Chapter 666 – First Escape, Meeting, and Re-entry (3)
—
User: Yu Songee
A reunion with my “real parents” whom I thought I’d never see again.
Hyung Kain’s reaction was pretty sharp.
“What do you mean, everyone’s real? Are the parents you remember from reality actually here in Room 301?”
“….”
“Or is the entire world of Room 301 the same one you’ve lived in?”
“Reality” is essentially an infinite collection of loops.
The difference in how the hotel party remembers reality comes from everyone being from different loops.
The loop I lived in means that my real parents and others have already vanished with the passage of time.
But I know another truth.
The place I’m in right now – Hotel Pioneer is the most mystical location in the universe.
In the hotel, nothing is impossible.
Sending me back to a past loop?
In a hotel, that might not only be possible but might not even be that hard.
So, when Hyung Kain asked, I could reply like this.
“Could be, right? It’s a hotel after all.”
“Seems like you’re not too sure.”
“Well… I don’t have a great memory like you. I never thought I’d be saying this in my life, but thanks to the hotel, I’ve experienced so many worlds.”
“Too many experiences making your memories before you came to the hotel fuzzy?”
“Yeah.”
Instead of immediately responding, Hyung Kain paused a bit and continued.
“Before going to the third floor, I heard an interesting interpretation from the former wisdom.”
“Interpretation about the third floor?”
“The former wisdom has pondered the third floor for a long time and is a very wise being. His words are worth listening to.”
That makes sense.
“The training of heroes ended on the first and second floors.”
“Wait, what?”
“When we broke through the second floor and escaped, we all became superhumans, heroes of this era that blankets the sky.”
“Then what about the third floor?”
“Since we forged our holy swords on the first and second floors, the third floor is where we’re going to properly swing them.”
“That’s a fascinating story.”
“In this context, it’s clear why we get to choose whether or not to go to the third floor, unlike the first two.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Being pushed into trials by others isn’t heroic. A hero must enter the whirlpool of calamity by their own volition.”
“…”
To be honest, I didn’t really resonate with this ‘hero theory.’
I’m not here to save humanity from extinction.
I just didn’t want to be separated from my true family and friends.
“So what you’re saying, Hyung, is that the first and second floors are fake worlds created by the hotel, and the third floor is the real world we’ve lived in?”
Hyung Kain shook his head.
“Songee, remember this. In the realm of the hotel, terms like ‘real’ and ‘fake’ are inappropriate. From the Buddha’s perspective, it’s just a painting that can be corrected with a mere brush stroke.”
“So then—”
“If we were to get picky, it could be expressed as original and copy.”
Originals and copies, not real and fake.
To me, that sounded pretty much the same, but Hyung Kain clearly used it in a different sense.
— Tap!
At that moment, he lightly tapped the table.
“Let’s put a pin in mystical reflections on the essence of the third floor. Just debating among people who don’t know won’t yield an accurate conclusion.”
“That’s true.”
“The questions you and I have right now will surely resolve themselves as we progress through the third floor.”
“…”
“It’s getting late. Let’s go get some rest. See you tomorrow.”
*
The next morning, the final meeting for member distribution was held before entering.
Ultimately, it was decided as follows.
*
Solution Party – Entry List
1. Fixed Members: Yu Songee, Lee Eunsol
2. Additional Members: Kim Ahri, Kim Mooksung, Elena, Cha Jinchul
Escape Party – Post-Apocalyptic World
1. Miro, Park Seungyub
2. Kim Sanghyun, Han Kain
*
Last night, Hyung Kain was contemplating where to place the doctor, Jinchul, and himself.
In the end, Jinchul entered the Solution Party while the other two joined the Escape Party.
Eunsol and Hyung Kain briefly explained, and from what I gathered, the reasons were simple.
There’s still not enough information.
With the chances of solution being low, we had no choice but to focus on the escape.
Without Hyung Kain, we wouldn’t have any hope against the Duke.
The doctor’s last shining hope can still hit the Duke pretty hard.
And so on.
As I listened, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Fact is, if we count, there are six in the Solution Party and four in the Escape Party, right?
Yet everyone thinks this member distribution leans more toward escape than solution.
Why? Because Hyung Kain is in the Escape Party!
Of course, that’s not exactly a good sign.
It means the balance of the party is off.
Without realizing it, I nudged Ahri sitting to my left.
“What’s up?”
“It’s your fault.”
“What?!”
“You should’ve been stronger than you are now!”
Ahri suddenly shrugged like I just said something bizarre, then shot back with a simple response that shut me up.
“What are you talking about? The one weaker than Pero.”
“… Pero! Bite Ahri’s head off quickly.”
How many people would need to be in the Solution Party to balance with Hyung Kain?
All nine excluding him?!
Oh, that’d be overdoing it!
If we put Miro in the Solution Party, she might summon Hyung Kain anyway—
“Ah!”
I think I finally get the feeling behind the completely different member distribution Hyung Kain mentioned at night!
“….”
I couldn’t help but let my lips curl up slightly.
Feels like I’ve got a sense of something in Hyung Kain’s heart that no one else knows?
If that’s childish, so be it!
“What’s with the face?”
Ahri tilted her head, noticing me staring blankly.
“… Nothing.”
“Focus on the meeting. And get that stupid parrot away from me.”
“It’s smarter than you.”
“It’s also stronger than you.”
“Pero can fly through the sky.”
“I can fly too.”
“You need shoes to do that.”
“Humans are tool-wielding creatures – Hey, be quiet. You’re making me childish too. This isn’t a Miro thing.”
“…”
Was it because I met my “real parents,” whom I thought I’d never see again?
Like Ahri said, I started sounding like a kid or like my old self before coming to the hotel.
— Tap!
Just then, the meeting concluded.
“Let’s go in now.”
*
I woke up in a colorful room.
Didn’t I used to think that this was when 〖Room 301〗 would start?
Not anymore.
Having had that experience, my teammates walked toward the central table with a vibe of familiarity.
The entry list lay on the table.
Soon, several teammates began writing their names per our arrangement outside.
⓵ Yu Songee
⓶ Lee Eunsol
⓷ Kim Ahri
⓸ Kim Mooksung
⓹ Elena
⓺ Cha Jinchul
Finally, Jinchul, who wrote the last name, asked with a slightly nervous expression.
“Do I just declare that we’re going in now?”
At that moment, Hyung Kain gestured.
“Wait a sec.”
His face seemed a bit rushed, like he’d suddenly remembered something.
Perhaps he saw it through insight.
“Ahri, bring out the Dream Kingdom.”
“Huh?”
Ahri tilted her head but retrieved the drawing from her pocket.
“Wasn’t that for me to use?”
“…”
“Common sense says it’s something that should go to the Solution Party…”
The Dream Kingdom is a tool for joining teammates, and since the Escape Party starts from the same area, there’s no need to join via the Dream Kingdom.
So, that drawing should indeed be in the Solution Party, as decided in the meeting yesterday.
“Why’s that?”
“I saw both possibilities. It’s useful for me to use and also for you.”
What on earth does that mean?
Ahri seemed to feel the same way I did and gave a slightly flustered expression.
“So who should take it?”
“This time, you take it. Now, let’s get started.”
Just before we began, a question flashed through my mind.
The reason the Dream Kingdom is useful for the Solution Party is obvious.
Ahri would use that drawing to gather scattered teammates.
But why would it be useful for the Escape Party?
“Hotel, we’re entering now!”
*
—
Soft bed.
With a prickly feeling, I woke up.
“Happy it’s… sis, I’m sleepy—”
“It’s not happy. Wake up.”
“Ah.”
The outside was still dark, but it felt like I woke up earlier than during the first attempt.
Turning my head, a chillingly beautiful face with a cold expression caught my sight.
At times like these, Ahri is really amazing.
It’s not easy to keep finding the same face beautiful every day.
“Are you awake now?”
“… Didn’t we just start?”
“Yeah.”
—
At the starting point of 〖Room 301〗, I’m sleeping in bed.
The idea my teammates came up with, seeing this situation from the observatory, was to have Ahri immediately join me as soon as she starts using the Dream Kingdom.
— Nng!
I heard a small sound nearby, and there was a scared Happy whimpering in the corner.
Has Ahri done something already? He can’t even bark.
“The dog’s fine. I just temporarily paralyzed it.”
“…”
“I’ll say this once, so listen carefully. Since I came to the Solution Party, I have a sort of background setting now.”
“…”
“I’m a school friend of yours, and my parents are abroad. I live with my grandpa, who is obviously Mooksung.”
“… That’s quite a convenient setting.”
“The hotel always does that.”
After a brief moment of silence, Ahri spoke rapidly.
“Don’t misunderstand. Mooksung and I are always keeping various possibilities in mind. Your—”
Ahri was acting carefully, which made me guess what she was about to say.
It must have been the story Hyung Kain told her last night.
“Are you trying to keep an eye on my parents?”
“… Including this house. They might be more special people and have a special home than you think.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
It’s a reasonable point, so I wasn’t really mad.
Just look at the other teammates.
Hyung Kain is uniquely special, and Eunsol is the daughter of a reincarnator or Administration Bureau agent.
I might have a special background I don’t even know about.
“Okay, let’s start.”
While I said that, thinking about my parents potentially being betrayers of humanity sent shivers down my spine.
— Creak!
As Ahri and I opened the door and stepped into the living room, the clock read 4:25 AM. My parents were likely still asleep.
Ahri gave the cage a light tap, and Pero, already trapped in there, reacted.
— Peep! Peep!
The sound was small but seemed slightly annoyed.
“…”
Soon, Ahri started searching the entire house right before my eyes.
She checked behind the TV, flipped the Wi-Fi router, and inspected the medical device whose purpose I didn’t recognize.
Watching her, she looked like a spy from a movie.
Although in reality, she was far beyond that.
For a moment, I thought, what if my parents wake up? But then I realized it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Ahri can just use the guise of an unnoticed girl, and I can just say I woke up.
“…”
There wasn’t much coming out of it.
Just then, Ahri whispered.
“I’ve been thinking while watching your actions outside.”
“….”
“It seems you have some grievances toward your parents.”
“… A little.”
“Be careful. This place is the cursed room.”
There’s no need to get entangled in conflicts unrelated to the scenario in the cursed room.
I should restrain myself from whining about my parents.
From now on, I should refrain—
Right at that moment!
— Tap!
A book fell from the shelf.
“…”
“…”
Exchanging glances in the silence.
‘Was that a coincidence?’
Before we could figure it out, it seemed something loud happened to ensure we wouldn’t be fooled.
— Tap! Thud!
A few more books fell one after another.
Clearly, a poltergeist phenomenon, a warning from our outside teammates!
Eyes exchanged again, and Ahri vanished from the area in an instant.
“Ugh….”
I quickly rushed to the cage and freed Pero.
— Caw!
What the heck?
Since when did we have that kind of door in our house?
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