Escaping the Mystery Hotel

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 94

Current Location: Frozen Hell – Room of Resurrection

Sage’s Advice: 0

-  Han Kain

Despite the emotional first step we took, it didn’t take long for us to return to the first floor.

On the second floor of the Hotel, where the ceiling was wide open, a fierce snowstorm raged.

On the bright side, at least the walls were intact.

However, the blizzard outside the Hotel was on another level compared to what we experienced on the second floor.

It was nearly impossible to take even a single step forward.

Or so they said.

I couldn’t really feel it much, thanks to the Protective Suit.

There was a suggestion to bring Perro, but Perro was usually in Songee’s room, and no matter how many times we called her on the Chat WIndow, she didn’t respond.

Everyone, except Jinchul-hyung, seemed to have fainted, likely exhausted from the effects of the Incense of Salvation.

Delaying the search until tomorrow was not a risk we wanted to take.

We couldn’t be sure if we would be able to return to the outside after the Hotel was fully repaired.

Who knew if they would reinforce the outer walls, making it impossible to break through again?

There must be a reason why the Owl gave us the Advice to act today, even at a penalty.

In the end, we did what we did before—tore down the Hotel curtains, made them into sturdy ropes, and tied the four of us together.

This was the formation we decided on:

At the front was me, wearing the Protective Suit, and weighed in at over 200 kg, thus becoming the anchor. Behind me were Ahri and Grandpa, dressed in heavy winter clothes. At the very back was Jinchul-hyung, the only one among us who could endure the extreme cold without any special protection.

And so, we began our search once again.

***-Whoooshhh.

The wind whipped harshly around us, lifting my body slightly before setting me down again.

Considering I was over 200kg with the suit, this wind was clearly abnormal.

Step by step, my feet kept sinking knee-deep into the accumulated snow, making it incredibly difficult to move forward.

Han Kain: Are you okay?

Kim Ahri: No energy to reply.

Cha Jinchul: Slower.

Even though we were already moving slower than a child’s pace, we now reduced our speed to that of a crawling baby. The others were struggling just to stay on their feet, so there wasn’t much of a choice.

As we continued, I couldn’t help but notice how strange this place seemed. For one, there was nothing visible except for the mountain. The snowstorm was obscuring our view, of course, but even then, one should be able to see at least vague shapes in the distance.

As we stepped out of the second floor of the Hotel, the mountain was clearly visible. Yet, apart from the mountain, there was nothing.

It’s as if… There’s no terrain aside from the mountain.

This possibility had to be considered.

After all, we had already realized that the second floor was different from the first.

We couldn’t stick to our preconceptions.

This might not even be Earth.

It could be a special space, like the Hotel’s basement.

For instance, there was a room in the Hotel’s basement called the “Hiking Room,” which had nothing but a mountain for people to hike up.

***After about 30 minutes, we realized we had hit a dead end.

We circled the area outside the Hotel’s second floor and found that there were cliffs in every direction.

It seemed like the Hotel was perched in the middle of extremely steep terrain.

In the real world, building a hotel in such a place would be absurd.

How will guests even find the Hotel without a road?

Only a hotel that kidnapped its guests could exist in a place like this.

Han Kain: Cliffs in every direction. Feels like an island floating in the air.

Cha Jinchul: No way out of the mountain.

The terrain became stranger the more we looked.

Can a place like this occur naturally?

***After discussing it, we came up with a plan.

I would use my 200kg weight to anchor myself at the top of the cliff, while the others descended by holding onto the make-shift rope.

Whenever we reached points of near exhaustion, Jinchul-hyung would break the ice on the cliff face to create small footholds, allowing everyone to take brief rests as we carefully descended the cliffs.

However, in the end, I couldn’t be bothered to climb down carefully and just let myself crash down the slope, banging into the cliff as I went.

Whether one would call it climbing down or plain falling was debatable, but even with the Protective Suit on, I was left stunned by the impact and couldn’t move for a while.

After continuing our search in such extreme conditions, we eventually found a tree so massive that we couldn’t see its full height.

We gathered underneath it.

“At least we can hear each other better here.”

“Yeah, the branches are thick and sturdy enough to block some of the wind.”

“So, what do you all think? Doesn’t the landscape seem really strange to you? Look over there.”

I pointed in the direction of the horizon.

It was completely white.

Pure white.

No matter how fierce the snowstorm, one should be able to make out at least faint shapes in the distance.

Ahri nodded.

“It seems like there’s nothing here but that one mountain. There’s something even stranger. While walking, has anyone seen any living creatures besides us?”

Grandpa was quick to respond, “I’ve noticed that too. No matter how desolate a mountain is, there should at least be a rabbit or a fox somewhere. But there’s not a single living thing in this enormous mountain. There’s not even grass on the ground. We’re the only living things here.”

“Well, technically, there is one tree.”

Right then, Jinchul-hyung spoke in a puzzled tone, “What’s going on with this tree? Come over here, everyone!”

We moved closer to the base of the tree and finally understood what he meant.

“This isn’t a real tree, is it?”

In this blinding environment, it had taken us a while to realize that the tree we had been relying on for shelter wasn’t real.

It seemed to be made of plastic, maybe even with some metal mixed in, but it was certainly an artificial tree.

Things were becoming more and more inexplicable.

Even this tree wasn’t a living thing, which meant the only living beings in this space were us.

…It was unsettling.

A natural environment like this should have been teeming with life, but the complete absence of any living creatures filled us with an eerie chill.

“Now that we’ve caught our breath, let’s get moving again. By the way, it’s probably well past dinnertime by now.”

“Don’t worry. I left a note on the table saying we’re out exploring, so whoever comes to eat should understand. But there is something else we need to be concerned about.”

“How are we going to get back?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. We’ve come all the way down from the steep terrain near the Hotel, but how are we supposed to get back up?”

Ahri replied as if it were no big deal, “If worse comes to worst, Kain can just use Descend and carry us back up.”

Jinchul-hyung chuckled.

“To be honest, I was thinking the same thing on the way down. You’ll take care of us, right?”

“If we have no other choice, then yes.”

As always, “Descent” is our group’s ultimate safety net.

No matter how tough or impossible a situation may seem, as long as I can invoke Descent, everything can be solved.

And it’s true—I have the power to handle almost any problem we encounter in this Hotel.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The problem is the “Lord” who gave me this ability…

Jinchul-hyung reassured us, “We didn’t come down here only relying on Descent. I’ve got another plan in mind, something I call the ‘Starry Path’ strategy.”

“You’re going to use stars to tunnel your way up the cliff?”

“What’s wrong with it? Sounds doable, right?”

To my surprise, it seemed like it could work, and I felt a bit more at ease.

“Let’s move out!”

After refocusing on my previous thoughts of Room 104, we set off again, pushing into the pure white wilderness.

***We walked and walked across the endless white plains.

It felt like we’d been walking for four or five hours, though in situations like this, it was easy to overestimate time.

The Status Window confirmed that it hadn’t passed midnight yet.

Since descending from the steep terrain near the Hotel, there had been no change in the landscape, only a vast, flat plain stretching out before us.

None of us spoke as we trudged along.

Then, something appeared.

- Thud!

“What was that? Oh, can you hear me now?”

“Yeah, it’s quieter here. Is this… a wall?”

Grandpa knocked on it a few times.

“A wall? It looks more like a giant crystal. Should we try breaking it?”

“Let’s think this over a bit more.”

At last, we had reached the edge of the snow-covered terrain outside the Hotel’s second floor.

In front of us stood a towering, opaque wall, so tall we couldn’t see the top.

And finally, I understood part of the strange feeling I had experienced all along.

Why had there been no visible shapes other than the mountain, nothing but a white expanse in every direction?

Because there really was nothing but the mountain.

The entire space was enclosed by this opaque wall.

At this point, I no longer cared about what rewards might be waiting at the end of this exploration.

Instead, pure curiosity filled my mind.

Where is this place?

How can such an incomprehensible space even exist?

Just as I was puzzling over this, Ahri, who had been silent for a long time, muttered something, “I think I know where we are.”

All eyes turned to her.

Jinchul-hyung asked, clearly intrigued by the answer, “Where?”

“…”

“Tell us, where are we?”

“How… How could the Hotel be in a place like this? How is that even possible? No, wait, am I mistaken? Turn around, everyone, and look at the landscape again. Then look at this wall. Doesn’t this scene seem strangely familiar? It’s something you’ve all seen at least once in your life.”

It was odd.

Ahri was acting as though this bizarre landscape was something we all could recognize.

I turned around and surveyed the surroundings, thinking over the features we had noticed so far.

First, snow and wind filled the air in every direction.

Second, the only significant landmarks were the mountain and the Hotel on its slope.

Third, there were no living creatures—no mice, no grass—just one giant fake tree.

Fourth, after walking across the plain, we encountered an enormous opaque wall that seemed to reach the sky.

…And then it hit me.

We’re inside a giant snow globe.