Pick Me Up!

All the heroes of Niflheimr, every waiting room, countless assistant fairies, and monsters—they’ll all disappear.

Every being that lived and breathed in this game would vanish.

‘Forget all this and return to Earth?’

What happens if I don’t go back?

‘There’s nothing you can do.’

It was a voice in me.

I was one of the top-rankers in this game.

And yet, just one ranker.

<Master, please don’t be sad. We were happy to be with you.>

I was left alone in the room.

“Happy to be with me?”

I only used you guys as game characters.

Nothing more than that.

I let out a bitter smile.

“……”

Since falling into this place…

Every day has been a cycle of pain.

But I always believed…

‘One day… one day…’

I thought I could smile in the end.

But…

‘Eloka.’

‘Edis.’

‘El Cid.’

They all died.

If this was the truth, then what meaning was there?

Just a pointless death.

I looked ahead.

A woman with bright orange hair floated before me, wearing a luxurious fur coat and waving a fan.

<You said you’d save me, didn’t you?>

“……”

Her voice was filled with contempt.

<Are you planning to run away like this?>

“Get lost.”

I spoke in a low voice.

It was just a hallucination.

But it felt so real.

Eloka let out a strange laugh.

And then her figure twisted and distorted.

Her once vibrant skin turned pale, bruised patches surfacing across her face.

It was the unmistakable look of a drowned corpse.

<You… you promised me…>

Thud!

I swung the scabbard of my sword and struck the space where she stood.

The impact sent the scabbard crashing into the wall, and Eloka’s illusion dispersed into a cloud of mist.

It was nothing but a hallucination.

[Warning!]

[Hero ‘Han (★★★★★★)’ stress levels are critical!]

[Tip: Please manage your hero’s stress appropriately! This can prevent sudden unexplained death or panic.]

“Tch.”

I let out a sharp laugh.

They were being awfully direct about it.

[Gift Shop!]

A screen popped up in front of me.

Since clearing the 80th floor, Anytng hadn’t logged out. After all, post-clear maintenance was necessary.

But now, she seemed panicked by the sudden alert message.

[Purchased ‘Warhorse Statue’ for 5,000 gold.]

[Purchased ‘Warhorse Statue’ for 5,000 gold.]

[Purchased ‘Warhorse Statue’ for 5,000 gold.]

[Purchased ‘Warhorse Statue’ for 5,000 gold.]

Statues rained down in piles beside my bed, clattering noisily as they stacked up.

I stared at them emotionlessly.

[‘Han (★★★★★★)’ shows no changes.]

Anytng hastily navigated back to the main menu.

She seemed to be preparing another approach.

She reopened the shop and purchased a high-quality glowstick.

Bright flashes of light filled my view as the glowstick waved back and forth in front of me.

[‘Han (★★★★★★)’ shows no changes.]

Still nothing.

Growing desperate, Anytng opened the gift shop again and began purchasing other gifts—luxury dinnerware, enchanted whetstones, magical potions, board games, and even another fur coat.

But no matter what she sent, nothing changed.

“This… it’s just a game.”

I murmured quietly.

Back when I first arrived in this world, I promised myself that I wouldn’t trust anyone.

That was the right answer.

‘If I hadn’t gotten attached, I wouldn’t be hurting like this.’

In the end, all that remained was regret.

I pulled the scabbard out from where it was embedded in the wall and returned it to my waist.

The hallucinations were gone.

The room was quiet once again, and in the reflection of a nearby mirror, my sunken eyes stared back at me.

My gaze was like a stagnant swamp—lifeless, and devoid of hope.

[Elsewhere in the Dimensional Rift…]

In a fairy’s private chamber, Iselle was furiously flapping her wings while talking into a communication crystal.

[So, our Han cleared the 80th floor, okay!?]

The small crystal glowed faintly as she spoke.

[Did you see it? The Prince went down with one hit! Han is unbeatable! He never loses. What? You want to join us? Dream on! I’m Han’s first subordinate, and I’m not giving up my spot to anyone!]

Iselle shrieked into the crystal.

[Don’t even try to get close! This seat is mine! You can just keep bowing down to your silly master over there. They’ll quit eventually anyway. Nya-ha-ha-ha!]

Her conversation partner was a fellow fairy—a classmate from fairy school.

That fairy had once been paired with a heavy-spending master but had been stuck on the 70th floor for ages. Now their master barely logged in.

[A bug? Who cares! My master doesn’t care about those things. He keeps buying packages regularly and doesn’t even complain. What? Anytng’s a piggy bank? You want to die?! Show some respect! I’m one of only six fairies across the server who have cleared the 80th floor!]

With a loud clack, Iselle hung up.

She huffed out a breath and flitted back toward her desk.

[Alright, time to get back to work.]

On the desk sat a thick, ancient tome—The Book of Reversal, left behind by El Cid.

The translation work was nearly complete. Iselle had already extracted everything she could from it.

With a small notepad and pen in hand, she carefully approached the book.

[Once this job is done, I should toss this thing out. Seriously, it’s called the Book of Reversal, but it doesn’t even help with Seven-Star Ascension. Sigh.]

Iselle flipped open the first page of the book.

And then—

A blinding golden light erupted from its pages.

[Wha—Eeeek!]

With a comical yell, Iselle was flung backward, spinning three and a half times in mid-air before coming to a halt.

She hovered in the air for a moment before darting back toward the book in panic.

She flipped through its pages, her tiny hands trembling.

But nothing had changed.

The book still looked old and worn, just as it always had.

[What… was that?]

Iselle muttered, wide-eyed with shock.

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!