Chapter 38
After finishing the tutorial, Lee Yeon-woo realized he had become something caught between a game character, a mass of blood, and a human.
At this point, any human would naturally be curious.
What would happen if he stepped outside the hotel?
He almost reached the threshold of death within just thirty seconds trying to find out.
“Before even becoming miserable with durability worse than at the cellular level, it’s absurd. How must the structural integrity of an organism twist to so easily ignore biological limits? I need to put this in a paper immediately.”
“Hello?”
“I wasn’t planning to go out completely yet.”
Naturally. With a body so full of penalties, social life was impossible.
He had only intended to step outside briefly to relieve his curiosity about his body, having just been released from prolonged confinement.
‘I didn’t expect that stepping out would nearly kill me immediately.’
My body. This weakened soul and fragile biological structure.
“Really losing my mind, huh.”
He should have realized it earlier: he could not leave the hotel grounds.
A typical human body, with no defense mechanism at all, receiving every external strike directly. That was his structure.
He hypothesized:
‘In other words, the system’s rules are forcibly sustaining a body that could not survive on its own.’
The moment he left the game area, he would become a ‘human tofu,’ vulnerable to instant death.
‘And if I die like that…’
Good heavens.
“…If I die outside the hotel area, will I still respawn?”
“No.”
“Regrettable.”
At this rate, he would become a permanent ghost of the hotel. Both literally and figuratively.
‘Unacceptable.’
He could not allow it.
‘If there’s a reason my body is in this state, there must be a way to improve it. If not, I’ll create one. Biology is my specialty. With enough time, I could get it to a level where normal daily life is possible…’
How fast?
“…….”
How safely?
“…….”
“…….”
He sighed. Life never gave anything easily.
“…Shall we eat?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s have some cold cuts.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Listen.”
He hadn’t planned to go out anyway, but the situation was worse than he had imagined.
“I might die soon.”
“…? No?”
“At this point, it’s like running across a minefield while praying to survive. Just yesterday, I was reassuring myself I wouldn’t die simply from breathing, and now I feel I could die from a simple choke.”
“Oh, no, no. No…”
“Why can’t you give a clear denial?”
“Yes…”
“Yes?”
What would it mean if he affirmed it?
“…Anyway, restoring this body is going to take far longer than planned.”
“Yes.”
“You sound like you want it to take a long time, just for the sake of the long-term friendship we’ll have to maintain.”
“No.”
“Naughty cat.”
“No.”
“Not really.”
The only relief was that the tutorial was finished.
‘Even though my body is now extremely fragile, with the tutorial rewards plus bugs, I can at least run the hotel with minimal effort.’
With the interface open, he didn’t need to step outside for now.
Ho-won provided convenience benefits immediately after the tutorial. After putting him through hell in the early stages, the rewards gave him a breather.
‘Still, nothing is easy.’
Lee Yeon-woo sipped buckwheat tea and opened the system window.
[Tutorial Results]
Guest Service: ★★★★★
Room Management & Cleaning: ★★★★★
Staff Management: ★★★★★
Security & Safety Management: ★★★★☆
Facility Operation Management: ★★★★★
Overall Rating: S
As announced when he received the platinum random box, the overall rating was S.
“….”
The reward tier wasn’t drastically different, but it wasn’t the maximum score in-game either.
‘Ah, the Aqua Park event failed a life-saving route once. A bug, so no one to blame, but missing S+ is still disappointing.’
Scrolling down:
[New Features Unlocked]
Interface fully activated
Management system modules unlocked
Sensory expansion
Existence detection allowed
“…Well, with the interface open…”
Lee Yeon-woo glanced at Coco across the table.
“This will be a huge help in managing the hotel.”
“Management system modules. Sensory expansion. Existence detection.”
“Yes, including those.”
Coco seemed synchronized with the system window.
‘Makes sense. Being part of the hotel, it’s natural that a game entity would perceive rewards or instructions in real time.’
He returned his gaze to the window.
“…Hmm…”
The list was long. All functions were familiar, but heavier than before.
Tools to secure operational control, reduce information gaps, and allow predictive decisions. Interventions with previously hard-to-detect targets now easier, expanding his choices.
‘All areas are open too.’
[Open Areas (Open Version Exclusive)]
25F: Rooftop Garden
23F: Aqua Park
22F: Sky Lounge & Dining
3F, 5–6F: Lifestyle Zone
2F: Grand Banquet Hall & Buffet
B1: Staff-Only Lounge
B5–??: Hunting Grounds
Except for the floating structure, it mirrored the in-game layout.
‘Implemented just like this.’
Yeon-woo skimmed the list.
“…Right, these are the zones where I chose facility automation.”
23F Aqua Park.
22F Dining.
2F Buffet.
‘The initial hotel operation areas that need the most attention and usage.’
Naturally, he funneled his automation rights to these areas first as tutorial rewards.
‘Then, after conquering non-existent floors and meeting conditions, finishing the closed version will stabilize operations perfectly.’
Operations…
“….”
“Yes?”
“No, it just feels overwhelming.”
A huge task had been dumped on him.
‘…Interesting, though.’
The unknown is always a subject of research. Above all, this was a hotel from his game that he had treasured for over twenty years.
He wondered how zones he had only seen in pixel graphics were realized in reality.
‘I’ll check that gradually.’
With the difficulty set to “Open Version,” operations should be smoother. The interface allowed remote guest management from his quarters.
‘With this body, avoiding death is the priority. Best to handle all tasks within the lodging itself.’
But changing methods wouldn’t reduce the accumulated tasks.
“….”
Lee Yeon-woo exhaled shallowly.
[Status Summary]
Manager Rank: Lv.1 → Lv.763
External Observation: 0 → 3
Resource Accumulation: ■■,■■■,■■■
Total Play Time: 1,770 days
“…Over level 700.”
“Yes.”
“Not exactly good news.”
The abnormal level-up was caused by a bug. Resources that shouldn’t exist in the tutorial were excessively accumulated and converted into levels.
‘It has benefits, but the risks are equal.’
The biggest advantage was easier cooperation from the hotel.
In this game, the level represents the administrator’s ‘rank.’ The higher the manager’s level, the more the hotel system responds sensitively to the user’s tendencies.
‘Even monster guests will be more favorable. That blood-thirsty guest backing off so easily? Likely thanks to this level difference. Couldn’t have happened before.’
He was a persistent guest, after all.
‘And…’
Other practical benefits, like unlocking skills or shops, were also granted. Features that should have unlocked sequentially now appeared at once.
But drawbacks were also clear.
“….”
“….”
Yeon-woo quietly put down his cup.
“…I have no appetite.”
“No?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, just say no.”
“No.”
“I didn’t expect you to handle my meals too, Coco. Very kind of you.”
He returned his gaze to [External Observation: 0 → 3].
“…Really didn’t need this.”
This game was heavily meta.
The trickiest part: some guests remembered the player even when starting a new file, though only under strict conditions.
And Lee Yeon-woo…
‘I’ve been playing this game for 26 years.’
“…Haa…”
The worst part of the tutorial bug was that certain guests recalled his past records.
‘So,’
All 26 years of accumulated game records.
‘How many had I satisfied conditions for?’
The newly contracted “Wet One” was one of them. Reality had manifested the game, and with external observation increased, many guests likely remembered him.
‘The fact they remain passive even right after the contract—is that because they recalled my memory? But I can’t just relax. If they remember my 26-year record…’
Attention from monster guests was almost a penalty.
“…It’s worrying that the “Wet One” hasn’t appeared since the contract.”
“Huh?”
“Shouldn’t they at least show themselves as staff? Are they in the Aqua Park, or wandering non-open areas?”
“No.”
“Seems like they don’t intend to explain, huh.”
“Yes.”
“To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll survive in this fragile state.”
Dragging this tofu-like body along.
Muttering this, Coco, who had been burying her face in her plate, looked up and confidently declared, as before:
“Guaranteed.”
“Ah, it’s you?”
“Coco. Guaranteed.”
“Thanks for the reassurance.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
The only relief was that the worst-case scenario hadn’t arrived.
Even if countless monster guests remembered him, it was only at the ‘recall’ stage. No matter the variables, things weren’t the same as before.
‘Just because a past file contract exists doesn’t mean the contract automatically applies here.’
He just had to be cautious.
‘However… bugs will likely affect the playable character in other ways too. How these manifest in reality is unknown. Could my condition worsen?’
That would be a miracle, in a bad way.
‘Or maybe this fragile state is already the result of a bug. No way to know without thorough investigation, but I might not have time.’
Even without time, body checks and improvements were necessary. Rewards and bugs didn’t matter if disaster struck in this weakened state.
Lee Yeon-woo raised his spoon with a dry expression.
“Yes.”
“….”
“Yes!”
“Enthusiastic response, thanks.”
Resuming the meal elicited this reaction.
‘Obvious intention.’
He was being encouraged to eat more and get healthy.
‘Coco cares about my physical and mental health. She won’t allow me to manage the hotel in a broken state. At least, it means a puppet manager isn’t strictly necessary.’
He drifted into another observation.
‘Regular meals, consistent sleep, proper activity and hydration, balanced nutrition. I know all that’s a model for a healthy life.’
He had neglected such things for this body.
‘But clearly… compared to the tutorial, the body reacts faster to proper care. If I don’t live like a normal person, something might collapse quickly.’
Even a body on the ambiguous border between organic and inorganic.
“….”
He held back another sigh.
“I need to adjust.”
“Adjust?”
“Yes, adjust.”
This was part of maintaining himself.
‘Now I can use the kitchen freely too.’
Clatter.
Lee Yeon-woo looked at his empty plate.
“…First, I need to plan a diet.”
Even in his hectic researcher days, he had balanced meals. Now, with more leisure, he could manage sleep meticulously too.
He decided to begin proper self-management.
“At this level, a lot of free recipes will be available.”
“…! Yes!”
“I didn’t expect you to be this happy.”
“Diet! Ingredients! Recipes!”
Though he didn’t seem the type, Coco surprisingly liked eating.
‘Pig cat….’
“Yes.”
“Ah, do you admit it?”
“Yes.”
“Impressive.”
He realized his thoughts were being read. Privacy seemed nonexistent.
“….”
Rain outside the window.
‘…Seeing other people will be difficult from now on.’
He could not step outside.
‘Regrettable.’
Lee Yeon-woo finished his meal with that thought.
“…Hmm…”
The old man lifted his head to look at the hotel.
“…Even now, it’s quite a convincing nest.”
A tall building, its rooftop shrouded in rain and fog, leaving only its silhouette. A thick forest surrounding it like a protective barrier.
For the curious Lee Sun-hae, it was impossible not to enter.
‘And.’
He felt it.
“….”
The strong scent of blood.
‘Gold built from screams.’
He knew places like this.
“…Not suitable for a young goblin to stay.”