WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 63: In the Days When the World Tree Bore Fruit

──────

Rizmel didn't say anything for a while after hearing my answer. They looked deeply shocked.

"I... I don't know. I don't know what I should do with you."

After a long silence, Rizmel said that and shed clear tears.

It hit me again just how much the Dark Elf race liked humans. They liked us enough to cry over something like this.

After quietly wiping away their tears, Rizmel continued in a voice trembling with unease.

"You've mastered all of our swordsmanship, and your eyes have properly opened. There's nothing more I can teach you."

[Quest Complete: Erwen's Meddling - Swordsmanship Training]

"I'll tell Aunt Erwen too that you've completed all your swordsmanship training. So don't come looking for me anymore."

Every selected objective listed in the quest window had been marked complete, even though I hadn't done the sparring match or the selection test yet.

I'd never heard of a quest being completed like this. As long as I got the rewards properly, I guess it didn't matter.

[Quest Reward: You have obtained ‘Experience Points’ and ‘Gold’.]

[Objective Completion Reward: Can be claimed through Non-Player Character Erwen.]

[The finest sword has been forged.]

Even with the system messages trying to build my anticipation, I didn't feel all that good.

I wanted to stop Rizmel from trudging out of the training grounds. At the same time, I thought I should let them leave.

I could guess how Rizmel felt about me, why they had taught me swordsmanship, and what they had been thinking.

I could also guess how deeply my words from earlier might have hurt Rizmel, but...

"What can I do? They're a Non-Player Character."

Sitting alone in the training grounds, all I could do was comfort myself with excuses like that.

* * *

I passed the time until evening by pointlessly practicing swordsmanship alone in the training grounds.

When the sun began to set in earnest, I left and headed for blacksmith Erwen's forge.

The blacksmith, who was especially short compared to other members of the Dark Elf race, waved as soon as she saw me, like she'd been waiting.

"What's this? I thought you'd come sooner. Aren't you making an elder wait too long, you rotten brat?"

"I never asked you to wait."

"Good grief, you're still not cute at all when you talk. And what's with that expression? You look like an Oren caught in the rain."

An Oren was probably some animal that lived on Floor 7, judging from the context. Was my expression really that bad?

"Rizmel looked pretty heartbroken too. Did you two have a fight or something?"

I didn't answer. I knew Rizmel was upset, but it wasn't like we'd fought or anything.

From my perspective, I'd just done some self-reflection. Rizmel had gotten shocked all on their own by what I'd said.

Erwen didn't seem particularly inclined to pry any further. She just said these things happened sometimes and told me to come into the forge.

All kinds of weapons still hung inside. Even though I'd bought out the place last time, it was already packed again.

I knew how fast this blacksmith worked, so it wasn't especially surprising.

"I had a bit of trouble putting those ingots you brought me to use, but thanks to them, I made one hell of a sword."

As she spoke, Erwen took a sword from an old-fashioned case and handed it to me.

"Take a look. You'll like it."

At a glance, the sword looked like an ordinary Ebony Steel one-handed sword with a few extra decorations.

[Blacksmith's Masterpiece: Sword of the Elven Age]

Attack Power +85 (Slash)

Critical Damage: x2.8

Durability 880/880

Enhancement Attempts Remaining: 15

The item information displayed by the system was no joke. For starters, the base Attack Power was insane.

It easily surpassed [Wolf-Hunting Sword], the one-handed sword I owned with the highest Attack Power.

On top of that, it retained Ebony Steel's maximum of fifteen Enhancement Attempts Remaining.

Maybe it was a reward for facing enemies far beyond Floor 7's level, because this wasn't an item anyone could get on Floor 7.

"You said you liked sturdy, well-balanced swords, right? So I deliberately didn't add any grand magical functions..."

Erwen said that, then added that it would've been a shame to use magical materials and have nothing special to show for it.

"I added just one function that's perfect for you."

The item information didn't end with the base stats. The sword, completed as a Unique-grade item, had a unique effect too.

Unique Continuous Effect: Mana Absorption

When a monster is defeated, absorbs a portion of the defeated monster's mana.

Based on the amount of mana absorbed, restores Durability and applies an automatic cleaning effect.

Mana beyond the amount needed for restoration recovers the wielder's MP.

It was an insanely useful option that automatically repaired the sword's Durability whenever I killed a monster, then refilled my MP on top of that.

I had more than enough Gold and materials for item repairs, but real-time restoration was special even for me.

As a Solo Player, I ended up in drawn-out battles against multiple enemies all the time.

My HP kept recovering thanks to skills and item effects, but my MP and weapon Durability naturally kept dropping.

With this option, as long as my concentration held out, I'd be able to maintain my maximum combat power indefinitely.

"This is incredible."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. A lot."

I happily swung the sword around on the spot.

* * *

Erwen smiled as she watched me enjoy myself, then led me farther into the forge.

"I'm glad you like it so much. It was worth working until my shoulders nearly fell off. Your expression looks much better too, so keep looking like that more often."

I nodded and put the sword into my inventory. Its base options were so good that I could worry about enhancement later.

Erwen pulled out some simple refreshments and teacups, though I had no idea when she'd prepared them. It looked like she'd set them out specifically for me.

Why were members of the Dark Elf race always trying to feed me something?

I knew they saw me as something like a small stray cat, but Erwen hadn't seemed like that type.

I'd heard Erwen was especially old. Had she turned into the kind of country grandmother who started feeding a cat that visited now and then?

"I don't really know what humans like, so I bought whatever... Is there anything you can't eat?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then sit down. You're not going to just take the sword and pretend you don't know the person who worked so hard on it, are you?"

I obediently sat down. The refreshments looked sweet, so I shoved some into my mouth and chewed.

-Crunch, crunch.

Erwen gave me a slightly bitter smile as she watched.

"Honestly, that's not the expression someone should make while eating sweet pastries. I've never seen a human like you in all my life."

She sounded like she'd met plenty of other humans. The other members of the Dark Elf race didn't seem that way.

Curious, I asked if she'd seen many humans.

"Well, I've seen more than the youngsters these days. No matter what anyone says, I'm one of the few remaining from the World Tree generation."

"World Tree generation?"

"It means I'm an old woman who's lived since the time when the World Tree, now withered and rotten, could still bear fruit."

Come to think of it, I'd heard something like that before. The souls of both the Forest Elf and Night Elf races cycled through the World Tree.

The souls of dead Elves returned to the World Tree's embrace, and the World Tree bore fruit to create new vessels for those souls.

It was a kind of reincarnation system, but apparently it had become a thing of the past as the World Tree withered and lost its power.

This was from an unbelievably ancient time, before the two Elven races came to be called the High Elf and Dark Elf races.

"Elves of that era all lived lives so long you could call them eternal. We still live very long lives, of course."

Erwen's eyes were especially clouded as she said that.

"But did you know? Eternal life and immortality don't really mean that you don't die. It's a little different."

"Eternal life means everything except me dies."

"Everything in the world, leaving only me behind, fails to overcome time and fades away, bidding me farewell. That's what it feels like."

It was an abrupt thing to say, but I couldn't just brush it aside. Something painfully sincere was in Erwen's voice.

"That's why we have a rather unusual perspective on time and life. Looking back, even decades can sometimes feel like an instant."

I could understand what she meant. That was probably why they could see humans as simply cute. If I had to put my thought into words...

"Humans might look like bugs to you."

-Members of the Dark Elf race might see humans as something even lower than stray cats.

Erwen gave a faint smile at my words.

"No. Humans seem incredibly remarkable."

Erwen's soft hand wrapped around mine.

"You live lives as short as an instant, yet you leave behind such a powerful presence. For us, memories of meeting humans are not easily forgotten."

Despite being so soft that it was hard to believe she'd lived for thousands of years, her hand carried firm strength.

"That's why Rizmel worries about you so much, child."

Erwen fell silent after saying that. Then she gently patted my hand.

There was something in that silent touch that made me feel so many things.

Damn it. What Non-Player Character? I was still nothing but excuses.

I needed to go apologize to Rizmel.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried