Escaping the Mystery Hotel

- Han Kain

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 37

Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage's Advice: 3

The time mentioned in the Scenario Comprehension.

Midnight.

At this, Songee tilted her head and asked, “Should we wait until midnight then? Luckily, we still have some time—”

“No. Scenario Comprehension is not meant to be used in such a vague manner like ‘waiting’.”

When I interrupted decisively, everyone looked at me with confused eyes.

Though it seemed like we should follow Scenario Comprehension to the letter that was not the case.

Since they were not the owner of the blessing, it was understandable they would be confused.

However, from the perspective of someone who has been using the Owl's peculiar blessing, I was starting to get the hang of it.

“After using it a few times, I’m getting a feel for it. Scenario Comprehension is somewhat similar to the 'Life Warning'.”

“The function that automatically warns you when your life is in danger? You haven’t used it much recently, have you?” Ahri responded.

“Yeah. The biggest problem with that ability is that it alerts you right before a crisis occurs. By the time the alert pops up, it’s often too late to change anything. For example, if the Life Warning is quiet, you might think it is safe, but then suddenly, 'In 3 seconds, a nuclear missile will hit.' Such a crazy warning could pop up. It’s not a very reliable ability.”

“So, Scenario Comprehension is similar to that?”

“Think about the crisis we just faced. We were just waiting for the Scenario Comprehension to update and were chatting away. When it finally updated to say a monster was attacking, it was only 10 seconds before it arrived. If we didn’t have the Scenario Comprehension, how would we have acted?”

The first person to understand my words was Grandpa Mooksung.

“If we didn’t have that ability, one of us would have been keeping watch outside the cabin. Given that it wasn’t our home, it’s easy to imagine that the owner would show up.”

“And if someone was keeping watch, we would have known about the witch’s approach much earlier. There’s no way such a huge monster could approach without making any noise, right? But because of Scenario Comprehension, we were all just sitting inside, waiting for it to update, completely unaware of the attack until 10 seconds before it happened.”

The summary of this long conversation was simple.

Scenario Comprehension was not a power we were meant to depend on until it was updated.

If we let our guard down, we could be put in danger.

Regardless of this power, we must do what we need to do, and when Scenario Comprehension updates, we could use it as a reference.

“...”

This realization applies not just to Scenario Comprehension but to my Blessing as a whole.

The power to warn of crises, the power to give advice, and the power to reveal scenarios.

One principle applied to all these abilities.

Do not rely solely on the Blessing and wait for it to tell you something; act proactively and use the Blessing as a reference.

Blessings are merely aids.

As I thought this, a notification appeared for the first time in a while.

Your understanding of the Blessing has increased.

I feel like the Owl is saying, “You finally figured it out?”

Well, I only got into a scenario a few days ago, you annoying Owl!

After mentally cursing the Owl, we immediately started moving.

- Han Kain

We split up and began exploring the surroundings.

Since I still couldn’t move properly, Ahri and I were assigned the task of searching inside the cabin.

...The more we searched inside the cabin, the more horrifying things we found.

“Ah, is this witch some kind of Hannibal Lecter? Everything that looks like stored food is made from humans.”

“Just think of it as pork~ Then it won’t feel as bad.”

“How am I supposed to think of it as pork when there are literally fingers sticking out? Are you Aztec or something?”

“Then just keep gagging.”

We bickered as we rummaged through the surroundings.

While walking near a wall, Ahri discovered something.

“This looks familiar.”

“It’s a lever similar to the one we saw in the Mansion of Fear.”

As expected, when we pulled the lever, stairs leading to the basement appeared.

The underground space was vast, filled with numerous glass jars, sharp knives, mysterious colored stones, and strange papers.

On a table in one corner of the space was a thick book.

The contents of the book were records of grand experiments.

There was a lot I couldn’t understand, so I handed it over to Ahri.

After reading it for a while, Ahri summarized it for me.

“It’s a kind of wicked experiment log. It’s full of stories about capturing and dissecting people.”

“I got that much, but what about the weird terms like ‘separation of soul and body’ and ‘Seeds of Flesh’?”

“I couldn’t fully understand it either, but the goal of the experiments is simple. The witch herself acquired some kind of evil power, but the more she used it, the more side effects accumulated in her body. So at some point, she became a monster and could only stay human for half the day. Her goal is to fix her twisted body.”

“If the power has such severe side effects, she should just give it up... So, how does she plan to fix it?”

“According to the log, she plans to transplant other human bodies onto hers, and once stabilized, she’ll discard her original body. It’s like your Possession with the Grimoire.”

“Wait, can you just attach another person’s body like that? Don’t you need to consider blood types, immunosuppressants, and such?”

“Does it make sense to discuss medical terms when the word 'witch' is involved? Just accept it as it is.”

After gathering this info, we went back upstairs.

When we returned, the others were having a serious conversation.

“What’s up?”

Grandpa Mooksung remained silent with a frown, so Eunsol-noona answered.

“Jinchul’s condition isn’t improving. Although his Blessing has returned along with his Regeneration, he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer? A normal person would have died already. The fact that he’s still alive suggests that Regeneration is working some miracle.”

“You’re right that he might wake up if we wait,” Grandpa replied, “But can we afford to wait like that? If we do, he might stay comatose for months.”

No one said it out loud, but I understood what they meant.

It was time to consider whether to give up on Jinchul-hyung or not.

The trials in the Gate Room were too difficult to clear while carrying an unconscious person.

Giving up on him didn’t mean he would permanently die.

As long as we cleared the Gate Room, we could meet him again, fully recovered.

I voiced my opinion.

“I will respect whatever decision is made. We can meet him again once we pass the Gate Room. But let’s wait until tonight. If he isn’t awake by tomorrow, let’s decide by majority vote.”

Everyone quietly nodded.

Next, I shared what Ahri and I had discovered in the basement.

The witch had become a monster due to abusing her evil power and could only stay human for part of the day.

Her goal was to revert her body back to its original state.

“The witch was originally human!”

Elena responded with a visibly lighter expression.

Now that we had evidence she was once human, “Justice” might work in the next battle.

“Did anyone else find anything?”

“It’s not good news,” Eunsol-noona answered, “But the witch isn’t the only monster in this forest. I looked for escape routes thinking maybe leaving the forest could count as an escape, but there are monsters everywhere. Two-headed wolves are the least of our worries; I even saw a bird with tentacles.”

“We didn’t see any monsters on our way to the cabin. That’s strange.”

“The monsters appear once you leave the cabin. They never come near it, probably because they fear the witch.”

After sharing our findings, I checked the clock.

Midnight was approaching.

We had discovered the witch's motives and the state of the forest after our first battle with her.

We still didn’t know how to proceed, but with the witch’s true nature revealed, it seemed Elena could be more active in the next battle.

“…”

As midnight struck, the scenario was updated.

Scenario: Gate Room - 'The Witch's Forest'

After discovering the witch's true nature and goal in the cabin's basement and the fact that the forest is filled with monsters making escape difficult, the party deliberates.

As midnight falls, the moon shines benevolently, and the witch regains her sanity.

The witch approaches the cabin. She seems to have a proposal.

Will you accept the proposal? Or immediately eliminate her?

Check back tomorrow for the next update.

The witch regains her sanity and approaches the cabin, got it.

She has a proposal? What could that be?

-Knock! Knock!

A knocking sound echoed through the solemn atmosphere.

I quickly used the chat.

Han Kain: The witch is in human form. Approaching the cabin. Seems to have a proposal.

Kim Mooksung: Can’t we just kill her?

Han Kain: Not sure.

Kim Ahri: Let’s hear her out. Elena can handle it.

I calmed myself.

Just as Ahri said, with Elena able to use justice now, our party’s combat power had increased significantly.

We could handle whatever came our way.

Grandpa Mooksung opened the door.

“...”

The witch’s human form was nothing like the monster we fought earlier.

She was about 160 cm tall, slightly taller than Songee.

She seemed to be in her late twenties and had an overall antique vibe.

Even to someone like me, who knew next to nothing about fashion, her attire seemed quite refined and high-class, and elegant accessories on her head and wrists.

She held a staff in her left hand, which also looked extraordinary.

If I didn’t know she was a witch, she would seem like a noble lady from somewhere.

Grandpa pointed his gun at her and spoke roughly.

“What’s your game?”

“Isn’t it a bit shameless of you to ask that? This is originally my home. Show some respect.”

Right, this is originally the witch’s cabin.

“If we hadn’t found such horrific things here, we might have shown you respect. Now shut your mouth and say what you came to say!”

In the tense atmosphere, I felt a faint light from Elena.

It didn’t seem like she activated Justice right away; she was probably using Lie Detection.

“From the noisy fight earlier, I one of you seems to be in critical condition.”

“...”

“Let’s get straight to the point. I can treat him.”

So, this is the witch's proposal!

When the scenario mentioned “Will you accept the proposal? Or eliminate her immediately?”, I suspected it would be significant.

A proposal that would make us reconsider immediately killing the witch!

The chance to heal Jinchul-hyung was too tempting to ignore.

It wasn’t just because we were close to him.

But his combat power was unparalleled within our group.

Unlike Elena, who required special conditions, or my Descent, which was limited and mysterious, Jinchul-hyung was immensely powerful without any particular conditions.

Especially after acquiring the Star, Jinchul-hyung’s physical strength was overwhelmingly significant to our group’s overall combat power.

The reason we hadn’t given up on him despite his comatose state was precisely because of this.

Everyone seemed deep in thought.

Seeing the witch in front of us, the chat immediately became active.

In our anxiousness, we expressed our thoughts without reservation.

Yu Songee: Is it possible?

Kim Ahri: Considering she can attach different body parts to herself...

Kim Mooksung: Even if it’s possible, should we trust her?

Elena: I used Lie Detection, and she’s making a genuine offer.

Han Kain: Let’s hear her out. She must want something.

I stepped forward and asked, “You wouldn’t just treat him for nothing. What do you want in return?”

The witch looked directly at me.

“…”

She kept staring.

“...”

After almost a minute of just staring at me, the others began to react curiously.

“What’s going on? Kain’s face might be nice, but surely she didn’t come here just to look at it.”

“I had my doubts from afar, but it’s true.”

“What do you mean—”

“Step aside.”

The witch nudged Grandpa Mooksung with her staff and approached me.

Though he was taken aback, Grandpa didn’t stop her.

“…”

Her expression seemed affectionate and her eyes were moist with emotion.

What is this?

Why is this cannibalistic witch acting like this?

Why is this atmosphere so weird?

Unable to hold back, I spoke.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“You’re a mage, aren’t you?”

What on earth is she talking about?

I managed to regain my composure and replied.

“What do you mean by—”

“There’s no need to hide it. I can tell just by looking. We can assist each other.”

Her voice was so tender—

What the hell? I just saw five jars of eyeball pickles you made!

I was at a loss for words, utterly bewildered by the sudden situation.

***

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