WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 9

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Floor 1 Hidden (2)

Even with time stopped, I could still focus.

Even with time stopped, Willpower still recovered.

Conclusion.

I could use skills with almost no restrictions.

For magic-type skills, it was practically the same as having no cast time.

I just had to stop time and concentrate.

Willpower would not run out either.

And if it did, I could just stop time and recover again.

The only real limitation was skill cooldown.

"Wait, no way, does cooldown count too?"

No, probably not.

Cooldown should only tick when real time passes.

Still, just in case, I decided to test it.

With time stopped, I waited a full 100 minutes.

[Willpower: 100/100]

After filling Willpower to max, I resumed time.

I looked around.

I had killed the Goblin Knight, so now the Crossbow Goblin should appear.

"...?"

What was that?

A small rock in the corner of the cavern shifted.

Then a Crossbow Goblin crawled out of a passage hidden behind it.

So that was where it came from. Last time I kept wondering where it had suddenly popped out from.

Our eyes met.

It hurried to aim its crossbow, so I stopped time.

Here, a gift for you too.

I finished concentrating, resumed time, and immediately fired a fireball.

The Crossbow Goblin exploded in spectacular fashion.

[Flame Strike (0:27)]

A message appeared as soon as I thought about checking the skill cooldown.

I stopped time again.

[Flame Strike (0:27)]

The number did not go down.

As expected, cooldown did not tick while time was stopped.

Honestly, if even that worked, it would be absurd.

Then again, concentration and Willpower recovery were already absurd enough.

I took back what I said about magic being trash.

If this was how it worked, magic-type skills were perfect for me.

No, more than perfect.

This was straight-up broken synergy.

The downsides of magic skills were concentration time and huge Willpower costs, and both were gone.

In game terms, it was like infinite mana with instant cast on every skill.

Flame Strike had a 30-second cooldown, which meant I could throw around this level of firepower every 30 seconds with almost no limit.

"Though my mind might get tired."

I organized my thoughts.

Then I realized something.

No clear message had appeared.

I had not come in for repeat clears because of Mana Stones. I came to check the route.

[Do you want to exit the Tower?]

The moment I thought about leaving, the message appeared.

Good. I could leave whenever I wanted.

I should look around a little more first.

The boss room was a sealed cavern.

If I went back through the tunnel I came from, I would just return to the starting area.

There did not seem to be any extra space...

"..."

Then I spotted the passage where the Crossbow Goblin had crawled out.

Could that be it?

I moved closer.

After my skill hit, the entrance was more exposed and wider now.

I lay down and stuck my head inside to look.

A tunnel sloped downward like a rabbit hole.

An underground passage?

I hesitated, then decided to go in.

Something told me this was it.

It probably would not be too dangerous.

I could always escape whenever I wanted.

"Hup."

I pushed myself into the hole.

It was just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

I crawled down the gentle slope on all fours.

It was so dark ahead that I could not see anything.

With nothing to see, I focused on sound.

I was pretty nervous.

Please do not let an arrow suddenly fly into my face.

"I should've come down backward."

Another wide, bright space appeared ahead.

I crawled out and stood up, then flinched.

It was another cavern, with many holes in the opposite wall, like the one I had crawled through.

Someone was sitting in the center.

For a second I thought it was a goblin, but it was not. It was a person.

A person... down here?

I tensed up.

The person did not move at all.

"...Excuse me?"

I called out carefully.

No response.

I stepped closer and looked.

The figure wore robe-like clothes, like a wizard.

I caught a glimpse of the face under the hood and recoiled.

Its skin looked rotten and melted, grotesque to the point of horror.

The old man with the melted face sat upright with his eyes closed.

I watched him quietly.

What... was I supposed to do here?

It was not goblins this time. A person had appeared out of nowhere, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

"Do I wait until he opens his eyes?"

Could this old man be an enemy?

Getting any closer felt risky.

Then the old man opened his eyes.

His gaze turned to me.

A voice like metal scraping rang out.

"So it was noisy outside... Boy, for what purpose have you come all the way here?"

I had no good answer.

Purpose or not, I do not really know either...

"Not imperial troops, I think. An adventurer? So you were the one who drove those four along. Since a little rat has crawled in this far, I may as well use it as a test subject."

"What?"

A test subject?

I did not understand a word he was saying, but one thing was clear.

My life was in danger.

The moment I judged him an enemy, I stepped back and cast my skill.

I stopped time, concentrated, and launched a fireball at him.

Kwaaaang!

Red flames swallowed the old man.

Did I get him?

The smoke cleared and revealed him.

Unbelievably, he was fine.

A translucent barrier spread around him.

What was that? A barrier?

"...A mage? How?"

For some reason, even the old man sounded startled as he muttered.

My only skill, and strongest skill, had been blocked. I was trying to think of what to do next when the old man suddenly shouted.

"All of you, come out! Kill him!"

...All of you?

A moment later, footsteps rushed in.

Goblins poured out from the holes along one side of the cavern.

What the hell was this now?

I panicked.

Kieeek!

Dozens of goblins charged from all directions.

[Flame Strike (0:01)]

The moment I saw the cooldown finish, I immediately stopped time.

No, this was not a few enemies. This was dozens.

If I fought while surrounded, one stray spear or blade could still kill me.

There was no reason to take that risk.

"I am waiting 100 minutes, you bastards."

Once again, I embraced the virtue of waiting and stayed put until my Willpower filled up.

[Willpower: 100/100]

After a long while, my Willpower hit full.

I concentrated, resumed time, and immediately threw a fireball.

Right into the thickest cluster of goblins.

Kwaaaang!

Chunks of flesh sprayed into the air.

The ones hit directly vanished without a trace, and the nearby ones were blown away in all directions.

A harsh burnt stench stabbed my nose.

Looks like one shot wiped out about two-thirds of them.

I moved to clean up the ones left behind.

Running around, I cut them down one by one.

"..."

Hey, what exactly are you doing?

I wanted to ask that.

In the middle of all that chaos, the old man still sat where he was, eyes closed like he was meditating again.

The barrier was still spread around him too, so I could not do much.

Should I get close and try hitting it with my sword?

Right then, the old man snapped his eyes open.

At the same moment, a dark aura covered the cavern.

Startled, I tried to step back, but almost fell.

The floor had suddenly turned into a sticky swamp and was sucking in my feet.

"W-what is this."

The old man cackled at my panic and shouted.

"You arrogant brat! Did your master never teach you how mages fight each other? You just stood there blankly while I completed my spell!"

Tentacle-like shapes rose from the floor, now turned into a black swamp.

My feet were trapped. I could not move.

The more I struggled, the more it swallowed my legs.

The tentacles wriggled toward me.

A chill ran down my spine.

Time out. Time out.

[Do you want to exit the Tower?]

Emergency escape.

"Exit, exit, exit!"

I shouted it in my head, and the scene before me flipped.

I was in my room.

I gasped for air.

"Haa..."

I almost died.

[A hidden clear attempt on Nightmare Floor 1 has failed. (2/3)]

[If you fail three attempts, the Hidden Route will be closed.]

The messages floated in front of me.

So that old man really was the hidden boss.

"That crazy old bastard."

A barrier, controlling goblins, turning the ground into a swamp out of nowhere.

He was using all kinds of bizarre abilities.

From all that test-subject talk, was he some kind of dark mage?

This hidden clear was clearly on a completely different level from normal clears.

"If I fail three times, it closes..."

Looks like I only had three tries total.

At least one good thing remained. I could keep my life.

...I should challenge it again.

I had two attempts left, so I needed to find a way to beat that old mage within those tries.

"How do I take him down?"

I sat on the bed with my arms crossed.

Skills got blocked by the barrier.

A barrier that could stop a fire explosion would not break just because I got close and hit it with a sword.

I had to deal with that barrier first if I wanted to hurt him.

With what I had, I could not see a way.

"Seo-hyeon, are you up? Come eat."

I kept thinking until morning.

Even while eating at the table, I was still distracted.

"Do not pick out the carrots. Eat everything."

"I am eating them."

"Do you know how good carrots are for your eyes? Seo-a, your eyes are bad just like mine, so you need to take care of them."

My little sister grumbled and poked through the braised ribs.

No matter how many times she was told not to be picky, it never stuck.

Jeez, that little brat.

Then something suddenly clicked in my head.

"Did your master never teach you how mages fight each other? You just stood there blankly while I completed my spell!"

Come to think of it, that old man did say that.

Completed his spell?

Did that mean he also needed concentration, like I did when casting skills?

"He was meditating the whole time before using those weird spells."

Maybe that was concentration.

Then what about the barrier?

That should be magic too, but he put it up instantly right when I attacked.

"...Ah."

No.

When I first saw him, his eyes were definitely closed.

Could that have been him concentrating in advance to cast the barrier?

Then by the time he spoke with me, he had already finished preparing it.

He said I just stood there while he completed his spell.

In other words, when fighting a mage, do not give them time to complete their magic.

...I felt like I had a method worth trying.

* * *

When my family had all gone out, I entered the Tower again.

After easily dealing with the goblins, I went back into the underground passage.

I crawled as fast as I could.

When I came out, just like before, the old mage was sitting there with his eyes closed.

The instant I saw him, I stopped time.

I finished concentrating and cast my skill without hesitation.

Kwaaaang!

An explosion erupted.

Only black ash remained where the old man had been.

Did I get him?

A message appeared in front of me.

[You have succeeded in clearing the hidden route on Nightmare Floor 1.]

I got him.

I let out a dry laugh and muttered.

"This actually worked."

So he really had been preparing the barrier.

The answer really was to strike first.

Now that I knew it, the method felt absurdly simple.

[You completely absorb the power of the floor.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You are moving to the Reward Room.]

The scenery changed.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: Floor 2]

[Level: 15]

[Willpower: 200/200]

[Skills: Flame Strike (Rare)]

My level jumped a lot again?

I felt strength overflowing through my body and clenched and unclenched my fists.

All right, let us see.

What was the hidden reward this time?

Several things were scattered around me.

I noticed a book, so I picked that up first to check.

It was an old book with geometric patterns on the cover.

[Item: Malfaders’s Grimoire]

A grimoire left behind by the mage Malfaders. When used, you can choose and learn one of the skills below.

[Skill: Lesser Mind Control (Rare+)]

[Skill: Teleport (Rare+)]

[Skill: Corrupting Flame (Rare+)]

[Skill: Shadow Swamp (Rare+)]

[Skill: Life Drain (Rare+)]

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