Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

“A happy raid party, huh? What a naming sense! Hahaha! Anyway, back then, the only game with such high completion was World of War Thunder! I’m all old and nostalgic, so I started this game, but I really can’t keep up like I used to. I just enjoy the scenery and the dungeons in-game, fiddling with crafting. It’s just the right pastime.”

“Haha… I’ve heard of that game.”

Cherni was following behind Rain and Chris, suitably echoing the nostalgia of the guest.

Flick.

Rain’s white hair slightly obscured her eyes as they flicked towards Cherni.

Cherni flinched and quickly averted his gaze. It felt eerie, as if Rain’s obsidian-like gaze could see right through his thoughts.

“Ha.”

Cherni sighed heavily, feeling like he was sitting on a bed of nails.

“Heh.”

Rain wore a cute smile, checking the gold they received. Cherni, watching her from a distance, soon found himself face-to-face with Chris, who had approached him.

Chris nudged Cherni’s side with her elbow, grinning.

“What’s up with you today? I brought you instead of Bae Merong, and you’re barely talking. You’re so quiet, like you don’t want anyone to hear you. Did you do something bad?”

“Well, you see… Ah! What do I do in a situation like this?!”

“What? Are you falling for our Rain? Jaewook, you’re really in trouble?!”

Receiving Chris’s deadly glare, Cherni waved his hands vigorously in denial.

“What are you talking about! I like older women! Remember the time I tried to flirt with you during the freshman orientation and got shot down?”

“Hehe, if you’re dusting off your cringey memories like that, you must really want to deny it. So why are you like this?”

“Chris, have you ever heard of someone with a disability playing a virtual reality game?”

“Um…? Not exactly, but the synchronization rate would be quite low. There would be a sense of disconnection from their real body. But at least through VR, moving parts of the body that aren’t used in real life can provide some psychological therapy. It’s rare, but in cases of acquired disabilities, the synchronization rate might actually be quite high.”

“Right, they said it’s a case where you can’t accept the state of your body in reality. I heard about it during a lecture. The synchronization rate in VR largely depends on psychological factors rather than the current physical condition.”

“Well, it’s still just variations within the system’s control. But why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

“About Rain, I mean. His synchronization rate must be high, right?”

“It’s obvious, right? When others are gaming on slow connections, he’s like using a super-fast line. His synchronization rate must be close to the system’s limit.”

Chris also seemed to feel something was off. As the topic shifted to Rain, her gaze deepened.

Rain was still counting the gold he earned today, grinning away.

Seeing him display the interface and occasionally lifting and lowering his hand, it looked like he was contemplating which item to buy at the auction house.

Seeing his cute demeanor made Chris smile for a moment before she nudged Cherni again.

“So, is there something wrong with Rain?”

“Before that. If you met Rain in reality, what would you do?”

Chris’s eyes widened. Then, they grew dreamy as she started stuttering.

“R-Rain? In r-reality? Ah…! What do I do? What should I do? Just seeing him up close in the virtual game makes me so happy… but if I actually touch him, it would be insane, right? Holding hands… if I asked him to move in with me, would that be okay? If his parents allowed it, I want to take him home and raise him!”

Cherni shook his head vigorously.

“Ha, that’s definitely not happening. Please forget that conversation we just had.”

“What, Jaewook! You got me all worked up with imagination! What’s up with that?!”

Thud, thud!

“Ugh, Rain! I-I hate heights!”

“I’ll hold your hand from above.”

“Ugh?! Okay! I’ll try my best!”

The rocky mountain area where the Demon Lord’s Forward Base was located. Following the path between the peaks of this rocky mountain leads to the next area.

The next stage of their adventure, situated between the Rozelia Plains and the rocky mountains, was the ‘Silva Plains’. I felt like it had another name back when I was active, though.

But today’s destination is not the Silva Plains. I was climbing the rugged mountain with Chris.

I pulled her hand gently and sighed deeply.

“Did you really say you’d follow me…?”

“Of course! I’m fine going anywhere as long as it’s with Rain!”

Chris, looking pale as she glanced down at the precipice, didn’t seem to be in good shape. But she stubbornly insisted on following me.

“If I fall here, I’d be stuck with no chance of escape… Where would I respawn? It would take forever to get back.”

I chuckled, keeping a firm grip on Chris’s hand as she shakenly nodded her head.

Chris is so funny. She usually looks dignified and confident, but now and then, she shows a surprising side of herself.

Users called the adventurers from another world.

Astria Online requires growth without a predefined main quest guide.

It can be seen as high freedom, but it’s an incredibly unfriendly game.

Even in that, there were story maniacs exploring the lore. While doing trivial side quests with meager rewards, they would record information on various websites.

For me, just feeling the familiar landscapes and reality, soaking in the thrill of adventure was enough.

I justified it as a means to make money. Anyway, I didn’t want to leave my impoverished life and broken body behind.

So, now that I’ve gained some leisure in my life, I felt the need to explore this world that I had turned my eyes away from.

“Are you interested in the lore of Astria Online too?”

“I’m just doing it because I like running dungeons and raids, right?”

As the path became easier to navigate, Chris seemed to have returned to her usual color. Yet, she still held onto my hand tightly.

“Oh, sorry. Was I holding on too tightly? Hehe, I have a bit of a fear of heights.”

Maybe noticing my steady gaze down at her hand, Chris jumped and quickly let go.

She seemed a bit disappointed, licking her lips as I walked ahead, up the rugged mountain path once more.

“Once we go around this peak, there should be a shrine. Probably.”

“Wow, how do you know that? H-Hopefully it’s not a hidden quest with enormous rewards…!?”

“Probably not…? I’ll have to check it out to know.”

The epicenter of the Church.

In the past, it was the place where the hero of Astria, Rain, visited to meet Saintess Elena.

The shrine believed to be built closest to the gods sat atop steep, rugged mountains.

If my memory served me right, when we went around this mountain peak…

“Ah.”

There it is.

The shrine.

However, it looked very different from my memory.

The stone pillars in front were battered from the ravages of time.

Looking at the entrance of the shrine, overgrown with vines and seemingly untouched by human hands, it appeared to have been centuries since anyone tended to it.

How many years have passed? The long-living species that can live for over 200 years have apparently gone through numerous generations.

The only trace of the country that has continued since the lost records was the two empires founded after humanity pushed back the main forces of the Demon Lord’s Army in this continent of Astria.

It had been a long time since the hero Rain defeated the Demon Lord, and many more years had passed since then.

“Hiding a hidden quest! Legendary item!”

“Chris…”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked around the ancient shrine. Did I bring her here for no reason?

According to the lore nerds, the stage of Astria Online, the continent of Astria, had endured hundreds of years of records.

However, there were no records from before that time.

Even the two empires, Alfarion and Betarion, who had secularly continued their history, had no records from before a certain era.

I must have spent a year after returning to the present. Why had so many years passed on the continent of Astria?

There were no gods to answer me.

Naturally, this world was just a game.

It was merely set against the backdrop of a time almost a thousand years after the continent I knew.

“Uh, Rain! Look at this! Is it ancient script?”

As Chris looked around, she pointed at some inscribed characters on the wall. I stepped closer to her.

“…….”

Unlike the books written in proper Korean within the game, the shrine’s walls had sacred letters from a millennium ago.

[…We felt the absence of the gods.]

[The lineage of the saintess has been severed. All priests also lost their divine power.]

[How does the history of a world where the connection to the gods has been severed unfold?]

[If an unimaginable threat descends upon the world again, who will save it?]

“A game without a healer.”

Without a god, it follows that there are no priests.

Thinking about a game without a healer, I found it quite refreshing for a fantasy world, but it was indeed accurate to the lore.

Why had this world lost its gods? Surely, they were talking to me just fine when I was sent back.

What made this world emerge before me in the form of a game?

I lightly grumbled.

“My head hurts.”

“Ha, ultimately, there was no hidden quest.”

“I told you there wouldn’t be.”

Feeling a bit petty, I snapped at Chris, who looked like she might cry. Feeling slightly sorry, I took her hand.

“Gah!”

Chris’s face brightened with joy again.

What an easygoing older sister.

Even so, I needed to achieve the purpose of coming here, so I began walking towards the back of the vine-covered shrine, towards the cliff.

“I don’t know what I’m hoping for after losing everything, but there’s one thing I am thankful for.”

“Yeah?”

Noticeably puzzled by my ambiguous mumbles, Chris looked at me with a blank expression.

“Look here. I came to see this.”

“Oh.”

The view of Silva Plains from the cliff was nothing short of breathtaking.

It felt like standing at the edge of the world.

The grasslands stretched endlessly, with the green sea meeting the blue sky, creating a picture-perfect landscape.

A strong wind blew, gently rustling my hair which covered one of my eyes.

“Honestly, this is all I need.”

The scenery viewed from the summit that I had climbed with my own legs.

The feeling of the wind on my body there. The fresh scent of grass it brought.

The beloved, beautiful continent of Astria.

Even if it’s set with the premise that ages have passed, the changes were minimal, and it remained right before me.

Chris’s expression was still strange.

She didn’t seem to be contemplating the meaning of my careless words, but instead, bewildered as to why her mouth hung open while looking at me?

“Your expression right now is super funny.”

I let out a tiny laugh.

Swipe.

Suddenly, Chris’s finger brushed through my bangs.

I flinched slightly.

Realizing she was just trying to tidy my hair, I relaxed and let her hand care for my hair.

“There are many places with beautiful views in reality too. I want to explore such places with Rain one day… Ah, forget what I just said! Just being here with Rain is enough for me!”

“…….”

For some reason, I felt like I was showing too much of myself in front of Chris.

Though I had long since stopped forming close relationships, the interest she directed at me didn’t feel bad at all.

However, she still knew nothing about me. I couldn’t reveal the outside world about myself either.

My outside world was just a drab one-room apartment.

Reality for me is here.

Chris and I stood by the cliff for a while, gazing down at the breathtaking scenery.

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