#45
45. Prologue (4)
you’re the king
It wasn’t even funny.
“Even now, the heroes of Niflheim are desperately looking for you. They know that you have fallen here.”
the girl continued.
“Think about it. What hero in the world would search all space and time for several months to find out that the Master had disappeared? Would you do that? Would any other hero in the waiting room do that?”
The fairy put both hands on her waist and shook her head.
I meant no.
“Your way of playing is very unique. At the same time, you are sophisticated.
No synthesis?
I didn’t do it at all. I did it if necessary.
However, as this guy said, it is true that if I were another master, I would have reduced the synthesis that would go through three or four times a day to a minimum and operated the waiting room. Judging from before being summoned, the last synthesis must have been three months ago.
“It’s the same with other operations. Before you were known, almost every master at Pick Me Up played with the heroes like toys. When they got tired of using them, they threw them away. They threw them away like expendable items.”
The girl spoke clearly in a confident tone.
“Didn’t you know that the heroes here are human? Or that way is impossible. This is my conclusion.”
I thought it was a special game.
The heroes in it were so realistic that it was hard to believe that they were game characters created through programming. Each command reacted differently and performed differently.
But I just couldn’t believe it, I didn’t think it was human.
‘It was just that it was efficient.’
An ordinary master controls a hero by synthesis.
If there are disobedient or worthless people, they will be dealt with without mercy and the waiting room will be run out of fear. Even if there were low-level heroes that showed potential, they only fell prey to high-level heroes.
I was different.
I didn’t come out with 5 stars at birth. There was only one even 4 stars.
People said it was a ruined account and advised me to close it.
But it didn’t fold.
accustomed to injustice Then just find a way to go. As a result, the notion changed. He had to build a waiting room with 3-star or less heroes and proceed with all the raids.
Even if the grade is low, if it shows potential, it will not be discarded.
Even a useless hero at first can change later.
If you run the waiting room only with fear, it will surely collapse.
As a result, in Pick Me Up, there were several ways to control heroes depending on how they were played besides synthesis. They were analyzed, grasped, and used appropriately at the right time.
Reward for proving your worth.
Punishment for worthlessness.
If there are people who are beyond useless and get in the way, use it as a ‘throw away’.
The Diora Party I sent out as an advance party in Advent Dungeon was the result. They weren’t good for long-term use, causing damage to nearby heroes.
Synthesis was not used unless it was unavoidable.
Niflheim was made that way.
The five members of the main party, who are said to be the strongest among all six castles on the server.
Among them, there are also heroes who started with 1 star.
Since there is no synthesis, the population in the waiting room will naturally increase.
Therefore, Niflheim grew to a size similar to that of the kingdom.
However, if you misunderstand the result of my analysis of game efficiency as ‘I know the truth’, there is nothing more stupid than that.
“So, did you like me?”
“Yes. I really wanted to talk about it. It’s a pity that it didn’t happen on Earth.”
“I’m sorry too. If we had met on Earth, we would have buried them right away.”
The girl blinked.
I smiled and opened my mouth.
“You bought my resentment. If nothing else, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
“is it?”
“Whether it’s Taoni or Niflheim, neither has anything to do with me. I’m an Earthling. Don’t force your circumstances on others.”
“Whoa, it doesn’t matter. The heroes of Niflheim would be disappointed in you if they heard that?”
“You’re welcome to be disappointed.”
I couldn’t figure out what this guy was aiming for.
If you genuinely want to climb the top, you don’t have to bring me here. Because the Niflheim group was steadily progressing their strategy. He passed the 85th floor and reached the 88th floor with few casualties during the climb. In front of me was the 90th floor, the demonic wall where the No. 1 ranking was staying.
But in the meantime, they brought me here.
In addition to that, the reason for intruding on the 10th floor, and even bringing them here to tell them useless secrets. Due to the lack of information, it is impossible to make predictions.
If there was one thing you could know, it was that this bastard didn’t care at all about what happened to others if it was for him.
If you keep that part in mind, you can make an effective judgment.
“I’m not looking to cooperate with you. All I want is for you to disappear right before my eyes. Before my patience runs out.”
“You can be the hero to save this Mobius.”
the girl laughed
“Well, it doesn’t matter. What I want from you is to climb safely to where I am. For that sake, I’ll put up with insults like this.”
“Is it your fault that the black priest appeared on the 10th floor?”
“then?”
I gritted my teeth.
“Don’t get too angry. I won’t come out from the 15th floor. Taonier will greet you thrillingly enough that I don’t have to step out. It’s an S-class difficulty like Niflheim.”
“…”
“No matter how good you are, I think the probability of the Master folding is at least 90%. Well, with my help, it will be different.”
The girl got up from her chair.
The black leather seat chair quickly turned to ashes and disappeared.
“I swear on this one thing in my name. If you accomplish the feat of climbing the tower to the top, I’ll send you back to where you came from. And one more thing. I’ll give you half my stake in Mobius. You will become a major shareholder in a conglomerate that competes with you.”
A major shareholder of Mobius.
‘I don’t believe it.’
To give back, and to give compensation.
The more I climb the tower, the more information I didn’t know about will be released.
I go back on my own I don’t depend on such rubbish.
“Anyway, is the contract concluded?”
The girl said with a smirk.
“You don’t have to appear in front of me.”
“You seem to hate me quite a bit. Why?”
“Why did you ask?”
“Yes…”
I took out my second dagger and threw it between the girl’s forehead.
The dagger pierced his skull and lodged deep into the hilt.
“This is my answer.”
「Hehehe… … .”
A dagger protruded from his forehead.
The wound healed as if turning back time.
“Yes, you cannot climb the tower without this level of spirit. I will not forgive the rudeness, I will forgive you!」
A door made of marble appeared on the other side of the darkness.
The door opens.
Beyond the door, a five-colored light was swirling in a dizzying way.
I walked slowly towards the door.
“I will show you when you start climbing. The true prologue of Pick Me Up prepared just for you!」
The girl’s body dissipated into shadows.
Kurur.
A small vibration occurred throughout the field.
A message came to mind along with the narration.
[Taoni, the land where humans and heterogeneous people live together.]
The place has changed.
sunset. Women are harvesting in a golden wheat field.
It changes again.
which town Little children are playing and laughing.
The landscape changed continuously like a panorama.
Landscapes of the peaceful human world.
Among them was the city of Nelsa, which I saw on a mission.
I continued to walk through the ever-changing scenery.
[An unidentified enemy invades the continent where peace and prosperity continued!]
The place has changed.
A burning castle and fields in front of it.
A soldier and a monster collide.
However, the superiority is clear.
The human side was being slaughtered so unilaterally that it was difficult to call it a battle.
All battles and fights in castles, villages, fields, forests, and deserts end in defeat.
I walked through a battlefield filled with blood and screams.
[Eventually, the continent is torn apart by the power of darkness.]
I saw somewhere, the land without a single blade of grass floated in the field.
Lights rang out in it.
“Do you know why Pick Me Up is so difficult!”
“Because we have to reverse a battle that ended in defeat!”
“Reverse your fate, Loki!”
[But hope still remains.]
I narrowed my eyes.
In an unknown forest, a girl with red hair and tanned skin was holding a bow.
I know who. That girl’s name was Jenna Shirai.
The screen changes.
unfamiliar city. Aaron, carrying a load on his back, is negotiating a price with a middle-aged man. A young girl next to him was holding Aaron’s hand.
It changes again.
I saw Shay sweating with her fellow knights in the gym, holding a sword.
[You, Master! Climb the tower if you want to save the world!]
After that.
The daily lives of countless heroes who have already been summoned and will be summoned in the future unfolded.
Their bodies were shining in the faded landscape.
[Many heroes will be with you.]
Finally, I saw myself manipulating my cell phone beyond the screen.
‘doggish… … .’
[Master, believe in your bond with the hero. The future of the world is in the Master’s hands!]
“It depends. Don’t depend! The future of the world is in the hands of you and the Master!」
[Numerous enemies blocking you!]
The landscape has changed completely.
Hundreds of different types of monsters are staring at me from the other side of the transparent wall.
I caught my breath and started walking again.
[Mighty enemies hidden in various unexplored regions!]
deep in the deep sea.
beyond the sea of clouds.
vast desert.
Huge and terrible monsters are coiling around.
It was covered in fog, so I couldn’t see the details, but I could tell that it was extremely ferocious.
“Can you climb to the top of this tower that no one has ever climbed?”
“Oh ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
The monsters roared at once.
The ground itself was shaken by the enormous sound waves.
I glanced back and headed for the door.
The scenery that had been changing like a kaleidoscope is lifted.
Before I knew it, I was back in the gap of time and space, which was the passage through which I entered this place.
There was a door leading out right in front of it.
I stepped into it with my left foot.
Looking back, I saw a shadow wriggling inside the mirror in the middle of the room.
“Climb the tower, Loki. I, no, ‘we’.”
Red eyes flashed in the shadows.
“I will be waiting for you.”
Just before entering the door, he gave me the answer.
“X.”
[Bara night!]
[Congratulations, Master!]
[The hero’s forgotten memories awaken.]
[‘Han (★★)’, promotion complete! 2 stars.]
[The illustration is updated.]
[The limit of level and skill increases.]
A dazzling light wraps around the body.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing on top of a red magic circle.
‘Is it over?’
I look up at the sky.
A sparkling light is flowing.
Outside the screen, Amkena was looking down at me.
After leaving the synthesis center, the doors were closed one after another.
I found Aaron on his way back to his lodgings from the training camp.
Aaron made eye contact with me and came closer with a welcome face.
“Oh, brother. Are you back?”
“Did something happen?”
“As usual. It remains the same.”
In that expression, the melancholy of the previous dawn cannot be found.
‘I was thinking of a reason to fight.’
why you fight
The reason why you have to be brought here and risk your life to fight the enemy.
“By the way, what did you do when you went in alone?”
“There’s a promotion. You’ll get it soon too.”
After talking with Aaron about this and that, he goes back to the dorm.
‘Did you say Nina?’
It is the name of Aaron’s younger sister.
We were holding hands in the fantasy I saw.
He said he would go back for that child.
you won’t have to say
For the time being, I decided to bury it in my heart.
‘The goal has not changed.’
climbing the tower.
returning to earth.
If there is anything that has changed, it is that I feel much dirtier than before.
‘I won’t forget.’
Whoever you are, whatever your name.
This debt must be repaid.
When you are about to close the door of your inn.
A message popped up out of nowhere.
[Welcome to the world of Pick Me Up!]
