Escaping the Mystery Hotel

As I crouched in the body of a cat—most likely named “Coco”—the door opened, and a boy who looked about ten or eleven years old entered.

“Coco~! I told you not to mess with the stuff in my room!”

So, this is the kid’s room?

Judging by the look of it, he seems to come from a well-off family.

Not exactly a billionaire, but definitely wealthy.

“Not answering, huh? Hey!”

Suddenly, he smacked me on the head.

What does this kid expect from a cat?

Am I supposed to make a sound or something?

It wasn’t quite the right sound, but it couldn’t be helped.

It was my first time possessing a cat, so I didn’t know how to meow properly.

The boy tilted his head, puzzled for a moment, then warned me again not to do anything weird and left the room.

Is this kid for real?

Does he really think a cat listens to warnings?

Watching his carelessness is getting me pissed!

Should I show him the true nature of a cat by scratching up all his wallpaper with my claws?

…No, Han Kain… Get a grip.

No need to actually think like a real cat.

But the moment I heard that kid’s voice, something dark and twisted stirred deep inside me.

What if I took over the kid’s body?

Can that be considered another method of escape?

My heart raced.

Right now, it felt like “escape” was within my grasp.

At the same time, I realized something else.

Normally, when I possess someone, a timer would appear in the corner of my vision—something like [57:39], indicating a one-hour limit.

But now, that countdown was gone.

In the past, Ahri speculated that the time limit during possession wasn’t due to the Grimoire’s limitations but rather a restriction imposed by the Hotel to prevent an easy escape by body-swapping.

The reasoning was solid—unlike “Sacrifice”, which had been clearly altered, “Possession” had no obvious signs of Hotel interference.

Another clue came from the style of the notifications and timers.

The font and format matched the style used by the Hotel, not something an ancient, isolated entity like the One Who Couldn’t Be Born would have come up with.

So, the time limit was likely imposed by the Hotel, and it seemed I was right.

After leaving the snow globe and entering the outside world, the time limit had disappeared.

But… can I really escape this way?

Why did the Owl go to such lengths to guide me to this place?

Is it to show me a new escape route?

I doubt it.

The Patrons’ true motives were still unclear, but based on what Eunsol-noona’s Patron once said and things the Owl hinted at, I had a theory.

The Patrons didn’t want us to escape; they wanted us to achieve results within the Hotel.

The Owl doesn’t want me to escape, so why show me a way out?

It’s because the Owl knows I won’t be able to escape like this.

The flame of hope for escape that had ignited inside me snuffed out like a match.

I can’t escape. Not like this.

Is it because taking over an innocent boy’s body is an evil act?

That’s part of it.

But what struck me even more was a different reason.

I’m the only one who could escape this way.

My comrades have no way out.

Besides, what was the point of leaving if they couldn’t follow?

They’d be as small as insects out there.

How will they survive?

How will the rest of the world even notice them without a magnifying glass?

I remembered something Ahri said a few months ago, just before we entered the Gate Room when we were all opening up to each other.

Our party might not be all that impressive individually, but as a group, we were incredibly strong—not just because we were kind or altruistic, but because we thought as a collective whole.

I finally realized that what she said didn’t just apply to my comrades; it applied to me as well.

How could I bring myself to leave?

If I escaped alone like this, what would happen to my comrades?

Could they survive the second floor without the Grimoire, Status Windows, or Scenario Comprehension?

I thought back to the chaos my group experienced when I was sealed at the start of The Cube in Room 201.

It was a mess.

If I escaped alone, I was essentially leaving the others to die.

There was an old Native American saying that compares a person’s conscience to a triangle.

Every time they did something wrong, the triangle spun, its sharp edges pricking their soul.

But eventually, the constant spinning dulled the edges.

Just now, the triangle inside me turned once.

And I decided to keep its edges sharp.

***When I returned to my body, I realized I was back inside the snow globe.

My comrades must have dragged me back in after seeing both the cat and the boy show up, sensing something was wrong.

Considering the Protective Suit weighs over 200kg, Jinchul-hyung must have had a hard time carrying my body back.

…I wonder how our weight was managed in the “outside world”?

No way to know.

As soon as I woke up and started moving, Ahri approached me.

“You’re back.”

“Yeah. I didn’t learn much, but I found some things.”

“Good job. And… thanks.”

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

What does she mean by “good job” and “thanks”?

Is it because I scouted around?Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Or is it…?

No, stop thinking about it.

There are more practical matters to discuss.

“I checked the clock in the room while I was possessing the cat. If the time in the outside world matches the Hotel’s, it’s now 10:40 PM. It seems likely the times are the same.”

“Really?”

“Think back to the moment when the Advice came up. The Owl seemed pretty urgent like we needed to do something before the second floor was fully repaired. Whatever it is, we need to do it tonight. That leaves us only about an hour and twenty minutes.”

As usual, time was running out.

By tomorrow, we won’t be able to return to this place, so we have to find something tonight.

We also have to decide what to do with the ticket in the next day or two—whether to use it and if so, for what purpose, like a resurrection.

In three days, we’ll already be going back into the Cursed Room.

Jinchul-hyung, looking uneasy, spoke up, “You mean back in that dangerous place?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking—why did our Patron lead us here? I’m sure It wasn’t just to show off how cool and mysterious the Hotel is.”

Grandpa shared a similar view, “That guy didn’t send us out here just to show off. We probably need to go back out. By the way, that giant monster was really just a cat? I thought it might be when I heard the kid’s voice, but… it’s just a regular house out there?”

“Seems like it. From what I saw, it’s just a regular home somewhere on Earth.”

Ahri muttered with amusement, “First, they built a floor in the depths of the ocean, now the first floor is in the sky, and the second floor is in a snow globe. I wonder what the limits of the Hotel’s location are. If the first and second floors are in different places, the third floor probably is too. Where could it be?”

“Curious indeed.”

“Could you imagine? Maybe it’s on top of your fingernail, Kain.”

“…”

“Just kidding. Let’s head back out. Should we all go?”

“No, this time, I’ll go alone. Compared to the outside world, we’re way too small. I have to possess the cat or the boy to explore, and if the others come with me, it’ll be too distracting.”

Considering the size difference, the cat or the boy could blow on my teammates and send them flying.

It would be better if they stayed inside the snow globe for now.

After explaining the situation, I headed back outside.

***It didn’t take long to possess Coco the cat again after leaving the snow globe.

Poor Coco had done nothing wrong but was cowering in a corner after getting scolded by the boy.

Still, thanks to Coco’s bright eyes, it wasn’t hard to find her.

Next, it was time to “borrow” the boy’s body.

- Rip! Rip!

“Minyoung! Check your room!”

“Ugh, this is so annoying! Coco’s tearing something up again!”

…Sorry, Coco, looks like you’re getting in trouble again.

Soon enough, the door flew open, and the boy returned.

While I was still in Coco’s body, I quickly moved behind the snow globe, and when he came to grab the cat, I switched back to my original body.

As the boy, now holding a confused Coco, stood there in bewilderment, I took over his body.

For a moment, my head throbbed.

Unlike the dim-witted mind of a cat, “Kim Minyoung” was human.

With possession came a flood of information about who this kid was.

Nothing particularly special.

He was in third grade, currently on vacation.

That was about it.

I glanced in the mirror and muttered to myself, “Hmm. It feels weird to talk to myself like this. Anyway, I’ll make sure you’re safe and return you in one piece. Not that you’ll ever know anything happened. Oh, and don’t be too hard on Coco—she didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sure enough, I’m much more suited to human vision than the cat’s.

I turned on the lights in the dark room first and then sent Coco outside to prevent any weird behavior.

Now, what should I do next?

I approached the snow globe.

“Was this the cause of the snowstorm?”

The snow globe seemed to be quite expensive, being about the size of a human head and connected to an electrical cord.

Carefully examining the button section on the back so as not to shake the snow globe, I saw that there were three modes to choose from.

“One is power off, another is lamp mode, and the last one… is Christmas mode?”

The reason why the snowstorm on the second floor of the Hotel had been raging nonstop was incredibly simple.

It was simply because the snow globe had been set to “Christmas mode”, and thanks to the power of electricity, the snow kept swirling.

I considered turning it off completely, but that would make the room too dark, so I switched it to lamp mode.

The snowstorm stopped, and only the lights remained, creating a calm and serene environment.

“With this, the snowstorm problem is really solved! Anything else I need to do?”

It seems like the first task of “stopping the snowstorm” is definitely done now.

However, just this alone feels a bit lacking.

After all, even if I hadn’t stopped the snowstorm, it wouldn’t have been a big issue once the Hotel ceiling was fixed tomorrow.

I calmly looked around the room.

With about 50 minutes left, considering the time, it didn’t seem like I needed to go outside the room to do anything.

Scattered around the room were toys like Lego sets, mini cars, and game consoles, things that Minyoung seemed to like.

Several study worksheets were also slotted into the bookshelf.

“…Minyoung, 8 x 8 isn’t 88. You’re still confused about multiplication, huh? Well, as long as you’re healthy, that’s what matters.”

As I carefully examined the Lego sets, I finally discovered another peculiar element.

‘A Mysterious Craftsman’

The name being the same can’t just be a coincidence, right?

I found the first hidden NPC on the second floor.

It was unexpected to find out that the NPC was a Lego figure, though.