Escaping the Mystery Hotel

- Han Kain

When I summoned the Grimoire, Ahri began to explain slowly, “This book is the source of your supernatural powers, right?”

“About half of it is. The other half probably comes from my Blessing and tattoo.”

“Of course. Anyway, many beings who handle supernatural powers rely on special items. Take us, the Hotel participants, for example. But have you ever thought about what kind of effect these items have on their users?”

“…”

“Actually, this applies not only to ‘supernatural items’ but also to supernatural experiences in general. It’s like finding out that the dog you’ve been raising at home is actually a hound from hell.”

Songee muttered in surprise, “Even Perro?”

“Yes, even him. Anyway, there’s one organization that is extremely interested in how supernatural experiences affect humans. You know that organization well.”

“The Administration.”

“Exactly. The Administration holds the largest collection of supernatural items. They’ve been observing for many years how these items affect their users. And they’ve discovered a few clear changes.”

Listening to the conversation, I realized this wasn’t just about me.

Songee, who owned the bracelet, and Jinchul-hyung, who had the Star, both moved closer to Ahri with curiosity.

“Users of supernatural items, even if they were ordinary people at first, begin to change over time. The nature of those changes varies from case to case. Some grow horns, some start seeing things that were previously invisible, and some even develop mental illnesses.”

“So, the changes can be good or bad?”

“You could say that. The Administration classifies these changes under the phrase ‘an elevation of the soul’s rank.’”

“That phrase doesn’t really make sense to me. Why suddenly mention the soul?”

“Good question. The reason it doesn’t resonate is that we didn’t come up with this term ourselves. It’s knowledge passed down from beings that are closer to the supernatural world—demons or monsters we can communicate with. When they saw these changes in people, they said, ‘Their souls have been elevated’, level up if you will”

Songee, unable to hold back, asked, “What does ‘soul’ even mean? And what exactly does it mean for its rank to be elevated?”

The answer was rather unsatisfactory.

“We don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“We really don’t know. As I’ve mentioned, most members of the Administration are just humans who were born and raised on Earth. Sure, they’re a bit smarter and stronger mentally than the average person, but in the end, they’re still human. So, even if demons talk about human souls, we don’t really understand what they’re referring to. Souls are invisible and intangible to us, after all.”

Grandpa chimed in briefly, “We may not know the true meaning of ‘an elevation in the soul’s rank,’ but we do have an idea of the kinds of changes it brings. The most notable is what’s often referred to as ‘insight.’”

“Insight?”

“The kind of phenomena Ahri mentioned earlier. Like suddenly being able to see things you couldn’t before or hearing voices that were previously inaudible.”

Jinchul-hyung, who had been quietly listening, asked, “What changes did the two of you experience? Grandpa?”

Grandpa’s expression hardened for a moment, and Ahri answered in his place.

“Mooksung had his changes surgically removed.”

“Cough! S-So, you experienced physical changes, huh? What about you, Ahri?”

Ahri hesitated, then answered vaguely, “It’s hard to say. I’ve definitely experienced some changes, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what they are.”

Jinchul-hyung seemed confused.

“What do you mean?”

I thought I understood what Ahri was trying to say.

“It’s because your body has become one with the ‘Ancient Blood’, right?”

“That’s right. Haven’t you ever wondered how I’m able to perform such a wide range of abilities with just one Inheritance?”

As soon as Ahri said this, all of us, including myself, nodded our heads in agreement!

I’ve thought about it countless times.

The Ancient Blood is vastly different from any of the other Inheritances we’ve come across.

The number of supernatural powers Ahri could display with just this one Inheritance was staggering.

Hypnosis, flight, and enhanced strength were just the basics. She could also use her blood to heal or even imbue it with her memories.

In a way, the Ancient Blood seemed to possess no limit to its abilities.

None of the treasures we’ve obtained so far came close to matching its versatility.

From this conversation, I began to understand part of its secret.

“I’ve spent many years accumulating various experiences and using the Ancient Blood. Demons and monsters have told me countless times that my soul’s rank has been elevated. And over time…”

“And?”

“I found myself able to do more and more things. One day, I suddenly realized I could fly. Another day, I found that I could crush stones with my bare hands. The problem is, I can’t distinguish which abilities came from the changes in my soul and which came from mastering the use of the Ancient Blood.”

It was a simple explanation.

For Ahri, who had been bonded with her Inheritance since birth, the Ancient Blood had become inseparable from her own identity.

That was why she couldn’t tell the difference between abilities that came from her soul’s growth and those she developed from mastering the Ancient Blood.

While the others continued asking Ahri questions, I turned my attention inward.

Am I starting to develop special powers too?

It was possible. Several unique experiences from Christmas in Miro’s Hell flashed through my mind.

But for now, the Owl’s instruction wasn’t to find some new supernatural ability.

It was to study again.

Studying meant reading books, so I figured the owl was telling me to delve back into the later parts of the Grimoire, especially the section on the “Power of Incarnation”.

As I stroked the Grimoire, I resolved to review that part later in the evening when I was alone.

After our morning conversation, we naturally left Room 105 and headed for the elevator.

I wondered what kind of changes awaited us on the second floor.

***“Wow! It’s so fancy!”

“All the snow is gone, and there’s a ceiling now.”

“Is that a chandelier? And a Christmas tree?”

The newly repaired second floor was the epitome of a luxurious five-star Hotel.

The space was filled with gleaming decorations and beautiful artwork, and the previously empty areas had all been transformed into individual rooms.

Especially noteworthy was the massive Christmas tree in the center of the grand hall, which was so breathtaking that we couldn’t help but stop and admire it.

As we wandered around, we discovered a few more new features and mysterious aspects of the second floor.

Firstly, there were many unnumbered rooms.

On the first floor, every room was numbered from 101 to 107, with each serving a specific purpose—Cursed, Rest, Mission, and Gate Rooms.

In contrast, several rooms on the second floor had no numbers. Of course, there were still numbered rooms, from 201 to 207.

With these new rooms and the grand central hall, the second floor appeared to be more than twice the size of the first floor.

Secondly, a proper exit door leading outside had been installed.

Although we could no longer venture into the outer world beyond the snow globe, the door now led to the snowy wilderness outside.

At least now we wouldn’t have to break through walls every time we wanted to go out.

Thirdly, the “Mysterious Craftsman” we had discovered in the outer world and a mysterious “package” had been placed on the second floor.

It was also worth noting that Ahri’s Blessing, “Secret”, had been reactivated.

“Hey! My Blessing started working again!”

“Oh! Secret?”

“Yeah. I’ll share the information I’ve just received. There are two hidden NPCs and two hidden rooms on the second floor.”

“We’ve already found one NPC and one room, right?”

“That’s right. We found the Mysterious Craftsman and the Room of Resurrection. I also learned the name of another room, the ‘Mirror Room’, and it’s now showing up in my Blessing.”

Ahri wrote this information down on the whiteboard that had been set up in the center of the second floor.

Hidden NPCs

1. Mysterious Craftsman. Awakening in progress.

2. ???

Hidden Rooms

1. Room of Resurrection (!)

2. Mirror Room (?)

“‘Awakening in progress’? And what’s with the exclamation mark and question mark next to the room names?”

“I just wrote what I saw. Maybe that Lego figure will wake up in a few days and start talking to us. As for the exclamation mark, it explains the Room of Resurrection. We all know what that’s about. The question mark means we haven’t found the Mirror Room yet.”

“Your Blessing is meant to uncover the Hotel’s secrets, right? Can you sense where things are?”

“It doesn’t work passively. I have to wander around, and then I get a vague sense of where things are. By the way, the entrance to the Room of Resurrection is located to the left of the Christmas tree.”

“So, we still need to search for the Mirror Room and the other NPC?”

Noona chimed in, “We can save that exploration for later. As you can see, everyone’s still quite exhausted.”

“Yes, we’ll figure it out later. We still have one more day of rest, but let’s hold off on any more exploration for now.”

We were all worn out from our venture into the outer world, and those who had their energy drained by the Incense were still looking frail.

In two days, we’d have to enter a Cursed Room again, so it was time to focus on recovery rather than starting anything new.

As we continued talking, a notification suddenly appeared in front of all of us.

[In Delivery]

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Oh, sorry, everyone! I was trying to open the package, and this notification just popped up.”

The third discovery from the outer world—a package hidden under the snow globe—was the most baffling item yet.

Of course, it wasn’t just a simple package, there must be something good inside it.

Still, what does “[In Delivery]” even mean?

Elena voiced the same thought I had, “Isn’t this absurd? If it’s ‘in delivery,’ that means the package shouldn’t even be here yet, right? But the package is already here, and it just won’t open! This is ridiculous!”

Ahri chuckled.

“Maybe it’s the Hotel’s idea of a joke! To be honest, I found it kind of funny.”

The ancient Hotel’s joke seems to resonate with the oldie, go figure…

I didn’t bother pointing it out though.

“Maybe it’ll open when the rest days are over. Anyway, let’s wait and see. It took a while for the golden egg to hatch too.”

“…”

With my words, silence fell over the Hotel.

While I had plans to study the Grimoire and Elena still needed to practice her Ominous Imagination, there was little else left for us to do together.

Usually, the most important task during Party Time is deciding which room to enter next and exploring, but this time, both were unnecessary.

We had already decided on Room 104, and we were too tired to continue exploring.

There was just one remaining decision to make during our meeting.

Resurrection

Should we use the Ticket this time?

And if so, on whom?

As everyone naturally drifted off to spend their own time, I decided to head out to the snowy wilderness by myself, planning to review the Grimoire before lunchtime.

- Thud!

Suddenly, I was hit by a snowball.

“Ouch! Miro, you agai—oh, it’s not Miro. Eunsol-noona?”

“Sorry! I was calling you, but you didn’t hear me from far away. So, did Miro throw snow at you back in her hell?”

“Haha! Yeah, she did.”

Thinking back to my snowball fight with Miro, I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was probably one of the most fun moments I’ve had in this terrifying Hotel.

It is strange that some of my best memories come from a place literally called Hell, but maybe that says more about this Hotel than about me.

“Hmm…”

Noona approached me with a thoughtful expression.

“So, how was Miro?”

“…Did you ask anyone else?”

“No. I haven’t asked anyone else, and I don’t plan to. It’s not like asking her daughter or colleague will mean anything. But let me make one thing clear—I’m not interested in reviving someone who’s lost their mind. I’m just asking you now because you’re the only one who might have seen something that could change my mind. And before you forget, let’s talk about it.”

As I walked through the snowy wilderness, I reflected on my time in Miro’s Hell.