Pick me Up – Chapter 301 – Ragnarok (6)
Clac.
A dark night at sea, without a single star.
The Anything, which was advancing while illuminating its path, stopped.
[Dimension 1000 – ????]
Clank. Clank, clank.
Although fuel was being injected into the rear of the Anything, the aircraft did not move forward.
We had reached the edge of the field.
‘No, to be exact.’
We were at the boundary between servers.
Beyond this field was the place El Cid so desperately wanted to reach.
After stopping the Anything, I headed to the bow.
[This is strange… ?]
Frey jumped off my shoulder and flew towards the invisible wall, feeling it.
[I’m sure there was a door here…]
“There’s nothing?”
[Yeah. The GMs used to use this passage, so they never close it. If they did, the whole game would stop.]
I took a deep breath.
The recent Raid had been broadcast live to the masters.
Watching their beloved heroes and fleets destroyed with a single gesture from the boss was something intolerable for any dedicated player. By now, the entire Pick Me Up community would be paralyzed. Recent events would have caused irreversible damage to the already weakened game administration.
[Have they decided to abandon the game management…?]
“They are going to develop a new game.”
[Then, the path to server 1…]
I laughed to myself.
‘So they plan to buy time this way?’
I extended my right hand forward.
Shraaak! Red and black scales emerged all over my arm. The hundreds of dragon scales that extended along my forearm gathered, forming a sword.
The Dragon Scale Sword.
Though not as efficient as Bifröst, it would be useful as a temporary weapon.
“Step back.”
Frey flapped her wings and flew away.
I gripped the hilt and thrust it into the void.
The tip of the sword penetrated the invisible wall and disappeared.
‘You said I couldn’t escape.’
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Bursts of lightning jumped along the sword’s blade.
It seemed they had sealed it tightly.
The passage connecting to server 1 was surrounded by multiple layers of firewalls.
Crash!
I twisted the sword’s blade.
With the sound of breaking glass, cracks appeared in the wall.
[An illegal intrusion has been detected!]
[Unknown error!]
[Unknown error!]
[Error…!]
Boom!
I drove the sword all the way into the wall.
[Warning!]
[Error – 0032: Critical error. Take immediate action…]
[Error – 0032: Critical error. Take immediate action…]
Then, I pulled the Dragon Scale Sword out with a yank.
The cracks spread, creating a dimensional portal in the shape of broken glass.
It was an improvised passage to server 1.
[...Ugh.]
Frey waved her hands, pale.
Well, I know I’m not exactly normal.
The more I used this ability to manipulate data from the universe and modify the system, the clearer it became that it was not something permitted to an ordinary existence.
‘Maybe this is what Tel intended.’
But if his plan was to wait until I lost my humanity, I’d tell him he was wrong.
No matter how much my mind deteriorates, I will never forget one thing.
‘I’m going to kill you.’
I withdrew the Dragon Scale Sword.
If we entered this portal, we would be in server 1.
With no time to lose, I had to act immediately.
“I’m telling you in advance, once inside…”
[...Wait.]
I looked to the side.
Frey was staring at the night sky with stunned eyes.
I followed her gaze. The sky was still dark.
“What is it? We don’t have time.”
[Just a moment, one more moment.]
Frey blinked a couple of times.
At that instant...
[Warning!]
[Unknown error!]
[Error – 3912: Critical error. Take immediate action…]
Flash.
A white light spread across the sky.
[Welcome master Anything to Pick Me Up!]
Among the scattered stars, a holographic message appeared.
[Loading complete.]
[T O U C H! (Select)]
I stopped.
‘That guy… should be suspended.’
There was no way Mobius would lift the suspension now.
It wasn’t hard to discover the cause. I had just broken the server’s rules. As the errors spread throughout the server, Anything’s suspension was lifted.
“...Wow.”
How many times must he have logged in and out to enter as soon as the suspension was lifted?
After everything that happened, it would have been enough for him to quit.
The light in the sky trembled restlessly.
‘Is he watching me?’
There was no Lobby in Anything’s interface.
As soon as he entered the game, he called up the field I was in.
[Loki.]
“I know.”
The master’s role was already over.
With the game in ruins, Anything had nothing else to do.
Before long, when the server recovers, Anything will be expelled again and unable to reconnect.
‘It’s a futile effort.’
I fixed the cloak on my shoulder and headed to the dimensional portal.
“……”
After a few steps, I stopped.
Anything was still watching me.
‘Idiot.’
I narrowed my eyes.
I slowly increased my interference power, connecting my mind to the depths of the system.
‘I can see him.’
A small, undecorated room.
‘The guy’ was sitting at a desk, clutching a smartphone under the dim light of a lamp.
He was gripping the smartphone so tightly that his hand was pale.
So that’s what he looked like.
He wasn’t very different from what I expected.
「Hey.」
I opened my mouth.
At that moment, Clatter! Something collapsed.
Anything, sitting in a chair, fell backward.
I smiled.
After all, a game character suddenly speaking to him, it would make sense for him to react that way. Something similar happened to me.
Then, Anything searched around the room, as if looking for a ghost.
「Here, here. In the smartphone you’re looking at. I’m speaking from here.」
「…….」
「Don’t believe me?」
「……!」
「Believe what you want. Anyway, I have one last thing to tell you.」
Ahem.
I coughed and then spoke.
「Quit this game once and for all. After taking so many hits, why don’t you give up? You’re addicted to the game. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Don’t you feel embarrassed in front of your family?」
「…….」
「Consider this a dream. I’m telling you because your game addiction is severe.」
Reflect on it.
Your immersion in the game is so extreme that you’re having hallucinations.
「Good job, and from now on, live your life.」
「……Uh.」
「I don’t accept questions. That’s all.」
Click.
I cut the connection with Anything.
I could no longer see his figure.
His face full of confusion and his trembling voice had disappeared.
‘Huh?’
It seemed like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t care.
I nudged Frey’s side with my elbow.
“What are you doing? Let’s go, it’s going to close soon.”
The cracks in the dimensional portal were closing.
If we hesitated, the portal I had opened would close.
The connection to Anything would also be cut.
‘This is the end.’
I looked at the flickering lights.
My relationship with that guy ended here. Anything was a human from Earth, and I had chosen to stay here.
The server of this game would soon close. The connection points between us would disappear.
“Let’s go.”
I started walking.
The lights in the sky moved restlessly, but I had no intention of reconnecting with him.
I had said everything. One farewell was enough.
“What are you doing? Let’s go, if you’re late, I’ll leave you…”
Anything’s interface shone.
[Gift Shop!]
[You purchased ‘Warhorse Statue’ for 5,000 gold.]
[You gifted ‘Warhorse Statue’ to Han (★★★★★★★)]
Toc.
A small white statue fell into my right hand.
A warhorse statue, made of cheap wood, completely ordinary.
“……”
I narrowed my eyes.
I had long since stopped collecting toys.
And the few I had, I threw away years ago.
‘This is…’
I opened the leather pouch on my belt and placed the warhorse statue inside.
Then, I tied the string on the pouch’s opening firmly.
‘Well, even if I go…’
A statue wouldn’t hurt.
[Han (★★★★★★★) feels happy to receive the Warhorse Statue.]
[Affinity increased!]
Crackle.
The holographic message in the sky faded.
[Disconnection!]
[Error – 7909]
[This account has been suspended for using an unauthorized program. For more details, consult customer service. Suspended accounts…]
I secured the pouch on my belt and looked ahead.
The dimensional portal was closing.
“Frey.”
[Yes…?]
“I have another favor to ask.”
Frey looked at me.
I continued speaking.
“If you search my data, you’ll find a list of my properties on Earth. There are quite a few. I think it’s about 3 billion won. And I have some land in Gangnam, a high-rise office building, and a foreign car. Transfer everything to Anything’s name.”
[Wasn’t it for use on Earth?]
“It makes no sense to keep it if I don’t know when I’ll return.”
I scratched my cheek.
They were gifts from Yurnet when I planned to return to Earth, but now they were useless.
“If I return to Earth, I can ask him to give it back. I know his face and address. Even if he tries to deny it, he won’t be able to.”
[Are you sure?]
“Of course.”
Frey looked into my eyes, then disappeared in a flash of stardust.
She was probably accessing the server database to find the necessary information for the transfer. It shouldn’t take more than an hour. She’ll be back when my battle with Tel begins.
‘As for Anything…’
We’ll meet if the opportunity arises in the future.
I jumped through the dimensional portal just before it closed.
Amidst a wave of lights, I felt my body disintegrate and reconstitute.
‘I won’t forget.’
I repeated the thought several times to keep my memories sharp.
Even if I forget all the experiences, I can’t forget my goal.
I touched the warhorse statue in the pouch.
The solid feeling reminded me of who I was.
And then.
[Dimension 0000 – E.D.E.N]
I landed silently.
I brushed the dust off my sleeves and looked around.
It was a deep night.
Crackle, crackle!
A broken neon sign sizzled.
I was on the roof of a tall, dilapidated building.
‘Server 1.’
I looked out from the rooftop.
A gigantic metropolis, impossible to measure.
Thousands of tall buildings stood, and the web-like roads surrounded the city. On the roads, streamlined cars smoothly glided along the streets.
This looked like… a futuristic city straight out of a sci-fi movie.
‘I can see clearly.’
In the distance, towering above the clouds, I saw an extremely tall skyscraper.
Even to the eye, its height exceeded 1000 meters. That must be Mobius’s headquarters. Around the building, countless floating vehicles patrolled with their lights on.
‘I must observe it well.’
I opened my eyes wide.
A great city where hundreds of thousands of people depended on for their livelihood.
Below the building where I stood, crowds of people filled the streets with their bustling conversations.
‘This is the place I must destroy.’
I took a step off the edge of the roof.
My body began to descend under the influence of gravity.
Just before falling, I twisted my body once.
Crash! Screeech!
The asphalt road lifted, and the cars around me were thrown into the air.
“Ack!”
“What, what is this?!”
I pushed off the asphalt debris covering me.
I emerged from the cracks in the shattered road and brushed the dust off my cloak.
“A person!”
“Who…?!”
The citizens took a few steps back, murmuring as they looked at me.
‘Mobius employees?’
Brought from various planes either willingly or forced, working here.
Controlling almost a million dimensions would require a structure of this size.
At first glance, they seemed like ordinary modern citizens.
“Hey, are you okay…? ah!”
Crackle.
The man in a suit who reached out to me was thrown far away.
It’s dangerous to touch me without permission.
I began to walk slowly along the avenue.