WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 34

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Floor 3 Hidden (2)

"Thank you for your help! We are holy knights of the Order, carrying out a sacred mission under the radiance of Paeli, the Dawn God. And who might you be?"

The knights greeted me warmly.

All three were middle-aged men.

So they were holy knights. Looks like they really were allies.

"I'm just a traveler passing through nearby, but I saw you fighting Undead, so I stepped in to help."

I introduced myself too. I had to sound as natural as possible so I would not look suspicious.

The holy knight who had spoken for the group gave a stiff nod and said,

"I see, a traveler. You must have been quite startled."

"Pardon?"

"A temple like this suddenly appeared in the middle of the Natmon Plains. If I had to guess, this seems to be a temple of the ancient Rune Mage Empire."

A full lore dump right from the start?

I needed more context, so I just nodded along for now.

"Yeah, I was surprised when it suddenly appeared. But this place is a temple of the Rune Mage Empire?"

Since I repeated what he said, the holy knight continued explaining.

"Indeed. Most likely, a barrier that had held since ancient times was broken, revealing the structure..."

"The barrier broke?"

"Yes. Without barrier magic, there is no way a building like this could suddenly rise from empty ground. We came here to investigate the Undead issue, and that is when we discovered this temple."

"You came here to investigate the Undead issue?"

The knight stopped mid-sentence and looked at me.

Crap, I overdid it.

The knight tilted his head, then introduced himself.

"Come to think of it, we have not exchanged names. I am Dellent."

"I am Slaban."

"Philip."

"Ah, my name is Kim Seo-hyeon."

The knight who introduced himself as Philip asked,

"Could it be that you came from the eastern lands? I have heard that people of the East have black hair and black eyes."

"Ah... yes! That's right. I came from far eastern lands."

All three knights were Westerners, so my appearance must have looked unusual to them.

The eastern lands probably were not literally Earth's Asia, but I just went with it.

After introductions, the knights said they would take a break and immediately built a fire right there.

"Would you like a cup as well?"

"Thank you."

They even brewed tea, so I joined in and had a cup with them, which felt a little random.

It tasted kind of like black tea, but it was not very good.

"...So that is why we came here to investigate the Undead issue, but never in our wildest dreams did we expect a situation like this."

"I see."

"Are you familiar with the legend of the Rune Mage Empire? The tale of Rune's fall and its last emperor."

"No, not really."

While drinking tea, we continued the conversation from earlier.

Just like on Floor 2, I needed to understand the flow here to infer the clear condition, so I listened carefully.

"Katerun, the last emperor of the Rune Mage Empire, fell into a heretical cult in his later years. Nokteun, those heretics who still cling to life like cockroaches even now.

Katerun became obsessed with their tainted faith and sought to summon an archdemon. To do that, he built a temple and committed atrocities, offering countless people as sacrifices. I believe this very place is that temple passed down in legend."

"I see. Then is this place connected to the Undead somehow?"

Dellent nodded.

"According to legend, the being Katerun sought to summon was an archdemon called Baluk. That demon is said to wield power over the dead.

Our current assumption is that the temple's barrier broke, and the archdemon's lingering power leaking out drew in the Undead... but we can only know for sure after we investigate the temple from here."

Dellent's face was serious.

"The method Katerun intended to use for summoning the demon was to corrupt holy relics and use their power. That is why, during the reign of the last emperor of the Mage Empire, the Paeli Order also suffered horrific persecution.

The emperor seized relics from the Paeli Order to use them for summoning demons, so this temple may contain relics that the Order lost long ago.

In particular, the Grail of Dawn, the very heart of the Order, may be somewhere in this place. Investigating the Undead issue is important, but finding relics that may remain in this temple is our critical mission."

After hearing the rough explanation, I organized the information in my head.

So, to sum up.

What these holy knights wanted to do was find the relics inside this temple.

Especially the one called the Grail of Dawn.

And the possible enemies were the archdemon Baluk and... the cult called Nokteun. About that much.

That still was not enough to infer the clear condition.

Still, maybe what I needed to do first was help these holy knights find the relics?

"By the way, um, Sir Kim Seonon..."

"It's Kim Seo-hyeon."

"My apologies. I am not used to eastern pronunciation. Sir Kim Seo-hyeon, you are young, yet your skill is truly remarkable. I thank you once more."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Dellent looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

"So then, would you be willing to help us investigate the temple as well? In the name of the Paeli Order, we will surely compensate you."

So this really was where things were headed.

I nodded.

"I'll help. It's a ruin of the Mage Empire, so I'm interested too."

"Ohh! Thank you."

After finishing our tea, I moved with the holy knights to find the entrance to the pyramid-shaped structure.

"But what is that?"

I raised my head and looked at the top of the pyramid.

The summit was flat, as if it had been cut off.

And on top of it, one huge structure stood out.

A cannon? It looked kind of like a cannon...

"Undead!"

Dellent shouted after spotting another one.

It was a big one again, like before.

While the three prepared for battle, I fired Flame Strike right away.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

The Undead could not withstand the blast and burst apart in flames.

The three stared with their mouths open, clearly shocked.

"Sir Kim Seo-hyeon... may I ask what rank of mage you are?"

"Rank?"

What was that? I had no clue.

"Ah, I see. You likely do not use that system in the East. I was only surprised. Your martial skill is strong, and your magic is powerful too."

"This is also my first time seeing someone cast magic that quickly. Eastern magic must be quite different!"

They talked among themselves, then convinced themselves on their own.

For a while, we moved through the temple, easily dealing with the Undead that wandered around inside here and there.

"This looks like the entrance."

Soon we found the entrance and went inside the pyramid.

The interior was pitch-dark, not a single ray of light entering.

Slaban pulled out something like a lamp from his coat and lit it.

It was probably a magic tool, not electricity.

Philip occasionally sprinkled something like glowing powder on the floor, so I asked,

"Are you marking the path so you do not get lost?"

"Yes. We cannot afford to get turned around on the way back out."

I stayed tense and kept scanning the surroundings.

We were currently passing through a narrow corridor section. Since the entrance, it had been nothing but maze-like passages.

Something should start happening soon, right?

It did not feel like this clear would be as simple as, just find relics, done.

The process was probably going to be rough. Maybe the whole temple was packed with traps.

Dellent said exactly what I was thinking.

"I have heard that because the Mage Empire era was called the golden age of magic, its magi-engineering was highly advanced. We do not know what traps may be lurking, so be careful, all of you. You as well, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon."

Hearing him say that made it feel even more likely there really were traps.

I spoke to Dellent, who was walking in front.

"Sir Dellent, then let me take point. I'm pretty good at spotting hidden traps."

The reason I insisted was simple: I did not want the holy knights to die to traps.

They could be people who must not die, like Haylin on Floor 2.

If it was me, I was confident I could handle it with Sixth Sense.

"Oh, I see! Since you are a mage, can you detect magical traps as well?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Then we entrust this to you."

With that, I took the lead and we started moving again.

As I kept walking forward, I suddenly flinched and pulled back the step I was about to take.

"Sir? What is it?"

"...Wait. Step back."

I had a feeling.

I retreated a little, stared at the corridor ahead, then fired a light bolt at the floor.

Pop! Fwoooosh!

The moment the bolt hit, fierce flames blasted out from both walls.

All three stared, startled.

"So there was a trap."

"How did you detect it? Did you sense trace magic from the trap?"

"Mm... yeah, that. I guess I sensed the magic."

"Ohh! As expected!"

It was all thanks to Sixth Sense, though.

We avoided the trap and circled around through another route.

"Another trap."

When I fired a light bolt into empty air, ceiling panels opened and things like Gatling guns popped out.

Ratatatatatat!

Spinning violently, the Gatling guns sprayed bullets of light. The floor was instantly turned into a wasteland.

Of course, we had stayed at the room entrance and did not go in, so we were not hit.

"Wow, what even..."

I was honestly a little speechless. They even had Gatling guns in here.

"Let's go around another way."

After that, even more traps kept appearing.

When it came to this kind of trap, Sixth Sense never missed.

Seriously, what would I have done if I had not gotten Sixth Sense? It was an absolute staple skill.

Dodging trap after trap, we kept pressing forward.

And eventually, we finally escaped the maze-like passages and entered a wide space.

A lavish chamber, with gold and gems decorating the walls and floor everywhere.

"Sir Dellent! Look over there!"

But the three did not even glance at those decorations and looked only one way.

At the center of the chamber, on top of the head of what looked like a gargoyle statue, there was a circlet.

"This holy aura... it is surely a relic!"

The three rushed to approach, so I stopped them.

"Wait! There could be a trap."

"Ah, yes. I got ahead of myself."

I stepped forward first and checked around the statue.

Even when I got close, I did not feel any immediate danger.

"Looks fine."

I took the circlet off the statue myself and handed it to Dellent.

Dellent examined it with an emotional look, then said as if realizing something.

"This is...!"

"What is it?"

"This appears to be the Circlet of Saint Landahil!"

"Ohh, this is that very Circlet of Saint Landahil?!"

"The Circlet of Saint Landahil? Truly?!"

What was that, you lore nerds... I mean, holy knights.

As expected, Dellent, who had been handling explanations from the start, explained again.

"The Circlet of Saint Landahil is a relic said to have been lost by the Paeli Order in the distant past. To think it was truly here."

"Congratulations. That's great news."

"Ha ha! It is all thanks to you, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon. This circlet's ability is that it emits a red glow if a wicked being is nearby. Look, if I infuse holy power like this and use it..."

Bzzzz.

The circlet Dellent was holding suddenly glowed red.

Dellent froze mid-sentence. The other two stiffened too.

"...It turned red?"

Huh? Wait, what?

The three slowly raised their heads and looked at me.

I stared blankly at the circlet too, then shook my head.

"No, it's not me. You're misunderstanding something."

Why was that thing glowing red all of a sudden?

Of course I felt wronged, but the three were already radiating hostility at me.

"You bastard, what are you?"

"No, I'm telling you, I'm not. Why would I be a wicked being? I'm a normal human."

"Then are you saying the holy relic is lying right now?"

"...Could it be broken because it's old?"

"How dare you!"

All three drew their swords and rushed me.

I hurriedly stepped back.

Ah, deja vu from Floor 2.

"I'm seriously not!"

I had worked my ass off helping them all the way here, then their eyes flipped and they attacked me.

They were not that strong, so I decided to try subduing them first.

But the moment I dodged Dellent's sword and kicked him,

[You have failed to clear the hidden route on Nightmare difficulty Floor 3. (2/3)]

[You are being ejected from the Tower.]

With those messages, I was instantly back in my room.

I blinked blankly for a second, then flopped down on the floor.

"Haa... here we go again."

I did not even kill them, so why? This time, did I fail just for attacking?

...Let's think.

If I attacked the holy knights, clear failed.

And for some reason, the relic that was supposed to detect wicked beings glowed red.

Did that mean I was treated as some wicked being in that world?

Or if not that, then maybe...

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 3?]

I re-entered immediately.

I sorted out my thoughts and entered Floor 3 again.

I activated the sun emblem underground, killed the boss, and quickly moved to the temple.

"I'll help you!"

I found the three fighting Undead and advanced the story again by helping them.

"...So, would you also be willing to help us investigate the temple, Sir Kim Seo-hyeon?"

"All right. I'll help."

As we entered the pyramid, I looked at the backs of the three men.

The relic that detected wicked beings.

If it was not pointing at me, then?

Then it had to be someone else.

There was a traitor in here.

That was my conclusion.

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