WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 103

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Floor 7 Hidden (2)

"...There's a sage among these four?"

The traveler-looking man frowned and muttered as he looked around.

The other two did the same. They all looked back and forth at one another.

Find the sage hiding among us.

Was this another trial?

[Choose the sage by uniting the opinions of everyone except the sage.]

[600]

A number appeared next.

It dropped by one every second. It was a timer.

So we had to find the sage before time ran out...?

The knight-looking man spoke.

"Speak truthfully. Who is the sage?"

The woman said, "This seems to be part of the sage's test as well. If they're hiding among us, then the sage must be quite playful."

The traveler-looking man spoke too.

"...Wasn't the sage someone from a thousand years ago? How could the sage be among us?"

"He's someone who kept a dungeon like this functioning perfectly even after a thousand years. Maybe the sage never died and is still alive even now?"

"Don't tell me you're saying he's immortal. That's ridiculous."

I looked over the three of them and thought,

'What do I do?'

It was basically a mafia game.

If I had to go by appearances, the woman, who was a mage, looked the closest to what a sage should be...

But obviously, I couldn't just pick based on that.

"You're the most suspicious. Aren't you the only mage here?"

No sooner had I thought it than the knight pointed his sword at the woman.

She raised her staff defensively.

"If you're saying a mage must be the sage, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from such simplistic thinking. If the sage is hiding their identity, wouldn't it make more sense to pretend to be someone completely unlike a mage?"

The three of them started giving off faint hostility toward one another.

I stepped in and said, "How about everyone calms down and we talk first?"

Their gazes turned to me.

I pointed at the timer.

"We have to choose before that time runs out, right? And the other three people besides the sage all have to agree."

"...That does seem to be the case."

"Do we need a discussion? If I execute the three of you right now, the sage will have no choice but to reveal himself."

At the knight's words, the traveler let out a scoffing laugh.

"Hey, that's not something I can just ignore. Makes it sound like you think you can take on all three of us by yourself."

It was starting to look like they were about to fight again, so I quickly cut in.

"Do you really think this is something we can solve by force? The sage is powerful enough to trap us in here. You saw it just now. The wall didn't even get scratched."

I pointed to the wall the knight had struck with sword energy.

"So let's talk first. Maybe if we do, we'll figure out who's suspicious."

The woman agreed with me.

"He's right. The sage probably wants to test our wisdom. There's no way we're meant to crudely fight until someone reveals themselves."

"...Wisdom, huh. Even getting here was just arrows flying at us nonstop."

The traveler scratched the back of his head, then nodded.

"Well, fine. I agree for now too. What good would it do to fight each other here?"

Everyone looked at the knight.

Soon, the knight sheathed the sword he had drawn.

"How do you intend to find the sage?"

"...We'll have to figure that out starting now."

[459]

The four of us stood in a circle at the center of the cavern.

The woman offered a suggestion.

"Let's each talk about ourselves. Where we're from, what we do, what we were doing before we came here... If we do that, maybe we'll notice something suspicious."

Then she began first.

"My name is Dailin Targorian. I am a mage who serves as the vice master of the Red Magic Tower."

The traveler looked slightly surprised and asked, "Dailin Targorian? You're the vice master of the Red Magic Tower?"

"That's right. I don't mean to brag, but I doubt there's anyone here who hasn't heard of my reputation."

The knight seemed to know her too.

Apparently, she was quite famous.

But Red Magic Tower, vice master, whatever.

There was no way I, a stranger from another world, would know any of that.

"As I said earlier, I came here out of personal curiosity. I wanted to learn whether the rumors about the sage's dungeon were true or false, and if they were true, I wanted to explore it myself."

The traveler nodded.

"I've heard rumors that the vice master of the Red Magic Tower has a wandering streak."

"...A wandering streak? Where did a rumor like that come from?"

"I am Kailon Gaitan, the 11th king of the Duchy of Tone."

Dailin and the traveler both looked startled.

"...Now that's a surprise. Kailon the Knight King? Your Majesty is the former king of the duchy?"

So the man was actually a king.

Former king, then?

"If you're asking why I sought out this dungeon, my reason was also personal curiosity. I wished to confirm the truth of the rumor with my own eyes, and when I found that the sage's dungeon truly existed, I passed the trials and reached this place."

Huh, wait a second...

A sense of crisis hit me.

This flow was bad for me.

"Haha, turns out everyone's a big deal, huh?"

Lastly, the traveler introduced himself.

"I'm just an adventurer. I'm not as famous as you two, but I figure you've at least heard the name Pahel?"

"...The legendary adventurer Pahel? That's you?"

Dailin asked in surprise.

Wow, even a legendary adventurer showed up.

"Like I said, I came here hoping to make a fortune by selling off the sage's treasure. A sparrow doesn't pass by a mill, and an adventurer doesn't pass by a dungeon, right?"

Naturally, everyone's gaze turned to me.

I stopped time and thought.

The other three all seemed famous enough to know one another by name...

The problem was that I knew absolutely nothing about this world's background.

Of course they'd be suspicious of me. What should I do?

'...I'll just have to bluff my way through it.'

There was no other choice for now.

I resumed time and opened my mouth.

"My name is Hyeon. I'm also just an adventurer."

"...Hyeon? Never heard that name before. If you're an adventurer skilled enough to get through all the arrow trials up to this point, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of you."

Pahel narrowed his eyes at me.

Straight to suspicion.

But there was nothing I could do about it.

If I stammered, I'd only seem more suspicious, so I at least kept up a confident front.

"Of course my name wouldn't be known. I'm an adventurer from the far eastern continent."

"The eastern continent?"

"Yes. I heard rumors about the sage's dungeon and came a long way to get here. Just like Mr. Pahel said, an adventurer can't pass up a dungeon, right?"

Pahel still looked at me suspiciously.

Well, I was the only one here whose identity was unclear.

"What do the rest of you think? Am I the only one who thinks that guy is suspicious?"

Dailin said, "If anything, I find him less suspicious."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"If Mr. Hyeon really were the sage, wouldn't that be too obvious? Everyone else has a clear background, and he's the only one with an uncertain identity... If the sage truly meant to hide, being this sloppy would be strange."

Her logic was that I was so suspicious that I seemed less likely to be the culprit.

Kailon nodded too.

"That makes sense. I don't think that man is the sage."

The two of them were actually taking my side.

At that, Pahel backed off a step.

"Well... judging by his appearance, it doesn't seem like he's lying about being from the eastern continent. Come to think of it, wasn't the sage an imperial native?"

"I don't think judging by appearance means much. If it's a mage who has lived for over a thousand years, changing his appearance would be trivial."

Anyway, it was good that the suspicion had eased...

But in the end, we still had to figure out which of the three was the sage.

'...Isn't it Dailin?'

If she were the sage, there'd be no reason for her to step up and defend me, would there?

Then if I assumed it was one of Kailon or Pahel...

I stopped time again and thought.

There wasn't anything especially suspicious in their stories.

Not that I knew enough to find anything suspicious in the first place.

If anything, I was clearly the most suspicious one here.

'Demon King-nim, do you know who it is?'

I tried asking the Demon King.

- That knight bastard.

'...Why?'

- The way he struts around calling himself king is pathetic.

That wasn't a real answer at all.

[131]

Ten minutes was way too short.

After introductions, only two minutes were left.

I spent a long while thinking with time stopped, but...

...No good. There was nothing to go on.

I decided it would be impossible to identify the sage through deduction.

'Let's try manipulation.'

No matter what, I had to choose someone other than myself.

If I guessed right, great. If not, I could still hope for another chance.

I released time.

Silence stretched on, and we only stared at one another.

When 100 seconds remained, I spoke.

"If we have to choose someone anyway, then I'll choose Mr. Pahel."

"...What?"

"Because you were the first one who tried to steer everyone into thinking I was the sage. There isn't much time left, so don't we have no choice but to go with our instincts now?"

When it came to steering the crowd, striking first was best.

Dailin nodded and said, "There really is too little time. In that case, I'll choose Mr. Pahel too."

"Hey, hey, wait... Are you kidding? What the hell are you people doing?"

Dailin seemed to have a bit of personal feeling mixed in, but either way, she sided with me again.

"We have no choice if the opinions of three people must be united."

Kailon also stared at Pahel, as if he meant to follow my choice and Dailin's.

In an instant, Pahel was painted as the culprit.

Hmm... what was this?

Honestly, even I was a little taken aback by how easily they were swayed.

How much worse must Pahel have felt? His face was full of disbelief.

"I choose Mr. Pahel."

Before the stunned man could properly argue back, I pointed at him.

"I'll choose Mr. Pahel."

"I choose Pahel."

The other two followed right after.

Did that mean the opinions had been united?

The timer floating in the air disappeared.

Then a single symbol appeared.

[X]

"..."

An X mark.

So we were wrong.

The three of them all turned to me.

"...Haha."

The moment I laughed awkwardly,

Rumbleeeee-!

With a loud tremor, the walls of the cavern on all sides began closing in.

As if they meant to crush all four of us to death.

"...!"

Was this the price of a wrong answer?

Everyone was startled and attacked the approaching walls.

Boom! Booooom!

Kailon and Pahel struck with their swords, and Dailin fired powerful magic.

But of course, the walls didn't gain even a scratch.

Pahel glared at me and shouted, "You fucking bastard...!"

I couldn't really argue with the insult. Sorry.

"So it was you after all, you bastard! Right? Stop this now!"

Pahel threw a dagger at me.

I hurriedly dodged to the side.

The other two were also giving off hostility, as if they were about to attack me.

I had become the common enemy in an instant.

...It was dangerous to get tangled up in a fight in such a cramped space.

I stopped time.

'Demon King-nim!'

I sent out a call for help.

'Please freeze all three of them.'

- Why should I?

'What do you mean, why? You promised you'd actively cooperate in clearing the Tower from now on.'

The Demon King sounded annoyed.

'Or can't you do it? They are pretty strong opponents.'

- Hand it over.

The moment I lightly provoked him, the Demon King stepped in right away.

I handed over my body and released time...

Fwaaaaaaa-

A freezing chill covered the entire cavern.

My Willpower ran dry in an instant, and the three people froze solid.

As expected, the Demon King's power was strong.

The cavern kept shrinking.

I got my body back from the Demon King and quietly observed the three of them.

If one of them were the sage, wouldn't they do something?

But contrary to my expectations...

Crack! Craaack!

The frozen three were crushed one after another by the closing cavern walls. Blood soaked the floor.

'...What?'

They just all died?

The cavern had nearly finished shrinking.

Either way, this try was ruined.

[Do you want to exit the Tower?]

I exited to avoid being crushed.

[You have failed to clear the hidden route on Nightmare difficulty Floor 7. (2/3)]

Back in my room, I sank into thought.

I had figured that if they were about to die, the sage would reveal himself at the last moment...

Was it impossible to figure out the sage's identity with a cheap trick like that?

Still, I had learned that Pahel was not the sage.

That left two people.

And I still had two chances left, so even if I just guessed, it should be possible to reveal the sage before I used them all up.

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty Floor 7.]

Second try.

I passed the arrow trials and met the three of them again.

"How about everyone calms down and we talk first?"

Things flowed the same way as before.

After everyone introduced themselves, Pahel suspected me again, and Dailin defended me again.

This time, I had to point to Kailon as the culprit.

When not much time remained, I started steering things again.

"...There's not much time. If I have to choose one person, I choose Sir Kailon."

"What?"

"Weren't you the one who first tried to steer everyone by saying Lady Dailin was suspicious because she's a mage?"

Kailon glared at me.

But strangely enough,

"Then I suppose I should choose Sir Kailon as well."

Dailin immediately took my side again.

"Hmm... is that so? Well, there's no time, so it can't be helped. I'll choose the Knight King too."

And Pahel did the same.

No... were these people's ears made of paper or something?

It was good for me, sure, but I genuinely found it odd how easily they got swept along.

"You idiots, all of you are making the wrong choice."

Kailon protested, but it was useless.

The three of us, including me, chose Kailon...

[X]

"Ah."

Wrong again.

Then Dailin was the sage?

Rumbleeeee-

The cavern shrank again.

I left before a fight could break out.

[You have failed to clear the hidden route on Nightmare difficulty Floor 7. (1/3)]

My last remaining chance.

But now that I knew the sage's identity, that was enough.

I entered for the final try.

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty Floor 7.]

I passed the arrow trials, met the three people, and things unfolded the same way again.

"...It seems Sir Kailon was right after all. If we have to choose one person, I also think it's Lady Dailin."

This time, I steered the blame toward Dailin as the sage.

Kailon crossed his arms and nodded.

"Yes. Choosing the mage is the right move after all."

Pahel nodded too without complaint.

"There isn't time, so it can't be helped. We have to choose someone."

Suddenly treated like the culprit, Dailin looked around at us in confusion.

"...Wait a moment. You're all making a huge mistake. Do you really think it makes sense to guess that I'm the sage like this?"

But protesting was pointless.

Then...

"..."

I stopped time.

That odd discomfort and lingering unease I'd been feeling.

'...Is Dailin really the right answer?'

Why was this so easy?

It wasn't like I had carefully set things up and manipulated them.

I was just throwing out flimsy reasons and forcing the flow.

Why were they all accepting it so easily...?

The moment I pointed at someone, they all agreed with my choice as if they'd been waiting for it.

Really, the most suspicious person here by far was me.

How should I put it...

It felt more like I was the one being toyed with.

Then a thought crossed my mind.

I only had one chance left.

If I got this wrong, the hidden clear would fail.

But I decided to follow my instincts anyway.

I released time.

"...Wait a moment. I think I got it wrong."

Everyone's eyes turned to me.

"Exactly! I'm really not the sage."

Dailin sounded aggrieved.

"You got it wrong? Then who is the sage?"

Pahel asked with a frown.

"Who is the sage, you ask..."

Dailin, Kailon, Pahel.

I pointed at the three of them one by one.

"All of you."

In that instant,

all expression vanished from their faces.

The three of them stared at me without saying a word.

That bizarre reaction sent a chill down my spine.

Then, rustle.

Their bodies collapsed like sand.

I stared blankly at the sand spilling onto the floor.

Then the grains gathered together again, squirming as they formed the shape of a person.

The one who appeared was an old man with a full head of white hair.

The old man, his hands clasped behind his back, looked at me and smiled.

"Congratulations on finding the right answer."

...It seemed he really was the sage.

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