WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 43

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Mini Dungeon.

It'd been a while since I'd thought about the Tower Escape game.

Its Mini Dungeons could be summed up in one phrase.

An unpleasant experience.

The game had never exactly aimed to be fun in the first place...

But once you entered a Mini Dungeon, you understood.

So this was what a truly unpleasant experience felt like...

There were several reasons for that.

The biggest was probably that they were independent spaces.

In a Mini Dungeon, you generally never ran into other hunter teams. Maybe that was why the monsters were so difficult. There were plenty that couldn't be killed unless you figured out a special gimmick.

Still, reality should be a little better than the game.

The game hadn't been able to properly implement hunters' skills due to the limits of the system.

Even the skills it did have were only normal ones. You could say Basic Skills hadn't been implemented at all.

"Phew, this place..."

"It's creepy."

The interior was extremely dark. The system had called it the Prison of Bonds earlier. Now that I looked around, the décor was closer to a prison than an abandoned castle.

Mini Dungeons came in two main varieties.

The first had powerful bosses and special monsters. Straightforwardly difficult and unpleasant Mini Dungeons.

The other type was gimmick-based.

Like the sixth floor's Soul Freeze, they made things difficult and unpleasant with permanent debuffs applied across the entire floor.

After listening to my explanation, Yuki clapped her hands.

"So they're all difficult and unpleasant either way!"

"Is that worth clapping for?"

Kim Yuna looked slightly dumbfounded as she checked her equipment.

Still, Yuki had unexpectedly gotten to the heart of it.

"You said the rewards get better the harder they are?"

"That's true, but..."

I stepped out from behind the iron bars.

It looked like we'd arrived in a lower area filled with prison cells. Escaping the Tower wasn't enough. Now we had to escape a prison too.

The cell block had been completely abandoned.

The only prisoners were bare skeletons without even skin left on them, rats, and a few spiders.

A long corridor stretched over the dust-covered stone floor. There were no enemies nearby that I could detect right away.

"Let's move."

I took the lead with Complete Senses.

The skill's effective range had clearly increased compared to usual.

'Ah, this must be because of the trait.'

Pioneer, the trait I'd gained for becoming the first in the world to clear the eighth floor.

It said skill effectiveness increased upon entering unexplored areas. That would be extremely useful while clearing Mini Dungeons.

Most Mini Dungeons gave you no reason to return after being cleared once.

The rewards were good, but most were one-time only. Even if you cleared one repeatedly, you could only receive the reward once.

It was probably because they were special environments without competing hunters. The Tower seemed determined not to let people enter them over and over.

"It really loves making hunters compete against each other."

Kim Yuna quietly complained about the Tower.

I agreed.

The technology information products that had been added to the shop this time too...

It felt like they were designed to encourage competition among hunters.

"Phew, let's go. There aren't any enemies in the room across from us."

I wondered if there might be traps...

But there weren't.

I could barely sense any magic power either.

Creeeak!

The old door at the end of the corridor opened with an incredibly loud noise. At this point, it was practically an alarm system.

"... No signs of life."

There could be something dormant like a Gargoyle, so I didn't let my guard down.

Once we left the corridor, a huge iron door appeared before us.

"It looks like there's another area beyond this."

"Can we break that?"

"It'd be difficult even with explosives. Yuna, how about teleporting over and opening it?"

I studied the lock's structure before speaking.

"No."

Maybe because it was a prison, it was locked from both sides. I thought we might be able to solve it with a lockpick...

But that didn't work either.

"It feels like it's locked by a skill. This must be related to the Mini Dungeon's gimmick."

There were two handles on the door.

It would open if the upper and lower handles were turned at the same time.

But...

There was no way it had been made like this for no reason.

"We'll probably receive a penalty if we open it."

It probably wouldn't be instant death on the first try...

But we couldn't afford to be careless.

I grabbed the upper handle first.

If I transcended Regeneration, I should be able to recover from most penalties. And I had a Heavenly Elixir in case things went wrong.

Then Yuki spoke up.

"Can't we use clones?"

"... Let's try it."

Yuki summoned two clones and tried to have them open the door at the same time...

But the handles didn't budge.

Clone Technique might be an overpowered skill, but it couldn't solve this.

"It won't turn."

"Let's try again."

As I grabbed the upper handle, Han Juwon quickly took hold of the lower one.

Click!

The handles turned with a heavy sound, and the door opened.

Right afterward, a chain appeared from thin air and linked my wrist to Han Juwon's.

"Whoa!"

Click!

The chain clamped tightly around us like handcuffs and wouldn't come off.

I suddenly felt a little weaker.

Han Juwon and I hurriedly tried to remove it...

But since this was part of the dungeon's gimmick, it wasn't likely to come off or break easily.

"What is this? Do we just have to stay stuck together?"

The chain was fairly long, so it wasn't incredibly inconvenient to move.

Still, I felt strangely drained.

I pushed Complete Senses and Appraisal to their transcended states and identified the chain.

[Chain of Bonds: Grants power inversely proportional to the emotions you feel toward the other person.]

"Chain of Bonds?"

The description was brief, but it wasn't easy to interpret.

It granted power inversely proportional to your emotions?

There wasn't time to think about it for long.

The moment the door opened, Guard Golems began charging in from the other side.

They looked similar to the monsters from the fifth-floor factory.

"Take cover!"

Bang, bang!

I was aiming for the weak points in their heads, but my hands were shaking slightly, causing me to miss again and again.

As my shots missed, I naturally became more impatient.

Should I transcend Eye of Disassembly?

No. I was under the chain's weakening effect, so I needed to conserve my strength for now.

Only Han Juwon and I were bound by the chain anyway.

The other team members were fine.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Kim Yuna destroyed a weak point with her submachine gun and looked at me.

"Are you okay?"

"I can manage!"

This...

It was a complicated feeling.

The Chain of Bonds.

It granted power inversely proportional to the emotions you felt toward the other person.

I thought I understood now.

I trusted Han Juwon and relied on them as a teammate.

Those feelings had come back to weaken me.

Han Juwon probably felt the same way.

Still, we could move well enough.

Did that mean we didn't trust each other that deeply yet?

That was complicated in its own way.

"I hate social traps like this... Is it trying to turn us against each other or what?"

Still, it was a pretty vicious dungeon gimmick.

If two people disliked each other, they would receive a buff instead...

But if they were on those terms, they wouldn't have entered a Mini Dungeon together in the first place.

It was a gimmick that would almost inevitably weaken you.

Was that why it was called the Prison of Bonds?

Even if you somehow received a buff, it wouldn't be easy to feel happy about it.

It meant you distrusted and disliked the other person that much.

Bang!

We defeated the squad of Guard Golems without much difficulty.

Then the chain between Han Juwon and me vanished without a sound.

"Phew, it doesn't stay on permanently."

"I think I'm starting to understand it. The more you rely on and trust the other person, the weaker you become."

"What? That was the gimmick?"

I looked over the team again.

There would probably be a similar gimmick in the next room...

We needed to decide on pairs beforehand.

'Yuki is the key.'

Yuki probably depended on me quite a bit.

That was all she'd shown so far.

Then what were her relationships with the other team members like?

If she had no particular feelings toward Han Juwon, she might receive a buff instead.

But if that really happened, it would drive a wedge between them.

Even a good relationship could go bad.

Kim Yuna, who had understood the gimmick properly, stepped forward first.

"Team Leader, sit this one out. You're the core of our strength, and the team members rely on you a lot too."

The others agreed without complaint.

If I was left out, Yuki would become a fairly useful option.

She hadn't been part of the team for long.

"Next time, I'll get chained to Yuki. What do you think?"

"Wait. You and Yuki are both specialized in mobility and disruption. If the two of you get chained together, then... I'll do it."

When Han Juwon stepped forward, Kim Yuna reluctantly nodded.

Sure enough, when we continued ahead, another identical iron door appeared.

This time, Yuki and Han Juwon opened it together.

Click!

A chain appeared out of nowhere again.

Yuki and Han Juwon staggered at the same time.

"Ugh..."

"Are you okay?"

"I can manage!"

Naturally, the weakening effect was less severe than it had been for Han Juwon and me...

But they were still weakened.

I had worried because Yuki hadn't been with us long...

But the relationships among the team members were unexpectedly good.

'Should I be happy about this or not...?'

Guard Golems appeared again.

I calmly picked them off one at a time.

Bang! Click, bang!

The battlefield was narrow, and the Guard Golems had machine guns.

One wrong move, and we'd be wiped out.

Still, Kim Yuna's teleportation and Yuki's clones skillfully disrupted them.

"Ah, three approaching from the rear! I'll handle them!"

"Be careful!"

[Eye of Disassembly skill transcended. Collapse Point skill activated.]

I wanted to save Four Seasons, so I tried transcending the Upper Skill of Sleight of Hand instead.

I'd gained it a while ago, but this was my first time properly using it.

"Ugh..."

It felt as if blood had rushed into my eyes.

The golems' weak points became completely visible.

As time passed, they gradually grew larger.

It forcibly exposed the enemy's weaknesses.

Bang! Click, bang!

I took one down in an instant.

As I aimed at another, it was slightly faster.

I rolled behind cover without hesitation.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Crash!

The old tiles and structures in the prison shower room were destroyed in an instant.

To make matters worse, another one aimed at me.

Their teamwork was better than expected.

Swoosh!

I darted in with Gale Boots and stabbed it.

Just as I'd expected, it died instantly.

The remaining golem sprayed bullets as it swung its machine gun toward me, but Yuki's clone arrived at just the right moment and blew its head off with a shotgun.

Bang!

Had she given the clone her primary weapon?

She'd been awkward with it during training...

But she'd become skilled before I knew it.

Real combat really was the best opportunity for growth.

"Team Leader! The front is clear!"

"Thank you."

The moment I reached out to retrieve the dagger embedded in the golem's weak point...

Swish!

"Whoa..."

The dagger appeared soundlessly in my hand.

Did it have an automatic retrieval function now too?

Amazing.

I'd actually considered using the Instant-Death Dagger as a throwing weapon before...

But former Team Leader Go Jiho had told me not to.

Apparently, even proper throwing daggers weren't as powerful as they looked.

And not having a melee weapon in hand when things went wrong could be fatal.

But now, it was an option worth considering.

"We should be able to find the exit soon."

"Already?"

"That's why it's called a Mini Dungeon."

If we hadn't had the Alchemist's Ammunition Box, we'd have struggled quite a bit.

Golem-type monsters were tough and consumed a lot of ammunition.

After rejoining the team, I headed toward the next area.

It was a circular structure with something like a massive watchtower in the center.

Kim Yuna recognized it when she saw it.

"Isn't something like this called a panopticon?"

"Oh, Yuna, you're really knowledgeable."

"Ahem."

There was no iron door this time.

Instead, I could sense a fairly powerful magic presence from the center.

"... Of course. It won't let us go that easily."

"Yes? What do you mean, Team Leader?"

"I told you earlier. There are two main types of Mini Dungeons."

By the time we reached the eighth floor, even the Mini Dungeons had improved in quality.

They didn't settle for only one of the two annoying types.

This Mini Dungeon had both a troublesome unique gimmick and a powerful boss.

Still, something like this didn't even qualify as unfair in Tower Escape.

"Let's go."

The moment we entered, an unfamiliar voice rang out from a position high in the watchtower, obscured by iron bridges and impossible to snipe.

"My new prisoners have arrived! I simply love the moment bonds turn into chains..."

Damn.

Was the boss using the gimmick itself?

That was a little unfair.

As I assessed the terrain around us, the boss continued chattering happily.

"I watched you earlier. The pairing you wanted to avoid most was... this one!"

Clatter!

"Ah!"

The next moment, a chain wrapped around Yuki's wrist and mine.

It had figured us out completely.

A pairing our team had never considered for even a moment from the start.

Yuki and me.

Anyone could see it would be a disaster.

'It watched us earlier, then chose for us itself at the end? How cheap...'

I felt my strength drain away even more sharply than it had with Han Juwon.

I felt bad for Han Juwon...

But I couldn't help feeling more attached to Yuki.

She was the opposite sex, and she had a pretty face and a pretty body.

More than anything, she depended on me heavily.

She seemed like someone who'd be in serious trouble without me, so I couldn't help looking after her.

It would be a lie to say I hadn't given her any of my heart in the process.

We had even cleared the eighth floor together, just the two of us.

You could say our bond was quite solid.

Without hesitation, I activated my Transcendence skills at full power.

[Physical Technique skill transcended. Inhuman Strength skill activated.]

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

[Regeneration skill transcended. Undying Blood skill activated.]

[Shadow Walking skill transcended. Firmament Veil skill activated.]

Swish!

That roughly canceled out the weakening effect...

But the real problem was Yuki.

Just as I'd expected, she could barely move.

Her body trembled where she stood.

I pulled her along and hurried away.

But the boss of the panopticon seemed able to see through even Firmament Veil and chased after us.

Maybe Stealth simply didn't work on it because it was a warden.

"There's nowhere to run!"

A shadow descended over our heads.

The boss was shaped like a gigantic bat.

"Ugh!"

Bang!

I fired on instinct, but it nimbly dodged.

Then it folded its wings and dove, trying to crush me with its claws.

But Yuki moved faster.

Bang!

She pulled me into a roll to the side, then fired her sawed-off shotgun at it.

Her movement was much faster and more forceful than before she'd received the weakening effect.

"What? Aargh!"

The boss, badly startled, rolled across the ground after being hit by a paralysis round.

But the paralysis wouldn't last long against a boss-class monster.

Yuki calmly switched to her primary weapon, the SPAS-12, approached it, and rapidly pumped several shots into it.

Bang, bang, bang!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

She had clearly been weakened more severely than I was.

How could she move like that?

The boss seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Despite bleeding heavily, it cried out as if having a seizure.

Even as it died, it couldn't understand.

"D-didn't you like that bastard? You couldn't have hated him..."

Yuki answered shortly.

"That's shallow."

"... What?"

"Is the person you like most different from the person you hate most? What an easy life you live. I'm not jealous, though."

Had someone once said that the opposite of love wasn't hate, but indifference?

Muttering as if she couldn't understand, Yuki blew its head off with the shotgun.

Bang!

"..."

The boss was dead, but unfortunately, I was still alive.

Once I confirmed the chain had vanished, I asked while trembling all over.

"Y-Yuki... Did I do something that made you dislike me?"

It looked like the buff and debuff had canceled each other out...

Had I done something to make her hate me?

Yuki snickered and answered.

"You asked me last time when I was going home. You streamed and laughed and chatted with other people... And earlier, you almost got hurt by a golem."

"..."

Wasn't that too demanding?

We quickly collected the loot, pretending nothing had happened.

Footnotes:

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