Chapter 20
“Oh...”
I examined the accessories.
I really ended up getting all three of them.
If I had only chosen one, would only the one I picked have been in the Reward Room?
So Hidden Rewards could depend on what I do. It was a good thing I closed my eyes and just went for it.
I picked up the necklace.
It was a necklace with a silver chain, decorated in the center with a small gemstone like a ruby.
Only now did the Item Information pop up.
\[Item: Pligas's Blood Necklace\] A necklace mixed with the blood of Fligas, the Predator of the Demon Realm. If you summon Fligas to the Mortal World and defeat it, you can form a Master-Servant Contract. If you fail, the necklace will be destroyed. (Level 50 Recommended)
\[Would you like to use “Item: Pligas”s Blood Necklace'?\]
It was similar to Hailyn's explanation.
So, I have to summon it, fight it, and then defeat it to use it as a familiar.
“Level 50 Recommended...?”
When the Usage Notification popped up, it seemed summoning it was possible.
But Level 50 Recommended naturally meant it was a monster as strong as Level 50.
Currently, after clearing the hidden route and gaining another 5 levels, I am at Level 30.
If I fought it, wouldn't I probably die?
They were giving me an item I couldn't even dare to use right now.
I moved past this for now.
\[Item: Ban Diul's Bracelet\] It is a bracelet imbued with the Spirit of Darkness, Ban Diul. The higher your affinity with Ban Diul, the more abilities you can draw out.
Next was the bracelet, the ability of the Spirit of Darkness.
This was something I could probably try using right away.
No particular notification popped up, so I tried putting the bracelet on.
“...!”
A black aura crept out from the bracelet.
It clumped together in mid-air before my eyes and took the form of a small sphere.
Is this the Spirit of Darkness?
I carefully reached my hand out toward the Spirit.
However, it couldn't be touched, like smoke, and my finger passed right through it.
“...Hello?”
I am trying greeting it for now.
Since affinity was important, didn't that mean I had to accept it?
The round Spirit of Darkness circled around my head as if examining me, then returned to the front of my eyes.
What is this? This sensation is strange.
I could faintly feel the Spirit's mood, as if there were a connection.
It seemed to be saying, well, someone like you isn't bad.
“That's a relief. Then you'll let me use your abilities too, right?”
According to what Hailyn said, it was the ability to see through darkness. She must have meant Suggestion.
The Reward Room wasn't dark, so I couldn't test the ability right away.
“Do you have any other abilities? Can't you just use any ability for me once?”
I said while poking at the untouchable Spirit.
I stopped because I could feel the Spirit grumbling as if it were annoyed.
It was actually a little cute.
“Got it, sorry. Let's get along from now on.”
The Spirit of Darkness, Ban Diul, smoothly returned to the bracelet.
If its only ability was Suggestion, it didn't seem like it would be very useful, but...
“Should I consider it a growth type?”
It said I could draw out other abilities if our affinity increased, so let's look forward to it.
Finally, the ring.
\[Item: Ring of House Dafriya\] A ring engraved with the crest of House Dafriya. It is a token proving that you have left a favor with House Dafriya.
That was the only explanation.
Does this really have no effect?
I examined the ring this way and that.
“Why did something like this come out?”
Still, since it was called an item, did it have a use somewhere?
Hailyn did say they would grant me one favor if I came to House Dafriya, but the 2nd Floor Clear was over.
I wouldn't ever meet her again anyway... Hmm.
Having checked all the items, I checked the Skill stone, which was the other pure reward.
\[Skill Stone: Sixth Sense (Rare+)\] Upon use, you can acquire “Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)”.
\[Skill: Sixth Sense (Rare+)\] Your sixth sense is developed, allowing you to better detect danger. Category: Physical Skill (Passive) Willpower Cost: None Cooldown: None
Another Passive Skill appeared.
The grade was Rare+, not just Rare, fitting for a Hidden Reward, but... Ah, it felt somewhat lacking.
“Why aren't any Magic-type Skills appearing?”
Not a single Magic-type Skill appeared on the 2nd Floor this time.
Even though they say magic-type skills appear less frequently than physical skills.
Should I consider myself lucky that I only got Magic-type Skills on the 1st Floor?
I read the explanation for the Sixth Sense Skill.
The explanation of being able to better detect danger was vague.
It seemed I would have to be in a dangerous situation to check its effects.
\[Difficulty: Nightmare\] \[Floor: 3rd Floor\] \[Level: 30\] \[Willpower: 600\] \[Skills: Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+1), Exaltation (Rare), Leap (Normal)\]
Hailyn's three-piece accessory set and the Sixth Sense Skill.
With this, the 2nd Floor Hidden Rewards were over. My level had also gone up by 5.
I did get a lot of things, but... I felt strangely empty.
One I couldn't use right away; one was a growth type; one was an ornament; and the Skill was a passive, so I couldn't help but feel that way for now.
Right, I missed one.
There was also the useless Highest Grade Magic Stone.
I tossed the newly appeared magic stone onto the pile of magic stones stacked in a corner of the Reward Room.
Well, let's think positively. In the long run, it's actually better.
The necklace being Level 50 Recommended meant I could tame a monster that strong as a familiar.
If I clear up to the 3rd Floor's hidden route, I'll be Level 45, so wouldn't it be worth challenging then?
“The 3rd Floor...”
Come to think of it, I was already treating entering the 3rd Floor as a given.
It was probably because I had felt it for sure while clearing the 2nd Floor.
Hoping for someone else to clear this crazy difficulty was ultimately a futile expectation.
...Yeah, I should abandon such expectations now.
It was about time I firmly made up my mind.
---
I rested for a day and immediately entered the 2nd Floor again for a Repeat Clear.
Since I had cleared the hidden route too, I now had to organize and upload the information for the 2nd Floor.
What I needed to check were the exact locations and number of the Illusionary Platforms.
I was going to check if there were other Illusionary Platforms besides the fourth one by jumping on them one by one this time.
I moved up to the third platform using Leap and Teleportation.
I stroked my chin as I faced the fourth Illusionary Platform.
The mechanism for that was definitely that the Hidden Platform would appear once the illusion disappeared, right?
If so, couldn't I just touch the platform from a distance without stepping on it directly?
I tried launching a Flame Strike toward the Illusionary Platform.
The fireball passed right through the Illusionary Platform and flew to the other side.
The Illusionary Platform disappeared, and the Hidden Platform on the side appeared.
“It works.”
With this method, there was no need for a Skill that allowed movement in mid-air.
Instead, they would need some kind of Ranged Attack Skill.
I jumped toward the platform.
“Ugh.”
I had planned to succeed without Teleportation, but I failed.
I used teleportation to get up onto the platform.
Even after trying it again, this isn't easy.
Maybe it would be a good idea to train here by running around and heightening my body's senses. I should consider it.
I stepped on the next platforms one by one.
Fifth, sixth, seventh... They were all perfectly fine platforms, not traps.
The final eighth platform before the Main Platform.
“...?”
I felt a strange sensation as I faced the eighth platform.
How should I put it, a slightly uncomfortable feeling?
The source of that discomfort was clearly the eighth platform.
I soon realized the cause.
Ah, could this be?
“Is this the effect of the Sixth Sense Skill?”
It allows me to better detect danger.
I already knew the fourth platform was dangerous, but I didn't know what the eighth platform was yet.
But seeing as I got this feeling, that must have been an Illusionary Platform too.
I launched a Flame Strike.
As expected, the platform disappeared like an illusion, and the Hidden Platform appeared.
“So it”s a Skill that activates like this.'
This is pretty good, isn't it?
Of course, the Sixth Sense Skill didn't tell me exactly what was dangerous or how.
I already knew in my head that the platform was an illusion, and if I had no information, I would have just gotten a vague feeling that the eighth platform was somehow dangerous.
But even that alone was incredibly useful.
The biggest burden in clearing the Tower is, above all, the lack of information.
A complete unknown where you can't tell what kind of danger is lurking.
Latecomers might be fine, but it's a burden that someone doing the First Clear absolutely has to bear.
If I had a skill like this, that risk could be reduced quite a bit.
Nice. Hmm, nice.
Having confirmed the effect of my newly acquired Skill, I felt a sense of satisfaction and crossed over to the Main Platform.
I confirmed that the fourth and eighth platforms in the first Platform Section were illusions, and then I checked the rest of the traps.
The Glowing Platform was still in the same location even when observed for the third time now, and the Protruding Floor was the same.
Having finished checking everything, I entered a few more times afterward to see if the locations of the traps changed by any chance. They didn't change.
If there happened to be differences for each person, there was nothing I could do about that. I would have to give a warning about that part.
However, given that even the minor details were exactly the same for everyone when I had a long talk with Mr. Rhinoceros about the 1st Floor, the 2nd Floor would probably be the same.
“I should upload it soon.”
It took quite a while to finish organizing the information.
Returning to my room, I lay on my bed and started writing a post in the communication channel.
---
A few days passed after the Nightmare Difficulty, 2nd Floor was cleared.
People's attention was solely focused on who the protagonist of the 2nd Floor Clear was.
The Nightmare Communication Channel had been nothing but silent so far, and there was no news through the media either. Only the United States first released an official statement saying it wasn't they.
\[Baekseok: It must be painful for the United States too. If they had challenged it just a little later, they wouldn't have regrettably lost one person.\] \[Hobak: Why aren't any posts coming up in the Nightmare Communication Channel?\] \[Hashbrown: Who do you think cleared it? Since the United States says it wasn't it, I think it's China.\] \[Reollip: Whoever it is, I just hope they keep climbing straight up from now on.\] \[Freemin: But am I the only one who thinks Person123 cleared it again?\] \[Hanwol: I think the chances of that are low this time. The established theory is that he's an Unregistered Climber, right?\]
The 1st Floor might be one thing, but from the 2nd Floor onward, being able to receive outside support was a huge factor.
The main thought among people was that other clearers receiving national support would have cleared the 2nd Floor, rather than Person123, the First Nightmare Conqueror known as an Unregistered Climber, and it was a rational thought.
Of course, since he was the First Conqueror, he would have secured the First Clear Rewards, but even so, would that compare to a nation funneling all the skill stones, enhancement stones, and items to one person?
\[Mateus: Wouldn't it be China after all? It must be investing in its Nightmare Challenger just as much as the United States.\] \[Hwaseok: China does have a high probability.\] \[Rusawiktalk: I heard something, and they say it's Russia.\]
While only speculations were running rampant, a single post suddenly popped up in the Nightmare Communication Channel.
\[Person123: 2nd Floor Clear Information.\]
Just like a year ago, it was a post that started with a concise sentence.