WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 240: Room 202, Curse Room - ‘The Little Mermaid’ (18)
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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 102
Current Location: Level 2, Room 202, Curse Room ‘The Little Mermaid’
Sage’s Advice: 2]
- Han Ga-in
--- Squelch!
Humid, salty air tickled my nose, and every step I took made a wet, sticky sound.
--- Tick!
My leg lightly struck a stone, and the sound filled the vast space.
Following Lee Su-ho, we entered the room the drones had found on the desolate farm. Beyond it lay a seaside cave.
I didn't even wonder how there could be a cave beyond the door of an ordinary house. What bothered me more was that, for some reason, the only sounds I could hear clearly were the ones my own body made.
“Um... everyone's nearby, right?”
Song-i's anxious voice came from somewhere.
At first glance, it might have seemed strange for her to ask when no one had split up, but I understood how she felt. There was something wrong with this cave. I, too, had been overcome by the fear that I might have been left here alone.
There was no light source, so darkness surrounded us. A-ri, wearing the Protective Suit, was definitely nearby, and the headlamp on her suit should have been shining. Yet somehow, it felt as though the light reached us, then stopped short.
“Ahem. I'm sorry, but I'll make a sound periodically.”
Hearing the Doctor's words, I realized everyone was experiencing the same sensation. Small claps began to ring out at a steady rhythm.
--- Clap! Clap! Clap!
... The third and fourth claps were far too different in volume. Just now, the distance between the Doctor and me had suddenly widened.
At that moment, the Chat Window reacted.
Lee Eun-sol: Stop! Stop! Everyone, stop until I get there!
What the hell was happening?
* * *
We waited. Everyone stood still, waiting for Eun-sol to come.
She took each person's hand and led them over. As I walked while holding her hand, I finally understood the strange phenomenon I'd been feeling.
It suddenly felt as though my body were moving left, then shooting upward, then heading down before turning left again.
Was Eun-sol leading me around in confusion?
No. She was walking straight in the correct direction. My senses were the ones being distorted.
This cave was confusing people's senses.
Three minutes later, all my companions had gathered close enough to hear one another breathing and feel one another's bodies. Eun-sol quickly explained, as though giving a briefing.
“It looks like the cave is deceiving everyone's senses, especially their vision. Earlier, everyone was walking while swaying around like they were dancing, so I thought you were just tense. But you gradually started moving in stranger and stranger directions, then suddenly everyone started heading in different directions.”
Grandpa quickly made his judgment.
“You're fine. Your eyes must be good enough to resist it. Put on the Protective Suit and lead us. Everyone else, stay stuck together.”
“Let's all make noise on purpose if we can. When we're tense, we talk less and focus on the sounds around us, but that seems to be making our senses even more unstable.”
Lee Su-ho obviously knew we had entered, so there was no reason to move quietly. We quickly rearranged our formation and began moving while talking, as though we were in a meeting at the hotel.
“This phenomenon was created by Lee Su-ho, right? What kind of secret method is it? Magic granted by the Sea God?”
“Probably. But I doubt making us lose our way is all it can do.”
“I'm curious about something else. Mook-seong, did you tell Chief Park where he needs to come?”
“No. The drones found the place after we lost contact, so I couldn't. But he'll check the drones as soon as he arrives, won't he? He'll come here either way.”
“That makes sense.”
“The question is whether those people can find their way like we did. Honestly, I'm more worried about Serenade's side than the Assault Team that won't arrive until night.”
We had been so pressed for time that we entered on our own as soon as we arrived, but Serenade and the Merfolk would clearly arrive soon as well. Would they be able to find the right path?
Maybe our reinforcements would wander around this cave and be unable to help us.
Jin-cheol answered as if to reassure us.
“When have we ever entered expecting great help from NPCs? We've always handled it ourselves.”
Then I realized I had a question too.
“Elena!”
“Yes. I can hear you even if you speak a little more quietly.”
“No. You should always speak loudly. It'll make it easier for us to feel each other's presence.”
“Then you should speak even louder.”
“Before we woke you up earlier, I spoke with Serenade. But she tried to kill me right away.”
“What? Should I scold her later?”
“... You don't have to do that. More importantly, I don't know what ability Serenade was about to use. Do you remember?”
Since it was information about my ‘sister's’ ability, I thought Elena might know. I was half right.
“Each Daughter of the Sea God awakened a different ability. Riringanor awakened the ability to control special sea creatures, while Serenade gained Petrifying Eyes.”
Petrifying Eyes.
“Petrifying Eyes don't literally turn someone into stone. But they paralyze the entire body, as though you've turned to stone, leaving you unable to move.”
A-ri tilted her head.
“Full-body paralysis? If Ga-in's Danger Alert activated, doesn't that mean it kills you instantly?”
“It paralyzes the heart too. For reference, my Ominous Imagination is also set up as an ability granted by the Sea God in this scenario.”
Serenade's Petrifying Eyes were absurdly dangerous. Didn't that mean she could kill someone just by looking at them once, freezing their entire body and stopping their heart?
Jin-cheol immediately asked, “Is there a weakness? Can she use it on multiple people at once? Can we overcome it through sheer strength?”
“It'd be hard to overcome through strength. She can't use it on multiple people at once.”
A-ri quickly added, “Do we need to make eye contact with Serenade? Or can it activate just by Serenade looking at us?”
“Sorry, but I don't know that part.”
I still wasn't completely certain that Serenade was on our side. The others seemed to feel the same way, since they were already considering ways to counter the threatening supernatural ability called Petrifying Eyes in case we ended up fighting her.
This wouldn't be easy.
Possession? As I'd experienced many times, it wasn't a master key. More than once, I'd learned that my Possession didn't work on beings of high standing within a Curse Room. Serenade and Lee Su-ho would obviously fall into that category.
Avoid Serenade's gaze? Even Cha Jin-cheol, the fastest among us, couldn't do that. They said hands were faster than eyes, but a person's whole body couldn't move faster than their gaze.
Still, if the trigger for activating the ability was ultimately her gaze, we had someone who specialized in that.
“If it comes to it, I'll use the bracelet.”
Showing Serenade an illusion outright seemed like a good solution. I felt a little more at ease.
At that moment, another notification appeared.
[Advice: 2 -> 1]
[Shout with all your might!]
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
I screamed until my throat felt like it would burst.
My companions all turned toward me in shock at the sudden, thunderous sound. Then, mixed in with my shout, a strange voice tickled my ears.
“Ra Ka Si Teu - how did you know?”
Grandpa immediately pulled a small object from his pocket and threw it toward the ceiling.
Soon, the surroundings became as bright as day.
A flare? When had he even packed something like that?
The enormous open cavern came into view. A man in stifling clothing stood on a small bridge across the cavern, looking down at us.
“Ha ha! Well, I never expected us to meet face-to-face like this. Guests from the Management Bureau, welco-”
“Shut your fucking mouth! You bastard, you're casting another curse on us the moment you see us?”
“For an old man who looks ready to drop dead, you've got quite the mouth on you. And what do you mean, ‘another’?”
“Hey, you bastard! Was the curse on the bridge leading onto the island your doing too?”
“I don't know what you're talking about. Well, it doesn't matter. We're not in a relationship where we can sit down and have a pleasant conversati-”
--- Bang!
The Doctor's thunderous gunshot marked the start of the fight.
At the same time, an immense presence flooded the entire cave and bore down on us.
* * *
--- Thud!
When I rolled my body once inside the cramped cave, something beside me was crushed flat.
Was that the third one?
I suddenly felt a slight pain in my head, so this time I rammed it into the ceiling. Slimy liquid burst over my head.
Something bit into my side. But the difference in size was like a cat biting an elephant!
Laughing, I rolled sideways once more and felt the same sensation as crushing an insect beneath my finger.
Ha ha ha! I never thought this would be such an easy fight.
The cave that had seemed so large I could barely take it in only moments ago now felt like a cramped anthill. I'd stolen the body of a sea serpent large enough to crush a human with the tip of its tail!
“Fuck! Abratas! What the hell are you doing?”
Hearing Lee Su-ho's furious shout naturally put me in a good mood. Was there anything more satisfying than hearing an opponent rage?
Since obtaining the Grimoire, moments this enjoyable had been rare. Bringing a monster with nothing but raw strength before me was basically handing me a powerful weapon.
--- Crunch!
The only problem was that I had never lived as a snake before, so controlling this body was difficult. All I could do was squirm based on a vague sense of moving without using my limbs.
Even that was enough to crush every other monster Lee Su-ho had summoned.
Realizing he had no way to deal with the situation, Lee Su-ho began running somewhere. Then I encountered a second problem. Since I wasn't used to controlling a snake's body, chasing him wasn't easy.
Should I release the Possession?
[42:43]
I felt uneasy. Right now, I'd taken control of this monster's body, making it a tremendous asset to our side. But once I returned to my original body, we would have to fight this monster ourselves. That didn't look easy at all.
The next moment, something climbed onto my head.
“Haaaan Gaa-in! Can you hear me?”
I could hear them, but I couldn't answer. Snakes couldn't speak human language. I nodded to show that I understood.
“We'll grab your body and chase after him, so deal with this snake somehow and come after us! Don't just release the Possession! I refuse to wrestle with a monster in a cave!”
With that, my companions ran after Lee Su-ho.
... Left alone for a moment, I fell into thought.
How was I supposed to make this monstrous snake's body ‘commit suicide’? Should I keep headbutting things? But if the cave collapsed, all my companions would die.
Footnotes:
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