Chapter 550 – Hotel Delight (3) Fin
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 0
Current Location: Delight Hotel, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
As soon as I returned to reality, a so-called chaos disaster hit me, as expressed by the Administration Bureau, stirring up various thoughts.
Where did the hotel’s promise of a year-long vacation go?
I thought it would mean nothing would happen for a full year, but here I was, right from ‘Day 0,’ facing chaos.
“…”
Eunsol Noona had said there’d be no payment, yet she borrowed ‘real eyes’ while recalling her earlier experience with the ominous one-eye trick.
The hotel doesn’t lie, but its standards differ ‘somewhat’ from the ordinary world.
In other words, to the hotel, this kind of thing is nothing, just a minor event during our downtime.
Let’s flip it around.
What if, according to the hotel’s standards, something ‘big’ is going to happen in a year?
Is this the start of the event related to the ‘light that brings about the end’ that Ahri talked about?
Although Ahri seemed unsure about the exact timing.
“…”
I struggled to rein in my thoughts that were bouncing around everywhere.
Right now, it’s time to focus on the matters of Hotel Delight.
Do I have to rescue them?
Do I really have to venture into this mysterious realm for people I don’t even know?
Should I just ignore it and duck away?
I mean, NPCs in hotels hardly matter anyway, right?
But Eunsol Noona is the owner of this hotel.
If rumors spread that a guest died due to a bizarre phenomenon, she might have to close down!
— Clap!
“Phew…”
I lightly slapped my cheeks to clear my head.
Balancing the risk of rescuing the missing against the potential reputational damage of not doing so—that’s a ruthlessly calculating mindset.
I ran straight to Noona, thinking about it one last time.
The distinction between NPCs and real humans.
Some might regard it as trivial, but I’ve always made a thorough distinction.
Now that I’m out in the world, should I treat living humans the same as NPCs?
What even is ‘reality’ to me?
This way of thinking is only going to turn me into a ghost trapped in a false world forever.
I’ll save them.
I will rescue the people trapped in this strange world because of my actions.
Not just anyone, but ME! To save myself from hell!
*
— Ding!
As soon as I arrived at the 7th floor conference room, I approached Eunsol Noona.
The hotel staff tried to stop me, but a high-pitched voice interrupted.
“Let him in!”
The staff started buzzing around.
Soon, the secretary I’d just encountered added:
“That person is, um, a powerful exorcist!”
A powerful exorcist?
It’s funny, but it’s not entirely wrong.
The staff seemed to step aside in agreement.
In a world where even normal folks accept the existence of ghosts, monsters, and demons, being shocked by the term ‘exorcist’ is pretty much pointless.
“Gained -”
“Let’s go save them. We need to head out before it gets any later. If they’re dead, we can at least recover the remains.”
Noona looked somewhat surprised.
“You’re more proactive than I expected! You must really be a person… Alright, let’s head out immediately?”
“Yeah.”
Just before we set out, a middle-aged man who seemed to be a senior staff member nervously interrupted Noona.
“Director! W-wait, are you really going with him?”
“…”
“What on earth are you thinking? This is a dangerous situation! You should leave it to the exorcists and report it to the Administration Bureau—”
A moment of silence followed.
Soon, Noona declared for everyone to hear:
“I’ve worked with the Administration Bureau before.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide.
“I can handle most situations, so you all carry on with your work. And!”
All eyes turned towards her.
“For the next hour, no one is to use elevator 3! Inform the guests too! Elevator number 3 is malfunctioning, so instruct them to use either elevator 1 or 2 when going to the lobby!”
“Understood.”
“Call the elevator an hour later! Got it?”
“You mean not to use it for an hour, but call the elevator to go up in an hour, right?”
“Exactly.”
It’s all precautionary work for the escape.
*
— Ding!
The elevator arrived.
“So this is elevator 3.”
“We label it as such. The missing guests took this elevator and something went wrong. What should we do…?”
“Why did you lie about working with the Administration Bureau?”
“Lie? Why would I lie? I worked with Ahri and her grandpa.”
“True, but…”
“It was a hunch that something strange was likely to happen. I needed to reassure the staff.”
“Or else they would all quit and ruin the hotel’s reputation?”
“… It may seem calculating, but—”
“No.”
It’s not about being calculating; it’s just natural behavior.
At the level of a CEO, being concerned about the reputation is not selfishness, it’s ‘responsibility.’
“What’s the condition for elevator 3—exactly what makes it go up to the 22nd floor? It doesn’t happen every time. If it did, every guest would be missing.”
The conditions must involve something that doesn’t commonly occur.
Also, it would have to be something that happened when I ‘intruded’ into the elevator earlier.
“I recalled some memories while coming here, and then I realized something.”
At this moment in the elevator, none of us pressed any buttons for a specific floor.
Therefore, the elevator shouldn’t have been starting either.
— Vrooom
It started moving!
“Of course! That was the condition!”
The trick to making the elevator move was waiting inside without pushing any buttons for an extended period!
*
Just like before, the elevator stopped at the 27th floor.
“Let’s get out.”
“…”
“Kain? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just… the location is a bit outrageous.”
“Ah, the current location appearing in the status window?”
“Let’s go. Fero!”
– Grrr!
Fero soon transformed into a grotesque—well, in some ways, ‘reliable’—form.
Just as Fero was about to step confidently forward, I added,
“I’m feeling uneasy. Fero, you stay here.”
– Grrr?
For a moment, Noona tilted her head, then nodded.
“You’re planning to have him guard the elevator?”
“If the elevator moves downstairs, we’ll have a headache.”
“True, we were told not to use elevator 3… But then again, trusting the staff in this situation is a bit hard.”
We’re in a situation akin to urban legends.
An unknown force could charm the staff.
“Yah!”
– Kurr!
I wedged Fero in between the elevator doors.
“Stay right here. Make sure it doesn’t go down. Got it?”
*
Eunsol Noona and I quickly searched the 27th floor.
Since this was just a repeat of our previous search, it didn’t take long, yet the missing family was nowhere to be found.
“Where could they be? Are they really being eaten by monsters? And if that’s the case, where are the monsters?!”
“Noona, do you have a family photo?”
“If it’s a reservation picture, here.”
It was a small photo of a woman in her 40s.
As I focused and stared, dim insights began to unveil.
A dark space lacking lighting.
Strange sounds, hissing from all around.
I’ve heard this sound before.
“What’s that noise…?”
“Noises? You can hear it with insight too?”
Insight is a kind of prediction; it doesn’t show a definite future.
Instead of thinking of it as a ‘Isn’t that interesting?’ I need to ponder, ‘Why does this possibility exist?’ to glean more meaningful information.
How would the missing family have acted?
After boarding the elevator, something must have happened, preventing them from pressing any buttons.
If there were a young child in the group, they might’ve suddenly started crying.
Then the elevator would’ve moved to the nonexistent 27th floor.
People feeling a sudden unease at this point.
First getting off at the 27th floor, they probably wandered around in confusion, just like us in the past.
Being regular folks, they wouldn’t easily come up with a solution that they needed to ride the elevator connecting the other world and reality again.
Even if they thought of it, without an ability like the Hand of Greed, they wouldn’t know how to call for help.
So what do we do?
“Guest rooms.”
“What?”
“They probably tried to seek help from other people.”
If they recalled that there was no 27th floor in Hotel Delight, they should’ve guessed there wouldn’t be any normal guests in the rooms.
As ordinary people, they might not have thought this far.
They must’ve panicked, finding it hard to think rationally.
We returned to the corridor lined with guest rooms.
“They seem to have entered one of the guest rooms, but where should we go?”
“Looks like 2704.”
As I followed Noona’s outstretched finger, I noticed the carpet in front of room 2704 had quite a bit of dirt on it.
As if many people had anxiously walked around, knocking on the door.
“… Phew.”
Noona couldn’t hide her tension as she stood before room 2704.
I thought she must’ve seen it all, but even so, human instincts can be so fragile at times.
In such scenarios, it’s all about attitude.
— Whoosh!
“Uh? Kain, you—”
— Bam!
With a noise that felt like my ears would burst, the door crashed open!
“Wahaha! Come out! I am Horus!”
“…”
Noona made a somewhat disgusted face.
Still, I was glad to see that the fear seemed to have dissipated.
*
The inside of the guest room was decorated just like a home.
And, of course, there were ‘residents’ as well.
“What the?”
Something resembling a person’s figure stood there.
If I were to describe its appearance, it felt like a wriggling shadow mixed with flesh, mimicking a person.
A weak-hearted person would probably faint just seeing that kind of monster.
However, for me and Eunsol Noona, being scared of such a ‘minor thing’ was long behind us.
Honestly, had I been tense before opening the door, I would’ve been nervous about not knowing what might come out, but now—it was nothing, right?!
With the might of the divine sun boosting my confidence, it was time to show the power of the grimoire!
Soon, the ominous power of the avatar surged forth.
As I devoured the shadow creature with the avatar’s strength, I felt something strange.
“…?”
For the first time, I felt the eeriness crawling in.
“Did you discover something?”
Noona’s expression was urgent.
“Hold on.”
Having already seen their frightful forms flop around on the floor, I borrowed the body of one of the eerie beings for a moment.
“…”
“You just possessed it, and now you’re back? Have you found the missing family?”
“There’s a door in the living room leading down.”
“It’s a hotel room, but where could there be a downstairs – No, wait, I’ll be right back.”
While Noona ran off, I faced the five shadow creatures residing within the room.
Well, maybe ‘confront’ isn’t the right term, as the shadow beings showed no intention to stand against me.
They were just flat on the floor.
“…”
One by one.
I kept reading their thoughts as I possessed them.
“…”
What is this info?
What is this place, and who are they?
I’m lost.
Having just exited the hotel, having returned to reality…
And yet, it’s still packed with secrets I can’t grasp.
“Waaah!”
“Shut! Sun-ah, stop crying!”
“Ugh… Agent! I thought I was going to be caught and die from those monsters—”
“Quiet, quiet, follow me out.”
I could make out people trailing behind Noona.
Seeing her as ‘Agent’ suggested she had claimed to be an Administration Bureau agent.
“Let’s go.”
Just as I was about to turn around, a panting boy asked me:
“Hyung! Agent hyung!”
“Yeah?”
“Are we—shouldn’t we kill the monsters?”
“…”
“Can’t you shut up! Kid! The agent can handle it! I’m sorry, he’s—”
“Let’s go.”
*
Fortunately, Fero was keeping a good lookout at the elevator.
After we returned to the elevator, the family sat on the floor with expressions void of life.
“Thank you… thank you…”
“It’s okay, just rest.”
“Uh, when are we leaving?”
“About 20 minutes remain.”
“That long! Ah, no, never mind.”
At the point of Noona calmly reassuring everyone, I was preoccupied, focusing on the current status window showing our ‘current location.’
Current Location: Atlantis – Specific location under search
“….”
My mind raced back to the bizarre information I just gleaned from the shadow creature.
This place is Atlantis.
We just experienced a ‘chaos disaster’ that occurred in a peaceful house in Atlantis not long ago.
*
– Park Seungyub
Warm sunlight.
A peaceful land.
Ah… yes.
Nothing in the world is eternal, and even struggles have their end.
Finally, it’s a peaceful land—
— Whack!
“Ow!”
Who dares to disturb me, the greatest master of all?!
“Hey, Park Seungyub!”
“…”
It’s my math teacher.
“Sleeping, huh? If you’re going to doze off, do it inconspicuously! You’re snoring up a storm!”
“… My bad.”
“Get to the back and raise your hand!”
Ugh, annoying!
When I dreamt, I should’ve asked to be made into a high school senior like Kain, freshly graduated from exams!
Why did I forget that?
What a ‘Doh!’ moment!
Being in this childish body again makes me a middle schooler?
Now I have to go to school!
I really hate school.
“Cough!”
The others must’ve found it hilarious because a couple of boys were chuckling.
Who are they again? I don’t even know their names.
“… Are you laughing?”
But I’m still top dog here.
“Did you laugh? Is it funny because I’m standing?”
“Uh, no.”
“Laugh one more time and you’re dead.”
“S-sorry!”
This punk!
I just let it go this time.
Do you know who I am?
I’m Park Seungyub, the top-ranked kid at Bangbae Middle School!
At that moment, a faint voice echoed in my ears, only I could hear.
“Ah… I thought I was going to revert back to my pre-Fortuna self and become someone impressive, but I didn’t expect you to be this dumb!”
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