Pillar of Yita

But in response to Hansen’s lengthy discourse, the Scholar only replied with four words: ”Let’s hope so.”

After saying this, he turned and descended the staircase, making his way on his own to the first floor. Hansen watched the man’s retreating figure disappear around the corner before he couldn’t help but swing his fist: ”What a weirdo.”

Although Fang Hong also found the Scholar’s temperament rather strange, he couldn’t help but ask when he saw the man leave alone: ”Isn’t he your employer? You’re just letting him go off by himself, is that alright?”

It was only then that Hansen shook his head, informing him that there wasn’t much danger inside the inn. After completing the bet with Jeffrey, the next thing to do was for everyone to find their own rooms, and his employer had clearly gone to find his. Generally speaking, those who had placed bets with Jeffrey would be able to find a special room in the inn that only they could enter—

Fang Hong then remembered another question and couldn’t help but ask: ”Wait, what about those of us who haven’t rolled the dice?”

The middle-aged man scratched his head, actually having quite a few subordinates in the same situation as Fang Hong, but he had never experienced anything like this before and was momentarily uncertain. ”Well... usually, this is the case. Maybe you guys could try your luck, especially now that Jeffrey is not around, right?”

”Try our luck?” Fang Hong was slightly startled.

After Hansen’s explanation, he finally understood what trying their luck meant. It turned out that those who had been assigned rooms by Jeffrey could find a room with a room number in the inn, and that number, visible only to them, was the room that belonged to them.

But the current situation was a little different; they hadn’t bet with Jeffrey, and whether or not they could find the corresponding rooms was something Hansen naturally couldn’t be sure of. With no other choice, Fang Hong had to bid him farewell for the time being and start searching from the first floor with Atira and the others, attempting to find their own rooms.

However, it didn’t take long for the first person to find their room to appear—naturally, it was the charming little lady from France—

”1097.” Tianlan read out the number tremblingly; just thinking about the number she had thrown and recalling Hansen’s words made her almost want to cry. ”Brother Ade, does this inn really have so many rooms? There are more than ninety rooms on just one floor; isn’t that a bit odd?”

”Of course, it’s odd.” Parker replied with schadenfreude: ”I’ve heard of such inns often connecting to an endless space where once you go in, you never come out, not even back to Earth.”

”Enough,” Fang Hong couldn’t help but shake his head: ”Don’t listen to Parker’s nonsense; even if you can’t get out, at worst, you’d just starve to death inside. There’s no way you couldn’t return to Earth.”

The little French girl, with tears welling up, was on the verge of crying: ”Brother Ade, that’s not at all comforting to me.” She then looked pitifully at Gita. ”Please Gita, can you come in with me?”

”That’s not possible, Miss Fuli,” Gita said, looking a bit troubled: ”Only one person can enter these rooms.”

”Ah—” the little French girl let out a lament. ”Then, can I opt-out?”

”Then you’d have to go back alone,” Parker replied with a grin.

”Brother Ade,” Tianlan looked at Fang Hong with a pitiful gaze.

But for this problem, all Fang Hong could do was shrug helplessly.

After seeing Tianlan off, the group continued their search. Atira seemed somewhat worried about Tianlan—though the troublesome little French girl often caused her frustration, leaving her behind alone did worry the Elf Girl.

Parker, on the other hand, was indifferent; he and that little miss were practically archenemies, and he would have been pleased to see her scared out of her wits. Unfortunately for him, his schadenfreude didn’t last long; his smile froze when he saw the next room.

”Room number... 3007?” Parker was dumbstruck. ”But isn’t this the first floor? And why does this room number sound so familiar to me?”

”Because it’s an endless space, Mr. Parker,” Gita whispered back, getting a bit of revenge for Tianlan.

Fang Hong and Atira exchanged glances; if they remembered correctly, this room was the starting room for that mission. If it wasn’t a coincidence, then the number Parker had rolled must have been influential.

However, the Papalarian was still throwing a tantrum, refusing to enter and even proposing to withdraw from the mission like Tianlan did. But Diket, following Atira’s instructions, wasn’t about to waste words on the little dwarf and forcibly hauled back the creature trying to slip away.

Then the Elf Miss looked apologetically at Parker and opened the door for him. ”Parker, you’ve got to set a good example for Tianlan and Gita.”

”I refuse!” the Papalarian screamed, ”I will never enter, the Papalarians would rather die than submit!”

”Wait a second,” Fang Hong called out.

Parker stopped in his tracks, looked at Fang Hong with gratitude, and loudly said, ”Quickly, help me down, Ade.”

Atira also turned her head, looking at him curiously, ”What’s wrong?”

But Fang Hong simply answered, ”Nothing, I’m just checking something.” He walked over, grabbed the small dwarf, and pulled up his right sleeve to see that the serpent-shaped mark on the short, plump arm had almost faded by half, yet it was still clearly visible.

Fang Hong instantly understood what had happened, and couldn’t help but sigh at the power of the curse; it was obviously much stronger than the Cursed Potion those people had found in the story Hanson had told.

Not only had it successfully lifted the curse that Geoffrey, the unlucky one, could not overcome, but it also had only consumed half of its potency.

Both Gita and Atira were equally surprised, looking at the mark with some astonishment. They obviously remembered what Fang Hong had told them that day. Only Parker was still completely clueless. ”Heavens,” he exclaimed as if noticing for the first time the existence of such a thing on the back of his arm, and screamed, ”What is this?”

”A good thing,” Fang Hong told him earnestly.

On saying this, he pushed the Papalarian from behind. The latter had just enough time to let out a wail before Fang Hong deftly closed the door with a backhand. With a soft click, the corridor finally fell silent.

Having resolved the Papalarian’s trouble, the journey ahead was going to be a lot easier. The third person to find their door number was Diket, the elder paladin who, naturally, did not hesitate and walked straight into his room.

The fourth was Hilveld who, after a brief farewell to Xiesta, glanced at Fang Hong and then entered her room.

The fifth person was Gita, the little girl who was clearly the most timid of the lot; she was almost in tears before entering the door. It was only after both Atira and Fang Hong comforted her a good deal that she managed to hold back her emotions and enter the room.

Honestly, if Gita wasn’t a Trainee, Fang Hong actually would not have wanted to force her. After all, she was just a fourteen-year-old girl, and there was really no need for her to bear all this — but since she had chosen the path of the Chosen herself, Fang Hong believed that the little girl must have been somewhat prepared in her heart.

The room of Gita also indirectly confirmed what Hanson had said — the situation at Lady Tengye’s inn today was indeed different from usual. Because among those who had not rolled the dice before, the little girl was one of them.

As if to prove this thought, after the remaining people continued forward the distance of two more room doors, Fang Hong saw the number on one of the doors.

4001——

He was momentarily startled. Judging from the door number, this should be a room on the fourth floor. Although the inn indeed had a fourth floor, and this floor had been checked over and over by countless people without any abnormalities found,

according to Hanson, no one had ever been assigned to a room beyond 3007 before. In Dolifen, it was like a consensus that there were no rooms beyond the number 3007 in this Phantom.

But unexpectedly, he had encountered one.

Fang Hong didn’t know whether this was a coincidence or a change caused by Parker. He grasped the doorknob, then turned back to look at Atira and Xiesta. Miss Maid simply looked at him with violet eyes, still with her nonchalant demeanor.

The Elf Girl nodded at him instead.

Fang Hong responded with a nod, ”I’m going in, Miss Atira.”

”Be careful.”

”You too, take care.” After saying these words, he pushed the door open and entered.

...