Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability - Chapter 28

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 28

──────

Before Floor 3 (2)

- The Time Limit for Nightmare difficulty is now less than three months away. Floor 3 still has not been cleared...

Time really did fly.

The point had come when the pressure started creeping back in.

This was already my third time, but it still was not something I could ever get used to.

If I failed, the world ended. I died.

I was just an ordinary person, so if I was being honest, what scared me most was my own death.

That feeling from when I was dying on Floor 1 was still vivid, even after all these years.

In the end, all I could do was prepare as hard as I could.

I kept going in and out of the Tower, raising proficiency with the new skills I had gained.

Blade Gale did not need much practice, but Fairy Light Bolt was different.

Controlling and firing multiple light orbs freely definitely took training.

[Skill: Fairy Light Bolt (Common+) (+1)]

Fires small light bullets filled with the power of light. You can generate up to five orbs, and the Willpower cost stacks each time another orb is added. Requires 10 seconds of mental concentration to cast.

Classification: Magic-Type

Willpower Cost: 20, 45, 75, 110, 150

Cooldown: 5 seconds

I used the Common+ Skill Enhancement Stone Billon gave me on Fairy Light Bolt.

I also had the Common+ Lesser Toxic Resistance passive, but of course boosting a magic-type skill came first.

After the enhancement, the maximum number of light orbs increased to five.

And the Willpower cost rose by that much too.

Flame Strike did not increase in cost when I enhanced it, though.

The enhancement efficiency felt a little poor, but Willpower was not really a problem for me anyway.

Bang, bang, bang!

I spent a while playing with the Minotaur and raised Fairy Light Bolt proficiency a lot.

I reached the point where I could control all five orbs fairly freely.

Moooooo...!

The Minotaur staggered after taking a barrage of light orbs.

I finished it with Flame Strike.

KWA-BOOM!

For reference, Flame Strike itself had also gotten stronger than when I first learned it.

Separate from skill enhancement, magic-type skills also seemed to gain power in proportion to my level. Not dramatically, but still.

Most physical-type skills scaled with a Climber's physical ability too, so in that sense, it was fair.

[You have successfully cleared Nightmare difficulty Floor 2.]

I finished the repeat clear and came out.

Then I opened the Communication Window.

[Hondo: Is the world really ending this time? Is it ending?]

[SunAndMoon: Person123! When are you clearing Floor 3 already?!]

[Dallikanwas: Calm down with the drama. Floor 2 got cleared last year with like 20 days left too.]

[FryingPan: I trust Person123. Feels like they'll clear it again.]

[PadThai: But what if they already failed and died...?]

[FaithOfFate: Then we're just screwed.]

[Hera: Wasn't that drop in Nightmare population last month from India?]

[GreatWhite: We would know if anything got posted in Nightmare chat. That side is a 365-day silent meditation room.]

[SnailHorn: It's fine if the world ends lol, I'll be in the 1% that survives lol]

[Ghost: This one has finally lost his mind.]

The Time Limit for Nightmare difficulty was now less than three months away.

Around this point, anxiety started spreading through the Communication Window too.

[Nightmare (11)]

For reference, the number of current Nightmare clearers had risen to eleven.

It had reached twelve at one point, but it dropped by one last month, probably because someone died trying to clear Floor 2.

And now there were even two people who had cleared Floor 2.

How did I know? The U.S. and China had both announced their successes directly.

So including me, that made three.

Three people qualified to challenge Nightmare Floor 3.

The human heart is fickle. Even after I made up my mind, seeing a bit of hope again made me think, maybe?

No. I needed to stop that. I was not going to rely on anyone else anymore.

I had already decided I would go first.

I planned to enter with 20 days left on the Time Limit.

And now I was thinking I should make that clear to everyone.

What I meant was, I was considering posting a notice in the Communication Window saying, "From now on, I will challenge whenever 20 days are left on the Time Limit."

I had two reasons for thinking that way.

First, for the other Nightmare clearers.

Since I was going to challenge anyway, someone could go in before me and die for nothing.

If they wanted to challenge, they could do it after I failed, so I wanted to tell them that in advance.

Second, for the world.

You could tell from the news alone that the closer Nightmare's Time Limit got, the more chaotic the world became.

Crime rates were exploding, stock prices were swinging wildly...

It was almost surprising the world was still functioning at all.

But if I clearly set and announced my challenge time, would that not reduce at least some of the chaos until then?

In the end, uncertainty about whether the world would end was what made people panic.

If my challenge time became a clear reference point, people could at least live with some peace until the limit hit 20 days.

Of course, if I failed, those twenty days afterward might become even worse.

My position was simple. I had to think only about succeeding. Thinking past my own failure was a luxury.

I asked Billon for his opinion too, and he said it seemed like a good idea.

[Person123: From now on, I will challenge each floor whenever Nightmare difficulty's Time Limit reaches exactly 20 days. The same applies to this Floor 3 challenge.]

[Person123: If unavoidable circumstances prevent me from challenging at the 20-day mark, I will notify you in advance through the Communication Window.]

That should do it.

I finished writing the post and closed the Communication Window.

* * *

To clear Nightmare Floor 2, the U.S. Climber Management Bureau had even installed a dedicated training set that almost perfectly recreated Floor 2 based on Person123's information post.

Taylor trained there, trained again, ran hundreds and thousands of simulations, and received all kinds of support from the bureau. In the end, she finally succeeded in clearing Nightmare Floor 2.

But that success also became a moment when she felt her limits again.

Even with full information and that level of preparation, she had succeeded by the narrowest margin.

The final boss, the Minotaur, had been pure despair.

Its toughness was overwhelming. She emptied her Willpower attacking with skills, yet it still showed no sign of going down.

If it had any strength left for even one more charge, she would have died and failed the clear.

Taylor had accepted it long ago. She could not stand at the vanguard of Nightmare difficulty.

"It sounds like the bureau's policy is changing now too. They won't be aiming for first clears anymore."

Drinking coffee with Max, Taylor nodded.

Even though she had cleared Floor 2, the original goal of the Nightmare project had already faded.

The U.S. had originally wanted to raise a Climber who would stand at the very front of Nightmare, not someone chasing behind another person's trail. Maybe that goal had been impossible from the start.

More than that, their focus now was China.

Not long after Taylor cleared Nightmare Floor 2, China announced they had cleared Floor 2 as well, as if refusing to fall behind.

The Climber rivalry between the two countries was growing harsher every year.

China already held the top record in Hard difficulty. The U.S. government had no intention of accepting China pulling ahead in Nightmare too.

Though even that was still a race for second place.

"Are you still in contact with Person123?" Taylor asked.

Max nodded.

"We still talk sometimes. Last time, they asked first whether another Floor 2 clearer had appeared."

"...I see?"

Was Person123 also hoping that the other Nightmare clearers would climb higher as soon as possible?

Of course. That was probably why they kept posting information in the Communication Window without asking for anything in return.

As for Taylor, her confidence had fallen a lot, so she felt like she was betraying that expectation.

She checked the Communication Window out of habit, then saw a new post in the Nightmare chat.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Person123 posted."

"What?"

[Person123: From now on, I will challenge each floor whenever Nightmare difficulty's Time Limit reaches exactly 20 days. The same applies to this Floor 3 challenge.]

With months still left on the Nightmare Time Limit, Person123 posted a new message.

That news shook the world once again.

[Kram: Whew, so you're challenging again this time.]

[1Inch: Stay strong, Person123! You're humanity's hope!]

[Mercurian: But you've challenged without a word until now, and this time you're giving advance notice? What changed?]

[Humanist: Isn't this saying first clear is mine, so don't go for it?]

[Panda: Opposite, idiot. It's probably so other Nightmare clearers don't challenge first and die for no reason. If that wasn't the kind of person they were, why would they post all that info so far?]

[PotatoPancake: Official declaration, you're all useless so I'll do it myself, damn.]

Person123 had officially declared his Nightmare challenge. That was how people took it.

- It can also be interpreted as an attempt to reduce social chaos. If he sets his challenge time clearly, that gives people one clear point of reference. As in, there is still hope until the Time Limit reaches 20 days.

- From now on, every 20-day Time Limit point may become the moment when the world's fate is decided. If Person123 fails, then among the remaining Nightmare Climbers, is there really anyone who can replace him...

Time kept moving forward.

And the eyes of the entire world focused only on his challenge.

* * *

The day of the final showdown drew near.

After getting Blade Gale and Fairy Light Bolt last time, I received one more Skill Stone and one more Skill Enhancement Stone from Billon.

[Skill: Thrust (Common)]

Instantly strengthens the power of stabbing attacks.

Classification: Physical-Type

Willpower Cost: 10

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Common-grade skill, Thrust. It felt like a pair with Swing.

And the Skill Enhancement Stone was Common grade too.

It was not a major power boost, but more was always better.

I used the Common Enhancement Stone on Leap.

Then there was the Rare Skill Enhancement Stone I got as a Floor 2 clear reward and still had not used.

I had to think about where to spend this one.

Flame Strike or Blade Gale.

If I enhanced Flame Strike, the number of fireballs would increase by one, making three.

If I enhanced Blade Gale, the range would probably increase.

Enhancement info on Rare skills, especially magic-type skills, was almost nonexistent, so there was no way to know the exact result until I tested it myself.

After thinking it over, I decided to enhance Flame Strike.

I figured Flame Strike was more efficient because its cooldown was shorter.

[Skill: Flame Strike (Rare) (+2)]

Launches three condensed flames to cause explosions. Requires 0 seconds of mental concentration to cast.

Classification: Magic-Type

Willpower Cost: 100

Cooldown: 30 seconds

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: Floor 3]

[Level: 30]

[Willpower: 600]

[Skills: Teleport (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare) (+2), Blade Gale (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Fairy Light Bolt (Common+) (+1), Lesser Toxic Resistance (Common+), Leap (Common) (+1), Swing (Common), Thrust (Common)]

With one day left before the Nightmare Time Limit hit 20 days, that was the end of my spec-up.

This was already the third time I had written a will.

Honestly, there was not much to change, so it was almost a copy-paste of what I wrote before entering Floor 2.

"Then I'll be off."

"Yeah. Be careful and come back safe."

The day before, I left alone on a trip.

I wanted one last refresh before challenging Floor 3.

I went down to Busan, looked at the ocean, and ate a lot of good food.

After two days of enjoying myself, I was in my hotel room that evening.

I took out the items I had packed and put them on one by one.

The bracelet with Diul inside. In the end, I could not unlock any new ability.

Maybe I had been wrong from the start about how to raise affinity.

"Diul, if I die, no more night walks. You know that, right?"

Diul seemed to snort. Jeez.

It was a shame, but nothing could be done.

Since the cooldown was 24 hours, its freezing range and power were pretty decent.

In an emergency, it should be useful once.

[Item: Pligas's Blood Necklace]

This necklace contains the blood of Pligas, a predator of the Demon Realm. If you summon Pligas into this world and defeat it, you can form a master-servant contract. If you fail, the necklace will be destroyed. (Level 50 or higher recommended)

And lastly, the necklace.

I still had not tried forming the contract, but I brought it anyway.

Well, maybe I would find some way to use it.

Finally, I set a scheduled text for my parents telling them to find and read the will hidden in my room.

If I failed the Floor 3 clear, it would be sent.

[Nightmare]

Participants: 250,161

Time Limit: 20 days 1 hour 1 minute 25 seconds

Reached Floor: Floor 3

After finishing all preparations, I stood in the middle of the wide room.

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 3?]

Alright... let's go.