Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Standing blankly, another window covered the 2nd floor score window.
[You will be automatically moved to the '3rd Floor Stairway Waiting Room' in 3 minutes.]
3 minutes.
Leaving behind the gazes of the three people staring blankly at me, I bowed towards the Orc Shaman.
Only the thought of needing to grab anything quickly filled my mind.
I tried to take the staff the Shaman had used, but a description window that appeared in my vision made me let go of it.
[Orc Shaman's Unique Staff]
Usable only by Orcs.
…Anything else?
From the neck adorned with numerous accessories, a necklace exuding a distinct presence caught my eye.
[Swift Azure Necklace]
Category - Accessory
Effect: After equipping, pressing the center of the gem temporarily increases the player's movement speed.
Effect Activation Limit: 4
Usable Level: Level 10 or higher
Rank: C+
It seemed somewhat useful, so I put it in my Inventory.
After standing up, I looked back.
Riselinn, the mercenary captain, met my gaze and pointed down the mountain with his index finger, saying, "Yuseong, we can head down, right? It looks like the sun is about to rise soon."
Rohan, the mercenary, was wiping blood off his sword.
Yunes, the mage, repeatedly wiped blood and flesh off his leather armor.
NPC.
They looked just like people, no matter how I looked at them.
According to the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery, unlike others, Riselinn, the mercenary captain, seemed likely to be met again.
Anyway, if I disappeared like this, no matter what I said, it would naturally be awkward the next time we met. Still, there was a need to say goodbye.
"Uh, see you next time."
"Huh?"
Confusion appeared on the faces of all three people looking at me.
The 3 minutes felt both long and short.
A strange sensation of my body floating in the air came over me.
For a moment, my vision turned black.
[Welcome to the 3rd Floor.]
And when my vision returned to normal, a place with a landscape not much different from the 2nd Floor Stairway Waiting Room came into view.
[600 coins have been awarded as a reward for clearing the 2nd Floor.]
[An item has been awarded as a reward for clearing Pandemonium Floor 2. Please check your 'Inventory'.]
The clock on the central wall was the same.
February 23rd.
2 days remaining until the Tower Exchange Meeting.
Tower Exchange Meeting Date: February 25th, 12:00 PM.
There was more than enough time left.
However, it wasn't enough time to consider challenging the 3rd Floor Stage.
2 days would pass in the blink of an eye if I spent it training.
The moment I tried to open my Inventory to check the 2nd Floor clear reward item, a notification window popped up.
《 2nd Floor - Score Ranking 》
1st Place - Union Leader: 784 points
2nd Place - Chasing: 412 points
3rd Place - Sinclair: 399 points
4th Place - Argul: 382 points
5th Place - Rosetta: 379 points
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⋮
[Han Yoo-seong: 1,532 points]
[Registering score.]
[Please enter the name you wish to register on the score ranking.]
[Name: ]
The blank space next to the name was blinking. As if urging me to register a name quickly.
There was no option to keep the ranking score itself private.
It didn't matter if it was publicly displayed.
The probability that other climbers in the Tower would know it was me was almost zero.
'Pandemonium,' where only I might be residing.
Apart from meeting them at the Exchange Meeting, the chance of meeting other players was almost nil.
'Sword of Light had been hoping for this.'
To reach the top of the score ranking.
To cause an anomaly and confusion among the existing Tower rankers.
Sword of Light wanted me to achieve such results.
Sword of Light had written so in the gallery posts and in the appendix of the Dragon Slayer Sword given to me.
The other Transcendental seniors in the comment sections of the posts were the same.
Still, I disliked using my real name.
What would be a suitable nickname?
After some thought, I wrote it briefly.
[Score registration complete.]
Hard difficulty, Floor 63.
Hard difficulty Tower numbering #35.
The 63rd Floor Stairway Waiting Room presented a vast landscape. The scenery was far from what one would call a waiting room; it had to be considered a city.
A man with blond hair and silver armor seemed lost in thought, his head bowed.
"Union Leader."
Union Leader.
Someone called out to Targon, the head of the Strategy Alliance, the most famous and highest-ranking person in the Climber Gallery.
Targon, the Union Leader, looked up at the words of Velacia, the attack captain.
"What is it, Bella?"
Velacia spoke urgently, "Open the ranking window. Something strange has happened."
"Something strange?"
Targon's brow furrowed.
The opened stairway ranking window was, as expected, sorted by the latest floor.
"There's nothing different."
From Floor 50 to Floor 62.
His nickname was listed as 1st place on all of them, and the names listed from 2nd to 5th place were also colleagues belonging to the Strategy Alliance.
Velacia slowly shook her head. "Not by the latest floor. Sort it by order."
Targon's hand moved.
And he immediately understood why Velacia was fussing so uncharacteristically.
The score for the 2nd Floor Stage, the very first floor where scores were tallied.
That was where the reason lay.
《 2nd Floor - Score Ranking 》
1st Place - Private: 1,532 points NEW!
2nd Place - Union Leader: 784 points
3rd Place - Chasing: 412 points
4th Place - Sinclair: 399 points
5th Place - Argul: 382 points
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⋮
The new 1st place, surrounded by a golden border, all by itself.
He had thought that he might eventually lose the 1st place. And the score from the 2nd Floor didn't matter much.
But the problem was the score difference between himself and the new 1st place.
'...1532?'
First of all, the unit was different. A thousand's unit.
A score difference of almost double his own.
How could such a score be achieved on the 2nd Floor?
Velacia's quiet words drifted into his ears. "Could it be an error?"
Targon immediately responded, "It's not."
Targon's words were filled with certainty. "Don't you know that the Tower doesn't make errors like this?"
Velacia wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead and purple hair from rushing. "That's true... but is it possible? Such a score?"
Velacia thought deeply. "Surely, it's not a Pandemonium player...?"
This time, Targon refuted Velacia's statement. "If it were Pandemonium, they would have been struggling just to complete missions. Such a number is estimated to come from clearing a floor in a very short time, or killing a very large number of Monsters. Pandemonium makes both difficult."
Targon predicted that 'Private' was an Easy or Normal difficulty player.
Whether it was a quick clear or killing many Monsters, he was certain it was Easy or Normal.
He thought it was impossible for Hard, as it was something he himself couldn't do.
And he considered Pandemonium to be entirely out of the question.
Targon, having organized his thoughts, spoke. "When March 1st arrives, send a mail to the floors below the 30th. If there's anyone around who you suspect might be this Private player, report them."
"Okay, got it."
Velacia, who had answered, quickened her pace.
Mail.
Mailboxes existed from Floor 5 onwards, with one on each floor of the Tower.
Once a month, on the 1st of every month, only one mailbox would function.
Players considered this a device for obtaining the minimum necessary information for survival before reaching Floor 30 and obtaining the Climber Gallery.
Velacia, now far from Union Leader Targon, opened the <Climber Gallery>.
As expected, the Climber Gallery was also in an uproar.
On the same topic as the conversation Targon and she had.
Title: What's with the 2nd Floor ranking score?
Author: SaveMe
- Did everyone see it??
1st Place - Private: 1,532 points
What is this?
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Hahahaha, seriously, what is this.
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What kind of monster is climbing up from the 2nd floor??
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What monster would be on the 2nd floor? It must be that they got lucky in Easy mode and a bunch of Goblins appeared.
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Bullshit, even if you killed all the Goblins that appeared like that, would a four-digit number appear? There must be something else.
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Whatever, it's just the 2nd floor, lol. Even if we talk about it in the gallery, this newbie probably doesn't even know this post exists, so why are you even bothered?
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That's because the score is too overwhelming compared to the 2nd place, Union Leader. It's almost double?
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They'll probably show up soon. If that's not luck but real potential.
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Everyone's forgetting their own crappy scores and putting down the 2nd floor lololol. It's definitely strange, though.
Velacia closed the Climber Gallery with a blank expression.
It was too bizarre to just ignore. But still, it was just the 2nd floor. That thought didn't leave her.
Having reached Floor 63 of Hard difficulty, she had experienced all sorts of human conditions.
She had seen countless people who were initially brave but had now lost their sharpness.
'...That part is indeed strange.'
If someone were on the 2nd floor now, they would likely be from '21st Century Earth.' Yet, to show such prominence.
'They were all so weak, without magic or martial arts.'
After thinking a little more deeply, Velacia shook her head from side to side, shedding the thoughts.
After confirming that I occupied the top spot on the 2nd Floor Score Ranking, I opened the <Transcendent Gallery>.
I clicked on the latest post, which had the most comments.
Title: Hahahaha, wow, how did a four-digit number appear? Hahaha
Author: Pioneer
- But why did you choose that nickname? What's with 'Private' and 'Private' lololol. Anyway, I feel somewhat proud. Let's aim for 1st place on the 3rd floor too.
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1,532. I doubt my eyes. I doubt my eyes.
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2nd place 784, an overwhelming gap lololol. Crazy.
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Why are you proud? If you have to find someone who can be proud here, who else is there besides Sword of Light?
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Well, we all threw in our tips and stuff. I feel proud too.
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Of course, you should be proud, you unsupportive bastard lol. It's a success of 'intervention.' Seeing our climber take 1st place after just lurking in the gallery makes me feel like I've made an appearance lol.
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Heavenly Demon) Ahem, for the next Interdimensional Trade, I'd like to give you my martial arts scrolls.
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Shrine Maiden) The talisman is complete! 15322222
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Ice Queen) Freeze, freeze, freeze!! Come out! Climber!
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Yes*) Yes Came out.
After a brief silence, comments flooded in.
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Ice Queen) Ice, cream-!
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Wowwwwwww You're here, King of the 2nd Floor.
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Overlord of the 2nd Floor, damn.
"King of the 2nd Floor" sounds a bit lame.
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Absolute Monarch) Magnificent. It reminds me of when I took 1st place.
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??? When did Monarch-hyung ever take 1st place?
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Archmage) You worked hard. 2 days left until the Exchange Meeting.
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Sword of Light) Well done. Though it's a bit disappointing that you chose 'Private'.
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Yeah, you punk. You should have written Han Yoo-seong's name properly.
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Sword of Light) For example, 'Descendant of the Dragon Slayer Sword.'
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Hmm, that's a bit much.
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The Prodigy of the Transcendent Gallery, go go.
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Archmage) Too lame.
As expected, I made the right choice by going with 'Private.'