WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 178: Party Time - Exploring the Second Floor (5)

──────

- Cha Jin-cheol

--- Whoooosh! Thud!

“Urgh, what now?”

A finger-sized shard of ice flew through the blizzard and slammed into my face. Was this really Earth? It was hard to take even a single proper step in a human body.

Lee Eun-sol: What?

Cha Jin-cheol: Talking to myself.

Kim Mook-seong: Hurry up and finish. I'm dying.

... Normally, I'd have said, “You're exaggerating again, old man!” but not now. The old man wasn't wearing a Protective Suit like Eun-sol, nor did he have a blessing that strengthened his body like I did. If he stayed in a place like this too long, he really could freeze to death.

At least Grotesque, though clearly full of complaints, was managing to walk around well enough.

The second floor had become even worse. If it had felt like the dead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere when we went to Room 201 every day, now it felt more like Antarctica or the Arctic. Even with Courage helping me, I could feel this cold. Maybe it had gone beyond anything that could be called an Earth winter.

The wind pressure alone made every step difficult. Eun-sol, who weighed more than I did with her Protective Suit on, was moving much more easily.

I might as well have been blind. The blizzard was so severe that beyond five meters, everything was nothing but white. Eun-sol was the only one who could see anything clearly and keep moving through this white hell.

Lee Eun-sol: This way.

Following Eun-sol's signal, I moved toward her and found a massive block of ice blocking our path.

“Hup! Hyah!”

Grotesque pecked the ice apart with its beak, and I cleared away the broken pieces. We worked quickly enough to open a path, but snow immediately began piling up again. No doubt we'd have to clear it all out the next time we came through.

Cha Jin-cheol: See anything?

Lee Eun-sol: Nothing special.

Another dead end, it seemed. Still, it was a relief that at least one of us could see while exploring.

Kim Mook-seong: I think I'm going to die.

Cha Jin-cheol: Please wait a little longer.

Lee Eun-sol: Grandfather, I’ll check just one more place.

One more place? Had Eun-sol spotted somewhere even in this mess?

Sure enough, she gestured to me, then moved rapidly in a straight line without changing direction once.

Lee Eun-sol: Here.

After pushing through the snow for several steps, I saw a space that clearly deserved to be called a room. The unfinished state of the second floor meant there were only blocks of ice instead of proper doors or walls, but it was definitely shaped like a room.

Cha Jin-cheol: Will this be a Curse Room once construction is finished?

Lee Eun-sol: Don't know.

We put in a lot of effort, but moving the entire ice mass was impossible. We'd have to break it apart and move the pieces one by one.

“Pero, you little brat, come over here and peck at this with your beak.”

...

“Come here! I know you can hear me!”

Unlike Eun-sol, that bird clearly had exceptional hearing. The moment Song-i was out of sight, it tried its hardest to slack off. Still, perhaps it was commendable that it kept following us anyway.

Grotesque approached without even trying to hide its annoyed expression. I could understand that bird's expressions now.

--- Bang! Bang!

Grotesque broke the ice apart again with its sharp beak, and I repeated the work of moving the broken pieces. Once we cleared the path, I saw something opaque on the floor inside the room.

“What is that?”

Lee Eun-sol: I can't hear you.

Cha Jin-cheol: What's that on the floor?

Eun-sol tilted her head at my words, entered the room, and approached the opaque patch on the floor.

“Uwaah! Why the hell is something like that here?”

Startled, I rushed over and grabbed Eun-sol by her Protective Suit, pulling her back.

“Ah! Is this an icy pool?”

“That's right. Be careful. With your Protective Suit on, you're damn heavy. If you fall in, it'll be hard to pull you out.”

“Why is there suddenly a pool here? Is it a trap?”

“Watch where you're stepping too... Hm? I can hear you clearly now?”

Until then, we hadn't been able to hear a single word spoken aloud. What was going on?

“The sound of the blizzard stopped.”

“... This seems to be another strange space.”

Something incomprehensible was happening. Outside the room, the blizzard was still raging as if the world were collapsing, yet inside, we could barely hear it. Since arriving on the second floor, we had finally found a quiet space.

“What could it be?”

“I don't know... I don't know why, but next time, let's leave Grandfather here while we explore. It seems much less cold here.”

“Let's do that. By the way, what is that?”

At first, I thought it was another block of ice. Then it occurred to me that the temperature inside this room wasn't low enough for ice that large to form. Looking more carefully, I realized it was something else.

It was a huge door.

“...”

“... Doesn't it look like it's telling us to come in?”

“Doesn't it make you uneasy?”

“Still, if it's a door, we should at least open it...”

The moment I approached and grabbed the handle, a notification appeared.

/Would you like to open the Door of Frozen Hell? Party Time will end the moment the door opens./

I immediately let go of the handle. When I turned my head, Eun-sol was staring wide-eyed with a slightly excited expression. It seemed the notification had appeared for both of us.

After spending half a day exploring the frozen second floor, we had finally found something.

* * *

- Cha Jin-cheol

The others welcomed us as soon as we returned to the first floor.

“Good work!”

“Brother, you had it rough!”

“Yeah, yeah. Move aside for a moment.”

I immediately took the old man to the refreshment table. Fortunately, a warm drink that hadn't been tampered with was waiting for us this time.

While the old man drank hot tea and warmed his blue lips, Eun-sol and I began explaining what we'd found.

“Did you find something?”

“Yeah. We found something, at least. From the entrance, you go a long way to the right, then straight ahead?”

“It's closer to a diagonal than straight ahead. I know where it is.”

“Anyway, if you keep going that way, there's something strange called the ‘Door of Frozen Hell.’ When I grabbed the handle, it said Party Time would end as soon as the door opened. I let go, and we came back down.”

“‘Frozen Hell’ is a very scary name.”

“What do you think is beyond that door?”

Everyone fell silent. The name itself practically called it the Door to Hell. It was hard to imagine what horrors could be waiting beyond it.

Once he'd warmed up a little, the old man spoke.

“The circumstances are clear. It seems we have something to do beyond that door in the end. Still, there's no need to deliberately end Party Time early. We should prepare ourselves first. Starting tomorrow, Ga-in should use Sage’s Advice too. More importantly, ‘hell’...”

“Does that bring anything to mind?”

“It's something we all know. Ga-in has probably heard about it from the Nebula Dragon already, and it's something the Management Bureau is aware of as well.”

“Get to the point already.”

“Good grief, there he goes being disrespectful again. Hey, brat. ‘Buddha.’ You've all heard of it, haven't you?”

... A long-forgotten word struck everyone.

Buddha, an entity whose identity was unknown. An incomprehensible transcendent being whom even the Nebula Dragon, the Prisoner of Room 102, had treated with extreme reverence and caution.

“When you think of Buddha, you think of Buddhism, and Buddhism is a religion famous for hell too, isn't it?”

“A religion famous for hell... That phrasing is a little strange.”

“Eun-sol, just understand the general idea. Anyway, in this hotel where Buddha exists, the word ‘hell’ doesn't sound ordinary. I don't think they used that word just because it's dangerous and difficult.”

“Then why do you think they used it?”

“How should I know? Maybe it's a place where sinners are judged?”

Silence settled over us again.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Grandfather, why don't you rest in your room first?”

“I'm fine. It's nothing-”

“Hey! Stop being pointlessly proud, old man, and lie down. We should get some rest too.”

The first day of Party Time ended that way.

The next morning, Elena woke up.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 90

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 - Rest Room

Sage’s Advice: 3]

- Han Ga-in

On the morning of the second day of Party Time, I found Elena as soon as I arrived at Room 105 to eat. Elena, who had been sitting alone at one end of a table, immediately ran toward me.

--- Tap tap tap!

Her golden hair fluttered like waves, and eyes that seemed to hold the life of green fields fixed clearly on me. It was difficult to move, as if I had turned to stone.

“... Elena?”

“...”

“Did you want to say something?”

Elena stared at me, then muttered.

“Is it? Isn't it? It's hard to tell normally...”

“Excuse me?”

“I'm sorry. I was checking something my Sponsor told me.”

“What did your Sponsor tell you?”

Elena gave a small laugh before answering.

“Ah, my Sponsor told me to consult with you about using the ability I gained this time, Ominous Imagination.”

“Ah! I thought we needed to talk about it anyway. Your Sponsor really does know everything.”

I told her what the group had discussed about using Ominous Imagination at dawn yesterday, when Elena wasn't there.

“... Do you roughly understand? To summarize, first, don't fear your own power. Have confidence. If you can move your consciousness into a monster you've created, that would be very good. Becoming stronger is a good way to gain confidence. Second, rather than trying to conserve your power blindly, you could focus it all into one point, create an extremely powerful monster, and then try to persuade it.”

“Hmm... I understand why my Sponsor told me to talk with you, Ga-in. I feel like I clearly understand why it's so hard to control Ominous Imagination normally.”

“Really?”

“The jar analogy fits perfectly. Normally, I tried not to spill even a single drop of the power overflowing inside me, but I had this strange feeling that a few drops would inevitably splash out, creating monsters.”

“It's probably knowledge the Chief Researcher uncovered during research.”

“Moving my consciousness into a monster... Honestly, I have no idea about that. I don't really want to do it either.”

“Is that so...”

“But the second method immediately clicked for me.”

“Oh! If even one method works, that's enough.”

“A being worth pouring all the power of Ominous Imagination into. A being whose evil and ominousness are endless, yet one that can still communicate with people. In fact, several very obvious beings come to mind. Since we're at it, I'll go try it right away.”

With those words, Elena immediately left for the Safari to test her ability.

Had something come to mind? In the end, Elena was the one using the ability, not me. I could only give advice. The actual solution had to come from her.

Seeing her leave for the Safari with such a confident expression put my mind slightly at ease.

Once Party Time ended, we had to head to an incomprehensible place called Frozen Hell. If Elena could gain control over her power before then, it would remove one of our concerns before the great trial ahead.

But... what could it be?

‘A being whose evil and ominousness are endless, yet one that can still communicate with people.’

What kind of being had Elena thought of that made her leave for the Safari with such a confident expression?

Footnotes:

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