Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

Chapter 102

"Hmm."

As soon as the maintenance ended, I logged in and checked the patch notes to see what skills had changed.

With this patch, invincibility skills for each class were either enhanced or additional ones were introduced.

For example, the *Onmyoji* class had its personal *Protective Charm* extended to last 5 seconds and ignore five hits of damage. The *Mage* class saw an increase in invincibility counts for both the party-wide *Frozen Prison* and the personal *Flame Barrier*.

Rangers gained a new invincibility skill tied to a stack-based movement ability, and the *Warrior* class received a new party protection skill. Although Warriors didn’t receive an additional invincibility skill, they are naturally more reliant on damage reduction skills rather than invincibility.

The *Fighter’s* *Swift Movement* was split into left and right variants, and the invincibility duration was extended.

Overall, the changes represented a massive overhaul to invincibility skills across all classes.

These invincibility buffs will certainly make a significant difference in reducing the difficulty of the *Frozen Palace* dungeon.

I smiled faintly.

What this means is—

"So, the upcoming dungeons are going to be even harder, huh?"

As the skills for avoiding patterns have become more lenient and numerous, the special mechanics in future dungeons will likely become more challenging.

I imagine we’ll see more rage patterns that can’t be bypassed with invincibility.

"And for the Swordsman..."

---

[Counterattack (A)]

[Take position behind the opponent (Cooldown: 8 seconds)]

[(D-Rank) Invincible during the cast]

[(C-Rank) Transforms into *Draw Stance* when used]

[(A-Rank) Splits into *Counterattack (Left)* and *Counterattack (Right)*]

---

Much like the Fighter’s left and right *Swift Movement*, the Swordsman now had an additional *Counterattack* that dodged to the right. Moreover, the invincibility duration for *Rear Dodge* was increased.

It didn’t seem like these changes would drastically affect my gameplay.

At most, I’d just be able to make more active use of the cooldown reset function on certain items.

They didn’t touch the damage scaling of other skills. I suppose the developers decided there was no need to mess with the damage balance of each class too much.

Having reviewed the changes to invincibility skills, I closed the patch notes that were floating in front of me.

"So, what do I do now?"

I sat near the back of the *Frozen Palace*, idly staring at the *Unfrozen Lake*.

I had finished my personal farming.

All the accessories with unwanted options were dismantled and turned into *Frozen Palace Essence*.

Since I soloed the accessories, I had more than enough essence to enhance them.

Chris was still in the middle of her farming.

For four-person farming, it takes longer because you have to keep running until each member gets their desired accessory. Of course, setting aside the question of whether anyone other than me can even solo farm at this point.

Since upgrading this dungeon’s gear also requires *Frozen Palace Essence*, farming time would be extended a bit.

"I want to farm with Chris unnie soon."

I stretched out my finger in the snow and tried drawing Chris’s face.

A face. One big circle.

Hair. A few straight lines on either side.

*Poof!*

I hurriedly erased the drawing.

Chris unnie is much prettier than that.

It would be an insult to try drawing her beautiful face with my poor art skills.

Should I join her farming party and help her get all the accessories? No, that wouldn’t work. If I joined Chris’s party, one of the four players wouldn’t get to farm.

Should I take Chris unnie out and solo farm with her on a bus run, letting her take all the items? But what about the other three players?

Is my best option to keep solo farming and selling the *Frozen Palace Master’s Soul*?

Although the current price of the soul is still decent, it feels like a waste to focus solely on that.

Should I run a solo bus service?

However, at this early stage of the dungeon, solo bus services aren’t in high demand. Once more players have farmed enough, it becomes easier to take on passengers who don’t need overlapping gear, allowing you to focus on providing specific accessories. But right now, all players still need gear from every slot, not to mention the essence.

No one would want to pay an expensive bus fare if they can’t even monopolize the loot.

*Swish.*

In the end, she crossed the line.

She tried to touch my butt.

"Ugh...!"

This time, I was genuinely angry.

Stealing mobs or attacking me in the field—those I can tolerate.

But my body belongs to Chris. I won’t let just anyone touch it.

Even if they’re paying customers, no means no.

*Clack.*

I reached for *Astaroth’s* hilt, but then I remembered the *Call Admin* function.

Chris had taught me several backup measures, knowing I wasn’t always great at standing up for myself in these situations.

She had told me to use this feature when dealing with people with inappropriate intentions.

*Beep.*

I opened the interface window and left a message for the customer service center.

*Flash!*

Not long after, in a flash of golden light, a fifth person appeared inside the four-player dungeon.

"Gasp...!"

"Who’s that?"

The young man and the other female passenger following behind me were shocked. The elf woman who had been fidgeting with her hands near me froze.

The fifth person who appeared in the dungeon was—

"Hello~! I’m Admin Summer~ ...Oh my? Rain?"

She was wearing a robe—was it a mage robe? It was a colorful, dazzling robe, and her blonde hair fluttered as she appeared, greeting us with a bright smile and a V-sign near her eye.

As she struck a pose, she looked at me and seemed startled.

Wait, why are *you* surprised?

I’m more shocked here.

Doesn’t the system show you who filed the report?

She was, without a doubt, the marketing manager from Hanagames, *Team Leader Han Yeo-reum*.

Isn’t she in the marketing department?

Why is she acting as an admin here?

I was about to ask her what was going on, but I realized I had something more important to address first.

I glared at the elf woman next to me and tattled on her for what she had

done.

"That lady tried to touch me without permission. Even... my butt!"

"What!?"

Admin Summer glanced at the recording device floating behind me. This personal equipment could record screenshots and videos, and it had a replay function for events that occurred a short time ago.

After reviewing the footage, she became visibly angry.

"Just because I’m an admin doesn’t mean I have unlimited power over players in-game. But I do have a few absolute authorities. One of them is..."

She raised her staff and pointed it at the green-haired elf woman, who had turned pale.

"I can sever a player’s connection between the *Astra Continent* and the outside world. Ranger ‘Bowhunter Baekto,’ based on Rule 4, Section 2 of the user policy, ‘Causing discomfort to another player in a socially unacceptable manner,’ I’m issuing a first strike—7-day ban. You can appeal through the official *A.O* website's customer center."

"Wait, hold on! Nooo!"

*Swish.*

With a final scream, the elf woman vanished from the game.

"Wow."

I stared blankly at the spot where she disappeared.

Admins have absolute authority.