Free 10 Draws (3)

[Han, Jena, Dazil, Grit, Gael have arrived.]

"Why aren't the people who left coming back...?"

Dazil trailed off.

Gael, who was lying down and groaning, spoke up.

"Listen, fairy man. My arthritis is acting up, so I can't walk anymore. Leave me out of this."

"Arthritis? You were walking around just fine."

"What do you expect me to do about sudden pain!"

[These guys…]

I shrugged my shoulders and entered the door at the center of the square. Inside was a spacious circular room, with enormous mirrors over 10 meters tall lined up. Information about the corresponding dungeon appeared above the mirrors.

[Climb the tower, save the world!]

[Main Dungeon: Current Floor – 0]

[A feast of ever-changing dungeons!]

[Daily Dungeon]

[Access denied! Clear the Main Dungeon 5th floor.]

[Gather various rare materials!]

[Exploration Dungeon]

[Access denied! Clear the Main Dungeon 10th floor.]

The other two mirrors, except for the one on the left, were darkened.

'So this is how it works.'

Looking down as a master versus looking up as a hero.

The feeling is worlds apart. It's fine. I can do it. I can't die in a place like this for no reason.

Only that determination cooled my mind.

A moment later, the other party members entered the rift in time.

"I told you, I have arthritis!"

"Just come on. We live or die together, remember?"

[Quiet, quiet, quiet! Be silent and prepare.]

"What, what are we supposed to prepare?"

"I've never even held a spear before."

[Main Dungeon, current challenge floor is 1.]

[The door will open in 10 seconds. Prepare yourselves!]

I looked back at the party members. Jena and Gael were constantly bickering, Dazil was sweating profusely, and Grit was trembling in the corner.

'Isn't there anyone useful?'

I sighed.

The mirror on the left began to shine.

The light grew stronger, blinding us and covering the entire room.

"What, what is this light!"

"Don't just stand there! It's starting!"

I shouted. It was both a command to the party members and a reminder to myself. In this world, the only one I can trust is myself. If I lose my focus, it's all over.

I repeated this to myself, like a mantra.

When the light faded, I was in an unfamiliar place.

[Floor 1.]

[Mission Type – Extermination]

[Objective – Annihilate the enemies!]

A gentle breeze blew.

An endlessly vast plain stretched to the horizon.

'Field type, grassland.'

Both the mission type and the field type were manageable.

To add, the stages of Pick Me Up are randomly generated. You never know what mission or field you will get.

"What, what is this place?"

"Where do you think? It's a battlefield!"

I knocked my shield with my rusty sword.

Ten meters away, four goblins were grouped together. They wore helmets and held curved swords. One of them had a sling.

[Goblin Lv.3] x 4

They were 2 levels higher than in the tutorial. The goblins' eyes glowed red upon spotting us.

"I told you, if you don't fight, you die. So focus..."

As I spoke, I turned around. No one was there.

"Damn it."

[Jena (★) feels fear.

All stats decreased by 30%.]

[Dazil (★) feels fear.

All stats decreased by 30%.]

[Grit (★) feels fear.

All stats decreased by 30%.]

[Gael (★) feels fear.

All stats decreased by 30%.]

The four were running away excitedly.

Gael, who claimed to have arthritis, was the fastest.

I expected this, but I didn't realize they would be this useless.

Gael collided with the edge of the field and tumbled. The other three followed suit.

"Oh my back!"

"Why can't I get out?"

"Open this door! I need to poop!"

[Dazil (★) falls into panic.

All stats decreased by 50%.]

[Grit (★) falls into panic.

All stats decreased by 50%.]

[Gael (★) falls into despair.

All stats decreased by 80%.]

They had no intention of fighting the goblins and were struggling in the corner.

Dazil struck the wall with his axe and collapsed, clutching his wrist. Grit swung his spear at the wall, and Gael couldn't get up, possibly due to a back injury.

Only Jena came back, dragging her feet.

"Brother, if we defeat those goblins, can we get out of here?"

Her amber eyes were trembling, and sweat was beading on her forehead.

But Jena held her bow firmly.

"Do you know how to shoot a bow?"

"My father was a hunter."

"I'll go out and fight, and you'll shoot. Can you do that?"

"Yes!"

[Dazil (★) falls into despair.

All stats decreased by 80%.]

[Grit (★) falls into despair.

All stats decreased by 80%.]

"What about those people…"

"Don't mind them. They're useless. Let's go!"

I gripped the shield tightly with my left hand and charged forward.

I had never used a shield or a sword before.

But I had to use them. The goblins came charging at me, snarling.

A stone flew through the air!

I raised the shield to my face.

A heavy impact reverberated through my left hand. If not for the shield, I would have been hit. Through the gap under the shield, I saw a goblin swinging its sword.

I lowered the shield to block and stabbed with my sword!

The goblin's arm was deeply cut, and it retreated.

I stepped back a few steps to assess the situation.

'Why is there only one goblin?'

The reason soon became clear. The other two goblins, excluding the one with the sling, were charging at the screaming party members. Despite the approaching goblins, the three couldn't pull themselves together.

"Guys, fight! The monsters are coming!"

Jena quickly notched an arrow and shot.

The arrow grazed the goblin's head.

"Damn, I missed!"

Jena looked frustrated as she pulled another arrow from her quiver.

'I told you not to worry about them!'

I decided to ignore them.

It was actually better this way. If those guys served as bait, I could take down the monsters one by one. I charged at the goblin clutching its arm. I deflected another stone with my shield and bashed the goblin's face with it.

"Keek!"

The goblin fell flat on its face.

Good, I can do this. I can definitely do this.

I drove the sword into the fallen goblin's chest.

"Gurrr, gurgle…"

The goblin gurgled up blood and its head fell limp.

"Kiaaaa, Kiaaa!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

['Dazil (★)' has returned to the goddess's embrace. His bravery will be remembered forever.]

I didn't look back.

There was still one left, a ranged goblin spinning a sling. I ran forward with my shield raised. The goblin slung a stone at me. The shield blocked it.

Choosing the shield was indeed the right choice.

['Grit (★)' has returned to the goddess's embrace. His bravery will be remembered forever.]

Behind me, there were gruesome screams and the sound of flesh being torn apart.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"Kiararak!"

I tackled the fleeing goblin from behind. The goblin tried to smash my forehead with a rock. I blocked it with my shield.

"Hail the shield, you bastard!"

I thrust my sword into the goblin's ribs, feeling the unpleasant sensation of scraping against bone. I ignored it and pushed deeper. After pulling the sword out, I thrust it in again.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

After stabbing four times, I let go, and the goblin collapsed.

['Gael (★)' has returned to the goddess's embrace. His bravery will be remembered forever.]

"Oh, brother…"

"What about the other two?"

"I took care of one!"

On one side of the plain, a goblin with an arrow in its head was lying down.

"But the others…"

"Think about that later, just get over here!"

The frenzied goblin charged at Jena. She screamed and ran towards me. I ran with my shield raised and collided with the goblin head-on.

"Oof!"

For a moment, my vision went red.

My right arm, deeply cut, was gushing blood. I dropped my sword from my right hand.

['Han (★)' is bleeding. Health will decrease over time.]

I struck the goblin with my shield.

"Kuek!"

"You damned bastard!"

I smashed the goblin's face with the edge of the shield. Broken teeth and blood splattered. I smashed it again. And again. And again. And again!

The goblin, twitching its limbs, finally went limp.

"Brother, your arm…"

"It'll heal when we go back."

I confirmed this during the tutorial. Still, it hurt like hell.

Blood was gushing from the long wound on my right arm, and I felt slightly dizzy from blood loss.

[Stage Clear!] ['Jena (★)' leveled up!] [Rewards – 2,000G, Iron Ore (C) x2, Copper (C) x1, Leather (C) x1] [MVP – 'Han (★)']

A light enveloped my whole body.

I closed my eyes and then opened them. We were back in the circular room with the mirrors, the Rift of Time.

[Three dead already? Tsk tsk, this is why 1-stars are no good.]

Isel looked at Jena and me with dissatisfaction.

I checked my right arm. The wound had completely disappeared. The pain lingered slightly but was gradually fading.

As I thought, no matter how close to death, everything is restored once you return to the lobby. It was the same in the game. This allowed for zombie parties to become popular.

[Return to the plaza. The door will close.]

Isel pointed to the open door. I walked out, and Jena followed me anxiously.

The door closed.

[Congratulations on clearing the first floor!] [Proceeding to the second floor.]

Clunk. Rumble.

A strange mechanical noise was heard, and the plaza floor shook.

"What's happening?"

"We're going up."

"To where?"

"The second floor."

The shaking stopped.

So, what happens now?

Clearing the second floor? Not a chance. I had seen enough of the battle. I must have realized there's no way forward as we are.

[Master, do you wish to enhance your forces?] [Tips: Heroes summoned from premium draws are stronger than regular ones.] [Tips: Build facilities like a training camp to develop your heroes.]

Here, free-to-play players have two options.

Either use premium currency for draws or construct facilities. Early in the game, there was a debate between those who used gems for 'hero draws' and those who used them for 'infrastructure building.' This dispute ended after I personally compared and demonstrated the efficiency.

[Constructing facilities. Please choose the type of facility you want to build.] [You selected 'Training Camp.' Do you want to build it? Building it costs 500 gems.] [Yes (Select) / No]

Exactly.

He wasn't completely clueless about the strategies. The locked door of the training camp was now open.

[The Training Camp is complete. Heroes will now train themselves. Strengthen the camp with gems, gold, and blueprints to enjoy broader and more powerful effects.] [Tips: Continuous battles exhaust heroes. Ensure they get proper rest to maintain peak combat performance.]

Valuable tips continued.

[Master, do you wish to log out?] [Yes (Select) / No] [Goodbye then!]

Is this where it ends?

Based on today's play, Amkena seems to be a light user who values facilities. This is the type I hoped for the most. No need to compete with expensive, star-studded heroes, and the foundation for growth is solid.

Most free-to-play users hit a wall from the high floors of the tower, but that's for later.

[Whew! I'm so exhausted.]

Isel, who had appeared out of nowhere, stretched and yawned.

Jena asked with a half-trembling voice,

"What happens to us now?"

[What do you mean? Just rest until the Master logs back in. Since the training camp is open, you can train there. The dorm is over there. Just go crash.]

"Did everyone else… die?"

[Obviously. Can't you see?]

Jena's face turned pale. "Why were we brought here? What's the purpose?"

[You're as annoying as that guy. If you want to know, climb the tower.]

"Is that tower what you meant by going up?"

I shrugged. "He already answered that, didn't he? Going up."

It seems that as you clear the main dungeon, the lobby also moves up. I couldn't imagine what kind of bizarre structure this was, so I decided not to think about it. Just accept it as it is.

Jena clenched her fists and shouted, "I'll find a way back!"

"The dormitory is over there."

I pointed to the room connected to the house. Jena huffed and stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

"I have a question too."

[What question could a loser who only cleared the first floor have?]

"Does time here pass differently than on Earth?"

[I told you not to ask questions! No answers!]

"Seems like it does."

If we assume that, everything makes sense.

Here in the lobby, time flows faster than on Earth. I don't know how many times faster. That's something to figure out gradually. And at the center of it is the fairy, Isel.

"Your tips were good. Keep doing that next time."

[You 1-star weakling!]

Isel stomped her feet and fled.

'So that's how it is.'

The fairy probably can't touch me.

It seems like she can only attack in self-defense, like with Mormont, or when refusing the master's commands.

Let's keep uncovering these rules one by one.

When I started walking back to the dorm, I noticed my hands were trembling.

Nine people had died. Nine out of eleven.

I could have easily been among them.

'Calm down.'

If I can't adapt, I'll be eliminated.

That's the only rule in this world. It took me almost an hour to finally return to the dorm.

[Current situation]:

11 summoned, 9 deceased, 2 survivors.