I stepped into the four way intersection for the zombie on the left and the other on the right to notice me.
Then, I ran like hell and they both chased me
Well, they might not be zombies per se but they weren't some guys in costumes pretending either, after all, I'm unable to read their minds. Not just them, the crow and dealers at the game room as well.
Usually, I can read the minds of animals as well, although, it's just rubbish I don't understand and as for people, it's rubbish I actually understand. That wasn't the case for these guys though
Their thoughts are Silent
I don't think they are automatons, I doubt there are any that can move this fluidily. These things, the tattoo that changes number and the video game like setting of this floor.... As long as I exclude the possibility of this being the work of a top secret organization with futuristic technology, the answer is simple.
The haunted hotel is a supernatural phenomena, which just so happens to be the bread and butter of the occult research club.
Once I accept that, I can answer a number of questions with the info from those books Sara recommended. These things are probably puppets— familiars programmed with simple commands, such as using a specific set of strategies for a game, recording level ups or chasing someone who meets certain requirements.
*BOOM
Michelle managed to take down one of my pursuers, good enough. I cut into the hallway at full speed with Adrian in sight who caught on my intent. When I was caught off guard by the zombies the first time, I caught a glimpse of something on it's back but didn't see it clearly. However, with Michelle shooting it from behind, I confirmed that suspicion from what she saw.
I ran past Adrian and the zombie was about to do the same thing but he pushed it into the open room and shut the door.
"*Pant pant— Nice going, Adrian"
I sat on the floor, catching my breath. With the door locked, it can't escape. The queen bee arrived a couple moments later
"Why did I only have to shoot one?"
"No point in wasting bullets"
"Still though, it was weird how it ignored both me and Adrian"
"That's the significance of levels in this game"
"Huh?"
I got up and dusted myself off
"C'mon, better to show and tell"
"Where are we going?"
"Where else? To see the zombie whose head you blew off"
"Don't say it like that!"
The three of us headed to the check out the copse of the zombie and Michelle was surprisingly chill about it. Well, more like she was scared and confused but didn't show it. Impressive, queen bee. I pointed to the writing on it's back
"Take a look at it's back"
"It reads.... Level 2?"
Adrian replied but Michelle was still confused
"Seriously, honor student?"
"Just explain, smartass!"
She retorted, pouting furiously. I sighed
"The first hint towards our levels having another significance was it's name itself. Why call it 'level' instead of something to reflect it's use as currency? This thing here is the answer to that"
"Hmmm.... I don't get it"
"I'm sure you've noticed how this floor seems like something out of a video game. In games, the higher your level, the stronger you are and more advantages you get. However, I confirmed our strengths haven't actually increased all that much"
"With the punch, right?"
Adrian asked and I nodded before continuing
"The punch of Adrian who was level 0 at the time far exceeded a level 3 Michelle, levels don't affect us physically. To that end, these zombie were programmed with a simple command"
" Which is?!"
Michelle asked, impatient
"To only attack players with lower levels than it"
"How can you be sure about that? It could've ignored me because of Pluey"
"It ignored both you, who had a higher level and a crow as well as Adrian who had a higher level but no crow, I considered that as well"
"I see..."
"Now that you're up speed, let's explore a little more with Michelle and her gun out front"
We started exploring the floor, studying it's layout and avoiding zombies. As for the unavoidable ones, we used them to raise Michelle's level, one per kill. On the way we stopped by the napmoth machine to get Adrian an item.
"A change of clothes" he said
"Pfft— hahahahaha... Now I really want to meet this mastermind, sigh—There's no way this is random, It's like he's giving us exactly what we need"
I ignored Michelle's confused expression and thought that were like "did he hit his head or something?"
"Alright, time for the best part of an RPG"
"Huh? You don't mean?"
"That's right, Michelle. We're going to open up that treasure chest"
"Yayyy, finally!"
The layout of this third floor is complex but simple at the same time. Starting from the four way intersection, each path are essentially identical our starting path, although, none of those other paths have a napmoth machine. More importantly, aside from that intersection, there's another place where all paths intersect.
Following a door in the game room, you follow a curved, dark hallway till you reach a circular room where all paths intersect— at the center, a huge golden treasure chest; the one I appraised earlier. The queen bee was eager to open it when we entered the room, calling it "The best part of an RPG", however, I said we should finish scouting first. Now that we're done, it's about that time.
"By the way, how many bullets do you have left?"
"Hmm? I've got two, why?"
"....."
She was slowly accepting the fact that I won't answer anything I don't want to and wasn't prying as much. The both of us stood before the chest while Adrian waited outside the room.
"Here I go"
*CLINK
*POOF
The moment she opened it, a purple gas blew up in our faces and revealed an empty chest.
"Huh? Adam, I thought you appraised it, what was that?!"
I didn't answer. I was busy counting the seconds after the chest opened.
27...28...29...30, alright, that's fine.
"Adrian, we'll take the long way, drawing them in. Once you're in the clear, head to our starting point, that'll be the stage of our offensive"
Adrian nodded, whereas Michelle retorted in confusion
"Offensive?! What are you talking about? And where's the treasure?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention? That chest was actually a trap"
"A trap?"
"Yeah. It sprays a peculiar perfume on those who open it— a perfume which attracts zombies."
"Huh?"
She broke in a cold sweat
"Once the chest is opened, every single zombie on this floor will assemble and relentlessly pursue anyone with that perfume, ignoring everything else. It takes about 60 seconds for them to gather after the chest is opened, but after my explanation, I'll say we have about 10 seconds left"
I flashed my own mischievous grin
"Get ready to run like hell"
"You.....IDIOTTT!!!"
Shortly after, the zombies gathered from all the exits and I had Michelle clear open a path to for us with her remaining two shots, after which we bolted off at full throttle and the zombies chased after, ignoring Adrian who had no perfume on him.
"THIS IS CRAZY, ADAM. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"Haha, you wanted to open the chest, didn't you? It's the best part of an RPG"
"IF I KNEW I WAS GOING TO DIE, I WOULD'VE RECONSIDERED! THERE ARE STILL MANY THINGS I WANT TO DO, I HAVEN'T EVEN BECOME STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT YET!"
"And you'll get to do them"
"Huh?"
We got to the intersection and turned into our hallway
"You'll find there's a method to the madness, I chose our starting point as the field of battle because the narrow hallway limits the zombies into coming after us in twos and on a straight line"
"We're still outnumbered, how does that help us?"
"Not us, HIM"
We ran past Adrian who then gulped down Liz's vial of posion I gave him earlier and started walking towards the zombies, about to lock in.
"*Pant pant— it's all up to you now, SILVER!"
Adrian Wood's curse was the primary reason I likened curses to superpowers and failed to consider the possibility of curses like living witness existing. Honestly, if I could choose my curse, I would've wanted one as cool as his.
"H-He, he turned into...."
Michelle pointed in shock as the zombies were getting getting dispatched easily by a large 7-foot tall wolf with shiny silver fur and a piercing gaze. The zombies tried using their number advantage but there was very little they could do, jam-packed in a narrow hallway on a straight line.
Adrian's curse, Silverwolf, as the name implies allows him to transform into a giant silver-furred wolf whenever one of two conditions are met— First, while under a full moon and second, when in a near death state. However, in the second instance, he transforms back the moment his curse heals him.
The poison Liz prepared is an incredibly potent one— instant death is a guarantee. However, with his curse's regenerative abilities, it'll take about 10 seconds to fully counteract the poison which was why I chose to line them up so he clears this floor within that time.
*CHOMP, SCRATCH, SLASH
With the superhuman speed and power of his silverwolf form, Adrian soloed over a hundred zombies with 3 seconds to spare.
He turned to face us then lay on the ground, convulsing as he returned to human form. The poison might've been neutralized, but the pain from almost dying still lingered.
I handed Adrian the change of clothes for him to get dressed once he'd calmed down, then walked back towards Michelle while quickly formulating my lie with each step.
"F-FREAK!, MONSTER! JUST W-WHAT ARE YOU?! ADAM HOW ARE YOU SO CALM RIGHT NOW? DON'T TELL ME YOU KNE—"
"Calling someone who just saved both our lives a freak goes beyond rude, y'know"
"B-But..."
"Sigh— This is why I didn't want to tell you. Alright, listen up"
I maintained eye contact
"The main reason I chose Adrian over Brock was because his room was special, a wild card escape room with a certain reward if completed"
I brought out another one of Liz's vials
"The reward was this potion which is deadly for people from other rooms but turns the occupant of that particular room into a giant wolf for about eight seconds"
"Do you really expect me to believe that?!"
"After all the crazy things we've seen tonight, what's there not to believe?"
"But isn't that the poison you had back at the party?"
She took note of that?! Well, no matter
"What kinda idiot brings poison to a party? It was filled with a harmless liquid"
"So it is that bottle"
"Huh? Ofcourse it is"
"You're not making any sense, Adam"
"I didn't trust the containers that mastermind prepared, so I transferred them into my own"
She stared with exercebated disbelief.
"That's a hard pill to swallow without proof!"
"I'd show you proof, but.... it's in there"
I said, pointing at Adrian's room. Since that escape room had been solved, it couldn't be opened with levels and even if she managed to pry it open, there was a zombie trapped in there and she was out of ammo.
She reluctantly swallowed that pill
"Sigh—At least tell me how you knew about it in the first place"
"That's easy, my room had a special privilege as well"
"Huh?"
"Completing my escape room before everyone else granted me a special perk—info about everyone else, including the rooms they are, the contents of their escape room and others"
"You're jokin—"
"As proof, I can tell you the contents of everyone's escape room which you can confirm after freeing them"
Our eyes were locked in a staredown, her contemplating whether to call my bluff and me, ready with all the info reading the minds of everyone in the rooms granted me to close up this lie.
"That's not necessary, I believe you..."
She said with her trademark smile.
"...So the reason you entered Adrian's room instead of just letting him out was to get the potion?"
I nodded
"... And you wanted a smaller group because it'll be difficult to run from the zombies with all of us. In a hallway like this, someone could trip or even push someone else while running away and get us caught"
"Looks like someone's intelligence went up a couple points, good for you"
"Hey! Are you calling me dumb?!"
She retorted, pouting. Well, she was right about my third reason for only freeing Adrian. My fourth was hiding Adrian's curse, obviously and as for my fifth...
"You're a level 9 so I'll leave the rooms to you, once everyone's free, we'll start making our next move. Oh and, from here on out, you'll be by my side at all times to properly relay my instructions to the group"
"Yeah... Sure"
She replied with red cheeks and thoughts pondering ulterior motives behind my statement, sigh.
"Oh, and.... I want you to tell the others about the potion in a way they can accept"
"Got it"
My fifth reason for not freeing the others was Michelle King herself— Friction can arise in a large group depending on the leader's actions, such as losing heart in a critical moment....or asking me "why?" everytime I make a statement.
It'll be annoying as hell if the rest of the group ganged up on me, trying to force me to explain my instructions just because she didn't get it so I gave her time to adjust to my method which she seems to have.
I walked towards Adrian while she let out the others
"Did you manage to sniff it out in your wolf form?"
"Yeah"
"Then we'll have you lead the way"
*BEEP
Female extra 1 was the last person Michelle let out and right after, Michelle's crow sang
"ALL THE CLEAR CONDITIONS FOR FLOOR 3 HAS BEEN FULFILLED, CONGRATULATIONS PLAYERS..."
The victorious smiles on Michelle, Brock and the extras faces only lasted a few seconds due to the explosion at the end of the hallway and the resulting fire
"....IN ACCORDANCE TO THE RULES, THE ELEVATOR SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO MOVE ONE FLOOR WHILE THIS FLOOR SHALL BE BAPTIZED BY FIRE"
What rules?! The creator of this crap sucks at game balance! The crow self destructed after it's speech, by the way.
"RUN!"
Michelle cried to the others as she caught up with I and Adrian who had already taken to our heels.
"*pant pant—What do we do? I don't remember seeing an elevator anywhere. Infact, there weren't any stairways anywhere now that I think about it"
"Don't worry, I have an idea of where it might be"
And it was further confirmed by Silverwolf's hightened senses. It struck me as odd that the layout of the floor connected every path to the treasure room, After all, this place was a hotel first and foremost, so that place had to have had another significance other than holding a booby trapped chest.
To that end, I dropped my appraisal tool there while Michelle opened the box then had Adrian track the airflow for all openings in the building while fighting the zombies. Sure enough, at one of those openings, he also sniffed out my appraisal tool landmark.
We entered the treasure room and Adrian located the dial to close the openings and move between floors—the entire circular room was the elevator.
"The buttons to the ground and first floor aren't working!"
Adrian and Brock said in unison, so that's what the crow meant. Michelle glanced at me for instructions to relay. Female extra 1 responded to them
"The flames will reach us soon! If the ground and first floors don't work, take us to the secon—"
"No! Take us to the fourth floor!"
Michelle retorted, echoing my instructions. Female extra 2 was dissatisfied.
"Huh?! Why?"
"Because going to the second floor is precisely what the person who kidnapped up is expecting. There's bound to be danger there—"
"Is that supposed to scare us?! We can take on anything they throw at us, no problem"
At that moment I stepped in.
"I'm sure you saw those things at the hallway, do you honestly think you could stand up to what Michelle had to face?"
"You're speaking up for her?"
"She risked her life in order to free you guys, the least you could do is trust her!"
Normally, an outburst like this won't work, but when it's for someone like Michelle who has garnered the admiration of those around her, including everyone here, a defense from someone everyone knows hates her guts is effective. Male extra replied with a slight dose of reality
"While trust is nice and all, the fourth floor puts us farther from the entrance, that's common sense"
"Actually, Michelle has a plan of escape, and it's on the fourth floor"
This statement shocked everyone in the elevator.
*BEEP
"I trust Michelle!"
Brock, who pressed the button to the fourth floor broke the silence. We rode the elevator in awkward silence and Michelle scooted close to me to confirm my earlier statement
"Do you really have an escape plan on the fourth floor?"
"Oh, you haven't figured it out yet?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be asking"
She whispered, about to pop a vein. I smiled and whispered back in her ear.
"Alright, I'll give you a hint. The fourth floor is the top floor"
"How's that a hint? That much is obvious"
I pulled back, placing my hands in my pocket.
"Then think about it. Just because tests are over, it doesn't mean your brain should go on vacation"
She held back the urge to kick me in front of everyone and instead tried figuring out what I meant. Even if the crow isn't here, I can't rule out the possibility we're being watched from somewhere else.
We have to do this before the mastermind catches on to our intent, it's a race against time.
Michelle figured out the escape plan and walked moved into the crowd to chat and explain the events of the third floor and "Adrian's potion" to them in a way they could accept.
The doors opened moments later and Adrian ran ahead.
"Everyone, follow Adrian!"
She said, running before I had the chance to instruct her. Good call, Michelle.
We ran till we reached a flight of stairs going up to a locked door.
"A dead end, what now?!"
Male extra said in annoyance. I gave Adrian one of Liz's more potent poisons and he drank it, breaking down the door in his wolf form.
The rush of wind from the rooftop blew past us the moment the door came down and I turned to face the shocked extras with the aura of an anime protagonist
"Split into three groups to get on Adrian's back, we're jumping off the rooftop"