Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 49 – Ruwell’s Stump

—–CROW—– 

Challengers who stay in the Trial Tower for a long time tend to experience a weakening of various desires.

This is because challengers who acquire superhuman physical abilities through increased stats and levels can endure without sleep for extended periods.

Although the community recommends sleeping once a day for mental health, most challengers can easily stay awake for three nights.

I could probably endure for about half a month without sleep if I used fatigue recovery potions and other potions sold in the store and really pushed myself.

In the first place, my sleep time itself has decreased drastically, to the point where I can be at full condition after only about 4 hours of sleep.

Because of this, most Trial Tower challengers lose their need for sleep very quickly.

Rumor has it that a famous Ranker only sleeps for 2 hours every 48 hours out of obligation.

Furthermore, a Trial Tower challenger’s body performs perfectly as long as its caloric needs are met, regardless of the type of nutrients consumed.

This is the reason why some Rankers and I can survive by eating only White Troll meat instead of regular meals.

Even on a diet of White Troll meat, which is just a lump of sugar and flour, we don’t gain weight or lose muscle, and our physical abilities derived from stats remain unchanged.

Therefore, many strategy-focused challengers tend to eat poorly, citing financial reasons or efficiency.

Of course, it’s not that we lose our sense of taste, so most challengers still seek out delicious meals, putting aside efficiency.

The community also recommends having a cheat day about once a month for mental health, but this is also similar to sleep.

Rankers aiming to become high-ranking Hunters maintain this kind of “diet” for a long time and gradually lose their appetite in the process.

But while losing these major desires, there is one desire that doesn’t diminish at all.

That is, sexual desire.

The closer one’s physical abilities get to superhuman levels, the more vigorous one’s blood becomes, so it’s a desire that strengthens rather than weakens.

In fact, in the early days of the Trial Tower, there were quite a few problems caused by challengers’ sexual desires going out of control in distorted ways.

The superior strength obtained simply by entering the tower early, the existence of easily identifiable physically weaker individuals,

And the tower’s characteristic of being a completely isolated space where the law and public authority have no power.

It’s easy to imagine what kind of things happened.

A lot of blood was shed until public order was established under the influence of large guilds like now.

But whether it’s due to the effect of some skill or simply a mental issue, I’ve never had trouble with sexual desire.

It’s not like I have any functional impairment, and my desire isn’t completely gone, but I’m just not interested.

Well, that might be because I’m in a situation where I have no choice but to take care of it myself.

Anyway, I’m definitely not choosing a faction because of the Dark Elves’ large, um, you know, like the ghosts in the open community.

Really.

Or am I?

Of course, there are various reasons for choosing a faction, but it’s possible that it influenced my decision subconsciously.

Yes, it’s a bad habit. Trying to rationalize everything by coming up with various reasons.

I was attracted to a certain physical part of the Dark Elves, I admit it.

But I didn’t choose the faction solely for that reason.

“Here we are.”

While I was lost in thought, Eleanor stopped walking, and a system message appeared before my eyes.

[Beyond the Night Fog – Ruwell’s Stump]

The surrounding fog cleared, revealing a Dark Elf village with a giant tree standing like a building.

One of the reasons I chose the Dark Elf faction is the existence of this village itself.

**

A giant tree of black color that matches the dark skin of the Dark Elves.

In terms of shape, it’s closer to a baobab tree, but even a baobab tree wouldn’t be this big.

This tree is the Dark Elves’ residence. A giant, natural apartment building created by hollowing out and carving the inside of the tree.

The sky is covered by the branches and leaves of the apartment tree, blocking out the sunlight.

Instead, light sources like fireflies are floating around, emitting light.

The amount of light is a bit brighter than a bright full moon night.

It’s an atmosphere that suits the image of Dark Elves who manipulate shadows.

“Huh.”

I saw it in the open community, but seeing it in person, it’s such an amazing sight that I can’t help but chuckle.

“Amazing.”

I often mutter to myself, but this time, words of pure admiration kept spilling out.

Eleanor suddenly put her arm around my shoulder, brought her face close, and asked,

“Oh, does it look amazing?”

She’s a bit too close for comfort.  And with her arm around my shoulder like this, something large keeps touching me.

The contact was uncomfortable, and since I’m not very good with words, I couldn’t give a proper response.

“The forest bitches always complain that it’s dark and gloomy, and that they’ll get moldy.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen this kind of reaction.”

Eleanor said so and smiled.  By forest bitches, she means High Elves, right?

To say they’ll get moldy while looking at this spectacle, the High Elves’ personalities are truly legendary.

It’s not for nothing that they’re called not just assholes, but the worst of the worst in the community.

“Ah, could you look around the area for a bit?  I’ll check if there are any guest rooms available.  Outsiders don’t come here often.”

Eleanor said so, created a shadow, and disappeared somewhere.

“You can easily find your way back even if you go a bit far, so feel free to wander around.”

“We’re different from the forest bitches. No one will try to harm you just because you’re human.”

“Ah, but avoid areas with too many people, as they might cling to you out of curiosity.”

The other Dark Elves also seemed to have things to do, as they each said a word and dispersed.

The treatment is quite different from what I expected, but if I can move freely, it’s fine by me.

**

Eleanor told me to look around, but I already know the geography of this place.

[7th Floor Dark Elf Territory Map]

There might be some minor differences, but there’s a map on the open community that covers the entire 7th floor.

The 7th floor originally has a separate village area, but this Dark Elf territory also has its own village-like infrastructure.

It’s only natural since it’s a village where Dark Elves live, but anyway.

The first place I visited was the blacksmith that sells weapons and armor.

I mentioned the existence of this village as one of the reasons I chose the Dark Elf faction, but this blacksmith also plays a big part in it.

“A customer? I’m not taking custom orders right now… What? A human?”

As I entered the blacksmith, a short Dark Elf woman in work clothes, holding a hammer, walked out.

Even though she’s an ordinary blacksmith NPC, not an elite, she shows a very human-like reaction.

“What? What? Why is a human here? Are you lost? Are you a stray?”

The Dark Elf blacksmith approached me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.  Are all Dark Elves like this?

“I was invited.”

When I answered awkwardly, the blacksmith jumped up in surprise.  She said it’s been a long time since a human was invited here.

And then she muttered something to herself and even guessed that it was Eleanor who invited me.

When I asked how she knew, the blacksmith chuckled and answered,

“There’s no one else but her.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, but I wasn’t curious enough to ask further.

I got straight to the point.

“I want to buy a sturdy weapon.”

What you can gain by belonging to one of the three factions isn’t just quest rewards.

There are items with exceptional performance that can only be bought or made in each faction’s village, commonly known as faction specialties.

The High Elf faction, living in harmony with nature, sells high-performance potions, armor for mages, and wands.

The Dark Elf faction, living in the shadows, sells metal weapons and armor with better performance than usual.

The Royal Army faction doesn’t have any special items except for a few, but instead, you can buy items at very cheap prices depending on your reputation.

I avoid using high-performance items that hinder my growth.

But in today’s fight with the High Elf knight, I discovered a critical problem with my usual equipment.

It’s a given that its performance, including attack power, is low, but its durability wears out too quickly due to the limitations of the material.

The weapons that clashed with the High Elf knight’s armor, shield, and sword have almost all become scrap.

I can easily compensate for the loss itself, but at this rate, when I go to higher floors, I’ll be breaking a weapon with every hit.

The attack power can be low, but the durability can’t be.

At least it has to be sturdy enough to fully withstand my strength.

“A sturdy weapon, you say? All our weapons are sturdier than human ones.”

The Dark Elves happen to use equipment made of a special material called Ebony Steel, so there’s no better place to buy sturdy equipment.

“Go ahead and choose something you like from over there.”

I said to the Dark Elf blacksmith who smiled, saying she’ll sell me any weapon I want.

“From here, to there.”

I’ll take them all.

—–CROW—–