Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 51 – The Epic Quest

—–CROW—– 

I avoid using overly powerful items, but that doesn’t mean I’ll refuse items that come my way.

As I readily accepted the quest, the blacksmith smiled proudly and promised to make an amazing sword for me.

She warned that it wasn’t free and that I wouldn’t get anything if I didn’t learn diligently.

But judging by the fact that most of the quest completion conditions are optional and there aren’t any significant restrictions, it’s likely just lip service.

She’ll probably make the sword even if I just pretend to learn.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I intend to slack off. I keenly felt the power of systematic swordsmanship in the fight against the High Elf knight.

A fighting style with a depth different from the makeshift swordsmanship I learned by fighting Lizardmen, I’m already looking forward to it.

After receiving the quest and items from blacksmith Erwen, I visited other shops one by one.

However, I could only visit two places. One was a general store selling potions, and the other was a grocery store.

“Oh my, what brings a human here?  Were you invited?”

The owner of the general store showed interest as soon as she saw me buying potions and gave me a mysterious pill as a bonus.

[Green Orb Pill]

A secret elixir passed down among elves.

Rumors say it’s the secret to their longevity, a racial trait, but it hasn’t been proven.

In elven society, it’s treated like a homemade nutritional supplement.

Upon consumption, permanently increases a random stat once.

I thought it would be nothing special since she gave it to me like vitamins at a pharmacy, but it was an amazing item that permanently increases a stat.

I searched for it, and it seems to be an item you can obtain if you choose either the Dark Elf or High Elf faction.

They say you’re guaranteed to get at least one if you follow the quest lines of either faction.

[Fucking High Elf bastards act all high and mighty while giving you just one vitamin pill lol]

Of course, in the High Elf faction, where only horror stories emerge the more you dig, it seems like they don’t just give it away easily.

And the NPCs at the grocery store were a Dark Elf couple who looked like tanned gangsters, but they also showed me quite a bit of favor.

“Huh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a human… Honey, do we have any of those cookies we made last time left?  Bring some.”

At this point, I’m starting to wonder if humans look like stray cats to Dark Elves.

“Hey, are you thirsty? Want some milk?”

Of course, I didn’t have any complaints.  And while I was killing time at the grocery store, Eleanor found me.

“Sorry, did I take too long? I was trying to find a good room for you.”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s good. This way, follow me.”

Eleanor led me inside the giant tree dwelling.  The room I was going to use was a few floors up the stairs.

The Dark Elf dwelling wasn’t much different from other inns.  She said it was a good room, but it didn’t look particularly special.

Well, I’m not going to complain since I got a free room.

“You have an item box, right? Then you won’t have much to unpack.”

Come to think of it, it seems NPCs perceive challengers’ inventories as some kind of magic called “item box.”

“Then follow me. I’ll show you to the public bath. You should probably wash up first.”

Eleanor said so and pulled my arm.  I did get quite dusty from fighting the High Elf knight.

“You reek of blood.”

But that wasn’t the problem.

**

Is it because I spent so long covered in blood and poison on the 6th floor?

I scrubbed myself clean before participating in the festival, but I didn’t think the smell would still linger.

“Elves have a better sense of smell than humans.  But it’s not like they particularly dislike it.”

Hearing that, I understood why the High Elf prince flinched and attacked me like that.

An outsider with a black, ominous-looking greatsword, reeking of blood and poison.

Considering the conflict between the Royal Army and the High Elves’ forest, it would be stranger if they weren’t wary.

And I even sliced up the Rune Bear he was hunting with my greatsword, so I must have looked even more dangerous.

Of course, that’s completely separate from the High Elf bastards’ shitty personalities.

“Anyway, let’s go in.  This way.”

The Dark Elf bath that Eleanor led me to was very spacious and luxurious.

Perhaps influenced by the elves’ characteristic naturalism, it had the atmosphere of a well-developed hot spring.  It might actually be a hot spring.

But there was one big problem with this bath.

You can probably guess what it is from the fact that Eleanor naturally brought me here.

“Crazy, it’s a mixed bath.”

Yes, this public bath has no separation between men and women.

“Don’t humans have this kind of culture?  If you’re uncomfortable, I can leave.”

“No, there’s no need for you to leave.  I’m just not used to it.”

Of course, it’s not a bad thing, so I didn’t bother sending Eleanor out.

But this is strange. I don’t think the Dark Elves’ culture like this was mentioned in the community.

Maybe it happens only after you raise your favorability to a certain level. Or maybe the challengers intentionally didn’t mention it.

Since the open community is a system where real names are displayed, it might have been a bit awkward to openly talk about something this risqué.

“Should I search for it?”

I got curious and searched the community with the keyword “mixed bath.” There weren’t many posts mentioning it.

And even in the posts that mentioned it, while the existence of a mixed bathing culture is mentioned, there’s hardly any content about experiencing it firsthand.

It seems there’s a difference depending on favorability, or perhaps the system prevents mixed bathing with challengers.

Maybe it’s a unique event that only 1st generation Hunters experienced, or one of the hidden elements I discovered.

Or maybe it’s because of this in my quest window.

[Epic: Dark Elf’s Letter – Invitation]

An Epic quest that was registered after accepting Eleanor’s invitation.

**

Quests in the Trial Tower are broadly divided into three categories.

Normal quests that can no longer be performed after clearing them once, repeatable quests that can be performed multiple times,

And finally, limited-quantity Unique quests that were all exhausted during the 1st and 2nd generations.

But this isn’t an official system classification, just an arbitrary categorization by challengers.

“An Epic quest… I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

And naturally, I’ve never heard of the existence of Epic quests. I searched for it, but there was hardly any related information.

It seems some challengers who discovered hidden elements have mentioned the existence of Epic quests,

But since hardly anyone has actually received one, they’re only mentioned in rumors.

Still, it seems that after several cross-verifications, the fact that they exist has been confirmed.

– *Bubble, bubble.*

Soaking in the hot bath, I slowly read the information registered in the quest window, as if imprinting it in my eyes.

The quest description isn’t much different from other quests.  Just something about the history and purpose of the Dark Elves.

However, only the unfamiliar message displayed in the quest objective and reward section is different from other quests.

[The rewards and objectives of Epic quests vary depending on your challenge record.]

The final reward of the Dark Elf faction quest known in the community is an item bestowed by the Dark Elf Queen.

You can choose from several types, and I heard that the [Queen Knight’s Sword] is particularly popular among them.

I don’t know how I got into this, but can I assume that there’s a better reward if I clear this Epic quest route?

– *Splash.*

While I was pondering, Eleanor approached me with the sound of splashing water.

Oh, wow.  Seeing her like this, Dark Elves are really something else.

They said there were guys who tried to do bad things to NPCs back when the Trial Tower was still a barbaric place.

They became hostile with all the NPCs in the village as soon as they made inappropriate contact and were killed by the guard NPCs.

But it seems like there’s no problem if the NPC initiates it. I was really surprised.

“What are you staring blankly at?”

Did she notice that I was looking at the quest window?

Wait, can NPCs do that?

“Nothing.”

I brushed it off.  More importantly, I wanted to move on to the next stage of the quest.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to talk to me about something?”

I averted my gaze from a certain part of her body that kept catching my eye and subtly spoke to Eleanor.

Some quests don’t progress unless you directly interact with the NPC like this.

It usually progresses on its own even if I do nothing, but since she’s an elite NPC, I probably need to actively talk to her.

“Ah, that.”

But what came out of Eleanor’s mouth was incredibly surprising.

“You know that prince whose arm you broke? He’s my fiancé.”

What the fuck?

—–CROW—–