Pick me Up – Chapter 300 – Ragnarok (5)
Kwarung!
A lightning bolt struck through the scattered black clouds.
The giant bolt, several kilometers in size, brushed past the aircraft we were in.
[Dimension 1013 – Valdrac]
It had been a long time since we left Taonier.
After several dimensional jumps, Iselle and I were passing through a nameless dimension.
There was no sign of the tower, the Lobby marker. It might have been an abandoned place. In the field, storms accompanied by lightning battered at hundreds of meters per second relentlessly. If we hadn’t covered the entire ship with a shield, we would have been swept away by the wind.
Kwarung!
A pale-colored lightning bolt fell within the gray clouds.
I was sitting on a half-broken iron chair on the deck.
‘I feel like I’m watching a movie.’
If there were a completely 3D movie, it would be like this.
Outside, a storm that could tear apart a human body raged, but on top of the ship, everything was completely calm. The Anything moved between dimensions without a single shake.
Crack.
I took a piece of cookie from the bag on my belt and chewed it.
When the war truly began, it would be hard to have these moments of tranquility. Although it wasn’t very tasty, at least the cookie kept me entertained.
[Loki.]
“What’s up?”
[Are you really okay with this?]
Iselle, sitting on my shoulder, swung her legs.
[Don’t you regret leaving like that? Even if you’re not their master now, those heroes...]
“Clinging to every little detail is even more annoying. This is the right thing.”
If they had started crying and begging me not to leave, it would have been very troublesome.
No matter how they reacted, they would only have hindered me.
“What if I took the weak and they died? It would be problematic if they were taken hostage. It’s more comfortable to be alone.”
[What about me?]
“You’re from server 1. I needed a guide.”
There was no time to hesitate.
When I enter server 1, I will directly attack Mobius’s headquarters.
Fast and decisive. Before they can extend their reach to other places, I’ll finish this as quickly as possible.
“By the way, I thought of a new name for you.”
[My name?]
“You want to be real, right?”
I thought of several derived names: Nisel, Samsel, Tasel, Rosel...
But none of them suited her.
“You should also change that body that looks like a half-finished toy.”
[Half-finished toy?!]
“Do you want to stay the same?”
Iselle pouted.
Mobius’s fairies were as small as an adult man’s arm.
Moreover, they all had the appearance of immature girls. They looked like miniature versions of humans. There was no doubt that Tel had made them like that on purpose.
“When this fight is over, I’ll get you a beautiful body. One you’ll love. Just wait until then. Frey.”
[...Frey.]
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it? I’m not good with names. Forgive me.”
[No, no, no.]
Iselle murmured that name several times, then shook her head.
[Frey! It sounds important. I think it goes well with Loki.]
“That’s good.”
[Even though it sounds a bit strange, it’s better than Iselle. Yes, my new name will be... Frey!]
Iselle, or rather, Frey, smiled with blushing cheeks.
Then she began to hum a melody in a high tone.
It seems the name I improvised turned out to be the right one.
‘This girl... is quite useful.’
I didn’t bring her out of mere compassion.
After the fight in Taonier, I had already connected my data with Frey’s. The broad and multifaceted calculation ability of the fairies would be very useful in the upcoming battle. Compared, it would be like evolving from a simple core to a dual one.
[Yes! Leave it to me! I can handle everything!]
Frey laughed heartily.
Then, suddenly, she looked at me with a worried expression.
[So, you’re not going to abandon me?]
“Of course not.”
Thud!
I felt a great vibration in the aircraft.
It was the signal of another dimensional jump. We had crossed another dimension before realizing it.
‘Not much left.’
Less than an hour remained to reach the border of server 1.
I wrapped myself in my wolfskin cloak. Maybe I should take a nap. It would be impossible to rest once the endless battles began. I didn’t know how many continuous fights I would have to face, so I needed to...
[Loki.]
Frey said quietly.
I got up from the chair.
“It seems I won’t be able to rest.”
Beyond the horizon, countless black dots were approaching.
Wuuuuuuung.
I could hear it from here.
The roar of countless aircraft burning fuel.
“How many are there?”
[82 large ships, 113 medium, 155 small.]
Exactly 350.
I got up from the chair.
‘They don’t belong to Mobius.’
Although they seemed like a uniform group, the structures, equipment, and formations of the ships were varied.
It wasn’t hard to distinguish. I had seen similar forces before.
Giant holographic letters floated in the sky.
[The enemy you face today is the strongest and most terrible of all time: Loki, the evil master who abuses bugs and cheats to disrupt the server! Show your united power, masters! Mobius is with you!]
I clicked my tongue.
They should stop repeating the same thing.
<Reward Guide>
[The master who defeats the main boss, Loki, will receive as a reward the Book of the Inverted Sky, the key item to ascend to 7 stars, among other super rewards!]
[Additional rewards based on contribution to the defeat of the boss.]
[And also, various participation and cleanup rewards...]
<Notice>
[This Raid is open to masters from all servers.]
[Good luck to everyone! Show justice against this unscrupulous outlaw!]
“Do they really think this will work?”
[But seeing the gathered fleets...]
“Sure, it works because they keep doing it.”
Despite the server being half-destroyed and the management a mess, there were still many people.
Many players had left the game due to continuous accidents, but not enough to shut down the server.
Those who stayed were the most dedicated players. The true fans who blindly obeyed the administrators. They didn’t plan to leave the game for any reason.
[Ding!]
[All heroes in the field are granted ‘Protection against Death.’]
[During the battle with Loki, heroes will not disappear upon death. They will resurrect after a while with a reduction in level, skills, and stats. Keep this in mind.]
[Ding!]
[All heroes in the field are granted ‘Blessing of the Supreme Goddess.’]
[The stats of all heroes increase by 200%, and the effects of all skills and Engravings are enhanced.]
[Ding!]
[All heroes in the field...]
They are applying several benefits from the start.
Crunch. I threw the empty cookie bag.
[Dimensional Channel (GM only) – 3 participants]
[GM Largo – Kihihihi! You dare challenge the general manager? You deserve to die a hundred times! Die miserably there!]
[GM Sendain – Our CEO is a god among gods! No one can beat him! We’ll show you his power again and again.]
[GM Ueryl – Frey? A mere fairy has a name? Hahaha!]
I shrugged.
Although many masters were watching the chat, it didn’t seem to matter to them.
Maybe because it was a game they were going to stop playing anyway.
<Master Loki!>
A male voice echoed authoritatively.
A voice filled with great magical power. He seemed to be the commander of this attack group.
<We don’t know who you are or what you’ve done, but we’ll tell you one thing. If you don’t want your heroes to die, surrender immediately. We will end this with just your life.>
“……”
<Don’t think it will be like with El Cid. We won’t let it happen twice. Your synthesis ability won’t work here. It’s a useless fight.>
I opened my right hand.
Shraaak. Countless invisible threads extended into the air.
The transparent threads scattered like a spider web.
“Frey.”
[Yes, I’ll connect.]
Frey’s eyes glowed blue.
She was reading the field data.
‘I see it.’
Countless data passed before my eyes.
An area that humans couldn’t interpret.
But I could read them.
[000010101010101010101010...]
[110101110100101010111011...]
[010010111010010101011100...]
[011111010001010111010101...]
That’s right.
The system of this world resembled the source code of a program.
‘Three thousand.’
That was the number of the attack force gathered here.
All the casual players had already left the game, leaving only the most dedicated players.
All were equipped with rare skills, equipment, and engravings, filling the field with max-level 6-star heroes.
<Stop the aircraft immediately and surrender your weapons, Loki. I won’t repeat it.>
But the Anything didn’t stop.
It kept moving silently towards the fleet trying to surround us.
[Analysis complete.]
“You can stop now. Good job.”
[Uh... uh... It’s the first time I’ve done something like this...]
Frey, sweating profusely, collapsed.
I gently placed her on the deck.
<If you ignore this warning, we will destroy the aircraft you’re on...>
“I can hear you well, so stop talking.”
<Have you finally thought about surrendering?>
I frowned.
A few hundred meters away, a man in silver armor was standing on the bow of a huge ship.
He seemed to be the commander of the fleet. Behind him were many elite heroes.
<I know your achievements. I wanted to treat you with respect. If you give up your life, I won’t touch your lands. Stop the aircraft right now...>
“Move aside.”
<...Are you crazy?>
The commander’s voice lowered.
<It’s incredibly arrogant of you. I wanted to handle this amicably in honor of your achievements, but...>
“You won’t move aside?”
<I won’t leave a single corpse.>
I clenched my right hand.
Shraaak. The countless threads that had spread out returned to their place.
‘Acquisition of ID.’
If they had heroes with interference capability, it would be different, but there didn’t seem to be any.
Cases like Sirres’s were not common.
Although I’m strong, killing a thousand people simultaneously is a heavy burden.
I didn’t want to become a mass murderer of my own free will.
‘Then...’
Half of them.
<Prepare for battle!>
The commander drew his sword.
The magic cannons aimed in my direction.
The Anything continued to accelerate.
Just before the bombardment.
<Fire!>
Chas.
I snapped my fingers.
Boom! Boom, boom, boom!
Thousands of projectiles heading towards me vanished simultaneously.
And then.
<...>
The Anything passed quietly through the fleet.
After all their noise about surrendering, now they were as silent as if they had been doused with water.
<This is... what the hell?>
The commander was still alive.
I had adjusted the probability to half, and fortunately, he hadn’t been one of the eliminated.
However, half of his subordinates had disappeared. I could have absorbed them if I had put more effort, but those minor heroes wouldn’t have made much difference.
I smiled and wrapped the cloak around me.
[Uh, Loki.]
“Yes?”
[Balancing the universe... isn’t very fun.]
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
[I just wanted to say it.]
Thud!
The ship struck the field border again, crossing another dimension.
The entrance to server 1 was right ahead.
“……”
Crack.
I felt like I had lost another memory, but I decided not to worry about it.