WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈

Episode 85

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After the Sherpa team left, I asked Sang Hajun,

"What were those guys using to block the spores?"

"It looked like a basic Gas Mask. I think they soaked cloth in water and added a few other devices."

"So it wasn't much different from us."

We needed to eat and rest soon.

Was there an area with fewer spores?

If we could at least find an enclosed space, I thought we could do something about it.

Luckily, Sang Hajun quickly found a decent spot.

"Over there. The airflow's strange."

"There's a small cave. Let's go in."

The space was covered in moss.

It looked cramped enough to fit only ten people.

Fortunately, there was no Mycelial Network spread through this place.

After sterilizing everything with the Ever-Burning Heart's flames, I sealed the entrance with Reconstruction.

"We burned everything. Aren't we going to suffocate if we go in?"

"I installed a filter at the entrance. The wind's blowing pretty strongly, so we shouldn't run out of oxygen."

"Good. I'm taking off my Gas Mask. Phew..."

I finally felt like I could breathe after taking it off.

The air wasn't exactly fresh, but it was definitely less stale.

"Should I start preparing food right away?"

"Please."

Yuki started cooking.

It was camping food, but since it was her specialty, the quality was high.

Meals after escaping the Tower used to taste best...

Now, even food eaten when we were starving inside the Tower tasted pretty damn good.

Sizzle...

While the fish and meat cooked, Sang Hajun carefully checked everyone's condition.

He paid special attention to Kim Yuna and Yuki.

They were smaller, so the poisoning affected them more severely.

Sang Hajun leaned close and whispered to me.

"Team Leader. It looks like their symptoms have settled down."

"That's good."

The sedative effect of the Blue Angler Mushroom and the stimulant effect of the Red Devil Mushroom counteracted each other, canceling out the poisoning symptoms.

There was another problem, though.

"But... a small amount of spores has built up inside their bodies."

"Spores?"

The spores that hadn't been completely blocked by the Gas Masks had entered through their respiratory systems.

"Will that cause a problem?"

"I can take a look. It'll put some strain on me, but it's worth it."

Sang Hajun's Basic Skill was sight.

It had no other effects.

That was why it was so powerful in his field.

"Can I ask you to do it?"

"No. You're the Team Leader, so give me an order. I'll take a look."

Sang Hajun opened his Glass Bead eye wide.

His gaze turned toward the near future.

"Urgh..."

"How is it?"

"It doesn't look like it'll be a serious problem for now, but if too much builds up, it'll become dangerous. The spores will take root inside their bodies."

Did that mean mushrooms would grow inside us?

Just imagining it was disgusting and terrifying.

"...Let's test the antidote."

"Good idea, Team Leader."

Would it be better to do it after eating?

My antidote was something I made on the fly, so it had barely undergone any clinical testing.

You could say it had no concern at all for the long-term effects on the human body.

Still, its detoxifying effect was certain.

Hunters had Regeneration by default, and their bodies were tough enough that it shouldn't cause major problems.

"Let's get it over with now. Yuna, please try this."

"Huh? An antidote? I'm still fine, but... okay."

Kim Yuna chugged the antidote made from Blue Angler Mushroom.

She frowned at the taste, then immediately cried, "Blech!" and threw up.

"Eek..."

"Oh? This..."

"She threw up the spores that had built up inside her body. The spores left inside have all dissolved too. The antidote worked after all. We don't need to worry too much about this."

Sang Hajun nodded as he looked inside her body.

Kim Yuna protested a moment later.

"You were peeking inside my body?"

"Yeah. Your blood vessels, heart, even your fat layer. All of it."

"..."

Was it because his eyes were too good?

It probably didn't feel sexy at all.

We each drank a little antidote and threw up the spores.

"Urgh... So there are basically two types of poisoning."

"That's right."

First, there was poisoning from the various mushroom compounds, causing frenzy, sleep, and other symptoms.

The onset and progression were fast.

It could be prevented by taking mushrooms with opposing properties or an antidote.

Then there was spore poisoning.

It progressed relatively slowly, but its symptoms would be much stronger.

We needed to make and take a proper antidote.

[Adaptability skill level has increased to 4.]

Wow... How bad had it gotten for this to level up?

I hadn't even seen this skill increase in ages.

It was nearly impossible to raise on purpose, so I had barely reached level 3 through escape reward experience.

"Team Leader, the food's ready."

Yuki spoke after rinsing her mouth with water.

Come to think of it, how were we going to get more water?

We had used quite a bit of what we brought while making the antidote.

Moisture was essential for mushrooms and fungi to flourish.

Finding water shouldn't be too difficult.

After enjoying our meal, I put my Gas Mask back on and left the shelter.

"I'll find a water source. Give me the water-container backpack."

"Here."

"Be careful. Wouldn't it be better to take someone with you?"

"I have Stealth, so I'll be fine. If I have to take someone, I'll go with Yuna."

"Okay."

"Please teleport us. If we open the entrance now, we'll have to purify the air again..."

There were several small puddles nearby, but that was the kind of water that would kill you if you drank it.

Once the two of us teleported out of the shelter, we soon spotted a water source in the adjacent area.

"Oh, a river."

An underground river.

Since the water was flowing, it had to be much cleaner than stagnant water.

While I stood guard, Kim Yuna quickly filled the water container.

I could sense monsters and hunters nearby, approaching to get water.

"I'm done."

"I'll use Firmament Veil."

Swish...

It was a good thing we'd brought a water-container backpack that could hold dozens of liters.

With a poisoning gimmick like this, I had expected clean water to be valuable.

After returning to the shelter, I immediately used the cauldron to make a simple water purifier.

It boiled the water and condensed it, so it was reliable.

"Wow, that was fast... Aren't you way too good at this?"

"I did it on the ninth floor."

You really did get better at this stuff with practice.

Once I finished the purifier's condensation unit, I finally fell asleep with my head on Yuki's lap.

As the Team Leader, I didn't get enough sleep, so I needed to maximize the quality of the sleep I got.

I tried negotiating with Yuki.

"Couldn't I just bunch up a blanket and use it as a pillow?"

"No."

"Okay..."

There didn't seem to be any room for negotiation.

After a long, restful sleep, I woke up to find the water container nearly full.

"Team Leader, how the hell did you do this? I mean, keeping the cooler cold the whole time."

Sang Hajun asked as he inspected the purifier.

Was he interested in things like this because he wanted to build a bunker?

"That? I collected the water dripping from the ceiling in one place and used it as coolant. Even if it's water contaminated by spores, the temperature is still low."

"Ah... Cave condensation."

We ate breakfast and decided to move again.

Though being in a cave, we had no sense of time.

"Hajun, how's the spore poisoning?"

"There's almost none left. We don't need to worry about it."

"That's good. Everyone, get ready to go. Drink a reasonable amount of water first."

As soon as we left the shelter, we recovered the bombs we'd set up yesterday.

We harvested every remaining mushroom, then moved to the next area.

Past the area with yesterday's river, and further ahead.

The terrain was relatively flat, like the first area.

Then... something felt wrong.

"What is this?"

"What's wrong?"

I knew why Sang Hajun had stopped without even asking.

"There are way too many presences. We didn't hear any kind of commotion last night, did we?"

Since most of the presences were staying still, they didn't seem to be hunters.

Was this some kind of monster colony?

Maybe we had taken the wrong path.

Sang Hajun immediately denied it.

"Almost all of them are hunters."

"What? Why would hunters be standing still in a place like that?"

"I... don't know."

Nearly every area of the twelfth floor had a poisoning gimmick.

Just staying here for a long time was dangerous.

The area ahead was no exception.

Yet they were standing there without any clear purpose.

I wondered if they were gathering valuable loot, but that wasn't it either.

'Should we turn back? No.'

We wouldn't find the answer without moving forward.

This was the biggest mystery we'd found on the twelfth floor.

If I couldn't solve it, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Step.

I deliberately made a little noise, but they didn't react.

I read the spores to identify them.

I had acquired information related to spores and mushrooms, and it had been applied to Loot Expert.

[Hallucinogenic Spores: Spores from the White Cloud Mushroom. They possess powerful hallucinogenic properties.]

'Hallucinations.'

A grim thought flashed through my mind.

I focused my senses and searched beyond the fog.

Hunters lay scattered across the floor and walls.

Without even protective breathing gear, they were taking deep breaths.

Unfortunately, my guess had been right.

They were hunters, but they hadn't come here for loot.

They had come seeking a pleasure greater, more certain, and more destructive than that.

"What's that?"

"They're Hallucinogenic Mushroom addicts."

"What?"

To them, the air here was a drug.

They had made it all the way to the twelfth floor, only to face the suffocating reality that they were no more than consumables for the Hunter Lords.

Having hit a wall where they couldn't climb any higher even if they risked their lives, the hallucinations here were far too precious to them.

The state they were in, seen directly through the fog, was horrific.

Emaciated addicts were commonplace...

Quite a few already had mushrooms sprouting from inside their bodies.

At that point, treatment would be nearly impossible.

They might as well have been monsters.

Mushroom Zombie sounded like a fitting name.

Most of their equipment had already been destroyed or worn out, leaving barely anything intact on their bodies.

Even so, they giggled with their cheeks pressed against the ground.

Maybe they thought they were Hunter Lords in their hallucinations.

"That's horrible..."

"We shouldn't stay here long either."

When we headed toward the mushroom grove to gather the relatively normal mushrooms...

The addicts nearby sprang to their feet.

"Grrr..."

"Stay, stay away from there!"

"What?"

Those who had even a little sanity left tried to stop me, while those who didn't growled like beasts.

Were they trying to stop us from harvesting the mushrooms?

Spores alone were enough to get them addicted...

And harvesting the mushrooms would weaken the spore fog?

"What the hell is wrong with these people?"

Click.

I drew the Nightfall Custom and aimed it.

They crawled toward us blindly, even with a weapon pointed at them.

They weren't hunters anymore.

There was no need to go easy on them.

I just had to send them where they belonged.

"Come any closer and I'll shoot."

"Kyaaargh!"

Pssht!

With a faint report, the neck of the Mushroom Zombie charging at the front snapped backward.

For the first time since learning about the Tower's Curse, I was glad it existed.

If information about the twelfth floor got out properly, it would mass-produce addicts.

"T-Team Leader!"

"Fire at will!"

They didn't stop just because one had fallen.

They rushed us as though the mushrooms were their lifeline, and their numbers quickly grew.

It was similar to the monsters that had swarmed in because of the Mycelial Network.

They had already become part of the network.

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted in an instant.

Mushroom Zombies and monsters rushed in like a pack of dogs.

"Team Leader! What are we doing?!"

"Hold your position. We'll draw in as many as possible."

"Are you serious?"

Bang, ratatatat!

The poisoned hunters... the Mushroom Zombies went down without even being able to use their abilities properly.

There were just too many of them.

On top of that, tough Treants were mixed in, making it a pain.

After emptying the magazines of my pistol and rifle, I let them get right in front of us, then used Monster’s Gauntlet.

Kwoooooo!

The roar of an enraged monster burst from the gauntlet.

The Treants screamed and fled at once.

Even the zombies trapped in hallucinations were no exception.

"Whoa!"

"So that's how you use it? That's amazing..."

"It isn't a sixteenth-floor artifact for nothing."

Honestly, I hadn't expected the range to be this wide.

Still, the effect wouldn't last long.

I quickly harvested the mushrooms and left.

Then the fog ahead slowly began to clear, and I felt an intense heat.

"Gasp...!"

"What's wrong, Team Leader?"

"Someone started a fire."

At that moment, monstrous creatures of bizarre shape raced toward us at terrifying speed from the direction the monsters had fled.

Giants with grotesquely twisted blue skin.

At a glance, they were boss-class monsters that made the Treants from earlier look insignificant.

Whoosh!

Without even looking at us, they charged straight toward the flames.

I quickly reloaded.

Footnotes:

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