I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

Fortunately, the healing potion was a liquid with some viscosity. As I applied it to the wound area, it seeped in as if melting.

“Phew…”

It didn’t heal completely, but there was no more bleeding.
I carefully took off the leather clothes the dead citizen was wearing. Although it felt unpleasant, it seemed better to wear this than just my half-tattered clothes.

I picked up the mobile phone, the gallery terminal, again.
Just as I was about to press the Transcendent Gallery app.
An app below it caught my eye.

“…Camera?”

An icon shaped like a lens, similar to the camera app I had in the modern world.
I clicked on it.

It was indeed a camera function.

“But there’s no lens on the front.”

It seems the operation method isn’t the same as a smartphone.
There was something to photograph right away.

I should let them know I almost died.
I took a picture of the giant ant with human heads attached.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a “click” sound or anything. It seems to be on mute by default.
If necessary, when something appears, I could take a picture from afar and then ask the Trans Gallery people about it.
I entered the Transcendent Gallery.

Before pressing the write button, I couldn’t help but notice the posts in the gallery.

Title: Did that ‘*’ bastard die?
Author: ㅇㅇ

He suddenly stopped writing posts and comments, and it’s been 10 minutes already. Could it be…

ㄴ Surely, he just lost consciousness because he was hungry
ㄴ In the tower, that means death.
ㄴ He’s just become a monster’s meal
ㄴ LightSword) Seeing that he suddenly stopped writing posts and comments, it seems like something has happened.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) …Usually, someone who comes like this as if by miracle doesn’t die so easily, right…? That wouldn’t make sense. Surely he’s not really dead….
ㄴ With 魔 in your name, you’re genuinely trembling ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are you worried?
ㄴ IceQueen) Freeze!

ㄴ ClosedRoomTheorist) Maybe we’ve all just been collectively hypnotized for a moment. Logically, there’s no way a climber could enter Trans Gallery -This world is made up of a giant closed room
ㄴ I’mAnElf) It’s quite credible when a demon managing the labyrinth talks about hypnosis. But really, could something have happened?
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) Climber, write a post as soon as you confirm.
ㄴ Yeah~ Can’t write if you’re dead, right?

ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, the climber’s life thread didn’t seem that short.
ㄴ Pioneer) You know, that Hard 40th floor climber you pointed out in the Climber Gallery before as having a long life thread died right on the 41st floor.
ㄴ Priestess) .,!;
ㄴ Pioneer) You’re very flustered.
ㄴ Priestess) Anyway… Climber, Trans Gallery will fall apart without you….
ㄴ Fr that’s a fact. All the fixed nicks that popped out exceptionally are crawling back in ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I could tell that all the posts were focused on me.

ㄴ ArchMage) Tsk, I thought we finally had something interesting to play with… is he dead?

…Hmm, something interesting.
Well, most people would probably think the same as the ArchMage. I’m still alive, you bastard.
I closed the post and pressed the write button.
I attached the photo I just took.

And I posted.

Title: Almost died
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-I almost died to this bastard.
Attachment: 348593408.jpg
[A photo of a giant ant with three human heads attached to its head part, lying on its side]

ㄴ Oh ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s been a while since I’ve seen that ant bastard.
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) That monster’s name was Anstrotrope, wasn’t it?
ㄴ That’s right. But it’s impressive that you killed it without dying. A 21st century Earthling. Did this usually appear on the 1st floor?
ㄴ No no, in Easy difficulty, this guy never appears on the 1st floor. Only rat bastards appear.

ㄴ This guy is definitely not in Easy mode ㅋㅋㅋ I think there’s a high possibility of Normal. If his luck is terribly bad, maybe Hard.
ㄴ Fr in Easy there are so many people that there are always others from the same batch on the 1st floor. Excluding NPCs, you can’t be alone.
ㄴ Even in Easy, those who are meant to die will die if they don’t get their act together.

So the tower I’ve been summoned to is definitely not Easy difficulty. Tsk.

ㄴ I’m from Normal, and this guy did appear on the 1st floor, but I’m not sure. I think the one I killed was a bit smaller.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ I’m also Normal and I think the same as you.
ㄴ Priestess) It appeared exactly that size on the 1st floor and I crushed it with a spell. Thumbs up for eradicating evil!

…Eh.
Normal bros, why are you saying such chilling things?
Even though my luck is terribly bad, I was thinking it would be Normal mode. Such ambiguous words.

Why does the Priestess always say things that increase the possibility of me being in Hard mode? It’s annoying.

ㄴ LightSword) Seeing that it has three human heads, whether they were NPCs or climbers, it seems to have eaten three people. You killed it well.
ㄴ ArchMage) Phew, you didn’t die. Don’t die.
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) So you’re alive. Did you achieve any level ups or skill acquisitions?
ㄴ Translation: Did you level up or acquire any skills.

Ah, right.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Level hasn’t increased yet. Got three skills. Pain Suppression, Composure, Cover.
ㄴ ArchMage) That’s ordinary.
ㄴ Ord? inary. I can count on one hand the number of times I got more than two skills in one battle?
ㄴ As expected of an ordinary Easy mode ham~~
ㄴ I’m from Normal. You worm.
ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, while it’s common in Hard difficulty, it rarely happens on the 1st floor. It’s strange.

Keeps stacking up the possibility of Hard difficulty.

ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) Check your status window once. Then you need to reach the entrance of the 2nd floor first.
ㄴ LightSword) When you get to the 2nd floor, I’ll teach you spear techniques in the floor’s waiting room.
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) ??? You have ‘sword’ in your fixed nickname yet you mention spear techniques
ㄴ LightSword) Looking at the wound pattern on the Anstrotrope’s head, it’s a spear. I should teach him what he’s holding. It’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to get a sword at this point.
ㄴ LightSword) First, clearing the 1st floor and confirming the difficulty is the top priority.

ㄴ ㄷㄷㄷㄷ The dignity of the climber who keeps making the SwordParrot normal.
ㄴ He was just going on about swords because gallery browsing was boring ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ LightSword) Of course, if the climber gets a sword, sword techniques are confirmed immediately.

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Ahem… This one will teach you fist techniques too. In a way you can understand.
ㄴ ArchMage) You need to accumulate at least a little mana before we can teach you anything. Hmm.

Two people have stepped up to teach me. I’m grateful for the teaching.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to understand.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Thanks thanks

I replied very passively for now.

I wrote what I was curious about before the Anstrotrope popped up.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) But why are all the people using fixed nicknames from Hard mode?
ㄴ The Trans Gallery system itself doesn’t allow us Easy, Normal trash to have fixed nicknames ㅇㅇ

Then why isn’t there Pandemonium? It’s the difficulty above Hard.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) But there’s also Pandemonium difficulty. It’s higher than Hard, right?
ㄴ GalleryMaster) There are no completers of Pandemonium yet.
ㄴ They all died while climbing. So there can’t be any fixed nicknames from there.
ㄴ ArchMage) The clear probability there is 0%.

Ah. I see. They all died.
Another very fundamental question came to mind.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) But what’s the criteria for dividing into Easy, Normal, Hard, and Pandemonium?

ㄴ GalleryMaster) The tower system hasn’t directly stated anything. We’re just making guesses.
ㄴ ArchMage) We’re guessing that beings who have even a speck of possibility to clear that difficulty are summoned to the tower.

But there was one thing that didn’t fit that guess.

ㄴ ArchMage) But you’re thinking that Pandemonium doesn’t fit that reasoning, right? Well, while we can’t be certain about that… even though they all ended up dying, I tend to think that the people summoned there did have the possibility to complete Pandemonium.

A tower with a 0% survival rate even though those with potential were summoned.
Just thinking about it made me feel repulsed.

For now, I should clear the 1st floor and check the difficulty first, as the GalleryMaster and LightSword said.

I should set out after sucking out all the information I can possibly know.
My hands moved busily.

Title: Are all tower floors just about fighting monsters?
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-At least the 1st floor seems like that.

ㄴ GalleryMaster) The 1st floor is like that because it’s viewed as a warm-up, a tutorial. From the 2nd floor, it alternates. There are straight combat types like the 1st floor, or quest types with stories… narratives. There are also defense types with time attacks. The types are diverse. Most have fighting as a basic premise, though.

ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, you shouldn’t get too immersed in the stories of the NPCs in quest types. I’ve seen people die a few times by losing their judgment after getting too swept up in their emotions.
ㄴ I’mAnElf) My friend died because of that too….
ㄴ ㅇㅇ Especially, you should never believe what pointy-eared NPCs say, their race is inherently treacherous.
ㄴ I’mAnElf) In the name of nature, I sincerely curse you.
ㄴ Yeah~ Not scared of pointy-ears~~

“Pointy-ears” seemed to be a derogatory term for elves.
What’s this?
Seeing that no one is speaking up for the elf, there must be something about elves.

Anyway, quest type, huh.
I think I’ll only understand what those words mean when I experience it directly.
If I survive and climb to the 2nd floor, I’ll experience it anyway.

Title: Has anyone encountered Anstrotrope on the 1st floor?
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-Since I still can’t guess which difficulty tower I’m in, just list all the monsters that appeared on your 1st floor.
And their characteristics.
Oh, and give me other information besides monsters too.

All sorts of information poured in.

To summarize the information:

In floors without narrative where only monsters appear, there is inevitably a boss monster.
If you reach it and kill it, there’s a high chance of clearing the 1st floor.

Except for Easy mode, tower climbers of other difficulties have experienced ‘traps’ multiple times.

Be careful of steel chains that come down vertically when you press the input panel on the floor.
Be careful of steel arrows that spring out from the walls.
The direction from which steel arrows pour out is the direction where a slight wind suddenly blows.
…But I wonder if I’ll be able to notice that.

There are about two monsters with a probability of appearing. Be careful of goblins and magic mad dogs.
Since two Anstrotropes appeared, there’s also a chance that a boss monster related to that species might appear.

The most impressive comments were from ‘LightSword’.

ㄴ LightSword) You should maintain a state of tension, but there’s no need to be too scared. After all, the fact that you killed two Anstrotropes means you have the sense to survive on the 1st floor.

To be honest, killing the first one was too close to luck.
I definitely needed to think positively.

ㄴ LightSword) How much potion do you have left?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Half?
ㄴ LightSword) If steel arrows pour down, hide your body behind cover to avoid what you can. Deflect what you can deflect.

Up to here, it sounded very reasonable.
The problem was what came after.

ㄴ LightSword) If you have to take hits, endure and take them. Your Pain Suppression skill level might increase too. You need to adapt to pain to be prepared.
ㄴ Those who’ve been hit do endure better.
ㄴ LightSword) Even if your level goes up, injured parts of your body regenerate. And when you clear, you’re restored to your original state. So there’s no need to spare your body.
ㄴ Pioneer) You’re talking too positively. If you die without clearing, regardless of recovery or whatever, you just really die ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, if you get too caught up in positive thinking, you might die in a moment.

The brief thought that I might be able to handle this was instantly shattered by Pioneer’s short comment.
That’s right. That’s the reality.

One wrong move and I’m dead.
But it was also true that all of LightSword’s comments were quality advice.
I properly internalized it.

“Status window.”

Strength: 12
Agility: 13
Vitality: 11

Skills: Pain Suppression Lv.1 Composure Lv.1 Cover Lv.1

When I pressed my index finger on the skills, explanations popped up.
Pain Suppression is a skill that suppresses the ‘pain’ when receiving physical damage.
Composure is, as the name suggests, a skill that maintains composure as much as possible in any situation.
Cover was a skill that partially hides your presence when hiding behind cover.

I opened the gallery again and placed my hands on the keyboard.

Title: I’ll clear the 1st floor and come back.
Author: ㅇㅇ*

– See you alive.

I’ll check the comments on this post when I come back.
I closed the Transcendent Gallery and put the terminal into the back pocket tightly tied to my waist.

Crunch-

The food that was in the citizen’s pocket.
I chewed on nuts like walnuts and peanuts, and a small amount of jerky as I moved forward.

Let’s go.
I, Han Yuseong.
I have no intention of dying in such a bizarre place.