WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 451: Rest Day - ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ (1)

──────

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 479

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 - Rest Room

Sage’s Advice: 0]

- Han Ga-in

Maybe Mi-ro could resist the time distortions that had repeatedly appeared in Room 206.

That realization came as quite a shock to everyone.

Eun-sol soon walked over to the whiteboard.

1. How Ga-in reached A-ri in Deep Paradise.

2. The relationship between the Demon King Cult and the Demon King.

3. The Progenitor's hidden strength.

4. Why Mi-ro was subjected to Sealing.

“Immutability can resist time reversal and time delay! That answers number four. Has anyone thought of answers to the other questions?”

Mr. Sang-hyeon answered.

“I don't think anyone can answer questions two and three right now.”

Last time, the Cult bastards discovered I was a false prophet, so I had to kill them all.

Next time, I'd have to get more information out of them before killing them.

Song-i should probably be more concerned with question three than me.

That only left question one.

My companions' eyes naturally turned to me, and I resumed the explanation I'd been about to give.

- Flap!

“You remember this painting, right? It's Kingdom of Dreams, the reward I received for finding the Painter.”

My companions nodded.

“I'll explain in detail. I'm not sure of the exact date, but a few days ago, while we were inside Room 206, Song-i and I were deeply worried on the surface.”

Song-i nodded in agreement.

“Eun-sol, Seung-yeop, Jin-cheol, and A-ri all went down into Deep Paradise. We hadn't heard anything from them for months, and no one came back up. The people who stayed above were really worried.”

“If they'd died, we could at least have accepted it. But according to Companion Information in the Status Window, everyone was definitely alive, which made it even more confusing.”

For those of us on the surface, who knew nothing about Deep Paradise's time distortion, it had been a baffling situation.

“We held several meetings. Since Song-i had to govern the city and couldn't leave, we even discussed having Elena, Mr. Sang-hyeon, and me go down.”

Mr. Sang-hyeon continued.

“We rejected the idea after discussing it. We didn't anticipate time delay, but it was clear something strange was happening in Deep Paradise. Wouldn't it be a disaster if more people disappeared?”

A-ri tilted her head.

“So the people left above didn't know what was happening in Deep Paradise and were confused? You decided not to go down because more people disappearing would be a problem? And you were going to somehow find an escape method from above?”

“That's right.”

After hearing that much, A-ri raised a perfectly reasonable question.

“Then why did you go down?”

“Because I used the painting by accident. I was so worried all night that I barely slept.”

Once again, everyone's gazes drifted to Kingdom of Dreams, then returned to me.

They were all waiting for my explanation.

“Um...”

“...”

“So, the way you use this painting is...”

“...”

“It's definitely a very mysterious item, but...”

“...”

“Many secrets are hidden within Kingdom of Dreams-”

- Thump!

Grandpa flicked my forehead with his finger as if he couldn't believe me.

“Are you messing with us? Keep letting it steam this long, and you'll have scorched rice in the cooker!”

“T-to put it simply!”

“Put it simply.”

“If certain conditions are met, you can teleport to a companion's location?”

“What conditions?”

“The user and the person at the destination both have to be asleep?”

Everyone went blank for a moment.

“What?”

“For example, if I want to travel to A-ri, both A-ri and I have to be asleep.”

“Traveling while asleep is strange enough, but I wasn't asleep when you appeared. Oh, did you go looking for Mi-ro instead?”

“I don't think so. Mi-ro was under Sealing.”

Wouldn't appearing before a participant under supernatural Sealing as if by teleportation be cheating by the Hotel's standards?

A-ri, who had been flustered, found the answer on her own.

“Does entering the Director's mind count as sleeping? The body couldn't be controlled, and the mind was unconscious.”

“Probably?”

“What do you mean, probably? Be certain for once.”

“I think I need to use it more.”

I'd only used it once so far, so it was hard to be certain about anything.

I needed to use it a few more times.

Tonight would be best, if possible.

...

...

...

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 480

Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 - Rest Room

Sage’s Advice: 333]

- Han Ga-in

“...”

I woke up.

Or maybe not?

[Sage’s Advice: 333]

When I focused, the number of pieces of advice had increased absurdly.

Had my greatness finally begun to overwhelm the Owl?!

“...”

It was just because this was a dream.

After our brief meeting, I put all my effort into having another lucid dream.

Now that I'd succeeded, I could say this, but having a lucid dream was harder than it sounded.

First, you couldn't always dream just because you wanted to.

Second, even if you succeeded in dreaming, waking up within the dream wasn't easy either.

The first part was mostly luck. For the second, you needed what was called a reality check.

You attempt something impossible in reality and succeed, realizing that reality is a dream.

Some people bend their fingers backward, and others spin a top, but I had a much easier method.

[User: God of the Hotel

Date: I decide the date

Current Location: Heaven

Sage’s Advice: Who dares advise me?]

This was it.

“...”

Enough bullshit.

I sat up and examined the painting I'd placed beside my bed yesterday.

“... Phew.”

It looked completely different from how it did outside, in reality.

More dreamlike, more cosmic, and above all...

It was enormous.

The moment I thought the painting was big, it grew even larger before my eyes.

At some point, I realized it had become far larger than the entire room.

Did it make sense for a painting hanging on the wall to become bigger than the room, wall included?

Of course it didn't.

That was why this was a dream.

“Open sesame... Open sesame!”

- Rumble!

As if it had been waiting, the door to the kingdom opened.

* * *

Beyond the door, I see five worlds.

Five worlds as capricious as storms, as wavering as reeds, and as fleeting as foam.

Each world, shaped by the hands of a young creator, resembles a crude model garden. Still, I can see the potential for something greater.

- Whoooooo!

I feel a gaze watching everything from somewhere.

An unknown being that lives within our dreams.

Maybe that is the greatest danger in Kingdom of Dreams.

“Phew... Let's go.”

I pushed those complicated thoughts into a corner of my mind.

Put rationally, those worlds are my companions' dreams, and five people are dreaming right now.

First up.

- Splash!

...

...

...

“High school?”

The first dream I visited, A-ri's, was strangely set in a high school.

I was already wearing a school uniform, and nearby, A-ri was wearing one too, with her head down on her desk.

“How much does she like school that she's attending class even in her dreams?”

It was different from the first time I'd entered A-ri's dream a few days ago.

Back then, I'd been swept into an incomprehensible vortex before suddenly waking up near A-ri...

Was it because this was a real dream, while that had been a fake dream where A-ri entered the Director's mental world?

- Tap!

“Wake up.”

“...”

“A-ri, wake up.”

A-ri blankly raised her head.

“Isn't this amazing? How did I enter your dream? Haha, this is what they call-”

- Crack!

Suddenly, I was looking at the floor.

A-ri charged at me like lightning and struck my neck, snapping it-

“Urrrgh!”

I-it's fine!

This is a dream, so I won't really die!

It doesn't even hurt, so-

“You don't die even if I snap your neck. Then I should use a gun-”

“Aah! Why the hell did you bring a gun to school?!”

- Bang!

“Aah!”

- Bang! Bang!

“Stay still. You keep killing other people.”

“Stop shooting the gun!”

I only managed to wake A-ri after dying three more times.

“Oh! So this is Kingdom of Dreams' power? You can enter a companion's dream... Then when you wake up after entering it, you wake up near that companion's location?”

“Why did you bring a gun to school?”

“To shoot.”

“... Who?”

“Hmm, come here first.”

A-ri beckoned me over, then moved in close and pointed the gun at me.

“Aah!”

“Why are you so startled? It's a dream.”

“E-even so, you're aiming a gun at me...”

“Let's go back to reality together.”

“Huh? No! Not yet.”

“Not yet? Ah, you want to enter other girls' dreams too?”

“That's righ- No, why did you specifically use the word ‘girls’...?”

“Then are you going to enter Jin-cheol's dream?”

“... Let's go. I can make another door from here.”

A moment later, a massive door swallowed the classroom again.

Song-i was next.

* * *

- Crunch! Crunch!

“Yummy!”

“...”

“...”

- Crunch! Gulp!

“It's so sweet!”

“...”

“...”

- Gulp! Shwaaa!

“Ahh, refreshing!”

Song-i was indulging her animal instincts.

There were macarons piled up like mountains, potato chips spread across the floor like carpet, floating tomato penne everywhere, and cola appearing whenever Song-i opened her mouth.

“She looks happy.”

“Yeah.”

In a short time, Song-i endlessly stuffed herself with what had to be over a thousand calories' worth of food.

As I stared at her in a daze, A-ri spoke as if making excuses for her.

“You wouldn't know, but girls have to hold back a lot in their everyday lives to maintain a slim figure!”

“E-even so, would she eat this much even in her dreams?”

“That can happen.”

“Do you have dreams like this often too? Imagining yourself eating unlimited steak without worrying about gaining weight?”

“... Let's wake her up now.”

Song-i's first reaction after coming to her senses was hostile.

“Aah! Wh-what are you two doing?!”

“... What are we doing?”

“D-don't you have any concept of privacy?”

“Privacy?”

“What place could be more private than a dream?!”

Now that she said it, she wasn't wrong.

“Song-i, A-ri was the one who wanted to come here.”

A-ri jumped.

“What? What are you suddenly talking abou-”

“A-ri clearly said we had to visit ‘girls' dreams.’”

“Hey, Han Ga-in! Don't lie-”

“Shut up and get the hell out, both of you!”

- Boom!

With a roar so huge it felt like the whole world would shake apart, a wave of cola rose up and slammed A-ri and me into a wall of potato chips.

I never thought I'd have an experience like this in my life.

Even then, A-ri complained.

“Seriously! Song-i got upset because you said something weird, Han Ga-in!”

“Upset? Song-i only wanted to be a well-fed pig rather than a hungry Socrates in her dream-”

“I said, both of you, get out!”

- Rumble!

* * *

...

...

...

“Wow! I almost drowned in cola!”

“... That was a strange experience. Anyway, whose dream is this?”

“Elena's.”

“You have an uncanny knack for entering only girls' dreams.”

“You told me to go in.”

“Stop lying.”

As we traded pointless remarks and looked around, I recognized the setting of the dream.

“A broadcasting station?”

“Looks like Elena wants to be a celebrity even in her dreams.”

“Good, A-ri. Do you remember what I said earlier?”

“...”

“Elena is having some... dangerous thoughts. Considering the nature of the Sacred Sun, it's a very serious problem.”

“...”

“I brought you along because I thought a Management Bureau agent like you would know about problems like this.”

“Do you think a Management Bureau agent is another way of saying a genie who grants wishes?”

“...”

Unlike A-ri's, Elena's dream was somewhat within my expectations.

She was drinking coffee on the first floor of the ABS broadcasting station we'd seen in Room 101.

As A-ri and I approached Elena, she soon noticed us too.

She smiled sweetly at ‘me.’

“Mr. Ga-in, filming is about to start. Let's go upstairs!”

“Huh?”

Filming was about to start?

More importantly, why wasn't she surprised that A-ri and I had appeared in her dream?

Just as I was about to grow confused because I didn't understand the situation, A-ri's eyes widened.

“Aah! E-Elena, you really...!”

“What, what is it?”

A-ri's face turned slightly red.

It was an expression I'd never seen before.

Footnotes:

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