### Chapter 292 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (15)
—
In a peculiar place filled with floating screens, a middle-aged man in a suit, an odd being, and a girl with a dumpling-shaped head sat around a table.
The first to speak was the girl.
“Why on earth did that guy have to butt in right now? Of all times, in the movie! What should we do?”
The odd being replied nonchalantly.
“Well, since you’ve already edited the movie’s contents, isn’t that a done deal? The audience didn’t even see the witch intruding.”
The girl reacted with disbelief.
“Are you kidding? The internal characters all know! As soon as we step outside, they’ll find out everything during the meeting!”
“Then just edit it again. If you ‘edit’ Cha Jinchul’s memories by the end of the film, isn’t that enough? We have enough power for that kind of thing anyway. But I don’t see the point in hiding the fact that the witch has begun to awaken.”
“Why does it not matter? By the nature of witches, if everyone at the hotel loses their memory of her, she’ll lose her foundation and crumble!”
The odd being, the merchant, scoffed.
“I wasn’t saying whether hiding the witch’s clumsy awakening would help the hotel party or not. I meant to ask why you’re helping them. Do you think they’ll resurrect you? Regardless, the next turn is already decided.”
In the merchant’s view, this was not a matter they needed to interfere in. The being trapped in the passage room had sent out a clone through bizarre magic. It wasn’t the first time such a thing happened.
The patrons with decision-making power also showed a consistent attitude toward this kind of issue.
‘This is part of the hotel’s progression. Overcoming will only build a foundation for growth.’
Does Cha Jinchul twist because of the witch’s tricks? The hotel party is in danger? The merchant chuckled.
‘Who cares?’
On the other hand, the girl considered the patrons’ attitude to be quite plausible yet irresponsible. Because entities that managed to escape like this always caused trouble.
She didn’t want that. She truly wished this party wouldn’t collapse so easily. She hoped they would transcend the second floor to the third and confront the great hand at the end. And so…
For a moment, the girl recalled the unfulfilled dreams of her past life, but soon shook her head. The merchant, observing her, spoke up.
“Still clinging to your feelings for the outside? Isn’t it time to let go?”
“I’m not like you.”
“Let your feelings for the outside go. The hotel is an enjoyable place, isn’t it?”
“… Hearing that from you feels a bit crap.”
“Haha! Why so? Ah! Could it be that you still remember the time I killed your former self?”
A white sword burst forth from the girl’s right arm. As the beautifully crafted blade of crystal emanated a blue light, the girl sliced the merchant into seven pieces with two swift cuts.
—
Soon, the pieces began to reassemble in the air, rendering all confrontation futile. Watching the scene, the girl sighed.
‘Once again, I got dragged into this author’s shenanigans. They’ll have fun with this for months.’
They weren’t beings that could die upon wishing. They were entities who had promised eternal servitude in exchange for avoiding a fall into hell due to failure.
“Hahaha! Getting emotional here? Haha, I have to describe how ‘delicious’ your right hand was when I ‘ate’ it -”
“Oh, you absolute perverted alien!”
— Tap!
The being that had yet to say a word knocked on the table, and the eyes of the girl and the merchant simultaneously turned towards the ‘Guide.’
“You both should stop that. Actually, there’s a much more important issue that has come up.”
The merchant nodded.
“Hidden reward, right?”
“Upon defeating Kurta, we fulfilled the conditions for a hidden reward, yet an unusual situation arose where we couldn’t actually give the reward. I never expected that the escapee would ‘alter’ Cha Jinchul’s body like this.”
The girl groaned, rubbing her head.
“What should we do?”
A small smile broke out on the Guide’s face.
“I have a good idea.”
As the ‘thought’ was revealed, both the girl and the merchant thought the same thing amidst the crumbling space at the end of the meeting.
‘This damn theater guide is the real idiot!’
—
– Cha Jinchul
“Slice the tyrant!”
In the midst of a battlefield filled with chaos, thousands of troops were besieging the outer fortress protecting the capital! As I screamed with all my might from the back, cheers erupted all around me.
“Waaaah! Break through!”
Whoa… this is spectacular! The sight of so many armies setting up siege weights and massive wooden towers to attack the capital was a sight to behold!
While I marveled, the Grand General of National Defense approached me.
“General Cha!”
“Please, speak.”
“What do you think the direction of this war will take?”
… I don’t know. What can I see? Just a rough glance indicates that we seem to have the upper hand, but when in doubt, humility is the best policy.
“Would you enlighten me?”
“Not good! Very not good!”
“Is that so…?”
“General, who do you think this war will favor if it drags on?”
“The Emperor, I guess.”
“Of course! The armies from the south and west of the Empire are still coming. Once they join forces, we’ll be the ones surrounded!”
“What should we do?”
“We need to end this as fast as possible. We have to break down the walls and seize the imperial palace!”
I turned to view the battlefield.
At a glance, the walls of the capital were already trembling. Flames burned here and there, creating plumes of smoke, and several outer walls had already crumbled. If neither side had reinforcements, our victory was practically guaranteed.
However, the Grand General’s words were clear. Since the emperor’s reinforcements were on the way, we didn’t have much time left!
No further discussion was needed. Now was my time to act.
—
With my legs straining, I kicked off the ground and soared into the sky.
Just five strides.
That was the number of steps needed to reach the wall. My body, already beyond human, wasn’t anything that belonged to this world after the witch has performed her inscrutable magic.
I believed I could do it now.
“Uh, General? What are you planning to do now?”
Ignoring the bewildered words of an ally general, I began to climb the wall.
“Stop him! Block him!”
A viscous liquid splashed against me. Boiling oil? Doesn’t matter. My body endured Kurta’s lightning.
— Ping!
Arrows rained down on me from above, hitting my body one after another. Useless! My body boasted a strength akin to being encased in iron plates.
I grabbed protruding stones and after a couple of leaps, I arrived on top of the wall. The soldiers around me started staring at me in a daze.
—
I hesitated for a moment. The situation was quite different from the previous battle on the prairie. Back then, I just slashed through hordes of foreigners, but this time it was a sort of civil war.
I needed to consider the public sentiment surrounding the situation as well. Therefore, rather than massacre the soldiers, it would be best to display overwhelming strength to induce their surrender.
Slowly, I began to descend from the wall.
The arrows flying toward me were deflected by my body.
As a massive stone rolled, I smashed it with my fist.
When a soldier charged at me with a spear, I brushed him aside with the spear intact.
Finally, when the enemy began to see me as something not just a strong general, but as something inhuman, I spoke before the hundreds of soldiers defending the fort.
“Is this the best you can do?”
…
“I’ll give you a chance, so try harder.”
Slowly, leisurely, as I walked to the gate, until the moment I crashed through it—
Not a single human on the battlefield could obstruct me.
—
It’s a strange story, but it feels like the genre of the movie changed a lot from the battlefield ‘barricade’ to that of the ‘capital.’ Of course, if you think about it, the first piece was similar too.
The siege of the capital, breaking down the walls, was the highlight of Cha Jinchul’s side. Since the army that had protected the Empire’s walls entered the capital, there was no real crisis.
Since it was a civil war, the great general forbade pillaging, and we soon found ourselves at the gates of the imperial palace.
“Are we nearing the end?”
Considering the movie’s runtime, it was about time for it to finish. I thought perhaps the ‘villain’ still lurking around might be the emperor, but even that speculation was off.
—
In a remote area of the palace, the hung corpse of the emperor was discovered.
The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, upon facing the empire’s downfall, preferred to take his own life as the emperor rather than live a miserable life as a captive. The emperor of Jinchen Empire trying to preserve his last dignity through death as well.
I could see generals discussing the ‘post-war situation’ on one side of the palace. They would likely bicker among themselves about who would devour the empire whole. Of course…
—
With the movie coming to an end, what happens next is none of my business.
“Hey.”
“Yes? General?”
“Bring me a drink.”
Drinking a glass next to the hanging corpse of the emperor felt quite poetic. I gazed out the window, waiting for the final credits to roll.
—
“It’s taking a while. Is the boss going to show up again here? Hotel, this kind of twist is just ridiculous.”
“Right?”
“Oh crap! What now? Are you serious!?”
When I turned around with a start, the hanging corpse of the emperor began to twitch and speak to me!
Who wrote this movie script? Are we suddenly doing a zombie flick? Is the emperor secretly a sorcerer in disguise or what?
I grabbed the spear lying next to me and took a stance. Emperor, you monster may be a necromancer, but I’m a paladin! I ignited my will and spun the spear half a rotation—
“No, no! Wait a second!”
As the rotating blade struck the emperor’s head, something odd he said earlier echoed.
“Hah!”
Chunks of human flesh splattered in front of me, and scattered bone fragments began to converge, remaking the emperor’s head. I never thought the emperor would wield such wicked black magic!
—
But even so, there’s no way I would lose. Even if he was not just a black sorcerer, but the lich king, or even the demon king, with my power—
“No, please listen! The movie’s already over!”
‘Movie?’
“What is this? No character should be pulling out the word ‘movie’…”
“Think carefully, Cha Jinchul. Isn’t there a necessary element that always appears in dramas?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? And who the hell are you?”
“It’s usually not seen in Korean movies, but it’s pretty common to see in Indian or Vietnamese films where they pop something in during screenings. So I decided to add it in.”
“What the heck are you—”
“Look! Do you see the characters appearing in front of you? I kindly made it pop up, so read it out loud.”
As I stared blankly at the words now hovering in the air, my breath caught.
“If you read this, it’s the end.”
“… This is one hell of a stupid movie!”
“Thanks for the compliment. Please read it.”
I had no choice in this matter.
“Mo, mo, mo, mo….”
“Don’t you know how to read Hangul?”
Aah, damn it! Let’s just read and get it over with!
“Strengthen follicles! Restore hair follicles! Improve hair loss! Revitalize the scalp! Prevent scalp aging! Can you believe all those effects?”
“Happy Happy Hair Land! The hotel’s special product, ‘Rise Up! Rise Up!’ Please be sure to purchase. Shall we read the last phrase together?”
“Thirty thousand! Nine hundred! Eight hundred won!”
“Thirty thousand! Nine hundred! Eight hundred won!”
—
As I felt my sanity slip away, I sensed a gooey texture on my head. Dazed, I looked up to see ‘someone’ controlling the emperor’s corpse applying what looked like shampoo or some potion to my hair.
“… What are you doing?”
“Ha, you have no idea how flabbergasted I was earlier?”
“Why?”
“After you caught Kurta, avoiding damage is standard protocol. You fulfilled the hidden reward condition, and then ended up in a body unable to receive that reward! What am I supposed to do now?”
“Hidden reward? A body that can’t receive the reward?”
“Don’t worry. You can receive it now.”
My head started itching. A strange sensation of something pushing out began to feel weird, and then the scales on my head began to shed.
[You have gained ‘Fur of the Warrior Who Withstood Thunder!’]
—
In the sea of ending credits that filled my vision…. I was left speechless.
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