WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 194: Greed's Summoning Circle (1)
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“I’m planning to keep climbing the Tower quickly from now on.”
Before entering Floor 18, I told my family.
Naturally, they did not look happy.
They must have thought I would take my time clearing the Tower from now on.
“Didn’t you say you no longer had to enter every week?”
“Yes, that problem has definitely been solved. But...”
I briefly explained so they would understand.
To stand against the Tower, I needed to grow stronger quickly, and to do that, I had to find and absorb divinity inside the Tower.
“You don’t have to worry too much. I told you, I became a god. Nothing dangerous will happen while I’m clearing it now.”
It was not just something I said to reassure them. I genuinely believed it to some degree.
I could now handle divinity, and even the limit on my Time Stop Ability had been removed.
My abilities had far surpassed their limits.
Unless a god much stronger than the Fighting Demon God suddenly appeared, clearing Nightmare would not be dangerous anymore.
The Tower had already strained itself this much just to bring in one Fighting Demon God to kill me. It probably could not pull something like that again for a while. That was why I needed to hurry.
Before that bastard recovered enough strength to start scheming again, I had to absorb more divinity.
‘The real question is whether I can even find divinity.’
My family reluctantly seemed to understand.
I felt sorry for disappointing them, but there was no helping it.
“Then I’ll be going.”
After getting ready and saying goodbye to my family in the living room,
[Would you like to enter Floor 18 of Nightmare difficulty?]
I entered Floor 18 immediately.
I had heard that Floor 18 was similar to an escape room.
You had to find keys in a maze-like space within the time limit, open the exit, and escape.
Of course, the way would be filled with traps and monsters.
[You have entered Floor 18 of Nightmare difficulty.]
As soon as I entered, I stopped time out of habit.
The space had a strong sci-fi feel, made of pure white metal and complex machinery.
A huge door that opened to either side stood right in front of me.
Small, square passages like air vents extended in every direction, three-dimensionally, through the ceiling and floor alike.
[10:00]
A timer floated above the door that appeared to be the exit.
‘Ten minutes.’
The other difficulties had a one-hour time limit.
A hologram resembling a blueprint was displayed beside the exit door.
It seemed to be a map of this place.
And looking at it, the maze was absurdly complex. It was practically a massive labyrinth.
The maze inside the antlion boss from Floor 8 looked cute by comparison.
There were key symbols scattered throughout the maze. Ten in total.
The exit door also had ten slots, each with a different shape.
I was supposed to wander through the maze, find all ten keys, open the door, and escape.
But the time limit was only ten minutes.
Nothing new there.
I released time.
Then I looked at the map again...
“Goddamn it.”
Nightmare’s bullshit always went one step too far.
The insane maze was changing its structure in real time.
What was the point of giving me a map, then? Why even show it to me?
I drew the Sword of Heaven’s Gatekeeper.
I struck the exit door with Heavenly Aura.
As expected, it did not leave even a scratch.
It had been deemed indestructible.
I stared at the door.
‘So this is how it worked.’
Indestructible objects were something I had often seen while clearing Nightmare.
Now that I thought about it, they were protected by the Tower’s divinity.
But...
‘...I think I can break it if I put some strength into it?’
The Tower’s divinity contained within it was only a tiny amount.
Without divinity, even that tiny amount would be an insurmountable wall. But things were different now.
I put away the Sword of Heaven’s Gatekeeper and drew the God-Slaying Sword instead.
Then I drew the Sword of Heaven’s Gatekeeper again and filled it with my divinity.
Then I thrust it at the exit door.
Grrrrk-
The door that Heavenly Aura could not even scratch slowly began to give way.
‘It really works.’
I cut a square into the door with the God-Slaying Sword, then kicked it open to make a passage.
They must have prepared all sorts of traps and mechanisms. What a shame.
It was over without needing to find any keys.
Clear it properly?
Nope, not happening~
I rested the God-Slaying Sword on my shoulder and walked through the exit.
In the middle of a wide room floated a large machine shaped like a skull. It seemed to be the boss.
Flash-
Red light gleamed from the skull machine’s eyes.
I stopped time.
I walked up to the skull and swung the God-Slaying Sword, splitting it in half.
[You have successfully cleared Floor 18 of Nightmare difficulty.]
The message appeared when I released time again.
[The power of this floor is being absorbed.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
.
.
.
[Your level has increased.]
[You are the first to successfully clear Floor 18 of Nightmare difficulty.]
[The Hidden Route on Floor 18 has opened.]
[You are being moved to the Reward Room.]
I moved to the Reward Room.
Had the clear even taken a minute?
I had cleared it far more easily than I expected.
Even indestructible objects did not work on me anymore.
The Demon King spoke as if dumbfounded.
- Isn’t this cheating? This is ridiculous.
“What does it matter?”
How many times had the Tower unfairly screwed me over?
It felt good to finally return the favor. You should get a taste of it too.
[The clears for Floor 18 on all difficulties have been completed.]
[The Tower calls new participants.]
[A new rule will be added.]
[The ‘Greed Summoning Circle’ will begin in 24 hours.]
[When the time comes, the level of the summoned boss monster will be determined by the Climbers’ choices.]
[Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 42 seconds]
Since an even-numbered floor had been cleared, another new rule appeared.
I checked the messages.
But the Tiered Floor Rule no longer meant anything to me. I had Rule Nullification Authority.
Even though I had unexpectedly become a god, was getting that authority not the reason I had gone through such hell on Floor 17 in the first place?
“What a generous angel. You made me a god and gave me nullification authority too.”
I hummed teasingly on purpose, so the Tower could hear.
[Would you like to nullify the ‘Greed Summoning Circle’ rule?]
The message appeared when I thought about nullifying the Floor 18 rule.
I was about to nullify it immediately, but...
‘...No.’
Did I need to use it right away?
It was not as though I could only nullify it before the rule started.
It would not be too late to see exactly what it entailed after it began and decide then.
‘Either way, this costs the Tower power.’
If it looked like a rule that could end safely without anyone being harmed, it would be better to let it proceed and drain the Tower’s power.
Rules also always came with rewards for Climbers, so there was an additional benefit.
‘Greed Summoning Circle, huh.’
The boss monster’s level would depend on the Climbers’ choices?
Was it going to dangle some reward in front of them and summon another high-level boss?
Whatever. I would see when it started.
[Skill: Tornado (Epic+)]
Summons and controls an extremely powerful tornado within a radius of 50 meters. Requires 250 seconds of concentration to cast.
Category: Magic-Type
Willpower Consumption: 100 per second
Cooldown: 10 minutes
[Item: Parupun’s Magic Gloves]
A failed creation of the evil sorcerer Parupun. Striking a target while wearing the gloves creates a Shockwave. The Shockwave’s power is random.
The rewards were an Epic+ magic skill and an item.
I learned the skill and stored the item in Subspace.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 19]
[Level: 225]
[Willpower: 26,450/26,450]
[Skills: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+), Elemental Arrow Barrage (Epic+) (+4), Destruction Beam (Epic+)...]
[Nightmare]
Participants: 1,573,605
Time Limit: 10 years 320 days 1 hour 8 minutes 36 seconds
Highest Floor Reached: 19
[Would you like to leave the Tower?]
After sorting through my rewards, I immediately left the Tower.
“I’m back.”
My family stared at me with bewildered expressions.
Of course they did. I had come back after clearing it in just a few minutes.
I planned to check the Floor 18 rule first before attempting the Hidden Route.
The Hidden Routes would be important from now on.
To find divinity, I would need to search diligently for clues in Hidden Routes, where the worldbuilding expanded.
I leisurely went about my business and waited for the time to come.
A day passed.
[Time remaining: 1 second]
[The ‘Greed Summoning Circle’ begins.]
The Floor 18 rule began.
[A ‘Greed Summoning Circle’ appears in a random region.]
[All Climbers on Floor 2 or above are given the right to receive the following reward.]
[Reward: Increase by 2 levels]
[Each Climber may choose to receive or refuse the reward.]
[If a choice is not made within the given time, receiving the reward will be selected automatically.]
[Once all Climbers have made their choices, a boss monster will be summoned from the summoning circle.]
[The boss monster’s level increases as the percentage of Climbers who choose to receive the reward rises.]
[The boss’s level increases by 10 for every 1%.]
[If the percentage is 0%, no boss monster will be summoned.]
[Current percentage: 0%]
[Would you like to receive the reward?]
[Time remaining to choose: 59 minutes 50 seconds]
I read the explanation of the rule.
“Hmm...”
So.
The summoned boss’s level would rise by 10 for every 1% who chose the reward.
That meant it would be Level 1,000 at the maximum of 100%.
A boss with such an insane level could actually be summoned.
“This is ridiculous.”
I checked the Communication Window and the news.
It appeared that the summoning circle had appeared in Australia.
A pillar of light and a magic circle had descended in the middle of a barren desert.
The scene was being broadcast on the news.
‘What should I do?’
I thought about it briefly before making my decision.
There was not much to consider.
It seemed like a rule that could be handled without needing to nullify it.
My level was only a little over 200, and I had no idea what kind of monster a Level 1,000 boss might be, but...
It did not matter.
Levels no longer meant much to me anyway.
It would drain the Tower’s power, give the Climbers a nice two-level bonus, and kill two birds with one stone.
Then I only had to deal with the boss.
And if I showed everyone another overwhelming performance by dealing with the boss, people’s faith would increase a little more too.
Even if something unexpected happened, I could simply use Rule Nullification Authority then.
The Communication Window was in an uproar over the reward choice.
Since I had always warned people during the rules, many people were telling everyone not to choose the reward.
It was funny, but this time it was the opposite.
[You have chosen to receive the reward.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
After quickly collecting the reward myself,
I raised my divinity.
Everyone, collect your rewards too. I was about to make a global announcement.
* * *
While the world was still in an uproar over Person123’s proclamation, Nightmare Floor 18 was cleared.
[The ‘Greed Summoning Circle’ has begun.]
And another new rule began, as expected.
The summoning circle had appeared in the middle of the Great Victoria Desert in southwestern Australia.
Breaking news reports came out, and the Communication Window exploded.
[Belver: There isn’t some idiot planning to receive the reward, right?]
[Bull Shark: We have to refuse it. Even if only half, 50%, choose the reward, a Level 500 boss will appear.]
[Painter: If everyone thinks one person won’t matter and chooses it, we’re seriously fucked lol]
Ten levels for every 1%.
In other words, if every Climber chose to receive the reward, a bugged Level 1,000 boss would appear.
A fifth-stage Climber around Level 50 could easily reduce an entire city to ruins if they went on a rampage. So what would a Level 1,000 monster be like?
It was an unimaginable creature. Would even nuclear weapons work on it?
Furthermore, there were no isolation zones this time, unlike during the Qualification Trial or the Great Invasion.
If they summoned the wrong boss, Earth itself might really be destroyed.
Of course, people were not too worried.
[Cultivator: Person123 will probably nullify it anyway?]
[Heaven, Earth, and Man: No need to worry. He’ll obviously use nullification authority.]
[Pirate: But if he’s using nullification authority, can’t we just receive the reward?]
[Egg: Wouldn’t the rewards be nullified too?]
[Giant Centipede: Stop showing off and everyone refuse it, yeah. That person will pass divine judgment on anyone who receives it.]
People all knew Person123 had Rule Nullification Authority.
Everyone thought Person123 would nullify the rule.
But then...
【 I will deal with the boss 】
His voice rang out again.
【 Everyone, receive the reward 】
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