### Chapter 198 – Party Time – Growth and Preparing for the Next Room (2)
—
As I summoned the grimoire, Ahri began to explain slowly.
“This book is the source of your supernatural power, right?”
“About half of it. The other half comes from blessings or tattoos, I suppose.”
“Of course. Anyway, many beings dealing with supernatural powers tend to borrow the strengths of special objects. Take the hotel participants, for instance—we’re one such group. But have you ever thought about what kind of impact these objects have on the user?”
“…”
“In fact, this isn’t just about ‘supernatural objects.’ It applies to all supernatural experiences. Situations like having a dog you raised at home turn out to be a hellhound apply too.”
Songi looked a bit surprised and muttered, “Is it about Pero?”
“There’s an organization very interested in how supernatural experiences affect humans—you know them well.”
“The Administration Bureau.”
“Right. The Administration Bureau has the most supernatural objects. They’ve observed how these objects influence users for many years, and they’ve found some distinct changes.”
While I listened to the content, I realized it wasn’t just about me. Songi, the owner of the bracelet, and Jinchul, the owner of the star, moved closer to Ahri with intrigued expressions.
“Users of supernatural objects may begin as ordinary people, but over time, they start to change. How exactly these changes manifest can vary case by case. Some might suddenly sprout horns, others start seeing what was unseen, and some begin to suffer from mental illness.”
“Sometimes the changes are good, and sometimes they’re bad?”
“That seems fair enough. The Bureau lumps these changes under the phrase ‘the rank of the soul has risen.’”
“That expression alone doesn’t quite resonate with me. Why is ‘soul’ suddenly mentioned?”
“Good point. It’s not relatable because this phrase didn’t originate from us. It was knowledge passed down from beings that are closer to the unreal world, like demons or monsters—they referred to the changed individuals as having ‘elevated souls.’”
Songi, seemingly unable to hold back, asked, “What does ‘soul’ even mean? What does it mean that it’s ‘elevated’?”
The answer was somewhat anticlimactic.
“I don’t know.”
“Eh?”
“Seriously, I don’t know. As I’ve said multiple times, most members of the Bureau are normal humans who grew up on Earth. Sure, they’re smarter and more resilient than the average person, but in the end, they’re still human, right? Even if demons talk about human souls, they don’t understand what that actually means. They’re invisible and intangible, after all.”
Grandpa interjected lightly.
“We don’t truly know the meaning of ‘the elevation of the soul.’ However, we have a vague idea of what changes might occur with such phenomena. For instance, the most representative change is what’s called ‘inspiration.’”
“Inspiration?”
“Those phenomena Ahri mentioned. Suddenly seeing what was previously unseen or hearing what was inaudible, right?”
After a long silence, Jinchul asked.
“What changes have you both experienced? Grandpa?”
Grandpa’s expression stiffened for a moment. Ahri answered in his stead.
“Mooksung had his changes surgically removed.”
“Cough! So you had physical changes. And Ahri?”
Ahri suddenly fell into thought, then replied vaguely.
“I can kind of understand it. Changes have definitely occurred, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what they are.”
Jinchul looked confused.
“What on earth does that mean?”
I had a vague idea of what Ahri was getting at.
“Is it because your body has merged with ‘the ancient blood’?”
“Exactly. Haven’t you ever wondered while witnessing my powers? How can this person use all these various abilities with just one inheritance?”
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, everyone, including me, nodded in unison!
It’s something we’ve thought about countless times. The ancient blood is so vastly different from our own inheritances. How many superpowers has Ahri demonstrated with just that one legacy? Hypnosis, levitation, strength enhancement—it’s all just a given. She’s even infused recovery powers into blood or contained her own memories within it.
To exaggerate a bit, it wouldn’t be strange if she could exhibit any kind of power; the ancient blood boasts an all-around capability. None of the treasures we’ve accumulated could trigger as many phenomena as that ancient blood.
Through this conversation, I began to understand part of that secret.
“After accumulating various bizarre experiences over a long time and utilizing the ancient blood, I’ve heard more than a dozen times that your soul’s rank has risen from demons or monsters. And…”
“And?”
“As time passes, my abilities have gradually increased. One day I suddenly flew up to the sky, and on another day, I could crush stones with my bare hands. The issue is not being able to distinguish what abilities came from the soul’s elevation and which were newly developed through proficiency with the ancient blood.”
It’s a simple story. To Ahri, who has been one with her inheritance from birth, the ancient blood is something she can no longer distinguish from herself. She’s unable to separate the powers that arose from the elevation of her soul from the new powers she developed due to mastering the use of her ancient blood.
While everyone was busy questioning Ahri about this and that, I started redirecting my focus back to myself.
Have I started developing a special power as well?
Perhaps. A few peculiar experiences from Christmas and the maze of hell crossed my mind. But at least what the owl instructed me was not to go look for new superpowers.
It was to study again. Studying equates to looking at books, so ultimately, it meant I should open the grimoire once more!
Petting the grimoire, I decided to take another look at the latter part called ‘The Power of the Incarnation’ tonight when I’d be alone.
After finishing our morning conversation, we naturally departed Room 105 and headed for the elevator. What kind of changes awaited us on the second floor?
—
“Wow! It’s so luxurious!”
“My eyes just went poof! There’s a ceiling now.”
“Is that a chandelier? Is that a Christmas tree?”
The second floor, freshly repaired, was truly the epitome of a five-star hotel’s splendor. The surroundings were filled with gleaming decorations and beautiful paintings, and spaces that once lacked walls had transformed into independent rooms. Especially the massive Christmas tree in the central hall made the whole setting splendid! Everyone seemed unable to take their eyes off it.
While exploring around, we discovered a few mysterious features and new changes on the second floor.
First, many unnumbered rooms appeared. The empty rooms on the first floor were numbered 101-107 and served the roles of curse, rest, mission, and gate rooms. In contrast, many of the rooms on the second floor had no numbers at all. Of course, rooms numbered 201-207 had also appeared. With all the new rooms and the giant central hall, it felt like the area of the second floor was more than double that of the first floor.
Second, a proper exit door leading outside the second floor had been created. Of course, we can no longer exit to the outside world beyond the snow globe, so this door leads to the snowy fields outside. We no longer need to break walls every time we want to go out to the snowy fields.
Third, the ‘Mysterious Craftsman’ and an unidentified ‘parcel’ we discovered from the outside world were arranged on the second floor.
While it’s not exactly a feature of the second floor, Ahri’s blessing ‘Secrets’ had also been reactivated.
“Everyone, come here! As soon as we arrived on the second floor, my blessing started working again!”
“O! Secrets?”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know the information that appeared now. There are two hidden NPCs and two hidden rooms on the second floor.”
“Does that mean one NPC and one room have already been found?”
“Correct. I found the Mysterious Craftsman and the Room of Resurrection. ‘The Room of Mirrors’ has also been identified, so its name is displayed by the blessing.”
With that, Ahri wrote it down on the whiteboard she had already set up in the central area of the second floor.
Hidden NPCs
1. Mysterious Craftsman: Awakening.
2. ???
Hidden Rooms
1. Room of Resurrection (!)
2. Room of Mirrors (?)
“Awakening? And what are those ! and ? marks next to the rooms?”
“I simply wrote down what I saw. Maybe that Lego will awaken and speak to us in a few days? The ! indicates that if you focus on it, it will show you a description of the Room of Resurrection, which is something we all already know. The ? means the room hasn’t been found yet.”
“You said your blessing is to uncover the secrets of the hotel, right? Can you feel where it is?”
“It’s not a case of just standing still and knowing. As I walk around, I gradually figure out its location. By the way, the door to the Room of Resurrection is to the left of the Christmas tree.”
“We probably need to search for the Room of Mirrors and another NPC too.”
My sister chimed in a bit.
“Let’s do that search later. As you can see, everyone’s looking pretty rough.”
“Yes. Just a suggestion to do it sometime. Anyway, with the rest day ending tomorrow, let’s hold off on the search for now.”
After taking a look around in the outside world, we were exhausted, and those who had their energy drained by the scent of the relaxation candles still showed signs of fatigue. We had to enter the curse room in just two days. It would be time to recover instead of embarking on new endeavors right now.
While we were chatting, a sudden notification popped up in front of all of us.
[In Delivery]
“What?! What’s that?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, everyone. I was just about to open this parcel when the notice suddenly popped up.”
The third discovery from the outside world—now that I think of it, it was a ridiculous item hidden beneath the snow globe: a parcel. Of course, it wouldn’t just be a parcel; some item must be inside.
But seriously, ‘In Delivery’? Just as I was thinking the same, Elena said.
“Isn’t that absurd? If it’s ‘in delivery,’ then the parcel shouldn’t have arrived yet, right? It’s already here and just not opened, but it says ‘in delivery’—what’s up with that? So boring, honestly!”
Ahri snickered.
“Isn’t it a joke from the hotel? I found it funny.”
It seems the comedic taste of ancient beings hits home sometimes. I didn’t bother to point it out.
“Maybe it’ll open when the rest day ends? After all, even the Golden Egg took quite some time to hatch.”
…
With my last words, silence fell over the hotel. I began researching the grimoire again, and Elena practiced ominous imaginations that would still lack skill, each of us engaging in what we could individually but the shared duties were nearly done.
Honestly, the two most important things to decide during party time would be what room to enter next and exploration, but this time both were unnecessary. The exploration was a hassle, so we chose to skip that, and we had already decided to enter Room 104 next.
Now, the only thing left to determine in the meeting is one specific issue.
‘Resurrection’
Should I use the ticket now? If so, on whom should I use it?
Naturally, we spread out to spend our time, and while thinking of researching the grimoire alone until lunch, I stepped out into the second-floor snowy fields.
— Thwock!
“Ow! Miro, please don’t—wait, it shouldn’t be Miro. Is that you, Eunsol sister?”
“Sorry! I couldn’t hear because I was far away. By the way, did Miro give you a wink in hell or something?”
“Haha! That indeed happened.”
Recalling the memory of the snowball fight with Miro made me laugh unwittingly. Wasn’t it one of the most enjoyable times I’ve spent in this eerily haunted hotel? It’s questionable whether it’s strange that the best time spent was in ‘hell’ or if the hotel itself is just weird.
“Hmmm…”
My sister approached me with a somewhat meaningful expression.
“So, how was Miro?”
“… Have you asked anyone else?”
“I haven’t asked and I have no intention to. Does it make any sense to ask my daughter and my coworkers? All I want to clarify is this: I won’t consider reviving someone who’s insane. I just want to see if there’s someone worthy of resurrection when we find a method to bring Miro back to her senses. You would forget by then if we didn’t talk about it first.”
As we strolled through the snowy fields, I recalled the experiences in Miro’s hell.
—
I will continue to deliver faithfully!
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