WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Episode 64

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The Underground Labyrinth on the eleventh floor was enormous.

Its winding paths formed a confusing maze, but it was probably one of the largest single regions. It was practically larger than the temples.

'I was told to watch out for ambushes.'

There usually weren't any other hunters near the starting point.

Still, I couldn't let my guard down. I immediately activated Transcendence.

[Four Seasons skill activated]

Maybe it was because my Transcendence skill was level 8 now.

Four Seasons could last quite a while.

There was a surprising amount of lighting, but it didn't make the place feel any better. It felt like my mental health was slowly being chipped away, just like on the ninth floor.

"Ugh. This isn't Soul Erosion, is it?"

"Something this minor gets better with a little rest."

If there was one advantage to spawning in the Underground Labyrinth, it was that loot was scattered everywhere.

Wandering spirits drifted through the underground.

Thanks to them, Soul Crystals could be found all over the place. They were lodged in the walls, the floor, and even in the gaps between stone coffins.

After getting a rough grasp of the terrain, I had Sang Hajun and Han Juwon stand watch.

The rest of the team decided to gather Soul Crystals.

Kim Yuna examined one and spoke.

"Um, boss. We shouldn't break these carelessly, right?"

"Of course not. Their quality would drop. Why?"

"These are stuck in pretty firmly... They're like natural ore. If we want to collect them quickly, it'll make some noise."

That wasn't good.

This Underground Labyrinth was built perfectly for sound to echo.

The noise would bounce off walls and obstacles, making it hard to pinpoint our exact location, but it would still be more than enough to give us away while we worked.

"I'll try something."

I tested the Reconstruction skill I had gained on the tenth floor.

I hadn't been able to use it properly while making equipment because I was worried about messing up. Collecting materials was less of a burden.

Using the constantly active Complete Senses, I checked the shape of each Soul Crystal and adjusted it slightly so it could come loose.

Pssht!

The Soul Crystals slid out smoothly.

Most were Low-Grade, but there were occasionally Mid-Grade ones too.

Honestly, I hadn't expected much from this skill.

Still, I was glad it could be useful like this.

"Nice. You handle that part. We'll collect them."

"Okay."

[Reconstruction skill level has increased to 4]

Fwoosh!

We worked at high speed, harvesting every last Soul Crystal.

The Subspace Backpack filled up in no time.

Soul Crystals were such universally useful materials that I wanted to stockpile as many as possible.

They could be used for anti-spirit ammunition, Protective Formations, Alchemy, Enchanting, and even granting skill attributes.

There was no such thing as too many.

'And yet shops hardly ever stock them.'

There were some Low-Grade ones for sale, but Mid-Grade and above were hard to find.

That meant the other races wanted them just as badly.

While we harvested in a frenzy, an eerie presence began creeping in from the other end of the corridor.

A slow, gentle wave of spiritual entities.

Sang Hajun shouted toward me.

"Something's coming!"

"Everyone, hide!"

It didn't feel threatening, but it was unsettling.

Were they using souls like radar?

The team hurriedly hid, but Kim Yuna and Han Juwon, whose Stealth levels were low, were spotted by the spirits.

The creatures somehow found even the team members hiding behind obstacles.

"Kyaaa...!"

The spirits let out shrill cries, then vanished.

I activated Shadow Walking and shouted.

"It's a scouting skill! Prepare for battle!"

Click!

We had taken up positions in advance, but this wasn't good terrain for defense.

There were too many large and small side passages, and the area near the entrance was cluttered with obstacles.

If we had found a better location, we would have abandoned this spot and retreated.

For now, though, this was the only defensive line we had secured.

Should we have explored first instead of grabbing the loot?

If we had moved carelessly, we might have encountered them even sooner...

It was always too late for regret.

I decided to spend my time on something more worthwhile.

'They're coming.'

Sensing movement from the far end of the corridor, I shouted as loudly and clearly as I could.

"Stop! Come any closer, and we'll attack!"

They ignored my warning.

They were still too far away to identify, but they didn't feel friendly at all.

If anything, I could clearly sense hostility.

'What race are they? Are they treated as public enemies?'

There weren't many races that would come at us with that kind of attitude from the start.

I put Han Juwon in charge of the main corridor and stepped back slightly.

Footsteps drew closer in the distance.

"Kiiiik..."

It wasn't a battle cry. It sounded like a groan from something suffering because it couldn't die.

They seemed to drag themselves forward, yet they were incredibly fast.

Bodies that carried almost no weight.

The enemies were Undead Hunters.

'They are public enemies.'

Undead that retained at least a faint sense of self.

Unlike monsters, the system classified them as hunters.

But they had almost no freedom.

They entered the Tower under a Necromancer's orders and brought back loot as tribute.

Fwoosh!

Their footsteps split apart midway.

They weren't entering through the main corridor. They were spreading out.

Were they confident in their mobility and close combat abilities?

Judging by their footsteps, their movement speed was extremely high.

'Ghouls?'

Shhh.

Sang Hajun activated Stealth and melted into the shadows.

"Boss?"

Only when I heard Kim Yuna's voice did I snap back to my senses.

I had been thinking too much about myself.

"Fire at will!"

The moment I gave the order, a hunched figure flew in from a side passage.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Kim Yuna fired her submachine gun, but most of the shots missed.

Its movement speed easily surpassed her expectations.

Just as I had predicted, it was a Ghoul.

Its thin, pale skin clung tightly to its bones.

It barely seemed to have any muscles, yet it was astonishingly fast.

Like a spider, it sprinted across obstacles and walls before leaping into the air.

Bang!

Yuki's shotgun roared, and its body bent sharply.

It didn't seem very durable. One hit sent it crashing down.

Fwoosh!

Three more Ghouls rushed in after it.

One of them stared straight at me.

"Kiii..."

Its killing intent was incredibly clear.

It wanted to kill me. The feeling came through directly and unmistakably.

My heart began pounding pleasantly.

Even if someone of the opposite sex confessed to me, it wouldn't make my heart race like this.

The fact that I felt this way toward a gaunt corpse bruised my pride a little.

Rat-a-tat!

It charged as if flying, dodging assault-rifle fire.

Firearms were surely unfamiliar to it, yet its body seemed accustomed to dealing with gunfire.

Even so, it couldn't dodge every round in a burst.

6.8mm bullets pierced its limbs.

"Kaaah!"

It tumbled across the floor.

No matter how tough an undead was, it couldn't withstand the insane kinetic energy of a 6.8mm round.

There was a reason those bullets were much bigger and heavier than ordinary ammunition.

The overpenetration common to small-caliber high-velocity rounds had nothing to do with this caliber.

Bang!

I put another round into its head and looked for my next target.

One nearby was targeting Kim Yuna.

Fortunately, Kim Yuna had a skill specialized for escaping.

Flaaash!

She instantly opened up some distance through teleportation, and the creature switched targets to me, the closer one.

I fired the moment I aimed.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

I had already adapted to its speed and movements.

Even without Four Seasons, I wouldn't miss.

"Kieeek!"

A bullet struck its forehead, sending it flying backward.

The last remaining one ambushed me from the ceiling.

My magazine had just run dry, so I switched to my pistol without hesitation.

Drawing a sidearm was always faster than reloading.

Pop, pop!

The pistol rounds lacked stopping power, so it kept charging while taking them all over its body.

"Kah!"

It swung its sharp claws.

I simply kicked it.

Crunch!

Its ribs broke with a horrible sound.

A kick boosted by Gale Boots.

Its body flew away like a kite with its string cut and crashed into a broken tombstone.

Pop, pop!

I put several more rounds into its head, then switched weapons and reloaded.

I thought only one enemy remained, but Han Juwon was having an unexpectedly hard time.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

The last enemy wasn't a Ghoul, but a Skeleton.

It pushed forward with its grotesquely swollen left arm held before it like a shield.

"What the hell is that?"

"Looks like it's their defender."

The original plan was probably for that thing to push forward while the Ghouls flanked us and ambushed us.

But the Ghouls had gone down too quickly.

"Cease fire!"

When the gunfire stopped, I drew my dagger.

It tried to crush me with its shield.

But I accelerated in time.

Fwoosh!

I slipped to the side and lightly scraped the shield with my dagger.

I was about to drive another strike into its body when...

Its entire body collapsed.

Clatter!

It seemed the shield had been considered part of its body too.

"Haaah..."

The stale air of the Underground Labyrinth filled my lungs.

I couldn't call it refreshing.

"Th-the battle's over. Boss got almost all of them."

"Sorry. They moved so fast... There was also a chance of ricochets."

"You did well. Better than anyone getting hurt."

"But... they really are weak, aren't they?"

The other-race hunters were weaker than expected.

Still, I couldn't relax yet.

Undead Hunters weren't particularly strong in terms of combat power.

They were only troublesome and dangerous because they didn't fear death.

Objectively speaking, they weren't especially powerful.

"To begin with, their racial trait is specialized for close combat..."

"What's their racial trait?"

"Ghouls have paralysis attacks."

"Ah."

After searching the Undead Hunters' loot, I changed my mind.

"How is there nothing worth taking?"

Forget what I said about them not being scary.

These guys were the scariest.

They could take your head off if you slipped up, yet they didn't even drop decent loot.

The only thing worth taking was a small number of Soul Crystals.

After Kim Yuna finished reorganizing her gear, she asked worriedly.

"We made a lot of noise with all that gunfire. Will we be okay?"

"We won't. We should move."

I could sense monsters approaching from far away.

We had collected enough Soul Crystals.

It was time to aim for the temple rewards.

I activated Four Seasons again and searched for a path leading to the surface.

"Let's go this way."

As we left, Sang Hajun placed a glass marble at the exit.

We would know if someone followed us out.

Step, step.

After climbing old stone stairs that crumbled at the edges, we found a cellar door in the forest.

It was camouflaged with moss and grass, making it hard to find.

This place was relatively close to the center, where the temples stood.

"Whew, we're finally out."

"Phaaah..."

No one needed to say it first. We all took deep breaths.

The forest air was damp and ominous, but compared to the rotten air of the Underground Labyrinth, it was practically heavenly.

"Hajun, check the area."

"Okay."

Sang Hajun climbed a tree and watched the surroundings.

"Oh, light is shining on one of the Sub-Temples. And it's pretty close."

"Really?"

The Sub-Temples were the eleventh floor's main farming areas.

When light shone down on a temple in the field, which was always dark, it meant that temple would soon open.

Of course, opening the temple wasn't the end.

It took some time to claim the reward sleeping inside...

And enemies could attack during that time.

"What kind of temple is it?"

"The Warrior Temple."

"Oh..."

Each temple offered different rewards.

The Warrior Temple gave weapons and armor suited to each race.

It sounded fairly popular, but it was actually one of the less popular Sub-Temples.

Equipment had to be replaced once something better appeared.

As they escaped the Tower and accumulated gold, equipment was the easiest thing for hunters to replace.

Eleventh-floor equipment had obvious limits, so most hunters preferred other temples.

Even so, there was always a chance of hitting the jackpot.

"What should we do, boss?"

"If it's the Warrior Temple, the competition should be lighter. Let's go."

We had originally planned to occupy the edge of the forest and explore at our leisure.

But the timing was perfect, so there was no reason to do that.

The Sub-Temple wasn't a complete dead end.

Since there was a passage leading to the Underground Labyrinth, we could retreat if necessary.

"I'll take the lead."

Han Juwon, who had the Barricade skill, went first.

There were no enemies near the Warrior Temple yet.

They would usually be targeting other Sub-Temples or the Great Temple.

"Pretty empty."

"Let's hurry. It's too open here. I don't like it."

Shhh.

We crossed the clearing in front of the temple and reached the door.

A huge wall and gate stood before us.

A statue of the Warrior God holding a spear and shield stood firmly at the entrance.

I was already praying for a useful weapon when the door opened on its own.

Creeeak...

"Good timing."

"Wow, this place is pretty nice. It's a little elevated too... Perfect as a firepower position."

Han Juwon admired the narrow entrance and the openings that could be used as firing ports.

"If we set up a Barricade here and place the machine gun, we can block off that whole direction."

"We'll cover the other side!"

As soon as we confirmed the temple interior was empty, we started fortifying it.

We would have to wait here for a while before the reward appeared.

The inside was surprisingly bare, with only countless chairs and an altar.

After examining the floor closely, we found a passage connected to the Underground Labyrinth.

We decided to block that side with wire traps for now.

But not long after we began setting up defenses, we started sensing other hunters in the distance, one after another.

Kim Yuna muttered anxiously at the news.

"They won't attack us, will they? We occupied it first."

Han Juwon had already deployed the Barricade, then drank one of my special Mana Potions and gave a short laugh.

"That's ridiculous... Would anyone try to break through a properly established firepower position with light infantry? We even have a solid building on our side."

"...But they don't know that."

"Huh?"

The team froze for a moment at Yuki's painfully accurate point.

Sure enough.

Hunters in the distance began approaching us little by little.

I swallowed a sigh and raised my voice once again.

Footnotes:

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