WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 320: Re-entering Room 203
──────
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 138
Current Location: Level 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
Early in the morning, I woke up, stepped outside Room 105, and recalled what had happened the night before.
If the being Mi-ro summoned with the watch died, we would die too. Last night, another me had learned that information and passed it on to me.
I understood that much.
The strange part came next. We had been talking normally when he suddenly said, 「You must never meet me.」 Then he didn't say anything else!
What the hell was going on? Why make me curious and then not tell me why? We hadn't even met in the first place, had we?
Several possibilities came to mind.
Could Mi-ro notice conversations between a summoned being and its original? Did the watch have a function like that too? Once I considered that Mi-ro had already hidden one function from us, one suspicion led to another.
Or would we die the moment we met? There were urban legends about doppelgangers like that. But if it was dangerous, why hadn't he told me?
Just as my head was starting to hurt, everyone gathered. We finished a simple breakfast and began the meeting.
「If Mi-ro does not tell everyone this tomorrow morning, be wary of her.」
Because of what I had seen yesterday, I watched Mi-ro closely. Fortunately, the moment the meeting began, she raised her hand and told everyone.
“So everyone needs to be careful! Just because I summoned someone, don't go charging at an enemy all of a sudden.”
Jin-cheol widened his eyes.
“That really is surprising. You didn't know that yesterday?”
“Yeah... I received a whole lot of complicated explanations when I got the watch, so I didn't realize it. I figured it out while I was alone in my room.”
“Time Lender is a very complicated Inheritance, after all.”
That sounded like a lie, but the others did not seem particularly suspicious of Mi-ro.
She had told us herself, and Time Lender really was an extremely complicated Inheritance. It was possible even its user hadn't understood it right away.
Another reason was probably that Mi-ro sometimes acted less like a middle school student and more like an elementary school student.
Eun-sol naturally changed the subject.
“Good! We understand Time Lender's characteristics now, right? Let's talk about the next room. We gathered this early because we're going to a Curse Room later.”
“Which room would be best?”
At the Doctor's question, Eun-sol glanced around at everyone.
“Shouldn't it be Room 203 now? We passed it before because it was too difficult...”
We were quite different from back then. By the calendar, only a week had passed, but one week in the hotel was enough time for creation itself to happen seven times over.
More seriously, the biggest factor was that our blessings had recovered. We had developed a rough idea of what Seung-yeop's Primordial Human could do. He had suffered the most back then. My Scenario Understanding could get another chance to shine too.
Mi-ro joining us was a significant change as well. Time Lender would be a great help in overcoming Room 203's challenge, where simply regrouping was extremely difficult.
And...
Eun-sol voiced the thought that had crossed everyone's mind.
“Let me be honest. What if we kill the A-ri Mi-ro summons with Time Lender?”
A-ri yawned as she spoke.
“If possible, kill me without hurting me too much. You know I won't die easily even if my arms and legs are cut off, right? The head. Go for the head.”
Before we had even entered the Curse Room, our “companions” were studying how to kill one another, while A-ri explained how to kill herself. I suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
Mi-ro adapted to this insane atmosphere better than expected.
“Then, should I hit A-ri on the head with a hammer the moment I summon her? Like this?”
I had no idea where she'd gotten it, but Mi-ro lightly tapped A-ri's head with a small hand hammer. Even A-ri was speechless for a moment.
“... Mi-ro. Seriously, just explain the situation to me. I already know everything about this situation anyway. If you explain it, I'll kill myself.”
“Okay.”
“... Put the hammer away.”
“W-wait!”
It felt like they were smoothly settling on killing A-ri, so I stopped them.
“I think everyone has forgotten, but Sealing was created to be undone, not to make someone disappear. For some reason, the sealed A-ri fought us like an Adversary in Room 203, but...”
Eun-sol nodded.
“That's true. If we restore A-ri's mind in that situation, she'd surely give us a lot of information to solve the room.”
Everyone fell silent in thought. During that pause, I recalled Room 203 again.
In the primordial age, beyond the mountain range, there were traces of a ruined civilization and a rampaging, mad A-ri.
There was an unknown whale-like being in the sky. Simply floating through the sky, it created abundance.
I still didn't know why, but following the whale's shadow meant escape.
... I didn't know. I had no grasp of what was happening in Room 203.
I recalled what the Owl had told us after we came out of Room 203. Had it told us not to insist on failed choices, but to focus on the choices that had brought results?
“What if we all follow the whale's shadow this time? I think that's what the Advice told us to do.”
A-ri offered a slightly different opinion.
“The Owl did advise us that way, but did it necessarily mean everyone should follow it?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if half of us follow the whale and secure an escape route, while the rest try to undo my Sealing?”
“Hmm...”
No one could reach an easy conclusion.
I considered using Advice to ask one more question, but stopped. We had to enter another Curse Room today, and using it before we even went in made me uneasy. Besides, with so little information, it was hard to know what to ask.
Then we heard a strange sound.
--- Bzzzt!
“What was that?”
“That! That! The hotel TV turned on!”
“Huh?”
Everyone looked toward the display hanging on the wall.
A video suddenly began playing on the screen. A woman in white mourning clothes crawled out of a well. She slowly approached the screen and reached out her hand.
--- Bang!
“Ah, fucking hell!”
Grandpa, irritated, shot the screen to pieces. Jin-cheol slapped his forehead.
“I guess it's telling us to go in already! That's ridiculous.”
The meeting ended quickly. Realistically, there was nothing more to discuss.
We would each be scattered throughout a primordial world, leading groups of primitive people in different parts of the continent. Would we really be able to follow any plan we made beforehand?
There were too many variables. In the end, we would have to rely heavily on our own judgment in the moment.
“Then, one last time! I'll borrow some time. Hotel! You know you need to wait for this, right?”
Mi-ro used Time Lender to borrow time from A-ri and me.
An hour later, I regained consciousness and found the surroundings were a complete mess. A-ri and I both froze when we saw the corpses of three monster monkeys, like the ones we had seen on the hotel's first day, scattered around us.
“... What on earth is this?”
“Enough talk, hurry and go in. I waited because I didn't know what would happen if we entered the Curse Room while you two were gone, but those monkey bastards came out again in the meantime.”
--- Click!
* * *
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 138
Current Location: Level 2, Room 203, Curse Room ‘A New Beginning’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
...
...
...
My body wouldn't move. My vision was blurry, and I could barely hear anything.
What was this? Full-body paralysis and Sensory Block? Had I been Sealed? That couldn't be right.
What the hell was this...
--- Hissss!
With the strange sound of a gas valve opening, heat began spreading through my entire body.
First, my sense of touch returned, letting me know my body was trapped in an extremely narrow place. Then my vision and hearing returned to normal.
I heard something open and saw a human-like figure outside. By the time I could finally move my body sluggishly, “A-ri” approached me.
What? Wasn't A-ri Sealed? I was about to ask what this was when...
[Advice: 3 -> 2]
[Keep your mouth shut and observe the situation.]
“Mr. Han Ga-in, are you awake?”
“...”
“Mr. Han Ga-in?”
“...”
“Hmm... It seems you are having trouble understanding the situation. Don't worry. This sometimes happens when someone wakes from a long period of Cryogenic Sleep.”
The being before me wasn't A-ri. It was something using A-ri's body!
The other party seemed to think there was something wrong with my memory. Taking advantage of that, I cautiously asked.
“You... who are you?”
The being using A-ri's body smiled brightly.
“Oh! You forgot that too? I'm the main AI of the Pride of Humanity. Call me Pride.”
Pride?
“Mr. Han Ga-in, let's get moving for now. Your memories should return as you walk through the spaceship. And there's a reason I woke you.”
Wasn't Room 203 set in the primordial age? What was the Pride of Humanity all of a sudden? A spaceship with a main AI? Had this suddenly become science fiction?
Holding onto my dazed mind, I followed Pride and asked.
“... Why did you wake me?”
“Something has happened to Adravita. I don't know whether you remember this part, but Mr. Han Ga-in and Ms. Yoo Song-i were in charge of communicating with Adravita.”
What was Adravita supposed to be now?
... As I walked down the pure white corridor, I thought.
First, the scenario had changed. I had experienced that once in Room 102, the House of Horror. Looking back, the circumstances were similar. In Room 102, the scenario changed after A-ri and Grandpa joined us following our first attempt.
Was it because Mi-ro had joined us this time? But why? Mi-ro wasn't even a character within the scenario.
Second, a being called Pride was occupying A-ri's body. Judging by the circumstances, it seemed to be the Adversary that had fought us during our first attempt, but it didn't seem hostile now.
Then was this far in the past compared to the first attempt? Were the things Seung-yeop had seen that resembled Protective Suits actually spacesuits from this spaceship?
Third, where were the other companions? Were they all in Cryogenic Sleep? How could I wake them? If I asked the AI, would it wake them?
Still confused, I activated Scenario Understanding when Pride suddenly turned around and asked.
“You've seemed to be staring into empty space for a while now. Can you see something strange?”
I knew on instinct. No, it wasn't just a feeling. Earlier, when I unwittingly tried to speak to Pride as though it were A-ri, Advice had activated immediately.
Danger Alert only activated when my life was in danger. Therefore, Pride was dangerous.
“What do you mean? I was just thinking.”
“Is that so? My apologies. The truth is, Adravita has been trying to contaminate the spaceship for the past few days.”
“... Contaminate it?”
“I was worried that Mr. Han Ga-in might've been contaminated too.”
“...”
- Click!
Pride grabbed the doorknob of a huge room and turned back again.
“Mr. Han Ga-in, please. As you know, this one refuses to communicate with me. Activate your mental protection to the maximum.”
“What should I do?”
“I will go in with you, so please relay what I say.”
I hastily spread the Status Window's Filter across my entire field of vision as the door opened.
Beyond it, I saw a gigantic eye.
Footnotes:
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