WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 128

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Nightmare Floor 10 (1)

[Item: Pearl of the Mist Monarch]
This is a pearl containing the power of the Mist Monarch. When used, it spreads fog across a 100-meter radius for 3 minutes. Within the fog, the user can teleport. Can be used again 24 hours after use.

The item first.

It was an item holding the Zone 5 boss's teleportation ability.

Spread fog across a 100-meter radius for 3 minutes, and teleportation within it.

So within that fog, for 3 minutes, unlimited teleportation was possible?

Seemed like a decently useful ability.

[Skill: Mirror Barrier (Epic)]
Generates a mirror barrier within a 3-meter radius. The barrier reflects the opponent's attacks, and willpower equal to the reflected power is additionally consumed. Attacks exceeding your willpower cannot be reflected, and the barrier is destroyed. Casting requires 3 minutes of mental concentration.
Type: Magic
Willpower Cost: 50 per second
Cooldown: 5 minutes after destruction

Next, the Epic-grade skill stone.

It came out as Magic-type.

My first defensive magic skill...

'A reflection ability?'

['Skill: Mirror Barrier (Epic)' has been acquired.]

I learned it right away and tried it out.

Casting the skill made a hexagonal barrier form in midair.

The barrier was a bit bigger than my body.

Reading the description, willpower equal to the reflected power gets consumed...

So it would get destroyed if it took a single attack exceeding my max willpower?

And the cooldown was 5 minutes after destruction.

As long as it didn't get destroyed, I could summon and dismiss it repeatedly, like the Sword of Light.

It wasn't a form that covered my whole body, just a flat barrier, but it seemed like it would be pretty useful.

Last, the skill enhancement stone.

[Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone]
When used, can enhance one Rare+ grade skill.

"Oh."

Checking the info, it was Rare+ grade.

Sixth Sense was already at +4, so one more enhancement would max it out.

I didn't hesitate and used it on Sixth Sense right away.

['Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone' has been used on 'Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)'.]

['Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)' has been enhanced, and its danger detection ability has grown stronger.]

['Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)' has reached maximum enhancement.]

['Skill: Weak Point Insight (Epic)' has been acquired.]

Sixth Sense reached +5, and I acquired a higher-tier Epic skill.

[Skill: Weak Point Insight (Epic)]
Sees through the opponent's weaknesses.
Type: Physical (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None

A simple description.

Just as the name said, it was a passive skill that let me see an opponent's weak points.

Hm, so this was what came out.

I left the reward room.

Then headed straight for Zone 6, which should have newly opened up.

Zone 6 was desert terrain, like Floor 8.

I wandered around looking for monsters.

Being a desert, I figured something like a Sandworm would show up...

"...What the hell is that?"

A large robot shaped something like a bacteriophage.

An unexpected mechanical monster popped out.

I looked it over.

The moment I thought about checking its weak point...

'Oh.'

A faint red haze shimmered at the lower part of the monster's head.

So this was how it looked.

Zzzzt-

Right then, the bacteriophage spotted me too, and its head lit up.

At the same time, something like a blue energy ball came flying at me.

I decided to try out the Mirror Barrier I'd just gotten.

The incoming energy ball hit the barrier and bounced off, flying straight back along the path it came from.

Kwaaang!

The bacteriophage's head, hit by its own attack, blew apart.

It collapsed and stopped moving.

I pulled a skill enhancement stone out of Subspace.

The Epic-grade stone I'd gotten as a Floor 8 clear reward, which I'd thought about using on Hellfire Eruption but hadn't used yet.

['Epic Skill Enhancement Stone' has been used on 'Skill: Weak Point Insight (Epic)'.]

['Skill: Weak Point Insight (Epic)' has been enhanced, and the opponent's weak points are now more visible.]

I enhanced Weak Point Insight right away.

Enhancing a utility skill like this seemed more useful than boosting Hellfire Eruption.

Damage output wasn't remotely something I was lacking right now anyway.

I wandered further, looking for more monsters.

I ran into another bacteriophage.

Checking what had changed with Weak Point Insight at +1...

Unlike before, when the red haze had shown up as a rough blur, it was now more detailed.

On top of that, faint traces of red appeared on other parts of the body too.

Though the color was fainter than the weak point on the head.

My guess was that the head weak point was the most critical, and this now showed weaker points beyond it too.

So that's how the enhancement worked.

After just checking the effects of my new skills, I headed straight back out of the Tower.

Either way, I'd collected all the Zone 5 boss rewards.

And confirmed that Radiant Incarnation could fill the zone gauge extremely fast.

[Special Item: Hourglass of Acceleration]
Select one of the following effects to apply permanently. Once chosen, the effect cannot be changed.
1. Reduces the cooldown of all owned skills by 70%.
2. Fixes the cooldown of one random skill to 0 seconds.

'If I use the hourglass, I could cut Radiant Incarnation's cooldown down to about a day, but...'

...option 2, fixing one skill's cooldown to 0, felt too precious to waste.

Even setting aside Radiant Incarnation, if it landed on one of my main offensive magic skills instead, that would be way better.

Let's hold off on it a little longer for now.

If it came down to it, I could always use it mid-floor whenever the moment called for it.

I thought about hunting the Zone 6 boss too before challenging Floor 10...

But decided to prioritize Floor 10 instead.

The farther out into the outer zones I went, the slower the gauge filled.

I couldn't just keep pouring all my time into hunting zone bosses either.

My time was limited, and I still had no idea how many floors the Tower even had.

It felt hopeless, but I had to keep pushing forward.

Trusting that I'd reach the top of the Tower eventually, no matter what.

* * *

While Radiant Incarnation's cooldown ticked down.

I spent as much time with my family as I could.

There was no telling when this precarious tightrope walk would end.

"Mr. Kim."

I met with Billon again too, who'd rushed to Korea the moment he heard about my lifespan.

I decided to just tell Billon the plain truth.

That I'd used an item called the Scale of Life, and because of it, I only had about 300 days left to live.

"...Well, if I keep climbing the Tower, I might find some way to recover my lifespan. It's still an unknown."

Billon nodded.

"So that means you'll need to clear floors quickly from here on."

"Yeah. Nothing's set in stone, but I'm planning on at least one floor a week, minimum."

"Understood. I'll prepare as much as I can on my end, just as you said."

Preparation meant preparing for what came after, in case I failed and died.

The odds of someone else picking up where I left off and clearing Nightmare were basically zero.

A world where 99% of humanity had become monsters.

I used to think that even if my family somehow ended up among the 1% who survived, they wouldn't be able to live in that kind of hell anyway.

My thinking had changed since then.

Even if it looked pathetic, shouldn't they at least try their best until the very end?

So I asked Billon for a favor.

If the world's destruction ever became all but certain, to take care of my family.

Billon would evacuate my family to a private bunker.

If, by some miracle, any of them ended up among the 1% who survived...

Maybe they could keep living even in a ruined world.

Of course, my family wouldn't want that, and it was probably nothing more than my own selfishness, but I decided to do it anyway.

"I wish you the very best of luck, Mr. Kim. I always firmly believe that you will overcome any hardship."

Billon said it with a heavy but still trusting look in his eyes.

That strange sense of trust was the reason I'd formed a bond with this man in the first place.

I wanted to live up to that expectation too.

Once Radiant Incarnation's cooldown finished.

I started preparing to enter Floor 10.

"Floor 10, huh..."

Numbers like that didn't really mean much.

But thinking that I'd already reached Floor 10, I couldn't help feeling like I'd somehow made it this far.

- Come to think of it, Floor 10 was a little different.

While I was steeling myself, the Demon King's voice reached me.

"...Different? How so?"

- Maybe not. Since the floor's content differs between you and this one, it probably doesn't mean anything.

The Demon King said something strange.

I pressed him on how exactly it was different, but he said it was too complicated to explain and told me to just check it out myself.

Anyway, once I'd finished all my preparations...

I had a hearty final lunch, then got sent off by my family in the living room.

"Be careful, Seo-hyeon. Okay...?"

My parents looked at me with eyes full of worry as they spoke.

I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be careful. I'll clear this one easily and come right back too."

Even if it took as long as Floor 8 had, please don't worry too much, and even if the Nightmare Communication Window count dropped, it might not be me, so please don't jump to bad conclusions right away...

I said the same things I'd said before entering Floor 9, so they wouldn't worry too much.

Of course, I knew that no matter what I said, my family couldn't help but tremble with anxiety and worry.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I pulled the Heavenly Music Box out of Subspace.

"Want to listen to this for a bit?"

Music note~ Music note~

Turning it on, a beautiful melody flowed out.

The Heavenly Music Box had a calming effect on mind and body.

I knew from using it a lot myself how remarkably effective it was.

I'd never actually confirmed whether it worked on other people besides me...

But judging by my family's reaction, it seemed to work well on them too.

"Mm, that's nice music. What is this?"

"It's an item with a calming effect on mind and body."

I could see my parents' and my sister's expressions ease up noticeably.

I thought about just leaving the music box running here for my family's sake...

But there was a chance I'd need it during the clear, so that wouldn't do.

"Alright, I'm off."

After letting the music box play for a good while.

I said my final goodbyes to my family.

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 10?]

The Demon King's comment about Floor 10 being somehow different nagged at me a little.

Well, I'd find out soon enough once I saw it for myself.

I entered Floor 10.

My vision flipped.

* * *

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty Floor 10.]

Time stop, right after entering, like always.

"...?"

Huh?

I released time.

Flustered, I looked around.

Because...

I was standing in a living room.

The exact same living room, in a house with the exact same layout as ours, that I'd just been standing in moments ago.

Of course, my family wasn't there.

I had definitely entered Floor 10.

['Kill' Me'.]

A new message popped up right then.

...Kill me?

'What kind of nonsense is this?'

Not knowing what was going on, I looked around the house.

It was definitely a house with the same interior layout as ours.

Except the interior design was different, and the whole place was covered in dust and thoroughly trashed...

I moved to the window.

I pulled back the curtain and looked outside.

"..."

A dark city after sunset.

The Han River was visible.

A familiar view of downtown Seoul.

What in the world... was this?

More than anything, something glowed faintly gold on one side of the downtown skyline.

A massive dome-shaped curtain of light.

Like the barrier that had appeared during the isolation zone crisis. But slightly different.

Still confused, I flew out through the window.

Using Air Step, I rose up high and looked down at the city below my feet.

This was definitely Seoul.

Except the city looked like ruins.

Looking around below, I soon spotted people.

'...People?'

There were people here?

Two men were walking through an alley, glancing around nervously.

I thought it over for a moment, then descended.

I approached from behind them and carefully called out.

"Excuse me..."

The men flinched and spun around.

"Wh-what the hell!"

Both of them were dressed filthy, like beggars.

And their eyes had a vicious look to them.

The men eyed me warily, and one of them casually pulled out a knife.

"Where'd you pop out from? What the hell are you?"

"...I have something I'd like to ask."

Seriously, I had no idea what was going on.

For now, I figured I needed to pump these people for information.

"The hell are you spouting, you bastard."

"Hey, if you don't want to die, hand over everything you've got."

But the men weren't friendly at all.

I stared blankly at the knife one of them was holding out.

"You deaf? I said hand over everything-"

I grabbed the blade with my hand and snapped it clean off.

"...Huh?"

The man let out a dumbfounded sound.

Then, faces gone pale, both men suddenly dropped to their knees.

"S-s-sorry! We didn't know you were a Climber...!"

I frowned and crouched down in front of the two of them.

"Hey."

"P-please spare us. Please...!"

"No, I'm not going to kill you, so just answer my questions. Look up."

Trembling, the men raised their heads.

I asked them first.

"This is Seoul, South Korea, right?"

"...Huh? Y-yes, that's right."

"What is that? That golden curtain."

I pointed at the massive curtain covering one side of the city.

The man stammered out an answer, like he'd been asked a strange question.

"Th-that's... the Ark... isn't it?"

...What?

A word I never expected suddenly came out of nowhere.

'The Ark?'

The Ark, he said?

The thing the Tower had always offered me as a reward?

"You mean the Ark that Person123 got as a reward from the Tower?"

"Y-yes, sir..."

The man nodded.

I stared blankly at the golden curtain.

...What is this world?

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