Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty - Chapter 27

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 27

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The transport sled was finished in no time.

Thanks to Sleight of Hand, it came out well.

I lined the bottom with Snowfield Troll Hide to block the cold and cushion impacts...

Then I secured everything with sturdy ropes so nothing would shake loose or fall off.

It should be useful even in the underground mine section.

Now it was time to see where we stood financially.

I consulted the Goblin Interfloor Merchant.

"How much would medicine to treat a Mana Heart cost?"

"There probably won't even be any listed at a Regular Shop."

"... Figures."

I'd never even heard of it myself.

They said the medicine could only be obtained on the eighth floor...

And no hunter had properly cleared the eighth floor yet, so there was no way any would be on the market.

That meant I had to go up to the eighth floor myself.

But there was a re-entry cooldown for the Tower.

In other words, Team Leader Go Jiho had to survive for at least a month after we escaped.

'This isn't going to work...'

He was struggling even here in the Tower, where magic power was plentiful.

There was no way he could endure on his own.

"Isn't there any other way?"

"... Humans are valued customers, so I'll tell you something special. Regular Shops should sell Mana Potions. There should be plenty in stock."

"Mana Potions... How much are they?"

"About 1,000 gold each."

That was insane.

Two bottles were enough to buy an artifact.

A pretty useful one, too.

"Your companion's Mana Heart has been damaged... It would literally be like pouring water into a bottomless pot. He'll need at least one bottle a day to survive."

One thousand gold per day.

Thirty days plus about seven days of extra time came to 37,000 gold.

I'd need a reserve too, so around 40,000 gold.

Considering it cost 120,000 gold a month to maintain Korea's monster barriers, that was a huge sum.

'Should I sell artifacts...'

That wasn't even the end of the problem.

"Even if you obtain the medicine and your companion miraculously survives, it will be difficult for him to return as a hunter."

"... I don't care about that. As long as he can live a normal life."

I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.

I bought a few Recovery Potions from the Interfloor Merchant.

I'd used so many earlier that I needed extras.

I also sold off some of the loot we'd taken from the other hunters.

"Backpacks, food... Here, there's armor too."

They were bastards who had attacked us, but their gear was incredibly high quality.

There was some loot they'd collected as well.

"Oh, this is a Subspace Backpack! Are you selling it?"

"No. I'll sell the one I was using."

"That's unfair, human! Showing me something like this and not selling it should be illegal!"

"Repeating nonsense doesn't make it true."

Of course I should keep a Subspace Backpack for myself.

After checking, I found that it was a 60-liter one.

The backpack I'd been using was also made by the Tower, so it was sturdy and lightweight...

Still, it couldn't compare to a Subspace Backpack.

"I'll give you 5,000 gold for everything!"

"Thanks."

There was one piece of loot whose identity I couldn't figure out.

A strange pill had been left behind...

It couldn't even be properly identified through Appraisal.

"Is this really made by the Tower?"

"I can sense magic power from it. Have it appraised at a Regular Shop."

"All right."

I'd kept the expensive night vision goggles and firearms, aside from things like the machine gun. If I sold them outside, they should be worth at least 10,000 gold.

That eased the burden considerably.

"Everyone, replace the batteries in your night vision goggles. We've been using them for a while."

"Kang Hyun, hurry up and eat something too."

"Ah, yes."

I'd been making the sled and hadn't eaten.

I quickly tore open an energy bar.

I'd even brought sausages this time...

But I wouldn't be able to taste much if I ate them now anyway.

"Is Hajun okay?"

"No problem."

The Tower's antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine might be good.

Still, there was no way he could be fine after ripping out his own eyeball.

We had to get him out quickly.

Kim Yuna asked worriedly.

"Kang Hyun, you kept your Transcendence skill active for quite a while too."

"I'm used to it now."

Still, since she brought it up, I used it once more.

My magic power had recovered enough, so I needed to take care of my body.

[Regeneration skill transcended. Undying Blood skill activated.]

It was almost the only Transcendence skill I could use without much burden.

It was an EX-rank skill. It should have at least one advantage like this.

Team Leader Go Jiho's Regeneration skill level was probably quite high too... Yet he was in no condition to even speak properly.

After spending the full two hours, we dropped onto the sixth floor.

Flash!

The moment I landed, I activated a Transcendence skill for only a brief moment.

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

The surrounding terrain was imprinted in my mind.

"It's north. We'll head southwest and enter the underground section."

Han Juwon and I pulled the sled through the blizzard.

Sang Hajun could barely support himself right now.

After a while, Kim Yuna took over for me.

"Kang Hyun, get some rest now."

"All right."

We silently pushed our way across the snowfield through the blizzard.

Thankfully, the sled worked properly.

But there was no avoiding the buildup of Soul Freeze from the sixth floor's bitter cold.

"Ugh, we should rest soon..."

"Just wait a little longer."

[Sleight of Hand skill transcended. God's Hand skill activated.]

Using my folding shovel, I made a snow trench in an instant.

The team warmed themselves inside, but they still worried about me.

"Aren't you using Transcendence skills too freely?"

"This isn't a situation where I can afford to save them."

"..."

We ate, drank water, and warmed ourselves with the Ever-Burning Heart.

I planned out our route in my head.

"Even after we enter the underground section, we can't go straight to the exit. There's a farming spot along the way. We'll loot it as we pass through."

"If it's on the way..."

"I don't have any complaints."

"Team Leader, are you okay?"

"... I can endure."

The potions had completely healed his external injuries, but he still looked exhausted.

After warming ourselves and setting out again, we soon reached the entrance leading to the underground mine.

Deep darkness awaited us.

"Night vision goggles on. I'll take the lead."

Even though it was a mine, the main loot wasn't ore.

Ore was so cheap for its weight that it wasn't worth much unless it was an extremely rare variety.

We walked and walked toward an abandoned intermediate base.

Before we even reached it, we could feel a considerable chill.

"Wait, that's..."

"Monster ahead!"

Wraiths, ghost-type monsters from the sixth floor's underground section.

They were similar to the Manager, but far too weak to compare.

I happily raised my gun.

Normally, monsters were troublesome things that wore down hunters' minds, bodies, and supplies...

But these ones were different.

The sixth-floor Wraiths had a very wide Detection range.

Hunters had to kill them before they could loot or set up an ambush.

Yet these ones were occupying the intermediate base without a care.

In other words, the fact that they were here proved there were no other hunters nearby.

"Kyaaaah!"

They came lunging toward me, their bodies wavering.

Tatatat!

A burst of 6.8mm rounds scattered them with ease.

They had Physical Resistance too, but it was far weaker than the Manager's.

They were still at a level where bullets could kill them.

"Move in!"

Kim Yuna and I cleared out the intermediate base, then quickly searched through the loot.

Perhaps because it was the sixth floor, valuable items began to turn up once we searched in earnest.

"There's a night vision goggle set here, along with High-Grade Cold-Weather Clothes."

"Nice. Take them."

High-Grade Cold-Weather Clothes were extremely effective at blocking the Soul Freeze status effect...

But they were thick and uncomfortable, so people only wore them on the sixth floor.

Still, they would sell for money.

"Frozen Mana Crystals... Deep Black Iron Ore. Oh, there are Mineral Detector Parts too."

Electronic devices from the Tower were generally expensive.

There was plenty of demand for them in research as well.

We scraped together every valuable item we could find and left the intermediate base.

At least it was fortunate that we'd obtained the [Key of Snow].

We would soon reach the sixth floor's Direct Exit.

That would be the end of it.

We wouldn't have to struggle all the way down to the third or fourth floor.

But... was it never going to be that easy?

I felt something off in the mine shaft leading to the sixth-floor Direct Exit.

It was about time we ran into monsters again, but none appeared.

That could mean other hunters were nearby.

"There shouldn't be many lunatics who ambush people at a high-floor exit..."

Most people on the sixth and seventh floors had good equipment, so there was less risk of being ambushed.

If they started a fight for no reason, they could be the ones to suffer.

"... Stop."

I detected signs of people in the underground mine shaft leading to the Direct Exit.

A four-person hunter team.

Had one of them already been taken out?

They were trying their best to stay quiet... But I couldn't feel any hostility.

If anything, they seemed desperate for us to just pass by.

'Those guys can't even use their night vision goggles properly because they're trying to conserve batteries.'

I stepped forward as the team's representative.

"The team leader over there, come out after disarming. Before I throw a grenade."

"!"

I sensed their surprise, and soon someone walked out with both hands raised.

A man who looked quite young.

They'd already been cornered, so resisting would only get them wiped out.

"I've complied with your demand. Would you state your affiliation and name?"

"... I'm Kang Hyun, leader of Korea's Alpha Team."

I wanted to say I was the deputy leader, but I called myself the leader so they wouldn't look down on me.

"Alpha Team? We're the Australian Commando Hunting Squadron. I'm Alex, the team leader."

I had no idea who they were...

Memorizing hunter team names from around the world was a job in itself.

Honestly, everyone wore Multicam uniforms, so I couldn't tell them apart at all.

With masks and night vision goggles in a place like this, it was nearly impossible to even make out their ethnicity.

"... You weren't waiting to ambush us, were you?"

"I'm not stupid enough to set up an ambush in a place with no escape route."

That was true.

The Direct Exit was behind them, making this practically a dead end without a key.

And no matter how I looked at it, they didn't seem to have one.

I made the first move.

"We have the Key of Snow."

"R-really?"

"I'll open the door if you pay an appropriate usage fee."

Once the door was opened, it could continue to be used for a while...

There was no limit on the number of uses either.

That was why we'd gone through so much trouble to get it.

"Our team isn't in very good condition right now..."

"Doesn't that mean you need to escape even more?"

"... You're right. How much do you want?"

"10,000 gold. I'll accept physical goods too."

We were in a hurry too, so I set a reasonable price.

There was no need to fight when the exit was right in front of us.

Alex briefly consulted his teammates, then handed over a backpack.

"Check it. There are 3,000 gold worth of gold coins, and the rest is physical goods."

Most of the loot was from the sixth and seventh floors.

So they had come down from the seventh floor after all.

I quickly calculated the value.

'The total is around 10,500 gold... They packed in a little extra.'

"Confirmed. I'll open the door, so disarm and move back against the wall."

"Hey, we paid the fee, but disarming is..."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would've thrown a grenade already. Why would I go through all this trouble?"

"... Everyone, disarm!"

Honestly, I wasn't sure whether this choice was right.

We desperately needed gold as it was.

Wouldn't it have been better to wipe them out instead of negotiating?

I was cornered badly enough to even think that.

'Wow. I'm not in my right mind either.'

Times like this were exactly when I had to follow our principles.

Alpha Team's rule when dealing with other hunters was simple.

Unless it was unavoidable, we didn't attack first.

We didn't take pointless risks.

The other team members, apart from Go Jiho, aimed their weapons at them.

"Then I'll open the door."

I took out the Key of Snow and pressed it against the firmly shut iron door.

The thick iron door began opening on its own.

Creeeak...!

"It's open. Get out first! Stay in a nonthreatening posture!"

"... Thank you, Alpha Team. I wish you luck in your future hunts."

"Good luck to you too."

The moment they disappeared through the doorway, we pulled the sled forward.

"Just hold on a little longer, Team Leader."

"... You handle things well. I told you that you're the deputy leader."

Flash!

[Escape Complete]

[Transcendence skill level has increased to 4.]

[Complete Senses skill level has increased to 8.]

[Shadow Walking skill level has increased to 5.]

[Sleight of Hand skill level has increased to 9.]

[Physical Technique skill level has increased to 6.]

"Alpha Team returning!"

"O-oh, Team Leader Go Jiho!"

"Start the ambulance!"

Go Jiho and Sang Hajun were immediately admitted to the hospital.

I hurried to the shop and bought a large supply of Mana Potions before bringing them over.

"Give Team Leader one of these every day."

Naturally, with things having come to this, there was no gold to give the Association.

Instead, we had to worry about running at a loss.

Alpha Team had some gold saved up...

But Go Jiho actively reinvested, so we didn't have much in savings.

That was how I'd been able to buy the Gale Boots I was wearing.

I went back to the shop and started settling our accounts.

As expected, there was no Mana Heart treatment medicine that could only be obtained on the eighth floor.

Still, it was fortunate that the Mana Potions seemed to be well stocked.

Maybe they didn't sell well because they were such expensive consumables?

I started by selling the hunters' equipment.

"I'm selling all of these. How much?"

"The firearms are in good condition. They're nearly top quality. The night vision goggles as well... I can offer 15,000 gold for all the equipment."

Together with what I'd sold in the Tower, that came to 20,000 gold.

We'd received 10,000 gold from the Australian team.

We were still 10,000 gold short.

The other loot needed to come through here...

"Tell me what this pill is."

The unidentified pill taken from the seventh-floor hunters.

The fact that it couldn't be appraised meant it was a rare item.

The Goblin Merchant even brought out a magnifying glass to examine it.

"This is... a Basic Skill Enhancement Pill."

"What?"

"It can raise a Basic Skill up to A rank."

"Th-then how much is it?"

"If you sell it to us, we'll give you 20,000 gold."

The price seemed a little low compared to its incredible effect...

Was it cheap because it could only raise a Basic Skill up to A rank?

I was about to sell it, but suddenly stopped.

My Basic Skill was EX rank.

Kim Yuna and Han Juwon's Basic Skills were A rank.

Naturally, they couldn't benefit from the pill.

But Sang Hajun and Go Jiho could.

Wasn't it too wasteful to sell it like this?

They said Go Jiho wouldn't be able to work as a hunter again even if he fully recovered.

With this, who knew what might happen?

'I'll save it for now.'

"... What about the Frozen Mana Crystals?"

"Ah, those are ingredients for Mana Potions. They're worth around 700 gold. Would you like to sell them?"

"No. I'll hold onto them for now."

Did that mean we could make Mana Potions ourselves?

I needed to save them.

They were cheaper than I'd expected, too.

"Deep Black Iron Ore."

"It's a rare material that can enhance equipment. We're buying it for 1,500 gold."

Ore was still ore, no matter how expensive it was.

There were hardly any listings for it, but selling it still didn't bring in much.

No matter how I looked at it, it made more sense for us to use it ourselves.

In the end, I only sold the High-Grade Cold-Weather Clothes and the Mineral Detector Parts.

That brought us to 35,000 gold.

We were still 5,000 short.

It would cost even more once we added our team's equipment maintenance expenses.

The 6.8mm rounds were so high-pressure that we had to replace key parts every time we entered the Tower.

The barrel's expected lifespan was only around 1,800 rounds.

'Ah... Wait a second. Why are we paying all of this ourselves?'

As I did the calculations, I suddenly felt wronged.

We'd just returned from the seventh floor with the [Key of Snow].

The Key of Snow was an item that wasn't even on the market, so it couldn't be bought with money.

If I had to put a price on it, it would easily exceed 100,000 gold.

It was a dream item for every team exploring the sixth and seventh floors.

Shouldn't we be receiving support money for bringing back an item like this?

After selling only the things we didn't need and leaving the shop, an Association employee approached me.

They were supposedly assigned exclusively to Alpha Team.

"Hunter Kang Hyun! Are you injured anywhere?"

"I'm completely fine. Ah, you came at the perfect time. Give us some gold."

"... Pardon?"

"Team Leader Go Jiho is sick, so we're spending 1,000 gold every day. I'll enter the eighth floor in a month and bring back medicine, so have the Association contribute some money."

The employee looked like they were about to faint at my words.

"Ah, well. The higher-ups have heard that Team Leader Go Jiho's chances of returning are low, so they're discussing restructuring Alpha Team..."

"What did you say?"

The team leader had barely fallen ill, and they were already discussing restructuring?

Did they not know we were all armed?

Kim Yuna and Han Juwon, who were standing beside me, also looked dumbfounded.

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

"What, do you all want to get shot together?"

That was an incredibly polite question compared to what they'd done.

The employee explained with an expression like they were about to die.

"I-I don't mean that's what I want! You're registered as the deputy leader, but you don't have military experience or anything, so... They're saying they want to help recruit more team members! I heard Hajun needs to rest for at least two months too..."

I got the rough idea.

The 20,000 gold Alpha Team brought in each month had suddenly disappeared, and they were panicking.

Beta Team had also been nearly destroyed recently...

So three or four First-Tier Teams were effectively missing all at once!

They should have provided hunters with better financial support.

'Ah, these bastards... They don't know I'm EX rank?'

It seemed the secrecy inside the Association had worked too well.

I made a decision to keep the team leader position Go Jiho had entrusted to me.

"Report that EX-rank hunter matter to the higher-ups now, like you said you would last time."

"... What?"

Not only the Association employee, but my teammates stared directly at me.

"Tell the National Assembly that I'm EX rank."