Chapter 115: Nightmare, 8th Floor (3)

The Tower had made yet another offer to Person123, throwing the entire world into an uproar.

Everyone was arguing over whether he should accept it.

[Blanc: He’ll probably take it, right? The penalty’s only a ban on a single item]

[Kiryu: It’s not even asking him to give up the challenge like it did on Floor 6, and the Ark has a 10km radius. Honestly, seems worth a shot...]

[GreenPea: This looks hella sketchy to me; why’s the Tower suddenly making him such a sweet offer?]

[EarthRunningWarrior: Yeah, fair point]

[Wrath: But thinking back to Floor 4, I kinda feel like Person123 might take it]

Even the news brought in panelists to debate the issue.

– A ten-kilometer radius covers roughly half the area of Seoul. Even if the end does come someday, a substantial portion of humanity would still be able to survive.

– Isn’t the Tower’s intent blatantly obvious? There’s clearly some ulterior motive at work here.

– The real question is what kind of decision Person123 will make...

Public opinion was split almost evenly between accepting and declining.

Compared to everything that had come before, the penalty was relatively mild, so it was only natural that plenty of people thought, ‘Isn’t this worth a try?’

But in the end, the decision belonged to Person123.

People waited for his answer...

[The Tower’s offer has been voided.]

Person123 had rejected the offer and entered the Floor.

[Weed: Ah... he didn’t take it after all]

[Plastic: It was obviously bait. Glad he turned it down]

[YoYoYo: Gotta eliminate every possible variable~ declining was the right call yep]

[Quingcolepri: Anyone whining that he passed it up can shut their mouths unless they wanna die]

[Lighter: Alright, everybody, let’s just pray now]

There were, of course, some who were disappointed.

But either way, humanity began to pray for his success on Floor 8.

All across the world, just as they did every year, countless people poured into streets and public squares.

The streets of Gwanghwamun in Seoul, South Korea, were no exception.

Around this time every year, people from all over the globe flocked there in particular.

Person123 was Korean, and they wanted to come to his country to pray for his success.

“...Yes! This year as well, the streets of Gwanghwamun are packed shoulder to shoulder with an enormous crowd. Everyone gathered here is praying for Person123’s success.”

It had been only a few minutes since Person123 entered Floor 8.

Moving through the crowd, a reporter stopped to interview members of the public.

“I have absolute faith he’ll pull it off. I mean, it’s Person123, right?”

“If he clears Floor 8, I’m buying drinks for all my friends tonight. Haha.”

“He has already shed his mortal shell and ascended to godhood. To so much as utter the word ‘failure’ is sacrilege in itself.”

Groups of college students, young couples holding their children’s hands, followers of the Person123 Church, and countless others...

Most wore expressions filled with hope, firmly convinced that he would succeed.

Because that was what Person123 always did.

He was the one who had always cleared the Nightmare difficulty as though it were nothing, then casually posted clear guides afterward as though it were nothing.

And after everything Person123 had shown during the Sub-Tower events and in the Floor 5 Common Zone, everyone now knew that his abilities existed on an entirely different level from those of any other Climber.

They couldn’t help but believe in him wholeheartedly.

And so, people waited with bated breath for news of his success.

Time passed.

Two hours had gone by since Person123 entered, but there was still no word.

“...He hasn’t cleared it yet?”

“The number in the Nightmare Communication Channel hasn’t changed, so it’s fine. He’ll do it soon.”

Little by little, tension and unease began to creep into the crowd.

But people still believed.

And they waited.

After all, there had been floors in the past that had taken him several hours to clear.

But then three hours passed.

Then four...

And still, no notification of success appeared.

With every passing hour, people’s expressions grew more strained.

The reporters covering the scene and even the police officers directing traffic could no longer keep their minds on their work.

A clear had never taken this long before.

The number in the Nightmare Communication Channel remained unchanged, yes.

But people could no longer hide their dread.

They began to feel that something had gone wrong.

“Please...”

More and more people squeezed their eyes shut and clasped their hands together in prayer.

Just as they had on Floor 4, when everyone had been at their most desperate.

Because somehow, it felt as though if they prayed hard enough, Person123 would once again emerge victorious, proving all their fears unfounded.

But throughout the long, dark hours before dawn, and even after daybreak arrived...

Floor 8 remained uncleared.

***

I tore across the endless desert.

Triggering the Warp Device again and again.

[943,856/134,217,728km]

Then I stopped.

I stared blankly at the number displayed on the Compass.

“Haaah...”

Fuck.

Fuck.

More than a full day had already passed since I entered Floor 8.

I’d known there was no real answer, yet I had thrown myself into moving anyway, as though my life depended on it.

And still, there was no answer.

One hundred and thirty-four million kilometers.

That was easily more than a hundred round trips between the Earth and the Moon.

In other words, the distance was on a cosmic scale.

It was absurd from the very beginning.

I could do it if I absolutely had to.

Charging the Warp Device to its maximum range every ten minutes and pushing forward like that, over and over again, would be nothing short of psychological torture.

But if I gritted my teeth, I could manage it.

If doing so would get me to the Oasis, I could repeat it as many times as necessary.

Food and water weren’t a problem, either.

I could replenish my water supply with ice magic, and I had food stored away in my Subspace.

It obviously wouldn’t last forever, but if it ran out, I could always gnaw on a cactus or a Sandworm or whatever else I found.

Either way, as long as my head wasn’t destroyed, this body of mine wouldn’t die.

It would be a grueling journey.

But it was still well within my capabilities.

The problem was...

Even if I traveled the entire distance, I still wouldn’t have anywhere near enough time.

No matter what I did.

There was simply no way for me to cover more than a hundred million kilometers within the twenty days remaining on the Nightmare Time Limit.

“...Fuck!”

In irritation, I fired a Destruction Ray at a Sandworm bursting out of the sand.

The Sandworm’s body was severed in two, and both halves collapsed onto the ground.

Thooom.

If only I’d managed to shave off a little more time...

If I’d reduced it by just six more minutes, I could have cleared the Floor without any trouble.

...But regretting it now was pointless.

“...Demon King, is there really no way?”

The Demon King gave no answer.

I’d already asked dozens of times.

And yet I kept asking.

No matter how fast I flew by borrowing the Demon King’s power... there was no chance it could ever match the efficiency of warping.

The accumulated strain would eventually catch up with me, forcing me to stop and recover.

There was a limit to how far I could push it.

I let out a hollow laugh and gazed into the distance.

The Oasis was still there.

Exactly where it had always been.

I dropped down onto the sand.

Even after everything I’d been through...

This utterly hopeless dead end was more than enough to fill me with despair and helplessness.

What do I do?

How am I even... supposed to deal with this...?

I simply stared blankly up at the blazing sun.

***

[Nightmare]

Personnel: 476,805

Time Limit: 18 days 5 minutes 16 seconds

Floor Reached: Floor 8

Two days had passed since Person123 entered Floor 8.

And Floor 8 still had not been cleared.

The unprecedented turn of events threw the entire world into turmoil.

– ...The number in the Nightmare Communication Channel reportedly remains unchanged. Person123 appears to still be in the middle of clearing Floor 8...

[Pepper: Please... please, just give us the clear notification, please...]

[Katana: Let’s not lose hope. Person123 is still in there clearing it.]

[Pipe: Can a clear even take this long? Maybe we should brace ourselves...]

The entire world trembled with anxiety and fear.

A clear dragging on for days was far beyond anything anyone considered normal.

Kim Seo-hyeon’s house.

Kim Seo-hyeon’s family was also gathered in the living room, watching the news with grim expressions.

– The call could not be connected. After the tone, you will be forwarded to voicemail...

His mother, Choi Su-jin, lowered her phone and sighed, sick with worry.

“Haa... what on earth has gotten into Seo-hyeon...”

As if things weren’t chaotic enough already.

In the middle of all this, Kim Seo-hyeon, who had supposedly gone traveling alone, had now been unreachable for two days.

Terrified that something terrible might have happened to him, his family had been beside themselves with worry.

They had even filed a missing-person report with the police.

“...He’ll be fine. Maybe he just lost his phone, right?”

His father, Kim Seong-ho, said it as though trying to reassure everyone.

But deep down, even he knew that couldn’t possibly be the reason.

Knowing Kim Seo-hyeon’s personality, if something like that had happened, he would have found some way to contact them first, worried that his family might be concerned.

Kim Seo-a sat on the sofa with her face buried against her knees.

Floor 8 remained uncleared.

Kim Seo-hyeon was unreachable for reasons no one understood.

The combined anxiety and stress were becoming almost unbearable.

Bzzz.

At that moment, all three of their phones vibrated at once.

– Please check the bottom drawer of the desk in my room. There’s a letter underneath the books. This is a scheduled message.

It was a text from Kim Seo-hyeon.

“What is he...?”

Startled, the three exchanged glances.

Kim Seong-ho immediately called Kim Seo-hyeon, but there was no answer.

With no other option, they went into Kim Seo-hyeon’s room.

Following the instructions in the message, they opened the bottom drawer of his desk and moved aside the books.

Beneath them lay a single letter.

Gripped by an inexplicable sense of dread, Kim Seong-ho unfolded it with trembling hands.

The family read the letter together.

– To my beloved Mother, Father, and my little sister Seo-a.

This is a letter I wrote before going in to clear Floor 8 of the Nightmare difficulty.

You must be pretty shocked right now. I hardly even know where to begin.

I’m Person123.

The part about me being an Easy difficulty Climber was a lie. The truth is, I was chosen for the Nightmare difficulty from the very beginning. From the very day the Tower first appeared in this world.

I’m sorry for hiding it from you all this time. I just didn’t want you to worry.

If I’m going to explain how everything happened...

The first time I entered the Tower, I did it out of sheer desperation. I was grasping at straws.

Back then, no one could clear Floor 1, and the world was on the verge of ending, remember? I figured I was going to die either way, so I might as well give it a try.

So I entered Floor 1.

And I cleared it.

After that, I just kept climbing through the Nightmare difficulty.

No one else could clear it, so I had no choice but to do it myself. I never once imagined I’d be capable of something like this, but I guess I had a talent even I didn’t know about. Haha.

If you’re reading this now, it probably means I failed to clear Floor 8.

I’m sorry.

For leaving behind nothing but this one little letter.

But there’s one thing I want you to know.

I have no regrets.

The first time, I entered because I had no other choice.

But every time I climbed the Tower after that, I did it because I chose to.

It wasn’t because of some sense of responsibility or obligation.

It was entirely my own decision.

My own desire to protect my family.

And this world.

So please, don’t grieve too much. Don’t let it break your hearts.

Instead, be proud of me.

Be proud that your son, Kim Seo-hyeon, was a hero who saved the world again and again.

Seo-a, you get it now, right? Your big brother was someone this amazing all along. It’s a little late, but how about you finally start showing your brother some respect now, hm? lol

...Normally, you’d end a letter like this by saying, “Take care of yourselves,” but sadly, I don’t think that really fits the situation right now.

I don’t know what the world will look like after I fail, but it’ll probably be in complete chaos.

I’ll be here, praying for one more miracle.

But if the world really does end after all, then let’s meet again as a family.

I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you at the very end.

I love you all.

– From, Kim Seo-hyeon

“...”

Kim Seong-ho’s eyes trembled with shock as he reached the end of the letter.

Choi Su-jin covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes red and bloodshot.

Kim Seo-a could only stare blankly at the letter.

For a long time, the three of them remained frozen in shock.

Not one of them could bring themselves to utter a single word.