### Chapter 261 – Party Time – Thoughts on the Next Room, Arrival of the Package (7)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 110
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 2]
– Han Kain
Seungyub received warnings about Room 203, while Ari got warnings about the “last cursed room.”
The content of these two warnings slightly contradicts each other. Are we saying Room 203 is the more dangerous one? Or is it the ‘last cursed room,’ presumably Rooms 205 or 206?
Jinchul brother mumbled in a voice lacking confidence.
“What if Room 203 is the last cursed room and Room 204, 205, and 206 are not cursed at all? If we look at it this way, both warnings seem to point to Room 203, but… nah, that’s probably not right.”
“That doesn’t seem likely.”
It can’t just be that few cursed rooms exist. It feels reasonable to conclude that the two people received warnings about different rooms.
“Hmm?”
The moment I lifted the cup that contained soda, I felt something odd. Why is this cup so light?
As I recognized that fact, an unwelcome sensation washed over me. It felt like a vague, cloudy presence was swirling around me…
— Schwak!
“Ah! It’s cold!”
And then everyone snapped to attention.
*
“… So you’ve been wandering around us since earlier, huh?”
“Yeah. It was super fun since no one noticed!”
“Hey! Cut the nonsense and raise your hand again!”
Eunsol, having found Ari using a cup of cold water, marched over and lifted Ari’s hand up. Ari grumbled but obediently knelt and raised her hand.
“I was wondering why my cocktail glass suddenly emptied! What’s the deal with messing around right after getting a cool ability?”
“Just~ because!”
With that, Eunsol plopped Perro on top of Ari’s head.
“Eh! Eh! He’s trying to pull my hair!”
Why does Perro always want to climb onto people’s heads just to attack their hair…?
While I was somewhat dazed by this chaotic and childish atmosphere, Ari suddenly asked seriously.
“But how did you find me, Eunsol? The timer was running low, but your ability was active, and no one else could find me.”
“… You know I have a sort of ‘capture’ function in my eyes, right? I save scenes that come into view as clear images and can review them later.”
“That’s like a real camera function.”
“No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t recall drinking a cocktail, so when I noticed my glass was empty, I captured the image a couple of times in my mind, and there you were.”
“Hmm… I expected that, but it seems the power of the ‘girl without presence’ can’t dodge a camera. After all, my body doesn’t really turn invisible. Is it some kind of perception interference?”
“When you concentrate, you’d definitely feel it. I caught on with the occasional startle that you were around.”
As expected of the Administration Bureau agent, the old man seems to have detected Ari’s presence with sharp focus. At this, Eunsol reacted somewhat irritably.
“Did you just watch Ari doing weird things instead of stepping in?”
Caught in the crossfire, the old man quickly defended himself.
“No, it’s a misunderstanding. I felt you there occasionally, but I wasn’t in a position to stop anything or do much.”
Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the old man will have to raise his hand next to Ari.
Anyway, watching Ari giggle and analyze her new ability made me want to give her a little push from behind. It seems I wasn’t the only one thinking she was being a bit too cheeky since Seungyub started shelling peanuts again, this time offering them to Perro.
Perro looked at Seungyub with a vibe of ‘What’s with this generous treatment?’ and then merrily began spilling peanut crumbs on Ari’s head as he munched away.
“Ahhhh! Crumbs! Crumbs!”
Upon seeing that, everyone’s expressions softened. Nearby, the doctor stifled a laugh.
“Ari really shares a peculiar trait with her mother.”
Before long, Ari, returning to her chair naturally, reacted to that.
“Me and Miro? Did you find any common ground in our appearances?”
“Miro also tends to lighten the mood of others with her absurd antics at random timings.”
This was a quite different take from the self-centered image of Miro. Of course, no person has just one facet.
Looking back, the Miro I met during our childhood in Ice Hell was also quite mischievous. Throwing eyes at a boy she just met was never normal behavior to begin with.
… Did Ari inherit Miro’s playful spirit?
— Tap!
“Alright! Let’s look back at the whiteboard!”
With Eunsol’s words, everyone’s gaze shifted back to the front. Ari remembered something and started speaking again.
“Oh, before I forget, I was going to mention earlier. Kain and Seungyub heard warnings about Room 203 being dangerous, while I heard about the ‘last cursed room,’ making it seem like the two pieces of information contradict each other?”
That’s what I felt too.
“Right.”
“The nuances of the stories Seungyub and I heard are a bit different. The warning I got was about a room that posed a challenge to the whole party. Meanwhile, the warning Seungyub received…”
“Felt like a personal warning to me. An unknown voice, the Patron. Neither of them described Room 203 as ‘difficult for everyone.’ A universally tough room is probably Room 205 or 206.”
With this interpretation, the uncertainty was lifted.
The last cursed room is a tough one for everyone; Room 203 is specifically for Seungyub. That means we should avoid Room 205 and 206 for now. Naturally, we must steer clear of the room that poses a challenge to everyone first.
“So how about passing on Room 203 and heading to Room 204 instead? That was your suggestion, Ari! Crazy about throwing ideas around but then causing chaos in the meeting!”
As Eunsol shot a sharp look at Ari, Ari raised her hand again.
“Should I present my opinion again?”
Unexpectedly, Seungyub offered a different viewpoint.
“Let’s just go to Room 203 first. The Patron told me it’s both a crisis and an opportunity for me. Maybe a nice reward is waiting there.”
“Since we got the warning, it’s best not to get too attached to Room 203. If it becomes too difficult, we should then consider Room 204.”
At this point, the meeting was wrapping up.
We’ll avoid Rooms 205 and 206, focusing on Rooms 203 and 204. First, we head into 203, but if it becomes unbearable, we’ll switch to 204.
What should we do with the rest of today? Should I read a book?
*
“Ugh!”
As a red-black liquid seemed to flow from my eyes, a notification appeared.
[Advice: 1 -> 0]
[Don’t fret too much; take a break. There’s a right time for everything.]
“When exactly is that time? I don’t think it’s now.”
The unexpected leisure time, coupled with the advice to put away my status window, led to some serious costs. Struggling to interpret some confusing phrases became too much for my body to handle.
As a result, today’s last piece of advice was spent with a warning to stop.
“Are you alright?”
My vision was blurred, making it hard to see. But it was Elena’s voice.
“Yes. I used the advice, which warned me to stop reading the grimoire.”
“I think that sounds right. Did you know there’s blood coming from your eyes? It seems like you can’t see too well.”
“I can’t see well. But we have Room 105. It should be better by tomorrow.”
Elena covered my eyes with a soft cloth she had brought from somewhere.
“Don’t do that; it’s dangerous. It feels a bit odd to say this, but if you’re afraid of danger and neglect your efforts to be strong, you could die here for being weak. Yet even so, it feels like Kain is among the special ones.”
Special?
I grasp what she means. Among our party, besides me, there don’t seem to be many focused on inheritance training like this. After all, beyond the ‘grimoire,’ how should one train, to begin with?
For example, how do you train with otherworldly stars?
The star fragments merely emanate waves that cause everything to crumble; what does Jinchul brother think he can do about that? Will picking up a stone and bench-pressing strengthen the otherworldly stars? That seems utterly pointless.
“Not to boast, but I feel like the grimoire I’ve received has a very high potential. So I find practicing it quite enjoyable.”
Feeling the potential for gaining more powerful abilities and knowing how to seize it are strong elements of the grimoire that I didn’t realize at the time I earned it.
“No, I wasn’t talking about the grimoire’s peculiarity; I was talking about your uniqueness or strangeness, Kain.”
At this point, the pain around my eyes began to intensify. I’m not in the condition to practice anymore. Plus, since I’ve already used all my advice, I think it’s best to go to bed now.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 111
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 – Room of Rest
Sage’s Advice: 3]
/Package has arrived! Please check it./
…
/Package has arrived! Please check it./
“Agh, what’s going on at this hour?”
I was having a hard time falling asleep due to the pain around my eyes, and now there’s this loud notification?
It wasn’t easy to read the notification’s details due to my blurry vision. Focusing hard, I found out it was about a package that had arrived from the second floor, which I had obtained at the bottom of the snow globe.
Of all times to arrive, it’s at dawn.
Rubbing my eyes, I stepped outside of Room 105, where my teammates who had also seen the same notification started gathering one by one. The notification was pounding on our heads so insistently that no one could endure it unless they got up.
“Ugh, what the hell is this racket? We could just check it in the morning!”
Hearing Jinchul’s annoyed complaint, I couldn’t help but wonder. Is there a specific reason we have to check it ‘now’? Could there be complications if we wait too long?
Everyone grimaced and made their way up to the second floor. Despite it being unlikely, if there were a hotel staff member there, they would probably get grabbed by the collar on the spot. Moving felt quite uncomfortable due to the lingering blurriness in my vision. Is treatment still unnecessary?
“Kain, are your eyes still bothering you?”
“Yes. The pain has subsided, but I can’t see clearly.”
“Let’s stop for a moment.”
The doctor stopped me and pulled out some magnifying glasses from his pocket to examine my eyes. Then, suddenly, the doctor’s finger moved toward my eye.
“Ew, aah!”
“Please stay still. You need to be careful not to move.”
How am I supposed to stay still while you just jam your finger into my eye? Isn’t the doctor a bit unhinged?
“Hmm. It seems the basic treatment is complete. You should feel better by tomorrow morning; the pain should subside and your vision clear up.”
“… Does the diagnostic check really require your finger to be in my eye?”
“Haha! It would be a good idea for you to get used to my treatment method, Kain.”
Around this time, a voice came from the two-floor table where the package was placed.
“Whoa! Is it finally opening?”
As the old man marvelously opened the box, an item resembling an hourglass appeared.
“Is it an hourglass?”
“It looks like an hourglass, but the inside doesn’t seem to contain sand. Sanghyun, have you seen such a substance before? You were an astronaut, right?”
It was a fascinating object. As Songee mentioned, it had the appearance of an hourglass, but the substance inside was gooey like liquid while also gritty like solid. It even seemed to float periodically like a gas.
The doctor lifted the object with a look of amazement, inspecting it closely.
“What a peculiar substance this is. It’s as if—”
[Advice: 3 -> 2]
[Don’t flip it over!]
Huh? What did that just say? My vision is blurry; can’t we just verbally communicate in situations like this?
“It feels like a mix of jelly and clouds. On the back… um… there’s a number written? 7?”
*
[Date: Day 111]
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[Date: Day 112]
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[Date: Day 113]
…
…
…
[±úÁü: 튄엥헴{옹쟌*
쟝갛: 118쭤 리
쳄벌댕깡: 쟀엥쭤리-람렵랑돠
폐띠뵨베괭: X]
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