Wall

The sub-quests on Floor 8 were mostly combat-related. Exercising force amid the direct and indirect clashes between the three major factions: dark elves, high elves, and the kingdom's army. I rejoined the scouting party and rampaged through various spots just as the textbook quests demanded.

Boom! The iron ball I hurled shattered the head of the quadruped golem, revealing the mage hiding inside. This quadruped golem was one of the kingdom army's special weapons—a bizarre type piloted by a mage from within. It was used for reconnaissance thanks to real-time control, but it seemed ridiculously inefficient to me.

"Wh-what...? Who the hell are you? Why are you attacking us?!"

The human mage conjured a fireball in his right hand and demanded an answer from me. From his perspective, it must've been utterly bewildering. He'd come to scout the dark elf lines, only to get jumped by some random human.

"You blind or what?" I pointed to the insignia on my shoulder. It bore the dark elf scouting party's emblem.

The mage recognized it and recoiled in shock. A human siding with dark elves must've blown his mind. But regardless of species, barging into enemy territory with a weapon like that naturally meant getting attacked.

"Th-that... My god, siding with the dark elves? You filthy mercenary scum!"

Whoosh!

"I had no intention of engaging, but I can't let a human traitor like you roam free!"

In the mage's eyes, I looked like some money-grubbing merc who'd sold out to other races. Well, at this point, it wasn't far off.

The fireball he'd summoned hurtled toward me. The mana output? Eh, nothing special.

Burst!

I casually swatted it away with my arm. As expected, this guy was just mob-tier. Then again, the NPCs I'd met so far were unusually strong. Kingdom army NPCs were weak by default.

"Wh-what...? Are you really human...?"

I pulled a mithril wand from my inventory and smashed it over the mage's head.

Clang!

He managed some defense, but the mithril wand ignored it and knocked him out cold. I left the unconscious mage there, crushed the quadruped golem, yanked out its core, and brought it back to the scouting party.

"I see. So this is the humans' new weapon... Truly grateful. Another fine job!"

"Yeah."

"Not staying today either? Come on, join us for a meal sometime."

I ignored the dark elf scout's invitation and headed back to my lodging alone, as always.

The clashes between the three factions grew more frequent, and the key NPCs at their centers busied themselves more than ever. Even Elenoir, standing in for the queen—who still hadn't fully recovered despite the elixirs—was no exception.

"You there, aren't you running yourself ragged lately? I appreciate the help, but take it easy, won't you?"

"I'm fine."

"You seem out of sorts. Want to spend some time with me after all? I knew it!"

Thanks to that, moments like this—brushing off Elenoir's teasing advances—weren't all that common anymore.

"Knew my ass. Just do your own damn work."

Elenoir seemed to sense my changed demeanor but prioritized her duties. Rumors swirled that the queen's long illness stemmed from her body finally reaching the end of its lifespan. If true, Elenoir would only get busier as the atmosphere edged toward full war. Perfect for me.

"Hoo..."

I pulled up my densely packed quest window and headed out to fight again today.

Once I buckled down, the quests progressed far faster than expected. Nothing short of elite NPCs or hidden bosses could stop me, so it was only natural. Quest rewards piled up in my inventory, experience points pushed my levels and specs higher bit by bit. Skills like Charge and Weak Point Insight from clearing Floor 7 had leveled up nicely, meaningfully boosting my overall combat prowess.

But the truly crucial area—mana manipulation—showed zero progress. Not only had I failed to awaken Mana Reinforcement on my own, but my unstable, churning mana grew harder to control with each passing day.

Whenever I had time, I'd activate Mana Reinforcement via the pendant and try to ingrain the sensation into my body. It'd been weeks already. Was aiming for a top-tier ranker skill on Floor 8 just too greedy?

"I kinda get the principle now..."

During meditation, as I moved my mana, I sensed pathways distinct from blood vessels or nerves. According to self-proclaimed orthodox mages on the community forums, this was the mana circuit all living beings possessed.

Activating Mana Reinforcement through the pendant let mana flow in via this circuit. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠influx then poured right back out, enveloping my body. That was the source of the 'rumble' like thunder when it triggered and the protective power it granted—the expelled mana vibrating the air and cloaking my body like thick armor.

"The incoming mana must be from the pendant's charge."

So, self-activating Mana Reinforcement was simple in theory: circulate mana through the circuit myself. But guiding it through the labyrinthine paths correctly was insanely tough. My mana was always agitated, refusing to settle, impossible to rein in properly.

Dumping it into muscles or specific body parts was easy enough. But this? No dice.

"Hoo... Fucking hell..."

Truth be told, I'd known the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠root cause for a while. Mana responded to will and intent. My will and intent were at odds. My heart was unsteady. That's why.

But what the hell was I supposed to do about it anymore?

Today's sub-quests were nearly all cleared. Dark elf Chapter 2 was wrapping up. Meaning Elenoir would soon revert to her empty shell.

I finished the last sub-quest and closed out faction Chapter 2. All that remained was claiming the reward. While prepping for the Floor 8 boss in my lodging, I browsed the community alone.

This floor's boss was an upgraded version of the wood golem I'd seen early on Floor 8—a special golem type without a separate core. The standard strat was ranged bombardment with fire-attribute magic. Parties heavy on mages could clear it with under 10 people, thanks to its heavy elemental weakness.

My only attribute attack was lightning from Lightning Charge, so not much reference there. Its patterns were mostly simple aside from root binds, so it'd be an easy clear.

Knock knock.

I closed the community window, and someone knocked. I'd already sensed it was Elenoir from her distinctive presence. The door opened right after.

"Knew you wouldn't be asleep yet. Good thing I made time despite the rush."

Elenoir ignored my sour look, strode in, and plopped onto the bed.

"It's been ages since you came looking for me, and we hardly spend time together. Felt awful."

"Sure."

"The scouts asked me to pass this along, so I figured we'd chat a bit."

Elenoir held a pair of gloves. That had to be the final reward for faction Chapter 2. The moment I took them, the NPCs here would turn back into shells. Sooner than expected, but whatever.

"You've seemed troubled lately. Still too hard to talk about why?"

I nodded. As if I could spill about the Tower of Trials or the NPCs.

"Ah, not pushing. Just... you look so tormented."

"Do I."

"Yeah. Must be tough if you can't tell anyone."

Elenoir gave a wry smile, then seemed to realize she was intruding and stood from the bed.

"But bottling it up forever isn't smart. Might help to talk it out—even to a wall."

With that, she handed me the quest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reward gloves.

The moment I took the gloves, the quest completion system message popped up. Simultaneously, Elenoir's intense presence began to fade.

"Heh, good night."

Her expression lost its spark, the words oddly out of context. Just like on Floor 7, she'd reverted to a plain NPC.

Talk to a wall, huh? Might make you feel better.

"It's all 'cause of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you fuckers, you goddamn tin-can bastards..."

I unloaded my thoughts on Elenoir, who couldn't comprehend a word. It didn't help one bit.