WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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Chapter 49: Reuel's Stump

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Challengers who stayed in the Tower of Trials for long periods tended to lose many of their desires.

As their stats and levels rose, they gained superhuman physical abilities that allowed them to go without sleep for extended periods.

The community recommended sleeping once a day for mental health, but most Challengers could easily stay awake for three nights straight.

If I used the fatigue recovery medicine and potions sold in the shop and really pushed myself, I could probably go about fifteen days without sleep.

To begin with, the amount of sleep I needed had already dropped drastically. Four hours was enough to leave me in peak condition.

Because of that, most Tower of Trials Challengers lost their desire for sleep at a frightening pace.

Rumor had it that one famous Ranker only slept for two hours every forty-eight hours out of obligation.

On top of that, a Tower of Trials Challenger's body could perform perfectly as long as it received enough calories, regardless of the nutrients consumed.

That was why some Rankers and I could live off nothing but White Rolls instead of proper meals.

Even if we ate nothing but White Rolls, which were basically lumps of sugar and flour, we wouldn't gain weight or lose muscle. The physical abilities gained from our stats remained unchanged.

As a result, quite a few strategy-focused Challengers developed a habit of half-assing their meals for the sake of money or efficiency.

Of course, they hadn't actually lost their sense of taste, so most Challengers still put efficiency aside to seek out good food.

The community also recommended having a cheat day once a month for mental health, but in the end, it was no different from sleep.

Rankers who aspired to become high-grade Hunters maintained these kinds of diets for long periods, gradually losing their appetite in the process.

Still, while all those major desires faded away, there was one desire that refused to weaken at all.

Sexual desire.

The more superhuman their bodies became, the more vigorous they grew. Rather than fading, that desire only grew stronger.

Apparently, during the Tower of Trials' early days, there were quite a few problems caused by Challengers' sexual desires spiraling in twisted directions.

Overwhelming power gained just because they had entered the Tower early, along with the presence of people who were clearly physically weaker.

And the Tower itself was a completely isolated space, beyond the reach of laws or public authority.

It wasn't hard to imagine what happened.

They said a great deal of blood had been spilled before public safety was established under the influence of massive guilds like it was now.

Still, whether it was the effect of some skill or just a mental problem, I'd never had trouble because of sexual desire.

It wasn't like I had any functional issues, and it wasn't as if the desire had been completely cut off. I just wasn't interested.

Well, maybe it was because I had no choice besides handling things alone in the first place.

Anyway, I definitely hadn't chosen the Dark Elf faction because of their big, um, those things, like the ghosts haunting the Open Community.

Really.

Or had I?

Naturally, there had been several reasons for choosing a faction, but maybe that had influenced my decision without me realizing it.

Yeah, bad habit. Trying to rationalize everything by attaching one excuse after another.

I admitted that I'd been drawn to a certain part of the Dark Elves' bodies.

But that wasn't the only reason I chose their faction.

"All right, we're here."

While I was lost in thought, Eleanor stopped walking and a system message appeared before me.

[Beyond the Night Mist - Reuel's Stump]

The mist surrounding us cleared, revealing a Dark Elf village centered around an enormous tree standing like a building.

One reason I had chosen the Dark Elf faction was the existence of this village itself.

* * *

The enormous tree was black, matching the Dark Elves' dark skin.

Its shape resembled a baobab tree, but no baobab could possibly grow that large.

That tree was the Dark Elves' home. They had hollowed and carved out the inside, making something like a gigantic natural apartment building.

The branches and leaves of the apartment tree covered the sky, blocking out the sunlight.

Maybe that was why firefly-like balls of light drifted around, illuminating the area.

It was a little brighter than a particularly bright night with a full moon.

The atmosphere suited the image of the shadow-wielding Dark Elves perfectly.

"Wow."

I'd seen it in the Open Community, but seeing it in person made me laugh in disbelief. The view was incredible.

"This is amazing."

I sometimes muttered to myself, but this time the words kept slipping out purely from awe.

Eleanor suddenly slung an arm over my shoulder, leaned in close, and asked, "Oh? You think it's amazing?"

She was close enough to make me uncomfortable. And with her arm around my shoulder, something large kept pressing against me.

The contact was awkward, and I was terrible with words to begin with, so I couldn't give her much of an answer.

"The forest bitches are always making a fuss about how dark and dreary it is, saying they feel like mold is going to grow on them. It's been a long time since someone reacted like that."

Eleanor smiled as she said it. Forest bitches meant the High Elves, probably.

They looked at a sight like this and complained about mold growing on them? Those elf bastards really did have personalities exactly as rotten as everyone said.

No wonder the community called them not just fucking elves, but fucking fucking fucking fucking elves.

"Ah, would you like to look around nearby for a while? I'll go see if there's an empty guest room. Outsiders don't come here often, after all."

With that, Eleanor raised her shadow and vanished somewhere in an instant.

"Even if you go a little far, we'll be able to find you easily, so feel free to look around."

"We're not like the forest bitches. Nobody's going to try to hurt you just because you're human."

"Ah, people might crowd around because you're unusual, so avoid the areas with too many people."

The other Dark Elves seemed to have things to do as well. They each tossed out a comment before scattering.

This was a lot different from the treatment I'd expected, but as long as I could move around freely, that was fine by me.

* * *

Eleanor had told me to look around, but I already knew the layout of this place.

[Map of the Entire Floor 7 Dark Elf Faction]

There might be differences in the finer details, but the Open Community had a map covering all of Floor 7.

Floor 7 had a separate village area, but this Dark Elf faction had all the infrastructure of a village in its own right.

It was only natural since this was where the Dark Elves lived, but still.

The first place I visited was a blacksmith shop that sold weapons and armor.

One reason I'd chosen the Dark Elf faction was the village itself, but this blacksmith shop accounted for a large part of that decision too.

"A customer? We're not accepting Custom Crafting orders right now... What? A human?"

The moment I stepped into the blacksmith shop, a short Dark Elf woman came out wearing work clothes and holding a hammer.

She was probably an ordinary blacksmith Non-Player Character rather than an elite individual, but her reaction was remarkably human.

"What? What is this? Why is a human here? Are you lost? Are you a lost child?"

The Dark Elf blacksmith came right up to me, her eyes shining with curiosity. Were all Dark Elves like this?

"I was invited here."

When I answered awkwardly, the blacksmith jumped in surprise. Apparently, it had been a very long time since a human had been invited here.

Then she muttered something to herself and somehow even guessed that Eleanor was the one who had invited me.

When I asked how she knew that, the blacksmith gave a hearty laugh.

"There's nobody else it could be."

I had no idea what that meant, but I wasn't particularly curious, so I didn't ask any further.

I got straight to the point.

"I want to buy a sturdy weapon."

The things you could gain from belonging to one of the three major factions weren't limited to quest rewards.

There were exceptional items that could only be bought or made in each faction's village, commonly called Faction Specialties.

The High Elf faction, which lived in harmony with nature, sold high-performance potions, armor for Mage classes, and wands.

The Dark Elf faction, which lived in the shadows, sold metal weapons and armor that performed better than ordinary equipment.

The Kingdom Army faction had no special items aside from a few exceptions, but items could be purchased very cheaply depending on your reputation.

I believed in avoiding high-performance items that would interfere with my growth.

But during today's fight with the Elf Knight, I discovered a fatal problem with my usual equipment.

Low attack power and other poor performance were expected, but the material itself had limits. Its Durability wore down far too quickly.

Almost every weapon that had clashed with the Elf Knight's armor, shield, and sword had become nearly useless.

I could make up for the losses easily enough, but if this kept up, I'd end up ruining a weapon with every attack once I reached higher floors.

The attack power could be low, but the Durability couldn't be.

At the very least, it needed to be sturdy enough to fully withstand my strength.

"A sturdy weapon? Every weapon we make is sturdier than anything humans have."

The Dark Elves used equipment made from a special material called Ebony Steel, so there was no better place to buy sturdy gear.

"Go on. Pick out whatever you like from over there."

I spoke to the Dark Elf blacksmith, who smiled as she said she'd sell me whatever weapon I wanted.

"From here to there."

Bring me all of it.

Footnotes:

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