WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 40: The Sanctuary of Blessings, Entering Room 104

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 14

Current Location: Level ???, Sanctuary of Blessings

Sage’s Advice: 3]

It was a strange place. Was it because this was a sanctuary?

A starlike radiance poured down from an endlessly high sky.

On the ground stood a massive concentration of light, along with a display like the ones we had seen throughout the hotel.

At least, it didn't feel dangerous.

Just as I began to relax, text appeared on the display.

/Congratulations on reaching the Sanctuary of Blessings!

Here, challengers may come to understand and strengthen their Blessings.

But only those qualified for strengthening may do so./

Unlike the hotel’s usual notices, which buried us in flowery language and left us confused, the sanctuary’s notice was brief and clear.

We could understand and strengthen our Blessings. Strengthening required qualifications.

Everyone stood there in a daze for a moment before grasping the situation.

“This... doesn't seem like a particularly dangerous place, does it? It looks like a place that literally helps us with our Blessings.”

“Understanding and strengthening. Both sound good, right? Some people, like me, had their Status Window pop up and make it clear, like, Ah, this is my Blessing! But some people still don't even know what their Blessing is. And strengthening is obviously great.”

“What a relief. Honestly, everyone else got something like a superpower, but all I got was this vague word, ‘Justice,’ without anything else. It was so frustrating.”

“But what does ‘qualified for strengthening’ mean? We don't even know what getting stronger would do. If I get any stronger than I am now, am I supposed to start punching through concrete?”

“Let's go to that light first. Something will probably pop up when we get there.”

The moment all of us approached the light source, the display changed.

1. Understand 2. Strengthen

Two large words appeared.

I had a feeling I knew what it meant, so I reached out and touched Understand.

It responded immediately. Ah, so it was touch-sensitive.

Han Ga-in (20) - Wisdom → Gaining knowledge needed to survive in the hotel

Cha Jin-cheol (31) - Courage → Physical enhancement

Yoo Song-i (17) - Affinity → Developing affinity toward Chaos Entities

Park Seung-yeop (14) - Luck → Luck that manifests periodically

Lee Eun-sol (32) - Wealth → Access to and supplies from the HP Market

Kim Mook-seong (64) - Communication → Mental connection between participants

Elena (23) - Justice → Punishment of evil people

Kim A-ri (16) - Suggestion → Hypnosis of oneself and others

Most of it was what we had already suspected.

Wisdom, Courage, Affinity, Luck, and Wealth were exactly as we had assumed.

Suggestion was no different from what we had expected, either.

As expected, what everyone found strange was Justice.

“Punishment of evil people?”

“Elena, does that give you any idea what it means?”

“I still have no idea. We've encountered evil beings plenty of times in this hotel, but I've never gained some kind of ability to punish them.”

“I think I might understand a little. It doesn't say ‘evil beings,’ it says ‘evil people.’ Doesn't that mean they have to be at least something like humans? If we look at it that way, the Athanasia aren't human at all, and looking back, the farm family weren't evil beings either. That might be why it didn't activate.”

“Fine, let's say there were no ‘evil humans’ in Room 103, just like Ga-in said. What about the Strange Family in Room 101? They were definitely evil humans. And in the House of Horror in Room 102, the possessed Song-i Elena encountered at the end was definitely an evil human too.”

Room 103 was easy enough to understand, but I had no idea why Justice hadn't activated in Rooms 101 and 102.

As everyone fell silent to think, A-ri spoke.

“Could it require the user to recognize it?”

“Elena has to recognize that the other person is an evil human?”

It sounded convincing.

In the Strange Family scenario in Room 101, Elena's mind had been distorted, so she couldn't have made a normal judgment. She hadn't recognized it.

In the House of Horror scenario in Room 102, she had died in her sleep, so she couldn't have recognized the possessed Song-i's evil.

“If that's true, isn't my Blessing far too restrictive? Even figuring out what's happening in this hotel is incredibly difficult.”

“Noona! Think positively. This hotel works kind of like a game. If it has a lot of conditions, then it must be incredibly powerful when those conditions are met. Otherwise, it wouldn't be balanced!”

Balance.

I couldn't say that was wrong. Going by our reasoning, Elena's Blessing had far more demanding conditions than the others.

If it was that hard to meet those conditions, then the ability had to be correspondingly powerful once they were met. That was the only way it would be balanced.

Having more or less sorted that out, I pressed the next button on the display.

2. Strengthen

Park Seung-yeop, Han Ga-in, and Yoo Song-i are eligible for strengthening. Would you like to proceed? (Yes/No)

Only three people. No one else’s name was there.

The moment we saw the three names, everyone understood what “qualified for strengthening” meant.

They must have made a decisive contribution to escaping or resolving a Curse Room!

In Room 101, Seung-yeop had escaped alone.

In Room 102, I had honestly done almost everything.

In Room 103, Song-i had cleared it by herself.

“That's a little disappointing. I tried to use my head every time too... Still, those three do make sense. Click it. I'm curious what strengthening will do.”

I naturally clicked Yes.

/Enhancement in progress-------------Complete!/

!!!

The radiance illuminating the center of the sanctuary suddenly struck me, Seung-yeop, and Song-i.

In an instant, I felt my consciousness leave my body.

* * *

Ascending.

Ascending.

Ah, was I flying through the sky right now?

Was this what an out-of-body experience felt like?

I had no body now.

Something, my consciousness alone, rose endlessly upward.

Not upward in a physical sense, but upward in a more fundamental sense.

A place that truly transcended the earth.

A land that existed nowhere.

At some point, the ascent stopped.

A massive bird stood before me.

An owl.

I stared at it absentmindedly, then realized it looked familiar.

The night before I entered the hotel. The statue I had picked up. It resembled that shape.

“You have been disappointing lately.”

Was it speaking to me?

“I did not think you a fool, yet you failed to see through even Athanasia’s simple trickery.”

Was it talking about Room 103?

“Still, you were not bad at the mansion. Taken together, I shall judge you to have potential.”

Who was this to judge me?

“Let us say I am your sponsor. You will see me several more times in the future...”

“I shall give you a little more. Next time, I hope you will at least bring back an Inheritance.”

A brief exchange. No, could it even be called an exchange? It was a one-sided transmission of intent.

From that endlessly lofty space, my consciousness plummeted downward..........

* * *

[Han Ga-in (20) - Wisdom → You can now see your companions’ locations.]

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 15

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

The first thing I checked upon getting out of bed was the date. Day 15.

Absurdly enough, a whole day had been deleted in that brief span.

Three sweet days of rest. I had wanted to spend them with at least a little breathing room...

Day 13 had been spent on the bracelet trial, and the morning of Day 14 on exploration. The afternoon of Day 14 and the morning of Day 15 had simply vanished when I closed and opened my eyes.

It would have been one thing if I had at least heard something nice.

“You have been disappointing. Next time, at least bring back an Inheritance.”

Instead, I had come back after hearing that damned evaluation.

Had I asked to be kidnapped and dragged into a place like this?

I cursed in disbelief, then noticed a new function had appeared in my Status Window.

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 15

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 (Rest Room)

Sage’s Advice: 3

Companion Location Information (!)]

When I checked, it showed that everyone was on Level 1, in the Rest Room.

Would it show more detailed locations once we entered a Curse Room?

It was definitely useful.

It seemed to be mealtime, so I headed toward the dining room and found my companions there.

“Ha! Finally up, huh? Do you have any idea how shocked we were when the three of you suddenly collapsed yesterday? I carried all of you, you punk! Seung-yeop and Song-i woke up ages ago, so I was wondering why you were taking so long.”

“So, Ga-in, did you get anything?”

“Yes. It now says ‘Companion Location Information’ and shows me where all of you are. Right now it only shows the room, but won't it give more detailed locations once we enter a Curse Room?”

Unlike me, who could immediately confirm the change, Song-i and Seung-yeop looked puzzled.

“Hmm... There aren't any Chaos Entities around, so I have no way to check mine.”

“A single opaque window appeared for me. It just says [98%].”

“Looks like it fills up like a cooldown gauge. Once it reaches 100%, you'll probably be able to get lucky whenever you want. At 98%, it's almost full.”

After talking a little more about the changes to our Blessings, I finally ate dinner.

I couldn't help feeling cheated all over again.

I had been dragged here against my will, criticized for not doing well enough, and then had a day of rest taken away.

Even the military wouldn't be this thoughtless.

* * *

After we finished eating, we began our discussion in earnest.

The agenda was what exactly we should order from the HP Market.

“Like I said yesterday, one will be Capsaicin. I've been collecting spray bottles whenever I see them and have made four so far, but I've run out of Capsaicin.”

“Should the other two be weapons too? Like my Tonfa?”

“That's what I'm worried about. Tonfa or any other physical tool is probably worse than Capsaicin spray for the women. Besides, there are bladed decorations all over this hotel. Ga-in just picked up his Silver Dagger in the hotel.”

That made sense.

It wasn't like the HP Market sold guns or proper blades. At best, we could buy a kitchen knife.

Those weren't any better than the bladed weapons decorating the hotel everywhere.

A-ri, who had been quiet, spoke up.

“A lighter.”

“A lighter?”

“I think a tool that can start a fire would be useful somehow. And we haven't seen any lighters while exploring.”

“Not bad. Then one...”

“Noona, since we're not going to use it to light cigarettes anyway, why not get a torch if we're considering it as a weapon?”

“Hyung, wouldn't a torch be too inconvenient to carry around?”

“Then let's get a candle lighter.”

“What's a candle lighter?”

“The kind with the long nozzle they use at barbecue restaurants. You'll know when you see it.”

They discussed various other possibilities afterward, but no one could think of anything suitable for the third item.

In the end, since Capsaicin for making pepper spray was consumable anyway, we ordered two containers of it and chose a lighter as the other item. That brought the day to an end.

The next morning, Day 16, we entered Room 104.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 16

Current Location: Level 1, Room 104 (Curse Room - Hotel High, the Prestigious Academy)

Sage’s Advice: 3]

Ding dong daeng dong~

Familiar school uniforms.

My companions stared around with blank expressions. Countless NPCs played the role of students.

The most carefree time in a high school senior's life, after the college entrance exam and just before university.

I had returned to high school.

And it was a school with the hopeless name Hotel High.

Footnotes:

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