Pick Me Up!

When I was sent out to Jinho, it seemed like Anytng had been preparing to tackle beyond the 50th floor.

Upon returning to the waiting room, the squad’s maintenance was nearly complete. The repairs on the damaged airships had been finished perfectly, and the spots left by the heroes who died on the 50th floor had been filled.

Now, even without me, Townia could function to some degree.

It felt somewhat strange when I heard the news that Jenna, Velkist, and the rest of the first party had been promoted to 5-star status.

The promotion level for 5-star is 55.

The first-party members seemed to have gained the necessary experience by repeatedly clearing the 51st floor. Since the 51st floor was purely a monster-only leveling stage, it made sense. I, too, had been able to meet the 5-star promotion requirements by massacring monsters on the 51st floor under Anytng’s orders.

Even after a 5-star promotion, one doesn’t suddenly become drastically stronger.

Only the limits of stats, skills, and engravings increase.

Thus, even after promotion, unless one pushes their abilities to the limit, there’s not much difference from a 4-star.

However, I didn’t gain any notable clues during this 5-star promotion.

The scene that surfaced this time wasn’t of Townia before its downfall, nor was it of Han Istrat, who was supposed to come here in my stead. Instead, it was of me being abandoned by my parents. I thought I’d forgotten it all.

The fact that my past memories emerged during the promotion ceremony suggests that I and that guy are gradually blending.

Although it was a memory that didn’t stir much emotion after all these years, it didn’t feel good. I watched the scene unfold before me indifferently.

[Ta-da!]

[Congratulations, Master!]

[The forgotten memory of a hero awakens.]

[‘Han (★★★★★)’ promotion complete! You’ve reached 5-star status.]

[The illustration is updated.]

[The level and skill cap increases.]

[The hero’s second engraving is unlocked.]

Thus, I succeeded in promoting to 5-star.

The most noteworthy aspect was that my second engraving slot had been unlocked.

After clearing the 50th floor, Goo Goo Con had been pestering me multiple times a day, telling me to hurry up and reach 5-star. Apparently, I needed to at least be 5-star to fully harness the power of the Black Dragon’s Blood.

“Goo, googoo!”

On the 4th floor of the training center, in the private practice room.

Goo Goo Con was pecking at a feed tray.

While furiously pecking at the feed, Goo Goo Con spoke to me.

“Ready for what?”

Peck! Peck, peck!

With sharp pecks, corn kernels flew out of the feed tray.

After finishing its meal, Goo Goo Con spread its wings and looked at me.

‘Ready?’

Come to think of it, this guy had mentioned it before.

The ability I’m using isn’t something a normal human can handle. Goo Goo Con had said that if I wasn’t born with a special constitution, I would have been corrupted a long time ago. Even Velkist had to undergo a special procedure from the Assinis family to wield his power.

Goo Goo Con waddled its fat bottom as it approached me.

Goo Goo Con closed its beak.

‘Is it talking about Ascend?’

No, I shook my head.

Not just Ascend, which boosts output at the cost of damaging my body, but even its derivative, the Soulblade Fusion, was a skill that eroded the body. The Black Dragon’s Blood also increased the contamination level as soon as it activated. As Goo Goo Con said, I was shouldering significant risks every time I fought.

‘I’ve been thinking about it.’

To become stronger under the same conditions, I had to take risks.

High risk, high reward. In Pick Me Up, it was a given, but my risk level had become too extreme. The probability of dying from penalties was higher than being killed by the enemy.

‘Should I reduce the intensity of my skills?’

There was a way.

The power would drop slightly, but the safety would increase exponentially.

I wouldn’t have to use my skills with the mindset of facing death every time.

Goo Goo Con opened its beak.

Sometimes it spoke as if it was reading my thoughts like this.

“Then what should I do?”

“I’m already doing that.”

I’d been working on increasing my body’s durability ever since I acquired Ascend. The only problem was that it wasn’t fast enough to keep up with my power.

“I know I’m not in the best condition. It’ll take at least a month to improve. I’ll have to work on skill combinations while progressing through the 50th floor section…”

I frowned.

It hit right where it hurt.

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