"[W-what? You're not going?!]"
"Why should I? It's obvious I'll die."
"[You're not dying! It's synthesis!]"
This brat's trying to pull a fast one.
Isel's dainty eyebrows furrowed. Shining powder scattered every time the wings on her back flapped.
After pondering for a moment, Isel clapped her hands as if struck by an idea.
"[If you synthesize, you can return to your original world! Let me see... Han Israt, the place you lived...]"
A ledger popped into existence beside Isel. Isel flipped through the ledger, stopping at one point.
"[To Taonier, where you lived!]"
"Taonier?"
"[The Haim Peninsula in Taonier! Your hometown!]"
These unknown place names just kept coming.
Half dumbfounded, I retorted.
"My hometown is Gangseo-gu, Seoul."
"[Seoul? Gangseo-gu? Names like that...]"
Isel looked back and forth between the ledger and me, her expression hardening.
"[Wh-what? Who are you? Why do you look different from the picture? Han Israt doesn't look like this?]"
"Who's Han Israt and where's Taonier? I'm Han Seo-jin, born in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. I don't know who you are, but you better send me back while I'm asking nicely, got it?"
"[Don't tell me... you're from Earth?]"
"Of course I'm from Earth! Where else, Mars?!"
Cold sweat beaded on Isel's forehead.
Isel began frantically flipping through the ledger. Her hands moved too fast to see, her eyes darting rapidly up and down.
"[How could a being from a higher dimension...]"
Muttering worriedly, Isel pointed to the window at the top of my vision.
"[You, can you see this too?]"
[Now Loading....]
"I can see it."
"[Aaargh! How could they mess up the processing like this! This is crazy, I'm losing my mind!]"
Isel shook her head right there as if headbanging. Her black braids, hanging down left and right, spun like windmills.
"[Anyway, just get in there! Get in!]"
"No! Why should I! You go in..."
"[Gooo iiiiin!]"
Isel grabbed my wrist and simply threw me.
Feeling my body lift, I flew headfirst into the Synthesis Lab.
Splat.
The Synthesis Lab door slammed shut.
I immediately got up and pounded on the door. I kicked it and threw my whole body against it too. But the locked door didn't budge.
"Hey, brat, let me out! You little punk! I won't let you get away with this!"
For a little kid, how is she so strong!
I couldn't even resist.
"Quiet down, you're being loud."
Shea, the female knight leaning against the wall, said. On the floor where she stood, a complex and bizarre magic circle spanning the entire room was inscribed.
A thought suddenly struck me, and I asked.
"You, you... where are you from?"
"Me? Aranthia."
"Aranthia? What region is that? America? Canada?"
"Ameh-rica? Cah-nah-dah? What are you talking about? If you're also an imperial citizen, you surely know of the Ashinis, one of the four great families, don't you?"
'What kind of nonsense is this now.'
I could communicate better with a foreigner.
Wait, did I say foreigner?
I touched my lips. The words that had just flowed so easily from my lips. They weren't Korean. Nor English or Japanese.
It was some unknown language.
How could something so absurd happen?
Half pleadingly, I asked the crucial question. Once again, my mouth spoke the unknown language. It was as if the words I wanted to form in my brain were being filtered on the way out.
"By any chance, are you from Taonier?"
"I am."
"Not Earth?"
"I do not know of such a place."
So, this female knight came from a place called 'Aranthia' in 'Taonier'.
Darkness descended before my eyes. This dream couldn't get any crazier.
Above all, the nightmare's finale was waiting.
[Master, beginning synthesis.]
[Drag and drop the hero to be sacrificed onto the hero you wish to enhance! Experience points will be gained. The sacrificed hero will be annihilated.]
[Tips/ Adding heroes to Favorites can prevent synthesis mistakes.]
What? I could return to my original world?
I recalled the fairy agonizing over my refusal to go to the Synthesis Lab. Obviously, it was a lie.
The final stage, the grand finale of the Pick Me Up tutorial.
Hero Synthesis. Here, the user experiences the massive power boost gained by sacrificing a hero. I certainly did.
The problem is that I'm 1-star and that female knight is 4-star.
"Status!"
"What are you saying?"
"Status window!"
I shouted it half in desperation.
A small window appeared before my eyes.
[Han Israt (★) Lv. 2 (Exp 7/20)]
[Class: Novice]
[STR: 11/11]
[INT: 11/11]
[VIT: 11/11]
[AGI: 11/11]
[Skills Owned: None]
The fairy called me 'Han Israt'.
Then these stats must represent my current situation.
I met the gaze of Shea, who was looking at me strangely. This time, I whispered 'Status Window' so she wouldn't hear.
[Shea Ladastelli (★★★★) Lv. 2 (Exp 3/20)]
[Class: Knight]
[STR: 19/19]
[INT: 10/10]
[VIT: 18/18]
[AGI: 22/22]
[Skills Owned: Combat Logic (Lv.1), Intermediate Rapier Arts (Lv.1), Knight's Mindset (Lv.1)]
Same level 2, but the difference in stats is night and day. On top of that, Shea has three starting skills.
Among them, Combat Logic stood out. It was a special passive rated S-tier among hundreds of skills. Rapier Arts gives an attack bonus with rapier-type weapons, and Knight's Mindset is an auxiliary skill resisting mental status effects.
In contrast, I have: None.
"...Shea." I said in a trembling voice.
"What is it?"
"Is this a dream?"
"A dream, yes, but perhaps one from which we cannot awake."
Shea smirked.
[Are you sure you want to synthesize?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
Intense light erupted from the magic circle engraved on the Synthesis Lab floor. A strange sense of floating, like being submerged in water, permeated my entire body.
'Is this how I die.'
If this really is the world of Pick Me Up, and if a 'Master' is controlling this game, then I will disappear here as Shea's sacrifice. For a few paltry experience points.
If I had performed well in the battle earlier, maybe. But just looking at the goblin kill count, Shea got four, and I only got one.
'Who would sacrifice a 4-star to a 1-star?'
The light grew stronger, and I closed my eyes.
Hoping that when I opened my eyes, it would be my living room.
[Synthesis Complete!]
['Shea (★★★★)' vanishes into light.]
"Huh?"
I cautiously opened my eyes.
On the other side of the magic circle, Shea's body was engulfed in light and vanishing.
Shea smiled bitterly.
"So this is the end for me."
"Why are you disappearing?"
"I was not chosen. That is all."
"No, damn it, how does this make sense?! You're a 4-star, and I'm a 1-star!"
"I ask of you, Han."
Shea turned into particles of light and scattered.
Click.
The door leading to the plaza opened.
[This is how heroes grow stronger through synthesis.]
[Master, believe in the bond with your heroes. The future of the world rests in the Master's hands!]
[Tutorial Complete.]
[My, Isel's, tips will continue. Don't miss out on the essential info for becoming a strong Master!]
[More detailed strategies can be found on the official cafe.]
[Rewards distributed. Please check your Mailbox.]
[Welcome to the world of Pick Me Up!]
[Ta-da-dam!]
With a loud sound effect, the hologram window disappeared.
After standing blankly in the plaza for a moment, I yelled out.
"Isel, are you there? Answer me!"
[What do you want? I'm super annoyed!]
Isel appeared from empty space.
Isel folded her wings, landed on the floor, and began flailing her arms frantically.
[You blockhead! Synthesizing a 4-star into a 1-star? Are you brainless? Use Favorites! I told you in the tips, tips, tips! Read the tips! Aooooooh, this is driving me crazy, I'm gonna lose it!]
"..."
So that's what happened.
The reason I survived was simple. The way to synthesize heroes is drag and drop. It's a format where you touch and drag the hero to be sacrificed.
'It was a misclick.'
The Master pressed Accept Synthesis without even realizing they dragged the wrong hero.
A hollow laugh escaped. I survived solely because I was lucky. On the other hand, Shea died because of a simple misclick.
[Master, would you like to log out?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
[Goodbye then!]
The message indicating the game was closing appeared.
Isel, who had been flailing about, wiped tears from the corners of her eyes.
"[D-damn it. Just when I thought it was finally starting...]"
"Just tell me the situation. I'm dying of curiosity. Where this is, how I got here, and how to get back."
"[Hmph, why should I!]"
Isel kicked off the ground, flew up, and stuck her tongue out.
Her body gradually faded.
"[If you want to know, climb the tower. The answers are there. See ya!]"
"Hey, you, wait!"
I waved my hand where Isel had been, but caught nothing.
She fled.
"..."
I was left alone in the plaza.
The cheeky fairy and the calm female knight were gone.
Both seemed to know things I didn't. If I'd known this would happen, I should have asked Shea more questions.
Leaving the empty plaza behind, I returned to the room.
The room still looked like a high-class residence. Opening the cupboard above the sink revealed ramen.
Feeling gloomy, I took out a pot and boiled water.
Electricity, water, and gas all work. While the water boiled, I looked for an exit but couldn't find one. I couldn't even figure out the layout of this building.
I slurped down the noodles.
It had been a while, and the ramen tasted incredibly good.
Without cleaning up, I burrowed into bed.
Only then did the reality of what had happened hit me.
Kerrek.
The goblin's gurgling cry. Its menacing, bloodshot eyes. The burning houses and fleeing people. The sound of the sword whistling through the air as it swung at me. The sensation of ending a life seeping through my fingertips.
I was not chosen. That is all.
Shea's bitter voice replayed in my mind.
You weren't 'not chosen'. You were just damn unlucky. Normally, the one who should have been annihilated was me. I pictured Shea, disappearing, surrounded by light.
'Impossible.'
I entered the world inside the game.
Could something like this really happen?
When I wake up, if everything is a dream, I'll laugh it off.
I was even prepared to praise myself for having such an outrageous dream about entering a game world.
To think I could have such a realistic dream.
But what if it isn't a dream?
If I wake up, and everything is still the same?
If this inorganic room, the desolate plaza outside, are still here?
If I've really entered the game world, not as a Master, but as a mere hero?
Huddled under the blanket, I recalled.
Who I was in Pick Me Up.
Ranked 5th among 100 million Masters worldwide.
There is no user who knows more about this game than me.
I know practically everything: skill and item crafting recipes, efficient strategies and tactics, hero development methods, and all the hidden secrets.
People called someone like me, the Master of Master.
That's me.
If, when I open my eyes, everything is still the same.
'If that happens.'
I recalled the moments just before coming to this world.
The unidentified, Level 999 bugged monster.
That thing was definitely looking at me and sneering.
That's the one. It was definitely that thing that brought me here.
'You picked the wrong person to mess with.'
I ground my teeth hard.