Chapter 2: Nightmare Floor 1 (Part1)

“Goblin. Estimated height is between 150cm and 160cm, with physical strength roughly equal to or slightly below that of an average adult male. Unarmed Goblins on Easy and Normal difficulties primarily use their teeth and claws as weapons. However, on Hard difficulty, the risk factor skyrockets as they are armed with iron longswords…”

I had absolutely no intention of ever entering the Tower. That didn’t mean, however, that I had been doing nothing at all.

“…Hard difficulty is insane. What is wrong with the people who challenge this?”

Information regarding the 1st floor of the Tower was scattered all over the internet. There were even established strategy manuals, claiming to be “must-reads” for any Climber. Of course, none of that applied to me.

No one knows what kind of obstacles lie in wait on the Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor, because not a single person has ever returned alive. The more I researched, the more I reached the same conclusion: entering meant certain death.

They say you can become a superhuman by climbing the Tower? That you can make an astronomical amount of money from the rewards? Many people are reportedly tempted by such things and challenge the Tower, and some even seem to envy the chosen Climbers.

But so what? You only have one life. I am exactly the opposite of those people; I lack a strong sense of challenge and I value my life dearly. Even if the difficulty I had been assigned was Easy, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. I was already living a perfectly decent life.

And yet, Nightmare difficulty with a zero percent survival rate? Unless someone held a knife to my throat, I would never have entered of my own free will.

Still, I figured you never know what the future holds. Whenever I had a spare moment, I looked up and memorized information about the 1st floor. I told myself I’d never enter, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get in shape while I was at it, so I started exercising.

To be honest, if I wanted to prepare properly, there were Training Facilities for Climbers, but going to a place like that felt like volunteering to be a Climber, which I didn’t care for. I chose Kendo and boxing. Boxing is common enough, but there was a specific reason I chose Kendo.

They say you cannot bring electronic devices or anything classified as a weapon or armor into the Tower. The only things you can use are the weapons provided by the Tower, and I had heard that the common weapon given to Climbers on the 1st floor was a Sword.

I had long thought that my Time Stop Ability could be utilized for physical activities. After attending a Kendo dojo and a boxing gym for over six months, I confirmed that it could indeed be very useful. I felt a pang of regret that I hadn’t trained harder if I knew things would turn out like this, but well…

I heard that the enemies encountered on the 1st floor are basically all Goblins, from Easy to Hard difficulty.

So, what on earth would be waiting in Nightmare difficulty?

I was about to find out for myself. The scenery before my eyes transformed in an instant. As soon as I entered, I stopped time. I checked the information entering my field of vision.

It was a space that looked like the interior of a large cave. Minerals embedded in the walls glowed like lamps, brightly illuminating the area. There was a straight path ahead, and no enemies were immediately visible. I scanned my surroundings in every direction, repeatedly starting and stopping time.

The structure was just as I had heard. I was told that on all other difficulties, you fight Goblins in a cave-like setting.

…What should I do? Now that I’m actually inside, I’m starting to seriously regret this. No, I can’t be like this.

‘Get a grip.’

Since I was already inside, I couldn’t just wallow in negative thoughts. I can do this. I will definitely clear this and get out alive. They say those who seek life shall die, and those who seek death shall live. I can do it too.

Taking a deep breath—well, I can’t actually breathe because time is stopped, but after taking a mental breath to steady my nerves—I resumed time.

I picked up the sword lying on a cube-shaped rock nearby. It was a Western-style Longsword. I had wondered if they wouldn’t even give me a weapon because it was Nightmare difficulty, but fortunately, they weren’t that cruel.

Griping the Longsword with both hands, I faced the path ahead. A Goblin would emerge from there soon. I knew that the flow of a Goblin appearing from the visible path was common from Easy to Hard difficulty.

As I waited, breathing in the musty air, they walked out from the passage. I immediately stopped time again and observed the Goblins that had appeared.

There were three in total. Two were armed with swords similar to mine, and one was armed with a Spear.

…So, I have to face those things. Even though I had prepared myself to some extent, my resolve kept wavering. Get a grip, you idiot.

Since time was effectively infinite for me, I calmly thought of a strategy. Naturally, facing three of them at once was suicide. The one with the sword was in the lead, while the other two were slightly further back.

‘I heard they charge in and attack immediately.’

The space was wide enough. Would it be possible to fight them by hitting and running one by one?

‘As long as I don’t get surrounded…’

It felt like I could make it work if I utilized my ability to its fullest. I had been honing my sense of how to use this ability in a fight through boxing and Kendo, but this was a real battle. Even the slightest slip-up would be fatal.

‘I can do it.’

After forcing myself to shake off the fear and making one final resolution, I resumed time.

“Kieeeeek—!”

The Goblins charged. The lead Goblin with the sword approached the fastest.

Oh? This was an immediate opportunity. I felt like I could strike one and pull back. When it was almost right in front of me, I began actively utilizing my ability.

I repeatedly resumed and stopped time instantaneously. It was like rapidly double-tapping the play/pause button on a video. The Goblin moved very slightly, slowly. It was a technique I had dubbed “Time Slicing.”

The limit to how quickly I can resume and then stop time again is about 0.02 seconds. In other words, I could slice one second into up to 1/50th of its duration.

Time Stop is not invincibility. This is because my body and reaction speed are ultimately just those of a normal Human. What good does it do to stop time when a blade is already at my stomach? I can’t dodge it. The moment I resume time, my stomach would just be pierced. Therefore, Time Slicing was the best method I could use.

‘…Its face is disgusting.’

I realized that the Goblins often depicted in games or cartoons were heavily beautified. As the Goblin slowly approached me, my body was equally slow. However, I was able to sufficiently predict and prepare for how it would attack.

‘It’s a thrust.’

The Goblin pulled the hilt of its sword back, and the tip was aiming for me. This was definitely a thrusting attack. I began to evade by stepping back and turning my hips to the side. At the same time, I extended my sword to counterattack.

In the slowed time, we moved as if our frames were stuttering. Moving while starting and stopping time for mere moments was quite a strange sensation, but since I had practiced to get used to it, there was no hesitation in my movements.

‘Good.’

First, the evasion was successful. By the time the Goblin thrust its sword, my body was already completely out of the path of the strike. Conversely, the tip of my sword was accurately aiming for the Goblin’s neck.

I thrust. I felt the blade sink in. The sharpness of a real sword pierced through the creature’s hide much more smoothly than I had expected.

“Khek—”

With my sword lodged in the Goblin’s neck, I stopped time again.

…I actually did it. Since I stabbed it in the neck, this one was finished. I calmly thought about the next move. There was plenty of time to pull the sword out and retreat. After preparing for the action, I resumed time.

“…!”

I immediately stopped it again. The embedded blade didn’t come out as easily as I thought. Damn it. What should I do? Let’s try twisting the sword while pushing the Goblin’s body away with my foot.

Thud!

Fortunately, the sword came out this time. The Goblin, stabbed in the neck, collapsed in a heap. I quickly turned and ran away. The remaining two Goblins chased after me, letting out unpleasant screeches.

I was faster than them at running. First, stop again. I stopped while in mid-sprint.

What, this is doable? My ability was working well enough in a real fight. I gained a bit more confidence. I just needed to handle the other two the same way.

The one with the sword was chasing closer. The Sword Goblin was on the left, the Spear Goblin was on the right, and the Spear Goblin was further behind. If I ran to the left, the distance between the two would widen further.

I resumed time and ran again. As I curved toward the left, the distance between the two Goblins grew, and the Sword Goblin and I drew closer.

Now was the timing. I came to a sudden halt. The charging Sword Goblin did not stop its rush, as if it had no concept of a coordinated attack. This was better for me. Come on.

When it was right in front of me, I began Time Slicing again. Start, stop, start, stop. Watching the Goblin’s movements continue slowly, I predicted the ensuing attack.

‘A downward strike.’

The sword was raised above its head. It was a very honest downward swing. Timing it right, I swung my sword as well. As I parried the descending blade to the side, my palm vibrated from the impact.

I stopped time again and calmly prepared my counterattack. My advantage was that I had an infinite amount of time to think about my next move even in the middle of a fight, and the Goblin’s reactions could not keep up.

Squelch!

My sword pierced through the Goblin’s exposed neck. Two down.