Goblin Intel

“Goblins. Their height is estimated to be between 150cm and 160cm, and their physical strength is similar to, or slightly less than, that of an average adult male. In Easy and Normal Difficulties, unarmed goblins primarily use their teeth and claws as attack methods, while in Hard Difficulty, goblins are armed with Iron Longswords, which significantly increases their danger level…”

I had absolutely no intention of entering the Tower.

That didn't mean I did nothing at all.

“...Hard Difficulty is insane too. What kind of people challenges that?”

Information about the Tower’s 1st Floor was readily available with a quick search online. There were even strategy guides established, deemed essential reading for any Climber.

Of course, none of that applied to me.

No one knew what challenges awaited on the Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor, as there hadn't been a single survivor.

The more information I found, the more I concluded that entering meant certain death.

They said climbing the Tower could turn you into a Superhuman.

The rewards from the Tower could earn you an astronomical amount of money?

Many people were supposedly tempted by such things and were challenging the Tower, and it seemed there were even those who envied the Chosen Climbers.

*So what? I only have one life.*

I wasn't particularly adventurous, and I valued my life, so I was the exact opposite of those kinds of people.

Even if I had been assigned to Easy Difficulty, I wouldn't have given it a second glance.

I was already living a perfectly respectable life.

And the Nightmare Difficulty, with zero survivors?

Unless someone had held a knife to my throat and had threatened me, I would never have entered of my own free will.

Still, I thought it was wise to be prepared for the unexpected.

Whenever I had a moment, I would look up and familiarize myself with information about the Tower’s 1st Floor.

I would never enter the Tower, but in the meantime there was no harm in taking care of my health, so I started exercising.

To be truly prepared, I knew there were Training Facilities for Climbers, but going there would be tantamount to declaring myself a Climber, so I was reluctant.

Kendo and Boxing.

Boxing was normal, but there was a specific reason I chose Kendo.

They said you couldn't bring Electronic Devices, or any items deemed weapons or armor, into the Tower. The only usable weapons were those provided by the Tower, and the common weapon given to Climbers on the 1st Floor was a sword.

I had always thought I could use my Time Stop Ability in physical combat.

After attending Kendo and Boxing gyms for over half a year, I confirmed that the training could indeed be used very effectively.

I regretted not training harder, thinking *if only I had known it would come to this*... but oh well.

They said the enemies encountered on the Tower’s 1st Floor were all Goblins, from Easy to Hard.

Easy Difficulty 1st Floor had one unarmed Goblin.

The Normal Difficulty 1st Floor had two unarmed Goblins.

Hard Difficulty 1st Floor had two Goblins armed with swords.

So, what awaited me on the Nightmare Difficulty?

[You have entered the 1st Floor Nightmare Difficulty.]

I was about to find out for myself.

The scenery before my eyes shifted in an instant.

As soon as I entered, I immediately activated Time Stop.

I checked the information that came into my sight.

A large, cave-like space.

Minerals embedded in the walls glowed like lights, brightly illuminating the area.

There was a Straight Passage ahead, and no enemies were immediately visible.

I released and stopped time repeatedly, looking all around me.

The structure was as I knew it. They said all other difficulties also involved fighting Goblins in a cave-like space.

*...What do I do?*

Now that I was actually here, I suddenly regretted it.

No, I couldn't think like that.

Snap out of it.

Since I was already in, I couldn't just wallow in negative thoughts.

I can do this.

I *will* clear this and survive.

They say if you cling to life, you'll lose it, but if you're willing to die, you'll live. *Damn it, I can do it too.*

I took a deep breath—no, I couldn't breathe with time stopped. Mentally taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve, I released time.

I picked up the sword resting on a nearby cube-shaped rock.

A Western-style longsword.

I wondered if they wouldn't even give me a weapon in Nightmare Difficulty, but thankfully, they weren't *that* rude.

Holding the longsword with both hands, I faced the passage ahead.

Soon, Goblins would emerge from there.

It was a common pattern for Goblins to appear from the passage ahead, from Easy to Hard.

I breathed in the musty air and waited for a moment.

They walked out of the passage.

I immediately stopped time again.

I observed the Goblins that had appeared.

Three in total.

Two were armed with swords similar to mine, and one with a spear.

*...So I have to fight those.*

Even though I had somewhat prepared myself, my resolve kept wavering.

*Idiot, snap out of it.*

Since I had infinite time, I calmly thought of a strategy.

Fighting three at once was obviously insane.

The one with the sword was at the very front, and the other two were slightly behind.

‘They charge right in and attack,’ I recalled.

The space was wide enough. Could I fight them one by one, hitting and retreating?

*‘As long as I don't get surrounded...’*

If I fully utilized my ability, it seemed possible.

I had continuously honed my sense of how to use this ability in combat through Boxing and Kendo, but this was the real deal. Even a slight misstep could be fatal.

*I can do this.*

I forcibly shook off my fear, making my final resolve.

Then, I released time.

*Kieeeek-!

The Goblins charged.

The Sword Goblin at the front approached the fastest.

*Oh? This is an immediate opportunity.*

It seemed I could hit one and retreat.

When the creature was almost right in front of me.

I began to actively use my ability.

I repeatedly released and stopped time in an instant.

It was like pausing a video and rapidly double-tapping the play/pause button.

The Goblin moved very slightly, very slowly.

This technique is what I had named ‘Time Splitting’ myself.

The limit for rapidly releasing and stopping time was about 0.02 seconds.

This meant I could split one second into up to one-fiftieth of a second.

Time Stop wasn't invincibility.

My body and reaction speed were, after all, still those of an ordinary human.

What good was it to stop time when a sword was right in front of my gut? I couldn't dodge it.

My stomach would simply be pierced as soon as I had time.

So, Time Splitting was the best method I could use.

...That face is disgustingly ugly.

I realized that Goblins in games and comics were severely idealized in appearance.

The Goblin slowly approached me.

My body also moved just as slowly.

But I could sufficiently predict and prepare for how it would attack.

*‘It's a Stab.’*

The Goblin pulled back its sword hilt.

The tip of the sword was aiming for me.

This was definitely a Stabbing Attack.

I began to evade, shifting my back foot and waist to the side.

At the same time, I extended my sword and counterattacked.

In the slow time, we moved as if frames were skipping.

Moving by releasing and stopping time for a fleeting moment was a rather strange sensation, but I had practiced until I was accustomed to it, so there was no hesitation in my movements.

Good.

The Evade was successful. By the time the Goblin extended its sword, my body was already completely out of the path of the thrust.

Conversely, the tip of my sword was accurately heading for the Goblin's neck.

I'll stab it like this.

I stabbed.

The sharpness of a real sword pierced through the creature's hide much more smoothly than I had imagined.

*Kek-*

With the sword embedded in the Goblin's neck, I stopped time again.

*...I really did it.*

Its neck was pierced, so this one was finished.

I calmly thought about the next step.

Time to pull out the sword and retreat. Plenty of time.

Having prepared my actions, I released time.

“...!”

I immediately stopped it again.

The embedded blade didn't come out as easily as I expected. *Damn it.*

*What do I do?*

I twisted the sword and tried pushing the Goblin's body with my foot.

*Thwack!

Fortunately, the sword came out this time.

The Goblin, whose neck had been pierced, collapsed with a thud.

I quickly turned and fled.

The remaining two Goblins chased after me, making unpleasant cries.

I was faster at running than they.

First, stop again.

I stopped in mid-run.

*What, this isn't so bad?*

My ability was proving quite effective in real combat.

I gained a bit more confidence.

I could handle the two remaining ones just like before.

The Goblin with the sword was closer in pursuit.

The Sword Goblin was on the left, the Spear Goblin on the right, and the Spear Goblin was further behind.

If I ran to the left, the distance between them would widen.

I released time and ran again.

As I curved to the left, the distance between the two Goblins grew even larger, and the Sword Goblin and I got closer.

Now was the time.

I abruptly stopped, halting my body.

The charging Sword Goblin, as if it had no concept of coordinated attacks, did not stop its charge.

*Even better. Come on.*

When it was right in front of me, I started Time Splitting again.

Release, stop, release, stop.

Observing the Goblin's slow movements, I predicted its next attack.

*‘Downward Strike.’*

The sword was raised above its head.

It was a very straightforward Downward Strike.

Matching the timing, I also swung my sword.

As I parried the descending sword to the side, my grip vibrated.

I stopped time again and calmly prepared my Counterattack.

My advantage was having infinite time to think about my next move even in the midst of battle.

The Goblin's reactions couldn't keep up.

*Thud!

My sword pierced the Goblin's exposed neck.

Second one down.

More calmly than before, I pulled out the sword and retreated.

The Spear Goblin, which had been chasing, flinched when it saw the Sword Goblin fall.

*Is that one more cowardly than its friends?*

No, perhaps more prudent.

The Spear Goblin hesitated, pacing in place instead of recklessly charging.

“Hoo...”

I fixed my gaze and caught my breath.

*...Wait a minute.*

It's not time to celebrate just because one is left.

A spear aimed at me.

Its reach was much longer than my sword's.

This, the pressure from the reach difference, was no joke.

If I carelessly closed the distance, it would immediately stab.

Dodging while prepared was different from dodging while approaching it myself; the difficulty was different.

It would be easier to deal with if it attacked recklessly like the others, but this one was unnecessarily cautious.

The Evade or Defense > Counterattack pattern that successfully dealt with the first two Goblins became difficult to apply.

‘Initiating an attack is too risky...’

I maintained my distance, facing the Goblin, and slowly circled.

Right, there's no reason to attack first.

Are you just going to stand there? You come at me first.

I concentrated my nerves, ready to immediately stop time if I sensed any movement.

After circling each other for a long time, facing off.

The Goblin, seemingly frustrated, let out an angry cry.

*Kieeeek-! Kieeeek-!

Their cries were as unpleasant as scraping metal.

*Wait, should I try to provoke it?*

Seeing how annoyed it was, I thought perhaps a little prodding would make it charge first.

“Kih-kih. Puh-puh.”

I made the most annoying face and gave the most annoying laugh I could. I even stuck out my tongue.

Fortunately, the Goblin seemed to understand that I was mocking it diligently.

As soon as I perceived the Goblin's body leaning forward, I immediately stopped time.

Here it comes.

Release. Stop. The spear is approaching slowly.

Predicting the path of its thrust, I twisted my body and began to evade.

Dodging, closing in, stabbing.

After the previous two engagements, I felt a subtle improvement in my senses.

I executed a perfect Counterattack, just as I had envisioned.

After stabbing the Goblin's neck, I kicked it away to pull out my sword.

The twitching of the creature on the ground ceased soon.

I looked around.

The Goblins I had defeated earlier had long since become corpses.

All three were definitively killed in one go.

It was over.

“...”

Or was it?

They said the 1st Floor was cleared once all Goblins were dealt with.

But no message about a successful clear appeared.

That meant something else was still left.

“Right, I didn't expect it to be that easy.”

Three Goblins.

Of course, even this was incredibly difficult, but it didn't seem like Nightmare Difficulty would end with just this.

For so many people to have died without clearing it, with just this...

“Phew.”

Let's rest first.

I sat down and rested my body.

[Nightmare]

Personnel: 76,526

Time Limit: 3 hours 1 minute 42 seconds

Floors Reached: 1st Floor

I checked the time limit for Nightmare Difficulty to see the flow of time.

Not even 5 minutes had passed since I entered.

Fighting while stopping time made it feel *much* longer, though.

“Good... I can do this.”

I muttered, looking around at the Goblin corpses.

*Did I really pull this off?*

It was a battle I considered excellently executed, even by my own standards.

*See? If I try, I can do it.*

My spirits lifted, and hope bloomed.

The hope that I could clear this Nightmare Difficulty, which had claimed tens of thousands of lives, was real.

*Kerelek-*

A Goblin cry was heard.

I stood up quickly.

*Damn it, they don't even give me a proper break.*

More Goblins were emerging from the passage.

I stopped time.

There were three again this time.

However, their armaments were somewhat different.

One had a sword; one had a shield and a sword.

And... *oh, shit.*

I was flustered.

There was one holding a bow.