WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 37

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Around the time the muscle soreness I got on the eighth floor had fully healed, I headed down to Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province with the team.

We were there to build an Eighth-Floor Training Ground.

For the record, sniper Sang Hajun still needed time to recover. He probably would not be able to join next month's expedition either, so he was seriously considering taking a break.

There was no rule saying Alpha Team had to enter the Tower every month.

Construction on the Eighth-Floor Training Ground was proceeding underground at breakneck speed, under the strictest secrecy. Costs had shot through the roof, but keeping it confidential was deemed far more important.

It was not like it was being built with my money anyway.

I inspected the place myself and gave my opinion.

"Ah, it looks good. But isn't the lighting too bright?"

"It's only like this because construction is still underway... We'll dim it once it's complete. Was there a particular color to the lighting?"

"I think it was just normal white light."

"Thank you."

I'd only explained the finer mechanics of the eighth floor to my team members...

But while I was explaining things, there was no avoiding the subject of Yuki.

I already had my eye on her as a team member, so it was better to come clean now.

"Actually, I met Yuki on the eighth floor."

"Yuki?"

"You know, the Japanese hunter I said I met on the fourth floor when I first entered the Tower..."

"Really? What an incredible coincidence. Japan must be desperate if they're sending hunters to the eighth floor..."

"... It wasn't a coincidence."

Kim Yuna and Han Juwon were speechless for a long time after hearing my story.

"That legendary troll who leaves comments on your YouTube is a hunter?"

"She'll be coming to Korea in a few days. She's hurting, so please give her a warm welcome."

I never thought I'd say something that made me sound like an elementary school teacher.

You really never knew where life would take you.

Kim Yuna, who had been hit hard by malicious comments herself, immediately got angry.

"Why are we taking her in?"

"Yuki is an S-rank hunter now."

"What? When did she get promoted?"

"She made a Basic Skill Enhancement Pill on the eighth floor."

The team only calmed down after hearing she was S-rank.

There were barely any S-rank hunters in Korea. I did not think I'd seen one even among the First-Tier Teams.

Beta Team had borrowed the Key of Snow to make someone S-rank before, but it had ended in spectacular failure.

What was that bastard doing these days?

I returned to the subject of the eighth floor.

"The guards keep moving around unpredictably, and they ambush you sometimes. Ah, and the boss that comes out of the Room of Mirrors has reflection and resurrection abilities by default..."

The more I explained, the more serious everyone's expressions became.

"You really survived all that?"

"It should be fine as long as we know the strategy, right?"

"So, what's the next plan?"

Han Juwon asked.

Being a team leader really was exhausting. We'd barely gotten out of the Tower, and they were already asking about the next plan.

Still, he was right.

A team leader always needed a plan.

"We reenter the eighth floor. We'll make Basic Skill Enhancement Pills in the Potion Warehouse, kill the alchemist boss in the Central Zone, then explore the Mirror World."

I'd picked up the key ingredient, [Frozen Mana Crystal], in the Central Zone last time...

If we went in again, I could make two pills.

I'd use them to raise Kim Yuna's and Sang Hajun's skills to S-rank.

Nobody objected to that part.

"But we don't know how to deal with the boss, do we?"

"My Appraisal skill leveled up a lot this time, and I've maxed out Complete Senses. If I'm in good condition, I should be able to analyze it the moment I see it."

More importantly, I had prepared a Plan B like a proper team leader.

"If things go wrong, we'll run into the Room of Mirrors next to it and enter the Mirror World."

"Wait. You said the mirror can be broken from outside, right? If it gets broken while we're inside, won't we be trapped in there?"

"No. Normally, clearing a mini-dungeon opens a Direct Exit inside."

I'd confirmed that with the Goblin Merchant.

The eighth floor worked the same way.

If we leave a primed grenade behind before entering, it can destroy the mirror from the outside. Then we can explore without anyone interfering. No matter how dangerous a mini-dungeon was, it was still far better than dealing with other hunters.

"We need to make as much as we can while information about the eighth floor isn't public yet. It's a complete gold mine."

When we'd barely made it down from the fifth floor to the second floor alive, we'd earned around 45,000 gold.

This time, we'd made 250,000 gold from clearing only the eighth floor. There was no comparison.

Han Juwon snickered.

"Kang Hyun is completely obsessed with clearing the Tower."

"Mm..."

I could not exactly deny it.

These days, I even dreamed about the eighth floor when I slept.

Was I addicted to dopamine or something?

There was no rush to make a detailed plan before Yuki joined us. The Eighth-Floor Training Ground still was not complete, so we decided to film a video instead.

"What's the content this time?"

"An Alchemy experiment."

"Isn't that core information from the eighth floor?"

"Nobody can do anything with that alone. We just won't say it's related to the eighth floor."

Anyone perceptive enough would probably figure it out...

But I did not think the information itself would spread properly.

They'd understand once they saw the result.

Standing before a huge cauldron, I carefully added the ingredients.

I'd done this often enough that I was used to it now.

"What are you making?"

"A simple Recovery Potion recipe. I brought the ingredients from the Tower."

The result was exactly what I expected.

[Waste: The result of a talentless alchemist wasting precious ingredients.]

I'd done exactly the same thing as on the eighth floor, yet it was a complete failure.

I did not even need to use my Appraisal skill.

"You said you did the same thing? It completely failed."

"It's probably because of the difference in environment. The eighth floor had much richer magic power. The cauldron was probably special too."

"Ah..."

In the end, anyone who wanted to perform Alchemy had to risk entering the eighth floor.

Once we finished inspecting the Eighth-Floor Training Ground and filming, we returned to the hotel.

The promotional team edited the video, and after we uploaded it to the channel...

The responses came in right away.

[Yuki : Everyone, you've waited a long time, right? The world's greatest hunter, Mr. Kang Hyun, has returned! You should worship him, shouldn't you?]

[Fog Lake Swim Club : The insane troll is back. Leave the comments right now. There is no hope here...]

[Director Fist Technique : Isn't this Yuki, the hunter from Japan?]

[Mage Judge : Would an active hunter really be crazy enough to do that? It's not like Yuki is a rare name.]

At least today was relatively quiet because I'd told her to tone it down.

Then I got a message from the Hunter Association staff member in charge.

[We've finished speaking with the Japanese delegation. They say they'll arrive tomorrow.]

That was fast.

Japan really must have been desperate.

Since this was officially a hunter exchange as well, Yuki would probably be able to bring equipment with her.

Kim Yuna, who had been scrutinizing Yuki's comments with the eyes of a hawk, put away her phone.

"Let's go eat."

Tonight's team dinner was at a Korean barbecue restaurant.

Since we were out in the provinces, there were far fewer options than usual.

Even though it was early, there were already customers inside. It seemed hunters frequented the place because it was well known for its food.

The customers themselves were not a problem, but they were pretty loud.

"So I was saying! I..."

"Too loud... Should we go somewhere else?"

"No, I booked us a private room. Let's go in there."

"We're drinking again today, right?"

"Of course."

It was a problem that I'd developed a taste for alcohol after leaving the Tower.

It was too good.

I took a bite of Korean beef grilled over charcoal.

It melted in my mouth.

Maybe this was why I kept entering the Tower.

"Since Yuki is coming, let's head back to Seoul tomorrow morning."

"We'll finally see that person in real life."

Kim Yuna was still fuming when my senses slipped slightly out of sync, probably because I'd been drinking.

Complete Senses activated on its own, and information from the surrounding tables came pouring in.

'Ah, this...'

Complete Senses had reached level 10 this time, gaining an always-on activation effect...

But it was more of a hindrance in everyday life, so I'd turned it off.

Even at minimum output, it was a level 10 Upper Skill. The amount of information was overwhelming.

If my senses became too sensitive, even walking down the street was uncomfortable.

The restaurant was moderately full...

And at the loudest table, I spotted a familiar face.

A man who looked openly trashy.

There were two women and one other man with him, making four in total.

"My seniors told me I absolutely had to come here."

"Wow, your senior hunters really look after you?"

"Of course they do. I'm the top graduate of the current cohort..."

Most of it was just him bragging about how great he was.

Only then did I properly remember him.

The rookie hunter who had entered with Beta Team.

We'd gone through the trouble of lending him the Key of Snow, but he acted like deadweight and ended up A-rank.

Naturally, Beta Team had kicked him out right away, so how could he still have senior hunters looking after him?

I asked Kim Yuna and Han Juwon to make sure.

"What happened to that guy who entered with Beta Team?"

"Ah, that A-rank rookie? What do you think happened? His reentry time is coming up, but he hasn't even found a team."

"In my opinion, that guy will never enter the Tower again."

"Why not?"

"He became a hunter from the start just to get a Basic Skill and a hunter's business card."

Ah, I see.

You could receive a Basic Skill after escaping the Tower just once...

And if you got lucky, it could be useful in everyday life too.

Of course, a hunter's power gradually weakened if they stayed out of the Tower for too long.

They could no longer gain magic power.

"What skill did he get?"

"A Barrier skill. But he can only put it on himself, and once he deploys it, he can't see outside at all, so it's completely useless."

"Pfft. He got the perfect skill for himself!"

Kim Yuna clapped happily.

So he got a skill that thoroughly protected only himself.

It seemed everyone received Basic Skills that suited their personality.

Yuki, who used Clone Technique online, had received Clone Technique for real...

And there was no need to mention Sang Hajun or Go Jiho.

Then what did that make me, with my Transcendence skill?

Was I someone hard to categorize?

No. Think positively.

Transcendence was not merely hard to categorize. It was practically an all-purpose skill.

Still, a Barrier skill would be useless outside the Tower.

Kim Yuna belatedly realized something.

"But we lent them the sixth-floor key. He's not going to work as a hunter after receiving that benefit?"

"We received a rental fee from Beta Team."

"That's true, but it still feels irritating."

It was fortunate Kim Yuna could not properly hear the conversation at that table.

It was something else.

"Everyone keeps trying to lure me into their teams."

"Hey, you can't get swept up by that stuff so easily!"

"Right. Since you're S-rank, you have to join a First-Tier Team! Like Alpha Team!"

That bastard had not properly told them he was A-rank.

Since he'd escaped the sixth floor, they naturally assumed he was S-rank.

He had a way of leading people into misunderstandings on their own.

He was an excellent scammer.

It bothered me, but I decided not to care.

If he did not enter the Tower again, I would never have to deal with him.

But that decision soon became meaningless.

The conversation veered somewhere much more dangerous.

"So that punk acted up in front of a hunter, so I beat him until he was almost dead..."

He had barely become a hunter, yet he was already bragging about having an assault record.

"Someone I know is launching hunter-related products this time. Are you interested?"

"Wow, are you selling them under your name, hyung? That's huge."

He really intended to make a killing.

I could not stand listening any longer, so I stepped outside for some air.

"I'm going to get some fresh air."

"Okay."

The sun had already set, and everything was dark.

I was thinking of using the restroom when the restaurant door opened behind me.

It was that guy from earlier.

"Ah, are you perhaps the new leader of Alpha Team...? Wow, congratulations, sir!"

"Mm? No..."

Did he recognize me leaving the restaurant and follow me?

I'd only seen him briefly when we lent him the key and received it back.

He grabbed me and began talking eagerly.

"Have you chosen Alpha Team's members yet?"

People did not know about Yuki.

Of course, they would assume Alpha Team had at least one open spot.

I gave him a vague answer, but an unpleasant feeling twisted in my gut.

At first, I thought it was the alcohol...

It was not.

'... Why?'

After thinking it through, I finally understood.

To this guy, hunter work was a business.

A scam business, at that.

I'd never dealt with someone this calculating before, so it caught me off guard.

Whether he noticed my discomfort or not, he continued calmly.

"How about me?"

Wow...

His audacity almost deserved praise.

Had he already forgotten that Beta Team's leader had turned him down right in front of me?

I answered as calmly as I could.

"Are you going to keep entering the Tower?"

You were not going to take hunter work seriously anyway.

Sure enough, he reacted immediately.

"No. I mean, as a reserve member or something... You know. A team like Alpha Team would obviously..."

Of course, First-Tier Teams usually had reserve members.

But Go Jiho had been extremely selective when choosing people, so Alpha Team had no reserve members.

He had even kicked out existing members. There was no way he would have kept reserves around.

"Even if I don't enter the Tower right away, something like a naming sponsor arrangement... You know what I mean?"

Only then did I understand what he was after.

Now he wanted to get an Alpha Team business card and use it to make money.

Even if he got kicked out quickly, he would go around introducing himself as a former Alpha Team member.

"Ah, do you need women? There are lots of bitches who go crazy for hunters. Buy the women some decent drinks and drug them..."

"..."

Was he dealing drugs and acting as a pimp too?

He must have been busy.

He really was working hard at life.

Maybe he misunderstood my silence.

He said something he never should have said.

"I got a skill that suits me perfectly, you know? If it were me, I could hold out better than former Team Leader Go Jiho..."

I could not properly hear what he said after that.

Only one thought went through my mind.

This guy would be fine as a sacrifice to death.

"... I'll put you in."

"Huh? Really? Thank you, sir. I'll make sure the profit distribution is..."

"Block even one of my attacks."

"... Ah, it's a test. Of course, I should be able to do that. Where should we do it?"

Did this guy know how many hunters I'd buried in the Tower?

"Here."

"... Huh? Ah... Haha, are you drunk, sir?"

Instead of answering, I put my hand on my dagger.

I had not drawn it from its sheath yet.

Only then did he realize I was not joking, and his body stiffened.

No matter how much people mocked it as a useless skill, he was still A-rank.

If his defense was completely specialized, he should be that much tougher.

"You fucking..."

He swore and deployed his skill.

Half a beat faster, the blade flew.

Crunch!

The blade pierced straight through his side.

The moment it stabbed him, his body collapsed completely.

Whoosh!

His corpse vanished as though it had been sucked somewhere.

The dagger made a satisfied smacking sound.

Footnotes:

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