WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 39: Grave Site

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The Tower Invitation doesn't discriminate by age or gender.

Of course, it doesn't screen people based on character, either. A worthless loser like me got one, after all.

Anyone who's served in the military, where people with nothing in common except being men in their twenties are thrown together, would know.

People's average level of decency is far lower than you'd think, and there are plenty of idiots in this world who strut around over the dumbest shit.

So what would the average be like for people gathered in a strange, enclosed place like the Tower of Trials?

“Why don't you get lost?”

That was why it wasn't all that strange for some asshole to suddenly pick a fight like this.

Judging by appearances alone, I probably looked like some weak scrub wearing shop-bought equipment from the Tower's lowest floor. That made it even more likely.

Come to think of it, maybe a certain Holy Knight in our party was just normal.

“Who is this guy?”

I pointed at the man, turned to Kim Jina, and asked.

I'd only gotten here a little while ago, so something might've happened before that.

“He's been standing in front of the portal for a while, but he wasn't going in...”

“He isn't here to solo, right? He said it was for his party.”

Kim Jina nodded. Then the Holy Knight, Kim Minhyeong, came closer and spoke quietly.

“Hyung, I think they're camping this spot. They leave one party member here to control who gets in.”

I'd played plenty of online games, so I had a rough idea even without an explanation.

The man standing in front of the portal had a somewhat young-looking face and wore gleaming heavy armor.

If he was shameless enough to openly camp a spot, he probably had strong connections or belonged to a major guild.

His armor looked pretty damn good too. He probably wasn't a Ranker himself, but he might've known one.

Picking a fight with him could get me tangled up with some nasty people, but camping a spot wasn't exactly something to be proud of. Maybe I should at least talk to him.

“Looks like none of your party members are here yet. Ours are all here.”

I hesitated a little before speaking to him. The man gave me a quick once-over, then answered shortly.

“So?”

That was it. What the fuck was this guy's problem? Compared to him, Kim Minhyeong was downright polite.

“I'm saying we're going to use this spot first. We're going in, so move.”

“I said this is our party's spot. Your spot is your fucking mom's grave, dumbass.”

The man raised his middle finger as he spoke.

At the same time, my hand shot out.

-Bang!

My fist slammed right into his solar plexus, and a sound like an explosion rang out.

* * *

Looking at how arrogantly he acted, he clearly had something to rely on.

Maybe a major guild had his back. Maybe he knew a Ranker. Or maybe he was strong himself.

The moment I heard that bullshit about my mom's grave, none of that mattered.

My mom's grave?

I was climbing the Tower alone and smashing my head against every wall in my way because I wanted to apologize at that grave just once.

Wouldn't it be weirder if I didn't throw a punch after hearing that? You fucking bastard.

-Crash!

The man I'd punched went flying and rolled across the floor.

My fist tingled a little after hitting his solar plexus. I'd thought his equipment looked unusual, and yeah, it was definitely good armor.

Still, he couldn't even react to my punch and got knocked flat. His stats must've been nothing special.

“Y-you fucking bastard.”

The man lay sprawled on the ground, his jaw trembling as he cursed, his face bright red.

He looked like he'd been horribly wronged. What right did you have to get pissed off, asshole?

“You hit me? You fucking... Do you know who I am? You look like some low-level beggar punk. You want to die?”

Muttering curses, he got back up. Then he saw me rubbing my fist and shouted.

“Idiot, did you break your hand? That's what you get for acting tough when you're nothing. Do you know how much my armor costs?”

Ignoring him, I walked over and raised my fist again.

“If you're going to talk shit, at least put your helmet on first.”

-Crunch!

“Urk!”

I planted a punch right in the jabbering bastard's jaw. White teeth scattered everywhere.

I hadn't even hit him that hard, but judging by the feeling in my hand, it wasn't just his teeth that got smashed. Something had happened to his jawbone too.

If it weren't for his gear, he wouldn't have even been able to breathe after the first punch. What the hell was he so confident about?

-Murmur, murmur.

People gathered around the man as he collapsed to the ground again with his jaw wrecked.

They didn't seem to be his acquaintances. They'd probably just come over because a fight had broken out. The area grew noisy in an instant.

The nameless guy flailed around on the floor, then pulled out a potion from his inventory and drank it, spilling it all over himself.

The potion bottle had an absurdly fancy design. It looked like he used high-end consumables too, not just equipment.

“Huff, huuugh... Y-you fucking bastard.”

After downing the potion, he rummaged through his inventory again, finally put on a white helmet, and drew a weapon.

It was a huge two-handed axe, but even the way he held it looked awkward enough to make him seem like an idiot.

He picked a fight by insulting my mother, then drew a weapon after taking one punch to the face.

“You're fucking dead, you beggar bastard.”

Was being rich really that much of a point of pride? He kept calling me a beggar while acting all smug.

I had more Gold than I could ever use in the Tower of Trials, but he didn't know that, so he called me a beggar.

That aside, why was he so pleased with himself? Did he seriously think putting on a helmet would solve everything?

-Whoosh!

Covered head to toe in heavy armor, he charged at me while swinging his axe.

His stance was idiotic, but his swing was even worse. How could he use a weapon worse than a Goblin from the first floor?

I avoided the axe with two short steps, clenched my fist, and used a skill.

[Iron Wall]

My fist hardened like steel and smashed into his head.

* * *

The skills I'd leveled up while training in seclusion on the third floor weren't just resistance-type skills.

[Earth Spirit's Blessing Lv.10]

A lesser earth spirit stays by your side.

The skill's level rises according to your affinity with the spirit, and new effects unlock as it levels up.

- Base Passive Effect: Defense +20

- Additional Passive Effect: Physical Damage Reduction +5%

- Additional Active Effect: [Iron Wall] skill available

I'd figured out how to raise Spirit Affinity, allowing me to greatly increase Earth Spirit's Blessing.

The method was incredibly simple. I just had to commune with and touch objects inhabited by a spirit.

For an earth spirit, that naturally meant dirt, sand, rocks, and things like that.

For a while, I raised my affinity by chewing pebbles along with White Rolls.

The efficiency wasn't very good, of course, so I didn't reach Level 10 and unlock the active effect until the sixth floor.

Anyway, the active skill [Iron Wall] had a simple effect.

It hardened part of my body like steel. Simple, but extremely powerful and useful.

With this skill, I could wear leather armor and still have defensive power comparable to heavy armor.

And like I was doing now, I could harden my fist to increase my attack power.

-Bang!

My fist already made a loud noise whenever it hit metal, but this time the impact was especially thunderous.

The man in heavy armor, who had been wildly swinging his axe, had his head jerk sharply to the side before he toppled over.

Even his expensive armor couldn't absorb all that impact. He lay there for a moment without moving, as if he were dead.

“Why the fuck are you playing dead? Want to die?”

-Bang!

I used [Iron Wall] again and soccer-kicked his head.

Only then did he wake up with an “Ugh!” He couldn't even support himself properly, like he'd gotten a concussion.

Watching him, all I could think was that it was a good thing I hadn't drawn a weapon.

Thank god I was empty-handed. If I'd swung a weapon while I was pissed off, I might've killed him.

“J-Jinhyeok. You didn't kill him, right?”

Just as I was considering where to hit him next while he staggered around, Kim Jina pushed through the crowd and asked.

Looking around, a lot of people had gathered while I wasn't paying attention. Kim Jina must've practically fought through the crowd to get here.

“He's not dead, and I'm not going to kill him.”

Kim Jina had apparently looked into my situation through the Community, because she said she'd thought I was going to kill him.

No matter what, I wouldn't suddenly kill someone. I didn't even have the right to get that angry over an insult about my mother.

I'd drained my mom dry and made her suffer for years, then I'd kill someone because I got furious over a mom insult?

There was a limit to being shameless. I couldn't do that.

Still, saying she'd naturally assumed I would kill him, wasn't Kim Jina taking murder a little too lightly?

I didn't know the exact circumstances in other Towers, but major guilds probably kept public order under control well enough through their influence.

-Murmur, murmur.

As I spoke with Kim Jina, the noise from the people who had gathered to watch the fight grew louder.

“Gilhun!”

A man with a face similar to the armored guy's pushed through the crowd.

“What fucking bastard... Was it you, you son of a bitch?!”

The man glared at me with wide eyes, suddenly pulled out a spear from his inventory, and swung it broadly as he took his stance.

The sound of the spear blade cutting through the air was no joke. They seemed to be brothers. Was this guy the bastard's backup?

Amid the murmuring voices around me, I caught the name Choi Gilhyeon here and there.

“Jinhyeok... that person's a Ranker...!”

Yeah, that was one hell of a reliable backup.

Footnotes:

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