Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 39 – Gravesite

—–CROW—– 

The Tower’s invitations are indiscriminate.

Naturally, they don’t filter people based on character.  Even a loser like me received an invitation.

Anyone who has served in the military, where people with nothing in common but being male and in their 20s gather in one place, will know this.

The average person’s character is lower than you think, and there are many people in the world who boast about trivial things.

Moreover, what would be the average character of the people gathered in the strange and closed-off space of the Trial Tower?

“Aren’t you going to move?”

So, it’s not strange that there’s a guy who picks a fight like this.

Especially since, just by looking at my appearance, I probably look like a pushover armed with shop-bought equipment from the lowest floor of the tower.

Hmm, thinking about it this way, a certain Paladin in our party might have just been ordinary.

“Who is this person?”

I pointed at the man and turned to ask Kim Jinah.

Since I just arrived, I didn’t know what might have happened before.

“He’s been standing in front of the portal for a while, but he wouldn’t go in…”

“He’s not here to solo, right? Since he said ‘party.'”

Kim Jinah nodded.  Then Kim Minhyung, the Paladin, approached me and whispered,

“Hyungnim, I think this is portal camping.  He’s holding the spot with one party member and controlling access.”

Since I’ve played a lot of online games, I roughly understood even without his explanation.

The man standing in front of the portal was a warrior with a slightly youthful face and gleaming heavy armor.

If he’s openly camping the portal, he likely has strong connections or belongs to a large guild.

The armor he’s wearing looks quite good, and while he himself might not be a Ranker, he could know a Ranker.

I might get involved with some unsavory characters if I provoke him, but portal camping isn’t exactly a respectable act, so should I try talking to him?

“It doesn’t seem like any of your party members have arrived yet.  We’re all here.”

I hesitated a bit and spoke to the man.  The man glanced at me and said curtly,

“So?”

That was all.  What kind of jerk is this? Compared to this guy, Kim Minhyung was very polite.

“So we’re going to use this spot first.  We’re going in, so move.”

“I told you, this is our party’s spot.  Your spot my ass, it’s your mother’s gravesite, you idiot.”

The man said that and flipped me the bird. And at the same time, my hand shot out.

– *Bang!*

My fist landed squarely in the man’s solar plexus, and a sound like a bomb exploding echoed.

**

Judging by his arrogant behavior, he definitely has something to rely on.

He could have a large guild backing him, a Ranker acquaintance, or he could be strong himself.

But the moment I heard his absurd insult to my mother, I didn’t care about any of that.

What, my mother’s gravesite?

I’m climbing this tower, banging my head against the wall, because I want to apologize to that gravesite.

It would be strange if I didn’t react after hearing that. You son of a bitch.

– *Crash!*

The man, struck by my fist, flew back and rolled on the floor.

The fist that hit his solar plexus felt a bit numb.  I thought his equipment was unusual, but it’s definitely good armor.

But judging by the fact that he flew back without reacting to my punch, his specs are probably nothing special.

“Y-you, fucking, bastard.”

The man, sprawled on the floor, cursed with a bright red face, his jaw trembling.

Judging by his expression, he looks like he’s been terribly wronged.  But what right do you have to be angry?

“Did you hit me? You fucker, do you know who I am? You look like a broke-ass low-level, you’re asking for it.”

The man grumbled curses and got up.  Then, seeing me clenching my fist, he shouted,

“Idiot, did you break your hand?  That’s what you get for messing with me.  Do you know how much my armor costs?”

I ignored him, walked towards him, and raised my fist again.

“If you’re going to say that, at least wear your helmet.”

– *Crack!*

“Ugh!”

I punched him in the jaw. White teeth flew out.

I didn’t even hit him that hard, but judging by the impact, it seems like not only his teeth but also his jawbone got messed up.

If it weren’t for his item buffs, he would have been gasping for breath after the first hit to his solar plexus.  What’s he so cocky about?

– *Murmur, murmur.*

People gathered around the man who had collapsed again with a shattered jaw.

They didn’t seem to be his acquaintances, but just people who came to watch the fight. The surroundings quickly became noisy.

The unknown man, writhing on the floor, took out a potion from his inventory and gulped it down.

The potion bottle had an incredibly flashy design.  It seems like he uses high-end consumables as well as equipment.

“Gasp, gasp… y-you, fucking, bastard.”

The man, after drinking the potion, fumbled with his inventory again and belatedly put on a white helmet and grabbed a weapon.

The weapon was a large two-handed axe, but his posture holding the axe was beyond awkward, it was pathetic.

He picked a fight by insulting my mother, and now he’s grabbing a weapon after getting punched once.

“You’re fucking dead, you broke-ass.”

Is being rich something to brag about?  He’s acting all high and mighty, calling me broke.

I have more than enough gold to use in the Trial Tower, but he’s calling me broke because he doesn’t know.

But that aside, why is he so cocky?  Does he really think everything will be fine just because he’s wearing a helmet?

– *Whoosh!*

The man, fully covered in heavy armor, swung his axe and charged at me.

Not only was his posture pathetic, but his swing was even more pathetic.  How can he be worse at using a weapon than a 1st-floor Goblin?

I dodged the axe with just two steps and used a skill while clenching my fist.

[Iron Wall]

My fist, hardened like iron, struck the man’s head.

**

The skills I leveled up during my secluded training on the 3rd floor weren’t just resistance skills.

[Earth Spirit’s Blessing Lv.10]

A small earth spirit stays by your side.

The skill level increases with intimacy with the spirit, and new effects are unlocked depending on the level.

– Basic Passive Effect: Defense +20

– Additional Passive Effect: Physical Damage Reduction +5%

– Additional Active Effect: [Iron Wall] skill usable

I was able to greatly increase the Earth Spirit’s Blessing skill by figuring out how to increase intimacy with the spirit.

The method to increase intimacy was very simple: interact and make contact with an object inhabited by a spirit.

Objects inhabited by earth spirits are naturally soil, sand, stones, and so on.

For a while, I was able to increase intimacy by chewing pebbles along with White Troll meat.

Of course, the efficiency wasn’t very high, so it wasn’t until the 6th floor that I reached level 10 and unlocked the active effect.

Anyway, the effect of the active skill [Iron Wall] is simple.

It makes a part of your body as hard as steel.  It’s a simple but very powerful and useful effect.

With this skill, I can achieve the defensive capabilities of heavy armor even while wearing leather armor.

And like now, it’s also possible to strengthen my fist and increase my attack power.

– *Bang!*

My fist, which originally made a loud noise when colliding with metal, made an especially loud noise this time.

The armored man, who had been swinging his axe, collapsed to one side with a snapping neck.

He didn’t seem to be able to withstand the impact even with his good armor, as he remained motionless for a moment as if dead.

“Don’t play dead, you want to die?”

– *Bang!*

I used the [Iron Wall] skill again and kicked the fallen man’s head.

Only then did he come to his senses with a groan.  He’s having trouble controlling his body, perhaps due to a concussion.

Seeing that, I thought, “It’s a good thing I didn’t draw my weapon.”

It’s fortunate that my hands were empty.  If I had swung my weapon in excitement, I would have killed him.

“J-Jinhyuk. You didn’t kill him, did you?”

As I was contemplating where to hit the armored man, who was staggering, Kim Jinah appeared and asked.

I now noticed that many people had gathered in the meantime.  It seemed Kim Jinah had struggled to push through the crowd.

“He’s not dead, and I’m not going to kill him.”

Kim Jinah, perhaps knowing my situation roughly through searching the community, said she thought I would kill him.

I wouldn’t just kill someone out of the blue. In the first place, I don’t have the right to be so angry about an insult to my mother.

After leeching off her for years and causing her so much hardship, would I kill someone because I’m angry about an insult to her?

That’s too shameless, I can’t do that.

But to think it was natural for me to kill him, doesn’t Kim Jinah take murder too lightly?

I don’t know the exact situation in other towers, but public order should be maintained to some extent thanks to the control of large guilds.

– *Murmur, murmur.*

While I was talking to Kim Jinah, the murmuring of the people who had gathered to watch the fight grew louder.

“Gilhoon!”

A man with a similar face to the armored man pushed through the crowd.

“Which, which fucking bastard… was it you, you son of a bitch!”

The man glared at me with wide eyes, then abruptly took out a spear from his inventory, swung it widely, and took a stance.

The sound of the spearhead cutting through the air was ominous.  He seems to be a brother. Is this his backing?

Among the murmuring voices of the surrounding people, I could hear the name “Choi Gilhyun” here and there.

“Jinhyuk… that person, he’s a Ranker…!”

‘Yes, you have a very reliable backing.’

—–CROW—–