NoveLight ™
Episode 61 – Strategy Meeting – Evaluating Rewards: Where Should We Go?
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 21
Current Location: Level 1, Hallway
Sage's Advice: 0]
First Reward:
Hint for solving the Room of Curses.
"This reward—I personally think it’s even more valuable than that mysterious golden egg. It might be the most immediately helpful reward for us, considering we’re planning to re-enter the Room of Curses. This is pure gold!"
"Let’s open the letter and check it out, Noona."
Rip—
A small piece of paper fell out. It wasn’t much, certainly not enough space for detailed instructions. Everyone huddled around the table to examine its contents.
It felt like solving a riddle.
As a "hint," I wasn’t expecting a full solution. But why include blanks like [ㅁㅁ]?
"At least Room 103 is clear."
[What you see isn’t everything.]
"This means everything visible is an illusion."
[It’s not [ㅁㅁㅁㅁ].]
"And that probably means, 'It’s not Animal Farm.' Makes sense, right?"
"Let’s try decoding the other lines in a similar way."
"This does feel like a quiz. Honestly, I think I know two of the answers already. What about the rest of you?"
"I’m getting a sense of it, too. It seems like everything the hotel says often requires a reverse interpretation to get the real meaning."
"Alright, Noona and Kain seem to have figured something out. Why don’t you explain it to the rest of us?"
"Let me start. The hint for Room 101:
[The source of the curse is not [ㅁㅁ].]
This line is telling us we’ve been holding onto a certain bias about what’s causing the curse in Room 101, and that bias is wrong. What does everyone think the source of the curse in Room 101 is?"
"Obviously, it’s the family, right? All the problems seem to stem from interactions with their twisted family members."
"I thought it was the family, too. But this hint says we’re mistaken. In other words, [The source of the curse in Room 101 is not the family.] That’s what it’s telling us."
"Then what is it?"
"That’s for us to figure out."
"I used the same reasoning for Room 102:
[Abandon the bias that you must go toward [ㅁㅁ].]
This means we’re assuming we have to go somewhere specific. Can you guess where we’ve been assuming we must go in Room 102?"
Song's eyes widened.
"The mansion!"
"Exactly. The hint for Room 102 is telling us: [Abandon the bias that you must go toward the mansion.]"
"Huh. Now that you mention it, I remember something. On the first day, when we woke up in the SUV, Kain suggested we just avoid the mansion entirely since we hadn’t reached it yet."
"Yeah, I remember that too. But Jinchul-hyung said we had to go there anyway, so we all decided to head there together."
"Ahem..."
"Let’s not dwell on the past. Next time, we’ll try a route that avoids the mansion entirely."
"Alright, we’re aligned on Rooms 101 and 102. The problem is Room 104—I have no idea about that one."
"Me neither."
"Let’s focus on what we do understand for now and leave the rest for later."
"Agreed. Let’s summarize what we’ve decoded so far."
Noona pulled out a notebook and pen.
"You brought a notebook here?"
"It was sold in a bundle at the market. I figured we’d need a way to plan things out properly. None of our smartphones work anymore, so analog is the way to go."
The hints we deciphered were written down:
Room 101: The source of the curse is not the family.
Room 102: Abandon the bias that you must go toward the mansion.
Room 103: What you see isn’t everything, and it’s not Animal Farm.
Room 104: ?
"We’ll need to keep these hints in mind for when we go after the next legacy. For now, let’s move on to the next reward."
Second Reward:
3-Day Rest Ticket.
"This one’s straightforward. The back of the paper explains everything:
'The Rest Ticket works like Party Time.
For 3 days, no negative events will occur, and you’ll have access to places normally off-limits.'"
"By ‘places off-limits,’ it probably means something like that Sanctuary of Blessings."
"Remember how we tried to return to the sanctuary after Party Time by turning off the front lights? That didn’t work; the lights just went out normally."
"There are probably other places accessible only during Party Time. We’ve already heard about mysterious locations like the ‘Room of Resurrection’ and the ‘Buddha’s Hall,’ right?"
"When should we use this ticket? We could start tomorrow or save it for later."
"Wouldn’t it be better to use it now? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m exhausted. It’s hard to believe it’s still ‘Day 21’ after all the hell we went through in the Mission Room. Can’t we rest for a bit?"
"...I get it, Kain. You’ve been through a lot, especially since you were the last one standing in that mission. Of course, Jinchul-hyung also went through hell in Mission 6."
"Is this my cue to apologize for getting hit by a truck at the start?"
"No one’s blaming you. I just think we all need a break."
"What do you all think?"
"Looks like Eunseol Noona has a different take. Go ahead and share your thoughts. At this point, the rest of us usually just go along with what you and Kain decide anyway."
…Ahri must see it that way, though I always thought Eunseol Noona made most of the decisions. On reflection, I guess I do speak up a lot during discussions.
"I understand the desire to rest tomorrow. But I think we should use the Rest Ticket strategically.
Imagine the hotel goes into some extreme, hellish state due to a special event. Using the Rest Ticket at that moment might cancel the event entirely. I’d rather save it for that kind of situation."
The room fell silent.
It came down to a simple choice:
Topic: Use the Rest Ticket now vs. Save it for later.
Kain: Exhausted from the Mission Room. Wants to rest now.
Eunseol: Believes the ticket should be saved for strategic use in critical situations.
In the end, Eunseol’s logic won out. The ticket would be saved for a future crisis.
Third Reward:
A Delicious Sandwich.
The notebook noted the sandwich, and silence fell.
"...Do we need to analyze this? It’s not some secret sandwich, right? Did you check the case, Noona?"
"Of course I did. There’s nothing hidden. It’s just a sandwich."
"Probably a dud. It came from the copper balloon, after all. My games often have useless items as filler rewards."
"...So I got the dud this time. Guess I’m apologizing again today."
"Don’t worry about it. None of us could’ve shot better anyway."
In the end, the eight of us split the sandwich.
Fourth Reward:
Red Pill.
The pill came with a simple, clear description:
"Single-use. Provides immunity to all forms of mental attacks during a room. Restores all prior mental damage."
"So basically, it’s a consumable that makes one mental attack-heavy room a freebie."
"Was it meant for Room 101?"
"Who knows, but it’ll be a huge help. If it grants immunity against the ‘Corrupted Family’s’ mental effects, we might clear it easily."
"It’s important to decide not just where to use it, but who should use it. Probably Jinchul-hyung, right?"
Ahri tapped Jinchul-hyung, and he nodded.
"Yeah, if I use it, I’ll probably shine at least once."
His physical strength is unmatched, but he’s vulnerable to mental attacks. Giving him this item makes sense. Though it’s single-use, it could secure us a legacy.
Fifth Reward:
Golden Egg.
The most valuable and mysterious reward.
"Any guesses what this is?"
"No clue. There’s not even an instruction manual."
"Song, have you seen anything like this before?"
"Not really. But something as rare as this probably won’t hatch a normal animal, right?"
"Let’s leave it in a warm spot. It’ll hatch when the time comes."
We set up a spot near the fireplace in Room 105, placing the golden egg on a cushion by the hearth.
Summary of Rewards:
Hint for Room of Curses:
3-Day Rest Ticket:
Sandwich:
Red Pill:
Golden Egg:
"Now for the real question. Tomorrow, where do we go? Corrupted Family, Haunted Mansion, or Hotel District?"
"Let’s eliminate one right away. The Hotel District is too cryptic, and its difficulty seems highest."
"The 주 part is unsettling, too. Alright, Room 104 is out. That leaves Corrupted Family and Haunted Mansion."
"Let’s weigh the pros and cons and decide by majority vote."
Corrupted Family:
Pros: Easier escape.
Cons: Too many unknowns.
Haunted Mansion:
Pros: More known variables.
Cons: Difficult escape.
"To summarize: Corrupted Family has easier escape but more unknowns. Haunted Mansion is harder to escape but more predictable."
"Where should we go?"