### Chapter 476 – Party Time – Dilemma (1)
—
– Han Kain
I woke up in the corridor.
Turning around to check my companions’ expressions, I immediately realized I didn’t need any words to understand their feelings.
The relief of my companions and the excited face of the elder were answer enough.
We had finally escaped the long, oppressive atmosphere of Room 206, the Demon King’s domain.
*
We moved over to a refreshment table, enjoying some cool beverages while we caught up on what had happened during our choice time.
“So, Grandpa got the One More Chance, huh? Understand it?”
“Yeah. Congratulations, Grandfather.”
“Ah, there’s no need for congratulations. If it were any other room, maybe, but in 206, I really feel like I was just carried along. It’s a bit embarrassing, you know?”
“But you’re still happy, right?”
“Ha ha!”
Is it really embarrassing to have received a legacy without any effort?
Come on! Let’s be real, that’s a downright lie.
The happiest moments in life are the ones when you’re enjoying the ride without lifting a finger.
Even if I’m stuck eternally at 20 years old, I know that much.
Soon, Eunsol, who had briefly visited Room 105, returned with two pieces of good news.
“Guess what? We get a week-long party time! And ta-da!”
“Looks like the ticket is complete.”
This was the third ticket we got from the hotel. The first had been used to revive Sanghyun, and the second for Miro’s revival.
I wondered where the third ticket would be used.
“By the way, the phrase that used to appear in the party time notice has disappeared.”
“A phrase?”
“There was a phrase that said the hotel only reveals its identity during party times.”
“Guess there’s nothing left to find now.”
Every party time, we had scoured the hotel for hidden NPCs and secret rooms.
Each time a new floor opened up, we’d discover two hidden NPCs and two hidden rooms.
Ahri had shown some drawings that only she could see.
“Hotel Secrets! 1st Floor Edition
1. Hidden Rooms
1) Sanctum of Blessings
2) Souvenir Shop
2. Hidden NPCs
1) Doctor
2) Merchant”
“Hotel Secrets! 2nd Floor Edition
1. Hidden Rooms
1) Mirror Room
2) Room of Resurrection
2. Hidden NPCs
1) Mysterious Craftsman
2) Painter”
“It’s a bit bittersweet. Feels like there’s subtly less to do during party time.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Eunsol’s words.
Jinchul added, “Doesn’t it feel like our struggles in this bizarre place are finally coming to an end? After we finish the second floor, we can return to reality.”
This time, everyone went quiet.
While it’s reliably confirmed by the hotel that we can escape at the end of the second floor, what does that reality actually mean? And if we can finish at the second floor, why even have the third floor?
Various thoughts flickered through my mind, leaving my head a jumbled mess.
So, I lightly tapped the table to regain everyone’s attention.
— Tap!
“Ahem! Now, let’s calm our floating minds and return to reality. We still have one thing left, the ‘Gate Room’.”
Room 207, the Gate Room.
“Let’s think about what we need to do for party time.”
As if waiting for the cue, Ahri spoke up.
“The Sanctum of Blessings, ticket usage, and the Hand of Greed. That’s what’s coming to mind. How about trying Mooksung’s new legacy experiment?”
Grandpa, proudly summoning the One More Chance, quickly grew flustered as he replied,
“I’m enthusiastic about trying it out, but…”
The hotel said we need to be prepared for the cost of reversing heaven.
With that, the dream of just casually saying, “Let’s give it a try,” flew out the window.
“Think about it. If you incur the cost of reversing heaven and fall into hell, what would happen? The Great King Yeomna with his fiery red beard would slam me with a law rod and ask, ‘Criminal Kim Mooksung, explain why you have become a sinner against the laws of the universe!’ And I’d respond with, ‘Oh, I just wanted to practice wreaking havoc on the world!’ What do you think the Great King would say?”
“Eek! Hahaha! Grandpa, have you done some acting before?”
“Acting? Not at all! Songee, if you laughed, then it’s all worth it.”
Surprisingly, Songee seems to have this taste for humor.
For me, well, it’s just a sense of Grandpa getting a little hyped up after acquiring a legacy.
Elena chuckled in response, and then, with a serene expression, brought up a serious topic.
“As Ahri suggested, we do need to check out the sanctum, but is there anyone to be empowered this time?”
“Good question.”
Blessing enhancement is like a game, requiring a higher contribution as the enhancement level increases.
“According to the Owl, the third level is generally the final enhancement. While there is a fourth level, the chances of obtaining it are extremely slim.”
“Why don’t we each count how much we’ve enhanced?”
Eunsol, intrigued, started jotting everything down on a whiteboard.
“Let’s start with Kain.”
“Ally location information, narrative understanding. Since narrative understanding counts as a ‘powerful enhancement’, that’s two parts.”
Soon my blessing information was written on the whiteboard.
Han Kain: Ally Location Information (1) -> Narrative Understanding (2) = 3rd Level.
Following the same format, the others’ info was noted down.
Yusong: Mindreading (1) -> Beloved Person (2) = 3rd Level.
Park Seungyub: Coincidence Control (1) -> Primordial Human (2) = 3rd Level.
Kim Ahri: Compass (1) -> Invisible Girl (1) = 2nd Level.
Elena: Lie Detection (1) -> Clear Mind (1) = 2nd Level.
Cha Jinchul: Regeneration (1) -> Moment (2) = 3rd Level.
Kim Mooksung: Vivid Communication (1) -> Crowd Psychology (1) = 2nd Level.
Lee Eunsol: Hand of Greed (2) = 2nd Level.
Kim Sanghyun: Enjoyer (1) = 1st Level.
Miro: Invariance (1) = 1st Level.
“I got a bit confused when writing down my Hand of Greed. But since the Dragon explicitly stated ‘Powerful Strength,’ it should be 2nd Level, right?”
That’s a reasonable point.
Looking at it this way, some people have no chance for enhancement, while others have at least a slight one.
“I’m still at 2nd Level.”
“I’ve worked pretty hard…”
“Well, the hotel probably has different expectations.”
Ahri, with a somewhat regretful expression, agreed with Elena, while Eunsol seemed half resigned.
“To be fair, I was lucky enough to get Crowd Psychology! You need to recognize how greedy the hotel is!”
Switching to the ‘pro-hotel’ faction since he gained a legacy, Grandpa chimed in.
“Teacher, do we have another chance for enhancement?”
“I don’t know.”
Even Jinchul and Sanghyun, who joined late, weren’t expecting too much from the blessing enhancement.
Tomorrow will reveal the truth, but I think someone among those at 1st and 2nd Level might get enhanced.
It wouldn’t be because of stellar performances in Room 206.
Expressing it in gaming terms, if the experience bar was about 95% full, then they would level up even without performing in 206, having gained at least 5% somewhere along the way.
And…
Maybe I’d receive a 4th Level enhancement myself.
*
Once the talk about blessings wrapped up, Eunsol brought up the Hand of Greed again.
“Where would be the best place to use it?”
“Is that even a question? Obviously in Room 207—oh wait. That won’t work.”
Grandpa was about to answer easily but soon realized the issue and fell silent.
Let’s recall the information acquisition event called Revelation of Secrets that had been triggered by the Hand of Greed.
If you demand excessive information, you incur unbearable divine punishment, and Room 207 is the highest-stakes room, meaning no questions will be permitted.
Even if we change the type of event, the outcome would probably be similar.
The hotel doesn’t want to provide us with information about Room 207.
At that moment, Ahri looked at Miro with a somewhat complicated expression.
“Miro, what do you think—”
“Hmm?”
“… Never mind.”
As always, there’s something between those two that we can’t easily intervene in.
Ironically, often Ahri knows something while Miro is oblivious to it.
Naturally, our conversation shifted to the ticket again.
“It’s better to seek additional inheritance than resurrection?”
“Exactly.”
“Then let’s go for that this time.”
It felt natural for everyone to lean toward seeking the additional inheritance.
Ever since Miro awoke, which was Ahri’s underground task, the topic of ‘resurrection’ has felt somewhat distant from us.
Realistically speaking, there are few existences among the remaining candidates that can assist ‘us now’.
The only one that meets this criterion might be Estavio, the alien creature that helped Songee back in Room 103, but…
Aliens are a different story.
I may consider myself an unbiased person, but having a teammate who looks like a starfish isn’t exactly appealing.
Meanwhile, Eunsol had started listing the legacies we’d missed in the second floor.
“List of missed legacies.
1. Irregular Polyhedron (Room 201)
2. Queen Ruda (Room 202)
3. Unknown Cell (Room 203)
4. Blazing Iron Wire (Room 205)
5. Unyielding Rationality (Room 206)”
“One of these should be chosen. Let’s all share our opinions.”
Miro was the first to speak up.
“I don’t want that fan!”
“… Right. Miro did seem to like the Blazing Iron Wire.”
Regardless of Miro’s personal preferences, objectively speaking, the Blazing Iron Wire seems to have the most problems.
“The Blazing Iron Wire is a no-go. Look at me. I often utilize dark imaginations far more than justice, right? You all know the reason for that, too?”
The power of ‘Judgment of Evildoers’ overlaps with Elena’s justice, and justice itself turns out to be more difficult to utilize than expected in reality.
As I’ve noticed while navigating the hotel, it’s surprisingly rare for a villain threatening the world to simply be a typical bad guy.
“I’m a same with Queen Ruda. Is everyone itching to become a fish after munching on snails?”
Everyone nodded in agreement with Eunsol’s comment.
Whether eating snails is one thing, the thought of becoming a fish is quite off-putting.
This time, Sanghyun also pitched in.
“I’d advise against the Unknown Cell as well. The ability of the legacy is pretty good, but…”
Pretty good, huh?
Pausing to choose his words, he gave an unexpected pitch:
“… It resembles Kain’s legacies in some ways.”
My legacies?
“Even though it has a high ceiling, that ceiling doesn’t pertain to humans.”
I was starting to wonder what he meant.
“Let me explain simply. Have you all heard the term ‘Blind Watchmaker’?”
I’ve seen that term in a rather famous book.
“In evolutionary theory, it’s a metaphor for how evolution has no planning or intent. In short, it means there are many imperfections in human bodies due to this lack of planning.”
The imperfections in human bodies arise out of the necessity that comes from evolution lacking intention or planning.
“There are lots of well-known examples besides the blind spot, the appendix, and wisdom teeth.”
For a brief moment, Songee’s eyes glazed over, and she asked in a daze,
“Uh, how is that related to the Unknown Cell?”
“If I get the Unknown Cell, there are many parts of me I’d like to overhaul.”
Overhaul?
“Why is the human eye so inefficient? Do you know how flimsy the structure of the anterior cruciate ligament in your legs is? Humans’ spines still haven’t adapted enough for bipedal locomotion.”
Everyone gaped in bewilderment at his surprising remarks.
“What about vitamin synthesis? Why is it that only primates can’t synthesize vitamin C, unlike nearly all animals that can produce it in their livers? The same goes for the brain. Adaptation from millions or tens of millions of years in the Stone Age has left us besieged by various mental illnesses in modern society.”
I was starting to grasp Sanghyun’s reasoning.
“If we obtain the Unknown Cell, we can solve all these issues. It would indeed be a great miracle, transcending humanity itself.”
“That’s…”
“Do you understand, Kain? What it means to surpass humanity by overhauling the body.”
“…”
While things like the Grimoire or Holy Sun aim to transcend on a spiritual level, the Unknown Cell is a legacy tailored for hardcore materialists.
A chance to challenge the limits of humanity—and life itself.
That’s how dangerous it is.
As the environment grew quiet for just a moment, Ahri broke the silence.
“Then we have two options remaining. The Irregular Polyhedron and the Unyielding Rationality. Let me state my opinion here—I, of course, believe we should take the Unyielding Rationality. I’m sure Kain would agree strongly too.”
Suddenly mentioning me?
“Let’s not forget, the legacy from Room 206 is a tool to save the world, and we don’t know which is more crucial at the moment, the Unyielding Rationality or the One More Chance. So, we ought to obtain both. Right, Kain?”
“…”
Well, she has a point.
I had indeed persuaded my companions by saying that back then, right? I recalled that.
“Of course, even if we talk about a global crisis, you all might not feel the urgency. But I bet none of you want to live in this hotel forever, right?”
“True.”
Even the most individualistic of people would be concerned in the face of an impending apocalypse.
“Kain, you think so too, right?”
“…”
Feeling the pressure from Ahri’s unwavering trust, I could only give an awkward smile.
The words I spoke back then weren’t sincere but rather half-baked due to the erosion from the Divine Sun.
Looking back, it was a time when ‘thirst for the soul’ molded my mindset like clay.
Do we really need to obtain both legacies from Room 206 to save reality?
That’s just the logic I concocted to persuade others.
Put bluntly, I simply didn’t want to hand the soul of Room 206 over to the Demon King.
…
Even though it’s a forced argument, there’s a decent amount of persuasiveness to it.
That’s precisely why the other companions agreed with what I said back then.
Yet, the logic wasn’t tight, and Eunsol pointed that out.
“But Kain, I’ve been thinking about it since then… doesn’t it feel a bit strange?”
“…”
“The hotel usually expects us to find common solutions, like in Room 201.”
“… That’s true.”
“If we find common solutions, we’d typically gain one legacy per room. But to say we need both legacies for Room 206 feels odd.”
Eunsol’s point can be summarized simply:
Looking at the notifications the hotel displays when finishing the Curse Room, the standard expectation tends toward a 30-point solution where tickets can’t be obtained, not toward a high-score solution where you need to gain tickets.
The hotel isn’t compelling us to do this.
In that context, the statement about the rewards for saving the world being hidden in Room 206 should be interpreted like this:
Having either the Unyielding Rationality or One More Chance would alter the methods for approaching those real-world challenges.
“Well, I get what you’re saying, but isn’t that just Eunsol’s speculation? Kain might think differently.”
“…”
Ahri’s insistence was starting to feel burdensome.
So, what do I actually think?
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