### Chapter 345 – Party Time – Rewards from the Sanctum and Tantalus’s Curse (4)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 150
Current Location: Third Floor, Room 105 – ‘Room of Rest’
Advisor’s Advice: X
— Han Kain
As soon as I woke up and checked my status window, two changes stood out to me.
First, the number of times I could receive the advice of the sage changed to X.
Second, the date had transformed to Day 150.
I wasn’t surprised by the lack of sage advice since I had already read about that punishment. What caught me off guard was the date.
A number totally unrelated to reality was written there, and I suspected the owl that bestowed the blessing might have changed it.
I vaguely grasped the reasoning behind it.
In a hotel like this, calculating how much time we’ve actually spent is tricky and largely irrelevant. But if long numbers like 680,000 or 690,000 were written, it would be even harder to perceive the date changes.
So maybe they applied a sort of ‘convenience patch.’
When I stepped outside, my brother Jinchul, who had already been waiting, greeted me.
“You’re out! Everyone’s been talking.”
Soon, our teammates, who had spread out around the hotel, gathered.
*
The first to speak from the table was our doctor.
“I’m not sure about the new power I obtained.”
Jinchul threw out some ideas.
“Hyung, since it’s called ‘The Enjoyer,’ it could be a power that makes training enjoyable!”
“Making training enjoyable?”
It sounded plausible, but if that were the case, it felt a bit disappointing. The doctor remained calm.
“That could be it.”
Seungyub, wondering, asked, “Is it an active skill? Can you use it whenever you want? Or is it passive?”
“It doesn’t seem like something I can activamente use. But then again, it doesn’t seem to activate all the time either.”
Not active, not passive?
Just as the conversation was spiraling into chaos, Elena stepped in with a knowing look.
“Isn’t it similar to my clear mind?”
“Are you saying it activates automatically under certain conditions?”
“Exactly.”
The discussion about the doctor’s ‘Enjoyer’ came to an abrupt stop, seeing that neither of them had a clue.
Naturally, our gazes shifted toward Jinchul, who had been itching to show off since earlier. His excitement was quite palpable.
Noticing this, Grandpa chuckled.
“You, you’ve already tried it, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Hey! If you use it carelessly and find yourself in trouble when the skill is down, what will you do?”
“It’s party time, no nagging! Plus, I can still use it.”
Ari let out a yawn.
“So, what’s the point? I heard it splits moments into fragments or something.”
Jinchul grinned, suddenly grabbing three daggers that were hanging on the hotel wall.
Ari giggled.
“I see what you’re going for.”
“Don’t just keep it to yourself, share it.”
“You planned on showing us anyway, right?”
“Watch this!”
— Ping!
In the blink of an eye, Jinchul started juggling the daggers in front of everyone!
The daggers hanging on the hotel wall weren’t just decoration—they were sharp enough to slice ordinary clothes like paper.
Watching him juggle these dangerous items made him look like a highly skilled circus performer.
After a moment, Jinchul wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead and laid the daggers on the table.
“Way more draining than I expected!”
Seungyub, clapping like a kid who just saw a magic show, still didn’t get it.
“Wow! That was cool! But what kind of power is this?”
Ari and Grandpa, having encountered various supernatural abilities before, seemed to have caught on already.
“Is it a power that speeds up your thoughts?”
“Ha ha! Right! At first, I thought it was a power to quicken my movements, but it turns out it sped up my thoughts.”
“Having both become faster would be the best, but if you have to choose, faster thinking is way more useful for you. Your body is already absurdly fast.”
Having grasped the situation, the doctor clapped lightly.
“Well then, you’ve become way more precise in handling your body.”
Now Jinchul could probably catch blades mid-air or even stomp on birds in the sky—though maybe that’s pushing it?
Regardless, it was fascinating as he seemed more like a protagonist in a martial arts novel.
Having learned martial arts, Jinchul understood this change better than anyone and couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably.
After Jinchul’s demonstration of his new power, our attention naturally fell to me and Songee.
With plenty to say, I was mulling over my words when Songee jumped in first.
“I saved mine for later….”
Many had experienced this already.
“Saving it for the next powerful enhancement?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of ability is it? Didn’t you give a rough explanation?”
When Jinchul asked, Songee lowered her head a bit.
“I’m not sure.”
“Hmm?”
“My sponsor is a giant elephant and can’t speak human language.”
“Aha!”
I’d heard this before. Songee’s sponsor isn’t even humanoid, nor can it communicate verbally.
It must have made normal conversation pretty tough.
Anyway, it wouldn’t skimp on contributions, and Songee should get a strong power next time.
“Alright! Now listen up!”
I delivered two key points.
First, my sponsor summoned me not to enhance blessings but for flight training.
Thanks to that, I relearned how to fly in Pero’s body, but I ended up being punished for acting out of the scope of the Sanctum.
Second, the owl instructed me to take the hourglass to the Curse Room.
As soon as I mentioned flying, Songee awkwardly chuckled.
“Oh dear, that’s a big problem for Pero….”
“Speaking of which, where is Pero? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
“He’s in the underground botanical garden.”
“Still?”
“Of course, it was tough for you to keep alive in Pero’s body! But let’s not forget about cute Pero, who’s become shell-shocked being called your ‘Pero’ too often. He needs time to heal.”
Ari burst into mirth upon hearing this.
“Really, Kain? You’re abusing poor Pero! At this rate, animal rights activists might want to take you down.”
“….”
The doctor had a pleased expression.
“I still have vivid memories of when Kain trained with Pero! It’s great that that effort has borne fruit.”
So the doctor had trained in flying with me, huh. The memories he evoked were a tad awkward for me, as they were things I’d already forgotten.
Once Ari stopped laughing, she turned serious to ask me.
“About that hourglass— the one the owl asked you to take to the Curse Room?”
“Yeah. When I asked for a hint on how to use it, the owl said, ‘Your possession of that item was not mere coincidence, but fate.’”
“Seems like you’ll need your power for using the hourglass.”
Ari seemed to have figured out something, but I also felt I understood.
“My guess is—maybe I could use the hourglass while I’m still in Pero’s body?”
Before Ari could respond, Songee gasped.
“Again?”
“…”
After thinking for a moment, Ari replied, “It likely won’t work. If Kain’s inhabiting ‘us’ is the same as before, it won’t make a difference.”
Both Ari and I reached a similar conclusion.
The hourglass wouldn’t work for the hotel itself, but only for ‘us’— precisely, it only works for us.
I pondered if it would work differently for Pero, but it seemed Ari believed Pero was included in ‘us’ too.
In retrospect, recalling the accident that occurred when I hastily flipped the hourglass, Ari’s thoughts seem accurate.
“Yeah, even if I inhabit Pero, it won’t matter.”
“Using it while inhabiting another’s body could be key. We might need to test it in the Curse Room.”
Just then, Jinchul interjected with irritation.
“You guys often talk about stuff only you know. Can you share some with us?”
Ari relayed the speculations about the hourglass’s nature to everyone.
Everyone nodded, thinking it was plausible, but we felt we could only truly find out in the Curse Room.
Once the talk about flight training and the hourglass wrapped, Elena looked at me with a hint of concern.
“Kain, what about your punishment?”
“Well, for now, my advice count shows X. It’s similar to when I first entered Room 104.”
The doctor reacted nonchalantly.
“Well, there’s nothing of particular use to be gained from advice at this stage anyway.”
“True enough. I would’ve probably used it for Grimoire research.”
Ari seemed to show a mixed reaction.
“In that case, maybe losing the sage advice is a blessing in disguise….”
“…”
At that moment, Miro chimed in.
“But what exactly is ‘Tantalus’s Curse’?”
“I have no idea.”
Elena seemed to know a little but hesitated.
“Tantalus is a character from Greek mythology, right? What sin did he commit to fall into the underworld?”
Grandpa sighed and muttered.
“He tried to cook and serve his son to the gods. Naturally, Zeus got furious and tossed him into hell.”
“So, what punishment did he endure?”
“Buddy, you haven’t felt it yet, have you? Try grabbing a drink from the table.”
Feeling uneasy already, I picked up a glass of cola in front of me while receiving everyone’s worried glances.
“…”
“Oh, damn—”
Instinctively about to curse, I held it back since Miro was eyeing me. Instead, she screamed on my behalf.
“This hotel is so unfair!”
The moment I touched the cup, the cola I was about to sip vanished into thin air!
In disbelief, I had the same happen when I reached for a snack on the table.
The sweet-smelling goodies and dessert just disappeared out of nowhere right under my nose.
“…ha!”
It was a serious situation, and yet absurd enough to make me chuckle.
Even Ari, who usually found everything hilarious, wore a serious expression now.
“This is bad! Does Tantalus’s Curse remain throughout party time?”
“… According to the notification, yes.”
The doctor also showed a worried demeanor.
“Isn’t today the first day of party time?”
Jinchul corrected him from the side.
“No, it’s the second day. We fainted for a day before waking up.”
“Oh right, since it was our first encounter with the Sanctum. If it’s the second day of a total of five days…”
Seungyub’s mouth fell slightly ajar.
“Are you saying Kain is going to starve for three whole days?”
“Food isn’t the issue; it’s water. You can usually survive about three days without food, but three days without water could lead to severe dehydration.”
Overwhelmed with despair, I ended up covering my face with both hands.
“Will they at least treat me if I wake up?”
“Whether your body is weakened from starvation is uncertain in Room 105, but even if it is, given this case is a consequence of rule violations, I doubt they will treat you.”
As everyone’s worried gazes turned toward me, Ari spoke with determination.
“Kain, you need to go back to Room 105 now!”
“Huh?”
“You won’t be eating or drinking moving forward, so you should conserve whatever energy you have left! Just stay in bed!”
Realizing how right she was, I inched my way back to Room 105.
*
During the hotel’s party time, a young man, cast out alone from the festivities, returned to Room 105 to save energy.
The remaining people began to address this issue with serious expressions.
Mooksung frowned and said, “Is that brat actually going to starve for real? Can’t we do something?”
Ari sighed.
“Ugh… I don’t think so. Any half-baked scheme would be thwarted by the hotel.”
“If Kain dies, what will we do?”
Miro uttered in horror, prompting Sanghyun to stop her.
“Even if it’s a week, three days would just make it tough; he won’t die. Miro, calm down.”
At that moment, Eunsol murmured lightly.
“… I don’t think anything major will happen.”
Miro’s face instantly brightened.
“Wait! Speaking of which, didn’t another ticket drop after Room 203? Even if Kain dies—”
Ari lightly slapped Miro on the head, stopping her.
“Miro, Miro. A ticket is only worth 0.5, so you can’t even use it right now! And Kain isn’t gonna die, so quit panic!”
If you keep this up, you might end up starving too! Eunsol, finish what you wanted to say.”
“It’s just a hunch. I don’t think not eating for three days will be a big deal for Kain.”
“…”
Silence fell over the room for a moment.
Recently, everyone had started to pick up on how Eunsol was acting a bit strange whenever Kain was around.
Kain must have felt this too, but he simply hadn’t pointed it out.
That’s what Ari thought.
Sanghyun cleared his throat, breaking the tension and switched topics.
“Ahem! It seems that during this party time, Kain effectively won’t be able to do anything.”
“True?”
“Right. So, there’s a concern I have. Didn’t Eunsol say she would use the Hand of Greed this time around?”
Upon realizing this late, Jinchul reacted.
“Yeah, what’s up, sis? What’s going to happen if Kain can’t help out?”
Eunsol was about to answer when Ari interrupted.
“Regardless, she has to use the Hand of Greed. It’s been too long since using it! So how do you plan to use it?”
“I have something in mind.”
Finishing that sentence, Eunsol leaned against the wall and pondered.
If I was lacking in greed, then the potential of the Hand of Greed would be limited. There was no reason to greedily pursue tools.
Most likely, they would seem useful while having glaring weaknesses to them.
Could it be useful in some other way?
So…
“In the 21st century, information is currency.”
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