Escaping the Mystery Hotel

After finishing our evening meeting, we moved to the first-floor terrace.

Elena was still leaning against the wall in a half-crazed state.

I deliberately kept my gaze on the floor and asked, “Elena, are you okay?”

“...”

“Elena-unni, you skipped dinner, didn’t you? If it’s too much, how about getting some sleep?”

“...”

“Let’s just leave her be. If we go by Kain’s Advice, she’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”

Earlier, when I asked for Advice regarding Elena’s recovery, this was the response:

Treatment will be administered tonight as a consideration for you.

Feeling a similar unease, Ahri nudged me.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it weird? Why are they delaying Elena’s treatment for tomorrow?”

“And why is it in consideration for us?”

By that point, the others also began to sense something was amiss.

“Yeah, why did they treat us immediately for any psychological trauma, but they’re leaving Elena untreated and then treating her the next day? And how is that supposed to be for our benefit?”

Why would delaying treatment be for our benefit?

Is there some kind of loss for us if she gets the treatment right away?

“…!!!”

Then, it hit me like a bolt of lightning!

Grandpa, who seemed to have had the same realization, shouted, “We need to interrogate Elena before she loses her memory!”

Even in this situation, Grandpa used the word “interrogate”.

“What do you mean ‘interrogate’? But we definitely need to find out something. Elena is in a state where she’s seen something beyond human comprehension and has gone mad, right? During the treatment process, they’ll probably blur the memories of what she saw.”

Eunsol-noona slapped her knee and said, “Then we need to find out what those memories are!”

Everyone widened their eyes and crowded around Elena.

They repeatedly spoke to her and shook her shoulders.

“…”

Yet Elena still didn’t show any reactions.

Suddenly, she screamed and pushed us away, and then she would go silent for a long time, staring blankly at the air.

In the end, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

I sighed. There was a reason I hadn’t used the Grimoire from the start.

I can’t use the Status Window while I’m possessing someone else.

What if I go mad while trying to read Elena’s memories?

But we’re out of options now.

And since I’m getting sealed anyway, what does it matter if I lose my mind?

The hotel will probably treat me anyway.

I used the Grimoire’s power to possess Elena.

***- Han Kain

“…”

I’m sinking.

I felt myself slowly descending into Elena’s mind like an endlessly falling feather.

I had possessed others many times, but possessing someone didn’t mean I could instantly read all their memories.

If that were possible, my brain might have burned out every time I possessed someone.

Usually, only the general information, or the necessary information at the moment was summarized and delivered to me.

Maybe the Grimoire processes it all for me?

Whenever this happens, I recall what Songee used to say.

We don’t truly understand the transcendent power; we’re just wielding the tools imbued with those powers.

It was like how most modern people used televisions and computers without understanding the fundamental principles behind them.

“…”

My consciousness delved deeper.

The Grimoire located the necessary information within Elena’s confused mind.

At some point, I found myself transformed into Elena.

I heard bizarre phrases of “pledges” and then saw hands emerge from the TV, grabbing and pulling Elena in.

Inside the TV was a pure white space.

I saw a giant cauldron with boiling oil splattering around.

If Grandpa hadn’t destroyed the TV in time, would Elena have been dragged into that cauldron?

Thinking about it that way, it is scary, but that’s all there is to it.

Just perceiving a boiling oil cauldron wouldn’t be enough to drive someone insane.

Is there anything else around? There must be something besides the cauldron.

I see them.

Wriggling beings are starting to appear around me.

I realized what this place was.

Strange. There’s something else in this space, beyond these things—

There are eyes in the heavens and the earth.

I am like an insect crawling on the ground, the most insignificant creature in the world is greater than I.

At least, they have substance—

“CUT THE BULLSHIT! YOU MOTHERFUCKIN’ EYETARDS!”

I screamed as soon as I came out, startling my companions who stared at me.

I would probably forget what I saw soon.

Just before my consciousness completely melted, I frantically shouted two words and passed out.

“Research lab!”

***

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 82

Current Location: Floor 1, Room 105, Room of Rest

Sage’s Advice: 3

When I came to, it was already morning.

I remembered possessing Elena, but nothing after that.

Did I lose all my memories?

As I thought a bit more, I realized I had a faint recollection of shouting, “Research lab,” after coming out.

So, I did manage to find something.

Feeling a bit of satisfaction, I went out to meet my companions.

***“Oppa! Are you okay?”

“Are you sure you’re okay now?”

As soon as I came out, I heard my companions’ concerned voices.

After reassuring each of them, I checked if Elena had come out as well.

Across the table, Elena gave me a faint smile instead of screaming when our eyes met.

They definitely treated her!

After I joined them at the table, we started discussing the information retrieved from Elena’s memories.

“What was I thinking when I shouted ‘Research lab’?”

Ahri chuckled.

“That sounds like a Koan¹. Asking us what you were thinking when you’re the one who said it.”

“I don’t remember anything from that moment.”

“The interpretation is obvious, isn’t it? Elena’s memories are related to what she saw beyond the TV. You confirmed that and then shouted ‘Research lab.’ Doesn’t that mean beyond the TV display is a research lab?”

Everyone agreed with Ahri’s interpretation. I couldn’t even think of a different interpretation.

It finally felt like the mystery of the research lab’s location, where I was sealed, was starting to unravel.

Jinchul-hyung stated the obvious, “We have to go to the research lab, don’t we?”

“Of course. Isn’t that where I am?”

“No, what I mean is... how do we get in? When the TV turns on, we can’t move. It’s not like we can break free by force. I couldn’t even move a finger.”

Elena, who hadn’t spoken in a while, chimed in, “If you just stay still, the TV will eventually pick someone and drag them in. I’m sure of that because I experienced it.

“Specifically, it drags them in and tries to throw them into the cauldron. We can’t go in that way. We need to find a way to break the paralysis caused by the TV.”

The one who had broken the paralysis, Grandpa, responded, “Well, didn’t we already confirm the method? Even in a paralyzed state, my gloves can move. When I shot the TV, it broke the paralysis.”

Eunsol-noona pointed out the flaw.

“But if we shoot and destroy the TV, the passage to the research lab disappears too. We need to find a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV.”

...Silence fell over the table.

The goal was to get past the TV screen and reach the research lab beyond it.

The problem was that the moment the TV turned on, everyone became paralyzed, and the TV would try to drag us in and brutally kill us.

If we broke the TV to stop it from killing us, the passage would disappear.

At this point, we had gathered enough information about the TV.

We were just having trouble piecing it all together to find the solution.

Sage’s Advice: 3 → 2

Is there a way to break the paralysis without destroying the TV?

What is the cause of the paralysis?

“Hmm... I used Sage’s Advice just now, and the response was, ‘What is the cause of the paralysis?’”

Jinchul-hyung was baffled.

“Isn’t it obviously the TV? Is there something else causing it?”

Ahri, who seemed to be deep in thought, answered, “No, think about it. I just remembered—when we got paralyzed, it wasn’t when the TV first turned on. When it first came on, we were all startled, asking what it was. We got paralyzed when the TV started saying the ‘pledge’.”

Grandpa sighed.

“My memory is similar, but does it make a difference? The TV turned on, and shortly after, it started saying the ‘pledge’.”

Silence fell over the table again.

For the first time in a while, Seungyub spoke up, “Well... it might sound strange, but if the problem arises when the TV turns on and the pledge plays, why don’t we just mute it?”

“…”

Eunsol-noona slapped her knee.

“Why didn’t we think of that? That seems like the answer!”

“Hah! This kid usually doesn’t say a word during meetings, but there’s truth to the saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. Alright, let’s try muting the TV next time.”

Seungyub’s expression brightened after he came up with a good idea for the first time in a while.

But Elena poured cold water on our excitement again.

"Sorry to dampen your spirits, but we still have the most important issue. I went crazy the moment I saw the inside of the TV. Kain also went mad after reading my memory. Do you think it’ll be different for anyone else? I’m sure everyone will go mad as soon as they see the TV display, except maybe Songee with her bracelet."

A very valid point.

We don’t know what drove Elena mad or caused me to go insane after reading her memory, but crossing over without a way to deal with that presence is suicide.

Should only those who can resist madness cross over?

Excluding myself, who was sealed, Songee, as Elena mentioned, was a strong candidate.

Ahri also seemed somewhat capable of resisting the madness.

But that was it. No one else came to mind.

Ahri, deep in thought, looked at me.

"You still have two Advice left, right? Ask again. Since you're sealed, you won’t need them, so let’s use them all this morning."

Advice: 2 → 1

Is there a way to resist the madness inside the TV?

What made you realize that place was a ‘Research lab’?

Another riddle-like response. I conveyed the content of the answer.

"It’s asking what made me realize the place connected to the TV is a research lab."

"What did you see?"

"I don’t know. The memory is already gone."

"Oh, right. So, what could the answer be?"

The answer came to me quickly.

"I’ve never been to a research lab before. I wouldn’t have recognized it by its equipment or interior. Also, when we first started in the room and I was about to fall asleep, I glimpsed people in white lab coats. I probably saw those people again inside the TV."

"So you probably saw lab workers inside the TV?"

As I answered Ahri, I naturally understood the meaning of the Advice.

"This is what it’s saying. What does it mean that there are lab workers near the source of the madness? The lab workers can’t all be superhumans immune to madness, so there must be a way for ordinary humans to resist it. Isn’t that the point?"

Eunsol-noona tilted her head.

"So, when we asked how to resist the madness, they basically said, ‘There’s definitely a way to resist it,’ in a really roundabout way?"

"Yes."

"Next time you meet your Patron, make sure to curse it out for us."

I’m planning on it.

I’ve got plenty of pent-up emotions.

Jinchul-hyung sighed.

"Why don’t you ask again? You’ve got one more, right?"

Grandpa Mooksung disagreed.

"If they were going to give a straight answer, they would’ve done so the first time. Giving a crappy answer means they want us to figure it out ourselves. Asking again will just result in another pointless riddle. Use the last Advice for a different question."

I decided not to use Advice on the same question again.

Instead, I began to ponder the answer myself.

After all, the response did confirm that a solution does exist.

What is the method to resist the madness inside the TV??

"Let’s think about what the being inside the TV is. Everyone who came into contact with it mentioned ‘eyes’ in some way."

Noona agreed.

"Elena initially talked about feeling a gaze, and when Seungyub escaped, he had a similar experience, though much shorter. And you, too, cursed out the eyes as soon as you came out."

Eyes. A gaze. Should we avoid its gaze?

Songee, who seemed to have a similar thought, suggested, "By not looking at it?"

Seungyub, who had been talking more than usual, quickly disagreed.

"Although the memory of my escape is fuzzy due to the hotel’s ‘treatment’, I clearly remember a feeling like, ‘The whole world is filled with eyes!’ I don’t think just avoiding looking at something will be enough."

Ahri also chimed in, "Then, maybe we should go in with our eyes closed?"

That didn’t seem like the answer either.

What should we do to safely enter the research lab?

1. A riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves.