### Chapter 515 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (1)
—
— Han Kain
…
I woke up in a quiet family home.
With no sign of anyone else around, it seemed I was the only one at home.
Feeling the cool air, I looked outside and checked the time—it was dawn.
As soon as I began, a title flickered into view before disappearing.
“What’s with the title? It’s so juvenile.”
The Fallen King? Just hearing it sounds like some game terminology.
The status window that had been perfectly fine on the train was now gone.
Did the hotel seal my blessings?
Ari had told me that if the hotel had a sense of morality, it would give me a chance to use the power I gained just before entering Room 207.
She said that Ari and Old Man Mookseong could use legacies, while Elena could use blessings.
Since that made some sense, I expected a legacy seal, but surprisingly, it was a blessing seal.
Well, from now on, believing in the grimoire and the Divine Sun should suffice—
“What the heck?”
Neither the grimoire nor the Divine Sun was responding?
Just then, a notification popped up as if it had been waiting.
“Your blessings and legacy have been sealed! Please check the table.”
In that moment, I was left speechless, my mouth hanging open.
Both sealed?
I could have sworn I heard one would be sealed—
I remembered the merchant’s precise words from the train.
“First, one or more of your blessings and legacy can be sealed.”
Not just one, but ‘one or more.’
As always, the hotel wasn’t lying this time either.
“…”
It took me a moment to grasp the meaning of the title ‘The Fallen King.’
I used to think that the hotel party’s main strength was trust and communication.
Conversely, the biggest reason for the Miro party’s failure when they dominated the deep sea was a lack of trust and communication.
What about me now?
I’m planning everything alone, hiding information, and trying to control my comrades like chess pieces.
I’m far from the democratic leader that Seunghyun hyung wished for.
I have my reasons, sure.
But then again, the Miro of the past had their reasons too.
…
I’ve come to realize I’ve become a secretive king.
Now that I’ve lost my blessings and legacy, I’m truly a ‘fallen king.’
Isn’t this title mocking my situation?
“Let’s keep the reflections brief.”
After that pointless one-second reflection, I looked at the small note on the table as instructed.
*
Retrieve your powers on your own.
You can regain your legacy and blessings at the designated locations.
1. School
2. Church
3. Han Kain
*
The school part makes sense.
But what does ‘Church’ even mean?
A church? A temple? Some kind of cult?
And the last one, ‘Han Kain’—isn’t that just my name?
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the note that seemed to be teasing me.
“…”
Let’s gather some basic information about this situation.
Luckily, with computers, the internet, and smartphones around, I was able to easily grasp the general knowledge I needed.
The stage for the fourth trial is 21st-century South Korea, and the administration in this world is called the ‘Vatican.’
China is divided into South China and North China because the civil war ended in a truce in Room 207.
There were other differences, like Alaska being claimed by Russia and the hereditary dynasty in North Korea shifting to the surname ‘Park.’
Notably, in addition to the so-called four major religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—the ‘Horus Church’ also has a significant presence.
Will these aspects influence the trial?
I can’t say for sure right now.
…
Perhaps due to the loss of insight, in some ways, my head felt clearer.
I compared the plans I had made before entering with the current situation.
*
My comrades often took ‘insight’ as a form of precognition.
This is an easy way to understand it, but the hotel distinguishes between wisdom, foresight, and luck.
All three are similar in that they provide ‘power for correct choices,’ yet their operating principles differ.
Wisdom is selecting the right answer based on appropriate evidence.
Foresight ignores evidence and observes the answer.
Of course, no one has obtained foresight, so I’m not entirely certain.
Lastly, luck is where you don’t know either the evidence or the answer, but when you pick something, you’re like, ‘Oh? This is the answer?’
To accurately interpret the possibilities seen through insight, one must ponder the ‘evidence’ that created that possibility.
For example, every time I see Ari, I envision a constantly shifting whirlpool of possibilities.
At best, she gave me three distinct images, but in truth, those were just the tip of the iceberg.
Why is Ari’s potential so chaotic?
In my interpretation, it’s because she has lived longer and experienced various things compared to other comrades.
What’s the evidence for this?
Ari is inherently an immortal being from birth and has a career as an agent of the Administration Bureau.
This means her ‘longevity potential’ is significantly higher than that of the others.
Of course, in the end, it’s a matter of probability.
In reality, a comrade who fell into ancient Egypt might acquire a newfound power and endure for thousands of years.
Likewise, a comrade who landed in the medieval times could develop an unprecedented power and survive for hundreds of years.
But such possibilities aren’t something that either insight or the Owl could predict—it’s what we call a variable.
On the other hand, the ‘possibility of Ari living long and experiencing various things’ is highly probable.
Summarizing to this point leads to a straightforward conclusion.
Ari is most likely still alive somewhere in the world up to this point.
…
In contrast to the constantly fluctuating possibilities of Ari, the potential of Miro has been somewhat fixed.
An ambition that could never be achieved from the very beginning.
A brutally failed plan.
The destruction waiting for Miro, who is trapped in a clock, waiting for the right moment.
The pitiful girl devoured by an opponent superior to herself.
What’s the basis for this possibility?
It derives from my discussions with adult Miro that I’ve encountered twice and Miro’s inner self revealed through the dream kingdom.
Though various thoughts crossed my mind, one thing was clear.
She must survive until the very last moment—that is, through the fourth trial.
Given that insight predicted the existence of the ‘Miro in the clock,’ the first party should have been able to use their legacy.
In that case, I trust I made the necessary adjustments to the time period here.
…
Ultimately, the most important thing is the potential for me.
A future shattered into pieces, scattered across the stars!
Remarkably, this dismal future was the most steadfast of all possibilities I saw, and it showed no signs of changing even with repeated insights.
This indicates an extraordinarily high probability of occurrence.
While it’s difficult to quantify, let’s say it’s over 99%.
Again, the key to interpreting insights lies in the ‘evidence.’
What evidence enabled insight to predict my horrific yet unwavering future?
I pondered two main questions.
First, ‘who’ wishes to harm me? In short, who are the enemies?
Second, ‘by what means’ do they intend to harm me? That is, what are the means?
…
Looking at the temporal backgrounds of the first and fourth trials, Room 207 spans thousands of years.
Naturally, the variables are unimaginably vast, and exactly how things will unfold is something I, much less the Owl, cannot know.
Given the innumerable variables, what does it mean that my miserable future is a certainty?
It means that indeterminate beings aren’t the cause.
For example, neither the National Intelligence Service nor the Chinese Communist Party can be seen as enemies.
If South Korea had lost the Korean War, it could have meant the disappearance of the National Intelligence Service along with the country, and if Chiang Kai-shek had won the civil war, the Communist Party would have vanished.
It sounds outrageous, but such things could happen in Room 207.
Therefore, my potential enemy is the ‘group that invariably appears, even when history repeats itself.’
Only those who appear time and again, regardless of how many times Room 207 repeats, can promise my ‘certain destruction.’
Amazingly, there is indeed such a group in this world.
In various cursed rooms that have traversed completely different backgrounds and histories, if the setting is the Earth and the main race is humanity, there exists a group that consistently shows up.
That group is the Administration Bureau.
They go by names like ‘Administration Bureau’, ‘Vatican’, or ‘The Order of Reason,’ but organizations that suppress chaos and protect mankind almost always emerge.
Thus, my leading suspect for an enemy in Room 207 is the Administration Bureau.
Of course, apart from this, there might be a demon that dropped down from space in the 21st century, but such possibilities were excluded from my plan since they’re unpredictable.
…
Although I can’t be certain of the means at this stage, I can speculate on one thing.
At the very least, it isn’t something the Administration Bureau studied or developed—like the ‘Indomitable Reason’ or ‘Soul’s Furnace.’
The speed of technological advancement differs every time, making it impossible to create a ‘certain future.’
It must be something that fell from space.
There’s a high probability it was somewhere on Earth during the ancient Egyptian time.
Such things can be used once discovered.
…
In short, I interpreted the future that insight revealed to me like this.
An organization similar to the Administration Bureau arising naturally in Room 207 acquires a terrifying chaotic entity that fell somewhere on Earth and then uses that power to shatter me into pieces and scatter me across the stars.
Preventing this future and breaking through Room 207 is my goal.
As for the detailed plan…
Well, I don’t know it yet.
We can only find out by trying, right?
— Ring! Ring! It’s 7 AM!
“Wow, that alarm is loud! Is it already 7?”
*
The current time is 7 AM.
For an ordinary high school student, it’s definitely time to wear the school uniform and head out.
“…”
Right now, I’m a student at ‘Hotel High School.’
The name of the school is funny enough, but suddenly being a high schooler?
If I had my way, I’d just rather progress through the trials, but according to the note on the table, my first power is hidden at the ‘school.’
Guess I have to go to school.
— Click!
“Huh?”
Looking at the ‘student ID’ that fell from my uniform, I realized something surprising.
My name, along with my appearance, had changed quite a bit.
My build remained somewhat similar, but I was so busy pondering while sitting on my bed since dawn that I hadn’t noticed the changes in the mirror.
“Hmm…”
Not only my name, but my face looks quite different.
The hotel seems to have scrubbed my identity, and coming to this realization naturally led me to the next thought.
‘The enemy knows my real name and face!’
Is this the hotel’s way of accommodating me so that we don’t have a missile from the Vatican flying into my home right from the start?
“…”
If they know my name and face, they likely have considerable knowledge about my abilities as well.
I need to be cautious.
— Ring! Ring! It’s 7:30 AM! Don’t be late! Don’t be late!
“…”
Time to get going.
From now on, I must recover the scattered grimoire, Divine Sun, and the blessings of wisdom before challenging the final trial.
My newly acquired name is…
*
A bizarre space filled with mysterious splendor.
In this world, ‘mystique’ is synonymous with ‘chaos,’ and it’s also a realm filled with murky chaos.
A mundane human, even until the moment of death, could never comprehend the bizarre nature of this place, where a beautiful being rises.
“Aha! You’ve finally arrived?”
Indeed, the wait felt endless.
It was an eternal readiness for someone who just wouldn’t return no matter how long she waited.
However, all waits must eventually come to an end.
It occurred to her instinctively.
No one told her, nor had her subordinates reported back, but she just understood.
Perhaps it was because she had timidly placed a foot into the realm of fate.
Finally, Horus had returned to this world.
“…”
Despite the countless memories devoured by the blessing of oblivion over her uncountably long life…
In this world, there are memories that never disappear, and for her, the memories of Horus were precisely one of those.
“Phew.”
Suddenly, she pondered.
What would she want to do when she meets him?
“…”
— Ding!
She lightly flicked a ‘mirror’ with her finger and instantly realized the answer.
“This!”
Of course.
The Virgin believed that the mirror was the solution to all the world’s problems.
“The mirror always knows the answer.”
This time was no different, either.
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