WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Tower at Hell Difficulty ◈
Episode 98
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Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The Treants practically melted under the concentrated fire.
This was nothing like last time.
Thanks to the new Mana Vision Goggles, we could shoot properly even through the Spore Fog on the 12th floor.
Still, the loud gunfire was enough to draw in nearby monsters.
"Team Leader, they're coming from all directions!"
"Fall back now! This way!"
So that was why the monsters near the entrance hadn't been cleared out.
They all had guns, so the other hunters hadn't been able to take them down.
Still, isn't it completely out of nowhere for Treants, a type of tree spirit, to be shooting guns?
Apparently, the Tower didn't care about things like lore-friendliness.
Whoosh!
Firefighters rushed toward us from the central lake at terrifying speed.
They were boss-grade monsters, yet they carried firearms as if it were only natural.
Heavy weapons, too.
If those bullets hit, body armor would be riddled with holes.
Those things were practically mini-bosses, so Monster’s Gauntlet probably wouldn't scare them off...
"Juwon!"
When I shouted to Han Juwon, he seemed to understand and activated the Protective Coat.
"Deploy!"
Thud!
A semi-transparent, dome-shaped Barrier dropped in front of us.
We passed through it without issue, but it blocked the bullets fired by the monsters.
Bang!
Getting shot at from every direction in terrain this open was no joke.
We'd never expected monsters to know how to use guns...
We needed to retreat for now.
"Where's the exit?"
"Over there! But it isn't a Direct Exit..."
"Doesn't matter. The Barrier won't hold for long."
A Descent Exit.
We'd have to go down to the 11th floor and either escape or wait and see how things developed.
There were far more hunters on the 11th floor, including quite a few who weren't up to standard...
If the monsters started shooting there, it would be complete chaos.
"Up ahead!"
Before Sang Hajun even finished speaking, I rushed forward.
Two ordinary Treants.
They were close because they were right around the corner.
Bang!
I blew off one of their arms with the Hand Cannon, then stabbed the other with my dagger.
I'd meant to hit a vital point with the gun, but it moved too wildly, and I missed.
"Stairs! Get down here, quickly!"
"How the hell can they even see us and shoot?"
"Probably because of the spore network."
"Ah... right."
The underground lake had an especially dense spore network, leaving almost no blind spots.
Either way, we had to retreat for now.
We hurried down the stairs and arrived at the Interfloor Zone.
It had been a while since we'd been here, too.
"Ah! Humans! Hello!"
The Goblin Interfloor Merchant greeted us warmly.
I grabbed the Goblin Interfloor Merchant and asked, "When did monsters start using guns? Are the 11th-floor monsters using them too?"
Unexpectedly, they answered without resistance.
They probably didn't consider this much of a secret.
"Not long ago. Hunters from the upper floors came running down here crying. Puhahaha! They'll probably have spawned on the 11th floor too."
This was insane.
The main monsters on the 11th floor were undead...
Honestly, they weren't especially threatening enemies.
But if they had guns, that changed everything.
The central temple area was especially bad, an open space with barely any cover.
The forest wasn't much safer, either.
"Team Leader, what do we do on the 11th floor?"
Kim Yuna asked with a serious expression.
We'd come down almost as soon as we entered, so Yuki hadn't even prepared a meal.
"Let's check the situation first. And we should avoid going underground."
"What? Isn't the underground cemetery the safest farming spot?"
Normally, Kim Yuna would be right.
The underground cemetery had plenty of cover, and its paths connected to several areas.
But in a situation like this, we had to avoid it at all costs.
"We don't need to avoid mid-range combat. Gunfights are what we're good at. Besides, by now, every other hunter has probably crowded underground."
"Ah... that's true."
Considering the ones who would ambush us near the exit, going underground was out of the question.
The forest or the temples would be better.
It felt strange to leave empty-handed after coming all this way.
We'd gathered some Regeneration Spore Mushrooms on the 12th floor, but not many.
"If things go well, we might be able to farm the temples again. Isn't this actually an opportunity for us?"
"... Let's proceed carefully for now."
I quickly checked my guns, then lay down to rest.
If they didn't have guns, I wouldn't have cared about Treants at all.
Now, every shot could be fatal.
Then the Interfloor Merchant came over and started bothering me.
"Human! Aren't you buying anything?"
"Do you have any good artifacts? We didn't bring much gold this time..."
We hadn't planned to use the Interfloor Merchant at all, so we'd only brought a minimum emergency fund.
Then they gave an unexpected answer.
"I do! A talisman."
"What? What kind of talisman?"
The more talismans whose effects applied just by carrying them, the better.
It was surprising that someone had sold something so valuable to the Interfloor Merchant.
They must have been desperate.
Other hunters' misfortune had become our good fortune.
The Goblin Interfloor Merchant proudly displayed their merchandise.
"Look, a Talisman of Blades! It increases attack power when you get close to an enemy."
That was pretty good.
It wasn't on the level of my Blue Star Talisman or Yuki's Talisman of Protection...
But it was definitely a useful item.
"... How much?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand gold."
"That's insane."
It was absurdly expensive.
Other than its special effect, it was a talisman that offered no other benefit.
The Interfloor Merchant premium was certainly steep.
Our emergency fund was fifty thousand gold.
Even that was a generous amount that other hunter teams could only dream of carrying.
South Korea's monthly Monster Barrier maintenance cost was one hundred and twenty thousand gold.
Still, it would be a waste to let that talisman go.
Talismans were the kind of thing money alone couldn't buy.
Even if someone didn't use one personally, they'd circulate it within their own alliance.
"This would be perfect for Yuki or Yuna..."
"It should go to Yuki since she uses a shotgun. I have Shatter Enchantment, so I don't need more attack power."
That was true.
Thanks to the Instant-Death Dagger and Hand Cannon, I already had excessive firepower.
"But where are we getting the money?"
"... We'll have to sell the Regeneration Spore Mushrooms."
"What? We went through all that trouble to gather them..."
Selling the equipment we'd brought was out of the question.
We'd have to sell the mushrooms we'd picked up on the 12th floor.
"Let's at least hear the price first. How much for one mushroom?"
"Hmm? For these mushrooms, I'll give you thirty thousand gold each!"
"Thirty thousand..."
I'd expected around fifty thousand.
Just like an Interfloor Merchant, they were incredibly stingy.
Properly processed, they could become an Elixir of Immortality that lasted two or three months...
I could probably sell one to a Hunter Lord for one hundred thousand gold.
But thirty thousand gold.
I'd be selling them at a huge loss.
Still, I decided not to think too hard about it.
'It's not like I was really going to sell them to Hunter Lords anyway. We can make money with Basic Skill Enhancement Elixirs.'
As a Death Priest, I couldn't help them reject death.
In the end, I sold every mushroom I had.
"Here. Seven mushrooms and forty thousand gold. Exchange them for the talisman."
"A good choice!"
The Goblin Merchant snatched up the mushrooms and gold as though they were stealing them.
A little later, I took the Talisman of Blades and tested its compatibility with my handmade talisman Yuki already had.
Talismans with poor compatibility could interfere with one another and weaken their effects.
Fortunately, the two talismans weren't particularly incompatible.
"Oh, there's barely any repulsion. You can use them together."
"Can I really have this?"
"You're already gripping it tightly. Think of it as a gift from your team leader."
"I will!"
I quickly corrected Yuki's cheerful answer.
"It's a gift from the whole team."
"Ah, was I supposed to give up my share just now? Can I get a refund?"
"There are no refunds!"
When Kim Yuna joked about it, the Goblin shrieked.
Seeing that made me want to feed the Goblin a bullet, but I held myself back.
In games like this, you didn't mess with merchants carelessly.
After making sure to eat some snacks and have something to drink, we decided to head out a little early.
"If everyone's rested, let's go."
"Good. No problems. Equipment check complete."
I looked back at the Goblin Merchant and realized something.
I'd bought the talisman, but the Goblin had received even more valuable mushrooms through the Inter-Floor Shop premium.
So this was how good items circulated and ended up in the Inter-Floor Shop.
There was no need to be surprised that it had something like a talisman for sale.
'Then who is that thing earning gold for?'
With that thought in mind, I went down the stone stairs.
Flash!
The air on the 11th floor was cold and damp.
Still, it felt far fresher than the 12th floor.
There was still no sunlight, making the place gloomy.
"Oh, our spawn luck is good for once. We spawned in the forest."
"Yeah... I was worried we'd end up in the underground cemetery again."
The forest was quiet overall.
Too quiet, in fact.
The 11th floor usually wasn't this silent because there were so many hunters around.
Just as I'd expected, it seemed they'd all crowded underground.
"Hajun, scout ahead, please."
"I'll climb a tree and take a look... There's nothing nearby... Hm? A temple is open."
"Oh, a temple?"
Temples opened periodically anyway, so it wasn't a concern.
At least, that was what I thought before hearing Sang Hajun's next report.
"Both temples we can see from here are open."
"Wait..."
When all four Sub-Temples opened, the Great Temple at the very center opened.
And when the Great Temple opened, hunters would rush in and quickly kill the boss.
That had always been the pattern.
The Great Temple's boss wasn't much of a threat to hunters blinded by loot.
They could just overwhelm it with firepower.
"If two Sub-Temples are already open, doesn't that mean the Great Temple could open soon?"
The Sub-Temples opened one at a time...
Once each Sub-Temple was cleared, the Great Temple would eventually open.
In other words, it was guaranteed to open eventually.
Still, the central area was far too quiet.
By now, hunters should have been fighting like mad to claim the best spots.
Sang Hajun moved closer to the center, then spoke with a sigh.
"The Great Temple is already open."
"What? Are there hunters inside?"
"No. I can't sense anyone at all. And since no light is shining on the temple, I think the boss has already appeared..."
At that moment, a strange scenario came to mind.
What if they hadn't killed the Great Temple's boss in time?
What would happen then?
Would it really stay quietly inside?
"... They failed to kill the boss."
"What? Then..."
"The boss got out of the Great Temple."
It was probably actively hunting other hunters.
The Warrior God's Temple boss we'd seen last time had been aggressive enough.
"Then... what do we do?"
"What else? We kill the boss, take the rewards, and leave."
"Gasp..."
Things seemed to have become complicated if the hunters couldn't kill the boss in time.
Still, we couldn't run away every time something happened if we wanted to farm.
As long as it wasn't like the situation on the 12th floor, it would be fine.
Then Sang Hajun warned us about something approaching from the side.
We immediately entered complete Stealth.
We quieted our movements and hid using our respective Stealth skills.
[Shadow Walking skill level has increased to 10.]
[Shadow Walking's effect is now perfectly applied even while moving.]
'Gasp!'
So Transcendence wouldn't increase, but this reached level 10 first.
Well, it was about time this leveled up too.
I'd used it far less after forming a team, but I still relied on it often enough.
Before I could even be happy about it, a fully armed group of hunters approached from afar.
Fortunately, they were human hunters.
"Stop!"
Han Juwon revealed himself first and spoke.
The group flinched, then finally relaxed.
They looked Western.
If they were challenging the 11th floor, their team had to be fairly strong.
"Uh... ah, people? That's a relief."
"Wait. Don't let your guard down. We don't know who they belong to..."
"We're Alpha Team from South Korea. What about you?"
"Uh... You're Alpha Team? We're the Julius Squad from Germany. We've heard a lot about you."
No wonder all their equipment was German-made.
Must be nice to have so many options even when using domestically manufactured gear.
I exchanged greetings with them, suddenly thinking that.
Fortunately, they didn't seem hostile.
We all had guns in plain sight, so being needlessly rude would have been stranger.
"We came down from the 12th floor not long ago... Could you share the situation with us?"
"The situation? Easy. Even low-ranking undead started shooting guns, so we're all fucked..."
Thud, thud!
Before they could finish speaking, heavy footsteps sounded in the distance.
Both the Germans and Alpha Team hid behind trees without hesitation.
Footnotes:
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