I fell into a strange world.
There’s no clearer way to describe my situation right now.
There was no warning.
I just followed my usual routine—finished my part-ti shift at the convenience store, browsed the community forums, then went to sleep.
But when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in my tiny one-room apartnt anymore.
Gray walls.
Candlesticks mounted on them.
This didn’t feel like a dream.
I slapped myself—pain shot through my cheek, real and unmistakable.
I pinched my thigh just to be sure—yep, pain.
It was so surreal that I could only be sure it was real.
‘...Maybe I should’ve been nicer when posting on the forums.’
Not that I’d been particularly nasty yesterday.
Actually, forget that—maybe I should’ve just lived my life better in general.
Then I might not have ended up in a shithole like this.
I moved forward cautiously.
Thunk.
Sothing was in my way.
I looked down at my feet.
A skull.
It rolled slightly with the motion.
A human skull.
My mind went blank for a mont.
Where the hell had I ended up?
A skull ant this place had conditions that could kill people.
Faded bricks.
The damp, moldy scent of earth.
...This wasn’t so kind of dungeon, was it?
With no better option, I kept moving, following the flickering candlelight.
And then I stopped.
【 1 】
The black number caught my eye.
...Was this the first floor?
Was this entire place structured like a multi-story building?
There was nothing to do but keep walking.
Crunch.
A wet, chewing sound reached my ears.
The problem?
The source of the noise was right around the corner.
I crouched behind a protruding gray wall, using it as cover.
‘Shit.’
Crunch.
Sothing was eating sothing.
A massive ant.
Even just its body height alone had to be at least 100 centiters.
And it was devouring sothing.
‘...A person.’
It looked like a human.
A dead human.
Motionless, their flesh was being chewed apart by the ant.
The creature’s huge mandibles moved rhythmically, and with each bite, thick, dark-red blood dripped down.
Crunch.
I held my breath.
Maybe it was because I was behind it, or maybe it was just too focused on eating, but one thing was certain—this thing hadn’t noticed yet.
‘There’s a weapon.’
Right behind the ant.
A spear.
Most likely the one the person being eaten had been holding.
That was the only thing here capable of killing this giant insect.
If that thing finished eating and ca my way, I’d be dead before I even had the chance to pick up the weapon.
Now was my only chance.
Moving imdiately was the best option.
I lowered my body as much as possible and inched forward.
Holding my breath completely, I advanced.
Crunch. Crack.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I reached out, forcing myself to ignore the grotesque sounds in my ears.
Toward the spear, still lying behind the feasting ant.
Thunk.
‘...Got it.’
The spear felt heavy in my hands, but not unbearably so.
Good thing I had at least trained a bit with an empty bar at the gym.
I was about to thrust the spear forward—
A shiver ran down my spine.
A predator’s gaze.
The giant ant’s black eyes were staring straight at .
I moved imdiately.
Stepping forward with my right foot, I thrust with both arms.
Thud!
The spear pierced through the ant’s head.
It staggered, reeling backward.
I swung the shaft of the spear, aiming for its legs.
Crack!
My heart pounded.
The montum was on my side.
I kept attacking, striking again and again.
Over and over.
Straight into its head.
Until finally, a puddle of dark greenish-blue blood ford beneath it.
I had definitely killed it.
The massive ant lay still, its head crushed.
Sweat soaked my entire body.
Sticky insect blood stained my black shirt.
“Hahh...”
Maybe it was because I had exerted myself too much, but my arms scread in pain, as if they had been torn apart.
[EXP has increased.]
[Current EXP: 30%]
[When EXP reaches 100%, you will level up.]
[As your level increases, EXP gain will slow down.]
...Level?
At this point, my head was spinning.
Where the hell was I?
I turned my gaze from the crushed ant to the corpse behind it.
“...What the hell?”
Their clothing was completely different from anything modern.
It looked dieval—sothing straight out of a fantasy setting.
Above the dead person’s head, words flickered into view.
[NPC - Fleeing Citizen]
Not even a na.
Just... Fleeing Citizen.
“...An NPC?”
Everything happening was utterly unreal.
Carefully, I searched the corpse.
A pouch lay tucked beneath their clothes.
Reaching inside, my fingers closed around sothing familiar.
I pulled it out.
“...A smartphone?”
What the hell?
A smartphone, out of nowhere?
Everything that had happened so far felt anything but real.
And yet, here was a piece of modern technology, sitting in my hands.
It looked exactly like a smartphone.
I pressed what looked like the power button.
Beep—
The screen lit up.
A flash of blue light flickered, and then—
A holographic interface spread out before .
And on it, the words:
【Transcendent Gallery】
I raised my hand and scrolled down.
There were a ton of posts.
It looked just like the online community forums I had been browsing before I got here.
I clicked on a random post that caught my eye.
Title: Any rookies worth watching these days?
Author: ㅇㅇ
- Been busy with real life, haven’t checked Climber Gallery in a while. Feels like ages since I last visited Transcendent Gallery lol.
- Not really seeing any promising newbies.
- Fr, today’s lot have no grit. All they do is look for the easy way out.
- And where did you clear? Normal? Lmao, don’t talk if you’re just a washed-up Easy Mode survivor.
- Sword of Light: Do you know the way of the sword?
- Shut up, sword parrot. Don’t you ever get tired of repeating that?
So Transcendent Gallery was abbreviated as Transcendental Gal, huh?
Then what the hell was Climber Gal?
I hit the back button and clicked on the latest post.
Title: Why the hell can’t we post in Climber Gallery anymore??? Fuck this system.
Author: Archmage
- This is driving crazy. Why are they hesitating instead of just winning the fight?! It’s just the 35th floor! I don’t care if your arms are burning or your legs are getting torn apart—just charge in and kill the damn thing! You heal up once you clear the floor anyway, stop dragging your feet.
- Easy for you to say when it’s not your life on the line. You sure you’re really an Archmage?
- Lmfao, Easy Mode reject spotted. Bro, do you even know who you’re talking to? This guy cleared Hard Mode. Look at his userna.
A fixed nickna.
A go-nick.
It ant a user had an official, recognized userna within the gallery.
- Bro, 60% of us are Easy Mode survivors. You’re just a Normal Mode scrub at best. Stop ass-kissing the Archmage.
- Easy
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