I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 63: Crimson Knight (5)

Thud...

Dekkan staggered backward. A white diagonal scar had formed across his upper body.

The crimson light that had flickered in his eyes quickly began to fade.

Dekkan’s body slowly collapsed to the ground.

And at the same time, life seemed to drain from my own.

[You have defeated the boss monster!]

[Level Up!]

[Lv.43 → Lv.45]

Thankfully, just as life began to slip away, it suddenly surged back.

I seriously thought I was going to die.

My torn body reknitted itself like hundreds of threads weaving together, and it was restored.

['Strength' stat increased by 12.]

['Agility' stat increased by 13.]

['Stamina' stat increased by 10.]

['Mana' stat increased by 9.]

Gray smoke began to rise from Dekkan’s feet.

Ssshhh...

His body was vanishing.

Through the strands of his white hair, I saw a pair of dull golden eyes.

My eyes widened.

Dekkan’s gaze, which had been murky, had become clear once more.

“Dekkan?”

I leaned down and looked into his face.

“Thank you,”

A faint voice.

“Disciple... of the Great Pioneers...”

That was all.

The clarity in his eyes vanished immediately.

His mouth closed. His eyes followed.

Fwaa—

Dekkan literally disintegrated into light.

A disciple of the Great Ones.

By “Great Pioneers,” he must have meant the senior members of the Transcendent Gallery who had taught him techniques and martial arts.

But since he was already gone, I couldn’t ask.

That interpretation would have to be left to the seniors.

I picked up a sword that had fallen to the ground.

One of the items Dekkan left behind.

Shhh—

[Tooth of Eucaletta]

It felt like a fair exchange for the completely shattered greatsword Carnavalte.

I placed Dekkan’s sword into my inventory.

The other item was a book.

“......”

A sword manual.

[Valsenarz Sword Manual]

It was the manual of the swordsmanship that Absolute Monarch had once taught to Knight Dekkan.

I added the manual to my inventory as well.

[You have cleared the 10th Floor stage.]

[Calculating Player – Han Yuseong’s 10th Floor Stage Score...]

[Hidden Quest selected and completed – Bonus score applied.]

[Bonus condition ‘Defeated a Strong Enemy’ met – Bonus score applied.]

[Strong Enemy Defeated: 'Glorious Knight – Dekkan']

The usual 10th Floor ranking window appeared.

1st – Strategy Union Leader: 892 points

2nd – Black Star: 801 points

4th – Still Chasing: 793 points

5th – LifeIsPainByDefault: 747 points

⋮

⋮

[Score calculation complete.]

[Han Yuseong: 4,578 points]

“Huh?”

4,578 points?

What is this absurd score?

Up until now, even the best players had only managed scores slightly over double the record of the usual first place.

But this? This blew that out of the water.

[You will be automatically transferred to the 6th Floor Waiting Room in 3 minutes.]

Shff! Rustle!

While I was still staring at the score, I heard someone pushing through the underbrush in the distance.

Two silhouettes burst through the foliage at the same time.

Yunes the mage, and Resellin, Commander of the Lucerna Mercenary Corps.

Resellin looked at the landscape where the giant trees had been sliced apart and now leaned at odd angles, then looked at me.

“...What happened to Knight Dekkan?”

They both seemed breathless from running.

“He disintegrated.”

Resellin checked the scorched ground and appeared to believe me immediately.

Then, suddenly, she rummaged through her bag and held something out.

“This is an identity token. Use it instead of a mercenary badge, in case of emergencies. It’s engraved on the back with the commander’s seal and our endorsement. On the continent of Valtera, no one will dare touch you lightly.”

After explaining, Resellin let out a sigh.

“Do you know how crazy it is to not have a mercenary badge? It’s a miracle no one’s tried to track your identity yet. But when you randomly ‘pop’ back into the world again, make sure to get one from the Imperial Mercenary HQ.”

She must have hurriedly prepared this after I told ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) her two days ago that I didn’t have a badge.

“Thank you.”

I replied, turning over the round silver token in my hand.

[Lucerna Mercenary Identity Token]

Type – Accessory

Description: A token given by the commander of the Lucerna Mercenary Corps of the Ermain Empire to an individual whose identity is directly guaranteed.

It was technically just a proof of identity, but somehow it felt like I’d received something much more meaningful.

I looked at Yunes.

“Ah, Yunes. The artifact worked perfectly. Thank you.”

Yunes smiled at me.

“Keep it. With mana recharge, you should be able to use it around nine more times.”

That item played a huge role in helping me close in on Dekkan instantly.

No reason to refuse.

“Thank you.”

Then Yunes spoke again.

“Are you going to ‘pop’ out again?”

That word again—“pop.” She picked that up from Resellin.

“Yes, seems like it.”

“Next time we meet, please tell me how you used magic to pierce through the darkness.”

“I will.”

Resellin spoke from beside her.

“Will you disappear again and come back a year and a half later next time?”

“I’ll have to see when the time comes.”

Yeah... the real problem was, even I didn’t know.

Time was up.

A white circle of light began to glow beneath my feet.

“See you next time.”

[Recording for 'Visographica' has ended automatically.]

***

A post uploaded to the Transcendent Gallery began to attract a flood of comments.

Title: Yeah, I survived.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Attached file: 8908092347.mkv

ㄴ He’s back.

ㄴ You saw the 10th floor ranking change on the Climber Gallery, right? Holy shit, how do you even get a score like that?

ㄴ This guy~~~~~came back alive~~~~~~

ㄴ How the hell did this lunatic survive that?

ㄴ Ice Queen) Frozen! The time that had stopped... has begun to flow again... Freeze, unfreeze!

ㄴ Rankings spoiled that he survived.

ㄴ Not even surprising if he’d died, honestly.

ㄴ We’ve done death rites hoping Pandemonium would finally kill him, but nope.

ㄴ Demon King) Beltui—has it finally arrived? My joy, my theater, my hope, my light and salt! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

ㄴ I had RIP typed and ready but deleted it after seeing the score update. Sorry, lol.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawawa, it was a situation where suspicion was warranted. But this maiden chose to trust regardless.

“Phew...”

[Shrine Maiden]

Soyo-hwa looked at the talismans pasted on the wall.

There were clearly more than a dozen of them.

“I’m glad I prayed.”

They were all proof of prayers made for the climber’s survival.

ㄴ Video’s about 7 minutes total. How long is the fight?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Roughly 4 minutes.

ㄴ About average.

ㄴ Average for what, dying time?

ㄴ Damn, should I save this and savor it?

ㄴ He actually killed Dekkan? How? Drugs?

ㄴ Suwang) How do you drug a death knight who’s already dead, you bastard!!!!!!

ㄴ ?? Fuzzball’s freaking out. Sounds like he actually tried it.

ㄴ Suwang) No I didn’t!!! You little shit!!!!

ㄴ Bro really sounds like he did.

ㄴ How does a Fourth-Rank kill a Sixth-Rank? Like, how?

ㄴ Pioneer) Everyone hit play. Group screening time.

ㄴ 3, 2, 1—BAM!

On a blank wall next to the one covered in talismans, footage was projected via the Transcendent Gallery terminal. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

The moment showed Dekkan slamming his sword down vertically—

Han Yuseong blocking it with Libra.

“Hrm hrm, that was a clean block.”

Soyo-hwa hummed as she picked up a dumpling.

She poured white liquor into a glass beside it.

Then slowly took a sip.

“This is what life’s all about. Munch...”

Even after clearing that damned tower and returning, she still had to hold the line against yokai on the frontlines.

In such a grim life, this climber was like salt to a tasteless dish.

It was the first time in a while that Soyo-hwa’s eyes and spirit both enjoyed some entertainment.

THOOM!

The footage now showed Dekkan slamming his magic-charged shield into the ground, unleashing Heaven and Earth Seal.

Han Yuseong met it with a similar technique—using sword aura to cast a counter-domain.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch) Good. You did it just like I explained.

ㄴ Spear King) The hell? You call that “just an explanation”? That’s not normal.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch) Of course it’s not.

ㄴ I couldn’t pull that off in a hundred days.

ㄴ A hundred days? I’ll wager a year.

ㄴ A year? Five.

ㄴ Jesus, you maniacs...

ㄴ Ice Queen) Frozen...! I mean, in five years you should at least be able to do that, right?

ㄴ Translation: If you can’t do that in five years, are you even human?

ㄴ And that’s why purity is the scariest evil.

ㄴ Pure Evil GOAT

ㄴ You can be a solid fighter, but if you don’t have the talent for aura micro-control, you’ll never pull something like that off.

BOOM! CRASH!

Soon after, the scene showed Han Yuseong getting blasted back by Dekkan’s attack, crashing into the distance.

ㄴ BANG!!

ㄴ That ragdoll flight though lmaooo

ㄴ Can we not get a first-person version of this? Oh wait, that’s premium.

ㄴ Admin) Yeah, probably not until you reach Floor 30.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Wait, you have to pay coins for first-person replays? That’s hilarious.

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) Nothing’s free in this world.

ㄴ First-person POV would make me vomit, but I still want it.

ㄴ That’s the thrill of it.

ㄴ Elf Guy) You should just be grateful you even got this much. Chill out.

ㄴ Grateful? GRAAAATEFUL? You call yourself an elf? What happened to freedom? Slave mindset confirmed.

ㄴ Elf Guy) When the World Tree gives a prophecy, it's super helpful for organizing the younglings.

ㄴ No wonder elves are going extinct. This is what leads them.

[Sword of Light]

Elena de Brinier watched as Han Yuseong, in Doombringer state, retreated from Dekkan.

Right after that, Dekkan raised his sword vertically—preparing his Sphere.

And what Han Yuseong did next caused an explosion of comments.

ㄴ ?

ㄴ Man’s a lunatic, confirmed.

ㄴ He saw the Sphere prep and didn’t run. Just stabbed Extreme Breath into his ribs immediately lmaoooo

ㄴ Didn’t even hesitate. Went for the stacked limit break like a madman.

ㄴ INSANITY!!!!!!

ㄴ This dude ain’t ever goin’ back to the starting line~~

ㄴ That mental fortitude though.

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) If I were Fourth-Rank, no way I’d have done that.

ㄴ So you really gotta go insane to break past the mundane, huh?

Maybe I’ve been living too sanely. Starting tomorrow, I’m headbutting a tree 100 times before training.

ㄴ Pioneer) That’s not just insane. That’s brain damage.

ㄴ Shut it, glorious hard-mode overlord. You don’t understand the heart of the plebs.

Elena looked down at the ground.

There lay the broken fragments of a sword.

“......”

The Holy Sword, Ecclesia.

She’d summoned an imperial dwarven blacksmith, handed him a hammer, and had it smashed to pieces.

Complete weapons couldn’t be transmitted through interdimensional trade.

So she had to reduce it to a shard small enough to pass approval.

The dwarf had raged at her for destroying a sacred sword—but if it meant giving the climber a shot at victory, it didn’t matter.

Besides, they had another one anyway.

Elena smiled as she watched the projected screen.

He was someone worth risking everything for.

Someone worth doing “crazy” things for.

Onscreen, Han Yuseong began moving again.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is fre(e)novelkiss