Chapter 74: The Second Proposal (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: The Second Proposal (2)
This time, I decided against taking a trip in the days leading up to the 20-day mark.
My sister had thrown a fit, begging me not to go, and I couldn't ignore my family's worried stares. There was no point forcing a trip if it made everyone uncomfortable, so I stayed home.
Instead, I planned to challenge the 6th Floor a little earlier.
I couldn't risk my family catching on.
I figured I could just slip out during the day tomorrow, get a motel room, and challenge it from there.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 278,824
Time Limit: 21 Days 5 Minutes 38 Seconds
Highest Floor Reached: 5th Floor
Only five minutes left. Alejandro will be entering the 6th Floor soon…
Before bed, I watched the live news on my phone.
Alejandro, the Nightmare Clearer, had declared he would challenge the 6th Floor before me.
Honestly, I’d debated whether I should try to stop him or just go ahead and challenge it first myself. After all, I knew better than anyone that attempting a First Clear of a Nightmare floor without any information was practically suicide.
…But even so, what right did I have to stop someone else’s challenge?
Wouldn't that be far too arrogant?
I had seen Alejandro’s interview. I could feel his firm resolve to save humanity, his declaration that he wouldn’t leave the burden solely to me anymore.
I had to respect his choice.
So, I decided to stick to my original plan and challenge it at the 20-day mark.
Besides, judging by his accomplishments so far, Alejandro was an incredibly capable person. I couldn't deny that a small part of me held onto a sliver of hope, wondering, 'What if?'
I was only human, after all. I couldn't completely abandon the hope that someone else might succeed and share this crushing burden with me.
10 seconds left! 10, 9, 8…
Alejandro would enter any second now.
I stared at the news screen, praying for his success.
And then, the countdown hit zero.
[The Tower makes a proposal to 'Saram123'.]
A message popped up before my eyes.
“…”
I narrowed my eyes.
What is this… again?
The exact same thing had happened a year ago.
Back on the 4th Floor, the Tower had made a proposal to me exactly one day before my challenge, the moment the time limit hit 21 days.
Perhaps because I’d experienced it once before, I wasn’t particularly surprised.
However, the one attempting the challenge right now wasn't me, but Alejandro.
Why the fuck is it pulling this bullshit and making a proposal to me again?
That was my very first thought.
My second was, The 3-Year Rule is gone, so what could it possibly offer me now?
I calmly read the messages that followed. And then…
[If 'Saram123' accepts the following penalty, a special reward will be granted in exchange.]
[Penalty: 'Saram123' is forbidden from entering the 6th Floor of Nightmare Difficulty for 21 days.]
[Reward: 'Saram123' acquires 'Skill: Ark (?)'.]
[Skill: Ark (?)]
Sets a 3-kilometer radius as the domain of the Ark. The Ark completely blocks all external threats, including The Fallen, and humans present within the Ark's domain are immune to the Tower's Curse. Only humans permitted by the skill caster may enter the domain of the Ark. The skill can be toggled on and off; an activated Ark lasts forever.
Category: Special-Type
Willpower Consumption: None
Cooldown: None
[If you enter the 6th Floor before accepting the proposal, the proposal will be nullified.]
[If 'Saram123' wishes to accept the proposal, please indicate your intent to accept.]
After reading the proposal, my frown deepened and I let out a heavy sigh.
“Ha…”
…What is this?
What the hell is it trying to pull?
* * *
The moment the Nightmare’s time limit reached 21 days.
Just like one year ago, a message appeared before the eyes of all humanity.
[The Tower makes a proposal to 'Saram123'.]
The Tower had made another proposal.
This time, however, its contents were entirely different.
The penalty the Tower presented to Saram123 wasn't a reduction in physical abilities or a skill ban.
It was a 21-day ban from entering the 6th Floor of the Nightmare.
In other words, it was telling him not to challenge the 6th Floor at all before the time limit ran out.
People were stunned.
[Reaper: A 21-day ban just means don't challenge the 6th Floor at all, right?]
[Retriever: What kind of bullshit trick is this now…]
[Honeybee: This isn't even a penalty, it's just blatant. It's really going this far?]
[Ricky: Look at the reward. Ark.]
[HeavyWeapon: Wait a minute, so right now…]
What the Tower offered in exchange was a skill called ‘Ark’.
It set a 3-kilometer radius as its domain.
Its effects were immunity to the Tower's Curse and the complete blockage of external threats, including The Fallen.
People quickly realized what this meant.
They realized what kind of choice the Tower was forcing upon Saram123.
[Festival: …So it's offering a way for a small part of humanity to survive, even if the world ends?]
[MonsterHunt: Yeah, but only if Saram123 gives up the 6th Floor challenge.]
If the Nightmare's time limit expired, 99% of humanity would die.
The remaining 1% would have no way to survive in a world where the other 99% had turned into monsters. It was a complete apocalypse either way.
But what if Saram123 chose the Ark?
At the very least, the humans inside the Ark could live in safety.
Even if it was only a 3-kilometer safe zone, the continuation of the human race would be possible.
[Bomb: This proposal is insane. The vast majority still dies and only a tiny minority survives. What's the difference?]
[Shepig: Will Saram123 accept this…?]
[Grape: No way. If he chooses it, most of humanity dies.]
[Howard: But how many people can actually live in a 3km radius?]
[SolarSystem: Dunno. Maybe a million?]
While the Communication Window was in an uproar, the real world was just as chaotic.
The live broadcast of Alejandro's 6th Floor entry was thrown into disarray by the Tower's sudden announcement.
“…What the hell.”
Alejandro, who had paused just before entering to read the Tower's proposal, twisted his face into a scowl.
He was the one challenging the 6th Floor right now.
So why the hell was the Tower making a proposal to Saram123 again?
And the contents of the proposal were absurd.
Ark? What the fuck was this?
Reading the description, it was a skill that would essentially let someone become the king of a post-apocalyptic world.
…It was offering a skill like that just for giving up the 6th Floor challenge?
It was going to such lengths to stop Saram123, but what about him?
Alejandro couldn't help but feel utterly dismissed by the Tower.
His pride stung, seething with indignation, he glared at the chaotic scene around him and shouted.
“Saram123!”
The commotion died down as all eyes focused on him.
Alejandro stared straight into the camera.
“…You can accept the Tower’s proposal. I will be the one clearing the 6th Floor anyway.”
His big moment had been ruined, but if he succeeded in clearing the 6th Floor, the spotlight would naturally return to him.
‘Tower, you son of a bitch.’
So you don't even see me as a threat?
Let's see if you can still pull this shit after I clear the 6th Floor.
[Would you like to enter the 6th Floor of Nightmare Difficulty?]
Without changing his plans, Alejandro charged ahead and entered the 6th Floor.
Not long after, the participant number in the Nightmare Communication Window decreased by one.
Alejandro had failed to clear the 6th Floor.
But no one cared. The world was in no position to worry about such trivial matters.
News outlets across the globe scrambled to report the breaking story.
“The Tower has once again made a proposal to Saram123.”
Panelists sat around news desks, speaking with grim faces.
“Now the Tower is trying to prevent Saram123 from challenging the floor altogether. Offering a reward just for not challenging it…”
“But the reward itself is… an Ark. If Saram123 gives up on clearing the 6th Floor and chooses the Ark, it means that even if the world ends, a small fraction of humanity will be able to survive.”
“A 3-kilometer radius is an area roughly half the size of Manhattan in New York. The population of Manhattan is about 1.6 million.”
“If Saram123 chooses the Ark, the death of the vast majority of humanity is inevitable.”
“Is there any possibility that he will give up the challenge and choose the Ark?”
“Looking at Saram123’s actions so far, I believe the possibility is incredibly low, but…”
In the end, all that mattered was Saram123’s choice.
Naturally, the absolute majority of people did not want him to choose the Ark.
The number of people who could be saved by it would be a tiny fraction, and no one believed they would be among the chosen.
Would Saram123, who had fought so hard for humanity, really choose a path that doomed the vast majority to die?
People wanted to believe he would never give up the challenge, but…
[Cat: …But couldn't he choose the Ark? At least it guarantees humanity survives in some form.]
[Greatsword: Are you serious? Billions of people will die!]
[GPanBa: If it were me, I might choose the Ark. How long do you expect him to keep this up?]
Saram123 was fighting for humanity.
That was a fact no one doubted anymore.
But… who could say how his desire to save humanity would manifest?
If Saram123 decided that the certain survival of a few was better than the uncertain future of all, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to give up the challenge and choose the Ark.
Waiting for Saram123’s choice, people trembled with anxiety. Some even took immediate action.
Since Saram123 was Korean, they assumed that if he chose the Ark, it would be created in South Korea.
Flights to South Korea from all over the world were instantly booked solid. Chaebols and high-ranking government officials tried to enter the country using private jets.
People grasping for even the slightest glimmer of hope began flocking to South Korea, and the South Korean government was caught completely off guard by the sudden, chaotic mess.
In less than a day, the Tower’s announcement had plunged the world into unprecedented chaos.
* * *
[Nightmare]
Participants: 278,822
Time Limit: 20 Days 6 Hours 55 Minutes 11 Seconds
Highest Floor Reached: 5th Floor
The time for my decision was slowly ticking away.
Having told my family I was going for a walk, I was now sitting in a motel room, deep in thought.
“…”
[Skill: Ark (?)]
Sets a 3-kilometer radius as the domain of the Ark. The Ark completely blocks all external threats, including The Fallen, and humans present within the Ark's domain are immune to the Tower's Curse. Only humans permitted by the skill caster may enter the domain of the Ark. The skill can be toggled on and off; an activated Ark lasts forever.
Category: Special-Type
Willpower Consumption: None
Cooldown: None
I stared at the description for the skill called Ark.
The Tower’s intention was crystal clear.
If you accept the apocalypse without challenging me, I’ll let a few of you live.
It felt like the Tower was trying to negotiate, telling me to be satisfied with this much.
Even though I had just confidently declared that I would fight to the bitter end.
My honest thought was… how much longer could I really hold out?
Wouldn't I eventually fail, making the world's destruction inevitable anyway?
And even if, by some miracle, I endured to the very end, what would be waiting for me there?
But if I chose the Ark…
My family and I could definitely survive. The problem of The Fallen would be solved.
Humanity would be confined to a much smaller world, but they could live on.
I looked it up. A 3-kilometer radius was about the size of a single district in Seoul.
I’d read somewhere that if you packed people in shoulder-to-shoulder, you could fit hundreds of millions. Of course, that was unrealistic… but a few hundred thousand people could probably live something resembling a normal life.
As for food and other issues, The Fallen wouldn't be much of a threat to me. Couldn't I manage by making regular trips outside the Ark?
Also, if the Tower's Curse only activated once after the time limit ended, and I continued to steadily take care of The Fallen…
Maybe, in the distant future, far more people than I thought could survive…
I spent the entire day running through every possible scenario.
If I chose the Ark, where should I establish it? Who should I let in during the remaining 20 days, and how? How would I maintain order afterward?
But as I considered all of this, it ultimately boiled down to a single question.
Could the Tower truly be trusted?
The Ark's description stated that it would completely block external threats and last forever, but this, too, was merely the Tower's power.
Choosing the Ark meant placing humanity’s future entirely in the palm of the Tower's hand.
In truth, my mind was already made up.
Let over eight billion people die to save a few hundred thousand, or maybe a few million at most?
The math just didn't add up.
Even so, a sliver of hesitation remained…
If I chose the Ark, I could at least guarantee my family’s survival.
And there was the gnawing anxiety that this might be the last proposal the Tower would ever offer—that I might be kicking away humanity's last chance for survival with my own two feet.
“…You could at least show a little generosity.”
I muttered into the empty air.
I didn't know if the Tower was listening, but I spoke to it anyway.
Even Thanos let half the universe live. You could at least offer something on that scale. A measly three-kilometer radius?
Of course, the Tower didn't reply.
Right…
This was a non-starter.
Fine. Time to upend the board.
Steeling my resolve one last time, I rose to my feet.
“Then I’ll just have to clear the 6th Floor.”
And the 7th, the 8th, the 9th, and all the ones after that.
I will not stop. Not until I reach the very top, or until you make me an offer I can actually accept.
No, I cannot stop.
[Would you like to enter the 6th Floor of Nightmare Difficulty?]
The world before my eyes dissolved.