Chapter 107: Twenty-Seventh Floor, Rotace’s Hospital (1)

[Escape Rotace’s Hospital. Time remaining: 7 hours 59 minutes.]

“Well, I didn’t think it would happen, but it really didn’t come.”

“

Huh?

You expected that?”

“Well, Doppy’s got good intuition and is an apostle, right?”

I nodded, understanding her point. “That’s true...”

Though Doppy occasionally misjudged things, it had an uncanny knack for finding answers and secrets. That skill alone would make its presence an unfair advantage.

Still, I didn’t mind its absence since I had Ha Hee-Jeong’s company. As a regressor, she probably knew enough to get us through the floor.

“Thankfully you’re here, that way we don’t need Doppy. Want to try speed-running our way out?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about? I don’t know the solution to this floor.”

“What? Why wouldn’t you know?”

“Oh, that’s because there are six possible scenarios. Climbers are randomly assigned one.”

She noticed my look of surprise and laughed. “That’s why I said it’d be interesting. Odds were slim that we’d get the scenario I cleared in my last life.”

“So, we really don’t have time to waste then. We should hurry and start looking—”

She cut me off with a confident smile. “What’s there to worry about? You and I are here together.”

Ah, umm... Maybe it won’t be as hard as I thought.

Although I had been to a few escape rooms before, I would expect a trial created by the tower to be intense.

“Don’t worry too much. This floor’s supposed to be one of the more fun ones.”

“I don’t know... Isn’t it still in the Tower of Ordeal regardless?”

“Most planets in the tower don’t have educational systems as comprehensive as Earth’s.”

“Oh... so you’re saying this challenge is easier for Earthlings.”

She had a good point. In terms of analytical skills, Earthlings held a distinct edge over some other species. While educational standards varied greatly across Earth, I had yet to encounter a single world where schooling was seen with such importance.

Of course, there is probably a planet with even higher standards.

Suddenly, Ha Hee-Jeong looked at me curiously. “Come to think of it, this place has ‘Rotace’ in its name, too.”

“Rotace?”

“Yeah. In my previous life, the scenario I faced on this floor was called ‘Rotace’s Prison.’”

“Hmm...”

It seemed important that the scenarios’ names were similar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe we would figure it out as we explored.

“Well, it’s not important right now. Let’s concentrate on getting out of here, first.”

“Yup. Since our stats are restricted, brute force isn’t an option, right?”

“Exactly. Think of it as a real escape room. You’re not supposed to

literally

break your way out one, either.”

“Good point. First things first, though, we need to find some clues.”

I turned, gazing around the room.

The room had a dim, eerie atmosphere, seemingly pulled straight from a horror movie. A small crystal embedded in the ceiling emitted a weak, eerie glow that barely illuminated the space. Bloodstains were smeared across the walls, and discarded medical instruments lay strewn randomly across the floor. The sole piece of furniture was a hospital bed, which was also crusted with dried blood.

As I took in each detail, it struck me that this trial felt less like an escape room and more like a horror game.

A narrow door nestled in the corner of the room caught my eye. It appeared to be the only way out, although I doubted it would simply be unlocked.

Regardless, I approached it and grabbed the handle. As expected, it rattled stubbornly but refused to open.

Through the small, iron-barred window in the door, I spotted a latch with a lock on the opposite side.

“Ugh...”

Just in case it worked, I tried to yank it open by force, but it was locked tight. There had to be a key somewhere in this small, eerie room.

Thump—

I heard a noise behind me and turned to see Ha Hee-Jeong flipping the mattress over.

“The door’s locked. Did you find anything?”

“No, I checked under the bed, but there’s nothing.”

“Hmm...”

With no other furniture, the bed seemed like the only place to check. Something told me it wouldn’t be there, however.

The notification window mentioned an insane doctor, so the clues wouldn’t hidden in a typical location.

Maybe there is something on the ceiling crystal, behind the bed, or hidden somewhere in the wall...

Following my hunch, I inspected the crystal embedded in the ceiling.

It was lodged firmly into a groove, not even budging despite my best efforts. Since searching the walls would take longer, I decided to check behind the bed first.

Turning toward the bed, I saw Ha Hee-Jeong tearing into the mattress stuffing with her hands. She looked determined, but I doubted a clue would be hidden there.

“Hee-Jeong, hold up.”

“

Huh?

What?”

“We should try pulling the bed forward.”

Thankfully the bed had wheels, so it rolled smoothly without much noise.

The wallpaper behind it was faded and dusty. Nothing seemed unusual at first glance, but something about it felt off. I stared at the wall, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Once they did, a small, rectangular outline became visible behind the bed.

“You see it, Hee-Jeong?”

“Oh... yeah! Do you mean that rectangular shape? Su-Hyeok, how did you spot that?”

“Just had a hunch. But how do we open it? There’s got to be a way.”

“Maybe it’s supposed to be pushed?”

She pressed her hand against it, but nothing happened.

Hmm... If pressing it didn’t work, maybe there is a hidden button somewhere.

Just as I was thinking this, the panel slid open with a quiet hiss.

“What? How did you do that?”

“Oh, I tried moving it with mana and it worked. Why?”

“Ah...”

Of course. I had been thinking too conventionally, relying on my experience from escape rooms back on Earth.

Ha Hee-Jeong chuckled at my slightly dumbfounded expression. “See? This is why I said you don’t have talent as a mage. You’re so resourceful with everything else, but when it comes to using mana, you never think outside the box.”

“Ahem...”

After I cleared my throat, Ha Hee-Jeong continued. “Well, let’s see what’s inside first.”

The rectangular compartment contained three items, a slender lockpick, a pencil, and an old, faded notebook. I assumed the lockpick could open the door, and...

“Do you think the notebook contains clues on how to escape?”

“Probably.”

She took the lockpick and handed me the notebook before we moved under the faintly glowing ceiling crystal to get a better look. Standing shoulder to shoulder, we opened the notebook. Thanks to the tower, or some other stroke of luck, the text was in Korean.

[Recum’s Journal]

I followed the rumors of people vanishing near this secluded hospital and ended up here. The eerie building didn’t look like a safe place for anyone, but as an investigator, I didn’t think it would be much of a threat to me.

However, it didn’t take long for that assumption to change.

...

The modified test subjects here are far stronger than I could have imagined, and my abilities are significantly limited in this place. The only stroke of fortune is that while they have confined me, they haven’t tried to harm me—possibly because the doctor is away. Whether that’s true, however, I don’t know.

...

Before they caught me, I managed to grab two lockpicks and a small notebook from my bag. If the opportunity arises, I will escape. And in case I fail, I leave this journal and a lockpick behind for anyone else who might end up trapped here like me.

...

One moment that stuck out to me was when I noticed the golden key hanging around a test subject’s neck. It is the key to the main entrance, but I’m unsure if I will be able to take it.

...

For now, I need to retrieve my bag from the second-floor bathroom.

P.S. Beware of the light.

Recum’s writing was remarkably calm for someone in such a dire situation, so he must have been either exceptionally brave or a fictional character invented just to give us clues.

I noticed three key points in this journal.

First, Recum’s bag was supposedly stashed in the second-floor bathroom. While it was possible he managed to retrieve it during his escape attempt, I had my doubts.

Second, we needed the golden key hanging from a test subject’s neck to open the main exit. Unfortunately, the test subjects were incredibly powerful so stealing the key would be quite the challenge. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but it was a very different story with our stats and skills restricted.

“Hee-Jeong, any idea how strong these test subjects are?”

“Yeah. The enemies’ stats average around 80. They’re stronger than us, but with careful planning and proper skill usage, we can take them down.”

“Good. So we don’t have to worry too much about them?”

“Right. Just steer clear of the boss.”

I nodded. Since the message warned us he was unbeatable, we would need to avoid him.

Finally, the third piece of advice was to beware of the light. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I suspected the light indicated the mad doctor’s approach.

With that, we had enough information to plan our next steps.

Closing the journal, I looked over at Ha Hee-Jeong. “There’s a lock on the door outside. I think I can open it with the lockpick. Shall we get going?”

“Hold on. Let’s double-check the room first. There might be something else we’ve missed.”

***

[Escape Rotace’s Hospital. Time remaining: 7 hours 52 minutes.]

After thoroughly searching the room, we were unable to find another clue. Since going around unarmed wasn’t an option, we each grabbed a weapon—a scalpel and a crowbar—from the assorted items on the floor. I had no idea why there was a crowbar here, but I guessed it had been used for torture or invasive procedures.

I offered the crowbar to Ha Hee-Jeong, but she firmly declined, stating she would rather have the scalpel.

“Are you sure? I can use the scalpel if you want.”

“I’ll be fine. I mainly use magic, so which weapon I have doesn’t really matter.”

“Still, I can fight up close better with the scalpel.”

“Come on, don’t worry about it. Just keep the crowbar.”

I tried to insist one last time, but she turned me down with a playful smile. “You’re going to protect me, anyway. Or are you saying you can’t?”

“Of course I can.”

“Good, then. Let’s go.”

She nudged me forward with a light pat on my shoulder. Holding the lockpick in both hands, I approached the door and carefully extended my arms through the iron bars. Then, I reached for the lock on the other side.

The lock was set slightly higher than I had expected, forcing me into an awkward position.

As I gripped the lock and slid the pick in place, a thought suddenly struck me. “Hee-Jeong, isn’t this a bit dangerous for most people?”

“

Huh?

What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve done a few escape rooms and learned how to use a lockpick, but how many people actually have?”

“Oh, I’m sure there’s another way out. Since barely anyone dies on this floor, there has to be an alternative.”

“True, that makes sense.”

“Besides, there was a crowbar in the room, so someone could probably break the door down if they tried hard enough. Although, it would make a ton of noise and might attract the test subjects—”

Plink—

“Uh...”

The sound of metal softly hitting the ground had cut her off, and I heard her voice tremble. “S-Su-Hyeok... you didn’t... drop the lockpick, did you?”