Pick Me Up!

[What did you say?!]

Iselle’s mouth hung open.

Both wings were trembling.

‘I’m getting used to seeing this girl surprised.’

I smirked and opened my mouth.

“I’m not going.”

[Are you serious?]

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Oppa?”

“What?”

“What do you mean you’re not going? Can we really refuse if asked to go? Isn’t it obligatory to go when ordered?”

“Didn’t I say it? You can refuse.”

Heroes have the right to reject the Master’s orders.

Though they are responsible for the consequences.

“I’ve never heard such a thing. And didn’t we see before that people who didn’t want to fight were forcibly dragged here?”

“They didn’t know how to do it.”

Simply making a fuss won’t cut it.

You need to have a clearer will and think as if you are arguing with the Master. Then the hero’s intention will come up to the Master as a system message. It was one of the know-hows I gained while living as a hero here.

Iselle turned around me and said.

[Think again, it’s dangerous!]

“Isn’t blindly throwing ourselves into a dungeon also dangerous?”

[True, but…]

I know what Iselle wants to say.

There are orders that the hero can never refuse.

That is the synthesis command.

If Anytng gets angry at me and can’t stand it anymore, I am obliged to synthesize. Unlike the hero, Iselle, as the representative of the waiting room, would not be able to refuse the Master’s order.

But I have no intention of yielding.

My mind is already set.

“I’m not going.”

“What are we supposed to do then? Fight without you?”

Eolka cried out.

“It’s up to you to decide. I won’t stop you.”

The three of them in the rift fell into silence, looking bewildered.

A moment of confrontation passed. Aaron, who had been bowing his head, seemed to have made up his mind and resolutely fixed his gaze and straightened his spear. Then he walked towards the plaza.

“If Hyung-nim isn’t going, I won’t go either.”

[‘Aaron(★)’ refused to participate!]

“If there’s such a good thing, you should have said it earlier. So frustrating.”

Following after, Jenna came.

[‘Jenna(★)’ refused to participate!]

“What am I supposed to do alone here?”

Finally, Eolka darted out of the rift as if fleeing.

[‘Eolka(★★★)’ refused to participate!]

[‘1st Party’ is inoperable.]

[Tips/Heroes may occasionally go on strike. You can resolve this by meeting their demands or punishing the troublemakers.]

‘Punish the troublemakers?’

Iselle flapped her wings in fear.

“T-this tip wasn’t from me!”

“I know, chill.”

“So, Oppa, what are you going to do?”

“Let’s wait and see. Let’s see how the Master responds.”

Anytng seemed quite surprised and didn’t move the manipulation window.

It seems he couldn’t even imagine that a hero would go on strike. Well, in other mobile games, such a situation would never happen.

If he had consistently studied the strategies, he might have known about this too, but he probably got tired and stopped reading. In that case, he wouldn’t be able to find the right solution either.

I didn’t have high expectations either.

After pondering for a while, Anytng made the expected choice.

Iselle, who received orders from the Master, shouted.

“Edis, Roderick, Asher, Dica!”

A little later, members of the 2nd Party gathered in the plaza.

Edis approached me with a puzzled expression.

“Weren’t you going? Why did you call us?”

“We decided not to go.”

“What? How could…”

I explained to Edis that they could choose not to participate if they wished.

After listening to the explanation, Edis murmured.

“That’s risky.”

“I know.”

“If we can’t prove our worth to the Master…”

“I know, we’ll die.”

“Do you think the Master will be pleased if we don’t follow orders?”

“Are you willing to die if the Master tells you to die? Weren’t we fighting to stay alive?”

“…”

Edis didn’t answer.

Of course not. There was no such thing as loyalty when it come to the heroes in this waiting room. They were simply fighting half unwillingly to stay alive.

Edis returned to where the party members were gathered.

They seemed to be having a discussion about this matter.

And about a minute later.

“We’ll go. We need to grow. I don’t want to be synthesized.”

Edis said.

Looking back at Dica behind her, his complexion still wasn’t great. He hadn’t fully recovered from the impact on the 10th floor. It would take a little more time to regain his condition.

The 2nd Party entered the rift.

I was sitting on a nearby bench.

‘Growth, huh.’

If Anytng’s goal is to develop the party, then I wouldn’t have needed to object.

He wouldn’t have even needed me.

There are quite a few members who haven’t reached my level yet. Exploring the lower floors was welcome.

But that’s not the issue.

“What will happen to us from now on?”

Jenna, who had leaned in close, asked.

“Well, we’ll figure something out.”

“Figure something out? That’s not like you, Oppa.”

“I can tell you one thing. If I die from synthesis, you should immediately stop this nonsense and follow the Master’s orders. If not, you’ll die too.”

Jenna clapped her hands.

“Hey, Oppa, you won’t die.”

“That’s what I hope.”

“And I have to admit, you’re quite stubborn.”

“…”

‘These kids have grown a lot.’

At that moment, a message appeared in my vision.

[‘Dica(★)’ is bleeding. Health decreases at regular intervals.]

As expected, this was gonna happen.

Edis’s 2nd Party, which hadn’t completed its recovery, was struggling.

The stage must be the 12th floor. Unlike the 11th floor, it seemed to have a considerable level of difficulty.

[‘Asher(★★)’ is bleeding. Health decreases at regular intervals.]

[‘Dica(★)’ is afflicted by fear…]

Messages indicating the deteriorating state of the party kept appearing one after another.

One fortunate thing was that death messages weren’t popping up.

Although Asher and Dica were semi-incapacitated, it seemed that the other two 3-star members were holding their ground.

A little later.

With the stage clear message, the 2nd Party returned.

Edis’s face was contorted with intensity.

“How did the growth go?”

“…”

Asher and Dica couldn’t even walk.

Roderick was supporting the two.

“Han.”

“What.”

“Teach me how to refuse orders.”

“That’s easy.”

I smirked and explained the know-how.

Edis took a deep breath. Then she looked up at the sky and said.

“The 2nd Party won’t participate either.”

[‘Edis(★★★)’ refused to participate!]