Chapter: 107
### 107 – Party Time (9) – Confession (2)
—
Lunch on Day 3 of Party Time
– Han Kain
All morning, I pondered how to break the news.
When lunchtime arrived, I walked into Room 105. As I suspected, Seungyub was nowhere to be found.
He was probably being treated by the doctor in some way. And so began the time for confession.
“Everyone, please pay attention. I have something important to share today.”
As I tried to set the mood, everyone looked at me with puzzled expressions.
Ahri let out a small sigh and lowered her head.
I decided to start with my own story first.
The secrets I had kept hidden. The escape route through the elevator. The protective suit, the password.
The nature of advice that consumes contributions for questions unrelated to the Curse Room.
The process of my wisdom strengthening and discovering Ahri’s secrets.
I intended to reveal Ahri’s secrets next, but she interrupted, declaring she wouldn’t act like a coward and began to speak herself.
The true blessing of “Secret.” The legacy of “Ancient Blood,” memories from the first party, etc.
After our candid discussions, a heavy silence enveloped the room.
Then, to my surprise, unexpected responses began.
“It seems I wasn’t the only one with a messy head.”
Eunsol’s voice, tinged with a sigh. “I’m not the only one?” What is she—
“It appears many had complex thoughts, but there was only one courageous person.”
Only then did I realize, through Mooksung’s words, that there were others hiding something besides Ahri and me!
Eunsol also began to speak, somewhat emotionally.
“Listening to Ahri made me realize something. This place—rather than hiding things, we should share and combine our strengths here. I have two things to share.”
The first story was about a note she had bought from a “weird merchant” a while back.
Surprisingly, the note mentioned that someone was hiding an escape route.
She had assumed it was the Administration Bureau team, which shocked her.
The second story was a more serious one.
A trait realized after actually using the “Hand of Greed.”
The “Hand of Greed” grants the user’s wishes.
But instead of providing the desired item directly, it creates situations in which the item can be obtained.
However, there are limits to the wishes that can be granted, and the situations could be dangerous.
So far, it sounded like a typical “Monkey’s Paw” type of power, but there was a significant difference.
“The user is never put in danger!”
My jaw dropped at that revelation.
Looking around, others were equally stunned.
Eunsol spoke with a bitter tone.
“I didn’t know about this trait before using it. Now I understand why the Dragon boasts about its immense power. There’s absolutely no risk for me, just rewards. The risks fall on you guys.”
I muttered without thinking.
“You thought about talking about such risks.”
Honestly, isn’t that something you’d want to keep hidden until the end?
“Listening to you and Ahri made me not want to hide it anymore. Just from looking at this blessing, I can guess it. My sponsor is an extremely selfish being. I don’t want to live like that.”
Jinchul jumped in.
“It sounds impressive, but in truth, whether the risk falls on me or others doesn’t really matter, does it? If any of us gets hurt, it impacts everyone anyway. In that context, you and Kain are the same. Let’s use it when needed.”
“Thanks for saying that. As Jinchul said, we should use it wisely in the face of crisis. At least, it doesn’t seem like a power I’ll be using every cooldown.”
Mooksung then spoke up.
“Well, while I’m at it, I’ll share that I can actually open a personal chat window. In this case, the conversation partner must be me, though.”
A personal chat window. Had the Administration Bureau team been using that for separate communication?
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed, turning this into a time for confession, where everyone began to reveal hidden facts.
Me, Ahri, Eunsol, and even Mooksung opened up.
The gaze naturally shifted clockwise towards Jinchul.
“Um? Uhh? I really have nothing to share?”
I wouldn’t be surprised.
“It’s not a secret, but don’t you think I’ve grown a little?”
Everyone looked at him, puzzled.
He already looked like a giant at over 190 cm, and since we saw him every day, it was hard to notice any slight change in his physique.
Mooksung squinted and replied.
“Hmm? You actually do look bigger. About 3 cm? Plus, you seem a bit thicker overall.”
“Is this the power of courage?”
Body enhancement falls well within the scope of courage.
But seriously, a guy who was already over 190 cm growing taller?
By the time we leave the hotel, will he be over 2 meters?
Elena then chimed in.
“Speaking of ‘growth,’ I feel like my blessing has grown too. The time I can use ‘Lie Detection’ has increased, and it’s become easier to use more ‘secretly.’ In fact, I’m already using it. Did anyone notice?”
!
Surprised, I looked at Elena, and her eyes certainly glimmered faintly.
It wasn’t radiating light like before, but rather a dim golden hue.
If I had been observing Elena directly, I might have caught on easily, but…
Honestly, staring too hard at Elena made me feel uneasy.
Just as I was getting choked on my food, Eunsol spoke up.
“Uh… what about me?”
“No. There’s no one lying right now.”
Scary.
Lastly, everyone’s eyes turned towards Songee.
“I was afraid it would sound a little crazy, so I kept it a secret, but since some time ago, I can talk with Pero.”
Mooksung exclaimed, looking incredulous.
“What are you, Doctor Dolittle?”
“Sorry?”
“Are you Doctor Dolittle? Talking with animals—”
Ahri poked him playfully.
“Grandpa, do you think anyone here would know about that?”
“…Isn’t he famous?”
“Back when you were young, maybe.”
Ahri seemed to be well-versed in that.
But to be able to talk with animals? Fascinating and curious.
“Do you chat with Pero often?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you talk about? Got any funny stories?”
Songee paused for a moment and then started writing something on a piece of paper.
/Pero’s one-line evaluation/
“What the heck is this?”
“Pero talks about us all day. He likes this or dislikes that.”
…Now I understand the instinct of an animal’s gossip.
/Pero’s one-line evaluation/
1. Yu Songee: Love her, Mom.
2. Lee Eunsol: Bring food. Big bowl.
3. Elena: Shines bright. Sparkly.
4. Kim Ahri: Red blood. Has a scent.
5. Park Seungyub: Foolishness. Under me.
6. Kim Mooksung: Noisy. Nesting material.
7. Cha Jinchul: Monster. Hits me.
8. Han Kain: Evil demon. Don’t come near!/
…
Everyone was speechless. Songee continued her “explanation.”
“Pero knew that Eunsol was ordering his food. He thinks Elena shines every time he sees her. Also, it seems Pero feels our blessings or legacies. Until now, I couldn’t understand when he talked about ‘red blood’ and ‘scent’ concerning Ahri, but perhaps it sensed ‘Ancient Blood’ merged with her body?”
Seungyub wasn’t here, so that was fortunate. He seems to be a little disparaged. Mooksung’s situation is for ‘communication,’ so it seems Pero interprets our conversation as the grandfather blabbering on.
…
Songee? Why did you stop your explanation there? What follows sounds alarming!
Mooksung immediately reacted.
“Hey, what do you mean by ‘nesting materials’? I’m getting a bad feeling about this because lately, that little bird has been pulling out my hair whenever it gets a chance!”
“Pero seems to think that white hair makes the perfect nesting material.”
“Tell him to boil some water and catch a bird.”
Ahri chimed in playfully.
“Wow~ Jinchul hit from day one, making him a monster, and Kain’s amazing! An evil demon! What exactly do you do to Pero every day?”
“…”
“Kain, you keep possessing Pero to practice flying under the sky. But you can’t fly for even three seconds before crashing!”
Ahri burst out laughing as she replied.
“Don’t worry! With just a month more practice, you should be able to fly for at least ten seconds! As long as Pero doesn’t pluck all his feathers from stress first!”
With that, we all shared a laugh, marking a delightful end to lunch.
I decided to find Pero for my “flying practice.” He has to understand!
If I can fly through Pero’s body, it’ll be a huge help for the party.
—
Evening of Day 3 of Party Time
“Alright! Finally, it’s time for the final meeting. We decided to take it easy tonight like before, so today’s meeting is important.
Of course, among us, only one person knows about the Gate Room or the second floor! The professor, Ahri, will handle today’s lecture, so everyone, give her a round of applause.”
After half-hearted applause, Ahri began her explanation.
“First of all, keep in mind that my explanation may be incorrect. These are memories from long ago, and this hotel constantly changes its content. The Gate Room consists of a series of rooms similar to the Curse Rooms. There are brief resting periods, but just enough to catch your breath.
You don’t get resurrected midway through the Gate Room, and you must pass the entire room for one person to be resurrected. I don’t think there are any prisoner-like beings.”
“What do you mean if it’s not a legacy? What’s the reward?”
“I’m not sure. The person who passed through the Gate Room in the first party kept it a secret.”
This is quite perplexing. So the one who received the reward kept it hidden, leaving everyone guessing.
“What was the second floor like?”
“Just keep in mind it can change. The second floor fundamentally has prisoners and adversaries like the first floor, but there were two changes.
First, it felt larger than the first floor? For example, while the first floor replicated the entire world, the major locales we were active in were narrow, right? We only explored places like rooms, a broadcasting station, the mansion vicinity, a spaceship, and school. But here, the scale of the main locations increases, and related individuals become numerous.
Secondly, there’s sealing and liberation. As soon as you enter the second floor, one person gets sealed.”
I gasped in surprise.
“Sealed? Does that mean that person can’t act at all in the room?”
“Exactly! The reasons for being sealed vary every time. They could be locked in a prison alone, or they could be in a deep sleep they can’t wake up from. Even if the sealed person has two or three legacies, the hotel itself suppresses them, so they cannot escape by their own power.
You can solve things without the sealed person, but usually, it’s easier to liberate them because that person usually possesses the most useful capability in the room. And that’s why the previous party stopped progressing on the second floor.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the prior party, the one who obtained the legacies used their strong force to hinder others and claim everything for themselves. In the end, just two people grew fat on the resources. But once they arrived on the second floor, one of those who got fat had to be sealed, meaning that half of their power was effectively bound. They escaped safely, but they couldn’t progress with the Curse Rooms any longer.”
… I realized one significant fact.
Ahri’s mom was an elite agent of the Administration Bureau, a powerhouse. Rather than being a victim, she was the one dealing damage.
One of those two people who hoarded treasures and disrupted the others? That must be Ahri’s mom.
During my previous glimpse in the hotel land through the mirror, Ahri’s mom had a strikingly beautiful and gentle appearance similar to Ahri, but as I suspected, you can’t judge a person solely by their looks.
Now I understand why Ahri was “created.”
With one of her own or another strong being sealed, there was no resolution, so they probably attempted to create “another strong individual.”
Eunsol, who had been intently listening, interjected at this point.
“The story about the second floor is fascinating, but let’s return our focus to the Gate Room. Remember Ahri’s explanation? Now, let’s strategize.”
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