WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Chapter 70: Episode 70

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Being the leader of a hunter team was pretty exhausting.

Like having to attend a Hunter Association meeting on the weekend.

They said it was urgent, so I came with Yuki, and Go Jiho greeted me.

He looked a little surprised.

"What? Kang Hyun, you're attending too?"

"What's today's meeting about?"

"The Dwarves got their hands on firearm technology, so we're holding a strategy meeting. It's been confirmed."

What? They already knew?

The Hunter Association had gotten hold of the information too.

The country that lost its guns while challenging the eleventh floor probably wouldn't have admitted it honestly...

The Dwarves must have used an Interdimensional Communicator to mock them or something.

'I don't really want to attend now...'

Bellion, my senior Death Priest, had told me not to worry about it.

Bellion cared a great deal about appearances, so he wouldn't have made an empty promise.

If he took care of it, this meeting would be a waste of time.

Could a meeting solve this in the first place?

As I was thinking that, Go Jiho frowned slightly and asked, "Yuki, how many hours did Kang Hyun sleep yesterday? He looks tired."

"Huh? Why are you asking Yuki instead of me?"

When I stared at him in disbelief, Yuki answered calmly.

"The Team Leader slept for about five hours and seventeen minutes yesterday. He's been working longer hours lately, so he hasn't been getting enough sleep."

This was even more insane.

"Why do you know that too, Yuki?"

"I installed a listening device at my house so I can hear everything that happens in the Team Leader's house."

"What?"

I'd already set up a Protective Formation in my house...

While I was at it, I'd installed them in Yuki's and the other team members' homes too.

The Protective Formations at Yuki's house and mine were part of the same set.

That was probably why the Protective Formation hadn't blocked the listening device.

Go Jiho gave a bitter smile, as if he'd expected this.

"You're basically his personal manager."

I sighed and asked Yuki.

If I rejected it outright, she'd sulk or blame herself, so I had to phrase it carefully.

"You're not personally reviewing all that, are you?"

"No. I made an automated program that has an AI analyze the recordings. That way, I'll know immediately if a burglar breaks in while the Team Leader is away."

At this point, I couldn't help but be impressed.

She really was talented.

An open mind that eagerly applied new technology, combined with utterly unhinged follow-through.

If Yuki hadn't become an obsessive stalker, wouldn't she have had an even more amazing career?

Like becoming a world-class businesswoman.

No, what was I saying? Being an Alpha Team member was impressive enough.

Honestly, it had startled me...

But Yuki wouldn't use it against me.

Still, it made me uncomfortable.

More than anger, it felt creepy and frightening.

"Yuki. It's a little creepy, so please don't do that while I'm home..."

"Okay! I'll modify the program when we get back."

"Must be nice. You two really are a perfect match."

Go Jiho, who had been watching us, casually blurted that out.

"Anyway, if you're tired, go home first. I'll let them know you won't be attending."

"Okay. Don't rush into anything. I know a Dwarf, and I think they'll do something about it."

"What? Is that really okay?"

"What could happen? Things are already at their worst."

Humanity's main weapon had been taken by hunters from other races... and of all people, the Dwarves, who were the most skilled with their hands.

Wouldn't it be harder to make things worse from here?

In the end, Go Jiho accepted it.

After parting with him, I took a nap before leisurely heading to the operations room.

I'd made a new main weapon, but there was still a lot to do.

"Oh, Team Leader's here? You should've rested more."

"I've rested enough. Let's check the Lizardman team's equipment first."

The elite hunter team from the fourteenth floor, led by Count Kwatum.

The count had swept up almost all the artifacts and talismans.

Still, the remaining items were useful enough.

They were all powerful and useful, so much so that we had to make choices because their item levels were too high.

"I guess the fourteenth floor has a brutal Item Level Restriction."

"Even if you enter a higher floor and go down to a lower one, the Item Level Restriction doesn't decrease, right?"

"That's right. Entering a higher floor in the first place is incredibly dangerous."

Finding a route down to lower floors was a task in itself.

We carefully selected our equipment and adjusted our item levels.

"Let's give up the grenade launcher for now. Or at least use a single-shot one."

"Carrying two main weapons each is a bit much."

The 40mm grenades we'd used last time couldn't be replenished with the Alchemist's Ammunition Box.

That meant the ammunition took up quite a few points too.

We'd only brought them because we had points to spare.

If possible, raising the quality of our equipment was the better choice.

The team members tried on their new equipment and exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow... This stuff is really good. My body feels so much lighter."

"So those bastards were keeping all this for themselves."

I didn't want to admit it, but the fourteenth-floor team's equipment was far better than anything I could make.

They must have used rare materials and at least Medium- or Large-grade Soul Crystals.

Even if I wanted to make equipment like that, I didn't have enough materials.

Once we finished optimizing for the Item Level Restriction, I decided to test the Pain Seal I'd acquired.

It was supposed to make me more sensitive to pain while granting strength through it.

After making every possible preparation, I activated the seal.

Creeeak...!

From the very start, I felt like something had gone terribly wrong.

The instant I activated the seal, unbearable pain assaulted me.

At first, it felt like stubbing my toe against a door.

Then it felt as though my extremities were being crushed one by one.

"Gah!"

So this was what it was like to be in so much pain that you couldn't even scream properly.

I couldn't breathe.

I worried that I might pass out, but my mind became even clearer.

As if it wanted me to feel the pain more vividly.

Flash!

I was about to roll across the floor, but in an instant, I moved all the way to the end of the training room.

My physical abilities had increased greatly.

Even Forced March, a skill that rarely activated, had kicked in.

The two linked together incredibly smoothly.

"Ghk, haah..."

"K-Kang Hyun! What's wrong?"

"Team Leader!"

"Ah, it looks like I can activate the seal to generate pain on my own too."

If I broke a bone like last time, its performance would probably be maximized.

I hated pain, but I hated dying more...

I thought it had been the right choice.

"It's good that I can activate Forced March on my own."

Maybe because it was a hidden reward, its performance was quite impressive.

The only thing I disliked was that it wasn't treated as a skill, so it couldn't be transcended.

Yuki looked at me with a very strange expression.

Kim Yuna clapped her hands to lighten the mood.

"Enough with the weird stuff. Let's go eat dinner."

"Is it already that late?"

I washed off the cold sweat I'd unknowingly broken out in and headed out.

As I showered, I thought about it...

Kim Yuna really was the right choice for vice team leader.

Yuki was capable, but she depended on me too much.

If something happened to me, she wouldn't be able to judge things properly.

Sang Hajun wasn't a leader type at all, and Han Juwon lacked survival ability.

We ate a hearty dinner while talking.

"Team Leader. Are you going to keep wearing that funny outfit?"

"I'm wearing it for the stats, you know?"

The Death Priest’s Garb Bellion had given me.

It had simple temperature control, along with automatic repair functions.

It was so sturdy and tough that it offered some protection against bullets and blades.

"Want to see?"

Rustle.

When I lightly touched the garment, the fabric at my neck covered my mouth and nose.

"Oh, what's that?"

"It has a Gas Mask function too."

Combined with my Adaptability skill, I should be able to handle almost anything.

"Ah, the food's here. So what do you think will happen with the Dwarves?"

"I'm not sure... Honestly, I don't think we need to worry too much."

As I spoke, I recalled Count Kwatum.

Even with that much ability and ambition, Count Kwatum was still only a count.

If the Tower's translation function worked properly, that meant a mid- or high-ranking noble.

Even after becoming a servant of the Lizardman Lord, it would be difficult for Count Kwatum to rise any higher.

Those above would keep Count Kwatum in check.

That was why the count had asked me to kill them.

"They probably won't favor new weapons, just as Bellion said."

"That doesn't mean they'll ban them, does it? Those guys probably won't die even if they're shot."

"Would they even be able to recognize the true power of firearms? By the time they ban them, won't everyone already be using them?"

Kim Yuna and Sang Hajun voiced their worries one after another.

Then a message came from Bellion.

[Human race. Are you listening?]

"Uh, hello?"

[It went well. Just now, the Iron Lord decided to permanently ban humanity's weapon system. The other lords will follow soon enough.]

"Already? What exactly did you do?"

He'd said he would use the Death Priests' methods.

If something like that really existed, I wanted to learn a thing or two.

Bellion couldn't hide his smugness at all.

And he had reason to be smug.

He'd practically manipulated the Dwarf Race's Hunter Lord as he pleased.

[Simple. I made sure that bastard had no choice but to be wary of the new weapon.]

"Wary?"

No matter what, it couldn't be a weapon capable of threatening a Hunter Lord, could it?

[The Iron Lord may be bulletproof, but that doesn't mean everything precious to them is.]

"S-so what did you do?"

[Simple. I provided weapons and the right information to the Rebel Force. I told them who the concubine was that one of the Iron Lords had recently favored.]

What?

He hadn't handled it himself?

[It was an excellent weapon. Even a novice blew that wicked woman's head off with one shot. The guards didn't realize what had happened for quite some time.]

"You killed the concubine instead of the Iron Lord...? Isn't that a little pitiful?"

[There's nothing pitiful about it. She was a foolish woman building a new villa with the blood and sweat of the subjects. When an ordinary woman enjoys wealth and power at an Iron Lord's side, she becomes corrupted.]

When the concubine was murdered, the Iron Lord naturally banned firearms entirely.

It didn't matter how efficient the new weapons were.

It didn't matter whether Dwarf hunters could properly deal with them.

The blade was already at the Iron Lord's own throat.

From their perspective, humanity was only a race that had appeared in the Tower for the first time in a while.

They probably wouldn't even make it to the upper floors.

That was likely what the Iron Lord thought.

Bellion's scheme made me break out in a cold sweat.

I never expected the Death Priests to be completely benevolent.

But I hadn't expected them to be so willing to use any means necessary.

Was that only natural when they were the ones being hunted by Hunter Lords?

[The other races will be similar. Until you begin seriously conquering the thirteenth floor, they won't even see you as a real threat.]

"Do newly arrived races usually not climb very high?"

[Conquering the Tower isn't easy. They often earn the hatred of other races too.]

The Tower only got harder, yet that was how things were.

There were certainly a lot of gimmicks that basically said, "If you don't know, you die."

"Well, I'm glad it seems to be resolved..."

"But will they really stop using guns just because the lords ban them?"

Sang Hajun still sounded uneasy.

"You know what they say. The surest way to make something popular is to ban it."

"Oh, Hajun, you know sayings like that? You're more knowledgeable than you look."

Well, it would be better if they used them.

Hunters would be searched as soon as they left the Tower, so they couldn't use them anyway. Like this time, the Rebel Force would probably be the main group using them.

If they fought the lords' subordinates, that would benefit us.

"So where are we going next? Trying the eleventh floor again?"

"I think so. I heard there are several Mini Dungeons on the eleventh floor, so I want to check them out."

"Ah, Mini Dungeons. That's reassuring."

Our item levels were good enough to challenge the twelfth floor.

Still, leaving the Mini Dungeons alone felt like a bit of a loss.

It would also be good for the team members to visit the eleventh floor once more and get a feel for it.

We'd even secured Orca's cabin as a safe zone.

"Starting from the eleventh floor, we can always meet each other on the same floor?"

"That's right."

If there weren't a one-month re-entry restriction, the place would be crawling with hunters.

There were plenty even now.

Several teams gathered around each Sub-Temple, and the area felt noticeably more crowded.

While we planned our next conquest, a message arrived on Yuki's phone.

"Ah, they've decided on the Team Leader's collaboration merchandise."

"Already?"

We'd discussed several other advertising requests from companies.

There had been progress already.

I'd lost track of time while focusing on conquering the Tower.

Kim Yuna asked from beside me, "What is it this time?"

"I went with something simple. A convenience-store product collaboration."

"Convenience-store products? Like snacks or cup noodles?"

"That's right. Look. They prepared so many mockups, but some of them didn't make the cut."

Yuki showed us various pictures, and the team members looked flustered.

Come to think of it, those were custom-made too.

She was talented in the strangest places.

"Why do these all look so similar? They're all basically the same."

"Aren't they all identical?"

"Ah, don't say such ignorant things! This is why beginners... Look, on this version, the Team Leader's double eyelids are clearly visible, right? But on the one beside it, they're hidden..."

Like the top hunters they were, the team members quickly understood the situation and nodded diligently.

Arguing would only make things harder here.

"Ah, now that I look closely, they do seem a little different."

"You worked hard, Yuki. Thanks to you, it's going to turn out great."

"Have you finally noticed? The Team Leader in this one has slightly longer hair, right? I wanted to turn all of them into merchandise, but customers might squander their fortunes. We could end up in the news for encouraging gambling..."

I had no idea what she was talking about.

The Tower's translation function must have malfunctioned.

We silently agreed to just keep nodding.

Footnotes:

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