I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 60: Crimson Knight (2)
Today, I decided not to use the Visographica recording function and to head straight into battle.
The reason was simple — I now felt that fighting the Skaldmagra was manageable.
I looked over those assembled before me.
As expected, putting on a good show seemed to be the most effective way to earn their trust.
They were looking at me with even more confidence in their eyes than yesterday.
But my attention wasn’t on the Skaldmagra right now — it was on that knight called Dekkan.
I was trying to figure out how I’d respond if he came charging at me.
“There’s no answer to that.”
Of course, just wanting a strategy didn’t mean one would magically appear.
Still, the trap Resellin had prepared and that I hadn’t used yesterday was now a huge advantage.
The scout party's bait had succeeded. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
KUGUGUNG!
The ground collapsed.
KIRAAAGH!
Two Skaldmagras were sucked into the earth like they were being swallowed whole.
Each into a separate pit.
The moment the Skaldmagras slammed into the massive pits, the trap mechanisms embedded deep in the ground activated.
Dozens of chains shot forth from countless openings.
CHWAJWAJWAJWAJWAK!
The chains moved like living serpents, wrapping around the Skaldmagra’s legs and torso in an instant.
The chains, winding around their thick hides, dug into their flesh.
They seemed designed to embed deeper the more the prey struggled.
“ALL MAGES — ATTACK!”
The order rang out from Alik, the commander of the mage corps and a 5th-Rank mage.
The moment he shouted, the mage corps began unleashing spells in unison.
About thirty mages held their staves forward as magic circles began to glow.
KIIIIIIING—!
Spears that looked like condensed lightning flew toward the pits.
Countless icicles followed, pouring down like a torrential rain.
[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.10 — Skill activated.]
Amid the magical bombardment, I moved forward.
Utilizing internal reinforcement techniques.
The reason was straightforward:
A perfect finish.
And the experience gain that came with it.
After killing two yesterday, I’d reached 50%. If I finished off the rest, I could probably level up.
As I stepped forward, pushing through the dust cloud, I heard a voice.
“Yuseong-nim!”
It was Yunes.
The blonde mage was looking at me with a worried expression.
“I think the mage corps alone can handle this one...!”
Yeah, it looked that way.
But if I didn’t touch it, I wouldn’t get the EXP.
And relying solely on the mage corps would take too long.
Plus, I couldn’t be sure there wouldn’t be unforeseen complications.
I summoned aura to my blade and stood at the edge of the pit.
“It’s still stretching its neck up like a damn giraffe. There might be more Skaldmagras lurking around, so it’s better to take care of this quickly.”
“Y-you’re right.”
Yunes seemed convinced enough by that.
KIEEEEEEEEEEK!
The Skaldmagra in front of me, under the relentless assault of magic, had its carapace ruptured and its flesh torn. It belched both steam and blood.
Two Skaldmagras.
I severed both their necks in a single motion.
[EXP has increased.]
[Current EXP: 77%]
Current level: 42.
If I took down the boss, I might hit level 43. That was my hunch.
Right then—
“....”
Pressure.
A choking, murderous aura pressed down on every soldier present, myself included.
But it wasn’t coming from Dekkan.
It was from the swarm.
A new swarm-type Skaldmagra — even larger than the one Dekkan had obliterated yesterday — had appeared.
[BOSS MONSTER]
[Swarm Overlord Skaldmagra]
This was it. Defeating this boss would probably complete the stage.
Could I finish this without having to fight that death knight, Dekkan?
First things first — I had to kill this Overlord.
Dekkan had disintegrated the previous swarm in an instant.
And while this one was a “boss” and bore the title “overlord,” I didn’t think even it would have been able to last long against someone like Dekkan.
So if I couldn’t handle something at this level, I had no business continuing my climb.
CRACK— CRACK—
I loosened up and began walking forward.
KIRAAAAAAAGH—!!!!
The massive black swarm roared with its gaping maw wide open.
Behind me, I heard the shuffling footsteps of the mages and soldiers stepping back.
Understandable. The bloodlust was thick enough to make anyone retreat.
Still, the pressure I’d felt from Dekkan yesterday had been worse.
That was the only reason this monster hadn’t earned first place in the “most terrifying pressure” ranking of my Tower experience.
Even Hover, a 5th-Rank mercenary, and one of the 5th-Rank knights just shifted in place, unwilling to approach.
Going in solo was better than some half-assed team-up.
I charged straight at the Overlord.
Countless holes began opening all over its massive body.
They formed what looked like mouths.
I didn’t need to guess what was coming next.
Not a swarm-type this time, but just like the basic Skaldmagra units—it would emit sonic blasts.
BEEEEEEEEEEEE—
It wasn’t the element-infused variant, but it was still plenty dangerous.
“Aaaargh!!”
“URGH!!”
Screams of pain filled the air.
Soldiers ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) and mages clutched their ears and collapsed.
Some had blood pouring from their ears.
Just as the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery had said, resisting this kind of sonic attack required a certain level of mental fortitude and rank.
Among those with decent Rank—4th and 5th—no one was bleeding.
And thanks to the Veil of Secrets, infused with mana to resist mental erosion, I was even less affected than they were.
KWAAG!
I kicked off the ground hard and charged straight in.
I glanced at Yunes as I passed her.
I saw her give a small nod.
I had given Yunes a heads-up at dawn.
I’d asked her to time her support spells carefully during the fight.
The Swarm Overlord’s gaze was locked on me.
I was radiating aura like a beacon, so that was only natural.
Srrrng—
Twin scythes extended from both of the Overlord’s arms.
They looked like converted parts of the creature’s own body — likely segments of Skaldmagra it reshaped into blades.
SWAAAAAAAK!
The scythe arcs came from every direction.
My entire body was wrapped in reinforced energy, and internal mana flowed steadily.
Along with all the combat instinct I had built up so far — it all reacted to the incoming strikes.
KAAANG!
I clashed with it head-on.
KWAJIK!
Not a single hit got through.
Black currents and white aura twisted and clashed violently, like they were trying to devour each other.
It was a chilling sensation, like I was standing right on the edge of a blade.
The Overlord’s entire body was riddled with circular openings.
From those holes, just like yesterday, came a barrage of sonic blasts.
Dozens of them.
FWOOSH!
I threw the Veil of Secrets, infused with mana, into the air.
The night before, I had discussed this in the Transcendent Gallery.
It was about the battle between Dekkan and the swarm-type Skaldmagra.
There had been talk about the creature’s sonic blasts.
ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawa~! At that level of freezing, the blue zone of the Veil of Secrets should handle most of the damage~!
ㄴ Ice Queen) Right? Frozen! I think I should save my gift for a harsher stage... One where I’m the only one who can help the climber...! That kind of moment...!
I felt like I’d just seen into the abyss of the Ice Queen’s mind, but I decided to pretend I didn’t notice.
SWAAAAAAAK!
Just as expected — elemental-infused sonic blasts came flying.
I hurled the Veil of Secrets and neutralized about half of them.
The rest I cut down with my blade.
Of course, the Overlord didn’t throw the scythes and sonic attacks separately.
It wasn’t that generous.
It launched everything at once — a relentless barrage of scythe strikes and sonic blasts — and I destroyed it all.
My entire body began to scream.
But I wasn’t the only one in danger.
KAAAAAAK!!
The Overlord let out a shriek after my sword slashed across its midsection.
I’d hit it once across the waist, but it didn’t get bisected.
Its mouth opened even wider.
And then — silence fell across the battlefield.
“....”
The Swarm Overlord had swallowed all sound.
When fighting off scythes and sonic blasts, hearing was vital.
Sound gave clues as to which attack would come first.
ZZHONG!
I deflected a frost-based sonic blast.
But I was a beat too late.
Shards of ice that had already closed the distance stabbed into my thigh.
SPLUT! SPURT!
My defensive aura had weakened from fending off too many attacks, leaving a gap.
Thankfully, the pain brought me back to focus rather than causing panic.
I popped the cap off a healing potion and dumped it roughly over my thigh.
CLANK!
Tossed the empty bottle aside and surged forward again.
But before I could land another blow, other attacks struck the Overlord.
Spells from Yunes and the mage corps.
The Overlord’s eyes glowed red — and the spells disintegrated mid-air.
But that wasn’t the end.
Its right hand extended forward, conjuring a dark sphere of energy.
–CRUNCH
The Overlord clenched the orb.
And the world went black.
Darkness.
The Swarm Overlord had transformed the very space around us into pure darkness.
No sound.
No vision.
I wasn’t the only one blinded — so hoping for backup from the mages was pointless.
If I just stood still here, I’d die for sure.
Last night, there had been another discussion in the Gallery.
ㄴ Archmage) Some high-level beast monsters have inherent abilities. One of the big ones is artificially creating a darkness darker than night. Even in broad daylight.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) What if mages use light magic? Can it cut through?
ㄴ Archmage) Magic’s not that simple.
ㄴ Archmage) Just because a spell is newer doesn’t mean it’s better than ancient magic.
ㄴ Archmage) Especially in a place like the Forest of Beasts — a land saturated with ancient mana.
ㄴ Archmage) Mana in lands like that often responds better to primal sorcery.
ㄴ Archmage) That’s why the abilities of high-level beasts — they come from deeply primitive origins.
ㄴ Archmage) So light spells from low-tier mages won’t do anything, but the magic I gave you? That might work.
I traced the spell sigil with my right hand — something I’d memorized after yesterday’s battle.
O holy light of hope.
Bring illumination to this world.
—Von.
FWOOOM—
Light bloomed at my fingertips.
It cut through the darkness like a knife.
ㄴ Archmage) You can’t link standard magic to your aura circuits. That’s why I gave you a spell rooted in ancient sorcery.
ㄴ Archmage) That primal light might be able to dispel the darkness in the Forest of Beasts.
The Swarm Overlord’s crimson eyes widened in disbelief.
SHHHAAAAAAA!
It unleashed electric and fire-based sonic blasts in a panic.
I closed the distance while taking some of those hits head-on.
GRRNNK.
My teeth clenched involuntarily.
It hurt like hell.
I jabbed a pain suppression booster into my side, but it still hurt.
Still, if I wanted to find the perfect striking distance, I had no choice.
[Skill ‘Pain Suppression’ has leveled up. Lv.12]
I slashed at the Overlord’s head with Mundum Exstinguit.
Then I went to town on its whole body.
KAAAAAAAAGH!
I kept slicing and slashing until the creature could no longer hold its composite form together.
A whirlwind of white aura, a frenzy of strikes—
[You have defeated the Boss Monster!]
The Swarm Overlord Skaldmagra had been eradicated.
[Your level has increased!]
[Lv.42 → Lv.43]
[‘Strength’ has increased by 6.]
[‘Agility’ has increased by 7.]
[‘Stamina’ has increased by 5.]
[‘Mana’ has increased by 5.]
Contrary to what I’d heard — that stat gains might taper off — there was no drop-off at all.
This was definitely a lucky break.
“...What?”
An unexpected development occurred.
The usual notification window to transfer to the next floor’s waiting area didn’t pop up right away.
Instead, a different kind of alert appeared:
[You have cleared the 10th Floor Stage.]
[1. Would you like to move to the 11th Floor waiting room?]
[2. Would you like to challenge the 10th Floor Hidden Quest — “Knight of Glory: Dekkan’s Rest”?]
[Quest Difficulty — ★★★★★★★]
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