Pick Me Up!
Chapter 42: Prologue (1)

I opened my eyes.

A gloomy, ashen sky greeted me. As I turned my head, I noticed the familiar bed. It was my room inside the lodging.

I rotated my left arm, the part that had been torn off by the Black Priests’ magic.

It moved properly. There was no trace of the hole that had been in my right chest too.

“I survived.”

I had thought I might not make it back, but it seems I was a step ahead.

I got up from the bed and checked the clock. It was 3:45 in the morning. Everyone in the waiting room would be asleep by now.

I laid back down and closed my eyes, but my mind was sharp.

Eventually, I gave up and went to the lobby.

Aaron was sitting on the lobby sofa, bowing his head.

I took a seat next to him and said, “You look horrible.”

“Oh, Hyung-nim.”

Aaron looked up at me. There were dark circles under his eyes.

“I’m relieved you’re safe. We were all worried.”

“Worried, my foot. Anyway, what kind of tremendous struggle were you going through to look so grim?”

“I was thinking about the reason we fight.”

“The reason we fight?”

“After you left, the city was flooded with corpses. And…”

Aaron’s expression darkened.

I didn’t need him to say it; I could already guess.

Inside the city, numerous civilian NPCs resided.

Even if they sought refuge within the city walls, there was a limit to how many could be accommodated.

The massacre caused by the corpses must have been devastating. Jenna, Aaron, Edis, and they must have witnessed it all vividly.

I looked at Aaron, who was merely sipping water with a frown.

‘Has his stress level spiked?’

If a hero repeatedly engages in combat and training without rest, their stress can accumulate excessively, leading to depression.

Alternatively, witnessing large-scale massacres or the death of close comrades during a mission can also trigger depression. Depression was one of the leading causes of sudden death.

Aaron, who had been sipping water for a while, stood up from his seat.

“I’ll go inside first. Rest well, hyung-nim.”

“Will you come out with that same expression tomorrow?”

Aaron let out a bitter laugh and replied, “I’ll recover by tomorrow.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

“Yes.”

Aaron bowed his head to me and returned to the lodging.

I sat alone in the dark lobby and drank my water.

I couldn’t help but think of the guy who had brought me here.

Even this time it was the same. Due to the mosaic around him, I couldn’t see the bastard’s face properly. Only the unpleasant voice, scratching like metal, remained in my mind.

“Did he say he would wait?”

If I had the leisure, I would have asked the Black Priest who seemed like he wanted to talk to me, but I killed him.

That day, until Chloe appeared in the early morning, I couldn’t fall asleep.

I had spent the night wide awake.

Now that a major battle was over, I needed to take measures to reduce stress.

Originally, it was Anytng’s role, but since that guy couldn’t do his job properly, there’s no other way.

I spoke to Chloe, who was preparing ingredients in the kitchen, after giving me a greeting.

“Bring out all the ingredients. Cook the best dishes you can.”

Chloe hesitated for a moment but soon nodded and brought out all the ingredients from the storage. The new baker who followed Chloe’s lead in the kitchen also began to display her skills.

The morning meal is where everyone in the waiting room gathers.

On the table were various grand dishes like meat, bread, salad, soup, and more.

Jenna, the first to come out to the dining area, blinked her eyes in surprise.

“What’s all this? It’s so fancy for breakfast.”

“Why, don’t you like it?”

“No! It’s always welcome if it’s like this!”

Jenna smiled and took a seat.

Soon, the members of the waiting room came out one by one. They were surprised once when they saw the food and twice when they saw me. It was understandable. I rarely appeared in the dining area.

The meal began.

I grabbed some bread hastily and observed my party members’ faces.

“Jenna seems fine, as usual. Aaron is doing well too. Eolka looks good.”

They didn’t seem to be in good moods.

But somehow, they were holding it together.

I observed the members of the 2nd party.

The two 3-star members seemed fine. Asher was managing somehow.

There was no need to look for Shurn and Maekin, the 5th members of each party because even though I weren’t there with them I knew they were already dead.

It was somewhat expected. Both of them joined late, and their levels were too low.

‘Dica.’

Sigh-

Dica was puking.

Edis stood up and supported Dica, leading him away.

Mental management of the party members was also one of the leader’s roles.

The battle was fierce, but there weren’t many casualties.

That might be the reason why we’re currently alright.

Even so, it’s definitely not in perfect condition.

Stress was accumulating, whether we were aware of it or not.

And on that day, in the late evening when everyone returned to the lodging.

[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]

Anytng logged in.

[Loading is complete.]

[T O U C H! (Select)]

The sky lit up.

I was sitting on a bench in the square.

I knew Anytng would come.

The low-grade fire elemental stones were given as the 10th floor’s clear reward.

In the warehouse, I stored the water and wind elemental stones that we had collected from the weekly dungeons.

With a cheerful sound, an alert popped up.

[Master, there is a hero waiting for promotion!]

[Promotable Hero – ‘Han(★)’]

[Tips/To promote, you need the annex building ‘Promotion Hall’ in the Synthesis Center.]

Anytng’s operation window appeared.

The Facility tab was touched.

[You have selected the annex building ‘Promotion Hall’ for the Synthesis Center. Would you like to build it?]

[Yes (Select) / No]

Kururur.

A faint vibration shook the waiting room.

[The Promotion Hall has been completed! From now on, hero promotion is available.]

Next, the item synthesis window appeared. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Inside the synthesis window, red, blue, and green stones were rotating in circles.

[Starting item synthesis!]

[Selected Materials – Low-grade fire elemental stone, low-grade water elemental stone, low-grade wind elemental stone]

[Completed Item – Low-grade Promotion Stone]

[Success Rate – 87%]

[Synthesis Method – Automatic]

[Would you like to proceed with the synthesis?]

[Yes (Select) / No]

[Kudangtangtang!]

[Fairy Power!]

[Good!]

[Synthesis Complete!]

[You have obtained the ‘Low-grade Promotion Stone’!]

As the warehouse door opened, Iselle popped out.

She held a rainbow-colored stone in her arms.

[Congratulations on your upcoming promotion, Master Loki!]

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