


    <em>Seo Daseul should have died long ago, though?</em>


    I had another strange thought.


    <em>What am I thinking¡­ Daseul is alive right next to me.</em>


    sses at school were as dull as ever.


    In the decades that have passed, smartphones surpassing the performance of old supeputers have fallen into our hands, and the Administration has advanced civilization to the point of sending people to other worlds.


    <em>Yet school sses have remained nearly the same for decades?</em>


    <em>...The Administration?</em>


    I thought something strange again.


    The bell rang, ending the ss.


    As I stood up, friends gathered around me.


    We chatted andughed uncontrobly.


    Weughed and talked for ten minutes about a caterpir climbing a branch outside the window!


    Students at this age seem to even find falling leaves amusing.


    While moving to the hallway, I noticed the kids taking out their lunchboxes and gathering them near the heater at the back of the ssroom.


    <em>Maybe I should have brought a lunchbox to put on the heater?</em>


    <em>...Lunchbox?</em>


    <em>We have school meals nowadays, so why did they bring lunch boxes?</em>


    Realizing this, I looked around and found the design of the school uniforms odd.


    Jackets and pants resembling Japanese school uniforms, and hats simr to berets.


    Isn¡¯t this style of uniform something that was worn back in the 80s?


    <em>My head hurts.</em>


    I felt like I was on the verge of understanding something.


    Unconsciously, I fiddled with the pendant.


    Just as I was about to sit back down and ponder, Daseul grabbed my shoulder.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the ¡®ah¡¯? What are you thinking so deeply about?¡±


    ¡°Just, for a moment, everything around me felt strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Strange? Did you have a dream or something?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Did you watch ¡®You Who Fell from the Sky¡¯ yesterday?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Eh? You didn¡¯t see it? Everyone¡¯s talking about it! It¡¯s a huge hit!¡±


    ¡°A drama?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! The female lead is such a goddess! Look at this!¡±


    Daseul took out her phone and showed me the actress ying the heroine.


    Flowing golden hair like molten gold, emerald green eyes full of Amazonian vitality.


    She looked like a celebrity, so much so that I instinctively eximed, ¡°Wow, a celebrity!¡±


    She looked very familiar.


    <em>Have I seen someone like her before?</em>


    Throughout lunch, we only talked about ¡°You Who Fell from the Sky¡± and the new actress ying the female lead.


    The strangest event of the day happened during the seventh period.


    <em>- p!</em>


    Suddenly, with a loud noise, the window opened, and a parrot flew into the ssroom.


    Everyone screamed in surprise, and the teacher was at a loss, plunging the ss into chaos!


    The parrot ignored everyone else and flew straight at me.


    I was too shocked to react.


    The parrot flew directly to me and aimed its beak at the pendant hanging around my neck, trying to bite it off.


    ¡°Ah! Why are you doing this? Get off! Get off!¡±


    I tried to push the parrot away with my book, but it didn¡¯t work.


    Despite hitting it with a book much bigger than itself, the parrot didn¡¯t budge and shook me with its beak.


    <em>Are birds usually this strong?</em>


    <em>This parrot is way too strong. Can a normal bird be like this?</em>


    My friends and the teacher rushed to help pull the parrot away from me.


    <em>- Whistle!</em>


    A sharp whistle pierced my ears.


    The parrot immediately raised its head and responded to the whistle.


    ¡°Perro! Come back now!¡±


    A girl¡¯s voice, sounding angry, came from somewhere.


    The parrot, ¡°Perro¡±, reluctantly flew away.


    In the chaos, the ss ended awkwardly.


    As soon as the ss was over, a second-year senior approached me.


    She was a cute girl with charming features thatplemented her short hazel-brown hair, reminiscent of hazelnuts.


    She wore a mysterious, opaque bracelet on her right arm.


    Her name tag read ¡°Yu Songee¡±.


    For some reason, this girl also seemed very familiar.


    Contrary to how she had been when she controlled the parrot with just a whistle and a sharpmand, she fidgeted in front of me and spoke, ¡°Um! I¡¯m sorry. My friends were begging me to show them Perro, so I brought him to school. I made sure to put him in a cage, but my friends were messing around and he got out. He suddenly flew off and did something strange. I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Birds can do that.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s usually not a troublemaker like today. Perro¡¯s a very smart parrot, but today, as soon as the cage opened, he flew off at an incredible speed, and I couldn¡¯t stop him.¡±


    ¡°Really, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    We stared at each other for a moment and then tilted our heads at the same time.


    I spoke first, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel like we¡¯ve met before?¡±


    ¡°I had the same thought. Where do you live?¡±


    We talked for a while, but our neighborhoods and backgrounds werepletely different.


    Yet, we both felt a strong sense of familiarity and closeness.


    Maybe we met somewhere by chance and just forgot?


    That was the end of any unusual events for the day.


    ***<strong>- Yu Songee</strong>


    I had a strange experience.


    Due to my friend¡¯s insistence, I brought Perro to school, resulting in a big incident!


    I was scolded for a long time by the teacher after managing to fix the situation.


    The strange thing happened when I went to apologize to the first-year student Perro had bothered.


    First, I was shocked by her appearance.


    Her hair was like the night sky, her features were distinct, and most strikingly of all, her eyes seemed to sh red like flowing blood!


    Her appearance was unforgettable.


    <em>Isn¡¯t this just a regr high school?</em>


    <em>How could there be someone like that here?</em>


    I felt so overwhelmed by her appearance that I struggled to speak.


    Next, I felt an inexplicable familiarity and friendliness.


    She seemed like a princess from another world, the furthest thing from the word ¡°familiarity¡±.


    Yet, strangely, she felt familiar and even friendly.


    It felt like we couldfortably joke with each other.


    The most surprising thing was what happened next.


    That girl, ¡°Kim Ahri¡±, said she felt the same familiarity and friendliness toward me!


    After that, we talked about whether we lived in simr areas or attended the same elementary or middle school, but everything waspletely different.


    Pondering this puzzling experience, I walked across the schoolyard.


    <em>- Screech! Clunk!</em>


    ¡°Hey, hey! Watch where you¡¯re going!¡±


    ¡°Ah! Sorry!¡±


    I almost ran into a motorcycle because I was lost in thought.


    <em>But isn¡¯t this the schoolyard?</em>


    A delivery guy, clearly speeding illegally, shouted at me despite being at fault!


    As I puffed my cheeks in dyed anger, someone called me from behind, ¡°Wow~ Songee, I thought you were going to get hit just now.¡±


    Turning around, I saw one of the friends who insisted I bring Perro, Yeonah.


    ¡°I was scared too.¡±


    ¡°Be careful. I heard a third-year senior got hit by a motorcycle and ended up in the hospital.¡±


    ¡°A third-year senior?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Haven¡¯t you heard? Senior Kain.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of him. Is he famous?¡±


    ¡°Not really, but some girls like him because he¡¯s handsome.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I turned away, thinking it wasn¡¯t a big deal.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeonah¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Is that senior¡¯s surname ¡®Han¡¯? Han Kain?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It just suddenly came to mind.¡±


    It really just came to mind.


    Nothing special happened at school after that.


    Returning home in the evening, I was greeted by the usual tranquility of my home.


    As soon as I arrived, Happy, who looked like a white fluffball, and Somi, who probably spent half the day sleeping, came to nudge me.


    After dancing a joyful spin with Happy and Somi, a voice rang out, ¡°Do you dance like that every time youe home, Songee? Can¡¯t you see Perro is bewildered?¡±


    ¡°What does it matter? Perro can join in too.¡±


    Perro immediately flew to his room upon hearing that.


    ¡°Mom! Where¡¯s Dad?¡±


    ¡°Your dad is workingte again today. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s been working overtime so muchtely. I know his job at the hospital is busy, but he should pay more attention to home.¡±


    Mom felt sad about Dad not being able toe home often due to his busy hospital work.


    For some reason, just seeing this scene made me happy.


    In the past, it felt like Mom didn¡¯t care whether Dad was home or not¡­


    <em>I must be mistaken.</em>


    <em>My parents have always had a good rtionship.</em>


    Just then, Dad posted in our family chat group.


    I¡¯m sorry for beingte, my beloved Songee and Yeon~!


    Seeing the cheesy message, I teased Mom like crazy. She got embarrassed and kicked me while we finished dinner.


    We nned a short family trip during a rare extended holiday.


    After dinner, I went to my room and suddenly felt tears well up.


    <em>...Why is this happening?</em>


    Strange memories suddenly surfaced.


    My parents used to shout at each other every day.


    They started openly seeing other people and contactedwyers.


    <em>Such a strange memory. My parents have always gotten along.</em>


    <em>Those things couldn¡¯t have happened.</em>


    After washing away those strange memories in the shower, I went to bed.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>- Clunk!</em>


    I woke up startled by the sensation of the bed shaking.


    In front of me appeared an iprehensible monster, unlike anything I had ever seen before.

 Chapter 135: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (26)

    Chapter 135: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (26)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>- Ring! Ring!</em>


    I woke up to the loud sound of my rm.


    I yawned and dawdled in bed for a while but eventually got up and left the room.


    As always, I had a hearty breakfast, received a warm send-off from my mom, and left for school.


    It was a peaceful routine that seemed like it could go on forever.


    As I stepped out the door, Daseul appeared as usual.


    "Ahri!"


    "Yeah. Yawn~ I''m yawning so much."


    "Are you really sleepy?""Not really, just a bit. Ah~ I wish I didn''t have to go to school."


    "Is your head not hurting these days?"


    "My head?"


    "You¡¯ve been clutching your head several times a daytely, and then you¡¯d say something felt strange."


    "Did I? I think I''m fine today."


    "Take some medicine, just in case."


    Luckily, I made it to school without beingte.


    As soon as I opened my shoe locker¡ª


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    "..."


    Letters spilled out as soon as I opened it.


    Daseul looked at me in disbelief, "Did you open it in front of me just to brag?"


    "I should put a lock on it to stop people from putting weird stuff in there."


    "Then they''ll just stuff it into your desk whenever you''re away."


    "..."


    Daseul and I roughly cleared out the trash from the locker.


    While we were cleaning up, I heard a voice calling me from across the hall.


    "Hi! You''re Ahri, right?"


    It was the senior I metst week.


    <em>Was her name Yu Songee?</em>


    She was carrying a birdcage.


    "Hello~. You brought the parrot again today?"


    <em>It''s a bit strange.</em>


    <em>Is it okay to bring animals to school like this?</em>


    "Yeah! The teacher gave permission. Isn''t he cute?"


    <em>The teacher gave permission?</em>


    <em>What kind of school is this?</em>


    Suppressing my astonishment, I looked at the birdcage the senior was holding.


    <em>What is this?</em>


    <em>Did I see it wrong?</em>


    The parrot in the cage seemed to be wearing some sort of straitjacket.


    <em>His name is Perro, right?</em>


    Perro looked at me from outside the cage and cried sadly.


    "What''s with the outfit?"


    "Oh, Perro kept causing trouble, so we put it on for training. He''s safe now."


    When the senior put her hand in the cage, Perro quietly lowered his head.


    There was an unsettling vibe when the senior said, ¡°He''s safe now.¡±


    A different¡ªsomewhat domineering¡ªvibe.


    The parrot seemed to be afraid of its owner.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>What a strange thought.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s not like I Know this person well enough toment on her usual demeanor.</em>


    <em>And I definitely can''t read a parrot''s mind.</em>


    Today, as usual, the dull sses dragged on until lunchtime.


    <em>Yawn!</em>


    <em>I wish I could just burn this school down!</em>


    As Iy on my desk, rolling around, my friends gathered around and started chatting.


    As always, the topic was the hit drama, ¡°You Who Fell from the Sky¡±.


    <em>Has it been about two weeks since it started airing?</em>


    The drama was a huge hit, worthy of being called a national sensation.


    The actress at the center of the buzz, Elena, was appearing in variousmercials every day.


    I shouldn''t know a celebrity like that, but strangely, I felt a sense of familiarity whenever I saw her.


    <em>Ugh~ I''m bored.</em>


    <em>I think I¡¯ve longed for this kind of peace, but now that it¡¯s actually here, life just feels so boring.</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Another strange thought.</em>


    <em>It''s not like I''ve ever been on some kind of grand adventure.</em>


    Sighing, I heard a loud noise and looked out the window.


    There was a group of boisterous male students outside.


    One student in the center had a cast on his leg. He was most likely just discharged from the hospital.


    They wereughing and joking around with the cast, looking pretty friendly.


    ¡°¡­!¡±


    I made eye contact with the student in the cast.


    The moment our eyes met, I felt a strange sense of familiarity and friendliness, something I''d experienced several times before.


    The other person seemed puzzled, tilting his head.


    <em>- DING DONG!</em>


    The bell signaling the end of lunchtime brought me back to my senses, and I turned away.


    ***At the end of the school day, Daseul and some of my other friends came up to me.


    "Have you seen any moviestely?"


    "Movies? I can''t remember. It feels like it''s been ages."


    "Then let''s watch a movie tonight!"


    With that, the others started chatting andughing.


    "What movie?"


    "''The Secret of Esper Ho''! Have you heard of it?"


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Just hearing the title gave me an ominous feeling.


    "The title alone feels really weird. It sounds like the ship will definitely sink."


    "You''ve heard of it, right? It''s trending with ten million views already."


    "No, this is the first time I''ve heard of it. Is it famous?"


    "Yeah! The lead actress from ''YWFS'' starred in it."


    "What¡¯s YWFS?"


    "You Who Fell from the Sky!"


    "Don''t use weird abbreviations. I didn''t understand."


    "You''re such an oldie~"


    That remark annoyed me, so I kicked Daseul''s chair.


    She kicked mine right back, and after we both tumbled to the floor one after the other, we continued our conversation.


    "But when did the drama actress have time to film a movie?"


    Daseul just tilted her head without answering.


    <em>Shooting a hit drama and a ten-million-view movie simultaneously?</em>


    Logically, the movie must have been filmed first.


    But how could an actress, famous for a drama, be the lead in a blockbuster movie filmed before the drama?


    Something didn¡¯t add up¡ª


    I stopped thinking about it.


    <em>What do I know about the life of a celebrity?</em>


    She might have been famous abroad before bing popr in Korea.


    Today''s school day ended without anything special.


    <em>I hope the movie tonight is fun!</em>


    ***¡°The Secret of Esper Ho¡± was, disappointingly, just an ordinary romance movie.


    Honestly, the story was predictable andcked any real substance. It probably seeded due to the leads being overwhelmingly attractive.


    It felt a lot like ¡°Titanic¡±, with the addition of a captain who controlled zombies.


    Thinking about it, that was a significant change in genre.


    I dozed off for nearly half the run time, and the movie was almost over by the time the final climax was introduced.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    "Wow~ that was fun!"


    "Elena is such a goddess! She was so beautiful."


    "Do you think Ahri will star in a movie like that someday?"


    "What did you think, Ahri?"


    My friends jokingly nudged me.


    "..."


    "Ahri?"


    "Ahri is crying?"


    "Was it that emotional? The ending was great."


    "I almost cried when the lead''s mom sacrificed herself to save her."


    "Ahri?"


    <strong>I snapped back to reality.</strong>


    I began to wake from a long dream.


    I had forgotten something I should never forget.


    As I stood up and looked around, I saw my puzzled friends.


    Students in Japanese school uniforms and beret-like student caps.


    <em>It''s abnormal.</em>


    <em>Such uniforms vanished over 40 years ago.</em>


    I ran out of the movie theater.


    I heard voices calling me from behind, but I didn''t care.


    I didn''t feel like talking to my ¡°friends¡± anymore.


    It wasn''t worth it.


    As I walked down the street, I noticed groups of people chatting everywhere.


    <em>It''s abnormal.</em>


    The Red gue, which failed to be quarantined early, resulted in 30 million deaths worldwide.


    <em>Since then, it has been rare to see random citizens meeting without masks and gloves.</em>


    As I walked slowly down the street, I noticed more and more abnormalities.


    The food alley was full of pubs and izakayas<sup>1</sup> in every zone.


    An alcohol-borne fungal parasite caused over 400,000 deaths in Korea alone.


    Since then, 70% of bars nationwide have closed.


    <em>Alcohol is now strictly controlled throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.</em>


    I turned my gaze to see street preachers shouting about believing in Jesus to avoid hell.


    <em>In the Penins, seven self-proimed reincarnations of Jesus Christ summoned the ¡°Heavenly Envoy¡± in Gwanak-gu.</em>


    <em>Since then, street evangelism, especially those that involved offering money and goods to gather people, has been strongly policed.</em>


    Looking at the building with the movie theater, the exterior was spotless, with no visible robots.


    <em>After predatory pigeons from China proliferated throughout Korea, buildings became high-risk areas for their nests.</em>


    Since then, most buildings of a certain size have used surveince drones to prevent predatory pigeon nests.


    There was amon factor among the abnormal points in this strange world.


    A scenery that was natural in the old world.


    Scenes unaffected by social changes caused by uncontrolled chaotic disasters!


    Walking home, I looked at the night sky onest time.


    The bright full moon in the night sky confirmed my suspicions.


    Because the moon no longer exists in the real world.


    ***I found myself in front of my house after walking absentmindedly for a long time.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>I just need to go inside.</em>


    <em>If I just open the door and go inside, talk to Mom, and forget today''s strange memories¡­</em>


    I grabbed the doorknob.


    <em>Why have I been thinking strange things all day?</em>


    <em>Just open this door¡­ that''s all I need to do.</em>


    At home, there was the ¡°good mom¡± I had always dreamed of, and at school, there were friends who made meugh just by looking at them.


    It was embarrassing to say it, but I was pretty!


    Maybe I could even be a celebrity, meet someone handsome and wonderful, and live a happy life.


    <em>If I stay here, I can achieve everything.</em>


    <em>This is the ideal life, my perfect life.</em>


    I sat down in confusion.


    After some time, I heard the voice I longed for on the other side of the door.


    "What are you doing outside?"


    "Mom..."


    "Do you have something on your mind?"


    "I don''t know what to do."


    "You don''t know what to do? Do you have several options? In such cases, always return to the basics."


    "The basics?"


    "The one thing you must achieve. Leave only that one goal and forget the rest."


    <em>The one thing I must achieve.</em>


    Unclear thoughts began to stir in my mind.


    I stood up, holding onto my trembling legs.


    Forcing my reluctant mouth to open.


    "I''m going back to save the ''real'' you."


    Instead of answering, the woman beyond the wall threw an object into the ce where milk was delivered.


    It was a smartphone.


    Holding the dark smartphone, I stood up, and Mom spoke for thest time.


    "I love you."


    I didn''t reply.


    <em>The person who will hear my answer is still waiting for me!</em>


    ***Late at night, nearing midnight, I stared at the smartphone in my hand.


    <em>How did I authenticate it?</em>


    I remembered.


    I ced my left pinky finger on it, and the screen shook like it wasgging.


    Then my right thumb.


    The screen opened, and the ¡°Administration Bureau Application¡± started.


    <strong>Wee, Agent Kim Ahri. Please click the desired service...</strong>


    I skipped that and pressed 1, 3, and 2 in order.


    <strong>Directing you to the nearest Administration Bureau headquarters.</strong>


    <em>Barum Publishing.</em>


    <em>It''s not far.</em>


    I looked up at the night sky again.


    The moon¡¯s radiant light, no longer present in reality, bathed the ground below.


    <em>Did I miss that beautiful sight?</em>


    Sighing, I walked into the street.


    Tonight, I woke up from the false world.<ol>1. Informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. Izakaya are casual ces for after-work drinking.</ol>

 Chapter 136: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (27)

    Chapter 136: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (27)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    As I walked under the blue-lit city lights, I pondered¡­


    <em>Who am I?</em>


    My hazy mind, slowly clearing, told me something.


    <em>This is a false world.</em>


    <em>There is a ce I should be.</em>


    <em>I have a goal to achieve.</em>


    <em>But my awakening is still iplete.</em>


    <em>Why have I been caught in this false world?</em>


    <em>What was I doing before this?</em><em>Who am I, really?</em>


    I could only vaguely recall that I was an agent of the Cmity Management Bureau.


    <em>Did that mean I got caught in an unidentified illusion while working as an agent?</em>


    I didn¡¯t know.


    This world was tooplete to simply dismiss as a mere illusion.


    The power to manipte illusions, simply put, was the power to input false visual information into the brain.


    The difference in means aside, modern humanity''s VR devices fundamentally handle illusions in the same way.


    How muchputational power would it take to input information that perfectly simted the entire world before me into a person¡¯s mind?


    With these thoughts, I arrived at ¡°Barum Publishing¡±.


    The building looked ordinary.


    Since it was alreadyte, most of the lights were off, and the entrance was locked.


    While I pondered my next move, the door clicked open.


    As I stepped inside, a security guard nodded at me from a distance.


    <em>How do I get inside? The ess method differs for each branch.</em>


    As I stood still for a moment, the guard spoke to me, "Are you lost?"


    "..."


    "Shall I guide you?"


    "How did you know I''m an agent?"


    The guard gave me a look as if I was speaking nonsense, "Isn''t your phone currently in agent mode?"


    "...Right."


    "They''re already waiting inside."


    <em>I made a foolish mistake.</em>


    The guard led me to the elevator and manipted the control panel.


    Soon, the elevator moved ¡°horizontally¡±.


    <em>- ng! Whirrrrr!</em>


    ...At this point, the elevator should have left the building, right?


    Despite knowing the notion of mon sense¡± was meaningless in the Administration, I couldn¡¯t help but question what happened in front of me.


    "Ah!"


    I couldn''t help but exim as soon as I stepped out of the elevator.


    <em>How can such a ce exist in the middle of Seoul!?</em>


    The space was vast and almost impossible to take in at a nce.


    At least a hundred employees in white were bustling about.


    Somewhere, a cart was carrying an object asrge as a car.


    Somewhere else, a sphere emittingsers was being transported in an opaque box.


    Elsewhere, a man with a name tag reading ¡°13th Reincarnation of Jesus¡± was being dragged away.


    <em>There are reincarnations of Jesus? Are there also reincarnations of Buddha or Ah?</em>


    Though 99.9% of such people were likely ordinary humans without supernatural powers, the Administration caught them because of the 0.1%.


    As I sighed and looked around, my forgotten memories began to resurface.


    From afar, the Administration appeared to be an infinitely mysterious and transcendent organization.


    However, up close, it was a chaotic mess whose operations fell short of even the local convenience store.


    <em>This work condition made me grab my neck in frustration more than once!</em>


    From afar, most members of the Administration were the best geniuses humanity had to offer.


    However, up close, it was a ckpany full of idiots who made me wonder if they got into Harvard by ying poker.


    All in all, it was a typical day in the Administration.


    ***As I walked down the wide corridor, I received countless greetings.


    I couldn''t remember anyone clearly, but they all knew me.


    Eventually, not knowing where to go, I just stood still and grabbed anyone nearby.


    "Hey! You there!"


    "Yes? Agent Kim Ahri?"


    "Who''s the highest-ranking person here?"


    The man, who looked like a researcher, examined me with a puzzled expression.


    "My mind is a bit of a mess because of a mission," I roughly exined.


    The researcher tilted his head and replied, "If you mean the highest-ranking person, are you referring to Director Park? Director Park''s office is down the hall to the right¡ª"


    "You lead me there. I can''t remember theyout well."


    "I''m a bit busy right now¡ª"


    "Hey! Let someone else handle that reincarnated Jesus. It''s just some self-proimed Jesus getting kicked around the street anyway. Next time, catch a self-proimed Buddha or self-proimed Ah."


    "One out of hundreds can turn out to be real monsters..." he mumbled before guiding me.


    After walking through numerous twists and turns in the corridors, I was d I asked for guidance.


    The researcher left me in front of arge, ornate office door and disappeared.


    <em>- Click!</em>


    The office was rather barren.


    There were no decorations, just a single orchid pot in the corner.


    "Don''t just stand there,e over here."


    A man, seemingly in his 40s or 50s, stood up from his desk and called me from the window.


    "What should I call you? Director Park?"


    The man turned his head and sighed, "I received the report. Did you really lose your memory?"


    "The report came in already?"


    "You''ve been making it too obvious that you lost your memory, so the report had toe in."


    "Is that so..."


    "This is very ufortable. Drop the formalities. Since when have you ever used politenguage?"


    "Okay. So what should I call you?"


    "Call me Park Hyunmin."


    "Hyunmin. Something seems really wrong with me."


    "...Hyunmin is a bit much, call me Director Park Hyunmin."


    "I''ll just call you Director Park."


    I then told him about all the abnormalities I noticed.


    The overabundance of bars, buildings without drones, the moon shining in the sky.


    And one clear realization; <em>this whole world is fake.</em>


    I had an inexplicable certainty of this fact.


    The director, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke, "Let me give you my honest answer. You''re crazy. The bizarre elements you''ve mentioned are things even I, as a director of the Administration, have never heard or seen.


    ¡°A world where pigeons eat people... that''s something I can''t even imagine in my dreams.


    Alcoholic fungal parasites, the Red gue¡ªthese are all new to me. And a world without the moon? It''s an unimaginable thing.


    ¡°Rather than the whole world changing suddenly, it''s more likely that you alone have gone mad. You¡¯ve mentioned that your memory is iplete, haven¡¯t you? You might have encountered a strange Being of Chaos during a mission."


    "That makes me curious. ording to your data, what was I doing?"


    "Good question. Before you came in, I looked into your current mission. The result was surprising. It said I don''t have the security clearance to ess it."


    "Even with your clearance?"


    "The fact that I can''t ess it means that only the World Council knows the true nature of your mission on Earth."


    <em>Was I on a special secret mission and lost my mind because of it?</em>


    I shook my head.


    <em>¡­That''s not the main issue.</em>


    "Assume everything I''ve said is true, this whole world is fake! I''m not just saying that. I''ve felt for a while that this entire world is a fake."


    "The 13th reincarnated Jesus we caught today also firmly believed he was the resurrected Jesus."


    "It''s not just my thoughts. Even ''Mom''s'' reaction was strange. It was like she was encouraging me to follow my own path!"


    "That''s the kind of reaction parents show when their child enters puberty and starts wandering."


    "Who even is my mom by the Administration''s standards? Her appearance is too extraordinary! And given your reaction and my vague memories, isn''t my age also a mystery in itself? How old is my mom? Isn''t that strange?"


    "Your mother is a former Administration agent. Although she''s currently on a break, she''s older than the both of usbined."


    Just a brief conversation with him drained my energy.


    Finding the logical contradictions in this world was more challenging than I thought.


    Even someone as enigmatic as Mom was part of this perfectly implemented world.


    There were many strange things in this world, but this short conversation made me realize.


    They all had their own logic.


    Director Park could likely logically exin any point I raise, thus proving this world is ¡°real¡±.


    <em>...Could I really be the one who''s crazy?</em>


    Did I encounter a strange Being of Chaos on a secret mission that twisted my mind?


    Seeing my puzzled expression, the director spoke again, "Let''s look at it from another perspective."


    "Another perspective?"


    "Assume this whole world is entirely fake as you say. Conventionally, the power to handle illusions copses rapidly when the person trapped in the illusion starts to doubt it. Why is that?"


    "I don''t know. I feel like I would have known before."


    "An illusion is, simply put, a process of inputting simted information about the world into a person''s brain."


    <em>This exnation felt familiar. I think I''ve heard it before.</em>


    "The problem is, continuously injecting simted information about the world is much more challenging than it seems. It consumes immenseputational power. Usually, the illusion caster borrows the imagination of the person experiencing the illusion to implement it because the caster''sputational power alone is insufficient.


    ¡°In simpler terms, the caster only needs to input a message like, ''You are going to school now,'' and the person''s mind imagines themselves going to school. That''s the essence of the power to handle illusions. Understand?"


    "I understand. It feels like something I already knew."


    "In that sense, an illusion is simr to making a person dream with a clear mind. So when the person starts doubting it, it usually copses. After all, the person experiencing the illusion created it themselves."


    "But why doesn''t this illusion copse even though I''m doubting it?"


    "There are two possibilities. First, the theory I mentioned applies only when the illusion castercksputational power. If the caster is a transcendental being, they can endlessly input perfectly simted information about the real world regardless of the victim''s imagination, then there''s no way to wake up.


    ¡°Think of VR devices as a simr case. Although the technology is still immature, the visual information shown by VR devices is all generated by the device itself, unrted to the user''s imagination. If you shout, ''This is all fake!'' while wearing a VR device, does anything change?"


    "In that case, there''s no way for me to wake up at all..."


    "Honestly, it''s a hopeless case. If the caster is that transcendent, they could crush you with a flick of a finger even if you wake up."


    "Let''s exclude that possibility since it offers no solution. What''s the second assumption?"


    "The second assumption is that you''re not yet fully convinced. The human mind isplex. Part of your mind may have awakened and started doubting this reality, but deep down, you might still believe this ce is real.


    ¡°Or you might wish it to be real. Based on your description, the real world seems utterly hopeless, heading towards the apocalypse, so you have plenty of reasons not to want to wake up."


    <em>Have I truly not fully awakened?</em>


    <em>Or is there still a part of me that wants to stay here?</em>


    <em>Ultimately, it seems like a matter of convincing myself.</em>


    I quietly stood and looked out the window.


    The director, observing me, spoke again, "I have an idea."


    "An idea?"


    "If this world is truly the ideal, happy ce you imagine, it wouldn''t be able to properly implement something you can''t imagine. The more horrible and twisted the imagination, the harder it would be to implement."


    A horrible and twisted imagination.


    An answer came to mind easily.


    I asked onest question, "Aren''t you afraid? If this whole world is fake, then you''re just a fake too."


    "What is there to fear? There are two possibilities: you are crazy, or the world is really your dream or illusion. If you''re crazy, I have no reason to be afraid. If the world is your dream, then I am also a part of you.


    ¡°Didn''t Descartes say, ''I think, therefore I am?'' If this whole world is fake, only you are real. If I¡¯m simply a product of your imagination, then there¡¯s nothing to fear."


    <em>He''s truly hard to understand.</em>


    I felt it vaguely.


    <em>If this whole world is a creation of my mind, then there must be a real version of Director Park outside who inspired this imagination.</em>


    The real Director Park must have also been someone very hard to understand.


    But I understood something.


    Through this long conversation in this ce, I learned the real way to wake up.


    Something terrible and unfortunate that I could never imagine couldn¡¯t be properly implemented in this world.


    I figured out the answer to that ¡°something¡±.

 Chapter 137: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (28)

    Chapter 137: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (28)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>-Whoosh!</em>


    I held my trembling legs with both hands.


    I never realized how strong the wind would be on the rooftop.


    From the rooftop of the building disguised as a publishing house, I looked down at the city below.


    Even though it was close to midnight, the city was still filled with the glow of neon signs, the hustle and bustle of restaurants, lively bars, and the vibrancy of people radiating through the world.


    <em>Have I ever seen a world so beautiful?</em>


    <em>Yet here I am, on this rooftop, ready to jump.</em>


    I thought about finding a better way, but I couldn''te up with anything more certain than suicide.


    An event more unimaginable, horrifying, and unfortunate than ¡°my death¡±¡ª<em>could there be a more definite answer?</em>It was not easy for a living person to experience death and resurrection, unlike the one who was nailed to the cross and rose again three dayster.


    Of course, in the faint memories I had recovered, there were no memories of death.


    When I came up to the rooftop, I had steeled myself, but once I got up there, my legs began to tremble.


    <em>...What if the thought that this world is false was just my delusion?</em>


    <em>What if my mind snapped during a top-secret mission, and this was the result?</em>


    I gulped as I approached the rooftop¡¯s edge, looking down at the ground below, feeling as if my breath was stuck in my throat.


    I shut my eyes tightly and stepped onto the ledge.


    <em>One step. Just one more step, and it''s over. Don''t look down.</em>


    <em>Just close your eyes and take that one step¡­</em>


    "Gasp!"


    I opened my eyes with a gasp, the dizzying view from the rooftop filled my vision.


    <em>This isn¡¯t right!</em>


    <em>Surely, there must be a better way than this.</em>


    <em>Maybe everything I''ve been thinking until now has just been a misunderstanding?</em>


    <em>Let¡¯s reconsider.</em>


    <em>There has to be a more reasonable method than suicide.</em>


    <em>After all, it''s better to take action after sufficient consideration¡ª</em>


    <em>- Piyooooooo!</em>


    ¡°...?¡±


    <em>¡­???</em>


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    Something pushed me from behind, and suddenly, I was falling through the air!


    <em>That damn bird¡ªI swear I''ll cook you someday!</em>


    "WAHHHHH! YOU STUPID FUCKING BIRDDDDD! AAAAAAAAA!!! AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"


    <em>Am I dying?</em>


    <em>Am I really going to die like this?</em>


    <em>I didn''t even jump on my own; I¡¯m going to die from a parrot''s headbutt?</em>


    The ground rushed up to meet me!


    No, I was the one rushing towards it at incredible speed.


    An overwhelming terror I''ve never felt before consumed my soul.


    In that fleeting moment, all the confused thoughts that had been clouding my mind were swept away.


    My entire being was consumed by one desperate wish.


    <em>Stop!</em>


    <em>World, please stop! Just stop!</em>


    <strong>And the world stopped.</strong>


    People who were unwinding with ate-night drink to shake off the day¡¯s fatigue froze in ce.


    The neon signs that tirelessly lit up the sleepless city halted their flickering.


    The air that had been whipping against my skin as I fell, stopped.


    Even the arrogant parrot that had been watching me from above, stopped.


    Only at that moment, when the entire world halted in response to my wish, did I fully ept the truth deep in my heart.


    The fact that this entire world was nothing but an illusion!


    The pendant that had been hanging around my neck naturally floated up into my view and opened.


    With a click, the pendant revealed a hidden photo inside.


    The reason I had returned to this hotel.


    A precious memory I must never forget.


    In the photo was a girl who resembled me in every way except for her hair color.


    Unlike the person I met this morning, this was my mother, looking no older than her mid-teens.


    As the world stood still, my mind drifted toward the past as if floating on a current.


    ***<strong>- A memory from long ago</strong>


    <em>- Creak.</em>


    I awoke to the sharp sound of something scraping against a wall.


    A clown with more than ten eyes glistening all over its body stared at me.


    I immediately gagged.


    But it was fine.


    There was nothing left in my stomach to vomit anyway.


    "Get lost."


    <em>- Creak.</em>


    The clown scraped at the ss box protecting me with its countless ws.


    "Useless. This item is a special item from the Hotel."


    I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked around.


    The once beautiful hotel that was praised as more splendid than any other had long since vanished.


    The hotel, now resembling an abandoned construction site, was crumbling everywhere, and filled with monsters so terrifying that I couldn''t bear to make eye contact with them.


    <em>...Miro? Where are you? Where did you go, leaving me alone in this ss box?</em>


    <em><strong>Time passes.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Memories sway like the wind and move to the next scene.</strong></em>


    I was still in the ss box.


    Miro appeared, covered in blood.


    "What happened to you? Did another strange monster appear?"


    "No, I got a little hurt retrieving this."


    Miro held a balloon-like object that I couldn''t identify.


    "Is that the ''Air Bubble''? Isn''t that something the ''other team'' had? How did you¡ªwait, no way!"


    "I had no choice. This is the only thing that can save you."


    With those words, Miro pushed me further into the ss box.


    "What are you doing? Why¡ª"


    "Ahri, stay still."


    "Miro!"


    "Ahri, my beautiful and smart daughter. I''m not as smart as you, but now I understand. We can''t survive here any longer, right?"


    "..."


    "It''s strange. There used to be delicious food every mealtime, but today, there is no food. Clowns are popping out from under the bed, and transparent monsters are starting to crawl on the walls."


    "...It''s because we didn''t enter a Cursed Room."


    "And we won''t be able to enter again. We can¡¯t progress through the Cursed Rooms anymore, right?"


    "Mom..."


    "It''s okay. I always thought something like this might happen one day."


    The balloon in Miro''s right hand began to inte, growingrge enough to cover the entire box I was in.


    "How did you get the Air Bubble? Did you steal it? Don¡¯t tell me... You didn¡¯t kill the ''other team¡¯, right? We promised not to do that."


    "I had no choice."


    "Please. Let¡¯s leave together instead. We could just make the Air Bubble a bit bigger."


    "No. The instructions that came with it said it was for one person only. If two people go inside, something will definitely go wrong."


    Ever since I woke up, Miro had always seemed like a child, but that day, she was unusually smart and firm.


    "Then you go instead, Mom. I heard you were a very important person outside¡ª"


    <em>- Chuu!</em>


    Miro¡¯s soft lips briefly touched my forehead as the ss box closed.


    "I love you."


    As Miro''s hand touched the box, my consciousness began to blur.


    Tears, which I thought had dried up, started flowing endlessly from my eyes.


    With my tears as ink and my soul as the notepad, I etched an unbreakable vow.


    I will never forget this moment.


    <em>One day, I will return to this ce.</em>


    And just as you gave up your life to save me today, I vow that next time, I will be the one to save you.


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    I had truly awakened.


    An overwhelming flood of information burst through the dam of my mind, filling itpletely.


    The surge of information gave me a headache, and I was forced to clutch my head and lean against the wall for a while.


    ...As I woke up, I realized something ridiculous.


    <em>I''ve already died several times in this hotel.</em>


    The memories of what I experienced in the hotel still hadn¡¯t fully returned.


    Because of that, I couldn''t imagine ¡°death¡±, which allowed me to wake up by attempting suicide.


    However, if the memories of dying in the hotel had returned, and I had been able to imagine death, what would have happened?


    I shuddered and stopped thinking about it.


    Upon reflection, it was a very risky method!


    <em>Anyway, this is it, right?</em>


    <em>The end of this long journey in the Gate Room!</em>


    <em>The beautiful Ahri carries the party~!</em>


    A hologram window appeared in the air.


    Congrattions, Participant Kim Ahri, onpleting the final trial ''Perfect Life''!


    Since a participant haspleted the trial among your party, all members will safely return.


    Those who pass can immediately escape the Gate Room.


    Would you like to escape the Gate Room immediately?


    (Y/N)


    "Ahhh~! It''s really over! It''s finally, finally over!"


    With the world at a standstill and no one watching me, I spun around and danced joyfully for a long time!


    Just as I was about to press the ¡°Y¡± on the hologram, a sense of unease washed over me


    <em>Why is there a ¡°choice¡±?</em>


    I had resolved or escaped from Cursed Rooms many times before.


    But the hotel had never given me a choice like this.


    When I escaped, I was automatically ejected, and when I resolved the room, it disappeared immediately.


    In fact, the ¡°auto-escape trigger¡± would sometimes interfere when we were attempting to resolve a room.


    <em>So why am I being given a choice this time?</em>


    I had already passed, yet I was given the option to ¡°not escape¡±.


    This meant¡­


    <em>¡­There¡¯s still something left for me to do.</em>


    "I want to ask one question."


    What question do you have?


    "What will happen to the remainingrades after I leave?"


    You already know the answer.


    The Gate Room is essentially a more intense version of the Cursed Room.


    So many of the principles that apply to the Cursed Room also apply to the Gate Room.


    I recalled my memories of when we conducted a series of attempts in the Common Sense Renovating Media Room.


    Seungyub would often distance himself from the room early on to secure an escape for the escape team.


    That was possible because Seungyub¡¯s escape didn¡¯t hinder the others'' progress.


    Unlike theplete copse of the entire room¡¯s world when solved, ''escaping'' only meant the individual left the stage while the others continued.


    Until when? Until they solve it, escape, or die.


    I looked at the notification in front of me again.


    Those who pass can immediately escape the Gate Room. Would you like to escape the Gate Room immediately?


    (Y/N)


    <em>It''s not a solution. It''s an escape.</em>


    <em>Even after I escape, the Gate Room will not disappear, and myrades will continue.</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    A terrifying thought crossed my mind.


    What if myrades continue without waking up?


    Unlike the Cursed Room, this world was peaceful and warm, with no threats to their lives.


    In this perfect life, what if they kept living for decades, maybe even longer, only to wake up by chance, or after they''ve already lived out their natural lifespan...?


    A sense of dread choked me.


    I finally understood why I was given a choice.


    There was still something left for me to do here.

 Chapter 138: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (29)

    Chapter 138: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (29)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>The task left for me, as the one who passed the Trial first, is to wake up therades who are still in the illusion!</em>


    While leaning against the building''s exterior and nning my next move, I felt a weight on my shoulder.


    "After headbutting me earlier, now you''re sitting on my shoulder?"


    Perro tilted his head, looking at me as if wondering what was wrong.


    Despite everything, that cute expression melted away my irritation.


    "Perro, you went through a lot to find me, didn¡¯t you?"


    Perro wasn¡¯t in good condition.


    He looked like he had pecked off that strange straitjacket I¡¯d seen before, feather by feather.


    The bald patches on his body made it clear how hard he had worked to find me.I could guess why he had gone through so much trouble to reach me.


    "Yeah, it seems like we have simr goals. I came to this Hotel because I wanted to save my mom. Now, let''s go save yours."


    Before starting working in earnest, I wandered around the city for a while to confirm one thing.


    It was as I expected.


    There were no longer any traces of the Administration Bureau in the publishing house building¡ªit had turned into a normal publishing house.


    This world was a perfect ce created from the dreams and illusions of the four of us who reached the Final Trial.


    ces that were formed solely based on my presence, like the Administration Bureau headquarters, had vanished.


    Simrly, when I returned home, the adult version of Miro was nowhere to be found.


    After figuring out this much, I ended the long night and fell asleep at home.


    The house, with my mother gone, felt toorge and quiet.


    ***The next morning, I went to school.


    The situation at school hadn¡¯t changed much.


    I figured the reason for this was because the dreams that maintained the school weren¡¯t mine alone.


    At this school, there were just three people: me, Songee, and Kain.


    First, I should wake up those two, and then Elena.


    As soon as lunchtime came, I called Perro, who was perched on a tree outside the school window and went to find Songee.


    Finding Songee was too easy.


    What could Songee''s ¡°Perfect Life¡± be?


    <em>The life of a druid?</em>


    <em>Is it her dream to bring animals to school?</em>


    I should have realized something was off when the scenario allowed her to bring a parrot to school!


    As soon as I reached the second-year floor, the loud barking made it hard to think clearly.


    Thanks to the ¡°settings¡± Songee had added, the second-year floor had long since turned into a school where dogs studied in ce of humans.


    Even among the chaos, it was easy to find Yu Songee, beloved by the dogs as a saint and by the cats as a sage.


    To blend in naturally, I ced Perro on my shoulder and approached Songee.


    Songee recognized me from afar and ran over.


    "Perrooo!"


    So she recognized Perro.


    "I was so worried when you suddenly disappeared! Where did you go? Did you bother Ahri again?"


    Songee looked at me and continued speaking, "If Perro did something weird again, I''m sorry!"


    "No, Perro didn¡¯t do anything weird. You''re the one doing something weird."


    ...I felt the atmosphere around me grow cold.


    ncing around, I saw countless dogs and cats starting to re at me.


    "I don''t know about the others, but I suspect you¡¯re already half awake¡­ What do you think? You were the one who put that straitjacket on Perro, right? I¡¯ve been thinking about it, and Perro probably tried to wake you up beforeing to me. You didn¡¯t want to wake up, so you¡ª"


    "Shut. Up!"


    Before I could finish, Songee shouted loud enough to shake the entire school!


    Her outburst forced my mouth shut, preventing me from making any sound.


    "Get. Out!" Songee shouted again, even stronger.


    And I was flung out of the school.


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    <em>Wha¨C! What on earth just happened?</em>


    I tried to wake Songee up, and she got angry.


    <em>That much I expected¡­</em>


    But when she got mad and told me to get out, I was literally thrown out of the school.


    It was like a glitch in a game, where my body flew through the air, passed through walls, and eventuallynded in the schoolyard.


    I was so stunned that I didn''t even think about getting up.


    I justid there, covered in the schoolyard''s dust, and thought, ¡°Is that some kind of reality-maniption ability?¡±


    <em>Come to think of it, it¡¯s not surprising.</em>


    This ce was the stage for our ¡°Perfect Life¡±, created to fulfill our wishes.


    Actually, creating a world that fulfilled human desires was no easy task.


    Human desires were constantly changing and grew stronger over time.


    Someone who was satisfied with a decent house at first would eventually desire a grand mansion, and then a skyscraper.


    <em>So, how do you implement a ¡°Perfect Life¡± that endlessly fulfills all these desires?</em>


    <em>By giving each of us the power to fulfill our own wishes!</em>


    <em>Come to think of it, haven¡¯t I already used that power?</em>


    When I jumped off the building, I wished for the world to stop in my fear of death.


    The world stopped in response to my wish.


    Compared to that incredible miracle, being flung out of the school by Songee was nothing.


    Ande to think of it, Kain''s situation wasn''t normal either.


    During the Fourth Trial, his internal organs and bones were all wrecked.


    In reality, he wouldn¡¯t even think about leaving the hospital for at least a few months, and even if he did, he¡¯d probably suffer lifelongplications.


    But after just about a week, he showed up with a cast on his leg and started hanging out with his friends energetically.


    His abnormal recovery must also be the result of the world granting his wish to ¡°get better¡±.


    Thanks to that, waking them up has be much more difficult.


    <em>Should I consider killing Songee or Kain if necessary?</em>


    <em>But now I¡¯m not sure.</em>


    <em>Could I realistically kill people with the power to manipte reality?</em>


    "..."


    <em>It¡¯s a pointless worry. Let''s go back to Songee.</em>


    <em>At least waking Songee up doesn¡¯t seem too difficult.</em>


    <em>Unlike the others, Songee already feels halfway awake, thanks to Perro.</em>


    "So this time, you¡¯ll have to step up. It¡¯s about saving your mom, so do your best."


    I patted Perro, who was perched on my stomach and went back into the school.


    Perhaps as a reflection of Songee¡¯s confused mind, the second-year floor was in utter chaos.


    The animals were running amok, and the students were stumbling around like zombies.


    I passed through the noisy area and approached Songee again.


    She was curled up alone in a corner of the ssroom.


    <em>If I talk to her, will she throw me out again?</em>


    <em>This could be risky, but I have to try.</em>


    "Songee?"


    Songee quickly turned her head to look at me.


    Despite being an agent of the Administration Bureau, I prided myself on my quick and urate responses.


    I immediately grabbed Perro with both hands and held him in front of me.


    "Bird shield!"


    "..."


    "..."


    <em>- Screechhh! Piyoo piyoooo!</em>


    The person was silent, and the parrot, furious, started pecking at me.


    "Ouch! Ow! Stop that! Don¡¯t pull my hair!"


    Songee sighed and took Perro back, "What was that? Did that kind of joke work in the 70s?"


    "You¡¯ve woken up, haven¡¯t you?"


    "..."


    "If you¡¯ve woken up, didn¡¯t a hologram window appear?"


    "Does something like that pop up? I haven¡¯t seen it yet. Maybe it¡¯s because I still want to stay here a little longer."


    <em>You want to stay a little longer.</em>


    <em>Indeed, the temptation of this ''perfect world'' must be enormous.</em>


    I sat down next to Songee.


    She quietly apologized, "Sorry for throwing you out earlier. I didn¡¯t know my power would work like that."


    "It¡¯s fine. Getting thrown around is pretty routine for me."


    "In what world is that routine?"


    "When you leave the Hotel, it¡¯ll be your routine too."


    "...When I leave the Hotel, will I have to do something like that?"


    "Just kidding. You''ll find out when you get out."


    There was a brief silence between us.


    "Isn¡¯t it about time you woke up?"


    After a pause, Songee began to share her story, as if she was unburdening herself.


    She talked about a once-happy family that fell apart as time passed, with her parents¡¯ rtionship deteriorating for reasons she couldn¡¯t understand.


    Eventually, they both openly started seeing other people.


    Avoiding divorce for the sake of their child had its limits.


    By the time Songee entered the Hotel, both parents had already started consulting withwyers.


    Tears began to stream from Songee''s eyes.


    "To be honest, I knew deep down, even before Perro tried to wake me up. But I really didn¡¯t want to leave. Every time I saw my parents getting along at home, I was so happy."


    I had nothing to say, so I just held Songee¡¯s hand.


    "Am I being childish? Ahri, you work at the Administration Bureau. You¡¯ve probably seen countless terrible and terrifying misfortunes that would make something like my parent''s divorce seem trivial, right? Am I being foolish?"


    "I don¡¯t think that at all. Comparing misfortunes like that is meaningless, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s like saying all the misfortunes of Koreans are just childishintspared to the suffering of starving people in Africa."


    "..."


    "Everyone has their own misfortunes. Just because someone else is going through something worse doesn¡¯t make your misfortune any less real, so what¡¯s the point ofparing them? I just hope you can ovee this sadness."


    "When I leave the Hotel... When I leave the Hotel, will things be resolved? Could my parents¡¯ rtionship get better again?"


    ...I didn¡¯t want to lie, so I decided to be honest.


    "No. If your parents'' conflicts have been building up over several years, it¡¯s probably toote for things to go back to the way they once were. It¡¯s not something that can be fixed just because you leave the Hotel with a bunch of treasures and superpowers. But there could be progress."


    "Progress?"


    "By the time you leave the Hotel, your world will be much bigger than before you entered. I¡¯m not talking about superpowers or treasures; I¡¯m talking about your heart. As children grow, they gradually build their own worlds, and by the time that process isplete, they¡¯ve be independent of their parents'' worlds. When that happens, you¡¯ll be able to understand that your parents have their own lives too."


    "..."


    "Leaving the Hotel won¡¯t mend your parents¡¯ rtionship, but you¡¯ll be able to understand and ept them."


    <em>Wow! Didn¡¯t I sound like a professional therapist just now?</em>


    "¡­Heh!"


    "Huh?"


    "It¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s funny to hear you say things like that with your appearance. You look like a kid yourself!"


    Songeeughed and yfully tapped my head.


    <em>After all the advice I gave, this is the response I get?</em>


    But I didn¡¯t mind.


    <em>I had resolved my firstrade¡¯s problem, after all!</em>


    After our conversation ended, Songee¡¯s gaze stopped in mid-air, "A hologram appeared?"


    "Yeah."


    "What are you going to do?"


    "You didn¡¯t leave even after seeing this window, and you¡¯re waking up the others, right? I¡¯ll do the same."


    As Songee woke up, the animals in the school disappeared, leaving only Perro behind.


    Songee was curious about how I woke up, and we talked about that for a bit.


    Then we started deciding who to wake up next.


    "It has to be Kain, right?"


    "Elena-unni will probably be the hardest. Unlike us, she doesn¡¯t even attend school and is constantly appearing in movies and dramas, so it feels like she¡¯s more deeply immersed in this world than any of us."


    "How should we wake up Kain? Unlike you, he seems to be deeply immersed in this illusion, so persuading him might be pretty tough."


    After thinking for a while, Songee suggested an idea.


    "How about we try pushing Kain-oppa off a building too?"


    Perro seemed delighted by that suggestion.

 Chapter 139: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (30)

    Chapter 139: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (30)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    After starting to think about how to wake up Kain, Songee suggested an idea.


    "How about we try pushing Kain-oppa off a building too?"


    "I did consider killing him as an option too, but we¡¯d need to be careful."


    "What¡¯s dangerous about it?"


    "Think back to when I woke you up. In this trial, we gain superpowers to fulfill our wishes, right? Kain will probably have something simr."


    "Hmm. It feels strange to call it a superpower. When I used it, it didn¡¯t feel like I was using a power."


    "I know what you mean. It¡¯s more like we desperately wished for something, and the universe grants it! Kain likely has that kind of power too. But unlike you, he might not be able to control it."


    "Control it?"


    "When you threw me out, you were already half awake, right? So, you instinctively controlled your power. You probably wished that I wouldn¡¯t die while you were tossing me.""I didn¡¯t really think about it."


    "..."


    "Maybe I did it subconsciously."


    "Let¡¯s say you did. Anyway, you recognized me and controlled your power to the point where I wouldn¡¯t die, but Kain might not. If we try to harm Kain, he might end up wishing for us to die."


    "That¡¯s really scary¡­ Let¡¯s take it step by step and n more carefully."


    "It¡¯s probably best toe up with a n that doesn¡¯t involve us showing up directly."


    And so, we carefully devised a n to assassinate Han Kain.


    We decided to start the n around lunchtime.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Ding dong deng dong!</em>


    "Ugh, I¡¯m so sleepy I could die."


    "Come on, it¡¯s not like you paid attention during ss. You were just dozing off, and now you¡¯reining about being sleepy?"


    "Shut up, dumbasses! Let¡¯s just go eat lunch."


    "What¡¯s for lunch today? Sweet and sour pork?"


    "That¡¯s tomorrow. Today¡¯s fried pock."


    "Oh, damn it¡ª"


    My ears were hurting from the noise.


    As soon as lunchtime started, the entire ssroom became chaotic.


    But I wasn¡¯t really thinking about anything.


    Since I still had a cast on my leg, it was difficult to get to the cafeteria, and the hospital had told me I needed to stick to a special diet for a while, so I had brought my own lunch.


    As I pulled out my lunchbox, a few friends approached me.


    "You¡¯re still eating that stuff?"


    "I¡¯ll probably be eating packed lunches for at least a month."


    "That must suck."


    "You picking a fight? I hurt my stomach, so this is all I can eat."


    Just then, there was a loud noiseing from the ssroom door.


    "Hey! Someone call that bastard Han Kain over here!"


    "If that jerk didn¡¯t have a cast on his leg, I¡¯d beat the shit out of him right now!"


    <em>What the hell?</em>


    Before I could even take a bite, people dragged me over to the door.


    There stood a very cute-looking second-year student.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Ha! I¡¯m quite popr!</em>


    I couldn¡¯t help but raise my hand in admiration of my irresistible charm¡ª


    <em>- Smack!</em>


    "This asshole is at it again, huh?"


    "Hey, idiot! Look at my leg before you shove me."


    Amid the noisy atmosphere, the girl who introduced herself as ¡°Songee¡± shyly handed me a small note, and disappeared.


    I pushed away the dimwitted guys who tried to peek at the note with me and checked it alone.


    It said to meet on the rooftop of the new building, where the cafeteria was, after ss.


    After that, I couldn¡¯t focus on the lesson at all.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As soon as ss ended, I shook off my friends who were watching me like hawks and headed for the new building¡¯s rooftop.


    <em>What should I do? What should I do?</em>


    <em>I¡¯m in my final year of high school, is it okay to get a girlfriend now of all times?</em>


    <em>Isn¡¯t it better to date in college?</em>


    <em>But she¡¯s cute!</em>


    <em>Hah, I don¡¯t want to hurt her feelings!</em>


    <em>Why did she ask to meet on the rooftop?</em>


    <em>My leg is still injured.</em>


    <em>Is that okay?</em>


    <em>Should I y hard to get?</em>


    <em>Nah, I should just say yes right away.</em>


    <em>What if we fight after we start dating?</em>


    <em>If there¡¯s enough love, small conflicts are nothing!</em>


    <em>But what if she has a strange personality?</em>


    <em>That would be a big problem, right?</em>


    ¡°...¡±


    In a short time, my brain spun faster than ever before, spewing out a flood of wild thoughts.


    If this kept up, I¡¯d probably start thinking about names for our second daughter, so I forced myself to stop thinking and headed up to the rooftop.


    ¡°¡­??¡±


    <em>What the...?</em>


    I arrived, but there was no one on the rooftop.


    I wandered around the rooftop looking for her, but Songee was nowhere to be seen.


    <em>Did Ie too early?</em>


    With my leg in a cast, I didn¡¯t think I had moved that quickly¡­


    But then I understood.


    <em>She probably needs time to prepare for her confession!</em>


    Thinking that made me feel better, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    As I chuckled to myself and went to lean against the railing¡ª


    <em>- Ping!</em>


    Suddenly, something yanked me toward the rooftop¡¯s edge!


    A white wire I hadn¡¯t noticed,id out on the floor, tightened and pushed me toward the edge.


    "Aaah!"


    In an instant, I hit the outer wall of the railing and fell over.


    Already struggling with my leg in a cast, the impact made my body copse.


    But what happened next was even more shocking.


    <em>- Rumble! Crash!</em>


    Suddenly, the railing wall copsed!


    <em>How could this happen?</em>


    <em>How does reinforced concrete crumble like that?!</em>


    There was no time to think.


    With the wire pushing me over the edge and the copsing wall¡­


    The oue was clear.


    I was pushed outside the building, teetering on the edge of death.


    Desperately, I clung to the remnants of the railing with all my strength.


    "Help!!! Somebody help!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, holding on for dear life.


    I couldn¡¯t even dare to look down.


    Time passed, filled with pain and fear, and I heard strange voices from somewhere.


    "Why is he holding on so well?"


    "Should we just wait?"


    "If we give him too much time, he¡¯ll survive in some weird way."


    "Why won¡¯t he just die?"


    "Kain, please just die!"


    <em>What the hell? Why are these voices wishing for my death?</em>


    One of the voices was definitely the girl who called me here earlier!


    <em>Why is this happening?</em>


    My mind was a chaotic mess.


    And then, I heard a sound that made everything worse.


    <em>- PIYOOOO!</em>


    A cute parrot appeared, acting as if it were some majestic bird of prey.


    It slowly approached the railing I was clinging to.


    "No way? It can¡¯t be, right?"


    <em>- Peck! peck!</em>


    "Ah, damn it! Get that beak away from me!"


    <em>- Crunch! Crack!</em>


    "AHHHH! THIS CRAZY BIRD IS GONNA KILL ME! STOP PECKING AT MY FINGERS!"


    <em>- Piyoooo!</em>


    "YOU?! DID YOU JUST LAUGH!? I¡¯M SURE YOU DID, DIDN''T YOU?!"


    <em>- Tear!</em>


    "AH! PLEASE, GET YOUR BEAK AWAY FROM ME! AH! MY EYES, MY EYES!"


    Seeing that I was holding on longer than expected, the parrot started attacking my face with its beak and ws.


    I felt a boiling rage.


    From deep within, an unbridled fury, unlike anything I¡¯d ever felt before surged up.


    At this moment, the fear of death and the pain of clinging to the railing had all but vanished in my heart.


    <em>I just want to fry this damn bird!</em>


    As all distracting thoughts disappeared and only one wish remained in my heart, the world answered my prayer.


    I came to my senses thereafter.


    ***


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Piyoo¡­</em>


    "Perro¡¯s really hurt. Is he okay?"


    "That¡¯s why we tried to stay out of Kain-oppa¡¯s sight! Perro, I told you not to act on your own."


    "Even so, I didn¡¯t expect Kain to suddenly summon hot oil out of thin air¡­"


    "If he was a regr parrot, he would¡¯ve died on the spot. But Perro is special! He¡¯ll be fine."


    After listening to Ahri and Songee¡¯s conversation for a while, I couldn¡¯t hold back any longer.


    "Is the parrot all you care about? What about my fingers and face that the parrot almost mangled?"


    "So what? Once you leave the Hotel, they¡¯ll heal everything. By the way, you woke up in a funny way. Did you snap out of it because the hot oil you summoned out of thin air was about to spill on you?"


    "..."


    "Wow~ Isn¡¯t it a bit much? Perro did his best to wake you up, and you tried to fry him with oil."


    "Don¡¯t lie! That bird definitely bit my finger whileughing at me."


    "Oppa! Does it help to say that when Perro is hurt?"


    "..."


    "Ah~ Songee, cut him some ck. Kain was excited because he thought he¡¯d get a love confession from you today."


    Ahri¡¯s words were a critical hit to both me and Songee.


    Recalling the wild fantasies I had earlier, I couldn¡¯t stand the embarrassment and just stared at the ground.


    "Kain, are you sure you¡¯re fully awake now? If not, how about trying to fly off a building?"


    "...The hologram already appeared, so knock it off."


    I kind of wanted to push Ahri off the building.


    After this chaotic process, I eventually joined the ¡°Wake the Comrades Party¡±.


    Now, the only one left was Elena.


    The fact that this long ordeal in the Gate Room was finallying to an end made me quite emotional.


    "Is Elena the one one left?"


    Songee immediately gave her opinion, "Yes. But I think waking up Elena-unni will be more difficult. She seems to be the most deeply immersed in the illusion."


    "There¡¯s another problem too. She¡¯s already a huge star in this world, right? Elena is probably surrounded by bodyguards. We can¡¯t just lure her somewhere and push her off a building like we did with Kain."


    "...Sorry about the ruthless method."


    Songee busied herself wrapping bandages around Perro.


    The arrogant little bird continued to re at me, chirping away.


    Could a parrot outmatch he who stands at the top of the food chain?


    I widened my eyes and red back at Perro.


    Ahri, watching us, spoke up, "Hey! Stop having a staring contest with a bird."


    Finally, Ahri called us together, and we started talking.


    The main topic was how Ahri and Songee woke up.


    As I listened to how Ahri realized something was off, it sounded strange.


    "What did you say?"


    "Hmm? I said I entered the Administration Bureau headquarters and spoke with Director Park¡ª"


    "No, not that part. The part where you said you noticed something was off. You mentioned something about man-eating pigeons and fungal parasites."


    "Yeah, I did."


    "...I¡¯ve never heard of those things before. Fungal parasites? Man-eating pigeons? I¡¯ve never even heard of such things on the news. I may not know much about bars because I¡¯m underage, but carnivorous pigeons? If such weird creatures spread across the country, there¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t know."


    "..."


    Upon hearing my response, Ahri¡¯s eyes widened at first, but then she seemed to understand something and nodded.


    "Don¡¯t just figure it out on your own, exin it to me too."


    "It¡¯s nothing. You¡¯ll figure it out if you think about it a bit."


    She was clearly dodging the question.


    But I quickly caught on. I''ve experienced this several times in this hotel.


    The stage might look like Earth, but it was filled with absurdities I¡¯d never heard of in real history.


    At first, I thought the Hotel had just made it up.


    Butter, when Songee resolved Room 103, she heard from the ¡°Devouring One¡± that the hotel¡¯s scenarios were recreations of events that actually happened somewhere in the universe.


    <em>I¡¯d never heard of these things in the history I knew, but they actually happened?</em>


    <em>I¡¯ve seen enough movies to exin that!</em>


    <em>It¡¯s got to be a parallel world, right?</em>


    Maybe Ahri and I came from different parallel worlds.


    <em>If that¡¯s the case, once we leave the hotel and return to our respective worlds, will we never meet again?</em>


    The thought saddened me


    <em>Sigh</em>


    <em>Let¡¯s leave these thoughts here.</em>


    <em>For now, I¡¯m too busy worrying about how to survive each day.</em>


    ***


    <strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    After the conversation ended, Kain seemed to be deep in thought and then nodded, as if he¡¯de to his own understanding.


    I could easily guess how he had rationalized it.


    Something along the lines of parallel worlds, I bet.


    Ever since superhero movies from XX Comics took over theaters, the concept of parallel worlds has bemon knowledge.


    I sighed.


    This time, I couldn¡¯t possibly tell Kain the truth.


    This time, I had to hide the truth from him, for his own sake.


    <em>Someday, when he leaves the hotel, he¡¯ll be in for a huge shock.</em>


    <em>But I can¡¯t let him face that shock while we¡¯re still dealing with the Trials of the hotel</em>


    He and I live in different phases of the same world.

 Chapter 140: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (31)

    Chapter 140: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (31)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>How can we wake Elena up?</em>


    The biggest issue was that Elena had be too sessful in this world.


    She has already be a star who has been cast as the lead in various dramas and movies.


    Even approaching her was a challenge for ordinary people, and if we did manage to get close, she was always surrounded by bodyguards.


    We couldn¡¯t use forceful methods like the ones used to wake me up, or else we''d get shot by her bodyguards.


    <em>But we do have some advantages.</em>


    Ahri, who was the first to wake up and start waking the rest of us, shared her opinion, "There are two methods we can use. First, the emotions Elena will feel the moment she sees us. We''ve already experienced this among ourselves, correct? Even when we''re not fully conscious due to the ''Perfect Life¡¯, the moment we see each other evokes strong emotions within us. Elena will be the same."


    "But we need to get into her line of sight somehow."


    "That''s also difficult, but if we think about it, there should be a way. Second, although Elena has forgotten us, we still remember her. If we can somehow get a chance to talk to her, we can bring up stories from her past that she¡¯s told us before, and that might pique her interest.""I can think of a few things, but most of them are just little stories Elena mentioned in passing."


    "Even those little stories might intrigue her. Imagine how strange it would be for her to hear someone she doesn''t remember talking about her childhood."


    "So, the point is simple. We need to find a way to get into Elena''s line of sight, make her aware of us, and then get a chance to talk to her."


    Songee, who had been listening quietly, spoke up, "Wait, listen to me. I''m the one who talked to Elena the most. I have some ideas about how to catch her attention and start a conversation."


    After considering Songee''s suggestion, we spent quite a bit of time discussing how we could approach Elena and wake her up.


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I had a deep dream.


    A strange, unknown ce.


    A bizarre Hotel where endless terrors and horrific events unfolded.


    And mypanions in that ce.


    Among all the memories, one scene was vividly etched into my mind.


    A young man who looked like an angel with a glowing halo.


    <em>What is this dream?</em>


    "Elena! Elena!"


    "Ah."


    "Don''t just say, ''Ah,'' It''s time to wake up."


    "Thank you, Manager. How much longer until we reach the filming location?"


    "About 30 minutes? Let me show you today''s schedule again."


    The manager next to me pulled out a tablet and showed me the evening''s filming schedule and the night broadcast schedule.


    <em>Ah~ It feels like I''ve achieved a long-held dream, but now that it''s be my reality, it''s incredibly exhausting.</em>


    <em>But this is the life of a star! I have to endure it.</em>


    It was early evening, the sun had just started to set.


    I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked out the window.


    Today''s drama was being filmed in a scenic location, so the surroundings were filled with lush green trees, a gentle breeze, and the fragrant scent of pine.


    On one side of the road, there was a towering tree sorge it made me curious about its species.


    On its branches perched a bird of indescribable, surreal beauty, unlike anything I''d ever seen.


    <em>¡­???</em>


    <em>What is that?</em>


    "What''s that?"


    Suddenly, the car slowed down, and everyone inside turned to look at the tree in amazement.


    The bird had tremblingvender feathers, a gracefully curved beak, and tail feathers as splendid as a peacock''s.


    The bird evoked the surreal image of a fairy that illuminated the night sky with a gentle glow.


    Everyone, including me, was so mesmerized by the sight that we instinctively pulled out our cameras to capture the moment.


    The bird, which somewhat resembled a parrot, seemed to stay still in its mystical form, then suddenly turned its gaze towards ¡°me¡±.


    "E-le-na."


    Hearing my name out of nowhere left mepletely stunned.


    While I stood there with my mouth agape, the bird flew off somewhere.


    Everyone stared at me in shock.


    The mystery made my heart tremble!


    This unbelievable experience filled my heart with an overwhelmingly strange euphoria.


    Because of this excitement, I ended up getting scolded a lot during today''s shoot.


    ***"Songee, do you really think this silly idea will work? Attaching a mini LEDmp to Perro''s back to mesmerize Elena¡­"


    "Oppa! Just do as I say."


    "But Perro freaks out the moment I try to strap themp to his back"


    "I''ve talked to Elena a lot, so I know. She has a secret fascination with the ult. She''s incredibly weak to anything beautiful and mysterious. And nothing is more beautiful and mysterious than Perro."


    "Kain, stopining and just tie it on. Songee is busy getting me ready. Perro does look pretty strange, though. But for a parrot, why can''t it talk? Is saying, ''Think of me, Elena'' really that hard?"


    "If ites to that, we''ll just have him say, ''Elena.'' Maybe Perro isn''t as smart as we thought."


    <em>- Piyoo!</em>


    "Ah, seriously! Stop biting! It was Songee''s idea to strap themp to your back!"


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    I barely managed to finish the shoot.


    The director and senior actors who usually praised me gave me a scolding today.


    I had to apologize multiple times.


    <em>Ah~! I''m not usually the type to make so many mistakes while acting.</em>


    But today, I couldn''t help it.


    That mysterious creature I saw on the way to the set made me lose focus!


    Some people suggested it might just be a type of parrot, but I couldn''t agree.


    <em>Where in the world would you find a parrot that looks so mystical?</em>


    Not to mention, it even emitted light, and it even called my name.


    It must have been some kind of fairy-like creature.


    Our meeting had to be preordained by some mysterious fate.


    The thought that something magical might happen in my life again made my heart race.


    <em>Again? Has something like this happened before?</em>


    I tilted my head for a moment, then leaned back in my chair and started to doze off again.


    With a night broadcast scheduled, if I didn¡¯t take a nap now I wouldn¡¯t have enough time to sleepter.


    ¡°...¡±


    "Elena! Elena~!"


    "Huh?"


    "Wake up quickly! Look ahead."


    I rubbed my eyes and got up at my manager''s urgent cry.


    The car had stopped again.


    It was now early evening, dark enough that visibility was getting low.


    Looking out the window, I saw the same bird I''d seen earlier, now even more mystical than before, peering over us.


    I could hear the clicking of cameras as people stepped out of the car.


    <em>How could such a bird exist?</em>


    I stared at it in wonder.


    ¡°...¡±


    "E-le-na."


    The bird called out my name clearer than before.


    The bird slowly moved towards the forest, as if beckoning me to follow.


    As if I was under some sort of spell, I found myself mindlessly following the bird.


    "Elena! It¡¯s dangerous at night! Come back!"


    I could hear voices calling me from behind.


    The voices of those who always took care of her safety.


    <em>But now, I can''t help it.</em>


    Fortunately, I didn''t have to go deep into the forest.


    After a short walk, I found a small clearing, and the bird perched calmly on a tree.


    At the moment when it was just me and the bird in that mysterious clearing!


    The fairy revealed its true form.


    Suddenly, the parrot''s body swelled as if it was about to burst.


    Its softvender feathers, which looked like heavenly down, transformed into ck steel-like scales.


    The delicate, childlike beak turned into a powerful beak capable of crushing a human skull.


    The dainty wings, which seemed like they could belong to a cherub, morphed into something resembling the tentacles of an alien creature.


    In an instant, an overwhelmingly intimidating, monstrous figure appeared before me, and I was so stunned that I copsed to the ground.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Surprisingly, the monster didn''t do anything but stare at me.


    At that moment, another figure emerged from the forest, someone who matched the bird''s mysteriousness.


    Her hair, cascading like a waterfall, shimmered with the twilight of dawn.


    Her fluttering cardigan was adorned with various esoteric symbols that I couldn''t decipher.


    In a small perfume bottle, crimson liquid swirled like blood, while a swaying candlestick and a gleaming dagger caught my eye.


    The scales on her left breast gave me a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, making it hard to focus.


    But the most mysterious thing of all was her eyes.


    Those red eyes, as if they were filled with the blood Christ shed as he was nailed to the cross, pierced through me, and I waspletely overwhelmed, frozen in ce.


    The girl, who looked like a witch from another world, gently stroked the bird-turned-monster and approached me.


    "Don''t you recognize me?"


    I was breathless.


    <em>I know this girl¡­</em>


    <em>I know her!</em>


    My heart screamed.


    <em>I know this girl!</em>


    From the moment I first saw her, I felt an indescribable sense of familiarity.


    She seemed to want to say something more to me.


    But then, a loud voice boomed from behind, "Ms. Elena! I told you that it¡¯s dangerous!"


    I heard the sound of someone breaking branches and trampling grass as they approached.


    In an instant, the peace of the forest was shattered, and the relentless tter of shoes trampled the surreal moment, dragging me back to reality.


    "Ah¡­"


    "It seems it''s too much to talk more today."


    The girl, looking somewhat disappointed, handed me a photo.


    "You''ll find it soon. I hope youe alone next time."


    With those words, she vanished like the wind with the bird.


    <em>- ck!</em>


    "Ah~ Why are there so many branches here? Ms. Elena? Are you okay? Why are you sitting there alone?"


    "Why did youe so quickly?"


    "Pardon?"


    I unintentionally snapped.


    I felt like I was in the middle of an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it had been interrupted.


    But the bodyguards were only doing their job to protect me.


    "I''m sorry. I was just lost in thought."


    "It''s alright. Let''s head back to the car."


    As I walked back to the car, I looked at the photo in my hand. It was a caf¨¦ with a seaside view.


    <em>¡°Come alone¡±</em>


    That was what she said.


    ***"That was close, wasn¡¯t it? It felt like Elena was waking up for sure. Should we have pushed a little further?"


    "If we had, who knows what might have happened when the bodyguards showed up? We might not even be able to get close to Elena anymore."


    "What if Perro had just pecked Elena with his beak?"


    "...If Elena knew you suggested that, she¡¯d probably be hurt."


    "What if, like when you summoned oil, Elena suddenly summoned a bodyguard with an assault rifle?"


    "Good point."


    "Out of all of us, Elena is the one who has changed this world the most. She¡¯s the most deeply immersed in her illusion, and she¡¯s using the power to grant wishes the most intensely. It¡¯s too dangerous to use forceful methods on someone like her. In the extreme case, we could blow her head off, and she might just dismiss it as a bad dream, while only we end up dead."


    "Right. We need to guide her to wake up on her own, no matter what."


    "Alright, let¡¯s finish thest preparations at the caf¨¦. Kain-oppa, are you ready?"


    "I¡¯m not sure what more I need to do. I¡¯ve pretty much prepared everything. It feels like we¡¯re almost done."

 Chapter 141: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (32)

    Chapter 141: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (32)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Four days have passed since I started idly drinking coffee daily at the cafe near Gangneung Coast.


    <em>Will Songee¡¯s n to appeal to Elena¡¯s sensitivity really work?</em>


    I wasn¡¯t sure, but since I couldn¡¯t think of any other approach, I went along with it.


    For the first two days, Songee and Ahri seemed to be preparing something.


    But from the third day onward, they just started ying on the beach as if they were on vacation.


    I found it a bit absurd, but at the same time, I understood.


    <em>Can you really say people shouldn¡¯t rest, even in a precarious trial like this?</em>


    Ever since we entered the Hotel, it had been a constant series of crises and a daily march through hardships.


    Even during a war, people needed to sleep and eat.And of course, they also needed to relieve stress.


    The idea that we shouldn¡¯t rest because today was a crisis didn¡¯t make sense in the Hotel.


    <em>Tomorrow will be a crisis, and the day after will be a crisis too.</em>


    As I pondered these thoughts while sipping coffee, the person I¡¯d been waiting for finally arrived.


    ***As soon as I heard the sound of someone entering, I turned my head toward the cafe entrance.


    Despite the hot weather, the person waspletely bundled up, with their face covered by a mask.


    But even so, it wasn¡¯t difficult to recognize them by their overall physique and flowing blonde hair.


    There was no need to worry about how to call her over to my table.


    As soon as Elena entered the cafe, our eyes met, and Elena¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    Elena, as if in a daze, ordered a cafette and sat down in front of me.


    ¡°...Do you have something to say to me?¡±


    ¡°I think it would be better for you to say what you want, Elena.¡±


    ¡°You recognized me right away, despite all the clothes and the mask.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been having strange dreamstely. I dreamt of meeting unknown people and wandering through a strange ce full of monsters. The only thing I knew was that the ce was some kind of hotel. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    <em>She seems to be almost fully awake.</em>


    Our n to create conditions that would allow her to recall on her own, rather than provoking her, seemed to be working.


    ¡°I understand. Please, go on.¡±


    ¡°I used to think they were just vague dreams, you know? I¡¯ve been interested in the ult since I was young, so I thought those aspects were just reflected in my dreams. But recently, I had an unbelievable experience. I saw a bird that seemed to have descended from the sky and a girl who felt like a witch. After seeing them, the content of my dreams became clearer. That bird and that girl started appearing in my dreams. And...¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°And I saw you too. You looked a bit different than you do now, but...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re starting to remember everything.¡±


    ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t just a dream, was it? What is this? Please exin.¡±


    <em>Wow~! It looks like the Final Trial is almost over.</em>


    Elena seemed ready to ept the truth, so I exined everything in detail.


    I told her how we¡¯d been climbing through a strange ce called the Hotel, fighting against unexinable, otherworldly beings.


    I also exined that this ce was a trial set up by the Hotel and that this world was a reflection of Elena¡¯s own desires.


    As she listened, a sense of emptiness appeared on Elena¡¯s face.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Is it because she realized that all the sess she had achieved as a celebrity was a mere illusion?


    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t seem to be in a mood of disbelief.


    We silently drank our coffee, looking out at the beach.


    Outside, Ahri, whom Elena called a ¡°witch¡±, was shoveling sand into Songee¡¯s mouth, only to be kicked over by Songee.


    The bird, which supposedly came down from the sky, was stealing chicken skewers from a street vendor at the beach and being chased by said vendor.


    <em>...What are they even doing? Why am I the only one working?</em>


    ¡°They sure are having fun out there.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Seeing what they¡¯re doing, they really seem like middle schoolers and that bird is acting just like a pigeon.¡±


    Elena¡¯s reaction was different from mine.


    She was gazing outside with a somewhat wistful expression.


    ¡°Could you please listen to me for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I been listening to you all along? There isn¡¯t a man in the world who wouldn¡¯t want to listen to you, Elena.¡±


    Elena smiled faintly and then began a rather lengthy story.


    ¡°Actually¡­ My parents were very sessful when I was young. I vividly remember the summers we spent together at our vi in the countryside.¡±


    Elena¡¯s story was something I had vaguely heard before.


    Elena¡¯s father was on the fast track to sess in government when she was young.


    Her family was harmonious and wealthy.


    At that time, there wasn¡¯t a single hint of misfortune in Elena¡¯s world.


    But one day, things began to unravel in inexplicable ways.


    Suddenly, her father lost his job, and their vi and house disappeared overnight.


    But losing his job and property was only the beginning.


    Suspicious people started lurking around her father every day.


    The more often her father met with journalists, the more iprehensible things began to happen.


    Finally, when the people close to her father started going to jail or being admitted to hospitals one by one, a long period of exile began.


    I didn¡¯t have much to add, so I listened in silence.


    Honestly, it was the kind of story one would hear on the news.


    I had often heard about how the dictator in Russia, who some say had practically be a Tsar, was purging his opposition.


    But seeing a real-life example of it in front of me, I didn¡¯t know how to react.


    <em>Should I just vaguely say that things will get better in time?</em>


    But that would be a lie.


    I¡¯d heard that the dictator was still going strong and that his approval ratings within his country were still incredibly high.


    While Elena was telling her long story, Songee and Ahri snuck into the cafe, both wearing swimsuits with light clothes thrown over them.


    When they saw Elena and I talking, they quietly sat down in the booth opposite us, trying to hide.


    <em>...What are they even trying to do?</em>


    <em>Do they really think they¡¯re hidden like that?</em>


    Elena had already noticed them as soon as they walked in.


    Thanks to the two of them, Elena¡¯s story paused for a moment, ¡°Aren¡¯t they funny?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I wish I had a time like that too.¡±


    ¡°A time like that?¡±


    ¡°When I get out of this... ¡®Hotel¡¯ and return to the real world, I¡¯ll probably pursue my dream of bing an actress. If I do my best and get lucky, I might be able to achieve sess that no one could rival.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be sessful.¡±


    I meant it.


    Even though I had only experienced Elena¡¯s acting in brief glimpses, I thought it wasn¡¯t bad.


    <em>And above all, she has stunning looks!</em>


    <em>Isn¡¯t that the greatest weapon in the world of acting?</em>


    It would be stranger if she didn¡¯t seed.


    Honestly, Elena must know this too. It would be a lie if she didn¡¯t.


    But Elena¡¯s expression didn¡¯t brighten at all.


    ¡°Even if I achieve great sess in the future, there are things that can never be undone.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost a lot of time while hiding and running. What about you Kain? You mentioned that you¡¯re a high school student, right?¡±


    ¡°I was caught by the Hotel right before I was admitted into college, so I consider myself to be more of a half-college student¡­¡±


    ¡°I imagine you must¡¯ve had a very enjoyable teenage life. You must have made a lot of friends and built a lot of precious memories.¡±


    ¡°The life of a middle schooler and high schooler in Korea isn¡¯t that fun in all honesty. My memories of that time are just filled with me studying, and preparing for my college entrance exam.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ At least you used that time for self-development¡­ I¡¯ve spent over half my life running away, wasting time hiding in closets, fearing the possibility of my parents being killed whenever they came homete.¡±


    <em>Something¡¯s wrong.</em>


    <em>Something¡¯s definitely wrong.</em>


    <em>This isn¡¯t how it¡¯s supposed to be.</em>


    I could feel the emotions in Elena¡¯s voice growing stronger by the word.


    Even Songee and Ahri, sensing the uneasy atmosphere, looked back at us in rm.


    Ahri frantically gestured at me to ¡°do something!¡±


    <em>What am I supposed to do?</em>


    Elena started talking by herself and then just slipped into this emotional tunnel, ¡°I know, I¡¯m not that old, and older people who have struggled all their lives might say, ¡®What do you know about hardship in your twenties?¡¯ But so what? My heart is filled with despair from having wasted more than half my life running away!¡±


    ¡°Uh... Elena? Maybe you should calm down and¡ª¡±


    Elena wasn¡¯t listening to me anymore.


    ¡°Why is my life like this? I wanted to live happily too. Like Ahri! Like Songee! I wanted to go to the beach in the summer! I wanted to go skiing in the winter! I wanted to watch movies with my family on weekends and raise a dog or a cat. I wanted to go to school and make a lot of childhood friends. I wanted to hear stories about my parents¡¯ friends¡¯ sons and daughters!


    ¡°Have you ever crossed five borders in a month? Have you ever been terrified of sitting down to enjoy a cup of tea? Have you ever run into a man wearing a hat on the street, and then realized that he was the same man you saw two months ago before crossing a border, and felt a chill down your spine? Do you know what it feels like to see the man who ruined your father¡¯s life and forced you to run endlessly being hailed as a national hero on the news?¡±


    Ahri, flustered, tried to intervene.


    ¡°Um! I think you might be misunderstanding, but I didn¡¯t have such a happy teenage life either¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, you idiot! Say something that might actually be convincing!¡±


    ¡°E-E-Elena Unni? Please calm down. You can swim or ski at the Hotel, you know?¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯sforting?¡±


    ¡°Then you say something, Oppa!¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe that dictator will eventually get shot and die?¡±


    ¡°Wow! Soforting! And you have the gall to lecture us?!¡±


    Elena looked at us with a wistful expression as we bickered.


    ¡°...???¡±


    Just now, I felt something indescribable.


    <em>Elena is¡­ drifting away from us.</em>


    Even though she was right in front of me, Elena seemed to fade like a mirage, slipping away to a ce where I couldn¡¯t reach her.


    Ahri¡¯s face paled as she felt something simr.


    Elena made a wish to the world once again.


    And the world granted it.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I was swept away in an overwhelming shock that felt like the entire world was being turned upside down, like a person being carried away by a tsunami.


    Only after barely regaining my senses did I realize it.


    The literal creation of the heavens and the earth had happened once again!


    I looked around in a daze.


    Every sign hanging around me, every detail, was filled with foreign scenery.


    Around me, foreign-looking children were hurrying along, entering stark white buildings.


    ...Seeing the looks of the kids around me, I had a strange thought, so I nced at my reflection in the side mirror of a parked car to confirm it.


    In the world that Elena¡¯s wish had created for the second time,


    I had been turned into a young teenager.


    And In front of me was a golden-haired girl with a smile as radiant as the sun.

 Chapter 142: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (33)

    Chapter 142: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Final Trial (33)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    sses. More sses, and even more sses after that.


    <em>Despite all the world-changing events around me, I still can''t seem to escape the confines of school.</em>


    With a sigh, I half-heartedly went through yet another ss at this new school, and then we gathered in a corner of an empty ssroom.


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Finally, Ahri was the first to speak, "We''ve all gotten pretty cute, haven''t we?"


    "Right now, Oppa looks even younger than me, doesn''t he?"


    "Both of us do. But seriously, how did we end up like this?""..."


    "..."


    As expected, Ahri broke the silence again, "We missed an important detail. Elena is much more deeply immersed in this illusion than we thought."


    "Why is Elena-unni so deeply caught up in this? We woke up rtively quickly, didn''t we?"


    "Well, it''s the Final Trial, but honestly, things have been a bit too easy until now."


    An idea came to me.


    "Compared to Songee and I, Elena seems to have a much stronger desire to achieve something she couldn''t in real life. So maybe her psychological drive to fulfill that wish is much stronger. And unlike Ahri..."


    "She''s less trained than I am. I''m from the Administration Bureau, so I''m mentally tougher when ites to these things."


    <em>In summary, it seems that Elena''s mental state is more fragile than Ahri''s, and she has more regrets about her lifepared to me and Songee.</em>


    Songee sighed and started talking with Ahri, "What should we do? If we break it down, the method we used was to strongly trigger a sense of ''incongruity¡¯, leading her to recall memories of the Hotel on her own, right? But Elena, even after recalling the Hotel memories, seems to have gone back to the illusion."


    "It''s a clich¨¦d situation. She chose to bury herself in a happy illusion rather than face an unhappy reality. Our first n didn''t wake her up; it just made her start a new illusion."


    "It seems like even if we remind her of the past again, it won''t work. No matter what we say, she¡¯ll probably just change the content of the illusion rather than wake up."


    "If we keep provoking her, she might start to see us as ''annoying'' and lock us away somewhere."


    As the two of them talked, my thoughts drifted back to the past.


    The process by which the others woke up, and the method we used on Elena.


    There was one crucial element missing from our approach.


    ***At least in the second illusion, it was easy to understand the nature of Elena¡¯s wish.


    As revealed in our earlier conversation, it was to create a happy childhood.


    Elena was attending a peaceful school, surrounded by friends.


    In this ce, Songee, Ahri, and I were Elena''s close friends.


    It seemed that the hazy memories she had regained at the end of the first illusion had once again disappeared.


    Maybe even erasing those memories was part of her wish.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    "Haaa!"


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    As I was lost in thought, a powerful smash hit me square in the head with a tennis ball that came flying at lightning speed.


    "Ugh!"


    "Oh? Oh no! Kain! Are you okay?"


    During gym ss, Elena, who had identally hit me with the tennis ball, hurriedly rushed over to help me up.


    After letting out a chuckle, I stood up, and Elena soon smiled as well.


    We continued to y tennis, having a good time.


    <em>...Not bad at all.</em>


    Honestly, the current Elena looked incredibly cute and happy, almost unbelievably so.


    ***Lunchtime came.


    "Elena."


    "Hmm?"


    "Are you happy right now?"


    "Hmm? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Of course, I''m happy! Oh, by the way, did you hear about the performance at Vakhtangov Theater tonight?"


    "It''s the first I''ve heard of it."


    Elena handed me a ticket with a somewhat shy expression.


    "My dad said to invite some friends! Let''s go watch it together."


    After epting the ticket, I asked her, "Am I the only one getting this?"


    "W-what are you talking about?! I gave the others their tickets earlier! Don''t get any weird ideas."


    My seat was right next to Elena''s.


    ***The evening was a time for walking with animals.


    Once again, the other kids pulled out Samoyeds and Norwegian Forest Cats that seemed toe from who knows where and started walking them.


    Thankfully, unlike music ss, we had Perro with us, so we could at least fit in.


    Perro''s mboyance was in no wayckingpared to the other animals.


    Of course, Perro''s ferocity surpassed that of all the other animalsbined.


    "Ahh! Perro! You can''t pluck the Samoyed''s fur!"


    "Just let it be. Perro needs time to gather materials for his nest too."


    "Ahri! The Samoyed''s owner is crying!"


    "So what? The animal kingdom is all about survival of the fittest. It''s the Samoyed''s fault for being weaker than Perro."


    I couldn''t help butugh in disbelief.


    In the end, I had to step in and pull Perro away from the Samoyed, whose fur he was trying to burrow in.


    ***At school, Elena was genuinely a happy child.


    In every ss, she was the first to raise her hand and answer the teacher''s questions, always receiving praise.


    All the kids liked her.


    At home, she had warm and loving parents, and her life was filled with joyful performances, happy trips, and kind people.


    It was, in every sense, a "Perfect Life¡±.


    The ideal life that everyone has dreamt of at least once.


    In the current world, I could no longer sense the darkness that Elena had seemed to half-recall in the cafe.


    There was a subtle feeling that the "genre" of the world was shifting.


    A beautiful girl, a radiant world.


    A life always filled with excitement and joy.


    .


    .


    .


    <em>No.</em>


    <em>That''s just a meaningless delusion.</em>


    On the first night we were thrown into the Hotel, the genre of the world was already set.


    <em>Elena, I''m sorry, but the Hotel''s genre isn''t a romanceedy.</em>


    ***"Hey, Han Kain! What was that earlier? I thought this was Elena''s illusion, not yours."


    "What?"


    "You were ying tennis with Elena-unni with such a happy expression."


    "And you were ying the violin alone, ignoring Songee and me. We felt like we were from a different world."


    "How old are you that you still don''t know how to y an instrument?"


    "I can y the recorder."


    "Even Perro can probably y the recorder."


    "..."


    "Ah~ let''s stop joking around. What are we going to do? I have no idea how to wake up Elena. I have a feeling that even if we kill Elena, it won''t matter. She''ll just move on to the next illusion."


    "I think I understand now. And I know what we did wrong."


    Songee and Ahri both looked at me.


    "Sorry to say this, but we¡¯re catering way too much to Elena. Think back to how we woke up. Ahri was confused until she tried to jump off a building, right? Songee almost had a fight with Ahri. And I woke up when I was about to be fried in hot oil."


    "So?"


    "None of us woke up in a peaceful manner. Just triggering a sense of incongruity isn''t enough. If all you feel is that something is off but it''s still a happy illusion, you won''t want to wake up."


    Songee looked worried.


    "Oppa? So you''re saying..."


    "We need to make her feel like this illusion isn''t happy. Only then will she want to wake up."


    Ahri, who had been pondering, nodded with a resolute expression.


    "You''re right. That''s how we woke up too. It''s not enough to just feel that something is off; she needs to feel that she has to wake up. Now I see what was missing from our n. It was ''spice¡¯."


    "Spice?"


    Reading the unease in the word "spice¡±, Songee responded with a slightly gloomy expression, "I get the idea, but shouldn''t we try to ease her mind a bit more? Maybe help Elena-unni unburden herself..."


    "The more we cater to her, the deeper she''ll sink into this illusion."


    "I understand. But if we try to bother her carelessly, she might just trap us somewhere."


    "What are you worried about? You two already tried it on me, right? We just need to proceed without getting caught. We tried Songee''s ''peaceful'' n, but it didn''t work well, right? Let''s try it my way this time."


    Our original ncked one crucial element.


    "Spice."


    It was time to set the rm clock on Elena''s sweet dream.


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    With a pounding heart, I waited under the clock tower in Cohort Square.


    <em>When will he arrive? When will he arrive?</em>


    After about 20 minutes passed, the person I was waiting for appeared in the distance.


    As soon as Kain saw me, he shouted in surprise, "Elena! You look like you came straight down from heaven!"


    "Ah~! Don''t say that. Did you bring the theater tickets?"


    "Yeah. But where are your parents?"


    "We''re not kids anymore. Why would we need parents to watch a y?"


    I turned away happily.


    Behind me, Kain mumbled something like, "But we are kids right now."


    As always Kain felt both cool and strange, smart and clumsy, and kind yet harsh.


    <em>¡­?</em>


    <em>Have I ever had suchplex thoughts about Kain?</em>


    I tilted my head slightly in confusion before entering the theater.


    The performance was very enjoyable.


    Listening to the songs sung by people dressed as cats, I found myself humming along several times as the happy time passed.


    Kain, sitting next to me, was silent.


    As the performance neared its end, Kain spoke to me, "Elena."


    "Hmm?"


    "Are you having fun?"


    "Yeah! It''s so much fun."


    "That''s good... I''m d you''re happy."


    His tone was unusually cheesy, but his expression was cold.


    Strangely, Kain was different from his usual self.


    <em>Ah! Could it be... Is Kain feeling weird because we came to the theater together?</em>


    As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my heart started pounding.


    <em>- Thump! Thump!</em>


    <em>Why is this happening? It''s just a y, it¡¯s nothing special¡ª</em>


    <em>- Thump! Thump!</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>- Thump! Thump!</em>


    <em>What is this?</em>


    <em>It''s not my pounding heart; the ground is actually¡­ shaking?</em>


    Panicking, I lifted my head slightly, and people started to murmur.


    Suddenly, Kain grabbed my hand and pulled me.


    "K-Kain?"


    "Let''s get out of here. I smell something strange."


    "A strange smell? I don''t smell anything..."


    Ignoring what I had to say, Kain pulled me up from my seat.


    Not even 10 secondster, a loud voice filled the theater.


    "Fire! Fire!!!"


    In an instant, the theater was thrown into chaos!


    The entrance was narrow, and as everyone in the theater tried to leave at once, we were stuck in the middle, unable to move.


    <em>What is this?</em>


    <em>What''s going on?</em>


    <em>Why did this have to happen today of all days?</em>


    <em>- Thump! Thump...! Boom!</em>


    Suddenly, the theater floor exploded!


    "Ahhhhhh!"


    "Ahhhhh! It''s a monster!"


    In the blink of an eye, the theater descended into pandemonium!


    A ck-cloaked, dinosaur-like bird appeared in the middle of the theater, tearing everything apart.


    I stood there, dumbfounded, watching the monstrous bird wreak havoc everywhere.


    <em>What am I supposed to do?</em>


    <em>Why did such a monster appear in the theater?</em>


    <em>Why today, of all days?!</em>


    Resentment overfilled my heart.


    <em>Something, something to punish that bird¡ª</em>


    "Ah!"


    "Elena, what are you just standing there for? Let''s get out of here."


    Something was about to happen!


    But before it could, Kain grabbed my hand again and pulled me along.


    I had no choice but to follow Kain and start running out of the theater.


    As we fled the theatre, thick smoke began to fill my vision, and the smell of smoke in the air stung my nose.


    For some reason, I had a feeling that tonight would be a very long night.

 Chapter 143: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The FInal Trial End (34)

    Chapter 143: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The FInal Trial End (34)<strong>- Elena</strong>


    In a daze, I was being pulled by Kain through the burning theater.


    I looked around in fear.


    People were screaming and running in every direction.


    <em>Why is this happening? Why today of all days?</em>


    As I ran, trying to suppress the boiling rage inside me, a sudden realization struck me.


    <em>Where exactly are we going?</em>


    Naturally, we should have headed for the theater''s main exit and out onto the street, right?


    But Kain was leading me down an alley connected to the theater''s back exit.


    "Um... Kain?""Hmm?"


    "Where are we? Shouldn''t we head towards the street?"


    "Oh? I must''ve gotten a little lost while running in a panic. But we can''t go back to the theater, so I guess we should keep moving this way?"


    I understood.


    Kain must have also been scared and ran without thinking.


    But I felt a bit unsettled in this alley since it was a ce we usually didn¡¯t go to and it wasn¡¯t exactly known for being safe.


    <em>- Tap. Tap.</em>


    It was still early evening. The faint remnants of sunlight kept it from beingpletely dark.


    <em>- Tap. Tap.</em>


    We didn''t even get to finish watching the entire performance.


    We even got caught in a sudden fire and had to run for our lives.


    <em>What terrible luck!</em>


    <em>- Tap. Tap.</em>


    "Elena."


    "Hmm?"


    "Are you happy?"


    "You''re asking that again? Are you stupid? We¡¯re running away because the theater is on fire."


    "That''s unfortunate."


    "...But it''s not so bad right now."


    "Really? But it seems like your shoes don''t fit well. The sound is quite loud."


    "Huh? My shoes are custom-made, so there''s no way¡ª"


    Suddenly, chills ran down my spine, and I turned around.


    At the end of the alley, with the setting sun haloing around them, stood a person in strange attire.


    Suddenly, something shiny and sharp appeared in the person''s hand.


    "W-what the¡ª" Before I could finish speaking, Kain grabbed my hand and started running again!


    <em>What is this? What is happening today?!</em>


    We ran and ran,pletely lost.


    <em>Where are we going?</em>


    I had no idea.


    I just followed Kain, who was leading me by the hand.


    But Kain didn''t seem to know this area well either.


    <em>What should we do?</em>


    <em>Is there no one to help us?</em>


    <em>- Ting!</em>


    A sharp object whizzed past us again, barely missing us.


    Kain''s clothes got slightly torn, and blood started seeping out.


    At that moment, a curse slipped from Kain''s mouth, "Damn it! Managing to hit us from this distance? She¡¯s crazy"


    "Kain! Are you okay?"


    "Just run. Run faster!"


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    Suddenly, a hidden wire on the ground tightened and tripped me!


    "Ah!"


    As I struggled to get up, a sharp de grazed past me.


    Blood started flowing from my leg and thigh in an instant.


    The burning pain and suffocating fear overwhelmed me.


    Oddly enough, Kain quickly tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around my wound.


    With a somewhat sorrowful expression, Kain muttered, "I''m sorry..."


    <em>Sorry? What are you even sorry for?</em>


    <em>For not being able to protect me?</em>


    <em>Isn''t that a bit too much of a princeplex?</em>


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>I''m tired. Really, really tired.</em>


    <em>This is strange.</em>


    <em>Today was supposed to be a happy day...</em>


    First, the theater caught fire, then a crazy person in a robe chased us down an alley with knives, and now I¡¯m so out of breath from running that I could copse at any moment.


    In the end, I couldn''t move any further and leaned against a wall.


    <em>Is our pursuer tired too?</em>


    The person who had been chasing us was nowhere to be seen.


    "Huff... Huff... Are you okay? I have no idea what''s going on today."


    "I''m fine. But I''m worried about Ahri."


    "What do you mean? Ahri was at the theater too?"


    "Yeah, she was. I actually saw her earlier."


    "You saw her earlier?"


    "Yeah. But some high-ranking official suddenly summoned some police and took Ahri away.


    "What? A high-ranking official? What do you mean?"


    Kain just gave a wry smile and changed the subject, "We''re almost at school. Just a little more walking."


    "School? This road leads to school?"


    "Yeah. They say it''s an alley that students rarely use."


    We walked down the road in silence.


    By then, the sun had set, and a crescent moon hung low in the night sky.


    Some noises reached my ears.


    Loud, violent noises.


    The screams of many people echoed in my ears.


    I couldn''t take another step.


    I didn''t want to see what was happening at the school.


    Unconsciously, I stopped.


    If I just went left here, I could go home¡ª


    <em>- Tap.</em>


    "Kain?"


    "Something must have happened at the school."


    "I''m hearing strange noises. Shouldn''t we go somewhere safe?"


    "No, there are teachers at the school, right? It should be safer to go there."


    With those words, Kain grabbed my hand again and led me toward the school.


    <em>Has Kain always been this assertive?</em>


    <em>Kain is really strange today.</em>


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    It was almost over. Elena''s expression started to cloud with gloom.


    Even though we carefully nned everything, there were many moments of danger.


    Despite our efforts to ruin Elena''s perfect life while hiding our true identities, unforeseen variables kept popping up.


    At the theater, hunters suddenly appeared, forcing Perro to flee in a hurry.


    In the alley, police showed up out of nowhere and took the robed Ahri away.


    Losing Ahri, our top "arson expert¡±, was a big blow.


    If it hadn''t been for Ahri, who seemed suspiciously trained in arson techniques at the Administration, it wouldn''t have been easy for the three of us to set buildings on fire one after another.


    <em>But it¡¯s okay.</em>


    <em>This entire process is just a buildup.</em>


    <em>In the end, I''ll be the one to deliver the final blow.</em>


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    We arrived at the school.


    The mes engulfing the entire school were so massive that I just stared at them in a daze.


    The noise was deafening, filling the air with chaotic sounds from every direction.


    The heat was intense enough to feel on my skin.


    The smoke was so thick that it made my head throb.


    <em>Why is today like this? I just wanted to have a happy day.</em>


    <em>I just wanted to spend time at school with my precious friends and enjoy myself as I watched a y at the theater with the person I liked.</em>


    <em>I only wished for a happy day that would repeat forever.</em>


    As I stood there in a daze, Kain asked me another strange question, "Elena."


    "Hmm?"


    "Are you happy?"


    "...Are you teasing me now? I''m starting to get a little angry."


    "I''m sorry. I''m sorry for many things. But it''ll all be over soon."


    <em>Over? What does he mean, over?</em>


    <em>And what is he sorry for? I don''t understand.</em>


    Kain seemed to have made up his mind about something and moved in front of me.


    <em>What is he nning to do?</em>


    <em>- Piyooo!</em>


    A massive shockwave shook the earth.


    The wall crumbled with a thunderous roar, and a monstrous bird appeared.


    Just as I was panicking in the face of this overwhelming presence¡ª


    Kain pushed me aside and stepped forward.


    Kain calmly stared at the bird.


    The bird tilted its head in confusion and stared back at Kain.


    "K-Kain, run! Run!"


    ***<strong>-Han Kain</strong>


    The end of the n was near.


    I signaled to Grotesque Perro.


    <em>Doesn¡¯t this damned parrot have an immense hatred toward me?</em>


    But now that he finally had a chance to settle the score, Perro hesitated.


    His resolve faltered at this critical moment.


    I red at Perro and signaled again.


    Finally, Perro made his decision.


    A giant talon, as big as a child''s fist, roughly swung into my stomach.


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>Ah.</em>


    <em>Ahh.</em>


    <em>Ahhhhhh!</em>


    A pain like lightning coursed through my entire body, paralyzing me.


    In the midst of the excruciating shock, I trembled and looked at Elena.


    Elena crawled toward me, crying uncontrobly.


    Seeing her cry put a bitter smile on my face.


    At one point, I considered ending this whole puppet show with Elena''s death.


    But that would have been pointless.


    Having delved deeper into this illusion than anyone else, she had gained nigh-omnipotent power.


    Even if she died, she would just escape into another dream with a different theme.


    So we had to make her experience an "inescapable sorrow¡±.


    We had to make the girl, who had gained nigh-omnipotent power in this dream, experience a tragedy that even her powers couldn''t reverse.


    "Kain! Kain! Just hold on a little longer. The doctors will be here soon."


    <em>Yeah.</em>


    <em>If it''s Elena, she could summon doctors out of nowhere, even in this situation, and save someone as injured as me.</em>


    So, I did something that even the girl who had identally attained god-like power couldn''t reverse.


    Do you wish to escape?


    (<strong>Y</strong>/N)


    Slowly, my body began to fade.


    As Elena realized I was disappearing, I looked at her dazed expression and said my final goodbye.


    "Elena, I''m sorry for today. I''ll see you outside."


    My consciousness began to fade.


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    Slowly, Kain disappeared.


    Slowly, Perro disappeared.


    Ahri and Songee, who were most likely around me, must have also disappeared.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    My drifting consciousness slowly began to rise.


    I forced my body, which could barely move, to stand up and look around.


    The burning school, the burning theater, the countless casualties¡­


    <em>Even if this is a stage created based on my ideal life, everyone really went all out.</em>


    I could see the doctors I had "summoned" running toward me.


    But it was meaningless. The people they were supposed to save were already gone.


    <em>Ah...</em>


    <em>I no longer want to stay in this dream.</em>


    <em>This world is no longer "perfect" without therades I love.</em>


    A hologram appeared before my eyes.


    With a press of the screen, the world crumbled.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 72


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)


    Sage''s Advice: 3


    The status window flickered before my eyes as I came to my senses.


    <em>No way! How long has it been?</em>


    Seeing the status window again made me incredibly happy!


    But so much time had passed.


    <em>I think it was around the 47th or 48th day when we finished the Fourth Trial?</em>


    We had spent over three weeks on the Final Trial alone.


    I looked around btedly.


    The ce I was in was oddly white.


    There were four people in the room.


    And I was dumbfounded.


    This was the true nature of "Perfect Life"?


    It wasn¡¯t the Hotel using some kind of grand super magic¡­


    It wasn¡¯t the Hotel sharing a fragment of the great power of creation with mortals¡­


    The reality of Perfect Life was much more obvious and trivial than that.


    There was a hole in the back of our necks, like the ones you often see in movies.


    A cable was plugged into the hole.


    <em>- Click!</em>


    Another person unplugged their cable and stood up.


    Ahri looked around in confusion before reacting in disappointment, "It was just virtual reality. I really thought they had created a real world."


    "They''ll get rid of the hole once we leave, right?"


    "If not, we can always charge our phones through it."


    ¡°...¡±


    Songee and Elena also started to stir on the other side.


    Seeing this, Ahri looked a bit uneasy.


    "I think we were a bit too harsh on Elena at the end. Do you think she''ll be mad?"


    "If she is, let''s just listen to her for a bit."


    We leaned against the wall and rested in a daze.


    Before long, Songee and Elena woke up and came over to us.


    Instead of getting angry, Elena apologized.


    "I''m sorry... I got greedy at the end and made things hard for everyone."


    "No, no! It''s not your fault, Elena. I wanted to stay too."


    "Let''s not dwell on every little thing. After all, we''ll keep making mistakes and helping each other in this hotel."


    I thought I should be the one apologizing but found it awkward to do so, so I just gave a stiffugh.


    After going through the Final Trial, it felt awkward to even look at Elena.


    She couldn''t look me in the eye either.


    It seemed like it would take some time for us to start naturally talking again.


    As we waited, a hologram appeared in the air.


    Congrattions!


    You have passed all five trials prepared by the Gate Room.


    Truly, you embody the spirit of the hero we''ve been waiting for!


    This is the beginning of a great journey!


    How could we not be left in awe?


    The First Trial, "Doppelganger Train¡±, tested whether you could survive on your own without anyone''s help.


    The Second Trial, "Witch''s Forest¡±, tested whether you could make a cold decision with an injuredrade in front of you.


    The Third Trial, "Jekyll and Hyde Game¡±, tested your quick thinking and judgment.


    The Fourth Trial, "Secret of the Esper Ho¡±, tested whether you could uncover the secrets hidden in a belly and if you could respond ordingly.


    The Fifth Trial, "Perfect Life¡±, tested whether you could ovee false illusions and prepare your mindset to face the harsh reality.


    Of course, those present here have proven all these abilities.


    The Gate Room will now end.


    After reading the long notification, I realized.


    <em>It''s over.</em>


    <em>The long journey in the Gate Room is finally over.</em>


    I justy on the floor and endlesslyughed like a madman.


    Seeing me, the others, who were dumbfounded, alsoy down nearby and startedughing together.


    Floor 1, Room 107. The Gate Room¡­


    <em>We finally finished it!</em>


    The space slowly began to crumble.


    I recalled the familiar faces I hadn''t seen in a long time.


    Jinchul-hyung, Grandpa Mooksung, Seungyub, Eunsol-noona¡­.


    <em>I have so much to tell them.</em>


    Just before the space disappeared, thest notification appeared.


    Those who ovee trials deserve a reward.


    A ticket, an outfit, and a chance will be given.


    May it greatly aid you in the journey ahead.


    Also, it is only fitting that a special reward is given to the one who made the greatest contribution in the Gate Room.


    Suddenly, I felt a sharp sensation on my shoulder.

 Chapter 144: A Ticket, an Outfit, and a Chance

    Chapter 144: A Ticket, an Outfit, and a Chance


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 72


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I woke up in the Hotel corridor along with everyone else.


    Before the joy of reunion could fully sink in, I felt an overwhelming sensation as I looked around the Hotel.


    <em>How long has it been?</em>


    We barely survived one trial only to face another, and even after oveing that, there was yet another trial.The trials were relentless, with no proper time for rest!


    Before my body could tire, my mind felt like it hadpletely melted away.


    As I nced at myrades, who looked just as dazed as me, a smile naturally crept onto my face.


    Seeing me, myrades¡¯ lips also started to curve into smiles, and soon, the entire corridor erupted into a cacophony of victoriousughter!


    The long-missed Eunsol-noona was the first to speak up, "Let''s grab a meal first! It seems like the rewards will be given after we eat."


    In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, Jinchul-hyung began acting somewhat strange.


    He started staring intently at the air, turning his head sharply back and forth.


    Grandpa Mooksung pointed it out, "Boar, what''s up with you? You keep staring into the air like you''ve seen a ghost."


    Surprisingly, Jinchul-hyung responded seriously, "Something has been flickering in the air. It looks like a person appears and then disappears... Did something happen while I was unconscious?"


    ...The room fell silent. Too much had happened to him. Everyone hesitated to exin.


    As we headed back to Room 105, the same alert we had seen after clearing Perfect Life appeared for everyone else.


    Although the intent of each trial was intriguing, it was ultimately alreadypleted.


    It didn¡¯t really matter.


    What captured everyone¡¯s interest was the content of the rewards.


    A ticket, an outfit, and a chance.


    And a special reward for the person who made the greatest contribution.


    Discussions about the identity of these items soon erupted.


    ***<em>-Click</em>


    After returning from the restroom, I looked at the lively table.


    I sat down and watched as Seungyub stacked food like a tower.


    On top of a in donut, he stacked three slices of pork belly, a sirloin steak, thered it with a mix of tonkatsu sauce and roasted tomatoes, and then finished it off with another douse of tonkatsu.


    ¡°...¡±


    Unable to watch any longer, Ahri spoke up, ¡°Seungyub, isn¡¯t that artery-bomb burger too big to swallow in one bite?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    After letting out a slight chuckle, I looked around.


    The individuals who survived further were enthusiastically sharing their experiences in the Gate Room with those who had been eliminated earlier.


    Even Elena, who normally wouldn¡¯t engage in such behavior, was proudly exining to Jinchul-hyung and Eunsol-noona how she had outwitted the staff of the Esper Ho.


    Of course, she didn¡¯t mention how she almost got sacrificed or how she nearly caused a huge disaster in Perfect Life.


    Jinchul-hyung, clearly regretful about being eliminated early, listened intently to our stories.


    He looked visibly shocked when hearing about how a witch had possessed his body before being ¡°exorcized¡±.


    The peaceful atmosphere seemed like the perfect moment to drop a bombshell.


    <em>- Thump!</em>


    "Everyone~ may I have your attention?"


    All eyes turned to me.


    "Sorry to interrupt your meal, but it seems one of the rewards has already been given."


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at my sudden statement.


    The first person to grasp the situation was Grandpa Mooksung.


    "Did you receive the reward for the person who made the greatest contribution? I had a hunch."


    Everyone nodded in agreement.


    It seemed many had suspected that I would be the one to receive the special reward.


    <em>Honestly, who else could it be?</em>


    I yed a major role in the Second Trial, The Witch¡¯s Forest, by manipting Arima.


    In the Third Trial, Jekyll and Hyde, my deductions were pivotal from start to finish.


    While I didn¡¯t single-handedly dominate the other trials, my contributions were by no means small.


    "Yes. I confirmed what the reward was just a moment ago."


    Everyone looked puzzled at the idea of me checking the reward alone.


    "You checked it while you were in the restroom?"


    I smiled confidently and stood up.


    <em>Ha!</em>


    I was filled with an overwhelming sense of joy as if I had truly be a superhuman.


    I couldn¡¯t contain my excitement.


    Proudly, I raised both arms and focused my mind.


    I had confirmed the ¡°Feather Tattoo¡± in the restroom.


    As soon as I became aware of the tattoo, I instinctively knew how to use it.


    <em>- Swish!</em>


    With a swish, I appeared on the opposite side of the table!


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened¡ª


    <em>- Thud! Thud!</em>


    ¡°...¡±


    I fell from midair onto the floor.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    After a moment of silence, Ahri asked, ¡°Was that... teleportation? Did you intend to fall from the air?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It seems like controlling the destination is a bit difficult. I guess you¡¯ll need to practice that ability.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t use it again immediately. It takes a few hours to recharge.¡±


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s an amazing ability. But if you don¡¯t want to fall to your death after teleporting, you¡¯d better practice hard.¡±


    It was slightly embarrassing, but I stood up and raised my hands again!


    ¡°Did you see that? I have teleportation now!¡±


    Seungyub shouted in amazement, ¡°Hyung, that looked exactly like the summoner spells, sh from LoL.¡±


    Ahri, of course, had to rain on my parade.


    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve seen that ability, I¡¯m convinced. You¡¯ll definitely be the first person to be sealed on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    After the others finally congratted me, the meal ended.


    ***After the meal, the Hotel disyed an alert as if it had been waiting for us.


    Did you enjoy your meal?


    Once again, we congratte you on oveing such arduous trials.


    Starting a week from today, the second floor will officially open. On the second floor, you will face trials that are even more challenging than those you have encountered this far.


    Of course, with the skills you¡¯ve demonstrated and the treasures you¡¯ve umted, you should be more than capable of oveing them. Please take a week of rest to fully recover your body and mind.


    P.S.: Please proceed to the front desk to see the very thing you¡¯ve been eagerly anticipating!


    ¡°We get a whole week off this time? That¡¯s quite a long break! Since there¡¯s no need for exploration, let¡¯s really rx this time,¡± Songee shouted joyfully.


    She grabbed Elena¡¯s arm and added a few more words, ¡°Let¡¯s go swimming and skiing!¡±


    Elena blushed, unable to hide her embarrassment.


    Eunsol-noona, barely containing her excitement, urged everyone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry to the front desk!¡±


    At the front desk, there was arge treasure chest-like object.


    Jinchul-hyung approached it with a curious look.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just open it.¡±


    He casually pressed a button to open the chest, revealing the three rewards the Hotel had mentioned.


    A ticket, an outfit, and a chance.


    Jinchul-hyung picked up the small box containing the red button, looking perplexed.


    It was simply a box with a button protruding out of it.


    A chance


    On the side of the box, there was a brief exnation along with its name.


    Escape Button


    Standing beside him, I picked up the ticket.


    The back of the ticket had a brief description.


    Ticket of Hope! It can be used for various uses. Wouldn¡¯t it be fun to discover its uses?


    <em>What kind of nonsense is this? Just write the uses clearly!</em>


    I was about to express my frustration when I noticed Ahri¡¯s expression change.


    A storm of emotions appeared on her face¡ªa mix of intense desire, desperate longing, and uncontroble greed.


    Almost instinctively, Ahri reached out for the ticket I was holding, and I reflexively pushed her hand away.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...Sorry, I was a bit overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°I understand one of the ticket¡¯s uses now. Try to stay calm. We all understand how you feel.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    A heavy silence permeated the room.


    I realized that among the ¡°various uses¡± of this ticket, one was undoubtedly clear.


    <em>This ticket can revive someone who has died in the Hotel.</em>


    The tension surrounding the rewards wasn¡¯t limited to just the ticket.


    When Grandpa Mooksung struggled to lift the ¡°Outfit¡±, everyone fell silent.


    The item was too grand to be called a mere ¡°Outfit¡±.


    It looked more like a ¡°space suit¡± than anything, and it had the durability one would expect from such a suit.


    A namete was attached to the suit.


    Protective Suit: Invulnerable to des, Impervious to Fire and Water


    On the 72nd day since arriving at the Hotel, we obtained our first escape tool.


    ***Three minutes away from the front desk was the snack table, which was usually stocked with our favorite drinks and snacks.


    But today, the table was empty because we had cleared it to make room for therge items.


    I had expected the atmosphere to be celebratory after receiving the rewards, but...


    We just silently stared at the items on the table.


    In the awkward silence, Eunsol-noona picked up the least contentious reward, the Escape Button.


    ¡°Everyone read the description, right? It¡¯s simple. One-time use! Press the button, and you¡¯ll escape from the Cursed Room instantly. The count will be recorded.¡±


    Since no one else responded, I spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s literally a tool that forces an ¡®escape¡¯. It seems to be a one-time use, and it counts toward the tally. This might be useful if we end up overwhelmed by the brutal difficulty of a fifth attempt. Also since it¡¯s an escape, it should naturally revive anyone who died at that time, right? It¡¯s a tool that gives you ¡®one more chance¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like an extra life, which is great.¡±


    ¡°But it makes me a bit uneasy.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°The fact that they gave us something like this makes me wonder how difficult the second floor will be.¡±


    ¡°Oh~ let¡¯s not start thinking about that already.¡±


    After putting down the Escape Button, we fell into silence once more.


    This time, I picked up the ticket again.


    ¡°They said it has various uses, and one of them seems to be ¡®revival¡¯. Is that right?¡± I asked while looking at Ahri.


    She nodded quietly.


    ¡°Of course, it doesn¡¯t seem like you can just use it to revive someone directly. Maybe we need to find a ce like the ¡®Room of Resurrection¡¯ you mentioned before? Maybe we need to use the ticket in that location?¡±


    Ahri spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly where or how to use it. I just recognized it because it looks identical to a ticket I heard about before.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I suppose we need to have a discussion about ¡®who¡¯ to revive eventually.¡±


    Ahri remained silent.


    In the ufortable atmosphere, Eunsol-noona chimed in, ¡°They said we have a week to rest, right? Let¡¯s have a serious conversation about it then. But we don¡¯t need to decide anything immediately. We haven¡¯t even found the ¡®Room of Resurrection¡¯ yet. It¡¯s probably on the second floor. Also, since the ticket has ¡®various uses¡¯, the other uses might be incredibly valuable as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. We should discuss it eventually, but there¡¯s no need to decide right now.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence fell once again.


    Eventually, everyone¡¯s gaze turned to the reward that made us the most uneasy: the ¡°Outfit¡±.


    Jinchul-hyung, unable to bear the tense atmosphere, reached for the suit.


    ¡°Ah! This is frustrating. What¡¯s the big deal? Do you really think someone would sneak off in the middle of the night wearing this?¡±


    The other seven people, who had all been thinking the exact same thing, flinched.


    Upon noticing how everyone reacted, Jinchul-hyung closed his mouth and put the suit back down.


    I wish I hadn¡¯t brought up the elevator passcode in the first ce.


    <em>...Let¡¯s just drop it. It¡¯s all in the past.</em>


    <em>Besides, we promised not to keep secrets from each other anymore.</em>


    <em>This is just another trial we need to ovee.</em>


    Sighing, I stared at the ¡°Protective Suit¡± that had be a hot potato.


    <em>Before we head to the second floor in a week, we need to reinforce our bonds so that neither the suit nor the ticket can cause any rifts among us.</em>

 Chapter 145: Rest and Reorganization (1)

    Chapter 145: Rest and Reorganization (1)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 74


    Current Location: Basement, Ski Resort


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    My body zipped down the ski slope at high speeds, swirling snow around me.


    I focused all my attention on the path ahead.


    Among the rapidly changing scenery, I noticed people watching me with worried expressions.


    <em>Now¡¯s the time.</em>The feather tattoo on my shoulder tingled slightly, and as if an invisible hand had grabbed my cor and thrown me, a yanking sensation pulled my body.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    When I came to, I found myself suspended in the air.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhh!¡±


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    From a distance, I heard the sound of snow bursting apart, and a giant measuring nearly 2 meters tall,unched into the air, grabbing me mid-flight.


    <em>- Thud! Crash!</em>


    Thanks to the sturdy figure who absorbed most of the impact as we hit the ground, Inded rtively unharmed.


    ¡°Ah, why is this so difficult? Thanks, Jinchul-hyung. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to practice this¡ª¡±


    As I spoke, something felt off, and I turned to look at him.


    Jinchul-hyung seemed deep in thought.


    ¡°Hyung?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. That said, that teleportation seems pretty challenging, doesn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve seen you try it like 7 or 8 times in the span of two days, and you end up in the wrong ce half the time,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize; we agreed to practice this together. But do you really have to do it while skiing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve found that using it while standing still is easy, but it gets harder when I¡¯m moving, and even more difficult when I¡¯m moving quickly.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, practice is supposed to be challenging.¡±


    <em>- Whoosh!</em>


    With the sound of skis sliding on the slope, Ahri gracefully arrived, followed by Songee and Elena.


    ¡°Every time you make a mistake, you seem to teleport urately forward, backward, and sideways, but you keep ending up mid-air,¡± Ahri immediatelymented with an amused expression.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°I suspect that when you focus on teleporting, you subconsciously aim slightly upwards because you¡¯re afraid of ending up underground.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like this: when you decide the direction you want to teleport from your starting position, you instinctively adjust the direction slightly upwards to avoid getting caught in the ground. Although you don¡¯t consciously notice this slight adjustment, the misalignment bes significant when you move more than 10 meters.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a convincing analysis.¡±


    As usual, Ahri, with her experience using ¡°superpowers¡±, offered a pretty usible theory.


    While I was pondering this, I felt a soft touch brush off the snow that covered my head and clothes.


    When I turned my head to see who it was, I found Elena naturally brushing the snow off my hair.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    As soon as our eyes met, we both awkwardly stepped back.


    It didn¡¯t seem like Elena had intended to do it.


    ¡°Oh, there was just so much snow on you that I did it without thinking¡­¡±


    ¡°T-thank you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    An awkward silence followed.


    Thankfully, Ahri broke the silence and continued the conversation, ¡°Practicing teleportation with your body seems pretty dangerous. Jinchul can¡¯t always be there to save you after all. How about using Perro¡¯s body instead? Even if you teleport into the sky, Perro can just p his wings ande down.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Songee¡¯s mouth fell open, and she whispered something to Perro.


    <em>¨C Piyooo!</em>


    ¡°Ahh! Ahhh! Songee~ get him off me!¡±


    Soon, a very angry parrot started plucking at Ahri¡¯s hair, and the rest of us burst intoughter as we began to leave the ski resort.


    While the scene in front of me was funny, the suggestion was meaningless.


    The source of my teleportation ability was the tattoo engraved on my body.


    I couldn¡¯t use it while I possessed someone. I had already confirmed this yesterday before Ahri made the suggestion.


    After clearing the Gate Room, we were given a week to rest.


    Ahri¡¯s Blessing had already confirmed that we had no more ces to explore on the first floor, so we took the time to rx.


    At first, I didn¡¯t understand why we had to wait a week for the second floor to open up, but as time passed, it became clear.


    If the second floor had opened right away, we would have spent our time exploring rather than resting.


    It seemed the Hotel deliberately kept the second floor closed to give us a proper break.


    Everyone went to the facilities they wanted to enjoy.


    Songee, who had realized the darkness hidden in Elena¡¯s heart during ¡°Perfect Life¡±, eagerly led us to the ski resort, and we spent the first day there together.


    Of course, not everyone loved skiing.


    About half of the group went to different facilities starting the next day.


    Thus, everyone took time to rx in their preferred ces while preparing for the second floor.


    But in the end, this was still the Hotel¡ªa ce where countless trials awaited us.


    We couldn¡¯t fully rx.


    There were a few critical tasks that we needed to address during this time.


    ***¡°Achoo!¡±


    ¡°Jinchul-oppa? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. I feel a bit cold after rolling around in the snow to save a guy, so I¡¯m sneezing.¡±


    I felt a pang of guilt.


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Let¡¯s just eat. By the way, this ski resort is pretty unique. It feels like clouds have been wrapped around the entire mountain.¡±


    Songee looked around with an intrigued expression.


    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s beyond the clouds?¡±


    ¡°Maybe there¡¯s nothing at all. Like the ¡®Hiking Room¡¯. In that ce, if you strayed too far from the mountain, you¡¯d be teleported back to the starting point. It might be simr here.¡±


    After that brief conversation, we began eating some simple snacks like sausages, hot bars, and fish cakes prepared at the ski resort.


    After a while, the conversation naturally resumed.


    The topic we most frequently discussed since the rest period began: ¡°sealing¡±.


    Jinchul-hyung was the first to speak, ¡°I¡¯m worried. If Kain is sealed, it¡¯ll be extremely difficult to progress.¡±


    ¡°Right. His other abilities are also valuable, but the real problem is losing Scenario Comprehension. Can we proceed without that ability...?¡± Ahri responded with a concerned expression.


    Seeing everyone worry about ¡°my absence¡± made me feel strangely good.


    But in the end, I couldn¡¯t hide my own concerns.


    If everyone failed while I was sealed, wouldn¡¯t I just die without aplishing anything?


    ¡°Everyone, cheer up. After all, haven¡¯t we cleared the Cursed Rooms without the Scenario Comprehension ability?¡±


    Jinchul-hyung sighed even more deeply at that.


    ¡°We just brute-forced our way through and died a lot. I guess we¡¯ll have to do it that way again.¡±


    One fact was implicit in the conversation between myrades and I.


    At least in the first room on the second floor, I was almost certainly the one who would be sealed.


    As a bearer of Inheritance, I had gathered powers even beyond that such as Descent, the Pen, teleportation, and more.


    I even received the most Blessing enhancement, gaining the powerful ability to understand scenarios.


    Although I wasn¡¯t as overpowered as some who had acquired two or three Inheritances, like those in Ahri¡¯s first Hotel party, I had still grown disproportionately stronger than the others.


    Ahri spoke up again, ¡°It¡¯s not something we should just worry about. The rest of us need to find ways to grow, even without Kain.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense, but do we have a way? The second floor won¡¯t open for another five days,¡± Songee replied anxiously.


    ¡°There¡¯s still one room left on the first floor.¡±


    Thest remaining Cursed Room on the first floor.


    Room 104, ¡°Preparatory Selective, Hotel High School¡±.


    When the topic of the Hotel High School came up, everyone fell silent.


    Why did we hesitate to enter the Hotel High School?


    When multiple Cursed Rooms remained, we avoided it because it was the most difficult, but now the room¡¯s difficulty wasn¡¯t the issue.


    We already cleared the Gate Room, a higher-level trial, and obtained numerous rewards.


    The threats posed by the Hotel High School could easily be handled.


    The cultists in the old school building? Jinchul-hyung could probably wipe them out by himself if he used the Star.


    I could also take out the majority of them using the possession ability of the Grimoire over time.


    <em>The issue is the Lord.</em>


    Specifically, the Descent left in me by the Lord.


    I decided to voice the concern everyone had been secretly harboring.


    ¡°Everyone is worried that something might go wrong with me because of Descent, right?¡±


    Ahri immediately agreed, ¡°Exactly. We have no idea what might happen. In the worst case, you could lose control to the Son of Heaven andpletely turn against us.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If we still had the Red Capsule, I would have suggested taking it before reentering Hotel High School. But, of course, Perro already ate it, so it¡¯s meaningless now.¡±


    Songee weakly defended Perro, ¡°Perro took it and made a big difference in the Gate Room.¡±


    Since that was true, no one argued.


    ¡°Can we really be sure that something like that will happen?¡± Elena responded with concern.


    ¡°I was just talking about the worst-case scenario. The problem is that this Hotel tends to turn the worst and most ominous possibilities into reality. Can you ask Advice?¡±


    ¡°I already did yesterday. The answer was pretty meaningless. It told me to think it over carefully.¡±


    ¡°Your patron, the Owl, seems to be less helpful than Perro at times.¡±


    Ahri spoke as if she was just specting, but...


    I knew that Ahri wasn¡¯t just speaking based on a hunch.


    She just didn¡¯t want to exin every uncertain detail, so she spoke in a roundabout way.


    Through my own reasoning, I had reached a simr conclusion.


    The true nature of Descent.


    The inhuman personality of the Son of Heaven that I had already experienced.


    And the advice the Owl had forced upon me, even at the risk of crossing the line, during the Gate Room.


    <em>If I enter the Hotel High School, there¡¯s a very high chance that I will be ¡°something else¡±.</em>


    <em>How could the Lord do something that no other Convict could attempt?</em>


    He definitely had some kind of secret.


    I lightly shook my head, pushing the unresolved thoughts to the back of my mind.


    Jinchul-hyung, who hade to a simr conclusion, changed the subject, thinking that the conversation wasn¡¯t going anywhere, ¡°Haven¡¯t we debated this topic several times already? And each time, we¡¯ve decided to abandon the idea. As Ahri said, if the concern is that Kain might betray us because of the Lord or whatever, then we can¡¯t enter while Kain is the strongest among us. Let¡¯s find another way.¡±


    In the end, we returned to square one.


    In the first room on the second floor, I was almost certain to be sealed.


    <em>Is there any way for the others to grow during the rest period?</em>


    The first option, entering Hotel High School, was rejected again.


    This was due to the suspicion that I might betray them in that room.


    Whether this was true or not couldn¡¯t be guaranteed until we entered the room, but if it was true, it would be even worse than being sealed on the second floor.


    <em>So what¡¯s the second option?</em>


    I remembered the idea that Grandpa Mooksung suggestedst night.


    Elena, who had the same thought, spoke up.


    ¡°I think it would be good to use Eunsol-noona¡¯s Monkey¡¯s Paw again. Something like the Nightmare Butterfly event wasn¡¯t too difficult.¡±


    ¡°Elena, it¡¯s not the Monkey¡¯s Paw, it¡¯s the ¡®Hand of Greed,¡¯¡± Ahri corrected her.


    ¡°Oops!¡±


    The Hand of Greed could provide rewards without any penalties to its users.


    Eunsol-noona hesitated to use it because of its selfish nature, but everyone agreed that the Hand of Greed was more useful than it seemed.


    Growth opportunities were surprisingly limited in the Hotel.


    Unlike games that encouraged grinding, one couldn¡¯t just endlessly farm in hunting grounds to keep growing.


    The only real farming opportunities were in the Cursed Rooms, but they disappeared once they were cleared.


    In a ce where growth opportunities were limited like this, the Hand of Greed was practically a tool that periodically created ¡°mini hunting grounds¡±.


    With that, our brief meeting at the ski resort concluded.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    We left the ski resort and returned to the first floor of the Hotel.


    As evening approached, people from other areas began to gather in Room 105.


    After exchanging greetings and entering Room 105, everyone momentarily fell silent.


    There, near the entrance, was the huge Protective Suit.


    <em>What are we supposed to do with this thing?</em>


    <em>It¡¯s already the third day since we acquired the suit.</em>


    For three days, the Protective Suit had made us turn a blind eye to it.


    The human-sized outfit seemed to say, ¡°Do something with me,¡± but everyone just pretended not to notice it.


    Whenever someone identally bumped into it, the whole group flinched.


    <em>We can¡¯t keep avoiding the issue of the Protective Suit.</em>


    <em>Invulnerable to des, Impervious to Fire and Water!</em>


    <em>That suit isn¡¯t just an escape tool; it¡¯s an incredibly useful piece of armor.</em>


    <em>We can¡¯t keep avoiding this issue forever.</em>


    <em>That¡¯s why we ced it near the entrance of the room, so we wouldn¡¯t forget it.</em>


    ¡°Attention, everyone!¡±


    On the third day after acquiring the suit,


    Ahri finally took the lead and spoke up.

 Chapter 146: Rest and Reorganization (2)

    Chapter 146: Rest and Reorganization (2)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°Attention! Everyone!¡±


    Ahri shouted loudly in front of the Protective Suit as we all stood there, unsure of what to do.


    Once everyone¡¯s attention was on her, Ahri continued to speak, ¡°The issue with the Protective Suit won¡¯t be solved by avoiding it. We need toe to a decision now.¡±


    Eunsol-noona spoke up hesitantly, ¡°Then, how about we discuss this over a meal¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. If we discuss this over a meal, someone will suggest that we think about it more and decideter. We need to make a decision right here, right now!¡±


    Ahri¡¯s tone was more resolute than I had ever seen before.


    ¡°The core issue regarding the Protective Suit is about who will manage it. We¡¯re all afraid that the person managing it might wear it and secretly escape, which is why no one has dared to touch it.¡±


    She was right. Everyone silently nodded in agreement.


    ¡°But we absolutely need to utilize this suit. You all know it¡¯s more than just an escape tool, right? It¡¯s ¡°Invulnerable to des,¡± and ¡°Impervious to Fire and Water¡±. These two features alone show it¡¯s an extraordinary piece of armor. Now then, why do you think the hotel gave us such an item?¡±¡°Because there¡¯s a ce where we¡¯ll need it,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Correct! We will definitely need this item somewhere on the second floor. We might have to enter an active volcano or push through an extremely cold blizzard. We might even need to navigate through sharp objects that we can¡¯t approach without this suit.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung, who had been listening quietly, spoke up, ¡°You¡¯re bringing this up because you want to be the one to manage it, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The biggest concern with the Protective Suit is that the person managing it might secretly escape at night. Trusting someone based on emotion alone isn¡¯t enough. The person managing it needs to have a more concrete reason not to escape.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already escaped from the hotel once. But I returned because there was someone I needed to save. I believe I¡¯ve already proven through my actions that I won¡¯t leave until I¡¯ve rescued my mom.¡±


    It made sense.


    Ahri was someone who had already escaped but returned for her own purposes.


    She was more determined than anyone to stay until she fulfilled her goal.


    Songee raised a point, ¡°What about after you save your mom? Oh! I¡¯m not using you of nning to run away with it! Just¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We also need to rify that. Even after saving my mom, nothing will change. The Protective Suit¡¯s escape function is for one person only. So, even after I save her, it doesn¡¯t change anything. Of course, if we were to be extremely cautious, you might worry about me escaping with just my mom. If that¡¯s a concern, we can discuss it again after Miro is revived.¡±


    ¡°Are you also nning to always use it?¡± Jinchul-hyung asked with some concern.


    ¡°No, not necessarily. The person most suitable for the situation at hand should use it. Just look at the suit¡¯s appearance. It¡¯s not something you¡¯d wear while walking around casually, right? It¡¯s meant to be worn when needed, and the right person should use it at the right time. However, they should return it to me afterward.¡±


    The room fell silent for a moment.


    It seemed like we had finally set some guidelines for using the Protective Suit.


    Firstly, the person who was best suited for the situation at hand should make use of it.


    Secondly, when not in use, Ahri manages it.


    Lastly, After Ahri¡¯s mom, Miro, was revived, we¡¯d discuss it again.


    It seemed reasonable. No one appeared to have any objections.


    With the issue of trust regarding the Protective Suit resolved, the discussion quickly gained momentum.


    Everyone had too many questions about the Protective Suit during the days we had been avoiding it.


    We even set aside our meal to gather and test the suit¡¯s features one by one.


    ***After struggling for a while, Jinchul-hyung removed the Protective Suit.


    ¡°This is harder than I expected.¡±


    ¡°You seem clumsier than usual,¡± Grandpa Mooksungmented.


    ¡°It feels like this suit is hindering my movements rather than helping.¡±


    Ahri, who had been fiddling with the Suit¡¯s operating system, spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s somewhat simr to the Administration¡¯s enhanced suits. This thing weighs over 100 kilograms. It¡¯s not designed to be moved by human strength alone. It seems that the suit¡¯s sensors read the wearer¡¯s movements and the suit moves ordingly. In other words, the strength exerted while wearing the Suit doesn¡¯te from the user but from the suit¡¯s operating system itself.¡±


    I understood what she meant.


    ¡°So, if someone strong wears the Suit, it could actually reduce their strength?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be the case, though it¡¯s not amon urrence. Even Seungyub seemed stronger when he wore it. Generally, wearing the suit makes you stronger. It¡¯s just that one person among us is too strong for the suit¡¯s system to keep up with.¡±


    Songee interjected, ¡°I find it fascinating how the size changes. When Seungyub put it on, it adjusted to fit him perfectly. When I wore it, it fit me just right. And when Jinchul-oppa put his arm in, it grewrger on its own. Is it magic?¡±


    Ahri offered a different perspective.


    ¡°Not exactly to this extent, but the Administration¡¯s equipment also adjusts to the user¡¯s body to some degree. Given that the weight remains the same regardless of size, it might not be of ult origin but advanced science...¡±


    That seemed irrelevant.


    Sinceing to the hotel, advanced science and ult power have felt indistinguishable.


    <em>The term ¡°Administration¡¯s Enhanced Suits¡± that Ahri kept mentioning intrigued me more.</em>


    <em>Are those things real?</em>


    <em>¨C Bang! Bang!</em>


    Two gunshots rang out.


    Grandpa Mooksung was impressed.


    ¡°Wow! A gun doesn¡¯t even leave a scratch on its surface. It¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t test it with more firepower. Jinchul, how about your strength?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried punching the wall while wearing it, and I¡¯ve tested the suit¡¯s strength, but it doesn¡¯t budge. However...¡±


    ¡°However?¡±


    ¡°Although the suit itself is incredibly tough, the person inside can still feel the impact. It¡¯s significantly reduced, though.¡±


    Now it was time for the final test.


    Songee, Jinchul-hyung, and I exchanged nces and nodded.


    Ahri was the one inside the Protective Suit.


    Songee went first.


    As soon as a pale light shed from her bracelet, Ahri frantically waved her hands inside the suit, signaling to stop.


    Defense failed.


    Next, I took out the Grimoire.


    As soon as I felt my mind floating, I found myself inside the Protective Suit.


    I pinched Ahri¡¯s cheek and left.


    Defense failed.


    At this point, we had a sneaking suspicion, but we had to confirm it.


    We moved to the front desk, and everyone stepped back as Jinchul-hyung briefly summoned the Star.


    In just a moment, the paint on the Protective Suit began to peel off, and Jinchul-hyung quickly put it away.


    Surprisingly, once the Star disappeared, the suit¡¯s paint slowly restored itself.


    Defense failed.


    With that, we concluded the performance tests on the Protective Suit and drew some general conclusions.


    Firstly, everyone except Jinchul-hyung became slightly stronger when wearing the suit.


    Secondly, the suit adjusted to the wearer¡¯s body, regardless of size.


    Thirdly, while the suit itself is nearly invulnerable, a strong impact could harm the person inside.


    Lastly, the suit couldn¡¯t defend against the power of an Inheritance


    Finally, Ahri left the room while still wearing the Suit.


    As everyone was contemting the Suit¡¯s features and uses, Eunsol-noona spoke up in a concerned tone, ¡°If we need to use it, do we have to carry it around while progressing through the Cursed Rooms?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s heavier than a person. I don¡¯t have a scale, but it¡¯s much heavier than Jinchul. It must weigh well over 100 kilograms. How are we supposed to carry it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see, but if possible, someone should wear it.¡±


    ¡°Wear that shy thing? Casually? Who?¡±


    It seemed like, aside from Ahri managing the suit in the hotel, we also needed to decide who would wear it during the Cursed Rooms.


    Fortunately, someone who had a useful Blessing butcked the physical capability to properly utilize it came to mind.***


    <strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    By the time we finished analyzing the Protective Suit and wrapping up our meal, Kain came to me with the suggestion of using the ¡°Hand of Greed¡± once more.


    Looking around, I saw that Elena, Songee, and Jinchul were all nodding in agreement.


    They must have already discussed it among themselves.


    In the end, I agreed to use the Hand of Greed.


    Myrades prepared forbat in their own ways and gathered near the front desk.


    After surveying the area, I focused on making a ¡°wish¡± to the Hand of Greed.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Hand of Greed: 1


    I often find myself realizing that myrades and I are changing.


    The decision to create potentially life-threatening events to pursue the goal of ¡°bing stronger¡±.


    Can this mindset truly be considered normal?


    It was a judgment only superhumans who had gained power beyond that of ordinary people could make.


    Myrades have already twisted reality with the power of the Star, summoned scales to crush armies, manipted people¡¯s senses with a single gesture, borrowed the power of the heavens, or taken over someone¡¯s body.


    At times, myrades throw aroundments, half-joking, half-serious.


    They say, ¡°As expected of someone from a rich family, you can¡¯t understand usmon folk!¡± or something along those lines.


    Before entering the hotel, I might have agreed if they¡¯d said that.


    But after entering the hotel, I wondered what they meant.


    <em>What does it even mean to be from a rich family?</em>


    Any of them could step out of this hotel and topple a conglomerate in a day.


    I sometimes struggled to understand.


    <em>Why do they still listen to me so attentively?</em>


    Isn¡¯t it a universal truth thatmunication bes nearly impossible when the power gap is wide enough?


    To be honest, even I never paid attention to anyone speaking up at a shareholder¡¯s meeting with a tiny share.


    <em>And yet, here they are, always listening to what I have to say, making me feel grateful and sometimes wondering who they really are.</em>


    When I think about it, Ahri¡¯s joke about the party being chosen because ¡°they¡¯re nice¡± was probably a cold, urate analysis.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Weakness.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s my weakness.</em>


    <em>In a hotel where everyone is turning into superhumans, I¡¯m still trapped in the realm of humans, which is why I¡¯m consumed by such weak thoughts.</em>


    I stared at the Hand of Greed, wishing to cast off this helplessness.


    The butterfly brooch I obtained before¡ªI haven¡¯t even used it properly, but it wasn¡¯t enough.


    <em>Help me move forward.</em>


    <em>Help me so that I don¡¯t fall into these weak thoughts again.</em>


    <em>Lend me the strength to avoid feeling inferior when I look at myrades.</em>


    Hand of Greed: 1 ¡ú 0


    Your wish has been granted


    <strong>Choose for yourself. It wille at a considerable cost.</strong>


    Due to the request of a participant, a surprise event has urred in spite of the rest time.


    Surprise Event: Strange Shop Open!


    A familiar figure appeared, and an annoying voice rang out, ¡°Ahaha! Well, well~ You must be the VIP customers! Were you that desperate for my help?¡±

 Chapter 147: Rest and Reorganization (3)

    Chapter 147: Rest and Reorganization (3)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As soon as the Hand of Greed was activated, the surrounding space trembled, and the now familiar merchant appeared.


    The first time we used the Hand of Greed, it triggered a monster elimination event, so I thought we¡¯d be facing anotherbat event, but I was wrong.


    This time, it was an entirely different type of event.


    <em>A trading event, perhaps?</em>


    Everyone was slightly taken aback as they focused on the merchant.


    The merchant, with his bandages fluttering, began a long-winded speech, ¡°Greetings, dear customers! I havee at the request of our dear customer, Ms. Lee Eunsol. This Hotel is a harsh and grueling ce! It¡¯s not easy to survive without powerful treasures or supernatural abilities, is it? The desire to grow stronger¡ªIpletely understand. I can deeply empathize with the sentiment. But of course, there¡¯s no such thing as a free lunch! You understand, right?¡±


    Eunsol-noona spoke up with a somewhat tired tone, ¡°Just get to the point. What are you selling this time, and what¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡°What am I selling? Oh no, no! It¡¯s a misunderstanding. I¡¯m not here to sell anything this time.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±¡°I¡¯m afraid the items I¡¯ve brought this time are too valuable for me to sell. Unfortunately, they cannot be taken outside the Hotel.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t be taken outside the Hotel? So, you¡¯re renting them out?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quick-witted. That¡¯s right. The items I¡¯m about to show you cannot be taken outside the Hotel. They will be reimed as soon as you leave. However, the rental fee is non-refundable.¡±


    The items were ¡°body parts¡±.


    I had a bad feeling about the rental fee.


    ¡°By rental fee¡­ you mean, our original body parts?¡± I asked to confirm.


    Instead of answering, the merchant¡¯s mouth stretched into a grin that threatened to rip it open.


    That was all I needed for an answer.


    The merchant, as if growing more amused, began to exin in detail, ¡°All the items are specific body parts! If you wish, you can exchange your real body parts for borrowed ones. When you leave the Hotel, they will all be reimed. In other words, your real body parts are the rental fee, and the borrowed body parts will be reimed when you leave. Need I exin further?¡±


    I understood clearly.


    In short, it meant you¡¯d be left with a disability once you left the Hotel.


    Everyone began to react with shock.


    Grandpa Mooksung asked a question, ¡°Can it be treated?¡±


    ¡°Not within the Hotel! The real body parts you use as the rental fee cannot be restored, even in Room 105. In fact, it would be strange if they could be. If the borrowed body parts remain, and your real body parts are restored, you¡¯d end up with three arms, wouldn¡¯t you? However, outside the Hotel, you can do as you please. With wealth and medical advances, you might be able to restore them.¡±


    A sort of loan transaction where one sacrificed their real body parts as payment to borrow special body parts, which were then reimed when they left the Hotel.


    As I listened, I began to think that if this was the only price, it might be manageable.


    For example, if someone gave up an arm to gain a powerful one.


    In the Hotel, having a powerful arm would be beneficial.


    And when they leave the Hotel, wouldn¡¯t there be a way to restore it somehow?


    If we could leverage the power of the Administration, it might be possible to recover a lost arm.


    Following a simr thought process, Ahri asked, ¡°The conditions seem too gooding from someone like you. Is there any other price?¡±


    The merchant answered with amusement, ¡°Haha! The price I take is all there is. Are you suggesting that I¡ª¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    The merchant suddenly paused.


    ¡°...¡±


    Then, his mouth suddenly split open in four directions, revealing countless serrated teeth inside!


    The merchant, who had always maintained a smile, even when we attacked him, now wore a ghastly expression, like a demon from the underworld, sending chills down our spines.


    The merchant, ring at Eunsol-noona, spoke, ¡°Haha, it seems your Patron has requested a ¡®more thorough exnation¡¯.¡±


    <em>Did Eunsol-noona¡¯s Patron intervene?</em>


    ¡°Tell him I said thanks,¡± Noona responded simply.


    The merchant forced his smile back, and, perhaps due to the pressure from the Patron, he began a much more detailed exnation.


    ¡°I find such exnations quite dull, but I have no choice. Strictly speaking, since I¡¯m not the one receiving it, it¡¯s not urate to call it a price. However, from your perspective, there¡¯s another thing to consider. It¡¯s the strain that the newly acquired body parts will ce on your body.


    ¡°The human body is a finely tuned machine. Just because a part of it is imbued with abnormal power doesn¡¯t mean the strain is limited to that part. A mutated arm can negatively impact the entire upper body, and a mutated eye can affect the brain. And this strain cannot be treated within the Hotel.¡±


    The second price: the strain on the entire body.


    In a way, this seemed like the real price.


    The first price, the loss of one¡¯s real body parts, was something they didn¡¯t need to worry about within the Hotel, and outside the Hotel, it could be dealt with somehow.


    But the second price, the strain on the whole body, couldn¡¯t be treated within the Hotel, so the person has to endure it.


    As everyone mulled it over, the merchant began to show the items.


    The first item was an arm covered in dark, murky scales.


    ¡°This item is the arm belonging to a powerful warrior of the Abras n. It can exert strength more than three times that of an average adult male and is durable enough to deflect des. It also boasts a regenerative power that would make a lizard jealous. With this arm alone, anyone could be a seasoned warrior.¡±


    The second item was a reverse-jointed leg covered in white fur.


    ¡°This item is the right leg of the master of the Essede Mountains. Its strength and durability are iparable to a human leg. Using its spring-like muscles, it¡¯s possible to leap 20 to 30 meters in a single bound. Most impressively, this leg can stretch or contract depending on the situation.¡±


    The third item was arge eye, about the size of a fist.


    ¡°This item is the eye of a one-eyed bird from the ind of Philote. It can spot a gnat from 100 meters away and read the writing on a flying arrow. But that¡¯s just the beginning. This eye can capture the entire scene in its field of view like a camera. Even more astonishing, it can vaguely perceive beings that are invisible to the human eye.¡±


    Thest item was a spine.


    ¡°This item is the spine of a Phloxian. It¡ª¡±


    Ahri cut him off immediately.


    ¡°Wait. Does this mean our spine will be removed for this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    Ahri turned to us and said, ¡°This one¡¯s a no-go. Even with the Administration¡¯s technology, there¡¯s no way to fully regenerate a spine. If your spine is removed, you¡¯ll probably die as soon as we return to Earth. No one wants to die the moment we get out, right?¡±


    I asked Ahri, ¡°You¡¯re only reacting this strongly to the spine. The arms, legs, and eyes can be recovered?¡±


    Ahri nodded.


    ¡°The eyes can be reced with prosthetics, but the rest can be mostly recovered.¡±


    <em>It seems we need to consider the items excluding the spine.</em>


    Eunsol-noona, who had activated the Hand of Greed, was now pressing the merchant for more detailed answers, clearly intrigued by the items.


    As I looked around, it was clear who was interested and who wasn¡¯t.


    Generally, those who already had reliable power, like Inheritance holders¡ªme, Jinchul-hyung, Songee, and Ahri¡ªseemed indifferent.


    To be honest,pared to an Inheritance, these items didn¡¯t seem all that impressive, and I worried that the strain these items would ce on the body might interfere with the free use of our Inheritances.


    Seungyub, on the other hand, seemed quite interested, so I pulled him aside. I had already discussed this with Jinchul-hyung and Grandpa Mooksung¡ªconsidering his Blessing, Seungyub seemed like the most suitable candidate to wear the Protective Suit during the Cursed Room encounters.


    If he¡¯s going to wear the Protective Suit anyway, these mutated body parts wouldn¡¯t matter much.


    In the end, Eunsol-noona, Grandpa Mooksung, and Elena began discussing the matter intensely.


    Grandpa Mooksung was passionately arguing, ¡°The eye is the only one that¡¯s worth it! The arms and legs are nothing. Can¡¯t you see? The arms and legs give nothing but strength. We already have Jinchul, Perro, and the Protective Suit for brute strength. There are plenty of alternatives. But overwhelming visual abilities? There¡¯s no substitute for that.¡±


    Eunsol-noona partially agreed but had her own thoughts.


    ¡°I agree that the eye is the best, but the arms and legs aren¡¯t bad either. Since there are only three of us interested, wouldn¡¯t it be better if one takes the eye, and the other two take an arm and a leg?¡±


    Elena joined in.


    ¡°I think the leg is a trap. It¡¯s meaningful if one arm gets stronger, but what¡¯s the point if only one leg gets stronger? Whether it¡¯s running, jumping, or any leg-rted activity, it requires bnce between both legs. Can you really jump properly if only one leg is strong?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ The leg does seem like a trap. So should we just take the eye and the arm?¡±


    I shared my thoughts.


    ¡°Ultimately, it¡¯s up to the people who are going to acquire them, but Elena, I think you shouldn¡¯t get any of them.¡±


    Elena looked at me curiously.


    Or rather, she looked at my feet.


    It was still awkward for us to make eye contact.


    ¡°These body parts seem useful, but they¡¯re notparable to an Inheritance or Blessing. Therefore, if these items interfere with your use of an Inheritance or Blessing, that would be counterproductive. It¡¯s a case of losing the big picture for small gains.


    ¡°From that perspective, Eunsol-noona¡¯s Blessing of ¡®Wealth¡¯ and Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s Blessing of ¡®Communication¡¯ are not tied to the body, so they should be fine. Even if these body parts put a strain on their bodies, it won¡¯t affect Wealth or Communication much.


    ¡°But Elena, remember what happened before? Injuries sustained before Justice activates couldn¡¯t be healed, even after it was going at full force. We confirmed that those injuries could cause you to faint or be incapacitated even after using Justice, right?¡±


    Elena understood my point.


    ¡°If the umted strain from using these new body parts builds up, it could cause me to copse while using Justice. I¡¯ll pass on them, then.¡±


    In the end, it was decided that Eunsol-noona would take the eye, and Grandpa Mooksung would take the arm.


    The two of them approached the merchant.


    Eunsol-noona, standing before the merchant, asked with some trepidation.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the eye, and Grandpa is taking the arm¡­


    ¡°But how are you going to give them to us? You¡¯re not nning to rip out our eye and arm yourself, are you?¡± Noona asked with some trepidation.¡±


    ¡°My goodness! Who would do something so barbaric? Am I a savage? Tearing out eyes and arms without anesthesia? That would kill you. You¡¯d die from shock, you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Didn¡¯t this guy suggest cutting off fingers and limbs thest time we met?</em>


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. While you sleep, we¡¯ll attach them painlessly. Just so you know, don¡¯t try to stay awake through the night. It will only make things harder for everyone.¡±


    The transaction waspleted.


    The merchant put away the other rejected body parts and disyed the arm and eye once more before disappearing.


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>It¡¯s a price to pay for gaining powerful abilities, but both of those body parts look so different from a human¡¯s arm and eye.</em>


    <em>Especially the eye¡ªit¡¯s sorge that it¡¯s hard to believe it could fit into a human skull.</em>


    Elena likely gave up on the leg quickly due to its grotesque appearance.


    But despite the need to endure such hideousness, the determination of those who were willing to acquire the eye and arm must be extraordinary.


    I found myself looking at Noona and Grandpa with renewed respect.

 Chapter 148: Rest and Reorganization (4)

    Chapter 148: Rest and Reorganization (4)<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    <em>- Riiing! Riiing!</em>


    <em>- Click!</em>


    <em>It¡¯s morning.</em>


    I rubbed my sleepy eyes and got up, heading to the bathroom for a quick wash.


    As I washed my face and ran my fingers through my hair, a few strands fell out.


    The sight of the three hair strands slowly spiraling down, drifting in the air currents, before finallynding on the bathroom floor, etched itself into my mind in slow motion.


    When I applied lotion to my face at the sink, I noticed how it seeped into the tiny pores of my skin, each pore standing out in sharp detail¡ª


    ¡°Agh! Enough already! Do I really need to see all of this?¡±


    There was no point inining.No one was forcing this on me.


    My enhanced vision was simply showing me the world and all the things I had been unaware of until now.


    Finally, I looked in the mirror.


    My left eye, the one that had served me all my life, looked normal.


    But in stark contrast, the right eye¡ªthe Grotesque one¡ªwas at least 30%rger.


    The pupil constantly twitched, and the three dots in the upper right, lower left, and lower right corners, relentlessly shifted their focus like tiny lenses, greedily absorbing information about the world.


    As I showered, I could see the steam condensing into water droplets on the mirror, and the sight of those droplets slowly forming was captured by my vision.


    After watching the water droplets fall, I stepped out of the bathroom.


    It was already the fifth day of rest.


    It had been two days since I received this eye from the merchant.


    At first, I was thrilled that we were given seven days of rest, but now I wish we had a few more.


    Stepping out of my room, I saw that some of mypanions were already up.


    ¡°Good morning, Eunsol-noona! Did you sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Good morning!¡±


    I greeted them lightly and turned my head.


    I noticed Seungyub flinched slightly when he saw my face.


    I wasn¡¯t really surprised or offended by it.


    Even I got startled when I looked in the mirror and saw my eye, so it made sense for mypanions to react the same way.


    They just needed time to adjust.


    After all, this eye was 30%rger than a normal one.


    There was no space in a regr human skull for such arge eye.


    So, the morning after I acquired the eye, I realized that the hotel¡¯s doctor (probably) had performed some intensive surgery on my head.


    As the time for breakfast approached, the others began to gather near the dining table in Room 105.


    Despite their initial shock, they quickly brightened up and greeted me.


    I noticed the fine, thread-like scratches on Kain¡¯s cheek.


    <em>Had he been scratched by something?</em>


    I could see each of Songee¡¯s pores as she tugged on Pero¡¯s beak.


    <em>She must have washed with water that was too hot this morning.</em>


    I sensed that Elena acted as if there was an invisible wall between her and Kain, even though she was eagerly looking forward to breakfast.


    <em>Ever since we left the Gate Room, they¡¯ve been like this.</em>


    <em>Something amusing must have happened between them.</em>


    A scale fell from Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s mysterious right arm as he yawned.


    And then there was Jinchul¡¯s strange behavior I had noticed since yesterday.


    <em>¡­I¡¯m seeing too much. My head is starting to ache.</em>


    My right eye might have supernatural abilities, but my brain was still that of an ordinary human.


    The human brain wasn¡¯t equipped to endlessly process this excessive amount of visual information.


    Tobat this, I briefly covered my eye with an eye patch and leaned against the wall to think.


    <em>It¡¯s not bad.</em>


    The price was by no means small.


    I lost my real eye, my appearance became somewhat grotesque, and I developed chronic headaches.


    But I gained superhuman vision.


    An indescribable sense of achievement filled my heart.


    ***<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    After breakfast, everyone went off to their preferred locations. It has be the norm for us to do so recently.


    I stopped Jinchul, who seemed intent on heading back to that damn Safari again.


    ¡°Jinchul.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Noona? Do you need something?¡±


    ¡°Follow me for a bit. I need to ask you something.¡±


    A short whileter, we were seated at a cocktail bar with some drinks.


    Jinchul, sitting across from me, started acting strangely again.


    His eyes seemed to focus on something in the air.


    His gaze chased something only he could see.


    Sweat trickled down his face as if he were scared.


    These were the changes I hadn¡¯t noticed until recently. Jinchul wasn¡¯t the type toin about things that were happening to him; he likely just kept it to himself, thinking it was no big deal.


    <em>But in this ce, hiding such anomalies isn¡¯t a sign of toughness¡ªit¡¯s foolishness.</em>


    ¡°What are you looking at so intently? Is there a ghost floating in the air?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ you noticed?¡±


    ¡°I realized after getting this new eye.¡±


    Jinchul took a moment to collect himself and sipped his cocktail.


    I had an inkling of what it might be about¡ªthe issue that arose during the process of handling that witch in the Gate Room.


    Kain had warned us.


    Although he had managed to deal with the witch by some means, he said that as long as Jinchul was alive, the witch would never bepletely eradicated.


    We already conveyed this information to Jinchul.


    After a brief silence, Jinchul finally spoke, ¡°I first noticed it when we left the Gate Room. Something¡ªwhether it was a ghost or a shadow I couldn¡¯t tell¡ª kept flitting around. I wondered if something was wrong with the Hotel, but that strange presence was only visible to me.¡±


    ¡°That seems to be the case. I don¡¯t see anything with my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the witch¡¯s ghost?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. ording to the hotel¡¯s description, my eye should be able to see invisible entities. Even if it were a ghost, I¡¯d be able to see it faintly. The fact that my eye can¡¯t detect anything means it¡¯s neither a ghost nor anything real¡ªit¡¯s just an illusion only you can see.¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, the thing is that the illusion is bing clearer.¡±


    ¡°Clearer?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I first consciously noticed it two days ago, at the ski resort. I jumped to catch Kain during his teleportation practice, and as I wasing down, I saw something resembling a person¡¯s face. Before that, it looked more like a blurry shadow.¡±


    ¡°What about now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simr. It¡¯s slowly taking on a human shape. But I still can¡¯t tell who it is.¡±


    ¡°A vestige of the witch¡¯s presence, manifesting as an illusion perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not well-versed in supernatural phenomena like this. Maybe you can ask the Administration team?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already asked. Gramps wasn¡¯t much help this time. He said he doesn¡¯t know what to do either.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just wait and see. As the figure bes clearer, maybe one day I¡¯ll be able to talk to it. When that happens, I¡¯ll ask what it wants.¡±


    <em>It¡¯s not a tangible entity, nor a ghost, but a vague illusion only visible to Jinchul, a remnant in his mind.</em>


    I wasn¡¯t sure what could be done.


    I couldn¡¯t think of any solution other than waiting, as Jinchul had suggested.


    ¡°When Kaines byter, ask him to use the Sage¡¯s Advice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not holding my breath. From what I¡¯ve seen, that Advice seems more like it¡¯s just going through the motions when we¡¯re outside the Cursed Rooms.¡±


    ¡°As Kain mentioned, the Owl doesn¡¯t really want to help us, does it? It¡¯s only interested in Han Kain. So, if Kain asks for advice ¡®for us¡¯, the response is bound to be lukewarm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t offer immediate help, but if any other strange things happen, make sure to tell us. You¡¯ve never met the witch directly, but I still vividly remember her. She was a being filled with an unimaginable level of madness.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we should start gathering the others. Our break is almost over, so it¡¯s time to discuss ¡®that topic¡¯, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get them.¡±


    As Jinchul got up to leave the bar, he paused to ask one more question, ¡°No need to bring the kids, right?¡±


    I replied with a slight smile. He wasn¡¯t as oblivious as he sometimes seemed.


    He quickly understood why I chose the cocktail bar as the meeting ce.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I arrived at the cocktail bar after being called.


    Everyone was here except Seungyub and Ahri.


    <em>Maybe it¡¯s to ease into the heavy discussion?</em>


    Eunsol-noona prepared several different cocktails and handed them out to each of us.


    The cocktail that ended up in front of me was a mix of Kahlua, rum, and c.


    "¡­¡±


    <em>I¡¯m still not sure about the taste of the alcohol.</em>


    I decided to speak my mind.


    ¡°Noona.¡±


    ¡°Yes? Does it taste good?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just drink c rather than trying to make a cocktail that poorly imitates c? It tastes like a cheap knock¡ª¡±


    <em>- Smack!</em>


    She hit me.


    Noona said she¡¯d never make me a cocktail again and walked away.


    <em>But honestly, I stand by my opinion that c tastes better than some mix of c and random alcohol.</em>


    Anyway, as soon as we gathered, we knew exactly what today¡¯s discussion was about.


    It was time to discuss the issue we had to address sooner orter.


    It was time to address ¡°resurrection¡±.


    Once the atmosphere felt more rxed, Noona was the first to speak, ¡°As you might have guessed, I gathered everyone to discuss who we should bring back to life. We¡¯re not making any final decisions today. After all, the ticket alone can¡¯t bring someone back, right? We still need to find the Room of Resurrection. Once we locate it, we¡¯ll regroup to finalize our decision. For now, let¡¯s take some time to organize our thoughts.¡±


    Elena started with a question, ¡°Is Ahri not here because her answer is already decided?¡±


    ¡°Yes. To be more precise, I excluded anyone who I thought couldn¡¯t approach this discussion rationally. Ahri can¡¯t maintain objectivity because the topic involves her mother, and Seungyub is young and would likely side with Ahri no matter what.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    <em>Seungyub¡­</em>


    ¡°First, let¡¯s review the current resurrection candidates. Firstly, Ahri¡¯s mother, Miro. Secondly, the doctor who treated Kain, Kim Sanghyun. Thirdly, the alien who helped Songee, Estavio. Andst but not least, the special forces soldier who assisted Seungyub in the Gate Room, Cha Seungjin.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve met quite a few people, but there aren¡¯t many clear candidates for resurrection.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But we may meet more in the future, and there might be others we¡¯ve already met who could be considered. I¡¯ve only listed the obvious ones.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with my opinion. I think it¡¯s strange to use a single ticket for someone else in the first ce. Shouldn¡¯t we save it in case one of us dies permanently?¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to use it on any of the candidates Noona mentioned. I feel bad for Ahri, but the people here with us right now are more important to me.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just save it and use it if one of us falls. Got it. That¡¯s an important opinion to consider.¡±


    Noona wrote down Jinchul-hyung¡¯s opinion on a whiteboard and then looked at the rest of us.


    ¡°What do you all think?¡±


    I began organizing my thoughts.


    If we were to use the ticket on someone, who would it be?


    What factors should we consider when choosing someone for resurrection?

 Chapter 149: Rest and Reorganization (5)

    Chapter 149: Rest and Reorganization (5)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    While I was organizing my thoughts, a gruff voice rang out, "Cough. Ahem. Let me say something."


    "Go ahead."


    "Although I''m not entirely neutral in this matter, I appreciate the trust you¡¯ve shown by including me in this discussion. First, let me share what I know about Ahri''s mother, Miro.


    ¡°As you might have guessed, Miro was a senior agent, far more experienced than I. Unlike an ordinary human like me, she was clearly superhuman before even entering the hotel. Her physical abilities¡ªstrength, agility, endurance¡ªwere all far beyond human, and she also possessed various supernatural powers."


    Jinchul-hyung asked a question, "Hearing this, I''m curious. Where did these superhuman abilitiese from? If she was already superhuman before entering the hotel, did she get these powers from the Administration? But Ahri mentioned earlier that the Administration has no means of bestowing supernatural powers."


    "The Administration has no such capabilities. I''ll answer the same way I did before. If the Administration could grant supernatural powers, why would I still be an ordinary person? If that were the case, I, as a veteran agent, would have some powers. I don''t know the exact route through which Miro became superhuman. Perhaps Ahri knows."


    Eunsol-noona asked another question, "What about her personality? I heard that she had regressed to a childlike mental state now."


    "I heard that she was somewhat arrogant and had a tendency to look down on ordinary people. However, she wasn¡¯t entirely without ethics and had a fundamental mindset of wanting to protect the world as an agent. Of course, I¡¯m not sure if this information will be relevant to analyzing Miro after she entered the hotel."


    <em>A person who was already superhuman before entering the hotel, with a somewhat arrogant yet principled personality.</em><em>I think I have a general idea of her character.</em>


    At this point, I had organized my thoughts enough to share my opinion.


    "When considering the resurrection of another, I believe there are two key factors to consider. The first is obviously their abilities. They must be someone who can be of help to us. The second is control. The person we resurrect must be someone we can control."


    "Control, huh¡­?"


    "Is there anyone among the people we¡¯re considering resurrecting who we know well? No, right? We only have fragmentary information about Miro, and we know nothing about the others. We can¡¯t be sure of who we can trust until we bring them back. But we can somewhat judge whom we can control."


    Eunsol-noona agreed, "It would be problematic if they were too powerful"


    "That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to say. Someone who¡¯s too powerful would be difficult for us to control. So Songee, do you think we could control Estavio?"


    "Absolutely not. I still have nightmares about the time I saw Estavio single-handedly massacre several aliens in the facility. I believe he was one of the strongest among the Anathasia. If he decided to attack us, he could probably kill us all before we even knew what hit us." Songee responded decisively.


    "Then let''s exclude someone like Estavio. Maybe in the distant future, when we¡¯re much stronger, we can reconsider him.


    Elena looked a bit disappointed.


    "If someone that powerful were with us, we could practically have a free pass to get through almost any trial!"


    Eunsol-noona, who seemed to have made up her mind, answered firmly, "That¡¯s just our wishful thinking. Estavio might think that the best course of action is to ughter these lowly primates, hoard all the Inheritance, and break through the hotel himself. He¡¯s an alien, after all, and one who used to see humans as livestock. We can¡¯t predict how he thinks. Let¡¯s exclude him."


    "From the standpoint of ''control¡¯, doesn¡¯t Miro also seem like a risky choice?" Jinchul-hyung cautiously added.


    "Miro is at least better than Estavio. At the very least, Ahri might be able to control her."


    Songee voiced her concerns, "If we decide to resurrect someone other than Miro, won¡¯t Ahri vehemently oppose it? What if that causes a rift between us?"


    ¡°...¡±


    Everyone fell silent at that.


    <em>- Thunk!</em>


    The door opened, and a clear voice broke the silence.


    "Do you really think I''m that immature?"


    "Wha¡ª?!"


    "Ack!"


    Ahri suddenly barged in!


    Everyone was shocked and looked at Grandpa Mooksung in surprise.


    Grandpa waved his hands, startled.


    "It wasn''t me! It wasn''t me! No private messages here!"


    After chuckling for a moment, Ahri spoke up, "Don''t get the wrong idea. In a hotel with only eight people, wouldn''t it be suspicious if everyone but me disappeared somewhere? Isn''t this ¡®secret meeting¡¯ a bit too sloppy?"


    Feeling embarrassed by our poorly executed secret meeting, we all just lowered our heads.


    In the awkward atmosphere, Songee asked, "So... how much did you hear?"


    "I heard what you said. The part where you mentioned that if we resurrect someone other than Miro, I might oppose it and cause a fight."


    In the end, we told Ahri everything we had discussed.


    Jinchul-hyung¡¯s opinion about saving the ticket for ourselves.


    Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s brief exnation about Miro.


    The criteria I suggested: abilities and control.


    After quietly listening, Ahri shared her thoughts.


    "I feel like Jinchul¡¯s suggestion doesn''t hold much weight. The biggest threat in this hotel is the Cursed Rooms, right? The nature of those rooms means it¡¯s usually all or nothing¡ªeither everyone survives, or everyone dies. The idea of saving the ticket for ourselves doesn''t seem very relevant."


    "I thought about that too. As you said, when ites to the Cursed Rooms, saving the ticket for ourselves is pointless. If someone dies, it usually means everyone dies, and in that case, there¡¯s no one left to use the ticket. But the hotel¡¯s threats aren¡¯t limited to the Cursed Rooms. There are also ces like the Mission Rooms, where you can choose to give up if it gets too difficult, and sometimes the hotel hosts special events. Not everything is about the Cursed Rooms."


    Ahri quickly countered, "Not everything, sure, but around 90% of the threat is from the Cursed Rooms. There was only one Mission Room on the entirety of the first floor, and who knows if there will even be one on the second floor. Special events by the hotel don''t usually happen if we keep entering the Cursed Rooms. We need to focus on the biggest threat¡ªthe Cursed Rooms. Adding more allies will strengthen us, which means we can reduce the danger in those rooms."


    Eunsol-noona cut in, "Let''s leave the debate about whether to save the ticket here. We¡¯ll discuss it again when we find the Room of Resurrection. If someone from our group has already died by then, the first priority for resurrection will naturally be that person."


    "So we¡¯re discussing this under the assumption that we¡¯ll resurrect someone else?"


    "Right. I''m curious about your opinion, too."


    Ahri looked at each of us before answering.


    "I agree with Kain''s criteria of abilities and control. The terms he used are appropriate. And I think everyone¡¯s misunderstanding me on one point: I don¡¯t n to insist that the first ticket must be used on Miro."


    ¡°...???¡±


    Everyone was momentarily surprised.


    <em>She¡¯s not nning to use it on her mom?</em>


    While we were all taken aback, Noona caught onto Ahri¡¯s use of the phrase ¡°first ticket¡±.


    "''First ticket''... So you think there will be more? You¡¯re not fixated on using the first one on Miro because you believe there will be more ticketster? That as long as you resurrect her before we leave the hotel, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s not the first one?"


    "Is this also based on your past experience?" Jinchul-hyung quickly followed up.


    "It¡¯s unclear. Back then, we didn¡¯t get more tickets. But there was talk of a way to obtain more."


    Ahri then provided some reasons for her spection, such as the fact that the ticket had multiple uses and vague memories from the past.


    I decided to get a more definitive answer.


    Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    <em>Can we get more tickets?</em>


    The Gate Room exists on the second floor as well.


    This was typical of the Owl¡¯s cryptic responses.


    But I understood the meaning immediately.


    <em>We can get more tickets from the Gate Room on the second floor.</em>


    At the same time, I understood the basis for Ahri¡¯s vague spection.


    Ahri had mentioned that someone in the past also possessed Wisdom.


    They likely asked the Owl directly and got the same answer I did.


    However, since their party was falling apart, the information wasn¡¯t properly shared, and others could only make vague guesses based on observing the previous user of Wisdom.


    <em>I don¡¯t need to be vague.</em>


    I immediately shared the Owl¡¯s answer with everyone.


    Understanding Ahri¡¯s reasoning, we rxed slightly, and Ahri continued, "I think Kain''s criteria of abilities and control are very appropriate, and if we apply those criteria to the potential candidates, I believe only one person really stands out. First, let¡¯s talk about Cha Seungjin, who saved Seungyub. Sorry to say, but I don¡¯t think his abilities are particrly necessary for us.


    ¡°Estavio, and unfortunately, even my mother Miro, have issues when ites to whether they can be controlled. An alien with extraordinary powers speaks for itself, and my mother is no different. I can¡¯t be by her side 24/7. So, if we exclude those three, who¡¯s left?"


    In the end, it was the person I had also been considering.


    <em>A doctor with exceptional healing abilities, someone who isn''t overwhelmingly powerful enough to be uncontroble.</em>


    Dr. Kim Sanghyun.


    On the fifth day of our break, our discussion at the cocktail bar concluded that if we were to resurrect someone, the first candidate should be the doctor.


    ***<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    After the discussion ended, everyone left the cocktail bar one by one.


    ¡°...¡±


    In the end, it was just Ahri and me left.


    "Is there something you wanted to talk about? You signaled for me to stay behind," Ahri asked in a curious tone.


    "Yeah, there are a few things I want to ask."


    "Like what?"


    "First, I wanted to consult you about my eye, but before that, let me ask about something else. Your attitude towards Miro... it was different from what I expected."


    "..."


    "What you said earlier was very logical, which made it strange. You love your mom so deeply that you willingly returned to the hotel, fully aware of how dangerous it is, right?? Given how much you care about her, it¡¯s odd that you¡¯re so calm when ites to resurrecting her. If there¡¯s something you¡¯re hiding, juste out with it. It¡¯s about time you got over your habit of keeping secrets, don¡¯t you think?"

 Chapter 150: Rest and Reorganization (6)

    Chapter 150: Rest and Reorganization (6)<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    ¡°Keeping secrets as a habit... Are you worried I¡¯ll hide things? Like you did with the meeting earlier?¡±


    Ahri was obviously upset that we had tried to hold the meeting without her.


    <em>We shouldn¡¯t have gotten caught by her, but¡­</em>


    I didn¡¯t have much to say, so I mixed a cocktail and handed it to her.


    ¡°Here, have a drink.¡±


    After downing the drink in one gulp, Ahri¡¯s expression softened a bit.


    ¡°When I first saw the ticket, it was tough to bear. It felt like my long-cherished dream was finally within reach. If we had held this meeting on the first day of rest, I probably would¡¯ve reacted in the extreme way you all expected. But over the past few days, I¡¯ve had time to think it over.¡±


    ¡°Did your thoughts change while you were thinking alone?¡±


    ¡°I thought about it practically and realized something. Will Miro really be able to avoid causing trouble?¡±<em>Even Ahri doesn''t fully trust Miro, her own mother. So, resurrection might be...</em>


    ¡°Just out of curiosity, one of the people who monopolized the Inheritances you mentioned before¡ª¡±


    ¡°One of them is Miro. You all suspected that already, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But let me defend her a bit. It wasn¡¯t just Miro; it was something that applied to the entire party at that time. None of them were evil people when they were part of society. But once they were exposed to the harsh conditions of the Hotel, and a few people started acting selfishly, the group fell apart.¡±


    ¡°Do you think a sane Miro would act less selfishly if she joined our party now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But that¡¯s just my belief. After all, I¡¯ve never actually met the sane version of Miro.¡±


    As she spoke, Ahri seemed emptier than ever. Listening to her, a bit of curiosity arose within me.


    ¡°Speaking of the Inheritances, if Miro is resurrected, will shee back with all the Inheritances she had in life?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about that too. Actually, it¡¯s something that applies to all of the resurrection candidates. How much of their power from life will they retain after resurrection? Will their Blessings be the same as before? If we resurrect Estavio, will hee back with the bracelet? Will the doctor return with the same healing powers he had as an NPC?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to guarantee that the abilities we¡¯re considering in our decision will even be preserved after resurrection. These are things we can¡¯t know for sure at this point.¡±


    ¡°Resurrection is still a mystery. Most of them will likely only be uncovered once we discover the Room of Resurrection. When that timees, we¡¯ll need to have another discussion.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the topic of Miro. I heard her mental state isn¡¯t normal right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. That¡¯s why she¡¯s not suitable as the first resurrection target. We need to find another way.¡±


    ¡°Another way?¡±


    The emptiness in Ahri¡¯s eyes seemed to ignite with a new fire.


    Even her tone changed.


    ¡°Miro became like a child after creating me, right? The ce where I was born, where I originated¡­ is where we¡¯ll likely find a way to restore Miro. Her resurrection will only be meaningful once we find a method to return her to her former self.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know where that ce is, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. The only person who could exin it was diluted into a childlike state the moment I was born. What kind of room, what kind of power could have allowed Miro to create me all on her own?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>That seems to be Ahri¡¯s n.</em>


    <em>Resurrecting a mentally impaired Miro is a heavy burden, even for her daughter Ahri.</em>


    <em>As Ahri mentioned, unless she stays by Miro¡¯s side 24/7, she wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her from doing something strange.</em>


    <em>So, she ns to find a way to restore her intellect first, and then resurrect her.</em>


    <em>Now I understand why Ahri backed down so easily earlier.</em>


    And another question arose.


    <em>How did Miro manage to create Ahri all by herself?</em>


    <em>Is it a secret room? An unknown supernatural ability?</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t know.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s clear that this Hotel is filled with too many secrets.</em>


    I handed her another cocktail and moved on to the next topic.


    ¡°What do you think about my eye right now?¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to be honest?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit scary to look at.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s honestly hideous. But the appearance isn¡¯t what concerns me. I was prepared for that after all. What actually concerns me is whether it can be fixed after we leave the Hotel. I didn¡¯t expect such a drastic change. It feels like they shaved my bones to fit this massive eye in. Can the Administration fix something like this?¡±


    Ahri tilted her head as if she was trying to figure out what I was talking about, then suddenly pped her hands.


    ¡°Aha! I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°Just talk normally. You keep changing your manner of speech, it¡¯s confusing. A misunderstanding?¡±


    ¡°Most people don¡¯t realize howrge the human eye really is. The visible part of the eye isn¡¯t the entire eyeball, just the area around the pupil. You think the new eye is 1.5 timesrger than your original eye, right?¡±


    ¡°I thought it was about 1.3 times bigger.¡±


    ¡°Think about it simply. Do you think there¡¯s any extra space inside the human skull for additional parts? If a specific body part suddenly grew by 30%, there wouldn¡¯t be any room to fit it. To amodate that, you¡¯d need surgery that¡¯s practically body modification.¡±


    ¡°So, the eyeball itself didn¡¯t get bigger?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it grew a little. I can¡¯t be sure without taking it out, but it didn¡¯t grow by 30%. What¡¯s making your eye look bigger is a different issue.¡±


    ¡°You mean more of it is exposed?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. To put it simply, it¡¯s like you had extreme eyelid surgery. Even a standard eyelid surgery can make eyes look 10¨C20% bigger. Your right eyeball didn¡¯t grow by 30%, but about 30% more of it is exposed. So, this can be fixed once we¡¯re out.¡±


    <em>Good thing they didn¡¯t have to reshape my skull.</em>


    <em>But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that it still looks hideous.</em>


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with waiting until we¡¯re out, but is there a way to make it look less terrifying right now? The merchant did say that any damage caused by the eye can¡¯t be healed in the Hotel.¡±


    ¡°He was probably referring to restoring the original eye, not the new one. What you¡¯re asking for is just cosmetic, so it should be possible to fix it. But...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°Why do you think the doctor did this kind of surgery?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t close your eyes. Just stay still for a moment.¡±


    With that, Ahri grabbed my face with both hands and came close.


    Her eyes, glowing like they had a fire burning inside, stared directly into mine.


    In response, my eyes tried to peer into hers, examining every blood vessel on the surface of her eyeball.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fascinating eye. Really fascinating¡­ Is it mimicking a telescope? The pupil is surrounded by three small lenses.¡±


    ¡°My eye is definitely unique.¡±


    Ahri backed away again and continued, ¡°The doctor didn¡¯t increase the exposure of the eyeball for fun or to make you look scarier. It must have been necessary. I think it¡¯s probably because the entire area around the pupil needs to be exposed.¡±


    ¡°So, it can¡¯t be helped?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I can tell you. But I understand why you¡¯d want to reduce how unsightly it is. If we ever resurrect the doctor, you could ask him to make some improvements directly.¡±


    The conversation about my eye came to an end.


    I suddenly felt a stronger desire to resurrect the doctor.


    Since he performed the surgery on my eye, maybe he could make it look less terrifying.


    <em>Until then, I¡¯ll just cover it with an eye patch.</em>


    With that, another day came to an end.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>Will it work?</em>


    Yesterday evening, after the discussion, I used Advice to gain a useful attack method!


    Although I understood the theory behind it, I couldn¡¯t be sure until I tested it out.


    <em>Who should I ask for help?</em>


    As I was wandering around, thinking about this, I saw Ahri approaching from a distance.


    ¡°What are you doing? Spinning around like a child.¡±


    <em>Is this fate? Perfect timing.</em>


    ¡°Actually, over the past few days, I¡¯ve been asking for Advice regarding teleportation whenever I get the chance.¡±


    ¡°Looks like you got some good answers. You seem pretty excited.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I got some pretty detailed advice. Among them was an exnation of a new attack method.¡±


    ¡°A new attack method?¡±


    <em>Heh. Look at that eager expression on Ahri¡¯s face!</em>


    <em>She definitely wants to see it.</em>


    The thought of trying it out already makes me feel good.


    ¡°Watch closely! I¡¯ll show you. Be careful.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not nning to¡ª¡±


    <em>- Whoosh! Bam!</em>


    I felt a sudden pull on my entire body as if someone had grabbed me with a giant hand.


    It was an ufortable sensation as my position shifted in an instant.


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    In the blink of an eye, Ahri was flung into the wall!


    ¡°How¡¯s that? Pretty amazing, right? This techniquees from a simple idea: what happens if I ovep my position with my opponent¡¯s during teleportation? The Owl gave me a more detailed exnation. If the positions ovep, the object with less mass gets flung away. If you think about it¡ª¡±


    Ahri got up mid-exnation.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a technique. Let me show you one of mine.¡±


    Ahri suddenly floated up and flew toward me, hitting me hard.


    <em>- Whoosh! Bam!</em>


    The impact was so strong that I mmed into the wall, leaving me momentarily breathless.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What do you think? This is my new technique. I have the power to punch people and send them flying.¡±


    There was a moment of silence in the room.


    Ahri sighed and then spoke up, ¡°So, the theory is what? If the coordinates ovep, the lighter object gets flung away?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the basics of it. But here¡¯s something I didn¡¯t know: right after teleportation, my mass is judged to be much heavier than usual. To be precise, the principle of teleportation¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough! What¡¯s the point of exining the mechanics of a power only you can use? Are you a lecture addict? The point is, with this ¡®ovepping teleportation¡¯, you can fling away almost any opponent.¡±


    Ahri seemed a bit irritated.


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Did you ask anything about resurrection?¡±


    ¡°I did, but the response was that there wasn¡¯t much more they could tell me. They told me not to get ahead of myself. I guess the limit of what they could reveal was that we could obtain another ticket on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°Even Advice has its limits. They¡¯re not going to answer questions like, ¡®Tell me the origin of the Hotel.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Our week-long break is almost over. It¡¯s a shame it ends tomorrow.¡±


    Ahri counted on her fingers for a moment and then replied, ¡°You seem to have gotten pretty good at teleporting, we¡¯ve roughly decided how to handle the Protective Suit, used the Hand of Greed, and discussed resurrection. Looks like we¡¯ve done everything we needed to. I wonder if the second floor will open at midnight tomorrow? Or the morning after? Let¡¯s move up as soon as it opens.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit disappointed that the Sanctuary of Blessings didn¡¯t open. Some of us could have enhanced their Blessing with the contributions they earned in the Gate Room.¡±


    ¡°Well, the Sanctuary of Blessings only opens during ¡®Party Time¡¯.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be able to return to the first floor after moving to the second, right? We won¡¯t be unable to use the Sanctuary of Blessings after entering the second floor, will we?¡±


    ¡°I could return to the first floor during my time. But the Hotel is perpetually changing. There are already many differences from what I remember.¡±


    ¡°Eunsol-noona seems to be buying a lot of things too.¡±


    ¡°You should start preparing for the second floor too, whether it¡¯s mentally or otherwise.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much else to do during the rest of our break.


    The morning after our seven-day break ended, the Hotel disy showed a message.


    Dear esteemed guests,


    Greetings!


    The second floor of Hotel Pioneer has finally opened!


    Congrattions on oveing various trials and reaching the second stage.


    New challenges and treasures await you.


    Please proceed to the elevator.


    + Note: The second floor is not well-heated. Please be aware that it might be a bit cold.

 Chapter 151: Entry to the Second Floor

    Chapter 151: Entry to the Second Floor


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 80


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    As expected, the Hotel announced the opening of the second floor.


    We were calmly reading through the message until we reached thest sentence.


    The second floor is not well-heated. Please be aware that it might be a bit cold.


    ¡°¡­¡±We all looked up simultaneously.


    Some were already letting out a bitterugh or grabbing the back of their necks.


    ¡°What do you think ¡®a bit cold¡¯ means in the Hotel terms?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung spoke in a tone of exasperation, ¡°Aren¡¯t they the type of idiots who would describe Antarctica as ¡®refreshing weather¡¯? Of course, it¡¯ll be cold enough to freeze to death if we just go up as we are!¡±


    Naturally, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Eunsol-noona.


    Her face had gone pale.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me! I¡¯ve already used up all my purchases at the HP Market! I didn¡¯t buy anything weird. The Hotel hadn¡¯t warned us about anything in advance. I stocked up on essential consumables in my bag!¡±


    ¡°Noona, calm down. No one¡¯s ming you. When will the points be refilled?¡±


    ¡°We need at least three more days. But if we wait for another three days, the Hotel is going to cause all sorts of trouble now that our break is over!¡±


    As the atmosphere grew more tense, Grandpa¡¯s calm voice cut through, ¡°Calm down, everyone. If they¡¯re going to y dirty like this, we¡¯ll just respond with some dirty tricks of our own.¡±


    <em>Dirty tricks?</em>


    I turned to Grandpa Mooksung, wondering what he meant.


    He was eyeing the borately decorated curtains in the Hotel, seemingly measuring them by sight.


    Seeing his actions, I immediately understood his n.


    ¡°Everyone, grab nkets or something simr from your rooms and bring them out! Let¡¯s use the Hotel¡¯s supplies to make some makeshift winter clothes before we head up.¡±


    Everyone quickly dispersed throughout the Hotel.


    Some went to tear down the fabric from the front desk or entrance, others headed to room 105 to grab nkets, and someone even brought back tablecloths.


    I also joined in on this ¡°dirty trick¡± of ripping out the Hotel¡¯s fabrics from every corner.


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of guilt.


    After nearly 30 minutes, there was a pile of fabric stacked higher than a person in front of the elevator.


    We hastily assembled it into makeshift winter clothes using knives, scissors, and tape.


    Compared to real winter clothing, these were heavy, very ufortable, and looked ridiculous, but at least they were warm, so we figured they were good enough.


    Dressed in these absurd outfits, we boarded the elevator.


    <em>Now it¡¯s really time for the second floor.</em>


    <em>We¡¯re finally moving to the next stage.</em>


    We took a moment to nce at each other,ughing and joking around before Eunsol-noona pressed the button for the second floor.


    <em>- Wiiiing! Wiiiing! Ding!</em>


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor ¡ú Current Location: Floor 2, Corridor


    On the 80th day since arriving at this Hotel¡­


    We had finally reached the second floor.


    ***<em>How should we interpret the vocabry used by the Hotel?</em>


    My opinion was the same as Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s.


    The Hotel¡¯s descriptions needed to be interpreted on a ¡°cosmic¡± scale.


    The average temperature in space was stated to be close to absolute zero, around -270 degrees Celsius.


    At the same time, the universe was full of stars with surface temperatures exceeding 5,000 degrees.


    From this perspective, the Hotel¡¯s ¡°a bit cold¡± could include Antarctic temperatures of -50 degrees, and ¡°a bit warm¡± could meanva over 1,000 degrees.


    <em>- Whoooosh!</em>


    As soon as the elevator doors opened, a chilling cold far beyond anything we could imagine rushed in.


    If not for Grandpa¡¯s quick thinking, this temperature could freeze us alive!


    In the face of this skin-tearing cold wind, we were frozen in ce, unable to take even a single step out of the elevator.


    Despite it supposedly being a ¡°Hotel¡±, a snowstorm raged before our eyes!


    In a panic, Eunsol-noona quickly shut the elevator doors.


    As soon as the doors closed, everyone erupted in frustration.


    ¡°Are they insane?!¡±


    ¡°What kind of Hotel has a snowstorm indoors!? This isn¡¯t just a heating problem!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll freeze to death before even reaching the Cursed Room!¡±


    ¡°I can manage, though.¡±


    All eyes turned to Jinchul-hyung.


    Unlike the rest of us, he seemed unfazed.


    <em>Had the power of his Blessing grown to the point of granting him resistance to the cold?</em>


    He spoke again in his usual calm tone, ¡°From my perspective, it¡¯s just a fairly cold winter day. In fact, I was more surprised by how strongly everyone else reacted.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine too!¡±


    ¡°Of course, Seungyub, you¡¯re wearing the Protective Suit. Now, be quiet.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the first floor and discuss this.¡±


    Once we returned to the first floor, we revised our ns.


    The makeshift winter clothes we had thrown together were helpful but not nearly enough for the extreme cold up there. We wouldn¡¯t even be able tost an hour.


    Jinchul-hyung spoke once again, ¡°Let the rest of the group stay here. Kain and I will go up to explore. Kain can wear the Protective Suit.¡±


    ¡°Right! Kain has the Sage¡¯s Advice, so he¡¯ll be essential for exploring.¡±


    Ahri immediately pushed me toward Jinchul-hyung.


    Soon after, I put on the Protective Suit, and the two of us headed back to the second floor.


    ***¡°Wearing this suit, I don¡¯t feel the cold at all.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I SAID, IT¡¯S NOT COLD AT ALL WITH THIS ON!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I gave up on conversing with Hyung and just started walking.


    Less than a minute after exiting the elevator, our conversation was entirely drowned out by the sound of the raging snowstorm.


    Evenmunication via the Chat Window was impossible.


    <em>Is it because Grandpa Mooksung is on the first floor?</em>


    <em>The physical distance doesn¡¯t seem that great, though.</em>


    There were more things we didn¡¯t know about this Hotel than things we did.


    Exploring the second floor was no easy task.


    The Protective Suitpletely blocked out the cold, but it didn¡¯t help with the blinding snow or the difficulty in traversing through it.


    I could barely see an inch in front of me, making it feel more like I was searching with my hands rather than my eyes.


    Jinchul-hyung, perhaps afraid of getting lost, kept clinging to the back of my suit as he followed me.


    Despite the difficulties, I did manage to sense a few things.


    First, the second floor was vast¡ªmuchrger than the first floor.


    It was definitely wider horizontally, and it was so tall that it was hard topare.


    The ceiling wasn¡¯t visible at all.


    We couldn¡¯t even figure out where the snow wasing from.


    About 10 minutes into our exploration, my hand finally hit something solid as I was moving along the wall.


    When I held my helmet up to it, I saw the number ¡°201¡± behind a thickyer of ice.


    We found the first room on the second floor.


    I signaled Jinchul-hyung toe over to the ice.


    Understanding my gesture, he first tried to chip away at the ice with his hands.


    When that didn¡¯t work, he pushed me aside, summoned the Star, and melted the ice.


    We decided to end our exploration after finding a room.


    We risked getting lost if he continued when the visibility was so poor.


    <em>Would it be easier if Eunsol-noona used the Protective Suit to explore with her enhanced vision?</em>


    As we headed back to the elevator, I got frustrated and decided to use the Sage¡¯s Advice.


    Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    <em>You crazy bird! Is the second floor going to stay like this?!</em>


    Mind your manners. The second floor requires repairs.


    <em>Repairs?</em>


    <em>That¡¯s unexpected.</em>


    <em>Should I use Advice again?</em>


    I hesitated and decided not to.


    We might enter a Cursed Room today, so I should save the remaining uses.


    Of course, it was likely I would be sealed, but one never knew.


    Someone else might be sealed instead.


    <em>Either way, the raging snowstorm on the second floor isn¡¯t normal, even by the Hotel¡¯s standards.</em>


    After wandering around for a while, we finally made it back to the elevator.


    ***As soon as Jinchul-hyung and I returned, everyone crowded around us.


    Before I answered their questions, I handed the Protective Suit to Eunsol-noona and asked her to explore once more.


    As Noona nodded and headed up to the second floor, the others began questioning us.


    ¡°How was it?¡±


    ¡°Did you find anything?¡±


    I shared what we had discovered.


    The blinding snowstorm, the space beingrger than expected, the location of Room 201, and Advice about ¡°repairs¡±.


    Despite just following me around aimlessly, Jinchul-hyung had surprisingly much to say.


    Though its purpose was unclear, he mentioned that the second floor seemed to be divided into several zones.


    I had thought the ice was just ice, but it turned out to be a series of walls separating different zones.


    Then, Jinchul-hyung offered his opinion, ¡°After hearing the word ¡®repairs¡¯, I realized something. The current state of the second floor is like an unfinished building. There were supposed to be several rooms, but the construction wasn¡¯tplete, so the zones were only vaguely divided. The outside isn¡¯t properly sealed, so the snow is blowing in.¡±


    The absurdity of it all made Songee mutter to herself.


    ¡°What kind of Hotel calls in guests when construction isn¡¯t even finished¡­?¡±


    ¡°A Hotel with monsters everywhere and doors that open to other worlds.¡±


    Seungyub offered a different perspective, ¡°Repairs. If we think of this in RPG terms, doesn¡¯t it sound like it could be part of some ¡®repair event¡¯? Like the Hotel repair quest.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but add my own incredulousment, ¡°They want the guests to do the repairs? For the Hotel?¡±


    As I said it, it started to make sense. This was the kind of ce where that would happen.


    Ahri sighed and spoke up, ¡°Alright! Alright! Let¡¯s focus on what we need to do today. Whether it¡¯s a repair event or whatever, our vacation ended yesterday. If we don¡¯t enter a Cursed Room today, the Hotel will probably trigger some special event.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung also shared his thoughts, ¡°I get the feeling that this repair event is something we¡¯ll have to handle during Party Time. Unless they give us a pass on entering Cursed Rooms while we do it¡ªwhich I doubt since there wasn¡¯t any notification about that.¡±


    As we were discussing our options, Eunsol-noona returned.


    What she found was mostly the same as what we had seen, but she added one curious detail.


    ¡°No ceiling at all? You could see a mountain beyond it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The snowstorm was too intense for even my eyes to see clearly.¡±


    Grandpa let out a heavy sigh.


    ¡°It just keeps getting worse.¡±


    Eunsol noona looked around at us and asked, ¡°In any case, we have to enter a Cursed Room today. Should we go straight to Room 201 that Kain found? If we run there in these ridiculous makeshift winter clothes, we should be able to get there before we freeze to death.¡±


    We considered it briefly but didn¡¯t have many options.


    As Grandpa had said, figuring out how to restore the second floor to normal was something to worry about during Party Time.


    There were no other rooms we could find, and the fact that Room 201 was rtively close to the elevator added weight to our theory.


    It seemed like the Hotel intended for us to clear Room 201 first, earn Party Time, and then use that time to restore the second floor.


    In the end, we decided that the most fragile member, Seungyub, would wear the Protective Suit, while the rest of us donned our makeshift winter clothes and sprinted to Room 201.


    It was a short run, less than 10 minutes, but during that time, it felt like ice des were slicing into my skin.


    The cold was so intense that none of us had the energy to offer each other words of encouragement.


    Jinchul-hyung, who was leading, quickly opened the door to Room 201.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 80


    Current Location: Floor 2, Room 201 (Cursed Room ¨C ¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 2


    <em>- Brrrrrr</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Bubbles rose from all around me.


    It felt like I was trapped in a giant test tube.


    People scurried about outside.


    <em>Are they some sort of researchers?</em>


    As I opened my eyes drowsily, I heard someone shouting something.


    A message from the Hotel about ¡°sealing¡± appeared in my blurred vision.


    <em>As expected, I¡¯m the first to be sealed.</em>


    I tried to summon the Grimoire just in case, but there was no response.


    I remembered Ahri¡¯s words¡­


    it¡¯s impossible to escape on your own.


    <em>I don¡¯t even know the name of this room yet.</em>


    <em>Will I only find out after the seal is broken?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    My consciousness began to fade.


    <em>You all can handle this, right? I¡¯ll just rest for a bit.</em>

 Chapter 152: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ‘□□□ □□□□’ (1)

    Chapter 152: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ¡®¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯ (1)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    "Team Leader Elizabeth, we¡¯ve arrived at Hestbert Mansion."


    "Hmm. Are you telling me that this ce has already imed three-digit casualties?"


    "At the current rate, it''ll reach four digits by next year."


    "That''s why we''re here¡ªto prevent that. Let''s head in."


    <em>- Clunk!</em>


    "What was that sound?"


    "Team Leader Elizabeth! The door is locked!"


    "What are you talking about? Contact headquarters!"


    "What is this? The signal¡¯s gone!"<em>- Bzzzzz!</em>


    After entering the Hestbert Mansion, a buzzing noise echoed in my head, bringing back my consciousness.


    The others also began to wake up, looking around in confusion.


    I could see the others, except Kain.


    As expected, Kain was the first one to be sealed.


    A dizzying amount of information started flooding into my brain in real-time.


    My teammates were here as usual, but there were two unfamiliar faces.


    As the seven of us began iling around, the two NPCs looked at us in bewilderment.


    "What¡¯s wrong with all of you? Are you alright?"


    <em>The man¡¯s name is... Oliver, an agent.</em>


    "Has the mansion¡¯s strange phenomena already begun? I can''t feel anything yet."


    <em>The woman¡¯s name is... Elizabeth. She¡®s also an agent and the leader of this team.</em>


    <em>I should handle the situation first.</em>


    "I suddenly heard a loud signal in my head. It seemed to affect those closest to the entrance."


    "Is that so? Agent Ahri, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine, Oliver. Elizabeth! Give us a moment to catch our breath."


    "OK. There are plenty of chairs here, so let''s rest for a bit."


    After a short while, my teammates began regaining their senses. We decided to start using the Chat Window due to the presence of two


    Lee Eunsol: What¡¯s with these clothes?


    Kim Mooksung: Bulletproof and stab-proof gear.


    Park Seungyub: Is this a real gun?


    Kim Ahri: Yes. Lower the muzzle; it¡¯s scary.


    Cha Jinchul: Are we ying as special forces?


    Kim Mooksung: Attention! In this scenario, we are all Administration Agents.


    Kim Ahri: This mansion is experiencing strange phenomena. Many casualties have urred. We¡¯re here to deal with it.


    My teammates were catching on.


    Amusingly enough, we found ourselves ying the role of Administration Agents in this scenario.


    The highest-ranked person among us was Team Leader Elizabeth.


    One unfortunate detail was that we were already inside the mansion. If we had regained consciousness earlier, we could have tried to secure an "escape route" by having at least one person stay outside in a car. But perhaps to prevent such tricks, we only woke up after entering the mansion and the door was locked behind us.


    Seeing that we wereing to our senses, Elizabeth and Oliver approached. It would have been morefortable without these NPCs.


    <em>Why are they here?</em>


    There must be a reason. The chat window buzzed again.


    Kim Mooksung: Ahri, stall those guys for a bit.


    Kim Ahri: ?


    Kim Mooksung: Look at Seungyub¡¯s face!


    I turned to look and saw Seungyub inspecting the gun barrel up close with a fascinated expression.


    My head started to hurt.


    Mooksung seemed intent on giving Seungyub and Songee some basic firearm training.


    <em>Why on earth did the hotel give these kids assault rifles?</em>


    <em>This is ominous.</em>


    From the several Cursed Rooms I had experienced thus far, I knew the hotel never handed out such shy gear like ¡°assault rifles¡± and ¡°bulletproof vests¡± without a reason.


    I had a strong feeling that this trial would involve intensebat.


    I suggested to Elizabeth and Oliver that we search for a way to contact the outside world, buying us some time.


    After about 30 minutes, we explored while trying to look for an escape route. We had also mapped out the mansion¡¯syout.


    Although it was called a ¡°mansion¡±, it was more like a slightly luxurious rich person¡¯s house. Unlike the absurdlyrge mansion in the previous ¡°Mansion of Fear¡± scenario that made one wonder if such a ce could even exist in Korea, this one wasn¡¯t that ridiculous.


    The interior was neat, with four rooms inside.


    The living room, study, and other areas had an old-fashioned charm.


    There was a front and back door, but both were locked.


    We didn¡¯t find anything else. There was no way out. The doors werepletely sealed. Not even Jinchul¡¯s strength could budge them.


    The radios were also dead.


    We checked to see if we could break a window to get out, but this mansion didn¡¯t have any.


    It seemed our party of seven, along with the two NPCs, would have to thoroughly investigate the mansion.


    <em>Should I try stalling for more time?</em>


    I nced over at Mooksung.


    Naturally, he was only able to teach them the basics like the location of the trigger, and not to point the muzzle at people.


    With such limited training, there was no way Seungyub, Songee, or Eunsol could handle a gun properly.


    Jinchul, having served in the military, was naturally fine, and surprisingly, Elena seemed to catch on quickly.


    <em>Has she handled guns before?</em>


    <em>Or is she just naturally adept at such things?</em>


    <em>Who knows.</em>


    I needed to stall more time to help those who were unfamiliar with firearms¡ª


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Oliver? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Look at this!¡±


    Following Oliver¡¯s panicked gaze, I saw arge, unnaturally ced mirror on the wall.


    In vivid, bloody letters, a message appeared.


    Go down.


    The meaning was clear.


    We needed to move now.


    Based on my past experiences in this hotel, if we didn¡¯t follow the instructions, ¡°punishments¡± would likely start soon.


    We had no choice. Mooksung sighed and began to lead the group forward.


    But it didn¡¯t say to go to the front or back doors¡ªjust ¡°down¡±?


    <em>Is there a way to go down?</em>


    Elizabeth, who was also scanning the area, found something.


    ¡°Everyone, over here!¡±


    Elizabeth had opened a door that I had mistaken for the entrance to a third room.


    Behind the door was a staircase leading downward.


    The chat window flickered.


    Kim Mooksung: Following the hotel¡¯s instructions feels ominous. Do we really have to go down?


    Kim Ahri: Do you have any other ideas? There¡¯s no way out of the mansion.


    Lee Eunsol: Let¡¯s go down for now.


    After descending the staircase, we found what seemed to be a passageway.


    <em>What could possibly be down here?</em>


    My teammates were still confused when we heard a clunking sound.


    <em>That sound?</em>


    It was the same one we heard when we first entered the mansion!


    Jinchul reacted immediately.


    ¡°We heard this sound earlier, and then the door locked!¡±


    Jinchul quickly retraced our steps back to the starting point.


    Or at least, he tried to.


    After a moment of struggling, Jinchul returned and reported to everyone.


    ¡°The entrance is blocked. We can¡¯t go back now.¡±


    Just like when we first entered the mansion and the door locked behind us, we were now trapped in the underground passage as well.


    The entrance had been sealed behind us.


    A recurring pattern.


    <em>There¡¯s no turning back. The only way is forward.</em>


    Staying in the underground passage wasn¡¯t an option.


    Reluctantly, we pushed forward to the exit of the passage until we emerged from the passage¡ªonly to find ourselvespletely stunned.


    ***¡°What the¡­?¡±


    ¡°Did we somehow get turned around and end up walking back? Didn¡¯t we just go straight?¡±


    After walking through the underground passage for quite some time, we found ourselves back at the mansion¡¯s front entrance.


    <em>How is this possible?</em>


    But there was no other exnation.


    Somehow, we had ended up back at the Hestbert Mansion. Bewildered, we scanned our surroundings.


    But there was no need to re-examine the ce we had already checked.


    The familiar wallpaper, potted nts, TV, dining table, and porcin passed by in a blur.


    The oppressive, windowless interior was still the same.


    Elizabeth, who was also scanning the surroundings, instructed us, ¡°Check the living room.¡±


    I moved toward the living room and surveyed the area.


    The plush carpet near the living room¡ª


    ¡°¡­?¡±


    <em>Had the carpet fibers grown longer?</em>


    As I tilted my head in confusion, Oliver, who had searched the mansion with me earlier, also noticed something odd.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the design seem a bit different?¡±


    Oliver lightly touched the carpet with his foot.


    ¡°I have a pretty sharp eye, but earlier, my foot didn¡¯t sink into¡ª¡±


    <em>- Chop!</em>


    A dark, grimy hand shot out from the carpet and grabbed Oliver¡¯s foot!


    <strong>[Didn¡¯t I tell you, Dearie? Don¡¯t walk on the carpet with your shoes on!]</strong>


    In an instant, Oliver was dragged ¡°underneath¡± the carpet as if he was being absorbed into the space below.


    His whole body disappeared as if he had melted into it.


    Everything happened so quickly that none of us could react.


    "Ahhhhh! Ugh!"


    Screams echoed.


    Horrible, agonizing screams.


    <em>- Crunch! Rip! Tear!</em>


    The sounds of muttion and dismemberment echoed throughout the mansion.


    For ten minutes, maybe more.


    Oliver¡¯s screams never ceased, constantly assaulting our ears.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The horrifying event left everyone speechless.


    It wasn¡¯t until the surroundings finally grew quiet that the chat window flickered.


    Yu Songee: What on earth just happened? We went down to the mansion¡¯s basement only to end up back at the entrance.


    Lee Eunsol: Is it some kind of loop structure? The basement and the entrance seem connected.


    Elena: It¡¯s frustrating that we don¡¯t even know the name of this room!


    <em>Ipletely agree.</em>


    Thinking back, it made me realize just how significant it was that Kain always checked the room¡¯s name at the beginning of every Cursed Room.


    We didn¡¯t even know the name of this room.


    Then there was Scenario Comprehension.


    And, of course, there was no way to ask for Advice.


    We had been thrown into a bizarre, murderous mansion with zero information to go off of.


    I was about to use the Chat Window but then decided against it.


    This time, what I had to say needed to be heard by Elizabeth as well.


    ¡°Everyone, listen up. If we just stay here, the mirror will probably tell us to move again, right? If we¡¯re going to move, we need to think about where to go. There are three paths in this mansion: the front door, the back door, and the basement.¡±


    Mooksung gave his opinion, ¡°There¡¯s basically only one option left, right? We went down to the basement and ended up right back at the front door. The basement and the front door seem connected. That route is meaningless. The back door is all that¡¯s left.¡±


    Elizabeth also chimed in, ¡°Then let¡¯s head for the back door.¡±


    Given the situation, the only remaining path seemed to be the back door.


    <em>Should we go to the back door?</em>


    <em>I¡¯m confused!</em>


    <em>This is when having Advice would really help.</em>


    <em>I actually kind of miss that lousy guy.</em>


    <em>Stay calm.</em>


    <em>We need to focus on what we have, not on what we don¡¯t.</em>


    <em>After all, isn¡¯t the second floor¡¯s concept¡ªseal and liberation¡ªdesigned to target a party overly reliant on a particr individual or ability?</em>


    <em>We¡¯re in a situation where we don¡¯t know where to go due to ack of information.</em>


    <em>The power of ¡°Wisdom¡± is supposed to help us make the right decisions based on the given information in such situations.</em>


    <em>But there¡¯s also a simpler way. We could just guess the right answer.</em>


    ¡°Seungyub, where do you think we should go?¡±


    Before I even finished speaking, Seungyub wobbled and bumped into a nearby chair, falling down.


    His hand, outstretched instinctively, pointed toward the front door where we had first entered.


    ¡°Oh! Sorry, Noona! It¡¯s just that with this Protective Suit, my body suddenly feels so bulky that I keep bumping into¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, you did great.¡±


    <em>That¡¯s it.</em>


    <em>Now I get it.</em>


    <em>Fortune has spoken.</em>


    If Seungyub had thought about my question and made a choice, it would¡¯ve been the wrong one.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the front door.¡±


    Mooksung looked puzzled.


    ¡°We came through the front door originally, didn¡¯t we? This mansion is connected to the basement and the front door, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Elizabeth also seemed baffled.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the basement entrance lock behind us? If we go back to the front door and retrace our steps through the basement, we¡¯ll just end up at the locked entrance.¡±


    Now, I was beginning to grasp our situation.


    ¡°I have a reason. Just follow me back to the front door. Doesn¡¯t it seem odd that the front door and the basement are connected? Where did we enter the mansion in the first ce?¡±


    Of course, we entered through the front door.


    When we first arrived, the front door was definitely connected to the outside.


    But after entering the mansion, the front door suddenly became connected to the basement.


    <strong>This mansion¡¯s space is distorted.</strong>


    Mooksung seemed to realize this and hesitated for a moment.


    In the end, everyone agreed to follow my suggestion and head back to the front door.


    Elizabeth continued to grumble that the back door would be the correct path, but she didn¡¯t override the group¡¯s decision.


    ***We went through the same process again.


    When we opened the front door, we found the basement passage once more, and as soon as we all entered it, we heard the same clunking sound, and the way back was blocked.


    As we walked down the basement passage, the door that had been locked earlier was now open.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>No, that¡¯s not right.</em>


    <em>If my thinking is correct, this isn¡¯t a case of the previously locked door now being open.</em>


    <em>This is the same door we first discovered.</em>


    We opened the door and entered the ¡°third¡± mansion.


    <em>There are countless mansions in this bizarre world.</em>

 Chapter 153: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ‘□□□ □□□□’ (2)

    Chapter 153: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ¡®¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯ (2)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    As we headed to the third mansion, I shared my deductions in the Chat Window.


    It seemed that the space beyond the doors of the mansion was twisted, and it even appeared to be in a state of perpetual change.


    It didn¡¯t seem like there was just one mansion.


    I decided to keep my messages brief to conserve characters in the Chat Window and entered the third mansion.


    This time, we entered through the back door.


    The mansion looked almost identical to the previous one.


    After witnessing the tragedy that befell Oliver with the carpet earlier, we were too scared to step carelessly.


    Eventually, Elizabeth began giving orders, ¡°Let¡¯s not split up and instead search the rooms in sequence, starting with the drawing room. Move cautiously and be ready to react immediately if a monster attacks. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The mansion wasn¡¯t veryrge, so the search didn¡¯t take long.There were no issues with the carpet in the third mansion.


    We soon passed through the drawing room and headed toward the living room, where Cha Jinchul was the first to notice something unusual.


    ¡°Cha Jinchul? Did you find something strange?¡±


    ¡°Everyone,e here! The TV is acting weird.¡±


    As soon as we approached, we understood what he meant.


    The TV was flickering in a bizarre manner.


    <em>First the carpet in the second mansion, then the TV in the third mansion¡­?</em>


    Everyone tensed up, grabbing their guns, ready for a monster to appear when suddenly¡ª


    The TV turned on.


    <em>- Bzzz! Bzzz! Pop!</em>


    ¡°Huh? Oh! It turned on by itself!¡±


    ¡°What? Did someone touch the remote¡ª?¡±


    Suddenly, the music from the ¡°Pledge of Allegiance to the g¡± that we all remembered from elementary school began ying.


    Doo¡ª Doo¡ª Doo Doo Doo! Doo¡ª Doo¡ª Doo Doo Doo! The pledge will begin shortly. All toy participants, please stand by in a proper posture.


    <em>Toys?</em>


    As soon as the message yed on the TV, an inexplicable force froze us all in ce.


    I pledge.


    I am a ve.


    Though I have eyes, I cannot see the truth, so I am unworthy of sight.


    Though I have ears, I cannot hear distant sounds, so I am unworthy of hearing.


    I offer everything to the Great One.


    I pledge, please neatly carve out my limbs, fry them half in soy sauce and half in in batter, and enjoy them to your heart''s content!


    After that absurd pledge echoed, our mouths moved involuntarily, reciting the words.


    Everyone has pledged. Shall we fry up some half-and-half chicken now? Ding-dong-dang!


    With that insane voice, the TV screen disyed a bubbling cauldron of oil!


    Suddenly, a ck hand reached out from the screen, grabbed Elena, and started dragging her toward the TV.


    <em>- Whoosh!</em>


    Suddenly, Jinchul summoned the Star.


    <em>He couldn¡¯t move, but he could still summon the Star?</em>


    <em>But that was a mistake!</em>


    Jinchul himself couldn¡¯t move.


    Of course, the Star, which had no homing ability, couldn¡¯t move either and just stayed in front of Jinchul.


    The Star was closer to us than it was to the TV.


    Before the TV could mutate, Songee¡¯s skin, who was standing nearby, began to turn inside out, and I started feeling the horrific sensation of my hair turning into flesh.


    Realizing the situation toote, Jinchul quickly dismissed the Star.


    In the end, the hand that had emerged from the TV continued to drag the immobile Elena into the screen!


    Inside the TV, a giant cauldron filled with boiling oil was bubbling violently.


    Everyone¡¯s face turned pale in anticipation of what would happen next.


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    With the sound of gunshots, the screen shattered.


    Immediately, the force binding us was released, and Elena, who had been halfway pulled into the disy, was thrown back out.


    Turning my gaze, I saw Mooksung¡¯s hand floating in mid-air.


    The remote hand gloves could still be operated even when the body was immobilized!


    ¡°Mooksung! Well done! That was almost a disaster,¡± Elizabeth eximed in relief.


    My heart nearly stopped.


    If Mooksung hadn¡¯t used his gloves to shoot and destroy the TV, Elena, who was being dragged into the TV while we were all frozen¡ª


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>I shouldn¡¯t imagine it.</em>


    <em>Just thinking about it makes me sick.</em>


    Jinchul, btedly noticing the reddish patches on Songee¡¯s skin, frantically apologized to Songee, who reassured him that it was unavoidable due to the urgency of the situation.


    My hair had turned into tentacles as well.


    <em>Well, the hotel will probably fix it once we get out.</em>


    I quickly ran over to Elena.


    ¡°Are you okay? Elena?¡±


    Elena, who had been pulled into the TV and then thrown back out, was silent.


    ¡°Elena?¡±


    Elena looked at me with a dazed expression.


    By then, the others had also gathered around.


    ¡°Elena? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Elena-unni?¡±


    Elena opened her mouth.


    ¡°I saw¡­ I saw it¡­¡±


    ¡°What did you see?¡±


    ¡°There were eyes inside the TV.¡±


    ¡°Eyes? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Eyes.¡±


    ¡°Elena? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes.


    ¡°Look at the eyes glimmering in the crevices. Look at the eyes peering down from above. Have you ever felt someone watching you from behind while walking down a dark path? Have you ever felt the gaze of another while typing on your keyboard alone in your room? Children can¡¯t sleep because they believe that the doll rolling around is watching them. In the sky at dawn, there¡¯s a gaze that looks down on those who head out early for work. On the ground at noon, there¡¯s an eye that silently observes the bustling world. Ah! The entire world is filled with eyes. I saw 3,000 gazes covering the horizon. The greatest eye captures everything from the abyss to the sky, so of course, we are also within its sight.¡±


    ¡°¡°...???¡±¡±


    Suddenly, Elena stopped speaking, widened her eyes, and looked up at the ceiling.


    ¡°You¡¯re here too. No, you¡¯re everywhere in this ce. Farewell, everyone!¡±


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    In a moment of utter madness, while everyone was stunned at the bizarre words pouring out of Elena, she suddenly shot herself andmitted suicide.


    We were all too stunned to react to the sudden turn of events.


    ***The shocking second incident that happened in an instant: Elena¡¯s suicide; driven by madness.


    Ever since entering the hotel, it had bemonce for teammates to die.


    We had experienced it many times¡ªsomeone died, and we¡¯dter meet once we left the room.


    At some point, even the seemingly delicate Songee and Seungyub had be ustomed to seeing theirrades die.


    <em>But¡­</em>


    This death was one of the most ¡°bizarre¡± among all the deaths we¡¯d witnessed in the hotel.


    Seungyub¡¯s mental state began to falter.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we choose the room based on Fortune? Then it should have been a safe room! Why did this happen in the room I picked¡ª¡±


    <em>How could he mention the Blessing right in front of Elizabeth?!</em>


    I was taken aback, fortunately, she seemed too preupied with examining the shattered TV to pay attention.


    Fearing that Seungyub might break down and start crying, I quickly went over and patted his head.


    ¡°Keep it together. Sometimes things just don¡¯t work out. Besides, it wasn¡¯t an active skill¡ªwe¡¯ll call it ¡®Heaven¡¯s Luck¡¯ from now on. Anyway, you didn¡¯t use Heaven¡¯s Luck; you just made a guess.¡±


    I tried to console him in a low voice but Seungyub was still trembling.


    Jinchul also came over and added, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Seungyub. It¡¯s not like things would have been safe if someone else had chosen.¡±


    Eunsol approached as well.


    ¡°Everyone, get a grip! I think we¡¯re starting to understand what¡¯s going on. When we move through a door, a new mansion appears. The new mansion has the same elements as the others, but with one object that¡¯s slightly different. That object is where the monster is. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°And it also seems like we¡¯re given a bit of time before the monster attacks. It never attacked us immediately.¡±


    Songee responded, ¡°Is it like a game of ¡®spot the difference¡¯? Find the difference within the time limit?¡±


    ¡°We did find the difference this time. The only mistake was not shooting the TV as soon as we found it. When I shot the disy with the handgun, the monster disappeared immediately, didn¡¯t it?¡± Mooksung muttered regretfully.


    ¡°Next mansion, let¡¯s shoot the odd object as soon as we find it.¡±


    Songee suggested a more aggressive approach, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just shoot everything around us with the rifle as soon as we enter the mansion?¡±


    ¡°Songee, what you¡¯re holding is a rifle, not a missile. Trying to shoot and destroy every object in the mansion would take too long, and more importantly, we¡¯d run out of bullets. But the idea of smashing things as we go isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯ve had an unsettling feeling that we¡¯re ying right into the enemy¡¯s hands,¡± Mooksung immediately countered.


    While I agreed with the idea of smashing the mansion, I suggested using something other than the rifle.


    Elizabeth had been wandering around since earlier, and Cha Jinchul quickly approached to share his thoughts.


    ¡°Let¡¯s use the Star to destroy everything around us. We can knock that woman out if needed.¡±


    ¡°She seems fine as is. She didn¡¯t even question Mooksung when he used his remote-controlled hand. I think she believes we¡¯re just some kind of superhumans. Besides, doesn¡¯t the Star have a time limit?¡±


    ¡°A time limit? Ah, if I use it for too long, my body might not hold up. But I believe the mansion will copse before I do.¡±


    Songee replied with concern, ¡°But there isn¡¯t just one mansion. What if there¡¯s another mansion after we get out?¡±


    Mooksung responded as if he had been waiting for this, ¡°If we move through the mansion¡¯s set paths, like the front door, back door, or the basement passage, we¡¯ll end up in another mansion. But if we use the Star to destroy the mansion and ¡®create our own door¡¯ to escape, do you think another mansion will appear? I don¡¯t think so. I believe we could escape outside the stage that our enemies have prepared.¡±


    It seemed that Mooksung and Jinchul were leaning toward using the Star¡¯s power to destroy the mansion.


    The logic made sense.


    Moving through the predetermined paths within the mansion was ying right into the enemy¡¯s hands.


    So instead, they proposed smashing the mansion to break free from that control.


    However, they were overlooking one crucial point.


    ¡°There¡¯s always an Adversary <sup>1</sup> in the Cursed Rooms. Usually, we have to defeat the Adversary to escape. Right now, that Adversary hasn¡¯t even appeared yet. If Jinchul uses up the Star¡¯s limited time to destroy objects and then the Adversary shows up, we could be wiped out easily.¡±


    Eunsol joined in, ¡°I agree. Don¡¯t forget that Kain, who has Descent, is missing. The Star and Jinchul make up 90% of ourbat power. Using that power to destroy objects seems risky. And here¡¯s what I think.¡±


    Eunsol briefly turned to check Elizabeth¡¯s position before continuing.


    ¡°If we could solve this by destroying the mansion with the Star, they would¡¯ve sealed Jinchul instead of Kain. The fact that Jinchul wasn¡¯t sealed is evidence that destroying the mansion with the Star won¡¯t solve this.¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    There were those who supported smashing the mansion with the Star, and those who didn¡¯t think it was the right approach.


    As usual, Cha Jinchul, who often followed Eunsol¡¯s lead, conceded, ¡°Let¡¯s go with what Noona suggests. But once we escape, let¡¯s revisit this discussion.¡±


    It didn¡¯t seem like Cha Jinchul was entirely convinced.


    He just didn¡¯t want to openly oppose Eunsol¡¯s opinion in a dangerous situation, especially when Eunsol held significant sway within our group.


    However, he strongly insisted on discussing it again once we were out.


    But something about Elizabeth had been¡­ off since earlier.


    Songee also noticed it.


    ¡°What¡¯s she been doing all this time? It¡¯s like she¡¯s giving us space to talk.¡±


    I had a different thought.


    <em>What if she isn¡¯t giving us space, but rather has her own ns?</em>


    From Elizabeth¡¯s perspective, it might seem like we were the ones being considerate, discussing things among ourselves while she did her own thing.


    My head was starting to feel overwhelmed.


    There were too many factors to consider.


    I found myself missing the simplicity of that unreliable guy.<ol>1. In the previous chapters this was tranted as Enemy (With capital E). However it can quickly get confusing to distinguish between enemy and Enemy, thus from this chapter onward, we decided to change the term into "Adversary".</ol>

 Chapter 154: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ‘□□□ □□□□’ (3)

    Chapter 154: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ¡®¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯ (3)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    Amid the chaotic atmosphere, Seungyub spoke hesitantly, "Should I pick the next route again? I messed upst time... Should I use my active skill? It''s ready to use."


    "From now on, let''s call that active skill ¡®Heaven¡¯s Luck¡¯. And don''t use it. The cooldown is really long."


    Mooksung shared the same opinion, "Heaven¡¯s Luck? What a name... Anyway, Seungyub, your Heaven¡¯s Luck might be called an active skill, but isn¡¯t it more like an automatic skill? It activates on its own when it''s really needed, right? Like during the Strange Family, it activated by itself, and during the Hotel High School, you got a notification asking if you wanted to use it. Just wait. It¡¯ll activate when necessary."


    <em>Now that he mentioned it, that''s really true.</em>


    <em>The active skill, which we¡¯ve decided to call ¡°Heaven¡¯s Luck¡± from now on, isn¡¯t really an active skill.</em>


    <em>It activates on its own when there''s a crisis, and even suggests to its user when it might be useful. It¡¯s a strange skill.</em>


    <em>The cooldown is also unpredictable. It¡¯s definitely long, but how long exactly?</em>


    Even Seungyub himself didn¡¯t know.


    From what I had observed, it seemed to vary each time.Once again, it struck me how mysterious this luck-based Blessing really was.


    In the end, Seungyub picked the next route again.


    This time, it was the back door.


    We called Elizabeth over and headed to the back door to move on to the fourth mansion.


    As we walked through the underground passage, Songee sighed and spoke up, "It¡¯s a bitte to bring this up, but where do you think Perro is?"


    Mooksung nudged Songee to remind her to use the chat, and she quickly closed her mouth.


    <em>...Honestly, I don¡¯t think it matters much.</em>


    As long as Elizabeth wasn¡¯t an idiot, she must have noticed that we were hiding something and had our own way ofmunicating by now.


    Even in the short time we¡¯ve been here, she saw Mooksung¡¯s gloves and Jinchul¡¯s Star in action.


    It would seem strange from the outside to see us acting in sync without saying anything.


    Yet, Elizabeth hasn¡¯t questioned us once.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Should I shoot her from behind?</em>


    Just like us, she¡¯s wearing a full-body bulletproof suit and helmet, so she wouldn¡¯t die instantly.


    She was abat-trained agent, so she would resist.


    But we had Jinchul on our side.


    I seriously considered killing her right here and now.


    I subtly shifted the gun¡¯s muzzle towards Elizabeth¡ª


    Lee Eunsol: Ahri, stop.


    Kim Ahri: Suspicious.


    Lee Eunsol: What do you mean?


    Kim Mooksung: Calm down!


    <em>We should observe her a bit more.</em>


    <em>The Cursed Room usually requires multiple attempts to clear, doesn¡¯t it?</em>


    <em>Instead of eliminating her right away just because she seems dangerous, we need to keep an eye on her to uncover what secrets she has hidden.</em>


    Another concern came to mind.


    <em>We have all these diverse abilities as part of our ¡°setup¡±, but is she really just a normal human?</em>


    As an Administration agent myself, I couldn¡¯t underestimate herbat abilities.


    I eased up a bit. The topic Songee had brought up earlier started toe up in the chat.


    Kim Mooksung: Perro wasn¡¯t here from the start.


    Yu Songee: This has never happened before.


    Park Seungyub: Maybe he¡¯s somewhere else like Kain-hyung?


    Kim Ahri: Could be a clue?


    <em>- Click!</em>


    Elizabeth, who was leading the way, opened the door to the fourth mansion.


    The tension returned, and the chat fell silent.


    <em>Where is Perro right now?</em>


    ***After experiencing the third mansion, we formted a hypothesis about this trial.


    It seemed like a game of ¡°spot the difference¡± was in progress.


    Each repeating mansion had one difference.


    That difference always harbored a monster that would attack after some time.


    As soon as we entered the fourth mansion through the front door, we scrutinized every detail with keen eyes.


    In the previous three attempts, we werepletely unprepared and were rendered powerless, but this time, with a strategy in ce, the situation was different.


    With Eunsol¡¯s powerful eyesight, we quickly spotted the anomaly.


    "Over there! The tree in the living room! The species has changed."


    We couldn''t afford to repeat the mistake we made when we lost Elena.


    Mooksung and Jinchul immediately fired at the tree.


    <em>- Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    After four or five shots, something strange happened.


    The tree began to bleed like an animal, then slowly seeped into the floor and disappeared.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    After that, no other anomalies urred in the fourth mansion.


    We had finally found the correct response.


    After catching our breath, Eunsol gave instructions via the chat.


    Lee Eunsol: Seungyub, next room.


    Park Seungyub: Every room I pick ends up having a monster. Can¡¯t someone else choose this time?


    Lee Eunsol: Save the typing. No one mes you. Just pick.


    That was the truth.


    No one among us was foolish enough to me Seungyub for monsters appearing in the rooms he chose.


    Given that we were picking randomly without anything to go off of, it wouldn¡¯t be any better if someone else chose.


    But it was clear that Seungyub¡¯s mental state was shaken after seeing monsters appear in the rooms he picked.


    "Hey! Everyone, over here!" Elizabeth¡¯s unusually loud voice interrupted us.


    We all turned in surprise to see her opening the back door.


    Jinchul quickly went over to persuade her, "Team leader, please wait a moment. We should discuss where to go next¡ª"


    "Discuss? Have we ever had a discussion? It¡¯s just been that kid picking randomly, right? And each room we enter has a monster in it."


    For a moment, everyone was left speechless.


    We might have beenmunicating through the chat, but to Elizabeth, it must have looked like we were silently following the random choices of a child.


    If Elizabeth was trustworthy and the situation was calm, we would have listened to her.


    Frankly, we didn¡¯t have the luxury to consider that right now.


    Kim Ahri: Feels off. Let¡¯s kill Elizabeth here.


    Cha Jinchul: Suddenly?


    Kim Mooksung: That¡¯s a rash decision, not like you.


    Lee Eunsol: Why are you acting like this?


    Yu Songee: K H A M D A U N.


    Everyone disagreed.


    <em>Songee¡­ you barely even speak English!</em><sup>1</sup>


    A small sigh escaped me. I understood why they were against it.


    The only reasons I had for suspecting Elizabeth were her independent actions and herck of reaction to our abilities.


    Independent actions could just mean she was doing her own investigation, and not reacting to our abilities wasn¡¯t that strange considering she was an Administration agent.


    Logically, it made sense that they found my sudden desire to kill her unreasonable.


    The reason I kept suspecting Elizabeth...


    <em>It¡¯s just my intuition!</em>


    <em>In a devilish event like this, I have more experience than all of youbined!</em>


    <em>An experienced cop can sense suspicion from a passerby¡¯s behavior.</em>


    <em>In the same way, my intuition has been screaming at me about her since earlier.</em>


    Sensing the tense atmosphere among us, Elizabeth offered apromise, "If anyone thinks another route is better, speak up. Let¡¯s discuss it properly. Don¡¯t just let the kid decide every time."


    No one responded.


    To be honest, we hadn¡¯t been choosing routes based on logical reasoning, so there wasn¡¯t much to say.


    Besides, it was true that monsters had appeared in the rooms Seungyub picked.


    It seemed everyone was thinking about trying a different approach.


    Something felt odd.


    Even though he wasn¡¯t using Heaven¡¯s Luck, wasn¡¯t Seungyub known for pulling off crazy feats like rolling sixes every time?


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t every time.


    It was still a matter of probability.


    But still, he had good luck, so it was strange that he got it wrong twice in a row.


    Thinking about it simply, maybe he was too shaken for his Blessing to work properly.


    But looking at it from another perspective...


    <em>What if Seungyub was actually picking the right rooms?</em>


    <em>Just because there were monsters in the rooms he chose doesn¡¯t mean he was wrong, does it?</em>


    My head was spinning again.


    We walked through the now-familiar underground passage toward the next mansion.


    At the end of the passage, as always, was the door to the next mansion.


    Elizabeth opened the door¡ª


    "You idiots."


    Immediately, Elizabeth turned transparent and vanished!


    "What the hell?!"


    "What do you mean, ¡®what the hell¡¯?! I told you we should¡¯ve killed her!"


    There was no time to curse any further.


    Beyond the door was not another mansion but an enormous white space, with a gigantic gori standing in the center.


    <em>- RRRROOOAAARRRR!</em>


    A roar that shook the heavens and the earth!


    <em>This room is a ¡°trap¡±. Seungyub had been avoiding the ¡°trap¡± rooms all along!</em>


    The gori charged toward us at incredible speed.


    <em>- Bang! Ratatatatata!</em>


    In an instant, everyone scattered and began firing their guns.


    Muzzles shed, and Songee bracelets emitted bursts of light.


    Something shocking happened. The bullets bounced off!


    "Stop! Hold your fire! The bullets are ricocheting and could hit us!"


    Dozens of rounds were fired in mere seconds, but they didn¡¯t even prate the monster¡¯s skin.


    At least the bracelet was effective.


    The gori, unable to locate us, started to thrash around before¡ª


    Wildly swinging its arms in every direction!


    Not even three secondster, the gori¡¯s massive fist came crashing down on Songee.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    With a loud crash, Seungyub threw himself in the way, taking the blow and being mmed into the wall!


    <em>Is he okay?</em>


    <em>He should be, with the Protective Suit on, right?</em>


    <em>I¡¯ll give him a hug when we get out!</em>


    In the chaos, Songee screamed, "S-Seungyub! What do we do? That gori is smart. It¡¯s just iling around¨C"


    <em>- Thud! Thud!</em>


    Jinchul charged at the gori from behind.


    He stomped the ground so hard it sent vibrations all the way to me.


    At the same time, a powerful wave radiated from Jinchul¡¯s front, pressing down like a tangible force.


    No matter how tough that monster¡¯s skin was, could it withstand the power of the Star?


    <em>- ROOOAAAARRR!</em>


    It roared again!


    In an instant, the Star began twisting the skin on the gori¡¯s back.


    Rocks sprouted from the monster¡¯s flesh, and the skin started to tear apart!


    Seeing that Mooksung and I fired simultaneously.


    This time, it was different!


    As the skin twisted, the monster¡¯s formidable defense began to crumble.


    As the bullets burrowed into its flesh, the gori let out a howl of pain.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    "Ahh!"


    In the next moment, a bullet came out of nowhere, hitting Songee as she fell to the ground with a scream.


    "Elizabeth!"


    Elizabeth, who had turned invisible and hidden somewhere, had attacked Songee!


    Thanks to the full-body bulletproof suit, it didn¡¯t seem fatal, but even with bulletproof protection, a bullet¡¯s impact wasn¡¯t entirely nullified.


    It must have felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer.


    Songee was writhing in pain on the ground, while the gori, now free from the bracelet¡¯s control, immediately redirected its attack toward Jinchul.


    <em>- Boom! Boom!</em>


    "Kraaah! What is this thing?! King Kong?! FUCKKKK!"


    Two seconds? Three seconds?


    The gori¡¯s punches sent Jinchul flying before he could even properly retaliate.


    In just one exchange it was clear¡­


    That monster¡¯s physical strength far surpassed even Jinchul¡¯s.


    It really reminded me of that gori in the movie, the one fighting dinosaurs.


    The gori was also smart.


    After knocking Jinchul away, it didn¡¯t stop there, immediately jumping into the air¡ª


    <em>Is that thing really jumping like that with its size? Is it the Hulk?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t bear to watch it any longer.


    With a thunderous crash, Jinchul became nothing more than a lump of gore on the ground.


    But there were results.


    While the gori¡¯s massive fist crushed Jinchul, the Star continued to emit otherworldly waves right up until Jinchul¡¯s final moments.


    In mere seconds, the gori¡¯s once-imprable skin was torn to shreds, leaving most of it hanging in tatters.


    In this chaos¡­ there was honestly nothing I could do.


    <em>What should I do? My Ancient Blood has many abilities, but none that could work on such a brute.</em>


    <em>Hypnosis? The gori would turn me into jelly faster than I could try to hypnotize it.</em>


    Fortunately, after the gori regained its senses, Elizabeth¡¯s presencepletely disappeared as if she were a mouse.


    The gori didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to her presence.


    As the atmosphere turned even more terrifying, a butterfly appeared out of thin air.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    An ethereal, beautiful blue butterfly, utterly out of ce in this blood-soaked, nightmarish scene.


    The butterfly slowly fluttered toward the gori as if toying with it.


    Perhaps even the gori was taken aback, pausing momentarily before casually swiping at the butterfly.


    The moment the butterfly touched the gori¡¯s palm, it sank into it!


    <em>Eunsol must be hiding somewhere!</em>


    <em>Just like Elizabeth!</em>


    For the first time since the fight began, the gori started to stumble.


    At the same time, the chat window shed.


    Kim Mooksung: Ahri! Now!


    I immediately grabbed my gun and dashed toward the gori''s torn skin.<ol>1. Songee suddenly used broken English here, Kham Daun=Calm down. To borate further, she used ? ?? (kham daun), which is Konglish (basically english adapted into Korean). We decided it would be funnier if we transcribe it literally.</ol>

 Chapter 155: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ‘□□□ □□□□’ (4)

    Chapter 155: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ¡®¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯ (4)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    With the power of the Nightmare Butterfly, the gori began to suffer from intense drowsiness and mental anguish.


    Mooksung and I ran over, panting, and relentlessly unloaded our rounds into the gori¡¯s twisted flesh.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    <em>Elizabeth again!</em>


    With the sound of gunfire, Mooksung staggered as he clutched his shoulder.


    Mooksung and I quickly moved to positions where we could use the gori''s body as a shield.


    Luckily, the gori was now partially incapacitated.


    And we had our own invisible fighter as well!


    In one part of the white space, we were unloading bullets into the gori to finish it off, while in another part, an eerie battle between the two invisible fighters began."Why won¡¯t this bastard stay down? We¡¯ve pumped over fifty rounds into it, and it¡¯s still moving?"


    Mooksung, who gritted his teeth in pain, stood up with a grim expression.


    "I think it¡¯ll die eventually if we keep this up. But a shot to the head will probably be the decisive blow we need."


    Mooksung approached the gori¡¯s already copsing head, jammed the muzzle into its eye socket, and pulled the trigger.


    Only then did the gori''s writhing finally cease.


    <em>What an insanely tenacious vitality!</em>


    As I sighed and turned my head, I noticed that the battle between the invisible fighters was unfolding in a surprisinglyedic fashion.


    Elizabeth couldn¡¯t find Eunsol¡¯s location and was wasting bullets shooting into the air, while Eunsol, only taking deep breaths when Elizabeth was looking in the wrong direction, was holding out.


    On the other hand, Eunsol seemed to be able to pinpoint Elizabeth''s position despite her invisibility thanks to her keen eyesight, but her poor marksmanship dragged out the fight.


    This delicate bnce was bound to end as soon as reinforcements joined the fray.


    As Mooksung and I nked Elizabeth from a distance, shrinking the area in which she could move, Elizabeth suddenly revealed herself, took off her helmet, and¡ª


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    With one shot, the chaotic battle came to an end.


    ¡°Damn it! That bit¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mooksung, there are kids around.¡±


    ¡°Ahem. That lunatic really gave us a hard time. Jinchul is going to be pissed.¡±


    Eunsol was checking on Songee and Seungyub, who were lying on the ground.


    When she quickly removed Songee¡¯s bulletproof vest, there were multiple dark blue bruises the size of an adult man¡¯s hand on her upper body.


    Songee sighed and got up.


    Seungyub¡¯s condition was worse.


    Despite wearing the Protective Suit, the impact from the gori¡¯s overwhelming punch had not been fully absorbed.


    He struggled to move as he gasped for breath.


    Recovery was out of the question.


    We needed to escape, at least.


    At least the thought of the escape button wasforting.


    If worse came to worst, we could use it to survive.


    Eunsol rushed over.


    "Ahri, you were right... I''m sorry."


    "It¡¯s fine. Next time, we¡¯ll deal with Elizabeth first."


    "Let¡¯s make sure we take her gun away next time. We didn¡¯t even get a chance to learn anything before she killed herself."


    Looking around, this strange space had three exits, including the one we entered through.


    <em>Should Seungyub choose again this time?</em>


    Eunsol asked curiously, "This room is a ¡®trap¡¯, right?"


    "Yeah. This means the rooms we have been going to so far were actually the right ones. We thought they were wrong because they all had monsters, butpared to this room, they might as well be heaven."


    Songee, with a weary expression, approached.


    "Ahri! I¡¯m sorry..."


    "It¡¯s fine. It was a confusing situation."


    Aside from the apologies, I reflected for a moment.


    <em>Our group tends to avoid conflict by nature.</em>


    <em>This tendency has certainly contributed to keeping our party from fracturing, but when a tough decision must be made, it causes hesitation.</em>


    <em>That¡¯s probably why they didn¡¯t agree with what seemed like an extreme suggestion from me.</em>


    After all, it was a decision based on intuition, so I couldn¡¯t provide solid reasoning.


    I understood this, so I didn¡¯t hold any grudges against myrades.


    <em>However...</em>


    <em>- Whack!</em>


    I smacked Mooksung on the head while sending him a private message.


    Kim Ahri: You should¡¯ve had my back!


    <em>This guy owes his life to my intuition more times than I can count, yet he didn¡¯t listen to me?</em>


    <em>If he had supported me, the others might have thought, "Hmm, maybe there¡¯s something to it," and followed suit!</em>


    Mooksung, despite his age, just chuckled sheepishly.


    "But there¡¯s something a bit scary I want to talk about."


    "We¡¯re already in a terrifying situation, but go ahead."


    "This gori, it had a ¡®master¡¯."


    "..."


    "Remember how I said I could slightly read the minds of Being of Chaos after Affinity got enhanced?"


    "But the gori didn¡¯t exactly show you much friendliness."


    "I¡¯m telling you, it had a master. And it seemed to be absolutely terrified of them. When it was brought down by the butterfly, it was strongly reminded of ¡®someone¡¯ and feared it would be punished. That master must have ordered it to kill everyone who entered."


    This was terrifying and utterly exhausting news.


    A being powerful enough tomand such an overwhelming monster.


    <em>It must be the Adversary.</em>


    <em>Who or what could it be?</em>


    <em>At this point, shouldn¡¯t we at least see its face?</em>


    I sighed and turned my head.


    Seungyub, who had taken far worse damage than Songee, was still gasping for breath and unable to stand on his own.


    I was just about to suggest we rest a bit longer so he could recover when¡ª


    MOVE!


    Words appeared on the walls all around us.


    <em>Should we follow this instruction?</em>


    Looking around, myrades seemed equally uncertain.


    Songee, unable to hold back, asked, "Who¡¯s writing these words, anyway? At first, it felt like some sort of notification from the Hotel, so we all naturally followed along, but it doesn¡¯t seem like the Hotel would send messages in a ce like this."


    Surprisingly, Mooksung, who initially resisted being manipted by the enemy, got up without a fuss.


    "Well, whether it''s that message or not, it¡¯s probably time to move. We should get going before our guide can still consciously lead us."


    Our guide.


    No matter how you looked at it, Seungyub wasn¡¯t going to get better just by resting.


    Without proper treatment, his condition wouldn¡¯t improve at all, and in this situation, losing consciousness could be a big problem.


    As Mooksung said, if Seungyub passed out, we¡¯d be left without a guide.


    Seungyub weakly waved his hand in the air and then flipped a coin.


    <em>- Ting! Clink, clink, clink.</em>


    The coin rolled for a long time before hitting a door on one of the walls.


    Mooksung, now donning the Protective Suit, hoisted Seungyub onto his back, and we started moving once again.


    ***We passed through the fifth and sixth mansions in quick session.


    Along the way, we destroyed a toaster that spewed out living bread and a wardrobe that housed a serial killer.


    Once we established a response method, dealing with the monsters hiding in the mimic rooms wasn¡¯t too difficult.


    But no matter how many mansions we cleared, all that awaited us was another.


    Eventually, we got exhausted and sat down after smashing a moving clock in the seventh mansion.


    Seungyub, too, seemed to have reached his limit and fell asleep as if he¡¯d passed out.


    "What should we do now?"


    "Continuing on like this feels endless. This is already the seventh mansion. Beyond this would be the eighth, and then the ninth."


    Exhausted, Songee and Eunsol continued their conversation.


    Meanwhile, I was pondering the nature of ¡°Fortune¡±.


    The power that was harder to exin than any other Blessing.


    <em>ording to Seungyub, his sponsor is a childlike deity?</em>


    Fortune had many characteristics, but one crucial keyword stood out.


    <em>Faith.</em>


    Fortune became more powerful and useful for those with strong self-belief.


    Paradoxically, Fortune was also the hardest Blessing to believe in.


    It was about making choices based purely on intuition, without any logic.


    If Seungyub started doubting himself after just a few wrong choices, then his luck would be ineffective.


    Another problem was that the person themselves didn¡¯t know whether their Blessing was active or not.


    I recalled what happened in the Gate Room during the Jekyll and Hyde game.


    <em>Was it the second round? Or the third?</em>


    At some point, Seungyub started feeling pressured and stopped choosing Hyde.


    He believed he hadn¡¯t made a choice, and so did we.


    But in hindsight, even that ¡°non-choice¡± was a choice in itself.


    Since Seungyub was Hyde, he couldn¡¯t pick someone else.


    But how could we understand such a choice at the moment?


    Looking back, knowing the results, we could say, "Aha! Fortune was working even then!"


    But at that moment, it was impossible to know if Fortune was active.


    The story of Cassandra, the prophet from Greek mythology, came to mind.


    She was cursed with perfect foresight but she would never be believed.


    Fortune was eerily simr to that power.


    A blessing that emphasizes faith more than any other was, but paradoxically, the hardest to believe in.


    ...As I continued this line of thinking, a thought struck me.


    Maybe even now.


    Maybe this situation was also the result of Fortune?


    Like in the Jekyll and Hyde game, could ¡°fainting and being unable to choose the next room¡± be another choice in itself?


    Or was this all just my imagination, interpreting things in hindsight?


    Watching myrades tend to Seungyub and Songee, bandaging their wounds, I stood up to survey the surroundings.


    ***<strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    <em>Ah... It¡¯s so hot.</em>


    <em>My whole body feels like it¡¯s on fire.</em>


    <em>I haven¡¯t been able to pinpoint where it hurts for a while now.</em>


    <em>For some time, I¡¯ve been thinking more about how tired I am, and how sleepy I am, rather than how much it hurts.</em>


    Grandpa Mooksung, who was tending to me here and there after removing the Protective Suit, eventually pushed me back into it.


    I forced my mouth open.


    ¡°Grandpa...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. Just drink this.¡±


    Grandpa handed me a syringe filled with red liquid.


    ¡°Is this the legendary elixir Kain-hyung searched so desperately, Ahri-noona¡¯s blood?¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re still talking nonsense, so you must be okay.¡±


    ¡°You should probably just leave me here and take the Protective Suit back. It¡¯s a waste for me to be wearing such a powerful tool when I can¡¯t even move.¡±


    ¡°Come on, have a little faith.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t even move¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your ¡®Heaven¡¯s Luck¡¯ hasn¡¯t triggered yet, right? Not even in front of that gori. I believe you still have one more moment to shine.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    After saying that, Grandpa ced the ¡°Escape Button¡± in my hand.


    <em>Where does this unwavering faithe from?</em>


    <em>Has Heaven¡¯s Luck really activated every time I was in danger?</em>


    <em>Honestly, Heaven¡¯s Luck feels more like my patron activates it whenever they feel like it.</em>


    Maybe because I drank that legendary elixir? Somehow, I felt a bit more energetic.


    I heard that Ahri-noona¡¯s healing powers weren¡¯t that strong when she was healthy, but it seemed to have some effect.


    Or maybe it was just the cebo effect.


    Lying here nkly, I think I could understand Grandpa¡¯s mindset.


    The truth was, we were in a pretty desperate situation.


    We had lost most of our firepower, two of ourrades had died, everyone was exhausted, and we had no idea how to escape.


    In this situation, Grandpa¡¯sst hope seemed to be my Heaven¡¯s Luck.


    In other words, it was less about believing and more about wanting to believe.


    Somewhere nearby, I heard the sound of something breaking.


    Grandpa jumped up, startled.


    For the first time in a long while, a notification appeared on its own.


    Heaven¡¯s Luck Activated!


    The energy of the universe is protecting you.


    <em>Isn¡¯t Heaven¡¯s Luck a name Ahri-noona made up...?</em>


    <em>Now that even Grandpa¡¯s calling it Heaven¡¯s Luck, have you decided to call it that too, Patron?</em>


    <em>And the message changes every time. It used to say something like ¡°777!¡±, but now it¡¯s about the energy of the universe.</em>


    <em>Ah, whatever.</em>


    <em>If the energy of the universe is protecting me, I guess I¡¯ll be fine somehow!</em>


    I just closed my eyes and rxed.


    I suddenly felt envious of Kain-hyung, who had been asleep for a long time.


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    As I looked around, I continued my earlier train of thought.


    <em>Assuming Seungyub copsing itself is a form of choice, why didn¡¯t Fortune choose the next room?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Because this room is the right one!</em>


    Hoping against hope, I began to examine my surroundings.


    I touched and inspected every object, and looked over the walls and tables.


    Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.


    <em>Is it just my imagination after all?</em>


    As I continued stalling, familiar words appeared in the mirror near the sink.


    Move!


    <em>Who exactly is sending these messages?</em>


    <em>Our group is mentally and physically exhausted. Most importantly, Seungyub, who is supposed to guide us, can barely stay conscious.</em>


    <em>We can¡¯t keep following these instructions.</em>


    Using my Ancient Blood, I wrote a reply.


    No!


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <strong>[Fine. Then let¡¯s y!]</strong>


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    A hand shot out of the mirror like a de, piercing through my body in an instant.

 Chapter 156: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ‘□□□ □□□□’ (5)

    Chapter 156: Room 201, The Cursed Room - ¡®¡õ¡õ¡õ ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯ (5)<strong>- Yu Songee</strong>


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    When I turned to look toward the sound, it was already toote.


    A monstrous girl had burst out from the shattered mirror!


    With wild, disheveled hair and twitching grotesque eyes that only showed the whites, the girl had killed Ahri in a single blow.


    She then grabbed Ahri¡¯s severed head and started approaching us.


    <strong>[I let her live because she''s pretty~! But you all will have to y with me for a very long time.]</strong>


    Before she even finished speaking, Grandpa and Eunsol-noona started firing frantically!


    The bullets rained down on the girl as if she were taking a refreshing shower.


    The bullet couldn¡¯t even pierce her skin, uselessly dropping to the floor.I quickly used my bracelet to block and distort her perception.


    The girl staggered for a moment before emitting a voice that sounded like metal scraping together.


    <strong>[What¡¯s this? You¡¯re using some strange power?]</strong>


    <em>- p!</em>


    With a p, eyes sprouted from the palms of her hands!


    <em>Ugh! What on earth is that?</em>


    Just looking at it made me feel disgusted, but more importantly, when she started using the new eyes to gather information, my bracelet''s influence was blocked.


    <em>But I¡¯ve seen my fair share of monsters by now! No other high school girl is more experienced with dealing with monsters than I am!</em>


    <em>...Is that really something to be proud of?</em>


    Anyway, I expanded the range of my bracelet with all the power I could muster.


    "Do you think having four eyes will stop me?"


    As soon as I expanded my bracelet¡¯s range to include the eyes on her hands, the girl suddenly burst intoughter.


    <strong>[You''re pretty strong, aren''t you?]</strong>


    At the same time, the mansion itself began to writhe as if it were a living creature.


    Eyes sprouted from the walls, the floor, the clocks, the tables, the chairs¡ªeverywhere!


    The entire mansion had be her eyes.


    I gritted my teeth and, for the first time since leaving Room 103, I used ¡°Diverse Perspectives¡± with everything I had.


    My consciousness felt like it was floating in the air.


    The power of ¡°Diverse Perspectives¡± spread throughout the entire mansion.


    ***<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    <em>I can''t breathe.</em>


    <em>Honestly, I don¡¯t have some kind of animalistic instinct, but even an idiot could sense it in this situation.</em>


    <em>That girl!</em>


    <em>She¡¯s the ruler of this hellish space!</em>


    <em>We have to defeat her, no matter what.</em>


    The monstrous girl, holding Ahri¡¯s severed head, was treating our bullets like BB pellets.


    The Butterfly was used on the gori, and our bullets were treated like toys.


    It was hopeless.


    Songee was putting up a fight I couldn¡¯t even begin to understand, it felt like it was happening in another world.


    Grandpa Mooksung had the same look of helplessness on his face.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>This isn''t the time to be like this!</em>


    Just as I was about to dash toward the front door, hoping Songee would buy us some time¡ª


    <strong>[Stop being annoying and stay still.]</strong>


    With those words, hands shot out from the walls and grabbed my legs.


    I tried with all my might to pull them off, but my strength was no match for it.


    <em>This girl... she¡¯spletely toying with us.</em>


    She didn¡¯t even seem to be going all out in her fight with Songee.


    She must have been observing our progress through the various mansions and concluded that we didn¡¯t pose any real threat to her.


    While Grandpa and I struggled in vain, Songee''s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth began to bleed profusely.


    "Songee!"


    A chilling voice filled the room.


    <strong>[Is that all you¡¯ve got? How disappointing.]</strong>


    "What are you... What is this ce?" Songee muttered as she slid to the ground.


    The demonic girl slowly walked toward Songee with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.


    Just before her heart was torn out, Songee uttered onest word, "Window¡ª"


    <em>A window? What window?</em>


    Before she could say anything else, Songee died!


    I frantically looked around, but as I had confirmed from the first mansion, there were no windows in this mansion.


    With even Songee, who was our best hope, dead, everything was over.


    Tree roots, hard as iron, shot out from the walls andpletely restrained Grandpa Mooksung.


    <strong>[Don¡¯t any of you have something interesting?]</strong>


    ***<strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    <em>Looks like I¡¯ll have to use it.</em>


    I watched through the helmet of the Protective Suit as Ahri-noona and Songee-noona fell one by one, and Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung were bound by the walls.


    Yet the monster wasn¡¯t paying me any attention, seemingly thinking I was already dead or unconscious.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>I¡¯m not stupid enough to be unaware of what will happen next.</em>


    <em>This monster clearly intends to torment the rest of us mercilessly.</em>


    I concluded that it was finally time to use the Escape Button.


    The one hope that will save us from every crisis!


    We had talked about saving it for as long as possible since it was a one-time-use item but now felt like the moment.


    Just as I reached for the button that Grandpa had ced next to me¡ª


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    My hand identally hit the table beside me, making a noise that drew everyone¡¯s attention to me.


    At the same time, the TV suddenly turned on!


    With a static buzz, my body froze like stone.


    <em>Why now?!</em>


    I panicked before regaining myposure.


    It couldn¡¯t be a coincidence that the TV turned on at this exact moment.


    That girl controlled all the monsters in this space.


    <em>- Ting! tter...</em>


    The awkward timing caused the button to slip from my hand, and slide under the table.


    Pledge!


    Once again, that cursed pledge started ring from the TV with its nonsense.


    Our response was the same as before. Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s glove flew over and shot the TV, shattering it.


    <strong>[Oh! Right. You guys did this earlier, too. My bad, my bad~ I¡¯m so forgetful!]</strong>


    Eunsol-noona ignored her words and instead fired at the hand that was holding her leg.


    The gunfire shattered the hand and simultaneously destroyed her own leg.


    Even in that state, Noona threw herself towards the button.


    At the same time, Grandpa¡¯s glove also flew toward the button.


    At this point, the demonic girl shouted with curiosity.


    <strong>[What¡¯s so important about that thing that you''re going to such lengths?]</strong>


    Another hand sprouted next to the button, grabbed it, and sank back into the floor.


    Despair washed over Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung¡¯s faces as the roots from the walls engulfed thempletely.


    <em>- Squish... Squish...</em>


    The floor was already soaked in blood


    The girl approached me, her every step squelching the blood, with the button in her hand.


    I felt my breathing becamebored.


    Her grotesque fingers touched my helmet.


    <strong>[This suit of yours is pretty sturdy, huh?]</strong>


    "..."


    <strong>[No answer? That Eunsol-noona is still alive, you know? Should I pull out her fingers one by one?]</strong>


    "What do you want to know...?"


    <strong>[I¡¯m curious. You guys have just been testing the waters, haven¡¯t you? Suddenly throwing so many superhumans into the mix. What¡¯s the reason? It¡¯s a shame that the one who was supposed to report it all is dead.]</strong>


    <em>What is she talking about?</em>


    <em>I couldn¡¯t understand. Testing the waters?</em>


    <em>Suddenly throwing in superhumans?</em>


    <em>Since we¡¯re supposed to be agents of the Administration in this setting, is she referring to the Administration?</em>


    The girl quickly noticed my confusion.


    <strong>[You don¡¯t know anything, do you? You¡¯re just a pawn.]</strong>


    <em>- Creak. Creak.</em>


    <strong>[What an interesting suit. A suit that can withstand Kongi¡¯s punches, huh?]</strong>


    My whole body felt hot again.


    And I was filled with resentment.


    <em>What on earth is ''Heaven''s Luck'' doing?</em>


    Since it activated, there hadn¡¯t been a single moment of good fortune.


    In fact, just when I was about to use the Escape Button, I hit the table, drawing attention¡ª


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>What is that?</em>


    "Not having fun anymore?"


    <strong>[Yeah, it¡¯s getting a bit dull. Too weak, too predictable.]</strong>


    "Sorry about that. I¡¯ll make it more interesting this time."


    <strong>[Oh! That¡ª]</strong>


    Finally sensing something was off, the girl quickly turned around.


    Ahri-noona¡¯s head, body, and blood, which had been scattered all over the mansion, began to move on their own!


    A strange light gleamed in Ahri-noona¡¯s eyes.


    Her blood swirled into a vortex, binding the demonic girl!


    Witnessing this iprehensible scene, I almost threw up.


    At that moment, the line between a demon and myrade from the Hotel blurred!


    <em>Isn¡¯t this just a fight between two demons?</em>


    In the chaos, I scrambled to get up.


    My mind was working faster than ever, continuing the thoughts I had earlier.


    <em>Right now, I¡¯m someone protected by ¡°the energy of the universe¡± under Heaven¡¯s Luck!</em>


    <em>There¡¯s no way I could be experiencing misfortune.</em>


    The moment I tried to use the Escape Button and hit the table, causing it to fall, It wasn¡¯t because of bad luck; it was because of good luck!


    The reason it fell was because I didn¡¯t need to use the one-time-use item to escape¡­ I could escape without it!


    The word ¡°window¡± that Songee-noona had uttered right before she died.


    The windowless strange mansions.


    But these mansions did have a window.


    It was a peculiar window that couldn¡¯t be seen from the inside but could be seen from the outside.


    It simply didn¡¯t look like a typical window, so it went unnoticed.


    I stood in front of the shattered mirror where the demon had emerged.


    I threw myself into the mirror.


    I felt an overwhelming gaze.


    I felt it.


    From the sky, the earth, the sea, the air, the mountains, the rivers¡ª


    I felt the gaze of the entire world.


    The great eyes were present in every object in the universe.


    My beginning was as insignificant as a mere insect¡ª


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    As I fell endlessly, I hit a protruding window frame and regained consciousness.


    <em>What was that? What did I just see?</em>


    In my confusion, my body continued to spin as I slowly descended.


    I kept falling into the endless darkness, looking back at the mansion¡ªno, the "collection of mansions" where I had just been.


    The endlessly shifting mansions were filled with rooms that housed absurdly monstrous creatures inside.


    As I fell, I continued to think.


    The Cursed Room, Room 201.


    The true nature of this wretched ce.


    The Cube.


    That was myst memory of Room 201.


    You have escaped!


    ***<strong><em>Did he escape by sheer luck again?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>How long can he keep getting by on luck?</em></strong>


    <strong><em>If he doesn¡¯t have the talent, he¡¯ll be finished in Room 203.</em></strong>


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 81


    Current Location: Floor 2, Corridor


    Sage''s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I suddenly awoke from a deep sleep.


    The moment I regained consciousness, my skin tingled as if it were being pierced by icy des, sending shivers down my spine!


    I hastily threw on a makeshift cold-weather outfit made of nkets scattered around me.


    ¡°Ugh! It¡¯s so damn cold. What¡¯s wrong with this weather? Did anyone find out anything?¡±


    <em>Myrades who worked hard in my ce!</em>


    <em>Of course, they must have made great progress, right?</em>


    <em>Are we on track to resolve this in the next attempt?</em>


    <em>Am I just here to deliver the final blow?</em>


    <em>Wow! It would feel a bit wrong to take the Inheritance just fornding the final blow!</em>


    But it didn¡¯t seem like it.


    The atmosphere didn¡¯t look good at all.


    Some people seemed so lost that they didn¡¯t even feel the cold, just sitting there nkly.


    I approached Elena, who was shivering.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <em>Did she not hear me because of the blizzard?</em>


    As I moved a little closer¡ª


    <em>- Whack!</em>


    Elena roughly shoved me, and I fell into the surrounding snow.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Aren''t we past the point of needing to practice social distancing?</em>


    Oddly, the moment our ¡°eyes¡± met, Elena looked like she was about to faint.


    It seemed like something was seriously wrong with everyone.


    I thought I should head to the first floor and have a serious talk with everyone.


    <em>Of course, I feelpletely refreshed after my nap.</em>

 Chapter 157: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (6)

    Chapter 157: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (6)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    "Come on! Let¡¯s all have a drink! Cheers!"


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In an attempt to lift the mood, I raised a ss and cheered, but only a few joined in.


    Despite Eunsol-noona¡¯s trying her best to go along with it, there was a limit.


    Myrades who returned after the first attempt in Room 201 were in a groggy state.


    Since everyone was eliminated at different points, the reasons for their exhaustion varied, but ultimately, the reason was simple.


    The enemy was too strong.


    Really, way too strong.


    Jinchul-hyung, who died from being hit by the gori, seemed terrified just thinking about it.The girl who supposedly came out of the mirror, suspected to be the Adversary, was equally unbelievable just hearing about her.


    She treated bullets like BB pellets, and even the bracelet and Ancient Blood could only buy time at best.


    Even the Star might not be enough to guarantee sess.


    Listening to myrades share their stories, I came to one conclusion.


    "It¡¯s clearly different from the first floor. The required specs have increased."


    Ahri agreed and responded, "Looking back now, the first floor seemed designed to be cleared even without Inheritance. It felt like it was structured so that you could solve it with just Blessings as long as you were clever. But the second floor¡­"


    "It¡¯s designed under the assumption that we¡¯ve already acquired multiple Inheritances."


    "Exactly. It assumes we have several Inheritances, enhanced our Blessings multiple times, and treasures like the Protective Suit, so the enemies are insanely strong."


    Everyone keenly felt the ridiculous spike in the difficulty as soon as we entered the second floor.


    Naturally, we thought about another room we could enter.


    "It seems we can only ess other rooms on the second floor afterpleting a ¡®repair event¡¯, but there is one more room we can enter. Shall we continue with Room 104, Hotel High School?"


    Hearing my suggestion, Ahri sighed.


    "By now, you have some idea, right? The true nature of Descent. The danger of Room 104. Even the Owl warned us. Descent is probably an offshoot or copy of the power of the Lord that they imnted in you. That¡¯s why the Inheritance seems like a toypared to the surreal power it grants."


    "So, because of that Lord¡¯s fragment, you think I¡¯ll betray everyone the moment we enter Room 104?"


    "Think about it yourself. If you were to betray us, what would you do right away?"


    <em>If I were to betray myrades, what would I do first?</em>


    The answer came to mind immediately.


    "Wouldn¡¯t I use Descent and kill everyone?"


    "Exactly. I¡¯d rather fight the girl who came out of the mirror than face the Son of Heaven."


    And that was the end of the conversation.


    The thought of possibly fighting the Son of Heaven was enough to make everyone treat Room 104 like a nuclear waste dump.


    After much deliberation, I decided to use Advice.


    <em>What do you think about going back to Room 104?</em>


    This question will consume all three remaining uses. Do you wish to proceed?


    Startled, I immediately backed off.


    It was a repeat of what happened in the Gate Room.


    <em>Should we really leave Room 104 as it is?</em>


    I had a vague thought.


    <em>The scenario everyone is worried about¡ªwhere I activate Descent and kill everyone within a second upon entering Room 104.</em>


    <em>I believe that kind of scenario isn¡¯t what the Hotel prefers.</em>


    <em>But in the end, it¡¯s just my belief or spection.</em>


    <em>The Hotel is an iprehensible ce.</em>


    <em>- Creak!</em>


    In the middle of the conversation, Songee stood up from the table with a te of sandwiches.


    She was likely going to deliver food to Elena.


    Naturally, the conversation topic shifted to Elena.


    "Everyone came back half out of it, but Elena is especially bad. She¡¯s so shaken that she can¡¯t even talk."


    Eunsol-noona expressed her concern.


    "It¡¯s strange. We¡¯ve gone through so many horrifying experiences in the hotel, right? In the outside world, we¡¯ve had experiences that would cause lifelong PTSD if we went through them even once. Yet, we¡¯ve managed to cope with the aftereffects."


    "It feels like the hotel has been managing not just our physical injuries but also our mental trauma."


    "So, why is Elena especially affected this time?"


    As I listened, I got curious.


    If everyone had been as messed up as Elena, we¡¯d probably despair at the thought of no longer receiving treatment from the second floor onward.


    But everyone else wasn¡¯t that bad.


    <em>There¡¯s a skill for situations like this.</em>


    Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    <em>Why isn¡¯t Elena being treated?</em>


    Treatment will be administered tonight as a consideration for you.


    The response was brief but reassuring.


    "I used Advice and got a response. They¡¯re going to treat us tonight out of consideration."


    Everyone sighed in relief.


    <em>¡­Something feels off. What exactly does it mean by ¡°consideration¡±?</em>


    While I was pondering, Eunsol-noona moved on to the next topic.


    "Let¡¯s talk in order of whates to mind! The first thing thates to my mind is Elizabeth."


    As soon as the word ¡°Elizabeth¡± came up, almost everyone reacted strongly.


    "As soon as we enter, we should take her gun and break her arms and legs."


    I was briefly shocked by Ahri¡¯s extreme suggestion.


    "Before we go breaking her limbs, we should get the information we need first. Start by breaking her fingers."


    Even Grandpa Mooksung was openly suggesting torture.


    "Let¡¯s find out what we can and then feed her to the monsters."


    Even Jinchul-hyung, who usually had a good temperament, was making ruthless suggestions.


    I heard enough to understand.


    Elizabeth suddenly betrayed them, causing everyone to be thrown in front of an ultra-powerful King Kong, leading them to suffer greatly.


    <em>No wonder they hold such a grudge.</em>


    Anyway, it seemed necessary to interrogate her, so I had no objections.


    However, I did feel that the next attempt would be quite a shock for Elizabeth.


    <em>She¡¯ll have to face the Hotel Party filled with people who hold a grudge against her for something she hadn¡¯t even done yet!</em>


    Eunsol-noona cautiously added her opinion, "Oliver doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem, right? After all, Elizabeth was the one who insisted on exploring, and Oliver was the first to die."


    The next topic everyone discussed was the most important: escape.


    Songee, who was the first to discover the escape route, spoke passionately, "A window! The escape route was a window. I realized it while fighting that monster girl. She had been watching us for a long time through the window."


    Even Seungyub, who usually stayed quiet and ate snacks during meetings, confidently joined in, "Haha! That¡¯s right. But Noona, if you had just said ¡®window¡¯, I might not have understood. We¡¯d been thinking there were no windows in the mansion, right? Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier if you had said ¡®mirror¡¯ instead?"


    "Really? I didn¡¯t think of that at the time."


    Summarizing Songee¡¯s discovery of the escape route and Seungyub¡¯s sessful escape through it, we concluded, "So, the confirmed escape route is this, right? If we stay put in the mansion without moving, at some point, a ¡®Move!¡¯ message will appear on one of the mirrors scattered around the mansion, like near the sink, TV, or wardrobe. If we break the ss with that message, there¡¯s a passage to the outside."


    "Yes."


    "Yeah."


    Grandpa Mooksung interjected, "Don¡¯t forget the important part. Behind that ss is a demon that looks like it just popped out of hell."


    Eunsol-noona tilted her head.


    "If we don¡¯t move and just break the ss in the first mansion, will we still find the escape route?"


    Seungyub was skeptical.


    "If that were the case, ''Fortune'' wouldn¡¯t have kept moving us until we reached the seventh mansion, right? I don¡¯t think breaking the ss in just any location will work. The escape route is likely only avable in a specific mansion, and you need to break the ss in those rooms to ess the escape."


    "You might be right. The escape route is probably limited to certain mansions. So, what happens if we break a ¡®Move!¡¯ ss in another mansion?"


    It felt like a new topic had been raised. It wasn¡¯t easy toe to a conclusion.


    <em>In specific rooms, breaking a ¡°Move!¡± ss brings forth a demonic girl, and behind her is the escape route.</em>


    <em>So, what happens if we break a ¡°Move!¡± ss in another room?</em>


    As they discussed the escape route, the discussion¡¯s topic naturally shifted to ¡°that girl¡±.


    Songee mumbled in a nearly defeated tone, "She was a real monster. Kain-oppa wouldn¡¯t even be able to imagine it."


    Ahri actively agreed, "If this were outside the Hotel, they wouldn¡¯t send just a few agents to catch a monster like that. They¡¯d send helicopters, fighter jets, and even prepare missiles."


    It seemed like the monster was on a level where military force would need to be deployed.


    "Do you think we have no chance of winning?"


    Several people had seen the monster, but only Songee and Ahri had significantbat experience with it.


    After some thought, they answered, "It didn¡¯t seem impossible. To be honest, by the time we encountered that girl, our forces were already wrecked. Elena died because of the TV, Jinchul died because of the gori, and Songee and I were exhausted."


    "If we go at full strength with everyone, don¡¯t you think we could manage? Even though her skin deflected bullets, I think Jinchul-oppa¡¯s Star could break through it. And since she¡¯s a humanoid enemy, Elena¡¯s Justice could definitely be activated against her!"


    <em>The enemy is strong, but she¡¯s still humanoid. As long as the premise is that the enemy is an evil human, Elena could demonstrate even greaterbat power than Jinchul-hyung.</em>


    Because of that, everyone seemed to have a subtle sense of confidence.


    As we continued talking, the familiar sound of a bird chirping echoed through the room.


    <em>- Piyoo! Piyo!</em>


    It sounded like, ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting about me?¡±


    Perro, who seemed full ofints, flipped over the dishes around him and perched on Songee¡¯s shoulder.


    "Where has he been?" Ahri asked curiously.


    Songee seemed unsure.


    "I¡¯ve been trying to read Perro¡¯s thoughts for a while, but I can¡¯t make sense of them. Perro is like a three-year-old child, so it¡¯s hard to understand what he¡¯s thinking. All I could get was a feeling that he was in a very stuffy white ce."


    "A very stuffy white ce, huh¡­?"


    Listening to that, I started to have an idea.


    "He¡¯s probably somewhere near me? Maybe he was trapped in a test tube, like me?"


    "So, where were you?"


    I had nothing to say and shut my mouth.


    <em>How would I know?</em>


    The unsealing.


    As of now, we haven¡¯t made any progress on this issue.


    "Can¡¯t you use Descent before the ¡®Seal Notification¡¯ pops up as soon as you start, or possess another researcher¡¯s body to escape?" Jinchul-hyung asked in a slightly frustrated tone.


    "It was impossible to summon the Grimoire. Descent is also likely impossible."


    "Use Advice to check."


    Since I had two uses left, it was worth checking.


    Advice: 2 ¡ú 1


    <em>Can I escape using Descent?</em>


    Seeing the finger, but not the moon.


    <em>Here we go again.</em>


    I chuckled at the response.


    "What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Seeing the finger but not the moon? Is that some kind of proverb?"


    Jinchul-hyung looked puzzled before Grandpa Mooksung proudly exined, "Ha! That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t associate with ignorant people. The problem with kids these days is that they haven¡¯t had proper education in Chinese proverbs."


    "Okay, okay, stop showing off. Tell us what does it mean?"


    "It¡¯s a saying that criticizes the foolishness of focusing on a part instead of the whole, like looking at the finger pointing at the moon instead of the moon itself."


    Not seeing the essence and fixating on a part.


    Once I heard that exnation, I immediately understood the meaning of the advice.


    It was something I had already suspected even before using the Advice, but the Advice confirmed it.


    "What¡¯s the purpose of the seal? Isn¡¯t it to target parties that rely too heavily on specific members or powers? Trying to break the seal by saying, ¡®I¡¯ll act before the notification pops up,¡¯ or ¡®I¡¯ll use a stronger power like Descent¡¯ is focusing on a part instead of the whole. That¡¯s the meaning of the advice."


    "Your Owl is too much, it has a knack for making things hard to understand when a simple ¡®no¡¯ would suffice."


    There was a moment of silence at the table.


    Eunsol-noona brought the conversation back to what everyone was most interested in¡ªescape.


    "Alright! Let¡¯s focus on securing an escape route. Once that¡¯s settled, we can keep trying until we eventually break through."


    "We¡¯ve confirmed the escape method, right? As we rely on Fortune to move around, at some point, we¡¯ll reach a mansion where we just know, ¡®This is it!¡¯ In that room, if we wait, a ¡®Move!¡¯ message will appear on one of the mirrors, and behind that mirror is a demon. If we jump through the mirror after the demon appears, we can escape."


    "That seems right. Honestly, the biggest problem with that is the demon."


    "A demon waiting right behind the escape route. What is she, a gatekeeper? It looks like we¡¯ll have to fight that demon no matter what," Grandpa Mooksung grumbled.


    "Isn¡¯t that girl the Adversary? We¡¯ll have to kill her eventually anyway. How about we have everyone fight her together while Seungyub or Eunsol-noona slips away?"


    It seemed best for the stronger ones to fight the demon while the lessbative ones focused on securing the escape.


    Eunsol-noona nodded and emphasized one thing, "Don¡¯t forget to break Elizabeth. Not that you¡¯ll forget once you see her face."


    I felt a bit of pity for Elizabeth, who would face a hotel party filled with seven people holding a grudge against her while not even knowing what happened.


    We wrapped up our evening meeting on the first day after the first attempt.


    We decided to discuss specific ns again in the morning.


    <em>Now, it¡¯s time to check on Elena.</em>


    I recalled the answer I got earlier when I asked for advice regarding Elena.


    Treatment will be administered tonight as a consideration for you.


    <em>Even when I think about it again, that answer still sounds strange.</em>

 Chapter 158: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (7)

    Chapter 158: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (7)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    After finishing our evening meeting, we moved to the first-floor terrace.


    Elena was still leaning against the wall in a half-crazed state.


    I deliberately kept my gaze on the floor and asked, ¡°Elena, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Elena-unni, you skipped dinner, didn¡¯t you? If it¡¯s too much, how about getting some sleep?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave her be. If we go by Kain¡¯s Advice, she¡¯ll be back to normal by tomorrow.¡±


    Earlier, when I asked for Advice regarding Elena¡¯s recovery, this was the response:


    Treatment will be administered tonight as a consideration for you.<em>I felt something was off the moment I saw the Advice, and thinking back now, it still seems like strange advice.</em>


    Feeling a simr unease, Ahri nudged me.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, isn¡¯t it weird? Why are they dying Elena¡¯s treatment for tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°And why is it in consideration for us?¡±


    By that point, the others also began to sense something was amiss.


    ¡°Yeah, why did they treat us immediately for any psychological trauma, but they¡¯re leaving Elena untreated and then treating her the next day? And how is that supposed to be for our benefit?¡±


    <em>Why would dying treatment be for our benefit?</em>


    <em>Is there some kind of loss for us if she gets the treatment right away?</em>


    ¡°¡­!!!¡±


    Then, it hit me like a bolt of lightning!


    Grandpa, who seemed to have had the same realization, shouted, ¡°We need to interrogate Elena before she loses her memory!¡±


    Even in this situation, Grandpa used the word ¡°interrogate¡±.


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®interrogate¡¯? But we definitely need to find out something. Elena is in a state where she¡¯s seen something beyond humanprehension and has gone mad, right? During the treatment process, they¡¯ll probably blur the memories of what she saw.¡±


    Eunsol-noona pped her knee and said, ¡°Then we need to find out what those memories are!¡±


    Everyone widened their eyes and crowded around Elena.


    They repeatedly spoke to her and shook her shoulders.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Yet Elena still didn¡¯t show any reactions.


    Suddenly, she screamed and pushed us away, and then she would go silent for a long time, staring nkly at the air.


    In the end, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to me.


    I sighed. There was a reason I hadn¡¯t used the Grimoire from the start.


    <em>I can¡¯t use the Status Window while I¡¯m possessing someone else.</em>


    <em>What if I go mad while trying to read Elena¡¯s memories?</em>


    <em>But we¡¯re out of options now.</em>


    <em>And since I¡¯m getting sealed anyway, what does it matter if I lose my mind?</em>


    <em>The hotel will probably treat me anyway.</em>


    I used the Grimoire¡¯s power to possess Elena.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>I¡¯m sinking.</em>


    I felt myself slowly descending into Elena¡¯s mind like an endlessly falling feather.


    I had possessed others many times, but possessing someone didn¡¯t mean I could instantly read all their memories.


    If that were possible, my brain might have burned out every time I possessed someone.


    Usually, only the general information, or the necessary information at the moment was summarized and delivered to me.


    <em>Maybe the Grimoire processes it all for me?</em>


    Whenever this happens, I recall what Songee used to say.


    <em>We don¡¯t truly understand the transcendent power; we¡¯re just wielding the tools imbued with those powers.</em>


    It was like how most modern people used televisions andputers without understanding the fundamental principles behind them.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    My consciousness delved deeper.


    The Grimoire located the necessary information within Elena¡¯s confused mind.


    At some point, I found myself transformed into Elena.


    I heard bizarre phrases of ¡°pledges¡± and then saw hands emerge from the TV, grabbing and pulling Elena in.


    Inside the TV was a pure white space.


    I saw a giant cauldron with boiling oil sttering around.


    <em>If Grandpa hadn¡¯t destroyed the TV in time, would Elena have been dragged into that cauldron?</em>


    <em>Thinking about it that way, it is scary, but that¡¯s all there is to it.</em>


    <em>Just perceiving a boiling oil cauldron wouldn¡¯t be enough to drive someone insane.</em>


    <em>Is there anything else around? There must be something besides the cauldron.</em>


    <em>I see them.</em>


    <em>Wriggling beings are starting to appear around me.</em>


    I realized what this ce was.


    <em>Strange. There¡¯s something else in this space, beyond these things¡ª</em>


    <strong>There are eyes in the heavens and the earth.</strong>


    <strong>I am like an insect crawling on the ground, the most insignificant creature in the world is greater than I.</strong>


    <strong>At least, they have substance¡ª</strong>


    ¡°CUT THE BULLSHIT! YOU MOTHERFUCKIN¡¯ EYETARDS!¡±


    I screamed as soon as I came out, startling mypanions who stared at me.


    I would probably forget what I saw soon.


    Just before my consciousnesspletely melted, I frantically shouted two words and passed out.


    ¡°Researchb!¡±


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 82


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105, Room of Rest


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    When I came to, it was already morning.


    I remembered possessing Elena, but nothing after that.


    <em>Did I lose all my memories?</em>


    As I thought a bit more, I realized I had a faint recollection of shouting, ¡°Researchb,¡± aftering out.


    So, I did manage to find something.


    Feeling a bit of satisfaction, I went out to meet mypanions.


    ***¡°Oppa! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay now?¡±


    As soon as I came out, I heard mypanions¡¯ concerned voices.


    After reassuring each of them, I checked if Elena hade out as well.


    Across the table, Elena gave me a faint smile instead of screaming when our eyes met.


    <em>They definitely treated her!</em>


    After I joined them at the table, we started discussing the information retrieved from Elena¡¯s memories.


    ¡°What was I thinking when I shouted ¡®Researchb¡¯?¡±


    Ahri chuckled.


    ¡°That sounds like a Koan<sup>1</sup>. Asking us what you were thinking when you¡¯re the one who said it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything from that moment.¡±


    ¡°The interpretation is obvious, isn¡¯t it? Elena¡¯s memories are rted to what she saw beyond the TV. You confirmed that and then shouted ¡®Researchb.¡¯ Doesn¡¯t that mean beyond the TV disy is a researchb?¡±


    Everyone agreed with Ahri¡¯s interpretation. I couldn¡¯t even think of a different interpretation.


    It finally felt like the mystery of the researchb¡¯s location, where I was sealed, was starting to unravel.


    Jinchul-hyung stated the obvious, ¡°We have to go to the researchb, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Isn¡¯t that where I am?¡±


    ¡°No, what I mean is... how do we get in? When the TV turns on, we can¡¯t move. It¡¯s not like we can break free by force. I couldn¡¯t even move a finger.¡±


    Elena, who hadn¡¯t spoken in a while, chimed in, ¡°If you just stay still, the TV will eventually pick someone and drag them in. I¡¯m sure of that because I experienced it.


    ¡°Specifically, it drags them in and tries to throw them into the cauldron. We can¡¯t go in that way. We need to find a way to break the paralysis caused by the TV.¡±


    The one who had broken the paralysis, Grandpa, responded, ¡°Well, didn¡¯t we already confirm the method? Even in a paralyzed state, my gloves can move. When I shot the TV, it broke the paralysis.¡±


    Eunsol-noona pointed out the w.


    ¡°But if we shoot and destroy the TV, the passage to the researchb disappears too. We need to find a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV.¡±


    ...Silence fell over the table.


    The goal was to get past the TV screen and reach the researchb beyond it.


    The problem was that the moment the TV turned on, everyone became paralyzed, and the TV would try to drag us in and brutally kill us.


    If we broke the TV to stop it from killing us, the passage would disappear.


    At this point, we had gathered enough information about the TV.


    We were just having trouble piecing it all together to find the solution.


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    <em>Is there a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV?</em>


    What is the cause of the paralysis?


    ¡°Hmm... I used Sage¡¯s Advice just now, and the response was, ¡®What is the cause of the paralysis?¡¯¡±


    Jinchul-hyung was baffled.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obviously the TV? Is there something else causing it?¡±


    Ahri, who seemed to be deep in thought, answered, ¡°No, think about it. I just remembered¡ªwhen we got paralyzed, it wasn¡¯t when the TV first turned on. When it first came on, we were all startled, asking what it was. We got paralyzed when the TV started saying the ¡®pledge¡¯.¡±


    Grandpa sighed.


    ¡°My memory is simr, but does it make a difference? The TV turned on, and shortly after, it started saying the ¡®pledge¡¯.¡±


    Silence fell over the table again.


    For the first time in a while, Seungyub spoke up, ¡°Well... it might sound strange, but if the problem arises when the TV turns on and the pledge ys, why don¡¯t we just mute it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Eunsol-noona pped her knee.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think of that? That seems like the answer!¡±


    ¡°Hah! This kid usually doesn¡¯t say a word during meetings, but there¡¯s truth to the saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. Alright, let¡¯s try muting the TV next time.¡±


    Seungyub¡¯s expression brightened after he came up with a good idea for the first time in a while.


    But Elena poured cold water on our excitement again.


    "Sorry to dampen your spirits, but we still have the most important issue. I went crazy the moment I saw the inside of the TV. Kain also went mad after reading my memory. Do you think it¡¯ll be different for anyone else? I¡¯m sure everyone will go mad as soon as they see the TV disy, except maybe Songee with her bracelet."


    <em>A very valid point.</em>


    <em>We don¡¯t know what drove Elena mad or caused me to go insane after reading her memory, but crossing over without a way to deal with that presence is suicide.</em>


    <em>Should only those who can resist madness cross over?</em>


    Excluding myself, who was sealed, Songee, as Elena mentioned, was a strong candidate.


    Ahri also seemed somewhat capable of resisting the madness.


    But that was it. No one else came to mind.


    Ahri, deep in thought, looked at me.


    "You still have two Advice left, right? Ask again. Since you''re sealed, you won¡¯t need them, so let¡¯s use them all this morning."


    Advice: 2 ¡ú 1


    <em>Is there a way to resist the madness inside the TV?</em>


    What made you realize that ce was a ¡®Researchb¡¯?


    Another riddle-like response. I conveyed the content of the answer.


    "It¡¯s asking what made me realize the ce connected to the TV is a researchb."


    "What did you see?"


    "I don¡¯t know. The memory is already gone."


    "Oh, right. So, what could the answer be?"


    The answer came to me quickly.


    "I¡¯ve never been to a researchb before. I wouldn¡¯t have recognized it by its equipment or interior. Also, when we first started in the room and I was about to fall asleep, I glimpsed people in whiteb coats. I probably saw those people again inside the TV."


    "So you probably sawb workers inside the TV?"


    As I answered Ahri, I naturally understood the meaning of the Advice.


    "This is what it¡¯s saying. What does it mean that there areb workers near the source of the madness? Theb workers can¡¯t all be superhumans immune to madness, so there must be a way for ordinary humans to resist it. Isn¡¯t that the point?"


    Eunsol-noona tilted her head.


    "So, when we asked how to resist the madness, they basically said, ¡®There¡¯s definitely a way to resist it,¡¯ in a really roundabout way?"


    "Yes."


    "Next time you meet your Patron, make sure to curse it out for us."


    <em>I¡¯m nning on it.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ve got plenty of pent-up emotions.</em>


    Jinchul-hyung sighed.


    "Why don¡¯t you ask again? You¡¯ve got one more, right?"


    Grandpa Mooksung disagreed.


    "If they were going to give a straight answer, they would¡¯ve done so the first time. Giving a crappy answer means they want us to figure it out ourselves. Asking again will just result in another pointless riddle. Use thest Advice for a different question."


    I decided not to use Advice on the same question again.


    Instead, I began to ponder the answer myself.


    After all, the response did confirm that a solution does exist.


    <em>What is the method to resist the madness inside the TV?</em>?


    "Let¡¯s think about what the being inside the TV is. Everyone who came into contact with it mentioned ¡®eyes¡¯ in some way."


    Noona agreed.


    "Elena initially talked about feeling a gaze, and when Seungyub escaped, he had a simr experience, though much shorter. And you, too, cursed out the eyes as soon as you came out."


    <em>Eyes. A gaze. Should we avoid its gaze?</em>


    Songee, who seemed to have a simr thought, suggested, "By not looking at it?"


    Seungyub, who had been talking more than usual, quickly disagreed.


    "Although the memory of my escape is fuzzy due to the hotel¡¯s ¡®treatment¡¯, I clearly remember a feeling like, ¡®The whole world is filled with eyes!¡¯ I don¡¯t think just avoiding looking at something will be enough."


    Ahri also chimed in, "Then, maybe we should go in with our eyes closed?"


    That didn¡¯t seem like the answer either.


    <em>What should we do to safely enter the researchb?</em><ol>1. A riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves.</ol>

 Chapter 159: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (8)

    Chapter 159: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (8)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 82


    Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 1


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    We spent a long time brainstorming ideas on how to safely enter the researchb.


    Eunsol-noona suggested going in while invisible using her badge''s power, while Jinchul-hyung proposed running in with his eyes closed. Other ideas included Songee¡¯s belief that her bracelet''s mental protection would work, and Ahri thinking she could endure it, though it would consume a lot of blood.


    There were also some more unconventional suggestions, such as wearing whiteb coats like the researchers or, in an even more extreme case, removing our eyes to prevent us from seeing the source of the madness.


    <em>Despite all these ideas, we eventually reached one conclusion: there''s no way to know if these methods will work until we try them.</em><em>Since we don¡¯t fully understand the source of the madness, there¡¯s little else we can do.</em>


    At this point in the conversation, Eunsol-noona offered apletely different perspective, ¡°Let¡¯s just split the party.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°We talked about this before, remember? Don¡¯t put all your eggs in one basket. It¡¯s basic risk management when doing something extremely dangerous where failure means death. What if we all go into the TV and none of our methods work? That¡¯s instant annihtion.¡±


    <em>She has a point. There¡¯s no need for everyone to risk their lives on a route where failure means certain death.</em>


    ¡°So, some of us will go through the TV¡¯s researchb route, and the rest will follow the original n?¡±


    Songee asked with a nk expression, ¡°We had an original n?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t explicitly stated, but our usual approach is to secure an escape route first. From what I¡¯ve heard, it seems like we enter several rooms inside the Cube, and when we find a room that we can escape from, we stop. Then, We wait in that room until the ¡®Move!¡¯ message appears on some mirrors. Behind that mirror is the escape route, but it¡¯s also where the demon girl lies in wait.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung summarized the n, ¡°Then, we should preserve our strength as much as possible until we reach that location, then we¡¯ll fight the demon. While we¡¯re fighting, one person will escape.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung seemed uneasy by the suggestion.


    ¡°If securing the escape route means fighting the demon, isn¡¯t it risky to split our forces? Shouldn¡¯t we all be there to fight?¡±


    Eunsol-noona responded in a slightly bitter tone, ¡°Well, we can send the lessbative members through the researchb route. Honestly, what help will I be in front of that demon girl? The butterfly might not even work. It¡¯s a weapon with clear weaknesses.¡±


    Songee was curious.


    ¡°The butterfly has a weakness? I was impressed when I saw it take down the gori in one hit.¡±


    Noona smirked, opened her brooch, and summoned the butterfly.


    ¡°Fwoosh!¡±


    She blew on it, and the butterfly struggled as if caught in a storm.


    ¡°See? It is still an insect at the end of the day. It couldn¡¯t even get close if it got swayed by a breeze. The only reason it worked on the gori was that, strangely enough, it was acting strange and reached out to it slowly.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung agreed.


    ¡°I¡¯m with her. If that demon can treat bullets like BB pellets, there¡¯s no point in me trying either.¡±


    Jinchul, with his Star, Ahri with her Ancient Blood, Songee with her bracelet, and Elena with her Justice all seemed capable of facing off against the demon.


    Seungyub might not be able to fight, but he¡¯d be perfect for securing the escape route while the others kept the demon upied.


    We divided our group into two: the "Research Lab Party" (Eunsol and Mooksung) who would enter the TV, and the "Escape Party" (Ahri, Seungyub, Elena, Songee, and Jinchul) who would proceed through the Cube and secure the escape route while confronting the demon girl.


    I felt like the researchb party was too weak, and I regretted not having someone like Songee or Ahri, who could probably resist the madness. But it couldn¡¯t be helped. Everyone prioritized securing the escape route because it was a matter of life and death, and I understood their decision.


    We concluded our discussion on how to proceed with the second attempt.


    ¡°Does anyone have anything else to add?¡±


    <em>¡­Actually, I do.</em>


    Listening to how myrades conducted their first attempt, I felt like there were several points where things seemed off. I didn¡¯t say anything yesterday because I was sidelined by the Hotel¡¯s seal and didn¡¯t want to criticize those who fought hard while I did nothing.


    But this was a matter of life and death, so I decided it was necessary to speak up.


    However, I also had to be mindful of Ahri¡¯s earlier advice.


    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say. But first¡­ Seungyub?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but could you step outside for a moment? I¡¯m going to talk about your Blessing.¡±


    <em>When discussing Fortune, it¡¯s better if Seungyub doesn¡¯t hear it.</em>


    He understood that too, so he left without a word.


    Everyone¡¯s curious eyes turned to me.


    ¡°I noticed something that may have gone unnoticed. Since I wasn¡¯t involved and only listened to your reports, I managed to see an issue.¡±


    Eunsol-noona seemed intrigued.


    ¡°I like this feeling. Sometimes, it takes a step back to see the problem as a whole.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Don¡¯t you think everyone relied too much on ¡®Fortune¡¯? For instance, we¡¯ve identified ¡®Mimic Rooms¡¯, ¡®Trap Rooms¡¯, and, ¡®Escape Rooms¡¯ right? How do we differentiate between them? There must be a way.¡±


    ¡°Sure, there must be. Otherwise, Elizabeth wouldn¡¯t have led us into a trap room.¡±


    ¡°But it seems like instead of trying to figure out how to tell them apart, you just had Seungyub choose randomly. Isn¡¯t that why you fell into Elizabeth¡¯s trap so easily?¡±


    Jinchul-hyung responded defensively, ¡°Well, once you wait a bit in a room, the ¡®Move!¡¯ message appears, and it rushes you. We didn¡¯t have time to figure things out.¡±


    ¡°I did try to look around. But I couldn¡¯t spot any differences. But you¡¯re right, there must be a way to tell them apart. Otherwise, Elizabeth wouldn¡¯t have been able to fool us,¡± Ahri added.


    I offered a more assertive opinion, ¡°There are other things that don¡¯t add up. For instance, is it a fact that escape rooms and non-escape rooms are distinctly separate? Didn¡¯t you say the word ¡®Move!¡¯ appeared even in the first room? Maybe if you had broken the mirror in that room, there could have been an escape route behind it. Yet, you all just assumed that only certain rooms could have escape routes¡ª¡±


    ¡°Because Seungyub copsed after the sixth or seventh room.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Seungyub copsed, and even that copse was interpreted as part of Fortune¡¯s choice, and then Ahri found the escape route in the mirror. But isn¡¯t that interpretation too convenient? There might have been an escape route behind the mirror in the very first room.¡±


    They all paused to think.


    I continued, ¡°The interpretation of Fortune is too retrospective. If even the copse was part of Fortune¡¯s choice, then wouldn¡¯t you also say it was a choice when Seungyub didn¡¯t pick a room before Elizabeth did? But no one thinks of that as Fortune¡¯s choice.¡±


    Ahri responded after some thought, ¡°I see what you¡¯re saying. You mean that only sessful oues are attributed to Fortune¡¯s choice, while failures are seen as unrted?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. By attributing all good oues to Fortune¡¯s design, you start to see it as an omnipotent ability, which leads to an overreliance on it.¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯ve got something to say too. We only realized after escaping that there was a researchb behind the TV, thanks to Elena¡¯s memories. If Fortune is as close to omnipotent as we think, shouldn¡¯t Seungyub have taken some action that hinted at the researchb when choosing where to go next?¡±


    Songee replied, looking pained, ¡°But Seungyub did avoid the trap room with the absurd gori. That was Fortune¡¯s doing, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, that part is undoubtedly Fortune¡¯s contribution. I¡¯m not saying Fortune is useless.¡±


    ¡°Can you simplify it a bit?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is this: rolling a die normally gives you a 1/6 chance of rolling a six, right? But when Seungyub rolls it, he¡¯ll roll a 6 seven out of ten times. That¡¯s clearly supernatural, and an incredible ability. But it¡¯s not 100%, right? Three times, it wasn¡¯t a six.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying Fortune fails often enough that we shouldn¡¯t trust itpletely?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Ahri sighed deeply and summarized, ¡°This was something I thought about in the Cube as well. Interpreting Fortune is really tiring. Depending on your perspective, it can seem like an incredibly powerful reality-altering ability, or, to a skeptic like you, it might seem like a faulty machine that breaks down frequently.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°On a different note, I get why Fortune wasn¡¯t given to you, Kain. It¡¯s a power that really doesn¡¯t suit an analytical person. Don¡¯t share this analysis with Seungyub. This kind of skepticism is harmful to him.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m like radiation?¡±


    Unlike Ahri, who seemed unsure, Eunsol-noona agreed with me.


    ¡°Kain¡¯s got a point. During the second attempt, let¡¯s not rely solely on Seungyub¡¯s choices to pick the next room. Let¡¯s also try to figure out how to distinguish the rooms. I think if we interrogate Elizabeth properly, we¡¯ll find something. At the very least, she seemed to know how to differentiate the rooms.¡±


    Eunsol-noona summed up the long discussion about Fortune simply: <strong>¡®Let¡¯s properly beat down Elizabeth.¡¯</strong>


    Noona was clearly deeply affected by her encounter with the gori, and her anger towards Elizabeth, who led them into that room, was strong.


    After the morning meeting, Eunsol-noona organized the n on a whiteboard:


    1. After entering the cube, interrogate Elizabeth for information.


    2. Proceed until reaching the TV room. The researchb party will enter the TV and explore the researchb.


    3. The escape party will proceed until reaching the escape room. Seungyub will escape, and the rest will fight the demon girl.


    ¡°Anything else to say?¡±


    I carefully thought about what to ask with myst Sage¡¯s Advice.


    <em>How to distinguish a trap room in the Cube?</em>


    <em>A tip for unsealing myself?</em>


    There were so many things I wanted to ask to the point of it being hard to choose.


    While I was indecisive, myrades¡¯ concerns were clear.


    ¡°Kain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elena?¡±


    ¡°You still have one Advice left, right? Ask for tips on how to deal with the demon.¡±


    Everyone nodded and looked at me.


    It struck me that those who had firsthand experience were indeed different from someone like me, who had only heard about it.


    Since yesterday, I could sense the fear and wariness myrades felt towards the gori and the demon girl.


    I had been vaguely reassured that since the demon was humanoid, Elena¡¯s Justice would take care of it without any issues¡­


    <em>But they¡¯re worried even Justice might not be enough?</em>


    ¡°All right.¡±


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 1 ¡ú 0


    <em>Please give us advice on how to deal with the demon girl behind the mirror.</em>


    Seeing the finger, but not the moon.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It gave the same advice as earlier, ¡®Seeing the finger, but not the moon.¡¯¡±


    ¡°So¡­ Don¡¯t look only at one part but look at the whole?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    After discussing the final advice, we set off for Room 201 once again.


    Seeing everyone tense made me nervous too.


    <em>Will they be okay?</em>


    <em>This is the first time I¡¯ve just been on the sidelines.</em>


    Strangely, I felt like a parent sending their child off to a college entrance exam.


    As I anxiously watched them set out, the second attempt began.

 Chapter 160: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (9)

    Chapter 160: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (9)<strong>- Second Attempt, Kim Ahri</strong>


    "Team Leader Elizabeth, we¡¯ve arrived at Hestbert Mansion."


    "Hmm. Are you telling me that this ce has already imed three-digit casualties?"


    "At the current rate, it''ll reach four digits by next year."


    "That''s why we''re here¡ªto prevent that. Let''s head in."


    <em>- Clunk!</em>


    "What was that sound?"


    "Team Leader Elizabeth! The door is locked!"


    "What are you talking about? Contact headquarters!"


    "What is this? The signal¡¯s gone!"<em>- Bzzzzz!</em>


    After entering the Hestbert Mansion, a buzzing noise echoed in my head, bringing back my consciousness.


    Unlike the first attempt, myrades weren¡¯t iling about.


    Instead, the Chat Window immediately flickered.


    Lee Eunsol: Capturing the first mansion.


    While Eunsol captured images of the first mansion with her eyes for future "spot the difference"parisons, I stalled for time, distracting Elizabeth by feigning confusion about the sudden loss ofmunication.


    As expected, it didn¡¯t take long for things to start happening.


    "Ahhh!"


    "Oliver? What¡¯s going on?"


    "L-look at this!"


    Just as anticipated.


    Clear, blood-red letters appeared on therge mirror hanging on the wall.


    Go down.


    Kain had suggested smashing the mirror with the writing in the first mansion, wondering if there might be an escape route behind it.


    It was worth a try.


    We were already prepared to fight the demon girl if necessary, and our strength was at its peak.


    Kim Ahri: Seungyub, get ready by the mirror. Prepare to escape.


    Park Seungyub: Yes.


    Keeping an eye on Elizabeth, I aimed my gun at the mirror.


    Elizabeth showed no reaction.


    In fact, she seemed to be wondering why I hadn¡¯t fired yet.


    Recalling the response protocol of Administration Agents, it was a perfectly normal response to shoot and throw a grenade at anything that seemed suspicious.


    The Administration Agents weren¡¯t horror movie protagonists who explore strange ces unarmed. Guns and bombs worked on over 90% of the Being of Chaos that existed on Earth.


    <em>- Bang! Crash!</em>


    With a loud noise, the mirror shattered.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    There was nothing behind the mirror but an ordinary wall.


    Kain¡¯s prediction was wrong.


    We couldn¡¯t escape from the first mansion.


    Only certain mansions housed an escape route.


    Since there was only one exit from the first mansion, we didn¡¯t need to decide where to go.


    We headed to the basement of the mansion.


    ***We entered the second mansion.


    <em>As long as nothing changes, the monster in this mansion should be hiding in the carpet.</em>


    Lee Eunsol: The carpet in the living room has changed. The monster is in the carpet.


    Just like before, the monster in the second mansion was in the carpet.


    <em>Now, things are really getting started.</em>


    Mooksung and Jinchul subtly moved behind Elizabeth.


    It wasn¡¯t the right time yet.


    There were still a few things we needed to confirm first.


    Elizabeth spoke up, "Go check out the living room."


    We followed her instructions and moved toward the living room, but we avoided the carpet as much as possible, carefully surveying our surroundings.


    After a brief moment, Elizabeth, clearly irritated by our hesitance, spoke again, "Stop chatting and search more thoroughly."


    "Yes, Team Leader. Sorry."


    "Check the floor too."


    She was clearly referring to the carpet.


    That was enough to confirm two things.


    First, Elizabeth knew the monster¡¯s location.


    Second, she intended to eliminate Oliver along with us.


    Immediately, Jinchul "identally" shoved Elizabeth toward the carpet.


    Elizabeth was nearly paralyzed with fear, scrambling to get up while pulling out her gun!


    But it was toote.


    <strong>[Didn¡¯t I tell you, Dearie? Don¡¯t walk on the carpet with your shoes on!]</strong>


    The monster leaped out from the carpet, grabbing Elizabeth by the legs¡ª


    "Shut up."


    Before it could do anything, Jinchul grabbed the monster by the neck and simply yanked it out by force.


    The monster¡¯s grotesque appearance was revealed after being dragged out of the carpet.


    The upper body mimicked that of an old woman, but the lower body was just a mass of writhing flesh.


    Jinchul, as if it were nothing, pried the monster¡¯s mouth open and summoned the Star, shoving it inside.


    Within seconds, the monster transformed into a bizarre mix of dirt, metal, and flesh.


    "Hey, Team Leader, you should be more careful."


    "Cha Jinchul! That should be my line! How could you suddenly push me¡ª"


    "If It weren¡¯t for me, you would¡¯ve been dragged under the carpet and killed by that monster. Shouldn¡¯t you show me some gratitude?"


    "...I do appreciate that. But you should still be more careful with your actions."


    "I n to. Now, let¡¯s deal with the most dangerous person here."


    "What do you¡ª"


    <em>- Clunk!</em>


    Jinchul immediately grabbed Elizabeth with both hands.


    Mooksung rushed over, stripped her of her helmet and bulletproof vest, and Eunsol tied her to a chair with the sturdy rope we had prepared.


    Of course, one person didn¡¯t just stand idly by during all this.


    "What are you all doing? What¡¯s going on?"


    Oliver, who rushed at us in shock, was subdued by Songee with just a few hand movements.


    In this second attempt, we sessfully subdued both NPCs.


    Once the situation was under control, Songee approached.


    "Ahri, what should we do with Oliver?"


    "Hmm? He doesn¡¯t seem to be on Elizabeth¡¯s side. She wanted to feed him to the monsters just like us. But I¡¯m not sure if we can trust him."


    The others gathered around the restrained Elizabeth, murmuring among themselves.


    Before entering the Cube, everyone seemed eager to torture Elizabeth, but such tasks were easier said than done.


    Besides, brute force wasn¡¯t even necessary.


    "Hold her tight. I¡¯ll need to maintain eye contact for a while."


    "I¡¯ve got her."


    While Elizabeth was held in ce to prevent her from closing her eyes, I stared into them for about three minutes, casting the strongest suggestion I could.


    "Alright~! Now you¡¯re ready to answer sincerely, aren¡¯t you?"


    "¡­"


    "First question. What¡¯s the safe way to get to the researchb?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "The room with the TV, the space beyond the screen. How do you get there safely?"


    "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."


    I briefly nced at Elena to confirm.


    Elena signaled an O, indicating that Elizabeth was telling the truth.


    Elizabeth wasn¡¯t resisting my suggestion and lying.


    "Let me rephrase the question. One of myrades is trapped somewhere. The area is all white, with people in white, researcher coats walking around. Do you know this ce?"


    "Are you talking about headquarters?"


    "Alright. Let¡¯s use your term, ¡®headquarters¡¯. That space beyond the TV, that¡¯s headquarters, right?"


    "Yes."


    "How do you get there safely?"


    "I don¡¯t understand what you mean. There¡¯s no danger to speak of."


    Her response implied that there was no danger, leaving her puzzled as to what I was even asking.


    Even she seemed frustrated with the way the conversation was going.


    Songee, also frustrated, bluntly suggested, "Why not just tell her to spill everything she knows about the Cube?"


    Mooksung, understanding the nature of the suggestion, intervened.


    "If you ask that, she¡¯ll just give a bunch of vague answers. You need to ask specific questions."


    "Just stay quiet, everyone. Elizabeth, exin how to get to headquarters through the TV."


    "You put on earplugs, turn on the TV, and walk straight ahead with your eyes closed for about 200 meters. You¡¯ll arrive at Containment Unit 13-4 within headquarters."


    <em>¡­That response seems a bit odd.</em>


    The others were surprisingly happy with the simple solution.


    Jinchul spoke first, "So, all we had to do was close our eyes and ears?"


    Songee chuckled in disbelief.


    "So simple? Wow~! I thought we¡¯d need some super creative solution."


    Elena seemed skeptical.


    "But¡­ is it really that easy? Can we really just close our eyes and be safe?"


    Seungyub, however, was thrilled.


    "Earplugs! Isn¡¯t that simr to what I suggested? Whether it¡¯s muting or using earplugs, it all works the same way! It¡¯s all about not hearing the TV sound."


    Mooksung sighed and acknowledged him.


    "Yeah. Good job, good job. But it¡¯s still strange¡­ There¡¯s no way such a being can be stopped just by closing your eyes."


    Elena seemed confused.


    "I agree with you, but Elizabeth¡¯s words hold no lies."


    <em>Something¡¯s off.</em>


    There was something crucial hidden in Elizabeth¡¯s response that even she wasn¡¯t aware of.


    However, we didn¡¯t have the luxury to ponder this.


    "Noona! Ask about the demon girl! Find out what she is."


    "I¡¯ll ask, so quiet down. Elizabeth, when passing through the mansions, you eventuallye across a mirror that leads outside, right?"


    "Yes."


    "And behind that mirror is a very powerful being, correct?"


    "Are you referring to Lady Beatrix?"


    "Beatrix? What is she?"


    "¡­"


    "What kind of being is she?"


    <strong>[You¡¯ve got some skill, huh? A powerful hypnotist, perhaps?]</strong>


    Suddenly, the suggestion broke!


    With no warning, the suggestion was broken before I could react, and Elizabeth¡¯s entire body became translucent, contorting in a bizarre manner.


    <em>- Creak!</em>


    Her skin rippled disgustingly as if it were piano keys, and then Elizabeth suddenly disyed immense strength, tearing through the ropes and breaking free from our hold.


    Jinchul immediately rushed to restrain her.


    The next moment, Elizabeth¡¯s tongue, as thick as a person¡¯s forearm, shot out like a frog¡¯s andshed towards the wall where a clock was hung.


    "What¡¯s happening? Why is she suddenly attacking the wall instead of us¡ª"


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    The wall her tongue struck copsed, revealing a hidden button no one had noticed.


    Everyone¡¯s faces paled upon the sight of it.


    She had been up to something! At that moment, I gave up on interrogating Elizabeth any further.


    "Cha Jinchul! Kill her!"


    Jinchul immediately snapped Elizabeth¡¯s neck with both hands and then, feeling it wasn¡¯t enough, he briefly summoned the Star to turn her already monstrous body into solid stone.


    <em>- Rumble! Crash!</em>


    The entire mansion began to shake.


    <em>Something terrible is about to happen.</em>


    "This way, everyone!"


    We all dashed toward the back door, following Seungyub¡¯s urgent call.


    <em>Ah, in the end, we¡¯re following Seungyub¡¯s lead again.</em>


    <em>There¡¯s no other choice now.</em>


    <em>Let¡¯s just hope this isn¡¯t a trap room.</em>


    Just before the back door closed, I caught a glimpse of something monstrous crashing through the wall.


    I had no desire to confirm what it was so I shut the door and ran to the next mansion.


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    "Huff, huff, huff. Is everyone okay?"


    Everyone was panting heavily, but they seemed mostly fine.


    <em>Ugh! What a shame.</em>


    <em>I had so many more questions to ask!</em>


    <em>It¡¯s hard to understand. We knew she had the ability to be invisible, but the power to transform into a monster?</em>


    <em>She didn¡¯t use such a power when she fought us in the first attempt.</em>


    <em>And on top of all that, she broke the suggestion!</em>


    <em>What¡¯s going on?</em>


    Meanwhile, Oliver, who had been released from Songee¡¯s control, was also panting nearby.


    Naturally, everyone¡¯s attention turned to Oliver.


    "W-what? I¡¯m not a spy."


    Elena nodded, and after confirming, Mooksung responded calmly, "We don¡¯t think so either. Elizabeth tried to get rid of you too."


    "I didn¡¯t realize before. I never imagined Elizabeth could be a spy? A traitor? How did you even know? And what¡¯s all this talk about TV and headquarters?"


    It was a tricky question to answer.


    Since we held the advantage here, Mooksung just brushed his question off.


    "Do I really need to give a detailed exnation in a ce like this? I¡¯ll exin when we get out. Do you have anything to say?"


    Oliver, trembling in fear, finally replied, "If I had to say something¡­ the only word I understood in your conversation with Elizabeth was ¡®Beatrix¡¯."


    ¡°¡±...!!!¡±¡±


    <em>He understood the most important word?</em>


    I rushed over to him.


    "What do you know? Tell us everything about Beatrix, don¡¯t leave anything out."


    Jinchul smiled warmly, cing his hand on Oliver¡¯s shoulder.


    The hand that had torn apart the granny monster still had chunks of flesh stuck to it.


    "It would be in your best interest not to do anything foolish. I¡¯m saying this for your own good."


    Oliver, trembling all over, began to speak pitifully, "Beatrix, officially known as Chaotic Entity 1283, ¡®Ominous Imagination¡¯, was the greatest achievement of the Arizona branch under the leadership of Chief Researcher Han Kain. There were even talks that if the Administration could fully harness that power, it could be the ultimate weapon to protect the world. That¡¯s why Beatrix¡¯s rampage and the disappearance of Chief Researcher Han Kain were such tragic events¡­"

 Chapter 161: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (10)

    Chapter 161: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (10)<strong>- Second Attempt, Kim Ahri</strong>


    As soon as we heard the name ¡°Chief Researcher Han Kain¡±, everyone momentarily froze.


    <em>So, even though he¡¯s sealed, he still has a role in the scenario?</em>


    Oliver continued his exnation, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve only heard bits and pieces about the Arizona team in passing, so I don¡¯t know the details.¡±


    ¡°Just exin it already.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Beatrix was discovered near North Carolina in the 1990s. She already had her peculiar abilities at the time of discovery.¡±


    ¡°What abilities?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ssified, so I¡¯m unsure of the specifics, but I heard she can create monsters. However, I was told that her abilities were wed back then, so the Administration initially nned to eliminate her rather than use her.¡±


    ¡°wed?¡±


    ¡°I heard she couldn¡¯t control the monsters she created.¡±<em>I understood. If she could only create monsters without controlling them, then she¡¯d be no different from a natural disaster.</em>


    <em>Forget being used as a weapon, such power would be a top priority for elimination.</em>


    Mooksung asked with interest, ¡°So they managed to fix that w?¡±


    ¡°That part was said to be the achievement of Chief Researcher Han Kain. He apparently found a way to allow Beatrix to control the monsters she created. However¡­ judging by how things have turned out, it seems some serious issues persisted.


    ¡°So they seeded in making Beatrix able to control the monsters, but they couldn¡¯t control Beatrix herself.¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡±


    Songee, deep in thought, asked, ¡°Is Beatrix¡¯s only power the ability to create monsters? She doesn¡¯t have superhuman strength to rip off a person¡¯s head with her bare hands or durability that treats bullets as if they were BB pellets, right?¡±


    ¡°Huh? As far as I know, Beatrix is just a normal human girl aside from her power to create monsters.¡±


    ¡°¡°¡­?¡±¡±


    <em>That¡¯s strange.</em>


    <em>The Beatrix we fought was such an overwhelmingly powerful entity that it made us question if monster creation was just a secondary ability.</em>


    <em>She tore off my head with her bare hands, and her physical strength, which treated a hail of rifle bullets like a refreshing shower, made us shudder.</em>


    Eunsol shrugged it off as if it was nothing.


    ¡°Maybe her powers were enhanced. Our Chief Researcher Han Kain seems to have worked hard.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! Kain-oppa, what did you do? Making the enemy stronger!¡±


    As they exchanged jokes, Seungyub asked seriously, ¡°Did Kain-hyung make Beatrix stronger before entering the Hotel?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but sigh as I smacked Seungyub on the back of the head.


    ¡°Just be quiet for a moment, will you? Oliver, do you know anything else?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s all I know.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move on. We need to get to the TV room. And let¡¯s figure out the room¡¯s rules while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    We all stood up to start examining the room.


    Exactly five secondster, disaster struck.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    Before we could stop him, Oliver, thirsty after talking so much, opened the refrigerator.


    The living refrigerator decided to store Oliver instead of food.


    We quickly destroyed the refrigerator, but in those few moments, Oliver had already turned into a well-aged frozen sausage.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Songee sighed in disappointment.


    ¡°Even if he was an NPC, I hoped he wouldn¡¯t die since he gave us so much information¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a bit careless, isn¡¯t he? We hadn¡¯t even found this room¡¯s monster yet.¡±


    ¡°¡­He was the first to die in the first attempt too, wasn¡¯t he? Back then, we thought Elizabeth had trapped him.¡±


    Mooksung sighed and concluded, ¡°It seems he wasn¡¯t destined to live long, one way or another.¡±


    Eunsol shook her head.


    ¡°He chose the wrong career. Working for the Administration isn¡¯t for people who make a lot of careless mistakes. Anyway, we¡¯re busy. Let¡¯s quickly figure out the room¡¯s rules. Kain¡¯s right; relying solely on Seungyub¡¯s guesses is risky.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve mentioned this before, but how about we just destroy the mansion with the Star?¡±


    ¡°We agreed to fight Beatrix properly this time. If you destroy the mansion with the Star, it¡¯ll take quite a while, and there¡¯s no need to wear yourself out before the main fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess we need to think of another method.¡±


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    It took about 10 minutes of thoroughly searching the mansion before we realized something.


    We had no idea.


    At least, it seemed impossible to figure out where the front door, back door, or basement door led just by searching the inside of the mansion.


    From experience, I suspected we¡¯d soon get a signal to move.


    I was curious about what would happen if we ignored it, but¡­


    Suddenly, Eunsol, who had been sitting next to me, spoke up, ¡°Maybe we can figure it out by analyzing the rtionship between the entrance and exit doors?¡±


    The entrance and exit doors.


    I hadn¡¯t thought of that.


    Eunsol and I began writing down our memories from the first attempt, carefully going over them.


    In the first mansion, we followed the ¡°Go down¡± instruction and went to the basement.


    Next, we entered the second mansion through the front door.


    In the second mansion, the monster was hiding in the carpet. Elizabeth tried to lead us to the back door, but Seungyub chose to go back through the front door of the second mansion.


    Next, we entered the third mansion through the back door.


    The third mansion was the TV room.


    After Elena¡¯s suicide in the TV room, Seungyub chose to go back through the back door of the third mansion.


    Next, we entered the fourth mansion through the front door.


    That was where the trees were strange.


    At that point, Seungyubpletely lost his confidence.


    Elizabeth led us through the back door of the fourth mansion, where we encountered the gori.


    ¡°¡±¡­!!!¡±¡±


    <em>We¡¯ve discovered two rules!</em>


    At the very least, we figured out how to distinguish between rooms with weaker monsters and rooms with top-tier monsters like the gori¡ª


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    <em>What was that?</em>


    ¡°Hahaha! I knew this was the way! Everyone,e here!¡±


    ¡°Wow! I¡¯m starting to like you, Boar!¡±


    Startled, Eunsol and I ran toward the source of the noise.


    Jinchul had stripped Seungyub of the Protective Suit and was wildly swinging it around, demolishing the mansion¡¯s walls.


    I doubt the Hotel, which provided us with the Protective Suit, expected Cha Jinchul to use it as an ¡°indestructible hammer¡±.


    Beyond the copsed wall, there was an opaque barrier, and through it, we could vaguely see the situation in another room connected by a passage through that wall.


    ¡°Ha! Didn¡¯t Gramps suggest this idea first? Is this the kind of intuition you develop after working for the Administration for so long?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Jinchul and Mooksung were almost embarrassingly praising each other, marveling at their brilliant judgment.


    Eunsol, looking defeated, folded the paper she had been writing on so diligently into an airne and sent it flying.


    ***<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    <em>- Crash! Rumble!</em>


    ¡°Not this one. What¡¯s that? Noona, what is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­It looks like a massive snake. Maybe a friend of the gori?¡±


    <em>- Rumble!</em>


    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s this way. Everyone, over here!¡±


    <em>This is rxing.</em>


    I recalled the memory of Ahri and me analyzing the Cube¡¯s rules and racking our brains earlier.


    We discovered a few rules by considering the positions of the entrance and exit doors and the choices Seungyub and Elizabeth made.


    Now that I think about it, it was a waste of time.


    Just smashing through the walls and seeing the next room directly was much easier and more reliable.


    <em>Well, not that it¡¯s easy for me. It¡¯s easy for Jinchul.</em>


    I remember watching the movie Cube<sup>1</sup> as a kid.


    I vaguely remember the characters engaging in intense debates and researching room rules rted to thew of primes <sup>2</sup>.


    In hindsight, the problem was that they were all too weak.


    <em>If they could¡¯ve just punched through the walls and escaped, they wouldn¡¯t have died. What a shame.</em>


    After moving through four mansions like this, we finally arrived at the TV room.


    ¡°Wait! We¡¯ve arrived. Jinchul, hold off on smashing walls for a moment ande here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You might not know since you¡¯ve been blindly smashing walls without checking.¡±


    The TV would flick on as soon as we got close. There was no need to approach it deliberately.


    Soon, Grandpa¡¯s gloves flew over to the TV and grabbed the remote control.


    When we all moved closer to the TV, it turned on as if it had been waiting for us.


    P-


    As soon as the ¡°P¡± sound came out, Grandpa used his glove to press the mute button.


    The disy began to flicker.


    It was time to split the party.


    ¡°Grandpa and I will head into the TV as nned.¡±


    ¡°Unni! Good luck!¡±


    <em>That¡¯s kind of cute.</em>


    I patted Songee¡¯s head, then started to move toward the screen with Grandpa¡ª


    ¡°Wait, wait a minute.¡±


    Ahri stopped me.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking. The answer Elizabeth gave earlier has been bothering me.¡±


    <em>Elizabeth¡¯s answer?</em>


    Didn¡¯t she say to close your eyes and walk straight through the screen for quite a while?


    I wasn¡¯t sure what she found strange.


    But Ahri had a keen intuition.


    Everyone waited for Ahri to speak.


    After a moment, Ahri suddenly pulled out a syringe and started drawing blood.


    ¡°Ahri?¡±


    Instead of answering, Ahri handed the syringe filled with blood to Grandpa and me.


    Just as I was about to ask why, Grandpa grabbed my arm.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯re better off not knowing, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve got a hunch. But it¡¯s better if you two don¡¯t know.¡±


    <em>What can I do when she puts it that way?</em>


    I had no choice but to hope for an exnationter as I shared Ahri¡¯s blood with Grandpa.


    The famous elixir Kain was rumored to regrly drink, Ahri¡¯s blood, tasted metallic and bitter.


    ***<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    Right before our eyes, Eunsol and Mooksung disappeared into the TV screen.


    The two people who were supposed to be the ¡°adults¡± in our group were gone.


    <em>I should feel confident¡­ but it feels like we just sent kids to the water¡¯s edge, and I can¡¯t shake this uneasy feeling.</em>


    Strangely, Mooksung felt more like a child and seemed more unreliable than Eunsol.


    ¡°Ahriii¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why did you suddenly give those two your blood?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s rted to our conversation with Elizabeth.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned the conversation was strange earlier? But what was strange about it?¡±


    The others seemed curious too.


    I stared at the ceiling, recalling the memory.


    ¡°Early in the conversation, she herself said, ¡®There¡¯s no danger.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Did she?¡±


    ¡°She did. That answer was strange from the start. The fact that there¡¯s danger beyond the TV isn¡¯t just our spection. We confirmed it through Elena, who went in and came back out. But Elizabeth said there was no danger, and that wasn¡¯t a lie.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s odd.¡±


    ¡°The next part is even stranger. After saying, ¡®There¡¯s no danger,¡¯ she exined that to enter the TV, you should ¡®Walk straight ahead with your eyes closed¡¯. That¡¯s more like a safety measure, a precaution. She imed there was no danger, yet she¡¯s giving instructions to avoid danger.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s really weird. It goes beyond just being mistaken; there¡¯s a contradiction between the knowledge she holds.¡±


    ¡°So, I came up with a theory. Maybe ¡®not knowing about the danger¡¯ itself is a way to avoid it.¡±


    ¡°So not knowing there¡¯s danger is what protects you? Is that why you did something with your blood?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a theory. We can ask them after theye out.¡±


    <em>- Bang! Crash!</em>


    While I was talking to Songee, there was the sound of a wall copsing.


    ¡°Cha Jinchul!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°Take it easy from now on.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m managing my stamina just fine.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not about your stamina. We need to start breaking mirrors now. Since we sent people through the TV, we need to find the room where Beatrix is.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right!¡±


    <em>¡°Oh, right!¡± Seriously¡­?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel dumbfounded, realizing he hadpletely forgotten the n.


    <em>Well, I guess if you¡¯re strong enough, you can let your brain rest a bit.</em>


    Afterward, we waited until a mirror in the mansion disyed the message ¡°Move!¡± and then broke the mirrors as we progressed.


    Upon reaching the seventh mansion, a ¡°different message¡± appeared in the mirror.


    Did you find me?


    <em>Ha! So it¡¯s finally starting?</em>


    Show yourself.<ol>1. A movie released in 1997, where the characters are trapped in a huge cube with rooms that are filled with deadly traps.2. Form that gives an approximate value for the number of primes less than or equal to any given positive real number x.</ol>

 Chapter 162: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (11)

    Chapter 162: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (11)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    As I stepped back, a hand shot out like a de, slicing through the ce where my neck had just been.


    <strong>[Oh? You dodge that? Not bad¡ª]</strong>


    Before Beatrix could finish speaking, a sh of light burst from Songee¡¯s wrist.


    <strong>[What the¡ª]</strong>


    As the light covered her, she muttered in confusion while rubbing her eyes. In a moment, she would start creating more eyes everywhere.


    I didn¡¯t intend to give her that chance.


    The narrow mansion was suddenly filled with a blinding radiance.


    In an instant, scales tore through the concrete walls, mming down on Beatrix¡¯s body.Simultaneously, Jinchul and I began shooting at the eyes that Beatrix had started creating everywhere.


    <em>This is our first strategy!</em>


    Songee would distort Beatrix¡¯s senses while Jinchul and I would continuously destroy the eyes with gunfire.


    While Beatrix was iling about, Elena would take on the offensive.


    Even Beatrix¡¯s resilient body, which treated bullets like a refreshing shower, couldn¡¯t withstand the continued strikes of the Scales of Justice, which were powerful enough to shatter buildings.


    Before long, Beatrix¡¯s upper body waspletely crushed.


    Shockingly, even in such a state, her monstrous body continued to regenerate!


    The power of Justice wasn¡¯t enough.


    Jinchul, who had been holding back on using the Star to avoid damaging our allies due to the mansion¡¯s limited space, reluctantly made a gesture to summon it¡ª


    <em>- Boom!</em>


    The entire mansion shook. It wasn¡¯t just a simple tremor¡ªthe whole mansion actually spun 360 degrees!


    <em>What kind of structure does this Cube have to allow this?</em>


    As we were thrown around, struggling to maintain our bnce, Beatrix, with more than half of her upper body missing, casually ¡°flew¡± out the window.


    ¡°She can fly too?¡± Jinchul eximed in disbelief.


    ¡°Durability stronger than concrete, regeneration that would put tworms to shame, the ability to create eyes everywhere, and now she can fly too? Not to mention, she even creates monsters. What can¡¯t she do? Did the Administration really create something like this? Ahri, do creatures like that exist on Earth?¡±


    I had nothing to say, so I kept my mouth shut.


    A brief lull settled in.


    Songee, sounding confused, asked, ¡°Is it over? It didn¡¯t feel like it would end this easily.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Look at Elena.¡±


    Elena¡¯s Justice was still radiating light in every direction.


    <em>It¡¯s not over yet.</em>


    ¡°Seungyub.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    I silently pointed to the mirror, and Seungyub hurriedly ran toward it.


    <em>It feels like round two is about to start soon, right?</em>


    <em>Before that, we need to secure an escape route.</em>


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    As Seungyub tried to exit through the mirror, something grabbed him, and he was flung into the air.


    The mansion¡¯s roof¡ªor rather, its ¡°lid¡±¡ªhad been removed.


    I finally understood the Cube¡¯s true structure.


    ***As Elena blocked the attacking hand with her two scales, I peered outside.


    <em>What a mysterious ce.</em>


    If not for the fight with Beatrix, I would want to endlessly explore this space.


    A strange space covered in dark blue mist, with countless semi-transparent boxes floating everywhere.


    The ground far below resembled a red wastnd.


    The boxes were connected by cables we had called ¡°passageways¡±.


    Most of the boxes were filled with ¡°mansions¡±. Those were likely the Mimic Rooms or Escape Rooms.


    In some boxes, there were no mansions, just enormous, blurry monsters. Those must be the ¡°Trap Rooms¡±.


    This view was nothing like the earlier glimpse we caught when Cha Jinchul used the Protective Suit as an ¡°indestructible hammer¡± to break the wall.


    Seeing the true structure of the Cube with my own eyes was so mesmerizing that I could hardly believe it.


    The lid of the box we were in had been torn away, and from above, Beatrix¡¯sughter echoed. Her shattered body hadpletely regenerated at this point.


    <strong>[Ahaha! Thanks, everyone~! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had such a fun fight.]</strong>


    Even as she spoke, Elena and Beatrix¡¯s battle continued without pause.


    Since Beatrix was airborne, Jinchul and Songee, who couldn¡¯t fly, were at a loss.


    The bracelet¡¯s range couldn¡¯t reach such vast distances and rifles were basically glorified BB guns to her.


    Elena was essentially fighting Beatrix alone.


    A bear the size of a bus blocked the scales that flew with the force of a sonic boom.


    The scales¡¯ power seemed to weaken in the presence of the monsters.


    Though Beatrix was human and the monsters were her tools, the power of Justice didn¡¯t seem to bepletely ineffective towards the monster she created, but¡­


    It didn¡¯t have the same impact as when facing Beatrix directly.


    As a result, Beatrix¡¯sughter never ceased.


    <em>- Crack!</em>


    The outer walls of all the boxes started to open one by one.


    We saw monsters from other rooms walking along the cables, heading towards our box.


    <em>Ha! So, she¡¯s calling all the monsters from the other rooms, now? This isn¡¯t going to be easy.</em>


    Even during this, the scales relentlessly flew towards Beatrix, radiating golden waves. However, we wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid defeat at this rate.


    I didn¡¯t know what had happened to Seungyub after his attempted escape, and with the Cube¡¯s structure distorted, I didn¡¯t know how we would escape.


    ¡°Elena! Can you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Justice is weak against the monsters, so we¡¯re at a disadvantage like this.¡±


    ¡°Ahri¡­¡±


    ¡°The fight itself is something Justice dictates, but you can choose the location or method of the fight, right? Just fly off and fight Beatrix one-on-one. Don¡¯t stay here!¡±


    ¡°If I leave¡ª¡°


    ¡°If you¡¯re staying because you¡¯re worried we¡¯ll all die, don¡¯t be! Nothing will change unless you kill Beatrix!!¡±


    Elena looked at us with a conflicted expression before hardening her resolve and flying toward Beatrix.


    <em>- Boom!</em>


    At that moment, a sharp object came through the broken wall and struck Songee.


    Jinchul, who had knocked the object away with a metal rod he picked up somewhere, said, ¡°What you just said applies to you too, doesn¡¯t it? You can fly, unlike the rest of us. Just go and help Elena.¡±


    ¡°If Elena can¡¯t win on her own, my help wouldn¡¯t make enough of a difference.¡±


    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s better than nothing¡ª¡°


    ¡°You¡¯reing with me. Your Star will definitely work.¡±


    ¡°Can you carry me while flying? Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s hard to fly while holding someone?¡±


    ¡°I can do it for a short time if I don¡¯t n on surviving. So grab onto me and jump! With all your strength!¡±


    Without another word, Jinchul grabbed a piece of rebar sticking out from the copsing mansion with one hand and held onto me with the other.


    Just before we jumped, Songee, lying on the ground, waved her hand as if to say she was fine.


    Instantly, a massive wasp burst through the wall, pouncing on Songee.


    <em>- Bang!</em>


    With the sound of the ground exploding, Jinchul and I soared into the air, nearly 10 meters high!


    ¡°Did you learn how to pole vault?¡±


    ¡°Just keep flying!¡±


    <em>My blood was draining at an rming rate. Yeah, surviving this round doesn¡¯t seem likely for me.</em>


    Jinchul and I flew toward the strange space where Elena and Beatrix shed, seemingly reenacting a battle of biblical proportions between an angel and a demon.


    ***It was the right decision to tell Elena to fly off and fight.


    Most of the monsters couldn¡¯t fly, and in a one-on-one fight, Elena definitely had the upper hand.


    Beatrix was frantically dodging and blocking the scales.


    ¡°Do you see?¡±


    ¡°I see it. Even if we leave her alone, it looks like Elena will win.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t think of this as a short-term fight. Unlike Elena, that thing has incredible regeneration.¡±


    On the other hand, the light surrounding Elena¡¯s body was gradually fading.


    Elena nced back at us.


    The next moment, the scales performed some trick, and Beatrix was mmed into one of the boxes.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    I sent Cha Jinchul toward the box where Beatrix was trapped.


    Propelled by inertia, Jinchul flew further and fell towards the box.


    <em>That should do it, right?</em>


    <em>Haa, I¡¯m exhausted. From the start, my flying ability¡¯s efficiency was garbage¡­</em>


    <em>Jinchul, ask your Patron to give you wings next time.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ve lost too much blood. Even floating is hard now.</em>


    As the tension left me, I plummeted to the ground.


    The red wastnd-like ground that had seemed so far away drew closer.


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>¡­???</em>


    <em>What is this?</em>


    The ground wasn¡¯t a wastnd, nor was dirt.


    It was a vast space filled with an endless mountain of bizarre corpses stretching to the horizon.


    The very manifestation of hell, the end of the world.


    This was thest memory I had.


    ***<strong>-Elena</strong>


    <em>Isn¡¯t this thing absurdly durable?</em>


    <em>This creature isn¡¯t made of flesh like a normal living being; it¡¯s an utterly unreasonable entity with durability surpassing concrete buildings, maybe even more.</em>


    <em>And on top of that, it keeps regenerating endlessly, like mold growing in a nutrient-rich petri dish!</em>


    The destructive power of the scales alone couldn¡¯t put an end to it.


    Even when the power of justice was more than 90% depleted, Beatrix still held out.


    Thankfully, her offensive capabilities didn¡¯t seem as strong as its durability and regeneration.


    Maybe she thought that with her tough body, she could just keep her distance and have the monsters she created attack.


    But in the end, aerialbat was Beatrix¡¯s downfall!


    I could fly, and Ahri flew over with Jinchul, but most of Beatrix¡¯s powerful weapons, the monsters, couldn¡¯t.


    Just as I was about to lose, Ahri brought Jinchul over.


    Using the rest of my remaining power, I bound Beatrix!


    Jinchul summoned the Star and shoved it into Beatrix¡¯s mouth.


    Sure enough, the body of Beatrix, which even the power of Justice struggled to kill, quickly deformed, losing its durability and regenerative ability.


    All that was left were grotesquely twisted lumps of flesh!


    By then, the scales had lost their light and disappeared, but Jinchul simply smashed the flesh to pieces with his fists.


    The faces of those left lit up with victorious smiles.


    <em>Is it my or Jinchul¡¯s turn to gain an Inheritance this time?</em>


    ¡°Haha! Isn¡¯t thebination of Elena and I unstoppable?¡±


    ¡°Good job!¡±


    ¡°Well done. We¡¯ve just secured another Inheritance¡ª¡°


    Jinchul¡¯s expression suddenly hardened.


    <em>- Swish!</em>


    When I came to my senses, Jinchul had already grabbed me and rolled across the floor.


    <strong>[You managed to dodge that? Well, you guys are really strong~! I¡¯ve never met people this strong before. Who are you?]</strong>


    Beatrix¡¯s body began to ¡°recreate¡± itself in mid-air.


    First, only an arm appeared, targeting my vital points. Then the torso, then the legs, and finally the head appeared.


    <em>Ah¡­ I finally understand.</em>


    <em>The bewildering variety of Beatrix¡¯s abilities.</em>


    <em>She doesn¡¯t possess many superpowers.</em>


    <em>All her abilities stemmed from just one power.</em>


    <em>She used her power of creating monsters to ¡°create¡± a monster called Beatrix.</em>


    I copsed to the ground, drained of all strength.


    I saw Jinchul summoning the Star again and charging forward.


    With the power of the Star, it wouldn¡¯t take more than five seconds to destroy Beatrix.


    But five seconds was enough time for Beatrix to tear Jinchul¡¯s head off ten times.


    Jinchul¡¯s head rolled beside me.


    <em>¡­Is it really over? Is this really it?</em>


    An indescribable despair set in.


    A sharp object pierced my stomach.


    Just before losing consciousness, I saw Beatrix¡¯s expression stiffen.


    <strong>[What? What did you do to the headquarters?]</strong>


    <em>Sorry, but you should have asked that before you put a hole in my stomach.</em>


    With a tiny, tiny bit of hope, I lost consciousness.

 Chapter 163: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (12)

    Chapter 163: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (12)<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    ¡°What is your purpose in infiltrating this ce?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°How did you obtain information rted to headquarters?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Ah, we¡¯re screwed.</em>


    ¡°It would be more convenient for both of us if you cooperate while we¡¯re still treating you politely.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll stop here for now. The proper interrogation will begin once the Artanin arrives. We n to start with the person over there. By the way¡­ your ¡®eye¡¯ is quite extraordinary.¡±


    <em>It seems they¡¯re treating me somewhat gently because of my ¡°eye¡±.</em>I could already hear Grandpa Mooksung being beaten up across from me.


    <em>How did we end up in this situation?</em>


    I sighed and retraced my memories.


    ***After parting ways with the others, Grandpa and I entered the TV.


    Under Ahri¡¯s suggestion, we believed the area was safe at the time, and walked straight ahead with our eyes closed for a long while.


    With a sudden <em>thud</em>, we bumped into something.


    When we opened our eyes and looked around, we immediately realized something.


    <em>We¡¯re screwed.</em>


    Armed soldiers surrounded us on all sides.


    They were all aiming their guns at us. There wasn¡¯t a way to resist.


    We were swiftly overpowered and dragged away for interrogation.


    At least, the Chat Window worked without any issues, so we could n.


    Lee Eunsol: OK?


    Kim Mooksung: Damn bastards. OK.


    The people of ¡°headquarters¡±, seemed to have a lot of questions for us.


    In hindsight, it was understandable from their perspective.


    Now that Ahri¡¯s hypnosis had worn off, I realized that beyond the TV was an iprehensible source of madness.


    <em>The key to avoiding madness is to simply be unaware of the existence of such an iprehensible monster!</em>


    However, this solution, while simple, was extremely difficult to implement.


    The monster wasn¡¯t exactly invisible, so the moment one saw it, they¡¯d realized its existence.


    Therefore, they¡¯d have to avoid looking at it, but as soon as they did, any person with normal intelligence would immediately feel a sense of unease.


    <strong>There¡¯s something dangerous here that mustn¡¯t be seen.</strong>


    Even that slight level of awareness could make it impossible to avoid the madness.


    In fact, without a special method like Ahri¡¯s Ancient Blood hypnosis, it was nearly impossible to defend against.


    We managed to perfectly execute this difficult method of entry.


    Naturally, the people at headquarters were curious about how we knew this!


    Then, ¡°Patrick¡±, a bigshot from headquarters, appeared.


    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed your identity. You¡¯re Ms. Eunsol, right?¡±


    ¡°I never told you my name.¡±


    ¡°We received a report with your names beforehand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not even trying to hide it at this point. Have you nted spies in the Administration or something?¡±


    ¡°Haha! You still have some fire in your eyes, don¡¯t you? That eye, isn¡¯t it from ¡®Ix, the One-Eyed Bird¡¯?¡±


    <em>I¡¯ve heard the term ¡°One-Eyed Bird¡±, but this is the first I¡¯ve heard of ¡°Ix¡±.</em>


    ¡°How did you manage to transnt that eye into a person? Not even the Administration¡¯s technology could do that.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re quite tight-lipped, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry. We have Artanin with us.¡±


    <em>I¡¯ve heard the word ¡°Artanin¡± a few times now. What is it?</em>


    Patrick seemed to misinterpret my puzzled reaction as something else.


    ¡°Haha. There¡¯s no need to be afraid. I know how harmful Artanin can be to a person. I have no intention of injecting it into you, so you can rx. It¡¯s the old man who should be worried about going through something rough, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Stick it in your own arm, you bastard!¡±


    Lee Eunsol: What is Artanin?


    Kim Mooksung: A powerful truth serum.


    Lee Eunsol: Oh no.


    Kim Mooksung: Don¡¯t worry. I know how it works. I can handle it.


    <em>So there¡¯s a countermeasure. The people at headquarters seemed quite confident in the efficacy of this ¡°Artanin¡±.</em>


    <em>But Grandpa is an agent from the Administration, so he should be reliable. I have nothing more to say.</em>


    Lee Eunsol: They¡¯re being oddly nice to me.


    Kim Mooksung: Your eye is a great treasure, even by Administration standards.


    Lee Eunsol: Think they¡¯ll try to take my eye?


    Kim Mooksung: They can¡¯t transnt it, not even with their technology. They can¡¯t do it.


    <em>It just keeps getting worse. As I suspected, the only reason they¡¯re pretending to be nice to me is because of my eye.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s too precious to give up on, but they don¡¯t have the technology to transnt it to someone else.</em>


    <em>If they want to use the eye, they have to keep me alive.</em>


    <em>So they can¡¯t use something as harmful as that Artanin, or whatever it is, on me.</em>


    Beatrix seemed to have some sort of mind control ability. It looked like they were nning to use that on me.


    A momentter, a soldier-looking guy came in with a syringe filled with an opaque green liquid and injected it into Grandpa¡¯s arm.


    Kim Mooksung: I¡¯ll be dead in 3 hours. Hang in there.


    Lee Eunsol: I¡¯ll see you outside.


    The enemy¡¯s interrogation began.


    The veteran¡¯s way of handling the truth serum was absurd yet creative.


    ***Patrick¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Kim Mooksung. Are you ready to talk now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°First, let¡¯s start by confirming something from earlier. Bring in the kid!¡±


    <em>The kid?</em>


    A momentter, Seungyub was brought in on a cart! To be precise, the Protective Suit was brought in.


    Seungyub himself seemed to have either lost consciousness or died.


    ¡°This kid was with you, right? Well, he seems to be dead already. He fell into the ¡®trash can¡¯ earlier. He appears to be wearing some kind of specialized spacesuit, but we couldn¡¯t take it off no matter what. How do you remove it?¡±


    Kim Mooksung: If you put your hand on the helmet, a sensor will activate. You probably can¡¯t remove it because you¡¯re not a hotel participant.


    ¡°It can only be opened from the inside. Forcing it open will cause a massive explosion.¡±


    <em>Grandpa? What are you talking about? An explosion?</em>


    <em>Did the Protective Suit really have such a feature?</em>


    <em>And what¡¯s with that response in the chat just now?</em>


    <em>¡­Could it be?</em>


    ¡°What I¡¯m most curious about is how you found your way into headquarters.¡±


    Kim Mooksung: We used the information from the first attempt in Room 201 and followed Kain¡¯s advice.


    ¡°¡­There was an informant on the inside.¡±


    ¡°An informant on the inside? Don¡¯t tell me! Did you nt someone on our side?¡±


    Kim Mooksung: How would I know, you idiot?


    ¡°We received periodic reports.¡±


    <em>Could this be his way of countering the truth serum?</em>


    ¡°Can we trust this man¡¯s words?¡±


    ¡°Look at his pupils. Artanin is working correctly. Besides, we also nted Elizabeth in the Administration, so it¡¯s not entirely impossible for them to have done the same. Who did you nt?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only know the content of the reports.¡±


    Listening to the conversation, I couldn¡¯t help but be impressed!


    In that brief moment, Grandpa came up with a simple yet effective method of countering the truth serum.


    <em>He was answering the questions truthfully through the Chat Window, and then lying aloud afterward!</em>


    <em>It¡¯s fascinating. What kind of principle does this truth serum work on that allows such a countermeasure?</em>


    For the first time, Grandpa actually felt like a ¡°veteran agent¡±.


    Meanwhile, Patrick and the others were urgently discussing among themselves.


    ¡°It seems he doesn¡¯t know the identity of the spy.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s receiving periodic reports, let¡¯s ask about the contents.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. Mooksung, what¡¯s thetest report you received?¡±


    Kim Mooksung: There¡¯s no such thing, you idiot!


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you hesitating? George, check his pupils again!¡±


    ¡°Artanin is working. Let¡¯s wait a moment.¡±


    Kim Mooksung: Damn it! I can¡¯t think of an answer. Eunsol, make something up, quickly!


    <em>Ahhh! Grandpa! You were acting like a total veteran just a moment ago! Why are you putting this on me now?</em>


    Lee Eunsol: Perro! He¡¯s probably captured somewhere here!


    ¡°¡­Recently, you captured a peculiar parrot with the ability to transform into a monster.¡±


    ¡°What? That just happened yesterday! You already got a report on that?¡±


    ¡°How is information leaking so freely from our headquarters? What the hell is going on with the security system?¡±


    ¡°Could it be from the research wing? The parrot was probably locked up in Research Wing 2-9, right?¡±


    The mention of Perro that I came up with on the fly seemed to be a huge shock to them.


    Research Wing 2-9, where Perro was kept.


    <em>I¡¯ll remember that.</em>


    A littleter, most of the people around us left.


    It seems Patrick decided he couldn¡¯t trust anyone except for a few of his most loyal subordinates.


    ¡°Mooksung, what is your purpose here? How much does the Administration know about us?¡±


    Kim Mooksung: We came here because this ce is the Room 201, you idiot! What about the Administration?


    ¡°There was a report about ¡®corruption¡¯ rted to the missing personnel at the Arizona branch. We¡¯re the advanced team that was sent to explore the Hestbert Mansion and report on the circumstances of the Arizona survivors¡¯ corruption.¡±


    ¡°What the¡­! How¡­! How did you know about that? Arizona¡­ How could you know?¡±


    ¡°There was no report to Elizabeth that the Administration was aware of headquarters!¡±


    ¡°Maybe Elizabeth was already under suspicion from their side.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯re right. They killed Elizabeth not long after entering the Mansion, didn¡¯t they? They must have known who she really was!¡±


    As Patrick and his assistant grew increasingly agitated over the massive breach of ssified information to the Administration, someone picked up on a suspicious term in Grandpa¡¯s answer.


    ¡°A report? How does the report work?¡±


    ¡°A regr report is required every six hours.¡±


    I was impressed. I began to get an idea of what Grandpa was plotting!


    ¡°Patrick, this is a serious issue! These guys have been captured here, so they haven¡¯t been able to send their regr report, right?¡±


    <em>It¡¯s about time I stepped in.</em>


    ¡°Have you finally figured it out? A strike team will be here soon. When they arrive, I doubt anyone in this ce will survive.¡±


    ¡°Are you getting cocky just because you¡¯re from the Administration? Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re the ones in front of you. And you have no idea what we¡¯re capable of.¡±


    ¡°By capability, you¡¯re referring to Beatrix, right? Our team is probably fighting Beatrix as we speak.¡±


    ¡°¡­Lady Beatrix will subdue them and return soon.¡±


    ¡°You have a lot of faith in her. Beatrix is incredibly powerful, as you say, and she might find a way to escape even if the Administration¡¯s army invades. But will you all survive that fight?¡±


    The room fell silent.


    The fear of an impending attack from the Administration paralyzed their reasoning.


    <em>It¡¯s ironic.</em>


    <em>In reality, I had always thought of the Administration as an abstract, almost mythical organization.</em>


    <em>But they¡¯re actually quite impressive.</em>


    <em>Now that I think about it, I¡¯m just an ordinary person with no real power.</em>


    <em>Yet, by bluffing a bit with the Administration behind me, I had them all at a loss.</em>


    Patrick¡¯s calm voice cut through the tension, ¡°You¡¯re not just showing off suddenly, are you? It seems you have something to say, so let¡¯s stop ying games.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯ve nted spies within the Administration, you must have a way tomunicate with them, right?¡±


    Lee Eunsol: What do they usually use tomunicate? Hurry up!


    Kim Mooksung: Secure smartphones.


    <em>¡­It¡¯s just like any otherpany.</em>


    ¡°You have a secure smartphone, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hand it over. I¡¯ll send the regr report.¡±


    ¡°You want us to let you go safely in exchange for faking a report? Hard to believe. I¡¯m tempted to inject you with Artanin.¡±


    <em>Now¡¯s the time to give in a little.</em>


    ¡°Why not just stand by while I make the report? If the content seems off, you can cut it off immediately. I¡¯m just trying to save my own life. Dying by your hands is one problem, but getting killed by the Administration is another.¡±


    ¡°Killed by the Administration? What do you¡ªOh. I see. You¡¯re worried they might blow up the whole facility, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha! You¡¯re surprisingly cautious, aren¡¯t you? It seems you don¡¯t really understand what the ¡®Arizona Branch¡¯ is. Don¡¯t worry about that. I can guarantee they¡¯d never destroy this facility!¡± Patrick answered confidently.


    He was certain that the Administration would never resort to blowing up their entire facility.


    <em>But why? Does the Administration not know the location of this facility?</em>


    <em>Given that they believe all their information has leaked to the Administration, I doubt they are relying on the simple assumption that their location is unknown.</em>


    <em>There must be another reason. Something that makes them sure the Administration can¡¯t destroy this facility.</em>


    Nevertheless, Patrick agreed to the negotiation.


    ¡°Well, we need to deal with the immediate issue first. But¡­ I¡¯d advise against trying anything funny. We¡¯ll be watching closely.¡±


    <em>We¡¯re almost there.</em>


    <em>Now, I just have to figure out how to make a ¡°support request¡± without the enemy noticing and survive until the end.</em>


    <em>¡­By the way, where the hell is Kain?</em>

 Chapter 164: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (13)

    Chapter 164: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (13)<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    Shortly after, a secure smartphone to contact the Administration was handed to me.


    Following Grandpa¡¯s guidance, I began operating the device, and within about five seconds, a call came in.


    <em>- Ring!</em>


    ¡°Hello, valued customer! This is Saengsaeng Mart with our monthly discount¡ª¡°


    ¡°Agent Lee Eunsol, reporting.¡±


    <em>- Beep!</em>


    ¡°There was a conflict with the Being of Chaos inside the Hestbert Mansion, which dyed the report by 30 minutes. We explored the Hestbert Mansion and found a room with a TV model different from the first one as instructed. Upon investigating beyond the screen, no evidence rted to the corruption of the Arizona Branch or Beatrix¡¯s survival was found. The spection regarding Beatrix¡¯s corruption is unfounded.¡±


    <em>- Beep!</em>


    ¡°Regr report received. Return to base.¡±¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°That should be enough, right? I reported that all the suspicious elements the Administration wanted me to confirm were baseless.¡±


    The faces around me finally showed some relief.


    Seeing the atmosphere of relief from narrowly escaping a crisis, I added a remark, ¡°You heard my report, right? And the order to return? I should get going. So¡ª¡°


    Patrick smirked and gestured to his subordinate.


    ¡°Thank you. We¡¯ll meet again soon, in a ¡®new form¡¯.¡±


    As the soldier next to him immediately injected something into me, I felt a sharp sting, and my consciousness began to fade.


    <em>As expected, they have no intention of letting me go.</em>


    <em>But of course, that¡¯s not a problem.</em>


    <em>I have no intention of leaving anyway!</em>


    <em>Why would I leave the ce I struggled to enter so quickly?</em>


    ***<em>- Ding! Ding! Ding!</em>


    ¡°Ugh, so noisy!¡±


    I regained consciousness.


    I woke up inside a translucent box in a white space.


    The Chat Window was shing non-stop.


    Lee Eunsol: Awake.


    <em>¡°¡­¡±</em>


    Lee Eunsol: Grandpa?


    Kim Mooksung: I¡¯m d you woke up before I died. It¡¯s a hell of a situation outside. I made some moves, so make sure you wear the Protective Suit before going out. You¡¯re a smart kid, so you¡¯ll figure it out. I¡¯ll rest now.


    It wasn¡¯t like him¡ªthe sentence was long and it had a slightly emotional tone.


    <em>Is this how everyone changes when facing death, even if they believe they¡¯ll resurrect afterward?</em>


    After that, Grandpa¡¯s responses ceased.


    As he mentioned earlier, there was the Protective Suit next to the box.


    <em>What on earth did Grandpa say to make the enemies leave the Protective Suit next to me and then leave?</em>


    Did he tell them it would explode if they kept it apart from a living agent for too long?


    I was considering how to get out of the box when it opened by itself.


    As soon as I stepped out, I saw someone crawling on the ground, foaming at the mouth.


    ¡°Ugh, urgh!¡±


    The man was dragging himself across the floor with all his might, but he died before he could even get close to me.


    Seeing that scene, I had a sneaking suspicion about what was going on.


    I immediately removed the helmet from the Protective Suit next to the box.


    ¡­The inside was utterly horrific, as Seungyub had been dead for quite some time.


    <em>I¡¯m supposed to be from a well-off family, you know! Do I really have to wear this?</em>


    But seeing the man who had just died coughing up blood, determination surged within me.


    I quickly removed Seungyub¡¯s corpse and climbed into the Protective Suit.


    Grandpa¡¯sst words were, ¡°It¡¯s a hell of a situation outside.¡±


    I could guess what was going on. I recalled the contents of the regr report I made to the Administration before losing consciousness.


    <em>¡°Upon investigating beyond the screen, no evidence rted to the corruption of the Arizona Branch or Beatrix¡¯s survival was found.¡±</em>


    <em>Now, let¡¯s think from the Administration¡¯s perspective.</em>


    The terms like the Arizona Branch, corruption, and Beatrix I mentioned would have beenpletely unexpected to the Administration.


    The Administration probably didn¡¯t know anything, and they thought Hestbert Mansion was just one of the many Chaotic Disasters happening on Earth.


    If an agent suddenly reports such terms from that ce, what would the Administration think?


    The Administration was an organization that ¡°gets the picture¡± quickly.


    They must have realized the situation right away.


    They would have grasped the general nature of Hestbert Mansion.


    <em>So, what will the Administration do?</em>


    With considerable curiosity, I stepped outside.


    ***<em>Does hell exist?</em>


    I pondered this as I wandered through the rapidly transforming hell once known as the researchb of headquarters.


    Patrick clearly knew nothing about the full extent of the Administration¡¯s power.


    They might not have known what secrets were hidden in their facility, but his arrogantughter came with a steep price.


    The Administration¡¯s response was highly efficient.


    I had no idea where their headquarters were located.


    But they must have hidden it well, meaning the Administration was unlikely to locate it immediately.


    If that was the case, there was no way to infiltrate the headquarters except through the entrance that had already been revealed¡ªthe TV screen somewhere in Hestbert Mansion.


    In this situation, heavy weaponry, helicopters, and tanks couldn¡¯t even get through the mansion, so they couldn¡¯t be deployed.


    And if Patrick wasn¡¯t entirely bluffing, destroying this ce might have been burdensome for the Administration too.


    <em>Arge-scale deployment of special forces?</em>


    That was possible, but given the number of monsters in the mansion, significant casualties would be unavoidable.


    Breaking into the facility with loud equipment would be difficult, destroying it might be burdensome, and special forces would likely suffer heavy casualties.


    In thisplex and difficult situation, the Administration¡¯s most efficient solution was right in front of me.


    Countless drones equipped with biochemical weapons had entered en masse, turning the headquarters into a living hell.


    Drones flew around, installing silver boxes all over the researchb.


    From these boxes, a hazy white gas was released, exterminating all life forms within the headquarters.


    Fortunately, the Hotel¡¯s special Protective Suit, boasting of being de, fire, and waterproof, effortlessly withstood the biochemical weapons, be it a deadly virus or toxic gas.


    ***¡°This facility is disgustinglyrge.¡±


    It was challenging to get my bearings, and there were many ces I couldn¡¯t ess as an outsider.


    Most of the people were dead from the biochemical weapons, but the security system was still operational.


    <em>How am I faring in this situation?</em>


    <em>Are myrades still alive? It doesn¡¯t seem likely.</em>


    If they had killed Beatrix, wouldn¡¯t the Cursed Room have already disappeared?


    Moreover, Seungyub, who went with the other group to confront Beatrix, came back dead.


    I had an idea of where to go next.


    The bodies scattered across the researchb all pointed in one direction as if they were heading somewhere before dying.


    They were probably trying to reach a passage that connected to the outside.


    <em>But I don¡¯t n to escape just yet.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s clear that this ce holds countless secrets, including the location of Kain, Perro, and many more!</em>


    The Administration¡¯s biochemical weapon had already wiped out those who would hinder my exploration.


    <em>In this case¡­</em>


    ¡°This is the perfect condition for exploring.¡±


    The only risk factor was Beatrix returning to headquarters.


    Inside the Protective Suit, I clenched the item Seungyub had tightly held until his dying breath.


    The ¡°Escape Button¡±.


    <em>I¡¯ll trust this and continue exploring.</em>


    ***The first ce I found was the research wing.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to locateb 2-9, where Perro was supposedly kept.


    ¡°The door¡¯s locked?¡±


    I thought about it briefly but quickly found a solution.


    Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be able to break in, but now I was wearing the Protective Suit!


    The suit¡¯s internal system provided me with superhuman strength that would be impossible for an ordinary human.


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    After about five body ms, the door finally gave way.


    <em>- Screech!</em>


    ¡°Were you doing okay?¡±


    The grotesque bird I was beginning to find oddly cute greeted me.


    <em>He was already out? What on earth?</em>


    I looked around and roughly understood the situation.


    Perro was probably kept in the transparent box in the middle of the room.


    That box must have been perfectly sealed off from the outside world.


    Looking at it differently, it could serve as a survival chamber in a situation where biochemical weapons filled the surroundings.


    I suspect one of the researchers tried to survive by releasing Perro and getting into the box.


    <em>Come to think of it, when I woke up, the box I was in opened by itself, just like this.</em>


    Back then, a researcher likely tried to get into the box I was in by opening it themselves.


    Of course, Perro killed all the researchers as soon as he got out.


    The researchers must have known the risk but took the gamble anyway.


    <em>Well, that¡¯s none of my concern.</em>


    <em>- Piyoo!</em>


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Let¡¯s get out of here. And you need to clean your beak. Having a human finger stuck in it isn¡¯t exactly a good look.¡±


    As I walked out of the research wing with Perro, a notification appeared.


    The Grotesque Parrot Unsealed!


    ¡°¡­Were you under a seal too?¡±


    ***After wandering around the headquarters for quite a while, I eventually found a suitable ce.


    ¡°Alright, Perro. It¡¯s your turn.¡±


    <em>- Piyooo!</em>


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ¡°Piyooo¡± me mister; just transform and open the door. Do I need to body m it again?¡±


    <em>- Kyuu?</em>


    ¡°If you try to act cute one more time, I might only feed you acorns instead of sunflower seeds for a month. I know you understand me, so get moving.¡±


    After a lot of reluctance, Perro, who had beenzing around, finally transformed and tore down the door.


    <em>You haven¡¯t done anything yet, so why are you sozy?</em>


    <em>You follow Songee¡¯s words to a T but ignore mine, even though I¡¯m the one feeding you?</em>


    <em>Have I been giving you too many sunflower seedstely?</em>


    Inside the office, I found Patrick¡¯s corpse.


    It looked like he had tried to survive until the very end, as there were traces of him stuffing tissue or paper scraps into the door cracks.


    Unfortunately, this was nowhere near enough to block the Administration¡¯s biochemical weapons from seeping in.


    In retrospect, I was pretty lucky. If I had been locked in an ordinary room with just the door closed, I¡¯d be dead by now.


    It seemed they locked me in a special box designed to contain Being of Chaos to prevent my escape, which ironically saved my life.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I spent quite a while going through the documents scattered around the office, including Patrick¡¯s journal.


    ¡°This is incredible. Did all this really happen in the real world? What do you think, Perro?¡±


    <em>- Kyuu?</em>


    ¡°One month without sunflower seeds.¡±


    <em>- Piyooo???</em>


    <em>I think I¡¯ve roughly figured out the scenario of Room 201.</em>


    <em>I also have an inkling of how to solve it. The Cursed Rooms are always like this.</em>


    <em>At first, everything is a confusing mess, as if we were wandering through a thick fog¡­</em>


    <em>But once you know the solution, it¡¯s surprisingly straightforward.</em>


    <em>I also figured out where Kain is.</em>


    <em>However, I don¡¯t think I can break his seal this time.</em>


    <em>With my current abilities, I can¡¯t reach him.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s time to leave.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ve discovered the solution to Room 201.</em>


    ***I exited the office and followed the directions indicated by the bodies.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>It should be around here.</em>


    I was almost there, but there weren¡¯t any bodies nearby, so I couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact location.


    Maybe the people who made it this far managed to escape.


    <em>- Boom!</em>


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    The facility began to shake!


    There were loud noises of rooms exploding and copsing.


    <em>I have a bad feeling! A really bad feeling!</em>


    I urgently opened all the doors and passages around me.


    ¡°Where is it? Where the heck is it?¡±


    <strong>[The second door on the left.]</strong>


    ¡°Thank you! I won¡¯t forget this.¡±


    <strong>[You¡¯re wee.]</strong>


    I heaved a sigh of relief at the sudden help and opened the second door on the left¡ª


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Turning back, I saw a presence more terrifying than the Grim Reaper!


    <strong>[You¡¯ve ruined everything.]</strong>


    The figure looked like a young girl, but I couldn¡¯t help but speak politely.


    ¡°That¡­ It wasn¡¯t me, honestly?¡±


    <strong>[You worthless insect¡ª]</strong>


    I turned and ran frantically!


    <em>Please save me!</em>


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    Something kicked me with tremendous force, sending me flying nearly 10 meters.


    ¡°Perro!¡±


    From the heavens descended an angel, the great parrot blessed by the golden balloon of the gods, Perro!


    Perro kicked me towards the exit and charged at Beatrix!


    <em>There¡¯s no time to look back. Not anymore!</em>


    I just ran like mad, again and again.


    As I threw myself through the door¡ªan incredible sight unfolded before my eyes.


    An army of helicopters and robots marched towards the headquarters.


    It was as if they were about to level an entire city!


    <em>Is this the force the Administration has prepared to take down Beatrix?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    With that, the second attempt was over.


    You have escaped!

 Chapter 165: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (14)

    Chapter 165: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (14)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    With a sudden jolt, I opened my eyes.


    At the same time, a freezing wind that felt like it would tear my skin apart seeped in.


    ¡°Ugh~! Seriously, Hotel! This weather is ridiculous!¡±


    Whileining about the weather, I nced sideways to check on the state of myrades.


    <em>How¡¯s the atmosphere this time?</em>


    ¡­


    <em>Is it the same? Most of them were sighing deeply, looking half-dazed.</em>


    <em>Room 201, isn¡¯t this just too much?</em>


    <em>Am I just going to sleep through this entire ordeal?</em><em>At least let me be freed!</em>


    ¡°Alright~ Alright~ Cheer up! There¡¯s a lot to discuss, so let¡¯s get moving~!¡±


    At least one person seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.


    Seeing Eunsol-noona¡¯s bright expression, everyone else seemed to perk up, their faces visibly brightening as they started moving.


    <em>This is going to be interesting.</em>


    As soon as we entered the elevator to escape the chilling cold, they started chatting noisily.


    It seemed like the group that went to fight Beatrix had a rough time.


    I overheard some weary talk about how her main body might be somewhere else, and how there was no way to kill her.


    It wasn¡¯t until we returned to the warmth of Room 105 that Noona began her detailed exnation.


    ***Noona spent quite a while recounting the story of how she and Grandpa fought valiantly at the headquarters.


    Many parts left us in awe.


    We couldn¡¯t help but apud when she described how Grandpa quickly came up with a strategy to counter the truth serum and how she managed to bring in the Administration¡¯s forces.


    Toward the end, she recalled unsealing Perro and how he sacrificed himself for her escape. I got so tense that I started to sweat.


    Noona, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion as well, suddenly hugged Perro and rubbed her cheek against him, only letting go after getting her ear bitten.


    After finishing her tale, she began recounting the information she had gathered.


    ¡°Where should I start? Okay, I¡¯ll exin in chronological order. In the 1980s, a being called the ¡®Eye of Zero Dimension¡¯ suddenly appeared. No one knew where it came from or its purpose. The moment it appeared, it epassed the entire world within its sight, and anyone who became aware of the ¡®Eye¡¯ quickly descended into madness. ording to the charts, the world copsed in less than half a year.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but interrupt such an absurd story.


    ¡°The world copsed?¡±


    ¡°ording to the data I found, yes. Of course, given the quality of the weapons we used in Room 201 and the Administration¡¯s military power that we saw at thest moment, it doesn¡¯t quite feel like a copse¡­ Well, the Administration is a powerful organization, so they might have somehow managed to put the world back together.¡±


    Grandpa nodded in agreement.


    ¡°The ¡®Eye of Zero Dimension¡¯, huh? That must be the creature that Elena and Kain saw.¡±


    ¡°Seems like it, right? I¡¯ll continue. The Administration somehow managed to seal the Eye of Zero Dimension. That¡¯s when our very own Chief Researcher Han Kain came into the picture!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes instantly turned to me. I had nothing to say, so I kept my mouth shut.


    ¡°It¡¯s not clear what method the Chief Researcher used, but it seems he used a tool called the ¡®Irregr Polyhedron¡¯. In fact¡­ The records I found vaguely describe the Chief Researcher as something not quite human.¡±


    The more I heard, the more curious I became.


    ¡°What exactly was my role?¡±


    ¡°Because of the title ¡®Chief Researcher¡¯, you probably imagined a clean-cut, sophisticated intellectual, right? But that wasn¡¯t the case. ording to Patrick¡¯s journal, the Chief Researcher was described as a fiend with demonic charisma.¡±


    Ahri seemed to find that amusing.


    ¡°Kain~! No more demonic behavior from now on.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyway, the Chief Researcher used the Irregr Polyhedron to seal the Eye of Zero Dimension in some strange space that can¡¯t be essed by ordinary means, and for that achievement, he was heavily promoted. A considerable amount of time passed after that. Then, in the 1990s, Beatrix appeared in New York.¡±


    <em>Now it begins. Beatrix.</em>


    ¡°From what I read, Beatrix was known to have the power to create monsters from the moment she was discovered. Because of that power, she lost both her parents at a young age. Initially, the Administration tried to eliminate Beatrix. Although they considered her ability to be useful, they judged her to be no different from a natural disaster since she couldn¡¯t control the monsters.¡±


    This part I knew.


    ¡°That¡¯s where I came in again. I helped Beatrix control her power, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. There was a bit more detail in the records. During the Chief Researcher¡¯s experiments, Beatrix created countless monsters, but most of them were failures. The sheer number of failed creations was a big problem. By ¡®failures¡¯, I don¡¯t mean weak monsters.¡±


    ¡°You mean incredibly powerful monsters that Beatrix couldn¡¯t control.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. And then our Chief Researcher Han Kain had another brilliant idea. They recalled the ce where they had previously sealed the Eye of Zero Dimension.¡±


    At this, Ahri hesitantly asked, ¡°Wait, are you saying they built a research facility inside the ce where the evil god was sealed? And there, Beatrix kept creating monsters, throwing the failed ones to the evil god?¡±


    ¡°You catch on quickly, Ahri. You really are from the Administration.¡±


    Grandpa looked incredulous.


    ¡°I can only say they¡¯ve truly crossed the line¡­¡±


    Jinchul-hyung couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity, ¡°Gramps, did the Administration in our world do stuff like this too?¡±


    ¡°They rarely went to such extremes.¡±


    Songee sighed, ¡°¡®Rarely¡¯ means they did, just not often.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Even though the Administration operates beyond the understanding of ordinary people, doing something like this is definitely over the line.¡± Ahri quickly added, defensively. ¡°To think they considered creating monsters to use as weapons¡­ This isn¡¯t normal at all. The real problem here is clearly Han Kain.¡±


    Even though this story wasn¡¯t really about me, I felt suffocated.


    Eunsol-noona seemed to have grasped something.


    ¡°Think back to the story I told you earlier. ording to the records, the world in this scenario was on the brink of copse due to the evil god. The one who stopped it was Chief Researcher Han Kain. If you exaggerate a bit, you could say he saved the world. Given such a monumental achievement, imagine how much influence he must have gained. The Administration, at the end of the day, is still run by people after all. Who would dare oppose the person who saved the world?¡±


    After hearing everything up to this point, I tried to piece together the truth of Room 201.


    First, in the 1980s, an overwhelming entity dubbed the Eye of Zero Dimension appeared and drove the world to the brink of destruction. The Chief Researcher used a tool called the Irregr Polyhedron to seal the evil god and save the world.


    Second, in the 1990s, a girl named Beatrix appeared, who had the power to create monsters. Initially, she couldn¡¯t control them, but the Chief Researcher began experiments to help her gain control over her ability. During this process, countless failed monsters were produced.


    Third, the Chief Researcher built a research facility inside the space where the evil god was sealed. The experiments on Beatrix continued within the seal, and all the failed monsters were thrown to the evil god to be killed.


    Once I understood the bigger picture, the information our team had gathered began to make sense.


    Ahri spoke up first, ¡°Right before I died, I saw a ridiculous ce. At first, I thought it was a red wastnd, but when I got closer, it turned out to be a massiveke filled to the brim with endless monster corpses. That ce must have been the trash bin.¡±


    Songee nodded in agreement.


    ¡°So, the Cube was like a breeding ground for monsters. Inside each of the dozens of boxes, monsters were being created. If one seemed useful, it was taken out and used, and if not, the box was flipped open, and the monster fell to the bottom.¡±


    ¡°Patrick was confident that the facility couldn¡¯t be destroyed because it was built in the ce where the Eye of Zero Dimension was sealed, right?¡±


    Grandpa answered, ¡°That must be it. Actually, Eunsol said that although they had prepared helicopters and armored vehicles, they didn¡¯t physically destroy the facility; they just waited. They must have been waiting for Beatrix toe out.¡±


    ¡°So, Patrick underestimated the Administration. He mistakenly thought they were safe because the facility couldn¡¯t be physically destroyed, only to fall victim to biochemical weapons.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯smon for those who are lucky enough to gain supernatural powers to start thinking they¡¯re invincible, only to get crushed by the Administration.¡±


    Seungyub asked a question, ¡°If the failures were dumped into the Cube¡¯s trash bin, what happened to the sessful ones?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the ones left in the Cube be the sesses? After all, Beatrix was actually able to control those monsters.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    I had my own question, ¡°By the time you guys entered, hadn¡¯t there already been hundreds of people sacrificed in the mansion? Why were regr people being dragged in and killed? Doing that would almost certainly alert the Administration.¡±


    Ahri seemed to ponder for a moment before offering a hypothesis.


    ¡°Maybe the monsters Beatrix created needed to consume humans to survive.¡±


    After hearing that, I couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°So, the Administration wanted to use a girl who creates monsters that need to eat humans as a ¡®useful weapon¡¯?¡±


    ¡°¡­Why are you ming me? I¡¯m just a clueless 16-year-old girl.¡±


    The room fell into an ufortable silence at that unfunny joke.


    There were still many unanswered questions.


    For instance, how did the Chief Researcher end up trapped in a tank?


    If they could trap someone in such a ce, they could have killed them, so why didn¡¯t they?


    It seemed that Eunsol-noona hadn¡¯t found any information on that part either.


    <em>But that can¡¯t be helped. We can¡¯t uncover all the secrets of the Cursed Rooms, nor do we need to.</em>


    <em>We just need to know enough to resolve the problem.</em>


    The next topic of discussion was how to break my seal.


    Eunsol-noona exined the location of where I was trapped and the conditions needed to break the seal.


    As I listened, I realized it wouldn¡¯t be easy.


    ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as storming the headquarters and destroying everything, is it?¡±


    ¡°No. ording to the information I found, only Patrick and Beatrix can break your seal.¡±


    ¡°That sounds difficult. We can¡¯t exactly ask Beatrix for help, so do we need to brainwash Patrick somehow?¡±


    Curious, I looked over at Ahri, who had an uncertain expression.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a regr person, I can control them just by making eye contact. Even someone with a strong will can¡¯t resist if I force them to drink my blood. The problem is Patrick isn¡¯t an ordinary person. He likely has some means of resistance. Besides, capturing Patrick alive is a challenge in itself.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung seemed to be thinking.


    ¡°If pushes to shove, I could forcefully smash through with the Star, right?¡±


    ¡°Do I need to exin why that¡¯s dangerous again?¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m just suggesting it as a n D.¡±


    Songee raised another concern, ¡°It seems like in the next round, we¡¯ll all be heading to the headquarters together. But what about Beatrix? If we start causing trouble at the headquarters, she¡¯ll likelye back.¡±


    Elena answered simply, ¡°I¡¯ll hold off on using Justice until Beatrix shows up. Then I¡¯ll keep her busy while you guys free Kain.¡±


    The n for the third attempt was starting to take shape.


    They would all move to the headquarters through the TV, wreak havoc there, and free me from the seal.


    If Beatrix showed up, Elena would stall her while the others worked on freeing me.


    <em>After that, with my revival, we¡¯ll defeat Beatrix and solve the problem!</em>


    Everyone started to celebrate, feeling like the resolution to Room 201 was finally within reach.


    Amid their joy, I¡­


    To be honest, I was very uneasy.


    There was a very important detail myrades¡¯ n overlooked.


    <em>Everything sounds great, but how exactly are we supposed to kill Beatrix?</em>


    Everyone just seemed to be thinking, ¡°Once we free the great Chief Researcher Han Kain, we¡¯ll somehow be able to deal with Beatrix!¡±


    <em>Is this n really going to work? Is it even reliable?</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t even know what Beatrix looks like, but myrades seem to think that once I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll be able to take care of her on my own.</em>


    <em>That makes me really nervous!</em>


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t hold back and spoke up, ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m ruining the mood, but are you sure I¡¯ll be able to take down Beatrix once I¡¯m freed from the seal? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to summon the Administration again?¡±


    Eunsol-noona responded with a somewhat somber expression, ¡°¡­There¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told you all yet.¡±

 Chapter 166: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (15)

    Chapter 166: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (15)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°¡­There¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told you all yet.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°You know how I mentioned that when I stepped out of theb, the Administration¡¯s army was outside?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t immediately escape after I stepped outside. I actually witnessed the fight between the Administration¡¯s army and Beatrix.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Everyone looked at Eunsol-noona in shock.


    ¡°Exactly. When I first saw the Administration¡¯s army, I thought, ¡®If I just hide somewhere and survive, maybe the Administration will kill Beatrix, and everything will be resolved, right?¡¯¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. We don¡¯t necessarily have to kill the Adversary ourselves. After all, in Room 103, it was ¡®The Devouring One¡¯ who killed the Anathasia.¡±¡°So, I used my badge to hide as soon as I got out. The Administration recognized me and didn¡¯t attack.¡±


    Grandpa impatiently asked, ¡°Oh, for crying out loud, who won?¡±


    ¡°If the Administration had won, I¡¯d have brought back an Inheritance, wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°At first, it looked like the Administration had the upper hand, they even managed to destroy Beatrix¡¯s body with their firepower. But then she just regenerated her body as if nothing had happened, let out a singr roar, and then an army of monsters crawled out from underground.¡±


    We were all speechless.


    ¡°The Administration put up a good fight, though. They managed to kill almost all of those monsters. That¡¯s how I was able to escape. But in the end, the tide turned in Beatrix¡¯s favor, so I ran away without looking back.¡±


    Barely holding onto myposure, I said, ¡°So, Beatrix¡¯s sessful creations weren¡¯t just in the Cube.¡±


    ¡°I think the ones left in the Cube were the weaker ones. The real threats were underground.¡±


    ¡°¡­Do you really think everything will be resolved if my seal is broken?¡±


    Noona calmly sipped her coffee before replying in a surprisingly rxed tone, ¡°Actually, seeing that scene made me certain.¡±


    ¡°Certain about what?¡±


    ¡°Room 201 wasn¡¯t designed with beating Beatrix through brute force in mind.¡±


    ¡°Not designed to be beaten by force¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s too strong to be beaten by sheer power. I mean, even an organization that protects the Earth couldn¡¯t defeat her after bringing an entire army, right? I¡¯m sorry to say this, but the Beatrix you all struggled against in the second attempt¡­ was just ying with you.¡±


    Noona paused for a moment, but Elena answered, ¡°She was just toying with us. Her true power lies in creating monsters, and she didn¡¯t even bother using her most sessful ones buried under the headquarters.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. She was just ying with us. Beatrix never truly felt threatened by us. And because she¡¯s that strong, it¡¯s clear now¡ªRoom 201 wasn¡¯t designed to be beaten by brute force. The Hotel doesn¡¯t give impossible missions. If it can¡¯t be done by force, there must be a way to win without fighting¡ªthere was to be.¡±


    I thought back to the Neb Dragon¡¯s Child in Room 102 ¨C The Mansion of Fear. It was an unbeatable opponent in a normal scenario.


    The scenario had be so twisted that we had no choice but to use the cheat code of ¡°Descent¡± to break through, but normally, fighting that being wasn¡¯t even an option.


    Beatrix was simr. If even the Administration¡¯s army couldn¡¯t defeat her, she was essentially an invincible foe for us right now.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, the Owl¡¯s repeated Advice of ¡®Seeing the finger, but not the moon.¡¯ might have meant something like that. This room wasn¡¯t designed to fight Beatrix, so why are we fixated on trying to defeat her by force? It all makes sense now, but if that¡¯s the case, what should we do?¡±


    Noona calmly pointed at me.


    ¡°Am I really the solution? Are you thinking it can be easily handled with possession?¡±


    ¡°That might be possible, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the solution. That¡¯s also a somewhat ¡®forceful¡¯ approach, and I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the right answer. Kain, can you possess her main body just by seeing a clone in front of you?¡±


    <em>That seems unlikely. It¡¯s like asking if you can possess someone on TV just by watching them. That¡¯s impossible.</em>


    ¡°I think I can only possess the Beatrix clone or the monsters in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So, your possession isn¡¯t the answer. There are too many monsters. Possessing one won¡¯t make a difference. If Beatrix justmands the monster army to destroy your body, she¡¯ll win.¡±


    Ahri, who was sipping her drink beside us, spoke up, ¡°I get what Eunsol is saying. There¡¯s no way to beat Beatrix with force, so we need to find another solution.¡±


    Grandpa seemed to understand why Eunsol-noona was so confident.


    ¡°The one who raised Beatrix to this level was the Chief Researcher. If he wasn¡¯t aplete idiot, he would have prepared some means of controlling her. Of course, it wasn¡¯t perfect, so he suffered in the end, but there must be something.¡±


    Listening to them, it became clear that Noona¡¯s belief that just breaking my seal would solve things had some basis.


    <em>Beatrix can¡¯t be defeated by force, and the Hotel doesn¡¯t give impossible missions.</em>


    <em>To put it in gaming terms, it¡¯s like encountering a boss with 99,999 health points and an invincibility cheat!</em>


    <em>At first, we didn¡¯t know any better and attempted to fight it head-on. But once we understood her power, it was clear that she wasn¡¯t meant to be defeated by fighting.</em>


    <em>There has to be a way to neutralize her without fighting.</em>


    The one most likely to have prepared such a method was the Chief Researcher.


    After all, he wouldn¡¯t have conducted experiments on a girl who created monsters as easily as breathing without preparing a method to control her.


    ¡°Were there any clues about that method in Patrick¡¯s room?¡±


    Noona sighed lightly.


    ¡°If I¡¯d found it, I would have mentioned it first. But there is something¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There was a sort of diary that mentioned how Beatrix feared the Chief Researcher.¡±


    I understood. If a monster as powerful as Beatrix was afraid of something, there must have been a good reason.


    Perhaps because it was gettingte, Songee tiredly chimed in, ¡°At this point, I think we¡¯ve said everything we can among ourselves. Shouldn¡¯t we use Kain-oppa¡¯s Advice?¡±


    <em>I agree.</em>


    <em>We¡¯ve discussed everything we can, and it¡¯s gettingte.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s time to consult Sage¡¯s Advice.</em>


    <em>Does the Chief Researcher have a way to control Beatrix?</em>


    Even though it seemed likely, it was worth confirming with advice.


    Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    A dog owner never keeps the leash far away.


    Since it was a question regarding a topic we had already gathered a lot of information on, the response seemed to be surprisingly helpful!


    <em>Not only does a method exist, but it¡¯s also near the dog owner, meaning the Chief Researcher.</em>


    When I ryed the answer to the others, their faces brightened.


    Elena curiously asked, ¡°The answer was pretty kind this time. No cryptic phrases?¡±


    <em>I now understand why.</em>


    ¡°It¡¯s because we had already gathered enough information and asked to confirm the answer. It¡¯s only unkind when we ask something while we have ack of information.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s both understandable and frustrating, isn¡¯t it? We ask because we don¡¯t know, and when we don¡¯t know, the answer is unkind.¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    <em>One of my wishes before leaving this Hotel is to punch that Owl at least once.</em>


    Eunsol-noona spoke with a pleased expression, ¡°See? I told you. The situation clearly suggests that Kain¡¯s seal is closely linked to the solution. While we can¡¯t win by force, there¡¯s a way to win without fighting, and who else but the Chief Researcher would have prepared a method for that?¡±


    With everyone¡¯s spection and the Advice leading in the same direction, I started to feel more at ease.


    The two remaining Advice were used for essential questions to solve the room.


    ***The contents of the answers were somewhat expected, but they were surprising in other ways.


    We discovered where Beatrix¡¯s true body was located.


    I also realized why it had to be ¡°me¡± who was sealed rather than anyone else.


    Room 201 - The Cube.


    <em>With the information we have now, I¡¯m confident we can solve this within an hour after I wake up.</em>


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 85


    Current Location: Floor 1, Elevator


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°Do you think we can solve it today?¡±


    ¡°I hope so.¡±


    Perhaps because we had figured out a solution during yesterday¡¯s long discussion, I sensed a mix of tension and anticipation among myrades.


    ¡°It¡¯s morning, so the Advice count has refreshed. Any burning questions?¡±


    Noona answered firmly, ¡°There are a lot. So, let¡¯s save them.¡±


    To be honest, I was going to save them anyway. I only asked out of courtesy.


    The n we devised was mainly focused on ¡°unsealing Han Kain¡±, and we¡¯ve gathered almost all the information needed for that.


    <em>What remains unknown is what to do after I wake up.</em>


    <em>What needs to be done once Chief Researcher Han Kain is freed remainsrgely unknown.</em>


    <em>That¡¯s something future me will have to figure out based on the Chief Researcher¡¯s memories.</em>


    <em>So, it¡¯s better to leave the remaining Advice for future me to use.</em>


    <em>- Ding! Dong!</em>


    As the elevator rm sounded, an intense chill rushed in.


    <em>This freezing cold is really a problem!</em>


    <em>I¡¯m specting that after Room 201 is resolved and Party Time begins, there might be a ¡°Hotel Repair Event¡±, but how will that y out?</em>


    <em>I have no idea.</em>


    <em>What kind of idiotic hotel makes its customers do the repairs?</em>


    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s do our best!¡±


    As soon as Jinchul-hyung reached the door and shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± while opening it, I was pulled inside.


    ***


    ******


    *********Bubbles rose all around me.


    The now-familiar test tube.


    The people busily moving outside.


    Before long, my consciousness began to fade.


    *********


    ******


    ***<em>- Shatter!</em>


    The seal has been lifted!


    <em>Now, it¡¯s time for the main character to take the stage!</em>


    ***<strong>- Third Attempt, Kim Ahri</strong>


    ¡°Team Leader Elizabeth, we¡¯ve arrived at Hestbert Mansion.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Are you telling me that this ce has already imed three-digit casualties?¡±


    ¡°At the current rate, it¡¯ll reach four digits by next year.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here¡ªto prevent that. Let¡¯s head in.¡±


    <em>- Clunk!</em>


    ¡°What was that sound?¡±


    ¡°Team Leader Elizabeth! The door is locked!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Contact headquarters!¡±


    ¡°What is this? The signal¡¯s gone!¡±


    <em>- Bzzzzz!</em>


    The beginning was no different from before.


    <em>The only difference is that I no longer had any intention of ying along with Elizabeth.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s better to deal with her in advance before she can cause any trouble.</em>


    ¡°Hey, Team Leader.¡±


    ¡°Cha Jinchul? Do you have a problem with me¡ª¡°


    <em>- Crack!</em>


    ¡°It¡¯s time for the extras to exit.¡±


    Cha Jinchul immediately twisted Elizabeth¡¯s neck 360 degrees and observed for a moment to make sure she wasn¡¯t going to turn into a monster.


    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t transform once she was killed.


    Of course, Oliver made a loud fuss, but Mooksung just beat him up to keep him from following.


    <em>Sorry, but it¡¯s better if this guy just stays put.</em>


    Eunsol approached.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just follow the first route we took. Didn¡¯t we find the TV room quicklyst time?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. First, the basement in the first mansion, and the front entrance in the second mansion. That led us straight to the TV room.¡±


    Before long, we all arrived in the TV room.


    As soon as the pledge began, I muted the sound and the path to the headquarters opened.


    It didn¡¯t even take ten minutes to get here.


    Cha Jinchul eximed in amazement, ¡°This time it went smooth and fast!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rx just yet. The real action starts once we enter the headquarters. There¡¯s quite a few special forces units on the other side of the TV.¡±


    Once those words left Mooksung¡¯s mouth, tension filled the air as we stood before the TV.


    <em>Now it¡¯s starting for real!</em>


    <em>We¡¯ll unseal Kain, find a way to neutralize Beatrix through the Chief Researcher¡¯s memories, and finally put an end to this wretched Cube!</em>


    Everyone¡¯s eyes were on me.


    <em>Ah, I know, but there¡¯s only one safe way to enter the headquarters.</em>


    With a deep sigh, I had to pull out the syringe.


    ¡°For goodness¡¯ sake¡­ everyone should at least pay me. I¡¯ve inherited the power of a vampire, yet I¡¯m the one whose blood is getting sucked?¡±

 Chapter 167: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (16)

    Chapter 167: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (16)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    <em>¡­What a strange space.</em>


    Beyond the TV was an enormous space of blindingly white.


    ording to the n, the others began walking with their eyes closed.


    Thanks to my blood, this ce was safe.


    Only I, who was under the protection of Songee¡¯s bracelet, passed through the space while fully conscious


    <em>Why bother crossing while fully conscious when I already knew a method to do it safely?</em>


    The reason was simple: I wanted to see for myself what exactly the ¡°Eye of Zero Dimension¡± was.


    The Eye of Zero Dimension, presumably the Convict of Room 201.


    <em>What role did it y in this scenario?</em><em>Up till now, I haven¡¯t found any role for it beyond being a part of the scenario¡¯s backstory.</em>


    It wasn¡¯t like ¡°The Devouring One¡±, who opposed the Adversary, or ¡°The Doctor¡±, who empowered the Adversary, nor was it like ¡°The Lord¡±, who was worshiped as a god by the Adversary.


    If anything, it felt more like the ¡°Neb Dragon¡±, which didn¡¯t have much of a presence until the final confrontation.


    The role of the Eye of Zero Dimension was still a mystery.


    Perhaps it was something that Kain would have to unravel once he was unsealed.


    In the distance, I could see about 20 soldiers that had been stationed by the headquarters.


    ording to Eunsol, the entire facility had around 30 soldiers, with the rest being researchers, so more than half of them were here.


    This space housed the Eye of Zero Dimension.


    They didn¡¯t dare approach us and waited for us to reach them.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Thanks to the protection of the bracelet, I managed to enter without losing consciousness.


    <em>Shall I take a look now?</em>


    The moment I raised my head, I copsed on the spot.


    An overwhelming gaze violently pierced through me!


    Even though I wasn¡¯t the owner of the bracelet, I instinctively knew¡ªI couldn¡¯t endure this for long.


    <em>This isn¡¯t something I was ever supposed toy my eyes on! It was a mistake driven by a foolish curiosity.</em>


    <em>It¡¯s a mistake, a mistake, a mistake, a mistake, a mistake, a mistake, a mistake a, mistaKKKE¡­ mIsTAKE iNSIDE MISTAKEN¡­</em>


    <strong>-RKKJ;L53NCV19K6O-1KAG8KRM56NJK3L23BJK543 NBJ-L4FZD908S1364184FA809SD85B5HJ4K25GLP31P5HJ2KJ4131755849371412JK42314J</strong>


    *******<strong>[It¡¯s going to get interesting soon. I shall let you live.]</strong>


    *******The gaze that had been tearing me apart vanished.


    My mind was half gone, my thoughts were crumbling, and just before Ipletely lost consciousness, I was released.


    <em>I don¡¯t know. I have no idea what that entity is.</em>


    <em>One thing is clear.</em>


    <em>That being is on a level far beyond Beatrix.</em>


    <em>How on earth did the Chief Researcher manage to seal such an entity?</em>


    <em>What kind of person was he?</em>


    ¡°Ahri?¡±


    I was leading myrades, who had their eyes closed, like the Pied Piper.


    When I suddenly stopped, Songee, who had been waiting, looked puzzled.


    <em>We have to keep moving. If we dy any longer, the suggestion ced on them might wear off.</em>


    For some reason, the pressure from the Eye of Zero Dimension had disappeared.


    The headquarters forces, unaware of this, continued to wait far away.


    <em>This might work out well.</em>


    <em>Moving earlier than the enemy expects is always the right move!</em>


    Kim Ahri: Go!


    All at once, myrades opened their eyes.


    Our ninthrade, who had been quietly perched on Songee¡¯s shoulder since the seal was lifted, soared into the sky.


    ¡°Go! Bio-shbang!¡±


    ***<strong>- Lee Eunsol</strong>


    ¡°Go! Bio-shbang!¡±


    <em>What kind of nonsense is that? Is that a joke from the ¡®70s?</em>


    <em>Well, I guess Perro is like a living shbang.</em>


    Perro shot a re at Ahri before flying forward and transforming.


    <em>- Screech! Screech!</em>


    A piercing scream filled the air, and all hell broke loose!


    We had plugged our ears and were mentally prepared, but the enemies weren¡¯t.


    The ambushed soldiers started firing at each other like madmen.


    At that moment, Jinchul, wielding the Star, crashed into the scene like a meteor.


    With a loud crash, the soldiers began flying through the air.


    Jinchul, donned in a superior bulletproof vest, looked like an invincible superhuman with the Star in hand.


    Songee arrived, causing the soldiers to shoot each other with a sh of her bracelet, while Grandpa and Ahri repeatedly fired their guns.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone fought well.


    Only Elena, Seungyub, and I watched from the back.


    After about 15 minutes, the fight was nearly over.


    Most of the soldiers were either dead or had fled, and the headquarters was filled with the sound of chaos.


    Jinchul came running toward me.


    ¡°Noona, is that all of them?¡±


    ¡°There should be about ten more inside the headquarters, but they shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you. By the way, Jinchul, you looked like a superhero out there, especially when you were tossing the soldiers around as if they were nothing. You reminded me of a certain green monster.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! The strength helps, but it¡¯s mostly thanks to this vest.¡±


    ¡°The vest? It stops bullets from prating but doesn¡¯t block the impact.¡±


    Jinchul just smiled.


    <em>Well, I guess the impact isn¡¯t much of a problem for someone like him, unlike someone with a more ordinary physique, like me or Songee.</em>


    ¡°Is there any way to get this vest from the Hotel? If I could wear it in other Cursed Rooms, I¡¯d be at least 1.5 times stronger.¡±


    <em>It¡¯s not just any armor; it¡¯s a special product from the Administration, so it won¡¯t be easy to get.</em>


    Grandpa spoke up with a tense expression, ¡°Beatrix hasn¡¯t shown up.¡±


    I nced back slightly as I answered, ¡°We¡¯ve put some distance between us, but this ce seems to be where the Eye of Zero Dimension is located. Maybe she doesn¡¯t want to fight here.¡±


    <em>-Click!</em>


    Jinchul opened the door leading to the headquarters.


    <em>Now, onto the next phase.</em>


    ****


    ***<em>Honestly, I didn¡¯t do much in the previous fight.</em>


    <em>But now, my role is crucial. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the one wearing the Protective Suit!</em>


    After signaling to myrades, I distanced myself slightly from the group, preparing to slip into the surroundings.


    <em>- Bang! Bang! Bang!</em>


    Gunfire echoed from all directions.


    <em>- Fwoosh!</em>


    I could feel the waves from Jinchul¡¯s Star piercing through the suit, nearly reaching my skin.


    Meanwhile, I focused all my attention through the Eye of the One Eyed Bird, searching for Patrick.


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>¡­</em>


    <em>Found him.</em>


    Lee Eunsol: Found Patrick. Make it loud.


    Myrades followed the n, creating as much noise and confusion as possible.


    Jinchul suddenly charged toward me, while Perro let out a series of deafening screams.


    I held my breath and approached Patrick while staying invisible.


    Patrick was watching the situation unfold next to a peculiarly designed passageway.


    He¡¯d probably attempt to escape through this passage if things didn¡¯t go his way. It would be a hassle if that happened.


    When I opened the brooch, a butterfly started to flutter toward him¡ª


    <em>No.</em>


    <em>If you flutter over there at your slow pace, Patrick will surely notice you and escape in surprise.</em>


    <em>Just trust your master this time.</em>


    I grabbed the butterfly and approached Patrick directly.


    I held my breath for so long that I was beginning to struggle.


    I overheard their conversation.


    ¡°What the hell is that guy? He¡¯s taken at least ten shots!¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to have a normal body!¡±


    ¡°Even I can tell that, you idiot! Where¡¯s Beatrix? Is the escape route ready?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be here soon! It¡¯s only been a few minutes since they started rampaging. The escape route will be ready in 10 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Throw a bomb or something!¡±


    ¡°Patrick, sir, that¡¯s¡ª¡°


    ¡°What other choice do we even have? If this keeps up, the facility will¡ª¡°


    ¡°Hello~!¡±


    I lightly reached out and imnted the butterfly into Patrick¡¯s body.


    My form immediately became visible, and just as one of the guards reached out to grab me, Patrick let out a rough groan and copsed!


    The guards panicked and tried to move Patrick somewhere, but I simply held onto him and resisted.


    <em>This suit is amazing! With this on, I¡¯m super strong too!</em>


    The guards frantically tried to pry me off, but it was no use!


    This suit made me feel like I was at least 0.3 of Cha Jinchul¡¯s strength, so I enjoyed holding my ground until myrades, who had finished clearing the area, joined me.


    <em>The end is in sight.</em>


    <em>We¡¯ve secured Patrick.</em>


    ¡°Eunsol-unni! You did great.¡±


    ¡°This is just the beginning. Here, take this guy.¡±


    As Jinchul held onto Patrick, I retrieved the Nightmare Butterfly.


    It had only been about five minutes, but Patrick looked like he had aged ten years.


    As the butterfly emerged, a painful groan escaped from Patrick¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Urgh! Ahhh!¡±


    ¡°Now we just have to drag him to the third floor. Ahri?¡±


    Ahri looked uneasy.


    ¡°Ahri?¡±


    ¡°I mentioned this during the nning, but I¡¯m still uneasy.¡±


    ¡°You think hypnosis might not work well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s not an ordinary person after all.¡±


    During this exchange, Patrick regained consciousness.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ The third floor¡­ That¡¯s where the seal and that person are. You¡¯re from the Administration, so you¡¯re not here to mess with the seal. Are you here to rescue the Chief?¡±


    ¡°Notpletely clueless, are you?¡±


    ¡°Heh¡­ It¡¯s almostughable. Are you really here to rescue him of all people? Do you really think that man is some sort of hero who saved the world? Do you even know why I betrayed him? You mere pawn in the board have no idea¡ª¡°


    ¡°Are we going to listen to this guy babble on endlessly? We¡¯re running out of time. Let¡¯s just get on with it. Ahri?¡±


    Jinchul was right. We didn¡¯t know when Beatrix might show up.


    Ahri sighed and locked eyes with Patrick, just like she had with Elizabeth before.


    After about three minutes, Patrick began drooling and moving ording to Ahri¡¯smands.


    ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°That answer doesn¡¯t inspire confidence.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve said it many times, he¡¯s not an ordinary person, so I can¡¯t be sure. Everyone, keep a close eye on him.¡±


    With most of the people at the headquarters either dead or having fled, we moved toward our target location with Patrick in tow. There were several doors that outsiders couldn¡¯t enter, but with Patrick in tow, we passed through without much difficulty.


    ¡­As we walked, I suddenly thought of a question I hadn¡¯t considered before.


    ¡°Ahri.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Why did Patrick betray the Administration in the first ce?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°When you think about it, he was already a high-ranking official in the Administration. He was in a top position in the Arizona branch. Would the Administration have treated him poorly? They must have given him a considerable amount of wealth and honor. That in and of itself is a strong deterrent against betrayal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. With a position like that in the Administration, he would¡¯ve amassed enough wealth to support his grandchildren and then some.¡±


    ¡°So why did he betray them? In exchange for betrayal, he ended up living among monsters in the shadows. He couldn¡¯t even easily leave this stifling headquarters.¡±


    Seungyub spoke up, ¡°Maybe Beatrix threatened him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible, but from the tone of the diary and the way he talks, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. The rtionship between Patrick and Beatrix felt more like a partnership or coboration, rather than a one-sided rtionship.¡±


    Ahri chimed in, agreeing, ¡°No matter how powerful Beatrix was, ultimately, she was just a test subject under the control of the Chief Researcher. Even if she was lucky enough to escape, would she have been able to manage this massive facility? From managing the Cube to the underground for the monsters, maintaining such a facility isn¡¯t something a demon girl, who spent her life being experimented on, could do. It¡¯s the domain of experts with decades of experience in the field.¡±


    That was the point we kept pondering about when we nned outside.


    Given our theories and the Advice we received from the Owl, it was clear that the Chief Researcher had a way to control Beatrix.


    <em>So why did he fail?</em>


    <em>Was it simply due tocency?</em>


    It was hard to ept that someone who could seal the Eye of Zero Dimension and save the world would be defeated by his own test subject due to his own carelessness.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Perhaps¡­</em>


    Patrick betrayed the Chief Researcher and, in the process, released Beatrix.


    That would exin why the Chief Researcher was defeated.


    He probably had a way to control Beatrix, but he wouldn¡¯t have expected an internal coup.


    <em>Why did he betray him?</em>


    Why did he abandon the wealth and honor provided by the Administration, going so far as to rely on the power of a test subject, and betray his superior, who had saved the world?


    I recalled Patrick¡¯s words before he sumbed to Ahri¡¯s suggestion.


    <em>Do you really think that man is a hero who saved the world?</em>

 Chapter 168: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (17)

    Chapter 168: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (17)<strong>- Kim Ahri</strong>


    After securing Patrick, the path to the third floor was smooth.


    By then, we had already taken down most of the military forces within the headquarters, and the only real obstacle, Beatrix, took longer to arrive than we expected.


    <em>Maybe Beatrix is using a different route than the TV portal we used?</em>


    <em>Who knows?</em>


    Patrick¡¯s condition grew increasingly strange.


    It wasn¡¯t just that his mind seemed clouded¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­ Chief. Was this all part of your n too? Just how far does your scheme go?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered. What exactly are you thinking? Do you really care about humanity?¡±¡°¡­¡±


    <em>Something¡¯s off.</em>


    These incoherent ramblings had nothing to do with my suggestion.


    Mypanions also seemed increasingly uneasy.


    Songee couldn¡¯t hold back and asked, ¡°Ahri¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this guy?¡±


    <em>I don¡¯t know.</em>


    We finally reached the third floor.


    Eunsol tried to recall where to go, but it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    Patrick took the lead and began guiding us himself!


    I felt a sense of foreboding, but it would have been strange to stop him.


    <em>Why stop someone who is doing exactly what we need?</em>


    After about ten minutes, aplex machine appeared before us.


    It looked like a massive apparatus used to condense energy in a fusion reactor.


    In the center of the machine, inside a ss chamber, floated a mysterious red polyhedron with a strange shape.


    And behind that¡ª


    We saw the tube we had been searching for.


    The moment they saw it, myrades¡¯ eyes widened as they rushed toward it!


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    Jinchul, who had been flying towards the tube, suddenly hit something.


    ¡°What the heck is this?¡±


    Elena reached out into the air and said, ¡°There¡¯s some sort of invisible wall here?¡±


    A tired voice answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a space severance created by the Irregr Polyhedron. It might look like it¡¯s right in front of you, but in reality, you¡¯re far from it. Don¡¯t bother swinging your fists; save your strength for the real fight.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone¡¯s confused eyes turned to Patrick, and I finally couldn¡¯t hold back and asked, ¡°These machines are designed to handle the Irregr Polyhedron, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They¡¯re essentially the reason this headquarters exists.¡±


    ¡°Patrick, you¡¯ve seemed mentally sound since earlier¡ª¡°


    <em>- Rumble!</em>


    The floor shook violently, and something sharp sprang up!


    ¡°Argh! Aaaah!¡±


    ¡°What the¡ª¡°


    Finally, the entity we feared most had arrived!


    As if perfectly timed, Beatrix appeared, and simultaneously, the remaining soldiers and researchers emerged from every direction, surrounding us.


    In that instant, a sharp tension filled the room.


    Oddly enough, the girl who emerged from the floor like jelly didn¡¯t even nce our way.


    If a gaze could hold murderous intent, her wild, maddened eyes, capable of cutting someone into five pieces with just a look, were locked onto Patrick.


    <strong>[Patrick! What the hell is this? Don¡¯t you dare give me some stupid excuse about being brainwashed!]</strong>


    ¡°Beatrix¡­¡±


    <strong>[What the hell are you doing!!!]</strong>


    ¡°I just thought this: These people walked into the headquarters as if they knew the facility like their own home. This means all our information has already leaked to the Administration.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°How long do you think you can hold out? Even if you kill all of them, what difference does it make? Next time, they¡¯ll just send an army five times asrge.¡±


    <strong>[Hmph! Even if they send five times as many¡ª]</strong>


    ¡°If you kill them, then they¡¯ll send twenty-five times as many.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over. The moment we were discovered, we lost the battle.¡±


    <strong>[Ha! So, what? Are you nning to wake up the Chief again to grovel? Are you going to beg for mercy? Or perhaps you¡¯ll ask the Administration to take you back? Do you honestly believe they¡¯ll forgive you?]</strong>


    ¡°¡­You still don¡¯t understand anything, do you?¡±


    <strong>[What?]</strong>


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t it been over ten years since you were freed from theb? In that time, you should have figured out who the Chief really is¡ªwhy he was both the savior of the world and the most diabolical demon in history.¡±


    <strong>[What the hell are you talking about¡ª]</strong>


    ¡°Do you know why the Chief raised you? Don¡¯t tell me you still believe the ridiculous excuse that you were created to produce monsters to be used as weapons?¡±


    <em>An excuse?</em>


    <em>So Beatrix wasn¡¯t raised to produce monsters to be used as weapons?</em>


    Not only were we stunned by the sudden revtion, but even Beatrix widened her eyes in surprise.


    Seeing this, Patrick wore a slightly different, wearied expression.


    ¡°What kind of moronic group would use a power that produces uncontroble monsters 95% of the time as a weapon? You could defend a country three times over if you put the same amount of money and manpower into tanks, helicopters, drones, and walking weapons!¡±


    He turned and walked toward the apparatus controlling the floating polyhedron.


    The next moment, things gotplicated.


    Beatrixunched herself towards Patrick at a speed almost too fast to see, reaching out to do something.


    A golden wave burst from Elena¡¯s body, repelling Beatrix, and the two shed violently, smashing through theb and disappearing from view.


    Patrick¡¯s neck started to sprout tongues, and hands began sprouting from his back.


    Startled, Eunsol and I rushed towards Patrick.


    The soldiers aimed their rifles at us, and Jinchul summoned the Star, preparing to counter.


    At the same time, the researchers standing next to the soldiers screamed in panic, ¡°Please! Everyone, calm down! For the sake of the world, please!¡±


    By the time I came to my senses, Elena and Beatrix had vanished after breaking through the building, the soldiers and Jinchul had started an awkward standoff, and we were left unsure of what to do next to Patrick.


    ¡°Ahri! Ahri! Ahri! Ahri!¡±


    ¡°Eunsol, please calm down.¡±


    ¡°What should we do? Without his help, we can¡¯t unseal Kain!¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not impossible. We do have n D, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°You said that was too dangerous!¡±


    In that brief moment, Patrick had transformed into a grotesque shape, with tongues growing from his neck and hands sprouting from his back, no longer resembling anything human.


    Finally, Mooksung, who hade closer, pointed his gun at Patrick¡¯s twisted head.


    ¡°What do we do with him? Should I just kill him?¡±


    As everyone hesitated, Patrick spoke what might have been hisst words, ¡°Beatrix¡­ You didn¡¯t even try to learn about the Chief or yourself and instead just tampered with my body. Your perspective is so narrow¡­ Why is your thinking so childish¡­?¡±


    With those words, Patrick¡¯s face copsed, and just as a monster began to emerge from his body, a gunshot rang out, and Patrick¡¯s body went limp.


    ¡°Looks like using this guy to unseal Kain was a failure. I kind of expected this.¡±


    ¡°Did you really think so?¡±


    ¡°Ahri, didn¡¯t you think the same? From the moment Eunsol suggested brainwashing Patrick, you kept saying it wouldn¡¯t work, over and over.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Eunsol may seem smart, but she has an ordinary way of thinking. When making ns, she doesn¡¯t ount for the supernatural variables enough.¡±


    ¡°¡­Mooksung, Eunsol is right next to you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for being so ordinary. And if the n seemed so wed, maybe you should have spoken up earlier?¡±


    <em>No matter how old someone gets, they¡¯re still just as childish.</em>


    I sighed without realizing it as I looked around.


    Patrick was dead, Beatrix and Elena were gone, Jinchul was still in that awkward standoff, and there was a rumbling sensation from the floor.


    <em>¡­?</em>


    <em>A rumbling?</em>


    ¡°E-Eunsol!¡±


    ¡°Ahri?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with this rumbling?¡±


    Eunsol finally snapped out of it, feeling the shaking floor, and her face went pale!


    ¡°This is it, isn¡¯t it? The monsters from the facility¡¯s underground areing up, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    We didn¡¯t need to wait long for our query to be answered.


    As the rumbling grew stronger, everyone¡¯s faces turned grim, including the soldiers and researchers!


    Jinchul rushed over to us.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going with n D. If I use the power of the Star to destroy the machine that controls the Irregr Polyhedron or whatever, Kain should be unsealed, right?¡±


    ¡° ¡­ ¡°


    As we fell silent, a researcher on the other side, who had overheard us, shouted on the brink of tears, ¡°Please! Please! Calm down, I beg of you! I¡¯m not just saying this to save my own life. Think about the outside world. Out there, there are people who worked hard today, going home to enjoy dinner with their beloved families in a peaceful world.¡±


    <em>¡­Wow, we really do sound like the bad guys here!</em>


    <em>But regardless, the rumbling from the floor continued to grow.</em>


    <em>If this keeps up, we¡¯re all going to die.</em>


    Jinchul let out a dryugh. He had already made up his mind.


    ¡°Well, where are we? Room 201. A ce even harder than that grueling first floor. We have no choice but to take the risk. After all, isn¡¯t the Chief Researcher the one who sealed that entity in the first ce? He must have another way to deal with it.¡±


    Sensing the seriousness of the situation, the researcher desperately pleaded, ¡°What on earth are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Dear fellow hotel guests, prepare yourselves and take all the precautions you can. Especially you, Songee?¡±


    <em>If things go wrong, she¡¯s the only one among us who might survive.</em>


    With a tense expression, Songee nodded.


    Somehow, the Escape Button had already found its way into her hand.


    A sinister wave erupted from Cha Jinchul¡¯s hand, spreading throughout the entire researchb.


    <strong>And then, the world ended.</strong>


    ***Everything crumbled.


    The researchb crumbled.


    The city crumbled.


    The nation crumbled.


    And finally, the sound of the world copsing rang in my ears.


    The great eyes, overseeing all of creation, filled the world.


    With one breath, it epassed the stars; with the next, it epassed the universe.


    <em>Ah¡ª</em>


    The gaze that looked down upon me was so overwhelming that it felt sphemous for my insignificant eyes to even behold it.


    <strong>[I let you go once, and now you¡¯vee back to die again?]</strong>


    <em>What was I supposed to do?</em>


    <em>If I just stood there, I¡¯d be dead meat for the monsters rising from below!</em>


    In the face of that overwhelming gaze, my body, mind, and soul scattered like a sandcastle being struck by a wave.


    As the Ancient Blood within me quickly dried up, and I epted the inescapable death that was closing in¡ª


    I saw ¡°it¡± behind the eyes.


    Now I understand. I finally know the true nature of the eyes that observe all things¡ªthe true form of the Eye of Zero Dimension.


    Sorrow, joy, fear, ecstasy, bliss, despair, rage¡ªall of these emotions were transcended by a sudden, overwhelming revtion that struck my mind.


    As my consciousness faded, I realized one deeply unfortunate fact.


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to remember this knowledge. It was a knowledge that had crossed too many boundaries.


    As my consciousness dimmed, I thought:


    <em>Even if I¡¯m leaving, I should at least say goodbye!</em>


    <strong>¡°Everyone, are you enjoying our story?¡±</strong>

 Chapter 169: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (18)

    Chapter 169: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube (18)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Shatter!</em>


    The seal has been lifted!


    The loud sound jolted me awake.


    <em>Now, it¡¯s time for the main character to take the stage!</em>


    <em>¡­What¡¯s this feeling?</em>


    Before I could even grasp the situation, a piercing headache struck me, and I hastily brought up the Status Window.


    <em>What on earth is going on?</em>


    I couldn¡¯t see anyone else, only Songee was standing in front of me.


    ¡°Songee? What the hell is this¡ª¡±¡°Don¡¯t lift your head. You won¡¯t be able to withstand it, even with the Status Window. Let me help you onest time.¡±


    With those words, a blinding sh, brighter than ever before, burst forth from Songee¡¯s bracelet.


    A powerful protection, exhausting all of Songee¡¯s remaining vitality, enveloped me.


    I already knew about Songee¡¯s ¡°death buff¡±.


    Some of the restrictions imposed on Songee¡¯s Inheritance, ¡°Diverse Perspectives¡±, were tied to the Inheritance itself, but a far greater number stemmed from the strain it ced on Songee¡¯s own body.


    In other words, if Songee gave up on living any longer, she could wield power far beyond her usual limitations.


    An overwhelming flood of information poured into me.


    The vast knowledge of the world¡¯s hidden truths the Chief Researcher had amassed!


    I endured the splitting headache and thought, <em>Why was I the one sealed in this room?</em>


    <em>Where is Beatrix¡¯s main body?</em>


    <em>What means did the Chief Researcher use to control Beatrix?</em>


    All these questions led to one conclusion.


    Beatrix¡¯s main body was located at the site where the Eye of Zero Dimension was sealed.


    And, I was the only one who could approach that ce.


    Even Beatrix herself would go mad if she tried to transfer her consciousness to her main body, making it impossible for her to ever get close.


    Only I, under the mental protection of Songee¡¯s bracelet and bolstered by the Status Window, could withstand the pressure of the Eye of Zero Dimension and enter the sealed area.


    Ahri might be able to do something simr with Songee¡¯s help, but unlike the Status Window, Ahri¡¯s power consumes her blood, thus being limited by her body.


    More and more memories flooded in.


    Just as I started to feel dizzy, I finally realized the ¡°true solution¡± to this room.


    ¡°What the hell! Is this Chief Researcher even human?¡±


    <strong>[Unfortunately, I am indeed Homo Sapien.]</strong>


    ¡°¡­I never imagined something like this was possible. Has your personality reassembled itself?¡±


    <strong>[Just one of my many talents. Be cautious in other rooms as well.]</strong>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In just a short conversation, I realized that he knew that this ce was the Hotel.


    <em>Is this a unique trait of the Chief Researcher?</em>


    <em>Or does this apply to all characters awakened during the unsealing process?</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t know for now.</em>


    <strong>[Have you grasped the situation now? Are you confident in your ability to handle it?]</strong>


    My head started to ache.


    <em>I¡­ honestly don¡¯t have the confidence to handle this like the Chief Researcher.</em>


    <strong>[You don¡¯t need to worry. You know the drill, don¡¯t you? The control is entirely in your hands. Just do what you can, and if you reach a point where you can¡¯t manage, you can leave it to me.]</strong>


    <em>¡­Regardless, I have to solve this room and get out.</em>


    <em>Let¡¯s just proceed.</em>


    Even if the Status Window couldst forever, Songee¡¯s mental protection had a time limit.


    In the center of the half-destroyed apparatus, which Jinchul-hyung had smashed, a white vortex began to form.


    Although the device was mostly ruined, I tinkered with the remaining scraps, expanding the ¡°pathway¡± slightly¡ªjust as Beatrix appeared.


    With a smirk, I nced up at the sky.


    A vast eye,rge enough to cover the horizon, gazed down at the world like a sun.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe closer?¡±


    <strong>[You!]</strong>


    ¡°You¡¯re holding up quite well. You¡¯re still able to converse despite the pressure. But you can¡¯t get closer through this vortex, can you?¡±


    ¡®Would you allow me to take over for a moment?¡¯


    <em>Go ahead.</em>


    <em>I need time to expand the pathway anyway.</em>


    A momentter, my mouth began to move on its own.


    ¡°Beatrix. My poor daughter. Didn¡¯t I tell you to only take on what you could handle?¡±


    <strong>[Father! If it weren¡¯t for you¡­ If weren¡¯t for you, I could have escaped to the outside world long ago!]</strong>


    ¡°All this trouble just to breathe some outside air?¡±


    <strong>[¡­]</strong>


    ¡°No, no. In truth, Patrick simply let you out. Patrick, that boy had his resolve. You should be grateful to me, you know? Without me, you would have spent endless nights terrified of the monsters you create.¡±


    <strong>[I still appreciate that. But Father, now that you¡¯ve taught me enough, isn¡¯t it time for you to graciously die and pass on your Inheritance? If you had just given me the Irregr Polyhedron, I would have torn you to pieces long ago!]</strong>


    ¡°Ohoo! You¡¯re still harping on about that polyhedron as if it¡¯s something that can just be given away. And who raised you to be such a foul-mouthed brat?¡±


    <strong>[Sorry. I killed my mother with my own hands when I was little.]</strong>


    ¡°No wonder you grew up so wild. It¡¯s my fault for not being a better father.¡±


    Listening to the banter of this disturbingly amicable father-daughter pair, I realized the pathway had expanded enough for me to pass through.


    ¡°Sadly, your father has to leave now. Take care.¡±


    Beatrix, who had been so confident just moments ago, now trembled uncontrobly.


    ¡°Father¡­ Please, just this once¡ª¡±


    The vortex swallowed me whole.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    The inside of the vortex was truly a bizarre ce.


    Countless books opened and closed as they floated about, while endless screens appeared and disappeared.


    <strong>[Do you understand what the Eye of Zero Dimension is?]</strong>


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    <strong>[It¡¯s a higher-dimensional being who descended from above. It views everything as mere creations and desires nothing more than to inscribe endless, cruel records. But, it¡¯s nothing short of a false creator, you could say.]</strong>


    ¡°It feels like the blind men and the elephant. Do you really think you can understand such a grand entity?¡±


    <strong>[Trust me. This informationes from a reliable source.]</strong>


    ¡°A reliable source?¡±


    <strong>[When he interacts with mortals, he imnts fragments of chaotic knowledge in them. This causes mortals to believe they¡¯re insignificant and leads them to copse in despair.]</strong>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <strong>[But that¡¯s not all. It¡¯smon for a mortal¡¯s mind to drift like a flotsam when encountering a great being. This is what I call vibration.]</strong>


    ¡°Vibration?¡±


    <strong>[A human merely walks, but the vibrations from each step turn the world of tiny creatures upside down, crushing countless bugs with each step.]</strong>


    ¡°Listening to your memories and words, one thought keepsing to mind.¡±


    <strong>[Tell me.]</strong>


    ¡°Your words sound like the blind men who touched an elephant and thought they understood the whole thing. How could you possiblyprehend such an iprehensible entity? What did you call it again, a false creator?¡±


    <strong>[Allow me to share one belief and one piece of evidence.]</strong>


    ¡°One belief and one piece of evidence?¡±


    <strong>[If there were a true creator in this universe, they wouldn¡¯t wish for a world filled only with suffering. That¡¯s why I believe that such a cruel being can¡¯t be the true creator.]</strong>


    ¡°After learning of how you supposedly saved the world outside the Hotel, it seems more like the creator is indeed a deranged entity.¡±


    <strong>[That¡¯s merely a product of my limitations¡­ Can you think of a better way than what I did?]</strong>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <strong>[Patrick betrayed me for the same reason. Yet, he ultimately gave up and entrusted everything back to me when you all invaded. He didn¡¯t agree with my methods, but he couldn¡¯t find a better one. In fact, while I was gone, Patrick used the same methods to maintain the seal.]</strong>


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s ept your belief for now. What¡¯s your evidence?¡±


    <strong>[The evidence is simple and clear. We¡¯re all trapped in this Hotel, aren¡¯t we?]</strong>


    ¡°¡­???¡±


    <strong>[If it truly was an omnipotent creator from a higher dimension, why would they be trapped in the Hotel room? The fact that they¡¯re trapped proves they¡¯re not such a being.]</strong>


    I had to admit, that argument was convincing.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>This is dangerous.</em>


    Beyond the premise of Room 201, I was starting to understand the system of ¡°seals¡±.


    When a seal was lifted, the main character of the scenario also got liberated within me.


    <em>This is fine¡ªbeneficial even since I gain a powerful advisor when the seal is lifted.</em>


    <em>The control always remains with the hotel participants.</em>


    <em>The problem arises when I be persuaded by the character¡¯s way of thinking and start to assimte with them!</em>


    Just now, I was convinced by the logic of the Chief Researcher.


    And at that moment, I realized that I had partially merged with him.


    <em>The second floor is truly different from the first.</em>


    Something¡­ about the purpose of these rooms feels different.


    ***<strong>[It¡¯s been a while! Haven¡¯t you been stuck in that tube for too long? It¡¯s been fun without you, though!]</strong>


    As I waded through the endless books and disys, a voice that pierced my skull echoed in my mind.


    <em>There¡¯s not much time left. While the Status Window may not have a time limit, Songee¡¯s protection will soon expire.</em>


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re almost at the ce where Beatrix¡¯s main body is located. It¡¯s time for her to fulfill the purpose she was born for.¡±


    <strong>[¡­]</strong>


    ¡°By the way¡­ Since you seem to understand the situation to some extent, doesn¡¯t the term ¡®seal¡¯ seem a bit ridiculous? How can a mere human seal a being like that? It¡¯d be easier to put the sun in your home refrigerator!¡±


    <strong>[¡­]</strong>


    ¡°All I did was provide the being with the cruel ¡®theater¡¯ it desired. There were some sacrifices, but humanity gained peace. Without me, the Eye of Zero Dimension would have made the entire into its theater.¡±


    <strong>[So, throwing humans into the jaws of a demon is what you call a theater?]</strong>


    ¡°It was a rather strenuous task. For many years, we had to manually bring people into the Irregr Polyhedron and kill them. That alone was difficult enough, but there was a more pressing matter.¡±


    <strong>[¡­]</strong>


    ¡°All stimuli eventually grow tiresome. Even the cruel god began to show signs of boredom. We needed something¡­ another ¡®actor¡¯ to guarantee endless amusement.¡±


    <strong>[Was that Beatrix?]</strong>


    ¡°Yes, yes. We¡¯re almost there. Isn¡¯t that child a true gift to humanity?¡±


    <em>Who am I?</em>


    <em>At some point, I lost my sense of self. I can no longer distinguish whether it is me or him who is speaking.</em>


    The more convinced I was by the words, the more the distinction between us became meaningless¡­


    Finally, Beatrix¡¯s main body emerged.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    What appeared before me was an opaque tube¡­


    And floating inside it was a human brain.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of it as cruel. It has no sensory organs, and its consciousness is elsewhere, which is why it can survive in this ce. Though it may have some resilience, it¡¯s nothingpared to ours.¡±


    A menacingly glowing polyhedron appeared in the Chief Researcher¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Do you think smashing this floating brain will solve everything? It might. But remember, the hotel has always wanted us to solve the ¡®root cause of the curse¡¯. Whether it¡¯s killing the Adversary or dealing with the Convicts, those are all just assumptions you made.¡±


    <strong>[What are you talking about?]</strong>


    ¡°I¡¯m saying destroying Beatrix¡¯s brain won¡¯t change anything. The Eye of Zero Dimension will consume the world in real-time then. In the end, you have to make a decision. But as I¡¯ve said before, I have no intention of forcing you. I couldn¡¯t even if I wanted to. The control has always been with you.¡±


    The Chief Researcher asked me if I had a better way to save the world.


    I couldn¡¯te up with an answer.


    ¡°You¡¯re quite troubled. What¡¯s causing you so much confusion? When you think about it, Room 201 is just a fake world created by the Hotel. Does it really matter if NPCs are fed to demons? Isn¡¯t it simr to what you¡¯ve been doing all along, killing the people inside the room when necessary?¡±


    <em>Why then?</em>


    <em>As the Chief Researcher said, we¡¯ve already killed countless people in the rooms to progress when needed.</em>


    <em>So why is my mind in such turmoil?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I knew the answer.


    Only after awakening the Chief Researcher¡¯s memories within me did I realize¡­


    For the first time today, I truly felt that what happened in Room 201 also happened in reality.


    <em>I¡¯vee to understand that humanity as a whole, and more importantly, I, survived because of such sacrifices¡­</em>


    <em>I don¡¯t know.</em>


    <em>I really don¡¯t know what the best way is.</em>


    <em>Who am I outside?</em>


    <em>Just a student studying for exams.</em>


    <em>Now, the problem presented in Room 201 feels like an exam where the passing score is 30 out of 100.</em>


    <em>Passing isn¡¯t hard.</em>


    <em>Scoring 30 points would let me leave the room with the Inheritance.</em>


    <em>But¡­</em>


    <em>The ¡°examiner¡± seems to want a much higher-level answer.</em>


    An answer that even the examiner might not know.


    In the end, when I gave up on finding a better answer, I could no longer move my body.


    An ominous glow began to emanate from the polyhedron in my hand.


    A sinister chant flowed from my lips, ¡°I offer this! I offer this! Oh Great Eye, I offer you a theater to sing of agony through the eons. Here, an immortal goat awaits you, your eternally regenerating S?hr¨ªmnir!¡±


    I felt the immense gaze fixate on me once again.


    In some distant ce, in a dimension unreachable by mere steps, the ¡°Cube¡± reappeared.


    Beatrix¡¯s brain was transported to the center of the Cube.


    The regeneration of the monsters inside the Cube was apanied by Beatrix¡¯s scream of terror and agony.


    <em>Now, this theater will never close.</em>


    <em>Beatrix, like the endlessly regenerating boar of Norse mythology, will create monsters forever, and the Administration will ceaselessly sacrifice humans.</em>


    To ensure the cruel god never turns its gaze back to Earth.


    I hear the sound of wailing.


    The screams of those being offered as living sacrifices pierced my ears like an awl.


    Theughter of the cruel god echoed throughout the world.


    And then, the ¡°finger¡± descended.

 Chapter 170: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube End (19)

    Chapter 170: Room 201, The Cursed Room - The Cube End (19)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    A finger descended like a falling meteor from the boundless sky, bringing everything to an immediate halt.


    The anguished song of Beatrix, echoing from a distant dimension, ceased.


    The noise from the books and screens fluttering around in the strange space stopped.


    The maddeningughter of the cruel god, which filled the world, fell silent.


    In that moment of suspended time, the finger descending from the heavens pierced through me, leaving me no space to evade.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    When I came to my senses, I realized that I had returned to being fully ¡°Han Kain¡±.


    ¡°What the¡ª¡±


    ¡°Are you back to your senses?¡±Startled, I turned around and saw an intellectual-looking man in histe fifties.


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Then your next line will be, ¡®You¡¯re the Chief Researcher!¡¯ Aren¡¯t you tired of saying the same old predictable line?¡±


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s going on? What was that finger?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a courtesy for being the first room on the second floor.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Did you truly understand the concept of ¡®sealing¡¯ before you entered this room?¡±


    ¡°I got the gist from Ahri, but honestly, I didn¡¯t fully grasp it. Even Ahri didn¡¯tpletely understand it.¡±


    ¡°You started Room 201 without a proper understanding of the sealing system? Well, that¡¯s not really your fault. After all, how could you have known before experiencing it? There¡¯s no manual in this hotel. Did you realize beforehand that you could be swept up in the thought processes of the characters, risking a change in your personality? Could you have prepared for that beforehand?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°So, as the first room on the second floor, there¡¯s a bit of consideration given. You¡¯ve been forcibly separated from me. Congrattions, you¡¯ve regained your full self.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ certainly something to be thankful for.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it amusing? This hotel seems to collect all the world¡¯s absurdities, yet it still hides these strange courtesies.¡±


    The Chief Researcher pulled out a cigarette and slowly began to smoke.


    As he exhaled the crumbling mist from his mouth, he spoke again, ¡°Care for one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never smoked.¡±


    ¡°Interested in learning?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha! A dull junior, then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your junior.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting, looking at you. You seem to have a lot you want to say but don¡¯t know where to begin. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°Was this really the only way? Was sacrificing Beatrix and humans as offerings the only solution?¡±


    ¡°It seems you really didn¡¯t like my method.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ While I was merged with you, I realized something. You only see others as mere tools, everyone except yourself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amon w amongst those in high positions. And you¡¯re mistaken about one thing.¡±


    ¡°Mistaken?¡±


    ¡°You said I only see everyone else as tools? What sort of nonsense is that? I¡¯m the most useful tool of all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m even here?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you came to the hotel on your own to obtain something¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that. You¡¯ll never see me again in your life, so why bother with personal questions about me? They wouldn¡¯t mean anything beyond satisfying your curiosity. Instead, ask the questions that will matter to you going forward.¡±


    With those words, the Chief pointed at my Status Window.


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 87


    Current Location: Floor 2, The Cursed Room ¨C Room 201, The Cube


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    ¡°¡­¡±


    This was the first time someone else had looked at my Status Window.


    The Sage¡¯s Advice tab flickered.


    ¡°What is this¡­?¡±


    ¡°Use the Advice to ask me questions. I¡¯d like to just tell you myself, but I can¡¯t anymore. You know how to use it, right?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the Owl, so why are you asking me to use Advice¡ª¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to ask trivial questions? Ask what¡¯s necessary.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t decide what to ask, I¡¯ll choose something appropriate for you. The first question¡­ Yes, this one will do.¡±


    <em>Regarding the system on the second floor.</em>


    Advice: 3 ¡ú 2


    ¡­I let out a dryugh.


    The Chief Researcher, who seemed to be an owner of Wisdom long ago, began using the Status Window as if it were his own.


    He even began the bizarre act of asking and answering his own questions.


    However, it was true that I had many questions for him, and the topic of ¡±the system on the second floor¡± was something I was dying to know more about.


    I decided to listen quietly.


    The Chief Researcher began his self-Q&A session.


    ¡°The second floor is simr to the first with each room having its own scenario. However, the rooms on the second floor revolve around a seal. The seal might pertain to one of your group, but it¡¯s also linked to an important character in the scenario who ys a key role in solving it. When the seal is lifted, that character¡¯s consciousness also awakens along with yourrade¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you have to break the seal to solve the room? Not necessarily. But it¡¯s usually a good idea to aim for it. Yourpanions in Room 201 seemed obsessed with breaking the seal, didn¡¯t they? Even though they weren¡¯t entirely sure why, they ended up being right. It seems they¡¯ve developed a bit of an instinct from surviving in the hotel.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Once the seal is broken, the room is essentially solved. A character who knows the answer to the room, like the ¡®Chief Researcher¡¯ in Room 201, will awaken.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°However, there¡¯s one problem¡ªoh, hold on. It looks like a further exnation will require another Advice. Do you have any other questions?¡±


    ¡°Just use another one and continue exining.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. The second question will be this.¡±


    <em>The problem with the answers known by the characters.</em>


    Advice: 2 ¡ú 1


    ¡°When the seal is broken, the character who awakens alongside yourrades will know the room¡¯s answer. The problem is that the answer they know isn¡¯t always a great one.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡°What?¡± Haven¡¯t you beenining to me this whole time about whether this was the only way?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same in other rooms. When you break the seal, you¡¯ll learn the answer to the room but also realize the answer has many ws. Usually, you won¡¯t have the luxury to think about it and will just go along with that wed answer like you did this time. But¡­ if you have the time.¡±


    ¡°If we have the time?¡±


    ¡°Consider whether there might be a better answer. For the record, I¡¯ve heard that finding a better answeres with its own rewards.¡±


    My mind was spinning.


    I concentrated all my thoughts on organizing everything I had heard.


    <em>The second floor, like the first, has a scenario for each room, and one of us will end up sealed.</em>


    <em>Breaking the seal releases myrades and the character who knows the room¡¯s answer.</em>


    <em>Therefore, breaking the seal drastically increases the chances of solving the room.</em>


    <em>However, the answer the character knows is wed.</em>


    <em>If we could find a better answer, we might receive additional rewards.</em>


    <em>Is that about it?</em>


    As I pondered whether I had missed anything, the status window flickered again.


    <em>Regarding the limits of Advice.</em>


    Advice: 1 ¡ú 0


    ¡°Why did it change without a word¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. Time¡¯s up.¡±


    Indeed, as he said, the world that had been frozen began to move again.


    As the Cursed Room was solved, the space started to slowly copse.


    ¡°Thest answer is nothing special. From reviewing your memories, it seems you have quite a bit of resentment toward the Owl.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°As someone who owes him quite a bit, I thought I¡¯d clear up the misunderstanding. The reason the Owl sometimes gives you cryptic, riddle-like answers isn¡¯t to mess with you. He, too, has his own restrictions and simply chose that route out of necessity.¡±


    ¡°Chose?¡±


    ¡°Would you rather have a simple, clear answer that only conveys one meaning or a more ambiguous one that, like a Zen koan, can be interpreted in many ways? He chose thetter to convey more information in a single response.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The surrounding space began to crumble.


    The end of the long and arduous Room 201 was finally here.


    Just as the tform we were standing on began to give way, I couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°I never want to be like you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good thought. I wish you the best, my junior.¡±


    You have seeded!


    The Cube.


    A strange ce where people were mysteriously kidnapped and endlessly killed by monsters.


    The reason this horrific ce was created was, surprisingly, to save humanity.


    Unable to face the root of evil with power or wisdom, the people ultimately chose to offer living sacrifices in a desperate attempt for survival.


    Was there really no other way?


    Who knows?


    But don¡¯t worry!


    You¡¯ve certainly solved the room!


    Monsters lurking in every room, a girl who was more like a living natural disaster than a person!


    And even a researchb shrouded in mystery.


    After oveing all these trials and protecting the world from the Eye of Zero Dimension, your efforts were truly impressive.


    ***


    ***


    ***


    ***


    One of your teammates has sessfully resolved the issue!


    Congrattions!


    The sessful resolution allows everyone to return safely.


    Now, who will receive the treasure, and what will it be? You get to decide!


    ¡°???¡±


    I was reading this when my eyes widened in shock at thest line!


    <em>You can choose what treasure to receive?</em>


    <em>And even who will get it?</em>


    <em>Is anyone other than me still alive?</em>


    After the resolution of Room 101, the ¡°Moment of Choice¡± made a return.


    Soon, another notification appeared.

 Chapter 171: Moment of Choice, Choosing the Reward

    Chapter 171: Moment of Choice, Choosing the Reward<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I was initially surprised by the fact that I could choose a reward, but the following details were equally shocking.


    The people eligible to receive the Inheritance were those who were still alive when the room was resolved and had umted significant contributions.


    <em>Contribution is important, but survival is crucial.</em>


    Despite the Eye of Zero Dimension covering the entire world, there was someone else still alive.


    Soon, a notification appeared to clear up my confusion.


    Congrattions!


    Congrattions once again to all participants for resolving Room 201!


    The participants who survived until the end and contributed to the final battle are eligible to receive the Inheritance.


    The eligible participants are as follows:1. Elena Ivanova (Justice)


    2. Han Kain (Wisdom)


    However, only one person can receive the Inheritance!


    The ¡°Moment of Choice¡± will begin shortly!


    <em>Elena¡¯s alive!</em>


    While it was surprising that she survived, it made sense from a contribution standpoint.


    In both the second and third attempts, the biggest obstacle was Beatrix¡¯s overwhelming power.


    Each time, the person who fought Beatrix the fiercest was Elena.


    However, it was disappointing that Eunsol-noona, who gathered all the information during the second attempt, wasn¡¯t chosen.


    <em>She must have died the moment the Eye of Zero Dimension was unleashed.</em>


    <em>¡­It¡¯s unfortunate, I¡¯ve also experienced something simr before.</em>


    <em>The Moment of Choice¡ªdidn¡¯t Jinchul-hyung say something about this before?</em>


    <em>Something about waking up in an arena-like space and being forced to fight?</em>


    <em>But I have no intention of fighting, and the decision about who should receive the reward is already made¡ª</em>


    A sudden dizzying sensation hit me, and I momentarily lost consciousness.


    ***When I came to, the ce I woke up in wasn¡¯t an arena.


    It looked like an ordinary hotel room.


    There was a table, a bed, and even a disy.


    I turned my head toward the bed.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡±


    Elena was lying on the bed, seemingly unconscious.


    Her clothes were a mess, leaving her half-naked. However, she waspletely covered in blood, making it impossible to think of anything inappropriate.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem to be hers.


    As I gently wiped her off with a nket, I realized that, apart from her torn clothes, she wasn¡¯t seriously injured.


    Her breathing was steady.


    <em>Perhaps she passed out from exhaustion?</em>


    A little whileter, Elena woke up.


    She seemed a bit flustered at her situation but took a drink of water from the ss beside her and calmly began exining what had happened.


    During her battle with Beatrix, the power of Justice was nearly depleted and she was already on the verge of death, so she had given up.


    But at that moment, Beatrix suddenly flew off somewhere.


    She must have sensed my liberation and rushed to stop it.


    As she pursued Beatrix, the power of Justice waspletely drained, and she passed out when she hit the ground, only to wake up now.


    ¡°Good thing you passed out. If you¡¯d stayed conscious, you¡¯d have been dead for sure.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    I summarized what I had experienced, focusing on the part where the Chief Researcher awakened within me, which made Elena¡¯s eyes widen.


    <em>¡­This is probably the first time we¡¯ve had a conversation alone since we left the Gate Room.</em>


    As we talked, I felt a bit awkward, hoping the hotel would quickly move things along.


    As if sensing we were ready, the disy in the room began to flicker with a message.


    Please choose what reward you will receive, and decide which of the two of you will receive it.


    Who should receive the reward was already a settled matter.


    I directly spoke to the seemingly flustered Elena, ¡°This Inheritance should go to you, Elena.¡±


    ¡°¡­You really don¡¯t have to give it up¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already been sealed once. If I receive another Inheritance, I¡¯ll just keep getting sealed throughout the second floor. Besides, I heard some exnations about the sealing system. There¡¯s no rule that says someone can¡¯t be sealed twice. It could happen to me again.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s interesting that we can choose the reward itself. One of them is probably the ¡®Irregr Polyhedron¡¯, but what could the other one be?¡±


    As if on cue, the disy flickered again.


    Please choose your reward!


    1. Inheritance, ¡°Shining Irregr Polyhedron¡±


    2. Ability, ¡°Ominous Imagination¡±


    One item was something I had already guessed.


    The strange tool the Chief Researcher used to create the Cube, the ¡°Shining Irregr Polyhedron¡±.


    The other option was unexpected.


    It wasn¡¯t called an Inheritance, but an ability, and it wasn¡¯t even a tangible object.


    It was none other than Beatrix¡¯s superpower, ¡°Ominous Imagination¡±.


    This was the second option offered by the hotel.


    ¡°Um, Kain?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You mentioned that you briefly became one with the Chief Researcher, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but we¡¯re separated now, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Do you still have the Chief Researcher¡¯s memories?¡±


    ¡°When we merged, it wasn¡¯t like I received all the knowledge he had umted over a lifetime. It was more like the information necessary to solve the room was transferred to me, simr to how it works when I use the possession ability. I still have that much left.¡±


    ¡°Could you exin the rewards a little?¡±


    She had a point.


    Unlike Elena, who knew nothing about the Polyhedron and Ominous Imagination, I had some knowledge about both.


    Neither the Inheritance nor the ability was something that could be conveniently used.


    I began to exin what I knew, ¡°Ominous Imagination¡ªI found out while reviewing the information¡ªisn¡¯t just about creating monsters. Making monsters is a rather ¡®high-level application¡¯. At its core, it¡¯s literally what it sounds like, it makes ominous imaginations a reality.¡±


    ¡°Making ominous imaginations a reality?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t a clear example left, so it¡¯s hard to exin further.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ in the process of using it, it seems¡ª¡±


    ¡°Seems?¡±


    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s the kind of superpower that could easily drive its user insane.¡±


    ¡°¡­How about the Irregr Polyhedron?¡±


    ¡°The Irregr Polyhedron is the tool the Chief Researcher used to create the Cube. It¡¯s a device that can warp space in various ways. It can create subspaces, set up invisible walls, and even create transparent boxes that no one can enter. It can also be used for something like teleportation. It¡¯s an incredibly versatile and fascinating Inheritance.¡±


    Elena¡¯s eyes sparkled at that!


    Honestly, she looked so beautiful at that moment that I found it hard to meet her gaze.


    ¡°That sounds much better! I¡¯d rather have that than a superpower that could drive me insane!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ the Irregr Polyhedron has a serious problem, too.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°ording to the Chief Researcher, you have to be someone who can doplex mathematical calctions constantly while using it. It requires an extremely high level of intelligence.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The Chief Researcher believed that most people wouldn¡¯t even be able to create a single proper wall with it. For reference, he considered himself to be the most intelligent person on Earth.¡±


    The hotel room fell silent.


    After exining all this, I didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    One ability was easy to use but could drive its user insane, while the other Inheritance required such incredible genius that it was practically useless unless its user was one of the smartest people on the.


    <em>What kind of rewards are these?</em>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Elena looked at me.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just choose, Kain?¡±


    She was leaving this burdensome decision to me¡­


    ¡°I can only give you a rmendation. In my opinion, the drawbacks of ¡®Ominous Imagination¡¯ are manageable, given the hotel¡¯s nature. The problem isn¡¯t so much in using the ability but in the potential side effects of its use, right? And where would you be using this ability? Mostly in Cursed Rooms, right? Even if you lose your mind using the ability in a Cursed Room¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯de out cured.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So, while it¡¯s risky, it¡¯s manageable. On the other hand, the Irregr Polyhedron¡­¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t suddenly be a genius, there¡¯s no way I can use it properly, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a genius like those at the top of the Administration. I never even did that well in school.¡±


    Judging from her reaction, it seemed Elena had also realized what she should choose.


    Elena should take Ominous Imagination.


    At the very least, she should choose a power she could actually use.


    Elena stood up and moved toward the disy¡ª


    ¡°Ahhh!¡±


    She was half-covered with a nket since her clothes were torn, yet she suddenly stood up!


    Startled, I turned away, only to hear her giggling behind me.


    When I looked back, I saw that during our conversation, Elena had wrapped the inner nket like a robe and was now standing there.


    Feeling like a fool, I just watched as Elena operated the disy a few times.


    ¡°I¡¯ve chosen.¡±


    With that, the room we were in began to slowly crumble.


    The long ordeal of Room 201 had finallye to an end.


    ***


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 87


    Current Location: Floor 2, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 0


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>- Whiiing! Woooong!</em>


    ¡°Achoo!¡±


    The moment we stepped out of Room 201, the piercing cold wind hit my skin so hard it felt like it was being ripped apart!


    In the distance, Jinchul-hyung shouted something at me, ¡°???! ???¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung also yelled something next to him, ¡°???!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <em>What are they saying?</em>


    The snowstorm was so intense I couldn¡¯t understand a word.


    The Chat Window blinked.


    Kim Mooksung: You¡¯re awake?


    Han Kain: Yes. Elena acquired the Inheritance.


    Lee Eunsol: Congrats congrats!


    Kim Ahri: Congrats congrats!


    Yu Songee: Congrats congrats congrats!


    Elena: Thank you.


    Cha Jinchul: Congrattions!


    Park Seungyub: Congrats congrats! Let¡¯s start running for now.


    As soon as that message came through, we all started sprinting toward the elevator.


    Although the room had already been cleared, everyone seemed to have a lot of questions about Room 201.


    <em>That¡¯s understandable since, besides me, no one really grasped what had happened in Room 201.</em>


    <em>The moment the Eye of Zero Dimension awakened, almost everyone either died or lost consciousness shortly after.</em>


    <em>It looks like I¡¯ll need to exin over dinner what kind of extraordinary events transpired in Room 201.</em>


    As we were running, Elena suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Elena? The snowstorm is too intense; if you fall behind¡ª¡±


    ¡°So this is how it works.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Elena looked at me, dazed.


    ¡°I understand now. They say when you obtain an Inheritance, you instinctively know how to use it. It¡¯s the same with this power.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it in the elevator. We can discuss it over dinner on the first floor¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve already used it without even realizing it.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <em>- Awooooo! Awooooo!</em>


    In a snowstorm so fierce that visibility was less than 10 meters, in a ce so harsh that it was impossible to tell where anything was¡­


    The howl of a wolf echoed from somewhere unseen.


    Elena muttered as if in a trance, ¡°It might sound strange, but when I was little, my mother always told me that when it snows on winter nights, there¡¯s always a wolf outside¡ª¡±


    ¡°Elena! Stop! Stop!¡±


    I hurriedly covered Elena¡¯s mouth with my hand.


    <em>Oh, great! Now I know exactly what this ¡°Ominous Imagination¡± ability is.</em>


    <em>Since I rmended she choose it, what can I say?</em>


    <em>It looks like we¡¯re going to have a lot of exhausting moments during our party time until Elena gets the hang of this ability.</em>

 Chapter 172: A Happy Dinner Time, What Exactly Was Room 201? (1)

    Chapter 172: A Happy Dinner Time, What Exactly Was Room 201? (1)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Elena¡¯s newly acquired superpower, ¡°Ominous Imagination¡±, turned out to be more troublesome than I ever could have anticipated!


    I had to cover Elena¡¯s mouth to stop her from saying any more strange things.


    <em>Is it a good thing, after all?</em>


    The wolf¡¯s howling was so unnerving that the others who were ahead of us sensed that something was amiss and came back to check on us.


    ¡°Kain! What on earth is happening? There weren¡¯t any wolves before!¡±


    ¡°It seems Elena created it!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin when we get downstairs. Let¡¯s go for now!¡±


    Roles were quickly assigned.Eunsol-noona, who was wearing the Protective Suit, picked up Elena with one hand and sprinted ahead, while Jinchul-hyung took up the rear, ready to fend off any wolf attacks.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    But there was no wolf attack. Instead, something even more absurd happened.


    <em>- Ding! Dong!</em>


    ¡°Everyone, get in! Let¡¯s take the elevator¡ªwait, Songee? What is that?¡±


    ¡°Unni, isn¡¯t it cute? I named it Snow.¡±


    ¡°Songee, are you crazy? That¡¯s not cute at all; it¡¯s a monster wolf!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get inside, Noona.¡±


    Fortunately, the Hotel elevator functioned perfectly, carrying all of us¡ªincluding the monster wolf.


    The giant wolf, ignoring its creator Elena, was busy licking Songee¡¯s hand with great affection.


    The wolf¡¯s body wasn¡¯t made of flesh and blood but of snow.


    Not long after we reached the first floor, a scream rang out.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? Huhhhhhh?! Snow? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°¡­What do you mean ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡±¡ªit¡¯s just that the wolf is made of snow, so it¡¯s melting.¡±


    ¡°Elena-unni, can¡¯t you do something?¡±


    Elena awkwardly turned her head away.


    Soon, the wolf disappeared, and Songee became visibly depressed.


    Even though Perro tried to console her by rubbing his beak against her, he couldn¡¯t fill the void left by the vanished Snow.


    Once again, I couldn¡¯t help but think that Songee was truly an unusual high school girl.


    Meanwhile, Ahri asked Elena a question, ¡°Can you make other monsters? Like, say, Snow 2?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to rece Snow so easily!¡±


    ¡°Elena just made it out of snow. She can probably make Snow 3, Snow 4, and so on.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Ow! Don¡¯t kick me~!¡±


    Elena, who had been silent until now, let out a sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m still trying to understand ¡®Ominous Imagination¡¯, but it¡¯s somewhat different from the power Beatrix used in the Cube. For example, the monsters I create seem to disappear on their own after some time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more of an advantage than a disadvantage, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    Elena¡¯s expression brightened a little as she stared intently at something like a picture frame on the wall¡ª


    ¡°Nope!¡±


    ¡°Eek! K-Kain?!¡±


    I quickly tore off a piece of the nket we used as a makeshift cold-weather suit and covered Elena¡¯s eyes with it.


    Seeing this, Eunsol-noona sensibly grabbed Elena¡¯s hand and started pulling her along.


    ¡°Well done. Elena, no more strange ideas. Let¡¯s get you to Room 105 to get some sleep.¡±


    Whatever had been trying to e out¡± from the picture frame receded once again.


    Ahri and I spoke simultaneously.


    ¡°This is going to be quite exhausting for a while¡­¡±


    ¡°This is going to be quite entertaining for a while!¡±


    Ahri¡¯s expression was so bright that I felt like kicking her.


    ***As always, everyone¡¯s mood lifted considerably at the sight of a dining table overflowing with delicious food.


    ¡°Unni? Where¡¯s Elena?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s too exhausted, so she went to sleep.¡±


    During this enjoyable meal, the main topic on everyone¡¯s mind was, of course, Room 201.


    Eunsol-noona, who had just bitten into a piece of garlic bread, asked the first question, ¡°Kain, it¡¯s about time you exined. How exactly did you resolve Room 201? I heard bits and pieces on the way here, but it was hard to make sense of it.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll briefly summarize the facts, and we can discuss any confusing parts together.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°In the 1980s, the Eye of Zero Dimension appeared in the world and began causing massive damage. The Administration realized they couldn¡¯t defeat this entity with force. That¡¯s when the Chief Researcher came up with an idea. The Eye of Zero Dimension was an entity that enjoyed watching the suffering of humans, so the n was to create a small, endless hell of continuous suffering and present it as a gift. Despite the heavy amount of opposition, the n was carried out, and surprisingly, it worked.¡±


    ¡°It worked?¡±


    ¡°ording to the memories, the Eye of Zero Dimension settled into this small hell, known as the Cube.¡±


    Ahri nudged me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop. What happened next?¡±


    ¡°However, there were growing limitations to managing this hell. Internally, people began to question whether they had crossed the line. Patrick was a representative of this group. Externally, the Eye of Zero Dimension began showing signs of wanting to leave the Cube. The Chief Researcher interpreted this as the Eye growing bored.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung, with a perplexed expression, asked, ¡°Is that where that Beatrix came from?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. While Beatrix herself seemed unrted to the Eye of Zero Dimension or the Cube, the Chief Researcher believed she could solve the Cube¡¯s problems. Earlier, we discussed what the Cube¡¯s problems were, right?¡±


    Ahri answered, ¡°There were two, right? First, some people in the Administration began to express their doubts, saying it had crossed the line. Second, the audience was starting to get bored and wanted something exciting.¡±


    ¡°The Chief Researcher saw Beatrix as the solution to both problems. First, if Beatrix¡¯s monsters reced the killing facilities inside the Cube, far fewer people would be needed to manage the Cube. Second, since she could kill people in unimaginably diverse ways, the Eye of Zero Dimension would be more satisfied. That was the idea.¡±


    Myrades, who had been nkly listening, looked utterly dazed.


    Unable to bear it any longer, Jinchul-hyung spoke up, ¡°This is the most insane story I¡¯ve ever heard in my life.¡±


    ¡°I feel the same way.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Grandpa. Tell us, is this really the kind of thing the Administration has been doing?¡±


    Grandpa Mooksung wore a deeply troubled expression for a long time before he answered, ¡°I swear on my name¡ªthough it may not mean much¡ªthat I¡¯ve never heard of anything this extreme.¡±


    Ahri began to look puzzled.


    Then, Eunsol-noona nudged me.


    ¡°Well, even if it did happen, now¡¯s not the time to dwell on it. Kain, keep going.¡±


    ¡°There was a critical w in the Chief Researcher¡¯s grand n. His tendency to treat all humans as tools overlooked the fact that Beatrix wasn¡¯t just a monster-creating demon¡ªshe was a girl who sought freedom and happiness in her own way.¡±


    ¡°¡­I never thought of her as a normal girl at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that side of her existed, too. Of course, she had a cruel side as well. But in any case, Beatrix had no intention of bing a ve who endlessly created monsters for the Cube. Realizing this, the Chief Researcher sealed her away, leaving only her brain in the containment area.¡±


    At that point, Songee spat out the meat she was eating.


    ¡°This story is starting to make me feel sick. Maybe this wasn¡¯t the best dinner conversation.¡±


    Eunsol-noona, who had been listening intently, asked, ¡°But in the end, the rebellion seeded, right?¡±


    ¡°It did. While Beatrix couldn¡¯t have rebelled alone, the situation escted with Patrick¡¯s cooperation. The Chief Researcher had anticipated Beatrix¡¯s rebellion and prepared for it, but Patrick had been a loyal subordinate for a long time. He never imagined Patrick would lead a revolt. In the end, the containment area for the Eye of Zero Dimension fell into the hands of Beatrix and Patrick, and we entered Room 201 sometime after that.¡±


    ¡°I understand what happened in the middle. After all, we were the ones who did it. To summarize briefly, we tore through the Cube, found a TV connected to the researchb, crossed over, and raised hell until we woke up the Chief Researcher. What happened after that?¡±


    ¡°Not much. It was basically a rebellion suppression. We wiped out most of the rebels, and the few remnants died when the Eye of Zero Dimension descended. After waking up, the Chief Researcher sealed Beatrix¡¯s brain inside a box within the Cube, where there was no door to the outside world, making it impossible for her to rebel again.¡±


    ¡°So now Beatrix is endlessly creating monsters in that box, and the Administration keeps sending in people?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    After listening quietly for a while, Ahri finally spoke up, ¡°It might sound strange, but when you strip away the shocking parts, it¡¯s a rtively straightforward story.¡±


    This time, everyone turned their eyes to Ahri.


    ¡°If you think about it without the murder traps, feeding humans to monsters, and all the other shocking elements, it¡¯s a simple story. A containment facility for an evil god fell into the hands of rebels, but the Administration managed to take it back and resolve the situation.¡±


    It was a rough summary, but it was a valid perspective.


    Songee, who had stopped eating earlier, tilted her head and asked, ¡°So¡­ what exactly was the ¡®curse¡¯ of Room 201? At first, we thought it was the Cube, but it turns out the Cube was the containment facility, and the problem was solved by fixing the Cube, right?¡±


    Ahri responded simply, ¡°The source of the curse was the Eye of Zero Dimension, and the problem we had to solve was that the Cube containing the Eye had fallen into the hands of the rebels, right?¡±


    <em>Is that how we should interpret it?</em>


    Based on the facts, it didn¡¯t seem like a wrong interpretation, but something about it didn¡¯t sit well with me.


    While everyone was deep in thought, Eunsol-noona, who had been thinking deeply, broke the silence, ¡°It feels like we¡¯ve been basing our interpretation of Room 201 from the Chief Researcher¡¯s perspective. Since we¡¯re on the topic, let¡¯s consider it from a different angle. Didn¡¯t the Chief Researcher himself admit that his solution was an iplete resolution by the Hotel¡¯s standards?¡±


    I added to her exnation, ¡°Yes. From the Hotel¡¯s perspective, it was like a solution that barely scored 30 out of 100. It was my thought, but since I was more than half-merged with the Chief Researcher at that point, you could say it was his thought as well.¡±


    ¡°Why was the score so low?¡±


    Jinchul-hyung answered with an exasperated tone, ¡°Is that really a question, Noona? If feeding people to demons earned a high score, that would be even stranger, right? I¡¯m more surprised that such a method was even considered a ¡®solution¡¯.¡±


    ¡°No, think about it more carefully. The evaluator is the Hotel, right? Do you really think this ce values human life that highly?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡±


    The feeling of being struck on the back of the head with a hammer left everyone silent.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a ce that disregards human life as lightly as this Hotel. So why would tossing a few dozen, maybe a few hundred, people to a demon be such a big deal here?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡±


    ¡°And another thing has been bothering me since earlier. ording to the Chief Researcher, the Eye of Zero Dimension enjoys watching people suffer as they die. But if it¡¯s truly that kind of being, why would it be satisfied just sitting inside a Cube? I don¡¯t understand the mindset of a psycho god, but wouldn¡¯t it be more entertaining to watch 8 billion people on Earth suffer rather than a few hundred in a tiny Cube?¡±


    ¡°¡±¡­¡±¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the part I couldn¡¯t quite understand. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m not used to the ¡®ult¡¯ mindset of the Administration and think too much in ¡®business¡¯ terms¡­¡±


    Ahri summarized, ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is this: First, there¡¯s no ce that disregards human life as much as this Hotel. If the Chief Researcher saved the Earth by sacrificing some people, why does that only score 30 points? Second, if this evil god enjoys human suffering, why doesn¡¯t it y with the entire Earth instead of just watching a tiny Cube? Is that it?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Songee lowered her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m having a hard time following this conversation.¡±


    On the other hand, Eunsol-noona and Ahri seemed to be getting more absorbed in the discussion.


    ¡°I think I¡¯vee up with a logic that could exin these questions.¡±


    Ahri, looking incredibly curious, asked, ¡°What is it? Honestly, when you leave the Hotel, you should ditch the boring stuff with the Daeyang Group and join the Administration instead.¡±


    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s think about thatter. I believe the strange behavior of the Eye of Zero Dimension can be understood quite simply if you think about it from a ¡®business¡¯ perspective. I think the Chief Researcher fell into a trap by interpreting it too ¡®ultly¡¯. That¡¯s why the Hotel gave him such a low score.¡±

 Chapter 173: A Happy Dinner Time, What Exactly Was Room 201? (2) End

    Chapter 173: A Happy Dinner Time, What Exactly Was Room 201? (2) End<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°From a business perspective?¡±


    It felt strange to hear a business-rted concept in a situation as far removed from business as possible.


    Even Songee, who had been feeling nauseous earlier, couldn¡¯t resist her curiosity and started paying attention.


    Noona began her exnation again, ¡°I think the behavior of the Eye of Zero Dimension is very simr to that of a ¡®fish farmer¡¯. The ocean seems almost infinitely vast, filled with countless fish. But even if there are many fish, if humans keep catching and eating them endlessly, eventually there won¡¯t be any left, not even the young ones. So, humans started ¡®fisheries resource management¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Fisheries resource management¡­¡±


    ¡°Now, think from the perspective of the Eye of Zero Dimension. Sure, it could descend to Earth and toy with 8 billion humans, but considering the sheer madness and infinite magic of the evil god, how long do you think Earth wouldst if it did that? Would it evenst a year? The Eye of Zero Dimension likely restrained itself since it understood such a concept. It¡¯s like a long-term n to keep feeding off Earth for hundreds or even thousands of years.¡±


    Ahri sighed and responded, ¡°So, ording to your reasoning, the Chief Researcher was like a talking mackerel offering a proposal to the fish farmer. Something like, ¡®We¡¯ll set up a fish farm ourselves, so you can feed off us for centuries, but manage the fisheries resources, please.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Exactly. The Eye of Zero Dimension epted that proposal. What could be better? The problem with killing all the mackerel is that they might go extinct, but managing them to prevent extinction is also a hassle. Then, alonges a talking mackerel offering to manage the fish farm itself. I think the evil god must have been overjoyed.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s assume the Eye of Zero Dimension restrained itself for that reason. But why did the survival of humanity, thanks to fisheries resource management, only score 30 points?¡±Eunsol-noona suddenly had a slightly wistful look as she stared off into the distance.


    ¡°My father wasn¡¯t exactly a good person.¡±


    <em>Why is she mentioning her father out of nowhere?</em>


    ¡°But as a businessman, he had undeniable insight. He often said, ¡®Stagnation is decline.¡¯ It¡¯s amon saying.¡±


    ¡°Stagnation is decline¡­¡±


    ¡°Business People aren¡¯t content with merely maintaining the status quo. They always dream of expansion. The Eye of Zero Dimension likely dreamed of expansion too. It pressured the Administration once, and they offered a fish farm on a silver tter. Would it stop at just one request?¡±


    Everyone was at a loss for words.


    ¡°One request would turn into two, two would eventually be three. Eventually, the entire Earth would be a massive ¡®farm of suffering¡¯ to feed the evil god. That¡¯s why, even for a ce like this Hotel, which takes human life lightly, the solution could only score 30 points.¡±


    In the cold silence that followed, Eunsol-noona put the finishing touch on her hypothesis.


    ¡°Remember, this is all just my interpretation. Just as the Chief Researcher had his interpretation, I have mine.¡±


    It made sense.


    It might not be a 100% perfect interpretation, but it felt closer to the truth than the Chief Researcher¡¯s view.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t because Noona was more of a genius than the Chief Researcher, but rather because we had the benefit of hindsight, whereas the Chief Researcher had to find a solution from scratch.


    Onest question came to mind.


    ¡°Room 201 has already been deemed resolved, so we won¡¯t have to try again, but as a review for the future, let¡¯s think about it lightly. What could have been a better solution?¡±


    Noona thought for a moment before answering.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that too¡­ and I¡¯vee up with two possibilities.¡±


    Ahri immediately asked, ¡°Two? I couldn¡¯t think of even one! Tell us.¡±


    ¡°Option one: the ¡®Servants of Evil¡¯ strategy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°After experiencing Rooms 102 and 103, it became clear that there seem to be quite a few other intelligent life forms in this universe besides us. The Administration probably already knows this.¡±


    That much was certain. Neither Ahri nor Grandpa denied it.


    ¡°We could propose to the Eye of Zero Dimension that we humans be its servants and offer up other alien species instead.¡±


    ¡­My head spun.


    Ahri responded with a somewhat disappointed tone, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem quite right¡­ Tell us the next strategy.¡±


    ¡°Option two: the ¡®Fighting Fire with Fire¡¯ strategy. Again, after experiencing the Hotel, I realized there are endless numbers of evil entities.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Honestly, it¡¯s a wonder how Earth has managed to hold out so far.¡±


    ¡°What if we bring in another demon and pit them against each other? There might be a demon out there who says, ¡®No way! I¡¯m the one who¡¯s supposed to feast on humans; who are you to take them all?¡¯¡±


    Ahri let out a big sigh this time.


    ¡°That strategy can be countered with, ¡®When whales fight the shrimp¡¯s back is broken.¡¯ The Administration would never attempt such a thing. Sure, it might be possible to pit evil entities against each other, but would any humans survive if those demons fought over Earth?¡±


    ¡°Eesh! I just came up with it at the spur of the moment! Instead of nitpicking, why don¡¯t you share your thoughts?¡±


    Thatment silenced Ahri.


    This time, Grandpa spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ve thought of one too. How about the ¡®Deception¡¯ strategy?¡±


    ¡°Deceiving the Eye of Zero Dimension? How?¡±


    ¡°Not deceiving the Eye of Zero Dimension¡ªdeceiving humanity.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Remember the strategy for dealing with the Eye of Zero Dimension? ¡®Not recognizing it¡¯ works surprisingly well on it.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°So, how about spraying a memory-erasing agent across the entire Earth to erase any memory of the Eye of Zero Dimension?¡±


    ¡°¡­But in the final moments, the Eye of Zero Dimension grew sorge it seemed like it would cover the whole sky. If it covers the entire sky, maybe, but how do you stop people from recognizing it when it¡¯s right in front of their eyes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? I died before seeing that part. Maybe we could make the entire human race blind for a few years¡ªah, this is a terrible idea even as I say it.¡±


    ¡°How about covering the Earth with a barrier so the Eye of Zero Dimension can¡¯t be seen?¡±


    ¡°Songee, you might as well suggest moving the Earth out of the sr system?¡±


    ¡°Better for humanity tomit collective suicide than live as the demon¡¯s ves.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a zero-point solution.¡±


    ¡­Myrades continued spouting increasingly absurd ideas.


    Most of them felt fundamentally off the mark.


    Why? Why did those solutions seem wrong the moment I heard them?


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>- Bang! Bang!</em>


    ¡°Please listen to me for a moment.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to me.


    ¡°I think this whole situation is like an exam problem given to us.¡±


    ¡°You sound like a student.¡±


    ¡°What I mean is, when dealing with an exam problem, you always have to consider the examiner¡¯s intent, and the examiner¡¯s intent usually has a basis in the given material.¡±


    ¡°There was a basis in the material we encountered in Room 201?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So, suddenly introducing another demon with no prior basis or turning the entire human race blind doesn¡¯t seem right to me. Also, the solution should ideally be something ¡®we¡¯ can do.¡±


    ¡°Was there any basis in Room 201 for a better solution?¡±


    ¡°From here on, this is just my thoughts. It¡¯s hard to say exactly what the Eye of Zero Dimension desires, but it seems to lean closer to suffering than death. There¡¯s quite a bit of evidence to support this. It was the Chief Researcher¡¯s conclusion as well. And if we interpret it from a ¡®business¡¯ perspective, as Noona suggested, it¡¯s a being that gains some benefit from the suffering of mortals, not just amusement.¡±


    Eunsol-noona immediately agreed, ¡°That¡¯s how I see it. If it were truly a being that sought only ¡®amusement¡¯, it would have acted more impulsively. ¡®Amusement¡¯, after all, is the opposite of boredom, something you feel when the unpredictable happens.¡±


    ¡°Moreover, the Administration in Room 201 already had the technology to keep a person alive with only their brain.¡±


    Songee looked like she might spit something out again.


    ¡°Did the Chief Researcher¡¯s insistence that people had to be exposed to monsters and actually diee from his own bias? If what the Eye of Zero Dimension seeks is suffering, wouldn¡¯t it have been much more efficient to create numerous tanks where people were kept alive as only brains and subjected to endless suffering? This would reduce actual human deaths while still fulfilling the purpose of ¡®producing suffering¡¯.¡±


    Ahri tilted her head and asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the process of suffering be necessary too? And didn¡¯t you say it should be something ¡®we¡¯ can do? What you¡¯re describing seems entirely reliant on the Administration. Of course, back then you were in a position simr to the head of the Administration, so it¡¯s usible you could have promised to handle it, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t mention this because Songee seemed like she was about to throw up.¡±


    Songee quickly interjected, ¡°Um, I understand, so please don¡¯t say it.¡±


    ¡°We could have created a prototype to demonstrate. We already had Beatrix¡¯s floating brain. Songee could have used her powers to inject visions worse than hell into the floating brain and proposed this as an alternative.¡±


    Ahri cynically murmured, ¡°If that demon were really a ¡®sustainable suffering entrepreneur¡¯, it would have been a proposal it could ept. You could easily expand the fish farm since there¡¯s no need for actual human deaths, and the situation of the fish farm being voluntarily built and offered by the fish themselves remains the same.¡±


    Noona seemed to be reflecting on something and said, ¡°Is that a possible approach? What I mean is, you needed Songee to give you a buff that cost her life just to enter the sealed area.¡±


    ¡°That problem only arose because we failed to save Patrick. We had to rely on Jinchul-hyung using the Star to crudely destroy the equipment controlling the Irregr Polyhedron. If we had saved Patrick, there might have been a safer way to enter the sealed area.¡±


    Ahri nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s not baseless. There was a floating brain in the sealed area, right? Naturally, there must have been equipment to maintain the floating brain. There¡¯s no way the Chief Researcher manually moved all that himself.¡±


    ¡°If we had saved Patrick to operate the equipment, we could have entered safely. Once inside, Songee could have shown the floating brain an eternal vision of torture and¡ª¡°


    ¡°Oh! I told you, I¡¯m not doing that!¡±


    The conversation paused with Songee¡¯s vehement protest.


    <em>Is that really the only method we had?</em>


    Ultimately, all the solutions seemed to involve giving the evil god what it wanted. We were just trying to minimize human casualties in the process.


    I had a vague feeling that even this method would have struggled to score more than 60 points.


    <em>Fundamentally, we¡ªand humanity as a whole¡ªarecking in power.</em>


    In the end, the solutions that mackerel could propose to a fish farmer have their limits.


    For the first time, I began to understand why the Administration sacrifices lives to challenge the Hotel.


    Another concern arose.


    <em>If we face another situation on the second floor where we have to use such an extreme method¡­</em>


    <em>Some of us would absolutely refuse to go through with it.</em>


    I could already see how strongly Songee was opposed to such ideas.


    <em>In this hypothetical discussion, it ended as mereints, but what would happen if we actually had to do it?</em>


    After dinner, the Hotel disyed a notification.


    Dear Esteemed Guests! Congrattions.


    You have finally ovee the first trial of the second floor and imed another treasure!


    We sincerely congratte you all.


    Starting tomorrow, you will have a 3-day break! Given that the ability one of you just received is tricky to use, it would be wise to practice hard, wouldn¡¯t it?


    Today¡¯s surprise event: Party Time! has begun.


    Additional information:


    1. Please take out your ticket immediately to check the notification.


    2. The cold on the second floor is getting worse. Shouldn¡¯t you prepare for it?

 Chapter 174: Party Time - Elenas Dilemma (1)

    Chapter 174: Party Time - Elena''s Dilemma (1)<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    Everyone¡¯s faces stiffened as they carefully read the notification.


    The initial part was the usual congrattory message and the announcement of Party Time, which we¡¯d heard several times before.


    But the truly important part was in the ¡°additional information.¡±


    ¡°Check the ticket? Are they talking about the Gate Room reward? Where is the ticket now?¡±


    Noona immediately rushed off and brought back the ticket.


    A faint glow was already emanating from the ticket.


    As soon as it arrived, a small notification popped up.


    Weren¡¯t you disappointed that you had to give up one of the treasures? Don¡¯t worry! You can still obtain the reward you missed by using the ticket in the Mirror Room.


    This notification confirmed our suspicions.The fact that there was a separate ¡°Mirror Room¡± for missed rewards meant only one thing.


    <em>Choosing between two rewards isn¡¯t unique to Room 201!</em>


    In other rooms on the second floor, we would also have to choose between two rewards and the missed reward could be obtained with a ticket.


    Ahri¡¯s earlier spection that there would be more opportunities to acquire tickets now seemed more convincing.


    Given the many uses and even a dedicated room for the tickets, it was unlikely that the one we just received would be thest!


    ¡°The missed reward is referring to the Irregr Polyhedron, right?¡±


    Noona replied with wide eyes, ¡°That seems to be the case. If you use the ticket in the ¡®Mirror Room¡¯, you can get the missed reward. But where is the Mirror Room? Ahri?¡±


    Ahri¡¯s blessing, ¡°Secret¡±, was specialized not only in keeping her secrets but also in uncovering the ¡°secrets of the Hotel¡±.


    ¡°Hold on.¡±


    Ahri concentrated for a while but then kept tilting her head.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing there. Usually, I¡¯d get hints about hidden NPCs or rooms. For example, on the first floor, the NPCs were the Merchant and the Doctor, and the rooms were the Sanctum of Blessings and the Souvenir Shop.¡±


    Ahri walked over to the whiteboard and wrote down:


    ¡°Real Secret¡± Information (2nd Floor)


    Hidden NPCs: ¨C/?


    Hidden Rooms: ¨C/?


    Location Information: ?


    Function Exnation: ?


    ¡°I usually get an image like this in my head, but as you can see, most of it is just question marks. Normally, it¡¯ll give me hints about finding the room or NPCs, but not this time.¡±


    It suddenly made sense why Ahri had found the Sanctum of Blessings before anyone else and why Grandpa had suddenly taken us to the Hiking Room, which led us to discover the Souvenir Shop¡ªit was all thanks to her blessing.


    ¡°Is it possible there¡¯s nothing? The ticket notification clearly says there¡¯s a ce called the ¡®Mirror Room¡¯.¡±


    Listening to the conversation between Eunsol-noona and Ahri, I began to understand.


    ¡°It seems like it will only be fully active after the ¡®hotel repairs¡¯ areplete.¡±


    In the end, we were back to square one.


    All the hotel notifications seemed focused on fixing the second floor, which had been in disrepair.


    Jinchul-hyung let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Seriously, what kind of hotel is this? If the facilities are broken, you¡¯re supposed to refund the guests and apologize before sending them home.¡±


    In the quiet atmosphere, Seungyub spoke with a tired expression, ¡°Party Time doesn¡¯t start until tomorrow, right? How about we talk about the rest tomorrow?¡±


    We had juste out of Room 201, and even during dinner, we¡¯d been discussing difficult topics, so everyone was really exhausted now.


    Just before we dispersed, Noona mentioned the ns for tomorrow, ¡°Get some rest! As soon as you wake up tomorrow morning, everyone gathers! First, we¡¯ll go to the Sanctum of Blessings. We should strengthen the blessings as soon as Party Time starts.¡±


    <em>I¡¯ll also need to think about where to use Advice tomorrow.</em>


    Ahri suddenly asked a question, ¡°Elena said she was going to take a nap first, right? So she¡¯s alone in the bedroom?¡±


    ¡°Probably? Guys! Be careful. If you head to the bedroom now, Elena will be there since we¡¯re still at dinner time.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Han Kain.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Ahri suddenly called out to me.


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    <em>-Krikk</em>


    <em>¡­It¡¯s so noisy.</em>


    <em>- Squeak</em>


    <em>¡­Should I check?</em>


    I shouldn¡¯t. Every time I check, the situation only gets worse.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Eek!¡±


    <em>- Crash!</em>


    The moment I couldn¡¯t hold back and cracked open my eyes, I recoiled in shock and hit the wall.


    <em>Seriously, what the heck is under the nket?</em>


    The cuckoo clock¡¯s chime sounded oddly vivid, and a living cuckoo with a serrated beak popped out.


    The picture of a mountain and waterfall on the wall¡¯s frame distorted slightly, turning the waterfall red.


    I didn¡¯t remember there being any dolls on the table, but now there was a creepy clown doll staring straight at me.


    And just now, the moment I opened my eyes from the noise, a hand shot out from under the nket!


    My stress levels skyrocketed, and I felt like I was going to lose my mind.


    The bedroom door opened.


    ¡°Don¡¯te in! It¡¯s dangerous¡ª¡±


    <em>- sh!</em>


    As the clown doll, dripping blood from its mouth, spat out something sharp and turned, a translucent de sliced through the air and instantly shredded the doll.


    ¡°What danger? It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Ahri giggled as if nothing happened, and soon she tore down the picture frame and snapped the neck of the living cuckoo.


    ¡°Were you having fun all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Ahri¡­¡±


    The moment Ahri jumped onto the bed, a hand suddenly shot out.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Ahri yanked out the hand from under the nket, and it disappeared like dust.


    ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t get a wink of sleep.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah~ This is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a fun ability. I would¡¯ve had so much fun if I¡¯d gotten it!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>This girl is really different from me.</em>


    <em>I¡¯ve always known this, but I¡¯ve never felt it so clearly.</em>


    <em>How can sheugh while looking at these monsters?</em>


    <em>Even I, who created them, find them terrifying and hard to endure!</em>


    Watching Ahri¡¯s nonchnt attitude, I started to feel more at ease.


    Ahri nced at the clock.


    ¡°Dinner time will be over in about 2 minutes. We¡¯ll be separated into our own spaces.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Tonight, let¡¯s sleep on the sofa near the tea table on the first floor.¡±


    ¡°Ahri?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get any sleep if you stay like this. Am I wrong?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t refuse. Ahri grabbed my hand and led me out of Room 105.


    ***<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    From a distance, I watched as Ahri led Elena out of Room 105.


    Just as Ahri predicted, Elena hadn¡¯t been able to sleep at all.


    It would have been difficult for her to fall asleep peacefully while constantly creating monsters around her.


    I subtly joined the two of them.


    When these two were together, it really felt like the space around them shined.


    If I had run into them in the outside world, I probably would have felt intimidated just by making eye contact.


    ¡°Elena! How many times have you used your ability?¡±


    ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t used it intentionally; it just happened on its own.¡±


    ¡°Wow~ I¡¯m so curious. From what I saw earlier, it seems like such a fun ability! Creating a wolf out of snow? That¡¯s really cool! And it was actually pretty cute too!¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think it was that cute¡­.¡±


    <em>- Thud!</em>


    Meanwhile, Ahri nudged my thigh, signaling me to act more naturally!


    <em>She¡¯s really been expecting too much out of me recently.</em>


    Near the tea table, we started chatting about our lives before entering the hotel.


    ¡°When did you first dream of bing an actress, Elena?¡±


    ¡°Since I was a child! I traveled from one country to another with my parents, so I didn¡¯t have many friends¡­ Watching ys or movies asionally was my only joy. And I thought I might be able to be an actress.¡±


    If I were born with Elena¡¯s appearance, I¡¯d probably consider bing an actress or a celebrity every time I looked in the mirror.


    Ahri cut in, ¡°Aren¡¯t you two at the point where you should start speaking more casually? You two still seem the most awkward within our team.¡±


    As the team¡¯s biggest breaker of formality¡ªwho spoke to everyone casually and was, thus spoken to casually¡ªAhri¡¯s suggestion was quite convincing.


    ¡°Hehe¡­ I think I need a little more time.¡±


    ¡°Kain, try calling her Elena-noona right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­Elena-noona?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s better not to.¡±


    <em>Then why even suggest it at all</em>


    The conversation naturally shifted to talking about me.


    ¡°So, Kain, did your grades start improving from your second year of high school?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s right. Actually, until my first year¨C¡±


    ¡°Kain, tell us something fun. Don¡¯t you have anything more interesting than your high school studies?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was enjoying it. Listening to your high school stories reminded me of my childhood¡­¡±


    <em>This is bad! Bad!</em>


    <em>Isn¡¯t Elena¡¯s childhood a taboo topic?</em>


    <em>In a simr vein, there are topics like Ahri¡¯s ¡°age¡±, Jinchul-hyung¡¯s ¡°dreams¡±, and Seungyub¡¯s ¡°rank in LoL¡±.</em>


    <em>There are just some topics you don¡¯t bring up.</em>


    Ahri¡¯s expression darkened for a moment.


    ¡°Back then, I couldn¡¯t even enjoy a simple cup of tea without worrying if it was poisoned.¡±


    Purple bubbles began to rise from Elena¡¯s teacup.


    ¡°I often worried about being followed while walking down the street.¡±


    Something began to writhe in everyone¡¯s shadows.


    Just as Ahri¡¯s expression started to turn pale, I made a decision.


    ¡°Is this tea infused with the warm love of Elena¡¯s homnd?¡±


    I grabbed Elena¡¯s teacup and poured it into the shadow.


    <em>- Sizzle! Clink!</em>


    A strange sound and smell, like pouring acid, spread from the floor for a while.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Ahri suddenlyughed again.


    ¡°Haha! Elena, you really have a talent for making everyday life interesting! Even a simple cup of tea turns into such a thrilling, no, fun experience!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No, really, Elena, it¡¯s fun. This is the first time I¡¯ve ever had such an entertaining experience with just a cup of tea.¡±


    The awkward atmosphere brought the tea time to an end.


    As I sighed and returned to my room, I recalled the conversation I had with Ahri earlier.


    <em>¡°Isn¡¯t Elena¡¯s ability fun?¡±</em>


    <em>¡°What are you talking about? That¡¯s the most terrifying ability I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°Don¡¯t ever say it¡¯s terrifying again. Fear is contagious. From now on, just think of it as fun. Just believe it¡¯s fun. Until Elena believes it too.¡±</em>


    <em>¡°¡­¡±</em>


    <em>¡°¡­¡±</em>


    <em>It looks like life is going to be quite ¡°fun¡± for a while.</em>


    I recalled the memories of the Chief Researcher.


    <em>What kind of training did Beatrix undergo to control that power?</em>

 Chapter 175: Party Time – Night Special Meeting, Sanctum of Blessings (2)

    Chapter 175: Party Time ¨C Night Special Meeting, Sanctum of Blessings (2)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 89


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    ¡°We now begin the first Special Night Meeting of the Hotel Party!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Silence filled the room.It was 3 a.m., a time when we were not usually awake.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give a round of apuse to Grandpa Kim Mooksung for gathering everyone¡­ Well, maybe not apuse, but thank you.¡±


    ¡°What kind of meeting is so urgent that you had to gather everyone at this hour? And why did you insist on not using the group chat, making me call each person individually? It was exhausting.¡±


    Ahri answered for me, ¡°We had no choice. Some of the content had to be kept from Elena. She¡¯s sound asleep right now.¡±


    Elena wasn¡¯t the only one missing.


    It seemed Seungyub and Jinchul-hyung were in such deep sleep that they didn¡¯t respond to Grandpa¡¯s private messages.


    With Room 105¡¯s peculiarities, if someone didn¡¯t wake up through the chat, there was no way to call them.


    ¡°As some of you might have guessed, this meeting is about how we should appropriately respond to Elena¡¯s newly acquired ability, ¡®Ominous Imagination¡¯. We considered holding this meeting during the day, but it¡¯s difficult to hold a daytime meeting without Elena noticing.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. It seems like you and Ahri are already handling it in your own way? Isn¡¯t it about not triggering her anxiety?¡±


    As expected, Grandpa seemed to have already figured out the intent of our unusual behavior.


    Of course, I also noticed Songee¡¯s eyes widened as she finally understood.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Until Elena bes proficient with her ability, it¡¯s important not to scream or run away in fear when strange phenomena ur around her. Such reactions could trigger her negative emotions.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯ll be sure to be careful.¡±


    Songee¡¯s immediate response suggested that she might have already slipped up once.


    ¡°Good. But to be honest, I didn¡¯t call everyone here at this hour just to talk about that. I spent several hours digging through the Chief Researcher¡¯s memories.¡±


    Grandpa¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Oh! That guy did raise Beatrix, didn¡¯t he? Did you find any useful methods?¡±


    ¡°I have faint memories of him trying all sorts of methods. While the memories aren¡¯t entirely clear, I can categorize them into three main approaches. The problem is¡­ these methods are so ¡®Chief Researcher-like¡¯ that it might be difficult for us to implement them as they are, so I wanted to hear your opinions.¡±


    Grandpa tilted his head in curiosity.


    ¡°Are we discussing how to utilize the ability without Elena present? Well, I¡¯m sure you had a reason for excluding her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The first method is ¡®Building Self-Esteem¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. The way the ability works, strange things happen when she feels anxious or afraid. These phenomena be more severe the weaker the individual¡¯s sense of self is.¡±


    ¡°So, the idea is to instill a belief in her that she¡¯s incredibly powerful, eliminating the source of her anxiety?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°How did the Chief Researcher do it?¡±


    ¡°In various ways. He made everyone address Beatrix with honorifics, and had some burly soldiers act scared and back away whenever they saw her.¡±


    ¡°¡­That might work on a ten-year-old Beatrix, but it doesn¡¯t seem like a method that would work on a grown woman.¡±


    Grandpa pointed out another issue, ¡°It sounds like a method that would only work if the subject had low intelligence. A child under ten might be swept up in a delusion of grandeur, but Elena would likely wonder what the hell we¡¯re trying to do.¡±


    ¡°A more proactive method involves creating an overwhelmingly powerful doppelg?nger and transferring her consciousness into it. If she could break walls with a wave of her hand and regenerate even if her head was crushed, she¡¯d have little to fear.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good.¡±


    ¡°The problem is, even Beatrix, the original owner of the ability, took over 15 years to reach the stage of transferring her consciousness into the monsters she created.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The second method is simr to what Ahri and I are already doing. It¡¯s about ¡®Turning Fear into Laughter¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Laughing off the monsters together so that Elena starts to see it all as trivial?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Remember what Beatrix said when you first met her? Something like, ¡®Let¡¯s y!¡¯ Her cruel yet yful nature was shaped by this kind of education.¡±


    This approach was pioneered by Ahri.


    She sighed and replied, ¡°After trying it for a day or two, it seems to have its limits. Honestly, I was a bit startled when the tea turned poisonous. Laughing through such experiences feels more unnatural. While there¡¯s no need to deliberately scare Elena with exaggerated reactions, it¡¯s not a perfect solution.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. My conclusion is that there¡¯s no easy solution. If there were, ¡®Ominous Imagination¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be such a terrifying ability. The gori that crushed Jinchul-hyung with a single punch, and Beatrix¡¯s own body that made that gori tremble¡ªall of them were products of Ominous Imagination. But the Chief Researcher did find a third method.¡±


    Everyone fell silent, listening intently.


    ¡°The approaches I¡¯ve mentioned so far are like trying to carry a full water bucket without spilling a single drop. Ominous Imagination is a massive vase filled with the ¡®water¡¯ of bizarre phenomena, and Elena is carrying it. No matter how careful she is, the vase will shake with every step, and some water will inevitably spill out.¡±


    ¡°And the spilled water manifests as the trivial monsters we¡¯ve been seeing?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. While the first two methods focus on ¡®how not to use the ability¡¯, the third method is the opposite approach. It¡¯s about using all of it.¡±


    Grandpa, still puzzled, responded, ¡°Are you suggesting we flood the entire hotel with monsters and kill them one by one?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying at all. And it¡¯s pointless if we¡¯re just going to kill them all. Ominous Imagination isn¡¯t a curse but a reward for Elena, so we need to find a way to use it effectively.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Instead of creating dozens or hundreds of weak monsters, we focus all of Ominous Imagination¡¯s power into creating one incredibly powerful entity.¡±


    Ahri looked visibly concerned with this.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that the ¡®gori¡¯ we saw inside the Cube was created through such a process?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The reason the gori was absurdly strongpared to other monsters was that Beatrix poured so much power into its creation that it practically emptied her reserve.¡±


    ¡°Assuming we create such a monster, how would we control it? Through Songee¡¯s Affinity? From what I¡¯ve seen, her Affinity doesn¡¯t work on creatures that go berserk.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, there¡¯s a better chance of controlling a powerful monster. The weaker onesck proper intelligence and are just violent and brutal, but a truly strong creature could possess high intelligence.¡±


    ¡°So the n is to create a highly intelligent monster and try to reason with it? The ability is called ¡®Ominous¡¯ Imagination, and you expect a creature born from ominousness to cooperate?¡±


    ¡°The Chief Researcher had a very simple solution for that.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°If it didn¡¯t cooperate, he killed it. He kept creating new ones, over and over, until he got one he could control.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°If we can manage it, this is the perfect way to use Ominous Imagination. The vase gets emptied, so there¡¯s no more leaking power in daily life, and instead of dealing with hundreds of mindless, brutal monsters, we¡¯d have one intelligent, highly powerful creature that we could use tactically.¡±


    Ahri pointed at me as she spoke, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s one more method that might work for us but wasn¡¯t avable to the Chief Researcher.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Unlike with dozens of mindless monsters, if we create one powerful creature¡­ I can just possess it and control it myself if necessary!¡±


    <em>This was why I considered this the best method.</em>


    <em>Does Elena have to control the monster she creates? Ideally, yes, but if it¡¯s too difficult, I can step in and take over.</em>


    The room fell silent.


    Noona and Songee, both unfamiliar with supernatural ability control, kept quiet, and even Grandpa remained silent.


    Our team¡¯s foremost expert in this field, Ahri, finally spoke, ¡°To sum it up roughly, we have three approaches. First, build her self-esteem. It¡¯s even better if she can transfer her consciousness into a monster¡¯s body. Second, we try not to overreact andugh it off, so we don¡¯t trigger her anxiety. Third, we create one powerful monster and control it. If we encounter difficulties controlling it, Kain, you¡¯ll possess it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°They all sound usible in theory. We¡¯ve even seen sessful examples in Room 201. In the end, it¡¯s a matter of what we can actually do. It¡¯s like studying for college entrance exams¡ªyou can have a tutor from Seoul National University who teaches you their exact study methods, but if the student can¡¯t follow them, it¡¯s meaningless.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to share with Elena what she can handle. Ultimately, it¡¯s her choice.¡±


    It was her ability, so it was up to her to decide.


    Eunsol-noona, who had been silent throughout the discussion, finally spoke up, ¡°Kain, you¡¯ve got more Advice, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What do you n to use it for? It seems like you¡¯ll need to be more strategic about it this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was originally thinking of asking some questions about Room 104. Since we usually have to use Advice to solve the Cursed Rooms, I thought Party Time would be a good time for it.¡±


    ¡°The Hotel High School, huh? Hmm¡­? Didn¡¯t you say each question about Room 104 costs three counts of Advice?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m also curious about why that is.¡±


    ¡°Using the Advice is your choice, but it would be troublesome if you use too much on Room 104.¡±


    ¡°I think so too. Wanting to ask about Room 104 is something I¡¯ve thought about for a while¡­ but right now, the hotel seems intent on freezing us to death, so I should probably focus on gathering information rted to that. I¡¯m thinking of using just one question for Room 104. Even one is expensive since it costs three counts but¡­¡±


    ¡°Smart move. Honestly, it¡¯s already starting to feel a bit chilly. Starting today or tomorrow, we should gather information about the second floor and discuss what we need to do.¡±


    Noona wasn¡¯t imagining it.


    For the past few hours, I¡¯d felt the temperature in the hotel dropping even though we were still on the first floor.


    ***The next morning, as we headed toward the Sanctum of Blessings, the atmosphere among the group was frigid.


    Jinchul-hyung spoke up anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel uneasy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just feeling uneasy now?¡±


    ¡°No matter what, cold pork stir-fry is just¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you get for eating pork stir-fry first thing in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Come on, old man. What does ordering meat for breakfast have to do with it being cold?¡±


    As always, Hyung and Grandpa bickered, but the content was worrying.


    Even the spicy beef soup I ate was refrigerator-cold.


    The air temperature in the hotel had noticeably dropped.


    What felt like a refreshing spring-like day now felt like a chilly autumn breeze was blowing through.


    Meanwhile, Elena was struggling to escape from the nket she had wrapped around herself for warmth, which had suddenly started moving on its own, like a cocoon.


    Ahri helped her get free.


    <em>What are we supposed to do on the second floor?</em>


    <em>Everyone¡¯s worries deepened.</em>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 176: Party Time – Sanctum of Blessings (3)

    Chapter 176: Party Time ¨C Sanctum of Blessings (3)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 89


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    <em>It¡¯s useless to worry, now it¡¯s time to receive some rewards!</em>


    <em>Isn¡¯t this one of the most enjoyable moments in this damned Hotel?</em>


    As we approached the Sanctum of Blessings near the first floor¡¯s entrance, everyone¡¯s expressions brightened.


    We entered the Sanctum of Blessings.You may empower Park Seungyub and Elena Ivanova. Would you like to proceed? (Y/N)


    ¡°What? Why can we only pick two?¡±


    Everyone was surprised.


    <em>Why are only Seungyub and Elena eligible for empowerment?</em>


    I didn¡¯t expect my name to be after receiving ¡°Scenario Comprehension¡±, the owl did mention it would take a long time for us to meet again after all.


    <em>But why aren¡¯t the others listed?</em>


    Didn¡¯t all of us y significant roles in the Gate Room? Even Ahri was the first one to break through thest trial on her own.


    ¡­A sad realization dawned on me.


    ¡°It seems the Gate Room doesn¡¯t count toward the contribution calction.¡±


    Ahri sighed and responded, ¡°No wonder there was no Party Time after the Gate Room. There wasn¡¯t a need to visit the Sanctum of Blessings.¡±


    Seungyub replied with some expectation, ¡°I guess I was recognized for escaping alone in the first attempt of Room 201!¡±


    Noona seemed a bit indignant.


    ¡°I also escaped alone during the second attempt.¡±


    ¡°But you recently received the ¡®Hand of Greed¡¯ after yourst empowerment, right? Maybe it¡¯s just not your time yet.¡±


    Jinchul-hyung chimed in with a ridiculousment, ¡°If they just showed our contribution points clearly, there¡¯d be no confusion! I¡¯m basing this off my own experiences, but whenever someone hides stuff like this, it¡¯s because they¡¯re trying to take advantage of you!¡±


    ¡°Who would benefit from withholding our contribution points¡­?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    <em>What¡¯s the point in arguing further?</em>


    In the end, the two received their empowerment.


    ***<strong>- Park Seungyub</strong>


    As I felt myself being pulled somewhere, I grew disoriented.


    When I barely managed to steady my staggering body, I heard an all-too-familiar line.


    <strong>[Wee to Summoner¡¯s Rift!]</strong>


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The ce felt familiar. The dark, somewhat stuffy air,puters everywhere¡ªit looked like an inte caf¨¦, minus the clerk.


    Only oneputer was on, ying music I¡¯d heard thousands of times.


    A boy, who looked to be about my age, sat in front of the screen,pletely engrossed in it.


    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a sec! I just need to push this!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going for a backdoor with 5 deaths? I think the minion is getting pushed back.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine! They just need to hold on a little bit longer!¡±


    A momentter, the oue was decided.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°How did you y this game every day? I¡¯m drained after just a few games. Why am I so unlucky with my teams?¡±


    Hearing such words from the Patron of Fortune left me speechless for a moment.


    <em>Of course, you lost after dying five times and only going for backdoors¡­</em>


    <em>It¡¯s not that you¡¯re unlucky with teams, it¡¯s your team that¡¯s unlucky to have you!</em>


    I held back from saying it out loud.


    He was still my patron, after all.


    Watching my frustrated expression, the boy chuckled and said, ¡°I yed exactly like you did beforeing to the Hotel.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s it any different?¡±


    ¡°Wow! You little bas¡ª I mean, Mr. Patron really doesn¡¯t understand this game, right?¡±


    ¡°Did you just call me a ¡®little bastard¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Do you even know the difference between mindless backdooring and split-pushing? Wow~! I didn¡¯t expect to be lectured onne management by someone who doesn¡¯t even know how to manage minion waves. Do you know the difference between leaving 6 ranged minions and 3? Do you know how to create a big wave? And why did you choose that skill tree? At 21 minutes, why were you at Red¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I give. Sorry. Let¡¯s talk about your Blessing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Your parents must have had a tough time raising you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? I was trying really hard to hold back, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. Let¡¯s really talk about your Blessing now. I¡¯ve had a lot of interesting experiences since meeting you, but I don¡¯t want to go down in Hotel history as the first patron to get hit by a participant.¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay.¡±


    With a wave of his hand, the inte caf¨¦ scene vanished, reced by an office with neat tables and chairs.


    ¡°What empowerment am I getting this time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question. My answer is¡­ ¡®You¡¯re not getting one this time.¡¯¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The Patron observed me for a moment before marveling.


    ¡°You¡¯re really something! Even after all the hardships in the Hotel, you hear there¡¯s no reward, and your expression hardly changes. This shows remarkable patience¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that you seem topletely change when certain topicse up. Anyway, I¡¯m not saying there¡¯s no reward at all. You¡¯ve already heard from yourrade, Han Kain, right? If you gather enough contribution, you can get a powerful empowerment.¡±


    ¡°Oh! So after clearing the next room, I¡¯ll get a powerful empowerment?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to step it up in the next room. Your contribution is still a bitcking.¡±


    ¡°Then how about just giving me a weaker empowerment based on my current contribution¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. You need to aim for a powerful empowerment.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve probably heard it hinted at already. Room 203, you remember right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The empowerment I¡¯m preparing for you will be very useful there. Compared to yourrades, you¡¯re already starting to fall a bit behind, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even gotten an Inheritance yet. Room 203 will be both a challenge and an opportunity for you.¡±


    ¡°So, I have no hope in Room 202¡­¡±


    ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not a room where you¡¯re likely to perform well enough to earn an Inheritance. But do your best. You¡¯ll need to gather some contributions in Room 202 to get the next empowerment.¡±


    As I listened, I grew curious.


    <em>Why does he say I¡¯m unlikely to get an Inheritance in Room 202, but that Room 203 is a challenge and an opportunity?</em>


    The boy, seemingly reading my thoughts, responded, ¡°You¡¯re not nning to ask about the contents of the next room, are you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°Are other questions allowed? For example, what is this ¡®powerful empowerment¡¯?¡±


    The boy made a somewhat ambiguous expression before answering, ¡°It will increase the ¡®predictability¡¯ of your ability.¡±


    <em>¡°Predictability¡±? I don¡¯t understand.</em>


    The boy nced elsewhere before continuing.


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about the Hotel getting colder, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Are you going to give me a hint?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different from the Cursed Rooms. Not everyone needs to participate.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to overexert yourself.¡±


    <em>What does that mean?</em>


    As those words lingered in my mind, my consciousness faded.


    ***<strong>- Elena</strong>


    I found myself in the beautiful garden I¡¯d visited before.


    I could hear birds chirping, and thendscape of the flower garden looked like a watercolor painting.


    As soon as I entered, I heard a worried voice, ¡°You have acquired a dangerous ability.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°I had hoped you wouldn¡¯t acquire a power that affects the mind.¡±


    ¡°¡­I thought the Irregr Polyhedron would be too difficult for me to handle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    Although it was true that the Polyhedron required high intelligence to use and I probably couldn¡¯t use it, hearing the blunt answer felt oddly upsetting.


    The Patron soon chuckled and continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be a prodigy to use the Irregr Polyhedron. However, it does require considerable calction skills. Don¡¯t you have capablerades in that regard?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that you¡¯re not suited for Ominous Imagination. In fact, few could use it as well as you. It¡¯s a power that requires a rich imagination. It¡¯s by no means a weak power; it¡¯s just a difficult power to control and has severe aftereffects.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, when I obtained the ability, Kain told me that using Ominous Imagination could easily lead to mental problems. But so far, I haven¡¯t felt anything. It just makes me more scared because weird monsters keep appearing¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t truly used it yet. Right now, you¡¯re just desperately trying not to use it, so the power is leaking out in small amounts while you¡¯re off guard.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I felt even more anxious.


    <em>Isn¡¯t she basically saying that once I start using it in earnest, I¡¯ll go insane?</em>


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. Originally, I was going to give you a different ability, but when I say you have acquired Ominous Imagination, I¡¯ve prepared an appropriate Blessing empowerment. Just convictions settle in a calm and serene mind, after all.¡±


    ¡°Uh? T-thank you!¡±


    ¡°However, the power I¡¯m giving you will only help reduce the aftereffects of Ominous Imagination. You¡¯ll have to master its use on your own.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk about your ability with that lousy fellow you like so much?¡±


    ¡°Uh??? What are you talking about all of a sudden???¡±


    ¡°Why are you so surprised? It seems like you¡¯re the only one who doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, no¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough with the ¡®no, no,¡¯ It¡¯s time for you to go.¡±


    With that, I felt my consciousness being swept away like a wave.


    Just before it fadedpletely, I heard onest word.


    ¡°The issue with the cold is not something you need to worry about.¡±


    <em>What does that mean?</em>


    Congrattions!


    Elena Ivanova ¨C Justice ¡ú Has acquired ¡®Calmness and Tranquility¡¯.


    *****<strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    After the two received their Blessing empowerment and passed out, we moved them to a safe location and gathered around the tea table.


    As he lifted a cup, Grandpa sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting worse. Take a look at this.¡±


    ¡°Since when did you start liking green tea ice cream?¡±


    ¡°If it were ice cream, at least it would taste good¡­ The situation on the first floor is worsening by the minute.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just ice floating in the tea; it was practically a block of green tea ice. I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    Songee¡¯s question brought silence.


    It was my cue to speak up.


    At least I knew what I wanted to say first.


    ¡°Just a moment,¡± Noona responded immediately.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to use Advice?¡±


    ¡°Yes. As I mentioned early this morning, I¡¯m nning to use today¡¯s Advice on Room 104.¡±


    Ahri seemed uncertain.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the increasingly cold Hotel the more immediate issue? Shouldn¡¯t you use Advice on that¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a valid point, but there¡¯s never really been a time without urgent issues since we got here. Besides, Party Timests for three days, right? Today is just the first day.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll ask about the cold on the second or third day?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. And¡­¡±


    <em>There¡¯s a certain intuition I¡¯ve been feeling for some time now.</em>


    <em>Perhaps it grew stronger after I used Descent in Room 102.</em>


    I know I must confront the ¡°Lord¡± again and settle things.


    ¡°Go ahead, then. It¡¯s your Blessing, so it¡¯s your choice. Like you said, you can ask about the Hotel getting colder tomorrow.¡±


    Once I decided to use the advice, I found myself momentarily at a loss for what to ask.


    <em>What should I ask?</em>


    <em>What is the Lord¡¯s scheme?</em>


    <em>Will I really betray myrades in Room 104?</em>


    <em>It¡¯s hard to choose, especially since each question costs three counts¡­</em>


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 3 ¡ú 0


    The wisest one sets the board so that everyone benefits.

 Chapter 177: Party Time – Concerns About Room 104, Exploring the Second Floor (4)

    Chapter 177: Party Time ¨C Concerns About Room 104, Exploring the Second Floor (4)


    User: Han Kain (Wisdom)


    Date: Day 89


    Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor


    Sage¡¯s Advice: 0


    <strong>- Han Kain</strong>


    I was taken aback by the enigmatic advice I received.


    Those around me started asking questions.


    ¡°What kind of response did you receive?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±¡°It must be another one of Owl¡¯s cryptic riddles.¡±


    ¡°The advice was, ¡®The wisest one sets the board so that everyone benefits.¡¯¡±


    A brief silence followed before Noona ultimately broke it, ¡°It feels oddly familiar. Let me exin what I know. In business, they say that if you create a strategy where only you benefit, it¡¯s considered a bad strategy. If you set things up so that you¡¯re the only one gaining profits, the other party will naturally resist, and the whole setup will copse.¡±


    ¡°So, the idea is to create a situation where everyone benefits, making it stable?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That way, everyone is satisfied, and the arrangement stays intact, leading to mutual prosperity. It¡¯s a bit like game theory. Have you heard of Nash equilibrium?¡±


    In game theory, Nash equilibrium refers to a state where all yers have made their most optimal move, leading to a situation where no singr yer could improve their position by changing their strategy.


    In simpler terms, it was simr to the idea that no one would disrupt a situation where everyone was benefiting.


    ¡°I understand the concept, but there are too many confusing aspects. First of all, who is ¡®the wisest one¡¯? Logically, it seems like it¡¯s telling me to wise up and set a beneficial situation for everyone since I¡¯m the holder of Wisdom.¡±


    ¡°I immediately thought of the Owl. Isn¡¯t he the Patron of Wisdom?¡±


    Ahri immediately shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the Owl is the subject here. You have to consider the rest of the phrase. ¡®The one who sets the board¡¯ is the subject of the sentence, right? Patrons aren¡¯t the ones setting the board. I think it¡¯s more likely referring to the Lord. As a being close to a god, it makes sense to call him the wisest.¡±


    <em>Ahri¡¯s point was valid. In this Hotel, Patrons are more like distant figures, so they couldn¡¯t be the ones setting the board.</em>


    <em>However, if the subject is the Lord, why specifically use the word ¡°wise¡±?</em>


    <em>In the Hotel, ¡°wise¡± is synonymous with my Blessing, ¡°Wisdom¡±. Knowing the Owl, it wouldn¡¯t use this term lightly.</em>


    I recalled what the Chief Researcher said in Room 201.


    The Owl¡¯s cryptic answers weren¡¯t meant to tease or frustrate me. They were designed to convey as much meaning as possible in a short phrase, often with multipleyers of interpretation.


    The riddle that haunted us in Room 201, Seeing the finger, but not the moon.


    <em>What was the finger, and what was the moon?</em>


    Initially, I thought the Cube was the finger and the headquarters was the moon. Then, I considered it might be about Beatrix, who sent a clone while her real brain was elsewhere.


    After everything, it seemed that Beatrix herself was the finger, and the moon was about focusing on the Convict.


    Perhaps all these interpretations were encapsted in those short Advices.


    Considering this, I shouldn¡¯t try to find a single correct interpretation of the Owl¡¯s words.


    Its goal was to convey multiple meanings at once.


    ¡°Maybe both are correct. The subject could be either me or the Lord. Perhaps the Owl¡¯s Advice means something like this?¡±


    I wrote my interpretation on the whiteboard.


    1. The Lord has already set a board where everyone benefits.


    2. To break that board, you need to set another one where everyone benefits.


    Ahri tilted her head slightly and murmured, ¡°I still don¡¯t think we can draw any clear conclusions from this¡­¡±


    <em>Indeed, despite my interpretations being clearer than the cryptic advice, it¡¯s still abstract.</em>


    <em>I can¡¯t decipher it easily. I might need more Advice before I can reach any concrete conclusions.</em>


    <em>But now, I can¡¯t use any more Advice to satisfy my curiosity about Room 104 while the pressing issue of the cold Hotel persists.</em>


    Ahri suddenly looked a bit weary.


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked about Room 104 before, haven¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you too fixated on the idea of clearing Room 104? I don¡¯t understand why you think we have to do it. The Hotel isn¡¯t structured in a way that requires us to clear every room.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it because you regret missing out on the Inheritance there? But you¡¯ve already received a reward from Room 104, separate from the Inheritance.¡±


    <em>She¡¯s right. I already gained the powerful reward of Descent from Room 104.</em>


    Noona, however, subtly took my side, ¡°I can see where Kain¡¯sing from. The first floor should generally be easier than the second, right? If you leave rewards on the easier floor and proceed to the more difficult one, it¡¯s natural to feel uneasy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a reasonable point, but Room 104 is just too strange. There¡¯s something off about it, like it¡¯s a ¡®rotten room¡¯ or something.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Yeah. It¡¯s definitely a weird room. It has a creepy vibe.¡±


    <em>I know what she means. I think about it often.</em>


    <em>We¡¯ve cleared all the rooms on the first floor, even the toughest Gate Room, but Room 104 remains an enigma.</em>


    <em>Strangely, I was given the reward of ¡°Descent¡± even though we didn¡¯t clear Room 104.</em>


    <em>Strangely, the Convict in Room 104 distorted even the Hotel¡¯s notifications to say, ¡°Thou have not failed.¡±</em>


    <em>Strangely, asking questions about Room 104 costs three pieces of advice.</em>


    <em>In this Hotel, strangeness means danger and fear.</em>


    <em>All these oddities were making myrades fearful of Room 104.</em>


    ¡­A strange feeling washed over me.


    It was as if a cunning spider was watching us from a great height, its web ensnaring us so that we couldn¡¯t easily escape.


    <em>What exactly is the Lord scheming?</em>


    There was a brief silence before someone approached from afar.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Seungyub?¡±


    It had only been about 30 minutes since he left the Sanctum of Blessings.


    The reason soon became clear. Like I did before, he chose to save his contribution for a very powerful empowermentter.


    ¡°Oh, and my Patron mentioned something about the cold.¡±


    Grandpa, who had been battling with his iced green tea, widened his eyes and shouted, ¡°What? Did that boy give you a decent hint?¡±


    ¡°¡­He said to prepare well for the cold?¡±


    <em>Is that supposed to be advice?</em>


    <em>Does he think he¡¯s the Owl or something?</em>


    Everyone was momentarily dumbfounded.


    As Seungyub returned, the conversation naturally shifted from Room 104 to preparing for the cold.


    Noona started the discussion, ¡°Let¡¯s start with the basics. We need to prepare as if we¡¯re facing a severe cold wave. I¡¯ve already ordered everything we¡¯ll need from the HP market. I even ordered a tent, just in case.¡±


    Grandpa responded immediately, ¡°Start gathering Hotel supplies today. Is there anything we can take from the basement facilities? The Hiking Room had some high-performance cold-weather gear.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be difficult. Those items disappear once they leave the room.¡±


    ¡°Then transform that parrot and pluck his feathers.¡±


    <em>- Piyooo!</em>


    ¡°Piyooo, my foot! If I collect as many feathers as you¡¯ve plucked from my head, I could make at least one hat!¡±


    <em>Perro, have you plucked that much hair from Grandpa?</em>


    ¡°Alright, everyone, settle down. You know the drill by now, right? Go around the Hotel and gather anything useful for the cold.¡±


    <em>What could I possibly find?</em>


    <em>Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t bring out anything from the basement facilities, so we¡¯ll have to look around the first floor.</em>


    The curtains and tablecloths we used to make improvised cold-weather gear caught my eye.


    Ahri asked a question, ¡°Speaking of gathering supplies, can you use the ¡®Hand of Greed¡¯? Maybe it could get us something useful for the cold?¡±


    ¡°I thought of that too, but after getting the eyeballst time, I can¡¯t use it yet. It seems like it has a really long cooldown.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. The skill grants supernatural gear each time, so a long cooldown is justified. It¡¯s a shame we can¡¯t use it now.¡±


    As everyone discussed how to endure the cold Hotel, I was lost in thought.


    Simply enduring the cold wasn¡¯t enough.


    We needed to put an end to this sudden ice age in the Hotel, and the solution must be on the second floor.


    We had to go to the second floor and find out what was happening.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we check out the second floor before the cold gets worse?¡±


    Everyone nodded as if they had been thinking the same thing. Jinchul-hyung eagerly responded, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I was going to suggest the same. Let¡¯s go to the second floor. Who shoulde with me?¡±


    Though he seemed to be proposing it to everyone, his gaze was fixed on one person.


    The number and suitability of people for the exploration were clear.


    Aside from Jinchul-hyung, who could resist the cold with the power of Courage, the only equipment capable of withstanding the extreme cold on the second floor was the Protective Suit.


    Therefore, only one other person could participate in the exploration.


    There was also only one person among us who could navigate through the blizzard to scout the area.


    Noona let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Ugh~ I didn¡¯t want to bring up the second floor because I knew this would happen. Well, we have to do what we have to do. Jinchul and I will go.¡±


    ¡°Great. I¡¯ll break the ice and clear a path, and Noona will scout with her vision. We¡¯re bound to find something.¡±


    The two seemed to overlook one crucial fact.


    ¡°Sorry, but one more person has to go.¡±


    ¡°What? Did you forget we only have one Protective Suit¡ª¡±


    ¡°That person won¡¯t actively participate in the exploration. They can just tough it out by huddling under a nket in a corner. But we definitely need this person. Grandpa?¡±


    The blizzard on the second floor made normalmunication impossible.


    We needed the Chat Window¡¯s support.


    Grandpa grabbed the back of his neck.


    ¡°Ah, I thought I could finally retire from these tough tasks in my old age, but this young man insists on sending me into the thick of it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine! Strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Let¡¯s go right now.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you a cksmith too?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Seungyub, you must be tired. Get some rest.¡±


    Seungyub¡¯s expression brightened at Ahri¡¯s caring words.


    ¡°Take Perro with you! I noticed during our trips to Room 201 that Perro seems to handle the cold well.¡±


    <em>- Piyoo! Piyoooo!</em>


    ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t peck me!~ It hurts~!¡±


    We spent a few moments in a warm exchange, watching the furious parrot pull at Songee¡¯s hair.


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