Chapter: 642 – The Path to Ascension (4)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 358
Current Location: Delight Hotel, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
“What a good question. What is the relationship between the upper realm and the lower realm? Water flows down from above, not up from below. Therefore, your concerns are truly futile.”
Well, that’s about as clear as mud!
Caught off guard by another classic riddle I’d encountered in this hotel. My companions also showed signs of disappointment.
“Can you explain a bit more? Suddenly talking about the upper realm and lower realm is just confusing!”
The so-called Third Floor Manager didn’t budge—like, what’s wrong with asking for some more info here?
It felt like talking to a grandparent who couldn’t quite grasp why you needed more than a vague generalization.
“Is it implying that after leaving for the Third Floor, we can still influence reality? Is that what it means?”
Surprisingly, Seungyub was the one to shoot back with a counter.
“That’s impossible! Ryan said that once you go to the Third Floor, you don’t come back!”
The old man looked a bit flustered as he replied.
“Uh, that was Arthur, not Ryan. It was Ryan’s son—”
“Either way!”
The fact remained that not one of the ascendants had ever returned to reality.
I knew that information well, but it was surprising to hear it from Seungyub. Given his usual forgetfulness, that meant he had likely spent a long time worrying about it.
Just then, a heavy hand landed on Seungyub’s shoulder.
“Hyung?”
“…”
His mouth was shut, but his expression said it all. It felt like he was saying, “That’s enough. I’m okay with it, so you can relax too, Seungyub.”
Seeing that reaction made me think back to the manager’s words: “Your concerns are truly futile.”
It seemed Hyung interpreted this as, “I can’t give you the exact principles, but your worries won’t be a big deal once you get to the Third Floor.”
I also shared my interpretation.
“Seungyub, remember.”
“Yeah.”
“No one really knows the Truth about the Third Floor. Ryan? Even the previous Wisdom, who was Ryan’s superior, hardly knew what was going on up there. So what could Ryan possibly know?”
“… That makes sense.”
“They were just pretending with their limited knowledge.”
“Then, have there been any people who returned from the Third Floor?”
“Water flows down from the above, not up from below…”
“Hyung?”
“In other words, ascendants can influence reality, but reality can’t influence ascendants.”
That’s my take on it!
Then, Songi chimed in.
“Seungyub, also, um, you can use and earn tickets on the Third Floor, right?”
“Tickets?”
“For example, reviving Yumi or something…”
Out of nowhere, we’re suddenly talking about Yumi? It sounded a lot like asking, “Are you really thinking about ditching a partner you’ve spent longer with just because they came from a dream family?”
Maybe she felt the same, as she immediately showed signs of regret.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up—”
“… That could be an important point, though.”
I understood Songi’s psyche.
Hadn’t she told me a few days ago?
“I want us all to do everything together. Let’s not split up.”
It was a bit provocative, but her words were quite effective. She reminded Seungyub of “the reason to go” instead of “the reason not to go” to the Third Floor.
A conversation I heard from Miro briefly flashed in my mind.
*
“Why didn’t you bring Yumi back? I thought you could revive her through a dream.”
“… Because it’s only a one-time deal.”
“What?”
“Overlaying reality through a dream can only happen once per loop, remember what the merchant said.”
“…”
“That kind of revival doesn’t sit well with me. If I ever wake Yumi up, I want it to be a permanent reunion with no parting.”
*
In the temporarily calm atmosphere, a moment of silence passed as everyone seemed to ponder on the relationship between the “upper realm and lower realm.”
While the upper can affect the lower, the lower cannot affect the upper. It’s like a one-way street.
Makes sense… or does it?
Just then, I heard Eunsol’s voice.
“… I feel like I’ve discussed something similar with someone before.”
“Sis?”
“Hang on!”
She frowned as she delved into her thoughts. It was fascinating to see her struggling to dig up a past memory.
The mysterious information shared by the manager was linked to the Third Floor, and she had a conversation about it with someone before?
“Argh! Why can’t I remember! It felt so similar!”
As her frustration mounted, I started feeling restless too, while Songi looked on with curiosity.
“Did you have a conversation with someone, then?”
“Exactly! Good point.”
“So, who was it?”
“Sophia!”
“Sophia’s in the hospital right now! She completely froze, you know.”
“Of course, she wouldn’t be frozen if she was a participant…! That’s not the problem, but what was the conversation about?”
Suddenly, it came back to Sophia?
Everyone else looked a bit taken aback by this unexpected answer.
I was surprised, too, but for a different reason.
What was it that Eunsol was saying—what kind of conversation did she have with Sophia?
Was I there at the scene?
No way—I wasn’t there, or else she would have mentioned my name.
And I wasn’t present, but with the help of the Owl, I must have heard it in a foggy state.
“…”
Just as I was about to get sucked into deep thoughts, the old man grabbed Eunsol’s arm.
“Let’s just ask Sophia later. Even if you forgot, she might remember. Right now…”
Ahri picked up where he left off.
“It’s time to stop digging through old memories and start thinking about the final question.”
As if waiting for this moment, the Third Floor manager sent a notification.
“This will be your final question. Choose wisely.”
After a brief silence, Ahri cautiously spoke.
“How about the last question being related to the Curse Room on the Third Floor?”
The old man replied with a worried tone.
“Of course, that’s the most interesting question, but do you think they’ll answer it?”
“If it’s not about specific rooms, but rather the overall theme…”
“Hmmm, it might be okay? Does everyone agree? What about you, Kain?”
“It sounds like a good idea.”
After checking everyone’s nodding heads, I raised my hand again.
Of course, I didn’t forget to mind the “timing” before raising it.
“For the third question! Could you share the general theme of the Third Floor—and also suggest a topic we should contemplate before ascending?”
…
*
Date: Day 358 to Day 362
—
Under the bright glow of the moon, I strolled through the chilly air near Taebaeksan in Gangwon Province.
Had I been strolling for about 20 minutes?
As I approached a sparkling light in the distance, I unexpectedly found a “school”—what a twist!
After another 5-minute walk, I reached an exercise ground where a campfire and tables awaited me.
“Did you wait long?”
“Not really. It’s not like I’m in a hurry or anything.”
Hearing about time piqued my curiosity.
“I received an addition to the message that the hotel sent recently.”
“Addition?”
“If you’re planning to head to the Third Floor, you should come within a month. They were basically saying ‘don’t waste time’.”
“…”
“What about your predecessor?”
“I didn’t have any talk about dates. Probably…”
“Probably?”
“Because they aren’t rushing me—I’ll likely go soon enough anyway.”
Unlike Sanghyun and Seungyub, the previous Wisdom had no attachment to reality.
So, they’d probably head up to the Third Floor at any moment.
Perhaps even tonight.
“What a work of art you’ve prepared here. Lamb skewers?”
“You’ve likely never been to Turkey, huh?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s shish kebab. Yet, saying lamb skewers isn’t entirely wrong. Come sit.”
As I sat across from the previous Wisdom, a deliciously greasy, exotic-smelling kebab skewer landed in front of me.
Also, a glimmering glass of golden liquor set down next to it.
“Drink up.”
I took a light sip and was taken aback a little.
I knew it wasn’t beer, but the alcohol content was surprisingly high!
Along with a strange earthy, grassy smell that was somewhat unpleasant.
“Ugh! What kind of alcohol is this?”
“Whiskey. Springbank 21. Don’t recognize it? It’s pretty famous.”
“Ugh…! Who drinks that with lamb skewers? It’s always cola or beer!”
“…”
“Almost spit it out.”
The previous Wisdom stared at me, seemingly dumbfounded, then muttered with a sigh.
“By the way you talk, it’s like you’re barely twenty. You’re still just learning about alcohol.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
After some light banter, I switched gears to something more serious.
“Recently, I encountered a strange entity at Delight.”
“A strange entity?”
“Claims to be the manager of the Third Floor.”
“Ohhhh…. Like a hidden NPC, huh?”
Every floor in the hotel features two hidden NPCs and two secret rooms.
“That can’t be it.”
“True enough, hidden NPCs wouldn’t show up this early.”
“I need to examine this on the Third Floor directly. It’s more of a guide or minion, honestly.”
“A minion?”
“Unidentified entities are pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
“Entities, not just a single entity?”
“Their words appeared only to me, showing up as notifications. When I later discussed it with my comrades, they all said they hadn’t seen anything.”
“What?”
“At that time, I was curious why it was only visible to me. But as time passed and I reflected…”
“Insight?”
“Yeah, for sure. I didn’t realize it at that moment.”
“Got it!”
“After the delayed realization, it felt odd.”
Anyway, the manager seems shackled to being a ‘hotel NPC.’
Thus, the messages written in the notification should sound like average polite hotel staff speech.
But why did I receive aggressively stimulating messages?
Because it wasn’t normal communication.
The one who summoned the manager was Eunsol, and the fact I got special info meant something was off.
Looking back, the evidence pointed that the source of that information was not the Hand of Greed, but Insight.
Confusing the visions from Insight with other things wasn’t new for me.
This time, it just happened to appear in the form of a ‘notification’, which I took a bit too long to realize.
“It happens sometimes. Insight can be vague like a dream or vivid like reality. I often get confused about whether it’s my misperception or a premonition.”
“Wouldn’t it help if they shouted ‘Insight Activated!’ at the start?”
“Haha! I’ve thought that too sometimes. Regardless, I have to admit that bird is not very customer friendly.”
“On that note, shall we drink up?”
“Sounds good.”
As I started tray loading complaints about the manager with the previous Wisdom, the kebab never tasted so good.
“Once I realized the presence behind the manager, it led to another interesting thought. What do you think it is?”
“Are you trying to quiz me right now?”
His incredulous tone brought an unexpected laugh from me.
Not that I intended to; it sounded like a dare to say, “Go on, take a guess!”
Could I be using this tone with my comrades occasionally?
Maybe that’s why Ahri had prank-pulled me a few days ago.
I should keep it up!
“Haha! This is Wisdom at its finest!”
“Well! I get what you’re implying.”
“What do you mean?”
“Recognizing the existence behind the manager and even hearing their intent… That’s typically information inaccessible through Insight.”
“True?”
“Insight isn’t clairvoyance or precognition; you can’t get that level of info without any basis. In other words—”
“The Owl, borrowing the form of Insight, revealed it directly to me. Something similar happened before, when I was in Jeju.”
“…”
“There’s someone behind the manager. And these individuals will serve as variables on the Third Floor. Simple as that.”
“… Probably not just people on my Third Floor but yours too, right?”
“Most likely.”
“Wow! It seems our Patron is bestowing their great kindness upon us as always, huh?”
“Is that so?”
“Then let’s drink to that. To the glory of great wisdom!”
“To wisdom!”
Another drink down.
Next, I launched into what the manager had communicated.
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