Pick Me Up!

Clang.

The iron gate on the right side of the plaza opened. It was a place that hadn’t opened even once since I arrived in Rame.

It was the summoning hall.

[※ You currently have 2 ‘Advanced Summoning Tickets.’]

[You can summon ‘twice’ for free. Further summons will require 500 gems.]

[Tips/ Special opportunity for new Masters! Don’t forget the newbie package!]

A white light started to pour out from the open door of the summoning hall.

Kardia’s eyes sparkled as she traced a heart shape with her hands.

“The Master is really bringing new companions, Nico!”

[Master, initiating advanced summoning. Let’s see which hero appears!]

[Click, whirl.]

[Boom!]

[Rare!]

[Master ‘wlsghWkd’ has acquired the hero ‘Leon (★★★)!’]

[Rare!]

[Master ‘wlsghWkd’ has acquired the hero ‘Veda (★★★)!’]

Beyond the light of the summoning hall, two shadows emerged.

Two paid summons using tickets. Judging from Jin-ho’s control screen, it seemed he had no intention of summoning any further.

There are always players like this. Some don’t bother summoning low-tier heroes, claiming they’re useless. But compared to earlier when he was completely disengaged, this was a huge improvement.

“Next.”

“Understood, Nico!”

Kardia responded energetically, striking another pose.

“From my heart to your heart! Nico Nico Ni! Sending you smiles…!”

She seemed excited, shouting lines I hadn’t even taught her.

>[Master, the hero ‘Kardia (★★★★)’ requests the ‘Training Hall’ facility!]

“Love Nico!”

[Constructing facility. Please select the type of facility you wish to build.]

[※ New Master Event! – The first facility construction will not cost gems.]

[You have selected ‘Training Hall.’ Would you like to proceed with construction?]

[Yes (Selected) / No]

Rumble.

With a strange noise, the gate on the south side of the plaza opened this time.

It was the training hall.

“This is incredible… Is this some kind of magic spell, Nico?”

“Not exactly.”

The cosplay was more effective than I’d imagined.

Jinho quickly accepted Kardia’s suggestion without hesitation, from summoning heroes to building the training hall. I scratched the back of my head.

Though it worked, this was only a temporary fix.

No matter how much attention the cosplay and show might attract if Jinho didn’t truly get interested in the game, it would all be for nothing.

Of course, that’s a matter of personal preference, so there’s nothing I could do about it.

For now, I decided to use Kardia as a guide to provide the basic game instructions.

The time frame that Anytng gave me for this dispatch was about a week.

Not much time left.

‘To the 5th floor, at least.’

I had to make sure Jinho experienced the boss stage, which was central to Pick Me Up.

After that, I’d just have to watch.

‘If that doesn’t work, I may have to resort to threats.’

However, threats ran the risk of exposing my true identity.

That would have to be a last resort. I nodded and looked to the right. The two newly summoned heroes were walking into the plaza.

One was a mage.

Wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a black robe, and holding a crooked wooden staff, their attire clearly advertised their profession.

The other was a warrior.

Dressed in leather armor, they carried a wooden shield on their back and had a long sword strapped to their waist.

“Nico!”

Kardia smiled brightly and drew a heart with her hands.

[Forming a party.]

[Drag and drop the heroes!]

[‘Veda (★★★)’ has joined ‘Party 1’!]

Jinho placed the mage into Party 1, where Kardia was already assigned. But that was it. The party menu closed, and the main screen reappeared.

The sky above turned a hazy shade.

‘He minimized the screen.’

He was doing something else now.

I could now guess whether or not he was playing the game.

When the screen is turned off, the color changes.

In Party 1, the mage joined Kardia, but Jinho didn’t touch the warrior at all and left the game idle.

I could guess why.

‘Is this guy serious?’

The mage, meeting my gaze, bowed slightly.

“Pardon me, but could you tell me where this is?”

A soft voice.

The woman, who had pressed down on her hat, smiled with her eyes as she looked at me.

“And who are you? Where is this place?”

The boy, with a rough demeanor despite his young face, spat on the ground as he glanced between me and Kardia.

Though he looked youthful, his wild aura ruined his overall impression.

He reached for his sword’s hilt.

“Did you bring me here?”

“Hello!”

Kardia bent at a 90-degree angle to greet them.

“My name is Kardia! I look forward to working with you as a companion in battle.”

“Companion? What nonsense is that?”

“Uh, well…”

Kardia looked at me and gave a bashful smile.

Sigh, how bothersome.

I stepped forward.

It took half a day to explain the situation to the two of them.

There was no need to mention things like world destruction or goddesses. They wouldn’t believe it anyway.

The core message was simple.

If they wanted to return home, they had to fight monsters and survive.

The survival instinct is the strongest motivator of all.

Making them believe it wasn’t hard either.

While Jinho was away, I took the two of them through a lower-floor trial.

Though the place hadn’t fully unlocked autonomous actions yet, I secretly bypassed that restriction using Bifrost’s power.

After a few rounds of explanation…

“I understand. To some extent.”

That night, at the training hall.

The female mage placed her wide-brimmed hat on the floor.

Her name was Veda. Her specialty was manipulation and telekinesis.

According to Kardia, the sight of goblins swinging swords at each other was quite a spectacle.

“You’ll learn more as you climb the tower.”

“Indeed.”

“Interesting.”

Veda smiled softly.

She was quick to grasp the situation.

Even in her first real battle, she didn’t panic.

‘She’s on a whole different level.’

Forget top-tier heroes.

I used to challenge the boss stages with just one-star heroes.

If I had someone like her when I attempted the 5th floor in Townia, the difficulty would have dropped exponentially.

“It’s infuriating. Is the so-called master controlling me?”

The three-star warrior, Leon, frowned as he fiddled with his sword hilt.

Unlike Veda, Leon had been harder to convince. He had rebelled, shouting that this was all nonsense, and had even drawn his sword at me. But I had quickly made him quiet down.

“Filthy monster.”

I can hear you.

‘We just need to clear the 5th floor.’

Once we got past the boss stage, I’d be able to gauge Jinho’s attitude.

By then, my dispatch period would almost be over.

As a member of Townia, I wasn’t supposed to intervene directly in this place.

These three would have to clear the 5th floor themselves. Jinho didn’t seem interested in summoning any more heroes.

Even if the party was short-staffed, with one four-star hero and two three-star heroes, including a rare class like a mage, we had more than enough to clear the stage.

The party combination was perfect. The warrior would take the front line, the mage would handle firepower, and the magic swordsman would fill in the gaps. With a bit of basic teamwork, I could train them well enough.

‘The problem is…’

I recalled Jinho’s gameplay.

He summoned two heroes but only placed one in Party 1 and favored the female while leaving the other untouched.

Veda and Leon.

The mage and the warrior.

A woman and a man, respectively.

‘…’

Some Masters insist on playing inefficiently for absurd reasons.

Jinho was one of the worst.

‘A guy who only uses female heroes.’

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