NoveLight ™
Episode 62 – Deciding the Next Location: Re-entering the Fray
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 21
Current Location: Level 1, Hallway
Sage's Advice: 0]
Where Should We Go?
Mookseong Grandpa spoke up first.
"I think the answer is starting to take shape. But before that, I want to revisit the interpretation of the hints."
"Please, go ahead, Grandpa."
"I'm not saying your interpretations are entirely wrong. But the hotel’s hints seem to emphasize ‘do not hold onto bias.’ If we blindly trust our interpretations, that in itself could become another bias."
"You have a point."
"The hint for the Corrupted Family—interpreted as ‘The source of the curse is not the family.’ I don’t have any better words for this. I’ve never even been to the Corrupted Family room, so I’ll leave that aside.
The hint for the Haunted Mansion—interpreted as ‘Abandon the bias that you must go toward the mansion.’ I think this one warrants more thought. There are plenty of other two-character locations we might think we need to visit, such as chapel or study."
"..."
Ahri added her thoughts.
"I can think of more: basement, lake.
We assumed we needed to go to the chapel to use the bell or the study to gather information. We thought the basement would reveal something important or that we had to break through the lake to escape. There are so many two-character locations, it’s hard to say for sure that the hint means the mansion specifically.
Maybe you two are too focused on ‘broadening the stage,’ which led to the conclusion that we need to ‘leave the mansion entirely.’ But I feel like we still have to explore the mansion itself."
Both members of the Management Bureau supported this perspective.
The hint about the Haunted Mansion shouldn’t necessarily be interpreted as saying ‘Leave the mansion.’
...
It made sense. This needed more thought.
"Alright. Let’s keep pondering the mansion hint. Grandpa, you seem to have made up your mind about where we should go. Care to share?"
"I believe we must go to the Corrupted Family next. When deciding where to reattempt, the most crucial factor is the difficulty of escape.
For a retry, securing a guaranteed escape is essential. If we can ensure escape 100%, then we’ve practically won. With enough attempts, we’ll solve it eventually. Of course, I’ve heard there’s a limit to the number of retries."
He glanced at Ahri after mentioning the limit.
"That’s not confirmed," she clarified. "From what I’ve heard, you’re fine up to four attempts, but things start to go awry after the fifth."
...
The room went quiet for a moment.
"Ahri, could you elaborate?"
"It’s something I heard during my first run. I haven’t experienced it myself. I don’t even know what ‘go awry’ means exactly."
Ahri was on her second loop in the hotel.
Her information seemed reliable: up to four retries are safe, but after the fifth, things get strange. We had already used one retry, meaning we needed to solve this within two or three more attempts.
Grandpa continued:
"In short, we must ensure a guaranteed escape before trying to solve the room.
Let’s compare the two rooms again in terms of escape difficulty. The Haunted Mansion is notably challenging. Its escape method is to prevent the offering of six sacrifices. Since we have eight people, it might seem possible to guarantee escape by having three people sacrifice themselves at the start.
But think again. I and Ahri are now part of your party. Will the hotel turn us back into NPCs?"
"What do you think?"
Ahri answered.
"That’s what I’m wondering. They could turn us into NPCs again or add new characters. If new characters are added, there would be ten candidates for the sacrifices."
I understood.
If the hotel replaced the butler and maid with new characters, there would be ten candidates for the Elder’s ritual.
To guarantee escape in that situation, three sacrifices wouldn’t be enough.
Even if three died, seven would remain, allowing the Elder to complete the ritual with six sacrifices.
"We might need five sacrifices instead of three."
"Then the remaining three would have to complete the room. That’s cutting it too close."
"In contrast," Grandpa continued, "the Corrupted Family seems far simpler. All we have to do is avoid contact with the family and keep our distance.
The first attempt failed because we didn’t understand what was happening. But with preparation, we don’t even need extraordinary mental defenses. Just close your eyes, block your ears, and run as soon as it starts."
"Grandpa, I get what you’re saying, but I’ve been wondering something."
Ahri’s tone was her usual mix of formal and casual, though no one bothered to comment on her inconsistent speech style in such dire circumstances.
"What about me and Grandpa? We don’t have families. What happens to us?"
...
I’d suspected this about Ahri, but it was my first time learning Grandpa didn’t have a family either. What would happen in their case?
"Won’t the hotel create a family for you?"
"I have no idea."
"Let’s settle on reattempting the Corrupted Family. Any objections?"
No one raised any.
Grandpa’s reasoning had convinced us all.
The idea of sacrifices was simply too painful. Even though no one explicitly said it, we all knew what it meant: the least valuable among us would have to die. Deciding who had to die was an unbearable burden.
Thus, we chose to retry the Corrupted Family.
That evening, we concluded our meeting and spent some time chatting before turning in early.
As I lay in bed, I thought about tomorrow.
The plan was simple: the moment I entered, I’d use the filter to obscure my vision and run straight out of the house.
The next morning, we had a hearty breakfast and distributed our gear. Our equipment was still limited to a gun and the red pill. Grandpa carried the gun, and Jinchul-hyung took the red pill.
Right before entering Room 101, we held a brief final meeting.
"Everyone clear? At the start, our first priority is escaping. Those who can escape easily should keep running. The rest will handle the room."
"Understood!"
Second Attempt
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 22
Current Location: Level 1, Room 101 (Room of Curses – Corrupted Family)
Sage's Advice: 3]
The moment I regained consciousness, I wasted no time deploying the filter around me. My vision turned hazy, and my mind felt clear.
I could hear faint buzzing in my ears, but I ignored it and bolted for the door.
Keeping my eyes barely open, I focused only on the blurry shapes of the "family." They seemed to be saying something, but I didn’t stop to listen.
"I’m just going to the convenience store for drinks!" I shouted as an excuse.
I opened the door and ran out—
And then I ran for my life.
After about ten minutes of running, a notification popped up:
/You have successfully escaped!/
That was it?
This was ridiculously easy! All you had to do was run?
It seemed like our first failure was simply due to inexperience.
Feeling great, I waited for the others to return.
Later, I found out it wasn’t so easy for everyone.
Escape Results:
Failures:
Elena Ivanov
This room was absurdly unfair to her.
If you had to run immediately upon starting, what about people who started in the same room as their sister?
Her mind had already started clouding before she could do anything.
At least separate people at the start!
She realized the unfairness of her situation: her family had been impoverished after years of exile, forcing her to share a room with her sister.
Capitalism discriminated against the poor. Whoever designed this room deserved to be stabbed with a pitchfork.
Her vision blurred as she failed.
/You have failed!/
Eunseol
Her issue was the opposite of Elena’s: she was too rich.
While others described running out of their houses in mere seconds, Eunseol had to traverse a mansion.
Starting in her bedroom, she had to cross her living room, then her dressing room, then the main living area, then the dining hall, and finally the garden.
Worse, her house had five servants and guards roaming around.
She didn’t even consider jumping out the window—her house had an extensive security system.
The result?
/You have failed!/
Kim Mookseong
He had wondered before entering: what happens to someone without a family?
The answer shocked him.
"Aren’t you feeling well, Dad?"
"Grandpa, why are you just standing there?"
The hotel had created replicas of his deceased son and grandson.
Mookseong knew they weren’t real. His son and grandson were long gone. He should have distanced himself. If needed, he should have shot them.
But he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
/You have failed!/
Kim Ahri
For Ahri, the room recreated her past—the hotel she had been born in.
Her "family" didn’t need any modification. Her mother was already insane.
A familiar voice rang out:
"Ahri! Why aren’t you coming out? I’m hungry!"
Ahri froze.
She was facing someone who looked like her but was younger and more childish.
Her mother.
The hotel had no need to adjust anything.