Chapter 17

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 16

Chapter Title: Different Times

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Hye-ryeong Monk and Oracle Nam Yu-ha, unlike Fixer Lee Do-hyun, had landed in the same place.

Thus, the two of them opened their eyes inside the lodge, and soon realized there was no way to get out.

"It's twisted like a maze. Even the Five Flower Bell Spirit says there's no way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out for now."

"Hoo. The exits are fake too. The windows don't lead outside but to other places. Just as expected, this seems like an extremely dangerous spot to escape from."

The Cursed Mountain Lodge wasn't structured to allow escape through normal means.

You had to enter, find special conditions or the secrets hidden within the Cursed Mountain Lodge itself, to break free.

"We need to get out of here quickly. Of all people, the Fixer ended up alone. We should go rescue him."

"Do you really think we can find that old man in here? He might have escaped first..."

"You know he can't escape alone, right, Oracle?"

Hye-ryeong Monk and Nam Yu-ha wandered the mansion and discovered one condition for escaping it.

It was 'Stick together in groups of three or more'.

If you couldn't gather three or more people, you couldn't leave the mansion. No exits would even generate.

In short, it meant Fixer Lee Do-hyun absolutely couldn't escape on his own.

"That's probably why Yeon-jeong Monk and Woo-hyeon Monk couldn't get out either, despite finding this place first. With just the two of them, they couldn't find an exit until a third person arrived."

As Hye-ryeong Monk said, the two monks who had discovered this place first—Yeon-jeong and Woo-hyeon—were wandering inside, trapped by the Cursed Mountain Lodge's rules, unable to escape.

No matter what they tried, they couldn't break out until they had three people. The even worse part was that time inside was all jumbled up.

Right now, the two of them and Lee Do-hyun were experiencing time differently.

The moment you put even a little distance between you and your companion, you'd end up wandering in a different flow of time.

This was a place where you couldn't afford to get separated from your allies.

-If you end up alone, prioritize escape above all else.

Suddenly, the monk's words came to mind.

He had said that if you were alone, making escape from the Cursed Mountain Lodge your top priority would maximize your survival chances.

They had set passphrases between them, but those wouldn't be usable forever either.

At some point, the anomalies would figure out their passphrases, leaving no way to tell allies from enemies.

So, if you found an exit, escape without hesitation.

"How am I supposed to do that when I don't even know the way out?"

I want to leave, but I can't on my own.

I'd need the Oracle or a monk to find the exit, but alone, all I could do was keep wandering inside until one appeared. There was no other way to escape.

'Well, it's not like there's absolutely no method at all.'

Actually, I had the simplest escape method.

Just smash the Cursed Mountain Lodge indiscriminately.

That would probably be the most effective and reliable way.

No matter the internal setup, if I smashed everything to pieces, I'd eventually exorcise the anomaly known as the Cursed Mountain Lodge itself, and naturally escape.

In other words, ripping apart the iron bars holding me with my own hands—simple logic.

I was the only one in our group capable of such a feat, but using this method would destroy the lodge entirely, trapping everyone else inside forever.

Ultimately, it was a selfish survival tactic, not something I could easily resort to.

So, to escape intact, I needed to find those two.

"This is why people need to learn spells or whatever."

If I'd learned a common onmyoji technique like 'Exit Search', I could've just boldly walked out of the Cursed Mountain Lodge. But no, I have to find my companions first—what a hassle.

"No choice. Shall we go look for the others?"

"Darling... You never intended to abandon them in the first place, did you?"

"No! I'm just looking for the exit."

"Aw... Liar. You're worried about those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two deep down. The monk and the Oracle girl."

"Well, if I wasn't worried, that'd be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lie."

With no companions around, I summoned White-Faced Bride Sowol from the ring.

I didn't know how vast this place was, and wandering alone would be lonely.

"Man, it's so eerie in here. No signs of life."

"Yeah... And the space feels all tangled up. Up leads down, right turns left..."

"Really? Total mess. Stick right behind me so you don't get lost."

"As if I'd ever lose you, darling. Hehe..."

I investigated thoroughly while walking with Sowol.

And figured out the characteristics of this place.

First, through the World of Doom Gallery lurkers, I'd learned the Cursed Mountain Lodge had seven themes in total.

Old laboratory, endless library, storage room, etc.

This seemed like the most classic 'Mansion' theme.

With its worn interior and Gothic style, it was definitely a mansion theme.

That meant to find clues for escape, head to the 'Central Hall'—but the problem was not knowing how to get there.

'Everything's so disorienting and twisted; the internal structure must be a maze.'

Among straight corridors, tangled mazes, infinite staircases, and more, this place seemed the trickiest: maze-type.

Think of it as traps everywhere, twisted so you can't reach your destination—like the Backrooms, infinitely looping.

"Then what's left is its properties."

I'd identified the theme as 'Mansion' and structure as 'Maze-type'.

Now, the crucial part: the Cursed Mountain Lodge's properties, of which there were five main types.

'Time axis distortion, concept warping, infinite regeneration, anomaly progression, random transposition.'

At least two were always combined, and three or more skyrocketed the difficulty.

'We all scattered upon entry, so random transposition is confirmed. What's the other?'

If time was distorted, we'd be in real trouble.

Worst case, we might spend years inside.

Concept warping would drive you mad; infinite regeneration heals HP but drains sanity until ego vanishes.

Finally, anomaly progression forces a timed escape before full transformation, multiplying difficulty.

"Not anomaly progression. Doesn't seem like infinite regeneration either. No way it's time distortion, right?"

"Darling, always prepare for the worst."

"This is already the worst. Worse than this?"

If anomaly progression was active, I'd notice changes in my status, but nothing.

Cutting my palm with a knife only deducted HP, no regen—so not that property.

With those two easiest-to-detect properties ruled out, left were time axis distortion and concept warping.

Both annoying; at least one must apply. Big trouble.

Need to find the others fast. Who knows what happens if more time passes.

Rattle.

"Hear that just now?"

"From over there, darling... Something's coming out."

"Could be a person, so back to the ring for now?"

"Yesss..."

A presence stirred beyond the firmly shut door. Sounded like a human voice.

Soon, the rattling door opened, and out stepped a haggard Hye-ryeong Monk.

He looked like he'd been wandering alone inside for days.

"Ah! Fixer! Finally, finally we meet! Do you know how long I've been searching?!"

Hye-ryeong Monk's hair had grown out, as if he'd roamed the mansion for quite a while.

Monks shave periodically, so without maintenance, hair grows like this.

But we'd been inside less than an hour—hair grown already?

The implication was clear.

"Monk, how long have you been trapped in here?"

"Ah, hard to say exactly, but feels like about a week wandering inside. You?"

"Uh, I just woke up."

"Pardon...?"

The monk's face twisted in shock at the massive time gap.

A whole week separated our times.

Worst-case scenario confirmed: time axes tangled.

"So this place..."

"Time flows are completely jumbled, it seems. Haven't seen the Oracle, Monk?"

"We landed together, but suddenly I was alone... lost her. So her time flows differently too... This is bad. Really bad."

Hye-ryeong Monk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shook his head in despair and urged searching for the Oracle immediately.

She might've escaped alone, but worst case, Nam Yu-ha had spent years inside already.

Considering she might not survive alone, it was dire.

"Oh, Monk. Before we look for our Oracle, let's confirm the passphrase."

"? Ah, right. The passphrase. We set it before entering. I'll start: Exorcism start."

"Possession... um?"

I was about to reply "Possession stop" without suspicion when he said "Exorcism start."

Then, something popped up beside Hye-ryeong Monk's face.

This wasn't Hye-ryeong Monk.

An anomaly mimicking him had overheard the passphrase 'question' somewhere and was now trying to get the 'response' from me.

To perfectly steal our passphrase and deceive us. If I'd answered "Possession stop," it could've used that to fool the real Hye-ryeong Monk and Oracle Nam Yu-ha.

"Oh dear. You noticed already?"

I stared without saying the response, and the anomaly in monk guise asked with a grinning face.

"Yeah. Your mimicry's too sloppy."

Actually, the mimicry was perfect.

Without the info window, I'd have answered "Possession stop," handing it the means to toy with the real two.

Vicious bastards.

"I see. Pity. If you're onto me, time to die, Fixer."

The monk's form warped instantly into a tall, pitch-black anomaly.

Elongated like a shadow, it thrust its thorn-like arm at me, piercing straight through my chest.

Heart pierced—should've been instant death.

"...?"

But I stood fine, hole in chest, unkillable. Only then did the anomaly sense something wrong.

"Why... won't you die?"

"This won't kill me."

At my reply, the anomaly yanked its arm free in panic, trying to flee—but I grabbed it tight and pulled harder.

"Let go, Fixer! This is improper between men!"

"Don't say weird stuff in the monk's voice!"

I twisted the fleeing anomaly's arm, forcing it down, then pummeled its round head with fists until it turned into unrecognizable muck.

Physical exorcism success!

This is the end for anomalies trying to deceive people.

"Haa. What a pain."

These anomalies' tricks are truly insidious.

Mimicking appearance, voice, speech—hard not to fall for it.

"Darling... More presences..."

"Seems like more than one or two. Wanna fight together? Easier than expected."

"Sure..."

Soon, every door in the mansion burst open, anomalies imitating monks and the Oracle pouring out.

Judging they couldn't fool me, they switched to overwhelming numbers—but that suited me fine.

White-Faced Bride emerged from the ring, I loosened up, ready to beat every charging anomaly to death until the path forward appeared.