### Chapter 322 – Room 203, The Cursed Room – ‘A New Beginning’ (2)
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 683,615
Current Location: Level 2, Room 203 – The Cursed Room ‘A New Beginning’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
—
– Han Kain
I started brainstorming various possibilities, assuming the scenario hadn’t changed.
Why was it that nobody remembered anything about the spaceship after the first attempt?
Well, it’s no shock for others since they’ve never woken up from cryogenic sleep in the first place, but why don’t I remember anything either?
The first theory that popped into my head was amnesia. Maybe my status window got weak, and I passed out the moment I laid eyes on Adravita. Or perhaps the AI’s multiple mentions of memory loss due to the side effects of cryogenic sleep applied to me too.
But as I focused intently on the status window, a different possibility formed.
[Date: Day 683,615]
Calculating roughly, it had been 1,870 years since waking from the spaceship. Seriously, how did I not notice this ridiculous change before?
It can’t be solely blamed on a malfunctioning status window. Back then, even if the text displayed some bizarre alien language, I could still make out the ‘date.’
Initially, the number ‘118’ was clear, and towards the end, it showed ‘131.’ After that escape, it actually was Day 131.
So, the date calculation of the status window was functioning properly back then. Therefore, I need to understand those confusing numbers in a different context.
I recalled what happened in Room 103. After others died tragically, Songee spent a long time alone, but the status window didn’t calculate the time she spent alone.
A similar thing happened in Room 104. after I died, Ahri beat the judge, and it took nearly a month to escape, yet the status window didn’t count the days after my death.
What if I hadn’t woken up from the spaceship during the first attempt? The status window might have flagged me as not participating properly during that time and not counted the days.
What about the cryogenic sleep afterwards? Anyway, I fell back asleep after participating in the scenario, so does that count?
This line of thought led to another pressing question. Why was I able to wake up in this second attempt while I couldn’t in the first?
Thinking about who woke me up provides the answer.
Recalling the AI’s words on the spaceship, it wasn’t natural for crew members to wake up during cryogenic sleep.
Adravita started acting weird, prompting the AI aboard the spaceship to wake me up to deal with it. In reverse, if Adravita hadn’t done anything, we wouldn’t wake up at all.
In other words, the entity that woke us this time was Adravita. Unlike the other ordinary NPCs in the Cursed Room, it’s a prisoner that recognizes cycles, which is why it altered its actions when the turn changed.
But why did it change?
Did it have a change of heart after seeing our first attempt? Is there something it desires from us now?
「□n□e□m.」
Reflecting on this phrase, it likely means ‘remember.’
Remember what? Not to forget what happened on the spaceship? Did it want me to know the background of Room 203?
Thanks to waking up early, I gathered a ton of information that usually would be tough to get.
The background of Room 203 starts on an alien colonization spaceship. The AI residing in Ahri’s body is here to assist humanity in establishing itself in harsh conditions on another planet.
This info seems extremely valuable, yet I don’t understand why a prisoner would want to share this with me.
Moreover, those details are just stories from a long time ago. So what happened in this world over the past 1,870 years?
Just 1,870 years ago, the AI treating me with such respect now calls us ‘traitors’ and wants to kill us. Adravita is leisurely floating around in the void, farming away on some continent.
As I thought this, my companions crossed my mind. I hope they’re all okay?
[Companion Location Info(*)]
Kim Mooksung: 872 km Northwest
Well, that’s how it goes.
Room 203’s setting is an unbelievably vast primitive continent. Civilization has long crumbled, there’s obviously no transportation, and there are no recognizable place names. So this is the only way to relay location.
Totally useless. What the heck am I supposed to do with that? Walk 872 km Northwest? At least they’re alive.
— Thud!
“My deity! May I come in for a moment?”
“Hold on a sec!”
[Date: Day 683,615 (Day 139)]
I hastily jotted down the date, excluding the cryogenic sleep time for better clarity. When I meet Owl later, I’ll ask him to bump those cryogenic sleep days off for me.
A moment later, the tent opened, revealing Old Wolf Claw’s entrance.
“My deity! I must tell you something urgently!”
I could guess it was about Twisty Teeth or some claw topic. Enough deliberation, let’s tackle the current issue.
As I stepped outside the tent, I announced to the warriors that I would take care of Twisty Teeth. Just like before, they lit up with excitement.
— Grr!
A horrifying sound echoed from the western sky. As if on cue, the scenario understanding prompted me to take down Twisty Teeth.
Reassuring the terrified tribespeople, I set out with the warriors.
“Let’s go! The others, make a fire!”
*
It looked strikingly similar to the past.
Meeting Twisty Teeth, those who survived attempted to relay sketchy intel, and Old Wolf Claw was organizing the warriors to protect me.
I remember feeling reassured by their actions back then… but now, it’s just a hassle. I already know enough about the opponent’s characteristics, and the ‘me’ from back then and the ‘me’ now are entirely different.
Now that my blessing is intact, I can shield my mind with that and use the higher-level powers of the Grimoire, ‘Embodiment of Power.’
“Clear the way and step back!”
“W-What?!”
“Just do as you’re told. You all stay together, and just Old Wolf Claw come with me.”
“Understood!”
“If I drop, catch my body.”
“Yes, sir!”
I recalled my first battle against Twisty Teeth. The monster preferred to target the ones straying slightly from the formation rather than the clustered humans, right? I could use that tendency to lure it out by stepping out from the line, and the warriors watched me with uneasy expressions.
— Swish!
Rustling branches and the sound of something heavy moving through the leaves reached my ears. Immediately summoning my Grimoire, I focused on where the noise was coming from.
The sinister squirming of tentacles came into view—and then, my consciousness unshackled itself from my body.
My consciousness, my soul floated into the void.
I gained freedom from the suffocating physical form. Suddenly, situations that were incomprehensible from a human’s viewpoint came into focus.
In the dim forest, three dreadfully wriggling tentacles slithered between the trees, targeting us.
According to the info I acquired during my first attempt, those tentacles are sort of parasitic creatures, separate from the main body. So, I should be able to control them simultaneously using the Embodiment of Power.
With my will firmly set, an inky black thread stretched out from the Grimoire, binding the three tentacles.
“Return! Seek your true master!”
— Squirm!
In an instant, the tentacles thrashed as if trying to resist the power of the Grimoire, but there wasn’t much time for defiance. They lacked the intelligence and strength to resist fully.
Ultimately, the tentacles began to turn back toward the main body of Twisty Teeth.
…
Even as my consciousness drifted free, a significant pain hit me. Since I’d already given the command, could I afford to ease up on the power?
The floating soul rapidly returned to my body. The shackles of my flesh clung back to my spirit.
“Guh!”
When I returned to my body, I was already seeing red in my eyes, blood dripping from my nose.
“Are, are you alright?”
The old man holding my body looked anxious. Instead of replying, I gazed westward.
— Aaargh!
An ominously dreadful, yet painfully filled howl reached my ears.
“Did we take it down?”
“Yes?”
“Send a few of you to check. They might be dead.”
The warriors looked at me incredulously.
What in the world could have happened? Did they see me just standing there, bleeding from my nose and collapsing?
A little while later, one brave warrior returned, utterly dazed, and reported that a mountain of flesh had been found, which was said to be Twisty Teeth.
Hearing that, the warriors kneeled before me, their faces filled with an unfathomable expression.
“You are… truly a heavenly being! The deity really -”
“Enough, enough. Let’s head back. I’m a bit tired.”
The Embodiment of Power drains energy like nothing else. Even if I only used it for a couple of minutes, every bit of energy was completely sapped from my body.
At that moment, the scenario understanding refreshed, prompting me to pay attention to the tribe’s song.
… So far, this felt equally familiar. Now, what should I do?
*
There was a time when the descendants of heaven basked in limitless glory.
Listening to the familiar song, I leaned against the edge of the tent.
Waking up in the primitive tribal society and conquering the monster threatening the tribe—this much was no different from the first attempt.
Now, what should I do from here? Should I take another hike through the mountains? Or should I follow Owl’s advice and look for traces of the supernatural being in the sky?
Speaking of which, what are the others up to? I hope nobody’s died in the meantime.
[Cha Jinchul: 282m East]
[Cha Jinchul: 218m East]
[Cha Jinchul: 174m East]
“Huh?”
[Cha Jinchul: 42m East]
“Hyung?!”
— Boom!
“My deity! There’s a monster approaching from the plains—”
“Be! Quiet! Now!”
With a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, chaos erupted outside.
— Whoosh!
The tent flapped open, and the towering frame of Cha Jinchul stepped in. Simultaneously, the tribal warriors surrounded him with spears, wore tense expressions.
“You!”
“… You ran all the way here?”
“Of course! I just realized your tribe and mine were adjacent!”
“Oh, right.”
“Coming back here jogged my memory. If you go along the river, you’ll hit yours, right?”
When the turn changes, it’s not just the prisoners that alter their actions. We keep coming up with different strategies every time.
In this second attempt, Cha Jinchul, empowered by the blessing of courage, came running to find me right as the scenario kicked off.
Now that I think about it, there should be other comrades who can pull off similar stunts, right?
Instinctively, I sensed that just like Adravita, my allies would act differently this time around.
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