### Chapter 144 – A Ticket, An Outfit, A Chance
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 72
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
Han Kain
I woke up in the hotel corridor with everyone else. Before I could savor the joy of reunion, a dizzying feeling washed over me as I looked around the hotel.
How long has it been?
I barely made it through a trial only to face another. Just when I thought I was done, here we are again, no proper break in sight! My body was exhausted, but my mind felt utterly fried. Looking at my dazed companions made me chuckle involuntarily.
As I caught their glances, smiles began to spread, filling the corridor with victorious laughter!
It had been a while, and I even missed Eunsol unnie. She spoke up, “Let’s grab some food first! It seems they want us to eat before handing out rewards!”
In the joyful atmosphere, however, Jincheol hyung started acting strangely. He suddenly began staring intently at the air, twisting his head back and forth.
Grandpa Mooksung interjected, “Why do you keep staring at nothing? Did a ghost show up or something?”
Surprisingly, he answered seriously. “Something’s been sparkling up in the air for a while now. A faint figure keeps appearing and disappearing… Did something happen while I fainted?”
… A deep silence fell over the room. He had indeed missed something significant. Everyone hesitated to explain.
As we made our way back to Room 105, the alert from clearing ‘Perfect Life’ appeared, not just on our screens but also for those who hadn’t seen it before. The ‘intent of trials’ mentioned was interesting, but ultimately, it was just a recap of trials we had already conquered. Whatever.
What got everyone’s attention was definitely the contents of the rewards.
A ticket, an outfit, and a chance.
And a special reward for the one who contributed the most. The conversation buzzed around the possible identities of these items.
*
— Click!
After my trip to the restroom, I gazed at the dining table, where the atmosphere was jubilantly lively. I sat down and observed a boy stacking his plate.
On a plain donut rested three slices of pork belly, topped with a steak, a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce, grilled tomatoes, and finally, another tonkatsu!
…
Ahri couldn’t hold it any longer and exclaimed, “Seungyub, isn’t that artery bomb of a burger too big to swallow in one bite?”
“It’s fine!”
I chuckled for a moment and looked around. The more advanced ones excitedly chattered about how they had maneuvered the Gate Room, sharing tips with those who had been eliminated earlier.
Even Elena, who normally wouldn’t behave this way, proudly recounted how she had tricked the crewmembers of the Esper.
Of course, she didn’t mention how she almost ended up being the offering in the final showdown or how the ‘Perfect Life’ situation nearly turned into a massive accident.
Jincheol hyung, feeling the sting of being eliminated early, listened intently, especially when they talked about how a witch had possessed his body only to be driven away afterward, wearing a shocked expression.
A peaceful atmosphere. It was time to drop a bombshell.
— Bang! Bang!
“Attention, everyone!”
All eyes turned to me.
“I know it’s sudden during meal time, but it seems one of the rewards has already been granted.”
My abrupt announcement left everyone wide-eyed. The first to piece it together was Grandpa Mooksung.
“Did you receive that special reward for the one who made the biggest contribution? I suspected it.”
At Grandpa’s words, everyone nodded. Many seemed to have figured I was the likely owner of the special reward.
Honestly, wasn’t it obvious?
My major role in the second trial in the Witch’s Forest was taking control over Arima. In the third trial, ‘Jekyll and Hyde,’ my deductions were pivotal from start to finish.
I didn’t want to say that everything else had involved me, but I played a crucial role too.
“That’s right. I confirmed what it was just a little earlier.”
Everyone tilted their heads at the mention of “confirmed.”
“Earlier? When you went to the bathroom?”
I stood up proudly, grinning. Ha! Honestly, the thrill of it was still buzzing in my brain. It felt like I had become a superhuman; I couldn’t contain the excitement.
I raised both arms and concentrated. I was aware of the ‘feather tattoo’ I had checked while in the restroom.
As soon as I focused on the tattoo, I instinctively understood how to use it.
— Flash!
With a zap, I appeared at the opposite side of the table!
Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise—
— Bam!
…
I fell flat on the floor.
“…”
“…”
A brief silence enveloped the room, then Ahri asked, “Was that… teleportation? Did you intentionally drop after moving up?”
“…”
“Seems like adjusting the position is a bit challenging. You should practice that skill more.”
“I can’t use it right away again. I’ll need a few hours.”
“Yeah, that’s a great skill. But try not to drop to your death right after you teleport at a crucial moment!”
Okay, it was a bit embarrassing, but I managed to get back up and raised my hands again!
“Wow! Did you see that? I now have the ability to teleport!”
Seungyub exclaimed in admiration, “Hyung, that was totally like a reality blink!”
Ahri, amidst the ruckus, piped up, “Now that I’ve seen that skill, it’s certain. The first to get bounded on the second floor is definitely going to be you.”
“…”
As everyone gradually congratulated me, meal time came to an end.
*
After the meal, just like we were waiting for it, the hotel announced once again.
“Was your meal enjoyable?”
Congratulations to those who overcame yet another tough trial.
Starting one week from today, the second floor will be opened. Here, you will face a level of trials even higher than those encountered up to now.
Of course, with the skills you’ve exhibited thus far and the power of the treasures you’ve gathered, you should be able to break through. Make sure you fully recover your body and mind during this week.
P.S.: May what you’ve anticipated finally come! Please proceed to the front desk now!
Songee cheered with joy, “This time it’s a week, right? That’s quite a long break! We won’t even need to do any exploring, so let’s truly relax this time!”
Songee added a few words while clutching Elena’s arm, “Let’s swim and ski too!”
Elena, utterly flustered, couldn’t hide her embarrassment. Eunsol unnie couldn’t help but urge everyone, “Let’s hurry to the front!”
At the center of the front desk sat something massive that looked like a treasure chest. Jincheol hyung nodded as he walked over.
“Let’s just open it up!”
With a push of a button, the chest popped open, revealing the three rewards the hotel had mentioned right before our eyes.
A ticket, an outfit, and a chance.
Jincheol hyung picked up the red button, looking confused. It was a tiny box with just that button attached.
‘One Chance’
The side of the box bore a brief description along with its name.
‘Escape Button’
I grabbed the ticket next to me. The back of the ticket had a brief explanation written on it.
“Wish Ticket! Can be used in various ways. Isn’t it fun to discover its uses?”
What kind of nonsense is this? Just write down the uses!
I was about to get irritated when I noticed Ahri’s expression change beside me.
A storm of emotions surged on her face—intense impulses, desperate yearnings, uncontainable greed—an emotional whirlwind all tangled together.
Ahri instinctively reached out to grab the ticket I was holding, and I reflexively pushed her hand away.
“…”
“… Sorry. I was a bit taken aback.”
“I understand what the uses of the ticket might be. Calm down. We all understand your feelings.”
“…”
A heavy silence fell in the air. I realized that at least one of the ‘various uses’ for this ticket was to bring back the dead.
The tension around the rewards wasn’t just the ticket. When Grandpa Mooksung struggled to pull out the ‘one outfit,’ everyone fell silent. The item was far too grand to be simply called ‘clothing.’ It’d be more accurate to call it ‘space suit.’ Of course, it was still technically a type of clothing.
It was clearly designed for outstanding durability, and a nameplate attached read:
‘Protective Suit: Indestructible to Blades, Immune to Water and Fire.’
Day 72 since arriving at the hotel.
We had acquired our first escape tool.
*
Walking past the front desk, we arrived at the tea table in about three minutes. Usually filled with our favorite drinks and snacks, the table was barren today. We had cleared it all off to make room for the massive items.
I thought there’d be a festive mood to enjoy after earning some rewards…
Instead, we found ourselves wordlessly staring at the objects on the table. In the awkward silence, Eunsol unnie picked up the escape button.
“Did everyone read the explanation? It’s pretty straightforward. Just press the button once, and you instantly escape from the cursed room. The count counts up!”
Everyone was quiet, so I decided to respond.
“It’s pretty much a tool that forces an ‘escape’ judgment, huh? It seems to be one-time use, and it also tracks how many times it’s been used from five onwards, where the difficulty spikes. Naturally, it’ll also revive any dead who were part of the escape since it’s an escape mechanism. It gives you an additional ‘chance.’”
“Feels like a literal lives’ extra, which is good.”
“It’s also a bit unsettling.”
“Unsettling about what?”
“Seeing things like this makes me wonder how tough the second floor will be.”
“Ah, let’s not jump to that conclusion just yet.”
After putting down the button, we slipped back into silence.
Now, it was my turn to grab the ticket again.
“It says it has various uses, and one of them seems like ‘revival,’ right?”
I asked, glancing at Ahri. She nodded readily.
“Of course, it seems you can’t just revive someone immediately using this. Maybe we need to find a place like the ‘Revival Room’? And then we can use the ticket there?”
Ahri opened her mouth.
“I don’t know where or how, either. I only recognized it because it looked just like the ticket from before.”
“Right. We should probably decide ‘who’ to revive eventually.”
Ahri remained quiet. In the awkward atmosphere, Eunsol unnie responded, “Didn’t we say we’d rest for a week? Let’s have a serious conversation about this theme in the middle of it. However, I don’t think we need to decide just yet. After all, we haven’t even found the ‘Revival Room’ yet. We probably need to head to the second floor for that. Plus, since it says there are ‘various uses,’ we likely need to uncover those too. If it’s valuable enough to rival resurrection, those other uses must be incredibly worthwhile.”
“Exactly. We should definitely talk about it, but we don’t need to decide right now.”
…
Another silence fell upon us. Ultimately, our gazes rested on the most burdensome item: ‘one piece of clothing.’ Jincheol hyung, unable to endure the tense atmosphere, reached out toward the outfit.
“Ah! This is ridiculous. Why are we getting so worked up over this? Who the heck would wear this at night and sneak away?”
At that, the other seven people around him flinched. Upon seeing their reactions, Jincheol hyung shut his mouth and lowered the protective suit.
If I had known, it would’ve been better not to bring up the elevator’s password story!
… Let’s drop it. It’s a past incident. Besides, didn’t we decide to stop deceiving everyone?
This too is another trial we must overcome.
Sighing, I gazed at the ‘protective suit,’ which had become a hot potato.
One week of rest before heading to the second floor.
We need to solidify our bonds and not let the escape button or the ticket get to us.
—
Now, the horror hotel escape journey is finally finishing up on the first floor and moving to the second floor. More mysterious rooms and their intricate stories are set to unfold.
To create fascinating developments ahead, it’s time to properly set the stage for the second floor’s story.
Also, I need some time to recharge myself a bit too. For that reason, I will take a two-day break.
The next chapter will be posted on August 4th. Thank you.
This announcement will be published soon as well.
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