Chapter 3: Nightmare, 1st Floor (2)

Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

In the frozen stillness, I stared at the goblin holding the bow.

Wait…

Can I even dodge that?

I had no sense for it.

It’s not like I’d ever tried to dodge an arrow in my life.

Just imagining it, it didn’t seem easy.

With a bow, it’s hard to even register the moment it’s fired.

A sword swung at close range, sure, you can read the windup and react to some degree.

But predicting the exact instant someone releases a drawn bowstring? That’s not humanly possible.

All they have to do is let go of their fingers and the arrow’s already in the air. How are you supposed to time that?

In the end, the only option was to start Time Slicing the moment it aimed my way, toggling on and off until the shot came.

…Still, couldn’t I manage somehow if I really tried?

‘The one with the shield is a problem too.’

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

It felt twice as hard as the two swords and one spear from before.

This time, I had to fight two of them while keeping one eye on incoming arrows.

Nothing to do but deal with it. Fail and I die.

After steeling myself, I released the time stop.

The sword goblin and the shield goblin charged in.

Behind them, I could see the bow goblin nocking an arrow to its bowstring.

Take out the sword goblin first.

I ran at a diagonal angle, planning to use a similar strategy.

Positioning to open distance from the bow goblin while funneling the charging ones into a one-on-one.

Before long, the bow goblin drew its bowstring and took aim at me.

The two charging goblins still had some distance to close.

I began Time Slicing, bracing for the incoming arrow.

I needed to be ready to dodge the instant the shot was released.

If it was going to shoot, it would do so before the other two closed in on me. Hard to aim when they’re in the way of a melee.

I focused every nerve I had.

“…!”

It fired.

Luckily, the timing didn’t fall apart on me.

Coming straight on, the arrow looked like a dot.

A dot growing steadily closer.

…Wait, it’s even faster than I thought.

The realization hit me.

Oh, this isn’t gonna work. Shit.

No matter how early I started dodging from the moment of release.

The human body was simply too slow compared to a flying arrow.

By the time I tried to read the arrow’s trajectory and felt something was wrong, I was already twisting my upper body to the left. The best evasive attempt I could manage.

‘Nggghhhh…!’

Screaming internally, I wrenched my body aside with everything I had.

By the thinnest of margins.

The arrow grazed my right forearm.

If I’d started moving even a fraction of a second later, there was no way I would’ve dodged it.

I steadied myself.

Okay. Got it.

This isn’t something I can just “get good” at.

I immediately regretted the cocky thought from moments ago. “Manage somehow,” my ass.

The distance that arrow just covered, what, 20 meters? Maybe 30?

At that range, the slightest misstep and there’s no dodging it.

And on top of that, one more problem I’d just realized.

Until the arrow got reasonably close, it was hard to tell exactly where it was heading.

But by the time it got close enough to read, it was already too late to dodge.

No way out. Shit.

The sheer unfairness of ranged weapons hit me in full force.

For now, I had to deal with the enemy right in front of me.

I released the time stop and recovered my balance from the awkward twist.

The sword goblin had closed in right to my face.

And, thankfully, it attacked recklessly again.

I toggled Time Slicing to prepare for the strike.

A horizontal slash aimed high.

I stepped back and leaned away to dodge it.

Far easier than dodging an arrow. I evaded the attack and immediately counterattacked, driving my sword into the goblin’s neck.

Stopped time again to take stock.

The bow goblin was just now nocking another arrow, and the shield goblin had fully closed the distance.

In terms of positioning, if I was facing twelve o’clock, the shield goblin was at one o’clock and the bow goblin was sniping from roughly two o’clock.

I confirmed the shield goblin was winding up for a thrust with its one-handed sword.

I quickly sidestepped clockwise and dodged the blade aimed at my midsection.

Ghhk-

My sword was still buried in the other goblin’s neck.

That meant the dying goblin was wedged between me and the shield goblin.

Better yet, with two goblins blocking the front, maintaining this angle drastically reduced the threat of arrows.

I could breathe for a second.

Things had gone well so far, so let me freeze time and think.

‘How do I deal with this one?’

The shield goblin.

That shield covering nearly its entire upper body was a serious nuisance.

No matter how many scenarios I ran in my head, a quick takedown seemed unlikely.

Instead of going for the neck or upper body, I decided to aim low.

The instant I released time, I kicked the goblin away and wrenched my sword free.

The shield goblin behind it stumbled from the impact, then thrust its sword at me again.

I had to nail the timing.

I Time Sliced to dodge the attack and grabbed the goblin’s sword wrist.

Simultaneously, my other hand drove the sword downward.

The shield goblin let out a shrill screech as the blade bit into the top of its foot.

I kept a death grip on my sword and an equally tight hold on the thing’s wrist.

The shield swung at my face.

Uh, can’t dodge this one.

Thwack!

I clenched my teeth and took it on the forehead. My skull rang.

We grappled, and the shield goblin toppled backward.

I lost my balance too and fell on top of it.

I jerked my head up just in time to see an arrow whiz past overhead.

Holy sh-, almost got fked there…

I scrambled to grab my sword and moved to finish the shield goblin.

Pinned underneath me, the thing’s upper body was completely exposed from the fall.

Before it could recover, I drove the blade up through its lower jaw.

Urk-

Something suddenly trickled down from my head, stinging my eyes.

Blood? Oh, my forehead must’ve split open.

I frantically snatched up the shield and raised it to cover the front.

I stopped time, then took a moment to collect myself.

The bow goblin was already aiming this way again.

‘That son of a bitch.’

After nearly dying several times over, my emotions were running hot.

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

Getting the shield was a win, at least.

Blocking an arrow with a shield was leagues easier than trying to dodge one.

Now only the bow goblin remained.

Having gathered my composure, I released the time stop and got to my feet.

I held the shield up, covering as much of my upper body as I could.

Like this, even a small adjustment of the shield could protect everything above the waist.

No more of that full-body contortion act just to dodge arrows.

“…”

I Time Sliced in anticipation of an arrow that could fly at any moment.

But the bow goblin only kept its aim trained on me. It didn’t shoot.

Yeah, scared too, aren’t you?

It seemed to realize that one missed shot meant the end.

The second it loosed an arrow, I’d charge in and gut it with my sword.

Once I closed the gap, I’d win. That was a given.

The distance was short enough that I’d reach it before it could nock a second arrow.

I circled the bow goblin, shield thrust forward in my left hand, sword hanging loosely in my right.

The goblin never fired.

It eased the tension on its drawn bowstring and just kept tracking me.

I clicked my tongue.

If it was going to play it like that, I couldn’t just rush in either.

This exact distance was the range where I was confident I could block.

Any closer and the pressure would be immense, shield or not.

Even if I charged with my head and torso fully covered, a lucky shot to the leg could take me out of the fight.

Of course, there was no guarantee it’d land every shot either, so the odds were fifty-fifty… no, probably still in my favor, but…

“Hey, you little shit! Scared?!”

I tried provoking it, same as before.

I shouted, taunted, made mocking faces, but the bow goblin didn’t budge.

Stubborn bastard. Annoying.

RRRRRUMBLE-

Then, without warning, a deafening sound erupted.

A stone gate was descending over the passage the goblins had come from.

“Huh?”

What is that all of a sudden?

I stopped time.

Don’t tell me it’s sealing me in?

The only way out of this space was that one straight corridor.

Once that stone gate came all the way down, I’d be trapped.

I had no idea why it was suddenly trying to lock me in, but it felt ominous as hell.

No, forget that, there’s still more? This isn’t the end?

‘Do I need to get out before it closes?’

Go through the corridor, or stay put.

There was no way to know which was the right call.

…I’m going. I decided to trust my gut.

But there was one problem.

The bow goblin was standing right in front of the corridor.

To get out, I’d have to go through it.

A crossroads where I had no choice but to take the risk.

Then take it.

I released the time stop and charged straight at the bow goblin.

I raised the shield just high enough to maintain the barest line of sight, protecting my vitals.

The moment I saw the thing frantically drawing its bowstring, I started Time Slicing.

At roughly ten meters out.

I caught the bow tilting slightly downward. It was aiming for my legs.

I dropped the shield low immediately.

The arrow flew and embedded itself in the shield.

…Blocked! You’re dead.

Having closed to point-blank range, I drove my sword into the flank of the goblin as it scrambled to retreat.

No time to finish it off for sure.

The stone gate had already closed more than halfway.

I ripped the sword free and sprinted into the corridor, leaving the fallen goblin behind.

BOOM!

The passage sealed shut.

Safe. I caught my breath.

“Haah… haah…”

I looked down at the arrow lodged in the shield.

It was stuck near the very edge of the rim.

A little further off and it would’ve hit my knee.

But in the end, I’d won.

Once the rush subsided, I surveyed my surroundings.

The stone gate was firmly closed behind me, and up ahead, a gentle upward slope stretched out.

I narrowed my eyes when I spotted something.

On closer inspection, there was something at the top of the incline.

It was… a ball.

As my sense of perspective kicked in, I realized just how massive it was.

Thoom.

“…Huh.”

That enormous ball.

Had started rolling toward me.

Its smooth surface gleamed silver, like an iron sphere.

Goosebumps erupted across my skin as I froze time.

No, wait wait wait… hold on.

Th-this wasn’t the right answer?

Behind me, sealed. Ahead, a ball.

A straight corridor completely filled by a rolling iron sphere, and nowhere to dodge.

The sickening feeling of having been played.

I realized I was well and truly fked.

‘…This is how I die?’

No, this can’t be right.

The gate closing back there was obviously telling me to get out. You bastard!

Raging about it changed nothing.

Time was frozen, but it was as good as a death sentence already handed down.

The moment I let time flow, I’d be flattened like jerky and die horribly.

No. I don’t want to die like this.

I clawed my way out of the despair and panic, desperately searching for a way to survive.

Some way to live… what’s that?

Something entered my field of vision.

Looking carefully, there was an indentation carved into the wall about halfway down the corridor.

An indentation just big enough for one person to fit into.

‘…!’

Feeling like I’d found an oasis in the desert, I released the time stop.

I threw aside the sword and shield and broke into a dead sprint.

The rolling ball picked up speed, closing the distance at a terrifying rate.

Of course it was, I was running toward it.

“AAAAHHH!”

They say when a human feels absolute terror, they can’t even scream.

Apparently that didn’t apply to me. Shit, save me, please!

The instant before the iron sphere filled my entire vision, I squeezed into the indentation by a hair’s breadth.

A blast of wind slammed into my back.

The iron sphere thundered past, followed by another massive crash.

My legs gave out completely and I sank to the ground.

“Hh… hah…”

Wow.

I survived that.

For a moment, it felt like I’d dipped my toes in the River Styx and come back.

I staggered to my feet.

Too shaken to move right away, I waited a long while before stepping out of the alcove.

Looking down, the iron sphere had smashed the stone gate to pieces and rolled all the way inside.

I had to go back down to retrieve my discarded weapons.

When I made it back to the cave and saw what lay before me, I was momentarily speechless.

The entire floor was bristling with countless iron arrows, packed so densely there was barely any space between them.

What the hell is this?

Did a rain of arrows come pouring from the ceiling?

“…So getting out was the right call after all.”

If I hadn’t left, I would’ve ended up looking like a pincushion.

At this point, I was just dumbfounded.

No wonder everyone dies.

Is this difficulty even meant to be beatable?

I searched the area for weapons.

The shield had been crushed to pieces under the ball. I picked out an intact sword and took one. Maybe a spear too, just in case?

Sword in one hand, spear in the other, I headed back outside.

“…God, seriously.”

What scared me most of all.

Even after all that, the clear message still hadn’t appeared.

I just stood there, recovering my stamina.

I half-expected more goblins or something to pop out from up ahead, but even after a long wait, nothing came.

…So it wants me to keep going. Is that it?

I dreaded what else might be waiting.

“Huuuu…”

Let’s go.

Something told me this was nearing the end. Just a feeling.

I let out a long, heavy sigh and forced my leaden feet forward.