Chapter 15: Nightmare 2nd Floor (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: Nightmare 2nd Floor (3)
A flight of stairs stretched out beyond the door.
Is there still more?
I bolted up the steps.
Behind me, the overflowing lava churned and heaved, pursuing me with relentless heat. I was faster, though. I sprinted up the stairs, pushing my legs to ensure I wasn't caught and burned to a crisp.
As I ran, I noticed the stairs were forming a massive spiral. Only then did I realize I was inside a colossal tower.
I kept climbing.
Whether it was a tower or a castle didn't matter. I just wanted to know when this would end. I’d been running for a significant amount of time. Every time I completed a full rotation, a window appeared, offering a glimpse of a moonlit night outside.
...And still, I kept climbing.
"Huff... puff..."
Something was wrong.
A sense of eeriness began to creep in. The stairs weren't ending. Was this tower just impossibly tall? Exhausted from the full-on sprint, I slowed my pace.
Rumble—
I had been running much faster than the lava for a long time, so I should have had a massive lead. Yet, the moment I slowed down, the glowing magma peeked out from just below the steps.
What the hell?
I maintained just enough speed to keep from being caught. It felt like my senses were being toyed with. Something was definitely off.
Another window appeared. As I passed it, I punched the wall beside the frame. The bricks crumbled, leaving a jagged, unmistakable mark.
I kept running until the next window appeared.
There was a mark on the wall—the same crumbled bricks.
I was moving upward, yet the situation was a physical impossibility. Only then did I realize the truth of my predicament.
I was running in circles in the exact same spot.
An infinite staircase? A Möbius strip? Whatever it was, if I kept this up, I’d only exhaust myself until I died.
I stopped time.
I had to find a way to escape this infinitely repeating space.
How?
I thought about it for a long while, but no viable solution came to mind. Lava behind me, stairs ahead. I looked up at the ceiling, but it was, of course, blocked. There were no other paths.
Was I hallucinating? Was this some kind of dreamscape? Maybe it wasn't the world that was strange, but my own mind. It sounded plausible enough.
I resumed time and slapped my cheeks hard while running. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them. Remembering something called a "Reality Check" I’d heard of somewhere, I even tried bending my fingers back to see if they’d touch my wrist.
Nothing changed.
I completed another lap and returned to the window with the crumbled mark. I stopped time again.
...What do I do?
I’m screwed. What am I supposed to do here?
Cold sweat began to prickle my skin. It was a different kind of pressure from the physical obstacles I’d faced so far. If I couldn't get out, I’d eventually run until I collapsed from exhaustion, only to be caught by the lava and burned alive.
Calm down and think. Stay calm.
Don't these infinite loop clichés appear a lot in movies or manga? How did the protagonists escape? I couldn't remember anything specific. I should have enjoyed more pop culture while I had the chance...
They wouldn't just tell me to die like this.
There had to be a way out. Surely the solution wasn't something as mundane as "run for ten hours without resting."
Another way out... another way?
That’s when the window caught my eye.
Wait a minute.
...That leads outside, doesn't it?
Was I supposed to go out the window? It seemed almost insultingly simple, but that’s exactly why it felt plausible. I couldn't be sure if it was the right answer, but I had no other options.
I resumed time and hopped onto the windowsill. The lava surged toward me without a moment's hesitation. I hurriedly leaned outside, stepped off the frame, and jumped.
I grabbed the wall above the window and pulled myself up with raw strength. Immediately after, the window "vomited" lava. A waterfall of crimson fire cascaded down toward the distant ground.
I caught my breath while watching the spectacle, then climbed higher.
...Did I do it? Did I succeed?
I turned my head to survey the landscape. The tower I was clinging to was, as expected, incredibly tall and massive. Below, a dense forest stretched out toward the horizon. It had a spooky atmosphere, to say the least—it reminded me of Count Dracula’s castle in the middle of a desolate forest.
I looked up again. For now, I should probably keep going up, right?
I began to scale the wall like a rock climber. The surface was uneven, providing plenty of handholds. With my current stats, this was hardly a challenge. As I climbed, I could see the top of the tower getting closer. Fortunately, it seemed I had escaped the loop.
"Phew."
Is this the end? What’s going to pop up when I get to the top?
I decided not to expect anything. I was slowly learning the proper attitude for dealing with Nightmare Difficulty.
I reached the top of the tower and dragged my exhausted body over the parapet. The roof—or rooftop, regardless of what it was called—was incredibly vast. In the center, quite a distance away, stood a lone, protruding structure with a door.
I walked for a long time to reach it. It was a large double door, just like the one before. Curiously, weapons were scattered across the floor nearby: swords, spears, maces...
Giving me weapons all of a sudden could only mean one thing: I’d be fighting an enemy soon.
I picked up a sword and approached the door. Recalling how the lava had gone berserk when I touched the previous door, I spent a moment cautiously examining it.
Thump, thump, thump, thump...!
W-what? I haven't even touched it yet.
A vibration suddenly rang out, growing closer and closer. Something was coming up from the other side. Sensing danger, I backed away from the door.
CRASH!
The door shattered as something massive burst out. In the dim silhouette cast by the moonlight, the head of a bull emerged. It was a massive, muscular monster.
"...A Minotaur?"
I muttered the word that immediately came to mind. Was it a boss fight at the end this time too?
Snort—
I heard the sound of heavy breathing through its nostrils. Without a word, the Minotaur charged straight at me.
I met the attack with one of my own. I immediately unleashed Flame Strike.
The fireballs, doubled by the upgrade, fired side-by-side at the monster bull.
BOOM!
The explosion knocked the Minotaur backward. It didn't fly away, though, which was surprising in itself. It took a direct hit and still withstood that explosive force?
Mooooooo—!
The Minotaur let out a pained roar as its body caught fire. It wasn't in good shape; its front was gouged out, revealing charred bone. The creature, which had been thrashing in place, locked onto me again and charged.
Since it was a simple, linear charge, I threw myself to the side to dodge. Having lost its target, the creature stumbled and fell.
Oh, really?
It seemed it was already dazed after just one hit. The Minotaur repeated its drunken charges as if it were intoxicated. I dodged here and there like a matador, waiting for thirty seconds to pass.
Why bother fighting it up close and risking myself? Once my skill cooldown was up, I’d finish cooking it well-done.
I leaped high into the air to dodge its final charge. Stopping time in mid-air, I cast Flame Strike.
The fireballs slammed into the Minotaur below. I landed on the ground, and the Minotaur—its body completely blown apart—could no longer move.
It wasn't much of a threat after all. Is the boss fight really the easiest part? Well, I suppose it would have been impossible to take it down this easily under normal circumstances. Being able to use powerful attack magic instantly, even during combat, was definitely a broken advantage.
A sense of déjà vu hit me. Thinking back to the 1st floor boss fight, I quickly scanned my surroundings. I didn't see anything else, but the clear message still hadn't appeared.
I couldn't let my guard down for a second with this Nightmare bullshit. I had no idea where another ambush might come from.
I stopped time and used Flame Strike repeatedly to refill my depleted Willpower, then resumed time.
"..."
I’m not falling for it. Come out already. The message hasn't popped up yet.
Rumble—
A vibration suddenly surged from beneath my feet. If the vibration when the Minotaur appeared was a 1, this was a 10.
"What the..."
Startled, I instinctively ran toward the rampart's edge.
RUMBLE!
A few seconds later, the floor began to collapse. I barely managed to use the Leap skill to jump. The floor vanished in an instant, revealing boiling lava below.
"Aaaah...!"
Flailing my arms as I flew through the air, I began to fall as my momentum died. I stopped time. It looked like I could just barely reach the outer wall with Teleportation.
After finishing my Mental Focus, I resumed time and teleported. I clung to the wall.
Rumble—
I... I almost died...
Feeling the heat rising from below, I scrambled up the wall like a lizard. Only the outer rim of the ramparts remained intact, maintaining its shape without collapsing.
I climbed onto the ledge. Like the crater of a volcano, I saw the lava that had filled the entire interior of the tower swallowing all the debris from the collapsed floor. I could see the Minotaur's corpse burning and sinking down there as well.
Poor guy. Not just well-done—he’s turned into charred meat.
I caught my breath while thinking idle thoughts.
[You have successfully cleared the 2nd floor of Nightmare Difficulty.]
A message appeared before my eyes. It was finally over. To think they’d prepared a surprise event like this until the very last second... I’d felt it on the 1st floor too, but I could almost sense a certain malice behind the design.
Completely fed up, I muttered, "Vicious... absolutely vicious..."
But what can you do? I survived this time too, didn't I?
Feeling a mix of relief, fear, and exhilaration, I burst into a loud laugh. It was a laugh of derision toward the Nightmare Difficulty that had failed to kill me despite all its damn tricks.
With this, the world has survived for another year. I should also thank Mr. Villon Must. The Leap skill he went through the trouble of giving me was a huge help.
[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 2nd floor of Nightmare Difficulty.]
[The 2nd Floor Hidden Route is now open.]
[Moving to the Reward Room.]