### Chapter 195 – Party Time – The Secret of the Second Floor (4)
—
– Han Kain
As I curled up in Coco’s body, the door swung open, revealing a boy who looked to be in his early teens.
“Coco~! I told you not to mess with my stuff!”
Is this his room? Judging by how well-kept it is, it seems like he’s from a pretty well-off family—maybe not a chaebol, but still pretty nice.
“Aren’t you going to answer? Ugh!”
Suddenly, bam! I got hit. Seriously, what does he expect me to do? Should I meow or something?
— Meeeow~!
Okay, that sounded a bit weird, but hey, it’s my first time being a cat! I don’t even know how to meow properly. The boy tilted his head for a moment, then warned me not to do anything weird before leaving.
Are you an idiot? Do you think a warning is enough to control a cat? Watching his clueless attitude made me unexpectedly mad! Should I show him the feline wrath? Maybe I should just scratch the wallpaper with my claws?
… Focus. No need to think like a real cat. But hearing that kid’s voice made something dark stir deep inside me.
What if I take over that kid’s body? Wouldn’t that be another possible escape route?
My heart raced. Right now, it felt like “escape” was within my grasp.
At the same time, I realized another important fact. When I first possessed a body, I noticed a timer on the side of my vision showing [57:39]—indicating a one-hour limit. But that timer had disappeared.
In the past, Ahri speculated that the time limit for possession was not because of the grimoire’s performance limits but due to a “restriction imposed by the hotel” to hinder easy body-swapping escapes. I had some evidence for that theory too. Unlike the reshaped power of ‘sacrifice,’ there were no edits present on the ‘possession’ power.
Also, while using the grimoire, I realized another clue. The format of notifications and the font used matched the hotel’s style found in the status window, display, and notifications. It didn’t resemble something an unborn entity, left alone in darkness for eons, would conjure up while creating a grimoire.
So it seemed that the time limitation was indeed added by the hotel, and my guess turned out to be right. As soon as I stepped out of the snow globe and into the hotel’s exterior, that time limit vanished.
But can I really go out?
Why did the Owl go out of its way to advise me and direct me to this location? To show me a new escape route?
I doubt it. While I might not know their true intentions, from past comments made by Eunsol’s sponsor and those by the Owl, I can make some assumptions. They want us to achieve as much as possible in the hotel, not necessarily to escape.
Why would they show me a way out when they probably don’t want me to escape?
It’s because the Owl knows I won’t be able to exit ‘this way.’
The burning desire to escape inside me fizzled out like a blown-out match. I couldn’t leave. I can never escape this way. Taking over an innocent little boy’s body is an evil act, after all, isn’t it?
That’s true. But there’s something that, in my heart, weighs far heavier than that.
I’m the only one who could escape this way. My companions without a grimoire have no means to exit like I do; just venturing out would be pointless. What could I possibly do out there, being smaller than an insect? The world wouldn’t even notice us without a magnifying glass!
A few months ago, just before entering the Room of the Gate, Ahri shared something with the group—what she said suddenly rang clear.
Right now, as individuals, we aren’t that impressive, but collectively, we hold a striking strength. It’s not just about being good-hearted or altruistic; there’s a strong aspect of ‘group mentality.’
I now realized that her words weren’t only directed at my teammates but also at myself.
So how am I supposed to escape?
If I run away all by myself, what about my companions? Could those who would lose the grimoire, status window, and understanding of the scenario navigate the second floor?
I recalled the chaotic times my group went through after I was sealed in Room 201, ‘The Cube.’ There’s no answer. Escaping on my own essentially means telling my companions to just up and die.
In the past, the Native Americans likened a person’s conscience to a triangle. Each immoral action makes the triangle rotate, its sharp angle causing emotional pain. But after endless rotations, those sharp edges dull…
Just moments ago, I felt my conscience do its own spin. I resolved to protect the sharpness of that triangle.
—
When I returned to my original body, I realized I was back inside the snow globe. It seemed my companions retreated back to the globe as a response to the boy and my human appearance, feeling threatened.
Weighing over 200 kg with the protective suit on, it appears that Jinchul-hyung had quite a workout bringing me back inside.
… Speaking of which, how is our weight dealt with in the ‘outside world’? That’s anyone’s guess.
As soon as I woke up and moved, Ahri rushed over.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah. I don’t have much info yet, but I’ll share what I’ve gathered.”
“Good job. And thank you.”
“…”
I was momentarily at a loss for words. What does this “good job, thank you” even mean? Is she thanking me for being around? Or is there something more…?
Let’s stop overthinking it. Now’s the time to be realistic.
“When I possessed that cat, I checked the clock in the room. If the time outside is the same as the hotel’s, it should be about 10:40. It seems to match.”
“Really?”
“Think back to when we got the advice. The Owl felt pretty urgent—it’s a sign we need to do something before the repairs on the second floor finish, right? We need to act by today. In other words, we only have about an hour and twenty minutes left.”
As usual, time is tight in the hotel. By tomorrow, we won’t be able to visit this place again, so we need to figure something out today.
The day after tomorrow, we’ll need to figure out where to use our tickets—if we’ll use them for resurrection, which lives to bring back? Three days from now, we’ll be back in the Curse Room.
Hearing that we need to do something, Jinchul-hyung voiced his unease.
“From that dangerous place?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking, why did the sponsor lead us to this location? They probably aren’t just showing off how mysterious the hotel is.”
Grandpa chimed in with a similar opinion.
“That clown didn’t send us out just to gloat. It looks like we need to go back out there. But seriously, was that monster actually a cat? I had my suspicions when I heard that boy’s voice, but is it really just an ordinary household?”
“Seems that way. It feels like just an ordinary house somewhere on Earth.”
Ahri muttered, scratching her chin in amusement.
“Last time they conjured something deep sea, and this time the first floor was in the sky; now the second floor is inside a snow globe? I wonder what the hotel’s spatial limitations are. Given that the first and second floors are in different places, the third floor must be different as well. Where could the third floor even be?”
“Well, that’s got me curious.”
“Any chance you know? Maybe it’s formed on Kain’s fingernails or something.”
“…”
“That was just a joke. Let’s head back outside. Should we all go together?”
“No. This time, I’ll go out alone. We’re just too small compared to the outside world. I’ll have to borrow the bodies of a cat or a child to search around. Besides, if there are other people, I’ll be too distracted to search properly.”
Going by size, even if a cat or a kid just takes a deep breath, everyone would probably scatter like leaves in the wind. My remaining companions should be more comfortable staying inside the snow globe.
After briefing everyone about the situation, I headed back out into the outside world.
—
Once I stepped outside the snow globe, it didn’t take long to reclaim my control over the cat’s body. Poor Coco was just minding his own business and took a hit to the head from the kid, scaring him into hiding behind the bookshelf. His bright eye color made him easy to find.
Next on the agenda: time to “borrow” the kid’s body.
— Sneak!
“Minyoung! Go to your room!”
“Ugh, so annoying! What’s Coco doing, tearing things up again?!”
… Looks like Coco’s in for another scolding. Sorry, buddy.
Before long, the door swung wide, and the boy returned. I quickly slunk behind the snow globe and transformed back into my original body just as he neared to grab Coco.
The boy, still trying to shake off the confusion, grabbed Coco by the scruff of the neck just as I took over the body of Kim Minyoung.
—
For a second, my head spun. Unlike when I was inside the dim-witted cat, I was now in the body of a human named ‘Kim Minyoung.’ As I possessed him, a flood of information about who he was cascaded through my mind.
There was nothing too special. He’s a third grader in elementary school and currently on break. I glanced in the mirror while muttering to myself.
“Hm. This feels strange, talking to myself. Anyway, sorry! I’ll use you safely and give you back. I know you won’t remember a thing. And please don’t be too hard on Coco, he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Being human gives me way better eyesight than being a cat. I turned the light on in the dim room and sent Coco out lest he do something silly. What now? First, let’s head towards the snow globe.
“Was this the cause of the blizzard?”
The snow globe seemed like quite an expensive item, about the size of a human head, with electrical wires connected to it. It had three mode settings on the back.
“One is power off, another is lamp mode, and the last one looks like Christmas mode?”
The reason the blizzard had raged on the second floor was simple. The snow globe was set to ‘Christmas mode,’ continuously swirling snow using electricity. I thought about turning it off entirely, but that seemed too dark, so I switched it to lamp mode, stopping the blizzard and creating a lighted environment.
“That solves the blizzard issue for real! Is there anything else to do?”
The first task, ‘stopping the blizzard,’ seemed done. But stopping the blizzard meant little to me; it would’ve stopped on its own the moment the hotel’s ceiling closed tomorrow.
Calmly looking around the room, there were about 50 minutes left, so considering the time, I didn’t feel like going outside. The room was filled with Lego toys, miniature cars, and game consoles that seemed to belong to Minyoung. The bookshelf held several educational papers.
“… Minyoung, 8 x 8 is not 88. Seems like you’re struggling with multiplication. But hey, as long as you’re healthy, that’s what matters.”
As I methodically examined the Lego toys, I finally discovered another peculiar element.
‘A Mysterious Craftsman’
Please tell me it’s not just a coincidence with the name!
I found the first hidden NPC on the second floor. It was unexpected that this NPC turned out to be a Lego character.
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