There were too many comments.
Rather than trying to keep up with all of them, it seemed better to write another post summarizing what I wanted to know.
Title: What the hell is Climber Gallery?
**- So it’s short for Climber Gallery? From what I’m reading, Transcendent Gallery... I don’t think I was ever supposed to be able to come here in the first place.
- Admin: Yeah, Climber Gal is short for Climber Gallery. Wait, an NPC had a gallery device? That’s... I’ve never heard of that happening before.
It was the admin again.
- Admin: I’ll explain more about Climber Gal later. First things first.
This place—Transcendent Gallery—is only accessible to people who have reached the top of the Tower and returned to their world.
- Admin: The Tower has four difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Pandemonium.
Regardless of difficulty, the only way to escape is to climb all the way to the 100th floor while killing every monster in your way.
- Admin: You said you just woke up there, right? Then to figure out which difficulty level you’re in, you need to clear the first floor.
A place where you had to fight your way up floor by floor.
Seeing that big number ‘1’ on the wall and running into that giant ant, I had already suspected as much.
But even knowing I was right didn’t make it feel any less overwhelming.
- Admin: You’re an anomaly because climbers aren’t supposed to be able to access Transcendent Gallery.
This place is only for those who finished the Tower.
So that’s how it was.
This wasn’t just some forum for experienced players.
It was a space for people who had reached the Tower’s summit and escaped.
And somehow, I—a complete newbie—had landed right in the middle of it.
- Admin: Climber Gallery is a community where climbers from all four Towers can communicate.
You only get a Climber Gallery device when you reach the 30th floor.
Don’t tell me you can access Climber Gal too?
I quickly typed back.
- ㅇㅇ: Nah, only Transcendent Gal works.
- Admin: ...It’s weirder that Transcendent Gal works at all.
Anyway, most people here will be on your side. Myself included.
Right after the admin left that comment, another wave of replies flooded in.
- # Nоvеlight # Admin finally flexing his authority. Been a while since he silenced a thread.
- Can you blame him? This is historic. A climber appearing in Transcendent Gallery—and on the first floor no less?! What the fuck is happening?
- Priestess: As expected of Admin-kun. The power of authority...
So that’s why only the admin had been commenting before.
He had muted the entire thread for a moment.
- There’s no way we wouldn’t be interested in this guy.
Unlike Climber Gal, where Transcendents can only lurk, here we can actually interact with him. This is gold.
- Not like it matters if he dies.
- OI~~ EASY MODE SCRUB!! Stop thinking negatively! Stop with the critical thinking!
- Sword of Light: Even on the first floor, there’s still a chance of dying. It depends on the difficulty level. Be careful. Make sure you check for any threats.
- Holy shit, this newbie made Sword Parrot say something normal. Bow down.
At that, I snapped my attention away from the gallery and checked my surroundings.
No monsters nearby. No immediate danger.
I started writing another post.
Title: So where are you guys from? Do you know what South Korea is?
- From the usernames, you guys don’t seem very modern.
After posting, I noticed something odd.
There was a * next to my username.
- Admin: You’re gonna be in the spotlight for a while... No, scratch that, forever. Might as well mark you properly. Enjoy your star.
- Priestess: Uuuu, even after all my begging, you never gave me a symbol! This is unfair!
- Heavenly Demon: Hmph. When I asked for my cult’s insignia, you ignored me. How insolent, Admin.
- Bro, fixed nicknames are only for Hard Mode clears, and this dude just got a star? Lol, wanna get jumped by all the ㅇㅇs?
- Lmfao, but the star actually looks kinda nice...
- For real. Even just having a star makes him seem important.
...So all fixed nicknames belonged to Hard Mode survivors?
Honestly, I was surprised that someone like Priestess—who talked like that—was actually a big deal.
Even just from the comments, I was learning a lot about Transcendent Gallery.
The replies started shifting toward my question.
- South Korea? Oh, you must be from the same place as the other newcomers in Climber Gal.
- Yeah, 21st-century Earth, no doubt.
- Sword of Light: Korea, the U.S., Japan, the U.K., China... So many nations, so few worthwhile individuals.
Not a great review for my homeland.
They sure were being stingy with their praise.
I quickly typed out another comment.
- ㅇㅇ*: “Recently started coming in” What do you mean? Was there no one before?
- Archmage: They first started appearing about a year ago.
People calling themselves ‘21st-century Earthlings.’
But even then, only Easy and Normal Mode climbers have ever joined Climber Gal.
Then that meant my Tower was likely either Easy or Normal Mode.
- ㅇㅇ*: Is there some kind of selection process? Why was I suddenly brought here?
- Filthy Blade: Your world—21st-century Earth—might be experiencing something. Or maybe not. Just consider yourself unlucky.
I know I’m unlucky, dumbass.
You don’t have to rub it in.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I was about to ask why only Hard Mode clears had fixed nicknames—
A disgusting, gurgling sound reached my ears.
I shut down the Transcendent Gallery.
Shoving the gallery device—practically identical to a smartphone—into my pocket, I gripped the spear with both hands.
Holding my breath, I pressed my back against the right-side wall.
My heart was pounding.
My body tensed, every nerve on high alert.
It was a feeling I knew well.
Two years ago, back in high school, every time I stepped onto the mound as a pitcher, I had felt this same crushing pressure.
I had just turned nineteen when I quit baseball.
A shoulder injury and my parents’ divorce hit me at the same time.
The injury got better after half a year, but I never went back.
It felt too far away.
Like something I couldn’t reach anymore.
Back then, I ran away.
I used six months off and my broken home as an excuse.
But right now, there was nowhere to run.
They said the first floor had a low chance of death, right?
Low chance or not, whatever shows up in front of me—
Just as my hammering heart started to settle, a dark shadow spread across the gray floor.
I lunged forward, spear first.
A sickening sensation ran up my hands.
It had the same body as the giant ant I had killed earlier.
It had three human heads grotesquely melded together.
Yanking the spear out, I drove it in again.
Bright red blood splattered across my hands.
But that didn’t matter.
The wound is healing?
The injury I had just inflicted was closing up—fast.
If its body had that level of regeneration, then I had to destroy its heads completely.
That was my best bet.
I aimed at the middle head—
A woman’s head with long hair.
But before I could strike—
The ant’s right leg moved.
And slashed straight across my shoulder.
Like my entire body was being set on fire.
What bullshit was that about a “low chance of death”?
If I got hit two or three more times, I’d be the one dying.
Not this thing with three human heads.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move.
I crushed the woman’s head first.
Then I slammed my spear into the bald-headed man’s skull.
This time, its left leg shot toward me.
I barely managed to intercept it with my spear.
But my side was torn open.
It felt like a chunk of my flesh had just been ripped away.
Pain flared through me, trying to drown out my thoughts—
The ant charged again, its right leg swinging down.
And at the same time, rammed my spear into the last remaining head.
The monstrous creature with human heads staggered sideways.
[You have gained experience points.]
[Skill acquired – Pain Suppression Lv.1]
[Skill acquired – Composure Lv.1]
[Skill acquired – Concealment Lv.1]
There was no time to feel relief.
No moment to revel in victory.
The wounds on my side and shoulder hurt like hell.
Warm blood seeped out, soaking my shirt.
I had to stop the bleeding.
I forced my mind to hold onto the thought.
Back when baseball was my everything, I had never collapsed on the mound.
To where I found the gallery device.
To the corpse labeled [Fleeing Citizen].
I grabbed the pouch beside the body.
The device was still inside—
But there was something else, too.
I reached in and pulled it out.
A round potion bottle.
Just like before, words flickered above it.
[Item: Grade 3 Healing Potion]
[Effect: Pour over a wound to heal a portion of the injury.]
So the universe wasn’t completely heartless after all.
With trembling hands, I pulled off the cap.