Chapter 33: 3rd Floor Hidden (1)

“Once again, we express our infinite gratitude and respect to Person123, the top Climber of the Nightmare Difficulty, who has allowed humanity to survive for another year. Taking his noble pioneering spirit as an example, the USA will continue to do its best to climb the Nightmare Difficulty…”

I ate my breakfast while watching the US President’s speech on the morning news. Two days had passed since I conquered the 3rd Floor. I slept at the hotel on the day of the challenge, came home the next day, and rested for a full day. After getting through another major crisis, there really was no place like home. I finally felt like I was getting some proper rest.

“…While many rejoice at the conquest of the 3rd Floor of the Nightmare, the Tower’s ‘three-year rule’ is fast approaching. The time remaining for the 1st Climbers, who were the very first to receive the Tower’s call, is now only a dozen or so days. It is reported that at least 50,000 1st Climbers have still not climbed the Nightmare Difficulty…”

As the next news segment aired, I checked the Nightmare Climbing Status.

“…What is going to happen to these people?”

I was among the 1st Climbers who were chosen at the very beginning. I think there were about 75,000 left by the time the 1st Floor was conquered? Regardless, tens of thousands of people were on the verge of death in just a few weeks. I’d occasionally hear news about expanding Training Facilities or providing active support… but while those might work for other difficulties, there really was no answer for the Nightmare.

“I’m just going to accept it without trying. I’d rather die peacefully than die a horrific death inside the Tower. I think many others feel the same way.”

An interview with a 1st Climber from the Nightmare followed. The man looked composed, smiling calmly as he spoke. I felt a pang of pity and turned off the TV.

‘A peaceful death.’

For some reason, that phrase felt out of place. The death the Tower predicted—how exactly would it happen? Would you just collapse from a sudden heart attack while standing still? Or would it be an instant death before you could even feel pain? If it were that simple, then just as that man said, it might be a better choice not to try. It was certainly better than being brutally killed by a Goblin in a place where no one could see. Besides, if you died inside the Tower, you couldn’t even leave a corpse behind.

“Thanks for the meal.”

I put the dishes in the sink and went back to my room to lie on the bed. Out of habit, I opened the communication window. It was flooded with whispers. Perhaps because I had announced my challenge in advance, I had been receiving all sorts of whispers even before I attempted the 3rd Floor; most of them were messages of encouragement.

I also had a brief conversation with Billon after the conquest. Billon was practically the only person I could talk to comfortably about my progress. I actually wanted to tell him a bit about how much I had struggled… but I decided against it because it felt like I was just whining about how hard things were. There was no need to make people anxious for nothing.

I also got a message from the Manager of the Climbing Department. I was still reluctant to have a long conversation, so I sent a short reply.

While scrolling through the chat and watching people talk, I suddenly thought about the 5th Floor.

‘The public area…’

The 5th Floor of the Tower is called the public area. It was literally a common space. It wasn’t a floor you had to conquer; rather, it was a space where Climbers of all difficulties gathered. It was like a checkpoint for resting. Of course, no Climber from the Nightmare Difficulty had reached the 5th Floor yet. If I succeeded in conquering the 4th Floor, I would be the first Nightmare Climber to set foot in the public area. It didn’t have much significance; it was just one of the floors I had to pass through. I looked at the chat a bit longer before closing it.

“I should start the challenge today.”

Since I needed to organize and post the information for the 3rd Floor, I decided to challenge the Hidden stage today without dragging it out.

As soon as my food settled, I entered the Tower.

—

I had suffered immensely because I didn’t know, but the core of the 3rd Floor was speed. You had to go underground and activate the Sun symbol as quickly as possible before more Undead swarmed the field.

Grumble—

As soon as I entered, I located the underground passage.

‘Let’s see.’

It was at the 1 o’clock position from the entry point. Confirmed. I grabbed my Mace and charged Straight ahead, smashing the skulls of the swarming Undead. Having gained 10 levels to reach Level 40, my body was naturally much stronger and faster.

Boom!

I unleashed a Flame Strike to break the floor and jumped inside. It had taken about 30 seconds to get this far. It seemed other difficulties had 10 minutes until sunrise, while the Nightmare gave 10 minutes until sunset. I had to finish within at least 10 minutes, or they would swarm like a cloud of locusts again.

I sprinted through the passage and arrived at the central hall. I immediately entered the path to the left. I picked up the gem on the floor and returned using blink. Clear. After inserting the gem, I headed straight for the right path. I ignored the petty chain-fishing trap and grabbed the gem from the wall above the entrance. Clear.

By the time I entered the final path straight ahead, about a minute had passed. I picked up the cube and began to solve it with focused eyes.

Click. Clack.

Was it possible to solve a cube in 20 seconds? With enough practice, it was entirely possible through effort alone. However, you’d have to learn advanced algorithms rather than basic ones… Naturally, I hadn’t practiced beforehand. I couldn’t just sit around not conquering the Hidden stage while practicing to solve a cube in 20 seconds.

The hourglass ran out quickly, and the ground vibrated as the Undead approached.

“Diul.”

I called Diul while remaining focused on the cube. Diul cast stealth, and my body became translucent. Leaving the Undead to wander stupidly around me after they had rushed all this way, I finished the cube. Naturally, it was faster than my first try. After completing the cube, I took the gem and moved to the central hall.

Total time taken… about 3 minutes!

Flash!

Light erupted from the Sun symbol, melting the surrounding Undead. Now I had to go up and see what the boss was like. It had to be much weaker than that previous Monster. That was only natural.

Gurgle…

When I went back up to the surface, the Undead were melting in the sunlight. Soon, the surviving Undead began to cluster together, but their numbers were incomparable to last time. Maybe a hundred or so? The size of the resulting Undead ball was only slightly larger than a Minotaur.

Vrummm—

Even the low-frequency sound was just a slight tickle in my ears. I tapped my ears and simultaneously fired a Flame Strike and a Bullet.

KABOOM!

The mass, subjected to a concentrated bombardment of three fireballs and five Bullets, exploded instantly.

“…”

This is ridiculous. Was it originally this weak? What kind of struggle did I go through last time…?

It wasn’t completely dead yet. I approached the creature, which had its core exposed after its body was torn apart, and crushed it with my Mace.

“Just die, you bastard.”

Of course, I had grown stronger at Level 40, but this was something I could have easily beaten even at Level 30. At this rate, other Nightmare Conquerors might actually have a chance. If they can minimize the time as much as possible, it might even be easier than the 2nd Floor. Although, others would have to face the boss at Level 20.

Anyway, since I had easily dealt with the boss, it was time to find the Hidden. I looked around at the endless plains stretching in every direction.

“Which way should I go?”

There were too many choices. I could go North, South, East, or West. Just as I was considering going back into the underground passage to investigate, I narrowed my eyes.

“…?”

Far, far in the distance… I saw something.

‘A Pyramid?’

A pointed structure that looked like a Pyramid. It was shimmering like a mirage. As your level and physical abilities rise, your eyesight naturally improves as well. My eyes could see very far now; I might even win easily in a comparison with a bird of prey. Judging by the sense of perspective, that building was incredibly far away. But… it wouldn’t just be visible for no reason, right? It wouldn’t just be a decoration like background graphics outside a game map.

“Let’s go.”

I began to sprint lightly. Every time I kicked off, the ground cracked and my body propelled forward. It was far, but I was just as fast. It didn’t take long to reach my destination.

“It really is a Pyramid.”

Now that I was almost there, it was a massive building that looked exactly like a Pyramid. There were also many pillars and small structures around it. It felt a bit like a… temple?

Rumble—

The bright sunlight in the sky suddenly vanished, and for some reason, dark clouds began to gather. It went from night to morning, and now it was getting overcast. The weather was truly spectacular. Seeing these changes made me feel like I had found the right place.

I entered the temple area while staying alert. As I walked around, looking left and right, I heard a sound. It sounded like a fight, so I immediately ran toward it.

There were people there. Three of them. Wearing armor, they looked like knights.

“Sir Delent! Be careful!”

The knights were fighting a large Undead while surrounding it, and the Undead looked quite strong.

‘Should I help?’

As I learned on the 2nd Floor, the Hidden stage didn’t always feature only enemies that had to be defeated. Since they were fighting an Undead, weren’t they allies? I decided to help the knights.

“I’ll help youuu!”

I shouted loudly as I ran, just in case they mistook me for an enemy. The knights spotted me and turned around. The Undead was humanoid but massive, over 3 meters tall, and held something like a rusted Sword in its hand. It looked much stronger than the ones that swarmed during the regular conquest.

Since the knights were close to the Undead, I couldn’t use Flame Strike. Instead, I fired a Bullet while charging toward the Undead.

Bang! Bang!

I hit its sword arm to prevent a counterattack and leapt toward the Undead’s head. When I struck its head with my Mace, half of it exploded.

Greeee—!

The knights quickly joined the attack, slashing the staggering Undead’s legs with their swords. I finished it off by swinging my Mace once more and completely shattering its head. It wasn’t much of a threat.

I turned my head to see the knights staring at me with surprised eyes.