Chapter 49: Nightmare, 4th Floor (5)

“...Hrrgh!”

The moment I came to, I shot upright, a ragged gasp tearing its way out of my throat.

My hands flew over my body on instinct, frantically checking for injuries.

Smooth, unbroken skin.

Not a single wound.

Still breathing hard, I looked around. The moment I confirmed that I was back in the Reward Room, I collapsed onto my back.

Holy...

Holy shit...

I honestly thought I was going to die.

Was that what it felt like to be cast into the fires of hell?

It was an unbearable experience—one I never, ever wanted to endure again.

I lay there in a daze for some time before finally noticing the messages floating before my eyes.

[4F clear on all difficulties has been completed.]

[The Tower is calling new participants.]

[A new rule is being added.]

[From this point onward, five Sub-Towers will appear at random locations at seven-day intervals.]

[Time until the first Sub-Tower appears: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes 32 seconds]

“...You son of a bitch.”

Couldn’t it at least give me a minute to catch my breath before dropping something like this on me?

In a way, I supposed it was inevitable.

The moment I invalidated the 3-Year Rule, another rule appeared to take its place.

Sub-Towers?

Appearing at random?

I had no idea what they were, but anything with the word “Tower” in its name was bound to be bad news.

Did that mean more towers were going to appear besides the one in the Pacific?

New rules had appeared on Floor 2 and Floor 4, but not on Floor 1 or Floor 3.

Just as I had suspected, the Tower seemed to generate a new rule every second floor.

Ah, whatever...

I’ll think about it later.

My body had fully recovered, but the memory of that all-consuming agony still clung to me, leaving every inch of my skin tingling.

That pain had been on an entirely different level from anything I had ever experienced.

Just look at this.

Even my fingertips were still trembling.

[Item: Celestial Music Box]

[A lost holy relic of the Paeli Order. When activated, it plays a melody that soothes the mind and body. Consumes 1 willpower per second while active.]

I took out the music box.

It was the item I had obtained from the hidden clear on Floor 3.

Since it was still classified as an item, I had brought it with me just in case.

Thinking it might actually help, I switched it on.

♫ ♪

As the melody of the music box drifted through the room, the tension in my nerves gradually began to ease.

“Haaa...”

Oh.

So it wasn’t useless after all.

Apparently, the Tower had thoughtfully provided me with a mental recovery item so I wouldn’t develop PTSD while climbing.

How considerate.

Jokes aside, the effect was both real and unmistakable.

I left the music box playing until my willpower was completely depleted.

All right.

Mental reset complete.

At last, I got to my feet.

[Level: 55]

I had gained ten levels, bringing me to Level 55.

I could feel it clearly.

My body had undergone yet another significant leap in power.

Whoom!

I threw a punch into the empty air, producing a thunderous crack as the air split before my fist.

At this point, could I fight bare-handed and exchange blows with a fully enhanced Floor 3 boss like Plina?

I turned my attention to the rewards.

Skill Enhancement Stones lay scattered across the floor.

No Skill Stones?

Only two Skill Enhancement Stones?

[Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone]

[When used, enhances one Rare+ grade skill.]

Two Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stones.

Enhancement Stones were rarer than ordinary Skill Stones, so I supposed I should consider myself lucky.

Of course, when it came to skills, the more the better—but this wasn’t a bad reward.

No.

Actually, this might be even better.

I now knew that raising a skill to +5 caused it to evolve into a higher-tier version.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 5F]

[Level: 55]

[Willpower: 1,800]

[Skills: Destruction Ray (Epic+), Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare) (+5), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+) (+1), Minor Poison Resistance (Normal+), Minor Burn Resistance (Normal+), Leap (Normal) (+1), Swing (Normal), Thrust (Normal), Frost Shot (Normal)]

Come to think of it, I hadn’t enhanced any of my Rare+ skills yet.

‘Which one should I choose?’

Teleportation, Sixth Sense, Rapid Regeneration, or Scorching Zone.

Enhancing Teleportation would probably increase its range.

Sixth Sense...

Would it simply sharpen my instincts?

It wasn’t exactly the kind of skill whose effectiveness could be measured numerically.

Rapid Regeneration would improve my healing ability, while Scorching Zone would either deal more damage or cover a larger area.

Logically, Teleportation seemed like the obvious choice.

Rapid Regeneration had proved extremely useful during this clear, but its cooldown was too long, and it was a physical-type skill.

Fully enhancing Scorching Zone would probably reward me with an epic-grade fire-attribute magic skill, but I already had Destruction Ray as an outstanding offensive option.

Teleportation seemed like the safest investment.

Its range would increase, and maxing it out might grant me a higher-tier movement skill.

And yet...

‘Sixth Sense...’

For some reason, I kept finding myself drawn to Sixth Sense.

When it came to entering an unfamiliar floor, no other skill made me feel as secure.

Besides, what would an evolved version of Sixth Sense even look like?

I was curious.

Something told me it would be exceptionally powerful.

Splitting the enhancements between different skills would be inefficient, so I needed to invest both Stones in the same one.

I could have postponed the decision, but instead, I made up my mind and used both Enhancement Stones on Sixth Sense.

[‘Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone’ has been used on ‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’.]

[‘Rare+ Skill Enhancement Stone’ has been used on ‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’.]

[‘Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)’ has been enhanced, further strengthening its danger-detection ability.]

I couldn’t sense any immediate difference.

The skill only activated in the presence of actual danger, so I would have to test it later.

[Nightmare]

[Participants: 283,157]

[Time Limit: 1 year 19 days 22 hours 39 minutes 16 seconds]

[Floor Reached: 5F]

After sorting through my rewards, I confirmed that the Nightmare Time Limit had been extended.

Once again, I had survived.

Again.

And again.

The world had bought itself another year.

Though admittedly, this clear had been far more eventful than usual...

‘What exactly is the Tower?’

Did it genuinely hold some kind of grudge against me?

The way it had dangled the 3-Year Rule before me as bait, only to saddle me with a penalty, had felt like an unmistakable display of malice.

And during this run...

Had the Tower somehow manipulated the gacha to prevent me from obtaining Ability Nullification?

Or had I simply been unlucky?

There was no way to know for certain.

Honestly, if I considered it rationally, the latter explanation was probably more likely.

After all, if the Tower truly wanted me dead—and if it could manipulate the climb however it pleased—

Then it could simply close off every last opening and leave me with no possible path to survival.

The fact that it hadn’t done so might mean that the Tower itself was bound by certain rules or restrictions.

At least, that was my best guess.

There was no point obsessing over a question I had no way of answering.

The Tower was incomprehensible.

In the end, all I could do was keep climbing.

‘Still...’

One thing was perfectly clear.

It really, really wanted me dead.

Well, guess what?

I didn’t die this time either.

You cheated as much as you could, and I still walked out alive.

[Do you wish to exit the Tower?]

“I had a wonderful time.”

Wonderful, my ass.

It had been a nightmarish clear that I never wanted to experience again.

Still, hoping the Tower was listening, I deliberately laughed aloud as I exited, filling the sound with as much mockery as possible.

I’m exhausted...

Time to rest.

***

After Person123 chose the penalty, people gathered in the streets all across the world.

As though bound by an unspoken agreement, every one of them behaved in exactly the same way.

Men and women, adults and children alike, held their breath and prayed.

The fact that Person123 had selected the penalty meant that, at that very moment, he was somewhere inside Floor 4, attempting to clear it.

Even the live news anchors, momentarily forgetting their duty to keep speaking, had fallen into sparse and halting commentary.

One minute passed.

Then another.

As the silence stretched on, people’s faces tightened with anxiety, fear, agitation and desperation.

Beneath it all lingered a raw, pleading hope.

[Honeybee: Isn’t this... taking too long?]

[BlackDragonSky: What was the average clear time for Nightmare again?]

[Rewer: Around twenty minutes. But clear times vary too much between floors for the average to mean anything. Especially for a first clear.]

[WarriorOfStruggle: The participant count in the Nightmare channel hasn’t dropped yet.]

[Savannah: Please, Person123. Please...]

More than an hour had passed since Person123 chose the penalty.

The Climbers in the Communication Channel could at least confirm that the participant count had not decreased.

Ordinary civilians, however, had no access to real-time information.

All they could do was tremble as the dread continued to mount and time crawled mercilessly forward.

Some chewed their fingernails.

Others bowed their heads lower and prayed with even greater fervour.

Some frantically refreshed the news feeds on their phones.

Parents comforted crying children.

Even six-year-olds understood the gravity of the situation.

“...I told you! He never should’ve chosen the penalty! It’s over! It’s all over!”

Some people screamed in despair.

Others immediately rounded on them in fury.

“Shut up and pray! He’s still in there!”

“If you’re going to talk shit, then get the fuck out!”

The tide of fear and negativity was beginning to spread through the crowds when—

“Oh!”

“Hey...!”

Here and there, a handful of people suddenly let out startled cries.

They were Climbers.

They were the ones who could see the message announcing that Floor 4 had been cleared on every difficulty.

“S-Success! Floor 4 has been cleared!”

That shout became the spark.

A moment later, the restless crowds erupted into cheers loud enough to shake the streets.

“Wooooaaaaah!”

—This just in. Nightmare difficulty Floor 4 was cleared only moments ago!

—Ah... We are also receiving reports that the Tower has added a new rule. According to the information currently available, Sub-Towers will begin appearing at random locations at seven-day intervals...

The news broadcasts carried the announcement around the world.

People embraced complete strangers without hesitation, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

Their euphoria was every bit as intense as the terror that had preceded it.

[ConfidentStride: We survived! We get another year!]

[KimchiStew: Person123 is a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god! He’s a god!]

[Kenshong: No, seriously, how the hell did he do it? He chose one of those insane penalties and STILL cleared the floor?]

[Megaphone: You’re STILL doubting Person123? Man, you really are something else.]

[Poseidon: Ugh... My heart honestly stopped when he chose that penalty.]

[Beast123: But seriously, what’s going on with these Sub-Towers? They’re making me nervous.]

Another new rule had appeared, but no one cared about it at that moment.

Everyone was far too busy celebrating.

“Person123! Person123! Person123!”

His name echoed through the streets in every direction.

It was the name of the hero who had saved humanity time and time again.

The name of the man who had refused to abandon even a handful of people and had instead chosen to save every last one of them.

“Haha... You truly are...”

Bilon Must’s office.

Bilon released a deep, exhausted laugh as the tension drained from his body and he sank back into his chair.

He had hoped that Kim Seo-hyeon would refuse the penalty.

When the risks were weighed objectively, the correct decision had been painfully obvious.

And yet Kim Seo-hyeon had chosen to save everyone, without exception.

In the end, he had managed to claim everything.

Even Bilon, who had spent his life choosing paths of high risk and high reward, knew that if he had been in Kim Seo-hyeon’s position, he would never have selected that penalty.

...Incredible.

No, more than incredible.

Awe-inspiring.

Bilon closed his eyes and quietly celebrated his partner’s safe return.

The Tower Monitoring Division office at the Tower Climbing Special Agency.

[4F clear on all difficulties has been completed.]

“...Yes!”

The instant the message appeared before her, Shin Su-jin cried out without thinking.

Kang Ju-hyeok, who was seated beside her, had already been startled by the sudden appearance of the message.

Her outburst made him jump a second time.

A moment later, looking faintly embarrassed, Shin Su-jin cleared her throat.

“Whew... He really did it. How can someone choose a penalty like that and still clear Nightmare? He truly is something else.”

Kang Ju-hyeok continued shaking his head in admiration as he stared at the message.

The man had accepted a crippling penalty and then cleared the floor as though it were nothing.

There was simply no way to measure the true extent of his ability.

Shin Su-jin could feel her heart pounding as she silently celebrated.

More than anything, she was relieved that he had returned safely.

“...And with this, He has granted us salvation for the fourth time.”

Inside a dimly lit cathedral, a vast congregation had gathered.

There were far more people than there had been a year earlier, and they now filled an even larger hall.

The man standing at the pulpit spoke in a voice that trembled on the verge of tears.

“The wicked Tower has resorted to its schemes once again. It exploited His benevolence and held the lives of innocent people hostage, seeking to obstruct the path of salvation upon which He walks.

“Ah, why did He not turn away? Why would He not yield, even in the slightest? Because He could never—never—abandon even one pitiful life. He willingly fastened heavy shackles around His own feet, cast Himself into the depths of hell and saved us all.”

As the man continued, his voice nearly broke into open sobs.

The devout listeners, their heads bowed in reverent prayer, could no longer restrain their tears.

The sound of quiet weeping spread through the cathedral.

“No matter how vile, cowardly or contemptible the Tower’s schemes may be, today we have witnessed proof that none of them can stop Him. Until the glorious day when He saves all of humanity, we shall place our faith in Him and follow Him to the very end.”

“We believe...”

“We believe...”

“Tonight, brothers and sisters, I implore you to rejoice with all your hearts. Give thanks that, through His grace, we have been granted another year of life. Give thanks for His boundless devotion and His unending sacrifice...”

When the prayer came to an end, the people raised their heads and released a tremendous wave of cheers.

That night, throughout the entire world, the name Person123—and the cheers that followed it—never once fell silent.

***

The moment I left the Tower, I blacked out.

I slept like the dead and didn’t wake until the small hours of the morning.

Feeling hungry, I ordered room service and had a late-night meal delivered.

I sliced into a beautifully tender steak and stuffed a piece into my mouth.

“Sooo good.”

Food always tasted heavenly after clearing a floor.