I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 29: The Forest of Beasts (6)

The rescue team was even later than I expected.

Night passed.

Even by dawn, they still hadn't arrived.

By the time I had slain four more monsters on par with the one-eyed beast from earlier, the first rays of sunlight finally revealed a group approaching from the distance.

Large, imposing Myo Tribe warriors strode toward me.

The sharp gleam in their eyes told me exactly what they were thinking.

I was standing there—alone—with ten Myo Tribe children.

Yeah.

This was definitely a situation that could be misunderstood.

From afar, their booming voices reached me.

"That must be the bastard who kidnapped our children!"

"He must die!"

[NPC - Myo Tribe Beastfolk, Second-Rank Warrior Kentra]

[NPC - Myo Tribe Beastfolk, Third-Rank Warrior Jete]

[NPC - Myo Tribe Beastfolk, Fourth-Rank Warrior Vitus]

...They had already jumped to conclusions.

Three huge Myo Tribe warriors—each armed with swords and spears wreathed in aura—stepped forward.

Thirteen Myo Tribe warriors, male and female alike, were closing in, surrounding me.

“You, are you a member of the slaver caravan?”

There was no way I could lower my guard in a situation like this.

I tightened my grip on Greatsword Carnavalt, rapidly thinking of a way to de-escalate the situation without conflict.

Just as I was about to speak—

The ten Myo Tribe children suddenly rushed in front of me.

All together, they shouted:

"Yuseong saved us from the slaver humans!"

The first to step forward was Mique.

“Those bodies over there... Those are the slavers....”

One by one, the children stepped up to vouch for me.

Their testimonies were far more effective than any self-defense I could offer.

The Myo Tribe warriors, after hearing the words of their own kin, immediately withdrew their suspicion and accepted my innocence.

“...We apologize.”

Fourth-Rank Warrior Vitus stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“We almost committed a grave offense against our benefactor.”

The other Myo Tribe warriors followed suit, bowing their heads in respect.

Mique, who had been standing off to the side, quickly scurried over to Vitus and whispered something to him.

Vitus reached into his bag and pulled out an item.

Then, Mique presented it to me.

It was a bracelet, a deep shade of crimson, adorned with intricate carvings.

At the end of it, a strand of yellow fur swayed naturally.

“This is a symbol of friendship from the Uyette Tribe of the Myo.”

I accepted the bracelet.

[Bond of Trust]

Type: AccessoryEffect: Slightly increases mental fortitude in forest environments.Description: A bracelet that signifies friendship with the Uyette Tribe of the Myo.Grade: CIts rank and effect weren’t as useful as the Bracelet of Anti-Evil I was currently wearing,

but that wasn’t the point.

“This bracelet isn’t just recognized by the Uyette Tribe,” Mique explained.

“Other Myo Tribes will recognize it too.

If you carry it, they will be less wary of you compared to other humans.”

A gift was always welcome.

“Thanks.”

Just then, notification windows flooded my vision.

[Quest: "Rescue the Myo Tribe" has been successfully completed.]

[You have cleared the 3rd Floor Stage.]

[Calculating Player – Han Yuseong’s score for the 3rd Floor Stage.]

[You selected the more difficult of two possible routes and succeeded. Bonus points applied.][You rescued more captives than the minimum requirement. Bonus points applied.][You fulfilled the "Eliminate a Strong Foe" condition. Bonus points applied.][Condition: Eliminate a Strong Foe]

(Rewarded for defeating an opponent at least one rank higher than the player during stage progression.)

[Strong Foe Eliminated – "Lainer, Fourth-Rank Combatant of the Slaver Caravan."]Before my final score was revealed,

I glanced at the current rankings for the 3rd Floor challengers.

[Current 3rd Floor Rankings]

1st Place - Strategy Union Leader: 674 points

2nd Place - Sinclair: 412 points

3rd Place - Black Hand: 383 points

4th Place - In Pursuit: 378 points

5th Place - Argul: 374 points

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⋮

[Final Score Calculation Complete.]

[Han Yuseong: 1,682 points.]

Again, I broke into four digits.

[You will be automatically transported to the "4th Floor Waiting Room" in 3 minutes.]

Three minutes passed quickly.

As my departure drew near,

I ruffled the heads of the Myo Tribe children who had started waving goodbye.

One by one, they dispersed.

Except for Mique, who scurried up to me.

I pulled out my last sandwich from my inventory and handed it to her.

“Eat it later. It’ll spoil if you wait too long.”

Mique took it with both hands, beaming.

“Thank youuuu.”

Her green eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.

“...Where will you go now, Yuseong?”

Good question.

I had no idea what awaited me on the 4th Floor either.

I ruffled Mique’s hair.

Her yellow cat-like tail swayed gently.

“See you next time.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight

The same farewell I had given Resellin and Yunes back on the 2nd Floor Stage.

“...Yuseong?”

Mique’s eyes widened slightly.

Then—

A sudden weightless sensation engulfed me.

Light flooded my vision.

When my sight returned,

the vast, sprawling Forest of Beasts had vanished.

Instead—

I was standing inside what looked like a high school gymnasium.

...Huh.

Did the waiting rooms expand with each new floor?

Another notification window popped up.

[Welcome to the 4th Floor.]

[You have received 800 Coins as a reward for clearing the 3rd Floor.]

[Registering 3rd Floor ranking score.]

***

<Climber Gallery>

Title: Wow, another 1st place, but it’s set to private.

Author: ㅇㅇ

And another four-digit score. Damn. A monster is climbing.

How the hell does someone even get a score like this??Attachment: 6523183.jpg

(A photo of the 3rd-floor ranking screen, taken with a climber’s terminal.)

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《 3rd Floor - Score Rankings 》

1st - Private: 1,682 points NEW!

2nd - Union Leader: 674 ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) points

3rd - Sinclair: 412 points

4th - Black Hand: 383 points

5th - In Pursuit: 378 points

6th - Argul: 374 points

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Comments:

ㄴ Probably just luck.

ㄴ Are you dumb? You think this happens by luck? If it’s twice in a row, it’s not luck—it’s the real deal.

ㄴ I’m actually starting to look forward to this. Once they hit Floor 30 and get a climber’s terminal, their first post in Climber Gallery is gonna be wild.

ㄴ Sharp Spear: You Normal scrubs are overreacting. Stop wasting time on some 3rd-floor kid and go train.

ㄴ LMAO, your so-called ‘greatest Hard Mode player’ just got completely outclassed by a newbie. Bet they’re sweating.

ㄴ Let Me Go Home: Union Leader isn’t scared or anything, but yeah, they’re definitely paying attention. A newbie scoring 1,000 points more? That means something.

ㄴ Hurry up and climb faster lol. At this rate, we’ll see them soon. Considering the event period, they probably cleared the 3rd floor in less than three days. Insane.

ㄴ Now that is what you call a rising star.

ㄴ You guys are down so bad you’re clinging to a 3rd-floor newbie for hope...

ㄴ No, we’re clinging to a ‘back-to-back, four-digit, first-place ranked’ 3rd-floor newbie. Get it right. Only thing I don’t like is the ugly anonymous nickname. Hurry up and get a real one.

ㄴ Life Analyst: If they do the same on Floor 4, I’ll acknowledge them.

ㄴ At this rate? It’s guaranteed.

ㄴ Ahhh!!! All you loudmouths dropping down the ranks is so satisfying~~ Private, hwaiting!

"Didn’t expect to clear the 3rd floor even faster than the 2nd."

A black-haired woman muttered as she stared at the gallery screen in her terminal.

Then, her gaze shifted toward a single talisman hanging on the wall of her room.

"I poured everything into this one charm since I knew I couldn’t trade multiple times... but I still haven’t been able to hand it over. Tsk."

The woman, Soyo-hwa, was waiting for Han Yuseong’s interdimensional trade cooldown to end.

It was a long, tedious wait.

But right now, he was the only thing keeping her entertained.

Flap—!

The talisman strips strung across the room suddenly fluttered violently.

Soyo-hwa tied up her long hair and rose from her chair.

She walked toward the window of Taihe Palace.

Zhongyuan Wulin.

Forty years ago, demons began appearing.

Among them, two Great Fiends rose to infamy:

Wu-yeon ("Fog Smoke")Heukmok ("Black Eye")The moment they descended, they ripped apart the sky and landed upon the world—

Slaughtering 590,000 martial artists on arrival.

The martial world had been pushed to the brink of annihilation.

And the ones who ended that crisis...

Were those who had cleared the Tower and returned.

Wu-yeon perished in a mutual destruction battle with Soyo-hwa’s master.Heukmok was slain by Soyo-hwa herself.Since then, no Great Fiends had descended again.

But mid-tier demons still lurked, preying upon Zhongyuan.

Just like the one before her eyes now.

A white serpent demon with a thousand heads.

Soyo-hwa casually flicked a talisman into the air.

She whispered softly.

"Perish."

Sching!

The talisman was shredded mid-air.

And then—

Screeeeeeeeeeeech!!

The serpent demon’s body was torn apart.

Blood and flesh rained down like a storm.

Standing on the window ledge,

Soyo-hwa pulled out her terminal once more.

This time, she didn’t open <Climber Gallery>.

Instead, she entered <Transcendent Gallery>.

Title: 4th Floor Waiting Room.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Gonna train my sword aura a bit before heading into the 4th-floor stage.

Real combat really is the best teacher.

Nearly died to a Fourth-Rank Swordsman, but at least my instincts got sharpened.Comments:

ㄴ ??? Why the hell did you meet a Fourth-Rank on the 3rd Floor?

ㄴ LOOOOL oh shit so that’s why your score is cracked.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: So you achieved ‘Eliminate a Strong Foe’ then.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ): Yeah.

ㄴ Sword of Light: What move almost killed you?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ): He slammed his sword into the ground, and this massive wave just swallowed everything in front of him. The moment I saw it, I knew touching it meant instant death. Just grazing it twisted my entire arm.

ㄴ Sword of Light: That was a Sword Aura Explosion. If you got hit, you would have died.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ): Thanks to your footwork technique, I found a gap in the wave and slipped through.

ㄴ Sword of Light: That wasn’t my technique—that was your skill in applying it.

ㄴ Holy shit, talent overload lol.

ㄴ Pioneer: Meeting a swordsman who can use Aura Explosion on the 3rd Floor is honestly absurd.

Tok. Tok-tok.

Soyo-hwa typed a reply.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden: Hawawa, you must have suffered, Climber-kun. UwU.