Chapter 30: Nightmare Floor 3 (2)

I fell into the dark passage as if being sucked in. It was pitch black, and I couldn’t see an inch in front of me. However, thanks to Diul’s ability, I could see perfectly fine. After checking the ground and landing stably, I looked up. I wondered if the Undead would follow me down the passage, but that didn’t happen.

…Did the Undead stop moving once I disappeared from their sight? I certainly hoped so.

“Phew…”

I caught my breath and looked around. It was a straight corridor leading forward. Did I pick the right path for now? I stopped time to recover my Willpower, then resumed it to let my physical stamina recover. I moved forward slowly. Since I had no idea what might pop out next, I kept my senses sharp.

The passage stretched forward for quite a while. No traps or monsters appeared during the walk. This kind of silence made me even more uneasy. I wished whatever was coming would just show up already… oh. A light began to appear. I approached it with heightened vigilance.

The source of the light was a torch. It was a wide cavern with torches hanging here and there. In the middle of the cavern sat a single, solitary rock. I approached cautiously to examine it.

What is this?

Something was drawn on the rock: a pattern of a circle surrounded by thorns. At a glance, it clearly represented the Sun. Mysterious characters surrounded the Sun emblem in a circle, as if forming a magic square. Small grooves were carved into the lines connecting the Sun to the east, west, and north—as if something was meant to be inserted there.

“Hmm…”

I looked around. Aside from the passage I had entered through, there were three branching paths in the cavern: left, right, and straight ahead. Three grooves, three paths. I had a vague feeling I knew what to do. I could probably find what needed to be inserted into these grooves at the end of each path… right? The Sun emblem was definitely a signal related to the clear conditions.

“Which way should we go first, Diul?”

I spoke to Diul out of habit. Floating above my head, Diul looked indifferent, as if telling me to do whatever I wanted. Well… let’s try the left path first. Keeping my tension high, I proceeded down the left path. The path was short, and I soon reached a smaller chamber. In the center of this chamber, smaller than the main cavern, sat an amber-colored gemstone.

Is that it?

I supposed I just had to fit that into a groove. However, I didn’t approach it recklessly. …Getting it just like that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? This was a blatant trap. As I took a step closer, an inexplicable sense of dread became clearer. My Sense was sending out warnings.

I picked up a nearby pebble and threw it toward the gemstone. The moment the pebble touched the floor, thorns erupted from everywhere.

Twa-kwak-kwak-kwak!

Massive iron thorns shot up and retracted at incredible speed, rhythmically tearing through the air before vanishing back into the walls after a few seconds as if nothing had happened.

“…”

Too obvious, right? I tried throwing another pebble.

Twa-kwak-kwak!

Without fail, the thorn trap triggered again. It wasn’t a one-time thing; it seemed to trigger continuously. It also appeared to detect contact with the floor. A way to retrieve the gemstone came to mind easily.

“One, two…”

I Jumped toward the gemstone from where I stood. The moment my feet touched the ground and my hand grabbed the gemstone, I stopped time, focused, and teleported back.

Twa-kwak-kwak-kwak!

The thorns pierced the empty air. And there, held in my hand, was the gemstone. A simple success. Having easily snatched the gem, I returned to the central cavern.

Click.

I inserted the gemstone into the western groove. An orange light traveled up the line and filled about a third of the Sun emblem.

“So this really is how it works.”

Two left. Next, I headed for the right path. Now, I wondered what kind of trap would be waiting this time. Though it wasn’t fun at all, I forced myself into a cheerful mood as I walked. Just like the left path, I reached a small chamber. There was a gemstone in the center here as well… but this time, chains were wrapped tightly around it.

I threw a pebble first. No traps triggered. Since my Sense didn’t pick up anything specific, I cautiously approached. Was I supposed to unwrap the chains and take it?

Rattle.

The blue chains tightly binding the gemstone were fixed to the walls of the chamber like a spiderweb. I reached out for the gemstone. I tried applying force to undo the chains.

“Hnn…”

It didn’t budge. Even pulling with all my strength, the gemstone wouldn’t come loose. Right, okay. So it wouldn’t come out by force? I stepped back from the gem and readied my magic. I fired a Flame Strike at the chains.

Kwahhhhhh!

Once the flames cleared, the revealed chains were perfectly intact. …They were a bit too sturdy, weren’t they? If they were ordinary iron chains, they would have been shattered. I tried using Bullet and Blade Vortex to destroy them. Sharp winds hacked at the chains.

Clang-clang-clang!

But it still didn’t work. Even after spamming magic several times, the chains were flawless, without a single scratch. What the hell was this? Adamantium? Vibranium? I decided to target the wall where the chains were connected instead.

Boom!

I detonated magic to destroy the chamber wall. But even after digging deep into the wall, the chains seemed endless, showing no sign of where they were anchored. I had to abandon this method as well, fearing the chamber might collapse if I spammed more magic. After struggling for a long time, I eventually sat down with my arms crossed.

“What am I supposed to do…”

Was it a puzzle? Was there another solution? I looked around.

“Ah.”

Then, I finally discovered something. On the wall right above the entrance I had walked through, an identical amber gemstone was embedded. What was that doing there? I walked over, pulled it out, and stared at the gem with an absurd look in my eyes.

“…Can I just take this one?”

Was the chain-wrapped gem a fake? Just like on the 2nd Floor, this Nightmare bastard really loved making a fool out of people. Returning to the central cavern, I inserted the gem into the eastern groove. The orange light traveled up the line and filled the Sun emblem to the two-thirds mark.

“Phew.”

Good. Now only the last groove remained. I braced myself and headed for the path straight ahead.

“…”

What was that? An hourglass? Upon reaching the end of the straight path, what sat in the center of the chamber was a massive hourglass. It was fixed in the air, connected to a structure. And there was something below it too—a tall, cylindrical rock. Plugged into a groove in the rock were an amber gemstone and… unexpectedly, a cube. That 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube where you rotate the sides to match colors.

I tilted my head and reached for the gemstone first. Of course, it wouldn’t come out. I looked at the cube again. …This meant I had to solve the cube to get the gemstone, right?

Darn it.

What should I do? I’ve forgotten all the formulas. There was a time when I played with cubes a lot, but that was back in elementary school. Naturally, my memory was hazy now. Instead of being colored, each tile of the metal cube had a picture drawn on it. I picked up the cube, which was fitted perfectly into the rock’s crevice.

Clunk!

At that moment, with a loud roar, the massive hourglass flipped over. I looked back and forth between the hourglass and the cube in panic. The meaning was obvious: solve it within the time limit. I immediately stopped time and fumbled through my memories. How did I solve this? I had to remember the method. Come on, long-term memory, do your job. You used to do this all the time!

Okay, first make the cross… then… right, was that it? Once I actually started thinking about it, the memories seemed to come back. It felt like I could do it if I just kept at it. I resumed time and began fumbling with the cube. After rotating it for a bit, I looked up to check the hourglass. But then.

“Huh?”

The hourglass was already half-empty. No, it had only been about 10 seconds… Looking closer, the sand was falling at an impossible speed. I stopped time again. I hadn’t even finished 5% of the cube.

What kind of nonsense was this? I was supposed to solve a cube in a few dozen seconds? Of course, a world champion could do it in 5 seconds, but it was impossible for me. Besides, I only knew the basic formulas, and you can’t solve a cube that fast with just the basics.

…What happens when the hourglass runs out? I didn’t know. It probably wouldn’t be anything good. But it was also impossible to finish the cube in the remaining 10 seconds. In other words, I was in checkmate.

Gosh.

What do I do? Should I try breaking the hourglass? …I doubted that would lead to a good result. Rejected. Would time stop if I put the cube back? With that thought, I resumed time and plugged the cube back into the rock groove. But the hourglass didn’t stop, as if saying there were no take-backs. I stopped time again.

Only one option remained: get out of here for now. I resumed time and scrambled out of the chamber. I was afraid thorns might erupt like in the left path once the hourglass finished. With my vigilance at its peak, I stared at the hourglass from the entrance of the chamber. And soon, the hourglass ran out completely.

There was… no change. For a moment. But a moment later, a vibration echoed.

“…?”

I turned around with a grim expression. The sound was getting closer.

Rumble, rumble.

What appeared next was a flood of Undead pouring into the straight passage, filling it completely.

“This is insane…!”

I fired a Flame Strike in terror. The Undead in front were blown apart. However, the momentum only faltered for a second before they surged forward again. In my desperation, I fired Bullets and used Blade Vortex. That, too, was only temporary. There was no end to them.

I ran back into the chamber, pulled out the ice dagger, and used it.

Kwahhhhhh!

A wave of cold air swept through, freezing the suffocating swarm of Undead. An ice barricade formed, halting the mad march of the Undead, but…

Crack…

It didn’t look like it would hold for long. I stared at the Undead with hollow eyes and stopped time. Did the Undead from above come underground…? Is this the Penalty for the time limit?

…There’s no answer for this.

The procession of Undead had filled the only passage. There was no way out except to break through them head-on, which was impossible. Even if I used teleportation, I would just be stuck among the Undead. I desperately looked for a way out. But no matter how I racked my brain, there really was no answer this time.

Am I… dying? Really? Sensing death right at my throat, I let out a hollow laugh. To die because I couldn’t solve a cube… what a way to go. To think my end would be such a pathetic death.

You win, you Nightmare son of a bitch.

I hope you’re happy winning with such a forced scenario. You bastard. But I had no intention of dying quietly. All I could do was struggle until the very end. Having made my resolve, I resumed time and gripped my Mace tightly. The moment the ice shattered and the Undead were about to flood into the chamber.

“Aaaaah…! Huh?”

I was about to lung forward with a shout but hesitated. Suddenly, a dark energy swirled around my body. At the same time, the Undead lunging at me stopped all at once, as if they had lost their target.

What happened? I looked down at my body. A faint dark energy was swirling around me like a haze, and my body had become translucent. I looked up at Diul floating above my head. The little guy was radiating feelings of grumpiness, as if it were a chore.

Is this your ability, Diul…?

The Undead stood right in front of me, staring stupidly into the empty air. I took a cautious step. Even the sound of my footsteps was gone, as if my very presence had been erased. Was this the second ability of the dark spirit? Following suggestion, it was a stealth ability.

Ha… Diul, you rascal! You helped me because it really looked like I was going to die! Wait, this isn’t the time for this. While stealthed, I quickly picked up the cube again. I had to finish it and take the gemstone. That was the only way this would end, for better or worse.

For a few minutes, I racked my brain and solved the cube while surrounded by a swarm of Undead.

…Done!

I finally succeeded in completing the cube. I plugged the completed cube back into the rock groove.

Click.

With a sound, the gemstone popped out of the groove. I picked up the gemstone and looked around at the Undead. Wait… but how do I get past these things now? I gently poked one of the Undead with my finger. It didn’t react at all.

…So they don’t react even if I touch them? I cautiously wove my way through the Undead. I pushed through the gap between them, squeezed like a passenger at a crowded subway station during rush hour. Why did I suddenly think of a scene from World War Z? I felt like a protagonist walking through zombies after getting a vaccine.

Wait, just hold on a bit longer!

I hurried as I felt Diul’s ability reaching its limit. Finally, I arrived at the central cavern. It was also packed with Undead. I barely reached the rock and inserted the gemstone into the last remaining groove.

The moment all three gemstones were gathered and the Sun emblem was completely filled with light.

Flash!

An intense light erupted from the emblem, covering the entire cavern.