Pick Me Up!

‘Transcend Fate.’

I let out a bitter laugh.

I had seen someone before who carried a similar title.

But still, it wasn’t time for her to fall just yet.

[Special NPC ‘Priasis Al Ragnar’ awakens the ‘Golden Bloodline’!]

[The multidimensional sword ‘Ruslada’ is complete!]

The light bursting from the prince’s corpse coalesced into the form of a sword in Pria’s hand.

Compared to the irregular, curved multidimensional sword Pria had been using before, this one appeared far more stable.

「…….」

Golden afterimages danced at the tips of her silver hair.

“Is… is it over?” Jenna blinked.

I turned my head and replied.

“No.”

[Shards of Despair Lv.108] X 1037

Grumble, grumble…

The floating shards near the hole plummeted simultaneously with an ominous groan.

Their target: Pria, who stood holding her sword aloft. Light swirled like a vortex at the tip of her blade.

[Charge Rate – 1%]

Velkist gripped his sword’s scabbard and grinned.

“Looks like there’s one last thing left to do.”

I nodded.

Well, the prince had shown an unexpected final act, but a mission is a mission.

It wouldn’t make sense if there was no final phase.

‘We must buy time until the charge is complete.’

I looked upward.

Thousands of shards were raining down toward us.

The core of the Shards of Despair resembled massive, transparent crystals. Each was about three meters in size. At the center of each glass-like shard, flashes of light began to explode outward.

Ziiing!

A dense heat ray fired toward Pria.

‘Expand.’

The blade of Bifrost extended outward and unfolded like a whip.

I swung the transformed blade wide, deflecting the heat ray with its tip.

‘I’ll have to go one more round.’

Crackle.

Red lightning began to surge around my entire body.

“Senior.”

“Hm?”

“Why don’t you take a break this time?”

Velkist spoke again.

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, but it seems like you had your fun while we were away. At least this time, give us a chance. It’s hardly worth it if we can’t even properly use the power we’ve built up.”

“I don’t think this is something to share.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

Velkist stepped forward.

‘Tired…’

Ever since the fight with the prince began, I had maintained my Demonic Transformation state.

Demonic Transformation is an incredibly taxing skill. Even after leaving the mission, I didn’t know what might happen, so I never released it.

‘He’s not wrong.’

I let out a small laugh.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

I had indeed been exerting myself for a long time.

“Do as you like.”

I sat on the remains of a broken pillar.

With a snap of my fingers, the black dragon’s power that had been surging through my body faded away.

I turned my eyes toward Pria.

「…….」

She was in a trance-like state.

With blank eyes, she held her sword high.

The golden radiance surrounding her grew ever more vivid.

‘Has she lost her reason?’

I averted my gaze from her.

Dozens of meters above, hundreds of crystals simultaneously prepared to unleash their beams.

I sighed. Even though the prince was dead, the mission wasn’t over yet.

‘Well, no point worrying about it.’

Ziiing!

Dozens of beams fired simultaneously.

[Velkist (★★★★★★) enters Demonic Transformation!]

A semicircular sword light pierced through the sky.

The blade light didn’t just extinguish the beams; it shattered dozens of floating crystals simultaneously.

It was as if a white line had been drawn across the sky.

“Now that’s satisfying.”

Velkist stepped forward.

His white hair glimmered under the pale light, and two horns jutted out from his head.

Velkist had fully embraced the power of the White Dragon, Assinis, reaching the same level as me.

Halkion had claimed this state was far more unstable and dangerous, but Velkist had no trouble wielding the White Dragon’s power.

“If not for those annoying instructions to hold back my power, I could’ve reduced that prince or whatever he was to dust.”

Velkist let his sword drop to his side.

The air around the blade shimmered with distortion.

I chuckled lightly.

“That’s why we told you to conserve your strength.”

The main force was struggling just to fend off the monster’s attacks.

That meant the intruder had to be defeated with our combined strength—no, not even three of us.

Just one.

I smiled bitterly.

Velkist leaped dozens of meters into the air.

He landed atop one of the crystals and drove his blade into its core.

Before it could explode, he leaped again to the next crystal. His movements were precise and calculated. While it might sound slow when described, witnessing it was a different story entirely. The power of the White Dragon bloodline allowed him to accelerate time itself. To an ordinary person, it would look like white afterimages were flashing across the sky as the crystals shattered on their own.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of crystals disintegrated simultaneously.

Velkist was already over 100 meters high, dealing with the descending shards. Beams of light fired at him, but not a single one grazed him.

<He’s having far too much fun.>

Halkion clicked his tongue.

“Is this why Assinis is your natural counter?”

<Silence.>

Though it lacked the destructive power and defensive capability of the Black Dragon bloodline, it had its own, perhaps even greater, abilities.

I sighed as I watched Velkist dominate the sky.

“Whew. Looks like I’m not needed after all.”

Jenna whistled and turned to me.

“But hey, what did you talk about with that prince guy?”

“I’ll tell you later. If there’s a chance.”

Jenna tilted her head, puzzled.

I chuckled softly and continued watching the sky light up with countless explosions.

It was like a fireworks display. Every streak of light was followed by an explosion of flame and radiant flashes.

‘Immovable Blade.’

A perfected technique of the White Dragon—one of the few weapons capable of piercing Dragon Scale Armor.

It was the reason Assinis was considered Halkion’s counter.

‘He’s been holding back his strength, too.’

It was preparation for our battle against Seris.

They were likely watching this mission, after all.

Revealing our trump cards prematurely wasn’t an option.

But now…

I didn’t even know what to believe anymore.

“When we get back…”

“When we get back, what?”

“I’ll have to revisit this whole conversation.”

This world was hiding something far heavier and deeper than I had anticipated.

‘If you want to save the world, come to Server 1.’

I recalled the words of Alpha Zero and Cizel.

They weren’t wrong—just missing some crucial details.

[Charge Rate – 80%]

The constant barrage of messages and chat windows had disappeared.

Anytng must have ended the broadcast during the mission. Given the flood of complaints and anger about the game, it was probably unbearable.

The 80th-floor mission was quietly approaching its conclusion.

The type was Conquest. But what were we supposed to conquer or transcend?

Fate, conquest, transcendence.

They were just lofty words thrown around without substance.

At least offer a realistic alternative.

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!