Chapter 14: Nightmare 2nd Floor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: Nightmare 2nd Floor (2)
Everyone knows this genre of game.
The kind where you have to jump your character from platform to platform to reach a destination. They’re commonly called jump maps or platformers.
The infuriating thing about these games is that you can spend hours painstakingly climbing up, only to slip once and find yourself right back at the starting point.
In a game, at least, you could try again.
But in reality, there were no retries—only a climb toward death.
[Chicken Curry: Seriously, don't even try the 2nd floor. Just clearing the 1st floor is enough for anyone to make a living.]
[Click-Clack Tang: For real, it’s twice as hard as the 1st floor.]
Word was that no monsters appeared on the 2nd floor.
To clear it, all you had to do was navigate the platforms floating in the air and reach the finish line.
The catch? If you slipped even once, you’d be roasted alive by the lava slowly rising from below.
Take Hard difficulty, for example.
The gap between platforms was said to be about five meters, and each platform was a square roughly 50cm by 50cm.
They say the distance between platforms isn't physically impossible to jump regardless of the difficulty, but jumping across narrow footholds over a sea of boiling lava isn't something a sane person would willingly attempt.
I had done my own specialized training for the 2nd floor.
Ultimately, the key to clearing it was the ability to jump accurately and land stably.
To develop that, I’d spent a lot of time in the 1st-floor cave, drawing circles on the ground and practicing jumping between them.
Of course, I practiced under conditions far more grueling than those of Hard difficulty.
I knew this was going to be a total shitshow.
[You have entered the Nightmare 2nd Floor.]
The moment the scenery shifted, a wave of intense heat washed over my skin.
As soon as I entered, I stopped time.
I slowly surveyed the sight before me.
"Hmm..."
A shitshow indeed.
The Nightmare 2nd Floor did not disappoint.
The setting wasn't outdoors; it was an enclosed space. It felt like the interior of a colossal building.
Black stone platforms floated in mid-air, lining up toward the ceiling.
And as expected, bright red lava bubbled at the very bottom. It was practically a sea of molten rock.
However, the size of the platforms and the distance between them were beyond ridiculous.
I was standing on a platform from the start, but it was barely wide enough for both my feet.
You know those wooden boards? The ones they use for breaking in Taekwondo?
It was exactly that size.
I was supposed to jump from a platform this small? To the next one?
This was just cruel.
The gap between platforms looked to be just under ten meters.
Since it felt slightly shorter than my maximum Teleportation range, it was probably around nine meters.
The sense of distance I’d honed while practicing Teleportation was quite accurate.
It wasn't an impossible distance to jump.
With my current physical stats, I could clear that distance with room to spare.
The problem was that the platforms were absurdly narrow.
If my landing was off by even fifteen centimeters—the length of a small ruler—I’d plummet.
Was I confident? Of course not.
But fortunately...
I had the Teleportation skill.
I could just cheese it by using Teleportation to safely move to the next platform.
However, I had to keep in mind that the lava below would be rising, and my Teleportation cooldown was one minute.
...But damn, something felt off.
I knew I had a great skill, but would they really let me breeze through it this easily?
It was just a gut feeling.
I felt like I shouldn't use my skills recklessly.
Or, I could just save Teleportation as a literal lifeline.
I’d jump across normally, and only use Teleportation if I slipped.
As a side note, when I used Teleportation, any kinetic energy acting on me would vanish.
This meant that even if I was falling in the wrong direction, I could teleport onto a platform and land perfectly without any issues.
Alright, I’ll save Teleportation for now.
Once I was mentally prepared, I resumed time.
Rumble—
God, it was hot. The air was scorching.
The sound of the lava boiling below was terrifying.
I focused my mind on the next platform and took a deep breath.
"Whew."
One, two... jump.
I leaned back and then lunged forward.
My body cut through the air, flying toward the next platform.
When I was about 80% of the way there, I knew it. I’d made it.
Thud!
My landing was a bit shaky, but I quickly regained my balance.
"Holy crap..."
I actually did it.
The ridge shoes I’d bought specifically for the 2nd floor—with their incredible grip—did their job perfectly.
Maybe this was doable? Maybe it wasn't that bad?
I looked down.
The lava was rising quite fast.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and prepared to jump to the next platform.
They say the brain can't process negatives, so instead of thinking "don't fail," imagining "I will succeed" increases the success rate of an action.
Visualizing myself landing successfully, I leaped toward the second platform.
Oh, shit.
The moment I jumped, I knew. I’d used too much force.
My body soared powerfully and overshot the second platform.
Before I could fall, I looked toward the third platform and stopped time in mid-air.
Lifeline activated.
After focusing my mind, I resumed time.
The instant time flowed again, I used Teleportation to jump straight to the third platform.
"Phew..."
That was nerve-wracking.
Who was the guy who came up with that pseudo-science about negative words? I almost died.
After blaming science for a moment, I regained my composure.
Still, I’d skipped two platforms in one go.
[Willpower: 50/200]
My Willpower was nearly depleted from using Teleportation.
I decided to wait until it recharged.
I waited for over an hour in stopped time before resuming.
I waited one more minute for the Teleportation cooldown to reset, then prepared to jump to the fourth platform.
"One, two..."
I jumped toward the platform.
This time... good. It was a success.
I prepared for a stable landing.
But the moment I touched the platform...
My foot passed right through it as it suddenly turned translucent, and I plummeted.
"...!"
Wha—what?!
Terrified, I immediately stopped time.
...What was that? A fake platform?
Even with time stopped, I focused my mind with a sense of urgency.
I teleported immediately to escape the empty air.
I barely managed to reach the fifth platform with my Teleportation range.
Standing on the platform, I looked back.
The illusion platform had vanished, and another platform had appeared off to the side.
"Wow, no way..."
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak.
What kind of trap was this...?
I’d never heard of traps like illusion platforms.
This was something that only appeared on Nightmare difficulty.
This is basically telling you to just die if you don't know about it.
Unless, of course, you had a movement skill you could use in mid-air.
It was the right call not to spam Teleportation from the start.
If I had, I would have died on that illusion platform.
I was so appalled I could only marvel at it. I felt like I finally understood where the people who challenged this before me had died.
I stopped time again to refill my Willpower.
The lava had risen quickly, now reaching the level of the platform where I’d started.
And I was currently on the fifth platform.
There were three platforms left.
Beyond them, a large floor was floating, looking like the finish line.
Could that be the end?
No way.
There was no way it would end with just this.
It was likely a midpoint. I could see more stuff further back.
Regardless, things were truly dangerous now. I couldn't afford any more mistakes.
The lava wasn't the problem.
The problem was that more illusion platforms could pop up.
What if I failed a landing, teleported to the next platform, and that one turned out to be an illusion?
I’d be diving straight into the lava.
I calculated the remaining distance.
If I can just clear one more platform...
I might be able to jump across the last two in one go.
With the Leap skill and Teleportation, it looked like I could reach that large floor in a single bound. No, I definitely could.
Alright, just one platform.
I just need to succeed this once.
If I fail, I’ll really have to leave it to luck.
...Surely the rest of them aren't all illusion platforms, right? For the sake of a conscience?
I carefully prepared my jump.
The moment the Teleportation cooldown was up, I leaped toward the next platform.
Here goes...! Success!
Fortunately, this platform didn't disappear.
Both my feet landed stably on the stone.
"Phew."
Wait, am I actually kind of good at this?
Technically, I’d succeeded every time except for once.
I looked down at the lava, then up at the goal.
I prepared for the final jump. I’d do it in one go.
I used the Leap skill and jumped with all my might.
My body soared explosively, passing over the remaining platforms.
I almost reached the large floor, but I was just a bit short.
I stopped time in mid-air.
I covered the remaining distance with Teleportation.
I landed safely on the large floor.
A perfect success.
"...So, is it over?"
I muttered to myself, just in case.
If this were Hard difficulty, it would have ended here.
Of course, no clear message appeared.
Yeah, I know. I didn't expect one.
I looked at the platforms that continued upward.
They were floating in rows of three.
In each row, one of the three platforms was emitting a blue light.
The distance between them and their size were much more generous than before.
What? There's no way it's this easy... I thought.
Suddenly, the blue lights on the platforms began to flicker out.
I stopped time before the light vanished completely.
Ah, I got the gist of it.
I was supposed to memorize the positions and cross, right?
But not even giving me five seconds to memorize? How rude.
Of course, I had plenty of time.
With time stopped, I memorized the positions of the glowing platforms and refilled my depleted Willpower.
There were thirty platforms in total—ten rows of three—and another large floor at the end.
And I could see something like a door.
Could that be the end? I hoped it was.
With a glimmer of hope, I memorized all the positions of the glowing platforms.
From the left, starting with 1: 1-2-3-1-3-2-1-2-3-2.
I resumed time and waited for the Teleportation cooldown.
Then, I jumped to the first glowing platform.
The moment I landed, the platform gave way. Huh?
I immediately stopped time.
I realized what had happened in an instant.
Are they actually insane?
Apparently, the glowing platforms weren't the correct path—they were the traps.
They really used such a cheap fake?
They were truly relentless.
I teleported to the next non-glowing platform.
The platform didn't give way.
Just in case, I refilled my Willpower again before jumping to the next one.
I hopped across, picking only the platforms that hadn't been glowing.
I reached the large floor easily.
A massive gate stood before me.
Please, let this be the goal.
I prayed silently as I walked toward the door.
At that moment...
The floor in the middle suddenly surged upward, launching me into the air toward the void.
"...!"
I stopped time while mid-flight.
Right, of course there’d be a trap like this.
I wasn't even surprised anymore.
Calmly, I used Teleportation to return to the floor.
"Can we please just take it down a notch?"
A normal person would have died ten times over by now, you bastard.
Fearing more traps, I had to wait to refill my Willpower and Teleportation cooldown before moving.
How many times had I refilled my Willpower now? This was exhausting.
In real time, less than ten minutes had passed since I entered, but in my conscious time, I’d been at this for hours.
Fortunately, there were no more traps.
I reached the front of the gate safely.
When I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.
I tried pushing and pulling, but it didn't move an inch.
I couldn't see a keyhole either.
What was I supposed to do now...?
I looked around, but there was nothing else. The lava was still rising.
Thinking that breaking it might be the answer, I struck it with my fist.
CRACK!
The thick wooden door splintered, but at the same time, an ominous sound echoed.
RUMBLE!
"Huh?"
I looked down.
The lava had suddenly started rising at an insane speed.
Wait, wait, wait! Are you kidding me?!
Panicked, I began to pound on the door with everything I had.
It was breaking, but the door was so massive it wouldn't go down easily.
The heat, feeling like it was cooking my flesh, surged up from below.
I backed away from the door and cast Flame Strike.
BOOOOOM!
The gate was blown to pieces.
At the same time, the rising lava flooded the floor where I stood.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Screaming, I dove through the doorway, making it inside by a hair's breadth.