Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 266

260. Rescued the ‘Hero of the Human World’

 

How could I recognize him at a glance?

 

Among so many people, and even the version of Uncle from over 20 years ago. 

 

I recognized him instantly and called out to him.

 

“Uncle.” 

 

But no matter how many times I called out to him, there was no response.

 

As I got closer, all I could feel was his limp body, burning hot like fire.

 

The people around him were not much different.

 

I couldn’t tell if the sprinklers in the building had activated. Even if they had, the special toxic gas might have already vaporized and dispersed into the air. 

 

While I hesitated, unable to muster the courage to check if Uncle was still breathing—

 

-Humans are such weak beings.

 

I heard someone’s voice behind me.

 

When I turned around, I saw a manticore with something strange on its head where Alex had been.

 

It was all black, so I couldn’t see it clearly at first, but that face… 

 

Those eyes. Nose. Mouth.

 

It was Georg Schulze.

 

For a moment, the atmosphere from that face was so eerie that I wondered if the Demon King had somehow summoned the dead.

 

-That’s why salvation is needed. The Demon King’s generous salvation.

 

But soon I realized.

 

That’s just the Demon King’s messenger. Georg Schulze, who thought he acted on his own free will throughout his life, was ultimately nothing more than a puppet of the Demon King. 

 

-If you seek a hand of salvation, then stay like this… 

 

After realizing this, I didn’t really feel the need to listen to that human’s voice, so I picked up the hard piece that had broken off from the door frame.

 

It was quite hot, but it was bearable.

 

Anyway, I wasn’t planning to face the Manticore with something like this.

 

Originally, I was supposed to send a rescue signal to Aunt Misoon through the window, but there was no window in this classroom. 

 

I couldn’t tell if it was originally missing or if it had been removed for the students’ study purposes. 

 

I couldn’t even tell which wall was thin.

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

I threw the shard toward one of the four walls of this classroom with no windows, specifically toward the south, according to the directions on the map. 

 

Boom, boom, boom!

 

Throwing it with all my strength, a hole was made in the wall. 

 

Of course.

 

I am the president of a S-class hotel.

 

With an S-class body, there is no wall that can’t be pierced. 

 

The smoke started to be sucked out through the hole frantically.

 

As the toxic gas began to escape, the groans that had been fading around me grew louder. 

 

“Ugh…!” 

 

I surrounded Uncle Minhyuk.

 

Perhaps thinking that I was trying to take Uncle through the hole in the wall, the Manticore immediately assumed an attack stance.

 

-No matter how hard you try, humans are mortal. If the end is already decided, then just relax like this—   

 

The voice flowing from Georg Schulze’s black lips could not finish.

 

“Everyone, get off the wall!”

 

My shouts and—

 

Boom, boom, boom!

 

It was drowned out by the deafening sound of the wall collapsing where the hole had been. 

 

“Why did you call so late? I thought I was going to die from boredom…!”

 

The one responsible for punching through the wall, Aunt Misoon, said this while wearing goggles.  

 

-Foolish b*stards!  

 

The Manticore’s mouth opened, and a stream of flames shot out.

 

Hwang Misoon pulled out a massive cannon-like weapon from behind her.

 

When Hwang Misoon fired the cannon, a thick stream of water shot toward the Manticore.

 

She had used a nearby water source to create a massive water cannon, much like a firefighter’s hose.

 

The stream of water shot from the cannon, being just water, vaporized the moment it came into contact with the flames spewing from the Manticore’s mouth. 

 

Thanks to this, the two forces of water and fire met in the middle, and in an instant, the situation turned around and the stream of flame approached Hwang Misoon.

 

The Manticore ran toward Hwang Misoon as if mocking her. 

 

-With something like that, what do you think you can do to me… 

 

He continued to shoot streams of flame at Hwang Misoon, who was pushed to the edge of the cliff. 

 

Just as Hwang Misoon was about to fall, a man appeared behind her and supported her back. 

 

“Uuuuuu, I’m late. Sorry~!”

 

The owner of that hand was Kim Junsoo. 

 

As soon as Kim Junsoo arrived, he gasped for breath, letting out groans, and immediately crafted a trident using her water stream. 

 

—…I can do it…

 

Whoosh.

 

It was a short sound. 

 

The trident pierced through the roof of the manticore’s mouth, driving all the way down its throat and emerging on the other side, yet—

 

Thud.

 

The manticore’s massive body stumbled backward without even letting out a proper sound, retreating as if overwhelmed by the sudden assault. 

 

I had never told him that the monster called the manticore’s weakness was its terrifying mouth that spewed poison gas and fire, but Kim Junsoo defeated the S-class in one breath with simple and quick movements.

 

The first awakened person in Korea, Kim Junsoo. 

 

Unlike the awakened people who couldn’t control their power and died after awakening, he was a human who endured the great disaster well with his extraordinary judgment. 

 

“F*ck. boss, I thought I was going to lose!” 

 

“Ah, ah! But let’s not hit, like a human!” 

 

Kim Junsoo, who was being thoroughly scolded by Hwang Misoon, seemed completely unaware of what he had just done. 

 

“I was trapped by the monsters on the lower floors, but as soon as I received the signal, I came right away. Do you have any idea how hard it is to climb walls?!” 

 

“Shut up. Be mindful!” 

 

Kim Junsoo protested as if he were wronged, and Hwang Misoon hit the back of his head as if he were being noisy. 

 

The reason was simple.

 

“He’s not breathing.”

 

As soon as I saw the Manticore fall, I lowered Uncle’s body to the ground. 

 

I placed my finger below Uncle’s nose and waited for a long time. 

 

I waited and waited.

 

The warm breath that would flow out of Uncle’s nose.

 

As always, I waited for the moment when his lips would part and he would call me in a calm voice. 

 

‘Junghyo-ya.’

 

That brief moment of waiting felt like an eternity, leaving me unable to do anything.

 

“First, you take care of the survivors.”

 

 In Hwang Misoon’s voice, too, there was a quiet tension as she stood by. 

 

“Are you okay…?”

 

Even to Hwang Misoon’s outstretched hand,

 

“…?”

 

I couldn’t react.

 

Hwang Misoon quietly stared at my face from the side, her expression filled with shock.

 

“Uncle. We should go back.”

 

We should go back together.

 

At the moment I said that, my mind went completely blank.  

 

It was a completely different sense of powerlessness from anything I’d felt before. 

 

I was too young when I lost my father.

 

And I had this vague expectation for quite a long time that my father would return.

 

Because my dad had disappeared from a place I couldn’t see. 

 

But now it was different.

 

From where I was looking, I was witnessing with my own eyes Uncle slowly hardening like a wax doll.

 

If I lose him like this, what will I really do?

 

What will I do if I never see him again?

 

I think I’ll probably miss him forever.

 

How can I go home without him?

 

“Uncle, I…I’m so scared.”

 

You said you would take me back home, no matter where it was, if I said I was scared. 

 

Even when I got older, when I was 20, 24.

 

If I had a hard time, you always reached out to me and told me to come back to Pyeongchang-dong.

 

So if I said this, I thought he would definitely reach out again—

 

“….!”

 

It was then.

 

I could feel his breathing, even though it was very faint.

 

I urgently checked his pulse.

 

It was weak, but it was running. 

 

The Manticore’s venom had weakened his vitality, but it wasn’t completely gone. 

 

He needed healing. To be exact, the healer’s healing.

 

Administrator

 

Alex!!

 

 

I called Alex, who had been silent since a while ago.  

 

Thanks to the bug created by Alex, we bought some time and were able to work together with Aunt Misoon and Uncle Junsoo to defeat the Manticore.

 

That’s how useful Alex was here.

 

System loading…

 

I waited anxiously for the system to load.

 

Trusting Alex.

 

System

 

Ugh…

 

And just as I had believed, Alex returned.

 

System

 

Why?

 

Administrator

 

Can I return to Gyeongseong Hotel with the master key? Right now.

 

System

 

Huh? That won’t work?

 

Administrator

 

Just like Alex became a bug in another world, try causing another bug.

 

 

For example, a bug that makes me recognize myself as a member of this world.

 

Alex sent me a message that seemed flustered after hearing what I said.

 

System

 

Isn’t that a bit dangerous? If you do that, you might disappear along with this world when it’s destroyed.

 

I saw Uncle breathing faintly in my arms.

 

And I also saw Uncle Junsoo and Aunt Misoon who were saving the survivors.  

 

If this world perishes, I might lose Uncle Junsoo, Aunt Misoon, and Uncle Minhyuk in the original world as well. 

 

Forever.

 

That might be the same as my world disappearing.

 

But—

 

Administrator

 

This world won’t be destroyed.

 

There’s no way something like that will happen.

 

Administrator

 

This world has countless heroes.

 

The world I lived in was already protected by heroes.

 

So this time, I will definitely succeed.

 

System

 

Ha… It’s unsettling… Okay, for now.

 

I looked at the master key I took out of the goblin’s pocket. The master key briefly flashed.

 

Is it a signal?

 

I pointed the master key into the air and said.

 

“To Gyeongseong Hotel.”

 

As soon as I finished speaking, a light breeze blew.

 

A familiar revolving door appeared before my eyes.

 

I could see the slight furrow in Uncle’s brow as the breeze from the revolving door gently blew. 

 

I could hear Aunt Misoon and Uncle Junsoo’s voices from behind.

 

“Noonim, what is this…” 

 

I gestured to the two of them.

 

“Come in first!”

 

The two of them hesitated and then looked back at the survivors they were holding at their sides.

 

It seemed like they realized everyone was in danger and started coming toward me.

 

I went into the revolving door first.

 

Uncle Minhyuk and I were thrown out of the revolving door as we passed through it. 

 

Following us, the survivors who entered with Aunt Misoon and Uncle Junsoo all collapsed onto the ground. 

 

“Wow… Where are we…?”

 

An exclamation came out from the two remaining survivors who were conscious.

 

The first to get up among them, I carried Uncle and broke open the door to room 203.

 

As soon as I opened the door and went in, a window appeared in front of my eyes.

 

You’ve rescued the ‘Hero of the Human World’! 

 

Final Stage 3.

 

—Final Quest ‘Let’s Stop the Corruption of the Human World’

 

—The corrupted human king has kidnapped the heroes of the human realm and is corrupting it once again. We must rescue the heroes and stop the corruption of the human realm. (3/5) 

 

—Completion Reward: The Power to Protect the World x 9

 

“Keugh…ugh…” 

 

I laid the man who was breathing heavily on the bed and lay down next to him.

 

The window finally opened.

 

That meant that Uncle was alive.

 

“…I missed you, Uncle……” 

 

I sat down on the bedside and touched Uncle’s cheek. Then the Uncle’s brow furrowed once again. 

 

He hasn’t opened his eyes yet, but he’ll wake up soon.

 

A sense of relief welled up deep in my chest at that fact.

 

How long had it been like that?

 

“Wow…He’s so handsome.” 

 

Kim Junsoo, after pushing the survivors into their respective rooms and returning, murmured while looking at the young Han Minhyuk beside me.

 

Well…He wasn’t wrong. 

 

Even at his middle age, Uncle Minhyuk still receives constant offers for perfume ads from famous international brands. 

 

Of course, Han Minhyuk in his 20s was inhuman.

 

“Ah, it’s sharp!”

 

I gave a half-smile while watching Kim Junsoo, pretending to act all clever, as he faked a cut while making a gesture of placing his finger on Uncle Minhyuk’s wax-like nose.

 

“Wow…You’re finally smiling, boss.” 

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’re covered in tears right now. Your face.”

 

Kim Junsoo said, pointing to my face.

 

Oh.

 

That’s right.

 

Only then did I cover my face with my hand.

 

I wasn’t embarrassed, but I was worried that I might have cried too much when Kim Junsoo and Hwang Misoon saw me.

 

“Do you like it that much? This first love Oppa?”

 

“…Ah, that’s…”

 

I was hesitating, not knowing what to say.

 

“First love?”

 

A cold voice came from behind me.

 

It was Han Minhyuk, who had half risen from the bed.

 

“When did you see me as your first love?”

 

The voice, looking down at me with a face full of contempt, was cold enough to freeze a person.

 

On top of Han Minhyuk’s furrowed face, clear numbers appeared, floating above him. 

 

-50

 

…Oh, that’s right. 

 

Our Uncle was a black consumer.