I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents Chapter 51

Posted by an_xistence, ? Views, Released on April 26, 2025

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I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

Chapter 51

The Russian man didn‘t charge forward immediately.

So, I could take a closer look at his face and overall condition.

A perfectly circular hole gaped in his abdomen.

And he had no eyes—only empty sockets, from which insects were crawling out.

Okada Yuuji‘s voice reached me.

“I-it‘s definitely a dead guy moving…”

Felix Bauer‘s trembling voice followed.

“No way someone with a hole that big—enough to see the scenery behind them—is still alive.”

The knight Gerard, standing beside me, spoke up.

“That‘s a Husk.”

“A Husk?”

When I asked for clarification, Gerard kindly elaborated.

“The Insect Mage—that guy uses a technique called ‘Parasitic Revival’ to reanimate corpses. Magicians refer to that state as a Husk.”

“Weak point?”

“Usually, there‘s a central insect acting as the heart in the chest.”

As soon as Gerard finished speaking, the motionless man‘s body slowly began to move forward.

SLURP.

I raised my sword.

“Do you remember his name too?”

Henry answered my question.

“Yegor Zaichev… I think.”

Now that hiding my strength was no longer an option, I decided to send him off peacefully.

But others stepped forward before I could.

Lena Vogel, Matthew, Okada Yuuji, and Josephine Bernard.

The exchange meeting players, who had gathered for the unethical purpose of looting items, suddenly rushed at Yegor.

Lena looked at me and said,

“This time, you don‘t need to step in.”

After seeing the giant spider Kabalax, Yegor Zaichev probably seemed like an easy target to them.

Well.

Was that really the case? While I welcomed the idea of not getting my hands dirty, I wasn‘t convinced things would go their way.

SPLORTCH!

Yegor watched the four charging at him defenselessly and let all their attacks land.

The sound of flesh tearing was unmistakable. Despite the weapons piercing his body, the giant didn‘t fall.

“…What the hell?”

Matthew‘s face, which had been full of bravado, stiffened rapidly.

Lena‘s shout burst out.

“Fall back! What the hell is this bastard doing?!”

What I saw.

Yegor‘s glowing red pupils.

Lena must have seen it too.

Yegor‘s arms swelled grotesquely.

His skin gradually lost its human appearance, transforming into something resembling an insect‘s exoskeleton.

Judging by the sudden deformation of his head, was a stag beetle the motif?

His arms looked as if they‘d been forged into blades.

SHWIIING!

With a sharp sound, spiky protrusions like a porcupine‘s quills spread out from his arms in all directions.

They were more like blade-like spikes.

“GAAAH!”

A scream erupted from Okada‘s mouth.

Thanks to Lena‘s loud warning, the damage was limited to a clean strike through his left shoulder—though he was wailing as if he were on death’s doorstep.

“AAAHHHH!”

…For just that, he was howling like he was about to die.

I was about to step forward with Mundum Exstinguit, but Lena‘s movements caught my interest.

She thrust her spear with both hands and shifted her feet to the left.

Though Lena‘s spear wasn’t imbued with aura, her movements were as sharp as a seasoned soldier‘s.

Still, it wasn‘t much of a threat to Yegor.

CLANG!

Perhaps inspired by Lena‘s struggle, the other three charged again.

They were far from creating a killing angle.

But they at least served as a distraction.

Yegor‘s arms spread wide, leaving his upper body defenseless.

Now was the perfect time to finish him.

SWOOSH—

I raised Mundum Exstinguit and aimed for Yegor‘s center.

Then, I swung my right arm like lightning.

CRACK!

The straight sword buried itself in the middle of Yegor‘s torso.

I pulled it back with a flick of my wrist.

Yegor‘s body collapsed backward.

Mundum Exstinguit had clearly torn through his body, now dripping with blood.

I could feel the gazes of the players and soldiers fixed on me.

Knight Gerard, looking down at Yegor‘s fallen body, spoke.

“…As expected, it was a Husk.”

As I approached Yegor‘s side, I didn’t need Gerard to explain why he‘d said that.

SSSSSS…

From the gaps in his eye sockets, lips, and finger joints, a swarm of black, glistening insects poured out.

Yegor‘s body rapidly decomposed, turning yellow and rotting away.

As if time was accelerating for his corpse alone.

In mere seconds, his flesh crumbled, leaving only a pile of insects on the ground.

“What about these leftover bugs?”

“Leave them. They‘ll die too. You killed the mother insect that acted as the Husk’s heart.”

Just as Gerard said, the bugs soon stopped moving and died.

“Now it‘s certain the Insect Mage is deep in the forest… We’ll have to advance further.”

“How big is this forest?”

At my question, Gerard smiled bitterly.

“Elbram is famous for its vastness.”

Half a day passed.

Gerard was right. The forest of Elbram was disgustingly huge.

We still hadn‘t found the missing American woman we’d been searching for since entering the forest.

We wasted another half-day dealing with four giant mantis monsters, ‘Sikerons,’ undoubtedly sent by the Insect Mage.

“Woo-hoo! Level up!”

Okada Yuuji, purely delighted, raised both hands in celebration.

Even though I landed the final blow twice, my EXP barely budged—at this point, it was just depressing.

Night fell again.

I hadn‘t planned on spending a second night here.

Lena challenged me to a spar.

Lena Vogel‘s weapon was a spear.

I accepted.

I‘d been practicing alone since acquiring the spear, ‘Eirand’s Wedge.‘

Spear King) Lannachal, lannachal, lannachal—just mastering lannachal means you‘re halfway there.

That damn lannachal (攔拿扎).

But after continuous practice, I could see why the Spear King‘s obsession with it was justified.

Even now, if a sixth-tier spearman had fully mastered lannachal, I doubted I could beat them.

I set aside Mundum Exstinguit and drew Eirand‘s Wedge.

“…Not using your sword?”

Lena frowned slightly as she spoke.

“We‘re just practicing.”

Lena sighed.

“You‘re looking down on me.”

If only it were just that.

If you were in my position, you‘d realize how generous I’m being.

I gripped the spear.

“No lannachal?”

The platinum-blonde woman, Lena Vogel, smirked.

“You think I‘ve only been using a spear for a day or two? Of course I know it.”

I nodded.

“Then come at me. Try to kill me. Not that you‘ll even come close.”

“You‘re too arrogant.”

CRASH!

With those words, Lena lunged fiercely.

I reversed my grip on the spear.

SHWING!

The trajectory of her thrust was straight.

Perhaps because I‘d made it obvious I was underestimating her, Lena unleashed a sharp series of strikes.

I didn‘t miss a single one, deflecting them with quick rotations of my spear, then pressing down.

Finally, I struck her abdomen with the shaft.

THUD—

A faint sound echoed from Lena‘s armor.

“You‘re dead, right?”

“…What?”

“If I had held my spear properly, you’d be dead.”

Lena‘s face twisted, but she didn’t argue.

“Again.”

The same result repeated over a dozen times.

“Whew…”

Lena wiped her sweat with a towel, then reset her stance.

“Your posture needs fixing. Reset your stance. Start with ‘Lan.’”

Lena obediently adjusted her stance.

“Your feet are too close. Widen your legs.”

She quickly understood what I was asking for.

“‘Na’ is about disrupting the opponent‘s balance. Pull them in so they can’t react.”

The night deepened.

I told Lena we should stop.

Not because of me—Lena Vogel‘s arms were trembling from holding the spear.

As I considered fixing a meal.

“I use a spear too! Teach me!”

Kim Joo-eun appeared, spear in hand.

In the end, I trained her for about two hours.

Like Lena, Kim Joo-eun wiped her sweat and looked at me.

“Can I…add you as a friend?”

Her quiet tone suggested she expected a refusal.

“Sorry.”

Correct.

“Hehe, I figured.”

Kim Joo-eun scratched her head awkwardly.

Lena had asked the same earlier, with an equally awkward expression.

And of course, I refused.

Then, unexpectedly, someone else approached, offering a handshake and begging to add me as a friend.

“I want at least one strong friend!”

Okada Yuuji.

“Go get some sleep.”

I only shook his hand.

Finally alone, I unrolled my sleeping bag and sat on it.

Friends.

Even among the Transcender Gallery seniors, some said it wasn‘t a big deal—just get along casually if you want. But I didn’t want that.

I wanted people who could actually help me in my friend list.

Whether practically or psychologically.

Coincidentally, this exchange meeting had no such people.

After killing so many over two days, the players, knights, and soldiers now saw me as an overwhelmingly strong figure.

Way too much.

So, when I said I‘d sleep alone in case of unexpected variables, they believed me easily.

Thanks to that, I could enjoy the Transcender Gallery without worry by distorting the space ahead with the Veil of Secrecy.

Title: This Forest Is Disgustingly Huge.

Author: Anonymous*

Still, I think we can definitely finish the exchange meeting tomorrow. We still haven‘t found the missing person, but at this point, it’s reasonable to suspect they‘ve been captured by that Insect Mage or whatever.

ㄴ Oh, reasonable suspicion. Agreed.

ㄴ They‘re practically dead.

ㄴ Closed Room Theorist) Hooh, the Climber has the makings of a great detective. – This world is one giant locked room.

ㄴ Sage) A hostage… Quite plausible.

ㄴ Sewer Sword Sage) If they try some nonsense with a hostage, just do what you have to do. Got it?

ㄴ Absolute Monarch) Well said.

These guys are as cold as ever.

ㄴ Archmage) We‘ll only know for sure once we find that bastard. Ah, all the useful spells are ready, so the next interdimensional trade is a must-reserve.

ㄴ Anonymous*) Got it.

ㄴ Ugh, reserving? How shameless. Undefeated Bloody Magic Girl Ophelia.

ㄴ Archmage) Let‘s trade too…

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Hmm, have you used your fists and feet yet?

ㄴ Translation – Have you used the martial arts I taught you?

ㄴ Uncle, you‘re so shameless.

ㄴ Anonymous*) It‘s definitely more relaxed than climbing the Tower, so I haven’t needed to use martial arts much. Did some spear work—taught some kids lannachal.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) You‘re saying there are insects who don’t even know the basics?

ㄴ Spear King) There are plenty of those insects. Be gentle with the aspiring spearmen.

ㄴ Spear King) Heheh, good propaganda. The spear is the cure for all ills. Next interdimensional trade… I‘ll take spear techniques, right?

ㄴ Anonymous*) I‘ll see how things go.

Like how I received the Priestess‘s talisman to escape danger against the golems, sometimes you need specific things for specific situations.

ㄴ Spear King) Wait, you agreed with the Archmage!

ㄴ Anonymous*) I‘m curious about magic too. Sure.

ㄴ Sword Lord) Magic even an aura user can wield, made by the Archmage? Can‘t resist that.

ㄴ Right, how can you compare the grace of Archmage Caelum to spear techniques?

ㄴ Spear King) You little—are you from Murim?

ㄴ The Great Green Forest (綠林) is here.

ㄴ Spear King) I‘ll wipe out the Green Forest and see your face then. Got it?