### Chapter 240 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (18)
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[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: Day 102
Current Location: Floor 2, Room 202 – Cursed Room ‘Mermaid Princess’
Sage’s Advice: 2
—
– Han Kain
— Splash!
The humid, salty air tickled my nose, and with every step I took, the squelching sound nudged at my ears like an unwelcome tune.
— Tick!
As my leg lightly bumped against a stone, the sound reverberated through the spaciousness around me.
We entered a room discovered by the drones in a desolate farm while chasing after Lee Sooho. What greeted us beyond was none other than a coastal cave. I suddenly wondered how a cave could possibly exist behind a family house, but that thought quickly vanished like a bubble because the weirdly loud “sounds coming from my body” were more distracting.
“Um… is everyone still close?”
I could hear Songyi’s anxious voice. If I thought for a moment, it seemed like no one had actually strayed, but I completely understood her concern. This cave felt oddly suspicious, and I too started to worry I was the only one left in this cave of echoes.
With no light source, darkness enveloped us. Surely, Ahri in her protective suit was nearby, and her headlamp should be casting light, yet it felt like the brightness recoiled from us.
“Hm. I’ll apologize in advance, but I’ll make some noise periodically.”
After hearing the doctor’s words, I realized everyone felt the same way. The soft clapping sounds started rhythmically filling the space.
— Clap! Clap! Clap!
… The intensity of the third clap and the fourth one was way too different. Suddenly, the distance between the doctor and me grew.
At that moment, the dialogue window reacted.
Lee Eunsol: Stop! Stop! Everyone cease until I arrive!
What on earth is going on?
*
We waited. We all stood still, waiting for Sister Eunsol to come. She took each person’s hand and led them along. Gripping her hand while walking, I finally understood the source of the strange phenomenon I had felt earlier. My body seemed to lurch left, then jolt upwards, then downwards, veering left again—what a confusing ride!
Was Sister leading me while stumbling about?
No. In this scenario, she was indeed moving straight in the right direction while my senses were just getting mixed up. This cave was clearly messing with people’s senses.
Three minutes later, we could hear each other’s breaths, so close we could almost feel each other’s flesh. Sister Eunsol, briefing us, quickly explained.
“It seems like the cave is deceiving all of our senses. Especially sight. With how everyone was moving as if dancing here and there, I thought you were just all tense. But as time passed, it felt like we were all heading in different directions.”
Grandpa made a quick judgment.
“You seem fine. Your eyes must be high-performing. You should lead while in that protective suit. And everyone, stick closely together.”
“Let’s all make noise on purpose if we can. It seems the more tense we are, the lower our voices get, and we start focusing only on surrounding sounds, but that pattern seems to cloud our senses.”
After all, Lee Sooho must know we’ve come in here, so there’s really no reason to keep quiet. Soon, we rearranged ourselves and began chatting as if we were in a hotel meeting.
“This phenomenon was probably created by Sooho, right? What on earth is his trick? Magic from the Sea God?”
“Most likely. But surely, it’s not just to make us lose our way.”
“I’m curious about something else. Mooksung, did you contact Park about where we should come?”
“No. We couldn’t reach him after losing contact, and the drones found the location, so we can’t.” But he’ll check with the drones once he arrives anyway, so he should be headed here, right?
“That’s true.”
“The problem is whether those guys can find their way like we did. Honestly, I’m more concerned about Serenade showing up at night than the main strike team arriving.”
Given the urgency, we moved in right away, but Serenade and the merfolk would soon follow. Could they manage to find the right path? Who knows, maybe the reinforcements could end up wandering around in this cave without being able to help us.
Jinchul chimed in, trying to reassure us.
“When have we ever expected great help from NPCs? We always handle things ourselves anyway.”
Suddenly, I realized I had a question too.
“Elena!”
“Yes. I can hear you even if you speak a little softer.”
“No, when you speak, it’s better to project louder. That way, we can all feel each other’s presence more!”
“Then you should speak even louder.”
“Earlier, before waking up Elena, I spoke with Serenade, and she outright tried to kill me.”
“What! Should I scold her later?”
“… No need for that. More importantly, I still don’t know what kind of power Serenade was trying to use. Does it exist in Elena’s memories?”
Since it’s about ‘sister’s’ abilities, I figured Elena might know. My assumption was half right.
“The daughters of the Sea God each awakened different powers. Rilinganor learned to control special sea animals, and Serenade awakened the Eyes of Petrification.”
*
The Eyes of Petrification.
“Just because it’s called Eyes of Petrification doesn’t mean it literally turns you to stone. However, your whole body goes numb, making you unable to move, as if you’ve turned to stone.”
Ari tilted her head in confusion.
“Full paralysis? Given how Kain’s warning activated earlier, it sounds like instant death!”
“It also paralyzes the heart. By the way, my ‘ominous premonition’ is also a power given by the Sea God in this scenario.”
Serenade’s ability, the Eyes of Petrification, was shockingly threatening. Just a glance would freeze you into immobility and stop your heart—seriously?
Jinchul quickly asked.
“Is there any loophole? Can it work on multiple people at once? Can we overcome it with strength?”
“Overcoming it with strength is impossible. She can’t use it on multiple people at the same time.”
Ari replied quickly.
“Do we need to make eye contact with Serenade? Or can she activate it just by looking at us from afar?”
“Sorry, but I don’t know about that part.”
I still didn’t have confidence that Serenade was completely on our side. It seemed that the others were also thinking along those lines, preparing for the possibility of fighting her, considering how to respond to the dangerous superpower, the Eyes of Petrification.
It’s not easy. Possession? As I’ve experienced multiple times, it’s not the universal key. I’ve encountered situations where my possession didn’t work on higher beings within the Cursed Room. Serenade or Lee Sooho would definitely fall into that category.
Avoiding Serenade’s gaze? Even Cheon Jinchul, the fastest among us, would find that impossible. They say the hand is quicker than the eye, but the entire body can’t move faster than the eyes do.
However, if the activation trigger for that power is indeed ‘gaze,’ there’s someone among us specialized in that area.
“If it comes down to it, I’ll use my bracelet.”
It feels like a good solution to show Serenade an illusion. My heart felt a bit lighter.
*
At that moment, another notification appeared.
[Advice: 2 → 1]
[Shout with all your might!]
“AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
I literally screamed until my voice cracked! As my sudden loud outburst startled my comrades, a strange voice wrapped around my shout, teasing my ears.
“Lacoustic – how did you know?”
Immediately, Grandpa pulled out a small object from his pocket and tossed it towards the ceiling. Suddenly, the surroundings lit up as bright as day. A flare? When did he pack this in?
In the open massive cavern, a man dressed in seemingly uncomfortable clothes loomed over us from the far side of the cavern on a small bridge.
“Ha ha! I never expected to meet face-to-face like this. Welcome, guests from the Administration Bureau—”
“Shut up, you jerk! You’re trying to curse us again at first sight?”
“Wow, old man, your mouth is something, considering you look like you’re about to kick the bucket. And what do you mean by ‘again’?”
“Hey, you! Wasn’t that curse when entering the island your doing?”
“I have no idea what you’re even talking about. But whatever, it’s fine. We aren’t exactly on friendly terms—”
— Bang!
The loud gunshot from the doctor’s grip announced the start of a fight. At the same time, an ominous presence engulfed the entire cave.
*
— Thud!
In the cramped cave, my body flipped around, crushing something nearby into a mush. Was that the third one? I suddenly felt a slight pain in my head, and this time, I smacked it against the ceiling, which splattered a slimy liquid above me.
Something was biting at my side. But given the size difference, it felt like an elephant being bitten by a cat! As I rolled my body sideways, the sensation of crushing a bug beneath my finger tickled my senses.
Hahaha! I never expected this fight to be this easy!
What had once felt like a massive cave, barely visible was now starting to feel like a squished ant tunnel, all thanks to securing the body of a gigantic sea serpent that could crush a human!
“What the hell! Abrahatas! What the heck are you doing?”
Hearing Lee Sooho’s furious shout oddly cheered me up. Is there a better way to feel happy than to hear your opponent rage?
Since I obtained the spellbook, moments like these have been rare! Putting a powerful monster right before me is essentially like handing over a robust weapon!
— Crack!
There was just one problem: I had never lived as a snake, so controlling this body was a bit tricky. All I could do was wriggle around, squirming without using my limbs. But even that was more than enough to obliterate all the other beasts summoned by Sooho.
Noticing Lee Sooho was unresponsive, I suddenly started racing away somewhere. That’s when I realized my second issue: it was quite difficult to chase after him when I was unfamiliar with maneuvering a snake’s body. Should I release my possession?
[42:43]
I felt uneasy. Right now, I had seized the body of this monster, giving us massive firepower, but if I returned to my original form, we’d have to face this beast again, and that didn’t seem easy at all.
Then, something plopped down above me.
“Han~ Kain!!! Can you hear me?”
I could hear, but I couldn’t respond. A snake can’t really talk. I nodded my head to make it feel understood.
“We’ll take care of your body! You focus on dealing with that snake! Don’t just randomly release your possession! We don’t need to get tangled up in a giant monster in this cave!”
With those words, my comrades sprinted off after Lee Sooho.
… Left alone for a moment, I fell into deep thought. How on earth do I ‘commit suicide’ as this monster snake? Should I just headbutt something really hard? Then if the cave collapses, my teammates would be done for, wouldn’t they?
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