Chapter 706 – Someone’s Rest, Someone’s Hardship (2)
—
Lee Eunsol
“Going back to Room 301, I bet there will be a lot of fun activities, right?”
“…”
“If we think of it like a game, we’ve defeated the boss monster but haven’t done the looting yet!”
I tried my best to sound confident while talking to Songi.
I feel like the future of Room 301 will be more of an exciting place rather than a scary one, a place where you and I can gain additional strength.
“Y-Yeah! You’re right, unnie!”
I wanted to reassure Songi somehow, but it didn’t seem to work as I hoped.
I could still sense a deep fear in Songi.
She kept glancing at me with a worried expression during our conversation.
It seemed she was anxious about the two of us going to Room 301 together, considering my lack of physical power.
Ah…
It’s not like I’m upset with Songi for feeling this way.
If I had to choose between ‘Lee Eunsol’ and ‘Han Kain’, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick Han Kain.
— Flop!
Lying in the snow and staring up at the sky, the cold enveloped me, sending chills to my very core.
…
The unspoken feelings I hadn’t shared with Songi, but which she likely already sensed.
I was scared to return to Room 301.
Fear of the aliens’ wickedness and my mother’s traces plagued my thoughts, and I was worried about the absence of a strong companion.
There were also several ominous elements that came to mind.
Room 301 was no longer a cursed room; it resembled the reality we had outside the first and second floors.
In other words, the unique looping gameplay elements of the hotel seemed to have vanished.
Thus, the systems related to escape or resolution no longer existed.
Meaning that if we died, we could not count on just one comrade’s escape for resurrection.
Even the “Stage Two Duke” kind of help we could have received was back in the previous time zone’s aid.
I’d heard there were only a few minutes left of the Duke’s time, but since the maze couldn’t return to 301, it was all moot.
“…”
Isn’t this too harsh?
What can I and Songi even do by ourselves in Room 301 right now?
As I closed my eyes, feeling like I was suffocating…
— Squish!
“Looks like you two were here?”
“Oppa!”
“Did Han Kain come??”
Out of nowhere, my comrade Han Kain appeared—a colleague I thought, “if I could only go with one person, it would be him!”
I wondered if I had gotten more honest in my heart after experiencing Room 301. The anxious ‘Lee Eunsol’ and the tension-releasing ‘Han Kain’ were distinct from each other.
But even I felt relieved as soon as Han Kain appeared.
When Songi and I felt the greatest darkness, he just showed up like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He always appeared at needed moments, in the right places.
“Looks like you both have a lot on your minds about going to Room 301 alone?”
“Ehh? Did you hear that? Are you eavesdropping?!”
In response to Songi’s playful comment, Han Kain chuckled lightly.
Seriously, how would he even eavesdrop? He wouldn’t have to!
If it were Han Kain, he would have likely guessed the kind of conversation Songi and I were having as soon as the hotel informed us about the “Descent.”
“Though it’s not exactly consolation, I do have some good news.”
“Ah! Of course! That’s my oppa!”
“Hey, isn’t that a bit soul-less spontaneous cheer?”
“Just spill it! Did you write this down? What’s the good news?”
The comrade who appeared precisely when needed shared the advice I had been eagerly waiting for.
“Before you both descend, make sure to visit the Sanctum of Blessings first.”
“Well, duh, isn’t that obvious—Ah!”
Honestly, at first, I thought it was a given. But soon, like Songi, I began to understand the implication of Han Kain’s words.
What could be the compelling reason for the Wisdom’s Patron to emphasize the Sanctum at this point?
The abilities gained from enhancing blessings weren’t predetermined; they depended on our choices and those of the Patrons.
That means, at this moment, something essential may arise!
Think back to when Jinchul received regeneration powers upon getting a star from another dimension, and when Elena got enlightenment from ominous thoughts.
This time wouldn’t be any different.
The patrons must have prepared the powers that are currently needed for both me and Songi.
“Hehe! I bet an elephant will give me something!”
“Elephant?”
“My patron is an elephant! Yours is a dragon, right?”
“Is that so? Indeed, older sister.”
“Yeah?”
Han Kain added another piece of advice with a smile.
“Just don’t let greed take over during party time this time.”
“What do you—”
In that instant, I realized a fact I had forgotten. The true meaning of Room 301 not being purely a cursed room anymore.
This is Wisdom!
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 18
Current Location: Floor 2, Snowfield
Sage’s Advice: 1
—
Han Kain
The suffocating atmosphere of the snowy setting began to ease.
When Eunsol unnie and Songi finally showed bright expressions, I thought:
That’s definitely me.
It’s always me.
“Han Kain, it’s you again?”
Sigh… What would happen without me?
Without me, the hotel party would flop, the cursed room would flop, the country would flop, the world would flop!
So, as I was entranced in my own ego, returning from the snowfield to the hotel’s interior…
Ari appeared, mouth halfway open.
“What are you up to?”
“Hmm? I think I was just worried about unnie and Songi—”
“… I’ve been here for a while, you know.”
“… Since when?”
“Since you were hiding behind the tree, eavesdropping on Songi and Eunsol’s conversation.”
“…”
“Why are you acting like this?”
“Well, they were having some serious talk, and it felt awkward to jump in—”
“Phew…”
At the moment Ari sighed heavily, I regretted not having a way to erase her memory.
“… Sometimes, you should show me too.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
As I started to feel the warm energy of the hotel contrasting with the snowy scene, Ari brought up a different topic.
“Three, two, and the first floors seem to differ in many ways.”
“True.”
“Before, they gave us inheritances and expected us to decide what to get. Now, it’s like, after the boss monster disappears, we need to go out and loot for rewards.”
“Right. It’s not so much that inheritance has vanished; it’s just the method of obtaining it has changed.”
“But the people who can enter that field are limited to those who made a wish.”
Ari was getting to the point she wanted to make.
“Exactly, there’s no choice time. The people who get rewarded seem already set—only those directly connected to the causality of the room, the person who wished for it get the rewards.”
Ari nodded in agreement as she responded.
“Does that mean the Sanctum of Blessings is the same? Strengthening only applies to Eunsol and Songi?”
“Well, we’ll need to find out.”
“Right…”
Ari seemed to contemplate for a moment before her expression suddenly turned playful.
“Han Kain, think about it; hasn’t your first wish already ended in reality?”
“True?”
Think back to just after entering the third floor.
While the other comrades were sprawled on the sofa, beginning to recognize the form of their first wish, I hadn’t even dreamt about it back then.
The manager had outright called me ‘a participant who overcame the dream.’
“So then, the room associated with your wish probably isn’t on the third floor.”
“Maybe…”
At this point, Ari’s expression grew overtly teasing.
“Whoa! So, our Han Kain is getting nothing on the third floor?”
“…”
“Your blessing is already at level four, so there’s nothing more to enhance! And no room associated with your inheritance, so you won’t get anything!”
“…”
Soon, Ari made a show of slowly sticking out her tongue as she walked down the hallway.
“Nyah!”
“…”
“Nyah! Nyah!”
Watching Ari stroll away towards the hotel made me think.
What she said was something I had come to realize after getting a vague grasp of the structure of the third floor.
The blessing was already at level four; thus, there was no need to enhance anymore, and since there was no room linked to me, I wouldn’t get anything.
Although I had suspected it, hearing Ari voice it made me feel a little bitter.
It felt as if I had been excluded from getting rewards from the start, more so than what I do well or what I excel in.
Thinking like that made me increasingly uncomfortable.
—
Sage’s Advice: 1
—
“There’s still one for today left.”
My comrades likely guessed it too, but using three pieces of advice for something truly important daily isn’t practical.
Especially during a time like now when the cursed room had been resolved.
What should I use it for? As I pondered, nothing particularly came to mind, so I often ended up wasting them hurriedly during the evening.
That’s when meaningless questions would pop up.
“Did the maze summon me again yesterday?” A typical question like that.
Surprisingly, the owl had delivered some shocking responses before, like, “Yep, summoned yesterday.”
“…”
—
Sage’s Advice: 1 -> 0
—
“I’ve done my best, but thinking there’s nothing left for me makes me a bit disappointed.”
I certainly didn’t expect a well-formed response.
I thought maybe I’d get a reprimand for thinking like this when I wanted to become a hero.
But that wasn’t the case.
“Having done my best as a child means in adulthood, one has to suffer losses. This is nothing but absurdity. The hotel does not pursue absurdity.”
“…”
Having done my best as a child, I have to suffer losses as an adult.
This refers to the growth spurt I experienced while putting my all into the first and second floors, leading to the situation of getting nothing on the third floor—that’s what the owl termed absurdity.
And it also said the hotel does not pursue absurdity.
So this means there’s still something out there for me!
When I thought that way, certain ideas came naturally to mind.
The sixth room with no numbers!
“Ha, haha! Hahaha!”
This is it! This is what the hotel is about!
As I laughed uncontrollably, Ari, who had been in front of me, turned around with a “What’s up?” look.
“Why are you laughing by yourself?”
Ha! Ari, you’re trying to poke fun at ‘Han Kain’ not realizing anything, huh?
I immediately crouched down and scooped up a handful of snow from the ground.
“Ehh! Sudden? Haha! You can’t hit me!”
In a flash, I moved to a corner a bit harder to reach.
Ari moved with the speed of a veteran agent of the Administration Bureau, born with her inheritance…
“This is it!”
In the blink of an eye, I dumped a pile of snow on Ari’s head.
“Gah! Instant teleportation is unfair! That’s cheating!”
“No cheating in the hotel.”
It was fun.
I could tell today, and for a while ahead, it would be joyous.
After all, I’m not the one descending, right?
This marks the beginning of someone’s rest.
“Ah, come on! Show me something too!”
“What do you want to see?”
“Give me something impressive!”
“…”
—
The next morning, everyone headed to the Sanctum of Blessings from early on.
—
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