The scenery shifted, and I was transported to the Reward Room.
[All difficulties have completed the 2F clear.]
[The Tower calls new Climbers.]
[A new rule has been added.]
[From now on, any Climber who does not enter the Tower within 3 years of being called will die.]
What?
I stared at the ssage about a new rule in shock.
If you didn’t enter the Tower within three years of being called, you’d die.
In other words, the Tower was saying it would now kill every Climber who refused to even attempt the first floor.
“…What kind of bullshit is this now.”
It seed like climbing higher didn’t just an more Climbers piling up after all.
So rules could be added like this as things progressed.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 3F]
[Level: 25]
[Willpower: 450]
[Skills: Teleportation (Rare ), Fla Strike (Rare)( 1), Leap (Normal)]
I checked my Status Window.
My Level had gone up by 10 to Level 25.
My Willpower had risen considerably too.
When I moved my body, I could feel that my physical abilities had taken yet another massive leap forward.
Slam!
I tried jumping forward from a standing position, and the stone floor cracked beneath my feet as my body launched explosively through the air.
I stopped and looked down at my feet.
The soles of my shoes were completely torn apart. They hadn’t been able to withstand the impact.
Hmm… how should I put this.
It was nothing new at this point, but I could keenly feel that my body was becoming less and less human with each passing day.
If I kept getting stronger like this with every floor, just how powerful would I eventually beco?
That idle thought crossed my mind as I turned to check the rest of my rewards.
Aside from the Magic Stones, there were two glowing stones nearby.
A Skill Stone and an Enhancent Stone. I could tell them apart by their shape now.
I wondered what skill I’d gotten this ti.
Hopefully another Magic Type skill, if I was lucky.
[Skill Stone: Exaltation (Rare)]
Upon use, you can acquire ‘Skill: Exaltation (Rare)’.
[Skill: Exaltation (Rare)]
Physical abilities progressively strengthen the more you move. The effect gradually fades when movent stops.
Classification: Physical Type (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
A passive skill.
From what I knew, passives were generally valued even more highly than actives.
That made sense, since they were always-on abilities that cost no Willpower.
“Tch.”
Still, I would’ve preferred Magic Type.
I read through the description with a tinge of disappointnt.
It seed like a decent enough skill, all things considered.
The more I move, the stronger my physical abilities get.
[‘Skill: Exaltation (Rare)’ has been acquired.]
I used the Skill Stone right away to learn it.
To test the skill out, I started moving around.
Since the effect faded when I stopped, I ran laps around the Reward Room without rest.
“Oh.”
I could feel it working.
A rising sense of exhilaration crept through , as if the blood in my veins was pumping faster.
Along with it, my body grew progressively quicker and my senses sharper.
At a certain point, the speed stopped increasing.
Was this the upper limit of the enhancent?
There were no exact numbers in the description, but by feel, it wasn’t quite a 1.5x boost; more like a 20 to 30 percent increase.
At my current Level, in pure stat terms, that was essentially gaining 5 to 7 Levels’ worth of stats for free.
That made it a pretty solid skill, all things considered.
Next, the Skill Enhancent Stone.
[Rare Skill Enhancent Stone]
Upon use, you can enhance one Rare-grade skill.
Last ti I’d had no choice but Fla Strike, but I’d just picked up a brand new skill.
Use it on Fla Strike, or on Exaltation?
If I used it on Fla Strike, the fireball count would probably go up to three.
Exaltation would… I don’t know, maybe just raise the physical enhancent cap? Hard to say without trying.
I was leaning toward Fla Strike.
At the end of the day, Magic Type skills gave the best efficiency above all else. Focus and specialization, as they say.
After mulling it over, I decided to hold off for now. There was no rush.
[Would you like to exit the Tower?]
Had it been about an hour? It was probably still the middle of the night outside.
I’d worked hard enough. Ti to head out and rest.
*
The popular podcast show The Jude Noise was a program that invited guests from various fields to discuss a wide range of topics.
The guest for this episode was Arlo, an Arican political comntator and influencer.
He was known for his analysis of various social phenona and his characteristically blunt, cynical delivery, which had earned him a large following of both fans and detractors in equal asure.
The topic for this episode: Nightmare difficulty 2F and the future of humanity.
“There will be no miracle this ti. Humanity is already finished.”
True to his reputation, Arlo declared doom right from the start.
Jude, the podcast’s host, pushed back.
“A lot of people feel the sa way right now. But is there really no hope? One person failed, sure, but there are still five Nightmare Climbers remaining.”
“Five people. Jude, do you happen to know the survival rate for Nightmare difficulty 1F?”
“Let’s see… roughly 40,000 people have attempted it so far, and only six made it through, so the probability would be around 0.015%.”
“That’s right. And even that figure only accounts for attempts made after information about 1F beca public. Before the first Nightmare Climber erged, so 25,000 people were sacrificed. If we’re talking about the survival rate before information was available, it was a re 0.004%.”
Arlo held up two fingers and wagged them.
“People need to properly grasp just how absurd these odds are. Do you know the probability of being struck by lightning in your lifeti? It’s roughly 0.007%.
What that ans is this: hoping that even one of the five Nightmare Climbers succeeds at clearing 2F is at least twice as unlikely as grabbing five random people off the street and finding that one of them has been struck by lightning. How does that feel?”
“That’s staggering.”
Jude shook his head.
“But the Nightmare Climbers are the elite of the elite, the ones who conquered that brutal 1F. Shouldn’t we consider their chances at least sowhat higher?”
“Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. Looking at other difficulties, there are statistically no instances where 2F had a higher survival rate than 1F. As Climbers ascend, their abilities grow, but the difficulty scales even faster. That is the law of the Tower. And Nightmare difficulty will be no exception.”
Arlo continued.
“The United States, first to attempt 2F, has failed. The governnt that boasted about staking the nation’s fate on clearing 2F still hasn’t issued a single official statent. But we can all figure it out with a mont’s thought, can’t we? They probably invested everything they could. Skill Stones, items, whatever they could get their hands on, they poured it all into their challenger. And what was the result?
That is why I say there will be no miracle. The Nightmare Ti Limit now has barely a few weeks left. Ladies and gentlen, please, let go of your idle hopes. Accept the end, and enjoy whatever ti you have left with an open heart. That is what I ca here to say.”
“I see. So you’re what people these days would call a Doomist, then?”
Those who had already accepted the world’s end as a foregone conclusion were being called Doomists rather than doomsayers these days, and the phenonon had grown beyond anyone’s control.
People committing cris on the logic that the world was ending anyway, so why not live as they pleased. Others preaching faith in the god of the Tower and urging salvation. Extremist groups and cults springing up like weeds, all of it had beco a severe social crisis.
“I won’t deny it, but I’m not telling people to go on cri sprees and cause chaos like savages. I simply hope people can spend what ti they have left in as much peace as possible. I’m already doing exactly that.”
“How so?”
“I’ve liquidated all my assets. Spending money freely, enjoying the rest of my days with family. Once this show wraps up, I’m heading off to travel through so countries in Asia. I always told myself I’d go soday, but I was always too busy and never actually made it. Jude, why don’t you quit the show yourself and go do whatever you’ve been putting off?”
“Ha ha, maybe I should? But I’d really love to be live on air for the mont the world actually ends, so it feels like a waste to quit just yet.”
In the middle of the show, the staff around them suddenly began murmuring.
One of them hurried over and delivered the news to both n.
“…They’re saying Nightmare 2F has just been cleared!”
Both of them went wide-eyed with surprise.
Jude turned to look at Arlo. After a mont of looking completely dumbstruck, Arlo cleared his throat and spoke.
“…Amazing. I suppose there’s no law saying miracles can’t happen.”
As news of the Nightmare 2F clear spread, the world erupted once again.
[HawkinTer: Did everyone get the ssage? 2F cleared!]
[OceanOutlaw: Wowwowwow!!]
[PizzaBread: Holy shit we sohow bought another year lmaooo let’s gooo~]
[Twishon: With only six challengers I seriously thought we were done for this ti]
[Coin: Who cleared it?]
[PhoenixEgg: No idea. Nobody’s posted anything yet.]
[Hades: But what’s this new rule? People who don’t climb the Tower die now?]
Everyone was burning to know who had cleared 2F.
anwhile, there was soone who already knew the answer.
Bilon Must, seated in his office chair, pumped his fist triumphantly into the air.
“Ha ha! I knew my instincts were right! I believed in him!”
As Bilon celebrated, his secretary Ellen continued his report from beside him.
“He replied imdiately, sir.”
“Yes! What did he say?”
“He confirms it was him. He says the Leap skill you arranged was a great help. He sends his thanks.”
The mont Bilon had seen the announcent of the Nightmare 2F clear, he had imdiately sent a Whisper to Person123 expressing his gratitude, partly to confirm whether it really had been him.
[Person123: The Leap skill was a great help in the clear. Thank you.]
And the reply had co right back.
The instant he heard those words relayed through Ellen, Bilon felt a sense of fulfillnt beyond description.
The first-ever Nightmare Climber had acknowledged his contribution. Having climbed as high as he had in life, it had been a long ti since he’d felt this kind of desire for recognition from another person.
And that person deserved it. A ssiah shouldering the fate of all humanity.
First 1F, now 2F. Once could be a fluke, but twice was no longer coincidence.
Bilon was now certain that his judgnt had been right all along.
That man is special. He is the only one. The sole person worth placing hope in.
Bilon quickly tempered his excitent and gathered his thoughts.
“Right, we’ve established the connection. Now I just need to get him the goods…”
With the results confird, the path forward was clear.
All in. Invest everything in him.
He needed to secure as many Skill Stones, Skill Enhancent Stones, and items as possible. By any ans necessary.
Ellen spoke up.
“That aside, a new rule… things seem to be taking an ominous turn.”
The rule that any Climber who didn’t enter the Tower within three years would die.
“The Tower wants to cull the dead weight, is that it? You’re not affected, are you?”
“No, sir. I’ve already cleared 1F.”
“The Climbing Bureau must be tearing their hair out right about now.”
New Climbers, plus all those who had been sitting on their hands until now, would all co flooding in. The ripple effects would be enormous.
Of course, that was the Climbing Bureau’s problem, and none of Bilon’s concern.
Bilon sank deep into thought, pondering how to continue supporting Person123, and how to forge an even closer bond with him as his benefactor.
Read more chapters on my Patreon: /DDTL
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