A private chamber inside Zhongnanhai, China.
“Are you truly set on attempting this?”
Central Committee mber Xiao Lin, who was about to be elevated to the Politburo Standing Committee in recognition of his distinguished service in the coup, stared at the man before him with a face full of worry.
Surrounded by specialists running dical checks, Ye Tianwei answered with perfect composure.
“Of course I’m attempting it.”
So why on earth was he doing this?
The seizure of party power had concluded as flawlessly as one could ask, and he was now in a position where he simply had to enjoy the imnse authority before him.
There was no understanding why he would push to keep tackling Nightmare from this point on.
Xiao Lin had watched over and served Ye Tianwei since they were young, but he was still a man whose inner thoughts were terribly hard to read.
“Floor 4 is a floor that requires the heavens themselves to be on your side, no matter how much capability backs you up. I’m deeply concerned. And the reason for such haste……”
According to Person123’s Floor 4 information post, no matter how thoroughly one prepared for Nightmare Floor 4, failing the lottery ant the end.
China’s finest minds had pooled their expertise to draft a ticulous Floor 4 strategy, but independent of Ye Tianwei’s own capabilities, the probability of failure was a fixed constant.
If he challenged it with more ti to spare, he could acquire additional Skill Stones and the like; so why rush the attempt?
A competitive desire to succeed before Arica?
Xiao Lin knew well that Ye Tianwei had little interest in such things.
“Because Zone 3’s Boss Gauge will be full soon.”
“……”
“I need to step into Floor 5 quickly. If luck’s with , I might even get a chance to watch.”
Xiao Lin had been vaguely aware that Ye Tianwei held a strange sort of admiration toward Person123, but……
Frankly, he hadn’t realized it ran this deep.
Ye Tianwei smiled as he spoke.
“Life and death are decreed by fate. If I’m fated to die, I die; if I’m fated to live, I live. If I die here, then this was always the extent of my path, and there’s nothing to be done about it.”
……Xiao Lin couldn’t for the life of him grasp how throwing oneself into a death trap qualified as sothing that simply couldn’t be helped, but he said no more and nodded. There was no stopping him anyway.
If Ye Tianwei did die, then party power would, just as it appeared on the surface, fall into Haoran’s hands.
Xiao Lin rely prayed for Ye Tianwei’s safe success and watched what might be his final monts.
Soon Ye Tianwei finished his preparations and vanished from sight……
– China successfully clears Nightmare difficulty Floor 4……
The very next day, that breaking news rolled out.
*
“You’re already fully recovered? You look perfectly fine.”
“At my level, an injury like that heals in no ti.”
The mont his wounds healed, Security Corps Chief Alex returned to Floor 5.
The atmosphere on Floor 5 lately could be called quiet.
The Black Star Society was keeping its head down and laying low, and the Security Corps wasn’t going out of its way to provoke or pick at them either.
As for the incident in Zone 3, Person123 had no particular stance and refused to take either side, so both parties had agreed to drop it and stop arguing back and forth. People had died on both sides, after all.
A great many things had unfolded in a very short span of ti. Wang Kai’s death, the coup in China, the public revelation of Person123’s nationality, China’s successful clear of Nightmare Floor 4……
Alex couldn’t be called a governnt-affiliated climber, but as the holder of Arica’s top Hard difficulty record, he was tied fairly closely to the US Climbing Bureau.
So he had a rough idea of the various pieces of internal intelligence concerning China and the Black Star Society as well.
After Wang Kai’s death, the one currently leading the Black Star Society on Floor 5 was China’s Hard difficulty Floor 14 climber, Li Zeyan.
That was the official line, but Alex knew who stood behind him.
‘Ye Tianwei……’
China’s premier Nightmare climber, and the mastermind behind the recent Chinese coup.
And on top of that, the man who had just succeeded in clearing Nightmare Floor 4. Even before Arica’s Taylor.
Information on Ye Tianwei was top secret, but since Alex had to handle plenty of business on Floor 5 against the Black Star Society, the US governnt had shared intel with him.
Just looking at the basics, the man was extrely difficult to read. Why bother challenging Nightmare again after seizing all that power through a coup?
……At any rate, he was no ordinary figure. Wang Kai might be dead, but things weren’t going to get any easier going forward.
“Anyway…… what are we going to do about the boss?”
At the lieutenant’s question, Alex let out a low groan, looking equally vexed.
[Zone 3 (98.9%)]
The Zone 3 Boss Gauge was now down to its final 1%.
Person123 was probably out hunting in Zone 3.
When the Zone 3 boss appeared, what should the Security Corps do? That was the dilemma weighing on them now.
Of course, it wasn’t a question of who got the first clear reward. Naturally, that should go to Person123.
It was simply that they were worried about his safety.
There was no telling how far Person123’s capabilities extended, given that he had killed even Wang Kai in the blink of an eye…… but no one knew how strong the Zone 3 boss would be either.
Watching now, it seed Person123 intended to take on the boss solo.
It was impossible not to worry that sothing might go wrong. The US governnt had also conveyed serious concerns about the matter.
So they had even sent a whisper from the Security Corps offering to help.
[Person123: I’m fine.]
A cool reply ca back saying it wasn’t needed.
“I really don’t know if it’s okay. Letting Person123 go up against the boss by himself.”
Just then, Shin Su-jin, who had been listening, offered her opinion.
“When the boss is about to spawn…… how about we get ready and head into Zone 3 ourselves?”
“……Person123 said he didn’t need help, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t say we couldn’t enter Zone 3, though. If we find the boss first, we hold our distance. If we find Person123 already engaging the boss, we just observe the situation.”
Shin Su-jin was just as concerned about Person123’s safety as anyone. He was a phenonal man, but there was no telling how things might turn out.
This struck her as the best the Security Corps could do without getting in his way.
Alex thought it over and nodded.
“Then let’s do that. Send word to all the hunting teams in Zone 3.”
*
About a week into the hunt to fill the rest of Zone 3’s gauge.
KABOOOOOOM!
The two pterosaurs swooping down to attack were neatly blown apart by my Fla Strike, plumting to the ground side by side.
I checked the gauge.
[Zone 3 (99.9%)]
Okay……
Just 0.1 percent left.
The Zone 3 boss raid would be on soon.
Honestly, I wasn’t all that nervous.
The Zone 3 boss was probably around level 60, or at the absolute strongest, sowhere in the level 70 range……
It wasn’t a Nightmare floor I had to clear in order to leave, after all.
Even if I hit a “well, shit, this isn’t happening” kind of mont, I was confident I could escape.
[Mountain Range: Person123, would it be alright if the Security Corps joined you for the Zone 3 boss raid? We’d like to help ensure you can secure the Zone 3 boss first-ti clear reward.]
A whisper had co through the Communication Channel earlier as well.
The Security Corps was offering to assist with the Zone 3 boss raid.
[Cheonji: Person123, if there’s anything you need from the Black Star Society for the Zone 3 boss raid, please don’t hesitate to ask.]
Even the Black Star Society had reached out.
But to be honest, I didn’t really want any help.
There were plenty of reasons.
For one, fighting alongside other people was just stressful.
I planned to fire off magic in volleys, and if other climbers were locked in lee with the boss, they’d just be in my way.
Plus, if the boss was tough enough that I couldn’t take it down alone, other climbers probably wouldn’t be much help anyway, and a lot of them would end up dying.
So I just sent replies to both saying it was fine.
That said, telling everyone to stay out because I’d handle the boss solo was also…… not really my place.
Even setting aside the first clear reward, plenty of others would still want the Zone 3 boss First-ti Clear Reward.
Not that there were many climbers at a high enough level to even hit the Contribution threshold, mind you.
Either way, I had no right to stop them.
So my approach was just to let everyone do their own thing.
I spotted a Lava Giant lumbering by in the distance and brought it down with another Fla Strike.
After picking off a few more monsters like that……
[Zone 3 (100%)]
[The Zone 3 boss has appeared.]
The ssage finally popped up.
“Let’s go, Plli.”
Now it was ti to find where the boss had spawned.
I pulled the hood over my head and took a mask out of Subspace, putting it on.
Preparation complete in case I ran into other people again.
I summoned Plli, climbed onto her back, and took off.
I planned to sweep Zone 3 clockwise, starting from the innermost part and working out to the periter.
Roaming around like that should turn the boss up.
After tearing along for a good while.
“……!”
I finally spotted sothing and stopped.
Far off, atop a small rocky outcrop, a fairly massive form lay sprawled.
It had wings. Wings on a scale that couldn’t even be compared to a pterosaur.
……A dragon? A wyvern?
Those were the words that ca to mind the mont I saw it.
Watching the wyvern, its entire body covered in deep crimson scales, I pulled the pre-charged Warp Device out of Subspace and activated it.
[9:59]
This was just insurance.
If the boss turned out way stronger than expected, I’d just bail.
Cancelling the activation once would reset the tir to ten minutes from scratch, so warping the instant I felt like it mid-fight was off the table; I had to start it before combat began.
I figured I’d start fighting when about three minutes were left on the tir.
Three minutes would be plenty to judge whether this was doable.
If I thought I could pull it off, I’d cancel the activation; if not, I’d use the Warp Device after the three minutes and bolt.
But anyway……
I glanced around.
It wasn’t just . People were visible way off to the left and right.
To the right were Security Corps climbers. I could make out Alex’s face at the front.
And to the left…… that looked like the Black Star Society.
I told them I was fine, but they ca to help anyway?
Seed like everyone happened to find the boss around the sa ti.
There was no need to pay them any mind. I just had to do my thing.
[3:30]
About three minutes left on the Warp Device.
That settled my prep.
I sprinted toward the boss.
Once I got reasonably close, the boss reacted.
It rose from the peak of the rocky outcrop and flapped its enormous wings.
Flas whirled outward, and a hot gust roared all the way to where I was.
“Ngh……!”
Toasty.
Going by what my Sixth Sense was telling , the boss was indeed formidable.
But I got no sense whatsoever that this was sothing I shouldn’t engage.
Level 60 range after all, then? It looked manageable.
GROOOAAAAR!
The boss let out a trendous roar and lifted off with a powerful beat of its wings.
I was now almost right on top of it.
My strategy was simple.
1. Just fire the Destruction Ray.
And then unload every other magic skill on top of it.
‘The question is how much the Destruction Ray will do.’
Was a One-Shot Kill…… possible?
Hard to say. Zone Bosses were supposed to have ridiculously stubborn life force by nature.
I planned to close the distance as much as possible and fire the Destruction Ray straight at the boss’s head.
“……Jump!”
Toward the boss hovering high in the sky.
Plli leapt, and I pushed off her back and jumped again.
That was when the boss yawned its maw wide open at .
About to fire sothing?
I stopped ti.
After completing the 300-second ntal Concentration.
The instant ti resud, the boss exhaled an enormous fla like a breath attack.
Simultaneously, I cast a Full Charged Destruction Ray.
……KABOOOOOOOOM!
The pitch-black beam wiped out the flas in an instant, then drove on through the boss’s head.
And that was it.
I started to ready my remaining skills for an imdiate follow-up, then stopped short.
The boss, head gone and only its long neck left behind, twitched its wings in postmortem spasms before crashing to the ground.
……Huh?
THOOOOOM!
[The Zone 3 boss has been defeated.]
[You have obtained the Zone 3 boss kill reward.]
[You have obtained the Zone 3 boss first-ti kill reward.]
Watching the ssages float up in front of , I touched down right after.
Staring at the boss’s corpse, I let out one short exclamation.
“Whoa.”
This thing actually went down in one shot?
Even knowing its power, every single ti I’m freshly amazed.
Destruction Ray…… is just way too overpowereeeeed!
*
[The Zone 3 boss has appeared.]
The Security Corps had moved into Zone 3 around the ti the gauge was nearing its limit.
The instant the ssage announcing the boss’s appearance went up, they rushed to track it down.
And as luck would have it, they spotted it soon enough.
Far away, atop the rocky outcrop, a winged monster.
“……It’s the boss!”
It was no comparison in size to the pterosaurs that served as Zone 3’s regular monsters.
“What the hell is that……”
“It’s nothing like the Zone 2 boss.”
Just as the Security Corps mbers stood montarily overwheld, watching the boss from a distance.
They saw sothing charging straight at it.
A pitch-black beast, and a figure riding on its back.
Shin Su-jin shouted.
“It’s Person123!”
The Security Corps mbers’ eyes all snapped to him.
He seed intent on engaging the boss head-on; he was already closing right in on it.
“Sh-shouldn’t we move too?”
“……Run, for now!”
In a sudden hurry, the Security Corps moved out toward the boss.
At that mont, the boss rose up and lifted into the sky.
The Security Corps was still a long way off, but Person123 had already closed within striking distance.
Person123 leapt skyward, and toward him the boss spewed flas.
Just as it looked like he was about to be engulfed, leaving the Security Corps mbers aghast.
A pitch-black beam shot out from Person123.
The very sa skill that had vaporized Wang Kai. The black beam swallowed the boss’s breath whole.
Then it tore the boss’s head off and shot upward as if to pierce the sky, before slowly fading away.
[The Zone 3 boss has been defeated.]
“……”
The Security Corps, abandoning their charge, stood with mouths agape, staring blankly as the boss tumbled to earth.
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