Chapter 55: Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (2)
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 21
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room – Hotel Land of Hope)
Sage’s Advice: 2]
/2. Challenge: Carnivorous Merry-go-round!
The cost of my brief glance toward Jinchul-hyung was hefty!
I felt a tug on my shirt, and when I turned back, I was greeted by a monster taking the form of a horse, drooling as hundreds of thorn-like teeth emerged from its mouth. The creature started chomping at my shirt like there was no tomorrow.
Thinking quickly, I threw a punch at that horse face while managing to rip part of my clothes off to escape its grasp. Thank goodness, horses aren’t really built for attacking the one riding on their backs with their heads.
Even though this horse was anything but normal, it still shared the same limitation of not being able to shake me off since I was on its back.
After enduring for about 30 seconds, I figured something out—I didn’t need to engage with that disgusting horse head at all! All I had to do was lean myself back as far as I could, sitting snugly near its bum. Horses simply don’t have the architecture to deal with a pesky rider nestled on their behind!
I took a deep breath and glanced around, relieved to see everyone managing to stay on in various creative ways.
As I suspected, Songee had already brokered a peace treaty with her horse and was having the easiest time, while the rest of us were huddled near the rear like a bunch of frightened sheep.
Then there was Jinchul-hyung…
Ah! He must’ve yanked the horse’s head off because the horse on his side simply vanished. Thankfully, the pillar that had once connected the horse to the platform was still there, and Jinchul-hyung held onto it like a champ, just chilling like he was at the gym.
He should be fine, right? An anomaly like him could surely stick it out for an hour holding onto that pillar.
About that time, I thought this was way easier than that bumper car fiasco—
Round 2 kicked in.
*
All of a sudden, the rotating platform shrank, cramming all the horses closer together.
What in the world? What’s happening here?—Then it dawned on me!
With the horses now tightly packed, the horse behind me began glaring at me with its beady eyes. In front was the head of the horse I was straddling, and the rear was occupied by the other—it was like being sandwiched between two food processors!
What on earth am I supposed to do? I can’t go forward nor backward. At this rate, I’ll either get bitten or fall to my doom.
“Ahhh! Thank you, hyung!”
I was baffled as to why Seungyub would throw in a gratitude speech amid all this when I turned my head to see Jinchul-hyung doing some superhero leap from pillar to pillar to grab Seungyub before he fell.
Alright, I guess those two will be alright. Honestly, I’ve got my own problems to worry about here!
In the bedlam, a bright idea struck me.
The most reliable weapon I’d kept close ever since that Mansion of Fear was my trusty spray. I whipped it out and sprayed it right at the horse head lurking behind me, which was practically licking its lips. It’s just a creature; it can’t dodge the wrath of the capsaicin!
Instantly, the horse head went berserk, flailing annoyingly. Yes, it works!
“Everyone! Grab your sprays and give ‘em a good spray!”
In the chaos, Eunsol-noona and Elena must have heard me because they quickly started pulling out their sprays. Just how many times has this magic spray saved us?
I didn’t even bother checking on the others. Ahri was probably handling her horse just fine, and Songee was likely busy making horsey friends. They might even be sharing carrots soon.
Is this it? Surely there isn’t another round coming, right?
Bam! Round 3 started.
*
Round 3 was over before I knew it.
Ridiculously, Round 3 turned out to be the simplest of all. As soon as it started, the sharp spikes on the ground morphed into grass, while the horses came to life, charging at us like they meant business—
And in under 5 minutes, Jinchul-hyung wiped them all out. Once he touched down, he unleashed a flurry of punches, venting out frustration like he was at a punching bag, and after witnessing just one horse drop dead, the rest started scattering like cockroaches when the lights come on.
Songee, meanwhile, yawned at the sight of the horse she befriended being clobbered.
If the Hotel had wanted to make things challenging, they should’ve kept the spikes on the ground to restrict Jinchul-hyung’s movement, but instead, they gave us an easy ride by eliminating them.
From what it looks like, the Mission Room doesn’t adjust the difficulty based on our skills but instead follows the preordained plans it was set up with.
In all honesty, Jinchul-hyung spent most of the time chasing after fleeing horses rather than fighting. Life certainly throws some curveballs—watching carnivorous monsters flee from a human like that felt surreal.
Sitting there blankly on the ground, I began to ponder.
If being foolish means your body suffers, then maybe when your body is weak, it’s your mind that ends up in trouble.
Seems like someone who could knock out human-eating horses with fists won’t need much wisdom to handle them.
As everyone sat around enjoying the show of horses getting pummeled, an announcement rang out.
/Congratulations for completing Mission 2: Challenge: Carnivorous Merry-go-round! Will you proceed to the next mission?/
Of course, no one was about to back down now.
*
When we finally snapped back to reality, we found ourselves in the sky, or more accurately, impossibly high up.
/3. Quick Thinking: Gyro Drop
It starts in 30 seconds! Please take your positions!/
What? This announcement was different from the previous ones. Instead of the usual countdown, we had a whole 30 seconds this time. What on earth was “correct positions”?
I quickly glanced around.
We were quite literally perched in a gyro-drop, and judging by how high we were, the ground was nowhere to be seen! To top it off, we were sitting on chairs fixed to the platform without any safety god-knows-what!
What would happen if this gyro-drop began like this?
We’d probably shoot into the clouds.
“H, h, h, what do we do?” Songee’s scream echoed.
What were we supposed to do? This was the first time 30 seconds felt so excruciatingly short!
A loud crash echoed nearby, and I turned my head to find Jinchul-hyung holding the chair with his legs, grabbing onto Seungyub and Elena’s arms respectively.
So,
He intended to carry the weight of himself, Seungyub, and Elena through this absurd fall using only his leg grip on the chair!
I couldn’t help but chuckle—somehow, it felt plausible just because it was him doing it. Like I thought, being strong does wonders for the mind!
“I’m sorry, everyone!! But I’ve only got two arms to share!”
“Just hang on tight! We’ll see each other later!” Eunsol-noona said in a surprisingly calm voice after seemingly giving up.
Honestly, I started to understand her mindset.
What would they think from the outside? “What madness is this? Why is she so relaxed facing death?”
The reality we faced inside the Hotel revealed the truth.
The most frightening moment here wasn’t when you were the first to die. Surprisingly, being the first to go wasn’t as terrifying as I’d thought, since I had faith that my teammates would stick around until the end to save me.
The hardest, most unbearable time was when you were the last one standing.
When everyone but you was gone, counting on you to bring them back—now that’s when the real terror hits.
In that context, knowing that at least three others would still be around was a relief.
Those three would surely revive me.
The gyro drop’s descent began.
*
Within less than five seconds of the fall, I started floating toward the sky.
Deciding to mimic Jinchul-hyung, I attempted to grasp the chair using both limbs, but honestly, if I had the strength for that, I probably would have taken down a wave of horses by now!
I never really had hope anyway.
Spreading my arms wide, I enjoyed my first-ever skydiving experience. Jinchul-hyung! Seungyub! Elena! Ahri! I’ll leave the rest to you, I’m off to snooze!
*
I had no idea how high we were, but the ground was still not even close to being seen.
[Stretch your right arm behind your back as far as you can!]
Out of the blue, this advice came in. I had no clue what it meant, but I followed it.
And—
My fall abruptly slowed down.
Huh?
A small, warm hand gripped mine tightly, slowing with my descent.
“I was thinking about it, and I chose you. The distance was tricky, but your hand just happened to be reaching out!”
“Ahri, you….”
I swallowed the question about how she was flying, remembering what Songee had said—Ahri could soar through the skies.
“It’s tough for me too. I’m using up blood in real-time. If I’m not flying, I might manage to hold one person—I thought you were the fit choice since you’re the one who can ‘Descend’.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t need to thank me; I’m counting on you to save us when the time comes.”
The seemingly endless free fall finally came to a close.
In that sluggish free fall, it suddenly hit me.
Ahri could have soloed her escape from the Hotel if she wanted to. If she dashed toward the main entrance, she could just use this ability in a heartbeat.
When we finally landed, five of us made it alive.
Jinchul-hyung managed to hang on with Seungyub and Elena till the end but obviously, his legs were not in great shape. His entire lower half was bruised, and although his bones had likely endured due to his Blessing, his skin was left peeling off and trembling.
What had happened to Songee and Eunsol-noona? Nobody felt the need to mention them.
We had barely passed three missions, yet we had only five survivors left with four more to go.
Silently, we awaited the next announcement—
That’s when Ahri stumbled and fell.
I quickly caught her, realizing why her skin appeared as pale as paper, and she trembled without a word.
From our earlier conversation, she’d mentioned using blood in real-time.
Did she perhaps lose too much blood from carrying my weight along with hers?
This was serious—while I felt guilty for the trouble she went through for my sake, an even bigger issue loomed.
Jinchul-hyung’s legs weren’t stable, and Ahri was suffering from blood deficiency!
Our remaining strength was sadly dwindling.
As my mind raced with worry, I suddenly cracked the ‘solution’ for this absurd gyro drop.
They’d given us a full 30 seconds to get to the ‘correct positions’, which meant there had to be a way to find an easy way out!
The chairs were bolted above the platform—effectively serving as a safety bar! All we had to do was slip under the chair and wedge ourselves safely between the chair and the platform!
As I lamented about how this revelation dawned only after the chaos, the next announcement chimed in.
/Congratulations on completing Mission 3: Quick Thinking: Gyro Drop! Would you like to proceed to the next mission?/
*
/Mission 4: True? False? The House of Mirrors.
3! 2! 1! Start!/
As the distortions in space ceased, I found myself trapped in a world teeming with mirrors. A massive maze surrounded me, all walls composed of reflective surfaces!
Was the objective to find a way out of here?
Following the classic maze-solving tactics, I decided to place my hand on one wall and follow it.
However, the moment I touched the mirrored wall…
The ‘me’ in the mirror suddenly opened its mouth wide and lunged at me!
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