Chapter 709 – Someone’s Rest, Someone’s Hardship (5)
—
Lee Eunsol
— Clink!
I naturally realized that the sound of chopsticks clashing against an empty bowl meant lunch at the hotel was over.
“Looks like we’re done eating.”
“Y-Yeah.”
The atmosphere was heavy, with my silent comrades and Songi, whose expression was a bit stiff.
The reason we felt so gloomy over a single meal is simple: we decided to descend to Room 301 after lunch.
Well, it’s about time.
“Shall we start heading out?”
“Unnie, maybe digest first…”
“Alright, I’ll give it exactly 20 minutes before we set off.”
We had already held meetings and talked about what to do. Prolonging it any longer would just weaken our resolve.
As I took a deep breath, Kain calmly opened his mouth.
“As you may know, Room 301 is likely in complete turmoil right now.”
“…”
“For the Is race, it’s basically like losing a deity they worshipped. The dukes of the ruling class will try to stabilize the situation, but it won’t be easy.”
“That makes sense.”
“Chaos, division. You’ll need to use this well. It’s not a scenario where they’re united to attack you and Songi.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“The three dukes are crucial. When we were in Round 3, we brought the dukes in, right? As a result, they are mostly aware of what went down in Room 301.”
At this point, Ahri slid into the conversation.
“I’ll label the three dukes for convenience as A, B, and C.”
Of course, the dukes have names, but we’re expressing it this way since we can’t convey them in human language.
“Be careful with the B and C we absorbed later. They knew all about Room 301’s situation but still sided with the king.”
“Hmm, they weren’t super loyal to Mother’s will either.”
“Anyway!”
B and C weren’t wholeheartedly loyal. They didn’t attempt to stop the king’s ascension but tried to prevent the casualties of the Is race in the process.
“The first one we absorbed, A, I think you can reabsorb him again. As I mentioned before, he seems a little too much like Kain.”
Cough!
Kain cleared his throat awkwardly, but he didn’t dispute Ahri’s words.
It’s clear there are differences among the three dukes. B and C still have loyalty to the current king—my mother—but A seems almost completely turned away from the king.
The situation in Room 301 and the elements I could utilize were all laid out.
Finally, the most crucial point came: a mention of the new blessing ability I had received.
“I’m not sure what kind of power you got, Eunsol. So, carrying a duty grants you nobility?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t quite understand what that means.”
“Honestly, I’m just grasping the concept too. I’ll really need to try it out to know.”
Sadly, the Level 3 ability ‘Noblesse Oblige’ isn’t a power I could test on my comrades.
I’ll just have to use it in real situations to get a feel for it.
Kain nodded and replied, “As soon as we go down, you should start testing your ability. This power was given by the patron with the current situation in mind, so it’s important to learn how to use it.”
“Got it. By the way, Kain, do you have any advice for me?”
I looked at Kain with quiet anticipation.
He was silent for a moment before letting out a cryptic remark.
“…Take it slow, and don’t try to finish everything in one go.”
*
— Gulp!
Swallowing hard, I found myself standing in front of the door to Room 301 with Songi.
It’s my first time re-entering a room that had its curse resolved.
In the case of floors 1 and 2, resolved rooms only resulted in emptiness when reopened, right?
I turned my head one last time to greet my comrades.
“I’ll be back!”
Looking at their mixed expressions of concern, worry, and encouragement made my heart flutter.
“Take care!”
“Be safe!”
“If it’s dangerous, run first!”
Hearing their cheers, I reopened the entrance to Room 301.
— Creak!
“What? Another door behind this one?”
“It looks like an elevator door. There’s a button too.”
“It says ‘descend’.”
“…”
“Let’s get in.”
— Clunk!
Inside the elevator, there was a small booklet with a very simple sentence written on it.
“You can also use this elevator to return to the hotel.”
Soon, the elevator began moving towards the loop of Room 301.
*
In stark contrast to the noisy ascent, the descent was uneventful.
The elevator traveled for about 10 minutes before stopping, and when I went outside, there was just a grey building whose purpose was unclear.
However, the name of the grey building was oddly amusing, prompting Songi to comment.
“It’s called the Pioneer Building. Seems like they really like that name, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s likely they’re using the same name so we can recognize it easily.”
“Remember the location of the building—”
“- Ah!”
Startled by my own voice, Songi looked at me.
“Unnie? What’s wrong?”
“Look at this!”
I pulled out a small phone from my pocket and showed it to Songi.
“What’s up with the phone?”
“This is an item from inside Room 301.”
“What do you mean—oh!”
“…”
In the brief silence, a thought arose.
My blessing—wealth—has some crazy quirks, one of the wildest being that ‘it can’t be used inside the Curse Room.’
Starting with my basic ability, the HP Market.
The HP Market appeared as an app on the phone I had when I first entered the hotel.
But I couldn’t take ‘that phone’ with the HP Market into the Curse Room.
The same goes for my enhanced ability—the Hand of Greed.
I see a small window in the corner of my vision saying “Hand of Greed: 1,” and when I focus on it, the number 1 changes to 0, activating the ability.
However, once I step into the Curse Room, that window disappears.
Isn’t a blessing supposed to be something given to help participants navigate the Curse Room?
To have a blessing I can’t use in the Curse Room? It’s absurd!
This is why my patron, the dragon, seems so unresponsive.
I can only buy legitimate items from the HP Market?
I’ll admit my responsibility is substantial.
As the dragon said, I might have lived my life too comfortably, resulting in a mediocre HP Market.
But the fact that I can’t use my blessing in the Curse Room is something that has nothing to do with my perception—
“Unnie, if we can use the HP Market, does that mean we can also use the Hand of Greed?”
While my thoughts were aimlessly dwelling on grievances towards my patron, Songi brought my focus back.
As she said, I noticed a faintly shining window in my peripheral vision.
“Hand of Greed: 1”
“Yeah.”
“Phew! That’s a relief!”
“Just the other day, remember how you thought it might be usable in the snowy field? Kain seemed to think so too.”
“But guessing and confirming are two different things.”
“True.”
Honestly, I don’t care much about the HP Market.
But knowing I can use the Hand of Greed is a substantial comfort.
“Alright, then let’s…”
“Let’s?”
“Take out our phones and check the news first.”
*
After about 10 minutes of scouring the internet, I realized something.
The returning Room 301 was now two days past the resolution of our curse.
In that time, all hell had broken loose in the world.
The Is race, upon realizing the demise of their god, had lost their minds.
“How do we deal with this situation—”
— Ring ring!
Huh? A phone call?
“Mom! Are you alright? Is Dad nearby? Please listen carefully. Don’t go outside under any circumstances—”
I was a bit surprised by Songi’s attitude as she called her family, but soon understood.
Unlike Songi’s parents, my father already knew about the Is race and had some precautions in place.
He should be able to protect himself and my brother.
Given what we need to do, contacting my family might actually be more dangerous now.
— Thud!
“Phew…”
“Did you finish the call?”
“Yeah.”
“Remember the first task we decided?”
“Of course.”
The first plan for our descent:
To confirm exactly what kind of power my ability, Noblesse Oblige, provides.
*
Seoul is already filled with chaos.
The Is race, realizing their god’s demise, lost their patience, spiraling into uncontrollable madness.
Some individuals were attempting to contact high-ranking officials, some were fleeing from this dreadful planet, while others appeared to be absolutely losing their minds.
There’s no chaos like this chaos.
— Bang!
Cars crashing into each other all around.
“Ahhh!”
“What’s that fog?!”
People screaming and running in all directions.
— Hisssssssss!
The ominous mist revealed itself boldly, with the Is race wreaking havoc!
“… That’s intense.”
Songi and I exchanged glances and, as previously arranged, began summoning our inheritance to stabilize the situation.
First, as Songi lets terrible visions of the host’s death play out, the Is race will mistake it for the host being dead and try to escape their original body to take over another.
Second, as the Is race leaves the host’s body, we use the flute.
Using only the power of the flute to drive away the Is race turned out to be more challenging than expected, but preventing the Is race that already escaped from possessing another body was much easier.
Third, the Is race, having lost their physical forms, flounder in a spectral state until they fade away one by one.
This was a repeat of what Songi had done in Rounds 2 and 3.
The only difference now is that while she once did it alone, we are dividing the work together.
Thanks to that, the operation ran very efficiently.
.
.
.
By the time we strolled around Yeouido and dealt with exactly 42 entities, a cloud of people had gathered around Songi and me.
“Thank you for saving us!”
Most of these were ordinary folks, but they were intelligent enough to understand the chaos a mysterious monster had brought upon the world.
We didn’t push them away and instead, they surrounded us, acting as a living shield.
However, there was one unsettling point…
“Isn’t this a bit too loud? What if the Is race shoots missiles from afar now?”
Songi mused, casting the illusions hidden from the eyes of the common folk.
“… It’s fine.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing directed at you.”
“S-Sorry!”
While I understood Songi’s concern, I didn’t feel worried about that.
In fact, I began to think this way.
If we needed safety, we should raise more commotion right now.
As in, I should be recognizable enough for the Is race from a distance.
The lower entities may not recognize me, but the dukes will.
They know I’m the king’s daughter—their princess.
In many ways, I was a necessary presence for the confused Is race.
Just as I needed their strength.
“Unnie, do you think you understand what kind of ability Noblesse Oblige is supposed to be?”
“Yeah.”
I was starting to get a grasp of what the third enhancement bestowed by the patron truly meant and how to utilize it.
“… Alright, everyone!”
I spun around to face the crowd, which had a half-dazed, half-dependent gaze cast upon me.
With all eyes focused on me, I didn’t need to speak loudly.
“Let’s do this for safety’s sake. How about holding hands with the person next to you and introducing yourselves?”
The instruction I gave felt so ridiculous that I almost chuckled.
Yet, no one questioned the meaning of my command.
No one asked who I was or if I was an agent of the Administration Bureau.
They simply followed my words like obedient sheep.
“Hello, I’m Park Jin-ho –”
“I’m Kim Yaeun.”
“I’m Lee Seok-jin. I work at—”
Songi looked at me with wide eyes.
I nodded gently, conveying ‘You get the idea now?’
The third enhancement of wealth: Noblesse Oblige.
Noble individuals bear a duty.
Those who carry the duty gain nobility.
…
Those who sit at the high table have the obligation to protect the unfortunate and innocent.
In turn, the unfortunate and innocent must bow their heads to those at the high table.
“What an incredible power. But, Unnie, how do we deal with the Is— um, aliens with this?”
“… It’s not a power to use on humans.”
“Huh?”
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