Chapter 2

Gallery Marketplace (1)

Title: Head of the Gallery, He’s a God!

(Bottle of Mineral Water Picture)

It’s not just any mineral water; this is incredibly useful.

It’s light enough to carry, which boosts efficiency in battles and hunting, and it doesn’t hinder movement while running.

We can now explore a bit further, which has expanded our village’s activity range.

ㄴ Did a Dwarf make this?

ㄴ I’m a Dwarf, but I’ve never seen material like this before.

ㄴ The bottle is ridiculously light. I keep wondering if I really have it, and then it’s just tied to my waist.

ㄴ No, seriously, this thing is a wonder.

“Eh, the reactions to the bottle are better.”

After selling a few bottles of mineral water, I sold around 100 more with the points I had gathered.

However, surprisingly, the praises for the bottle spread even more than I expected.

The most common comment was how convenient it made fighting.

Given the name “Another World’s Destruction Gallery,” is there really hardly any intact civilization left here?

Maybe that’s why a practical water bottle for battle and exploration is in such high demand.

‘Is the state of the world really that serious?’

All I had seen was the fallen royal capital.

I was still holed up in this warehouse, with no clue how the outside world was faring.

Naturally, I started writing a new post.

Title: Lol, it’s super easy to hunt monsters, and these races can’t even handle one.

Guys, I haven’t been here long and have no idea about what’s happening outside.

From the atmosphere, it seems pretty bleak; are we really on the brink of the continent’s destruction?

ㄴ What the heck, I came for the title and found it’s the Head of the Gallery.

ㄴ The orange one always attracts attention.

ㄴ It’s not just on the brink; it’s already gone down the drain!

ㄴ A huge part of the problem is humans messing things up while fighting each other.

ㄴ ? Lol, saying that while the humans are desperately battling monsters hits differently from those elves hiding in the forest.

ㄴ Lol, well, if you’re that upset, step up, kids.

The comments were intense.

I began to worry that I couldn’t gather useful information, but then, a well-organized post appeared in the concept section.

Title: A Worldview Summary for Newly Arrived Heads of the Gallery

Summary in three lines:

1. A Rift suddenly appeared.

2. Monsters popped up everywhere.

3. The allied forces collapsed, leading to the continent’s destruction.

ㄴ This guy has no main text; what did he summarize in three lines?

ㄴ He really condensed history a lot, but that’s accurate.

ㄴ Fact: It is, in fact, a fact.

ㄴ Head of the Gallery☆) Did monsters come out in such large numbers? Did it get to the point where all the races on the continent couldn’t handle it?

ㄴ Not that, but… Ugh, it’s hard to explain.

Let’s break it down.

Humans = backstabbing each other.

Elves = ran to the forest out of fear.

Dwarves = fought elves.

Dark Elves = fought elves.

Beastfolk = fought humans.

Other races = too few, not much to say.

ㄴ That’s accurate.

“Ultimately, they fought each other and lost.”

What stood out more was the elves.

There seemed to be a lot of elf hatred—elf disdain—here in the Gallery; it feels kind of like the vibe in England on Earth?

– When problems get complicated, just poke a pointy ear, and that’ll do.

– Oh, is that you again, pointy?

“Chuckles, seems like living here is pretty similar.”

I stopped laughing and looked up.

Just turning my gaze slightly from the bright system window revealed a moldy warehouse interior.

Given the deep darkness surrounding it, it seemed to be well into night outside.

“This isn’t the time for this.”

I wasn’t saying I’d go out immediately.

Being trapped here was probably the safest bet.

However, I was lacking in defenses.

That shelf blocking the door wouldn’t hold up against anyone from the monster rankings in the Gallery, them being ripped apart was a foregone conclusion.

“I should push heavier items against the door first.”

A shelf alone wouldn’t be enough.

But I lacked the strength and mental fortitude for that.

After some deliberation, I opened the shop window to search.

[Energy Drink ‘Red Boom’] – 2 points

“Oh, I knew it would be here!”

Fortunately, most of the items from Earth were available.

Among them was Red Boom, the energy drink that made waves with monsters.

I purchased a can and gulped it down before abruptly focusing back on the entrance, momentarily forgetting to block it.

– Ah, my body won’t respond at all!

– For real, am I about to die?

– I can’t even take down a single goblin now…

“Shall I give it a shot?”

It seemed like it could be helpful.

—

[Head of the Gallery Marketplace]

[New Items in Stock!]

[‘Red Boom’] – Remaining Quantity: 100 cans / 2 Mana Pills

– ?? What’s this?

– Red Boom? Red Explosion?

– The name sounds pretty cool!

– Was there ever such an item on the continent?

News of the new item quickly gathered attention in the Gallery.

Those who already enjoyed the effects of mineral water purchased the cans without a second thought, and soon reactions started emerging.

Title: Wow, what the hell is this?

I’d been running from a zombie for half a day.

But now Head of the Gallery is selling some strange object, right?

Feeling like I’d die from thirst, I took a sip, and my legs wouldn’t stop moving.

The zombie bastard is lagging far behind!

What is this thing?! For real?

ㄴ Lol, look at this guy stuttering from side effects.

ㄴ So, is this some elixir or what?

ㄴ For real, I downed this and sliced through those tough zombie bastards in one go.

Title: This is absolutely amazing!

It feels like my glory days are back!

One sip, and my mind was wide awake!

I couldn’t even climb a tree before, but now I can run right across the forest!

After wiping out all those monsters I was going to invade, I feel satisfied. ^^

ㄴ Hey elves, if you hadn’t been lazy, all the monsters would’ve been done for by now!

ㄴ Shouldn’t elves be banned from shopping in the marketplace?

ㄴ (Author) F* that! If you’re upset, come to Elard!

“Oh wow… could it really be this effective?”

I hoped the underwhelmed denizens of Another World would gain some strength.

But for those who had never experienced even the tip of Earth’s civilization, caffeine was like a nuclear bomb.

Some who accidentally downed it shot back even further against monsters.

Especially, the ones who benefited the most were the elves.

Title: Isn’t it weird that only the elves respond so well to Red Boom?

From what I see in elf posts, their stats seem to increase several times more than other races…

Is Head of the Gallery an elf too?

ㄴ That can’t be it. Not that!

ㄴ My life’s savior, Head of the Gallery, is the sworn enemy of elves as well.

ㄴ ^^ Hey pitiful other races, did you finally find out that Head of the Gallery is an elf?

“Right? Why do elves respond better?”

The comment: Isn’t it just because elves tend to eat veggies?

They were skinny because they were eating plants.

But ever since they lost the war, they couldn’t eat veggies and were starving, so isn’t it efficient now?

ㄴ Oh? Is that so?

ㄴ That makes sense; there’s no evidence or signs that Head of the Gallery is an elf.

ㄴ Didn’t you say Head of the Gallery just came here for the first time?

ㄴ Oi, if you’re envious of the underachieving other races, just admit you’re jealous!

ㄴ Then why do dwarves react well?

ㄴ That’s…

“Hold on, dwarves too?”

I started rummaging through a few more concept posts.

To my surprise, dwarves also showed good reactions.

I wanted to know why, so I looked it up.

– If you think of it as a substitute for alcohol, it’s pretty good!

– The taste is kind of similar!

– I really like the pleasant buzz it gives!

“Contrary to expectation, huh? So they don’t need the actual alcohol?”

If we’re talking about alcohol, it’s usually really picky—like, if it has even a slight taste, I’d throw it away.

But searching with dwarves as keywords revealed it wasn’t quite like that.

– I miss the taste of the drink my mother used to make.

– When drinking this Red Boom, I can’t help but think of that long-forgotten drink taste!

– Before the Great War, those were the good times.

After losing the war against the monsters, they had no choice but to go dry.

As I came across some writings that casually brought up alcohol, I realized they were lamenting deeply.

“…Wait, alcohol?”

Something clicked in my mind.

I reflexively turned my gaze back to the shop window.

—

“Ugh, damn, you annoying monsters!”

SWISH!

Another monster flew through the air, head and body separated.

Despite cutting down hundreds of monsters with my shining black sword, that didn’t mean I was winning.

“Grr…”

“Crack!”

“Damn it.”

The number of monsters was overflowing, and he was alone.

Roks, a knight of the fallen Kelton Kingdom, was reaching his limit.

No matter how skilled a knight could become, he couldn’t win against thousands of monsters.

Even if they were just low-level monsters.

“There are still annoyingly too many.”

Amid the valley, in an abandoned hut, he muttered while glancing at the hundreds of monsters surrounding him.

This was an unimaginable disgrace for one who had once been a shining knight of the kingdom.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. It seems this unworthy servant will meet you now.”

Before dying, the king had entrusted him with the reconstruction of the kingdom.

But with the king unprotected, rebuilding the kingdom was a meaningless delusion.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

He had a premonition this was the end.

[Head of the Gallery Marketplace]

[New Items Have Arrived!]

A loud notification rang before he could finish.

“…?”

[Energy Drink ‘Red Boom’] (new!)

“Energy… drink?”

Why would something for drinking contain the meaning of strength?

But he didn’t care.

If he could drag even one more monster with him while dying, that would be enough.

[Mana Pill –10]

[Item Delivered Safely!]

“This is the energy drink…”

It was a slender metal can depicting two enraged bulls battling each other.

“This looks like a symbol of the kingdom.”

He chuckled wryly, opened the can with difficulty, and gulped down five cans all at once.

“!!!”

Soon, in the valley, the sound of a fierce roar echoed, and piles of monster corpses began to stack up.