[Entry Level 25]
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]
[Lesser Demon’s Tomb]
“Good. Everyone’s here.”
Chris looked around at the ‘Chris’s Raid Party’ members gathered at the dungeon entrance.
Elementalist Cherni asked Chris.
“By the way, you told us to keep leveling up without farming field bosses, but will we be okay with just Orc King equipment?”
Chris nodded.
“Field bosses don’t give much experience, right? We’re currently the most advanced by focusing on leveling up instead of farming essences. Of course, other parties will reach level 25 and start tackling the dungeon soon too.”
Chris paused, then smiled slyly.
“This slight time difference will ultimately determine the first clear party.”
“Hmm. I obtained information through dark channels that the performance of the field boss ‘Scorpion King’ weapon isn’t much different from the ‘Orc King weapon’.”
Bae Merong was surprised by Deathly Death’s words.
“Oh, then we don’t need to farm field bosses from now on? It feels like we’re skipping something?”
“No, using a slightly stronger weapon would obviously be more advantageous for dungeon clearing. But for initial clears, having time to figure out the named bosses’ patterns is more important than a small spec difference.”
Chris encouraged her party members and opened her messenger window.
[Swordsman ‘Drizzle Rain’ (Offline)]
“I wonder when our cutie will log in?”
Chris clasped her hands in front of her chest and stared at the messenger window with a wistful expression.
“Just wait a little. Big sis will clear this dungeon quickly and give Rain a carry!”
* * *
Peek.
I peeked out from the alley, staring at the convenience store entrance.
Late at night, in front of the convenience store.
The 20-something male part-timer who had worked for three months had quit as he said he would.
Ding-a-ling.
“Thank you, come again!”
A cheerful middle-aged woman’s voice was heard, and an adult male customer left the convenience store.
That voice heard through the open convenience store door was definitely the convenience store owner’s auntie.
When I first visited the convenience store, she looked at me pityingly and asked all sorts of prying questions, so I avoided visiting the convenience store before late-night hours after that.
Unable to find a night part-timer yet, that auntie has been working the night shift these days.
This is troublesome.
She’ll definitely ask annoying questions about me again.
But I couldn’t buy the food necessary for survival without visiting the convenience store.
I took a deep breath and left the alley.
Whirr.
Ding-a-ling.
“Welcome…?”
As I moved my electric wheelchair and entered through the convenience store door, the convenience store auntie’s voice was heard.
The reason her greeting ended as a question was probably because she couldn’t see me sitting in the wheelchair from the counter.
Whirr.
I lowered my posture a bit more and carefully operated the wheelchair towards the cup noodle corner.
“Oh my.”
While I was choosing my daily rations, the surprised voice of the convenience store auntie, who had already come out from behind the counter, was heard.
The auntie’s eyes looking at me quickly changed to look like they were about to cry.
I quietly bit my lip.
Those eyes.
I hated those eyes.
I’m not a pitiful person, but people who see me always look at me with those eyes.
“You’re alone today too? Did you come to buy ramen? Oh dear, look how small and thin you are. You should eat nutritious food.”
I wanted to cover my ears.
I didn’t respond and just grabbed any cup noodles I saw and headed to the counter.
I liked the previous night part-timer college student who didn’t pay much attention to me.
From now on, I should visit the unmanned convenience store in the next neighborhood, even if it’s a bit far.
I wish she would just ring me up quickly.
While the auntie was still looking at me with pitying eyes and scanning the product barcodes, I quietly thought to myself without looking at her.
Ah, I want to go home quickly and play ‘Astria Online.’
When I returned home, I felt a bit better looking around my quiet shelter.
The money I earned from ‘Astria Online’ this time.
I liked the new furniture I bought with that money.
A new latex mattress, a small compact refrigerator, and even a microwave to heat up cold food.
Now, I can store the occasionally delivered chicken for longer and reheat it warmly.
My small stomach couldn’t hold a whole chicken at once, so I had to divide it into about three meals.
But having already tasted meat, I wanted to keep eating chicken.
Now, I have a decent income.
If I keep earning money by tackling dungeons as part of the advance party in ‘Astria Online,’ I’ll be able to order delicious chicken often.
I operated my smartphone to check the quick delivery app I had newly installed while buying furniture this time.
“Oh.”
They were selling a box of cup noodles at a significantly discounted price.
Slightly cheaper than the two-plus-one deal at the convenience store.
After carefully calculating the price per unit, I quickly ordered a box of cup noodles before they sold out.
Only then did a smile appear on my face.
With this, I don’t need to go out to buy food for a while.
* * *
[Drizzle Rain]
[Swordsman]
[Level 24 (80.84%)]
Thwack thwack thwack!
“Kiiiieek!”
The Fames Desert area field boss, ‘Scorpion King’, spewed blue blood as it fell over exposing its belly.
I smiled slightly as I checked the number of ‘Scorpion King’s Essence’ items in my inventory.
Three again this time.
Field boss essence farming was going smoothly.
The number of users around was certainly less than in the Orc Forest, but everyone gathered here was advance party heroes aiming for the initial clear of the next elite dungeon.
Beep.
I opened the messenger window.
[Yin-Yang Master ‘Chris’ (Online)]
The red-haired sister I met before, Yin-Yang Master user ‘Chris’, was still logged in.
Does this person not go out or sleep?
But Chris wasn’t seen near the field boss ‘Scorpion King’.
Had she finished farming ‘Scorpion King’ equipment early?
I checked the performance of the sword obtained through the essence.
[Scorpion King’s Sword]
[Rare Grade]
[Attack Power 70]
[Increases ‘Thrust’ combo skill damage by 20% on successful block]
“Hmm….”
The special option was similar to the Orc King’s weapon.
But the attack power was slightly higher than the Orc King’s weapon.
The stats on the accessories weren’t much different from the previous elite dungeon’s accessories, either.
Of course, it would be standard to raise specs even a little for smoother clearing and challenge the next elite dungeon, but if aiming for a really fast elite dungeon clear, it seemed unnecessary to farm essences.
Well, since I already started farming, it couldn’t be helped.
Especially for me, who had to solo, even a small stat increase and 10 attack power were precious.
And most importantly.
“Costume.”
I looked over the ‘Desert Admiral Costume’ worn on my body with satisfaction while moving slightly.
Flutter.
The coat fluttered lightly with my movement.
Although I really like the clothes I wear now, there’s nothing wrong with having more clothes.
When I get bored, I can rotate them.
I clenched my small hands and made a resolution.
“L-let’s just get the costume and move on.”
* * *
“Oh.”
I let out an exclamation as I reached the front of ‘Lesser Demon’s Tomb,’ the second elite dungeon of ‘Astria Online.’
In the middle of the desert, a small number of advance party users were gathered at the entrance of the elite dungeon, which resembled a pyramid reminiscent of a pharaoh’s tomb.
“Looks like Chris’s Raid Party has already started tackling the elite dungeon.”
“Oh no, how far behind are we? We need to start clearing quickly, too.”
“Our tank still hasn’t gotten the ‘Scorpion King’ weapon yet.”
“Tch, this isn’t the time to be standing around.”
The number of users gathered at the dungeon entrance was about three parties.
As expected of advance party users.
They seem to have leveled up at a similar pace to me, who quickly leveled up by taking down multiple monsters at once through the powerful area attack skill ‘Moonlight Slash’ that Swordsmen newly learned.
“Chris’s Raid Party?”
I tilted my head as I heard a familiar name in their conversation.
By Chris, do they mean that red-haired sister I know?
Certainly, she had incredibly long login times and fast hunting speed.
If it’s that Chris, it wouldn’t be strange if she had already started tackling the elite dungeon.
“But.”
I couldn’t lose either.
I, who was once the hero of the Astria continent.
Although now I’m just a virtual reality body bound by the game system.
It wasn’t much different from back then.
My legs moved well, too.
I definitely felt it while clearing the previous dungeon.
The battlefield sense that my body still remembered became the strength that allowed me to clear dungeons.
Alright.
This time, too, I’ll clear it splendidly solo and sell the first weapon for an expensive price.
This time, I’ll definitely list it for 5 gold.
I clenched my hands and walked confidently towards the elite dungeon ‘Lesser Demon’s Tomb’ entrance.
“Eek.”
As I was about to enter straight on, I shrank slightly upon receiving the gazes of people around.
Right, there were people here.
I moved stealthily through the shadows of the entrance pillars while avoiding their gazes.
Since it’s burdensome to be noticed, I should sneak in when people aren’t looking.
When their attention turned to newly joining party members, I quickly jumped into the dungeon from the pillar shadow closest to the entrance.
Hop!
[Entry Level 25]
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]
[Lesser Demon’s Tomb]