WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 112: Third Proposal

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"Hah, hah... I can't go any further..."

Father glanced back at the younger sibling already whining and had one thing to say.

"You're out of shape. Out of shape. You need to build up your stamina when you get the chance."

"Ugh, I don't care... can we just rest for a secoond...!"

"We're climbing just fine at our age and you're in the prime of your youth."

It had been a while since the whole family went hiking together.

Father and Mother had come fully equipped, with hiking clothes, trekking poles, and all the proper gear. They went out to exercise on weekends fairly regularly and were in decent shape because of it.

The only one with terrible stamina was the younger sibling, who stayed busy complaining.

"Come on, just a little more. The summit's right there."

"Mom, you've said that like five times already..."

I tossed in a dig of my own.

"That's what you get for lounging around all day."

"Ugh, you're literally a climber... If I were a climber I'd shoot straight up too, you know?"

"Even that takes basic stats to back it up. If you were Level 1, you'd barely be at the average for an ordinary person."

The kid kept grumbling but trudged on anyway.

We reached the summit of Gwanaksan.

We stood at the top, gazing out over the city nestled among mountain ridges in one sweeping view, and let the breeze wash over us.

Father had been drinking water and catching his breath. He turned to look at me and smiled.

"Not even winded, are you. I suppose that's what being a climber does for you?"

"Pretty much. Ha."

To me it had been little more than a stroll. At my current level, I could reach the summit in under a minute without so much as a ruffle in my breathing.

"Right, right. Being a climber means you're good at climbing mountains too. Ha ha."

Father laughed at his own joke, then let out a small breath and turned his gaze up toward the sky.

"Beautiful day, really..."

There was something quietly complicated in his expression.

The reason was simple enough. The fateful day was drawing near again.

"Seo-hyeon."

"Yes?"

"I just got to thinking, out of nowhere. The fact that the world's still standing after all this time is itself something to be grateful for."

Father said it quietly.

I nodded and turned to look behind us.

Mother and the younger sibling were taking photos next to the summit marker.

"And that we get to spend time like this together as a family, more often than before."

I had some idea of what he was trying to say.

It was true that after the Tower appeared, all of us going out together had become far more common than it used to be. In a world where destruction on any given day would hardly be surprising, something about it made you want to make each day count.

If the Tower had one good side effect, that was probably it.

"I hope we can all watch the sunrise together on New Year's again next year."

It was a wish wrapped inside those words: that this year would pass safely too.

"...Don't worry, Father."

I said it with a smile.

"Person123 has always managed it. I'm sure they will this year too."

Person123 doesn't fail.

I would manage it this time as well.

Yes. I had to.

"Seo-hyeon! Come over here, I'll take a photo! You too, dear."

Mom called out. Father and I went and had our photos taken too.

We came down the mountain, had duck baeksuk, and headed home.

Two months remained until the Floor 8 attempt.

* * *

Time rushed past at a startling pace.

The world had its share of big and small events.

Among them, the single greatest shift on the international stage was, without question, North Korea.

- North Korean leadership undergoes sweeping reform, easing of rule by fear... transformation from the roots up?

- North Korean Chairman Kang Tae-sung signals intent for peace on the Korean Peninsula and cooperation with the international community... large-scale food aid delivery...

- North Korea's denuclearization, is it truly possible?

From the day the coup happened, Kang Tae-sung had begun dismantling North Korea exactly as he had said he would. He declared forcefully that the country would from now on actively cooperate with the international community and grant freedoms to its people, and even quietly raised the subject of denuclearization.

The international community responded with unbridled enthusiasm to North Korea's complete reversal in attitude.

The United States began gradually lifting economic sanctions against North Korea, and several countries started providing food and aid.

There were no doubt negotiations happening beneath the surface that never made the news, and there was no particular reason for me to follow all of that. Yet Billon and Kang Tae-sung both kept sending whispers, so I ended up finding out naturally.

[Kang Tae-sung: There is something I would like to cautiously ask you.]

[Person123: Sure. What is it?]

[Kang Tae-sung: Would you happen to want a reunification of North and South?]

Out of nowhere he asked something like that.

Kang Tae-sung probably thought I had helped him out of concern for the country's national interest.

[Person123: Don't mind me. Just do your best according to your own convictions.]

Helping Kang Tae-sung had been a matter of conscience, nothing more, and the whole thing had simply grown larger than intended.

I had no particular feelings about the matter of North and South.

Reunification? Sure, it would be great if it went well.

But that wasn't something that would flow smoothly just because I wanted it to.

Even if North Korea was changing, it had only just begun, and a moment's thought made it obvious the chaos that would follow would be immense.

On top of that, the Tower already had the world's clock counting down toward destruction day by day.

If anything, I wanted things to stay as stable as possible.

Maybe someday the Korean Peninsula would actually reunify, but that could run its course on its own.

I just needed to focus on what I had to do.

[Zone 5 (79.1%)]

Hunting in Zone 5.

I was putting in the effort, but it looked like filling the Zone 5 boss gauge before the Floor 8 attempt wasn't going to happen. The hunting speed was just too slow given the nature of the field.

Crack!

A giant worm skewered through by an icicle collapsed, spilling its fluids as it died.

I spoke to the Demon King, who had taken up residence in my body.

'Time's up.'

"We're just going to keep hunting anyway, aren't we? Let me use it a little longer."

'I'll give you another thirty minutes.'

Lately the Demon King had actually been decent help with hunting whenever the body was handed over.

The ice castle in Zone 4 had been built and then simply abandoned, as if interest in it had dried up entirely. Other climbers hunting in Zone 4 had eventually discovered it, and the Communication Window buzzed with noise about it for a while.

Both the Security Force and the Black Star Society reportedly sent in scouts, though of course there was nothing like hidden treasure to be found. I saw no particular reason to announce that I had built it.

So for the climbers, the ice castle remained one of Zone 4's mysteries.

As for why the Demon King had been sitting on that throne in a daze, I had since come to understand. He had been trying to recover memories. The Demon King had said he had no memory of the time when his world was nearing its end.

Anyway.

The Demon King and I were now in a stable working relationship. Compared to the days when he had been desperate to seize my body, it was a tremendous step forward.

From around Floor 7 onward I had been picking up a vague sense of it. The Demon King seemed to hold a slight degree of expectation toward me.

"Ridiculous. Why would I have any expectations of a wretch like you..."

The Demon King scoffed.

He could say what he liked, but with our souls entwined, a lie was impossible to hide.

To prepare for the floors ahead, I had spent time mapping out the Demon King's abilities in the meantime.

True to the name Frost Demon King, every piece of magic available to him was ice-type, without exception. The only non-combat option was a single flight spell for mobility.

It would have been better if there were a wider range, and that part did nag at me. But flipped around, it meant the ice-type magic was flawless.

Having the Demon King on my side made me feel more confident about Floor 8 than I had about the floors before it.

And then there was... the Sage.

What exactly the Sage had given me still hadn't come to light.

Maybe I would find out if a crisis hit during the run?

Whatever it was, I hoped it would prove useful.

Otherwise I would deeply regret not choosing the Book of Omniscience.

[Nightmare]

Participants: 476,813

Time Limit: 23 days 1 hour 35 minutes 41 seconds

Highest Floor Reached: Floor 8

Time kept moving.

The twenty-day mark on the Nightmare time limit was almost here.

I quietly started steeling myself.

[Skill: Frost Mist (Rare+)]

Spreads a frost mist with a 10-meter radius around you. Enemies who enter the area are continuously affected by frost. Casting requires 50 seconds of mental concentration.

Type: Magic

Willpower Cost: 35 per second

Cooldown: 1 minute

From Billon I had received one Magic-type Rare+ skill, one Rare+ skill enhancement stone, and an assortment of Common-grade skills and skill enhancement stones.

The frustrating part was that it happened to be an ice-type skill.

Still, I had used the enhancement stones to upgrade Sixth Sense, which was now at +4. One more upgrade and I could obtain the higher-tier Epic-grade skill in its line.

I also used an Epic-grade enhancement stone I had saved from an earlier reward to upgrade Hellfire Eruption.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 8]

[Level: 95]

[Willpower: 5,000/5,000]

[Skills: Destruction Beam (Epic+), Subspace (Epic), Hellfire Eruption (Epic)(+1), Sixth Sense (Rare+)(+4), Teleportation (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+)...]

"Hmm..."

I sat at my desk writing my will, then paused.

I did this every year, but every year it stalled me like this. Even if the contents were mostly the same, my thoughts kept piling up and I ended up wanting to add more.

A thought drifted in.

Someday, maybe even this very year, if the family were to read this.

What would Mother and Father think?

Well, they wouldn't feel good about it...

I just hoped they wouldn't grieve too much.

It had started as something half-forced on me, but I had carried it this far with my own sense of purpose.

There had been plenty of times I had thought, why me of all people.

But now I honestly feel glad that at least I was someone who could do it.

Of course, I would have to do my best to make sure the family never had to read this at all. I had to do my best on Floor 8 this time too.

Twenty-two days left on the Nightmare time limit.

I packed my bag.

For Floor 6 and Floor 7 I had stayed home to spare the family's nerves, but this time I wanted to take a trip again. To Jeju Island.

No real reason. I just felt like it.

"Seo-hyeon, you didn't happen to get a girlfriend, did you?"

"...What? No, nothing like that."

"Alright then. Just checking."

Father had voiced that strange suspicion out of nowhere, but anyway.

The day came and I left the house early, well before dawn.

"Have a good trip. Be careful out there, always. You hear me?"

Father and Mother saw me off at the door.

As always, their eyes carried worry.

Setting out on a trip around this time of year was not exactly ideal timing.

"Yes, I'll be careful. Please don't worry too much."

I smiled and said my goodbyes.

"I'll be off, then."

* * *

I spent the day eating good food, walking around, having fun.

That evening I returned to the hotel, cracked open a beer, and rested.

I put on the Heavenly Music Box too, the one that eased the mind whenever it played.

[Patrash: Five minutes left until 21 days remain!]

[PineBranch: I believe, I believe... I believe in Person123, savior of humanity...]

[Karo: Ha, getting pretty nerve-wracking now]

[CrabStew: Tsk tsk. That one still lacks faith]

[Frenzy: Just believe and wait, that's all there is to it lol]

Browsing the Communication Window, the mood was fairly upbeat.

Some people were already talking as if Floor 8 had been cleared, but well. Better than everyone being anxious.

I closed the Communication Window again.

[Nightmare]

Participants: 476,805

Time Limit: 21 days 59 seconds

Highest Floor Reached: Floor 8

The 21-day mark was almost here.

The time the Tower had always sent its proposals.

Though on Floor 7, the Tower had not sent one.

Would it this time?

I sat quietly watching the time limit shrink, and then...

[The Tower proposes to 'Person123'.]

...A message appeared.

I read through it calmly.

[If 'Person123' accepts the penalty, a special reward will be obtained in return.]

[Penalty: While 'Person123' is clearing Floor 8 for the first time, one item currently held will be randomly disabled for use.]

[Reward: 'Person123' obtains 'Skill: Ark(?)'.]

[Skill: Ark(?)]

Sets a 10-kilometer radius as the Ark's domain. The Ark completely blocks external threats including the Fallen, and humans present within the Ark's domain are immune to the Tower's Curse. Only humans permitted by the skill's caster may enter the Ark's domain. The skill can be toggled between active and inactive states, and an activated Ark lasts indefinitely.

Type: Special

Willpower Cost: None

Cooldown: None

[If you enter Floor 8 before accepting the proposal, the proposal will be voided.]

['Person123' must signal acceptance if willing to take the proposal.]

"..."

After reading through both the penalty and the reward in full, I furrowed my brow.

The reward was the Ark again, same as Floor 6. The radius had even grown, up to 10 km.

But the penalty.

...What kind of trick is this supposed to be?

Footnotes:

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