### Chapter 260 – Party Time – Thoughts on the Mirror Room, Meeting for the Next Room (6)
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[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 110
Current Location: Floor 2, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 2]
– Han Kain
“I can’t believe there’s only one day left to rest.”
“That’s why you’re lounging around today.”
Lying on a hammock I found while rummaging through the second floor, I was having a blast admiring the vibrant hotel scenery. I could probably do this for ten hours straight.
As I lazily swayed back and forth, Ari, watching me, suddenly warned:
“Don’t flip it over!”
“I haven’t done anything yet!”
“You were totally going to flip it!”
Ari giggled but then suddenly turned serious.
“Have you talked to Seungyub?”
“Kind of. He seems to have gained some weird enhancement.”
“Do you understand what kind of enhancement it is?”
“Not at all.”
Honestly, I totally hadn’t a clue. Seungyub didn’t even know what power he had gained. He talked a lot about the mysterious visions the Patron showed him, but I still couldn’t grasp it.
When things get confusing like this, it’s usually best to try it out myself. But the Patron explicitly said, “Don’t use it when you’re with the others,” so we had to throw that idea out the window.
“I think the Patron is deliberately making it difficult for Seungyub to understand.”
“Is it because he might weaken if he does?”
“Exactly. The more you talk about it, the funnier it gets. The more you study, the dumber you become. The more you exercise, the weaker you get. It’s that kind of vibe, right?”
It really does feel like that. The more I understand about luck, the more I wonder if such power even exists.
“If we piece together everything Seungyub has heard, he’ll likely use that new power in the next room. When the time comes, we’ll figure it out naturally.”
“That’s true. Oh, something interesting came to me while I was talking with Songee earlier.”
“About the Mirror Room?”
“Apparently, when a person enters that place, the various wishes they harbor are reflected in the mirror. But listening to Songee made me wonder about one thing.”
“A question?”
“Songee said dozens of mirrors filled with different illusions came to her mind. What could that possibly mean?”
“The human mind is truly complex.”
“That’s true, but I’m talking about the Mirror Room itself. Let’s cut to the chase: it seems the Mirror Room doesn’t just scrape the surface of a person’s consciousness but digs deep into their very core.”
“Don’t just say the conclusion, explain the process too.”
“Here’s the deal. Inside a person’s heart lies an unfathomable desire. However, not all desires pop up on the surface at the same time. Our brains aren’t great at multitasking, after all. You can only think of, at most, two or three things at once.”
I think I get what they’re saying.
As Songee mentioned, her heart must be filled with a desire for success, a wish to relax, a yearning for a simple life, and a pursuit of transcendence, but she isn’t thinking of all of these at once.
“Now that you mention it, the Mirror Room doesn’t just pull out what someone is currently thinking; it seems to rummage through their entire brain to read even the hidden desires deep within their heart.”
“It looks like that. That’s also why it’s harder to use the Mirror Room. A lot of the methods we use may not apply.”
“Our methods, huh…?”
“For instance, my suggestion probably won’t do much. It only temporarily manipulates surface-level psychology, not the countless hidden desires.”
“Then what about the Clear Mind or the Flute?”
“Those abilities are irrelevant. They both remove harm caused by magical madness but don’t necessarily annihilate desire itself. Having a heart full of desire isn’t exactly a mental illness.”
The very essence that makes using the Mirror Room difficult is desire itself. Since desire isn’t a mental illness, it can’t be resolved with a Flute or Clear Mind.
As I listened to them, I started to grasp the situation faintly.
“We need a much stronger form of mental control.”
“Exactly. We need a power capable of completely ‘redesigning’ someone’s mind. If only a robot with a soul could easily use the Mirror Room.”
At that point, Ari quieted down, and I felt the urge to fill the silence.
“Let’s take our time to think. After all, we can’t even revive the maze without tickets.”
“It’s not just because of the maze.”
“Another reason?”
“The purpose of the Administration Bureau I mentioned before. A power for the world. Maybe that power lies within the Mirror Room? We could wish there and make something happen.”
That sounds plausible. Given the Mirror Room’s characteristics, whatever we try would sound justifiable.
“If that’s the case, we’ll need to gather two tickets. One for saving your mom, and the other to get the power to save the world.”
“Don’t forget we also have the free wish opportunity. Songee gave up, so the next person going into the room will get it.”
“That free chance will likely be used to restore the Maze’s spirit, don’t you think?”
“The Maze’s spirit…”
Ari, who seemed spacey, muttered.
“Why did the Maze lose its sanity in the first place?”
“Wasn’t it because it wished in the Mirror Room and paid the price?”
“I thought so too, but Songee said it could never be that.”
“Huh? But didn’t the Maze, when we met in Ice Hell, say it ‘wanted to achieve many goals, but lost everything as a result’?”
“When I mentioned that, Songee thought the Maze didn’t truly comprehend the Mirror Room until the moment it died.”
With that, I was left without anything further to say.
The Maze lost its sanity after falling into the trap of the Mirror Room, whereas Songee came out just fine. At least regarding issues related to the Mirror Room, Songee’s reliability seems higher.
“Why does she think that?”
“She believes the Mirror Room doesn’t demand a separate price. The first use is free, thereafter it’s tickets. This principle is strictly maintained, and there’s no reason to demand human intelligence. That means…”
I didn’t even need to hear the remainder.
The Mirror Room doesn’t require a price of human intelligence; the first use is free, and afterward, it demands tickets. Therefore, the loss of intelligence isn’t a price for wishing in the Mirror Room.
If that’s the case, then what on earth is the reason for losing intelligence? Surely they didn’t wish for it?
I felt my head getting more and more tangled. That’s when I suddenly remembered something I had overlooked.
“By the way, didn’t you also receive some kind of enhancement? What’s the ability?”
“I’ll show you later.”
“Show me?”
“It’s a fun ability!”
Ari’s expression was suspiciously bright. What kind of ability could it be?
Suddenly, Lee Eunsol chimed in, “Come to the snack table!”
Tomorrow marks the end of our rest. It’s about time we began discussing which room to enter next.
*
Everyone gathered around a table filled with various drinks and snacks. As always, Eunsol was the first to speak.
“Honestly, I thought we definitely had to go to Room 203, so I didn’t feel the need for a meeting. There isn’t a particular reason to go to Room 203, but there’s no reason to choose another room either.”
That’s the thing. The reason we wanted to proceed in the order of Rooms 201, 202, and then 203 was simply that we couldn’t find a reason to disrupt the order in the first place.
“But Ari had a slightly different story, right? She sounded convincing.”
“I’ll put it simply. First, there’s a room among the remaining that isn’t cursed. It might be the mission room, but we’ll see. Second, the last cursed room is tougher than the others. And now, ‘the girl without presence’ activates!”
Ari’s explanation was intriguingly engaging. According to the Patron, there’s a room among the remaining that isn’t cursed, and the last cursed room is harder than the others.
“Thanks to that, we’re now pondering the order of the rooms. By the way, I heard a warning about Room 203 as well, Seungyub?”
Seungyub, who had been rustling around next to me, responded a moment late to my question.
“Yeah? Ah! That, about midway through Room 201, an unidentified being told me that if I’m not qualified enough, I would collapse in Room 203. And…”
“Seungyub is too wrapped up in his peanuts to focus on the meeting. I’ll handle those peanuts. Nicely shelled.”
“Ah, I remembered! The Patron also told me that Room 203 is both a crisis and an opportunity for me, and that I need a special enhancement. Huh?”
“What? Why the sudden change?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. Where did my peanuts go?”
“If it’s a special enhancement, does that mean it’s related to the ability you received this time? It’s an unknown identity, but still?”
“Yep.”
As I listened, I began to notice a curious discrepancy.
“Wait a minute, Seungyub’s information and Ari’s information are subtly different. Both the unknown entity from Room 201 and the Patron warned Seungyub about the danger in Room 203. Meanwhile, the Patron warned Ari about the ‘last cursed room’.”
“Ah! I’ll clarify that. The warnings Seungyub and I received have different nuances—”
“What’s everyone thinking about this?”
“… Is my voice totally being ignored? This is so annoying. Kain, stop chugging cola like it’s water! Ugh!”
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