WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 143: Room 107, Gate Room - Final Trial (34) (Final)

──────

- Elena

Ga-in pulled me through the burning theater as I ran without thinking.

I looked around in fear. People were screaming and fleeing in every direction.

Why was this happening? Why today of all days?

I ran while trying to hold back my rising anger, then suddenly realized something.

Where were we going?

Weren't we supposed to leave through the theater entrance and head for the street?

Ga-in had led me into an alley connected to the theater's back door.

“Um... Ga-in?”

“Yeah?”

“Where are we? Wouldn't it be better to head toward the street?”

“Huh? I guess I got so caught up in running that we ended up somewhere strange. But we can't go back to the theater, so shouldn't we keep going this way?”

I understood. Ga-in must've been scared and run without thinking too.

Still, I felt uneasy. I never came through these alleys, and this was a dangerous neighborhood.

--- Click.

It was still early evening. The fading sunlight left enough light that it wasn't completely dark yet.

--- Click.

We hadn't even gotten to watch the whole performance, and now we were running from a fire out of nowhere! Wasn't that unbelievably unlucky?

--- Click.

“Elena.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you having fun?”

“That question again? Are you stupid? The theater's on fire, and we're running away.”

“That's a shame.”

“... Still, it isn't that bad right now.”

“Really? But it sounds like Elena's shoes don't fit properly. Your footsteps are loud.”

“Huh? My shoes are custom-made, so that can't be-”

A chill ran down my spine, and I turned around.

At the end of the alley stood someone in strange clothes, silhouetted against the sunset.

A shining blade suddenly flew from their hand.

“W-What the-”

Before I could finish, Ga-in grabbed my hand and started running again!

What was this? What was happening today?

I ran and ran without thinking. Where were we even going? I had no idea.

I just followed Ga-in as he held my hand and led me onward.

It didn't seem like Ga-in knew this area very well either. What were we supposed to do? Was there anyone who could help us?

--- Ting!

Something sharp flew at us again, grazing past us.

Ga-in's clothes tore slightly, and blood seeped from his body.

Then Ga-in swore.

“Ugh! Are they insane? They actually hit me from that distance?”

“Ga-in! Are you okay?”

“Let's run. Faster!”

--- Thud!

A thread hidden on the ground suddenly pulled taut and tripped me!

“Aah!”

The moment I tried to scramble back up, a sharp blade grazed me.

Red blood immediately ran down my leg and thigh. Burning pain and suffocating fear overwhelmed me.

Ga-in had somehow avoided the thread. He immediately tore his clothes and wrapped my wound.

He muttered with a gloomy expression.

“I'm sorry...”

What was he sorry for? Was it because he couldn't protect me? Wasn't that rather self-important of him, like he was some kind of prince?

...

This was hard. It was really too hard. It was strange. Today was supposed to have been a happy day...

There'd been a fire at the theater, and then a crazy person in a robe started chasing us through an alley while throwing knives. I'd run myself ragged, and it felt like I was about to stop breathing.

In the end, I couldn't move anymore and leaned against a wall.

Had our pursuer gotten tired too? The person chasing us had vanished somewhere and was no longer in sight.

“Huff... Haa... Are you okay? I have no idea what's going on today.”

“I'm okay. I'm more worried about A-ri.”

“What do you mean? A-ri came to the theater too?”

“Oh, she did. I actually saw her earlier.”

“You saw her earlier?”

“Yeah. Police officers summoned by some important person suddenly showed up and took A-ri away.”

“Huh? Some important person? What do you mean?”

Ga-in simply snickered and changed the subject.

“We're almost at school. We just have to walk a little farther.”

“School? This road leads to the school?”

“Yeah. I heard it's an alley students don't use much.”

We silently walked down the road.

The sun had set, and a tilted crescent moon hung in the night sky.

Noise drifted toward us. Loud, violent noise.

The screams of countless people filled my ears.

I couldn't take another step. I didn't want to see what was happening at school.

I stopped without realizing it. If I kept going left from here, I could go home-

--- Tap.

“Ga-in?”

“Something must've happened at school.”

“I hear something strange. Shouldn't we go somewhere safe?”

“There are teachers at school, aren't there? School will be safer.”

With that, Ga-in took my hand again and led me toward the school.

Had he always been this assertive? Ga-in was really strange today.

* * *

It was almost over. A gloomy look had begun to settle over Elena's face.

We'd made the plan as carefully as possible, but there had still been plenty of dangerous moments.

Even though we'd ruined Elena's dream while hiding our identities, unexpected complications kept appearing.

Hunters had suddenly appeared at the theater, forcing Pero to flee in a hurry.

Then police officers showed up out of nowhere in the alley and took away A-ri, who was wearing a robe.

Losing A-ri, our best “arson expert,” was a pretty big blow.

If it hadn't been for A-ri, who made me suspect the Management Bureau had trained her specifically in arson, it wouldn't have been easy for the three of us to set building after building on fire.

Still, it was fine. Everything so far had only been buildup.

In the end, I'd deliver the finishing blow.

* * *

We arrived at the school.

The flames rising from the entire school were so enormous that I could only stare blankly at them.

Deafening sounds filled the air.

The heat was fierce enough to feel against my skin.

The smoke was acrid enough to make my head ache.

Why was today like this? I only wanted to have a happy day.

I wanted to have fun at school with my beloved friends and watch a performance at the theater with someone I liked!

I only wished for a happy day that would repeat forever.

Ga-in asked me another strange question as I stood there in a daze.

“Elena.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you having fun?”

“... Are you making fun of me? I'm starting to get angry now.”

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry for a lot of things. But it'll be over soon.”

Over? What did he mean would be over? And what was he sorry for?

It was hard to understand. As if he'd made up his mind, Ga-in stepped in front of me.

What was he trying to do?

--- Screeeech!

A tremendous shockwave that shook heaven and earth.

With a roar so loud it felt like my skin itself was shaking, the wall collapsed and the monstrous bird appeared.

As I froze before its overwhelming presence, Ga-in shoved me aside and stepped forward.

He calmly looked at the bird.

The bird tilted its head strangely and stared directly at Ga-in.

“G-Ga-in, run! Ruuun!”

* * *

The plan was nearing its end. I gestured to the Grotesque Parrot.

Didn't this thing usually hate me more than anything?

Yet when it finally had a real chance to get even, Pero hesitated.

It went soft at the most important moment for no reason.

I stared Pero straight in the eyes and gestured again.

At last, Pero made its decision.

A huge foot, fitted with claws the size of a child's fist, moved violently and kicked me in the stomach.

...

Ah.

Aah.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Pain like lightning striking my whole body paralyzed me.

Trembling from the horrific impact, I looked at Elena.

Elena crawled toward me as she wept endlessly.

Seeing her cry made me smile bitterly without realizing it.

At one point, I considered ending this entire puppet show with Elena's death.

But it was meaningless. She, who had sunk deeper into the dream than anyone else, had gained more power than anyone.

Even if she died, she would flee into another dream with a different theme.

That was why we had to give her an unavoidable sorrow.

The girl who had gained near-omnipotent power on this stage had to experience a tragedy that even her omnipotent power could never undo.

“Ga-in! Ga-in! Just hold on, just hold on a little longer. Doctors will be here soon.”

That was probably true. Even in this situation, Elena could summon doctors from somewhere and save me from these injuries.

So I made a single click that even the power of a girl who had accidentally become a god could not undo.

/Would you like to escape? (Y/N)/

Y

My body slowly began to blur.

Elena looked utterly lost as she realized I was disappearing. I gave her one final farewell.

“Elena, I'm sorry about today. Let's meet outside.”

My consciousness faded.

* * *

- Elena

Ga-in slowly disappeared.

Pero slowly disappeared.

A-ri and Song-i, who must've been somewhere, probably disappeared too.

...

My drifting mind slowly cleared.

I forced my unresponsive body upright and looked around.

The burning school, the burning theater, the countless casualties.

This was a stage created by my dream anyway, but they really did make a spectacular mess of things.

The doctors I had already summoned came running toward me.

It was meaningless. The person they needed to treat had already left.

Ah...

Now, now I didn't want to remain in this dream anymore either.

This world, where all the companions I loved had disappeared, was no longer perfect.

A hologram appeared before me.

With one click, the world collapsed.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 72

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

Sage’s Advice: 3]

- Han Ga-in

The Status Window flickered before my eyes as I regained consciousness.

Ah, how long had it been?

I was unbelievably glad to see the Status Window again!

A huge amount of time had passed too.

Hadn't it been around Day 47 or 48 even by the fourth trial?

We'd spent more than three weeks on the final trial alone.

I looked around belatedly. It was a strangely pure white space.

There were four people in the room.

Then I was dumbfounded.

This was the truth behind Perfect Life?

Something about the hotel creating an unbelievably powerful form of magic-

No.

Something about sharing a fragment of the great power of creation with mortals-

No.

The truth behind Perfect Life was far more obvious and trivial than that.

There were holes in the backs of our necks, the kind I'd often seen in movies. Cables were plugged into them.

--- Click!

Someone else removed their cable and stood up.

A-ri looked around with a bewildered expression, then her expression deflated.

“It was just virtual reality. I thought it had actually created a real world.”

“They'll get rid of the holes where we pulled out the cables once we leave here, right?”

“If they don't, we can charge our phones through them from now on.”

“...”

Song-i and Elena began to stir on the other side of the room too.

Seeing that, A-ri looked a little uneasy.

“I think we were a little too harsh on Elena at the end. She won't get mad, right?”

“If she gets mad, we'll just listen to her.”

We leaned against the wall and rested blankly.

Before long, Song-i and Elena woke up and came toward us.

Instead of getting angry, Elena apologized.

“I'm sorry... I got greedy at the end and made everyone suffer.”

“No, no! It wasn't your fault, Elena. I wanted to stay too.”

“Let's not do something as old-fashioned as apologizing every time this happens. In this hotel, we'll make countless mistakes, and someone will help us.”

I felt like I should be the one apologizing, but apologizing also felt awkward, so I just smiled uncomfortably.

After going through the final trial, it was too awkward to look Elena in the face. Elena couldn't look directly at me either.

It seemed like we would need time before we could talk naturally again.

After waiting for a while, a hologram window appeared in the air.

/Congratulations!

You have passed all five trials prepared by the Gate Room.

The bearing of heroes we have awaited! The beginning of a great journey!

How could we not be impressed!

The first trial, ‘Doppelgänger Train,’ was meant to see whether you could survive alone without anyone's help.

The second trial, ‘Witch’s Forest,’ was meant to see whether you could make a cool-headed decision when faced with an injured companion.

The third trial, ‘Jekyll and Hyde Game,’ was meant to see whether you possessed quick thinking and sound judgment.

The fourth trial, ‘The Secret of the Esper,’ was meant to see whether you could find the secret hidden aboard the ship and respond correctly.

The fifth trial, ‘Perfect Life,’ was meant to see whether you could overcome false illusions and prepare yourselves to face harsh reality.

Of course, those gathered here have proven all of those abilities.

The Gate Room will end shortly./

Only after seeing the long notification did I realize it.

It was over.

The long, long journey through the Gate Room had finally come to an end.

I just lay flat on the floor like a madman and laughed endlessly.

The others, who had looked at me like I was ridiculous, soon lay down nearby and began laughing with me.

Level 1, Room 107. The Gate Room.

We'd finally done it!

The space slowly began to collapse.

I thought of the familiar faces I hadn't seen in a long time.

Jin-cheol, Grandpa Mook-seong, Seung-yeop, Eun-sol.

I had so much to tell them once we got out.

Just before the space vanished, a final notification appeared.

/Those who overcome trials deserve rewards.

One ticket, one outfit, and one chance will be given. We hope they will greatly aid you on the journey ahead.

It is also only natural that a special reward be given to the person who made the greatest contribution in the Gate Room./

A prickling sensation came from my shoulder.

Footnotes:

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