Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 29 – Secluded Training

—–Crow—–

I am as famous in the open community as any other high-ranking player.

I am the only solo player in the world, and I used to be a loser who spammed the open community with useless posts.

In addition, my special circumstances are known outside of the Tower of Trials, so it’s impossible for me not to be famous.

Probably, anyone in Korea who keeps up with news related to Hunters or the Tower of Trials would know who I am.

However, fame and the level of interest in the community do not necessarily coincide.

The community members don’t really care about the top-ranking players who are known by name.

Those fossil-like humans are so strong that they will never die outside, so no news is good news.

Above all, if you are in the same tower, it’s not difficult to hear news or see the faces of the rankers.

But if I stay away from the community, news about me completely stops, and I’m in a dangerous environment in many ways.

So it seems like they are more interested in me, but honestly, it’s just annoying.

I mean, why are they making a fuss when someone finally quits the community and is focusing on a diligent life?

I blocked all the annoying messages, but now my block list is full, so I can’t even do that.

– *Ding ding ding ding ding!*

“Ugh, damn it.”

If I leave it alone, the messages become like a terror attack, making it impossible to live a normal life.

[Author: Seo Jinhyuk#2661]

[Title: I’m not dead, you morons]

Stop sending me messages, damn it.

I had no choice but to write a post on the community to let them know I was alive. Comments poured in at an enormous rate.

Why I was away for so long, if I was alive I should have posted, things like that.

It sounds like a warm expression of concern, but almost all of them had the word “damn it” attached.

The open community is completely real-name based and not a place where people of a specific tendency or age group flock, so the atmosphere is rarely unified.

But I don’t know why all the posts and comments related to me have this kind of atmosphere. It’s like looking at a DC gallery instead of the open community.

While sighing and roughly replying to the comments, I reached out my hand as I felt an itch near my left temple.

– *Grab.*

I caught an arrow that was aimed at my head. When I turned my head, there was a mid-ranking Lizardman warrior with a longbow.

What, did it chase me already?

I threw the arrow I caught on the floor, pushed aside the open community window, and approached the Lizardman. It had two stripes.

It’s bravely charging at me despite being a small fry. As expected of a warrior race, they are different.

The archer Lizardman quickly took out its secondary weapon, a dagger, and rushed towards me.

The sight of a 2m tall, muscular lizardman charging with a dagger is always impressive.

But I’ve seen it so many times that I could react calmly.

– *Smack!*

I broke its balance with a low kick, snatched the dagger from its hand, and stabbed it in the neck.

The dagger, which entered the vital point accurately, triggered a red critical effect, and the Lizardman’s breath soon stopped.

It’s already been several months since I started voluntary secluded training on the 3rd floor.

Now I could kill a mid-ranking Lizardman with my bare hands while commenting on the community.

**

The training method of forcibly pushing myself into extreme situations was definitely effective.

How many times have I almost died? I stopped counting after I couldn’t count with both hands.

I kept repeating this crazy act that was like gambling, but I never failed and always won a huge pot.

Seo Jinhyuk Lv.50 (Warrior)

HP: 780/780

MP: 400/400

Strength: 80 (66+14)

Agility: 66 (62+4)

Endurance: 71 (65+6)

Intelligence: 57 (55+2)

My level was still 50, unchanged from a few months ago. It was a section where the experience requirement increased significantly, and the level difference was so large that it didn’t increase at all.

But as you can see, my stats have increased significantly overall. This was thanks to several achievements and purely raising my stats.

I recently learned that stats can actually be raised through normal exercise.

No matter how much you exercised in the outside world, when you enter the Tower of Trials, everyone starts with all stats at 1.

However, the abilities that you improve by training yourself in the tower are directly reflected in your stats.

If a person who was a weakling before entering the tower receives PT and becomes able to do a 500kg deadlift, their strength stat will increase accordingly.

However, the difference between a strength stat of 1 and 2 is quite large, so it’s very difficult to raise stats through pure exercise.

Also, there are no special additional effects from raising stats like that.

But by risking my life and fighting Lizardmen with my bare hands, and diligently following a routine, I was able to raise quite a few stats.

My displayed level is 50, but my actual stats are above level 60.

In addition, when combined with the skills I’ve acquired and various improvements in my abilities, the difference in combat power with challengers of the same level would be considerable.

It seems like it’s time to clear the 3rd floor and move up.

**

I already know the location of the boss room, but there is a place I need to go to first.

The ruins where I was backstabbed by the expedition team NPCs, the place where lightning slumbers.

I had already completed the exploration of the ruins up to the last stage, and all that was left was to catch the boss monster of the ruins that I had been saving.

The boss of the ruins is classified as a field boss, but it is probably the strongest monster in the entire 3rd-floor area, including the boss room.

This is because the boss battle on the 3rd floor, unlike the 1st and 2nd floors, is a group battle against multiple Lizardmen.

The concept is that a Shaman Lizardman selects and revives the greatest heroes of the past Lizardman tribe to fight.

On the other hand, the boss of the ruins is expected to be a single entity. Since it’s the sole boss, it will naturally be the strongest.

I put on leather armor that was only enhanced for [Durability], and in addition to my main weapon, the sword, I wore a dagger and a hand axe on my waist as secondary weapons.

It’s more convenient to have these small weapons out like this rather than keeping them in the inventory.

I ate just enough White Troll meat to digest properly and headed to the ruins fully prepared.

– *Rumble!*

The wall that blocked the last section of the ruins opened, and a large open area was revealed beyond the stone gate.

It was a very desolate space, like other boss rooms. And over there, in the center of the open area, was a crouching Lizardman.

It was the white-bodied Lizardman I saw in the mural, but the ‘weapon that controls lightning’ that was drawn in the mural was nowhere to be seen.

The reason for this was explained by the boss battle message that appeared before my eyes.

[The best weapon is neither a sword, nor a bow, nor a spear, but the martial prowess that a warrior has accumulated throughout his life.]

[Therefore, the Lizardmen considered the best warrior as a weapon itself.]

[That warrior, born with the power to control lightning and feared by all Lizardmen, is the ‘weapon that controls lightning’.]

What was sealed in the ruins was not a treasure. A notification window blinked, saying that the ruins exploration quest was completed.

[BOSS – Ruler of Lightning, Kienn’ul]

The Lizardman, who picked up a spear and stood up, had sparks flickering in its eyes.

**

The first thing I thought of when I saw the white Lizardman was the image of the expedition member who stabbed me in the back.

The idiots who said they had to assassinate me because I might steal the treasure.

What treasure to steal? There was no treasure in the first place, just a very dangerous-looking Lizardman.

Even if they had managed to get rid of me and reach this place, they would have just died to that white lizard.

It’s pointless to think about this since they’re just NPCs, but it’s ridiculous.

– *Growl…*

The Lizardman was watching me, making a low growl. There were no stripes on its shoulders.

But that thing definitely has the skills of at least a high-ranking warrior. Just looking at it being wary of me with a spear gives me a rough estimate.

It’s probably quite strong even without its ability to control electricity.

Let’s test the waters first.

I took out two stones from my inventory and hid them behind my shield. Then, I carefully gauged the timing and threw them.

It could probably deflect one stone by swinging its spear, but it wouldn’t be able to block the second stone so easily.

[Throwing Lv. 6]

This is my special move, a curveball that I developed after throwing stones so much that I acquired the Throwing skill and even raised it to level 6.

The stone, drawing a sharply curving trajectory, started to rush towards me, ignoring the Lizardman.

And finally, when the stone and the Lizardman were very close, there was a crackling sound and a flash of light.

– *Zap!*

The electricity that burst out from around the Lizardman’s body intercepted and shattered both stones.

Seriously? An electric barrier?

If I get close, I’ll be fried to a crisp.

I’m a warrior, damn it.

—–CROW—–