Chapter 104
Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented
Chris was furious when she heard that I had encountered a troublesome person during my solo bus run.
She demanded details about the elf userâs nickname, appearance, and personal information, which made me a bit uneasy.
âGot it? Donât run bus services alone when Iâm not around. Stick with the guild members. I already talked to them. I asked them to keep an eye on... I mean, to take care of Rain while Iâm not there."
Sure, running solo buses for both main and secondary customers could earn more gold, but handling all the interactions by myself was still challenging. Party-based bus runs were much easier, especially when roles could be divided among party members.
In *Astra Online*, the fastest way to build friendships was through dungeon runs.
Aside from Chris, Beimerung, Cherni, and Deathmaster, who were already close to me and Lee Seulbi, I hadnât really formed bonds with anyone else. But the members of the *Hongbaek* Guild were comrades who had tackled the Green Dragon raid together.
"She did tell me to get closer to the guild members."
As long as I had Chris, I was fine. But, this was something Chris wanted for me.
She wanted me to meet more people, run dungeons together, and get to know them.
"If you meet them and think theyâre all good people..."
Chris trailed off, but it was clear she wanted me to expand my social circle.
I stood in front of the *Frozen Palace*, waiting for Hopkins and his party.
This time, I would be running a bus with not just one, but two Warriors.
*Thud, thud.*
Heavy footsteps approached.
I turned to greet them.
Two large young Warriors, both guild members from *Hongbaek*, stood before me.
"Haha! Rain-nim, looking forward to todayâs bus run. This is Gandar, a Warrior from Hopkinsâ party."
"Ha! Isnât it reassuring to have two solid tanks with us?"
"Hello."
The two brawny figures, *Leroy Hopkins* and *Gandar*, laughed heartily as I greeted them and created the party.
I glanced at them and sent a silent message with my eyes: *You guys handle recruiting the customers, managing the party, and collecting the gold. Iâll just focus on cutting things down.*
"Haha!"
"Heh, understood!"
The two Warriors exchanged glances and started laughing again.
---
"Even in this day and age, the nostalgia for instance raid games is still strong. Just look at how a decades-old game like WOA is still around."
"Indeed, most gamers have transitioned to virtual reality, and now thereâs an excellent alternative like *Astra Online*. Did you know? My nickname, 'Leroy Hopkins,' is inspired by a famous user from the classic raid game, WOA."
"Ah, yes, the story! Something about heating up chicken and wiping out the party."
Impressive. I could never do that.
Hopkins seemed to be enjoying himself as he chatted endlessly with one of our middle-aged customers.
Gandar, meanwhile, walked beside me, marveling at my gameplay.
"Wow, Rain-nim, youâre incredible. Even with both of us breaking patterns and adding damage from our struggles, youâre still outpacing the bossâs HP faster than the shield tanks."
"Well, itâs because Iâve got a good weapon."@@novelbin@@
"Ha! *Astaroth*, right? Too bad the world boss respawn timer is so long. We might encounter the next world boss before the Green Dragon respawns. Iâve saved up a lot of gold to bid on the loot. Not as much as Chris-nim, though."
"Heh."
I chuckled at Gandarâs joke. He smiled at me warmly before clearing his throat.
These guys were both really nice.
Soon, we arrived at the second boss, *Lesser Demon*.
Hopkins and Gandar confidently stepped forward.
"This elite dungeon, *Frozen Palace*, really emphasizes the Warriorâs role. Status effect skills are essential for breaking through the dungeonâs mechanics."
"Even though Rain-nim can handle all three summons on her own, having two Warriors will make things much easier. Haha!"
They drew their axes and charged at the *Lesser Demon*.
---
*Boom!*
The *Lesser Demon* fell in no time.
"Oh."
That was definitely more convenientâand faster.
In fact, this was probably quicker than running the bus with Chris and Beimerungâs party, at least for the second boss.
Though their raw damage output wasnât as high as Chrisâs party, the Warriors excelled at handling the mechanics swiftly. By applying status effects to the boss and creating frequent free damage windows, I barely had to worry about the bossâs patterns.
Hopkins and Gandar alternated using their *Struggle* skills to restrain the *Lesser Demonâs* movements.
When the special phase began, and illusions appeared from three directions, the Warriors rushed in, knocking them down and stunning them. I casually walked over to the remaining illusion and finished it with an aerial strike.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
I clapped my hands, impressed by their teamwork.
"This is comfortable."
"Right?"
"Weâll make sure you only have to focus on damage for the third boss too."
Warriors are awesome.
---
"Kyaaa!"
The third boss, *Witch Frederica*, screeched in rage as the fight didnât go her way.
I truly only had to focus on dealing damage this time.
Gandar and Hopkins whirled around the battlefield, using their axes to erase every ice field the boss created.
Warriors had the *Whirlwind* skill, which provided both mobility and damage reductionâkey for classes like Warriors who only had one true movement skill, *Rear Dodge*.
Using *Whirlwind*, they reduced incoming damage while maintaining speed, allowing them to clear the ice fields efficiently.
It seemed they chose to prioritize speed and damage reduction over the skillâs counterattack feature. For clearing mechanics, that was the right choice.
Warriors really do have the perfect toolkit for this.
I spent the entire morning running bus services with these two Warriors.
---
"Hello."
"Oh, Rain-nim! Looking forward to todayâs run."
"My little sister is about your size. Sigh, if only she were as cute as you."
I puffed up my cheeks as the Ranger, *Seopseop-i*, commented on my cuteness.
Sure, I know Iâm pretty.
Well, maybe Iâm more cute than pretty.
But honestly, I prefer being called cool.
In the afternoon, I ran the bus with the Ranger duo from *Seopseop-iâs* party.
Neither Hopkinsâ party nor Seopseop-iâs had any Fighter or Swordsman classes, but in *Astra Online*, any class could fill the tank role if played skillfully.
In fact, non-traditional tank classes taking on this role was a testament to their skill.
The two Rangers, *Go Seung-woo* and *Seopseop-i*, had distinct nicknames and even more distinct appearances.
Seopseop-i had blue hair, and Go Seung-woo had green hair.
Seeing two similarly sized Rangers with such striking hair colors standing together was quite amusing.
"Wait a second."
During the Green Dragon raid, I had stuck close to Chris, so I hadnât noticed before.
But now that I looked at Seopseop-i more closely, his face seemed familiar.
I stared intently at his grinning face.
A young man, blue hair, Ranger.
Didnât he say he moved from the Beta Empire to join the *Hongbaek* Guild in the Alpha Empire?
"Ah!"
Isnât he the player who stole my *Kopopo Egg* during the delivery quest?
I pointed at him in shock.
"Kopopo Egg!"
"Ah!"
Seopseop-i flinched as if caught in a serious crime.
---
Running the bus with the two Rangers wasnât as smooth as it had been with the two Warriors.
Rangers, being pure DPS classes, didnât have many status effect skills. Naturally, I had to handle more of the mechanics.
Still, they were quick to clean up the ice fields. Rangers had plenty of mobility skills, so I could give them credit for that.
I forgave Seopseop-i for the *Kopopo Egg* incident. It wasnât a huge deal.
Besides, Iâm not the type to hold a grudge over something like that.
I later ran the bus with other guild members too.
Hopkinsâ party included the Mage *Yeon Min-ah* and the Spirit Summoner *Dalboreum*.
Seopseop-iâs party included the Mage *Red Hot Chicken* and the Onmyoji *First Catch*.
"Hmm."
After running the bus with todayâs guild members, I accepted their friend requests and organized their nicknames.
While I could always communicate with them through guild chat, having them in my friends list made me feel closer to them.
Fortunately, they were all nice people. None of them got too close or made me uncomfortable, though I couldnât stop some of the women from looking at me with starry eyes.
More than that, I appreciated how eager they were to learn from watching my gameplay. As expected of elite players, they had a strong desire to improve.
The only downside was that there werenât many female players.
"Only two women: Spirit Summoner Dalboreum and Mage Red Hot Chicken."
I preferred hanging out with women over men.
As long as they didnât come on too strongly, I wouldnât mind holding hands with them once we got closer.
The *Hongbaek* Guild could definitely use more female players.
---
*Beep, clunk.*
I heard the sound of the front door opening,
and a tired-looking Chris walked in.
"Chris unnie."
"Haa, Iâm home. Itâs late, right? Sorry! You look like youâre about to head to bed. Did you have fun with the guild members today?"
"Yes."
"Hehe, how were they? Good people, right? I didnât tell you, but I did an in-depth interview with each of them before accepting them."
I chuckled.
If Chris had known that Seopseop-i was the one who interfered with my *Kopopo Egg* delivery quest, she probably wouldnât have let him join the guild.
Well, he apologized, so itâs fine now.
Chris scratched her head for a moment, as if about to bring up something difficult.
"Um, so, I donât know if this is too sudden."
"Yes?"
"Some of the guild members mentioned they wanted to do a meetup."
A *meetup*.
An event where online players meet in person.
"So, if youâre okay with it, we could meet up and let the guild members see each other in person."
"Ah."
It seemed Chris not only wanted me to build relationships as *Rain*, but also to expand my connections as *Lee Seulbi*.
"Hmm..."
Normally, I would agree to anything Chris said, but this time I hesitated.
Lee Seulbi.
The version of me in this world isnât someone Iâd be proud to show others.
My body isnât in great condition either.
Would they look at me with pitying eyes?