### Chapter 253 – Time to Choose (1)
—
– Lee Eunsol
Elena, standing in the center, took a moment to gather her thoughts before starting her explanation.
“Let’s talk about the Ruda first. We need to confirm what this entity is, right? As you know, there are three main types of Ruda. First, the ‘Common Entity’ that exists in the bodies of regular merfolk. Second, the ‘Queen Entity’ that inhabits the daughters of the Sea God. Lastly, there’s the ‘Conductor Entity’ created through various experiments by the Bureau.”
“This one doesn’t look like a Conductor,” someone chimed in.
“Exactly. It’s not big enough for that. If it were a Conductor, upon acceptance, everyone would be dead except Jinchul, making it pointless. This entity is a ‘Queen Entity.’”
So, one of our two rewards turned out to be a Queen Ruda.
“If you graft the Ruda, what abilities would you gain? There are mainly two kinds. First is an overall enhancement of physical abilities.”
Grandpa chimed in with a question, “Is it similar to the enhanced humans created by the Bureau in Room 202?”
“It’s comparable. Lifespan extension, strong resistance to diseases, enhanced strength— an overall upgrade that can’t be defined by just one attribute. However, it’s not explosive in nature. Second, anyone grafted with a Queen Ruda like this one will gain dominion over other merfolk.”
“Is that relevant? There aren’t any merfolk outside of Room 202,” someone skeptically remarked.
Elena’s expression took on a meaningful twist. “Didn’t I mention that the ecological characteristics of the Ruda are similar to bees or ants?”
“… Don’t tell me!”
“The Queen Ruda can produce subordinate entities. Of course, it requires its own ‘reproductive activities.’”
After saying that, Elena moved closer to the wriggling Queen Ruda.
“This entity is already in a ‘ready’ state. Once obtained, it can immediately start creating subordinates.”
Feeling uneasy, Grandpa mumbled, “We could graft that Ruda onto the NPCs in other rooms.”
“Right.”
Seungyub, who had been listening, raised his hand. “Didn’t the daughters of the Sea God all possess psychic powers? Can we acquire such abilities?”
Elena smiled slightly as she responded, “Good point. As you noted, the Sea God’s daughters and the sages of the deep sea all gained special psychic abilities.”
In Room 202, the daughters of the Sea God and the sages proved to have diverse psychic abilities. Serenade could paralyze those she gazed upon, and Lee Siwoo wrote strange symbols. Elena’s ominous imagination seemed to align similarly. Rilinganor, being the Sea God’s last safeguard, appeared to have acquired all three types of abilities.
But then, Elena expressed a negative viewpoint. “Unfortunately, the ‘special psychic abilities’ aren’t powers that the Ruda provides. The fact that Jinchul gained no special psychic abilities despite securing a stronger Conductor than a Queen Ruda supports this conclusion. When comparing Ruda, Rilinganor had no distinction from me or Serenade, yet he obtained everyone’s psychic powers.”
It seemed like psychic abilities were bestowed by the Sea God.
With Room 202 crashing down, there are no gods in the universe anymore. Thus, obtaining that heritage wouldn’t involve the Sea God interfering with the user’s mind, yet there would be no additional special psychic powers.
After this, the topic shifted to the flute.
“The flute, as I mentioned before, is a divine item bestowed directly by the Sea God. It’s referred to as the ‘Flute of Rest.’ To put it straightforwardly, its function is quite similar to my clarity of mind. It’s a tool for recovering from mental pain or damage.”
“There is an important distinction, though. While your clarity of mind and Kain’s status window are effective ‘only for oneself,’ this flute appears usable on others,” someone noted.
“That’s the biggest advantage. The flute’s most significant characteristic is….”
Elena’s expression reflected both wonder and awe.
“The power of this item extends even to gods.”
Thinking back, it makes sense—the flute was originally crafted by the Sea God for ‘his own’ use. Its efficacy against divine beings has already been proven. Unlike the lengthy explanation needed for the Queen Ruda, the flute’s power was clear-cut.
A slight boost in physical abilities and control over NPCs, thanks to the Ruda. And a flute that could recover mental damage for party members. With that, the discussion on which heritage would be more useful began in earnest.
Grandpa, examining the flute with curious eyes, spoke up, “Wouldn’t the flute be a better option? It feels like over half the attacks we face in this hotel shake our minds. Of course, there are resistance tools like Elena’s clarity of mind, Kain’s status window, and Songee’s bracelet, but other than Elena’s bracelet, everything else is focused on self-use. Ahri’s blood can’t be used just anytime.”
I had a somewhat different thought.
“Grandpa, looking at it the other way, doesn’t it mean the flute’s effectiveness has several avenues already? Elena’s clarity of mind, Kain’s status window, Songee’s bracelet, potentially Ahri’s blood—all of them could be used for similar purposes. Conversely, the Ruda’s greatest power is NPC control.”
“Isn’t that hard to substitute with other methods?”
“Nope,” I replied.
“But Eunsol, don’t you realize what it means that the flute’s effect ‘also applies to gods’? For ordinary humans, encountering a god once in a lifetime is quite rare, but here in this hotel, we meet gods like they’re just neighborhood uncles.”
In that moment, I was momentarily rendered speechless.
As Grandpa said, we meet evil gods or demons practically every week.
Reflecting on the progression we’ve had thus far, it’s evident that we managed to resolve the cursed room without having to fight against any prisoners. However, things don’t always go smoothly. We’ve had quite a few encounters with divine beings who have lost their minds! Like the moth we met in Room 102 or the enraged Sea God that descended in Room 202.
In such situations, the flute could serve as a last insurance.
While we were all deep in thought, Sanghyun, who had been silently observing, cracked a slight smile.
“I think… if I don’t say this, no one will realize it.”
“What is it?” someone asked.
“At first, I thought everyone was dodging the topic knowingly. But that’s not the case. It seems no one was considering ‘that possibility’ at all. Honestly, I’m a bit impressed.”
‘That possibility?’
“The moment I heard the explanations for both heritages, I got goosebumps. The intent of the hotel in preparing these heritages was too obvious.”
“Hey, Sanghyun, we know you’re the brilliant astronaut with a high IQ, so enough with the pretending—”
“Not trying to act smart! Let me just put this out there. Don’t you all think both heritages aim to ‘seize control within the party’?”
Instantly, everyone fell silent.
“Let’s start with the Ruda. This is way too obvious. Why do you think the newly made offspring from the Queen Ruda can only be grafted onto NPCs?”
“Wait, what?” someone muttered.
“Of course, it can also be grafted onto us. If you think about it, that slight enhancement in physical abilities suddenly feels like a huge power. It essentially strengthens all of our bodies. And when everyone grafts the offspring to enhance their physical abilities, whoever ends up with the Queen Ruda may become the king among us.”
The physical ability enhancements provided by the Queen Ruda would not only benefit the heritage owner but everyone else as well.
Songee exclaimed in surprise, “If we’re afraid of being controlled, others simply won’t graft it, right? Plus, we’d never use it like that anyway…”
“Ah, Songee. Your short sentence reveals a contradiction. You say you trust we won’t use the Ruda to control our comrades, so why propose that those who are afraid shouldn’t graft it?”
“….”
“Let’s assume you all trust each other. I do too. Since we trust each other, is there any reason to doubt? Now say one of us acquires the Queen Ruda. In a situation that seems free of suspicion, why would anyone turn down a free boost in physical strength? Surely, everyone would graft the Ruda, right? Now the one who acquires the Queen Ruda gains the ability to sway everyone’s minds and bodies.”
In the quiet room, Sanghyun continued, “While I spoke only about the Ruda, I think the flute has a similar intention. Its ability is highly straightforward, right? Mental recovery. An ability centered around one thing. Though it may sound like a game term, items with ‘abilities focused in certain fields’ often surpass others in ‘that area.’”
The flute, while only aiding mental recovery, is so powerful within that domain it even works on divine beings. It began to dawn on me what Sanghyun was hinting at.
“I believe the flute could nullify many of the abilities you possess. It can break Songee’s hallucinations, expel Kain’s possession, and since Elena’s ominous imagination requires her to be swept up in madness during the casting, it will be blocked during activation.”
Everyone’s heads filled with complexity. Scanning the surrounding, Sanghyun simply wrapped up the discussion.
“I hesitated before bringing this point up. It seems none of you have considered this possibility. However, I think it’s better to be aware of it before selecting rather than realizing it after obtaining.”
“Well said. As Sanghyun said, let’s be informed and then choose.”
“I’ll bow out of this heritage selection,” he stated.
Grandpa seemed a little taken aback. “Sanghyun?”
Kim Sanghyun smiled slightly at everyone and stepped back. I understood why he did that—many of us still referred to him as ‘Doctor.’
I’ll repay you with a sincere continuation.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.