Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 122: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Third Trial End (13)

- Han Kain

As I was deep in thought, I saw that just over a minute remained.

I’m losing it!

I felt like I was on the verge of understanding something, but the time was too short.

The good thing was that I was certain who the “execution target” would be this time.

It would definitely be Ahri.

I informed Elena to protect Ahri using the same method as before.

However, the choice was ultimately Elena's.

I hoped she would trust me and protect Ahri...

The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde's time has come.

My consciousness faded...

***

- 6th Round, Han Kain.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was filled with joy.

Success!

This time, no one was missing.

The Moderator descended.

n n

Congratulations. Hyde’s fifth execution has failed. The Doctor successfully protected the right target.

The Hyde of the 5th round was “Elena”. Now Hyde will move to another person.

We managed to survive another turn.

The order had now become clearer.

Han Kain → Yu Songee → Park Seungyub → Kim Ahri → Elena

Only Kim Mooksung and Lee Eunsol remained as potential hosts.

Elena, who had heard the Moderator’s announcement, calmly spoke.

“It’s safe to reveal now. I am the Doctor.”

“What? Why reveal that now?! Did you get caught?” Eunsol-noona replied in surprise.

Elena glanced slightly towards me and replied.

“Yes. When chosen as the Doctor, a hologram with your names appears in front of my vision. Hyde must have seen it too. There's no point in hiding it anymore.”

“It’s the last round anyway. Only Grandpa Mooksung and I are left as possible hosts. Once we get through this turn, who Hyde possessed will be confirmed.” Eunsol-noona said.

Grandpa Mooksung responded,

“Then just choose between me and Eunsol.”

Eunsol-noona had a different view.

“No, we don’t need to rush. If we make a mistake, it just increases the casualties. If we survive one more turn, only one of us will fall, so let’s think a bit more.”

As the discussion continued, I finally understood Hyde's criterion.

My initial thought was that it was based on the “order of threat to Hyde”.

Since Songee and I were Inheritance holders that could affect the mind, we might have posed a significant threat to Hyde.

However, I soon realized this criterion was flawed.

Who’s the real biggest threat to Hyde?

Songee, who couldn't do anything until the moment she died, or me, who was still pondering?

The answer is neither.

Seungyub picked Songee, the first host, right from the start.

In the next round, as the host of Hyde, he naturally didn’t pick anyone.

It was as if he got it right twice in a row.

If the criterion was “order of threat”, Hyde should have targeted Seungyub right away in the first or, at the latest, the second round.

Instead, Hyde targeted me until the third round.

Moreover, the “order of threat” didn’t explain the ranking of others who had no Inheritance or hadn’t contributed much to the game.

After much thought, I considered another criterion.

The most intuitive one for the Hotel to evaluate us by.

Contribution points.

The more significant the contributions in each room, the higher the accumulated contributions, leading to enhanced Blessings.

While we couldn’t directly see our contributions, there were indicators.

Enhancements in the Sanctum of Blessings.

The more enhancements someone had, the higher their accumulated contributions, and the sooner one enhanced, the closer they were to their next enhancement.

When we first visited the Sanctum after resolving the Human Farm, those who were enhanced were me, Park Seungyub, and Yu Songee.

When we visited the Sanctum a second time after resolving the Common Sense Renovating Media, those who enhanced were me, Kim Ahri, Elena, and Cha Jinchul.

However, I delayed my enhancement for a more powerful one later.

Our third visit was after resolving the Mansion of Fear. Those who enhanced them were me, Kim Mooksung, and Lee Eunsol.

I noticed something as I counted.

I was present every time.

Wow! Am I carrying this party?

Setting aside unnecessary thoughts, I ranked the participants by the number of enhancements and the order of the first enhancements.

Han Kain > Yu Songee = Park Seungyub > Kim Ahri = Elena = Cha Jinchul > Kim Mooksung = Lee Eunsol.

“...”

The ranking I came up with almost perfectly mirrored Hyde’s revealed ranking.

This is it.

Realizing this, I sighed.

In hindsight, contributions were accumulated through resolving the Cursed Rooms, and the Hotel uses these contributions as a primary criterion for awarding Inheritance and enhancing Blessings.

Why did I realize this so late?

Hyde’s next target was either Lee Eunsol or Kim Mooksung.

Elena spoke up.

“Sorry, but Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung, could you please close your eyes and cover your ears for a moment?”

We needed to discuss among those who were definitely not Hyde.

Following the instruction, the two closed their eyes, covered their ears, and moved to the edge of the room.

Elena, Ahri, and I gathered on the opposite side and quietly discussed.

Ahri spoke first.

“The execution target this time would be Elena, right?”

“That’s likely. Since I’m the Doctor.”

I chimed in.

“Are you planning to protect yourself this time?”

“Yes.”

I thought for a moment.

According to the contribution ranking I determined, Hyde’s ranking order was as follows:

Han Kain > Yu Songee > Park Seungyub > Kim Ahri > Elena > Kim Mooksung? Lee Eunsol.

With Songee and Seungyub dead, the targets would be Han Kain, Kim Ahri, or Elena.

Hyde has given up on me, and having successfully protected Ahri, might Hyde give up on her too?

Since Hyde tried to target me twice, might it target Ahri once more, or would he target Elena?

Despite our discussion, we couldn’t be certain who Hyde would attack.

“...!”

A clever idea suddenly struck me.

“Time is almost up, so let’s gather.”

Eunsol-noona and Grandpa Mooksung, who were waiting with their eyes closed and ears covered, straightened up and turned toward the table.

As naturally as possible, and as if it were an accidental slip rather than a trick, I spoke to Elena in a slightly louder voice.

“This time, protect yourself.”

Elena’s eyes widened momentarily before she nodded in understanding.

I was confident now.

There’s no need to give any more hints.

Elena will understand.

n n

The sun is setting. The day is over, and Hyde's time has come.

My consciousness faded...

***

- 7th Round, Han Kain.

I lifted my head.

I found myself smiling without realizing it!

nn

Congratulations. Hyde’s sixth execution has failed. The Doctor successfully protected the right target.

The Hyde of the 6th round was “Kim Mooksung”. Now Hyde will move to another person.

Eunsol-noona sighed in relief and spoke.

“Wow! I was really surprised earlier. Did Hyde target Elena because she’s the Doctor?”

Elena smiled slightly while Eunsol-noona continued.

“Kain! Be careful next time. I almost panicked when you told Elena to protect herself. If I had been Hyde’s host, he would have targeted someone else after hearing that. Luckily, it was Grandpa.”

“I heard it too,” said Grandpa Mooksung.

Eunsol-noona fell silent.

I laughed and responded.

“I said it loudly so both of you would hear. Since Noona thought it was a mistake, Hyde was tricked too. Hyde got the information that Elena would protect herself and target someone else. Probably me, right?”

I turned to Elena, who nodded.

“Yes. Hyde wanted to kill you from the start. If I, the Doctor, signaled that I wouldn’t protect you, Hyde would target you again. And he did.”

This damned game is finally over.

Everyone relaxed and started talking freely.

I explained my theories about Hyde’s criteria, and everyone listened with curiosity.

I felt a hint of regret.

If I had used my Inheritance more proactively, understood the criteria sooner, or come up with the idea of tricking Hyde earlier, we could have had a perfect run in this room!

“...”

It didn’t matter.

No one blamed each other for not thinking of it sooner in the relentless 15-minute cycles that left us barely breathing.

The remaining time of the 7th round was almost over.

Finally, the chatter died down and everyone turned to look at Eunsol-noona in a somewhat awkward manner.

Hyde couldn’t possess the same person twice.

Since Hyde had just possessed Grandpa, the only remaining host candidate was Eunsol-noona.

“Why the gloomy atmosphere? It’s not like we’re saying goodbye forever, right? I’ll be going ahead. See you outside! And... it’s hard to say this myself, but don’t revive me,” She said with a smile.

“…”

We pointed out Eunsol-noona as Hyde.

The Moderator descended, and the room briefly darkened.

When the light returned, Eunsol-noona was gone.

n n

The choice is over! The result?

***

***

***

nn

Ding dong! Congratulations, participants! You have found Hyde.

Congratulations on passing the Third Trial. Now, you can revive one of the deceased from the Jekyll and Hyde game.

A hologram appeared in the center of the table, listing the deceased.

n n

1. Yu Songee

2. Park Seungyub

3. Lee Eunsol

Jinchul-hyung wasn’t listed.

As expected, he wasn’t a revival candidate since he was eliminated before the game.

Who should we revive?

A discussion began among the remaining participants.

Grandpa Mooksung was the first to offer an opinion.

“Shouldn’t we revive someone with an Inheritance?”

Elena agreed.

“Indeed. Although the abilities of the other two are helpful, I think the bracelet would be most useful in this situation.”

I agreed and didn’t speak up.

Surprisingly, Ahri had a different opinion.

“I think we should revive Seungyub.”

“Do you have a reason?”

“Look at the progression so far. The first trial sealed Blessings, the second sealed Inheritance, and the third sealed Blessings again. By that pattern, the fourth trial should seal Inheritance. Even if Songee comes back, the bracelet might not be usable.”

“That’s just your speculation. Even if it’s true, why do you think Seungyub’s Blessing is more useful than Inheritance? Do you think his luck is more beneficial?”

“Yes. Throughout the trials, I’ve noticed that Seungyub is absurdly lucky. In the First Trial, he ‘coincidentally’ had the most cooperative fake, the fake literally did the trial for him. In the Second Trial, his luck made him randomly shoot the witch’s weak points, causing her to retreat, and then he also deceived her with card tricks. In the Third Trial, he effectively identified Hyde twice. If we hadn’t doubted his choices, we could have ended the game early.”

“That’s true, but our Blessings were sealed in the First and Third Trials. Wasn’t it just pure luck?”

“That makes it even more remarkable. My guess is that Blessings are given to those with related abilities. Eunsol-noona is rich and gained Wealth, Jinchul-hyung is strong and gained Courage, Grandpa Mooksung is talkative and gained Communication.”

Elena chimed in.

“Songee likes animals and gained Affinity, Ahri has many secrets and gained Secret, and I have an interest in justice and gained Justice?”

“Exactly. Seungyub is already lucky, and his luck has been further enhanced by Fortune. If we consider the Fourth Trial where Inheritances might be sealed, Seungyub’s Fortune would be more versatile than Songee’s Affinity, which relies on the existence of ‘Being of Chaos’.”

Listening to Ahri’s explanation, I felt somewhat convinced.

However, Grandpa Mooksung still seemed to disagree.

“I understand the logic of sealing inheritance in the Fourth Trial and prioritizing Seungyub based on Blessings, but ultimately, we need to clear the Fifth Trial too. In the final trial, wouldn’t Songee with her bracelet be more advantageous?”

“If we don’t clear the Fourth Trial, we won’t even get to the Fifth. Focusing on the immediate challenge makes more sense.”

“Don’t forget about Perro. Without Songee, that bird has been doing nothing but pulling my hair and eating sunflower seeds. Without her, it’s hard to control him properly.”

“Perro has been plucking Grandpa's hair even with Songee around. He’s just been idle because there’s nothing for him to do now. Perro still recognizes us and will help even without Songee.”

Ahri’s habit of mixing informal and formal speech when excited is still the same...

And Perro always pulls Grandpa’s hair.

At least that's consistent.

“…”

Grandpa Mooksung insisted on reviving Songee with her bracelet, while Ahri advocated strongly for Seungyub and his luck.

Elena and I sighed, glancing at each other.

Who should we revive?

It seems Seungyub’s efforts in the Hotel weren’t entirely in vain.

I’ll have to let him know later how hard Ahri fought for his /genesisforsaken