### Chapter 148 – Rest and Reinforcement (4)
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User: Lee Eunsol
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— Ding ding! Ding ding!
…Slam!
Ah, it’s morning. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I got up and washed up lightly.
As I gently washed my face and shampooed my hair, a few strands of hair fell out.
I watched in slow motion as three strands of hair spiraled like a delicate dance, twisting and fluttering in the air before softly landing on the bathroom floor.
Applying lotion to my face, I felt it seep into the pores of my skin as—
“Ah! Seriously, can we tone it down? Do I really have to see this?”
There’s no point in complaining. No one is forcing me to watch it. My upgraded eyesight is just revealing a world I was previously unaware of.
I took a final look back at the mirror.
On the left, my ordinary eye, which had served me for a lifetime.
And on the right, a hideous eye that looked at least 30% bigger.
The pupil was constantly twitching, with three little dots at the top, left below, and right below adjusting like mini lenses, greedily sucking up the world’s information.
As I showered, I noticed the steam turning into droplets of water on the mirror, slowly coming into view.
Watching the droplet dance, I stepped out of the bathroom.
It’s already day five of our rest. It’s been two days since I received this eye from the merchant.
At first, I was thrilled by the thought of enjoying seven days off, but now, I wish for a few more days.
As I stepped outside my room, I found several teammates already gathered.
“Eunsol noona! Did you sleep well?”
“Good morning!”
I casually greeted them and turned my head.
The moment Seungyub saw my face, he flinched.
I didn’t take it personally.
I still get surprised every time I look in the mirror, so isn’t it only natural for my teammates to take some time to adapt to it? They need time to adjust.
After all, my eye is 30% bigger than a normal one.
There’s no room in a typical human skull for eyes like these.
Thus, the morning after I got the eye, I discovered that the hotel doctor (or whoever) had performed some serious surgery on my head.
As mealtime approached, other teammates gradually gathered near Table 105.
Everyone momentarily flinched but then quickly smiled and greeted each other.
Gaein’s cheek had a tiny mm-wide cut that looked like it had been scratched by something.
I could see every pore on Songee’s face as she tugged at Pepero’s beak. I guess she washed her face with overly hot water this morning.
Elena acted as if there was a transparent wall between her and Gaein, continuously trying to interact while also keeping her distance. Ever since they came out of the Gate Room, it seemed they had some fun stories to share.
Beside me, Old Man Mooksung yawned, and a scale fell from his mysterious right arm.
And then there was Jinchul’s strange behavior that I’d caught on to since yesterday.
… I’ve seen too much. My head is starting to hurt.
While my right eye has exceptional powers, my brain is still that of an ordinary human.
The human brain simply cannot process such excessive visual information indefinitely.
In the end, I leaned against the wall, covering my eyes with an eye mask, trying to clear my thoughts.
Not too bad.
I’ve had to pay quite a price for this.
I lost my real eye, my appearance has become somewhat grotesque, and I’m suffering from chronic headaches.
But I’ve gained superhuman vision.
An overwhelming sense of accomplishment filled my heart.
—
Lee Eunsol
—
After breakfast, as has been the case lately, everyone headed off to their preferred hangout spots.
I caught Jinchul, who seemed ready to head to the safari again.
“Jinchul.”
“Eh? Noona? Is there something you need to say?”
“Just come with me for a sec. I have a question.”
A bit later, I had prepared a simple drink at the cocktail bar.
Jinchul, sitting at the table across from me, began to show odd behavior again.
His eyes seemed to focus on something in the air.
The movement of his eyes was like he was tracking something visible only to him.
Sweat dripped down his skin, perhaps from some fear.
These changes were noticeable only recently. Jinchul, not the type to complain about his troubles, seemed to be hiding something, but it looked foolish.
Hiding his problems in a place like this isn’t very manly; it’s just plain stupid.
“What are you staring so hard at? Is there a ghost floating around?”
“Ah… Did you notice?”
“Only after getting this new eye.”
Jinchul took a moment to breathe and started sipping his cocktail.
I had a pretty good idea what was going on – something related to the witch’s affair from the Gate Room.
Gaein had warned us about dealing with the witch. Even if she had some method to deal with the witch, she told us that Jinchul wouldn’t die once he’s in that room; the witch could never be completely eradicated without his demise.
We had relayed this to Jinchul.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“I first felt it when I came out of the Gate Room. Something, I couldn’t tell if it was a ghost or a shadow, was flitting about here and there. I thought something strange was happening in the hotel, but that bizarre thing was visible only to my eyes.”
“Seems that way. I can’t see anything right now.”
“Maybe it’s the ghost of the witch?”
“I don’t think so. According to my eye’s info, it can see even invisible entities. Even if it were a ghost, I should vaguely be able to see it. The fact that my eye doesn’t perceive anything suggests it’s not a ghost but merely a blurry illusion in your head, Jinchul.”
“Whatever it is, the important point is that the illusion is becoming clearer.”
“Clearer?”
“Yeah. The last time I noticed was two days ago at the ski resort. I tried to snatch Gaein, who was practicing teleportation, and as I jumped into the air, I saw a face-like shape as I came down. Until then, it looked just like a swaying shadow.”
“How does it look now?”
“Similar. It’s gradually resembling a human form. Still not recognizable as anyone, though.”
“So, is the witch’s trace remaining as an illusion…”
“Do you have any clever ideas?”
“Sorry, I’m not familiar with supernatural occurrences. How about asking the Management Bureau team?”
“I already asked. Old Man doesn’t bring any help in times like this. He said he doesn’t know what to do either.”
“…”
“I’ll just have to wait. As the shape becomes clearer, there will come a time when I can talk to it. When that time comes, I’ll need to ask what it wants from me.”
Neither a phantom nor a ghost, just a blurry illusion in Jinchul’s mind leaving traces behind.
I had no idea what to do. Waiting, as Jinchul suggested, was the only course of action that came to mind.
“I’ll ask Gaein to give some advice when they arrive later.”
“I’m not expecting much. So far, that advice feels like just a gesture, like he’s only pretending to help after coming out of the Curse Room.”
“But as Gaein said, the Owl doesn’t seem to care about us, right? He’s only interested in Han Kain. So when Gaein asks for ‘advice for us,’ we’re likely to get lukewarm responses.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t have a way to help right now, but if more oddities arise, you must tell me. You may not have met that witch personally, but I remember her well. That being was filled with unimaginable madness.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, let’s gather the others. The vacation is about to end, and it’s time we discussed ‘that topic,’ right?”
“I’ll go get them.”
As Jinchul stood up to leave, he paused to ask, “We don’t need to call the kids, do we?”
I replied with a slight chuckle. Of course, this guy isn’t completely clueless.
He caught on that I chose the cocktail bar for a specific reason.
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Han Kain
—
Arriving at the cocktail bar upon the invitation, I found all my teammates gathered except for Seungyub and Ahri.
Maybe it was uncomfortable to jump straight into serious conversation?
Noona Eunsol crafted various cocktails and distributed them to us.
The one that came to me was a mix of Kahlúa, rum, and cola.
…
I still can’t quite grasp the taste of alcohol. So, I boldly stated, “Noona.”
“Hmm? Tasty?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just drink cola instead of this half-hearted cocktail pretending to be cola? It just tastes like bootleg cola—”
— Smack!
I got hit. Noona declared that she wouldn’t make cocktails for me ever again and walked away.
But honestly, it feels better just to stick with cola than mix it with some dodgy liquor.
Anyway, upon seeing the assembled group, it was immediately clear what today’s topic of discussion would be.
It’s a matter we definitely need to address at least once.
It’s time to consider ‘resurrection.’
—
As the atmosphere began to lighten, Noona took the lead and spoke.
“As you might have guessed, I gathered you all to talk about who we should resurrect. We’re not deciding today, though. We can’t revive anyone just with a ticket, right? We need to find the place called the Room of Resurrection first. After locating that place, we’ll discuss it again. For now, I just wanted us to organize our thoughts in advance.”
Elena chimed in with a question.
“The reason we didn’t include Ahri is that her answer is already decided, right?”
“Exactly. To be more precise, we left out those who might not be able to reason properly in this discussion. Ahri wouldn’t be able to think rationally about it since it involves her mother, and Seungyub might side with Ahri regardless since he’s young.”
Hearing this, I sighed. Seungyub…
“First, let’s review the candidates for resurrection we have met so far. 1. Miro, Ahri’s mother; 2. Doctor Kim Sanghyun, who treated Gaein; 3. Estavio, the alien who helped Songee; 4. Special Forces soldier Cha Seungjin, who aided Seungyub in the Gate Room.”
“Seems like we’ve met quite a few people, but when it comes to viable candidates for resurrection, it feels a bit scarce.”
“Not just yet. We might meet more in the future, and there could be other candidates among the people we’ve already encountered. For now, we’re picking straightforward options.”
Jinchul, who’d been listening, then spoke up.
“I’ll express my opinion first. I find it absurd to suggest using the one ticket for someone besides ourselves. Couldn’t we use it if someone among us dies?”
“That’s true.”
“So, I don’t wish to use it on any of the candidates you mentioned. I’m sorry for Ahri, but the people I’m with in this hotel right now matter more to me.”
“Let’s just hold onto it until someone among us gets eliminated. I get it. I’ll take that important opinion into account.”
Noona jotted down Jinchul’s opinion on the whiteboard and then looked around at the others.
“What do you all think?”
I began organizing my thoughts too.
If we could use the ticket on someone, who should we revive? What elements should we consider when choosing someone for resurrection?
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