King, she called me.
What a ridiculous thing to say.
"Even now, the Heroes of Niflheim are desperately searching for you. They know you fell into this place, too."
The girl continued.
"Think about it. What kind of Hero in the world would frantically search all of space-time for months just because their Master disappeared? Would you do that? Would Heroes from other Waiting Rooms?"
The fairy put its hands on its hips and shook its head back and forth. Meaning, no.
"Your playstyle is very unique. Sophisticated, even. I never expected it either. That a Master who barely uses Synthesis would appear."
Not using Synthesis?
I didn't avoid it entirely. I used it when necessary.
But just as she said, it's true that I operated the Waiting Room by minimizing Synthesis, something other Masters might do several times a day. Before I was summoned here, my last Synthesis was probably three months ago.
"Your other management practices were similar. Before you became known, almost all Masters in Pick Me Up treated their Heroes like toys. Used them, got bored, and discarded them. Threw them away like consumables."
The girl spoke clearly, her tone filled with conviction.
"Weren't you aware that the Heroes here are actually human? Otherwise, that approach wouldn't be possible. That's my conclusion."
I did think it was a special game.
The Heroes within were so realistic it was hard to believe they were just game characters created by programming. Each reacted differently to commands and performed tasks in their own ways.
But while it was hard to believe, I never actually thought they were human.
'It was simply more efficient.'
The average Master controls Heroes through Synthesis.
If they disobey or are deemed worthless, they're disposed of without hesitation, and the Waiting Room is managed through fear of this consequence. Even if low-grade Heroes showed potential, they mostly ended up as fodder for higher-ranked ones.
I was different.
I never got a native 5-star Hero. I only had one 4-star.
People said it was a failed account, advising me to quit.
But I didn't quit.
I'm used to absurdity. In that case, you just find a way forward. That changed my perspective. I had to build my Waiting Room and clear everything with 3-star Heroes or lower.
If they showed potential, regardless of rank, I didn't discard them.
A Hero useless at first might become different later.
Running the Waiting Room solely through fear guarantees eventual collapse.
Through investigation, I found several ways to manage Heroes within Pick Me Up besides Synthesis, depending on playstyle. I analyzed, understood, and utilized them appropriately.
Rewards for proving value.
Punishment for worthlessness.
If any went beyond useless and became actively detrimental, they were utilized as 'discard pieces.'
Diora's party, whom I sent out as the advance team in the Advent Dungeon, was a result of this. Their tendencies were bad for long-term use, causing harm to nearby Heroes.
I only used Synthesis when unavoidable.
Niflheim was built that way.
The main party of five, called the strongest among all 6-stars across every server.
Among them were Heroes who started as 1-stars.
Since I rarely used Synthesis, the Waiting Room's population naturally grew.
Consequently, Niflheim grew to a scale comparable to a kingdom.
However, to misunderstand the results of my analysis—which was purely about game efficiency—as me 'knowing the truth'... nothing could be more foolish.
"So, you found me interesting, is that it?"
"Indeed. I really wanted to talk to you just once. It's a pity it couldn't happen on Earth."
"I find it regrettable too. If we had met on Earth, I would have buried you right then and there."
The girl blinked.
I smirked and opened my mouth.
"You've earned my resentment. Whatever else happens, I don't think I'll ever forget this. Because it was so damn infuriating."
"Is that so?"
"Taonier, Niflheim, neither story has anything to do with me. I'm an Earthling. Don't force your circumstances onto others."
"Huhu, nothing to do with you? If the Heroes of Niflheim heard that, they'd be quite disappointed in you, don't you think?"
"Let them be disappointed."
I couldn't fathom this girl's objective.
If she purely wanted the tower climbed, she didn't need to bring me here. The Niflheim team was steadily progressing. They had passed floor 85, reached 88, and suffered almost no casualties during their ascent. The dreaded 90th floor, the wall where the Rank 1 player was stuck, was within sight.
Yet, amidst all that, she dragged me here.
Besides that, her reasons for interfering on the 10th floor, or bringing me here just to tell me unnecessary secrets... I had too little information to predict anything.
However, if there was one thing I could understand, it was that this bitch didn't care at all what happened to others as long as it served her own ends.
Keeping only that fact in mind would allow for efficient decision-making.
"I won't cooperate with you or anything like it. If there's one thing I want, it's for you to get out of my sight right now. Before my patience runs out."
"And yet, you could be the hero who saves this Mobius."
The girl smiled.
"Well, it doesn't matter. The one thing I ask of you is this: climb safely to where I am. For that purpose, I will gladly endure insults like this."
"Was the Black Priest appearing on the 10th floor your doing?"
"What if it was?"
I gritted my teeth.
"Don't get too worked up. I won't interfere from the 15th floor onwards. Taonier will welcome you thrillingly enough without my involvement. It has the same S-rank difficulty as Niflheim, you know."
"..."
"No matter how good you are, I'd estimate the probability of a Master quitting at over 90 percent. Well, things might be different with my help, I suppose."
The girl rose from the chair. The black leather seat instantly turned to ash and vanished.
"This much I will swear on my name. If you achieve the feat of climbing the Tower to the very end, I will return you to where you originally were. And one more thing. I will transfer half of my shares in Mobius to you. You will become a major shareholder in one of the world's leading corporations."
A major shareholder of Mobius, huh.
'I don't believe it.'
Neither the promise of return nor the reward.
As I climbed the tower, information I didn't know would likely be revealed.
I will return through my own strength. I won't rely on trash like her.
"Anyway, do we have a deal?" the girl asked with a sly expression.
"Just don't appear before me."
"You really seem to dislike me. Why?"
"Did you ask why?"
"Inde—"
I pulled out my second dagger and threw it at the girl's forehead.
The dagger pierced her skull, sinking deep up to the hilt.
"That's my answer."
"Hehehe..."
The dagger slid out of her forehead. The wound healed as if time were reversing.
"Yes, without this much fighting spirit, one cannot climb the tower. I forgive your rudeness, I forgive it!"
A door made of marble materialized from the darkness beyond.
The door opened. Beyond it, multicolored light swirled chaotically.
I slowly walked towards the door.
"I shall show you, as you begin your climb. The true prologue of Pick Me Up, prepared just for you!"
The girl's body dispersed into shadow.
Rumble rumble.
A faint tremor ran through the entire field.
A message appeared along with narration.
[Taonier, a land where humans and other races live together.]
The scene changed.
A setting sun. In a golden wheat field, women are harvesting.
It changes again.
A village. Children run around, bursting with laughter.
The scenery shifted continuously like a panorama.
Scenes of a peaceful human world.
Among them was the city called Nelsa, which I had seen during a mission.
I kept walking through the constantly changing landscape.
[Into the continent where peace and prosperity continued, an unidentified enemy invaded!]
The location shifted.
A burning castle and the field before it.
Soldiers and monsters clash.
However, the superiority is clear.
Humans were being unilaterally massacred to the point it could hardly be called a battle.
Every battle and fight, whether in castles, villages, fields, forests, or deserts, ended in defeat.
I walked through the battlefields filled with blood and screams.
[Ultimately, the continent is caught in the power of darkness and torn asunder.]
A barren land I'd seen somewhere before appeared in the field.
From within it, mad laughter echoed.
"Do you know why Pick Me Up's difficulty is so high?!"
"Because you must reverse battles that ended in defeat!"
"Turn back fate, Loki!"
[However, hope still remained.]
I narrowed my eyes.
In some unknown forest, a girl with red hair and tanned skin was tending to her bow.
I knew who she was. That girl's name was Jena Shirai.
The screen changes.
An unfamiliar city. Aaron, carrying a pack on his back, haggles over prices with a middle-aged man. Beside him, a young girl holds Aaron's hand.
It changes again.
Shea could be seen in a training yard, sweating with fellow knights, sword in hand.
[Thou, Master! If you seek to save the world, climb the Tower!]
After that.
The daily lives of countless Heroes—those already summoned, and those yet to be—unfolded.
In the faded landscapes, their bodies shone.
[Countless Heroes will be with you.]
Finally, I saw myself, on the other side of a screen, operating a mobile phone.
'Damn it...'
[Master, believe in the bond with your Heroes. The future of the world rests in the Master's hands!]
"It rests! It rests indeed! The future of the world rests in your hands and the Master's!"
[Countless enemies block your path!]
The scenery transformed.
Hundreds of diverse monsters stared at me from beyond a transparent wall.
I took a deep breath and started walking again.
[Powerful foes hidden in various hidden realms!]
In the deep sea.
Beyond the sea of clouds.
Vast deserts.
Huge, terrifying beasts lay coiled.
Though shrouded in mist prevented clear sight, it was unmistakable that they were utterly ferocious.
"Can you truly reach the top of this tower, where no one has ever climbed before?"
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The monsters roared in unison. The immense sound waves shook the very ground beneath my feet.
I glanced back briefly, then continued towards the door.
The kaleidoscope of changing landscapes faded away.
Somehow, I had returned to the Space-Time Rift, the passage I had entered through.
Right before me was the exit door.
I took a step through it with my left foot.
Looking back, a shadow writhed within the mirror in the center of the room.
"Climb the tower, Loki. I, no, 'we'."
Red eyes gleamed within the shadow.
"We will be waiting for you."
Just before entering the door fully, I gave my answer.
"Fuck off."
[Ta-da!]
[Congratulations, Master!]
[The Hero's forgotten memories awaken.]
[Han(★★), Promotion Complete! Has become 2-Star.]
[Illustration updated.]
[Level and Skill limits increased.]
Blinding light enveloped my body.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing on the red magic circle.
'Is it over?'
I look up at the sky. Flowing lights shimmered.
From outside the screen, Amkena was looking down at me.
As I left the Synthesis Lab, the doors closed sequentially behind me.
Just then, I spotted Aaron returning to the lodgings from the training center.
Our eyes met, and he approached with a pleased expression.
"Ah, Boss. You're back?"
"Anything unusual happen?"
"Same as always. Still the same."
His expression showed none of the melancholy from the previous dawn.
'He was thinking about his reason for fighting.'
Your reason for fighting.
The reason you have to risk your life battling enemies after being dragged here.
"By the way, what were you doing in there alone, Boss?"
"It's called Promotion. You'll be doing it soon too."
I chatted idly with Aaron as we walked back to the lodgings.
'Was her name Nina?'
Aaron's younger sister's name. The one holding his hand in the vision I saw. He'd said he was fighting to return for her sake.
There was no need to say anything.
For now, I decided to keep it buried deep inside.
'The goal hasn't changed.'
Climb the tower.
Return to Earth.
The only difference was that I felt much filthier now than before.
'I won't forget.'
Whoever you are, whatever your name is.
This debt will be repaid.
Just as I was about to close the door to the lodgings.
A message suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
[Welcome to the world of Pick Me Up!]