Pick Me Up – Chapter 270 – Catastrophe (1)
A red square with a white play button.
It's the icon of the world's largest video channel, MyTube.
I touched the icon floating in the hologram and entered the subscriptions section. As expected, there was a new updated video.
[MyTube™]
[Channel of ‘Anything’, master of Pick Me Up]
[318,119 subscribers]
Subscribers had surpassed 300,000.
Now, the number was enough to consider him a popular Mytuber.
Compared to just a few months ago, when it was around 10,000, the growth was incredible.
I scrolled down.
There were many comments on the video uploaded just yesterday.
The video title was Taonier, Floor 75.
[@ILOVEYOU 15 minutes ago]
"I really enjoyed today's video! ^^"
"I've been subscribed since Anything started, and now he's on the 75th floor. Go for the 100th floor!"
"Let's go, we'll reach the number 1 ranking!"
"Wow. Is he really the same person they used to call carried? Now he's in the top 100 rankings. At this rate, he'll soon be in the top 10."
"As far as I remember, he’s the fastest-climbing master among all servers. Maybe he'll reach the number 1 ranking?"
"Hahaha, are there still people playing this shitty game?"
"The game pushes too much towards spending money. Didn't they say the server management was a mess? It disconnects all the time lately, sales have dropped out of the top 10, and the updates are awful. They ignore the users. I'm going to play another game."
[@Marian 2 hours ago]
"I don't know about other things, but please fix the servers!"
"It disconnects too much! X#%! I post on the forum, and I'm ignored, I report to customer service, and I'm ignored too, and if I go to the office, they throw me out. What am I supposed to do? You've made enough money, can't you buy a new server? Or do you use some special unique server in the world?"
▽ 5 replies
[@Baingreen 1 hour ago]
"I understand, but why make a fuss here?"
[@Marian 1 hour ago]
"Where else? In the forum, they ignore me. If this continues, the game will die. In fact, isn't it already dead? The balance is a disaster, the boss is crazy for money and throws out packs like crazy, and even elite players have left. This game is beyond saving."
"I agree this game is dead. It lasted as long as it had to. Three years is enough for a mobile game. No more complaints, let's find another game. I feel sorry for this person. Reached high rank in a dying game. Better prepare for the server shutdown."
[@Doctor of Dog and Pig Studies 35 minutes ago]
"The fact that this game was popular is a mystery. Roguelikes don't fit mobile. I don't know how it achieved a million downloads. This Anything is a case of luck. It's proof of how luck-dependent the game is. Leave this dead game."
"If you're going to leave the game, do it quietly. Why cause problems? What a twisted character. Don't bother the players who still enjoy the game. I don't understand why they make a fuss here."
[@Gaza13 2 hours ago]
"Please upload a video completing the 100th floor."
"I left the game because it's unfair, but I'm curious about the end. It used to be a perfect game, how could it fall so low?"
"I could also do well with the same heroes he has."
"Even with two helpers of his level, I could reach the 80th floor. Damn it!"
"It’s really a game of luck. Why can't I get those heroes?"
▽ 1 reply
[@Enter Out 1 hour ago]
"Do you think they will? Give up."
[@Sirisjang 2 hours ago]
"I want to lick Siris' fingers! Lam, lam!"
▽ 2 replies
[@Sirisjang 2 hours ago]
"I want to bury my face in Siris' cleavage!"
[@Sirisjang 2 hours ago]
"I want to lick her armpits! Lam, lam!"
[@Yoongirit, 3 hours ago]
"I left the game, but I want to see the end."
"Just for that, I subscribed. I'm curious about the game's end."
"Will it just be simple credits?"
"They say this is Loki's secondary account."
"First, the play style is similar to Loki's. The Lobby structure is also similar. Second, the rankers who challenged this person were destroyed by the Niflheim fleet. That's definitive. Honestly, if you don't do PvP and only focus on missions, it's easy. But others always challenge you."
[See 5 replies]
[@Golpe K.O 3 hours ago]
"I think this is true. I left the game because the balance was bad."
"You left the game because Loki crushed you."
[@Golpe K.O 3 hours ago]
"Could you beat him?"
"Weren't you and your guild crushed?"
[@Me Too! 2 hours ago]
"But you can't make secondary accounts in this game."
"They say there's special protection."
[@Golpe K.O 2 hours ago]
"They found a way to bypass it."
"Definitely a secondary account or an admin account."
The comment section was full of criticisms of the game in general and rumors about Anything.
They said things like "What's the point of being a ranker in a dying game?", "He's conspiring with Loki to dominate server 2", and "Leave this shitty game". I understand, there were many suspicious things.
Anything had reached the 75th floor in less than a year since he started playing the difficult game Pick Me Up.
Reaching the 75th floor placed him in the top 100 of millions of masters. An incredible climb speed. In the Pick Me Up forum, a group called ‘Hidden Truth’ even appeared, demanding the truth about Anything. They claimed it was an admin account with cheats.
And they were suspecting me too.
Because the masters who challenged Anything were immediately crushed.
They said Anything was Loki's secondary account, that the two were a couple, and both had admin accounts. Many theories circulated in the communities, heating up the forums. Anyway, what was clear was…
"The game is in decline."
Just before being dragged here, Pick Me Up was a popular mobile game worldwide.
But in less than a year, that glory had faded. Sales had fallen out of the top 10, and the game was being criticized for being too luck-dependent and for in-game purchases. Additionally, the barrier to entry was high, there was elitism among veteran players, and indiscriminate PvP had significantly reduced the influx of new players.
Above all, server problems and bugs.
Users were being disconnected from all servers almost every few days.
Before, there was an interval, but now it was at least once or twice a week. Sometimes the server crashed every two days. Also, there were other bugs, like heroes suddenly disappearing from Lobbys and stages abruptly closing.
"More than a decline, it's a freefall."
If this continues, Pick Me Up will soon fall into irrelevance.
Or simply disappear.
Every game has its lifespan.
Just as the moon waxes and wanes, any popular game eventually passes its peak and begins to decline.
Three years is quite a long time for a mobile game. They have made enough money. It wouldn't be strange if the service ended soon.
"Still… this is a problem."
"What's a problem?"
I looked up.
Jenna, dressed in a dark blue leather jacket, was looking at me with her head tilted.
"Brother, we're ready to depart."
"Are you done?"
I looked around.
Below the railing, the view of the lower floor extended.
A vast space. It couldn't simply be described as spacious.
[※Warning!]
[This mission requires more than 100 groups. If you don't have enough members, use free or paid summoning to recruit heroes.]
Dozens of airships were lined up.
The fleets full of heroes advanced towards the great mirror.
In terms of outgoing personnel, there were at least a thousand people. Including those on standby, the number was incalculable. The airships and heroes continued to fill the hangar, and still, the space was insufficient, so many were on standby.
"…"
These were the attack teams to climb the 76th floor.
Now, the number of heroes Anything controlled was close to a thousand.
Almost a hundred were elite members leading the troops.
"Wow, there's a lot of people."
Jenna looked down and whistled.
"They seem all useless."
"They're not useless. They're our comrades."
Belkist appeared walking from the right hallway.
Her hair, falling backward, was dyed white.
It was the result of deeply merging with Asynis.
"I wonder when that prince will appear. At this rate, we'll reach the 100th floor."
Belkist complained.
And she was right. The prince hadn't shown his face in the nearly 20 floors we had climbed.
Even now, with the princess's army assaulting the castle, there was no sign of him. Probably in this section, we'll complete the conquest of the imperial throne. The long civil war will end with Pria's victory.
"Let's go, sisters!"
On the left side of the hangar, Kishasha laughed loudly.
Next to her were four girls in thin leather clothes.
She had recruited the beastmen from the mercenary group in the Lobby. Therefore, she had left Group 1.
Two months had passed since the confrontation with Siris.
There were many changes hard to explain.
They couldn't help but change.
Anything had surpassed the 75th floor.
He had secured a place in the top 100 rankings.
The Lobby had surpassed the ninth floor.
Jenna, Belkist, and I had reached level 99 of six stars.
We had summoned and raised countless heroes, and many had died during the missions.
Now we could confidently say.
Facing Group 1 of Niflheim wasn't an impossible task.
It wasn't very likely, but at least there was a possibility.
"Let's go, hurry up. We're already busy."
Suddenly, Katio appeared waving his hand.
He had also left Group 1. His new position was fleet commander, overseeing all Taonier airships. He had skills more suitable for support than combat.
"Let's go first!"
Jenna unfolded her silver bow and jumped lightly.
That bow had been transformed from the remnants of El Cid's weapons, Colada and Tizona.
An S-grade weapon for sure. Although its performance had degraded in the process, it was still powerful.
"Don't be late."
Belkist was next.
She looked at me briefly and jumped beyond the railing.
"Time flies. It seems like yesterday when we were fighting each other."
Katio sighed.
When we enter the stage, he will start preparing for the next troops.
"Are you sure you can do it? I'm tired of the battles. Working all the time is exhausting too."
"Don't worry."
I jumped to the floor below.
Next to me, Taonier's heroes were entering the mission stage.
"…"
The end, which once seemed so distant, was approaching.
If we surpass the 80th floor, we'll quickly reach the 90th floor.
'When the civil war ends…'
What will begin?
I don't know.
The end?
Maybe not.
I won't know until I experience it.
Anyway, we must complete the mission.
We’ll decide the path after that.
'I feel a tingling at the nape of my neck.'
Before, I wouldn't have noticed, but now I can feel that gaze.
Niflheim.
They will be waiting for me.
[Swipe the screen left and right.]
[Show your support for the hero as a master.]
Flash!
A purple flash shone before my eyes.
Before the mission, Anything was cheering me on.
I snapped my Bifrost sword and raised it.
'Watch closely.'
[Han (★★★★★★) manifests!]
There will be no failures.
As Han Israt, not as Loki or Han Seojin, I will conquer Taonier.
I walked towards the shining mirror.
'Floor 76.'
The 80th floor was just around the corner.
---
(Up to '40' more ch4pt3rs)
Publication of up to 4 weekly ch4pters, thank you.