Chapter 54
I moved to the Reward Room.
The 4th Floor hidden clear was quite a struggle too.
If I hadn't run into that monster escort at the end, it would have been an easy clear.
Anyway, clearing it was all that mattered.
I checked the rewards scattered on the floor around me.
“...Oh.”
I let out a small exclamation.
A purple skill stone.
It was Epic Grade.
Right, since it's the 4th Floor, it's about time the grade went up, isn't it?
After all, the hidden clears had consistently rewarded Rare+ grade skill stones or skill enhancement stones since the 1st Floor.
I turned my gaze elsewhere.
The skill stone is Epic Grade, and as for the item reward, let's see...
Well, I had a rough guess.
So they really gave this as a reward?
I picked up the warp device.
\[Item: Highest Grade Warp Device\]
A warp device that integrates the Magic Engineering Technology of the Dateian Empire. It can be activated by charging Willpower, allowing movement of 10 meters per 1 Willpower. You can move to a Saved Point or use it by setting a direction. You can Save up to one point. However, Movement between inside and outside the Tower is impossible. It takes 10 minutes to activate.
Current Charge: 0/1,000,000
I read the description.
It was quite long.
An item used by charging Willpower.
And it said I could move 10 meters per 1 Willpower.
Current Charge: 100/1,000,000
I immediately filled it with 100 Willpower, and the number changed.
\[Since the Maximum Charge Amount is 1 million...\]
Then does that mean I can move up to 10 million meters, or 10,000 kilometers?
“That's freaking awesome.”
With this, I wouldn't even need to take a plane when traveling abroad.
That kind of trivial thought came to mind first.
Of course, I wouldn't be crazy enough to actually use this to go overseas.
\[What's a point, anyway?\]
Looking at the description, it said I could move to a Saved Point or move by setting a direction.
Moving by setting a direction probably meant just moving in that direction like Teleportation.
Was a point something like a Checkpoint?
I figured it meant I could pinpoint that exact location and move there.
\[Would you like to save your current location as a point?\]
A notification popped up when I tried to use it.
Ah, like this? Understood.
I canceled the point save.
To summarize the functions of the warp device:
Can move up to 10,000 kilometers.
Can move to a Saved Point.
Can move just by setting a direction, like Teleportation.
Can Save up to one point.
Movement between inside and outside the Tower is impossible.
It was roughly this much.
Plus, there wasn't really a Cooldown.
The Willpower Cost was massive, but that wasn't much of a problem for me.
The only downside was that it takes 10 minutes to activate?
It wasn't an item I could utilize during combat.
If not for the Activation Time, I could have used it at least once as an Emergency Escape Device when in danger.
“Now, then...”
Next, it was time to check the skill.
I wonder what Epic Grade Skill popped up.
I picked up the skill stone with anticipation.
\[Skill Stone: Subspace (Epic)\]
Upon use, you can acquire “Skill: Subspace (Epic)”.
“...Subspace?”
The word wasn't unfamiliar.
It's the Subspace I know, right? Something like an Inventory.
\[You have acquired “Skill: Subspace (Epic)”.\]
I immediately acquired it and read the description.
\[Skill: Subspace (Epic)\]
Creates a Subspace to store or retrieve objects. When storing an object, you must make direct contact with it, and when retrieving it, you can take it out within a 1-meter radius. It is impossible to store living creatures or spiritual bodies. You can store up to 100 kilograms. Casting requires 3 minutes of Mental Concentration.
Category: Magic-type
Willpower Cost: 300
Cooldown: None
This really is an Inventory.
Since it wasn't a Combat Skill, it felt like something slightly ambiguous had popped up, but...
I decided to try using it first.
I took out the dull Ice Dagger.
I stopped time, finished my Mental Concentration, and cast Subspace.
Pat.
The dagger vanished with a pop.
To take it out again?
I stopped time again, did my Mental Concentration, and cast Subspace.
Pat.
The Ice Dagger returned to my hand.
It costs Willpower both when storing and retrieving.
I continued to use Subspace and experimented with it.
I had to use the skill separately for storing and retrieving, but it was possible to put in multiple items at once.
Also, I couldn't store Diul's bracelet or Flee's necklace.
It seemed that was the case since it said living creatures or spiritual bodies couldn't be stored.
I just got a skill that was exactly like an Inventory.
The Willpower Cost and Concentration Time were considerable, but that wasn't a problem for me.
I decided to think positively, considering I had gained a rather useful utility skill.
I was just finding it cumbersome to carry around so many items dangling off me anyway.
“I can just store them here from now on.”
I immediately put everything into the Subspace, except for the necklace and bracelet.
\[Difficulty: Nightmare\]
\[Floor: 5th Floor\]
\[Level: 60\]
\[Willpower: 2,100\]
\[Skills: Line of Destruction (Epic+), Subspace (Epic), Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+)(+2), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+)(+1)...\]
Having finished the Reward Settlement, I exited outside.
The hidden clear was all done too.
Now it was time to diligently organize and post the information post again.
---
After the Nightmare 4th Floor was cleared.
The topics people chattered about in the communication window were largely two things.
One was the Branch Towers that were soon to appear. Having already experienced the Fallen Incident, it was natural for people to be anxious about what the Tower was planning to do next.
\[Yuseong: It means more towers are going to appear, so are we supposed to climb those too?\]
\[Saika: Who knows. They said the locations are random, so whichever Nation gets hit is probably in big trouble.\]
\[Hwikhwik: They said five of them are appearing, I'm seriously worried about what kind of bullshit this is...\]
\[Pullbit: If the Branch Towers have a time limit too, seriously lol\]
The other was about the Strategy Guide that Person123 would post, just as he did every year.
This 4th Floor was especially unique. Because it was a floor cleared after selecting a penalty.
\[Hawaii: When is the 4th Floor post coming up? When is the 4th Floor post coming up? When is the 4th Floor post coming up? When is the 4th Floor post coming up? When is the 4th Floor post coming up?\]
\[Dawn of Chaos: Person123, hurry up and post the 4th Floor Information Post!\]
\[Hwak-in: Is Person123 your Friend? You should say “please post it”.\]
\[Pandong: Ah, I'm going crazy from curiosity. When exactly is it coming up?\]
\[Priyan: But if he managed to clear it even after selecting a penalty, wouldn't it have been less vicious than the other floors this time?\]
\[Whistle: He cleared it even after selecting a penalty? Ah, this floor must have been a bit easy! (X) Ah, Person123 is truly a god! (O)\]
\[999th Floor: The floor number went up, so logically, would it be easier? lol\]
The information post Person123 uploaded after a Nightmare clear was no different from an event. Especially since the mood was great with the time limit having just been extended by another year.
The Climbers in the communication window chattered and predicted among themselves just how vicious and how much of a bullshit it must have been this time, waiting only for the information post to go up.
Each Nation, especially those possessing a Nightmare Challenger, was also thoroughly Monitoring, checking by the second whether the information post had gone up or not. Because they had to go into In-depth Analysis the moment Person123's information post went up.
\[Person123: This is the 4th Floor Strategy Guide.\]
And finally, the post went up.
\[Person123: The interval between the golems, the time it takes for the golems to reach the Exit, and the Rest Period between stages are identical to other difficulties. However, Nightmare Difficulty proceeds up to Stage 18 with a repeating sequence of 5, 10, and 20 golems. Stages 1-3 feature Basic Golems with no abilities, and Stages 4-6 feature Blue Golems with 99% Physical Damage immunity...
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Picking up the cores of destroyed golems grants Points and opens the Shop. The Shop List is as follows. The Points given by the golems are 50P per golem for Stages 1-3, 100P for Stages 4-6, 150P for Stages 7-9...
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If you clear up to Stage 18, the Final Boss appears at the end. The boss possesses all the abilities of the Blue, Red, Black, Green, and Yellow Golems that have appeared so far. The only way to defeat the boss is to draw the “Ability Nullification Part” from the Shop's Special Gacha. Since it's a One Third chance, this relies entirely on luck, and there is no other way but to save as many Points as possible...
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...If there is exactly one other method, it is to use Great Incineration and endure. Great Incineration kills the boss as well. If you can survive even slightly longer than the boss, the clear is successful.
The method I used to clear it was also to use a Recovery-type Skill with Stacked Enhancement multiplied 27 times using 300% Scrolls, and then activate Great Incineration to outlast the boss. From my experience, it seemed to take about 10 seconds for the boss to completely die, but this part is uncertain.
Above all, this method cannot guarantee success at all, so I absolutely do not recommend it as a Main Strategy Plan. You should only use it as a Last Resort if you possess a Recovery-type Skill and ultimately fail to draw the Ability Nullification Part.\]
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A lengthy information post, much longer than the one for the 3rd Floor.
The communication window soon exploded.
\[Santa Claus: Total 18 Stages? Are they crazy?\]
\[Snow Mountain: 99% Damage Immunity, Damage Ignore, one-time resurrection... Wow, what a colorful variety of bullshit.\]
\[Beluga: Still, wouldn't it be doable if you use the Shop well?\]
\[Suwag: The boss is the biggest problem. If you can't draw the Ability Nullification Part, it's just telling you to die.\]
\[Baekro: Luck-based Shitty Game;\]
\[Waguwagu: He said there's a way even if you can't draw it. Being Incinerated along with the boss.\]
\[Benjanyu: No... but can you even call something like that a method?\]
\[Highest Firepower: So Person123 came up with that idea the moment he had a Draw Failure and burned himself alive, is this a thought process possible for a normal person...?\]
\[Demigod: He clears Nightmare every year precisely because he isn't normal, right?\]
\[Lunar Eclipse: Taking a penalty on top of it, the 4th Floor was seriously no joke...\]
People could not hide their shock upon seeing the method he used to clear the 4th Floor.
The Training Facility of the American Climbing Bureau.
Taylor, who was checking the communication window while wiping her sweat, gradually had her expression stiffen.
“Are you reading it right now?”
Max, who happened to be visiting the facility, asked upon seeing her staring into mid-air.
“I read it on my way here too. The 4th Floor was also sickeningly terrible.”
“Indeed. Distributing Points well will be the key.”
Taylor let out a sigh.
“This person... is truly amazing. I always feel a wall whenever I read his strategy posts.”
Reading the post, this 4th Floor had a heterogeneous element different from the previous floors. Namely, the existence of the gacha.
No matter how well you gather Points, you cannot defeat the boss if luck isn't on your side.
She could feel the Tower's vicious malice, intending to test not only skill but even luck now.
Person123 seemed to have fallen into that trap as well. He failed to draw the Ability Nullification Part.
What must the situation have been like? Taylor tried putting herself in his shoes and imagining it.
The Final Boss Stage, the result of spending all remaining Points on draws was the Great Purge Switch and three 300% Scrolls.
It must have been maddeningly despairing and unfair. Thinking that the clear failed not due to a lack of ability, but merely because that bit of luck didn't follow.
Even she, who had undergone numerous Mental Training sessions as a former CIA SAC Agent, honestly wasn't confident she could properly maintain her composure in such a situation.
And yet, Person123 found a way.
He threw the best gamble he could with what he had, and succeeded.
To burn together with the boss and outlast it.
How on earth did he come up with such a method? And how did he actually think to execute it?
By going to such lengths, he had ultimately saved the world once again. He was a great man, worthy of gratitude and respect.
Honestly, she had been feeling increasingly skeptical lately about her reasons for climbing the Tower.
The grand cause of doing it for Humanity had long since faded, and now it was ultimately just a Latecomer squabble with China for national interest.
Even trying with all her might, she was barely managing to chase after Person123's shadow. She had genuinely almost died on the 3rd Floor too.
She was merely following; it wasn't like she could be of any help to him. She was completely useless.
...After reading the 4th Floor's information post, she suddenly snapped back to her senses.
Here was a person fighting a lonely, desperate battle at the very front to save Humanity.
What kind of damn meaning was she constantly trying to find for herself?
What would be his reason for sharing Strategy Guides every time? What would be his reason for always providing uncompensated help?
It could only be to entrust the rear to them in case he himself failed.
Therefore, she had to keep climbing the Tower. One's usefulness is not something to decide for oneself.
Whether she was useful or not, whether there was meaning or not, whether she would ultimately die in vain, there was no need to think about such things.
She just had to do her best to live up to his noble will.
Taylor let out a deep breath and spoke to Max.
“Max.”
“Yes.”
“Let's formulate a 4th Floor strategy as quickly as possible.”
Max looked at her, seemingly a bit surprised by her sudden display of motivation, and then nodded.
“Understood.”
---
Downtown Chongqing City, China.
Kugugugu-
People walking on the streets screamed at the sudden earthquake.
The ground split, buildings collapsed, and something began to rise.
A massive Black Tower.
The people who barely avoided getting swept up stared blankly at the tower that had suddenly sprouted in the middle of the street.