I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

But despite my complaint, my stomach was brutally honest. A loud growl echoed from within me.

I selected <Food>, and a list unfolded.

This was ridiculous.

I had 300 coins.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

If I ate only once a day, that would last me 30 days.

Who the hell set these coin prices?

I selected <Beverages>.

Not that it mattered. I wasn’t planning on buying anything other than water.

I had read somewhere that, in perfect condition, a person could survive on just water for up to eight weeks.

"But if you're thinking about just surviving, you’re already as good as dead."

I was scared—no, terrified—of this Pandemonium difficulty.

But clinging to life by rationing food and loitering in the waiting area like a parasite was the worst possible choice.

In the end, no matter what, I’d have to move forward.

Before that, I had to check my inventory for the weapon and armor I had received.

"Inventory."

<Inventory>

A translucent window appeared.

There were two occupied slots.

I tapped on the first one.

[Nameless Knight’s Straight Sword]

I had checked everything.

Now, it was time to let the Transcendent Gallery know about the absolute nightmare I had walked into.

I pulled out the terminal and connected to the gallery.

Most of the posts were people wondering whether I had survived.

A new name.

I’ll post something.

I typed up a post and hit publish.

Title: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Content: I feel like I’m going insane. Look at this.

Attachment: 238409122.jpg

[A picture of Han Yuseong standing next to the massive door with the word Pandemonium clearly displayed on it.]

Silence.

A longer silence than I expected.

ㄴ ?

Finally, a reply.

That single question mark seemed to encapsulate everyone’s collective thoughts.

Same reaction I had when I first saw it.

Then, as if the floodgates had burst open, the replies poured in endlessly.

ㄴ ㄴ ㅔ?

ㄴ ???

ㄴ No fucking way.

ㄴ Archmage: What the hell. That’s not photoshopped, is it? Pandemonium???

ㄴ Room Conspiracy Theorist: Um—the world is just one giant closed-room mystery.

ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ LMAO is that your funeral portrait selfie?

ㄴ Ice Queen: ...Frozen. Frozen. Stay strong.

ㄴ How the hell is he supposed to stay strong ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴ Panㅋㅋdemonㅋㅋiumㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋumㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋum...um.

ㄴ Well, we’ve read your will. Nice writing. You have a way with words.

ㄴ Even if I rub my eyes and check again, it’s still the same ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why does this exist?

ㄴ Wow, our climbing brother is one hell of a guy. He survived Pandemonium Floor 1. My bad for underestimating you.

ㄴ Huh? He looks pretty decent? But why does the picture feel like it has a black-and-white filter? Uh... uh? Breathe! Climber! CLIMBER! Someone call a healer!!!

I had expected this level of mockery.

Just a day ago—just one day ago—most of my life had been spent shitposting online.

I had already come up with most of these jokes myself.

Honestly, it was amusing.

ㄴ Admin: ...What the hell. Did you get access to the Transcendent Gallery terminal for a reason? There’s no way to tell...

ㄴ Total! Chaos!!!

Hmm.

Admin’s comment was all over the place, but I understood what he was getting at.

A 0% survival rate.

An impossible difficulty.

Yet here I was, still alive.

And somehow, I had coincidentally picked up a <Transcendent Gallery> terminal on Floor 1.

Was this all some scenario deliberately set up by the tower?

Not that I had any way of knowing.

ㄴ Archmage: I don’t know. I’m skeptical. Even if the Transcendent Gallery helps, this is still Pandemonium Mode. A difficulty none of us have experienced. No matter what advice we give, he’ll always be one step from death. As for clearing it... ha. No clue.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: Archmage, didn’t you say it yourself a while back? That anyone summoned to Pandemonium had to have some potential to clear it, even if they died trying. Are you retracting that statement?

ㄴ Archmage: I’m not retracting it. Of course, if he’s been summoned to Pandemonium, it means he has that potential. I’m just saying it’ll be a fucking nightmare.

ㄴ LMAO, Archmage keeps downplaying Climber, but now that he’s in Pandemonium, he’s speechless ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴ Archmage: What are you even saying?

ㄴ Hrrk?

ㄴ Archmage: Whatever. I’m done wasting words on idiots. I’m logging off for the day.

ㄴ Hrrk?

ㄴ Wait, is this actually real? Pandemonium?

ㄴ R.I.P

ㄴ Saint: Not Easy. Not Normal. Not Hard. Pandemonium. How rare... I shall offer my prayers.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: Climber, even if you fall into despair, do not make rash decisions.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Yeah, don’t worry about that. I’m not doing anything stupid ㅇㅇ

Why the hell would I die now?

That’d be lame as hell.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Yes! That is the right mindset! This one also supports you.

ㄴ Lmao, dude didn’t say a word until he saw Climber wasn’t mentally broken. Are you really a demonic cultivator?

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Do you reside in the Murim Zone as well? Where do you live?

ㄴ Sword of Light: Check your Transcendent Gallery terminal. See if a new app appeared.

An app?

I minimized the <Transcendent Gallery> window and returned to the home screen.

Hmm. Something new?

I tapped the unfamiliar icon beneath the camera app.

It had a blue star-shaped logo.

『The Transcendent Gallery’s affiliated Dimensional Exchange has been activated!』

『Welcome! New customer!』

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Oh. There’s something. Dimensional Exchange?

ㄴ Admin: Looks like it unlocks on Floor 2.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Eat a good meal and come back.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Huh?

ㄴ Sword of Light: What weapon do you have?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: I got a sword when I reached Floor 2.

ㄴ Sword of Light: A sword? Perfect. I’ll make sure you don’t die.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: How?

ㄴ How else? ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s obviously gonna train you till you drop.

ㄴ Sword of Light: I suppose I should claim the position of your first teacher.

The Sword Maniac was suddenly all over me.

What the hell?

It felt like he was even more excited now that I was in Pandemonium.