WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈
Chapter 44
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After the boss fell, we thoroughly searched the surrounding area.
There were several valuable pieces of loot inside the surveillance room where it had stayed.
The rewards weren't too disappointing.
"Altogether, it should come to around 100,000 gold."
Of course, it wasn't enough to make clearing the same Mini Dungeon over and over worthwhile.
A Mini Dungeon's real reward was a one-time thing.
"Found it!"
Kim Yuna cheered beside me.
It was a small, elegant box. There had to be artifact-grade loot inside.
Yuki examined the box and asked, "Is this the Mini Dungeon's one-time reward?"
"That's right. If we open it, the team members will be registered automatically. After that, it can't be opened again."
"Then wouldn't it be more advantageous to clear it alone, one person at a time?"
"Normally, you can't clear a Mini Dungeon alone. There are tricky mechanics or a boss..."
"I see."
Click!
There was no need to deliberate for long. I opened it.
A tiny card lay inside.
"... A card?"
[Smoke Screen Skill Card: Use it to obtain the Smoke Screen skill. Creates a thick smoke screen over a wide area...]
"What is this?"
Could it be a card that let someone learn an additional skill?
I'd never even heard of something like this.
Then again, this damned Mini Dungeon had mechanics I'd never heard of either, filthy and unfair ones at that.
The reward had to be at least this good.
"A card that lets you learn a skill? That's amazing."
"... I think the team leader should use it first."
When Han Juwon spoke up, no one objected.
Honestly, I'd been thinking the same thing.
I had Transcendence.
This [Smoke Screen] skill would probably count as an ordinary skill...
Which meant I could transcend it.
"Smoke Screen, huh? Nice. I haven't had room to carry smoke grenades lately..."
"The Direct Exit is already open, right?"
"It's over there. Let's pack up everything that's left."
With only escaping left, we gathered up anything that looked like it could make money.
My backpack had been full for ages. It was so heavy that I'd have to throw it off the moment combat started.
Fwaaaash!
When we descended the iron ladder beneath the surveillance room, we arrived at Gwanghwamun.
[Escape Complete]
[Transcendence skill level has increased to 6.]
[Shadow Walking skill level has increased to 7.]
[Eye of Disassembly skill level has increased to 2.]
[Achievement Reward: Bond Guardian trait acquired. Physical abilities increase slightly when you are with team members who cleared a Mini Dungeon with you.]
[Activities required to unlock the 9th floor: (3/3) complete.]
[You may now enter the 9th floor.]
The ninth floor was open?
Still, there was something I needed to do first.
After giving the government officials a quick greeting, I headed straight for the shop.
"I'm selling these! It's okay if I unpack some of this stuff here, right?"
"Of course, valued customer."
The Goblin Merchants approached, rubbing their hands together.
The hunters who happened to be in the shop stepped back a few paces to watch.
"Wow... Is that Alpha Team? They're back already?"
"Why do they have so much loot? Hey, go talk to them."
"I don't think we should bother them right now."
We frantically sorted through the items in our backpacks.
"Team leader, what about this?"
"Set that aside. It's a sniper rifle for Hajun. Sell all the Mirror Shards."
"The full quantity of Mirror Shards comes to 160,000 gold."
For reference, we'd destroyed and recovered the mirror that showed the battlefield Mini Dungeon before Han Juwon entered.
So the Mirror Shards alone came to 160,000 gold.
Once we finished selling off the loot, we finally got the estimate.
"The total is 570,000 gold. Shall I settle the payment?"
"... Yeah."
This was enough to make me faint.
When we'd fought our way down from the fifth floor to the second, we'd earned around 50,000 gold.
Was this the reward for stepping into an unknown area?
Then again, I couldn't compare it to when we'd entered with fully equipped gear.
Traveling light had become such a basic habit lately.
The moment the settlement was complete, I checked the catalog.
"The Infinite Dimensional Energy Reactor Technology hasn't sold yet, right?"
"That is correct."
Unfortunately, one of the technologies I'd had my eye on had already been sold.
[Magical Medical Technology - 220,000 gold]
It looked like another country had scraped together every last resource to buy it.
I really couldn't let my guard down.
Fortunately, none of the other technologies had sold.
"Whew, I'm glad this one is still available."
[Alchemy Equipment Enchanting Technology: 300,000 gold]
I bought it immediately in case it sold out.
"I'll buy the Infinite Dimensional Energy Reactor Technology."
"That will be 500,000 gold."
I wanted to buy it without hesitation, but my hand trembled.
I knew exactly how much 500,000 gold was worth.
I held out my pouch to the merchant, but I just couldn't loosen my grip.
"Um, customer. You need to let go of the coin pouch..."
"Take it."
"I cannot take it unless you release it."
When I finally paid, I ended up with an incredibly thick book.
It was nearly as thick as a university textbook.
Not that I'd ever been to university.
"This is the Infinite Dimensional Energy Reactor Technology."
"Can't you make it easier to read?"
"This is the best we can do. Customers who purchase technology value security above all else. If an unauthorized person reads it, it will immediately burn up. If you lose it, please return here."
Right. No one could steal it that way.
Hacking was everywhere these days, after all.
Still, their service was unexpectedly good.
They even provided anti-theft magic.
I immediately put it into my Subspace Pouch.
That alone nearly filled its weight limit.
"Do you sell materials too, like last time?"
"You should be able to produce something at prototype level with the materials you possess. Please take this with you as well. It is a complimentary item."
"Oh, really? Thanks."
A Goblin Merchant was giving me something for free.
Maybe it was because I'd bought something worth 500,000 gold.
After getting our hands on the real loot, we went straight to bathe.
It had only been about a day of clearing, but the stench of all sorts of horrible things clung to us.
We'd fought an alchemist's army head-on, after all.
On the way, I spotted Team Leader Go Jiho and headed over to give him the materials.
He was talking with other Hunter Association employees.
"Did I tell you to kill someone and steal it? Just go pay for it and bring it back."
"Well, that country has prohibited its export..."
"But the hunters need it. If it's banned, offer them extra money. Get it now. If you can't, you can pick up guns and enter the Tower yourselves."
I'd worried about whether he was adjusting well to his new job.
Instead, the other employees had to adjust to Go Jiho.
That was his special forces style of work. He got results somehow, no matter what.
"Stop tormenting the staff and take this."
"Huh? What's this?"
"The Infinite Dimensional Energy Reactor Technology."
"What? You actually bought it? Good. I'll manage this myself. Tell the R&D department to assemble immediately!"
"... It's quitting time."
"If I show them this, they'll give up on going home themselves."
On my way to the bath, I stopped, turned back, and asked, "Which country bought the Magical Medical Technology?"
"Russia. They bought it not long ago. Looks like they pooled everything they had."
"Oh, I see."
Medical technology...
Russia had a large population, so maybe it made sense that they'd be interested.
Yet everyone except Yuki looked slightly uncomfortable for some reason.
"Enough. Go get some rest. I need to work once in a while too."
"All right, I'll leave it to you."
After we finished bathing, Sang Hajun was waiting for us after coming out of his home.
The moment Han Juwon saw him, they smacked him on the back.
"You shut-in bastard! You're allowed out now?"
"Yeah."
"How are your eyes?"
"They're really okay now. I've adjusted to the A-rank skill too."
Come to think of it, I'd given him the Basic Skill Enhancement Pill before we entered the Tower.
As we headed to the restaurant together, I asked, "Then can you drink?"
"Ah, not yet..."
So he wasn't fully recovered after all.
It was a good thing we hadn't brought him this time.
While Han Juwon diligently grilled the meat, the evening news came on.
[The Russian Hunter Association has officially announced that it has successfully cleared the eighth floor...]
The other hunter team that had set off the alarm on the eighth floor suddenly came to mind.
Were they Russian too?
That seemed likely.
They hadn't appeared to understand the eighth floor's armory mechanics...
They were probably clearing it by piling up bodies.
Russia had a large population, but the eighth floor was different.
New hunters couldn't enter it.
Any hunter capable of properly clearing the eighth floor would be valuable personnel in any country.
They were too valuable to use as disposable personnel.
Still, judging from their purchase at the shop, one of them seemed to have reached the Room of Mirrors and completed the quest.
"Honestly, that's probably the standard way to clear it."
"Even so, it'll be hard for them to kill the alchemist boss that way."
A monster that showed up with a Barrier in a shooting game.
The monsters were getting more shameless by the day.
Yuki and Kim Yuna soon joined us as well.
"That boss was saying something strange at the end..."
"Looks like there's a real alchemist somewhere. That thing was a doll made by the real one."
"Oh, so that was the story?"
"Team leader, let's stream now, stream!"
Yuki urged me on, and Kim Yuna prepared a livestream for the first time in a while.
As someone who usually streamed, she must have been starved for people's attention.
Preparations for clearing the eighth floor had been so intense, and most of the information was classified, so she had barely been able to stream.
Kim Yuna, her face full of enthusiasm, asked, "How much can we talk about during this livestream?"
"Announce that we possess the Infinite Dimensional Energy Reactor Technology. Let's hold back on eighth-floor information for now."
"What? We can announce the biggest news here?"
"I was concerned about that too, but it's already been discussed with the Association."
More precisely, I'd discussed it with Go Jiho.
Not long after we bought the Superhard Alloy Materials Manufacturing Technology and entered the Tower, teams from different countries began succeeding at eighth-floor quests one by one.
They were about a month behind us.
Then they found this in the shop catalog.
[Superhard Alloy Materials Manufacturing Technology - Sold Out]
Someone had bought the Superhard Alloy Materials Manufacturing Technology.
Naturally, it had been us...
But we deliberately hadn't announced it for secrecy reasons.
Then completely unrelated idiots started making claims in our stead.
[Country R reveals it has exclusive rights to Ultra-Alloy manufacturing technology...]
[Technology-sharing agreement with other countries underway. International tensions rise...]
Han Juwon snorted when they heard that.
"Why are there so many scammers in the world?"
"Seriously. That's why we're announcing it early this time."
"Team leader! The camera setup is complete!"
"Ah, let's start by announcing that we've successfully cleared the eighth floor. Yuki, don't pay too much attention to the viewers' reactions."
The moment the livestream began, hundreds of viewers flooded in at once.
[ActualFistLaw: Is the channel owner alive? Good to know.]
[FogLakeSwimClub: Every stream from a hunter who actually works feels like a survival check-in, so I get nervous whenever I watch.]
Right, keep watching while I'm still alive.
If I died in the Tower, it would become a deceased person's montage video.
The reactions to Yuki came immediately.
[MagicLawyer: Wait, who's next to him?]
[LowIntelligenceGoblin: Probably that Japanese hunter who supposedly became naturalized last time.]
[Yuki: Hello, viewers! Today is a broadcast celebrating our successful eighth-floor clear with my benefactor! Please support clean fan culture and courteous chat!]
[FogLakeSwimClub: Wait, she's welcoming herself? Wasn't she a troll?]
Ah, I messed up.
I hadn't taken Yuki's smartphone away beforehand.
Thanks to that, Yuki was using a clone to type in the chat.
Watching Yuki type beside me, the speed was incredible.
We tried hard to clear Yuki's name, but the viewers reacted in the complete opposite way.
[ActualFistLaw: The channel owner's face is half the size it was... Is he really okay?]
[5SecondsBeforeEscape: You can literally see his energy getting drained in real time lol.]
[BankruptAgainToday: Japan, free the channel owner from Yuki!]
The moment Yuki deployed clones and launched a three-way encirclement, they figured it out immediately.
Honestly, I'd underestimated the viewers' sharp eyes until now.
I suddenly regretted it.
Kim Yuna forced a smile and tried to get the stream back on track.
But Yuki herself didn't seem to want that.
[KangHyunChannelOfficialFan: Why does Yuna keep glaring at Yuki?]
[Yuki: Yuna always looks like that.]
[FogLakeSwimClub: Yuki's original body just insulted her using an alt.]
Kim Yuna muted her microphone for a moment and said to Yuki, "You use alt accounts too?"
"Th-that's not it."
"Let's move on to the announcement before it's too late."
We continued the stream with an update on recent events, then played the national anthem as background music.
The viewers were confused but pleased.
[MagicLawyer: Our country really got two new technologies?]
[MaybeMaybe: If they were lying, they wouldn't make an EX-rank hunter do it.]
[5SecondsBeforeEscape: So will there be more jobs? Can Korea become energy independent?]
[BankruptAgainToday: First, the channel owner doesn't seem capable of becoming independent from Yuki. She's already using a clone to pour him water again.]
[SixthFloorGhost: Channel owner, if you need help, blink at the camera.]
I blinked five times per second, but all I got back was laughter.
"Ah, anyway, the Association will make an official announcement soon. Please direct any related questions to them."
Blink. Blink.
When I kept blinking, Yuki covered my eyes with her hand.
"I think the team leader is tired! We'll end today's stream here..."
"..."
Sang Hajun, who had never met Yuki before, kept signaling with his eyes as if asking whether things were always like this.
Kim Yuna silently agreed beside him.
Then, just as our stream ended, a new item came on the news.
[Reports have just come in that a monster of unprecedented scale has appeared in Russia...]
"... Ah, the side effects of pooling everything."
Han Juwon sighed as they watched it.
"Side effects?"
"They probably didn't buy Barriers this month. They used to protect only major cities, and now they've shut even those down."
They were completely screwed.
The Association had made the wrong decision, but what had the citizens done wrong?
I felt like I was about to hit my limit, so I went home.
The backlash from using Transcendence skills so freely at the end was finally catching up with me.
The moment Yuki entered the elevator, she said, "Benefactor, tomorrow I'll dress up with my clones, so you have to pick what suits me best! Okay?"
She'd come up with something interesting again.
Was there any hunter in Korea who used their skill as well as she did?
"All right. See you tomorrow."
Yuki got off the elevator looking like she was about to jump for joy.
She was much brighter than when I'd first met her, so I couldn't bring myself to say anything.
Ding!
I got off at my floor too.
A day's worth of packages had arrived.
Most of them were drinks or breakfast food.
Since the Hunter Association managed this building directly, all mail went through strict inspection at the security office.
But then...
There was one small package I hadn't ordered.
I quickly carried it inside and opened it, revealing an elegant wooden box.
"Hmm?"
I could sense quite strong magic power from inside.
The security office should inspect for magic-related items too. Had it missed this?
Come to think of it, I couldn't see through the wooden box either.
Complete Senses was permanently active thanks to my privilege.
"What is this?"
It wasn't an ordinary object.
Realizing that instinctively, I opened the box while fully on guard.
Inside was a thin, stylish white mask.
I reflexively used Appraisal and flinched.
[Death Priest’s Mask: Death can take any face.]
"... What?"
Footnotes:
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