Pick Me Up!

Chapter 222: Mission Type, Complex (2) (1)

The field type was darkness.

In the settings of “Pick Me Up,” it was an unknown location named a hyperdimensional space.

“……”

I looked around the area.

In the sky, which had turned purple, residual light flickered like an aurora.

And below the sky, a vast forest spread out. At first glance, it seemed no different from the previous fields, but the forest, blackened and discolored, was writhing as if alive.

And then.

[Warning!]

[‘Egg of Chaos’ is beginning to activate!]

The eye of the giant egg in the middle of the forest opened.

“Oppa, over there…!”

“I know.”

Goooooo.

The scream from the Egg of Chaos echoed throughout the field.

Tentacles burst out from the ashen shell and began to wriggle.

“Kaaargh…?!”

The tentacles whipped through the sky, capturing a swarm of wyverns that were flying nearby.

Then, it brought its prey into a mouth that had formed in the middle of the shell.

Crunch.

Countless teeth started to chew on the wyverns.

At the same time, dozens of tentacles spread in all directions, indiscriminately sweeping through the monsters.

“……It’s not a pleasant sight.”

Jenna smiled bitterly.

Well, that egg never looked pleasant.

[Danger!]

[Master, ‘Egg of Chaos’ is hunting the nearby monsters! When the evolution score reaches 100, ‘Egg of Chaos’ will evolve into ‘Chaos Embryo.’ Fulfill the mission conditions in time!]

[Current Evolution Score: 001 / 100]

Gooooooo!

The egg, which had swallowed a building-sized giant monster whole, roared.

‘The goal is set.’

Time Attack.

Before the evolution score reaches 100, we either have to deal with the egg or slow down its evolution.

There was no time to hesitate.

I surveyed the field again.

Over ten thousand monsters swarmed beneath the airship.

If that’s all, it would be enough to handle about 30 monsters per hero, but the monsters kept appearing from somewhere, faster than the tentacles could consume them.

‘Is it an impossible difficulty?’

Novice masters often make premature judgments based only on the beginning of a mission.

They think it’s absolutely impossible to clear.

However,

Experts are different.

They know the higher rules of “Pick Me Up” well.

‘……No matter the mission,’

Even if gods or demons appear,

There is a strategy to clear it.

Edis’s voice quietly resounded.

It was a private communication that only I could hear.

I put my hand to my ear.

“First, slowly circle around the egg and survey the field. There must be a hint for the strategy somewhere.”

I checked the notification window on the upper right of my vision.

[Current Evolution Score: 001 / 100]

The evolution score wasn’t rising quickly.

There was enough time to survey the field slowly and reorganize the attack squad.

“Considering the type of mission, there should be a goddess statue hidden somewhere in the forest. It’s dangerous to approach the egg, so let’s circle around the forest and look for objects. Tell those with good eyesight to search carefully.”

Edis, who ended the communication with me, immediately began to spread my words through the command channel.

‘There aren’t many scared ones.’

A few heroes appeared to be in fear or panic but quickly recovered.

They could fight well enough.

Wooooong.

The Lucette turned its bow.

As per Edis’s instructions, they began to circle the egg and survey the field.

“Now they’ll come.”

Velkist, who had his arms crossed, muttered.

He was right.

“Screeeee!”

The flying monsters that had been hiding in the darkness of the forest took off all at once.

When they took off, part of the sky seemed to turn black. Even a rough count showed hundreds.

Naturally, their target was Townia’s airship fleet.

Raddi, Townia’s chief mechanic and now fleet commander, shouted loudly on the command channel.

Clank. Creak, creak.

Mechanical sounds followed, and the four airships trailing behind Lucette each revealed their weapons.

From the basic armament of large ballistae to rapid-fire catapults and magical cannons, they were items crafted by the master craftsmen of the equipment workshop, who had invested day and night in their creation.

On the other side, the voices of mages chanting spells could be heard.

In addition to the twins from Party 2, Anytng reinforced several mages through premium draws.

Magic flashes were rising from each airship.

“Screee! Screeeee!”

[Corrupted Harpy Lv.48] X 321

[Corrupted Wyvern Lv.51] X 32

[Corrupted Chimera Lv.53] X 11

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The airships’ sides simultaneously erupted in cannon fire.

Harpies hit directly by ballista bolts were torn apart, and wyverns struck by cannon fire had their wings shredded.

Spears of ice and bolts of lightning, each several meters long, pierced a Chimera from head to tail.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Like a fireworks display, the sky was stained with flames, blood, and the screams of monsters.

The monsters that broke through the airship and mage’s barrage had to face the archers’ rain of arrows.

Thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap!

The leading Chimera turned into a pincushion and fell out of the sky.

Unfortunately, the Lucette, being a high-speed ship, was unarmed.

“It’s the first time I’ve shot arrows without worrying about running out.”

Jenna was standing on a column on the deck.

At her feet were several quivers filled with steel arrows.

Jenna grinned and nocked an arrow to her longbow.

[Unique Skill, ‘Steel Storm’ activated!]

Fwoosh!

A flash streaked, and monsters caught in the arrow’s trajectory were shattered into pieces.

“Don’t waste your strength, just do enough to support. We’re not here to handle the small fry.”

“I know, I know. I’ll only help when it seems dangerous.”

Thwack!

Jenna, who killed a chimera several meters long with a single shot, prepared for her next shot.

“She’s more than a ballista.”

The flying monsters, continuously emerging from the forest, were being exterminated by the barrage and arrow fire. Not a single one succeeded in attaching to the airship’s hull so far.

‘It’s about time.’

I looked beyond the sky.

The prince who turned the field into darkness had vanished somewhere.

He must be watching us while laughing with his subordinates.

‘It won’t end here.’

I placed my hand on the hilt of Bifrost.

[Danger!]

[A Dark Dimensional Portal is forming!]

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!