Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

[Level 30 Mihuwang]

[HP 1,470,000/1,470,000]

“Hmm… Huh…”

I was squatting on the ground, my head in my hands, facing the boss of a regular instance dungeon, ‘Mihuwang,’ one of the ‘Four Divine Beast Dungeons.’

It was just a regular dungeon boss, yet its HP was a whopping 1.4 million, but that wasn’t a big issue.

After reaching level 25, my newly acquired skills as a knight had become significantly more powerful.

The reason I was in a bind was due to the changes in the knight’s skills.

It was time to solidify my ‘damage cycle.’

[Moonlight Slash (B)]
– Deals a strong slash attack in a 360-degree radius. (Casting time 2 seconds)
– (Instant activation) If successful at blocking
– (D Rank) After casting the skill, enter Sword Drawing Technique (Cooldown for re-entry 30 seconds)
– (B Rank) Reduces casting time by 1 second

“The time for using Moonlight Slash as my main tool in boss battles is over.”

At this point, ‘Moonlight Slash’ was more valuable for dealing with large groups of mobs rather than for single targets.

The new main skill for knights was the enhanced version of Moonlight Slash, ‘Starlight Slash.’

[Starlight Slash (E)]
– Deals a strong slash attack against a single target. (250% damage of Moonlight Slash)
– Usable in Sword Drawing Technique

‘Starlight Slash,’ a single-target skill that becomes even stronger depending on the damage ratio of ‘Moonlight Slash.’

Since its acquisition, the damage output of the knight had completely changed.

Of course, it wasn’t just the knight’s skills that had become stronger.

In line with the bosses’ spec inflation, each class’s skills in ‘Astria Online’ were evolving as well.

So then, would a knight who maintains Sword Drawing Technique and does free damage without using ‘Block’ actually be powerful?

Not quite.

The ‘Block’ skill that had ranked up was evolving as well.

[Block (A)]
– Blocks attacks within a 180-degree frontal range.
– (A Rank) If you successfully block within 0.2 seconds of using the skill, you receive a ‘Vitality’ buff that increases all damage by 30% for 10 seconds.

It’s a technique that exists in fighting games—commonly known as ‘Just Guard.’

‘Just Guard’ judgment was present in ‘Astria Online’ as well, rewarding players for blocking attacks at the perfect timing.

“So, I just need to accurately block an attack once every 10 seconds for the buff, then immediately enter Sword Drawing Technique and evade the attacks while landing Starlight Slash.”

I nodded my head.

This would be the damage cycle that maximizes the potential of the knight.

It didn’t seem too difficult after all.

Suddenly, I sprang to my feet and faced Mihuwang.

Beeep.

“Ugh?”

The massive monkey boss, Mihuwang, looked at me with a puzzled expression, as I had entered its perception range.

I confidently placed my hands on my hips and taunted Mihuwang.

“Hey, you! Be my practice opponent for my damage cycle!”

“Uoooorrrr!”

Mihuwang, visibly angered, charged at me holding its huge mace.

*

I emerged from Hwagu Cave after defeating the boss.

“Ah.”

Squinting my eyes against the suddenly blaring sunlight, I shielded my face.

The rays of light streaming through my fingers were sharp.

After a while, once my eyesight adjusted, I looked before me and saw an endless plain.

“Oh.”

I stood there, mouth agape, captivated by the scenery.

The Hwagu Cave near the cliff was somewhat elevated.

I had been in this area for quite some time, but this was the first time I had looked down at the plains from this position.

From the high ground, the fields bathed in green light stretched out endlessly.

Every time the gentle breeze blew, the grass would sway, creating a massive green wave.

This was indeed the heart of the Continent of Astria, the ‘Rozelia Plains.’

Following the Orc Forest and Fames Desert, it was the third stage of my adventure.

This vast plain was located at the border of two mighty empires.

And right in the center, there lay a grand and mysterious forest.

The forest, named ‘Rozelia Forest,’ was like the very heart of Rozelia Plains, creating its own world.

Ironically, that beautiful forest had now become an invisible battlefield between the two empires.

“A PVP field, huh.”

I let out a sigh.

Certainly, when I was active on the Continent of Astria, the two empires had a good relationship.

Brother nations, the ‘Alparion Empire’ and the ‘Betarion Empire.’

Of course, aside from the names of the empires and the emperors’ surnames, I hadn’t heard any familiar names from NPC conversations.

As expected, was the world of ‘Astria Online’ merely borrowing the backdrop of the Continent of Astria? Or was the historical context different from the time frame I was familiar with?

I had no interest in research, but I felt a need for a quest where I could visit libraries in the imperial capitals or the royal palaces and peruse some books.

More pressing was the matter of the daily quest at hand.

I looked at the forest in front of me and grumbled.

“I don’t like PVP.”

I preferred to be a herbivore player.

I just wanted to chill while running solo dungeons.

But the system of this game made me into an agent of the empire.

I clenched my fist and gathered my resolve.

“Today, as a mercenary belonging to the ‘Alparion Empire,’ I’ll do my best to complete the daily quest of collecting magic stones.”

Within the ‘Rozelia Forest,’ which belonged to neither empire, lay abundant ‘Magic Stone Ore.’

Neither the Alparion nor Betarion Empires openly claimed ownership of the forest because neither wished for an all-out war, but they secretly hired mercenaries to collect the magic stones.

Fights broke out between users hired as mercenaries within the forest, but since the users weren’t formally affiliated with any nation, the two empires could maintain some degree of freedom from responsibility.

In regular fields, if you PK without the opponent’s consent, you would face massive penalties, but in this forest, there were no penalties for PK.

It was truly a field that could be called a ‘PVP Faction Battlefield.’

To encourage PVP-oriented users, ‘Astria Online’ had generously placed enticing rewards in the PVP fields.

The reward for the daily quest in the faction battlefield, ‘Refined Mana Stone,’ was an item that could be applied to weapons to heighten their attack power.

It wasn’t a concept with probabilities involved; if you applied it to a weapon and then disassembled that weapon, you would receive a certain amount back for use in upgrading the next weapon.

All users wanted that upgrade material for their weapons, but to obtain it, one had no choice but to enter the PVP field.

That said, I didn’t want to buy it at high prices from carnivorous players.

There were herbivore players like me who just did daily quests and fled quickly.

“I hope I’m not ambushed by the meat-eaters today.”

Escaping wasn’t hard.

But there were times when even a herbivore player like me had to stand and fight.

With a deep sigh, I headed towards the ‘Rozelia Forest.’

*

I was picking up glowing magic stone ore about the size of pebbles, gleefully smiling.

“I found it quickly today.”

Magic stone ore was widely spread throughout the forest, but once you discovered your first one, you could easily find additional ones in the vicinity.

So far, I had collected seventeen pieces of magic stone ore.

If I could find just three more around here, I would meet the daily quest quota.

After that, I could escape the ‘Rozelia Forest’ PVP field without looking back.

Suddenly, I felt a chill go down my spine.

Someone was nearby.

Where?

Quickly stashing the magic stones in my inventory, I drew my sword and scanned the area.

My body was ready to escape using ‘Backward Evasion’ and the speed buff from ‘Sword Drawing Technique’ at a moment’s notice.

A moment of silence.

And then.

Rustle.

From ten meters to my right, I heard a sound.

Ta-ta-ta!

I swiftly turned towards the tree and used ‘Backward Movement.’

In an instant, my body moved back eight meters.

Now the distance to the tree was eighteen meters.

The range of a ranged class’s attack skills maxed out at fifteen meters.

Receiving the speed buff from ‘Backward Movement’ and fleeing while using ‘Sword Drawing Technique’ would prevent anyone from chasing me.

Tatatatat!

But the opponent wasn’t to be underestimated.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Ha!”

In a flash, three talismans pinned to the ground right under my feet.

Along with that, my body momentarily froze.

This was a binding skill from an Onmyoji class.

Binding skills could be cast from a distance of up to twenty meters, not just attacking skills.

That confirmed it—my opponent was an Onmyoji.

But in order to damage me, they would have to enter within fifteen meters.

I couldn’t run. So I had to fight back.

Fifteen meters was the range for both the attacking skills of a ranged class and for my own offensive capabilities.

Once I confirmed the opponent’s appearance, I could target them and use ‘Charge’ to break free from the binding.

The knight’s skill ‘Charge’ was a simple approach towards a target in PVE, yet could also be used as a binding release skill in PVP.

Currently, the distance to the opponent was sixteen meters.

The face of my opponent, hidden in the shadow of the tree, was hard to make out.

Fifteen point five meters.

But I could clearly see the hand motion reaching for the talismans.

Fifteen meters.

Swish!

Before the Onmyoji could even finish reaching for the talismans, I broke free from the binding and surged towards the Onmyoji.

I could sense the Onmyoji’s slight shock at my sudden approach.

Swish!

Thwack!

In an instant, I was face-to-face with them, casting Moonlight Slash before switching into Sword Drawing Technique. The Onmyoji also used their counter-skill ‘Bulletproof Charm’ to block my Moonlight Slash.

Swish.

I immediately followed up with a ‘Counterattack,’ targeting the Onmyoji’s rear.

I wouldn’t give them any time to react. Moonlight Slash was merely a setup for the transition into Sword Drawing Technique.

Seizing the moment when the Onmyoji faltered for a split second, I aimed for their back with ‘Starlight Slash.’

Wait, what?

Red hair?

“Ch-Chris?!”

“Ah…?”

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