Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Unreasonable.

What binds me is the very definition of unreasonableness.

Raid for 12 people recommended.

Solo play.

Since I returned to this world, I’ve died quite a lot. Should I be thankful that it’s just a game now? If I didn’t have companions in the past, wouldn’t I have already perished, sprawled somewhere? Well, I guess I wouldn’t have easily given up my life since I was wielding the Holy Sword from the get-go.

Commander Crow was strong.

He was a demon of commander-level strength who had fought valiantly against the Hero Party in the past. His strength was of a different nature than the “fragments of the hero” I had faced while dying.

The overwhelming speed and techniques of the hero’s fragments. Crow had substantial HP and patterns that forced multiple participants to engage.

In other words, this guy—I can’t defeat him if I don’t prepare for death, even with my current self.

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

The pain from his claws that crossed my small torso made me grit my teeth and widen my eyes, but soon the green light that flowed from my belt sealed the wounds.

Life is one, so it’s expensive. It’s rare, right? Someone once said that.

Right now, my life is cheap.

Because it’s not just one.

This cheap life can be sacrificed as much as needed to defeat enemies, grow stronger, or reunite with past companions.

How many times have I died today?

I’ve given up counting; it just gives me a headache.

I raised my sword.

Ka-boom!

Golden sword energy erupted from my blade.

Flash!

In an instant, the sword energy burst forth and crossed Crow’s torso. Even his sturdy feathers were sliced through, leaving long scars on his upper body.

Caw!

Crow let out a scream of agony.

Twice, three times, four times. The sword energy continued to shoot out, beginning to dismantle the crow.

And I pulled back for my final shot.

Ka-boom!

Soon, golden energy surged from my body.

Temporary body enhancement.

It resembled the power the Holy Sword had given me in the past.

They call it mana? In martial arts terms, it’d be internal energy? Although I don’t feel even a pinch of it now, using this power makes me feel like I’ve returned to my former self, if only for a moment.

Caw!

Flapping, flapping.

As Crow flapped his wings, his massive form began to rise into the air.

Thud!

I leapt lightly, attempting to slice his wings.

With my current physical abilities, this jump was possible.

Clang! Crack!

The collision of my golden aura and Crow’s purple energy sparked a blinding flash.

I landed on the ground, licking my lips in excitement.

I had anticipated it.

This protective aspect of Crow is also ‘the system.’

The system doesn’t just grant me power.

The boss’s special phase—a unique pattern that manifests with the system.

It was impossible to forcibly interrupt it.

If I possessed the power to eliminate the crow before entering the special pattern, that would be a different story, but my strength isn’t at that level. Even if I completely regain my past strength, it wouldn’t be easy to do it alone. After all, he’s a commander-level demon capable of facing off against heroes.

“In the end, it’s telling me to follow the set strategy.”

Whoosh!

I dashed across the combat area towards the first pig chimera that appeared.

The sensation of slicing through the wind felt delightful. Although temporary, my speed was incomparable to what it was before.

Thud!

I gracefully maneuvered, slipping between his battle hammer swings, aiming for his neck with One Flash.

Flash!

Crash! Crash! Crash!

With a flash accompanied by a storm, the chimera’s head was severed, and its torso was shredded.

One down.

Then I turned my head to spot the next target.

Boom!

The second chimera’s combat hammer hit the spot where I had just been. But my body had already reached its side.

Flash, flash!

Once to the left. Once to the right. I sheathed my sword and unleashed a blinding light that started the pig dissection from my waist.

Yikes, yikes!

The sound of the pig’s neck being butchered by my sword was mournful.

Don’t cry. I’m the one in more pain. A child might follow along if someone beside them is crying. Of course, I’m not a child, though.

Thud.

Thwack!

By the time the second chimera fell to the ground, a fierce sound grazed my ears.

I tracked its trajectory with my eyes, twisting my waist slightly and lowering my head. Thwack! A feather brushing past me lodged itself behind.

How sneaky, I can’t hit him, but he attacks me freely.

He’s fast, but I can dodge easily now. Besides, Crow will come down after I take care of all the chimeras. There’s no need to worry.

Bang!

I quickly moved my new shield and activated the cooldown reset ability of the bracelet.

The last pig chimera swung its combat hammer at me.

If I maintain my speed, I will inevitably be struck. Did he play baseball or something? But my body is like a speeding baseball. I shift my sword back to my waist, accelerating my movement. Flash! Crash! Crash! The mana storm accompanying One Flash ripped the creature apart.

Thud.

I finally arrived at the center of the combat area.

And with a smile, I looked up at Crow.

“It’s over. Come down now.”

Thud.

He obeys well.

Caw!

He let out a loud cry and glared at me with his eyes.

Whoosh!

Simultaneously, the scenery around us distorted.

Everything turned blue.

This is a different space from before.

It’s still at the Abyssal Tree’s core, but it’s the shadow world.

Crow’s body is in the original world, while mine is situated in this shadow world.

This is called ‘isolation.’

His eyes were still fixed on me.

The special phase isn’t over just because I dealt with the chimeras.

Now, a new combat phase begins.

In this state, my attacks don’t reach Crow. My sword passes through him like a ghost.

But Crow can still attack me in this state. Although physical force doesn’t reach me, his patterns that burst from a distance worked effectively.

A distance-targeted aggression pattern. My body stiffens, and magic bursts from inside. There were several enemies who died from this pattern. The uninvited energy entering my body felt incredibly unpleasant.

Although I couldn’t hear the sounds in the shadow world, magic explosions continuously erupted in the outer world. Explosions covered the entire combat area. It seemed like they wanted us to split up between those who entered the shadow world and those who remained outside, but how am I supposed to break this?

However, the entire combat area was divided into eight sections, with only one place remaining safe from explosions. Like a pizza with one slice removed. If this was a party play, the tank could adjust the position. Move themselves and fix the safe zone for the party members. But how could the tank survive amid the explosions outside?

Today alone, I’ve been through dozens of tries. I haven’t found a way to inflict damage on him in this state.

Thud.

I turned my back on Crow.

My gaze went towards the outer edge of the Abyssal Tree’s core, where the pig chimera had been.

“I feel like there’s something over there.”

Boom!

I released my sword energy toward that spot.

*

Tap, tap.

In the late dawn.

Only the hologram floating above flickered within Chris’s dark room.

“…….”

Chris was organizing the information obtained from the ‘Commander Crow’ strategy for today.

She let out a deep sigh.

“In the end, I only saw that 90% special pattern once.”

Although I spent a long time with the gatekeeper, I thought I had enough time to try against the Level 3 Named Enemy.

But even getting there, it was hard for many members to survive.

Above all, the ‘Punishment’ overlapping that pierced through invulnerability was the biggest issue.

To avoid Punishment overlaps, I need to identify the explosion spots in advance. Close-range dealers always have to prepare, and long-range dealers must accurately gauge the boundaries of the close and long-range explosions to dodge with just their movements.

And the tank’s survival remains the primary concern.

To avoid Punishment overlaps, distance management is essential, but if even a bit of distance is lost, Crow locks onto them with a one-hit kill.

“Crow’s gaze.”

That pattern, which directly destroys the insides of a faraway enemy, was fundamentally impossible to evade.

This guy bears similarity to Jacam. Only through numerous tries could all raid members adapt and exploit him.

How many days would it take to defeat Crow? A week? Two weeks?

If I could get information from Rain, we could probably clear it quickly.

Chris shook her head vigorously.

Get a grip, Chris.

How long will you depend on Rain?

Where has the determination to navigate the patterns as a forward scout in pursuit of the first clear gone?

Gathering her thoughts, Chris organized her strategy and headed toward Rain’s room.

Stealthily.

There wasn’t a sign on Rain’s door that said, “Don’t come in.” Since Rain started calling her a companion, he hadn’t put up any signs.

However, it wasn’t right to burst in uninvited in the early morning.

She pulled out her smartphone to check Rain’s status on the messenger.

[Knight ‘Drizzle Rain’ (Online)]

Rain was still fighting hard.

Chris clenched her fist.

“Rain, hang in there…!”

---