WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 163: Treasure Hunt (5)
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For several seconds, I couldn’t see anything but light.
Then came the ringing that filled my ears.
Under normal circumstances, my eardrums might’ve burst. Though that would’ve been the least of my problems.
Armor of Karma perfectly blocked all external damage.
The fact that I was still conscious and able to think after the explosion meant my body had survived, just as expected.
Thanks, Seri!
Krrrrrrrrr-!
Before long, my vision returned to normal.
The enormous pressure of the seawater was bearing down on me.
Yet my body didn’t budge, like a ship anchored by something weighing millions of tons.
Once Armor of Karma was activated, I couldn’t move either, but it seemed external force couldn’t push me back.
‘Urgh...’
Right before the bomb exploded, I’d placed the Sea Dragon’s Ruyi Pearl in Subspace.
If I’d held onto it, it would’ve been impossible not to lose it in this storm.
Armor of Karma only blocked damage. It didn’t handle my breathing, so I had to hold my breath for quite a while.
Once the pressure of the destructive current weakened somewhat, I deactivated Armor of Karma and took the Ruyi Pearl back out.
Now I could finally breathe.
The explosion had carved a massive crater into the seafloor, as if a meteorite had struck it.
If it was this destructive under deep-sea pressure, just how powerful would it have been on land...?
Still, judging by the aftermath, the island probably hadn’t been caught directly in the blast.
I hurried upward to check for myself.
Splash!
When I broke free of the churning sea and rose into the sky...
“Whew.”
I let out a relieved breath.
At least the island in the distance was safe.
The operation had succeeded.
Rumble...
No, maybe it hadn’t succeeded yet.
It wasn’t over.
Massive waves were spreading out from the site of the explosion.
Wait...
Would they reach the island?
An image of a huge tsunami sweeping across the entire island played in my head.
If that happened, some treasures might not withstand it and be destroyed.
“Fuck.”
I hurried after the waves.
I had no idea how I’d stop them, but I had to do everything I could until the end.
After catching up to the waves, I threw myself back into the raging current.
Gripping the Sea Dragon’s Ruyi Pearl tightly, I began controlling the flow of water.
The Ruyi Pearl’s water-control ability could be used by consuming Willpower, and my Willpower was practically infinite.
That didn’t mean I could control the ocean like Poseidon.
Having unlimited fuel didn’t make a car capable of reaching the speed of light. Its maximum output still had limits.
Anyway, I moved through the waves heading toward the island, trying to calm them as much as possible.
It had no meaningful effect.
Still, regardless of my efforts, the waves naturally lost much of their height by the time they neared the island.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a tsunami large enough to engulf the whole island would occur.
What a pointless struggle.
Well, as long as it was safe, that was fine.
Craaaash!
A fairly powerful wave crossed the island’s coast and reached the forest, but that was all.
That was it.
There wouldn’t be any further damage.
Feeling a little drained, I returned to the cave.
Ye Tianwei was outside the entrance.
He was on his knees with his hands clasped together, as if praying.
When I approached, Ye Tianwei opened his eyes and stood up.
“...I believed you would return safely.”
He gave me a calm smile.
I wondered where the man who’d panicked when I stabbed my heart with a sword earlier had gone.
“I went out to sea and threw the bomb away.”
After I gave him a brief explanation, Ye Tianwei nodded as if he understood.
“If the bomb had exploded there, not only I, but all the treasures might have been destroyed. You have saved countless lives once again.”
I’d gotten lucky.
I was sick and tired of the Tower’s underhanded schemes.
I sighed.
The portal should be open again now, and all that remained was to finish Treasure Hunt.
The Tower’s Curse had descended on a random area.
The Communication Window didn’t work here either, so I had no way of knowing what was happening outside.
Surely it hadn’t selected Korea, or Seoul. If something like that had happened...
I forced down my anxious thoughts.
Were there any Climbers left on the island?
Probably not. The person who’d coveted the treasure was most likely the last one.
Still, I couldn’t ignore even the slightest possibility.
Call it compulsive anxiety if you wanted.
I wanted to leave as soon as possible and see what had happened outside, but...
I had to make absolutely certain there were no Climbers left. Once I exited, it was over.
I said to Ye Tianwei, “Mr. Ye Tianwei, could you exit first? If there’s anything you can do out there, please help people. I need to search a little longer for any remaining Climbers.”
“Yes, understood.”
We headed to the portal.
Light was flowing through it again.
“Thank you for your help. You worked hard.”
I shook hands with Ye Tianwei.
“It was an honor to be by your side, even for a short time.”
Before he exited, I asked the question I’d been curious about.
“Why do you follow me this far, Mr. Ye Tianwei?”
Ye Tianwei answered immediately.
“Because you are more special than anyone else.”
“...Because I’m Nightmare’s top clearer and humanity’s savior?”
“Those reasons are no longer important to me. I have already come to worship... I mean, deeply respect you.”
Worship.
At first, I thought it was only because I was a Nightmare Climber, but now I understood.
What he felt for me wasn’t simple respect. It was almost fanatical.
Could Ye Tianwei be a believer in the Person123 Church?
Even they probably weren’t this extreme.
“As you can see, without my Climber abilities, I’m just an ordinary human. I’m not some god worth worshipping.”
Ye Tianwei shook his head.
“This is not only about your abilities. No one else could ever be you. And as I said, such things are not important to me.”
Looking into my eyes, he asked, “Person123, what do you ultimately desire?”
...What did I desire?
Of course, there was only one answer.
If just one thing completely disappeared from this world, I wouldn’t want anything else.
“To get rid of the Tower and let the world regain its peace.”
Ye Tianwei nodded.
“Please achieve everything you desire. I only wish to watch the path you take. I firmly believe it will come to pass.”
He was truly blind in his faith.
I still couldn’t understand why he believed in me and followed me so devotedly, and part of it seemed dangerous.
Either way, I was grateful to him. He had saved my sister’s life.
“...Thank you for cheering me on. Yes, I’ll make it happen.”
Ye Tianwei smiled brightly and bowed deeply.
Then he vanished.
After confirming Ye Tianwei’s exit, I used Air Step and rose into the sky.
I continued searching the island.
As I looked for anyone remaining, I froze every treasure I found.
I wondered whether there might be another treasure like Tecan’s Heart that I could unseal, but there wasn’t.
The search continued for two days.
During that time, I didn’t find anyone.
I didn’t find any more treasures either.
I searched the island for two days because I wanted to be cautious to the very end.
The cooldown for Radiant Incarnation reset, so I used it to circle Treasure Island one last time.
As expected, there were no Climbers left.
Only then did I use the portal to exit.
I still had that lingering feeling of doubt until the very end, but...
[‘Treasure Hunt’ has ended.]
That message appeared as soon as I exited.
And so, Treasure Hunt came to an end.
* * *
Once Treasure Hunt began, the world was in an uproar.
People waited tensely for the result, wondering if another situation like Joint Battle would unfold.
[Lightning: Hey, Person123 got selected for Treasure Hunt too!]
[Dundale: Person123 forced all the Climbers out right after it started lol. Seeing it in person was fucking insane.]
[Cactus: They burned the monsters away without leaving a trace with some magic skill. It was terrifying.]
[Black Tea: Really? Person123 got selected too?]
[Madness: Huh? Some psycho was killing people and threatening everyone to leave. What are you talking about, Person123?]
[Durangrito: ?? Everyone ran away after getting attacked by a pterosaur, then Person123 really did save them. What are you all talking about?]
[Grape: What? I guess they weren’t all summoned to the same place?]
As those who had exited appeared in the Communication Window, information gradually came out.
Treasure Hunt involved searching for treasures on an island where monsters roamed.
Of course, most people had been forced out, and no Climber had found a treasure, so nobody knew what the treasures actually were.
Then, as more time passed...
[The Tower's Curse will descend upon a random area within a 10-kilometer radius.]
[There is a 90% chance that a Stage 1 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 9% chance that a Stage 2 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 0.9% chance that a Stage 3 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 0.09% chance that a Stage 4 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 0.009% chance that a Stage 5 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 0.0009% chance that a Stage 6 Fallen will appear.]
[There is a 0.0001% chance that a Stage 7 Fallen will appear.]
Messages appeared.
They were the same Fallen appearance notifications from when Nightmare Floor 3 had been cleared.
[Hedgehog: What the fuck is this?]
[Canyon: Is this because of Treasure Hunt? Is something happening again?]
[Sangwon: Stage 5 wasn’t the end? There are even Stage 7 Fallen...?]
[Three: Where did it happen?]
[Jerry: The news is out. It happened in the United States.]
Whitefish, a small city in northwestern Montana, United States.
Everyone in the area had been confirmed to have turned into monsters.
Though caught off guard, the U.S. government responded immediately.
After the first Fallen Incident and the Qualification Trial incident, nations had already discussed how to respond if people turned into Fallen.
The United States was no exception.
Fortunately, Whitefish was a small city with a resident population of just over ten thousand.
Even including tourists, the number of people who had become Fallen was estimated to be fewer than thirty thousand.
In the worst case, dropping a nuclear weapon on its own territory might have been unavoidable, but that wasn’t necessary this time.
The area where the Fallen had appeared was known, and as they had dealt with them before, the military could eliminate the Fallen with its own strength.
On top of that, military technology had advanced dramatically compared to the time of Floor 3, thanks to active research into magic stones.
The U.S. military immediately sealed off the area and began an extermination operation.
The Fallen were quickly eliminated under relentless bombardment.
They had no intention of hiding or fleeing.
After the bombardment, ground forces would work with Climbers to finish off the remaining Fallen.
The operation was proceeding smoothly.
- An anomalous individual has been discovered. It has seven horns... It is presumed to be a Stage 7 Fallen!
One Fallen was spotted sprinting madly south.
Bang! Craaash!
Bombers hurried after it to stop it, but it was no use. Every tank blocking its route was destroyed as well.
The Fallen broke through the military encirclement and raced dozens of kilometers south in an instant, reaching a nearby city.
“Eek!”
“S-save me...!”
Buildings collapsed, and screams rang out from all around.
Once the Stage 7 Fallen began rampaging through the city center, it was a complete disaster.
A transport aircraft heading toward the operation area urgently changed course and headed for the city.
A person leaped directly from the transport aircraft as it crossed the sky.
“Mom! Mom!”
A child burst into tears in front of a woman whose foot was trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building.
“Run! Mom will be fine, so hurry...!”
Though she was in pain, the woman desperately shouted at the child. Then her face went pale.
Beyond the thick clouds of dust, the monster was approaching.
A monster that could crush high-rise buildings as easily as straw.
Kiaaaah-
The Fallen let out a long, grotesque roar and charged toward the mother and child.
At that moment, something flew in from the side, grabbed the Fallen by the head, and ground its head against the ground.
Kwarararar!
Taylor Miller, America’s Nightmare Floor 10 Climber.
She had arrived in the middle of the chaos.
After a brief clash, the Stage 7 Fallen was eliminated by Taylor.
Footnotes:
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