Doom Tower Floor 2 (3)

The monsters turning into dolls was a given. But what the hell was this thing? If it had a name like goblin on the first floor, at least it would've been predictable. Meatball Heap Swarm? And a Black Mannequin right in front of the door? Fuck, what was lurking there on standby?

A completely sealed room called an elevator. The moment you open the one and only door blocking it like a firewall, you're isolated and dead. The structure reeked of malicious intent to kill you no matter what, and I irritably kicked the doll without thinking.

What came into view was a sealed rectangular room. I opened the only door on the opposite side from where I'd entered.

"Ha... no conscience... nah, of course there wouldn't be. You fucking bastards."

I kicked away the creepy name floating above the doll's head and opened the three doors one by one. Then, three new rooms appeared before me, each with three more doors attached.

And in the center of the left room, a one-eyed doll with its right arm grotesquely swollen.

...I took some time to scout the path. The front and right rooms ultimately led to dead ends. The correct path was the left one.

Alright, no getting pissed. Let's take it slow.

Opening the door reveals a new room with three additional doors. I open each of those three doors, prioritizing rooms with fewer doors.

To avoid confusing the rooms, I place a doll in the left corner as a marker.

Repeat this. Repeat and repeat and repeat.

Exploring a single floor takes less than 30 minutes, but this fourth floor? Who knows how many hours.

And then, at some point.

Something like a button being pressed echoed, and all the lights in the room went out.

"......!!"

My body froze. A vivid threat I'd never felt once since getting cheat difficulty.

I was in a dead-end room with only one door. I immediately closed the door I'd come through as quietly as possible and pressed my back against the wall.

'Fuck, what is this? What the hell. Why... am I in fucking danger right now?'

I had absolute faith in my difficulty. There wouldn't be monsters. Traps wouldn't be that dangerous either.

But the entire floor plunging into darkness in an instant sent all sorts of dangerous delusions racing through my head.

Should I stay put and hide in this one room? Or should I bolt out like an idiot? I agonized over it seriously.

At that moment, a sound like electricity flowing into the lights rang out, and the fourth floor lit up again.

"......Ah...?"

I suppressed my heart pounding so hard it hurt my chest and sat still in place for a few minutes. My thighs had gone weak; I had to tense the muscles until they swelled just to stand.

Pressing my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ear to the door, I heard nothing.

"Haa...."

Finally opening the door, the sight made me sigh. The doors I'd left open to avoid getting lost—they were all shut.

"Ah, fuck this tower, you crazy bastard."

Every single door I'd opened while wandering for hours—all shut tight without exception.

I was in some corner of this vast fourth floor. Finding the elevator again was practically impossible.

"Hoo... haa... calm down, calm down."

Just start over from the beginning, right? I trusted my difficulty.

Super Special Very Easy Mode—

"Hoo— haa... fuck... why won't anything show up...."

It'd been less than two hours. But endlessly opening doors to the same rooms felt like being trapped in a sealed chamber without oxygen, suffocating.

Yeah, let's take a break. I'm not in my right mind anymore. At least the doors are all open now? I've explored more than before—

And my vision went dark again. In that split second, a chill made my hands tremble before the lights came back on.

".............."

All the doors were shut.

"...This isn't it?"

There had to be another way. I was definitely doing something wrong. What? Air vents? Hidden walls? Or... the fourth floor was a trap, and the old man was on a lower floor... no, I'd thoroughly checked below.

'...Wait, I didn't check the air vents in the rooms.'

I smacked my forehead. Fine, I admit it. It's possible. But that won't end this. Why would Survival difficulty have a fourth floor if not? The old man sphinx had to be here.

I convinced myself like that. I'd already lost the path to the elevator anyway.

"Again, from the beginning."

Something might be causing this shitty situation. But in a setup where I just open doors and glance around, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what trigger could I have hit?

"...Huh?"

Then, an odd sound from far away. In a space where nothing alive breathed but me, my body instinctively moved to flee the opposite way... but.

"Ah, what was this guy's name again?"

It was too familiar—a sound from old TVs. Opening the door, a wind-up monkey doll waddled toward me, clanging its cymbals clang! clang—!

And the name floating above that utterly harmless doll's head.

"......."

Unlike its cute, noisy appearance, that name felt... chillingly eerie.

It wasn't like the other monsters, turned into motionless dolls. Even as a doll, it had the malice to seek out climbers.

Presumed to be the boss mob of Doom Tower Floor 2, it still clanged its cymbals clang clang! while circling me.

The irritating racket drilled into my ears, so I kicked it.

"No."

I'd heard Floor 2 cleared by killing whatever hid in the hotel rooms. Killing this presumed boss might change something?

Watching if it'd move somewhere, it just kept circling me. Let's just deal with it quick.

With the enhancement stone's slight strength buff, tearing the monkey doll apart was easier than expected.

Unlike the creepy vibe, the so-called Black Man died way too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easily. More than that, Black Man? In this unsettling maze, imagining a shadowy creep hunting me was creepy, but their naming sense sucked.

'Wait, so the Black Man moves actively?'

According to climbers' guides, monsters in rooms couldn't open doors themselves. They stayed trapped until time passed and doors auto-opened.

But this Black Man had possessed a moving doll via difficulty perks to hunt me down.

"Grab it first."

I picked up the now doll/corpse thing. Start over from the beginning again? What a pain.

"System, please... do something."

No response, of course.

I explored for another two hours or so by feel. Still no exit from the fourth floor, no strategy, just opening doors endlessly.

"Ah, it's trying to stick back together."

The torn wind-up doll, now in two pieces, was magnetically pulling itself back together. If it were a real monster... even killing it meant resurrection?

What a drag— On Floor 4, even if monster cries came from behind a door, I had to open it. The old man sphinx might be beyond.

And dodging an undead monster actively hunting climbers?

"Ah."

Fuck, stop turning off the lights already. Now I was used to it, counting in my head. One, two—three.

The hotel lit up again, all doors shut. Lost my way once more. Fourth time now.

I knew for sure. Either I was cursed with bad luck looping the same paths, or Floor 4 was structurally designed to make you lost.

But the real problem was elsewhere.

'It's been like seven hours since I hit Floor 4...'

No way they hadn't noticed me getting hit by this click bullshit four times. But I couldn't avoid it.

New challenge? Backtrack? Figure out a rule? Fuck, nothing.

The only option was opening doors and moving to the next room. If suspicion fixed it, I'd have cleared ages ago.

Hidden rooms? Buttons? Punching innocent walls and floors just hurt my hand.

"Ah, stop sticking, damn it."

Pondering deeply, the monkey doll—now recovered, torn and split parts healed—vigorously banged its cymbals.

Time to tear it again. My arms ached holding the pieces apart, but leaving it would mean cymbal hell on my eardrums.

Alone with a crazy moving doll in a maze hotel? I'd lose my mind. After hours, my sanity fraying, hunger and thirst creeping in.

And then, without a word from me, a message floated up.

"......."

Just now. A seriously chilling sensation passed through me.

The tower was pulling out all the stops to kill me.