Pick Me Up!

Chapter 55: Reporting Ceremony (1) (1)

A few days had passed, and it was evening.

Jenna and I were waiting on a bench in the square.

Master was logged in, and in the item synthesis window, three-colored stones were swirling and mixing.

[Initiating item synthesis!]

[Selected materials Lesser Fire Attribute Stone, Lesser Water Attribute Stone, Lesser Wind Attribute Stone]

[Completed item Lesser Attribute Stone]

[Success probability 87%]

[Synthesis method Automatic]

[Would you like to proceed with synthesis?]

[Yes (selected) / No]

As Anytng touched Yes, the rotation of the attribute stones sped up and began to gather in one place.

With the sound of fireworks exploding, a white light colored the synthesis window.

System messages and control panels moved chaotically in the field of view, but only I could see them.

Jenna, in an awkward posture on the bench, poked me and said,

This is about the promotion, right?

Yeah.

If the status window is visible, an explanation about the grade must be included.

I explained to them that according to the grade, there are limits to growth, and upgrading allows you to break through them. While delving deeper into stars and grades might not provide a hundred percent certainty, this much information was sufficient for now.

After the strike incident, Anytng had consistently trained Party 1 on the 8th and 9th floors.

I reached Level 12, Eolka was at Level 8, Aaron at 9, and Jenna achieved Level 10. Level 10 is the threshold for promotion. Since we had steadily collected materials in the weekday dungeon, we could attempt promotion right away without wasting experience points.

[Kudang-tang-tang!]

[Fairy power!]

[Fail!]

[Synthesis failed!]

[Materials will be consumed.]

Failed that, huh.

Attribute stones arent easy to come by.

Rare monsters arent always present in that spot, and the drop rate isnt high either. Still, we had prepared extra attribute stones for such cases.

Anytng opened the synthesis window again and attempted the combination.

[Good!]

[Synthesis complete!]

[You have obtained the Lesser Attribute Stone.]

A success message appeared.

After a while, Iselle emerged from the warehouse holding an upgrade stone.

[Youre also getting a 2nd grade promotion. Time really flies.]

Iselle threw the upgrade stone with a resentful expression.

Jenna accepted the upgrade stone and examined its surface.

It looks fascinating.

[Master, starting the promotion!]

Clank.

The door to the synthesis chamber opened.

Jenna stared inside the synthesis chamber with a tense expression.

I wont die, right?

Who knows.

I couldnt predict what would happen during the promotion process.

I couldnt see it before as a Master, and what I actually experienced was somewhat unique.

Anyway, Ill be back!

Jenna saluted me and walked into the synthesis chamber.

As soon as Jenna entered, both the promotion chamber and the synthesis chamber doors closed simultaneously.

While Jenna was undergoing promotion, I admired the knight sculpture displayed on the fountain.

I had left the sculpture here and completely forgotten about it, but someone seemed to have created a pedestal and decorated it.

Boring.

I didnt really need to be present at the promotion site.

It was because Jenna worried and asked me to come with her.

Tired of admiring the sculpture, I organized my thoughts.

Once Aaron completes his promotion as well, we will start training at the 10th floor. This meant that the challenge of the 15th floor was just around the corner. It was time to start preparing for conquering the 15th floor.

Unlike the 10th floor, the 15th floor didnt trigger a linked quest, but it was influenced by certain aspects of the previous stages. Even though not explicitly stated, it provided some information to deduce parts of the mission. For the sake of survival, I couldnt ignore even the smallest hints.

While I was briefly organizing this information, a message refreshed.

[The Forgotten Memories of a Hero awaken.]

[Jenna (), Promotion complete! Upgraded to 2nd grade.]

As the door to the synthesis chamber opened, Jenna walked out.

Her complexion was unusually pale.

What happened?

Jenna plopped down beside me and said,

I had a strange dream. It was about the forest where I used to live, burning.

A dream, huh.

Thats I somehow

Forget it. No need to worry about it.

Jenna, who had been a bit gloomy for a moment, awkwardly chuckled.

Ahaha, right? There are all sorts of bad dreams, after all.

Anything else?

Well, that was it. A feeling like I broke through? Other than that, nothing.

It seemed like, for the most part, the typical promotion process ends with viewing memories.

In my case, it had been a matter of being unlucky.

It seems like promotions help in recovering memories.

Then, the current heroes must be in a state of memory loss.

Probably by the time they reach 4th grade, or at the latest, 5th grade, the heroes will have a rough understanding of the truth.

How they were summoned, and what happened to their worlds.

Since my case was a bit different, the momories that came back didnt belong to me.

The next day, Jenna regained her usual liveliness.

Later on, Aaron also completed his promotion. Since I didnt accompany him this time, I couldnt know what kind of dream he had. However, his determination to return seemed much stronger than before. Aaron had not rested from training until late at night.