WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 81

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Masked Auction (3)

"Any bidders?"

The bidding restarted from the beginning.

I remained standing in front of the stage, staring at everyone.

Especially the people who had just bid.

This time, no one raised a hand or spoke.

"I will count to ten and mark it as unsold."

With no bidders, the host started counting to ten again.

In the silence, only the host's voice echoed through the count.

Threatening people's lives like this felt disgusting even to me, but...

it definitely worked.

"The first auction item has been marked as unsold. We will move on to the next item."

The Skill Stone on the platform disappeared.

Then the second item appeared.

[Item: Dalphara's Golden Mirror]

A ritual tool used by Dalphara, priestess of the Dyakaropine Tribe, in offerings to the tribal god. When used, it creates a reflective barrier in front of you that can reflect an opponent's attack. Attacks stronger than the mirror's durability cannot be reflected. If the mirror's durability is fully depleted, its ability cannot be used. Durability recovers by 1% per hour.

Durability: 100/100

The description appeared before my eyes.

Attack reflection.

It looked great, but of course it was out of reach.

"The starting price of the second item is 1,500 people. If you wish to bid, please raise your hand and call your price."

Again, no bidders.

The host counted to ten, and the second item was marked unsold too.

[Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone]

Use to enhance one Rare+ grade skill.

[Item: Sitpi's Broom]

A broom belonging to the troublemaking witch Sitpi. You can ride it and fly. Sometimes the broom acts on its own.

Can be used by consuming 30 Willpower per second.

[Skill: Ice Armor (Rare+)]

Compresses cold energy and wraps the entire body in armor form. The caster's defense increases, and opponents who come into contact with the armor are inflicted with a freeze effect. Requires 1 minute of mental concentration to cast.

Classification: Magic-Type

Willpower Cost: 20 per second

Cooldown: 3 minutes

.

.

.

Skill Stones, enhancement stones, items.

All kinds of things came up for auction.

The Skill Stones and enhancement stones were all Rare+ grade, and the items were just as good or better, with excellent effects.

If the price had been anything other than human lives, I would have wanted to sweep up every single one.

Every item went unsold.

Inside the hall, only the same lines echoed again and again: "Any bidders," "Marked unsold," "Moving on to the next item."

While no one spoke, the host alone kept running the auction like a machine.

So many items passed by like that, then...

"...This is the final item of this Masked Auction."

The word final came out of the host's mouth.

A Skill Stone appeared on the platform.

Not green, but purple.

[Skill: Lion's Roar (Epic)]

Lets out a roar that incapacitates enemies within at least a 30-meter radius. Targets whose level is vastly lower than the caster may die. The closer the target is, the stronger the effect. The more Willpower consumed, the greater the skill's range and effect. After using the skill, all mental-type debuffs affecting the caster are removed, and physical abilities increase by 20% for 5 minutes.

Classification: Physical-Type

Willpower Cost: 300 ~ 900

Cooldown: 10 minutes

An Epic-grade skill.

A few people started murmuring.

"...Epic?"

They didn't have that information, and I had never publicly revealed it either.

I read the description and thought:

'Damn, this is insanely good...'

A wide-area stun with a minimum range of 30 meters, plus mental debuff removal and a physical stat boost.

An incredible effect, worthy of an Epic skill.

"The starting price is 10,000 people."

Even the starting price was far higher than the other items.

Didn't matter. It would go unsold anyway.

The atmosphere stirred a little, but of course no one raised a hand.

"Any bidders?"

The host looked around at everyone and asked.

Then someone stood up and spoke.

"U-um, no matter what, this one... shouldn't Person123 take it?"

...What?

No. 99 looked at me and spoke carefully.

"You are the only person who can save this world. Compared to the lives you'll save from now on, ten thousand... honestly, isn't that very cheap? If your fighting power increases, that's the path for the world to survive."

"..."

"So please, at least take that one. I really hope you do."

At his words, people started nodding one by one, agreeing with him.

I didn't answer.

I sighed and just shook my head.

"I-it's an Epic-grade skill. It's above Rare grade...!"

No. 99 said it like he was pleading.

I knew. He wasn't completely wrong.

Wasn't I tempted by that skill too?

Still, no meant no.

"If there are no bidders, I will count to ten and mark the final auction item as unsold."

The host began the countdown.

Ten seconds passed.

"...The final auction item has been marked as unsold."

Just like that, even the last item went unsold.

"With this, the Masked Auction is now concluded."

The auction was declared over.

The host clapped once.

Then the space suddenly changed.

A huge hall with countless tables.

Every table was covered in a feast.

It looked like a banquet hall.

"For everyone who participated in the auction, a small closing banquet has been prepared. Please freely enjoy the food and drinks provided, and when the time is up, you will return to your original location."

[Remaining time: 59 minutes 41 seconds]

After saying that, the host disappeared.

What was this now...

If they were going to send us back anyway, why throw a banquet?

Everyone, including me, just stood there awkwardly.

A lot of eyes were subtly focused on me...

When I looked around, people flinched, lowered their gaze, or turned away.

...After what had just happened, there was no way it wouldn't be awkward as hell. I had killed someone, after all.

I thought about going invisible, then dropped the idea.

It looked like we had to stay here for an hour anyway, and I couldn't stay hidden the whole time.

I went to a corner table and sat down.

Once I sat first, people soon scattered and started taking seats one by one.

'Ugh...'

I looked over the food on the table.

Meat dishes, salads, slices of cake, all kinds of things, but of course I had no appetite.

I planned to sit quietly by myself and return when the time came. But then.

"Um..."

Some people were walking toward my table.

Manager Shin Su-jin... and Justin. The two who had stepped up earlier.

Justin gave an awkward smile and spoke to me.

"Would it be alright if we sat here too?"

...Did they want to talk?

I nodded.

We were all wearing masks anyway, so there was no reason to refuse.

Justin sat across from me, and Manager Shin Su-jin sat beside him after giving me a small greeting with her eyes.

Justin checked my reaction, then said,

"It is truly an honor. If it isn't rude, could I ask for one handshake...?"

"...Sure."

I shook hands with Justin, then with Manager Shin Su-jin too.

Justin wore a mixed expression, part amazed and part moved, then said,

"Let me properly introduce myself again. I'm Justin, deputy captain of the Floor 5 Peacekeeping Corps. I wanted to thank you in person at least once. Do you happen to remember my face? I was there during the Wang Kai incident too..."

"I think I remember."

"Oh, you remember! Thank you so much for back then. Not just me, but Captain Alex too, and all the other members, we all had our lives saved by you. Everyone is deeply grateful."

Justin kept thanking me, then changed the topic.

"Anyway, thankfully the auction ended without incident. We're sorry we couldn't be of more help."

I gave a slight bitter smile and shook my head.

"No. More than that, I'm sorry for getting rough. I didn't mean to."

Didn't mean to... was that even the right thing to say?

If someone had bid again, I would have killed them too, so it did sound strange.

Justin waved his hands.

"What are you saying? You handled it as perfectly as possible. If you hadn't killed that bastard No. 41, who knows how horrific things could have gotten..."

Manager Shin Su-jin, who had been quietly listening, spoke too.

"All one hundred million really could have died. So I hope you aren't blaming yourself."

Justin asked,

"By the way, Su-jin... were you acquainted with Person123 originally? Earlier you said that person really was Person123."

Manager Shin Su-jin denied it immediately.

"No way. That person backed me up, so I just said that."

"Ah, right? Same for me. When you stepped in, I just supported you first. I never thought it would actually be Person123 for real. Haha."

It seemed Manager Shin Su-jin had no intention of acting familiar with me.

Well, if other people found out she knew me personally, maybe that would be troublesome. She was a public figure.

I talked with the two of them a bit more.

I could tell they were deliberately avoiding uncomfortable topics or personal questions about me, so the conversation stayed fairly easy.

Time was almost up now...

As I kept talking with them, maybe other people thought it was safe to approach.

I could see others hesitantly coming toward our table.

"I wanted to greet you... c-could I please have one handshake?"

One person even removed his mask and asked with a trembling voice.

He was a Western man with a striking beard.

I stood and accepted his handshake, and he spoke with tears in his eyes.

"...My mother is a Nightmare Climber. Because you chose the penalty back on Floor 4, my mother was able to survive. I really wanted to thank you like this."

Mm, so that was his story.

After I shook his hand, people came one after another asking for handshakes too.

Literally endless handshake requests.

"Thank you for protecting the world! I'm always cheering for you."

"Savior-nim, please keep saving humanity."

"I-I really shook hands with Person123... wow..."

I shook hands with almost all one hundred people.

Only a few who had bid earlier didn't come over, probably because they felt too self-conscious.

Receiving thanks from so many people... honestly, it didn't feel bad either.

Like that, time ran out before I knew it.

"I wish we could've talked more. That's too bad. I really hope we get another chance to meet..."

Justin was speaking with genuine regret, then right after.

[Remaining time: 1 second]

Everyone vanished at once.

"...?"

Huh?

I looked around.

What?

Why was only I left?

As I stood there confused, the host suddenly appeared in the middle of the banquet hall.

"Excuse me. Could you spare a little more time?"

"...What?"

"My master wishes to make a special proposal to Person123-nim."

What was this now.

I asked,

"Who is your master? The Tower?"

Well, obviously it was the Tower.

The host answered again like a machine.

"Could you spare some time?"

I thought for a moment, then answered.

"No. Just send me back."

"My master..."

"No, I said no."

I didn't know what kind of proposal the host was trying to make, but it was obviously some dirty trick anyway.

The host went silent, then nodded.

"Understood. Then I will return you to your original location."

"...No, wait."

I changed my answer again.

Damn...

Still, should I at least hear it once?

"What is this proposal? Tell me."

The host clapped.

Then a table and a box appeared in front of me.

The host slowly opened the box on the table.

Inside it was...

"...!"

An orange Skill Stone.

I couldn't help being shocked.

I had never seen a Skill Stone that color before.

Which meant it was a grade above Epic.

[Legendary-Grade Skill Stone]

Use to learn one Legendary-grade skill.

Its information popped up.

...Legendary.

I narrowed my eyes at the Skill Stone, then looked back at the host.

"My master wishes to specially present this Skill Stone to Person123-nim. Of course, you must pay a minimum price."

"...What? You want me to offer human lives again?"

"That is correct."

I didn't need to hear anything else.

I let out a snort and was about to raise my middle finger, but...

"One person."

The host spoke again.

"You only need to use one person out of the one million lives given to you as currency. That is the price of this Skill Stone."

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