WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈

Chapter 12

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Karganon, King of the Black Swamp.

The spoils I gained after defeating the Guardian of the 25th floor were unexpectedly simple.

One skill book.

The book I took from inside my clothes was fairly heavy.

Its cover was wrapped in black leather, without a single word on it. Only the image of a giant engraved in the center gave off a faint red glow.

Just one.

I had wiped out hundreds of Lizardmen and met the absurd condition of five minutes.

At the end of it, I had opened a hidden trial whose existence had not even been known, then fought the Guardian barehanded.

Someone might feel disappointed if the reward for all that was only one skill book.

But I did not feel that way at all.

As I ran a finger over the cover, an information window appeared as if it had been waiting.

【Skill Book: Giantification】

Grade: Unique

Skill Information: Upon acquisition, all stats permanently increase by 10%.

When used, your body becomes gigantic and all stats increase by 50%.

Duration: 5 minutes

Cooldown: 12 hours

A permanent 10% increase to all stats.

That alone was worth several high-grade skill books.

And when used, all stats increased by another 50% for five minutes.

As someone with stat-based awakened abilities, I would be hard-pressed to find a better skill.

The core of Super Novice was ultimately the body.

If the Black-Iron Armament, Transcendent Body, and Giantification all worked together at once...

'This might be beyond anything I imagined.'

There was no reason to hesitate any longer.

I opened the skill book.

[You acquire the Unique Skill Book “Giantification.”]

Flutter!

The pages began turning on their own.

The black letters covering the pages peeled away one by one.

Hundreds, thousands of characters turned red, coiled around my fingertips, then seeped into my skin.

Thump!

My heart pounded heavily.

Whoosh!

Heat that began at my toes surged through my entire body in an instant.

My bones grew firm, as if they were tightening from within, and the density of my muscles increased.

The sensation of every tendon pulling taut before settling back into place swept through my body.

It was only a brief moment.

But the change was unmistakable.

I slowly clenched my fist.

Squeeze.

The strength was different.

It was not strength I had borrowed for a moment. It had completely become my own.

[You have acquired the Unique Skill Giantification.]

[All stats permanently increase by 10%.]

After acquiring Giantification, I went to leave my personal training room.

Click.

I opened the door and stepped outside.

Awakeners Association employees hurried back and forth through the hallway.

“Mr. Kang!”

“Kang!”

Even in the middle of their busy work, several employees raised their hands in greeting.

I returned their greetings lightly as I walked down the hall.

My destination was the chairman's office.

Knock, knock.

As soon as I knocked, I heard movement inside.

I had not even touched the handle.

Click!

The door swung wide open.

“Mr. Kang!”

Miller himself stood there, having opened the door.

His face was unusually bright.

“I was just waiting for you. Please come in.”

It seemed he had already received word that I was coming up.

As I entered, I asked, “Did something good happen?”

Miller's eyes widened.

“Something good happened?”

He spread both arms as if he had heard the most disappointing thing in the world.

“The American Awakeners Association is in an uproar right now.”

Once I went inside, I saw he had not been exaggerating.

Official documents sent from countries around the world were stacked high across his desk, while the monitor was filled with unchecked messages and requests.

Miller pointed at the scene as if he were showing off.

“France, Germany, China, Japan. We have received messages from dozens of other places as well. Some are taking issue with the toll, while others want approval to challenge Karganon first.”

“That is a lot.”

“It is more than a lot.”

The corners of his mouth rose higher.

“Several have already promised to meet our conditions. We have also secured a considerable number of Elixirs.”

“...How many?”

“Dozens of bottles have been confirmed. Once the ongoing negotiations are finished, that number will likely grow.”

Dozens of bottles.

Even I was somewhat surprised by that number.

Apparently pleased with my reaction, Miller excitedly continued.

Which country had offered what conditions.

How he had responded to countries that had complained about the toll.

He even said that America had demanded ten Elixirs from South Korea in exchange for approval to challenge Karganon.

After talking for quite some time, Miller finally cleared his throat.

“Ahem. I was in such a good mood that I let the small talk run too long.”

He immediately spread documents across the desk.

“If we make good use of these resources, we can raise the party's combat strength considerably and quickly.”

His finger moved across the papers.

“We can start by reinforcing Marcus's equipment, and we should be able to secure suitable relics for Eric and Sofia as well. We are also looking into equipment that can improve Mei's recovery abilities.”

Miller looked up, his eyes gleaming.

“You may use the Elixirs yourselves, or we can turn some into trading resources. At this rate, we can create a fully developed party much faster than expected.”

He had reason to be excited.

It was like clogged arteries that had been blocked for a long time had suddenly cleared all at once.

And if those resources were distributed among the current party, our combat strength would undoubtedly rise sharply.

But.

“The party's strength can wait.”

Miller's hand stopped.

The smile that had filled his face until moments ago slowly faded.

“May I ask why?”

“Give the Elixirs to me.”

“...”

Miller was briefly at a loss for words.

After a brief pause, he continued.

“Of course, considering Mr. Kang's contribution, you handled most of the 25th-floor clear by yourself. But a party is not simply a matter of distributing resources based on contribution. Distribution and trust are important as well...”

“This is not personal greed.”

When I cut him off, Miller's gaze changed.

“Then what is the reason?”

I looked at him for a moment before asking, “What do you think of the Tower's party limit?”

“The limit of five people?”

“Yes.”

Miller wore a puzzled expression.

“Is that not the clearing standard set by the Tower?”

That was how humanity had viewed it until now.

The tank held the front line, the damage dealers defeated the enemies, and healers and supporters covered the gaps.

Five people dividing up the roles.

That was the standard approach to clearing the Tower.

But before my regression, people had appeared who shattered that standard.

“The Tower has never said that the proper number of people is five.”

Miller's eyes narrowed.

“It only said that a party can contain a maximum of five people.”

Maximum. That was the important word.

“...”

Miller's fingers stopped atop the desk.

“Until now, there was no reason to question it. A tank endures, a damage dealer attacks, and a healer keeps everyone alive. Dividing the roles was necessary to climb floors safely.”

For most Awakeners, that would continue to be the right answer.

But.

“If someone can perform all those roles alone, it becomes a different story.”

I looked down at my hand.

A tank was needed to endure enemy attacks.

A damage dealer was needed to kill enemies.

Healers and supporters made up for the shortcomings that arose along the way.

Then what if one person could endure alone and kill alone?

There was no reason to fill all five slots.

Before my regression, there had been people who realized that first.

They entered the Tower without a party and bore the risks alone, but monopolized the experience and rewards as well.

There was not much difference over the first floor or two.

But as the gap accumulated across ten floors, then twenty, they eventually became forces that even entire nations could not touch carelessly.

In time, people called them disasters.

And with their appearance, South Korea's uncontested lead came to an end.

Miller slowly opened his mouth.

“Wait a moment.”

The troubled look from earlier had vanished.

He looked like he was rapidly piecing together my words in his mind.

“What Mr. Kang is saying, surely you mean...”

“Yes.”

There was no reason to speak indirectly any longer.

“I intend to climb alone.”

Miller's eyes widened.

I immediately added, “I am not saying I will go alone all the way to the end. I plan to test it starting from the 26th floor.”

“The 26th floor alone?”

“I want to confirm for myself whether it is possible.”

I had no intention of guaranteeing that it would work.

There were many variables in the Tower.

There was no guarantee that the future I remembered would be exactly the same as the present.

But I had already decided it was worth trying.

Super Novice.

Transcendent Body, which doubled all stats.

Black-Iron Armament.

A 30% increase to all stats and a 50% increase to final defense.

On top of that was Giantification, which I had just acquired.

Simply learning it permanently increased all stats by 10%, and using it raised them by another 50% for five minutes.

And then there were the Elixirs that countries had begun sending.

The conditions were sufficient.

“So please give priority to me with the Elixirs we secure this time.”

Miller looked at me without speaking.

“We only need to confirm it once. If the efficiency is lower than expected or the danger proves excessive, we can return to a party system then.”

“And if you succeed?”

I smiled.

“Then we keep going.”

The 26th floor.

The 27th floor.

The 28th floor.

If possible, all the way to the 30th floor.

If the growth method chosen by the disasters before my regression was truly what I knew it to be, it would be more than worth the risk.

Miller leaned deeply back in his chair.

“To summarize, rather than distributing resources among the other four party members for the time being, we concentrate them on Mr. Kang alone.”

“Yes.”

“And through solo clears, we push your growth speed to the extreme.”

“That is correct.”

Silence passed for a while.

He was probably calculating in his mind.

What America would gain if I succeeded.

What it would lose if I failed.

Then Miller suddenly gave a quiet laugh.

“If an ordinary Awakener had said something like this, I would have recommended a hospital first.”

“I would have too.”

“But it is difficult to refute someone who defeated the 25th-floor Guardian barehanded.”

I laughed along with him.

A moment later, Miller pulled a document across the desk.

It was a list of Elixirs expected to be secured from each country.

“How many do you need?”

“All of them that I can get.”

Miller looked up at me.

After a few seconds, he said, “All right.”

He nodded and set down the document.

“Of course, it will not be easy to convince everyone.”

There was a reason for that.

In America, Miller could not simply decide on his own to concentrate dozens of bottles of strategic resources on one person.

The federal government and Congress.

The military and budget organizations were involved as well.

And I had not even been naturalized for very long.

No matter how well I had performed on the 25th floor, there was bound to be opposition.

“Will it be all right?”

Miller looked at me.

“What do you mean?”

“There will be opposition from politicians as well. People within the Association will talk about fairness too.”

“They will.”

He admitted it too easily.

As he organized the Elixir list, he spoke calmly.

“The military will question it as well. They will ask whether it is right to concentrate strategic resources on one person. The Budget Committee will not stay quiet either.”

Then he gave a faint laugh.

“My phone will probably be quite noisy starting tomorrow.”

“...And you will do it anyway?”

Only then did Miller's hand stop.

The playful smile from before was gone.

Instead, he looked at me with calm eyes.

“Mr. Kang.”

“Yes.”

“This is what I am here to do.”

His tone made it sound like nothing special.

But for a moment, I could not answer.

“Awakeners enter the Tower.”

Miller pointed at me.

“They fight with their lives on the line and climb to places no one has ever reached.”

This time, he lightly tapped his own chest.

“I remain here.”

“...”

“Then is my duty not clear as well?”

He smiled faintly.

“To make sure that those fighting inside the Tower do not have to worry about the battles outside it.”

His tone remained calm.

“If politicians question it, I will explain. If the budget is the problem, I will persuade them. If there is opposition within the Association, I will take responsibility.”

Then he said one last thing.

“Mr. Kang, keep climbing.”

My fingertips paused slightly.

“If you have judged that it is possible, then show that possibility through results.”

Miller pushed the Elixir list toward me.

“The rest is our responsibility.”

“...You trust me that much?”

We had not known each other for long.

I was not born in America, nor had I fought for this country.

Until recently, I had been an Awakener from another country.

Yet Miller did not hesitate in the slightest.

“Yes.”

It was brief.

That made it all the clearer.

“Did you not already show us on the 25th floor?”

“...”

It was an unfamiliar response.

In my previous life, it had always been the opposite.

I was the one who fought, the one who proved myself, and the one who took responsibility whenever things went wrong.

But Miller said they would take care of what lay outside the Tower.

Politics.

Money.

Responsibility.

They would bear all of that, so I only needed to climb.

That only strengthened my resolve.

I wanted to return that much to someone who trusted me and reached out first.

That was how I had lived.

“...All right.”

A smile escaped me without my realizing it.

Miller smiled back.

“Then let us do this properly.”

I picked up the Elixir list from the desk.

America had opened a path for me.

Then what I needed to do was simple.

Climb the Tower.

And at the end of that path no one had conquered, be the first to set foot there in America's name.

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