Chapter 37
The Epic+ Magic-type Skill, Line of Destruction.
Its destructive power was beyond imagination.
The mass that had instantly regenerated without taking much damage no matter how much I battered it with Flame Strike had simply died.
"This is a literal destruction beam, isn't it?"
\[Willpower: 250\]
Using the skill once almost completely drained my Willpower, but that wasn't a problem at all.
With a skill like this, unless the enemy was ridiculously strong, I should be able to take down pretty much anything.
It felt like I had gained an Ultimate Skill.
I stayed intoxicated by the power of Line of Destruction for a moment before looking down at the necklace.
Should I go ahead and tame this guy right now while I'm at it?
With a power that could one-shot even that mass, there was no way Pligas could withstand it.
\[Would you like to use “Item: Pligas”s Blood Necklace'?\]
After fully replenishing my Willpower and letting the cooldown for Line of Destruction pass, I immediately used the necklace.
The squirming form of a beast began to coalesce before my eyes.
Yeah, it's nice to see you again.
Thanks for helping me out last time, but it's a shame it has to be this way.
Khaooo...!
As soon as the fully manifested Pligas tried to let out a roar, I used Time Stop.
“Be reborn as my familiar.”
After 300 seconds of Mental Concentration, I cast a fully charged Line of Destruction straight ahead.
As soon as Pligas manifested, a giant hole was blown through its body just like the mass, and it scattered away.
Wow... A marvelous destructive power, even seeing it a second time.
It was a bit cheap, but I won easily anyway.
The scattered Pligas turned into smoke and was sucked right back into the necklace.
\[A Master-Servant Contract has been formed with Pligas.\]
A message popped up.
I had successfully made Pligas my familiar.
\[Item: Pligas's Blood Necklace\]
A necklace mixed with the blood of Pligas, the Predator of the Demon Realm. You have successfully summoned Pligas to the Mortal World and defeated it to form a Master-Servant Contract. If Pligas takes heavy damage, it will be Unsummoned, and you must wait 24 hours to Resummon it.
The Item Information had changed.
Reading the description, it seemed the Duration was basically unlimited.
However, if it took heavy damage and died, there was a 24-hour cooldown until I could Resummon it.
"This is good."
It meant I could keep it summoned continuously as long as it didn't die.
I immediately tried to Resummon Pligas.
Sss—
Pligas appeared before my eyes.
Unlike a moment ago, the guy didn't roar.
Was it just my imagination, or did its eyes look a bit gentler?
It was staring blankly down at me, so I tried giving it a command.
"Sit."
Pligas promptly crouched and sat down.
"Stand."
Pligas stood up.
"Sit, stand, sit, stand..."
It sat, stood, sat, and stood.
It was so massive that a breeze blew every time it moved.
"...Roll left, roll right, don't roll right and lift your left foot, don't lift your right foot and put your left foot down."
Anyway, Pligas listened to my words very well.
This guy had become a very docile puppy.
Though its face was closer to a feline than a canine.
I pet Pligas's head.
"Let's get along, Flee. From now on, you're Flee."
Its fur wasn't soft at all; it was rough and scratchy like sandpaper.
More importantly, there was something I absolutely had to try now that I had tamed such a familiar.
I lightly hopped up onto Pligas's back.
"Let's go, Flee. We're going for a joyride."
Of course I had to try riding it.
At my words, Pligas purred and shot forward like an arrow.
I almost got thrown off, but I held on by tightly gripping the fur on the back of its neck.
"Uwaaaaah...!"
It was seriously fast.
I spent about an hour that day galloping across the Plains riding Pligas.
---
A few days passed since the Nightmare 3rd Floor was cleared.
\[Vodka: Why isn't Person123 posting anything...\]
\[Hyuhyu: When is the 3rd Floor info post going up!\]
\[Peace of Mind: Did you leave it with him for safekeeping? Person123 needs to organize it before posting too, you know.\]
\[Chokar: I wonder just how horrific it was this time.\]
\[Jackson: Both the 1st Floor and 2nd Floor were beyond whatever anyone could imagine.\]
People were just waiting for Person123 to post in the communication window.
He had never announced that he would release the 3rd Floor's information, but he had always done so after clearing a floor.
And sure enough, this time was no different.
\[Person123: This is the Strategy Guide for the 3rd Floor.\]
As soon as Person123 posted, all the attention in the communication window focused on it.
\[Person123: The Plains Area. It starts with Undead swarming in from all directions. You are given a sword, a mace, and a spear as weapons. The combat power of the Undead is estimated to be around the early to mid Level 10 range. Their defense is weaker than that, and you must smash their heads to kill them for sure. Aside from the Undead being more numerous and stronger, there is no particular difference from other difficulties up to this point.
However, the Clear Condition for Nightmare Difficulty is not surviving for 10 minutes until the sun rises. In Nightmare, the sun sets instead. As the sun sets, stronger Undead appear in greater numbers, and once the sun completely sets, countless Undead pour out. You cannot survive it, but even if you do, the floor will not be cleared.
To clear it, you must first find and enter the Passage leading Underground as soon as you enter. At the 1 o'clock direction from the starting position, about 700 meters away, there is a stone floor without a single blade of grass. If you break the floor, a Passage...\]
A lengthy 3rd Floor information post.
The communication window instantly became noisy as astonished people chatted about it.
\[Swan: Wait, the sun sets...?\]
\[ReadyGo: Exploding Undead and Beast Undead aren't even surprising anymore.\]
\[Mousetrap: What's this about an Underground Gem Collection? Nightmare's difficulty is seriously filthy;\]
\[LostCowBrain: The cube is seriously ridiculous lol. Do we have to practice the cube to clear it now?\]
\[Sasaki: Person123, are you saying even your cube skills are the strongest?\]
\[Pacific Ocean: But is it possible to solve a cube within 20 seconds?\]
\[HawaiianPizza: It's possible if you practice. The world record for a 3x3x3 cube is in the 2-second range.\]
\[Spirit: The boss reaches the Level 50 range at its strongest? Does that mean Person123 fought it directly?\]
\[Tornado: He obviously just checked it during a Repeat Clear and came out.\]
\[Kentucky: But is Person123 really Level 30 right now? Nightmare gives 10 levels per floor, right?\]
US Climb Management Bureau Headquarters, General Meeting Room.
A gathering of the Climbing Bureau's Key Personnel, including Taylor, America's only Nightmare 3rd Floor climber.
On the beam projector screen at the front, a summarized presentation of the Nightmare 3rd Floor information post that Person123 had uploaded to the communication window was displayed for everyone to see.
"...So the core of the 3rd Floor is that the time taken to collect the three gems Underground must be shortened as much as possible."
Max, the Chief Instructor for Nightmare Difficulty, continued the presentation.
"As you can see, the gem on the Right Path can be easily retrieved right away. The gem on the Left Path, which has a Spike Trap, can also be retrieved without much difficulty if a skill that pulls objects is used."
"For example... something like the Normal Grade skill, Sticky String?"
"Correct. And finally, the Cube Trap on the Front Path..."
Max brought up another slide.
"After seeking advice from America's top cube experts, we concluded that if the sole goal is to break the 20-second barrier, the practice period can be minimized by compressing and learning only the most necessary parts of the Advanced CFOP Method.
In this case, taking a generous timeframe, it is expected to take about 8 weeks of practice at 1 hour per day. Even if the practice period takes longer than expected, the Cube Trap will not be a major issue either."
The people seated nodded. Their faces were completely serious, without a hint of a smile.
"The biggest anticipated obstacle is the boss. This information includes Person123's subjective judgment, but based on it taking 3 minutes to activate the Sun Emblem, the combat power of the appearing boss is estimated to be in the mid Level 20 range.
He mentioned that the boss grows stronger the more time is taken, so conversely, it is speculated that the boss's combat power will drop further if the time is shortened, but this part is not yet certain."
"If the 3-minute boss is at that level, wouldn't it be dangerous for Ms. Taylor at her current level?"
"Yes, it is dangerous."
"Then the time needs to be shortened even more than 3 minutes, and we need concrete information on whether the boss weakens accordingly... Would it be difficult to ask Person123 to confirm that part as well?"
Max was the one person within the Climbing Bureau who could be said to have some level of acquaintance with Person123.
It was already a widely known fact that one couldn't exchange a single word with him if the topic was anything other than Nightmare Clear Consultation. Max, who had been conversing with him since the early days of the 1st Floor, was practically serving as the liaison.
Max nodded with a slightly awkward expression.
"I have already asked him, and he accepted. However, the reply I received was that it might take quite some time to confirm."
The reason for his awkward expression was that he felt incredibly ashamed facing Person123.
Even with everything being spoon-fed to them like this, they couldn't even open their mouths properly to eat it.
But what else could they do? It was a matter concerning the life of Taylor, who could be called America's only hope for climbing Nightmare. He had to put on a thick skin and beg a hundred times over if necessary.
Of course, Person123 gladly accepted the request. Given his nature, he never refused if he could provide help related to clearing floors.
The fact that the person climbing the Front Line of Nightmare was such an altruist was truly nothing short of a blessing for humanity.
Director Van asked in return.
"That it might take quite some time...?"
"I was able to hear a bit more detail separately, but Person123 said that it wasn't any other part, but the cube that took him over a minute. So, to shorten the time to less than 3 minutes, he needs to practice the cube, which is why confirming it will take time."
Director Van tilted his head, still looking as if he didn't understand.
"But didn't he say that if the cube isn't solved within 20 seconds, the Undead will swarm Underground?"
"That's right. But Person123 mentioned that he finished solving the cube by avoiding the eyes of the Undead using a Stealth-type Skill. He said the cube itself can still be solved even if the time limit is exceeded."
"...A Stealth Skill?"
"Yes. So, if one has a skill that hides the body, they wouldn't necessarily have to stick to the 20-second limit, but since we need to shorten the time as much as possible anyway, it's a meaningless method for us."
And in the first place, a Stealth-type Skill hadn't really appeared in the world yet.
That was why the Director and the others were surprised by Max's story. It meant Person123 possessed that kind of skill as well.
After the meeting ended, Director Van spoke further with Max and Taylor in private.
"I also think it will be entirely possible to clear it as long as it's certain that the boss weakens. I will do my best to ensure you receive all the necessary support."
This presentation was also a venue to explain what kind of support was needed for the 3rd Floor clear and how high the probability of clearing it was.
After all, they couldn't just pointlessly pour skill stones and items into something that showed absolutely no possibility of success.
"Please take care of it this time as well, Ms. Taylor. I'm sorry for always placing this burden on you, but you are the hope of this country."
At Director Van's words, Taylor gave a slightly self-deprecating smile.
"Should I really be feeling burdened by just this much? I'm merely climbing the Tower comfortably using the information that person provides."
"Even so, there are only two people, including yourself, who have managed to do that. Person123... shouldn't we consider him to be in a different realm now?"
Clearing up to the Nightmare 2nd Floor was a truly incredible feat in itself. It was just that Person123 was Exceptional.
Wasn't that why the Climbing Bureau had also changed its policy to just follow closely behind him?
Director Van was also genuinely curious.
Just what kind of person was Person123, who now practically held the lifeline of All Humanity in his hands?
---
"Hah, this isn't easy."
I rolled around on my bed, fiddling with the 3,000 won cube I bought from Daiso.
A 20-second Clear really isn't easy.