Chapter 830
Chapter 830 – First Escape, Meeting (3)
User: Han Gain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 0
Current Location: Level 2, Central Hall
Sage’s Advice: 1
— Han Gain
In the evening, I met my grandfather on the second floor.
“Well, has the secret meeting ended without me?”
My grandfather subtly sulked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.
“Ha ha, secret meeting? That part is correct; it has ended.”
It was a rather prolonged meeting after the First Escape. Various discussions took place, but the most crucial topic was ultimately, “How to proceed with the next round?”
“There were two main points about you, Grandfather.”
“Two?”
“First, we hope you will use your abilities more actively.”
“Are you talking about the True Heart?”
“Yes. You only used it on your son during the first round, right? Let’s try using it more actively in the next round.”
Grandfather scratched his head and replied.
“Well, I don’t know if the True Heart is a power that can be used intentionally.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure how it appeared to you, but when I used it on Su-ho, it wasn’t intentional. It activated on its own.”
A hint that controlling the new ability, ‘True Heart’, is challenging. Interestingly, Elena had predicted that grandfather would respond this way.
In moments like this, I really feel how long we’ve spent together.
“Grandfather, think about Elena’s definition.”
“Definition?”
“It may be difficult to control directly, but indirect control is possible, right? We deliberately acted dangerously near Elena before, didn’t we?”
“…”
After a brief silence, grandfather nodded.
“I can’t directly activate the True Heart. But, there must be some conditions for activation. I’ll try inducing those conditions.”
“That’s right.”
The first point seemed to be resolved well.
“One is to use the abilities actively; I understand that. What’s the second?”
“The second conclusion is that you, Grandfather, boarded the Parinirvana Train before coming to the hotel.”
“…”
“It wasn’t just Ari who boarded the train; you did too. You’ve forgotten that memory.”
“…”
“It wasn’t just boarding; after moving through several train cars—”
“You met the Eldist?”
“That’s correct.”
“…”
“Think about how you ended up on the train. Proceeding with this consideration.”
Hearing this, grandfather chuckled.
“Somehow, it feels like I’m being led to recall the situation before coming to the hotel naturally.”
“…”
“It’s like creating a past predicted scenario based on logical evidence and then acting according to that scenario.”
That’s not an incorrect statement.
The Eldist imitating grandfather’s voice, the existence of One More Chance. These are the ‘results’ of grandfather’s actions before coming to the hotel.
We are deducing past events based on the outcomes and inducing grandfather to recreate them.
It will be closer to an artificial recreation than a natural one.
“Well, I understand. The attempt to create a natural recreation failed during the first round, so we need to pivot the direction this time.”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t you have anything else to say?”
Anything else to say…
[Advice: 1]
“… Actually, while discussing earlier, I wrote a piece of advice regarding grandfather.”
“Oh really? What did you write it on?”
Should I share the information obtained from the advice with grandfather?
Sang-hyun and Yusong opposed it. Their reason was that if grandfather knew the content of the response, he would act awkwardly, being too conscious of it.
I chose to speak.
“The question was why One More Chance was given to grandfather.”
Grandfather’s expression stiffened.
“… One More Chance was a tool given to save the world.”
“Also a tool to save the world and grandfather’s inheritance.”
Therefore, One More Chance is likely related to grandfather’s wish.
“I was curious about this. Strictly speaking, Room 303 contains a means of time travel.”
“The Parinirvana Train…”
“If there’s the Parinirvana Train, then why is One More Chance necessary?”
“…”
Grandfather momentarily lost his words.
He probably hadn’t thought this way before.
“Do you wish to go back a month? In other rooms, one must use One More Chance to do so. However, in Room 303, you simply need to board the train. If you wish to return a month ago, the train will drop you off at that interval.”
At first glance, the function of the Parinirvana Train is far superior to that of One More Chance.
Limiting the reversible period to one month? The Parinirvana Train has no such restriction; moving back to a time 1 billion years ago is possible.
Moreover, it can even achieve kinds of loop transitions, which are impossible with One More Chance.
Having heard this, grandfather nodded.
“It seems that what can be done with One More Chance can also be done with the Parinirvana Train; then why was One More Chance given?”
“It’s similar. So when I asked, I received an unexpected response.”
“What did they say?”
“They said the two are not comparable. The principles and results of time travel are completely different.”
“…”
“The answer itself, as always, was rather unkind… but upon hearing it, something came to mind.”
Before I could bring up the next story, grandfather spoke first.
“I think I understand.”
“Go ahead.”
“If the Parinirvana Train is indeed a superior version of One More Chance, then One More Chance should not have been given. There’s something… fundamentally different about the time travel of the two tools.”
“One can do what the other cannot.”
One More Chance cannot reverse time for more than a month, but the Parinirvana Train can go back 1 billion years.
In that respect, the Parinirvana Train has overwhelming superiority.
However, that’s not all.
“The Parinirvana Train cannot do what One More Chance can, even if the sky were to split apart.”
Kim Muk-seong boarded the Parinirvana Train to achieve something.
Although he met the Eldist at the end of a harsh journey…
Muk-seong knew ‘impossible’.
There was something he simply couldn’t achieve using the power of the Parinirvana Train.
Hence, a completely different power was necessary.
A force that reverses time by a different principle from the train.
At first glance, it seems like a similar time travel, but it is a force that can yield different results from the train.
One More Chance.
“Finding that is the core of grandfather’s wish. Of course, it’s all conjecture.”
It seems like grandfather needs some time alone to ponder.
“That should wrap up the discussion.”
“Alright. By the way, we must also tell Ari, right? He’s on the third floor.”
Just as I was about to head to the elevator, something dawned on me.
“… Hmm?”
The nuisance that had been bustling in the corner of my sight for days is quieting down?
By now, I thought “Kim Muk-seong” would be displayed with some numbers beneath it.
*
“Ari, your next course of action was described as clear yet ambiguous.”
Ari’s reaction was simple.
“What are you talking about? Did everyone catch your wisdom disease or something?”
“… Wisdom disease?”
“Just put it simply.”
“I’ll start with the clear part. Don’t get off the train next time.”
“…”
“If you wait, the Gardener will try to mentally interfere to get you and Aleph off, but you should be able to defend against it.”
“…”
“Ari?”
“Oh, you mean after defending, I should track down the train staff and Gardener, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I get the clear part. What’s the ambiguous part?”
Ambiguity related to Ari’s progress.
“The ambiguous part is… your inheritance.”
“Hm?”
“Our inheritance is tied to the First Wish. Those whose wishes have been revealed are all like that, including me.”
“That’s true.”
“Could you be the same?”
Here, Ari hesitated momentarily.
“What do you— Ah?”
Recognizing the difference between himself and us late, Ari responded.
“Is there something among your inheritance that you could say was your choice?”
“…”
“You’ve had old blood since birth. In terms of order – ”
“Old blood existed before the wish.”
Wishing for something and then receiving old blood to fulfill it is not the case.
The old blood existed first.
“An irregular polyhedron is the same. You didn’t get it by enduring until the last moment in Room 201, did you? The irregular polyhedron is…”
Not wanting to say it myself, I trailed off, and Ari answered instead.
“It’s not my choice; it was Gain’s choice.”
“…”
“I understand what you’re saying. My inheritances are not the results of my choices. The old blood is a choice from the maze. The irregular polyhedron was Gain’s choice.”
“Looking at it this way, your wish might not be related to the inheritance at all.”
The inheritance came before the wish.
It is an inheritance given regardless of one’s own choices.
So, the wish and inheritance are unrelated.
This also makes sense, but the next story seems to fit as well.
“Hm… What’s the probability that the one seated on the celestial throne designed this entire process?”
“That could be the case.”
Oh~ The Buddha knows everything and has designed this~
It makes sense in this direction too.
Let’s think back to what happened a few days ago.
Before the Unfathomable Liberation plotted schemes in Room 302, the hotel was already hidden in place as an NPC.
If one is an omniscient being capable of reading causality, then they may have arranged the choices in the maze and my choices as well.
It all still holds water.
“This is all possible. So I gave up guessing concerning the wish.”
Thus, Ari’s wish remained completely elusive.
“You understand what I’m saying, right?”
“…”
“Ari?”
“Oh, I get it. It’s difficult to argue the correlation between inheritance and wish. Something like that.”
At the point where I felt I had conveyed the essential story, I sensed a slight unease from Ari.
So…
Is it that he isn’t focused on the conversation with me?
His gaze flickered around, and his responses were becoming slightly delayed.
Could it be that he’s lost in complex thoughts?
Since Room 303 is his own room, it’s understandable.
Then, Ari suddenly asked a question.
“… Gain, can I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“The last event during the first attempt. I heard the basic explanation. The Eldist was vulnerable to the Old Voice. The Old Voice represents the survivors of the first civilization.”
“That’s right.”
“The soul of Emilio, which was held within the Divine Sun, was utilized to manifest the Old Voice. However, it’s hard to use the same method again. Emilio’s soul has vanished, correct?”
“Hm, that’s all correct.”
I had explained up to this point to my colleagues.
But I hadn’t felt the need to explain the next part.
“How did you come up with that idea?”
“Huh?”
“What I mean is, you were with me almost until the very end, right?”
“That’s true.”
During the world after the first attempt ended, Ari and I were together until the final moments.
“The most crucial part of your escape method is ‘the Old Voice refers to the survivors of the first civilization.’ This knowledge is needed to choose to consume the soul of Emilio contained in the Divine Sun.”
“That makes sense.”
“How did you know?”
The question itself was not special.
It felt like one could naturally come up with this question after explaining how I escaped and pondering it.
As I was about to jokingly reply, “Ari, this shows the greatness of wisdom, don’t you agree?”
A strange instinct flashed through my mind.
This question shouldn’t be answered carelessly.
Truthfully, I responded.
“The voice came from the Divine Sun.”
“Huh? From the Divine Sun?”
“Yeah. Maybe the thoughts of the author remained in the inheritance and somehow gave a hint.”
“Is that so?”
“Maybe the author was frustrated. Even though there’s an escape method with Emilio’s soul, he was pushed to the edge.”
“Pfft! I guess that could be so.”
Seeing Ari smile brightly made me think.
For me, instincts are insight.
Insight does not blindly provide answers like good luck.
Even if it’s ambiguous, conclusions can only be drawn with evidence.
“The meeting ends here. We can talk about the rest tomorrow morning. Everyone seems tired and suggested taking a break.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow.”
Just before, what did the insight warn me about?
*
— Kim Ari
— Thud!
As soon as I returned to Room 105, I closed the door.
What, what, what?
Did I really just read Gain’s inner thoughts?
Is this real life?
“… Calm down, calm down.”
Let’s recall what happened earlier in an orderly manner.
Earlier, I discovered something at the statue on the third floor.
Right then, a strange notification appeared.
A special reward is given to the first discoverer.
Would you like to choose? (Y/N)
With no reason to refuse, I pressed yes, and the next message appeared.
————————————
Hotel’s Secret Diary Found!
Special Reward: You can catch a glimpse of the heart of the colleague you are most curious about.
Whose heart do you want to know?
————————————
“Peeking into the heart of a colleague.”
As soon as I saw this phrase, I thought of Gain.
That’s how it all began.
“Wait, you really can read it!”
To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations.
I wasn’t sure how amazing this tool was, but reading the heart of someone like Gain, who is almost divine, didn’t seem possible.
But…
————————————
Q: Does Gain contemplate us even on a regular basis?
A: Insight is more akin to adjusting output than being simply on/off. High-output insight is quite burdensome, so I don’t use it regularly. Low-output insight is closer to intuition, and this level is maintained all the time.
————————————
A response too credible for a question I threw casually.
How should I put it, it felt like my vague grasp of insight had become more concrete.
After seeing this response, I began to wonder, “Is this for real?”
And then, what happened just a moment ago.
————————————
Q: How did Gain escape after I died? I have a rough idea.
A: Han Gain was pushed to the brink by the Eldist. In the final moment, the thoughts of the Great Being intervened from the Divine Sun. Within the Divine Sun was the soul of Emilio, the descendant of the first civilization. Han Gain consumed that soul to escape.
————————————
I had heard a rough version of this story.
But hearing that “the Lord” intervened was brand new to me.
Is this true?
When I asked Gain…
Oh my god! It was true!
My heart raced like never before.
It felt like I had received the means to read Gain’s innermost thoughts for the first time!
A tool that reveals the secrets hidden by a colleague.
I also felt that the existence itself could cause turmoil…
“…”
But Gain contemplates about this all the time!
Isn’t it okay if I do it occasionally?
This is a kind of fairness!
Just then, another notification appeared.
————————————
Would you like to ask the last question of the day?
————————————
“Last? Is it three times a day for you too?”
It’s not some wisdom from somewhere; three pieces of advice a day…
In an instant, I stiffened, and countless questions rushed through my mind.
The incredible secrets I suspected Gain was hiding from us.
Secrets related to the first civilization.
What is the connection between the first Ark and the train?
Has everything regarding Aleph been revealed?
Profound questions tangled with the beginning and end of the world.
But…
What suddenly filled my head was a completely different question.
Childish, stupid, and ridiculous.
————————————
Q: Who does Gain think is the most beautiful colleague?
————————————
I regretted the question immediately.
Oh come on, Kim Ari, what a childish question is this!
What, am I a middle school girl? This isn’t even a maze.
As I shook my head and headed toward my bed.
…
The answer came.
————————————
A: Elena Ivanova.
————————————
