Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 262

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 261: Party Time - Concerns About the Next Room, The Arrived Package (7)

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 110

Current Location: Level 1, Corridor

Sage’s Advice: 2]

- Han Ga-in

The warning Seung-yeop heard about Room 203, and the warning A-ri heard about the “final Curse Room.”

The two warnings were subtly at odds. So which room was more dangerous? Room 203? Or the “final Curse Room,” presumably Room 205 or 206?

Jin-cheol muttered uncertainly.

“What if Room 203 is the final Curse Room, and Rooms 204, 205, and 206 aren't Curse Rooms at all? Then both warnings would be about Room 203... No, that can't be right.”

“I don't think so either.”

That probably wasn't it. There was no way there would be so few Curse Rooms. It made more sense that the two of them had received warnings about different rooms.

“Hmm?”

The moment I lifted my cup of cola, something felt off. Why was the cup so light?

The instant I realized it, an unpleasant sensation crept over me. It felt like something opaque and hazy was circling around me...

Splash!

“Ah! That's cold!”

And everyone came to their senses.

* * *

“... So you've been walking around among us this whole time?”

“Yep. It was so much fun because no one noticed.”

“Hey! Quit talking nonsense and put your hands back up!”

Eun-sol, who had found A-ri with a cup of cold water, strode over and raised A-ri's hands above her head. A-ri grumbled but obediently knelt and held her hands up.

“I was wondering why my cocktail glass was suddenly empty! You get a fascinating new ability, and the first thing you do is pull pranks? What's wrong with you?”

“Just because!”

This time, Eun-sol placed Pero on top of A-ri's head.

“Hey! Hey! It's trying to pull my hair out!”

Why did Pero always try to tear out people's hair whenever it sat on their heads...?

The atmosphere was confusing and unbelievably childish, enough to make my head throb. Then A-ri asked in a slightly more serious tone.

“By the way, how did you find me, Eun-sol? The time limit was almost up, but the ability was still active. No one else noticed me at all.”

“... You know my eyes have a kind of ‘Capture’ function, right? I can save whatever enters my field of vision as a very clear image and review it later.”

“So it really is like a camera.”

“I couldn't remember drinking my cocktail, but the glass was empty. That seemed strange, so I Captured the scene a couple of times and reviewed the images in my head. Then I saw you.”

“Hm... I expected it, but The Unremarkable Girl can't avoid cameras, huh? Well, my body doesn't actually turn invisible. Is it some kind of perception interference ability?”

“If you concentrate, you'll sense her. I kept flinching and realizing she was there.”

True to his role as a Management Bureau agent, Grandpa seemed to have sensed A-ri's presence through sheer concentration. Eun-sol reacted a little irritably.

“You saw A-ri doing something weird, Grandpa, and you just watched?”

Grandpa panicked when the blame landed on him and hurriedly explained.

“N-No, you've got it wrong. I kept sensing her for a moment, then forgetting again. I wasn't in any position to stop anything.”

Thankfully, it didn't look like Grandpa would have to sit beside A-ri with his hands raised.

Still, watching A-ri grin as she analyzed her new ability made me want to push her from behind. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who found her annoying, because Seung-yeop shelled more peanuts and gave them to Pero.

Pero looked at Seung-yeop as if to say, “What's gotten into you, giving me something like this?” Then it started eating enthusiastically, dropping peanut crumbs all over A-ri's head.

“Aaah! Crumbs! Crumbs!”

Everyone's expressions softened at the sight. The Doctor let out a hollow laugh beside us.

“Miss A-ri resembles her mother in the strangest ways.”

A-ri had somehow already returned to her chair and reacted to that.

“Mi-ro and me? Is there really anything similar about us right now?”

“Miss Mi-ro also used to ease other people's tension with absurd pranks at random moments.”

That was a little different from the self-righteous image I had of Mi-ro. Of course, people didn't have only one side to them, so it wasn't that strange.

Thinking back, the young Mi-ro I met in Frozen Hell had been extremely mischievous too. Throwing snow at a boy she'd just met without warning wasn't exactly normal behavior.

... Did A-ri inherit Mi-ro's mischievous side?

Tap!

“Alright! Look at the whiteboard again!”

At Eun-sol's words, everyone's gaze returned to the front. A-ri spoke as if she'd remembered something.

“Ah, let me finish what I was saying earlier. Ga-in said that Seung-yeop received a warning that Room 203 was dangerous, while I received a warning about the ‘final Curse Room,’ so the two pieces of information seemed contradictory, right?”

That was how it felt.

“Right.”

“The things Seung-yeop and I heard had slightly different nuances. The warning I received was about a room that would be difficult for the entire party in a general sense. But the warnings Seung-yeop received were...”

“I think they were specifically warning me. The unidentified voice and my Sponsor didn't speak as if Room 203 would be difficult for ‘everyone.’ A room that's difficult for everyone, in an absolute sense, is probably Room 205 or 206.”

That interpretation resolved the question.

The final Curse Room was difficult for everyone, while Room 203 was difficult for Seung-yeop. In that case, Rooms 205 and 206 should be put off until later. Naturally, we should avoid the room that was difficult for everyone first.

“Then what do you think about skipping Room 203 and going to Room 204? That was A-ri's suggestion too. Though she made the suggestion, then threw the meeting into chaos with her weird antics!”

When Eun-sol shot A-ri a sharp glare, A-ri raised her hands again.

“Should I be punished again?”

Unexpectedly, Seung-yeop offered a different opinion.

“Let's go to Room 203 first. My Sponsor told me it would be both a crisis and an opportunity for me. Maybe a good reward is waiting for us.”

“Since we got a warning this time, let's not get too hung up on Room 203. We can try it first, but if it seems too difficult, I think we should go to Room 204.”

That settled the meeting.

We would avoid Rooms 205 and 206 and focus on Rooms 203 and 204. We would enter Room 203 first, but if it seemed completely hopeless, we would go to Room 204.

What should I do with the rest of today? Maybe read a book?

* * *

“Urgh!”

Dark red liquid seemed to flow from my eyes, and then a notification appeared.

[Advice: 1 -> 0]

[Don't think so impatiently. Stop here for now. Everything has its proper time.]

“When exactly is that time...? It doesn't seem to be now.”

With the free time I'd had after so long, I had closed the Status Window and immersed myself in the Grimoire. The cost was considerable. I had forced myself further by using Advice to interpret passages I couldn't understand, and in the end, my body couldn't endure it.

My final Advice for the day was consumed with a warning to stop.

“Are you alright?”

My vision was blurry, so I couldn't see who it was. But it was Elena's voice.

“Yes. I used Advice, and it warned me to stop reading the Grimoire.”

“I think that's right too. Do you know blood is flowing from your eyes right now? It doesn't look like you can see properly.”

“I can't see very well. But Room 105 is here. I'll be fine by tomorrow.”

Elena wrapped a soft cloth around my eyes.

“It's strange for me to tell you not to do something because it's dangerous. This is a place where, if you neglect trying to grow stronger because you're afraid of danger, you could die because you're weak instead. Still, Ga-in, you seem particularly special even among us.”

Special?

I thought I understood what she meant. Other than me, not many people in our party seemed to focus this intensely on training their Inheritance. Honestly, aside from the Grimoire, it was unclear how to train them in the first place.

For example, how were we supposed to train the Otherworldly Star?

The fragment of Star simply emitted waves that destroyed all things on its own. What was Jin-cheol supposed to do to train it? Would the Otherworldly Star grow stronger if he picked up a rock and did bench presses? It didn't seem like it would mean anything.

“It may sound like boasting, but the Grimoire I obtained seems to have incredibly high potential. So I enjoy practicing with it in my own way.”

The possibility of gaining greater power, and knowing how to seize that possibility. Those were powerful advantages of the Grimoire that I hadn't felt when I first obtained it.

“No, I wasn't talking about how special the Grimoire is. I meant that you are special, or unusual, Ga-in.”

Pain began to creep around my eyes. I wasn't in any condition to practice more. I had used up all my Advice too, so I should go to sleep.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 111

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 - Rest Room

Sage’s Advice: 3]

/A package has arrived! Please check it./

...

/A package has arrived! Please check it./

“What's this at this hour?”

It was already hard to fall asleep because of the pain around my eyes. Why was the notification so loud?

My vision was so blurry that reading the notification itself wasn't easy. When I concentrated and read it, I realized it was saying that the package we had obtained outside on Level 2, beneath the Snow Globe, had arrived.

Of all times, it had to arrive at dawn.

When I rubbed my eyes and stepped outside Room 105, my companions who had seen the same notification gathered one by one. The notification kept drilling into our heads until we got up, so no one could endure it.

“Ah, what the hell is this? We could've checked it tomorrow morning!”

Hearing Jin-cheol's irritated complaint made me wonder. Was there a reason we absolutely had to see it now? Some reason it would be a problem if we waited any longer?

Everyone went up to Level 2 with disgruntled expressions. It was unlikely, but if there had been a hotel employee on Level 2, they would've had their collar grabbed immediately. Moving around was quite inconvenient with my blurry vision. Hadn't the treatment progressed yet?

“Ga-in, are your eyes still bothering you?”

“Yes. The pain has gone down, but I still can't see properly.”

“Stop for a moment.”

The Doctor stopped me, took a magnifying glass from his pocket, and examined my eyes. Then one of his fingers entered my eye.

“U-Uaaah!”

“Please stay still. It's dangerous if you move.”

He suddenly put a finger in my eye and told me to stay still? Was the Doctor out of his mind too?

“Hmm. It looks like the basic treatment is finished. The pain should be gone by tomorrow morning, and your vision should clear up too.”

“... Does your diagnosis really require putting your finger in my eye?”

“Hahaha! Ga-in, you should get used to my treatment methods.”

Around then, a voice came from the Level 2 table where the package had been placed.

“Oh! It opens now?”

Grandpa opened the box in fascination, revealing something like a figure-eight-shaped piece of glass.

“Is it a Sandglass?”

“It looks like a Sandglass, but I don't think what's inside is sand. Sang-hyeon, have you ever seen a substance like this? You said you were an astronaut.”

It was a strange object. As Song-i said, it resembled a Sandglass, but whatever was inside seemed soft like liquid and gritty like solid. It even floated like gas at regular intervals.

The Doctor lifted the object and examined every corner with interest.

“This is the first time I've seen such a strange substance. It's like...”

[Advice: 3 -> 2]

[Don't let them turn it over!]

What did that just say? I could barely see as it was. Couldn't it speak out loud at times like this?

“It's like jelly and clouds mixed together. On the back, hmm... There's a number written here. Seven?”

* * *

[Date: Day 111]

...

[Date: Day 112]

...

[Date: Day 113]