Suddenly, I woke up.
A throbbing pain shot through my head. It felt like the morning after binge-drinking.
Hangover, is it a hangover? Where's the headache medicine? I fumbled around my bedside. My favorite Tylenol should be there. Two pills wouldn't cut it, so I'd need about four.
But my hands grasped nothing.
I opened my eyes.
[Welcome, Master!]
[Internal data is required for execution. Would you like to download? - Wi-Fi use is recommended.]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
[Downloading... 001/537]
It was a white room.
Above, beside, below – all white.
I was lying on the white floor. I pushed myself up and looked around. The white space stretched beyond the horizon.
Where am I?
In the top right of my vision, a window with text appeared.
[Downloading... 004/537]
[Tips/ Pick Me Up is a Hyper Roguelike Summoner RPG. Actually, it's closer to a simulation.]
I brushed myself off and stood up.
My reason, which had felt limp like wet cotton, gradually sharpened.
The space remained white.
I was standing, feet planted, in this unidentified space. Every time the holographic window flickered, the number on the right increased.
[Downloading... 009/537]
[Tips/ The waiting area where heroes gather is called the Room.]
As the loading progressed, something began to appear in the white space.
A dining table. Like magic, it popped out of thin air. Followed by a chair. Refrigerator. Oven. Carpet. Sofa. Walls appeared from somewhere, boxing in the four sides. A ceiling closed above. The floor, which had been simply white, was neatly finished with metallic flooring.
The space gradually took the shape of a room.
[Downloading... 015/537]
Staring blankly at the scene, I slapped both my cheeks with my hands. Slap.
Calm down, first, calm down.
They say even if you're dragged into a tiger's den, you can survive if you just keep your wits about you.
I decided to retrace my steps. Why did I end up here? Let's slowly recall what I did yesterday.
"Okay, what did you do yesterday, Han Seo-jin?"
Woke up, washed up, had breakfast.
Turned on the computer as usual, uploaded a strategy video to MyTube. Then, bought dinner stuff from the convenience store and returned home. Did anything happen before I got back? Did I drink heavily? No. I quit drinking a long time ago.
'Got home, changed the battery, and then…'
Advent Dungeon.
The Super-Difficulty Advent Dungeon opened for the 100 Million DL event.
I sent in the scouting party, and they were spectacularly wiped out. Just as I was thinking about the next step…
'A bug occurred.'
A bug unlike anything I'd ever seen or heard of.
The graphics and text were all garbled, and the boss's level was something like 999. Considering the level cap for heroes, excluding 7-stars, is 99, it was a ridiculous number. When I tried to return to the main screen after the wipe, my phone froze.
What did I do next? I pressed the phone's power button, and…
My memory ended there.
[Downloading... 045/537]
Did I doze off?
Was I really that tired?
I tilted my head in confusion.
After thinking for a while, I concluded this place was a dream.
I must have fallen asleep hard on the sofa and started dreaming. Furthermore, not just any dream, but a lucid dream, where I was aware I was dreaming.
However, I'm not the type to dream often.
I couldn't even remember the last time I had a dream.
[Downloading... 055/537]
The white room's interior furnishing was completed.
The empty room was being decorated. But all the furniture was metallic, and the colors were either gray or pure white.
It wasn't my taste.
The atmosphere could be called modern, but it didn't feel lived-in.
"Is anyone here!"
I tried shouting first.
There was no answer.
Good grief. I thought only nightmares involved past embarrassments or ghosts.
I opened the door that had appeared at some point and stepped outside the room.
Outside the room was a plaza. It was as large and wide as a schoolyard, but it was an indoor plaza, not outdoors. At the end of the plaza stood a high wall.
Above, instead of a ceiling, a hazy, murky sky shimmered.
"Is anyone here? If you are, answer me!"
I shouted loudly.
Still no answer.
"What kind of damn dream is this."
For a dream, it felt quite realistic.
The cool air on my skin. The sound of my shoes on the floor. The vivid colors. All my senses felt sharp. That made it feel even worse.
Set into the long wall of the plaza was a large iron gate.
The gate was closed, and above it, I could see a nameplate that read 'Rift of Time and Space'. It wasn't the only door. Gates of the same design were set into the wall here and there.
I slowly walked across the plaza, examining the nameplates on each gate.
'Rift of Time and Space, Training Ground, Synthesis Lab, Armory…'
I grabbed the handle of the Armory gate and shook it, but it only rattled and wouldn't open.
"What kind of crappy dream is this?"
I tried the other doors, but it was the same story.
Eventually, I returned to the room I'd started in. Nothing more was appearing inside, but the text in the air continued to update.
I opened the refrigerator.
Inside, it was full of orange juice. I took out a carton from the bottom shelf and poured it into a cup.
[Downloading... 362/537]
[Tips/ Completing the tutorial grants an excellent reward.]
I leaned back deep into the sofa.
The soft, cushiony feeling seeped into my back. The orange juice flowing down my throat was cool.
I pinched my cheek.
It hurt.
Come to think of it, when I slapped my cheeks earlier to snap myself out of it, it had also hurt quite a bit – no, it hurt a lot.
"..."
What is this?
What the hell is this?
Surely, this must be a dream world. The orange juice I'm drinking, the comfort of the sofa, the pain in my cheek – it must all be part of the dream.
Just as I thought that, a whisper echoed in my mind.
'What if it's not a dream?'
It was a startlingly cold voice.
I shook my head, trying to erase the mocking voice from my ears.
[Downloading... 511/537]
[Tips/ Try leveling up heroes through Synthesis.]
"Maybe I should cut back on gaming."
I glanced at the window floating in the corner of my vision.
It wasn't entirely unfamiliar. This font. These tips. This number. This was the screen that appeared when you first installed Pick Me Up.
Will I wake up from the dream once the download finishes?
This feels awful. This was a dream I never wanted to have again.
Hurry up and end. I don't want to be here a second longer.
[Downloading... 537/537 : Complete!]
A window popped up in the center of the room, and a video began to play.
[Taonier, a land where humans and demi-humans live together.]
[Into this continent of peace and prosperity, a mysterious enemy invades!]
Crude 2D graphics.
A burning castle.
Soldiers and monsters that looked like paper dolls clashed.
[In the end, the continent is caught in the power of darkness and torn asunder.]
[But hope still remains.]
[You, Master! If you wish to save the world, climb the tower!]
[Countless heroes will join you.]
The video closed.
I was watching with my mouth agape.
[I am Isel, the Fairy of Beginnings, who will be assisting you for the time being, Master. First, please tell me your name!]
[2-6 characters, no spaces or special characters.]
[PickMeUp]
[This name already exists.]
I wasn't typing it.
The keyboard seemed to type by itself, engraving the letters.
[ImTheStrongest]
[This name already exists.]
[ABC]
[This name already exists.]
[Amkena] (Note: "Amkena" (암케나) is slang for "Just whatever" or "Anything")
[Name available. Use this name?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
[Welcome to the world of Pick Me Up, Amkena!]
[Would you like to proceed with the tutorial? A small reward will be given upon completion.]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
The selection was being made automatically too.
As a white cursor pressed 'Yes', my vision spun abruptly.
Light engulfed my sight.
I didn't even have time to think.
When I opened my eyes again, it was a burning village.
[The time is Imperial Year 351. The forces of the Demon race invade the continent.]
[In the small village of Haim region, there lived a boy named 'Han Israt'.]
Acrid smoke stung my nose.
"Cough, cough!"
I bent over, coughing.
The inside of my throat burned hotly.
'Where am I now…'
Flames were rising from all directions.
What was burning were private houses. Quaintly built homes, fences, storehouses, and trees were engulfed together in a fierce blaze.
Beside them, people were fleeing like an ebbing tide.
"G-Goblins!"
"Don't come, don't come!"
"This way! We have to hurry!"
A dry laugh escaped me.
A worn-out iron sword was grasped in my right hand.
[Tutorial Quest 1. Defeat the goblins invading the village!]
[Combat proceeds automatically. Enjoy the high-level combat realized by the hero's internal AI!]
"Kerk, kerrek!"
Far away, down the hill, green-skinned monsters were swarming up.
They were about 150cm tall. They wore battered iron helmets and carried curved swords. Their backs were hunched, and their green skin looked grotesquely festered.
[Goblin Lv.1]
"What are those monsters?"
The goblins were slaughtering the people below the hill. They swung their swords, hacking down men and women alike. With torches in their left hands, they set houses on fire.
It was a scene from hell.
['Han (★)' feels Fear! All stats decrease by 30%.]
[Tips/ Heroes sometimes fall into Fear.]
Hero Han?
What kind of bullshit is that!
Wherever this is, I need to escape. I started up the hill. If I follow the direction people are fleeing, I should be able to manage somehow.
Thud.
I had only taken a few steps when my body stopped as if hitting a wall.
"Why can't I move forward?"
The people around me were passing by without issue.
I reached out into the empty air. A strong resistance pushed against my fingertips.
"You, piece of shit!"
I threw my entire body into it. A sharp pain shot through my shoulder, and I tumbled to the ground.
I scrambled back up.
"Then I'll go sideways!"
Thud.
The invisible wall was there too.
I pushed with all my might, but it didn't budge an inch.
In the end, I was completely stuck.
"What are you people!"
I yelled at the refugees passing by me.
"Where is this! Can you hear me? Answer me!"
They acted as if they couldn't hear, or perhaps they really couldn't, just continuing to flee.
I tried to grab the shoulder of a man vaulting over a nearby fence, but the transparent wall blocked my hand again.
Goblins were approaching from the bottom of the hill.
['Han (★)' falls into Panic! All stats decrease by 50%.]
[Master, please use an Anti-Fear Potion on the hero in crisis! Anti-Fear Potions cost 50 Gems, but this one is provided free.]
[Use?]
[Yes (Selected)/No]
Out of nowhere, a purple bottle appeared before my eyes.
The cap popped off, pong, and the contents splashed onto my face.
"Ugh!"
I fell to my hands and knees.
A bitter, strong liquid went down my windpipe.
"Cough, cough cough!"
It felt like someone had sprayed pepper powder up my nose.
If you're gonna give it to me, do it gently!
At the same time, the back of my neck grew cold. My swimming vision cleared. It felt like cold water had been poured on my overheated head.
The first thing that came out was,
"Shit…"
A curse.