Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability - Chapter 158

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 158: Nightmare 12th Floor (5)

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[The 12th floor has been cleared on all difficulties.]

[The Tower is calling new people.]

[A new rule has been added.]

[‘Treasure Hunt’ will begin in 24 hours.]

[When the time comes, 300 Climbers will be randomly invited to the ‘Treasure Hunt.’]

[Time Remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds]

I was transferred to the Reward Room.

I checked the message about the new rule.

After seeing what happened in Seri's world, I'd been worried that some ridiculous rule might pop up...

Thankfully, it wasn't something like gaining levels by killing non-Climbers.

‘So it's another forced participation event.’

The Tower was calling Climbers again.

Just like during the Mask Auction and the Joint Battle.

There was a good chance it would lure Climbers in and pull something again.

It was called Treasure Hunt, too. That alone made me feel damn uneasy.

“Whew.”

With a sigh, I slumped down.

That aside... it had been dangerous. Really dangerous.

The 12th floor hadn't had complicated mechanics like the other floors. If anything, clearing it had been fairly simple.

Still, it was the most horrifying floor I'd faced so far.

It didn't wear down the body. It messed with your mind...

I remembered the moment I'd fallen so deeply into sloth that I'd tried to kill myself.

Now that my mind was clear, I couldn't understand what the hell had happened to me.

- I thought I was going to die of frustration, you bastard.

The Demon King's voice echoed in my head.

- Do you have any idea how long you were out of it after stopping time?

“...How long was I like that?”

Judging by the intense fury I could feel from the Demon King, I had a rough idea.

Anyway, if it hadn't been for the Demon King and Diul, I'd probably be a corpse by now.

“Thank you, Demon King. For continuing to talk to me.”

I summoned Diul from the bracelet.

I thanked Diul too, who seemed to be pouting.

“Thank you too, Diul. You're always saving me.”

It had been the same during the clears of the 3rd and 6th floors, and when I defeated the final boss of the sub-tower.

I'd already lost count of how many times Diul had saved my life.

‘Hmph!’

Diul returned to the bracelet as if still thoroughly angry.

...Come to think of it, I'd been neglecting our nighttime walks lately.

I'd have to spend more time with Diul from now on to make it up.

I checked my rewards.

There were two Epic skill stones.

[Skill: Fatal Strike (Epic)]

Fires condensed aura. The more Willpower consumed, the greater its power.

Classification: Physical-Type

Willpower Consumption: 100 to 500

Cooldown: 30 seconds

[Skill: Phantom Shift (Epic)]

Instantly moves at high speed within a range of 10 meters. An afterimage remains in place briefly.

Classification: Physical-Type

Willpower Consumption: 300

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Both were Physical-Type skills.

Fatal Strike... Was this some kind of higher-tier aura skill?

Reading the description, it seemed to be a skill that fired aura as a ranged attack.

It looked pretty good.

Especially for someone like me, who used Heavenly Aura instead of regular aura.

It was a charging skill, too. I wondered how powerful it would be if I fired Heavenly Aura at full charge.

Next was Phantom Shift.

Physical-Type skills really did have a lot of martial arts techniques.

Just as the name implied, it let me move quickly. It was an evasion skill.

[You have learned ‘Skill: Fatal Strike (Epic).’]

[You have learned ‘Skill: Phantom Shift (Epic).’]

I learned both immediately.

It wasn't a good place to test Fatal Strike, so I decided to try Phantom Shift first.

Paat!

I activated the skill and moved the maximum distance.

My body accelerated at an absurd speed and reached the target point as if I had teleported.

“Oh.”

I looked back.

An afterimage lingered where I had been standing, then quickly faded away.

So that was how it worked.

Its maximum range was also 10 meters, just like Teleportation.

Still, I had only moved very quickly. It wasn't actual teleportation.

It was a pretty good skill. Its cooldown was incredibly short at just 10 seconds.

I had gained another useful evasion skill.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 13th Floor]

[Level: 147]

[Willpower: 11,550/11,550]

[Skills: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+), Elemental Arrow Barrage (Epic+) (+2), Destruction Beam (Epic+), Weak Point Insight (Epic) (+4), Hellfire Eruption (Epic) (+1), Subspace (Epic), Air Step (Epic), Finger-Flick Art (Epic), Life Devourer (Epic), Fatal Strike (Epic), Phantom Shift (Epic)...]

[Nightmare]

Participants: 1,073,617

Time Limit: 4 years 346 days 1 hour 58 minutes 29 seconds

Highest Floor Reached: 13th Floor

When I checked the time, more than a full day had passed since I entered the 12th floor.

More time had gone by than I expected.

I'd stopped time while I was controlled by sloth, so why... Hmm.

Come to think of it, had I forgotten to stop time while rampaging under rage and lust? I hadn't been in my right mind.

Every day was precious now, yet I'd wasted an entire day for nothing.

Well, maybe I should be glad it ended with only that much.

[Would you like to exit the Tower?]

Anyway, the 12th floor had been truly awful.

I finally exited the Tower.

* * *

People strongly believed that Nightmare Climbers existed in a realm apart from other Climbers. Aside from Person123, that was.

It was only natural.

The clears were unbelievably difficult. It was the difficulty most closely tied to humanity's survival, yet there were only a few dozen successful Climbers across the entire world.

Even if they could only clear it by relying on Person123's information, that alone made them monsters.

Still, after the 7th floor, the gap between Person123 and the other successful Climbers had grown impossibly wide.

Even the two latecomers from the United States and China, who had been closely chasing Person123, had stalled.

People believed it would no longer be possible for another Nightmare Climber to reach the 8th floor or higher.

They said that was the limit allowed to every Nightmare Climber except Person123.

Then, out of nowhere, an announcement from the United States broke.

America's representative Nightmare Climber had successfully cleared up to the 9th floor.

People couldn't help but be shocked.

[Lemon Juice: What's this news about the U.S. clearing the 9th floor? Is it fake news?]

[Arctic: It's an official government announcement, though?]

[Pancake: They were struggling because they couldn't even clear the 7th floor, and suddenly they cleared three floors in a row up to the 9th? What the hell happened? LOL]

[Kane: Isn't it a bluff?]

[Noble: Why would the U.S. make that kind of bluff?]

[Azure Dragon Army: If they were going to lie, they'd make it believable. It's not even a 7th-floor clear, they're saying it's the 9th floor. It's so absurd that it feels real. But how did they do it?]

Of course, the U.S. government and the Climber Management Bureau had been just as bewildered when they first heard Taylor say she had cleared up to the 9th floor.

Trying a clear on her own was one thing, but how had she managed to succeed?

At first, the government couldn't believe Taylor, so it requested verification. Physical ability tests confirmed that her level had truly risen far beyond its previous value of 60.

In the end, Taylor's 9th-floor clear became official. She was now a Nightmare 10th-floor Climber.

“Was Person123 involved?”

Taylor calmly responded to Max's question with one of her own.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It's not reasonable. Both the fact that you suddenly cleared three floors in a row and that you, Taylor, would make such an unplanned and irresponsible attempt.”

Max looked at Taylor suspiciously.

“You did it because you were sure you'd succeed, didn't you?”

The person who instinctively came to Max's mind was Person123.

There was no real connection, but that was simply his feeling. Whenever something unreasonable happened, Person123 was the only one he thought of.

“No.”

“Taylor...”

“Please don't ask me any more about this, Max. I'm asking you.”

Max already seemed fairly certain.

Even so, Taylor had no intention of revealing the truth herself. That was the promise.

Max nodded.

“...Understood. More importantly, surely you aren't thinking of challenging the 10th floor soon?”

“No. I'll give myself more time before challenging the 10th floor.”

“That's a relief.”

This Nightmare clear had been Taylor's completely independent decision and a breach of her contract with the Climber Management Bureau, but the Bureau took no action beyond a formal warning.

What could it possibly do to Taylor, America's top Nightmare Climber and now, beyond a doubt, the strongest Climber aside from Person123?

It was a great cause for celebration, if anything.

The government and the Climber Management Bureau showed some concern that Taylor might become uncontrollable, but the outcome was an unbelievable achievement. The United States now had a level 92 Climber.

Max studied Taylor's face before asking, “You seem happier these days.”

“Do I? I guess I feel refreshed now that I finally got past the clear I'd been stuck on.”

Taylor smiled.

Resolving her stalled progress was part of it, but the words Person123 had given her meant even more.

His request that she do her best to prevent chaos in the world.

Taylor had already been striving for that, of course, but hearing those words directly from Person123 made her feel as though her heart would no longer waver.

As Person123 had said, the Tiered Floor Rule alone could destroy the world.

Person123 had said he would challenge the 12th floor soon.

Taylor believed he would succeed.

Once the 12th floor was cleared, what else would appear...?

[The 12th floor has been cleared on all difficulties.]

[The Tower is calling new people.]

[A new rule has been added.]

[‘Treasure Hunt’ will begin in 24 hours.]

[When the time comes, 300 Climbers will be randomly invited to the ‘Treasure Hunt.’]

[Time Remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds]

“...!”

The messages suddenly appeared before her.

Max looked just as surprised.

“Ah...! The 12th floor has been cleared!”

Person123 had cleared the 12th floor.

It was a terrifying climbing speed, like a train with broken brakes.

Taylor stared at the messages with hardened eyes.

Not the message saying the 12th floor had been cleared, but the one announcing a new rule.

...The Tower was trying to call Climbers again.

* * *

As always, my family welcomed me with relief when I returned from a clear.

I was hungry, so we ate together right away.

“Eat plenty, Seo-hyeon. Should I heat up the soup again?”

“No, it's fine.”

As I enjoyed the feast, I asked my family, “You haven't become Climbers, right?”

It was something I always asked after coming back from a clear.

My mother and father shook their heads.

When I looked at my younger sister, she shook her head too.

I continued eating, disappointed.

Originally, I hadn't wanted my family to become Climbers.

After all, it wouldn't be strange for another rule like the one on the 2nd floor to appear and threaten the lives of people who didn't climb the Tower.

But now, Climbers had curse immunity.

I still felt uneasy about it, but part of me hoped my family would be chosen as Climbers.

That way, even if I died, they might have a chance to live a little longer...

“Thank you for the meal.”

After finishing, I rested in my room.

There were still over 20 hours until Treasure Hunt began.

I just had to wait while taking care of a few things.

I really hoped nothing would happen this time.

After rolling around on my bed for a while, I went to the kitchen.

I opened the refrigerator and drank some water when...

“...Big bro.”

My younger sister called out to me while passing by.