WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability
Chapter 52
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Floor 4 Hidden (3)
[You have failed to clear the hidden route on Nightmare difficulty Floor 4. (2/3)]
I returned to my room and thought about what had just happened.
"Teleportation was blocked...?"
Was there some kind of intrusion defense device that blocked teleportation?
This world seemed highly advanced, so it would not be strange if something like that existed.
It just sucked that I wasted an attempt so easily because I did not know.
The only thing I got from the first try was confirmation that I could not enter the Master Code Room by teleporting.
It was like the Tower was telling me not to even dream about cheesing it.
[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 4?]
I started the second try immediately.
['Special Draw! (5,000P)' has been purchased.]
['Skill Effect 300% Scroll' won!]
['Special Draw! (5,000P)' has been purchased.]
['Ability Nullification Parts' won!]
After killing all the golems, Ability Nullification came out on my second draw this time.
Points Held: 25,500P
After killing the boss, I headed for the exit. I went back up the same path as before.
"So over there, you need to find a way to increase the mana core's reactivity..."
While hidden, I listened to the researchers talking and waited.
After that, everything went the same. Iska appeared, and I followed him.
"Come in."
I already knew the objective, so we moved through the conversation quickly.
"Answer me one thing. Are you an enemy of this workshop?"
"Yes."
"If this entire workshop were blown to pieces..."
"That would be great."
"...Then I believe we have common ground for cooperation. Because I intend to blow this workshop up."
Just like on the first try, I got the quest to copy the Master Code, along with the items needed for it.
"So I cannot enter the Master Code Room with teleport magic?"
Iska answered my question.
"You cannot enter that way. Spatial Coordinate Distortion Devices are active in this workshop's key facilities."
...Yeah, I knew there had to be something like that.
Would have been nice if he told me earlier.
Still, I could not blame him. I never asked.
I asked one more thing I had been wondering about.
"By any chance, does this workshop use people as fuel or something?"
Iska answered calmly.
"Some are used as fuel, some as test subjects. If you extract a human soul, it becomes vast mana. Did you not already know that?"
Ah, so that was the setup.
Other than floating in the sky, it really was still a world where all dreams and hope had died.
After finishing my conversation with Iska, I stepped out into the corridor.
I had confirmed the location of the Master Code Room.
Now that tricks would not work, it was time to try a standard clear route.
I moved to Sector 1 to find the Workshop Director.
"Excuse me, do you know where the Workshop Director is?"
In Sector 1, I stopped a researcher who looked friendly and asked.
"The Workshop Director? He is probably watching a mana core fission demonstration right now. In Demonstration Room 3..."
"Thank you."
After hearing the explanation from the kind-looking researcher, I moved.
After struggling through the building layout, I reached Demonstration Room 3 in Sector 1.
While hidden, I approached the entrance.
But the entrance was closed, and guards were standing there.
I paced the corridor, wondering if I should wait outside the building...
Then the demonstration room doors opened, and people started coming out.
Among the white-coated researchers, one white-haired old man stood out in a suit.
The moment I saw him, I knew he was the Workshop Director.
Not just because of the clothes, but because of the person beside him.
A woman in a platinum suit, unlike the other guards in black suits.
So that was the bodyguard Iska warned me about.
"...She's no joke."
Maybe because I had enhanced Sixth Sense to +2, I could read her strength more clearly than before.
Similar to that monster black knight from Floor 2 Hidden... no, maybe even stronger.
One thing was certain: she was far stronger than me.
The Workshop Director stood in front of the entrance, talking to the researchers.
I moved closer to inspect his body. I had to find the Master Key.
"...!"
At that moment, the bodyguard frowned and looked in my direction.
Sixth Sense sent a warning too.
Startled, I quickly stepped back.
She tilted her head, then looked away.
Fuck...
"He said I would not get caught."
Iska definitely said no one besides him would be able to see through stealth.
If I had gone any closer just now, it would have been dangerous.
It did not seem like she had noticed stealth itself, but if I got within a certain range, I would probably be exposed. Was her instinct just that insane?
"...This makes the difficulty jump way up."
I did not even know where on his body the Director kept the key.
On top of that, if I got close, his bodyguard would catch me.
That meant doing anything in stealth was impossible.
For now, I went back outside.
I sat on a bench outside with my legs crossed and kept thinking.
Stealing the Director's key in stealth was impossible because of the bodyguard.
Wait until they separated?
No idea if that ever happened, since she was supposedly his dedicated guard.
Even if it did, I could not tail the Director forever. I could not maintain stealth indefinitely.
...Should I try a Destruction Beam ambush to take out the bodyguard?
Then snatch the Director's key.
"Hmm..."
Whether it was possible or not, I had no idea if I could handle the chaos that would cause.
And this whole thing felt off... it did not feel like the intended method was stealing the key with stealth.
Was this telling me to use my head?
Like in a spy movie, use the people around him and the situation itself to get the key from the Director?
"Complicated."
It felt like the clue and guideline for this clear were way too vague.
Well, of course the higher the floor, the harder it got.
Still, I was pissed that every convenient trick felt completely blocked.
"..."
Should I dig deeper into the trick route instead?
Something came to mind, so I returned to Iska's room in Sector 6.
Iska looked surprised when he saw me.
"...Do not tell me you already did it?"
"No way. I came to ask something."
I asked him.
"That Spatial Coordinate Distortion Device. You said because of that, I cannot enter the Master Code Room by teleport, right?"
"That is right."
"Then is there any way to turn it off, even briefly? Is there a central control room or management room somewhere inside the workshop...?"
That device had to run on energy too.
...Would the old flip-the-main-breaker trick work here?
I did not expect much, but Iska gave a positive answer.
"If you mean a control room that routes mana through the workshop, of course there is one in each sector. If the central mana circuit in Sector 1's control room is destroyed, the Master Code Room's Spatial Coordinate Distortion Device will shut down as well."
I asked again.
"Then what about this? I trash that Sector 1 control room, and while that is happening, I teleport into the Master Code Room and copy the code. Is that possible?"
"...The Master Code is stored in an independent structure, so even if the central mana circuit is damaged, it will still function. So yes, it should be possible, but..."
Iska asked,
"You do not have two bodies. How do you plan to do that? Do you perhaps have a companion?"
Either way, it meant it was possible.
I grinned.
* * *
After restoring Diul's power, which had dropped from staying in stealth so long,
I headed straight to Sector 1's control room.
While hidden, I stood before the tightly shut control room door.
Then I summoned Pli.
Following my command, Pli body-slammed the sealed control room door.
Kwaaang!
The side-opening metal doors were torn off, exposing the complex equipment and staff inside.
They froze mid-task and stared at Pli in shock.
"...Aaaagh!"
Wiiiiing-!
The staff scattered in panic, and the emergency alarm blared.
Guards rushed in from the corridor in an instant.
Still hidden, I looked at the bamboo-shoot-shaped machine in the center of the control room.
Iska said that was the central mana circuit.
"Destroy that first, Pli. Then rampage as much as you can!"
Pli leaped at once and smashed the device in a single blow.
I watched only that much, then moved quickly to do my part.
I headed for the Master Code Room at the fastest speed that would not break stealth.
On the way, I felt Pli get dispelled.
Damn... it did not last as long as I expected.
Were the guards stronger than I thought?
Either way, I soon arrived at the Master Code Room.
I stood before the entrance and used teleport.
This time, it cast without bouncing me back.
"Whew."
Success.
After entering the Master Code Room safely, I looked around.
In the center of the room was a capsule-like machine.
It was the Master Code storage device Iska had mentioned.
Without delay, I approached and pressed the copy tool against the capsule.
The tool stuck to the capsule like a magnet, and a gauge began filling on the side display as if a process had started.
I folded my arms and waited for the copy to finish.
"..."
But how long would this take?
Iska said it would only take about a minute, but a minute had already passed.
Why does this old man never say one accurate thing...
If the device got restored while this was happening, I would be trapped in here.
"Oh."
Thankfully, the gauge soon filled, and a blue light came on in the tool.
I grabbed the tool and escaped back out of the Master Code Room via teleport.
Sector 1's building was in chaos.
Still hidden, I slipped outside and moved to the Sector 6 building.
In a place with no people, I dropped stealth, then walked down the corridor like nothing had happened.
"Mission clear."
Damn, it actually worked.
In the end, there was always a way if you looked.
Now I just had to deliver the Master Code to Iska.
I arrived at Iska's room.
"Did you succeed?"
I nodded and held out the tool.
"You said if it glows blue, it is fully copied, right?"
"...You truly succeeded. Well done."
Iska took the tool with a surprised expression.
The clear completion message still had not appeared, so I asked.
"What will you do now?"
He said he would blow up the entire workshop, so did that part have to happen too?
"Follow me."
Iska put on the gown he had taken off and immediately headed out.
I followed behind him.
Past the corridor, down the stairs instead of the elevator, we reached the basement of the Sector 6 building.
Beep-
Iska tapped a card, and the door opened.
Inside a wide lab-like space stood golems of many different colors.
Iska pulled out some kind of controller and pressed it, and the golems powered up.
Thud, thud, thud...
The golems left through the entrance and went into the corridor. Then the entrance closed.
Iska approached a complex machine in the center of the lab and began operating it.
A giant core, as huge as the golems that had just gone out, was embedded in the center of the device.
- Charging will begin.
With that mechanical voice, light entered the core.
[0.01%]
A percentage appeared on the device.
Iska inserted the Master Code tool I had copied into the machine and worked a few controls, then another voice followed.
- Highest authority for mana circuit management has been approved.
- Moving all available mana to Zone T5K1.
Then a faint vibration began, and the core started emitting intense light.
[15.6%]
The percentage began rising at absurd speed.
At the same time, alarm sounds started coming from outside.
"What are you doing? What is this?"
Iska answered me.
"This is a core fused using Orichalcum, what people call a divine material. You could call it my life's masterpiece. It can absorb and stabilize mana of any property, and its maximum mana capacity is beyond imagination. Enough to hold all the mana in this workshop and still have room to spare.
We are currently pulling all stored mana inside the workshop into this core. Once it reaches 70%, I will detonate the mana."
Ah, so that was how he planned to blow up the workshop.
Even as a non-specialist, that explanation was simple enough to understand right away.
"...But then I would get caught in it too, wouldn't I?"
I did not want to get blown up with it.
Would the clear completion alert appear before the explosion?
Iska took something out of his pocket and handed it to me.
It looked like a tiny globe.
A gem-like green sphere wrapped in two metal rings, and inside the sphere I could see something like complex machinery.
On the surface of the device, a timer reading [9:51] appeared.
"It is a Warp Device."
"...A Warp Device?"
"The mana will be detonated exactly 10 minutes after the storage reaches 70%. This Warp Device has also been set to activate in 10 minutes, so you can escape through it."
I got it.
Escaping the workshop through this was probably the final step for clear completion.
I put the Warp Device in my pocket.
[35.6%]
[42.1%]
[49.7%]
.
.
.
[50.5%]
But then the percentage, which had been climbing nonstop, suddenly stopped.
It would not rise past 50%.
"It stopped."
As if something was wrong, Iska's expression hardened too.
"...There is no way they could respond this quickly. How?"
He fiddled with the machine, then let out a sigh.
"The workshop's full mana circuit is down. Most likely because you hit the control room, they had already begun responding from then. Otherwise they could not have blocked the circuit this quickly."
"...What?"
What the hell was this now?
"Then what do we do? Is it over?"
Iska let out a resigned sigh.
"No, we filled it to 50%... can't we just detonate it like this?"
"It does not work that way. We must trigger mana overload, and if it does not reach the 70% threshold, the reaction itself will not occur."
What kind of nonsense is that.
Anyway, things had gone badly off track.
"I do not blame you. You did your best. Hide yourself until the Warp Device activates, then escape."
I bit down on my lip.
I thought we were almost there, and now this...
Still unwilling to let it go, I asked.
"Is there no other way to fill the remaining mana?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"...Right, you said this core absorbs any kind of mana. Then is it impossible to charge it by firing magic directly into it? I can use magic."
Iska gave a hollow laugh.
"It is possible, but even if it takes all mana in this workshop, it still cannot exceed 80%. How do you propose to fill the remaining 20%? Even if you were an archmage, it would be impossible."
Frustrated, I raked my hair hard.
So hitting the control room was the problem?
But there was no other way to get in by teleport.
...Was this really saying no route outside the orthodox method would be allowed at all? Did I have to steal the Workshop Director's Master Key and enter only that way?
"This is so damn irritating."
I was just about to give up when an idea came to mind.
I opened the shop window.
[Shop]
- Physical Damage +10% (500P)
- Magic Damage +10% (200P)
- Willpower +10% (100P)
- Attribute Conversion (500P)
- Force Field (50P)
- Slow (50P)
- Stop (100P)
- Special Draw! (5,000P)
Points Held: 25,500P
Special Draw.
Skill Effect 300% Scroll, and my strongest skill, Destruction Beam.
...What if I stacked the scroll boosts and inflated Destruction Beam as much as possible?
If it worked, maybe I could fill the remaining 20%.
I already had one 300% scroll from the boss draw earlier.
['Skill Effect 300%' scroll has been used on 'Destruction Beam (Epic+)'.]
I used it on Destruction Beam right away.
Then I started drawing.
With my current points, I could do five draws total.
I did not expect much.
I just did not want to give up without trying.
['Special Draw! (5,000P)' has been purchased.]
Ddiriririr-
['Skill Effect 300% Scroll' won!]
Another scroll came out immediately.
Good start.
When a scroll dropped out of thin air, Iska's eyes widened.
"...What did you just do?"
"Shh. Hold on."
['Skill Effect 300%' scroll has been used on 'Destruction Beam (Epic+)'.]
That made it 9x.
I hushed Iska and spun again.
['Special Draw! (5,000P)' has been purchased.]
Ddiriririr-
['Skill Effect 300% Scroll' won!]
Oh... oh?
It hit again.
['Skill Effect 300%' scroll has been used on 'Destruction Beam (Epic+)'.]
That made it 27x so far.
I spun the third draw.
Ddiriririr-
['Skill Effect 300% Scroll' won!]
"...?!"
Again... it hit again? Three in a row?
['Skill Effect 300%' scroll has been used on 'Destruction Beam (Epic+)'.]
81x.
I spun the fourth draw.
No way it hits again...
"..."
['Skill Effect 300%' scroll has been used on 'Destruction Beam (Epic+)'.]
243x.
Silently, I spun the last draw.
"No way..."
No way, seriously?
['Special Draw! (5,000P)' has been purchased.]
Ddiriririr-
['Skill Effect 300% Scroll' won!]
"...Kyaaaaa."
A sharp thrill ran up my body as I picked up the scroll.
Ah... this dopamine rush was insane.
Was this it? Was this the true taste of gacha?
300% scroll applied six times.
Total: 729x.
With insane luck, I landed five straight hits and boosted Destruction Beam to a ridiculous level.
I said to Iska,
"Step back."
"I told you it will not work..."
"Now!"
When I shouted, Iska stepped back.
[50.5%]
I stretched out my hand toward the core.
I stopped time and focused.
All right, here we go.
A super-super-super-super-super-super powerful fully charged Destruction Beam, boosted 729x...
Fire.
"...!"
A pitch-black beam engulfed the core.
At the same time, the percentage started climbing like crazy.
[56.7%]
[68.3%]
[79.5%]
.
.
.
It shot past the original target of 70% in an instant and kept rising.
"What...!"
Iska saw it and stared in shock.
90%... 95%... 100%.
[100%]
The percentage hit 100% almost immediately, but the beam still did not stop.
Kugugugugug!
Violent tremors shook the entire lab.
Iska snapped out of it and shouted.
"Wait! Stop! Stooop!"
...I wanted to stop too.
Once cast, there was no way to stop a skill at will.
Was it going to explode? Were we screwed?
Thankfully, the Destruction Beam stopped before the core exploded.
Kuuuuh...
[100%]
The core now blazed with a light almost like the sun.
I stared at it and asked,
"Did it work?"
Iska, breathing hard, looked at me like he had just witnessed something impossible, then nodded.
"...It's done."
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