Chapter 77: Nightmare, 6th Floor (3)

The desperate gamble—one that could easily have ended in suicide—had, thankfully, been the right choice.

The red Nexus really had belonged to the enemy.

Our true Nexus had been concealed inside it.

I stared at the blue Nexus before me, stopped time once more, and gathered my thoughts.

For now, I had somehow managed to see through the trap, but...

The situation had improved only marginally from the absolute worst-case scenario.

There were still three Nexuses left to destroy.

The number of Ogres spawning every thirty seconds had risen to twenty-four per wave.

Lane 2’s First Turret had already fallen, and the other two lanes would not hold much longer.

...From this point on, everything came down to luck.

I released time.

Then I sprinted toward the Ogres crowding around Lane 2’s Second Turret.

KRAAAAASH!

I opened with Flame Strike, plunged into the heart of the swarm, and unleashed Blade Storm and Lightning Strike.

Now that their Resistance had risen to Tier 3, the Ogres were considerably harder to kill.

The few that survived the magical barrage had their skulls crushed beneath my mace.

After clearing them out as quickly as I could, I raced down the lane toward the enemy Base.

I reached Nexus 2.

I deployed Scorching Zone so that both the Nexus and the spawn portal lay within its range.

That way, the spell could steadily chip away at the Nexus’s HP while also damaging the Ogres emerging from the portal.

Once one hundred seconds had passed, Scorching Zone would destroy Nexus 2.

And then...

Without pausing even to catch my breath, I headed for Lane 1, where the previous Scorching Zone should already have expired.

[Lane 3’s First Turret has been destroyed!]

[Lane 1’s First Turret has been destroyed!]

On my way there, the First Turrets in both lanes fell almost simultaneously.

It seemed even Plli could no longer hold the Ogres back.

Now all three First Turrets were gone.

All I could do was struggle to contain the Ogre advance and pray that Nexus 2 was the correct target.

‘There’s no way I can stop all of them...!’

Leaving Plli and Scorching Zone to hold the remaining lanes was no longer an option.

I sent Plli a telepathic message, ordering it to slow the Ogres down without pushing itself too far.

If anything went wrong and Plli was desummoned, the loss would be far more devastating.

After dealing with the swarm charging down Lane 1, I reached Nexus 1.

I attacked the Nexus while cutting down the Ogres that continued to spawn around it.

Defend Lane 1 and wear down the Nexus at the same time.

That was the plan.

If Nexus 2 proved to be the correct target, I could destroy Nexus 1 immediately afterward.

If Nexus 2 was wrong, however, Nexus 1’s HP would simply regenerate, making all my efforts meaningless.

Even so, weakening it now was still the best choice.

All the while, I knew Lanes 2 and 3 were being pushed farther and farther back, and the mounting pressure gnawed at me.

For a moment, I considered ordering Plli to abandon the defense entirely and head for Nexus 3.

But...

I had no idea whether Plli could damage the Nexus while simultaneously dealing with the spawning Ogres.

Worse, doing so would leave the Second Turrets completely undefended.

Since all three Second Turrets stood just outside our Base, keeping Plli there was the better option.

Still, the Second Turrets should be able to hold for a little longer... right?

If they fell as well, there would be no defensive line left.

A one-in-three chance.

I prayed with everything I had that Nexus 2 was the correct choice.

Twenty-four Ogres per wave was already more than I could handle.

If that number doubled to forty-eight and their Resistance rose another tier...

I would be completely screwed.

I had already suffered more than enough bad luck back on Floor 4.

Surely the universe could throw me a bone just this once.

The hundred seconds were almost up.

It was time for Nexus 2 to fall.

And the result was—

[Incorrect order!]

[A penalty is being applied!]

[The number of enemy monsters spawned has doubled!]

[Enemy monsters have gained Tier 4 Resistance!]

“You son of a...”

For a moment, the world seemed to spin around me.

I stopped time.

...

I forced myself to calm down, then released it again.

Despair would not help me now.

I deactivated the Scorching Zone around Nexus 2 and resumed my assault on Nexus 1.

Scorching Zone had a one-minute cooldown.

And since the cooldown only began after the spell was deactivated, I could not simply cast another one here before returning to the Base.

There was nothing I could do about that.

Now forty-eight Ogres spawned from each portal—one hundred and forty-four in total—every thirty seconds.

And returning to the Base to defend it would accomplish nothing.

My only option was to destroy the Nexus in front of me and pray to whatever god might be listening that this time I had chosen correctly.

I could only hope the Second Turrets would buy me enough time.

Whoosh.

The Ogres spawned.

All forty-eight of them.

Most immediately turned their attention toward me, but there were so many that several broke away and continued down the lane.

I unleashed every magical skill I had upon the swarm.

KRAAAAASH!

With both their numbers and Resistance increased, the Ogres simply refused to die.

Before I had even finished clearing the wave, another thirty seconds passed.

Forty-eight more appeared.

This was driving me insane.

GROOAARGH!

With Skin Hardening active, I fought my way through the mass of Ogres, slowly and painfully grinding down the Nexus’s HP.

...My stamina was beginning to fail.

Nexus 1 had only five percent of its HP remaining.

‘Please.’

The odds were one in two now.

Fifty-fifty.

So please.

Just this once!

CRACK!

Nexus 1’s HP reached zero.

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Nexuses destroyed: 2/4]

...At last, the message I had been praying for appeared.

I could breathe again.

Barely.

I immediately stopped time and gathered my thoughts.

Nexus 2 and Nexus 3.

Two remained.

Even if I destroyed them in the correct order, it would take at least another two hundred seconds.

The question was whether our Nexus could survive that long.

What I needed to do now was simple.

The instant I released time, I would race to Nexus 2 and deploy Scorching Zone.

Then I would sprint back to the Base and hold the Ogres off for dear life.

If Nexus 2 turned out to be the wrong choice, there was no point worrying about it.

That would simply be the end.

Even if I chose correctly, there was no guarantee I could hold out.

Still, there was enough hope left to keep fighting.

With that, I steeled myself one final time and released time.

But—

[Lane 2’s Second Turret has been destroyed!]

The message appeared the instant time began moving again.

The fragile hope I had been clinging to evaporated.

‘Ah.’

Goddammit.

The Second Turret had finally fallen.

I used Leap to break free from the Ogre encirclement and raced down the bridge at full speed.

The Second Turret had been breached far sooner than I had expected.

[Lane 3’s Second Turret has been destroyed!]

Another message appeared.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

When I reached the Base, I found—

An endless tide of Ogres pouring in from every direction, with Plli fighting desperately in the middle of them.

I threw myself into the fray.

KRAAAAASH!

Flame Strike.

Scorching Zone.

Blade Storm.

Lightning Strike.

Fairy Light Bullet.

Frost Shot.

I unleashed every magical skill at my disposal.

I wove through the horde, never once allowing my hands to stop swinging.

I crushed skulls, shattered legs, kicked, rammed, tore, shoved, and fired off spells the moment their cooldowns ended.

“Raaaaagh!”

I screamed until my throat burned and fought with everything I had.

But whenever I killed one, two more forced their way in.

Whenever I killed two, four more took their place.

There were too many.

Far too many.

No matter how desperately I tried to keep them away from our Nexus...

It was not enough.

The Ogres continued flooding into the Base from every direction.

[Lane 1’s Second Turret has been destroyed!]

I stopped time.

...

I had lost.

There was no way to stop them now.

Even if I somehow bought myself a little more time, there were still two Nexuses left to destroy.

I could see no path to victory.

Within the frozen world, I silently swallowed my despair.

‘...’

Was there still one final straw left to grasp?

I pulled an item from Subspace, then stopped time again.

[Special Item: Scales of Life]

[Sacrifices the user’s lifespan in exchange for a proportional reward. The user may sacrifice a minimum of 1% and a maximum of 99% of their remaining lifespan. After use, the scales will break, and the user’s remaining lifespan will be displayed.]

It was the special reward I had received for clearing the previous Sub-Tower.

Sacrifice part of my lifespan and receive a reward proportional to the amount offered.

I had no idea what form that reward would take.

But at this rate, the run was already doomed.

I might as well try.

[Will you use ‘Special Item: Scales of Life’?]

[Determine the lifespan to sacrifice.]

I was about to release time and activate the Scales of Life when—

“...?!”

Diul?

Without warning, a violent surge of emotion flowed into me through our connection.

Diul was desperately trying to stop me.

Before I could even wonder why—

SHHHHHH!

Diul burst out of the bracelet and began spewing what looked like black mist in every direction.

In an instant, the entire Base was swallowed by darkness.

W-What was this?

My eyes widened as I stared at the Ogres.

Those caught within the darkness began flailing helplessly before collapsing to the ground.

It was not merely that they could no longer see.

It was as though every one of their senses had been severed at once.

Hundreds of Ogres lost their balance and toppled like dominoes.

I, of course, remained completely unaffected.

With Dark Vision, I could see through the darkness as clearly as ever.

...What kind of ability was this?

Had Diul somehow cut off all their senses?

‘Diul, you...!’

Whatever the exact nature of the skill, Diul had awakened a new ability to save me.

I threw the Scales of Life back into Subspace.

There was not a second to waste.

Leaving the disoriented Ogres behind, I broke free of the Darkness Zone covering the Base and raced down Lane 2.

I ignored every Ogre I passed and charged straight across the bridge.

Upon reaching Nexus 2, I deployed Scorching Zone.

Then I immediately headed for Nexus 3.

“Haa... haa...!”

My stamina was reaching its limit.

I had been running and fighting without a single moment of rest.

And Diul was no better off.

Through our Soul Connection, I could feel that Diul had pushed itself beyond its limits to awaken this new ability and save me.

The Darkness Zone over the Base would not last long.

It consumed far more energy than Concealment.

I had to destroy the remaining Nexuses before the darkness vanished.

And judging by how quickly Diul’s strength was fading, that could happen at any moment.

This was the final, priceless chance Diul had given me.

I reached Nexus 3.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

I began hammering the Nexus with my mace.

Almost at the same moment, Diul reached its limit.

I felt the Darkness Zone unravel.

The {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Ogres inside the Base would regain their senses and resume their assault on our Nexus.

...It was all or nothing now.

If Nexus 2 was not the correct target, I was finished.

Fifty-fifty odds.

The Ogres spawning around Nexus 3 swarmed toward me.

With Skin Hardening active, I endured every blow and continued hammering the Nexus.

The Scorching Zone around Nexus 2 was approaching the hundred-second mark.

And then—

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Nexuses destroyed: 3/4]

The instant the message appeared, it felt as though I had dragged myself back from the brink of death.

‘I chose correctly...!’

So I still had one tiny fragment of luck left after all.

Luck had finally decided to show itself at the very end.

[Only the final Nexus remains!]

[A boss is being summoned!]

Another message appeared.

Crimson smoke began to coil upward from the spawn portal.

Then an enormous red-skinned Ogre emerged—far larger than any of the others.

Shit.

Come to think of it, the boss had not appeared yet.

“Get lost!”

The moment I saw it, I entered Mental Concentration and unleashed a Full Charging Destruction Ray.

A pitch-black beam tore through every Ogre in its path before punching straight through the boss’s head.

Its head and upper torso vanished.

The enormous body swayed, then collapsed.

[Boss defeated!]

The skill’s cooldown was so long that I had deliberately avoided using it during the earlier battles, saving it for an emergency.

Thank god I had.

Destruction Ray!

I returned to hammering away at Nexus 3.

By now, our Nexus had to be under direct attack.

The Darkness Zone over the Base had vanished almost as soon as I began attacking Nexus 3.

There was no way to know which Nexus would fall first.

Success or failure.

Life or death.

Standing at a crossroads where I could not see even a single step ahead, I continued striking the Nexus.

Then, at last, I tore away its final one percent of HP.

CRACK!

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Your Nexus has been destroyed!]

The two messages appeared one after the other.

The Nexus before me collapsed.

At the same time, every Ogre surrounding me crumbled into dust and scattered into the air.

Breathing raggedly, I stared at the messages.

...What had just happened?

The next notification gave me my answer.

[Nightmare difficulty Floor 6 has been cleared successfully!]

I had been faster.

All the strength drained from my body at once.

“Heh.”

I let the mace slip from my hand and clatter against the ground.

Then, finally, I allowed myself to smile.

Why did every single floor have to come down to the very last instant...?

Not once had any of this been easy.

Not even once.

[Absorbing the floor’s power.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

.

.

.

[Level up.]

[You are the first to clear Nightmare difficulty Floor 6.]

[Floor 6 Hidden Route has been unlocked.]

[Moving to the Reward Room.]