Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 267: Room ???, Cursed Room - ???? (5)

“Achoo!”

A harsh wind howled through the barren wasteland, carrying fine dust into the cave.

Mooksung coughed and scowled. Of course, it wasn’t just the dust that bothered him.

“If what you’re saying is true, Sanghyun, then Elena will be heading straight for us soon.”

“That’s right.”

“We can’t handle this on our own. It seems we’ll need Eunsol’s flute.”

“Judging by the initial notification we received, our Inheritances are still intact. If Eunsol’s flute works, we can bring Elena back to her senses. However, we have no way of knowing where Eunsol is. So, for now, we need to do the best we can with what we have.”

“And what exactly is the best we can do—“

“Senior, I need you to send the others away for a moment.”

Mooksung raised an eyebrow but followed Sanghyun’s request.

He gestured for the tribal warriors who had accompanied him to leave the cave.

Once they were alone, Sanghyun spoke with a strangely hesitant expression, “Senior, this isn’t directly related to our main issue right now, but... what do you think of these primitives?”

“...What do I think of them? They’re just Stone Age cavemen, aren’t they?”

“Do they seem human to you?”

“Pfft! What? Are you saying they’re too dirty and stupid to be considered human? Listen, kid, I’ve been alive longer than you. People who live in harsh environments tend to be ignorant and filthy. That’s just how it is.”

“No, that’s not what I mean...”

Sanghyun hesitated, debating whether to elaborate.

As a doctor, he quickly gained favor among the primitives by treating their injuries and illnesses.

“They feel... different somehow.”

“Hmph. But back in Room 202, when we met the Merfolk, you said they were basically just humans. These people look exactly like us—so what the hell are you getting at?”

“...Never mind. Let’s drop this topic. Maybe I’m just imagining things.”

Sanghyun couldn’t quite prove what he was feeling. There was something off about them—something he’d sensed during his medical treatments.

But explaining that in logical terms was difficult.

Since their current predicament was more pressing, he shifted the conversation back.

“You’ve heard about Paradise, haven’t you?”

“Paradise? You mean that Sweet Land from the tribal legends?”

“It seems to have a different name depending on the tribe. But yes, that’s the one.”

“I’ve heard about it. Let me guess—it’s where we need to go to clear this room?”

“Exactly. But do you think the tribespeople will agree to cross the mountains?”

Mooksung immediately shook his head.

Impossible.

The primitives saw the mountains as the manifestation of hell itself—a place where only the damned were sent.

No matter how much they revered a Divine One, they wouldn’t follow blindly into what they considered certain death.

“The mountains are where we have to go, but the tribe refuses to go there. And on top of that, we have an imminent crisis to deal with. Even if we ordered a full evacuation, a large group like this will only move as fast as its slowest members.”

“Right. We wouldn’t be traveling at a warrior’s pace—it’d be at the speed of children, the elderly, and the weak.”

Sanghyun quietly gazed out of the cave before speaking again, “When you’re running from a bear, you don’t have to be faster than the bear itself. You just have to be faster than the person next to you.”

“Sanghyun, you....”

“I’ve made up my mind. What about you, Senior?”

Mooksung was speechless.

Sanghyun was suggesting that they abandon the tribe, and flee to the mountains on their own!

***- Lee Eunsol

“It’s a relief that you’re doing well. I was really worried that you might have gone through something dangerous or difficult. But seeing the strong and reliable companion by your side, I guess there was no crisis at all!”

After a difficult reunion, I found that Songee was doing much better than I had expected.

Unlike me, her clothes were relatively clean, she wore white leather adorned with colorful ornaments all over her body.

But more than anything, seeing that familiar bird carrying her overfilled me with deep envy.

Why does Perro always start next to Songee?

Shouldn’t that parrot help someone fragile like me instead?!

“What’s with all that decor on your body?!”

“The tribespeople gifted me them every day. It seems like they really like me.”

Hearing that only made my envy worse.

Why are Songee’s tribespeople so kind?

Meanwhile, I had to dominate the ones on my side just to get them to stop looking at me like, “How dare a woman?” At least my status as a great divine being counterbalanced that, and after I took down that bull, I finally started to command some respect.

“Ahem. I also had my share of struggles. Not long after I arrived, a monster attacked my tribe.”

“A monster? I also got attacked by a five-legged bull—a beast the size of a truck.”

“I was attacked by a giant mantis-like monster called the ‘Cutter’. I had to use my bracelet and Perro’s help to take it down.”

Both Songee and I had started as tribal leaders, and soon after, we had to fight off a monster threatening our people.

That couldn’t have been a coincidence.

The others must have faced something similar.

I started to worry about how everyone else was doing.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to the mountains beyond.

“I heard a song from my tribe. They say our ancestors were all children of the Sky God and once lived in a sacred land. But one day, they were banished from it.”

“Honestly, that’s just a common myth. Christianity has almost the exact same story, and plenty of other religions do too.”

“That’s true. But what’s interesting is that the location of that sacred land has been passed down in surprisingly specific detail.”

“The song says we have to cross beyond the mountains. But... I had a different thought.”

“Huh?”

“Songee, how do you think we’re supposed to escape?”

“First, we need to figure out what the curse actually is.”

Based on past experiences, every room had its own conditions for escape.

Just surviving wasn’t enough—one had to delay or escape from the curse itself.

“This is just my guess, so tell me what you think.”

“Okay.”

“Have you heard the tribespeople mention that the seasons feel strange? That it’s getting colder earlier than it should?”

“I did hear something like that.”

“When I realized this was a prehistoric setting, I started wondering—what exactly is the curse here? If I put it bluntly, from a modern perspective, this world is already doomed from the start. It’s practically a lost cause.”

“It kind of reminds me of Room 101. We were scattered, and the world was already in ruins when we started.”

“If this world is already a wasteland, then what kind of disaster would truly finish it off? What’s something that could wipe out early humanity entirely? When I saw the unnatural cold, only one word came to mind—Ice Age.”

Songee thought for a moment before replying, “That actually makes sense. So the scenario for this room is... human extinction by an Ice Age? Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t stop an Ice Age.”

“It might not be a natural Ice Age. What if some evil, monstrous entity is causing it?”

“Mm...”

“We can figure out the source later. But honestly? I already think this scenario is impossible to resolve for this round.”

“...”

“Our Blessings are broken. Is Elena even sane? Seungyub might already be dead. Even Jinchul probably isn’t in his 100%. There’s no way we can fix this—we should focus on surviving and escaping. Want to hear my plan?”

“Unni, do you actually have a plan?”

I stood up and looked toward the sky.

That incomprehensible, sacred being I had seen soaring yesterday still lingered in my mind.

“I saw a divine being in the sky.”

“...What?”

“It looked like a giant, blue whale or seal, swimming through the sky as if it were an ocean.”

“...Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Songee, what do you think about this place we’re in?”

Songee blinked and glanced around in confusion.

“Uh, isn’t it just... a field? There’s soft grass and trees with nutty-tasting fruit—“

“It’s different, isn’t it?”

“...Compared to other places, it is more fertile. And now that you mention it... it is a little darker here.”

“It’s not just fertile—it’s unnaturally fertile. You saw it while riding Perro, right? This world’s climate is turning colder. The land is mostly barren. You don’t just find trees full of fruit like this anywhere.”

“...”

“Songee, this place is the shadow of a god.”

The divine being was so massive that its shadow stretched several kilometers.

But because its movements were slow, and people assumed the dimming light was just clouds, they never realized they were within its shadow.

But once I recognized the celestial being’s presence, I could see it—the gentle movement of its shadow across the land, and the abundance that followed in its wake.

It took two hours for Songee to fully grasp what I was saying.

She rode Perro alongside me as we followed the shadow’s path.

When she finally returned, she looked utterly dazed.

“The ecosystem along its path is completely different. Even in a barren wasteland covered in rocks, there are suddenly lush fields full of cherries. In forests where all the trees are bare from the cold, the ones touched by the shadow alone are in full bloom like it’s spring or summer.”

“So you can see it now, too. I don’t know what that being is. But...”

“But?”

“It doesn’t feel evil. If anything, it might be a Convict. But not all Convicts are evil, are they?”

Like the Sea God of Room 202 or the Devourer of Room 103, not every Convict was malicious.

“So what’s your plan, Unni?”

“We follow the shadow.”

“...”

“Ever since I locked eyes with that entity, it’s been moving—almost like it wants us to follow.”

“...A Convict is guiding us somewhere?”

“And conveniently, we have a lot of people to feed. You, me, our tribes. Where else can we find food in a dying world? If we follow the shadow, that problem will solve itself.”

Songee leaned against a tree, looking conflicted.

“I get what you’re saying, but it feels too baseless. The mystery god, the life-giving presence... I understand all that. But do we really have a reason to follow it?”

“Fair point.”

“And more importantly, the shadow is moving away from the mountains.”

“So let me ask you... have you found a good reason why we must go to the mountains now?”

Two paths laid before us—

The holy land beyond the monstrous mountains, or the divine entity guiding us to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Where should we go?

***Looking down at the windswept plains, the boy thought to himself.

How on earth did things end up like this?!

His body was floating high in the vast sky.

It wasn’t as if he had suddenly grown wings, so it was clear that something else had lifted him into the air.

And it was just as clear who was holding him aloft.

That being looked just like an angel descended from the heavens.

The golden hair cascading down her back shimmered like the very radiance of the sun, and the deep green of her eyes held the warmth of a lush forest, making his heart feel at ease just by looking into them.

Though the translucent, dragonfly-like wings sprouting from her back were somewhat eerie, her overall angelic presence made them seem almost fitting.

If only the plains below weren’t filled with silken cocoons covering everything like a soft, rustling sea.

If only he hadn’t seen with his own eyes that those cocoons were once people.

Even after witnessing hundreds of people being wrapped up like that, Seungyub still felt like he was going to lose his mind.

“I’m so relieved.”

“Elena-noona...”

“I’m so relieved... That I found you before anything happened. I was so worried.”

“Noona...”

“This place is strange, isn’t it? The moment I woke up, there were monsters everywhere.”

“...”

“But it’s okay now, Seungyub. I’ll protect you. So don’t worry anymore. But... where do you think the others are?”

Behind Elena, there were moths.

Moths—plural.

Even now, at this very moment, they were swarming through the skies, harvesting humans as they fled in desperation.

Seungyub looked down at the cocoons littering the plains.

He had a sinking feeling he already knew what was going to emerge from them.