WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 68: The Final Paragraph

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An achievement had been completed, raising my Spirit Affinity. That also raised the level of [Earth Spirit's Blessing].

All the functions attached to the skill had already been unlocked, so I hadn't expected it to level up any further.

It didn't gain any new functions, though. Its overall effects had simply improved.

The passive Defense increased, and Physical Damage Reduction went up a little too.

For some reason, my Durability stat also received an additional increase.

None of the individual increases were all that high, but together, they had to amount to something substantial.

The [Iron Wall] skill attached to the blessing must have improved a little too. I'd made an unexpected gain.

"This is kind of exhausting."

The Fairies kept dancing without giving me even a moment to rest, so I moved away from them and plopped down beside Eleanor.

"Interacting with Fairies consumes mana. The fact that you can spend that much time with them is impressive in itself."

Come to think of it, the Eleanor from the memories I'd glimpsed hadn't been able to stay with the Fairies for very long either.

Of course, her mana affinity was probably higher, so she'd lasted longer than I had. Still, it didn't hurt my pride this time.

"You saw my memories, didn't you?"

Eleanor turned to me and asked. I nodded briefly.

"Yeah."

I'd seen young Eleanor running around, arriving at this lake and spending time with the Fairies, and even what she looked like after growing up.

Honestly, I didn't even know exactly how much I'd seen. Thoughts weren't something I could simply read through like a record.

At that moment, I'd half merged with Eleanor.

I felt what Eleanor felt, and I thought what Eleanor thought.

"It felt strange."

That was what I said, but calling it strange didn't come close to describing it.

Eleanor was a Non-Player Character.

A character made for the faction quests that began on Floor 7. A mass-produced product created by the Tower of Trials.

The Tower of Trials wasn't limited to the Tower 2661 I was in.

There had to be an Eleanor in other Towers too. She probably wouldn't be named Eleanor, and she wouldn't look exactly the same either.

But there would be Non-Player Characters nearly identical to her, performing the same role.

Glimpsing and experiencing the past of a being like that felt utterly surreal.

The past of an independent being named Eleanor, so vivid that I couldn't believe it was just backstory created for a Non-Player Character by the Tower's system.

Was Eleanor really nothing more than a Non-Player Character? Was she truly just a disposable existence prepared for a trial?

The kind of existence that returned to being an ordinary empty shell once all the quests were completed.

"It's a little embarrassing."

Was it really possible for her to smile with such a shy expression?

"To be honest, I wanted to glimpse your past too. Even if it was necessary, isn't it unfair that only my memories were shown?"

Eleanor spoke with a soft sigh. What she said made my blood run cold. She'd tried to look into my memories.

"I opened the door for you. Once a door is opened, it connects both ways. I reached out toward your thoughts as well."

"You're saying you saw my memories?"

"Yes, I did. But I couldn't see as much as I wished. Your mind was blocked by something I couldn't peer beyond."

I guessed the thing blocking Eleanor was the Tower of Trials' system.

She went on to say that unlike me, she couldn't merge with and experience my memories, nor could she see them properly.

At most, she'd felt fragments of my training with Rizmel, along with some of my confused emotions.

"Other than that... there were only fragments of thoughts that were difficult to understand even after seeing them. I saw you crossing between different worlds."

I flinched.

Crossing between different worlds. If that was true...

"What exactly is this Tower of Trials?"

Eleanor had seen something she shouldn't have.

* * *

About two weeks passed after that.

I sat cross-legged from morning onward, continuing my meditation.

After acquiring Mana Attunement, I could feel the movement of mana, but meditating was still difficult.

The movements of mana I could sense were so faint. My senses were still far too dull.

Still, it wasn't like I had nothing to show for it.

[Mana Manipulation Lv.1]

[Mana Detection Lv.1]

They were only Level 1, but I'd gained new mana-related skills regardless.

If Mana Attunement was the skill that sensed the presence of mana, Mana Manipulation was the skill that directly moved and used mana within the body.

Mana Detection involved releasing the mana within my body to sense my surroundings. It was how Rizmel had seen through the Crystal Spider's attack.

Even if they were called skills, they were like swordsmanship skills. They were nothing more than numerical representations of the level I'd reached.

I'd learned several techniques for handling mana, but I'd only barely reached Level 1.

I still had a long way to go.

-Creak!

The door opened, and Eleanor walked in.

"Oh, you don't get startled anymore. Looks like you're properly sensing my presence now."

Just as she said, I'd noticed Eleanor approaching in advance through Mana Detection.

Mana Detection was an even better detector than Sensory Enhancement. Eleanor's presence was especially easy to pick up, too.

As a master of Shadow Magic who possessed powerful mana, Eleanor had an equally intense presence.

"I can barely sense your presence. I've still got a long way to go."

"That's still incredibly fast. I'm sure you'll be able to learn Mana Reinforcement too."

"I hope so. Anyway... where did we leave off last time?"

"At the part where you entered the Lizardman ruins. Hurry and tell me."

As she said that, Eleanor flopped onto my bed. I'd gotten used to that by now too.

Ever since the day I awakened Mana Attunement at the lake, I'd been steadily telling Eleanor stories of my adventures.

Those adventure stories were, naturally, about the things I'd seen and experienced in the Tower of Trials.

That day, when Eleanor asked what the Tower of Trials was, I'd told her a partial lie.

I said I was an adventurer who crossed dimensions and worlds to take on trials.

It was a lie, but aside from the parts about the Tower's system, it wasn't exactly wrong.

Somehow, I even ended up briefly telling her how I'd lived pathetically until news of my mother's death snapped me out of it.

It wasn't something I needed to tell her.

I could've avoided vague lies and just said she didn't need to know.

But glimpsing Eleanor's memories and dancing with the Fairies at the lake had left something special behind in me.

Maybe Eleanor's mind and heart had influenced me somehow. Or maybe deep down, I'd wanted to pour everything out to someone.

Or perhaps I just couldn't bring myself to turn away from those dreamy eyes.

I didn't know.

Either way, Eleanor showed the boundless curiosity expected of a descendant of the Night Elves and began asking me about the dimensions I'd crossed.

Whenever she did, I told her all sorts of stories, leaving out only the parts about the system and Non-Player Characters.

"I never get tired of hearing your stories. How can everything be so new? I feel like I've returned to my childhood."

Eleanor swayed her head as she said that once she broke off her engagement and found freedom, she wanted to see more of the world like I had.

Every time she listened to my stories, it became clearer that her determination to break off the engagement was growing.

I was only focusing on my training, but the quest kept progressing on its own.

* * *

Another week passed. Nothing particularly remarkable happened during that time.

I picked up a few miscellaneous techniques for handling mana, and my Weapon Mastery level went up a little more.

Other than that, word about my relationship with Eleanor gradually began spreading among the Dark Elves.

People in the know had already known about it because I fit Eleanor's loudly proclaimed "type" so well.

Now even ordinary Dark Elves who had nothing to do with Eleanor were starting to look at me differently.

"Ah, so you're Eleanor's boy?"

"You really do look like her type."

"What are we supposed to do about her taste for younger men?"

"You must have it rough. Want something tasty?"

With the Dark Elves' characteristic friendliness toward humans added to the mix, strange, ticklish looks poured over me whenever I passed down a busy street.

It felt half like they were cheering on an elementary school couple, and half like they thought Eleanor was a pervert.

It wasn't like they didn't know she was engaged to the High Elf prince, yet they didn't seem to care at all.

Then one day, Eleanor spoke to me with a grave look in her eyes.

"Her Majesty the Queen has learned about our relationship. Of course, you don't need to worry about such personal matters. I've taken care of everything."

I wondered what the hell she was suddenly talking about, but Eleanor continued without a care.

"I finished by saying you were prepared to do anything to take my fiancé's place."

"Hey, wait. What did you just say?"

"I've already sent a declaration of war to those forest-dwellers too. Now there's only one thing you need to do. It won't be difficult."

[Epic: Dark Elf's Letter - Duel]

A system window appeared, announcing the quest's progress. I quickly scanned its contents.

The quest completion condition, which hadn't been properly written out before, was now displayed clearly, along with brief reward information.

That meant this was the final faction quest I could undertake on Floor 7.

I'd reached the final paragraph of the first chapter of Dark Elf's Letter.

"Defeat that forest-dweller prince in a duel and become my fiancé."

It was time to move up to the next floor.

Footnotes:

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