### Chapter 399 – Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’ (1)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 232
Current Location: Floor 2, Central Hall
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
Early in the morning, everyone exited their rooms and moved to the second-floor hall.
Lo and behold, two packages had arrived at the massive table in the center!
One was for the wing boots, and the other was a power-up tool for Sister Eunsol.
Sister dashed over, suppressing her joy, only to blurt out in surprise.
“There’s only one?”
“One?”
“It’s just one, right?”
The power-up tool that came out of Eunsol’s package was a single, glowing blue brooch.
…
After Sister demonstrated the tool a few times, we all understood the situation.
The new tool, ‘Dream of the Butterfly,’ was a fusion of the previous tools: a transparent badge, a brooch summoning nightmare butterflies, and a chef’s hat.
It could do everything the previous tools could, plus it had extra features!
This was practically equivalent to a treasure!
Sister couldn’t hide her happiness either.
On the other hand, the wing boots were a different story.
“Ugh!”
— Thud!
Several people wore them in turns, but every single one of them ended up rolling on the floor before they could even take a step.
Cha Jinchul, sprawled on the ground, wore a look of utter defeat.
“I guess a lot of training is required?”
“But we have to enter the Curse Room today?”
“True.”
Ultimately, it was decided that Ahri would take the wing boots since she was the only one who managed to achieve a semblance of flight.
With our last preparations complete, we stood before Room 206.
“…”
“…”
In the tense atmosphere, Grandpa cleared his throat.
“Ahem, let’s go in. Staying here won’t accomplish anything.”
It was then that Songee asked.
“Who do you think will be sealed this time?”
“Who knows… could it be Kain?”
No, that can’t be!
“Grandpa, I was sealed in both Rooms 201 and 205. Getting sealed in Room 206 too? If that’s the case, we should just call it the ‘Kain Nerf’ instead of a seal!”
“Well, at least I don’t think it’ll be me.”
— Creak!
Finally, the second floor’s final Curse Room opened.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 232
Current Location: Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
A pitch-black view.
A fog-filled space where nothing could be seen.
What is this?
Could it be another seal for real?
Those scoundrel hotel people—
…
Nope.
You can’t think this long while sealed like this.
Plus, the name of the Curse Room was still clearly visible.
The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days.
A very straightforward title.
It seemed to imply the need to stop the resurrection of the demon king within the 100-day time limit.
At that moment, the surrounding fog began to swirl.
And then….
A mysterious voice started to echo from somewhere.
“In the face of impending doom, I pray. May unwavering reason sustain the world. Thus, may the chaos filling the universe not invade our tiny cage.”
Who on Earth is that?
“O ‘Indomitable Reason’! Protect the world with the just laws!”
The moment those words burst forth, an indescribable pressure forced me to my knees.
There was light.
The light was the embodiment of the rationality that humanity has built, thus a resolute rejection of all supernatural phenomena.
I immediately realized what I had to do.
‘Give me the needed advice! Anything! I’ll use all three, just please give me something useful!’
[Advice: 3 -> 0]
[Check the scenario. Afterwards, do what you do best.]
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 235
Current Location: Room 206, The Curse Room – ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
From what I understood about the scenario confirmed on the first day and from the experiences over the past three days, here’s a summary:
First, all ‘supernatural’ means have ceased to function.
The grimoire didn’t respond at all, and the status window only retained its holographic date function.
Naturally, the teleportation tattoo was also out of action.
The cause was crystal clear; the ‘Indomitable Reason’ activated as soon as we started.
Second, the place I woke up in is a city called ‘Paradise.’
Paradise classified humans into four tiers: I happened to be a Grade 4 citizen.
Third, as far as I know, ‘Paradise’ is the most hellish place in the world.
— Ding! Ding!
“Ugh… is it already morning?”
“I feel like I just fell asleep!”
“Damn it! My sleep time is way too short—”
— Grade 4 Citizen Paulo, profanity detected.
“Oh, uh? That was just an accident—”
— Today’s lunch is revoked.
Last night, I barely got five hours of sleep.
I wasn’t able to meet the daily requirement, and my sleep time was cut by 20%.
“Gather! Gather!”
Loud shouts rang out from everywhere.
Soon enough, weary-looking people began pouring out of the communal lodging, starting to walk.
Some could hardly endure their drowsiness, and every time they stumbled, the burly manager shouted and kicked them hard.
“You lazy bastard! If the Lord found out, he’d say that you maggots don’t even deserve a bowl of porridge!”
I was residing in a place called the ‘Labor Re-education’ in Zone 13.
Clinging to my dazed mind, I hopped onto a cart moving along the rails toward the mine.
And….
— Ping! Ping!
Around me, destitute people began swinging pickaxes.
My job was a bit better; I mixed filthy raw ores excavated by the miners with water to create some sort of concoction.
“Hey! Han Kain!”
“… Yes?”
“Is this how you’re going to work? You’re wasting precious Mirconium!”
“I’m sorry! I’ll focus more—”
“You’re not having lunch today.”
“….”
My mind was beginning to drift.
*
After the morning work, the cart took us deeper into the mine.
Here, my task was to clear away the falling sand with a thick shovel.
An elderly man with a tired expression spoke.
“Manager, just a sip of water….”
The manager guarding the water bucket kicked the old man irritably.
“What water! Can’t you shut up?”
Another miner, unable to hold it in, chimed in.
“P-Peterson! We’ve been working for three hours, how do you expect us to survive on 300mL of water?”
Hearing that, the manager, Peterson, glared at him.
“What’s the issue? Isn’t this your fault for being lazy yesterday?”
“Lazy, you say—”
“You guys fell short by 4%! Roy, just shut up and work. If you screw up again today, your meals will be cut!”
Cowed by the fiery atmosphere, the miners hurried to avoid the manager’s gaze.
“Hmph, you worthless maggots!”
I felt like my mind would drift away.
*
After finishing the evening shift and returning, I started to think it through bit by bit.
What kind of situation is this?
Why did I fall into such a dreadful city and end up with this horrible status as a Grade 4 citizen, spending all day laboring?
The Revelation of Secrets indicated the keywords for Room 206:
‘Three-way confrontation, a common theme found in creative works; check the date often.’
How does this connect to the hellish reality I’m in now?
Who are the three, and what common theme explains this situation?
I’ve checked the status window’s date every day, but it seems fine?
There are countless other questions too.
The more I scrutinized, the more my doubts multiplied rather than faded.
The title of the room is ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days;’ just what is this demon king?
I asked the miners sharing the room, but no one had any idea.
Instead, they mocked me for believing in such things at my age.
The scoffing NPCs don’t matter to me.
The truly bewildering thing is that three days have passed, and I haven’t seen a single comrade.
Where have they all gone?
Are they all swinging pickaxes just like me, locked into this Grade 4 citizen role?
Or are they engaged in the tasks of the 3rd or 2nd tiers in the city?
What about the rulers of the entire Paradise, the 1st tier?
I have no idea.
If only the status window was functioning correctly, I could have checked my comrades’ locations, but it had turned into something like a ‘Opaque Clock,’ offering no way to verify anything.
Clinging desperately to my slipping sanity, I returned to the communal lodging with the other miners.
“What the hell, what’s going on now?”
“Damn it! Are we short on quotas again?”
“That’s absurd! We all saw it earlier; we filled the cart without a single gap—”
“Manager, that bastard!”
“Manager?”
“That bastard surely pocketed some of it!”
Exhausted miners who could barely move suddenly found strength.
The notice that sparked this uproar contained simple words.
[Quota Violated Again. Sleep time reduced by 10% for the next two days.]
At that moment, it was unbearable to contain the anger boiling up from deep within my soul.
If the manager showed up in front of me now, I’d want to beat him to a pulp, consequences be damned.
“Hey! Now’s not the time to stick around; let’s get to bed as soon as possible!”
—
Lying in bed, I reflected on the past three days of suffering.
Daily, tormenting shifts in that hellish mine.
The slop served for meals was undoubtedly a concoction of dubious corn mush and rancid meat.
I barely got five hours to sleep daily, and it often got slashed.
Even the so-called manager was stealing the precious minerals we worked hard to extract.
As the chaos swirling in my head gradually started to settle, I found myself forgetting about the demon king or the Revelation of Secrets.
The words of advice from the owl came back to me before the status window fully conked out.
“Do what you do best.”
What do I do best?
…
Is the complexity of this situation stumping me?
No, that’s not it.
The situation is delightfully simple.
What needs to be done is crystal clear.
A single red flag flashed in my mind.
The proletariat has nothing to lose but their chains, and they gain the whole world.
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