### Chapter 421 – Party Time (1) – Sacred Sun
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 374
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
— Han Kain
—
I woke up in the corridor.
And then…
“Ugh!”
I felt a piercing headache, like someone was hammering nails into my skull, and I dropped to my knees.
In moments like this, it’s a blessing that the hotel’s interiors are top-notch, with soft carpets lining the corridor.
“Are you okay?”
My colleagues approached, slightly flustered, their figures blurry in my vision.
Even now, it felt as though someone was stuffing countless strings of information into my head.
After acquiring the new legacy, ‘Sacred Sun’, the hotel had practically jammed a manual into my brain!
It took about 30 minutes for my mind to clear.
—
We all gathered around the snack table in a circle.
My colleagues stared at me with curious eyes.
Finally, the long-standing issue of Room 104 was resolved, revealing the ultimate reward, the Sacred Sun.
Naturally, everyone was intrigued.
Sister Eunsol casually spoke up first.
“There was no choice this time at all. Isn’t that weird?”
Typically, when multiple people contribute to solving a room, and there’s a survivor or two, a decision-making process for distributing the legacy would take place. Yet this time, it was skipped.
Ari yawned lightly and chimed in.
“Probably thought it was pointless since Kain was definitely getting it. Especially since this time he negotiated directly with the prisoner.”
I reached out silently toward the table, and everyone fell silent.
“…”
Finally, it landed in my hand—the Sacred Sun.
The hotel had given me a rough idea of how to use it, but as I tried to summon it, I felt a little jittery.
— Wooooosh!
The red flame with a golden handle blazed magnificently before me; the first word that came to mind was ‘flame chalice.’
When I first encountered it in the basement of the cult, only the flame appeared. But as a legacy, its appearance had changed somewhat.
Soon, the Sacred Sun emitted an overwhelming aura, almost forcing everyone to kneel in submission.
Under the indescribable pressure, both tangible and intangible, nobody dared to utter a word.
—
The heavy silence was broken by Miro.
“It’s so mystical and pretty! My watch just looks like an old pocket watch. Is that okay?”
“…”
“Didn’t it say something about being like a little god? I heard it has a personality…”
“It originally did.”
That’s why I had feared obtaining this legacy.
It felt like the transcendent spirit contained within the sun might consume us.
Reaching my hand toward the burning flames, I felt a bit like Icarus approaching the sun with wax wings.
My colleagues gazed at me with serious expressions.
“…”
No mystical voices could be heard.
No ‘personality’ could be sensed either.
Miro, unable to contain herself, asked again.
“Why is no one chatting? You, our little doofus Kain, if you don’t kneel and pray right this second—”
“That’s not necessary. I made a promise with the lord. The transcendent spirit within the Sacred Sun won’t awaken.”
This was exactly the contract I made in Room 104.
At that moment, Ari, who had been silent, asked.
“So what is this legacy’s power?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Eh? Wasn’t it just a mini descent or something?”
“A mini descent? That’s not completely off, but what do you think the power of a descent is?”
“Uh…”
Ari flailed her arms like a fish out of water.
It was inherently vague to define ‘descent’ as a type of power, and the same applied to the Sacred Sun.
There are four substantial powers contained within this legacy:
Charisma that subdues ordinary folks, power of dominion.
Power that punishes those who break promises.
As the name suggests, the power of flames that controls fire.
Transcendent power that strengthens the body in various ways.
There are at least four major powers packed into this legacy, and that’s not all.
It’s impossible to explain this intricate functionality in just a couple of sentences.
But if I had to sum it up in one line, I’d say…
“To make a human being somewhat god-like?”
Ari frowned slightly.
“God? That’s not a good term.”
“Or let’s say it’s an item to become a ‘cult leader.’”
“That sounds even worse.”
Of course, this magnificent legacy has a fatal flaw.
“It has quite a serious weakness.”
“What?”
“It needs charging. In fact, right now, it’s completely empty, and the charging method is quite cumbersome.”
“How do you charge it? By sacrificing a lamb to the flames?”
“Cough!”
A few people coughed in surprise. Despite Ari’s cruel words, charging the Sacred Sun isn’t that straightforward.
“It’s not like that. To charge it, one must dedicate faith, and for greater charging, the lives and souls of believers.”
“…”
Thus, if I want to use the Sacred Sun properly, it looks like I’ll need to establish a religion and become its leader.
Grandfather couldn’t hide his disbelief.
“What kind of legacy is that complicated—even taking it outside could stir up more trouble!”
— Tap!
“Hey, Mooksung, let’s think about the aftermath after we step outside. So, how should we use this in the hotel? Should we all pray to ‘Lord Kain’ every morning from now on?”
“Don’t say such horrendous things. I’ll just handle it myself in Room 206.”
Just then, Eunsol, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Kain, you mentioned that you made a deal with the lord to suppress the self-awareness of the Sacred Sun.”
“Yes.”
“So the Sacred Sun is behaving properly now?”
“Seems so.”
Sister just wore a complicated expression, but didn’t ask any further.
I didn’t feel the need to elaborate.
If the lord had given me something, then I too must give him something in return.
That’s how trading works.
At this point, when I go back into Room 206, aside from solving the room, I have to achieve another goal.
I must offer 144,000 souls to the Sacred Sun.
—
After wrapping up the talk about the Sacred Sun, the topic naturally shifted.
For the first time in a while, it was Grandfather, and not Sister Eunsol, who took the lead in the meeting.
“Now that we’re heading to Room 105, we’ll probably be talking about party time from tomorrow on, right?”
Everyone nodded.
“Let’s think simply about what to do in this party time. Kain, you’ll be busy doing research with that cursed fireball of yours.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Seungyub, is the soul contained properly?”
“Yes, it feels pretty full? Should we call it out?”
“No. Let’s keep meetings just among us for now.”
“…”
Just hours ago, weren’t we all sweetly talking about Aurelia, or Yumi, and being all friendly with her?
Yet, as soon as we stepped outside, the first thing Grandfather said was that line.
“Let’s keep meetings just among us.”
It’s funny, but a wise decision.
There’s no saying the existence contained within the soul could change, right?
Besides, whether Yumi is Aurelia or Arima, their identity isn’t exactly comparable to normal people.
More like a 0.5 ally rather than a full-fledged 1.0 ally?
Looking around, both Ari and Songyi nodded, as if it were natural.
Of course, there were some like Seungyub or Sister Eunsol who awkwardly smiled.
“Oh, Yumi would probably want to build her body as soon as she gets out, so don’t grant her permission right away.”
“…”
“Seungyub, listen to Grandfather closely.”
“Y-yes!”
“You’re not supposed to take it lightly just because it’s in your legacy. Don’t just grant every request because she asks you nicely.”
“Yes…”
“Since the soul is mortgaged to the legacy, she probably won’t go wild. But still, be careful. Treat her as a chaotic entity contracted as an agent, not a person.”
That remark left Seungyub flustered.
“G-Grandpa! I’m not even an agent, and I’ve never contracted with a chaotic entity!”
“…”
Ari chuckled.
“Mooksung, do you think she’s some junior agent of yours or what?”
“…”
“Seungyub, just try not to be alone with Yumi until you get used to it.”
“Yes.”
I thought that’s probably the best solution.
“Let’s wrap up the soul vessel talk for now. We’ll think of the rest later, and next is the Sanctum of Blessings?”
“I think we can go tomorrow morning.”
As soon as the sanctum topic came up, Jincheol, who had only been sipping on drinks, chimed in.
“Whose turn is it this time? Yay! I’m most excited about going to the sanctum!”
Elena pondered for a moment before answering.
“According to the contributions made in Room 104, it’ll likely be Kain who received the legacy and Miro who’s taking on the saint role. Ari and I also did our fair share, though.”
Just then, Ari yawned and muttered.
“To be honest, I’m not too excited this time. Aren’t you guys feeling the same?”
“…”
Unlike the flustered Jincheol, quite a few people nodded.
I also felt that not many people would likely gain something substantial in the sanctum this time.
Two major reasons for that.
First, we cleared room 104 while progressing through the latter half of the second floor.
In game terms, it’s like clearing a lower-level dungeon after wrapping up a high-level dungeon. Will we even get enough experience?
Second, the requirements for blessings increase the more you get.
If we treat two strong enhancements as two gains, many of our teammates have already enhanced two to three times.
What about me?
After clearing room 203, Owl told me that to obtain a fourth enhancement, I would need to clear at least two rooms.
Since I’ve cleared Room 205 and Room 104, it’s possible numerically, but also perhaps not.
In cases like this, you never know until you actually try.
Ari opened her mouth again.
“I don’t think it’ll be easy for anyone to enhance, aside from Eunsol, Sanghyun, and Miro.”
Ari’s statement earned a reaction from Sister Eunsol.
“Ah…. Sanghyun and Miro joined a bit late, so I get that. But why am I in that lineup?”
“…”
Ari looked like she realized she made a blunder and shut her mouth, while Sister smiled lightly.
“Alright. Well, I’ve got this now. I’ll just have to practice this. It’s harder than I thought.”
Since acquiring the new tool, ‘Transformation into a Butterfly,’ Sister seemed to have gained quite a bit of confidence.
As the topic shifted over to her, Grandfather naturally asked a question.
“Have you tried using the Hand of Greed again?”
“Of course.”
“Will you use it this time? What do you plan to use it for? A tool?”
Sister shook her head.
“I’ve got enough tools for a while. More than that, Ari.”
“Yeah?”
“You said there’s still one hidden NPC left, right?”
“Yep.”
Having cleared all on the first floor and now in the latter half of the second floor, there’s still a hidden NPC remaining.
The teacher, who had been drinking coffee, appeared bewildered.
“Wow, is there still an NPC hiding? Ari, can’t you find hidden elements with the powers of blessings?”
“I can sense it if it’s nearby. But I’ve never felt it.”
The last hidden NPC means Ari hasn’t even been near it throughout this lengthy time.
At that moment, Sister Eunsol clapped her hands lightly.
“How many times have we searched the hotel? So many! We even flipped every single decoration hanging on the walls! Yet Ari hasn’t been near it? What does that even mean?”
Ari replied.
“It must not reveal its form normally in the hotel.”
“There’s probably a condition for it to appear. And that condition must be incredibly specific!”
Naturally, the recently experienced event, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, came to mind.
What were the conditions for that event again?
Did everyone collapse from a drinking game at the bar?
Will the hidden NPC’s condition be something that absurd?
We might not find it even before breaking through the third floor.
“Let’s use the Hand of Greed and even Seungyub’s abilities to track it down this time!”
Everyone’s faces lit up with excitement.
—
I will repay with diligent serialization.
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