Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 162

The powerful blue flashes of Melissa's sword energy clashed relentlessly against the starlight that surrounded me. What seemed like fragile starlight—so delicate it could vanish with a touch—perfectly blocked her sharp and swift sword energy.

In a state of pure concentration, I let the starlight scatter around me, my sword movements shielding me from all external threats. What felt like an eternity in my mind had likely only lasted a few seconds in real time.

Even after I stopped my sword movements, the starlight still floated around me.

There was no longer any need to target my opponent directly.

[Sword Barrier Activated]

*Whoosh!*

I swung my sword forcefully. The starlight that had been lingering around me scattered in an instant, spreading outward and slashing everything in its path.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Melissa’s phantom was swept up in the whirlwind of starlight.

---

“Haa...”

I placed my hand over my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.

[Sword Barrier]

[Invincibility while active (Cooldown: 1 minute)]

[Sword Barrier Activated]

[Combo after Sword Barrier]

[Launches a powerful slash within a 30-meter radius centered on the caster]

This was the first invincibility skill granted to swordsmen, and the first area-of-effect skill as well.

It was now clear. The skills that players obtain at the top of the tower—at least for swordsmen—were based on my own techniques.

While ranged classes had invincibility skills, melee classes did not. The only invincibility skill for melee classes was the *Backward Evasion*. Skills like *Reversal Strike* couldn't be used without a target, and skills such as the fighter’s *Dragon Fist* or the swordsman’s *Flash Slash* had invincibility frames but were difficult to use effectively due to their short duration and post-action delay.

But the *Sword Barrier* was different.

It could be used without conditions, without a target, while standing still. During activation, all attacks were blocked, and the sword energy used for defense could be released offensively.

A perfect blend of offense and defense.

With Astria Online’s skill system, other players could likely use this skill for temporary invincibility. However, the way I released the sword energy—turning it into a powerful attack—was unique to me. To send out the slash, I had to physically move my sword and leave behind the trajectory of my sword energy.

In terms of gameplay, it was like a command skill. You could activate it instantly with a hotkey, but by inputting the full command, it transformed into a stronger ability.

Had I regained the power of my past?

No. I had achieved something I couldn’t in the past.

I clenched my fists.

"I’ve grown."

I had become stronger than I was before.

Melissa’s teachings, transcending time and space, had finally become truly mine.

While basking in the afterglow of this realization, I suddenly turned my head in alarm.

The battle had ended.

Melissa’s phantom?

Melissa, caught in my sword energy, had stopped all her movements. She was still enveloped in a blue aura.

[Ancient Swordsman ■■■]

*Buzz.*

[Ancient Swordsman 'Melissa']

The interface changed, and her name appeared.

I smiled warmly at my now-named comrade.

Goodbye, once again.

Melissa’s phantom, bathed in the glowing light.

Her mouth...

Opened.

- "Rain."

"......!"

- "Rain, Rain, Rain."

“...Huh?”

I let out a bewildered gasp.

Why?

The tower belonging to the Roeide family had been built long before I ever met Melissa.

This was supposed to be the Melissa from before we had ever met.

So how...?

Why did this Melissa know my name?

- "Rain, where did you go? My little chick..."

Was Melissa still alive?

Even after I had left this world?

But surely...

"Melissa, Melissa!"

I screamed, rushing toward the light, reaching out my hand.

But I couldn’t touch her. My hand passed through her phantom, slicing through nothing but empty space.

- "Why has Rain disappeared, and I remain? Everyone walked this path, just for you, to make you happy."

- "I want to believe you didn’t die. I want to believe you returned to the world you always spoke of, like a dream of a past life."

- "But... this is as far as I go. I’ll leave behind this message for the Rain who will someday return, using the last of my strength to remain as myself."

- "Rain, if you’ve come back to this world... for the Astria continent you loved so much..."

- "In the eastern canyon, you will find me—the one consumed by miasma, who sealed herself away."

The one consumed by miasma.

A soul that had once been a *Master*, now turned into a miasma-infested entity.

A Death Knight.

A fallen knight.

Lingering desires for a higher realm, unresolved regrets left in this world, and dense miasma—these things turned people into Death Knights. The amount of miasma that had filled the Demon King’s castle was more than enough to reanimate the dead knights.

But for Melissa’s noble soul to become a Death Knight?

Did her soul hold such deep regret that she remained tethered to this world?

Her lingering feelings, her regrets...

“They’re for me.”

I fell to my knees.

---

In the now-familiar comfort of the home I shared with Chris, I stood on the terrace of our penthouse, looking out at the view of the city.

A vast artificial city stretched before me, bisected by a massive river.

It was raining.

I couldn’t hear much from outside—the sound was blocked by the windows.

I blankly watched the rain pour down over Seoul.

“Rain.”

A familiar, warm touch rested on my head.

Chris had quietly joined me at my side.

In stark contrast to the storm raging outside, the room was filled with a peaceful stillness.

Without realizing it, I began to speak.

“Should I keep playing Astria Online?”

“......”

Chris didn’t answer.

Honestly, I didn’t even know why I had asked that.

After a long silence, Chris, who had been watching my expression, finally spoke.

“Did you get hurt today? Well, judging by your condition, it seems like you’re fine today.”

“My body is fine.”

I clenched my chest.

My body is fine.

But why does it hurt here?

How much had Melissa struggled?

How long had she fought against the miasma, unable to find peace, resisting the voice in her mind urging her to destroy the world, all while looking for me?

She searched for me—the person who had disappeared from the world.

She believed I wasn’t dead.

“Did I make a mistake?”

I had fled in despair.

The gap between dimensions was vast.

A thousand years was a long time.

Should I have stayed?

If I had stayed in that world, could I have met Melissa again?

Even if it wasn’t the Melissa from her lifetime.

“Rain.”

Chris’s calm voice filled my ears.

“You cry while playing Astria Online, but not here, huh? Ah, well, now that I think about it, you did cry that one time when you were drunk... Anyway!”

“...?”

“You can cry, you know.”

Chris smiled warmly.

I lowered my head.

In front of Chris, I couldn’t hide my true feelings.

She must have already seen the sadness I had been trying to suppress.

If I cried, then what?

There was no one to blame.

Only a harsh reality to swallow.

The duty of a hero.

I had felt it before, but this burden was too heavy for someone as weak as me.

Did being a hero mean cutting down even your comrades for the sake of saving the world?

“What is it that’s making you so sad, Rain?”

“....”

“Will you be alright?”

“I don’t know.”

I really didn’t know.

“It just feels like everything is too much for me.”

I whimpered.

“You won’t leave my side, right?”

“Of course.”

“Promise me you won’t. I won’t forgive you if you do.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

Chris was the one who had brought me back from the brink of despair—the one who had given me the strength to continue living.

The person who had given me the power to keep moving forward.

*Hug.*

Chris wrapped her arms around my head.

In her embrace, I cried in silence.

---

Finally, the day had come.

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.

*Buzz.*

The seal on the Heavenly Basin in the Erin Canyon had been broken.

All around me, I saw familiar faces—members of the Hongbaek Guild and the Skada Raid Team. Everyone gathered here was filled with anticipation for the new dungeon.

Skada shot me a smile and nodded. I nodded back.

I licked my lips slightly.

When I returned to this world, I had sworn not to involve myself with others again. I had vowed not to form any new comrades.

But now, I had made quite a few connections. Not only Chris and the Hongbaek Guild members but also our cute newbie swordsman Nagi and the skilled raid leader and mage, Skada.

As for my identity as a solo player, was it now limited to solo challenges in elite dungeons and raids?

The advance parties began disappearing one by one into the dungeon.

“Rain.”

Standing beside Beimerung, Deathmaster, and Cherni, Chris reached out and held my hand.

“Yes?”

“Are you going in alone again?”

“Of course.”

I smiled brightly.

Thanks to Chris, I had found the courage to face people again.

For her, I had to confront my past and the hero’s burden.

To live happily, not as “Rain,” but as “Iseul.”

That was what Igrain wanted.

And probably what Melissa wanted, too.

Chris disappeared into the basin.

Left alone, I silently gazed at the entrance of the canyon leading to the Heavenly Basin.

The identity of the second legion commander—the Eastern Legion Commander—had been confirmed.

It was Melissa, the Death Knight.

I would face her.

As an enemy to be defeated.

This elite dungeon before me was just a stepping stone.

Beyond this, I would reach Melissa.

*Buzz.*

As I crossed the boundary of the canyon, I was engulfed by a strange floating sensation.

---

[Required Level: 53]

[Elite Dungeon (4-Player Party Recommended)]

[Heavenly Basin]