WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 204: Party Time - The Power of the Avatar (2)

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 96

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 - Rest Room

Sage’s Advice: X]

- Han Ga-in

I woke up in bed. My companions had come over just before I lost consciousness after vaguely grasping the Power of the Avatar, hadn't they?

They must've moved me to Room 105 after I passed out. The date had already changed, and it was evening. I'd lost an entire day. My eyesight had fully recovered. I should go see the others.

The moment I stepped outside, I spotted Elena.

“Ah! Ga-in? Are you okay? Everyone was worried because blood was flowing from your eyes.”

“I’m fine. It seems the Hotel’s doctor treated me well. Though it must be someone other than Kim Sang-hyeon now.”

“Don't stand around here. Let's go to the refreshment table.”

When I followed Elena to the refreshment table, I found my companions drinking coffee and chatting. Jin-cheol reacted as soon as he saw me.

“Oh, Ga-in! You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You hadn't come out since last night, so I was worried. Well? Did you gain some amazing enlightenment or something?”

Enlightenment. That word set my thoughts churning again.

What exactly had I realized?

When I summoned the Grimoire to test it, everyone flinched and stepped back.

The consciousness trapped within my body floated somewhere else. At the same time, I felt the strange sensation of that floating consciousness splitting into several pieces. Could I put those divided pieces of consciousness into other bodies?

...

A severe headache struck after only a brief attempt, so I hurriedly returned to my original body.

“I think I've gained a vague sense of how to use it.”

I briefly explained the new power I'd gained. What would be the right way to describe it?

Elena, who had been listening intently, spoke.

“It sounds like an ability similar to puppetry.”

“That’s a fitting description. When I use it, I can control two or more bodies like a puppeteer controlling puppets.”

A-ri cocked their head.

“It feels incredibly powerful, but something about it is strange.”

“What part?”

“First, is that really an ability a human brain can use? People naturally have a hard time drawing a square with their right hand while drawing a triangle with their left. You could say we're pretty bad at multitasking. Can you really control two bodies? Your intelligence would need to be three times higher.”

“It sounds strange, but it works because it feels like my consciousness is splitting. To use your comparison, it's like a separate piece of consciousness appears in each of my right and left hands. But...”

“But?”

“It doesn't seem like an ability I can use for long. Right now, I don't think I can use it for even ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes? That's way too short.”

“Won't it get longer as I use it?”

Song-i agreed.

“I’m sure it will. The amount of time I can use my bracelet-related ability has increased quite a bit since I first got it. At first, I thought it was simply because my proficiency had improved, but thinking about what we heard recently, maybe the power of my soul has grown too?”

“That could be it. Anything else strange?”

“Oh, the second thing isn't a big deal. It just seems a little different from what I expected based on the name.”

Grandpa nodded at that.

“Wasn't it called the ‘Power of the Avatar’? I thought it might be something like cloning, an ability that creates copies of yourself.”

“Maybe that is what the ability is.”

“What do you mean?”

I paused before answering, recalling the time I'd read the Grimoire. The pain as my head and eyes had felt like they were melting, and the bizarre characters that had seeped endlessly into me through that agony. The sum of evil knowledge created by the son of an alien god.

“Three sentences.”

“Huh?”

“There were three sentences. The first was, ‘Accept that an unchanging self does not truly exist.’ Of course, it wasn't written in Korean like that. That's just how I interpreted the meaning.”

“What about the second and third?”

“I don't know. The first was the only sentence I understood, even vaguely. The second was...”

I drew an unknown power from among the strange knowledge that muddled my mind.

--- Crackle!

A flickering light appeared at my fingertips. My companions watched with interest, but it vanished in an instant, like a match flame dying out.

Elena asked curiously.

“What was that?”

“I don't know. I really have no idea about this one. Anyway, there were three sentences, but the first was the only one I understood, so I think the power has only partially manifested so far. Rather than the Power of the Avatar, it's more like the puppetry Elena described, and even that has a very short duration.”

Eun-sol, who had been quiet until then, muttered.

“An unchanging self does not exist.”

“Pardon?”

“Could it be the Buddhist doctrine of non-self? Then would the second be Impermanence? What's the third?”

“What does that mean?”

Unlike me, who didn't understand, A-ri answered as if something had clicked.

“Would the third be All Is Suffering or Nirvana Is Tranquility?”

“I don't know Buddhism, so I don't really understand what you two are saying. Can you guess what the next sentence is?”

Eun-sol looked at me and answered simply.

“It’s just a string of meaningless thoughts. It only vaguely resembles Buddhist teachings in the first place, so they aren't the same concepts. The Grimoire’s creator isn't Buddha, but the Unborn One. You don't need to try to understand Buddhist enlightenment.”

“If I try to understand a different philosophy that only vaguely resembles it, it might actually interfere with understanding the Grimoire?”

“Exactly. I think you should just wait. When the time comes, the Owl might tell you to read the Grimoire again.”

Around the time the conversation about my new power ended, my eyes slowly began to feel tired and my head grew heavy. Someone noticed before I could tell my companions.

“Han Ga-in.”

“Ah, Doctor. Please don't be so formal.”

“I am comfortable this way. I think it would be best for you to rest now. Don't your eyes feel heavy?”

“You can tell that? You can diagnose someone just by looking at them... Every doctor in the world must envy you.”

“Sometimes, I amaze myself too.”

Eun-sol spoke with some surprise.

“You still have aftereffects? You should just rest today.”

“Aren't we holding a meeting about Room 104 tonight? I'll at least attend that.”

“You should sit out anything that'll give you even more of a headache. We’re entering the Curse Room tomorrow, so you need to get yourself back to normal as much as possible. We'll hold the meeting ourselves, and you can hear our conclusion tomorrow morning.”

Elena shared the same opinion.

“There isn't much to discuss at today's meeting anyway. We've already decided which room to enter, so we'll probably only think about the meaning of the hint.”

By then, a dull headache had started tightening around my head as if it were being bound with a string. In the end, I returned to Room 105 and fell asleep like I'd passed out.

* * *

- Lee Eun-sol

Ga-in returned to Room 105, saying he needed to rest again. Once he left, the rest of us began discussing something we'd found difficult to bring up in front of him, as if we'd been waiting.

“Honestly, it's kind of a frightening ability. What do you think?”

Song-i nodded.

“It was a little creepy. Ga-in could already enter our bodies if it came down to it, but now he says he can move several of us at the same time.”

Jin-cheol spoke as though trying to reassure everyone.

“Ga-in won't misuse that power. Besides, didn't he say that ‘puppetry’ couldn't even last ten minutes?”

“For now, yes. The time will probably keep increasing. And that isn't even the end of it, is it? He said he only understood the first of three sentences. What kind of being will he become once he understands the other two?”

It was only a vague thought, but Ga-in at that point would probably be something closer to an angel or demon than a human. Maybe he already was.

Perhaps because the conversation had turned uncomfortable, everyone fell silent for a moment.

“Since we're on the subject, don't you think there’s a difference in the potential of Inheritances?”

A-ri asked with interest.

“Potential? You mean it seems like Inheritances have different limits to their growth?”

“Yeah. Ga-in's Grimoire feels like it doesn't just end with Possession. It has the Power of the Avatar after that, and even within that power, there are three sentences. It feels like there’s always something left for it to grow stronger through.”

“That isn't just true of the Grimoire.”

Everyone turned to A-ri.

“What's with those reactions? Didn't you all already know that Inheritances have a lot of potential? When I first started handling Old Blood, hypnosis was about the only ability I could use, but now I can pull off all kinds of tricks.”

A-ri grinned as they summoned a ‘cold wind’ at their fingertips.

Song-i, who had watched in fascination, spoke with an expression that suggested she almost understood.

“Now that you mention it... A lot has changed for me compared to when I first got it. I can use my ability while running now, and the time limit feels less defined than before.”

Elena brought up something similar.

“Come to think of it, Ominous Imagination is similar too. Beatrix showed an incredible application by transforming into a supernatural being, didn't she? Maybe I'll be able to do that someday too.”

Jin-cheol said he still wasn't sure.

“I don't feel much of a difference.”

A-ri offered a different opinion.

“You might not know about the Inheritance side, Jin-cheol, but your blessing has clearly gotten stronger.”

As I listened, I began to understand the situation.

“Everyone else is developing in their own way too. It seems the power we use most often is getting stronger. Song-i relies heavily on her Inheritance, so her ability to handle it is developing. Jin-cheol uses Star like a finishing move and usually relies on his strength, so his blessing is developing.”

“That's the feeling. But...”

At A-ri’s vague remark, everyone looked at A-ri.

“Even considering all of that, the rate at which Ga-in's ability to handle the Grimoire is growing seems strangely fast. Maybe he had the talent of a genius magician without realizing it?”

A genius magician. It sounded really strange for such words to come up in the twenty-first century. Was that really the reason?

It seemed best to end this discussion here.

“Alright, that's enough of this topic. We have to enter Room 104 tomorrow.”

Footnotes:

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