Chapter: 51
Chapter 51 – A Day at the Campsite: Meeting a Strange Merchant.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 20
Current Location: Basement, Campsite
Sage’s Advice: 3]
“…”
“…”
Everyone sat around with dazed expressions. Thanks to the wrecked facilities, no one had a good night’s sleep, so we were all still groggy.
As if that wasn’t enough, we barely woke up and rushed to the basement campsite per the hotel’s orders.
As a result, we all ended up surrounded by the camping facilities, wearing expressions that screamed exhaustion.
“Do we really have to stick it out here the whole day? Is there really no way out?”
“Considering how the door disappeared the moment we entered, it seems they want us to endure a full day here.”
“There’s some meat over there, and we have tents and sleeping bags. How about we just get some more sleep?”
“I get that you’re sleepy, Seungyub, but shouldn’t we be thinking about whether this place is even safe?”
“Do you feel any dangerous elements, sir?”
“I’m not some psychic, what would I sense? But judging by experience, hasn’t the hotel brewed up something strange every day, except when entering the Curse Room?”
“To be precise, isn’t it that today we’re not not entering the Curse Room, but simply ‘unable’ to enter it?”
“Well, Song’s right, but the elder makes a good point too. This hotel does whatever it wants anyway. If we begin to discuss blame, the reason we can’t enter the Curse Room is that the hotel’s a wreck, and who wrecked it? Kain here, right? From the hotel’s perspective, there’s no mercy for us, and they can torment us regardless.”
“Sorry…”
“…”
Everyone fell silent. I felt like since this morning, every time I approached them or spoke, they flinched and avoided me. Was yesterday’s incident really that shocking?
“It’s early, but it’s quite cold, so let’s start a fire. We don’t have a heater, but there’s plenty of firewood piled over there.”
Not that we had anything better to do.
We all naturally stood up, gathered the firewood in the center, and, after a bit of kindle action with the lighter, managed to get a fire going.
And then—
Night fell.
“…”
“Can anyone explain what the hell’s going on here?”
“You just haven’t gotten used to the hotel yet.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“We came in the morning, lit a fire, and suddenly, it’s night. What sort of nonsense is this? This isn’t how you think in a hotel. Ah-ha! Something spooky is about to happen, so the oh-so-kind hotel decided to warn us by turning it into night time! Now that’s the correct hotel mindset!”
—Rustle, stomp, rustle.
Something was approaching. Immediately, everyone went dead silent.
What emerged from the trees seemed to be a bear weighing well over 500 kg.
If this were an ordinary camping ground and we were regular tourists, we would probably be screaming our lungs out right about now.
But of course, no one here was going to scream at the mere sight of a ‘bear’. Instead, I thought, Is this really just one bear?
Jinchul-hyung would probably handle it on his own, right?
As expected, Jinchul-hyung stood up with a smirk. The size difference between a human and a bear was practically laughable… but I still didn’t picture him losing this battle. It wasn’t like it was a demon; it was just a bear. Captain Korea could totally take it down, right?
But before he could make a move, someone else stepped forward.
Songee casually got up and walked towards the bear, treating it like an oversized puppy. She led it to our campfire and started feeding it chunks of meat from our supplies.
“…”
“…”
“I heard you raised a lot of animals. Have you raised bears too?”
“Of course not. No one raises bears at home.”
“There are some in Russia, though.”
“Hmm, let me correct that to: No one in Korea does.”
“There’s one right in front of me.”
“I just wanted to test my enhanced blessing, and it worked.”
Now that I think about it, Songee, Seungyub, and I all had our blessings strengthened at the Sanctum.
Mine was the ability to track my teammates’ locations.
“By the way, how did your blessings change after the enhancement, Songee and Seungyub?”
“Hmm… I can convey my intentions and emotions to a being of chaos that holds goodwill for me. It seems that even a beast like this can understand when I say, ‘Come here and let’s eat together.’”
“A being of chaos refers to monsters or demons, right? This is still just a bear.”
“Seungyub, don’t be stupid. Do you think there would be a normal bear in this place? This thing would probably sprout horns or wings when it goes into combat.”
After being called silly by Ahri, Seungyub shrank back.
Seeing that, Ahri suddenly approached him, as if she remembered something, and gently patted his head.
Immediately, his spirits perked up, and he was full of energy again.
What on earth were they doing? Were they filming some kind of sitcom here?
“Speaking of which, what about your blessing, Seungyub?”
“I have a transparent window now. It shows 82%. I can press on it, and it asks if I want to activate it.”
“So, you can visually see the cooldown now and use it whenever you want? That’s incredible! Ah—everyone’s blessings feel like they’re powering up, but what about my ‘HP Market’? Why does it always feel like this market never makes me stronger?”
“Honestly, mine doesn’t seem to help me much either…”
“Even if it does make you stronger, what’s the point? Lately, I only remember being controlled by someone until I died.”
The atmosphere began to grow heavy again.
—Clink. —Clang.
A bizarre metallic screech reached our ears.
Again, everyone went quiet and started trying to gauge the situation, and at that moment, the bear, who had been happily munching on the meat like an oversized dog, suddenly transformed into a frightened puppy and bolted away without looking back!
In an utterly ridiculous twist, the bear’s legs sprouted into eight as it fled. This certainly wasn’t a normal bear. If it weren’t for Songee, we might’ve faced some real danger when it first appeared.
Someone else approached us from the woods.
*
“Ho~ Hello there! I’m just a passing merchant. May I borrow some fire?”
A mysterious being appeared, completely wrapped in bandages with no skin visible. Was he even human? Do we have to chase him away?
Jinchul-hyung swiftly moved to put himself between us and the merchant.
“Unless you have business here, you’re better off on your way. We already have enough people.”
“Haha. That’s a little disheartening to hear. Didn’t I say I’m a merchant? My items will surely be of great help for your time at the hotel.”
This guy knew we were hotel participants.
While Jinchul-hyung was puzzled, a cheerful voice rang out from our group.
“Come show us your goods!”
It was Ahri.
Did she know something we didn’t?
After all, this was her second time at the hotel, so she probably knew more than we did.
The man casually took a spot by the fire and pulled out a piece of paper.
“This is the catalog of the items I sell. I’d love to offer everyone a copy, but sadly I only have one, so I’ll describe it to you all personally. Of course, I should start with my best item, right? The first item is an Escape Ticket from the Hotel!”
!!!
I was stunned. An Escape Ticket? Wasn’t this an insane find?
But then, the cold voice of Eunsol-noona echoed across the campsite.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. So, what’s the price for that incredible item?”
Instead of asking, “How much?” she asked, “What is the price?”
It made sense; a merchant selling suspicious items in the hotel wouldn’t be looking for cash in return.
“Haha! It’s quite cheap! I promise you, every single one of my items is practically free compared to their value. At this rate, I might not even break even! Sometimes, I wonder if I’m a merchant or a volunteer!”
“Quit the nonsense and just tell us the price.”
“Three lives of participants.”
…
The atmosphere froze.
“What’s wrong, everyone? There are eight of us here; what’s the problem with losing three? Honestly, there are people here who aren’t even that helpful. Hello, young friend? Do you think you’re useful?”
“Hiiik!”
Startled, the merchant suddenly leaned toward Seungyub and asked. Seungyub flinched back in surprise, and that was when a punch flew into the merchant’s face.
—KWAAM!
Rather than a punch, it sounded more like cannon fire as the merchant went flying.
“I was curious whether this guy was useful, and it turns out he’s just trash! Let’s stop sweating the small stuff and focus on our meal. What a worthless—”
The merchant came back, unscathed as if nothing had happened.
“You bastard!”
“Haha~ Running a business is really hard work. How come there are so many rude customers? Was I forcing you to buy my items? If you don’t like them, simply don’t buy!”
“Next item!”
Was Ahri really considering buying something from this guy?
“Let’s hear the next item. I doubt you only brought one.”
“Of course! What sort of merchant would carry only one product?”
“The second item is none other than an Inheritance!”
“Everyone, isn’t that wonderful? You don’t need to suffer through the trials and tribulations of the hotel’s curse rooms to obtain an inheritance! You can simply buy it from me! What could be more convenient—”
“Just tell us the price when talking about an item. Cut the fluff.”
“Two lives of participants.”
…
It came again.
What on earth is this guy? Is his role to stir trouble among teams that aren’t on good terms?
But reflecting back, if the situation from yesterday’s 2:6 conflict had continued today, things would certainly not have gone this smoothly. Eunsol-noona made the right call to patch things up before it got worse.
“Ah, I seriously can’t stand this. Should I pull your head off?”
“Eew, sir? I don’t understand why you’re behaving this way!”
“Next item. If the price is lives again, then just shut up and leave. Tell us about something that doesn’t involve lives.”
“Oh dear~ Looks like the customers today are quite miserly! Now, while I do have cheaper items, there’s a reason they’re cheap! They’re practically useless compared to an Escape Ticket or Inheritance—”
—SLAM!
This time, it was Grandpa Mooksung who delivered the kick.
“This is the first time I’m having such an unpleasant conversation since I arrived here. Just talk about the item and its price. That’s all you need to do.”
“I have two cheap items. First is a weapon supply box. What’s inside is random, adding to the thrill! The cost? Two limbs of a participant.”
Two limbs of a participant. Was he seriously referring to the arms and legs I was thinking of?
“Two limbs, huh….”
A chilling feeling crept in. Did Ahri really intend to buy that?
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