Chapter 62
The Hotel of Dreams [Illustration]
“With this, we conclude the banquet! Remember, exam candidates, you are not allowed to leave your rooms after 10 p.m. Rest well after a hard day today.”
“Tomorrow, until 1 p.m., we will call for the gate to the banquet hall. So, please have your check-out ready by then!”
The banquet came to an end.
Exam candidates left the banquet hall with those they had become friendly with during the question game.
Yeonha and I followed them.
“Guyou! Haneul! See you tomorrow!”
“Thank you for the advice. Good luck on the exam.”
“Wishing you both good luck on the exam.”
“See you both tomorrow.”
Nearby, there were Goeunbi and Lisa, who had received advice on the 4th practical exam from me.
The two thanked us and went back to their assigned rooms.
We climbed more stairs, heading to the top floor.
“Remember my advice?”
“I do. Don’t worry.”
“Then, have sweet dreams.”
“Guyou, you too.”
Arriving at the floor with the Sweet Room.
After exchanging words of encouragement, we soon parted ways in the hallway.
I entered the room.
Then I approached the portrait hanging on the wall across from the bed.
“Perhaps this is the monster I need to defeat.”
Even in the game, there were monsters that used pictures as mediums.
Monsters of that kind were commonly treated as part of the background until they revealed their true identities.
Attacking them was futile.
“….”
So, in the game, one could only face the monster after it revealed its true form.
But in the real world with more freedom, it wasn’t an issue.
I could dispose of this picture before it revealed its true identity.
“Maybe if I burn the portrait, I might just die right there.”
In that case, there would be no need to fight it in the surreal world.
I could easily pass the Level 4 practical exam.
But I also had to consider the possibility of things not going as planned.
In case luck wasn’t on my side.
“If it’s a monster that uses objects as mediums, it could potentially transfer to another object in the room.”
That could happen too.
If I made a mistake, finding the monster in the surreal world could become more challenging.
It would be a headache in many ways.
“…There’s no other choice.”
Uncertainty in gambling is dangerous.
I decided not to get rid of the portrait.
Instead, I took the portrait off the wall and headed to the bathroom.
I placed the portrait in the bathroom, turned on the faucet.
Drip…
A thin stream of water fell onto the portrait from the faucet.
The water was sucked into the bathtub drain as I opened the stopper.
“This should work.”
I couldn’t know for sure what form the monster would take in the surreal world or where it would hide.
So, I needed to prepare clues to find it.
If my hunch was right, the monster would surely be where the sound of water was heard.
“Preparation is complete with this.”
Now, all I had to do was sleep.
I turned off the lights, lay on the bed.
Closed my eyes, and fell asleep.
Gradually, my consciousness faded away.
* * *
Pitter-patter.
The sound of rain strikes my eardrums.
“Here is….”
When I came to my senses, I found myself standing under the roof of a building.
The sky, covered with dark clouds, was pouring rain heavily.
And the academy city lay in ruins.
The world tree, a sight in any part of the academy city, was revealing twisted branches.
“….”
Broken, collapsed, and demolished buildings caught my eye everywhere.
Cars were overturned, and the roads were filled with endless cracks.
Not a single person was seen walking the streets.
There was no sign of life.
“Oh, right.”
At that moment, I realized.
The world had come to an end.
“….”
It felt like just yesterday when I took the entrance exam for the academy, but time had swiftly passed.
Three years felt incredibly short.
During that time, I tried my best to avoid a bad ending and reach the desired outcome.
But there was one thing I couldn’t avoid.
And this was the result.
I had failed.
“….Dammit.”
Where did it all go wrong?
Why did it turn out like this?
I don’t know.
All I could do was dwell on guilt and helplessness.
“If only I had done a little better, or simply from the start….”
It was at that moment my eyes fell on the writing on my left palm.
There was writing on my palm.
“….Ah, right.”
Clarity washed over me.
This was my dream.
No, would it be more accurate to call it a dream shown by the monster?
Seeing the writing on my palm, I shed the emotions I had felt just before.
‘I almost fell for it.’
I might forget that this place is a dream again at some point.
I manifested my mana within to resist.
By doing so, I could resist to some extent the tricks of the monsters that might be lurking somewhere in the dream.
Anyway.
‘It won’t be easy to find him with the rain pouring down like this.’
I chuckled bitterly.
I thought I could find the monster by heading towards where the sound of water could be heard, but it seemed he wasn’t going to be caught so easily.
‘Can’t help it. Have to find him myself.’
He must be hiding nearby to deceive me.
I decided to explore the dream.
Thump!
I sensed a presence at that moment.
Amidst the sound of rain, a noise like someone landing on the ground mixed in.
I was about to unfold my detection net.
“…”
But there was no need for that.
The owner of the noise unexpectedly leapt down and landed in front of me.
I took in that presence with my eyes and lost my words.
“Why is the sky…?”
“I was looking for you, Gyunwoo.”
“…”
Getting drenched in the pouring rain.
Yeonha was approaching me without a care in the world.
Her red eyes flickered between her black hair.
‘Wait, black hair?’
If it was black hair, it was the appearance Yeonha took on in the game when she transformed into the Witch of Calamity.
From Noble mtl dot com
That was the moment.
“I was looking for you, Gyunwoo.”
“Where were you?”
“Gyunwoo.”
“Why run away?”
“Don’t you like us?”
“…”
Yeonha was not just one person.
Everywhere my eyes landed.
There was a Yeonha with black hair.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
The number kept increasing.
“…Sh*t.”
Countless young skies expanding endlessly.
It’s a scene I’ve seen in a game.
Only then did I realize that I had entered some dream.
‘Is this a young sky ending…’
An ending where the world collapses as the young skies exponentially increase.
I clicked my tongue, watching the girls approaching me with animosity.
I reach for my military sword.
Immediately after, countless young skies rushed towards me.
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
“Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.” “Gyeonwoo.”
—
“Now, male students, draw lots!”
It feels like I just had a sweet dream.
Young skies woke up upon hearing the homeroom teacher’s voice.
“…”
5th grade, first day of school.
The seats were being rearranged.
Based on the order in which male students drew lots, girls were assigned to sit next to them.
‘I probably won’t have anyone sitting next to me…’
Because I might block the view in front of the person behind me due to my height.
Most of all, because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
Young sky, sitting in the back corner by the window, didn’t pay attention to the moving male students trying to find their seats.
He thought no one would willingly sit next to him, as he was already being avoided at school.
Surely, the remaining person would sit next to him with a very displeased expression.
The prediction came easily.
It’s always been like this.
‘I won’t be chosen.’
So don’t get your hopes up.
Yeon Haneul suppressed his feelings and desperately wished for the hellish time to end.
“Ah.”
At that moment, Yeon Haneul happened to open the palm of his hand, which he had been clutching tightly against his knee.
There was writing on the palm.
“Hey, Haneul, don’t fall asleep.”
“…Huh.”
He stifled a laugh that came out involuntarily.
Crooked handwriting.
The moment she laid eyes on it, Yeon Haneul realized that she was in a dream world.
“I am dreaming of the day I first met Gyunwoo.”
Manifesting her inner mana,
Yeon Haneul gently smiled.
Having resigned herself to the fact that she would never be chosen by anyone, she now confidently lifted her head.
Then she spotted Doh Gyunwoo in front of the blackboard.
“Gyunwoo, you… You showed me that I, too, can be chosen by someone.”
That day was a very memorable day in Yeon Haneul’s life.
It was the day that marked a turning point in her life.
Perhaps Doh Gyunwoo wouldn’t know.
He had met her and been saved from the despair of having to make choices and be chosen for a year to come.
“Gyunwoo at 12… Seeing him like this, he’s truly adorable. I want to pinch his cheeks.”
Recalling that emotion,
Yeon Haneul waited for Doh Gyunwoo to walk over to her side.
Finally, it was Doh Gyunwoo’s turn.
“Please choose a seat for number 9!”
“Gyunwoo, I’m here.”
Doh Gyunwoo hesitated.
He headed towards the window seat.
Knowing she would be chosen, Yeon Haneul looked at him intently, unlike before.
“This time… should I reject him as a joke? I wonder how Gyunwoo will react.”
Doh Gyunwoo is coming.
He’s coming. He’s coming! He’s coming! He’s coming!
Even after spending five years as childhood friends, Yeon Haneul’s heart raced at the thought of him choosing her.
“I should tell him to sit down quickly, without even jokingly rejecting him.”
If Doh Gyunwoo sat next to her, she would speak to him warmly this time.
Yeon Haneul vowed.
But he…
“…Huh?”
“May I sit next to you?”
“…Gyeonwoo, huh? I know your name. I can’t refuse, so go ahead and sit. Let’s get along well for a month as members of the noble family.”
…”
Without facing himself, Do Gyeonwoo sat next to Kim Suji.
He should have said something that should have been said to him.
“…So that’s how it is.”
Do Gyeonwoo and Kim Suji smiled at each other and chatted.
They looked good together.
Yeongha-neul watched the scene with a bitter smile.
“So, this is how you attack me.”
Despite knowing it was a dream.
Yeongha-neul was engulfed in a melancholic emotion.
She stood up from her seat.
“Device on.”
I need to shatter this absurd dream.
Yeongha-neul swung the sledgehammer.
oh gawd she’s going on a killing spree