I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents
Chapter 50
By my side was an unexpected, uninvited guest.
“I’ll do my best.”
Gerard, the 3rd-rank knight.
Even though I had explicitly said no assistance was needed, he had stubbornly insisted on helping, bringing twenty of his subordinates along.
True to Gerard’s boast, the subordinates he had selected seemed competent.
There was even one more 3rd-rank knight of the same caliber as Gerard himself.
They would undoubtedly be more useful than the players.
The six players beside me were likely far from reaching Level 20, making it doubtful they could wield aura or magic.
At best, there might be one among them.
Since the previous battle, I had noticed a subtle shift in the way the players looked at me.
Unless their eyes were purely decorative, they must have realized I was using sword aura—enough reason for them to be wary.
We arrived at Elbram, the forest Gerard had named.
I turned to the players.
“Don’t split up. We need to stick together. I don’t know how strong this Puppeteer is, but we can’t afford to be picked off one by one.”
“Understood.”
Okada Yuuji, the Japanese player whose tone had been low earlier, now spoke with heightened urgency.
“We’ll advance in a wide circular formation, covering as much ground as possible while keeping an eye on each other’s safety.”
After speaking, I glanced at Gerard, the 3rd-rank knight beside me.
“Got a better idea?”
“No. It sounds like a solid plan.”
As a knight, I had wondered if he might have superior tactics, but it seemed he had none.
The search yielded results faster than expected.
A man covered in blood, missing an arm, stumbled out of the forest in a daze.
The makeshift bandage suggested he had treated himself.
Hanging back as usual, I quickly stepped forward to intercept him.
“AAAH!”
I grabbed the man’s left shoulder. His eyes were wide with terror.
“Stop. Get ahold of yourself.”
His mouth gaped open.
“He’s dead! That Russian guy—he’s definitely dead!”
I lightly tapped his cheek as he spat out the words.
His eyes were steeped in sheer horror.
“Right. Then we’ll just have to kill the one who killed him. Tell me who did it. And while you’re at it, your name and country.”
Only after I gripped his collar did his eyes regain a semblance of reason.
“P-player…?”
“Yeah, a player. Like you. I’m asking why the participant count dropped from 10 to 9.”
“That bug-controlling bastard and the monster beside him were too strong.”
I managed to extract more information from the man as he slowly calmed down.
His name was Henry Thompson, from England, Normal difficulty, 7th floor.
Given the lingering terror in his eyes, it was clear he knew where the Puppeteer was.
“Let’s go back.”
“Huh?”
“Back to where the Puppeteer is.”
The brown-haired Englishman exploded at my words.
“Are you insane?! A Hard difficulty 10th-floor resident died without even putting up a fight! I’m not going back!”
Henry seemed utterly convinced of his own judgment.
“A 2nd-rank stands no chance…! Even if we swarm him, we’ll just die in droves. We need at least a 3rd-rank. But there’s no way someone like that would be in this floor’s exchange meeting!”
I didn’t need to explain further.
The other players stepped forward, gripping Henry’s shoulders.
Matthew was the first.
“Just tell us. There’s someone here who can handle whatever enemy shows up.”
Okada followed.
“Your life’s on the line. You know this is a race against time. The faster we finish this, the sooner we can end the exchange meeting safely. Talk. Where is he?”
Lena, the German woman, approached Henry and pointed at me.
“That guy over there will take care of everything.”
I chuckled.
“You’re making it sound like it’s all on me.”
Lena shrugged.
“You’re going to kill them all anyway, aren’t you?”
“Depends on the situation. But I’ll do my part.”
She nodded.
“I’ll do my best too. But I’m not confident my best will be better than you flicking your toe.”
“Your self-esteem’s a bit too low.”
She clicked her tongue.
“Comparing myself to your toe is already a boost to my self-esteem.”
Fortunately, the players’ exaggerated reactions—borderline ridiculous—seemed to convince Henry.
“…Fine. If we can kill him, it’s better to do it quickly.”
I stepped closer to Henry.
“Aside from you, do you know where the other one is?”
He sighed deeply.
“No idea. I ran for my life to the left. The American woman bolted to the right…”
I scanned the players watching me.
“Keep an eye out for survivors on the way.”
“Got it.”
After re-equipping, we set out into Elbram Forest again.
Day 1 in Elbram Forest.
Night fell without any clear progress.
We never found the American woman who had supposedly fled for her life.
Since the participant count remained at [9], I could only assume she was hiding well from the Puppeteer.
Okada muttered beside me.
“This guy’s hiding now, unlike when the three of them were roaming around. Why isn’t he showing himself?”
Henry shook his head.
“He’s not the type. You didn’t see the madness in him when he killed the Russian guy. There was no one else like that psycho…”
Elbram Forest grew pitch black.
The players and knights settled down, a campfire burning at the center of our group.
No one spoke first.
I turned to Henry.
“Do you know the name and Tower difficulty of that American woman who ran to the right?”
“Of course. I asked right after we were summoned at the forest’s edge. Nora Brooks… Normal difficulty, 6th floor.”
“She managed to escape alive too, huh?”
“That bug bastard—ah, the Puppeteer, was it? The moment we faced him, I had this gut feeling we had to run. She must’ve sensed it too.”
After that, there wasn’t much to say.
The others stayed silent, lips tightly sealed—not for lack of words, but reluctance to speak.
I stood and slowly walked around the forest’s edge.
CRUNCH. CRUNCH.
Someone followed me, making no effort to hide their footsteps. It was Lena Vogel, the German woman.
“I have a question.”
She stood beside me and asked bluntly.
“Shoot.”
“Are you ‘Private’? The one who keeps dominating the rankings while staying hidden.”
She stared at the number above my head.
< 9 >
Meaning I had cleared the 8th floor and now resided on the 9th.
Coincidentally, ‘Private’ had most recently cleared the 8th floor.
Lena’s mind must have been piecing things together.
“Nope.”
She wouldn’t believe me even if I denied it.
Regardless of my current floor, the fact that I was freely wielding sword aura in an exchange meeting for players between the 1st and 10th floors had undoubtedly raised suspicions.
Suspicions bordering on certainty.
But I had no intention of confirming them.
“I see.”
Lena nodded at my answer.
With my mask on, she didn’t know my name or Tower origin. Even if she figured it out, all she’d know was that the masked guy in this exchange meeting was ‘Private.’
No information would leak.
Lena, realizing I wouldn’t divulge anything, naturally stepped back.
“Hmm.”
Leaning against a giant tree, I gazed at the sky. Stars shimmered against the black canvas, a serene sight.
The situation was urgent, but the beautiful scenery eased my mind.
I took out the Formation Talisman, channeled mana into its reverse side, and activated the Veil of Secrecy.
Then, I pulled out the Transcender Gallery terminal.
Title: The players in my exchange meeting seem to have figured out I’m ‘Private’
Author: Anonymous
– Well, I did flaunt sword aura like it was nothing. It’d be scarier if they didn’t notice.
Oh, and we found one of the two players originally assigned to the Puppeteer’s side.
It got dark, so we’re camping now.
I’ll finish this tomorrow.
ㄴ Obviously. If they have brains, they’d notice.
ㄴ …Are all the players in your exchange meeting idiots?
ㄴ Back in our batch, even early Normal-difficulty players could use sword aura.
ㄴ I only learned about 21st-century Earth from this batch. It’s a fascinating world. The stuff they say is hilarious.
ㄴ Most of them say quitting stocks or whatever improved their mental health. Makes sense.
ㄴ The ones who started strong in Normal usually hit their limit at 5th-rank.
ㄴ Self-introduction?
ㄴ Yeah, that’s me.
ㄴ I thought I’d become a Sword Saint or something… Turns out I peaked at low 5th-rank.
ㄴ Some of my subordinates got weird after browsing the Climber Gallery. They started trash-talking the Martial Alliance kids…
ㄴ The big sects are shaking.
ㄴ Most of the Tower returnees are pillars of their factions.
ㄴ The lingo’s spreading like wildfire.
ㄴ Absolute Monarch) Just jail anyone disrupting order. They’ll behave.
ㄴ Sewer Sword Sage) Oho, dangerous talk.
ㄴ Ice Queen) The Climber Gallery’s so fun! Now I’m hooked on the Beginner’s Gallery too!
ㄴ Elf) Same… The Climber Gallery’s frustrating.
ㄴ Archmage) Just eliminate variables step by step.
ㄴ Light’s Sword) If you see bugs, keep your protective energy up. Unless it’s the Puppeteer’s trump card, they won’t hurt you.
ㄴ Anonymous*) The runaway player mentioned a strong familiar. I’ll be careful.
Morning came, and we resumed our march.
Fortunately, results appeared immediately.
Henry Thompson stumbled back, muttering.
“…Why is the dead guy in front of me? And why’s he walking this way?”
A massive, golden-haired man with a grotesquely twisted body limped toward us on his left leg.
“Is that your dead Russian friend?”
Henry nodded blankly.
“…Yeah.”
The Puppeteer had desecrated the corpse.
The Tower truly was merciless.
