WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 16

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Flash!

Arrival on the 5th floor.

The first thing I did was check our surroundings.

'Near the train station.'

The 5th floor was a cramped map that crammed together two themes: a train station and factories.

The tower hadn't favored me this time either.

I'd hoped for the factory side, where the high-value loot was, but we'd landed at the train station on the complete opposite end.

And in the area with the least to scavenge.

The map was so small that we'd reach the factories soon enough, but it was crawling with monsters.

Before I could even get my bearings, Sang Hajun, the team's sniper, moved.

Pfft! Pfft!

In an instant, he took out the snipers stationed in both the nearby and distant watchtowers.

Right. What was I thinking?

That should've been the first thing I'd done.

It really wasn't like a game.

"Of all places, the train station."

Go Jiho, our captain, grumbled as he rummaged through his backpack.

We all carried fairly large packs. Go Jiho's and the machine gunner Han Juwon's were the largest.

Mine was average-sized, while Kim Yuna's was somewhat smaller.

Even hers held forty liters.

Go Jiho's was probably around 150 liters with the auxiliary pouches included.

We had no choice but to use large packs when we had to carry loot, mess tins, consumables, and everything else.

Thank goodness every Hunter was strong thanks to Physical Technique.

"Keep watch. Let's get our homework out of the way quickly."

Homework?

Was there some kind of quest here too?

Go Jiho pulled a strange, machine-like device from his pack. After tapping it a few times, he casually tossed it onto the ground.

"Defective."

"...Captain, what are you doing?"

When I asked quietly, Kim Yuna explained.

"It's Hunter equipment developed by Korean companies. We're testing whether it works properly inside the tower, where the mana density is high."

"Oh, really?"

Could delicate electronics break down here?

"This one's defective too. So is this one..."

Nothing seemed to work properly.

It was only natural, I supposed. The people who made them had probably never even entered the tower.

"None of them work?"

"How impressive do you expect military supplies made through the lowest-bid system to be?"

"Oh."

That made perfect sense.

Captain Go Jiho could've been an excellent instructor.

There was no point carrying broken machines around. They were just dead weight.

"Those tax-stealing bastards. They should all be executed."

Go Jiho grumbled, but he still tested every item diligently.

"You still accepted the assignment."

"If our team doesn't do it, other Hunters will have to use this garbage. Hm?"

Crackle.

Out of more than ten types of prototypes, one finally worked.

"At least we got one working."

"What is it?"

"A Tower Radio prototype."

"Wow, first prize."

I wondered why it was such a big deal, but apparently radio equipment in particular didn't work properly inside the tower because of the mana density.

"That's why Hunters don't use things like drones."

If they improved it properly, Hunters might eventually be able to use drones.

Even advanced countries hadn't managed that yet.

Go Jiho put the radio in his pack and gestured ahead.

"Let's head toward the factories. Yuna and Kang Hyun, take the lead. Bring Kang Hyun back immediately if he gets into even a little danger."

"Wow, you're really looking after the rookie."

Kim Yuna playfully complained as she moved to the front.

Honestly, I could clearly feel that I was being favored.

Go Jiho didn't seem like the kind of person who took extra care of someone just because he was new.

There had to be another reason.

I remembered something he'd said during training.

"Special forces or not, without air support and reconnaissance assets, they're just infantry with better training."

The new reconnaissance asset was me.

Even to me, Complete Senses felt ridiculously overpowered.

That was why I spent most of my training period extending how long I could maintain Complete Senses.

The skill's backlash had been severe from the start, so it hadn't been easy.

Still, by combining it with intense physical training, I eventually managed it.

On the first day, I could maintain it for five minutes.

By the third day, I could keep it up for ten.

Then, three days before entering the tower, I finally succeeded in maintaining it for an hour.

Its detection range had increased significantly as well.

Of course, the duration would probably be shorter in actual combat.

"You're full of energy because you're young. It's not like your skill level increased outside the tower."

"I filtered the information I was receiving more carefully."

There was nothing wrong with the skill.

The problem was my body.

A fragile human body couldn't properly endure the skill's backlash.

"I'm going."

"All right."

Alpha Team had clearly divided roles.

I handled reconnaissance, while Kim Yuna handled mobility.

I began carrying out my role in earnest.

This was an area where the boss monster wandered around, so we had to be careful.

"Stop. The boss's direct subordinates are patrolling around the corner ahead."

"Think they'll just pass by?"

"Yes. We should only need to wait about three minutes."

"What about going around?"

"That's a route where we could run into other Hunters..."

"Ah, right. Kang Hyun knows the map inside out too."

Tower Escape had reproduced the terrain so faithfully that I didn't need to memorize a separate map.

In the end, we crossed a map swarming with monsters and Hunters without firing a single shot.

"We're almost at the factories. Gasp..."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"My senses feel a little strange."

It wasn't a bad feeling.

If anything, it felt like strength was welling up inside me.

Kim Yuna snickered.

"Your abilities got stronger after entering the tower. The mana density is higher here than outside."

"That happens too? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Kang Hyun's predecessor heard that and got really lazy. He said he'd get stronger anyway, then barely trained at all."

"Ah..."

Choi Ilhyuk again?

He'd been kicked out of the team a long time ago, yet a new legend about him kept appearing.

We eventually arrived in the factory district.

While we ate in a nearby warehouse, Go Jiho pointed at me.

"See? It's beautiful. He's already pulling his weight."

"If he couldn't pull his weight, he wouldn't have escaped in the first place."

"..."

Sang Hajun, the sniper, also had a detection-type Basic Skill, but his was deployable, so it was useless while moving.

It was still quite powerful for a Basic Skill.

Despite being a C-rank skill, it was enough to earn him a place in Alpha Team.

Go Jiho seemed to value detection-type skills quite highly.

I immediately took out a cup of instant noodles.

I'd eaten so many delicious things lately that I worried they might not taste good.

It was an unnecessary concern.

Nothing tasted better than noodles after exhausting myself.

Kim Yuna peeked into my pack and spoke.

"Kang Hyun, did you bring nothing but cup noodles and chocolate bars for food?"

"Yes. I was told we could buy food from the Inter-Floor Merchant, so I brought things I liked... I have a few combat rations too."

"Fair enough."

Food had only been an important consumable when I was broke and traveling alone.

Now that we were in a group that even carried emergency funds, we could just buy it.

Even Yuki, the Japanese Hunter who had been stranded, had some spare food.

"It's fine, but spray deodorizer after you're done eating."

"I'm done."

Hiss!

After finishing our meal, we entered the nearest factory building.

It was a firearms factory.

It didn't mean much to us, since we already owned customized guns, but weapons made in the tower were expensive enough to be valuable loot.

The issue was that they were hunks of metal, so they weighed quite a bit.

"Entering."

Since it was a cramped, dangerous space, Go Jiho led the way with an enhanced shield.

Sang Hajun, the sniper who entered last, used a skill at the entrance we'd passed through.

Swish.

A small glass bead attached itself to the wall.

"Is it set up?"

"Yeah."

Sang Hajun gave a short reply.

He was still a man of few words.

That glass bead was a camera created by Sang Hajun's skill, so he could see the area where it was installed even from far away.

If other Hunters entered, we'd know immediately.

"Hajun, there's a Guard Golem around the corner a hundred meters ahead. It's patrolling, so we can't just pass it."

"Leave it to me."

Pfft!

A large-caliber sniper round destroyed the golem in one shot.

The sound of it falling was swallowed by the factory's noise.

"Good. The area is secure. Move."

Go Jiho gave orders smoothly.

"Juwon and I will stand guard. The rest of you, grab anything valuable quickly."

Instead of answering, the team members got to work.

Guns were piled high in one corner of the factory.

Their new condition gave off a cool silver gleam.

There were quite a few expensive firearms among them.

I started stuffing them into my pack, then stopped.

'There's too much.'

Every one of these was either metal or reinforced polymer.

Reinforced polymer was fairly light, but it was still heavier than wood.

If I took everything, I wouldn't even be able to run properly.

'Wait, do I even need to take them whole? It's not like we're in a hurry...'

I didn't have to think for long.

I immediately began disassembling the firearms.

Since this was a gun factory, the necessary tools were scattered nearby.

Sang Hajun, who had been watching, stiffened slightly.

Kim Yuna asked outright.

"Kang Hyun, what are you doing?"

"I'm picking out only the small, expensive parts."

"What? You can tell which ones those are? I've barely ever sold individual parts..."

Of course I could.

I'd played Tower Escape for thousands of hours.

The sale prices for all kinds of loot came to mind automatically.

I immediately shared the trick.

"The most expensive parts for their weight are the triggers and bolt carrier groups. The trigger and bolt. After that, charging handles are surprisingly valuable."

"Charging handles? That's unexpected. All right, what else should we take?"

"For accessories, always take optics and suppressors. You can throw away almost everything else."

"What about vertical grips?"

"Take them if you have room in your pack. They're not worth much. It might be better to just take barrels..."

"Got it!"

Everyone had plenty of experience handling firearms, so they got the hang of it quickly.

Go Jiho looked at us and nodded.

"You barely get anything for stocks anyway."

We spent some time, but our backpacks were packed efficiently.

Once we cleaned out the entire factory, they became satisfyingly heavy.

'Ugh, is my sixty-liter pack almost full?'

Farming on the 5th floor really was good.

Just thoroughly looting one factory gave us a huge amount of loot.

The backpack Captain Go Jiho had handed over to me earlier had been full for quite some time.

"Captain, my pack is almost full too. What should I do?"

"This is enough. Fill the remaining space with whatever you can, then let's get out."

Go Jiho seemed to want to descend to the 4th floor before it got completely dark.

There was no benefit to staying on a dangerous floor for too long.

At the very least, we needed to secure a shelter for the night.

The factory was an enclosed structure, but other Hunters were highly likely to enter.

'It's been pretty quiet, considering that.'

Just as we were about to leave the factory, Sang Hajun, who'd been watching outside through a window, shouted.

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Up on the hill, at a sniping position. I saw reflected light. I could be wrong, but..."

I immediately focused my senses beside Sang Hajun.

The range of Complete Senses stretched out in a straight line.

A faint presence came from far away, near the edge of the map.

It was too far away, and they were hiding inside a building, so I couldn't sense them clearly.

It was the building with one of the elevators, one of the 5th floor's Descent Exits.

"An ambush?"

"Even if they snipe us from there, it's too far away for them to recover the loot."

"They're probably trying to eliminate competitors."

Sang Hajun created a glass bead and threw it toward the window.

Immediately after that.

Bang!

The enemies mistook the bead's gleam for a scope reflection and fired at it.

"Fuck..."

"This is bad. They're pretty skilled."

Their skill was one thing, but their position was even better.

They could keep firing at us with impunity from there.

At this rate, we couldn't even go out to look for shelter.

The one drawback was that they were too far away to recover our loot.

They were probably planning to take out one or two of us with sniper fire, then slowly pressure the rest.

Even if we pushed forward behind Go Jiho's shield, we'd still be stuck in a position where we kept getting shot.

Retreating completely would be another matter.

After thinking for a moment, I spoke.

"Let's counterattack with my skill."

"Kang Hyun, can you do it?"

"I can. You saw it plenty of times during training."

If we dragged this out, other Hunters might join in.

That would be the worst-case scenario.

We'd be trapped between two teams with nowhere to go.

Since the factory was a popular spot, it was a fairly likely scenario.

"I can't send you alone. Yuna, go with him. We'll support you if necessary, so don't push yourselves too hard."

"Got it."

"Wait, take this."

Sang Hajun handed me a glass bead.

He meant to use it to watch our side.

I carefully accepted it, then activated my skill beside Kim Yuna.

[Shadow Walking skill transcended. Firmament Veil skill activated.]

Kim Yuna and I were erased from the world.

Footnotes:

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