### Chapter 323 – Room 203, The Cursed Room – ‘A New Beginning’ (3)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 683,615
Current Location: Level 2, Room 203 – The Cursed Room ‘A New Beginning’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
– Han Kain
I cleared my throat to talk to my older brother while keeping the surrounding distractions at bay.
“So you ran straight here as soon as it started, huh? I take it there’s a monster lurking around your tribe too?”
Cha Jinchul nodded his head.
“I already took it down.”
“Huh?”
“I killed it on the way here, I knew its location. So the tribe folks should be safe for now.”
He sounded like he just stopped for a coffee on the way. To be fair, there’s no one better than Cha Jinchul when it comes to dealing with physically packed monsters.
“Well, it was a good thing you arrived early. I gathered so much information while facing strange situations.”
“Strange experiences?”
I filled him in on the events I encountered before waking up in the primitive age. He stood there with his mouth half-open, not quite hiding his astonishment.
“This hotel’s stories just get weirder by the minute.”
“Right?”
“Anyway! Can we park the spaceship talk for now and focus on locating the others? You mentioned they’re all hundreds of kilometers away?”
“Not quite. Surprisingly, both Eunsol and Songee are just 60 km from the starting point. The furthest, Grandpa Mooksung, is currently 871 km away.”
“871 km… Do you know how far that is, Kain?”
“Well, I don’t have a license, so I wouldn’t really know.”
“If you follow the road from Seoul to Busan, it’s about 390 km. So 871 km would be like zigzagging across South Korea.”
“That’s pretty far.”
“It’s not just far! How do you expect us to meet up?”
“We did manage to meet up in the mountain range last time, right?”
“That’s because Seunghyun and Grandpa Mooksung disregarded the locals and moved together.”
“We could do the same this time.”
“…”
A heavy silence settled around us for a moment.
I felt bad for the tribesmen outside, but the moment I saw our locations on the now-stabilized status window, I considered how hard it would be to meet, given that we were hundreds of kilometers apart.
Sure, it’s tough traveling with the regular human tribe folks, but if we moved without their input, it’s a whole other game.
What if I controlled a monster from this world to jet us over? If Songee used her affinity blessing for something similar?
Not to mention Elena could create flying monsters, and even Cha Jinchul is faster than speech without any tools.
The doctor and the grandpa might find it a bit challenging. They can’t fly or manage monsters after all.
But with the blessing of diligence and backgrounds from the Administration Bureau, their basic physical capabilities are already top-notch in human terms.
If we moved as a team, reaching 871 km would be a walk in the park. Understanding my thoughts, my brother sighed deeply.
“That might be the answer. Phew…”
“…”
“Let’s talk about the spaceship story. Listening to you sparked another shocking realization!”
“Shocking information galore, indeed.”
“A spaceship sent by humanity of the far-flung future to colonize the cosmos? Full of strengthened human crew members and AI so advanced it’s hard to distinguish from humans?”
“Sounds like a sci-fi flick.”
“What’s this ‘human cultivation kit’? Have you seen that?”
“I haven’t.”
“The most shocking detail is the sheer timeline you sent.”
“The date of 683,615 days? You mean that?”
“Yeah, that ridiculous time frame! Roughly 1800 or 1900 years, right?”
“Exactly.”
“That time frame is just a number for us, locked in cold sleep. But for the prisoner, what does it mean?”
“Are you talking about Adravita?”
“That creature was awake for 1800 years, after all.”
… True.
Unlike us who froze in sleep, Adravita was alert on the spaceship. Naturally, it had aptly spent those 1800 years conscious.
“That’s quite the stretch. But let’s not forget he’s not human. Maybe his perception of time isn’t like ours?”
“True, but consider this: for him, 1800 years isn’t just a single span—it’s a double whammy since we’re already in our second run, it’s ‘at least 3600 years.’”
I understood now.
If the same thing happened on the first attempt but we didn’t realize it because we never woke up, then that means Adravita spent a solid 3600 years just because we did two rounds.
“And that’s just a minimum. Didn’t the hotel mention hosting countless participants in the past? Imagine if 1800 years went by every time—”
How much time has Adravita spent in the Cursed Room, really?
A heavy silence settled among us.
“… Let’s save this discussion for later and focus on where to head next. That’s more pressing.”
“Agreed. We might want to check out that unidentified being in the sky instead of the mountains—thinking back, that’s probably Adravita, right?”
“Absolutely. Based on how Sister described it and my own views, it matched. He claimed he’d received the ‘right to spread faith’ from humanity.”
“In these primitive times, floating around in the skies gifting prosperity to the entire continent would definitely build a new kind of worship. Shall we follow Adravita’s shadow?”
“Let’s go with that—”
— Boom!
Suddenly, an incomprehensible tremor shook the entire world!
“What the—”
Cha Jinchul gaped, pointing at the air. There, hovering was that oh-so-familiar notification exclusive to this hotel.
「You have escaped!」
Suddenly, an escape? And we both receive the alert at the same time? Could it be an escape for everyone?
*
– Kim Ahri
I regained my senses in the cold air. As I awakened, a putrid stench assaulted my nose.
I’m sealed in Room 203. However, even upon awakening, I didn’t see any notification that my seal was lifted. The implication was clear.
Turning my head, I saw the expected figure.
“Mi—”
“Shhh!”
Before I could say anything, Miro clamped her hand over my mouth, seemingly urging me to observe our surroundings.
— Whee-oooh! Buuuum!
Silently, I scanned the area around us.
Huge cocoons, big enough for a human to crawl into, were spread all around, and the floor was covered with an unpleasant, writhing, dark red mass.
A few cocoons began to twitch, and just as if waiting for a signal, a giant hornet-like monster soared in and started moving the writhing cocoons to another spot.
What was strange was the creature’s demeanor.
It stared directly at us yet didn’t take any hostile actions. It just seemed to casually brush us aside, as if to say, “Don’t disturb my work.”
This must be why Miro told me to keep quiet. If we made noise, those monsters might’ve reacted aggressively.
…
Wow, this place is a real imagination-stirrer on multiple levels. It’s overflowing with bizarre monsters and wriggling cocoons.
Where in the world am I? A breeding ground for monsters?
And why the heck is Miro here? Didn’t everyone wake up among the primitive people?
— Buuuum!
Just as a nearby hornet vanished, Miro began trembling and whispered to me.
“W-Why am I in a place like this?”
“… Why are you here?”
“…”
“…”
For a moment, we shared a mutual look of dismay, then instinctively began to move. We definitely didn’t need to stay in such a horrific place.
That said, Miro has been hanging onto my arm with the strength of a vice since earlier.
“Can you ease up a bit?”
“…”
“My arm’s about to snap—”
As I turned to look at Miro, I was left speechless. She was trembling and seemed to be barely holding back tears.
That’s when it hit me—taking another look around.
The ground was sticky with some sort of slimy mucus that squished underfoot.
The writhing cocoons were making horrendous noises akin to scraping something aside.
Hornet-like creatures buzzed around frantically, busy with their work.
Honestly, it could easily fit a scene from a horror movie like Alien.
Would someone like me or Kain find the time to calmly observe the hornets in such a place?
Clearly, we’re the weird ones and panicking is the normal reaction.
Time is of the essence.
Eventually, Miro would adapt to the hotel’s freakiness. It wouldn’t take long. Though, whether that change is a good thing remains up in the air.
I held onto Miro’s arm as we roamed the monster-filled ‘breeding ground.’
About 20 minutes later, I reached a conclusion.
This place isn’t something I can just walk out of. Apart from the ceiling where those hornets pass, there are no exits whatsoever. Miro appears to have realized this too, fear evident in her expression.
“How… how can we get out of here?”
“…”
“What are those cocoons?”
“Beats me.”
“Aren’t you supposed to know? You’re with the Administration Bureau!”
Glancing sideways, I saw Miro crack a small smile.
Looks like she managed to pull herself together enough to crack a joke. If she could regain herself to that degree in such a short time, she must be quite the natural agent.
Not that I’m saying this because she’s my mom… Maybe.
“There is a way to find out.”
“Then hurry up and do it!”
“It’s a bit risky. Those monsters seem pretty jumpy.”
“…”
Miro, who had been trembling, soon steeled her expression.
“If we stay like this, we’re definitely gonna be stuck here until we die! The only obvious route out is up to the ceiling!”
“That’s right.”
“So we gotta do something… What if Ahri just disappears?!”
Point taken. The window to summon me is a mere hour, and I’ve already wasted almost 30 minutes.
Can Miro survive here on her own? Probably not, so I’ve gotta figure something out while I’m here.
I instructed Miro.
“Go stand over there.”
“What? Alone?!”
“It’s probably more dangerous sticking with me from now on.”
Once I confirmed that Miro had distanced herself enough, I channeled the ancient power of blood into my right hand.
At the moment the power gathered, feeling a prickling sensation at my fingertips, I unleashed a strong force that cleaved the cocoon in half.
— KIAAAAAGH!
At that moment, all hell broke loose in the breeding ground.
Ignoring the ear-splitting noise, I hurriedly approached the split cocoon to see what lay within, and I realized the true nature of this place.
“Ugh!”
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