Chapter 167: Nightmare Floors 13, 14 (3)

‘...Components?’

With time stopped, I read the spaceship’s description.

Yeah, there was no way it would end this easily, was there?

Apparently, I needed to recover three components to get the spaceship working.

The problem was where those components were...

The description didn’t provide any information about that.

For now, I had no choice but to search the nearby area first.

BOOM!

I released Time Stop and leaped high into the air.

Cutting down the ants swarming toward me, I swept my gaze across a wide stretch of ground.

Man, how well did they hide these things this time?

Surely I wasn’t going to have to scour the entire damn planet to find them... Hm?

That was when something caught my eye between the ants.

Within the crater, there was an object like a chunk of metal embedded in the ground.

Could that be it?

I immediately descended toward it.

Up close, it turned out to be a metal gear about the size of a person.

I picked up the gear for now.

But if this was a component, how was I supposed to install it?

...Surely this didn’t require specialized knowledge, right? I wasn’t Bilon.

I returned to the spaceship and held the gear against it.

Nothing happened.

I set the gear down on the ground.

‘Diul.’

The ants were getting annoying, so hide me for a bit.

Only then did the bastards that had been throwing themselves at me like crazy all stop at once.

I slowly examined the spaceship.

After circling around it and inspecting it from different angles, I discovered grooves in the surface of the hull.

One was octagonal, one was shaped like a dumbbell, and one was shaped like a gear.

‘Do I just put it in?’

I tried inserting the gear into the groove.

CLUNK.

With a metallic sound, it fit perfectly into place.

[Special Item: Sub-Light-Speed Spaceship in Need of Repairs]

A spaceship that travels through space at a speed close to light. Once boarded and activated, it automatically travels toward its destination. Its major components have been separated, leaving it inoperable. Recover all the components and repair it!

Recovered Components: 1/3

The number changed.

I cheered inwardly.

That was one already.

I moved again to search for the remaining components.

It would have been easier to keep hiding, but I canceled it.

There was no reason to waste Diul’s power unnecessarily.

As I continued searching around the crater while knocking the ants aside...

I found another one almost immediately. A dumbbell-shaped component.

[Recovered Components: 2/3]

I installed it on the spaceship, then wandered around looking for the final octagonal component.

And the octagonal component was also within the crater.

I tilted my head as I picked it up.

‘...They made these this easy to find?’

Contrary to my expectations that they’d make me suffer quite a bit.

It didn’t even take twenty minutes to find all three.

[Recovered Components: 3/3]

Once I installed the final component, the spaceship’s information changed.

[Special Item: Sub-Light-Speed Spaceship]

A spaceship that travels through space at a speed close to light. Once boarded and activated, it automatically travels toward its destination.

Repairs complete.

WHIRRR-

The entrance to the spaceship opened automatically like an automatic door.

I stopped time and thought.

Was I supposed to just get aboard and escape now?

But it felt strangely wrong because it was too easy.

There hadn’t even been anything you could really call a boss monster.

I had a feeling escaping the planet in this thing wouldn’t be the end, and there would probably be another stage after this.

For now, let’s go.

‘Demon King.’

Before boarding the spaceship, I handed my body over to the Demon King.

These damn ants just kept coming no matter how many I killed.

They might interfere with the launch, so we should clear them out a bit.

SHHHHHHHH-!

After the Demon King froze the ants across a wide area with his power.

I took my body back and hurried aboard the spaceship.

The entrance closed automatically once I was inside.

The interior of the spaceship was simpler than I had expected.

When I approached what looked like the cockpit, one large button immediately caught my eye.

[Autopilot]

They’d even been kind enough to label it.

Before the ants could cling to the spaceship again, I quickly pressed the autopilot button.

All right, let’s go!

[Autopilot initiated.]

The words appeared like a hologram across the cockpit’s front window.

RUMMMMMBLE-

Along with violent vibrations, I felt the spaceship rising.

And then it accelerated in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the planet receded into the distance.

They called it a sub-light-speed spaceship, and it really did seem close to the speed of light.

But wouldn’t accelerating to near light speed completely destroy my body?

Well, this was all probably being handled by the Tower’s power anyway.

[Traveling toward destination.]

Endless space stretched beyond the cockpit window.

An arrow also floated there like augmented reality, and the spaceship was traveling in the direction it pointed.

So if I just followed this all the way, I’d reach the destination?

I looked around the controls.

Other than the autopilot button and something resembling a joystick, there really wasn’t anything else.

Since it was called autopilot, there didn’t seem to be anything I needed to touch...

I kept my guard up and watched the view ahead.

Maybe five minutes passed.

Then new text suddenly appeared on the window.

[Entering asteroid field.]

[Control the spaceship to avoid collisions.]

“...?”

What?

At that moment, Sixth Sense started screaming warnings like crazy.

I stopped time.

I tried to figure out what was about to happen.

Entering asteroid field.

Control the spaceship to avoid collisions.

Looking carefully ahead, I could see countless tiny dots far in the distance.

...Judging from the message, every one of them was an asteroid.

‘Control it...’

How the hell was I supposed to control it?

There was only one thing that looked remotely like a steering control. The stick next to the autopilot button.

The moment I released Time Stop, I yanked the stick sideways.

[Switching to manual control.]

The spaceship changed direction, and an asteroid flashed past beside me in the blink of an eye.

A chill ran down my spine.

‘...That was fucking close!’

Since the spaceship was traveling at nearly the speed of light, something that looked like a tiny dot was suddenly right in front of me.

If I had turned even 0.01 seconds later, we would’ve collided head-on.

There was no time to feel relieved.

The space ahead was still full of dots.

I turned the controls again. I dodged another asteroid.

‘Fuck.’

You said autopilot...

Then shouldn’t you be dodging this shit on your own too?!

One collision threat followed another.

Using Sixth Sense and Time Stop, I dodged every asteroid one by one.

Had I avoided about ten of them?

[You have exited the asteroid field.]

“...Phew.”

When the message appeared, I finally relaxed.

After swerving all over the place to avoid the asteroids, I was now heading in a completely different direction from the arrow.

I pressed the autopilot button.

[Switching to autopilot.]

The spaceship once again began following the arrow on its own.

I knew there was no way it would end that easily, but damn, they really threw everything at you.

‘What else is left?’

Another five minutes or so of uneventful travel passed.

Then I spotted a faintly glowing celestial body at the end of the route indicated by the arrow.

Unlike the surrounding stars, it alone gave off a blue glow...

‘Is that it?’

Was that the destination?

It felt like it was.

I stayed alert without letting my guard down, and sure enough.

WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!

A red holographic screen suddenly appeared along with an alarm.

[The spaceship has been hacked.]

...Out of nowhere?

[According to security protocol, the spaceship will self-destruct in 1 minute.]

[Enter the three-digit passcode to reset the system.]

[If you enter an incorrect passcode even once, you will no longer be able to attempt a system reset.]

[0:59]

Along with the thunderbolt-like message, a number dial appeared.

I stopped time.

What... the fuck is this now?

‘What’s the passcode?’

Apparently, I had to enter a passcode to stop the spaceship from self-destructing.

But how the hell was I supposed to know what it was?

Surely they weren’t telling me to guess.

A three-digit number meant a one-in-a-thousand chance.

There had been a pure luck-based gimmick on Floor 4 too, but even then, asking me to guess something with a 0.1% chance was absurd.

There had to be a clue somewhere.

I released Time Stop.

I had only one minute.

Thinking the passcode might be hidden somewhere inside the spaceship, I searched every inch of it.

[0:10]

With ten seconds left.

I stopped time again.

...I had no idea. I hadn’t found anything.

What had I missed? There had to be something.

Then a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘...The opposite pole.’

Back on the starting planet, there had been one enormous crater at each pole.

Could it be in the crater opposite the one with the rocket?

I had an instinctive feeling there had probably been a clue to the passcode there.

I just hadn’t checked because I found the rocket first.

‘I’m fucked.’

Even if I realized it now, it was far too late.

It wasn’t like I could turn the spaceship around at this point.

...In that case, I had no choice but to go with Plan B.

Bet everything on a 0.1% chance.

I released Time Stop and entered the passcode.

[123]

[Incorrect passcode.]

“Fuck.”

There was no miracle.

[0:01]

Well, guessing it correctly would’ve been ridiculous in the first place.

This was the real Plan B.

Just before the spaceship self-destructed, I used my last resort, Radiant Incarnation.

...BOOOOOOM!!

A massive explosion erupted.

With Radiant Incarnation active, I took no damage.

After saying goodbye to the spaceship, I immediately moved at light speed without a moment to waste.

Straight toward the blue star I suspected was the destination.

‘Can I make it?’

The maximum distance I could travel in this state was 180 million kilometers.

From here, it didn’t look that far away...

But if it was much farther than that, I was screwed.

And if that wasn’t actually the destination, I was screwed too.

I continued forward at the speed of light.

Fortunately, I could feel the blue star gradually drawing closer.

‘I think I can make it...!’

Almost ten minutes had passed.

The blue star was now right in front of me.

Once I had nearly closed the distance, I realized it wasn’t a star at all, but simply a blue planet.

With only three seconds remaining before Radiant Incarnation ended.

By an incredible stroke of luck, I managed to reach the blue planet.

I landed on the surface, and Radiant Incarnation ended.

‘...Did I make it?’

But no clear-success message appeared.

Just as I started wondering whether I’d guessed the wrong destination and completely fucked myself...

RRRRRUMBLE-

The ground overturned, and something burst out.

A giant whose entire body was covered in blue minerals.

“Phew.”

Seeing it, I let out a relieved laugh.

Right, so fighting the boss was the last step.

When I activated Weakness Insight, the boss’s weakness was marked around its neck.

The boss charged toward me with a thunderous roar.

I fired Elemental Arrow Barrage.

The flaming arrows exploded across the boss’s entire body.

GRAAAAAH-

As it staggered, I rushed in close and unleashed Decisive Strike.

The Heavenly Aura Blade cleanly split the boss’s head and torso apart.

[You have successfully cleared Nightmare Difficulty Floor 14.]

The message appeared.

[Absorbing the power of the floor.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

.

.

.

[Your level has increased.]

[You are the first to successfully clear Nightmare Difficulty Floor 14.]

[Moving to the Reward Room.]

The scenery changed.

Only after arriving in the Reward Room could I finally breathe a little easier.

‘That was close.’

One wrong move and I might’ve ended up stranded in space.

I really cleared Floor 14 almost entirely thanks to Radiant Incarnation.

[A new rule has been added.]

[‘Sacrificial Lamb’ will begin in 24 hours.]

[When the time comes, all Climbers on Floor 2 or higher will participate in a vote.]

I checked the rule message.

“Sacrificial Lamb...?”

What the hell was this?

Even the name sounded ominous.

At least it wasn’t dragging me somewhere again like Treasure Hunt... but a vote?

In Seri’s world, the Floor 14 rule had been that Climbers gained levels by killing Non-Climbers.

Surely this wasn’t going to be another rule on that level.

Please, just let this one end without anything horrible happening...

I clicked my tongue and checked the reward.

An item had appeared.

It was a necklace made of intertwined gold and silver.

[Item: Saint Shurian’s Necklace]

A necklace imbued with the blessing once used by Shurianil, leader of the Holy Empire. The power of the necklace allows the user to deploy ‘Cradle of Light.’ The Cradle of Light has a radius of 100 meters and blocks entry and exit between the interior and exterior. The user and anyone the user recognizes as an ally gain a 10% increase to Physical Ability while inside the Cradle. Once the Cradle is deactivated or destroyed, it can be used again after 24 hours. Willpower can be consumed to restore the Cradle’s durability.

“Hmm...”

That description was long.

Basically, I could think of it as an area-wide buff skill.

A Physical Ability buff for me and any allies within a hundred-meter radius.

The range was huge, but since I almost never fought alongside anyone, it didn’t seem like an especially useful item.

Or maybe... since it blocks entry and exit, could I use it like a barrier too?

I put the item into Subspace.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 15]

[Level: 167]

[Willpower: 14,790/14,790]

[Skills: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+), Elemental Arrow Barrage (Epic+)(+3), Destruction Ray (Epic+), Weakness Insight (Epic)(+4), Hellfire Eruption (Epic)(+1), Subspace (Epic), Air Walk (Epic), Finger Flick (Epic), Life Devour (Epic), Decisive Strike (Epic), Phantom Shift (Epic)...]

[Nightmare]

People: 1,273,615

Time Limit: 6 years 341 days 20 hours 1 minute 21 seconds

Highest Floor Reached: Floor 15

Anyway, Floor 14 had been cleared safely too.

Compared to Floor 12, Floors 13 and 14 had been much more manageable.

I exited the Tower.