Chapter 90: The Illusory Odyssey

"If you're going to give gifts, give them to everybody. If you give it to only one individual, other heroes would become disappointed."

Despite the fact that I had the most remarkable performance, it wasn't just my life at stake. Maintaining proper relationships with the heroes was the Expert's primary duty. But to receive a gift voucher and throw it around carelessly, that was unacceptable.

A Warhorse Sculpture?

Each hero had different preferences and desires.

Simply giving them any item wouldn't satisfy them.

I spent hours just learning the preferences and tastes of the top 100 heroes in Niflheimr.

After getting into bed, the sky darkened.

Was he surprised?

Or maybe he has no thoughts at all.

...

Sleep evaded me.

I must climb the tower.

There could be many reasons why I will fail.

But what I realized was that there are obstacles waiting for me much more challenging than the low position I was assigned with and the dirty difficulty of Jolt of Energy.

An inner enemy.

In addition to any internal foe.

If a hero is giving us a headache, I can handle it.

Like the incident with the Wolffang Mercenaries some time ago, I can clear it without anyone noticing.

But if the Expert doesn't wake up...

It's still uncertain.

It was a matter of speculation. But my estimate seems to be about 90% accurate.

The Mythical Expert Syndrome.

It's a term floating around among Shot in the Arm users.

The terminology might sound funny, but the consequences are quite serious.

Shot in the Arm is known as a game of chance and hardship.

One of the reasons is that the early difficulty, where the facilities and content are not available, varies greatly depending on the initial draw luck. If you get good heroes, climbing is smooth and enjoyable, but if you get stuck with bad heroes, you struggle and roll through all kinds of challenges.

What about Anytng's case?

Objectively speaking, he couldn't be considered lucky. He mixed the initial 4-star hero and it was never replaced in the following 5 continuous draws. Does that mean he's unlucky?

No.

He actually worked hard in the early stages of the game.

He steadily expanded the facilities, nurtured heroes, and crafted items.

He was progressing properly following the strategy I wrote.

Things changed after the fifth floor.

After clearing missions that should have resulted in a total loss, he began deviating slightly from the right path.

He did five paid draws without the right circumstances. And without properly nurturing the final members, he threw them into the tenth floor. And he made other mistakes.

People called this a Mythical Expert because some experts will rely solely on their heroes for strategy, which doesn't take into account their own abilities, and then mistake the heroes' abilities for their own.

Could I ever make it to the 100th floor with this kind of guy?

Of course not. In the early stages of the game, the Expert, who repeatedly made countless mistakes, would be much better.

My theory turned into conviction the next night.

"[Han, Jenna, Aaron, Eolka!]"

Iselle's shout calling the original party members rang through the training ground.

Jenna, who was deftly moving through the wooden doll targets with her knife, turned around and asked, "Oh, are we going on a mission?"

"It seems like it."

It wasn't a weekly dungeon.

All four members were battle-ready.

"Ugh..."

Jenna grimaced slightly, prepared herself, and left.

Aaron let out a sigh and followed Jenna.

Near the training ground, as the door with magic runes opened, Eolka stepped out.

Eolka left the training ground, her dress hem rippling.

Her expression was twisted.

She didn't seem to be feeling well.

Of course.

The continued training and battles had stretched her stress levels to the edge.

Particularly, the extreme tenth floor was the detonator. I managed to cover it up somehow, but it was only a temporary breather. To resolve this, the Expert needed to step up and take action.

The four members of the original party gathered in the square.

"[Open, Fracture of Time and Space!]"

The door leading to the Crack of Reality creaked open.

I took the lead.

"We'll deal with it quickly and return out."

The three followed.

The door closed.

Is it the eighth or ninth floor?

Moving to the eleventh floor in this situation would be a leap of faith.

Although she leveled up, Eolka's level is still low. However, since she cleared the tenth floor, the entry restriction has been lifted. It was the right way of leveling her up as much as possible in the previous stages before attempting to clear the next floor.

These were the rules whether it was a 1-star or 3-star hero.

Furthermore, if you're planning to add a new member to the party as an expert, then this moment is the perfect opportunity.

The sooner they joined, the better. It wasn't like they could immediately function as a party by just joining. They needed time to adjust and get along.

"[Climb the Tower, Save the World!]"

"[Main Dungeon: Current Climbing Floor 10]"

"[Save the world.]"

So what are you going to do?

Whatever it is.

I won't intervene this time.

Leaning against the wall with my arms folded, a message indicating the entry floor appeared before me.

"[Main Dungeon, current challenge floor is the eleventh floor.]"

"[The door will open in 10 seconds. Get ready!]"

"Huh."

It's confirmed.

I stretched my neck.

Then, I drew my sword and held my shield.

"Get ready. It's the eleventh floor."

"What?"

As Jenna responded in disbelief, the environment blurred.

A crescent moon hung in the night sky.

The shards of the moon were scattering moonlight on where we stood.

The field is a graveyard.

Memorial stones for the departed were erected all around.

Amidst the eerie and cold air, something creaked and rose with a squeaking sound.

"[Floor 11.]"

"[Mission Type: Subjugation]"

"[Objective: Destroy the enemy!]"

"[Skeleton Lv.11 X 14]"

The skeletons standing in the graveyard bathed in moonlight.

A sight that would give an ordinary person goosebumps, but the party members didn't even flinch. We had to deal with worse horrifying experiences.

Jenna scratched her cheek and said, "Skeletons, huh?"

"They look like they'll break if you just flick them."

I grinned.

The skeletons surrounded us, their jaw joints squeaking. Each of them held weapons like swords, axes, maces, and other military-grade equipment.

*Creak!*

The skeleton in the front swung its axe.

The sound was a bit crude. I dodged the axe and then struck its cervical vertebra with the edge of my shield. The skeleton, whose bones broke, couldn't move again.

I glanced up at the sky.

Up there, Anytng was watching us.

First, let's take care of these guys.

Take your positions!

"Yes!"

"Roger!"

It's a triangular formation like on the tenth floor.

I'm at the front, Aaron on the left, Jenna on the right, and Eolka in the middle.

The battle began in the twilight graveyard.

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