Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 160

*Whiz!*

A bone-chilling sound pierced through the air, and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade slashed past my neck, missing by a hair's breadth. I twisted my head to avoid the blow and swung my sword horizontally with full force. *Thud!* The protective blue light shimmered, absorbing the impact of my sword strike.

He’s strong. As expected from the illusion of a warrior bestowed with the title of *Master*. Even though he had been weakened to match the level of the players, his attack was terrifying.

The attacks weren't particularly fast. If Melissa, Eleonora, and I prioritized speed as Masters, this warrior favored solid, heavy strikes. Each of his blows was straightforward and simple. But, they carried weight.

*Flash!*

The Crescent Blade was raised above his head, and with all his might, it came crashing down as if to split me in two. *Clang!* This one I could block. But some of the strikes were imbued with such force that they were impossible to withstand.

Particularly, the thrust imbued with that blue mana in the Crescent Blade. That attack couldn’t be dealt with head-on. I had to dodge or resist it.

*Screech!*

The Crescent Blade scraped the ground as it was forcefully swung upward from below. *Clang!* Once. *Clang!* Twice. Two upward slashes. My body shook from the impact, but I didn’t get knocked into the air. This much I could block.

These were the basic attack patterns.

However, the real problem lay in the peculiar wide-area attacks that occurred intermittently during the patterns.

*Boom!*

At the moment the warrior's Crescent Blade hit the ground, a blue ripple spread rapidly across the entire battlefield.

This attack, which appeared between normal patterns, was impossible to block. I had to evade it using invincibility skills.

*Bzzt.*

"Ugh."

I frowned.

Even though I resisted with my invincibility skill, the blue mana that brushed past me didn’t completely dissipate—it clung to my body.

[Blue Dragon Sword Aura: 1 stack (29 seconds)]

[Deals 1000 damage per second]

Residual sword aura. It inflicted continuous damage.

This was similar to Crow's *Punishment*. It was a pattern designed to counter invincibility skills. Unlike Crow's ability, which outright ignored the system, this one bypassed the system by clinging to the body in the form of a debuff.

But something felt off. Crow's *Punishment* had an absurdly large range, but there was always a way to avoid it.

This *Blue Dragon Sword Aura* covered the entire battlefield.

Even if you resisted, you still got the debuff.

There’s no way to avoid it.

Or was there?

Was there really no way to avoid it?

*Buzz!*

Once again, a ripple of *Blue Dragon Sword Aura* spread from the Crescent Blade.

I faced it, my mind racing.

This world—no, this game—was fundamentally based on X-axis combat.

But occasionally, there were battles where you needed to use the Y-axis.

The most recent example was when I fought the Elf Guards in the forest. Back then, the Elf Guards, led by Palman, attacked us from the treetops.

The wave of the *Blue Dragon Sword Aura* swept from the ground up to waist height.

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In that case, the answer was simple.

Other players probably couldn't avoid it because they only thought in terms of X-axis combat.

But in real combat, if a sword wave comes at your waist...

You either duck.

*Thump!*

Or you jump.

The fierce wave of the *Blue Dragon Sword Aura* passed right under my feet as I leapt into the air.

I grinned as I watched it.

"That's it."

And, still airborne, I swung my sword down toward the warrior's head.

*Boom!*

Even after figuring out how to break the *Blue Dragon Sword Aura*, the battle against the ancient warrior was far from over.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz!*

The warrior, still gripping his Crescent Blade, blurred as he began to move swiftly in all directions. Three concentric circles appeared at various points on the battlefield, sweeping through the area.

*Thump, thump, thump!*

I quickly leapt through the air, navigating between the circles. I was like a grasshopper, constantly jumping off the ground and chasing after the warrior while unleashing sword slashes.

An unexpected chase began in the *Sword Graveyard*.

The warrior, wielding the Crescent Blade, seemed like the type to charge straightforwardly, but his fighting style turned out to be more troublesome than I had anticipated.

*Thud.*

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Suddenly, the warrior stopped, and the Crescent Blade began to spin violently above his head.

“Ugh!”

My light body was swept up by the whirlwind generated by the spinning Crescent Blade, causing me to lurch forward. In that moment of unsteadiness...

*Fwoosh!*

A blue sword wind erupted from the warrior, expanding in all directions.

*Thud.*

I jumped back, retreating in midair. And then, the warrior’s body grew larger in my field of vision.

A charge pattern.

*Clang!*

I raised my sword, blocking the warrior’s charging attack with his Crescent Blade.

*Thud.*

A powerful pattern, but it left a huge opening.

As the warrior’s body stiffened momentarily, I lowered my stance.

*Flash, flash, flash!*

With my sword, I unleashed three rapid strikes, using my cooldown resets twice in a row. The warrior’s body was slashed three times—across the neck, chest, and waist.

*Buzz!*

His body emitted a strong blue light before dissolving into a shimmering cloud and disappearing.

Thank goodness. At least he didn’t continue to glare at me with his head still attached after losing it.

That would’ve been terrifying.

I glanced at the vanishing light of the former *Master* and headed toward the tenth floor.

---

[10th Floor of the Sword Graveyard]

*Bzzz.*

The familiar scanning system swept over me as I ascended to the highest floor. This one-player dungeon’s final boss would be tailored to match my avatar’s abilities.

For most players, the final boss was typically a fighter of their own class—swordsmen versus swordsmen, fighters versus fighters. But for me, it was always “that person.”

*Buzz.*

The lights converged at the center.

“Long time no....”

I stopped mid-sentence, my hand raised to greet the figure.

Wait, they’re taller than I remember.

Through the gathering light, I saw the outline of blue ponytailed hair.

A tall woman—not the short and stout figure like mine.

I let out a groan.

“Oh no...”

This was unexpected.

A former comrade from the Hero’s party.

My dear older sister and sword master.

It was Melissa.

---

I sat down in front of her phantom. For a moment, I lost myself in thought.

Am I not happy to see her?

In fact, I was incredibly happy. I wanted to burst into tears and run into her arms. If this had been before I met Igrain, I would have done just that.

But the woman in front of me wasn’t the real Melissa.

She was just a phantom.

A relic she left behind for future generations.

Thanks to Igrain, I had grown mentally to the point where I could face this phantom of my comrade calmly.

Would other players also face Melissa on the highest floor? Since I was the only one who had made it this far, I didn’t know. But if she possessed the full strength she had at her prime, no player at their current level would be able to defeat her.

An ancient hero? Sure, a terrifying opponent who could crush you with raw power.

Master Melissa? Even though she didn’t have her holy sword that could destroy magical beings, she wasn’t much weaker than an ancient hero.

In fact, purely in terms of swordsmanship, she was even stronger.

I stood up.

*Shing.*

I drew my sword.

“Words aren’t necessary between us, right?”

Even if this Melissa didn’t recognize me, even if she was just a phantom.

We could still communicate.

With our swords.

*Flash!*

Melissa became a streak of blue light, and I, a streak of silver.

The two of us clashed on the highest floor of the *Sword Graveyard*.

Our “conversation” had begun.

---

[Level ???]

[Ancient Swordsman ■■■]

[HP ??? / ???]

---

*Clang, clang, clang!*

The blue light from Melissa’s sword filled my vision, drawing beautiful arcs in the air.

Melissa’s sword was beautiful. Fast, precise, moving only with purpose.

It blocked the opponent’s attack, cut through the opponent’s body, and pierced their weak points. A weapon moving with clear intent is beautiful.

*Clang! Clash!*

I parried her blade, which was aimed at my waist, drawing a circle with my sword to deflect it. Her sword, continuing its motion, spun along with her body, aiming for my other side. I twisted my sword to block it, beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

And yet, I smiled.

This is fun.

In a way, it was a life-or-death battle, but also a conversation through swords. Her technique was familiar, but that made it all the more challenging.

*Buzz!*

Blue sword energy crackled around Melissa’s blade. She swung with clear intent to cut me down.

Was it always like this? Even though there was no killing intent, she used to swing her sword with enough force

to carve out a piece of me. She had always been relentless during our sparring sessions, even though she cared deeply for me. Maybe she trusted Elena, the saint with exceptional healing abilities, to fix me up after our fights? Though, I never did get actually cut by Melissa.

In that case, today would be no different.

Even if this phantom of her didn’t recognize me, and even if I couldn’t run into her arms.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

I deflected her sword with a powerful swing and widened the distance between us. In an instant, her blue energy shot toward me, aiming to cut me down. I responded by swinging my blade, infused with starlight, directly into the heart of the attack.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

Sword strikes clashed midair, energy colliding as we exchanged blows.

Though I had no time to catch my breath, a smile lingered on my lips.

I'm having fun.

I hope Melissa is, too.

______________________

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