Pick Me Up!
Chapter 44: Prologue (3)

I furrowed my brow.

I had seen this message somewhere before. No, it was a message I could never forget. It had brought me immense frustration.

[Floor 80]

Among the one billion users of “Pick Me Up,” it was the worst and most challenging floor that only five people, including myself, conquered.

It was the original conquering type, not revealing any objectives.

In “Pick Me Up” every player has a different experience with the game; a different world, different characters, and different missions and floors to conquer.

You can say that the experience with “Pick Me Up” and the pace at which you will complete stages in the game was random and the difficulty varied depending on luck, but every ranker who attempted Floor 80 had miserably failed.

Thus, the highest floor reached among rankers was Floor 79.

Floor 80 was called the wall of wailing among the rankers. I was no exception. Six months ago, I confidently challenged Floor 80 after reaching Floor 79, but most of my forces, excluding the main party, were wiped out in a devastating defeat.

“How does it feel to see this with your own eyes instead of on the screen? Quite grand, isn’t it?” the girl said, appearing on a leather chair out of nowhere.

She held a glass jar containing black liquid in her hand.

“What’s the purpose of showing me this?”

“It’s simple. I want you to watch this scene together with me.”

The girl took a sip of her drink.

“Have a seat. Standing might be uncomfortable.”

A luxurious chair wrapped in fine fabric appeared behind me.

I let out a deep sigh and settled into the chair. The fairy handed me a drink, but I pushed it away with my hand.

“The Niflheimr Field on Floor 80…”

Even after analyzing countless types of fields, I couldn’t define this strange field.

Floating platforms dotted the area, with rivers of boiling lava flowing below. It was more like a sea than a river, as the lava covered the entire land.

In the distant mountain range, volcanoes constantly spewed out fiery rocks. The wind, mixed with sulfur and ash, swirled in a sinister grey hue.

“Hell.”

That was the only word to describe it.

An extreme space where no living beings could survive.

Floor 80’s stage was right here in front of me.

“As you can see, the situation is like this, but you don’t need to worry. The environment here can’t affect you. It’s just replaying the records of the past.”

There was a massive island right in front of me, easily spanning hundreds of meters.

From one side of the island, light emerged, and a group of people walked out.

“…!”

I stood up from my seat.

The party that emerged from the light consisted of five individuals.

Each of them was equipped with different-colored outfits and weapons, much more realistic than I remembered, but I recognized them. It was unforgettable.

At the forefront of the group, a blond woman walked forward.

Adorned in silver armor, she wielded a crimson sword emitting a red aura. The engravings on the scabbard shimmered in golden light.

“Seris Agentheim.”

She was the top ranker of Niflheimr, the Sub-Master, and the leader of the main party.

“The other four are…”

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Ranks one to five.

All the individuals who could be considered the strongest in Niflheimr were gathered here.

“…”

I sat back down on the chair.

I gulped down the water from the cup the fairy handed me in one go.

“It’s the footage of when I conquered Floor 80.”

“Correct.”

“Why are you showing me this? I already know the clearing process. It’s meaningless.”

“Just watch and see, would you?”

The girl smiled lightly.

I furrowed my brows and turned my gaze back to the main party. They were huddled together in one place, not saying a word, each silently waiting for something.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Something strange emerged from below the floating island.

They didn’t have a specific form. Fluid and elongated like tentacles, they wriggled about. Their numbers were uncountable. They sprouted from dozens, hundreds of floating islands all at once.

[Fragment of Chaos Lv.113 X 2755]

[Fragment of Despair Lv.108 X 3164]

[Fragment of Determination Lv.121 X 2348]

These Non-attribute monsters appear in large numbers on the upper floors of the tower.

Commonly known as the Fragment series, they were the culprits that turned floors 80 and above into hellish difficulties.

Grrrrrrr.

Simultaneously, a distant roaring sound could be heard.

[Crystal of Chaos Lv.322 X 13]

[Crystal of Despair Lv.315 X 11]

[Crystal of Determination Lv.311 X 15]

Amidst the sulfur and ash-filled mist, a colossal form emerged.

Huge monsters, each reaching several hundred meters, appeared as individuals.

They glared at the heroes with red eyes flashing.

“Do you know? The difficulty in Pick Me Up varies for each account. The summoning probabilities are also vastly different.”

The surface of the floating islands was covered with countless fragments.

Gigantic monsters that could obscure the sky were approaching them.

“It’s not that you were unlucky and couldn’t draw advanced heroes. There simply were no heroes left in Niflheimr. It’s the same story with the difficulty. Niflheimr is one of the few worlds that received an ‘S’ rating from the company’s internal evaluation. It was the worst in every aspect. And the hardest to save.”

“….”

“You still wonder how you made it up to the 88th floor?”

The girl looked at me expressionlessly.

I ignored her.

The five individuals remained motionless.

The tentacles of the fragments were about to reach Seris when time stopped.

A holographic window appeared before me. It was a gameplay record from when I conquered Floor 80.

[‘Effect of “Tactical Headquarters” is applied!’]

[Facility Level: MAX!]

[Creating a map of the stage.]

[Displaying tactical screen.]

[You can give tactical instructions to heroes through touch and drag.]

The screen showed a three-dimensional map of the stage’s terrain.

Almost every part of the map was covered with red dots, to the point where one could mistake the entire map for being red. In contrast, there were five blue dots representing allies. Various tactical tools and a list of parties that could be deployed were displayed on both sides of the screen.

‘….’

Memories resurfaced vividly.

The cursor indicating manipulation began to move on its own.

The blue arrows were drawn on the holographic map. The arrows crossed and advanced, covering the screen. It was the strategy I had spent countless nights crafting.

To seize various support objects on the floating islands in perfect order while subduing the enemies.

Easier said than done; any slight misstep or flaw in the formation would lead to total annihilation. I reviewed and overturned the strategy hundreds of times to eliminate any gaps.

In the center of the Seris party, a circular table rose up.

A map was placed on the table, the same kind as shown on the screen.

As I moved the cursor, arrows were drawn on the map on the table, and the heroes gazed at it intently.

“It’s about to begin.”

The girl casually sipped her drink, a relaxed smile on her face.

“Watch closely. How they behave. And what you mean to them. That’s the reason you’re unique, Master Loki.”

I didn’t respond.

I simply leaned back in my chair.

As the tactical instructions approached the end, a man with an emotionless expression, wielding three different swords, spoke up.

“The orders from our master?”

“As always, impeccable.”

A woman with waist-length white hair said.

“Failure is not tolerated.”

“That’s only natural. For us and for our master.”

“Unless we kill at least a thousand, we won’t make a dent in the fortress.”

A man carrying a twisted lance on his back chimed in.

The woman with white hair opened a book she had been holding in her arms. The pages of the book fluttered in mid-air, emitting a bright light.

“As we vowed.”

Snap.

A bow held by one of the girls emitted a gleam of light.

It was one of the five divine artifacts I had painstakingly crafted, Bryunak.

“I, the King’s Arrow, Nihaku Guestfel.”

A girl with long brown braided hair murmured.

A yellow light flickered in her eyes.

Swoosh.

The lance carried by the boy wavered faintly.

Likewise, it was one of the five divine artifacts, Runein.

“I, the King’s Spear, Myuden Naidelk.”

The boy murmured.

The three swords the man held twisted and wriggled as if pulsating.

Combining the three into one weapon, it was Clau Solas.

“I, the King’s Sword, Ridgion.”

The man murmured.

The book the woman unfolded floated in mid-air.

Countless magical characters were inscribed in the air.

“I, the King’s Eye, Yurnet Seed.”

The woman murmured.

Lastly, Seris drew Lebatain.

“I, the King’s Flame, Seris Agentheim.”

Seris murmured.

The five of them simultaneously brandished their weapons.

Time remained frozen, and the tactical arrangements were nearing completion.

[Time limit ends in 10 seconds.]

[Combat will resume.]

[Get ready!]

Even with the maximum level of the Tactical Headquarters, time was tight.

Finally, a clear strategy encompassing the entire field was completed.

The five individuals’ focused gazes all turned to the map at once.

“…Excellent work.”

Yurnet’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

[8, 7, 6… until mission starts.]

The table and map disappeared.

The five members quickly took positions, forming a tight circle.

[3, 2, 1… Mission start!]

Time unfroze.

Thousands of enemies charged forward simultaneously.

A blaze of crimson flames erupted, engulfing the field of vision.

The following events were all ignored from the footage.

The video had come to an end.

I found myself back in the space shrouded in darkness.

The girl held out a glass vial with black liquid swirling inside.

“Hehe, aren’t they impressive? They are genuinely pledging loyalty to you.”

“….”

“You already know. They are the Six Stars Heroes, known as the strongest across all servers, except for the few Seventh Star Heroes. There’s no one capable of facing them except for themselves. Trust me. You’ve raised fearsome beings.”

“And what does that matter?”

“Actually, that’s not the crucial point. What matters is how they view you as their master. Heroes climb the tower and go through promotion repeatedly, only to realize the truth and despair. Who would pledge loyalty to a master who treats them as toys or pets?”

Her voice seemed to whisper directly into my ear.

“But you were different. You’re the only master who truly dominated the waiting room.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed.

“Loki, you were the King of Niflheim.”

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