WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 286: Meeting for Progress, Entering the Second Film
──────
- Han Ga-in
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 132
Current Location: Level 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
After successfully finishing the first film, we gathered around the refreshment table to talk. Elena had an interesting reaction after hearing how Song-i had handled it.
“I-I didn't realize there were so many hidden elements. I never thought Lady Evelyn would be that kind of character. And the Empress was behind it all.... I was thinking too simply.”
Her pride seemed a little hurt. It was different from when she'd failed in a Curse Room. It was probably because the setting had been a movie. In other words, a professional had let her guard down and failed in an instant, only for an ordinary person to solve it.
I felt like I should encourage her a little.
“Elena, this wasn't your fault. The first attempt always starts without any information. I think it's structured so the people who come after can clear it after seeing what the person before them did wrong.”
“Thank you, Ga-in. But.... Honestly, I don't think I found out that much during my first attempt. I just failed without accomplishing anything, while Song-i figured out almost everything and even solved it.”
The mood was starting to grow a little heavy. Then Eun-sol lightened it with a casual remark.
“Come on! Come on! We solved it anyway, so there's no reason to blame yourself. I think we just need to immerse ourselves in it better.”
Elena smiled faintly and nodded.
“I feel the same. Looking back, I was so thrown off when I first saw the Crown Prince that it broke my immersion in the film. I never imagined he would be such a little child. Once I lost that immersion, I think I started acting carelessly. I hope everyone else will be careful.”
A-ri naturally changed the subject.
“Looks like that's it for today, but we have to enter somewhere again tomorrow. Do you want to go back into Hotel Cinema?”
Silence settled over the group for a moment.
The room we'd originally been progressing through was Room 203. The problem was that Room 203 had been the most physically demanding room we'd ever experienced. That was why we'd switched to Room 204.
Hotel Cinema wasn't physically demanding. Only one person entered at a time, and even the longest film ended within four hours. It couldn't compare to Room 203, where we had to spend nearly a month struggling through the primitive age.
Still, the fact that our inner thoughts were exposed bothered me more than it should have.
... Elena still didn't know about that. Having our inner thoughts exposed was an embarrassing subject for everyone, so Song-i had avoided mentioning it, and we hadn't gone out of our way to bring it up either.
Eun-sol spoke.
“Room 204 has its own difficulties, but isn't it much better than surviving for a month in the primitive age?”
Jin-cheol shook the bag of popcorn that was still half full.
“Popcorn is a million times tastier than tree bark. I think we should keep pushing through Room 204 too.”
Everyone quickly came to the same conclusion.
Spend a month in the primitive age drinking foul water and eating food scraps, or go through three or four hours of embarrassment. Even I had no choice but to pick the latter.
A-ri added another reason.
“Do you remember the reward when we cleared Room 106, the Mission Room on Level 1? It gave us one hint for solving another Curse Room. Room 204's reward might have something like that too. So let's solve Hotel Cinema first.”
We decided to enter Hotel Cinema again tomorrow. The second film was Guardian of the Wall.
The Doctor gave his opinion.
“You must remember that the genre of tomorrow's film has already been determined. The Guide said it was a war movie. The kind of... sophistry that worked today won't work.”
A-ri snickered.
“That's too bad. Still, I can't tell the time period just from the title Guardian of the Wall.”
I'd been thinking the same thing, so I spoke up.
“Yeah. It could be a premodern war where they fight with melee weapons, or a fantasy war with magic and supernatural abilities. Or it could be a modern war centered around a wall like the Maginot Line.”
“Who should go in first?”
Everyone took a moment to think.
Hotel Cinema was subtly similar to a Curse Room. In particular, clearing it on the first attempt was nearly impossible.
The person entering first tomorrow had to face an unknown enemy without knowing whether they'd wield a sword, use magic, or fire a gun.
Grandpa gave a cold assessment.
“We should treat the first attempt as gathering information rather than clearing it. Let's be realistic. Someone who could be considered expendable should go in first.”
“Grandpa, calling someone expendable is a bit....”
“Jin-cheol, it means neither you nor Ga-in should go in first. We don't know what shape the war will take, but if it's premodern combat, Jin-cheol can show off his strength like Xiang Yu. If it's modern warfare, Ga-in's Possession would be extremely powerful.”
“Actually, I was considering bringing my blessing into the horror movie. You seem to have forgotten, but it's difficult to use the Grimoire properly without the protection of the Status Window.”
“For someone saying that, didn't you use Possession just fine even when your blessing was broken?”
“In my experience, Possession itself is still somewhat usable. Maybe because I've grown stronger? But Avatar's power is too much. I think I'd go mad and die if I used it.”
“Isn't Possession alone enough? For example, take over the body of a fighter pilot.”
“I don't know how to fly a plane.”
“Who cares about flying it? Even if you just crash it, that's a huge profit.”
--- Tap!
A-ri drew everyone's attention.
“Stop talking about who goes second or later. We need to choose the first person to enter tomorrow. What Mook-seong said makes sense. Realistically, Ga-in and Jin-cheol should be placed later in the order. For the record, I think I absolutely have to go into the horror movie, so I'm out too. Who wants to go first in the war movie?”
I thought about the remaining members.
Elena and Song-i had already used their chances. Seung-yeop might fit a horror movie, but a war movie didn't seem right for him. It was a bad pick, you could say. The same was true for Eun-sol.
Just as the protagonist had naturally been a woman for the romance film's progression, an adult man would probably fit more naturally in a war movie. Since there was a judge who preferred a “natural progression,” we couldn't ignore that. Even if the first entrant was considered expendable, a bad enough pick to make normal progression impossible wouldn't even gather proper information.
With me, Jin-cheol, and A-ri excluded, the people best suited to enter the war movie first were the Doctor, who had served in the special forces, and Grandpa, who had a wide range of experiences.
As everyone's eyes naturally turned to the two of them, the Doctor raised his hand first.
“I should go in first.”
Grandpa spoke.
“Wouldn't I be better? It feels like a waste for you to go in first too....”
“Elder, even if the first person can't solve it, they need to find out as much information as possible. To do that, they need the ability to move around freely.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wouldn't being a doctor be an advantage in that regard?”
“Hmm....”
Now that he mentioned it, it was convincing.
No matter the era, doctors were always welcome on a battlefield. Under the pretext of treatment, he could move freely anywhere on the battlefield, and depending on the situation, he might meet wounded enemy prisoners or even high-ranking officials from his own side.
Eun-sol slapped the table.
“Good. Tomorrow, Sang-hyeon will enter the second film first. We can decide the next order based on the information he finds. Does anyone else have something to say?”
I spoke immediately.
“About the Advice, I'm thinking of asking about LEGO.”
A-ri responded.
“You mean asking what standards it uses to judge us? That's a good idea. Ask right away.”
‘What standards does the Mysterious Craftsman, the third judge of Hotel Cinema, use to evaluate us?’
[This question will use all 3 remaining Advice. Would you like to ask?]
I had a feeling this would happen. Asking about a judge's evaluation criterion was a question a level higher than questions about the developments within a film. Even so, I had to get an answer. When I indicated that I would use them all, a response appeared.
[Advice: 3 -> 0]
[Consider what LEGO is.]
“... Ah.”
“What's wrong?”
“I just used all three Advice.”
“I thought that might happen. So what was the answer?”
“It said to consider what LEGO is.”
A-ri leaned back in her chair with a tired expression.
“... Looks like your Sponsor has gotten into Zen riddles again, Ga-in. Is your Sponsor Socrates or something?”
“What is LEGO?”
Seung-yeop spoke for the first time.
“It's a toy?”
“What is a toy?”
“Something you play with?”
“What does it mean to play with something-”
“Enough! Ga-in, stop talking like the Owl too! I'm tired, so let's split up and get some rest for today.”
That concluded the meeting. The next day, the Doctor entered Guardian of the Wall first.
* * *
- Kim Sang-hyeon
...
...
My head hurt. Someone was shaking me-
“General! General!”
“... Ugh! Where am I?”
“You're awake! Someone! General Kim has awakened! Report the General's recovery to headquarters immediately!”
“Yes!”
Sitting on a hard wooden bed, I looked around. Judging by the clothes of the people walking around, the bed, and the shape of the dwelling, the setting seemed to be a premodern East Asian-style world. It was a little disappointing. Since the war I had experienced was modern warfare, I had hoped for a war movie set in modern times.
Should I pretend to have amnesia and gather information?
No. From the circumstances, my rank was General. If I pretended to have amnesia, there was a high chance they would restrict my movements under the pretext of preventing a decline in morale. It would be better to act as though I was in good health if I wanted to gather information.
I hope everyone avoids making this mistake.
“Someone!”
“General, give your orders.”
“Report what happened while I was unconscious. How is the battle going?”
Soon, several warriors wearing traditional Eastern armor entered and began talking about this and that. After listening for a while, I was able to grasp the rough outline of the situation.
First, the setting was a premodern East Asian cultural sphere.
Second, the “Wall” was a border fortification built by the Jincheon Empire, which I belonged to.
Third, the enemy was a people called the Durkai. They seemed to be nomads, and a general named Murtanie was apparently extremely dangerous.
Fourth, in short, this appeared to be a film about a premodern Chinese-style empire and a nomadic people-
* * *
The audience listened to the lengthy, well-organized “explanation” with their mouths hanging half open.
“N-no! Sang-hyeon! This is way too much exposition!”
Ga-in agreed with Eun-sol.
“... It feels like the Doctor entered the film not as a character, but entirely to explain things to us.”
Song-i looked uneasy.
“I think immersing yourself in the film is important for solving it....”
Mook-seong, on the other hand, understood Sang-hyeon's intentions.
“That guy probably thinks he can't solve it anyway. Since he won't be the one clearing it, his goal isn't immersion. He's just trying to gather as much information as he can and pass it on to us.”
A-ri summed up every audience member's thoughts in one line.
“An exposition addict got into the movie.”
“W-wait! More importantly, what is this? Why can I hear people's inner thoughts?”
No one answered Elena's shocked question.
* * *
There was one unexpected detail in my subordinates' report.
“Someone tried to poison me?”
“Yes. Three days ago, someone tampered with the General's meal.”
“The culprit? Have they been caught?”
“Well....”
This situation was already exhausting. Someone had put poison in my food to kill me, and they hadn't even caught the culprit. That meant I had to be careful every time I ate from now on.
Everyone, please be careful about this. Cha Jin-cheol may have resistance to poison, but Ga-in could die while eating before he even gets to use Possession.
* * *
“... Forget Sang-hyeon's immersion, mine just got ruined.”
Footnotes:
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