WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 255: Party Time - The Package and the Mysterious Craftsman (1)

──────

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 108

Current Location: Level 2, Corridor

Sage’s Advice: 3]

- Han Ga-in

A Ticket could be used for all sorts of things, like obtaining an Inheritance we'd given up on or reviving the dead. It might be the most valuable treasure in this hotel.

Jin-cheol grumbled beside me.

“Seriously, what's with only giving us half a Ticket? So we have to desperately find the other half somewhere!”

No matter how valuable it was, that only applied once we completed a full Ticket. As Jin-cheol said, it would only mean something if we somehow found another half and completed it.

Come to think of it, there was an incredible amount we had to do going forward.

We needed to check the package and visit the Mysterious Craftsman. We also had to go to the Sanctuary of Blessings. There was a pretty high chance Seung-yeop would receive an enhancement this time, wasn't there? And whenever we had time, we needed to search the hotel for the Mirror Room.

“Let's check the package and the craftsman on Level 2 first.”

Sure enough, the package had changed slightly. The box had become translucent, and we could see something inside.

“What do you think is in there?”

Grandfather turned the box over several times before offering his opinion.

“It looks like a hard piece of glass... If I do this, then... Huh!”

A notification appeared before everyone.

/3 days remain until delivery./

“Three days? So it really is coming soon.”

Song-i tilted her head.

“That timing is a little vague. If it's three days... Since we cleared Room 202, we'll get Party Time. Does that mean it'll arrive around the end of Party Time?”

“Who knows...”

It was a little strange. After all, this delivery business was just wording the hotel had attached however it pleased. What mattered was that the hotel believed three days from now was the right time to give us the package's contents.

“Isn't it strange? If it's an item that'll be useful in the next room, say Room 203, they should give it to us right away so we can get used to it a little. On the other hand, if it's something we shouldn't use in Room 203, they could just give it to us afterward.”

“Let's think about the package once it arrives! More importantly, everyone, come over here!”

A-ri's excited voice came from across the hall, and everyone moved. The LEGO Mysterious Craftsman had finally started moving.

“Greetings, participants. I hope you are having a good experience at Hotel Pioneer. The Mysterious Craftsman is responsible for crafting flying shoes, which may be of great help to all participants. If you would like an explanation of flying shoes, please press 1.”

“Press 1? Do I press this keypad on its chest?”

“If you would like an explanation of flying shoes, please press 1.”

“Hey, don't you have any intelligence?”

“If you would like an explanation of flying shoes, please press 1.”

“What's 2?”

“If you would like an explanation of flying shoes, please press 1.”

“Hey! Hey! Stop talking to that blockhead and just press 1!”

Grandfather snapped. When we'd heard it was an NPC, we'd naturally expected something intelligent, but it was more like a robot that only repeated predetermined lines. Was it because it was made of LEGO?

In the middle of this, Doctor spoke up beside us.

“Flying shoes? Could these be... an Escape Tool?”

Everyone went quiet. It felt ridiculous to lie and say they weren't. Doctor seemed to read the awkward mood and gave a small laugh.

“Why are you all suddenly acting like this? Beyond the front entrance is open sky, and flying shoes just happened to appear. It's something anyone would think of. Go ahead and try pressing it.”

“R-right! Really, what's gotten into everyone? Let's hear the explanation. It doesn't look like they'll just appear because we press a button.”

Eun-sol approached and pressed 1.

“Flying shoes, also known as Wing Boots. As this is a shared item, all participants may use it after it has been obtained. You may fly while wearing it. With sufficient training, you may escape the hotel through the front entrance. Unfortunately, there are insufficient materials for crafting. If you would like to proceed with a Crafting Request, please press 1.”

Honestly, it was more comforting to hear it openly say we could escape. There was no need for us to carefully read one another's reactions anymore.

More than that, the phrase “with sufficient training” bothered me. A-ri, who seemed to have had the same thought, spoke up.

“Sufficient training... What do you think that means?”

“It must be harder to use than it sounds. It's an item that lets you fly, after all, so it probably is difficult.”

“No, Eun-sol. I'm not talking about how hard the shoes are to use. Even if we can fly, it sounds like escaping through the front entrance carries considerable danger.”

When I'd previously used Sage’s Advice to ask if we could make a parachute and escape through the front entrance, Owl had answered as though to say we could try if our lives meant nothing to us. Simply falling slowly wasn't enough to get out through the front entrance.

“Are there birds outside that eat people or something? More importantly, what's this Crafting Request? I think I heard before that we had to complete a request from the Mysterious Craftsman to get Wing Boots...”

“That was what the Merchant said. I'll press 1.”

“Crafting Request. Three materials are required to craft flying shoes. First, the wing feather of a bird that soars through a typhoon. Second, the fur of a warrior that can endure even the power of thunderbolts. Third, the eyeball of one who observes all things from the summit. All materials may be obtained inside the hotel. If a material is located in a Curse Room, you may bring that material out with you.”

Everyone fell silent again.

The wing feather of a bird that soars through a typhoon.

The fur of a warrior that can endure even the power of thunderbolts.

The eyeball of one who observes all things from the summit.

As I blankly read the words, a hollow laugh escaped me.

“I'll just use Sage’s Advice. These words are so abstract that I don't think we'll find an answer by worrying over them ourselves.”

‘Give me advice about these materials.’

[Questions related to the Mysterious Craftsman require you to use all remaining Advice. Would you like to ask?]

“Ah, here we go again.”

“It wants all three Advice uses?”

“It always does this whenever we're trying to ask something reasonable.”

“Just use them. It's not Party Time yet, so we can't explore today, and the package hasn't arrived either. There isn't much else for us to ask anyway.”

[Advice: 3 -> 0]

[They cannot be completed at this time, and all materials may be obtained on Level 2.]

It was a useful answer in its own way. At least the part about not being able to complete them now meant we didn't have to waste effort ahead of time.

The moment we returned to Room 105, a notification appeared, congratulating us and telling us Party Time would take place for three days beginning tomorrow. As always, another notice said that secrets hidden by the hotel would reveal themselves during Party Time.

* * *

“Good work, everyone!”

“You all worked hard!”

After praising one another, everyone ate in a cheerful mood and began discussing what we had to do during this break.

“On Day 1, meaning tomorrow, we should visit the Sanctuary of Blessings first. It seems like quite a few people might receive enhancements.”

“The rest of us should search the hotel. We need to find the Mirror Room. Oh, and there's something everyone must remember.”

With that, A-ri scribbled something on the whiteboard.

Hidden NPCs on Level 2: Mysterious Craftsman, ???.

Hidden rooms on Level 2: Resurrection Room, Mirror Room.

“See? We found the Mysterious Craftsman and learned the details of the material-gathering request. We've already used the Resurrection Room once, and we know the Mirror Room exists. But aside from those, there's one more hidden NPC on Level 2.”

No matter how much we dug into it, Level 2 never seemed to end. We still had no clue what one of the hidden NPCs was.

“Let's keep searching whenever we have time. It could be on Level 2, or it could be underground.”

“On the last day, we should also think about what room to enter next. Though it'll probably be Room 203.”

Song-i added one more thing.

“We need to check the package too. Looking at the date, it says it'll appear on the last day.”

Ugh...

I felt like I was going to get indigestion while eating. Why was there so much to do? Seung-yeop muttered beside me as if he couldn't believe it.

“There are plenty of games where you run out of things to do after enjoying them for three days, but this damn hotel has insane amounts of content. It's a god-tier game when it comes to content! Even the rabbit princesses would collapse from exhaustion!”

Grandfather snickered.

“Well, isn't all this ultimately about things we'll get to take for ourselves? Let's look on the bright side. Consider the real world! The monsters there only kill people without giving them a thing, but this place faithfully gives us treasures. How nice is that?”

It sounded absurd, but Grandfather wasn't wrong, so I just laughed.

Was it because thinking about everything we had left to do made me tired?

Naturally, we began talking about Room 202, which we'd already cleared.

“Think seriously about this, everyone. It concerns how we'll proceed from now on.”

“Why are you making it sound so serious, sis?”

“The way we cleared it. Was that really the solution the hotel intended?”

The solution we ultimately chose in Room 202 was to soothe the Sea God's resentment and punish the Management Bureau.

“It sounds like you don't think so.”

“That's right. I think we solved it in a way completely different from what the hotel intended. There's quite a bit of evidence.”

With that, Eun-sol pointed out several facts.

“First, Elena, who was under Sealing. Elena was the second daughter who had been purged by the eldest daughter, right? Then, as soon as she woke up, she told us that the Sea God's resurrection was imminent and that Lee Su-ho was the mastermind. What do you think that means?”

A-ri answered.

“The role the hotel assigned Elena was to provide information for stopping the Sea God's resurrection?”

“Right. Elena's position itself was meant to stop the Sea God's resurrection. And Ga-in's Scenario Understanding is good evidence too.”

I understood what Eun-sol was getting at, so I answered for her.

“Scenario Understanding led us to Haesin Island on our first attempt and guided us to search for the secrets hidden on the island. In other words, it gave us no information that could make us suspect the Management Bureau.”

A-ri, who had been listening, asked, “What information did it give us on the third attempt, when we began properly targeting the Management Bureau?”

That question was easy to answer.

“Nothing. After the message telling us to go to Haesin Island appeared as soon as we entered, we didn't follow it, so the subsequent information stopped updating entirely.”

“It's like...”

“It feels like there was nothing prepared because we went in such a different direction.”

When Eun-sol pointed out what I'd only vaguely felt, I understood for certain. The way we'd cleared Room 202 was completely different from what the hotel intended.

Elena's assigned role and position, as placed by the hotel, and the fact that Scenario Understanding, which provided guidance for our progress, had stopped functioning altogether proved it.

As everyone nodded, Eun-sol continued with a more confident expression.

“We found an answer completely outside the hotel's guidelines, but instead of criticizing us, it said we'd solved it brilliantly and even gave us an extra reward. What do you think that means?”

I could vaguely sense it.

For every Curse Room, there was an “appropriate answer” the hotel had in mind. If we carefully examined the roles of NPCs, the information revealed when participants under Sealing were freed, and my Scenario Understanding, we could roughly predict the answer the hotel had prepared.

The answer the hotel had prepared for Room 202. Wasn't it clearly to quickly deal with Lee Su-ho or Riringanor and stop the Sea God's Descent?

We had completely departed from that answer. Yet the hotel had been very pleased and even given us bonus points.

In other words.

“It means we don't have to follow the hotel's intentions in the first place. Even the hotel itself thinks solving a problem the way it intended is worth, at most, around fifty points. It's telling us to find a better answer.”

An apocalyptic crisis was approaching. Some worlds failed to overcome that crisis and collapsed. Other worlds endured it with incomplete answers, but only by accepting countless sacrifices or leaving behind terrifying consequences.

Perhaps someone had wondered. Wasn't there a better answer?

Not an answer where a god or Buddha reached out once and crushed the devil, but an answer people could create.

I felt like I understood something, yet it was difficult.

If this reasoning was correct, there were limits to forming solutions going forward based on NPC placements, the information participants under Sealing gave us, and the information Scenario Understanding provided.

After all, no matter how hard we analyzed the information the hotel gave us and formed an answer, the hotel's response might only be, “Yeah, fifty points!”

Let's keep it simple. Basically, we should work hard to create even a fifty-point answer from the information we're given. Then, depending on the situation, if a realization of “No!” strikes us and an incredible solution comes to mind, we can give it a try.

The next day, we headed for the Sanctuary of Blessings.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried