### Chapter 158 – Room 201, The Cursed Room – ‘The Cube’ (7)
—
– Han Kain
After finishing our dinner meeting, we moved to the terrace on the first floor.
Elena was still leaning against the wall, looking like a half-zombie.
I intentionally kept my gaze on the floor and asked, “Elena, are you okay?”
“…”
“Elena, big sis. You skipped dinner, right? If you’re feeling too rough, why not just sleep?”
“…”
“Let’s just leave her be. According to Kain’s advice, she’ll be back to normal by tomorrow anyway.”
When I asked about Elena’s recovery earlier, the advice replied:
[They will conduct treatment tonight to spare you.]
Right after hearing that, something felt off, and now that I thought about it again, it still seemed pretty strange.
Ari poked me, seemingly sharing the same feeling.
“Now that I think about it, it is weird. Why is Elena the only one getting treatment tomorrow?”
“And why is that considered ‘considerate’?”
At this point, the other teammates started picking up on the weirdness too.
“Yeah? We all got our mental healing as soon as we came out, so why was Elena just tossed out raw with a promise of treatment tomorrow? How is that even a considerate act?”
Why would delaying treatment be considered considerate for us?
What harm could possibly come to us during the treatment process?
!!!
Suddenly, it struck me like lightning!
Grandpa shouted out loudly, “We need to interrogate Elena right now before she loses her memories!”
Of course, he used the word ‘interrogate’ in the midst of all this.
“What do you mean interrogate? But we definitely need to find something out. Elena saw something that could make anyone go insane, right? If they treat her, she’s gonna forget everything she saw during that process.”
My older sister slapped her knee and said, “And we need to figure out what that was!”
Everyone’s eyes widened, closing in on Elena.
Many people tried to talk to her repeatedly, shaking her shoulders as well.
…
Elena still wasn’t responding normally.
She suddenly pushed us away while yelling, and then stayed silent, staring into space for a long while.
Finally, everyone’s attention turned to me.
I sighed. There was a reason I didn’t use the grimoire from the start.
You can’t access the status window while possessing someone else’s body.
What if I read Elena’s memory and went crazy too?
But now, I had no other options.
Besides, given the situation I was in, what’s the harm if I go a little insane, right?
I’m sure the hotel would treat me afterward.
I harnessed the power of the grimoire to possess Elena’s body.
*
– Han Kain
…
I sank down.
I felt like I was slowly falling into Elena’s psyche, like a feather drifting aimlessly.
I had possessed people many times before, but you can’t just instantly read someone’s entire memory by doing that.
If that were possible, my brain would probably have fried each time.
Usually, I only got approximate, essential info, summarized just enough for me to grasp.
Maybe the grimoire handled the rest for me?
I recalled what Songi had said during times like this.
We weren’t truly understanding or using this transcendent power; we were just using a tool that holds that power.
It’s like how most citizens in modern society don’t understand the fundamental principles of TVs and computers but manage to use them just fine.
…
My consciousness dove deeper. The grimoire located the necessary information within Elena’s murky mind.
At some point, I discovered that I had turned into Elena.
Did I hear bizarre phrases like “stand in line?” Suddenly, hands from the TV popped out and seized Elena, pulling her in.
Inside the TV was a pitch-white space.
A gigantic cauldron. I could see boiling oil splattering everywhere.
If Grandpa Mooksung hadn’t busted the TV in time, would Elena have been pulled into that?
Thinking about it made me realize just how terrifying it truly was. But still…
I didn’t think simply staring at a boiling cauldron could make someone insane.
Was there anything else around? There had to be more than just that cauldron!
I could see it. Some wriggling things began to appear around.
I recognized this bizarre place.
It’s strange. There’s something else besides these guys in this space—
There’s an eye in the heavens.
I’m no more than a bug crawling on the ground.
Not even the least creature on earth is beneath me.
At least, they have substance—
“SHUT UP! DON’T LOOK AT ME, YOU BLIND BASTARDS!”
As soon as I popped out, I yelled, startling my teammates who were staring wide-eyed at me.
I’d forget what I just saw soon enough.
Just before every bit of sanity melted away, I shouted one phrase and fainted.
“Research Institute!”
*
[User: Han Kain (Former Wisdom)
Date: Day 82
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105, Room of Rest
Sage’s Advice: 3]
I regained consciousness in the morning.
I remembered up to the moment I possessed Elena, but after that, it was a blank.
Did I just lose all my memories?
Thinking a bit more, while the memories of my time possessed were gone, I still faintly remembered yelling out, “Research Institute.”
I must have figured something out.
Feeling a slight sense of accomplishment, I went out to meet my teammates.
*
“Big bro! Are you okay?”
“Are you really okay now?”
As soon as I stepped out, I heard my teammates voicing their concerns.
After assuring each one that I was fine, I checked to see if Elena was okay.
Across the table, when our eyes met, instead of screaming, Elena gave me a hazy smile.
They did indeed treat her!
After I reached the table, we began discussing the information we gleaned from Elena’s memory.
“I wonder what I was thinking when I yelled out ‘Research Institute’?”
Ari giggled.
“That sounds like a Zen riddle. Asking us what you were thinking when you said it!”
“I barely have any memory of that moment.”
“Isn’t the interpretation obvious? Elena’s memory is tied to what she saw inside the TV. When you figured that out, you yelled ‘Research Institute.’ So maybe stepping beyond the TV display leads to the Research Institute?”
Everyone agreed with Ari’s interpretation. I too saw no room for alternative interpretations.
Now I felt like I was slowly uncovering the location of the Research Institute where I was trapped.
Also, considering how significant this information was, the hotel probably delayed erasing my memory as a courtesy.
Jinchul spoke, saying what was obvious, “We definitely have to check out the Research Institute, right?”
“Of course! That’s where I’m trapped, after all.”
“No, what I mean is… how do we get in? Once the TV turns on, we can’t move. We can’t break free by force either. I couldn’t even lift a finger.”
After a long absence, Elena finally spoke up.
“If you stay still, the TV will choose someone and pull them in. I’m sure of it from my own experience.”
“Essentially, it means they’ll pull you in to toss into the cauldron. It sounds like we shouldn’t go in that way. We need to break the paralysis caused by the TV.”
Grandpa Mooksung, the one who broke the paralysis earlier, replied.
“Well, didn’t we confirm how to break it? Even in a paralyzed state, I can move my gloves. I remember shooting the TV with my gun to break free.”
Eunsol pointed out a flaw in his argument.
“If we shoot the TV and break it, the passage leading to the Research Institute disappears. We need to find a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV.”
… And then silence fell over the table.
Our goal was to get through the TV display and reach the Research Institute beyond.
The problem? The moment the TV turns on, we all get paralyzed, and then the TV tries to gruesomely kill us by yanking us in.
If we blow up the TV to stop its murderous attempt, the escape route vanishes.
We’ve gathered enough information about the TV by now.
It’s just that, due to poor details, we found ourselves confused about the answer.
[Advice: 3 -> 2]
‘Is there a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV?’
[What is the cause of the paralysis?]
“Hmm… I just used advice, and I got the response, ‘What is the cause of the paralysis?’”
Jinchul looked flabbergasted. “Is it not obviously the TV? Are you saying there’s something else causing it?”
After a moment of pondering, Ari replied, “That’s not what the advice means. I just remembered, but the moment we got paralyzed wasn’t when the TV turned on. Everybody was surprised shouting what it even was when it turned on. The paralysis started when the words ‘Stand in Line’ began to play on the TV.”
Grandpa Mooksung sighed. “My memory is similar, but is there a difference? Didn’t the TV just turn on and shortly after say that?”
Again, silence descended upon the table.
For the first time in a long while, Seungyub spoke up.
“Uh… this might sound strange, but if the TV turns on and that’s when the problem occurs, couldn’t we just mute it?”
…
Eunsol slapped her knee. “Why didn’t we think of that? That definitely sounds like it could be the answer!”
“Wow! This little kid usually doesn’t say a word during meetings, but the saying about how a dog learns poetry in three years is spot on. Next time, let’s mute the TV.”
Seungyub’s face lit up with a big smile after finally coming up with a good idea.
But then, Elena poured cold water on our excitement.
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s one major problem left. I went insane the moment I looked inside the TV. Kain, you lost your mind after reading my memory. Do you think the others will do any better? Besides Songi, who wears the bracelet, everyone else will likely go mad if they step through the TV display.”
That was a solid point.
I had no idea what had driven Elena mad, nor what made me lose my mind, but its existence posed a deadly risk as we crossed over.
Should only those capable of resisting insanity go through?
Outside of me, who was sealed, the members who might resist madness sound like they could only be Songi and, to some extent, Ari.
No one else came to mind.
As Ari pondered, she turned to me.
“You still have two advice left, right? Ask again. You won’t be using the advice while sealed, so let’s use it all in the morning.”
[Advice: 2 -> 1]
‘Is there a way to resist the madness present in the TV?’
[What was your basis for realizing that location is the ‘Research Institute’?]
A riddle-like response. I relayed the content of the reply to the team.
“The advice threw back a question asking about the basis I had for realizing that place is the Research Institute.”
“What did you see?”
“I have no clue. I’ve forgotten every memory from that time.”
“Oh, right. Then what’s the answer?”
The answer came to me almost instantaneously.
“I’ve NEVER visited a place like a Research Institute in my life. So I wouldn’t be able to identify any of the equipment or decor to conclude it’s a Research Institute. But also, just before I fell asleep in that room, I briefly scanned the surroundings and saw white-clad people that looked like researchers. I must have seen them again inside the TV.”
“Is it to say that you saw Research Institute staff inside the TV?”
As I answered Ari, I naturally grasped the meaning of the advice.
“That must be it. What does it mean that Research Institute staff are near the source of the madness? It couldn’t be that all Research Institute staff are psychic resistors, right? So, it seems there are ways for ordinary humans to resist it too. Does that make sense?”
Eunsol, who had been quietly listening, tilted her head.
“So what you’re saying is, when asking how to resist madness, the reply basically said, ‘There definitely is a way.’ What kind of ridiculous response is that?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, if you get the chance to meet a patron again, you should at least cuss them out a little.”
I’d been meaning to. I had more than enough pent-up feelings about that.
Jinchul sighed. “How about asking one more time? We still have attempts left, right?”
Grandpa Mooksung disagreed. “If they were going to answer properly, they would’ve done so when you asked the first time. That vague answer is telling you to think it through yourself. If you ask again, they’ll just throw another meaningless riddle at you. Use the last remaining advice for a different question.”
I too decided to give up on repeating the same question. Instead, I started coming up with my own answers. After all, I had received at least that much—a hint that ‘a response exists.’
What could be the means to resist the madness in the TV?
“First, let’s think about what kind of grand presence lies within the TV. We’ve all heard about whatever has contact with that ‘something’ mentioning ‘eyes.’”
Eunsol nodded in agreement.
“From what Elena said at first about the gaze and what Seungyub experienced upon escaping, they seemed to have similar feelings. You also swore right away when you popped out about your eyes.”
Eyes. Gaze. What if simply avoiding eye contact is the key?
Songi, having struck a similar thought, offered her insight.
“Just don’t look?”
Seungyub, finally free to talk, immediately dismissed that response.
“While my memories of escaping are likely hazy due to the hotel’s ‘treatment,’ what lingers in my mind is the gaze suffusing the whole world! It feels like just dodging one object won’t be enough for defense.”
Ari also chimed in.
“Maybe closing your eyes and passing through?”
That didn’t feel quite right either. What method should I use for our safe infiltration into the Research Institute?
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