Pick me Up – Chapter 279 – Mission Type – Conquest (5)
Boom!
With an explosion, a ray of light tore through the air.
The target was the prince's left chest. Jenna's arrow, with two high-level Engravings, was almost like a strategic weapon. In an instant, the arrow traveled 10 meters and pierced the prince's heart.
"……Am I next?"
Belkist stomped the ground.
His body launched to the left. A white flash followed his trajectory.
The power of vibration. It was a special effect that occurred when the White Dragon's Blood reached a certain level.
Crash!
The blade of Belkist's sword vibrated fiercely.
It was a high-level attack that destroyed the target's unique vibration frequency.
"Indeed."
The prince's upper body floated in the air, severed.
But before one could blink, the space distorted, and the upper and lower body parts rejoined.
The hole in the heart healed instantly.
It's my turn.
I don't need to get close.
With just a sword slash, the prince's entire body was shattered.
Boom!
An intense explosion brought down the garden.
"You're quite strong."
I murmured quietly.
"Get away!"
I jumped back.
An invisible shockwave swept the place where we were standing.
'It's not that strong.'
The difference isn't that big.
In fact, somehow, we were dominating.
The prince counterattacked each time he was attacked, but compared to Halgion or Asynis, whom we had fought in the spiritual world, his power and speed were pathetic.
However, there was a difference…
He didn't die.
Not with the Black Sword compressed with thousands of times gravity.
Not with arrows that could pierce the vital points of any monster.
Not with the Wave Sword that destroyed the very particles.
We couldn't kill him.
'…It's a headache.'
I looked around; there was no trace of the splendid golden palace left.
The garden was in ruins, the gates smashed, and the emperor's jade throne in pieces.
We kept attacking each other amidst the palace debris.
[Contaminated Goblin Lv.53] X 2835
More than half of the capital was already destroyed.
It was hard to find an intact place due to the battle debris and monster corpses.
The heroes led by Roderick were defending using building debris as barricades.
The only thing we could do was buy time so the prince wouldn't reach Priacis.
"Have you found anything?"
<No, I've gone around three times. There doesn't seem to be anything, Han.>
Kishasha's urgent voice came through.
I had assigned her the task of exploration, just in case there was a hidden object, like a goddess statue.
Just like on the 20th floor, there might be a weapon in the field that could kill the boss. But after 30 minutes of exploration, I hadn't received any news.
'This is frustrating.'
In Niflheim, the intensity was even greater than now.
Powerful enemies appeared, and tens of thousands of monsters fell ceaselessly.
But there were also means to face them. We traversed the stage as established, activated the objects, and obtained buffs that increased the heroes' abilities several times.
But this mission in Taonier was exhausting.
The difficulty of 'Pick Me Up' was known to be high.
Still, there was an established rule.
Regardless of the level or account, 'There is a way to complete the game.'
No matter how difficult it is, in the end, it's a game.
If it can't be completed, the game makes no sense.
[Mutmura: There doesn't seem to be a way. Why won't he die?]
[Mgxz: Isn't this a game with bugs? It doesn't seem designed to be cleared past level 80 from the beginning. Mobile game companies do this often. They deceive users.]
[Malarng44: The users who have completed it, including Loki, seem to be admin accounts.]
Negative comments appeared in the transmission window on the right.
Some suspected it was a bug.
"Is there no way?"
Belkist lowered his sword and asked.
I searched my memories. The mission types I had analyzed countless times during my master days crossed my mind.
All missions have rules.
'Did I overlook something?'
I went over everything that had happened since the beginning of the mission, but I didn't see anything in particular.
"This guy…"
Boom!
I lowered my sword.
The clash between the sword's pressure and the shockwave produced a loud noise.
"It's a bug."
I put my hand to my ear and opened my mouth.
"Kishasha!"
<Yes!>
"Is there really nothing in the stage? Even something small would be fine."
<It's not that there's nothing, but it's something I can't use!>
"Show me that."
<Wait.>
A click.
Some photos appeared on the left side of my vision.
It was advanced communication magic, one of the best, sharing the view.
I examined the photos.
Among the debris of destroyed buildings, there was a shattered goddess statue.
The other photos were similar. There wasn't a single intact statue.
It seemed like someone had done it on purpose, a very unnatural scene.
'…Wow.'
I laughed to myself.
"Did you manipulate the stage?"
「Maybe.」
Pryos smiled enigmatically.
'Monsters can't manipulate the stage.'
Neither heroes nor monsters can interfere with the stage situation.
As far as I know, it's an absolute rule.
Was I wrong?
With a 7-star power, could they break that rule?
If not, Lantia or Sternberg could have done something.
Either way, if my assumption is correct…
Ting.
I threw my sword.
<What are you doing?>
"Big brother, why suddenly…?"
"We don't need to fight."
This isn't a fair fight.
I spat blood-mixed saliva.
"Did you prepare this way just to do something like this?"
「…….」
"How disappointing. You'll die anyway. Just in a more pathetic way."
「Why do you think so?」
I looked to the right.
Among the chat messages, I found a familiar text.
[AZ: Siris-chan… bug… lamer…]
Although I had already noticed, this broadcast was being watched by all sorts of people.
Among them were some who weren't normal.
'If this stage isn't fair.'
Tens of thousands of users are watching.
It's a matter of the game's survival. They wouldn't sit idly by.
[Loading……]
A rumble.
The sky darkened.
I let out a sigh.
Time seemed to have stopped, and nearby things were still.
Belkist looking at me, Jenna tilting her head.
The fire covering the entire capital and the monsters running rampant also stopped.
[Restoring……]
[An error has occurred in the server, the connection has been interrupted. Please wait a moment.]
A strange yet familiar scene.
It was the impact when an entity outside the game intervened.
[Emergency access!]
[Verifying password.]
[PS: **********]
A sound.
A message appeared.
[Code Permission – Alpha One]
[Access authorized. Backup route opening.]
Crack.
At the boundaries of the stage,
As if breaking a transparent glass, a crack appeared.
"I didn't want to ask for help."
If this is how they're going to act, I have no choice.
'I won't let them complete it.'
Maybe they'll just level the playing field, but that was enough.
[GabageGame: What's happening? Disconnected again? At level 80? Hahaha the server is in excellent condition!]
[Brave7: Look at the level of trash game.]
Time inside Mobius had stopped, but time on Earth, the upper dimension, kept flowing.
In an instant, the chat filled with mocking messages. The prince looked away.
As if sharing my vision.
「There are many spectators outside.」
The prince murmured silently.
「They must be here to see the end of the drama.」
"Say whatever you want."
「Are they coming to punish me for breaking the script?」
Crack!
The crack in the wall became more evident.
The code was Alpha One. A level just below the general director Alpha Zero.
<What's happening?>
A voice I shouldn't have heard echoed in my head.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
<Everything around suddenly stopped. Both heroes and monsters. Is this part of the mission? Han, are you okay?>
"Pria."
<Speak.>
"Are you okay?"
<Nothing in particular is happening.>
"First, come to where I am."
I ended the communication.
The prince in front of me was smiling without reason.
'Halgion isn't responding either.'
Even transcendent entities that had surpassed the limits of life couldn't go against this current.
Here, the only ones who could move were me, coming from Earth, and the prince, subject to the sanction. Just like Tel did when dealing with El Cid.
But just now, Priacis, who was just an NPC in the game, had called me.
"Is this your doing?"
「…….」
"Han!"
I looked to the side.
Priacis was running towards me.
Her elegant silver dress was stained with blood and dust.
"Brother."
Priacis stared at the prince.
"Did you plan this too, brother?"
"Don't call me brother."
"That's because…!"
"Because I betrayed Taonier?"
Priacis bit her lip.
"I always thought you loved Taonier more than anyone."
"That's your mistake, Priacis. I never loved Taonier."
Pryos pointed to the sky.
"Finally… The conditions have been met."
"Conditions?"
"The hole in the sky has opened. Thanks to offering those two elders as sacrifices, it has widened considerably. Also, the spectators' intervention has begun to influence. It's not a bad condition."
"…"
"The next sacrifice is on its way."
This doesn't look good.
I moved my index finger.
Bifrost, which was on the ground, ended up in my right hand.
[AZ: Balance… Adjustment…]
The crack in the wall grew larger.
The prince twirled his sword.
Clang! A golden light infused the blade.
"Freya, you asked me why I fight."
"……"
"For a small piece of land. A place where wheat fields stretch infinitely and there's a small house. A place where I don't have to fight forcibly or receive interference from others."
"Brother, I don't understand…"
A hum.
The prince's sword glow intensified.
The red bandages covering his body turned to dust and dispersed.
"After seventeen lives, thousands of fights, and thousands of tears of blood, I finally understood."
"What are you going to do?"
Pryos' eyes shone.
"Look, Pria. This is a true dimensional sword."
Whoosh!
The golden light turned into flames.
The flames enveloped the prince's body and rose to the sky.
"Han!"
With the sword in my left hand, I lunged forward.
But, inevitably, an invisible wall blocked my way.
'…Damn.'
Did that guy have the power to interfere with the system?
I looked to the right.
[AZ: Siris-chan…]
Turning my right hand made a virtual keyboard appear.
I started typing frantically.
[Loki779: Alpha Zero! Stop this!]
The message I wrote quickly rose among the flood of messages in the chat.
Pryos pointed his golden sword forward.
Right there, something was about to come out.
[Backup route opening completed!]
[Starting balance adjustment.]
[The supervisor must perform their function.]
Crash!
The crystal broke.
A man in a black suit emerged from within.
「I am Alpha One. By the company's order…」
"You come from server 1."
「Yes, that's right…」
Pryos' smile deepened.
"Let's start coordinate measurement."
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