WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 3

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Nightmare Floor 1 (2)

Inside stopped time, I stared at the goblin holding a bow.

Wait a second...

Can I even dodge that?

I had no feel for it.

How would I know? I had never tried dodging arrows in my life.

Even imagining it, it did not seem easy.

With a bow, it was hard to even read the exact moment of release.

If someone swung a sword at close range, I could at least react to some wind-up.

Predicting when fingers would let go of a drawn bowstring was a different story.

The arrow flew the instant the fingers opened, so how was I supposed to catch that timing?

In the end, all I could do was start from the moment it aimed at me, split time as finely as possible, and keep releasing and stopping until it fired.

...Still, maybe if I did it right, I could manage?

"The one with the shield is a problem too."

A goblin with a wooden shield and a one-handed sword.

Compared to two sword goblins and one spear goblin, this felt twice as hard.

This time, I had to fight two at once while staying alert for arrows.

No choice. If I failed, I died.

After steadying myself, I released time.

The Sword Goblin and Shield Goblin charged in.

Behind them, I saw the Archer Goblin nock an arrow.

First, I would deal with the Sword Goblin.

I ran diagonally, planning to use a similar strategy as before.

That widened the gap with the Archer Goblin and let me position myself to handle the two rushers one by one.

Soon, I saw the Archer Goblin draw and aim at me.

The two charging goblins still had some distance left.

I began Time-Slicing, preparing for the incoming arrow.

I had to be ready from the exact instant it was fired.

If it was going to shoot, it would do it before those two got on me.

Once melee started, getting a clean aim would be harder.

I focused.

"...!"

It fired.

Thankfully, the timing did not slip.

Because it came straight at me, the arrow looked like a dot.

The dot got closer and closer.

...Wait, that was even faster than I thought.

Then it hit me.

Ah, no. This was fucked.

Even if I started dodging from the instant it launched.

Compared to a flying arrow, the human body was way too slow.

I tried to read its path, realized something was wrong, and by then I was already twisting my upper body to the left. It was the best dodge I could manage.

"Ggggh...!"

I screamed in my head and wrenched my body with everything I had.

Barely.

The arrow grazed my right forearm.

If I had started moving even a little later, there was no way I would have dodged it.

I calmed myself.

Good. I got it now.

This was not something I could solve just by being good.

I regretted that arrogant thought from earlier. "Maybe I can make it work somehow," my ass.

That shot came from what, 20 meters? Maybe 30?

At that range, one tiny mistake and I could not dodge.

And there was one more problem I had just realized.

Until the arrow got pretty close, it was hard to tell exactly where it was headed.

But if I waited until it was too close, I could not dodge at all.

No answer. Fuck.

I felt the unfairness of ranged weapons all over again.

For now, I had enemies right in front of me.

I released time and recovered my off-balance stance.

The Sword Goblin was already right in front of me.

As expected, it attacked mindlessly.

I split time again and prepared.

A high horizontal slash.

I stepped back and leaned away to avoid it.

Much easier than dodging arrows. I evaded, then countered immediately and stabbed the Sword Goblin in the neck.

I stopped time again to check.

The Archer Goblin had just put another arrow on the string, and the Shield Goblin had fully closed in.

If 12 o'clock was straight ahead, the Shield Goblin was around 1 o'clock, and the Archer Goblin was sniping from around 2.

I confirmed the Shield Goblin was about to thrust with its one-handed sword.

I quickly stepped clockwise and dodged the blade aimed at my waist.

Kehk-

My sword was still lodged in the other goblin's neck.

So the dying goblin was between me and the Shield Goblin.

On top of that, with those two bodies blocking my front, holding this angle greatly reduced the arrow threat.

I finally caught my breath.

So far, this was working. I stopped time for a moment to think.

"How do I deal with this one?"

Shield Goblin.

That shield covering almost all of its upper body was a massive nuisance.

No matter how I ran the simulation in my head, taking it down in one go looked difficult.

Instead of aiming for the neck or upper body, I decided to target low.

The moment I released time, I kicked the goblin and yanked my sword free.

The Shield Goblin staggered back, then thrust again.

I had to catch the timing.

I split time, dodged, and grabbed the wrist holding its sword.

At the same time, with my other hand, I drove my blade down.

The Shield Goblin shrieked when my blade pinned the top of its foot.

I gripped its wrist tight while trying not to lose my own sword.

Its shield slammed toward my face.

Uh, I could not dodge this one.

Thud!

I clenched my teeth and took it with my forehead. My head rang.

While we wrestled, the Shield Goblin fell backward.

I lost my balance too and crashed down on top of it.

I jerked my head up, and an arrow whooshed over me.

Holy shit, that was almost really bad...

I grabbed my sword in a hurry and moved to finish the Shield Goblin.

It was pinned under me, and as it fell its upper body was wide open.

I drove my blade into its lower jaw while it was still dazed.

Kek-

Something suddenly ran down from my head and stung my eyes.

Blood? Ah, my forehead must have split open.

I quickly snatched the shield and covered my front.

That Archer Goblin was already aiming this way again.

"You bastard."

I had nearly died several times, so my emotions were spiking.

More than anger, it felt like adrenaline flooding my body.

Getting the shield was good.

Blocking arrows with a shield was much easier than dodging them.

Now only the Archer Goblin was left.

After collecting myself, I released time and got back up.

I covered my upper body as much as possible with the shield.

Like this, even a small movement could cover everything above my waist.

I did not need to twist my whole body like before trying to dodge arrows.

"..."

I split time while bracing for a shot at any second.

But the Archer Goblin only kept aiming and did not fire.

Yeah, you scared too?

If it fired, I was ready to rush in and stab it.

Once we got into close range, I obviously won.

With the shield extended in my left hand and my sword hanging low in my right, I circled around the Archer Goblin.

In the end, it did not shoot.

It loosened the drawn string and just kept aiming.

I clicked my tongue.

If it played like that, I could not blindly rush in either.

This was exactly the distance where I still felt confident blocking.

If I got closer, even with a shield, the pressure got heavy.

Even if I covered my head and torso and charged, one bad break could get my leg hit and force me out.

Of course, not every shot of its would land either, so maybe it was fifty-fifty. No, maybe still better odds for me...

"Hey, you little shit! Scared?!"

I taunted it again like before.

I shouted and sneered to provoke it, but the Archer Goblin did not budge.

Calm little bastard. Annoying.

Rumbleeeee-

Then a huge roar echoed out of nowhere.

A stone gate was dropping above the passage the goblins had come through.

"Huh?"

What the hell was that now?

I stopped time.

Was I about to get sealed in?

There was no way out of this space except that straight passage.

If that gate closed all the way, I would be trapped.

I had no idea why it suddenly wanted to trap me, but it felt insanely ominous.

"Do I have to get out before it closes?"

Should I go into the passage, or stay here?

I could not tell which was right.

...I had to go. I decided to trust my gut.

But there was one problem.

The Archer Goblin stood right in front of the passage.

To get through, I had to break past it.

A crossroads where I had to accept risk.

Then I accepted it.

I released time and charged straight at the Archer Goblin.

I raised the shield just high enough to protect my vital points while keeping enough vision.

I saw it hurriedly draw the string, and I split time too.

When I got to around 10 meters.

I did not miss the bow dipping slightly downward. It was aiming for my legs.

I dropped the shield instantly.

At the same time, the arrow flew and struck the shield.

...Blocked. You are dead.

I reached the Archer Goblin and stabbed its side as it fumbled backward.

The stone gate was already more than halfway closed.

I yanked my sword free, left the collapsing goblin behind, and sprinted into the passage.

Boom!

The passage closed.

Safe, I finally caught my breath.

"Haa... haa..."

I looked down at the arrow stuck in the shield.

If it had been off by a little, that arrow could have gone into my knee.

Still, I won in the end.

After calming down, I looked around.

The stone gate was shut tight, and ahead of me was a gentle uphill slope.

Then I spotted something and narrowed my eyes.

It was... a ball.

As my depth perception kicked in, I realized how huge it really was.

Boom.

"...Uh."

That giant ball.

Started rolling toward me.

Its smooth silver surface looked like solid metal.

A chill ran through me and I stopped time.

No, wait, wait, wait... hold on.

Coming here was not the right answer?

Blocked behind me, ball in front of me.

A metal sphere filled the entire straight passage as it rolled down. There was no room to dodge.

It felt like I had been completely tricked.

I realized I was truly fucked.

"...I die like this?"

No, this made no sense.

That door closing clearly looked like a sign to get out.

You asshole!

Raging changed nothing.

With time stopped, I was basically already sentenced to death.

The moment I released time, I would be flattened and die horribly.

No. I did not want to die like this.

I sank into panic and despair, then desperately searched for any way out.

Some way to live... what was that?

Something caught my eye.

I looked closely and saw a recess carved into the wall about midway down the passage.

A recess just big enough for one person.

"...!"

I released time, feeling like I had found an oasis in the desert.

I threw away my sword and shield and sprinted at full speed.

The rolling ball picked up speed and closed in at a terrifying rate.

Of course it did. I was running toward it too.

"Aaaaah!"

They said when people felt extreme fear, they could not even scream.

Guess that did not apply to me. Fuck, please save me!

Right before my entire vision was swallowed by the metal ball, I barely slipped into the recess.

At that exact instant, wind slammed into my back.

With a thunderous roar, the metal ball rolled past, and another massive impact exploded below.

My legs gave out and I collapsed on the spot.

"Hh... huh..."

Wow.

I survived that.

It felt like I had dipped my toes in the river of the dead and come back.

I staggered to my feet.

Still shaken, I waited a long while before stepping out of the recess.

Looking down, I saw the metal ball had shattered the stone gate to pieces and rolled inside.

I had to retrieve the weapons I had thrown away, so I had no choice but to go back down.

When I got down and looked inside the cave, I was speechless for a moment.

Countless iron arrows were embedded across the entire floor.

What was this?

Did an arrow rain pour from the ceiling?

"...So coming out was the right answer."

If I had not come out, I would have ended up as a pincushion.

At this point, I could only laugh in disbelief.

No wonder everyone died.

Was this really difficulty designed for people to clear?

I walked around and looked for weapons.

The shield had been crushed under the ball, so I picked out an intact sword and took it. Should I carry a spear too, just in case?

With a sword in one hand and a spear in the other, I came back out.

"...Seriously."

What scared me most was this.

Even after all that, no strategy message had appeared yet.

I just stood still and recovered my stamina.

I expected another goblin or something to jump out in front of me, but even after a long time, nothing appeared.

...Then this meant I had to move forward myself, right?

I was afraid of what might be waiting ahead.

"Fuuu..."

Let's go.

For some reason, I had a feeling this was near the end. Just a feeling.

I let out a deep sigh and forced my heavy legs to step forward.

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