Chapter 37: Over-Rewarded (2)

The Epic+ Magic skill, Destruction Line.

Its destructive power was beyond imagination. The massive clump, which had regenerated instantly with no significant damage no matter how much I hit it with Flame Strike, simply died.

“This really is a destruction beam.”

Using the skill once nearly drained my willpower, but that wasn’t an issue at all. With a skill like this, I felt I could take down almost anyone unless they were exceptionally strong. It felt like I had gained a true ultimate move.

After basking in the power of Destruction Line for a moment, I looked down at the necklace. Why not tame this guy right now while I’m at it? If the beam could one-shot that massive clump, there was no way Fligas could withstand it.

After fully refilling my willpower and waiting for the Destruction Line cooldown, I used the necklace immediately. A writhing beastly shape began to coalesce before my eyes.

Right, good to see you again. I was grateful for the help last time, but it’s a shame it had to come to this.

Roaaar…!

The moment the fully manifested Fligas tried to let out a roar, I stopped time.

Be reborn as my familiar.

After 300 seconds of mental concentration, I unleashed a full-charge Destruction Line forward. As soon as Fligas manifested, a hole was blown right through its body just like the clump, and it scattered.

Wow… truly marvelous destructive power. It was a bit cheap, but a victory is a victory. The scattered remains of Fligas turned into smoke and were sucked back into the necklace.

The message appeared. I had succeeded in taming Fligas.

The item information had changed. Reading the description, the duration seemed to be basically unlimited. However, if it took heavy damage and died, there was a 24-hour cooldown before it could be re-summoned.

“Not bad.”

It meant as long as it didn’t die, I could keep it summoned. I tried re-summoning Fligas right away.

Sss—

Fligas appeared before me. Unlike before, the creature did not roar. Was it just my imagination, or did its eyes look a bit gentler? Since it was just staring blankly down at me, I tried giving a command.

“Sit.”

Fligas quickly crouched down and sat.

“Stand up.”

Fligas stood up.

“Sit, stand, sit, stand…”

Sit, stand, sit, stand. Because it was so large, a gust of wind blew every time it moved.

“…Roll left, roll right—don’t roll right, lift your left paw. Don’t lift your right paw, put your left paw down.”

In any case, Fligas listened to me very well. This guy had become a very gentle puppy. Though its face was closer to a feline than a canine. I stroked Fligas’s head.

“Let’s get along, Fliya. From now on, you’re Fliya”

The fur wasn’t soft at all; it was coarse like sandpaper. More importantly, there was something I absolutely had to try now that I’d tamed a familiar like this. I hopped onto Fligas’s back.

“Let’s go, Fliya. Let’s run for real.”

Of course, I had to try riding it. At my words, Fligas purred and bolted forward. I almost got thrown off, but I held on tight to the fur on its neck.

“Wooooaaaaah…!”

It was truly fast. I spent about an hour that day charging across the plains on Fligas.

—

Several days passed since the Nightmare 3rd Floor was conquered.

People were waiting for Person123 to post on the communication channel. He had never made a formal announcement that he would release 3rd Floor info, but he had always done so after a conquest. And as expected, this time was no different.

The moment Person123 posted, all attention on the channel shifted there.

The long post of 3rd Floor information was released. The channel instantly became a hive of activity as shocked people discussed the details.

US Bureau of Climbing Management Headquarters, Main Conference Room.

A meeting of key figures from the Bureau, including Taylor, the only American Nightmare 3rd Floor climber. On the projector screen in front, a summary of the 3rd Floor information posted by Person123 was displayed for everyone to see.

“…So, the core of the 3rd Floor is that you must minimize the time taken to collect the three gems underground.”

Max, the head instructor for Nightmare Difficulty, continued the presentation.

“As you can see, the gem on the right path can be retrieved easily. The gem on the left path with the spike traps can also be retrieved without much trouble if you use a skill that pulls objects.”

“For example… something like the Normal-rank ‘Sticky String’?”

“Exactly. And finally, the cube trap on the center path…”

Max brought up another slide.

“After consulting with the top cube experts in the USA, we’ve concluded that if the goal is simply to break the 20-second barrier, one can minimize practice time by learning an abbreviated version of advanced CFOP methods.

In this case, with a relaxed schedule of one hour a day, we estimate it will take about 8 weeks of practice. While the practice period might take longer than expected, the cube trap should not be a major issue.”

The people in attendance nodded. Their faces were dead serious.

“The most significant hurdle is expected to be the boss. While this info is based on Person123’s subjective view, assuming it took 3 minutes to activate the Sun symbol, the boss’s combat power is estimated to be in the mid-Level 20 range.

Since it’s said the boss gets stronger as time increases, we speculate that shortening the time will decrease the boss’s power, but this part isn’t confirmed yet.”

“If the 3-minute boss is at that level, wouldn’t it be dangerous for Miss Taylor at her current level?”

“Yes, it’s dangerous.”

“Then we need to shorten the time even more, and we need confirmed information on whether the boss weakens accordingly… Would it be difficult to ask Person123 to verify that?”

Max was the one person in the Bureau who could be said to have some rapport with Person123. It was widely known that if you brought up anything other than Nightmare conquest advice, he wouldn’t exchange a single word. Max, who had been speaking with him since the early 1st Floor days, had essentially taken on the role of the liaison.

Max nodded with a slightly awkward expression. “I’ve already asked, and he accepted. However, the reply was that verification might take quite a bit of time.”

The reason for his awkwardness was that he felt incredibly ashamed toward Person123. It was as if they were being spoon-fed everything and still couldn’t even open their mouths to eat it.

But what else could they do? The life of Taylor, the only hope for America’s Nightmare climbing, was at stake. He had to swallow his pride and ask a hundred times over if necessary. Of course, Person123 readily accepted. Based on his tendencies, he never refused if he could provide help related to the conquest.

It was a true blessing for humanity that the person at the front lines of Nightmare was such an altruist. Director Van asked again.

“What do you mean by ‘quite a bit of time’?”

“I was able to hear a bit more detail, but Person123 said the part that took more than a minute wasn’t any other section—it was the cube. So, to shorten it further than 3 minutes, he has to practice the cube himself, which is why it will take time to verify.”

Director Van tilted his head as if he still didn’t understand. “But didn’t he say that if you don’t solve the cube in 20 seconds, the Undead swarm into the basement?”

“That’s correct. But Person123 said he used a stealth-type skill to avoid the Undead’s eyes and finished the cube. He said the cube itself can still be solved even after the time limit is exceeded.”

“…A stealth skill?”

“Yes. So, if one has a skill that hides the body, they don’t strictly have to follow the 20-second limit, but since we need to minimize time anyway, it’s a meaningless method for us.”

And fundamentally, a stealth-type skill hadn’t specifically appeared in the world yet. This was the reason why the Director and the others were shocked by Max’s story. It meant Person123 possessed that kind of skill as well.

After the meeting ended, Director Van spoke further with Max and Taylor.

“I also believe that as long as it’s certain the boss weakens, it can be conquered. I will do my best to ensure you receive all the necessary support.”

This presentation was also a place to explain what kind of support was needed for the 3rd Floor conquest and how high the probability of success was. No matter how much they wanted to, they couldn’t wastefully pour in Skill Stones and items if there was no possibility of success at all.

“Please, I’m counting on you again this time, Miss Taylor. I’m sorry to always place this burden on you, but you are the hope of this country.”

At the Director’s words, Taylor gave a slightly self-mocking laugh. “Should I really be feeling burdened at this level? I’m just comfortably climbing the Tower with the information that person provides.”

“Even that has only been achieved by two people, including you. We should probably start viewing Person123 as being in a different realm.”

Clearing even Nightmare 2nd Floor was a truly great feat. It was just that Person123 was an outlier. That was why the Bureau had changed its policy to just follow closely behind him. Director Van was truly curious. Just what kind of person was Person123, who essentially held the lifeblood of all humanity in his hands?

—

“Sigh, this isn’t easy.”

I rolled around on my bed, fumbling with the 3,000-won cube I bought from Daiso.

Hitting a 20-second clear isn’t easy at all.