[Person123: Here is clearing information for Nightmare 1F. Upon entry, you start in a cavern-like area similar to the other difficulties. You also pick up a single longsword, sa as the others. If you wait, three Goblins erge simultaneously from the straight corridor ahead. Two carry longswords and one carries a spear. Once all three are defeated, the next group of three Goblins appears. Whether the next three spawn imdiately after the previous group is defeated or after a set interval is unclear. The next three carry a sword, a sword and shield, and a bow respectively. This is subjective, but the Goblins did not seem inclined toward coordinated attacks and tended to charge recklessly. I exploited this by picking them off one at a ti with hit-and-run tactics. However, in the case of the spear Goblin and the bow Goblin…]
.
.
.
After writing up the information post, I went to school.
I laid out as much detail as possible, keeping my own opinions to a minimum.
It wasn’t like I was so combat strategy expert.
The professionals could analyze and strategize how to deal with the Goblins on their own.
By the ti I got back, the Communication Channel had blown up.
[Retriever: Is that post even real? Hard to believe.]
[Patroc: Compared to Hard difficulty, it’s on a completely different level…?]
[Light: There’s a boss monster? On the first floor?]
I was scrolling through the reactions when I noticed it, belatedly.
[Whisper (1,651)]
Whisper notifications, cramd into the corner of the Communication Channel.
This feature existed?
I opened it, and it was like an email inbox left unchecked for years, ssages stretching on without end.
Most of them were just greetings, expressions of thanks, questions about what Level I was or what rewards I’d received, that sort of thing.
But a few stood out.
[Lucas: Good day, Person123. I am Ban Baker, Director of the U.S. Tower Climbing Managent Bureau. First, allow to express my gratitude for the information you have provided. The reason I am reaching out via Whisper is none other than…]
[Seongcheon: Greetings, Person123. I am the individual overseeing climbing operations for the People’s Republic of China. I appreciate your candid disclosure of Nightmare 1F information. The reason I am contacting you is to relay a ssage on behalf of the President of the People’s Republic of China…]
[Podrick: Hello, Person123. I am from Russia’s…]
Requests to open a dialogue on a national level.
There was even one from Korea’s Tower Climbing Special Agency.
Yeah, no thanks.
I ignored every last one and closed the Communication Channel.
I gave them the information. Now I just wanted them to buckle down and prepare to clear the first floor.
I lay down on my bed.
I closed my eyes and thought about the future.
Other people would do their part, and it would be ideal if more Nightmare clearers erged.
But I couldn’t afford not to prepare on my own end, either.
Within the year, soone would have to clear Nightmare 2F eventually.
What if I ended up being the one to do it again?
I had no choice but to step up.
Because I didn’t want to die either. Because I didn’t want the world to end.
“Gotta do what I gotta do.”
The Tower allowed re-entry into previously cleared floors for Repeat Clearing.
The only reward for Repeat Clearing was Magic Stones, which served as the primary inco source for Climbers.
I couldn’t care less about Magic Stones.
But there had definitely been that ssage after I cleared the first floor.
“It said a Hidden Route had been unlocked…”
But searching the internet turned up nothing about Hidden Routes.
It seed to be connected to the First Clear Reward.
But while other difficulties reportedly gave out Skill Stones or items as First Clear Rewards, there was nothing anywhere about Hidden Routes.
The only option was to re-enter the first floor and check for myself.
There was no real danger.
I’d been told that once a floor had been cleared, it was possible to exit at any ti without having to complete it again.
And I was stronger now.
My physical abilities had surpassed human limits, and I’d gained skills on top of that.
I knew everything that would co and exactly what to do about it.
Compared to the first attempt, where I’d fought tooth and nail for my life, this would be far easier.
I’d have to go back into the first floor before long.
*
A few more days passed without incident.
“Hey, I actually beca a Climber.”
I was attending lectures as usual and having lunch with friends when one of them dropped this out of nowhere.
“What are you talking about?”
“For real. I’m not joking.”
Sangcheol’s face was dead serious. He didn’t seem to be ssing around.
As if it wasn’t enough that I’d beco one, now my friend too?
Was I cursed or sothing?
While the others sat there stunned, I asked.
“What difficulty?”
“Easy. I’m thinking it over right now. Maybe I’ll take a leave of absence next year and give the Tower a shot.”
Another friend tried to talk him out of it.
“Are you insane? You want to die?”
“I won’t die. They say Easy is a cakewalk. The first-floor survival rate is over 98 percent.”
Sangcheol’s eyes lit up as he spoke.
“I looked into it, and apparently even just clearing the first floor, the Magic Stones alone are worth way more than a hundred million won a year. Plus, Climbers are exempt from military service, and there’s all kinds of other benefits.”
“Wait, aren’t you going to be a doctor? You worked your ass off studying to get here.”
“That’s why I said I’m thinking it over. But we’ve still got a long way to go before we’re doctors. Factor in military service, and we won’t graduate for another seven years or so… When I thought about it, this path didn’t seem so bad either.”
“Dude, that career is still completely uncertain. And damn, a 2 percent chance of dying is low to you when it’s your life on the line?”
He said he was still deciding, but Sangcheol already looked half-committed.
I shared my concern as well.
“If you’re going to do it, be careful. Have you looked into climbing training facilities?”
“Yeah, I’ve looked into everything. Apparently you learn swordsmanship and stuff when you enroll.”
Everyone else called him crazy, but from where I stood… I wasn’t so sure.
It wasn’t as if anyone could predict the future even a year out anymore.
Then again, I was still going to school myself.
[Rhino: Good day, Person123. I am Max, responsible for training climbing teams at the U.S. Tower Climbing Managent Bureau. There are so matters on which I would very much like to seek your advice regarding the information you shared, which is why I am reaching out.]
I’d co ho and was browsing the Communication Channel when I found this Whisper waiting for .
It wasn’t from the Director who’d been sending repeated ssages.
Reading through it, this wasn’t a proposal to chat or an offer to do sothing for .
Purely a request for advice about clearing strategies.
[Rhino: Based on the information you provided, we are currently in the process of launching a large-scale initiative to train mbers who will attempt the Nightmare difficulty. Without such an effort, the world will face the threat of extinction once again in one year’s ti. These individuals will stand on the front lines of the Nightmare difficulty, fighting solely for the sake of humanity. I believe you shared the Nightmare 1F information freely and without compensation because you and we are looking in the sa direction. If we could have a conversation…]
A large-scale initiative to train Nightmare clearers?
Yes. This was it.
There was no reason not to respond to sothing like this. They were more than welco.
I sent a reply.
*
“So, what do you think? How viable does it look?”
The headquarters of the U.S. Tower Climbing Managent Bureau.
In response to Director Ban’s question, Max poured himself a cup of coffee and spoke.
“Director.”
“What?”
“Imagine I have to breach a building full of insurgents ard with rifles. Solo. With a single handgun. Through the front door. And these sons of bitches have seized a nuclear switch and are threatening to detonate, so I can’t pull back.”
“…”
“Viability and all that is buried sowhere deep underground. It’s laughable to even discuss. We do it because we have to. That’s all.”
“It’s that bad? Even with the best possible preparation?”
Max shook his head. The man still wasn’t getting it.
“That bad. This isn’t a matter of preparation. I’m genuinely starting to wonder if the person who cleared it with zero intel is even human.”
Nightmare 1F.
Summarized, the information shared on the Climber Communication Channel was as follows.
Face two sword Goblins and one spear Goblin simultaneously.
Imdiately after, face one sword Goblin, one sword-and-shield Goblin, and one bow Goblin simultaneously.
When the stone door begins to close, wrap up the fight and escape into the corridor.
A massive iron ball cos rolling down the corridor; sprint forward and duck into a groove midway through to dodge it.
Continue onward and the final boss, a Goblin Knight, appears. Far stronger than a human, clad in full plate armor.
Watch for a sudden ambush by a Crossbow Goblin during or after the fight with the Goblin Knight.
All of this had to be done bare-handed save for a single sword.
No way to heal injuries in between.
…How the hell did anyone do that? How does that even make sense?
This wasn’t a movie.
A Climber entering the first floor was nothing more than an ordinary person with no abilities whatsoever.
No matter how exceptional soone was, facing three Goblins ard with lee weapons simultaneously on flat, open terrain with no cover was already absurd on its face.
Say they managed to take down all six, and the stone door and the rolling ball could be handled with foreknowledge.
And the finale? A Goblin Knight?
Defeat a monster stronger than a human, encased head to toe in plate armor? While also dodging bolts fired out of nowhere?
It was pure fucking insanity.
There was a reason tens of thousands had died.
And yet, despite all of that, his mission was to sohow cultivate mbers capable of pulling off those impossible conditions…
The governnt had staked everything on this.
No one wanted to relive the helplessness of the Day of Destruction a few days ago.
Max, a forr Delta Force operator and veteran CQC instructor who had cleared up to the third floor on Hard difficulty and previously served as the training instructor for Hard 1F, had been appointed head instructor for the Nightmare training project.
Nationwide recruitnt of Nightmare Climbers had already begun, with extraordinary terms on offer.
They would be honed and polished to the limit before being sent into the kill zone.
How many would co back alive remained an open question, but if the survival of humanity demanded the sacrifice, then so be it.
“Still, you said you managed to reach that individual.”
“Yes.”
“…Isn’t there a way to get more active involvent from them? Beyond just advisory?”
To Director Ban’s suggestive question, Max clicked his tongue before responding.
“You and the higher-ups, tell them to stop wasting their ti with stunts like that. I’m worried that pestering that person will get my line cut off too.”
Max thought about the individual.
Person123.
Currently the sole clearer of Nightmare 1F.
He knew that Director Ban’s repeated attempts at conversation had been ignored.
He’d reached out himself just hoping for so detailed advice on the posted information, and to his surprise, a reply actually ca.
[Person123: Hello. What would you like to know?]
They exchanged questions and opinions, and it turned into a productive conversation.
Of course, there was no guarantee the information was entirely truthful, but if he started questioning that, there was nothing reliable to fall back on anyway.
Max felt he had a rough sense of what kind of person they were.
‘At the very least, soone who cares about humanity.’
That much was evident from the act of publicly releasing all the Nightmare 1F information without asking for anything in return.
The sa went for ignoring every one of Director Ban’s attempts at contact while actively responding to requests for clearing advice.
It seed all but certain this was an Unregistered Climber with no intention of revealing their identity.
But it was clear they wanted more Nightmare clearers to erge.
In that case, all his side had to do was deliver results to the best of their ability.
“Now, if you’ll excuse . I’m busy.”
“Ugh, who’s the Director here, I wonder. Anyway, I’m counting on you.”
Ban grumbled as he left.
Max finished the rest of his coffee and began organizing the scattered docunts on his desk.
The situation felt overwhelming, but there was a small reason for hope.
Among the Nightmare Climbers newly called by the Tower after this clearing of Nightmare 1F, one individual had volunteered for the project faster than anyone else.
Soone Max knew. A comrade he’d shared battlefields with during his years in the military.
Also the most monstrous human being Max had ever encountered in his entire life.
A Delta operator whose legendary feats in the field had earned him the nickna “God of the Battlefield”.
“If it’s him, it might actually be possible.”
Producing as many Nightmare 1F clearers as possible.
Max intended to give everything he had to the task before him.
For the sake of the world, and to put this country at the forefront of the Nightmare difficulty.
*
Saturday, early morning.
I’d gone to sleep early the night before and woken up at dawn.
I loosened up my body and shook off the grogginess.
This hour, while everyone in the family was still asleep, was the optimal ti.
[Would you like to enter Nightmare Difficulty Floor 1?]
“Here goes.”
Ti for a Repeat Clearing.
I was curious just how much easier fighting the Goblins would be in my current state.
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