Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability - Chapter 131

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 131: Nightmare Floor 10 (4)

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Inside the Ark.

A stretch of land with a ten-kilometer radius, vast if you called it vast and small if you called it small. To those outside, it was also known as paradise.

Only the tiny handful personally chosen by Person123 lived here.

They could plainly be called the center of this ruined world.

"What? They're getting their asses kicked?"

Park Dong-hyeon had returned to the Ark after enjoying himself at a party with women. The moment he got back, he received a report from a subordinate and frowned.

It was urgent news from the Lee Dae-seong Group, which managed Gangseo District, the area under his jurisdiction.

Some Climber had suddenly appeared and was causing havoc.

"Where the hell did this bastard come from? How strong is he?"

"They say he caught a sword reinforced with an aura skill in his bare hand and broke it."

"...Fuck, so he's pretty good? Where did someone like that come from?"

"They were suddenly attacked too, so..."

Park Dong-hyeon scratched his head roughly, looking annoyed.

"Is it Shin Su-jin?"

"They said it was a man."

"Right. Besides, that bitch shouldn't be high enough level to pull off something like that."

"From what he said, he seemed angry about how non-Climbers are treated. He was saying things about beating down things that aren't even human."

"Really?"

Had some high-level Climber who'd been keeping a low profile finally crawled out?

The Climbers who opposed the current system in Seoul had been purged a long time ago, but that didn't mean there couldn't be a few left. Still, why now?

"Contact the other groups. Tell them all to gather."

"Yes."

"Fuck, why did it have to be in my territory..."

Park Dong-hyeon hurriedly got dressed and prepared to move.

Nothing like this had happened before, but if a problem came up, it had to be dealt with.

The people outside the Ark had all sorts of ridiculous ideas, saying they were favored by Person123 and were chosen Ark residents.

Park Dong-hyeon knew very well that he had only been chosen by luck.

There was a hierarchy among the Ark's Climbers, but in the end, they were all in the same position.

The great Person123 mostly left the Climbers alone to manage the non-Climbers as they saw fit.

Still, everyone could guess one thing. Person123 did not want peace for the non-Climbers.

That was how the current system had taken shape.

Person123 had never directly given an order, but the Ark's Climbers all felt an unspoken responsibility to maintain this system properly.

Just as Person123 had chosen them on a whim, he might discard them just as casually on another whim.

Of course, no Climber would dislike living like a king.

So they had to make sure they never got on Person123's bad side. They had to do things right.

So they could remain Ark residents forever.

* * *

How strong was Person123?

It wasn't impossible for me to make a rough guess.

The Person123 in this world had cleared the Tower through Floor 8.

And apparently, he hadn't made any further progress after that.

I'd cleared through Floor 9, so I was probably ahead of him in level.

I couldn't be sure whether we had the same skills and items.

This world's Person123 was another version of me who'd made different choices. There could be other differences too.

'What about the Demon King?'

I didn't even know whether this world's Person123 was living in symbiosis with the Demon King.

The Demon King was a bug-like existence, after all.

And more importantly.

This world's me probably had the ability to stop time too, right?

Otherwise, he couldn't have cleared through Floor 8 as Person123.

Even so, I had some room to breathe.

The fact that this world's Person123 hadn't used the scales on Floor 8 meant he didn't have Radiant Incarnation.

Honestly, I didn't think he could be stronger than me.

That didn't mean I let my guard down, not even a little.

This floor felt completely different from the others, but I was still clearing Floor 10...

And Nightmare would never let me have an easy clear.

The psychological resistance of having to kill myself?

That kind of thing didn't even qualify as an obstacle in Nightmare.

There had to be something more... hidden here...

I was lost in thought when I raised my head.

'They're here.'

I could feel presences approaching.

Not long after, several Climbers entered the club.

The strongest among them met my eyes and spoke.

"I'm Park Dong-hyeon. You were looking for me?"

I stopped paying attention to the man sitting beside me and watching nervously, then stood up.

The Climbers, including Park Dong-hyeon, stared at me warily.

I could feel quite a few Climbers gathering outside too.

They were all trash anyway.

"You're a high-level guy. Why are you causing trouble in peaceful Seoul? Think you've got the wrong place, don't you?"

I asked, "Are you a Climber from the Ark?"

"So what if I am?"

"Go bring Person123 here."

Park Dong-hyeon's expression hardened.

"...A real lunatic crawled out of nowhere. Are you crazy because you want to die?"

There was no need to waste time arguing.

I immediately used an excellent method of conversation.

In an instant, I appeared in front of Park Dong-hyeon and grabbed him by the throat.

"...!"

The other Climbers attacked me in surprise.

Boom! Crash!

With only my free hand, I smacked away every Climber who charged at me.

Park Dong-hyeon tried to pry my arm off, but there was no chance of that happening.

Even if his level was high, he was only around Level 50.

Before long, Park Dong-hyeon gave up resisting and looked at me with deeply flustered eyes.

"Go deliver my message to Person123. Tell him I want to meet."

When I released his neck, Park Dong-hyeon gasped for air and asked, "Why... are you looking for him?"

"You don't need to know. Go bring him."

"You're seriously going to die. What are you, suicidal? Haven't you heard what Person123 did to the Climbers who rebelled against him...?"

"Want to just die instead?"

He talked too much.

When I raised my hand, Park Dong-hyeon hurriedly got up, glanced around nervously, then ran out of the club.

If he was a Climber inside the Ark, he could deliver the message to Person123.

Or he might bring stronger Climbers with him.

If that happened, I could just beat them down and send them back until there was nobody left to come out.

I sat down again and waited.

The man who'd been making a big deal about the Ark Climbers being on another level, along with the other Climbers, stayed silent and didn't dare say a word.

How long had I waited?

Feeling presences approaching again, I stood up.

There were more of them this time, and they were stronger.

Had every single Ark Climber come out?

They seemed to be surrounding the club instead of coming inside.

So I moved first.

Craaaash!

I broke through the club's ceiling and emerged onto the street.

The startled Climbers all looked up at me.

I flew toward the closest one first.

They tried to dodge in a panic, but there was no way they could be faster than me.

The Climber I punched in the stomach flew into the outer wall of a building.

The other Climbers immediately attacked.

I subdued them one by one as easily as blowing my nose.

I didn't use any skills.

This world's Person123 could probably use magic-type skills without delay too, so I didn't particularly want to show him that I could use magic skills...

More than that, there was simply no reason to use them.

The Ark Climbers were only around Level 50 or 60 at most, while I was well over Level 100.

This couldn't even be called a fight.

Unless they had something like Destruction Beam, the gap in level was so huge that landing an effective hit on me was nearly impossible.

Pew!

A faint warning from Sixth Sense.

I twisted in midair and dodged the beam of light.

What was that? It had some real power behind it.

It was a skill used by a Climber who'd been waiting for an opening to ambush me...

Huh?

I checked the Climber's face a moment late and was a little surprised.

'Ye Tianwei?'

It was Ye Tianwei, China's representative Nightmare clearer.

I remembered his face from when he'd overseen the Zone 3 Boss.

When our eyes met, Ye Tianwei tried to pull back.

I immediately pursued him.

Ye Tianwei resisted with several rather unusual skills, but it was useless.

He too was quickly struck by my fist and sent flying.

Crackle!

Someone even used an item that poured out lightning like the Thunder Strike skill.

I dodged it with Teleportation, closed the distance, then knocked their jaw aside.

A few people ran away. The rest of the trash ran too.

I didn't bother chasing them.

I captured only five Ark Climbers and gathered them together.

Then I asked, "Are there any more of you?"

"..."

"If not, bring Person123 here already. At this rate, you're all going to die."

I looked at one of the Climbers and asked, "You don't need that many people to go back, right? Should I start with you?"

They hurriedly answered, "P-Person123 probably isn't in the Ark right now...!"

"What are you talking about?"

"He often goes outside the Ark to clean up Fallen."

"Then where is he right now?"

"W-we don't know that. Do you think he tells us everywhere he goes?"

The one answering glanced nervously at Ye Tianwei.

I looked at Ye Tianwei too.

It seemed Ye Tianwei was the highest-ranking one among them. He was the strongest too.

He was staring up at me with a strange look in his eyes.

Looking somewhat confused, he tilted his head before opening his mouth.

"You..."

Ah, had he recognized me?

I cut him off. "Do you know where Person123 is right now?"

"..."

Ye Tianwei fell silent.

For some reason, it felt like he knew, so I pressed him for an answer.

But even when I threatened to kill him, Ye Tianwei didn't open his mouth.

'Demon King.'

Then let's use that.

The Demon King's torture, which froze the soul and stirred up instinctive fear.

Back when I'd used it in North Korea, answers had come pouring out too.

The Demon King, having taken over my body, placed a finger against Ye Tianwei's forehead.

"Kh...!"

Ye Tianwei's teeth chattered as his eyes rolled back.

"Talk. Where's Person123?"

But even under torture, Ye Tianwei refused to open his mouth until the end.

The Demon King sounded impressed.

- A lowly creature, yet quite stubborn. Rarely have I seen deep faith overcome instinctive fear like this.

...Did that mean his loyalty was that strong?

What kind of connection could Ye Tianwei and I possibly have had? It was strange.

Anyway, it seemed I wouldn't get an answer from Ye Tianwei, so I looked back at the others.

"He's... probably in Gyeongsang-do!"

One of them hurriedly answered.

"Person123 is currently clearing out the Fallen across South Korea. We heard he was pushing steadily down through Gyeongsang-do until just recently, so he might be around Busan by now...!"

I let out a breath and asked, "Then when is he coming back?"

"T-that, we don't really know... There have been many times when he stayed away for several days before returning..."

Several days.

That was too long.

But the area they described was so wide that I didn't know whether I could find him by going there myself.

After thinking it over, I decided to go in that direction first.

It would be better than sitting around and waiting.

With my speed, it wouldn't take long anyway.

I only froze the bodies of the Ark Climbers, then shot up into the sky.

I headed toward Gyeongsang-do.

* * *

When the Nightmare difficulty deadline ran out and the world collapsed.

Shin Su-jin had luckily avoided the curse from inside the Ark.

The world had nearly ended, but back then, she hadn't lost hope.

There was the Ark, and there were Climbers.

If everyone worked together, maybe they could create a world where at least the few surviving people could live.

Then something horrifying and unbelievable happened.

Person123, who had come out after clearing Floor 8, drove every person out of the Ark. Then he pushed ordinary people to the edge of a cliff.

Person123, the savior who had cared for humanity more than anyone else.

Shin Su-jin tried to resist, but failed.

Barely escaping with her life, she was practically driven out of Seoul.

As she wandered through a world crawling with Fallen, she happened upon a group of several dozen survivors in a bunker near Busan.

They were all ordinary people. Shin Su-jin joined them and willingly began protecting them.

She couldn't protect the people of Seoul. So this time, she wanted to protect at least these people properly.

"Give me a little more, please?"

"No. Other people need their share too."

People lined up to receive portions of food.

A man who acted as the group's second-in-command spoke to Shin Su-jin with a dark expression.

"I'm sorry, Su-jin. Even if we ration it, I don't know whether we can last another three days..."

The food in the bunker had run out a long time ago.

Now, obtaining food was entirely Shin Su-jin's responsibility.

She was the only one who could travel outside, where Fallen were everywhere.

Shin Su-jin nodded.

"Don't worry. I'll find as much as I can."

But almost all the food available in this area had already been scavenged.

If she could hunt on Floor 5, getting food wouldn't be a problem...

But the Ark Climbers controlled Floor 5 as well, leaving her unable to enter it carelessly.

After thinking for a moment, the man offered an opinion.

"How about we move our base to that bunker in Geumjeong District I mentioned before? We don't know when this bunker's ceiling might collapse either. Sooner or later, it's something we need to do, even if it's dangerous."

To make matters worse, the bunker they were staying in was badly damaged.

Perhaps a powerful Fallen had once gone on a rampage on the ground directly above them. The protective walls had been severely damaged then, and nobody knew how much longer they could hold without collapsing.

In the end, Shin Su-jin had no choice but to decide.

She would lead the people to another bunker as soon as possible.

For their long-term survival, it wasn't the wrong choice.

They were just unlucky.

"...Everyone, get away!"

A Stage 6 Fallen that she had never encountered before suddenly appeared.

The Fallen that emerged after the world's destruction did not only go up to Stage 5.

Their numbers were extremely small, but there were also Fallen with six or more horns.

It was a monster Shin Su-jin could never handle at her level.

Shin Su-jin was struck by an attack and sent flying. She groaned and vomited blood.

The Stage 6 Fallen turned its head this way and that like an insect, then lost interest in Shin Su-jin and fixed its gaze on the fleeing people.

'No...'

Badly wounded, Shin Su-jin desperately tried to get up.

That was when it happened.

Boom!

The ground split apart with a thunderous crash.

The Fallen was pinned beneath the foot of someone who had suddenly appeared, its limbs flailing.

Shin Su-jin blankly stared at the man who had so easily subdued the Fallen.

He was Person123.

"So you're in a place like this, Manager Shin."

Kim Seo-hyeon looked at her with indifferent eyes.

Shin Su-jin stayed silent, unable to find anything to say, while Kim Seo-hyeon stepped down from the Fallen's back.

Freed, the Fallen ran after the fleeing people as if its eyes had rolled back.

"W-wait...!"

Shin Su-jin turned pale and shouted at Kim Seo-hyeon.

"Don't do this! Please!"

Everyone would die. Those people would all die.

Shin Su-jin tried to rise, but vomited blood again and collapsed.

"Aaaagh!"

"S-save me...!"

Kim Seo-hyeon quietly watched as the Fallen rampaged and killed people.

Even as the people's terrible screams rang out, even as Shin Su-jin begged him, he didn't blink once.

"Don't do what, exactly? What did I do?"

"Ah, ah..."

"That's a funny thing to say. Is it just natural that I should save them?"

Kim Seo-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.

"If they want to live, they should struggle on their own. After gobbling up the sacrifices I've made without giving anything in return, they should at least do that much now."

The Fallen had killed nearly half the people.

That was when it happened.

A strange sight appeared before the eyes of Shin Su-jin, who was drowning in despair, and Kim Seo-hyeon.

...Boom!

A figure suddenly fell from the sky and stepped on the Fallen.

Just as Kim Seo-hyeon had done moments earlier.

The Stage 6 Fallen's head burst, killing it instantly.

"...!"

Shin Su-jin's eyes widened in shock.

The newly arrived man picked up the Fallen's corpse and threw it back in Kim Seo-hyeon's direction.

Bang!

Kim Seo-hyeon knocked it away, then looked at the man striding toward him.