# 2
2. Found
I opened the front door
Cool air seeped into his nose.
‘Why, it’s colder inside than outside.’
Chicken meat sprouted from the chill.
I brushed the snow off my shoulders and head and put on my slippers. I put the bag containing the hamburger lunch box and cider I bought from 8-Eleven on the sofa. Turn on the boiler with the remote control placed on the shoe rack at the entrance and dive as if collapsing on a two-person sofa.
Remove the battery from the charging stand.
I opened the phone case, replaced the battery, and turned on the power. The screen lit up white. Enter Windows after fingerprint recognition. I touched the app in the center.
It’s a mobile game that was released two years ago. The developer is Mobius.
Now, two years later, Pick Me Up has become a popular game with nearly 100 million downloads worldwide.
Loading popped up and I was connected to the main screen.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
[TOUCH!]
Touch the main screen.
The familiar scene of the waiting room greeted me.
In the office in the waiting room, a blonde haired female knight was sitting quietly.
Six-star Grand Knight, Siris. As the leader of the main raid party, he was the first and last 4-star hero I picked, a super rare character.
He recalled the time he summoned Siris.
At the time, I was quite angry, because I poured five hundred and didn’t even get a 4 star, let alone a 5 star. It’s not five hundred won. It was five million won. That’s why I even cried when the fanfare rang for the first time. Thanks to that, I raised both gold and jade, and distributed all the good ingredients.
Afterwards, as I immersed myself in the game, I found out that even 500 won didn’t send a message, but that’s for later.
When you touch Siris, an illustration appears.
She was a green-eyed beauty with blonde hair.
A hearty laugh comes out of nowhere. Although he was born with a 5-star and not ultra-rare, he has become a special hero who can never be beaten by a tolerable 6-star character.
I closed the illustration by pressing the ‘X’ in the upper right corner and looked at the other heroes who were blushing in each facility in the waiting room.
First of all, the heroes who are rolling hard at the training center. Most of them are 1 or 2 stars obtained through free draws. Among them, it is said that there is a very low probability that a jackpot that surpasses the original 5 stars will be born, but almost all of them end in failure. I did too.
Even in the world of mobile games, gold spoons and dirt spoons are divided.
Heroes of less than 3 stars at birth will disappear as synthetic materials for advanced heroes. Since the percentage of high-level heroes of 4 stars or higher is extremely low, I raise them by crying and eating mustard, but that’s the average.
Second, the heroes who successfully completed the training process. It’s a shame to use it as a main force in small missions with less than 5 people, but it’s worth participating in large parties or special missions.
Lastly, the main forces that I cherished.
It is a party where only promising players were selected and selected among countless heroes, and now they are all 6-star levels, and a week ago, they broke the 88th floor for the first time in Korea. They are heroes who will not be defeated no matter where they are presented.
A game that does not roll only with the ability values in the status window and with the skills that can be seen.
I recalled the hardships of becoming 5th in the world rankings.
‘It was like a dog.’
Very dog-like, really.
The subtitle of Pick Me Up is a hyper roguelike summoning RPG, or roguelike.
It means luck X ruined game.
Drawing is also luck, but ability is also luck, and combat is also luck.
Even if you can give basic instructions, the battle ends with the heroes whining. They know when and how to use their skills. For unknown reasons, there are many cases of being unable to fight.
As memories of that time came to mind, the hand holding the cell phone became tense.
‘No way.’
It’s just the old days when I didn’t know anything about Pick Me Up.
There are clearly areas that can be covered by operation or know-how.
I was a living witness.
I was an unlucky bastard.
I’ve played paid draws over thousands of times, but I’ve never seen a 5-star hero that rankers below the top 100 in the world say there are dogs or cows. To be honest, there are very few 4 stars, let alone 5 stars. If there is, there is only one Siris. Even if the 5-star probability is 0.1% and the 4-star probability is less than 1%, isn’t it too much?
However, if Pick Me Up was a game that was determined only by star ratings and pure luck, I would not have been ranked as a ranker. Skill can overcome luck. It was also the biggest factor that got me into Pick Me Up.
Today is Friday. Check the status of the waiting room and issue instructions to the heroes. The number of heroes has increased so much that it is almost impossible to control them individually.
And check the notice.
[Pick Me Up, surpassed 100 million DL!]
[Thanks to the enthusiastic support of masters around the world, the total number of downloads of Pick Me Up has exceeded 100 million! We will hold a special event accordingly. See below for details.]
You’ve already crossed 100 million.
‘Open, Advent Dungeon!’
Gems and gold aren’t bad, but they’re affordable. Now that the operation has reached the orbit, it overflows. I don’t even want a summons. Even if I pull it out, it doesn’t come out, so what?
What I need is a hero awakening!
A chance to get a 7-star hero called the dream grade!
I looked at the announcement with a trembling heart.
<Event Details>
[One. 100 gems will be distributed every day from January 27th to February 5th, 20XX. A chance to get a total of 1,000 gems! However, compensation will not be paid if you are not logged in.]
[2. All connected Masters will receive 1 Advanced Hero Summon Ticket. The fact that advanced summon tickets are summoned from at least 3 stars!]
[3. Event last! Transcendence Advent Dungeon is open.]
When I checked the third event, I let out a scream of joy.
It was an advent dungeon of transcendental difficulty that opened in three months.
In the main waiting room, at the bottom left of the menu, select ‘Construction Gap’. As the blue summoning text expanded, the list of dungeons was listed.
[Climb the tower, save the world!]
[Main Dungeon: Current number of floors to climb – 88]
[The feast of dungeons that change every day!]
[Daily Dungeon: Isralta Mine (Advanced – 5 hours)]
[Collect various rare materials!]
[Exploration Dungeon: Exploring, Saints (remaining time 17 hours 35 seconds)]
[Prove your strength!]
[Advent Dungeon: Difficulty – Transcendent]
there is.
Advent dungeon of transcendental difficulty was open.
I swallowed my saliva. There was a mixture of joy, excitement, and tension.
‘The Book of Reverse Heaven.’
A key material to become a 7 star hero.
Other materials were obtained a long time ago.
If you only learn the book of Reversal, which drops with a very low probability in the special Advent dungeon, you can create a 7-star hero that is said to be less than 5 in the world. It is possible to aim for world number 1 instead of 5th place.
I opened the hero box and looked at the heroes.
There is a party composed of heroes that are worth understanding the pattern of the boss, but not a big loss if they disappear. Their abilities are useful, but they interfere with the operation of the waiting room.
Their role is the advance team.
Pick Me Up adopts an atrocious system that disappears when a hero dies.
Hardcore by name.
A single mistake, or a hero who made tens of millions of won by luck and hundreds of hours of hard work disappears. Some people curse at who plays this game, but I, or pick me up maniacs, including me, don’t care at all.
So it was fun.
It’s a mobile game, but it’s a thrill that’s close to reality.
If infinite challenge is possible, a roguelike will not work.
The tension of not knowing when and where you will die. The satisfaction of watching the battles performed by the internal artificial intelligence uniquely designed for each hero. The joy of a hero growing up and the frustration of dying. The feeling of freedom when clearing a floor.
It was the essence of Pick Me Up.
I dispatched a temporary party to Advent Dungeon.
You never know what boss will come out.
What level is it, whether it is a monster type or a human type, what type of skill is used.
After analyzing the pattern of the boss, the advance team will oxidize fiercely.
[Durudung!]
[Advent Dungeon opens!]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
A red message announcing the appearance of a powerful enemy appeared on the screen.
Field type is dark. According to the Pick Me Up setting, it is a ‘super-dimensional space’. It was just a rare map with pitch black darkness. Even I, who have cleared the dungeon thousands of times, have seen the Dark Field on one hand.
Since it is an Advent Dungeon, I entered the boss battle immediately without any progress.
However, as soon as I entered, a message appeared on the right side of the screen informing me of the hero’s status change.
[‘Diora (★★★★★★)’ is afraid! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
[‘Nicholas (★★★★★)’ is terrified! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
[‘Gent (★★★★★)’ feels fear! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
[‘Akelta (★★★★★)’ feels fear! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
[‘Melky (★★★★★)’ is afraid! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
‘These bastards?’
The boss hasn’t even appeared yet.
Eventually, Diora, the party leader and main tank, printed out a proposal.
[The leader of ’38 Party’, Diora (★★★★★★), suggests retreating. Accept?]
[Yes / No (optional)]
Without hesitating for a second, I clicked ‘No’.
[‘Diora (★★★★★★)’ panics! All stats are 50%… … .]
[‘Nicholas (★★★★★)’… … .]
[‘Gent (★★★★★)’… … .]
‘How are you?’
No matter how much you throw away words, five stars and six for a leader. The level was also raised to the limit. Those guys panicked. Panic is a state abnormality that newly summoned heroes only see in their first battle.
Then, one conclusion.
‘He’s a guy with horror skills.’
Conclusions were drawn quickly. A list of items and skills that increase fear resistance were listed in my mind.
This, if you don’t care, you might have to make a 2nd advance party.
Soon after, the boss appeared with a dynamic sound.
The boss’s name popped up at the top of the screen.
[SS▩SH黑⊙∈※ Lv.999]
“What is this?”
What’s your name? is it a bug?
The appearance is even more spectacle. I can understand that it is a small species and even a humanoid, but the entire thing is mosaic-processed. All you can see is the minimal form. I couldn’t make out the rest.
[‘Diora (★★★★★★)’ falls into despair! All stats are 80%… … .]
[‘Nicholas (★★★★★)’… … .]
[‘Gent (★★★★★)’… … .]
let out a mischievous laugh.
what’s the level again? 999? This is an obvious system error.
I’ll live and live and see all the bugs in Pick Me Up.
From right after opening until now, 2 years later, no bugs have been reported except for a few pranks.
I pressed the camera button to take a picture and waited for the end of the advance team. I want to do something about it, but once I’m in battle, I can’t go back.
The battle has begun.
I used a few potions to remove abnormal conditions bought with gems, but the despair was not resolved.
80% reduction Probably not. With a very sluggish movement, Diora stepped forward with her shield up. Dealer Nicolas and Gent are in the middle, and supporters Akelta and Melki are in the back.
It is a standard formation.
Then, the boss moved in the dark purple field, ‘darkness’.
“…”
It was a massacre.
Diora died without even trying to resist. Even though he had the battle continuation skill, he didn’t even have a ‘moribund’ state before death.
Because of the mosaic covering the boss, it was impossible to know which skill to use. It just squirmed closer, leaving only a corpse behind.
[‘Diora (★★★★★★)’ returned to the arms of the goddess. Her fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
[‘Nicholas (★★★★★)’… … .]
[‘Gent (★★★★★)’… … .]
Seven letters of ‘You Lose’ floating in the center of the screen.
I couldn’t hold on for 10 seconds and the max level party, including 6 stars, was wiped out.
“Damn it.”
I knew I would die. It was sent as expected. But is this the harvest you got? Do you know how long it takes to get five stars?
You have to see the minimum balak instrument to get a quote!
“Like a dog, lucky X man!”
Is there a bug that pops up there!
No matter how much I yell at the customer center, they won’t fix it. A hero once lost can never be restored for any reason.
I just hit the screen and hit it repeatedly.
Uh, but… … .
“Why don’t you go over?”
The screen does not go over to the waiting room.
‘You Lose’ still floating, with the boss looking at the center of the screen.
“What’s with all these fucking bugs?”
I pressed the power button on the right side of my phone.
If this is a bug, it is not a customer center, but a phone complaint.
My phone was forced shut down and I waited for a reboot.
“……crazy.”
does not turn off
Power is not turned off. ‘You Lose’ still pops up. The boss at the back of the field looked at me through the screen.
The part of the boss’ mouth that was crushed into a mosaic seemed to be whispering something.
“found.”
And consciousness fell.
