- Han Kain

For a brief moment, my consciousness felt like it was floating before snapping back into place.

What was that?

Did something just happen?

More importantly, I’m sure I saw a notification pop up—

“What just happened?”

That was when I realized—everything had gone dark.

It was already nighttime, but the second floor lights that had turned on when we arrived were now completely off.

“Huh? What’s going on? Is everyone okay? What the hell—”

The doctor’s confused voice rang out, quickly followed by a strange noise—a guttural, bestial breathing sound.

“EVERYONE, DUCK!!”

Ahri’s sharp scream cut through the tension.

By the time I registered it, my body had already moved, instinctively lowering my stance.

—Boom!

A massive whip-like object slashed through the air, colliding with the floor in a deafening crash.

“What the hell?! A tail? How is this thing so strong? No—why am I—”

Jinchul-hyung had grabbed the monster’s tail, but instead of overpowering it, he was being dragged along!

And that was just the beginning.

“KYAAAAH!!”

A shrieking woman in bizarre clothing lunged toward us!

I had no idea who she was, but she was definitely not one of us.

A gunshot rang out, and her head exploded—only for dozens of writhing tendrils to burst from the remains, launching toward us.

Ahri leaped midair, swiping her hand.

A blast of white frost spread outward, freezing the severed flesh mid-motion.

“Hahaha! Dear contestants, welcome! How about tonight’s SPECIAL SHOW—‘Dissection While Alive’?!”

A high-pitched voice cackled as bright lights suddenly flared on, illuminating the grotesque, pulsating flesh beneath us.

At the center of it all stood a clown-like figure, its grotesque costume writhing unnaturally.

One of its hands held Seungyub aloft, while the other, now bare, revealed spike-like claws piercing through its glove.

We were out of time.

“AAAAHHH!! HELP ME!!”

“Let’s start with the intestines—wait, what? The hell? You okay?”

“...Kain-hyung?”

“You—go guard my body over there.”

“Me?! How am I supposed to—”

“I GOT IT!”

Thankfully, Grandpa secured my unconscious body.

That meant—no more hesitation.

The moment my feet left the ground, the stolen body flew like a missile, propelled by the clown’s immense physical strength.

Its razor-sharp claws tore through the gelatinous creature that had been grappling with the doctor.

- Squelch!

A sharp spear-like appendage suddenly pierced through my stomach.

It was only then that I realized—this body had no internal organs.

This wasn’t a monster wearing a clown suit—the suit itself was the monster!

Grabbing onto the tentacle-like appendage, I yanked forward.

A throbbing mass of flesh collided against my back—and I wasted no time ripping it apart.

As I tore through its form, the clown suit lost cohesion, collapsing into mere fabric.

“Gasp—!”

“You’re back?”

“Hyung! Are you okay?”

“What about the others?”

“That’s what I want to ask! Check your Status Window.”

“...”

It was only then that I noticed my Status Window had turned into gibberish.

The numbers and letters were completely foreign—even the Advice counter just displayed an “X” instead of a number.

And then—the date.

Day 118?

“Day 118?”

“What are you talking about?”

No way.

Did flipping the hourglass... actually skip seven whole days?!

That explained everything—the monsters, the broken Status Window—

The party time had ended long ago.

This hotel would release monsters into the pool area after just one day without entering a Cursed Room.

And now?

It had been six whole days.

“KYAAAAH!!”

That was Songee’s scream.

No time to sit around. Grandpa had already rushed toward the source of the noise.

Seungyub, still trembling, kept staring at me.

I had to think fast.

Who is the most at risk in this chaos?

Elena?

Eunsol-noona?

Songee?

- BOOM!

A deafening roar shook the floor as immense pressure bore down on us.

Jinchul-hyung had summoned the Star.

I instantly understood his intent—he was drawing aggro.

But amidst his battle cry, I could hear strained grunts of pain.

Is his Blessing weakened?

If so, he couldn’t fully control the Star’s power!

??? : AcxLMe? Sadplke

Ah, shit.

Even the Chat Window was completely corrupted.

The Blessings were malfunctioning—was this because we skipped the Cursed Rooms?!

“H-Hyung—Kain-hyung—What do we do?”

I was thinking. I had to think—but at that moment, something landed on my head.

“Perooo!”

Perro!

“Perro, take care of Seungyub and my body!”

With a loud screech, Perro turned into her grotesque form and arrived behind us.

At least I could trust the parrot.

Scanning the battlefield, I quickly assessed the situation:

Eunsol-noona was hiding under a table, dodging a massive mantis-like creature.

Jinchul-hyung was wrestling a colossal scorpion and an uncountable-legged spider.

Grandpa, Songee, and the doctor had grouped up near an empty room entrance, facing off against writhing, flesh-like abominations.

But where are Ahri and Elena?

Are they together?

This monster’s compound eyes make it hard to see properly!

“AAAAHHH!! MOVE! MOVE!!”

There was no time to think.

A gigantic wolf-like beast shoved its head past the table, towering over Seungyub as he screamed in terror.

Perro barely managed to fend off the wolf while also fighting off a shadowy figure behind them.

“JUST DIE, DAMN IT!!”

Even after decapitation, the severed wolf’s head continued to bounce and bite, gnawing at the legs of my unconscious human body.

I needed to think.

If only I had a moment to—

- Laaaaaaaaa

A deep, unsettling hum filled the air.

A pale dust diffused through the space, carrying an overpowering presence.

Even the monsters stopped their attacks, entranced by the unseen force.

A moth had appeared.

A strange, unearthly melody resonated through the air.

The creatures—and even some of our teammates—began spinning in place, as if hypnotized.

I finally regained my own body.

The first thing I saw?

Eunsol-noona, about to play the Flute.

- Smack!

“Why are you about to play the Flute?”

“Huh? I-I saw the moth—thought it was—”

“Elena summoned it. It’s protecting us. If you play the flute, you’ll disrupt it!”

“O-oh...”

Her bewildered expression said it all—everyone was too confused to think straight.

I had to snap out of it.

The moth’s dust was coating Elena’s body, forming a strange exoskeleton.

And—

My vision was finally clear.

We needed to enter a Cursed Room.

“Which room is this?!”

***

±úÁü : asdix{Zlfm*

Dxme : Zot 118

Azxcpr : Sprsed Zovm – SkDpw XCZ - AlpÀ» ‘ÇÁ·Î±×·¡¹Ö’

Azxd’e Dpvlewꏠ : X

- Han Kain

When my consciousness returned, the first thing I saw was a crackling red bonfire burning in front of me.

None of my comrades were in sight.

Instead, I was surrounded by a crowd of half-naked people—almost like primitive tribesmen.

Every single one of them was kneeling before me.

“...What the hell is this?”

The moment I spoke, the kneeling figures all lifted their heads at once, their eyes wide with emotion.

Then, some of them even started crying.

“Ooooh!! The Divine One has awakened! The Divine One has awakened!”

“Divine... One?”

I instinctively tried pulling up my Status Window, but it was still a mess—gibberish characters, no readable information.

Even Advice was still unavailable.

Just in case, I attempted to check Scenario Comprehension, but it was just another garbled string of nonsense.

And then—

As if it had been waiting, a notification appeared.

Did you enjoy your prolonged unauthorized break?

The staff of Hotel Pioneer have shed bitter tears over the participants’ misconduct.

But please, do not misunderstand. No one is blaming you.

Ultimately, this is all our fault. Perhaps the content provided by Hotel Pioneer was too lacking, and that is why you all became idle?

Not to worry!

We will now do our utmost to make your stay more ‘engaging.’

Rather than touching the ‘Inheritances’ you have worked so hard to obtain, we have instead chosen to make the hotel a more ‘interesting’ place through entirely new means.

Of course, your Inheritance remains unchanged, so for those who rely on them, this will make little difference.

However, for those who depend on their ‘blessings,’ you will now have to make a more ‘challenging’ choice.

# Unauthorized Rest Penalty: Until you either escape from or resolve a Cursed Room, Blessings will not function properly.

“...”

As I read that final line, an incredibly ominous thought struck me.

Right before entering the room, Elena had pushed her Ominous Imagination to its absolute limit in order to summon the moth.

Of course, that meant her mind had been severely twisted in the process.

Normally, her Calmness and Tranquility would have helped restore her sanity...

But now—

Elena had lost her Calmness and Tranquility.

What kind of state is she in right now?

I decided to stop thinking about it.

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com