Chapter 16: Nightmare Floor 2 (4) |
The scenery shifted, and I was transported to the Reward Room.
[All difficulties have completed the 2F clear.]
[The Tower calls new Climbers.]
[A new rule has been added.]
[From now on, any Climber who does not enter the Tower within 3 years of being called will die.]
What?
I stared at the message about a new rule in shock.
If you didn’t enter the Tower within three years of being called, you’d die.
In other words, the Tower was saying it would now kill every Climber who refused to even attempt the first floor.
It seemed like climbing higher didn’t just mean more Climbers piling up after all.
So rules could be added like this as things progressed.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 3F]
[Level: 25]
[Willpower: 450]
[Skills: Teleportation (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+1), Leap (Normal)]
I checked my Status Window.
My Level had gone up by 10 to Level 25.
My Willpower had risen considerably too.
When I moved my body, I could feel that my physical abilities had taken yet another massive leap forward.
Slam!
I tried jumping forward from a standing position, and the stone floor cracked beneath my feet as my body launched explosively through the air.
I stopped and looked down at my feet.
The soles of my shoes were completely torn apart. They hadn’t been able to withstand the impact.
Hmm… how should I put this.
It was nothing new at this point, but I could keenly feel that my body was becoming less and less human with each passing day.
If I kept getting stronger like this with every floor, just how powerful would I eventually become?
That idle thought crossed my mind as I turned to check the rest of my rewards.
Aside from the Magic Stones, there were two glowing stones nearby.
A Skill Stone and an Enhancement Stone. I could tell them apart by their shape now.
I wondered what skill I’d gotten this time.
Hopefully another Magic Type skill, if I was lucky.
[Skill Stone: Exaltation (Rare)]
Upon use, you can acquire ‘Skill: Exaltation (Rare)’.
[Skill: Exaltation (Rare)]
Physical abilities progressively strengthen the more you move. The effect gradually fades when movement stops.
Classification: Physical Type (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
A passive skill.
From what I knew, passives were generally valued even more highly than actives.
That made sense, since they were always-on abilities that cost no Willpower.
“Tch.”
Still, I would’ve preferred Magic Type.
I read through the description with a tinge of disappointment.
It seemed like a decent enough skill, all things considered.
The more I move, the stronger my physical abilities get.
[‘Skill: Exaltation (Rare)’ has been acquired.]
I used the Skill Stone right away to learn it.
To test the skill out, I started moving around.
Since the effect faded when I stopped, I ran laps around the Reward Room without rest.
“Oh.”
I could feel it working.
A rising sense of exhilaration crept through me, as if the blood in my veins was pumping faster.
Along with it, my body grew progressively quicker and my senses sharper.
At a certain point, the speed stopped increasing.
Was this the upper limit of the enhancement?
There were no exact numbers in the description, but by feel, it wasn’t quite a 1.5x boost; more like a 20 to 30 percent increase.
At my current Level, in pure stat terms, that was essentially gaining 5 to 7 Levels’ worth of stats for free.
That made it a pretty solid skill, all things considered.
Next, the Skill Enhancement Stone.
[Rare Skill Enhancement Stone]
Upon use, you can enhance one Rare-grade skill.
Last time I’d had no choice but Flame Strike, but I’d just picked up a brand new skill.
Use it on Flame Strike, or on Exaltation?
If I used it on Flame Strike, the fireball count would probably go up to three.
Exaltation would… I don’t know, maybe just raise the physical enhancement cap? Hard to say without trying.
I was leaning toward Flame Strike.
At the end of the day, Magic Type skills gave me the best efficiency above all else. Focus and specialization, as they say.
After mulling it over, I decided to hold off for now. There was no rush.
[Would you like to exit the Tower?]
Had it been about an hour? It was probably still the middle of the night outside.
I’d worked hard enough. Time to head out and rest.
*
The popular podcast show The Jude Noise was a program that invited guests from various fields to discuss a wide range of topics.
The guest for this episode was Arlo, an American political commentator and influencer.
He was known for his analysis of various social phenomena and his characteristically blunt, cynical delivery, which had earned him a large following of both fans and detractors in equal measure.
The topic for this episode: Nightmare difficulty 2F and the future of humanity.
“There will be no miracle this time. Humanity is already finished.”
True to his reputation, Arlo declared doom right from the start.
Jude, the podcast’s host, pushed back.
“A lot of people feel the same way right now. But is there really no hope? One person failed, sure, but there are still five Nightmare Climbers remaining.”
“Five people. Jude, do you happen to know the survival rate for Nightmare difficulty 1F?”
“Let’s see… roughly 40,000 people have attempted it so far, and only six made it through, so the probability would be around 0.015%.”
“That’s right. And even that figure only accounts for attempts made after information about 1F became public. Before the first Nightmare Climber emerged, some 25,000 people were sacrificed. If we’re talking about the survival rate before information was available, it was a mere 0.004%.”
Arlo held up two fingers and wagged them.
“People need to properly grasp just how absurd these odds are. Do you know the probability of being struck by lightning in your lifetime? It’s roughly 0.007%.
What that means is this: hoping that even one of the five Nightmare Climbers succeeds at clearing 2F is at least twice as unlikely as grabbing five random people off the street and finding that one of them has been struck by lightning. How does that feel?”
“That’s staggering.”
Jude shook his head.
“But the Nightmare Climbers are the elite of the elite, the ones who conquered that brutal 1F. Shouldn’t we consider their chances at least somewhat higher?”
“Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. Looking at other difficulties, there are statistically no instances where 2F had a higher survival rate than 1F. As Climbers ascend, their abilities grow, but the difficulty scales even faster. That is the law of the Tower. And Nightmare difficulty will be no exception.”
Arlo continued.
“The United States, first to attempt 2F, has failed. The government that boasted about staking the nation’s fate on clearing 2F still hasn’t issued a single official statement. But we can all figure it out with a moment’s thought, can’t we? They probably invested everything they could. Skill Stones, items, whatever they could get their hands on, they poured it all into their challenger. And what was the result?
That is why I say there will be no miracle. The Nightmare Time Limit now has barely a few weeks left. Ladies and gentlemen, please, let go of your idle hopes. Accept the end, and enjoy whatever time you have left with an open heart. That is what I came here to say.”
“I see. So you’re what people these days would call a Doomist, then?”
Those who had already accepted the world’s end as a foregone conclusion were being called Doomists rather than doomsayers these days, and the phenomenon had grown beyond anyone’s control.
People committing crimes on the logic that the world was ending anyway, so why not live as they pleased. Others preaching faith in the god of the Tower and urging salvation. Extremist groups and cults springing up like weeds, all of it had become a severe social crisis.
“I won’t deny it, but I’m not telling people to go on crime sprees and cause chaos like savages. I simply hope people can spend what time they have left in as much peace as possible. I’m already doing exactly that.”
“How so?”
“I’ve liquidated all my assets. Spending money freely, enjoying the rest of my days with family. Once this show wraps up, I’m heading off to travel through some countries in Asia. I always told myself I’d go someday, but I was always too busy and never actually made it. Jude, why don’t you quit the show yourself and go do whatever you’ve been putting off?”
“Ha ha, maybe I should? But I’d really love to be live on air for the moment the world actually ends, so it feels like a waste to quit just yet.”
In the middle of the show, the staff around them suddenly began murmuring.
One of them hurried over and delivered the news to both men.
“…They’re saying Nightmare 2F has just been cleared!”
Both of them went wide-eyed with surprise.
Jude turned to look at Arlo. After a moment of looking completely dumbstruck, Arlo cleared his throat and spoke.
“…Amazing. I suppose there’s no law saying miracles can’t happen.”
As news of the Nightmare 2F clear spread, the world erupted once again.
[HawkinTer: Did everyone get the message? 2F cleared!]
[OceanOutlaw: Wowwowwow!!]
[PizzaBread: Holy shit we somehow bought another year lmaooo let’s gooo~]
[Twishon: With only six challengers I seriously thought we were done for this time]
[Coin: Who cleared it?]
[PhoenixEgg: No idea. Nobody’s posted anything yet.]
[Hades: But what’s this new rule? People who don’t climb the Tower die now?]
Everyone was burning to know who had cleared 2F.
Meanwhile, there was someone who already knew the answer.
Bilon Must, seated in his office chair, pumped his fist triumphantly into the air.
“Ha ha! I knew my instincts were right! I believed in him!”
As Bilon celebrated, his secretary Ellen continued his report from beside him.
“He replied immediately, sir.”
“Yes! What did he say?”
“He confirms it was him. He says the Leap skill you arranged was a great help. He sends his thanks.”
The moment Bilon had seen the announcement of the Nightmare 2F clear, he had immediately sent a Whisper to Person123 expressing his gratitude, partly to confirm whether it really had been him.
[Person123: The Leap skill was a great help in the clear. Thank you.]
And the reply had come right back.
The instant he heard those words relayed through Ellen, Bilon felt a sense of fulfillment beyond description.
The first-ever Nightmare Climber had acknowledged his contribution. Having climbed as high as he had in life, it had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of desire for recognition from another person.
And that person deserved it. A messiah shouldering the fate of all humanity.
First 1F, now 2F. Once could be a fluke, but twice was no longer coincidence.
Bilon was now certain that his judgment had been right all along.
That man is special. He is the only one. The sole person worth placing hope in.
Bilon quickly tempered his excitement and gathered his thoughts.
“Right, we’ve established the connection. Now I just need to get him the goods…”
With the results confirmed, the path forward was clear.
All in. Invest everything in him.
He needed to secure as many Skill Stones, Skill Enhancement Stones, and items as possible. By any means necessary.
Ellen spoke up.
“That aside, a new rule… things seem to be taking an ominous turn.”
The rule that any Climber who didn’t enter the Tower within three years would die.
“The Tower wants to cull the dead weight, is that it? You’re not affected, are you?”
“No, sir. I’ve already cleared 1F.”
“The Climbing Bureau must be tearing their hair out right about now.”
New Climbers, plus all those who had been sitting on their hands until now, would all come flooding in. The ripple effects would be enormous.
Of course, that was the Climbing Bureau’s problem, and none of Bilon’s concern.
Bilon sank deep into thought, pondering how to continue supporting Person123, and how to forge an even closer bond with him as his benefactor.
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