Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 275: Meeting (2)

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 131

Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor

Sage’s Advice: 3

- Han Kain

How should we proceed when re-entering Room 203?

As soon as that topic came up, Grandpa immediately spoke, “Shouldn’t we start by discussing how we’re going to regroup? Kain, is your Status Window back to normal now?”

“Yeah, it’s working fine again. Once we enter the room, we’ll have access to the Scenario Comprehensions and Teammate Location Info. But knowing that won’t make it any easier to meet up.”

This part, at least, I could say with certainty.

I had already learned that the hard way.

“We’re going to be scattered across a landmass at least the size of Australia. Even if we know each other’s locations, there’s no easy way to meet up. We don’t have any long-distance teleportation abilities... The only small mercy is that it seems like the eight of us won’t be completely isolated. It looks like we’ll be placed in pairs, with each duo positioned near a different tribe.”

Me and Jinchul-hyung.

Grandpa and Dr. Sanghyun.

Eunsol-noona and Songee.

Seungyub and Elena.

Each pair would be attached to a different tribal group.

“Damn... So even with your location info, it’s still gonna be a pain in the ass, huh?”

“It’ll probably say something useless like ‘72km northwest near the oak forest.’ Knowing the location won’t mean much.”

Jinchul-hyung cut in, “Let’s not waste time on impossible solutions. We’ll have to regroup gradually over time, like last time. The real question is—are we heading to the mountains again?”

The moment he said that, everyone’s eyes naturally landed on Ahri.

If we were going back to the mountains, the biggest risk factor was still her.

Will we be able to beat Ahri if we had our Blessings back?

Some people seemed confident.

“Wouldn’t we be more than capable if we tried again? Without our Blessings, we couldn’t even use our real strength! It wasn’t just me—Kain, you didn’t even try using the Power of Incarnation. That’s because without the Status Window’s protection, you weren’t confident you could handle it, right?”

“To an extent, yeah.”

“Seungyub couldn’t do anything without his Blessing. Elena had it rough without Calmness and Tranquility too.”

“Hmm... I did struggle, but I don’t think Calmness and Tranquility would have made me stronger. Honestly, I feel like my Ominous Imagination was even more powerful than usual.”

“Even so, don’t you think we could beat Ahri if we had Justice?”

“That’s true.”

...But I completely disagreed.

As I was organizing my thoughts before speaking, Ahri spoke up first, “I don’t remember anything about the fight in the mountains. But based on what you guys have told me, I think Jinchul is missing something: you already won.”

That’s right.

If Ahri had been the only enemy, we had already defeated her.

Jinchul-hyung had used the Star to bring down the building she was hiding in.

I had immobilized her, and Grandpa had moved in for the final attack.

The strategy had worked.

“So why did we lose in the end? Because the robots intervened.”

At the mention of the robots, Grandpa frowned.

“At first, I thought they couldn’t be controlled inside the city. When the ones chasing us outside the mountains got close to the basin, they disappeared. But that wasn’t true. In the end, the thing that killed me was a robot suddenly emerging from a wall. Seungyub also got taken out by a robot, right?”

That meant Adversary Ahri could control the robots even within the city.

So why hadn’t she deployed them earlier?

Several possibilities came to mind.

“Maybe she wanted to avoid destroying the city. Those robots weren’t using machine guns—they were cannons. Every bullet was practically a missile. Just one rampaging robot could reduce the ruins to rubble.”

The doctor offered another perspective, “Or maybe the robots are just incredibly scarce. Back when civilization was intact, robots were probably more common than people. But after a few thousand years with no way to produce new ones, their value must have skyrocketed.”

Ahri herself added another theory, “Listening to how ‘I’ fought you guys... honestly, it sounds really inefficient. Maybe the goal wasn’t actually to kill you but to capture you for some reason. If the goal had been to kill, then why bother revealing myself and fighting hand-to-hand against multiple opponents?”

There were probably multiple factors at play.

But the conclusion was the same—the enemy could use robots inside the city.

That alone made them an extremely difficult opponent.

Even if we regained our Blessings, Justice and my Grimoire were useless against robots.

Jinchul-hyung could use the Star more freely, but there was a huge difference in engagement range.

It wouldn’t be easy.

“And there’s one more thing you shouldn’t forget. If my Blessing returns, then I’ll be able to use the Unnoticeable Girl again.”

That unsettling ability had made her nearly impossible to notice, even when she was playing tricks right in front of us.

If she regained that ability and had that laser?

We’d be screwed.

After considering all this, my thoughts were clear.

The mountains...

What if they were actually meant to be the final destination?

What if, in our first attempt, we had skipped crucial steps and gone straight to the final boss zone?

To confirm this, I finally used an ability I hadn’t relied on in a while.

Is there a problem with trying to cross the mountains again?

Advice: 3 → 2

Instead of repeating a failed choice, focus on the choice that led to results.

“Wait a second!”

I quickly halted the discussion and shared my revelation.

Instead of stubbornly retrying a failed approach, we needed to focus on the successful one.

The meaning was fairly clear.

Looking at the results, how did our mountain expedition turn out?

It was a failure.

Everyone who went there died.

We did gather useful information, but only because someone else succeeded in escaping.

And who succeeded?

Eunsol-noona and Songee.

Their choice—to follow the shadow of the celestial being in the sky—was the choice that actually led to an escape!

As that realization settled in, my teammates slowly started nodding.

But of course, this path had its own challenges.

“There’s a problem,” the doctor pointed out.

“That blue being in the sky... only Eunsol can see it.”

Noona responded immediately, “We don’t need to see it. I wasn’t staring at the sky the whole time either. I was following its shadow on the ground. The only issue is whether you guys will be able to spot it from your locations.”

Grandpa interjected, “That shouldn’t be an issue, right? Wherever the shadow passes, the land becomes unnaturally fertile.”

“Exactly. Songee and I saw it multiple times—lush patches of grass and fruit-bearing plants suddenly appearing in the middle of barren wasteland.”

“If the whole world is a wasteland, but certain areas suddenly bloom with fresh fruit and clean water, then it’s obviously the trace it left behind. If we follow those traces, we should naturally find the shadow.”

It was settled.

In the next attempt, we would ignore the mountains.

Instead, we would follow the path of the mysterious celestial entity.

“Now that we’re talking about the next attempt, who actually had the Protective Suit?”

Ahri gave a simple answer.

“No one did. Seungyub thought he found one, but it turned out not to be the Protective Suit at all.”

In our first attempt at Room 203, we entered without the Protective Suit.

“That’s not strange at all. The Protective Suit is a shared item, right? How have we handled it before? Normally, I keep it, and when we enter a Cursed Room, someone puts it on.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“This time was different. I just responded to the summons and left my room without grabbing it, so it stayed behind. That means we started the attempt without it. And...”

“And?”

“I think the same logic applies to the hourglass. Did anyone see it inside Room 203?”

“...”

The moment she mentioned that damn hourglass, everyone grimaced in frustration.

“Ugh! Even thinking about it again pisses me off!”

Even Elena, usually composed, couldn’t stop frowning.

“This time was really bad. They suddenly forced us awake in the middle of the night just to lure us into a trap.”

That was right.

I had wondered if there could be another reason for calling us out at dawn, but the answer was clear.

The night before the incident, I had damaged my eyesight while studying the Grimoire.

Given the nature of the Hotel, my sight would have fully recovered after a night’s rest.

So they specifically called us out before we had time to recover, ensuring we couldn’t respond properly.

“Now that we’re talking about it, let’s go take another look at that damn hourglass.”

“Good idea.”

Annoyed but determined, we took the elevator to the second floor.

The moment we saw the hourglass, everyone instinctively shut their mouths.

“”...””

It felt like we were observing radioactive waste.

No one dared to step closer to the table. We just stared at the hourglass like idiots.

“Ugh! What the hell are we doing? I’ll go take a look!”

As Ahri confidently stepped forward, I quickly grabbed her shoulder.

Now was not the time to act recklessly.

That thing was more dangerous than a live bomb.

“Hold on! I’ll use Advice first.”

Give me a real warning about the hourglass this time—no tricks!

Advice: 2 → 1

Mind your manners. Do not flip it recklessly before learning how to use it. There is a safety mechanism.

A safety mechanism?

That meant I had to check it myself.

“Hey! Kain—“

“Hyung, don’t talk to me! I need to focus.”

“O-okay.”

Slowly, very carefully, I lifted the hourglass, making sure I didn’t accidentally trigger a “flip” condition.

It looked like two opaque flasks fused together.

A small cogwheel was embedded in the side.

Is this the safety mechanism?

I cautiously turned the cogwheel.

With a soft click, the gel-like substance inside suddenly solidified.

“What did you just do? It made a weird sound.”

Instead of answering, I deliberately flipped the hourglass over.

Everyone’s faces immediately paled.

“Han Kain, you crazy bastard, what the hell—“

“...”

“...”

“...Nothing happened.”

“Hyung, did you just call me a crazy bastard?”

“I—I was just startled!”

Turning the cogwheel made the contents harden.

Once that happened, even if the hourglass was flipped, nothing flowed, preventing any activation.

Thinking about it, this kind of safety mechanism had to exist.

Otherwise, how could anyone use the hourglass if it triggered a massive disaster every time it accidentally tipped over?

Ahri cautiously approached, “Alright, alright. Now we know how to handle it. Normally, we keep the cog locked, and we only release it when we want to use the hourglass. But... when exactly are we supposed to use it? ‘Advancing the Hotel’s time’—what does that even mean?”

“No idea... I still have one Advice left. Should I use it?”

“Let’s think about it a bit more before wasting that. Oh, and you should carry it from now on.”

“Cough! Me?!”

“Why not? The first person to figure out how something works should be the one to manage it. Besides, you have Advice. Maybe it’ll tell you exactly when to use it, like, ‘Now! Turn the hourglass!’”

“...”

I looked around.

Not a single person wanted to go near the hourglass. Even Jinchul-hyung, who usually acted like Hercules, refused to make eye contact.

***“Alright! That about wraps up today’s meeting. We’ve gathered information, decided on our next course of action in Room 203, and at least figured out how to safely handle the hourglass. Now, for the last topic—the doctor’s suggestion. What do we think about switching to a different room?”

“Noona, what do you think?”