WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 33

──────

The direction the guards had poured out from earlier.

Things had been too urgent then for me to get a good look at the other side.

I used a skill beside the stone door.

[Appraisal skill transcended. Loot Expert skill activated.]

A skill that automatically identified nearby loot.

It could easily see through a thick stone door.

Yet there was barely anything that could be called loot in the room beyond.

The quality was low too.

Considering how the guards had poured out earlier, it might be a guard post.

There could be an armory or ammunition depot connected to it...

But I was low on ammunition, so I wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible.

"Let's pass on this place. I checked it with my skill, and it isn't much."

"Okay!"

Yuki immediately nodded at my words.

She was so obedient it was almost scary.

To think a woman like this became an unyielding resistance fighter online.

We went out into the corridor and decided to bypass the guard post.

There were no guards, but there was one Gargoyle.

It was still inactive.

I aimed at the gem with my pistol from a distance...

Pshht!

The bullet bounced right off, as if that were the most natural thing in the world.

It was nearly invincible while inactive.

I could kill it with the Instant-Death Dagger...

But should I let Yuki see this?

Still, I wanted to save ammunition.

In the end, I used the dagger.

Rumble!

Yuki was startled when she saw its effect.

"Ah, h-how did you do that? Is that one of your skills, Benefactor?"

"Something like that."

Come to think of it, I'd heard about her skills but never told her about mine.

She hadn't asked me to explain them, so I'd just let it slide.

Maybe she thought it didn't matter since I was acting as the team leader anyway.

I collected the loot and kept moving.

We were probably getting close to the dangerous Central Zone.

I stood before another stone door and used a Transcendence skill again.

[Appraisal skill transcended. Loot Expert skill activated.]

"Hm?"

This time, I was getting an enormous response.

We'd hit the warehouse area.

There were plenty of weapons and ammunition too.

It made sense for it to be near a guard post, didn't it?

"I think I found weapons."

"That's a relief. What about guards?"

"Well... There seem to be about two Guard Dolls inside."

I'd thought there might be Gargoyles hidden inside, but that wasn't it.

There were too few guards for such an important area...

Had they been mobilized during yesterday's operation?

I couldn't let my guard down.

Because of the eighth floor's entry weight limit, an armory was somewhere we had to visit before making a full-scale attempt.

There was no way security for such an important area would be this lax.

'Unless there are several warehouses like this?'

Then Yuki offered a suggestion.

"I'll use my clone."

"... Wait a moment."

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

I'd saved my Transcendence skills for places like this.

The structure beyond the stone door began to reveal itself clearly.

I assumed there had to be traps and examined every corner...

Sure enough, I spotted several suspicious details.

First, there were rather old scratch marks inside the door.

Traces of someone inside trying to escape.

Areas inside the Tower usually restored themselves automatically.

Had this happened recently?

Or had it happened so long ago that it was beyond imagining?

The shelves were packed with all kinds of ammunition and equipment...

There were several modern firearms too.

'It's organized too neatly.'

The outskirts of this eighth floor looked quite old.

Dust and cobwebs had piled up in the smaller warehouses and the Residential Area.

Even if this place was maintained better because it was closer to the Central Zone...

It was too clean.

I found the reason beneath the shelves.

'A scale? Ah, a weight-sensitive trap.'

The shelves holding the ammunition and weapons were essentially giant scales.

If even a little weight was removed, a connected device would activate.

It would probably trap intruders in the room and eliminate them.

I'd learned about traps during lockpicking lessons too.

Pressure-release traps like that were a very traditional type.

There was no reason to be surprised.

The truly nasty part was the door.

It seemed to close automatically several dozen seconds after detecting a loss of pressure.

On top of that, it looked exactly like the other stone doors.

Anyone who greedily grabbed equipment and ammunition without thinking would be trapped inside.

After hearing my explanation, Yuki asked anxiously.

"Th-then what do we do?"

"First, Yuki, send your clone inside and check the supplies. Find firearms we can use as our main weapons and .44 Magnum rounds. Don't touch anything carelessly, even if you find them."

"Yes. Leave it to me!"

Of course, it couldn't get caught by the Guard Dolls along the way.

After leaving Yuki to it, I returned to the Gargoyle I'd killed earlier.

The Gargoyle had become stones of all sizes.

Together, they would weigh quite a bit.

I swept all of them into my Subspace Backpack.

'Good. I'll use these as replacements.'

The scale mechanism beneath the shelves wasn't that precise.

It would activate immediately if the weight dropped below a certain threshold...

But it didn't care if the shelves became heavier.

So if I added heavy stones, I could take that much loot.

"Ugh, heavy..."

This should let us take enough supplies.

When I returned, Yuki, who had only just relaxed, spoke.

"I found .44 Magnum rounds! There are several submachine guns too..."

Her clone really was a ridiculously overpowered skill.

Its control range was broad enough to cover an entire room.

"Good work. Now use your clone to move these stones onto the shelves."

"Ah, we're swapping them out!"

She caught on quickly.

Yuki sat down and focused on controlling her clone.

She could normally move while doing it...

But this was more delicate work than usual.

Swish.

Once the clone placed rocks on the shelves, it finally brought over the ammunition.

The scale mechanism remained silent.

The clone handed me a fifty-round box of Magnum ammunition.

"Thank you."

Yuki shivered at my words but kept working.

That gave us fifty more rounds.

Next, I needed to get Yuki a main weapon.

A sawed-off shotgun wasn't reliable unless the target was close.

"There are several submachine guns."

"Bring over anything that looks usable. I'll appraise them. What ammunition is there?"

"Most of it is packaged with the firearms."

After adding more rocks, she brought over new guns.

Naturally, they had Enchantments on them.

Submachine guns.

I hadn't wanted to recommend one because they used too much ammunition...

But now we had ammunition to spare.

Common rounds like 9mm were piled up by the boxful.

[Appraisal skill transcended. Loot Expert skill activated.]

I started by examining the Luger pistol I'd taken from the Commander Doll's body earlier...

Surprisingly, there weren't many useful Enchantments.

[Flame Rounds permanent enchantment applied.]

'What is this?'

Did it fire incendiary rounds?

Even if the firepower was strong, I could just use incendiary rounds.

Besides, I already had the Ever-Burning Heart.

There were several other unusual Enchantments too.

It was harder to find two of the same type.

[Soundproofing permanent enchantment applied.]

"Oh..."

With a suppressor attached, a gun like this could probably be used almost silently.

It had its appeal, but I needed more firepower for now.

'No penetration enhancement... Was I really that lucky?'

I'd thought I was unlucky to get a lever-action rifle.

But the Enchantment I'd rolled was an absolute jackpot.

I found one that was at least useful right away.

"Yuki, find more 4.6mm submachine gun rounds. And magazines that fit this gun."

My choice was an MP7A2.

It was a relatively modern submachine gun.

Just like the Luger I'd seen earlier, it seemed like the eighth floor gave out a lot of German-made weapons.

[Shatter Enchantment permanently applied.]

The unusual part was this Shatter Enchantment.

It enhanced the bullet's impact force rather than its penetration.

It seemed to smash targets apart more effectively.

In other words, it couldn't penetrate bulletproof material...

But it could destroy bulletproof material quickly.

It was an Enchantment that suited a submachine gun reasonably well.

"Here are the magazines and ammunition."

"Good. Next, look for body armor, defensive gear, and artifacts."

Beside Yuki, I loaded the MP7 magazines.

4.6mm rounds.

It hit me again how this industry had no standardization at all.

9mm, 4.6mm, .44 Magnum, 7.65mm, even shotgun shells.

I suddenly felt like a peddler.

Still, we had secured a decent amount of ammunition.

"You use this submachine gun, Yuki."

"Me? Can I use it?"

"You can't rely on just one sawed-off shotgun."

Yuki could grind through bulletproof material with the Shatter Enchantment submachine gun, then I could land the finishing blow.

While controlling her clone, Yuki finally found body armor.

It was standard-sized, but it didn't look very thick.

Soft Armor with a low protection rating.

I'd be lucky if it could stop pistol rounds.

Even so, I took it without hesitation.

"You wear this too, Yuki..."

"No! I think you should wear it, Benefactor. I can block things with my clone when it comes down to it."

"... Your clone can block bullets too?"

"I just have to summon it in front of me before they hit."

No matter how I looked at it, her skill was better than mine.

If Yuki's clone skill had been EX-rank...

No, I needed to stop eyeing someone else's food.

Though since she was on my team now, was it my food too?

In the end, I couldn't overcome Yuki's insistence and put on the body armor.

She clearly wasn't going to give in.

As I looked around for another vest, a Guard Doll on patrol spotted the rocks on the shelves.

"Intruder detected!"

The moment it manually sounded the alarm, the door came down.

"Ah!"

Yuki's clone threw over everything it could grab from the shelf closest to the entrance.

Boom!

In the end, the door sealed shut.

We hurried away.

[Complete Senses skill level has increased to 9.]

[Night Vision skill level has increased to 4.]

[Appraisal skill level has increased to 3.]

I worried that the Guard Unit might chase us, but fortunately, nothing like that happened.

A vicious trap like that was enough.

Besides, the guard post would be partly empty because of yesterday's battle.

With weapons and ammunition secured, I felt a little more at ease.

Yuki looked slightly tired after maintaining her clone skill for so long.

We decided to rest in a nearby empty room.

We talked while eating lunch.

"Just how big is the eighth floor?"

"I know... Even though it's indoors, it feels really large."

More precisely, there were lots of rooms and areas.

There were even several rooms that didn't seem to serve any purpose.

"I don't even know what kind of facility this is."

We were done resupplying. There was no need to get greedy anymore.

I planned to find a potion to treat Team Leader Go Jiho as quickly as possible, then escape.

If possible, we'd complete the Goblin Merchants' quests along the way.

'Honestly, just the items we've obtained so far...'

Every weapon had an Enchantment on it, so I could probably sell them for a huge price.

Most were lightweight weapons, so they'd be useful when we challenged the eighth floor again too.

After finishing our meal and resting enough, we headed toward the next area.

Our route was limited because the armory had been completely sealed.

When I habitually tried to take the lead, Yuki stopped me.

"I'll send my clone ahead."

"Aren't you tired from using it so much?"

"I can't say I'm not, but I think this is the right move when we're entering a new room."

Now that she mentioned it, she was right.

The area from the very beginning had been full of traps, so we should be careful.

I stopped before a new room.

[Appraisal skill transcended. Loot Expert skill activated.]

"Hm... There's nothing special, but the detour is too long. Let's go in."

"Okay!"

Creak...

Yuki created another clone and sent it through the stone door.

Crash!

An arrow flew out of the darkness and pierced the clone.

"Huh?"

"It's an ambush!"

I grabbed Yuki and quickly pulled her back.

It wasn't a trap. It was the Guard Dolls firing at us.

They had noticed our presence at the armory...

Then waited in ambush in the next room.

I could have known if I'd used Complete Senses.

But I'd saved it because Yuki was going to send in her clone anyway.

"Pursuit! Pursuit!"

The dolls' mechanical voices followed us.

They probably thought they'd killed one person and charged in aggressively.

The corridor had little cover, putting us at a disadvantage.

We retreated to the room where we'd rested and hid behind a barricade.

The barricade we'd made while resting would finally be useful.

But when explosive arrows flew in, the barricade of wooden furniture shattered completely.

Boom!

"Urgh!"

Fragments from the barricade flew toward me.

Most stuck in the body armor...

But one large fragment embedded itself deep in my left shoulder.

[Regeneration skill transcended. Undying Blood skill activated.]

I activated my Transcendence skill without even thinking.

"Benefactor!"

"Return fire!"

I stopped Yuki from rushing toward me and pulled out the fragment.

The bleeding stopped quickly, but my arm barely moved.

The shoulder was a delicate area where all kinds of muscles connected.

"Argh..."

Guard Dolls were pouring into the room, leaving me no time to use a Recovery Potion.

I aimed at the commander with one arm and fired.

Bang!

I considered switching to my pistol...

But I wasn't confident I could properly perform a Reverse Mozambique Drill in a chaotic fight like this.

In the end, I used a technique that felt like a gamble.

Whoosh!

I hooked my thumb on the stock, then extended my arm and spun the gun once.

Click!

The lever-action rifle spun around the inside of my arm and made a crisp sound.

Spin-cocking, the trademark move of lever-action guns.

Physical Technique made it work properly.

Bang!

Since it wasn't a short rifle, it didn't look as cool as it did in movies.

I twisted my wrist slightly outward so it wouldn't catch on my body.

Click!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Yuki swept away the dolls with her submachine gun from the side, then rushed toward me.

Holding my throbbing arm, I barely steadied myself.

"Huff, huff..."

"Benefactor..."

"I'm okay. The skill will heal it quickly."

"What? It can heal injuries too? Regeneration alone shouldn't be nearly enough..."

Now that I thought about it, my skill was more versatile after all.

Even a clone probably couldn't heal injuries.

After getting ourselves sorted out, we wandered around looking for a detour and finally found the Potion Warehouse.

I looked for an air vent nearby first.

"I need to go in through there and check the inside."

"Ah, I'll send my clone."

Yuki was clearly exhausted, but tried not to show it.

Fortunately, there were no special traps in the Potion Warehouse.

It would be inconvenient if the facility they used themselves was full of traps too.

After hearing my guess, Yuki asked.

"Then what was the Residential Area? It was full of traps too."

"The Residential Area hasn't been used for a long time. This is just my guess, but didn't the dolls completely replace the servants' roles after they were introduced? That would explain why the Residential Area was abandoned."

"Ah, I see! I never would have guessed."

The guard post and armory we'd passed earlier seemed to act as barriers that filtered out outsiders.

Dragging my exhausted body, I entered the Potion Warehouse.

Did Team Leader Go Jiho and his family know how much trouble I was going through for them?

Well, they'd find out soon enough.

Once we met again, I'd talk their ears off until they were sick of it.

When I got back, I needed to get them to treat me to a proper feast.

@

The Potion Warehouse the Goblin Merchants had mentioned.

There was no need to doubt that I'd found the right place.

Tall, long shelves were filled with potions in every color.

But it didn't take long for me to realize something was wrong.

Yuki, who was standing guard, saw my stiff expression and asked.

"Benefactor? What's wrong?"

"Well..."

The Potion Warehouse in my imagination hadn't been this messy.

I thought I could just grab a potion labeled [Mana Heart Treatment] in huge letters from a clean, shop-like shelf and be done with it.

While I was at it, I could take plenty of other useful potions too.

But in reality, there wasn't even a name tag, let alone a classification label on the shelves.

Did the people here know what everything was just by looking at it?

Fortunately, I had Loot Expert.

There was a huge amount to check, but simply examining it should be quick.

[Appraisal skill transcended. Loot Expert skill activated.]

But what followed betrayed my expectations.

[Tearsgrass Juice: Commonly used as an Alchemy ingredient...]

[Ginkgo Sap: Alchemy ingredient...]

[Dancing Sand: Alchemy ingredient...]

These weren't finished products. They were ingredients?

Don't tell me... Did we have to mix them ourselves here?

I was about to completely lose it...

But Yuki barely brought me back to my senses.

"Ah, this... Benefactor. Something I found in the Residential Area might help!"

"What? What did you find?"

She handed me a small booklet.

[X month, X day. Failed to brew the Heavenly Elixir again. It turned into an ordinary Recovery Potion...]

It seemed to be the journal of an alchemist apprentice who had stayed in the Residential Area.

I see.

The idea was to gather things like this from each area and perform Alchemy ourselves.

We quickly began reading through the journal.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried