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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 114: Room 107, Gate Room - Second Trial (5)

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- Han Ga-in

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 37

Current Location: Level 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

The time mentioned in Scenario Understanding. “Midnight.”

At that, Song-i tilted her head and asked,

“Then should we wait until midnight? Luckily, we still have plenty of time-”

“No. Scenario Understanding isn't something you use by vaguely waiting around like that.”

When I cut her off so firmly, everyone looked at me in surprise.

It probably seemed as though Song-i was following Scenario Understanding's guidance, yet the owner of the blessing was saying otherwise.

Still, after using the Owl's eccentric blessing for so long, I was starting to get a feel for it.

“After using it a few times, I think I get it. Scenario Understanding is somewhat similar to the ‘Crisis Alert’ ability I've had until now.”

A-ri replied.

“The function that automatically warns you when your life is in danger? You don't seem to use it much these days.”

“Yeah. Its biggest problem is that it tells you right before the danger hits. By the time the alert appears, it's often already too late.

“For example, the Crisis Alert could stay quiet, making me relax and wait, then suddenly say, ‘A nuclear missile will strike in three seconds.’ It's not as reliable as it sounds.”

“Scenario Understanding is similar?”

“Think about the danger we just went through. Since Scenario Understanding didn't update, we waited for it to update and just chatted among ourselves, right? When it finally updated and we learned that a monster was coming, it was only ten seconds before it arrived. If Scenario Understanding hadn't existed in the first place, what would we have done?”

Grandpa Mook-seong was the first to understand what I meant.

“If we hadn't had that ability to begin with, one of us would surely have watched the situation outside the mansion. This isn't our home, and we've occupied it. It's easy enough to imagine the owner coming back.”

“And if someone had been watching outside, we'd have noticed the witch coming much earlier. Do you think that huge monster made no noise as it approached?

“But because we had Scenario Understanding, we all sat around chatting while wondering when its contents would change. No one knew until ten seconds before the monster attacked.”

The point of this long conversation was simple.

Scenario Understanding wasn't a power meant to make us wait around for its contents to change and depend on it. Letting our guard down like that would only put us in danger.

Regardless of this power, we had to do what needed to be done. If the scenario appeared along the way, we were meant to use it as a reference.

...

That realization didn't apply only to Scenario Understanding. It applied to my blessing as a whole. The power that warned me of danger, the power that gave advice, the power that showed me scenarios.

One principle that applied to every ability.

Don't just trust in blessings and wait for them to tell you something. Act proactively, then use the blessings as a reference.

‘Blessings only lend a hand.’

The moment I thought that, a notification appeared for the first time in ages.

[Your understanding of blessings has increased.]

It felt like the Owl was saying, ‘You finally figured it out?’

‘I only got Scenario Understanding the other day! Of course I had to use it before I could understand it, you annoying bastard!’

After snapping at the Owl in my head, we immediately began moving.

* * *

- Han Ga-in

We split up and began searching the area.

Since I still couldn't move properly, A-ri and I took charge of searching the mansion's interior.

... The more we searched inside the mansion, the more horrific things we found.

“Is this witch some kind of Hannibal Lecter? Everything that looks like preserved food is made of people.”

“Just think of it as pork. Then it won't bother you~”

“How am I supposed to think it's pork when there are fingers sticking out? Are you Aztec or something?”

“Then keep throwing up.”

We bickered as we searched the area.

A-ri, who had been wandering near a wall, found something.

“This looks familiar.”

“It's a lever like the one we saw in House of Horror.”

When the lever was pulled, stairs leading to the basement appeared, just as expected.

The underground space was enormous. It was filled with countless glass bottles, sharp knives, strange-colored stones, and peculiar papers.

A thick book sat on a table in one corner.

Its contents were a record of some grand experiment.

There was too much I couldn't understand, so I handed it to A-ri.

After reading for a long while, she summarized it for me.

“It's some kind of evil experiment log. It's full of stories about kidnapping people and cutting them up here and there.”

“I got that much, but there were a lot of bizarre terms like separation of spirit and body, and seeds of flesh.”

“I couldn't understand it perfectly either, but the experiment's goal is simple. The witch gained some evil power, but the more she used it, the more side effects accumulated in her body. At some point, she suddenly became a monster and could only remain human for half the day. Her goal is to fix her twisted body.”

“If it's a power whose side effects keep building up, she should've just given it up... So how does she intend to fix herself?”

“According to what's written here, she transplants other humans' bodies onto her own, then removes her original body once the transplanted one stabilizes. Basically, it's like you trying to switch bodies using the Grimoire.”

“No, can you just attach someone else's body to yours like that? Don't you have to consider blood types and things like that? Wouldn't you need immunosuppressants too?”

“Does it matter whether it's medically realistic once we're already talking about a witch? Let's just accept it.”

After finding that much, we headed back upstairs.

When we returned, the others were talking with grim expressions.

“What is it?”

Grandpa Mook-seong only looked grim, so Eun-sol answered.

“Jin-cheol isn't getting better. His blessing returned, so he has Regeneration now, but he still hasn't regained consciousness.”

“Why don't we wait a little longer? An ordinary person would've died long ago. The fact that he's still alive means Regeneration might be working some kind of miracle.”

Grandpa Mook-seong replied.

“He might wake up if we wait indefinitely, like you said. But can we afford that? At this rate, he might still be lying here a month from now.”

Nobody said it outright, but I understood.

They were considering giving up on Jin-cheol.

The Gate Room's trials were too difficult for us to carry him along while he remained unconscious.

Giving up on him wouldn't mean he was permanently dead. Once we cleared the Gate Room, we'd surely be able to meet him again in perfect condition.

I gave my opinion.

“I'll respect whatever decision we make. Even if we give up on him and continue, we'll see him again as long as we clear the Gate Room. Still, let's wait until tonight. If he still hasn't regained consciousness by tomorrow, let's decide by majority vote.”

Everyone silently nodded.

Next, we told them what A-ri had learned in the basement.

The witch had become a monster after abusing an evil power, and she could only return to human form at certain times of day. It seemed that restoring her monstrous body was her goal.

“Then the witch was originally human!”

Elena's expression lightened considerably.

Now that we had proof she had once been human, Justice could work in the next battle.

“Did the rest of you find anything?”

Eun-sol replied.

“It's bad news, but the witch isn't the only monster in this forest. I thought getting out of the forest itself might be a kind of escape, so I looked for an Escape Route. The place was crawling with monsters. Two-headed wolves were the least of it. I even saw birds with octopus tentacles for legs.”

“It's strange. We didn't see any monsters like that while coming from the forest to the mansion.”

“The monsters only appear once you get farther away from the mansion. They never come near it. They're probably afraid of the witch.”

After everyone had said their piece, I looked at the clock. Midnight was drawing near.

After the first battle with the witch, we had learned her purpose and the state of the forest.

We still didn't know exactly how to deal with her, but now that the witch's identity had been revealed, Elena would likely be able to make a difference in the next battle.

...

At midnight, the scenario updated.

/Scenario: Gate Room - ‘Witch’s Forest’

The group learned the witch's identity and purpose in the mansion basement, as well as the fact that escaping the Witch’s Forest was difficult because it was full of monsters.

As the group held a meeting after much deliberation, midnight arrived.

As the moon overhead cast its gentle light, the witch recovered her senses from madness.

The witch approaches the mansion. It seems she has something to propose?

Will you accept her proposal? Or will you execute her without a word?

Please check back tomorrow for the next update./

I understood up to, ‘The witch regains her senses and approaches the mansion.’

But she had something to propose? What did that mean?

---Tap! Tap!

A knock sounded.

I hurriedly used the Chat Window.

Han Ga-in: Witch is human again. Approaching the mansion. Looks like she has a proposal.

Kim Mook-seong: Can't we just kill her?

Han Ga-in: Don't know.

Kim A-ri: Let's at least hear what she has to say. Elena should be able to restrain her.

I relaxed a little.

As A-ri said, now that Elena could use Justice, our party's combat power had become far greater. We could deal with whatever came.

Grandpa Mook-seong opened the door.

...

The witch in human form looked nothing like the monster we had fought earlier.

She was about 160 centimeters tall, perhaps a little taller than Song-i.

She looked to be in her late twenties and had an overall old-fashioned air about her.

Even to someone like me, who knew nothing about fashion, her clothes looked quite extravagant and luxurious. The ornaments in her hair and the bracelets on her arms all looked refined.

She held a staff in her left hand, and it too was no ordinary item.

If I hadn't known she was a witch, she would have seemed like a young lady from some noble family.

Grandpa Mook-seong pointed his gun at her and spoke roughly.

“What the hell are you plotting?”

“Isn't it shameless for you to say that? This is my home. Show some manners.”

Right. Come to think of it, this was originally the witch's home.

“If it weren't for all the horrible things we found in here, maybe we would. Sorry, but shut your mouth and say what you came to say!”

In the tense atmosphere, I sensed a faint light around Elena.

She hadn't activated Justice yet. It seemed she was using Lie Detection.

“I realized after our rather noisy fight earlier that one of you appears to be seriously ill.”

“...”

“I'll be direct. I will heal him.”

Was that the witch's proposal?

When the scenario asked, ‘Will you accept her proposal? Or will you execute her without a word?’ I had expected her to offer something significant.

A proposal significant enough that we would give up on killing her immediately and have to consider it.

If it meant Jin-cheol's recovery, we couldn't help but waver.

It wasn't only because we were close to him. Jin-cheol was the group's unrivaled, dependable fighter.

Unlike Elena, who required special conditions, and my Descent, which was consumable and of unknown nature, Jin-cheol was immensely powerful without any special conditions.

Especially after obtaining the star, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Jin-cheol's physical strength accounted for seventy or eighty percent of our entire group's combat power.

That was why we had continued carrying him along without giving up, even after he fell into a vegetative state.

I could see everyone had a lot on their minds.

With the witch standing before us, the Chat Window immediately exploded. Maybe everyone was anxious, because they poured out messages without holding back.

Yoo Song-i: Is it possible?

Kim A-ri: Considering she's capable of attaching people's bodies to herself in all sorts of ways...

Kim Mook-seong: Even if it is, how can we trust her?

Elena: I'm using Lie Detection, and she is making the offer sincerely.

Han Ga-in: Let's hear more. She must want something too.

I stepped forward and asked,

“You're obviously not offering to heal him for nothing. What do you want?”

At my question, the witch stared straight at me.

...

She kept staring.

...

When she stared only at me for nearly a minute, the others reacted in confusion.

“What are you doing? That bastard Ga-in's face is worth looking at, but you didn't come here to stare at it all day.”

“When I saw you from afar, I wondered if it could be. But it really is.”

“What do you mean, it really is-”

“Move aside.”

The witch lightly tapped Grandpa Mook-seong with her staff and approached me.

He looked dumbfounded, but he didn't stop her.

... Her expression was somehow wistful. Her eyes were soft and glistening.

What the hell was this? What was with this strange atmosphere? Why was a cannibalistic witch acting like this of all things?

Unable to bear it any longer, I spoke.

“Is there something you want to say to me?”

“You're a mage.”

What the hell was she talking about? I barely composed myself and replied.

“What exactly does that-”

“You don't need to hide it. I know when I see one. We can help each other.”

Her voice was unbearably tender.

Please, don't bullshit me. I saw five jars of eyeball pickles you made earlier!

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't speak.

Footnotes:

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