I stood there in a daze when another window overlaid the second-floor score window.
[You will be automatically moved to the ‘3rd Floor Waiting Room’ in 3 minutes.]
Three minutes.
Leaving behind the gazes of the three people who were staring blankly at me, I crouched down and looked at the orc shaman.
The only thought in my mind was that I needed to quickly gather anything useful.
I had intended to take the shaman’s staff that was within my sight, but the explanation window that appeared in my field of vision made me let go of it.
[Unique Staff of the Orc Shaman]
Unusable by non-orc races
Hmm… anything else?
A necklace that exuded a strong presence despite being the only one hanging from a neck adorned with various trinkets caught my eye.
[Swift Cyan Necklace]
Category – Accessory
Effect: Press the center of the gem after wearing it to temporarily increase the player’s movement speed.
Effect Activation Limit: 4 times
Required Level: 10 or higher
Grade: C+
Since it seemed somewhat useful, I put it in my inventory.
After standing up, I turned around.
The leader of the Risclein mercenary group, whose eyes met mine, pointed down the mountain with her index finger and said,
“Yusung, shouldn’t we descend the mountain? It looks like the sun is about to rise.”
Mercenary Rohan was shaking the blood off his sword.
The magician Yunes kept wiping off the blood and flesh stuck to his leather armor.
An NPC.
They might just look like ordinary people, but…
According to the seniors of the Elysian Gallery, while I’m not sure about others, it seemed likely that I would meet the mercenary group leader Risclein again.
Even so, if I were to disappear like this, no matter what I added, it would inevitably be awkward the next time we met. Nevertheless, there was still a need to throw in a greeting.
“Ah, see you next time.”
“Huh?”
Confusion appeared on all three faces that were looking at me.
The three minutes of time felt both long and short.
My body felt like it was floating strangely in the air.
For a moment, my vision turned pitch black.
[Welcome to the 3rd Floor.]
And when I came back to my senses, I found myself in a place with scenery not much different from the second-floor waiting room.
[You have been granted 600 coins as a reward for clearing the second floor.]
[You have been awarded an item as a reward for clearing the second floor of Pandonium. Please check your ‘inventory’.]
The clock hanging on the central wall was also the same.
February 23rd.
Time remaining until Tower Exchange Meeting: 2 days.
Tower Exchange Meeting Date: February 25th, 12:00 PM.
There was more time left than I had expected.
However, it wasn’t enough time to challenge the third-floor stage.
Two days was a fleeting period if spent on training.
Just as I was about to open my inventory to check the second-floor clearance reward item, a notification window popped up.
《2nd Floor – Score Ranking》
1st Place – Guild Leader: 784 points
2nd Place – Pursuing: 412 points
3rd Place – Sinclair: 399 points
4th Place – Argul: 382 points
5th Place – Rosetta: 379 points
⋮
⋮
[Han Yuseong: 1,532 points]
[Registering score.]
[Please enter a name to be listed on the score ranking.]
The blank space next to the name was flashing, urging me to enter it quickly.
There was no option to keep the ranking score private.
It wouldn’t matter if it were made public anyway.
The climbers of the tower would almost certainly not know it was me.
Maybe I was the only one residing in ‘Pandonium’ all this time.
There was almost no chance of meeting other players except during the exchange meeting.
‘The Light Sword was expecting it.’
Placing at the top of the ranking.
Giving a shock and confusion to the current top tower climbers.
That’s what the Light Sword hoped I’d achieve.
It was written that way both on the gallery board and in the appendix he gave me.
The same expectations were expressed by other Elysian seniors in the comment sections.
But I didn’t want to use my real name.
What would be an appropriate nickname?
After some thought, I briefly wrote it down.
[Score registration completed.]
Hard Difficulty Floor 63.
Hard Difficulty Tower Number #35
The 63rd-floor waiting room was a vast landscape. Its panorama was too grandiose to be just a waiting room. More akin to a city it was.
The man with golden hair and silver armor had his head bowed, lost in thought.
“Guild Leader.”
Guild Leader.
The most famous person currently in the Climber’s Gallery, and the highest authority, the Guild Leader of the Guild, was called by someone.
Guild Leader Targonn lifted his head at the words of Chief Bella.
“What is it, Bella?”
Bella spoke urgently.
“Open the ranking window. Something strange has happened.”
“Something strange?”
Targonn’s brow furrowed.
The ladder window open to the latest ranking was, as expected, set to the newest floor order.
“How different is it?”
From the 50th to 62nd floor, all had his nickname in first place, followed by the nicknames of the guild’s fellow members occupying the positions from second to fifth.
Bella slowly shook her head.
“Not by latest floor order. Sort it by regular order.”
Targonn moved his hand.
That’s when he immediately understood why Bella, uncharacteristically, was making such a fuss.
It was in the score tally of the very first floor stage — the second floor.
The reason lay there.
《2nd Floor – Score Ranking》
1st Place – Unidentified : 1,532 points NEW!
2nd Place – Guild Leader: 784 points
3rd Place – Pursuing: 412 points
4th Place – Sinclair: 399 points
5th Place – Argul: 382 points
⋮
⋮
The new first place surrounded by a golden border stood alone.
I had thought there might come a day when I’d give up first place, and honestly, the score on the second floor didn’t matter much to me.
But the problem lay in the score difference between us.
‘…1532?’
Firstly, the unit was different. In the thousands?
Almost a double score difference to mine.
How could someone achieve that score on the second floor?
Bella’s low murmur reached my ear.
“Is it a glitch?”
“It’s not,” Targonn replied immediately.
“Targonn, you know the tower doesn’t raise errors like this, right?”
Bella, still catching her breath from running, wiped the sweat from her forehead and purple hair.
“That’s true…but is it possible? That kind of score?”
Bella pondered deeply.
“Could…could it be a Pandonium player…?”
Targonn countered Bella again.
“If it were Pandonium, they’d be too busy fulfilling their assignment. According to my guess, one would have to clear the floor incredibly quickly or kill an immense number of monsters to attain those numbers. Both are hard in Pandonium.”
Targonn believed that ‘Unidentified’ was likely an Easy or Normal difficulty player, whether by clearing the floor quickly or killing many monsters quickly. Hard was something he himself couldn’t do, and Pandonium was deemed impossible altogether.
After sorting his thoughts, Targonn spoke.
“On the 1st of March, send mail to the 30 floors below. If anyone suspects the identity of this ‘Unidentified’ player nearby, encourage them to report it.”
“Got it.”
Bella hastened her footsteps.
Mail.
Mailboxes start existing from the fifth floor onward, with one on each level of the tower.
Once per month, every 1st, a mailbox can send one message.
Players consider it a device to acquire the minimal survival information before reaching the 30th floor and attaining membership in the Climber’s Gallery.
As the distance between Guild Leader Targonn grew, Bella opened the [Climber’s Gallery].
Sure enough, the Climber’s Gallery, too, was in an uproar — on the same topic she and Targonn had discussed.
Title: What is the 2nd-floor Ranking Score?
Writer: PleaseHelpMe
– Did everyone see it??
1st Place – Unidentified : 1,532 points
What is this?
Reply: lolollololololl is this real?
Reply: Is some kind of beast on the second floor??
Reply: There’s no beast on the second floor, there’s not. It’s probably just someone who got lucky enough to encounter a horde of goblins in Easy mode.
Reply: Even if it is, jeez. Even if all the goblins were killed, would they really reach a four-digit score? Something else is up.
Reply: Even so, it’s only the second floor ㅇㅇ. We’re ranting here in the gallery about a newbie who won’t even know about this thread. Why do we bother?
Reply: It’s because this score is overwhelmingly higher than the second-place Guild Leader, right? Almost double?
Reply: They’ll probably keep climbing. If this isn’t just luck but real potential…
Reply: Everyone seems to be forgetting their own scores and dismissing it just because it’s the second floor. This is fascinating.
Bella turned off the Climber’s Gallery with a stoic face.
It was peculiar enough not to dismiss, though it was just the second floor. That notion didn’t leave her mind.
After reaching the Hard Difficulty 63rd floor, she had experienced all kinds of people.
There were countless individuals who were brave at first but ended up losing their edge.
‘This really is impressive…’
If someone on the second floor was currently leading, there’s a high chance they originated from ‘Earth in the 21st Century.’ Yet, they were showing such prominence.
‘Yet, every single one of them has been weak until now, devoid of magic or martial arts.’
Bella shook her head, dispersing her deep thoughts.
After confirming I was at the top of the 2nd-floor score ranking, I opened the [Elysian Gallery].
Pressed the latest and most commented post.
Title: lololololololol What??? How is it 4-digits? lolololol
Writer: Pioneer
– Anyway, why the name ‘Unidentified’? That and what is this ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Whatever, kind of feels good anyway. We should totally take first on the 3rd floor!
Reply: 1,532 I’m questioning my eyes!
Reply: It’s an overwhelming gap from second place’s 784 lollll Crazy.
Reply: Why does this make you feel good?? Besides Light Sword, who’s even worth feeling proud here?
Reply: We’ve each shared our tips, and it feels good in its own way.
Reply: Of course it feels good, can’t you empathize? Success in ‘intervention’, you know. Just casually browsing the Climbers’ Gallery, and now we have a 1st-place climber, it feels like I’ve finally revealed some presence. Right?
Reply: 天魔) Ahem, I wish to trade a martial arts manual on our next dimensional trade.
Reply: Sorceress) Talismans are complete! 15322222
Reply: Ice Queen) G-G-G! Please appear! Climber!
Reply: Okay. appears
After a brief silence, replies poured in.
Reply: Ice Queen) Brr-Brr-Brr!
Reply: Whooaaaatttt you’re here! King of the 2nd Floor!
Reply: The Overlord of the 2nd Floor ㄷㄷㄷ
Being called the King of the 2nd Floor made me feel like a fraud.
Reply: Absolute Monarch) Impressive. It reminds me of when I topped the rankings.
Reply: ??? When has Monarch ever topped the ranks?
Reply: Archmage) Well done, tough work. The exchange meeting is 2 days away.
Reply: Light Sword) Good job, though it’s a little disappointing to have chosen ‘Unidentified.’
Reply: Yeah, kid, you should’ve used Han Yuseong’s real name.
Reply: Light Sword) Say, like ‘Descendant of the Dragon Slaying Sword,’ for instance.
Reply: Hmm, maybe a bit too much.
Reply: The prodigy of the Elysian Gallery should shine!
Reply: Archmage) That’s a bit too cheesy.
I couldn’t help but feel like keeping ‘Unidentified’ was the right choice.
