Pick Me Up!

Chapter 241: Stop Playing So Much (2) (1)

Early morning after Anytng logged off.

After finishing my personal training, I called for Iselle.

“What’s up, Loki?”

Iselle, dressed in loose pajamas, rubbed her eyes and floated over to me.

It seemed like she had just woken up from a deep sleep. I felt bad for waking her, but I had something urgent to ask.

I cleared my throat and quickly explained the situation.

“Aha.”

Iselle nodded.

“So, the Master made a friend? And that friend is close to him on Earth. But soon after that friend started the game, they want to send you as a helper?”

The Pick Me Up system is quite complex, and even veteran players can get confused. One of the confusing parts is the community system. Masters below level 20 can’t use the community system. In other words, even if Anytng wanted to send me to Jinho-Jang’s waiting room, it would be impossible because the ‘Dimensional Rift’ hadn’t opened yet.

Unless Jinho cleared the missions up to the 20th floor, Anytng couldn’t help him.

But lo and behold, here I was, receiving orders to be dispatched along with the Lusette ship.

This meant the command went through.

“There should’ve been a message saying it’s not possible. Could this be a bug? So, I wanted you to check…”

“Oh, that’s not a bug.”

“What?”

Iselle drew a large circle with her right hand.

Stardust fluttered, and a holographic window popped up in the middle.

[An update by newbies, for newbies, and about newbies!]

[1. Huh? Giving up already?]

[Two premium summoning tickets are awarded ‘immediately’ to new Masters who complete the tutorial. Here’s your chance to get a 5-star hero for free! Start the game now; it’s the perfect time!]

[2. Go to your friends!]

[Is your newbie friend struggling with the tough difficulty? Was it hard to watch? No worries! NO NO NO! As long as you’re friends, even Masters below level 20 can use the ‘Dimensional Rift’ feature, albeit with limitations!]

[3. Invite friends and get rewards Pak Pak Pak!]

[This event is for existing users…]

I slowly read through the notice.

The problem was with point number 2, the “Go to your friends” section.

“So if you’re friends… even below the 20th floor, you can send a dispatch?”

I looked at Iselle quietly.

“When was this patched?”

“Right after Loki reached the 50th floor.”

Iselle cleared her throat a couple of times before continuing.

“There was an emergency at the company. Apparently, a game that copied Pick Me Up’s concept has been climbing the app store rankings. They’re sucking up all the new users. So, to attract new customers…”

“They changed the system.”

“Exactly.”

I held my forehead.

I never expected to be blindsided like this.

The Dimensional Rift had been part of the system since the game’s release.

I never imagined it would change overnight.

“Well, it’s a game, after all.”

This place was both a reality and a game.

Rules could change anytime due to patches.

I seem to have forgotten that for a moment.

“So, this dispatch isn’t a bug either.”

“Soon, you’ll be sent to the friend’s waiting room.”

I frowned.

I thought I’d finally have some personal time.

“But it’s just a dispatch. Think of it as a vacation and take it easy while you’re there. You don’t plan on staying there, right…?”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Phew.”

Iselle let out a sigh of relief as if she was glad to hear that.

Then, with a cheerful voice, she winked at me and said, “I don’t care if that Master’s waiting room gets ruined or not, so go ahead and cause as much chaos as you want! Loki, good luck!”

With that, Iselle waved her right hand at me and spun around before disappearing.

…So I’m supposed to help, huh.

“This is ridiculous.”

I sighed deeply.

I didn’t know what Anytng was thinking; the reason I had helped the Master so far was for my own benefit.

The stronger the Townia, the more it directly impacted my survival.

But this has nothing to do with my survival.

Even if Jinho-Jang quits, it wouldn’t affect me.

This time, there was no benefit to me; it was purely volunteer work.

“I guess I’ll just kill some time and come back.”

Anytng probably doesn’t expect much from me either.

There wouldn’t be much I could do once I got there.

Clear the missions? That’s impossible since I belong to a different faction. I might be able to redo a floor they’ve already cleared, but I can’t climb the tower in their place.

At best, I could offer a few suggestions.

And even that would require Iselle’s help, and the Master would have to accept them.

Townia is unique; ordinary heroes have very little to do.

The scheduled departure time for the dispatch was early morning.

The distance between Anytng, who is in the 50s, and Jinho-Jang, who hasn’t even reached the 10th floor, must be quite far.

It seemed like it would be a tiring journey.

Even if I returned to the dormitory now, I wouldn’t get more than three hours of sleep.

It would be better to sleep on the way there.

“Sigh, this is so annoying.”

I closed the door to my personal training room.

And so, morning came.

…

Without even getting to say goodbye to my team members, I boarded an express airship.

After some time had passed,

[003117 Dimension – Ram]

I arrived at a place presumed to be Jinho-Jang’s dimension.

The name of the dimension was Ram.

A tower of unimaginable height stood above a vast, blue sea.

Woooom.

The Lusette ship I was on slid into the swirling vortex of the dimension near the corner of the tower.

There was no dock here, so I would have to jump directly into the vortex. The waiting room facilities were sparse, so it was to be expected. It was a hassle, but there was no other choice.

Well, if I just kill time here, Anytng will probably realize it’s pointless and send me back.

At that moment, the airship flew right next to the dimensional vortex. I lightly jumped over the railing and threw myself into the spiral.

The familiar sensation of falling, which I had experienced hundreds of times, swept over my body.

When I opened my eyes again, a scene that was both unfamiliar and familiar entered my view.

A dark room.

Metal shelves were set up.

Large and small cardboard boxes were scattered all over the shelves.

“A waiting room storage?”

It was more of a shack than a storage room.

Well, since it’s only level 1, there’s nothing that can be done.

Townia also used to store items in places like this.

Creak.

With a creepy sound, the storage door opened.

A cold wind brushed against my cheek, revealing a wide-open space.

It was the waiting room plaza.

“The Master is logged in.”

The sky was flashing white.

It was an indication that the Master was logged in.

An announcement window must have popped up on Jinho-chan’s screen, telling him that a friend’s hero had arrived.

But judging by the lack of response, he was probably doing something else while the game was running.

“A hero…”

“Wow, a really strong-looking person is here!”

A voice, unsure if it was an exclamation or just talking to herself, echoed.

Then, I heard someone running over.

I turned my head.

“Hey, mister, can you see me?”

She was waving her hand in front of my face.

“You’re not blind or anything, right?”

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!