Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 43 – Origin

—–CROW—– 

I had never even considered what server Kim Jinah was from.

No, I had never even thought about anything outside the tower I was in.

I judged that the Trial Tower wasn’t a lawless wasteland ruled by the strong—on what basis?

What I know about the tower’s society is only what I’ve learned from articles from the outside and what I’ve seen on the community since entering the tower.

The former can’t be trusted at face value because communication between the Trial Tower world and the outside is very slow and inaccurate.

And the open community operates on a fully real-name basis.

The writer’s real name and the server they belong to are fully disclosed.  When you think about it, it’s a structure optimized for real-life confrontations.

If someone badmouthing me is in the same tower, I can go find them and kill them.

Even if they’re not in the same tower, if they have connections with large guilds, they can indirectly cause harm.

Therefore, even with the latter, it would be very difficult to obtain negative information about specific Rankers or groups.

Only challengers on the same server would know exactly what Choi Gilhyun has done and what he’s capable of on server 1554.

As a low-level Ranker, his combat power can’t be underestimated, and if he also has a faction based on connections…

It’s not impossible for him to reign as an untouchable tyrant on server 1554.

Kim Jinah, being on the same server as him, wouldn’t have had a choice.

It’s laughable to even call it betrayal. In the first place, we weren’t close enough to risk our lives for loyalty.

“Starting to get it now? You messed with the wrong person. That’s what you get for acting cocky, you broke-ass…”

Choi Gilhyun grinned, poking my shoulder with the tip of his spear.

“You’re that guy, right? The solo player who whined about his dead mother on the community.”

He seemed absolutely certain that I couldn’t fight due to the paralysis poison in the tea.  Well, he’s probably right.

He’s a Ranker staying on the 25th floor. He would have access to high-level poisons that I, staying on a lower floor, could never obtain.

Indeed, the tip of my tongue had been feeling slightly numb for a while now, so he must have used a fairly strong paralysis poison.

[Paralysis Resistance Lv. 15]

[Poison Resistance Lv. 19]

If I hadn’t been able to resist the paralysis poison with my double-digit resistance levels, I would have been completely immobilized.

Choi Gilhyun, perhaps having looked me up on the community, was busy talking about my mother.

I responded to Choi Gilhyun, who was standing right behind me with his back completely exposed, by swinging the hand axe at my waist.

– *Crack!*

The axe, swung casually from my seated position, landed precisely in Choi Gilhyun’s groin.

“Ugh!”

Choi Gilhyun, hit by the unexpected attack, couldn’t even scream properly.

But that’s an exaggeration.

Judging by how his mouth was still working even after being pummeled with the Mithril Wand, his defense is very high.

Thanks to the protective effect based on HP given to all Trial Tower challengers, he probably wasn’t even hurt much.

The protective effect of HP, which prevents fatal injuries, varies depending on defense and damage.

– *Crash!*

I kicked over the cafeteria chair, stood up, and kicked the heavily armored brother in the solar plexus.

Leaving the two of them sprawled on the floor, I calmly opened my inventory and switched equipment.

How much did Choi Gilhyun trust the power of the paralysis poison?

Perhaps he thought it would be enough to just weaken me, even if it didn’t completely incapacitate me.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come equipped for combat.

“You pathetic bastard.”

I unequipped the armor and weapons that were only enhanced for [Durability] and equipped the full item set I hadn’t worn for a while.

He didn’t seem to consider the possibility that I was holding back.

**

He was an opponent I could easily overwhelm even with trash gear, thanks to the difference in our skills.

With my full equipment and boosted specs, Choi Gilhyun was completely one-sidedly beaten without even grazing me with his spear.

“Ugh, groan…”

Choi Gilhyun collapsed on the floor with his right arm and left leg severed, and his brother was similarly smashed against the wall.

It took less than 5 minutes for this scene to unfold.  This was the result of me completely abandoning restraint.

“H-how, how can you be this…”

Kim Jinah couldn’t even stand up from where she had been talking to me and was just trembling.

I wiped the blood off my sword and slowly walked towards Kim Jinah.

“P-please, spare me.”

Kim Jinah, sensing the consequences of her betrayal, clasped her hands and started begging.  Please spare her life, she’ll do anything.

But I had no intention of killing Kim Jinah in the first place.  The same goes for Choi Gilhyun and his brother lying sprawled over there.

I understand Kim Jinah’s position.  It was an unavoidable situation, and expecting loyalty from her would be foolish.

Yes, I know. It was only a one-day relationship. I also understand that it was a situation where she had no choice but to betray me.

But I feel bad.

“Why?”

I asked myself. Why do I feel bad?

Spending time with Kim Jinah, I felt a sense of stability. I tasted the serotonin I had forgotten.

Despite vowing to never stop, I was swept up in the festive atmosphere and spent time leisurely.

But I was drawn into the festive atmosphere the moment I stepped onto the event map. That has nothing to do with Kim Jinah.

The conclusion came quickly. I just wanted to rest.

I wanted to interact with others and build relationships.  I wanted to form a party like ordinary challengers and relax.

And I sought that desire in the first person who approached me, Kim Jinah.

“P-please, Jinhyuk… spare me, please, please.”

But this is the result.

Kim Jinah had no choice but to betray me, and I had no choice but to be betrayed. The reason is obvious.

Because I fought with Choi Gilhyun? Because Kim Jinah happened to be in the same tower as Choi Gilhyun? Because Choi Gilhyun had backing?

No, it’s all because I’m a solo player.

Because I’m a solo player, I was ignorant of the circumstances of other towers, and because I’m a solo player, I was bound to have this kind of conflict eventually.

Even if I hadn’t formed a party with Kim Jinah, even if I hadn’t clashed with Choi Gilhyun, it would have happened eventually.

What’s so strange about a solo player being alone?  It’s just natural.

[Friend List]

I sheathed my sword, opened the system, and deleted the three people registered on my friend list.

And I added Kim Jinah and the other two to the block list. I have no connection to them anymore.

I left the cafeteria alone, leaving the critically injured Choi Gilhyun brothers and Kim Jinah behind.

They say top-grade potions can even reattach severed limbs.

Choi Gilhyun, with his strong backing, will recover without dying or becoming crippled, even if I leave him like this.

And after that, Kim Jinah will probably be killed by Choi Gilhyun.

However, Kim Jinah would also be able to kill Choi Gilhyun, who’s lying there with severed limbs, on her own.

One of them will definitely die, but since I’ve blocked them on the system, I won’t know the outcome.

What do I care about the circumstances of other challengers? I’m a solo player.

One death to be responsible for is enough.

**

Leaving the festival map, the gloomy atmosphere of the 6th floor welcomed me.

It was a stark contrast to the festival map, filled with the smell of delicious food from the stalls.

The scent of blood, corpses, and poison felt so welcoming.

It felt like returning to where I originally belonged, like returning home.

I changed my equipment again and headed towards the labyrinth. I had already cleared the 6th floor, leaving only the boss, before the event started.

– *Creak!*

The heavy iron door opened, revealing the boss room.  Sitting on the throne in the darkness was a decaying skeleton.

[Blood and corpses are his servants, and only the crows that peck at the corpses are his friends.]

[For one who has returned from beyond death, only death is the rightful return.]

A system message that I strangely empathized with appeared, and a black aura began to overflow from around the skeleton.

[BOSS – Master of the Dungeon, Lich Wight]

A monstrous wizard who has overcome death and continues to live in a dead body, a Lich.

– *Clatter!*

At the Lich’s gesture, skeletal soldiers, Skeletons, began to rise from the floor.

The Skeletons charged at me all at once, and I swung my sword and shield, smashing them all.

Meanwhile, the Lich chanted a spell while covered in black aura, and I knew what that spell would bring.

The Lich, having completed the spell without interruption while I was defeating the swarm of Skeletons, finally summoned a knight clad in jet black.

The strongest elite monster on the 6th floor, the Death Knight.

The Death Knight broke through the wall of Skeletons and charged towards me. His greatsword clashed with my straight sword.

“Yes, this is it.”

My face, slightly reflected in the clashing blades, no longer looked unfamiliar.

[Congratulations. You have cleared the 6th floor of the Trial Tower for the first time.]

—–CROW—–