Chapter 28: Before Floor 3 (2)

— The time limit for Nightmare Difficulty is now less than three months away. Floor 3 remains uncleared…

Time really does fly. The period where I start to feel the pressure has arrived. Even though this is the third time, this sense of oppression is something I can never quite get used to.

If I fail, the world ends. I die. Since I’m just an ordinary person, honestly, the thing I feel most primary dread toward is my own death. The sensation of dying on Floor 1 is still vivid, even years later.

In the end, all I could do was prepare diligently. I went in and out of the Tower, increasing my proficiency with the newly acquired skills. While Blade Vortex didn’t require much practice, Fairy Bullet was a different story. Controlling and firing multiple orbs of light freely definitely required training.

I used the Normal+ Skill Enhancement Stone given by Billon on Fairy Bullet. While I had a Normal+ skill called Lower Toxic Resistance, prioritizing the Magic category was the obvious choice. After the enhancement, the maximum number of light orbs increased to five.

The Willpower consumption increased accordingly. Flame Strike didn’t increase in cost when enhanced, so I felt the enhancement efficiency here was a bit lacking, but since Willpower isn’t an issue for me anyway, it didn’t matter.

Pop pop pop!

After playing with the Minotaur for a while, I significantly raised my proficiency with Fairy Bullet. I became able to handle the five light orbs quite freely.

Mooooooo…!

The Minotaur staggered after being pelted by the light orbs. I finished it off by firing a Flame Strike.

Kwahhhhhh!

For the record, the power of Flame Strike was also stronger than when I first acquired it. Aside from skill enhancements, it seemed my Magic skills grew stronger to some extent by scaling with my level, though not dramatically. Since Physical skills also mostly scale with a Climber’s Physical Ability, it was only fair when you thought about it.

I exited the Tower after finishing my repeated clears. I turned on the communication window.

The current time limit for Nightmare Difficulty was approaching the three-month mark. Around this time, an uneasy atmosphere always began to spread through the communication windows.

As a side note, the number of Nightmare Climbers had increased to eleven. It had reached twelve, but the count dropped by one last month—likely someone who died while challenging the 2nd Floor. Also, two other people had successfully cleared the 2nd Floor. I knew this because the USA and China had officially announced their successes.

Including me, there were now three people qualified to challenge Nightmare Floor 3. Human nature is a fickle thing; even though I had made up my mind, seeing a glimmer of hope made me wonder, Maybe? and start to expect something from them. No, let’s not. I won’t rely on others anymore. I had already decided that the first strike would be mine.

I planned to enter with 20 days left on the clock. And I intended to make that clearly known to the public. What I mean is, I was thinking of announcing through the communication window: “From now on, I will challenge the next floor whenever there are exactly 20 days left.”

There were two reasons for this. One was for the other Nightmare Climbers. Since I was going to challenge it anyway, someone else might challenge it before me and die in vain. This was a kind gesture to let them know they could wait until after I failed.

The other reason was for the world. You only had to look at the news to see that the world turned into a madhouse as the Nightmare deadline approached. Crime rates skyrocketed, the stock market went wild… it was a wonder the world was still functioning at all.

But if I set a definite time for my challenge and announced it, wouldn’t the chaos decrease at least a little bit until then? After all, it’s the uncertainty of the world potentially ending that makes people anxious. By setting my challenge time as a benchmark, people could live with a modicum of peace until the 20-day mark.

Of course, if I failed, the following 20 days might become even more of a mess. But I was in a position where I could only think about success; worrying about what happens after I fail was a luxury. When I asked Billon for his opinion, he replied that it seemed like a good idea.

That should be enough. I finished writing the short post and turned off the communication window.

***

The US Climbing Department had even installed a training set that almost perfectly replicated the conditions of the 2nd floor based on Person123’s information. After training and re-training, undergoing thousands of simulations, and receiving various support from the authorities, Taylor finally succeeded in clearing Nightmare 2nd Floor.

However, that success also became an occasion for her to feel her limits once again. Despite knowing all the information and preparing so thoroughly, she had only succeeded by a hair’s breadth. The final boss, the Minotaur, was utterly despair-inducing. Its overwhelming tenacity showed no sign of faltering even as she exhausted her Willpower firing off skills. If the beast had possessed the strength for even one more charge, she likely would have died and the clear would have failed.

Taylor had long since accepted it: she could not stand at the vanguard of Nightmare Difficulty.

“It seems the Department’s policy is going to change now. We won’t be aiming for the first clear anymore.”

As she drank coffee with Max, Taylor nodded. Even though she had cleared the 2nd floor, the initial goal of the Nightmare Project had effectively blurred. Originally, the USA wanted to cultivate a Climber who would lead Nightmare, not follow in someone else’s footsteps. Perhaps they had set an impossible goal from the start.

More than that, their concern now was China. Shortly after Taylor succeeded, China announced their own success on the 2nd floor as if refusing to be outdone. The competition between the two nations was intensifying every year. Since China already held the record for Hard difficulty, the US government seemed unwilling to fall behind even in Nightmare.

Well, even that was ultimately a race for second place.

“Are you still in contact with Person123?”

At Taylor’s question, Max nodded. “We talk occasionally. Last time, he was the one who asked first if any other 2nd floor conquerors had emerged.”

“…Really?”

Was Person123 also waiting for other Nightmare Climbers to ascend to the higher floors? It made sense. That must be why he was posting information without asking for anything in return. Since her own confidence had waned significantly, she felt guilty, as if she were betraying his expectations.

Taylor reflexively checked the communication window and saw a new post in the Nightmare section. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Person123 just posted something.”

“What?”

With months left on the clock, Person123 had posted a new update. At that news, the world was once again thrown into a stir.

Person123 had formalized his Nightmare challenge! That was how people took it.

— This can also be interpreted as an attempt to reduce social chaos. By setting a definite time for his challenge, he is establishing a clear benchmark for people. Hope remains until there are 20 days left, so to speak.

— From now on, the fate of the world may be decided at every 20-day mark. If Person123 fails, is there anyone among the remaining Nightmare Climbers who could replace him…

Time continued to flow. The eyes of the entire world were focused solely on his challenge.

***

The day of the decisive battle drew near. Since obtaining Blade Vortex and Fairy Bullet, I had received one more Skill Stone and one more Skill Enhancement Stone from Billon.

The Normal-grade skill, Thrust. It felt like a set piece with Swing. The Skill Enhancement Stone was also Normal-grade. While not a significant boost to my overall power, anything was better than nothing. I used the Normal Enhancement Stone to upgrade my Leap skill.

Then there was the Rare Skill Enhancement Stone I had obtained as a reward for clearing the 2nd floor, which I hadn’t used yet. I was torn on where to use it. Flame Strike or Blade Vortex?

If I enhanced Flame Strike, the number of fireballs would increase to three. If I enhanced Blade Vortex, the range would likely increase. Since there is almost no information on enhancing Rare-grade skills—especially Magic skills—there was no way to know the exact result without trying it myself.

After some deliberation, I decided to enhance Flame Strike. I figured the efficiency would be better on Flame Strike since it had a shorter cooldown.

With one day left until the 20-day Nightmare deadline, my power-up phase ended. This was already the third time I had written a will. Since there wasn’t much to change, it was almost a copy-paste of the one I wrote before entering the 2nd floor.

“Well, I’m heading out.”

“Okay. Be careful and come back safe.”

I went on a solo trip the day before. I felt like having one last refresh before challenging Floor 3. I went down to Busan, looked at the sea, and ate lots of delicious things. After two days of fun, I was in my hotel room in the evening.

I rummaged through my bag and put on the items I had brought. The bracelet containing Diul. In the end, I couldn’t unlock a new ability. Perhaps the method of raising affinity was wrong from the start.

“Diul, if I die, there are no more night walks. You know that, right?”

Diul seemed to snort. Good grief. It was a shame, but there was nothing I could do. Next was the ice dagger I took from Seodongwoo. Since the cooldown was 24 hours, the freezing range and power were quite decent. It would be worth using once in an emergency.

Finally, the necklace. I hadn’t attempted the contract yet, but I brought it along. You never know when it might come in handy. Lastly, I set a scheduled text for my parents telling them where to find the hidden will in my room. It would be sent if I failed to clear Floor 3.

Having completed all preparations, I stood in the middle of the spacious room.

Alright… let’s go. I’ll survive this time too.

“Enter.”

The surrounding scenery shifted.