Chapter 34
#34. Festival
I'd forgotten one very important thing.
Because the entire 6th Floor is a labyrinth, the village area's infrastructure is extremely poor.
Naturally, the inn facilities were awful too, and there was hardly any soap for showering or bathing.
Thanks to that, I had to do something bizarre: rent every room in the inn and then gather up every bar of soap they had.
There was hardly any clean water either, so I had to use the milk and potions in my inventory in place of water and wash up the hard way.
I changed into all new clothes, and swapped my armor for spare gear from my inventory to make sure I didn't smell like blood.
“This really does feel like I'm going on a blind date.”
By the time I muttered that to myself, remembering what I'd said a month ago, two hours had already passed since the event opened.
I didn't need to obsess over getting there first, and I hadn't made plans with anyone, but for some reason I still felt late.
[Event Server: Move to Section A?]
“Yes.”
I placed my hand on the portal and accepted the message in the notification window.
A slightly different sensation from using a transfer gate in a boss room enveloped my body, and soon another world spread out before me.
It was a plaza in a modern European style, with a fountain in the center.
There were also several more portals in the center of the plaza leading to other sections. I figured those were how you moved in and out of the event map.
And, just as expected, there were a lot of people. So many it was almost nauseating.
“Ugh, shit...”
Having spent a long time shut in at home, and having kept up solo play even in the Trial Tower, this atmosphere felt completely foreign.
The swarming crowd and noisy voices were all grating on my nerves. Had I developed social anxiety without realizing it?
But while it was uncomfortable, it also felt strangely welcome.
Ever since I'd seen the shepherd girl's shocking transformation on the 2nd Floor, I'd been deliberately keeping my distance even from NPCs that gave off a human-like vibe.
So when I caught the scent of people after so long, I guess it made me feel like I was alive too.
Anyway, my mood wasn't all that bad. This festive atmosphere was pretty good too.
I had originally planned to head straight for the mini-dungeon where I could get event currency right away, but I changed my mind.
Let's walk for now. We'll look around as we go.
**
I think I understand why everyone on the community was so excited about the Festival news.
The Festival event was literally a festival. Separate from the event system, people were creating that atmosphere themselves.
“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, as soon as the Festival news came out, prepared to do business and set up his own stall. Apparently even that popcorn is homemade.
He apparently used corn obtained by clearing a certain repeat quest on the 22nd Floor, then refined the recipe through repeated experimentation.
It wasn't just that popcorn seller. Every alley near the plaza was packed with stalls personally set up by challengers.
The food they're selling is probably on the level of a college festival or a food truck in some back alley.
But since they're selling foods you wouldn't normally see in the Trial Tower, they're extremely popular.
Over there, there was even a challenger who'd brought several huge pots and was selling gukbap.
[1450 Server Specialty, Busan Guy's Rich Pork Gukbap!]
[Come on, eat up, or you'll die, man!]
That sign with the caricature featuring that shiny bald head was probably made by hand too.
Since all kinds of people come into the Trial Tower, there are really a lot of people with unique talents like that.
“Cripes... I never thought I'd be eating gukbap in the Trial Tower. Isn't that crazy?”
“But wasn't that guy supposed to be a Seoul native? Why's he a Busan guy?”
“Why does that matter? The broth's got the soul of Busan in it, so that's enough.”
Listening to the challengers' human conversations as they came out after downing a bowl of gukbap made me want some too.
Tch, but I probably can't buy that, can I.
Normal trading is blocked, so I should only be able to pay with event-only currency or credit notes issued by server-specific guilds.
Looks like I just found one more reason to clear the mini-dungeons diligently.
**
I took a portal from the central square and moved to the dedicated map where you could enter the mini-dungeons.
Maybe because only one party can enter each dungeon, there were quite a few people switching maps and looking for a slot they could get into right away.
Just then, I spotted a portal with no one lined up in front of it, so I moved over to it.
[Secret Golden Temple (Intermediate): Recommended Level 40~50]
Conveniently, its recommended level was 40 to 50, making it a dungeon that fit my level range perfectly.
My current level was 52, and after level 50 the amount of experience required had increased absurdly, so I'd barely leveled at all.
Of course, my specs were far above those of ordinary level-50 challengers, but this recommended level was written with party play in mind.
My actual specs were at level 60 or above, so this should be just right for a solo clear.
[Would you like to enter?]
So I placed my hand on the entry portal and was just about to go in.
“Excuse me, hold on a second!”
A high voice called out from behind me, and three people I'd never seen before came hurrying over in a panic.
By reflex, I put my hand on the dagger at my waist and sized up their appearance.
One long-haired woman holding a wand, and one heavily armored male warrior with a huge blunt weapon strapped to his back.
And one more male warrior in light armor, carrying a pointed kite shield and two swords.
They looked like a slightly off-standard three-person party.
I took my hand off the portal, fiddled with my dagger, and walked over to them.
“Are you about to go in now? Uh, if the other party members haven't arrived yet, could we maybe...”
They seemed to be a party looking for a dungeon spot in their level range. But what could I do? I was planning to go in alone.
“No, I'm solo.”
It felt awkward to talk, so I answered briefly on purpose. The long-haired woman made a face like the sky had fallen.
“Ah, I see... I thought we'd finally found a spot, but we were one step too late.”
Her voice was dripping with disappointment and lingering regret. That didn't mean I was going to give it up, though.
The woman trudged back over to the two men who looked like her party members, shook her head as if to say it was no good today, and started chattering about something.
For some reason, it felt like she was saying it so I'd hear it, but maybe that was just my imagination.
I ignored her, put my hand back on the portal, and tried to enter again.
“By the way, if you're doing solo play, what level are you?”
Then the female challenger interrupted me again. I lowered my hand and answered casually.
“52.”
“Huh? 52?”
“Yeah. Why?”
The woman jumped as if startled, then went on while desperately holding back the twitching corners of her mouth.
“You can't just go in because the recommended level says 40 to 50! That's written for party play!”
Yeah, I know.
**
The woman introduced herself as Kim Jina.
Kim Jina passionately explained how difficult this mini-dungeon was, using all kinds of gestures and hand motions.
Then she went on to say that I might die if I went in alone, and suggested finding party members and going in together.
“As it happens, there's a nicely balanced three-person party right here.”
In other words, she was saying I should form a party with them and go in together.
She said I couldn't clear it alone anyway, and since the rewards wouldn't drop all that much just because party members increased, it was actually better this way.
Listening quietly, I had to admit her way with words was pretty impressive.
The way she talked so noisily, using her whole body, even reminded me a little of some shepherd NPC.
Of course, that NPC was so bad at speaking it couldn't even win an argument with a dog, while this one didn't seem like that at all.
I wasn't especially obsessed with solo play either, so I decided to let it slide this time.
“Yeah, sure...”
Since solo play and party play apparently didn't differ much in rewards, maybe this was a good chance to get a taste of party play.
“Then I'll send the party invite. I'll make you the party leader!”
[Challenger Kim Jina and 2 others have invited you to a party.]
“Accept.”
[You have been made party leader.]
The party leader authority transferred to me as soon as I joined, and the party UI that appeared before my eyes felt very awkward.
“Our party is a 1-tank, 1-DPS, 1-ranged-DPS setup. These two are Paladin and Gladiator classes, and I'm a Mage.”
The heavily armored warrior with the hammer was a Paladin handling tanking and healing, and the light armored warrior with the sword and shield was a Gladiator, the melee damage dealer.
The Paladin was named Kim Minhyung, and the Gladiator was Kim Jinseok. They're all Kims.
Except for the Mage, Kim Jina, both of them had rare classes, and their levels were 44, 45, and 46 respectively, a little lower than mine.
“Your name was Jinhyuk, right? What class are you? A warrior type?”
“Yeah, just a Warrior.”
“Ah, just a Warrior... so you're a normal class?”
Kim Jina blinked, looking a little surprised when I revealed my class.
Then Kim Minhyung, the Paladin who had been watching in silence from the start, suddenly opened his mouth.
“What, you're one of those Warrior bros?”
This guy's tone is kind of shitty, isn't it?