Chapter: 103
103 – Party Time (5) – Ahri’s Escape Experience, Sanctum of Blessings
—
Party Time, Day 1 Morning
– Han Kain
Can we escape using a parachute made from materials obtained through the HP Market? That was the question, and here’s the reply.
[“If you don’t value your life, give it a try.”]
Once I relayed this answer, a hush fell over the venue. At first glance, it seemed like a mockery. But up until now, there had been ambiguous responses, but never one that felt outright dismissive.
Jinchul-hyung asked me, “Just checking, but are they pulling our leg?”
“I don’t know… It’s never done that before.”
After considering it for a while, I shared my thoughts.
“It’s not about impossible or possible. It said, ‘If you don’t value your life, give it a shot.’ Isn’t that implying it’s extremely dangerous, but there might be a chance of success?”
Eunsol-noona showed a somewhat ambiguous reaction.
“You could interpret it that way. It’s confusing. I think the one among us with actual escape experience needs to clarify this.”
Everyone naturally turned their gaze toward Ahri, who tilted her head slightly and began to speak.
“Hmm. I’ve mentioned this indirectly a few times, and some might have heard me directly—” At that point, Ahri glanced at Elena. “—I escaped purely by luck.”
“Can you tell us more about how you did it? Whether it was luck or not, how did the escape unfold?”
“Back when I was born, the front entrance of the hotel didn’t lead to the sky like it does now; it was the middle of a deep ocean. If we had opened the door, the water pressure would’ve killed us on the spot! So honestly, we never even had doubts like this. A parachute made of cheap materials is one thing, but there was no way to build a submarine that could withstand such pressure.”
Once more, silence enveloped the place until Seungyub finally broke it.
“This might sound like a game, but I think our brainstorming here feels a bit like exploiting bugs.”
“Exploiting bugs?”
“The hotel’s official escape tool is the ‘wing boots’ found somewhere on the 2nd Floor, right? Yet, it feels kinda silly to think we could use a tool that Eunsol-noona had the moment she walked in to make an escape.”
In the midst of this unclear atmosphere, Grandpa Mooksung stepped in to neatly wrap up the topic.
“Let’s just say it’s vaguely possible, but the chances are minuscule! What’s the point of overthinking this? We can’t just jump off the moment we hear something like that!”
Meanwhile, I entertained a slightly different thought. What if I possessed Perro just to fly out and have a look?
To do this, I figured I’d need to regularly possess Perro and practice my flying.
—
Party Time, Day 1 Afternoon
– Han Kain
The path to the hotel opened up. We entered the Sanctum of Blessings and checked who could enhance their blessings.
Mooksung-grandpa, who had been unable to empower during the inheritance selection phase; Eunsol-noona, finally getting her first chance to enhance; and me, who had recently acquired an inheritance.
The list was pretty much what we expected.
I pressed “Yes,” and as the light from the sanctum cascaded down, my consciousness began to drift.
—
– Han Kain
This owl was starting to feel like an old friend.
“I obtained an inheritance this time!”
I proclaimed proudly, but the owl responded with a somewhat peculiar expression.
“Well done. But moving forward, try to minimize your mistakes.”
“I do get a bit disappointed about having to use Descent.”
Taking a shot, I brought up the Descent to see if the owl would offer any explanation, but the moment I mentioned it, the owl clamped its beak shut. It seemed like no explanations were forthcoming.
With no other options, I switched topics.
“It’s time for ‘powerful empowerment’, correct? What ability will I receive?”
“As I mentioned previously, it’s a strength that will significantly assist you in your progress in the hotel. You will be able to comprehend the scenarios of the rooms.”
“And about the Advice—”
“Stop right there.”
…The owl abruptly cut off my words before continuing, “Let me give you advice.”
“I’m all ears.”
“The purpose of the Advice exists solely for progressing through the Cursed Rooms. Questions about the hotel, the blessings themselves, and escape methods are all abuses that stray from this fundamental objective.”
“But didn’t you usually provide answers?” I countered.
“I did so, but at the cost of your contribution points.”
???!
I was utterly startled by this perspective I had never considered.
“Whenever you use the Advice for purposes outside the Cursed Room progression, you sap a small amount of your contribution. I’m not saying this is necessarily bad—there may be times when it’s necessary to uncover the secrets of the hotel even at the cost of your contributions. However, I advise against excessively using the Advice for ‘other people’.”
“Is that why you dodged my question about other people’s blessings—”
“If I had answered that, you wouldn’t have been able to enhance now.”
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying to use the Advice only within the Cursed Rooms. If that were the intention, the blessings would have deactivated outside. What I mean is to use it ‘for yourself’. Keep that in mind. I want ‘you’ to achieve glory at the end of the hotel, not ‘all of you’.”
“…”
“After today, you won’t meet me for a while, perhaps not until the very end.”
“What do you mean?”
“The stronger your blessing becomes, the more contributions it will require to empower. It will be tough to meet me again unless you gather enough contributions to earn at least two more inheritances.”
After this statement, my consciousness began to drift away. I firmly locked the owl’s advice in my mind.
Using the Advice too broadly expends my contribution points. Therefore, use it mainly for myself whenever possible!
…Why does this place demand our collaboration while simultaneously sowing the seeds of division? Should I even heed the owl’s words?
I couldn’t tell.
—
– Kim Mooksung
“You certainly have potential! Though you might think, ‘What potential at my age?’ you must remember that now that you’re inside the hotel, no one knows how long you will live. Your seventy years may merely represent the beginning of a lengthy epic saga.”
What is life!? A mortal’s life is short and fleeting. Yet, it’s precisely that fragility that showcases humanity’s greatness!
“Humans, due to their weakness, had no choice but to join forces, and because of that unity, they could raise civilizations and cultures, correct?”
Ah, this fellow.
“So what’s the most crucial aspect of teamwork? Your own history proves it! Humanity’s history began with the invention of letters. Information that disappears as soon as it’s spoken was preserved in written form, allowing individuals’ knowledge to be shared among the masses. Letters and language. What do you think is their shared characteristic?”
“Um?”
“Aha! You weren’t focused on my words! Don’t let me down further!”
Seriously, have you been giving a TED Talk for the last thirty minutes? How am I supposed to maintain focus?
“The commonality between letters and language is they serve as means of communication. Ultimately, communication is both the inception and conclusion of human civilization. This is the significance of the blessing I have granted you.”
“Um… Excuse me, but what is the empowerment I’m about to receive?”
“Great question! To answer that, you need to understand the limitations of letters and language and the long, arduous efforts humanity took to transcend them. What limitations do they have? We must contemplate the first written form: pictographs—humanity’s most remarkable invention.”
When I first encountered this giant, I never imagined I’d be in this scenario.
Who could’ve guessed this enormous being would be such a talker?
I’ve dealt with jabbering fools easily in the past; hence, I lived this long with constant reminders to calm down. But how could I possibly hit a titan towering over ten meters?
Hence, I had to endure a lengthy lecture on the history of human civilization’s advancement.
The conclusion was straightforward. There’s a limit to what letters can convey in chat windows; thus, it’s now possible to share visuals, sounds, and other sensory experiences.
So, does this mean I can share videos in a chat now? Why did that warrant a lecture lasting half a day?!
With Ahri’s ancient blood, we could’ve replicated this function long ago!
Finally, once the lecture concluded, the giant began “another” round of advice.
“Let me just say one last thing before we wrap this up. From observing you, I’ve noted that you seem to instinctively desire to hide what you learn. It’s probably a habit formed from long stays in secret organizations. But this is not the right attitude in this hotel. To escape, you need to become a single entity! So, why not reveal a few more of your secrets? My blessing and this empowerment will genuinely assist in that aspect of communication. It can be scary to take the first step in communication. Naturally, you might think, ‘But what fear at my age?’ Yet fear of new beginnings is a universal trait! Even I—”
Please! You declared “one last thing”! How is this “one” last thing? And could you please pause your sentences? I can’t breathe here!
Eventually, the giant, clearly seasoned with experience, blabbered for another thirty minutes before finally letting me go.
—
– Lee Eunsol
Wow.
As soon as I walked into the sanctum, I was spellbound. What in the world is this? Gold was everywhere, and jewels adorned every corner. Almost instinctively, I reached for some jewels when a thunderous voice filled the space.
“Do you like my treasures?”
Turning around, I found a dragon nearly the size of a building.
…Wealth and the dragon. That seems fitting.
“I apologize. I just got mesmerized by the shimmering coins.”
“No need for apologies. It’s in human nature to be drawn to precious things.”
Fortunately, the dragon didn’t seem angry, so I approached it.
“Seeing your struggles has been rather unfortunate for me.”
“To be honest, I found the blessing a bit underwhelming.”
“Yes, it did seem that way.”
Feeling somewhat relieved, I unknowingly raised my voice.
“Isn’t it a bit much? Everyone else got awesome superpowers, while my skills were limited to a few everyday items! I didn’t even get a proper gun or weapon. And the fact that it was an app on my phone meant I couldn’t use it in the Cursed Room since ‘that phone’ wasn’t available.”
“I do feel a bit guilty, but it’s part of my strategy.”
“A strategy?”
“Let me share something intriguing. Do you know which floor has the lowest success rate for participants?”
“Um… It would be tougher the higher up you go, right? Perhaps the 3rd Floor?”
“Incorrect.”
“Then is it the 1st Floor? Because we’d be tackling it without sufficient information or skills?”
“Incorrect.”
“Is it the 2nd Floor?”
“Correct. Allow me to explain. Haven’t you heard about the 3rd Floor from the ‘shopkeeper’? Once you reach the 3rd Floor, you will definitely be able to leave.”
“I did hear that.”
“Who do you think will be the ones progressing forward despite being able to leave anytime?”
“Those confident in their abilities to pass?”
“Exactly. Only those who’ve already acquired several Inheritances from the 1st and 2nd Floors can attempt it confidently. That’s why the likelihood of success is surprisingly high. Also, the 1st Floor has several mechanisms in place to prevent outright disqualification at the beginning.”
“I never once felt any of that helpfulness—”
“You will recognize it once you reach the 2nd Floor and see how ‘generous’ the 1st Floor actually was.”
…That sent shivers down my spine.
“In reality,” continued the dragon, “the most challenging location in this hotel is the 2nd Floor. Hence, I designed my blessings with a unique strategy. It’s to reserve a powerful ability until the moment you arrive at the 2nd Floor! The powers you obtain from here onward won’t leave you disappointed.”
With that, the dragon bid me farewell and as my consciousness faded, I mused to myself.
My sponsor, the dragon, was like someone playing a game. Were we merely pieces on their chessboard? If we were, what was it they were truly attempting to achieve through us?
—
Party Time, Day 2 Afternoon
– Han Kain
As my consciousness returned to my body, I found myself waking up in bed in Room 105. The moment I regained awareness, I checked my status window.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 34
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 – Rest Room
Advisor’s Guidance: 3
Scenario Understanding()]*
Huzzah! A new ability emerged!
A thrill coursed through me. I couldn’t wait to see what it was!
…
Something feels off. The ability’s icon is slightly dimmed. Just as I was about to use it, an alert popped up.
[You cannot use this outside the Cursed Room.]
Thinking about it, that made total sense. It was a power meant to comprehend the “scenarios,” fundamentally tailored for breaking through the Cursed Rooms.
No wonder it wouldn’t activate outside those walls.
I understood, but it was still disappointing to learn I couldn’t immediately use my new ability. I fidgeted with the status window, trying to figure it out when something peculiar caught my eye.
???
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