One Strike
One strike.
With a single attack, he had brought down Flonesque, the boss monster of the ninth floor. Clearing the ninth-floor trial—the gate that opened onto the tenth—had taken him less than ten seconds.
Yujun's eyes went wide at the hologram window floating before him. That's a generous reward.
Flonesque was, admittedly, a powerful monster that normally demanded a raid of a dozen or more. Even so, he hadn't expected a Legendary item box on top of everything else. Did they count this as an impossible achievement, too?
There were surely several reasons for a judgment like that. Yujun's level sat far below that of the false water dragon Flonesque; he had challenged the trial alone; and he had felled it in a single blow.
"I earned that much."
It was no small feat. Now on the tenth floor, Yujun decided to check his rewards before he bothered looking around. I'll set aside what I already know and start with the title.
A Legendary-grade title. A title of that grade was even harder to come by than those precious Legendary items, and one could fairly call a title far more valuable than an item of the same rank. There's no cap on how many titles you can hold. Keep acquiring them, and there was no limit to how strong he could become.
I'm picking this one up again. The No-Pay Casual Gamer character had possessed Ultimate Attack Power as well. A monstrous effect—total attack power increased by a full ten percent. He had never imagined he would earn a title that precious off a false water dragon. An unexpected stroke of luck.
I'll hold on to the Legendary item box. I can't upgrade my weapon right this second anyway.
He had checked everything he needed to. All that remained was to head for the hidden dungeon on the tenth floor, the one whose location only he knew. No need to rest.
Yujun started toward it. From here on, though, he would have to be careful. From the eleventh floor up, you can move down to the lower floors... A top-ranker could come down to kill me at any moment.
It was unlikely. But if a top-ranker set their sights on him, he would be in real trouble. Facing one with his current specs was out of the question. He thought of the masked players who had ambushed him—so many of them, swarming in at once. They had known his location and lain in wait. His movements might still be getting read even now.
Earning a grudge inside the Tower of Infinity was exceedingly dangerous. Let your guard down for even a moment, and you never knew when your head might roll. That was precisely the position Yujun was in. Erase the traces.
He stepped into the forest, caught hold of a suitable tree, and opened his inventory to search. He had an item that would serve a moment like this. Before long he drew one out, his face brightening.
Option: Consuming this item completely conceals your presence for 30 minutes. Until you initiate an attack, no detection ability of any kind will work. In addition, the moment your presence vanishes, every trace left until then disappears as well.
Just as the description said, it concealed one's traces without a flaw. An expensive consumable, ordinarily used to assassinate a target or to land the first blow on a boss monster. This one, of course, was a cash-shop item too. So the day I actually use it did come.
He had bought it, but he rarely used it. There had never been any particular need to assassinate anyone. In War of the Gods, he had been an Absolute Being—the strongest there was. The game had few users, and yet even against those who had spent a fair sum, there had been a wall they could not cross.
Good thing I bought it ahead of time. Consumables like this did prove useful sooner or later. Without hesitation, Yujun popped the Scentless, Odorless Apple into his mouth and chewed it with loud crunches. A sharp, sweet scent stung his nose.
Scentless and odorless in name, the apple still had a flavor. He wouldn't call it delicious, but it was edible enough. That ought to do it.
From this moment, every trace of him was gone. For thirty minutes, at least. So he had to move as fast as he could. His pace quickened. He knew the road; all he had to do was reach the hidden dungeon in one piece. He broke into a full sprint.
In case he lost the way, he even took out a Rare-grade compass and put it to use. Being Rare didn't make it so different from any other compass, but its performance was excellent. Thanks to it, Yujun found the mine that led toward the hidden dungeon before the apple's effect ran out.
Well... it's been a long time. The feeling came over him fresh—how much he had suffered in this hidden dungeon, and how fine the rewards had been. I hope they pay out the same as back then. Knowing what this place gave, he would rather the rewards not change on him for no reason.
Little time remained on the Scentless, Odorless Apple. Just as Yujun hurried to enter the mine, a bustle of noise reached him from within. He set a careful foot inside, following the sound.
Within stood beings beautiful enough to make his eyes fly open, spears and bows in hand. Elves. Elves? What are elves doing here?
For all their beauty, the air around them was vicious.
"Filthy bastards."
"Always trying to take what belongs to someone else."
"That's why they get called a forsaken bloodline."
"Careful. Those dark elf bastards have sharp ears. They might hear every word."
"Let them hear. Did we say anything that wasn't true?"
Listening in, Yujun tilted his head. Dark elves? I didn't think elves and dark elves were on such bad terms. In the world of War of the Gods, at least, they hadn't been. Let's hear a little more.
He leaned closer to the elves' voices.
"The other side has more Shitomen ore right now, don't they?"
"Yeah. Count what they robbed from us, and it's nearly twice as much."
"What are we supposed to do? If their strength grows any further... we won't be able to handle them."
"Lose the initiative like this, and there's a good chance they'll take the right to manage the forest, too."
"Then we ought to do exactly what they're doing."
The elf whose golden hair fell to her waist screwed her face into a deep frown.
"Sejui. You must not say such a thing. We were born noble, and we must act as such. Do as the dark elves do, and we become the same as they are."
"B-but there is such a thing as a line. They've crossed it."
"Even so. We need only use our own methods. There is no need to copy their vile ones."
"So for now, we keep watch here?"
"Yes."
While the elves argued among themselves, Yujun—still hidden—slipped hastily back out of the mine. The apple's effect was wearing off. Elves had keen noses; the odds were high they would catch a human's scent in an instant. Why are there elves in the mine?
When he had been playing War of the Gods, no other race had ever lived near it. That was why he had come running without a second thought, set on clearing the hidden dungeon. Things had gone sideways. What now?
From the talk, it didn't seem there were only a handful of elves. Nor did it seem they had been posted there for a day or two. There's at least an elven village somewhere nearby. I'd really rather not clash with them. Elves varied enormously from one to the next in level and strength; getting entangled with them might put him in a bad spot.
But a clash had become impossible to avoid. More than twenty additional elves had arrived at the mine. Well, shit.
The Scentless, Odorless Apple erased the user's scent, traces, and presence. It did not make them invisible. Slipping past those eyes and into the hidden dungeon was impossible—and worse, he couldn't even be sure the dungeon still sat there uncleared.
Yujun knit his brow. His head ached. If he could sneak in, he would. He couldn't simply beat them all down, either. Nothing good would come of falling out with the elves. Right now, with players from Earth still not particularly strong, the Alliance of Other Races wielded tremendous influence inside the Tower of Infinity. Elves and dark elves both belong to that alliance. Better not to touch them.
He sank into thought. What was he supposed to do—force his way through that many elves and into the hidden dungeon deep in the mine? He couldn't even begin to picture it. First I have to confirm whether the dungeon is still there.
Was there no way? If it meant learning whether the hidden dungeon remained, Yujun was willing to spend another Scentless, Odorless Apple. Where his own growth was concerned, there was no point in being stingy with items. And it wasn't only the apple. He had countless items, and he needed to use them. He looked for one that fit the moment. The answer was always in the inventory.
He opened it and kept searching, but nothing suitable turned up. Nothing among the consumables? After a long rummage, a smile touched his mouth. Found it.
He checked the information at once.
◈ Option: Upon consumption, nature affinity greatly increases for 3 days.
Nature affinity. It was the quality elves weighed most heavily when they judged other races—so much so that even among their own kind, rank split according to whether one's affinity ran high or low. The Quince Brimming with Vitality raised that affinity by an absurd degree. And I had this, too.
A World Tree can be planted.
The very item granted only to users who had reached VIP rank 20—a special VIP No. 20 item, given solely to those who had spent at least twenty-five thousand dollars in cash. Well, it's a bit of a waste to use this one right now, but...
He had six more World Tree Seeds anyway. Precious as it was, it wasn't something he couldn't obtain at all. In the game, that is. Now that the Tower of Infinity had become reality, as far as he knew there was no other way to get one. Good.
His preparations were done. High nature affinity was one thing. If he offered to negotiate while holding a World Tree Seed, the elves were unlikely to come at him hard. If it goes badly, I can always use a warp scroll. A warp scroll was a wonderfully convenient consumable that returned you to the level 100 residential zone. His insurance was plenty. All that remained was to step out in front of the elves.
Yujun ate the Quince Brimming with Vitality and approached the mine with care. Keen-sensed as elves were, they caught his presence at once.
"This scent..."
"Who goes there!"
"Halt!"
At their sharp cries, Yujun stopped dead.
"State your identity!"
A female elf snapped again. Yujun threw both hands high, making plain he had no wish to fight. The elves' stiff faces did not soften. Bows remained drawn. Even with his nature affinity running high, he could feel how fierce their hostility was. Speaking as if he meant to pick a fight would be a mistake.
"I carry a World Tree Seed. May we talk?"