WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 4

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Think positive.

If I escaped from the seventh floor, I’d become the first Hunter in the world to possess an EX-rank skill.

Hunters received Basic Skills when they escaped the Tower, and the Basic Skills’ ranks were determined by the floor they entered on.

But no Hunter had ever entered on the seventh floor and escaped successfully.

Not even with proper supplies and a team of veteran Hunters.

A rookie escaping from the seventh floor was absurd to begin with.

I thought about that as I dodged bullets.

I’d made too much noise at the hospital.

It felt like every Hunter and monster in the area had gathered there.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

They fired at the slightest sound.

I didn’t think it had been this bad in the game.

[Detection skill level has increased to 8.]

“Grrrr...”

I sensed monsters ahead.

I picked up a large shard of glass and hurled it into the alley across from me.

Crash!

“Kyaaa!”

They rushed straight toward the sound.

But Detection kept picking up more and more monsters and Hunters.

‘Let’s get out of here.’

I’d already secured the essential loot.

I ran toward the nearest Descent Exit.

I didn’t want to spend another minute on the seventh floor.

There was a subway station near the hospital.

It was a dangerous place, but I couldn’t afford to be picky. Nothing was more dangerous than that hospital right now.

Even as I ran desperately, I kept my footsteps as quiet as possible.

[Stealth skill level has increased to 7.]

It was common for lowlifes to camp near an exit, but anyone doing that on the seventh floor was an idiot.

Anyone capable of entering the seventh floor was likely well-equipped, had plenty of skills, and carried ample consumables.

If they wanted to, they could bombard the area with grenades.

No loot was worth more than your life.

“Huff, huff...”

Struggling to catch my breath, I headed down to the subway platform.

If I followed the tracks, I could reach the Interfloor Zone.

Then I detected a Goblin nearby.

‘Did it get separated from its group?’

It hadn’t noticed me yet, but it was blocking the way. I couldn’t just walk past.

I’d thrown away the broken gun earlier.

My only weapon was a dagger.

I’d swept up the loot in such a hurry that I hadn’t checked it properly, but there hadn’t been anything else that looked like a weapon.

The Goblin, on the other hand, had a gun.

It looked like a cheap double-barreled shotgun, but I had no decent armor. I had no way to stop it.

‘... I have to do it.’

Judging by how afraid the Hellhound Handler had been, this dagger was clearly more powerful than it looked.

I gripped it tightly and threw a stone to the other side.

Tap!

“Eek?”

I pounced on the startled Goblin.

“Kyaaaak!”

I stabbed in such a rush that my aim was slightly off.

Still, the blade sank into its arm.

I grabbed the Goblin by the throat and tried to pull the dagger free when its body suddenly went limp.

“Huh? What?”

Was it playing dead?

It had been stabbed in the arm. It wasn’t stupid enough to pull something like that, was it?

Or had it had a heart attack?

Then the Goblin’s corpse scattered like smoke.

“Uh...”

It was probably the dagger’s ability.

‘Is it some kind of instant-kill item?’

An instant-kill item that didn’t even leave a corpse behind.

It was definitely useful, but why did it have to be a dagger?

I had to get close enough to stab them.

Death Priest’s Ritual Tool.

Countless factions appeared in Tower Escape.

There were especially many on the seventh floor, but I’d never heard of a character or faction called the Death Priest.

‘Let’s go down first.’

I took the shotgun and continued walking down the tracks through the darkness.

Before long, a steep stone staircase appeared.

“Yes!”

I’d successfully escaped from the seventh floor.

There had been a few incidents, but everything had somehow worked out in the end.

“Haa...”

As I continued down the stairs, the Interfloor Zone finally appeared.

It was a kind of rest area between floors.

A private space where no one else could intrude.

Of course, I couldn’t stay forever.

There was a two-hour time limit, and I’d be kicked out the moment it ran out.

It was one of the few considerate, merciful features in Tower Escape.

‘Shouldn’t they let us rest for eight hours?’

There was no time to hesitate.

The moment I entered the cramped Interfloor Zone, I looked for the merchant.

The Interfloor Merchant.

A Goblin Merchant who made outrageous profits between floors.

Its prices were a complete rip-off.

It bought cheap and sold high.

Still, it was a precious source of supplies for me right now.

A voice came from a shop filled with random junk.

The entrance was narrow, and the place was covered in barbed wire, making it feel like a pawnshop.

“Looking for something?”

“Give me a minute.”

Under a dim lightbulb, I emptied my backpack.

Only now did I check the loot I’d grabbed earlier.

The first things I noticed were three Hellhound Skulls.

They were common material and sellable items.

I sold them without hesitation.

“I’ll sell these first.”

“Six hundred gold.”

“Fine.”

There was no point haggling.

This bastard wouldn’t knock off a single coin.

Next came a hooded cloak.

It was the item dropped by the Hellhound Handler.

[Hood of Hell]

Increases Stealth skill level and provides considerable warmth and defense.

I didn’t have any proper armor, so I’d keep this one.

The Goblin Merchant finally looked me over properly.

“You... You’re a rookie without even a Basic Skill. But you entered the seventh floor?”

“... I entered after drinking.”

“Puhahaha! This human’s an idiot! And you still killed the Hellhound Handler?”

I ignored it and continued checking the loot.

[Ever-Burning Heart]

This was the whole reason I’d killed the Hellhound Handler.

It was a guaranteed drop, so naturally, it had appeared.

It would let me endure the cold of the sixth floor.

‘No more need for an expensive Thermal Kit.’

Unfortunately, there was no other valuable loot.

After selling all the miscellaneous items, I looked over the merchant’s goods.

“Do you have Cold-Weather Clothes? Something roughly my size.”

The Interfloor Merchant sold items it bought from Hunters, so it might not have what I was looking for.

Still, it should have Cold-Weather Clothes.

Quite a few Hunters coming down from the seventh floor must have sold some.

“You came from the seventh floor without Cold-Weather Clothes? You really did enter drunk. Here, human. Gloves and boots included, three hundred thirteen gold.”

What a scumbag.

More than half the money I’d made selling the Hellhound Skulls was gone.

But I had no choice.

“I can try them on before buying, right?”

“No. Human, you stink. Go wash over there first.”

That was why I’d bought new clothes in the first place.

The stench.

I’d rolled around in a pit of corpses, and the smell had seeped into my clothes.

It was so awful that I’d be discovered from a distance.

I even bought soap, washed myself clean, and came back.

Fortunately, the clothes fit well enough.

“I’ll take them.”

“Need anything else?”

The sixth floor was covered in heavy snow, so I didn’t need to worry about drinking water.

I’d gathered at least a little food yesterday.

“Do you have a gun with a suppressor? Something around two hundred gold.”

“For two hundred gold? Human, you’ve got less conscience than a Goblin. Thinking of selling that cloak?”

“No. You wouldn’t offer much for it anyway.”

It increased my Stealth skill level.

There was no way I could sell it.

I’d have to give up on a weapon instead.

I already had the dagger.

In Tower Escape, fighting was always the last option.

That was only because combat became unavoidable all too often.

“You can’t buy Tower gear for two hundred gold. This is three hundred.”

It showed me a Soviet-made pistol with a suppressor.

After some thought, I held out the double-barreled shotgun that had belonged to its kin.

“Will you trade it for this and all my remaining money?”

“Fine. That thing has no safety, so be careful.”

The Goblin Merchant said that as soon as it took the shotgun and money.

Was it insane?

I’d had no idea in the game.

“Hey, you should’ve told me that earlier.”

“It’s your fault for not knowing.”

Well, that was true.

Ignorance was the greatest sin in the world.

It brought the harshest punishment.

I gave up arguing and laid out my sleeping bag.

At least it had filled the pistol’s magazine with bullets.

“Tell me when there are five minutes left.”

“Human, is this really your first time?”

I slept deeply for the remaining time.

It was precious time when I didn’t have to shiver from the cold or anxiety.

I hadn’t slept properly on the seventh floor.

I’d woken several times an hour, afraid someone would come.

The Goblin Merchant provided surprisingly good service.

“Human! Wake up! Five minutes left!”

“Ah, thanks.”

I quickly packed up the sleeping bag and got to my feet.

A full set of Cold-Weather Clothes and the Ever-Burning Heart.

My preparations to escape the sixth floor were complete.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the Direct Exit leading out of the Tower from the sixth floor either.

Using the sixth floor’s Direct Exit required a special item.

Even active Hunters rarely had one.

‘I saw the news. America bought one for an enormous price.’

If I left with something like that, I’d be set for life.

Ah, thinking about Escape Life suddenly put me in a bad mood.

Pathetic bastard.

That was why his girlfriend dumped him.

“One minute left. See you again, human.”

“Sure.”

Was the Goblin Merchant always the kind of character to offer a farewell like that?

Flash!

The next moment, I fell into the middle of a snowfield.

A biting wind swept over me in an instant.

I hurriedly pulled up my hood, but the cold still seeped through my clothes.

Descending to another floor always dropped you in like this, so there was little chance of being attacked immediately by another Hunter or monster.

But there was one unexpected problem.

‘Where the hell am I?’

I knew this was the sixth floor, but I had no idea where exactly.

The sixth floor’s surface was completely covered in snow, making it hard to determine my location.

There weren’t many notable landmarks, either.

‘I must have landed near the edge of the map.’

In Tower Escape, I could identify my location within a second of landing.

Not here.

There were no signs to tell me which direction was which, so I started walking blindly.

The cold was worse than I’d imagined.

Without a full set of Cold-Weather Clothes, I wouldn’t have made it a hundred meters.

At least the heavy snow kept my footprints from being discovered.

‘I should be okay moving like this for now.’

The sixth floor was broadly divided into surface and underground areas.

The map was themed around an abandoned mine.

Most of the loot came from the dark, dangerous underground.

The surface had far less to offer, which also made it much safer.

My goal was to escape, so naturally, I would stick to the surface.

Underground routes were limited, so I wouldn’t be able to avoid enemies if something happened.

Rattle.

The pistol at my waist kept shaking, making me uneasy.

Since it had no safety, every step felt like rolling dice.

I couldn’t throw it away, either.

If I had to face another Hunter, it would be far more reassuring than a dagger.

How many hours had I walked like that?

[Forced March skill level has increased to 1.]

It was a skill that activated when stamina reached its limit.

Just as I thought my feet were freezing solid and I couldn’t go any farther, I found a small cabin.

It was too small and ordinary to count as a landmark, but I could rest there for a while.

‘At least something showed up. I think I picked the right direction.’

My vision was limited by the snowstorm, so I might have passed landmarks without noticing them.

After checking the area, I opened the door, went inside, and took out the Ever-Burning Heart.

The heart gave off a gentle warmth.

“Hiss.”

I tightened my grip on it, and it flared hot.

My frozen hands and feet thawed in an instant.

It was hot enough to cook with.

There was no smoke, so it was completely eco-friendly and wouldn’t give me away.

“Food... There’s barely any left.”

Since this wasn’t a major farming spot, there was almost no loot.

That was probably why I hadn’t encountered any other Hunters so far.

As I ate what little food remained, I thought about it.

I was running dangerously low on food.

At this rate, I wouldn’t make it to the fifth floor.

‘Should I raid the Mining Village?’

It was one of the few farming locations on the sixth floor’s surface.

I could definitely find food in the village.

There might be medicine and other supplies, too.

‘I’ll loot only the outskirts, then get out fast.’

After making my plan, I fell asleep as though I were wasting away.

But only a few hours later.

Creak!

Footsteps squeaked outside the door.

Footnotes:

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