Chapter 128: Nightmare, 10th Floor (1)

[Item: Mist Beast King’s Pearl]

A pearl imbued with the power of the Mist Beast King. When used, it spreads mist across a 100-meter radius for 3 minutes. Within the mist, the user can teleport freely. Once activated, the item cannot be used again for 24 hours.

First, the item.

It was a piece of equipment containing the teleportation ability of the Zone 5 Boss.

It spreads mist over a 100-meter radius for three minutes and lets me teleport freely within it, huh.

Does that mean I can teleport as many times as I want inside the mist for the full three minutes?

That sounded like a pretty useful ability.

[Skill: Mirror Barrier (Epic)]

Creates a mirror barrier within a 3-meter radius. The barrier reflects an opponent’s attacks and consumes additional willpower equal to the power reflected. Attacks whose power exceeds your available willpower cannot be reflected, and the barrier will be destroyed. Casting requires 3 minutes of Mental Concentration.

Classification: Magic Type

Willpower cost: 50 per second

Cooldown: 5 minutes after destruction

Next came the Epic-grade Skill Stone.

It turned out to be a Magic Type skill.

My first defensive magic skill, and...

‘A reflection ability?’

[‘Skill: Mirror Barrier (Epic)’ has been acquired.]

I acquired it immediately and gave it a try.

When I cast the skill, a hexagonal barrier appeared in midair.

It was slightly larger than my body.

According to the description, willpower was consumed in proportion to the strength of whatever attack it reflected, but...

So if I take a single attack stronger than my maximum willpower, the barrier just breaks?

And the cooldown only started after it was destroyed.

Which meant that as long as it remained intact, I could summon and dismiss it whenever I wanted, just like the Sword of Light.

It was a flat barrier rather than something that surrounded my entire body, but it still seemed like it would be extremely useful.

Lastly, the Enhancement Stone.

[Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone]

On use, you can enhance one Rare+ grade skill.

“Oh.”

Checking the item information, I saw that it was Rare+ grade.

As it happened, my Sixth Sense was already at +4, so it only needed one more enhancement.

Without hesitation, I used it on Sixth Sense.

[‘Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone’ has been used on ‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’.]

[‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’ has been enhanced, further strengthening its danger-detection ability.]

[‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’ has reached its maximum enhancement level.]

[‘Skill: Weakness Insight (Epic)’ has been acquired.]

Sixth Sense reached +5, and I acquired its higher-tier Epic-grade skill.

[Skill: Weakness Insight (Epic)]

Reveals an opponent’s weak points.

Classification: Physical Type (Passive)

Willpower cost: None

Cooldown: None

A simple description.

Just as the name suggested, it was a passive skill that allowed me to perceive an opponent’s weak points.

Hmm.

So this is what I got.

I left the Reward Room.

Then I immediately headed for Zone 6, which should have just opened.

Zone 6 was a desert region, much like Floor 8.

I wandered around in search of monsters.

Since it was a desert, I figured something like a sandworm might appear, but...

“...What the hell is that?”

A huge robot shaped like a bacteriophage.

A completely unexpected mechanical monster emerged.

I studied it.

The moment I thought about checking its weak point...

‘Oh.’

A faint red haze shimmered beneath the creature’s head.

So that’s what it looks like.

Zziiing-

At that moment, the Bacteriophage noticed me as well, and light flared from its head.

At the same time, something resembling a blue sphere of energy shot toward me.

I decided to test the Mirror Barrier I had just acquired.

The incoming energy sphere struck the barrier and bounced straight back in the direction it had come from.

Kwaaang!

Hit by its own attack, the Bacteriophage’s head exploded.

Its body collapsed and stopped moving.

I pulled an Enhancement Stone from my subspace.

The Epic-grade Enhancement Stone I had received as a Floor 8 clear reward.

I had considered using it on Hellfire Eruption, but had held onto it until now.

[‘Epic Skill Enhancement Stone’ has been used on ‘Skill: Weakness Insight (Epic)’.]

[‘Skill: Weakness Insight (Epic)’ has been enhanced, making the opponent’s weak points even easier to perceive.]

I enhanced Weakness Insight immediately.

Rather than Hellfire Eruption, improving a utility skill like this would obviously be more useful.

Damage was hardly something I lacked in my current state.

I wandered around a little longer, looking for another monster.

Soon, I encountered another Bacteriophage.

I checked to see what effect a single enhancement level had made to Weakness Insight, and...

Before, the red haze had appeared only as a vague blur.

Now, it was much more distinct.

On top of that, faint traces of red had begun appearing across other parts of its body as well.

Those areas were dimmer than the weak point beneath its head.

My guess was that the weak point around the head was the most critical one, while the other red areas indicated secondary vulnerabilities.

So that’s how the enhancement works.

Once I had finished testing the effects of my new skills, I left the Tower soon afterward.

In any case, I had collected all the rewards from the Zone 5 Boss.

And I had confirmed that Radiant Incarnation could fill the Zone Gauge at an absurdly fast rate.

[Special Item: Hourglass of Acceleration]

Select one of the following effects to apply permanently. Once chosen, the effect cannot be changed.

1. Reduce the cooldown of all owned skills by 70%

2. Fix the cooldown of one random skill at 0 seconds

‘If I use the Hourglass, I could reduce Radiant Incarnation’s cooldown to just one day, but...’

...that zero-cooldown effect on a single skill is simply too tempting to give up.

Even if it doesn’t land on Radiant Incarnation, having one of my main magic skills reduced to zero cooldown would be far better.

For now, I’ll hold onto it a little longer.

Worst case, I can always use it on the spot if I really need it during a floor challenge.

I considered defeating the Zone 6 Boss before attempting Floor 10, but...

In the end, I decided to prioritize Floor 10.

The farther out the Zone, the more slowly its Gauge filled.

I couldn’t afford to keep pouring all my time into defeating Zone Bosses.

My time was limited.

And I still had no idea how many floors the Tower contained.

The situation felt hopeless.

Even so, I had no choice but to keep moving forward.

Believing that, somehow, I would make it all the way to the top of the Tower.

***

While waiting for Radiant Incarnation’s cooldown to finish,

I spent as much time as possible with my family.

There was no telling when this precarious tightrope walk of mine might finally come to an end.

“Mr. Kim.”

I met with Bilon once again.

He had rushed to Korea after hearing about my remaining lifespan.

I had decided to tell him the truth.

That I had used an item called the Scales of Life.

And that, because of it, I now had only around 300 days left to live.

“...Still, if I keep climbing the Tower, I may find some way to restore my lifespan. Nothing has been decided yet.”

Bilon nodded.

“So from this point on, you’ll have to clear floors quickly.”

“Right. I haven’t settled on an exact pace yet, but I’m planning to clear at least one floor every week.”

“Understood. I will prepare as thoroughly as possible, just as you requested.”

By preparation, I meant preparations for what would happen if I failed and died.

The odds of anyone succeeding me and continuing to clear Nightmare difficulty were essentially zero.

A world in which 99 percent of humanity had been turned into monsters.

Before, I had thought that even if, by some one-in-a-million chance, my family happened to be among the surviving 1 percent, there would be no point in trying to live in a hellish world like that.

But my thinking had changed.

Even if it was pathetic...

Shouldn’t I at least do everything I could until the very end?

So I made a request of Bilon.

If the destruction of the world became all but inevitable, I wanted him to protect my family.

Bilon would evacuate them to his private bomb shelter.

If fortune somehow favored them, and my family survived despite the one-percent odds...

Then perhaps they might still be able to go on living, even in a ruined world.

Of course, my family probably wouldn’t want that.

And this was nothing more than my own selfishness.

Even so, I decided to go through with it.

“I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Kim. I have always firmly believed that you will overcome any hardship placed before you.”

Bilon spoke with a solemn gaze, one that still carried the same unwavering trust.

That strange sense of trust was what had brought this man and me together in the first place.

I wanted to live up to that faith as well.

Once Radiant Incarnation had fully come off cooldown,

I began preparing, little by little, to enter Floor 10.

“Floor 10, huh...”

The number itself didn’t really mean anything.

But realizing I had already reached Floor 10 gave me a strange sense that I had somehow come a very long way.

– Come to think of it, Floor 10 was somewhat different.

Just as I was mentally preparing myself, the Demon King spoke.

“...Different? How?”

– Or perhaps not. The contents of the floors differ between you and me, so it may not mean anything.

The Demon King said something oddly vague.

I pressed him, asking what exactly had been different and in what way, but he merely said it was difficult to explain and told me to see it for myself.

Either way, once all my preparations were complete...

I ate a hearty final lunch, and afterward my family gathered in the living room to see me off.

“Be careful, Seo-hyeon. All right...?”

My parents looked at me with worry-filled eyes as they spoke.

I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll be careful. I’ll clear it easily and come straight back this time too.”

Don’t worry too much even if it takes as long as Floor 8 did.

And even if the number of people in the Nightmare Communication Channel drops, it might not be me, so don’t immediately assume the worst...

I repeated the same things I had told them before entering Floor 9, hoping it would keep them from worrying too much.

Of course, I knew that no matter what I said, my family had no choice but to be terrified.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.

I took the Celestial Music Box out of my subspace.

“Do you all want to listen to this?”

♫ ♪

When I activated it, a beautiful melody began to flow through the room.

The Celestial Music Box.

An item with the ability to calm both mind and body.

I had used it often enough myself to know just how remarkable its effect was.

I had never actually checked whether it worked on anyone besides me, but...

Judging by my family’s reaction, it seemed to work perfectly well.

“Mmm, what beautiful music. What is that?”

“It’s an item that has a calming effect on the mind and body.”

I could visibly see the tension ease from the faces of my parents and my sister.

For a moment, I even considered leaving the music box here and letting it continue playing for them, but...

There might come a time during the climb when I needed it myself.

So no.

That wouldn’t do.

“I’ll be going, then.”

After letting the music box play for quite a while,

I exchanged one last round of farewells with my family.

[Will you enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 10?]

The Demon King’s words about Floor 10 being somehow different still lingered in the back of my mind.

Well.

I would find out for myself soon enough.

I entered Floor 10.

My vision shifted.

***

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty Floor 10.]

As always, the moment I entered—

Time Stop.

“...?”

Huh?

I let time begin flowing again.

Confused, I looked around.

Because...

I was standing in a living room.

Right in the middle of a house with exactly the same layout as ours—the very house I had been standing in only moments earlier.

My family, of course, was nowhere to be seen.

I had definitely entered Floor 10.

[Kill ‘me’.]

At that moment, another message appeared.

...Kill me?

‘What the hell is this supposed to mean?’

Unable to make sense of it, I looked around the house.

There was no doubt about it.

The interior layout was identical to ours.

The furnishings were different, though.

And everything was covered in thick dust and left in complete disarray...

I walked over to the window.

Then I pulled back the curtains and looked outside.

“...”

A darkened city.

The sun had long since set.

I could see the Han River.

It was the familiar skyline of downtown Seoul.

What in the world...

What was this place?

More importantly, off to one side of the city, I could see something glowing faintly with golden light.

An enormous dome-shaped veil.

It resembled the veil that had appeared during the Quarantine Zone Incident.

Though this one looked slightly different.

Still unable to understand what I was seeing, I flew out through the window.

Using Air Walk as footholds, I climbed high into the air and looked down over the city.

There was no question about it.

This was Seoul.

Except the entire city looked like a ruin.

As I scanned the streets below, I soon spotted someone.

‘...A person?’

There were people here?

Two men were walking through an alley, casting wary glances around themselves.

I hesitated over what to do.

For now, I decided to head down.

I approached them from behind and cautiously called out.

“Excuse me...”

The two men flinched and spun around.

“Wh-what the hell!”

Both of them were filthy and dressed little better than beggars.

And there was something dangerous in their eyes.

They stared at me warily.

Then one of them casually pulled out a knife.

“Where the hell did you crawl out from? Who are you?”

“...There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

I genuinely couldn’t make sense of any of this.

For now, I would have to get some information out of these people.

“The fuck are you babbling about, asshole?”

“Hey. If you don’t wanna die, empty your pockets. Everything.”

But the men weren’t interested in being friendly.

I stared blankly at the knife one of them had pointed at me.

Then—

“You deaf? I said empty your pockets—”

I grabbed the blade in one hand and snapped it clean in half.

“...Huh?”

The man let out a bewildered sound.

Both men went pale.

Then, almost immediately, they dropped to their knees.

“I-I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were a Climber...!”

I frowned and crouched down in front of them.

“Hey.”

“P-please, spare us! Please...!”

“No, I’m not going to kill you. Just answer my questions. Raise your heads.”

Still trembling, the men lifted their heads.

I asked my first question.

“This is Seoul, South Korea, right?”

“...Huh? Y-yes. That’s right.”

“What’s that? That golden veil.”

I pointed toward the enormous veil covering part of the city.

The man answered hesitantly, as though baffled by the question.

“Th-that’s... the Ark... isn’t it?”

...What?

A word I had never expected to hear suddenly came out of his mouth.

‘The Ark?’

The Ark?

The same Ark the Tower had always offered me as a price?

“You mean the Ark that Person123 received as a reward from the Tower?”

“Y-yes... yeah.”

The man nodded.

I stared blankly at the golden veil.

...What is this world?