Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Tomb of the Lesser Demon
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[Entry Level: 25]
[Elite Dungeon (4-Player Party Recommended)]
[Tomb of the Lesser Demon]
"Alright. Everyone's here."
Chris surveyed her party members, 'Chris's Attack Squad', gathered at the dungeon entrance.
Cherni, the Spirit Master, asked Chris.
"By the way, you told us not to farm the field boss and just focus on leveling up, which we did, but will our Orc King gear be enough?"
Chris nodded.
"Field bosses don't give much experience, do they? By grinding levels instead of farming essences, we've pulled ahead of everyone else. Of course, other parties will hit level 25 soon and start tackling the dungeon too."
Chris paused, then grinned.
"This slight time difference will ultimately decide who gets the first clear."
"Hmm. I've acquired intel through... unofficial channels that the 'Scorpion King' weapon isn't much better than the 'Orc King' weapon."
Beimerung looked surprised at Death of Death's words.
"Oh, does that mean we don't have to farm field bosses from now on? It feels like we're skipping something."
"No, having even a slightly stronger weapon would obviously be an advantage. But for an early clear, having time to learn the named monsters' patterns is more important than a small stat difference."
Chris encouraged her party members and opened her messenger window.
[Swordsman 'Drizzle Rain' (Offline)]
"When is our little cutie going to log on?"
Chris clasped her hands to her chest, gazing at the messenger window with a fond expression.
"Just wait a little longer. Your big sis will clear this dungeon in no time and carry you through, Rain!"
*
*Peek.*
I cautiously peeked my head out from the alley, staring at the convenience store entrance.
Late at night, in front of the convenience store.
The part-timer, a young man in his early twenties who had worked there for three months, had quit just as he'd said he would.
*Ding-a-ling.*
"Have a good night!"
A cheerful woman's voice rang out as a male customer left the store.
The voice coming from the open door was unmistakably that of the store owner.
The first time I came here, she had looked at me with pity and peppered me with personal questions, so I'd avoided visiting before late at night ever since.
She must not have found a new night-shift worker yet, because she was the one working the late shift these days.
This is a problem.
She's bound to ask me all sorts of bothersome questions again.
But if I didn't go to the convenience store, I couldn't buy the food I needed to survive.
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the alley.
*Whirr.*
*Ding-a-ling.*
"Welcome...?"
As I maneuvered my automatic wheelchair through the door, I heard the store owner's voice.
The questioning tone at the end was probably because she couldn't see me in my wheelchair from behind the counter.
*Whirr.*
I lowered my posture slightly and carefully steered the wheelchair toward the cup ramen aisle.
"Oh, my."
As I was choosing my daily provisions, the store owner's surprised voice came from beside me; she had already come out from behind the counter.
Her eyes, looking at me, instantly welled up as if she were about to cry.
I quietly bit my lip.
Those eyes.
I hated those eyes.
I'm not some pitiful person, but everyone who looks at me seems to see me that way.
"Are you alone again today? Here for some ramen? Oh, dear, look how small and thin you are. You should be eating something more nutritious."
I wanted to cover my ears.
Without responding, I grabbed the first cup ramen I saw and headed for the counter.
I liked the last night-shift worker, the college student. He didn't pay much attention to me.
Even if it's a bit farther, I should go to the unmanned convenience store in the next neighborhood from now on.
I wish she would just ring me up quickly.
I thought to myself, not even looking at the woman who was still watching me with pity as she scanned my item's barcode.
Ah, I just want to get home and play 'Astria Online'.
Back home, I looked around my quiet little sanctuary, and my mood lifted a bit.
The money I'd earned from 'Astria Online'.
I liked the new furniture I'd bought with it.
A brand-new latex mattress, a small mini-fridge, and even a microwave to heat up leftovers.
Now, I could store the chicken I occasionally ordered and warm it up to eat later.
My small stomach couldn't handle a whole chicken in one sitting. I had to eat it over about three meals.
But now that I'd had a taste of it, I wanted to keep eating chicken.
I had a decent source of income now.
If I kept clearing dungeons as a frontrunner in 'Astria Online' and earning money, I could order delicious chicken often.
I opened the express delivery app I'd recently installed when buying my furniture and checked it on my smartphone.
"Oh."
A whole box of cup ramen was on sale for a significant discount.
The price was slightly cheaper than the convenience store's buy-two-get-one-free deals.
After carefully calculating the price per cup, I quickly ordered a box before it sold out.
Only then did a smile finally grace my lips.
With this, I wouldn't have to go out to buy food for a while.
*
[Drizzle Rain]
[Swordsman]
[Level 24 (80.84%)]
*Slash!*
"Kieeeeeek!"
The field boss of the Pames Desert region, the 'Scorpion King', spewed blue blood as it fell, its belly exposed.
Checking the number of 'Scorpion King's Essences' that had appeared in my inventory, I smiled faintly.
Three again.
Farming the field boss's essences was going smoothly.
There were definitely fewer players around than in the Orc Forest, but everyone gathered here was a frontrunner aiming for an early clear of the next elite dungeon.
*Beep.*
I opened my messenger window.
[Yin-Yang Master 'Chris' (Online)]
The red-haired woman I'd met before, the Yin-Yang Master 'Chris', was still online.
Does this person ever go outside or sleep?
But Chris was nowhere to be seen near the 'Scorpion King' field boss.
Had she already finished farming for the 'Scorpion King' gear?
I checked the stats of the sword I got from the essences.
[Scorpion King's Sword]
[Rare Grade]
[Attack Power: 70]
[On a successful block, the damage of the linked skill 'Thrust' is increased by 20%.]
"Hmm..."
The special option was on par with the Orc King's weapon.
But its attack power was a bit higher than the Orc King's weapon.
The stats on the accessories weren't much different from those of the previous elite dungeon, either.
Of course, the standard approach would be to raise your stats even a little for a smoother run before challenging the next elite dungeon, but if the goal was a truly fast clear, it seemed you could probably do without farming essences.
Well, since I'd already started farming, I might as well see it through.
Especially for someone like me who had to play solo, every little bit of stats and that extra 10 attack power were precious.
And, most importantly.
"The outfit."
I shifted slightly, contentedly looking over the 'Desert Admiral's Outfit' I was wearing.
*Flutter.*
The coat swished lightly with my movements.
I really liked the clothes I was wearing now, but it never hurt to have more.
I could rotate them when I got bored of one.
I clenched my small fists in determination.
"I'll-I'll just get the outfit and move on."
*
"Whoa."
Reaching the entrance to 'Astria Online's' second elite dungeon, the 'Tomb of the Lesser Demon', I let out a gasp of admiration.
In the middle of the desert, a handful of frontrunner players were gathered at the pyramid-shaped entrance, reminiscent of a pharaoh's tomb.
"Looks like Chris's Attack Squad has already started the dungeon."
"Damn, how far behind are we? We need to get in there quickly."
"I heard our tank hasn't gotten the 'Scorpion King' weapon yet."
"Tch, we don't have time for this."
There were about three parties' worth of players gathered at the dungeon entrance.
As expected of the frontrunners.
It seemed they had leveled up at a similar pace to me, who had power-leveled by using the Swordsman's new and powerful AoE skill, 'Moonlight Slash', to kill multiple monsters at once.
"Chris's Attack Squad?"
Hearing a familiar name in their conversation, I tilted my head.
Could Chris be the red-haired woman I knew?
She certainly had an incredibly long login time and a fast hunting speed.
If it was that Chris, it wouldn't be strange for her to have already started the elite dungeon.
"But."
I couldn't lose, either.
I was once the Hero of the Astria Continent.
Though now I was just in a virtual body, bound by the game's system.
It wasn't that different from back then.
My legs moved just fine.
I felt it for sure while clearing the last dungeon.
The battlefield instincts my body still remembered gave me the strength to conquer dungeons.
Alright.
I'll clear this one solo, too, and sell the first weapon drop for a high price.
This time, I'll definitely list it for 5 gold.
I clenched my fists and walked confidently toward the entrance of the elite dungeon, the 'Tomb of the Lesser Demon'.
"Eek."
Just as I was about to enter head-on, I felt the gazes of the people around me and flinched slightly.
Right, there were people here.
Avoiding their gazes, I crept along in the shadows of the pillars at the dungeon entrance.
Being the center of attention is stressful, so I should sneak in when no one's looking.
When their attention shifted to a new party member joining them, I darted out from my hiding spot in the shadow of the nearest pillar and leaped into the dungeon.
*Hop!*
[Entry Level: 25]
[Elite Dungeon (4-Player Party Recommended)]
[Tomb of the Lesser Demon]