WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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Chapter 69: Duel

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The first thing I asked after hearing Eleanor out was whether this duel was the kind of duel I knew.

"Yes, an ordinary duel."

Eleanor thought I was an adventurer who traveled across dimensions, so she knew I wasn't familiar with this world's customs.

If even Eleanor called it an ordinary duel, then it had to be exactly what I had in mind.

A public fight held before witnesses to determine victory and defeat with honor on the line.

Eleanor gave me a few more examples as she explained duels, but it all sounded perfectly ordinary.

I'd wondered if there might be some strange Elf-style duel rules, but apparently not.

Still, hadn't she decided this way too suddenly?

This was a duel involving royalty from two opposing races. It wasn't some minor matter. She could've at least given me a heads-up.

"That's unlike you to say. Even if I had told you, nothing would have changed."

"I could've at least prepared for the duel."

"Prepare for what? Your opponent is that scrawny prince."

Eleanor snickered as if I'd said something ridiculous. Thinking about it, she wasn't wrong.

That High Elf prince had been subdued by me without being able to do anything when I'd first entered Floor 7.

There was no way someone at that level could be a match for me now, after I'd learned so much from Rizmel and Eleanor and grown stronger.

"Of course, they'll try something in their own way, but the gap isn't one they can overcome with a few petty tricks."

"That's true."

"They'll probably make rules that suit them or demand a handicap, but at your level, it won't matter what they do."

No one knew my abilities as well as Eleanor did, and she probably knew the prince's abilities better than I did.

Eleanor was certain there wouldn't be even the slightest variable. Then that was probably how it was.

It seemed too easy for the final quest of Floor 7.

Still, judged by the strength of an average Floor 7 Challenger, it probably wasn't.

So what floor of the Tower of Trials was my current strength equivalent to?

Just my raw stats alone were around the level of a Challenger in the Floor 20s, and considering my actual skill, I could be considered a Floor 25 Ranker or higher.

Though there was the question of whether it was fair to use Spear Technician Choi Gilhyeon as the standard for a Floor 25 Ranker.

That guy only had high stats. His actual skill was practically at the level of a Goblin.

Even Rankers who carried low-floor players had to form parties before taking on a boss.

They had to kill the boss quickly and without any variables so the newbies wouldn't get hurt.

Choi Gilhyeon had probably received all the support from his party members so he could unload his skills and deal massive burst damage.

That was why the idiot didn't know how to do anything except stab.

So he wasn't a suitable benchmark for strength. I couldn't jump to the conclusion that I was a Floor 25 Ranker or higher.

Still, it was certain that I was far beyond the level of Floor 7, so there was nothing to worry about this time.

Even so, I was curious.

Just how strong was I exactly?

* * *

The duel had been scheduled for a week later without consulting me, so there was plenty of time.

It wasn't as if I was about to fight some grand decisive battle, so I didn't do any special training for the duel.

I just practiced my swordsmanship as usual and worked on meditation and mana control, which still weren't going well.

Other than that, I wandered around with Eleanor for no reason, telling her stories about my adventures across dimensions, or met with the queen.

The Dark Elf queen looked very much like Eleanor, though she had a far more exhausted air about her.

I thought she'd regard me unfavorably for trying to break off an engagement meant to secure peace, but surprisingly, she didn't.

Maybe she just didn't show it, but she treated me with nothing more than calm professionalism.

The crown made from the roots of the World Tree, said to hold overwhelming mana, caught my attention more than the queen herself.

Anyway, a week passed like that.

Because of its nature, Floor 7 had a very simple path to the boss room.

In some ways, the normal field was actually harsher than the Labyrinth Area. Once you finished the faction quest, you could practically challenge the boss right away.

And that was what I planned to do. If I stayed in the Dark Elf village too long, I'd grow complacent.

After the duel, I'd collect the reward, defeat the boss immediately, and head up to Floor 8.

The boss of Floor 7 wasn't a good matchup for a close-range warrior like me, but if I had the stats called for in the strategy guide, I should be able to clear it easily.

Eleanor would probably be disappointed if I left too suddenly, but I couldn't stay stuck on Floor 7 for that reason.

Besides, we were supposed to meet again once I reached Floor 8.

I was leaving Floor 7 today.

"Hoo..."

After finishing my final training session with mana control mixed in, I caught my breath for a moment.

An impressive presence came from outside. That particularly intense flow of mana was definitely Eleanor.

"My dear, it's nearly time."

I told her I understood and went outside. There was still a little time before the duel, but Eleanor had called me out early on purpose.

She said that since this was a romantic occasion where two men dueled over one woman, I should at least dress up a little.

I wasn't thrilled about it, but I went along with it.

Even dressed up, I was only making my combat armor look a little fancier. It wouldn't affect the duel at all.

"Good. Let's go."

Since the side that accepted the duel got to choose its location and method, we had to enter High Elf territory.

Naturally, wary that the High Elves might try something, several Dark Elf knights accompanied us as witnesses.

Since it was an important duel, both the Dark Elf queen and the High Elf king had decided to attend as well.

-Rustle, rustle.

As we pushed through the brush and entered deeper into the Great Forest, we soon encountered other High Elves.

My opponent, the prince himself, had come to greet us with several escort knights.

It sounded like only the knights had originally been meant to come out, but the prince was here too.

"Hehe."

The moment Eleanor saw the prince's face, she deliberately clung tightly to my arm.

"Kh...!"

The prince ground his teeth and glared at me as if he wanted to kill me. He was certainly fired up.

I'd heard that because they were engaged, they'd known each other since they were children.

So I was getting to play the part of the blond, tanned delinquent who stole someone else's childhood friend. Never thought I'd see the day.

-Tap!

As we were having that brief standoff, one of the prince's escort knights suddenly stepped forward.

The force of the charge was no joke, and the knight had a sharp sword in hand.

"Why are you here, you evil human swordsman!"

The one charging at me while screaming at the top of their lungs was that High Elf knight I'd beaten up last time.

* * *

The Dark Elf knights accompanying us as witnesses tried to react, but I moved first.

With a duel ahead of me, I didn't even think about conserving my strength.

-Clang!

I caught the knight's swinging sword with my own, then briefly checked everyone's reactions.

Even the High Elf prince looked deeply flustered, so it didn't seem like the pointy-eared bastards had planned this.

Judging by the question about why I was here, the knight must've charged in without realizing I was the prince's opponent in the duel.

If that was the case, I didn't need to deal with the knight. Everyone around us would sort it out themselves.

Still, it would be a shame to let it end like that.

"Perfect timing."

Wasn't this the ideal opponent to test my skills against?

The High Elf knight still hadn't grasped the situation and kept swinging the sword at me.

-Clang, clang! Clang!

Just like before, the Sword Path was extremely sharp and changed in countless ways. The knight's swordsmanship was still impressive.

Last time, I hadn't been able to deal with the combination of swordsmanship and Shieldsmanship, so I'd had to fight using unconventional moves with a variety of weapons.

Now that I'd learned to expand and amplify my senses, those dazzling techniques hardly seemed impressive.

Of course, the knight had likely mastered Sensory Expansion too.

-Whoosh!

I read the shield attack that came in one beat faster than normal two beats ahead, then dodged it.

The High Elf knight's eyes widened. The knight clearly hadn't expected me to evade it.

The knight had once been easily defeated by my petty tricks despite possessing Sensory Expansion while I didn't.

So what about now that I'd reached the same state of Sensory Expansion?

I grabbed the arm holding the shield.

Then I pulled it, threw off the knight's balance, and slammed the knight into the ground.

-Boom!

"Urgh!"

It was a grappling technique I'd naturally trained alongside my swordsmanship.

It used the opponent's force against them while adding my own, so the impact must've been considerable.

I raised my fist over the knight's face as they lay on the ground.

[Iron Wall]

With the [Iron Wall] skill, strengthened further by my increased Spirit Affinity, covering my fist, I drove it down.

-Boom!

The knight was less impressive than I thought.

Footnotes:

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