Chapter 50: 4th Floor Hidden (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: 4th Floor Hidden (1)
I returned home on a morning flight and grabbed some lunch.
- Last night, with the clearing of the 4th floor of Nightmare difficulty, the Tower’s "3-Year Rule" has been nullified. Climbers will no longer die or turn into the Fallen, even if they choose not to enter the Tower.
- In particular, Nightmare Climbers and their families are sending waves of praise and gratitude to Saram123, the individual who chose to shoulder the penalty. The story of Choi Won-young, whose high school daughter is a Nightmare Climber, has become a viral sensation.
- "My daughter has suffered from osteosarcoma since elementary school, and three years ago, she was even chosen as a Nightmare Climber..."
- "...I thought it was all over. When I saw the Tower’s message, I prayed with all my heart, but deep down, I didn't think anyone would actually choose the penalty. But then, this miracle happened. To be honest, I still can't believe my daughter isn't going to die anymore."
- "I’m leaving these words in the hope that Saram123 might see this interview. Thank you so much. You saved my daughter's life. I will never forget the grace you’ve shown us until the day I die, and I will cherish every single day with my daughter from now on..."
An interview with the parent of a Nightmare Climber played on the screen. Watching it made me feel a bit embarrassed, so I changed the channel.
“Hey! Why’d you change it? I was watching that!”
“Let’s watch something else. Every single channel is talking about Saram123.”
At my words, my younger sister, who was sprawled on the sofa, looked at me as if I were insane.
“The 4th floor of Nightmare was cleared yesterday, you know? Do you seriously have no interest at all?”
“It happens every year.”
“Hey, it’s thanks to that person that the world is safe enough for ‘every year’ to even happen! As a human being, shouldn't you show some gratitude?”
Oh, please. Listen to her calling me "that person" with such reverence. She shot me a look of genuine disdain.
“While we’re on the subject, seriously, stop doing that. Why on earth do you go on trips around this time every year? Mom and Dad don't say it, but honestly, it doesn't look good. You should be at home praying with the rest of us.”
“...”
This brat... was she actually nagging me?
It felt a bit sour to be lectured seriously by her of all people, but from the family's perspective, I suppose my behavior did look suspicious. But what could I do? This was my routine now. Personally, I found it more relaxing to spend time alone, taking in the scenery before a raid. I was definitely going to do the same thing next year.
A funny thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Then do you have anything you want to say to Saram123? Give him a word of thanks.”
“...? What are you talking about? How?”
“I’m a Climber, remember? I can send a Whisper through the Communication Window.”
My sister’s eyes widened.
“You said we should be grateful, right? I’ll pass it along, so hurry up and speak.”
“...Even if you send a message, why would that person look at it? Are you guys acquaintances or something?”
“No. But the Communication Window doesn't have a block function for Whispers. If you open it, you can't help but see the notification.”
Which was actually quite annoying. There’s no customer support or anything. Get it together and improve the system, Tower.
“So, he might see it, right? It’s not like sending a Whisper is a big deal. Other Climbers are probably sending him thank-you messages too.”
She looked flustered but clearly tempted.
“Are you really going to send it?”
“I am. I’ll relay it exactly as you say, so tell me what you want to say. I’ve got the window open.”
“Uh... hold on. Ahem.”
She sat up on the sofa, cleared her throat, and spoke haltingly.
“Um... I’m someone living in South Korea... and I’m always rooting for you from afar. Oh, wait, I don’t know if it’s from afar or not, but anyway, I’m rooting for you.”
“...”
“Uh, I was really moved that you chose the penalty this time. I think your choice was really, really cool. Thank you for keeping the world safe again this year.”
“Pfft.”
“...Send it like that. Hey! Why are you laughing?!”
I couldn't hold back a snicker.
“No, no, it was good. I’ll make sure to deliver it.”
Ah, this was fun. After having a good laugh teasing my sister, I handed over the remote and cleared the table.
* * *
[Time remaining until the appearance of the first Branch Tower: 6 days 7 hours 9 minutes 13 seconds]
A timer had been added to my vision since clearing the 4th floor. Since I didn't know what a Branch Tower was, there was nothing I could do to prepare until the time ran out anyway. I just had to do what I needed to do.
[You have entered the 4th floor of Nightmare difficulty.]
After digesting lunch, I entered to clear the Hidden Route, just like always.
- Currently, the Golems inside the workshop are running amok due to a malfunction. Employees, please dispose of them immediately upon discoveryyyy...
The announcement echoed through the halls. I moved toward the entrance path.
By the way, regarding the 4th floor... I wasn't sure how to write the strategy guide for this one. It was complicated. If one gathered points efficiently and used the Shop strategically, other Nightmare Climbers could probably manage it. I had actually cleared it quite comfortably after enhancing Magic Damage only five times.
Of course, other people’s base stats would be much lower than mine, but they could just spend more points on enhancements. They wouldn't lose points by failing to understand the gimmicks, either.
...Or would they? Point consumption increased significantly the more you enhanced damage, so it might be tough. If you tried to enhance up to 200%, it cost over 15,000 points. Regardless, they would need to come up with a strategy to use points as efficiently as possible.
But there was another problem. The absolute worst part about the 4th floor was that, in the end, a section relied entirely on luck. That damn gacha. No matter how well you saved points and made it to the boss, if you didn't pull the Ability Nullification, it was over.
And it wasn't like other people could do exactly what I did. Hell, even I couldn't do that twice.
Ding—
The entrance opened. I summoned Phli and set him to auto-hunt. I’d worry about writing the guide later. For now, it was time to focus on the Hidden Route.
Phli tore through the basic Golems that popped out, biting and crushing them.
[Obtained 50P.]
[Obtained 50P.]
[Obtained 50P.]
I recovered all the cores and cleared up to Stage 3 with ease. Next, Stages 4 to 6: Blue Golems with 99% Physical Damage immunity.
Boom!
[Obtained 100P.]
[Obtained 100P.]
[Obtained 100P.]
I cleared them by smashing everything with magic. Stages 7 to 9: Red Golems with 99% Magic Damage immunity. I stayed back and let Phli destroy them.
[Purchased ‘Physical Damage Increase 10% (100P)’.]
[Purchased ‘Physical Damage Increase 10% (200P)’.]
This was an experiment I hadn't tried during the first clear because I wanted to save points. I enhanced Physical Damage a few times to see if Phli’s damage increased. The result: it definitely did. As expected, the damage enhancement didn't just apply to me; it was a mechanism that enhanced all damage dealt to the Golems regardless of the source.
[Obtained 150P.]
[Obtained 150P.]
[Obtained 150P.]
Stages 9 to 12: Black Golems that ignored damage below a certain threshold. I headed down to the path to smash the Golems myself. With my level at 55 and the Physical Damage enhancements, every punch I threw left massive cracks in the Golems' bodies. A simple clear.
After that, I easily broke through the remaining stages while keeping point consumption to a minimum.
- Our workshop’s greatest masterpiece is malfunctioningggg... Employees, please be very, very careful when respondingggg...
The final boss appeared. I opened the Shop.
[Shop]
• Physical Damage Increase 10% (500P)
• Magic Damage Increase 10% (200P)
• Willpower Increase 10% (100P)
• Attribute Conversion (500P)
• Force Field (50P)
• Slow (50P)
• Stop (100P)
• Special Draw! (5,000P)
Points held: 35,500P
[Special Draw! (5,000P)]
Performing Special Draw. The list of items is as follows. (Probabilities are all equal.)
• Skill Effect 300% Scroll
• Ability Nullification Parts
• Great Incineration Switch
Since I had saved up without wasting a single point, I now had enough to pull seven times. If I calculated the probability of not getting it even once... was it about 5%?
Well, since this was a repeat run, even if the Ability Nullification didn't drop, I wouldn't have to perform that horrific self-immolation show again. But if it didn't drop, I’d lose my chance at the Hidden Route, which would be a problem. Still, not getting it in seven tries would be absolutely ridiculous.
“Go ahead, try and screw me over again.”
I had seven bullets. I immediately started the draw.
[Purchased ‘Special Draw! (5,000P)’.]
Trill—
[You won ‘Ability Nullification Parts’!]
A nut-like object about the size of a fist dropped in front of me.
“...”
It wouldn't come out even once before. And now it shows up on the first try.
“This is just annoying...”
Who was running this thing, seriously? I let out a hollow laugh as I picked up the part.
[Ability Nullification Parts]
Nullifies all abilities of a single Golem entity. Can be used by bringing the part into contact with the Golem.
I leaped onto the shoulder of the boss as it moved along the path.
Clang!
As soon as I touched the part to it, it stuck to the boss's body like a magnet. A weak spark flickered. The boss faltered for a moment before resuming its walk. I threw a punch at the boss's head with all my might.
CRASH!
Fine cracks appeared on the boss's head. Its abilities were definitely nullified. I hopped down from the boss's shoulder and reached out toward it from mid-air.
“Goodbye.”
We had shared the experience of being incinerated together, but business was business. After stopping time and focusing my mind, I fired a fully charged Destruction Ray. The pitch-black beam pierced through the very center of the boss's body. The massive Golem tilted and collapsed. Without the 99% damage immunity, it was a one-shot kill.
Clunk.
As the boss died, the entrance closed. The announcements stopped as well.
Well... you told me to dispose of the Golems, right? I’m done. Shouldn't I get some kind of special bonus for this?
I pushed the silly thought aside and began searching for the Hidden Route in earnest.
“The entrance is blocked.”
That left only the exit. Since all the Golems were dealt with, the Great Incineration shouldn't trigger just because I went out the exit, right? I cautiously stepped out.
As expected, no announcement followed. Beyond the exit lay a long, dark corridor without any lights. Using Diul’s ability, I moved forward without any difficulty seeing. As I went, the path branched off in complex ways, and I encountered stairs going up and down. Not knowing which way to go, I chose to go up for now.
I pricked up my ears. Faint voices could be heard from a distance. At least I hadn't wandered into a dead end.
‘A workshop...’
This place was a workshop. They manufactured Golems here, and it had a distinct cyberpunk feel. I wondered what I was supposed to do in this Hidden Route. Imagining various scenarios, I climbed the stairs until I reached a steel door at the end.
Creeeeak...
It didn't seem to be locked. I quietly opened the door. A brightly lit corridor appeared.
“...Is it all resolved? The announcements have gone quiet.”
“The guards probably handled it. More importantly, listen. About the DF-5 experiment—if we lower the mana tension a bit more and test it again...”
Since people were about to come around the corner of the opposite corridor, I immediately activated Stealth. People wearing white coats, looking like researchers, came into view.