WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈
Episode 108
──────
It had been a while since my last game stream.
Thankfully, my body still remembered how to set everything up.
"I'll update it first... It's a major patch, so the download's huge."
"How long has it been since you last played?"
"I don't know. It feels like it's been months."
I'd been so busy lately that I hadn't had time to play games.
I almost played a match or two beforehand to get a feel for it again, but decided against it.
It was fine if I wasn't that good at games anymore.
Honestly, unless you were playing at the absolute highest level, being a little bad at games made streams more entertaining.
I wasn't thrilled about showing people my pathetic side, but it was just a game. It'd be fine.
Kim Yuna agreed after hearing my thoughts.
"Good call. Are we going live?"
"Yeah. Let's do a live stream for the first time in a while."
This had originally been a gaming channel, so I naturally focused on live streams.
Lately, though, most of my content needed editing or censoring, so I hadn't been able to stream much.
I should stream while I could.
The moment I started the broadcast, viewers flooded in.
[Escape in 5 Seconds: What's this? Why are you streaming at this hour?]
[Fog Lake Swim Club: Are we playing Tower Escape today? Time to get back to basics.]
[Director Fist: Don't go trying to rediscover your roots now~]
My channel had long since become a general hunter broadcast.
Even my original viewers were surprised to see me playing a game.
Vroooom!
The high-end computer let out the sound of a dying machine as it launched Tower Escape, a game packed with every kind of bug.
"Oh, the season reset while I was gone. Do I need to start with basic equipment...?"
It was a new map, so I didn't know the terrain well.
Still, it had been made based on the data I'd provided, so it probably wouldn't differ too much from what I knew.
"All right, let's jump right in."
[Magic Judge: The streamer doesn't waste time.]
[Sixth Floor Ghost: Is this a sponsored stream? Shouldn't the game company be paying you?]
[HTT Official: What is this trash game, brother?]
"Hey, Chad. Watch your mouth. This used to be my hometown."
I couldn't exactly say it wasn't a trash game.
To be honest, it was good for streaming, but as a game, it was full of flaws.
[HTT Official: Got it, brother.]
Come to think of it, was Chad allowed to chat like that through HTT's official channel?
I wondered if his uncle would scold him later.
The moment I entered the ninth floor, my name appeared just as I'd requested.
"Ahem."
At least they'd worked hard on the update.
They had completely given up on implementing skills, but they'd added plenty of new systems.
Now, you could even build temporary residences on the ninth floor.
"I'll show you what the world's first clearer can do."
[Escape in 5 Seconds: I heard this map is seriously difficult. Can he clear it on the first try?]
It definitely felt awkward since it'd been so long.
My hands hadn't warmed up at all.
Still, experience was experience, and I was managing well enough when...
'Huh? Why didn't I see that monster? Oh, right...'
I didn't have Complete Senses here.
It made me realize again just how much I relied on my skills.
Unfortunately, the game didn't last long.
My main weapon broke during a fight with a monster.
I tried using my backup pistol, but it didn't work properly against a ghost monster.
When the monster lunged at me, I reflexively summoned a dagger into my left hand and threw it at the ghost.
Crash!
Then I looked at the shattered monitor and realized what I'd done.
"Ah..."
I'd made a mistake.
My hand had moved out of habit.
The camera was broken, but Yuki was managing the stream separately, so the broadcast didn't cut out.
Naturally, the chat was in complete chaos.
[Magic Judge: Did you see the streamer's reaction speed? That's insane.]
[Fog Lake Swim Club: If we meet the streamer in the Tower, is a knife going to fly at us that fast?]
[Escape in 5 Seconds: I concede defeat.]
[Sixth Floor Ghost: I nearly pissed myself out of fear just now.]
[HTT Official: I take it back, brother. This is the greatest game ever.]
"Aaargh..."
Thank goodness I was an active hunter.
Otherwise, I might've ended up in the news for game addiction.
"If I ever end up in the news for game addiction, I'm defecting to another country."
"Puhahaha!"
Kim Yuna finally burst out laughing beside me.
The monitor and camera were destroyed, but the stream went well because of it.
Still, confirming one thing left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I could never go back to how things used to be.
"Let's go to the workshop tomorrow and check the equipment."
"The next expedition is to the thirteenth floor, right?"
"That's right."
We had already cleared the underground lake section on the twelfth floor, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
Besides, the Tower's difficulty had risen sharply since firearms were introduced.
The other hunters were holding back because of it.
We already had countermeasures and tactics for dealing with firearms, so we didn't feel the difficulty spike as strongly.
"It'd be best to go while the other hunters are gone. The place is practically empty right now..."
I shouldn't be happy about someone else's misfortune.
Still, the other races had suffered considerable damage from this Magical Plague.
Mid-to-high-level hunters capable of clearing the thirteenth floor and above would be extremely busy.
I inspected Modus's equipment at the workshop later.
At a glance, it was clearly not made of ordinary material.
"It's incredibly tough, but it's a little heavy. The Item Level is much higher too."
"Then can't we make guns out of it?"
"I said it's heavy... The Ultra-Alloy we're using now is already durable enough for firearms."
We had already secured enough durability, so lighter was better.
Making a gun tougher wouldn't make its bullets hit any harder.
We could use stronger ammunition, but we'd have to change the gun's caliber to do that.
'Should the other team members' personal firearms start using proprietary specifications too...?'
As expected of the metal used to make Modus's armor, it was optimized for armor.
It absorbed impacts well and was highly resistant to penetration.
So I tried making bulletproof plates.
"How does it feel? Try moving around."
"It's a little heavy, but it's fine."
We upgraded our equipment and finished preparing for the thirteenth-floor expedition.
During the preparations, I tested the Death Priest Dagger again.
It had displayed a function I hadn't known about last time.
Whoosh!
I gave it a light swing, and the dagger cut through the air.
This time, I stood a step away from the target and swung.
Slice!
In an instant, the blade extended and cut through the target.
It seemed to reach roughly the length of a longsword.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong, Team Leader? Isn't that good?"
"It would've been nice if it gained a different ability."
It was better than nothing.
Still, this probably wasn't free.
I'd fed the dagger quite a few souls by now, so maybe that was why.
Before setting out, we organized the information on the thirteenth floor again.
"There's going to be an immortal gimmick boss on the thirteenth floor. Even my dagger won't be able to kill it, so let's avoid it as much as possible."
"Got it. We can detect it with that lantern, right?"
"That's right."
Bellion wouldn't have made useless equipment for no reason.
In fact, the Death Priest’s Lantern was highly valuable even for simple searching.
With it, we could detect every hunter hiding far away.
"Then shall we leave right away?"
"We have a few team points left. Is there anything else we should bring?"
"... Let's go with this."
I picked up an MCX Rifle.
We were too short on points to bring a grenade launcher.
It was equipment intended for the combination of Reconstruction and Desperate Strength.
It was less customized than the others, so I wouldn't regret using it up.
"Everyone ready? Let's make it back safely again."
Our battle against the undead had made our resolve even firmer.
We had seen what the other Hunter Lords were like.
We couldn't let bastards like them remain above us forever.
[13th Floor, Five-Person Entry]
Flash!
A short while later, we arrived in a small stone structure.
"Huh, where are we...?"
It was night, but the moon was bright, and streetlights were lit here and there.
They weren't modern streetlights, but much dimmer gas lamps.
After looking around, it seemed like a premodern city.
Was this the outskirts?
It looked more like an alleyway or a dump.
"A city field."
It already felt dangerous.
If this was a city-type map, the density of monsters and hunters would be no joke.
The nearby buildings had a slight Victorian feel to them.
I didn't know exactly what that meant, though.
"But why is it night?"
There was no way a city at night would be safer than one during the day.
I asked the others to keep watch, then immediately raised the Death Priest’s Lantern.
Ssssh.
The world turned monochrome in an instant.
An enormous number of souls filled the city.
There were quite a few nearby as well.
"Wow..."
Maybe because it was night, most of them were inside buildings.
It would be best not to provoke them.
"How is it? Any strong souls?"
"I don't see many strong ones... Has the boss not appeared yet?"
There was something unusual, though.
One thing was clearly a different color from the other souls.
I turned the lantern off and on, then realized what it was.
"Uh, wait... That streetlight looks suspicious."
"The streetlight?"
"When I look at it with the lantern, it's a pretty dangerous color. We shouldn't get close."
That streetlight was probably related to the thirteenth floor's core gimmick.
The areas outside the streetlights' glow were extremely dark.
It seemed like the people here didn't turn on their lights much at night.
Most windows were blocked by curtains, iron bars, and wooden boards, so we couldn't see inside either.
"Will something change when morning comes?"
"I don't think the city is abandoned. It feels lived in. It's well maintained too."
Sang Hajun pointed out an important detail.
We decided to slowly search the nearby area.
Then we sensed something suspicious near the outskirts of the city.
The area had clearly deteriorated into a slum and wasn't being properly maintained.
There were even crude barricades set up.
"Hm? Everyone, get down."
There hadn't been anything unusual when I checked with the lantern.
But after we held our breath and waited, a monster resembling an emaciated hunting dog stared at us from beyond the barricade.
"Grrr..."
It seemed to have a better sense of smell than expected, because it immediately caught Kim Yuna's scent.
Pfft, pfft!
I was hiding at the front, and I accurately shot it in the head with my pistol.
An animal's skull was tough, but with Firmament Veil added to the mix, it died instantly.
When the monster's body collapsed, a black coin dropped where it fell.
"Hm? I'll be right back."
"Be careful!"
Leaving Yuki's warning behind, I quickly picked up the coin.
It was completely different from the gold coins we usually used.
"What's this? Could it be something we can use in the city?"
"... Probably. It's a city, after all."
It seemed better to hunt a little more and earn some.
I habitually raised the lantern again and discovered a group of hunters approaching.
They weren't coming directly toward us. They looked like they were just passing by.
"Someone's coming. Let's just let them pass for now!"
"Okay."
They were moving as stealthily as they could, and they were obviously avoiding the streetlights.
So the streetlights really were part of a trap gimmick?
Then one of the streetlights turned its head on its own and shone on them.
The startled faces of the Lizardman hunter team were fully exposed.
"Ah!"
"We've been spotted. Run!"
Tap, tap, tap!
They bolted. Immediately afterward, one of the nearby souls began burning fiercely.
Whoosh!
It seemed to have been the soul of a city resident.
The soul's size and color changed completely.
'What is that?'
The transformed soul immediately chased after them while holding a large spear.
It was clearly around the level of an ordinary boss.
That had to be the thing we needed the lantern to avoid.
'Wow, if that's how it works... There's no end to it even if we kill them.'
If city residents transformed, another would come soon after we stabbed one with the dagger.
Killing them might even raise the alert level and draw more of them in.
There were more than enough residents to transform, after all.
Not long after they disappeared, another Night Watcher appeared.
There really weren't just one or two of them.
The Night Watcher stopped at each house and carefully looked at the Door Plaque out front.
Then it silently moved on.
"Are we safe if we're inside a house?"
"Probably. Since it's checking the Door Plaques, it looks like it's comparing them to the souls inside."
"This is crazy... Do we have to collect coins and buy a house now?"
I watched the Night Watcher's route.
It didn't seem to travel all the way to the outskirts where monsters appeared.
"Surviving in the city, huh. This might be rough."
"Let's hunt a few more monsters until daylight."
I was confident in stealthy movement and ambushes.
We headed back toward the outskirts of the city.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
