Pick Me Up!

[‘Gael(★)’ returns to the embrace of the goddess. Her determination will be remembered forever.]

“Oh, brother…”

“What about the other two goblings?”

“I took care of one!”

On one side of the meadow, a goblin with an arrow stuck in the back of its head lay sprawled.

“But the others…”

“We’ll think about that later! His coming our way! Come over here!”

A wild goblin ran towards Jenna. Jenna ran towards me with a scream. I rushed towards the goblin, shielding myself, and collided head-on.

“Clang!”

In an instant, everything turned red.

Blood gushed from my deeply wounded right arm. I dropped the iron sword in my right hand.

[‘Han(★)’ starts bleeding. Stamina decreases periodically.]

I struck the goblin with the shield.

“Kuaaak!”

“This damn bastard!”

I struck the fallen goblin’s face with the edge of the shield. Broken teeth and blood splattered. I struck again. And again. And again. And again!

The goblin, who had been shaking its limbs, finally dropped its head dead.

Only then did I sigh.

“Brother, your arm…”

“It will come back.”

I had already confirmed it during the tutorial.

But it hurts damn badly. Blood spurted like a spring from the long, torn wound on my right arm. I felt a bit dizzy, perhaps due to anemia.

[Stage cleared!]

[‘Jenna(★)’ leveled up!]

[Rewards – 2,000G, Iron Ore (C) x 2, Copper (C) x 1, Leather (C) x 1]

[MVP – ‘Han(★)’]

Light enveloped my entire body.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. We were back in the circular room with the elongated mirrors and then walked out through the rift in space and time.

[Three of them died? Tsk tsk, that’s why they’re only one-star.]

Iselle glanced at me and Jenna with a disdainful look.

I checked my right arm. There wasn’t a scratch to be found. The pain lingered, but even that gradually disappeared.

As expected. Even if it’s right before death, returning to the waiting room restores everything. The same applied in the game.

[Let’s return to the plaza. The doors are going to close soon.]

Iselle pointed towards the open door. I walked steadily towards it, with Jenna following closely behind, looking anxious.

The door closed.

[Congratulations on clearing the 1st floor!]

[We’re going up to the 2nd floor.]

Creak. Krrrr.

A strange mechanical sound echoed, and the floor of the plaza shook.

“What’s happening?!”

[We’re going up.]

“Where to?”

[The 2nd floor.]

After a while, the vibration stopped.

Now, what’s going to happen?

Break through the 2nd floor? No chance. He had seen the battle. He knows there was no chance to break to the third floor.

[Master, do you want to strengthen your power?]

[Tips: Heroes that come from Advanced Summoning are stronger than regular heroes.]

[Tips: You can build facilities like Training Grounds to train your heroes.]

In this game, free-to-play users have two choices.

Either do a paid summon or build facilities. In the early stages of the game, there was a debate between the “Hero Summoning” party, which used gems for summoning, and the “Infrastructure Construction” party, which used gems for building facilities. But after I personally compared and proved their efficiency in the forum, the dispute ended.

[Construct a facility. Please select the type of facility you want.]

[You have selected “Training Grounds.” Do you want to build it? It will cost 500 gems.]

[Yes / No]

That’s right.

He hasn’t completely ignored the game guide. The door to the locked Training Grounds had been opened.

[The Training Grounds have been completed. The heroes will now train themselves. Keep in mind that by enhancing the Training Grounds with gems, gold, and blueprints, you can enjoy a broader and more powerful effect.]

[Tips: Continuous battles make heroes tired. They need proper rest to perform at their maximum potential.]

Useful tips continued…

“Master, do you want to end your session?”

[Yes (selected) / No]

“Goodbye, then!”

Is this where it ends?

Based on today’s gameplay, Anytng is a light free-to-play user with a focus on facilities. It was the type I had hoped for. There was no need to compete with expensive heroes plastered with stars, and there was a solid foundation for growth.

Most free-to-play users usually hit their limits after reaching the top floors, but that’s a later issue.

[Whew! I’m exhausted.]

Iselle, who suddenly appeared, stretched her arms wide.

Jenna asked in a trembling voice, “What’s going to happen to us now?”

[Whatever. Just rest until the master logs in. Since the Training Grounds are open now, you can train there if you want. The dormitory is over there. Go ahead and scatter as you please.]

“What about the others… Are they all dead?”

[You’re so clueless. Can’t you see for yourself?]

Jenna’s complexion turned pale.

“Why did you summon us? What’s the purpose?”

[You’re as annoying as he is. If you want to know, climb the tower.]

“Was the tower you mentioned earlier the one we just climbed?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

[I already answered. We climb.]

I also wanted to know the answer. It seemed that as we cleared the main dungeon, the waiting room also ascended. I couldn’t imagine what kind of strange structure it was, so I decided not to think too much about it. I’ll just accept it as the way things are.

Jenna clenched her fist and shouted angrily, “I’m going to rest!”

“The dormitory is over there.”

I pointed to the room connected to our home. Jenna bravely headed there and slammed the door shut as she entered.

“I have a question too.”

[Why ask when you’ve only cleared the 1st floor?]

“Is time here different from Earth?”

[Don’t ask questions! I won’t answer!]

“It seems like it.”

If we assume that, the situation makes sense.

Here, time in the waiting room flows faster than on Earth. I don’t know the exact rate. That’s something I’ll have to find out gradually. And at the core of it all is the fairy, Iselle.

“The tips you gave him were helpful. Do the same next time.”

[H-Hmph! You’re just a worthless 1-star scrap.]

Iselle grumbled and vanished, stomping her feet.

“Just as I thought.”

The fairy can’t touch me even if she doesn’t like me.

She can only touch me when it’s a case of legitimate defense or when I disobey the master’s command, I suppose.

Let’s learn these rules one by one.

As I started walking towards the dormitory, I noticed my trembling hand.

“…”

Nine of them died. Out of eleven, a whopping nine.

If I had made a mistake, I could have been among them.

“Calm down.”

If you can’t adapt, you’ll be left behind.

That’s the only law in this world.

It took me nearly an hour to return to the dormitory.

The current situation: 11 summoned, 9 dead, 2 survivors.