Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Too many comments were posted. It seemed better to write another post with the questions in the main text rather than continuing the conversation on this post.
Title: What's Climbing Gallery again? Climber Gallery? Looking at the posts, it's the Transcendent Gallery…It seems like it's normal for me not to be able to come here.
Author: oo
-I suddenly lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, I was just here.
It's done with a device that was in the pocket held by an NPC.
As soon as I posted, comments immediately appeared.
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Jjuhdak) Climbing Gallery is indeed Climber Gallery. A gallery terminal in an NPC's pocket? Seriously, I've never heard of such a thing.
It was Jjuhdak.
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Jjuhdak) I'll explain more about Climbing Gallery later. First, this place. The Transcendent Gallery is a gallery that only beings who have reached the top of the Tower and returned to their respective return points can enter. Your entry is an extremely abnormal situation.
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Jjuhdak) The Tower's difficulty levels are Easy, Normal, Hard, and Pandemonium. A total of four. Anyway, to escape the Tower, regardless of the difficulty, you must kill various Monsters and clear up to the 100th floor, the summit.
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Jjuhdak) You said you came to your senses and were just there, right? Then, to know which difficulty Tower you are in, you must clear the first floor first.
Tower.
A place where you must climb floors while killing Monsters.
After facing the number '1' and a Giant Ant Monster, I had expected it, being someone who lived by subculture, but I wasn't unfazed just because my guess was right.
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Jjuhdak) The reason you are a heterogeneous being in many ways is that the Transcendent Gallery is a place that Climbers absolutely cannot enter in the first place. Only those who have finished the Tower are permitted entry.
I see. So, it's not a gallery where veterans gather. I, a complete newbie, have somehow entered a gallery where people who reached the top of the Tower and escaped it gather.
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Jjuhdak) Climbing Gallery is Climber Gallery. It's a community where people from the four Towers can talk. The Climber Gallery terminal is also only given after reaching the 30th floor of the Tower. Don't tell me you can already enter Climbing Gallery too?
I quickly replied.
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No. Only Transcendent Gallery seems possible.
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Jjuhdak) …It's more surprising that you can enter Transcendent Gallery. Anyway, the majority of Transcendent Gallery will be friendly towards you. Including me.
After Jjuhdak's last comment, comments from other beings began to pour in again.
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The Jjuhdak guy unleashed his domain again. It's been a while since I've been blocked from commenting.
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It's understandable lololol It's a historic moment. A floor-one Climber entering Transcendent Gallery, what is this lololol
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Shrine Maiden) As expected, Jjuhdak-nim. It's the power of authority, isn't it?
I wondered why only Jjuhdak was commenting consecutively, but it seemed Jjuhdak, as the head of the gallery, had exercised his authority.
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We can't help but be friendly to him. Unlike Climbing Gallery, where Transcendental beings were only allowed to lurk, direct advice is now possible lololol My mouth is watering.
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What's the point of being able to give advice? If you die, it's over.
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Ahhh~~ Easy Mode Bro!! Stop negative thoughts! Stop critical thinking!
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Sword of Light) Even if the probability of dying on the first floor is low, it's not zero depending on the difficulty. You must be careful. Check if there are any risk factors.
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lololol The Sword-flock is saying something right. We must worship the God-tier Newbie who makes them speak sense.
I tore my eyes away from the gallery, my gaze falling on Sword of Light's comment, who had already been perceived as a "Sword-flock" by me, and frantically looked around. Fortunately, no Monsters were approaching, and nothing unusual was happening.
I wrote another post.
Title: But where did you guys live? Do you know Korea?
Author: ㅇㅇ*
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Looking at the Fixed Nicknames, they seem quite far from modern times.
However, after posting, I noticed a '*' attached next to my nickname ㅇㅇ.
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Jjuhdak) Anyway, you will be the center of attention for a while… no, continuously, so I gave you a star to receive attention properly.
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Shrine Maiden) Ugh, you didn't even give me one when I begged you to add something! That's too much!
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Heavenly Demon) You didn't even acknowledge my request to add the symbol of the cult behind my epithet. How audacious, Jjuhdak.
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You're using a Fixed Nickname befitting a Hard Mode finisher and being so smug. Do you want to get beaten by countless o's? But the star is quite tempting…
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lololol Seriously, it looks a bit more distinguished with a star.
So, those using Fixed Nicknames are all Hard Mode finishers.
It's quite surprising that the Shrine Maiden, who uses that strange way of speaking, is such an important person.
Just from the comments, I was rapidly gaining information about Transcendent Gallery.
More comments followed, related to the topic of the post I had written.
Replies to the question of whether I knew Korea.
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Korea? Ah, you're from the same world as those who suddenly started appearing in Climbing Gallery recently.
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Seems like 21st-century Earth.
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Sword of Light) Korea, America, Japan, England, China… a strange Earth where there are many such countries but few talented individuals.
Hmm, my hometown.
My hometown seems to have a low rating.
The evaluation is brutally harsh.
I immediately posted my next question.
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Hmm*) What do you mean, those who appeared recently? Were there none before?
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Archmage) They started appearing about a year ago. Self-proclaimed 21st-century Earthlings. Even then, it was only Easy Mode or Normal Mode Climbers who started being active in Climbing Gallery.
I see. Then, is the Tower I was summoned to also an Easy or Normal Mode Tower?
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Yes*) But is there a criterion for summoning? Why did I suddenly end up here?
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Scum Sword Saint) Something may or may not have happened in your world, 21st-century Earth. Just consider it bad luck.
I already know I have bad luck without you emphasizing it.
But why do only those from Hardcore difficulty Towers get Fixed Nicknames? As I was about to ask that.
Kireuk.
A foul cry was heard.
"…."
Damn it.
I immediately closed the Transcendent Gallery.
I put the device, which closely resembled a smartphone, into my pocket and held the spear with both hands.
Holding my breath, I pressed myself against the right wall.
My heart was pounding rapidly.
My body entered a state of extreme tension.
It was familiar.
The pressure I felt every time when I was a pitcher in high school baseball until two years ago.
The reason I quit baseball when I was nineteen, just turned nineteen, was due to a shoulder injury and my parents' divorce happening simultaneously.
My shoulder injury improved somewhat in half a year, but I didn't return to baseball. It felt like too much time had passed.
I ran away then. Using a mere half-year gap and the destruction of my family as excuses.
But now, there's nowhere to run like back then.
They said the probability of dying on the first floor is low, right?
For now, I have to stab and kill whatever appears before me with this spear.
Just as my rapidly beating heart began to calm down, a black shadow covered the gray floor.
I thrust the spear forward and moved my feet.
Pooook!
An unpleasant sensation flowed through both my hands.
Kiiirak!!
Clearly, the body was the same as the Giant Ant I had killed just before. But the head was different.
It was a grotesque form with three human heads intertwined.
I pulled out the spear that had pierced the upper part of the body and thrust it again.
Pooook!
Kieaak!!
My hands were covered in bright red blood. But I only felt urgency.
'Is the wound I inflicted healing?'
The wound I had pierced earlier was healing rapidly.
If the body has that much regenerative power, do I have to crush the heads to kill it?
I had made my decision.
I aimed the spearhead at the woman's head with long hair in the center of the three heads.
Just then, the ant's right leg moved, and it sliced through my shoulder.
"Kuaaaaaaaak!"
—Shit!
It hurts like hell.
It was a searing pain, as if my entire body was burning. Low probability of dying, my ass.
I am certain. If I allow just two or three more attacks, I'm the one who will die, not this three-headed ant.
Kadudek!
I gritted my teeth and moved my body.
Kwajik!
I crushed the woman's head first. Then, I consecutively crushed the bald man's head on the left.
This time, I saw the ant's left leg move.
I quickly pushed it away with the spear shaft and it collided.
Swaak!
But my side was sliced open.
It was a pain like my flesh being torn off whole. The pain once again consumed my mind, but I had to move.
I struck away the charging ant's right leg with the spear shaft and then plunged the spearhead into the remaining head.
The body of the Giant Ant with human heads slowly toppled sideways.
I finally killed it.
[Experience has increased.]
[Current Experience 70%]
[Pain Suppression Lv.1 - Skill Acquired.]
[Composure Lv.1 - Skill Acquired.]
[Concealment Lv.1 - Skill Acquired.]
Before I could feel relief or accomplishment, the wounds on my side and shoulder made their presence clearly known.
Hot blood.
I had to stop the bleeding first.
Mound.
This is a baseball mound.
I repeated that to myself, holding onto my consciousness.
When baseball was my entire life, I stood firm there, no matter what happened.
My feet turned backward.
To where I found the device that could open the Transcendent Gallery.
Towards the corpse of the [Fleeing Citizen].
I picked up the pocket next to the corpse.
I took out the terminal, but there was indeed something left.
What my fumbling hand grasped was a round potion bottle.
It contained a red liquid.
Just like the text that appeared like a hologram above the corpse, the description of the potion bottle surfaced.
[Item: Grade 3 Recovery Potion]
[Effect: If poured on a wound, the wound will heal to a certain extent.]
It seemed there was no way I was going to die.
My trembling hands opened the cap of the potion.