WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 18

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Just before descending to Fog Lake, Kim Yuna spoke in the Interfloor Zone.

"From now on, Kang Hyun, you're in charge."

"What? But I'm a rookie."

"You escaped the seventh floor alone, and you know the way. You'll do a much better job than I will."

"... All right."

It made sense, really.

Kim Yuna wasn't leadership material either. In that case, it was better for me to lead. I could gather information faster and more reliably.

There were only two of us, but it was still far more reassuring than wandering around alone in search of an exit.

Flash!

By the time we descended to the fourth floor, night had already fallen. The fog was thick to begin with, so visibility was terrible.

Having always lived in the city, I was reminded of something.

Was night always this dark?

There wasn't even moonlight, let alone any streetlights.

"Let's find shelter first."

"Okay."

We both had night vision goggles, but they weren't much help on the fourth floor.

The fog was simply too dense.

'My condition... isn't bad.'

I could probably use the Transcendence skill once or twice.

[Complete Senses skill level has increased to 5.]

'Oh, it's been a while since I last saw you.'

One of my skills had finally leveled up again.

Kim Yuna relied on me despite being unable to see an inch ahead. Before I even figured out exactly where we were, I sensed a fourth-floor Mantis Monster in the fog.

'Should I use my gun? No, it's too quiet around here...'

Shing.

I drew Death Priest’s Ritual Tool.

A dagger in my right hand, a pistol in my left.

If things went wrong, I'd just shoot.

Fortunately, the creature failed to detect us and passed by.

Behind me, Kim Yuna hadn't even made a sound.

Swish.

After putting away the dagger and wandering around a little, I finally figured out where we were.

It was the Dormitory District on the outskirts of the fourth floor, a facility for the workers and company employees at Fog Lake.

'If it's the Dormitory District... there should be a few abandoned houses nearby.'

I quickly found a suitable hiding place.

Kim Yuna looked almost moved.

"You found one this quickly? Whew, thanks. We won't have to walk all night."

Team Leader Go Jiho's main group would probably get a little lost too, so there was no need to rush.

We had gathered plenty of loot on the fifth floor.

All that remained was meeting the main group at the rendezvous point.

While Kim Yuna prepared our sleeping area, I set up booby traps as I'd learned earlier.

The key was keeping the wires buried under rubble from going off by accident.

I made simple supports, just like the sniper group had.

"Oh, it worked."

[Sleight of Hand skill level has increased to 7.]

It felt like my skills were leveling faster now that I was separated from the group.

It probably wasn't my imagination.

If Sang Hajun, the sniper, had been here, he would have set them up instead.

"Kang Hyun, come over here. Are you cold?"

"It's Fog Lake."

When I took out the Ever-Burning Heart and activated it, the room quickly warmed up.

The fog was thick right now, so it would be better to wait until morning.

We had rested for two whole hours in the Interfloor Zone, but once I lay down, exhaustion hit me hard.

The tension of real combat was no joke.

There was probably backlash from Complete Senses as well.

Kim Yuna, who had already taken out her camera, spoke.

"You can sleep if you want. I'll take the first watch."

"Are you filming again?"

"I have to film when there's time. I can't record combat scenes anyway... and even if I did, they'd be too brutal to use."

Was this what it took to become a top-tier YouTuber?

The surroundings were so quiet that I could hear her even when she spoke softly.

"Let's do another joint stream when we get out. As long as it isn't that weird game, I'll play anything."

She really seemed to hate having played Tower Escape during our last joint stream.

The response had been pretty good, though.

Then again, it had violated the Geneva Convention.

You weren't supposed to torture prisoners of war.

Thanks to her consideration, I fell asleep first.

Having a teammate stand watch for me felt unbelievably good.

A few hours later, I woke on my own and spoke to her as she drank water.

"It's your turn now, Yuna."

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep longer? You said using your skills makes you incredibly tired."

"I've slept plenty."

I checked. I had slept for nearly four hours.

Besides, I had something to rely on.

[Regeneration skill level has increased to 7.]

The backlash from the Transcendence skill had been severe enough to raise even my Regeneration skill level.

Once I acquired Regeneration's upper skill, I should be able to endure the backlash better.

Or I could just transcend Regeneration itself.

Still, using skills required magic power...

Regeneration didn't restore that very well, so I'd been conserving it.

Kim Yuna turned off the camera for a moment.

"Wake me up right away if anything happens. Good night, then."

Fortunately, nothing happened because we were so far out on the outskirts.

The nearby hunters had probably all gathered in the Dormitory District.

After morning came and we finished breakfast, we headed for Fog Lake again.

The rendezvous point was an abandoned building near Fog Lake.

The fog had thinned considerably in the meantime.

"Let's pick up the pace today."

"Got it, Team Leader."

Having even one teammate with me helped immensely.

Though I felt like I was going crazy whenever she took out her camera to film something.

"Oh, monster ahead."

"!"

With the fog thinning, the monsters could spot us more easily too.

I shot the creature rushing at us without a sound with my pistol.

It was much quieter than a rifle.

Pfft!

The monster fell in a single shot, and Kim Yuna stared in amazement.

"Wow, that really is quiet."

"Team Leader Go Jiho recommended it."

"He never recommended it to me..."

"It's too big for your hands, Yuna."

An H&K Mark.23 Pistol.

Apparently, it was incredibly quiet because it used subsonic rounds.

It had been designed to be used with a suppressor from the start.

When I fired it, it sounded almost half as loud as a rifle.

It was large and heavy for a pistol, though.

Still, I liked that it felt like military equipment.

In the end, we reached Fog Lake without trouble.

"It's over there."

The temporary rendezvous point was a two-story abandoned villa.

There was nobody inside.

It looked respectable from the outside, but hardly any items dropped there.

As soon as Kim Yuna entered, she used a knife to carve a long mark into the wall beside the fireplace.

It was a signal that we had arrived.

Even if something happened and we had to abandon this place, Team Leader Go Jiho's main group would be able to recognize it.

"Looks like we got here first."

"The main group doesn't have Complete Senses, so it'll take them longer."

Sang Hajun, the sniper, had a scouting skill at around level eight, if I remembered right.

That should be enough to travel while the fog was thin.

The moment we roughly settled in, an enormous noise came from far away.

Boom!

"Eek?!"

Kim Yuna, genuinely startled, grabbed her gun and rushed to the window.

It seemed quite far away, yet the sound came through clearly.

Judging by the direction, it was coming from Fog Village, the main looting area.

'That's too loud even for combat...'

Boom!

A similar sound rang out again.

Everything was being smashed to pieces.

"What is that? A cannon?"

"It probably isn't a mortar."

Mortars were surprisingly expensive and not exactly easy to carry.

Hunters from developing countries who regularly entered the Tower would have a hard time carrying one around.

"... A rocket launcher?"

Whatever it was, the situation was a massive headache.

The explosions were so loud that every nearby monster would have heard them.

We quickly went up to the second floor and checked the situation.

"Ah... they're gathering, just as expected."

Monsters poured down the road where the fog had cleared, like a pack of wild dogs.

It almost reminded me of the zombie hordes on the third floor.

They would avoid empty buildings on their own, but any hunters outside would be in serious trouble.

We wouldn't be able to leave for a while.

Bang, bang!

Boom!

Combat sounds soon began to ring out nearby.

They belonged to hunters who had been wandering through the fog.

Surely the main group hadn't been caught up in this too?

But worrying about them wasn't our priority right now.

"Stay alert!"

"Huh, why?"

"If there are hunters nearby, they'll head this way."

"Ah..."

The only other buildings near the lake were a cluster of guesthouses.

If they couldn't go there, they had no choice but to come here.

The fourth floor had few buildings because the map was so spread out.

Bang, bang!

The gunshots drew closer.

They were approaching us.

"We should drive them away, right?"

"Yes."

But it would be dangerous if they realized there were only two of us.

I fired roughly in their direction.

A warning shot.

Pfft!

When the bullet struck the ground, the approaching hunters stopped.

"Ah, there be other hunters inside!"

Huh?

That way of speaking sounded familiar, yet new.

There was no way the translation was incomplete.

I focused my senses and checked them.

'... North Korean soldiers?'

A hunter team of five.

Their equipment was not in very good condition.

It looked like one officer and four soldiers.

When the soldiers hesitated, the officer behind them spoke.

"Move in quick and break through!"

We had already taken the place, but the officer was ordering them to charge in blindly.

It was the worst possible decision.

At the very least, they should surround the building and narrow down their approach with grenades before entering.

Maybe they were too frazzled because monsters could show up again at any moment.

When the soldiers hesitated, the officer urged them again.

"What're ye all shiverin' for, huh? Are ye scared of them? Whether bullets come from there or bullets come from my gun here, it's all the same! So get forward! Charge right now!"

The officer seemed to intend to stay behind.

In the end, the soldiers spread out slightly and approached the building.

"Why does it have to be North Koreans? Those guys are ruthless..."

"Why?"

"If they don't meet their quota over there, they get sent to prison or executed."

Kim Yuna was anxious in a way that didn't suit her.

Honestly, I didn't want to fight them either.

They barely had any loot, and their equipment was trash.

Even if we won, there was nothing to gain.

Then, while pretending to keep approaching, the soldiers opened fire behind them.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

"Aagh..."

The officer fell with a scream.

They swarmed the officer's corpse, took every piece of loot, and disappeared somewhere.

They were like a swarm of locusts.

"Wow, they're smart."

"I know..."

It was much better for one useless person to die than for the soldiers to force their way in here.

Good thing we hadn't fired recklessly.

If we had attacked, they would have had no choice but to fight us.

"At least we drove them away."

When would Team Leader Go Jiho's main group arrive?

I stayed on guard anxiously, but...

Bang, bang!

The gunfire never stopped.

I had biscuits and a chocolate bar for lunch.

Kim Yuna suddenly held out some jerky.

"Want some? It's tender."

"Wow, you had something like this too? Thanks, I'll eat it."

She was a really nice person, if not for her spending habits.

She probably didn't spend ten million won a month on food, right?

It seemed like our team dinners were always paid for with the company card.

After eating nuts for a snack, I added another mark beside the fireplace.

We had decided to carve one every six hours.

Kim Yuna started filming again.

"Oh, right. I came up with a new catchphrase."

"What is it?"

"The North Korean soldiers have completely lost their minds... What do you think? The 'completely lost their minds' part is the catchphrase. I think I could use it a lot in the Tower."

"Um... it's much better than that weird 'jiyo, jiyo' thing you kept saying last time."

"R-Right?"

Getting recognition from a YouTuber with over a million subscribers.

Maybe I had more talent for this than I thought.

The good mood didn't last long.

Not long after the sun had fully set, I sensed numerous presences near the villa.

"Gasp... there are quite a few."

"How many?"

"... Nine."

"What?"

Four of them were presences I had felt earlier.

Only after expanding my senses did I properly understand the situation.

'They ran into another North Korean team. A new officer is leading them.'

The new officer was not as incompetent as the dead one.

The team had completely surrounded the villa, with the officer armed and ready.

Two against nine.

The North Koreans weren't the ones completely losing their minds. I was.

Grenades would soon come flying in like a barrage.

If I used Firmament Veil here, we might be able to escape...

But meeting up with Team Leader Go Jiho's main group would once again become an uncertain prospect.

The Descent Exit was some distance away. If I collapsed from skill backlash, we'd have no way out.

Those bastards would obviously pursue us to the end.

'No.'

I couldn't keep running forever.

I took out a Recovery Potion from my subspace pouch.

"I'll handle them."

"That's too dangerous. You said there are nine of them!"

"They won't fire until right before they rush in. They don't know we've noticed them."

There were booby traps at the villa's entrance too.

Unlike on the fifth floor, this was a building we completely occupied.

If we put up a proper defense, we could drive them back.

"Just watch out for grenades, Yuna. Okay?"

"..."

I shook off Kim Yuna's restraining hand and drank the Recovery Potion.

The skill backlash I suffered was a problem with my body.

If I had better regenerative ability, I should be able to endure it better.

'A potion isn't enough.'

[Regeneration skill transcended. Undying Blood skill activated.]

Whoosh!

My body reacted immediately.

I could feel not only my stamina but even my magic power recovering, however slowly.

I had already committed, so there was no turning back.

It would be less of a burden if I ended this quickly.

'It failed during training... but it'll work this time, right?'

[Complete Senses skill transcended. Four Seasons skill activated.]

My senses captured every detail around the villa with perfect clarity.

I shot the grenade flying in from outside, sending it back onto the road.

Footnotes:

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