Escaping the Mystery Hotel

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 93

Current Location: Frozen Hell – Room of Resurrection

Sage’s Advice: 3

- Han Kain

As I regained consciousness from the dizzying sensation, we found ourselves outside the door.

Checking the Status Window, I realized that the date had changed while we were inside.

“Ugh~ I never expected Santa to be the culprit. Are you all okay?”

Grandpa, rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, answered, “That Santa bastard is ridiculously strong. He used all sorts of magic while singing, and there was just no clear way to deal with him. Ahri, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Ugh… I should have realized something was wrong when the Christmas carol started playing!”

At that moment, Eunsol-noona approached from the other side.

“From what I’m hearing, it sounds like you didn’t succeed?”

“It seems like we’ll have to go back in. For now, let’s catch our breath and—“

“Sorry, but you’ll need to head back in now.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, but our situation here is worse than we thought. We need to save as much time as possible.”

““…???””

What’s going on? Save time?

I thought the prayer team was just sitting around?

While I stood there confused, Ahri quickly sprang into action.

“Looks like things are rough on their end too. Let’s go right back in. We can discuss everything once we’re inside. We have a bit of time before Santa starts causing chaos again.”

“…Everyone, be careful. We’ll try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

We immediately returned to Miro’s Hell.

***Right after the “Hell Team” followed Eunsol’s instructions and returned to Miro’s Hell, Cha Jinchul, who had been checking the situation on the first floor, came running.

“Noona! How did it go?”

“The first attempt failed, it seems. Looks like they’ll have to try again.”

“I see.”

“How are Seungyub and Songee?”

“They’re barely hanging on, they’ve been gasping for air for a while now. I’ve bundled them up tightly in sleeping bags and blankets.”

“This weather is brutal. Who would’ve thought the ‘Incense of Salvation’ burns human vitality as fuel? What’s the situation on the first floor?”

“It’s a mess. Honestly, it turned into a hellscape no different from the second floor. The door to Room 105 is completely locked. How’s Elena?”

“It’s been about three hours since she went in. She must be suffering by now. I’ll go in next.”

“…”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Here, take this.”

“What is this…?”

“This might be the thing that saves us.”

In Cha Jinchul’s hand was a white piece of paper.

‘3-Day Rest Ticket.’

***<We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

We wish you a merry Christmas,

And a happy New Year!>

As the carol echoed through the air in “English”, I realized something new.

Since this place was an American school, it made sense continuity-wise for everyone—from the students to the teachers—to have spoken English.

The Hotel kindly translated all those conversations into Korean for us.

The only words it didn’t translate were those infused with supernatural power, like Miro’s “Words of Power”.

So why would only the carol be heard in English?

It was practically a warning that the carol itself held some supernatural significance!

As soon as I woke up inside Miro’s Hell, I ran straight to the teachers’ office, where Ahri and Grandpa were.

“Have you thought about it?”

“About how to deal with Santa? That guy is no joke.”

“In the original history, I guess the Administration took care of him? Miro must’ve survived by sheer luck.”

“Probably. The Administration might have used helicopters, missiles—whatever firepower they had to kill him. But we need to find another way. We have no way to contact the Administration.”

Ahri nodded in agreement.

“It’s either that the Hotel didn’t recreate the Administration inside ‘Miro’s Hell’, or that we simply don’t have a way to contact them. Either way, the conclusion is the same. We have to handle this ourselves.”

“Let’s share the weaknesses we’ve noticed. One thing I realized is that he stays calm before ‘Christmas’. As you all know, Santa manifested before Christmas itself. He might already be here right now!”

During the first attempt, I encountered Santa while having a snowball fight with Miro.

“That’s definitely an important point. Maybe the key is to defeat him before Christmas comes.”

Ahri added her observation, “The weakness I noticed is that he needs to sing a carol before using his magic. It’s like all his abilities require a sort of ‘preparation time’.”

“Yeah, whether it’s summoning a snowstorm, bringing in man-eating reindeer, or exploding heads, he had to sing a corresponding carol before doing anything.”

Grandpa, after a moment of thought, spoke up, “He didn’t seem physically invincible either. You might not remember, but when I punched him with that arm I got from the Merchant, he flew away pretty easily.”

“He flew away, but didn’t he get up almost immediately? He was fine even after getting shot.”

Grandpa seemed to think for a moment before replying, “I think my assessment is right. It didn’t feel like my punch or the bullets didn’t work. It just wasn’t enough. What if we set him completely on fire?”

Ahri quickly synthesized the ideas, “So, his physical body isn’t that strong, and he uses the carol as a chant for his magic, right? What if Mooksung holds him down while we gag and burn him?”

For an idea that came together in such a short time, it felt pretty solid.

A creature with weak physical strength who casts spells by chanting—a kind of wizard, really.

Gagging him and setting him on fire seems like an effective strategy given Santa’s abilities.

We spent the next 30 minutes working out the details of our plan, waiting for Santa’s appearance.

***During the first attempt, Santa showed up with his reindeer somewhere between 6 and 7 o’clock in the schoolyard.

We still didn’t know the exact conditions for his appearance, therefore, we decided to recreate the circumstances as much as possible.

In short, I was currently having a snowball fight with the kids.

- Thwack!

“Spinning tornado shot!”

“…”

“Take that!”

Ever since I met Ahri, I’ve constantly been amazed by how she can do anything.

Not only is she smart, but she’s also physically far more capable than most people.

Although her superhuman strength, which came from the Ancient Blood, is gone, her natural talent hasn’t faded.

“How do you always hit them right in the head?”

“I aim for the head and throw.”

“…That’s one way to do it, I guess.”

- Thwack!

Just then, a snowball smacked me in the face.

Ahri laughed, and so did Miro and the other kids from afar.

It seemed like a happy ending—everyone was laughing, except for me, who got hit.

***<We wish you a merry Christmas>

As I stood there listening to the carol, I realized the time had come.

I gave Ahri a subtle signal.

Han Kain: It’s about time.

Kim Ahri: Should we send the kids back inside?

Since we didn’t know the exact conditions for Santa’s appearance, we had to keep the situation as close as possible to the first attempt.

Han Kain: Keep Miro out.

Soon after, Ahri and Grandpa, who had been watching from nearby, started sending the kids back inside.

How could we keep Miro out?

Thankfully, that issue was quickly resolved.

As Grandpa started sending the kids back, Miro grabbed Ahri’s arm and pulled her behind a car to hide, and Grandpa pretended not to notice as he moved to get ready for Santa.

Han Kain: Keep Miro with you.

Now, we wait.

…

…

- Grunt!

I heard a chilling, almost ticklish breath in my ear! My eyes shot open as I turned toward the sound, only to realize—

I was the only one who heard it.

Neither Ahri nor Grandpa reacted.

It wasn’t until they saw my tense expression that they turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.

Soon, a reindeer emerged from the forest.

- Grunt. Huff. Step.

The same reindeer that had been eating people’s heads just a few hours ago now walked gracefully across the snowy field, looking as gentle as could be.

“…It’s oddly elegant now.”

“Hoho! You’ve got a good eye, child. That reindeer is more delicate and graceful than it looks.”

Santa had appeared!

Once again, his arrival was the same as before.

While everyone’s attention was on the reindeer, he suddenly materialized behind us as if he had teleported.

“Huh? Santa Claus?”

“Of course! Child, what’s your name?”

“Han Kain. Oh, and those two coming over are Miro and Ahri.”

…Something felt off. I realized something I hadn’t noticed during our first meeting.

“Yes, yes. It’s a wonderful time of year. But Kain?”

“Yes?”

“Are you a good kid?”

Suddenly, that sentence was spoken in English.

What does it mean?

Does the magic lie within those words?

As I pondered this, the chat window became noisy.

Kim Mooksung: Let me shut that guy’s mouth…

Han Kain: Stop.

Kim Ahri: ?

Kim Mooksung: ?

Han Kain: It’s no use. It won’t work right now.

Was it because I hadn’t answered Santa’s question that he was starting to look irritated?

“Child, when an adult asks you something, you should answer. I’m starting to wonder if you might be a naughty kid.”

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking deeply about whether I’m a good kid or not, so I couldn’t answer right away.”

“…That, in itself, is an acceptable answer. It seems you’re quite thoughtful about whether you’re a good kid. Just the fact that you’re thinking about it shows that you’re a good child.”

“Thank you.”

“No one is perfectly good, after all. As we go through life, we all make mistakes and get a little dirty. But if you keep reflecting on yourself, over and over again, one day you’ll be as pure and white as this snow.”

It took everything I had to suppress a laugh.

Listening to him, one would think he was some kind of child education expert.

Yet, wasn’t this the same creature who slaughtered the kids mere hours ago?

“I’ll keep reflecting.”

“Good! So, Kain, what would you like as a present? You and that Ahri kid didn’t write down what you wanted, so I’m at a loss.”

“Uh…”

“This Santa really likes you, Kain. So feel free to ask for something nice. Good kids deserve rewards.”

What kind of gift will Santa give? Something nice.

Caught off guard by the sudden question, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “How about a doll? I’d like to have more friends.”

That seemed like the kind of present a kid my age should ask for, right?

Santa smiled at me and “disappeared”.

***A while later, Miro, Ahri, and Grandpa reappeared.

“That was an odd conversation. He seems really fixated on the words ‘good kid’, don’t you think?”

“Yeah… but I’m more curious about him asking about presents. Does he really give something?”

“Why didn’t we gag him like we planned? We should have shut him up!”

“Teacher, you’re scaring Miro.”

Kim Mooksung: We agreed to gag and burn him!

“What are you all talking about? Is it something fun?”

“Uh, Miro! Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Silently, I stared at the space where Santa had vanished.

While we had all been distracted by the reindeer, Santa suddenly appeared behind us and wandered around the snow for quite a while during our conversation.

But now that Santa was gone, I realized something.

There were no footprints left in the snow.