Chapter: 5
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 2
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
I feel like I dodged a bullet. I went to sleep doubting everything, but thankfully, the Sage’s Advice popped right back up to 3. It looks like the system recharges when you sleep, just like Seungyub said. But when exactly does it refill? I’ll have to check that out one of these nights when I’m forced to pull an all-nighter.
After a quick wash, getting dressed, and making sure I was ready on time for the meal, people started showing up as if they were waiting for me to arrive. After casually greeting everyone I was now familiar with, we reached the dining room where I heard more good news.
“I figured out what my blessing was last night! Seriously! Hah! It’s kind of ridiculous!”
“What? What is it, Unni? Did you get some sort of superpower now?”
Shaking her head vigorously, Eunsol-noona suddenly pulled out her smartphone. What? A smartphone? Ever since we arrived at the hotel, everyone’s phones had basically become useless, just left lying around. But Eunsol-noona, as if she had something to showcase, presented her phone like a trophy and scrolled over the screen before pointing to an app I hadn’t seen before.
HP Market
“HP? Could it be… Hotel Pioneer?”
“Probably! Just to double-check, did anyone else get this?”
Belatedly, we all scrambled to check our phones, but of course, everyone else’s phones showed no changes whatsoever. Only Eunsol-noona’s phone had this strange app magically appear.
“What does the app do?”
“I didn’t get to properly test it out last night. I just opened it and skimmed through. Basically, it’s kind of like Amazon. You go into the market, and there are tons of items for sale. The crazy part is… there’s no price!”
“Huh? So everything is free?!”
“There’s no price, but there’s a limit to how much you can buy. Any item can be bought a maximum of 3 times a week. And delivery? It’s instant!”
“Instant? I’ve experienced some pretty fast deliveries while living in Korea. I’ve thought about staying in Korea because it’s just so convenient! But even Coupang wouldn’t be able to do instant delivery!”
“Hahaha, if Elena decides to stay in Korea, all the guys would be happy, right? But considering this hotel isn’t exactly a normal place… Anyway, I was about to buy something, but with the purchase limit, it’s best to save it for when we really need something!”
“Well, I think we definitely need to buy weapons. Do they have guns or something?”
“I was thinking the same thing as Jinchul yesterday. But surprisingly, the things sold in this ‘market’ are pretty basic. Just think of Coupang; they don’t sell guns or longswords there! But I did find quite a few alternatives we could use. Off the top of my head, how about a baseball bat? Plus, there are kitchen knives, stun batons, and tonfas.”
“That’s already way better than nothing! To be honest, I was exaggerating a bit yesterday. Carrying around a pole is tough! A baseball bat isn’t bad, and if you can use a tonfa properly, it could be great! I’m not trying to brag, but I’ve practiced martial arts outside. I even learned tonfa for a couple of months… Seems like a good idea, right? What does everyone think?”
No one was against it. A few taps from Eunsol-noona, and soon the sound of Ding Dong! echoed pleasingly from outside.
“Looks like the order is here!”
“I’ll check it out. This is quite exciting!”
Moments later, we heard Jinchul’s voice outside, tearing open a box. He came back holding a tonfa, gripped the handle, and spun it around like he was demonstrating a martial arts routine.
I have no clue about martial arts, but watching this muscle-god who is over 190 cm wield a weapon and throwing punches was quite impressive!
Clap clap clap!
At some point, Eunsol-noona began clapping with excitement. It was such a lively atmosphere that we all felt like we needed to join in, and soon Jinchul’s face turned red as he took his seat back at the table. It was one of the most enjoyable meal times we’ve had since arriving at the hotel.
When the meal was wrapping up and everyone was slowly getting ready to leave, out of the blue, a notification popped up on the screen at the “perfect timing.”
/Dear valued guests! Did you enjoy your meal?
Hotel Pioneer takes great joy in preparing meals for all our guests. However, did you know that there are countless treasures hidden throughout the hotel? Endless treasures filled with beauty, dignity, immense value, and greatness are just waiting for you!
Of course, these treasures are intended only for those deemed worthy. Isn’t a bit of danger what makes treasures even more beautiful? Fear not! We are fully aware that each and every one of our guests is more than qualified!
In fact, all that’s left is for you to open the gift box that’s already prepared for you! Now, let’s go hunt for those treasures!
Oh, but be warned! There might be some rather untidy guests lurking in the rooms that hold treasures. If possible, please enter together. If only one person exits, it won’t be a problem for everyone!/
A silence fell over us as we tried to make sense of the situation.
“So… I kinda get the gist. They want us to get to work now that we’ve rested and eaten enough.”
“Are they kidding around? Seriously, this feels like a trap waiting to spring on us. What do they mean by ‘Open the prepared gift box’? If that’s the case, just drop the box right in front of us so we can open it!”
As Jinchul grumbled, Eunsol-noona started analyzing the situation.
“The first three paragraphs can basically be summed up as ‘Go find the treasures!’ But the last paragraph has a bit of substance. It mentions that there’s danger in the treasure rooms and to go in together. I get that part, but what does this mean, ‘as long as one person manages to come out, it won’t be a problem for everyone?’”
“Only one person Emerges?”
Honestly, the hidden meaning behind that sentence felt more like, “It’s so hellishly difficult that if even one of you survives, that’ll be a miracle!” and my mind started racing. What should we even do? Should we really look for those treasures like they said?
As my head was starting to spin with possibilities, a notification popped up on my status screen.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 2
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Room of Rest)
Floor Information (*)
Room 101 (???)
Room 102 (???)
Room 103 (???)
Room 104 (???)
Room 105 (Room of Rest)
Room 106 (???)
Room 107 (???)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
“Uh… something just popped up again. It’s labeled ‘Floor Information’, and beneath are the room numbers from 101 to 107. Next to every room except Room 105, it says ???. 105 is the Room of Rest. I think we should check out the other rooms besides Room 105.”
“Are there monsters or treasures in those rooms or something?”
“Looks like I’ll be needing that tonfa pretty soon.”
“Hmm, shouldn’t we gear up as well? Of course, it’s a bit embarrassing to bring this up in front of Jinchul-ssi, but I also did a bit of body training while prepping to be an actor,” Elena mentioned.
“Haha, what’s there to be embarrassed about? I’ll do my best with the strength I have, but we all should prepare a little! Plus, there’s a charming, muscular guy with us. Kain, shouldn’t you look to get something for yourself too? Do you know how to use something like a tonfa?”
“Oh, sorry, but I’ve never learned martial arts, though I think my stamina is okay. What should I get?”
“Hmm, you don’t look like someone who lacks sports skills, but it’s a shame you haven’t done martial arts. Still, with your build, if you swing something hefty around, it should work out! You might not know how to use a tonfa yet, but a baseball bat might be better for you,” Jinchul replied.
“Wait a second! Didn’t I just say there’s a buy limit of 3 per week? So, let’s not order anything just yet and wait a bit,” Eunsol-noona chimed in.
“Oh great! Does that mean we have to go in empty-handed? That’s a bit nerve-wracking…”
“Um, I actually spotted something earlier,” Songee spoke up.
I unconsciously noticed that Songee always seemed to shrink a bit when she talked.
“While walking down the corridor, I saw weird props that looked like something out of a movie hanging on the wall, you know? One of them was a dagger,” she said.
A dagger. Thinking back, I remembered how I had picked up a silver candlestick the first day to use as a make-shift weapon.
Quickly jumping up, I jogged in the direction Songee pointed out. As it turned out, in the long corridor I hadn’t noticed before, I found the decorated dagger hanging on the wall!
It was an extravagant piece! I mean, I’m no expert, but wouldn’t this thing sell for at least a million won?! I picked it up and returned to the table.
“This is more like a decorative dagger than a functional one, though? There’s even a gemstone on the handle! For something like this, the durability isn’t going to be great since it’s clearly not made to be used practically. But still, it’s definitely better than going in bare-handed. Just wish I could grab more than one…”
Only one dagger. I felt awkward about keeping this all to myself, so I asked for their thoughts.
“Can I… take this? But it’s the only decent weapon we have and feels wrong to hoard it.”
“I think it’s fine! Maybe Elena can handle it since she’s trained a bit, but I don’t see Songee, Seungyub, or myself being able to utilize it well. The stronger person should use it since we have such limited weapons. Does everyone agree?”
Nobody disagreed, and just like that, I became one of the two people—along with Jinchul-hyung—carrying a weapon. After finishing our meal and equipping ourselves with minimal gear, we set out toward Room 101.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.