Pick Me Up!

“If you’re going to give gifts, give them to everyone.”

If you give it to only one person, other heroes would become dissatisfied.

Although I had the most remarkable performance, it wasn’t just my life at stake. Maintaining proper relationships with the heroes was the Master’s basic duty. But to receive a gift voucher and toss it around carelessly… that was unacceptable.

‘A Warhorse Statue?’

Every hero had different tastes and desires.

Simply handing them any item wouldn’t make them happy.

I spent hours just learning the preferences and tastes of the top 100 heroes in Niflheimr.

After getting into bed, the sky darkened.

Is he startled?

Or perhaps he has no thoughts at all.

“….”

Sleep eluded me.

I must climb the tower.

There could be dozens of reasons why I will fail.

But what I realized was that there are obstacles waiting for me much more troublesome than the low rank I was assigned with and the dirty difficulty of Pick Me Up.

An internal enemy.

Not just any internal enemy.

If a hero is giving us a headache, I can handle it.

Like the incident with the Wolffang Mercenaries a while ago, I can clear it without anyone noticing.

“But if the Master doesn’t come to his senses…”

It’s still uncertain.

It was a matter of speculation. But my guess seems to be about 90% accurate.

“The Illusory Master Syndrome.”

It’s a term floating around among Pick Me Up users.

The wording may sound funny, but the results are no joke.

Pick Me Up is called a game of luck and misfortune.

One of the reasons is that the early difficulty, where the facilities and content are not open, varies greatly depending on the initial draw luck. If you get good heroes, climbing is smooth and pleasant, but if you get stuck with bad heroes, you struggle and roll through all kinds of hardships.

What about Anytng’s case?

Objectively speaking, he couldn’t be considered lucky. He synthesized the initial 4-star hero and it was never replaced in the following 5 consecutive draws. Does that mean he’s unlucky?

“No.”

He worked hard in the early stages of the game.

He steadily expanded the facilities, nurtured heroes, and crafted items.

He was progressing properly following the strategy I wrote.

Things changed after the 5th floor.

After clearing missions that should have resulted in a total defeat, he began deviating slightly from the right path.

He did five paid draws without the right conditions. And without properly nurturing the last members, he threw them into the 10th floor. And he made various other mistakes.

People called this an “Illusory Master” because some masters will rely solely on their heroes for strategy, which doesn’t reflect on their own abilities, and then mistake the heroes’ abilities for their own.

“Can I climb to the 100th floor with this kind of guy?”

Of course not. In the early stages of the game, the Master, who repeatedly made countless mistakes would be much better.

My speculation turned into certainty the next evening.

[Han, Jenna, Aaron, Eolka!]

Iselle’s shout calling the 1st party members rang through the training ground.

Jenna, who was nimbly maneuvering through the wooden doll targets with her dagger, turned around and asked, “Oh, are we going on a mission?”

“It seems like it.”

It wasn’t a weekly dungeon.

All four members were battle-ready.

“Ugh…”

Jenna frowned slightly, prepared herself, and left.

Aaron let out a sigh and followed Jenna.

Next to the training camp, as the door with magic runes opened, Eolka popped out.

Eolka walked out of the training camp, her dress hem fluttering.

Her expression was twisted.

She didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

“Of course.”

The repeated training and battles had pushed her stress levels to the limit.

In particular, the intense 10th floor was the detonator. I managed to cover it up somehow, but it was only a temporary breather. To resolve this, the Master had to step up and take action.

The four members of the 1st party gathered in the square.

[Open, Rift of Time and Space!]

The door leading to the Rift of Time and Space creaked open.

I took the lead.

“We’ll deal with it quickly and come back out.”

The three followed.

The door closed.

“Is it the 8th or 9th floor?”

Climbing to the 11th floor in this situation would be a stretch.

Although she leveled up, Eolka’s level is still low. But since she cleared the 10th floor, the entry restriction has been lifted. It was the right way to level her up as much as possible in the previous stages before attempting to clear the next floor.

These were the rules whether it was a 1-star or 3-star hero.

Moreover, if you’re planning to add one more member to the party as a master, then now is the right time.

The sooner they joined, the better. It wasn’t like they could immediately function as a party just by joining. They needed time to adapt and get along.

[“Climb the Tower, Save the World!”]

[“Main Dungeon: Current Climbing Floor – 10”]

[Save the world.]

So what are you going to do?

Whatever it is.

I won’t intervene this time.

Leaning against the wall with my arms folded, a message indicating the entry floor appeared before me.

[“Main Dungeon, current challenge floor is the 11th floor.”]

[“The door will open in 10 seconds. Get ready!”]

“……”

“Huh.”

It’s confirmed.

I straightened my neck.

Then I drew my sword and held my shield.

“Get ready. It’s the 11th floor.”

“What?”

As Jenna responded in disbelief, the surroundings darkened.

A crescent moon hung in the night sky.

The fragments of the moon were scattering moonlight on the place where we stood.

“The field is a graveyard.”

Memorial stones for the deceased were erected all around.

Amidst the eerie and cold air, something creaked and rose with a squeaking sound.

[Floor 11.]

[Mission Type – Subjugation]

[Objective – Annihilate the enemy!]

[Skeleton Lv.11 X 14]

The Skeletons standing in the graveyard bathed in moonlight.

It’s a sight that would give an ordinary person goosebumps, but the party members didn’t even flinch. We had been through worse hellish experiences.

Jenna scratched her cheek and said, “Skeletons, huh?”

“They look like they’ll break if you just flick them.”

I smirked.

The skeletons surrounded us, their jaw joints creaking. Each of them held weapons like swords, axes, maces, and other military-grade equipment.

Creak!

The skeleton in the front swung its axe.

The sound was a bit crude. I evaded the axe and then struck its cervical vertebra with the edge of my shield. The skeleton, whose bones shattered, couldn’t move again.

I looked up at the sky.

Up there, Anytng was watching us.

“First, let’s take care of these guys.”

“Take your positions!”

“Yes!”

“Roger!”

It’s a triangular formation like on the 10th floor.

I’m at the front, Aaron on the left, Jenna on the right, and Eolka in the center.

The fight began in the moonlit graveyard.

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