I was lying on the soft bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. I had already woken up.

It was the weekend. And Chris’s work had finally wrapped up to some extent. From today, I would help Chris level up.

*Bzzz.*

After a quick face wash, I headed to the kitchen. Chris was already awake, preparing breakfast.

She smiled brightly when she saw me rolling out in my wheelchair.

"Oh, Rain. I was just about to come get you if you hadn’t woken up yet."

"...I don't know. You're always so busy, unnie."

Yesterday, Chris had gone to work early, so we didn’t get to have breakfast together. I pouted a bit to show my displeasure.

"Oh no…! Unnie is so sorry…!" 

Chris gripped the rice spatula tightly in both hands, looking as if she was about to cry.

"Don't cry! There, there!"

"Sniff...!"

I took one of her hands and placed it on top of my head. Chris’s expression lit up immediately, as if she were about to float away.

Well, Chris likes my body. She says it's soft and squishy or something like that. If it makes her happy, I can allow this much physical affection.

I gazed up at Chris, who was gently stroking my head with a dreamy look in my eyes, and secured a promise from her.

"Anyway, we’re definitely playing together today, right?"

Even though I'm doing fine on my own, I hoped Rain could get some love from Chris since we haven't been together much lately.

In truth, my memories from that time were a bit hazy.

Maybe it was because something felt like it pierced my heart, or my mind just went blank.

I must have stood in front of Ain’s carved figure on the wall for quite a while. Village Chief Drugel patiently waited for me during that time. Afterward, we had a short conversation.

The chief seemed to think of me as a direct descendant of the hero from a thousand years ago. Well, my hair and eye color don’t exist on this continent. It’s not unreasonable that he might believe the hero from the past also came from the stars.

Though, truthfully, I’m the same person. And I’m no mother.

Judging from the way he compared my appearance to minerals rather than colors, it seems the dwarves have a special sense for the subtle glow of minerals, something only they can understand.

"Ain...! Is it really you, Ain? Hahaha...! O hero! This humble descendant has reclaimed your name!"

*Clang, clang!*

Village Chief Drugel, filled with joy, swung his hammer and chisel with divine fervor, dancing across the wall.

Below the petroglyph, a set of dwarven letters was engraved.

[The Dwarven Hero, Ain]

---

The mission of the hero party ended long ago.

What does this world want from me now?

For the time being, all I can do is uncover the secrets of this world that only I know.

In order to do that, I can’t stop exploring this world and conquering dungeons.

I examined the bracelet I had received from Chief Drugel. It was a small gift from my former companion.

[Bracelet of Hammer and Anvil]  
[Elite]  
[Strength +35, Agility +35, Intelligence +35]  
[Unique Ability: Reset all skill cooldowns (Cooldown: 10 minutes)]

This was the first bracelet accessory to appear in the game, a new part-item that could be obtained by raising your reputation with the dwarf settlement.

It was an extra accessory beyond the standard loadout, giving me a huge advantage when tackling the next elite dungeon.

While the stats were impressive, the most attractive feature was, of course, the unique ability to reset all skill cooldowns.

The cooldown for the ability was long, so it could only be used once per run, but with it, I could pull off all sorts of unpredictable plays.

I could even use my extreme damage-dealing technique, *One Slash*, multiple times in a row. And after using all my invincibility skills, I could activate the bracelet's ability and use them again. In simple terms, even if there were a ridiculous pattern of 10 consecutive AoE attacks, I could survive on my own.

This bracelet, which I obtained by skipping over many steps, was mine alone. Other players wouldn't acquire this item until much later.

"She's late…."

*Tap, tap.*

I puffed out my cheeks, tapping my foot while checking the time.

I was standing at the entrance of the cave leading to the dwarf settlement, *Verbeia Rock Mountain Cave*, where I was supposed to meet Chris today.

"...Rain! Huff, huff."

A familiar voice called from just below where I stood.

My ears perked up.

I felt a rush of excitement and the urge to jump for joy.

But I managed to calm myself and puffed my cheeks again.

Chris, who had already climbed up to where I was standing, greeted me with a tired smile.

"..."

"Rain, I'm sorry! I’m late, aren’t I?"

She spread her arms wide and came toward me.

I stepped back slightly and turned my head sharply to the right.

"Ah! Rain!"

Chris circled to my right and looked directly into my face. I turned my head to the left.

*Swish.*

"Hmph."

"Ugh!"

Chris clutched her chest as if she were about to cough up blood.

Seeing her look so pained made me feel guilty about scolding her for being late.

Is unnie really hurt?

*Squeak.*

*Plop.*

I approached her and embraced her.

"Unnie, I missed you."

"Rain… Rain! Waaaah! I’m sorry for being late! I’m sorry I’ve been so busy!"

Chris sobbed uncontrollably as she hugged me tightly.

Her reaction made me feel even guiltier.

It must feel like unnie has to comfort me twice over.

---

*Rumble.*

"Ooh."

*Clap, clap, clap.*

At the entrance to the cave’s final area, filled with golems, Chris sat clapping her hands.

"Ta-da!"

I puffed out my chest and shrugged my shoulders. Using the new bracelet’s ability, I had swiftly defeated the golems.

Chris checked her status window and let out an impressed exclamation.

"Wow, I gained a ton of experience points."

"See? You should just relax. Today, you're the guest, and you're riding on the Rain bus."

Chris is my employer. As her employee, it's my job to help level her up.

Even though we were in a two-person party, the experience points we earned didn’t drop by half. While in normal field hunts, where monsters are killed by quests, party play isn’t as advantageous, it’s quite efficient in these grind-heavy areas.

Although we could kill the monsters a bit faster if we fought together, since we were farming them in waves with AoE attacks anyway, it wouldn't significantly speed things up. So, it was better to let Chris relax while I worked hard.

With Chris cheering me on, I continued clearing the dungeon, moving in and out as we kept hunting for a while.

---

"So this is the dwarf settlement."

Chris followed behind me, wide-eyed as she looked around. She was amazed, just like I had been when I first arrived, so her reaction made sense.

I introduced Chris to Village Chief Drugel as my companion. It seemed that if you became friends with the dwarves, you could raise the reputation of one party member. Though it wouldn’t raise everyone's reputation.

"My reputation is now 40."

"That seems to be the minimum requirement for entry. It looks like the next elite dungeon is here."

"...!"

Chris was clearly surprised. No wonder, I had been just as shocked when I first saw the entrance to the dungeon inside the dwarf mine yesterday.

Following the young dwarven guide, Chris and I entered the mine. The dwarves working nearby greeted us warmly.

*Clang, clang!*

All around the straight path of the mine, dwarves swung their pickaxes in small caves to either side. 

As I ventured deeper inside, I spotted a familiar human player hacking away at the rocks.

"...Cherni?"

"I'm working hard! Oh? Rain? Chris-senpai?"

As soon as he heard my voice, Cherni stopped pretending to mine and stared at me and Chris with a dumbfounded expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"They told me to mine to raise my reputation with the dwarves. Ugh, how long will this take?"

"Hehe."

Chris and I giggled behind our hands.

Judging from Cherni’s presence, it seemed that other players had also started entering the dwarf settlement. However, to venture deeper into the mine, players needed to build up their reputation with the dwarves.

Chris and I soon stood before a large door that was half-revealed, its enormous frame embedded in stone. A few dwarves were meticulously carving away the stone that surrounded it.

"This is the entrance to the ancient temple discovered recently. It appears to be a temple built inside the mountain by the ancestors of the dwarves over a thousand years ago, based on the dwarven architecture.”

The young dwarven guide explained, and I nodded. Surely, this massive door marked the entrance to the next elite dungeon.

And today, when part of the door had been uncovered, a system message confirmed it.

Chris looked at me and smiled.

"So this is where we'll be competing next. This time, I’m definitely going to win."

I had heard that before.

Back then, I hadn’t understood the meaning behind her words, but now I did.

During my long stay in the hospital, I had found out through the *Astra Online* user community that Chris’s raid team had been competing

 with the *Noname* party for the first clears of elite dungeons.

Chris, who had been clearing dungeons at a similar pace to me, had exchanged weapons with me.

And to this day, two parties had consistently secured first clears in elite dungeons: Chris's raid team and the *Noname* party.

The latter would be my nameless party. Chris didn’t yet know that I had been soloing the dungeons.

There was no reason to hide the fact that I was soloing from Chris anymore, but there was no reason to brag about it either. Living with her as Seulbi, she would naturally figure it out eventually.

Even though Chris is a beloved unnie, her words stirred my competitive spirit from my days of wielding a sword.

I smiled and gave Chris a playful challenge.

"I’ll still finish faster this time."

---

[Minimum entry level: 42]  
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]  
[Verbeia Ancient Temple]