Chapter 14: Nightmare Floor 2 (2)

There was a well-known genre of games.

Games where players jumped from platform to platform until they reached the goal. They were commonly called jump maps, or platformers.

What made those games so infuriating was that, after spending hours painstakingly climbing higher and higher, a single tiny mistake could send you plummeting all the way back to the starting point.

Still, in a game, there was always another attempt.

Once it became reality, however, it turned into a deadly ascent with no second chances.

[ChickenCurry: Don’t attempt Floor 2 unless you’re absolutely certain. Clearing Floor 1 is already enough for everyone to survive]

[Clankbang: fr it’s twice as brutal as Floor 1]

Apparently, no monsters appeared on Floor 2.

All anyone had to do was jump across platforms suspended in midair until they reached the end, and the floor would be cleared.

The only problem was that a single misstep meant being slowly roasted alive by the lava rising from below.

To use Hard difficulty as an example:

The gaps between the platforms were roughly five meters wide, while the platforms themselves measured about fifty centimeters by fifty centimeters.

Apparently, none of the difficulty levels made the distances physically impossible to cross. But repeatedly leaping between tiny platforms above a sea of boiling lava was not something any sane person could endure.

I had undergone my own training regimen specifically tailored for Floor 2.

In the end, clearing it came down to one thing: being able to jump and land precisely where I intended, every single time.

To develop that ability, I had spent countless hours inside the Floor 1 cave, drawing circles on the ground and jumping from one to another.

Under conditions far harsher than those of Hard difficulty, of course.

Because it was obvious that Nightmare difficulty would be unimaginably worse.

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty, Floor 2.]

The moment the scenery changed, a wave of heat slammed into my skin.

I stopped time the instant I entered.

Then, slowly, I surveyed the scene before me.

‘Hmm...’

Yep.

Absolutely brutal.

Nightmare Floor 2 never failed to live up to my expectations.

The setting was not outdoors, but inside an enclosed space.

It felt like the interior of some impossibly enormous structure.

Black stone platforms hung suspended in a rising line through the air.

Just as expected, molten lava churned and bubbled across the floor below.

It was practically an ocean of fire.

But the size of the platforms and the distances between them were even worse than I had imagined.

I had started out standing on one of the platforms, and it was barely wide enough to accommodate both of my feet.

You know those wooden boards used in taekwondo demonstrations?

It was about that size.

They expected me to jump from this thing?

To the next platform?

Seriously, wasn’t this a little excessive?

The gaps between the platforms appeared to be just under ten meters.

They looked slightly shorter than Teleportation’s maximum range, so perhaps nine meters or so.

My sense of distance, sharpened through countless hours of Teleportation practice, was reasonably accurate.

It was not an impossible distance to jump.

With my current physical abilities, I could cover it with room to spare.

The real problem was that the platforms were absurdly small.

If my landing was off by even fifteen centimeters, I would fall straight into the lava.

Was I confident?

Not in the slightest.

Thankfully, however—

I had the Teleportation skill.

With Teleportation alone, I could simply warp from one platform to the next and cross the entire section with ease.

I only had to remember that the lava below would continue rising, while Teleportation had a one-minute cooldown.

...Still, damn it, something felt wrong.

I certainly had an excellent skill, but could it truly be this easy?

It was nothing more than instinct.

Something was telling me not to use my skills carelessly.

‘Then again, I can always save Teleportation as a lifeline.’

I would cross the platforms by jumping normally and use Teleportation only if something went wrong.

For reference, Teleportation also nullified any kinetic force acting on my body.

In other words, even if I was falling at an awkward angle, I could teleport onto a platform and land without issue.

All right.

I would conserve Teleportation for now.

Once I had finished steeling myself, I released the time stop.

Rummmble...

God, it was hot.

The air itself felt as though it were burning.

The sound of the lava boiling below was enough to make my blood run cold.

I fixed my gaze on the next platform and drew a deep breath.

“Phew.”

One, two...

Jump.

I leaned my upper body back as far as I could, then launched myself forward.

My body sliced through the air, hurtling toward the next platform.

By the time I had crossed roughly eighty percent of the distance, I knew.

I had made it.

Thud!

I landed somewhat unsteadily, but quickly regained my balance.

“Holy...”

I had actually done it.

The approach shoes I had bought specifically for Floor 2, with their incredible grip, were doing their job perfectly.

Was this more manageable than I had thought?

Maybe it was not so bad after all.

I looked down.

The lava was rising quickly.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and prepared to jump toward the next platform.

They said the brain had difficulty processing negatives. Supposedly, imagining “I’ll succeed” rather than “don’t fail” increased the chances of performing an action successfully.

Or something like that.

So I pictured myself landing perfectly and leaped toward the second platform.

Aagh, shit.

I knew the instant my feet left the ground.

Too much force.

My body tore powerfully through the air and sailed straight past the second platform.

Before I could begin falling, I locked my eyes on the third platform and froze time in midair.

Lifeline activated.

I completed Mental Concentration, then released the time stop.

The instant time resumed, I used Teleportation and warped directly onto the third platform.

“Whew...”

That was far too close.

Who was the bastard who invented that pseudoscientific nonsense about negative thoughts?

It had nearly gotten me killed.

I threw some meaningless blame at science and forced myself to regain my composure.

On the bright side, I had crossed two platforms in a single jump.

[Willpower: 50/200]

Teleportation had nearly drained my Willpower.

I would wait for it to recover.

I stopped time and remained there for a full hour before releasing it again.

Then I waited another minute for Teleportation’s cooldown to reset before preparing to jump toward the fourth platform.

“One, two...”

Jump toward the platform.

This time...

Good.

I made it.

I braced myself for a stable landing.

Then, the moment my feet touched the platform—

It suddenly turned translucent.

My feet passed straight through it, and my body plunged downward.

“...!”

Wh-what the—

I froze time in a panic.

...What the hell?

A fake platform?

Even with time stopped, my thoughts raced as I forced myself into Mental Concentration.

I immediately teleported out of the open air.

The fifth platform was only barely within Teleportation range.

Once I was standing safely on it, I turned and looked back.

The illusory platform had vanished, while a different platform had appeared off to the side.

“No, what the...”

I was so dumbfounded that I could barely speak.

What kind of trap was this?

I had never even heard of Illusion Platforms.

They existed only on Nightmare difficulty.

‘This is basically “die if you don’t already know,” isn’t it?’

Unless someone possessed a movement skill that could be used in midair, there was no way to survive.

Choosing not to waste Teleportation from the beginning had been the right decision.

Had I used it from the start, I would have died the moment I landed on the Illusion Platform.

I was too stunned to feel anything except awe.

Now I had a fairly good idea of where the person who had attempted Floor 2 before me had died.

I kept time frozen and allowed my Willpower to recover.

The lava had already risen high enough to swallow the platform where I had started.

I was currently standing on the fifth platform.

Three more remained ahead.

Beyond the final platform, a broad section of solid floor hovered in the air, as though marking the finish line.

Could that truly be the end?

‘No way.’

There was no chance something this simple was all there was.

It was probably only a midpoint.

I could make out something farther beyond it.

In any case, this was where things became truly dangerous.

There was no longer any room for mistakes.

The lava itself was not the problem.

The problem was that another Illusion Platform could appear at any moment.

If I misjudged a landing and teleported to the next platform, what would happen if that one was also an illusion?

I would dive straight into the lava.

I measured the remaining distance and considered my options.

‘If I can just cross one more platform...’

Could I skip the final two in a single leap?

With Leap and Teleportation combined, it seemed possible to reach the broad floor in one attempt.

No.

It should be more than possible.

All right.

One platform.

I only had to land on one more.

If I failed, then I would truly have no choice but to leave my fate to divine luck.

...Surely all the remaining platforms could not be illusions, right?

Even this place had to draw the line somewhere.

I carefully prepared myself.

Then, the moment Teleportation’s cooldown reset, I leaped toward the next platform.

By a hair...!

Made it!

Thankfully, this one did not disappear.

Both of my feet landed firmly on the stone.

“Phew.”

Honestly, wasn’t I doing rather well?

Apart from one mistake, I had basically succeeded every time.

I glanced down at the lava, then looked toward what remained ahead.

I prepared for the final jump.

I would cross the entire distance in one attempt.

I activated Leap and launched myself forward with all my strength.

My body shot upward, soaring over the remaining platforms.

I was almost at the broad floor.

But I was just short of reaching it.

I froze time in midair.

Then I covered the final distance with Teleportation.

I landed safely on the floor.

A perfect success.

“...So, that’s it?”

I muttered the words simply because I felt like it.

If this had been Hard difficulty, the floor would probably have ended here.

Naturally, no clear notification appeared.

Yeah, I know.

I wasn’t expecting one.

I raised my head and looked at yet another line of platforms stretching upward.

This time, the platforms floated in rows of three.

One platform in every row emitted a blue glow.

The gaps between them were smaller, and the platforms themselves were considerably larger than those in the previous section.

What?

There was no way it could be this easy...

That was what I was thinking when—

The blue light radiating from the platforms suddenly began to fade.

I froze time before it disappeared completely.

Ah.

Now I understood.

I was supposed to memorize their positions and jump across them, right?

But giving me less than five seconds to memorize everything?

That was just cruel.

Of course, time was not an issue for me.

With time stopped, I memorized the positions of every glowing platform while allowing my depleted Willpower to recover.

There were thirty platforms in total, arranged in ten rows of three.

Another broad floor waited at the far end.

And beyond it stood what appeared to be a door.

Could that be the end?

I sincerely hoped so.

With cautious optimism, I committed the position of every glowing platform to memory.

Numbering them from the left, beginning with one:

1231321232.

I released the time stop and waited for Teleportation’s cooldown to reset.

Then I jumped toward the first glowing platform.

The instant my feet landed, the platform collapsed beneath me.

Huh?

I immediately froze time.

It took me approximately half a second to understand what had happened.

‘Are you actually insane?’

Apparently, the glowing platforms were not the correct ones.

They were the traps.

They had actually pulled this kind of ridiculous fake-out?

Unbelievable.

Absolutely unbelievable.

I teleported onto the next platform that had not been glowing.

It remained solid.

Just to be safe, I allowed my Willpower to recover again before attempting the next jump.

I continued forward, choosing only the platforms that had not emitted light.

Without much difficulty, I reached the broad floor at the other end.

A massive gate stood before me.

Please.

Could this finally be the finish line?

I prayed silently as I walked toward the door.

Then, in that very instant—

The floor beneath me violently heaved upward, launching my body sideways into the void.

“...!”

I froze time while flying through the air.

Right.

Of course.

There were traps like this as well.

At this point, I was not even surprised.

I calmly teleported back onto the floor.

“Could you tone it down a little? Please?”

Normally, I would already have died ten times over, you piece of shit.

Concerned that there might be even more traps, I had no choice but to recover my Willpower and wait for Teleportation’s cooldown before moving again.

How many times had I restored my Willpower by now?

I was exhausted.

Completely drained.

In real time, not even ten minutes had probably passed since I entered the floor.

But from the perspective of my consciousness, I had already spent hours here.

Fortunately, no further traps appeared.

I reached the gate safely.

I tried to open it, but it did not move.

I pushed.

I pulled.

It refused to shift even an inch.

There was no visible keyhole, either.

What was I supposed to do with this?

I looked around, but there was nothing else to find.

Meanwhile, the lava continued to rise.

Maybe I was supposed to break the gate down?

I struck it with my fist.

WHAM!

The thick wooden door cracked and splintered.

At the same moment, an ominous rumbling filled the chamber.

RUMMMBLE!

“Huh?”

I looked down.

The lava had suddenly begun surging upward at a terrifying speed.

Oh, you have got to be—

Wait.

Hold on.

Please.

I frantically began pounding the door with everything I had.

It was breaking, certainly, but the gate was so enormous that it refused to collapse.

A searing wave of heat rose from below, as though my body were ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) being cooked alive.

I stepped back from the door and cast Flame Strike.

KABOOOM!

The gate exploded apart in spectacular fashion.

At that exact moment, the rising lava spilled over the edge and flooded the floor beneath me.

“AAAAAAH!”

Screaming, I threw myself through the doorway by the narrowest of margins.