Chapter 23
Chapter 23
The only useful item among those the King Kobold possessed was, as expected, its sword.
The King Kobold had used two swords.
What caught my interest, aside from the greatsword that seemed excessively inefficient for me to use, was a straight sword of moderate size.
[Sword of the Fierce King]
Category - Weapon (Sword)
Attack Power: + 50
Effect: Increases resistance to the power of light.
Usable Level: Level 17 and above.
Grade: B+
It seems like it's time to let go of the Nameless Knight's Straight Sword.
I'll use the Great Enemy Sword Karnavalt as my main weapon.
And this sword as a secondary.
There were no other noteworthy items.
I pressed the blinking text in the lower right corner of my vision.
[Would you like to exit the Exchange Meeting and return to the floor stairs?]
[Yes / No]
Everyone who disappeared must have vanished with this process.
I had expected many things to happen at the Exchange Meeting, but more had occurred than I had anticipated.
I pressed the left side with my index finger.
A circular light cluster rose from the floor beneath my feet.
"……."
My vision, bathed in light, returned to normal.
[Entering the 3rd Floor Staircase Waiting Room.]
It was the world of the drab waiting room once more.
It was still a place the size of a high school gymnasium, but it felt subtly larger.
Seeing that the acquired 'Exchange Meeting Return Scroll' had not disappeared, it seemed like an item I could use during the next Exchange Meeting if I entered a hidden boss room alone.
Even if it hadn't disappeared, I didn't know if I would have a use for it in the future.
I glanced at the clock affixed to the center of the right wall.
Current time, February 26th, 14:53.
The next Tower Exchange Meeting was on March 25th.
I would have to ascend as much as possible before the Exchange Meeting.
Title: Returned. It's the 3rd floor waiting room.
Author: ㅇㅇ*
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A lot more happened than I expected. Over the two days of the Exchange Meeting.
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You worked hard.
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I don't see any posts related to you taking down two guys at the Exchange Meeting in the Climber Gallery yet.
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Spear King) I'll let you know immediately if it's found.
That's very reassuring.
But murders happening at Exchange Meetings wouldn't be a rare occurrence, and I didn't think I'd be singled out.
I even used the alias Jeong Woohyeon just in case.
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Elf) Ah, I finally normalized the Elf Kingdom... I couldn't watch the Climber taking 1st place on the 2nd floor in real-time.
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Is that why you weren't visible until now??
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As expected, pointy-ears. Unfazed by humans dying.
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Elf) You guys aren't pointy-ears, and you're unfazed too!
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Secret Room Theorist) Aren't you in quite a high position in Elf Kingdom society? Why are you doing the purification yourself? - This world is made of a giant secret room.
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Elf) Because I'm a noble Elf who takes action, unlike you demons with wicked superiors.
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Secret Room Theorist) Why are you suddenly picking a fight? - This world is made of a giant secret room.
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He's always been like that, Ronja.
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Secret Room Theorist) He seems to have gotten worse. - This world is made of a giant secret room.
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It's because he's old.
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Elf) In the name of Mother World Tree, I pray for your short life.
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Speaking of pointy-ears, wasn't there another weird pointy-ear in the Transcendent Gallery?
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He's a bit different. I blocked him because he posted too many selfies lol. He would have been pouring out posts watching the Climbers grow, but he got blocked, right? Can't post, right?
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Dragon King) Kiiyaaaat! Beltui- Hello, cute Elf. Come hereee.
The Elf didn't react at all to the Demon, the Secret Room Theorist.
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Why are you beating up Ronja but not reacting to the Dragon King?
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They're in the same world, aren't they? Along with Sword of Light.
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Elf) No, you're talking like I'm someone who only acts tough from my room, but I can hit demons even if they're right next to me.
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Dragon King) Beltui- hit me toooo.
Look at him pretending not to see it, gritting his teeth.
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Sword of Light) You worked hard. Let's go up to the next floor without resting at all.
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??? Crazy… I thought I misread it and it was supposed to say "rest a bit and go to the next floor," so I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but I had read it correctly from the start.
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Archmage) Is the interdimensional trade cooldown still 7 days?
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Yes, it's 7 days left.
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Heavenly Demon) Don't forget that I was the first in line….
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No, there's no line.
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You'd trade with humans who can provide the strength needed on the 3rd or 4th floor stages.
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Then if you trade on the stage instead of in the waiting room, do those humans only get jerky and nuts from the Climber during interdimensional trade?
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You've completely lost your memory of the Tower. Food stays fresh for a day when it's in the special storage.
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You have to trade within 24 hours. But since the cooldown is 7 days this time, the timing is just off.
What the heck.
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Hmm* ) ?? Is it possible to put that storage box into the inventory? Then why was I carrying only nuts and jerky in my inventory?
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Jjuhdak) Ah, right. I couldn't tell you in the 2nd floor waiting room because it was too chaotic lol.
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Archmage) For real lol.
"For real lol"? Bullshit.
They knew and didn't tell me.
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We went through trial and error, so we can't easily tell you. But when it comes to food, at least.
Look at this.
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Sword of Light) You should eat in moderation.
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Old-fashioned. (Old man/boomer)
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Ice Queen) Kkong kkong! Kkon!
I felt a shiver.
I could feel the genuine sincerity in the Sword of Light Senior's comment, even through text.
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Even so, for commoners like us, the opportunity for interdimensional trade never comes.
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Why. If you have an amazing item that the Hard difficulty seniors don't have, you can trade with a Climber.
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That's why I'm saying it, because we don't have anything like that.
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Okay* ) Try it, I'm open-minded.
Of course, it would take more than just any item to trade with the Normal or Easy difficulty seniors.
What can I do? The ranks are clearly divided in the gallery.
I'll rest for a day.
It's only half a day left, at most.
If I entered the 3rd floor stage immediately, I'd probably collapse from exhaustion, unless the stage background was hell itself.
My body needed it, and my mind too.
My swords were in decent condition, but my armor was a mess.
When I placed my hand on the armor, a prompt I'd never seen before appeared.
[Nameless Knight's Armor Set - Repair?]
[Repair Cost - 15 Coins]
I repaired it immediately.
Compared to the significant upgrades in my weapons, it was disappointing that my armor was the same as it was on the 2nd floor.
I'll try to get some armor if the 3rd floor stage is a place where I can obtain it.
When I posted about the repair, a comment appeared saying that repairs could only be done with coins in the waiting room.
It also added that fixing items during stage progression was only possible if there was a blacksmith NPC or if the player repaired it themselves at a forge.
For now, I closed the gallery.
Lying in my sleeping bag, I replayed the battle with the King Kobold and slowly drifted off to sleep.
My eyes opened.
My body felt refreshed, and my mind was clear.
[Player Status]
Name: Han Yoo-seong
Race: Human
Lv.19
Strength: 107
Agility: 97
Stamina: 101
Mana: 70
Skills: Pain Suppression Lv.5, Composure Lv.5, Concealment Lv.3, Danger Sense Lv.3,
Vision Expansion Lv.3, Focus Enhancement Lv.4, Fighter's Movement Lv.4,
Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.4, Doombringer Lv.2, Mental Barrier Lv.1
It was a touching moment to see my Strength and Stamina stats enter the triple digits.
If I had reached Level 20, I would have diligently trained my Sword Qi here, just as I did in the 2nd floor waiting room, before entering the stage. But I was still one step away from 20.
As someone in the gallery wrote yesterday, I could receive necessary items through interdimensional trade depending on the needs of the 3rd or 4th floor stages.
I doubted it would take even a week, no matter how long the 3rd floor was.
Organizing my thoughts, I opened the Coin Shop.
I had plenty of coins.
Thanks to earning 1000 coins at the Exchange Meeting.
[3rd Floor Coin Shop]
I repurchased the potions that had been so useful at the Exchange Meeting.
Then I went to the food section.
Last night, to gift myself the taste of home, I ate ramen and a small amount of kimchi.
For breakfast, I chose the newly added menu item from the 3rd floor Coin Shop: Jeyuk Deopbap. It cost a steep 13 coins, but came with a small salad and soup on the side.
At this point, I couldn't help but wonder who made this and provided it.
I asked the Transcendent Gallery seniors, but even they didn't know.
I wrote another post.
Title: Entering the 3rd floor stage with Cream Bacon Pasta, Jeyuk Deopbap, and a Sandwich in my inventory.
Author: ㅇㅇ*
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With this, I can have a proper meal in any situation for about two days.
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Look at him getting spoiled immediately after being told.
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Well, it would be difficult if you were dropped somewhere with nothing to eat.
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Sword of Light) Eat in moderation.
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Jjuhdak) Wishing you good luck.
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Absolute Monarch) Write down where you are as soon as you enter.
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Elf) Phew, now I can follow the progress in real-time.
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Ice Queen) Thump thump!
I closed the Transcendent Gallery and put the terminal into my inventory.
Just like on the 2nd floor, I opened the gray door at the very end of the waiting room, and the scenery completely changed.
As if the waiting room itself had never existed.
『Welcome to the Pandemonium difficulty 3rd Floor Stage.』
This time, the scenery was a forest.
A foul forest where the trees and bushes were an unnervingly black color.
Shhh-
Even the sound of the wind was strange.
『The Pandemonium difficulty 3rd Floor is quest-based.』
It was quest-based, like the 2nd floor.
The only difference was that the quest window popped up immediately this time.
『Quest! - Join the rescue team dispatched to rescue those stranded in the Forest of Bewitching Beasts and rescue the stranded members together.』
The black bushes rustled.
Something enormous, emitting a red glow, lunged out and charged at me.
I can smell it.
The smell that this won't be easy, either.