I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents
Chapter 54: Reunion

[10th Floor Coin Shop]

1. Food

2. Drinks

3. Potions

4. Miscellaneous

Just in case, Han Yuseong checked to see if any new items had been added under Miscellaneous, but there were still only paper and fountain pens.

Well, time to eat then.

<Dishes>

1. Ramen with a small portion of kimchi – 10 coins

2. Pork and rice soup – 10 coins

3. Fried rice – 10 coins

4. Cream bacon pasta – 10 coins

5. Sandwich – 8 coins

6. Mixed nuts (peanuts, walnuts) – 6 coins

7. Jerky – 6 coins

8. Spicy pork rice bowl – 13 coins

9. Roskatsu – 13 coins

10. Butter chicken curry – 12 coins

11. Fried dumplings with soy sauce – 8 coins

"Oh."

Butter chicken curry and fried dumplings were new additions on the 10th floor.

Since he needed a proper meal, he went with the butter chicken curry instead of the dumplings.

Opening the container, he found orange-colored curry inside.

Hmm... so this is supposed to be the taste of traditional Indian food?

It had a much stronger creamy feel than he expected.

The tandoori chicken on the side was decent too.

Today was April 2nd.

He checked the 10th floor mailbox.

Since he had still been on the 9th floor stage on the 1st—when the mailboxes activated—he hadn’t had the chance to check then.

As expected, the mailbox was empty.

Would any other newbie from Pandemonium Mode show up eventually?

Honestly, he wasn’t holding out much hope.

Whether others knew he was on the 10th floor or not wasn’t important.

If someone had climbed to at least the 5th floor—when mailboxes start appearing—they’d be desperate to live and would’ve sent letters to every nearby floor anyway.

He figured he’d send a letter to the 1st floor every now and then when he remembered.

Three coins for paper wasn’t something to stress about.

The next morning.

He bought 50 advanced healing potions at 10 coins each.

As for mana potions—he still had 20 left from earlier—so he bought 30 more.

Coins remaining: 5,290

Even after spending liberally, he still had this much left.

Title: Entering 10th floor stage.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Gonna activate constellation block ahead of time again for this one.

ㄴ Are you setting rules? Like when to turn it on and off?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* If I keep it off, there’s a better chance I’ll get solid items like Breath of the Extreme or Gehenna.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* And if a story-focused quest pops up—like one involving returning NPCs or emotional stuff—I don’t wanna show them that, so I’ll just block it.

ㄴ Admin: What do you mean by story-focused quests?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* If NPCs I’ve met before show up again, or if it seems like it’ll involve emotional development, I plan to ignore the rewards no matter what they are.

ㄴ ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Hmm... but what if a constellation offers you something Gehenna-tier in both hands to tempt you?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* Tempting, sure. But I still wouldn’t take it.

He didn’t like anything that would entangle him.

ㄴ Archmage: They’re probably gonna think you’re rejecting everything because you’re aiming for ‘authority’ now. And we told you—don’t accept that kind of thing, right?

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman: Gross stuff like that should be avoided~

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* An ‘authority’ can be reclaimed anytime by the constellation who granted it, right?

ㄴ Sword of Light: Good review session.

ㄴ Admin: Starting on the 10th floor, your adaptation bonus—the reward for early hardship—is probably over. You’ll hit the point where you really feel like your level isn’t rising anymore.

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman: If the EXP rate just slows down, consider yourself lucky. There's a good chance your stat gains on level-up will be cut in half too.

ㄴ Pioneer: Real talk. The game gives and then takes away—literally. I was cruising on those hardship bonuses until the hammer came down on me.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* So what do I do if I don’t wanna get slammed?

Pioneer-sunbae kindly gave an explanation.

ㄴ Pioneer: Same as always—pick the hardest choices possible. It’s Pandemonium Mode, so that should help balance the curve at least a bit.

ㄴ Pioneer: And you’ve experienced stat boosts when pushing past physical limits, right? Just do more of that.

So basically—keep suffering and push the body even harder.

ㄴ Ha, now that’s advice that’s truly nourishing.

The comment was clearly sarcastic.

ㄴ Pioneer: I know. It’s annoyingly useless advice. But it’s the only real way.

Even Pioneer-sunbae sounded like he was well aware.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ:* Got it. Thanks. Sometimes just recognizing the truth helps.

He’d already expected things to get messier from the 10th floor on anyway.

Crack—

He laced his fingers together and stretched his arms overhead.

Then, Han Yuseong opened the 10th floor stage gate and moved forward.

Step

A blinding white light filled his vision.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

After the light receded, a familiar landscape unfolded before him.

『Pandemonium Mode Floor 10 is a quest-type stage.』

Moisture rose up from the ground and clung to his feet.

A gloomy sky loomed overhead.

“...Forest of Beasts?”

There was no doubt about it.

But it didn’t seem like the inside of the Forest of Beasts. It was right in front of it.

It looked like a forested area just outside the Forest of Beasts.

In front of him stood a cluster of large military tents.

With his senses sharpened, Han Yuseong approached the tents.

A sheet of fabric served as a wall, but the voices beyond it were clearly audible.

“If we don’t put an end to it here, that thing will invade the territory again.”

After a low, heavy male voice, a woman’s voice followed.

“You’re right. It has to end here if we want to stop any more damage.”

Han Yuseong had met quite a few NPCs, but there were only a few he’d say he’d truly bonded with.

And the voice he just heard belonged to one of them.

Resellin.

The more he listened, the more certain he was that it was her.

“It’s been a month and a half since we posted the notice, but we haven’t even gathered fifty mercenaries yet... Even though we offered way above the standard pay.”

The man’s voice returned.

“That just means they know exactly who the enemy is.”

“Haah... damn Scaldmagra.”

Scaldmagra.

That must be the main monster of this floor.

“No one else is likely to show up, but I’ll go check just in case.”

Step, step

Footsteps began approaching right after Resellin’s words.

Flick—

The tent flap pulled back, and a woman stepped out.

Navy blue hair. Golden eyes. No doubt—it was Resellin.

[NPC – Lucerna Mercenary Corps Captain, Resellin]

Her eyes went wide when she saw him.

“...Yuseong?”

So even when climbing floors, memories carried over.

This Resellin was the same one who had fought with him on the walls of Kikrev Fortress against the orcs.

“Been a while, Resellin.”

At his words, Resellin gave a big nod.

“Of course! It’s been a long while! It’s been almost a year and a half!”

Huh?

A year and a half?

It had only been about a month and a half for him.

Resellin puffed up her cheeks and continued.

“You just poof disappeared right in front of me! I kept wondering for a month if I had seen a ghost or some illusion. Thankfully, my subordinates remembered you. Yunes remembered you too, so I stayed sane.”

When he remained silent, she kept talking.

“Did you come after seeing the recruitment notice for the Scaldmagra subjugation? Maybe?”

As soon as Resellin finished, a notification appeared.

『Quest! – Subjugate the Great Beast Scaldmagra.』

It was a simple and straightforward quest.

Claiming he came for the notice would make things easier.

“Yes.”

Resellin’s cheeks were still puffed.

“This time, you’re not allowed to just poof and disappear again. And if you do, at least tell me how you’re going to vanish first!”

Han Yuseong chuckled.

“I handled everything properly before I vanished last time. I’ll do the same this time.”

Resellin blinked.

“So this time, you’re going to defeat the target—Scaldmagra—and then vanish again...?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

Maybe he sounded too casual, because Resellin ground her teeth.

“You’re really not a ghost? I swear I’m going to figure out how you disappear. I’ll make you confess.”

The problem was, he didn’t know the mechanism either.

If there was one, it was probably just the transition process that occurred once a climber finished their tasks and ascended to the next floor.

“How far have you come? I reached Third Rank in the past year and a half. I think I’m right at the cusp of Fourth Rank, but something’s just missing...!

Anyway, I’ve been told I’ve got talent.”

She placed both hands on her hips and spoke proudly, clearly pleased with herself.

“Fourth Rank.”

No point hiding it—he answered honestly.

Resellin scratched her head.

“...Ah. So you managed to take that final step ahead of me.”

“Looks like it.”

She murmured quietly to herself.

“You were Second Rank... so you gained two ranks in a year and a half? How?”

In truth, it hadn’t been a year and a half.

He’d gained two ranks in just two months.

Without responding, Han Yuseong calmly pulled out his Transcendent Gallery terminal and took a photo of her from beside her.

“You know, raising your hand so suddenly beside me like that... That’s exactly what you did when we first met a year and a half ago.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re seriously weird, you know that?!”

Even while saying that, Resellin pointed politely toward a small tent at the very back with both hands.

“For now, stay there. You’ll probably have the place to yourself today. Tomorrow, a few more people might join you.”

“Got it.”

The sound of another tent flap being pulled back rang out.

[NPC – Hundred-Man Captain Krevan]

A stern-looking man with a thick mustache appeared.

He was probably the one speaking with Resellin earlier.

“A new recruit?”

At Krevan’s question, Resellin nodded.

“Yes. A mercenary I worked with a long time ago. Fourth Rank. He was far above his level back then too... His skills are the real deal. He’ll be a huge asset.”

Even if she thought he was strange, she still had complete trust in his strength.

Krevan’s eyes widened a bit as he looked at Han Yuseong.

“Sounds like you're quite the expert. Thank you for joining us.”

“Pleased to work with you.”

Han Yuseong gave a nod, then turned and made his way to the small tent Resellin had assigned him.

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