Play Your Cards Right if You Want to Survive (2)

The three men watched us as if they were bystanders.

The number of weapons displayed in the armory was drastically reduced. Only two remained: a bow and a shield. This was because in "Pick Me Up," if a hero dies, the equipment they were carrying also disappears.

Jena took the bow and quiver and slung them over her back. I secured the leather strap on the back of the wooden shield to my wrist.

As soon as we came out of the armory with our gear, the door closed.

Isel appeared and pointed at us.

[Han, Jena, Aaron, Toby, Elson! Get out!]

"What are you?"

"Where did you come from? Send us back!"

The men showed hostility toward Isel.

Jena intervened.

"Stop it. If you mess with it, you'll regret it."

"Are you in on this? Did you bring us here?"

"I'm not one of them. I was dragged here just like you. I just adapted first."

"Why bother explaining? They'll find out in a few minutes anyway."

I said and walked into the rift in space-time.

No matter how much Jena and I explained, they wouldn't understand. Even if they did understand, they wouldn't accept it.

"Ha, really."

Jena sighed heavily and followed me reluctantly. Shouts of anger echoed from behind.

"My wife is waiting for me! Send me back quickly!"

"I'm a poor farmer with no money. You've got the wrong person!"

I wondered how long Isel could tolerate this.

Jena asked me.

"Will they die?"

"Not if they don't provoke it first."

A while later, one of the men flew through the air like a shot put. He fell to the ground and groaned.

The other two soon followed. Finally, Isel came in, and the door to the square closed.

[See, if you don't want to get thrown around, just listen to me. Like they did.]

The leftmost mirror began to glow.

It was the main dungeon. The floor was probably the second floor. We could go back to the first floor, but there was no benefit at this point.

As the light gradually enveloped the room, the other party members, thinking they were going to die, pounded on the exit. Some even tried to attack Isel.

[Tch, annoying!]

Isel floated up lightly, dodging their hands.

And then the room was filled with light.

[Floor 2.]

[Mission Type – Extermination]

[Objective – Annihilate the enemy!]

The field type was plains. It was similar to a meadow but subtly different. The grass was sparse, and the ground was sloped.

'Must be wolves.'

[Goblin Lv. 3] X 2

[Plains Wolf Lv. 4] X 2

Two gray-maned wolves were growling up the slope. Above them, goblins with slingshots were picking up stones.

I frowned. The terrain and composition were unfavorable. We were below, and the enemies were above. If it were just wolves, it would be one thing, but there were also ranged attackers.

"What, what, what is that!"

"Phew."

['Aaron (★)' feels fear. All stats decrease by 30%.] ['Toby (★)' feels fear. All stats decrease by 30%.] ['Elson (★)' feels fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]

I took a deep breath.

Would an ordinary person have ever encountered a wild beast in their life?

The wolves were openly showing hostility. Their fangs were ready to tear into human flesh.

I steadied my trembling heart. They looked fierce, but they were nothing special. I had fought before, and I had become strong enough.

'Grrr.'

['Jena (★)' feels fear. All stats decrease by 30%.]

Not you too. I tapped Jena on the shoulder. Jena, who had been trembling, suddenly screamed.

"Aaaaah!"

"Did you eat something bad?!"

Had she gone mad?

But in the next moment, Jena regained her composure.

['Jena (★)' has overcome fear.]

"...….."

"I'm okay. It was just for a moment… just a moment."

"You take care of those two goblins. Just make sure the stones don't come my way, I'll handle the wolves."

Whiz!

One of the goblins hurled a stone. Not at me, but at Jena, who was fumbling with her quiver. I jumped forward and deflected the stone with my shield.

"This is the last time I'm doing you a favor!"

"Got it!"

A quick glance back showed the other three huddled together, trembling.

'Useless as expected.'

They didn't even seem fit to act as bait. The enemies were clearly targeting Jenna and me.

I bit my lip hard. I would not end up like those guys. I would fight to the end.

And I would survive.

"Raaawr!"

One of the wolves leapt at me with its jaws open. It was a quadruped, unlike a humanoid, so its leap was different. But I had anticipated this pattern.

I thrust an old iron sword into the leaping wolf's mouth.

"Still not dead?"

The wolf writhed in pain, but it wasn't dead from the single strike.

Though the sword pierced its palate, the tip didn't reach the brain. I tried to pull the sword out, but it seemed stuck on a bone. The other wolf was pacing on the hill above.

'Maybe it's because the weapon's lousy.'

As I thought this, the other wolf leapt at me. I flattened myself against the ground. Given the sloped terrain, the wolf's leap missed its mark.

I quickly got up and kicked the wolf with the sword in its mouth. Using both hands, I yanked out the sword and then plunged it into its forehead.

'One down.'

"Bark, bark, bark!"

The wolf barked from below the hill.

The positions were reversed. I was above, the wolf below.

The wolf charged at me in a straight line. No need to back down. I also charged forward, shield first.

When we collided, I struck the wolf's cheek with my shield as it opened its mouth wide and then drove the iron sword into its side.

"Yelp! Yelp!"

The wolf rolled on the ground, thrashing, but soon lay still.

'Two down.'

What about the goblins?

I looked up the hill. Two goblins, now pincushioned with arrows, lay face down. With a whoosh, another arrow embedded itself in one of the goblins' corpses.

"Stop! They're already dead, okay!"

Blood dripped from Jena's forehead. She must have been hit by a stone.

[Stage Clear!] ['Han (★)', 'Jena (★)' leveled up!] [Reward – 5,000G, Leather (C) X 3, Iron Ore (C) X 1] [MVP – 'Han (★)']

We returned to the rift in space-time.

Jena was touching her now-healed forehead in amazement, while the other three were still in a daze.

[Congratulations on clearing the 2nd floor!] [Proceeding to the 3rd floor.]

Rumble. Rumble.

The waiting room vibrated.

"What, what just happened?"

One of the men mumbled in a dazed voice.

Isel did not appear. Maybe he was fed up. I decided not to care.

'Status window.'

[Han Islat(*) Lv. 6 (Exp 13/50)]

[Class: Novice]

[Strength: 17/17]

[Intelligence: 14/14]

[Health: 16/16]

[Agility: 16/16]

[Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (Lv. 1), Basic Shieldsmanship (Lv. 1)]

'Good.'

My intelligence had decreased by 1, but my strength had increased by 2. Overall growth remained at 4, but the level-up efficiency had improved. It was proof that my constitution was improving.

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

One floor per day.

The master wasn't rushing us. If he had pushed us hard like on the first floor, both Jena and I would have been in danger. We had no injuries, but we were still fatigued.

I went into the armory, hung up my shield, and came back out.

Jena and the other three were bickering.

"Why did you just stand there watching? Only we fought!"

"You should have explained the situation! What's going on!"

"I told you at the beginning! We just have to fight!"

"Why do I have to fight? Where are we? What were those monsters, and what kind of magic dragged us to that place?"

"That's not important. To survive, we have to fight. You can think about it later."

"I've never even held a sword, how do you expect me to fight monsters?"

"You think I've fought before?"

The argument grew more heated.

Jena argued that we had been summoned to fight as we just did and that to survive, we had to work together. But the other three resisted, insisting that such things couldn't happen to them and refusing to accept reality.

Now I understood why 1-star heroes were considered trash.

1-star heroes were ordinary people. They had lived lives unrelated to battle. Just recalling their introductions during the 10-pull, none of them had combat-related professions.

Except for the 2-star Mormont.

He had said he was a mercenary.

'So, the higher the stars, the more combat-related the summons.'

Also, high-level heroes didn't hesitate.

If you put fresh 1-star heroes into battle, they would all fall into fear or panic. But 3-stars and above were different. They started fighting immediately.

'Were they summoned already knowing?'

Knowing the reason for the fight and its purpose.

Shay must have known. It was evident from her attitude.

If I had been a bit more composed, I might have asked.

"What the hell is wrong with these people!"

Jena stormed into the armory, returned the bow, and came out.

"Can't you help out a bit? We're supposed to be fighting together, persuading them to become allies."

"Why should I bother with useless people?"

"Better than nothing."

"They won't be around for long anyway."

"What?"

"You'll see."

They won't die in battle.

If they're still like this by the next battle, they'll disappear.

I looked at the closed door of the synthesis lab.

"In the next battle, you and I will fight. Don't worry about them."

Jena looked disgruntled but eventually nodded.

"Oh, and let's check out your house."

"My room?"

"I'm curious about what it's like. Why, don't you want to?"

"Okay."

We passed through the plaza and headed to the dormitory. One of the men, who had been whispering in a corner, approached.

"Hey, I have a question for you!"

"Don't ask. It's annoying."

"What did you say!"

The man tried to grab my collar. I punched him in the face.

"Ugh!"

The man fell back awkwardly.

"Is that your attitude after watching us bleed and fight?"

"No, I..."

I spat and walked away. The man held his bleeding nose, looking miserable.

"Heh."

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing."

Jena opened the dormitory door. Inside was a room made of roughly intertwined wood.

There were tables, chairs, and cabinets, and stones emitting light were embedded in the walls.

There were no modern amenities like a refrigerator or gas stove.

[Dormitory Lv. 1]

So this is the dormitory.

Strictly speaking, this place was more of a dormitory for heroes than Jena's house. Which meant those three annoying guys would be staying here too.

'Why is my room like that?'

I don't know yet.

I decided to think about it slowly.

"What do you want to eat? We only have potatoes."

"Only potatoes?"

"Potatoes, salt, and water. They replenish the next day, but that's all we have."

My room only had ramen and orange juice.

Probably because the dormitory level is low.

Jena took some potatoes from the cabinet, skewered them, and put them in the brazier in the middle of the room.

While the potatoes were cooking, I examined the dormitory.

A long corridor stretched inward with rooms lined up along it.

There weren't many rooms or facilities now, but as the dormitory level increased, it would gradually become larger and more spacious.

When you start the game, the maximum number of heroes you can have is 20. Upgrading the dormitory is necessary to summon more heroes. The pick-me-up system was implemented like this here.

The potatoes were delicious.