Chapter 12: The Supporter

I woke up to news that immediately soured my morning.

— USA fails to conquer Nightmare 2nd Floor? The challenger is presumed to be the individual who was the second to conquer Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor…

“…Sigh.”

So, they failed.

While there was no official statement from the USA yet, it wasn’t fake news. You only had to check the Climbers’ communication window to see that one person had disappeared from the list. I felt a pang of pity. Honestly, I felt a bit of disappointment too.

At the same time, a sliver of guilt crept in. Deep down, I already knew: I was the person with the highest probability of clearing the 2nd floor. With my Time Stop Ability creating insane synergy with my skills, my power was likely unrivaled compared to other Nightmare Conquerors. And yet, I had been stalling because I couldn’t make up my mind…

“Why the hell is the world like this?”

I closed my eyes, shifting the blame onto the world. But damn it, it was the world’s fault. A Tower suddenly rises in the middle of the ocean and threatens to kill everyone unless we climb it every year? That’s what’s crazy. Right?

“…”

But what else can you do? You have to do what the blackmailer says if you don’t want to die.

‘Let’s go in.’

I couldn’t stand just watching and waiting until all the other Nightmare Conquerors were dead. Wow, since when did I become so altruistic? Hahaha. Once I made the decision, my mind actually grew calm.

When should I enter? The sooner, the better. Whether I died now or a month later, it was all the same. The closer we got to the deadline, the more chaotic the world would become anyway. Tomorrow? Sure. Maybe I’ll head in at dawn tomorrow.

I went for a walk to clear my head. While getting some fresh air and checking the communication window, one whisper caught my eye.

“This guy…”

He had sent whispers before. And I knew exactly who he was. The richest man on Earth and a famously eccentric businessman: Billon Must.

At first, I thought it was an imposter, but it wasn’t. Billon had once mentioned on a broadcast that the “ChickenSandwich” sending whispers was actually him and pleaded for a reply. I saw that on the news a while back. He wasn’t a Climber himself, but I heard he kept a secretary as his designated Climber.

‘He’s at it again after being quiet for a while.’

He was a memorable one because he pleaded for me to just take the Skill Stone without asking for anything in return. The offer was so absurd that it actually felt sincere. Normally, I would have ignored it, but I found myself quietly reading the message again.

“Leap, huh…”

A skill that amplifies jumping power. The theme of the 2nd floor was a jump map. It was definitely a skill that seemed like it would help. Was this man really making this offer solely because he wanted me to conquer the 2nd floor?

Then again, it was silly to doubt his motives. With humanity’s extinction only a month away, who wouldn’t be desperate? Now that I had decided to enter the 2nd floor, I felt a slight tug on my heartstrings.

‘…What should I do?’

Should I reply? Or not? I didn’t expect to agonize over this, but I was wavering. Exposing my identity to someone else was an irreversible move, but… was it right to be so picky when my life was on the line? I might regret it at the moment of my death, wishing I had just taken the help.

He said he didn’t care about my identity. He even told me to just name a place. Of course, I didn’t blindly trust those words. Even if he promised to just leave the item at a location, how would I know if there were people or cameras hiding nearby?

Still, I could feel that all he wanted was for someone to conquer the 2nd floor so humanity wouldn’t perish. I paced the streets, lost in thought for a long time.

***

Billon Must wanted to go to Mars.

Some said he was just a money-mad businessman pretending to be a revolutionary, but his dream had never deviated from its core since childhood. Go to Mars. Reach further into space. Make humanity a multi-planetary species.

But then, damn it all. One day, Earth went to hell. Humanity was handed a death sentence. They could only prolong their lives by climbing the Tower every year.

He had no choice but to overhaul plans he had laid out for decades. Humanity had to survive first for there to be a future in space. He threw himself into building infrastructure for the Climbers. He provided facilities, sponsored associations, and expanded his business into the Magic Stone industry, which was growing at a staggering rate.

Truthfully, the Tower hadn’t left humanity entirely without “carrots.” The Magic Stones coming from the Tower were dream materials. Billon Must saw the possibility of accelerating his dreams by decades using technology fueled by Magic Stone energy—assuming, of course, that humanity survived to see that future.

That was why climbing the Tower was always the top priority. Specifically, climbing Nightmare Difficulty.

“Dammit, we are completely screwed.”

Billon Must felt the urge to launch a rocket straight at the headquarters of the Tower Management Bureau. The conquest of Nightmare 2nd Floor, which he had staked everything on, was a total disaster. Jack Davis, the second person to conquer Nightmare Floor 1, had failed. He heard Jack died within minutes of entering.

The government had helped Jack acquire many skills, but Billon Must’s contribution had been significant as well. He had poured in sponsorship money without looking back. Honestly, Billon hadn’t wanted to pour that support into Jack.

Billon had only ever been interested in the first Nightmare Conqueror. He had repeatedly tried to reach out through whispers via his secretary, but since there was never a response, he had been forced to settle for an alternative. Now that Plan B had collapsed, there was only one place left to turn.

Why won’t you reply?! I’ll give you everything I have! Just please, take the Skill Stone!

…Though, all he personally possessed at the moment was a single Leap Skill Stone. Skill Stones were always scarce in the market. Even those were usually swept up by the Bureau to feed to people like Jack, so they couldn’t be bought for a while. It wasn’t just a matter of having money.

There was one more Nightmare Conqueror left in the USA: Taylor. Normally, this Skill Stone should have gone to her, but no. He couldn’t pin his hopes there anymore.

In the end, there had only ever been one right answer. The first Nightmare Conqueror, who cleared Nightmare Floor 1 without any information—only that person was special. Only they had the potential to conquer the 2nd floor.

Billon truly didn’t care if they were male or female, young or old, a criminal or a terrorist. If they already had the Leap skill, fine; but if not, he wanted them to take this and challenge the 2nd floor with even a slightly higher chance of success. So please, just a reply…

“…Chairman! A reply has come!”

Billon bolted upright.

“I-it came? Really?!”

“Yes! They said they would accept the offer! They asked if you could come to where they live personally…”

Finally. After all that ignoring, the first Nightmare Conqueror seemed to have had a change of heart. It made sense. How could anyone enter such a place without taking every possible bit of preparation? They shouldn’t do that. You are the hope of humanity.

“Where is it! Tell them I’ll leave for the North Pole right this second!”

“Yes, well, they say it’s Korea.”

Billon blinked. Korea?

“…South, I assume?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Understood. I have to leave immediately.”

He was a bit surprised. Was the first Nightmare Conqueror Korean? Since their nationality didn’t matter in the slightest, Billon planned his trip to Korea as quickly as possible.

The first Nightmare Conqueror’s condition was simple: the meeting was a secret, and it must never be disclosed to anyone. Billon had no intention of doing so. However, visiting a foreign country without a reason would attract attention, and it was impossible for someone of Billon’s stature to travel abroad in total secrecy.

So, he left the country under a public pretext. He happened to have a meeting scheduled with the chairman of a Korean corporation, so he simply moved it up. After clearing his schedule for the day of arrival, Billon acted stealthily.

Surprisingly, the first Nightmare Conqueror said they would meet in person to receive the Skill Stone. Billon removed all security personnel and headed to the meeting place accompanied only by his secretary, Ellen, who was a Climber and his right hand. He had asked the other party for permission and received it.

“Is this the place?”

“…The navigation isn’t working properly. My apologies.”

Ellen, the secretary, struggled to find the way. They drove into a shabby alleyway and pulled over to the curb.

A moment later, a man approached and knocked on the rear window. Billon opened the door. A man wearing a hat and a mask climbed into the backseat. Although his face wasn’t clearly visible, Must got the impression he was quite young.

“…Nice to meet you.”

Billon offered a handshake. Ellen, in the driver’s seat, watched the rearview mirror tensely. Billon was somewhat involved in the Bureau’s Nightmare Conquest Project, and as his close aide, Ellen knew the relevant information—including what level the Nightmare Floor 1 conqueror was.

Level 10. To put it intuitively, he was a superhuman who could beat a bear to death with his bare hands. Ellen was also a Climber, but having only cleared one floor on Easy difficulty, she was merely at the level of a strong civilian. If that man harbored ill intentions, she couldn’t protect Billon.

Of course, Billon had come knowing those risks. He could have just sent Ellen if it was only about handing over the item, but he wanted to meet the first Nightmare Conqueror in person at least once.

“Nice to meet you. Thank you for traveling such a long way.”

The man who took the handshake spoke in English.

“…Your English is fluent.”

“I can manage a bit.”

Even if they couldn’t speak, they had the communication window, so it wouldn’t have mattered. The reason Billon was surprised wasn’t the English, but because the man’s voice sounded much younger than expected.

“Thank you for meeting me. I’ll get straight to the point.”

Billon pulled the Skill Stone out of a bag beside him. The man took the stone and examined it.

“Thank you. May I learn it here right now?”

“By all means.”

The man used the Skill Stone immediately. A shower of light spread out, and the stone dissolved. After staring into the air for a moment as if looking at a status window, the man nodded.

“I’ve successfully learned it. Thank you.”

Billon was the one who wanted to say thank you. This man was a savior who had already saved humanity once before.

The first Nightmare Conqueror seemed to be someone who went to extremes to avoid exposing their identity. Billon thought that asking useless questions would only cause resentment and had planned to just deliver the stone, but he couldn’t resist the urge to ask.

“By any chance, when do you plan to challenge the 2nd floor?”

The man replied as if it were no big deal.

“I plan to enter tomorrow.”

“…”

“Ah, I should probably practice the new skill before I go. Maybe not tomorrow, but it will be very soon.”

Billon swallowed hard. He delivered the one sentence he desperately wanted to say.

“You are the hope of humanity. Please, conquer the 2nd floor.”

The man hesitated before replying.

“…I’ll try. I don’t want to die either.”

The man gave a final polite bow and stepped out of the car. Once the man had completely disappeared into the alley, Billon started the car. He looked out the window, quietly ruminating on the strange encounter.

Ellen spoke first.

“…He looked younger than I thought.”

Billon nodded. His build wasn’t that large, his speech was very normal—in every way, he was a person who didn’t fit anything Billon had imagined before meeting him. Had such a young man really conquered Nightmare 1st Floor? He seemed extraordinary precisely because he was so ordinary.

Billon muttered to himself.

“He said he’d challenge it very soon…”

There were still about 20 days left on the deadline. Why was he rushing this time, unlike before? Was it because of the USA’s failure? Perhaps he was trying to challenge it before more Nightmare Conquerors died.

If even he failed, what would happen to the world?

They would know the results soon. For the first time in a long while, Billon felt like seeking out a god.

Please, save humanity once more. Our Savior.