WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈

Chapter 74: Curse of Slow Feet

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I shifted around on the bed they'd prepared for me for a while.

It had been a long time since I'd just lain still and let time pass like this.

Of course, even then, only about thirty minutes had passed. Any longer than that, and I'd get restless.

The duel over the position of Eleanor's betrothed had ended with my victory.

Mercedes, suffering the backlash from pushing Mana Enhancement too hard, couldn't defeat me after I activated Indomitable.

We exchanged a few more blows after that before the match was decided. Then the Dark Elves carried me back to the village, leaving me alone like this.

Well, since I'd won the fight, it was only natural that there was nothing left for me to do.

Technically, I had played the role of Eleanor's champion as well. Eleanor would handle the aftermath herself.

Apparently, there were a few things the winner of the duel had to do, but none of them were important enough to make a seriously injured person do them.

That was how I got some time to rest alone.

"Well, first..."

But as always, I had no intention of simply resting.

First, I needed to review the duel.

I had won, but that didn't mean I'd surpassed Mercedes.

Mercedes had been suddenly summoned by that prince and forced into a duel. Her equipment was terrible as a result.

She had her main weapon, a sword, but no shield, which was practically another weapon for a close-range fighter.

More importantly, she had fought in an uncomfortable dress uniform without any armor.

Compared to the fully equipped state I'd seen when I first entered the seventh floor, her combat strength had clearly been lower.

On top of that, she had been incredibly careless from the start.

Until I figured out her movements and managed to keep up, she'd been fighting with one hand behind her back.

If she'd gone into the fight with Mana Enhancement active from the beginning, there was no telling what the outcome would have been.

Even near the end, she lost her reason after I cut her ear, then rampaged around without the sharpness her techniques usually had.

Well, that was her fault, so it didn't count against me.

Looking at that alone, I could give myself about eighty points.

The problem was that I couldn't reproduce the performance I'd shown in that battle.

"Empty."

Until just a moment ago, I'd been lying on the bed, organizing the items in my inventory.

I'd lost not only the materials that had filled it, but most of the spare armor and weapons I'd prepared as well.

Most of them were things I hadn't used anyway, but that didn't mean they were easy to get.

The strategy of pouring out items to block the enemy's view and forcibly create openings.

The problem with that strategy was that it consumed far too many items, whether they were junk or not.

I'd used my equipment as disposable shields to block attacks with ridiculous power, and their Durability had been ground away in an instant.

In particular, the spoils from the lower floors, which had low base Durability, had shattered beyond repair.

I had spent the items I'd scraped together while climbing from the first floor to the seventh in a single fight.

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

If another Challenger entered this Tower someday, what would they think of me, after I swept up all those resources and threw them away?

"It's not like a newbie will ever show up again..."

They'd naturally think I was a total asshole. Not that I gave a shit what they thought.

And if they didn't like it, what were they going to do about it?

* * *

Enough pointless thoughts. Back to it. The inventory strategy had worked, but I could never use it again.

There was the problem of consuming items in bulk, and it had only worked because my opponent was a warrior.

If Mercedes had been a Mage, she could have wiped out all the items with one wide-area spell.

Even a warrior could attack a wide area if they had a skill like Aura Mastery.

And if I faced an enemy from a higher floor who was stronger than Mercedes, it wouldn't work regardless of whether they were a warrior or not.

Well, that's how strategies were.

There was no strategy that worked against every opponent. This one had been tailored specifically for Mercedes.

I'd poured every resource I had into this duel. In other words, I'd gone all-in.

As a result, I'd displayed 150% of the strength I normally had.

Mercedes, because of her carelessness and poor equipment, could only bring out 80% of her strength.

Even then, I had won with great difficulty. I couldn't say I'd surpassed Mercedes.

I needed to devote myself to training even more.

Facing a wall of an appropriate height was a powerful driving force for growth. Even more so if I'd caught a glimpse of what lay beyond it.

For now, my first goal would be to improve my Mana Attunement and Mana Manipulation.

Mercedes was a wall I could overcome.

Next time, I'll surpass your 100% with my own 100%. And if you keep picking fights with me then...

I'll cut off your other ear too, you knife-eared bitch.

* * *

After roughly finishing my review and reflection on the duel, I invested all my remaining time in meditation.

Improving my Mana Attunement and Mana Manipulation levels was my immediate goal, and I had personally experienced the power of Mana Enhancement.

But no matter how hard I tried, this damn meditation never went well. The turmoil in my heart Eleanor had mentioned was probably the cause.

She had said that when the heart was in turmoil, mana became turbulent as well.

I'm nothing but a bundle of base desires. But I hate that part of myself. I wish I'd just die.

But I couldn't die. I had to break through this Tower and get out.

Unless I did something about that contradiction in my mind, it might be impossible to handle mana perfectly.

But whenever I thought about myself using that as an excuse to do nothing, disgust rose in me again.

So I foolishly repeated meditation that brought no particular results.

"Whew..."

When I opened my eyes and let out a breath, it was already night outside.

Time seemed to pass quickly when I meditated. Did that mean I had been concentrating on it that much?

But Eleanor still hadn't returned. She had said the aftermath of the duel would take some time.

Well, it was better for me if that perverted elf didn't interrupt me.

Still, around this time, she would usually tell me about what had happened in the Tower of Trials. It felt strangely empty without that.

"No, what am I saying?"

I shouldn't feel empty. I really was starting to lose it. I needed to get to the eighth floor soon.

I'd meet Eleanor on the eighth floor too, but given the circumstances, we wouldn't have time to relax like this.

Then I felt a powerful presence I remembered vividly approaching.

Creak.

The door opened, and Eleanor entered with cautious steps.

"Are you asleep?"

No matter how many times I thought about it, Eleanor's presence was especially easy to recognize.

* * *

The battle had been so intense that Eleanor seemed to have assumed I'd be lying down.

"No. Come in."

Seeing that she wasn't in her usual negligee, she must have come straight here after handling the duel's aftermath.

Honestly, whether she wore a negligee or not hardly bothered me anymore.

"You were awake. You must be tired, so why aren't you resting?"

"I'm not tired enough for that."

"Rest is important. You're no exception."

Eleanor smiled faintly and sat beside me. I'd grown used to this too, so it didn't bother me.

"Thanks to you, my engagement to that bastard has been properly ruined. It seems the peace with the forest folk has also gone smoothly off the rails, so the request is complete."

Just as she said, the quest window showed that [Dark Elf's Letter - Chapter 1] had been completed and that a reward was being prepared.

"Oh, and don't worry. I'm preparing a reward you'll really like."

Honestly, I had half forgotten about the reward by then.

She hadn't promised to give me anything in particular, and it didn't seem likely that she'd give me the same reward as the other Challengers in the community.

Besides, I felt like it would be fine even if the reward wasn't anything special. I didn't know why.

"From now on, you can do whatever you want."

Eleanor, who had moved closer to me at some point, breathed warmly against me.

Her hand covered mine where it rested on the bed.

"You can stay here, or you can leave. You may choose either. You have officially become my betrothed."

Eleanor had only asked me to break off the engagement. She had never said what she wanted me to do afterward.

I had taken the position of her betrothed, but it didn't matter if I just left now.

That had been the agreement from the beginning.

And on the other hand, I could stay and live with Eleanor like this.

"Really, the more I see you, the more you're exactly my type. Even after hundreds of years, someone as ideal as you probably won't appear again."

Eleanor's face, already close to mine, moved even closer. Until her lips were just about to touch mine.

Then she stopped right there.

"You're thinking of leaving."

"Yeah."

"Of course. You had that look in your eyes."

Eleanor spoke calmly, as if she had known all along. She didn't seem particularly disappointed.

It was as though she had noticed that I regretted leaving this place, even if only for a moment, and was satisfied with that alone.

Eleanor was always like this. She looked like nothing more than a pervert, but she thought surprisingly deeply.

"Tch. I thought I might at least get a kiss while we were caught up in the mood."

Yeah, I had grown used to that side of her too.

I had grown accustomed to far too many things.

It was becoming hard to tolerate any longer.

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