WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈

Chapter 80: Frenzied Rush

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After I killed the boss, all the statues on the altar collapsed at once.

Now, I just had to pull the lever hidden beneath the fallen statues and operate a few more mechanisms to enter the Hidden Dungeon.

Before entering, I checked my equipment one more time.

A full set of Dark Elf-crafted armor made from Ebony Steel.

I equipped my best weapon and wore the bracers Erwen had made beneath my shield.

A few minutes ago, I had been wondering how many more floors I would need to climb before I found enemies suited to my level.

But if I wanted to clear this dungeon alone without completing its mechanic, this level of preparation was only natural.

Creeeak!

The altar floor opened, revealing a doorway leading to the Hidden Dungeon. I immediately went inside.

[Jade Stairway]

True to its name, the Hidden Dungeon resembled an underground temple filled with green crystals.

Of course, it was a temple, but its ancient design and underground location made it feel more like a cave.

I opened the dungeon map I had obtained from the Open Community and slowly descended the stairs.

Tinkle!

The sound of a small bell came from somewhere nearby. Mana Detection picked up several types of life signs.

Butterfly-like creatures made of green crystal approached me.

The crystal butterflies fluttered around me before flapping their wings and firing round orbs of light.

They looked similar to the light source produced by my [Light Gathering] skill. I reached out and touched one.

Sizzle...!

The orb, which radiated intense heat, scorched my fingertips. Despite its small size, it pierced through my Fire Resistance.

It wasn't because the attack was especially powerful. It was because it had a combined attribute that Fire Resistance couldn't block.

I grabbed the butterflies firing light orbs with my hands and crushed them, then continued down the stairs.

All the monsters in this Hidden Dungeon were like that.

The monsters themselves weren't particularly strong, but they attacked from a distance by firing light orbs and beams.

They felt similar to, yet subtly different from, the Crystal Spider, the Hidden Boss of the seventh floor.

A moment later, a new monster appeared with heavy footsteps. This one was shaped like a turtle.

Its shell was a mass of green crystal, making it look less like a turtle and more like a four-legged snail.

Hummmm...!

A green orb of light gathered in the turtle's mouth. The gathered orb split into several beams and poured toward me.

I swung my sword, knocking away the incoming light orbs, then closed in on the turtle in one motion and struck it.

Crunch!

My pitch-black blade pierced the crystal mass and severed the turtle's life.

The dungeon's mechanic began from the section where these turtles appeared.

The structure, which had only required me to follow the stairs downward, suddenly widened, with paths branching in every direction.

I lightly spread out Mana Detection to check. It seemed all the devices needed to complete the mechanic, described in the guide post, were still there.

“Phew... Let's do this. Let's do it.”

I took a deep breath, loosened up, looked toward the eastern path where the mechanic was located, and took my stance.

Thud!

I kicked off the ground with all my strength and began running at full speed along the path marked on the map.

Cutting wind rushed past my ears with a Whoooosh! Roughly two seconds after I began my high-speed sprint...

Zzt.

Intuition, Mana Detection, and Sensory Enhancement, the three skills that broadened my field of awareness, screamed a warning at once.

Watch your footing.

Boom!!

A massive pillar of light erupted from the ground.

* * *

A green beam far thicker than the ones fired from the Crystal Spider's mouth.

An attack that reminded me of the bombardment from satellite weapons often seen in science fiction movies erupted from beneath my feet.

“Fuck!”

Instead of a scream, a curse slipped out on its own. I had expected it, but seeing it in person was no joke.

Even so, my feet didn't stop. If I stopped running, I would die.

Boom!

The beams didn't stop after one shot. They fired again and again, targeting me as I ran.

These endlessly firing, utterly shameless beams were this dungeon's mechanic.

At the lowest level of the Jade Stairway was a spring filled with Jade Elixir, guarded by a terrifying monster.

That monster was the Emerald Wyvern, a creature that fired beams with insane detection range and insane range without end.

The Emerald Wyvern detected intruders entering this area, then immediately fired a beam in their direction.

The power was enough for an instant kill, and the beam's area was wide enough to engulf and vaporize three or four people standing together.

There was only one way to avoid those insane beams.

Work with party members to activate the devices in this dungeon and redirect the beams elsewhere.

Since several distant devices had to be activated at the same time, it was naturally impossible alone.

For Challengers from other Towers, it was a kind of cooperative puzzle game.

For a Solo Player like me, it was a life-or-death running action game.

Boom!

“Argh, fuck!”

Another beam blocked my path as I desperately dodged the beam bombardment and ran forward.

I quickly forced myself to change direction, stepped off the dungeon wall, and evaded it.

As you could probably tell from my current state, there wasn't just one wyvern firing beams. There were supposedly six in total.

If I could complete the mechanic, it wouldn't matter whether there were six or ten, but my situation was different.

At least I had learned Mana Detection, so I could sense the beams coming in advance.

If I had rushed in without knowing anything, I would've been hit by at least three beams by now. Though one hit would've killed me anyway!

Then Mana Detection sensed beams firing at once from awkward positions.

I pulled a hatchet from my inventory and drove it into the wall of the narrow passage.

My body, which had been moving with incredible acceleration, came to an immediate stop. Beams pierced the spots one step in front of me and two steps behind me.

“Ha, fuck.”

Damn it, this was another problem. It would've been easier if I could just keep running.

If I couldn't make precise turns and stops at the right time, I could get hit by a beam that way too.

I couldn't stay still like this for long either. Another Zzt. warning rang out beneath my feet.

[Hysterical Strength]

“Hup!”

With the longest standing broad jump of my life, I dodged the beam fired from beneath my feet.

* * *

The most fucking awful thing about this beam bombardment was that the closer I got to my destination, the faster the beams came.

That was because the place where the Emerald Wyverns were positioned was very close to where the elixir had pooled.

The farther down I went, the closer the beams' firing points became, so the faster the beams arrived.

Actually, there were plenty of other fucking awful parts.

For one, the dungeon terrain gradually changed as it was repeatedly destroyed by the beams and repaired.

Because the terrain kept changing, the distance of my route had grown far longer than originally planned.

Unlike the protagonist of a running action game who could run forever, I had a definite limit to my stamina.

I could drink potions while running whenever I found an opening, but I couldn't ignore the possibility of my breathing getting thrown off while drinking one.

If I tripped up, I would get hit by a beam and die. With the terrain turning into such a fucking mess too, how could I not curse?

And separate from the beam bombardment, this was still a dungeon. Naturally, dungeons had monsters.

I could ignore butterflies and turtles like the ones from the beginning, but bigger and stronger monsters were starting to appear.

Grrroooar!

As if it had been waiting for me, a horse-headed monster made of crystal appeared directly ahead.

I quickly pulled out a spiked shield from my inventory.

Holding the shield forward, I ran without slowing down and activated [Hysterical Strength] at the exact right moment.

Crash!

The horse-headed crystal monster shattered as I rammed into it.

If my stats had been even a little lower, I wouldn't have been able to break through monsters with my body like this.

As I complained internally, a system message appeared before my eyes, telling me that [Sprint] had leveled up.

The closer I got to the elixir, the more hazards there were, but my body was gradually becoming more comfortable.

That was because I was growing faster than the dungeon's danger level was rising.

As expected, I grew much faster when I was in a crisis.

* * *

After running for a long time, I finally arrived at the only safe zone.

They said that when you ran long distances, your sense of time became dull. I had no idea how many hours I had been running without stopping.

“Haa...”

My legs trembled, and I couldn't breathe as well as I wanted. My mouth tasted sweet, and my vision swam.

I felt like I would throw up if I lowered my head, so I deliberately looked at the ceiling while catching my breath.

I was probably the only person on the entire server who had cleared this dungeon simply by running through it.

[Red Potion]

I resisted the urge to collapse and forced down a potion.

My exhausted body quickly recovered through the potion's effects and [Combat Regeneration]. I checked my equipment once more and prepared for battle.

Only one thing remained. Scooping up the elixir pooled on the ground over there.

But the problem was that the wyverns that had been relentlessly firing beams until now were stationed near the pooled elixir.

The normal way to play this area was to use the dungeon's devices and bait to draw the wyverns' attention away, then quickly take only the elixir.

Naturally, that was impossible for a Solo Player like me too. So what should I do now? Simple.

Kill them all and take it.

You fucking pterosaur bastards, your days of sitting somewhere safe and sniping at me however you pleased are over.

If there were no enemies on this floor suited to my level, I just had to go find them.

Footnotes:

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