Chapter 83
83. A Clumsy Decision
The joy of growth far outweighed the pain of my body burning.
That was why, despite having no tolerance for pain whatsoever, I could keep taking the Emerald Wyvern’s attacks again and again.
The two resistance skills I’d just learned reduced, respectively, general magical attacks and spell-attribute damage.
A search on the community made it seem that the property possessed by mana in its natural state, without any change to its nature, is called the “spell attribute.”
Apparently, many hindering effects that use magic are also mostly classified as spell attribute.
Then “non-attribute” would seem more fitting, but if the system says so, I guess that’s just how it is.
Anyway, I’d succeeded in obtaining the quest objective: the Jade Elixir.
For something that nearly got me killed, it was a bit disappointing not to get any other loot, but I couldn’t complain too much.
I hadn’t come here for the rewards in the first place.
I’d come to ask the Dark Elf Queen about the World Tree, and to get some answers about the existence known as the soul.
Because I wanted to know the true nature of the overwhelming presence I felt from Eleanor.
If you ask what I’d do with that knowledge, I don’t really have an answer. Honestly, I don’t even know why myself.
I could just ignore it and move on like always.
What’s wrong with an NPC acting like an NPC? I’d changed my mind once; changing it back would be no big deal.
The thoughts and memories I’d shared with Eleanor, the emotional exchange we’d had, all of it could just be treated as if it had never happened.
It would just be going back to how things were before. There was nothing that could be a problem.
Wasn’t I growing this smoothly even now?
[Jade Elixir]
Looking down at the elixir in my hand, I suddenly felt irritated.
To think I was fine without a reward—since when had I started thinking so inefficiently?
I felt a pointless wave of annoyance rise up and briefly considered hurling the elixir in my hand away, but soon stopped myself.
Well, it’s a quest. More than that, it’s an epic quest. There was no reason to abandon a quest I’d already cleared.
Calming the mana precariously churning in my chest, I left the dungeon.
**
After returning to the Dark Elf village, I immediately requested an audience with the queen.
Thanks to my status as Eleanor’s betrothed, it wasn’t hard to meet the queen, and I was able to hand over the elixir right away.
The quest completion reward wasn’t anything special—just experience, gold, and the chance to speak with the queen.
I’d worried the elixir might not work, or that she’d refuse the audience, but none of that happened.
-Creak.
The queen, leaning back against the creaking bed, glared at me. Her eyes were still like a dry old stump.
“You said there was something you wanted to ask me.”
The queen’s voice was a little different from what I’d heard on the 7th floor. It was even more parched than before.
“I had a few questions about the World Tree, and there’s probably no one among the Dark Elves who knows as much about it as you do.”
“Correct.”
“Actually, I didn’t narrow my questions down before coming, so it’s not really ‘a few.’ I want to hear everything you know.”
The queen blinked slowly. Was it because she was closer to a fossil than an old person? Her movements looked like those of a still life.
And then, out of nowhere, she blurted out,
“The Forest Elves’ scepter and the Night Elves’ crown have the power to interfere with the World Tree.”
As if she’d already figured out what I wanted to know.
“Using that power, one can interfere with the cyclical flow of souls.”
And she added immediately.
“That is all. Now you know everything there is to know about the World Tree.”
There was nothing more she could tell me.
**
The queen’s dim, clouded eyes stared straight at me.
I couldn’t easily believe what the queen was saying. To think that was the only thing I didn’t know about the World Tree.
But no matter how much I pressed her, her answer stayed the same: that was everything, and there were no hidden secrets in the World Tree.
After that, the queen began telling me everything she knew about the World Tree.
But there was nothing new among it. What came out of the queen’s mouth wasn’t much different from what Eruwen had told me.
“Right. So that’s how it is.”
I let out a sigh. I hadn’t learned anything new about souls or the World Tree.
What an empty feeling. Had I really gone through all that trouble for only a little experience and a little gold?
“If you asked the Forest Elves, they’d give the same answer. There are no secrets that they or I don’t know.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Even if some secret were hidden there, what does it have to do with you? The World Tree has already withered and lost its power.”
That was true enough. Even if I learned more about the World Tree or souls, there was nothing I could do with it anyway.
But I hadn’t expected the queen to say something like that.
Wasn’t the queen still attached to the World Tree? Wasn’t that why she accepted the High Elves’ peace offer by handing Eleanor over?
“What attachment could I possibly have to a withered old tree trunk? I only wanted peace for my daughter.”
“It doesn’t seem like your daughter wants that.”
“A belligerent streak isn’t easy to change. That girl will change her mind once she experiences war.”
The queen said that, then looked up at the ceiling as if gazing at a distant mountain.
“I was the same. I hated the Forest Elves for monopolizing the World Tree and driving us out. Before I became queen and after I became queen, I wanted to wipe them out.”
“We, who had been persecuted, had the right to do so. The right to defeat them and move toward a wider world.”
“But there is one thing I’ve learned from living longer than anyone else: war never changes.”
Come to think of it, I only knew the history of the Dark Elves at the level of background lore.
“No matter who fired the arrow, or how justified that arrow was, there’s no telling who will be the one pierced and killed by it.”
“From the moment the bowstring is released, until the thing that should have been done from the beginning is done—everyone only suffers.”
The queen said that and glared at me with sharp eyes.
“Until we sit down and talk face-to-face.”
The queen was clearly resenting me.
**
After finishing the long conversation with the queen, I came outside and stared blankly up at the sky.
“Haa……”
So this confirmed that if I used the elves’ crown and scepter, I could interfere with the World Tree and the flow of souls.
But knowing it didn’t mean I could do anything. No matter what I tried, I’d never be able to get my hands on them.
And besides, since the World Tree had already withered, apparently even having them wouldn’t let me do anything.
Whatever was keeping Eleanor alive—the something I suspected was the soul I was sensing.
It’s not like I had any intention of doing anything with it—but for some reason, I felt empty. What had I really wanted?
“Status window.”
After receiving the quest reward, I leveled up once. The new skill I’d gained through the Emerald Wyvern stood out.
“Those stats are insane.”
I let out a dry laugh at stats that didn’t fit either the floor I was climbing or my level.
I was already strong enough that being a solo player was no longer a problem.
At this rate, I’d probably clear the Tower of Trials without much trouble.
Honestly, if I focused solely on pushing up floors in earnest, I could reach the 25th floor in no time.
There was no need to risk my life searching for the treasure chests in the maze area or the hidden elements tucked away on each floor.
There was no particular need to stay on this floor for long and train either. I could practice mana control anytime.
Eleanor.
Lizmel.
Eruwen.
No matter how human they seemed, they were all NPCs in the end. Once the quest ended, they’d just turn into empty kiosks.
What could I do about the Tower of Trials being designed that way? In the end, I was just another being bound to the tower’s system.
I received the invitation sent by the tower, grew through the system the tower granted me, and advanced in the manner the tower set.
I just had to keep going like this. As long as I didn’t veer off down some unnecessary path, I could achieve my goal.
“Yeah. Let it go.”
I’d decided never to stop, hadn’t I? No more lingering attachment.
Like always, like I’d done with my other desires, all I had to do was cut it off and throw it away.
I had castrated it all: the desire to sleep, the desire to eat, the desire for sex.
This much was nothing.
**
The next day, I went to Eleanor and spoke to her.
“You’re helping the scouting party again?”
The three great powers were still colliding and clashing nonstop. War was already steadily approaching.
In this quest, the challenger’s role was, naturally, to help the faction they belonged to secure an advantage.
The method, of course, was to complete various subquests; clear a certain number of quests, and Chapter 2 would end.
Now that I’d made up my mind, I had no intention of moving sluggishly. I’d clear the quest as fast as possible and move on to the 9th floor.
“I’m very pleased that you said that first. Now then, shall I reward you with a kiss?”
“Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Hmm, you’re even colder than usual today. It reminds me of when we first met.”
Yeah, that figured. I’d always treated NPCs this way in the first place.