Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 257: Party Time - Sanctum of Blessing, Exploration (3)

- Park Seungyub

My Patron stopped speaking for a moment, as if giving me time to process everything, gently running his hand over the crystal.

“Did you get it? The concept of inevitability?”

“Yes.”

“Then let me ask my initial question again. What is the essence of luck? Forget about quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle for a moment—just focus on what I told you.”

I recalled what the Patron had said.

From a transcendent being’s perspective, true randomness might not exist in this world.

A man who won the lottery yesterday might believe he was lucky when he bought his ticket.

But from the perspective of an omniscient being, wasn’t his fate of winning already decided from the moment the universe was created?

If that was the case, then the essence of what we call “luck” was simply ignorance.

In a world where everything was predetermined, “luck” was just a word we used because we didn’t know what had been decided.

“Ignorance? A lack of knowledge?”

“Exactly! In a world filled with inevitability, luck is nothing more than ignorance. The gaps in knowledge between causes and effects, between beginnings and endings—that’s what we call luck. If the ‘unforeseen result’ that stems from this ignorance benefits you, we call it good luck. If it harms you, we call it bad luck.”

My head was starting to hurt.

- Snap!

The boy snapped his fingers, and the surrounding scenery instantly shifted into that of a primordial Earth.

“In the beginning, there was darkness. To the first primates who ignited the fire of intelligence, the world was incomprehensible. Because they knew nothing, to them, anything could happen.”

I gazed upon a world shrouded in darkness.

But this wasn’t the darkness caused by the absence of sunlight—it was the darkness caused by the absence of knowledge.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know why the sun rises and sets.

Why does the moon appear at night?

Why is that giant beast so strong?

Why does eating this plant cause death?

Why does this rock shine, and why is this water salty?

They knew nothing.

And because they knew nothing, all they could do was pray for good luck.

They prayed that tomorrow’s sun would rise.

That the weather wouldn’t be too hot or too cold.

That the plant they were about to eat wasn’t poisonous.

That the rock they struck would reveal something valuable inside.

“This is the essence of the Blessing you have received—Fortune. Believe. Simply believe. Beneath the veil of absolute ignorance, pray that the unpredictable future unfolds in your favor. Do not try to understand. The essence of Fortune is ignorance….”

With each breath, a hundred—no, a thousand—years passed.

By the time I blinked a few times, the surroundings had changed.

Buildings stood tall, and people walked around wearing finely woven clothes.

“There was progress. There was a great sage. In the year 1643, in England, perhaps the greatest human in all of history was born. The world called him Isaac Newton.”

I saw a man walking past a massive brick building.

“And thus, enlightenment spread. A light of knowledge shone upon the world, driving away the shadows of incomprehension that once filled it. It was an incredible blessing to humanity. But as a consequence, the power that had stemmed from ignorance… faded away.”

A boy stood before me.

No—was he really just a boy?

In his presence, I saw countless shadows.

One shadow resembled a shaman walking the lands of the primordial Earth.

Another mirrored a priest advising on flood control in ancient China.

Yet another resembled an alchemist, avoiding the eyes of the church in the Middle Ages.

“Do you understand now? The power you wield? The cave of the world—if knowledge is the flame that has illuminated that cave over thousands of years, then fortune is the shadow left behind. It is the force that ensures that the unknown happenings in the depths of the cave turn in your favor.”

“I… I don’t understand. I’ve seen too many confusing things in a row.”

“Return to the beginning. If you accept the power I bestow upon you, you will return to complete darkness. Walk the world beneath the veil of ignorance. Of course… if you ‘simply return’ to that state, no one—not even you—will be able to predict what you might do. So before you return… issue a command to yourself. A command so absolute that even if the heavens collapse and the earth shatters, you cannot defy it.”

The space around me started trembling.

I realized I was about to part ways with my Patron.

Panicking, I shouted, “So what exactly is this power?! I don’t get it at all—“

“I’ve explained everything. You’ll understand as soon as you use it. Oh, and by the way—try not to use it when your allies are around. And make sure your ‘command’ is crystal clear.”

“What…?”

“Your powerful enhancement is about increasing the predictability of your fate. The key lies in your command, so be very mindful of it!”

“Wait, what—?”

“See you next time~! It’ll take a long, long while, though~!”

“Hey! HEY! EXPLAIN IT BETTER—“

My consciousness plunged downward.

As I lost awareness, a final thought crossed my mind.

My Patron might be a divine being, sure.

But he’s definitely a crazy one.

Park Seungyub (Fortune) → Obtained “The First Human”.

***

- Kim Ahri

“You’re really putting on a grand show.”

“Huh?”

“A brat acting all dramatic in front of another brat like himself.”

“What?”

“Never mind. That wasn’t directed at you. Just continue.”

The Patron of Secret, whom I hadn’t met in a while, was once again dressed in a clean-cut business suit.

Were the countless gears and ticking clocks surrounding him part of his personal aesthetic?

“It’s good that things worked out.”

“Are you referring to Room 202?”

“That went well, but I was actually talking about something before that. I was worried things would get messy when Wisdom’s owner caught onto the fact you were hiding something.”

“…”

“If you had kept lying back then, things would have gotten needlessly complicated. But you handled it by sharing just the right amount of information—a straightforward approach that prevented unnecessary trouble. Either way, your greatest crisis has passed.”

“Thank you.”

“That aside, I honestly thought you’d be eliminated early on.”

“…”

“As an individual, you’re exceptional, but your party seemed like it would fall apart. Not to mention, your personal wishes distorted my Blessing to an extent.”

“My Blessing got distorted?”

“Did you not notice? Think about how your Secret ability functions. It’s practically useless inside Cursed Rooms and is only optimized for uncovering the Hotel’s secrets. On top of that, it comes with an almost meaningless ability to monitor your allies.”

“I did occasionally think the ability was a bit underwhelming…”

“Because you wished for your mother’s revival, you gained a power that searches for hidden elements. And because you were wary of internal conflicts, you gained an ability that lets you monitor your allies. Well, I suppose there are some benefits to that.”

Some benefits?

“I’ll give you an interesting ability this time. It fits your nature well and will actually be useful inside Cursed Rooms.”

“Thank you. But….”

“But?”

“We’re probably going into Room 203 next, right?”

“…”

“But think about it. The room order doesn’t actually matter, except for The Gate Room at the end. We could just go to Room 204, 205, or even 206. Excluding The Gate Room, we still have three more rooms to choose from.”

“…”

“The unidentified voice Seungyub heard in Room 201 and even his Patron both warned about the dangers of Room 203. It seems like it might be particularly dangerous for him… though, of course, that might not be the case.”

“You know I can’t answer questions about progression.”

“Then let’s just say I’m talking to myself. I’m considering suggesting that we skip Room 203 entirely. Do we really need to enter a room that we’ve already been warned could be dangerous? We still have Rooms 204, 205, and 206! Room 207 seems to be The Gate Room again, so if we exclude that, there are still three more rooms—“

“The first floor.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s talk about the first floor.”

“…”

“What was its layout again? Room 105 was a resting area. Room 106 was a Mission Room, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, not every room was a Cursed Room.”

“That’s true.”

“And the last Cursed Room was Room 104?”

“Yeah.”

“It was difficult compared to the others, wasn’t it?”

“It was. The Convict was cunning. That’s the only room we failed to clear.”

“Right. The final challenge was harder than the rest. That’s all I have to say. Now, off you go.”

My Patron slammed his cup onto the table.

As my vision blurred, I gathered my thoughts.

Two things became clear:

First, among the remaining rooms on the second floor, at least one wasn’t a Cursed Room.

Second, the final Cursed Room was significantly harder than the others.

Kim Ahri (Secret) → Obtained: “The Unnoticeable Girl”

***

- Han Kain

“At least you woke up immediately, Hyung.”

Jinchul-hyung woke up from the sanctum without delay.

Having experienced this several times before, I understood the situation immediately—he must have opted not to use his contribution points for a Powerful Enhancement.

“They said they’d give me something strong, so now I’m dying to know what it is! Tch, damn Patrons always speak in riddles.”

“Oh, come on~! If you had taken longer to wake up, we would have had to carry you! It’s easy with Seungyub or Ahri, but you—“

“You brat! I carried you three times!”

Laughing and joking, we moved the unconscious Seungyub and Ahri back to Room 105, then regrouped in the lobby.

Noona looked particularly relaxed as she spoke, “You all know what to do, right? Take it easy, eat well, and explore a bit when you can. Exploration is important, but so is resting.”

Of course. The Hotel always had more tasks than we could handle, but if we focused only on those, when would we ever rest?

Even on a battlefield, humans needed to take breaks.

…And then an hour passed.

I had fully intended to rest before setting out to explore.

But once I was alone, I realized I had nothing to do.

So, before I knew it, I had wandered up to the second floor, searching the Hotel for clues.

As I examined a painting in the second-floor hallway, I heard a voice behind me.

“Do you believe something might be hidden behind the paintings?”

Polite speech.

But despite his deferential tone, this man was nearly twenty years older than me, even excluding the time he spent dead.

“It’s the Hotel, so I figured there might be something. Oh, and Doctor, you don’t have to be so formal—“

“This is how I prefer to speak. Besides, you are my savior.”

If that was what made him comfortable, I had no reason to argue.

“The Mirror Room. If we go by its name, it’s likely hidden behind something reflective, right?”

“Like how the Sanctum was linked directly to the front entrance, this might have a similar mechanic.”

“That’s possible. Let’s try checking behind the paintings together.”

Soon, I heard another voice joining in, accompanied by the sound of metal shifting.

“Ahri would be the best at finding something like this, but of course, she’s unconscious right now.”

“Because of Secret?”

“Yeah. She also found the Sanctum. Back then, we thought it was just a coincidence, but looking back, it was probably the Blessing’s power at work.”

***

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