### Chapter 176 – Party Time – Sanctuary of Blessings (3)
—
– Han Kain
Worries are worries, but now it’s time to reap some rewards! You could say it’s one of the most enjoyable times in this hardship-laden hotel!
As we approached the entrance to the Sanctuary of Blessings on the first floor, everyone’s expressions brightened. We entered the sanctuary.
“Strengthening for Park Seungyub/Elena Ivanova is available. Proceed? (Y/N)”
“What? Why is there such a small selection?”
Everyone was baffled. Why were there so few people eligible for enhancements?
I figured since I gained the ‘Scenario Understanding’ skill and the Owl had said it’d be a long time before we’d meet again, my name probably wouldn’t be in the mix.
But why were the others’ names missing too? Didn’t everyone in the Gate Room play their part? Ahri even ended up being the last survivor!
… One disheartening thought popped into my head.
“It seems the ‘Gate Room’ doesn’t count toward contribution calculations.”
Ahri sighed as she replied.
“That explains why there wasn’t any party time after the Gate Room. I guess we didn’t need to visit the Sanctuary of Blessings anyway.”
Seungyub answered somewhat expectantly.
“I must have gotten recognition for my solo escape on the first try in Room 201!”
My sister sounded a bit aggrieved.
“I also did a solo escape on the second try, you know?”
“Yeah, but you recently got a boost and acquired the Hand of Greed, right? It looks like the timing just isn’t right for you.”
Jinchul said something ridiculous.
“If that guy just displayed our contributions as numbers, we wouldn’t have this confusion! From past experience, hiding something like this has to be some trick from someone trying to pull off a scam!”
“Who would benefit from stealing our contributions…?”
“…”
What good would it do to argue further? In the end, two people enhanced their blessings.
—
– Park Seungyub
I felt my body being sucked somewhere! My consciousness was hazy. Just as I steadied my wobbly body, the ever-familiar phrase hit my ears.
“Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!”
…
The place felt familiar! The dark, somewhat claustrophobic air filled with computers everywhere. If there was just one part-timer in front, it would have been a PC bang, but no part-timer here.
Only one computer was on, and the music I’d heard countless times streamed from it. In front of the computer sat a boy who looked about my age, fully focused.
“Hey…”
“Just a sec! I just need to push this through!”
…
“… you’re doing a 5-death-train backdoor. Looks like the main squad is getting pushed.”
“It’s fine! They just need to hold on!”
Moments later, it was concluded.
…
“Are you okay?”
“… How do you play this game every day? I lost my energy after just a few matches. Why is my team so unlucky?”
I couldn’t believe the words coming from the luck-related supporter’s mouth.
Dude, if you’ve died five times and are still doing backdoor tactics, your luck isn’t the problem… it’s your teammates being unlucky for pairing up with you!
I swallowed that retort. After all, he’s the lucky supporter; I should hold back. The boy, noting my exasperated expression, chuckled and said,
“I played the same way you did before coming to the hotel.”
“Not at all?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Wow! Do you not even know how to play? Unbelievable! Do you think doing mindless backdoor plays and splitting is the same? Come on! Do you know the difference between leaving 6 minions and 3 alive? Can you create a big wave? What’s with that absurd skill build at 21 minutes, anyway?”
“No, no, I lost. Sorry. Let’s talk about blessings instead.”
…
“Your parents must’ve had a rough time.”
“What do you mean by that? I’ve been trying to hold back, but –”
“No, no, let’s really talk about blessings now. I’m having all sorts of remarkable experiences since meeting you, but I don’t want to be the first supporter in hotel history to get punched by a participant!”
“… Okay.”
As the boy waved his hand lightly, the PC bang scenery vanished, replaced by a clean office-like setting with nice tables and chairs.
“What kind of enhancement are you getting this time?”
“Good question. My answer is ‘I’m not getting anything this time.’”
“…”
The supporter paused to observe me, then burst out in awe.
“You’re really something! After all that misery in the hotel, your expression barely changed at the thought of no rewards! It seems you possess a decent level of patience….”
“What more do you want to say?”
“Strangely enough, when a particular subject comes up, people seem to change. Anyway, I’m not saying you’re getting absolutely nothing. You already heard from your buddy, Han Kain, right? If you gather enough contributions, you can earn powerful enhancements.”
“Oh! So you mean I can proceed to the next room to gain a powerful enhancement?”
“Exactly. But….”
“But?”
“You’ll need to do some work in the next room. Your contributions are still lacking.”
“Then I could just acquire a weak enhancement based on my already accumulated contributions…”
“No. You need to gain a powerful enhancement.”
“… ”
“You probably heard it hinted before. Room 203?”
“Yes.”
“The enhancement I plan for you there is exceptionally useful. You’re a bit behind compared to your teammates, you know?”
“… Yes.”
“You still don’t have any inheritance. Room 203 will be a crisis and an opportunity for you.”
“Is Room 202 just going to be a useless experience…?”
“To be honest, Room 202 isn’t one where you can earn something significant. Still, you need to give it your best. You’ll need to build your contributions there to earn your next enhancement.”
This made me curious. Why is it hard for me to get inheritance in Room 202 but considered both a crisis and an opportunity in 203? The boy, seeing my expression, jumped right into answering.
“Were you about to pull a childish move and ask about the next room?”
“… ”
“Of course, I can’t give you that answer.”
“Is there any other question I can ask? For example, what is ‘powerful enhancement’?”
The boy wore a somewhat vague expression and replied.
“It will increase the ‘predictability’ of your ability.”
‘Predictability’? I have no idea what that means. The boy looked somewhere again and continued speaking.
“Are you worried about the hotel getting colder?”
“Oh! Are you giving me a hint?”
“It’s different from the Curse Room. Not everyone needs to participate.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t need to overexert yourself.”
What did that mean? Just then, my consciousness faded away.
—
– Elena
A beautiful garden I had once experienced before. I could hear birds chirping, and the scenery of the flower garden looked like a watercolor painting. As soon as I entered, a worried voice greeted me.
“You’ve gained a dangerous ability.”
“Hello.”
“I hoped you wouldn’t acquire a power that affects the mind unnecessarily.”
“… I think I’d struggle dealing with irregular polyhedrons.”
“That’s true.”
It was said that you need a high level of intelligence to use such objects, so being told “yes, it’s hard for you to handle” made me feel oddly offended. The supporter chuckled and continued speaking.
“There’s no need to be a genius to manage irregular polyhedrons, but decent calculation skills are rather necessary. You do have capable teammates, right?”
“True….”
“In fact, the ominous imagination isn’t an inappropriate power for you. Very few can use it effectively. It requires a rich imagination. It’s definitely not a power lacking in potential; it just has strong aftereffects and is quite difficult to handle.”
“Now that you mention it, I heard from Kain that using ominous imagination might lead to insanity, right? But I don’t feel that way at all. I just feel like my fears grow as more strange monsters appear….”
“You haven’t really used it yet. Right now, you’re just struggling to avoid using it, and while being overly cautious, a little bit of it slips out.”
“Is that so?”
That worried me a bit more. Wasn’t that a cue for me to plunge straight into madness when I finally started using it?
“Don’t worry too much. The power I was originally going to give you was something else, but seeing that you acquired ominous imagination, I prepared an appropriate blessing enhancement. The right belief dwells in a clear and calm mind.”
“Eh? Th-thank you!”
“However, the power I’m giving you will only reduce the side effects of ominous imagination. You’ll have to learn to use it yourself.”
“I will try my best.”
“Go consult with that trivial guy you like about your abilities.”
“Eh??? What do you mean all of a sudden???”
“Why are you surprised? As far as I can see, you’re the only one who doesn’t know.”
“No, no, no, no.”
“Stop with the ‘no, no’ and get going.”
With that, my consciousness was swept away like being carried by waves. Just before my awareness faded completely, a final word reached my ears.
“It’s not your place to handle issues related to the cold.”
What the heck does that mean?
—
[Elena Ivanova – Justice -> ‘Still Water’ acquired.]
—
– Han Kain
After the two fainted from their blessing enhancements, we moved them to a safe spot and headed toward the refreshment table. Grandpa raised his cup with a sigh and said,
“It’s getting worse and worse. Look at this.”
“When did you start liking green tea ice cream?”
“At least ice cream has flavor…. The condition on the first floor is deteriorating by the minute.”
Seeing not just ice floating but a solid block of ice tea made me chuckle.
“What should we do?”
At Songee’s words, everyone fell silent for a moment. Time for me to break the silence. No one else might speak up, but I have something on my mind.
“Hold on a second.”
My sister responded right away.
“Aren’t we talking about advice?”
“Yes. As I mentioned this morning, I’m planning to write about Room 104 for today’s quota advice.”
Ahri made an uncertain face.
“Isn’t the hotel getting colder a more pressing issue than Room 104? Wouldn’t it be better to write about that…?”
“That’s a valid point, but to be honest, we’ve never experienced a period without pressing issues since we got here. Plus, party time is for three days, right? Today’s the first day.”
“Then we can ask about it on the second and third days?”
“Exactly. And….”
It was a feeling I couldn’t quite explain. I had probably felt this certainty since obtaining the descent; it was only strengthened while using the descent once in Room 102.
I absolutely have to confront the ‘Lord’ again.
“Then just ask. Ultimately, it’s your blessing, so it’s up to you. Like you said, when we start asking about the cold hotel, we can start tomorrow.”
—
As I resolved to write about this advice, I was momentarily stuck on what questions I should ask.
What should I ask? What is the ‘Lord’s’ scheme? Will I truly betray my teammates in Room 104?
On top of that, choosing the right one among the three costly questions was tough—
[Advice: 3 -> 0]
—
[The wisest one arranges a game where everyone can benefit.]
—
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