### Chapter 383 – Party Time, Contemplation for the Next Room and the Soul Vessel
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 223
Current Location: First Floor, Room 105 – ‘Room of Rest’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
– Han Kain
As soon as we arrived at Room 105, a notification popped up in front of everyone.
“Dear valued customers!
It feels like just yesterday that you were floundering through the hotel, and now you’ve already cleared Room 205!
Time really flies, doesn’t it?
Congratulations on resolving Room 205! We are thrilled to witness your achievements.
Starting tomorrow, you will be given a total of 7 days of rest.”
“7 days? Was it originally this long?”
“Oooh! This time it’s a bit lengthy?”
Just then, as if waiting for the right moment, the next notification appeared.
“Dear guests who are overjoyed by the long break!
While we are thrilled, it’s unfortunate, but there’s a reason for such an extended rest.
Now, there’s only one cursed room left on the second floor, Room 206!
Room 206 is ‘a little’ difficult.
You wouldn’t want to end your long journey here, would you?
Please think carefully about if there’s any reward you may have missed.
It might not be enough to gather everything you can.”
“Surprise event: Party Time! Starts tomorrow!”
“…”
An ominous warning sent a chill through the room.
—
“What! Here it comes, here it comes!”
“… Seungyub.”
“Hotel! Are you listening? Give me some shrimp tempura!”
“Seungyub.”
“Oh, sister Ahri?”
“Moderate out on the tempura. You’re already on your third plate.”
It was the first hotel meal in a while. Everyone was enthusiastically pulling their hands in and out from under the table, creating the food they wanted to eat.
Room 205 wasn’t like Room 203, which was a place where we had to eat bugs pretending they were food.
That said, quite a few companions hadn’t had a proper meal either.
Still, given everything, our ‘emperor’ Seungyub was eating the most fervently.
During the meal, Sister Eunsol asked Seungyub and Songee a few questions.
“Did the hotel send out a notification after finishing Room 205?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
“Uh….”
As Seungyub looked over at Songee, she also wore a troubled expression.
“Uh, um… Thank you for supporting the crumbling empire? What thoughts came to mind while watching the three masters with differing perspectives?”
“I’m not talking about formalities; I mean something evaluative.”
“Oh, there were some unfavorable remarks, such as needing to pay a bit more attention to hints regarding exceptional military strength?”
“Hmmm… maybe the hotel didn’t envision an ideal development… No tickets, right?”
“Right.”
It seemed the hotel’s evaluation was just ‘mediocre’ at best.
One thing I could guess was.
“Didn’t Lee Jasung get too strong towards the end?”
As if sensing something, the teacher nodded.
“Though it’s now in hindsight… Lee Jasung was a unique character in many ways. I’ve never seen an NPC like that while proceeding through the hotel. To put it simply, a growth-type NPC?”
“Right. He had ties to ‘Shimmer’ from the beginning, and resolving that would make him stronger. Somehow, Lee Jasung realized the hotel’s existence and went a little…”
I couldn’t find the right words at that moment, but Grandpa answered immediately.
“He obtained a revelation akin to the thousand-branched enlightenment. In the end, he wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but the strength very close to that of a human limit, wouldn’t you say?”
“Exactly. Because of that, he nearly tore through the entire false world. In the process, the prisoner almost got released.”
If it hadn’t been for the restraints placed on the prisoner, everything would have been on the verge of destruction at that point.
After wrapping up the story regarding Room 205, we moved on to discuss our upcoming relaxation.
“Party Time for 7 days! That’s really incredibly long!”
A week in a hotel was genuinely lengthy.
While it was joyful news, there was a tense vibe on everyone’s faces.
“There must be a reason for such a long break…”
Ahri muttered with an ominous look.
“Everyone remembers, right? According to the sponsor, the last cursed room on each floor is said to be particularly tough.”
“… A talk about Rooms 104 and 206.”
Honestly, I had never felt that the cursed rooms were easy up to now, but voicing such intimidating warnings left me gasping for air.
Sister Eunsol mentioned another sentence.
“They also mentioned checking if we missed any rewards?”
“There are quite a few. The Sanctum of Blessings, your Hand of Greed, and Seungyub’s Address of the Soul, etc.”
The teacher who had been listening shook his head.
“Han Kain, I don’t think that phrase has that meaning.”
“Oh, right.”
The Sanctum of Blessings or the Hand of Greed, checking on newly acquired inheritances.
Such things were regular checks, not anything particularly special to prepare for Room 206, nor were they ‘missed’ rewards.
“If we’re talking about missed rewards, it’s undoubtedly the Wing Boots?”
As soon as the term ‘Wing Boots’ came up, Sister nodded.
“Why hasn’t it shown up yet, especially being in the latter half of the second floor?”
The three materials for the Wing Boots.
Feathers of the bird that pierce through storms.
Fur of a warrior that withstands even thunder.
The eyeball of a being who contemplates all things at the pinnacle.
“The warrior’s fur was pulled from Jinchul’s hair in Room 204.”
“Cough!”
“The contemplative eyeball was obtained by pulling out my eyeball that floated into space in Room 203. But what about the feathers? No matter how you look at it, it should be yours, right? C’mon, c’mon!”
— Beep!
“Pero, that’s definitely your feather.”
— Beep!
She quietly interjected.
“Should I pull this bird’s feather out after all – Aaaaah!”
That was as far as the temperamental parrot’s patience could handle.
Pero flipped over the galbi jjim (braised short ribs) in front of me and flew away.
“That’s it, that’s it! I must be the one to pluck it!”
“Bro, you have to pluck it where there are storms, right?”
“Hmm…”
— Clap!
“Everyone, a moment of your attention.”
All eyes turned to Ahri.
“I have two messages to convey. First, tomorrow, Han Kain should try plucking a parrot’s feather. If storms are an issue, go to the snowfield and pluck it there.”
“Alright.”
“You’re all too harsh on Pero…”
“I’ll only pluck half of it, just half.”
“Isn’t that too much?”
Ignoring Songee’s remark, Ahri continued to reply.
“Secondly, there’s one more thing aside from the Wing Boots.”
“Huh?”
Ahri moved to the whiteboard and began scribbling.
“Hotel Secrets! Second Floor Edition
1. Hidden Rooms
1) Mirror Room
2) Resurrection Room
2. Hidden NPCs
1) Mysterious Craftsman
2) ???”
“I mentioned I felt like I saw a rough chart like this, right? For reference, the first floor had the same layout. The hidden rooms were the Sanctum of Blessings and the Souvenir Shop, while the hidden NPCs were the Doctor and Merchant.”
“Two question marks still appear on the second floor.”
“There are still hidden NPCs left.”
Eunsol, looking somewhat tired, spoke up.
“Seems like we have to search again. But are there really still places left to search in this hotel?”
“Underground.”
“… Are you serious? That place is practically infinite!”
We hadn’t been exploring the hotel just once or twice.
So, I could hardly believe there’d be something more on the first or second floors.
If there was anything, it’d have to be underground, and that place was close to infinite.
“No answer, no answer.”
Just then, the doctor began organizing the agenda.
“Let’s tackle this one step at a time. For this party time, we can take care of these.”
1. Obtain enhancements from the Sanctum of Blessings
2. Search for the Wing Boots and the last NPC
3. Contemplate the Address of the Soul
4. Decide on the next room
Looking at the list, I shared my opinion.
“Number 1 can be tackled tomorrow morning. Number 2 can be handled with some leisure time. We can just finish up number 3 and 4 today.”
“Are we discussing the next room already?”
“Usually, you’d decide on the last day, but this is pretty obvious now. The remaining cursed rooms are only Rooms 104 and 206.”
Ahri looked at me curiously.
“Which do you think we should head to?”
“Room 206.”
“You’ve always wanted to clear Room 104 when things were ambiguous. I thought you’d do the same this time.”
“That was before I heard the Revelation of Secrets.“
“Revelation of Secrets?”
“It gave a quite clear instruction about Room 104: ‘Empty the enemy’s magazine.’”
“Descent!”
“There’s still one shot left, so we might as well use it elsewhere before returning to Room 104.”
At this point, the companions began to grasp the intention behind my words, and their expressions brightened.
“Oh, I see, you plan on using Descent in Room 206 for sure?”
“Exactly!”
With the hotel warning us about the most difficult room and this being the ultimate weapon I’d reserved!
Whoa~!
I’m amazed by my own brilliance in masterminding this plan!
It’s a moment where even the owl would hoot from above, right?
Sponsor! Honestly, weren’t you blown away? You were stunned, weren’t you?
If necessary, I still have the Descent that can almost spell a fight even with a prisoner.
The expressions of my companions, initially subdued by the pressure from Room 206, began to brighten slowly.
Grandpa candidly said.
“This time, I genuinely believe in you.”
The teacher’s lips curled just a bit.
“I have never doubted Han Kain.”
Ahri smirked and finished up.
“Sure, with your Descent, even in a hopeless scenario, we should be able to escape. Let’s try Room 206. Next up, the Address of the Soul?”
Seungyub looked at me with a curious expression.
“I heard you have candidates in mind?”
“Candidates that Han Kain is contemplating?”
—
Who to store in the Address of the Soul?
I was thinking of two candidates.
First, Arima.
Some might faintly have surmised it, nodding their heads.
Ahri shared her thoughts.
“I suspected it would be that witch. From my memory of meeting her once… she might at least be cooperative toward you.”
Sister Eunsol chimed in similarly.
“She had an extreme level of curiosity and a questing spirit. However, Arima, who’s merged with Jinchul now, is probably a bit different from the one we remember.”
“Exactly. Which makes it even better. There wouldn’t be any ‘grudge’ born between us and her.”
“That’s true.”
“Besides, unlike other NPCs, being a witch means she won’t be affected by having or not having a body.”
Everyone showed positive reactions to Arima.
Based on past experiences, her nature was clearly not virtuous.
However, she was also not distant compared to an evil creature acting wildly out of madness.
Furthermore, since the old grudges had faded, there wouldn’t be a reason for Arima to be hostile to us now, would there?
Nodding in agreement, Ahri asked me.
“Then who’s number two?”
This time, I paused a bit, knowing the response might be more negative than the first.
“The Lord.”
As soon as I answered, everyone wore a speechless expression.
“W-Who? The Lord? Is it the one I know? The mad god of Room 104?”
“Rather than ‘mad,’ he’s a sensible character in his own way.”
“You…”
While Ahri was left speechless, Eunsol asked in a startled tone.
“Isn’t he not even an NPC? To stuff a prisoner into the inheritance? It’s like putting the Pacific Ocean into a soy sauce container—”
“Sister, the Lord’s plan was for him to be bottled into the inheritance from the start.”
“Uh, um? That’s…”
As Sister fumbled through her thoughts, the teacher, who had finished his meal and was slowly sipping tea, responded.
“Now that you mention it, the Lord’s plan isn’t aimed at direct escape.”
“It’s about the escape of the ‘Little Lord,’ who shares identity with the main body. The Sacred Sun is also an inheritance. If it can fit in the Sacred Sun, it should be able to fit in the ‘Address of the Soul’ as well.”
“I understand your reasoning behind thinking it’s possible, but… what does that even mean? No matter how compact it is, it’s still a prisoner.”
“Precisely.”
“The difference between him and NPCs is like going from a cheaply made spear to a gun. He is nothing less than a firearm, while NPCs remain as primitive as a Paleolithic hand axe.”
Ahri commented as well.
“Considering the Sacred Sun is a compressed version of the prisoner, wasn’t that locked away for being too dangerous in Room 104? What’s the difference from stuffing it into the ‘Address of the Soul’?”
I shared my own thoughts regarding this.
—
My companions were wearing somewhat perplexed expressions.
Some understood while others disagreed.
Just then, the mouth of the one with final decision-making authority opened.
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