Chapter: 56
Chapter 56 – Room 106, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Land of Hope’ (3)
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 21
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 106 (Mission Room – Hotel Land of Hope)
Sage’s Advice: 1]
4. Real or Fake? The Room of Mirrors.
As I stumbled back, butt hitting the ground, in shock after seeing the monster leap at me, I finally realized something.
The monster can’t cross the mirror.
Like an uncrossable wall, it repeatedly banged against the glass, yet the mirror didn’t flinch.
Could it really not pass through the mirror?
In utter disbelief, I approached the mirror and defiantly raised my middle fingers at the monster.
“Don’t scare me like that! Why are there so many creepy monsters in this hotel?”
Now a bit more relaxed, I looked up and noticed there was one spot that didn’t have a mirror.
<59:48>
I was blankly watching the numbers change until they went down to 59 minutes and 30 seconds. This was pretty clear-cut. It meant I had to escape this place within that time!
Let’s think this through.
Unless the structure of the maze was changing, if I kept my hand on one wall and followed it, I would definitely find the exit. Plus, the monsters reflected in the mirrors couldn’t come out.
Wasn’t it a simple problem?
Since those monsters couldn’t come out anyway, I could just ignore them and find the right path.
I placed my hand on the wall again, and just in case, I took off my cardigan and put it on the ground.
After ignoring the monster and wandering for about 10 minutes, I found myself back at the same spot where I had placed my cardigan.
I hadn’t sensed any changes in the labyrinth structure during my walk. Unless they changed the walls without me noticing…
This meant there was no exit to this maze.
What if there were no exits? Simply put, I could create one.
The mirrors. Unless these were some super-high-tech bulletproof mirrors, I should be able to break them with my fist, right? I had a cardigan and a dagger. If I wrapped my hand in the cardigan and struck with the handle of the dagger, I could break the mirror without injuring myself.
But was breaking the mirrors the right choice?
I pondered for a moment, but the clock on the ceiling showed 47 minutes. There was no point in dragging this out. I had to make a decision.
I still had one Sage’s Advice left. One was used up when I figured out which button was for the accelerator at the bumper cars, and the second prompted me to reach out toward Ahri during the drop ride. That left me with just one.
Though I sometimes felt the advice wasn’t helpful, it had saved my life countless times, so it should help this time as well.
Across the mirror, a monster that looked somewhat like me stood threateningly, its head split into four pieces.
The moment I raised the dagger to slam it down on the mirror…
[If you strike down, you will die to the monster.]
I lowered the dagger. I was really wondering. Would those monsters come over if I smashed the mirror? I suspected it, but to think those monsters actually existed on the other side.
The monsters behind the mirror were real. They couldn’t cross over on their own, but if I broke the mirror, they would come over and kill me.
What should I do?
1. There is no exit in this mirror maze.
2. To create an exit, I need to break a mirror.
3. If I break the mirror, the monster on the other side will come over to my side.
I was enveloped in confusion. Was this puzzle solvable only by someone like Jinchul-hyung, who could actually beat up a monster?
I didn’t think it worked that way. Based on my past experiences, physical strength wasn’t the key when navigating through this hotel’s trials.
<42:39>
42 minutes left. My heart raced faster and faster. Was simply escaping this maze enough? If there was something after this, I had to make a decision quickly.
Could there be a safe mirror somewhere? One without any monsters?
As I ran, I checked the various mirrors in the maze and soon found a mirror that didn’t reflect anything even when I stood right in front of it.
Could it be? Was this the answer? Could I break the mirror that didn’t have a monster and create an exit?
I felt a glimmer of hope. Just as I was about to strike the mirror with the dagger handle again…
I stopped. Without any Sage’s Advice left, I had to be extra cautious.
Let’s think logically.
A mirror showing a monster on the other side was definitely abnormal. But what about a mirror that didn’t reflect anything? Was that also normal?
Calming myself, I observed the empty mirror.
?
In the upper right, I spotted something glimmering.
What was that? Feeling an odd sense of curiosity, I leaned in closer to the mirror to inspect it…
F*ck, can these idiots just stop already!
I couldn’t help but curse in shock.
Absurdly enough, the mirror that didn’t reflect anything had a monster hiding behind it! A creature that seemed modeled after me was lurking outside the mirror, brandishing a knife. The glimmer was from its blade.
I nearly fainted when I saw this five-eyed version of me lunge forward with its knife as soon as I leaned forward.
There wasn’t much time left. I felt like my brain was melting, but I couldn’t afford to freeze in fear. There were only 37 minutes remaining, and who knew if this was all there was?
Let’s compile the information I had gathered so far:
1. A monster modeled after me exists on the other side of the mirror.
2. Breaking the mirror will let the monster come over and kill me.
3. There are no safe mirrors. Even those that don’t reflect anything could be hiding monsters.
Going back to point one—“a monster modeled after me.”
Would a monster appear if I wasn’t within its reflection angle?
This was a similar yet distinct approach as point three.
For point three, there was an absence of reflection despite being in front of it. When I was supposed to see myself in the mirror, the monster formed but remained hidden.
So, would a monster still appear even if I wasn’t meant to be seen in the mirror?
I shifted to the left of the mirror, placing myself at an angle where my body wouldn’t reflect back, staring at it.
At first glance, nothing showed up.
<35:28>
Time to make a decision.
Thinking endlessly wouldn’t guarantee any better ideas. So, I maneuvered myself so that no part of me was reflected in a specific mirror and slid the dagger from outside the frame to break the mirror.
—Clank!
…
I stood waiting, but no monsters appeared.
I passed through the opening created by the shattered mirror.
*
Ding Dong! Correct! You are the first to complete this mission.
However, there are still teammates who have yet to finish. You can assist them.
If needed, why not choose a more trustworthy appearance?
Answer: Prevent the creation of the monster by ensuring your reflection does not appear in the mirror, and use a tool to break the mirror to create an exit.
I was right! But, as I suspected, this wasn’t the end; I needed to help my teammates get out as well.
“Choose a more trustworthy appearance.”
What could that mean?
*
Exiting through the door, I continued walking and arrived in a bizarre room. Several full-length mirrors lined the walls, with a central panel showcasing all the ID photos of my teammates.
And there was a massive clock too.
<31:23>
There were about 30 minutes left now.
Reaching the center of the room, I examined the full-length mirrors and saw the reflections of my four surviving teammates: Cha Jinchul, Park Seungyub, Elena, and Kim Ahri.
I realized what I needed to do.
From now on, I had to have my teammates break the mirror in which they could see me until they arrived in this room.
I also grasped the meaning of “choose a more trustworthy appearance.” Whenever I touched an ID photo in the middle of the room, my reflected self transformed into the person I touched.
*
30 minutes. That was plenty of time. All I needed was for them to trust me and break through the mirror they saw me in.
But the tricky part was earning their trust. What would it take to convince them I wasn’t up to no good?
Thinking from their perspective, they had been tossed into a maze full of mirrors with monstrous versions of themselves threatening them everywhere.
Then suddenly, one mirror showed me, Han Kain, beckoning them over.
In that situation, would they really trust Han Kain and follow my signal?
Wouldn’t they just see me as another unknown monster?
How can I make them trust me?
The ability to change appearance.
That was my angle. They wouldn’t have given me a useless item unless they wanted me to utilize it somehow.
What kind of person should I change into to guide them over?
The first person that popped into my mind was Ahri. The most mysterious girl in our group. No one knew the full extent of her powers.
If it were Ahri…
If it were Ahri, then wouldn’t she be able to appear in the mirrors of others through some magical means?
Whether she could actually do that didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Ahri was perceived by my teammates as someone capable of conjuring up the supernatural.
I immediately placed my hand on Ahri’s ID photo.
The mirror now reflected Ahri instead of me.
Or so I thought.
What was this? My current reflection was indeed similar to Ahri—almost identical but still a bit different. My hair color was closer to silver.
Like a character from a cartoon with silver hair and red eyes. The impression was also slightly altered—perhaps a bit gentler?
Had Ahri dyed her hair black or something?
In any case, I didn’t think it was a big deal, because without a doubt, I still looked like Ahri aside from the hair color.
First, I headed toward Seungyub.
*
—Crack!!
With the sound of the mirror breaking, Seungyub sprang out.
It took about 10 seconds. Seriously, this was way too easy—so easy that it felt deflating.
All I had to do was change into Ahri, make a little wave towards Seungyub’s mirror, and he crawled right through, breaking free with a goofy tackle.
Honestly, I thought Seungyub would rush over without a second thought—even if Ahri was beckoning him towards molten lava.
“Eh? Hyung? Where’s Ahri-noona?”
“…”
“Hyung?”
“I’m busy rescuing the others, so just move to the side.”
With Seungyub nudged aside, I turned to look at the next person.
On to Ahri! I felt she was clever enough to figure out the situation right away.
However, things didn’t go as I expected.
*
“Mum? Is that you, mum? Why are you there?”
For the first time since arriving at this hotel, I saw Ahri making a ‘childlike’ expression.
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