Pick Me Up, Infinite Gacha

[Aaron’s Side Story Episode 46]

6. Beyond futility (2)

* * *

Niflheim, the land where humans live to be eaten.

However, there are exceptions everywhere.

The boy was born in such a place.

Deep, deep forest.

A remote place where no one visits.

Humans gathered there and formed a village.

There were no hundred nobles.

No one is eaten and no one is abused.

Although the circumstances were not generous, the villagers treated their neighbors like family.

Laughter and smiles never stop.

Villagers lived in consideration and care for each other.

Compared to the outside where people live because they can’t die, this place was like paradise.

there was a boy

It was his mother who noticed the boy’s abnormality.

the child is not laughing

“Why?”

No matter how old you are, you won’t laugh.

Didn’t even cry.

I just looked at him with emotionless eyes.

The boy was distinctly different from his peers.

“Where are you sick?”

The child shook his head.

“It’s okay.”

“Why don’t you go out and play?”

“I’m just fine.”

It’s okay.

no matter what you do

Childhood, when even the slightest stimulation is bound to make you go crazy.

During that time, the boy lived hard like a wax figure.

“…”

The boy may have noticed his mother’s concern.

An expression began to appear on the boy’s face.

smiling face.

crying face.

An unnatural contortion of the facial muscles that seemed forced.

more naturally.

After several years, no one could recognize the boy’s ideal.

“If you’re happy, you smile.”

why are you laughing

“If you are sad, you cry.”

why are you crying

Without knowing why, the boy laughed and cried.

You have to laugh when you have to laugh.

When you have to cry, you have to cry

“Because that’s human.”

then.

Is the boy not human?

Was it a monster that resembled a human?

Time passes.

Disaster strikes the village where the boy lives.

Rumors of destruction were becoming reality.

The sky that lit up the stars burns.

The forest that sheltered them burned black and disappeared.

Still, the villagers did not run away.

“Thank you so much.”

They thanked each other for their life so far and greeted each other.

the village decided

we’re not going anywhere

die together at home

“Sorry.”

The mother cried while holding the boy.

“And thank you.”

“….”

“Thank you for living until now.”

thank you?

but she is crying

My mother’s transparent tears flowed non-stop.

The boy tilted his head.

“Why are you crying?”

Saying thank you is an expression of emotion that you should do with a smile.

Still, the mother is crying.

“It is unfortunate.”

The boy’s mother laughed while crying.

“Thank you for being with me and I’m sad that I can’t be with you anymore. That’s a pity.”

“Regretful.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate.”

what is regret

For a boy who was both happy and sad at the same time, it was an emotional expression that was completely unknown.

The boy’s thoughts did not follow.

Destruction overtook forests and villages.

Right after that, the boy woke up in an unfamiliar place.

It was called the waiting room.

Without even grasping the situation, the boy was driven into battle and death.

I had to fight.

to survive.

Without knowing why, the boy raised a spear.

‘What is regret?’

Even though the memories of destruction are forgotten, questions remain.

I looked back and saw people dying.

If you don’t adapt, you die.

The ‘Master’ who controls the waiting room drove the heroes to the battlefield mercilessly.

“Save me.”

“please please!”

Screams and cries for help.

are they sad?

‘No, it’s fear.’

Emotions also have numerous states and stages.

The boy was able to ‘imitate’ human ’emotion’ by learning it ‘thoroughly’.

In theory, it was.

the boy survived

The boy’s fighting talent was lacking, but he remained calm in any situation.

Even when pushed into a situation on the verge of death, he did not panic.

The master, named Loki, was quite concerned about whether he liked the boy.

It passes.

The situation in the waiting room passes.

Many heroes have been summoned and many more have died.

In the shabby waiting room, many facilities were created and various rules and systems were set as the floors went up.

At that time, the boy had been eliminated from the combat position.

The boy had no talent for fighting.

If I hadn’t calmed down, I would have died ten times.

The boy was given the meaning of life by the master as he carried materials and worked tirelessly in the dungeon every day of the week.

“…”

It seems at first glance.

The training ground heroes were sweating and selling out.

Among them was a man who was the boy’s colleague.

The boy approached him.

“What are you doing?”

“I am training.”

“To survive?”

“no.”

The man was in denial.

“I don’t want to be like you.”

“hmm?”

“At the party because I don’t want to be pushed out.”

“You don’t want to be like me?”

said the man.

I don’t want to be pushed out.

I want to keep my place.

“Why?”

“what?”

“If you fight, you might die. If that’s the case, there’s a better chance of living if you move the materials like me.”

“You… don’t you know?”

“I don’t know? I?”

“There is such a thing as pride.”

it’s pride

Do you want to be recognized?

Does this man want to be recognized by Loki?

Sweat drips from the man’s body like raindrops.

Grinding it seemed quite painful.

But the result betrayed the man.

The man who was eliminated from the combat position spent his days in a daze without doing anything, and then disappeared after being synthesized.

‘…’

The figure of the man sitting still in a chair and looking at the sky.

‘Is that a pity?’

I would like to know.

What is it that you regret?

The boy grabbed the spear he had once released.

I practiced all day long.

I want to know how you feel.

I want to feel something in this heart that has nothing.

In the morning, he carries materials, and in the afternoon, he stabs spears nonstop.

As I was drenched in sweat, I tried to keep my hands bleeding and blisters bursting.

Even so, the boy’s spearmanship did not improve significantly.

“Stop it.”

someone said

“why?”

“You have no talent for fighting. It’s all in vain. try the other way Since you are sincere, you will do anything.”

“Are you sorry?”

“what?”

“Do you feel sorry for me for working on things that don’t mean anything?”

“What is he saying now?”

He left with a straight face.

The boy didn’t stop.

Before he knew it, he became a special person in Niflheim.

An idiot who only trains on a subject with no talent.

someone laughed at him

Some were sympathetic and others

were… sorry.

“…”

No matter how many days and days pass by, the wall cannot be broken through.

The poor spearmanship remained the same.

Numerous juniors went ahead of the boy.

‘Is it unfortunate?’

Even if you try, you can’t move forward.

What is the wall of talent?

But the boy was fine.

Loki’s Niflheim gradually flourished.

The shabby facility became splendid as it grew, and the waiting room became a city of prosperity as talented heroes and various airships entered.

Among them, the boy was stuck on the lower floor.

Although an early hero, the boy’s condition did not improve.

Niflheim, which had been somewhat stable, went on an external expansion.

They expanded their lands, forged alliances, and expanded their colonies.

The boy was the same.

It was a large-scale event that Loki’s name became known in earnest.

Niflheim showed an overwhelming performance in the event and swept the rewards.

And on the way, there was a place that could be called a bug.

Dimension Luanan.

A dimension abandoned in indifference after the event.

Loki noticed the singularity of that dimension.

Time passes slowly in Luanan.

You may be able to take advantage of this trait.

Loki threw some criminal heroes in there as a demonstration.

But they didn’t come out alive.

While thinking about it, Loki thinks of a boy.

A hero who was an early member but lacked talent.

Even so, as long as you don’t stop trying, the spearman.

that way.

A boy was put into Luanan.

“….”

Several materials were provided to build the facility.

No other support.

Loki had already figured out some of the dimensions’ characteristics.

You don’t have to eat.

no need to sleep

It’s just that time passes slowly.

‘Let’s see how far it goes.’

The boy laughed.

Because I’ve learned to laugh at times like this.

He didn’t really give up either.

There were several opportunities to refuse dispatch along the way.

Loki must have known that.

‘If you continue training here…’

Will the boy wake up?

The identity of the emotion called ‘pity’.

The boy closed his eyes.

“Why why…”

“Why only me…”

“Damn it, damn it!”

Dawn of training camp.

If you close your eyes, you can hear their screams.

Heroes who tried hard but were frustrated by the wall of talent.

They were cursing their own talent.

“…”

The boy was fine.

The results of painstaking efforts did not appear anywhere, but there was no inspiration.

was born that way

The boy was not human.

click. thud.

The boy made a gymnasium out of supported materials.

And the endless training began.

You don’t even need to sleep.

You don’t have to eat.

I invested 24 hours in training.

Time passed.

Countless times have flowed, passed, and flowed again.

Loki left the boy unattended in Luanan.

‘why.’

the boy thought.

Aren’t you sorry?

I’m wasting my time so pointlessly

Is my heart not responding at all?

‘why.’

Can’t you feel sorry for them like those heroes?

I am focusing on training while cutting myself.

Still, I couldn’t get any better.

‘It’s a pity…’

What is it?

‘Human being…’

What is it?

‘The heart is…’

What is it?

Is this feeling of not being able to understand that regrettable?

I don’t know.

It was just empty.

No matter how much I stab and swing the spear, there is no ripple in my heart.

It was as quiet as a dried up river.

then at some point.

Whoa!

The boy’s shadow began to stir.

unknown power.

The system judged it ‘up’.

The boy spent endless years learning his karma.

‘Up’ is not effort.

It is not a result of hard work.

It took an eternity again to know what it was and how to deal with it.

therefore.

Loki sent the boy away from Luanan.

the boy is strong

It’s hard to imagine if you knew someone before.

With the power of karma, anything was possible.

No matter how powerful the monster was, it disappeared with a single blow.

No matter how fast and agile they were, they could not avoid the shadows that covered the heavens and the earth.

“Nice. This is a human victory!”

human victory.

“congratulations! Your hard work has paid off!”

fruit of effort?

“As expected, hard work is rewarded!”

get an answer?

‘This wasn’t what I wanted.’

I just wanted to know

Is this a reward?

‘…’

The boy tilted his head.

I didn’t get what I wanted to achieve in the end.

Is this a pity?

I do not know.

Anyway, the boy’s situation changed in an instant.

From a mere hard worker to a spearman who accomplished miracles.

Loki took the boy seriously and made him the focal point of the party.

“I was familiar with the story.”

Someone reached out to the boy.

“My name is Siris Argentheim. I wish you well in the future.”

“okay.”

“I would like to hear your opinion. How did you break through the wall?”

I got a new colleague.

“My name is Yurnet Seed.”

“It’s the Lydigion.”

The vacancy in the party came from the battle on the boss stage.

Many heroes are dead.

“…”

Siris looked back.

It seemed to see the vacancy of a colleague.

“Are you sorry?”

“what?”

“Your colleague’s death.”

“…Yes.”

Siris said.

“If only I had been a little wiser. Had I judged sooner. They must have been alive.”

“Siris-sama, it’s not your fault.”

“Being a leader is a position of responsibility. You are not right.”

Siris smiled bitterly.

“Yes, from now on…”

“If no one dies.”

“hmm?”

“If no one dies in the future, there won’t be any regrets, right?”

Sirius blinked as if he meant something.

And he answered with his eyes closed.

“I guess so.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The boy held Siris’ hand.

“My name is Muden Nidelk.

“I’m counting on you.”

Time with colleagues follows.