WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 122: Room 107, Gate Room - Third Trial (13) (Final)
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Episode 122: Room 107, Gate Room - ‘Jekyll and Hyde Game’ (13) (Final)
- Han Ga-in
I'd been agonizing over it for a while when I checked the clock and saw there was just over a minute left.
This was driving me crazy. I felt like I'd figure something out if I had a little more time to think, but there wasn't enough time.
The good news was that I was certain who this round's execution target was.
It was definitely A-ri.
Just like before, I told Elena to defend A-ri.
Still, the choice was ultimately Elena's. She had to trust me and defend A-ri...
/The sun now sets. Daytime has ended, and Hyde's time has come./
My consciousness grew hazy...
* * *
- Round 6, Han Ga-in.
The moment I opened my eyes, joy surged through me.
We did it! No one had disappeared this time.
The Host came down.
/Congratulations. Hyde's fifth execution has failed. The Doctor successfully defended the correct target.
Round 5’s Hyde was ‘Elena.’ Hyde will now move to another person./
We'd survived one turn.
The revealed order had grown longer as well.
Han Ga-in -> Yoo Song-i -> Park Seung-yeop -> Kim A-ri -> Elena
Only Kim Mook-seong and Lee Eun-sol remained as possible targets for possession.
Elena calmly responded to the Host’s announcement.
“I can say it now. I'm the Doctor.”
Eun-sol looked startled.
“What? Why would you reveal that? Don't tell me Hyde found out?”
Elena gave me a slight look.
“Yes. When you're chosen as the Doctor, holograms with everyone's names appear before your eyes. Hyde must've seen them too. There's no reason to hide it anymore.”
Eun-sol said, “It's the last round anyway. Only Grandpa Mook-seong and I can still be possessed. Once we get through this turn, Hyde will be confirmed.”
Grandpa Mook-seong replied, “Then just pick one of us.”
Eun-sol had a different opinion.
“No, no, do we need to do that? If we're wrong, more people will just die. If we survive one more turn, only one of Grandpa and me will go down, and we can clear it. Let's think about it a little more.”
As everyone discussed it...
I finally understood Hyde's criterion.
The first criterion I'd considered was the order of who posed the greatest threat to Hyde.
Song-i and I had Inheritances that affected people's minds, so perhaps we could've used them somehow to threaten Hyde.
Yet I soon realized there was something strange about that criterion.
Who had truly been the greatest threat to Hyde?
Song-i, who couldn't do anything with her bracelet until the moment she died?
Me, who had only been thinking to myself so far?
Neither of us.
From the very beginning, Seung-yeop had identified Song-i, Hyde's first possession target.
In the following round, he himself was Hyde, so in a way, choosing no one had also been the correct answer.
He'd practically gotten it right twice in a row.
If the criterion had been the order of threats, Hyde should've targeted Seung-yeop in Round 1, or at least in Round 2. Instead, Hyde kept targeting only me until Round 3.
Besides, if it were based on the order of threats, there was no way to distinguish between the others, who had no Inheritances and hadn't contributed much to this game so far.
After thinking it over, another criterion came to mind.
The most intuitive way the hotel evaluated us.
Contribution.
The more we accomplished in each room, the more Contribution we accumulated. The more Contribution we accumulated, the more we could enhance our blessings.
We couldn't see our Contribution directly, but there was evidence we could use to judge it.
Enhancements at the Sanctuary of Blessings.
The more times someone had enhanced their blessing, the greater the Contribution they'd accumulated. Those who enhanced first were probably getting close to their next enhancement too.
The first time we visited the Sanctuary after clearing Human Ranch, the people who enhanced their blessings were me, Park Seung-yeop, and Yoo Song-i.
The second time, after clearing Common Sense-Altering Media, the people who enhanced were me, Kim A-ri, Elena, and Cha Jin-cheol. I had postponed an enhancement once to receive a stronger one.
The third time, after clearing House of Horror, the people who enhanced were me, Kim Mook-seong, and Lee Eun-sol.
As I counted, I realized I was there every time.
Wow! Was I actually carrying this party?
Pushing aside that pointless thought, I ranked everyone by the number of enhancements and how early they'd enhanced.
Han Ga-in > Yoo Song-i = Park Seung-yeop > Kim A-ri = Elena = Cha Jin-cheol > Kim Mook-seong = Lee Eun-sol.
...
The result almost perfectly matched the ranking Hyde had revealed so far.
This was it.
Once I understood, I let out a sigh.
Contribution accumulated through the process of clearing Curse Rooms. It was also the most important criterion the hotel considered when awarding Inheritances or blessing enhancements. Why had it taken me this long to realize...?
Hyde's Host was either Lee Eun-sol or Kim Mook-seong.
Elena spoke up.
“I'm sorry, but could Eun-sol and Grandpa Mook-seong close your eyes and cover your ears for a moment?”
Those now confirmed not to be Hyde needed to talk.
Following her instructions, the two closed their eyes, covered their ears, and moved as far toward the edge of the room as they could.
Elena, A-ri, and I gathered on the opposite side and spoke quietly.
A-ri was the first to speak.
“This round, Hyde will go after Elena, right?”
“I think so. Since I'm the Doctor.”
I joined in. “Are you planning to defend yourself this time?”
“Yes.”
I thought for a moment.
Based on the Contribution order I'd determined, Hyde's ranking should be as follows.
Han Ga-in > Yoo Song-i > Park Seung-yeop > Kim A-ri > Elena > Kim Mook-seong ? Lee Eun-sol.
Song-i and Seung-yeop had died, so the targets would be one of Han Ga-in, Kim A-ri, and Elena.
Hyde had given up on me, and A-ri had successfully been defended this round. Would Hyde give up on A-ri too?
Hyde had attacked me twice, so maybe it would try A-ri one more time. Still, targeting Elena, the Doctor, seemed more likely.
The three of us thought it over, but none of us could be certain whom Hyde would attack.
...
Then a clever idea came to me.
“All right! Time's almost up, so let's gather together!”
Eun-sol and Grandpa Mook-seong, who had been on the other side with their eyes closed and ears covered, straightened up and turned toward the table.
As naturally as possible, as if it were a momentary mistake and absolutely not a trick...
I spoke a little loudly to Elena.
“I'll assume you're defending yourself this round.”
Elena's eyes widened, then immediately sharpened.
That was enough. I didn't need to give her any more hints. Elena would understand this much.
/The sun now sets. Daytime has ended, and Hyde's time has come./
My consciousness grew hazy...
* * *
- Round 7, Han Ga-in.
I raised my head.
My mouth fell open, and I laughed without meaning to!
/Congratulations. Hyde's sixth execution has failed. The Doctor successfully defended the correct target.
Round 6’s Hyde was ‘Kim Mook-seong.’ Hyde will now move to another person./
Eun-sol ran a hand over her chest in relief as she replied.
“Wow! That really startled me earlier. Did Hyde target Elena? Because she's the Doctor?”
Elena smiled faintly, and Eun-sol continued.
“Ga-in! Be more careful next time. You scared me when you said Elena would defend herself. If Hyde had been in me, it would've heard that and targeted someone else. Fortunately, Hyde was in Grandpa...”
“I heard it too.”
Eun-sol fell silent at Grandpa Mook-seong's words.
I smiled as I replied, “I said it for both of you to hear. Since you thought it was a mistake, Hyde must've been fooled too. Hyde learned that Elena was defending herself, then really did target someone else. It probably targeted me, right?”
When I turned to Elena, she nodded.
“That's right. Hyde wanted to kill Ga-in first from the very beginning. If I gave Hyde the impression that I was defending someone other than Ga-in, I thought it would target Ga-in again. I was right.”
This godforsaken game was finally over.
Everyone relaxed and began talking freely.
I explained the theory I'd come up with, Hyde's criterion for choosing targets, and everyone looked amazed.
A little regret remained.
If we'd used our Inheritances more actively, figured out the criterion sooner, or thought of deceiving Hyde through acting earlier...
...
It was meaningless. No one was about to blame anyone else over something like that.
It had been far too difficult to think clearly in that relentless cycle, which came at us without giving us time to breathe every fifteen minutes.
The remaining time in Round 7 was nearly over.
Only then did everyone's smiles fade. They looked at Eun-sol with slight awkwardness.
Hyde couldn't parasitize the same person twice.
Since Hyde had just parasitized Grandpa Mook-seong, only one possible Host remained.
Eun-sol smiled.
“Why is everyone acting like this? It's not like we're saying goodbye forever. I'll head out first, so see you outside! And... it's awkward to say it myself, but don't save me.”
...
We identified Eun-sol as Hyde.
The Host came down, and the room went dark for a moment.
When the light returned, Eun-sol was gone.
/The time to choose has ended! The result is?
.
.
.
Ding dong dang! Congratulations, participants! You have identified Hyde.
Congratulations on clearing the third trial. You may now revive one of the people who died during the Jekyll and Hyde Game./
A hologram appeared in the center of the table, displaying the dead.
1. Yoo Song-i
2. Park Seung-yeop
3. Lee Eun-sol
Jin-cheol wasn't there. Since he'd been eliminated before participating in the game, it seemed he wasn't eligible for revival after all.
Who should we save?
The remaining people began discussing it.
Grandpa Mook-seong was the first to offer an opinion.
“Shouldn't the standard choice be to revive someone with an Inheritance?”
Elena agreed.
“That's true. The other two would be helpful too, but in this situation, I think Song-i's bracelet is the best option.”
I felt the same way, so I didn't bother saying anything. Unexpectedly, A-ri had a different opinion.
“I think Seung-yeop might be better.”
“Is there a reason?”
“Just look at how things have gone so far. In Trial 1, blessings were sealed. In Trial 2, Inheritances were sealed. In Trial 3, blessings were sealed again. By that order, Inheritances will be sealed in Trial 4. Even if Song-i comes back, I don't think she'll be able to use her bracelet.”
“Isn't that just your guess? Even if you're right, Seung-yeop doesn't have an Inheritance either... Do you think Seung-yeop's blessing would be more useful if Inheritances are sealed?”
“Yeah. Going through the Gate Room has made me realize that Seung-yeop is unbelievably lucky. In the first trial, the fake who happened to wake up first was cooperative, so Seung-yeop practically got it handed to him, right?
“In the second trial, Witch’s Forest, he shot his gun randomly with Luck and made the witch, who was in monster form, run away. Then he tricked her with that card stunt too.
“Even in the third trial, he picked Hyde correctly twice in a row. If we hadn't doubted Seung-yeop's choice for no reason, we might've cleared this the moment it began.”
“That's not wrong, but blessings were sealed during the first and third trials. Wasn't that just ordinary luck unrelated to his blessing?”
“That makes it even more impressive. It's only my guess, but I think blessings are bestowed on people who already have related qualities. Eun-sol was rich to begin with, so she received Wealth. Jin-cheol was strong to begin with, so he received Courage. Grandpa Mook-seong was talkative to begin with, so he received Communication.”
Elena picked up the thought.
“Song-i already liked animals, so she received Affinity. A-ri had many secrets, so she received Secret. And I was always interested in Justice, so I received Justice?”
“Exactly. Seung-yeop was already lucky. Then Luck gave him wings. Anyway, back to the point. Song-i's Affinity-related abilities aren't bad, but they lack versatility, I guess? Without a Chaos Entity, she practically doesn't have a blessing. Seung-yeop's Luck, on the other hand, feels useful anytime and anywhere.”
The more I listened, the more it sounded oddly convincing.
By the way, if everyone had received blessings related to their own qualities, what was mine? I was a decent student, but that didn't seem like proof of Wisdom...
Grandpa Mook-seong still seemed opposed.
“I understand your reasoning. If we're only considering the fourth trial, there's a good chance Inheritances will be sealed, so it makes sense to judge based on blessings alone and choose Seung-yeop... But the Gate Room has five trials in total. When we get to the fifth trial, wouldn't Song-i, who has an Inheritance, be better after all?”
“We can't reach the fifth trial unless we clear the fourth one first. Shouldn't we focus on the very next trial?”
“Don't think only about blessings and Inheritances. Think about Pero too. Look at what Pero has been doing since Song-i disappeared. All that birdbrain does is pull out my hair and crack sunflower seeds! Without Song-i, it'll be hard to keep that thing under proper control.”
“Pero pulled out your hair even when Song-i was here. Pero is loafing around because there's nothing for Pero to do right now, and Pero still recognizes us without Song-i. We might not be able to communicate in detail, but Pero will obviously help us.”
A-ri still had that habit of mixing casual and polite speech whenever she got worked up...
And Pero always pulled out Grandpa's hair. In that respect, Pero was consistent.
...
Grandpa Mook-seong argued fiercely that we should revive Song-i because she had the bracelet, while A-ri insisted that Seung-yeop should be revived because his blessing was more useful.
Elena and I looked at each other and sighed. Who on earth should we save?
Maybe Seung-yeop's efforts at the hotel hadn't been entirely pointless.
I should definitely tell him later that A-ri had argued this hard for his revival.
Footnotes:
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