Escaping the Mystery Hotel

With that, the tension that had been absent for a while started to fill the room again. It had been quite some time since we last entered a Cursed Room. Typically, we’d enter another Cursed Room within two to three days after clearing one, but this time, with the use of the Three Day Rest Ticket for Miro’s Hell, the interval was considerably longer.

“Room 104, the Hotel High School. Remember? Grandpa, Jinchul, and I were the ‘teachers’, while the rest of you were students.”

“Sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Kim Sanghyun hadn’t experienced Room 104.

We summarized what happened in Room 104 for him, as we recalled it.

We started in the roles of teachers and students, with daily quizzes and physical tests pushing the students to their limits, and those who failed were sent to the old school building. There was also the fear of being replaced when someone returned from the old building.

As if recalling something unsettling, Seungyub spoke up with a worried expression, “Do you think the scenario might change as it did in the Mansion of Fear? Since there’s a new character now?”

Ahri didn’t seem to agree.

“Isn’t this different? Back then, Grandpa and I were NPCs inside the Cursed Room before joining the team, so a major revision to the scenario was inevitable. This time, there’s no narrative connection between the Hotel’s doctor and the Hotel High School.”

“Most likely, they’ll just add a role for Kim Sanghyun in the Hotel High School. For example, a math teacher.”

Kim Sanghyun nodded.

“That seems likely. I expect to be assigned a teacher role.”

Grandpa wrote on the whiteboard in large letters, as if to ensure we wouldn’t forget.

“Remember this: ‘It is natural for the_____to_____ the father.”

The hint we got from Room 106. We have yet to uncover its meaning. As the meeting began in earnest, Elena spoke up with concern, “Are we sure it’s okay to have this meeting without Kain? Even if we relay the conclusions to him tomorrow, he’s played a significant role until now…”

It seemed Elena hadn’t fully grasped why I had sent Kain to rest.

When I glanced around, I noticed Ahri and Grandpa wearing awkward smiles.

Those two sure are quick to catch on to these things.

“Ahem. Cough.”

“Grandpa, why don’t you explain?”

“Elena, Kain should actually be excluded from this meeting. His body needed rest, and even if he were in perfect health, he still shouldn’t participate.”

Upon hearing that, Elena seemed to realize something.

“Oh! I almost forgot. The biggest threat in Room 104!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Seeing Seungyub’s confusion, Ahri explained, “The reason we’ve been so uneasy about Room 104 is because of the strange nature of Descent, right? It’s very different from Inheritances. When Kain used Descent, it was as if an arrogant angel took possession of his body. In other words…”

“It was as if the Lord was controlling him. And we’re worried that the same phenomenon might happen again in Room 104. In other words, one of the biggest dangers in Room 104 is Han Kain himself. Naturally, he shouldn’t be aware of our plans.”

“Oh, right! Then… Do we really have to go to that room?”

As soon as Seungyub understood the situation, his expression showed his reluctance to enter Room 104.

The Hotel, which constantly tried to create conflict among us, might have made Room 104 its ultimate trap.

Ahri clarified, “That’s exactly why we’ve been avoiding Room 104. But now, with the penalty imposed due to the excessive use of Advice, we need to push the penalty onto Room 104 and use it as a throwaway card.”

Ahri’s stance was clear from the beginning: we weren’t entering Room 104 to clear it but rather to offload the penalty and discard it as a lost cause.

At this point, I chimed in with my thoughts, “Alright, whether we clear Room 104 or use it as a dumpster for the penalty, we need to go there and do something. There are three things we need to think about. First, what’s the meaning of the hint? Second, how do we escape? Third, what’s the plan regarding Kain?”

Songee quickly responded.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and the first word must be ‘daughter’, right?”

“I can’t think of any other word. Given the context, the ‘father’ here is the Lord. And there’s indeed one person in Room 104 who would call the Lord ‘father’.”

“Aurelia, the Guider. If we interpret ‘father’ as the Lord, then the first word is certainly ‘daughter’, referring to Aurelia.”

Ahri countered, “Don’t jump to conclusions based on what we know about Room 104. Once we’re inside, there may be more unknown entities.”

“That’s a fair point. Let’s just keep in mind that the first word is likely ‘daughter’, with the subject probably being Aurelia, and move on to the next part. What could the next word be?”

Everyone looked confused at this point. There were too many possibilities. There were countless words that could describe a relationship between a daughter and father.

“There are a lot of options, aren’t there?”

Kim Sanghyun spoke up quietly, “At this point, any word could fit. You could interpret it as ‘trust’, suggesting you should break that trust, or as ‘love’, implying you should exploit it. Can I share my opinion?”

“You don’t have to ask. You’re one of us.”

“Thank you. Let’s not jump to conclusions about the second word. We simply don’t have enough information yet.”

Jinchul agreed, “I was thinking the same thing. If we settle on a vague word and it turns out to be wrong, we could end up making the wrong decisions based on that word.”

“Alright. Let’s drop the discussion about the second word for now and move on to the next topic—escape scenarios. Ahri, you escaped on the first attempt. Can you summarize what happened?”

Ahri recalled the past and described the events. It was still an interesting story to hear.

Kain infiltrated the old school building to confront Aurelia and immobilized her with a stab. Meanwhile, Ahri used hypnosis to create chaos and start a large fire within the school. She even called the authorities herself. With the fire trucks and police arriving, the Hotel High School abandoned Ahri, and once it was clear she wouldn’t return to the school, the escape condition was met.

After summarizing the events, Ahri shared her thoughts again, “I think we can try a similar escape method this time. The cultists in the old school are a secretive group, so if we cause a significant enough incident, they won’t be able to respond quickly.”

Kim Sanghyun made an astute observation.

“That’s an excellent and creative plan! But is there a faster way to secure the escape of one person? If we can get someone out right away, the rest of us can safely explore the Cursed Room.”

His suggestion was sound.

It was a tactic we used during Room 101, Common Sense Renovating Media, where Seungyub escaped at the start while the rest of us explored the TV station and hospital.

If we could use a similar approach in Room 104, it would be great. But what would be a viable escape method from the start?

Seungyub cautiously spoke, “This might sound reckless…”

“Perfect. The crazier the idea, the better in a place like this.”

“How about I start by beating up the other students?”

Kim Sanghyun tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t you just get sent to the old school building?”

“Not if I go beyond that—beating them with a chair until they’re half-dead.”

“Oh! So, you’d cause an incident on the first day that would warrant a police response?”

“Yes.”

“If we were on Earth, I’d think Seungyub needed serious counseling for even suggesting that, but since we’re in the Hotel, it sounds quite clever.”

“Thank you…”

Jinchul added his thoughts, “Oh, that’s the kind of idea we’re talking about? I could certainly do that too, though it might not be the best idea if I’m involved.”

“Yeah, you and the other Inheritance holders should focus on uncovering the secrets of the old school.”

“Let’s prepare multiple escape options. Seungyub will try smashing a classmate’s head, and Grandpa?”

“I’ll beat up a teacher or two?”

“If you throw a teacher out of a window with that strength, the police SWAT team will definitely come.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Songee offered a different suggestion, “I feel like bringing in outside forces could work well for more than just escaping. The Hotel High School cult seems to care about law enforcement.”

“What are you thinking?”

“For example, I could create an illusion that there’s a way out of a window and have the students jump out en masse.”

Kim Sanghyun began to participate more naturally in our discussions.

“What if I do something subtle, like tampering with muscles as I pass by to give five or six people permanent injuries? That would surely bring the emergency services.”

“…”

If anyone overheard our meeting, they’d think we’d lost it.

But who cares? This is what the Hotel is like.

“I just had a great idea!”

“What is it, Unni?”

“The vice-principal loved drinking coffee and often asked me to fetch it. What if we put some of Ahri’s blood in the coffee?”

Ahri was impressed.

“Then, I could control him to do something crazy?”

“Exactly.”

The meeting went on late into the night, planning tactics for escape and ways to use outside forces to undermine the cult at the Hotel High School.

Then, we moved on to the final topic.

“Last but not least, let’s discuss ‘the Son of Heaven’.”

Now completely integrated into our group, Kim Sanghyun immediately asked, “I’ll start with a question, if I may. Since I’m still not fully aware of the situation, please bear with me. How powerful is this “Son of Heaven”? Our strategy will depend on whether we can subdue him or not.”

The strength of the Son of Heaven… everyone’s minds wandered back to the past.