chapter 4
chapter 4
Hotel Exploration
[User: Han Gain (Wisdom)
Day: 1
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)
Sage’s Advice: 2]
It was an excellent meal.
To be honest, I only focused on the spaghetti and steak, so I didn’t really know about the other dishes—but those two were definitely delicious.
Before eating, my head had been spinning with confusion, fear, and anger, but after filling my stomach with good food, my dissatisfaction calmed down.
Maybe humans really are just animals at heart…
Looking at everyone else, it seemed they felt the same.
Just then, I checked the clock.
Lunch was from 12:00 to 1:30.
The current time was 1:24.
Only six minutes remained.
“…Shouldn’t we move somewhere else now?” someone said.
“Hmm… Eun-sol, why not just keep talking here? It feels like coffee might come out or something.”
“We already experienced it. Once the meal time ends, we won’t be able to see each other again. This hotel values ‘privacy,’ remember? We still have a lot to discuss. We need to move. Jincheol, how’s your arm?”
“It’s fine now. Just a scratch. And I agree—we have a lot to figure out. Let’s move.”
“But where? Outside means monsters. Inside means disappearing again.”
At that moment, a notice appeared.
“/Dear guests, we hope you enjoyed your meal.
Hotel Pioneer prepares fresh ingredients daily to provide the best dining experience.
We hope you continue to enjoy your meals.
Today’s surprise event: There are no bad animals in the world — has ended./”
Everyone fell silent.
“…That’s very conveniently timed,” someone muttered.
“So now it’s safe outside?”
“No bad animals? That thing tried to stab me with a blade!”
“Well… animals can act violently out of fear…” Song said cautiously.
“Fear? You call stabbing my arm ‘defense’?” Jincheol snapped.
Song shrank instantly.
Jincheol quickly backtracked.
“Ah—sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just got angry thinking about those things.”
He really wasn’t a bad guy.
“Alright, less than a minute left. Let’s move!” Eun-sol said, naturally taking charge.
Everyone followed her lead.
We stepped out of the dining area and entered Room 105 again.
[You have gained a slight understanding of your companions.]
Outside—
Everything was clean.
Completely.
No signs of the earlier fight.
As if nothing had happened.
“…Did the ‘shy staff’ clean all this?” I muttered.
At this point, questioning things felt pointless.
We walked toward the front desk.
Across from it—
A table with drinks and snacks had been prepared.
Exactly enough for all of us.
Coffee, juice, soda—
Each tailored to different preferences.
“…They’re ridiculously thorough,” Jincheol muttered.
“More than that… it’s creepy,” Eun-sol said.
“Is something wrong with the taste?” Song asked.
“No—it’s exactly how I like it. The sugar, the milk, even the coffee beans. It’s perfect.”
I grabbed a Pepsi Zero lime.
Honestly—
Having something I liked wasn’t bad.
I didn’t want to think too deeply.
After relaxing a bit, Jincheol spoke again.
“My phone has no signal. Same for everyone?”
Everyone nodded.
“Figures. Anyway, our goal is to get out. Let’s check the main entrance first.”
Thankfully, a layout map was displayed near the front desk.
We followed it—
Down half a floor, left through a corridor—
And reached the entrance.
Then—
We froze.
Sky.
Just sky.
Endless blue.
Clouds far below.
The ground—
Barely visible.
As I stepped closer—
A warning appeared.
[Opening the door in the sky without tools is suicide.]
“…It says not to open it.”
“Were you actually going to open it?!” Jincheol said.
“…I got carried away.”
“This hotel… is flying?” Eun-sol muttered.
“At least we can’t escape this way,” Elena said.
“Jeju Island sure is amazing,” I joked weakly.
Then—
“Hey! There’s something written here!” Song called out.
On the wall—
A message:
<Escape Route 2. Requires special tools.>
Escape route… 2?
So there’s a 1?
And maybe more?
Who wrote this?
Definitely not the hotel.
“This means there are other ways out,” I said.
“Yeah… that makes it a bit better,” Eun-sol replied.
We returned to the table.
It had been reset—
Perfectly.
No one even commented anymore.
I spoke first.
“Let’s explore the hotel. Something felt off earlier.”
“What?”
“There are no stairs.”
“What?”
“The map shows multiple floors—but no stairs. Only elevators.”
Jincheol checked.
“…You’re right. No emergency stairs either.”
“That’s strange…”
“Well, we should explore anyway. And stick together.”
With that—
We began searching the hotel.
After about an hour and a half, we concluded:
Basement: facilities
1st floor: front desk and small rooms
2nd floor: medium rooms
3rd floor: large rooms
No stairs
Only elevators connect floors