"[Han, Jena, Dazil, Greet, Geil, out!]"
"The people who went before... why aren't they coming back...?"
Dazil's voice trailed off.
Geil, who had been lying down groaning, spoke up.
"Look here, Fairy miss. My arthritis flared up, I can't walk anymore. Leave me out."
"Arthritis? You were walking around just fine."
"What can I do if it suddenly hurts!"
"[These guys...]"
I shrugged and walked into the gate at the front of the plaza. Inside the gate was a large circular room, with enormous mirrors, probably over 10 meters tall, lined up side by side. Information about the respective dungeons floated above the mirrors.
[Climb the Tower, Save the World!]
[Main Dungeon: Current Floor - 0]
[A Feast of Dungeons Changing Daily!]
[Daily Dungeon]
[Access Denied! Clear Main Dungeon Floor 5.]
[Collect Various Rare Materials!]
[Expedition Dungeon]
[Access Denied! Clear Main Dungeon Floor 10.]
The other two mirrors, besides the one on the left, were completely dark.
'So this is how it works.'
Looking down as a Master versus looking up from a hero's perspective.
The feeling is night and day.
It's okay. I can do this. I can't die here without even knowing the reason.
Only that single-minded determination could cool my frantic thoughts.
A moment later, the other party members entered the Rift of Time and Space.
"I told you I have arthritis!"
"Just come on! We have to live or die together, don't we!"
"[Quiet, quiet, quiet! Shut up and get ready.]"
"Wh-what do you mean, get ready?"
"I've never even held a spear before..."
[Main Dungeon, Current Challenge Floor is 1.]
[The gate will open in 10 seconds. Prepare yourselves!]
I looked over the party members behind me. Jena and Geil were constantly bickering, Dazil was sweating profusely, and Greet was practically trembling in a corner.
'Is there anyone useful here?'
Only sighs escaped me.
The mirror on the left began to glow.
The light grew stronger, blinding me, nearly filling the entire room.
"Wh-what's this light!"
"Don't freak out! It's starting!" I shouted.
The words were meant for the party members, but also for myself. In this world, the only one I can trust is myself. If I lose my mind, it's over.
I repeated it several times, like a mantra.
And when the light subsided, I was in an unfamiliar place.
[Floor 1.]
[Mission Type - Extermination]
[Objective - Annihilate all enemies!]
A gentle breeze blew.
An endlessly wide plain stretched beyond the horizon.
'Field Type, Grassland.'
Both the mission type and field type are ordinary.
Additionally, Pick Me Up's stages are randomly configured. It wasn't predetermined what mission or field would appear.
"Wh-what? Where is this?"
"Where do you think? It's a battlefield!"
I banged my shield with my worn iron sword.
10 meters away, four goblins were clustered together. Wearing crude iron helmets and holding curved swords. One of them even held a sling.
[Goblin Lv.3] X 4
They were 2 levels higher than in the tutorial.
The goblins' eyes glowed red as they spotted us.
"Didn't I tell you earlier? If you don't fight, you die. So get a grip and..."
As I spoke, I turned around.
No one was there.
"Son of a bitch."
['Jena (★)' feels Fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]
['Dazil (★)' feels Fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]
['Greet (★)' feels Fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]
['Geil (★)' feels Fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]
The four were merrily running away, some ahead, some behind.
Geil, who claimed to have arthritis, was the fastest.
I expected it, but I didn't think they'd be this useless.
Geil crashed into the edge of the field and tumbled. The other three suffered the same fate shortly after.
"Ow, ow, ow! My back!"
"Why can't we get out?"
"Open this door! Let us out! I gotta take a dump!"
['Dazil (★)' falls into Panic. All stats decrease by 50%.]
['Greet (★)' falls into Panic. All stats decrease by 50%.]
['Geil (★)' falls into Despair. All stats decrease by 80%.]
They had no intention of fighting the goblins, just struggling desperately in the corner.
Dazil struck the wall with the axe he was holding, then collapsed clutching his wrist. Greet beat the wall with his long spear, and Geil couldn't get up, possibly having injured his back.
Only Jena trudged back.
"Oppa. If we defeat those goblins, can we get out?"
Her amber eyes trembled, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
But Jena gripped her bow firmly.
"Do you even know how to shoot a bow?"
"My father was a hunter."
"I'll go out and fight, you shoot. Can you do it?"
"Yes!"
['Dazil (★)' falls into Despair. All stats decrease by 80%.]
['Greet (★)' falls into Despair. All stats decrease by 80%.]
"Those people..."
"Don't worry about them. They're useless anyway. Let's go!"
I braced the shield on my left arm and charged forward.
I had never used a shield before. Same with a sword. But I had to.
The goblins charged fiercely, shrieking.
A rock came flying through them!
I lifted the shield to cover my face. A heavy impact resonated through my left hand. If it wasn't for the shield, I would have been hit. Through the gap beneath the shield, I saw a goblin swing its sword.
Lower the shield on my left to block,
And thrust with the sword in my right!
The goblin, deeply cut on the arm, retreated.
I also took a few steps back to assess the situation.
'Why is there only one?'
The reason became clear soon enough. The other two goblins, excluding the one with the sling, were charging towards the panicked party members. The three didn't even notice the goblins coming.
"Uncles, fight! Monsters are coming!"
Jena quickly nocked an arrow and shot.
The arrow grazed the top of the goblin's head.
"Shoot, missed!"
With a frustrated look, Jena pulled another arrow from her quiver.
'Told you not to worry about them!'
I decided to ignore them.
It was actually fortunate. If those guys served as bait, I could defeat the monsters one by one. I charged at the growling goblin clutching its arm. I deflected a viciously thrown rock with my shield. Blocked its sword with my iron sword and slammed its face with the shield!
"Kiek!"
The goblin flopped forward.
Good, I can do this. Totally doable! I plunged my sword into the fallen goblin's chest.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The goblin coughed up bloody foam, then its head dropped.
"Kiaaaa, Kiaaa!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
['Dazil (★)' has returned to the Goddess's embrace. His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
Don't look back.
One more left. A ranged goblin twirling its sling. I raised my shield and ran. The goblin flung stones. They hit the shield.
Choosing the shield was definitely the right answer.
['Greet (★)' has returned to the Goddess's embrace. His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
Behind me, I heard desperate screams mixed with the sounds of tearing flesh. A sickening sound, like ripping and carving lumps of meat.
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Kirararak!"
I tackled the fleeing goblin from behind. The goblin tried to smash my forehead with a rock. Blocked with the shield.
"All hail the shield, you bastard!"
I stabbed my sword into its side, where the rib contours were visible. The unpleasant sensation of scraping bone traveled up my arm. Ignored it and pushed deeper. Pulled out, stabbed again.
Stab, stab, stab, stab!
After stabbing four times, I released my grip, and the goblin collapsed limply.
['Geil (★)' has returned to the Goddess's embrace. His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]
"O-Oppa..."
"What about the other two?"
"I took care of one!"
On one side of the grassland, a goblin lay face down with an arrow stuck in the back of its head.
"But the other people..."
"Think about that later, just get over here!"
An enraged goblin sprinted towards Jena. Jena let out a shrill scream and ran towards me. Shield forward, I charged and collided head-on with the goblin.
"Kuh!"
For a moment, my vision turned red.
Blood spurted from a deep gash on my right arm. I dropped the iron sword in my right hand.
['Han (★)' is Bleeding. Health decreases periodically.]
I bashed the goblin with my shield.
"Kuek!"
"You damn bastard!"
I smashed the fallen goblin's face with the edge of the shield. Broken teeth and blood flew. Smashed again. Again. Again. Again!
The goblin, which had been twitching its limbs, went limp.
"Oppa, your arm..."
"It'll heal when we go back."
I had already confirmed it in the tutorial.
Still hurts like hell, though. Blood was welling up like a spring from the long tear in my right arm. I felt a bit dizzy, possibly from blood loss.
[Stage Clear!]
['Jena (★)', Level Up!]
[Reward – 2,000G, Iron Ore(C) X 2, Copper(C) X 1, Leather(C) X 1]
[MVP - 'Han (★)']
Light enveloped my entire body.
I closed and opened my eyes. We were back in the circular room lined with mirrors, the Rift of Time and Space.
[Three died? Tsk tsk, this is why they're 1-stars.]
Isel glanced disapprovingly at me and Jena.
I checked my right arm. The wound was gone. A faint ache remained, but even that was gradually fading.
So it's true. Even if you're on the brink of death, returning to the waiting room heals everything. It was like that in the game too. 'Zombie parties' that exploited the fact that you healed as long as you were alive even had a period of popularity.
[Go back to the plaza. I'm closing the door.]
Isel pointed to the open door. I walked out briskly. Jena followed me nervously.
The door closed.
[Congratulations on clearing Floor 1!]
[Moving up to Floor 2.]
Clunk. Kurrr.
A strange mechanical sound echoed, and the plaza floor began to shake.
"Why is it doing this?!"
"We're going up."
"Where to?"
"Floor 2."
The vibration stopped.
Now, what happens?
Clearing Floor 2? No way. Amkena saw the battle too. They must have realized this wasn't working.
[Master, do you wish to strengthen your forces?]
[Tips/ Heroes from High-Grade Summons are stronger than normal heroes.]
[Tips/ Facilities such as the Training Ground can be built to develop heroes.]
Here, a free-to-play user has two options.
Use gems for paid summons or construct facilities. Early in the game, there was conflict between the 'Hero Summon' faction, who used gems for summons, and the 'Infrastructure Build' faction, who used them for facilities, but the dispute ended after I personally tested and proved the efficiency.
[Constructing Facility. Please tap the desired facility type.]
[You have selected 'Training Ground'. Construct? Construction costs 500 Gems.]
[Yes(Selected) / No]
Right.
They hadn't completely ignored the guides. The locked Training Ground door opened.
[Training Ground construction complete. Heroes will now train themselves. Enhancing the Training Ground with Gems, Gold, and Blueprints allows for broader and more powerful effects, keep that in mind.]
[Tips/ Consecutive battles tire heroes. Proper rest is needed to achieve maximum combat power.]
Useful tips followed.
[Master, would you like to log out?]
[Yes(Selected) / No]
[Goodbye then!]
Ending here?
Judging solely from today's play, Amkena is a facility-focused, free-to-play, casual user. Exactly the type I hoped for. No need to compete with expensive heroes loaded with stars, and a solid foundation for growth.
Most free-to-play users hit their limit starting from the higher floors of the tower, but that's a problem for later.
[Hwaah! So tiring.]
Isel appeared suddenly, stretching her arms wide.
Jena asked in a half-trembling voice.
"What happens to us now?"
"[What do you mean? Just rest until the Master logs back in. The Training Ground's open, so train there if you want. The dormitory's over there. Go crash wherever.]"
"The others... are they all dead?"
"[Dummy. Can't you tell by looking?]"
Jena's face turned pale.
"Why did you bring us here? What's your purpose!"
"[You're annoying too, just like him. If you want to know, climb the tower.]"
"Was that tower the thing we were climbing earlier?"
I shrugged.
"Answer me, Oppa!"
"I already answered. We're going up."
It seemed the waiting room itself moved up as the main dungeon was cleared. I decided not to bother imagining the bizarre structure. Just accept that's how it works.
Jena clenched her fists and shouted.
"I'm going back!"
"The dorm's that way."
I pointed to the room connected to the main living area. Jena stomped off angrily, slammed the door shut, and went inside.
"I have a question too."
"[What's with the questions from someone who barely cleared Floor 1.]"
"Is time different here compared to Earth?"
"[Stop asking questions! I won't answer!]"
"Seems like it."
If I assume that, the situation makes sense.
Time here, in the waiting room, flows faster than on Earth. I don't know by how much. That's something I'll need to figure out gradually. And at the core of it is the fairy, Isel.
"That tip earlier was good. Keep doing that next time."
"[Th-this! Just a 1-star scrap!]"
Isel just stomped her feet, then vanished as if fleeing.
'Just as I thought.'
The fairy probably can't touch me.
The only cases where she can touch someone are presumed to be self-defense, like with Mormont, or when refusing a Master's command.
Let's figure out these rules one by one.
As I started walking back to the dorm, I noticed my trembling hands.
"..."
Nine people had died. A staggering 9 out of 11.
A slight misstep, and I could have been among them.
'Calm down.'
Fail to adapt, and you're eliminated.
That is the only law of this world.
It took me nearly an hour to finally return to the dorm.
Current situation.
11 summoned, 9 dead, 2 survivors.