### Chapter 211 – Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Prestigious Hotel High School’ Re (5)
—
I’m scared. I’m really scared of this situation.
As I listened to the deafening sounds of battle that felt like the world was crumbling, memories flooded back of the moment I regained my senses for the “second” time in the hotel. During the moment of resurrection, seeing my new comrades for the first time ignited a simple thought.
How on earth did these people make it to the second floor?
Though I hadn’t dared to voice it in front of my new comrades, I couldn’t help but think that even if someone else had been resurrected instead of me, they would likely feel the same.
In a perilous place like a hotel, seeing high school girls who looked barely above teenage years, a boy who appeared even younger, and a thirty-something lady who seemed to have come from an affluent environment would undoubtedly raise the question, “How did you manage to get here?”
The rest of the crew was no different. A guy who seemed to have just entered college and a girl aspiring to be an actress didn’t exactly inspire confidence either.
Then there was the elderly man from the Administration Bureau and a mountain of a guy along with the mysterious daughter of the maze. I could only imagine that these three were leading the party somehow.
It wasn’t until this point that I realized just how foolish I had been.
Ah! How worthless my knowledge amassed over more than 40 years in the supernatural world has turned out to be! Wasn’t the “she” who once instilled fear in everyone in that underwater hotel merely a girl in her early teens?
It was only after experiencing the clash of demigods in the heart of the underground city that I truly understood.
There are no humans in this place. The weak have long been crushed like bugs, and those still standing are only wicked gods and demigods who fool themselves into thinking they are still human.
…
I heard a divine voice.
“Kim Sanghyun, what frightens you so?”
“… Oh, God.”
“Fear not. I have prepared a place for you, yet why do you sit in the wrong one? Come closer to me; on the day I step outside, you shall sit directly beneath the most exalted seat.”
—
– Lee Eunsol
After the Hotel High School was ravaged, I began moving towards where Grandpa was, carrying Pero and Elena. Gradually, my heart started to calm. If I thought about it, our current situation wasn’t as critical. I wasn’t sure how we would solve the problems in this room, but we had two escape methods prepared!
When push comes to shove, the possibility that Kain—no, the descended Kain—could fight was something our party had considered a risk from the start. So, how should we respond? The conclusion during the late-night meeting before entering Room 104 was simple.
We can’t win. There’s no way to beat the descended Kain.
That said, it wasn’t like we had no countermeasures at all. If we were utterly defenseless, we wouldn’t have dared to enter. The plan was straightforward.
First, we’d extract Seungyub in advance.
Second, we’d hand the escape button to Grandpa and send him away.
The first plan was underway. Based on Ahri’s successful escape during the first attempt, we understood that even if the police caught you in Room 104, an immediate escape wouldn’t pop up. You had to be completely certain that the possibility of returning to Hotel High School was eliminated, and that meant going through a trial until a final verdict was passed.
Naturally, that means at least a month for a first-round verdict to come out, so it’s a longer escape route than you’d think—with many variables in between. So now we might have to implement the second plan. Is it time for Grandpa to hit the escape button? Might as well have a meeting.
“Eunsol.”
… The one possessed by Kain, let’s conveniently call him ‘Pero Kain’ from now on.
“Yeah?”
“I was thinking on the way, does Grandpa have the escape button?”
“Yep.”
“Did he say anything through the conversation tab?”
“What do you mean? If he used the tab, you’d know. He hasn’t said a word yet. I was going to meet and talk to him.”
“… Sis, I can’t use the conversation tab anymore.”
I was momentarily at a loss for words. Hours had passed since Kain had possessed Pero. Pero Kain was no longer a participant in hotel terms.
“You can’t escape now! Also, tell Grandpa not to hit the escape button.”
… It felt like something serious was happening. I conveyed Kain’s warning to Grandpa.
“I relayed it. We should arrive at Grandpa’s location in about 15 minutes. Once we arrive, it seems you have a lot to explain to us.”
“Okay.”
As soon as we arrived at Grandpa’s hideout, the meeting commenced.
—
“Are you saying we’ll be in big trouble if we escape right now? What nonsense is that? We came here solely counting on escaping!”
As expected, Grandpa shot back with a baffled expression as soon as we arrived.
Pero Kain began a lengthy explanation.
“First, let’s discuss the current situation. On a negative note, my avatar’s power wore off some time ago. Originally, the avatar could only be used for about ten minutes. Therefore, the host can now move freely. Of course, right now, they’re likely busy recovering their body.”
The host can move freely! Just that fact paled my and Grandpa’s expressions instantly. Grandpa asked immediately.
“Then why the hell are we still alive? If that thing can move freely, it would have killed us long ago! Is it still because of those injuries?”
“The injuries might matter, but the bigger reason is that the descent has ended. The power and duration of the descent are not infinite. We poured all our power into ending the descent’s duration. This is a good factor. A regretful point is that there’s still one descent left.”
The second descent has already ended. That’s why the host didn’t immediately chase us down to kill us! But the fact that a third descent remained made our faces pale again. Pero Kain continued explaining.
“According to the information gathered just before the connection was cut, while the descent ended, the host’s injuries were still severe. The sacrifices of Jinchul, Songi, and Ahri were valid strikes. Elena collapsing the ground was also quite effective. Moreover, the descent also inflicts a significant amount of blood loss upon the host, meaning there’s still a bit of time before they can use the third descent.”
We still have time. That thought brought relief to Grandpa and me.
“You just asked why we shouldn’t escape right now. That’s due to the hotel system. I’ll emphasize it again and again, but the host is exceptionally different from other prisoners. He acts more like a player of the game, exploiting the hotel’s system’s flaws. You know that the ‘Status Window’ is tied to one’s physical body, meaning that even if my mind transfers to another body, it won’t go with me. Right now, I can’t see the Status Window. This means I’m no longer a participant. Blessing is proof of a participant, after all.”
The speculation was what I expected; the ‘Pero Kain’ is no longer a participant.
… So, whose participant qualification did Kain inherit, you ask?
“The host! He’s just inherited the participant qualification now!”
“Exactly. The host, who took over my body, inherited the Status Window and participant qualification. As soon as he took control of my body, he used the descent. At that moment, he started sharing the participant qualification with me, and now that I’ve lost my participant qualification because we exceeded the one-hour limit of possession, only the host retains it now.”
“Speaking of the transfer of the Status Window and participant qualification, what about the grimoire?”
“That’s an intriguing point. I was curious about this too since it’s my first time experiencing something like this, but the grimoire is still with me. Thinking about it, it makes sense. I’ve possessed other bodies multiple times, and the Status Window didn’t come along, but the grimoire did.”
Currently, the Status Window and participant’s qualification belonged not to the ‘Pero Kain’ present but to the host buried in the underground city. Should I call this a stroke of luck? At least the ownership of the grimoire remains with Pero Kain.
Pero Kain continued his explanation.
“As you know, escaping does not equate to resolving. If this cursed room is resolved, the whole room will vanish, but that’s not the case for escaping. The room will still remain. Even if someone from our group manages to escape, the remaining ones can still proceed. After all, haven’t we utilized this principle multiple times?”
“Ever since the ‘Common Sense Renovating Media’, we’ve often used the strategy of first letting one or two people escape while the others try to resolve things.”
“The same principle applies to the host who obtained the participant qualification. What do you think will happen if Grandpa, Seungyub, or you escape now?”
“The host will be left all alone in this room to continue the progression.”
“And eventually, they’ll resolve this room.”
At this point, Grandpa frowned in confusion. Unlike me, who had figured out that the host sought to kill Aurelia to resolve the room, Grandpa couldn’t grasp what Pero Kain meant.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t get it? Why on earth would a prisoner resolve a room? Is it suicidal? If they resolve it, won’t the host disappear, letting Kain inherit the wealth and escape? Are you worried the host might linger in your head?”
“Not at all. The moment this cursed room is resolved, all the damage we’ve sustained will vanish.”
“That’s exactly my point. Right now, even though your body is occupied by the host, they’re merely a monkey on the Buddha’s palm in front of this hotel. The moment the room resolves, the hotel will heal you while erasing that guy from your head.”
“Grandpa, when the cursed room is resolved, everything inside will disappear—prisoners, opponents, NPCs. Yet, there’s one thing that can still escape from the cursed room.”
“Us?”
“Not us. The ‘inheritance’.”
In that moment, both Grandpa and I were left speechless.
“Grandpa, Sis. The inheritance, the ‘Divine Sun’, is another version of the host. Its goal isn’t to take over my body. Taking over my body is merely a means to steal the participant’s qualification to make our escape meaningless, a sort of short-term objective. The true goal is to force us to resolve this room and send the ‘Divine Sun’ into the outer world.”
So, to summarize what I just understood…
1. The host’s goal is to resolve the room and send the ‘Divine Sun’, which is another version of themselves, into the outer world.
2. The host stole Kain’s body to gain participant qualification. As a result, even if we escape through buttons or other means, they still have the right to progress through the room alone.
I felt dizzy.
Once we entered the room, the outcomes could only be resolution, escape, or total annihilation. Annihilation shouldn’t be an option, and resolution would fulfill the host’s purpose. Escaping would merely leave the host to progress alone!
How in the world am I supposed to break this game designed by the host? Pero Kain’s explanation continued for what felt like ages.
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