Chapter 2
“Goblin. Estimated height is between 150cm and 160cm, and its physical strength is similar to or slightly below that of an average adult male. Unarmed Goblins on Easy Difficulty and Normal Difficulty primarily use their teeth and nails to attack, and in the case of Hard Difficulty, the Goblins are armed with iron longswords, causing the danger level to spike...”
Even though I had absolutely no intention of entering the tower.
That didn't mean I was doing absolutely nothing.
“...Hard Difficulty is crazy too. Just who are the people challenging this?”
Information about the tower's 1st Floor was scattered everywhere, and was available with just a little searching on the internet.
It was to the point where a Strategy Manual had been established, which was claimed to be a must-read for any Climber.
Of course, this was a story that didn't apply to me.
No one knew what kind of hardships awaited on Nightmare Difficulty, 1st Floor, which had not a single survivor.
The more information I looked up, the more it led to the conclusion that entering meant nothing but death.
You could become a superhuman if you climbed the tower.
You could earn an astronomical amount of money from the rewards that came out of the tower.
Many people were supposedly challenging the tower, tempted by such things, and there seemed to be people who envied the chosen Climbers.
So what. You only have one life.
I, who didn't have a strong sense of challenge and knew how precious my life was, stood on the exact opposite side of those kinds of people.
Even if the difficulty I was assigned had been Easy, I wouldn't have given it a second glance.
I was already living a perfectly decent life.
Let alone Nightmare Difficulty with zero survivors?
Unless someone held a knife to my throat and threatened me, there was absolutely no way I would enter of my own free will.
Still, I did think that you never know what the future holds.
Whenever I had free time, I looked up and read information about the 1st Floor of the tower to familiarize myself with it.
I would absolutely never enter the tower, but well, it wouldn't hurt to take care of my health while I was at it, so I also started exercising.
Honestly, if I really wanted to prepare properly, there were Training Facilities for Climbers, but going to a place like that felt like volunteering myself as a Climber, so I didn't feel like it.
Kendo and boxing.
Boxing was ordinary enough, but there was a reason I specifically chose kendo as well.
It was said that you couldn't bring any electronic devices, along with any items judged to be weapons or armor, into the tower.
The only usable weapons were the ones provided by the tower, and it was said that the weapon commonly given to Climbers on the 1st Floor was a sword.
I had thought for a long time that I could utilize my Time Stop Ability for physical activities as well.
This is a result of attending kendo and boxing gyms for over half a year.
I confirmed that it could indeed be put to very useful work.
I felt some regret that I should have trained harder if I had known things would turn out like this, but well...
It was said that the enemies you face on the 1st Floor of the tower, from Easy to Hard, were basically all Goblins.
Easy Difficulty 1st Floor had one unarmed Goblin.
The Normal Difficulty 1st Floor was two unarmed Goblins.
The Hard Difficulty 1st Floor was two Goblins armed with swords.
Then what on earth was waiting in Nightmare Difficulty?
\[You have entered Nightmare Difficulty, 1st Floor.\]
I was about to find out for myself from then on.
The scenery before my eyes changed in an instant.
As soon as I entered, I activated Time Stop first.
I checked the information entering my field of vision.
A space like the inside of a large cave.
Minerals embedded in the walls, shining like lights, were brightly illuminating the space.
There was a straight passage ahead, and there were no enemies immediately visible.
I looked all around me, front, back, left, and right, while alternating between Time Release and Time Stop.
For now, the structure was as I knew it.
It was said that all the other difficulties also fought Goblins in a Cave-like space.
...What do I do?
Now that I was actually here, I was suddenly regretting it.
No, I shouldn't be like this.
‘Let's get a grip.’
Now that I had entered, I couldn't just wallow in negative thoughts.
I can do this.
I will definitely clear this and make it out alive.
They say those who seek death shall live, and those who seek life shall die. I just have to do it too.
I took a deep breath, no, time was stopped so I couldn't breathe.
Taking a deep mental breath and bracing myself, I used Time Release.
I picked up the sword resting on a cube-shaped rock nearby.
A longsword with a Western-style design.
I wondered if they wouldn't even give me a weapon just because it was Nightmare Difficulty, but thankfully it wasn't that much of a bastard.
Holding the longsword with both hands, I faced the Passage ahead.
A Goblin would be coming out of there soon.
Goblins coming out of the Passage visible ahead were said to be the common flow from Easy to Hard.
I waited for a moment, breathing in the musty air.
The bastards walked out of the Passage.
I immediately used Time Stop again.
I observed the Goblins that had appeared.
Three in total.
Two were armed with swords similar to mine, and one was armed with a spear.
...So you're saying I have to face that.
Even though I had braced myself to some extent, my will kept trying to break.
You idiot, let's get a grip.
Since time, at least, was infinite, I calmly thought of a strategy.
Naturally, taking on three at once was an act of madness.
The one holding a sword was standing at the very front, and the other two were slightly further back.
“They said they would immediately rush in and attack.”
The space was wide enough.
Would it be possible to fight by hitting and running, taking them on one by one?
‘As long as I don't get surrounded...’
If I fully utilized my ability, it felt like it would work out somehow.
I had continuously honed my sense of how to utilize this ability in a fight through boxing and kendo.
This was a real battle.
Even the slightest slip-up would be fatal.
“I can do this.”
I forcefully shook off my fear and steeled my final resolve before.
I used Time Release.
Kieeeek-!
The Goblins came running.
One Sword Goblin at the front approached the fastest.
Huh? At this rate, an opportunity has come right away.
I think I can hit one first and pull back?
When the bastard got almost right in front of my nose.
I began the active utilization of my ability.
I repeated momentarily using Time Release and Time Stop.
It's like pausing a video and rapidly double-tapping the play and pause buttons.
The Goblin moved very slightly, slowly.
It was a technique I had personally named “Time Splitting”.
The limit to rapidly using Time Release and then Time Stop again was about 0.02 seconds.
In other words, I could split 1 second into up to 1/50th of a second.
Time Stop is not invincible.
Because my body and reaction speed were ultimately nothing more than those of an ordinary human.
What good is it to use Time Stop when a sword is already right in front of my belly?
I wouldn't be able to dodge it.
My belly would just have been pierced the moment I used Time Release.
Therefore, Time Splitting was the best method someone like me could use.
“...Its face is fucking gross.”
I realized that the Goblins commonly seen in games or comics had heavily beautified appearances.
The Goblin slowly approached me.
My body was equally slow.
However, it was possible to fully predict and prepare for how the bastard would attack.
‘It's a Stab.’
The Goblin pulled its sword hilt back.
The tip of the sword was aimed at me.
This was unconditionally a Stab attack.
I began my evasion by pulling my back foot and waist to the side.
*At the same time, I counterattacked by extending my sword.*
In the sluggish time, we both moved as if our frames were dropping.
Moving while using Time Release and Time Stop for fleeting moments was a rather strange sensation, but because I had practiced to get used to it, there was no stuttering in my movements.
“Good.”
For now, the evasion is a success.
By the time the Goblin thrust its sword out, my body was already completely out of the path of the stab.
Conversely, the tip of my sword was advancing, aiming precisely at the Goblin's neck.
I'll stab it just like this.
I Stabbed it.
The sharpness of a real sword pierced through the creature's hide much more smoothly than I had thought.
Kek-
With my sword lodged in the Goblin's neck, I used Time Stop again.
...I really did it.
Since I stabbed its neck, this bastard was finished.
I stayed calm and thought about the next step.
Time to pull out the sword and step back. It was plenty.
Having finished preparing to act, I used Time Release.
“...!”
I immediately used Time Stop again.
The embedded blade didn't come out as easily as I thought. Damn it.
What do I do?
Let's try twisting the sword while pushing the Goblin's body away with my foot.
Thud!
Fortunately, the sword came out this time.
The Goblin, stabbed in the neck, collapsed with a thud.
I quickly turned my back and ran away.
The remaining two Goblins chased after me, letting out unpleasant cries.
My running was faster than theirs.
First, Time Stop again.
I stopped while in a running state.
What the, this is doable, isn't it?
My ability was working perfectly well even in a real battle.
I gained a bit more confidence.
I just had to deal with the two of them like I just did.
The Goblin holding a sword was chasing me.
The Sword Goblin was on the left, the Spear Goblin on the right, and the Spear Goblin was lagging further behind.
If I ran to the left, the distance between the two would widen further.
I used Time Release and ran again.
As I curved towards the left, the distance between the two Goblins increased, and the Sword Goblin and I gradually got closer.
Now is the time.
I braked suddenly and brought my body to a halt.
The running Sword Goblin didn't stop its Charge, as if it truly had no concept of a coordinated attack.
That's actually better. Come at me.
When it got right in front of my nose, I started Time Splitting again.
Time Release, Time Stop, Time Release, Time Stop.
Watching the Goblin's sluggishly continuing movements, I predicted the ensuing attack.
“A downward strike.”
The sword was being raised above its head.
It was a very honest downward strike.
Matching the timing, I swung my sword as well.
As I deflected the descending sword to the side, my grip vibrated.
I used Time Stop again and calmly prepared a counterattack.
The advantage I had was that even in every single moment of the fight, I had an infinite amount of time to think about my next action.
And the Goblin's reactions couldn't keep up with that.
Squelch!
My sword pierced through the Goblin's fully exposed neck.
The second one was eliminated.
More calmly than before, I pulled my sword out and stepped back.
The Spear Goblin that had been running after it flinched upon seeing the Sword Goblin fall.
Is that bastard more cowardly than its friends?
No, should I say it's wiser?
The Spear Goblin didn't recklessly lunge in and just paced around in place.
“Huu...”
I caught my breath while keeping my gaze fixed.
...Wait a minute.
This isn't the time to be happy that there's only one bastard left.
The spear was aimed in this direction.
Its reach was much longer than my sword's.
This: the pressure caused by the difference in reach was no joke, more than I had thought.
If I carelessly closed the distance, it would immediately stab at me.
Dodging while being prepared and dodging while I was the one approaching were on different levels of difficulty.
It would be easier to respond if it just attacked blindly like the other bastards, but this one was being needlessly cautious.
It became difficult to apply the evade or defend > counterattack pattern that had successfully eliminated the two Goblins.
“Attacking first is burdensome...”
I slowly circled while facing the Goblin, maintaining the distance.
Right, there's no reason to attack first.
Are you going to keep doing this?
You come in first.
I focused my nerves to use Time Stop immediately if I saw any signs.
They circled round and round while facing each other for a long time.
As if feeling frustrated, the Goblin let out an angry cry.
Kiek-! Kieeek-!
These bastards' cries were unpleasant, like the scraping of metal.
Wait a minute, should I try provoking it?
If I saw it get annoyed like this, wouldn't it rush in first if I just scratched its temper a little?
“Kikik. Pfft.”
I put on the most obnoxious expression I could muster and let out the most obnoxious laugh. I even stuck my tongue out.
Fortunately, the Goblin seemed to understand that I was working hard to mock it.
As soon as I perceived the Goblin's body leaning forward, I immediately used Time Stop.
It's coming.
Time Release, Time Stop, the slowly approaching spear.
Predicting the path of the Stab, I also twisted my body and began my evasion.
Dodge, dig in, and Stab.
I had a feeling that my senses had strangely heightened from the previous two engagements.
I executed a perfect counterattack just as I had thought.
After stabbing the Goblin's neck, I kicked it away to pull my sword out.
The squirming of the bastard that had fallen to the floor soon stopped.
I looked around.
The Goblins I had struck down earlier had also long since become corpses.
I had definitely killed all three of them in one go.
It was all over.
“...”
Or not.
They said the 1st Floor was over once you eliminated all the Goblins.
However, no message popped up saying the clear was successful or anything like that.
It meant there was still something more left.
“Right, I didn't even expect it.”
Three Goblins.
Of course, just this was indeed incredibly difficult, but it didn't seem like Nightmare Difficulty would end with just this.
To say that so many people had all died without anyone being able to clear it with just this level...
“Phew.”
Let's rest for now.
I sat down and rested my body.
\[Nightmare\] Personnel: 76,526 Time Limit: 3 hours 1 minute 42 seconds Reached Floor: 1st Floor
I checked the flow of time by looking at the time limit for Nightmare Difficulty.
Not even 5 minutes had passed since I entered.
Because I fought while using Time Stop, it felt waaaay longer, though.
“Good... It's doable.”
I muttered while looking around at the Goblins' corpses.
But did I really pull this off?
Even when I thought about it myself, it was a battle I had executed excellently.
I can do it if I try, right? Huh?
My mood lifted and hope blossomed.
The hope that I could conquer this Nightmare Difficulty that had swallowed the lives of tens of thousands of people was there.
Kererek-
A Goblin's cry was heard.
I hurriedly stood up.
Damn it, they don't even give me a proper moment to rest.
Goblins were coming out of the Passage again.
I used Time Stop.
There were three of them again this time.
However, their armaments were somewhat different.
One bastard had a sword; one bastard had a shield and a sword.
And... uh, fuck.
I panicked.
There was a bastard holding a bow.