Prologue
I had a bizarre dream.
The setting was a breezy February evening. It was that brief interlude after the college entrance exam and before university classes commenced— the kind of golden age in life that might not come around often.
I embarked on a solo backpacking trip. Since my exam results turned out well, my parents generously funded my travel expenses. Because of that, I was able to enjoy a leisurely journey and even stay at a hotel in Jeju Island towards the end.
After a whole day of sightseeing, I lay on the hotel bed, fatigued in both body and mind, when something peculiar began to unfold.
As I gathered my bearings, I discovered myself in a space shrouded in a hazy fog. Glancing around, I saw several shadowy figures standing nearby.
It was an utterly baffling situation, but for some inexplicable reason, I felt compelled to move forward.
In under a minute, I stumbled upon a table, and on it lay dozens of strange sculptures.
[Choose your destiny.]
What’s this about destiny? How could such a tiny piece of sculpture determine my fate?
Still, I felt an odd compulsion to pick something up. As I stared at the sculptures, I saw them disappearing one by one in a flash. Just as I was starting to panic at the thought of losing out on my selection, an owl sculpture caught my eye, and I instinctively grabbed it.
At that moment, an announcement materialized in front of me.
“/Welcome, esteemed guests, to Hotel Pioneer!”
“Pioneer has boasted a rich history since opening in 1847, earning countless accolades from our guests through a myriad of mysteries and infinite treasures. Of course, every treasure comes with its fair share of peril. We sincerely wish for our valued guests to achieve their desired outcomes at Pioneer!”
“Now, off you go on your adventure./”
What on earth did that mean?
It wasn’t just one or two things that were off. First and foremost, the hotel I was staying at certainly didn’t boast such a grand name as ‘Pioneer’. And let’s not even get started on the opening date— 1947 wouldn’t make sense, but 1847? That’s downright ludicrous!
Was there even a hotel back in the Joseon Dynasty? Mysteries? Treasures? Risks? Adventures? Not a single term was making any sense, and as confusion set in, I felt my mind swirling and crumbling.
Aha, so this is what they call a lucid dream! Am I about to black out again? With a mind racing from the absurdity of this dream, I descended into the darkness.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.