Just before heading off for a solid meal, I remembered—I needed to ask about the Tower Exchange Meeting.
Title: Ah, what exactly is the Tower Exchange Meeting?
Content: Saw it on the display. Says there are 21 days left.
ㄴ Admin: Happens on the 25th of every month. Five to ten climbers get summoned into the same space, regardless of tower difficulty or floor number. But the grouping is by sets—Floors 1-10 together, Floors 11-20 together, and so on. The final grouping is Floors 90-99. Floor 100 is off-limits since it's the final stage.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: So it’s ? A Hard Mode Floor 3 climber, a Normal Mode Floor 10 climber, and an Easy Mode Floor 5 climber could all end up together?
ㄴ Admin: Exactly. The only exception is if climbers from the same numbered tower add each other as 'friends'—then they can get summoned together.
It sounded like forming pre-made teams in advance.
But for me, in Pandemonium, I had no idea if anyone else even existed. Forming a team beforehand wasn’t an option.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Can players physically attack each other? I mean, can they kill?
ㄴ Sword of Light: Yes. The exchange meeting has three themes—Duel, Dungeon, and Mission. Duel is the only one where killing is outright forbidden. In Dungeon and Mission, murder is possible.
So in themes designed for teamwork, people could still turn on each other and kill.
ㄴ Admin: It doesn’t happen often, especially in the lower-floor meetings. But the chance isn’t zero.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Right. And given my luck, I can’t afford to ignore low probabilities anymore.
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ self-deprecating humor ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Probability! Pandemonium! 0% survival rate!!
ㄴ Admin: Want me to mute this guy?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: ㅇㅇ, just for two days.
ㄴ Oh, shit, please, no, I was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) just joking—!
Admin was protecting me.
Insult me, and you die.
Though, let’s be real, it was probably pity-based protection.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Will the climbers in the exchange meeting know anything about me? Like, can they see which tower I’m from?
ㄴ Admin: Nope. All they see is what floor you're on. They won’t know your tower or level unless you tell them.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: If I clear Floor 2 and get pulled into the meeting from Floor 3, people are gonna look down on me, huh?
ㄴ Admin: Depends on who gets summoned. But focus on your growth first.
ㄴ Sword of Light: Eat something and come back. I’ll guide your training.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: But how much training do you think I need before tackling Floor 2?
ㄴ Archmage: I don’t know what Sword of Light is planning, but... you should spend no more than 15 days. You need to clear Floor 2 before the meeting, so you can participate in a safe situation. You’re not planning to clear it after the exchange, are you?
I had to clear Floor 2 before the meeting.
Even as a Floor 3 climber, I’d probably be the lowest-leveled person there.
ㄴ Sword of Light: If you properly understand what I’m teaching, that timeframe is enough.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Alright. But what if I’m mid-run on Floor 2 when the exchange starts?
ㄴ Admin: You get forcefully summoned. Unless you have an item called , you can’t opt out.
Great. The exchange meeting was basically forced kidnapping.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: So, if I suddenly get yanked into the meeting and return later, what if NPCs or monsters are waiting in ambush? Wouldn’t I just die instantly?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Correct. That is why you must ensure you’re in a safe space before being transported.
Within the next 21 days:
Like a convenience store kiosk, it displayed food images as product samples.
Fried rice... yeah, that’s just Chinese-style stir-fried rice. So, what should I pick?
I settled on Option 1—Ramen and a small portion of kimchi.
A solid pork soup rice sounded tempting, but unfortunately, I had eaten that exact meal two days ago after my part-time shift at the convenience store.
Not that it mattered—I’d be eating everything on the menu sooner or later.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
A glow flickered in the air, and a box suddenly dropped down.
The box, shimmering in a faint purple hue, looked unusually fancy.
A sticker was attached to the top.
Menu: 1. Ramen and a small portion of kimchi
Delivery Coordinates: 666.666.66.532
Payment Amount: 10 Coins
Is this a delivery receipt?
A luxurious box with a cheap, printed receipt on top.
The contrast was baffling.
Inside was a sealed transparent container.
The moment I lifted it, I saw the steaming bowl of ramen and a tiny dish of kimchi.
I grabbed my chopsticks and lifted the noodles slightly—
Then snapped a photo.
I hit "Create Post" and attached the image.
Title: You guys ever heard of ramen?
Content: Isn’t it mesmerizing?
Attachment: 852903862.jpg
[A freshly delivered, steaming bowl of ramen with a small side of kimchi.]
After posting, I took a bite.
There really was nothing like eating ramen after beating the shit out of your body.
Reminded me of squatting at a campsite with my friend, boiling instant ramen over a campfire.
Since I had the Transcendent Gallery open while eating, I saw the comments roll in real-time.
ㄴ Oh, I already saw this on the Climber Gallery ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Also, nice photo.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: What... is this? These grotesque noodles and this... rootless broth...?
ㄴ LMAO, the old dude is pissed ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Okay, but the noodles do look kinda weird.
ㄴ Wait, what is that?
ㄴ A lot of people haven’t seen ramen before. When people from other dimensions get absorbed into towers, their world’s food gets added to the Coin Shop.
ㄴ Shrine Maiden: Hawawa, I am curious about the taste! But it does not look very appetizing...
ㄴ Archmage: Wow... you eat that...?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Ramen is a masterpiece of culinary science, forged through generations of refinement. Tch.
ㄴ Damn, I kinda wanna try it. Can we do a dimensional trade?
ㄴ Lmao, what do you even have to trade?
ㄴ *Obviously, my family's legendary spear technique, Drethephekan! *
ㄴ That name is garbage.
ㄴ Hey, you little shit, where do you live? I’m a knight from the Rompelt Continent.
I wasn’t about to mock the guy’s spear technique.
If he was from Easy or Normal Mode but had cleared all 100 floors, then his technique must have had some value.
But I needed a perfect lifeline right now.
A solid rope to pull me out of this hell.
And that guy... wasn’t it.
After finishing my meal, I made another post.
Title: Sword of Light, Dimensional Trade, let’s go.
Content: I know nothing, so you make the offer.
ㄴ Sword of Light: Deal.
The moment he commented, a new window appeared below the chat.
[User ‘Sword of Light’ has requested Dimensional Trade.]
I tapped the confirmation button.
[Trade request accepted.]
A new screen popped up, resembling an inventory with empty slots for placing items.
And beneath it, a small chat window.
[Warning! Dimensional Trade is limited to two transactions per 30 days!]
[Warning! Both parties must register one item each for a trade to succeed!]
[Warning! Only one item per trade is allowed!]
[Hold an item and say "Designate."]
"Two trades per month?"
[Sword of Light: Apologies, but I’ll need to use both trade slots. I have two things to send.]
This damn tower wouldn’t possibly allow unlimited trades or let me get items without offering something in return.
[ㅇㅇ*: ㅇㅇ, as long as it helps me survive, I don’t care.]
[Sword of Light: That won’t be a problem.]
[ㅇㅇ*: What do you want me to send?]
[Sword of Light: One is that 'ramen' you just posted. The other—just send the cheapest thing you have. Oh, and don’t open the storage container for the food. I need it sealed to receive it properly.]
Even if he told me to send something, I couldn’t just hand over my newly acquired Nameless Knight’s Straight Sword—what if it broke?
The decision wasn’t hard.
Along with the ramen, I sent the cheapest thing I had besides water—jerky.
I placed both the sealed ramen container and the jerky into the trade slot, resting my hands over them.
The two items vanished and reappeared as miniaturized icons in the trade window.
Two items materialized from the gap.
One was a thick book.
The other—a square box.
“...What the hell is this?”
A voice called from outside the door.
A silver-haired woman furrowed her brows.
-His Majesty the Emperor requests an audience. He insists on inviting you to this banquet—
"Tell him if he calls for me one more time, I’ll take his head. Don’t alter my words. Say them exactly."
-...Understood, Your Grace.
Elena de Brinier turned her crimson gaze toward the semi-transparent window floating to her left.
There, it was written—
She tapped on the most noticeable post.
Title: Do not act recklessly. If you stay calm, Floor 62 is clearable. That’s why our 《Raid Union》 exists.
Content: There is no betrayal. We will reach the summit without leaving anyone behind.
ㄴ For real, this looks doable.
ㄴ Has there ever been this little damage on Hard Mode before?
ㄴ Swordmaster: At this rate, we could clear Floor 66 without a single casualty.
Elena felt disgusted.
It was like looking into a shattered mirror.
Like seeing a hopeful version of herself from the past.
A picture that was bound to collapse.
"You don’t understand the true nature of Hard Mode."
She knew why no one had ever recorded what happened on Floor 66.
Elena both wanted and dreaded the moment their illusions would crumble.
"Grow stronger, Climber."
And she wanted to shatter their world—from the very bottom.
《 Floor 2 - Score Rankings 》
1st - Union Leader : 784 points
2nd - Tracking : 412 points
3rd - Sinclair : 399 points
The score rankings only displayed the active climbers.
That meant Elena’s name wasn’t there.
She had already cleared the tower.
Elena glanced at the purple storage container that had appeared before her and smirked.
She opened the container.
The Empire’s Sword Star.
The Demon King’s Executioner.
Every title pointed to a single person—
That was why even the Emperor couldn’t reprimand her, no matter what she said.
She picked up her chopsticks.
A satisfied smile spread across her face.
Elena swiped the Climber Gallery to the side—
Then opened a different gallery.
[Transcendent Gallery]
Recently, it had become the only source of entertainment in her life.
Author: Sword of Light
Content: Looks strange, but it tastes good.
And with that, the Transcendent Gallery exploded.