Chapter 18
I looked around.
It looked like a waiting area in front of a dungeon entrance. Yellow walls were visible.
The scenery reminded me of the Floor 1 stage.
This Exchange Gathering's theme was a dungeon.
There were three Exchange Gathering themes in total.
Dungeon, mission, and mock battle, I'd heard.
In dungeons and missions, unlike mock battles, killing other players was possible.
In other words, the list of things I needed to watch out for included not only the monsters in the dungeon, but also the six players besides me.
The Chinese player from Floor 7, Sun Haoran.
The next person to approach me and tell me their name was Korean.
“I'm Baek Jin-young.”
The number above Baek Jin-young's head was 8. Baek Jin-young spoke quietly and smiled.
I gave the alias I'd already chosen.
“I'm Jung Woo-hyun.”
Anyway, if we talked, there was no way to hide that I was from South Korea, even if I tried.
To prepare for any variables that might arise, using a complete alias was the best option.
Besides, unlike the modern world I'd lived in, this place didn't have anything like CCTV.
Since everyone gathered here was from Floor 10 or below, there was no way they had Gallery terminals either.
Even if they saw my face, it didn't seem likely that they could spread a clear image of me.
That meant this was the time when it would at least be easiest to respond, even if a variable arose.
I wanted to quickly assess the players' levels.
After Baek Jin-young's greeting, the next person to approach me with a bright smile was a brown-haired man.
“My name's Jake. Nice to meet you!”
Jake suddenly offered his hand and introduced himself as an American.
As we shook hands, I thought he seemed quite sociable.
The number floating above Jake's head was 6.
Then Baek Jin-young, who had hung back, scratched the back of his head and approached.
“It's really nice to have a fellow Korean here. Last time, they were all Chinese and Japanese, so I was flustered.”
Baek Jin-young kept trying to strike up a conversation by bringing up our shared Korean background.
This didn't feel strange.
Being glad to see someone from the same country was perfectly natural.
This was behavior that made perfect sense even if he had no intention of playing any tricks.
“This is your first Exchange Gathering, right?”
“Yes.”
“The Tower may seem at first glance like it's trying to kill all the players. But that's not necessarily so. In Exchange Gatherings, if the players can just cooperate well, they're more often than not easier to clear than ordinary Tower floors.”
This was what Pioneer-senpai had told me.
Unless I had the worst luck and got dumped into the underground waterways, the difficulty itself should be lower than Pandemonium's.
“May I ask which difficulty Tower you came from?”
Looks like he's going to size me up properly.
I mentioned the difficulty I'd already decided on, along with my alias.
“Normal difficulty.”
Baek Jin-young's eyes widened.
“Oh, I'm Normal too. I'm from Normal Tower No. 5.”
According to the notification window when I entered Floor 2, the Pandemonium Tower where I resided was numbered 01.
According to the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery, Towers were created whenever the population filled up and more were needed.
Whereas Normal had so many summoned people that five Towers had been created, Pandemonium must need only one.
Just how arduous would the road ahead be?
It was utterly daunting.
I saw Baek Jin-young purse his lips as if he were about to say something more.
A window appeared in front of the dungeon waiting area.
[You will be given 10 minutes of preparation time.]
[Enter the dungeon after preparing.]
[10 : 00]
Beep.
[09 : 59]
Why was there a time limit on entering?
I idly toyed with the hilt of the straight sword at my waist.
It wasn't an action born of nervousness.
“Are you all right…?”
Apparently, to the Japanese woman's eyes, I looked nervous.
“Yes, I'm fine.”
“I'm Misaki.”
Misaki, Floor 8.
I took stock of everyone.
Baek Jin-young and me—two Koreans.
And Jake from Floor 6, who had greeted me—one American.
Misaki—one Japanese.
The Chinese woman from Floor 8 standing beside Misaki. And Sun Haoran from Floor 7, who had greeted me first.
That made two Chinese players.
Finally, the blonde woman yawning in the corner opened her mouth.
“Germany, Laura.”
One German.
Thus, there were seven of us in total.
There was a ‘9’ above Laura's head.
Laura stretched, then rose.
“Is there really anything to prepare? Whoever has a shield, step up to the front. Everyone else just needs to support us well and do their share. It's not difficult, is it?”
I couldn't tell whether that somewhat cocky attitude came from confidence in her abilities
or confidence born of being on Floor 9.
I would know soon enough once the dungeon run began. This time, I intended to do exactly my fair share.
No more, no less. I would present myself as an average player.
This time, observing the others' combat was my main objective.
“I have a shield.”
Jake said this as he raised his shield.
Laura jerked her chin toward Sun Haoran.
“You take the front line alongside Jake. I'll take the center. The rest can figure it out.”
“Sure.”
Sun Haoran accepted without protest.
It seemed that Misaki and the Chinese woman standing beside her were clearly a party,
but I didn't know about the rest.
Laura, wearing leather armor, grinned at me.
“You have to protect your own life. No one here can look after you.”
Ah, yes.
I obediently nodded.
Was I automatically in the weakling position thanks to the number 3 floating above my head?
It wasn't bad. Rather, it was a position from which I could leisurely observe these people's movements.
Even if I scrutinized them, they probably wouldn't suspect my intentions or anything.
Grrrrnnk-
Jake threw open the enormous door in front of the notification window.
[You have entered the dungeon - ‘Kobold’s Cradle’.]
…Kobolds?
I recalled browsing the gallery before going to sleep last night.
-Great Mage) Kobolds are stronger than goblins, but on the weaker side compared to orcs.
The Great Mage-senpai's prediction—‘If a dungeon appeared in the Exchange Gathering, what kind of monster dungeon would it be?’—had turned out to be correct.
So, in other words, I was going to fight enemies even weaker than the ones I'd fought on Floor 2?
Jake's voice reached me.
“Ahem, kobolds aren't pushovers…!”
?
Is that so?
Kobolds aren't pushovers?
I was beginning to have no idea what kind of easy lives these people boldly leading the way had enjoyed.
The seniors had mentioned a few points worth watching out for.
└ Dragon Demon King) Beltui—like every species, the king types are freakishly strong even among their own kinddd.
└ ??) Were they strong even by your standards?
└ Dragon Demon King) I'm giving the Climber-nim a level-appropriate education, you knowww. Beltui—has a very high secondhand-embarrassment meter, you knowww.
By my standards, that meant I only needed to watch out for the Kobold King.
A faint light was seeping into the darkness. Torches hung at various points along the walls.
From the moment I stepped into the dungeon, I felt a humid, clammy dampness.
Shaaak!
Chains flew out from between two enormous rocks.
I kept my eyes on Jake's movements.
Jake raised his round shield with all his strength.
Kaang!
The chains were blocked by the shield and lost their direction.
Shing!
Laura, who had been standing in the back, drew her longsword and stepped forward.
Laura's body flowed toward the kobold behind the rock. Her longsword stabbed into the kobold's shoulder.
Kraaaak!
A scream burst from the kobold's mouth.
Laura didn't kill it in one blow. She landed exactly three sword strikes and finished it off.
They were nothing more than unstructured slashes and thrusts.
Still, her combat sense itself didn't look bad.
Clatter-clatter-!
Stones suddenly fell from the right. The wall I'd thought was merely narrower than the passage ahead turned out to be a trap.
A spear came rushing through the collapsed stones.
The tip was aimed at my neck.
Kagagak!
I altered the spear's trajectory with the straight sword I'd drawn.
Thunk!
Then I thrust my sword into the heart of the kobold that had wielded the spear.
I felt someone staring fixedly at me.
It was the Japanese woman's gaze.
It was a questioning gaze, as if she couldn't understand how someone from Floor 3 like me could react that way.
I jerked my chin and said,
“It's coming at you too. Be careful.”
“H-ha, hai?”
Why didn't the automatic translation work on that?
This time, a mace was flying from the direction the spear had come from.
With enough force to crush Misaki's head.
I grabbed Misaki's shoulder and pulled her back. Then I thrust my straight sword under the chin of the kobold that had swung the mace.
I pulled it back out.
“I told you to be careful.”
“S-sorry….”
Misaki, pressing herself close to the Chinese woman in her party, nodded awkwardly.
“…You're pretty skilled in combat, Floor 3.”
The Chinese woman's voice reached me.
Yeah, that level of recognition was enough. I intended to maintain an observer's perspective during this Exchange Gathering.
* * *
<Transcendent Gallery>.
Although Han Yoo-seong wasn't in the gallery, the subject of conversation was still centered on its only climber, him.
Title : Nothing unusual will happen, right?
Author : Great Mage
- The monsters will probably be even weaker than those on Floor 2 of Pandemonium. In the end, people are always the variable.
└ What could happen? ㅇㅇ
└ There's no way someone over Level 20 who can use sword aura would be at an Exchange Gathering for the first ten floors.
└ Mod) The climber we'd seen so far didn't seem like the type to readily trust someone just because they were happy to see an old acquaintance.
└ Ice Queen) Freeze, freeze! I agreeee!
└ Light’s Sword) I've given enough advice. The climber will listen.
└ Dragon Demon King) Beltui—give the Climber-nim some late-night-snack advice toooo.
└ Light’s Sword) Drop dead.
└ Wouldn't it be more fun if a variable actually appeared?
└ Pioneer) That's true.
└ Shut-In Theorist) They really know how to enjoy life-
└ Great Mage) You dopamine-soaked degenerates, seriously….