Ch.122Kind Hotel

“Wow. A hotel?”

Yoon Daju looks out into the hallway with disbelief.

Though everyone hasn’t completely let their guard down, they all seem somewhat relieved.

“Can we finally stay in a place like this?”

“Peaceful floors must be quite rare.”

Robin speaks to Daju, who’s openly excited.

“Yes. But I’ve thought about it theoretically many times. If there are floors where you die just by setting foot on them, then there must be floors where you can stay peacefully!”

“Theoretically?”

“Yes. But there weren’t any. They’re really rare. It’s not like we have multiple lives. We couldn’t just wander around aimlessly.”

Daju shows an innocent side that hasn’t been seen in a while.

Sometimes she’s annoying to look at, and her crazy behavior has caused problems before, but Daju’s personality is helpful.

We just came from facing corpses.

In times like this, Yoon Daju is the only one who can step up and create a lively atmosphere.

Honestly, who would step up after seeing dead people?

Only someone fairly strange could do it.

We need Daju to keep from going crazy.

After talking at length, Daju shifts her gaze back to me.

“What do you think, oppa?”

“Huh? About what?”

“The Librarian’s ability. Can’t you see everything dangerous with it?”

“No, not really.”

Daju seems to think of it as some kind of cheat key.

But that’s not the case.

There are too many restrictions attached to it.

Of course, using the Librarian’s ability makes it possible to discover information.

There are no special activation conditions.

Just by looking, I can learn general information, and with a bit more focus, I can access hidden information.

There are two problems.

First, the limits of my body and mind.

When I concentrate on observing an anomalous subject, it puts strain on my body and mind.

This burden increases as the observed target becomes more dangerous, and as I try to learn more detailed information.

The other issue is that the range of information that comes to mind is too broad.

Too abstract, you might say.

It’s not like getting an explanation such as:

‘By paying a price through bodily harm at the left altar, you can summon desired objects on the right plate.’

Instead, it’s more like:

‘Exchange’

‘Sacrifice’

‘Offering’

That sort of thing.

If I have prior knowledge, I can learn more detailed information, but by then I’m often already caught up in danger.

Anyway, it’s impossible to detect all existing dangers in advance.

It’s an ability that allows me to grasp situations to some extent and check if I’m reasoning correctly.

“…”

Thinking about these weaknesses makes me feel uneasy.

Instead, I smile and nudge Daju.

“Do I look like I’m relying on item buffs?”

“What?”

“I didn’t survive by using cheat keys.”

“So it’s all your pure skill?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Oh… that’s so cool.”

Going with the flow makes it easier to hide my thoughts.

Rather, it might be better to seem a bit boastful.

Yoon Daju nods as if she understands something, with her arms crossed.

Then she quickly pulls out her phone from her pocket.

Click!

“Nice!”

I didn’t expect to be captured like that.

“This turned out really well! Want to see, oppa?”

The girl in the screen is smiling, full of confidence.

Despite looking like a shy, unsociable high school girl.

Why is she holding her head up like that?

“…Hey. Delete that.”

“Ah. Wait. Let me look at it a bit more.”

I tried to grab Daju, but she was already gone.

“Daju, show me too.”

“Me too.”

She’s already showing it to others.

I can understand Serim noona, but she’s showing it to Jung Haewon too.

“Dabin looks so cute!”

“Ah. But why does it look so funny?”

Even Riko and Seok Hyunmin.

Even Robin is glancing at the photo.

Rather than mockery, everyone seems to be saying it’s cute.

It feels… strange.

A ticklish feeling inside, like my body is twisting uncomfortably?

I suddenly feel like we shouldn’t keep doing this.

“Dabin. I didn’t know you could make that expression.”

The finishing blow came from Yebin.

Such a line in such a calm voice.

This photo. I definitely can’t let it remain.

“Delete it. I said delete it!”

“Shh. Someone’s coming.”

“What?”

Daju quickly pockets her phone and points to the left side of the corridor.

I hastily lower my voice.

At the end of the corridor, which was definitely empty until just now, something is approaching.

Druk.

Druruk.

Dragging wheels.

The speed is about that of someone walking while pulling a stroller. If we run to the elevator now, we could easily escape.

Beside me, Jung Haewon grabs my wrist.

“Noona. Should we go back to the elevator?”

“…No. Stay still.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“I said stay still.”

A cart gradually comes into view.

It looks like a cleaning cart commonly used in hotels, but something about it feels distinctly unsettling.

“Don’t say anything.”

“…”

Tension flows through the air.

No one moves in the corridor.

Druk.

Druruk.

The sound of wheels being dragged gets closer.

“What’s this? There’s nothing here.”

“Wait. Dan! Don’t go near it!”

Despite Robin’s warning, Dan walks steadily down the corridor.

The distance between him and the cart narrows.

Thud!

“…”

We could only watch the scene in silence.

“See? Nothing happened.”

Dan kicked the cart, but nothing happened.

Robin also seems somewhat relieved, sighing as she speaks.

“For now.”

“But in horror movies, something always happens at times like this.”

“Hey!”

I grabbed Yoon Daju and pulled her back.

“Don’t say things like that.”

Meanwhile, Dan continues examining the cart.

“It’s just an ordinary cart. No satanic symbols. No blood clots. No acidic slime. Nothing I was expecting.”

“Then why did it roll here by itself?”

“Hmm? Wait a second.”

“Dan?”

Instead of answering Robin’s question, Dan repeatedly bends down and then straightens up.

After looking at the bottom of the cart, he suddenly checks the ceiling.

He tilts his head to check the horizontal level.

“I got it! The corridor seems to have a slight slope.”

“A slope?”

“The floor is subtly tilted toward this side.”

Everyone immediately looked down.

The slope of the floor that no one had thought of.

It’s not obvious enough to be immediately noticeable, but not so subtle that it can’t be found.

“Now that you mention it, I can see it. It’s definitely sloped.”

Robin takes a shell casing from her pocket and throws it.

Tuk.

Roll roll.

The cylindrical brass casing rolls back toward us.

Robin picks up the casing again and straightens up.

“Did Dabin see something? Your reaction seemed like you saw something dangerous.”

“…I’m not sure either.”

I was about to continue with “I must have been mistaken because I’m tired,” but I swallowed the words.

That’s also a cliché.

When someone says that, there’s definitely something there. And the characters who let their guard down meet a terrible end.

Should I just accept it was due to the corridor’s slope and move on?

I decided to check once more.

The corridor has a magenta carpet.

At one end of the sloped corridor is a window and an emergency descent device. At the other end is an emergency exit.

“…”

“It’s nothing. Let’s just rest here.”

“Wow! Can we finally have our own rooms again?”

“Probably? But we should check the rooms first, right?”

Except for the excited Daju, everyone is visibly exhausted.

Especially Choi Serim.

Having used her ability in the previous floor, her energy is depleted, and she’s currently dozing off while leaning against the wall.

Everyone desperately needs rest.

We need rest.

We need a space where we can let everything go and relax.

Let everything go,

I want to rest.

“I’ll check each room. The rest of you can wait in the corridor.”

“Oppa, you can’t go alone.”

“Yeah. I was going to call you anyway.”

“You know me well.”

“You wouldn’t stay put even if I told you to.”

“I want to go too.”

“Yebin too?”

“Yes. Were you planning to leave me behind again?”

“…Sorry.”

Serim noona is resting, leaning against the wall.

I walked down the corridor with Daju and Yebin.

First, the room closest to the emergency exit.

“As expected, it doesn’t just open.”

“Looks like we need a key card.”

“Yebin, you know about that too?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“You didn’t know before.”

Though she now has a human body, Yebin was trapped as an AI in a computer server for a long time.

She knew a lot but often showed a lack of common sense.

She even knows about key cards now. She’s grown.

Yoon Daju is swinging a crowbar around.

“Oppa. Should we just break it?”

“Hold on. If we break it, we can’t defend ourselves.”

Though it might seem insignificant, a door lock is one of the best defensive measures.

Most enemies can’t break through a metal front door.

It’s better to preserve it if possible.

“Yebin, help me out.”

I focused my mind on the doorknob.

Information about the lock mechanism begins to emerge.

More and more detailed.

[Steel material]

[Doorknob]

[Locked]

[Key card]

…

[Can be opened with a key card.]

[Lock releases when #1301 or #MASTER code is recognized]

[Automatically locks 10 seconds after door closes]

Information obtained.

The door can be opened with a key card.

Either room 1301’s key card or a master key will work.

I intensify my concentration.

The peripheral vision gradually darkens, and a dull pain settles in my frontal lobe.

I feel something flowing from my nose.

Editing information with Librarian’s authority.

[Lock releases when #1301 or #MASTER code is recognized]

Copy.

[Lock releases when #1301 or #MASTER code is recognized]

[Lock releases when #1301 or #MASTER code is recognized]

Cut.

[#13■■■ or #MASTER ■■■■ recognized ■■■■]

Delete unnecessary information.

[#MASTER]

Copy.

…

Without shifting my gaze, I asked:

“Yebin, do you have something like a card?”

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Letting the nosebleed flow, I took the card Yebin handed me.

It’s an ordinary plastic card. It seems abandoned, with paint peeling off and stains all over.

Until now.

[#MASTER]

▼ ▼ ▼ ▼

[Credit card]

Paste.

Like paint being applied, a black film covered the faded card.

[Key card (Master)]

– Can unlock all rooms in ■■■■ Hotel.

“Huh… hah…”

Breathing heavily, I looked away.

As I move away from the doorknob, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washes over me, like I might collapse at any moment.

Sweat beads on my forehead, and blood continues to flow from my nose.

The Librarian’s authority.

This is the price for using the ability to edit information.

“Whew… Yebin.”

“You keep calling for Yebin. Here.”

Daju crouches down and extends her arms.

I weakly collapsed into Daju’s embrace.

“Thanks.”

“Hehe…”

Daju remains crouched on the floor, with me leaning against her.

“Hey. Don’t stroke my hair. We’re doing something important here.”

“Come on. Just a little bit.”

“Hey.”

Pat pat.

I swatted away Daju’s hand as it kept moving down while stroking my hair.

“Are you going to keep doing this, oppa?”

“Yeah. Let’s rest comfortably when we’re resting.”

“…”

After staying quiet for a moment, Daju speaks as if she’s made up her mind.

“…At the Foundation facility.”

“What?”

“When we went to steal weapons from the Foundation facility. You released monsters in the basement.”

“Ah,”

My head suddenly felt dizzy.

“What? I released them one floor below where you were. Don’t tell me you were there?”

“Yes. I went down one more floor trying to avoid the guards.”

“That was Robin trying to buy time… But how did you escape?”

“That’s none of your business. Don’t you have anything to say?”

“…”

So this is what she’s been waiting for.

Can’t be helped.

With a deep sigh, I lowered my hand that was blocking Daju.

“Touch if you want to.”

“Heh… Where?”

“Are you crazy!?”

Obviously just my hair!

I sat up in shock.

“Don’t you need to rest, oppa?”

“I’m fine. I’ve rested enough.”

I held the card tightly even while collapsing and placed it against the device at the door.

Beep-

“It worked. It’s open.”

“Wow. This really works?”

“Let’s go in.”

The room was dark.

Usually, you’d need to insert the key card for the electricity to come on.

Click.

A sudden ominous feeling.

But I had already inserted the key card.