I organized the reports I received from Yurnet.
El Cid, the top-ranked player on the European server, had cleared all stages of Pick Me Up and secured his place in the Hall of Fame. However, he was significantly dissatisfied with the process and believed the only way to resolve his grievances was to storm Mobius’s headquarters.
‘This is the first cause.’
El Cid seemed to be genuinely angry.
Though he had never shown interest in PVP before, he devoured his comrades and other unrelated heroes alike.
‘There’s something more to this.’
After Yurnet and Wiryung left, the empty reception room fell silent.
I continued to ponder deeply, leaning back into the sofa.
The sole hero and sub-master of the current Dorado, Laskanda, was highly likely to be the same person as El Cid.
Like me, he had fallen into the game and become a hero.
The difference between us was that he fell into the game much earlier than I did and eventually cleared Dorado’s scenario.
‘Why is he so angry?’
Despite clearing the game, he couldn’t return to Earth?
I brought my hand to my mouth. According to Iselle, even a goddess cannot break a promise made on one’s existence. The promise Tel made to me during the 2-star promotion ceremony to return to Earth upon clearing the game and transfer Mobius’ shares was likely sincere. However, El Cid remained in Mobius despite reaching the top.
Information was lacking.
I discovered he intended to go to Server 1, but the exact reason was unclear.
After learning his objective, I couldn’t disregard it as unrelated to Niflheimr.
‘He used a lot of influence power moving to Server 2. He needs to replenish it somehow.’
I recalled Yurnet’s words.
‘Eating lower-tier heroes won’t easily restore his influence. He’ll need to devour heroes of higher rank. In that sense, our Niflheimr is… the best prey.’
The best prey.
Yurnet described our predicament that way.
‘Is a confrontation unavoidable?’
El Cid had been issued a manhunt by the headquarters.
He was turned into a raid boss. By now, all the masters in Server 2 would have assembled a strike team. No matter how strong he was, it would be hard for him to survive alone.
I tightened my lips.
I would also be participating in this raid event as part of Townia.
Of course, not with full force.
Even with minimal participation, the rewards were sufficient, so Anytng would likely deploy only the bare minimum.
It might seem like we’re just tagging along, but given the high-level mission we just completed, it was an unavoidable choice. We had only the Lusette airship available for immediate operation.
‘Would two be enough?’
Wiryung and I.
Even observing his end from afar should be fine.
If that didn’t work…
‘……’
I leaned back into the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
And a few days later.
The day of the raid event arrived.
[Pick Me Up!]
[Welcome to the Dimensional Cafe!]
Early in the morning, Anytng, who had logged into the game, was browsing the internal community of Pick Me Up, the Dimensional Cafe.
□ Recruitment Board
The recruitment board.
Commonly, this was where masters looked for companions to complete recommended party events.
Thousands of posts were up, refreshing the page constantly as more were added.
For the first time, headquarters had organized a surprise event outside of their regular schedule.
Numerous streamers were also preparing their broadcasts to cover it.
“I will see how he dies with my own eyes.”
The Dimensional Rift Hangar.
Wiryung looked up at the departing Lusette airship with murderous eyes.
It was understandable.
Muryeon and its lord had done nothing wrong to El Cid.
Her hometown Muryeon had been destroyed for ridiculous reasons.
“I’ll say it again, don’t act out if he’s in front of us. If you plan to, say it now. I’ll go alone.”
“You need not worry about me, Young Master. While I might have behaved rashly in Muryeon, I am aware of our current situation. I simply wish to witness the end of that wicked man.”
Clank. Click-clack.
The steps from the Lusette airship descended to the deck.
Wiryung climbed them without hesitation.
Only Wiryung and I were participating in this event.
Anytng accepted my party composition suggestion without hesitation.
‘El Cid.’
Or rather, Laskanda now?
Yurnet was still investigating his identity on Earth,
Once that was clear, we’d likely understand why he hadn’t returned to Earth and his purpose for going to Server 1.
Securing the Bifrost’s sheath to my belt, I boarded the airship heading to the event location.
A few minutes later.
Lusette, now at the boundary of the Townia zone, began to be enveloped in light.
Flash, a dazzling flare made the view white.
And after a while, the light cleared.
I squinted.
The sky was painted red. An endless expanse stretched out above and below.
The exact place is shown in the raid event’s promotional video.
[1297th Dimension – Nisand]
The vast sky was filled with countless airships.
Too many to count at a glance. Roughly estimated, thousands.
Including those beyond my sight, there might be over ten thousand.
Someone’s voice had been heard for a while.
‘There it is.’
I looked far ahead.
Fleet formations that dwarfed normal masters’ airships, clearly belonging to rankers, stood in formation. The voice was coming from the flagship there.
“Who do they think they are, ordering us around. Annoying.”
Next to me, a man on the airship’s deck grumbled.
Despite his words, his airship was reversing.
[Dimensional Channel – 13,639 participants]
Iclios> Low-level players can just watch! We’ll handle this!
Melt> So many people. Are they all here for a free ride?
NanAhrayo> No shame, lol. Over half just brought their bodies here to join in. Planning to freeload? If Loki were here, you’d all be dead.
CoinWorld> By the way, where’s Niflheimr? The server representative should be…
Dozens of chat messages were popping up by the second.
I took my eyes off the guild chat window and looked around again.
Approximately 14,000 masters had joined this surprise event.
With all the airships mobilized, there were over 25,000.
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!