Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability Chapter 4: Nightmare, 1st Floor (3)

Following the path forward, the incline leveled out into flat ground again.

There was sothing up ahead.

Various kinds of weapons laid out on top of a long, flat rock.

I walked up closer and looked them over.

Swords, spears, axes, maces, shields, bows, crossbows, whips… it was like a weapon shop, nothing missing.

Was I supposed to just pick whatever I wanted?

‘Why the sudden generosity?’

I stared down the passage that continued ahead.

They’d tossed a single sword and made struggle through all of that, and now they’re handing out weapons like candy?

It made more anxious than grateful, wondering what they had in store.

I picked out so weapons for now.

A sword and shield combo was the obvious best choice, wasn’t it?

There was no reason to grab weapons I couldn’t even use properly.

I tossed the sword and spear I’d been carrying and took a new sword and shield, one in each hand.

Tensed to the limit, I pressed forward again.

The passage grew wider and wider.

At its end was a massive cavern, just like the one at the very beginning.

The only difference was that the minerals embedded in the walls, which had glowed white before, now pulsed with a red light, filling the space with an ominous energy.

It was like a boss room in a video ga.

Sothing standing alone in the center of the cavern.

I stopped ti and studied it.

One look was all it took for a sigh to escape .

Fuck, what is that now…

A knight clad head to toe in plate armor, gripping an enormous mace in one hand.

After confirming there was nothing else in the cavern besides it, I released the ti stop.

Kerrrk-

The thing let out that distinctly unpleasant goblin cry.

It was a goblin?

Its build was nothing like the others.

The Goblin Knight strode toward with long, heavy steps.

The steel boots of its armor clanked and echoed through the cave.

I stopped ti again.

Okay, think.

How do I fight that thing?

An enemy covered head to toe in armor.

Dealing damage with a sword was impossible.

I rembered sothing from a history docuntary I’d seen once, about how dieval knights actually fought.

Against an opponent in plate armor, the technique was to take the fight to the ground and stab through the gaps in the joints.

‘There’s absolutely no way that’s going to work.’

Now that it had co closer, it was even bigger than I’d thought.

At least two ters tall, easily.

Roll around on the ground in a wrestling match with that monster?

That wasn’t a combat technique. That was a suicide technique.

Still, it was true that the only way to deal damage was to target the gaps in the armor.

I had no choice but to try to aim for them sohow.

‘But where exactly are the gaps?’

The visor slit, the joints… places like that, right?

I’d just have to figure it out by engaging.

The strategy was simple.

Dodge or block everything, then counter. That was the plan.

It was the sa thod that had already proven effective against six goblins.

I released the ti stop.

The Goblin Knight had been walking toward when it suddenly exploded into a burst of speed and lunged.

“…!”

I’d gotten used to the speed of the goblins I’d fought so far. This caught completely off guard.

I sliced ti.

The mace was already coming down on my head, and dodging looked dicey, so I raised the shield instead.

CRASH!

A shattering sound, and a massive shock jolted through the arm holding the shield.

For a mont, I couldn’t breathe.

Unable to absorb the impact, I was knocked backward and tumbled across the ground.

I scrambled to my feet and stopped ti.

‘What kind of strength…!’

I realized instantly that my assessnt had been wrong.

The wooden shield had been smashed to pieces in a single blow.

That was brute force that couldn’t be blocked.

I had to dodge. Only dodge.

I released ti, and despite every part of my body throbbing in pain, I threw the ruined shield aside and ran.

My arm wasn’t broken, was it?

My forearm and ribs ached badly, but nothing seed to be fractured.

SKREEEE-!

The Goblin Knight shrieked and gave chase.

The thought that getting caught ant death kept my body moving well enough.

It was faster than I’d expected, and far, far stronger than I’d imagined.

But running away forever wasn’t going to solve anything.

I had to dodge and counterattack to bring it down.

The distance between us shrank, and I steeled myself and turned to face the Goblin Knight head-on.

I sliced ti again.

The Goblin Knight’s arm rose slowly.

Judging by the angle, it was a diagonal downward strike.

I started my evasion, twisting my upper body to the left.

The mace ca down along the path I’d predicted… but it was still fast.

On top of that, the mace it was wielding was a morningstar, a heavy sphere studded with thick spikes.

The bulkier head made it even harder to dodge than a sword.

Whoosh!

The wind lashed across my face.

I barely managed to evade the attack.

I readied my counter.

Various thoughts flashed through my mind, but no matter how I looked at it, there was only one clear weakness.

‘I have to aim for the visor slit.’

The narrow gap in the helt that allowed the thing to see.

I leveled my sword at the Goblin Knight’s helt and stopped ti.

Ti Slicing didn’t let make fine micro-adjustnts to the trajectory of a thrust once it was already in motion, so hitting that narrow slit with precision was incredibly difficult.

But I had to make it work. This was the only way.

I focused every shred of concentration and drove the sword forward.

CLANG!

A miss.

The blade failed to pierce the visor slit and scraped across the helt just above it.

Of course it wasn’t going to be easy.

I pulled back fast.

The mace followed , swinging with enough force to shatter my waist, and I had to retreat again.

The spikes on the morningstar caught my shirt, tearing through the fabric as they raked past.

Dammit, I can’t even find my balance…

I kept backpedaling, scrambling desperately just to avoid the Goblin Knight’s relentless attacks.

One clean hit and it was over.

Strikes grazed my hair, nicked the tip of my ear.

The sting told skin had been torn away, but that was better than having my skull caved in.

After dodging five or six swings, I barely managed to regain my footing and looked for another opening to counter.

I ducked under the mace and drove inward, closing the distance on the Goblin Knight.

Sword aid at the helt. Ti stop.

I keep trying until I land it.

I was closer this ti than before; the tip of the blade was nearer to the visor slit, which had to an better odds.

I focused everything I had, released ti, and thrust the sword with all my strength in the sa instant.

The blade caught slightly, then slid through the gap in the visor and sank deep.

SKREEEEEEEK-!

A piercing shriek tore through the cavern.

I got it…! Shit.

The Goblin Knight lashed out in a wild spasm, and its fist was already heading straight for my skull.

Too late to dodge. I threw my arms up and braced as best I could.

A dizzying, skull-rattling impact, and my body went airborne.

Sowhere in the chaos, half-unconsciously, my mind scread that I needed to get away from the Goblin Knight.

I let myself tumble across the ground, rolling on and on.

EEEEEEE-

What is that? Tinnitus?

I stopped rolling and tried to push myself up, but a delayed surge of agony hit my arm.

I looked down at my right arm. It was twisted at a wrong angle. Broken.

“…!”

It hurts. It hurts so goddamn much…!

I bit down hard on my lip.

My left arm barely had any strength left either, but I managed to plant it on the ground and force my upper body upright.

Gathering myself, I looked toward where the Goblin Knight had been.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be in any shape to worry about either.

It was staggering around with the sword still embedded in its helt.

Thud.

Then it collapsed.

I’d felt the blade sink deep. Had it reached the brain?

“Ngh…”

Drenched in cold sweat, I wobbled to my feet.

Is it dead?

I stumbled closer to the fallen Goblin Knight and checked.

Not a twitch.

But no clear ssage had appeared.

Thinking maybe it hadn’t fully died yet, I reached for the sword lodged in the helt with my left hand, the only one still working.

Twang!

The instant I grasped the hilt, a sound hit my ears.

That chilling sound of a taut bowstring being released. I stopped ti on pure reflex.

A short distance ahead.

A goblin I hadn’t noticed before, lying prone in the corner of the cavern, aiming an oversized crossbow straight at , finally entered my field of vision.

And there, frozen in midair just inches from my abdon, was a bolt.

…What the hell is that thing.

There was definitely nothing here besides the Goblin Knight.

My thoughts stuttered for a mont.

I’d stopped ti at the very last instant before impact.

I can’t dodge this.

It was as good as already hit.

At this distance, dodging was physically impossible.

Not unless I could move my body at the speed of light.

I’d been so sure the Goblin Knight was the final boss. What the hell is this.

I was halfway into a panic before I pulled myself together.

‘What do I do?’

If I release ti like this, the bolt goes straight into my gut.

…That’s gonna hurt, right? Yeah, no shit it’s gonna hurt.

Probably far worse than a broken arm.

Pain aside, I’ll die. If things stay like this, I’ll die.

There was only one path left.

Kill the Crossbow Goblin before it kills .

If that thing is the last enemy, then the clear ssage should appear.

They definitely said all injuries heal upon a successful clear, so that was the only gamble worth taking.

Yeah. I have to do this.

I hadn’t clawed my way this far just to fail like so pathetic joke.

Take the bolt. Sprint to the Crossbow Goblin. Kill it.

An arrow to the gut doesn’t kill a man instantly, right?

Well, eventually it would, but the point is it wouldn’t be instant.

The distance to the Crossbow Goblin was roughly ten ters at most.

A few seconds to close the gap and drive the sword in.

…But can I actually endure this pain?

A bolt punching through my stomach? ?

Endure that agony and still run all the way over there?

Just imagining it made my head spin.

Whether it was truly possible was a genuine question.

‘I’m losing my mind.’

Steel myself… I need to steel myself.

Think of it like the fate of all humanity is resting on my shoulders.

Ah, but no matter how I think about it, this is just…

No. Do it. I can do this.

Okay… here goes.

Am I really doing this?

After one last, desperate effort to pull myself together, I released the ti stop.

Thunk!

A searing burst of agony.

And instantly, every thought in my head went blank.

The only thing on my mind when I released ti was that I needed to run, but my body crumpled on its own.

“…!”

I stopped ti again.

The tidal wave of pain that had bleached my mind white evaporated in an instant.

When ti is stopped, the body’s pain stops too.

Of course, it would all co flooding back the mont I released it.

‘Motherfucker.’

A bolt cleanly punched through my abdon.

The profanity ca out on its own.

Endure that and move?

No way. This is insane. I can’t do it.

This isn’t sothing willpower can fix.

I can’t. I won’t.

I stayed like that for a mont before snapping back to my senses.

So what, if I can’t do it, I just give up? Just lie down and die?

Kill it.

Even if I die, I’m taking that thing with .

I braced myself ntally and released the ti stop.

Excruciating agony crashed over my consciousness.

“Gkh… ugh…”

I couldn’t even breathe.

It hurt badly enough to bring tears to my eyes.

The wound itself burned like a branding iron, while chills crawled up my spine.

I clenched my molars until they felt ready to crack and dragged myself upright, inch by agonizing inch. Sohow, I managed to grab the sword.

Through my wavering, unsteady vision, the goblin ca into view.

It was trying to load another bolt into the crossbow.

If that one hit too, I wouldn’t survive it.

That desperate sense of danger, the raw survival instinct, and a fury that scread I would kill that thing, all of it tangled together and forced my legs to move.

I ran, feeling like my stomach was being ripped apart.

If I hesitated for even a second, I’d collapse.

Sohow, impossibly, I stayed on my feet and closed the distance until I was right on top of the goblin.

The thing had been frantically loading the crossbow, but it gave up on firing and tried to flee.

I wrung out the last of my strength and threw myself at it.

I drove the sword into the goblin’s back and went down with it.

SKREEEK-

Half out of my mind, I hacked and stabbed at its body, wild and uncontrolled.

Partway through, the goblin pulled a dagger and plunged it into my neck.

“Gak.”

Whether that was its final throes or not, it stopped struggling after that, but my own consciousness was already fading.

Ah, am I dying?

But co on, after all that, just tell it’s over.

Why hasn’t the clear ssage… I don’t know anymore.

I just want to rest.

“…”

[You have successfully cleared Nightmare difficulty, Floor 1.]

[Status Window and Communication Channel are now unlocked.]

[Absorbing the Power of the Floor.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

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.

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[Level has increased.]

[You are the first to clear Nightmare difficulty, Floor 1.]

[Floor 1 Hidden Route is now unlocked.]

[Transferring to the Reward Room.]