Pick Me Up!

Chapter 164: Mosaic War (3) (1)

That night,

I sat in a chair in my room, deep in thought.

This mission is.

I let out a sigh.

Though the battle on the 36th floor itself ended with a rather mundane fight, there were several troubling issues that couldnt be ignored.

Feeling a deep sense of fatigue, I decided to recollect my thoughts.

First.

The situation on the battlefield.

The cults army was fighting against another force.

I decided to name this other force the Lion Army because their banner depicted a lion with a sword in its mouth. Anyway.

Its incredibly unfavorable.

In terms of numbers and training of troops.

The efficiency of formations, competence of commanders, quality and quantity of asymmetric forces including mages and cavalry, the morale of the entire legion, and the equipped gear. There was not a single aspect that was advantageous.

Everything indicated a clear red flag.

Saying there are four chances means that if we dont achieve our objective within four similar situations, its considered a mission failure.

A mission that involves achieving a goal within repeated similar situations.

This is called a Loop, and its notoriously difficult to defeat.

Unlike other missions where multiple chances arent given, the difficulty in achieving success is extremely high.

Im not certain, but.

It might not be a Loop.

What I saw was just a small part of the field.

Tomorrow we will probably raid the 37th floor.

I had to get a clear answer there.

If my guess is right, then I needed preparations for a smooth conquest.

I wont be able to sleep tonight. I smiled bitterly and got up from my chair.

The next evening,

[Party gatheringggg!]

Iselles loud voice shook the whole hall.

I wonder how long I will be able to hear that voice. After getting ready for battle, I went down to the plaza on the first floor.

Are you saying that girl might not be dead?

In the plaza, members of the first party were already waiting on a bench.

Velkist asked, and Jenna replied.

Yes, thats what I think. Its strange, isnt it? After all the trouble we went through to help the princess, it would be anticlimactic if it ended here. Plus, it seems like time and space dont really matter in the mission.

Then

Going back to when she was alive and starting over! Maybe?

I have a similar thought. She wouldnt die so easily.

A heated discussion was taking place among the members.

I chuckled and walked over. Kishasha, who had been sitting hunched over and excluded from the discussion, approached me.

Han!

Why are you all by yourself?

Theyre talking about things I dont understand.

No consideration at all.

I gently stroked Kishashas head and then interjected into the conversation.

Starting over, huh.

Oppa! Youre here? Ahem, I had a brilliant idea!

Swoosh.

I pulled something out of my pocket and tossed it.

Jenna, who caught the item reflexively, blinked.

Whats this?

A pocket watch. Its expensive, so dont lose it.

A watch?

I had requested this from Anytng at the gift shop.

The purchase cost was 100,000 gold and lower-grade magic components. As expensive as it was, Anytng hesitated, but couldnt refuse my request in the end.

Its portable. Keep it safe for the mission.

I muttered and looked towards the door at the front of the square.

A faint light was leaking from the cracks in the space-time rift.

There were a few minutes left to enter.

Going back to when she was alive and starting over. Well said.

I learned it in Niflheimr, you know.

Jenna scratched her head sheepishly.

Indeed, shes quite sharp. I continued.

Your words have a high chance of being correct.

Then, Oppa, what should we do?

We have to look again. See how the situation unfolds. Thats why I prepared the watch. Everyone, gather around. Ill explain briefly.

The members crowded around me.

I spread a 1m wide white paper on the ground. The paper had a map of the field we passed through yesterday. The battlefield in the center. And, surrounding it, were the wide expanses of hills and highlands.

This is where we were summoned.

I pointed to the southern part of the field.

Hills and plains were represented with contour lines, and a path crossing the battlefield was also drawn.

In the middle of the southern path, I wrote an A with a red pen. It was the place where the battle with the Cults supply unit took place.

Besides the middle and the bottom, everything else is black. What does it mean?

Cant you see? Its places we havent been to. If the same field appears this time, we need to fill in the map. Completely. Jenna, if your words are correct, then the most important thing is definitely information.

The plains on the 36th floor were vast.

The areas we had identified, excluding the center, were at best one-fourth of it.

Excluding the south, where our summoning location was, all areas were unknown. Actually, we hadnt even properly explored the south. After dealing with the supply unit, we focused only on the battlefield.

We cant enter the battlefield.

Because its blocked by an invisible wall.

If the mission type of the 40th-floor segment is a loop, and if Prias survival and the mission objective are connected, then there must be a way to enter the battlefield hidden somewhere.

[Excuse me]

Iselle was sweating at the entrance of the rift of time and space.

It seemed we were a bit late. When I gestured with my eyes, Iselle made a distressed face, unable to do anything.

[Delivering the command.]

[Now Loading.]

Sorry, but please bear with it.

With limited opportunities. I couldnt skip the explanation and move on.

I explained the plan to the party members for about ten minutes. By the time Iselle was about to cry, we were finally able to enter the rift of time and space.

[Main Dungeon, current challenge floor is the 37th.]

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

37th floor.

As I predicted, Anytng chose to climb to the 37th floor.

Well, if he had sent us somewhere pointless, I would have complained about climbing up.

As the signal for summoning came, I looked at the members.

Pop!

A feeling of floating enveloped me.

A strand of wind caressing my nape. The familiar scent of grass grazed my nose.

[Floor 37.]

[Mission Type Unknown]

[Objective Unknown.]

The mission objective window was unhelpfully vague.

I slowly exhaled. My vision expanded. Grass, rocks, and hills.

It was the same field as the 36th floor. And then.

Theres a smell of blood and iron.

Kishasha sniffed.

Here is.

Right.

I laughed heartily.

Weve returned to the beginning.

If we climb the northern hill, well see the battlefield.

It would be proceeding in the same way. The cults army would be overwhelmingly pushing back the Lion Army. And as time passed, Pria would die in the same situation, and the mission would be cleared.

If we lose all our chances.

The floor will drop, or perhaps it will stagnate.

The certain thing is,

We wont be safe either way.

Lets start.

Yes! Ill go first!

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!