Chapter 108: Party Time (10) - Strategy Meeting (2), What is Luck?

Chapter 108: Party Time (10) - Strategy Meeting (2), What is Luck?

Party Time, Day 3, Evening

- Han Kain

“Stories about the second floor are fascinating, but let’s focus more on the Gate Room. Remember Ahri’s explanation? Now let’s strategize.”

At Eunsol-noona’s words, everyone snapped back to reality.

The second floor was a story for later.

For now, we needed to focus on the Gate Room.

I took notes on the characteristics of the Gate Room.

Firstly, the Gate Room consists of a series of Cursed Rooms with brief rest in between.

Secondly, those who were eliminated midway could only be revived if at least one person passed through the entire Gate Room.

Thirdly, there seem to be no Convicts, and the reward wasn’t an Inheritance.

“It’s difficult to devise a strategy with just this. We don’t know the contents of each room, so it’s hard to predict. Do you know any other characteristics? Like how many rooms there are?”

Ahri seemed to be pondering as well but gave a lackluster response.

“While I have experienced the second floor firsthand, I’ve only heard about the Gate Room. Moreover, as you all know, the first party wasn’t too keen on kindly sharing information.”

Although I resolved not to rely on Advice, we really needed a piece of advice right now.

Give me advice on preparing for the Gate Room.

Sage’s Advice: 3 → 2

Preparing for exams starts with analyzing mock exams.

“...”

I was momentarily speechless.

Given our limited information, I had anticipated a cryptic response, but wasn’t this a bit much?

I shared the question and answer with my teammates.

Upon hearing it, Jinchul-hyung sighed.

“Is that owl some like of Sphinx or something? Always making us solve riddles.”

“It’s not always like this, but when you ask questions with insufficient information, this happens.”

“But in this Hotel, information is always insufficient!”

“That’s the problem.”

I thought it through step by step.

Exams obviously referred to the Gate Room, right?

Then mock exams must refer to the Cursed Rooms.

Interpreted this way, the advice could mean:

Recall the lessons learned from the Cursed Rooms you’ve passed through.

“It seems that exams refer to the Gate Room, and mock exams refer to the Cursed Rooms. Maybe it means to review the Cursed Rooms we’ve already passed through.”

Eunsol Noona responded.

“I thought similarly...”

“From what I’ve felt through Advice, there are no meaningless words or metaphors. Every word, every metaphor has a meaning. There must be a reason for specifically using the metaphor of ‘exams and mock exams’.”

“So, what does our top exam expert, Kain, think is the reason?”

“Usually, the problems that appeared in the mock exams often reappear in a similar form in the actual exams. I think it means that the Cursed Rooms we’ve already passed will reappear similarly, though slightly altered, in the Gate Room.”

“Then let’s review the Cursed Rooms one by one and identify key points to watch out for. How about Room 101?”

“Strange Family and Common Sense Renovating Media. Several keywords come to mind. The most important was quick thinking. As soon as it started, we were bombarded with mental attacks, so immediate action was necessary. Next is deduction. You need to find the right place.”

“I can talk about Room 102. ‘Complacency’. The Mansion of Fear didn’t have a fast tempo like Room 101. During the first attempt, nothing happened on the first night, and even after the scenario changed, a day or two would pass without incident. Then, when you let your guard down, you’d fall into an irreversible trap.”

Next was Songee.

“For Room 103, the keyword seems to be ‘Doubt’. Doubting the entire reality before your eyes. Keeping in mind that the stage given could be false or an illusion. It’s like having a paranoid mindset, but it seems necessary in the Hotel.”

What about Room 104?

“What about Room 104? It’s the only room we didn’t solve and decided to skip, so I have no clue.”

Ahri answered.

“Open thinking? The Heavenly Daughter is arguably the strongest Enemy across all rooms, but even with such power, she acted most discreetly. It required the element of ‘paying attention to external factors’.”

“Look outside the stage?”

“It’s just my guess. Since I’ve never actually progressed through Room 104. When we actually proceed, the key point might be entirely different.”

“Let’s summarize this much. Considering our lack of detailed knowledge, thinking about a few key points is probably the best we can do.”

“We need quick thinking to respond to immediate attacks, deductive reasoning to analyze twisted scenarios, the mindset to doubt everything we see, and think creatively amidst all that.”

Jinchul-hyung spoke in disbelief.

“Is that even humanly possible?”

“Let’s do our best. Even if it doesn’t work out, the worst that can happen is death, right?”

I said it with a smile, but no one laughed.

Thus, all the meetings for today ended.

The next day, on the fourth day of the Party Time, everyone kept their promise and spent the day either resting or training individually.

Earlier, this kid seemed like a normal child despite being a god.

His words were all over the place, making it hard to understand.

“Believe! Live with faith. I am the God of Luck, and I chose you. You are the luckiest of humans, so why don’t you trust your own luck?”

“Because normally the % isn’t high enough to activate luck—”

“Luck is with you at all times. That skill is just for moments that need ‘overwhelming luck’ to overturn reality.”

“But... I’ve never felt lucky in everyday life?”

“That’s the problem. Now answer me! Got it?”

“Y-yes!”

“Faith, hope, love, the greatest of these is?”

“Huh? Uh... Love?”

“Luck.”

“What?”

“World peace, wealth, honor, or the most beautiful girl in the world, Ahri-noona. The greatest of these is?”

“Stop teasing me!”

“If you’re lucky, you can have it all. It’s luck.”

“Why are you choosing answers that aren’t even in the options—”

“That’s it! Got it?”

What the heck do you mean, you crazy guy!?

“Did you just think, ‘What the heck do you mean, you crazy guy?’”

“...”

“Don’t think. Act on feeling. Go with the flow!”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Dice grabbed my arm and moved me towards the end of the yacht.

This is so confusing!

“What do you think will happen if you jump into the sea here?”

“I can’t swim well, so I’ll drown.”

“Can’t a sea turtle suddenly save you and take you to an island?”

“That’s ridiculous—”

“Why is it ridiculous? It can happen. Why do you keep thinking? Honestly, you’re not that smart, right? Stop trying to use your brain that doesn’t work and just believe! There’s a sea turtle below that will save you.”

With that, Dice grabbed my arm and threw me into the sea!

“YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH.”

“Yeah!”

“I’M GONNA DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

“Look closely at the sea. Maybe there’s a mermaid there?”

“...”

- Jolt!

With a dizzy feeling, I woke up to find myself back in the bed in Room 105.

I looked down at my body. It was thinner and weaker than before.

My head was pounding.

Oh, this is a mess. My sponsor is truly a madman.

But there was a turtle in the sea.

Just jumping into the sea, a turtle appeared by chance and saved me by chance?

How?

Does that even make sense?

What are the chances?

It doesn’t matter.

If there’s a turtle, there’s a turtle.

Doubt, distrust, and thoughts.

Those are the enemies of luck.

I opened my hand.

There was a die.

I lightly tossed it onto the desk and went out to see the hyungs and noonas outside Room 105.

I didn’t bother to check the die.

If it was me who threw it, it’d obviously land on 6.

/genesisforsaken