Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Uuuung…

Inside, there was light.

Mysterious green orbs.

They all floated in the air, radiating brilliance.

Warm light. Cozy light.

The lights flickered brightly, but somehow looked pitiful.

“Th-that’s right! The spirits of the World Tree…!”

I heard Palman’s voice, who had hurriedly followed me from behind.

“Were they protecting us…! Ohh…! They’ve been protecting this world, which has lost its gods, us who have lost our priestess, the dying World Tree and the elves, until the very end…!”

He knelt down, clenched his fists, and trembled.

“…….”

The brightly flickering green orbs.

These are the spirits of the World Tree.

Beings that were once the priestesses of the World Tree.

I walked silently among them.

Thud.

And, I sat down in front of the spirit emitting the brightest light.

I reached out.

My hand passed through the air.

I couldn’t touch it.

It was, after all, just radiating life force with all its might.

I embraced my face with my hands.

From my mouth came a suppressed groan.

“Ah… Uugh… Haa…”

Should I be thankful that we met again, even in this form?

It has already been a thousand years, they say.

How have you been?

I’ve been in a lot of pain.

I called out the spirit’s name.

“…Igrim unnie.”

How long has it been?

I seemed to have sat there for quite a while.

When my focus returned and my mind regained its clarity, I had somehow found myself sitting on a tree branch in the meeting room.

How did I get here?

Did Sister Chris hug me and bring me here?

“…In! Rain!”

Chris was touching my cheeks with a teary expression.

Then, she bit her lips tightly and began to stretch my cheeks.

Stretch.

With tears welling up, I protested against Chris with my eyes.

“Ueeeh.”

“Gah! Are you back to your senses!? Thank goodness! I was thinking of pulling you out of the capsule! Huh…”

“…Sister, that’s violent.”

I turned my head away with a sulky expression.

“But, you two were just sitting there like idiots. Sob, were you lonely? Rain, please understand!”

Chris diligently tried to ease my mood.

While we were playfully bickering like that, the silent Palman finally spoke up.

“…Did you say Rain?”

“Huh?”

I stared at him intently.

He stood up and bowed deeply.

“Thank you so much. Because of this, the elves can once again seek the wisdom of the World Tree.”

“…I only opened a line of communication. But, I heard that there isn’t a priestess of the World Tree in this era?”

“It may be a long shot, but if I’m here, I can communicate through the spirits of the World Tree. It seems the spirits aren’t in a conversational state right now, but once the immediate issues are resolved, it seems possible.”

“If I’m here…?”

“You know what my hair color signifies, don’t you?”

He shook his head and then swirled his long white hair around.

I gasped and clapped my hands.

“Igrim unnie’s hair color…! But, you’re still an uncle, right?”

If a priestess is male, what should I call him? Male priest?

He showed a slightly uncomfortable expression at the word uncle but still answered.

“The lineage of the priestess has been broken. However, an elf born with this hair color can be seen as having inherited some of the priestess’s power. I can communicate with the spirits.”

He wore a gentle smile and bowed his head once more.

“The hero of the elves, the one who restored the name of the priestess’s companion—a hero from a thousand years ago. I feel unworthy, but would you save the elves and this world once again?”

Ding!

[Elf Kingdom Affinity: 100]

I simply smiled in silence.

Palman was wiser than I thought.

‘A being from the stars.’

A hero who returned to this world after a thousand years.

Even as elves who have lost the names of heroes and the wisdom of the World Tree in this age, he had penetrated the essence of my existence with just circumstantial evidence and a bit of oral tradition.

He looked young in appearance, but that was from a human perspective. He was an elf, whose aging process starts after 200 years, so he must have lived a significantly long time.

Patter patter.

I quietly took Chris’s hand and walked.

Chris stared blankly, glancing between me and Palman.

Would there be a day when I could explain all this to Chris?

Even if I told her, would Chris be able to accept it?

We were heading towards the back of the World Tree, guided by Palman.

And we arrived at the point where the emerald forest ended and the fog began.

There, strange-colored mist mixed with magical mist caused by elves was swirling.

“Would you look at this?”

Whoosh!

A gust of wind spread from Palman’s body.

The wind somewhat cleared the fog that filled the front and opened my view to the distant area.

Beyond it lay a massive object that could be seen from Astria.

It was.

“…Another World Tree?”

No, it wasn’t a World Tree.

It appeared irregular yet naturally branched out, not resembling the beautiful form of the World Tree at all.

Its branches twisted in strange directions, giving off only a bizarre impression.

It was the Abyssal Tree, something that did not belong to this world.

From it emanated an icy chill, and magic seemed to flow out, reaching this place.

Palman sighed as he looked at it.

“The roots of that one are touching the roots of the World Tree underground. The World Tree is being drained of its life force by it.”

“Have the elves ever approached that tree?”

“None returned.”

“…The reclusive elves deciding to seek help is…”

“It has grown tremendously in recent years. At the same time, the World Tree has begun to lose its life force quickly. It’s already grown this large. If you hadn’t come, I was planning to gather all the elves who could fight after clearing the magical mist and attack.”

I gazed with a stern look at the ‘Abyssal Tree.’

“Rain. This.”

Chris spoke to me.

She looked to confirm what she saw through me.

I nodded.

[You have discovered the Raid Dungeon, ‘Abyssal Tree’]

[Entry Level: 50]

[Recommended for Raid Dungeon (12 players)]

[Abyssal Tree]

[In 29 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes, the magical fog will be dispelled with the power of the elves]

[In 59 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes, the World Tree will completely lose its life force]

[In 59 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes, this area will be covered in frigid magic]

This was a formal raid dungeon, different from the ‘World Boss’ entangled with multiple interests.

It would open in 30 days.

If we couldn’t clear it within 30 days…

I would never meet Igrim again.

*

In the ‘Klaus Capsule Corporation’ research lab.

This is where Chris works.

“Uuuum….”

Tap, tap, tap.

Chris sat in a lab chair, drumming the desk with a pen.

She was troubled lately.

Her little baby bird, Rain, had begun investing all his time in leveling up since that day.

He used to eat three meals regularly, but now he only had one a day.

Rain collapsed from exhaustion every day, falling asleep right inside the capsule. Chris had to move Rain’s body from the capsule to the bed.

Rain didn’t log out even when he rested.

He sat staring blankly at the green light in the depths of the World Tree, squatting in front of it.

When Chris asked a worried question, he merely smiled silently and shook his head.

As if he felt the need to finish what he started before he could let go of himself.

Chris was alarmed for Rain.

‘Astria Online’

The day she first saw the World Tree there.

That day was the turning point.

From that day onward, Rain became strange.

That day’s conversation, which Chris could not understand.

Rain’s eyes as he stared at the green orbs in the depths of the World Tree.

What could be read from them?

Sadness, regret, longing.

Chris could read Rain’s emotions but could not grasp what they stemmed from.

And the elf named Palman seemed to know Rain.

Chris couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

“How does the NPC Palman know the user Rain? An Easter egg?”

Chris shook her head.

It wasn’t some silly Easter egg.

Something felt more essential.

Chris respected Rain’s secret, but she was also an active human being.

She had a feeling that if left unchecked, her little baby bird Rain would slip away from her hands.

She apologized to Rain in a whisper.

“Rain, I’m sorry. But.”

I need to know about you.

She projected a hologram and began to gather Rain’s information through illegal routes.

“…Lee Seulbi, 19 years old. 1 year and 6 months ago, hospitalized with serious injuries. L2 spinal injury. Immediately discharged after being able to move. No guardians. Registered as a recipient in the special welfare system for refugee orphans.”

There were no records prior to hospitalization.

Only a resident registration existed.

Chris tilted her head.

“Strange.”

Several refugee orphans had surfaced since Korea began accepting them.

Considering Rain’s exotic appearance, she thought he might be one of them.

Still, it was rare for there to be absolutely no records.
At least there should be records from orphanages or schools during childhood.

If no one probed as persistently as Chris did, no one would have questioned it.

But Rain fundamentally did not align with this world.

Rather, he was a being beautifully harmonizing with the ‘Continent of Astria.’

Chris was a researcher.

She didn’t believe in things that went against science, such as this world or ghosts.

To enjoy ‘Astria Online,’ which had a fantasy world as a background, meant escaping the mundane world.

But…

Rain treating the ‘Continent of Astria’ as real…

“It doesn’t seem just to Rain’s mental issues.”

For the first time, Chris decided to trust her feelings rather than science.

She began to focus on the structure of ‘Hanagames,’ the company that created ‘Astria Online.’

Before developing ‘Astria Online’, it was just a regular company.

Did they create NPCs who know Rain?

If so…

Is Rain’s past somehow linked to them?

“CEO Kim Dong-yeon…. AO Director Shin Kyung-hoon….”

Then, Chris’s gaze halted at one person’s name.

“…Han Yeoreum Team Leader.”

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