Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability Chapter 18: 2F Hidden (2)

Novel: Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability Author: AlexD Updated: Jun 08, 2026

Font Size

18px

Now reading: Chapter 18: 2F Hidden (2) from Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability, a Adventure novel by AlexD.

Back in my room, I sat in the chair and thought.

“Why did I fail?”

Wasn’t that demon the boss I was supposed to defeat?

Was there so other enemy besides the demon?

If it were simply a matter of there being more enemies, there’d be no reason for it to count as a failure.

But since killing the demon had instantly ended in failure, that ant the demon was soone I wasn’t supposed to kill.

Then could it have been… an ally?

‘But it attacked out of nowhere.’

If my reaction had been even slightly slower, I would’ve taken a blade to the neck and died.

In any case, it seed clear that killing the demon was off the table.

I rehydrated, topped off my spent Willpower, then re-entered the 2nd floor right away.

I cleared the platforms, climbed to the top, and took down the Minotaur.

After descending the tower and returning to the starting point, I headed into the forest.

This ti, I was thoroughly on guard.

One wrong move and I could be done for.

Right around the ti I was thinking, It was about here that it jumped out last ti…

I sensed a presence in the bushes to the side.

I only caught it because every one of my senses was on high alert.

I stopped walking and stared at the bushes.

A mont later, sothing burst out at high speed and ca at with an attack.

Clang!

I deflected the strike with the sword I was holding.

I imdiately backed away and shouted.

“Wait!”

The demon flinched and stared at .

I raised both arms to signal that I had no hostile intent and spoke.

“I have no intention of fighting! Why are you suddenly attacking ?”

Given that it had spoken before, it wasn’t a mindless monster but an intelligent being. Surely we could communicate?

The demon glared at , leveled its sword, and shouted.

“Treacherous human! How dare you spout such shaless drivel!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You’re the one who burned the castle to nothing with lava, are you not! Don’t think This Lady doesn’t know!”

…Castle? Lava?

I worked through the context of what she was saying.

It seed like the “castle” she was referring to was the tower I’d escaped from.

And she was under the impression that I was the one who’d filled the tower with lava.

Alright, I understood the situation perfectly now.

I spoke up to clear the misunderstanding.

“That wasn’t . I’m a victim here too.”

“A victim?”

“Yes. I nearly drowned in lava myself and barely managed to escape the castle.”

“What? Who are you to claim you escaped from This Lady’s castle?”

“…What? I was just there from the start.”

“What nonsense. So you’re admitting you were an intruder after all?”

Oh no, the conversation was going sideways.

I realized I’d fumbled the excuse sohow, but the demon was already glaring at with even more hostility.

“Enough of your word gas, human!”

The demon rushed at again, swinging her sword.

I frantically dodged and blocked the attacks.

“I told you, it wasn’t !”

Listen to , you crazy demon!

Apparently done listening, the demon didn’t let up her assault.

I can’t kill her, so… do I have to subdue her?

Fla Strike was out of the question since a bad hit could kill her.

I settled on the goal of subduing her by force alone and threw myself fully into the fight.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

An exchange of blows, swords clashing back and forth.

I seed to have the edge in raw strength, but our speed was roughly even.

Her skill, however, was clearly superior.

I could feel that her swordsmanship, the technique behind it, was far more refined than mine.

I’d thought I’d gotten pretty used to combat by now, but was this what real swordplay looked like?

‘I can barely keep up…!’

I managed to block and dodge her attacks by stopping ti at critical monts. In a pinch, I also had Teleportation.

As the fight dragged on, it gradually beca more manageable.

Exaltation stacks were building steadily, and my body kept getting faster.

Only after Exaltation’s effect had ramped up to its maximum was I finally able to claim the advantage in speed as well.

I found my footing and began pushing back.

No matter the gap in skill, once I had the edge in both strength and speed, things evened out.

“…!”

Now it was the demon whose expression looked desperate.

Even so, seizing a decisive opening was no easy task.

With knight goblins or the Minotaur, their patterns were simple enough that once my physical abilities reached a certain threshold, taking them down was straightforward.

This kind of intense, back-and-forth exchange was a first for , and the sensation was surprisingly fresh.

‘This isn’t going to work.’

Judging that this would be difficult to settle as things stood, I stopped ti.

The whole challenge was that I had to subdue her without killing her.

After finishing my ntal Concentration, I teleported behind her.

The demon’s sword, aid at my neck, sliced through empty air.

From behind the demon, now thrown off by my sudden disappearance, I delivered a spinning kick with everything I had.

“Guh!”

Ah, maybe I kicked too hard.

The demon took the blow to the ribs and went tumbling across the ground, bouncing off the dirt.

When I approached, she scrambled to her feet. The fight continued.

But the damage must have been real, because her sword had noticeably less bite than before.

“Let’s talk it out! Co on, talk!”

“What nonsense…!”

I’m saying let’s communicate.

Is that so hard to understand?

Clang!

The demon blocked my sword and was sent skidding far back.

She clutched her ribs, gasping for breath, clearly in pain.

Maybe she’d be willing to listen now?

I tried again.

“Can we please stop fighting? I don’t want to fight, so calm down.”

“Hah… hah… you human…”

She kept calling “human” like it was an insult. Says the one with weird horns growing out of her head.

“You’re misunderstanding the situation. I’m not an intruder, and I’m not your enemy. The lava wasn’t my doing either.”

“You expect This Lady to believe that…!”

“What choice do you have? Look, to put it bluntly, if I’d wanted to kill you, I could’ve just slit your throat back there instead of kicking you. Why would I bother talking like this?”

“Insolent human! Who do you think is killing whom here!”

The demon erupted in fury.

“Am I wrong? Then tell . If we keep fighting, who do you think ends up dead?”

“Grrk…!”

“So let’s talk. Please.”

The demon couldn’t argue back, apparently unable to deny that she was outmatched.

She cald down slightly and spoke.

“Talk about what, exactly?”

“Like I said. I’m not an intruder or anything like that.”

“Stop with the lies! A human trespassing in demon territory, and you claim you’re not an intruder? Then what are you?”

So she really was a demon after all.

“This Lady demands an answer! What is a human doing on demon land? If you are not an intruder, then explain what you were doing in Dafria County!”

I scratched my head and answered.

“Well… I’m lost.”

“What?”

“I’m a traveler. I wander from place to place, and I got lost. I didn’t even know this was demon territory.”

That was the excuse I’d go with for now.

I knew nothing about the lore of this world. There wasn’t much else I could claim.

The demon looked at in disbelief.

“…What are you saying? Do you really think that’s believable?”

“Believable or not, it’s the truth.”

“This Lady has never heard of a human so stupid. You got lost and wandered all the way into demon territory?”

I pushed forward shalessly.

“Yes. I have a terrible sense of direction.”

“…”

The demon’s jaw dropped.

Judging by her expression, it seed to be working?

“Th-then! What was that about escaping from This Lady’s castle?”

“Oh, that, well, I was just passing by in the area when lava nearly hit , so that’s why I said that. It was pouring out of the windows like a waterfall.”

The demon frowned.

“That’s not what it sounded like…?”

“Don’t worry about the little details.”

Whatever, I’ll just keep pushing.

“Anyway, what matters is the situation we’re in right now, isn’t it? Let’s think about this logically. Between the two of us, who’s stronger? I’m stronger, right?”

“…Do not insult This Lady! This Lady has not lost yet!”

Her Ladyship was about to throw another fit.

I continued calmly.

“Right. I know. You haven’t lost yet. But objectively speaking, between the two of us, who’s stronger? Be honest. Hand on heart.”

“Grrk… This Lady does not deny that you are the stronger one!”

She said it through gritted teeth, as though the admission itself were an indignity.

And yet she admitted it without resistance.

“Yes, I’m stronger. And despite the fact that you ambushed and nearly took my life, I’ve been trying to have a conversation this entire ti. Even though I could easily win.”

In truth, the first ti around I’d killed her on the spot.

“If I were the one who burned your castle down with lava, why would I be wasting ti having this pointless conversation instead of just killing the castle’s owner? Can you really say I have hostile intentions toward you?”

She fell silent, then cried out.

“That… This Lady supposes you could not!”

“Yes, exactly. I’m not your enemy. So you understand now that there’s no reason for us to keep fighting, right?”

The gentle, coaxing tone seed to be working, so I kept it up.

She just stared at now, eyes full of confusion.

“Human, then first tell your na. If you are truly so confident.”

“…My na? It’s Kim Seo-hyeon.”

She tilted her head.

“Kimsseohyeon…? Are human nas always that strange? What is your family na?”

“Kim is my family na. Seo-hyeon is my given na.”

“What, even the family na is strange. The given na is strange, and the family na is strange too. And why do you put the family na before the given na?”

…What does she keep calling strange? Should I kick her again?

“Humans are incomprehensible. This Lady is Heilin Dafria. The legitimate heir of the great House of Dafria is none other than This Lady.”

That ant nothing to .

As I stood there with a look that said, Ah, right, I see… Heilin shouted.

“This Lady’s house is a truly distinguished family, in case you don’t know, being a human! Human, what is your house? Is the Kim house, or whatever it is, nobility among humans?”

“No.”

Well, maybe it was, once upon a ti.

Heilin’s expression suddenly turned haughty.

“Is that so? Then you must show This Lady proper respect. Even if our races differ, This Lady is nobility, and you, human, are not.”

Yeah, this was starting to get on my nerves.

In any case, I’d succeeded in not killing the demon and getting out of a hostile situation.

What ca next, though, I had no idea.

What was I supposed to do now?

“Very well, human. From this point on, you will assist This Lady.”

“…Assist? With what?”

“The situation is urgent. You are to serve as This Lady’s temporary escort.”

An escort, out of nowhere?

Was sothing progressing here?

“What’s so urgent? You’ll have to fill in first.”

Heilin explained.

“This Lady’s castle was consud by lava because a spell went out of control. Originally, it was a Self-Destruct Magic ant to be activated as a last resort when intruders breach the castle, but it triggered without warning.

If you are not the intruder, then there must be another one. An intruder powerful enough to have warranted the Self-Destruct Magic activating. That is why you must help This Lady.”

Ah, so that was the setup.

I asked.

“But why don’t you know who the intruder is? Weren’t you in the castle?”

“Address This Lady as Lady Heilin!”

“Yes, Lady Heilin. Anyway.”

Heilin’s expression hardened.

“This Lady has a habit of taking solitary night walks. As it happens, This Lady returned from a walk today only to find this disaster. When This Lady followed the footprints at the main gate, that led to you.”

“Ah, I see…”

“The intruder must have known that Father was away and seized the opportunity. How dare they… If Father had been here…”

Heilin trembled with rage.

I had a rough grasp of the situation, but there was one last thing I had to ask.

“But, so, why exactly should I help you, Lady Heilin? This has nothing to do with .”

She’d said it all so naturally, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Heilin yelled.

“This Lady has not fully dismissed her suspicion of you! If you truly have nothing to hide, then of course you should help!”

So it was just arm-twisting, plain and simple.

“Of course, once everything is resolved, This Lady will grant you a proper reward. This Lady is the heir of House Dafria. This Lady would never do anything to tarnish the honor of the Dafria na.”

A reward, huh.

Could that be the hidden reward?

I nodded.

“Understood. I’ll help.”

It looked like this was the right path forward, and I’d been planning to go along with it anyway.

“So what do you plan to do now, Lady Heilin?”

“This Lady will return to the castle. There may be surviving mbers of the household who escaped, and This Lady must verify.”

Heilin took the lead and I followed behind her. We retraced the path we’d co from.

As I walked, a strange feeling ca over , and I found myself thinking.

‘What is this world?’

Is it real?

Is the demon in front of an actual, living person?

I hadn’t thought too deeply about it on the 1st floor, but now that I was having natural conversations and watching a story unfold like a ga, I couldn’t help but wonder.

Even after searching through information from other difficulty levels, there were no cases of anyone encountering people or intelligent beings they could communicate with inside the tower.

Did that an this was unique to the hidden route?

It felt too real to be fake, yet too fake to be real, since leaving the tower and re-entering just reset everything.

“Lady Heilin.”

“Hm?”

“Do you know what the tower is? It’s divided into Easy, Normal, Hard, and Nightmare difficulties, and you climb it…”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Heilin clearly had no idea what I ant.

As expected, that line of questioning was a dead end.

I changed the subject.

“Then what kind of world is this? I an… what do you call the continent we’re living on?”

“The Panderun Continent, of course. What exactly are you trying to say?”

Heilin looked at like I was insane.

Panderun, huh.

A world in another dinsion? Or just a fabricated setting, nothing more?

“Co to think of it, This Lady has a question as well. How did you suddenly move behind This Lady earlier? This Lady could not follow your movents at all.”

“That? It was just Teleportation magic.”

Heilin looked startled.

“It was magic? You’re a mage?”

“Well… I know how to use magic, yes.”

It was a magic-type skill, so magic seed like the right word.

Heilin asked, bewildered.

“But how did you cast magic like that?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, This Lady doesn’t claim to be an expert on magic either, but… doesn’t magic always require a casting ti? And you can’t move while casting.”

Casting ti?

Was she talking about ntal Concentration?

“I have my own thods.”