Chapter 15: Nightmare 2nd Floor (3)

Beyond the door, a staircase stretched out before my eyes.

Is there still more left?

I sprinted up the stairs. The overflowing lava surged and gurgled behind me, climbing the steps. I was faster. Without being caught and burned to death by the molten flow, I pushed upward. As I ran, I noticed the staircase was winding in a massive spiral. Only then did I realize I was inside an enormous Tower.

I kept climbing. Whether it was a Tower or a castle didn’t matter. Shouldn’t the end be coming into view by now? I had been running for quite a while. Every time I completed a full rotation, a window appeared, showing a moonlit night outside.

…I continued up the stairs.

“Huff, huff.”

Something was wrong. I started to feel a sense of eeriness. The stairs weren’t ending. Was the Tower just impossibly tall? Exhausted from the full sprint, I slowed my pace.

Rumble—

Having run much faster than the lava for a long time, there should have been a gap, but the moment I slowed down, the lava peeked out from right behind me.

What the hell?

I maintained just enough speed to avoid being caught. It felt like my senses were being toyed with. It was strange. Something was definitely off. Another window appeared. As I passed it, I punched the wall beside it. The bricks shattered, leaving a mark.

I kept running until another window appeared. There was a shattered mark on the wall… it was mine. I was supposedly moving upward, yet this was physically impossible. Only then was I certain of the situation I was in.

I was running in circles in the exact same spot. An infinite staircase? A Mobius strip? What is this? If I kept this up, I would only exhaust my stamina. I stopped time for a moment. I had to find a way to escape this repeating space.

How?

I thought about it for a long while, but no suitable method came to mind. Lava behind me, endless stairs ahead. I looked at the ceiling, but it was naturally blocked. There were no other paths. Could I be hallucinating? Was this some kind of dream space? It seemed plausible that I was the one who was broken, not the world.

I resumed time and slapped my cheeks while running. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, and even tried a reality check I’d heard of somewhere—bending my fingers back. Nothing changed. I completed another loop and returned to the window with the shattered mark.

I stopped time again.

…What do I do? I’m screwed. What am I supposed to do about this?

Cold sweat began to trickle down. This was a different kind of pressure from the obstacles I’d faced so far. If I couldn’t break out, I would eventually run until exhaustion and be swallowed by the lava.

Calm down and think. Stay calm.

Don’t these infinite loop clichés appear in movies and cartoons all the time? How did the protagonists escape there? I didn’t know. I couldn’t remember anything specific. I should have enjoyed more culture while I had the chance…

They wouldn’t just tell me to die like this.

There had to be a way out. Surely the solution wasn’t something like “run for 10 hours without resting.” Another path… another path?

Then, the window caught my eye.

Wait a minute.

…That’s the outside, isn’t it?

Was I supposed to go out the window? It felt almost absurdly simple, but that’s why it seemed plausible. I couldn’t be sure it was the right answer, but I had no other options. I resumed time and hopped onto the windowsill.

The lava surged forward without a moment’s hesitation. I hurriedly leaned outside, stepped off the frame, and performed a Jump. Grabbing the wall above the window, I pulled myself up with raw arm strength.

Immediately after, the window vomited lava. A waterfall of crimson fire poured down toward the dizzying depths below. I caught my breath while watching the spectacle, then climbed further up.

…Was I successful? Did I make it?

I turned my head to survey the landscape. The Tower I was clinging to was, as expected, incredibly tall and massive. Below, a forest stretched across the ground. It had a spooky atmosphere, reminiscent of Count Dracula’s castle in the middle of a desolate forest.

I looked up again. I should probably keep going up, right? I began to scale the wall like a rock climber. The surface was rugged, providing plenty of handholds. With my current strength, this was hardly a challenge. As I climbed, the top of the Tower came into view. Fortunately, I seemed to have escaped the infinite loop.

“Phew.”

Is this the end? What will appear once I reach the top? I decided not to expect anything. I was starting to learn the proper mindset for facing Nightmare Difficulty.

—

I reached the top of the Tower.

“Urgh.”

Dragging my exhausted body, I climbed over the railing. I wasn’t sure if I should call it a rooftop, but regardless, the space at the peak was incredibly vast. In the far center stood a lone structure with a door. I walked for a while to approach it.

It was a large double door, similar to the one before. And for some reason, weapons were scattered on the floor around it. A Sword, a Spear, a mace…

Providing weapons all of a sudden. It could only mean I’d be fighting an enemy soon. I picked up a Sword and approached the door. Remembering how the lava went berserk after I touched the last door, I hesitated and inspected it carefully for a moment.

Thump, thump, thump, thump…!

What… what is it? I haven’t even touched it yet. Sudden vibrations shook the ground, growing closer. Something was coming up. Sensing danger, I backed away from the door.

BOOM!

The door shattered, and a massive entity burst out. In the dim moonlight, a silhouette with a bull’s head appeared. A large, muscular Monster with the head of a bull.

“…Minotaur?”

I muttered the word that immediately came to mind. Was the end a boss fight this time, too?

Sshhh—

I heard the sound of heavy snorting. The Minotaur charged toward me without a word. Attack for attack. I immediately unleashed Flame Strike. The reinforced, one-plus-one Fireball shot out side-by-side toward the Monster bull.

KABOOM!

The Minotaur was knocked back by the explosion. It wasn’t blown away, which was surprising in itself. It endured that level of explosive power after a direct hit?

Mmoooooo—!

Enveloped in flames, the Minotaur let out a cry of agony. It wasn’t in good shape. Its front was gouged out, revealing bone. After thrashing in place, it targeted me again and charged. It was a simple Straight charge, so I dove to the side to avoid it.

Having lost its target, the creature stumbled and fell. Oh, really? It seemed it was already out of it after one hit. The Minotaur repeated its drunken charges as if intoxicated. I evaded it like a bullfighter, waiting for 30 seconds. Why fight it at close range and risk myself? Once the skill cooled down, I’d cook it until it was well-done.

I performed a high Leap to dodge the final charge. While in mid-air, I stopped time and cast Flame Strike. The spheres of fire struck the Minotaur below. When I landed on the ground, the Minotaur, its body torn apart, could no longer move.

“He wasn’t much of a threat.”

Is it true that boss fights are the easiest part? Then again, it might have been impossible to take it down this easily under normal circumstances. Being able to use powerful attack magic instantly even during combat was a definitive, cheat-like advantage.

Déjà vu. I remembered the boss fight on the 1st floor and quickly scanned the surroundings. I saw nothing else. However, the completion message still hadn’t appeared. You can’t let your guard down for a second with this Nightmare crap. I didn’t know where an ambush might come from.

I stopped time and used Flame Strike repeatedly to refill my depleted Willpower, then resumed.

“…”

I’m not falling for it. Come out already. The message hasn’t popped up yet.

Rumble—

A vibration suddenly rose from beneath my feet. If the vibration when the Minotaur appeared was a 1, this was a 10.

“What the…”

Flustered, I instinctively ran toward the rampart railings.

Rumble, crash!

Seconds later, the floor began to collapse. I barely managed to use my Leap skill to jump. The floor vanished in an instant. Below was boiling lava.

“Aaaah…!”

Flailing my arms as I flew through the air, I felt my strength failing and began to fall, so I stopped time. It seemed like I could just barely reach the wall with Blink. After concentrating, I resumed time and teleported. I clung to the wall.

Rumble—

I… I almost died…

Feeling the heat rising from below, I scrambled up the wall like a lizard. Only the outer edge of the fortress remained intact without collapsing. I climbed onto the railing. Like a volcanic crater, the lava filling the interior of the Tower swallowed the remains of the collapsed floor. I could see the Minotaur’s corpse sinking as it burned.

Poor guy. You didn’t just end up well-done; you’re charred meat now.

I caught my breath while thinking idle thoughts.

A message appeared before my eyes. It was finally over. To think they prepared a surprise event like this until the very last second. I’d felt it on the 1st floor too, but this was reaching a level of pure malice. I muttered, completely fed up.

“Relentless… just relentless…”

But what can you do? I survived again, didn’t I? Hahaha.

Feeling a mix of relief, terror, and exhilaration, I let out a loud laugh. It was a laugh of derision toward the Nightmare Difficulty that had failed to kill me despite all its nonsense. With this, the world’s life was extended by another year.

I should also thank Mr. Billon Must. The Leap skill he worked so hard to pass on was truly a huge help.

—