I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

I checked the item I acquired as a reward for clearing the 3rd floor.

[Phaethon’s Jet-Black Magic Armor]
Category – Armor
Defense + 90
Effect: Focused Defense – When hit, it concentrates defense on the main impact area to efficiently block damage.
Usable Level: 20 or higher

Description: An old work of the master craftsman Phaethon, it responds to the mana operated in the user’s body. When mana is used, the focused defense function activates.
Grade: B+

A situation where I desperately needed new armor.
It was a very appropriate reward.
The effect seemed quite useful too.

Next, I checked the 3rd floor ranking 1st place reward.

[True Qi Pill]
Category – Elixir
Effect: When consumed, all stats including mana increase dramatically. The increase is permanent.
Usable Level: 20 or higher
Grade: B+

True Qi Pill, sounds like a person’s name.
It was a small navy blue bead.
It was fascinating that it was exactly the simple image of an elixir I had imagined.
This time, the 1st place reward wasn’t just one item.

[Mirror of Transformation]
Category – Shield
Defense + 120
Effect: You can change the size of the shield by infusing a small amount of mana.
Description: A shield created by master craftsman Viola. The defense power is properly effective only when you block attacks with the shield.
Usable Level: 20 or higher
Grade: B+

Mirror of Transformation.
I held the shield in my right hand.
I immediately understood what it meant to infuse mana right after releasing mana.

Whoosh!

The shield literally grew larger.
From a size that was just a one-handed shield to one like a shield bearer’s shield who puts all their effort into defense at the front line.

If used well in appropriate situations during battle, it could be quite efficient.

I photographed the True Qi Pill with my terminal.

And I posted on the Transcendent Gallery.

Title: True Qi Pill, they say it’s an elixir. Do I just eat it?
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-It looks like I could just swallow it down.
Attachment: 234729384723.jpg

ㄴ Yeah, just eat it and circulate your mana a bit.
ㄴ This guy is already eating what I ate on the 60th floor.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Is it better to eat this later?
ㄴ No no, looking at how you got this now, you’ll probably keep getting appropriate elixirs when you need them.
ㄴ LightSword) It’s right to eat that now. It’s likely to be as the comment above says.

Hmm, I should eat it right away then.

Just as I was about to take out the True Qi Pill from my inventory,
A post caught my eye.
It was a post by senior IceQueen, who hadn’t written anything before.

Title: Freeze! After thinking carefully about the climber’s score…
Author: IceQueen

-In my batch too, there were people who had quite high scores in the very early stages of the Tower. I think they might have been Pandemonium climbers.

I don’t remember any player who scored four digits twice in a row before the 4th floor like the climber. I do remember seeing it a few times after the 5th floor… Freeze.

ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) I think it was like that for me too. But I think it was way back in the very early stages.
ㄴ How early is very early?
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) All the guys occupying the ranking board after the 20th floor were ones I knew pretty well. That means before the 20th floor.

ㄴ Pioneer) I stayed quiet because I thought it might be unnecessarily discouraging, but it’s probably right to say it now. The climber seems to have the talent to overcome it if he does well…

ㄴ Pioneer) It was when I was living on the 16th floor of Hard difficulty. There was a player who helped me when I participated in the exchange meeting then. I remember because his skill was considerably superior to mine at that time.

ㄴ Pioneer) After we got a bit closer, at the end of that exchange meeting, he told me he was from Pandemonium. He said he was on the 13th floor then. When I said I wanted to be summoned together at the next exchange meeting, he accepted my friend request and agreed.

ㄴ Pioneer) I just thought I’d meet him at the next exchange meeting, so I climbed the Tower I was in. Since adding a friend doesn’t have a function to send messages or anything, I had no way of knowing his situation.

ㄴ Pioneer) But the day before the next exchange meeting, his name turned gray.

Gray?

ㄴ He died.
ㄴ GalleryMaster) Sigh.
ㄴ SpearKing) Oh my.

ㄴ …Well, if we think broadly about which floor that dead Pandemonium player died on, it roughly means there’s a danger zone from about the 14th to 18th floor.
ㄴ ArchMage) Realistically, it’s correct to say there’s a death risk zone from the 14th floor onwards. It’s Pandemonium after all.
ㄴ Right. That’s right.

ㄴ As expected, the ArchMage has the facts OMG

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) But I almost died just now anyway.

Sword energy explosion, was it?
It was really a hair’s breadth.
If I had been a little unlucky, I would have died.

ㄴ ClosedRoomTheorist) It’s no wonder there wasn’t a single person in the Climber Gallery. It means no player has made it to the 30th floor. It wouldn’t be strange at all if they all died before the 20th floor. – This world is made up of a giant closed room

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Do you remember that person’s name?
ㄴ Pioneer) Since they don’t disappear from the friend list when they die, I remember. I saw the name even before leaving the 100th floor.
ㄴ Pioneer) Ban. That was that person’s name.

ㄴ Pioneer) Anyway, I’m sorry for telling you this so late. I should have told you all the information I knew from the beginning.

Well.
I wonder if anything would have changed if I had known this earlier.
I’m already thinking that there’s a high possibility of dying even on the 4th floor if I’m not careful.

Rather, I was able to engrave in my mind that the probability of dying increases even more after the 13th floor.

ㄴ LightSword) It’s a matter of becoming stronger than now by the 13th floor.

ㄴ ArchMage) Ah, suddenly the mood has become somber. Don’t die, climber.
ㄴ Lolololololol You’ve been acting so indifferent until now, why have you become a bit more human?
ㄴ ArchMage) It would be boring. Without the climber.

ㄴ DragonKing) Beltui- That’s right. It would be boring without him.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) For now, I have to keep climbing.

ㄴ IceQueen) Freeze! Fighting!
ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, I’ll engrave luck on the talisman too.
ㄴ WaterKing) Live!!!!! Climber!!!!! Friend of the felines!!!!!

Looks like one more noisy one has been added.

ㄴ AbsoluteMonarch) Try uploading a picture of you using sword energy. I’m curious what color it will be.
ㄴ There’s a thesis that red aura users have nasty personalities.
ㄴ AbsoluteMonarch) ? Are you saying there’s such a worthless thesis with no logic at all?

ㄴ Oh, you. Red aura??
ㄴ Red aura user immediately detected OMG
ㄴ WaterKing) Lolololololol The thief’s feet hurt lolol
ㄴ Thesis credibility skyrocketing OMG

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) The 4th tier who attacked me also used red sword energy.
ㄴ Lololol A sufficient example has even appeared.

ㄴ LightSword) Hmm, my sword energy is navy blue with a lot of light ripples.
ㄴ Light Sword evasion maneuver lololol
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) Mine is golden
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) This one’s is purple.
ㄴ SpearKing) Mine is green.

ㄴ Seeing these guys who can discuss world affairs without being inferior anywhere playing with rainbow colors gives me a serious reality check.

ㄴ Even guys like that have become that strong…
ㄴ It might be because they’re that kind of guys that they’ve become that strong

ㄴ AbsoluteMonarch) Everyone is so engrossed in gallery browsing that they can’t be serious at all.
ㄴ Alone being strict, solemn, and serious OMG
ㄴ The thesis data on red aura is accumulating.
ㄴ Stop beating the old man. This is elder abuse.

AbsoluteMonarch didn’t browse the gallery for a long time after that.
I closed the Transcendent Gallery for now.

“Danger zone, huh.”

It was true that I had a lot to think about.
It was a matter of my life at stake.
But it had been dangerous from the 1st floor. The 4th floor would be dangerous too.

I have no choice but to become as strong as possible.

I gulped down the elixir, True Qi Pill.

[Digesting the True Qi Pill in your body.]

[‘Strength’ permanently increases by 15.]
[‘Agility’ permanently increases by 15.]
[‘Vitality’ permanently increases by 15.]
[‘Mana’ permanently increases by 15.]

Oh.
I would have been grateful if it had increased by just 1 level’s worth.
It increased by as much as 3 levels’ worth.

I was a bit annoyed because growth on the 3rd floor stage was terrible compared to the 2nd floor stage.
That annoyance quickly evaporated.
It’s an elixir alright.

I opened my status window.

Strength: 137
Agility: 132
Vitality: 135
Mana: 101

Skills: Pain Suppression Lv.6 Composure Lv.6 Cover Lv.4 Crisis Detection Lv.3
Visual Field Expansion Lv.3 Concentration Enhancement Lv.4 Fighter’s Movement Lv.5
Mana Body Enhancement Lv.5 Doombringer Lv.2 Mental Barrier Lv.3
Trajectory Insight Lv.2

They were curious about the color of the sword energy?
I drew the Dagger of Blood, which was relatively light.

Tss tss tss tss…!

And I raised sword energy (劍氣) on the blade.
I captured the pure white aura on the screen with my terminal.

Title: It’s white.
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-It seems to stand out too much to the eye. Is all sword energy like this?
Attachment: 2834902384.jpg

ㄴ Kyaa, it’s ethereal.
ㄴ This kind of pure white is really rare.

ㄴ LightSword) Oho.
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) It’s pretty.

ㄴ Sewer bro… You didn’t react at all when WaterKing sis was posting selfies to the point of getting blocked, but now you’re going “it’s pretty” to pure white sword energy. Are you really crazy?
ㄴ It’s because he’s that kind of guy that he’s strong.
ㄴ Sewer bro!!! Come to your senses!!!

ㄴ DragonKing) Beltui- It’s ethereal.

ㄴ SpearKing) It is pretty.
ㄴ IceQueen) Freeze! Pure white! Sense of unity! Freeze! Frozen! Haha

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) For now, I’ll do some training today and enter the 4th floor stage tomorrow morning after packing.

ㄴ LightSword) Training as in?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Is there anything I can do with aura?

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) In martial arts terms, it’s called protective qi. In that world’s terms, it’s called Custos. It’s a technique to cover your body with aura for defense. It’s like creating an extra life.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Sounds good.

Alright.
First, protective qi.
I have to do everything I can to survive.