Pick Me Up!

I gulped down the juice from the plastic cup.

Then tossed the cup onto the counter. Goal!

“Can you access the internet?”

[The internet?]

“Yes, if you can interfere with the Pick Me Up system, then you must be able to access the internet too, right?”

[Why do you keep asking?]

“There are good things that would happen if you answer.”

[I can. Web surfing is my hobby.]

“Then the tips you post must be based on the forum strategies. Draw 10 equipment Gachas, then level up the training center to level 1. After that, open the forge.”

It was the most popular post on the official Pick Me Up cafe. With 20 million views. 5 million recommendations. The strategy was shared on various other internet magazines and translated, spreading worldwide.

It was posted by a user, and the author’s account name was Loki.

The post roughly described the facilities used and the methods of selecting and raising heroes.

[Do you know Loki?]

“I do. I’m also a Pick Me Up user.”

[Hah, you’re just a low-level pup running around on the lower floors! You can’t be compared to Loki. The Master of Masters, he’s the god of Pick Me Up! If Loki had only 7-star heroes, he would have been the world’s number one long ago!]

I chuckled.

“Why do you like Loki?”

[Because he can turn the impossible into possible!]

“Oh, he makes the impossible possible.”

[Don’t you know that as a Pick Me Up user?]

“I actually know that, because I’m Loki.”

[What?!]

“I’m Loki.”

[Now, now, now, who are you kidding?!]

“Account number 46631913.”

Iselle’s eyes popped out.

This guy, he also knew the account number.

Only the Master and Pick Me Up server officials could know the account number of Pick Me Up. Masters never reveal their account numbers because it could lead to hacking.

[Yes, yes, no, are you… Loki?]

“You don’t believe me? I can even give you my Google account! Check out my YouTube channel.”

I even told her the email and password for the Google account.

Iselle disappeared in a flurry, then reappeared after a while.

[…Do it.]

“What?”

[Sign it, you idiot!]

Iselle handed me a pen and paper with a flushed face.

I took the paper, quickly scribbled on it, and handed it back. Iselle pressed her lips against my rough doodle.

“Yes! With this, I’m also a VIP member of Ragnaroki!]

“What’s Ragnaroki?”

[The fan cafe of the Master of Masters, Loki! You need Loki’s signature to become a VIP member!]

Was there such a thing?

It’s news to me.

And what’s this Ragnaroki? The naming sense is the worst.

[Oh, oh, anyway, you… no, Master Loki…]

“Speak casually. It’s awkward.”

[Are you really Loki? Really really?]

“It’s true, so there you go.”

[Kyaa!]

Iselle, who had been hopping around, suddenly regained her senses and said.

[Wait. So I’ve been speaking arrogantly to Loki all this time?]

“Right now, I’m just a lowly 1-star. Does it really matter?”

[I… I called Loki a pup…!]

Iselle started to panic.

I couldn’t quite grasp the emotional shift.

[Sorry! If I had known that you were Loki, I wouldn’t have said that! Really!]

“Calm down a bit. I wasn’t really angry.”

[Why did Loki come to this place… Aaargh!]

Iselle grabbed her head and screamed.

[What kind of situation I’m living in..?]

“…”

Was it that shocking?

I can’t understand. This is almost at the level of being an obsessed fan.

Iselle, who was sulking with her split hairstyle, suddenly stood up and said,

“Wait, wait! What happens to Niflheimr if you’re not here?”

Niflheimr is the waiting room name for my account.

It consists of a total of 13 floors and is known as the pinnacle of infrastructure construction among ranker types, with a capacity of 20,000 residents, a training center at level 22, and an armory at level 18.

All that for what?

Master of masters…

That master ended up in this situation in the end.

It meant nothing.

Thinking about that I let out a deep sigh.

“I didn’t think about that.”

[Are you thinking of quitting?]

“What else can I do in this situation?”

[But if Master Loki is not here…]

“If you’re so disappointed, then send me back.”

[I can’t do that.]

Iselle bowed her head with a gloomy expression.

I know. This girl is nothing more than a mid-level admin, getting caught in the middle of superiors and work obligations.

“Anyway, the owner of this waiting room is a human from Earth, right?”

[Yes.]

Great, she calmed down, and she’s now cooperating.

I decided to take this opportunity to ask about the things I was curious about.

“The summoned heroes are not artificial intelligence either, right?”

[That’s right. The affiliated worlds are slightly different, but they’re all humans.]

“If I climb the tower up to the 100th floor, can I return to Earth?”

[That… I don’t know.]

“You don’t know?”

[I’m serious! Believe me!]

“Fine. Next question. Who brought me here?”

[…I can’t answer that.]

“Huh, you’re not helping.”

[Sorry.]

“Let’s move on. As you said, if I climb the tower, I’ll probably find out. Next question. How much access do you have to the Master’s authority?”

[Right now, I can display help, open and close facilities, and assist with autonomous actions.]

Next.

This is the key to the question.

“Are other Masters’ waiting rooms the same as this one?”

[They’re slightly different in detail, but the basics are the same.]

“…”

Are there really 100 million worlds like this?

I burst into laughter at the ridiculous scale of it all.

I can’t believe that what was just a game is now a reality in another world. My casual decisions could have been a death sentence for the heroes in the game.

If I ever return to Earth, I decided to climb the tower in a way that conserves the heroes as much as possible. I’ll exclude those who can’t fulfill their roles.

The way heroes can contribute to the Master is not limited to just battles. While this waiting room has most of its functions locked, as the grade increases and the functions are unlocked, non-combat heroes can find ways to contribute to the Master.

If this waiting room’s grade were higher, even those who died meaninglessly might have had a role. They were just unlucky.

But what can you do? That’s how the world is.

“I wonder if the Niflheimr crew is doing fine without me.”

If the heroes there are still alive, they would have noticed my absence by now.

I won’t be able to go back for a while.

But it should be fine.

In Pick Me Up, there’s a feature where designated heroes operate the waiting room when the Master is absent for a long time. So Pick Me Up also had the title of an idle game.

“Seris will handle it on her own.”

Seris, the sub-master of Niflheimr, was unusually intelligent and wise.

She accomplished two tasks when given one, and she had the talent to understand what I wanted. Seriously, it’s hard to believe she’s an artificial intelligence.

Anyway, I can’t help them. They have to figure out how they can live without me until I survive this place.

I’m here now. And I’ve decided to find a way to live here.

“Iselle.”

[Uh, yeah?]

“Do you wish to climb the tower?”

Iselle hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Listen carefully. I’ll make it possible. Me and you will climb it.”

This time, she nodded her head without hesitation.

Floor reached: 3rd floor.

Autonomous actions are finally enabled, and the forge is open.

The scope of activities has expanded.

I’ll have to speed up the progress starting tomorrow.

If Iselle helps, it should be more than possible.

Leaning against the sofa, I looked up at the ceiling.

The ashen sky remained the same.

• Long Live The Hokage
• A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War!
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• Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha!