Chapter 3: Nightmare Floor 1 (Part 2)

In the frozen time, I stared at the Goblin holding the bow.

Wait a second…

Can I actually dodge that?

I had no idea. I’d never had to dodge an arrow in my life, so how would I know? Just imagining it, it didn’t seem like it would be easy.

With a bow, it’s hard to even perceive the moment it’s fired. If someone swings a Sword at you from close range, you can react to some extent by watching their preliminary movements. But predicting exactly when a hand pulling a bowstring will let go? That’s not possible. The moment the fingers release, the arrow flies—how do you time that?

In the end, from the moment it aimed at me, I had no choice but to repeatedly freeze and unfreeze time, slicing the seconds as finely as possible until the shot was fired.

…Still, if I do it right, shouldn’t it work out somehow?

“The guy with the shield is a problem, too.”

A Goblin holding a wooden shield and a one-handed Sword. It felt like the difficulty had doubled compared to facing two Swords and one Spear. This was a fight where I had to handle two of them while staying conscious of the arrow that could fly at any moment.

I had to do it. If I failed, I died.

After steadying my heart, I unfroze time.

The Sword Goblin and the shield Goblin rushed in. Behind them, I saw the archer Goblin nocking an arrow to the string.

First, I’ll take care of the Sword Goblin.

Intending to use a similar strategy as before, I ran diagonally. I positioned myself to widen the distance from the archer while dealing with the incoming enemies one by one. Soon, I saw the archer Goblin pull the string and aim my way.

The two rushing Goblins still had some distance to cover. Anticipating the arrow, I began slicing time. I had to be ready to dodge from the exact moment the arrow was released. If it was going to shoot, it would do so before the other two Goblins reached me. Once we were tangled in a melee, aiming would be difficult.

I focused my nerves.

“…!”

It fired.

Fortunately, my timing wasn’t off. Since it was coming head-on, the arrow looked like a tiny dot.

The dot grew larger.

…Wait, it’s faster than I thought.

I realized it instantly.

Ah, this isn’t it, dammit.

No matter how much I tried to dodge from the moment of release, the Human body was too slow compared to a flying arrow. By the time I sensed something was wrong while trying to gauge the arrow’s path, I was already twisting my upper body to the left. It was my best attempt at an evasion.

‘Ughhhhh…!’

Screaming internally, I twisted my body desperately.

By a hair’s breadth.

The arrow grazed my right forearm. If I had started moving even a fraction of a second later, I would have been hit for sure.

I calmed my heart.

Alright, I’ve got it now.

This isn’t something that can be solved just by “doing well.” I immediately regretted my earlier arrogant thought. “It’ll work out somehow”? My ass. The distance it just fired from… was it 20 meters? 30 meters? At this distance, if I slipped up even a little, I wouldn’t be able to dodge.

Furthermore, I realized one more problem. Until the arrow got close enough, it was difficult to tell exactly where it was heading. But by the time it got that close, it was already too late to move.

There’s no answer to this, shit.

I vividly realized the sheer unfairness of long-range weapons.

For now, it was time to deal with the enemies in front of me. After unfreezing time, I regained my balance. The Sword Goblin had already closed in. As expected, it attacked blindly—I was grateful for that.

Slicing time once more, I prepared for the attack. It was a horizontal slash aimed at my upper body. I leaned back and retreated to dodge it. Dodging this was much smoother than dodging the arrow. I immediately counterattacked, thrusting my blade into the Sword Goblin’s neck.

I froze time again to check the situation. The archer Goblin was just nocking its next arrow, and the shield Goblin had closed the distance. Positionally, using the 12 o’clock direction as my front, the shield Goblin was at 1 o’clock and the archer was sniping from 2 o’clock.

I saw the shield Goblin preparing a thrust with its one-handed Sword. I quickly stepped clockwise, dodging the blade aimed at my waist.

Kehek—

My Sword was still stuck in the first Goblin’s neck. Because of that, the dying Goblin was wedged between me and the shield Goblin. Additionally, with the two Goblins blocking my front, the danger of the arrow was significantly reduced as long as I maintained this angle.

I could finally catch my breath. Since things had been successful up to this point, I decided to keep time stopped for a moment to think.

‘How should I handle this one?’

The shield Goblin. The presence of that shield covering almost its entire upper body was incredibly annoying. No matter how I simulated it in my head, a one-shot takedown seemed difficult. Instead of the neck or torso, I decided to aim for the lower body.

The moment I unfroze time, I kicked the dying Goblin away and pulled out my Sword. The shield Goblin behind it stumbled back, then thrust its Sword at me again.

I had to get the timing right. Slicing time, I dodged the attack and snatched the Goblin’s sword arm by the wrist. Simultaneously, I slammed my Sword downward with my other hand.

The shield Goblin let out a shriek as the blade pierced its foot. While making sure not to lose my grip on my own Sword, I held onto its wrist tightly.

The shield swung toward my face.

Oh, I can’t dodge this.

Thud!

I grit my teeth and took the hit with my forehead; my head spun. After a brief struggle of strength, the shield Goblin fell backward. I lost my balance as well and tumbled on top of it.

As I hurriedly lifted my head, an arrow whizzed right over me.

Whoa, that was a close call…

I scrambled to grab my Sword and moved to finish off the shield Goblin. The creature pinned beneath me had its upper body wide open from the fall. I plunged my blade into the jaw of the disoriented monster.

Kek—

Suddenly, something warm trickled down my head and stung my eyes. Blood? Ah, my forehead must have split open.

I hurriedly snatched the shield and held it up to cover my front. After freezing time, I took a moment to pull myself together. The archer Goblin was already aiming at me again.

‘That son of a bitch.’

Perhaps because I had almost died several times, my emotions were running high. It wasn’t just anger; it felt like adrenaline was flooding my system.

Having the shield was a huge relief. Blocking an arrow with a shield was far easier than trying to dodge one. Now, only the archer remained.

Having regained my composure, I unfroze time and stood up. I covered as much of my upper body as possible with the shield. This way, even minor movements of the shield could cover everything above my waist. I didn’t have to contort my whole body like a madman to dodge anymore.

“…”

I sliced time, bracing for an arrow to fly at any second. However, the archer Goblin only aimed; it didn’t fire.

Yeah, you’re nervous too, aren’t you?

It seemed to realize that if it missed once, it was over. If it fired, I intended to rush in immediately and gut it. If I got close, I would obviously win. It was a distance I was confident I could cover before it could nock another arrow.

I circled the archer Goblin, shield extended in my left hand and Sword hanging ready in my right. The Goblin never fired. It loosened the tension on the string but kept its aim focused on me.

I clicked my tongue. If it played it like that, I couldn’t just rush in blindly either. This current distance was the limit of where I felt confident in blocking. Any closer, and the pressure would be immense even with a shield. If I charged while covering my head and torso, there was always the risk of getting hit in the leg and being retired by bad luck.

Of course, it wasn’t guaranteed to hit me even if it fired, so the odds were fifty-fifty—actually, I probably still had the advantage, but…

“Hey, you bastard! You scared?!”

I tried provoking it like before. I shouted and laughed mockingly to irritate it, but the archer Goblin remained unmoved. What a calm fellow. Annoying.

Rumble—

Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed. A stone gate was descending from above the tunnel where the Goblins had emerged.

“Huh?”

What is it this time?

I stopped time. Was I being locked in? The only path in this area was that straight tunnel. If the stone gate closed completely, I would be trapped. I didn’t know why it was trying to trap me, but it felt incredibly ominous.

Wait, was there more left? Is this not the end?

‘Do I have to get out before it closes?’

Should I head into the tunnel, or stay put? I couldn’t tell which was the right answer.

…I have to go out. I decided to follow my gut.

But there was one problem. The archer Goblin was standing right in front of the tunnel. To escape, I had to break through it. It was a crossroads where I had to take a risk.

Then I’ll just have to take it.

I unfroze time and charged straight at the archer Goblin. I raised my shield just enough to maintain visibility while protecting my vitals. Seeing it frantically pull the string, I sliced time again.

When I was about 10 meters away, I didn’t miss the way the bow tilted slightly downward. It was aiming for my legs. I immediately lowered the shield.

At that exact moment, the arrow flew and thudded into the shield.

…Blocked! You’re dead.

Reaching the archer in an instant, I thrust my Sword into the side of the creature as it tried to scramble away. I didn’t have time to make sure it was finished. The stone gate was already more than halfway closed.

Pulling my Sword out, I left the fallen Goblin behind and sprinted into the tunnel.

Boom!

The tunnel closed. Having made it safely, I caught my breath.

“Huff… huff…”

I looked down at the arrow stuck in the shield. it was embedded right near the edge. If it had been off by just a little, I would have taken an arrow to the knee. But in the end, I won.

After the excitement died down, I looked around. The stone gate was firmly shut, and ahead of me was a gentle upward slope. I narrowed my eyes as I spotted something.

Looking closely, there was something at the end of the slope.

It was… a ball.

Perspective kicked in, and I realized just how massive that ball was.

Thump.

“…Oh.”

That giant ball started rolling toward me. Its smooth surface gleamed with a silvery light, looking like a sphere made of iron.

Feeling goosebumps erupt all over my skin, I stopped time.

Wait, wait, wait… hold on a minute.

Th-this wasn’t the right way to go?

The back is blocked, and there’s a ball in front. In this straight tunnel, there was no space to dodge the iron ball that filled the entire path as it rolled down. I felt like I had been completely tricked.

I realized I was truly screwed.

‘…I’m going to die like this?’

No, this can’t be right. Anyone would think that the door closing was a signal to get out. You bastard!

Raging didn’t change anything. With time stopped, it was no different from a death sentence. If I unfroze time, I would be crushed into a pancake and die a gruesome death.

No, I don’t want to die like this.

Sinking into despair and panic, I desperately searched for a way out. Is there any way to live… what’s that?

Something caught my eye. Looking closely, there was a niche carved into the wall about halfway down the tunnel. It was just large enough for one person to fit inside.

‘…!’

Feeling like I had found an oasis in the desert, I unfroze time. I threw away my Sword and shield and sprinted with all my might. The rolling ball accelerated, closing the distance incredibly fast. Since I was running toward it, that was only natural.

“Aaaaaah!”

They say that when humans feel extreme terror, they can’t even scream. Apparently, that didn’t apply to me. Shit, save me, please!

Just before my vision was completely filled by the iron ball, I barely managed to slip into the niche. Simultaneously, a gust of wind slammed into my back. With a thunderous roar, the iron ball rolled past, followed by another massive crashing sound.

My legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor.

“Heh… ha…”

Wow.

I actually lived.

For a moment, it felt like I had taken a quick sip of the water from the River Styx. I stood up unsteadily. I waited a long time in the niche, too terrified to move.

When I finally came out and looked down, I was momentarily speechless at the sight inside the cave. The entire floor was densely packed with countless iron arrows.

What is this? Did a rain of arrows fall from the ceiling?

“…So getting out was the right answer.”

If I hadn’t come out, I would have ended up looking like a porcupine.

Now, it was just absurd. No wonder everyone died. Is this difficulty level even designed for a human to clear?

I walked around and searched for my weapons. The shield had been crushed to pieces by the ball, so I picked out a Sword that was still intact. Should I take a Spear too, just in case?

With a Sword in one hand and a Spear in the other, I stepped back out.

“…Ah, seriously.”

The most terrifying thing of all was that despite all this, the “Clear” message still hadn’t appeared.

I just stood there, recovering my stamina. I expected Goblins or something else to pop out in front of me, but even after a long time, nothing came.

…I guess this means I have to move forward myself?

I’m afraid of what else might be waiting.

“Whew…”

Let’s go. I had a feeling it was finally nearing the end. It was just a hunch. After letting out a deep sigh, I forced my heavy feet to take a step forward.

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