Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 163

As I passed through the canyon and entered the Heavenly Basin, the landscape before me was different from what I had seen outside.

Despite being just a basin surrounded by rocky mountains, the atmosphere felt entirely different from the outside world. Even the air was strange. If I had to describe this sensation in one word:

Discomfort.

And I knew exactly why I felt it.

"Thick miasma."

The miasma here was more concentrated than the natural life energy around. Something within this place was emitting a dense cloud of miasma.

Unlike other elite dungeons, the sky here was open. However, due to the thick atmosphere, the sky appeared cloudy and murky.

Scattered around the area were rocks and large boulders instead of trees, and various types of monsters roamed between them—griffons, ogres, goblin hordes, and more. These monsters were enhanced by the miasma, making them stronger than their usual forms. They wouldn’t go down easily.

In a way, this place felt more like a field than a dungeon.

There were no distinct zones or progressing through named bosses like in typical dungeons.

But I already knew how to tackle this challenge, thanks to the information I received when I accepted the first-clear quest.

Before the seal on the Heavenly Basin was fully released, the elite knights of the Roeide Duchy had infiltrated and prepared the area in advance.

“They’ve hidden *Divine Marks* in three locations within the basin. Once those marks begin to radiate holy energy, there’s a risk that the owner of this place will take notice. For now, they’re inactive. Your task is to activate them.”

Operating in an area filled with dense miasma was extremely dangerous. You could consider it a small pocket of the demon realm within the current world. But for a *Starborn Adventurer*, capable of challenging things dozens or hundreds of times, it wasn’t too much to handle.

Once the adventurers activate the *Divine Marks*, the miasma will begin to dissipate from the area. When all three marks are successfully activated, the boss will realize the air is changing, and that’s when they’ll reveal themselves to deal with the intruders.

---

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southeast 0/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southwest 0/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the north 0/1]

[???]

[Heavenly Basin Progress 0/1]

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

---

First, I had to meet the conditions to activate the Divine Marks.

There were three locations: southeast, southwest, and north.

And then, the overall dungeon progress had a single condition.

Normally, the progress would update every time a named boss was cleared.

“Is there only one named boss?”

It seemed possible that this elite dungeon had only one boss.

If that were the case, the process of activating the Divine Marks would be as challenging as a named boss battle.

There was also one more hidden condition.

---

[???]

---

“What’s this?”

I tilted my head, staring at the question marks on the quest interface.

While I was curious about the unknown condition, I had to focus on activating the Divine Marks for now.

*Tap, tap.*

I swiftly moved between the rocks.

Heading for the nearest location where a Divine Mark was buried.

---

*Tap.*

It didn’t take long before I arrived at the location of the southeast Divine Mark.

In the center of a large clearing, there were signs of an artificial disturbance. A pile of rocks had been stacked in the middle, and it was clear the Divine Mark was buried beneath them.

Various monsters wandered around the area, but the most noticeable was:

*Slither, slither.*

---

[Level 55 Lamia]

[HP 10,000,000 / 10,000,000 (100%)]

---

The lamia—a monster with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a naked woman—was slithering between the rocks, flicking its tongue and making unsettling sounds.

I instinctively raised my hand to cover my face.

“Whoa, that’s... risqué.”

I could handle brutality, but this was a bit too much. I never thought I’d miss the safety filter—maybe with the filter on, they’d be wearing swimsuits or something.

Anyway, I had to deal with the surrounding monsters first.

---

*Tap, tap, tap!*

I drew Astaroth and dashed out from behind the rocks, sprinting at full speed.

*Slash, slash!*

*Screeech—!*

The goblins nearby were cut down one by one.

Before long, the lamia took notice of me.

*Slither, slither!!*

The snake women hissed as they slithered across the ground, writhing their lower bodies as they closed in on me.

There were a lot of them. Their HP was no joke either. It seemed like these lamia were the main threat in the Heavenly Basin.

There were too many to handle one by one. It was time to use an area-of-effect skill.

---

[Moonlight Slash (S)]

- A powerful 360-degree slash attack. (Cast time: 2 seconds)

- (Instant activation) Successful block

- (D-Rank) After casting, enter *Sword Draw Stance* (Cooldown 30 seconds)

- (B-Rank) Reduces cast time by 1 second

- (S-Rank) Reduces cast time by 0.5 seconds

---

*Swish, swish!*

*Shing!*

The moonlight flashed around me, leaving long slashes across the bodies of the lamia rushing toward me.

I hadn’t used this skill much recently since most of my battles had been against named bosses or strong single-target enemies. But in situations like this, with monsters closing in from all sides, this skill was perfect. It had been quite useful in the lower-level areas where weaker monsters were more common.

And now, I had even more powerful area-of-effect skills like *Flash Slash* and *Starlight Sword Energy*.

*Flash! Swish, swish, swish!*

Before the lamia could completely surround me, I used *Flash Slash* to slip through their ranks, spinning around and scattering sword energy. But these lamia, enhanced by the miasma, didn’t go down easily, even after taking multiple hits from my slashes.

*Clack.*

I steadied myself, holding my sword in a ready position.

Maybe it was time to try out my new skill.

My sword began to dance in my hands, and starlight gathered around me.

---

[Sword Barrier]

[Invincible while active (Cooldown: 1 minute)]

---

*Boom!*

The lamia that lunged at me were repelled, their bodies bouncing off the protective barrier with a loud crash.

After a few seconds of the dance, I unleashed the gathered starlight around me with a powerful wave.

---

[Sword Barrier Activated]

[Combo after Sword Barrier]

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

---

*Whoosh!*

*Flash, flash, flash!*

*Screeech!*

The starlight swept through the area. The miasma that had been protecting the lamia could no longer shield them, and they were cut to pieces by the fierce storm of starlight, their green blood splattering across the ground.

I stared wide-eyed at the scene I had just created with my *Sword Barrier*.

“Wow.”

I used to envy mages for their powerful area-of-effect spells, but not anymore.

---

*Swoosh, swoosh.*

After clearing the surrounding monsters, I crouched by the pile of rocks where the Divine Mark was buried.

I drew a simple activation magic circle, as instructed by Eleonora. As soon as I finished inscribing it, a soft white glow began to radiate from the pile of rocks.

*Buzz.*

“Holy energy.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this.

It reminded me of the light that used to shine from Elena’s hands whenever she healed me.

Elena’s holy energy had always been much stronger than the light coming from this ancient relic.

Lost in thoughts of the past, I shook my head and moved toward the next Divine Mark in the southwest.

---

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southeast 1/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southwest 0/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the north 0/1]

---

---

*Slash!*

*Thud, thud, thud.*

Leaving the scattered corpses of the lamia behind, I moved quickly to activate the second Divine Mark.

*Buzz.*

Once the magic circle was activated, the holy energy began to radiate from the pile of rocks in the southwest as well.

The second mark was activated without any trouble.

I tilted my head in confusion.

“This is too easy.”

The lamia in this area were numerous and strong, sure.

But with my powerful skills, I could handle them on my own.

For an “elite dungeon recommended for a four-player party,” the difficulty seemed far too low.

Had I become too strong?

Feeling a bit underwhelmed by the ease of the dungeon, I opened the dungeon interface to check on the progress for the last Divine Mark.

---

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southeast 0/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the southwest 1/1]

[Activate the Divine Mark in the north 0/1]

---

“Huh?”

The progress for the southeast mark had been reset.

The only active mark was the one I had just activated in the southwest.

I stomped my foot in frustration.

“Why!?”

Did I draw the magic circle incorrectly

? That couldn’t be. I had clearly confirmed that the activation was successful before I left the southeast area.

As I stood there in confusion, a strange sound reached my ears.

*Slither, slither.*

The sound of lamia.

I looked around.

Lamia. Lamia. More lamia.

More lamia than before, with eyes glowing red, were slithering toward the activated Divine Mark.

I gritted my teeth.

Simply activating the marks wasn’t enough.

The situation in the southeast was likely the same. After I left, the lamia probably swarmed the area and dug up the Divine Mark, disrupting the holy energy.

I had to protect each mark until all three were fully activated.

This was...

“A defense dungeon...!”