Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented – Chapter 42

Jaewook and Dayeon watched silently with their bodies lowered under the shadow of the wall.

What was placed on the girl’s lap was… a garbage bag?

The girl lowered her upper body to put down the garbage bag, then disappeared into the darkness again, controlling her wheelchair. Not long after, she appeared again with a box on her lap, and this action was repeated several times.

Whirr.

“Ah.”

The girl sitting in the wheelchair suddenly held her head as if feeling dizzy.

“…!”

Dayeon almost jumped out, screaming. If Jaewook hadn’t held her body, she would have surely rushed out.

“Nosebleed.”

The girl took out a tissue from her pocket, wiped her face, and plugged her nose.

Dayeon, held back by Jaewook, barely calmed down.

The figure of the girl who disappeared after putting down the fourth piece of garbage didn’t appear again even after ten minutes passed. It seems she finished disposing of the garbage.

Only then could Jaewook and Dayeon exhale the breath they had been holding.

“I thought we might run into her, and sure enough, she really lives in this neighborhood.”

“…Jaewook, is that girl who I think she is?”

“Well, would there be another beautiful girl with that hair color and that voice?”

Dayeon shook her head.

The girl who owned the full set of Orc Warrior gear that was a hot topic in the community for a while. How many nightmarish fusion creations were born to customize that cute and adorable appearance.

It was only recently, when they started running buses together that Dayeon learned Rain was the original.

“Should I say it’s truly a god-given appearance? I thought that naturalness couldn’t be created without scanning the body as it is, but to think it was actually an existing person…!”

“I saw her often during the three months I worked here. She doesn’t seem to have a family. If she had family, they wouldn’t let a girl with a disability go back and forth alone.”

If there was family, but they were neglecting her, it would be something that couldn’t be left alone.

Dayeon continued to show anxious emotions, not knowing what to do.

“She had a nosebleed. I wonder if she’s very sick?”

“…”

Rain looked very precarious. It’s probably not just her legs that are unwell.

Soon, tears welled up in Dayeon’s eyes.

“Wh-what should we do? Has Rain been living alone in a place like this? A girl with a disability? We should at least go and talk to her…”

Jaewook hardened his expression.

“We don’t know what circumstances Rain has; what are you going to do by just approaching recklessly? You almost rushed out earlier, didn’t you?”

“Jaewook, you…! So you wouldn’t go out when the girl was staggering?”

“If it really looked like she was about to collapse, I would have rushed out first.”

Dayeon opened and closed her mouth, then soon closed it as if unable to find words.

“We might just scare her if we approach unnecessarily. It would be fortunate if we’re not mistaken for stalkers. We’re just game friends who ran a few buses together. No, maybe Chris senior is the only one Rain would call a friend.”

“…It’s not being mistaken for stalkers; this is real stalking, isn’t it? Starting with secretly watching like this.”

“I know, I know! But.”

Jaewook also knew it was something he shouldn’t do.

“It seems she’s a bit better now, but before, her eyes were like… they didn’t look like those of a living person.”

That was the reason Jaewook came here despite hesitating.

The emotionless expression that always floated on that beautiful face.

The empty obsidian eyes that seemed to have lost the meaning of life.

To that extent, Rain in reality, looked precarious.

Tears welled up in Dayeon’s eyes again.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“For now, today was just to check. Anyway, we’re bus colleagues. Still, it seems she’s living and hanging in there on her own.”

Jaewook let out a deep sigh.

He had lived an extremely ordinary life, not involving himself in others’ lives, but he had a small connection with Rain as a convenience store customer and part-timer.

If they hadn’t gotten involved again, he would have probably just forgotten and lived on.

But now Rain was a girl that Chris cared for deeply.

That ended up pushing Jaewook’s back now.

Knowing the circumstances but pretending not to know made Jaewook uncomfortable.

“A girl with a disability living alone in a place like this is quite dangerous, even if it’s Korea with good public safety. She looked unstable both physically and mentally, and without family, there would be no one to help in case of emergency.”

“Then, what do you think we should do?”

“If Rain shows any gesture of asking for help, or even if not if we judge that some measure is necessary. Then I plan to tell Chris senior the truth and ask for help. We can check her condition while running dungeons together in-game.”

“Yeah… If it’s Chris unnie, Rain might rely on her.”

* * *

“Today is the last day for the outpost bus. Here, this is Rain’s share.”

“Thank you.”

Bow.

I received the gold handed over by Bae Merong.

“Huh?”

There was more gold than usual today.

The number of bus rides seem similar to other times?

I stared at Bae Merong. Receiving my gaze, Bae Merong scratched her face.

“The last customer gave a bit more bonus because they got a lot of good items. That’s great, Rain!”

“Aha.”

Bae Merong’s role involves dealing with bus customers and managing gold. She must have done well, as she knows how.

“Ahem. Rain, good work today too.”

Chris, who had approached my side at some point, cleared her throat and held out her hand.

I modestly took her hand.

“Hehe.”

Chris’s expression was soon dyed with happiness.

“Um, umm.”

Is she that happy to hold my hand?

Seeing Chris looking happy made me feel good too. Watching that foolish smile appear on Chris’s pretty face has become one of my joys these days.

“From tomorrow, Rain will be busy farming for a while too. Bae Merong unnie wants to play with Rain more too.”

Bae Merong looked at me with a tearful expression.

I laughed a little inside.

Bae Merong seemed too childlike to call herself unnie. She’s short too, though not as much as me.

Still, it seems she wants to be called unnie. Anyway, my appearance indeed looks younger than Bae Merong’s.

We’ve run buses together for a while now, and by now, much of my aversion has disappeared.

I took Bae Merong’s hand with my remaining hand.

“Ah…!”

Bae Merong drew in a sharp breath.

Her expression soon became dyed with happiness too.

Oh. It seems my hand-holding has the effect of making not just Chris unnie but others feel good too.

“Unnies. When we finish farming the next elite dungeon, let’s run buses together again.”

“O-of course! Just say the word anytime!”

“Definitely! You prefer this Bae Merong unnie to Cherni after all, right?”

Bae Merong and Chris nodded vigorously.

It was a bit embarrassing, but I succeeded in clearly conveying what I wanted to them.

Even if I can farm alone, I need the unnies to run buses.

Now I have no choice.

I’m Rain who has succumbed to gold.

* * *

Finally, today has come.

It’s the opening day of the level 38 elite dungeon, ‘Aspero’s Fortress’.

“Oh.”

The entrance to the dungeon was already full of people. It looked like the scene from the outpost.

Aspero’s Fortress, built as if connecting two mountain peaks across a valley.

There is a bridge connecting the left mountain and a bridge connecting the right mountain. There are two entrances in total. I’m currently located behind a pile of rocks on the left mountain.

For now, the accessibility is similar on both sides. The notable feature in the fortress’s appearance is probably the three huge towers in the center.

The lowest tower is likely the 1st area, the medium-sized tower connected by a bridge to its top is the 2nd area, and similarly connected, the highest tower is the 3rd area.

It’s a method of entering the fortress through the bridge connected to the mountain peak and passing through three towers in total.

After drawing a rough clearance route in my head, I started watching people while hiding my body behind the rocks.

Familiar faces of advance parties were visible, and it seemed there were also people newly attempting initial clearance.

And before long, my eyes were able to find welcome faces.

Standing at the very front of the entrance bridge, the red-haired beauty, Chris unnie.

Fighter Deathly Death, Mage Bae Merong, Elementalist Cherni.

At that moment, my eyes, carefully peeking out, met Chris’s eyes.

She sent a bright smile towards me.

“Wah.”

I hurriedly hid my body behind the rocks.

Is Chris unnie a ghost or something?

She found me even with so many people here.

Won’t she be suspicious seeing me alone and separate? I can’t let her find out that I’m farming solo.

Ding.

At that moment, a message arrived along with the system notification sound.

Ah, I didn’t turn off the message receiving function.

[Yin-Yang Master ‘Chris’ (Online)]

-Rain, hang in there! Unnie won’t lose this time either!

After checking that message, I tilted my head.

Won’t lose? What does she mean she won’t lose?

It seemed she was misunderstanding something, but that’s something I can ask about slowly later.

For now, today’s goal is the same—quick clear followed by farming and weapon selling.

I need to maximize the advantage of solo play where I can monopolize all the items.

Before turning off the message receiving function, I left one last message to Chris.

-Fighting to you too, unnie 🙂

Woong.

The sound of the sealing magic circle disappearing from the bridge connecting the mountain peak and the fortress was heard, and soon the figures of users gathered in front of the entrance started disappearing into it one by one. They were entering their party’s instance dungeon.

Chris’s party, and the figures of numerous other advance party users disappeared, leaving only a few users who hadn’t formed parties yet near the entrance.

I clenched my fists and steeled my resolve.

“Okay.”

For some reason, my body condition hasn’t been very good since the Tower of Training last time.

It’s not full condition, but if I push a little, I should be able to farm for 24 hours.

I need to secure a good haul this time too.

Pitter-patter.

I came out from behind the rock pile and quickly moved my legs to approach the dungeon entrance.

And hop, I jumped in.

[Entry Level 38]

[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]

[Aspero’s Fortress]