WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby
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Chapter 171: Nightmare, Floor 15 (3)
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I stared toward Kanyuk with wide eyes.
...Had they been keeping an eye on me the whole time?
Otherwise, that reaction speed just didn't make sense.
The spear had pierced through the demon and was still flying far into the distance without losing momentum.
I used a jumping skill and Air Step to chase after it.
I felt a little embarrassed.
I'd been busy watching out for a possible surprise attack from Kanyuk, while Kanyuk seemed to have been worried about me getting killed by a demon.
Wham!
I caught up with Kanyuk's spear and grabbed it.
[Item: Daran's Crescent Blade]
A crescent blade forged by the legendary blacksmith Daran. It can never be destroyed.
Information appeared when I grabbed it.
So it was an item. Indestructible?
That was a very simple effect.
After blasting away the demons chasing me with Destruction Beam, I flew back toward Kanyuk.
Even without a weapon, Kanyuk was easily dealing with the demons.
The scarlet energy rippling across their entire body made it look as though they were covered in flames.
The demons' bodies burst apart mercilessly with every blow.
Kanyuk actively used their tail in battle alongside their fists and feet.
The end of that thick, lizard-like tail had a large harpoon-like spike attached to it. It was practically another spear. Moving with terrifying speed and flexibility, the tail pierced through demons.
“Kanyuk!”
I threw the crescent blade toward them.
Kanyuk caught it, let out a “Kyakat!” laugh, and swung the crescent blade in a wide arc.
Scarlet energy whirled around and swept through the nearby demons.
Wooooosh!
I lowered my guard against Kanyuk a little and returned to the fight.
The demons kept appearing without end.
Thanks to Life Devourer, I could keep recovering my health as I fought, but Kanyuk was a complete monster.
They didn't seem to be using any particular skills, yet they killed demon after demon without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.
Then, another demon behind one Kanyuk had struck with their tail was flung far away, all the way to the edge of the cliff, with only its wings torn off...
I spotted it as it was about to fall downward and was about to use Destruction Beam to finish it off for good.
[Eliminate all summoned monsters.]
The message said we had to eliminate all summoned monsters.
If it fell into that bottomless abyss while still alive, I had no idea how it would be judged.
Boom!
But before I could fire Destruction Beam, Kanyuk leaped first at incredible speed.
Then they sent the demon's head flying, killing it instantly.
I was secretly surprised by the sight.
Kanyuk had looked like they were rampaging without thinking, but they had been paying attention even to small details.
As expected, Kanyuk wasn't simply straightforward.
There was no way someone who had cleared Nightmare difficulty through Floor 14 could be.
After that, the two of us continued killing demons for a long time...
Only after more than half a day had passed did the demons finally stop being summoned.
Wooooosh!
I blew away the last remaining demon with Fatal Strike.
Messages appeared.
[You have passed the first round.]
[The second round will begin shortly.]
[29:59]
A thirty-minute timer.
It seemed we were given a fairly long break between rounds.
As I caught my breath, I looked over at Kanyuk.
Kanyuk was looking at me as well.
I walked over and thanked them first.
“Thank you for helping me earlier.”
After thinking for a moment, I spoke again.
“Why did you help me? If one of us dies, the floor is cleared immediately...”
Of course, even if Kanyuk hadn't helped, I could've avoided it with Phantom Shift.
Still, Kanyuk had no reason to help me.
It would've been fine if I had died to the demon, and even if I hadn't died, if I'd been injured, Kanyuk could've looked for a chance to finish me off personally.
If Kanyuk had simply watched the situation, there would've been many more options available.
Kanyuk responded to my question with one of their own.
“Can't we both survive and clear all the way through the third round?”
“...That's true.”
“Neither of us needs to die. We can clear Floor 15 together. Or do you think differently, Hyun?”
Kanyuk stared directly at me.
I'd asked on purpose to gauge Kanyuk's reaction, but such an obvious answer came back as if it were only natural, leaving me with nothing to say.
I shook my head.
“Of course not. I hope we can succeed together too.”
Kanyuk let out a “Kyakyakyat!” laugh.
“Let's trust each other and keep going, Hyun. You seem like a good person, so I'll trust you.”
There was no way Kanyuk hadn't noticed that I'd been fighting while wary of them.
‘Trust each other...’
I didn't know what had made Kanyuk think I seemed like a good person.
Still, Kanyuk was probably a good person.
Even my instincts couldn't sense any lies or pretense in their attitude.
That didn't mean I could trust them completely. The situation wouldn't allow it.
We still didn't know what the remaining two rounds would involve.
There was a possibility that we'd have to fight each other, or that one of us would be required to fail.
I had Earth, and Kanyuk had their world.
No matter how good a person someone was, they could make a cold decision to protect what was precious to them.
I would be the same...
All I could do was hope that wouldn't happen.
I kept a trace of caution and suspicion in my heart.
Kanyuk strode over to the rock where the water and food were.
Sitting beside the rock, Kanyuk began crunching on black rice cake balls.
“Hyun! Aren't you eating? Shouldn't you replenish your energy?”
I approached the rock too.
The black rice cake balls, supposedly the only food on Floor 15...
Up close, they looked even more unappetizing.
To put it bluntly, they looked like balls of dung carefully rolled by a dung beetle.
Mm, I really didn't want to try one.
“I brought my own food.”
I took some food out of Subspace.
Kanyuk's gaze locked onto the chocolate bar in my hand.
Their nostrils flared, and their eyes widened.
“That has a sweet smell.”
“...Would you like some?”
“Really? If you're willing to share, I'll gladly eat it!”
The moment I handed over a chocolate bar, Kanyuk shoved it into their mouth in one bite and chewed.
“Delicious! Kyakat! This is good!”
Did other races from different worlds have similar tastes?
Then again, after eating nothing but mysterious rice cake balls for a year, anything would probably taste good.
Kanyuk seemed to want more, so I gave them more. They quickly finished several chocolate bars.
As I chewed on one myself, I asked, “Kanyuk, are you the highest-floor Nightmare Climber in your world?”
Kanyuk smacked their lips before answering.
“Probably. I've never personally seen another Nightmare Climber besides you, Hyun, but the highest floor reached in Nightmare difficulty rose every time I cleared one.”
Had Kanyuk said they only lived in their tribe's territory?
I didn't know what Kanyuk's world was like, but it seemed Kanyuk lived in an area cut off from the outside world.
“What about you, Hyun? Are you the highest-floor Nightmare Climber in your world?”
“Yes.”
“Then this Floor 15 would be a first clear too.”
“If we clear it. Do you get a hidden route as a first-clear reward too?”
“Kyakat! That's right! You do too, Hyun?”
From what Kanyuk said, they had been receiving hidden rewards since Floor 10.
Before Kanyuk began climbing the Tower, there had been a Nightmare Climber who reached Floor 10 first.
That meant Kanyuk had only received hidden rewards for five floors, so their level was probably similar to mine...
Yet they were this strong. Kanyuk really did seem to be the naturally powerful type, like the Demon King and Seri.
We talked about various things.
Kanyuk and I had a lot in common.
Kanyuk was also at the forefront of Nightmare difficulty in their world, and they said they posted clearing information for later Climbers in the Communication Window.
And just like in my case, the Climbers behind them could barely keep up.
“The other difficulties have some room to spare, but Nightmare difficulty is the problem. I wish more Nightmare Climbers would reach higher floors, but from the posts in the Communication Window, it seems no one besides me has gone beyond Floor 10.”
“Ah... It's the same for you too.”
On my side, other than Taylor and Ye Tianwei, no one had even come close to Floor 10.
And even they had all been devastated by the Sacrificial Lamb penalty from Floor 14.
“It can't be helped. All I can do is give it my best until the day I fail. Kyakat! Aren't you climbing the Tower with the same mindset, Hyun?”
We were in positions where we could understand each other deeply.
What I'd felt toward Seri was more pity and sympathy, but with Kanyuk, I felt more of a sense of kinship.
That was because Kanyuk was someone struggling at the same time as I was.
[0:37]
Time passed quickly as we talked.
The second round would begin soon.
“Kyakat! Let's clear the second round easily too.”
Kanyuk and I finished preparing and took our positions.
When the timer reached zero, messages appeared.
[The second round begins.]
[Each challenger, move into a circle.]
Flash.
Two circles appeared on the ground some distance apart.
Along with two large stone tablets.
Kanyuk and I exchanged glances.
“I'll go over there.”
“Got it. Then I'll go there.”
Without much discussion, we each moved into the circle closer to us.
I stepped into my circle and looked at the stone tablet before me.
This was...?
Bzzzz.
At that moment, I felt something strange around my ankles.
When I looked down, rings of light had somehow appeared around both ankles like anklets.
Chains connected to the rings stretched out and fastened themselves to the edge of the circle.
When I looked at Kanyuk, they were in the same situation.
Both our feet had been restrained.
[Solve the puzzle assigned to you within the allotted time.]
[Your restraints will be released once you solve the puzzle.]
[Both puzzles must be solved within the allotted time to clear the round.]
More messages appeared.
I stopped time.
‘Another puzzle...’
We had used our bodies in the first round, so it appeared the second round would require our brains.
A five-by-five square board, about two meters wide and long.
There were twenty-four spaces engraved with different patterns, while the space directly in the center was empty.
I immediately recognized the puzzle.
‘It's a sliding puzzle.’
You used the empty space to move the pieces and arrange them in order.
But instead of numbers, there were patterns.
At the corner of the stone tablet was an answer sheet showing the twenty-four patterns in an arrangement.
We were supposed to solve the puzzle in that order.
I resumed time.
[5:00]
A timer appeared.
Just as expected of a Tower with no conscience, it was telling us to solve this with only five minutes.
I immediately took out Pankera's Crown.
Well, regardless of the Tower's nonexistent conscience...
‘What do you mean, five minutes?’
I'll solve it in less than one.
With time stopped, I memorized every pattern on the stone tablet before me, along with the answer sheet I had to match.
Then I entered the Mindscape.
I recreated the stone tablet there.
While time outside remained stopped, I began solving the puzzle.
I moved the pieces around and arranged them in order.
I couldn't simply find the answer and call it done. I had to memorize the entire process, so it inevitably took much longer.
It didn't matter how long it took.
I took my time finding the fastest possible route to the solution. Then I memorized it perfectly.
Returning to reality, I began solving the puzzle.
[4:31]
It took less than thirty seconds.
Once I completed the puzzle, the chains binding my ankles disappeared.
I stepped outside the circle.
Kanyuk was still struggling, moving the pieces around.
When I approached and looked, Kanyuk's puzzle required a different final arrangement from mine.
[Both puzzles must be solved within the allotted time to clear the round.]
Both puzzles had to be solved to clear the second round...
If even one person failed, we would both fail.
I glanced at the chains binding Kanyuk's ankles.
‘So it really is forcing us to fight.’
If it looked like someone would fail to solve their puzzle, they were supposed to kill the other person.
The person who hadn't solved their puzzle was restrained by chains, giving the person who solved theirs an overwhelming advantage.
Of course, I had no intention of doing that.
Kanyuk glanced at me and shouted.
“Hyun! You already solved it? Then help me!”
They must have understood the situation, yet despite agreeing to trust each other, they didn't seem cautious in the slightest.
I nodded and approached Kanyuk.
“I'll help you.”
“Kyakat! Thank you!”
“Don't touch anything else. Leave it as it is.”
I stopped time again and memorized all of Kanyuk's puzzle.
Then I entered the Mindscape.
After finding the solution and memorizing the whole process, I returned to reality.
“Move the pieces the way I point.”
Just in case, I didn't move the pieces myself. I only pointed with my finger and had Kanyuk solve it.
It took a little longer that way, but we still had more than enough time.
[2:35]
Before even half of the five minutes had passed, Kanyuk's puzzle was complete too.
[You have passed the second round.]
[The third round will begin shortly.]
[29:59]
Along with the messages, the stone tablets and circles disappeared.
Kanyuk slapped my back hard.
“That's amazing! If it weren't for you, Hyun, I wouldn't have solved it in time! How are you so fast?”
“I'm good at puzzles, so I got lucky.”
Thanks to Pankera's Crown, I was now completely immune to puzzle challenges.
If things had gone in the worst possible direction, I would have had to kill Kanyuk. We couldn't both fail...
I was truly glad it hadn't come to that.
Kanyuk stared at me, then let out a “Kyakat!” laugh.
“You really are a good person, Hyun.”
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