Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 123

Another dawn.

I opened my eyes and blankly stared at the dim nightlight softly illuminating the dark room.

I tried to get up but—

"Ouch."

I grabbed my shoulder.

Hurriedly, I reached out for the medicine and water on the table beside my bed and swallowed them.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

"Ugh."

Trembling in pain for a moment, I finally started to regain my composure as the lingering pain in my body subsided.

The battle against the second named boss, Death Knight Zakham, hadn’t been smooth.

There were more hurdles than I had expected.

The biggest issue had been absorbing the *Dark Mana Rampage* into Zakham. After getting caught in his grasp, you had to fortify your body and escape at the right moment. If you delayed even slightly, you'd be drained of life and die. But if you escaped too early, the dark mana would explode inside you.

If I had allies with me, they could have stunned Zakham to free me from his grasp.

Yesterday, I used the *Champion's Belt* several times. Even after figuring out the gimmick, I still had to shave off 200 million of his 500 million HP myself.

A belt that prevents instant death once, fixing my HP at 1%.

The power of a hero that activates when my HP hits 1%.

In other words, I had to die to proceed.

Zakham's attacks were brutal. Unlike the Black Dragon, his strikes didn’t pierce me cleanly—they were more savage.

There were times when I tried to make the death less painful, only to find my torso split in half. Fortunately, the gift from *Igraine* prevented me from fighting with just half of my body. The green light that circled my wounds held my body together, keeping me from being torn apart.

"Sigh."

I let out a long sigh.

This useless body in this world can’t withstand much pain.

If I push too hard, my body aches all over, demanding rest.

I stared blankly into space, lost in thought.

Only the final named boss remained now.

How many times would I have to trigger the belt during the battle against the *Legion Commander*?

Would this body be able to endure it?

If I end up collapsing and coughing blood, Chris would no doubt force me into a hospital.

It was easier when I lived alone.

I could push myself to the limit without anyone complaining.

As I lay in bed, deep in thought, I heard a faint noise from the door.

*Rustle, rustle.*

"...?"

What was that sound?

Carefully, I got off the bed and crawled toward the door. It might not have looked graceful, dragging my legs with only the strength of my thighs, but it was easier than using a wheelchair to move around the short distances in the room.

I gently opened the door.

*Thump.*

"Ouch."

The person in front of the door lightly bumped their head against it.

The person who had fallen backward with a surprised expression looked up at me.

"Uh..."

"...Chris, what are you doing here at this hour?"

---

"Waahh! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!"

"What are you apologizing for, really?"

"I—I was trying to figure out the final boss’s patterns so I could tell you, but there was something strange blocking the way!"

Chris sat in front of me, weeping pitifully, filled with frustration.

I scratched my face, sitting across from her.

She explained that after clearing the 2nd named boss, they had extended the raid time to gather as much information on the 3rd named boss as possible, but they had been blocked by a mid-boss at the entrance to the deepest part of the dungeon.

"Sniff... So, we couldn’t clear it today. I-I’m sorry. I was going to write down at least the mid-boss’s information for you."

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched Chris still sniffling.

She’s adorable.

I love her charismatic side, but this goofy side she only shows in front of me is just as endearing.

And then, I hugged her tightly.

"Gasp...!"

Chris inhaled sharply.

"Thank you, Chris."

"Sniff, what’s there to thank me for... I’m such a useless big sister, I don’t even deserve your hugs! Ugh, ugh!"

I grabbed her hand to stop her from smacking herself on the head.

"What are you talking about? You’ve helped me plenty."

"But..."

"You told me about Zakham's patterns first, right? The gatekeepers are the same. Thanks to you, I’ve been able to tackle this much more easily."

This was the truth.

Because of Chris, the amount of time I had to spend using my painful, ancient powers had been drastically reduced. Without her information, my body might not have held up long enough to clear the raid.

I wasn’t fighting this battle alone.

Even though our bodies were separate, Chris was fighting alongside me.

"You’re my comrade, Chris."

I gave her the highest compliment I could.

In the past, my comrades had supported me from behind and cleared the path ahead. Even in this world, beyond time and space, I had new comrades to fight with against the Legion Commander.

The members of the Red and White Guild, and Chris.

Chris, you’re my comrade too.

"Comrade... huh."

Chris repeated the word, a soft expression of joy crossing her face.

But then, she looked a bit disappointed.

"...?"

---

The sky outside was beginning to brighten.

As I ate the boiled egg and bread that Chris handed me, I analyzed the *Lancer of Flames* and the *Shieldbearer of Ice* using the information Chris had written down.

"Munch, munch... So, the aggro target changes frequently, huh?"

"Yeah. There’s this weird pattern where they shoot a beam from their eyes. It doesn’t deal damage, but if a raid member gets hit, the aggro shifts to them. It’s independent of damage or threat level."

"And the Lancer leaves flame zones in its area, while the Shieldbearer regenerates HP."

"Exactly. It seems to depend on the distance from the aggro target. The Lancer seems suited for a ranged tank, while the Shieldbearer works better with a melee tank..."

We watched the footage Chris had recorded together. The holographic 3D projection floating over the table allowed us to view the Red and White Raid’s battle from various perspectives.

I pointed to the giant gap in the middle of the battlefield, which divided the Lancer’s and Shieldbearer’s areas.

"So, we have to hop across these tree trunks to move to the other side?"

"Right. The distance isn’t too difficult, just about the length of one *Backward Dodge*. But the trunks are so narrow that only one person can stand on them at a time. And after three minutes, the buff explodes, killing you. You have to swap sides before the three minutes are up."

The problem was this:

---

[Flame Infusion (3 minutes)]

[Attack power increased by 30%. Instant death after 3 minutes.]

[Frost Infusion (3 minutes)]

[Defense increased by 30%. Instant death after 3 minutes.]

---

Before these buffs ended, we absolutely had to swap sides.

If not, after three minutes, everyone would die.

But if we all rushed to cross at once, we’d trip over each other and fall.

And then there was the issue with the tanks.

The Lancer would keep throwing flame spears if the tank was too far away. Normally, you’d block and dodge these while tanking.

But it’s almost impossible to dodge or block while crossing a narrow gap. The tank has to cross, but doing so leaves them vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the Shieldbearer would curl up and regenerate HP if the tank was too far away. The amount of HP it regenerated was ridiculous, filling up its health bar in an instant.

The only small comfort was that there was no enrage timer.

The mid-boss had raid-level gimmicks, but unlike a named boss, it didn’t restrict the time limit for the battle.

I finished my analysis and nodded.

"It’s not too difficult. I think you were just tired, Chris. If you’d gotten some rest, I’m sure you would have figured out the strategy."

"...Really? Right now, I just don’t know what to do."

"Look here."

I pointed to the tree trunks rising from the gap below the battle area.

"One by one, in order. Then, the tank crosses last."

"In order?"

"Yes. Both sides should do the same. The melee tank moves from the Lancer’s side to the Shieldbearer’s side first, taking the laser beam to shift the aggro. That way, the instant-death timer resets, and the tanking continues smoothly."

"Oh...!"

"It works the same for the other side. A ranged tank moves first, and then the melee tank crosses and takes over the aggro."

Chris was just too tired to see it, but the solution wasn’t complicated.

The downside of being a charismatic raid leader is that other people hesitate to offer ideas. For the Red and White Raid Team, who had successfully cleared many raids by following Chris’s strategies, this was even more true.

Everyone had stopped thinking. They just expected Chris to figure everything out again.

I grinned.

"We’ll call it ‘the train tactic.’"

I’m an analyst by nature.

In the past, when I fought the demons on this continent, I did the same. I always studied the enemy’s power and abilities before engaging in battle.

That’s why I believe all my comrades and I made it to the Demon King's castle alive.

But back then...

I shook my head vigorously to clear those thoughts and focused on the two sentinel bosses standing before

me.

What I’m doing now is no different from what I did back then. Only now, I’m applying it to a game system.

---

[Lancer of Flames]

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

[Shieldbearer of Ice]

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

---

The sentinels stood, one on each side of the battlefield.

Once the battle began, movement between the two areas was cut off. You could only cross by stepping on the tree trunks scattered across the gap.

*Thud.*

I stood in front of the *Lancer of Flames* and aimed my sword at it.

I can handle these alone.

The simulation is complete.

The Lancer keeps throwing flame spears even when its HP is at 1.

That means I’ll need to reduce both sentinels’ HP to 1 to clear this.

Dodging the flame spears while crossing the gap and fighting the Shieldbearer... Neither presents much of a problem for me.

The Shieldbearer’s HP regeneration when it’s far away is the biggest issue.

So...

*Clang!*

I sent a flying sword slash at the Lancer, drawing its aggro.

*Rumble!*

The floor fell away, severing movement between the two sentinels.

At the same time, I received a buff.

---

[Flame Infusion (3 minutes)]

[Attack power increased by 30%. Instant death after 3 minutes.]

---

I’ll chip away at the Lancer’s HP, then cross over to the Shieldbearer’s area to refresh the buff before the 3 minutes are up. I’ll keep going back and forth, reducing the Lancer’s HP to 1 first.

And once the Lancer’s HP is down to 1—

---

[Belt of Yggdrasil]

[Elite]

[Strength +50, Agility +50, Intelligence +50]

[Unique Ability: Prevents death once. Fixes HP at 1% for the duration of the battle (30-minute cooldown).]

---

This will let me survive one instant death.

Up until now, I’ve been forcing it to trigger to meet damage requirements, but in this case, it’s a cheat item.

Even if a mechanic is designed to prevent solo play, I can brute force my way through it once.

With 100 million HP, there’s no way I can reduce it in 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, I’ll die, but the belt will save me once.

And with the unique skill that activates at 1%, I’ll have another 3 minutes to finish the job.

Despite its complex strategy, I can handle this twin-boss fight in a straightforward way.

Once I reduce the Lancer’s HP to 1, I’ll move to the Shieldbearer.

I’ll trigger the belt and cut down the Shieldbearer.

It’s not a named boss. There’s no need to drag this out.

It’s just a path to the Legion Commander.

I’ll end it in one go.

*Whoosh!*

As the Lancer’s flame spear flew toward me, I—

*Thud.*

Lowered my stance and prepared to unleash my sword energy.