Chapter 21: Gap

The identity of the Nightmare 2nd Floor conqueror has been revealed.

It was Person123.

Once again, he revealed his achievement simply by posting information about the 2nd floor on the communication window.

The information released about the 2nd floor was enough to leave people in utter shock.

The Climbers who had attempted the 2nd floor—especially those on Hard difficulty—knew exactly how absurd this was. It wasn’t just that; there were traps like illusionary footholds, glowing platforms, and rising floors.

And that wasn’t all. Breaking down doors, infinite stairs, climbing the outer wall of the Tower, the boss monster Minotaur, and finally, surviving at the collapsing summit of the Tower…

How on earth did he clear that? That was the collective thought on everyone’s mind.

The 1st floor had been the same, but even compared to Hard difficulty, Nightmare Difficulty was truly on a different dimension.

“He succeeded again.”

Max’s expression grew darker as he read the 2nd-floor information posted on the communication window. He had expected the 2nd floor to be incredibly difficult, but this was beyond his wildest imagination. To think it was this atrocious.

Looking at it now, Jack’s failure was an inevitable result. It was impossible to conquer such a place without any prior information.

…And yet, Person123 had cleared it.

Just who is he?

“If I had challenged it, I would have been killed without a doubt. I was lucky,” Taylor said with a pale face as she read the post.

She had originally planned to challenge the Nightmare 2nd Floor, but she managed to avoid entering just in time when the conqueror appeared. Person123 had organized the information even more meticulously than he did for the 1st floor. It was a kind of consideration that showed he cared for other challengers.

Now, they could prepare thoroughly for the 2nd floor based on this data… but even with the information, it was dauntingly difficult. Taylor let out a sigh.

“Max, at the very least, I don’t have the capacity to be a front-runner for Nightmare Difficulty. I don’t think I could ever surpass this person, no matter what I do.”

Max nodded silently.

The project had started with the goal of saving humanity and establishing the USA as the leader of Nightmare Difficulty. In this moment, both Max and Taylor realized it was impossible. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say their fighting spirit had been crushed.

If the 2nd floor was like this, what would the 3rd and 4th floors be like? They had no choice but to admit it: the first Nightmare conqueror had something special.

‘Is he really an Unregistered Climber?’

That was Max’s lingering question. If Person123 was a Climber hiding his identity and receiving no support from any nation, it made no sense how he could be so peerless. Or perhaps he had obtained something incredible as a reward for being the first to clear the 1st floor.

Whatever the case, if he was too difficult to overtake, they had no choice but to follow closely in his footsteps. Perhaps the other countries attempting Nightmare were thinking the same thing.

***

After finishing the 3rd Floor Hidden quest and posting the organized information, I spent some time enjoying a peaceful daily life.

Sitting in the subway with earphones in, I scrolled through the posts. It was a community site called ‘Babel’ where posts related to the Tower were mainly uploaded. While there was the communication window, this place was good for keeping up with various news, so I browsed it whenever I was bored.

A title caught my eye, so I clicked it. The linked video was titled “How Threatening are Climbers?”. It was an interview with a foreign professor.

The content was interesting. This man seemed to take the social chaos caused by increasingly powerful Climbers very seriously. But then again, that’s only if the world doesn’t end first.

More interesting was the claim that those over Level 20 could withstand gunshots. Hmm… is that so? I stretched the skin on the back of my hand. Considering my current physical abilities, it didn’t seem all that surprising.

“This stop is Sillim, Sillim Station.”

I got off the subway and headed to the meeting place. I had dinner plans with friends today.

“Oh, Seohyun is here.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit late.”

“It’s fine. That jerk Sang-cheol said he’d be here in five minutes a while ago, and he still hasn’t shown up.”

As I waited with my friends for the guest of honor, a foreign luxury car pulled up and stopped nearby. The driver’s side window rolled down, and Sang-cheol’s face popped out. Everyone looked on in surprise.

“Whoa… what the heck?”

“What, did you buy a car?”

Sang-cheol gave a slightly smug smile and said, “Let me just park the car. Wait a sec.”

As they watched the luxury car glide down the road, my friends shared their thoughts.

“That guy really made it big, huh?”

“They say Climbers make a lot of money.”

“But hasn’t it only been a few months since he became a Climber?”

Our friend Sang-cheol, who had eventually taken a leave of absence to become a Climber, had fortunately not died. Today, everyone had gathered because Sang-cheol said he would treat us to a meal. We moved to an expensive Korean beef restaurant and began a feast.

“How is being a Climber? Is it doable?”

“Totally doable. I’m thinking about challenging Easy 2nd Floor.”

“Hey, hey, don’t do it. Don’t you make enough just from the 1st floor?”

I recalled that the highest percentage of Climbers were those who didn’t enter the Tower at all, followed by those who only conquered the 1st floor and farmed Magic Stones through repeated clears. Sang-cheol was earning money by clearing Easy 1st Floor and selling the Magic Stones he obtained there.

“A Goblin isn’t a weak monster either. Let me tell you what it was like when I first entered…”

Sang-cheol was busy talking and boasting. Since he was buying expensive food as the price for his bragging, it was only right to listen, so I reacted appropriately while munching on the meat.

“If it’s Easy 1st Floor, you’re Level 1, right? Then how strong have you become?”

“Heh, pretty strong. Even at Level 1, you’re not at a normal person’s level anymore.”

“Hey, let’s try arm wrestling then.”

A muscle-bound friend who loved working out boldly challenged Sang-cheol. Of course, the result was obvious. Sang-cheol gave a smirk and easily pinned the other’s arm.

“Wow, this guy is seriously strong.”

“Hey, let me try too!”

“Bring it on, all of you. Should I hold your wrists while we do it?”

With some alcohol in them, everyone got excited and boisterous. While grilling the meat, I asked Sang-cheol, “Hey, Sang-cheol. I heard Climbers talk to each other in a communication window.”

“Huh? Yeah, they do.”

“What name do you use?”

“Me? Cheol-sang. Just Sang-cheol backwards. Why the random question?”

“Just because.”

I thought it might be nice to run into him in the communication window sometime. After stuffing ourselves with beef, we hung out around the busy streets.

“Should we do the punch machine? Want to bet on the score?”

“Deal. But isn’t Sang-cheol cheating?”

“Then I’ll give you a 100-point handicap.”

While we were betting on the punch machine scores—CRASH!

Suddenly, a loud exploding sound erupted from the side. We were startled, and passersby all turned to look. There was a group hitting another punch machine nearby, and the machine was completely shattered.

“Damn, what? It broke even though I hit it lightly.”

The man who hit the machine laughed while shaking his hand. His friends chuckled along. The game center employee came out looking shocked, glancing back and forth between the group and the broken machine.

“Um… did you do this, sir?”

The man replied nonchalantly. “Yeah. So?”

“No… if you break the machine…”

“I just threw a punch. The punch machine is there for punching. What do you want me to do if it breaks?”

The man was not a normal person. That wasn’t the strength of a regular human. Is he a Climber? As the men tried to shamelessly leave, the employee hurriedly blocked them.

“Y-you can’t just leave!”

“What? Fuck, then what? You want me to pay for that?” the man growled. “Get lost if you don’t want to get beaten up. I’m a Climber, okay? If I hit someone wrong, I could kill them.”

As expected, he was a Climber. What is wrong with this crazy guy? The employee turned pale at the blatant threat of death.

“S-still, if you just leave…”

“Damn it. You really want some?”

The man raised his hand as if he were actually going to strike. I was about to shout to stop him, but Sang-cheol shouted first.

“Excuse me!”

The man turned around. Sang-cheol spoke with a slightly cowed tone. “Y-you shouldn’t act like a thug after breaking the machine.”

“Who the hell are you? You want to die?”

“Don’t curse… you’re not the only Climber here. I’m a Climber too, you know?”

The man tilted his head and then laughed. “Oh, really? What’s your difficulty and floor? I’m Normal 4th Floor.”

If he’s Normal 4th Floor, is that Level 6? Sang-cheol, who had stepped forward with a sense of justice, couldn’t say anything more and kept his mouth shut.

“Hey you brat, what about you? What level are you?”

I stepped in. “Stop this before I report you to the police. You seem drunk.”

The man looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it. “I mean, why are these little runts acting so cocky? Do you really want to die?”

Even though I pointedly pulled out my phone, the man strode toward me. Fortunately, his friends held him back.

“Hey, hey, let’s stop, Min-seong. This is going to get out of hand.”

Passersby were whispering. The man looked around and clicked his tongue. “Hey, I’ll see you again.”

He gave me one last glare and walked away with his friends. See me again? Yeah, right. I approached the pale-faced clerk and spoke.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes. Thank you…”

“Should I report it to the police for you? There are some real lunatics out there.”

It was the first time I’d seen a Climber acting like a thug on the street. I dutifully reported it to the police on behalf of the disoriented clerk.

“Hey, you did well. Fighting a psycho like that would only be your loss.”

The friends subtly comforted Sang-cheol, whose pride was likely wounded.

“But Seohyun, you’ve got some serious guts, don’t you? Stepping up to a Climber and saying your piece.”

“I know. I’ve got a new respect for you.”

“Honestly, I was terrified inside.”

My friends laughed at my words. It wasn’t a joke; I was actually on edge earlier. I had stepped up, but it would have been very troublesome if a fight had actually broken out. Since it was late and the mood had soured, we decided to disband. Friends going in the same direction as Sang-cheol took his car, and the rest of us, including me, headed to the subway station.

“…?”

What is this now? I glanced to the side and said to my friends, “Guys, I think I left something at the restaurant. You go on ahead.”

“Really? Let’s go back together.”

“No, no, it’s fine. You guys go.”

I parted with my friends and entered a secluded back alley nearby. A moment later, a man followed me into the alley. It was the guy from earlier.

“What, did you know I was following you?” The Climber laughed vicariously, radiating hostility toward me.

Interestingly, I had sensed this hostility from a distance, which is why I noticed he was tailing me and led him here. Is this also the effect of the Sixth Sense? Since it was a skill for sensing danger, I figured it allowed me to detect hostility directed at me like this.

“You brat, why have you suddenly gone mute? You were talking so big earlier.”

I ignored the man’s words and looked around. No one was passing by, and there didn’t seem to be any CCTV.

“What are you looking for? Looking for someone to help?”

“Why do you live like that?”

“What?”

“Why do you go around acting like a thug? Do you want to brag about being a Climber that much?”

Just seeing him follow me because I gave him a bit of trouble showed he was far from a normal person. The man approached me with a red, angry face.

“…I was going to let it slide if you just begged at my feet, but I can’t. You’re really dying today.”

The man’s fist flew at me. I caught the fist, which was so slow it almost made me yawn. The man tried to pull his hand away. When it wouldn’t budge, his face grew increasingly bewildered.

“Y-you… aaagh! Argh!”

When I applied a little pressure, the man twisted his body and screamed. I barely even squeezed. When I let go, the man scrambled backward.

“F-fuck. Are you a Climber too? You bastard, you tricked me!”

“I never tricked you.”

“Shut up! You piece of shit, I’ll kill you!”

The man’s hostility grew stronger and turned into something viscous. I narrowed my eyes. This was now closer to murderous intent than just hostility. The man pulled a knife from his back pocket and lunged at me, accelerating. He seemed to be using a skill that temporarily boosted his speed, but to me, he was still as slow as a turtle. I once again grabbed the wrist of the hand swinging the knife.

CRACK!

“Aaaaagh…!”

This time, I broke it. The man collapsed to his knees with a weak scream. Since he had genuinely tried to kill me just now, I didn’t think I was being excessive at all. What should I do with this crazy guy? I couldn’t drag him to the police station myself, and I couldn’t just leave him either. He was a nuisance.

‘But it’s making me annoyed.’

Some people were struggling to climb the Tower they didn’t even want to enter, worrying the world might end. This idiot’s idea of being a Climber was picking fights and showing off his strength. I crouched down in front of the incoherent man and met his eyes.

The killing intent I had felt through the Sixth Sense skill. I had a vague feeling that I could do it too. Recalling the sensations of the moments I fought for my life in the Tower, I glared at him, channeling every bit of intent to kill.

“H-heeeek…”

The man turned pale and trembled like a leaf. Looking down at his pants, he was even wetting himself. Gross.

“P-please spare me. I was wrong. Please spare me…”

I spoke to the man who was repeatedly apologizing as if he’d lost his mind. “Go to the police station and turn yourself in for breaking the punch machine.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll turn myself in.”

“And don’t go around telling anyone what happened here with me.”

“Yes, I-I won’t say a word.”

I happened to notice a wallet dropped near the man and picked it up. “Kim Min-seong, born in ’95, Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul…” I read the information on his ID card and gave one final warning. “If I see you acting like a thug again, I’ll come find you and kill you. Got it?”

The man nodded frantically while hiccupping. I left him there and walked out of the alley. What a mess after a good meal. Still, my understanding of the Sixth Sense skill had improved, so I guess I gained something.