Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 424
Only Krnovel
EP.424 Episode 424 – Party Time (4) – An Event So Easy It’s Suspicious
Episode 424 – Party Time (4) – An Event So Easy It’s Suspicious
[User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: Day 376
Current location: Basement, Hallway
Wise Man’s Advice: 0]
– Han Ga-in
Unfortunately, the hidden NPC didn’t appear until the mannequin in the manager role appeared.
Instead, the staff grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me out of the restaurant.
Ari was also kicked out.
“I got kicked out because of you!”
“That could be possible.”
“Are you trying to say something weird again?”
“That could be possible.”
I was just wondering what room to go into next, thinking it might be possible.
Ari, unlike Elena, started following me, and the reason was very clear.
“It would be unfair if it happened to me.”
“…”
“Let’s go. This time, come with me.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Does Ari think I’m playing some kind of prank?
“You don’t think I’m some kind of reckless fool like Seungyeop, do you? I’m seriously looking for an NPC.”
“I’m really serious too.”
This speech was a bit like a labyrinth.
[zoo]
“Gain, how are you doing here? Songi came in earlier.”
“If Songi has gone in, we don’t need to go in.”
“… The restaurant came in even though I was there.”
Listening to Ari’s complaining voice gave me a good idea.
“No, I think I should go to the zoo too. I’ll just grab some protective gear.”
“I’ll bring wing boots~.”
*
There’s something Songi said about the zoo a long time ago.
The story is that there are few common animals we know, and it is full of bizarre creatures that we have never seen in our lives.
As soon as I entered the zoo, I realized what he meant.
“What is this really? Ari, do you know?”
“Could it be some kind of spider?”
“Do you have a spider like this? Have you seen one at the management office?”
“No way.”
Instead of answering, Ari opened her mouth halfway and touched the glass window containing the monster.
“Rather than a zoo, the word ‘monster park’ seems more appropriate. I feel a little uneasy.”
“Gain, let’s just give up on the plan. To be honest, I’m worried about doing anything here.”
“That very feeling of anxiety could be the hotel’s tactic. The more it is like this, the more it needs to be destroyed.”
“…”
At that time, Songi, who was exploring the zoo, appeared.
“You two are at the zoo? What’s going on?”
“…”
“Oppa? Why are you wearing a protective suit? Aren’t those Ari shoes wing boots?”
“Oh, we’re going to go see the zoo too.”
At those words, Songi began to explain about the animals around her with a slightly excited expression.
“This is said to be a Lithogi that lived on the planet Resto 130 million years ago -”
“…”
“This is said to have lived on Earth 210 million years ago. Isn’t it amazing that its visual organs are located both in the front and the back? Could it have seen the entire world at the same time?”
“…”
“Look at this, Oppa. They say it was a relative of humans 2.3 million years ago -”
“…”
I knew Songi liked animals, but today was the first time I found out she liked this weird cryptozoology.
Ari, who had been listening blankly, suddenly opened her mouth.
“You can feel the animals liking you even though they are behind glass walls.”
“Huh? Hehe, that’s the power of my blessing.”
“Good. I guess you can control it if necessary.”
“huh?”
“Cain, let’s begin.”
As Ari’s decision came down, I also took up my position while wearing my protective suit.
“It could be dangerous, so Songi should go out.”
“Oh, bro! What’s with that stance? Like you’re going to throw a punch all of a sudden?”
“…”
I took a deep breath and gathered my strength.
I am given only one chance.
The work he has accumulated over a lifetime in hotels is now at his fingertips.
Han Ga In Ryu – Teleportation Nuclear Punch!
“Hey!”
“Whoa! What the heck is this!”
— Boom!
The entire glass wall shook with a thunderous sound.
Songi was so surprised that she collapsed on the floor, and Ari was already floating around in her wing boots.
“Even though the protective suit is full of power, it’s not enough. This time, my entire torso -”
The next moment, my vision was briefly darkened by flashes of light and various perspectives.
“…”
“Are you crazy, crazy, crazy! What the hell are you doing all of a sudden! Are you really crazy, oppa?”
“… Songiya. Listen carefully -”
“You’re crazy, you’re crazy, you’re crazy!”
“… Listen carefully. It’s the latter half of the second floor, but there’s an NPC who hasn’t come out yet -”
“I knew all along that this guy was crazy!”
“No, listen to me -”
“Mom, I tried to pretend not to know, but my shoulder, my shoulder -”
“shoulder?”
“How did you know there was a heart-shaped mole on your shoulder?”
“What does that have to do with this now?”
“Tell me now!”
I was momentarily bewildered by the story that came out without any context, but Ari, who had been watching from above, came down with an excited expression.
“What is the story about the dot?”
“I, I don’t know. Why am I telling you this story -”
“Don’t just let this slide! Do you know how surprised I was in room 206?”
“Well, it was just something that came to mind spontaneously -”
“Does something like that come to mind spontaneously? Then Ari’s waist -”
Ari’s waist?
What is this –
At that moment, Ari rushed in like lightning, covered Songi’s mouth, and dragged her back.
“Ugh! Arido!”
“We’re going out~! Ga-in, you can decide whether to destroy the zoo or not. We’ll be fine since we have the protective suits~!”
“Ugh! Ari’s waist too!”
“…”
Two people left.
…
“It won’t work.”
After being left alone, he tried to break the glass wall of the zoo several times, but failed.
Whether you hit it with your fist or throw your entire body with the protective suit, all you can do is slightly shake the glass wall, and it won’t crack or anything.
“Should I tell Jincheol hyung to try writing a star…?”
“Haha, please refrain from that.”
At that moment, a familiar voice was heard from the side.
“…”
A monster that imitates a human form by wrapping its body and tentacles in bandages.
One of the hotel NPCs, a merchant.
“It’s been a while, Gain.”
“… okay.”
“Haha! You’re in good spirits this morning. You broke the train window, you ruined the restaurant, and now you’re at the zoo?”
“…”
Whenever Jincheol sees a merchant, he expresses intense disgust, and I feel the same way.
Is it because you know that the figure under the bandage is not human?
Every single one of his actions was unpleasant and repulsive.
Of course, the merchant wouldn’t care at all whether that happened or not.
“Please, please look at me. I’m not a terrorist. Why are you destroying hotels like this?”
“Anyway, if you close your eyes and open them again, you can fix everything.”
“Hehehe… It’s not as easy as you think, Gain. It consumes a lot of resources.”
“…But what needs to be done must be done.”
At that moment, the merchant suddenly came close to me.
“Eww! Get off!”
“What’s wrong? You just looked like a middle school girl.”
“I told you to stop whining and get off?”
“I really like Ga-in.”
— Bam!
“…”
Just now I couldn’t hold it in any longer and swung my fist.
Even though I’m wearing a protective suit, I feel this sick, so if I were naked, I might have really thrown up.
That would be the case, because something was constantly wriggling beneath the bandaged figure.
“Haha! Gain-kun, you really are so embarrassing.”
“If you really do something like that again -”
“A noble hobby.”
“what?”
“PC room, billiard hall, swimming pool. These are not bad things, but this is a luxury hotel. Why not try some sophisticated hobbies?”
“…Tell me more.”
“Haha! Are you really going to ask me to feed you something? If I say this much, you should understand.”
The merchant disappeared like fog with the keyword ‘noble hobby’.
When we came outside, Ari and Songi had already found some peace.
When they relayed the hint the merchant had given, both of them tilted their heads and fell into thought.
“It’s a noble hobby.”
“Classical music appreciation? Musical?”
“golf course?”
“I don’t think the expression ‘noble’ really fits a hobby that involves physical exertion.”
“Is that so?”
“Making pottery?”
“Gain, have you ever seen a room like that?”
“no.”
As the three of us were walking, thinking of various words, a sign appeared before our eyes.
[Hotel Art Museum]
“This is it!”
*
I thought as I walked through a space filled with quiet silence.
If this location is the answer, then the reason why I couldn’t find the hidden NPC until I reached the end of the second floor is simple.
That’s because none of my colleagues have a hobby of appreciating sculptures or paintings at art galleries.
As I stared at the strange painting hanging on the wall, Ari approached me.
“This is a painting that captures the beauty of space.”
“Outer space?”
“Here, this black background represents the universe. The twinkling dot in the middle seems to depict the stars of the pale world. Is the white light in the middle a nebula? Anyway -”
He silently pointed to the caption written under the picture.
“‘Charred Pork Cutlet’
A work by Klef aidoleon.
The black background is the frying pan, and the white space in the middle is the undercooked batter.
“…Why did you hang up such a stupid picture?”
“I did my part because I caught Kim Ari.”
While we were having this absurd conversation, Songi approached us.
“Brother, are you thinking of setting fire to this place or tearing up the painting?”
There was no need for that.
“Oh my! These people are really scary.”
Because the NPC appeared on its own among the artworks.
A white-haired girl wearing a beret appeared with a bored expression on her face.
“You haven’t been here for so long, and now you’re here, what are you going to say? Should I burn the painting?”
“…”
As the three of them looked on in silence as a group, she introduced herself.
“I’ll say hello again. Hello? My name is ‘Painter.’”
The identity of the fourth hidden NPC that appeared after the doctor, merchant, and mysterious craftsman was ‘the painter’.
She just reached out and pointed at me.
“You, stay still.”
Before I could answer, the artist quickly took out a piece of paper and moved his pen at incredible speed.
“What is this all of a sudden -”
“I told you to stay still. Do you think I’m going to hurt you?”
When I heard it, it made sense.
Because the hidden NPCs were a hidden element of the hotel, a kind of reward, and not a dangerous entity.
None of the merchants, doctors, or artisans of mystery have ever tried to harm us.
“…”
After about five minutes, the artist showed me a simple black and white sketch.
“how is it?”
“Oh, thank you.”
Ari and Songi also came over and watched.
“Wow~ You drew it well. You look a lot like my brother.”
“Hey. Isn’t this a bit embellished?”
“Isn’t it similar?”
“I don’t know your face, but aren’t your proportions like this?”
While the two were critiquing the painting in front of me, the painter quickly moved his pen while looking at Ari.
After a while, the next picture was completed.
“…”
Unlike my sketch, this looks like a scene from a horror movie.
When Ari looked at the painter with an expression as if to say, “Are you kidding me?”, the painter made an embarrassed expression.
“You’re a fool. You can’t do it.”
“…Why is it that only my picture looks like this?”
“There are too many horrible things in your memories.”
Horrible memories come flooding back.
Do the painter’s paintings capture our experiences?
After hearing that fact, this time I had a question.
“I have quite a few terrible memories.”
“Ah, I don’t remember anything after I entered the hotel.”
When I heard that, I understood.
Before coming to the hotel, I was an ordinary college freshman, so there’s no way something as horrible as Ari could happen.
The painter opened his mouth again.
“Well~! Anyway, congratulations on finding me. I wish you had come a little sooner, but well, your hobbies are so shallow, I can’t help it.”
“You suddenly say I’m vulgar.”
“What do you think about the portrait?”
“…”
“This is my opinion. A portrait must contain the life of a human being.”
“Human life?”
“Also, a person’s true nature emerges in extreme situations.”
Extreme situation?
“You found the hidden NPC, so you’re curious about the reward? It’s simple. Now, show me your most horrifying memories.”
Human life, extreme situations, terrible memories.
The artist used these ominous keywords to explain what to do from now on, and as I listened, it was surprisingly a familiar story.
“Isn’t it similar to the prayer of rest that was said in Han-Bing Hell?”
“That’s right. The only difference is that it’s your own nightmare, not someone else’s. Also, the memories after you enter the hotel are excluded.”
When he heard that, he realized why the painter had told Ari, “You can’t do it.”
Ari had been an agent of the management office before coming to the hotel, so she had been through all sorts of terrible experiences.
Songi asked a question.
“What do we get from doing that event?”
“It won’t be fun if you tell me in advance!”
“…”
“It won’t take that long. The Dragon of Greed took three days to destroy the upper floors of the hotel? Three days is more than enough.”
“is it so?”
“Just one of you can do it. Pick one. I’ll wait, so you can bring your colleagues from outside.”
At this point, the situation has been sorted out.
The hidden NPC’s identity is a painter.
What you have to do is to get out of your horrible memories, like in the prayer of rest, except for the memories after you entered the hotel.
Just one person can do it, and it doesn’t matter who it is.
Three days is enough time.
Songi said carefully.
“Can’t I or my brother just do this?”
“…”
Let’s definitely exclude people from the management office.
It would be good to leave out Elena, who has to run away from a Russian secret agent, Jincheol, who is suffering mentally because he is trapped in an unfulfilled dream, and Eunsol, who got into a suspicious fight with her siblings.
I don’t know about the doctor, but it seems like life’s adversities are complicated.
Me, Park Seung-yeop, and Yoo Song-i.
If one of the three does this, isn’t it an event where they eat every day?
How much effort could an average middle and high school student in Korea have put in?
No matter how you look at it, it’s an event that’s too easy.
So I was anxious.
There is no such thing as too easy in a hotel.
“… I’ll do it.”
“Brother?”
It wasn’t exactly a heroic decision.
As Elena said in Room 206, I only trust myself.
“good!”
— Ouch!
The moment the artist smiled and clapped his hands, my consciousness became hazy.
“Nightmare: Han Ga-in – ‘The Family with a Backbone’ Begins!”