WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 40

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Fallen (3)

I watched Manager Shin Su-jin head for the exit.

I never expected to run into the Climbing Surveillance manager here again, of all places.

She looked like she needed treatment first.

I turned my gaze back to the monster onstage.

The scene was too horrific to put into words.

Amid the corpses, the monster crouched and cried as if wailing, grotesque and chilling at the same time. It looked like a shot from a horror movie.

Why was it crying like that... after killing everyone itself?

That thing had been human just moments ago.

Climbers who died from the Tower's Curse had turned into monsters.

Fallen. That was what the Tower called them.

And the Fallen seemed to have no trace of their human selves left.

Then there was only one choice: kill it.

Pli had already bitten one Fallen to death.

But the one Pli killed had three horns, while the one onstage had five.

The Tower had clearly said Fallen could appear from Stage 1 to Stage 5.

If that was true, then the number of horns probably marked their stage.

A Stage 5 Fallen, the one that appeared at a 0.01% rate.

0.01% out of 40,000... about four. And one of them happened to appear in Korea?

Either way, I could feel it. This bastard was strong.

My Sixth Sense was telling me the same thing, quietly. Very dangerous.

I hated risky fights too... but I couldn't leave something like that alone.

It wasn't moving right now, but if I left it, there was no telling how much damage it would cause later.

Still, could it survive my new finisher?

No chance.

I stretched out my hand.

I was about to cast Destruction Beam at the Fallen, still crouched and only crying.

"...Hm."

Then I pulled my hand back.

The angle was awkward.

Inside the Tower, it wouldn't matter, but this was the real world.

Destruction Beam was too powerful. That was the problem.

I had no idea how far it would pierce and keep going once fired.

If it punched through walls, went outside, and caught people in it, that would be a disaster.

Aiming downward wasn't safe either... this place had underground levels too, right? What if someone was below?

I looked up. A dome-shaped ceiling.

Upward should be fine.

I just had to launch the Fallen high toward the ceiling and fire Destruction Beam then.

"Throw it up."

At my command, Pli lunged at the Fallen.

Only then did the motionless Fallen react.

KIIIAAAAAAA-!

It let out a tearing shriek, like deafening karaoke feedback, and went berserk.

"...!"

Fast.

The Fallen dodged Pli's bite like lightning, then kicked Pli in the torso.

Pli was over ten times bigger, but still got launched through the air and slammed into the wall. The wall cracked, and sparks burst from the lights.

KAOOO-!

Pli didn't seem badly hurt and charged right back in.

It body-slammed the Fallen, and this time the Fallen flew back and crashed.

The fight turned into a full brawl, but the Fallen showed no sign of being pushed back.

Pli didn't look like it was losing either. It was dead even.

Still in stealth, I watched the clash.

Around level 50.

Maybe a step above me, even with Exaltation at full output.

But aside from raw physical power, it didn't seem to have any special abilities.

That made me sure again: one clean shot would do it.

The two monsters rampaged through the wide theater.

The Fallen's counterattacks were so fierce that Pli couldn't properly carry out my order to launch it toward the ceiling.

If this dragged on, more people might come in. I was also running low on stealth time...

I had to wait for an opening.

KRRRRAAAAH...!

They traded blows, and soon the right chance came.

The Fallen had both hands on Pli's jaws, locked in a contest of strength.

"Hold it there."

I gave Pli the command and moved in, still hidden.

Then I teleported right next to the Fallen.

Without giving it time to react, I used Swing and kicked its gut upward with all my strength.

KIAAA-

The Fallen shot up, almost reaching the ceiling.

Perfect angle.

With my hand still extended toward it, I stopped time.

After 300 seconds of concentration, a fully charged pitch-black beam fired into the sky.

Fsssss...

When the darkness faded,

only a huge hole in the ceiling remained. Dust fell, and sunlight poured in.

I had been ready to chain Flame Strike immediately, just in case, but there was no need.

The Fallen that took a direct hit from Destruction Beam had vanished without a trace.

So it couldn't endure it either.

The fight ended that simply.

"Good work."

I reverse-summoned Pli.

As I looked over the wreckage, I glanced at the corpse of the Stage 3 Fallen from earlier.

If all forty-thousand-plus people had turned into monsters like this, the world would become an even bigger hell.

What the hell is all this madness now...?

My head felt heavy as I slipped out of the building under stealth.

* * *

"W-wait...! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine."

When Shin Su-jin came outside, police special forces had already surrounded the entrance.

"Are you Manager Shin Su-jin?!"

"Yes. What happened to the people who got out?"

"Please don't worry. They've all been evacuated to safe locations, and the injured were transported by ambulance!"

Shin Su-jin nodded.

"Don't go inside yet. There's a monster in there."

"Yes! We'll move in now and neutralize-"

"No! You'll all die! Ugh..."

She didn't even have time to treat her own injuries. She stopped the officers.

"Rifles won't even scratch that thing... if you engage it, all of you will die. Hold position for now."

A level 30 Climber had come out wounded and said that, so the police had no choice but to listen.

Shin Su-jin got on the radio.

"This is Manager Shin Su-jin. Confirmed monster appearance inside Seoul Arts Center, one ent-"

KWAANG!

A huge tremor blasted from inside the building.

Startled, the officers aimed their guns at the entrance again.

"I-is the monster rampaging?"

They had no way to know what was happening inside.

Heavy and light blasts echoed over and over, as if the whole building were shaking. Beast-like roars could be heard too.

Shin Su-jin stared at the building with trembling eyes, then finished her report.

"...An extremely powerful monster is inside Seoul Arts Center. I believe it's the Stage 5 Fallen from the message. Its combat power should be treated as... at least level 50."

She believed in Person123.

Even when he had only cleared up to Nightmare Floor 2, he was already absurdly strong.

Now that he had cleared Floor 3, he would obviously be much stronger.

On top of that, he even had the ability to control a monster like that.

But what if he still died to the Fallen?

If the only person climbing Nightmare died here,

that would be the worst possible disaster, and irreversible.

...No.

The thought made her dizzy. Had the pain from her injuries clouded her judgment for a moment?

Shin Su-jin regretted doing exactly what he told her and coming outside.

Instead of leaving the fight to him, she should have stopped him from fighting the Fallen at all.

A monster like that shouldn't be fought directly by a person. It should be wiped out with missiles.

Just as she resolved to go back in and confirm the situation,

"...!"

from the center of the building, a black pillar suddenly burst through the roof.

Everyone who saw it froze, staring at the impossible sight.

What was that...?

The black pillar vanished a moment later.

At the same time, the violent tremors that had sounded like the whole building might collapse stopped dead.

Shin Su-jin stood there blankly for a moment, then opened the Communication Window.

She was about to send Person123 a whisper, but a whisper came from him first.

The instant she read it, all tension drained from her body.

He won.

Thankfully, Person123 was even more of a monster than that horrifying thing.

That black pillar just now...

What was it? The Fallen's ability?

Or maybe one of Person123's skills. He had many mysterious powers.

[Person123: The monsters are all cleared now, so you can come in.]

[Person123: Please keep what concerns me a secret this time too.]

Shin Su-jin sent a reply.

[Lotus: I will do that.]

[Lotus: Were you hurt anywhere?]

[Person123: No. I'm fine.]

[Lotus: That's a relief.]

[Lotus: Thank you. I always receive nothing but great help from you.]

Even "thank you" felt too small. She owed him her life again.

If he hadn't stepped in to fight the Fallen, the death toll could have been far higher.

After closing the Communication Window and taking a breath, Shin Su-jin spoke to the police.

"...I'll re-enter and check the situation."

Shanghai, China.

KWAANG! KWANG!

A man was clashing with a five-horned Fallen in the middle of downtown.

They traded blows fiercely without giving an inch. Then the man grabbed the Fallen by its horns and hurled it far away.

SHUUUU-

Fighter jets circling overhead rained a volley of missiles onto the Fallen. Massive explosions erupted one after another.

Screaming in pain, the Fallen walked out through flames and debris.

At that moment, the man used Leap and jumped back at it.

"Hold! Stop!"

The pilots, who had been about to continue the bombardment, changed course.

The man resumed fighting the Fallen. His body was now covered in a red aura.

Even in that wrecked state, the Fallen endured for a long time.

The man tore off one of the Fallen's shredded arms, then crushed its chest completely, then planted his foot on its back as it collapsed.

KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG KWANG!

He hammered its head with his fist again and again.

Cracks spread across the ground, the Fallen's body sank deeper and deeper, and only after its head burst did it finally stop moving.

As the Frenzy effect faded, the red in the man's eyes returned to normal. He spat out the blood pooled in his mouth.

A little later, vehicles approached him.

From among the military vehicles, attendants from a black sedan rushed over.

"Excellent work, Wang Kai-nim!"

The man ripped off his torn shirt, took the fresh clothes they handed him, and put them on.

Wang Kai, a level 52 Climber on Hard difficulty Floor 14.

He was the highest record holder on Hard difficulty and the highest-level Climber in the world.

"Are you hurt anywhere-"

"Can't you tell by looking? I'm fine."

In truth, Wang Kai didn't look perfectly fine either, but no one answered back.

He looked up at the fighter jets and clicked his tongue.

"I could've killed it alone without those gnats helping. Why sortie at all? Should've saved the fuel money."

"Yes, as expected, you are incredible!"

"Still, it was pretty strong. So this was a Stage 5 Fallen? Other Climbers wouldn't be able to handle it at all."

Wang Kai looked down at the Fallen's corpse and grinned.

"Man, the world really does keep getting more fun."

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