Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

[Title]

Cleared Orc King’s Cave.jpg (+556)

[Content]

-Image File-

Is this the first in this community?

[Comments]

– Wow, congrats!

– How did you defeat the 2nd Named?

– Is this the second clear after ‘Chris’s Raid’?

N – There’s a trading record for ‘Orc King’s Yin Yang Gem’ around the same time as Chris’s party, so it might be the third?

– I’m a sword master, but I just can’t tank the 2nd Named. The damage is just too high even when I block!

N – It’s hellishly hard to tank as a sword master. Blocking is effective, but you have to do it for a long time to get the hang of it. Just spamming skills won’t reduce all the damage. Damage mitigation is a physical issue. You need to level up your skills too.

N – So I guess I need to go to sword academy just to tank, huh? LOL What’s with this VR difficulty?

N – Our party’s sword master keeps dying too. Both ‘Chris’s Raid’ and this party have fighter tanks.

…

So, can this dungeon be soloed? I came here after playing only solo games, and I don’t want to party.

N – If you don’t party, you can’t play this game. Eldon is recommended for 4 players, and if you can’t farm Eldon, you absolutely can’t hunt in the next area’s field. Later, raid dungeons will come out too.

N – Maybe it will be possible when levels get higher. But it’s absolutely impossible at the appropriate level.

N – I think only a skilled swordsman who can completely block frontal attacks might manage it, but not with the 2nd Named because of the back attacks from mages and named enemies. In one second, the orc mages’ patterns and boss attacks will hit four or five times, right? And they’ll be stabbing and slashing at the same time?

*

I crashed hard.

The fatigue from staying up for hours demanded rest from my weak body.

I barely got up in the evening and stared blankly around the room.

How long have I been sleeping?

I went to bed around midnight yesterday, so about 18 hours?

The evening glow seeping through the window.

The scenery of my tiny room dyed in golden light.

I had thrown the trash away before sleeping.

With nothing but an old PC and a shiny virtual reality capsule in this small room.

And a slightly worn out, second-hand latex mattress. A set of duvet and pillow.

“Ah!”

I quickly opened my smartphone to check the balance.

[Lee Seulbi]

[Hanwa Bank]

[Balance 1,080,174 KRW]

“Heh.”

It wasn’t a dream.

The 1 gold I earned from selling the ‘Orc King’s Yin Yang Gem’ at the auction house.

Without a doubt, 1 million won was in my bank account.

I thought about saving some to use in the next area, but I also needed money in the real world.

I clenched my tiny hands tightly.

“I just need to keep farming today.”

The ‘Orc King’s Cave’ took over 2 hours to clear completely, even without retries due to failed strategies.

For someone like me who couldn’t afford reckless play, it was bound to take even longer.

The Named enemies had overwhelming HP. It was no surprise it was a 4-player dungeon.

But if you think of 1 round of the dungeon as making cash worth 1 million won?

I couldn’t help but drool.

There was no time to rest.

Those 18 hours of sleep were too precious to waste.

I sold the Yin Yang Gem obtained from my first attempt at the auction house and wore the sword I got from the second attempt.

Having obtained accessories and a sword, I should be able to clear the dungeon faster today.

Still, before that.

I opened the delivery application I had installed yesterday.

Gulp.

Chicken.

Fried chicken from a large franchise that you can’t even taste in ‘Astria Online.’

Satisfaction in the real world was important too.

“I need to eat well to stay energized for gaming.”

Nodding as I understood, I nervously tapped my fingers and ordered a chicken.

What a lavish treat.

But hey, I earned a lot of money yesterday.

I can afford this much luxury now.

*

Crash.

The massive body of the Orc King fell to the ground.

Feeling recharged after eating delicious chicken, I logged in and succeeded in my third raid of the ‘Orc King’s Cave.’

“Nice!”

Jumping around to express my victory, I quickly check the dropped items.

[Orc King’s Sword]

[Elite Grade]

[Attack Power 60]

[Damage of the chain skill ‘Thrust’ increases by 20% upon successful block.]

“Hmm…”

It was a sword, my weapon class as a ‘Sword Master.’

But I already had a sword equipped.

I checked the options of the sword I was currently wielding.

Everything else was the same, but the additional options were different.

[Damage reduced by 10% upon successful block.]

“Well.”

I prefer the block enhancement over the thrust enhancement.

It seemed better to stick with the one I was using.

Also, once equipped, the sword becomes bound and can’t be traded.

Accessories are ‘Bound upon acquisition’, weapons are ‘Bound upon equipping.’

I opened the auction house to sell the weapon I had just obtained.

However.

“Gasp…!”

25 silver.

The ‘Orc King’s weapon’ formed an average price of about 25 silver.

“Why!?”

I stomped my feet in frustration.

I sold the weapon for 1 gold just before going to bed!

Swish swish.

Infuriated, I scrolled through the auction house to find out the cause of the price drop.

The first weapon sold for 1 gold.

The second weapon sold for 5 gold.

After that, as the inventory increased, it fell steadily.

More parties began clearing ‘Orc King’s Cave’, and those leading parties were continuously supplying weapons without pause.

“This… profit!”

18 hours.

So much happened while I was sleeping for 18 hours.

The weapons going around, especially the weapons that are tradable and have guaranteed drop in elite dungeons, can no longer maintain a high price for more than a day.

I had missed the golden time of the leading party.

“Sniff, sniff.”

I wiped away my tears of frustration.

I had expected the price to drop. Many parties would clear this dungeon in the future.

The ‘Orc King’s weapon’ would soon become a stepping stone for beginners wanting to smoothly farm this elite dungeon and progress to the next area.

But the fact that I sold the first weapon for 1 gold when I could have sold it for 5 gold made me very upset.

“Sniff, sniff.”

I promised myself through my tears.

If I can clear the next elite dungeon as a lead party and get my first weapon, I will definitely sell it for a higher price.

*

Anyway, I continued to farm ‘Orc King’s Cave.’

The accessory drop rate was not bad, so I quickly finished farming, but I still needed to sell weapons that were priced reasonably.

Now, my dungeon clear time had reduced to about 1 hour and a half.

That was quite a decent pace for soloing an elite dungeon.

“Hmm.”

The price of the ‘Orc King’s weapon’ has now dropped to around 10 silver.

Similar to the ‘Constable’s weapon’ in stores.

At this point, no one should be buying the overpriced Constable weapons from the shop.

Already, the entrance of ‘Orc King’s Cave’ was lined with people wielding ‘Orc King’s weapons.’

Of course, although the weapon performance is good, just having the weapon doesn’t mean you can hunt in the next area.

The stats attached to the accessories were very important.

Once those people finish farming accessories, they could be seen in the next area.

“I should move to the next area.”

Now that I completed my farming, there was no need for me to stay in this area.

I could earn much more gold by raiding the first elite dungeon of the next area.

I turned my back to ‘Orc Forest’ and headed towards the next area, ‘Fames Desert.’

Thump thump.

*

Hot winds, like those coming out of a mine, made the desert sands dance.

The endlessly stretched yellow sands swayed like waves.

Desert.

The desert area existing in the continent of Astria, ‘Fames Desert.’

Upon arriving there, I quickly felt thirsty.

“Heh.”

I’m glad I brought water.

Even in virtual reality games, I could feel thirst from dehydration.

If the synchronization rate is low, the character just slows down or something, but since my synchronization rate is very high, I can’t help but feel like my throat is dry.

Gulp gulp.

After hastily gulping water from my canteen, I cleaned my mouth and stared blankly at my surroundings.

The desert was quiet and desolate, yet it was filled with hope and the essence of life.

The will of life to sustain itself in such harsh conditions was abundant here.

It was beautiful.

To think I would feel such emotions in a mere game desert.

“Fames Desert.”

Surprisingly, it felt familiar to me.

During my time as a hero in the continent of Astria, I had passed through this desert.

There were few people I knew, and in many ways, I could feel the traces of an artificial game system in the world of ‘Astria Online.’

But the ‘scenery’ remained unchanged.

The landscapes of the continent of Astria.

That alone strongly reminded me that I had been here.

“Ah.”

Shaking my head vigorously.

I need to hunt.

There was no time for admiration.

I needed to hunt quickly and level up.

I need to earn a lot of money to become stronger than others, and with the leftover money, buy chicken to eat.

I targeted the first monster of the Fames Desert, the ‘Fames Scorpion.’

Drawing my sword, I approached quickly.

This thing, become my experience points willingly.

Just as I got close to the Fames Scorpion, a threatening ranged attack flew from somewhere.

Crash! Boom!

“Kyiiiii!”

The Fames Scorpion flipped over and fell before me.

Turning into a dog chasing a chicken, I stared blankly at that scene, clutching my sword.

I turned my head and looked towards the direction the attack came from.

“Oh. Finally met.”

A tall woman with red hair.

She somehow had a friendly expression on her face.

“Um.”

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