I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

Day 1 of sparring.
In the end, I couldn’t land a single effective hit on the damn golem.
It wasn’t sparring, but a one-sided beating show by the golem.
Thanks to that, the levels of some skills increased, but I couldn’t feel good about it.

As the golem was about to strike my thigh one more time, I pressed the white button on the fallen golem activation cube piece to stop it.

Title: Isn’t it too strong?
Author: ㅇㅇ*
-How can a golem with only 30 durability be this ridiculously strong

ㄴ LightSword) Only the durability is 30, the performance remains the same. Good job. Did you start to see the sword paths?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) ㅇㅇ I’m starting to see them. Getting hit directly like this definitely seems to make learning faster. But actually performing them seems different.
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) It’s better not to overestimate your learning ability.
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) You have no choice but to keep rolling. That’s what training is.

ㄴ These guys are such old fogies.
ㄴ The old folks are excited because ‘*’ is rolling with a sword.
ㄴ I want to give some advice too… but I’d probably get looked down on for being Easy/Normal… heheheh. I shouldn’t.
ㄴ Do it, we’re not weaker than them. Don’t you have any spirit?

Day 3.
The golem I reactivated by pressing the black button rushed at me.
A sword strike coming down like lightning before my eyes.
I raised my arm.
The movement was a very instinctive defensive action.

Clang!

I blocked it.
I had been forcibly taught that this was the 3rd form of the Dragon Slaying Sword, Drakabani.
Learning that left pain in the body accelerated the absorption of knowledge.
It was a vertical slash, but there was something about it that couldn’t be expressed in such simple terms.

I swung my sword diligently. The sensation of muscles tensing spread through both arms and legs.

[‘Strength’ stat increases by 1.]

It proved that the senior tower climbers were right when they said that if you repeatedly push past your physical limits, your stats can increase even without leveling up.

[‘Vitality’ stat increases by 1.]

As expected, everything the experienced seniors said was correct. Indeed.
And then I got hit again.

Sword strikes flashing from all directions.
After getting hit for two days, I finally started to see something.
An angle that could properly block.

A sudden realization that flashed through my mind in a short time? There was nothing like that.
How does that golem’s arm move? How do its legs advance when it swings the sword?
I quickly observed such movements of the golem and put them into action.

First came self-reproach for why I hadn’t realized such an obvious thing earlier.
Because it was only natural for a pitcher on the mound to observe the batter’s habits and throw pitches that catch them off guard.
As natural as breathing.

I blocked the 1st form, which was a slash.
Blocked the 2nd form Hjartagnyr, which was a thrust.
Blocked the 3rd form.

My observing eyes gradually became clearer.

Whack-!

“Ah.”

But I got hit directly by a simple vertical slash.
For a moment, my vision went dark and my body tilted backward.

Thud-

When I lifted my head, I saw the golem walking towards me with big strides.

“Don’t come, you bastard.”

I picked up the fallen golem activation cube piece and pressed it.

Stop.

The golem’s movement, which was approaching to beat me more, stopped in place.
That’s enough for today.
I gained a lot. I decided to use the remaining time for review.

Day 10.

Title: Today will be different
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-I had an epiphany yesterday, you know.

ㄴ How many times has this bastard written this now?
ㄴ Fr lol
ㄴ FamousBeggar) If you’ve had that many epiphanies, shouldn’t it be time for you to enter nirvana?
ㄴ As expected, a good burn from the average~~

Who’s that bastard now.
Average?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) What’s average?
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) It means Beggar Sect average.
ㄴ Damn it… why is the HeavenlyDemon, the pinnacle and leader of demons, kindly explaining the meaning of that trivial thing? The martial arts world I know isn’t like this. There’s no way that guy is the real HeavenlyDemon.

ㄴ Don’t you know there’s only one Murim Earth? That’s the HeavenlyDemon you know ㅇㅇ
ㄴ HeavenlyDemon is just thinking about getting attention from the climber, who’s the center of the gallery now

ㄴ FamousBeggar) The Heavenly Demon returns, all demons submit!
ㄴ Why is that crazy bastard, who’s a Beggar Sect member and the Beggar Sect leader, shouting that, argh!!!! My martial arts world!!!!!
ㄴ That’s just him adapting to the current world. Didn’t you see the sect leader bowing to the HeavenlyDemon in person?

A comment that seemed completely uninterested in the previous comments was suddenly posted.

ㄴ LightSword) Don’t get tired, just keep in mind the advice I wrote down.

He did write a lot, but other than the sword technique, there wasn’t much helpful advice.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Why did you write this? ‘In the end, the greatest weapon is the sword.’
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) That’s a fact.
ㄴ LightSword) That’s right.
ㄴ SpearKing) As I finish my closed-door training, strange things are happening. Someday, you’ll use the spear too….

ㄴ HeavenlyDemon) Ho ho, get in line. This one will teach fist techniques first.
ㄴ SpearKing) That’s an important part of that child’s choice.

Anyway, these sword-obsessed people.
Even though I was in a situation where I had to be obsessed with swords, I didn’t want to join their ranks.

I closed the gallery and activated the golem.

Flash.

The red eye-light flickered in the center of its head.
If I keep looking at this, I might even grow fond of it. Really.

I took a step.
The golem’s right hand holding the sword moved.
My right hand moved too.

Two trajectories clashing horizontally.

My sword and the golem’s wooden sword collided.
I did it. Finally.
I countered and nullified the damn 1st form, Þursahǫgg.

The first success.
But isn’t it said that the beginning is half the battle?

I countered all the 2nd and 3rd forms that the golem unleashed next.

My arms trembled.
There was a time when I had been lost in useless contemplation about why LightSword had sent me such a brutish golem.

After getting beaten by it for a long time, I naturally realized.
How not to cower in front of an opponent several levels above Anstrotropes or Goblins.
That’s what he sent it for.

If LightSword says my conclusion is wrong, then LightSword is the stupid one.

[Fighter’s Movement Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]

[Skill ‘Concentration Enhancement’ level has increased. Lv.2]

[Skill ‘Crisis Detection’ level has increased. Lv.2]

Because I gained actual effects.

Moreover, ‘Fighter’s Movement’ was a skill that LightSword had directly emphasized in the appendix of the swordsmanship manual.
He said it was a skill with many uses in various ways.

After countering three attacks, I was once again one-sidedly beaten.

After stopping the golem, the next action was practicing moving mana.
The mana heart that naturally formed in my body when I gained the ‘Mana’ stat upon entering the 2nd floor.
LightSword had written down the method of utilizing the 10 points of mana in that mana heart in a thin appendix-like section of the Dragon Slaying Sword manual.

I was sitting in a cross-legged position.
It took a week just to recognize the ‘mana heart’ itself.
The result achieved over the next 3 days was slowly circulating mana throughout my body.

[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]

Although manifesting sword qi was still impossible, I became able to temporarily enhance my body during combat.

Even with just 10 mana, whether you can handle it or not makes a big difference.
The struggle with the golem and the swordsmanship manual LightSword gave me provided me with the minimum qualifications to survive in this tower.

A definite change occurred on the 13th day of sparring.

[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill activated.]

Swoosh!

I dodged the wooden sword slashing down like lightning by slightly twisting my shoulder.
Then I stretched out my right foot and stepped on the golem’s right foot. It wasn’t calculation, but instinct.

─Crack

Up to unleashing the 1st form of the Dragon Slaying Sword, Þursahǫgg.

Finally, I reduced the durability from 30 to 29.

And when the sparring ended, the golem’s remaining durability was 23.

Title: Hey, LightSword. You’re lying, right?
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-You were much stronger than this golem mk.2 when you were seventeen, weren’t you?

ㄴ LightSword) Oh ho, you finally landed a hit, I see.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Not one hit, seven hits.
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Oh my, climber. Are you that proud?

ㄴ LightSword) The golem has just rusted a bit, that’s all.
ㄴ LightSword) It’s not weak enough to diminish the value of what you’ve accomplished.

It doesn’t seem like it’s just a little rusty.

Day 15.

The golem’s current remaining durability is 16.
There was no more time to drag this out. Clearing the 2nd floor, safely reaching the 3rd floor waiting room, and then participating in the exchange meeting – considering all this, today was the deadline for sparring training.

I spread the mana from my mana heart throughout my body.

[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill activated.]

I’ll end this.
The sparring golem mk.2 with cracks all over its body.
But I couldn’t underestimate it at all.

Because the number of times I’ve been hit by it has exceeded three digits.

[Concentration Enhancement Lv.2 – Skill activated.]

The golem beat me relentlessly, disregarding the fragments scattering from all over its body.
Pain awakens the senses.

I dove inside the wooden sword’s range.

A fighter must move like a beast.
These were words LightSword had scribbled at the end of the swordsmanship manual, and they became my guiding principle.

It’s okay to get hit.
Give flesh to take bone.
With that thought, I dove in.

But I was able to let it pass by a hair’s breadth.
I’ve grown. That certainty made adrenaline boil from the bottom up.
The horizontally swung sword struck the golem’s head. Head, then the center of the upper body.

Crack!

Ribs, legs, neck. I thrust my sword towards the golem’s limbs.
Stone and metal shattered.
Yellow fragments scattered in all directions.

Swish!

The golem’s deformed right arm was completely cut in two.
Fragments scattered on the ground, creating continuous thunderous sounds.

The golem’s head fell to the floor and rolled.

Thirty.
The durability hit zero.
The red eye completely lost its light.
I looked at the broken golem’s fragments.

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t just lip service.
I sincerely felt grateful to the broken golem.
Without it, it would have been impossible to raise my practical sense to this level in such a short time without the risk of death.
Even the pain the golem gave me was medicine in the long run.

I only took a picture of the wooden sword the golem had dropped and posted it to the gallery.

Title: I broke it.
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-I’ll eat a bowl of pork soup rice and open the 2nd floor door.
Attachment: 99868690.jpg
[Picture of the golem’s wooden sword.]

ㄴ Oh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did you get the hang of it?
ㄴ Priestess) Hawawa, take a picture of the pork soup rice too.
ㄴ LightSword) Well done.
ㄴ IceQueen) Freeze!! You’re so cool! Climber!
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) You finished within the time limit, unexpectedly.
ㄴ I’mAnElf) Good job.
ㄴ ArchMage) Don’t let your guard down. Even Hard difficulty is crazy from the 2nd floor, don’t forget that yours is Pandemonium.

I’m not letting my guard down.
I’m just planning to charge in recklessly.

I ate the pork soup rice.
Unlike how eagerly she wanted a picture, the Priestess wrote a weak comment saying she couldn’t eat it just by looking at the visuals.
I headed to the very end of the 2nd floor waiting room.

There was a gray door with faint light leaking through the cracks.
I grabbed the handle and opened the door.

Creak-

『Welcome to the Pandemonium difficulty 2nd floor stage.』

A scene vastly different from the 1st floor, which was just a dungeon, unfolded.

Huge gray walls and gathered warriors.
Shouts piercing my ears.

What unfolded before my eyes was a scene of a defensive battle.

『Pandemonium difficulty 2nd floor is a quest type.』