Conquering the Nightmare 4th Floor After a Shocking 3-Game Losing Streak
I'm lying in bed, watching a Blood Mage guide video after conquering the 4th floor. But there's one thing that bugs me.
Hmm. But isn't that the jungler's job to ward?
I need to rush items and win lane—do I really have to buy wards?
I'm deep in this serious contemplation when...
Bzzz.
My phone buzzes with a message alert.
Huh? A message from my friend.
[Ice Coffee: It's fine now.]
Aha, must've been hunter work.
I nod to myself. Hunters are like that.
Something like an A-rank gate popping up suddenly, and they have to rush out.
Of course, she's not high-rank enough to get thrown into major incidents, but a small gate could've opened in her area.
Anyway, she doesn't sound hurt or in trouble—relief.
[Ice Coffee: Didn't run any games today?]
Hmm…
I did solo queue and went 0-3.
Feels embarrassing to admit.
I hesitate, then fess up honestly.
[Ice Coffee: Wanna duo later? I'll carry.]
Duo's an option, huh.
Normally I'd jump on it, but today feels off.
3-game tilt hangover's worse than expected.
Honestly, no desire to play more.
[JinYoo: Still tilted from 0-3;;]
[Ice Coffee: Got it. Next time then.]
Just as I'm wrapping up...
A thought hits me.
Oh right.
Nightmare 5th floor.
No info on Hunter Gallery.
But she's an active hunter—maybe she's heard something?
Worth a shot.
No reply for a bit.
Then...
[Ice Coffee: Why ask?]
[Ice Coffee: …You're just hitting floor 4 soon, right? Not thinking Nightmare already?]
Oops.
Guilty as charged.
Too direct?
I am planning Nightmare, but...
[JinYoo: Hunter Gal has zero info on 5]
[Ice Coffee: Climb safe.]
[Ice Coffee: Tell me if you need anything.]
[Ice Coffee: If you got hurt, I'd…]
[Ice Coffee: …Nah, overreacting. Forget that.]
Five messages in a row.
Whoa…
I blink, flustered.
This feels beyond casual gamer buds.
Considering she's a hunter... maybe trauma from watching a teammate die in a gate?
Explains the over-worry.
[JinYoo: I'll climb safe no worries]
But honestly, I'm the ultimate safety-first type.
I'll play it so safe it's ridiculous—no need to fret.
If my familiars weren't handling the fighting, I'd never touch Nightmare on foot.
You don't know it, but my familiars? Way stronger than they seem.
Katarina rescued that S-rank Ice Emperor, after all.
Plus Siyeon, freshly boosted by grace...
Nightmare floor 4? Child's play for me.
A few days pass.
Tower of Trials cooldown finally resets.
"Let us go, my familiars."
"Yes, my lord."
"Yes, Master."
I enter the Tower with my trusty duo.
Entering Trial Floor 4, Nightmare difficulty.
Trial begins in 10 seconds.
The familiar graveyard sprawls before us.
But the vibe's different.
The moon hangs blood-red in the sky.
Straight-up boss arena energy.
“Grraaaaaah…”
Two massive monsters loom in the distance.
Gray-skinned baldies with glowing red eyes.
Tattered cloaks, massive staves—ghoul monsters.
...So that's a Ghoul Lord.
Exact match from Hunter Gallery攻略 posts.
Nightmare 4th floor boss.
Head of the ghoul legion, endlessly summoning underlings as commander.
Trial begins!
Boom!
The Ghoul Lords slam their staves into the ground.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“Grraaaaaah!!” “Grraaaaaah!!” “Grraaaaaah!!”
Summoning circles flare, spewing endless ghouls.
Floor 4's way tougher than 3, right?
Ghouls outclass zombies in bulk, and not one but two Ghoul Lords summoning them.
Drag it out, and ghouls multiply infinitely.
Even AoE can't keep up—exhaustion leads to wipe. Classic fail pattern.
Hence, "Wall of Wailing."
Promising talents who twist through to Nightmare 3 crumble here.
They've got talent to reach this far, pride won't let 'em quit—retry hundreds of times, some even die.
Yeah, most classes hit a hard physical limit, talent or not.
But.
Sorry to those who hit the wall here, but.
"Clear them away."
...To me, it's barely different from floor 3?
Fwomp fwomp fwomp—!
Katarina flicks her wrist beside me.
Ghoul horde? Deleted in one shot.
Kuh. As expected of Katarina!
Her AoE barrage is always insane.
And that's not all.
Flash—!
Siyeon's turn.
Kicks off the ground, blitzes the first Ghoul Lord.
Her nails glow red.
Blood Claw.
Slash—!!
"G-grr?"
No reaction time for a mere Ghoul Lord.
Head clean off—instant death.
Thud.
Massive body crumples.
Whoa.
Siyeon's a beast too.
I'm impressed, but no time to gawk.
One Ghoul Lord left.
Siyeon doesn't close in this time.
“……”
Just raises a finger from standstill, calmly aims.
Next instant.
Pew—Bang!
Rending shot through the air—Ghoul Lord's chest explodes, body flops.
Whoaaa…
My latest grace gift to her.
The power of Blood Bullet.
Full-on sniper!
Claws up close, bullets at range.
Give an assassin a ranged tool? Sniper born.
A monstrously powerful one.
And that's just tier 1 grace?
Siyeon's Blood Bullet is the baseline tier 1 blood grace.
That power anyway.
Her base specs make it broken.
Already A-rank assassin level, stats skyrocketed post-familiar.
Skills on top? Power goes nuclear.
Hehe. Good call giving Siyeon Blood Bullet.
Extremely satisfied.
Trial Floor 4 (Nightmare) cleared!
Clear time: 00:05
5 seconds.
The infamous Nightmare 4 wall crumbles in a joke.
Ding! Ding!
Trial cleared.
Level up.
Rewards granted.
Clear time under 1 minute.
Additional rewards granted!
World record achieved!
Hm. #1 again today.
Record alerts barely faze me now.
Expected.
But before rewards, one thing first.