Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Chris exploded with rage upon hearing that I encountered a bad player while running a solo play bus.

I was taken aback when Chris started asking me about the elf user’s nickname, appearance, and personal information.

“Got it? Don’t play solo and run the bus alone just because I’m not here. You have guild members to turn to. I already told them to look out for you. Ahem, take good care of Rain for me.”

Though a solo play bus can earn a bit more gold with a sub guest, I still find handling customers alone quite difficult. Party play buses are way more convenient since tasks can be shared, and the run can be completed faster.

The quickest way to get close to people in ‘Astria Online’ is definitely by going through dungeons together.

Aside from Chris, Bae Merong, Cherni, and Deathly Death, the ones who care for me and have gotten close to Lee Seulbi, I haven’t really made any connections. However, the ‘Hong Baek’ guild members are comrades I fought with during the Green Dragon raid.

“I told you to get friendly with the guild members too.”

I only need Chris. But that’s what Chris said.

It seems I should meet them one by one, go through dungeons together, and get to know each other.

“If Rain thinks they’re all nice after hanging out with them…”

Chris trailed off, but it seemed she wanted to widen my circle of acquaintances.

Standing in front of the ‘Ice Castle of the Frozen Land’, I waited for Hopkins and his party members.

This time, I was running a bus with not one but two warriors.

Stomp stomp.

The sound of two hefty footsteps.

I turned to greet them.

Two big young warriors, guild members of ‘Hong Baek.’

“Haha! Rain, I’ll be counting on you for today’s bus. This is ‘Gandal’, one of the warriors from Hopkins’ party.”

“Ha ha! With two hulks here, it’s reassuring, isn’t it?”

“Hello.”

I nodded and created the party, greeted by the hearty laughs of the two behemoths, ‘Leroy Hopkins’ and ‘Gandal’.

Glance.

With meaningful eyes, I sent signals saying, ‘Please help with recruiting customers, manage them, and collect the gold. I’ll just focus on the slashing.’

“Haha!”

“Hehe!”

The two warriors exchanged blank stares but then burst into hearty laughter again.

“Seeing that the decades-old PC online game WOA is still running, it seems like the nostalgia for dungeon raid games is quite strong in this era.”

“Ah, yes, most gamers have moved to virtual reality now. A great alternative called ‘Astria Online’ has also emerged. Did you know? My nickname ‘Leroy Hopkins’ is inspired by a famous user from the classic raid game WOA.”

“Oh, I know that episode! The one where he wipes the party while reheating chicken!”

Impressive! I could never pull off something like that.

Hopkins seemed cheerful as he continuously chatted with the middle-aged male customer.

Gandal followed me closely, marveling at my gameplay.

“Wow, Rain, you’re amazing. Even though the two warriors are taking turns breaking the patterns and putting in their strength, the shield warrior’s HP drops faster.”

“…Um, it’s because the weapon is good.”

“Haha! Astaroth, right? It’s a shame the world boss respawn cycles are so long. We might encounter the next world boss before we get the Green Dragon to respawn. I’ve saved up a lot of gold to bid as well! Maybe not as much as Chris though.”

Kick.

I chuckled lightly at Gandal’s jest. He smiled warmly at me, then cleared his throat.

They’re both really nice people.

And soon, we came face to face with a Level 2 Named Enemy, ‘Lesser Demon’.

Hopkins and Gandal stepped forward confidently.

“In this elite dungeon, ‘Ice Castle of the Frozen Land’, the role of warriors is vital. The ‘status effect skills’ are key for breaking the gimmicks in this dungeon.”

“It seems Rain can handle all three illusions alone, but having two warriors should make it a lot easier, right? Haha!”

Swish.

They drew their axes and leaped at the ‘Lesser Demon’ simultaneously.

Thud.

The ‘Lesser Demon’ collapsed shortly after.

“Wow.”

It was definitely easier and faster.

Perhaps, when it comes to Level 2 Named Enemies, I could clear it faster than when I run the bus with Chris and Bae Merong.

Although the damage output isn’t as high compared to Chris’s party, the gimmick resolution speed is exceptionally quick.

As they inflicted status effects on the Named Enemy, they created free damage opportunities frequently, and there weren’t many patterns for me to worry about.

The two warriors alternated using their ‘Strength Contest’ skill to restrain the Lesser Demon’s movements.

As soon as the special phase began and illusions spawned from three directions, the warriors dashed in and delivered stunning blows. I walked up to the remaining illusions and gave them an aerial combo.

Clap Clap Clap.

I applauded the warriors’ performance, filled with admiration.

“So comfortable.”

“Hehe, right?”

“I’ll make sure you can deal damage comfortably even against the Level 3 Named Enemy.”

These warriors are indeed reliable.

“Kyah!”

The Level 3 Named Enemy, ‘Witch Frederica’, seemed enraged by the unexpectedly troublesome battle and howled incessantly.

I really just focused on dealing with the boss.

Gandal and Hopkins ran around swinging their axes, stepping on and eliminating the generated cold areas.

The warrior’s skill, ‘Hurlwind’.

Though the only evasion skill available to the warriors is ‘Backward Evasion’, the Hurlwind skill also includes speed boosts and damage reduction.

Through the damage reduction from Hurlwind, the warriors minimized the damage taken from the attacks.

There might even be a feature that reflects damage as it gets upgraded, but they seemed to have prioritized the speed increase and damage reduction. Indeed, unless you’re in the tank position, that’s way better for performing gimmicks.

They say it’s the lifeline of warriors; it’s a complete versatile skill.

This morning’s bus was spent entirely with the warriors.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Rain. Looking forward to working with you today.”

“My little sister is this small too. Sigh, I wish my sister had the same cute vibe as you, Rain.”

I puffed my cheeks at the ranger ‘Seob Seop Yi’, who called me cute.

Of course, I might be pretty…

Well, maybe I lean more toward cute than pretty?

I prefer compliments about being cool.

In the afternoon, I teamed up with a duo of rangers from the ‘Seob Seop Yi Party’.

Neither the Hopkins party nor the Seob Seop Yi party had fighter classes suitable for tanking roles, but in ‘Astria Online’, any class can play the tank role.

In fact, the fact that classes outside of fighters can tank serves as a testament to their exceptional abilities.

The two young rangers who go by the nicknames ‘Go Seung Woo’ and ‘Seob Seop Yi’.

Seob Seop Yi has blue hair, and Go Seung Woo has green hair.

Standing there with their unusually colored hair, they make a pretty amusing picture.

“Oh?”

During the Green Dragon raid, I had overlooked the fact that I had stuck close to Chris.

The ranger ‘Seob Seop Yi’ somehow seemed familiar.

I stared intently at Seob Seop Yi’s grinning face.

Young man, blue hair, ranger.

Didn’t he shift from the Betarion Empire to join the ‘Hong Baek’ guild of the Alparion Empire?

“Ah!”

Wasn’t he the player who stole my eggs during the Kofopo egg delivery quest?

I jumped up, pointing my finger at him.

“Kofopo Egg!”

“Ugh!”

Seob Seop Yi looked as shocked as if he had been caught doing something terrible.

The bus with the two rangers wasn’t as comfortable as with the two warriors.

Pure dealer-like rangers lack many status effect skills. Naturally, I had to perform quite a few gimmicks myself. Nevertheless, they got rid of one cold area quickly. I guess I can at least give them credit for having plenty of mobility skills.

I accepted Seob Seop Yi’s apology; stealing eggs a few times isn’t a capital offense.

I’m not petty enough to hold a grudge all this time over something like that.

Later, the bus included other guild members as well.

Hopkins party’s wizard ‘Yeon Mina’, spirit user ‘Dal Borom’.

Seob Seop Yi party’s wizard ‘Red Hot Chicken’, Onmyoji ‘Eohwaekryang Ilwi’.

“Mm mm.”

I accepted friend requests from the guild members I shared the bus with today and organized their nicknames.

Although I could communicate through guild chat, adding them to my friend list felt like a step closer.

Fortunately, they were all nice people. They didn’t crowd me too closely. Though, I couldn’t stop my sisters from dripping honey from their eyes while looking at my face.

What stood out more was their eagerness to learn from my gameplay. Truly, they were frontrunners. They all had immense ambition.

The only downside was the lack of female users.

“Is it just spirit user Dal Borom and wizard Red Hot Chicken?”

I preferred the sisters over male users.

As long as they don’t push too hard, I’m willing to reach out and hold hands after getting to know each other well.

It might be necessary to recruit more female users into the Hong Baek guild.

*

BEEP, CLUNK.

The sound of the front door opening was followed by a weary-looking Chris stepping inside.

“Sister Chris.”

“Haah, I’m back from work. Sorry, did I come back too late? You getting ready for bed? Did you have fun with the guild members today?”

“Yes.”

“Hehe, so how was it? They’re all good people, right? I didn’t mention it before, but I interviewed each one thoroughly, you know?”

I chuckled.

If Chris found out that Seob Seop Yi was the user who interfered with my delivery quest, she might not have let him join the guild.

Well, I received an apology, so it’s fine now.

Chris scratched her face for a moment, then cautiously spoke as if she were about to say something difficult.

“Um, so I might bring this up suddenly, but…”

“Yes?”

“Umm, there’s been talk among the guild members about wanting to hold an offline gathering.”

An offline gathering.

Is she talking about game friends meeting in real life?

“If Rain is okay with it, I’d like to see everyone’s faces together.”

“Oh.”

It seemed Chris wanted not only to expand ‘Rain’s’ circle but also to widen ‘Lee Seulbi’s’ relationships.

“Uh…”

I usually agree to everything Chris says, but this time, I felt a bit conflicted.

Lee Seulbi.

My existence in this world isn’t all that special to show to others.

My physical condition isn’t exactly normal either.

Would they look at me with pity?

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