Chapter 116: Nightmare 8th Floor (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116: Nightmare 8th Floor (4)
There was no point in just continuing to travel like this.
I desperately searched for another way.
I went back into the sandworm pit and scoured the underground passages.
I held on to a sliver of hope that there might be some other hidden mechanic that would allow me to reach the oasis.
But searching deeper underground only revealed an endless maze of ant-like tunnels…
Nothing came of it.
I scrutinized the skeleton’s notebook and compass until my eyes ached.
I hoped there might be another hidden hint, but I couldn't find a damn thing.
What if I went in the opposite direction of the oasis, or sideways?
The distance displayed simply increased.
I tried using the Demon King’s flight ability to ascend endlessly into the sky.
Thud!
At a certain point, my body collided with a transparent barrier, blocking any further ascent.
It was like an invisible wall at the edge of a game map.
It felt like the Tower was mocking me.
As if it were telling me to stop my pointless struggle and just travel the set distance.
That it was the only way to clear the floor…
I stopped time and thought for a long while.
As expected, no answer came to me.
I started running across the desert again.
Even though I knew the outcome was already decided.
Still, all I could do was move toward the unreachable oasis.
Maybe something would change if I crossed a certain distance? Could it?
I clung to even that threadbare hope.
I ran and ran.
I warped and warped again.
Warping the maximum distance every ten minutes was a test of my mental limits.
Still, I did it.
I ran until I reached my physical limits, and when I was exhausted or needed to sleep, I summoned Phli and rode it to recover.
Whenever the cooldown ended, I used the Demon King’s flight ability.
It was a desperate struggle to move even a little bit faster.
The desert sun was brutally hot…
And when the sun set and night fell, a cold comparable to a snowfield took its place. The daily temperature swing was insane.
With ice and fire magic, the heat and cold were at least bearable.
For food, I sparingly ate the biscuits and energy bars I had stored in my subspace.
And when those were nearly gone, I began hunting and cooking sandworms.
It was disgustingly bad, and eating it made my tongue go numb.
Fortunately, the poison wasn't severe enough to hinder my movement.
And so the arduous journey continued.
Move, move, and move again…
“…”
[16,254,929/134,217,728 km]
I stopped in my tracks and stared at the remaining distance.
It was staggering.
I collapsed onto the sand as if I were about to pass out.
[Nightmare]
Personnel: 476,803
Time Limit: 7 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes, 7 seconds
Floor Reached: 8th Floor
Nearly thirteen days had passed since I entered the 8th Floor.
Now, only a week remained on the Nightmare’s clock.
I had traveled over ten million kilometers.
But nothing had changed.
The idea that something would change after a certain distance was bullshit…
It was just a baseless hope.
It was hopeless.
I knew it was hopeless from the start, but…
This was truly, utterly hopeless.
“Demon King.”
– What is it?
“Have you ever been in a situation like this? Where you failed a floor because you ran out of time.”
The Demon King answered.
– I have not. I did not climb the Tower by waiting a year between floors as you do.
Is that so?
Was that my mistake?
If only I had enough time, I could have cleared the 8th Floor as well.
…I really never could have imagined something like this.
Previous floors took a few hours at most.
I had never even considered the possibility of a floor taking more than a day, let alone twenty.
I was completely blindsided.
And because of that, the world was on the verge of destruction.
I wondered what it was like outside right now.
The number of people in the Nightmare Communication Window would be the same, so they’d know I was still attempting the floor.
But they must be in chaos, seeing as I still hadn't cleared it.
My family must have seen my will…
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
This wasn't the time to worry about the outside world.
If this continued, it would truly be the end.
The world would be destroyed.
I opened my palm and looked at it.
The unidentifiable something the Sage had given me.
The thing he said I needed most.
It was now.
If there was ever a time I desperately needed something, it was right now.
“If I can’t clear this now, it’s all over…”
But no matter how hard I stared at my palm, shook it, or tapped it…
Nothing changed.
Stab!
I went so far as to summon the Sword of Light and jab my own palm.
Blood just gushed out.
I gave up soon after. The wound began to regenerate quickly thanks to the Frozen Hydra’s ability.
…Fucking hell, this useless piece of trash.
I should have chosen the Book of Omniscience instead of this crap.
– It seems this is the end of the line.
The Demon King said.
I could only sense a hint of regret from him; his tone was otherwise detached.
“You say that like it has nothing to do with you. We share the same fate.”
– Then what do you expect me to do? Accept what must be accepted. This is your defeat.
“…”
– My expectations were too high, I suppose. To think you could defeat this monster… For a mere mortal, you have climbed quite high.
I stared blankly at the sky for a moment.
“…There’s still one thing left.”
– Hm?
I took an item out of my subspace.
[Special Item: Scales of Life]
Offer your lifespan to receive a reward of equal value. You can offer a minimum of 1% to a maximum of 99% of your remaining lifespan. Once used, the scales will break, and your remaining lifespan will be displayed.
I held the scales and quietly read the description.
– Ho, you possessed such an item?
The Scales of Life.
A reward I’d received for clearing a Branch Tower long ago, one I had never used.
I had considered it from the beginning.
But since it used my lifespan, it was my last resort.
I debated whether I should spend the remaining seven days searching for another way, but then I made my decision.
‘…I’ll use it.’
Yes, let’s use it.
I’d already tried everything I could, hadn’t I?
There was no other way.
I was also worried about what would happen to the outside world if I was pushed to the very last second of the time limit.
The only decision left was how much lifespan to offer.
I could offer from 1% to 99%.
The more I offered, the better the reward would be.
…What if I offered a half-assed amount and only got a half-assed reward?
That would be the end.
Even if I offered the maximum, I had little hope it would be enough to resolve this situation.
The best I could do was go all-in, grasping at straws.
[Would you like to use ‘Special Item: Scales of Life’?]
[Please decide the amount of lifespan to offer.]
…If I offer 99%, how much longer will I have to live?
Would I be lucky to even get a year?
Well, that was a problem to think about after I cleared the 8th Floor.
Hoping to get something that could break through this impossible situation…
“99%. The maximum.”
I stated the amount of lifespan I would offer.
[You are offering 99% of your lifespan to the Scales of Life.]
With the message, a red aura, like life force itself, flowed out of my body.
“...!”
The red aura gathered into a sphere and settled on one of the scale’s pans.
The scale tipped heavily.
Sssss…
Next, a black aura flowed out from the scales.
It coalesced before my eyes, taking on a human-like form.
It was a Reaper.
As I stared blankly, the Reaper’s voice echoed.
– Make your wish. I shall grant you a reward befitting the lifespan you have offered.
…Make my wish?
As the Reaper instructed, I thought of what I wanted.
There was only one thing.
The ability to cross this insane distance of over 100 million kilometers in an instant.
Anything would do. Give me a long-range teleportation beyond a simple warp, whatever.
Saaaaaah—
The Reaper extended its hand.
The black aura gathered and rose onto the opposite pan of the scales.
The pan that had been weighed down by my lifespan rose back up.
The scales were balanced.
The Reaper vanished like smoke.
The black aura disappeared.
I looked at what was left on the scale.
“…”
An orange Skill Stone.
I’d seen one like it before, at the Mask Auction.
It was a Legendary Grade Skill Stone.
Clink.
Just then, the scales split in half.
[Broken Scales of Life]
Reading the item description, I saw my remaining lifespan displayed.
“…Ha.”
So that’s how much I have left.
My heart pounding, I picked up the Skill Stone.
I wonder what I got…
[Skill: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+)]
Borrow the power of sacred radiance to transform your body into light. While the skill is active, you are immune to all damage and can move in any direction at the speed of light. Requires 1 hour of Mental Focus to cast. The skill can be maintained for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Skill Category: Magic-Type
Willpower Cost: 5,000 per second
Cooldown: 72 hours
“…”
A Legendary+ grade.
My eyes widened as I read the skill’s description.
…It was a magic skill that allowed me to move at the speed of light.
Something I could never have imagined had just appeared.
‘Wait a minute.’
[16,254,929/134,217,728 km]
Let’s do the math.
The remaining distance was about 120 million km.
The speed of light is 300,000 km per second.
I could reach it in 400 seconds, less than seven minutes.
The Willpower cost was enormous, but that wasn't a problem.
And since the skill could be maintained for up to ten minutes… it was possible.
I could reach the oasis!
“…Demon King.”
I said with a hollow laugh.
“I think I just cleared this floor.”
Even if it came at a steep price.
In any case, it seemed I could clear the 8th Floor with this.
– The reward is certainly substantial.
“You can say that again.”
I looked toward the oasis and used the Skill Stone.
[You have learned ‘Skill: Radiant Incarnation (Legendary+)’.]
Now, let’s end this.
I was at a loss as to what I would do after clearing the floor…
But first, I had to get out. Out of here.
I stopped time and began to focus my mind.
After a long hour of mental concentration…
I used the skill.
Fwoooosh!
My entire body began to radiate a brilliant golden light.
No, I became light itself.
I immediately moved toward the oasis.
My body shot forward at the speed of light.
“...!”
The surrounding landscape distorted strangely.
It was as if my thoughts accelerated to match my speed, making time feel like it was flowing slowly.
Thanks to that, I didn't lose control of my own velocity.
I periodically stopped time to instantly recover my Willpower whenever it ran low.
[32,384,922/134,217,728 km]
The once-staggering distance closed at an unreal speed.
The oasis, which had never gotten closer no matter how much I advanced, like a mirage, was now visibly approaching.
[53,149,114/134,217,728 km]
[79,042,363/134,217,728 km]
[104,592,141/134,217,728 km]
.
.
.
[134,217,724/134,217,728 km]
I deactivated the skill.
I stared at the lake before me.
The surface of the water shimmered gold in the sunlight.
“…Hooo.”
The oasis.
I had arrived.
As I looked at the messages appearing before my eyes, I lifted my head and took a deep breath.
[You have successfully cleared the Nightmare Difficulty 8th Floor.]
[Absorbing the power of the floor.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
.
.
.
[Level has increased.]
[You are the first to successfully clear the Nightmare Difficulty 8th Floor.]
[Moving to the Reward Room.]
.
.
.
[Special Item: Broken Scales of Life]
Offer your lifespan to receive a reward of equal value. You can offer a minimum of 1% to a maximum of 99% of your remaining lifespan. Once used, the scales will break, and your remaining lifespan will be displayed. (This item has already been used.)
Remaining Lifespan: 305 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 44 seconds