Jaewook and Dayeon crouched under the shade of the wall, holding their breaths as they watched the scene unfold.
What was resting on the girl’s lap? A trash bag?
The girl leaned down to place the trash bag on the ground and maneuvered her wheelchair back into the darkness. Before long, she reappeared, this time with a box on her lap. This behavior repeated several times.
Vwooosh.
“Oops.”
The girl in the wheelchair suddenly clutched her head, as if feeling dizzy.
“……!”
Dayeon nearly screamed and was about to dash out. If Jaewook hadn’t grabbed her, she would have surely bolted.
“Nosebleed.”
The girl took out a tissue from her pocket, wiped her face, and pinched her nose.
Held back by Jaewook, Dayeon managed to calm down.
The girl with the fourth piece of trash disappeared and didn’t return even after ten minutes. It seemed she had finished throwing everything away.
Only then could Jaewook and Dayeon exhale the breath they had been holding.
“I was worried we might run into her, but it turns out she lives around here.”
“…Jaewook, is that girl who I think it is?”
“Of course! With that hair color and voice, is there another beauty like her?”
Dayeon shook her head vigorously.
She was the girl who owned the full set of Orc Crusader gear, which had been a hot topic in the community for a while. So many amalgamations of nightmares had been created just to customize her cute and charming appearance.
It was only recently, when they started taking the bus together, that Dayeon discovered that Rain was the original.
“Should I call it a beauty crafted by the gods? I thought that kind of naturalness could only be achieved by scanning the body itself, but to think she actually exists…!”
“I’ve seen her a lot during my three months working here. It seems she doesn’t have any family. If she did, they wouldn’t leave a girl like her alone like this.”
If she had family but was still being neglected, that would be an unbearable situation.
Dayeon continued to fidget, showing her anxious feelings.
“I think she had a nosebleed. Is she feeling very sick?”
“…….”
Rain looked very fragile. The pain wouldn’t be limited to just her legs.
Soon, tears began to well up in Dayeon’s eyes.
“Wh-what should we do? Is Rain living alone in a place like this? A girl who’s physically challenged? Let’s at least go find her and talk.”
Jaewook’s expression hardened.
“We don’t even know what kind of circumstances Rain is in. What would we do by just rushing in? You almost bolted earlier too!”
“Jaewook, you…! So are we just going to ignore a girl who’s staggering?”
“If it seemed like she was really going to collapse, I would have rushed out first.”
Dayeon opened her mouth in disbelief, but soon couldn’t find any words.
“If we approach her carelessly, we might just scare her. As long as we’re not mistaken for stalkers, it’ll be a relief. I mean, we’re just acquaintances from the bus, right? Besides, the only person Rain can call a friend seems to be Sister Chris.”
“…We’re not just stalking her, we actually are stalking her. Watching her like this from hiding.”
“I get it, I get it! But.”
Jaewook also knew it was something he shouldn’t do.
“Though she seems a bit better now, her eyes used to look like… she wasn’t alive.”
That was the reason Jaewook hesitated to come to this place.
Her beautiful face always wore a blank expression.
Her onyx eyes, void of life’s meaning.
It was enough to make reality feel precarious for Rain.
Tears brimmed in Dayeon’s eyes once again.
“Is there nothing we can do?”
“Let’s check on her today, at least. We’re still bus buddies after all. It looks like she’s managing to live on her own.”
Jaewook sighed deeply.
He had lived a very ordinary life, not interfering in others’ affairs, but he had a small connection with Rain as a convenience store customer and part-time worker.
He would have preferred to forget her if they hadn’t been intertwined since.
But now, Rain was a girl whom Chris cared for deeply.
And that pushed Jaewook from behind.
Knowing the circumstances yet pretending not to know wasn’t sitting well with his conscience.
“It’s really dangerous for a girl with a disability to live alone in a place like this, even in a relatively safe South Korea. She looks unstable both mentally and physically, and without family, there’s no one to help her in an emergency.”
“So, what do you think we should do?”
“If Rain shows any gesture of asking for help or if I judge that something needs to be done, then I’ll tell Sister Chris everything and ask for her help. Since we can check on her condition while farming in-game.”
“Yeah…. If it’s Sister Chris, she might be able to help Rain.”
*
“Today is the last bus of the forward base. Here’s Rain’s share.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the gold handed to me by Bae Merong.
“Hmm?”
There seemed to be more gold than usual today. The number of bus rides seemed about the same as usual.
I stared intently at Bae Merong. She scratched her face under my gaze.
“The last customer tipped a bit more because they took a lot of good items. Lucky for you, Rain!”
“Ah.”
Handling bus customers and managing gold was Bae Merong’s job. She probably handled it well on her own.
“Ahem. Rain, you did well again today.”
Chris, who had casually approached my side, cleared her throat and extended her hand.
I politely took her hand.
“Hehe.”
Chris’s expression quickly brightened with happiness.
“Uh, um.”
Is holding my hand that delightful?
Seeing Chris happy made me feel good too. Watching her beautiful face light up with a silly smile was one of my recent joys.
“Starting tomorrow, Rain will be busy farming for a while. Bae Merong wishes to play with you more.”
Bae Merong looked at me with a pout.
I inwardly chuckled a little.
Bae Merong was too young to be calling herself an older sister. She wasn’t as small as me, but still short.
But it seemed she wanted to hear someone call her ‘older sister.’ In any case, it was true that my appearance looked younger than hers.
After having done the bus together, I had lost a lot of my reluctance now.
I held Bae Merong’s hand with my remaining hand.
“Gah…!”
Bae Merong gasped.
Her face soon lit up with happiness.
Oh. Holding hands not only pleases Sister Chris but also seems to cheer up others.
“Sisters, once we finish farming the next elite dungeon, let’s do the bus together again.”
“Of course! Just say anytime!”
“Then, of course! Isn’t it better with me, Bae Merong, than with Cherni?”
Bae Merong and Chris nodded vigorously.
I felt a bit embarrassed, but I successfully communicated what I wanted to them.
I could farm alone, but I needed my sisters to rotate the bus with me.
It couldn’t be helped.
I am Rain, who has succumbed to gold.
*
Finally, today had come.
The opening day of the 38-level elite dungeon, ‘Aspero’s Fortress.’
“Oh.”
The entrance to the dungeon was already packed with many people. It felt like the scene at the forward base.
Aspero’s Fortress stood between two mountain peaks, like a bridge connecting them over the valley.
There were two entrances: a bridge leading to the left mountain and another leading to the right mountain. I was hiding behind a pile of rocks on the left mountain.
In terms of accessibility, both sides seemed quite similar. One of the fortress’s marked features was undoubtedly the three massive towers in the center.
The lowest tower would be Area 1, the middle-sized tower connected by a bridge would be Area 2, and the highest tower connected in a similar way would be Area 3.
Entering the fortress through the bridge connected to the peaks, the plan was to rotate through all three towers.
With the rough route mapped in my mind, I began to watch the people while hiding behind the rocks.
I recognized familiar faces from the advanced party, and there seemed to be those attempting an initial clear.
Soon, my eyes found some friendly faces.
At the front of the entrance bridge stood the red-haired beauty, Sister Chris.
And the fighter Deathly Death, the wizard Bae Merong, and the Onmyoji Cherni.
At that moment, my eyes cautiously met Chris’s as I peeked out.
She sent me a bright smile.
“Gah.”
I quickly hid behind the rocks.
Sister Chris must be a ghost.
In such a large crowd, she spotted me.
Would she suspect that I was alone? I couldn’t let her find out that I was solo farming.
Ding!
Then, a system notification sound signaled a message had arrived.
Ah, I forgot to turn off the message reception function.
[Onmyoji ‘Chris’ (Online)]
– Rain, you can do it! I won’t lose this time!
I tilted my head upon reading the message.
Won’t lose? What is she not going to lose at?
It seemed like she was misunderstanding something, but I could ask her for clarification later.
For now, the goal remained the same. Quick clear, then farming and selling weapons.
I needed to maximize the advantages of solo play to monopolize all the loot.
Before turning off the message reception function, I left a final message for Chris.
– Go for it too, Sister 🙂
*
Woooom.
I heard the sound of the sealing magical circle vanishing from the bridge connecting the peaks and the fortress, and soon the users crowded at the entrance began to disappear one by one inside. Each entering their party’s instance dungeon.
The figures of Chris’s party and numerous advanced party users faded away, leaving only a few users who hadn’t formed parties near the entrance.
I clenched my fists, solidifying my resolve.
“Alright.”
For some reason, my condition hadn’t been great since the last training tower.
I wasn’t in top shape, but if I pushed myself a little, I could farm for about 24 hours.
I had to secure a good haul this time as well.
Tap, tap.
Emerging from behind the rock pile, I hurriedly moved my legs toward the dungeon entrance.
And then, I jumped in with a thud.
[Required Entry Level 38]
[Elite Dungeon (4-player party recommended)]
[Aspero’s Fortress]
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