WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 265: Room ???, Curse Room - ‘????’ (3)
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[Status Window: corrupted.]
- Han Ga-in
There was once a time when endless glory was with the Children of Heaven.
Cruel fate drove us into the harsh plains!
But what matters is a heart that does not break.
One day, we shall return to Paradise! We shall return to the land flowing with milk and honey!
My ears were ringing.
After we caught the Gnashing Teeth, the tribe held a feast, just as Old Wolf Claw had declared. Of course, it wasn't much of a feast. There was nothing special to eat or any fancy decorations. There were simply bonfires burning here and there while people danced and sang.
Still, the dancing and singing created a decent atmosphere.
Endless glory to the Children of Heaven-
“Is that the only song you know?”
“Heh heh... It isn't, but many people enjoy this song.”
The lyrics, which I'd expected to hide some secret, contained less than I'd thought. Great ancestors, the Children of Heaven, a Paradise that would arrive someday. Honestly, wasn't that the sort of thing found in every nation's mythology?
The only part worth seriously considering was perhaps the location of this “Paradise.”
“You don't know anything about where Paradise is?”
“That is correct. I do not know what inspiration the Divine Human received from this song, but... it is only a song. Even those who were already old when I was young did not believe Paradise truly existed somewhere.”
Old Wolf Claw seemed to think the Paradise mentioned in the song was nothing more than a fantasy dreamed up by tribespeople weary of their hard lives.
“Forget reliable information. Tell me anything you know. Nonsense is fine. And didn't I tell you to change that ‘Divine Human’ term because it feels awkward?”
“Divine... no, Young Master, I apologize. It is simply a word I am used to saying. No matter how much I think about it, I do not understand why you are interested in such empty stories. They will only waste your precious time.”
“I had a dream.”
“Pardon?”
“While I was unconscious for several days, I had a very... long dream. I felt my ancestors guiding me to a distant place. A red comet split the sky and swallowed the darkness...”
I strung together words that sounded meaningful. If an ordinary college student said something like this, people would just ask whether he was high. But if the descendant of a god who performed miracles said he had a prophetic dream, didn't it sound plausible enough?
“My goodness! I apologize. With my lowly knowledge, Young Master...”
“No, forget it. Just bring me someone who knows more.”
Only then did Old Wolf Claw move, saying he would bring the oldest woman in the tribe. A little later, an elderly woman appeared, her skin deeply wrinkled and making her look at least seventy.
Of course, she might have been younger than seventy. This was an environment where people would age faster than modern people.
“Divine Human, I am Blue-”
“Forget it. You heard the story, right? I feel like you might know more about Paradise. Even pointless fantasies or vague stories are fine.”
As I spoke, I gave a bitter smile.
Both Old Wolf Claw and this elder were two or three times my age, yet speaking down to them already felt natural. If I wasn't going to live as this tribal society's chief forever, getting used to this rude way of speaking wasn't a good thing.
“Hmm... It may be a useless story, but the lyrics of that song being sung outside come to mind.”
“The lyrics?”
“When I was young, the lyrics were longer. They said, ‘We shall return to Paradise beyond the Crimson Mountain Range.’”
The Crimson Mountain Range.
“What exactly is the Crimson Mountain Range? Is it nearby?”
The old woman's eyes widened as if she couldn't understand what I meant. Old Wolf Claw, standing beside me, quickly stepped in.
“Young Master, you do enjoy your jokes. Blue Water Eyes! You may leave now!”
“Ah, yes. I am honored-”
--- Tap!
The moment the old woman left, I asked Old Wolf Claw.
“Looks like I made some kind of mistake just now?”
“No. Your memories are unclear, Young Master, so you may have forgotten. I simply thought it would not be good for that story to spread to just anyone.”
“Thanks. So where is the Crimson Mountain Range?”
“It will be faster to show you directly.”
When we stepped out of the tent, the people dancing and singing bowed their heads and clapped at the sight of me. Seeing that gave me a strange sense of accomplishment, so I waved back at them.
“Over there.”
Only then did I understand why the old woman had been so startled. The mountain range was visible as soon as you stepped outside the tent and turned your head, so of course she was confused when I asked where it was.
“It isn't crimson. It's just blue.”
“When it becomes colder than it is now, the entire mountain range turns red.”
“How large is it?”
“I do not know. Long ago, even when my grandfather's grandfather was a young boy, the tribe wandered the plains in search of food and water... Yet no matter how far they walked, that mountain range was always visible.”
If a primitive tribe had wandered for more than a hundred years and the mountain range was always visible, it had to be large enough to stretch across the entire continent.
“There's a Paradise beyond those mountains?”
“Young Master...”
“What is it?”
“The Crimson Mountain Range is not a place one can cross.”
“Is it too high and rugged?”
“It is high and rugged geographically as well, but the greater problem is the monsters. It is a place filled with absurd monsters that make the Gnashing Teeth seem like slightly vicious rabbits.”
“...”
Let's say the song lyrics were true. Just as humanity's distant ancestors were expelled from the Garden of Eden in the Bible, according to the song, the humans of this world had been expelled from Paradise beyond the mountains and driven into the harsh plains.
Shouldn't we return to Paradise?
But if it was a place overflowing with monsters so strong that the Gnashing Teeth looked like rabbits...
It didn't seem like a place that would be easy even if the entire hotel party gathered together. It wasn't somewhere I could take these tribespeople by myself. In fact, if it was that dangerous, they wouldn't go even if I, a “Divine Human,” told them to.
My head was beginning to hurt more and more. I didn't know whether it was the aftereffects of using the Grimoire while relying on my weakened Status Window, or the frustration of not knowing what I was supposed to do.
* * *
After returning to the tent and sitting on the relatively soft bed, I naturally began thinking of my companions.
Were they all doing well? Being well in an environment like this was a luxury.
Were they even alive?
With the broken Status Window, there was no way to know whether my companions had survived or died. Thinking about the current environment, where blessings were broken but Inheritances and tools still worked, I considered each of their situations.
A-ri and Song-i should be fine.
A-ri was the type who fought using only her Inheritance inside a Curse Room from the start. She'd probably managed to deal with monsters like the Gnashing Teeth somehow. She'd been fighting monsters for much longer than I had.
Song-i was likely with Pero. Affinity had weakened, making it harder for her to communicate with Pero, but if she made good use of the bracelet and Pero's power, she could handle most monsters well enough.
Grandpa Mook-seong and Doctor didn't have Inheritances, so it wouldn't be as easy for them as it was for those two. Still, they had exceptional physical ability and experience as weapons.
The setting of this world was the Stone Age. Just looking at the food they brought to me, a “Divine Human,” showed how severe the food shortage was. Because of that, even the tribe's greatest warriors were barely over 170 centimeters tall and had slight builds.
Among people like that, Grandpa, who possessed the Arm of an Abras Warrior, could easily handle five or six warriors with one arm alone. Doctor, who had once been in the special forces, was no different. With their sound judgment and long combat experience, they had likely dealt with monsters somehow too.
The problem came after that. Jin-cheol and Eun-sol seemed likely to endure, but both had troubling factors.
If Jin-cheol's blessing and body were fine, he would be the safest person among us. His physical strength alone would be enough to make the tribespeople follow him, and he was the kind of person who could beat a monster like the Gnashing Teeth, which I'd struggled desperately against, to death with his fists.
The issue was his physical condition. Before entering the room, hadn't he used his Inheritance while his blessing was broken? I was worried about how he was doing. He might already be dead.
I was worried about Eun-sol too. She possessed various tools, including Inheritances, and above all, she had Top Chef's Charisma, so controlling the tribespeople should be easy. But monsters were the problem. Could she fight monsters like the Gnashing Teeth?
As for Seung-yeop... Let's just hope he isn't dead yet. No matter how I thought about it, I wasn't even sure the tribespeople would trust and follow him.
I was worried about Elena in a different sense. She had pushed Ominous Imagination to its limit while unable to use Clear Mirror, Still Water. Was she still sane? She hadn't become something like a Demon King, had she? Surely she hadn't killed all the tribespeople with her own hands?
Primitive humans at this Stone Age level couldn't possibly stand against Elena wielding Ominous Imagination! If she made moth-like creatures again, even a hundred thousand primitive humans would be wiped out.
“... Let's just escape. We can try to solve it at the Next Chance. More importantly, I wonder who was subjected to Sealing. It wasn't me, at least. It would be better if Elena was the one subjected to Sealing.”
--- Thud!
“Who is it? Old Wolf Claw?”
“Um... May I come in?”
It was a lively voice completely unlike Old Wolf Claw's deep one.
The next moment, the most shocking thing since entering this room happened!
A girl who was almost half-naked entered my tent with a bashful smile.
* * *
- Lee Eun-sol
“Burn it all. Tell them anyone greedy for the meat will be executed without exception.”
“Yes!”
It had been a hard time.
I'd suddenly woken up in the middle of the Stone Age, surrounded by primitive people who looked down on me as if weak women couldn't be trusted. Remembering the ridiculous standoff I'd had with that huge primitive man called Brutal Bear, who was supposedly some kind of violent bear or violent bastard, made me laugh in disbelief.
What? He wanted me to marry him and give birth to the “Divine Human's heir”?
That big-headed bear bastard. I should've smashed him!
“How is Brutal Bear doing?”
“Ugh! Well... His stomach was pierced at the end, so... he did not survive the night.”
“Ah! What a shame. Brutal Bear died so well-”
“Pardon?”
Oh! Watch what I say! I needed to remember that guy was treated as a hero in this tribe.
“I mean, Brutal Bear did a great service by searching the plains so well and finding the Five-Legged Bull. His bravery will be an example to us all!”
Yeah! He died well!
I'd wondered if that tough bastard might survive. If he did, I'd have to use the Invisibility Badge and go kill him in the middle of the night. Still, dying to the monster bull that had threatened the tribe was probably a more honorable death for him.
Now, calm down.
Brutal Bear had been gored to death by a bull bigger than a truck, and the other tribespeople had already fallen to their knees after watching me use the Invisibility Badge to approach the bull before knocking it unconscious with the Butterfly Brooch. The greatest danger had passed.
More importantly, I had to think about where to go now. According to the tribe's legends, there was a sacred land beyond the Sunset Mountain Range...
Should I go there?
But the moment I suggested crossing the Sunset Mountain Range, the tribespeople turned pale and said it was a hell where sinners went after death. A mountain range couldn't possibly be the afterlife, but...
Thinking about it, this was a place completely different from Earth. Could it really be the afterlife?
Either way, whether it was the afterlife or not, it seemed certain that it was overflowing with horrifying beings.
As I walked across the plains, I looked up at the clear morning sky and spotted a strange shape.
“What is that? Hey! Black Hand!”
“Yes?”
“What is that?”
Black Hand looked up at the sky with me and seemed confused.
“What do you mean? The clouds?”
Black Hand couldn't see it.
I gradually shifted the focus of my eyes farther away.
A dark blue shape that human vision could never observe, no matter how many times someone died and came back, slowly began to come into view. But it wasn't enough yet. Just a little more strength. Only a little.
... My eyes felt hot. An intense pain struck my head, as though someone had shoved a needle into my head and stirred it wildly.
At the moment the Eye of the Monocular Giant Bird reached its limit, I saw a god soaring through the sky.
Footnotes:
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