Pick Me Up!

“How long can we last?”

“Uh, maybe 10 minutes…”

“Han! What should we do…?”

‘Was this a trap mission from the start?’

As soon as the special field appeared, we should have turned the ship around without looking back.

Anytng will make use of this knowledge in the next missions.

But…

‘There’s no next time for me.’

I snapped my fingers.

[‘1st Party’ leader, ‘Han(★★★),’ suggests summoning the airship.]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes(Selected) / No]

Permission was granted.

“Katiio!”

Katiio’s eyes sparkled blue.

His hands crossed, and threads of magical power began to emanate.

[Constructing a dimensional gate…]

[Current progress – 03%]

A large eel-like creature leaped from the surface.

It was a small Water Dragon.

A Mermaid was riding on its back.

Leaping dozens of meters like a flying fish, the Water Dragon dropped the fully armed Mermaid onto the deck before diving back into the sea.

I lowered my stance and sprinted.

In less than a second, I closed a distance of 10m.

Swinging my sword, the Mermaid’s upper body was sliced off in one clean cut.

“Protect the dimensional gate! Don’t let them touch it!”

“Got it!”

They were swarming towards Katiio, who was summoning the airship through the dimensional gate.

We formed a circle around Katiio to protect him.

“Kyak!”

A Water Dragon, carrying a Mermaid on its back, was hit by an arrow as it soared.

Then, when the deck was drenched in the blue blood of the Mermaid.

Kroong!

A different kind of vibration shook the ship.

A tail several meters long soared and swept across the ship horizontally. And then it smashed the sails and mast like wooden chopsticks.

[Danger!]

[‘Nautilus’ is in critical condition!]

‘The progress is…’

[Constructing a dimensional gate…]

[Current progress – 73%]

Magical threads were weaving a semi-circular gate.

“We can’t hold out any longer… Ugh!”

The Water Dragon’s tail wrapped around a sailor’s upper body.

The sailor was dragged into the water.

[‘Nautilus’ high-speed sailing device stopped working.]

The ship halted.

The deck of the sailing ship was riddled with holes, and all the masts and sails were broken.

Water was leaking into the ship.

The sailing ship rocked violently up and down, then slowly began to sink.

Priasis let go of the helm.

“Is it going to end like this again?”

“Get used to it if you’re planning to stick with me longer.”

“That’s true.”

Priasis smiled faintly.

【Open, the gate of dimensions!】

Katiio clasped his hands together.

Behind the sailing ship, a semi-circular dimensional gate appeared.

[A dimensional gate has been created!]

[Through the dimensional gate, vehicles, equipment, and consumables can be summoned to the battlefield.]

The control window of Anytng moved.

[You have selected the airship ‘Capitalism.’ Do you wish to summon it?]

[Yes(Selected) / No]

【Access granted. Come forth!】

Flash.

The bow of the Capitalism appeared.

“I’ll go ahead.”

Teleportation.

Katiio turned to look at me, then disappeared in a flash of light.

The sailing ship continued to sink from the front.

I supported Priasis and ran to the back of the ship.

Members of the 1st Party chased after the Mermaids nearby.

“Even if you have several lives, it wouldn’t be enough if we keep fighting like this.”

I ignored Neryssa’s joke and approached the railing.

The fully revealed Capitalism was approaching the sinking ship.

Crash!

The tail struck one side of the ship.

Wood splinters flew, and half of the sailing ship was shattered.

“What about the other sailors…”

I shook my head.

Priasis silently grabbed my collar.

As I boarded last, the sailing ship sank helplessly.

Thump!

A column of water shot up.

The Water Dragon, nearly 10m tall, flashed its eyes.

“It’s not a ship, it’s an airship. You anchovy.”

I raised my middle finger at it.

[‘Capitalism’s high-speed flight device is activated!]

Vroom!

The airship slightly lifted off the water’s surface.

Then, like a hovercraft, it sped across the waves.

‘Flying is impossible, but…’

Indeed, an airship is an airship.

Its basic specs are different from a simple ship.

The steel-covered exterior would not dent from ordinary impacts.

Moreover, airships are fundamentally equipped with high-speed flight devices.

[Summon the airship!]

[You have completed a sub-quest.]

[A hidden stage, ‘Hunt of the Water God,’ is unlocked.]

[Limited to one attempt.]

Leaving the Water Dragon’s roar behind, the Capitalism sped across the sea.

Soon after, as if nothing had happened, the sea was calm again.

A moment of silence followed.

Unable to hold back, Jenna spoke up.

“What was that long monster just now?”

“It looked like a dragon. Different from the one we fought on the 20th floor, though.”

“I’ve heard of it. It’s called a Water God, an ancient species from the deep sea. Back in the early days of the empire…”

Jenna, Velkist, and Neryssa began to chatter.

I wiped the blood off my sword with a cloth and sheathed it.

Then, I sat on the metal deck of the airship.

‘If it weren’t for the airship, it would have been tough.’

It wouldn’t have been a total defeat, but we would have struggled.

‘Really shitty missions.’

Pick Me Up! is known for its high difficulty, but this was something else.

If I were the master, I would have complained to customer service by now.

In fact, when I was running Niflheimr, I did inquire a few times.

Why is the difficulty set like this for my account?

Of course, the reply was always the same.

‘If you don’t like it, quit.’

Maybe I should have quit back then.

I chuckled bitterly.

“Anyway…”

I murmured and looked to the right of my vision.

A message announcing the completion of the sub-quest was displayed.

It was almost forced upon us.

‘A hidden stage, huh.’

[Stage Clear!]

[‘Han(★★★)’, ‘Jenna(★★★)’, ‘Neryssa(★★★)’ level up!]

[Reward – 150,000G]

[MVP – ‘Jenna(★★★)’]

I’ll look into it later.

There’s too much to do.

The boss of the 35th floor is now confirmed.

This time was a bust, but it wasn’t without gains.

We’ve learned the basic specs and patterns of the boss. I’ll ask the master for some time, then slowly prepare our strategy.contemporary romance

‘We’ll need more than a week.’

The 1st Party members haven’t even learned to swim yet.

It seems we’ll need to add underwater combat to our training.

But first, we’ll need a swimming pool…

[‘Water Dragon Ktaart’ is demanding prey.]

[A hidden stage is unlocked!]

Suddenly, Anytng’s screen changed.

[Tonight, we hunt!]

[★Hunt of the Water God★]

[S T A R T!]

Crude dot graphics.

In the sea, the shadow of the Water Dragon roars.

[Returning to the lobby is not possible.]

[You cannot escape the Water God’s domain.]

[The airship ‘Capitalism’ is set as a temporary base.]

[The mission starts automatically.]

[Floor 34.]

[Mission Type – ???]

[Will you hunt or be hunted?]

[1. The Water Dragon is searching for the master’s hero.]

[2. The Water Dragon’s detection area expands over time.]

[3. Avoid pursuit while collecting resources in the field!]

[4. When ready, start the ‘Hunt of the Water God.’]

[For more detailed instructions, tap the ‘Help’ tab!]

‘…What.’

What kind of shitty game is this?

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!

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