Chapter 6
The Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor was cleared with just 3 hours left until the end! Humanity narrowly escaped death!
Having slept like the dead since yesterday afternoon and only woken up at dawn, I fiddled with my phone out of habit.
Whether it was XTube news or portal site articles, everything was plastered with a single piece of news.
I tossed my phone onto the pillow and stretched.
"Nngh..."
I feel quite refreshed right now.
It was only natural since I had passed a major hurdle.
Even though it merely prolonged life by a year, well...
I didn't die yesterday and get to live for another year, so isn't that a good thing? Hahaha.
It truly was a day that made me realize the preciousness of life.
"Haa..."
Right, one year.
Don't tell me I have to challenge the 2nd Floor too.
Honestly, I felt it yesterday.
Probably no one would be able to clear this.
Nightmare Difficulty was absolutely not a difficulty made for humans to clear.
Honestly, I only barely cleared it thanks to my ability and a stroke of luck.
“No, but still, the 1st Floor is different now.”
Since I cleared it, the 1st Floor is no longer a hellscape with zero information.
If I share the information, wouldn't people who successfully clear it start appearing one by one?
If the information is released, Challengers will naturally prepare thoroughly based on it, and the number of Challengers will increase.
And if more people climb Nightmare Difficulty like that?
Some other exceptional person might clear the 2nd Floor and the 3rd Floor all the way!
If they just clear the 1st Floor, their level will rise and they can use skills.
Then I won't have to risk my life entering the Tower anymore either.
I will regain my previous peaceful daily life.
I opened the function I hadn't checked yesterday.
"Communication Channel."
ls. Then I won't have to risk my life entering the Tower anymore either. I will regain my previous peaceful daily life. I opened the function I hadn't checked yesterday. "Climber Communication Channel." The Climber Communication Channel was where Climbers could converse with each other and write posts. In short, it was a Climber-exclusive Community. Since it's a reward obtained by clearing the 1st Floor, should I say it's exclusive?
In short, it was a Climber-exclusive Community.
Since it's a reward obtained by clearing the 1st Floor, should I say it's exclusive to Climbers on the 2nd Floor and above?
\[You have entered the Communication Channel for the first time.\]
\[Please set a nickname to use in the Communication Channel.\]
\[A nickname cannot be changed once set.\]
A nickname.
I fell into thought for a moment.
Even when playing games, I was the type to waste a long time just setting a character nickname.
Ah, it's taking pointlessly long again.
Let's just make something up.
\['Person' is a nickname already in use.\]
\['Person123' is an available nickname.\]
\[Would you like to set your nickname as 'Person123'?\]
\[Your nickname has been set to 'Person123'.\]
As soon as I finished setting my nickname, a window popped up before my eyes.
\[Easy(30,561)\] \[Normal(21,194)\] \[Hard(3,935)\] \[Nightmare(1)\]
Four windows are divided by difficulty.
The numbers next to them were likely the numbers of Climbers able to access the Communication Channel.
As expected, I was the only one in Nightmare.
\[Writing posts is only possible in the Communication Channel of your assigned difficulty.\]
I tried entering the Easy to access the Climber Communication Channeltion Channel. As expected, I was the only one in Nightmare Difficulty. \[Writing posts is only possible in the Communication Channel of your assigned difficulty.\] I tried entering the Easy Communication Channel. It seemed writing was only possible in one's own difficulty, but entering and viewing other difficulties had no restrictions. \[997/1,000\] \[1,000/1,000\] \[652/1,000\] After entry, the Easy Communica.
It seemed writing was only possible in one's own difficulty, but entering and viewing other difficulties had no restrictions.
\[997/1,000\] \[1,000/1,000\] \[652/1,000\]
After entry, the cation Channel was available. It seemed writing was only possible in one's own difficulty, but entering and viewing other difficulties had no restrictions. \[997/1,000\] \[1,000/1,000\] \[652/1,000\] After entry, the Easy Communication Channel was further divided into several channels. Is the maximum capacity per channel a thousand people, and are these the ones currently connected? I connected to the channel with the most people. Looki was further divided into several channels.
Is the maximum capacity per channel a thousand people, and are these the ones currently connected?
I connected to the channel with the most people.
Looking at it, everyone was talking about the Nightmare 1st Floor Clear.
\[Pullip: Is the identity of the Nightmare Challenger still not out?\] \[Macaron: Guess it really is an Unregistered Climber with no info. Otherwise, wouldn't there have been an announcement already?\] \[Klesstin: It hasn't even been a day yet.\] \[Gyeranbap: The Nation might be hiding it at the government level to protect its identity.\] \[Peter3: True, it'd be a mess if it got revealed.\] \[Warrior of the Tower: Still, shouldn't they release the 1st Floor info? For conscience's sake, for the sake of the world.\] \[RollingTwist: Watch your mouth, talking like that to the Savior who extended Earth's service by a year. Conscience?\] \[Kim: Fr, I'm curious what popped out that led to 40,000 people dying without clearing it.\] \[Pyukseukkwatureu: The most curious thing is what country they're from.\] \[Sangangbada: Obviously Chinese.\] \[Hongcha: Oh, stop with the delusions.\]
So it's this kind of format.
It was a venue for communication where Climbers Worldwide could gather and converse.
The fact that everything appeared in Korean meant the Tower was likely using some Real-time Translation Ability, but it wasn't particularly surprising.
The Tower's Messages probably appeared in everyone's respective languages anyway.
Anyway, everyone seemed to have an immense interest in me.
“Unregistered Climber...”
Actually, it's illegal for a climber not to register in Korea.
If I stepped forward and registered as a Climber now, if I revealed to the Nation that I was the Nightmare Challenger, what would happen?
There are advantages.
A Climber who cleared the 1st Floor and awakened their status window can acquire skills and enter the Tower carrying items.
Since all rewards from the Tower can be brought outside, naturally not only magic stones but also skill stones and items are being bought and sold.
If I informed the Government, I would be able to receive investments too, whether it be skill stones, items, or whatever else.
But is there any way that would be free?
In the end, it means I would have to keep challenging it: Nightmare Difficulty.
"That's a bit much."
I shook my head.
Once I reveal it, there's no turning back.
Besides, the sense of responsibility was too heavy.
It's not like I have some grand mission or anything.
Grasping at straws, I challenged only the 1st Floor since everyone was going to die anyway.
If possible, I didn't want to keep climbing the Tower.
But if I revealed that I was the Nightmare Challenger, regardless of my will, I would no longer be able to return to a normal daily life in any way.
Given various considerations, it was still better to just stay unregistered.
\[Tulip: Hey, the number 1 popped up in the Nightmare Communication Channel.\] \[Frigg: ?\] \[Cheesecake: Oh my god, it's true?\] \[Blue Wolf: Looks like our Nightmare Challenger has finally connected to the Communication Channel?\] \[Pullip: No posts have been uploaded yet.\]
Suddenly, the conversation sped up immensely.
I just turned off the Communication Channel.
As I was watching, day had broken before I knew it.
When I came out of my room, my father was watching TV in the living room, and my mother was preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
"Good morning." "Did you sleep well?" "Yes. I guess I was a bit tired yesterday."
My father looked to be in a good mood.
The morning news was playing on the TV.
The content was, as expected, about the Nightmare clear.
"Phew, what in the world is going to happen to this world..."
My father clicked his tongue.
A world where Humanity's lifeline is extended by a year with every Floor Clear of the Tower.
It really had become a world that wasn't even funny.
- At the same time the 1st Floor of all difficulties in the Tower was cleared, new people once again received the Tower's Call. Just like the Day of Upheaval a year ago, a total of 400,000 people have received the call this time as well...
My father asked while watching the TV.
"Seohyeon, you didn't receive it by any chance, did you?" "Huh? No, I didn't." "Good. Even if by some one-in-a-million chance you become a Climber, you must never think about climbing the Tower." "Come on, as if I would. What's the point of making a lot of money? One wrong move, and you die."
I replied cheekily.
"Right. That's a relief then. There is nothing in the world more precious than a human life."
I completely agree with you, Father.
But man, it just ended up like this.
This was why I could never tell my family either. It was obvious how much they would worry.
"Are you going to work today?" "Of course. I'm the President, so I have to."
After eating breakfast, my father went to work, and my younger sibling also went to school, as it seemed classes weren't canceled.
The world almost ended just yesterday, but it's as if nothing happened. What an amazing country indeed.
"Seohyeon, aren't you going to school today?" "I'm heading out later at 1 o'clock."
I likewise had an afternoon lecture.
I sat at the desk in my room and connected to the Communication Channel again.
\[Nightmare(1)\]
The Nightmare Communication Channel, with only me in it, was empty and desolate.
Before heading out, I planned to upload information about the Nightmare 1st Floor.
I pray that people read this and Nightmare Challengers start popping up left and right from now on.
“...Is it a bit wrong to wish for that?”
Honestly, the things I went through yesterday weren't what a human should have to do.
But well, even if I don't wish for it, there will be people who challenge it, right? The number of people increased this time too.
I was just lucky.
How am I supposed to carry this heavy burden all by myself?
Even just to keep the world from ending, more Nightmare Challengers were absolutely necessary.
This was information for them.
I started writing the post while organizing the contents in my head.
---
After the Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor Clear, people worldwide were busy sorting out the chaos.
The world didn't end, but the fear of annihilation people felt until the 1st Floor was cleared was truly no different from a pandemic.
The financial markets were completely wrecked, and with no shortage of people running amok claiming it was the end of the world, society was in total chaos. The Republic of Korea was in relatively good shape.
But that was that, and they had to prepare for what was next.
The crisis of the apocalypse hadn't disappeared; it was merely postponed by a single year.
"We stood at a critical crossroads. In the face of the unknown threat that is the Tower, Humanity's fate was no different from a candle in the wind, and everyone hoped for a miracle. And a miracle truly did happen.
As the President of the United States of America, I express my unspeakable gratitude and respect to the Hero who succeeded in the Nightmare Difficulty 1st Floor Clear. We are now seeing hope. One year is a long time. To ensure such a situation never occurs again, the Korean Government will do its utmost, more actively and more desperately than before, for the clearing of the Nightmare Difficulty."
*Meanwhile, everyone was searching with blazing eyes for who the Climber that cleared the Nightmare 1st Floor was.*
"Still no announcement?" "What about China or India?" "Everyone's quiet. Could it really be an Unregistered Climber?" "I heard they connected to the Climber Communication Channel, didn't I? Are there any posts uploaded?"
They are the only person to have cleared the Nightmare 1st Floor, which has been shrouded in mystery until now.
That person was the very front line of Humanity's hope.
And the information on the Nightmare 1st Floor that they held was also something whose value could not possibly be measured.
What if a specific Nation was planning to completely hide the Nightmare Challenger's identity? Or what if they were an Unregistered Climber with no intention of revealing their identity? Whatever the case, what if they planned to monopolize the information?
It had only been a day, but it was natural for everyone to be burning with anxiety.
And around noon.
"I-It's up!" "They just released the Nightmare 1st Floor info? Really?"
A post suddenly appeared in the empty Nightmare Communication Channel.
\[Person123: This is the Nightmare 1st Floor Strategy Guide.\]
A post starts with that brief sentence, without a single unnecessary word.