Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 646

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 645: The First Wish (1)

──────

「User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 1

Current Location: Level 3, Lobby

Sage’s Advice: 0」

- Han Ga-in

--- You have arrived.

I woke up in front of the elevator to a cheerful announcement.

The first thing I noticed was the change in my Status Window.

The date had reset to Day 1, and my current location was listed as Level 3.

Level 3!

We had really arrived at the third floor.

The satisfaction of finally reaching the third floor, mixed with regret at moving farther away from reality.

The sense of danger that came with the start of new trials, mixed with anticipation for everything yet to come.

A wave of complicated emotions swept through me, making my whole body tremble for a moment.

“...”

This wasn't the time for that.

Didn't the Owl tell me to help my companions as soon as I woke up?

Where were they?

I checked the companion location information in my Status Window first.

“It only says they're all on the third floor.”

It didn't tell me exactly where on the third floor they were.

Could they still be inside the elevator?

--- Ding!

On the off chance, I checked inside the elevator again.

“... They're not here. Hm?”

My companions weren't inside, but I noticed that the elevator panel had changed.

〚Basement〛, 〚1st Floor〛, 〚2nd Floor〛

Those had originally been the only three visible buttons. Once construction on the Connecting Passage was complete, a 〚Third Floor: Celestial Realm〛 button had appeared.

Now, another one had been added.

〚Connecting Passage: Lower Realm〛

Did that mean we could return to reality through the elevator?

Ryan had said that Ascendants who went to the third floor never returned, but it was too early to jump to conclusions.

More importantly, the 〚Connecting Passage: Lower Realm〛 button wasn't lit.

It seemed there was some condition required to press it.

As I looked around, I felt something stirring beside me.

--- Flap!

“I'm glad you're here, at least.”

Pero flapped its wings and pointed somewhere with its beak. It seemed to be telling me to follow.

After taking a few steps, I realized just how extravagant the surroundings were.

All kinds of glittering gold decorations and antique marble.

A beautiful chandelier shone from the ceiling, while mysterious paintings and patterns covered the area.

A sign on the wall said the third floor was divided into three areas.

⇦ Observatory

⇧ Guest Rooms

⇨ ??? - Under Construction.

“Observatory? Under construction?”

What was there to observe?

And what did it mean, under construction?

There was no point thinking about it now, so I set it aside.

--- Beep!

Right then, Pero cried out as if telling me not to get distracted by the scenery.

Soon, I heard someone groaning.

“Ugh...”

I hurried over and found my companions lying on plush sofas.

The moment I spotted them, I shook Song-i and A-ri beside me, but neither responded.

Wondering what was wrong, I shook Elena and Seung-yeop one after another. The result was the same.

Their hearts were beating and their bodies were warm. Why wouldn't they respond?

Should I use the Grimoire and force them awake?

Then the groan I had heard earlier came again from the sofa across from us.

“Urgh...!”

“Grandpa!”

I lightly shook Grandpa by the shoulders, and he soon woke up.

“Huh! Ga-in, is that you? The others are... Ah, they're nearby.”

“They're here, but they won't wake up no matter how much I shake them.”

“...”

When he didn't answer, I looked over and saw him frowning in thought.

“Grandpa?”

“...”

“Grandpa!”

“Ah, sorry. I was thinking about what I saw just a moment ago...”

What he had seen a moment ago?

“Did you see something?”

“... I think I had a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Didn't you see anything?”

“If you mean something mysterious, I did. Beyond outer space...”

Then I realized.

The “Ascension process” I had witnessed wasn't a dream or an illusion.

I had heard the Owl's advice, and my uses of Sage’s Advice had actually been consumed.

The faint pain still lingering in my eyes, ears, and nose was proof as well.

The dream Grandpa spoke of was something else.

“... No, I don't think that's it. I didn't have a dream.”

“Hmm...”

As I considered it, I sensed a presence behind us.

「Participant Han Ga-in, Participant Kim Mook-seong. Congratulations on arriving at the third floor.」

“... Manager.”

「Shouldn't you wake your companions before beginning the trials in earnest?」

Grandpa immediately asked.

“Why won't they wake up?”

「This is for your benefit.」

“For our benefit?”

「It is a necessary procedure for what lies ahead.」

This time, I questioned the Manager.

“You're saying my companions need to be asleep for what lies ahead?”

「That is correct.」

“Then why didn't I dream? What I saw didn't seem to have anything to do with a dream...”

The next words were unexpected.

「Participant Han Ga-in, it is because you have already overcome it.」

“What does that...”

Then, with a flicker, the Manager vanished without a trace.

Grandpa's eyes widened as he looked around, but the Manager was nowhere to be seen.

“What was that?”

“... I suppose that conversation was the final consideration.”

“What they just said?”

“I think they told us why our companions fell into a deep sleep. They're asleep for the sake of what lies ahead.”

“...”

“Which means, unlike me, you woke after seeing something. I think you need to tell me what you saw, Grandpa.”

“... It was a memory from a very long time ago. About my son and grandson.”

From what I had vaguely heard, Grandpa had lost his son and grandson in some incident long ago.

That pain must have gnawed at Agent Mook-seong's heart like a plague for many years.

Within moments, cold sweat began pouring down Grandpa's face.

“Are you all right?”

“I am, I'm fine! It's already... It's already in the past.”

He didn't look fine at all.

He seemed to have recalled a terrible memory. Had he seen an illusion of his son and grandson screaming as they died?

Still, what did the dream about his family's deaths have to do with what lay ahead...?

Before long, Grandpa and I had the same thought at nearly the same time.

“Ga-in, I think what I saw was... related to the First Wish.”

“That's what I was thinking too.”

The themes of the third floor, which we had learned through the Third-Floor Manager and Elder Wisdom.

1. Reflect on your First Wish.

2. World After the End Times.

“I think everyone is seeing visions related to their First Wishes.”

“That must be why you saw nothing.”

“...”

“Because you've already fulfilled your First Wish.”

“I think I let mine go more than I fulfilled it.”

“Then let's say you overcame it. That bastard Manager used the same word.”

I had overcome my First Wish.

My other companions had not.

“I understand why you woke first, Grandpa.”

“Other than you, I'm the best off. I knew what my wish was, and I fulfilled it too.”

“You also received that mysterious notification once.”

The notification that appeared as soon as Grandpa used One More Chance.

「Participant Kim Mook-seong. With this, all your desires have been fulfilled. Yet you are still one step away from Ascension.」

“I mean the phrase ‘First Wish.’”

“Right.”

“Do you remember when we first heard the word ‘wish’?”

“The Third-Floor Manager...”

“Before that.”

“Ah, that Elder Wisdom bastard told us, didn't he?”

“Before that.”

“Hey, punk! Are you bragging about your good memory?”

Whoops.

I was talking like this again without realizing it.

“Ahem! The Empty Wish from before we came to the Hotel... The first time we heard of that concept was in Hotel Cinema.”

“I can almost remember it.”

“What I mean is, this concept must be extremely important in the Hotel. Maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

“It could be connected to the fundamental essence of a participant.”

“...”

“So, Grandpa.”

At that point, Grandpa seemed to realize what I was getting at.

“You said it earlier, didn't you? That you realized what your wish was and even fulfilled it. Could you tell me?”

“... Sure. It's not difficult.”

“...”

“It was nothing special. I hid that I was an agent, met a lovely woman, married her, and had a child.”

“Was your spouse an ordinary person?”

“Yes. My son was too. A Regressor is someone with a high Soul Rank, but naturally, the traits of a soul can't be shared even between parent and child.”

“That makes sense.”

“... So I had to hide many things.”

“For example, that you were an agent?”

“Right. I pretended to work for a company founded by the Management Bureau. I hid my job, the fact that I was a Regressor, the secrets of the world...”

“...”

“Before I knew it, there was a huge wall between my family and me. A wall that prevented honest communication.”

A wall that prevented honest communication.

“We gradually grew apart. At some point, I half gave up. I thought maybe it had been a mistake for a Regressor to marry an ordinary person in the first place. So...”

“So?”

“... I didn't even know something had happened to my grandson.”

“What?”

“It was happening right under my nose... We lived apart and lost contact. I had no idea what bizarre things were happening to my grandson!”

Grandpa's voice suddenly rose.

Remembering that painful past seemed to bring back the despair he had felt at the time.

I gently took hold of his wrist, and he soon gave a bitter smile.

“Sorry. It's long past, yet I still act like this. My discipline must still be lacking.”

“Some pain doesn't fade easily, even after a thousand years.”

“Anyway, that was in the past.”

“...”

He had left out the most important part.

What strange thing had happened to his grandson?

“Because of that, I came to have an earnest wish.”

“Your First Wish?”

“Probably. I don't remember the moment I made a wish to the Hotel, but wouldn't I have wished for what I always longed for?”

“That makes sense. What did you wish for?”

“... I wished for my family to come back to life.”

“...”

“If a miracle happened and I could meet my family again, I wanted to tear down the wall between us. And...”

“...”

“Just once, I wanted to live a happy life.”

Just once?

“One happy life was enough for me. At some point, I had come to see regression as a prison I couldn't escape.”

“...”

“Ha ha! It sounds grand when I put it like that, but it wasn't that simple. When I actually lost my fate as a Regressor, it was incredibly painful.”

“You wanted to escape the fate of a Regressor, but when it actually happened, you were afraid and in pain.”

“Right. Part of me wanted to go back. Isn't that foolish?”

“Not at all. That's just how people are.”

Grandpa longed for his family's resurrection and the end of his regression.

Through the power of Dream, he had brought his family back to life in reality. In exchange for One More Chance, he had lost the power of regression. In that sense, he had fulfilled all his wishes.

That was why the notification said, 「All your desires have been fulfilled.」

Then a thought occurred to me.

Had Grandpa really fulfilled all of his wishes?

If he had, he would have woken immediately without dreaming, just like me.

Something remained.

He had fulfilled every wish he could clearly name, but there was still some lingering attachment he hadn't even recognized himself.

That was why he woke before the others, but later than me.

“I think I understand the situation now.”

“You do?”

“I think the Curse Rooms on the third floor are connected to each person's wish.”

“...”

“But as you know, Grandpa, many of our companions...”