Chapter 95: Nightmare 7th Floor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Nightmare 7th Floor (2)
I stepped through the gate and into the next area.
Kuuung!
The stone gate slammed shut behind me.
I immediately stopped time.
It was a cavern, no different from the last one. Arrow holes dotted the walls on all sides, and another gate stood at the far end.
But there was no way it was the same stage. The difficulty had to have increased… though, at a glance, I couldn't tell what had changed.
I released the time stop and moved to the center of the cavern.
The moment I did…
Fwoosh.
The torches lighting the cavern went out in unison.
A pitch-black darkness descended, so thick I couldn't see an inch in front of my face.
‘Aha…’
So that’s the gimmick?
I immediately understood the concept of this stage. It was designed to deprive the challenger of their sight.
But that was no problem for me.
‘Diul.’
I activated Night Vision.
An arrow flew from the front, heralded by my Sixth Sense. Now that I could see it clearly, I simply sidestepped to dodge.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
The size and speed of the arrows were no different from before. That meant I could dodge them with ease. Even if I couldn't see, I probably would have managed with my Sixth Sense alone, but with Night Vision active, there was no way I’d get hit.
The interval between the arrows grew shorter and shorter…
Then, just as the volley seemed to be winding down, my Sixth Sense blared a warning from above.
It wasn't just one.
I looked up. The instant I saw the arrows being fired, I stopped time.
A rain of arrows, covering a wide area, was plunging toward me.
Let’s see…
‘I can dodge by going that way.’
Dozens of arrows were falling toward the ground simultaneously. I calmly identified a gap I could slip through, released the time stop, and threw myself in that direction.
Kwaaaang!
The ground was decimated.
That must have been the final wave, because after I dodged that volley, no more arrows came flying.
Kugugugu—
The torches flared back to life, and the stone gate to the next stage groaned open.
Stage 2, a smooth success.
I approached the gate.
Kwang!
This time, a surprise arrow flew at me—not from the front, but from behind. Of course, I knew it was coming and dodged it effortlessly.
‘Still manageable so far…’
Stage 1 was pure dodging. Stage 2 was dodging in the dark.
To be fair, expecting someone to handle this on their first try was a bit much. But everything was relative. For a Nightmare Difficulty, this was still on the gentle side.
I was about to pass through the gate when I paused.
…Should I look around a bit before moving on?
It was obvious the difficulty would increase with each stage. I remembered the 4th Floor, and a familiar anxiety crept in. There might be a hidden gimmick that would screw me over later if I didn't notice it early.
I decided to inspect the cavern a little more before proceeding. I spent quite a while looking around, but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
I walked over to the gate from Stage 1. It seemed impossible to go back; the firmly shut gate didn't react at all. I even tried firing a fully charged Destruction Ray at it, but the gate was completely unharmed. Not a single scratch.
“Hmm.”
Looks like the gates are indestructible. Then again, if they could be destroyed, a challenger could just break everything and bypass the stage mechanics.
In the end, I had no choice but to move on.
Kuuung.
The gate closed behind me.
Stage 3 was another identical cavern, but one thing was different. A massive pattern was carved into the floor—a symbol of two arrows chasing each other’s tails in a clockwise rotation.
What did it mean? It obviously wasn't there for decoration.
I stopped time for a moment to think.
…Turn in a circle? Or maybe something gets swapped?
I wasn't Detective Conan; there was a limit to what I could deduce just by looking.
‘What do you think this means, Demon King?’
—Figure it out yourself.
The Demon King scoffed, but it seemed he didn't know either. Guess I had no choice but to test it with my own body.
I released the time stop. For now, I stayed away from the pattern, standing at the very edge of the cavern.
Just then.
Paaat!
The pattern began to glow like a magic circle.
“…?!”
What the—?
I tried to move, but I instantly lost my balance and fell over. Bewildered, I immediately stopped time.
‘…What is this?’
My body felt alien. What was that just now? I had clearly tried to move my right leg, but my left leg had moved instead. When I tried to regain my balance, my body moved chaotically, and I toppled over.
I released the time stop. I tried to move my right hand. My left hand moved.
‘Don’t tell me…’
I understood the situation at once. My body’s left-right controls had been reversed.
When I tried to move my right side, my left side moved, and vice versa. It was as if the nerves connecting my left and right brain had been swapped.
So that’s what the arrow pattern meant.
…It’s fine. No need to panic. I just have to move in reverse, right?
I placed both hands on the floor and awkwardly pushed myself up. My Sixth Sense blared a warning. An arrow was about to fly in from the left.
I stopped time again. I thought about how to move, then released time and acted.
I wanted to move to the front-left, so I forced my brain to move to the front-right. I dodged the arrow, but I lost my balance again and fell.
‘Ah, dammit.’
I could manage a single action, but if I tried to move continuously, my body was bound to get tangled up. No matter how much I understood it intellectually, adapting to a left-right reversal wasn't something you could do instantly.
This time, an arrow came from behind. I stopped time again.
Of course, it was impossible to adapt and move properly right away… but I had time stop. If my body got tangled, I could just stop time, think, and then move.
I released the time stop and threw my body to the left, dodging the second arrow. I didn't bother getting up, keeping my hands on the floor. This was better than standing on two feet.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
Dodge, stop time, dodge, stop time.
I kept evading the arrows, hopping around on all fours like a frog.
‘This is doable.’
It looked a little pathetic, but who cared? This was far more efficient. As I’d thought, there was no need to use skills yet. It would certainly be easier if I used them, but I had no idea what might pop out next, so I couldn't let my guard down. The right move was to dodge what I could and save my resources.
Kwang!
The final arrow barrage. I stopped time.
This time, a dense volley of countless arrows flew at me from the front. There were gaps to dodge through, but my body wasn't under precise control. I wasn't confident I could slip through the narrow spaces between the arrows.
No need to take unnecessary risks.
I completed my Mental Focus and used the Teleportation I had been saving. The arrows cut through empty air and slammed violently into the opposite wall.
No more arrows came. The light from the pattern on the floor faded.
I got to my feet. My body, which had been reversed, finally returned to normal.
“Hoo.”
Stage 3, success.
That one was a little tough. Honestly, without time stop, I wouldn't have been able to control my body properly. I might have been seriously screwed.
In any case, the level of bullshit was definitely increasing, as befitting a Nightmare. How many stages are there, anyway?
I recovered a bit of my stamina and approached the gate to the next stage.
Kugugugu—
There were no more cheap surprise arrows. I moved on to Stage 4.
“…?”
Stage 4 was another identical cavern. This time, too, there was a large pattern on the floor—a symbol of a human foot with an arrow next to it pointing down.
What could that mean? My first instinct was that it meant my speed would be slowed.
But besides the pattern, there was something else. In the center of the cavern, several swords were stuck in the ground.
‘A rainbow?’
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Seven swords in seven different colors.
I approached them. No warning from my Sixth Sense. I picked one up; it was just an ordinary longsword, aside from its color.
Why give me weapons all of a sudden? And multiple copies of the same weapon? Why the colors?
Just as I was thinking they must have some purpose…
Kwang!
I dodged. An arrow plunged from above, destroying the ground. The shockwave sent the swords flying in all directions with a loud clatter.
The arrows began to fly. There was no difference from the previous stages, and I dodged them easily.
However…
“…?”
One of the arrows was unusual. Unlike the others, which were practically missiles, this one was an ordinary-sized arrow. And it was blue.
I dodged it for now. As the blue arrow missed and stuck into the floor, the pattern on the ground suddenly began to glow.
“…!”
Something else was coming.
Kwang!
The next arrow flew in without giving me a moment's rest. As soon as I dodged it, I noticed an alien feeling in my body.
‘My body is…’
A little sluggish?
I stopped time. I needed a moment to think.
First, my guess about the pattern’s meaning—a Slow-type debuff—seemed to be correct. Seven swords in the colors of the rainbow. A colored arrow, different from the others. And when the arrow hit the floor… the pattern activated.
As I pieced the information together, a thought struck me.
‘Am I supposed to parry the arrows with the swords?’
Colored swords, colored arrows. The connection was natural. The fact that only the colored arrows were of normal size, unlike the absurdly large ones, also supported this.
Perhaps I had to parry the arrow with the sword of the same color to prevent the Slow debuff from activating? And if I failed, my body would just keep getting slower.
I had to grab the swords.
The moment I released the time stop, I ran to pick up the scattered weapons.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
I dodged arrows and collected the swords one by one. This time, a purple arrow appeared.
‘Crap.’
The speed wasn't too difficult to parry, but I hadn't picked up the purple sword yet. I used the blue one I was holding instead.
Hwaaa—
The light from the pattern grew stronger. My body felt a little more sluggish. It seemed I really did have to match the colors.
I soon gathered all the swords.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
I had two stacks of Slow, but it wasn't enough to seriously hinder me yet. The effect of my Exhilaration skill offset some of it. But if this continued, it would be dangerous. If my body became so sluggish that I couldn't dodge the missile-arrows, I'd have to take the full brunt of the attack.
I had to parry the next colored arrow. But…
‘…This is a bit tough.’
Seven swords, but only two hands. Right now, I had them all tucked awkwardly into my belt. In this state, picking out the right sword for the arrow's color and swinging it in time was, by any measure, impossible.
…Wait a minute. I can just use Subspace, can't I?
[Skill: Subspace (Epic)]
You can create a subspace to store or retrieve objects. To store an object, you must be in direct contact with it. To retrieve an object, you can summon it within a 1-meter radius. It is impossible to store living beings or spirits. A maximum of 100 kilograms can be stored. Requires 3 minutes of Mental Focus to cast.
Category: Magic-Type
Willpower Cost: 300
Cooldown: None
Using time stop, I put all the swords into my Subspace. Subspace had no cooldown for storing or retrieving items. It was entirely possible to pull out the correct sword for each arrow's color and parry it.
I dodged arrows with my slightly slowed body.
‘Red.’
A red arrow was mixed in with the others. I stopped time, took out the red sword, and parried the arrow.
Kang!
This time, the pattern’s light didn't intensify. So this was the correct answer.
I dodged the missile-like arrows and used Subspace to parry the colored arrows with their matching swords. Dodge, parry, dodge, parry. The interval between shots grew shorter, making it hectic. But whenever it got too intense, I could just stop time and take a breather.
And so, aside from the first two I missed, I successfully parried every single colored arrow. After a few minutes, the arrows stopped flying.
Stage 4 was over.
Kugugugu—
The gate to the next stage opened. I took a short break, tilting my head.
‘Something feels a bit…’
Subtle. Are there really no hidden gimmicks or tricks? For some reason, the 7th Floor felt like a pure test of skill. Of course, with the left-right reversal and the color-matching parries, these alone would be impossible for other Climbers to clear without prior information.
In any case, I couldn't let my guard down. I'd only know what other bullshit might pop out when I reached the very end.
“Let’s go.”
I didn't bother discarding the colored swords, keeping them in my Subspace just in case.
I moved on to Stage 5.