WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 8
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America had reached the 24th floor.
South Korea, currently leading the world, had reached the 30th.
It might seem like a difference of only six floors, but in the Tower, those six floors represented a gap vast enough to be called staggering.
Clearing a single floor usually took over a month.
Between figuring out the monsters' traits, developing a strategy, and preparing the necessary equipment and personnel, it was not uncommon for a floor to take several months.
In that sense, a six-floor gap meant a difference of more than half a year.
The 25th floor, which America was currently attempting, was especially difficult.
Most mid-tier countries around the world were stuck on the 25th floor.
America was no exception.
It had already been three months.
They had not been sitting idle. They had sent in Raid Parties several times, but failed to find a decisive breakthrough while the time limit continued to shrink.
【Time Remaining to Clear the 25th Floor: 14 days, 23 hours, 41 minutes】
If they failed, a destruction beam would fall.
That alone would cause immense damage, but the greater problem was the curse.
America had failed to clear the Tower twice and now bore two curses.
【Rapid Reproduction: The number of monsters increases by 10%.】
【Mutation: The chance for enhanced monster variants to appear increases by 10%.】
They were curses from lower floors, so they did not have much of an effect yet. But if they continued to pile up, they would become unbearable.
For America, which had already failed twice, a third failure would not simply mean the destruction of one city.
The Tower itself would become more difficult.
That was why they had to succeed on the 25th floor this time.
* * *
Squelch.
When I stepped forward, dark blue mud swallowed my foot up to the ankle.
A swamp with no visible end stretched out before me.
Yellow fog hung low over the rotten water, while swarms of unidentified insects buzzed around the dead trees jutting up here and there.
Each step brought up a foul stench, like turning over an old corpse.
Screech.
When I lifted my Black-Iron Boots, sticky mud stretched into threads before snapping apart.
As I watched it, I recalled what Miller had said earlier.
America did not have many Retry Tickets left.
Retry Tickets.
Special consumable relics that allowed someone to challenge a floor they had already entered again.
Of course, having a Retry Ticket did not mean one could reenter just any floor.
Entry was only possible when the difference between the highest floor cleared by the Awakener using the Retry Ticket and the floor they wanted to challenge was five floors or less.
The highest floor I had cleared was the 30th.
The floor America was currently challenging was the 25th.
Exactly five floors apart.
It was close, but I met the requirement.
There was also the issue of the number of Retry Tickets.
Normally, if they had enough money, they could have secured more somehow. But the situation was different now.
America was not the only country stuck on the 25th floor.
Countless mid-tier nations were failing their attempts and repeatedly challenging the floor, buying up even the stock already on the market. America was urgently looking for additional tickets as well, but there was a limit to how many they could obtain immediately.
America currently possessed six Retry Tickets.
Of course, I was the only one who needed them, so what they had would be enough to get me to the 30th.
But.
'I can't fail even once.'
There was neither time nor spare Retry Tickets to challenge the same floor twice after failing.
I looked beyond the swamp, firming my resolve.
Through the pale fog, I saw a crude wooden palisade made from trees and mud.
Beyond it stood dozens of huts and tall watchtowers packed tightly together.
A Lizardman village.
The objective of the 25th floor was simple.
Exterminate the Lizardmen inside.
At first glance, it seemed simple enough.
That was why many countries and Awakeners had initially not considered it a serious challenge.
The problem was their numbers.
A single village held hundreds of Lizardmen, with average levels ranging from 22 to 25.
There were not only warriors, but archers, shamans, and hunters hidden in the swamp.
Once combat began, the entire village moved at once, and the swamp terrain itself would hold you back.
Fighting one or two enemies and having hundreds rush you at the same time were entirely different matters.
Sofia spoke from behind me.
“So, Captain, what are we doing?”
It was only natural for them to ask the team leader, someone with experience clearing this floor, for an opinion.
“...”
I looked at the palisade without answering.
From what I remembered, this required a considerable strategy.
Starting with the guards on the palisade, taking out the archers and shamans, and luring them in little by little to prevent being surrounded.
But none of those tactics were necessary now.
“It’s simple.”
The other four focused on me.
“I’ll go in first and gather all of them.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“All of them?”
“Yeah.”
I pointed behind me with my thumb.
“I’ll make sure they only look at me. You guys finish them off.”
“...”
A brief silence followed.
Mei carefully asked, “That’s... all?”
“Is it complicated?”
“No, but...”
Of course, there were more detailed movements involved.
When Marcus would begin charging.
Where Sofia would build up her combo attacks.
When Eric should enter the melee.
Whom Mei should focus her energy on.
But all of those plans centered around one thing.
Drawing the attention of hundreds of Lizardmen to me, so the enemy could not see my teammates.
The Launcher would have time to prepare an attack.
The Blade Dancer could keep their combo attacks going without interruption.
The Berserker could build up excitement without worrying about defense.
I was the one who made that possible.
“Mei.”
“Yes.”
“Buff me first.”
Mei immediately brought both hands together.
Whoooom.
A faint bluish-white energy bloomed between her palms before becoming a stream that wrapped around my body.
Thump.
My heart beat heavily once.
Then, hot energy spread through my veins and across my entire body.
[You are affected by the Qi Art “Potential Explosion.”]
[All stats increase by 10%.]
Even with the Black-Iron Armament equipped, my already abnormal body expanded once more.
I held the Black-Iron Shield in my left hand and rested the greatsword on my shoulder.
“I’ll give the signal for when to enter. Wait.”
Thud.
I walked forward alone through the swamp.
The closer I got to the village, the clearer the Lizardmen became.
One guard on the palisade spotted me.
“Kiruk?”
Its yellow eyes narrowed.
Then it raised its spear.
“Kiiik!”
Just as it was about to sound the alarm, I bent my knees.
Then.
Crunch.
The swamp beneath my feet sank deeply.
Then.
Booom!
I launched myself upward.
Mud and rotten water exploded in every direction as my body, clad in the massive Black-Iron Armament, soared over the palisade.
The guard's head followed my movement into the air.
“Kik?!”
Straight into the center of the village.
Boom!
The ground caved in as I landed.
The surrounding huts shook, and startled Lizardmen turned their heads all at once.
Dozens. No, there were already more than that in sight.
From the huts.
From the watchtowers.
From beneath the swamp.
Yellow eyes began to appear one by one.
Shing.
I lowered the Black-Iron Greatsword from my shoulder.
Then it was time.
『Dominating Aura』
Whoooom.
Something burst forth from deep within my heart.
An invisible pressure covered the entire village.
The air grew heavy.
The mud around me trembled softly, and several nearby Lizardmen instinctively shrank back.
[“Dominating Aura (覇氣)” activates.]
[The combat abilities of enemies within range decrease by 10%.]
And at the same time.
[Hostility is forcibly focused.]
The true purpose of Dominating Aura was its second effect.
A sort of permanent area-wide taunt.
It concentrated the rage and killing intent of every enemy within range on me alone.
The effect was immediate.
“Kiiiiik!”
The nearest Lizardman screamed.
That set it off. The entire village began to boil.
“Kraaaah!”
“Kieeek!”
They kicked open the doors of the huts.
Spear-wielding warriors rushed out, while archers drew their bowstrings from the rooftops.
Those hidden under the swamp crawled out covered in mud, and heavily armored Lizardmen carrying enormous shields emerged from inside the palisade.
Dozens became a hundred, and a hundred grew into several hundred.
The entire village moved toward me alone.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Hundreds of feet stamped through the mud as they surged forward.
Spearheads rose in a dense thicket, while Lizardmen with bared fangs rushed in from all sides like waves.
I raised my shield in the middle of them.
Then.
Bam!
I charged straight ahead.
The Lizardmen in the front row were sent flying.
The enormous Black-Iron Shield was less a piece of armor than a wall.
No, in my hand now, it was closer to a battering ram.
“Kiek!”
A spear flew in from the side.
I tilted my head slightly to avoid it, then swung the greatsword in my right hand.
Whooom!
A blade as tall as a person tore through the air.
It moved at a speed that was hard to believe for such a heavy hunk of metal.
Slash!
Everything in the sword's path vanished.
Whoosh! Whooom!
Every swing of my sword brought down entire groups of Lizardmen.
Crack!
The shields they held up to block were knocked away along with them.
Smash!
Those who tried to hold their ground with spears were swept away with their weapons.
I could barely even feel my weapon catch on anything.
I simply swung.
“Kiiiiik!”
And they disappeared.
“Keruk!”
A monstrous cry sounded behind me.
I did not turn around.
I gripped the shield in reverse and spun my body.
Whoosh! Bam!
The enormous Black-Iron Shield swept through their bodies.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Mud sprayed everywhere as dozens of bodies shot into the air.
The next line of Lizardmen appeared through the gaps left by those flying away.
Bam!
With one push off the ground, I closed the distance to the center of the Lizardmen in an instant.
“Kik?!”
The moment they turned in surprise, I swung the greatsword widely to both sides.
Crack!
Their encirclement split apart at once.
Thud. Thud.
The severed bodies of Lizardmen fell into the swamp.
But.
“Kiiiiik!”
“Keruruk!”
Drawn by Dominating Aura, they rushed toward me like mad.
Hundreds of eyes focused on me alone.
Pressure?
None.
I had survived in far worse conditions than this.
With my overwhelming stats, I had more than enough room to spare.
Step.
I moved deeper into the middle of the enemy lines.
Each swing of my greatsword opened a path.
Each thrust of my shield brought down a crowd.
Clang!
Of course, there were times when spears struck my armor.
But it ended with nothing more than the sound of metal.
The Black-Iron Armament's tremendous defense absorbed most of the impact.
Even when there was an impact, my Health, already over 200, dispersed it until it vanished.
Clang!
Instead, while they left themselves open with attacks that did not even hurt me, I pushed my shield forward.
Boom!
The Lizardman's body crumpled as though it had been hit by an eight-ton truck.
Of course.
Boom!
The fireball flying in from the rear was somewhat threatening.
The Black-Iron Armament had magic resistance, but it specialized in physical defense, so I felt the impact quite clearly.
But even that did not last.
“Where do you think you're aiming?!”
Eric and Sofia joined the fight.
“Raaah!”
A rough battle cry.
It seemed the Berserker had built up a considerable amount of excitement.
Without caring about defense at all, Eric swung his greatsword and singled out and killed the Lizardmen capable of ranged attacks.
Normally, Eric could not have fought so recklessly.
The higher Eric's excitement rose, the more explosively Eric's attack power and speed increased. But in exchange, Eric became vulnerable to impacts.
A slightly bad hit would be enough to interrupt Eric's momentum.
But that would not happen now.
“Kiiiiik!”
The Lizardmen's attention was completely focused on me.
The foes Eric faced were ranged fighters vulnerable in close combat.
The same was true for Sofia.
Swish! Swish!
Every flash of her curved sword split apart Lizardman necks and limbs.
Once, twice, three times.
As her combo attacks continued without interruption, her movements became faster and faster.
Shhhk.
At some point, only her afterimages could be seen.
The Blade Dancer's greatest weakness was having their rhythm interrupted.
But there was no reason for that to happen when the enemies did not even look at her.
'Just as I thought.'
This team's firepower had always been strong.
The problem was simply that they had never had an environment where they could unleash it freely.
Now that the environment had been created, they could pour out their strengths without restraint.
Crunch!
I crushed a Lizardman with my shield and glanced behind me.
“...”
At the very rear, Marcus had both hands extended forward.
Hum. Hummmm.
Light gathered.
The fist-sized orb of light quickly grew larger, forming a massive cannon barrel in front of Marcus.
A Launcher made of light.
Rumble.
The air around it trembled.
The Launcher's weakness was its charging time.
But not a single Lizardman had rushed Marcus until now.
Since Marcus's charge had not been interrupted, naturally.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The light gathered inside the barrel became so bright that it was hard to keep my eyes open.
“Kang!”
Marcus shouted.
“I’m about to fire!”
So it was finally fully charged.
I swung my greatsword and cut down a Lizardman rushing at me.
“Eric! Sofia! Pull back!”
Both reacted to my words.
Eric kicked a Lizardman away and used the recoil to leap backward. Sofia also withdrew from the battlefield without hesitation.
The moment the two retreated, Marcus shouted again.
“Kang! You need to get out too!”
I looked around.
Dozens of Lizardmen still surrounded me.
Even those a little farther away were still rushing over, drawn by Dominating Aura.
But if I pulled back now?
They would follow me.
There was no reason to scatter the enemies I had gathered so well.
“Just fire!”
“...What?”
“Fire!”
Marcus’s expression stiffened.
“But Mr. Kang is in the line of fire!”
“I know!”
I blocked an incoming axe with my shield.
Clang!
Then I immediately swung my greatsword and sent its owner flying.
“That’s why I said fire!”
Marcus hesitated for a moment.
Naturally.
No one knew Marcus's attack power better than Marcus did.
But soon, Marcus's eyes changed.
“...Understood!”
Trust within a team was directly tied to life and death.
Marcus was especially loyal and had too much experience to defy a leader's words. Marcus gritted his teeth and aimed the Launcher.
At that moment.
Whoooom.
A shiver ran down my spine.
The light compressed into a single point.
Then.
“GO!”
Booooooooom!
The world turned white.
A massive beam of energy tore across the swamp.
The mud and swamp water on either side erupted as the beam passed.
The pressure rushing in from the front made my Black-Iron Armor rattle.
'As expected of a Launcher!'
I slung the greatsword across my back and gripped the Black-Iron Shield with both hands.
Then I raised it straight ahead.
Thud!
I planted my feet deep into the swamp.
The next moment.
Booooom!
The beam struck the shield.
My vision disappeared entirely.
A deafening roar.
Scorching heat.
An enormous impact transmitted through the shield.
But I held my ground like a mountain.
The impact from the shield dispersed into the surroundings.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Lizardmen caught in the beam exploded one after another.
That was not all.
The palisade shattered.
The huts were blown away.
Massive trees were uprooted, and even the swamp floor was overturned.
Then finally.
Booooom!
The condensed energy exploded all at once.
A massive pillar of fire rose into the air.
The shockwave swept across the entire village.
For a while, I could hear nothing.
Only a humming sound remained in my ears.
“...Whew.”
White smoke rose from the Black-Iron Shield.
My arms tingled slightly.
The impact that had traveled through my armor left various parts of my body tingling.
But... that was all.
Shing.
I lowered my shield.
Then I looked around.
“...”
The village, which had been filled with Lizardmen just moments ago, had been devastated.
The ground was overturned as though a giant plow had torn through it several times, and a massive crater had formed in the center.
More than half the palisade had been blown away.
Fire and smoke rose everywhere.
'So this is a Launcher's full charge.'
I had no choice but to acknowledge its firepower.
If given time to charge, Marcus was a damage dealer who could literally wipe out an entire battlefield.
Especially since the Lizardmen had gathered in one spot to attack me, its destructive power was overwhelming.
But.
“Kik!”
A screeching cry came from within the smoke.
I turned my head.
Since they had gathered in one spot, most of them had been swept away.
Step. Step. Step.
But outside the range of the explosion, a large number of Lizardmen were still tightening their encirclement.
Grip.
I took hold of the Black-Iron Greatsword again.
Then.
Step.
I walked forward.
“Kiiiiik!”
The sword of a charging Lizardman struck my shoulder first.
Clang!
I ignored it.
I swung the greatsword.
Slash!
Its body fell at once.
After that, surviving Lizardmen appeared from the smoke one by one.
Nothing changed.
Whooom!
I simply slaughtered every Lizardman in sight, swinging the Black-Iron Greatsword like a club.
* * *
“Kik!”
The last Lizardman staggered toward me.
But its charge came to an embarrassingly abrupt end.
Slash!
The black blade cut through its body.
Splat.
The Lizardman's corpse collapsed into the mud.
Then.
[All hostile entities on the 25th floor have been eliminated.]
At last, the Tower's messages announcing the completion of the trial began to appear before me.
[You have completed the trial of the 25th floor.]
[Calculating clear time.]
A number appeared in the air.
[4 minutes, 52 seconds]
“...”
Even I was briefly speechless.
I knew it would be fast.
But I had not expected it to take less than five minutes.
And that time was enough to...
[The 25th-floor rankings have been updated.]
[Previous 1st-place record: 31 minutes, 55 seconds]
[New 1st-place record: 4 minutes, 52 seconds]
[The previous highest record has been reduced by 27 minutes, 3 seconds.]
It was enough to overturn the current 25th-floor rankings.
[1st Place. America: Kang Seong-un Party (4 minutes, 52 seconds)]
[2nd Place. South Korea: Kang Seong-un Party (31 minutes, 55 seconds)]
[3rd Place. China: Xiao Tianlong Party (34 minutes, 18 seconds)]
And rankings did not simply offer honor.
[The reward for ranking 1st on the 25th floor is applied.]
[All Awakeners of American nationality and affiliated with America who enter the 25th floor receive a 10% increase to all stats on that floor.]
[The chance for Awakeners affiliated with America to receive a higher reward grade on the 25th floor increases.]
Every American Awakener who climbed this floor in the future would receive benefits.
The later teams would become stronger.
They would obtain better equipment.
Even their speed in climbing to the next floor would increase.
Breaking a record raised the entire nation's climbing speed.
That was why every country desperately competed for records.
And we had taken first place in the 25th-floor rankings, a position that had remained unchanged for so long.
“Captain!”
Eric turned to me with a broad grin.
“South Korea’s going to go crazy when they see this, right?”
“Probably.”
I flicked the blood from the Black-Iron Greatsword.
Drip. Drip.
Dark red blood fell from the blade into the mud.
Marcus smiled as he looked at me.
“Especially when they see the name.”
For a moment, I imagined Park Gang-sik’s face when he checked the 25th-floor rankings.
'I kind of want to see that.'
“Hahaha!”
Eric laughed loudly.
“Captain, at this rate, we’ll catch up in no time!”
The mood heated up in an instant.
We had crushed the 25th floor that had held America back for three months.
We had broken the record.
We had even obtained a national reward.
For a first step, things had gone almost too well.
I was satisfied too.
At this pace, we would surpass South Korea far sooner than I had expected.
Just as everyone was fully excited.
[Checking qualification requirements.]
The Tower's system appeared once again.
“...?”
The clear was already over.
The records had been calculated, and the national reward had been granted.
So why?
A new message appeared in the air.
[You have cleared the 25th-floor trial within five minutes.]
[The standard trial ends, and an Additional Trial is opened.]
That was when it happened.
Rumble!
The ground shook.
At first, it was a mild vibration.
But it soon became strong enough to make the swamp water beneath our feet slosh in every direction.
“What is that?”
Eric gripped his greatsword again.
Sofia's smile disappeared too.
Rumble!
At the center of the devastated village, the ground deeply gouged out by Marcus's bombardment began to split apart.
Crack!
Black mud was pushed aside.
Then something enormous rose from beneath it.
At first, it looked like a black boulder.
But as more of it emerged, its shape became clear.
A massive black stone platform rose from the ground.
And at its highest point, a throne appeared.
A massive black throne large enough for several people to sit side by side.
Its back rose grotesquely, as if made from tangled beast bones, while sharp claw-like ornaments were embedded in its armrests.
At its center, a single enormous red number glowed.
『25』
Whoooom.
Pressure pouring from the throne weighed down the entire swamp.
Then.
[The Guardian of the 25th floor intervenes.]
At that moment, the darkness on the empty throne began to writhe.
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