Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability Chapter 74: The Second Proposal (2)

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

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Now reading: Chapter 74: The Second Proposal (2) from Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability, a Adventure novel by AlexD.

This ti, I didn’t head off on a trip a few days before the 20-day Ti Limit hit.

My sister was kicking up such a fuss telling not to go, and I felt a little guilty under my family’s gaze.

There was no reason to force myself out the door when it would just leave feeling uneasy, so I just stayed ho.

Instead, I planned to challenge 6F a bit earlier in the day than usual.

I couldn’t let my family catch on, after all.

I’d just slip out tomorrow afternoon, grab a motel room, and tackle it from there.

[Nightmare]

Climbers: 278,822

Ti Limit: 21 days 5 minutes 39 seconds

Reached Floor: 5F

– Five minutes remaining. Alejandro is about to enter 6F…

Before bed, I was watching the live news feed on my phone.

Alejandro, the Nightmare climber who’d publicly declared he would challenge 6F before .

Honestly, I’d agonized over whether to stop him, or whether to just go ahead and challenge it myself first.

Soone else taking on Nightmare without any information at all… it just made no kind of sense. Nobody knew that better than I did.

…But did that really give the right to stop soone else from trying?

Wouldn’t that be unbearably arrogant?

I’d watched Alejandro’s interview too.

An interview that radiated firm resolve, that he wouldn’t leave the burden on alone any longer, that he was going to save humanity himself.

I had to respect a choice like that.

So I decided to go ahead and challenge it at the 20-day mark, just like I’d originally planned.

And looking at everything Alejandro had pulled off so far, he was a man of formidable ability.

Which left with a flicker of, well… maybe? Just maybe?

I was only human, after all.

If soone really did succeed and shouldered so of this burden alongside … I still hadn’t quite let go of that hope.

– Ten seconds left! 10, 9, 8…

Any second now, Alejandro would enter.

I stared at the news screen, praying for his success.

And then, the mont the count hit zero.

[The Tower presents a proposal to ‘Person123’.]

A ssage floated up before my eyes.

“…”

I furrowed my brow.

This again… what the hell?

The exact sa thing as one year ago was happening all over again.

Back at 4F too, the day before I challenged it, with the Ti Limit at exactly 21 days, the Tower had thrown a proposal at .

Maybe because I’d already lived through it once, I wasn’t all that shaken.

The thing was, the one challenging it right now wasn’t . It was Alejandro.

So why the hell was it pulling this proposal stunt on again?

That was the first thought to hit .

And the next: with the 3-Year Rule out of the picture now, what kind of proposal could it possibly have left?

I calmly read through the ssages as they kept popping up one after another. And then…

[Should ‘Person123’ accept the following Penalty, a special reward shall be granted in exchange.]

[Penalty: ‘Person123’ is forbidden from entering 6F of Nightmare difficulty for 21 days.]

[Reward: ‘Person123’ acquires ‘Skill: Ark(?)’.]

[Skill: Ark(?)]

Designates an area within a 3-kiloter radius as the Ark’s domain. The Ark completely blocks all external threats, including the Fallen, and any human present within the Ark’s domain is immune to the Tower’s Curse. Only humans permitted by the skill’s caster may enter the Ark’s domain. The skill operates in active/inactive form, and once activated, the Ark persists eternally.

Classification: Special Type

Willpower Cost: None

Cooldown: None

[If 6F is entered before the proposal is accepted, the proposal will be voided.]

[If ‘Person123’ wishes to accept the proposal, please indicate acceptance.]

Reading through it, my scowl deepened, and I let out a long sigh.

“Hah…”

…What is this.

What the hell is it trying to pull this ti?

The mont Nightmare’s Ti Limit hit 21 days.

Just as it had exactly one year ago, a ssage floated up before the eyes of all humanity.

[The Tower presents a proposal to ‘Person123’.]

The Tower had made another proposal.

The contents, however, were a far cry from last ti.

The Penalty the Tower had laid out for Person123 wasn’t a reduction in physical ability or a ban on skills or anything of the sort.

A 21-day ban on entering Nightmare 6F.

In other words: don’t challenge 6F at all until the Ti Limit ran out.

People were thrown into shock.

[Reaper: 21 days banned? Isn’t that just saying don’t challenge 6F at all?]

[Retriever: What kind of bullshit is it pulling now…]

[Honeybee: This isn’t even a Penalty, it’s just blatant. Are they really going this far?]

[Ricky: Look at the reward. Ark.]

[Heavy Weapon: Hold on, so basically right now…]

What the Tower had offered in exchange for the Penalty was a skill called ‘Ark.’

It would designate a 3-kiloter radius as the Ark’s domain.

Its effects: immunity to the Tower’s Curse, and the blocking of all external threats, including the Fallen.

People quickly caught on.

To what the Tower was actually proposing to Person123 right now.

[Festival: …So even if the world goes to hell, it’s at least cracking open a path for humanity to survive?]

[MonsterHunt: As long as Person123 doesn’t challenge 6F, that is]

If Nightmare’s Ti Limit ran out and 99% of humanity died…

The remaining 1% had no chance of surviving in a world where 99% had beco monsters. Either way, it was no different from the apocalypse.

But what if Person123 chose the Ark?

Then at least the humans inside the Ark could go on living in safety.

It was a 3-kiloter safe zone, sure, but at the very least, humanity’s survival would be possible.

[Bomb: This proposal is insane. Most everyone still dies and only a tiny handful live, sa outco basically?]

[Shepig: Would Person123 actually accept this…?]

[Grape: No way. If they pick it, most of humanity dies.]

[Howard: But how many people can fit in a 3-kiloter radius?]

[Solar System: Dunno. Like a million?]

While the Communication Channel descended into chaos, the real world was no different.

The site broadcasting Alejandro’s 6F entry live had erupted into commotion at the Tower’s sudden announcent.

“…What the.”

Pausing his entry, Alejandro read through the Tower’s proposal in full, and his face twisted.

He was the one challenging 6F right now.

So why the fuck was it making a proposal to Person123 again?

And the contents were absolutely ridiculous.

Ark? What the fuck even was this.

Reading through the description, this was effectively a skill that could make its holder king of a post-apocalyptic world.

…Just give up the 6F challenge and get a skill like that?

The Tower would go this far to stop Person123 from challenging, but what about ?

Alejandro couldn’t help but feel utterly disrespected by the Tower.

His pride bruised, his blood boiling, he glanced around at the chaos surrounding him and shouted.

“Person123!”

The commotion died down and every eye turned back to him.

Alejandro looked dead into the cara in front of him and spoke.

“…You can accept the Tower’s proposal. I’ll be the one clearing 6F anyway.”

The most important mont had been ruined, but if he ultimately succeeded in clearing 6F, the spotlight was bound to swing back to him.

‘The Tower, that piece of shit.’

So I’m not even worth thinking about?

Let’s see if it can keep pulling this kind of crap after I clear 6F.

[Will you enter 6F of Nightmare difficulty?]

And so Alejandro, refusing to alter his plans, charged into 6F as if slamming his foot on the gas…

Not long after, the number on the Nightmare Communication Channel ticked down by one.

Alejandro had failed his 6F clear.

But no one was paying attention to that anymore. The world had bigger things to worry about than sothing so trivial.

News dia around the world scrambled to break the story, each outlet racing the others.

“The Tower has once again presented a proposal to Person123.”

Panelists ringed a news desk, exchanging words with grave faces.

“At this point, the Tower is trying to stop Person123 from making the attempt at all. To offer a reward simply for not challenging.”

“And this reward… well, the Ark, that is. If Person123 abandons the 6F clear and chooses the Ark, then even if the world ends, a small fraction of humanity will be able to survive.”

“A 3-kiloter radius is roughly half the area of Manhattan in New York. Manhattan’s population is about 1.6 million.”

“If Person123 chooses the Ark, the deaths of the vast majority of humanity beco unavoidable.”

“Is there any chance they might give up the climb and choose the Ark?”

“Looking at Person123’s track record so far, I’d say the odds of that are extrely low, but…”

In the end, what everyone was watching for was what Person123 would choose.

Naturally, the overwhelming majority of people did not want them to choose the Ark.

The number of lives the Ark could save would be a tiny sliver, and not a single person believed they themselves would be among them.

Surely Person123, who had done so much for the sake of humanity, wouldn’t choose a path that ant the death of nearly everyone?

People still believed there was no way they would give up the challenge, but…

[Cat: …They might choose the Ark, though? It’s at least a path where humanity can survive]

[Greatsword: Are you serious? Billions of others would die!]

[Geupanba: I might pick the Ark myself. How long do you really think they can keep holding out?]

Person123 cared for humanity.

That was a fact no one doubted in the slightest anymore.

But… how exactly that caring would manifest, no one could really know, could they?

If Person123 valued even a small but certain survival of humanity over an uncertain future, then giving up the climb and choosing the Ark wouldn’t be unreasonable at all.

People trembled with anxiety as they waited for Person123’s choice. So of them sprang into action imdiately.

Person123 was Korean, so on the off chance they did choose the Ark, the assumption was that the Ark would form sowhere in Korea.

Flights to Korea from around the world were sold out in an instant. Tycoons and high-ranking governnt officials moved to enter Korea by private jet.

People desperate to seize even a sliver of hope began flooding into Korea, and the Korean governnt suddenly found itself scrambling to contain the chaos.

Less than a day after the Tower’s announcent, the world had descended into utter pandemonium.

[Nightmare]

Climbers: 278,821

Ti Limit: 20 days 6 hours 54 minutes 16 seconds

Reached Floor: 5F

The hour was creeping closer.

I’d told my family I was heading out for a walk and slipped out of the house, and now I was sunk deep in thought in a motel room.

“…”

[Skill: Ark(?)]

Classification: Special Type

Willpower Cost: None

Cooldown: None

Looking at the description of this Ark skill.

The Tower’s intent was painfully clear.

Don’t challenge it, accept the apocalypse, and I’ll let at least so of you live.

How to put it… it almost felt like the Tower was trying to negotiate, telling to settle for this much.

It hadn’t been long since I’d confidently declared I’d struggle to the bitter end.

But the honest truth was… how much longer could I really hold on?

Maybe in the end I’d fail eventually, and the world’s destruction was already a foregone conclusion.

And even if I sohow held out till the very end, what would even be waiting for there?

But if I chose the Ark.

Both and my family would definitely live. The Fallen problem would be solved too.

Humanity would end up trapped in a world far smaller than the one they’d lived in until now, but they’d survive, one way or another.

I’d looked it up, and a 3-kiloter radius was about the size of one of Seoul’s districts.

Apparently if people were packed in shoulder to shoulder with barely room to plant their feet, hundreds of millions could fit inside.

That obviously wasn’t realistic… but a few hundred thousand could probably live there in a halfway human way, right?

Food and all the other issues, well, since the Fallen wouldn’t really pose a threat to , if I worked hard going in and out of the Ark, surely we could manage sohow.

And if the Tower’s Curse only triggered once when the Ti Limit ran out and that was it, and if I kept steadily picking off the Fallen over ti.

Maybe in the very distant future, even more of humanity than I’d thought could end up living…

I really had thought about every last possibility over the past day.

If I chose the Ark, where to set it up, what kind of people to take in and how during the remaining 20 days, how to maintain order afterward.

But every ti I followed those thoughts further down the line.

It always ca back to one single question.

Could the Tower really be trusted?

The Ark’s description said it would completely block external threats and would last eternally, but that too was nothing more than an ability of the Tower.

Choosing the Ark would essentially an humanity would spend its future living in the palm of the Tower’s hand.

The truth was, my mind had been made up for a while now.

Let over 8 billion human beings die and save a few tens or hundreds of thousands at most?

No matter how I crunched the numbers, it just didn’t add up.

And yet, the reason a sliver of hesitation still lingered…

Was that choosing the Ark would at least guarantee my family’s survival.

And the gnawing fear: what if this was the last proposal the Tower would ever offer? What if I was kicking away the very last chance for any of humanity to survive, with my own two feet?

“…At least be a little more generous, would you.”

I muttered into the empty air for no real reason.

I had no idea whether the Tower was listening, but I addressed it anyway.

Even Th*nos let half of humanity live; you could at least offer that much, couldn’t you? A asly 3-kiloter radius?

Of course, no answer ca back from the Tower.

Fine…

Yeah, I really can’t do this.

Then I’d flip the table.

I steeled my resolve one last ti and rose to my feet.

“I’ll clear 6F too.”

And 7F, and 8F, and 9F, and every floor after that, on and on.

Until I finally reached the top, or until you offered a proposal that actually satisfied , I wasn’t going to stop.