Pick Me Up!

From there, a day passed, and Party 1 returned to the waiting room.

The results were not insignificant. We had gathered information about the dungeon and obtained useful items like recovery stones. The accumulated stress levels had also decreased, giving us the motivation to move forward again.

Once we acquired the qualifications to use personal marks in the exploration dungeon, we would revisit it.

“You couldn’t go to the sea. You went a little and got stuck.”

“Did you really go to see it?”

“Of course.”

After returning through the rift in space, Eolka held a fan with a displeased expression.

It seemed that she couldn’t go beyond a certain area. The exploration dungeon was opened one floor at a time, with each floor covering a distinct area. It seemed that after reaching the 100th floor, we would be able to access all areas.

“But it’s only been a few days, right? I’m already seeing some unfamiliar faces.”

“What? It’s been that long?”

I nodded.

The passage of time between the stages and the waiting room was different. This fact has been proven through multiple experiments.

As Eolka had mentioned, the 2nd-floor plaza now displayed the appearance of heroes we hadn’t seen before.

I knew who they were. They were the assistants of crafters in the equipment production area. They were moving materials from the warehouse to the equipment production area.

“So, they’ve officially reached the 2nd floor.”

It wasn’t a bad change.

If the heroes on the 1st floor saw someone advancing to the 2nd floor, it would motivate them greatly. The same applied in reverse.

I looked up at the sky.

Anytng wasn’t connected, and the night sky had a faint earthy hue. Judging by the color of the sky, it seemed to be late evening. After storing the loot in the warehouse, we gathered at the plaza once again.

“Go and rest. We’re meeting at the training grounds tomorrow morning.”

“Ugh, we’re starting again from tomorrow.”

“I’m going to take a bath, sis!”

Jenna and Eolka disappeared into their lodging.

Aaron was walking in the direction of the training grounds.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh, well…”

“If I told you to rest, then rest. Why do you keep wandering off? Do you want to ruin your body?”

“But, Hyung-nim…”

“I said from tomorrow onwards. Go rest.”

With his shoulders slouched Aaron turned towards the lodging.

I silently watched Aaron’s retreating figure.

‘….’

After returning from the 15th floor, the symptoms were gradually worsening.

There had been individuals of this type in Niflheimr as well. Addicts who forgot about erosion and only focused on training.

Most of the time, the results weren’t good.

Simply increasing training time wasn’t a solution. For efficiency, there needed to be a balance between training and rest.

Ideas like the power of perseverance from anime didn’t hold true here.

However, if someone was lacking, it meant they didn’t have the talent.

There was no choice but to find another path. Otherwise, they might die midway.

Of course, there were cases where seemingly useless heroes suddenly awakened their potential, but such instances were rare. In Niflheimr, there had been only one such case.

The next day, daily life resumed.

After having an early breakfast, the three members of Party 1 gathered as always for training. However, there was one change in the scenery of the training grounds.

“Quicker! You’re too slow!”

“Yes, noona!”

“Put more strength into your body.”

“Yes!”

In the training area, Edis and Asher were locked in combat.

Both sides were using real weapons. Whenever Edis swung her dagger, cuts appeared on Asher’s body. Despite the pain, Asher continued his attacks.

“Unexpected. I thought Party 2 avoided dangerous training.”

Jenna, who was running next to me, muttered.

It was true. Although Party 2 had invested a lot of time in training, unlike us, they had avoided training that involved drawing blood. However, that approach was now changing.

“Some change in mentality, maybe…”

“Maybe, because Dica isn’t here.”

At the training camp are Edis, Asher, and Roderick.

Dika, one of the early members, was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, now that you mention it, you’re right, I’ll go ask.”

Jenna, who had stopped running, approached Roderick near the combat area.

Roderic was standing with a spear in hand, wearing a serious expression. Jenna briefly exchanged words with him before returning our way. Jenna’s face was also stiff.

“Dica went down to the 1st floor.”

“For what reason?”

“Because he couldn’t kill a person.”

The response came from the side.

Edis was sharpening her dagger with a sharpening stone. In front of her, Asher, now covered in blood, was sprawled out.

“Expected.”

Dica’s demotion had been expected.

Dica didn’t recover from the shock of the 10th floor. While he had average talents, his personality was fragile. Although he managed to deal with monsters, it seemed he couldn’t fully utilize his abilities when facing a human.

“Instead of increasing the members, we’ve decreased. With only three people, we won’t get far. That’s why we decided to intensify our training. It would be great if the Master could perform advanced summons.”

“But I doubt the Master will perform advanced summons.”

Since the last failure, Anytng hadn’t performed paid summons even once.

This was a symptom of “summoning mistrust.” It appeared in Masters who lost a significant amount of gems in advanced summons. Those afflicted by summoning mistrust tended to invest heavily in facilities instead of performing summons.

“Even if the summons betray you, facilities won’t.”

It was one of the well-known sayings that circulated widely.

I had suffered from this severely before. It was because I couldn’t get any 4-star or higher heroes.

Edis nervously bit her lip.

“If it comes to that, our party…”

“You could try and ask the master to return him.”

“I don’t want to go that far.”

“Then give up. There’s no solution.”

I said.

In any case, it was much better than dragging them along to end up seeing their lifeless bodies.

It would be a comfort to know that most likely, Master won’t synthesize Dica.

Edis, being a seasoned mercenary, also understood the risks of having weak party members.

That’s why she wasn’t insisting on the Master to bring back Dika.

“It’s not easy.”

With a bitter smile, Edis left the training grounds.

Asher, covered in wounds, got up, and soon Roderick came up to the training grounds.

Asher clenched his teeth and gripped his sword. He had seen a comrade being demoted. His determination seemed stronger than ever.

“Ugh, the smell of blood.”

Eolka covered her nose with her hand.

Jenna and Aaron had serious expressions, but they were mumbling to themselves as if it was their own problem.

‘Mages never fail to surprise.’

Can’t be helped with a stubborn mindset.

I smiled and continued with the training.

——————— –

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