Being watched had been obvious from the start.
Promotion rewards.
Demon Army regular wages.
Bounties.
Reward leave.
All those system messages had been radiating the unmistakable implication that the Demon King was behind them.
…Could that black hand I'd just seen be its owner?
I pulled up the hologram camera.
And took a photo.
*Click—*
For a moment I wondered if it might not show up, like something out of a ghost photo—but it captured perfectly.
That was the moment.
The hand vanished without a trace.
As if it had been waiting for me to take the picture.
And the hole that had been torn through the ceiling was restored.
"……"
All that remained were the crushed remains of the Treasure Keeper scattered across the floor.
I adjusted my grip on the scythe and approached the corpse.
I cycled the circles in my dantian.
"Blood Drain."
.
"Blood Command."
"…"
No spirit blood came.
Same as the invaders I'd killed with my scythe before.
The corpse didn't dissolve either—it just lay there, stuck to the floor.
"Don't tell me it won't revive…"
The black hand seemed to have annihilated the Treasure Keeper down to its very soul.
"Going that far just to…"
I put the Treasure Keeper's undissipating corpse into my inventory.
I had to keep it safe.
"Someday… I'll bring you back."
That resurrection was possible in this world was self-evident.
It had been mentioned in the Gallery, and I had my scythe with its anti-resurrection effect as proof.
Above all, hadn't they said the Demon King was reviving the monsters in his tower?
Then someday, I could revive someone too.
I chose to believe that.
Because I'd received a kindness I hadn't deserved.
I shoved all the scattered emotions and tangled thoughts into a corner of my mind.
I turned my head.
A massive Golden Chest, its lid hanging open.
What the Treasure Keeper had left behind.
I could finally claim its contents. I decided to focus on that first.
It was the size of a house, so I'd have to climb inside to see what was in it.
*Thud—!*
I jumped, launched myself upward, and dropped in.
The moment I landed inside.
"Orbs?"
That's what they looked like.
Nine large spheres.
Each one radiating a different, luminous glow.
But if they were just gemstones, the disappointment would be crushing.
I already had infinite money, after all.
I approached and reached toward the one burning a deep crimson red.
*Ding—*
The instant my fingertips made contact, a system message materialized before my eyes.
[Artifact: Wrath of the Sun God]
A relief.
It appeared to be an equipment item.
Unlike the Golden Carriage's items, this one came with a system message description.
I read it.
[Triggers a solar explosion around you just before you take a hit.]
"This is—!"
That explosion technique the man had used earlier.
Then it seemed the artifact that hooded man from four hundred years ago had taken from the Golden Chest was this [Wrath of the Sun God].
Had he passed it down to his descendants? If so, it would still be on the corpse somewhere.
Eyes gleaming, I reached out and touched the remaining orbs one by one.
[Smile of the Life God]
Fully recovers from all injuries every 5 seconds.
[Freedom of the Wind God]
Movement is no longer restricted by inertia.
[Endurance of the Earth God]
Permanently deploys a resistance barrier against all elemental attributes.
[Lament of the Sea God]
Halves the agility stat of all enemies within range.
[Tremor of the Thunder God]
Strikes enemies with lightning on attack and paralyzes them for a set duration.
…
..
.
"So they're all permanent passives when equipped…"
Then every single one of them was a broken item.
They weren't even in the same league as the Golden Carriage's items.
They looked better than the Twin-Tail Black Ribbon, which had been a Unique.
"For now, this one."
I picked up [Wrath of the Sun God] and slipped it into my inventory.
*Whoosh.*
The orb was sucked in.
"Alright, next the Endurance of the Earth God…"
The moment I reached toward another orb.
*BANG—!!!!*
With a thunderous crash, the lid of the Golden Chest slammed shut.
"Huh?"
Everything went dark.
Startled, I dropped the orb in my hand.
Then.
*Creeeeak—*
The lid that had just closed slowly slid open again.
"……"
I got it.
"Can I only take one out?"
It seemed the chest closed if I tried to take more than one.
A choice reward, then.
"Which one do I pick?"
Time to consult.
I turned on the hologram camera, photographed all nine artifacts, and wrote down each description one by one.
I didn't include everything that had happened.
Too many different reactions would pile up and make things chaotic.
The invaders who'd stormed in midway, and what had happened in the Death God Realm—I'd save those for later.
Right now I needed to choose an orb.
Still, I attached the photo of the black hand. Just in case there was something that needed immediate attention.
I hit the post button.
______
Title: Cleared floor 100. Got 9 artifacts.
Author: Anon (100F)
{Photo of the black hand descending through the ceiling}
{Photos of all 9 artifact description windows}
First, the photo.
Here's what happened…
……
……
……
……
……
……
So right now I need to pick an artifact—recommend me something.
And if anyone knows what that hand actually is, tell me.
______
I hit refresh.
As expected, the hand photo was drawing all the aggro before anyone even got to my question.
That was fine. I was curious what the Gallery people made of it too.
[Comments]
Anon (312F): ? holy shit
Anon (359F): ???????????
Fenrir: ? We don't know either.
Anon (634F): wtf is that hand
Anon (532F): why does this newbie bring something nobody's ever seen every single time they post lmaooooooooooooo
Anon (724F): haven't even congratulated you on floor 100 yet and this happens;;;
└ Anon (320F): fr I was writing a congrats on hitting triple digits and then THIS ㄷ
Anon (219F): What the hell did you do THIS time you absolute maniac ;;
└ Anon (430F): lmao going feral again
└ Anon (100F) (OP): read the post; I didn't do anything, the mob basically summoned it…
└ Anon (219F): ?
A little more time passed, and comments from people who'd actually read the post started appearing.
Anon (643F): so the Treasure Keeper just ends up like that when it abandons its duty huh…
└ Anon (364F): wait it sacrificed itself to warn the newbie about the Demon King? I genuinely don't understand what that means
└ Anon (249F): so the Demon King personally executed it?
└ Anon (351F): THE DEMON KING'S HAND????????
└ Anon (324F): Excuse me????
└ Anon (721F): floor 100 is a special reward room so maybe he intervenes directly.
└ Anon (436F): insane.
└ Anon (341F): hmm…
└ Anon (643F): they say the Demon King exists everywhere, right?
└ Anon (248F): that sounds like bullshit though…
└ Anon (349F): meh
└ Anon (249F): didn't someone say a while back that the Demon King is probably the Gallery admin?
└ Anon (543F): that's probably right actually…
└ Anon (320F): wait does that have anything to do with this?
Anon (643F): what does it mean that the ceiling collapsed AFTER the hand came down??
└ Anon (664F): causality reversal ㄷㄷ
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: What on earth… could that be?
Anon (632F): there's a hole in the tower? no wait take a closer look at the ceiling.
└ Anon (100F) (OP): it's fully restored now…
└ Anon (632F): ?
*'So it's not common knowledge.'*
It seemed like everyone was seeing this for the first time.
└ Anon (324F): if you hadn't taken a photo nobody would've believed you;
└ Anon (498F): fr that would've been rough.
The Gallery's atmosphere was oddly subdued.
*'Interesting.'*
The surprised reactions kept coming, but it didn't feel like a full-blown meltdown.
└ Anon (197F): lmao look at these guys being so serious that they're barely freaking out
└ Anon (346F): not a single screaming moron in sight lmao
└ Anon (763F): the Demon King bait is just too unprecedented a move…
└ Anon (379F): everyone's just stunned lmaooo
└ Anon (242F): anyone here actually know what that hand is?
└ Anon (646F): might need to call in the high-floor regulars.
└ Anon (754F): they probably won't know either. they'll just be as shocked as us.
└ Anon (543F): Void Hermit is the only one who even knows the newbie exists besides us.
└ Anon (643F): Void Hermit bro might actually let out a little-girl scream when he sees this.
└ Anon (197F): lmaooo
└ Anon (798F): Blood Demon Sword Sovereign < I'm most curious about his reaction. He's the closest one to the Demon King.
└ Anon (219F): you think he's coming back? he's been gone from the Gallery forever. Death Note Grand Canon < that guy starting his next unhinged spam campaign is probably faster.
└ Anon (780F): Golden Rider can stay gone forever honestly…
└ Anon (249F): when does the Sword Sovereign Ji-hee crew's self-imposed exile end?
└ Anon (374F): exile lol, wasn't it confirmed they died?
Several high-profile regulars who might be close to the Demon King were being mentioned.
└ Anon (187F): wait is it actually confirmed that's the Demon King's hand?? is that official?
└ Anon (643F): nobody knows… the newbie just suspects it.
└ Anon (279F): right like the newbie is a newbie, why are we treating newbie-official as fact when they literally asked a question lmaooooooooooooooooooo
└ Anon (210F): well… Gallery-official means nothing anyway…
Classic Gallery behavior.
└ Anon (643F): absolutely zero help to the newbie from anyone lmao
└ Anon (176F): when has it ever been different?
└ Anon (374F): fair, the newbie hasn't been here long at all
└ Anon (643F): that's wild too, it's barely been a week and we've already had Hero bait AND Demon King bait lmaooooooooo
└ Anon (214F): basically the Gallery admin at this point lol
Various other conversations followed.
Anon (643F): aren't all those artifacts Legendary? the rewards are insane.
Anon (436F): there was so much gold and now it's completely empty ㄷㄷ
Anon (563F): 81 BILLION lmaooooooooo
Anon (246F): money is genuinely infinite now.
└ Anon (648F): fr the fact that this got overshadowed makes no sense;;;
└ Anon (418F): absolutely broken.
└ Anon (134F): agreed but what should they even pick.
└ Anon (247F): gotta wait for SSS-Rank Gear Chaser.
The Treasure Keeper came up again.
└ Anon (267F): I still don't get it—a mob deliberately neglecting its duty just to warn someone? that makes no sense to me.
└ Anon (378F): it wanted to stop them from going up against the Demon King, so it sacrificed itself to show them his power directly.
└ Anon (597F): absolute legend, how did the newbie even gaslight it that hard.
└ Anon (203F): maybe it just didn't know either.
└ Anon (746F): honestly I'm more scared of the newbie than that hand.
└ Anon (732F): can't explain it without some kind of brainwashing skill, what did you actually do?
└ Anon (100F) (OP): I genuinely don't know either… what I wrote is literally everything.
└ Anon (510F): if you don't know then what are we supposed to do lmaooooo
I meant it.
I had some guesses, but the sheer purity of it—bonding with me after just a few hours of conversation and throwing away its own soul—was something my common sense couldn't process.
Then someone offered an explanation.
└ Anon (277F): first real friend it made in 500 years, and that friend says they're going to go headfirst into the Demon King. it was scared you'd die. so it was willing to die itself to show you the Demon King's power and stop you.
└ Anon (100F) (OP): hmm…why am I a real friend though
└ Anon (432F): oh…
└ Anon (212F): the character of this person ㄷㄷ
└ Anon (100F) (OP): no I'm just saying it's a lot of pressure…I only ever deceived it.
└ Anon (439F): it said you were the first demon-kin to ever show up…
Was that it.
└ Anon (513F): but the newbie seems completely unbothered lmao
└ Anon (341F): fr, saying you'd kill the Demon King was just something you threw out to justify opening the chest.
└ Anon (643F): so it died for nothing then, that's so sad…
└ Anon (348F): fr it's still impossibly far away anyway.
└ Anon (148F): gave us info before it left so it's fine
└ Anon (468F): demons are wild.
└ Anon (341F): well it was a demon…
The Gallery people thought I didn't care, but they were wrong.
Anon (100F) (OP): I'm actually pretty shaken…
└ Anon (351F): about what?
Anon (100F) (OP): there was zero warning before the attack, I really hit a wall. if you stack a lot of Perception stats later does it start showing up?
When I asked that, the comment section went quiet for a moment.
Then someone asked me this.
└ Anon (367F): lol that's adorable, you're already trying to kill the Demon King? lmaooooooooo
└ Anon (643F): wait, you were serious about killing the Demon King?
└ Anon (100F) (OP): yeah obviously? to escape this place you have to climb all the way up and kill the Demon King.
└ Anon (643F): ㄷㄷ…
└ Anon (436F): I'm rooting for you…
└ Anon (673F): the mindset is so solid it's actually throwing me off.
└ Anon (438F): curious when it'll break.
└ Anon (397F): from our perspective you're at floor 0 right now!
I knew.
The Gallery members' minimum floor was 101, so from their perspective I was just getting started.
└ Anon (100F) (OP): exactly, so help me get strong fast—tell me which artifact to pick.
└ Fenrir: why do you need to get strong fast, slow down a little.
└ Anon (248F): we have no authority on items lmao
└ Anon (537F): if you act like you know gear stuff around here you get flamed into oblivion
That was when it happened.
The username I'd been waiting for appeared.
SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: Arrived.
└ SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: The chest rewards are genuinely insane. I was writing up a post.
└ SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: And I believe that someday, newbie, you will become a vanguard above floor 900.
└ Anon (643F): notice how he didn't say he believes you'll kill the Demon King lmaooooooooo
└ SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: Check the post I made! I've got it all laid out!