WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈
Chapter 90: Mercedes
──────
She looked like she had a lot going on, so I tried talking to her instead of attacking right away.
If I'd known this would happen, I should've started by putting a blade in her.
Her eyes were completely murderous. Hatred, rage, killing intent, every violent emotion was pooled in them.
“How are you... still alive after all this time, when you're only human...? Were you never human after all...?!”
Even now, she was questioning how I was still alive after a hundred years had passed.
Her eyes had clearly gone crazy, but it seemed her senses and reason remained intact.
“No, I won't concern myself with such things. Even if I'm seeing an illusion, I don't care...!”
The moment I thought that, she gave up on reason. I raised my shield, staying alert.
Rumble...
The distinctive thunderous sound of Mana Enhancement echoed as mana light wrapped around Mercedes's body.
Unlike before, she used Mana Enhancement from the start. In that case, I didn't need to hold back either.
Rumble!
I activated Mana Enhancement as well and blocked Mercedes's sword as she immediately charged at me.
I thought I'd blocked it fairly well since the conditions were equal, but the powerful impact pushed me back slightly.
Well, her base stats had already been higher than mine even without Mana Enhancement. It was only natural.
And unlike me, whose strength came from equipment, her Mana Enhancement itself seemed to be at a higher level.
Boom!
Mercedes knocked my sword upward, and an explosion erupted at the same time.
It was the aftershock created by the repulsive force of our mana colliding. Apparently, that was common between Mana Enhancement users.
After knocking away my sword, Mercedes aimed the tip of her kite shield at my chest.
Since the shield was pointed, its force was closer to a heavy axe swing.
Crash!
I blocked Mercedes's shield with mine, then swung the sword in my other hand at her neck.
Mercedes blocked it with the base of her blade as if she were used to it, then moved her wrist and shoulder to transition into sword wrestling.
Since there was a difference in our strength, I would naturally be at a disadvantage if this struggle continued.
[Hysterical Strength]
I activated the buff to increase my strength and forcibly broke the deadlock.
Then I swung my free leg and threw a surprise kick, but she blocked it immediately.
Mercedes swung her shield again, trying to smash down on my outstretched leg.
Boom!
It was a simple attack, so it wasn't hard to avoid. The ground struck by the shield cracked apart.
I swung at Mercedes from the side as she lowered her stance, but her shield blocked it immediately.
Mercedes closed the distance with her shield in front, then thrust her sword at me from extremely close range.
I blocked with my shield as well, leading into another struggle of strength at point-blank range.
“Look at those eyes.”
I tossed out a remark at Mercedes, who was still glaring at me with eyes shining with killing intent.
“Ghh!”
Mercedes gritted her teeth, let out an awkward sound, and twisted her body violently as she attacked.
I had no idea why she was this worked up, but it worked out well for me.
It was similar to our last duel. With so much blood rushing to her head, her movements had become rough and predictable.
I was definitely going to win this.
* * *
I had grown stronger in many ways since the seventh floor, but Mercedes was still a difficult opponent.
She was far superior in both strength and agility, her basic swordsmanship was better, and even her proficiency with Mana Enhancement was overwhelmingly higher.
But victory and defeat were not decided by superior stats alone. This fight led to the same conclusion as our duel.
Boom!
Mercedes took a heavy blow to the side of her face from my shield and was sent flying.
My Mana Enhancement relied entirely on items, but because of that, it had one advantage.
Its endurance. It maintained a constant level regardless of my health and stamina.
As the fight continued and her injuries accumulated, Mercedes found it increasingly difficult to maintain Mana Enhancement.
By now, its output had fallen to about half of what it was at the beginning, almost the same level as my limited Mana Enhancement.
With our stats now nearly equal, it was only natural that I gained the advantage.
I pursued the fallen Mercedes and swung the hand axe at my waist.
“Ugh!”
Unable to block it, Mercedes took another hit and staggered far back.
I had various skills like [Hysterical Strength] and [Weakness Insight], as well as a range of Weapon Mastery techniques, including Throwing.
On top of that, I had top-tier endurance in battle that made me stronger when I was injured.
Once Mercedes no longer had the stat gap needed to end this in a quick fight, the result was already decided.
“You filthy... filthy human, I'll kill you. I will definitely kill you!”
She had to know that, so why was she still desperately charging at me?
“You can't kill me.”
Crack!
I swung my blunt weapon and struck one of Mercedes's arms as she rushed at me. I could feel the bone break.
But Mercedes kept attacking without caring.
Something really was wrong with her.
She was charging at me without regard for her own body, as if she had met an enemy she could never forgive.
I had heard that cutting off a maiden elf's ear was a terrible thing, but it did not seem like that grudge was all there was.
Earlier, hadn't she shouted that she didn't care even if she was seeing an illusion?
Bang!
I kicked Mercedes and sent her flying away. She crashed waist-first into a tree and couldn't stand properly.
Her Mana Enhancement had stopped, likely because she had used all her mana, and there wasn't a single uninjured part among her limbs.
Unless she had regeneration or the System's HP-based protection like I did, she would find it hard to even move a finger.
Creak, crack!
But Mercedes braced herself with her shoulder instead of her broken arm and forced herself upright.
She looked like she could barely hold her sword, but she still staggered toward me.
“Aaaaaaah!!”
Now she was screaming as she charged. I kicked her again.
Thud!
Mercedes was sent flying once more, then painfully forced herself back up, scraping the ground with her forehead and knees.
There was no longer any killing intent on her dirt-stained face. Only sorrow and resentment remained.
Tears now ran down Mercedes's cheeks.
“Because of you... It's because of you. It's all because of you...!”
This was honestly the first time anyone had resented me this much.
It was confusing.
No, shouldn't she at least tell me why she resented me?
It could be a misunderstanding.
“Because of you, His Highness...!”
Oh, a keyword that might explain the situation finally came up.
His Highness had to mean that High Elf prince, but I hadn't really done anything to him.
At most, I broke his arm when we first met and mocked him for hiding behind a woman.
That was nothing major enough to earn this much resentment. It didn't seem related to cutting off her ear either.
Okay. I would subdue her first, then hear what she had to say.
“Go to sleep.”
I drove a flying knee into Mercedes's solar plexus and knocked her unconscious.
* * *
I dragged the unconscious Mercedes to the Dark Elf village.
If I wanted to hear her story, I needed to heal her enough for her to regain consciousness, and I couldn't do that alone.
More precisely, I could heal her, but if she woke up healed and went wild again, I didn't think I could subdue her easily.
I couldn't use Mana Enhancement again until I recharged the Pendant.
Mercedes opened her eyes only after lying in bed for around three hours.
“W-Where is this...?”
“Oh, you're awake.”
The moment Mercedes regained consciousness and saw me, her eyes widened as she tried to draw her sword.
“Don't move. I asked Eleanor to set up a whole bunch of spells in case you went berserk again.”
Naturally, I had confiscated her sword and armor, and many restraint spells had been placed around the bed.
After confirming that her sword was gone, Mercedes glared at me with eyes full of caution.
“At first, I was going to kill you, but there are a few things I'm curious about now.”
“I have nothing to tell you. Kill me.”
“I didn't even ask, but you were the one who started talking. You said it was my fault, whatever it is.”
Perhaps realizing she had misspoken, Mercedes let out a small Tch. and turned her head away.
I never thought I'd see a captured elf knight say, “Tch, kill me,” in real life.
“I didn't know this, but I heard that prince from before inherited the throne. The His Highness you mentioned was him, right?”
“...”
“You made it sound like something happened to His Highness because of me. When I asked Eleanor about it, she said this.”
Mercedes's expression twisted slightly. It seemed I had guessed correctly.
“She said he was the one who declared war on the Dark Elves. Apparently, he started a war at a really sudden and strange time.”
The two elf factions had effectively been at war since the eighth floor, but I heard that war was officially declared only after the king changed.
It was not the previous king, but that awkward-looking prince who had declared war and properly begun the conflict.
No one knew the exact reason. It was only natural, since contact between the two sides had been cut off for a hundred years.
According to Eleanor, who had known him for a long time through their engagement, it was completely absurd.
“You look pretty strange too. Didn't something happen on your side?”
Mercedes bit her lip slightly. I had just thrown that out there, but it seemed I was right.
“Tell me how any of this is my fault.”
Mercedes certainly had an important role in this Epic Quest.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
