Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 216

Rustle, rustle.

A single strand of red hair swayed gently before my eyes.

I held my breath and stared at it with the sharp gaze of a predator stalking its prey.

"Gotcha."

Swish, swish.

The red strand dodged my hand like a feisty blade of grass, refusing to be caught.

This was no easy task—it slipped away so effortlessly.

Snap!

After flailing at empty air a few times, I finally managed to grasp the red strand in my hand.

“Heh.”

I smiled brightly, savoring the soft, fluffy sensation of the hair in my grasp. But then, a youthful, disgruntled voice reached my ears.

“...Rain, why are you holding onto my hair?”

“Hah! S-sorry! It was swaying so adorably that I couldn’t help myself.”

Blushing furiously, I let go of little Chris’s silly strand of hair.

Standing about a head shorter than me, little Chris was her “alt character,” nicknamed Christu.

Her round, pouty cheeks filled with annoyance were absolutely adorable. That lone, red strand of hair sticking out and swaying according to her mood was impossibly cute. Her tiny stature was cute. Everything about her was cute.

“Ahhh...!”

Unable to resist any longer, I crouched down and hugged her tightly as she was busy harvesting quest items.

Squirm, squirm.

“Raaaain!”

“Sorry, I’m so sorry! You’re just too cute!”

“I’m in the middle of a faction battlefield daily quest! Hug me later, okay?”

The squirming sensation of little Chris in my arms conveyed her frustration. Her reddened face only made her cuter, but I clicked my tongue and reluctantly let her go.

Hugging the grown-up Chris is great, but hugging little Chris has its own unique charm.

When else would I have the chance to shower Chris with affection like this, especially when she logged in as this tiny alt character?

First there was the newbie swordsman Nagi, and now little Chris. Being surrounded by people smaller than me was unexpectedly therapeutic.

Clink, clink.

Little Chris crouched back down and resumed collecting raw mana stones. Her tiny, delicate movements were so endearing that I barely managed to tear my eyes away and look around.

“By the way, I didn’t know there was a faction battlefield in Erin’s Gorge.”

“There’s one per expansion pack. Completing the faction daily here rewards holy stones in addition to mana stones, so it’s worth doing.”

Just as Chris said, faction battlefields were prime locations to farm heavily consumed enhancement items, and the “Endless Ravine” expansion was no exception.

The faction battlefield here was a PvP field teeming with carnivorous, war-loving players. Even in this rocky terrain, mercenaries from the Alfarion Empire and Betarion Empire continued to clash relentlessly.

Admittedly, this battlefield was slightly skewed against the Betarion side. While Erin’s Gorge was technically unclaimed wasteland, international law clearly recognized it as part of Alfarion Empire’s territory.

Faction battlefield Isilote Basin was surrounded by steep rocky mountains and filled with countless boulders, providing ample cover for strategic combat. However, compared to previous faction battlefields set in dense forests, this rocky field made it much easier to spot people. Stealth was more difficult here, often forcing direct confrontations.

“Like this.”

I sighed, spotting a group of Betarion Empire players heading our way.

Little Chris stood up with a scowl of irritation.

“We just wanted to quietly finish our daily quest, but these guys—!”

Whir, whir, whir!

The ominous hum of Chris’s Yin-Yang Orbs reverberated as they began to circle her. The tiny, adorable orbs adjusted to match her petite form, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. But before she could act, I stepped in front of her.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Rain? Are you sure?”

“Mm, think of it as a warm-up.”

Shing.

I drew my sword, Astaroth.

When doing faction battlefield dailies, I usually avoided combat unless absolutely necessary. My sword wasn’t meant for slaying people; it existed to slay monsters. In past faction battlefields, I always ran away whenever I encountered other players.

Back in my hyper-immersed gaming days, I hated the idea of hurting players, knowing how much pain I felt when I was defeated. But the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament required me to fight players.

In the end, I decided to participate in the tournament.

“Let’s see... My accessories are properly set for PvP.”

My beloved sword, Astaroth, was a legendary weapon obtained from a world boss in a faction battlefield. Unlike legendary weapons from raid dungeons, it dealt bonus damage against players. Its true value shone in PvP rather than PvE.

Woooong!

A cluster of starlight gathered along Astaroth’s blade, condensing into a radiant blue glow.

“Huh.”

Flash!

I eased the power coursing through the blade, letting the blue light disperse into a gentle shimmer of starlight.

This power... I can’t use it recklessly.

Tap, tap, tap!

With starlight trailing my sword, I dashed forward at lightning speed.

The Betarion players gasped audibly.

“A white... little one?”

“It’s her! The White Phantom!”

“Why is she here? Didn’t she always run away in faction battlefields?!”

Cheeks puffed out indignantly, I darted between them in an instant.

“White Phantom? Really?!”

The starlight from my sword erupted, sweeping through their ranks.

Bang, bang, bang!

Tap-tap, tap-tap.

The sound of two small sets of footsteps echoed.

Little Chris and I walked side by side.

“Wow, Rain, you were incredible. If you joined a proper war guild, you could dominate faction battlefields.”

“I like Hongbaek. And PvE is way more fun than PvP.”

“Stop ruffling my hair!”

“You said I could ruffle it all I want after the quest was done.”

“Ugh.”

On our way to report the quest’s completion, I couldn’t stop ruffling little Chris’s head while keeping an eye on my status window.

[Drizzle Rain]

[Swordsman]

[Level 55 (0%)]

[HP 33,600 / 33,600]

[MP 500 / 500]

A recent addition stood out: an MP stat beneath my HP.

“MP, huh...”

The phenomenon that occurred with my sword earlier—starlight condensing into blue energy—was likely tied to this MP stat.

Swordsman skills typically don’t consume mana. Even ethereal techniques like starlight slashes or sword barriers only involve ambient mana.

But this MP stat seemed identical to the mana I once possessed in the past.

I had a hunch.

It’s definitely the power transferred by Igraine and Melissa through the belt.

Somehow, this mana had crossed the spatial divide and manifested in Isulbi’s body. Naturally, it also became part of Rain’s character.

I frowned.

“This is bad.”

A bugged character had officially been born.

MP stats shouldn’t exist for a swordsman in Astria Online.

Until now, my power had stayed within the limits of the game’s systems. But this MP stat was an anomaly.

If the Hanagames administrators discovered it, I might get “normalized.”

I needed to play it cool—like those webtoon characters who hide their powers.

In a deflated voice, I muttered to little Chris.

“I... I’ve become a secret overpowered character.”

“Secret overpowered... what?”

“It’s... a thing.”

After completing the daily faction quest, we arrived at the 'Azure Death King's Resting Place,' right in front of the Abyss.

Chris logged in with her alt character today to establish the 12-person Noname Raid Party made up [N O V E L I G H T] of alternate characters.

Chris’s main character had already crafted a legendary weapon using materials from the first clear of this raid. She only needed to farm accessories now. Thus, she swapped her main character with her alt in the Hongbaek Raid Party to farm accessories there, leaving her alt, little Chris—Christu—as the character she would use in the Noname Raid Party from now on.

During the first clear, Chris had handed all the accessories to me. At the time, I was still enamored with Astaroth and encouraged her to craft a weapon first.

[Eastern Legion Commander's Yin-Yang Orb]

[Legendary Grade]

[Attack Power: 550]

[Bonus Damage to NPCs: +25%]

[All Skill Damage: +60%]

[Socket 1: Blue Echo Stone (Legendary)]

[Socket 2: Green Echo Stone (Legendary)]

...

[Unique Ability: Has a chance to stack the 'Azure Flame' buff on attack. Converts to 'Azure Fury' buff at 5 stacks.]

(Azure Fury - For 10 seconds, bonus damage to NPCs +25%, all attacks guaranteed critical.)

(Exclusive to Chris)

Little Chris proudly linked the stats of the Yin-Yang Orb equipped on her main character, showing them off.

"Thanks to you, Rain, I made it perfectly. Even finished socketing it."

"Wow, its stats are definitely higher than the Northern Legion Commander’s weapon from before. And it’s finally surpassed Astaroth in attack power."

"Looks like Astaroth is falling behind now. How about crafting an Eastern weapon yourself?"

"Well, with the expansion pack changing, maybe Astaroth has an evolution path?"

I glanced at the Astaroth hanging at my waist, smacking my lips.

For now, I still like it. The unique cooldown reset ability, exclusive to Astaroth and the Hammer and Anvil Bracelet, is a compelling option. Depending on how it’s used, it could outperform the higher raw attack power of the Eastern Legion Commander’s weapon.

Maybe this weapon can evolve too?

I gently stroked Astaroth with affection.

"...It’s also the first gift Chris gave me."

“Hmph. Well, if you really like it, you can keep using it.”

Little Chris averted her gaze, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Her embarrassment was almost palpable. I grinned and continued to ruffle her fluffy red strand of hair.

It was soft and satisfying to touch.

"Guild Master~ I’m here!"

Hongbaek Guild’s ranger, Go Seung-woo, came running toward us, out of breath.

Little Chris giggled and teased him lightly.

"Looks like this party smells more like money, huh?"

"Hehe, Hongbaek’s raids distribute weapons in order, but this party’s all about crafting and selling. If you want to make money, you’ve got to focus here." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"Geez."

Go Seung-woo, nicknamed “Money Nose” by Chris, had a knack for sniffing out lucrative opportunities. This raid party, focused on crafting and selling weapons, was designed to share profits after sales. It was bound to be more profitable than the traditional farming-oriented Hongbaek Raid Party.

Clack, clack.

Opposite Go Seung-woo’s approach, a striking brown-haired beauty and a laid-back-looking swordsman walked toward us. I recognized their faces—they were familiar from recent encounters.

They were alt characters belonging to Skada Raid Party’s leader, Skada, and the tank, Park Jeong-gwon. Unlike Chris’s tiny alt character, these two had almost identical appearances to their main characters, making it easy to identify them at a glance.

"Chris, Rain, please take care of us in this alt raid as well," Skada said, bowing lightly.

"Skada’s raid members are always reliable," I replied.

Little Chris greeted them with a smile, but despite her tiny stature, she stepped in front of me, blocking their path with a wary expression.

I chuckled to myself.

Chris always acts cautious whenever a beauty approaches me.