Chapter 162: Temple Knights 2
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Even though the temple knights have advanced to the 31st floor, our battles have not become easier.
They've secured a safe zone and the priests and nuns are tending to the injured free of charge.
Grace, due to the compatibility issues between archers and the undead, must carefully conserve her arrows.
Meanwhile, Katie is limited to fighting on the narrow land created by Han Se-ah.
Even though Irenes divine energy protects us from the venom, it is still an uncomfortable situation.
"Whew, it definitely feels like weve moved to a new floor. This is much harder than the 30th floor."
"If only we could have brought a golem... We wouldnt have to worry about this poison!"
The party murmurs quietly as they stand right before the passage to the 32nd floor.
The cave terrain is just as narrow, but the enemies also move according to the terrain.
However, the undead in the marshland move without caring for the poison, putting us at a unilateral disadvantage.
The terrain is stressful for Katie, who specializes in agile movements, she specializes in a combination of swordsmanship and footwork.
But what can we do?
The towers terrain is brutally challenging.
From what I've heard from Rebecca and other top adventurers, after this marshland, we will have to face flying monsters like harpies on a plateau full of cliffs.
...Its frustrating, but we have to adapt.
-Brat's still going on about golems LOL
-The more I watch, the more I want to quit and become a mage
-She ran away because she didnt want to see her dad, but now she's acting like a kid who got their toy taken away LOL
[Chat deleted by mod]
-Just the thought of piloting a robot had me grinning, but seeing the 31st floor, Im losing my enthusiasm
The chat watching this scene closely continues to worry.
Those who are purely spectators find it all funny, but the players following Han Se-ah and Kim Seok-hyun, intent on completing the game, can't feel the same.
Han Se-ah, being a mage, is focused on supporting by creating land for the party to stand on and filling in the swamp.
However, most of the viewers chatting would be in Katie's shoes, having to slash at zombies and skeletons on a narrow platform.
Still, we found the passage to the 32nd floor quicker than expected.
Thats all thanks to Hanna. Without her, we would be knee-deep in poison right now, receiving divine energy treatment.
But since we are a bit late, we should find a safe zone as soon as we get to the 32nd floor. It will be tough to immediately find the place... So how about we use Hannas magic to fill in a small puddle and set up a tent there? Hmm If I add my purification, it might just work.
Then lets cut down those dreadful gray trees too. Their wriggling makes it seem like theyll strangle us in our sleep. Ive seen a lot of this kind of tree in the north, but these creepy ones are a first.
After smashing the lizardmen skeletons and watching their bones turn into mana stones, the party talks and heads forward.
The marshland, sparsely populated with trees, allowed them to clearly see the passage in the distance.
Compared to dense forests and dark caves, the visibility is better, so going up to the next floor is a bit faster.
If necessary we could even use all of Han Se-ah's mana or, I could carry two people on my shoulders to cross the poison swamp.
Do you think well come across injured adventurers as soon as we pass through the passage this time?
Nah, I doubt it. The story has spread, and the temple has even made an official statement. They must have prepared an antidote by now.
Its not impossible, though. Even among the high-level adventurers, there are always those who overestimate their abilities.
Roland, you might just speak it into existence.
Excited due to finding the passage so quickly, we chatted and laughed as we circumvented the deep-looking poison pools and headed towards the passage.
The tank crossing the gate first to ensure safety on the other side is an unspoken rule known by all our party members.
Grace, the scout, stood by my side, while Katie, providing rearguard support, circled around Irene and Han Se-ah.
However, the first sight that greeted us on the 32nd floor was not of adventurers fleeing from poisoning.
"What the hell!"
Suddenly, a trolls club flew towards my face.
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Raei Translations
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"Roland? What is this, cough, thing?"
"Ugh, bleh-- Oh, the stench"
"Cough, hack--! Goddess, have mercy!"
As the group crosses the gate, their faces turn red, almost like entering a gas chamber.
It makes sense, as right in front of the portal through which they've come, lie the remnants of a troll I've smashed to pieces.
And it's not just any troll corpse.
Its one that has transformed into an undead, exploding like a gas bomb.
Surprised by a sudden blow from a club, I retaliated, killing the yellowish troll with a single strike.
It seems like skills using divine energy instead of magic deal extra damage to the undead.
But who would have thought a troll covered in yellow tumors, causing a gas explosion upon death.
"Is that, cough, a troll?"
"Yes, it seems the marshland is randomly spawning monsters that should be on higher floors. Trolls are supposed to only appear on the 40th floor, along with horned wolves, orc hunters, and blind serpents."
"So, a dangerous creature like this was waiting at the entrance of the 32nd floor?"
Thanks to Irenes quick use of a purification spell, the group, with teary eyes, can now open them and glare at the trolls yellow corpse.
It was continuously spewing gas, as if telling us 'there's a quest here!'.
First zombie crocodiles, lizardman skeletons, paralysis tentacle snakes, and now a gas bomb troll.
From the 31st to the 40th floor, the theme seems to be 'kill the melee damage dealers.'
Even I, who killed it with a shield strike, got covered in gas.
If I hadn't unconsciously coated my entire body with divine energy, I would have run outside the tower to wash it off.
"Ugh, I may be a mage, but what are melee players supposed to do in this kind of area? As valuable as mages are in fantasy worlds, this is just too much."
-I really want to reset.
-Isnt corpse explosion a bit too much?
-Well, corpse explosion is a classic for dark magic.
-Seeing Irene's tearful face makes this so worth watching.
As the group debates whether we need to collect from the troll corpse or search for mana stones among the dreadful pus-filled mass, I notice that the gas-emitting corpse is visibly dissipating.
After a certain amount of time, does the corpse disappear, leaving only the mana stone?
Thanks to the purification spell, the group, now with an immunity buff, gathered around the horrid corpse.
The beautiful women, their hair sparkling with divine energy, create a bizarre and somewhat humorous scene in front of the dreadful remains.
Even so, I'm not about to stick my hand into that pile of gruesome pus to extract the mana stone.
For efficiency, it would be quicker if I, coated in divine energy, retrieved it.
However, considering the troll's size, it wouldn't be just my arm going in my whole upper body would have to go inside.
Ill try using purification on this corpse too.
Yeah, that seems like a good idea. The path is already narrow enough without it being blocked by that.
The troll, not quite a large species at 3 meters tall, leaves behind a large corpse.
Even I hesitate in front of it, prompting Irene to step forward and release another burst of divine energy.
The yellow pus from the corpse melts away as if we're washing a dirty bathtub or a sink with a cleaning agent.
As the corpse disintegrates, releasing gas as it does, whats left is a fist-sized mana stone, clearly larger than the ones we usually found in the caves.
This draws the attention of our group.
Normally, trolls only appear starting from the 40th floor, so I cant tell if this mana stone is from a regular troll or a mutated one.
"So this troll was blocking the path?
Yes. Trolls usually appear on the 40th floor; I didnt expect to find one on the 32nd floor.
So Roland, have you never seen a troll before?
Not inside the tower. There are many trolls outside, especially in the south. We receive a lot of requests related to them. They cant use magic and theyre not quite big enough to be classified as a large species, but theyre still difficult to hunt without a mage due to their unique regenerative abilities. The rewards for such requests are quite high.
This troll is like a dirty sales trick from a home shopping network, claiming that 49,990 won is cheaper than 50,000 won.
Its clearly smaller than large species of over 5 meters, but with a size of 3-4 meters and immense strength, its a troublesome opponent.
Its skin isnt magically enhanced but is tough enough to withstand bladed weapons.
And with its bizarre vitality, it can regenerate its limbs in half a day.
While not classified as a large species, its a bothersome foe that intermediate adventurers would need to risk their lives to defeat.
Especially these trolls, found here in the marshlands.
When it dies, it releases a toxic gas, creating another layer of trouble.
-The more I see, the more disheartened I become
-Its so dark ahead, I cant see anything.
-I didnt want to know about this future.
-The only solution for melee fighters is to bring a golem with them.
-Lets just switch the genre to mecha.
Hmm, does this mean well encounter floors filled with mage killers or magic immune monsters as we go higher? Or floors with traps that make mana usage impossible? Honestly, when such biased maps appear, its common to see the opposite type of map appear soon after.
My explanation of the troll makes Han Se-ah and the viewers shudder.
Even on the 32nd floor, not the 40th, formidable foes that are hard for low to intermediate adventurers to hunt are appearing.
At least it seems the troll has lost its regenerative abilities after becoming undead.
Does the tower difficulty increase from beginner to intermediate to advanced? Perhaps it gets harder every 30 floors.
Instead of dealing with its annoying regenerative abilities, which can be countered with burning, we have to deal with its equally annoying release of toxic gas on death.
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