Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 199

I felt so wronged.

I had worked up the courage to venture out alone, but instead of logging into Astria Online, I ended up wandering around a game center.

How did it come to this?

And how did Chris even find out where I was?

*Step, step.*

Chris's flaming red hair glowed like it was on fire, and her white lab coat accentuated the unexplainable aura emanating from her.

Her sheer presence was enough to part the crowd around her like the Red Sea.

"Ugh..."

Caught between a grimace and a nervous smile, I watched as Chris strode toward me with purpose.

Oddly enough, she didn’t seem angry. Her expression was more like, "You’re so adorable, I can’t stand it."

*Whirrr.*

Panicking, I wheeled my chair backward, only to bump into a game machine.

Nowhere to run. Trapped.

"Chris... unnie," I stammered in a trembling voice, looking up at her.

"We need to talk, don’t you think?"

"Eep."

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Chris apprehended me and dragged me to the staff room on the first floor of the game center. After saying she needed to take a call, she left me alone with Hopkins, the arcade’s owner.

I retreated into a corner, sulking with an expression full of injustice, while Hopkins burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"...You told her, didn’t you, Hopkins?"

"Haha, of course not."

"Then how did she even find this place!?"

"Who knows? Ghosts, maybe?"

Hopkins, with a sly grin on his face, shrugged as he chuckled.

I glared at him like he was some kind of monster.

The staff room door swung open, and Chris walked back in, her phone call finished.

She looked down at me, huddled in the corner, with a radiant smile.

"Hehe, Rain. Were you behaving yourself?"

"Uh-oh, looks like I’m getting on her bad side because of the guildmaster," Hopkins quipped, still grinning.

Chris giggled and grabbed the handles of my wheelchair.

"Alright, unnie has somewhere to take you. You’re free today, right?"

"...Yes."

Feeling defeated, I quietly let Chris take over.

*Whirrr.*

To my surprise, we didn’t head to her workplace.

"...This is..."

The fourth floor of the game center—a theme floor packed with racing and gun-shooting arcade games.

Chris stopped us in front of a gun-shooting game machine. On screen, zombies were emerging, ready to be gunned down with a pistol.

"Let’s play this together."

"...?"

I tilted my head in confusion.

Chris wanted to play games together all of a sudden?

Something about this felt... off.

As I hesitated, trying to guess her real intent, I moved my wheelchair back nervously.

Chris tilted her head at me.

"Why are you backing away?"

Maybe she’s planning to turn me into a mess like one of the zombies in the game.

"I-I’m sorry! Please don’t!"

"...? No, I just really want to play with you. You don’t want to?"

"...Hmm."

The game looked fun.

"I’ll give it a try."

"Great! But it’s a standing game, so the wheelchair won’t do. Hold on."

Chris flashed a refreshing smile and disappeared briefly, returning with a high chair.

"If you sit here, you’ll be able to hold the gun."

"...It has a pedal at the bottom for reloading, doesn’t it?"

"Don’t worry about that."

I tilted my head in confusion. How was I supposed to reload without using the pedal?

My question was answered as soon as the game started.

*Bang! Bang! Click! Click! Reload!*

"Wow...!"

Underneath my chair, Chris’s feet moved deftly, pressing both pedals to reload the guns. Thanks to her, the gun in my hand was effectively endless ammo, allowing me to mow down the zombies on screen.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

After clearing the weaker zombies, a giant one appeared on screen—it looked like the boss of the first stage.

"Unnie, this zombie’s tough."

"See the head? What’s the weak spot of any humanoid enemy?"

"Headshot...!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Even the boss zombie couldn’t withstand our focused firepower. Together, we cleared the first stage with ease.

By the time we reached the third stage, however, the sheer number of zombies swarming the screen overwhelmed me.

"Eek!"

I could barely keep up visually, but the real issue was the weight of the gun. My slender arms struggled to hold it steady.

The sight brought back memories of Astria. If only I could use mana here, I could enhance my body to fight better.

*Crunch.*

With the sound of something breaking, my screen turned red.

"I... I died," I said, my voice trembling as I looked at Chris.

"It’s fine."

Chris grabbed the gun with her right hand and extended the index finger of her left hand, slipping it through the trigger guard.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

"Holy...!"

Her firing rate was incredible. It felt like more bullets were flying than when we were both shooting.

With her finger rapidly tapping the trigger, Chris mowed down every zombie on screen.

Finally, the mission cleared message appeared.

"Wow! That was amazing!"

I clapped enthusiastically.

We played other games after that—racing games, quiz games, rhythm games, and even a bizarre baby-racing game.

"...Why are babies racing?"

"Haha, it’s called Come On, Baby. It’s a classic."

"This game is ridiculous!"

I giggled as I button-mashed to make my baby character crawl faster.

Chris was truly impressive. She wasn’t just good at one or two games—she excelled at all of them.

"Unnie, you’re amazing at every game in this arcade!"

"Didn’t you know? This is my territory."

"Territory...?"

I remembered that was the Japanese word for a district or domain.

To think that the workaholic Chris was a hardcore retro gamer was surprising.

"...So, does that mean you and Hopkins..."

"Before being guildmaster and guild member, we’re regular and store owner."

"...!"

I gasped.

I had unknowingly wandered into the lion’s den.

"Before Astria Online launched, I used to frequent this game center. Though Hopkins wasn’t the owner back then."

Chris glanced around nostalgically before turning to me with a mischievous smile.

"...Still, Rain, you’re amazing at shooting games. When did you practice?"

"...I wasn’t the one playing."

"Ah."

Chris fell silent, knowing about my faint memories of a past life.

*Whirrr.*

"Are we heading straight home?"

"Yeah. I’m done with work for today."

"That was quick. Usually, you’re back late at night."

"What, did you want me to work longer?"

"N-No, not at all."

As we made our way back to the parking lot, a figure of the Space Warrior series protagonist, gifted by Hopkins, rested on my lap.

Today had been fun. Chris and I played to our hearts’ content.

"There were so many interesting games. ...I wouldn’t mind coming back occasionally."

"Even in this age of VR, retro games still have their fans. It’s all part of gaming’s magic."

"...Gaming, huh."

Chris looked back at me with a bright smile, her red hair shining under the city lights.

I found myself smiling back at her.

"...Yes. [N O V E L I G H T] It was fun."

Suddenly, I remembered something in my pocket. I pulled it out and approached Chris.

"Unnie, here."

"...Oh?"

It was a keychain with an SD figure attached to it—a little nendoroid-like character I had won on my own.

"Doesn’t this character look like you?"

"Haha, you’re right."

The small figure was a red-haired girl in a white lab coat.

"She’s a researcher who travels through time and space to fight an evil organization. Her name is Christina."

"Christina..."

Chris softly repeated the name, cradling the figure in her hands like it was a treasure.

Then, suddenly, she burst into tears.

"Waah!"

"...?"

You never know what to expect with Chris. One moment she’s mad, the next she’s playing games, and now she’s crying.

But she’s still the unnie I love so much.

As I comforted the sobbing Chris, we walked together through the streets of Seoul.

...Wait, didn’t I come out to use a capsule?