### Chapter 206 – Party Time – Final Meeting (2), Re-entering Room 104
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– Lee Eunsol
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In the past, we had made several attempts in the Mansion of Horror, reaching our fourth try. A poor judgment of sending many of our party to the underground facilities led us into a tight spot, and in the end, Kain had to use his descent ability as the ultimate solution.
When you think about it, none of us actually witnessed Kain fighting when he descended. He simply explained everything after it was over. Ahri, who had talked with the Son of Heaven and somewhat understood Kain’s explanation, responded.
“I’ve never seen him fight either. But just thinking about who he fought gives me a rough idea of how powerful it was.”
“Who did he fight?”
“The inmate in Room 102, or was it the inmate’s firstborn? The ‘Unborn One’ was a moth the size of a mountain, capable of terraforming an entire star with a single flap of its wings.”
“That’s essentially god-level power! You’re saying he fought and defeated something like that one-on-one?”
“Strictly speaking, he killed it in its larval stage before it became a moth. It must have been a lot weaker than in moth form, but trying to discuss strength levels among us is pointless. It’s like ants debating the growth stages of elephants.”
“I get it. So you’re saying it was strong enough to beat even a half-baked god. If that’s the case, the entire party here wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Exactly.”
“At the same time, I can’t help but think that the ability called ‘descent’ is utterly ridiculous. I’m starting to feel regret that we weren’t granted such luck when we were in the dying depths of the hotel…”
At that moment, everyone turned to look at Kim Sanghyun, who was momentarily speechless. When Grandpa gently patted his back a couple of times, Kim Sanghyun quickly resumed speaking.
“I understand now why you all consider Room 104 strange. In my opinion, the value of that ‘descent’ ability is beyond mere inheritance. To exaggerate a bit, it’s like a free pass for three rooms.”
A free pass for three rooms.
That sounded exaggerated, yet when you think about it, it’s not entirely wrong. The ‘Unborn One’ was the child of the inmate and was in an incomplete larval state when it lost to the Son of Heaven. Given this, the Son of Heaven probably wouldn’t be capable of doing anything to the inmate himself.
However, in all the cursed rooms we’ve encountered up to now, we never faced a situation where we had to kill an inmate to solve the problem. They typically stayed a step back and watched.
Removing the inmates from the scenario, there was no one in the cursed rooms who could stand against the Son of Heaven. At that point, it was unnecessary to come up with tactics or strategies to solve the rooms. We could charge the opponent at the start and resolve it within three minutes given our strength.
“I thought the power was already strange, but after hearing you, Sanghyun, it sounds even stranger. How exactly did the ‘Lord’ bestow such power onto Kain? It doesn’t seem like just inheritance.”
Ahri pointed out an issue from a different perspective.
“Exactly how did the ‘Lord’ grant such power? But there’s an even weirder aspect.”
“What’s the weirdest thing?”
“The most peculiar thing is why the hotel allowed such power in the first place. As Sanghyun said, a three-room free pass is essentially a power more valuable than mere inheritance, right? We got that power for free.”
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch… Kain mentioned that he got an alert when he first received the descent ability.”
“Such power must come at a cost. We just haven’t paid that price yet.”
The grandpa, who had been silently listening, interjected with a different opinion.
“It’s possible that Kain doesn’t bear the entirety of that cost.”
“Huh?”
“Did Kain or any of us ever ask the ‘Lord’ for that power? It feels unreasonable that they would freely give such immense power but then discuss costs afterward. Of course, one way or another, that power allowed us to break through Room 102, and we’re likely to depend on it two more times, so Kain or we will have to pay some price eventually.”
“But we won’t be the ones to bear all the costs, right?”
Grandpa seemed to have nothing more to add, but this hypothesis felt plausible. Right after Kain gained the descent ability, he mentioned an unknown ‘negotiation’ among the great ones. Who were the entities involved in that negotiation?
At the very least, the ‘Lord’ must have been on one side of the table. But who was on the opposite side? Who would negotiate with the ‘Lord’ to provide us with such a tremendous value of superpowers? A patron? The Buddha?
If we are not the ones paying the entire cost, then who foots the bill for the rest?
My head began to spin. So, to avoid spiraling further, I decided to change the subject.
“Let’s wrap up the discussion about the price of descent. Fundamentally, it’s an issue for Kain to resolve, and there’s no point in us debating it right now.”
Kim Sanghyun nodded in agreement.
“Now let’s return to the original topic concerning the Son of Heaven. Based on everyone’s reactions, I’ve gathered two certainties.”
“Two certainties?”
“First, we absolutely must avoid fighting the Son of Heaven. It seems impossible to win.”
“Everyone will agree with that.”
“Secondly, we likely won’t need to fight the Son of Heaven at all.”
“No need to fight at all. I think so too.”
Many seemed to share the same thought, including Grandpa and Songee who nodded along. Jinchul smiled slightly and spoke.
“Sis, don’t you know enough about this hotel by now? It’s not the hotel’s style to casually send us out to fight a demigod who can cause earthquakes with a single gesture. If they intended to kill us like that, they could just toss us in front of the inmate.”
“That’s true.”
“So, Kain appears as soon as we begin, wiping us out in one go. There’s no way the hotel would set that same scenario for us again.”
“Still, let’s not let our guard down. Even if it’s not an extreme case, the ‘Lord’ will likely make some attempt to touch Kain.”
“Let’s split the response into two parts. First, let’s keep the main discussion hidden from Kain. Second, if he shows any ‘unusual behavior’, we incapacitate him immediately.”
There’s not much more we could come up with at this point. In any case, we have to confront the cursed room, dying along the way to discover the resolution.
Listening quietly, Elena brought up another topic.
“What do we plan to do about Aurelia? While the Son of Heaven might not be a concern, Aurelia has already grasped some of the ‘conditions for appearance’, hasn’t she?”
“She’ll likely appear once mayhem breaks out at school. She’s experienced it once already. Elena, what do you think? You were the only one who fought Aurelia in the first attempt.”
Elena seemed to recall for a moment.
“It’s hard to quantify, but I initially used ‘justice’ back then, and I believe I got progressively stronger after using it multiple times?”
“That makes sense. Everyone feels like their blessings or heritage are gradually strengthening.”
“Now, I believe I can take her on alone. With support from others, it would be even easier.”
I couldn’t help but be amazed internally. The Kain and Ahri who faced Aurelia for the first time in Room 104 were so transcendent that they hardly dared to approach her, and I had heard that Elena didn’t last long in her fight against Aurelia…
And here Elena was, naturally stating that she felt she could win one-on-one now. Sure, Elena is incredibly strong when ‘justice’ is active, but it seems we’ve all grown quite a bit.
… Except for me.
In retrospect, the Hand of Greed had been activated all along. With so much going on at this party time, everyone needed rest, making it tough to find the right moment to unleash the Hand of Greed. I’ll have to use it next opportunity.
Enough of these stray thoughts. It’s time to start allocating roles roughly for the night before we enter Room 104. The meeting stretched into the late hours.
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 97
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: X]
– Han Kain
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I’m anxious.
After going through multiple cursed rooms and various trials, I should be something of an expert by now! But it’s been ages since I’ve entered a cursed room completely clueless like this! It feels just like when I first woke up in the hotel and blindly stepped into Room 101, having no idea what was going on.
The feeling of anxiety began when I chatted with my teammates in the morning. After hearing that they had a lengthy meeting, I expected a lot of content, yet surprisingly, it only took about 10 seconds for them to finish explaining everything. We decided to wait until we gathered more information before revisiting the hint; Elena would mark Aurelia once again, just like back in the day.
That’s literally all the explanation I got. Took about 10 seconds to hear it all? Is that really all they came up with after a late-night meeting?
Of course, I’m not naive, and I can understand the situation. They suspect I might be controlled by the ‘Lord’, which is why the plan is being kept hidden. I get it. I’m not childish enough to be upset over this. But that doesn’t mean I can shake off the anxiety.
Let me think about something else. The suspicion that the ‘Lord’ might manipulate me is valid. I’m already considering that possibility myself. Is there a way I can respond to that?
‘Manipulation.’ This new ability I’ve realized I have also relates to ‘manipulation’…
—
I could hear my teammates’ voices from a distance.
“Kain! Do you have anything left to prepare?”
“No, I’m coming now!”
Just before we entered, Ahri said something meaningful to me.
“Kain.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t be too surprised when you get in there.”
“What should I not be surprised by?”
“Just… don’t be surprised.”
Now I’m anxious without knowing my teammates’ plans, and hearing that just makes it worse.
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 97
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 – Cursed Room ‘Hotshot Hotel High School’
Sage’s Advice: X]
—
Ding Dong Dang Dong~!
When I regained my senses, I found myself once again in the school uniform of Hotel High.
—
If we examine the meaning of this sentence through surrounding context———
I involuntarily gasped at the ‘charming’ sound coming from the front of the classroom, only to receive glaring looks from those around me. Familiar teammates were visible. Ahri was wearing a subtle expression, Elena was in school uniform, and Songee had a parrot perched on her shoulder.
Wait, it’s the hotel setting everything willy-nilly, but seriously, bringing a parrot to school? Songee looked incredulous as she stroked Pepero and laughed awkwardly.
— Thud!
Looking towards the source of the loud noise, I saw the bulkier Seungyub standing up. He was holding a hammer in his hand.
… A hammer?
“Park Seungyub! What on earth are you making such a racket during class—”
— Bam!
I lost my mind entirely.
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