WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 5: Dopamine Deficiency

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As usual, I woke up in the afternoon, stretched, ate breakfast, and headed straight out to hunt.

[Challenger, the Tower of Trials is calling you.]

Ignoring the message that always appeared whenever I entered the Labyrinth, I pulled up the map compiled on the Open Community and headed straight in.

Yesterday's hunting had brought me to Level 18, and after replacing some of my gear, I was even stronger. To me, the Goblins were nothing but trash mobs.

Not just ordinary Goblins, either. Even stronger monsters like Goblin Squad Leaders went down in one hit.

Only elite monsters like Goblin Centurions could take as many as two of my attacks.

Of course, Goblin Centurions couldn't even leave a scratch on me.

As I slaughtered monsters with overwhelming strength and leveled up, I suddenly noticed something strange.

Seo Jinhyeok Lv.20 (Unemployed)

HP: 320/320

MP: 220/220

Strength: 28 (20+8)

Agility: 22 (20+2)

Durability: 26 (20+6)

Intelligence: 22 (20+2)

Those were my current stats. I'd reached Level 20 not long after I started hunting.

Yet even after hitting Level 20 and killing quite a few Goblins, my level showed no sign of rising.

What the hell was going on? Don't tell me I couldn't go past Level 20 on the first floor or something?

I immediately opened the Open Community and searched for information on levels. The answer came quickly.

[Experience Reduction Multiplier Chart for Level Differences (Under Research)]

"Ah, fuck."

I'd been right. Apparently, raising my level any further on the first floor was almost impossible.

There was a system that halved the experience you gained when the gap between your level and the monster's became too large.

It was only reduced, not eliminated entirely, so if I mindlessly killed an enormous number of monsters, I'd eventually level up.

The efficiency would be terrible, though.

It had only been a few days, and I'd already hit a wall in getting stronger. Nothing ever went the way I wanted.

Though this only happened because my growth rate was abnormally fast, so I didn't really have the right to complain.

Besides, if I thought about it, my growth hadn't actually been stopped.

The Challengers who entered around the same time as me were probably only around Level 10 at most. But with my item advantages included, I was effectively close to Level 30.

Leveling up wasn't the only way to get stronger, anyway. As long as I could raise my stats, whether through levels or gear, it still counted.

And since I had the whole Tower to myself, I could grow far stronger than I was now just by focusing on Treasure Chest farming.

"Then from now on... I should just shut up and farm Treasure Chests."

I opened the Open Community again and pulled up a map containing every known Treasure Chest location.

I'd collected quite a few Treasure Chests already, but there were still plenty left in the Labyrinth Area.

There had to be Treasure Chests first-generation Hunters had obtained that hadn't been recorded here. Including those, there was still a lot left for me to take.

From now on, I'd focus on quests and chest farming instead of hunting.

* * *

The results of spending the entire day farming Treasure Chests were pretty decent.

I picked up eleven Small Chests containing gold and material items, along with six Medium Treasure Chests containing large amounts of gold and items.

More importantly, I found two Large Treasure Chests again today. As expected of Large Treasure Chests, the rewards were damn good.

[Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword]

Attack Power +52 (Slash)

Critical Damage: x1.5

Durability: 250/250

Enhancement Attempts Remaining: 7

It was a rare weapon that far surpassed my main weapon, the [Steel Straight Sword].

It had two more Enhancement Attempts Remaining, and its base attack power was much higher.

Its critical damage multiplier was a little lower, but it had more Enhancement Attempts Remaining, so I could just apply [Sharp] enhancements.

After searching the Open Community, I found that aside from unique weapons, it was the best weapon obtainable on the first floor.

My level had stopped at 20, but considering the increase in my overall strength, it was like I'd gained another five levels.

The numbers on my Status Window hadn't changed, so it was a little less satisfying, but this was still an excellent result.

[Author: Seo Jinhyeok#2661]

[Title: Guys, I'm a newbie. Is this any good?]

(Photo)

I got it from a Treasure Chest, and it came out on my first try. Is it usable?

- Nah, it's fucking garbage. Just sell it to a shop.

- You got that on the first floor?? Which server are you on that there are still chests left on the first floor?

- Ah, fuck. We have to acknowledge 2661's shameless flexing, lol.

- Is this for real?

- If it's the Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword, it's the best straight sword on the first floor~ It has two high attack rolls, so with a few enhancements, you'll be using it through the fourth floor.

- He's not asking because he doesn't know.

Today, I gave the Open Community another satisfying dose of envy bait, then found lodging while leaving countless handshake requests behind.

Since leveling had hit a wall, I figured it'd be fine if other Challengers started coming in soon, but the number in the 2661 Tower chat channel still hadn't changed from 1/1.

As usual, I browsed the community until dawn, then fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, I went to the blacksmith as soon as I woke up and enhanced my new weapon.

I used the maximum amount of materials again, but maybe my luck was bad this time. One failure left it at only +6.

Still, it was far better than the +5 Steel Straight Sword I'd been using, so I decided not to complain.

Almost every Goblin had already gone down in one hit even with the Steel Straight Sword, so I didn't urgently need more attack power anyway.

Once the enhancements were done, I devoured a breakfast set at the inn and headed straight for the Labyrinth.

The number of Medium Treasure Chests that could spawn was limited, and once someone claimed a Large Treasure Chest, it would never spawn again.

That meant the number of Treasure Chests I could collect would only decrease as the days passed.

I ventured pretty deep into the Labyrinth that day, but I couldn't find a single Large Treasure Chest.

In the end, I had to finish the day without any significant growth other than enhancing my weapon.

[Tower of Trials#2661 (1/1)]

The next day, no new Challenger had entered either. I ate breakfast as usual and headed for the Labyrinth.

While searching for Treasure Chests, I entered an area where Goblins spawned in large numbers. After swinging my sword a few times, my level went up.

It was my first level-up in two whole days. I was Level 21 now, but naturally, the stat increase was tiny.

Then I found another Large Treasure Chest, and the item inside was a [Mithril Wand]. It was a weapon used by the Mage class.

Its performance was hard to believe for an item from the first floor, but unless I became a Mage, it was completely useless to me.

If I weren't alone in the Tower, I could at least auction it off. As things stood, it was just a sturdy metal stick.

The following day, I diligently focused on Treasure Chest farming again, but the results were bad.

I couldn't find another Large Treasure Chest, and though I got a few equipment items from Medium Treasure Chests, I was already wearing all of them at maximum enhancement.

The chests were getting irritatingly hard to find, so I tried hunting to vent my frustration, but I didn't level up.

[Tower of Trials#2661 (1/1)]

No new Challengers came again. It had already been several days, but I was still alone.

The next day, the day after that, and the day after the day after that didn't bring any amazing results either. I earned plenty of gold and Enhancement Materials, but that was it.

A few days later, I reached Level 22. It was the result of repeating daily quests every day.

And so, two weeks after I entered the Tower of Trials.

"Fuck, I can't keep doing this."

My overall strength had completely stagnated.

* * *

There was always a scene like this in novels and comics.

The protagonist trained every day and became ridiculously strong, but they never showed how they did it.

Doing something boring every day without rest, out of habit, was fucking hard, yet they skipped over the process like it was nothing.

I wanted to ask them. How the hell did they endure doing boring shit every day and become stronger?

Seo Jinhyeok Lv.22 (Unemployed)

HP: 340/340

MP: 230/230

Strength: 30 (22+8)

Agility: 24 (22+2)

Durability: 28 (22+6)

Intelligence: 24 (22+2)

Several days had passed since I reached Level 22, but there was still no sign of another level-up.

I'd searched through nearly every Treasure Chest in the Labyrinth, yet every item I got was a duplicate.

Hunting and farming had both become repetitive tasks with no visible return. The only way left to get dramatically stronger was changing classes.

But I couldn't change classes. If I changed into a Normal Class now, I'd lose out when I found a unique or epic class on a higher floor later.

There was no guarantee I'd find a hidden piece like that, of course, but it was still too wasteful.

And if I got stronger by changing classes, then what? Until I climbed to the second floor, my growth would still hit a wall.

That left only two choices. Keep repeating mindless grinding and force my way to higher levels.

Or clear the boss monster alone and advance to the second floor.

"Here it is."

My choice was obviously the latter, and so I stood before the tightly shut first-floor boss room.

To give the conclusion first, it was a completely fucking idiotic choice.

Footnotes:

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