Pick Me Up!

Chapter 195. The Black Seed (3) (1)

The next evening.

I was receiving a status report inside the tent provided by Delphin.

“There is a fortress built by the cult’s army here.”

Adel pointed to a spot on the map spread out on the table.

I squinted my eyes. A square wooden structure stood in a gap blocked by cliffs on both sides.

“As you can see, unless we break through here, we can’t go down to the underground of the floating island where the key is located. According to our reconnaissance, there are 3,000 troops stationed here. The walls are 8 meters high, and there’s even a moat. It’s hard to believe they built this fortress in just a month.”

Adel rubbed his chin with a serious expression.

He was giving me a preliminary briefing for the strategic meeting to be held the next morning.

He was quite a kind person.

If the previous missions focused on defense, it seems we are on the offensive this time.

We need to gather all the keys before the egg hatches.

If that thing wakes up, it will be a real headache.

“I’ve heard that you will be helping us. It will be a great help.”

Adel looked at me with admiration in his eyes.

This man was the second son of the Radasteri family, a branch of the Assinis family, and one of the key staff members of the current expedition.

Radasteri.

That was the surname of Shay, the four-star knight I devoured when I first was summoned here.

I asked if there was a woman named Shay in the family, but Adel shook his head, saying he hadn’t heard of such a name.

“There’s one possibility.”

It seems that memories in Townia are erased or overwritten when one is being summoned as heroes to the waiting room.

Thinking of Shay and Neryssa, who was Pria’s maid, made it clear. Pria didn’t recognize her at all.

‘One four-star and one five-star remain in Townia.’

That meant the man in front of me was a strong four-star candidate in Townia.

He was said to be the most outstanding among the branch family members, except for the main family’s successor.

Of course, the five-star candidate was also easy to guess.

Delphin von Asinia.

I recalled what Adel had said about her.

“The strongest in the Empire.”

Unlike the diluted bloodlines of families like Halkion, Lantia, and Shutenberg, the Assinis household maintained their pure bloodline, making their strength on a different level.

Adel also said that if Delphin had been at the 40th-floor battle, the situation would have been different.

‘That kid is a five-star candidate?’

Well, we’ll find out later.

I continued listening to Adel’s explanation.

Our role was simple.

When the main force attacks the front of the fortress, we will flank it, infiltrate, disrupt their formation, and open the gate. It was a straightforward yet effective strategy.

“Once the fortress is breached, elite troops including Her Highness and our captain will infiltrate the enemy’s stronghold. We would appreciate it if the heroes could then join the main force and clean up the remaining troops.”

“Clean up the remaining troops?”

I continued.

“So, you want us to stay in the fortress?”

“Yes.”

Adel nodded.

“There will be fierce resistance from the enemy underground. We don’t want to burden the heroes with such dangerous roles. We have our pride too, so we will not rely on you for everything.”

I crossed my arms.

The implication was clear. After the fortress assault, we were to step back from the front lines once the underground infiltration began to steal the key.

“That’s a bit problematic.”

If they could retrieve the key on their own, there would be no reason for us to be summoned.

Something was bound to go wrong.

I decided to stay quiet for now.

There was no need to create conflict unnecessarily.

I could step in if things went south later.

At that time, we could do what we needed to, no matter what anyone said.

“I don’t plan to show the same disgrace as before. If our captain is present…”

“Is she that strong?”

“You’ll see.”

Adel looked at me with eyes full of pride.

Well, being called the strongest in the Empire, she must be strong. This guy had seen me fight firsthand, so Delphin’s strength seemed to be comparable to mine.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

There would be a chance to see her skills at least once.

To see what abilities she had, and whether she was fit to join the heroes in the waiting room.

If she met my expectations, I planned to recruit her actively. It was easier to tackle missions with heroes rather than mere NPCs.

“By the way, where are your companions? I heard they’re not outside the tent, and they’re not here either.”

“They returned to their original place. They’ll come back when the assault begins, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Their original place… Do you mean the other dimension?”

“Something like that.”

Adel fell silent with a stiff face.

He must know that we were unusual beings.

Appearing and disappearing suddenly, different every time they saw us.

‘They went back to their original place.’

It wasn’t a tale. It was the truth.

When the first party entered their dedicated tent, the mission status was updated. The time ratio between the mission and the waiting room was fixed at 1 to 1, allowing heroes to move freely in and out.

So I stayed to convey the situation, and the rest of the members returned to the waiting room for the basic briefing and combat preparations. Anytng even turned off the game completely.

The party members were probably talking with Edis.

Other parties would also participate in the fortress assault. Edis’ first assault team was scheduled to support the main force in the large-scale battle.

I looked at the corner of the tent.

Adel didn’t seem to see it, but a blue light emanated from the oval-shaped portal.

It led back to the waiting room.

“Strange mission indeed.”

The missions in Pick Me Up were usually simple, like hunting, survival, and offense or defense. There were rarely such complex missions.

From the beginning, this account was strange.

Survival did appear on the 5th floor, corpses revived on the 10th floor, immune monsters emerged on the 20th floor, and suspicious stages like sea hunting appeared on the 35th floor. Even compared to Niflheimr, it was abnormal.

“……”

I shook my head.

Even I couldn’t interfere with the mission format.

If there were no options other than completing the mission, unnecessary thoughts were pointless.

“All the officers of the expedition will attend the meeting tomorrow morning. We’ve prepared seats for the heroes as well, so please feel free to share your opinions.”

Adel finished speaking and left the tent.

I put my feet up on the table with the map of the floating island spread out.

“Hmm.”

I probably won’t have a chance to voice my opinion at tomorrow’s meeting.

Whether we were benefactors or not, we were outsiders from a suspicious place.

Delphin invited me to the meeting out of courtesy, but that was likely the extent of her consideration.

If they gave us preferential treatment, it would surely cause discontent among the officers.

For the morale and operation of the unit, we would follow the plans they set.

“Pria is in the same boat.”

She was in a similar position.

Deprived of her status and pushed out by the Empire.

Respected as a member of the royal family, but without any real authority. She didn’t even have a seat at tomorrow’s meeting, making her more of a figurehead.

Well, I had no complaints.

We wouldn’t stay here long anyway.

It was just a temporary alliance.

Once the task was done, we would part ways, and if useful, we could re-establish the relationship.

I closed the entrance of the tent and returned to the table.

There was something to do before morning.

“Where will the variable come from?”

Whether the problem would arise during the fortress assault or during the infiltration.

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!