WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
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◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈
Chapter 89: Mirror Image
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Arrows and magic flew through the air, flames spread, and the forest burned.
Humans and elves were mixed together, slashing, stabbing, and bringing each other down as they took lives. The sight flashed before my eyes.
It was a scene that stirred nothing in me. It looked far too crude to feel tragic.
The fighters looked like faceless mannequins.
The flying weapons looked like props for a movie shoot.
The sky, trees, and starlight all looked like nothing more than a cheap projection.
It felt like I was watching a childish, low-budget CG movie through a half-open door.
I must be dreaming. What the hell is wrong with my imagination to make a dream like this?
There wasn't even any context. It was just ridiculously long.
Dreams were usually like that, but after not having one for years, this was a pretty unpleasant one.
“How long is this going to go on?”
I muttered to myself in a dream where I could barely even feel my own body. Even so, the dream continued.
It kept playing that endlessly crude footage until I grew exhausted from watching it and fell asleep even within the dream.
And the moment I slipped into another dream within that dream, my eyes opened on their own.
“Good morning, my dear.”
It was a bright morning, with sunlight pouring down.
* * *
Eleanor thanked me, saying she had slept soundly for the first time in a long while thanks to me.
Her eyes still looked tired for someone who had slept so well, but insomnia probably wasn't the only reason for her exhaustion.
There must have been too much piled up for one good night's sleep to fix. It had nothing to do with me.
“By the way, you slept very soundly too. After making such a fuss, I suppose you found my arms comfortable?”
Surprisingly, that was true. I didn't know whether it was Eleanor's influence, but I had slept deeply for the first time in a while too.
Considering I had even dreamed when I normally never did, sleeping somewhere unfamiliar must have had an effect.
Still, I had never particularly wanted to sleep deeply in the first place, so it didn't matter.
“No, I just had a stupid dream.”
I brushed off Eleanor's words and stretched lightly to loosen up.
I had wasted several hours sleeping, so I needed to make the most of the time I had left.
The goal of this Epic Quest was to fulfill Eleanor's wish, the queen's command.
It wasn't a quest that would clear just because I spent one night sleeping with Eleanor. The point was to put Eleanor at ease.
At night, I would sleep with Eleanor. During the day, I would ease the burden of the war that was causing her stress.
It wasn't much different from what I had done on the eighth floor. I would roam the battlefield every day and take down enemies.
“A dream... I had one last night too. Perhaps because I slept deeply for the first time in a while. It was a strange experience.”
I put on my gear while Eleanor muttered with a hazy expression, as if she still hadn't fully woken up.
* * *
The Kingdom Army troops, organized around tamed monsters, were certainly formidable.
My stats were so high that nothing truly put me in danger, but I never felt that they were easy opponents.
The Kingdom Army had not only ordinary Mages, but shamans and warlocks as well.
They didn't merely command their monsters to attack. They used all kinds of magic and tactics to pressure me.
They were exploiting the fact that I fought by barging alone into enemy territory rather than alongside allies.
They would send hordes of monsters charging at me to forcefully hold me in place, then pour magic meant for large-scale annihilation onto me alone.
With many shamans and warlocks stacking bindings and debuffs at once, even I found it difficult to respond.
They could also use their tamed monsters to interfere with Mana Detection, so I took several powerful hits.
Still, as I said, it never reached the point of being dangerous.
[Spell Resistance] and [Anti-Magic Resistance], skills I had developed by taking the Emerald Wyvern's attacks, protected me well.
On top of that, damage from fire, ice, and lightning was reduced twice over thanks to my resistances.
The shamans' poison attacks were not merely halved, but completely nullified.
As I kept doing this, I naturally gained resistances I had lacked until now as well.
[You have acquired Passive Skill: Curse Resistance Lv. 1.]
Curse Resistance was a fairly common skill, but I had never had the opportunity to acquire it before.
Perhaps because the curses themselves were not very strong, it remained at level 1 for quite a while.
“Hey, do that some more.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Curse me some more.”
I solved that by keeping a warlock alive and making them curse me over and over.
Today, I wrung every last bit out of the captive warlock and raised [Curse Resistance] to level 3.
It had been two weeks since entering the ninth floor.
During that time, the Epic Quest had not progressed at all.
* * *
Eleanor slept with me every night, but somehow, she seemed to be getting worse with each passing day.
“Hmm? What are you talking about? Thanks to you, I have been feeling more alive than ever lately.”
“It doesn't look that way.”
“That's because you're seeing things wrong. I'm more worried about you.”
She said that, but anyone with eyes could see it wasn't true.
The stars that had burned in Eleanor's eyes were gradually losing their light. It was hard to explain, but I could feel it.
Was it because we had shared memories through the Night Elf Secret Art, or had I simply become more perceptive?
For some reason, I could tell that Eleanor's heart was in violent turmoil.
“Really, it's just that... I have more worries now.”
I understood. No matter how hard I rampaged around, there was no sign of the war improving.
Even now, there were casualties every day, even if the numbers were small.
They were only Non-Player Characters to me, but to Eleanor, they must have been precious kin and subjects.
“The weight of the crown feels like it will break my neck.”
It was strange to see Eleanor speak so wearily, but I felt like I had seen that expression somewhere before.
In any case, unless I drastically changed the course of this damn war, I didn't think I could clear this quest.
* * *
Until now, I had only rampaged through the area near Dark Elf territory.
I had never pushed farther in, into the heart of other factions' domains, to launch an offensive.
My opponents weren't just a simple group, but enormous factions. No matter how strong I was, I couldn't overwhelm all of them alone.
Maybe I could if they only had numbers, but every faction had overpowered individuals like elite Non-Player Characters and Mercedes.
But there was no other way now, and I didn't think I could keep growing by only fighting to protect this area.
So what else could I do?
I had to charge in.
The most promising target was the High Elf faction, whose strength I had already measured once.
I didn't know how strong the High Elf King was, but even at the highest estimate, he would be weaker than Mercedes.
Mercedes herself had stats that were a couple of tiers beyond common sense.
The other elite fighters would be around that knight's level, and I was confident I could beat even Mercedes now.
I had seen enough of her abilities in our duel on the seventh floor, and Mana Enhancement could now close the gap in stats.
I checked my equipment, made my preparations, and immediately set off for High Elf territory.
Not long afterward, I encountered an enemy somewhere unexpected.
It was on the outskirts of the Great Forest, an area straddling the border between Dark Elf and High Elf territory.
Near the place where I had first encountered an elf after coming to the seventh floor, I spotted a familiar face.
Actually, I wasn't that familiar with the face itself, but the physical trait was too distinctive to miss.
A High Elf woman with one ear cut short.
Mercedes.
The High Elves' strongest NPC was dressed in grimy clothes, resting against a tree stump for some reason.
What the hell? Why is that bitch here?
I had intended to go fight her, but I never imagined she would be lying around alone in a place like this.
And what was with those clothes? She wasn't wearing the dress uniform from our duel or the armor I had seen before.
Something might have happened over the hundred years that had passed, but why was someone that strong wandering around like this?
I couldn't even guess.
She was lying there without properly sensing my presence, so she had to be utterly exhausted.
Step. Step.
After a brief moment of thought, I gripped my sword in one hand, approached Mercedes, and spoke.
“What are you doing here?”
“!”
Mercedes snapped her eyes open in surprise, swiftly drew her sword and shield, and took up a fighting stance.
Just before I could speak, the moment I came within range, she had already assumed her stance.
It seemed her ridiculous stats and combat instincts hadn't gone anywhere. Should I call that a relief?
“You... you bastard...!”
Mercedes checked my face and immediately twisted her expression.
For me, only a few weeks had passed. For her, it had been 120 years.
Her face held even deeper hatred than when I had cut off her ear.
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