Chapter: 87
87th Chapter – Party Time (9) – Strategy Meeting (2) Fin, Re-entry into Room 102 – Mansion of Fear.
– Han Kain
In the end, I couldn’t ignore the gaze of those around me and erased the lines that were drawn on Grandpa’s face. Only then did the atmosphere turn serious again.
We had two things to ponder before our re-entry into Room 102.
Interpreting the hint, and contemplating escape methods.
I began to share my opinion.
“First, let’s reinterpret the hint we got for Room 102: ‘Forget the bias that you must head toward _________.’ This hint includes two meanings.
First, the phrase ‘forget the bias’ indicates that we have a prejudice about needing to go to a specific place.
Second, the name of that location is two syllables. Potential candidates are the mansion, study, cathedral, and a lake.”
That was when Ahri suddenly presented the third agenda item.
“There’s another issue we need to consider before discussing the hint or escape methods.”
“Another issue?”
“The possibility that the scenario itself may change. Room 102 is different from other rooms; our characters have changed since the first attempt, right?”
“In the first attempt, both Grandpa and I were members of the mansion, but now we are party members. This kind of thing hasn’t happened in other rooms.”
The scenario itself is changing. That was a possibility I hadn’t thought about.
I was only considering the chance of just adding new NPCs like maids and butlers. But perhaps Ahri has already experienced this?
“Have you experienced a change in the scenario?” I asked.
Ahri fell silent for a moment before opening her mouth.
“As you all may know, the hotel has the ‘Room of Resurrection.’ During my first run at the hotel, our party revived an NPC who belonged to the cursed room through the Room of Resurrection.
I remember that the hotel didn’t just fill in a new NPC; it actually changed the scenario itself.
It wasn’t an entirely different scenario but was essentially similar in nature, only set in a different time period.”
“Different time period?” Eunsol-noona asked, intrigued.
“I think we ended up in the future of that scenario. I can’t recall the exact details.”
“I’m curious because I’ve heard the Room of Resurrection’s story, but what happens when you revive an NPC through that room? Do they become participants like us? Do they regain any heritage or blessings they had before becoming NPCs?”
“Sorry, I can’t remember. It’s not that I’m hiding anything; it’s just that it was such a long time ago, and back then, I was just a kid.
My memories of the first run are quite hazy, and those that remain are mostly about my mother.”
I understood. During the hotel’s first run, Ahri was probably just a little child, quite different from her currently dubious persona.
More importantly, let’s focus on the potential changes in the scenario.
Could the narrative change affect the NPC we revived? The notion appeared intriguing, but how is that relevant to us?
“Is there a commonality between that example and what we’re facing now? We are yet to find the Room of Resurrection.”
Ahri replied, “At first, I thought there was no connection either and didn’t mention it before. But after pondering it for these past few days, I discovered a significant similarity.
What Ahri experienced when the NPC was revived during her past, and now our agents have become allies.”
The commonality lies in both cases where NPCs joined us as allies.
“Why did the hotel’s scenario change when the NPC was resurrected? It boils down to ‘information.’
These are primarily pieces of information that the participant party could not access before, or would have to pay a large price to obtain, but when an NPC joins as an ally, they gain access to too much information.”
I began to get it.
Unlike our initial attempt at Room 102, Ahri and Grandpa Mooksung transitioned from characters in the mansion to allies on our side.
Naturally, they now possessed a wealth of essential information that, in a normal scenario, might require significant sacrifice to uncover.
For example, the escape method whereby ‘the elder prevents six sacrifices from being made’ was something Ahri had informed me about through the card game. There likely was much more that they knew.
In essence, from the hotel’s perspective, we were receiving critical information that we would have otherwise needed to obtain through immense sacrifice thanks to the NPCs joining us.
Thus, this could lead the hotel to decide to adjust the difficulty by altering the scenario.
This raised further questions. If the narrative itself changes, how should we respond?
“Does this mean the time period of the scenario will shift to either the past or the future?”
“We need to keep all possibilities open. Ugh. Must we entirely rethink our escape plan?” Eunsol-noona sighed.
At that point, Grandpa Mooksung shared a glimmer of hope.
“It is uncertain if we will enter the future, but if we go to the past, we might gain an ally.”
“An ally?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you remember the cathedral and the mysterious bell? The cathedral was certainly older than the mansion itself, but that bell is even more significant—it was a divine artifact brought in from outside.”
“From outside? Who brought such a mystical bell?”
This time, Ahri responded.
“When the elder of the mansion began to turn dark, a group of exorcists, something like a band of paranormal investigators, came to the area. I think they were the ones who brought the bell.”
“Exorcists?”
“Wait! If they showed up, why couldn’t they take down the elder? Was he already too strong?”
Grandpa Mooksung replied, “According to what I remember, they failed to find any evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“When the exorcists arrived, there was a series of disappearance incidents happening in the village. Though the elder was a prime suspect, the exorcists could not find evidence against him.”
“A village? Was there a village around here?”
“According to my ‘butler’s memories,’ there used to be a village. That’s how the cathedral was erected.
However, once inexplicable ominous incidents began to unfold, many people died and fled, leaving only the mansion behind. The origin of these ominous incidents was the ‘disappearance cases.’”
The past we experienced in the Mansion of Fear was quite simple.
It must have been during the initial stages of the elder’s corruption.
Ominous events likely started to emerge around the mansion and village, as exorcists were sent to investigate but left without any evidence to pin the blame on the elder.
When no one could stop the elder, the village fell into desolation, resulting in numerous deaths until, eventually, it became abandoned. The future point we first entered Room 102 was likely from after all this turmoil.
“If we do enter the ‘past’ of the Mansion of Fear, do we need to assist the exorcists?”
Eunsol-noona answered, “We probably have to. We need to ensure they can find the evidence to punish the elder—a different outcome from what occurred previously.”
Jinchul-hyung, who had been quietly listening, suddenly intervened in the discussion.
“Let’s wrap this conversation up. Honestly, there’s no guarantee it’ll even play out in the past.”
That was a reasonable point.
Considering the potential for the scenario to shift, continuing the meeting became quite complicated.
We stood before infinite possibilities.
Eunsol-noona returned to the central theme of our discussion.
“As Jinchul said, let’s save talk about future scenario changes for now. Anything further would just lead to more imaginative speculation.
Instead, let’s discuss the ‘escape’ plan we initially intended to focus on.
First, we’ll put aside ‘suicide’ for now. Given likely changes in the scenario, using that method to escape seems very risky.”
“How about getting out of the mansion?”
“Last time, if we woke in the car headed for the mansion, the rest could proceed while one person could drive out to secure an escape.”
That plan sounded solid.
Throughout our time in the cursed rooms, we’d come to realize an important fact.
Sometimes, escaping felt relatively easier compared to finding solutions to complex dilemmas. As long as we could avoid our immediate threat, it felt like we would be deemed successful.
Maybe just escaping from the mansion would count as a victory?
We had a bit more discussion, but the key points of the meeting remained intact.
1. The NPCs from the mansion have become allies, which changes the likelihood of modifying the narrative.
2. At the start, one person should drive the car out of the mansion for an escape.
Thus, the fourth day of Party Time came to a close.
The next day, everyone took some much-needed rest as promised, and after finalizing our plans, we prepared for the next room.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 28
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 102 (Cursed Room – Mansion of Fear)
Sage’s Advice: 3]
“So, Sister Eunsol, how confident are you about your brother Lee Sehyun’s corruption?”
“Mr. Priest, my brother has always been curious since childhood. Back then, we all dismissed it as just childish curiosity and found it endearing. But from then on, I often sensed traces of madness in him.”
“Indeed, mere curiosity isn’t enough for certainty.”
“At some point, he began mingling with strange foreigners from Africa and Europe. I’m not foolish enough to believe they belonged to the world of light.
He became influenced by them and started collecting odd items and strange books—especially books! He brought home incomprehensible texts from who knows where.
Just seeing that book from afar made me feel it should not exist in this world.”
“Hm. So does the Order believe that book to be the Book of Incarnation?”
“Yes, Cardinal Mooksung. The Order has foreseen that the Book of Incarnation, responsible for spreading darkness for the past 400 years, is somewhere in Korea, and this area is a potential hiding place.”
BEEEEEEEEEEEChapter: !
…
We snapped back to reality with the sound of a malfunctioning radio.
Everyone stared blankly at each other, and I suddenly realized.
“So, our role wasn’t to assist the exorcists…”
“It turns out we are the exorcists! Is the hotel out of its mind? I don’t know a single verse from the bible! How can a priest not know the scriptures?”
“Hahaha~! As the only cardinal among us, what do you suggest, Grandpa Mooksung?”
“I’m getting out of here! I’ll drive, and you guys go figure it out.”
In an instant, everyone’s mental state faltered.
Not only were we likely entering the past, but the exorcists we anticipated as our allies turned out to be ourselves!
There was no one to rely on! We had to unshroud the secrets of “Lee Sehyun,” the owner of the mansion, as the actual exorcists.
Jinchul-hyung blurted out a blunt solution.
“So, that Lee Sehyun guy is the culprit, right? Let’s just go and kill him. That should solve the problem, right?”
Eunsol-noona let out a deep sigh.
“Seriously, Jinchul. Please. Has anything ever been that easy?”
That’s when Elena spoke up.
“Where are Seungyub and Ahri?”
Only then did I glance around the car. Seungyub was nowhere to be found. Neither was Ahri. I turned to Eunsol-noona, who was equally startled.
“Huh? This time, it’s not certain they’re in the mansion?”
Songee, surprisingly, took charge in the confusion.
“Everyone, let’s calm down for now. We all have information about our roles, right? Let’s share what we know. Seungyub and Ahri should be fine; they’ll be somewhere in the mansion or nearby in the village.”
Prompted by an idea, I immediately spoke up.
“The bell! Is there a bell? I’ve been racking my brain, and it seems to be called the ‘Bell of Saint George.’ It has divine powers that can dispel magical forces! Who has it?”
“I have it. I’m a cardinal, so I should possess such a valuable artifact.”
“A cardinal who thinks about running away first?”
Chaos erupted in the car.
I couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
Hah… This party was in trouble!
A priest with no clue about the bible and a cardinal who has never set foot in a cathedral? What a joke!
Room 102 was certainly going to be a challenge.
Resigned, I realized my role was ‘deacon.’
If they were handing out priest roles without any bible knowledge, why wasn’t I made a cardinal? What kind of title is ‘deacon’ anyway?
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