WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 136: Joint Battle (2)

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“Another precious day bestowed upon us by Person123-nim has dawned. We welcome and bless all believers who have joined us...”

The Person123 Church's dawn service.

After finishing a brief prayer as usual, Shin Su-jin headed straight to work.

She had joined the Person123 Church relatively recently.

Originally, she hadn't been interested in that kind of thing.

She respected Person123 immensely, but she had never once thought he should be worshipped like a god.

Because he wasn't a god. He was a human being she had met and spoken with several times.

- Person123-nim has already transcended even the human body and is becoming an omnipotent being, but that isn't what matters. His compassionate and noble will, devoted solely to humanity, his selfless sacrifice and dedication... He is no different from a god. We should naturally be grateful and revere him. Do you still not understand?

The reason had been simple.

Something a Person123 Church believer had said on a TV broadcast she happened to watch.

Thinking about it, whether Person123 was human or not hadn't mattered in the first place. It was Person123's heart for humanity that made him a god.

That made sense...

So Shin Su-jin had joined the Person123 Church.

Casually, at first. Plenty of people joined and took part in the church simply because they wanted to support Person123.

She had also been feeling that her routine of work, home, duties, and training needed some other kind of hobby.

If she was going to take up a hobby, it should naturally be something that interested her. And anything related to Person123 was clearly one of Shin Su-jin's interests.

Of course, if she were still living the bleak life she once had, she wouldn't have had the room to think about hobbies at all.

Ever since the day Seo Dong-woo died, the day Person123 saved her, Shin Su-jin had completely regained her peace of mind.

If it hadn't been for him, she would have wandered through hell for the rest of her life. She probably would have been killed by Seo Dong-woo in the first place.

Joining the Person123 Church had definitely been a good choice for a hobby.

Prayer didn't actually help Person123 in any practical way, but it still made her feel as though she was doing something for him.

“...I hope I can see him again.”

Sitting at her desk in the office, Shin Su-jin muttered blankly.

“Huh? Who?”

Kang Ju-hyeok asked as he came over with coffee.

Shin Su-jin snapped back to her senses and cleared her throat. Had she said that out loud?

“It was nothing.”

[Time Remaining: 56 minutes 17 seconds]

Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since Floor 10 was cleared.

The Climber Affairs Office's Climbing Surveillance Division staff were also watching the Joint Battle that would begin soon.

One hundred Climbers who had cleared Floor 10, in other words, Climbers on Floor 11 or higher.

Shin Su-jin, who was normally on Floor 24, could be selected too.

Kang Ju-hyeok groaned and leaned against the wall.

“I hope nothing happens. Who knows what kind of mess this will turn into...”

Going by the name alone, it sounded like Climbers would all fight together on Floor 5.

But the isolation zone incident had only happened recently, and the rules had never failed to target ordinary people's lives. That was the biggest concern.

Person123 must have been worried too, since he had even left a warning through the Communication Window.

Shin Su-jin also hoped nothing serious would happen.

[Time Remaining: 1 second]

The time ran out, and tension flashed across the faces of the Climbing Surveillance Division staff.

Then Shin Su-jin's vision changed.

“...!”

She looked around and quickly calmed down. This was Zone 0 on Floor 5.

She had been selected for the Joint Battle.

Around her stood one hundred Climbers who had been brought here just like her.

On instinct, Shin Su-jin first searched for Person123's face, but he wasn't there. It seemed he hadn't been selected this time.

['Joint Battle' has begun.]

[Defend the core from the monsters that attack each round.]

Messages appeared before her eyes.

The Climbers' gazes gathered in one direction.

A massive jewel had suddenly appeared in the middle of the Zone 0 portal.

It looked similar to the core from Floor 6.

[100,000,000/100,000,000]

Numbers floated above the core as though they were its Health.

[If the core's Health reaches 0, the Joint Battle will end immediately.]

[A number of non-Climbers equal to the core's depleted Health will die at random.]

[Non-Climbers who die will not become Fallen.]

Shin Su-jin's eyes widened at the following messages.

The Climbers stirred.

“People will die for every point of Health it loses?”

“Fuck, not this again...”

[There are up to 6 rounds.]

[The rewards improve with each successful round and are not cumulative.]

[The rewards are as follows.]

[Round 1 Success Reward]

- All participating Climbers receive one Common+ skill stone.

[Round 2 Success Reward]

- All participating Climbers receive one Rare skill stone.

[Round 3 Success Reward]

- All participating Climbers receive one Rare skill stone and one Rare skill enhancement stone.

[Round 4 Success Reward]

- All participating Climbers receive one Rare+ skill stone and one Rare+ skill enhancement stone.

[Round 5 Success Reward]

- All participating Climbers gain 10 levels.

[Round 6 Reward]

- All Climbers gain immunity to the Tower's Curse.

The list of rewards continued appearing one after another.

The Climbers who had been murmuring fell silent in an instant.

‘...This.’

Shin Su-jin couldn't help but be shocked.

Everyone reacted the same way when they saw the final reward for Round 6.

Immunity to the Tower's Curse?

For every Climber?

[You may leave Floor 5 while the Joint Battle is in progress.]

[Once you leave, you cannot re-enter and will not receive any rewards.]

[The final round you will challenge is decided by majority vote.]

[Once selected, the final round cannot be changed.]

[When the core is destroyed and the Joint Battle ends, rewards will be granted up to the last successfully completed round.]

[Please vote for the final round you wish to challenge.]

[Round 1]

[Round 2]

[Round 3]

[Round 4]

[Round 5]

[Round 6]

[Selection Time Remaining: 29 minutes 59 seconds]

Shin Su-jin frowned as she stared at the choices.

Only one thought filled her mind.

‘A trap.’

It was just like the masked auction.

The Tower was once again holding ordinary people's lives hostage and tempting Climbers with rewards that were hard to refuse.

Then someone spoke up.

“I'm Robert Müller, a German Hard-difficulty Floor 16 Climber. How about we first figure out the levels of everyone gathered here?”

Robert Müller.

He was a well-known figure, the highest-floor Climber on Germany's Hard difficulty.

At his suggestion, people first split up according to their level ranges.

Only those who had cleared Floor 10 had been summoned, so everyone was at least Level 10.

There were nine Climbers in the Level 10s, twenty in the Level 20s, thirty-six in the Level 30s, seventeen in the Level 40s, fifteen in the Level 50s, and three in the Level 60s.

After sorting everyone out, the average level was quite high.

Robert stepped forward like a representative and spoke again.

“You've all checked the rewards. The Round 6 reward is immunity to the Tower's Curse for every Climber.”

“...”

“That means even if the Tower's deadline eventually runs out and humanity is destroyed, Climbers can be an exception. I think the choice is clear.”

Shin Su-jin hurriedly stepped forward and raised her voice.

“We can't choose Round 6!”

Everyone turned to her.

“Didn't it say people would die in proportion to the core's lost Health? Look at its Health. It's one hundred million. We don't even know how hard the rounds will be, so we can't take on this challenge with one hundred million lives at stake. Absolutely not.”

Defend the core from the attacking monsters.

It went without saying that the difficulty would rise as the rounds went on.

Yet they were supposed to challenge it with one hundred million lives on the line?

It was absurd. The people gathered here had no right to do that.

Robert looked at Shin Su-jin and smiled.

“So you're going to throw away this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? An opportunity for millions of people to survive even if the world ends?”

“Have you forgotten Person123's warning? Giving in to the Tower's temptations only leads to ruin in the end.”

“No. This is different. If Person123 had been given an opportunity like this, he would have challenged it too.”

Shin Su-jin frowned.

What did he know about Person123 that made him think he could say such ridiculous nonsense?

“Person123 wouldn't gamble with people's lives like this. He would have chosen Round 1.”

“How can you be so sure? This isn't a gamble with people's lives. It's a challenge for humanity's future. Person123 chose a penalty to save people on Floor 4. Do you really think he would give up an opportunity like this?”

“Person123 gave up every Ark proposal after that. Why do you think he did? Has it never occurred to you that, as he warned through the Communication Window, he realized the Tower's proposals were dangerous?

“And more than anything, the Tower wants humanity destroyed. If it were possible for us to clear all six rounds, would the Tower have offered a reward like this? The core will obviously be destroyed before then, and one hundred million people will die.”

Another Climber cut in at that moment.

“I agree with you.”

A woman walked over to Shin Su-jin and threw an arm around her shoulders.

“It’s obvious this Tower bastard is trying something again. You'd have to be an idiot to fall for it, right?”

It was Clara, another executive from the Security Force. They weren't particularly close under normal circumstances.

Several other Security Force members also walked over and stood beside Shin Su-jin.

Not all of them did, though. Some Security Force members watched the situation with troubled expressions.

Robert looked around.

“Think carefully, everyone. How long do you think humanity can survive against the Tower? We don't even know how many floors the Tower has.”

He spoke confidently.

“We may never get another opportunity like this. Let's take the challenge. We can do it. There are plenty of high-level Climbers gathered here, aren't there? Let's choose Round 6 and secure humanity's future!”

The atmosphere stirred.

A few Climbers besides Robert stepped forward and shouted.

“That's right. Why assume we'll fail? We just have to succeed!”

“We can do it!”

“Get a grip! One hundred million lives are at stake!”

“What if your own family ends up among them?!”

“How about we only challenge up to Round 3?!”

People began shouting and arguing.

Clara clicked her tongue as she watched the scene turn into a marketplace.

“Those bastards...”

Nobody said it out loud, but it was obvious what those insisting on Round 6 were thinking.

[You may leave Floor 5 while the Joint Battle is in progress.]

[Once you leave, you cannot re-enter and will not receive any rewards.]

They could escape if it got dangerous, after all. There was no risk to them.

This was exactly why Person123 had even left a warning, but...

The absurd reward of immunity to the Tower's Curse was more than enough to make the Climbers lose their heads, warning or not.

[Time Remaining: 1 second]

Shin Su-jin shouted as hard as she could to persuade them.

Some people argued, others watched quietly and gauged the mood. Time passed amid the commotion...

Then time ran out.

[The vote has ended.]

[Round 1: 46 people]

[Round 2: 1 person]

[Round 3: 2 people]

[Round 4: 0 people]

[Round 5: 0 people]

[Round 6: 51 people]

[The final round has been set to Round 6.]

Shin Su-jin clenched her teeth as she saw the result.

This really... couldn't happen...

[Round 1 has begun.]

There was no time to dwell on it.

Weapons such as swords, spears, and blunt weapons appeared randomly around them.

The Climbers took up the weapons with practiced ease and prepared for battle.

“It’s started! The monsters are coming!”

Shin Su-jin also picked up a greatsword and took her position.

Soon, monsters came rushing out from the forest in Zone 1.

They weren't Zone 1 monsters, of course. They were different types, and they looked much stronger.

Rhinoceros-like beast monsters, creatures with bodies made of wood, two-headed wolves...

Slash!

Robert was the first to move, cutting one monster cleanly in half.

The high-level Climbers followed. The monsters were slaughtered without mercy.

Morale rose in an instant at the sight, and the Climbers began fighting in earnest.

“Kill them all! Don't let them get close!”

The monsters attacking from all directions varied widely, roughly ranging from Level 10 to Level 30.

Naturally, they weren't difficult to stop with this much combat strength. There were plenty of high-level Climbers.

Shin Su-jin swung her greatsword and killed monsters. She fought without using skills, conserving her Willpower.

[Round 1 has ended.]

[Round 1 Result: 100,000,000/100,000,000]

[A total of 0 non-Climbers will die at random.]

[Round 2 will begin shortly.]

Round 1 ended quickly after about five minutes.

The monsters had targeted only the core rather than the Climbers, so there were no deaths or injuries.

The monster corpses around them disappeared.

The Climbers cheered and rested.

“What, that was nothing?”

“We can easily make it through Round 6 too, can't we?”

Shin Su-jin's expression hardened as she listened to the voices around her.

This was only Round 1.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

* * *

While the Joint Battle was underway.

I was waiting anxiously.

There was no way to know what was happening on Floor 5 from outside.

Then a message appeared.

[Round 1 Result: 100,000,000/100,000,000]

[A total of 0 non-Climbers will die at random.]

...What was this?

A total of zero non-Climber deaths?

Was it messing with people's lives again after all?

Since it was Round 1, I guessed the Climbers who had been taken away managed to defend it well.

“Phew...”

That Tower bastard.

I swallowed my unease and prayed they would keep doing well.

A few dozen minutes later, another message appeared.

[Round 2 Result: 99,999,891/100,000,000]

[A total of 109 non-Climbers will die at random.]

“...!”

The moment I saw the message before my eyes.

I rushed out of the room to check on my family.

They were all safe, watching the news.

“Seo-hyeon, what's wrong?”

“...No, it's nothing. I'll tell you later.”

I looked back at the message floating in the air.

‘Fuck...’

What was happening?

Footnotes:

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