Pick Me Up!

And that evening,

Anytng logged in.

[Party 1, gather in the 1st-floor plaza!]

Iselle’s voice echoed.

I closed the documents and got up from my seat. I had gathered all the information I needed. Now, only the real action remained. I picked up the sword and shield placed on one side of the wall and left the room. Jenna and Eolka were walking towards me from the other end of the corridor. I joined them.

[Party 2, also gather! Oh, and Party 3 too! From now on, all those called will gather on the 1st floor. Han, Jenna, Eolka, Velkist…]

The list of participants was being called.

We went down to the 1st-floor plaza. There were already more than 10 heroes in front of the Rift. Velkist and Neryssa, who spotted me, approached. I smiled lightly and said,

“Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

Their answers were resolute.

It didn’t seem much different from usual. Jenna and Eolka were the same. They had experienced the boss stage several times, so they were a bit nervous but not enough to affect the actual battle.

“As for the other parties…”

Up to Party 2 is within the allowed range.

However, Party 3 was looking at Iselle with unease.

“Don’t be nervous. If you keep your wits about you, you’ll survive. If you’re lucky, you might not even have to participate.”

Edis patted a girl’s shoulder.

She was a member of Party 3, a Scout. The girl nodded slightly.

A total of 15 people gathered on the 1st floor.

I drew a dagger from the sheath on my belt. The blade of the dagger had a bluish liquid on it. It was the poison Neryssa had made.

“This time, we might be going up against a boss battle.”

“A boss battle?”

“Yeah. It’s a bit different from the missions we’ve done. We can break it by defeating just one guy.”

The problem would be that one guy, though.

I swallowed my words.

“Anyway, we don’t know what kind of enemy will appear. Stay sharp.”

All four nodded.

It’s expected that dragons will appear. But this one is a unique monster. The probability of it being different from the ordinary dragons is high. We couldn’t predict it casually.

Edis was also talking to her party members.

I had already given them the information I had. They would handle it on their own.

[Is everyone here?]

Iselle looked around at the members of the three parties and put her hands on her hips.

[I’m going to start distributing consumables. Once the distribution is done, we’ll depart immediately. Stay focused. Listen to what Han says!]

“She’s quite tamed. Did you give some honey to that fairy?”

Velkist looked at me and Iselle and teased.

I didn’t respond and just smiled.

‘Iselle, If I get back, you’re in for a lot of honey.’

The potion distribution also went smoothly.

Party 1 received two potions per person, and the other parties received one per person.

‘It’s starting.’

At the top of my field of vision, Anytng’s control panel moved.

When the Expedition tab was clicked, the stage window appeared. As Anytng touched the 20th floor, a warning message appeared.

[※ Caution!]

[This mission requires three parties, a major mission. If you don’t have enough party members, use paid or free summoning to replenish your heroes!]

[Parties can be divided into the Vanguard and Rearguard. Depending on the Master’s choice, the process will be different, so choose carefully!]

[Tips/ The Rearguard can go into action when the Vanguard meets certain conditions or after a certain amount of time has passed.]

As expected, the 20th floor was a major mission requiring three parties.

But the separation into Vanguard and Rearguard was unexpected. I briefly recalled the types of missions with such conditions. It gave me a bit of a headache.

“You selected ‘Party 1’ as the Vanguard. Do you agree?”

[Yes (Select) / No]

[Open, The Rift of Time and Space!]

Clunk.

The large gate in front of the plaza opened wide.

The left mirror was faintly flickering. After taking a deep breath, Iselle stopped Edis from entering first.

“Stop! Don’t go in, you guys. This time, Party 1 will be the first to go.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We’re going ahead. If you wait, the Master will open the door for you. Just follow us when that happens.”

Clunk.

I firmly secured the sheath on my belt and headed towards the Rift.

The four followed behind me. As I passed Edis, I whispered,

“This time, the Rearguard might be more important. Please keep that in mind.”

“…I got it.”

Edis briefly wore a dissatisfied expression, but soon her expression relaxed, and she stepped back.

“We’ll wait here until the Master calls. Alright?”

“Yeah.”

“I wanted to fight together.”

“It won’t be long before that happens.”

I said as I entered the Rift.

“Tsk!”

As Jenna put her foot down for the last time, the door closed with a heavy sound.

Preparations were complete.

The four of them had perfectly carried out my instructions.

Velkist had raised his overall combat abilities, including his weapon skills, to the next level. Jenna had learned the long bow skill that enhanced the destructiveness of her arrows. Getting a third weapon was a bonus. Behind Jenna, in addition to the short bow, a large bow was hanging.

Eloka also learned the multi-casting skill late.

Eloka wasn’t sure if she had reached the 4th level, but she assured me that it would be different from what we had experienced so far. Moreover, through concentrated sparring, she had thoroughly learned personal survival skills. Even if we didn’t protect her, she would be able to hold out against the enemy to some extent.

“Why is it so quiet? Oppa, don’t you have anything to say? Like, do it this way or that way.”

“Just do as we’ve been doing.”

“Ahh, boring.”

I laughed at Jenna’s complaining tone.

Unlike the 15th floor, there was no separate briefing here. We would find out what mission we would face once we entered. We just needed to follow orders depending on the situation. The light from the left mirror became stronger.

[Main Dungeon, current challenge floor is 20.]

“The door will open in 10 seconds. Get ready!”

[Mission recording is in progress. Play records will be preserved.]

Swish.

I drew my sword from the sheath.

And I spoke in a lowered voice.

“As I said before, just do as we’ve been doing. Don’t panic, and we’ll be fine.”

“Of course.”

Neryssa smiled.

When the light scattered, we were on the 20th floor stage.

“The final floor of the labyrinth.”

I scanned the area.

The large halls that were at the entrances from the 16th to the 19th floors had completely disappeared, leaving only long and tall corridors ahead.

“We’ve arrived.”

Neryssa fastened her rapier at her waist.

Her gaze was fixed on the corridor’s walls. I followed her gaze. Dozens of paintings were lined up on the walls of the corridor. In each ornate frame, men and women dressed in splendid clothes were prominent.

“These paintings look incredibly expensive.”

“They’re portraits of the past lords and ladies.”

Neryssa replied to Jenna.

Jenna looked surprised at first, but then she nodded. 

I said concisely,

“We didn’t come here to sightsee. Let’s go.”

The preparations for the large-scale encounter were complete.

I stood at the front. With every step, my feet touched luxurious carpets.

“Ugh, uck!”

In the corners of the corridor, people lay moaning.

They differed in gender, clothing, and age, but they all had one commonality: they were all spitting out black blood.

I had seen similar guys among the soldiers.

Their blood was murky reddish-black, similar to ordinary blood at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you could tell. I didn’t bother to tell the members about this fact. Focusing on unnecessary things would reduce their concentration.

The seemingly endless corridor finally came to an end.

I stood in front of a giant door and said,

“Once we enter this door, the mission begins.”

The eyes of the four focused on me.

“Eloka, prepare your magic as soon as you enter. Jenna, load your arrows on the longbow. Velkist and Neryssa, stay with me and act according to the situation.”

“Alright!”

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

Bang!

I pushed the door with all my strength.

A part of the door sunk in, and splinters of wood flew.

“Let’s go.”

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