Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Bug (4)

TL: DDTL

I returned to Zone 0 and took the portal to the Reward Room.

I still had to check the rewards from killing the Zone 4 boss.

[Item: Frozen Hydra’s Blood]

On ingestion, cold resistance is increased. Physical regeneration and all regeneration effects received by the body are increased. The user will not die unless the head is destroyed or the neck is severed.

“…Hmm?”

The first-clear reward turned out to be a small glass vial filled with a blue liquid.

I read the description and was taken aback.

For one thing, this was the first ingestible-type item I’d ever come across.

That aside, the effect itself was incredible.

Cold resistance, increased regeneration, and above all…

‘I don’t die unless my head is destroyed or my neck is severed?’

Wasn’t that literally the Zone 4 boss’s ability?

The item carried the boss’s power, just as it was.

“That’s kind of broken…”

In other words, as long as I protected my head, I’d basically have an immortal body, wouldn’t I?

And on top of that, my regeneration would get even stronger.

Sure, the head was already a wide-open vital point, so maybe it wasn’t completely overpowered, but…

Still, it was a pretty wild effect.

I popped the cork off the vial and downed it in one gulp.

The taste was nothing more than water, but it was cold enough to freeze my tongue.

It slid down my throat, and a soft chill spread through my body.

[You have ingested ‘Item: Frozen Hydra’s Blood’.]

Next, the standard reward.

[Skill: Cavalry Charge (Rare+)]

Charges while mounted on a unit. For 5 seconds, the caster and the mounted unit’s speed, defense, and resistance are greatly increased. Targets struck by the charge are heavily knocked back. Can only be used while mounted on a unit.

Category: Physical Type

Willpower Cost: 130

Cooldown: 1 minute

The standard reward only went up to Rare+, not Epic, but…

This one was pretty unusual too.

A skill used while mounted on a unit?

For 5 seconds, increased speed, defense, and resistance.

Basically, it sounded like it boosted charging power.

Since I had Fly, it was a skill I could actually make use of.

[You have acquired ‘Skill: Cavalry Charge (Rare+)’.]

Rewards sorted.

[Difficulty: Nightmare]

[Floor: 7]

[Level: 80]

[Willpower: 3,600]

[Skills: Destruction Ray (Epic+), Subspace (Epic), Sixth Sense (Rare+)(+2), Teleportation (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Sword of Light (Rare+), Cavalry Charge (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5)…]

I was glancing at my Status Window when,

the Demon King’s voice came through.

─ Thou. Wast thou a Nightmare Climber?

The words left me reeling.

“…You know what this is?”

Did the Demon King know about the Tower’s system too?

Earlier, when the Tower was about to do something, he’d told me to stop time, and I’d already been wondering whether he was aware of the Tower’s existence…

“How do you know about it? Just what are you, Demon King?”

Of all the intelligent beings I’d encountered inside the Tower so far, not one had understood the concepts of the Tower or climbing.

While clearing Hidden routes, they had all been clueless, no more than NPCs.

The Demon King didn’t answer a single one of my questions and asked one back.

─ How many floors hast thou cleared? How much time remains on thy world’s Time Limit?

“…Up to the 6th.”

─ Hah, for a Lesser Being, thou hast climbed surprisingly far. Art thou the highest record-holder?

“Yes.”

The Demon King sounded faintly surprised.

─ Aye, well, a Lesser Being who wields the divine art of stopping time…

“No, I asked you, what are you, Demon King?”

The Demon King finally answered.

─ I, too, was a Nightmare Climber.

“…?!”

─ I propose this. Hand over thy flesh to me, and I shall clear the Nightmare difficulty. I shall stop the destruction of thy world.

Wait, hold on…

The conversation was moving way too fast.

He’d been a Climber? This guy too?

How? Why?

“…I’m not following any of this. I need an explanation.”

─ Of what?

“There are other worlds besides Earth? You’re not from Earth, are you?”

─ What a foolish question. There exist countless worlds beyond thine own.

Huh.

So there really were other worlds out there.

Not that I should have been surprised.

Common sense had been shattered the moment the Tower appeared, so the existence of worlds beyond Earth was small potatoes.

It was something I’d half-sensed while clearing Hidden routes too.

The shocking part was… that the Tower and Climbers existed in those worlds as well.

“You’ll stop this world’s destruction?”

The Demon King spoke with a faintly arrogant air.

─ Aye. Thou shalt fail before long, regardless. Accept the proposal. I shall extend the Nightmare difficulty’s Time Limit for thee.

I asked again.

“How many floors did you clear, Demon King? Did you make it all the way to the top?”

The Demon King fell silent for a moment, then answered.

─ Far more than thou, knave.

“How many floors, exactly?”

─ I climbed beyond the 20th floor.

“So you didn’t make it to the top either?”

─ …

“What the hell, here I was actually expecting something. You couldn’t even clear it yourself, and now you’re going to stop the world’s destruction?”

Well, whatever the reason, he had failed, and that’s why he’d been buried on the 5th floor, wasn’t it?

The Demon King flew into a rage.

─ How dare a wretched Lesser Being! Dost thou imagine thou wilt even reach the 10th floor?!

That said, the part about climbing past the 20th floor did seem to be true.

Maybe because our souls were linked, I could vaguely tell whether the Demon King was telling the truth or lying.

I tuned out his cursing and tried to organize my thoughts.

There were other worlds besides Earth, and Climbers and Towers existed in those worlds too.

The Frigid Demon King now lodged inside my body was a Nightmare Climber as well.

And for some reason he’d been buried on the 5th floor… and would have been deleted by the Tower for being treated as an error.

“Anyway, tell me other stuff. Why were you buried on the 5th floor, and what’s this ‘error’ business?”

I had plenty I wanted to know.

Why had a former Nightmare Climber ended up like that inside the Tower? If he’d failed his run, why hadn’t he died? What was the Tower’s true nature and purpose?

Surely the Demon King would know more than I did?

The previously noisy Demon King let out a snort.

─ Dost thou think I shall tell thee? Hand over thy body, and I shall tell thee.

Hmm…

Did he actually know anything?

“You’ll tell me what the Tower really is and what it wants?”

─ Aye. I shall tell thee everything thou wishest to know. And clear Nightmare for thee besides!

It was a lie.

From what I could feel through our linked souls, the Demon King didn’t really know anything particularly impressive either.

─ Damn it all, so thou refusest the proposal?

“Of course. There’s no way I’m giving it to you.”

─ I told thee, thou shalt fail before long! I can extend thy world’s lifespan by another ten years at least. So hand over half!

It was a ridiculous offer.

If he could actually clear Nightmare for me all the way, maybe. But for a measly Time Limit extension, there was no way I was handing back the body I’d just gotten back.

He wasn’t someone I could trust to begin with.

I’d just barely wrested full control of my body, and the moment I gave it to him, that control would shift right back to him.

What if this bastard refused to give it back?

I’d be stopping time and starting up the same tedious second round all over again. No thanks.

And besides… was the Nightmare difficulty the Demon King had cleared even the same as the one I was clearing?

“Demon King, what came up on Nightmare’s 6th floor for you?”

The Demon King answered.

─ The 6th? My memory grows hazy. I believe a volcano erupted.

…A volcano erupted?

“Not Ogres and destroying the enemy’s Nexus, nothing like that?”

─ What nonsense art thou spouting? Ah, yes, I recall now. I froze the entire volcano and stopped the eruption.

I had no idea what kind of insane statement “freezing an entire volcano” was supposed to be, but…

In any case, the content of the Nightmare difficulty didn’t even match between us.

So this was pointless, then.

Same body, different pilot, what really changed?

‘Ah.’

Or maybe not?

Come to think of it, when the Demon King had hijacked my body, he’d used abilities that weren’t among my skills.

He’d swung his hand and a freezing wind had whipped up; he’d flown through the sky as he pleased.

‘So he can use his own abilities through my body.’

The Demon King spoke.

─ With this pathetic vessel, I cannot wield even the tip of my true power. Yet still, thou wouldst become at least tenfold stronger than what thou couldst muster on thine own.

“Wow, impressive.”

─ Aye, now thou beginnest to listen. Wilt thou accept the proposal?

“No.”

I said no.

I ignored the Demon King yapping away inside my head.

Sigh… Should I have just let the Tower delete him?

The Tower’s reaction had been unsettling, which bothered me a bit.

I honestly wasn’t sure stopping time had been the right call.

Well, there was no undoing it now, so it was what it was.

I left the Reward Room and exited the 5th floor at last.

I returned to my room.

The view felt like one I hadn’t seen in ages.

And in truth, it had been. I’d kept time stopped for a long, long while.

I opened the door and stepped out.

In the living room, the whole family was watching TV.

…Was it the weekend? Right, it was.

Father glanced back at me.

“Why are you just standing there?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“Pfft, what a dud.”

On the TV, there was a breaking news segment about me having defeated the Zone 4 boss.

I went back to my room and dove straight onto the bed.

“Hngghhh…”

I was so tired.

I needed some rest first.

*

[Cobweb: He actually pulled off the Zone 4 boss solo too]

[Anguish: Minimum requirement was supposed to be level 80, that’s genuinely incredible]

[Shape: That’s why I said you didn’t need to worry]

[Devans: Anyone catch the boss kill? This time there’s literally not a peep about it]

[Kikikikiki: Well, Person123 personally warned everyone to stay away because it was dangerous, so…]

The day after sleeping it off.

I’d been browsing the Communication Channel for a bit before closing it.

A whole lot of unexpected things had happened, but…

At any rate, the Zone 4 boss was down, and now it was time to get back to my to-do list.

“Demon King.”

I tried calling out to him.

Up until earlier he’d been making a fuss about accepting his proposal, and then he’d gone quiet again…

─ Don’t speak to me unless thou meanest to hand over thy body.

“Got it.”

If that’s what he wanted, fine.

The Demon King grumbled.

─ Damn it, of all the bodies to be cast into, this strange Lesser Being’s…

“You were lucky.”

─ What rubbish art thou spouting?

“If I hadn’t stopped time, you would’ve been deleted by the Tower. Technically I’m your lifesaver, so don’t you think you could try cooperating with me a little?”

Of course I had no intention of yielding my body.

Still, since things had come to this, if the Demon King cooperated, it could probably help me in all sorts of ways.

─ Don’t even dream of it. If thou wishest my aid…

“You want me to hand over half my day, yeah.”

─ Aye. Hast thou had a change of heart?

“I’ll give it some negative consideration.”

─ …Wretched scoundrel!

Time to get on with it.

[Enter Floor 6 at Nightmare difficulty?]

Time to clear the Floor 6 Hidden Route.

Rather than scouting out the newly opened Zone 5, I was going to clear the Hidden first.

I wanted to wrap up the Hidden quickly and post a proper info guide for Floor 6.

[The match begins!]

[Destroy all of the opponent’s Nexuses!]

Goblins spawned from the portal,

and I tore through the Floor 6 run.

Bang, bang, bang!

I went straight for my own base’s Nexus and pounded away with my mace.

This ridiculous trick was what had made me suffer so much last time.

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Nexuses destroyed (1/4)]

After destroying the base’s Nexus, I dashed straight for Lane 1.

Cleaned up the Ogres, plowed through the First and Second Turrets, and barreled all the way to the enemy base to destroy the Lane 1 Nexus.

I’d wondered if maybe the order would shuffle each time I entered, but…

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Nexuses destroyed (2/4)]

Nope, no difference.

The order was 1, 2, then 3, straight through.

[You have destroyed Lane 2’s First Turret!]

[You have destroyed Lane 2’s Second Turret!]

.

.

.

[You have destroyed an enemy Nexus!]

[Nexuses destroyed (4/4)]

Speedran the last Nexus.

[Match won!]

The victory message popped up.

I glanced around the area.

Now it was time to look for the Hidden route, but…

Whoosh!

“…?”

A portal appeared right next to me out of nowhere.

What was this. Was I supposed to take it?

I drew closer to the portal.

Sixth Sense wasn’t sounding any alarms, so I stepped inside cautiously.

The scene changed and…

“…?”

A handful of knights were surrounding me.

Clap, clap, clap.

Someone walked out from between them, applauding.

A human… well, no, not a human.

His skin was gray, he had three eyes, and his arms and legs were longer than a human’s… a kind of alien-looking man.

His attire was lavish too. Compared to the knights surrounding me, he looked like nobility.

He spoke in a voice that sounded pleased.

“A splendid performance, Slave Number 199.”

“…?”

“Now only the final round remains. Return and rest well.”

One of the knights jabbed me in the back with the tip of his sword, as if telling me to get moving.

─ What are these wretches? Slay them at once.

The Demon King’s voice came through inside my head.

I ignored him and stopped time.

‘Slave?’

Something felt different from the Hiddens up to now.

Was my role already decided from the start?

Gathering information came first, so… I’d better play along for now.

I unfroze time.

And I obediently let the knights escort me somewhere.

─ What art thou doing? Slaughter them all, I say.

‘Ugh, you’re loud.’

Why was he so obsessed with killing everything? Lunatic.