Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

[Entrance Level 25]

[Elite Dungeon (Recommended 4-Person Party)]

[Lesser Demon’s Tomb]

“Alright. Everyone’s here.”

Chris looked around at the members of the “Chris Raid” party gathered at the dungeon entrance.

The spirit mage Cherni asked Chris, “By the way, Senpai told us to focus solely on leveling up rather than farming field bosses, but is it okay to proceed with just Orc King gear?”

Chris nodded.

“Field bosses don’t give much experience, right? The time we spent intensively leveling up means we’re the front-runners now. Of course, other parties will reach level 25 soon and start tackling the dungeon as well.”

Chris paused for a moment, then flashed a smirk.

“This slight time difference will determine who clears it first.”

“Hmm. I got intel through the dark webs that the performance of the field boss ‘Scorpion King’ weapon isn’t much different from the ‘Orc King’s weapon.’”

Bae Merong gasped in surprise.

“Uh, so does that mean we don’t have to farm field bosses anymore? That feels like skipping something?”

“No, of course, using stronger weapons is advantageous for tackling the dungeon. However, in the initial exploration, it’s more important to understand the patterns of the named enemies than to worry about a slight spec difference.”

Encouraging her party members, Chris opened her messenger window.

[Knight ‘Drizzle Rain’ (Offline)]

“When will my cutie come online?”

Chris clasped her hands over her chest, gazing at the messenger window with a longing expression.

“Just a little longer. Big sis will clear this dungeon quickly, and Rain will give you a ride!”

*

Peek-a-boo.

I cautiously peeked out from an alleyway, eyeing the convenience store entrance.

Late at night, in front of the convenience store.

The early twenties male part-timer who had worked for three months quit as he promised.

Ding-ding.

“Thank you for coming!”

The cheerful voice of the lady at the register reached me as an adult male customer exited the store.

That voice from between the opened store doors surely belonged to the store owner.

When I first visited the convenience store, she looked at me with pitying eyes and asked tons of annoying questions, so I had been avoiding the store until late hours.

Perhaps she hadn’t found a night shift worker yet, because she had been working those late hours recently.

How troublesome.

She’ll definitely come bother me with more questions.

But I couldn’t survive without buying food from the convenience store.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the alley.

Vroooom.

Ding-ding.

“Welcome…?”

As I entered the store, moving my automatic wheelchair to open the door, the store lady’s voice trailed off in surprise.

The reason it ended in a question was likely because my sitting position in the wheelchair wasn’t visible from the counter.

Vroooom.

I lowered my posture a bit more and carefully steered the wheelchair toward the cup noodle corner.

“Wow.”

As I picked my daily fare, the startled voice of the store lady reached me from the counter.

Her eyes, looking at me, turned watery in an instant.

I quietly bit my lip.

Those eyes.

I hated that look.

I wasn’t a pitiful person, yet people always looked at me like that.

“Are you alone today too? Came to buy ramen? Oh my, look at you, so small and thin. You need to eat nutritious food.”

I wanted to cover my ears.

I remained silent and grabbed a random cup noodle, heading to the counter.

I preferred the former night-shift university student who had little interest in me.

From now on, I’d better visit the unmanned convenience store in the neighboring district, even if it’s a bit further away.

I wanted the lady to hurry up with the checkout.

Without looking at her still looking at me with pity while scanning my items, I quietly thought.

Ah, I want to get home and play ‘Astria Online.’

*

When I returned home, surveying the silence of my abode, I felt a bit better.

The money I earned from ‘Astria Online.’

I liked the new furniture I bought with that money.

A brand-new latex mattress, a small refrigerator, and a microwave to warm leftover food.

Now I could keep delivery chicken for a while and reheat it.

My small stomach couldn’t handle an entire chicken at once; I had to break it up into three meals.

But having already tasted the meat, I wanted to keep eating chicken.

Now I had some decent income.

If I keep raiding dungeons in ‘Astria Online’ and earn more, I can order delicious chicken often.

I fiddled with my smartphone, checking the rapid delivery app I just installed when I bought the furniture.

“Oh.”

They were selling a box of cup noodles at a significantly discounted price.

A price slightly cheaper than the store’s two-for-one deal.

After carefully calculating the price per item, I quickly ordered a box of cup noodles before they ran out.

Only then did a smile sneak across my face.

With this, I wouldn’t need to go out for food shopping for a while.

*

[Drizzle Rain]

[Knight]

[Level 24 (80.84%)]

Bam!

“Kiiyiiing!”

The field boss in Fames Desert region, ‘Scorpion King,’ collapsed, spewing blue blood and exposing its belly.

Checking the number of items, ‘Scorpion King’s Essence’ collected in my inventory, I slyly smiled.

Three again this time.

The farming of field boss essences was going smoothly.

Sure, the number of users around me was definitely fewer than in Orc Forest, but everyone gathered here were also the raid pioneers aiming for the next elite dungeon.

Beeep.

I opened my messenger window.

[Onmyoji ‘Chris’ (Online)]

The last time I met the red sister, the Onmyoji user ‘Chris’ was still online.

Does she never go out or sleep?

However, Chris wasn’t visible near the field boss ‘Scorpion King.’

Did she finish farming the ‘Scorpion King’ gear in a short time?

I checked the performance of the sword obtained through the essences.

[Scorpion King’s Sword]

[Rare Grade]

[Attack Power 70]

[Blocking success increases ‘Thrust’ damage by 20%]

“Hmmm….”

The special option was similar in level to the Orc King’s weapon.

But it had slightly higher attack power than the Orc King’s weapon.

The stats attached to the accessories weren’t vastly different from those of the previous elite dungeon’s accessories.

Of course, it would be standard to increase specs a bit and challenge the next elite dungeon, but if the aim is truly rapid elite dungeon clearance, perhaps farming essences isn’t strictly necessary.

Well, now that I’ve started farming, it couldn’t be helped.

Especially since I had to solo this, every little stat boost and ten points in attack power felt crucial.

And the most important thing.

“Outfit.”

I shifted my body slightly and contentedly looked at the ‘Desert Commander’s Outfit’ adorning me.

Flap.

The coat fluttered lightly in the breeze as I moved.

Although I genuinely liked this outfit, having more clothes wouldn’t hurt.

I could rotate through them when I got tired of wearing one.

I clenched my small fist firmly.

“Let’s just focus on the outfit.”

*

“Oh.”

Arriving in front of the second elite dungeon ‘Lesser Demon’s Tomb,’ I couldn’t help but exclaim.

In the middle of the desert, the pyramid-shaped entrance, reminiscent of a pharaoh’s tomb, had a handful of pioneer users gathered around.

“Looks like Chris’s raid has already started tackling the elite dungeon.”

“Oh no, how far behind are we? We need to start quickly.”

“I heard the tank hasn’t gotten the ‘Scorpion King’ weapon yet.”

“Geez, why are we just standing here?”

The number of users gathered at the dungeon entrance was about three parties.

True pioneers.

It seemed they leveled up at a pace similar to mine, quickly leveling up through the knight’s powerful area attack skill ‘Moonlight Slash,’ taking out several monsters at once.

“Chris’s raid?”

Hearing a familiar name in their conversation, I tilted my head.

If it was Chris, could it be that red-haired sister I know?

She indeed had an incredibly long connection time and was fast in hunting.

For someone like Chris, it wouldn’t be strange if she had already jumped into the elite dungeon.

“But.”

I couldn’t lose.

I was the hero of the continent of Astria.

Even though I’m currently just a virtual body trapped in the game system.

It didn’t feel much different from before.

My legs were moving well.

I could definitely feel it while preparing for the last dungeon.

The sense of battle that remained in my body gave me the power to raid the dungeon.

Alright.

This time, I’ll successfully solo clear it and sell the first weapon for a high price.

I’ll definitely sell it for 5 gold this time.

I resolutely marched toward the entrance of the elite dungeon ‘Lesser Demon’s Tomb.’

“Yikes.”

As I was about to enter head-on, I slightly flinched at the gazes of the surrounding people.

Right, there were people around.

Avoiding their gazes, I stealthily moved through the shadows of the entrance pillars.

I need to sneak in when nobody’s watching; getting attention would be overwhelming.

When their interest turned to the new party members joining, I quickly dashed into the dungeon from the shadow behind the closest pillar.

Leap!

*

[Entrance Level 25]

[Elite Dungeon (Recommended 4-Person Party)]

[Lesser Demon’s Tomb]

---