Chapter: 62
Chapter 62 – Determining the Retry Location. Re-Entering.
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 21
Current Location: Floor 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 0]
Where should we go?
Grandpa Mooksung finally spoke up.
“I think we might have a decent answer to that question. But first, I’d like to mention something about our interpretation of the clues.”
“Please, go ahead, Grandpa.”
“I’m not saying your interpretations are definitely wrong. However, the hotel’s clues seem to suggest, ‘Do not hold any biases.’ If we blindly trust your current analyses of the clues, that in itself could lead to a different kind of bias.”
“That makes sense.”
“About interpreting the clue related to the Strange Family as [The origin of the curse is not the family]—I can’t think of any other wording that fits either. Plus, I haven’t even visited that Strange Family, so let’s move on.
Now, regarding the Glorious Mansion’s hint, your interpretation of it as [Don’t hold the bias that you must go towards the mansion]—how about we think some more about that? There are quite a few other places we could consider, places with two-letter names emerging in my mind, like ‘Cathedral’ and ‘Study.’”
“…”
Ahri picked up where Grandpa left off.
“I can think of more. ‘Basement,’ ‘Lake.’
I figured we needed to go to the Cathedral to use the bell, and we should go to the Study to gather information. I also checked the Basement to see what was there, and of course, we thought we’d need to go through the lake for our escape. Honestly, with so many two-letter places, we can’t confidently declare that it’s talking about just the mansion.
I wonder if the two of them became too fixated on ‘broadening the stage’ and ended up concluding that we should escape the mansion itself. I feel we should at least visit the mansion once.”
Both people from the Administration echoed similar sentiments, indicating that we should not hastily interpret the hint from the Glorious Mansion as a direction to “escape the mansion.”
…
That does have a valid point. I should think it through a bit more.
“Hmm. Let’s focus more on the mansion-related clues later. Seems like you’ve made up your mind about where to go, Grandpa. Care to share with us?”
“I firmly believe we need to head towards the Strange Family. What’s the most vital factor we should consider when choosing a room to retry?
It’s definitely the difficulty of the escape.
Any retry must prioritize ensuring a way out. If we can ensure a 100% escape, then it’s practically solved already. We’ll eventually resolve it after several attempts. However, I’ve heard there’s some sort of limit.”
Limit. After saying that, Grandpa looked towards Ahri.
“Just so you know, I’m not entirely certain about this. From what I gather, the fourth attempt isn’t problematic, but things start turning weird after the fifth attempt.”
…
For a moment, the room fell silent.
“Ahri, do you happen to know anything about this?”
“Unni, it’s something I heard during my first visit. I can’t say I experienced it myself. And I don’t exactly know what ‘getting weird’ truly means.”
Ahri had entered the hotel for the second time now. It seemed information could be considered reliable. So up to the fourth attempt should be fine, but things turn weird after the fifth. Got it. I’ll make a mental note and aim to solve it within 2-3 more attempts.
“To reiterate, we must secure our escape before attempting any resolutions.”
“Now, let’s compare the two rooms once more from the perspective of escaping. The Glorious Mansion may actually be much more challenging to escape from. The escape method revolves around preventing the Sir from sacrificing six people. As we have eight of us here, if three people commit suicide at the start, we’d secure our escape for sure!”
“However, let’s rethink this. With ‘me’ and ‘Ahri’ now part of the group, will they turn us back into NPCs again?”
“What do you reckon?”
Ahri answered my question.
“I’m curious about that too. They might bring us back as NPCs or could replace us with others. If they fill the space with others, the total number of ritual candidates becomes ten.”
“I see.”
With Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung joining us, if a butler and maid come in, we’d end up with ten candidates for the ritual.
In this scenario, ensuring a 100% escape necessitates more than just three suicides.
Even if three commit suicide, seven will remain. The Sir could simply sacrifice six out of those seven and still win.
“Then, it might just be necessary for five of us to commit suicide.”
“That means we’d have to proceed with just three people, which is quite a tight restriction.”
Continuing from earlier, “Now that everyone gets it, I’m sure you all see that escaping the Glorious Mansion isn’t an easy option.
And looking at the Strange Family, all we need to do is prevent any contact with them and keep our distance, right?
Initially, we faced difficulties because we were unaware. But as long as we prepare ourselves mentally, we won’t need extraordinary mental defenses. We could just shut our eyes, plug our ears, and run right from the get-go.”
“I get the gist of what Grandpa is saying, but one question has been nagging me.”
I always sensed that Ahri had a habit of mixing formal and informal speech styles regardless of her conversational partner. In this bizarre place, no one seemed to mind about her tone.
“Neither Grandpa nor I have a family. So, what does that mean for us?”
…
I had a feeling Ahri wouldn’t have a family, but discovering that Grandpa didn’t have one either was new to me. What happens in such cases?
“Maybe they’ll create non-existent family members for you?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“Well, let’s proceed with re-trying the Strange Family then. Anyone else have alternative thoughts?”
No one raised an objection.
Overall, it seemed everyone leaned towards Grandpa Mooksung’s perspective.
What’s more critical—is escaping from the Glorious Mansion really worth it?
Regardless of numbers, the core issue is that we need to have a series of people sacrifice themselves right from the outset. Yet, no one openly stated how painful such a decision can be.
To be candid, it might demand that individuals with relatively less value within our group may need to sacrifice themselves to guarantee a chance of resolution. Even thinking about who that might be causes pain.
In any case, we decided to retry the Strange Family.
After the meeting, we shared some light chatter and headed off to bed early.
As I lay down, I pondered.
Tomorrow, as soon as we enter, we’ll wrap our surroundings in a filter and dash straight out of the house.
—
After a hearty breakfast, we divided up our gear. While our gear was rather minimal—just a gun and a red pill—the gun went to Grandpa Mooksung and the red pill to my brother Jinchul.
Just before entering Room 101, we held a brief last-minute strategy meeting.
“Alright everyone, do we understand? Initially, we focus solely on escaping. A few of us, those who can escape easily, will carry on safely on our next outings, while the rest of us will continue progressing through the room.”
“Understood!”
—
Second Attempt
—
— Han Kain
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 22
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 101 (Cursed Room – Strange Family)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
The moment I came to my senses, I immediately covered myself with the filter, not hesitating even for a second. The haze before me was now familiar.
Indeed, as soon as I activated the filter, normal thinking returned. I sensed faint static noises in my ears but shrugged them off and stepped out of the room.
Intentional squinting allowed me to see the figures of the so-called “family.” They seemed to be murmuring something, but I disregarded it and shouted.
“Hold on! I’m just stepping out for a quick snack run at the convenience store!”
I had to create an excuse; otherwise, they might just grab me!
Once I opened the door and bolted outside—
I really sprinted!
After running for about ten minutes—
A notification popped up!
/You have successfully escaped!/
That was it? This is ridiculously easy!
Honestly, anyone could pull this off! Just running right out is all it takes?
The first time I walked in, perhaps I was just a clueless victim.
Feeling utterly comfortable, I waited to reunite with everyone later.
What I realized later was that things weren’t as easy for everyone else.
—
– Park Seungyub: Escape Success
– Cha Jinchul: Escape Success
– Yu Songee: Escape Success
—
– Elena Ivanova
This is just too unfair.
Elena felt that Room 101 was incredibly unjust.
The plan was to make a run for it the moment the room opened up. Yet, what about those who were starting in the same room with their family?
With her older sister beside her in the same room, she began losing her focus before even doing anything.
Shouldn’t they have at least been separated?
Ah, reflecting back, she realized, their family had become impoverished due to years on the run seeking asylum, which left them in a small house. She still shared a room with her sister.
Discrimination against the impoverished? This is outrageous. The designer of this room must be a capitalist pig in need of a brutal confrontation.
She started to feel her thoughts clouding.
/You have failed!/
—
– Lee Eunsol
Bang bang bang!
“Miss!”
Ah, this is just the worst. The flawless escape plan we developed for Room 101 during our meeting? Yeah, it’s totally flopped.
Operation: Close your eyes, plug your ears, and run from the house the second it starts.
That simple plan turned unbearably complicated for her, and the reason was crystal clear.
She was just too wealthy.
Everyone else seemed to chat about leaving their homes like it was a breeze—just pop out of the room and take off!
But—
After leaving her bedroom, she encountered her ‘living room,’ followed by her ‘dressing room,’ and only then did she reach the ‘actual living room.’ To escape through the main door, she had to navigate past the ‘dining room’ and ‘garden’—how could anyone avoid running into someone with that kind of setup?
To make things worse, others were acting like they merely needed to avoid two or three close family members.
But—
What’s someone with five staff members and security guards constantly roaming their house supposed to do?
This is why she felt stuck right from the start. Covering her eyes and ears with clothes? Bang bang bang!
“Miss! Are you in there?”
Unfortunately, this is what resulted from that.
The young miss of the house suddenly started acting like she lost her mind, bundling herself up and trying to bolt out, only to have everyone swarm around her in shock, effectively pushing her back into her bedroom. Unlike Seungyub, she didn’t even consider escaping through the window. Her house had a robust security system, and the last thing she wanted was to risk her life.
Sorry, everyone.
Honestly, I don’t see how I can progress in this room.
The root of the issue? She was just too wealthy. Discrimination against the wealthy? This is ridiculous!
The one who designed this room must be a communist!
Everyone, I’m counting on you!
/You have failed!/
—
– Kim Mooksung
There had been one thing gnawing at him since they decided to enter the room.
What happens to those without families? Upon learning the answer, Kim Mooksung found himself momentarily speechless.
“Father? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Grandpa? Why are you just standing there?”
The answer was: Pretending to be their deceased family members.
Ah.
He understood. Those were not the real family. His son and grandson had left this world long ago. He needed to distance himself from them immediately. And if necessary, he might even have to bring out his gun!
He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt toward his real companions outside.
But… Mooksung just couldn’t tear his eyes away from the faces of his son and grandson, appearing before him after twenty long years.
He could feel his consciousness slipping away. He figured this was a mistake he wouldn’t repeat.
…
Ahri will have a tough time ahead.
/You have failed!/
—
– Kim Ahri
I woke up.
As I scanned my surroundings, I was taken aback. Before entering the room, I had been deeply curious about how the Hotel would recreate my family and home.
In reality, my mother was dead, and the homes I had known were simply things provided by the Administration.
I was born in the Hotel.
In the Hotel’s perception, my home evidently represented the past hotel.
Consequently, I experienced the peculiar sensation of entering Room 101 and waking up in Room 103. I mean, no one thinks it’s odd that 103 being the room of rest for me during my first visit, right?
And now, having been woken up here in the ‘past hotel,’ I could already sense a foreboding omen washing over me.
Bang bang bang!
“Ahri! Why aren’t you coming out? I’m hungry!”
That voice—so similar to mine, yet containing hints of childishness. It was the form of me who existed before I did, but who was still younger than me.
My mother;
She was already someone who didn’t need the Hotel to drive her mad.
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