Tower of Trials 9th Floor
-Rooooar……!
The wooden golem let out a monstrous screech as it shifted phases. It had been enormous from the start, but now its height exceeded six meters. But right now, with Honsin and Mana Reinforcement both active, that size didn't mean shit to me.
I leaped straight onto the golem's head, ignoring the incoming root attacks, and slammed into the boss room's ceiling. Propelled by double-reinforced leg strength, I plummeted vertically and swung my sword with full force.
-Crunch crunch crunch!
Countless wooden roots erupted from the golem's body, blocking my path diagonally, but they couldn't stop my blade.
-Boom crack boom!
Lightning sparked as the golem's body was brutally bisected. Without a core, it couldn't regenerate and simply collapsed. The two halves of the split golem toppled over, and after a brief delay, the system messages appeared.
Congratulations! You are the first to clear Tower of Trials Floor 8.
Clear Reward: Acquired 'EXP' and 'Gold'.
You can now activate the portal to Tower of Trials Floor 9.
The first clear reward and final strike reward were identical, and both the earrings and bracelet had mage-only equip restrictions. I knew how to use the bow roughly, and it had no restrictions, but if I needed ranged attacks, I could just chuck iron marbles. Maybe because it was an easy boss, but the rewards were even less impressive than field boss drops.
No other challengers meant no auction house sales, and being accessories, they weren't useful as shields either.
Whatever, I wasn't expecting massive growth from this stuff anymore.
"Gonna sell 'em at the shop later."
I closed my inventory and activated the portal to Floor 9.
The backdrop of Floor 9 continued seamlessly from Floors 7 and 8. Floor 7 was before the three major powers clashed. Floor 8 was when they started seriously rubbing each other the wrong way. And Floor 9 was when war finally broke out between the three powers.
So, the great forest of the elves I arrived at after crossing the portal looked very different from what I'd seen before. For starters, the number of trees had drastically decreased. They weren't logged; they were snapped and broken in various ways. Probably burned and shattered in the flames of war.
First things first, head to the dark elf village.
[Elf Quest 9th Floor Full Map.jpg]
Unlike Floor 8, where I'd rushed through, this time I'd properly grabbed a map from the community beforehand. I worried the disorienting fog might block my senses again, but luckily, I found the way normally.
When I reached the entrance to the dark elf village, I was shocked. It barely looked like a village anymore. They'd built tall stone walls, packed with watchtowers and guard golems. Even the terrain seemed altered. This was a full-on fortress now.
It was way bigger than the screenshots on the community—maybe because of the epic quest? I wasn't an expert on sieges, but it looked impregnable at a glance.
"Hey, who goes there!"
As I slowly surveyed the fortress's exterior, someone yelled from atop the walls.
"Show yourself or eat an arrow! Who are you!"
I looked up and showed my face. No dark elf in the village would fail to recognize me.
"It's me."
The dark elf on the wall, bow drawn, scowled down at me. His expression shifted several times. Too far to see details, but the final one looked like he'd made a decision.
-Twang!
An arrow flew straight at me.
I'd learned dark elf swordsmanship from Rizmel on Floor 7. It was excellent. But dark elves were elves at root, and their true mastery was archery. So after swordsmanship, I'd thought about picking up archery on the side.
But I couldn't. Not because they wouldn't teach me—it was just impossible to learn.
Like innate mana affinity, elves were born knowing how to handle a bow. It wasn't something you could teach just because you wanted to, or learn just because you tried.
Elven arrows defied common sense with their accuracy and trajectories that ignored physics.
But in front of me—with mana detection unlocked and superhuman senses—they weren't that impressive.
-Thwack.
I snatched the arrow out of the air mid-flight. Half on instinct, I stared at it, baffled. Why the hell would a dark elf shoot at me? I got they might be on edge with the war, but they couldn't miss my face or shoulder emblem.
"What the fuck."
Was it some rare dark elf who didn't know me on guard duty?
-Thud, thud, thud!
The fortress golems started moving. Heavy footsteps approaching me. Not just them—the wall soldiers raised weapons in unison.
This didn't seem normal. They clearly saw me as an enemy.
"Hey, you guys don't know me? Forgot already?"
Ridiculous, but my question got answered with a volley of arrows.
-Ting ting ting!
I parried and blocked the incoming arrows using mana detection and intuition. Meanwhile, the golems closed in.
Could I smash these without issues later? I pulled a good blunt weapon from inventory, ramped up tension, and faced off.
-Whirr……
But the golems just approached without attacking. What now?
The wall dark elves murmured. Did they finally recognize me late?
As I approached the wall again, they shouted.
"Halt! Move and we shoot!"
Not knowing the situation, I stopped as ordered. As I complied, they whispered among themselves. Soon, one dark elf leaped lightly from the wall, landing before me. Light gear, dual swords—it was Rizmel, slightly changed from Floor 8.
"Listen up."
She tossed me a training sword. I caught it and assumed stance. Looked like they did recognize me.
I parried her diagonal downward slash head-on. Undeterred by the block, she thrust—I met her blade and pushed. A close-quarters power struggle, loading force toward varied sword paths, aiming for throats.
Easy to gain advantage. Amp strength instantly with Honsin skill.
But I didn't. I loosened my grip slightly, maintaining balance.
Then, her empty hand grabbed my blade, trying to wrench it up. I gripped the tip, countered the struggle, and shifted sideways. Released the hilt, pivoted on tip-holding hand. Grabbed blade, used pommel as bludgeon for head strike. First technique she'd taught me.
-Clang!
Rizmel effortlessly blocked the irregular attack, readjusted grip. She demonstrated the counter and riposte she'd taught alongside.
Difference: her movements were a bit slower. She'd said after marriage, she stepped back from scouting. This unfit combat attire suggested it had been ages since she wielded a sword.
"You're not what you used to be."
-Kwang!
I blocked her dulled sword energy, exploited the gap, knocked her sword away.
Unfazed, she shook her hand and exhaled shallowly.
"And you're still the same punk, kid."
She waved toward the wall. Bows lowered. Now I got it.
Twenty years between Floor 7 and 8. How many between 8 and 9? That sturdy fortress, terrain reshaped, couldn't be a few years' work.
Reason they hesitated then shot despite recognizing me.
"A hundred years passed—how are you still the same?"
A century—even for long-lived elves, no short time.
"Un-fucking-believable."
Our clashing swords carried the weight of time. Hard to dismiss as mere NPC backstory.
This floor wouldn't be easy from the start.