WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 42
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As the message vanished from before my eyes,
Rumble!
A pillar of light descended.
The light pouring into the center of the ruined temple dyed the rubble pure white.
“...”
Still gripping my greatsword, I took a step back.
Something was descending within the light.
It had a head and torso, with two arms and legs extending beneath them. At a glance, it looked human.
But watching the light flow along its outline, I could tell it was merely something imitating a human form.
I did not know what it was.
But I was certain that being was looking at me.
My gaze moved around its body.
Numbers had been engraved in the light.
21, 22, 23...
The numbers, moving slowly at different heights, continued up to 30.
Did they indicate the areas it managed?
The being's feet descended near the floor.
The thunderous noise filling the temple stopped.
Then, without even a greeting, a voice rang out.
「Arkelon was the Guardian of the thirtieth floor.」
I watched it in silence.
The face made of light turned toward Arkelon's remains.
「Arkelon's role was to present trials to challengers and help those who overcame them advance higher.」
Light flowed across the weapons scattered around us.
Broken swords and dented shields.
They had once formed the temple's pillars and walls.
「But Arkelon did not want challengers to surpass Arkelon.」
The voice remained calm.
「After defeating them, Arkelon took their Relics and decorated Arkelon's hall with them. Arkelon absorbed the power dwelling in those Relics and used it to kill the next challengers.」
I looked down at a sword lying near my feet.
Its blade was broken in half.
The leather wrapped around its hilt had long worn away, but traces remained of someone having held it for a long time.
「The more challengers there were, the stronger Arkelon became. Meanwhile, those capable of surpassing Arkelon disappeared. The Guardian meant to present trials had declared itself a ruler.」
The face of light turned toward me.
「Thus, Arkelon was pulled down from the throne and imprisoned here. Arkelon's power was divided and sealed away, and a path was left behind so challengers could weaken that power.」
The four passages.
The Sealed Guardians held at their ends.
That was why Arkelon awakened incomplete if they were rescued first.
「However.」
The Administrator fell silent.
Its gaze moved from Arkelon's remains to the Black-Iron Greatsword in my hand, then to my face.
「To think there would be someone who would free Arkelon's seals, restore Arkelon's complete body, and still defeat Arkelon.」
I could not read the expression of a being without a face.
Yet there was a subtle change in the voice that had been calm from the beginning.
「Arkelon retained all the power taken from challengers over countless years. Arkelon had far surpassed the trial one should normally face on the thirtieth floor.」
The Administrator looked at me.
「And you defeated such a being alone.」
The numbers circling its body moved slowly.
Among them, the number 30 stopped before my eyes.
「It is not a common occurrence.」
Not common.
I considered those words.
It did not mean it had never happened before.
But more than that...
“Just what are you? The Administrator...”
We could communicate.
So I tried to ask about the Tower and what an Administrator was, but before I could finish,
「One who presents trials. One who promotes growth. One who encourages competition. One who pursues the singular.」
It gave vague answers.
「Fundamental questions are troublesome. You would not receive an answer anyway.」
Its gaze fixed on me.
「What I can tell you now is to climb the Tower. At the end of that path lies a destination, along with answers to every question you hold.」
It concluded as though further questions were meaningless.
Then...
“Has anyone besides me defeated a complete Arkelon?”
Rather than asking a fundamental question, I asked one that might help me.
「You are perceptive.」
The Administrator answered.
「And that is why I intervened.」
Contrary to my expectations, it admitted it readily.
「They are not beings from your dimension.」
Another dimension.
Hearing those words, something came to mind.
The Abyss.
The landscapes and beings I had encountered there.
「Arkelon's trial is not permitted only in this dimension. There are also those in other dimensions who have defeated a complete Arkelon.」
“Then did they meet you as well?”
「They did. And they challenged trials to obtain greater rewards.」
The Administrator raised a hand.
Two fingers made of light came together.
「Therefore, I will make you an offer as well.」
Snap!
The sound of fingers snapping rang out.
Flash!
Four chests appeared before me.
Heavy chests landed side by side on the floor.
The usual clearing rewards appeared before me.
Then, above them, an object glowing red rose into view.
Thud.
Arkelon's heart.
The heart I had put into its chest before crushing it myself was beating in its complete form.
It appeared to contain a reward as well, like the chests.
「Originally, these are all the rewards you should receive.」
The Administrator pointed at the chests.
「Ah, of course, the authority over the throne is yours as well. The inheritance has already been completed.」
Four chests and the heart.
Along with the toll from the thirtieth floor and approval authority.
That alone was more than enough of a reward.
But the Administrator was not finished.
「But what if you could obtain more here?」
I looked away from the heart.
The Administrator spread its palm.
Small lights rose above it.
One, two, and then too many to count. They glittered at different heights.
「You have experienced the Abyss, so you must know. Various dimensions exist in this universe. And there are people there who climb Towers as well. Those who overcome trials, obtain rewards, and advance to the next floor.」
I silently waited for its next words.
「What if you could receive the tolls they pay?」
My gaze moved to the spread of lights.
Even now, the toll flowing in from the throne was enormous.
And it could be extended to other dimensions?
“So you want me to undergo a trial to obtain that authority.”
「You understand quickly.」
The Administrator closed its hand.
The lights above its palm vanished.
「But the process of receiving such a reward will not be easy.」
The Tower always demanded a price befitting its rewards.
What mattered was whether I could bear that price.
「Look.」
At that moment, text appeared before my eyes.
[Please select the difficulty of the Additional Trial.]
[Normal]
[Hard]
[Extreme]
[Nightmare]
And lastly,
[Impossible]
My gaze swept over the five options.
“Do the rewards differ depending on the difficulty?”
「They do. The difficulty determines the number of dimensions from which you can collect tolls.」
The Administrator added,
「And you will receive one very special benefit that you cannot imagine.」
A reward beyond the tolls.
“Can I know what it is?”
「Impossible. Only those who succeed in the trial may enjoy it.」
“Then the contents of the trial...”
「That is the same.」
The Administrator answered without hesitation.
「What you must decide now is whether to challenge it or receive your rewards here and return.」
I looked at the text again.
A trial granted only after defeating a complete Arkelon.
Just because the battle earlier had been easy did not mean the next trial would be.
Moreover, I did not even know its contents.
‘Impossible is out for now.’
I moved my gaze away from Extreme as well.
I had no basis for judging how far my current strength could take me.
Still, I had no intention of choosing the lowest reward from the start.
“I'll choose Hard.”
I reached out and pressed the text.
However,
[You have not met the selection requirements.]
Red text blocked my fingertips.
「Regrettably, that is impossible.」
“...?”
「You personally are qualified enough. But your dimension has not yet proven itself qualified to challenge that difficulty.」
The Administrator pointed to the Hard option.
A new explanation appeared beneath it.
[Hard Unlock Requirement]
[Challengers from the relevant dimension who have defeated a complete Floor 30 Guardian: 2 (1/2)]
‘Two?’
It meant it did not matter how many times I defeated it.
Someone besides me had to defeat a complete Arkelon.
“Do higher difficulties have conditions like this as well?”
「They do. The harder the difficulty, the more qualifiers that dimension must produce.」
A threshold I could not cross through individual strength alone.
I stared at the Hard option for a moment before withdrawing my hand.
I could not bring someone else here right now.
「There is no need to be disappointed. This will not be your final choice.」
The Administrator tapped the air with a fingertip.
「You may challenge this trial again later by using a Retry Ticket. If your dimension meets the conditions then, you may choose a higher difficulty.」
That was a relief.
I just had to take what I could obtain now.
I moved my hand down one option.
“I'll choose Normal.”
[You have selected the ‘Normal’ difficulty.]
The Administrator raised its hand.
「Good.」
Snap!
With the snap of its fingers, a red circle appeared on the temple floor.
It was directly in front of me, where Arkelon's remains had been scattered.
Rumble...
Fragments of metal within the circle were pushed outward.
Red light surged from its center, and a huge foot stepped onto the floor.
Thud.
Then what appeared was...
‘An orc?’
It was at least twice as tall as I had been after Giantification ended.
Thick arms hung beneath its broad shoulders.
Whenever the muscles beneath its dark red skin moved, iron plates hanging from leather straps clashed together.
Its trapezius muscles were so thick that the line between its neck and shoulders was indistinct.
Two yellow fangs rose from its protruding lower jaw.
One fang had a broken tip covered in metal.
「...」
Small eyes turned toward me.
Golden pupils swept over my face and the weapon in my hand.
It held a long-handled battle axe in its right hand.
The blade alone was large enough to cover my upper body.
The axe blade, honed countless times, shone white, while deep nicks marred its thick back edge.
「Allow me to introduce Garkan.」
The Administrator held out a hand toward the orc.
「Iron-Blood Emperor Garkan. Garkan subdued more than a hundred orc tribes, united clans that had fought among themselves, and founded the first empire.」
Garkan cracked his neck from side to side.
Crack.
The sound of bone echoed low through the temple.
「Garkan killed twenty-seven tribal chiefs in duels and brought down the seven human kingdoms. Then Garkan defeated a complete Arkelon in Garkan's own dimension.」
Garkan lifted the axe and rested it on Garkan's shoulder.
Even with that simple movement, the muscles in Garkan's forearm bulged thickly.
Without taking my eyes off the axe blade, I asked,
“Do I just have to defeat Garkan?”
「Yes. Garkan is one who proved the same qualification as you in another dimension. Defeating Garkan is this trial.」
Swish.
Garkan lowered the axe from Garkan's shoulder.
Scrape.
The blade dragged along the floor, leaving a long line.
「Of course, this is not Garkan's actual body. You could say it is a manifestation of the record Garkan left in the Tower. A copied manifestation of the record made when Garkan defeated the thirtieth floor's Guardian.」
“...”
I looked at Garkan.
A chill ran down my neck from Wild Instinct.
That was only natural.
Anyone who could defeat a complete Arkelon was no ordinary powerhouse.
「And.」
The Administrator snapped its fingers.
[All skill cooldowns have been reset.]
「You used your strength a moment ago, did you not? A contest must be fair.」
Listening to the Administrator, I used Giantification.
Riiip!
My body grew larger.
I pointed the vastly enlarged Black-Iron Greatsword at Garkan.
The warning that had touched the back of my neck vanished.
If I could use Giantification again, even my sole remaining variable was gone.
My chance of losing was 0%.
* * *
A message echoed across the entire world.
[America's Kang Seong-un has inherited the throne of the thirtieth floor.]
The employees checking the clearing status in the Association's situation room.
The Awakeners who were just about to enter the Tower.
Everyone saw the message.
“He made it to the thirtieth floor.”
“How long has it even been since he got the last throne?”
It was astonishing.
But it was not unexpected.
When Kang Seong-un climbed the Tower, he obtained a throne.
The results he had built up time and again had become something people simply accepted.
America's Association also checked the announcement it had prepared for the inheritance news.
Officials from other countries calculated the impact the toll and approval authority would have.
Kang Seong-un had obtained another throne.
Most reactions were about to end there.
But shortly afterward, an unexpected new message forced the entire world into an uproar.
[America's Kang Seong-un has defeated Iron-Blood Emperor Garkan, a qualifier from another dimension.]
The employee reading the announcement froze with their mouth open.
The Awakener organizing their equipment stopped as well.
“...Another dimension?”
The words attached before the unfamiliar name caught their eyes first.
What was a qualifier, and who had Kang Seong-un fought immediately after obtaining a throne?
Before they could sort through those questions, another message appeared.
[Through Kang Seong-un's victory, ‘Normal’ difficulty has been unlocked for Floors 21 through 30 of the relevant dimension.]
[Normal difficulty grants more and better rewards than the existing Easy difficulty.]
“Difficulty?”
Someone checked the text again, wondering whether they had misread it.
The way to climb the Tower was already known.
Each floor had a set trial, and Awakeners cleared it to advance upward.
But now it meant they could choose the difficulty of those trials.
Riiing!
The phones in the situation room began to ring.
Reports on the thirtieth-floor throne were pushed aside.
The Associations of every nation secured the newly appeared messages and waited for further details.
Then the final message appeared.
[The ‘Normal’ difficulty in the relevant section may only be challenged with the approval of its unlocker, Kang Seong-un.]
Silence filled the situation room for a moment.
Soon, someone spoke first.
“Contact America.”
It was not a call to congratulate them on the Throne Inheritance.
A new path had opened for Awakeners around the world.
And Kang Seong-un alone, in all the world, held the authority to approve entry onto that path.
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