Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 265

259. Corrupt….?

 

System

 

You’re probably the only player who uses the real system like this.

 

Alex grumbled but still activated ‘Location Search(S).’

 

Is it because this world, much like a scene out of a painting, allows Alex’s abilities to manifest on such a wide scale?

 

System

 

Hmm…I don’t think so.

 

This place is a bit special.

 

Is this really the world created by the Demon King…?

 

Administrator

 

Why? What’s different?

 

System

 

It’s more like… it feels like I’m inside a hotel instead. The mana flowing here feels kind of familiar.

 

What does it mean?

 

There was no time to think any deeper.

 

A red dot began to appear on the map. 

 

“Over there. It’s over there.” 

 

I estimated the four directions and roughly pinpointed the location. 

 

Since the skill had only been functioning in narrow spaces like inside a hotel, there was no way an address would appear. 

 

I was grateful that it showed where we were, the shape of a large building, and where Uncle Minhyuk was.

 

“Over there?”

 

After Uncle Junsoo knocked over a few monsters with his motorcycle, he lightly spun around in the air on his motorcycle and then asked. 

 

Why do you keep doing circus acts?

 

“Hey, get on.”

 

The title of address quickly changed from “Noona” to “Hey.”

 

I sat down on the back seat of Uncle’s motorcycle without saying anything.

 

“Hwang Misoon is…” 

 

“She’ll be watching for an opportunity from above.” 

 

“….?”

 

I looked up at Aunt Misoon, who was riding a glider like a giant crow, watching us from atop a partially collapsed utility pole. 

 

“This kind of raid is thrilling…”

 

I don’t know what that means, but I can tell an S-rank raid is scary.

 

I said, sitting on the back of the motorcycle, tightly holding onto Uncle’s side.

 

“Full speed. Let’s go, Uncle.” 

 

“Why have you been calling me ‘Uncle’ since earlier…?” 

 

Despite grumbling, Uncle started riding the motorcycle at full speed.

 

“This way.”

 

“That way.”

 

“Turn left.”

 

“U-turn…!” 

 

Following my shout, he performed a circus-like stunt, and the place we arrived at was a four-story building, with academy signs tightly packed on each floor. 

 

Among them, the ones with signs for law schools were on the 2nd and 4th floors.

 

Anyway, it meant we had to enter through the stairs.

 

I landed on a nearby building’s rooftop, gave Aunt Misoon, who was looking down at me and Uncle Junsoo, a simple hand gesture to indicate where we were going, and then entered the building.

 

The building was filled with thick smoke.

 

I warned Uncle Junsoo amidst the thick smoke.

 

“Among the monsters, there are some that hide toxic substances in their smoke. Be careful not to inhale too much smoke.”

 

“Yes? Yes.”

 

Uncle Junsoo stared at me with an unreadable expression and then nodded.

 

Boom, boom!

 

At that moment, a loud, unknown sound came from above.

 

At the same time, dust began to fall from above.

 

It was a strong vibration that shook the entire building.

 

“….?”

 

“This way!”

 

Uncle Junsoo slashed at the monster charging at me with a dagger.

 

I quickly drew the longsword I had received as a Christmas gift from Uncle Minhyuk.

 

Then, as if it had been waiting, something came down from the ceiling and rushed at me.

 

A ‘Human-Faced Bat (C)’ has appeared in front of you!

 

It had a black face, and although it was clearly a bat, there was something strange about it — looking at its face gave the impression that it resembled a human’s. 

 

One flew in from above, and one flew in from the side.

 

After I defeated both of them, I could clearly see the heads of the ones that had fallen to the ground.

 

They were human-shaped heads.

 

“Ugh… what is this… Is it because of global warming?”

 

Kim Junsoo muttered. 

 

At this time, many people were still analyzing various causes for the phenomenon known as the ‘Great Disaster.’ 

 

Before the Great Disaster, all natural phenomena followed the law of causality, where if you understood the cause and resolved it, the result would be resolved as well. 

 

Perhaps the futile attempts to find the cause ended up leading to all kinds of fraudulent incidents and cult events that emerged after the Great Disaster. 

 

“This disaster is just a disaster.”

 

The moment I answered—

 

Boom, boom, boom!

 

A loud noise was heard above my head again.

 

This time, stronger dust was blowing, and something flew toward the stairs.

 

[Sanrim Law School 201]

 

The door with the nameplate and…

 

“Ugh…” 

The hand that was holding the door.

 

Seeing Uncle Junsoo’s face fall into panic, I became anxious. 

 

Could I say that this hand isn’t Uncle Minhyuk’s?

 

There’s something up there.

 

If I don’t go and save Uncle right now, it could be dangerous.

 

“That…” 

 

“Uncle.” 

 

Eventually, I firmly grabbed Kim Junsoo’s shoulder, who had just thrown up the sweet and sour pork he ate in the morning, and said.

 

“Let’s scatter from here. I’ll go to the fourth floor, and Uncle, you go to the second. Got it? If anything goes wrong, head to the window and signal to Miss Hwang Misoon. She’ll be covering us from the outside.” 

 

“Ah, I know, but— there’s something up there…”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

It’s okay.

 

I could say that without thinking.

 

Because—

 

“Uncle, you’re really strong.”

 

This young man, who is pale in front of me, will soon become a hero of this country. 

 

“Don’t forget that fact. Uncle is much stronger than you think.” 

 

With those words, I saw a swarm of bats flying toward me from behind. 

 

As soon as I dragged Uncle up to the second floor, a loud explosion rang out again.

 

At the same time, a scream was heard from the classroom at the end of the hallway.

 

“Aaack! Please save me!”

 

The moment he heard those words, Uncle Junsoo’s expression changed.

 

“There are survivors.”

 

I ran behind Uncle who was heading to the classroom as if possessed. 

 

I lightly jumped about three steps and reached the fourth floor in an instant.

 

“…Cough!”

 

It seemed that the fourth floor was the source of the smoke, as thicker smoke filled the air.

 

Judging by the fact that I was coughing, I knew that there was a strong guy here too. 

 

‘Location search. Location search. Location search!’

 

I felt a headache coming on as I searched for the red dot on the map. However, for some reason, the red dot was shaking unstable.

 

Hotel owner

 

Why is this happening?

 

There was no answer.

 

I stared at the red dot on the map that was becoming increasingly blurred.

 

Since the entrance was a south-facing door, this side must be north.

 

As I slowly made my way, feeling along with my hand, I reached the end of the hallway, and suddenly, a bright light overwhelmed me.

 

I quickly unfolded my invincible curtain. 

 

A ‘Corrupted Manticore (S)’ has appeared in front of you!

 

Corrupted Manticore.

 

Even an S-class.

 

If a monster of this level appeared in Seoul, wouldn’t the country called South Korea have already disappeared from the face of the earth?

 

So the appearance of this absurd monster was proof that this world was an artificially distorted world created by the Demon King.

 

‘The problem is that I can’t deal with an S-class in an instant….’

 

I can’t. 

 

I removed the invincible curtain, and for a moment, it seemed like the power had gone out. In the dimness, flames flew around behind the Manticore’s shoulders. 

 

The poison gas emitted by the Manticore seemed to have the ability to ignite.

 

Because the fire was being ignited in the air layer above the classroom and hallway. 

 

A terrible scream was coming from the classroom I was about to enter. 

 

It would be like countless people being roasted alive.

 

Inside, there would also be a young Minhyuk in his 20s.

 

The Manticore spewed blue flames again.

 

I avoided the flames shooting in a straight line by swiftly dodging to the side, then drew my longsword. 

 

The sharp longsword made a sound as it cut through the air.

 

The manticore’s blue flames sparkled on the longsword.

 

The monster’s face briefly lit up from the light, allowing me to see the face attached to the lion’s torso.

 

At first, the lion’s face was writhing uncontrollably like a broken television, but in an instant, its shape became fixed.

 

The face had red hair and a rather intense expression, giving it a androgynous appearance—.

 

-Kwooohhh! Kwerk. Kkek… Oh. Did I successfully hack and cause a bug?

 

…It was Alex Grey. 

 

With a bewildered expression, I looked across the classroom, where smoke was pouring out from behind Alex on the lion’s torso, and saw the flames on the wooden furniture inside.

 

“…Alex? What are you doing there?” 

 

-No, I told you earlier that something was off with the mana here, right? So I thought maybe…

 

Alex looked at my body and smiled proudly.

 

How can you be proud when your body is a lion’s body, your tail is a scorpion’s tail, and your mouth keeps leaking strange poisonous gas? 

 

It’s ridiculous enough that bugs caused by hacking work in this world, which isn’t even a game, but that proud expression is even more absurd.

 

No, but now—

 

“What should we do? C, can we kill it?”  

 

I looked at the bizarre composite of Alex and Manticore with a slightly embarrassed face.

 

– …Will it work? 

 

Tsk.

 

Hey, what’s that answer for?

 

“If you’re not confident you can kill it, step aside!” 

 

-But I can’t last long…! I’m literally a bug…

 

I ignored Alex’s nonsense and leapt over Manticore’s body, entering the classroom.

 

In the midst of the chaos, a man lying motionless while holding a cellphone caught my eye, strangely clear and vivid. 

 

‘The moment I saw you, I thought I had to take you with me.’

 

I remembered something Uncle had said to me once.

 

Inside Dad’s fake funeral hall, the moment he saw me, Uncle said he thought he had to take me with him. 

 

I just didn’t know it.

 

He said he felt like he couldn’t understand why I was there.

 

Why was I, who should be in our house, crying there?

 

He couldn’t stand it.

 

“Uncle!” 

 

And now I was like that.