### Chapter 347 – Hell of Gluttony (1)
—
[User: Han Kain (Former Wisdom)]
Date: Day 150
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: X
— Han Kain
The moment a gruff voice echoed, I focused my entire being.
“Risk of the mirror battle, myths and doctrines of the cult, empty the enemy’s magazine.”
What the heck?
The first two keywords went straight over my head.
Luckily, the third phrase about emptying the enemy’s magazine clicked instantly. Given the magazine’s attributes, this expression must imply preemptively emptying an enemy weapon with limited uses.
This metaphor about the ‘enemy’s magazine’ certainly referred to the descent!
At that moment, the hotel that was so hard to see suddenly brightened.
My remaining teammates, noticing the change, began to look around, when a familiar voice rang out.
“Uh… How’s everyone doing? Seems a few folks are missing…”
“Nuna!”
*
With the completion of the third question, the Revelation of Secrets event came to an end, and Eunsol Nuna regained consciousness.
Once she gathered herself and heard the situation, the first thing she did was write down our responses on the whiteboard.
“Check what I wrote! I hope not a single character is wrong.”
Room 205: Absolute mastery. Inescapable death. Luck will not prevail. Exceptional strength needed.
Room 206: Three-way battle, a staple of creative works, remember to check the date frequently.
Room 104: Risk of the mirror battle, myths and doctrines of the cult, empty the enemy’s magazine.
I was fairly confident in my memory, and sure enough, it matched what I had. It also mirrored what Ari had noted down for the first two questions.
“It’s accurate.”
“Phew!”
Normally, we would be chatting about the written content, but we had more pressing matters.
“Is the location of the missing folks called ‘Hell of Gluttony’?”
“Yes.”
“Grandpa, have you used the conversation window?”
“I tried starting personal conversations multiple times, but there was no response. Seems it’s out of reach.”
We exchanged ideas on how to rescue our companions who fell into Hell of Gluttony, but we made no headway.
“What on earth is Hell of Gluttony, anyway?”
I had a hunch and replied.
“It’s just a guess, but ‘hell’ in its name isn’t arbitrary. We happen to know another place with ‘hell’ in it.”
“Ice Hell.”
“The ‘Room of Resurrection’ is also known as Ice Hell. It’s a place where eliminated participants are trapped and tortured.”
Grandpa asked me back.
“Do you think Hell of Gluttony could be a similar place? A place where eliminated participants are confined?”
“Could be?”
Eunsol Nuna chimed in.
“Assuming that’s the nature of Hell of Gluttony, how can we access it?”
Grandpa’s face darkened at that question.
“I don’t think there’s any means to access Hell of Gluttony from where we are.”
“What? Why?!”
Seungyub nearly screamed, and Grandpa calmly responded.
“Everyone knows about Ari’s blessing, ‘Secrets,’ right? It’s a power to unveil the hotel’s hidden truths.”
“That’s right.”
“We’ve uncovered all the hidden rooms on the first and second floors. According to Ari’s blessing, the hidden rooms on the first floor are the souvenir shop and sanctum of blessings. The hidden rooms on the second floor are the room of resurrection and the mirror room.”
“But there’s still one hidden NPC left, right?”
“Isn’t the name ‘Hell of Gluttony’ more of a name for a space than NPC?”
I understood Grandpa’s meaning.
Given the surrounding context, Hell of Gluttony seems to be some kind of area, and if it were a place we could find, the existence itself would have to be detectable through the blessing ‘Secrets.’
Eunsol Nuna muttered worriedly.
“That’s true. The fact that Ari’s blessing couldn’t even recognize its existence implies it’s a place we cannot access.”
A gloomy atmosphere descended. If we couldn’t help our companions trapped in Hell of Gluttony, we were left with only one answer.
They’d have to escape on their own.
Grandpa said with a hint of hope.
“There must be a way out. Remember when Jinchul asked for an entire scenario for Room 205? The fortune-teller guy said a punishment beyond their means would befall him if he didn’t lower the stakes, and he eventually did.”
In other words, the divine punishment right now is one they can ‘handle’—at least in theory.
So, we decided to trust our teammates and wait.
*
– Kim Ari
The smell of cigarette butts and crumbling leaves whipped around in the wind, forming a cloud of black dust in the air.
It felt like there were no properly running subways or cars, just an overwhelming noise all around.
All the trees on the street had wilted, and the grass was left dry and shriveled.
Yet, despite the bleakness of the scene, there were only two intense emotions bubbling: hatred and hunger.
“You! You brat!”
“…”
“What were you just thinking while looking at me?”
“…”
“Don’t play dumb! I know what you’re thinking!”
“Really?”
“I’ve heard it all…. ‘If you don’t study hard, you’ll end up like that uncle, picking up trash on the streets.’ This damn—”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Stop lying! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a job nowadays? You’ve probably never earned a single cent in your life, right? Hmph! You’re just a parasite leeching off of your husband’s money—”
“I’ve never been married, and I don’t have kids. And my salary is actually pretty high, you know? There’s over 120 million in the account managed by the Bureau.”
“…”
The ‘glutton’ in front of me looked so overwhelmed by the fact that I mentioned 120 million, they momentarily lost their words.
Had hotel experiences turned me into some sage?
I just knew it.
That ‘glutton’ must’ve been human at some point.
They likely had a job cleaning the streets and lived decently.
Often, there are those parents in this world.
Thinking they’re imparting life lessons to their children, they point fingers at hard-working people.
‘Kiddo, study hard! If you don’t get into a prestigious university, you’ll live like those low-class people.’
I don’t know if this blatant sighs actually help in raising children, but it was clear that for that man, they’d caused lifelong scars.
Alright. You’ve had a rough time, and you’ve suffered. I’m sure those who said such things were trash.
But…
“You! You little b*tch! I’ll tear your flesh and serve it as judgment! I’ll drink every last drop of your blood -”
— Scratch!
Why the hell are you screaming at me?
I’ve never personally belittled anyone based on their occupation in my life.
The Bureau’s motto is ‘All humans are equal!’
It’s a bit more complicated than that, but nothing here condones discrimination based on wealth or job.
They’re the kind of fools that leave me with no choice but to separate their heads from their bodies.
Afterwards, I had no choice but to split the head of a complaining salesman who got smacked five times by a customer without a word.
And I shoved a subordinate who took the boss’s kid to school, into a manhole.
That’s how it is.
This city is a cursed land where the failed participants roam in desperation, haunted by the worst memories of their lives, starving.
This is the Hell of Gluttony.
*
– Cha Jinchul
Sigh! Just a bunch of worthless brats!
I’ve got to stay calm.
To be honest, I’ve never claimed to be a polite person and I curse quite a bit.
It’s just a habit I picked up from sparring with rough folks at the boxing studio, I guess?
But after spending time with my teammates—ah! N-not that way!
Being around those kids and beautiful ladies— Cough!
There I go again drifting off… but when I’m surrounded by these idiots, my patience wears thin.
“Hey, you c*nt! What’s your deal? Why’d you burn me with a cigarette?”
And again.
What’s that about a cigarette? Did this guy get bullied by his school’s brats?
Just ignored him and kept walking.
“Why are those jerks harassing me? Did I bother them?? Did I burn them with a cigarette? Dude, I’ve been off those for ages!”
“Huff! Just take a deep breath.”
What a dreadful place.
This world filled with misplaced hatred and hunger.
The first thing that appeared before me was an old man carrying a heavy load.
He kept begging for help, and despite my uneasiness, I helped him lift it, only to have a young dude try to swing at me from behind.
Constantly exposed to this unexplainable malice has driven me over the edge.
I could’ve easily attacked anyone in sight, but I hesitated just to conserve my energy.
— Ding-dong!
The moment I stepped into a convenience store, the same old story repeated itself.
“Hey, I can’t sell smokes to a minor, you piece of trash!”
“…”
“Ah, not a minor? Well, hey! Just because I’m part-timer doesn’t mean you can walk all over me! You—”
— Crash!
This one must’ve been a part-timer being shoved around by the jerks asking for smokes and drunk uncles?
At this point, I was too exhausted to think and simply threw him out.
I checked the store’s stock.
Again, nothing.
It looked like a convenience store, yet there wasn’t a scrap of food or even a drop of drink in sight.
I searched through restaurants and shops but found the same;
There was nothing edible, nothing to drink at all.
Just ‘gluttons’ filled with unexplainable hunger and hatred.
“Hmm…”
I’m still holding out.
It’s only been half a day, sure my throat’s a tad dry, but I’m still okay.
“Can I hang on?”
Can my thirst bear this?
“Surely there must be a way out…”
*
– Kim Sanghyun
The thick scent of blood pierced my nostrils.
No blood lately and hadn’t harmed anyone, so the source of this scent was clear.
Seems like the gluttons were indulging in their own meals close by.
Bam!
I was slowly losing hope, but with a gigantic venue ahead, I thought maybe they’d have something to eat or drink here, so I ventured into a nearby university.
Filled with young folks in their prime, I heard some intriguing conversations.
“Ayoung, you! You thought I wouldn’t know? I heard it all! What’s going on with Senior Jinho?”
“Ha! You idiot, everyone knows, even you! You dumb f*ck, can’t you see how—”
I strained my ears to catch the next bit, but upon seeing the guy revealing something sharp, I realized this wasn’t going to be entertaining anymore.
“Is there even a bottle of water around…?”
Cracking open the somewhat plausible lab door, I found a glutton busy working away.
“What’s with you?”
“…”
“What are YOU doing here?”
“Just passing through.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Hey! Do I look like I made some major mistake? This guy’s a management professor!”
“So, you’re a grad student? You’re the one over there with limbs torn apart acting like a professor? Were you treated like a slave?”
“Uh, uh, uh…”
“Been told that line about twenty times already. Go back to work. By the way, you look like a glutton, it’s not like you’re going to die easily anyway. But even if you do, you’ll probably just rebirth, right?”
“Rebirth?”
“Oh, so ‘rebirth’ got your attention? That’s interesting. Just curious, do you have a bottle of water around?”
“Rebirth…”
“Sounds like a jackpot!”
— Fail!
This is getting tiring.
Whether it’s “good luck” or “bad luck,” the fighting power of the gluttons is no problem for me.
Despite being eternally cursed to suffer in hell, they regenerate even when limbs are ripped apart—seriously, their physicality isn’t that far removed from us humans.
Realistically, even if a hundred of them charge me, not even a hair on my head will be harmed.
But the food and water?
Even the mightiest warrior can’t last a week without water. Isn’t that the law of nature?
“Wonder how my teammates are hanging in there…. I hope we see each other again.”
Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of hatred gripped my soul.
Watching the gluttons suffering incessantly reminded me of ‘my experiences.’
That’s why I couldn’t help but shout.
“Why did you create such a hell?”
What’s the purpose of the hotel’s existence, and why cause pain to so many?
At that moment, a notification appeared as if mocking me.
Mission: Escape Hell of Gluttony!
How do you feel being dumped here due to your quest for the hotel’s secrets?
It must not be enjoyable.
Don’t stress!
If you follow directions, you could be back with your beloved companions in just two or three days.
What thoughts emerged seeing the gluttons of hell?
Aren’t they pitiful beings trapped in a lifetime of haunting memories and starving?
If you could help them with their pain, even just a bit…
That merit would be your lifeline to salvation.
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