______
Title: I am the Death God of floor 800. Death God of floor 1, heed these words.
Author: Death Note Grand Canon
You carry the noble bloodline of the Death God clan—a lineage capable of mastering Instant-Kill Skills, the very flower of our kind.
From this moment forth, you shall walk the path of Black Magic under my guidance.
Once you have confirmed this summons, leave your response immediately.
[Comments]
Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: To think you'd lead her down a heretical path. The scythe's true nature is, in the end, to cut. Do not abandon your weapon, floor 1.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): I am not asking her to abandon it. I intend to have her truly wield it.
______
The tone was dead serious.
This person probably wasn't a reincarnator—they must have been a natural-born Demon Army member from the start.
"A real Death God…"
I decided to hear out what my kin had to say.
ㄴ Anon (1F): I have taken my seat, Master. I am ready to receive your teachings!
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): Very well.
ㄴ Anon (1F): I'm a bit anxious, so I humbly ask a question first… what should I do from here?
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): There is no need to rush. First, sit cross-legged on the floor and close both eyes.
Cross-legged. This feels like something out of a wuxia novel.
'Well, let me try following along.'
I found a spot and sat down with my legs folded.
Then I closed my ey—wait, if I close my eyes I won't be able to read the Gallery.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): You must empty your mind of all distractions and focus solely on your lower abdomen… the deepest part of your dantian.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): If you are a woman, you have a womb there, so it should come more naturally.
"……"
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): As you sink your consciousness deeper in that manner, you will be able to enter another dimension from within. For a Death God blessed with the grace of Border Crossing, this should not be difficult. Drawing out a circle from that place is the first step of Black Magic.
ㄴ Anon (1F): How long does that process take?
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): Three days at the fastest. You should be able to touch a circle within a week at the latest.
"Excuse me?"
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.
A week?
That door could fly open one second from now.
And this isn't even learning a single Black Magic spell—just taking the first step takes that long?
It might be considered fast by RPG standards, but my situation is different.
'I could die at any moment just sitting here…'
The comments shared my sentiment.
Anon (132F): What if the Hero shows up and kills the newbie before then lol
Anon (505F): Sitting cross-legged with eyes closed and getting decapitated lmaooooooo
Anon (341F): Look at this 700-floor-start silver-spoon having zero grip on reality.
Exactly what I was thinking…
There's no guarantee the Hero won't come crashing in within a week.
But for a veteran who's cleared past floor 800, the Hero is probably some mythical unicorn that doesn't even register in their brain.
Being stationed on the upper floors clearly rewires your whole way of thinking.
Still, there were comments defending the advice.
Anon (468F): I mean, preparing for floor advancement is normally a years-long thing lol
ㄴ Anon (145F): Then bring a rapid-leveling secret manual or something lmao
Frustrated, I asked.
ㄴ Anon (1F): This is taking way too long. Is there no other way?
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): HALT!!!
A thunderous rebuke came crashing down immediately.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): How can you be so utterly lacking in patience! Acquiring a circle in Black Magic is, unlike dragon magic, already a simplified method by nature! And yet you wish to obtain even that in a short span of time—you foolish child!
Even just reading it as text, my ears were ringing.
ㄴ Anon (1F): But what if the Hero shows up right now? I'm so anxious about that door opening I could die, Sensei…
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): Life and death are, by their very nature, things to be entrusted to providence. And the manifestation of that 'providence' is none other than us, the Death God clan.
ㄴ Anon (1F): Ah.
ㄴ Anon (413F): Floor 1 just had a brain crash lmaooooo
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): Should the arbiter of death's providence fear death itself? That would be like a parent cowering before their own child.
ㄴ Anon (1F): Yes… you're right.
ㄴ Anon (317F): Watch her confirm she can't get through to him and immediately let it go in one ear and out the other lmaooooo
Death Note Grand Canon (Author): You were born a Death God, and a Death God who fails to draw out a circle is a life destined to turn to ash regardless. Use that fear as nourishment and sink into meditation!
"What the…"
The profanity came out on its own.
To summarize: since you'll die anyway if you can't learn it, just pray the Hero takes his time and endure on hope-meta.
'Do I really have to meditate for a whole week?'
Is there no way to get stronger by climbing floors?
ㄴ Anon (1F): Hey everyone, can't I just go up to the next floor, kill some mobs, and level up?
ㄴ Anon (132F): The Demon King's Tower isn't a dungeon… it's our workplace…
ㄴ Anon (324F): That's insane, no. Every floor above is guaranteed to have stronger monsters than the one below.
ㄴ Anon (741F): Even non-mages need years of training minimum.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon (Author): Absolutely out of the question.
ㄴ Anon (741F): On top of that, floor 2 doesn't even have a strategy guide. What are you gonna do.
ㄴ Anon (341F): Being on floor 1 sounds genuinely awful lol
ㄴ Anon (318F): For real, she's about to run into a Hero at full health lmaooo
ㄴ Anon (549F): Honestly I'm kinda jealous… at least getting cut down by a Hero beats dying of boredom.
My head was spinning.
Train for a year. Then challenge the next floor.
That seemed to be the standard.
Data written in blood.
I had no choice but to believe it.
But I couldn't just sit here meditating in front of that door.
Anon (505F): What's the newbie gonna do… is she just gonna die like this?
ㄴ Anon (1F): You were making fun of me a second ago and now you're worried?
ㄴ Anon (241F): Did you not know these guys are all tsunderes? Not a single one of them actually wants you to die lol
ㄴ Anon (134F): You're the only one who can show us what a Hero looks like. What do you expect.
ㄴ Anon (421F): At least show us the Hero before you go!
'This is driving me crazy…'
Everyone seemed to want to help me, but it looked like there was nothing they could actually do.
'Is meditating really my only option?'
I was clutching my head when someone new stepped in.
I'd seen that floor number before… who was it again?
Anon (574F): You can just start climbing now.
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon: ?
ㄴ Anon (412F): Employee of the Month making his move, damn
ㄴ Anon (134F): Who the hell is this guy.
ㄴ Anon (574F): I'll write a post. Check it out.
574F.
I remembered now.
The one Gallery user who had actually believed I was a newbie from the very start.
Did they know something?
They didn't seem to have the trust of the others.
I hit the back button and returned to the main screen.
And waited a little.
Then a title appeared.
[Title: EU for why the newbie can start climbing right now]
Could it be real?
With trembling hands, I tapped the post and read.
______
Title: EU for why the newbie can start climbing right now
Author: Anon (574F)
Bottom line first—the mobs below floor 100 are gonna be insanely weak.
Because of how the Demon King's Tower is structured, weaker monsters are placed on lower floors, so you might think the newbie on floor 1 is the weakest one here—but that's completely wrong.
Think about it carefully.
Why have there been zero users from below floor 100 on the Gallery up until now.
The fact that they're not on the Gallery is proof that they're weak.
Still don't get it?
These things don't even have the minimum intelligence needed to post on a Gallery.
That's why they're not here.
Below floor 100, there's nothing but vermin-tier monsters.
Meanwhile the newbie is posting, uploading photos, making a fuss, doing everything.
There's no way she's weaker than things that can't even write.
I'd say the newbie wins up to at least floor 10.
[Comments]
Anon (312F): Oh…? Is that right?
Anon (205F): I mean, it does kind of make sense…?
Anon (418F): That actually tracks
Fenrir: Hmm…
______
"Is that actually true???"
The reason there were no Gallery users on the lower floors was because the monsters there were beasts without the intelligence to post in the first place.
And monsters like that had to be weak.
It sounded incredibly plausible.
His logic didn't stop there.
Anon (574F) (Author): And if you flip that reasoning around, it also leads to the conclusion that the Hero is weak.
"What?"
ㄴ Anon (712F): Hero is a total scrub theory lmaooo
ㄴ Anon (1F): Is that actually true?
ㄴ Anon (324F): She's cooked. Newbie just got properly baited.
ㄴ Anon (411F): It does sound incredibly sweet though
ㄴ Fenrir: Evidence?
ㄴ Anon (574F) (Author): Simple. The fact that we've never seen a Hero up until now means all the Heroes have been getting wiped out by those vermin-tier mobs that can't even speak.
ㄴ Anon (1F): Wait that actually makes sense?????
ㄴ Anon (441F): Oh my god!
Goosebumps.
The logic: the reason there are no users below floor 100 is proof that those mobs are weak—and simultaneously, proof that the Hero is weak too.
It was rational.
'This is insane…'
'Am I only thinking it sounds reasonable because I want to believe it so badly?'
I checked the comments.
ㄴ Fenrir: This theory's been around for a while and it does sound plausible, but… immediately climbing is genuinely not okay, right?
ㄴ Anon (148F): It doesn't add up. Rushing straight to floor 2 lmaooooo
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon: Do not be swayed by reckless talk! You must begin your training at once!
ㄴ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: This one shares the same view. However, through training with one's weapon…
Three veterans, same opinion.
Train on floor 1 for now.
Anon (1F): I do want to get stronger… but is there really no way to get stronger faster than a week?
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon: My teachings ARE the fastest path!!!
Anon (1F): Sword Sovereign Ji-hee, is faster than a week really impossible for you too?
ㄴ Anon (364F): Is this person shopping around? Negotiating timelines lmaooooo
Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: Even if you are a prodigy, building a foundation requires considerable time. Furthermore, there are no shortcuts in this one's teachings. Therefore, it is impossible.
ㄴ Anon (651F): Wow she's brutally honest, could you at least lie a little please lmaooo
ㄴ Anon (432F): For real, everyone's just saying no. You're supposed to reel them in first and then get them hooked lol
"Ah…"
It seemed there was no means of achieving meaningful growth quickly within this sealed room.
Sitting cross-legged and forming a circle was supposedly the fastest path.
But…
"You want me to meditate with that door right in front of me?"
No matter how I thought about it, that made no sense.
The moment I thought that, a comment from floor 574 appeared.
ㄴ Anon (574F) (Author): She's too anxious about the Hero to actually train anyway.
Fenrir: Going to meet upper-floor monsters without training seems even more anxiety-inducing?
ㄴ Anon (505F): From floor 1's perspective, upper-floor monsters probably seem scarier
ㄴ Anon (214F): Why would she go up when staying put might keep her alive lol
"That's not it…"
Even the people who'd been worried about me didn't understand the urgency I felt.
ㄴ Anon (574F) (Author): No no. Going up is proactive—you get to choose the timing. That's less scary.
"…!"
Exactly right.
Floor 574 had seen straight through my current psychology.
What was making me most uncomfortable in this situation was that my lifespan had become random.
The fact that my life was entirely dependent on the moment that door opened was more unbearable than anything else.
I'd rather be the one to decide when I die.
ㄴ Anon (574F) (Author): The monsters on floor 2 will be incredibly weak. Probably fine up to floor 10.
Could it really be true?
ㄴ Fenrir: Brainrot, no
ㄴ Anon (634F): Legendary galaxy-brain take lmaooo
ㄴ Anon (417F): This guy is actually insane, please leave the Gallery
ㄴ Anon (211F): At this point it's like he just hates the newbie lol
ㄴ Anon (417F): You need at least a year of training per floor, and you're telling a raw newbie this… what are you doing…
ㄴ Anon (332F): There's literally no info on anything below floor 100 ffs
Everyone else's reaction was… desperately trying to talk me out of it.
Everyone except one.
ㄴ Anon (574F) (Author): She needs to run upward. The Hero will be stronger than the floor 2 mobs.
ㄴ Fenrir: Floor 1, you're not actually going to listen to this guy, right?
ㄴ Anon (341F): She's really going? lmaooooo
ㄴ Death Note Grand Canon: Stop. This. Instant!!
ㄴ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: …Foolish.
ㄴ Makanong: Please don't, unni ㅜㅜㅜ
After fully absorbing floor 574's explanation, I closed the Gallery.
And took a deep breath.
"Haah."
I steadied my trembling heart, then gripped my scythe.
Swish!
I swung it a few times.
Heavy, but not unmanageable.
I operated the hologram panel and pressed the floor advancement application button.
The entrance in the ceiling opened, and a staircase descended.
"Alright. I'm probably going to die."
[Floor advancement begins.]