Pick Me Up Infinite Gacha! - P.M.U Chapter 74: Taming (1) (Part 1)
The day after the selection match.
It was early in the morning. I, Jenna, Eolka, along with Velkist, and Neryssa, gathered on the second floor training grounds. Since the party composition had changed somewhat, and new members had joined, there was a need to inform everyone about the changes.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jenna Shirai.”
Jenna awkwardly smiled at the two.
Velkist remained silent, and Neryssa nodded expressionlessly. Their reactions were similar when Eolka introduced herself.
‘It’s still a bit awkward it seems.’
Neither of them appeared particularly outgoing.
While it would be awkward to completely ignore each other, and a certain level of friendship is effective for teamwork, there was no need to become overly friendly. It was because there was always the worry of grieving or being affected when a comrade died or dropped out, as was the case with Jenna yesterday.
I glanced at the corner of the training grounds.
Among the members of the second party, there was a familiar new member, Aaron.
Since Aaron had refused the instructor’s offer yesterday, he had no choice but to join the second party. He would spend his time honing his skills with Edis, who was patting Aaron’s shoulder at the moment.
“Velkist, Neryssa, there’s something you should know.”
I turned my gaze to the two.
“Yes.”
“Please go ahead.”
Once they responded, I continued speaking.
“If you’ve looked at our mission through the stone, you’ll know. You’ll be fighting in a different environment in the first party. You will be dealing with fire. Naturally, we need you to get used to flames.”
“Are you talking about fire resistance?”
“Since you know, that’s fortunate. Learn it as quickly as possible. Do you know the method?”
“Putting your hand in the flames?”
I nodded.
Velkist smirked.
“It’s a very primitive method.”
“There’s no more efficient way.”
“Anyway, I understand. I’ll learn it within four days. I don’t know about this woman though she might get whiny.”
“I’ll learn it within three days.”
Neryssa said, glaring coolly at Velkist.
It is good to be competitive, but this is a bit excessive.
I spoke with a stern tone.
“Next is Jenna.”
“Yes, please tell me, Oppa.”
“You’ll have to fill Aaron’s vacant spot.”
I instructed Jenna to refrain from using daggers and only focus on her archery.
Since there was no mid-range hero left, Jenna had to take on that role. With her rapid-fire skill, she could somewhat cover the gap left by a spearman.
“You mean primarily use a bow? Got it.”
“Velkist, you’re on the front line with me. Just don’t act recklessly. Fight within the range where Jenna, Neryssa, and Eolka can support. If you go ahead believing in your own strength, you’ll be useless. Remember that.”
“I’ll follow your instructions.”
Velkist crossed his arms.
I then looked at Neryssa. Unlike Velkist, who was a pure combatant, it wasn’t easy to assign a clear role to Neryssa. She had mastered various skills beyond combat techniques.
She has weapon skills like rapier, short swords, and throwing weapons.
She also has quick body movements and stealthy movements.
Furthermore, she has sensory skills like eagle’s eye or enhanced hearing. In addition to that, she was well-versed in auxiliary combat skills like poison production and sneak attacks. In terms of the variety of skills alone, she was almost on par with me.
“What exactly were you doing before coming here? Were you an assassin or something?”
“Something similar.”
Neryssa replied.
Something similar to an assassin was the right answer. If she were a true assassin class, she would have been summoned as an advanced summon. She must have been in an awkward position before the summons.
“Neryssa, you’re primarily in a mid-range position. But depending on the situation, you might have to participate in close combat to protect Jenna and Eolka. You can also aim for the enemy’s rear. I can’t give you specific instructions on how to act. Use your judgment.”
“Yes.”
Neryssa had three main weapons.
Rapier swords, short swords, and throwing daggers. She didn’t have a main weapon, which was a bit awkward, but it allowed her to be flexible in combat. She played a role similar to a libero.
“And you’re also responsible for collecting overall mission information. If I give you the order, gather the information and bring it to me. Understand?”
“I understand.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
I looked alternately at the two who nodded.
I got their initial agreement. At first glance, it seemed like they were good at following instructions.
“I might need to make some adjustments.”
Even if they said they understood, with their type of character, if it wasn’t perfectly convincing, it could go awry eventually. Especially considering the less-than-ideal habits that might have picked up on the first floor.
I made my decision and spoke.
“All right. Let’s start today’s schedule.”
Starting with training.
We planned to significantly increase the intensity. While there would still be stamina training, weapon skills, and sparring as before, the formation training would be greatly enhanced. Simple formations like the wedge or triangle formation were now a thing of the past.
“What about me? What should I do?”
Eolka, tying sandbags to her ankles, finally spoke up.
She seemed disappointed that she hadn’t been called.
“The tasks for the three of you have changed. I…”
“You can run. Wear these sandbags instead from now on.”
I swiftly tossed a 3kg sandbag from the shelf to Eolka.
Eolka caught the sandbag and wore a helpless expression.
Anyway, today’s training had begun.
The start of the training was running with a 10kg sandbag strapped on, at a speed close to an all-out sprint on the track. Velkist and Neryssa managed to keep up with us quite well. Of course, Eolka was far behind.
While running, I observed the second party.
Edis was scratching her head with a perplexed look on her face.
Unlike the first party, which had a well-rounded composition, the second party was short of one member. Dica, who was originally a member, had accepted the instructor’s proposal yesterday morning. Currently, he was assisting the new heroes on the first floor.
After the selection match yesterday, Anytng closed the game without doing any paid summons.
His actions had caused a power vacuum in the second party. Edis let out another deep sigh and muttered.
“How are we supposed to train with just four members?”
“If it doesn’t work out, go to the first floor.”
I stopped running for a moment and approached Edis.
“The first floor?”
“If you look carefully, there should be one or two worth considering. Tell Dica and have him teach them intensively. If master won’t do any summons, that’s our only option.”
After the waiting room was divided into upper and lower floors, Anytng had conducted quite a few free summons.
In the first-floor training room, there were at least 20 standby heroes. Among them, at least one of them should be a hidden gem.
“I guess we have to go that route.”
“Even if you find one, don’t flaunt it openly. Others might eavesdrop.”
“Do you think they would something to him?”
“In this structure, there are many guys who like to pick on those who are doing well.”