Pick Me Up!

I returned to the arena.

“Congratulations on making it to the finals!”

The clerk next to the dimensional gate handed me a pass.

I looked around. The arena was noisy with the sounds of other contestants.

Besides those eliminated, it seemed a few had passed faster than me.

It wasn’t much of a hassle. Given the small field and fewer participants, some matches had ended very quickly.

[Ohoho! That was quick! Reducing the number of participants was the right decision. We should proceed like this for the next 8th Festa preliminaries!]

“Excuse me, but that proposal was rejected for the 8th…”

[What did you say!]

The central giant monitor in the stadium was playing highlights from the matches.

Today’s footage of my performance was also shown. This would also contribute to the rumors about me. Yesterday, I left immediately after the preliminaries, so I hadn’t seen these highlights.

I sat near the monitor in the waiting area.

Watching the match videos throughout today seemed like a good idea to spot any troublesome opponents for the finals.

“That was impressive.”

Suddenly, a can of drink was offered from beside me.

I took the can somewhat dumbfounded.

“To defeat nine people with just some junk. You were impressive yesterday too.”

“…”

“I’m Sadine Nibel. And you?”

A woman with her blonde hair tied back sat down gracefully beside me.

A familiar face.

“Han.”

“Good, Mr. Han. The reason I approached you…”

“You want me to join your party for the finals tomorrow.”

“You catch on fast.”

Sadine covered her mouth and laughed.

Then she gestured behind her.

“Those two are going to be in my party tomorrow. There will be 100 contestants in the finals. Isn’t the survival rate too low if you’re alone? No matter how strong you are, it’s tough to handle a surprise attack or face many opponents by yourself. Especially someone like you, a person of interest.”

Sadine emphasized the term ‘person of interest’.

That makes sense. From the rumors alone, someone like me, the mad dog, would be a primary target and face concentrated attacks. Meaning, my chances of winning were slim.

“We’ll take you in. No other party will let you join.”

“…”

I remained silent.

This woman clearly spread the rumors about me.

Talking with her clarified her intentions.

‘Join, or die alone?’

It was a cute tactic.

She had nothing to lose.

Even if I didn’t join the party, since I moved alone, they could handle me with a combined attack.

If I joined, it would be good firepower for them.

“Think carefully. Your competitors are 99 tomorrow. Can you beat that many people alone? Wouldn’t it be better to create allies, think about it logically?”

“…”

“I did some digging, and you have a pretty solid background. A top external student from Niflheimr. That’s worth some respect. What do you say? If you perform well in this competition, I can ask my master to pull you out of that miserable waiting room. You could even come to our waiting room.”

I listened silently as Sadine coughed slightly.

“Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m thinking.”

I considered the composition of her party.

Sadine was a knight. The other two were rogues. The other two party members seemed to have been eliminated in the preliminaries.

This battle royale was so variable that even a born 4-star could easily be eliminated.

‘It’s bothersome to move alone.’

In this game, it was clear that parties had a higher survival rate than solo players.

What’s more, having rogues who could do things I couldn’t, like scouting and tracking, was appealing, despite the obvious intent.

If these three were from the same waiting room and aiming for the championship prize, when the last four remained, I would be facing a 3-to-1 fight.

If they were from the same group, it wouldn’t matter who won.

“Don’t take me lightly. I have an engraving, and so do the other two. We started as born 4-stars. We’re confident even if we start with just us three, but to avoid any unexpected issues…”

“Alright.”

“Really?”

“I’ll join.”

Sadine’s face lit up.

“Then we have a deal. Come to room 2101 at the hotel tonight. We’ll have a brief strategy meeting.”

“…”

“Oh, and just so you know, if you betray us, it will not be just about this event. This deal involves the honor between masters. Your master isn’t much, right? He’s just level 40, right? You wouldn’t want him to taste bitterness, so it’s best to keep to the agreement.”

‘She talks too much.’

Sadine pressed me several times with threats of retribution from her master if I betrayed the party, and then she left.

The only condition for the party’s dissolution was one.

When four remained.

As soon as the party disbanded, I would face the focused attacks of three players.

It was a clearly visible scenario.

I crossed my legs.

The monitor was still broadcasting the match videos.

Tomorrow would be the final main and championship matches of this Raid Festa.

The winner of the three events and the owner of the 5-star summon ticket would be determined. Since there was no contact from Jenna and Velkist, it seemed there had been no issues in their progression.

The battle royale finals would start early in the morning.

If it ends quickly, I might even go watch other events.

I was good on my own, but now I had found a suitable use for them.

‘Don’t betray?’

Of course, I wouldn’t betray.

I didn’t want to create a hassle with conflicts.

Just a bit of a detour.

I gulped down the now-cold can of drink.

‘This bastard…’

It was mint chocolate flavor.

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!