madnovel Chapter 191: A Prayer for Miro (10) End
Chapter 191: A Prayer for Miro (10) End
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 94
Current Location: Frozen Hell – Room of Resurrection
Sage’s Advice: 3
- Han Kain
When I came to my senses, I found myself standing in the frigid, snow-covered landscape once again.
Despite having experienced this many times before, I still couldn’t get used to it.
While Miro’s Hell wasn’t exactly a Cursed Room, the way the space collapsed and ejected us was no different.
The first thing we saw after coming out was Jinchul-hyung kneeling in the snow.
“Hyung! Thanks for waiti— H-huh, what happened to you?!”
I’d never seen Jinchul-hung look so gaunt since entering the hotel!
It was as if he had lost more than 10kg, an exaggeration maybe, but it made me wonder what exactly he had gone through.
“Finally! You made it out! Any longer, and I might have collapsed myself.”
“What exactly happened here? And where is everyone else?”
“They’re all in Room 105, resting.”
“Room 105? But wasn’t the first floor in bad shape when we left for the Frozen Hell?”
Jinchul-hyung gave a weary smile as Grandpa stepped in to answer.
“You used the Room 106 reward, the Rest Ticket.”
“We had no choice. Everyone’s condition was so poor, and the brutal cold was taking its toll. I was afraid we’d all freeze to death.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn
“You did well. It’s a consumable item, meant to be used in moments of crisis like this.”
As Jinchul-hyung explained the situation, we all began to understand the severity of the situation.
“I had no idea the Incense of Salvation would be such a dangerous thing.”
“This damn Hotel... How can incense be so lethal?”
“Did you carry everyone to Room 105 yourself, hyung?”
Jinchul-hyung laughed lightly.
“I carried Seungyub, Songee, and Elena. Noona likely walked herself. But now... I’m barely holding on.”
Grandpa interjected, “I’ve been wondering what’s going on with your body. You should head to Room 105 yourself. We’re pretty much done here anyway. Guide! Is there anything else we need to do?”
The floating guide immediately responded, “No, only the closing instructions remain.”
“Then go rest. We’ll handle the briefing and fill you in later.”
Jinchul-hyung nodded and began to leave, but before he did, he called out to me, “By the way, Kain?”
“Yes?”
“What’s that on your waist? I don’t remember seeing it when you went in. Just thought I’d mention it.”
With that cryptic remark, Jinchul-hyung left, leaving me confused.
“What on my waist? Huh, what is this?”
Ahri snickered.
“Merry Christmas~! It looks like that serial killer Santa really took a liking to you. Even in his last moments, he left you a present!”
Grandpa sighed deeply.
“Just throw it away. That cursed creature...”
What hung from my waist was a stuffed doll that looked eerily like me.
“Wait! E-everyone, stop!”
“What is it? Did something happen?”
“A-Advice just triggered.”
“What did you ask?”
“I didn’t ask anything! It just triggered on its own, as it did back in the Gate Room when all the remaining uses disappeared and only the answer came!”
Grandpa let out a deep sigh.
“Looks like there’s more trouble ahead. What was the answer?”
“It said, ‘Why are the repair times for the first and second floors different?’”
“What does that—”
- Vrrrr!
At the same moment, I explained the advice to my companions, a strange noise came from the drone watching us. The drone’s propellers vibrated, and its body shook as a voice, different from what we’d heard before, echoed out.
[Haha! ‘Wisdom’. That’s a bit much, isn’t it? The participants hadn’t noticed anything, but you gave them a direct hint. Isn’t that crossing the line?]
To not notice something in this situation would mean our time in the Hotel had been in vain.
It’s about time we learned to catch on.
The drone just revealed that there had been a “hint” in the announcement, and we hadn’t noticed it.
The Owl had stepped in to push the Advice through!
Realizing this, the three of us paused to think about the drone’s message and the odd difference in repair times for the first and second floors.
Ahri murmured, “Now that I think about it, why would the repair times need to be different?”
Grandpa answered, “I didn’t think it was strange. The source of the cold is in the Frozen Hell, and that’s on the second floor. It makes sense for the area closest to the source to take longer to recover, right?”
But that explanation felt off to me.
“This isn’t a normal building, is it? It’s not like there are workers here fixing things with hammers and nails. In a place like this, repairs could happen instantly, just like magic.”
“So, there’s no reason for the repair times to be different?”
“Exactly. We’ve damaged the hotel multiple times, but never has there been a case where one area was fixed while another remained broken.”
In this strange Hotel, whenever a special event ended, everything was always restored at once.
So why was there a delay between the first and second floors now?
As we stood there trying to piece it together—
The drone intervened.
[It seems it will take you some time to figure this out on your own.]
“...You sound different from before.”
Whereas before the drone seemed like a simple AI, now it was clearly transmitting someone else’s voice.
[Let’s just say I’m the administrator of this place. I was considering erasing your memory of the Owl’s advice just moments ago.]
“...”
[But... well. The fact that the Owl stepped in to give you a direct hint suggests it sees potential in you and that it’s worth investing in you. Gaining the favor of your Patron by proving your worth is also part of your skill, is it not?]
The Owl favors me?
That’s hard to believe!
...Suddenly, I felt guilty about all the times I cursed the Owl.
Should I apologize when we meet again?
[Instead of standing around, go to the second floor. Look around and see what the difference in repair times means.]