Pick me Up – Chapter 281 – Mission Type – Conquest (7)
"Ah, uh, ah..."
Ikar's mouth opened.
A meaningless groan escaped his lips.
A being more like an object than a person.
There was no trace of reason or emotion in the girl before me.
"When Ikar reaches the end of her life, the Harvesters will attack in earnest. This world will collapse in an instant. Battlefield? Mission? Those fights will be pointless. No matter if we rewind the world thousands or millions of times, the result will not change. Do you understand, Priacis?"
The prince looked at Priacis.
His golden eyes were filled with hopelessness.
"We will all die."
"......"
"No matter how many allies we gather in Taonier, no matter how many mystical treasures we collect, no matter how many miracles we perform, we cannot win. This game was destined to have this ending from the beginning."
Priacis's gaze trembled.
Only a sigh escaped her parted lips.
"If at least we could end up dying, it would be a consolation. Tel is crazy. She will try to maintain Mobius at all costs until the last moment. Do you know what that means?"
Anger flashed in the prince's eyes.
"It means that not even death will be the end. We will have to revive over and over again in an eternal world, dying over and over again in an endless cycle. Just like it happened to me once."
"That can't be..."
"The same thing is happening to you, Han. Why do you think you are here when you should be on Earth?"
Pryos turned to me.
I closed my eyes. I remembered what happened at the 2-star ascension ceremony.
Tel, dressed in a suit, speaking in a calm voice.
'The purpose of the game is to save the world.'
It was not a lie.
But that was something impossible to achieve.
Because the universe was already collapsing from the beginning.
"I heard the truth about the 7 Stars Project from Lantia and Sternberg."
"7 Stars Project?"
"They say there were four transcendental level heroes in this game."
Pryos murmured.
"Combining a Master, an entity of a higher dimension, with a Hero, an entity of a lower dimension, creates an extremely powerful being."
The fusion of a Master and a Hero.
That was the core of the 7-star ascension.
Pryos said nothing more. With a gentle smile, he looked at me.
'Did he give me a hint?'
I crossed my arms.
I decided to think about everything from the beginning.
Why I, who was playing on Earth, ended up in this game.
'To complete the tower?'
It's absurd.
If they had left me alone, Niflheim could have surpassed level 90.
My raid group had advanced smoothly to level 87.
Although, in reality, it was an unfinished game impossible to complete.
'The fusion of Master and Hero.'
In the fusion process, the Hero obtains a power that transcends the limits.
In other words, he becomes a kind of god, gaining the ability to surpass the laws of the universe.
That's how the four 7-star heroes were born.
'But this is something crazy from the company's perspective.'
El Cid clearly showed this example.
El Cid, the top-ranking player, wreaked havoc on the entire server, destroying countless accounts and breaking server barriers.
Finally, Mobius had to launch an emergency event to eliminate him.
'The synthesis of 7 stars results in the creation of an uncontrollable problem.'
Furthermore, if the news that some users who played were left in a vegetative state were leaked to the media on Earth, 'Pick Me Up' could not avoid its downfall. This also posed considerable risk. Still, if there was a need to take such a danger and directly attract the power of external dimensions...
"......Ah."
I looked to the side.
Ikar was watching me with vacant eyes.
"That's right."
Finally, I understood.
Pryos's smile widened.
"A server change?"
If the server computer has reached the end of its life, it must be replaced by a better one.
Then, I...
"I will be one of the candidates."
There were still some unanswered questions, but...
I began to understand Tel's purpose.
She wanted to fuse Siris and me to create a 7-star entity.
'To use it as energy in the next server.'
I smiled bitterly.
"It seems that everyone else failed except me."
"That's right."
Even El Cid said that his 'vessel' broke upon reaching level 90.
If he had been a complete 7-star, he would have surpassed the World Raid and everything else.
There would be no need to entrust me with the responsibility.
I sighed.
Of course, I couldn't be sure that this was the truth 100%.
But my intuition told me it was true.
If my assumption was correct, I could also understand why Siris was so angry with me.
If I had become a 7-star and been dragged to server 1 without knowing anything...
"Ah, ah, ah."
I would have become a living battery.
Burning my life to keep this crazy world a little longer.
"I understand."
After being dragged here, I started to grow gradually by eating 'sacrifices' of monsters, completing myself as a 7-star.
And with the belief that I was saving the world, I would have gone to server 1...
"The executives don't want to sacrifice themselves, but they need to keep the game, so they created a substitute for the gods?"
I laughed.
"They are damned bastards."
Betrayal after betrayal after betrayal.
Alpha Zero and Sijel never mentioned these conditions.
They only repeated that I had a choice.
'Is this a choice?'
I laughed bitterly.
They hid the information that was unfavorable to them and deceived me with a seemingly fair contract.
Boom!
The ground shook violently.
I looked back and saw a circular flame burning in the distance.
A bright light emanated from that flame.
"Han Israt."
A familiar voice echoed.
The voice of a smart woman.
It was Sijel, Alpha Zero's assistant.
"Don't be fooled by their words."
"......"
"You have a choice. If you want to return to Earth, we will do everything possible to help you."
"Help me?"
I murmured.
"How will you help me? Will you return me to the moment I surpass level 90?"
"There is an order to things."
"What is that order?"
"We can't yet..."
"You can't tell me."
Ridiculous.
"You have... a choice..."
"If you want me to make a decision, you have to tell me everything. On Earth, someone who omits information and speaks like you is called..."
"......"
"A scammer."
The truth is, I had given them some credit.
That they wanted to end the game.
They seemed different from Tel.
'But in the end, they are the same.'
If you are deceived once, you are a victim.
If you are deceived twice, you are a fool.
If you are deceived three times...
I sighed.
"We will continue the conversation later. First, we will eliminate the intruders."
Bang!
A figure emerged from the door of fire.
At that moment.
"We have nothing more to do here."
The prince swung his sword to the side.
A golden flash emanated from the blade, filling the surroundings.
The dimensional sword activated again.
[Unrecognized dimension.]
[Urgent handling required! Call the manager.]
That characteristic feeling of weightlessness.
It was the sensation of jumping from one dimension to another.
When the light completely faded, I slowly opened my eyes.
Swaaa.
The sound of the wind blowing over the grass.
In front of me, an endless field of wheat extended.
"Finally... we have arrived."
The prince spoke.
Priacis looked at the wheat field with blank eyes.
"This place is..."
"What do you think it is?"
Pryos smiled gently.
"It's a small piece of land."
"A small piece of land?"
The prince turned.
He began to walk along a path through the wheat field.
"......Han."
Priacis looked at me.
I nodded.
Priacis, determined, followed the prince.
'The true purpose of Pryos.'
I crossed my arms and followed the two of them.
Soon, a wooden house appeared by the wheat field.
It was a place taken from a painting.
Under the orange sun, the wheat field swayed, and there was a small house.
I walked away from the two and leaned against a large tree.
"I have accumulated all my interference power here."
"......"
"With the barrier I have established, we should be able to resist for at least a hundred years."
The prince stroked the wooden pillar of the house with his hand.
And turned to Priacis.
"You don't need to fight anymore. Taonier, the empire, the people, the monsters, the fragments. You don't have to worry about any of that. Everything I desire is here."
Well, that makes sense.
In a world destined to collapse, fighting makes no sense.
Click.
The prince set down his sword.
"I realized too late. I thought I was fighting for a noble cause, for the people of Taonier and for the honor of the empire. I spent seventeen lives in that stupid illusion."
"......"
"I played the role of the perfect prince."
His eyes were filled with regret.
"I was wrong, Priacis. Taonier can disappear, and I wouldn't care. From the beginning, I only wanted to protect one thing."
"That is..."
"Priacis Al Ragnar."
The prince looked Freya in the eyes.
"Live here a normal life and die a normal death."
"Brother."
"It hurts just to hear you call me brother."
Priacis closed her eyes.
"Did you show me the boundary to persuade me?"
"I wanted you to know. This world is not a place worth risking your life for."
"Then what am I supposed to do here?"
"Whatever you want. Whatever you desire."
"What I want is not here."
"Priacis. You have seen it clearly."
"I haven't seen anything."
Priacis opened her eyes.
"Let me return. There are people waiting for me."
"They are illusions."
"They are not illusions."
"You are just a tool of the goddess."
"I don't care."
Pryos frowned.
"That situation was manipulated. They are taking advantage of you."
"I have accepted it."
"It's not a matter of accepting it, Priacis."
The prince grabbed Priacis's shoulders.
"Taonier cannot be saved. You will die. That Mercenary King, your army, the people. They will all be devoured. Do you know this and still say that?"
"Brother."
Priacis sighed.
And looked at Pryos.
"I understand that you care for me. But... isn't this running away?"
"It's not running away."
"If we can't avoid destruction..."
Pryos spoke in a low voice.
"I would rather die fighting with dignity."
"......"
"I don't want to see my brother like this. You have always been my hero, the one who never gives up in any situation. You have always shown me the way. And now you tell me to abandon everyone and run away."
"Don't you understand? Even if you die fighting..."
"If I revive, I will fight again."
"......Priacis."
The prince's voice trembled.
"Return me to the battlefield."
"You..."
"You always taught me to be dignified."
Priacis took a step back.
"The battle is not over yet. If I don't return, the invaders will ravage Taonier. There is no time for this. Send me immediately."
"......"
"If you want to stop me, kill me."
Priacis turned around.
And walked towards me.
"Han, do you know where the exit is?"
"I don't know."
I looked around.
Since we arrived, I had been looking, but I hadn't seen any exit.
"We need to find an exit. Wait a moment."
Priacis entered the wheat field.
I leaned against the tree and watched her walk away.
Soon, she disappeared completely from my sight.
"......"
Pryos was still there, like a ghost.
I opened my mouth.
"If there is no other way, why don't you tie her up well? At least you could prevent her from escaping."
"It's useless."
"Why is it useless? She doesn't follow orders..."
Suddenly, the prince staggered and spat out a handful of blood.
The blood that fell to the ground was black.
"I used... too much power."
Pryos gave a bitter smile.