Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 180
Only Krnovel
Episode 180 – Party Time – Natural Selection (7)
[User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: Day 90
Current Location: Tier 1, Room 105 – Room of Rest
Sage advice: 1]
– Han Ga-in
Elena didn’t come back until the second day of party time was almost over. Colleagues who had said they would come for lunch or dinner also began to show worried reactions.
“Song, have you been underground?”
“yes. As I waited, I came out and rested for a while. I even asked to eat… . “They say it’s almost done, but they don’t come.”
“This is so ambiguous. “They say it’s almost done, so it’s a bit difficult to force them to come.”
If this is an important moment for Elena’s ability development, it would be better not to touch it.
“Let’s wait a little longer. “I think he will probably bring good news.”
“I’ll be glad if Ga-in does as you say. By the way, did you use all the advice?”
The second piece of advice was, ‘Please tell me what to prepare more.’ The answer was, ‘Prepare food.’ With this, we learned the sad truth that we would not be fed properly for a while after the party time ended.
Thanks to this, everyone was more busy packing up today’s dinner than eating it. Next to me, I saw Jincheol putting pork belly in a bowl.
“I’m still thinking about the third piece of advice. “I think I’ll use it after I decide for sure.”
“okay. “After you ask, please tell me the answer.”
Songi came towards me and my sister.
“excuse me… . “I saw her earlier while she was waiting to pick up Elena, and she was constantly coming in and out of her safari.”
“okay?”
“… Every time I came out, I was extremely shaken and had a bad expression. “I told him not to come closer.”
My sister and I didn’t react much, but Jincheol’s expression, who was nearby, suddenly darkened.
“This is really not good.”
“Is something strange?”
“Sister, if you want to practice your skills, you can just stay inside the safari. Why would you keep coming in and out?”
“to… . “Because you’re tired?”
Indeed, as the most active user of Safari among us, Jincheol found the correct answer right away.
“They keep dying. The moment Safari dies, it reappears outside. “Every time he comes out, he’s reeling from the stress.”
As soon as they heard that, everyone’s expressions darkened. No matter how much we become desensitized to death by going through the cursed room, we can never get used to pain.
Ari immediately pushed me on the back.
“I can’t do it. “You go and get him.”
“No, will you come if I say I’m going? “I’d rather have you or Eunsol-”
“Just go quickly and get him.”
*
In the end, under Ari’s insistence, he came down to the basement to bring Elena. I was planning on waiting for her to come out, but luckily Elena was there.
“Elena!”
“…”
There is no answer. There’s something strange about Elena’s expression. As she approached, Elena suddenly waved her hand at me. What does it mean? I ignored it and walked a little closer, and Elena shouted, her expression distorted.
“Do not come! Because it won’t help if you come! Even though I didn’t recommend you get this ability – oh my! sorry. oh! Ah! sorry. You happened to come right before the ‘Myeongkyung Index’ started working! oh my god… .”
He got angry at me so suddenly and harshly that before I could react, he almost cried while apologizing. It was difficult to understand what was going on, but I felt like I had to do something.
… But what should you do in this situation?
I thought it was something childish, but I held on to Elena’s hand for a moment. Gradually, Elena’s sobbing stopped, and the torrent of her emotions seemed to subside.
“Are you okay? Everyone is very worried because he hasn’t eaten all day and only goes on safari. “Besides, it looks like you didn’t react well just now.”
“It’s okay now. And now what is this? Elementary student?”
“…”
— Tuk.
It seems to be okay. Elena immediately smiled and shook my hand off.
“I felt it while practicing all day, but there are aspects of ‘Ominous Imagination’ that make me feel crazy while writing it. Should we say that the ability itself endlessly stimulates people’s trauma? “In order to activate the ability, one must first think of an ominous thought, and after activation, the ability itself clouds the person’s mind.”
“… The side effects are worse than I thought. “I heard what you said earlier, could it be that I-”
“No, really, don’t worry about that. please. “Because I was in a state of half-consciousness and just babbled random things before I recovered to my senses!”
Elena held my hand again and looked at me intently. I nodded without realizing what she was saying. It seems like what I said earlier wasn’t really my intention.
By the way, ‘Myeongkyung Index’. Isn’t this a new skill that Elena acquired? Elena, who read the curiosity in my expression, changed the subject of her conversation and began to explain.
“When my mind became clouded beyond a certain level, Myeonggyeong Jisoo straightened it out like pouring ice water on me. “I thought he was half crazy and suffering from paranoia after using his powers again and again, but he brought me back to my senses in just three seconds.”
“It’s a great ability, isn’t it? But can’t you protect your mind by using the Myeongjang Index in advance and use ominous imagination?”
Elena smiled bitterly at my words.
“Everyone thinks alike. I thought about that too. Unfortunately, I cannot consciously use the Myeongkyung Index. “After my condition got better, it started working and calmed my mind.”
“Aha, it’s not the kind of power that defends against attacks in advance, but the power that heals after being attacked. Then, how about getting help with Songi’s bracelet?”
As soon as Elena heard that, she burst out laughing.
“I met Songi earlier, and she said the same thing. That’s also impossible. Ominous Imagination is a kind of power that ‘must go crazy in order to use’ rather than going crazy while using the ability.”
I understand what you mean. In short, in order to use your abilities in the first place, it is essential to be caught up in madness. Therefore, if you defend against madness by one means or another, you will not be able to use the ability itself.
For this reason, the ‘strengthening blessing to complement’ given by the sponsor was not given as an ability to prevent madness, but rather as a form of recovery after being swept up in madness. It is a tiring ability in many ways. Since there is such a strong penalty, there must be corresponding power.
Elena starved all day today, right? She seemed worried, so she led me towards the refreshment table on the first floor. Just then, Ari, who seemed to have been waiting for me and Elena, came up and asked right away.
“Elena! You had a hard time. “Have you created some kind of monster?”
As expected, this guy is a noob! You asked right away! I couldn’t ask because I was worried that I wouldn’t get any results even though I trained so hard.
“I created a well-behaved child in my own way… .”
“oh! In one day? already? “Elena, are you by any chance the genius of the century?”
“… Don’t play around.”
“What kind of monster is it?”
“It was completed with a feeling that is difficult to understand.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hmm. It’s difficult to explain easily. Should I say that I feel like I don’t know anything?”
“Now that you say that, I’m becoming more and more curious. “Can you show me now?”
Elena seemed to be worried, but then nodded. From what I could see, she seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment, and she seemed to want to show off a little.
“I barely have any strength left after using it for most of the safari, but I’ll still show you a little bit. “It may be smaller, but the feel will be the same!”
With those words, Elena looked around for a moment.
“Are you looking for something?”
“yes. image? memory? I need a mirror or a window to remember this clearly… .”
mirror? window? I happened to see something similar on the other side.
“There are no mirrors or windows, but there is a ‘front door’. “It’s a transparent glass door anyway.”
Is it okay as long as it is transparent glass? Elena nodded her head and walked towards her door.
After a while, silence fell in the hotel.
The noise that Seungyeop was making while chattering somewhere disappeared.
On the table, the carbonation of the cola I was drinking quieted down.
The creaking sound that came from the chair Ari was leaning on also stopped.
In the middle of an incomprehensible world where all sounds have stopped, Elena, who brought the monster, speaks with joy.
“Oh, it’s a little small, but it came out. “Isn’t it cute in its own way?”
…
I just couldn’t breathe.
To Elena’s right, who has already returned to the table, a caterpillar with a human head is popping out on top of the chair and making a strange noise. The caterpillar’s head turns 360 degrees. On the rotating head, eyeballs appeared and disappeared here and there repeatedly.
Fuck, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis, Sis.
“Ahh! “It’s so crazy!”
I managed to cover myself with a status window filter just before I completely lost my mind. Her vision became blurry and her head, which had become cloudy, returned to a somewhat clear state.
“ah… . iced coffee… .”
A helpless moan. When I looked next to her, I saw Ari sitting down and making strange noises.
A sudden accident!
Didn’t Elena herself say that she was in control, and that she had ‘little strength left’?
Neither Ari nor I could have ever expected that such a terrible creature would emerge. Elena was equally embarrassed.
“uh? uh? Well, what is it? why -”
“Elena. “Can you get rid of it?”
“Wow, suddenly! “I didn’t use that much effort to begin with, so it goes away on its own in about 20 minutes.”
“Then just take him with you. See you tomorrow.”
“… I don’t know what the hell is. See you again tomorrow.”
Elena disappeared beyond the line of sight. The caterpillar with the head of a human crawled along the floor and left with Elena.
— Wow!
As soon as Elena took the monster away, she immediately picked up a cup and poured a glass of water on Ari and me.
“ah.”
“Are you okay now?”
“… thank you. “It wakes me up.”
“What on earth is that? You think that’s cute? Is Elena still crazy? She clearly said that the Myeongjing Index was working?”
Ari muttered with a blank expression.
“I think I know.”
“Do you understand something?”
“It’s natural selection.”
The concept of evolution suddenly popped up. I looked at him, asking for an explanation of what he meant, but Ari stayed still for a long time with a blank expression.
“Please explain.”
“…Elena has been on safari all day. “How many times has she created monsters like that?”
“Even if I couldn’t do it, I would have made it dozens of times, right?”
“Failures born dozens of times, maybe more. Elena would have repeatedly thrown away the monsters she didn’t like and made something different, saying it wasn’t right for her every time. A kind of natural selection for monsters has occurred. “The only difference is that the being who chooses is Elena, not nature.”
“… Did that process result in a monster that looks like a child who listens well to Elena?”
“maybe. Elena is not crazy. That monster actually looks cute in its own way in Elena’s eyes. Judging by Elena’s actions, she seems like a small child? “A little while ago, the three of us all saw different sides of that monster.”
I have complicated and nuanced thoughts. Although I let my guard down, it was an ominous experience where Ari and I were simultaneously overwhelmed by the bizarre magic of a terrible monster.
This experience is certainly unpleasant and terrifying, but at the same time, I feel fortunate. In any case, he seemed to listen well to what Elena said, and more than anything, he seemed very useful.
The time to be anxious about the power that creates ugly monsters has long passed. The ability I gained in the first place was the power to steal the bodies of others. If it appears in the game, wouldn’t it be the power of an evil warlock rather than the power of a hero?
As I thought about it this way, I gradually felt at ease. It is ‘our’ weapon anyway. Being ugly and terrible can actually be an advantage. If you can handle a monster of that magnitude, it will be a huge help in overcoming the ordeal at the hotel!
I finished the cold cola, shook off the bitter memories, and stood up to return to room 105, thinking one last time.
A little while ago, I saw in the monster the ghost of the ‘unborn’ with whom I fought fiercely in Room 102. This phenomenon probably occurred because it was the monster that left the greatest impact in my heart.
… What on earth did Ari, who has decades of experience in the Bureau, see?
See next episode