Chapter 70: 5th Floor (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: 5th Floor (8)
A private stone chamber within Zhongnanhai, China.
"Do you truly intend to challenge it?"
Central Committee member Xiao Lin—who was set to join the Politburo Standing Committee as a reward for his distinguished service during the coup—looked at the man before him with a face full of concern.
Ye Chenwei, who was calmly undergoing a medical checkup surrounded by specialists, replied nonchalantly.
"Of course I must."
But why?
His seizure of power within the Party had been an absolute success. He had reached a position where he could simply sit back and enjoy that immense authority. Xiao Lin could not understand why he insisted on continuing the Nightmare conquest now.
Though Xiao Lin had served Ye Chenwei since they were young, he still found it difficult to read the man’s inner thoughts.
"Is the 4th Floor not a place that requires heavenly luck, regardless of one's capabilities? I am deeply worried. Furthermore, there is no reason to rush like this..."
According to Saram123’s information post, the 4th Floor Nightmare was a place where no matter how well you prepared, it was over if you failed the draw. China’s top talents had gathered to devise a strategy, but regardless of Ye Chenwei’s personal strength, the probability of failure remained a fixed constant.
Moreover, if he took his time, he could acquire more Skill Stones and resources. There was no reason to rush. Was it a competitive desire to succeed before the United States? Xiao Lin knew well that Ye Chenwei had little interest in such petty rivalries.
"The boss gauge for Zone 3 will be full soon."
"..."
"I must enter the 5th Floor quickly. If luck is on my side, I might even have a chance to spectate."
Xiao Lin had vaguely known that Ye Chenwei held a strange sort of admiration for Saram123... but honestly, he hadn't expected it to go this far.
Ye Chenwei spoke with a smile.
"Life and death are decreed by fate. If I am destined to die, I shall die; if I am destined to live, I shall live. If I fall here, it simply means this was as far as I was meant to go. It cannot be helped."
Xiao Lin couldn't fathom how jumping into a death trap "couldn't be helped," but he stopped arguing and simply nodded. He couldn't stop him anyway. If Ye Chenwei were to die, the Party's power would fall to Hao Ran—at least on the surface.
Xiao Lin watched what might be Ye Chenwei's final moments, praying for his success.
Soon, the prepared Ye Chenwei vanished.
- Flash Report: China succeeds in conquering the 4th Floor Nightmare Difficulty...
The very next day, the news broke across the world.
* * *
"Are you fully recovered already? You look perfectly fine."
"At my level, a wound like that heals in no time."
Alex, the captain of the Security Force, had returned to the 5th Floor as soon as his injuries were healed.
Lately, the atmosphere on the 5th Floor had been quiet. The Black Star Society was keeping a low profile, and the Security Force didn't go out of their way to provoke them. Since Saram123 hadn't taken a side regarding the incident in Zone 3, both factions had agreed to drop the matter. After all, both sides had suffered casualties.
A lot had happened in a short time. Wang Kai’s death, the coup in China, the revelation of Saram123’s nationality, and China’s success in clearing the 4th Floor Nightmare...
While Alex wasn't a government-affiliated Climber, as the US record holder for Hard Difficulty, he was closely linked to the US Tower Climbing Management Bureau. Thus, he was privy to the internal intelligence regarding China and the Black Star Society.
After Wang Kai’s death, the public leader of the Black Star Society on the 5th Floor was Li Zeyan, a Chinese 14th-floor Hard Difficulty Climber. But Alex knew who was really pulling the strings.
Ye Chenwei...
China’s representative Nightmare Climber and the mastermind behind the recent coup. Furthermore, he was the one who had just cleared the 4th Floor Nightmare, beating out America’s Taylor.
Information about Ye Chenwei was top secret, but since Alex had to deal with the Black Star Society on the 5th Floor, the US government had shared the intel with him.
Looking at the facts, the man was incredibly unpredictable. Why challenge the Nightmare again after seizing total power? Regardless, he was an extraordinary individual. Wang Kai was gone, but things didn't look like they would get any easier.
"By the way... what should we do about the boss?"
At the officer's question, Alex let out a groan, his face clouded with worry.
[Zone 3 (98.8%)]
Currently, the Zone 3 boss gauge had only 1.2% remaining. Saram123 was likely hunting in Zone 3 at this very moment.
The Security Force’s dilemma was what to do once the boss appeared. It wasn't about the first-clear rewards; naturally, those belonged to Saram123. They were worried about his safety.
They didn't know the full extent of Saram123’s power—the power that had killed Wang Kai in the blink of an eye—but no one knew how strong the Zone 3 boss would be. From the looks of it, Saram123 intended to challenge the boss solo.
They couldn't help but worry that something might go wrong. The US government had also expressed serious concerns. So, on behalf of the Security Force, they had sent a whisper to Saram123 offering assistance.
[Saram123: It’s fine.]
A cool, short reply had come back. He didn't need them.
"I don't know if it's really okay, letting Saram123 fight the boss alone."
That was when Shin Su-jin, who had been listening, offered her opinion.
"When it's time for the boss to appear... why don't we move to Zone 3 anyway?"
"...But Saram123 said he didn't need help."
"He didn't say we weren't allowed to enter the zone. If we find the boss first, we wait at a distance. If we find Saram123 fighting, we just monitor the situation."
Shin Su-jin was just as worried about Saram123’s safety as anyone else. He was an incredible person, but the Tower was unpredictable. She felt this was the best the Security Force could do without interfering.
Alex pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Let's do that then. Contact all the hunting teams in Zone 3."
* * *
It had been about a week since I began hunting to fill the remaining gauge for Zone 3.
KABOOM!
Two Pterosaurs diving to attack me were caught in my Flame Strike. They plummeted, exploding mid-air. I checked the gauge.
[Zone 3 (99.9%)]
Okay... only 0.1 percent left. Soon, I’ll be challenging the Zone 3 boss.
To be honest, I wasn't particularly nervous. I figured the boss’s strength would be in the level 60 range, or at most, around level 70. And unlike a Nightmare floor, I wasn't trapped until I cleared it. Even if I ended up in a situation where I thought, 'Oh shit, I can't do this,' I was confident I could escape.
[Mountain Range: Saram123-nim, would it be alright if our Security Force joined you for the Zone 3 boss raid? We want to help ensure you obtain the first-clear rewards.]
I had received a whisper through the communication window earlier. The Security Force was offering backup.
[Tianzi: Saram123-nim, if you need any assistance from the Black Star Society for the Zone 3 boss raid, please feel free to say the word.]
I even got one from the Black Star Society. But honestly, I didn't want the help.
There were many reasons. Fighting in a group is just a burden. I’m going to be spamming high-tier magic; if other Climbers are swarming the boss, they’ll just get in the way. Besides, if the boss is strong enough that I can't take it down alone, I doubt other Climbers would be of much help anyway—they’d probably just end up dying in droves.
So I sent a polite refusal to both.
That said, I couldn't exactly tell everyone to stay away. Even if they don't get the first-clear reward, others would still want the standard rewards for the boss's defeat. Though there probably aren't many Climbers at a level high enough to actually contribute, I didn't have the right to stop them.
My mindset was simple: let everyone do their own thing.
I spotted a Lava Giant passing in the distance and shattered it with another Flame Strike. After taking down a few more monsters...
[Zone 3 (100%)]
[The Zone 3 Boss is appearing.]
The message finally popped up.
"Let's go, Phli."
Now it was time to find where the boss had spawned. I pulled up my hood and put on a mask from my subspace—just in case I ran into other people.
Preparation complete. I hopped on Phli’s back and took off. I planned to sweep through Zone 3 in a clockwise direction, from the innermost part to the outskirts. I’d eventually find it.
After sprinting for quite a while...
"...!"
I finally spotted something and came to a halt. Atop a small rocky mountain in the distance, a massive figure lay resting. It had wings, and it was incomparably larger than a Pterosaur.
A dragon? A wyvern? Those were the words that immediately came to mind.
Staring at the wyvern with its body covered in crimson scales, I pulled out a pre-charged Warp Device and activated it.
[9:58]
This was insurance. If the boss turned out to be stronger than expected, I’d have to bolt. If I canceled the activation, it would take another 10 minutes to restart, so it was impossible to warp instantly during combat. I had to activate it in advance.
I planned to start the fight when there were about 3 minutes left on the one-hour timer. Three minutes would be enough time to judge whether I could handle it. If I could, I’d cancel the warp; if not, I’d let the device trigger and get out of there.
I looked around. I wasn't the only one here; I could see people far off to my left and right. On the right were the Climbers from the Security Force, with Alex at the front. On the left... that looked like the Black Star Society.
It seemed everyone had managed to find the boss at roughly the same time. There was no need to pay them any mind. I just had to do what I came to do.
[3:31]
About 3 minutes remained on the Warp Device. Preparations complete.
I charged toward the boss.
As I drew closer, the boss reacted. It rose from the peak and flapped its massive wings. A whirlwind of flames erupted, sending a blast of hot air toward me.
"Mmm...!"
That’s hot. My sixth sense told me the boss was indeed powerful, but I didn't get the feeling that it was an impossible opponent. It felt manageable.
ROAAAAAR—!
The boss let out a deafening roar and took flight. I was almost right next to it now. The strategy I had devised was simple:
The only question was how much damage the Destruction Ray would do. Could I... one-shot it? I wasn't sure. Area bosses were notoriously resilient. I planned to get as close as possible and fire the ray directly at its head.
"...Jump!"
I leaped toward the boss hovering high in the sky. Phli sprang upward, and after stepping off his back, I leaped once more. At that moment, the boss opened its maw wide.
Was it going to use a breath attack?
I stopped time.
After completing 300 seconds of Mental Focus...
The moment I resumed time, the boss unleashed a massive torrent of fire. Simultaneously, I cast the fully charged Destruction Ray.
KABOOM!
The pitch-black beam instantly vaporized the flames and surged forward, piercing clean through the boss's head.
And that was it. I was about to ready my other skills, but I paused.
The boss, whose head had vanished, flapped its wings in a final, violent convulsion before plummeting to the ground.
...Eh?
THUD!
[The Zone 3 Boss has been defeated.]
[You have obtained the Zone 3 Boss defeat reward.]
[You have obtained the Zone 3 Boss first-clear reward.]
Watching the messages pop up, I followed the body down and landed. Staring at the corpse, I let out a short exclamation.
"Wow."
That really was a one-shot? Even though I knew its power, I found myself surprised every time. Destruction Ray was simply too powerful.
* * *
The Security Force had been in Zone 3 since the gauge was nearly full. As soon as the message appeared, they hurried to find the spawn.
Luckily, they found it quickly. In the distance, atop a rocky mountain, was a winged monster.
"...It's the boss!"
It was incomparably larger than the Pterosaurs.
"What is that..."
"It's not even in the same league as the Zone 2 boss."
While the Security Force members stood momentarily overwhelmed, they saw something charging toward the beast. A pitch-black beast, and a person riding atop it.
Shin Su-jin shouted, "It's Saram123!"
Every eye focused on him. He was approaching the boss, seemingly intending to face it head-on.
"Shouldn't... shouldn't we move too?"
"...Run, now!"
The Security Force began rushing forward. Just then, the boss rose and took to the sky. They were still a long way off, but Saram123 had already reached it.
Saram123 leaped into the air, and the boss breathed fire toward him. Just as the Security Force members were about to cry out in horror, a pitch-black beam of light erupted from Saram123.
It was the same skill that had vaporized Wang Kai. The black beam completely annihilated the boss's breath. Then, after blowing the boss's head clean off, it shot upward as if to reach the heavens before slowly fading away.
[The Zone 3 Boss has been defeated.]
"..."
The Security Force stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the falling boss, their mouths hanging open in silence.