I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents
Chapter 4
(Difficulty 2)
After Han Yuseong put away the termial and terminated the <Transcender Gallery> and hastened his steps, the story topic of <Transcender Gallery> continued to follow him.
Title: Even if we help that guy somehow, what benefit would we get?
Author: Millsionist
– Of course, there’s a sense of boredom being resolved. But besides that, I wonder if there’s anything else.
ㄴ Isn’t it enough if it’s interesting?
ㄴ Since when did the Demon Uncle think about something so meaningful? Searching for benefits like this HAHAHA
ㄴ Judak) Seems like there might be some benefits.
ㄴ ?? Benefits?
ㄴ Mudeo) Judak-nim, please explain in detail!!
ㄴ Judak) We can trade with each other. We might be able to trade items with the climber too.
In <Transcender Gallery>, interdimensional trading is possible.
ㄴ Millsionist) We might have a lot to give him, and wait, we might have something to receive from him.
ㄴ Oh, we might have something HAHAHAHAHA
ㄴ Pioneer) Hmm, if it’s possible, we could receive quite a lot. Even if we don’t go to the higher floors, just crossing over 30 floors. Things like 《Phantom Wood》 or 《Reunion of Spirits Rune》 might be needed by someone….
ㄴ Pioneer) And if he reaches the 2nd floor, the climber’s coin shop opens. We could get food from there.
ㄴ Pioneer) I don’t remember anything else from the tower, but the Martial Arts World food still lingers. I keep trying Mapo tofu, but the taste doesn’t remain.
ㄴ I’m a Martial Arts World person, and the red wall noodles were really good. Sometimes I think about pasta. It was like a ritual to eat a bowl with each floor climb. I wonder why food dissolves during our dimensional trades.
ㄴ Judak) Right. Buying directly from the coin shop means it’s in a special storage box. So that might not dissolve.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon) So, Judak. Have you tried this? Interdimensional trading with that climber?
ㄴ Judak) Yes, I tried, but it showed as inactive due to the target being unqualified. But that means there’s a possibility of activation. It might activate as soon as we reach the 2nd floor.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) I could give him a swordsmanship manual.
ㄴ Divine Archer) After training in the mountains… such a mysterious thing is happening. If trading is possible, we could also give weapons.
ㄴ Wouldn’t the weapon be level-restricted if sent?
ㄴ Divine Archer) Hmm, you’re right….
ㄴ Priestess) Hawa, this maiden will give talismans.
ㄴ Pioneer) Mai…den?
ㄴ Priestess) Shut up, old man.
ㄴ Absolute Monarch) A swordsmanship manual. Light’s Sword, you seem quite eager to teach him like a disciple. You’re giving the most advice. I’m curious why.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) No particular reason. It’s just fun.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) From the 2nd floor where floor scores are collected. I’d love it if the climber I help ranks in the top tier for easy, normal, and hard difficulty levels.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) The current top rankers, I don’t like them. I want to make them a bit scared.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) And in a few days, we’ll meet other players at the monthly 《Tower Exchange Meeting》. Even if he’s alone now. I’m very curious about that scene.
ㄴ Archmage) Think he’ll be able to hold his ground like that?
ㄴ If it goes as Light’s Sword says, it’ll be super fun. But it’s scary to think he might have died already.
ㄴ Ice Queen) I created a blessing glacier for the climber to stay safe! Don’t say such things! Freeze!
ㄴ Judak) Oh, right. I haven’t even asked the climber’s name yet. I’ll ask when he returns alive.
ㄴ This crazy guy is raising a death flag HAHAHAHAHAHA
ㄴ The death flag will be triggered by the climber before Judak. What’s ‘let’s meet alive’? Meeting alive. Hmm, he’ll probably die?
ㄴ Judak) You’re blocked until the climber returns alive.
ㄴ Oh.
***
CRASH!
The spear shattered. In front of me was a dark green monster with both hands covered in blood.
Looking at its appearance, it was probably a goblin.
The goblin had barely blocked my spear with its axe horizontally.
I rolled on the ground and grabbed the remaining spear shaft with the spearhead.
WHOOSH!
Rising with the motion, I pierced the goblin’s neck with the spearhead like a dagger.
GROAN!
A thin groan escaped the goblin’s mouth, literally right next to me. Blood gushed from its neck.
And the goblin’s body toppled forward.
[Level has increased!]
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[‘Strength’ increases by 4.]
[‘Agility’ increases by 5.]
[‘Health’ increases by 3.]
There seemed to be many other notifications besides the level up, but my gaze was directed elsewhere.
In front of me, another person was dying.
A woman with long hair sprawled on the ground. Her thin armor was irrelevant as her abdomen was drenched in blood.
I understand the reason for these wounds on this woman. I had just witnessed the goblin digging and swirling its razor-sharp nails, no different from a knife, into her abdomen in real-time.
The screams that covered the floor were still vivid.
However, when I noticed that situation, it was a distance I couldn’t reach by running just a few dozen steps.
A mouthful of blood spurted out, and the woman’s head drooped.
The woman’s body, which had been squirming, suddenly stopped moving.
Above the woman who had changed from a living human to a corpse, text was still floating.
[NPC – Deserting Mercenary]
At this moment, anger overcame fear.
Why do I keep seeing only these corpses? If you’re going to bring an NPC before my eyes, shouldn’t you give a proper chance to save them?
Even if it’s just an illusion, it’s better to save someone than to watch them die.
What was even more frustrating was that I was now collecting this mercenary’s belongings.
To survive.
SWISH-
Instead of the broken spear, I picked up a sword that was certainly used by the mercenary.
And I removed the greaves from the mercenary and wrapped them around my ankle.
There were also items in the pouch wrapped around the mercenary’s waist.
Two potion bottles identical to the Grade 3 recovery potion carried by the [Fleeing Citizen].
There was also a real bandage, not the bandage substituting for ragged clothing.
I closed the mercenary’s wide-open eyes. It wasn’t hypocrisy. These were the eyes that had met mine. I just closed them because they made me uncomfortable.
“Status window.”
<Player Status>
Name: Han Yuseong
Race: Human
Lv.2
Strength: 16
Agility: 18
Health: 14
…The hard difficulty hyungs said they would only go up by 1 stat. Normal mode was basic, and occasionally only one of strength, agility, or health would increase by 2.
Strength increased by 4, agility by 5, health by 3.
This was similar to the prediction made by the hard difficulty users.
-Light’s Sword) If you’re on hard difficulty, you’ll rise quickly from the beginning. If you were someone who originally used strength like the knights where I am or the martial artists from the Martial Arts World, your base stats would be high, so even in hard difficulty, you’d only rise a little. But you’re from 21st-century Earth, so you’ll rise well.
-Judak) There is a huge gap between the life you originally lived and surviving in hard difficulty. For those who survive in hard difficulty, there’s a compensation for the labor of survival.
-Judak) Most hard difficulty summoned people aren’t ordinary people, so they don’t properly feel this. But if you’re in hard mode, you might be able to feel it.
I spread out my hands and then clenched them into fists.
I could definitely feel it.
Even after retiring as a high school baseball player, I had done moderate exercise, but ultimately I had just been going to the gym.
A sensation of hardness and flexibility combined seemed to travel from my shoulders, through my arms, to my hands.
Does this confirm I’m on hard difficulty?
A bitter taste lingered in my mouth.
I unwrapped the cloth that had been tied to my shoulder like a bandage.
It seemed the ‘complete health recovery’ that Light’s Sword had explained was in effect.
I’ve come halfway through the 1st floor.
The scene before me made me think so.
What appeared was a long bridge. A long bridge connecting lands that would be a sheer drop if fallen.
Steel planks on the left and right that could be called railings.
This was one of the structures explained by the ‘Absolute Monarch’.
Absolute Monarch) For arrows flying from the left, you must hide behind the planks on the left. If arrows come to parts where you can’t hide, block with a shield or strike with a weapon. I was holding a rectangular shield, so it was quite easy to block, but you won’t have something like that.
The Absolute Monarch, who I thought might offer another method, mercilessly betrayed my hope.
Absolute Monarch) You’ll have to survive on your own.
Absolute Monarch) Trust your instincts.
Bullshit.
I moved my steps.
Suppressing the uncomfortable feelings about the NPC I couldn’t save, I stood in front of the bridge.
SQUEAK-
I stepped onto the bridge.
A wind blew from the right.
WHOOSH!
Three iron arrows rushed from the right side.
I quickly moved my body to the right.
I had to take cover behind the steel planks as much as possible.
CRASH!
One of the iron arrows bounced off the steel plank.
Another one…
CLANG!
I swung my sword to strike it away.
I had no time to wonder if I could do it. I just had to do it.
THUD-!
I was hit by one arrow.
Just like when attacked by the three-headed Anthransthrop, an unreal pain surged through me.
The iron arrow was stuck in my thigh. It felt like my entire leg might be ripped off.
I had to hypnotize myself again.
This is the baseball mound.
Take a deep breath.
A place where I’ve never collapsed despite tensing a hundred, a thousand times.
A place where I never gave up despite countless defeats.
GULP-!
I poured the remaining half of the potion into my mouth. After swallowing, I pulled out the arrow and poured the Grade 3 recovery potion from the [Lv.2 Deserting Mercenary]’s pouch onto the wound. Then I bandaged it.
[The skill ‘Pain Suppression’ has leveled up. Lv.2]
WHOOSH-!
This time, the wind blew from the left.
Which was like a warning that iron arrows would rush from the left.
I moved my body.
Avoiding what could be avoided.
CLANG!
Striking down what could be struck.
WHOOSH!
This time, my shoulder?
[The skill ‘Composure’ has leveled up. Lv.2]
Avoiding what can be avoided. Striking down what can be struck. Taking what must be taken.
It was a repetition of this process.
[Risk Detection Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]
Preparing for countless arrows. Striking down iron chains descending from above.
[Field of View Expansion Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]
How many tens of minutes had passed?
[Concentration Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]
Finally.
Finally, the end of the long bridge beyond the fog began to faintly appear.
SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH-! SCREECH SCREECH!!
And a spine-chilling sound.
Like something being diligently cut with a saw.
As the fog slowly lifted, an Anthransthrop with a height similar to an adult male appeared.
It was busily cutting down the massive stakes supporting the bridge with both arms.
Son of a bitch.
A sentence appeared above its head.
[BOSS MONSTER]
Boss Monster.
[Queen Anthransthrop]
Not “it”, but “she”?
I pulled out the arrow stuck in my shoulder and poured in a potion. The brain-shaking pain was suppressed by adrenaline.
My body moved automatically.
I’ll kill her.
[Concentration Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill activated.]
I read the trajectory of four iron arrows rushing from the right.
SCREECH! CLANG!
I struck down two and dodged two.
Meanwhile, the Queen Anthransthrop continued sawing with both hands.
SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH-!!
Just as I leaped up and kicked off the bridge’s end, the long legs tumbled down the cliff.
SCREECH!!
Unlike the previous Anthransthrop, the Queen had a different head configuration. A single massive head.
It looked like it had an extremely hard shell.
Though pain was blooming hotly throughout my body, my mind was clearer than ever.
WHOOSH!
I struck down the protruding left leg and twisted my body to the right, bringing my sword down vertically.
One of its six legs.
SCREECH!
Calmly. Pouring all my nerves into avoiding her attacks completely.
WHOOSH!
In the process, I took a strike to the abdomen but gritted my teeth and endured. I cut down the remaining five legs.
SCREECH!!
THUD-!
I brought my sword down on the head. Continuously.
THUD!
As hard as it would shatter my arms.
THUD!
CRACK-!
A sound like crushing an egg.
Fragments of the broken Queen’s scalp pierced my hand, but I didn’t care.
A purple brain seated inside was visible.
A brain pulsating grotesquely, like a heart.
I brought my sword down on that brain.
Finally, notification windows covered my vision.
[Boss Monster defeated!]
[Level increased!]
[Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[‘Strength’ increases by 4.]
[‘Agility’ increases by 3.]
[‘Health’ increases by 4.]
[1st Floor cleared.]
[Proceed to 2nd Floor.]
The thick fog in front of me slowly lifted.
GROAN-
What I thought was a wall was a door. An open door with long stairs.
The door had an arrow and number.
【 2 】↑
According to Judak, the difficulty would be written next to the number.
There was definitely text written beside it.
And that text had the power to instantly erase the relief of surviving and killing the boss monster.
I rubbed my eyes and checked again.
“…..”
The letters didn’t change.
【Pandemonium】
Pandemonium.
I thought it would be hard difficulty at most.
Before crossing the bridge, seeing my rapidly rising stats, I had resigned myself to hard difficulty.
But the tower I fell into was far beyond hard difficulty.
-Judak) Pandemonium still has no conqueror.
-Archmage) The clear probability there is 0%.
I’m completely screwed.
And thoroughly so.
