Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 28 – Gamble

—–CROW—– 

I took off my blood-soaked clothes, threw them away, and poured a healing potion over myself.

“Ughhh.”

The potion stinging the wounds directly was incredibly painful. It felt like pouring lava instead of a potion.

But what could I do? If I did nothing, I was going to die from excessive bleeding.

At my feet was the corpse of the high-ranking Lizardman warrior I had just finished off. These guys took an unusually long time for their corpses to disappear.

I’m not sure if it’s because they are elite or named monsters, or if it depends on the monster’s level.

Anyway, I really almost died this time.

I got too excited about feeling my growth and acted too recklessly. Challenging four high-ranking warriors with trash gear… I was crazy.

Lizardmen are originally strong monsters that require a party to deal with.

The high-ranking Lizardman warriors were exceptionally strong among them, and not only were their individual specs superior, but their skills were also outstanding.

Two were skilled with spears, one used a shield and axe, and one was equipped with heavy armor and dual swords.

All of them handled their weapons more freely than their own bodies. And those guys were even working together.

After the first few exchanges, I immediately felt like I was screwed, and I had to switch back to my original equipment in the middle of the fight.

They didn’t even give me enough time to change my equipment, so I could only switch a few pieces.

“But I won, so I guess it’s fine.”

Anyway, there were several moments when I really thought I was going to die, but in the end, I won and survived.

And as much as I overcame a great crisis, the rewards that came back were very sweet.

“Status window.”

Seo Jinhyuk Lv.50 (Warrior)

HP: 750/750

MP: 360/360

Strength: 74 (60+14)

Agility: 60 (56+4)

Endurance: 61 (55+6)

Intelligence: 52 (50+2)

Since I defeated so many Lizardmen, my level had risen quite a bit.

Honestly, I thought it would have risen a bit more, but it stopped right at 50, perhaps because I entered a section where the required experience increased significantly.

However, thanks to the achievement [Tough Warrior] that I achieved by defeating the high-ranking Lizardman warrior, my stats increased quite a bit.

My Agility and Endurance stats, which were somewhat lacking compared to Strength, each increased by 5, and my HP also increased significantly to 750.

Now, even without items, my stats are comparable to a level 55.

“But why did Agility increase more?”

The stats that increased due to the achievement were clearly 5 each, but the Agility stat was strangely 1 higher.

Is it possible that stats also increase when certain conditions are met, like skills?

There were so many changes that it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.

“Well, it’s good that I got stronger, but…”

I closed the status window and opened the skill window. My skill list had become quite long.

[Battle Awakening lv.9]

[Battle Continuation lv.9]

First of all, the two skills I obtained on the 2nd floor reached level 9 in an instant. They are the highest-level skills I have.

[Bleeding Resistance lv.5]

[Stun Resistance lv.3]

[Combat Healing lv.3]

[Paralysis Resistance lv.3]

[Poison Resistance lv.3]

In addition, the lineup of the resistance series is amazing. I just acquired Paralysis Resistance and Poison Resistance, and they are already at level 3.

While I’m proud, I can’t help but wonder how crazy the poison that NPC bastard used was.

It was fortunate that I had a lot of healing potions, but if I were an ordinary challenger, wouldn’t I have just died without an antidote potion?

No, if I were an ordinary challenger, I wouldn’t have had a reason to get stabbed in the back by those NPCs.

Anyway, other than these, there was Sword Mastery and Earth Spirit’s Blessing, which didn’t have any significant changes, and the [Indomitable] and [Intuition] skills, each at level 4.

In addition to resistances, I had acquired two new skills.

[Basic Swordsmanship lv.2]

[Basic Brawling lv.1]

Both are simple passive skills that the Warrior class can obtain by clearing certain quests. The exact effects are unknown because there is no explanation.

However, it has been verified in the community that the higher the level of swordsmanship and brawling, the better the skill.

Did acquiring them like this mean that my swordsmanship has now reached a basic level?

“It’s… amazing, right?”

Even if it’s basic, I went from having zero experience to having skills that can be called swordsmanship.

Maybe these two skills are the biggest achievements I gained this time.

**

After fully recovering my wounds, I returned to the village for maintenance.

Almost all of the NPCs in the village were members of the expedition team, but none of them asked about the well-being of the expedition leader who left with me.

In the end, NPCs are just NPCs. It’s a relief, since it would be troublesome if I became hostile with them because of this.

[Trial Tower #2661 (1/1)]

I checked the Trial Tower chat window after a long time. I don’t have any lingering feelings, but there still wasn’t a single newbie.

I first repaired my damaged equipment and immediately went to the NPC who served as a general merchant.

[Low-grade Antidote Potion]

When used, it cures low-level poisoning.

The effect varies depending on the type of poison.

And since I had suffered badly from poison, I poured my gold and bought a large amount of antidote potions.

Since I monopolized the resources of the tower, I had plenty of gold anyway.

Finally, I went to another NPC that I hadn’t paid attention to before and bought some special items.

[Steel Arrow with Poison(Paralysis)]

Has a chance to inflict a status ailment on the target when hit.

The effect varies depending on the hit area and resistance level.

These are poison arrows that archers are supposed to use, but they are so inefficient that no one really uses them.

I spent my overflowing gold and bought several of each type.

Of course, I’m not an Archer class, so there’s no particular use for these.

Ah, I guess I could use them by stabbing monsters with the arrows at close range to poison them.

But in most cases, it would be much better to just stab them with a sword instead. Honestly, even just punching them would be stronger.

I didn’t buy these to use on monsters.

I learned a lot from fighting Lizardmen to the death while poisoned.

To survive with a slowly dying body, I needed efficient movements, and my survival instinct made it happen.

The battle in an extreme situation where not a single movement could be wasted led to dramatic growth.

Honestly, I gained much more from this than the dozens of fights I had while trying to improve my skills.

Just like I came to my senses after my mother’s death, dramatic changes require strong stimulation.

Of course, I don’t think my efforts so far were wrong. This is just a matter of efficiency.

And the new resistance skills I acquired this time.

As a result of forcibly enduring the poison by drinking health potions like water, I gained level 3 resistance in one go.

Then, can’t I further develop my resistance skills by artificially recreating the same situation?

[Steel Arrow with Poison(Paralysis)]

[Steel Arrow with Poison(Bleeding)]

[Steel Arrow with Poison(Decay)]

[Steel Arrow with Poison(Poison)]

What if I stab myself with these various poisons, and then forcibly overcome them by using a lot of healing potions?

Maybe this is a growth method that only I, who has an enormous amount of gold and an enormous amount of potions, can use.

And by fighting Lizardmen while poisoned, I can put myself in a more extreme situation.

Of course, I might die, but if I overcome it, I can grow dramatically.

“It’s a gamble.”

If I fail, I die. If I succeed, I become stronger. It’s a gamble with clear risks and returns.

And it’s a bit funny to say this myself, but I was originally a shut-in, dopamine-addicted loser.

I’m out of my room now, but I don’t think that nature has gone anywhere.

So, it’s obvious, isn’t it?

Me falling into gambling.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

I smiled and stabbed a poison arrow into my thigh.

– *Stab!*

**

– Welcome to the Trial Tower Open Community!

[Author: Kim Junghyun#1921]

[Title: Why hasn’t Jinhyuk been around lately?]

(Photo)

Didn’t this guy ask about spirit affinity or something last time?

But why hasn’t he posted anything since then? Is he dead?

Does anyone have contact with Jinhyuk?

– Come to think of it, what’s Jinhyuk been up to?

– I heard that bastard quit the community, is that why?

– Who the hell is Jinhyuk, stop talking about things only you know.

– > You don’t know Jinhyuk while using the community?

– > Don’t you know the #1 most liked user in the Open Community, Jinhyuk?

– > Don’t you know the 2661 cheater, Jinhyuk?

– It was a miracle that he cleared the 1st floor solo, so he might really be dead.

– I sent him a message last time, but he didn’t reply.

[Author: Lee Jihoon#1554]

[Title: 2661 seems to be dead]

(Photo)

I sent him over a hundred messages, but no reply.

He might have quit the community and is focusing on clearing, but this is a bit strange.

I think he had an accident while trying to clear the boss solo.

– Is there still no newbie in 2661? Is that tower bugged?

– > If even one person entered, they would have definitely posted on the community.

– Another challenger dies like this… damn this fucked up tower.

– Where is 2661?

– > There’s a strange server where only one challenger named Seo Jinhyuk exists.

[Author: Seo Jinhyuk#2661]

[Title: I’m not dead, you morons]

Stop sending me messages, damn it.

—–CROW—–