Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 193: Party Time – The Secret of the Second Floor (2)

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.

While the cold felt about the same, the real issue was the harsh wind.

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.

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.