Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 34 – Festival

—–CROW—– 

I had forgotten one very important fact.

Due to the characteristic of the 6th floor being entirely a labyrinth, the infrastructure of the village area is very poor.

Naturally, the inn facilities were also very inadequate, and things like soap for showering or bathing were severely lacking.

As a result, I had to do something strange, like renting all the rooms in the inn and scraping together all the available soap.

There was even a shortage of clean water, so I struggled to wash myself using milk and potions from my inventory instead.

I changed all my clothes to new ones and switched my armor to spares from my inventory to minimize the smell of blood.

“It’s really like going on a blind date.”

By the time I muttered those words, recalling my previous statement from a month ago, two hours had already passed since the event started.

There’s no need to be obsessed with being on time, and I didn’t have any appointments, but I feel like I’m late for some reason.

[Event Server: Would you like to move to Area A?]

“Yes.”

I touched the portal and accepted the message on the notification window.

A slightly different sensation from using the transfer gate in the boss room enveloped my body, and soon another world unfolded.

It was a plaza with a fountain in the center, reminiscent of modern Europe.

There were several other portals in the center of the plaza leading to different areas. I guess these are used to enter and exit the event map.

And as expected, there were a lot of people. A ridiculously large number.

“Oh, man…”

It was a very unfamiliar atmosphere for me, who had been living a shut-in life for a long time and continued to play solo even in the Trial Tower.

The swarming crowds and noisy voices all grated on my nerves.  Did I develop social anxiety without realizing it?

But while it was uncomfortable, it was also strangely welcoming.

After seeing the shocking change in the shepherdess on the 2nd floor, I had been deliberately avoiding even NPCs that gave off a human-like atmosphere.

So, smelling the scent of humans after a long time, it felt like I was alive again.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad feeling.  The festive atmosphere was quite nice too.

Originally, I was planning to go straight to the mini-dungeon where I could obtain event currency, but I changed my mind.

Let’s just walk. Let’s look around while we walk.

**

I can see why people were so excited about the festival news in the community.

The festival event was literally a festival. Apart from the event system, people were creating that atmosphere.

“Here you go, one large popcorn and a soda! Whoops, careful!”

The man selling popcorn and drinks over there isn’t an NPC.

He’s a challenger who prepared for business as soon as the festival news came out and set up a stall.  He even made the popcorn himself.

He said he established the recipe through research upon research, using corn obtained from a repeatable quest on the 22nd floor.

He’s not the only popcorn vendor. The alleys near the plaza are filled with stalls set up by challengers.

The quality of the food sold is about the level of a university festival or a food truck in a remote neighborhood.

But since they’re selling food that’s not normally seen in the Trial Tower, it’s quite popular.

There’s even a challenger over there who brought several large pots and is boiling and selling gukbap (Korean soup with rice).

[1450 Server’s Specialty, Busan Man’s Authentic Pork and Rice Soup!]

[Try it, you’ll die!]

That sign with the striking caricature of a shining bald head must have been made by him too.

Since all sorts of people enter the Trial Tower, there are many people with unique talents like this.

“Man… I’m eating gukbap in the Trial Tower, this is crazy, isn’t it?”

“But didn’t that person say he was born and raised in Seoul? Why Busan man?”

“Does that matter? The Busan soul is in the broth, that’s all that matters.”

Listening to the human-like conversations of the challengers who were coming out after eating a bowl of gukbap, I suddenly craved it too.

Hmm, but I can’t buy that, can I?

Since normal trading is blocked, I can only pay with event currency or credit notes issued by server guilds.

It seems like I just found a reason to diligently clear the mini-dungeons.

**

I took a portal from the central plaza and moved to the dedicated map where I can enter mini-dungeons.

Perhaps because only one party can enter each dungeon at a time, there were quite a few people changing maps and looking for an available spot to enter.

I saw a portal where no one was queuing, so I moved towards it.

[Secret Golden Temple (Intermediate): Recommended Level 40~50]

It was a dungeon with a recommended level of 40~50, which was perfect for my level.

My current level is 52.  The required experience has increased absurdly after level 50, so it hasn’t increased much.

Of course, my specs far exceed those of ordinary level 50 challengers, but this recommended level is based on party play.

Since my actual specs are above level 60, this should be the perfect level for solo clearing.

[Would you like to enter?]

As I placed my hand on the entrance portal and was about to enter…

“Excuse me, wait a moment!”

I heard a high-pitched voice from behind, and three people I’d never seen before came running up to me.

I instinctively placed my hand on the dagger at my waist and observed their appearance.

A long-haired woman holding a wand, a heavily armored male warrior carrying a large blunt weapon on his back,

And another lightly armored male warrior equipped with a pointed kite shield and two swords.

They looked like a 3-person party with a slightly unconventional composition.

I took my hand off the portal, fiddled with my dagger, and approached them.

“Are you about to enter? Um, if your other party members haven’t arrived yet, could we go in first…?”

It seems like they were a party looking for a dungeon within their recommended level range.  But what can I do?  I was planning to enter alone.

“No, I’m solo.”

I answered shortly, feeling awkward talking. The long-haired woman looked as if the sky had fallen.

“Oh, I see… I thought we finally found a spot, but we were a step too late.”

Her voice was dripping with disappointment and regret.  Not that I’m planning to give it up.

The woman trudged back to the two men who seemed to be her party members, shook her head as if to say it was no use today, and started chattering about something.

I feel like she’s doing that for me to hear, but it must be my imagination.

Ignoring her, I put my hand on the portal and tried to enter again.

“But, if you’re going solo, what’s your level?”

The female challenger interrupted me again.  I took my hand off the portal and answered roughly.

“52.”

“Huh? 52?”

“Yes, why?”

The woman jumped up as if surprised, then, suppressing her twitching lips, continued speaking.

“You can’t just enter because the recommended level is 40~50! That’s written based on party play!”

Yeah, I know.

**

The woman introduced herself as Kim Jinah.

Kim Jinah passionately explained how difficult this mini-dungeon is, using both her hands and feet.

She then went on to say that I could die if I went in alone and suggested that I find party members and enter together.

“There’s a well-balanced 3-person party right here.”

So, she was suggesting that we form a party and enter together.

She said that I wouldn’t be able to clear it alone anyway, and the rewards wouldn’t decrease significantly even if the number of party members increased, so it would be better.

Listening to her, she was quite eloquent.

The way she spoke animatedly with her whole body reminded me a bit of a certain shepherdess NPC.

Of course, the difference was that the NPC lacked eloquence to the point where she couldn’t even win an argument against a dog, and this woman didn’t seem like that.

I’m not particularly attached to solo play, so I decided to just go along with it this time.

“Yeah, well… alright.”

Since they said the rewards aren’t that different between solo and party play, it would be nice to experience party play this time.

“Then I’ll send you a party invitation. But I’ll give you the party leader role!”

[Challenger Kim Jinah and 2 others have invited you to their party.]

“Accept.”

[You have been assigned as party leader.]

The party leader authority was transferred to me as soon as I joined the party.  The party UI that appeared before my eyes felt very unfamiliar.

“Our party composition is 1 tank, 1 melee DPS, and 1 ranged DPS.  These two are Paladin and Gladiator classes, and I’m a mage.”

The heavily armored warrior with the hammer is a Paladin, responsible for tanking and healing, and the lightly armored warrior with the sword and shield is a Gladiator, a melee DPS.

The Paladin’s name is Kim Minhyung, and the Gladiator’s is Kim Jinseok.  They’re all Kims.

Excluding Kim Jinah, the mage, both are rare classes, and their levels are 44, 45, and 46 respectively, slightly lower than mine.

“Your name is… Jinhyuk, right? Jinhyuk, what’s your class?  It’s Warrior, right?”

“Yes, just Warrior.”

“Ah, just Warrior… Are you a normal class?”

Kim Jinah blinked as if a little surprised when I revealed my class.

And Kim Minhyung, the Paladin, who had been silently watching from the beginning, suddenly spoke.

“What, you’re a Warrior-bro?”

This guy, his tone is a bit condescending, isn’t it?

—–CROW—– 

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