Chapter 94
- ...Then I ask everyone to welcome him with a big round of applause. Groom, enter.
Clap clap clap clap...
I attended my older cousin's wedding.
After the ceremony ended, the family and cousins gathered in the dining hall to eat.
"Seohyeon, how are you doing these days? Isn't your work dangerous?"
"What? Seohyeon became a Climber? What about attending Medical School?"
Some cousins knew I had become a Climber, and some didn't.
I had to suffer through a barrage of questions from the adults while eating.
I was also able to briefly chat with today's main character, my Older Cousin, who was busy going around greeting the guests.
"Your face has really brightened up, Hyung."
"Haha, isn't it the happiest day in the world? Of course it should be."
Hyung looked truly happy.
I heard that these days, as November approaches, places are completely packed with people getting married.
The reason was naturally due to the Nightmare Time Limit.
Since this year might be the last for the world, maybe everyone is just trying to get it done while they can.
Hyung also said he barely managed to book a large wedding hall.
"Seohyeon, you'll be twenty-six next year, right? You should hurry up and get married too."
"You should ask if I have a Girlfriend first, Hyung."
"Sorry."
I was on the way back home in my father's car after everything was over.
"Should I just become a Public Official after I graduate?"
My Younger Sibling brought up something out of the blue.
This kid is also scheduled to graduate from a university at the end of this year.
Still, she somehow managed to stubbornly fill all her credits without taking a single leave of absence.
"What kind of random talk is that?"
"No, Suyeon Unnie passed the Public Official Exam, so it just flashed in my mind."
Mom let out a hollow laugh, and Dad spoke.
"Take your time thinking about employment and do what you want to do, Seoa. Mom and Dad don't mind whatever it is."
I didn't really want to recommend it either.
After all, not knowing when the world might end, doing Public Exam Preparation would be a bit of a waste, wouldn't it?
If she was just saying it because she had nothing else to do, it was better to just play and have fun. It wasn't like our family lacked the means.
My younger sibling said.
"I'm saying this because it is what I want to do. How about working at the Climber Bureau?"
"...Why the Climber Bureau?"
"Just because. I'm drawn to it for some reason."
I said.
"I heard there's so much work there that they call it a hell of a department. Do you even know that?"
"I know that too, okay?"
But why would she be drawn to a place like that?
Well, let her figure it out herself...
I looked out the window and watched the passing scenery outside.
It was now a point where the Nightmare Deadline had less than two months left.
* * *
Time flowed on.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 475,126
Time Limit: 30 days 1 hour 5 minutes 52 seconds
Reached Floor: 7th Floor
Once again, the Time for Challenge was approaching right before my eyes.
Kwaaaaang!
The Fog Ghost that ambushed me from the mist was hit by a Flame Strike and exploded completely along with its clones.
Continuing my Zone 5 Hunt, I checked the gauge.
[Zone 5 (38%)]
There was still a loooong way to go.
Maybe I wouldn't even be able to fill the gauge completely after clearing the 7th Floor?
The speed was much slower than during Zone 4, but it was a natural result.
Due to the Field Characteristics of Zone 5 being filled with mist, it was hard to actively go around looking for monsters.
Also, there were no other Climbers hunting besides me.
Well, it seemed like there were some, though.
And at Level 80 currently, I didn't have the confidence to defeat the Zone 5 Boss, which would be at least Level 100.
The Zone 4 Boss also had a Head Destruction Gimmick, so the Line of Destruction Clicker didn't work on it. Level aside, I wondered if the Zone 5 Boss would be like that too...
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 7th Floor]
[Level: 85]
[Willpower: 4,050]
[Skill: Line of Destruction (Epic+), Subspace (Epic), Sixth Sense (Rare+)(+3), Teleportation (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Flame-style Lesser Arrangement (Rare+), Sword of Light (Rare+), Cavalry Charge (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5), Shockwave (Rare)(+2), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Aura (Rare)...]
[Skill: Aura (Rare)]
It forms Aura to enhance attack power. Aura can be imbued into the body or a weapon in contact.
Category: Physical
Willpower Cost: 10 per second
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Skills obtained from Billon.
I was able to obtain the Aura skill, which was called Physical-type Rare Grade Tier 1.
However, since I had the Light Sword, it wasn't a skill I needed all that much anymore... Anyway, it wouldn't hurt to have it.
He also got me a Rare+ grade Skill Enhancement Stone, so I was able to enhance Sixth Sense up to +3.
Other than that, they were Normal+ Grade or normal-grade Miscellaneous Skill Stones and Skill Enhancement Stones.
For reference, what I got as a Normal Reward from the Zone 2 Boss was a rare grade Skill Enhancement Stone, which I used to enhance the Shockwave skill.
I finished hunting and returned to my room.
[Sadness: The Day of Destiny is approaching again...]
[Hansho: It wouldn't be strange to die of a heart attack going through this every year lol]
[Dracula: Still, when Clear Success pops up, the dopamine hit is insane]
[Selira]: He'll clear the 7th Floor too, right? Please!]
[Lemur: Just believe and wait with a reverent heart. Person123 is a god]
I browsed the communication window out of habit before turning it off.
Still, how should I put it?
Compared to the Early Floors in the past, I should say the atmosphere wasn't as anxious even with the deadline approaching.
Actually, I think I saw statistics showing that crime rates and Financial Market Chaos had significantly decreased since I fixed the 20th as the clear date.
Since I had been steadily clearing all the way up to the 6th Floor, that much trust must have built up.
It wasn't like people's faith was burdensome at this point, but...
The outcome was unknown.
Even though I had succeeded up to here, Nightmare's Extreme Difficulty didn't allow me to feel even a bit of conceit or arrogance. It had always been a precarious tightrope walk.
Would this 7th Floor truly be the last, or would we be able to live for another year?
- The 20-day mark of the Nightmare Difficulty Deadline is just one day away. Person123's 7th Floor Challenge is coming up soon...
The Nightmare Deadline had approached just one day before the 20th.
I didn't go on a trip this year either and just got some fresh air around my house.
When I went to Gwanghwamun, I saw people who had already come out and were praying.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 475,093
Time Limit: 21 days 1 minute 6 seconds
Reached Floor: 7th Floor
Evening time.
I sat on the edge of my bed in my room and waited for the time limit to reach 21 days.
During the 4th Floor and the 6th Floor, the Tower always made a proposal exactly when it hit 21 days.
I had to see whether it would make a proposal this time as well.
- Did the Tower make a proposal to you?
Ma-Wang suddenly spoke to me.
"Yes."
- ...What kind of proposal was it? Did you accept it?
I told him all the proposals the Tower had made so far.
The 4th Floor penalty, the 6th Floor Ark, and even what happened at the Masked Auction.
"It might make another proposal this time too. That's why I'm waiting right now."
Ma-Wang let out a chuckle that somehow carried a hint of remorse.
- The Tower is not something you should associate with. Do not accept anything from it.
...Since when does he give advice like this?
- Though it's meaningless to say, you will fail soon anyway.
Someone was cursing me right after I thought that.
Of course, I was well aware that the Tower was a petty and despicable son of a bitch.
I wouldn't accept it under normal circumstances.
"Did you get scammed by the Tower or something?"
Ma-Wang did not answer.
At that moment, the Nightmare Time Limit reached exactly 21 days.
"..."
Nothing happened.
Is it not making a proposal this time?
I felt a slight sense of relief and a needless sense of anxiety at the same time.
It was only natural to feel anxious when a bastard who always pulled bullshit suddenly acted quiet.
I lay down early and went to sleep.
Anyway, all that was left now was to challenge the 7th Floor in optimal condition.
The next day at dawn.
At a time when my family hadn't even woken up, I finished a simple meal with an energy bar and warmed up my body.
"Shall I go?"
There was still quite a bit of time left until the 20-day deadline hit exactly.
But I am going to challenge it right now.
[Would you like to enter the Nightmare Difficulty 7th Floor?]
"Huu..."
Taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve one last time, I entered the 7th Floor.
* * *
The 7th Floor Theme.
It was simple. Evasion.
Clear Success was achieved simply by survival for a set time, dodging the arrows pouring in from all directions.
Of course, a Climber who had reached around the 7th Floor was a Superhuman far beyond the level of the General Public.
Naturally, the flying arrows were not simple arrows either.
The size, speed, power, number, and duration of the arrows varied by difficulty.
In the case of Hard difficulty, it was said that one had to dodge 300 iron arrows over about 5 minutes, an average of one shot per second.
[You have entered the Nightmare Difficulty 7th Floor.]
As soon as I entered, I used Stop Time and checked the environment.
A cavern similar to the 1st Floor, but wider.
Torches were illuminating the space.
And what else I saw was... countless holes pierced into the walls on all sides.
Arrows would be fired from there.
It was said that in other difficulties, arrows were only fired from the front.
Nightmare had holes covering the entire 360-degree Perimeter, almost enough to trigger trypophobia. Even the Ceiling had holes.
Were arrows going to fly in from all directions?
This much was easily within my expected range.
And there was one more thing that was different.
‘A door?’
There was a door in the front.
Why was there a door?
Could it be that this wasn't the end and there was another Stage?
...I'd check it first.
I used Time Release.
It was said to start exactly 10 seconds after entry.
And since the walls where the arrows were fired were said to have an indestructible property just like the terrain on the 4th Floor, attacking them would be useless.
In short, I had to focus solely on dodging.
Honestly, I was just a tiny bit more confident than on the other floors...
If evasion was the theme, I had plenty of cards to play too.
I had Sixth Sense, and I had Teleportation.
I had even drunk the Frozen Hydra's Blood, so unless my head was destroyed, I wouldn't die.
Of course, since it was Nightmare, there was no telling what kind of bizarre bullshit it would show off next.
‘Let's see then...’
Kwang!
With Intuition's Warning.
I twisted my body to the side and dodged.
A Shockwave surged, and the sound of an explosion rang out later than the arrow flew.
I couldn't even call it... an arrow.
I looked back at the Shattered Ground.
It was an arrow in shape only.
A chunk of iron twice as long as a person and as thick as a log wasn't usually called an arrow.
‘It's a Missile, fuck.’
Was the speed a bit faster than the speed of sound?
No matter if I was over Level 80, if I got hit by something like this, my body would explode for sure.
But it didn't matter as long as I didn't get hit.
Along with a chilling sensation on the back of my head, my Sixth Sense rang a warning again.
I twisted my body and dodged the second arrow flying in from behind.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
I ran around the Cavern, dodging the pouring arrows.
There was the option of deflecting the arrows with a Magic Skill, but since dodging was simpler, I didn't bother doing that.
With the speed and reflexes of a Level 85 Body, I could dodge it leisurely. The Exaltation skill was also gradually activating.
It was at a level where I could dodge just by looking, and I even had Sixth Sense on top of that.
The more the Sixth Sense Skill was enhanced, the more delicate its method of warning about danger became.
Honestly, at around +3 enhancement, it was to the point where I could roughly feel the direction they were flying from even with my eyes closed.
In short, even if arrows flew in from all directions, I had no blind spots.
The Firing Interval of the arrows grew shorter and shorter, and I continued to dodge.
Had I been dodging for a few minutes?
"...!"
My Sixth Sense rang warnings from all directions except the ceiling.
I leaped upward.
The arrows that flew in from all directions collided with each other and shattered.
I landed on the debris.
The Ground of the Cavern had completely exploded from the Arrow Barrage.
There were no more arrows flying in.
‘Is it over?’
It felt like about 5 minutes had passed.
Of course, the Clear Completion Message did not pop up.
I approached the door.
I was examining the tightly closed Stone Gate, wondering if I had to break it.
Kugugugu-
With a loud rumble, the Stone Gate slowly began to open.
I stepped aside.
Kwang!
Before the door even fully opened, an arrow shot out through the Gap in the Door.
My Sixth Sense warned me, so I dodged in advance.
This kind of Crude Trick wouldn't work anymore.
"Huu."
I took a brief breather and advanced inside the door.
The taste test was over, and it seemed the real thing would begin from here.