WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 14: The God of Medicine

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Everything was hazy. Was I still alive?

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't feel a thing anywhere in my body.

Was this what it felt like when your body disappeared, leaving only your consciousness floating in empty space...?

A low voice came from somewhere.

“Can you hear me? I hope you can. I've fixed about half of it. Your arm was completely mangled, but honestly, that wasn't much of a problem. Your stomach, small intestine, liver, and large intestine had all ruptured.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Honestly, in the outside world, if a patient like this came in, they'd normally open the abdomen and simply close it again. Anyone who can fix this isn't a person. They're the God of Medicine. In that sense, I'm half the God of Medicine. That's what I mean.”

“Ever since I was young, I was absurdly good at studying. It's embarrassing to say, but I was the pride of my family. I got into medical school with ease, then got excellent grades there too! My father was always busy bragging about me whenever he met someone.

“Whenever my mother talked about me, she'd stand a little taller. All the neighborhood ladies envied her. Ah... I hope they're both doing well.”

“Well, my dream did come true in a different way. I became a doctor, and thanks to that, even as a loser, I've managed to survive like this. I've become half the God of Medicine.”

Riiip. Craaack.

“Ha ha, boasting about myself at a time like this. I'm really something, aren't I? I'm sorry. But... it's been so long since I last met another person. Please understand.”

“You aren't in pain, are you? I didn't just block your sense of pain. I shut down your entire nervous system. This is... not an injury that can be healed with ordinary human medicine. It's practically like rebuilding your body from scratch.”

“I don't know if you can hear me. The fact that no one's stopped me while I ramble on like this probably means you haven't fully regained consciousness yet.

“Still... we're about eighty percent done now.”

“You'll be confused when you wake up. You aren't fully conscious, yet my words will be far too clear, and you'll remember them well.

“Don't be surprised. I found a loophole, in my own way... Hah, the restrictions are finally starting to take hold. It seems you're beginning to wake up.”

“This hotel has been operating for a very long time. Countless challengers have faced its trials, and a tiny few gained glory unattainable in the mortal world...

“But almost all of them fell into hell. I'm one of those who did. In other words, I became an NPC. I'm fortunate that I'm neither a sacrifice nor a human experiment.”

“Just one thing. There's only one thing I want to ask of you. I even found that loophole just to tell you this. Someday... if you gain an opportunity in the Resurrection Room, or if you meet the Buddha, please don't forget me.

“My name is Kim Sang-hyeon. I'm very useful. I'm confident in my healing skills, and I'm good at thinking, too. I've gained a great deal of experience in this hell.”

“Ah. Conversation is no longer allowed. It seems you'll regain consciousness soon. I sincerely pray that you attain glory, and that you'll remember my name, Kim Sang-hyeon.”

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 5

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

I woke up.

The moment I opened my eyes, I instinctively checked my Status Window.

Day 5. I had definitely gone to the pool on Day 3. Day 4 had vanished completely. I'd been unconscious for an entire day.

I wasn't surprised that a day had disappeared. I was surprised that only one day had passed.

I didn't know much about medicine, but it seemed like I'd been on the verge of death. How could I wake up only a day after sustaining injuries like that?

I didn't feel much pain, either. No, there weren't even any bandages on my body, let alone surgical scars.

The conversation.

The words I'd heard while asleep came back to me vaguely.

So when he said he was half the God of Medicine, it hadn't been an exaggeration. I remembered the name Kim Sang-hyeon, too. No matter what, he had saved my life.

‘Resurrection Room,’ ‘meeting the Buddha,’ ‘NPC.’

I had no idea what any of those meant.

Still, according to him, he was a “loser” at this hotel.

Yet he had made that request of me... Maybe even losers had some kind of second chance in this hotel.

Of course, it meant nothing for now. I had no idea what resurrection or the Buddha even meant.

I got up, amazed by how intact my body felt, and checked the clock. It was 7:40. Breakfast must have started at seven, so breakfast time wasn't over yet.

I headed to the dining room to meet everyone.

“!!!”

“You bastard!”

“G-G-Ga-in!”

For a moment, their reactions were loud and chaotic.

They all looked so startled that they couldn't control their expressions. Then worried shouts burst out.

“Y-You bastard, how are you already awake? No, you idiot, if you're hurt, stay in bed longer!”

“Seriously, if you came just to tell us you're awake, we've seen you, so hurry up and go lie back down. Don't you need something like complete bed rest?”

I calmly told them that, somehow, I was in perfect condition.

“Thank you for worrying about me. But really. I'm really okay. Look?”

After I suddenly started stretching and even did a handstand, everyone finally began to look somewhat relieved. Their eyes had gone wide at the sight.

“You... are you really okay? No, how is this even possible? I... I saw your arm flopping around like a rubber band. How did that arm become like this?”

“First, tell me what happened to me from your perspective.”

“What happened? The day before yesterday, we carried you into Room 105. We did think it over. Outside mealtimes, we all get separated, so if we barged in, you'd be left alone while half dead.

“Some people thought we should wait until mealtime, then go in and lay you on a bed.”

“I rejected that. No matter how I looked at it, you didn't seem like you'd survive until mealtime. But while you were passing out, you kept saying, ‘105, 105,’ so I thought there might be something there. We all went in right away.

“As expected, the moment we entered, we were separated into different spaces. Ga-in, we couldn't see you at all.”

“As soon as it was mealtime, I went into the bedroom, but you weren't there. Normally, we should all be able to see each other at mealtimes.”

“So I said that was actually a relief. If Ga-in had been lying on the floor, that would've been the worst possible outcome.

“The fact that he'd disappeared instead made it feel like the hotel was doing something, one way or another.”

“And this morning, you just walked right out of the bedroom. You weren't there even when we came to the dining room a moment ago, so you must have appeared in the meantime.”

Everyone gave their opinions at once, leaving me confused.

The story itself was simple. On Day 3, the moment they entered Room 105 while carrying me in my half-dead state, I vanished.

Then, after being unseen for an entire day, I suddenly appeared in the dining room this morning.

From the afternoon of Day 3 to the morning of Day 5.

Roughly forty hours? Had the doctor healed me during that time?

After thinking it over, I told them what I had learned.

Sage’s Advice had told me to go to Room 105 just before I passed out.

Then there was the information the doctor had forced into me by some unknown method while I slept.

Resurrection, the Buddha, NPCs, and so on.

“That's an interesting story. Though I suppose there isn't anything here that isn't interesting.”

“Resurrection? Is something that absurd really possible? It's not as though we're talking about God.”

“Elena, are you really surprised by that now? Last time in Room 101... no, we said we wouldn't talk about that, but we all went through something close to resurrection there already, didn't we?”

“I guess so. In this place, it really seems like anything is possible.”

“Kim Sang-hyeon, huh. Let's all keep that name in mind. We don't know when it'll become important.”

“Ga-in, while you were asleep, the hotel guidelines changed a little.”

“Huh?”

/Welcome, esteemed guests gathered at Hotel Pioneer!

Please refer to the following guidelines. Additional guidelines may be added, and you may view them again at any time on the hotel's displays.

1. Hotel Pioneer always loves its valued guests.

- The hotel's staff are shy, so they work diligently when you aren't looking.

2. The elevator is broken, so please keep that in mind.

3. The hotel always protects its guests' privacy. Still, wouldn't it be nice to eat together? Please observe mealtimes.

4. Guest rooms sometimes contain former guests who were not especially tidy. Please enter together if possible. If even one person can get out, it won't be a serious problem for everyone.

5. When you all seem bored, special events will steadily increase. After all, aren't events the best way to forget your boredom?/

“We'd seen up to Number 3 before. Number 1 means meals and everything else will be prepared while we aren't looking. Number 2 means the elevator is broken. Number 3 means we can't see each other in Room 105 outside mealtimes.

“I understand Number 4, too. It means that in a Curse Room, everyone comes out alive as long as even one person escapes. But Number 5... Don't tell me?”

“It means we shouldn't sit around doing nothing. If we stop working and start loafing around, it'll dump monsters on us from all over the place, like the other day, because we ‘look bored.’ It's a threat.”

“Come to think of it, monsters suddenly appeared on Day 1 and Day 3. What did those two days have in common...?”

“They were the days we didn't enter a Curse Room.”

“That's right. No monsters appeared on Day 2, when we entered a Curse Room. Well, nothing appeared on Day 4 either, but that was probably...”

“Because one of us was half dead and recovering, it felt like the hotel was letting us off for the day.”

“Then now that I've recovered...”

“Today, or tomorrow at the latest, we need to start that damn ‘treasure hunt’ again. Otherwise, who knows? This time, monsters might appear while we're sleeping and slice us to pieces.”

“Ga-in, check the hotel information that comes up for you.”

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 5

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)

Level Information (*)

Room 101 (Curse Room - Strange Family)

Room 102 (???)

Room 103 (???)

Room 104 (???)

Room 105 (Rest Room)

Room 106 (???)

Room 107 (???)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

I told them it was still filled with ??? except for Rooms 101 and 105.

Room 101. Only now did I realize that the room's name itself was Strange Family.

I had probably seen it the moment we entered Room 101, but even seeing it again now made me laugh in disbelief.

Silence fell as everyone processed that, and then Eun-sol spoke.

“Then Room 102 is next. If we're going anyway, I think it'd be better to go quickly. This damn hotel can't stand seeing us rest.

“Maybe it only tolerated us taking yesterday off because Ga-in wasn't there. Ga-in, are you okay?”

I checked how I felt for a moment.

I really was fine. I even felt better than I had on the first day I arrived at the hotel.

There was no point resting more when monsters were sure to appear.

“I'm okay. I think we should eat, then head to Room 102 today.”

As soon as we finished eating, we decided to gather what we needed and head to Room 102.

I hoped Room 102 would contain something more bearable than the hell of Room 101.

Footnotes:

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