Chapter 8: Dog Food 

[The Tower of Hope, 2nd Floor – Evergreen Forest, Area 1]  

[★★☆ Defeat all enemies.]  

[★★: Win without anyone being defeated.]  

[★★★: Purify the area within 7 minutes and 00 seconds.]  

Was the time limit originally 7 minutes?  

I started to feel like something was gradually changing compared to what I remembered from the early parts of the game.  

Even our tutorial saint, Johanna, who was incredibly kind and gentle…  

Earlier.  

Before entering the tower.  

“Ark. Please make sure to keep yourself tidy. …… Since the Seer is absent, I hope you will take your role as the Seer seriously.”  

For some reason, she suddenly started nagging me relentlessly.  

“Ah, yes.”  

Did I do something wrong?  

I couldn’t think of anything specific.  

I’ve always been serious, so it felt a bit unfair, but…  

There must have been some small misunderstanding.  

Men prove themselves through actions, after all.  

If I serve her sincerely and respectfully, the misunderstanding will clear up.  

“Let’s go.”  

Enough with the past recollections.  

It’s time to move forward into the future.  

I stepped forward to lead the way………………  

Well, not really.  

“Ari, let’s go.”  

“Okay!”  

Archers are naturally blessed with superior eyesight.  

I sent our party’s main damage dealer and scout ahead.  

……I should recruit a frontline tank or damage dealer soon.  

I feel a bit guilty.  

The 1st floor, the Plains of Verdure, was completely flat.  

If it was a place where the view was wide open,  the 2nd floor, the Evergreen Forest, was densely packed with trees.  

The thick foliage blocked our vision.  

But of course.  

“Eh, no big deal~!”  

The wild boars fell one by one to Ari’s arrows.  

One shot, one kill.  

They dropped cleanly.  

It was a straightforward path—just find the right way and move forward.  

Ari took care of the boars.  

I picked up the loot they dropped.  

Johanna?  

She just did whatever she wanted.  

Normally, she’d heal me when she got bored, buff Ari, or pull out a book to explain whenever we encountered a tutorial event.  

……………Even though I already knew all of it.  

“Johanna is amazing! She knows everything!”  

“Hehe, it’s all written in the scriptures. It must be the goddess’s blessing.”  

They say compliments can make even a dolphin dance.  

So I made sure to praise her often.  

I was bored anyway.  

And so, the hero party—  

No, Ari’s solo-carry party—cleared the tower up to the 2nd floor, 3rd area without a hitch.  

Though it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing.  

“Huh? Ark! Watch out!”  

“Huh?”  

While I was bored and looking around, Ari’s scream reached me.  

The moment I turned my head—  

“Kweeek!”  

“Kyaaaah!!!”  

A wild boar slammed into my side,  

and a sharp pain shot through me.  

It hurts. 

It really, really hurts……………!  

“Ah, Ark! Are you okay?! Heal!”  

Thanks to Johanna’s heal, which worked perfectly as the first healing effect of the season, the pain quickly subsided.  

“Ah, Ark……………! I’m so sorry…………!”  

Ari, who had shot the boar down belatedly, rushed over with a tearful face.  

Despite such hardships, as the saying goes, life is full of ups and downs.  

A hopeful future was also approaching us.  

And that was…  

We had gathered 180 divine stones again!  

This time is different, this time!  

“Johanna. The time has come.”  

I whispered with a solemn face, and Johanna nodded with determination.  

“Which revelation?”  

“The Beginner’s Revelation.”  

I don’t know how the prayer mechanics work, but…  

The revelation gacha was divided into several types, just like in reality.  

Beginner’s Revelation: The pool of available characters is limited, but after 50 pulls, you’re guaranteed one 5-star SSR.  

Standard Revelation: You can obtain contracts for all heroes, but the so-called “pity” is at 100 pulls.  

There are also rate-up revelations, which increase the appearance rate of specific heroes.  

And select revelations, which let you increase the appearance rate of the hero you want…………  

I decided to ignore why rate-up or select revelations, which are extremely “game-like,” even exist.  

The tower.  

The status window.  

Me carrying a smartphone—all of it was unrealistic. So, it’s possible.  

“I’m ready, Ark.”  

As I poured in the divine stones, I checked the future possibilities.  

There are a total of 10 five-star heroes in the Beginner’s Revelation.  

……Honestly.  

As long as it’s not Johanna, I’m fine.  

A tank would be best.  

After that boar nearly shattered my ribs, I realized we needed a close-range damage dealer just in case.  

If all else fails, I’ll recruit a 3-star tank this time.  

Honestly.  

If a self-proclaimed genius like me dies in the lower floors of the tower, not even reaching the 10th floor…  

They could play my death scene at a funeral, and I’d die twice.  

The second time from sheer embarrassment.  

“Let us pray.”  

The three of us offered a solemn prayer.  

And then.  

“O beloved……………”  

Johanna’s prayer began.  

It’s cold.  

A dagger of ice stabs my chest.  

But I’m not worried.  

My faith is at its peak right now……………!  

But then.  

A golden flame burst forth.  

It’s fine.  

It’s a small thing.  

Just a minor issue.  

I forced myself to maintain my composure and watched the trail of white stars falling from the sky.  

After all, even 3-star contracts can be used to upgrade Ari to 4-star, where she’ll finally reach her full potential.  

“Rainbow! Rainbow!”  

Watching her cheer with the chant we learned last time,  

I realized once again that the Beginner’s Revelation’s  

goddess.  

3-star supreme ultimate damage dealer.  

Great Ari, Light Ari, Golden Ari.  

She’s so kind too.  

I tried to control my thoughts.  

“Huh, huh?!”  

As I absentmindedly stared at Ari’s profile, she suddenly jumped up.  

What, did a boar respawn? I followed her gaze and saw…  

“Gasp! Something big is coming!”  

The shooting star falling from the sky.  

Changed from white to gold.  

Rate-up chance!  

“Rainbow! Rainbow!”  

“Rainbow!!!!!!!”  

I screamed with all my soul and faith.  

“Rainbow……………!”  

Even the saintess timidly chimed in.  

And at that moment.  

The golden shooting star flickered momentarily.  

Then.  

It began to emit a dazzling rainbow light, and the flames from the holy Grail also shimmered in full rainbow colors!  

“It’s here!!!!!!!”  

Overwhelmed by excitement, I couldn’t help but grab Ari and hug her tightly.  

The goddess of luck was smiling at me.  

A miraculous save of 30 pulls!  

The best situation for a free-to-play player!  

……Ohlich.  

Stay calm.  

The enemy is still alive…………!  

I awkwardly released Ari from my embrace.  

“Ahem, ahem.”  

I returned to my usual calm and wise self.  

Johanna, who had been glaring at me slyly, rummaged through her bag.  

As if to torment me, she slowly pulled out a stack of papers.  

“Please behave a bit more properly.”  

“Ah, yes.”  

After a brief scolding, she handed me the stack.  

I quickly flipped through the 3-star universal contracts.  

And then, the long-awaited 5-star.  

Who is it?  

I hope it’s Saha!  

My tank! 

My main tank! 

Saha!

“…..”

And I sank into silence.  

“What’s this? Who is it?”  

“What’s wrong, Ark?”  

Cough. 

I felt like I was about to cry……

It’s a disaster…..  

“I’m just… so, so happy…………”  

But I can’t be honest about it, can I?  

It’s so disheartening……  

***

The next morning.  

“So, you’re going to bring the new member, right? Ari and I will wait at the guild house.”  

“Take care, Ark!”  

“Yeah……”  

My steps felt heavy.  

As I walked toward the square where Rumi was, I fell into a flashback of the past.  

[Last Felix Community]  

[Posted by: FlameJoaSahaJoa]  

[Title: Bitterness Post) Did you break the pity ceiling? LOLOLOL  

[(Picture of pulling Rumi from the gacha ceiling)]  

Seriously… I got her, so I’m posting…  

Ugh… my little lamb…  

I feel like quitting…]  

[37 Upvotes / 1 Downvote  

– Rumi fans  

– OP LOL  

– Isn’t this bitterness? Why isn’t it deleted?  

– Are you new? Don’t you know OP? LOL  

– This guy’s a famous Rumi simp LOL]  

Even after being immersed in the game, the ties of fate seem to remain intact.  

“Phew……  

5-star. Earth attribute dealer. Rumi.  

Nicknames: Puppy, Pup-Ru, Community Owner, etc.  

It’s not easy to rise to the position of ‘Community Owner’ in a subculture mobile game community.  

Whether it’s Denden, who boasts overwhelmingly superior sword skills, 

Or Kerurung, who boasts overwhelmingly superior betrayal,  

Or Jangri Jang, who boasts overwhelmingly superior beauty, 

You need to excel in a specific field.  

And if your in-game performance is good, that’s even better.  

However.  

Rumi.  

Boasted overwhelmingly superior suicide skills.  

Though a close-range dealer, her range is shorter than a tank’s, so she always goes ahead alone and gets killed.  

Her skill set, too.  

Her buff skill, ‘Rumi Will Protect You, Woof!’  

Temporarily taunts to draw aggro while boosting her own attack power.  

The synergy between her range and skills is so perfect that in high-difficulty areas, she falls flat in 3 seconds, which has earned countless upvotes and Rumi fan comments.  

It was so absurd that I recorded and uploaded it myself.  

“Ahaha! That tickles, Woof!”  

“Unnie, blow on it again, blow!”  

When I arrived at the square, her unique presence immediately caught my eye.  

Why does she have three heads?  

She really stands out.  

Seeing her happily playing with the kids in the square, swinging a red ribbon-wrapped pouch of upvotes,  

warmed my heart.  

She’s such a good kid.  

Just grow up healthy, okay?  

“Hey, Rumi?”  

“Woof? Who’s there, Woof?”  

As if emphasizing her dog-like character traits, she added “woof” to the end of every sentence, and I listened to her blatant speech.  

“Take this.”  

No need for long explanations.  

I handed the contract to Rumi.  

Then, her already big eyes widened even more.  

Like a real puppy, she raised both paws and took the contract.  

As soon as the bracelet signaling the contract’s completion disappeared,  

“Master!”  

“Ugh.”  

She suddenly leaped at me and hugged me tightly.  

“I finally met you, woof! It’s Master, woof!”  

I couldn’t speak.  

I was completely mounted, utterly crushed by two massive peaks.  

So soft…………  

Cough cough.

The soft death was crushing my airways, guiding me to the underworld…………  

This is a good way to die…………  

“Rumi’s killing someone, woof~”  

“They’re getting squished flat and dying, woof~”  

With the kids’ chattering voices as the last thing I heard.

My consciousness faded away.