WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 294: The Secret of Winged Boots Materials and a Meeting for the Final Film
──────
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 133
Current Location: Level 2, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
After somehow making it through the second film amid all that confusion, I was finally able to meet the Doctor and Jin-cheol again.
Unlike the Doctor, who seemed a little offended but still thanked us for saving him, Jin-cheol's reaction was pure emptiness.
“Wow... What the hell was that? I was so immersed, I thought there'd never be a more glorious moment in my life...”
Even those of us watching could tell how deeply Jin-cheol had been immersed in the film. He'd thought it was one of the brightest moments of his life, only for the ending to suddenly hit him with a hair-growth treatment commercial. What could he possibly be thinking now?
After Grandfather snickered and comforted Jin-cheol, we decided to go down to the first floor and rest.
“Jin-cheol! Come to think of it, what was that transformation during the movie? You suddenly turned into something like a black panther. Was that a blessing granted by the founder of the empire?”
Jin-cheol looked back at me like he had no idea what I was talking about.
“What are you talking about? What transformation?”
Everyone stopped walking.
* * *
It was strange.
Jin-cheol didn't remember transforming at all. When we told him his skin had turned into black scales while he was on Kurta, he was even more shocked than we were.
“So that's why the hair-growth treatment commercial appeared at the end? Because my body transformed and I lost my hair, so it had to grow back?”
Eun-sol nodded.
“That’s what I think.”
“Fuck! They ruined the ending for such a stupid reason? Fine, what's done is done, but why don't I remember any of it?”
“Those of us watching did feel like a scene had been cut midway through, but I didn't think you'd be completely unaware too.”
There was only one ability worth using in a situation like this.
[Advice: 3 -> 2]
‘Why did Cha Jin-cheol lose his memories related to the transformation?’
[It is merely the pointless act of one with narrow vision. There is no need to worry about it.]
“What kind of answer is that?”
Everyone was looking at me, so I repeated the message exactly. While everyone tilted their heads in confusion, A-ri reacted brightly.
“Let’s go eat!”
“...”
“It says there’s no need to worry. That means the Sponsor doesn't consider it an important problem.”
* * *
During the meal, A-ri spoke with an amused expression.
“Listen, everyone. Any changes that happen to our bodies inside a Curse Room reset once we get out. Jin-cheol's change naturally disappeared once he came out of the movie too.”
“I guess Mission Rooms are similar to Curse Rooms in that respect.”
“If his hair would grow back once we got out anyway, why did they force in that hair-growth treatment commercial?”
... Right.
Now that she mentioned it, A-ri's words made sense.
Let’s say that, after defeating Kurta, Jin-cheol became qualified to receive the Hair of a Lightning-Enduring Warrior.
If the problem was that Jin-cheol had lost his hair because scales grew over his body, they could have simply given it to him after he came out. There was no reason to force a hair-growth treatment commercial into the movie’s running time.
“It’s simple. Because rewards are supposed to be given while the movie is in progress. Then why does such a rule exist?”
If there was a rule that Wing Boots materials had to be given inside the movie, that answered one question. But it raised another. Why was there such a bizarre rule in the first place?
Eun-sol, who had been listening until then, suddenly put down her spoon with a disgusted expression.
“... I just thought of something horrible.”
A-ri answered immediately.
“If it’s horrible, then it’s probably right. I was thinking the same thing.”
Grandfather looked tired.
“Don't keep it between you two. Tell me too.”
“Grandfather, the materials for the Wing Boots... What if they're all parts of our bodies?”
Silence fell over the table in an instant.
Eun-sol continued in a gloomy voice.
“The Hair of a Warrior Who Can Withstand Even the Power of Thunderbolts was Jin-cheol's hair, after he endured Kurta's lightning attacks.”
Song-i murmured with her mouth half open.
“Then the Wing Feather of a Bird That Soars Through Typhoons is Pero's feather?”
I opened my mouth in alarm.
“No, hair and feathers are one thing since you can pluck them without much trouble, but what about an eyeball? Are we supposed to pull out someone’s eye?”
Eun-sol's expression grew even gloomier.
“That’s why there’s the rule A-ri realized. Rewards have to be given inside the movie, more precisely, in a place where injuries disappear once you escape. We have to remove the eye inside a movie or a Curse Room. Then it’ll recover the moment we get out.”
I understood.
If the reward was given outside the room, hair and feathers were one thing, but there was no way to deal with an eyeball. Of course, we had ways to treat injuries sustained outside the rooms. Room 105 and the Doctor.
But this wasn't cutting off a finger. It was an eye. Removing an eyeball while relying solely on Room 105 or the Doctor was far too dangerous.
... I had a feeling I knew whose eye would have to be removed.
Among us, there was only one person with eyes special enough to be mentioned as a reward material.
Everyone stared at Eun-sol, who had lowered her head in dread. Nobody could bring themselves to say anything, and we hesitated awkwardly until the only cheerful voice among us spoke up.
“Let’s test it out!”
“Grandfather?”
“We can't just pull out an eyeball out of the blue, can we? Even if Eun-sol's hypothesis is right, we can't pull one out anytime we want. It has to be done while ‘contemplating all things from the summit.’ The conditions themselves are complicated.”
“That’s...”
“So we need to test whether the hypothesis is right. Look there! That arrogant parrot! Throw it into a typhoon!”
--- Screech!
The parrot, which had been dozing through the entire movie, jolted awake and shouted. Grandfather looked happier than ever.
“The moment I see something resembling a typhoon, I'll throw it in, so don't worry. We only need to pluck as many feathers as that bastard has plucked from my head!”
“G-Grandfather! That’s terrible animal abuse!”
“Song-i, have you forgotten how that bastard has abused my hair all this time?”
Song-i couldn't say anything else.
* * *
Around evening, we discussed whether to enter another movie tomorrow. The Guide had openly warned us that horror films would be on a completely different level.
Eun-sol gave her opinion.
“The Guide did make it sound rather threatening, but... Curse Rooms are just as dangerous. Besides, we still have a lot of people left, don't we?”
I answered right away.
“That's right. There are still five of us: A-ri, Seung-yeop, you, Grandfather, and me.”
“Even so, isn't Hotel Cinema on the easier side? That's how I felt. We cleared both the first and second films in just two attempts.”
A-ri nodded.
“Right. I think Hotel Cinema is a little easier too. I think I know why as well.”
“Why?”
A-ri glanced at the Doctor before speaking.
“Because all nine of us are still alive and well.”
The Doctor chuckled.
“I see. That really is a huge factor. Think about it. Say two people died on the first floor like in an old party, then another two died fighting after reaching the second floor. If only four or five people entered the cinema, there would already be only one chance left.”
I nodded without thinking.
“That makes sense. I thought it was a solo game where we couldn't help each other, but in that sense, it's team play too. If everyone has maintained a good relationship so far, there are more chances, so it becomes easier?”
Elena brought up something else.
“Being able to persuade the judges is important too. Honestly, both times were originally failures, weren't they? We basically argued our way into passing. The Souvenir Girl is unexpectedly reasonable, and the Guide doesn't seem able to push something completely unfair.”
Grandfather sighed.
“In that regard, that Merchant bastard was the biggest piece of shit. You can just assume there's no persuading him.”
“Well, we pass as long as the other two give us a passing grade.”
Everyone gradually agreed that Hotel Cinema was easier than expected and that we should enter again tomorrow. Since I still had Advice left, I asked once.
Of course, I didn't ask about the contents of the movie. It wouldn't answer a question like that.
[Advice: 2 -> 1]
‘What should we be careful about in the final movie? I am not asking about its contents.’
[Ask the Guide in detail why horror films are difficult.]
“Huh?”
“What did the Owl say?”
“It says to ask in detail why horror movies are difficult.”
“Hmm... What could that mean?”
I thought it over from every angle, but no answer came easily.
“It told us to ask, so let's ask tomorrow. That's all we can do.”
This wasn't a problem we could solve by worrying among ourselves, so we decided to ask tomorrow. The final topic of the meeting was, “Who goes in first?”
This time, Grandfather looked gloomy.
“I'll go first.”
“...”
“You all understand by now. The people most likely to clear it should go later. Someone who'd have trouble clearing it anyway has to go first, find out some of the variables, and die.”
Eun-sol interrupted.
“Not to mention Ga-in and A-ri, but Seung-yeop's Luck is obviously a useful ability in a horror movie, so he should go later too. That means Grandfather and I should go first, but... Why don't I go first?”
“You have an Inheritance. You're better off than I am, so you should go later.”
“Is there any guarantee that an Inheritance will help?”
“It’s a horror movie. How could an Inheritance that neutralizes mental attacks not help? You’re being too hard on yourself.”
“I-Is that so?”
Grandfather was chosen as the first person to enter tomorrow. With that, the meeting ended.
* * *
Late that night, I was looking out over the snowy field on the second floor when I saw a blizzard, much weaker than before but still thick enough to blur my vision.
Wasn't a blizzard a kind of typhoon too?
As it happened, I had one use of Advice left.
[Advice: 1 -> 0]
‘About the Wing Boots materials, can't we just throw Pero over there and pluck its feathers?’
We could pluck feathers anyway, right? Wasn't it a hassle to pluck parrot feathers while enduring trials in a Curse Room?
[... Try it.]
Somehow, I didn't think that was it.
* * *
The next day, we entered Room 204 again to clear the final movie. Following the Owl's advice, we asked why horror films were difficult, and the Guide answered readily.
“What? You’re suddenly asking that now?”
“Haha! Why are you like this, Miss Eun-sol? When you think about it, it isn't such an unusual change. Didn't you ever think that what you've had until now was preferential treatment?”
“Preferential treatment?”
“It was. In the first two films, you received excessive benefits that didn't exist in Curse Rooms. We're simply taking those benefits away now.”
“...”
“You don't need to be so afraid. Aren't these conditions more familiar to you? Curse Rooms have always worked this way.”
The final film, Scary Story, progressed in real time.
“Until now, you could estimate how far along you were based on the movie's running time. When a scene appeared to be ordinary, you could predict that a hidden danger would be present. Those benefits are gone now.”
“...”
“Of course, the audience outside watches a fully edited film. But those who enter experience it in real time. Five hours may pass, ten hours may pass, or perhaps a week. There are no skipped scenes, so there is no easy way to tell whether you are currently in danger.”
“...”
“But this is a Mission Room. You still have the option of retreating. Will you withdraw? Why not go to another room?”
“I'll just go in. What would be the point of changing now?”
“Then we shall begin. Participant Kim Mook-seong, please enter.”
As promised, Grandfather stepped forward with a stiff expression.
The movie, Scary Story, began.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
