Chapter 47: Nightmare Floor 4 (3)

I stared blankly at the window. Then, snapping back to my senses, I quickly gathered the other cores.

The Shop. Tower Defense… an upgrade system…

“…Haha.”

Son of a bitch.

Only then did I realize the gimmick of Floor 4, and I couldn’t help but laugh like a madman. I knew something had been off. No matter how I looked at it, the level of the Golems appearing was far beyond what any other Nightmare Conqueror could handle.

An upgrade system had been hidden here, just like in a real game.

I was supposed to clear the stages while upgrading step by step, but I had brute-forced my way here through pure raw stats. Ah… I can feel the rage boiling up…

The other Golems had cores, too. But since the remains vanished every time a new stage began, the points from eleven stages’ worth of Golems had effectively vanished into thin air. Just how much of a loss did I take?

‘Phew…’

My head was spinning, but at least I noticed now. I checked the Shop list again.

I understood the damage and Willpower increases, but Attribute Substitution…?

Ah, so this was meant to be used when dealing with the Red and Blue Golems. It was useless to me now since I’d already cleared them.

These were for stalling the Golems. Finally, there was the most expensive option at the bottom.

I currently had 4,000P. I decided to buy one Magic Damage increase first.

The price in the Shop immediately rose to 200P. So the cost increased with every upgrade. I wasn’t sure if the Physical Damage increase applied to Fliya as well, so I stuck to Magic for now.

— The Green Golems will resurrect once even after being completely destroyed… Please use caution in your response…

The announcement rang out. Stage 13 was about to begin. Resurrection? So they had two lives. I held onto the rest of my points for now. There were only five of them, so I’d test the waters before deciding how to spend the rest. Since I’d already lost so many potential points, I had to be careful.

The entrance opened, and a Green Golem stepped out. I cast Burning Zone on the path.

Whoosh!

The Golem burned as it passed through the area. I also fired off a Flame Strike.

Boom!

As the nearly destroyed Golem emerged from the Burning Zone, Fliya finished it off. The Golem collapsed in pieces. Soon, the broken debris floated up and reassembled itself.

Okay, so that’s how it works.

I left the resurrected one to Fliya and moved on to the next. As the stages progressed, the Golems’ base stats increased along with their traits, making them harder to destroy. However, the Green Golems didn’t ignore damage below a certain threshold like the Black ones, so they were easier to handle. Plus, my damage had increased by 10%.

Destroying all five wasn’t difficult. Since they resurrected once, I had essentially fought ten.

After collecting all the cores, I gained a total of 1,250P. Did the reward increase by 50P every time the Golem type changed? I used Time Stop and simulated the next stage in my head.

‘If five were like this…’

I could probably handle ten somehow. But the one after that might be tough. Twenty Golems—effectively forty—would likely require more damage upgrades.

‘No, wait.’

What if I used this? If the Force Field could perfectly block their advance for 30 seconds, it would be incredibly efficient for someone like me who could just herd them into one lane and use the Destruction Line.

I decided to try it during Stage 15 when the twenty Golems appeared.

Stage 14 began. I spent 200P to increase my damage by another 10%. I cleared the ten Green Golems—effectively twenty—without using the Destruction Line or facing any major hurdles. I collected the cores and gained 2,500P.

Stage 15: twenty Golems, effectively forty. I decided to use the Force Field as planned. Upgrades got more expensive, but the Force Field was cheap and efficient, even if it was a consumable.

What if I deployed a Force Field at the end of the first lane to stop them? The duration was 30 seconds. It took 30 seconds for the first Golem to reach the end of the lane, and it took 2 minutes for all twenty Golems to spawn. To cover that, I’d need three Force Fields, costing 150P. To wait another 3 minutes for the Destruction Line to cool down after they resurrected, I’d need another 300P.

By my calculation, I could clear the stage cleanly for just 450P. Actually, if Fliya and I stepped in to delay them, it would cost even less.

‘There’s definitely a boss left…’

The Special Draw in the shop bothered me. There had to be a reason for it. I felt I should save as many points as possible rather than dumping them all into upgrades. I’d already lost so much… ugh, damn it.

The light turned red, and Stage 15 began. The Green Golems marched out. Fliya and I stalled them as we had with the Black Golems. When we were finally pushed back to the edge of the first lane:

I deployed it. A translucent blue barrier appeared exactly where I wanted.

Thump. Thump.

The Golem repeatedly slammed its head against the field, unable to move forward. Since the leader was blocked, the ones behind it piled up, bumping into each other. It seemed the Force Field was indeed indestructible and would hold for the full 30 seconds.

After the field vanished:

Fliya and I fought for a bit longer before deploying another one. Unlike the damage upgrades, the price of the Force Field didn’t increase with repeated purchases. Using only two fields and 100P, I successfully herded all the Golems into the second lane.

Then, I swept them away with the Destruction Line.

The Destruction Line, now bolstered by a 20% damage buff, pierced through every single Golem.

Rumble…

The Golems, now with holes through their torsos, collapsed and resurrected simultaneously. The rest was a repeat of the process. I held them off until the Destruction Line was off cooldown, used a Force Field, and fired again.

I cleared Stage 15 cleanly using only 200P. I hurried to pick up the fallen cores.

12,250P. I had saved up quite a bit. During the break, I checked the Special Draw list again.

A self-destruct button? I had no idea why such a thing existed.

— The Yellow Golems are unstoppable… Please use caution in your response…

As I was reading the descriptions, the announcement came. The break was over. …Unstoppable? Wait. Does that mean they can’t be blocked?

Ding—

The light turned red, and the entrance opened. A Yellow Golem walked out. Fliya lunged and slammed into it with her body…

Thud!

The Yellow Golem didn’t budge an inch and simply kept walking. Only Fliya was sent flying. I tried using Blade Gale, but it had zero effect.

Wait, don’t tell me the Force Field won’t work either?

I placed a Force Field right in front of the Yellow Golem. The moment the Golem touched it, the field shattered into pieces, and the Golem continued its march.

‘Son of a…’

Obviously, Slow and Stop wouldn’t work either. It seemed I had to destroy these through pure damage without any tricks. I blasted it with magic while Fliya climbed onto it, biting and tearing. Their defense was only slightly higher than the Green ones, so we took them down quickly.

We cleared all five without much trouble, ending Stage 16.

After collecting the cores, I had 1,500P more. I stopped time to think. Just when I thought things were getting easy, another annoying Golem showed up… but it wasn’t really a problem.

By my estimate, I could clear ten of them without the Destruction Line if I upgraded my damage once more. For twenty, I could wipe out five with the Destruction Line, leaving fifteen. With twenty Golems taking two minutes to spawn, I could technically use the Destruction Line twice, but I decided to save the second charge in case of whatever came next.

Since my base stats were already so high, Stage 18 shouldn’t be an issue if I just added three more damage upgrades. I had plenty of points.

Wow… was it okay for a Nightmare strategy to go this smoothly? The thought crossed my mind, and I immediately slapped my own cheek.

‘Who told you to let your guard down, you crazy bastard?’

The boss hadn’t even appeared yet. The core gimmick was frustrating, but… how should I put it? I hadn’t yet felt that deep, visceral “fuck you” energy unique to Nightmares. My instincts, honed from clearing three floors already, were reliable. I was arguably humanity’s top Nightmare Sommelier. Therefore, I could not afford to be careless.

Ding—

Stage 17 began.

Following my plan, I spent a total of 1,200P on three damage upgrades.

K-boom!

With the increased firepower, the ten Yellow Golems were easily handled. Stage 18’s twenty Golems were the same. I blew away five in the first lane with the Destruction Line and cleaned up the remaining fifteen.

After Stage 18, my points exceeded 20,000. But just how many stages were there? It felt like the end should be near.

Then, an announcement drifted through the air.

— Our Workshop’s greatest masterpiece is malfunctioning… Staff members, please use extreme, extreme caution in your response…

…Greatest masterpiece?

‘It’s the boss.’

Sensing the boss’s arrival, I turned my gaze toward the entrance. It opened, and the sound of footsteps, far heavier than any previous Golem, echoed through the chamber.

Thump. Thump. Thump…

A massive silhouette revealed itself. The moment I saw it, I couldn’t help but mutter:

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The head was black. The left upper body was red, the right upper body was blue. The left lower body was green, and the right lower body was yellow. It was a Golem that combined every single color I had faced so far into one body.