Chapter 43
“Seohyeon, while you're at it, bring a plate with a variety of sushi.”
“Yes.”
Humming, I picked out food and filled my plate.
A weekend buffet was packed with people.
It had been a while since I came out to eat with my family.
“Eat something other than crab, Seoa. We came all the way to a buffet, and you're only eating one thing.”
“Why? I'm only eating the most expensive thing.”
My Younger Sibling had been stubbornly bringing back only snow crab legs and piling them up to eat.
“Is it really that good? Honestly, I can't even tell the difference between that and imitation crab.”
“That's because your taste buds are cheap, Oppa.”
“Eat up. This is Our Younger Sibling with the refined palate.”
Feeling full, I picked at my dessert.
My father wiped his mouth and asked.
“Anyway, Seohyeon, how is work these days?”
“...Work? It's always the same. I just keep doing a Repeat Clear of the 1st Floor.”
“Right, always be careful. Come to think of it, starting this year, I think they said there are some Health Insurance Benefits for Climbers? Are you looking into that?”
“Yes, I'm checking all of it.”
My Younger Sibling chimed in.
“Oppa, get me a phone for my birthday this year. It's about time I changed it.”
“Be quiet and just eat your crab.”
In the past, they seemed to worry a bit about my entering the tower, but not so much these days.
Well, my parents were just being overprotective; a Repeat Clear of the Easy 1st Floor wasn't really something to worry about anyway.
He was going in and out of the tower, living an ordinary life in reality.
My life was always the same.
Hanging out with friends, going on trips, or coming out for a family meal like this—that was how I lived.
In the end, wasn't I climbing the tower so we could all live happily?
This happiness wasn't guaranteed every year, so I had to enjoy it to the fullest.
To think I had to risk my life every year just to survive, and that not only my life but the lives of All Humanity were on the line.
The extraordinary, which I couldn't have even imagined in the past, was now my everyday life.
As my mind drifted lazily, the absurdity of it all suddenly made me chuckle.
“Why are you suddenly laughing? Did you eat something weird?”
“Watching you eat reminded me of a cow chewing its cud.”
Ignoring my glaring Younger Sibling, I took a sip of my drink.
It was half a year before I had to clear the 4th Floor.
---
Since the Fallen Incident, many things had come and gone...
Early autumn arrived in September, though it was still hot.
Even though I felt I lived each day to the fullest, time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Before I knew it, the Nightmare Time Limit only had about two months left.
Since I had to challenge it when there were 20 days left on the time limit, the time until my entry was closer to 20 days than two months.
\[Nightmare (21)\]
The number of Nightmare Challengers repeatedly increased and then decreased by one, and now there are over twenty.
The countries represented had also become more diverse.
Still, the ones most actively climbing Nightmare were the United States and China.
This time as well, both had successfully cleared the 3rd Floor and were following closely behind me.
- The Nobel Committee is reportedly discussing nominating Person123 as a candidate for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Surprisingly, such news was also heard.
Wow, I'm getting the Nobel Peace Prize.
It was so absurd that it was funny, but even I thought I deserved it.
Saying otherwise wouldn't even be humility.
But how were they planning to give it to me when they didn't even know who I was?
So I figured it was just all talk, but...
- We have decided to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to... our great Hero who saved Humanity. It is none other than Person123.
The committee is aware that this decision departs from traditional conventions that were in place up to now. This is because the recipient's real name, nationality, and specific identity have not been confirmed in any way.
Nevertheless, his achievements in preventing the destruction of the World several times are known to everyone, undeniable by anyone, and leave no room for controversy, which is why we have made this decision.
The committee believes that his unprecedented sacrifice and dedication, unparalleled in all of human history, justify this exceptional decision. Just as the special recommendation resolution for the Nobel Peace Prize was unanimously adopted at the UN General Assembly recently, the nominator for this award is the entire world.
The medal and prize money for this year's Nobel Peace Prize will be under Special Management by the Nobel Foundation until the recipient appears in person, and the award ceremony will be held at Oslo City Hall, Norway, with the UN Secretary-General acting as a proxy while people worldwide watch...
They actually awarded it to me.
I couldn't brag to anyone, saying, “Wow! I got the Nobel Peace Prize!”... so I just accepted it as it was.
\[Chicken Sandwich: Well, you can't say they only have pure intentions. They are anxious that Mr. Kim might change his mind at any time. They probably want to bind you with the responsibility of being the Hero of Humanity even a little more through this method.\]
\[Person123: I see.\]
\[Chicken Sandwich: Are you disappointed?\]
\[Person123: No. It's natural for them to be anxious.\]
My climbing the tower was ultimately for my own sake as well.
If I didn't climb, my family and I would die.
I wasn't shouldering some grand cause, so I didn't care what people thought.
.
.
.
\[Nightmare\]
Participants: 284,386
Time Limit: 25 days 23 hours 35 minutes 17 seconds
Reached Floor: 4th Floor
Would I be able to succeed on the 4th Floor?
Would I really be able to survive this time too?
I was now used to the distracting thoughts that increased as the time limit approached.
I calmed my mind and focused on training.
Though, training was just raising my Skill Proficiency more.
Fwoosh!
A red dot appeared in midair slightly above the ground, and a spherical area formed around it.
The Undead that entered the area burst into flames and collapsed.
\[Skill: Scorching Zone (Rare+)\]
Creates a Scorching Zone with a 5-meter radius within a 10-meter distance. Opponents who enter the range take continuous burn damage. Requires 50 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast.
Category: Magic-type
Willpower Cost: 30 per second
Cooldown: 1 minute
A newly acquired Rare+ Magic-type Skill.
It was an Area-of-Effect Skill that dealt continuous damage within its range.
Its power was decent, and the range was quite wide.
For reference, this wasn't a Skill I got from Billon.
I got it after enhancing my +2 Flame Strike up to +5.
I didn't know this, but when you enhance a Skill to +5, the final enhancement doesn't strengthen the Skill's effect; instead, you randomly acquire a higher-tier Skill of the next grade.
One Skill Enhancement Stone was what I got as a 3rd Floor reward, and thankfully, Billon procured two more. I poured them all into Flame Strike, which resulted in my getting this Scorching Zone Skill.
To think there was a Hidden Piece like this.
One question was why this fact hadn't been revealed until now.
No matter how much rarer Skill Enhancement Stones were compared to Skill Stones, had no one ever enhanced even a Normal Grade Skill to +5?
That could be the case... or maybe someone knew and monopolized the information.
\[Person123: If you enhance a Skill to +5, a similar type of Skill one grade higher is randomly acquired.\]
So I just released it in the Communication Window. No need for thanks.
Anyway, not dividing my enhancements among Skills and just focusing on Flame Strike was the right answer.
Now Flame Strike produced five fireballs, and since +5 was the maximum enhancement level, I couldn't enhance it any further.
More importantly, this Skill is called Scorching Zone.
It was finally the first continuous Magic Skill I had obtained!
As long as my Willpower didn't run out, I could maintain it continuously.
In other words, I could maintain it infinitely.
Considering the theme of the 4th Floor, you could say I hit the jackpot with a pretty good one.
\[Skill: Skin Hardening (Rare)\]
It hardens the skin to enhance defense.
Category: Physical-type
Willpower Cost: 5 per second
Cooldown: 10 seconds
\[Skill: Lesser Burn Resistance (Normal+)\]
It grants a weak resistance to burns.
Category: Physical-type (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
\[Skill: Ice Bullet (Normal)\]
Fires cold energy to freeze the hit area. Requires 10 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast.
Category: Magic-type
Willpower Cost: 50
Cooldown: 10 seconds
\[Item: Ring of Lupadupa\]
A ring containing the will of the clumsy shaman Lupadupa increases Willpower Recovery Speed by 10%.
Of course, there were also things Billon had given me in the meantime.
First, Skin Hardening was what I had wanted for a long time.
This was also a continuous Skill with a Willpower Cost per second, so it was highly efficient for me.
Defense probably wouldn't be important on the 4th Floor, so it was a slight shame to get it at this timing.
Next were the Normal+ Grade passive Lesser Burn Resistance, and the Normal Grade Skill Ice Bullet... These weren't anything special.
Lastly, I also got an item. An item that increased Willpower Recovery Speed.
Of course, I didn't really need it, but it was better than nothing.
It would make my Willpower refill faster when I stopped time, at least.
A total of three Skills, two Enhancement Stones, and even one item.
Billon has procured a lot for me over the past year.
\[Difficulty: Nightmare\]
\[Floor: 4th Floor\]
\[Level: 45\]
\[Willpower: 1,250\]
\[Skills: Line of Destruction (Epic+), Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+)(+1), Lesser Poison Resistance (Normal+), Lesser Burn Resistance (Normal+), Leap (Normal)(+1), Swing (Normal), Stab (Normal), Ice Bullet (Normal)\]
“Diul, you're going to unlock an ability for me when I'm in danger this time too, right? Right?”
I looked up at Diul and asked.
Diul reacted indifferently, as always.
Diul's third ability was still not unlocked.
Even though I took him for a night walk almost every single day for a year without missing a day, I was a little disappointed.
Still, as I kept using the Stealth Ability, its Duration increased to about 15 minutes.
I believed he would unlock a New Ability for me when I was in danger again.
After proceeding with the Repeat Clear of the 3rd Floor and taking care of the Undead Boss, I Summoned Flee.
“Alright, it's sparring time.”
I urgently moved my body against the charging Flee.
Not only did I practice my Skills, but I also consistently warmed up without Skills against the fully enhanced 3rd Floor boss or Flee. Physical senses were important too.
After finishing my training, I came out of the tower.
When I left my room to drink water, my family was watching TV in the living room.
- On October 23rd, a large crowd is expected to gather at Gwanghwamun Street, Seoul. People are also taking to the streets in places like Times Square, New York, and St. Peter's Square, Vatican, to pray for Person123's successful clearance...
My Younger Sibling spoke while watching the news.
“Should we all go out together too?”
My Mother stopped her.
“No. It's dangerous with so many people gathered. Let's just pray at home.”
True, I didn't know what kind of chaos would unfold.
Especially if I failed with so many people gathered.
My Younger Sibling looked back at me as I was drinking water and said.
“Why don't you just stay home too, Oppa? Why are you going on another trip?”
“Because I want to.”
“Make sure you pray properly when you go, anyway.”
If it's a prayer for myself, I do it every day.
He was praying, “Please let me survive this wicked tower.”
This time as well, two days before the 20-day time limit, I was going on a trip.
I would refresh myself one last time, brace my mind, and challenge the 4th Floor.
- The Government will proceed with the procedures for Unascended Climbers starting from November 10th...
Another news report played.
It was about the Unascended Climbers.
I challenged the 1st Floor with about 3 hours left on the time limit.
So the date they would die this time wasn't exactly a 1-year mark, but was 3 hours more than that. Not that it made much difference.
The Government paid a large consolation sum for the unregistered climbers.
That consolation money was also the price for their consent to either enter the tower themselves or undergo euthanasia and be incinerated without leaving even a corpse behind.
Because it was unknown whether even those who died beforehand would turn into Fallers.
And even with all that, no one could know where monsters might pop out again.
It couldn't be helped.
Then again, what was the use of thinking about that now?
I had to worry about my own clarity.
“I'll be back.”
A few days passed, and the day of my trip arrived.
As if it were an annual event, I hid the will I had written in my room, put on my backpack, and left the house.
---
October 22nd.
Another year had already passed, and now there was only a single day left until the fateful day when Person123 would challenge the 4th Floor.
It was also the time when people slowly couldn't focus on their work.
Whether the world would end once again or not would be decided tomorrow.
“...Huh?”
“Eh?”
People walking on the streets suddenly stopped and stared into mid-air.
They stared in bewilderment at the messages before their eyes.
The messages that appeared not only before the Climbers but before all the people worldwide.
---
Having traveled to Jeju Island, I had a fun day out and returned to the hotel.
\[Nightmare\]
Participants: 283,160
Time Limit: 21 days 1 minute 25 seconds
Reached Floor: 4th Floor
Now, only one day remained.
Tomorrow, I plan to climb to the top of Hallasan during the day. That will be the last thing.
And then I'd return to the hotel and slowly get ready to enter.
It was when I was enjoying a relaxing break, drinking a beer.
\[The tower proposes to 'Person123'.\]
I froze right as I was drinking my beer.
I slowly put down the can and stared at the message that appeared before my eyes.
“...What is this?”
What is this?
\[If 'Person123' selects one of the following penalties and enters the 4th Floor, the Rule: Climbers who do not enter the tower within 3 years die will be nullified.\]
\[1. 50% reduction in physical abilities\]
\[2. Skill cooldowns doubled\]
\[3. Three random skills disabled\]
\[4. Highest-grade skill disabled\]
\[5. Item usage disabled\]
\[The penalty will only be maintained during the First Attempt to clear the 4th Floor.\]
\[If 'Person123' accepts the proposal, please select a penalty and enter.\]