I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 3: Difficulty (1)

The healing potion had a somewhat viscous consistency, fortunately.

As I applied it to my wounds, it seeped in and dissolved into my skin.

"Huuuh..."

The wounds didn’t fully heal, but at least the bleeding had stopped.

I carefully stripped the leather clothing off the dead citizen.

It felt gross, but walking around in my half-tattered clothes was even worse.

I grabbed the phone again—the gallery device.

I was about to tap on the Transcendent Gallery app when another icon below it caught my eye.

"...Camera?"

A lens-shaped icon, just like a camera app back in the modern world.

I tapped on it.

And sure enough, it was an actual camera.

"There’s no lens on the front, though."

It seemed to function differently from a regular smartphone.

But right now, I had something to take a picture of.

I had to let them know I almost died.

I pointed the camera at the massive ant with three human heads and took a picture.

There was no shutter sound, thankfully.

Seems like it’s set to silent mode by default.

If I ever run into something weird again, I could snap a photo from a distance and ask the Transcendent Gallery people about it.

[Transcendent Gallery]

Before posting, I noticed a flood of new threads.

Title: Did '*' Die?

Author: ㅇㅇ

- This guy suddenly stopped posting and replying. It’s been ten minutes already. No way...

ㄴ No way. Maybe he just passed out from hunger?

ㄴ You pass out in the tower, you die.

ㄴ Yeah, you become a free meal for the monsters.

ㄴ Sword of Light) Something must’ve happened. The sudden silence is concerning.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) ...A guy who showed up like a miracle wouldn’t die that easily, would he? That wouldn’t be right... He’s not actually dead, is he?

ㄴ LOL look at the guy with ‘Demon’ in his name shaking in his boots. You worried?

ㄴ Ice Queen) Frozen!

ㄴ Closed Room Theorist) Maybe we’re all under some collective hypnosis? Logically, a climber shouldn’t be able to enter the Transcendent Gallery—this world is a massive closed room.

ㄴ Elf Guy) A demon talking about hypnosis? That’s ironic. But really, what if something did happen?

ㄴ Filth-Ridden Sword Saint) Climber. The moment you see this, post something.

ㄴ LOL bro, if he's dead, he can't post.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa~ His fate didn’t seem that short-lived...

ㄴ Pioneer) Yeah, remember the last climber you thought would live long? That Hard Mode guy died immediately on the 41st floor.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden) .,!;

ㄴ Pioneer) Damn, you’re shook.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden) A-anyway... Climber, if you die, this gallery collapses!

ㄴ LOL true. Even the lurkers who came out for this are gonna crawl back into hiding.

It was blatantly obvious that all attention was on me right now.

ㄴ Archmage) Tsk. Just when we finally got something entertaining, did he really die?...Entertaining.

Of course, most of them probably saw me like that.

Some curiosity to kill time.

Well, screw you.

I’m alive, bastard.

I exited the thread and posted my own.

I attached the photo I just took.

Title: Almost Died.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

- This bastard nearly killed me.

Attachment: 348593408.jpg

[A photo of a giant ant with three human heads lying lifelessly on the ground.]

ㄴ LOL, haven’t seen that bastard in a while.

ㄴ Filth-Ridden Sword Saint) That thing was called an Antsranthrope, right?

ㄴ Yeah, that’s it. But damn, how’d you not die? 21st-century Earth guy... That thing isn’t supposed to appear on the first floor, right?

ㄴ Nah. In Easy Mode, that thing never spawns on the first floor. Just rats.

ㄴ This guy’s definitely not in Easy Mode, lol.

ㄴ Yeah, I’d bet Normal Mode. Maybe Hard, if his luck is absolute garbage.

ㄴ For real. In Easy Mode, there’s always other climbers on the first floor. Even aside from NPCs, you’re never alone.

ㄴ Bruh, even in Easy Mode, dumbasses still die when they let their guard down.

So it’s not Easy Mode.

Figured.

ㄴ I’m from Normal Mode and yeah, that thing did appear on the first floor. But I swear, the one I fought was smaller.ㄴ Same. I’m a Normal Mode guy too, and I thought the same thing.ㄴ Shrine Maiden) That thing showed up exactly that size in my first floor, so I crushed it with magic~ A blessed thumbs-up for eradicating evil!...Excuse me?

All the Normal Mode guys are saying their versions were smaller—

Except for her.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

Why are you always the one implying I’m in Hard Mode?

Can you not?

ㄴ Sword of Light) Judging by the three human heads, that thing must’ve eaten at least three people.ㄴ Good kill.ㄴ Archmage) Phew, you’re not dead. Don’t die.ㄴ Heavenly Demon) So you’re alive. Did you gain any skills or level up?ㄴ (Translation: Did you get any level-ups or skills?)Oh, right.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ)* No level-up yet. Got three skills—Pain Suppression, Composure, Concealment.ㄴ Archmage) Hah. Nothing special.ㄴ Nothing special? Dude, I can count on one hand the number of times I got two skills from a single fight.ㄴ LOL, classic Easy Mode mentality.ㄴ I’m from Normal, you trash.ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa~ This kind of thing happens in Hard Mode sometimes, but not usually on the first floor. How fascinating!She’s doing it again.

Stop.

Piling.

On.

The Hard Mode flag.

ㄴ Filth-Ridden Sword Saint) Check your status screen. Then, get to the second-floor entrance.ㄴ Sword of Light) If you reach the second floor, I’ll teach you spear techniques.ㄴ Heavenly Demon) ??? You, a sword guy, talking about spears?ㄴ Sword of Light) Look at the wounds on the Antsranthrope’s head. He’s using a spear. He should train with it for now. We don’t even know if he can get a sword yet.Two people offered to teach me.

That was nice, but...

Would I even understand what they were trying to teach me?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ)* Thx, thx.I gave a super low-effort response.

Before the Antsranthrope showed up, I had a question I wanted to ask.

ㅇㅇ)* Why are all the people with fixed nicknames from Hard Mode?ㄴ Because the Transcendent Gallery system doesn’t let Easy and Normal Mode players set a fixed nickname.Then why weren’t there any Pandemonium players? That was a difficulty level above Hard Mode.

ㅇㅇ)* But Pandemonium Mode {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} exists too. It’s higher than Hard Mode, right?ㄴ Admin) There are no Pandemonium Mode clearers.ㄴ Everyone who attempted it died. There’s no one left to have a Pandemonium nickname.ㄴ Archmage) That mode has a 0% clear rate.Oh.

So they all just died.

A fundamental question popped into my head.

ㅇㅇ)* What exactly determines Easy, Normal, Hard, and Pandemonium?ㄴ Admin) The tower system never explained it directly. It’s all just speculation.ㄴ Archmage) The assumption is that only those with a chance of clearing their assigned difficulty get summoned.But that didn’t quite add up.

ㄴ Archmage) ...You’re probably wondering why Pandemonium Mode doesn’t fit that logic, huh?

Well, I can’t say for certain, but I believe...

Even if everyone died, those summoned to Pandemonium had at least some chance of clearing it.A tower where even the most qualified people still couldn’t survive.

The thought alone disgusted me.

Whatever.

Like Admin and Sword of Light said—

I had to clear the first floor first and confirm my difficulty level.

For now, I needed to squeeze as much information as I could before moving forward.

Title: Do all tower floors just involve fighting monsters?

Author: ㅇㅇ*

- The first floor seems like that so far.

ㄴ Admin) The first floor is more of a warm-up, a tutorial. From the second floor onward, floors rotate between different types.

Some are combat-based like the first floor.Some have narrative-driven questlines.Some are time-attack defense missions.But yeah, combat is always a part of it.ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa~ But don’t get too attached to NPCs in quest floors!

If you get too emotional, you lose judgment and die!

ㄴ Elf Guy) Yeah... I lost a friend that way.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ) Never trust elf NPCs, though. Those guys are natural-born traitors.

ㄴ Elf Guy) In the name of nature, I curse you.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ) Lol, not scared of pointy-eared bastards~

So "pointy-ears" was a slur for elves.

Nobody seemed to defend them, either.

Maybe they really had a bad rep.

Anyway. Quest floors, huh?

I wouldn’t really get it until I experienced one myself.

I’d deal with it when I got to the second floor.

Title: Did anyone else fight an Antsranthrope on the first floor?

Author: ㅇㅇ*

- I still don’t know what difficulty I’m in. Just list what monsters you guys faced on your first floors.

Also, share any other info you have.

A flood of replies came in.

[Summary of Gathered Info]

Floors that have no storyline but only monsters always have a "Boss Monster."

Reaching it and killing it is usually the key to clearing the floor.Any difficulty above Easy has "traps."

Floor traps: Stepping on a tile activates falling metal chains.Wall traps: Hidden spikes or arrows shoot out.Wind detection: A tiny breeze means arrows are coming from that direction.(Am I even gonna notice that??)Two other potential monster types:

GoblinsMad Hellhounds (Magwanggyeon / 魔狂犬)Since I already ran into two Antsranthropes,

My boss monster is likely from the same species.The most notable responses were from Sword of Light.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

ㄴ Sword of Light) Stay alert, but don’t overthink it. You already killed two Antsranthropes.That means you have the instincts to survive....Instincts, huh.

The first one was pure luck, but still.

Maybe I should think more positively.

ㄴ Sword of Light) How much potion do you have left?ㄴ ㅇㅇ)* About half.ㄴ Sword of Light) If a barrage of arrows comes, Use cover to avoid them.Block what you can.So far, all solid advice.

Then came the problematic part.

ㄴ Sword of Light) If you can’t avoid getting hit—

Just take the hit.Your Pain Suppression skill will level up.You need to get used to pain.ㄴ Yeah, people who’ve been hit before last longer.

ㄴ Sword of Light) Once you level up, your injuries heal.

Clearing a floor fully restores you.So don’t be afraid to take damage.ㄴ Pioneer) Bro’s being way too optimistic.

If he dies before clearing, he’s just dead.ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa~ If you overestimate yourself, you’ll die instantly.

For a second, I almost thought this sounded manageable.

But Pioneer’s short comment brought me right back.

Right.

This is reality.

One mistake and I die.

Still—

Sword of Light’s advice was solid.

I memorized everything.

"Status Window."

<Player Status>

Name: Han Yuseong

Race: Human

Level: 1

Strength: 12

Agility: 13

Endurance: 11

Skills:

Pain Suppression Lv.1 – Reduces perceived pain from injuries.Composure Lv.1 – Helps maintain calmness in any situation.Concealment Lv.1 – Hides presence when behind cover.I reopened the gallery and typed another post.

Title: Cleared the first floor.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

- See you on the other side.

I’d check the comments after I got back.

I closed the gallery and secured the device tightly to my waist.

Crunch.

I chewed on the rations from the dead citizen’s pouch.

Walnuts, peanuts, some jerky.

Let’s do this.

I’m Han Yuseong.

And I have zero intentions of dying in this insane place.