Escaping the Mystery Hotel

Chapter 118: Room 107 - The Gate Room, The Second Trial End (9)

- Han Kain

Noticing the commotion from afar, my teammates ran over.

“What on earth is going on?”

“What is it? What happened all of a sudden?”

“Ah! What is this corpse?”

In the midst of the chaotic atmosphere, I slowly explained.

Arima suddenly started talking about her childhood, then explained some magical enlightenment, kissed me out of the blue, talked about being reborn, and then committed suicide.

Even I found it difficult to understand what I was saying.

The others reacted with bewilderment.

“How fascinating. She showed signs of liking you, but kissing and then committing suicide is rather unexpected.”

“She showed signs of liking me?”

“You didn’t know?”

“She acted strangely from the beginning, but I thought it was just an act.”

“It might have been an act at first. But after that, it was hard to see it as anything but genuine feelings unless she was a professional actress.”

Songee added

“When we talked, I sometimes felt that Arima had many wounds. She seemed to think of us as a kind of ‘Mage Party’ and was very envious because we all got along so well,” Songee added.

Eunsol-noona asked a question.

“It’s confusing, but now that the witch is dead, is it over?”

“That can’t be. Arima herself said she was ready to be reborn before she died, so there must be a next phase—”

A booming announcement rang from the sky.

Congratulations to all participants on passing the Second Trial, ‘The Witch’s Forest'.

Suddenly, the surrounding space began to collapse.

I didn't know what was happening, but seeing my comrades happy at the announcement of passing the Second Trial…

I was utterly terrified.

The things Arima had said to me.

The unusual circumstances.

And now this announcement.

“I want to serve you too.”

“The human mind is a mere illusion. I've now abandoned my obsession with meaningless attachments.”

“I'm almost ready to be reborn.”

“I wanted to live a little more as a woman.”

Arima had freely tampered with Jinchul-hyung's body for several days.

The hotel values the physical body when distinguishing between real and fake.

All the information converged into one horrifying conclusion!

***

Just like after the First Trial, we arrived in a space resembling a clean hotel room.

The seal on our Inheritance was lifted.

The power of the Grimoire was restored.

“Songee! Check Jinchul-hyung with the bracelet!” I frantically shouted

As soon as a white flash from the bracelet scanned Jinchul-hyung—

Songee's face turned ghostly pale.

“Oh! Oh no! Kyaaaaa!”

While Eunsol-noona and Elena were panicking, Ahri shouted in disbelief.

“No way! That’s not Jinchul—”

At this point, even Grandpa Mooksung was also shocked.

“Shit! ‘That thing’ is about to wake up!”

Jinchul-hyung's body started to twitch.

I immediately summoned the Grimoire.

Fighting that monster directly would result in too many casualties!

I had to end this with the Grimoire.

The power of the Grimoire manifested, and my consciousness floated up.

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a luxurious mansion.

***

Music from violins and pianos tickled my ears.

The decorations on the walls, the candelabras, the chandeliers, everything shone brightly in the mansion.

I wandered through the space that reflected the opulent taste of the mansion’s owner.

This was a first-time experience.

I had used the Grimoire many times, but I would usually take control of the body I possessed in an instant instead of falling into a world like this.

Is it the witch’s power?

I couldn't tell.

As I walked, a lavish dining table appeared.

Seated at the other end was none other than Arima.

“Is this your trick?”

“Rather than a trick, please think of it as an invitation.”

“Do you have something to say again?”

“Nothing much. I just want to persuade you.”

“Persuade me? You took over my comrade's body and now want to persuade me?”

Arima smiled slightly.

“After reading the memories of ‘Cha Jinchul’, it has been one shock after another. To think the entire world I existed in was just a play created by an omnipotent transcendental being... In the end, even the ‘real Arima’ before taking over this body was fake, wasn’t it? If it were me before gaining enlightenment, I might have gone crazy just from this experience. Because it means I am nothing but a fabricated existence. But now, it’s okay. After all, the mind is nothing but an illusion! It’s nothing more than an attachment. The only reason this is possible is thanks to your teachings, Teacher. Thank you.”

Seeing Arima's calm demeanor, I also calmed my excitement.

“I’m glad to hear that. But, if you read Jinchul-hyung's memories, you should have guessed. I am not the great mage you think I am.”

Arima showed a puzzled look.

“Why not?”

“...It seems you haven’t read all the memories yet—”

“Because you don’t fully understand the power you wield? Because you’re actually young? Because those you called disciples are actually comrades given powers by the Hotel?”

So, she has read everything.

“I don’t fully understand the power I use either. I use it empirically, not knowing much of the principles behind it. Being young is actually an advantage, and having many comrades is also a strength. Are you like this just because you received power through the Grimoire? You obtain the Grimoire through your efforts didnt you? You are undoubtedly a mage.”

I didn’t know what to say.

I decided to be honest.

“Can you leave Jinchul-hyung's body?”

Arima let out a small sigh.

“What a disappointing answer.”

“Cha Jinchul is my precious—”

“I’m not disappointed at the fact that you value Cha Jinchul more than me or for any childish reason. I’m disappointed because your answer shows you still don’t have a ‘complete’ understanding of the truth contained in the Grimoire.”

“...”

“How can you not understand as the owner of the Grimoire? The human mind is like a flowing river, it’s in a constant state of change and flow. The unchanging self that ordinary people think of is just a handful of river water scooped up at a specific time and place. Even if you scoop water from the same spot a day later, the river will have completely changed.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say—”

“Just listen. You asked me to ‘leave’, thinking I am not Cha Jinchul, right? Then what am I?”

“Aren’t you Arima?”

Arima chuckled and spun around.

...In front of me appeared "Cha Jinchul".

“Now, am I Cha Jinchul?”

“...”

He turned around again and returned to Arima’s form.

“I replicated my mind and inserted it into Cha Jinchul’s body. The real Arima’s soul and body are already dead, and only the replicated mind has awakened in this body. Can I still be called Arima? Or am I just Cha Jinchul inheriting some of Arima’s memories?”

“You replicated your mind and put it into Jinchul-hyung's body? Abandoning your soul and body? How is that different from suicide?”

“Why is it suicide? Aren’t I here before you? Is it because the ‘real Arima’ you saw committed suicide in front of you, do you think the continuity is broken? Isn’t your teaching that such attachment to continuity is meaningless?”

“I was just spouting nonsense. I don’t know if any wisdom from the Grimoire was mixed in, but how could you gain such crazy enlightenment from that nonsense!”

“It seems persuasion is difficult after all.”

With Arima’s disappointed words, the luxurious mansion crumbled, and the space itself collapsed.

The beautiful witch’s body disintegrated into bubbles, revealing a gigantic vortex of darkness.

A voice echoed in my mind.

‘If you insist on making a foolish choice, prove it with your power!’

An unprecedented strange battle began.

The dark vortex engulfed me, shattering my body in an instant.

But I could still think clearly. I instinctively knew how to fight.

This battle was a clash of minds, with bodies being mere illusions.

Chains of blackness rose from all directions, piercing through the vortex.

The vortex quaked, revealing Arima’s form. Lightning flashed, scorching the chains.

I extended the chains again, shattering Arima, and then lightning summoned from behind scorched me.

As the surreal exchange of attacks continued dozens of times, I began to understand something…

The strengths each of us had.

Arima had stronger control over Jinchul-hyung's mental world, which was the battlefield.

I had the overwhelming advantage of using the power of the Grimoire, an endless repository of the Arcane.

The problem was this battle couldn’t end quickly.

It was a fundamentally insubstantial, imaginary battle, making the delivery of a decisive blow difficult.

In an hour, the next trial would surely begin.

I had to end this fight before then.

I felt my mind reaching “higher” than ever before.

In the dreamlike world detached from reality, my mind grasped the doorknob of an unreachable realm.

To win, I needed greater power.

The power to summon reality from a dream, to create something from nothing!

In the void, the Grimoire appeared before me.

A new chapter, one I had never been able to open, unfolded before me.

The Power of Incarnation

Finally, a substance emerged in the world of illusions.

A single flash of light pierced through the void where Arima and I were fighting.

Arima began to disintegrate like ashes.

‘What kind of power is this?’

‘I don’t know either.’

‘Haha! You are truly consistent, Teacher. Believing you don’t know while clearly knowing the answer. Do you really not know? Or are you afraid of the meaning of enlightenment and choose to be ignorant?’

‘...’

‘Enlightenment is said to be sudden realization followed by gradual cultivation. Even if you gain sudden enlightenment, it takes time to internalize it. Remember, you already attained enlightenment the moment you obtained the Grimoire. It’s just that the memories accumulated over twenty years are holding you back from truly ascending into something great...’

With these as her last words, Arima disappeared.

Or did she?

My mind, which had reached a higher realm, found the answer.

As long as Cha Jinchul wasn’t completely dead, Arima wasn’t completely gone either.

Arima’s self and memories were gone.

But some trace of her would remain in Hyung when he revived outside the Gate Room.

My mind, which had touched a higher realm, gradually descended.

It’s not time yet.

For the Power of Incarnation to truly be in my hands, I needed a fundamental breakthrough.

Simply letting time pass and increasing my Possession ability wasn’t enough.

More fundamental growth was required.

It would take a long time.

Perhaps I wouldn’t achieve it before leaving the Hotel.

A mindset beyond human limits!

...Would such growth really be desirable?

Lost in thought, my consciousness faded.

***

- Han Kain

I woke up as my consciousness returned to reality.

As soon as I returned, I looked at Jinchul-hyung.

His head was cleanly split.

“What on earth happened?”

Eunsol-noona answered.

“I should be asking you. What did you do? You used the Grimoire, then both of you collapsed, and after about ten minutes, Jinchul’s head suddenly split open.”

“Is that so…”

I felt a sense of emptiness.

Despite all the efforts during the Second Trial to save Jinchul-hyung, it seemed it was all in vain.

Everyone sat with a sense of desolation.

Ahri nudged me and spoke.

“Still, you did well. Is it the power of the Grimoire? It feels like you’re getting stronger. Anyway, it’s a relief we avoided fighting Jinchul. If he had summoned the Star or something to fight us, we might all be dead. Is the witch completely gone?”

“Probably.”

“That sounds uncertain,” Grandpa Mooksung interjected.

“By the way, this situation is terrifying. As you might have realized, combining Ahri and Songee’s thoughts, didn’t the witch successfully escape the trial space by taking over Jinchul’s body?”

“If we put it that way, then yes. Though whether the entity that escaped can truly be called Arima is debatable…”

“Let’s skip the philosophical debate. The important thing is that it’s a kind of ‘escape’. It’s no different from escaping the Gate Room’s trial space. Could a similar escape be possible in the Cursed Room?”

My head spun with the implications.

A form of escape where one replicated their mind into a participant’s body and then exited with the participant…

At that moment, an unprecedented phenomenon occurred since entering the hotel.

Sage's Advice: 3 → 0

What?

I didn’t use the advice, and we overcame the crisis.

Yet all three disappeared at once?

Remember that realization. It is the problem you must overcome in the /genesisforsaken