Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 169
Only Krnovel
Episode 169 – Room 201, Room of the Curse – ‘The Cube’ (18)
– Han Ga-in
— Clink!
[The seal has been lifted!]
I came to my senses with a loud noise.
Now, it’s time for the protagonist to step forward!
… What’s the mood?
Before I could figure out what was going on, I hurriedly closed the status window, feeling a throbbing headache!
What is going on?
I couldn’t see anyone else, and only Songi was in front of me.
“Is it Song? “What on earth is this?”
“Don’t raise your head. It would be difficult to resist even with the status window. “I will help you one last time.”
With those words, a brighter light than ever flashed from Songi’s bracelet.
A powerful protection came over me that drained all of Songi’s remaining vitality.
Songi’s ‘death buff’ has already been confirmed once before.
Some of the constraints on Songi’s legacy and ‘diverse perspectives’ lie within the legacy itself, but far more constraints come from Songi’s body itself, which is burdened by its use.
To put it another way, if Songi gave up further life, she could use powers far beyond her usual limits.
An unbearable amount of information is pouring in.
An immeasurably vast amount of knowledge about the other side of the world accumulated by the senior researcher!
I thought as I endured the splitting headache.
Why did ‘I’ become the target of being sealed in this room?
Where is Beatrix’s body?
What was the chief researcher’s means of controlling Beatrix?
All these questions actually led to one conclusion.
Beatrix’s body is located in the place where the zero-dimensional eyes are sealed.
And, I am the only one who can access that place.
Even Beatrix herself can never approach the main body because she is overcome by madness the moment she transfers her consciousness to the main body.
Because only I, who received the two protections – mental protection through Songi’s bracelet and resistance through the status window – can withstand the pressure of the 0-dimensional eye and enter the sealed area.
A similar task was possible for Ari with Songi’s help, but unlike the status window, Ari, who consumed blood, had physical limitations.
More and more memories poured in.
When I started to feel dizzy, I finally realized the ‘real solution’ to this room.
“What the hell is this! “Is this guy really human?”
‘Unfortunately, I must be Homo sapiens.’
“…I didn’t know something like this was possible. “Has your personality been reassembled?”
‘Let’s just say it’s one of my many talents. ‘You’d better be careful in other rooms too.’
“…”
I realized it after just a short conversation.
He knows that this place is a hotel.
Is this a characteristic unique to the senior researcher? Or is it a characteristic of all the characters who awaken during the unsealing process? As of now, we don’t know.
‘Do you understand the reality now? Are you sure you can do it?’
My head hurts.
I am… . I didn’t have the confidence to act like a senior researcher.
‘There’s no need to worry. You know that, right? Because the initiative lies entirely with you. Wouldn’t it be okay to do as you wish and leave it to me only when it’s impossible to do anything?’
… Whatever the reason, I have to solve this room and get out.
For now, let’s proceed.
I don’t know the status window, but Songi’s mental protection has a time limit.
Something similar to a pure white vortex appeared in the center of the scalene polyhedron facility that Jincheol had destroyed.
Although it was already more than half destroyed, Beatrix, a car that was slightly expanding the ‘passage’ by touching the remaining equipment that was almost like rubble, appeared.
I chuckle and glance up at the sky.
I could already see an eye so vast that it covered the horizon, scanning the world like the sun.
“Why don’t you come closer?”
“you!”
“You’re pretty good too. The pressure has become so strong that we can even have a conversation. Still, don’t you think you can bear it if it approaches this whirlpool?”
‘Why don’t you give me a chance?’
do whatever you want. Anyway, it takes time for the passage to expand.
After a while, my mouth started moving of its own accord.
“Beatrix. My poor daughter. “Didn’t I tell you to only do what you can handle?”
“dad! you… . “If it weren’t for you, I could have gone out into the outside world a long time ago!”
“Are you saying you caused this mess just because you wanted to get some fresh air from the outside world?”
“…”
“No, no. Actually, Patrick just let you go. Patrick, that kid had a pulpit of his own. Shouldn’t you be grateful to me? “If it weren’t for me, you would have spent endless nights fearing the monsters you create.”
“I still appreciate that. But Dad, since you taught me as much as I can, wouldn’t it be the role of a good father to pass on your inheritance when you die appropriately? “If you had just handed me a scalene polyhedron, I would have torn you to death a long time ago!”
“Uh-huh! By the way, I said that the scalene polyhedron cannot be given to anyone, so you are saying it again. Besides, who raised you to be such a loveless bastard?”
“sorry. “I killed my mother with my own hands when I was young.”
“That’s why you grew up like this. “It’s my fault for not being able to be a father.”
As I was listening to the conversation between the father and daughter, who were very close friends, the passage gradually widened to the point where I could pass through.
“Unfortunately, Dad is leaving for a faraway place. “Goodbye.”
Beatrix trembled, completely losing her confident attitude from a moment ago.
“father… . Please just this once-”
A whirlpool swallowed me up.
*
– Han Ga-in
The inside of the whirlpool was truly a strange space.
Countless books were floating around, opening and closing, and at the same time, countless displays appeared and disappeared repeatedly.
‘Do you understand what 0-dimensional eyes are?’
“well.”
‘He is a being from a higher dimension who came down from above. I hope to treat all things as if they were creations and to keep an endless record of cruelty. He cannot but be a false creator.’
“I think it’s like touching a blind elephant. “Can you really understand such a grand being?”
‘Trust me. ‘I obtained this information by requesting it from a trustworthy person.’
“A trustworthy entity?”
‘He injects some confusing knowledge into the mortals who come in contact with him. This causes mortals to crumble in despair, believing themselves to be insignificant.’
…
‘Of course that’s not all. It is common for a mortal’s mind to float like a bupyeongcho when in contact with a great one. This is vibration.’
“vibration?”
‘Humans just walk, but the vibrations generated from their steps turn the world of tiny creatures upside down, and countless insects are trampled to death with each step they take.’
“As I looked at your memories and listened to your words, a thought came to mind.”
‘Tell me.’
“I guess you’re saying that a blind man touched an elephant and understood everything? How on earth can you possibly understand such a strange being? A false creator?”
‘I want to tell you about one belief and one piece of evidence.’
“One belief, one evidence?”
‘If there truly is a Creator in this universe, he would never wish for there to be only suffering in the world. Therefore, it is my belief that the person who engraves such cruel records cannot be the true Creator.’
“After learning about the method used by the ‘real you’ outside the hotel to save the world, I think it is true that the Creator has turned.”
‘It’s just a product of my shortcomings… . ‘Can you think of a better way?’
…
‘Patrick betrayed me for the same reason, but when you invaded, he gave up again and left everything to me. He didn’t agree with my methods, but it was because he couldn’t find another way. In the first place, while I was away, Patrick used the same method to maintain the seal.’
“Okay, let’s say it’s a belief, but what is the evidence?”
‘The evidence is very simple and clear. Aren’t we all stuck in a hotel together now?’
???
‘Why on earth would an omnipotent creator who came down from a higher dimension be locked in a hotel room? ‘It’s not like that in the first place, so it’s trapped.’
I was persuaded by those words.
…
Dangerous.
Apart from the setting of Room 201, I began to gradually understand the system called ‘sealing’.
As soon as the seal is lifted, the main character of the scenario awakens within me.
Up to this point, it’s okay, and it can be said to be a benefit of lifting the seal in that you will be given a strong advisor.
Because the initiative lies entirely with the hotel participants.
The problem is, like now, when you are persuaded and assimilated by the way of thinking of the character in the scenario!
Just now, I was persuaded by the logic presented by the chief researcher.
At the same time, I realized that he and I were a bit mixed up.
The 2nd floor and the 1st floor are really different.
For some reason, the purpose of the room itself seems different.
*
‘long time no see! Haven’t you been in the tank too long? ‘It was fun even without you?’
*
Every time I walk through endless books and displays, I hear a voice that pierces my head.
There isn’t much time now. There is no time limit on the status window, but there is a limit to Songi’s protection.
“It’s okay. We’re almost there to where Beatrix’s body is. Now, it is time for that child to fulfill the duty for which he was born.”
…
“by the way… . I’m saying that you understand the situation to some extent, but isn’t the expression ‘sealed’ really funny? How can you seal a being like that in a human being! “Wouldn’t it be easier to put the sun in your refrigerator?”
…
“All I did was provide the cruel ‘theater’ it desired. There were some sacrifices, but humanity gained peace. “If it weren’t for me, the zero-dimensional eye would have made the entire star its theater.”
‘Is throwing humans into the devil’s mouth the theater you’re talking about?’
“It was quite tiring work. For quite a long time, we had to place people in cubes built inside scalene polygons and kill them. Doing all this by hand was quite difficult. “There were other, more serious problems.”
‘…’
“Every stimulus gets tiresome over time. Even the cruel god gradually became bored. something… . Another ‘actor’ was needed. “I needed something that would guarantee fun that never gets boring.”
‘Was that Beatrix?’
“Yes, yes. It’s right in front of me. “Isn’t that child truly a gift to humanity?”
Who am I?
I don’t know at what point it was me or the senior researcher who opened his mouth.
The more I am persuaded by his words, the more I feel that the distinction between the two becomes meaningless.
Finally, Beatrix’s true body appeared.
…
What appeared before me was an opaque test tube… .
It was a human brain floating inside it.
“Don’t think it’s cruel. There are no sense organs, and consciousness is somewhere else, so it can survive in this place. “This child also has the strength to endure, but not as much as us.”
An ominous glowing polyhedron appeared in the head researcher’s hand.
“Do you think the solution is to destroy this floating brain? Maybe so. However, if you think about it, the hotel always hoped to solve the ‘source of the curse’. What to do with a prisoner or what to do with an enemy? “Aren’t these all just hypotheses you made up?”
‘What do you mean?’
“The story is that breaking Beatrix’s brain makes no difference. Zero-dimensional eyes would swallow the world in real time. Ultimately, you have to make a decision. of course… . We talked about it earlier, right? I have no intention of forcing anything on you. It can’t be done in the first place. “Because the initiative has always been yours.”
The lead researcher asked me if there was a better way to save the world.
I couldn’t think of the answer.
“You have a lot to worry about. What on earth is so confusing to you? If you think about it, Room 201 is just a fake world created by the hotel. Is it a big deal to feed NPCs to demons? If you think about it, isn’t it similar to what you have done countless times out of necessity?”
Why?
As the chief researcher said, we have already proceeded by killing the humans inside the room as necessary.
But why is my head so confused now?
…
I know the answer. It was only when the chief researcher’s memories awakened within me that I accepted it.
Only today did I truly realize that what happened in Room 201 also happened in real life.
I had to realize that humanity, and ‘me’ before, had lived based on these sacrifices… .
I don’t know. Really, I couldn’t figure out what a better way to do it.
What was I on the outside? At best, I was a student studying for the college entrance exam.
Now, the question given in Room 201 was like a test question with a passing score of 30 out of 100.
Passing itself is not difficult. If you score over 30 points, you can leave the room and take your inheritance.
however.
The ‘test taker’ seems to want a much higher-level answer.
The answer may not even be known to the test taker.
When I finally gave up trying to find a better answer, I couldn’t move my body anymore.
A sinister glow began to radiate from the polyhedron in my hand.
A song of evil ritual rang out of my mouth.
“I offer it up! I give it to you! Great Eye, I offer you a theater that sings of pain for eons. Here is an immortal goat for you. There is Sehrimnir, eternally regenerating!”
I feel huge eyes watching me again.
The ‘cube’ appeared again somewhere far away, in a phase that was inaccessible on foot.
Beatrix’s brain moved to the center of the cube.
Beatrix, screaming in fear and pain, began filling the cube with monsters again.
Now, this theater will never close.
Beatrix will forever create monsters, like the pig that is said to endlessly regenerate and become a companion animal in Norse mythology, and the Bureau will continue to pour in humans.
So that a cruel god may never turn his eyes on Earth.
A crying sound is heard.
The screams of living sacrifices trying to avoid being sacrificed by the stars pierced my ears like an awl.
The cruel laughter of God could be heard from all directions of heaven and earth.
And then, the ‘finger’ came down.
See next episode