Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! Novel - Chapter 243
Pick me Up – Chapter 243 – Stop Playing So Much (4)
Anything was clearly experiencing disruptions in his daily life due to his obsession with the game, something I had also experienced at my peak. Although he worked for a renowned corporation, he hated the idea of going to work every day. When I threw my resignation letter on my boss’s desk, I felt a sense of freedom as if I had conquered the world.
‘Well, somehow I managed to succeed after that.’
Later, I increased my subscribers on MyTube to six figures, gaining a stable source of income, but I couldn’t guarantee that Anything could achieve the same.
‘However, giving up is not an option.’
This was just the beginning.
I couldn’t leave it until I saw the end.
An hour later, Kadia, who had been on a mission, returned.
Upon seeing me, Kadia ran towards me, waving her hands.
“Sir, you haven’t left yet! Were you waiting for me?”
“Well, you’re not dead.”
“Of course not! I’m very strong. I handled those Goblins with style!”
Kadia made a fencing gesture and smiled slightly.
However, she couldn’t hide the fatigue on her face.
By then I knew. This girl had recently experienced real combat. The flying blood and flesh represented a significant psychological burden.
“But, sir… Could you accompany me from the fifth floor? I won’t be a burden.”
“As much as you want, I can’t.”
“That can’t be! The goddess said I would have a brave companion to fight by my side!”
“It’s definitely not me.”
Jinho’s control panel moved.
He was receiving the cleaning results of the stage.
It was the right time. I snapped my fingers.
[Master, congratulations on clearing the fourth floor!]
[The fifth floor is a boss stage with higher difficulty! How about recruiting a new hero to reinforce your power? There’s a current event offering two premium summoning tickets! Don’t miss the chance to get a five-star hero!]
A suggestion appeared on Jinho’s screen.
I had prepared Iselle in advance for this.
With such an obvious message, even someone not interested in the game should follow it.
The way to stop Jinho, the assassin sent by Anything’s mother, was simple.
I just needed to make him obsessed with the game.
He doesn’t need to play until the end.
As long as he doesn’t quit the game until Anything clears the 100th floor, Jinho would serve as an excellent shield for Anything.
Fortunately, Pick Me Up had a peculiarity different from other mobile games.
For this reason, the dropout rate of new users was low. That is, I only needed to provide guidance to a certain point, and then he could handle it even without me.
‘After recruiting a hero…’
Build a training facility.
From there, complete the first attack team.
I waited for Jinho to start the summoning.
[Master, do you wish to log out?]
[Yes (Select) / No]
[Then, Goodbye!]
The sky darkened.
Jinho had logged out.
Not only did he not perform the summoning, but he turned off the game after closing the suggestion message.
‘…’
This guy really has no interest in Pick Me Up.
If he were eager to play, like Anything, I could help him, but this is complicated. Being just a character in the game, I have no other way to interfere.
‘Should I change tactics?’
It’s not like I don’t have other options.
They are more bothersome and require more effort, that’s all.
I decided to observe the situation for now.
It seems Jinho isn’t putting pressure on Anything at the moment.
My lodging was determined next to Kadia’s.
After all, there are only about ten rooms in the level 1 lodging.
The kitchen only had potatoes and water.
That night, I could enjoy roasted potatoes for the first time in a long time.
The next day.
Jinho logged in again.
[Master, offer your heroes the opportunity to strengthen themselves!]
[How about building a training facility? The heroes will train themselves through the sophisticated AI unique to Pick Me Up! Will you build the training facility?]
[Yes / No (Select)]
Jinho ignored Iselle’s suggestion.
After that, I pressured Iselle to show more suggestions, but each time, a rejection message was the response.
Anything> How’s everything going?
wlsghWkd> The game is super boring. What’s the difference from all those automatic games? You just send the heroes to the dungeons and watch them. If you don’t pay, you don’t progress.
Anything> You’re at a low level, that’s why you see it that way. As you progress, there’s much more to do. Many things will require your attention. Try playing a little more. Don’t you like my hero?
wlsghWkd> Not much. The game in general is boring.
Anything> ;;;
I clicked my tongue.
Are you saying it’s boring without even trying?
It seems Jinho’s resistance is beginning.
Of course, Anything probably won’t give up easily.
But if this situation continues, his connection times will naturally decrease.
It’s not a good time, especially when he’s busy.
“Sir! How about it? Am I not enough as a companion? Take this unique opportunity to get a cute and strong magic swordsman. You won’t find another chance like this…”
In the level 1 lodging lobby.
Kadia brandished her sword in front of me.
Blue flames danced on the blade.
It was a simple basic weapon enchantment spell.
“Yah!”
I ignored Kadia, who was posing, and looked ahead.
Iselle was clutching a coin mining machine, slumped on the floor.
[Bitcoins… I should have sold them…]
“…”
[We’re ruined. The Master is going to quit the game. And I’ll disappear too. Damn… if only I had sold them a day earlier… Aaaah!]
Iselle was clutching her head and crying.
I had already gotten used to this sight.
‘If you’re not sure you can do it well, you should have gotten a job instead.’
I clicked my tongue.
I opened my mouth to speak.
“Tomorrow, when the Master logs in, try to launch another suggestion. Change the graphics, make it shine a bit more. Be sure to mention there’s a new event going on.”
[For what? If he’s not interested! That guy is going to quit anyway!]
I partially drew the Bifröst sword.
[Eeek! Ah, alright! I’ll do it!]
“20 Goblins appeared on the 4th floor. Let me tell you how I handled them…”
Both main characters in this place were crazy.
One was in the clouds. The other was naive.
I was the only sane one here.
‘I wonder if I should be fully alert.’
I should be preparing to be promoted to five stars right now.
Instead, I was playing with idiots here.
‘This has also affected me.’
I took a deep breath and looked to the right of my field of vision.
There floated some of the messages Jinho had sent to Anything.
wlsghWkd> This hero, Han, what do you see in him? He walks around with a horse statue. Is he a pervert or what? Hahaha. Who could like this kind of trash? Hahaha.
Insulting me hurt less than insulting a horse statue…
‘This is not right.’
Anyway.
Jinho’s offline behavior had crossed the line.
“Did you get the Master’s data?”
I asked Iselle with a voice full of intention.
Iselle frantically nodded her head.
Ding.
With a sound effect, the main screen of the phone appeared.
It was a kind of hacking. With this, I could manipulate Jinho’s phone.
If I let her handle it, we would waste time on virtual stock exchanges and useless coin galleries, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Let’s see.
I checked the KakaoTalk chat history countless times.
I tapped the green icon at the bottom of the main screen.
It was Korea’s largest search engine, commonly called ‘Never’. It was set to log in automatically. I started reviewing the emails.
‘Just spam.’
Then I moved on to blogs and forums.
‘Eh?’
This guy has his own blog.
I entered Jinho’s blog.
In the upper right corner of the blog, a title painted in rainbow colors appeared, adorned with the image of a girl with pigtails making a heart with her hands.
“…”
I tapped the latest blog entry.
<Nico-chan is amazing again today!>
<A white cake prepared for Nico-chan’s birthday! Happy birthday, Nico…>
<Watching the second version of the movie for the twelfth time…>
Reviewing the chats on KakaoTalk, I realized this guy is quite well-known in the class, what you would call a ‘popular’. He also received frequent invitations from his friends to go out and, seeing the profiles of people on KakaoTalk, there were many girls.
‘I must respect other people’s tastes.’
Silently, I closed the hologram window.
I’m not the type to hold grudges like Jinho-chan.
I respect all tastes, no matter what they are.
Everyone is free to like whatever they want.
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t take advantage of the situation.”
How could I use this to my advantage?
Perhaps I could send an anonymous message and share the blog link in the school group chat.
That sounds like a good plan.
In Jinho-chan’s phone files, there are also some adult videos.
If I release those videos too, the effect will be better. I can already imagine the crazed expression on his face.
[Ah!]
Iselle shuddered.
“What’s wrong?”
[No, I suddenly felt a chill……]
What a trivial girl.
I frowned and crossed my arms.
“But you know? When I was in Laramie, it was so…”
Kadia was still lost in her own world.
I observed Kadia from head to toe. Her hair was braided into two pigtails, she had a small body, and a somewhat cute face.
‘……’
“Iselle, do you have something like a red bow and a school uniform in your room?”
[School uniform? What are you talking about?]
“Maybe we should draw the Master’s attention here, don’t you think? So he might try to do something.”
[I guess so……]
It even seems like she has one.
“Alright.”
I quickly approached Kadia.
And the next day.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up, Master wlsghWkd!]
With the sound of the connection, the sky lit up.
[Loading complete.]
[T O U C H! (Select)]
Jinho-chan entered the main screen.
[A hero needs companions to fight with!]
[How about an advanced summoning for smoother combat?]
Jinho-chan ignored the advice again.
I looked at Iselle beside me, who, nervous, looked back at me before scattering stardust and disappearing.
[Master, hero Kadia (★★★★) requests company.]
Jinho-chan closed the window with an irritated gesture.
I signaled to Kadia, who was in the plaza.
“Nico… Nico? Ni?”
Kadia, hesitating, placed her hands on her head imitating a rabbit.
Then, she lightly danced while forming a heart with her hands.
‘It doesn’t seem like he saw it.’
“Again.”
“Do I really have to do this?”
“You want to return to your hometown, right?”
“But that’s different!”
“There’s no other choice. It’s all for Laramie.”
Kadia, dressed in a uniform, grimaced before repeating the gesture.
After several attempts, as always, I was about to whisper something to Anything when Jinho-chan’s gaze fixed on Kadia in the plaza.
[Master, hero Kadia (★★★★) requests company.]
Kadia formed a heart with her hands, with a half-crying expression.
I put the uniform on her, dyed her hair black, and added a red bow.
‘I have to get his attention somehow.’
Even if it means putting on an inappropriate show.
That’s how the process of involving him in the game begins.
‘Did I say I wouldn’t follow it?’
I looked at Kadia, who was forcibly smiling.
This morning, I had explained to Kadia, who was firmly refusing, about this world.
There was no choice but to make her cosplay.
I explained the purpose of the game and the master’s raison d’être.
Kadia launched a torrent of questions, but I answered everything I could.
She didn’t fully grasp it, but luckily, Kadia seemed smart.
Although Kadia didn’t completely accept it, she seemed to realize that she couldn’t do without a master. Subsequently, I made a suggestion anticipating Jinho’s possible abandonment: ‘why don’t you come with me to the place I come from?’
This girl had some personality flaws, but she had potential.
If handled well, she could be worthwhile in Taonier.
However, Kadia rejected the offer.
She said her parents and friends were waiting for her.
I guess so.
She was also desperate in her own way.
‘If this doesn’t work… I’ll have to resort to more bothersome methods.’
I had already obtained Jinho-chan’s personal information.
If this doesn’t work, both he and I will get tired.
It would be better for him to accept it once and for all.
“Nico…”
She didn’t need to do it loudly.
Jinho-chan, after watching Kadia in the plaza for a while, finally started manipulating the screen.
[Ding!]
[Master, begins the summoning!]
It seems at least that has started.
I sighed.
—
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