Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 256: Party Time - Sanctum of Blessing (2)

“Who do you think will get an enhancement this time?”

On the first day of Party Time, during breakfast, Songee posed the question. Unfortunately, no one had an answer. After all, no one really understood how the contribution was evaluated in this hotel.

At least we knew the criteria for qualifying for an Inheritance.

Every time the Moment of Choice began, the Hotel provided a notification stating that eligibility was based on survival in the last attempt and contribution during the final battle.

But when it came to contribution to enhancement, there wasn’t much explanation.

“We don’t know the exact criteria, but we can estimate how much we’ve accumulated so far. The Gate Room gave us an indirect hint before, remember? Does anyone recall the order back then?”

Ahri’s words triggered a memory. In Room 107, the third Gate Room trial, the Jekyll and Hyde Game, Hyde had possessed us in order of contribution.

I roughly remembered the sequence.

“I do, but since then, we’ve gone through Rooms 201 and 202, so the rankings must have changed significantly.”

The Gate Room itself wasn’t a place where contribution was counted, so it didn’t need to be considered.

“What was the order when we finished the first floor?”

“It was something like this:”

Han Kain / Yu Songee / Park Seungyub / Kim Ahri / Elena / Cha Jinchul / Kim Mooksung / Lee Eunsol

Writing it down on the whiteboard, I felt a little pleased seeing my name at the top. Meanwhile, someone else wasn’t so happy.

“Ugh… I’ve never been last at anything in my life…”

“U-unni.”

“Since then, we’ve gone through Rooms 201 and 202, so the ranking must be quite different now. There’s no way to know the current order. But maybe the Hotel will give us another indirect hint.”

As she studied the list, Ahri offered a slightly different perspective.

“Rather than looking at total contribution, it’s better to consider when someone last got an enhancement. For example, Kain, you probably still have the highest total contribution, but you also spent a huge amount when you got the Teammate Location Information and the incredibly powerful Scenario Comprehension enhancement, right?”

“Yeah. So I probably don’t have much left at the moment.”

Elena had a different opinion.

“Uh… I don’t think so? Sure, when you first got Scenario Comprehension, you were probably down to zero. But in Room 201, you were the one who reached the end. And in Room 202, you and Ahri played key roles in taking down the Administration. I think you’ve built up quite a bit again.”

“Thanks, but even if I’ve accumulated a lot, I still don’t think I have enough for the next enhancement.”

When I had received Scenario Comprehension, the Owl had warned me that I might not be able to upgrade it again until I left the hotel.

That meant my next enhancement was still a long way off.

There could be multiple reasons for that.

Just like in games, the more one leveled up, the more experience one needed.

The hotel’s enhancement system might follow the same logic.

Since I had basically used two enhancements for Scenario Comprehension, I had technically received three enhancements.

Or maybe the next enhancement was just that powerful.

It definitely wouldn’t be my turn this time.

Ahri continued, “As you know, contribution is cumulative. If someone last received an enhancement a while ago and played a big role in recent rooms, they should be due for one soon.”

With that, Ahri walked up to the whiteboard and listed the rooms we had cleared, the people who had received enhancements afterward, and the names of their abilities.

Room 103: Han Kain (Teammate Location Information), Yu Songee (Telepathy), Park Seungyub (Fortune Control)

Room 101: Han Kain (Saving), Kim Ahri (Compass), Elena (Lie Detection), Cha Jinchul (Regeneration)

Room 102: Han Kain (Scenario Comprehension), Kim Mooksung (Vivid Communication), Lee Eunsol (Hand of Greed)

Room 201: Park Seungyub (Saving), Elena (Calmness and Tranquility)

Room 202: ?

Eunsol-noona looked at the board and chuckled.

“Looks like I’m out of the running this time. I got my last enhancement pretty recently. Though it feels like it’s been forever.”

Songee, on the other hand, had the exact opposite reaction.

“Unni, I don’t even remember when I last got an enhancement.”

Looking at the list, I could start making some guesses about who might be up next.

Three people were almost certainly not getting an enhancement.

Like I said earlier, I wasn’t due for one anytime soon. I probably wouldn’t be eligible until later on the second floor.

Elena was also unlikely.

She had probably built up a lot of contributions from Room 202, especially since she had a successful solo escape in an earlier attempt.

But since she had received an enhancement in Room 201, she likely didn’t have enough yet.

And, of course, the doctor, who had just been revived recently, wasn’t due for one either.

On the other hand, there were two people who seemed very likely to receive enhancements.

Seungyub was the strongest candidate.

He had delayed his enhancement in Room 201 to save up contributions for a better ability, so he had a large stockpile.

In Room 202, he played multiple important roles—uncovering Liringanau, the Sea God’s hidden pawn, and killing Director Park to help Elena escape.

Jinchul-hyung also seemed likely.

His last enhancement was after Room 101, and since then, we have cleared Rooms 102 and 201, meaning quite a bit of time has passed.

In Room 202, he had taken in the Conductor Rudah and led the battle against the Administration, a role that only he could have fulfilled.

His contribution had been immense.

As for the other four… it’s uncertain.

Songee and Ahri had both gone a long time without an enhancement, but their roles in Room 202 were a bit ambiguous.

If we had to pick, Ahri was probably the more significant contributor, given how crucial her plan to bring down the Administration had been.

Eunsol-noona and Grandpa had received enhancements more recently, and while they had participated in Room 202, their contributions weren’t overwhelmingly crucial. Noona had gotten the Inheritance, but that was only because the others had stepped aside—it didn’t necessarily mean her contribution was the highest.

With this in mind, we headed to the Sanctum of Blessings.

***

Park Seungyub, Cha Jinchul, and Kim Ahri are eligible for enhancement. Would you like to proceed?

Yes/No

The results weren’t too far off from our expectations.

Seungyub and Jinchul-hyung, whom we had guessed were due for enhancements, were included.

Among the ones we were uncertain about, only Ahri was eligible this time. The ones who didn’t get chosen would likely be up next after we cleared another room.

“Oh~! It’s finally my turn. If not for me, there wouldn’t have been a way to open the door and shake the Administration, right?”

Ahri’s cheerful voice rang out as Jinchul-hyung nodded.

“It’s true. You and I played the biggest roles in bringing down the Administration.”

“When will it be my turn…?”

“Don’t worry. Your time will come soon. Maybe even after the next room.”

Those who had received enhancements relatively recently—Elena, Grandpa Mooksung, and Eunsol-noona—didn’t seem to have any particular expectations, so they didn’t react much.

In the end, the only one visibly disappointed was Songee, who had gone a long time without an enhancement.

As she sulked, the Sanctum’s light descended.

*** freeωebnovēl.c૦m

- Cha Jinchul

The scenery had changed since before.

Back then, wasn’t it a vast plain with countless spears and swords stuck in the ground?

Now, molten lava was bubbling up from all directions.

Massive iron plates floated on the lava, and I was precariously standing on one of them.

“Ugh… Patron… Sir, why do you always have to be in such a deadly place?”

- Rumble!

A giant, clad in armor as if it were its own skin and with shields for eyes, rose from the seething lava.

At some point, I realized I was now standing atop the iron-clad giant’s palm.

“Your recent performance has been commendable.”

“Recent…? You mean in Room 202?”

“Life is a struggle. A mortal’s existence is akin to a fleeting flame… Let that fire consume all.”

“I’m starting to notice a pattern here. No matter what I say, you just keep talking in riddles. Now that I think about it, you were like this last time too…”

“Burn brightly. Do not fear your own flames. The courage to charge into an overwhelmingly powerful enemy despite knowing death awaited was admirable. However, since you died as a result, you could not receive an Inheritance. Some Patrons might tell you to flee like a coward and survive until the end to claim the reward.”

“…”

“But I will never say such a thing. Inheritances are merely a consequence of struggle. What value does a treasure hold if obtained through cowardice?”

“Thanks for the kind words, I guess.”

“But there is something that concerns me.”

“…What is it?”

“The impurity that has seeped into you. You feel it too, do you not?”

…I hadn’t mentioned it to my comrades since I didn’t want them to worry, but ever since I left the Gate Room, I had developed a bizarre affliction.

A strange illusion of a girl—or perhaps a woman—had been appearing before me. No one else could see her, not even Eunsol-noona with her supernatural vision.

“The witch from the Gate Room, apparently. She hasn’t spoken to me yet.”

“She is an unnecessary impurity. Eventually, she will become an obstacle to you. However, if you overcome this, it could serve as a stepping stone for your growth. Ultimately, it is your burden to bear. But today, I am here to inform you that your time has come.”

“…My time?”

“You have reached the moment when you, too, will receive a powerful enhancement.”

A powerful enhancement.

My heart pounded uncontrollably at those words.

“By powerful, what exactly does that mean…?”

The giant paused as if choosing its words carefully.

“You will gain the ability to perceive time split into fractions.”

As the words left its mouth, my consciousness blurred.

…Wait, a second. I heard that when it was Seungyub or Kain’s turn, they were at least given a choice—whether to accumulate more contribution points for a better enhancement or take an upgrade immediately.

Why don’t I get that choice?

***

- Park Seungyub

I woke up in a breathtakingly beautiful place.

A mysterious world where a river of stars flowed like a Milky Way stream.

My Patron had always seemed completely deranged, so I braced myself for another round of absurdity—

“Could you, for once, at least try to show me some basic respect?”

“…Huh?”

“Respect, my ass! Just now, you were thinking that I’m some lunatic.”

“…Can you read my thoughts?”

A useless idiot who sucks at LoL but always talks big—

“Stop right there! Just come over here already.”

The boy led me to a strange orb floating in the air.

“So, am I eligible for an enhancement this time? I worked really hard in Room 202!”

“Barely. Honestly, you almost didn’t make it. I had to cover the gap for you.”

“What? Patrons can make up for a participant’s lack of contribution?”

“If a Patron is willing to take on significant losses, they can intervene. The biggest investor among us right now is the Owl.”

“Kain-hyung’s Patron?”

“He must see some kind of potential in the participant he’s supporting. Perhaps the possibility of reaching the end of this hotel…”

“Oh! Then does that mean you saw some kind of potential in me? Enough to take a loss on my behalf—”

“No, you just seem like the kind of idiot who’ll end up dead on the streets if I didn’t step in.”

“…”

That felt like an unnecessarily harsh critique.

The boy reached out and gently touched the orb.

With each movement of his hand, countless bubbles surged and burst all around us.

“Have you ever thought about the true nature of luck?”

“The… true nature of luck?”

“Consider this: Is there really such a thing as luck in this world? What if all the events we perceive as ‘coincidences’ are simply the result of our ignorance about the actual causes behind them?”

“…”

“Oops. My bad. I forgot who I was talking to.”

Even though I didn’t understand a word of what he was saying, the fact that he noticed my confusion felt kinda insulting.

“What I mean is this—let’s say you’re walking down the street and suddenly get struck by lightning. Most people would say, ‘Wow, what terrible luck,’ but from a transcendent being’s perspective, was that really a random occurrence?”

“…”

“That lightning strike didn’t just happen out of nowhere. The conditions leading to it had been forming long before it hit. Lightning follows precise physical laws. And the fact that you were standing in that exact spot at that exact moment had also been determined by countless factors.”

I was starting to get a vague idea of where this was going.

“So from an omniscient perspective, there’s no such thing as luck. The creation of the universe predetermined every subsequent event. Humans just call it ‘luck’ because they don’t understand all the causal links at play.”

“Well… I did hear something about this once. I don’t really get it, but isn’t that why we have concepts like the uncertainty principle or quantum mechanics—?”

“OH! WOW! WOOOOOW!!!”

“Uh… What?”

“I’ve never been this shocked since meeting you! Did you really just say that? Those advanced words came out of your mouth?”

“…?”

“I’m just messing with you. Of course, I know about those theories too. But we’re not here to debate the laws of the universe, are we?”

“…Right.”

“I bring up determinism because understanding this concept is crucial to grasping the power you’re about to receive.”

A strange feeling of unease crept over me.

From my past experiences, I knew one thing for sure—when my Patron started explaining things in elaborate detail, it usually meant I wasn’t going to understand a damn thing.

“Good observation. You’re becoming more self-aware.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. I accounted for that issue too. This enhancement should help mitigate that problem to some extent.”

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken