Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty - Chapter 17

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 17

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Shadow Walking was useful, but it had plenty of flaws.

For one, it could only be used in shadows, and the effect nearly vanished if I moved.

But the transcended version was different.

Kim Yuna and I slipped out through the factory's side entrance.

The elevated building where the sniper was hiding was about three hundred meters away.

The duration should be enough.

I'd kept it active for over ten minutes during training.

It could take no more than one companion.

While the skill was active, no means could reveal us.

I'd tested it against the latest night vision goggles and other skills.

Whoosh!

Holding Kim Yuna's hand, I raced up the slope.

I held my rifle in my right hand.

Of course, I wouldn't hesitate even if I had to shoot hunters.

Mercy was the privilege of the strong.

And in here, everyone was weak enough to die at any moment.

Tap, tap.

Kim Yuna tapped my shoulder and quietly asked,

"You okay?"

"I'm still good."

"All right. Don't push yourself."

Far in the distance, I spotted two hunters coming down the mountain to surround the factory.

They were probably with the sniper.

We let them pass, then headed straight for the sniper's position.

Even a transcended skill would break the moment we attacked, so we let them go for now.

Once we dealt with the snipers, those two would be attacked from both sides.

'There.'

The building where the sniper was hiding was a two-story structure on top of the hill.

It was fairly large and completely run-down, with trash and debris everywhere.

I took the lead, a little impatiently, when the Complete Senses skill picked up something strange.

'Wait.'

I raised a fist to stop Kim Yuna, then carefully looked around.

Something suspicious lay beneath a pile of trash and rubble near the entrance.

A wire.

It was connected to something like a Claymore.

It was cleverly hidden underneath, so touching the debris or trash above it would trigger it immediately.

It was a well-made trap.

I'd learned something new.

"We need to jump over it."

When I pointed ahead, Kim Yuna teleported us.

Flash!

We safely bypassed the trap and climbed the stairs to the second floor.

The bastards were focused on the factory, not even realizing we'd arrived.

"Still no movement?"

"They're scared shitless. Those turtle bastards."

"They raided the factory, so they've probably got tons of good loot, right?"

"I saw it earlier. Their gear looked pretty good too."

All they wanted was to kill us and take our things.

That made me feel a little better.

Even if it hadn't, I would've done the same thing.

Swish.

I aimed at the sniper while Kim Yuna aimed at another one.

The transcended skill, Firmament Veil, had one more effect...

But there was barely any duration left, so I decided not to use it.

After carefully steadying my breathing, I pulled the trigger.

Pfft!

The bullet struck the sniper right in the head.

They were wearing a ballistic helmet, but...

Those things were meant to stop pistol rounds, ricochets, and shrapnel at best.

They couldn't stop a direct rifle shot.

Besides, even if the rounds in my rifle were only 5.56 mm, they were still armor-piercing.

Pfft!

"Ghk!"

Kim Yuna took down another one.

The last hunter aimed a light machine gun at me, but I was faster.

Pfft!

Another headshot.

That made three down, leaving only the two hunters we'd seen earlier.

We hurried to the window to find their companions.

They were getting ready to throw grenades into the factory.

Naturally, they weren't watching this side at all, leaving themselves completely exposed.

Pfft!

I calmly lined up the shot with the Complete Senses skill and landed another headshot.

Kim Yuna killed the last one without even blinking.

"Phew, that's done. Your transcended skill is ridiculous. Is the backlash okay?"

"I can manage."

Things were going exactly according to plan in a place this dangerous.

It gave me a strangely exhilarating feeling.

Then, the instant I staggered slightly from the skill's backlash, the Complete Senses skill caught something strange.

The machine gunner, who should've died after being shot through the head, was raising their upper body again.

"Grrrk... I'll kill you!"

'What?!'

I instinctively ducked behind a concrete wall.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Chunks of concrete flew everywhere with a deafening roar.

How had they survived getting shot in the head?

Did they have some kind of resurrection skill?

My panic and hesitation lasted only a moment.

This time, I just needed to make sure they couldn't get back up.

"Rookie!"

Flash!

Seeing me pinned behind the wall, Kim Yuna teleported behind them.

I opened fire in full-auto while the startled hunter turned around.

Pfft-pfft-pfft!

I fired with every intention of emptying the entire thirty-round magazine.

The first few rounds bounced off their bulletproof vest.

'These are tungsten-core armor-piercing rounds?'

Considering it had stopped several rifle rounds, it had to be some seriously high-end armor.

Still, even high-grade Tower body armor wasn't invincible.

Most modern bulletproof vests were made of ceramic, designed to absorb impact as they shattered.

They might stop three rounds or so, but anything beyond that was difficult. At least, that's what the team leader had taught me.

"Argh!"

I was firing full-auto, and some rounds struck outside the vest as well.

In the end, they collapsed onto their own blood again.

"Ugh..."

Click, click!

Even after I emptied the magazine, they were still alive.

People really were hard to kill.

I replaced the magazine and approached them. Their vest had already been reduced to rags.

The front and back ballistic plates were completely shattered, beyond salvaging.

Bang!

Kim Yuna shot them in the head once more and said,

"I think it was a resurrection skill. I've heard of one before. You really can't let your guard down."

"That scared the hell out of me. But this hunter's vest was incredible."

"It looked like a Russian-made bulletproof vest... It must be insanely heavy and hard to move in. Team Leader Go Jiho would probably be the only one on our team who'd wear one."

Team Leader Go Jiho carried the biggest backpack, wore the thickest body armor, and even hauled around a ballistic shield.

I'd tried lifting it once during training and immediately cried out.

I had no idea how he carried all that around.

We immediately collected the dead hunters' equipment.

There wasn't much in their backpacks, but the gear itself was high-end enough to fetch a good price.

"Should we head straight down to the Descent Exit now?"

"Right. There's an elevator in this building, so if we take it down to the fourth floor..."

While we were moving the equipment in front of the elevator, an uneasy feeling welled up in my chest.

Something was wrong.

Things were going too smoothly.

The most dangerous moment in Tower Escape was always when you buried your face in a corpse and started collecting loot.

Besides, it had been strangely quiet nearby for a while.

The fifth floor was cramped enough that gunfire should've been constant.

'Could it be?'

I immediately searched around the building with the Complete Senses skill...

Five hunters were silently climbing the steep path.

They'd heard the sounds of battle and come to profit from it.

"Crows!"

"What?"

We'd dealt with all the enemies near the factory, so Team Leader Go Jiho's main group would join us soon...

But could we hold out until then?

For now, it was two against five.

I'd used the Transcendence skill, as well as the Complete Senses skill, quite a bit, so I wasn't in great shape.

Kim Yuna had used her skills several times too.

If they pushed in with powerful skills, it would be hard to stop them.

When I looked toward the factory through my scope, Team Leader Go Jiho made a hand signal from the window.

He pointed downward with his index finger.

'Don't force it. Go down to the floor below.'

Kim Yuna saw it and nodded.

"The main group can head for the sewer exit. Let's take the elevator down first."

"Won't that drop us in a different area?"

We could meet at the temporary rendezvous point later.

Until then, Kim Yuna and I would have to travel alone.

Kim Yuna tossed the loot backpacks into the elevator and said,

"We're already split up. And who knows what weapons and skills those bastards have?"

"True..."

They were pushing in with that much confidence, so they had to have something they believed in.

It would be a disaster if we died or got injured trying to hold out to the end.

There might still be traps left in this building from the sniper's group too.

Still, I tried to buy as much time as possible.

"Aaargh!"

One of them screamed from below the building.

Sang Hajun had probably sniped them.

They hurried into the building.

But the first floor still had the booby traps installed by the sniper's group.

Boom!

That made it two against three.

"Fuck, what is this! There are still traps left?"

"Get in! If we can't push through here, we're all dead anyway!"

They were already caught from behind, so they charged in recklessly.

Clink!

"Grenade!"

Kim Yuna heard me and pressed the close button without hesitation.

Ding!

The elevator's first-floor entrance was blocked by a cave-in, so they couldn't stop it.

When the doors opened underground, a stone staircase appeared.

"Ugh, heavy."

Kim Yuna complained, but quickly pushed all the backpacks and loot outside.

I picked up one in each hand and headed down the stairs.

Two of them had already gone down. Team Leader Go Jiho and the main group would handle the rest without much trouble, right?

As if she'd read my concern, Kim Yuna said,

"You don't need to worry about them. Especially not Team Leader Go Jiho."

"I suppose so?"

If he wasn't confident, he wouldn't have told us to go down first.

In fact, two of them had already gone down in an instant.

At last, I reached the Interfloor Zone and received a greeting from the Goblin Merchant for the first time in an entire month.

I wasn't happy to see the Goblin Merchant.

"Human! You returned at last! This time, you even have a teammate!"

My body ached from the skill's backlash.

But I could still manage.

Compared to the Transcendence skill's effect, it was nothing.

Kim Yuna and I put everything else aside and inspected the loot first.

We'd grabbed everything within reach in a hurry.

Thanks to that, we still didn't know what was what.

"Let's sell the bulletproof vests. They probably won't fit us anyway."

"What about the guns?"

"Do we really need them? Keep one if you find anything useful."

"Hmm..."

The fourth floor was Fog Lake.

The monsters were sensitive to sound, so using something like a machine gun wouldn't be ideal.

The sniper rifle looked decent, at least...

But it would be almost useless in Fog Lake.

Visibility was extremely limited there.

"Even the pistols all look bad. We should just sell everything."

"Right?"

They'd only be dead weight.

It might be different if we could carry them down to the third floor.

Since we were separated from the others, we needed to reduce our load as much as possible.

The supplies those hunters carried didn't look especially useful either.

It would be a disaster if unfamiliar foreign food didn't suit our tastes.

It would feel like wasting one precious meal.

"Let's just keep the grenades. Appraise all this."

"All right! Wait just a moment, human!"

While the Goblin Merchant calculated the price, we quickly prepared a meal.

This time, we had combat rations.

Since we were somewhere safe, we might as well eat something filling.

"Hmm... altogether, I will give you eight thousand gold!"

"What?"

We hadn't even appraised the loot from the factory yet, and it was already eight thousand gold?

My rifle and armor set had cost three thousand gold at a regular shop...

That was a surprisingly good offer for an Inter-Floor Merchant.

"Two intact bulletproof vests, three guns, and one of them is a machine gun! There is plenty of ammunition too!"

There were also plenty of miscellaneous items worth a little money, such as backpacks and medical supplies.

It was only worth this much because we sold it to the Inter-Floor Merchant. If we'd sold it at a regular shop, it probably would've brought in twelve thousand gold.

'So that's why hunters spend all day camping at exits...'

If they caught a hunter who'd gathered a proper haul, their lives could turn around instantly.

We sold everything without hesitation, then picked out the larger items from the factory loot.

Things like spare barrels that we'd taken because there was room in our backpacks.

"How much for these?"

"Hmm, two thousand gold."

"All right."

I hadn't expected much anyway.

We'd sell the truly expensive parts once we got out.

That put us at ten thousand gold already.

Including what the main group had, we'd effectively met the quota.

Of course, we needed to earn much more than that.

"The temporary rendezvous point on the fourth floor was near the lake, right?"

"Right. An abandoned building beside the lake."

It was in the central area, making it easy to reach, and the competition for loot was light.

I thought it was just right.

We rested for the remaining time.

Kim Yuna didn't seem particularly scared.

This kind of crisis probably wasn't rare for her.

No one on our side had died or been injured, after all.

She even took out her filming equipment and started chatting away.

Complicated electronics in the Tower, especially wireless equipment, didn't work properly.

It looked like she'd taken apart a smartphone and left only the bare minimum recording functions.

"Hello to all Yuna devotees around the world! Another crisis in the Tower today! I've been separated from the team, alone with our rookie, Kang Hyun! You're wondering what happened to the other team members? They're not dead, but it'll take some work before we can meet up again, right?"

"Wow..."

She was getting footage for her broadcast in a situation like this.

I was a streamer myself, but even I couldn't easily pull that off.

"Now, let's film a combat-ration mukbang with our rookie!"

Something suddenly occurred to me.

"Why do you keep working as a hunter, Yuna?"

"Me? Can't you tell by looking at me now?"

"But you're fairly popular now... and you have money. Couldn't you make travel videos on YouTube? Why risk your life in a place like this?"

She let out a short laugh.

"My popularity only lasts because I'm a hunter. If I wasn't a hunter, I wouldn't be competitive as an entertainer. I tried it once before I became one."

"Ah..."

So she'd once been an unknown travel YouTuber.

She had a remarkably objective understanding of what made her popular.

But the real problem was something else.

"Also, I spend a lot."

"You spend a lot? How much are we talking...?"

"My basic monthly living expenses are at least ten million won. I like shopping, and I travel around a lot too."

"Gah..."

She definitely couldn't afford that unless she worked as a hunter.

It seemed she had other expenses too.

'Yuna wasn't an option.'

She couldn't quit being a hunter.