Chapter 28: Before Floor 3 (2)

─ The Nightmare difficulty Time Limit has fallen below three months. Floor 3 remains uncleared...

Time passes so damn fast.

The season had come again—the time when that crushing weight began bearing down on me.

This was already the third time, yet the pressure was not something I could ever get used to.

If I fail, the world ends.

And I die.

At the end of the day, I was only an ordinary person. And honestly, what frightened me even more than the end of the world was my own death.

Even after all these years, the sensation of dying on the first floor remained vivid in my memory.

In the end, all I could do was prepare as thoroughly as possible.

I repeatedly entered and left the Tower, working to improve my proficiency with the skills I had recently acquired.

Blade Storm did not require much practice, but Fairy Light Bullet was another matter entirely.

Learning to freely control and fire several light orbs at once definitely took training.

[Skill: Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+) (+1)]

Fires small projectiles imbued with the power of light. Up to five orbs may be generated, with the Willpower cost increasing by 5 for each additional orb. Requires 10 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast.

Classification: Magic Type

Willpower Cost: 20, 45, 75, 110, 150

Cooldown: 5 seconds

I used the Normal+ Skill Enhancement Stone Bilon had given me on Fairy Light Bullet.

Minor Poison Resistance was also a Normal+ skill, but naturally, a Magic Type skill took priority.

After the enhancement, the maximum number of orbs increased to five.

The Willpower cost rose accordingly.

Flame Strike’s cost had not increased when I enhanced it, though.

The enhancement felt a little underwhelming, but Willpower was never an issue for me anyway.

Bang bang bang!

I spent quite a while sparring with the Minotaur, significantly raising my proficiency with Fairy Light Bullet.

By then, I could control all five orbs with relative ease.

Moooooo...!

The Minotaur staggered beneath a barrage of light orbs.

I finished it off with Flame Strike.

BOOM!

For the record, Flame Strike had also grown more powerful since I first obtained it.

Separate from skill enhancement, Magic Type skills seemed to scale to some extent with my Level, gradually becoming stronger as I leveled up. The increase was not dramatic, however.

Physical Type skills also scaled largely in proportion to a Climber’s physical abilities, so when I thought about it that way, it seemed fair.

[You have successfully cleared Nightmare difficulty Floor 2.]

After completing the Repeat Clearing, I returned outside.

I opened the Communication Channel.

[Hondo: Is the world really ending this time? Are we screwed?]

[SunAndMoon: Person123! When are you finally going to clear Floor 3?!]

[Dalikanwas: Calm down. Last year, they cleared Floor 2 with something like 20 days left on the Time Limit.]

[FryingPan: I believe in Person123. They’ll clear it again this time.]

[PadThai: But what if they already failed and died...?]

[FatesBelief: Then we’re screwed. What else?]

[Hera: That drop in the Nightmare headcount last month—wasn’t that India?]

[GreatWhite: We’d need someone to actually post something in the Nightmare Channel to know. That place is like a year-round vow-of-silence room.]

[SnailHorn: Yeah, the world can end lol. I’m gonna be part of the surviving 1% lmao.]

[Specter: This guy has completely lost it.]

The Nightmare difficulty Time Limit had now fallen below three months.

Around this point, an uneasy atmosphere always began spreading through the Communication Channel.

[Nightmare (11)]

For the record, the number of Nightmare Climbers had grown to eleven.

It had actually reached twelve at one point, but someone had died while clearing Floor 2 last month, reducing the number by one.

Two other Climbers had also cleared Floor 2.

How did I know?

Because the United States and China had publicly announced their successes.

That made three people in total, including me.

Three people were now qualified to challenge Nightmare Floor 3.

The human heart is a fickle thing.

Despite all my determination, the moment I caught sight of even the faintest glimmer of hope, a part of me could not help but wonder.

What if...?

No.

Stop.

I was not going to rely on anyone else again.

I had already decided that I would be the first to enter.

My plan was to challenge the floor when exactly 20 days remained on the Time Limit.

And now, I thought it was time to make that clear to everyone.

In other words, I was considering posting an announcement in the Communication Channel.

“From now on, whenever the Time Limit reaches exactly 20 days, I will challenge the next floor.”

There were two reasons I had begun considering this.

The first was for the sake of the other Nightmare Climbers.

I was going to challenge the floor anyway, so there was always the risk that someone else might rush in ahead of me and die for nothing.

I wanted to let them know, as kindly as possible, that they could wait until after I failed before making their own attempts.

The second reason was the world itself.

Anyone who watched the news could see how society began falling apart as the Nightmare Time Limit approached its end.

Crime rates soared.

The stock market swung wildly.

It was almost astonishing that the world continued functioning at all.

But if I announced a definite time for my challenge, perhaps it would ease the chaos, at least until then.

After all, what made people anxious was the uncertainty—the possibility that the world might end at any moment.

By establishing a fixed time for my challenge, I could give people a clear point of reference.

Until the Time Limit reached 20 days, they might be able to live with at least some peace of mind.

Of course, if I failed, the following 20 days could become even worse.

But I was in a position where I could only afford to think about succeeding.

Planning for what would happen after my failure was a luxury I did not have.

I asked Bilon for his opinion, and he said it sounded like a solid idea.

[Person123: From now on, I will attempt the next floor whenever the Nightmare difficulty Time Limit reaches exactly 20 days. The same applies to Floor 3 this time.]

[Person123: If unavoidable circumstances prevent me from making the attempt at the 20-day mark, I will provide advance notice through the Communication Channel.]

That should do it.

After writing the brief post, I closed the Communication Channel.

***

The U.S. Climbing Bureau had constructed a training facility that reproduced the conditions of Floor 2 almost perfectly, using the information Person123 had posted.

It had all been built for one purpose: clearing Nightmare Floor 2.

Taylor trained there again and again.

She went through hundreds—thousands—of simulations, received extensive support from the Climbing Bureau, and ultimately succeeded in clearing Nightmare Floor 2.

Yet that success also forced her to confront her limitations once more.

Even with complete information about Floor 2 and such thorough preparation, she had barely managed to survive.

The final boss—the Minotaur—had been nothing short of hopeless.

She had used every skill at her disposal until her Willpower was completely exhausted, yet the creature had shown no sign of falling. Its endurance had been overwhelming.

If it had possessed enough strength for even one more charge, she would probably have died, and the attempt would have ended in failure.

Taylor had admitted the truth to herself long ago.

She could not stand at the forefront of Nightmare difficulty.

“It sounds like the Bureau’s policy is going to change as well. They won’t be aiming for first clears anymore.”

Taylor nodded as she drank coffee with Max.

Although she had successfully cleared Floor 2, the original objective of the Nightmare project had already begun to fade.

The United States had originally intended to cultivate a Climber capable of leading humanity at the very front of Nightmare difficulty—not someone who merely followed in another person’s footsteps.

Perhaps that goal had been impossible from the very beginning.

More than anything else, however, their current concern was China.

Shortly after Taylor cleared Nightmare Floor 2, China announced that its own Climber had done the same, almost as though it refused to be outdone.

The competition between the Climbers of the two nations was intensifying with every passing year.

China had already achieved the highest record in Hard difficulty.

The U.S. government appeared unwilling to accept falling behind China in Nightmare difficulty as well.

Though, in the end, even that was merely a competition for second place.

“Are you still in contact with Person123?”

At Taylor’s question, Max nodded.

“We exchange messages from time to time. Last time, they were actually the one who contacted me first. They asked whether we had produced anyone capable of clearing Floor 2.”

“...Is that so?”

Was Person123 also hoping that the other Nightmare Climbers would hurry and advance to the higher floors?

Of course they were.

Why else would they continue posting detailed information guides in the Communication Channel without asking for anything in return?

Taylor herself had lost much of her confidence, and the thought made her feel ashamed—as though she were betraying those expectations.

She happened to check the Communication Channel and noticed a new post in the Nightmare section.

Her eyes widened.

“Person123 posted something.”

“What?”

[Person123: From now on, I will attempt the next floor whenever the Nightmare difficulty Time Limit reaches exactly 20 days. The same applies to Floor 3 this time.]

Although several months still remained on the Nightmare Time Limit, Person123 had posted a new announcement.

The news sent the world into an uproar once again.

[Kram: Whew. So they’re at least going to make another attempt.]

[OneInch: Hang in there, Person123! You’re humanity’s hope!]

[MercuryMan: But they always challenged the floors without saying anything before. Why are they announcing it in advance this time? What changed?]

[Humanist: Isn’t this basically them saying, “The first clear belongs to me, so don’t even try”?]

[Panda: It’s the opposite, idiot. They’re worried another Nightmare Climber might rush in first and die for nothing. If they were that kind of person, why would they have spent all this time writing information guides?]

[PotatoPancake: “You’re all useless, so I’ll just do it myself.” Damn, they made it official.]

Person123 had officially announced their Nightmare challenge.

That was how the public interpreted the message.

─ This may also be viewed as an attempt to reduce social unrest. By setting a definite time for the challenge, Person123 has established a clear benchmark for the public. Until the Time Limit reaches 20 days, there is still hope, so to speak.

─ From now on, the fate of the world may be decided each time the Time Limit reaches the 20-day mark. If Person123 fails, is there truly anyone among the remaining Nightmare Climbers capable of taking their place...?

Time continued to pass.

The eyes of the entire world became fixed on that single challenge.

***

The day of reckoning was drawing near.

Since acquiring Blade Storm and Fairy Light Bullet, I had received one additional Skill Stone and one Skill Enhancement Stone from Bilon.

[Skill: Thrust (Normal)]

Momentarily amplifies the power of a thrusting attack.

Classification: Physical Type

Willpower Cost: 10

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Thrust.

A Normal-grade skill.

It felt like part of a matching set with Swing.

The Skill Enhancement Stone was also Normal-grade.

It was not exactly a meaningful increase in combat power, but having more options was always better than having fewer.

I used the Normal Skill Enhancement Stone to enhance Leap.

Then there was the Rare Skill Enhancement Stone I had received as a reward for clearing Floor 2.

I still had not used it.

That one left me torn.

Flame Strike or Blade Storm.

Enhancing Flame Strike would add another fireball, increasing the total to three.

Enhancing Blade Storm would probably increase its range.

Information about enhancing Rare-grade skills—especially Magic Type skills—was almost nonexistent, so there was no way to know the exact result without trying it myself.

After thinking it over for some time, I decided to enhance Flame Strike.

My reasoning was simple: with its shorter cooldown, Flame Strike offered greater overall efficiency.

[Skill: Flame Strike (Rare) (+2)]

Fires three concentrated flames that explode upon impact. Requires 20 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast.

Classification: Magic Type

Willpower Cost: 100

Cooldown: 30 seconds

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 3]

[Level: 30]

[Willpower: 600]

[Skills: Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare) (+2), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+) (+1), Minor Poison Resistance (Normal+), Leap (Normal) (+1), Swing (Normal), Thrust (Normal)]

With one day remaining until the Nightmare Time Limit reached the 20-day mark, I completed all my stat upgrades.

This was the third time I had written a will.

Honestly, there was not much to change, so it was practically a copy-and-paste of the one I had written before entering Floor 2.

“I’m heading out, then.”

“Alright. Be careful, and come back safely.”

The day before, I had left on a short trip by myself.

Before challenging Floor 3, I felt the need to clear my head one last time.

I went down to Busan, gazed out at the ocean, and ate plenty of good food.

After two days of enjoying myself to the fullest, I returned to my hotel room that evening.

I rummaged through my bag, took out the items I had brought with me, and equipped them one by one.

First was the bracelet that housed Diul.

In the end, I had failed to unlock a new ability.

Perhaps my entire approach to raising our affinity had been wrong from the start.

“Diul, if I die, there won’t be any more nighttime walks. You know that, right?”

Diul seemed to scoff at me.

Come on.

It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Next came the ice dagger I had taken from Seo Dong-woo.

It had a 24-hour cooldown, but both its freezing range and power were fairly impressive.

At the very least, it should prove useful once in an emergency.

[Item: Plligas’s Blood Necklace]

A necklace infused with the blood of Plligas, a predator of the demon realm. Summoning Plligas into the mortal world and defeating it will establish a Master-Servant Contract. The necklace will be destroyed upon failure. (Level 50+ recommended)

Lastly, there was the necklace.

I still had not been able to attempt the contract, but I packed it anyway.

Well, who knew?

Perhaps I would find some way to make use of it.

Finally, I scheduled a text message to be sent to my parents, telling them to find and read the will I had hidden in my room.

If I failed to clear Floor 3, the message would be sent automatically.

[Nightmare]

Personnel: 250,161

Time Limit: 20 days, 1 hour, 1 minute, 25 seconds

Floor Reached: 3

With all my preparations complete, I stood in the center of the spacious room.

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 3?]

Alright...

Let’s go.

I’ll survive this one too, damn it.

“Enter.”

The scenery around me shifted.