Alone Against the Tower - Chapter 8

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Chapter 8: Learned Helplessness

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I stopped going out to hunt.

I stopped searching the Labyrinth for treasure. I stopped clearing quests.

After running out of the boss room with my tail between my legs, I did nothing but wait and hope a new Challenger would enter.

Before I knew it, half a year had passed. Not a single Challenger had entered during all that time.

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

The Tower of Trials was basically cut off from the outside world, but newly arriving Challengers could at least bring news about what was going on out there.

The Open Community even had something like a newspaper series that compiled the outside news those newbies brought in. I read it regularly too.

According to that newspaper, Tower of Trials#2661, where I was stuck alone, had appeared in some backwater in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province.

I'd even heard the exact address, but I had no connection to that place. I'd never been there, let alone heard of it.

I'd heard that Challengers who received a Tower Invitation were usually transported to a Tower close to where they lived, so why the hell had I been sent here?

It wasn't an absolute rule. There were exceptions. Still, that was supposedly the case for most people.

“Fuck.”

I cursed for no reason, annoyed.

After being alone for so long, I rarely said anything aloud besides curses.

Even before entering the Tower, I'd been unemployed... no, a job seeker, so I hadn't talked to people much. But it hadn't been this bad.

Because I had Mom.

The Non-Player Characters in the village only repeated their assigned lines like machines. They didn't feel like people, and I couldn't have a real conversation with them anyway.

-Clomp, clomp.

I left the inn and headed to the village restaurant. The server Non-Player Character brought out my food as soon as I ordered.

[Cheese Tonkatsu Lunchbox]

Rabbit Garden's signature Western-style restaurant dish. The stretchy cheese is the highlight.

It's delicious, but a little pricey. A special meal for adventurers with deep pockets!

Eating it greatly satisfies your hunger.

I'd gotten sick of the inn meals a long time ago after eating them every day. I had plenty of gold anyway, so I was trying different foods.

Apparently, even Rankers who'd spent longer holed up in the Tower than I had recommended this Cheese Tonkatsu Lunchbox. It was definitely worth eating.

Of course, those Rankers were also the insane bastards who ate nothing but White Roll every day for the Luck stat buff.

[Author: Seo Jinhyeok#2661]

[Title: How's my breakfast today?]

(Photo)

Starting to get sick of this too. Recommend something else.

- You're sick of cheese tonkatsu? Is this bastard a psychopath?

- This guy's been stuck on the first floor. Where'd he get the money to eat that?

- └ Yeah, I've got a fuckton of gold. I spend it and it never runs out. Jealous?

- └ Like hell I am lol

- └ Fucking asshole.

- Jinhyeok, just eat White Roll. Your Luck might go up and a new Challenger could enter.

- └ If that was enough to make one come in, it would've happened ages ago, you motherless fuck.

- └ Whoa, why are you so toxic today?

- Why does this guy have so many posts and comments?? Does he do nothing but browse the community instead of hunting?

- └ You don't know Jinhyeok? Newbie?

When I uploaded a photo of the Cheese Tonkatsu Lunchbox, comments came flooding in again.

It was a pointless post, but mine always got a good response. I'd become a community celebrity, almost on the level of Rankers, in the Open Community.

After losing the boss battle, I'd spent every day holed up in the inn, doing nothing but browsing the community.

I'd become a complete community ghost.

* * *

I'd browsed communities every day even before entering the Tower.

The place I frequented most was an aggregator-style humor community covering social and political issues. Those places had lots of so-called failures at life.

It was a great place to find comfort in seeing genuine failures over thirty who spent all day browsing communities. It was also great for bitching about society while lamenting being born poor.

Hiding in anonymity and spewing complaints with nowhere else to go was my biggest hobby. It still was.

Born poor, an invitation I thought was my chance to turn my life around turned out to be a trap card, and then came half a year of forced isolation.

My life was completely fucked, with nothing but things to complain about. The Open Community users gladly listened to those complaints.

To the other Challengers, whose lives were set to change now that they were Hunters, my situation really was pathetic beyond words.

[You idiot, so you're just going to sit in your room and browse communities every day? Stop posting shitty complaints and put in some effort, whether that's hunting or whatever.]

Of course, there were occasionally people who thought I was pathetic like this.

But I had way too much material to argue back with.

Had they ever spent half a year on the first floor? Had they ever stayed alone without talking to a single person? I'd already nearly died trying to solo the boss, and so on.

Thanks to being in a situation nobody had ever experienced before, naturally there was no one who could fully refute me.

More importantly, who the hell could win a keyboard fight against someone who'd been forcibly turned into Time Bill Gates?

“Fucking bastard.”

As I crammed cheese tonkatsu into my mouth, I started hurling every curse I knew at the Challenger who'd picked a fight with me.

[Instead of spending all day posting whiny shit on the community, do something, idiot. You're still stuck on the first floor because all you do is blame the server and blame newbies.]

At my level, no matter how many Goblins I killed, I'd only gain a pathetic amount of experience. What the hell did this bastard know?

Did they think effort could somehow overcome this hopeless situation? Did they think hunting a little on the first floor would let me clear the boss alone?

They probably didn't understand that effort didn't pay off equally. It wasn't like they were holed up on the first floor just like me.

They were no different from the golden-spoon types I'd seen before entering the Tower, the ones who cursed people born poor.

They didn't even realize how good their circumstances were, then accused poor people of not trying hard enough or lacking willpower.

I understood the difference that kind of start made, which was why, throughout my time as a job seeker, I'd desperately waited for a Tower Invitation.

My only chance to turn my life around. As someone born poor, it was the only way I could ever repay Mom.

[Ugh, fine, idiot. Live like that forever.]

The Challenger who'd started the fight eventually ran away without winning the argument.

The cheese tonkatsu tasted better now.

“...”

The good mood only lasted for a moment.

* * *

Another month passed without me leaving the first floor.

Unless they were Rankers intentionally staying in the Tower for a long time, every Challenger eventually left.

Even the community ghosts who looked like they'd stay glued to the community forever were no different. One of those ghosts left the Tower today too.

[Author: Kim Minhyeong#1451]

[Title: Graduation: It was fucking awful knowing you all, and I hope I never see you again.]

(Photo)

I'm leaving too. Not sure if I'll be B-rank or A-rank, but I decided to get out lol

To my party members Yongju, Minhyeok, and Seongcheol, you all worked hard.

I won't forget all the comments cheering me on either.

Especially Park Minseok#1247, who gave me tips when I was stuck on the 50th floor, contact me once you get out. I'll buy you a meal.

I'm really leaving now. Take care, everyone~~~

- This guy's graduating too? Lots of people are leaving lately.

- Congrats on Graduation.

- Grats.

- You worked hard too.

- You're definitely only B-rank lol

Kim Minhyeong from Server 1451 was a Challenger living like a Ranker while aiming to become an A-rank Hunter.

He was also a community ghost who posted daily updates about being in his nth year of secluded training.

Whenever a Ranker-level Challenger graduated like this, the Open Community got noisy about it for a while.

Click. I closed the community window.

I didn't want to read anything about Graduation.

The items graduates handed out, the news they wanted passed on outside, none of it had anything to do with me.

Maybe it would be different if a server integration event happened, but unless the mail and auction house systems were merged with other servers, there was no way for me to receive a graduate's items.

The same went for news to pass outside. I'd already passed on every bit of news I could to Mom.

That I was trapped alone on the first floor of the Tower of Trials and couldn't get out.

I'd heard that after getting news about me, Mom had gone to government officials and Hunters, begging them to do something. What was she doing these days?

Anyway, if I ever had news to pass on from now on, it would be one of two things.

A new Challenger had entered this Tower, or I'd fucking died.

“Fucking hell.”

In a foul mood, I returned to the inn, buried my face in my pillow, and spent the entire day napping.

* * *

A few days later, I woke to a ringing alarm after staying up browsing the community until dawn as usual.

The Open Community window I'd left open kept sounding alerts, calling for me.

“Fuck... what?”

Still half asleep, I rubbed my eyes and checked the community. A post telling me to check my messages was packed with tags mentioning me.

I closed the Open Community and opened my messages.

The sender's name was familiar.

They were someone who had connected me with graduates a few times before, helping pass news to Mom.