Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 22 – Non-Player Character

—–CROW—– 

I defeated the remaining Kobold Rider and sat down on the floor, organizing the results.

[Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Experience’ and ‘Gold’.]

[You can now activate the teleportation gate to the 3rd floor of the Tower of Trials.]

[First Clear Reward: You have acquired the ‘Wolf Hunt’s Sword’.]

[Maximum Contribution Reward: You have acquired ‘Werewolf Fur Pelt’, ‘Experience’.]

[Last Hit Reward: You have acquired ‘Passive Skill – Bleed Resistance’.]

These were the rewards I received for clearing the boss. I obtained a new weapon and a fur pelt, which I wasn’t sure what it was.

The weapon given as a 1st-floor clear reward was an axe that didn’t suit me, but this time, they gave me a proper sword.

[Wolf Hunt’s Sword]

Attack Power +65 (Slash)

Critical Damage: x 2.3

Durability 180/180

Unique Passive Effect: Beast Hunt

When a beast-type monster is defeated, a [Hunt] stack is charged.

Attack Power increases by 1 per charged [Hunt] stack, maximum stack 50.

Stack duration: 1,800 seconds

Number of possible enhancements: 6

Looking at the options, it wasn’t just a proper sword. It was a unique-grade weapon with a unique option.

Its base attack power greatly surpassed the [Royal Knight’s Sword], and its critical damage and durability were very high for an unenchanted weapon.

6 enhancement attempts weren’t many, but the base stats were very high, so it was enough.

Moreover, the passive effect was amazing. Attack power automatically increased just by defeating beast-type monsters.

Even without any enhancements, if the stacks were fully charged, the attack power would be 115. That surpassed [Grax’ar’s Bone Axe].

The duration was 1,800 seconds, which was 30 minutes. I didn’t know how the stacks worked, but it was a sufficient duration.

Once I enhanced it in the village, it would immediately take the place of my main weapon.

[Werewolf Fur Pelt]

Defense +15

Strength +5

Weight: 2

Durability 200/200

Number of possible enhancements: 5

The fur pelt, which I thought was a miscellaneous item, was a piece of armor classified as a cloak.

The defense was so-so, but the base option of Strength +5 was very attractive.

Since my cloak slot was also empty, this would also be a significant stat boost.

But my strength stat seemed to be getting too high compared to other stats. I wondered if I would become like the Hulk later.

“Hmm.”

Just in case, like last time, I wondered if an achievement would be unlocked, so I equipped both the [Werewolf Fur Pelt] and the [Wolf Hunt’s Sword].

The Wolf Hunt’s Sword was a dark, rusty-looking straight sword.

The length and weight were just right for swinging, but instead of a crossguard above the handle, it was wrapped in a dirty cloth.

It wasn’t a very practical design, but since the stats were so good, I’d just have to use it as is.

The fur pelt cloak really looked like it was made from the skin of a werewolf.

I was worried that it might flap around and interfere during battle, but it didn’t seem like it would.

Unfortunately, even when I equipped both items together, there was no sign of an achievement being unlocked.

But it was okay. I had unintentionally gained a lot during the boss fight.

[All-Out Effort Lv.1]

[Intuition Lv. 1]

[Bleed Resistance Lv.1]

[Stun Resistance Lv.1]

[Combat Healing Lv.1]

Including the [Bleed Resistance] I had just obtained, I had acquired five new skills.

Besides that, the levels of [Indomitable], [Battle Endurance], and [Battle Awakening] had also noticeably increased.

I didn’t know the effects of [Intuition] or [All-Out Effort], and I didn’t need to read the descriptions of the resistance skills.

Combat Healing. I never thought I would be able to get this skill, which only the rankers of the Tower of Trials possessed.

The effect of the Combat Healing skill was as the name suggested. It was a regeneration effect that automatically healed the body during battle.

Even the rankers who had the skill only said they ‘got it somehow’ and didn’t know the exact acquisition conditions.

Maybe it was a skill that could be acquired by being on the verge of death and recovering at the last minute.

Since it was a skill that many of the 1st generation hunters who risked their lives to conquer the tower possessed, it was a possibility.

“Status window.”

Seo Jinhyuk Lv.45 (Warrior)

HP: 670/670

MP: 345/345

Strength: 69 (55+14)

Agility: 49 (45+4)

Stamina: 51 (45+6)

Intelligence: 47 (45+2)

I had gained a level, and thanks to the effects of the items, my total stats were very high.

This was the growth I had achieved in just two days since coming to the 2nd floor. But for some reason, I wasn’t as happy as before.

I knew the reason.

In those two days, I had almost died twice. My stats were sufficient, but I failed to produce results that matched them.

In the fight against the werewolf, I had only landed four or five effective hits.

Two skill attacks following the initial shield throw, one attack on the shoulder when I saw an opening, and then four dagger hits on the back.

Finally, with my last bit of strength just before death, I ripped off the werewolf’s jaw, making it five.

I was able to win after inflicting only that much damage. I had the attack power to overwhelmingly win.

But because I was too careless, trusting only in the difference in stats, and because I got too excited after successfully landing attacks, I almost died instead of winning overwhelmingly.

It was a matter of skill, unrelated to stats.

Maybe my growth direction was wrong.

****

Those who had conquered the Tower of Trials in an environment most similar to mine were, of course, the 1st generation hunters.

And among those 1st generation hunters, there was one thing in common among the early rankers who stood out.

Most of them had been involved in sports before entering the tower.

Some had simply done a lot of weight training, some had learned martial arts as a hobby, and some were professional athletes. The type didn’t matter.

Whatever they did outside, once they entered the Tower of Trials, they were all the same level 1 challengers.

The difference in basic physical ability due to lifestyle would have been very minor by the time they reached double-digit levels.

But they showed a clear difference from other challengers and stood at the forefront of the tower’s ascent.

It wasn’t a matter of physical ability. Concentration, thinking ability, creativity, judgment, mind control, routine, etc.

Various non-physical abilities gained through sports experience acted as another power that couldn’t be expressed by stats and skills.

But I had been raising only my stats and level ignorantly, without any of that.

If I were a challenger in another tower, there would have been no problem with this method. In fact, many challengers grew like this.

But I was a solo player.

I couldn’t use the same methods and strategies as other challengers. In the future, I would be hindered by an overwhelming number of variables.

I needed the same abilities as the 1st generation hunters who had to deal with all sorts of variables and lack of information while conquering the tower.

I needed the fundamental ‘skill’ to flexibly deal with all kinds of situations.

Before entering the Tower of Trials, I was a shut-in who just sat in my room and clicked on my keyboard.

Concentration, thinking ability, judgment, creativity, all of that had long since melted away in the waves of easily accessible, low-quality dopamine.

It wouldn’t be easy to develop them now. It would probably take a tremendous amount of time and effort.

But I was confident.

It wasn’t much different from when I holed up on the 1st floor to grind levels to defeat the Goblin Lord.

The only difference was that there were no intuitively displayed numbers.

My goal remained the same. To clear this damn tower, get out, and apologize to my mother.

If I didn’t change my focus, if I kept walking, even if it was slow, I would surely reach it someday.

“Alright.”

After organizing my thoughts, the forgotten excitement and euphoria began to well up again.

I knew it wasn’t time to be hasty, but my body itched to move on to the next floor.

[Do you want to activate the teleportation gate?]

I stood in front of the teleportation gate to move on to the 3rd floor.

“Ah, right.”

Come to think of it, the shepherd girl said she would definitely repay me again.

Because I had forgotten how to deal with people, it was uncomfortable to deal with her, but it was fun to watch her bicker with the black dog.

No matter what I said, her reactions were good, and her attitude and voice were always bright, so there was no better person to practice social skills with.

I didn’t think she would really give me another reward, but once I went up to the 3rd floor, it would be hard to come back down… I should at least say goodbye.

“Cancel.”

[Do you want to cancel the activation of the teleportation gate? The activation right will last for 48 hours.]

I left the teleportation gate for a moment and went back out of the boss room, retracing my steps through the labyrinth.

****

I knew where the shepherd girl was. The appearance locations of NPCs were almost fixed.

Of course, Nora was very different from ordinary NPCs, and she had a strong human side, so I wasn’t sure.

Fortunately, or perhaps not, Nora was in the same place as the shepherd NPCs on other servers.

“Hello, the weather is very nice today, isn’t it?”

Nora greeted me with a smile when I approached. But her voice lacked the liveliness it had before.

“Hello, the weather is very nice today, isn’t it?”

An inorganic expression and an inorganic voice, no different from other NPCs.

“Hello, the weather is very nice today, isn’t it?”

The shepherd girl Nora, whom I met again, had become an ordinary NPC who repeated the same lines over and over.

If a neighbor I knew suddenly turned into a robot, would it feel like this? Goosebumps rose all over my body.

Unable to bear the sight, I fled towards the next floor as if running away.

—–CROW—–