Ch. 73 The Meaning of Competition (1)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 73 – The Meaning of Competition (1)
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[Isn’t this doable right now?]
[Reina’s Recommended Achievements Compilation]
[It’s a relief you’ve only done combat-related achievements, seems there’s still plenty to find and do]
[How about this? Clearing a dungeon above the 100th floor without any armor]
[Since there aren’t any major events, we’ll have to fill it with minor achievements for now]
.
.
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Before embarking on serious action, I peeked at the bulletin board as usual.
Predictably, constellations engrossed in the ranking competition were actively writing, creating achievement-related guides and tips for me as if they were doing it for themselves.
Actually, it was a scene I had somewhat anticipated.
From what I’d observed, they were enjoying this kind of thing.
Now, all I had to do was pick the guides that suited my taste and execute them.
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[Too bad… there’s so much to do even outside of combat-related achievements]
ㄴ“Don’t get your hopes up lol. Do you think Reina would do that?”
ㄴ“Honestly, I’d like to see it. I wonder what someone who got flustered just by wearing a feminine outfit would look like.”
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Some mentioned achievements in fields other than combat.
As Lienblad was doing, the achievements recognized by the Tower’s system weren’t limited to just combat.
All systems and cycles that make the Tower run are recognized as achievements. Fostering successors, boosting the economy through business, repairing collapsed facilities.
All of that is achievement.
If that achievement is necessary to become stronger, even the most high-nosed Rankers would have no choice but to move to achieve it.
But the reason they aren’t doing it now is that they don’t need achievement points enough to go that far among the Rankers.
Unless constellations step up and openly start a competition like now.
‘I know what you’re expecting, but absolutely not.’
Lifestyle achievements like daily maid jobs recommended by some constellations were not even a consideration.
What I wanted were things that would allow me to grow while achieving achievements.
Fortunately, there were several guides that I liked being posted, so it seemed I wouldn’t be scrambling, not knowing what to do.
I just needed to be faster than Lienblad.
Compared to the opponent who started touching lifestyle achievements, it might not be easy to win with only combat, but I was determined to make it happen.
“Reina-nim, as you requested, I’ve gathered data on the related achievements.”
“Just doing these here will decide the outcome already.”
To secure plausibility, I peeked at the fan gallery and simultaneously ordered Kim Ji-eun to investigate achievements whose completion conditions had been revealed.
My goal was to prioritize achieving the achievements that overlapped among those she investigated and those recommended by the constellations.
“First, this one. Fastest time to clear the collapsed village dungeon on the 95th floor.”
The first thing I chose from the list Kim Ji-eun handed over was the achievement of clearing a specific dungeon in the shortest time, which the constellations also recommended.
If the constellations also recommended it and it was a famous achievement that Kim Ji-eun knew, what would that mean?
It meant it was difficult enough that the achievement score was high.
According to reports, this dungeon was so difficult that it was excluded from the commonly known ‘challenger’s essential course’ dungeons.
“I remember that place. It’s a magic seal dungeon, so we didn’t go in together, right?”
“Yeah. Actually, I didn’t even think I’d bother going there.”
It was one of the dungeons I had coolly skipped in the past without paying attention to it.
There wasn’t much to gain, and most importantly, Kim Ji-eun’s magic, my ally, didn’t work there.
More than anything, Jung Chan-soo skipped it too. At the time, nothing was more important to me than that.
“I didn’t expect you to contact me first.”
The dungeon required at least two people to enter, and Kim Ji-eun, a mage, couldn’t enter together due to the penalty.
I had also heard that Shadis had just reached the 45th floor.
Thanks to that, I was going to pick someone from the guild, but as a result, there was no need to do so.
An unexpected person contacted me first.
“He said that it would be beneficial to be with Moonlight Sword Radiance, so he told me to go find you first.”
On the other hand, Diana smiled and shrugged as if it was nothing.
The ‘he’ she was talking about meant her contract constellation. Hearing that, I realized what had happened.
It was obvious that Diana’s fans who were watching our gallery in Fate Road had informed her contract constellation, the manager, about what was happening now.
‘Why? What for?’
So it wasn’t strange that Diana knew and contacted me.
The question was why even the contract constellation was pushing Diana.
Diana already had considerable affection for me since that day, so just a little nudge was enough for her to come without hesitation.
It seemed I would have to find out this truth next time I checked the bulletin board.
“Can I join you?”
“I don’t mind, but does Jung Chan-soo know about this?”
“I reported it, but he didn’t say anything. People in the world have many misunderstandings about him, but the only person he actively interferes with is still the young Se-jin. He’s not the type to strictly control and dominate his subordinates.”
I asked just in case, but she shook her head firmly.
She said that she was taking the time out of her free time to come, and no one interfered with her actions.
‘I know that very well.’
I didn’t show it, but I also agreed with her words.
Jung Chan-soo was definitely socially awkward, but he wasn’t childish or petty. Like a protagonist, he was just doing his job.
Then, people around him, including heroines like Diana, would take care of supporting and praising him.
The strict rules and regulations within the faction that were rumored were not set by Jung Chan-soo. The people around him were acting that way on their own, conscious of him.
“Let’s go. Diana, I don’t know how much you know, but time is gold right now.”
Diana was a high-level asset that I should be bowing to.
The stronger the partner, the easier the achievement of clearing in the shortest time would be.
“But… you’re not going to go into the dungeon in that outfit, are you? Of course, we’re going to take off all the armor because of the no armor achievement.”
Just before moving, I paused and glanced at Diana.
Even without wearing armor, it was natural to wear functional clothes that were easy to move in. I was wearing my usual sportswear.
“I don’t particularly mind.”
However, Diana was different.
This thin gray dress that clung so tightly that the curves of her body were all revealed, a very famous outfit with a specific place name attached to it in reality.
In fact, even when I first saw it, I flinched and didn’t know where to put my eyes.
‘Who dressed her? The constellations again?’
I quickly searched my memory, wondering if there was any mention of this in the story.
It suited her mature atmosphere well, but it kept catching my eye.
***
-“In one month, Reina must accumulate more achievements than Lienblad, who is in the lead. Do you think she can do it?”
“…One month.”
From the moment he first heard it, he made an ambiguous assessment. If there was no time limit, Reina would definitely rise to the top.
In fact, he assessed that Reina’s potential was beyond his evaluation, and recently she was exploding that potential herself.
Perhaps she would become stronger than his own companions, whom he had personally raised and who had become much stronger than in the ‘previous round’.
But with a time limit, it was hard to say for sure. More than anything, the other party wasn’t just playing around, were they?
Jung Chan-soo had already heard the news that Lienblad was even touching lifestyle achievements.
‘Given her personality, she would never do anything that would harm her pride.’
The Reina that Jung Chan-soo saw was a very upright woman.
There was a time when she was stuck at the very bottom, but even then, she was tougher than anyone he had ever seen.
It didn’t seem like Reina would throw away her pride and do things unrelated to combat for the sake of lifestyle achievements.
“Why are they doing this? It’s meaningless and unnecessary.”
Jung Chan-soo genuinely couldn’t understand and directly asked the constellation Esgalte, who had given him the news.
The constellations in his memory were not like this.
In the previous round, he was just a mediocre challenger, and thanks to that, he had never been directly involved in major events.
He had never directly heard the news that constellations were making bets like this.
The same was true this time.
After Jung Chan-soo led his faction and overwhelmingly rose to the top, there was no competition on the scale of the current one in the already obvious competitive structure.
So all the events that were happening now were phenomena that arose after Reina’s rapid growth and unrivaled popularity.
-“Are you curious? As I always say, you will know all the answers when you climb the Tower to the end.”
However, Esgalte did not give a clear answer.
No, to be precise, it was closer to being in a state where he couldn’t tell the truth.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Reminder that this all happened just so noobs can prove a point.Quite realistic, no?
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