Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability - Chapter 156

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 156: Nightmare 12th Floor (3)

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‘Kill them.’

I’ll finish the clear right now and get out of here.

Then I’ll kill every last one of those thorns in my side. I can do it with my power, can’t I?

- You’ve completely lost it. Can’t you pull yourself together?

The Demon King said something, but I ignored him.

I arrived at the Escape Route in an instant.

Filled with nothing but killing intent, I was about to open the door and step inside...

My body froze.

The last shred of reason barely managed to stop me.

What am I doing? Why am I not getting out there and killing them all right now?

My hand trembled as it gripped the doorknob.

A burning rage ruled my entire body.

No. I couldn’t control it at all.

“Grrr...”

I almost handed my body over to the Demon King, but barely stopped myself.

If the Demon King was affected by the sin too, he would become an irreversible disaster.

But at this rate, I would be completely consumed by Wrath as well.

I ground my teeth as I glared at the Escape Route...

Then, with a beast-like roar, I swung the Sword of Heaven's Gatekeeper.

Slash!

Heavenly Aura split the Escape Route in half.

I didn’t stop swinging. I kept hacking at the door until it was completely reduced to pieces.

“Arghhh...!”

With no way left to vent the rage boiling inside me like lava, I stood there helplessly before cutting down every tree around me.

Then I took out Pankera's Crown and put it on. I entered the Mindscape.

I recreated the scene from the Joint Battle exactly as it had been.

“Isn’t this all for the sake of the world? We chose Round 6 for humanity’s survival!”

“That’s right! Hahaha...!”

The climbers laughed as they spewed that bullshit.

I lunged at them and began beating them to death.

Their laughter turned into horrific screams.

I killed everyone I saw. I even killed Manager Shin Su-jin when she tried to stop me.

The scenery changed.

This time, it was during the Mask Auction.

“Here! A bid of one thousand people...!”

A masked climber excitedly raised a hand to bid.

I blew their head apart in one blow.

I killed the host too, then killed every climber fleeing in all directions like insects one by one.

The scenery changed again.

It was the parallel world on the 10th floor.

The scene the other me from that parallel world had told me about unfolded before my eyes exactly as described.

Me returning home, the intruders who killed my family.

I tore off their limbs one by one and killed them as painfully as possible.

I went outside. People swarmed through the Ark like insects.

I began killing them all.

The people who ran away, the ones who begged me to spare them, and the climbers who stood in my way. Every last one of them.

Trash clinging to their pathetic lives by relying only on my sacrifice. They weren’t worth keeping alive.

The city was stained with blood.

I repeated it over and over.

Whenever I killed everyone, I brought them back to life and continued the slaughter.

I wanted to kill more.

Die. Die, all of you.

After killing and killing for a long time in my frenzy...

I collapsed in the middle of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, drenched in crimson.

“...”

Only then did I feel like I could finally breathe.

The rage that had felt like it would burn my entire body eased enough for me to catch my breath.

- Have you finally come to your senses?

The Demon King had appeared beside me at some point.

I stared blankly at him, then looked around.

...What the hell had I done?

I didn’t even have time to sink into that post-rage crash.

Once I came to my senses, I immediately left the Mindscape.

The shattered remains of the Escape Route came into view.

I had done that.

It no longer seemed to function. When I approached and touched it, its item information didn’t even appear.

...I hurried back to the fountain.

I activated the music box I had left behind.

Before the rage that had temporarily settled down could burn away my reason again, I needed to regain my composure.

“Ugh...”

I let out a groan and sank to the ground. I buried my head in the dirt.

What the hell... was that?

If Pride and Greed were still manageable enough for me to retain some reason...

Wrath was on a completely different level.

The moment I drank it, every trace of reason had vanished. Even the music box had been useless.

This made no sense. It was this powerful? Why?

‘Why was Wrath the only one like that?’

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Could these sins... become more powerful the stronger those emotions already were within me?

I had promised myself I wouldn’t keep being disappointed by people’s ugliness.

Still, maybe anger had continued piling up inside me without my realizing it. I couldn’t deny it.

“...Fuck.”

Cursing under my breath, I got to my feet.

Stab!

I drove the Sword of Heaven's Gatekeeper into my forearm. Blood burst out.

I dug through my flesh with the blade, then even deployed Searing Zone to burn the wound.

A dizzying pain surged through me.

I screamed, but I didn’t stop. I needed to turn my attention away from Wrath, even a little, through pain.

...Could I really endure all these sins?

Had I made an irreversible mistake?

But regretting it now wouldn’t change anything.

I had destroyed the Escape Route with my own hands.

...There was no choice. I had needed to do it.

If I had been even a little later, if I had cleared the 12th floor and gone outside, what would have happened?

What I did in the Mindscape would have become reality.

If I went outside in this state, I would destroy the world with my own hands. I was certain of it.

I had already crossed the point of no return.

Now, my only option was to absorb every remaining sin...

“Haaah...”

I stopped hurting myself, tossed aside the sword, and picked up the cup.

Before Wrath could make me lose my mind again, I immediately absorbed the next sin.

A snake, green.

[Envy (O)]

It was the sin of Envy.

Jealousy and envy slowly rose within my heart.

“...Demon King.”

- Hmm?

“You must have it nice, being so strong.”

If I could freely use powerful magic like the Demon King...

If I could use that power without restrictions, if it were truly my own strength, I could clear Nightmare difficulty so much more easily...

Ah, the Demon King really had it good. I envied him.

- You’ve finally learned to properly admire me.

I ignored the Demon King’s satisfied voice as dark emotions continued to flow through me.

Why was I climbing the Tower in the first place?

I didn’t want to do it either. I wished someone would clear Nightmare difficulty in my place, overcome all of the Tower’s schemes for me.

Then I could have lived an ordinary, comfortable life like everyone else.

I wouldn’t have had to suffer here like this.

I envied everyone in the world.

You people don’t have to do anything or think about anything. All you have to do is cheer me on.

Must be nice. It really must be nice...

I shook my head.

Holding onto my reason, I immediately absorbed the next sin.

A fly, yellow.

[Gluttony (O)]

It was the sin of Gluttony.

This time, my heart was stained with every kind of desire.

I bit my lip until it bled and picked up the Sword of Heaven's Gatekeeper again.

I stabbed my arm and seared the wounds with fire, ignoring the sticky emotions clinging to me.

Gluttony and Envy were manageable somehow, just like Pride and Greed had been.

But Lust was an unexpected problem.

[Lust (O)]

The moment I pressed the fly button, filled a cup with pink water, and drank it...

A strange sensation tingled through my entire body.

I groaned and collapsed onto the ground again.

“Ugh...”

What the fuck was this?

My body and head were both burning hot.

They heated up until I couldn’t control them at all.

I trembled as I tried to raise the Sword of Heaven's Gatekeeper, but dropped it.

The fragile thread of reason I had been holding onto snapped once more.

My eyes rolled back as I entered the Mindscape.

I summoned beautiful women. I rolled around in dizzying pleasure and ecstasy.

I was no different from an emperor. But why was I doing this again? I didn’t know.

How much time passed while I surrendered myself completely to desire?

When I barely managed to recover my reason, I returned to reality.

As I sat there drowning in self-loathing for a moment, the Demon King’s voice reached me.

- I’ve seen every kind of disgrace from you today.

...The Demon King had seen me at my absolute worst too.

Lust’s effect on my mind was nearly as strong as Wrath’s.

Why was this one so powerful too?

Was it because it was an instinct imprinted into living beings at a genetic level?

Without Pankera's Crown, I might really have gone insane.

I realized it clearly.

How laughable and fragile human will truly was...

[Pride (O)]

[Greed (O)]

[Envy (O)]

[Wrath (O)]

[Lust (O)]

[Gluttony (O)]

[Sloth (X)]

I had absorbed six sins, and my already exhausted mind was completely worn down.

Chaos itself filled my heart.

I couldn’t endure any more. I was on the verge of going insane.

Still, now... there was only one left.

The sin of Sloth.

I just had to absorb Sloth and find the Purifying Holy Water.

Once I drank the Purifying Holy Water, everything would return to normal. It had to.

I squeezed out the last of my will and picked up the cup.

I pressed the donkey button and gulped down a full cup of blue water.

[Sloth (O)]

[‘Purifying Holy Water’ has appeared somewhere in the forest.]

A message appeared.

“...”

I stared at it.

Right. All I had to do now was find it.

...But why did it feel like such a hassle?

My body felt as heavy as lead.

I leaned against the tank and sat down.

There was no need to rush, was there?

All I had to do was find it, and the clear would be complete.

- What are you doing? Why aren’t you going to find it?

“Let me rest for a moment...”

The Demon King said,

- Get a hold of yourself, you idiot. You are being affected by Sloth.

Was that so?

But this was strange. Why did everything feel so bothersome...?

Sloth’s effect was far stronger than I had imagined.

It softly smothered even Wrath, Lust, and all the other sins.

Had I always been this lazy? Was this my true nature?

Ah, I see. I understood now.

I was exhausted.

Clearing Nightmare difficulty, training in the Mindscape, stopping the Tower’s schemes... and all those hopeless worries about my lifespan and everything else.

I had kept running without a proper chance to rest.

Without realizing it, the desire to rest must have built up in a corner of my heart.

So it would be fine to rest for a while.

Just a little while. I could rest for a moment, then go find the Purifying Holy Water.

I lay down completely and closed my eyes.

I could hear the Demon King shouting something, but I ignored him.

‘This is nice...’

It was so comfortable that I wondered why I had gone without it until now.

People needed rest like this.

That way, after resting, they could work hard again.

“...”

Work hard?

Once I cleared the 12th floor and went outside... right, I would have to work hard again.

Just thinking about it was too much trouble.

Clearing Nightmare difficulty was too much trouble. Posting information in the Communication Window was too much trouble. Training was too much trouble. Dealing with the rules for every other floor was too much trouble. Thinking about things and worrying about them was too much trouble.

Everything was too much trouble.

How long was I supposed to keep climbing the Tower? Was there even an end?

But if I didn’t, the world would be destroyed.

Duty and responsibility pricked at my heart. What a bother.

If I could forget all of it and keep resting like this...

I opened my eyes.

As if possessed, I turned my head toward the tank.

If I drank more of that... wouldn’t I stop feeling even this tiny bit of discomfort?

Then I would feel truly, unbelievably comfortable.

I grabbed the tank and barely raised my upper body.

The blue surface of the water sparkled in the sunlight. It was beautiful.

- You crazy bastard...! Stop!