ㄴAnon(702F): Excuse me, the newbie mastered the Spirit Blood Tea Rite, so how exactly does she have nothing to show for it?
ㄴAnon(710F): Two Death God exclusive skills, Death Mark, and Magic Eye, and you're saying she hasn't learned anything? That's seriously irritating.
ㄴAnon(702F): ? This guy's also just cutting out the Spirit Blood Tea Rite?
Fair enough.
Saying I hadn't learned anything was a strange thing to say.
But given the Gallery's general vibe up to this point, I could tell what they meant by it.
ㄴAnon(430F): Lmaooo completely ignoring the necromancy and instant-kill skills lololololololol
ㄴAnon(690F): Seol Ha-rin said before that Black Magic itself smells kinda fishy to her.
ㄴAnon(435F): …No, but we're the Demon Army… what do you mean Black Magic smells fishy…
ㄴAnon(702F): fr doesn't even realize she's the minority here.
ㄴAnon(643F): Dragon magic elitists are actually the more niche take around here.
There was a commotion over something the user with the handle Seol Ha-rin had said.
Seems like there are factions split by magic type.
*'Right, they said it divides into Dragon Magic and Black Magic…'*
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: No, that's not what I meant by having nothing to show… I'm saying her circle count is too low. She hasn't even come close to her growth ceiling yet, so calling it talent or whatever seems premature.
ㄴAnon(197F): Hmm…
ㄴAnon(312F): Nah what's with the gritted-teeth insistence that she has no talent? Does a 2nd circle in 2 hours look like nothing to you?
Even with Seol Ha-rin's clarification, the uproar didn't die down.
Then some anons started pointing things out from a slightly different angle.
ㄴAnon(608F): Ugh, look at these people projecting onto the newbie again.
ㄴAnon(324F): fr the vicarious validation-seeking is making me cringe on their behalf.
ㄴSSS-Rank Gear Chaser: Quit your bitching ㄴ If you can't stand the newbie getting praised, just leave the Gallery.
ㄴAnon(706F): It's just the denial phase, it's fine
ㄴAnon(324F): ?
In the middle of all that chaos, Seol Ha-rin spoke up.
Seol Ha-rin: Well, honestly, she doesn't seem ordinary… but I really don't want to admit that someone who uses Black Magic is a genius or whatever.
ㄴAnon(704F): Just admit you're jealous lol
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Black Magic is basically freeloading through circles. All this talk about clearing it in a few hours is a bit much.
ㄴAnon(249F): There it is lmaooooooo
ㄴAnon(643F): That's not what she meant (it is)
ㄴAnon(549F): But the newbie didn't even go to the Black Sea lol
ㄴAnon(351F): Freeloading the freeloader lmao
She said it like she was genuinely disappointed.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: I should've just steered her toward the Dragon Magic tree when she first arrived…
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: She was born a Death God so I guess it couldn't be helped… but I can teach her from here on out. Sounds like she got excommunicated by her master anyway.
ㄴAnon(431F): She just wanted to teach her herself lmaooo
ㄴAnon(348F): The push-and-pull is infuriating…
ㄴAnon(643F): I don't think I've ever seen this person actually want to teach someone one-on-one lol
ㄴAnon(249F): Never seen her do private tutoring even once…
*'Oh.'*
It looked like I was about to get a new master.
Apparently quite the gifted teacher, too.
Given that I'd just been effectively excommunicated by my Death God master, this was a welcome development.
But then.
Death Note Grand Canon: Excommunicated?! Nonsense!!
ㄴAnon(351F): Rushing in because he's scared of losing the newbie lmaooo
ㄴAnon(431F): lmaooooo
ㄴAnon(248F): Oh, this guy hadn't left yet.
Master had come charging back into the comment section.
First things first—it was a relief I hadn't actually been excommunicated.
Death Note Grand Canon: How dare one who wields Dragon Magic presume to instruct a Death God!
ㄴAnon(641F): Sulking cured instantly lmaooooo
ㄴAnon(513F): Was gonna come crawling back anyway lmao
A moment later, Seol Ha-rin replied.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Utility basic magic is attribute-neutral, you know. And you're a natural-born Demon Army member, so you probably don't understand the difficulties someone of human origin faces while learning, do you?
Death Note Grand Canon fired back with what felt like a scoff.
ㄴDeath Note Grand Canon: Ridiculous! You were born into a body already possessing ten or more circles and septuple casting the moment you first encountered magic! How could someone like that possibly understand the process of learning from scratch!
ㄴAnon(443F): Wow, starting with 10+ circles, I'm genuinely jealous.
ㄴAnon(160F): Wait, when you think about it, she was the biggest freeloader of all;;;
But the other side wasn't backing down either.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: That's precisely why the fundamentals were a mess for me—so I went back and dissected everything from the 1st circle one by one.
ㄴAnon(279F): Oh, so that's why she was so good at teaching lower-tier magic. Thank you, teacher.
ㄴAnon(497F): Newbie, this person is genuinely top-tier for utility magic.
*'…A top-tier tutor, huh.*
Apparently quite well-known in the Gallery.
This was the moment I understood why the Gallery members had been asking her about my talent.
Anon(432F): lol saying she doesn't know about talent but clearly dying to teach her
ㄴAnon(643F): She was drooling over her the whole time.
ㄴAnon(645F): Feels like she tried to establish dominance at first, realized it wasn't working, and switched strategies lmaooo
Anon(312F): And Grand Canon was acting like he was about to kick her out earlier, but the moment a competitor shows up he's trying to snatch her back lol
ㄴAnon(461F): Looks like they both just realized who's in the weaker position lmao
ㄴAnon(643F): Master-student power reversal arc lol
I wasn't sure if this was a good situation for me.
*'This is a chance to rebuild trust.'*
My favorability had just taken a major hit because of Death's Edge Invincibility.
I did think having a master with strong teaching ability was a good thing—but if I had to choose between the two, it was obvious whose side I should take.
Right now, I need to be focusing on learning instant-kill-based Black Magic as my main path.
I typed without hesitation.
Anon(100F)(OP): My master is Death Note Grand Canon, and no one else.
ㄴAnon(312F): Oh?
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: …
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Master, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm a Death God—shouldn't I be learning Black Magic? I intend to follow your guidance in everything else as well!
A satisfied response came back almost immediately.
Death Note Grand Canon: Hmm… Yes. As it should be.
ㄴAnon(431F): I can literally see the corners of his mouth twitching lmaooo
ㄴAnon(347F): Newbie's loyalty is something else. If it were me I would've said I'd just go for a bit lol
But then.
Seol Ha-rin posted a strange comment.
Seol Ha-rin: ……
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Ah, seriously… I was going to tell you after we got closer.
ㄴAnon(249F): ?
ㄴAnon(465F): What's going on all of a sudden.
She seemed like she'd had something to say to me all along.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: I came from Earth too.
"Huh?"
My eyes went wide.
I quickly typed a reply.
Anon(100F)(OP): For real? Not a translated nickname, but your actual name—Seol Ha-rin, three syllables?
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Yeah, that's right.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Wow, that's wild. But how did you know I came from Earth?
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Cup ramen and snacks.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Ah, right… Nice to meet you.
ㄴAnon(279F): Are you talking about the PX stuff?
ㄴAnon(336F): Seems like it.
ㄴAnon(643F): Wait, does this mean she gets poached after all?
ㄴAnon(243F): The delay tactic lol
A Gallery member who came from Earth.
I'd thought at some point that I should look into it, but I'd been too busy to actually do anything about it.
Seol Ha-rin: I'm glad to meet you too…! You're the first person from the same place I've found… I wanted to talk to you from the start, and teaching you magic was kind of a bonus.
ㄴAnon(249F): Then why didn't you just say so from the beginning instead of testing the waters?
She replied as if embarrassed.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: …I hate getting all excited on my own and then being turned down first…
ㄴAnon(643F): So you were pretending not to like her at first? lmaooooooo
ㄴAnon(432F): Legendary defense mechanism lmao
ㄴAnon(432F): The hedgehog method of making friends lol
ㄴAnon(648F): But the newbie already said she's learning from Grand Canon, right?
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: …Yeah.
She let her disappointment show, then addressed Death Note Grand Canon politely.
Seol Ha-rin: …Grand Canon, would you mind lending this friend to me just once? I'll teach her really well and send her back.
ㄴAnon(430F): Just outright begging now lol
ㄴAnon(234F): Can't you just be friends even without being her master? Why so fixated?
ㄴAnon(649F): The newbie's an efficiency freak—won't bother talking to you if there's no benefit.
ㄴAnon(243F): fr lmaooooooooooo
ㄴAnon(197F): Given her personality, she'd absolutely never hang out lmaooooo
ㄴAnon(548F): She's basically a vanguard unit, you think she's gonna socialize lol
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): No, what kind of misunderstanding is spreading here. I'm actually happy to meet her right now.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: …Really?
While I was busy defending myself to the Gallery members and insisting I wasn't a sociopath—
Master replied as if answering Seol Ha-rin.
ㄴDeath Note Grand Canon: Pointless.
ㄴDeath Note Grand Canon: What does it matter where one originally came from.
ㄴDeath Note Grand Canon: Before long, the years spent in this place will far exceed the years of one's former life.
"……"
My fingertips froze for a moment.
The years spent in this tower would eventually surpass the age I was before the possession.
It hit like a blade.
The Gallery had been around for 400 years, after all—there were surely already plenty of people for whom that was true.
*'In this woman's body…'*
If the time I spent living as a woman ended up longer than the time I'd lived as a man—when I finally returned to my original self, what would I feel?
I was briefly lost in that thought when—
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Grand Canon, I'm only asking once. It's just that she's the first girl I've met in this tower who came from the same place.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Newbie… what do you think?
Seol Ha-rin asked me that carefully.
In that moment, I could tell she was mistaken about something.
*'I'm not a girl, though…'*
I answered for now.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Sure, well… if Master gives his permission.
Seol Ha-rin definitely thought I was a woman before the possession.
Come to think of it, I'd never once disclosed my gender.
That must have led to the misunderstanding. I'd never written any complaints about my gender in the Gallery.
While I was mulling over Seol Ha-rin's misconception, Master's comment appeared.
It was an unexpected answer.
Death Note Grand Canon: …I am displeased, but very well.
ㄴAnon(312F): Huh? Suddenly?
ㄴAnon(461F): Why did he suddenly drop his stubbornness.
ㄴAnon(730F): Probably got hit hard by the newbie saying 'if Master gives his permission' lmaooooooo
ㄴAnon(187F): Haha, newbie's sharp lol
Master had given his approval.
I didn't have time to dwell on the shift in his feelings.
Because immediately after, Seol Ha-rin's energy came crashing over me.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Yay! Thank you so much!
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Finally… I get to talk to someone who actually gets it hehe
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Newbie, I saw your photo and you're so pretty.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Thank you…
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: You don't have to be shy hehe want to see mine too?
She'd apparently been starving for girl talk for quite some time.
I hesitated before answering.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Sure, I mean… why not…!
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: hehe Let's swap photos.
ㄴAnon(249F): Ugh… just thinking about what human-types look like makes me want to hurl…
ㄴAnon(351F): I've been desensitized from looking at the newbie's status lately.
ㄴAnon(643F): Same?
Just as I was agonizing over how to navigate this relationship—
Seol Ha-rin: By the way, what's your real name..? hehe
An awkward question came flying in.
I bit my lip.
*'I wish I had a gender-neutral name…'*
What would happen if I revealed here that I was originally a man?
That sky-high energy of hers would definitely cool off in an instant.
After coming this far, she might even get angry and say I'd been deceiving her.
Was it okay to disappoint a new teacher who was showing me goodwill—offering to teach me—at this particular moment?
What was the most practical judgment to make here?
*'While I'm learning from this person… I'll have to play along to some extent, won't I?'*
I attempted something I had never done in my entire life.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): Lee Seo-yun.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: Oh my, what a pretty name! Seo-yun, nice to meet you hehe
"Damn…"
I scratched the back of my head.
It was just text, but hearing my name called like that from beyond the screen gave me goosebumps.
"What have I done…"
Making up a female alias—the reality of it hit me belatedly.
*'I need to get through whatever she's going to teach me as fast as possible…'*
I hurried to push things forward.
ㄴAnon(100F)(OP): I want to increase my artifact slots—what should I start with?!
ㄴAnon(354F): Gotta raise your circles, obviously.
ㄴSeol Ha-rin: No. There's something to do before that.
ㄴAnon(354F): ?