Chapter: 653 – Meeting, Exploration (4) Fin
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 2
Current Location: Third Floor, Guest Room Area
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
– Han Kain
After staring intently at the enigmatic sentence for a while, I finally broke the silence.
“Well, I think we’ve checked out the guest rooms pretty much.”
The Grandpa nodded and chimed in with his thoughts.
“There are six rooms in total, the last one remains unidentifiable, and we estimate there are about 4-5 cursed rooms. Given the number of guest rooms, it’s likely that more than one wish is entangled in each room. Is that clear enough for you?”
“Yep. We’ll need to step into room 301 to get into the nitty-gritty.”
“Right. Let’s move on then.”
We headed back to the lobby area, standing before the information board again.
⇦ Observatory
⇧ Guest Rooms
⇨ ??? – Under construction.
“It appears we can’t access the question mark area yet, so off to the observatory it is!”
As we guided ourselves along the left path, Eunsol sister voiced the shared curiosity in everyone’s mind.
“What do you think this observation place is for?”
I was just as curious.
*
Current Location: Third Floor, Guest Room Area -> Third Floor, Observatory
—
Upon opening the door to the observatory, an oddly mysterious space appeared, familiar yet strange at the same time.
The space resembled an ultra-large hemispherical dome, right in the center was something akin to a long astronomical telescope.
Overall, it felt very much like an observatory.
“Is that a telescope? It looks massive!”
Jinchul Hyung queried, and Sanghyun Hyung responded.
“It is pretty big, but there are larger telescopes on Earth. Of course, given that this is a hotel, it’s probably far more extraordinary in terms of performance… But it’s interesting how the objective lens sticks out beyond the ceiling.”
Near the telescope were an antique table and chairs that seemed inviting enough for meetings.
“Oh! There’s a door here! It says ‘Bedroom’ on top!”
“Maze, don’t touch anything recklessly.”
“Hey, I was just talking out loud!”
While the Maze seemed slightly deflated, I opened the door labeled ‘Bedroom’ and took a peek inside. I noted that there weren’t any danger alerts popping up.
Inside, as the name suggested, there was a cozy space where multiple people could comfortably sleep.
“It’s a bedroom, alright. There’s a shower room next to it too. At first glance, nothing too special…”
Glancing back at my comrades, it was no surprise that Ari responded immediately.
“Having a bedroom itself is special, though!”
“That’s exactly it.”
Since the hotel has Room 105 solely for resting, there’s no reason to have bedrooms on other floors.
In fact, there were no beds or bathrooms on the second floor whatsoever.
“With a bedroom and a bathroom, I’d say food might come out of that table as well.”
“Probably just like the snack table, right? Let me give it a go.”
As Eunsol sister approached the table and placed her hand under it, she magically pulled out sandwiches and coffee from seemingly thin air.
“Just as I expected.”
“Having spaces to eat, sleep, and wash separately is… convenient, right?”
At a glance, it seemed considerate, but, not really.
Elena, who was right next to it, pulled out an iced tea with a smirk on her face.
“It seems likely we’ll end up trapped in the observatory. While we’re stuck, we can’t access Room 105.”
The existence of another resting area hinted at something.
While navigating through the third floor, there would come a moment when we couldn’t head down to the first floor.
“Let’s take a look at that telescope.”
As Songyee moved towards it, Ari halted her.
“Hold on, it’s my turn first.”
Watching some of my comrades act carelessly reminded me it’s only been two days since we started on the third floor.
Just as I was about to put my eye to the telescope’s eyepiece—
Sage Advice: 3 -> 2
“Cease observational attempts.”
The warning came quick and concise.
“…”
“Like, Kain?”
“Something popped up, right? What’s it saying?”
“It’s telling us to stop observing.”
A sudden silence fell over my comrades.
The danger alert usually only shows up when my life is in peril.
Meaning if I had proceeded to observe, I would’ve either died or been gravely injured.
“… Classic hotel behavior.”
A chill crawled down my spine after quite some time.
Out in the world, I’m lauded as a great Horus or demi-god, but here, a mere mishap with a telescope could cost me my life.
Thrilling yet indescribably eerie made me take a step back from the telescope.
Jinchul Hyung appeared puzzled and asked,
“So the existence of a telescope implies we are to use it, right?”
“Exactly.”
“But how do you use it when even getting close to the eyepiece is dangerous?”
“Maybe there are conditions under which you can use it?”
“Like what?”
In that brief moment, I pondered whether to use an advisory, but concluded against it.
Honestly, this wasn’t exactly a problem we could solve through discussions among ourselves.
Sage Advice: 2 -> 1
“What makes using the telescope dangerous, or what are the conditions to use it safely?”
“It’s dangerous because it hasn’t been focused yet.”
“Looks like it’s unsafe because it’s not focused yet. What does that imply?”
I turned to Sanghyun Hyung, who might be the most familiar with such equipment.
He seemed to think for a moment before offering his insight.
“Focusing a telescope is the process needed to accurately observe the intended subject. The implication of unfocused means you’re either looking at the object unnecessarily closely or from too far away.”
Hearing that sparked a realization in me.
“… Obviously, the object of observation won’t be ordinary.”
“Of course not.”
At that point, Ari, too, started to grasp the situation and spoke up.
“It’s like this: Let’s say the object we’re observing is some kind of prisoner floating somewhere in the universe. Without proper focus, we risk seeing the prisoner too closely or from afar. Being too close is obviously dangerous, and seeing from afar poses risks too.”
Sanghyun Hyung nodded in agreement.
“From a distant perspective, it may allow you to see the entire prisoner at once. In that respect, viewing from a distance could be even more perilous than looking up close.”
“The safe observation range is likely very narrow. So, we need to focus and use it properly.”
Maze gulped cautiously, mumbling.
“Does that mean if we were to look through that telescope, we might spot that whale-like entity?”
“Maze, ‘prisoner’ was just an example. The object of observation might be something altogether dangerous.”
“Then, could we be looking at something other than a prisoner?”
“No idea.”
None of us knew for certain what the observation subject was.
However, a sudden, strong intuition struck me.
“Looks like Kain has been deep in thought.”
“…”
“Is it tough to answer yet? If I interrupted—”
“It’s not a prisoner.”
“Then?”
“Let’s think a bit more.”
I didn’t think the observation subject was a prisoner.
Because, as the hotel itself mentioned, I’m not the same Kain who walked in initially.
Would I die just by observing a prisoner from afar?
Honestly, I didn’t think so.
This isn’t about being arrogant and saying I could win against a prisoner; it’s more like I’ve passed the stage where merely looking could endanger my life.
“… ”
Something that far surpasses even a prisoner.
The participants, no matter how many legacies they acquire from the hotel and powerful blessings they receive, can’t contend with such a being.
The observatory was built to observe that very presence.
“All right! Let’s carefully inspect our surroundings. If something doesn’t seem right, don’t touch it and just call for me. We still have one advisory left.”
*
Close to two hours passed in silence.
It was time to wrap up the exploration since we had to enter the cursed room once dawn broke.
As I contemplated,
“Ah? Kain Hyung!”
Surprisingly—though considering the blessings, maybe it wasn’t that surprising—Seungyub shouted in excitement from the bedroom.
Maze chimed in, seemingly fascinated.
“I thought he was secretly taking a nap since he’s tired!”
Seungyub exited with an incredulous expression directed at Maze.
“Hey! Do you really underestimate me that much?”
While Maze stuck out her tongue, it looked like a playful tease, which was so cute it made me chuckle without realizing.
“Hyung, I found some weird paper in the bedroom!”
“Nice work! Everyone, come this way.”
The small letters were densely scribbled on it.
“Thoughts on the Missing Link…”
*
Thoughts on the Missing Link
As an explorer, let’s journey upstream against the river of time.
If luck is on our side, we might discover fossils that have been swept downstream from the upper reaches.
From those fossils, we can uncover clues about the past that has been left behind.
Unfortunately, gaps often appear between the fossils, and some call these gaps the “missing link.”
Why does this phenomenon occur?
The probability of a fossil forming is as low as the chance that a message in a bottle you send into the sea is found by your first love across the ocean.
While there are over 50 million species in a given era, fewer than 2 million have been identified.
Of those 2 million species, how many will remain as fossils into the future, 10,000 years from now?
Thus, the existence of missing links among fossils is an inevitable phenomenon.
Species that leave no fossils leave no trace in the future.
In the flow of time, they vanish into a trace-less sand.
Yet…
Just because something leaves no trace doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.
They surely existed, experienced beginnings and ends, glory and decay, booms and declines.
It’s all such a deep tragedy that each vanishing act speaks volumes.
And so, I vowed.
In this empty world, somewhere, I shall leave an unchanging record.
*
A quiet settled around us.
Everyone seemed lost in thought or careful not to disrupt the contemplative mood of a comrade.
“… ”
As various complex ideas flitted through my mind, one notion emerged faintly.
The term “missing link” was metaphorical.
It wasn’t referring to that missing link in biology or evolutionary theory, but rather something entirely different, using the concept to illustrate another idea.
Sanghyun Hyung carefully murmured.
“Missing link, fossils, trace-less sand, unchanging record… Seems these are our key terms.”
“…”
“One thing I am curious about is, who do you think wrote this?”
Maze couldn’t contain her curiosity.
“Can’t you ask using the advisory?”
“I’ve already used two, leaving only one.”
With only a few hours until we had to enter the cursed room, I wanted to save at least one advisory.
Maze soon caught onto my intent and nodded.
“Oh, right…”
“I’ll ask when we have a little more time later.”
After that, no significant discoveries were made until the day broke.
“Let’s call it a first exploration wrap. Considering we need to enter the cursed room shortly, I think everyone should take some time to relax.”
*
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 2
Current Location: Third Floor, Guest Room Area
Sage’s Advice: 1
—
Around 11 AM.
Finally, we stood before the door labeled Room 301.
While we did our utmost to prepare…
No matter how much you prepare, stumbling into the cursed room can lead to a shockingly empty death.
As a result, everyone couldn’t hide their tense expressions.
Since no one dared to grasp the doorknob, I took the lead.
“It’s funny that I’m feeling curious now that it’s time to open the door. Do you all remember the story from the manager?”
— gulp!
The sound of someone swallowing echoed in the air.
Everyone was indeed tight with nerves.
Eunsol sister murmured with a quavering voice.
“Whether there are fewer or more in the group, there are pros and cons. The right number is just a matter of choice.”
“Since the third floor allows you to choose the number of people entering. What does it involve?”
“Only those who grasp the doorknob get to enter?”
“Check the doorknob’s size. It doesn’t seem like two people could grab it simultaneously.”
“Sorry! That slipped out because I’m so nervous.”
“Not at all. I think…”
I aimed to lower the tension, trying to appear as relaxed as possible.
“I think after opening the door, that’s when we decide who will proceed in. So, I’m going to open it now.”
— clunk!
Here we go!
Current Location: Third Floor, Guest Room Area -> Room 301, Cursed Room – “Origin of the Species”
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