Chapter: 650 – Meeting, Exploration (1)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 1
Current Location: Third Floor, Lobby
Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
All of my comrades’ dreams related to the ‘first wish’ have come to an end.
Upon returning to the third-floor lobby, I spotted my comrades lounging on the comfy sofas scattered about.
With snacks and drinks lying around, it seems the hotel’s customary generosity still reigns supreme.
It looks like Eunsol sister has already ordered something from the HP Market, as I noticed a whiteboard and a marker too.
“Oppa, is it all over now?”
“You did great!”
Some of my comrades gave a light wave, but a bunch were too deep in thought to even notice I was back.
They appeared engrossed in their own memories and wishes, lost in their thoughts.
Not wanting to interrupt, I casually leaned against a marble pillar.
— Beep!
A hotel notification appeared in front of everyone.
The first line was a welcome message.
“Why’s the welcome taking so long?”
“Initially, only Grandpa and I were awake.”
“Ah, so that’s why it’s popping up now. Everyone must be awake.”
*
“Participant Han Kain, welcome back to Hotel Pioneer! What kind of place is Hotel Pioneer, you ask? It’s the universe’s best hotel filled with kindness, consideration, love, and happiness for our guests! Of course, we’re aware of the malicious rumors surrounding the hotel. Aggressive behavior from violent guests, the dangers of events for bored participants, and various stories about unknown watchers have been swirling. All of that is just baseless gossip. According to our internal investigation, there has not been a single death in the history of Pioneer. Occasionally, some less skilled participants get ‘stuck in the fridge.’ Many participants leave upon escaping due to these tall tales. Truly disappointing behavior! If they realized the truth, they would know the answer lies not outside the hotel, but within it. In that sense, you are wonderful! On the third floor, you will encounter new challenges, enchanting secrets, and invaluable rewards, provided you can overcome the trials ahead. We remember the moment you first arrived at Pioneer. The you back then is not the you now. If you can reach the end of the hotel… you too will be unlike the person you are now. Lastly, let me say it again. Participant Han Kain, welcome back to Hotel Pioneer. #P.S. Starting tomorrow, we will begin the schedule.”
*
After the notification faded, my comrades were momentarily speechless.
While reading my notification, I sneakily checked others’ too, finding the same content but different names.
Everyone received the same ridiculous message.
Unable to hold back, Eunsol sister was the first to speak up.
“‘Universal best hotel’ is one thing, but… malicious rumors? That’s all true!”
Miro murmured with a slight tremor in his voice.
“What do you mean by ‘the investigation results show no deaths’? I died and came back!”
Ari smirked as she replied.
“Well, it also states that according to the hotel, you didn’t actually die. They think you just got ‘stuck in the fridge’ for a bit since you lacked skill.”
“Stuck in the fridge? Like Ice Hell?”
“Exactly.”
“No way! They used a resurrection ticket to wake me up in the first place!”
“Well, it’s probably a typical hotel joke.”
I struggled to hold back a laugh and then spoke up.
“Putting aside the meaningless chatter, it seems the P.S. is the core of the message.”
Songee nodded in agreement.
“The ‘We’ll start the schedule tomorrow!’ is definitely crucial. How do you all feel about that?”
Grandpa replied with a nonchalant expression.
“It means we’ll have to enter the Curse Room starting tomorrow. It looks like they’re letting us off easy today.”
One of the most important hotel rules is that participants are generally required to enter the Curse Room, Mission Room, Gate Room, and so on daily. Days off are usually just for party time or irregularly granted breaks.
“What time is it now? I should check— oh, there’s a clock on the wall. Near lunchtime, huh?”
“We still have some time until tomorrow.”
“Then how should we spend the remaining hours today?”
In response to Grandpa’s query, Eunsol sister replied simply.
“Let’s have a meeting first. Each of us had dreams related to our first wishes, right? That content may well relate to the Curse Room.”
“That’s true, but shouldn’t we also do some exploring? There were many strange places.”
“Grandpa, it seems you’ve forgotten that we don’t explore unless Kain gives advice.”
“Hmm… You’re right about that.”
Exploring the hotel is far more perilous than one might think. Sudden exposure could lead to irreversible consequences before you even take a breath.
For instance, there was that one time when the event involving the Monster Monkey was ongoing, and we received a warning for sneaking down to the basement.
Also, the Mirror Room on the second floor is packed with dangers.
After some deliberation, I opened my mouth.
“Ari, have you used the blessing yet?”
Ari’s blessing is handy for locating the hotel’s mysterious spots.
Ari silently doodled on the whiteboard in the lobby.
1. Hidden NPCs on the 3rd floor: ???, ???
2. Hidden Rooms on the 3rd floor: ???, ???
“It’s just like the lower floors. Two hidden rooms and two hidden NPCs.”
“Looks like we have quite a bit to find. As you know, advice resets daily at midnight. Let’s just get a quick overview of the structure at midnight.”
While we could take our time to find hidden NPCs or rooms, we definitely needed to quickly understand the basic structure of the third floor.
“At midnight? That does sound like the best option.”
Delaying minimal exploration until tomorrow morning isn’t ideal. Given the hotel’s nature, if we put off entering the Curse Room for exploration, strange events tend to unfold.
I jotted the basic layout on the whiteboard.
“The folks who just woke up in the lobby haven’t seen it yet, but there’s this sign.”
⇦ Observation Deck
⇧ Guest Rooms
⇨ ??? – Under Construction.
Sanghyun muttered with curiosity.
“The Observation Deck? I wonder what it’s there to observe. The question mark likely indicates an area we can’t access yet.”
“We’ll figure it out step by step.”
After wrapping up the exploration discussion, we naturally transitioned to talking about wishes.
“Let’s share our wishes by tonight. It sounds like the first wishes are connected to the third floor in some way.”
Eunsol sister chimed in.
“Yeah, let’s talk about the wishes. It’s better to do it while memories are fresh.”
All eyes naturally turned to Ari.
“Should I go first?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to share in order of the wishes we discovered?”
“That’s true, but… I don’t have much to say.”
Ari began recounting her memories as best as she could.
“I’ll start with my wish. While working as an agent, I encountered countless mysterious and profound pieces of information. Naturally, I began to think… I want to solve the riddles of the universe. Or, I want to know all the secrets of the world.”
Ari’s first wish: I want to know all the secrets of the world.
“The background of my related memory is ‘the interstellar train endlessly crossing the Milky Way.’ The Bureau shortened it to ‘Milky Way Train,’ you see.”
Eunsol sister wrote down ‘Ari: Milky Way Train’ on the whiteboard.
“The train occasionally appears all over Earth, manifesting as a regular train or subway. People who board thinking it’s an ordinary train vanish without a trace.”
Eunsol sister asked a question here.
“How did you know it disappears, while traveling the Milky Way? Tracking device?”
“Something like that. After similar incidents repeated themselves, we narrowed down places where the train might show up and sent in several agents, of which I was one.”
“And then?”
“After that, by special means – fine, you’re familiar with this person. I found out with the help of Cheonria.”
“Oh, so you tracked agents with Cheonria and learned the train travels through space?”
“Exactly.”
Among Ryan’s comrades, there was one participant named ‘Jin Yeohua’ who owned Cheonria. When I sought assistance, it seems the Bureau could still communicate with Jin Yeohua.
Well, considering Jin Yeohua did marry one of the Silent Ones, at that time, they would essentially have been part of the Bureau.
“Any other info? You did get on the train, after all.”
“That’s all. By the time I returned to reality, I’d lost all memory of what happened on the train.”
“…”
“I vaguely remember… fighting someone.”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Ari couldn’t recall any more memories.
“Let’s move on to the next person. Jinchul hyung?”
“Uh, um… Sorry. I don’t know as much as Ari.”
As he said, Jinchul truly didn’t have much to share. After a few losses, all he had was a memory of lingering around the gym feeling down and having one drink.
“Couldn’t there have been any supernatural elements?”
“Probably not.”
“…”
“Sorry about that.”
“No problem. It might just be my and Ari’s lack of experience, huh?”
Ari nodded in agreement.
“Right. Since Jinchul’s dream came right after mine, I must not have applied myself enough when guiding Kain.”
Compared to Elena’s final dream, when they both diligently observed their surroundings and placed Elena in a room to investigate the TV’s abnormalities, during Jinchul’s turn, we lacked the same level of thoroughness.
Cha Jinchul: Gym. No additional info.
“Well, let’s just move on to the next one.”
As soon as it was Sanghyun’s turn, Ari’s eyes lit up.
“Since we already know about the vacant wish from Pioneer, let’s skip that.”
“Agreed. I spent my time digging through memories related to alien planets while sitting on the sofa…”
“Regarding Sanghyun’s first wish… it was definitely not Earth.”
“I’ve noticed the same.”
“It’s neither the Moon nor Mars.”
“Exactly. It’s an unidentified exoplanet. It likely isn’t part of the solar system.”
“Doesn’t that seem unreasonable? I mean, under humanity’s current space exploration tech, we shouldn’t be able to venture beyond the solar system.”
“… That’s true.”
During the brief silence shared between Sanghyun and Ari, I contemplated for a moment.
Actually, from what we learned in the Curse Room, it seems a little different.
Human civilizations capable of venturing out of the solar system may have existed, albeit eclipsed by the times.
We speak about the humans of Room 203.
The problem is, no one knows when that loop occurred.
An ancient civilization that uncovered the secret of soul fusion?
Or perhaps an earlier loop than that?
Had there been many forgotten loops between the ancient civilizations and the current one?
As I was lost in thought, a wry smile escaped me.
Given the hotel’s time-and-space-warping properties, it wouldn’t be surprising if it were a future loop.
At that point, I decided to cease my pondering; it didn’t seem beneficial to continue.
“Ari, this time I’ll ask you. Could the Bureau enable exoplanetary colonization?”
“Not via science and technology alone.”
“That sounds like you’re suggesting there are alternative means.”
“Let’s not even look far; think about the ‘Milky Way Train’ that appeared in my wish. Among the various odd occurrences, there are several that drift beyond Earth and into space.”
“Hmm…”
“Using those occurrences, sending people to exoplanets isn’t entirely impossible.”
“Got it.”
“At this point, my conclusion is this: As far as I know, we can’t send you to an exoplanet using human technology.”
“I share your view.”
“Of course, Sanghyun, the loop you experienced could belong to a civilization that transcended imagination—”
For example, like Room 203.
“That’s not the case. My experience is much like the 21st century you all understand.”
“If that’s the case, there’s only one conclusion.”
“…”
“The group that sent you to an exoplanet is either the Bureau or one of its similar organizations.”
“Couldn’t I have been swept away in a chaotic disaster?”
“Didn’t you have a space suit in your memory?”
“…”
“What chance would you have of randomly getting swept away in a chaotic disaster while—oh, let’s say you just happened to be wearing a space suit?”
“That’s a fair point.”
By this moment, everyone has grasped what Ari meant.
The only organization capable of putting Kim Sanghyun in a spacesuit and sending him to an exoplanet is the Bureau or a similar organization.
Sister wondered cautiously.
“Are you oblivious to everything? You were with the Silent Ones…”
“I truly have no idea. That’s what’s strange. The Bureau, by its nature, tends to keep past loop information somewhat ambiguous.”
Three questions arose.
1. Where was the exoplanet Kim Sanghyun inhabited in the past?
2. What did he see there that plunged him into such despair?
3. What organization or group sent Sanghyun to an exoplanet?
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