C211
In conclusion, the time we spent in the ruins was just over a week.
We didn't want to gather resources until the second battle for territory.
Anyway, once we reached the 50th floor, we wouldn't return to that place, and if we used the resources properly in the first week, we could reach the target amount.
A few days later.
At some point while we were increasing our strength for the assault on the 50th floor.
"Uh...! Uh!"
I looked at the man who was kneeling in front of my desk.
With his left eye swollen and covered in dried blood, the man was completely bound.
"Who are you to bother me like this?"
"Puaj!"
Perhaps due to the gag in his mouth, the man only writhed.
Yesterday morning, Belkist heard a suspicious noise while training.
That noise was from an aircraft of another Master landing in the Dimensional Breach.
Belkist, who had gone first to the Dimensional Breach, discovered a group of enemies preparing for a surprise attack and quietly drew his sword.
And this was the result.
Out of 13 enemies, 12 dead.
1 prisoner captured.
I approached the guy and removed the gag.
"You deserve to be punished! The atrocities you committed in the ruins are clear...!"
I kicked him in the mouth with my boot.
"Ack!"
The man spat blood and collapsed.
I knew it. A Master who didn't know his place came to attack after reading a complaint post about Anything on the official forum.
Just a small aircraft and 13 insignificant heroes.
It was pathetically insufficient.
'Even so...'
It was deep in the night, and if Belkist hadn't discovered it first, the non-combatants could have suffered quite a bit of damage.
Things are getting troublesome.
If these guys keep showing up constantly, I won't be able to focus solely on conquest.
If we deploy all the fighters on a large-scale mission, the Lobby could be a mess when we return.
That would be a pitiful sight.
"How annoying."
I clicked my tongue.
I was saying we should leave some reserve forces.
At a time when each and every person is important.
Well, if we equip the Dimensional Breach with defenses and create a specialized team, the defensive efficiency would increase.
It would be something like an expeditionary force.
"What should we do with him?"
"What else? Give him to someone appropriate."
This guy has no use.
Nerissa dragged the writhing man by the neck and left the office.
After cleaning the blood splattered on the floor with a mop, I sat down in the chair.
The office desk was covered with piles of reports from Nerissa about how many fighters we had recruited, what equipment had been manufactured, and how the aircraft construction was progressing.
'It seems we can make it.'
Except for the itching sensation on my neck, everything was going well.
I drank the green tea on the table and flipped through the latest report.
It contained the training plan Anything had drafted yesterday.
<5-star hero training plan>
<Han will be in charge.>
I sighed.
What a terrible plan.
It's just passing the responsibility.
I get it.
5-star heroes are very different from 1 to 4-star heroes.
If the ones from other ranks are like elementary school students, the 5-star ones would be like college students.
If they receive the same training at camp, it might not be suitable. That's why I, the most senior in the Lobby, am supposed to personally take care of it.
I casually read the training plan and signed at the space provided at the end of the document.
When Anything logs in today, he'll see that I've accepted the proposal.
'Then, will it be today?'
I finished drinking the green tea.
I decided to see what would come out.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
[Loading complete.]
[T O U C H! (Select)]
That afternoon.
As always, Anything logged in.
"......"
I sat on a bench in the first-floor plaza.
To see what would come out of the summoning room.
'Guaranteed 5-star summoning.'
It was something I had obtained through hard work at the Raid Festival.
The operating company said that obtaining a 5-star hero was guaranteed, but this was different from what I had learned about 5-star heroes.
Even spending hundreds of millions on microtransactions, one might not get a 5-star hero.
From my representative case to users who spent the equivalent of the price of an imported car and a house without getting a 5-star hero, there are several examples.
After falling here and becoming a hero, and now understanding the general situation, I know that in this world there might not be 5-star heroes available.
Niflheim was one of those cases.
'But they said, 100% chance of getting a 5-star hero.'
I licked my lips.
It was too suspicious.
Anything began searching the warehouse.
It didn't take long for the item he was looking for to appear before his eyes.
[Guaranteed 5-star summoning ticket]
[Rating: SS]
[Guarantees the obtaining of a hero born with 5 stars.]
[Note - Congratulations on winning first place in one of the three major events of the Dimensional City!]
A ticket flashing with rainbow colors.
Anything touched the ticket.
[Do you want to perform the guaranteed summoning?]
[Yes / No]
"So, 5-star born heroes are that powerful, huh?"
Jenna, sitting next to me, swung her legs.
Knowing that I was going to use the 5-star ticket, she had come to watch.
"Will it be stronger than you, brother?"
"I don't think so."
After all, even a 5-star hero starts from level 1.
But the starting point and talents are different.
'Well, I understand.'
If it were an important character in that world, they would have some special ability saved.
I looked at Anything's screen, who was about to tap 'Yes'.
[Yes (Select) / No]
[Ding!]
[Master, the special summoning begins!]
[Tac, duruduru.]
[Thwack, boom!]
Iselle: [No! What is this feeling?!]
The summoning room door began to radiate light.
The white flash gradually transformed into a golden glow.
[Wooooah!]
[The summoning room trembles with the appearance of a true hero!]
Iselle [Uaaaah! It's dazzling!]
I don't know how many times I rolled the gacha in the game to hear those cheesy lines.
[The hero among heroes!]
[Meet a historical character!]
[「Hyper rare!」]
[Master Anything has acquired the hero Wiryung (★★★★★)!]
Small steps were heard amidst the flashy sound effects.
I watched the Summoning Room.
Someone was walking out of the dazzling light.
"Welcome to the Lobby!"
Jenna ran towards the 5-star hero.
"I'm Jenna Shirai, from Taonier... Huh?"
Jenna frowned.
Her dark eyes blinked incessantly.
"You look... interesting."
Jenna awkwardly smiled.
Wiryung, the native 5-star hero summoned for the first time in Taonier, looked towards the bench where I was sitting.
With smooth black hair and black eyes.
He wore a loose, flowing kimono, and on his waist hung a tasseled sheath.
"Excuse me, but where...?"
"Jenna."
I interrupted.
"She's not from Taonier."
It was obvious at first glance.
Everything was different, from the hair color and facial features to the build and attire.
"We're in..."
The woman spoke.
Her voice conveyed no emotion.
"A place called Taonier."
Wiryung looked down with vacant eyes.
[Wiryung (★★★★★) is engulfed in despair.]
[Tip: A hero in a state of 'despair' cannot be deployed on missions. Console and encourage to overcome despair.]
I brought my hand to my forehead.
Of course. The company wouldn't easily release a 5-star hero.
It seems I've been deceived.
"Jenna, go up first. I'll talk to her."
"Wouldn't it be better if I were here too?"
"It's okay."
"Well, see you later, sister."
Jenna took one last look at Wiryung, who remained still, and went up the stairs.
"Are you just going to stand there?"
"I... couldn't protect him..."
She seemed to be delirious, murmuring to herself.
"How annoying."
I grabbed Wiryung's wrist.
I remembered there was an empty room in the left corner of the first floor.
I dragged the stumbling woman, following me.
With a thud, I closed the door of the room behind us and sat Wiryung in a metal chair in the center.
Then I sat down in front of her.
"Hey."
"..."
"Aren't you going to answer?"
"It wasn't... a dream..."
I grabbed Wiryung's chin and lifted it towards me.
"Answer my question. If you don't want to die."
"Are you...?"
"Me what?"
"The master of this place?"
"Master?"
What does that mean?
I thought for a moment and remembered that Master could have a similar meaning to Submaster.
"It could be."
"I see."
Wiryung let out a bitter smile.
Then she fell silent again.
'This annoys me.'
I crossed my legs and looked ahead.
Wiryung still had her head down.
'Unusual clothes. Strange words. Unique pronunciation.'
I could understand the words, but the tone was subtly different.
As if a foreigner were speaking Korean.
'Suddenly an oriental style?'
I scratched my head.
The worlds within Mobius were almost all Western-style.
Each world had knights and warriors, archers and rogues, wizards and sorcerers, medieval castles and monsters, dragons and magic.
'Status window.'
[Wiryung (★★★★★) Level 1 (Exp 0/10)]
[Class: Weapon Master]
[Strength: 36/36]
[Intelligence: 10/10]
[Resistance: 38/38]
[Agility: 41/41]
[Skills: Advanced Sword Handling (Lv.1), Absolute Concentration (Lv.1), Sword Eye (Lv.1), Union with the Sword Spirit (Lv.1)]
[Engraving Slots: 2/2]
[1: Advanced Qi Technique (B+, Lv.1)]
[A special technique used only by pure lineage nobles, allowing the use of higher-level Qi.]
[Effect: Strength, resistance, and agility bonus +20%, magical resistance +15%]
[Unique Skill: Qi Gong]
[Note - The 'Lotus Oath' halves the engraving capacity elsewhere.]
[2: Flying Sword (A-, Lv. 1)]
[Once unsheathed, it moves like a swallow. Martial art specializing in space suppression.]
[Unique Skill: Swallow Flight]
[Note - The 'Lotus Oath' halves the engraving capacity elsewhere.]
I couldn't help but click my tongue.
This person was only at level 1.
But they had 36 strength, 38 resistance, and 41 agility.
Despite being level 1, they were on par with many level 20 heroes, carrying advanced weapon skills and high-efficiency abilities, along with two rare engravings of class B or higher.
'No wonder people get obsessed with summons.'
The starting point was completely different.
I had also tried my best to get a 5-star native hero, but I never succeeded.
Of course, 5-star natives also have their disadvantages.
'It's difficult to trade them between players.'
It's possible to trade with them.
When I was looting resources in the ruins, I once bought a 5-star hero with gems.
But I could never use the guy I paid so much money for properly.
He deteriorated and died.
5-star native heroes can hardly wield their full power when they change affiliation.
Eclat, the chief of the Niflheim training camp, was a very rare case.
Therefore, to properly use a 5-star hero, the only way is to obtain and use it oneself.
'The lotus oath?'
Comes with an annoying penalty.
'The engraving capacity is halved elsewhere.'
It's obvious that the penalty would also apply in Taonier.
"......"
I looked at Wiryung again.
Reviewing what I knew about Pick Me Up.
It seemed she knew where this woman came from.
'There's no doubt.'
She wasn't from server 2.
That is, she came from a foreign Pick Me Up server.
In red, the character 연 (Yeon).
It was the character engraved on the left side of the woman's chest on the clothes she was wearing.
"Are you from Mu-ryeon?"
Wiryung's bowed head lifted.
"How do you... know that?"
"It would be hard not to know."
He was both famous and powerful.
The account name was Mu-ryeon.
Among the millions of Pick Me Up accounts, it was among the most prominent.
It was currently ranked number 2.
The problem was that a hero belonging to Mu-ryeon was in front of me as a prize from an event.
There was only one conclusion.
I closed my eyes.
'The ranker number 2 has met their end.'
