Chapter 63
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Mana Space Experience (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
...30 minutes ago.
Elise and Soliet had been hunting monsters one after another. Since the creatures popped up anywhere in the hotel, it was the simplest way to rack up coins.
"There's quite a variance."
"Yeah."
However, the monsters they faced varied greatly in strength. Some required considerable effort to take down, while others went down with a single punch.
Because of that, Elise was starting to have some ominous thoughts.
Are these things really monsters?
The phrase displayed on her smartwatch, 'Acquired through combat,' also nagged at her.
If it was just about killing monsters for coins, shouldn't it say 'Acquired through hunting'?
Her guess was that the true nature of these monsters was probably...
Other seniors.
Thud!
Elise pulled three or four milky kits from the vending machine.
"Shall we head back now?"
Still, there was no need to share her suspicions with Soliet. The College Board was a competition from start to finish, after all.
"Yes."
The two returned to [Room 311] with their milky kits. Elise called the front desk via the room intercom to extend their checkout.
"...You really don't need to sleep?"
She then glanced at Soliet. The moment they'd entered, she'd lit up a cigarette.
"Yes. My record is probably around 62 hours."
"Your body won't hold up."
"I don't particularly want to live a long life... But even I feel strangely exhausted here."
Soliet shook her head as she lit her cigarette.
"It feels like something's pressing down on my shoulders."
"It's a ghost hotel. You've been here a few times before, right?"
They hadn't encountered any ghosts directly yet, but it was obvious. The chill in the hallways was surely the work of ghostly energy.
"I was too young, so my memories are faint, but the hotel's layout feels familiar. That other hotel didn't end well either."
Too young.
Elise's mouth felt bitter as she repeated those words to herself.
Compared to that 'too young' time, they had changed so much now.
"...Doesn't being here like this bring back old memories?"
She tentatively brought up the past to ease the tension. But Soliet exhaled cigarette smoke and refused.
"I don't remember."
"..."
Elise lay down on the bed without a word.
She knew about Soliet's wounds, of course. Javed and Felix. Those two had been Endex's idols. When they were murdered, Elise had felt a shock no less than Soliet's...
Elise closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them.
Soliet had already turned her back to her. Elise started to speak but held back.
No words of comfort would help her now.
Probably never.
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, Elise tilted her head.
Soliet's back looked strange.
The face was too large, the shoulders too broad.
It didn't look like Soliet's back at all.
"Wait."
No, it actually wasn't.
It only resembled her in the red hair; it was someone else's back entirely.
"What..."
Goosebumps rose along her spine.
"Who are you?"
At that moment, 'it' turned around.
A massive face covered in patches of hair. Thick gull-like eyebrows. Bulging eyes and a wide mouth twisted into a grotesque smile—
"...Gah!"
Elise screamed as she bolted upright.
She was on the bed again.
"Uh, um. Are you alright?"
Soliet asked. Elise flinched and looked at her.
It was the normal Soliet.
"Haa..."
Another nightmare.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just another nightmare."
"Um. A nightmare?"
Soliet echoed. Elise nodded.
"Yeah. Maybe it's better not to sleep like you."
"Ah. I see. Um. Um."
But why was she umming like that?
"Um um. A nightmare. Um."
"...Hmph."
It was irritating for some reason. Elise shot Soliet a slight glare.
She looked a bit closer.
Something was off.
This time, it was her eyes.
Black pupils.
Why black? The Arkne symbol was clearly red hair and pale eyes.
"Soliet, your eyes..."
"Um. What's wrong? Um. I'm Soliet. Um."
"..."
Elise's expression hardened.
The reaction seemed to tip off the other side too.
"Um. Haha. Um..."
Soliet—no, 'it'—opened its mouth wide.
"———Um. Um um. Um—— Um um um um— Um——"
It laughed. Its jaw clacking like a puppet's. At the horrific sight, Elise backed away.
"Um um. Haha. Um. Um um um. Um. Hahaha um haha um haha um ha———"
With each laugh, its face swelled. The face, already twice the size of its body, grew until it nearly touched the ceiling, clacking and charging at her—
————Um haha um haha um haha!
"...!"
Elise opened her eyes again.
"Haa, haa, haa..."
This time, everything around her was dark. She caught her breath and turned on the light.
Click.
As the switch flipped, the room bathed in red light.
"Where is this... Soliet?"
She called for Soliet.
No response.
No presence.
No one.
In other words, she was alone.
"..."
For a moment, Elise's breath caught. Her lungs felt shriveled. She jumped up and flung open the room door.
"...!"
Directly across was another room.
[444]
"Wh-what?"
She frantically scanned the hallway. It was all bright red. Ceiling, walls, floor—like bleeding.
Bang!
"!"
The door behind her slammed shut on its own.
[444]
The door behind her was 444.
"Haa, haa..."
Elise staggered down the hallway, clutching her chest and pounding on doors.
"Op-open the door..."
Bang! Bang!
She checked the room numbers as she knocked.
[444]
Again, 444.
Elise backed away in near-panic, reason fleeing. Something touched her back. Another room.
[444]
She looked at others.
[444]
[444]
[444]
Every room was 444.
Elise sank to the floor in the hallway without realizing it.
Her limbs went limp. Lips turned blue, face purpled.
Nightmare, nightmare.
This place, all of it, was surely a nightmare.
Definitely... a nightmare.
Her vision blurred.
Fingers wouldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Sinking like to the deep ocean floor.
"Ah..."
Elise slowly let go of her body.
Strange waves enveloped her.
An auditory hallucination echoed in her ears from some time ago.
—You killed them. You killed them. You killed them!
Horrific scenes flashed before her eyes.
Blood-soaked people. Spilling guts. People laughing in a hell of gore.
Yael.
And...
——Step.
Footsteps.
Someone approaching.
Another person.
Not alone.
No longer alone.
"──Haaa."
Just that fact eased her breathing, loosened the tightness in her chest.
Soon, she felt her body being lifted.
A person?
A ghost?
Didn't matter.
Elise burrowed into his arms like a fledgling. Buried her face in his chest. Clutched his collar tight.
...Warm.
Room [444]
"What the hell is she so heavy?"
I laid Elise down on the bed in Room 444.
She's way heavier than she looks. Well, her frame is slim and delicate, but she's undergone insane high-intensity training.
Gonna have sore muscles tomorrow.
Anyway, rooms disappearing or shifting in this ghost hotel is probably a standard event.
The safety rules mentioned it. Don't freak out too much if rooms change or people around you vanish.
"..."
I quietly watched Elise, nearly passed out.
She almost died from PTSD without any external trauma, but just having someone beside her was letting her recover quickly. Her breathing was steady and rhythmic.
Like always, Elise was a genius monster overflowing with talent, both back then and now—but PTSD was something she couldn't overcome for at least 12 years.
"Hm."
I checked my smartwatch.
[15:55:27]
The regular assignment still had 16 hours left. I could stick around with her for a few hours.
"But we're not that close, are we?"
Even as Secret Santa partners, I didn't want to wait until she woke up and make things awkward with blushing faces. Her condition looked much better already anyway.
I drew the axe from my belt.
"...This'll be better for you than being alone."
With it, I smashed Elise's smartwatch.
Crunch!
The transparent blade shattered the magic stone inside.
At that instant, Elise was early-extracted.
Probably her worst score ever, but she had to be sent back sooner or later anyway.
I stepped out of the room.
[HOLENTS HOTEL]
'Holents Hotel' emblazoned large on the 4th-floor hallway wall. Blood trickled down the letters.
I knew this artificial mana space, reconstructed from a real incident. A tragedy from long ago in another country—most in Edshilla didn't know, but it became infamous later.
First off—the hotel's original name was [Cadillac Casino Hotel].
The root of all evil was the general manager 'Moss.'
Ten years ago, one day, he released hallucinogenic gas through the air purifiers across the entire hotel. Guests were unknowingly overtaken by it, seeing all life in the hotel as monsters.
The hotel turned into hell in an instant. Terrified guests killed each other and died full of resentment.
But even in death, they couldn't fully die. They became vengeful spirits filled with fear and hatred.
The general manager didn't even leave those spirits alone.
No, the spirits themselves were his goal.
He condensed countless grudge spirits into a single refined core.
A 'mana core.'
His motive, later revealed, was the casino's decline and resulting debts.
Insane investment costs, but mismanagement meant no profits.
"...A lot of them."
I strolled the 4th floor, scanning the area. Ghosts everywhere.
Proof the 'Cadillac Hotel Incident' was still ongoing.
The general manager got caught trying to sell the mana core to the Magic Tower.
The core was confiscated and should have been 'liberated,' but judging by this place, the Magic Tower wasn't so righteous.
A mana core made from human spirits—thousands melted down—would have immense potential and value.
In fact, five years later, this mana core became the heart of the famous theme park 'Shelton Park.' With astronomical investments from houses like Libra, it raked in cosmic profits.
Just look at Holents Hotel—it's an anagram of Shelton.
"They really do all kinds of shit."
The Magic Tower were real assholes, in my opinion.
They claimed to pursue mana advancement and education, but inside, they were cruel, ruthless monsters obsessed with money.
These ghosts here were proof.
They were still bound to the 'mana core.'
After endless experiments without release, they'd end up as AI for Shelton Park.
Whether they retained memories from life or their sanity, I didn't know yet.
But one thing was clear: they were 'trapped.'
On the boundary between life and death, neither living nor dying, as potential money-makers.
"This isn't right, is it?"
I muttered softly. Just then, someone approached. The half-destroyed-faced man who'd been following me.
"Isn't it?"
He looked at me with eyes full of longing. Well, he had no eyes, but whatever.
Time to free them.
Not out of some cheap sense of justice. I wasn't good enough for that anyway.
I just couldn't stand the idea of these bastards profiting off 'Shelton Park' or whatever in the future.
"In exchange, cooperate. Not just you—all the ghosts here."
I flicked a casino chip at the male ghost. He caught it in his hand. His relatively intact jaw nodded slightly.
"Good. Then."
Before executing the plan, I needed to be the sole survivor here first.
In simple terms, take 1st place.
I could do it with others, but liberating the mana core might drive the living ones insane, and I wanted a few exclusives for myself.
Swish. I drew the axe from my belt and gripped it one-handed.
"Let's start by smashing all the hotel desks."
I plunged the axe into the 4th-floor floor.
Kwajik!
Something squelched like punctured human skin, and blood spurted up.
Thud! Thud!
Still, I kept hammering the axe in.
Until the underside of the 4th floor was exposed.