### Chapter 175 – Party Time – Night Special Meeting, Sanctuary of Blessings (2)
—
– Han Kain
“From now on, we’re holding the first night special meeting of the hotel party!”
Silence.
Silence.
The room is filled with an eerie quiet. It’s 3 a.m. – definitely not our usual wakeful hours.
“A round of applause for Grandpa Kim Mooksung for gathering everyone… but wait, we’re not really in the mood for that, are we?”
“What’s with this meeting at such an awkward hour? You even forbade using the group chat, so gathering everyone took forever!”
Ahri chimed in. “There was no choice. We needed to keep some of the details away from Elena. She’s fast asleep right now.”
Elena wasn’t the only one absent. Seungyub and Jinchul were so deep in sleep that they weren’t reacting even in the private chat with Grandpa. Given the peculiarities of Room 105, we couldn’t summon them any other way.
“As some of you might guess, this meeting is to discuss how everyone can appropriately respond to Elena’s new ability, ‘Ominous Imagination.’ I considered doing this during the day, but how do we keep it a secret from Elena in broad daylight?”
“Hmmm. It seems you and Ahri are already figuring things out, huh? You’re trying not to stir any worries, huh?”
Grandpa seemed to have picked up on our unusual behavior right away.
Of course, I noticed Songee wide-eyed at the comment.
“That’s right. Until Elena gets a grip on her ability, any screams or fleeing actions in response to phenomena around her are strictly off-limits. We don’t want to trigger her negative feelings.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll be super careful!”
Seeing Songee respond so quickly made me think she must have already acted out once.
“Good. Actually, I didn’t gather everyone at the crack of dawn for just this talk. I spent a few hours digging through the head researcher’s memories.”
Grandpa’s eyes widened.
“Oh! Isn’t that the one who raised Beatrix? Did you find any solid ideas?”
“I vaguely remember them trying all sorts of methods. It’s not super clear, but overall, we can categorize it into three main methods. The problem is… they’re very ‘head researcher’ oriented, making them difficult for us to implement without input from others.”
Grandpa tilted his head. “Is it alright to discuss how to use abilities without Elena here? There’s a reason you called everyone excluding her.”
“Indeed. The first method is ‘Boosting Self-Esteem.’”
“What?”
“It’s simple. When using an ability, if you feel anxiety or fear, strange things tend to happen. This phenomenon worsens when the individual’s self-identity is weak.”
“So, you’re saying we inject a belief that ‘I’m an incredibly strong being’ to eliminate their sense of unease?”
“Pretty much.”
“How did the head researcher do that?”
“Various ways. They made everyone use honorifics when addressing Beatrix or got some muscle-bound soldiers to act frightened and back away whenever they saw her.”
“…That method only works on a ten-year-old Beatrix, right? It doesn’t seem applicable to a grown woman.”
Grandpa also pointed out another issue. “This strategy seems to require a lower intelligence level from the learner. A child under ten might get a thrill from feeling like a mini emperor, but I imagine Elena will ask what kind of nonsense this is.”
“A more aggressive method is to create an overwhelmingly powerful clone to shift her consciousness that way. If she can smash walls with a gesture and regenerate, she would hardly feel fear.”
“That sounds plausible.”
“The issue is, it took Beatrix over 15 years to reach that stage of moving her consciousness into the monster she created.”
“…”
“The second method is quite similar to what Ahri and I are already doing. Let’s just call it ‘Turning Fear into Laughter.’”
“So, when we see monsters, we just laugh it off together, making Elena see it as something trivial?”
“Right. Remember the first time you all encountered Beatrix? She was like, ‘Let’s play!’ Her cruel yet playful nature was shaped during this training.”
Ahri was the first to try this method among us.
She sighed and answered. “After trying it for a day or two, it feels limited. Honestly, I was shocked when the black tea got poisoned. Laughing after experiencing something like that feels off. Sure, we don’t all need to spread fear to Elena, but it’s not a fundamental solution.”
“That’s right. In truth, my conclusion is that easy solutions don’t exist. If it were that simple to erase danger, ‘Ominous Imagination’ would be a ridiculous ability. Like the gorilla that pinned down Jinchul with a mere punch – that gorilla was stemming from Beatrix’s own physicality. Either way, the head researcher also found a third method.”
Everyone went silent, listening to me intently.
“Up until now, the methods we’ve discussed have merely been like trying to carry a full water bucket without spilling a drop. That massive jug of ominous imagination is filled with ‘water’ capable of creating all sorts of bizarre phenomena, and Elena is the one holding it. Even if Elena is careful, each step makes the jug tremble, causing a slow leak.”
“So, the leaks create those mundane monsters we see?”
“Exactly. The first two methods concern how to avoid using the ability, while the third is the opposite – to let it all out.”
Grandpa, who was tilting his head, responded. “Are you saying we cover the entire hotel with monsters and deal with them one by one?”
“I’m not suggesting we create that many monsters. And if we killed them all ourselves, there’d be no point. ‘Ominous Imagination’ is a reward given to Elena, and we need to find a way to use it effectively.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Instead of generating dozens or hundreds of trivial monsters, we focus on shaping one very powerful entity with all the energy of ominous imagination.”
At those words, Ahri showed a seriously worried expression.
“Are you suggesting that the ‘gorilla’ we saw inside the cube was made through that process?”
“Right. The reason that gorilla was sheer power compared to the other monsters was that Beatrix poured in enough strength to drain the jug completely.”
“Even if we make such a monster, how do we control it? Songee’s affinity? From what I’ve seen before, it doesn’t seem to work on the crazier ones.”
“On the contrary, the stronger the monster, the more likely it is to be controllable. The trivial ones are just brutality without proper intelligence, whereas the truly powerful ones have high intelligence as well.”
“So, we create an intelligent demon and persuade it well? Considering the ability’s name is ‘Ominous,’ do you think it will go as smoothly as you say?”
“That issue was resolved quite easily by the head researcher.”
“How?”
“If it didn’t work with persuasion, they just killed it. They kept making it over and over, a hundred times, a thousand times, until a controllable one emerged.”
“…”
“If possible, that’s the perfect way to utilize ‘Ominous Imagination.’ Since the jug will be empty, there will be no more leaking of abilities in daily life, and it’s a single powerful monster that can communicate, making it tactically useful.”
“Thinking about it now, while the head researcher couldn’t do it, we have a way that’s just possible for us.”
Ahri pointed at me as she said this.
“Right. Instead of worrying about controlling hundreds of unintelligent monsters, if it’s a powerful monster, I can just possess it and take control myself!”
This point made me believe this option is the best.
Does the monster created by Elena necessarily need her to control it? Ideally, that’s the best situation. But if that’s tough, then I could just take charge myself.
For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.
As for controlling such supernatural abilities, neither Eunsol nor Songee offered input; even Grandpa Mooksung kept quiet.
Our most knowledgeable expert in this area, Ahri, finally spoke.
“So, to summarize, the three methods are like this: First, boost self-esteem. Ideally, if we can shift consciousness into the monster’s body, even better. Second, let’s not raise a fuss around and try to laugh it off. Third, create one powerful monster and control it well. If it’s at all difficult to control, Kain can just possess it.”
“Right.”
“That all sounds plausible in theory. We even witnessed real examples within Room 201. Ultimately, the question is what we can actually do about it, right? It’s like your favorite college entrance exam metaphor—if a Seoul University graduate tutor shares their perfect study method, but the student can’t follow it, then it’s futile.”
“We should relay what we can to Elena. Ultimately, it comes down to the methods she can choose for herself.”
Since it’s Elena’s ability, it’s ultimately her decision to make.
As the topic of controlling this extraordinary power came up, Eunsol suddenly asked a question.
“Kain, did you get more advice?”
“Yes.”
“What are you planning to use it on? I think this time around, we should use it very wisely…”
“To be honest, I originally wanted to ask a few questions regarding Room 104. Since I typically use my advice on resolving the curse room, I figured this party time is the right moment for it.”
“Hotel High? Hmmm. You mentioned that questions regarding 104 consume three at a time, right?”
“Yes. I wonder why that is.”
“Using your advice is ultimately your choice, but if you overuse it on Room 104, it could lead to problems.”
“I agree. The thoughts I previously had about delving into 104 were remnants of past considerations. It seems the hotel is currently full of threats to freeze us to death, so it’s better to gather information about that first. I’ll probably only ask one question regarding Room 104. Though even one is still that expensive three-questions kind, sigh.”
“That’s a good thought. Honestly, I can feel the temperature getting a bit chillier right now. Let’s start collecting information regarding the second floor soon and talk about what we should do next.”
It wasn’t just Eunsol’s feeling; I had felt that the average temperature in the hotel had dipped since a few hours ago, even though we were on the first floor.
—
The next morning, the atmosphere among the team as we headed toward the Sanctuary of Blessings was eerily cold.
Jinchul broke the uncomfortable silence first. “I’m starting to feel anxious.”
“Hey, are you just realizing that now?”
“Still, having cold stir-fried pork for breakfast is a bit much…”
“That’s what you get for eating something like stir-fried pork first thing in the morning.”
“Oh, come on, hyung. What does ordering meat for breakfast have to do with the food being cold?”
As usual, the banter between my brother and Grandpa was tense, but the content wasn’t trivial.
The beef soup I had for breakfast felt just as chilly as something pulled straight from the fridge.
The air temperature had noticeably dropped too. The hotel, which usually felt like a cool spring day, now had an autumn chill cutting through.
In the midst of this, Elena was wrapped in her blanket trying to endure the cold, which was somehow moving by itself, and she was struggling to escape from it with Ahri’s help.
What did we need to do on the second floor exactly? Everyone’s anxieties deepened.
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