Chapter 17
1.
I get why goats are called symbols of the devil.
Seen up close, it's really fucking ugly.
It wasn't some prettified furry-style head; it was a real goat head grafted onto a human body.
But, well....
There's the Sharingan and even the demon-subduing talisman, so a person can have a goat head too.
I don't even know anymore.
I calmly moved past it and read the rulebook.
<The Hotel Abyss Guest Rulebook>
- Distributed by Necropolis City Hall.
- This rulebook is a guide intended to ensure minimum safety in using The Hotel Abyss.
- Please keep in mind that The Hotel Abyss is a rift at 'Depth 9.' In addition, all hotel staff are monsters.
- Any responsibility and costs arising from violations of the following provisions will be charged in full.
Oh ho, that's a pretty ruthless warning.
0) Never show any sign of surprise when you see hotel staff.
“…….”
I set the rulebook down for a moment and called Arung.
“Arung, come here for a second.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“You little bastard. You said it was nothing. We nearly went off to kiss Arbel as soon as we got here.”
“A-no... why are you doing this...? I thought you'd know the basics!”
I almost ended the chapter because a goat startled me.
Wait, a goat?
「Sturdy Stomach」
- Grade: SR
- Trait: You gain ironclad digestion. No matter what you eat, it won't upset your stomach.
- Subtrait: The goats consider you one of their own. (<==pay attention)
- Note: Cannot be enhanced.
So that was it?
No way, was that why it was SR?!
Because you'd be recognized as one of the staff and become this hotel's VVIP?
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I smiled faintly and gave the goat a little bow.
Then the goat concierge suddenly sprang to his feet.
“Oh, hey! Hyung-nim, you're here! Ha, fuck. There wasn't a single bastard here I could make myself understood to, so I was about to die of frustration. A fellow clansman came in as a guest, and I'm so happy to see you! I'll take you on the full package myself, so head to the 25th-floor Presidential Room first.”
and even slung a friendly arm around my shoulders?!
“…….”
Sorry, but that didn't actually happen.
He just stared blankly when I greeted him, so I got embarrassed and imagined something funny.
This hotel's service sucks.
As expected, Sturdy Stomach was a sham.
I kept reading the rest of the rulebook.
1) Any fighting, bloodshed, or disturbance within the hotel is prohibited.
2) The hotel's number one rule is 'the guest is king.'
3) All types of 'service' provided by the hotel are paid, and payment can be made with Manneunghwa or 'Sagum'.
After reading that far, I let out a sigh.
“It's long, and it's lame.”
Cut it out with the setting mashups already.
My stomach's gonna burst.
A possession-incest-fusionpunk-regression-loop hotel ghost-story rulebook dark fantasy, you say?
Mala-rose tteokbokki, bubble tea, freeze-dried strawberries, mint chocolate, dog-meat tanghulu, huh?
4) The hotel's benefits are only valid while you remain a 'guest'.
5) Please be careful not to have your guest status revoked inside the hotel.
6) The following rules are provisions for remaining a 'guest'.
Blah blah, omitted below.
After skimming it once, it was just as Arung said.
Aside from a few items, there was nothing unusual.
No smoking indoors, no skipping out on the bill, compensation charged for damage to property.
Maybe not for savage Necropolis citizens, but for any sensible modern person, these would be rules you'd naturally follow at a hotel.
The other minor items were the same.
‘Do not stay in the hotel lobby for more than 72 hours.’ ‘If a staff member advises you, leave the hotel immediately.’ and so on.
By way of analogy, they were the kind of rules that say, 'Don't open the gas valve, cut the hose with scissors, and then light a lighter.'
As long as you didn't go out of your way to do something stupid, it didn't seem like there'd be any problem.
“Luckily, this isn't some full-blown horror story.”
Man, that nearly split my skull.
I was already busy trying to make a living, so if the rules got in the way too, I'd have been pissed.
I was just about to put the rulebook back and return to Akit and Arung.
“I'm asking why punks like you are here, you little nobodies. Hm?”
“W-Well, the thing is... .”
“You should've stuck to back-end requests that suited your level. You little shits are getting ahead of yourselves.”
I spotted a big guy harassing the Akit and Arung brothers.
The men's version of a qipao, a blue changpao.
He had a big build. His clothes were clean, and a huge hammer was strapped to his back.
I thought about stopping him, then decided against it.
It was too early to judge by appearances.
This was Necropolis, after all.
Even if he looked like that, maybe he was just offering earnest advice to go back because it was dangerous here.
If I jumped in during friendly advice and went, 'Why are you doing that to our kid!' it'd just get awkward for everyone.
“If you idiots die messing around, who's going to take my orders and wipe my ass, huh?”
Orders?
Ah, that guy. So that's him.
‘There's a pig bastard at rank 7 named Soonming. He takes jobs from the Overnous side and passes them to us; he's the middleman.’
‘But fuck, he struts around like he's our hyung, makes us buy all the booze, and dumps all the crap on us.’
‘He wanders around alone, but he's insanely strong, so we can't even say anything...’
‘He takes 50% of the subcontracting fee. He borrows money saying he needs it and never pays it back. He's completely fucking insane.’
‘A guy like Hyung-nim John Wick is a real angel. He even gives us Jjapagetti.’
It's Soonming, the one Akit and Arung kept complaining about last time.
A bottom-rung world is supposed to have clear ranks and hierarchy.
If even Korean gangsters are like that, what about Necropolis?
Anyway, the idea that barbarians are more polite than civilized people because they'll get their heads smashed in if they say the wrong thing is utter bullshit.
It's when the strong crush the weak and can smash their heads whenever they want.
This is what real savagery looks like.
“Why are you still standing there like an idiot? Are you really that clueless?”
“We didn't come here because we wanted to, sir....”
“Bullshit. You're just hanging around like beggars looking for scraps, aren't you? Hm? Hm?”
What I thought was a friendly lecture turned into Soonming actually giving my cheeks a few quick smacks.
Does that not even count as violence?
“You bastards, when your hyung is talking, where the hell are you looking?”
While I stood there with my arms crossed, I caught Akit and Arung's eyes.
Following that gaze, Soonming spotted me.
“Hey, you. Come here.”
He seemed a little wary at first, but I must've looked like easy pickings, because he came over to me.
“You, huh? Hm? You're the one putting ideas into these little shits? You're from the Get Money Office too?”
He jabbed my chest with a finger and sneered.
“Oh? Look at that stiff neck. If you saw your hyung, you'd better greet him in a hurry, right? You're acquainted with those Akit and Arung bastards, aren't you?”
Ah, this is bad.
I've never been able to stand bastards like this flashy, punky type.
“We met for the first time today.”
“What? Got a lisp?”
“We met for the first time today, desu.”
“What a little punk?”
His face twisted in an instant.
“Can you handle me? Do you even know who you're messing with?”
“Who are you?”
“I'm Soonming, rank 7.”
“I'm rank 4, Gatsu.”
In that instant, his face was stained with indescribable fear.
“Gah...! N-no, I, I... th-the thing is...”
“Military draft grade 4. I dislocated my arm while diving once. It's all healed now, so don't worry.”
I patted him on the shoulder.
Soonming, the rank 7 fixer, belatedly realizing the situation, turned beet red and grabbed my collar.
“You bastard! And impersonation too! You want to die with your guts spilling out?”
“Go ahead, idiot. I've been split in half by a mage twice—why would I be scared of a guy your size?”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
I answered indifferently.
Maybe not in front of someone truly vicious, but I have no intention of groveling before some middling punk.
If I act obedient in this cesspool, what would be left?
“Come with me, asshole. Let's see whether you're the same outside.”
With veins bulging in his forehead, Soonming grabbed my collar even harder once more.
He was strong enough to lift my heels off the floor.
Should I follow him and put a bullet in the back of his head?
Rank 7? Isn't that just someone you can kill by putting a sack over his head and blasting him with Hero, bang-bang-bang?
Just as I was mulling it over.
I felt a chill.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Before I knew it, three goat-headed staff members had appeared silently, surrounding us.
Could this hotel's no-violence clause include anyone caught in the middle too?
“I was just standing here. And then Rank 7 fixer Mr. Soonming suddenly grabs me by the collar, doesn't he?”
For now, I raised both hands and pleaded innocence.
I didn't do anything, so you're not going to drag me off like this, right?
But the situation changed in an instant.
The goat staff lined up behind me as if to protect me.
“W-What? T-this much is fine normally, isn't it?! I'm a guest at this hotel!”
Soonming was more flustered than I was.
Three pairs of square pupils stared at Soonming.
“These bastards are really...”
Soonming, who had been locked in a stare-down with the staff....
“Fine. I'll stop. I won't do it, all right? Fuck, why are you all coddling that bastard?”
Sweat beading at his temples, he quickly let go of my collar.
“I'll see you outside. Hm? I've memorized your face.”
“After-service costs extra, though.”
“Fuck!”
Soonming left, glaring murderously until the very end.
Even then, the employees still stood behind me with dignity as if they were my bodyguards.
This seems about right, doesn't it?
Judging from what Soonming did to the Akit brothers and his reaction afterward, this kind of hassle is usually treated as 'trouble between guests.'
But the hotel staff had my back.
Could this, by the look of it, be thanks to the subtrait of 'Sturdy Stomach'?
As a rule, reverse joints bend inward.
At the very least, the base favorability seems higher than the default value.
-tap tap
An employee tapped my shoulder.
When I turned around, the goat employees were bowing their heads silently.
It felt like, 'We are terribly sorry that you found yourself in trouble at our establishment'.
“No, I'm not completely without fault either....”
No. That's not it.
According to the rulebook, at least when it comes to 'guests,' the hotel staff act like actual hotel employees.
“Ah, but... my neck feels a little stiff. My muscles must've been startled when he suddenly grabbed my collar. I should probably get this checked.”
I made a gesture like I was about to run straight to a Korean medicine hospital.
“…….”
The employee raised his head, rummaged through his suit jacket, pulled something out, and held it out with both hands.
“Oh dear, I wasn't trying to get something like this.”
Jackpot.
I took it at once.
He'd held it out politely like a business card, and it really did look like one.
No, the format was less like a business card and more like a coupon?
The words written on the front in old-fashioned cursive were:
“The Hotel Abyss Suite Room Lodging Voucher?”
-ding!
A notification suddenly chimed.
======
:::Challenge:::
- Obtain a 'The Hotel' lodging voucher +3pt
======
What is this?
It's enough to count as a challenge?
And 3 points too?
“I'm happy about it, but....”
Just as I was getting flustered, the notification chimed again.
-ding!
======
「The Hotel Abyss, Suite Room Lodging Voucher」
- Rarity: UC
- Description: A suite-room lodging voucher issued by The Hotel Abyss.
- Effect: 1 day of lodging at the hotel. Includes welcome tea, breakfast buffet, and club lounge access.
- Note: Bound to the recipient. Single-use.
======
The familiar format made me blink.
“……?”
It's a Joker card.
Why are you here?