Chapter 37: 7th Floor (2)

Chapter 37: 7th Floor (2)

[ Translator – Bin ]

[ Proofreader – Phylicia ]

“...They didn’t say anything about this on the expansion.”

I stared carefully at the hovering message.

Generally, these trials made you wait for at least a day after passing the previous one.

There might be a serious problem if that rule changed without the system giving us any heads up.

‘The wait time disappeared without any messages from the system...’

It was a little strange, but I was able to shake off the shock.

Anyway, I could understand the wait time disappearing.

It doesn’t really change anything that I would have done, and it could actually help me.

‘There might be more benefits if I get through the trials more quickly.’

Rushing into these would have been detrimental to me in the past, but not anymore.

I was already used to fighting at my current strength.

And I seemed to be pretty strong compared to my peers, as seen in the 6th trial.

‘This is better than an otherworldly challenger invading my trial.’

Actually, it could be seen as a positive change.

‘I can’t be surprised every time something changes.’

It wasn’t like anything in this world was normal.

Change was something that could come at any moment.

I wondered if everyone else has been experiencing the same changes.

‘I was going to check up on the community anyway.’

「 You have entered the community. 」

「 Difficulty – Hard 」

「 Floor 7 Community (1671/2321) 」

TowerFairy: Have y’all noticed that the trial wait time has disappeared?

It didn’t take long to find someone talking about the wait times.

I was wondering how people were going to react, but they didn’t make it a big deal.

FookTheAdmin: Could you be any slower? TowerFairy: Lol I’m just slow in general... FookTheAdmin: But I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.TowerFairy: Isn’t it kinda important? There might be something that lets us start the trials earlier?MaxLevelConfidence: Lol that only pertains to the high rankers. What difference does it make to us?ContinentalScale: Facts, it takes days for us to prepare anyway. It makes no difference to people like us.TowerFairy: Stop attacking me with facts pls. But I guess that’s true. I’m going home after this anyway.

I guess no one really cared as much as I did.

‘...Maybe it’s because they’re low rankers.’

I didn’t think there was anyone normal here.

Well, I guess it didn’t matter if no one else cared.

No one cared about being a pioneer, and most of them just wanted to go back home after the 8th trial.

But...

‘The vibes are a little different from the 6th floor.’

That was a little concerning.

Everyone was so bloodthirsty on the 6th floor, but the 7th floor waiting area was different.

Fluffy: Also, there was a fuckton of madlads on the 6th floor. Talking about stabbing people through the portal or some shit.YummyAchievements: Ah, that’s probably because of the achievement you get from attacking without being seen.Fluffy: Damnnn they did that for an achievement? What the fuck?NerdWorkNerdWork: lmao that’s not even that bad. I’ve seen someone kill their teammate after they’ve already cleared the trial.StandardHunter: They all went batshit after getting the trauma resistance skills lmaoooo.HighschoolArmyGirl: Hahaha, high-school-girl-chan was too scared to talk on the 6th floor!Dobermann: What the fuck? Anyway, they were pretty scary. I couldn’t say anything either.Fluffy: I legit got chills from the bastards selling the resistance skills. Points really turn you into something else, huh.StandardHunter: They probably survived and are staying quiet because they feel guilty. The 7th trial is a solo one anyway. What can they do?

“...Things are definitely different.”

There were a lot more conversations going on, and the atmosphere was much lighter.

Specifically, the people who have been weighing it down were staying quiet now.

‘I guess the tension is lower now that everyone passed the 6th trial.’

Because after the 7th trial, we would be in the 8th floor waiting room.

“And we should be able to go back home after reaching that...”

Everyone was probably relieved to see that the 7th trial wasn’t a group one.

Because now they know for sure that they won’t have to kill any more people.

On the other hand, the ones who have been encouraging murder were all quiet.

Why?

‘Because they also noticed that the 7th trial was individual.’

There wasn’t any way to get extra points, and they would just be cursed out by everyone else.

And the people who bought skills from them were probably not doing that well either.

“...”

However, this peace wouldn’t last forever.

If we had to keep climbing the tower and there happened to be another group trial, the same thing would happen again.

I couldn’t let them fool me.

At the end of the day, everyone here was my competition.

1st, Kim Seunghoon(SS-)2nd, Oh Choonsuk(S+)3rd, WhatsANicknameChange(S)4th, Hunter(S-)5th, Headygongdu(A)6th, Frog(A-)

「 Prove that you have overcome your fear. 」

I was about to react to the message as I was walking through the hallway, but my surroundings started to shift.

Shaaaaaa...!

“This is...”

Somewhere that I definitely remembered.

The sand and the cactuses—it was a scenery that I’ve definitely seen before.

“The tutorial trial?”

Yeah, this was definitely the first trial I faced when I came to the tower.

The only question is why...

“Is this a hallucination?”

It could be, since they were talking about overcoming fear and whatnot.

Maybe it was making me face a traumatic memory.

But that theory soon fell apart like the sand I gripped in my hands.

‘It doesn’t feel like a hallucination.’

At the very least, this environment felt real.

Overcoming fear, and the changing surroundings...

Maybe...

“Is it going to recreate my tutorial trial?”

That didn’t seem out of the question.

The tower did just recreate everything else.

And then...

Kkkrrrooon!

The floor suddenly started to quake, and all the sand started to gather itself.

Also something that I’ve seen before.

“...As I thought, I guess they’re going to recreate the golem too.”

Hm, but the E-rank monsters wouldn’t pose much of a threat to me now.

‘Honestly, I could beat these guys blindfolded at this point.”

I’ve been going through a rapid growth period during the trials.

Why were they even giving me a whole 40 minutes for this?

‘Is it a freebie before I get to the 8th floor?’

Contrary to my thoughts, I gripped my sword and stared down at the lump of sand that was starting to pile up.

Well, I guess there were still two more trials left...

Kraaaaaaaang!

Then the sand erupted into a desert storm, and my ears began to ring.

At the same time, it started to form into a humanoid being as it grew slowly but steadily.

“...Huh?”

Sand golems were supposed to be E-rank monsters that even orcs could kill...

‘What the-’

Even at a glance, it was way taller than the original height of six meters.

Ten meters—no—it was so tall that I could barely even look at it.

An oppressive aura enveloped me.

“...”

If the original sand golem was an E-rank monster...

The monstrosity that stood in front of me was at least a B.

“Grrrrr...!”

When its glowing red eyes met mine, I could instantly tell.

Killing three of these in 40 minutes is...

“Fuck.”

—

Translator’s notes – Or ask me for clarification on our channel in discord!

My least favorite thing is having to come up with translations for these goddamn nicknames

These low rankers better die soon so I don’t have to look their names up later

BTW sorry for the slow updates before i had covid but i’m better now