Pick Me Up!
Chapter 17: Lying the Groundwork (5) Part 2

A few more days passed.

“I’m coming!”

A boy with a shaved head thrust his wooden sword at me.

I easily dodged it. Then, two other boys next to him swung their swords. I swung my sword widely and parried both of their attacks.

The opponent’s swords were slow to the point of yawning, but not long ago, I was also in the same state. But the gap had widened. Every time my sword moved, one of them flinched.

“As expected, hyung-nim is strong.”

One of the three boys, Jid, said.

The three boys referred to the three gathered here. Zeeth, Hanson, and Dica. They were all under twenty. These kids must have heard how Aaron was addressing me and started calling me “hyung-nim” too (older brother).

“It’s because my level is higher, kid.”

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“You’ll find out soon enough.”

All three of them are at level 2.

The difference in stats between me and them is at least 7 to 8. It’s a gap greater than that between a child and an adult.

However, if it were just a difference in strength, it wouldn’t have been this overwhelming. I was far superior in additional abilities such as visual acuity and reaction speed. Perhaps it was due to the influence of agility.

And above all, the skills.

An unknown force was compensating for my swordsmanship. The cause was undoubtedly the low-level swordsmanship I had learned. I could instinctively feel where to move the sword and shield, as well as my legs and arms.

“It’s quite absurd.”

If it were Earth, such results could never have been achieved in such a short period of time.

On the other side of the training ground, Jenna was running while shooting her bow. Every time she released an arrow, it pierced the humanoid target more than 30 meters away. That girl had already reached level 5 in low-level archery. Her low-level dagger technique had also reached level 2.

In contrast, Aaron was struggling. He reached level 2 in spear technique a while ago but hadn’t made any further progress. He was the first to come to the training ground and the last to return to the lodging, but that didn’t mean new skills would suddenly appear.

The three boys in front of me each achieved level 1 in swordsmanship.

These guys were like withered bean sprouts when they first arrived, but now they’re swinging their weapons like they were born with them. Maybe it’s because they’re around the same age, they started calling each other hyung (older brother) or dongsaeng (younger brother) and even showed a sense of unity.

Well, it’s better than being crouched down like the others. Several days have passed, but the remaining two still haven’t come to the training ground. It seemed like they were trying to find the exit.

I’ll say it again, it’s a futile effort.

But, I don’t even care.

Figure it out on your own.

A few days later, another free 10-draw was conducted.

This time, I didn’t need to step forward. Aaron and the three boys took care of it themselves. Especially Aaron, who volunteered to participate, greatly reduced the sacrifice in the first battle. Only one person died during the ‘sorting out’ process.

“The number of people is increasing.”

Jenna said while sucking on a candy.

It was a stick candy made by hardening sugar water; Chloe made it for Jenna, who wanted a snack.

I was leaning against the sofa in the lobby.

Now, staying in the lodging had become familiar. If I didn’t think about going to my room, even if I opened the door, it wouldn’t appear.

Jenna chewed and swallowed the remaining candy and said, “By the way, why doesn’t the Master go to the 5th floor? It’s been quite a while since we cleared the 4th floor.”

I expected that question to come up.

It had been quite a while since we cleared the 4th floor, the area with harpies and goblins. So far, the main party consisting of me, Jenna, and Aaron had been conquering only the 4th floor. The other sub-parties were still staying on the 1st or 2nd floor.

“Of course, we’re not going.”

The difficulty sharply rises with each multiple of 5 floors. It was a kind of boss stage concept.

If Anytng did his research, he would know that sending us to the 5th floor like this is a dangerous act. We were lacking in levels and equipment, not to mention the number of people.

“We need two more members.”

A party can have a maximum of five members.

The candidates to join our party are probably two of the three boys. They seemed to adapt quickly, perhaps because they were young. They showed enthusiasm and eagerness. Zeeth even said with a smile that he thought this kind of life was better than farming or hunting.

We’ll see if he keeps thinking that.

The tutorial of Pick Me Up is over, but the practical tutorial is not yet finished.

Today, Aaron told the newcomers that if they keep their wits about them, it’s not a big deal and they can definitely survive.

So far, that’s true. Up to the 4th floor.

I know.

How devilishly difficult it becomes afterward. How many deaths await us in the battles ahead, even after the sorting out and repeated training at the training ground… I can’t guarantee with 100% certainty that I can survive.

Even below the 10th floor, there were countless trap missions with extremely low success rates, such as survival missions.

However, I didn’t feel like telling Jenna this fact.

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