Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Duplicate Reinforcement
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[Noble Body, Baseborn Role] Bypass: Mana Tax Evasion!
Ever since I opened my eyes to that shadow technique of name borrowing.
What I'd been doing was obvious.
Parking on the 8th floor.
Why?
Why ask such an obvious question.
I needed to reinforce the [Great Warrior's Gauntlets].
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-!
"Chwi-aaah?!"
"Sword Fairy! You're my ssonni now too!"
One-shotting the orc great warrior with [Sword Soul Liberation].
This is what it means to kill an orc.
Third run complete.
It had been a straight highway to completing the parking.
'Sword Fairy's ultimate move is such easy pickings.'
Even the downgraded version was this strong.
That brutal High End 8th floor felt leisurely now.
As a bonus, I'd checked out some new gear in the process.
"[Rage Combo]."
Shu-pa-pa-pa-pat-!!
Lightning-fast thrusts shredded the trash mobs.
The foes in front of my Orc No. 4 were turned into hives in an instant.
Why No. 4?
Because 1, 2, and 3 got smashed by [Sword Soul Liberation].
"Nice."
The monsters wiped out and vanished.
I looted the sword (Orc No. 4) with satisfaction.
[Rage Combo].
A fun skill.
Barehanded, it's a flurry of punches from one arm.
With a weapon, it's rapid stabs.
Great in real combat too.
Balanced attack speed and power.
Not quite [Swift Arrow] level, though.
Well, that's obvious.
Whose technique is this, mixed with orc scraps?
'Still, at least R-grade.'
If gear or skills have a rating, they're R-grade.
No rating means N-grade.
Normal, in other words.
"So, you anonymous clones are normals, huh."
"Does that mean we're not freaks?"
"We're normal, and the main body's the freak."
Shut up.
I ignored the clones and checked the drops.
'Let's see, today's haul...'
Tower currency: 42 coins.
Orc glaive (junk) to smash with sword liberation.
And.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Gauntlets! Gauntlets dropped again!"
"For real?"
Insane drop rate on the leather gauntlets.
[Great Warrior's Gauntlets].
A duplicate rare item drop.
'R-grade gear dropping twice out of three runs?'
I scooped them up in a frenzy, but the surprise hadn't even settled.
And for good reason.
I'd heard it on the gallery.
Rare or higher items.
Especially gear, hard to farm even over multiple runs.
'Clear rewards drop off after the first, but no rule says gear drops only on the first run.'
So most tower drops aren't farmed.
Not for average floor-runners.
5-10 runs just for gear? Nah.
Usually, buy weapons per major layer,
Or reinforce what you have.
'But me?'
Dropped on the first run.
Again on the third.
Gear that's hard to get even one of from this floor.
I got two.
'High End's a honey pot the more you farm it.'
Difficulty's insane too, sure.
But I'd factored that in.
'Now just reinforce these.'
[Great Warrior's Gauntlets].
Reinforcing this rare item.
That's my [Noble Body, Baseborn Role] workaround.
'When you need a skill, find related gear and reinforce it—skill limits basically vanish.'
Sword Fairy's [Sword Soul Liberation] application tip.
Use gear's mana to activate gear skills.
This trick massively expanded my skill arsenal.
"Not just using unusable skills. Borrowing gear mana means no mana cost either."
No-mana-cost skills!
Huge advantage.
Especially for solo-focused me.
"Main body... now eating gear too..."
"Memo memo."
"Doesn't this just break all your gear?"
Gear wear?
No issue.
Would Sword Fairy spam [Holy Sword Liberation] if she didn't know?
"Repair before they fully break. Blacksmiths exist."
As long as you don't fight without repair time,
Or extract too much mana at once.
Avoid those mistakes, and the downsides are tolerable.
Repair bills will hurt, though.
'So, faithfully upgrading gear is priority one.'
I'd been farming anyway.
Now gear gets skill-like reinforcement.
How to reinforce?
Runes, duh.
[Low-Grade Gear Reinforcement Rune - 30 Tower Coins.]
"Total rip-off."
Rare grade still uses low-grade.
[Great Warrior's Gauntlets] fine with low-grade rune.
Still, 30 coins is steep.
'Even +2 gauntlets cost 90 coins.'
+1 is 30 coins.
+2 needs two runes: 60 coins.
So the extra drop was solid profit.
'Duplicates can sub for runes.'
One duplicate replaces a rune!
30 coins equivalent—pure win.
I held both gauntlets contentedly.
"Reinforce gear!"
And nothing happened.
"?"
What.
Why no reinforce?
Don't know? Ask veterans.
Get screwed climbing? Check gallery.
I fired up the gallery, searched keywords.
Comment notifs popped, but routine stuff, skipped.
I'm super likable anon anyway.
Lemme see, duplicate gear reinforce.
Found it.
"Aha."
Gear reinforcement skill, huh.
Makes sense.
'Yeah, items don't just fuse bumping together.'
Runes aren't pricey for nothing.
Guess tower coins go to runes mainly.
Duplicates to blacksmiths.
'But does this make me grandmaster-tier?'
Not news.
Heard it since making the gallery.
Dragon Lord or archmage for sure.
But reality's wall is high.
I'm up against masters whose power I can't gauge.
Veterans still deep in this tower.
Like William ssonni or Sword Fairy.
'Gotta grind harder. Any other info?'
Long road ahead—useful intel's gold.
I kept scanning replies.
Then regretted it.
"? What the."
Never thought I'd face slander like this.
Wronged, my fingers itched for comments.
Ah.
Right, 3-day ban.
Life's full of unknowns and absurdities.
What can you do.
Should've known since getting dragged into the tower.
"...Let's just reinforce gear."
That's why.
I bolted from the tower straight to the smithy.
What?
Regular 8th floor parking?
'That can wait.'
Climbing the issue now?
Gear renewal time.
Dopamine rush, dopamine rush!
The 0th layer is a city plopped in the snowfields.
William ssonni mentioned last time.
Tower disaster roughly ended the world.
Survivors who stayed post-that.
This is their turf.
Proximity to tower, sure.
For outsiders climbing in their stead.
'Post-disaster survivors fled to 1st layer or higher?'
Sudden thought.
Probably climbers from 0th layer too.
Anyway.
Back in 0th layer.
I tossed spare robes to the clones.
'Pulling clones out draws eyes.'
Not trying to hide power or anything.
K-loner hates real-life attention.
Gallery attention's enough.
Why not full clones?
Who carries the luggage.
'Using unannounced inventory at smithy'd be weird too.'
Skill perfected during parking.
Sword Fairy ssonni OP, fr.
"Tower coins enough to reinforce clone art, today's for spec-up over climbing."
"Poor main body."
"Too busy IRL can't gallery?"
"Gallery? Oh."
Right.
Realized late.
Duty as Gallery Master to manage Tower Climbing Gallery.
'Found info and blanked.'
Normally I'd joyfully slack first.
Perks of unemployment.
But surprisingly.
Gallery held no appeal today.
Bigger dopamine ruled me.
'How hold back IRL spec-up.'
But Gallery Master duty matters.
My life on the line.
Can't dump on noobs either.
"Kuh..."
Gauntlets and broken swords.
Stuffed in bag, I agonized.
This right?
No other way?
Such conflict.
But no choice.
With finger-cutting resolve, I said,
"Gallery Master account... yours now...!"
"O."
"Main body IRLs while we chill?"
"True clone art."
Damn them.
Yeah.
I felt wronged too.
'Main body works while clones loaf fair?'
Usually reverse no?
Send clones to work, I chill.
Why main body labor?
But had to endure.
Low-grade clones all severe focus deficit.
Bad ADHD.
Can't entrust important stuff.
'They do tasks fine if ordered but goof off without oversight.'
Why they backtalk and drip.
Chattiness.
Proof of scattered focus too.
Look now.
One stares at dragonfly on finger.
Beauty'd call it ditzy charm.
Me? Just ditz.
"You guys gallery as anons. No dumb fixed-nick bullshit."
"Aye sir."
My clones but annoying.
-Ta-tat!
Still, smithy dash after show.
Knew location.
Sold junk here before.
Second visit smooth.
"Mister! Gear reinforce here?!"
"Backlog means long wait."
"What."
Why?
Sudden 0th layer boom?
Checked: other climbers.
"Outsider [Drift] season ongoing? More commissions piling up besides you."
External dimension climbers like me.
Their influx is [Drift] season.
Business booming suddenly.
I asked carefully.
"Wait time?"
"What reinforce first."
"Armor. Duplicate gear."
"That skill-done quick. Just wait your turn."
"Mm, got it."
Rare loner humility kicks in.
Not climbers staring 'what's pointman'.
I'm Korean knowing respect elders.
'But too crowded problematic.'
Worried already.
[Great Warrior's Gauntlets] eye-catching.
Unannounced tower item.
Rares don't drop below 10th normally.
Ditch duplicate reinforce?
'Nah, other way.'
Brain full throttle.
Casually asked alternative.
"Spare space to rent?"
"Sharpen your own blade? Go ahead."
OK, cleared.
Escape stifling strangers.
Settled smithy backroom.
Not forging gear obviously.
Even with [Deficiency] talent buff, not that far.
'But can learn maintenance.'
Shadow blades or thieves sharpen too.
Movies: no killer can't clean gun.
'Good to learn gear care myself.'
William ssonni said it.
Hunter must make arrows.
Likewise, swordsman sharpens blades.
Can't always hit smithy.
Especially me snapping swords with [Sword Soul Liberation].
Newbie wrecking weapons every other day!
Bad rep.
Sharp tower noob'd sniff I learned ultimate from Sword Fairy as Boy Joy.
Edge sharp, yo.
And who knows.
'Might acquire gear reinforce skill.'
Gallery said runes enable it.
No class locks like games.
Skills learnable maybe.
'Low hopes, but no loss.'
Already mastered mana materialization anyway.
Skill reinforced sans rune.
Worried if gear reinforce shadow skill,
Whatever.
'Like [Giftcon], frame it and hand final to tower noob!'
Fr, gallery dev best life choice.
'Let's try.'
Gear crucial for future specs.
Stable reinforce needed.
Grabbed spare tools, sat empty spot.