Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: 46. Messiah (1)
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There's a term called "oldbie."
It's the opposite of "newbie," referring to veterans, mostly used in online communities or games.
Park Gyu here is a bona fide oldbie on the Korean board of Viva! Apocalypse! Though there was a hiatus in the middle, he's one of the earliest adopters who signed up for the service right at the start.
So he prides himself on knowing the board's history and evolution pretty well.
The board's vibe changed with each era.
If I had to categorize it, it'd be pre-war, early war, and one year post-outbreak—three main phases.
First, pre-war: It was an intellectual debate club for mature, socially respectable adults discussing their post-apocalypse survival strategies and plans in a refined manner.
The representative figure of that era? None other than our John_nenon.
Second era: Chaos.
Pre-war values clashing messily with the violence of the early apocalypse.
This was when sophisticated users used to academic debates got swallowed by the internet's savage, free-for-all culture.
Third era: Adaptation.
Everyone resigned to the end times, fluent in internet lingo, even pulling in failnet users. Probably the most vibrant period across all eras.
That's where we are now—fully adapted, immersed in the culture.
But back in the chaos era, plenty of people were still green to internet norms.
What seems trivial now was huge then: the Four Madmen.
Murderer, schizophrenic, attention-seeker, and cultist.
The murderer mythologized into a named user called Defender.
The schizophrenic and attention-seeker? Dead.
The last one devolved into some irrelevant forum driftwood.
That was iamjesus.
Whenever anything happened, he'd post Bible verses and rapture nonsense. Now, he's just an ignored NPC.
And then he awakened.
Like a prophet, eyes gleaming with holy light.
He became an Awakener.
A high-level one, too—the kind Jeju Island would roll out the red carpet for.
The story starts when I first took notice of this user iamjesus.
I zeroed in on iamjesus about a year and a half ago.
Things were peaceful then.
Keeping in touch with Kim Daram, no national schisms, Seoul still our shield.
Some weird lottery event had Seoul buzzing, but for this Park Gyu, it was a beautiful time to chill and await doomsday without a care.
Confession time: I had ambitions back then.
I wanted to elevate the little-known Skeleton user into a powerhouse like the other named ones, wielding real influence on the board.
Uploaded some creative posts, but the response was lukewarm.
Realizing our tastes didn't align bruised my ego a bit, but I brainstormed another path to popularity.
"Cliques."
Build a circle of buddies who prop each other up—no special talents needed, just natural ascent to named status. A bit shallow, sure.
Inspired by Kyle_Dos, who lacked creativity but ruled through his clique family.
So, I hunted for clique material.
But not just anyone—pick randos, and you're lumped in with trash.
Target users with recognition and voice to climb higher.
That's when I really clocked iamjesus.
One of the Four Madmen, but universally known.
Unlike the wall-posting attention-seeker, the argumentative schizophrenic, or the killer poster, iamjesus seemed at least somewhat rational from his writing.
His posts were always off-kilter.
Instant red flag: keep distance.
Yet I approached anyway, thanks to glimpses of his humanity.
Board users had zero aggro tolerance back then, so most blocked him. Few had the kindness to indulge his whines or daily life posts.
His views hovered at 1 or 2.
Factoring in auto-views, basically no one saw his dailies.
I wasn't the first, but Skeleton added that extra view to his life posts.
From his gradual reveals, I pieced together this pitiful guy's existence.
Living in a mass-produced "factory bunker" mini-shelter. Staples: military combat bibimbap rations. Sits cross-legged on a mattress (no chair), laptop on a lap desk, surfing. Filthy mattress strewn with adult toys. Days lost to gaming.
His games varied, but he loved classic side-scrollers: jump, run, dodge obstacles/enemies, reach goal.
No face reveals, but hand pics showed no hard labor, clearly young by our standards.
I sensed profound loneliness.
Mid-20s at most, prepping from early 20s—likely parents' money for the bunker life.
Isolated in his promised world, cut off from family, no friends, just rambling at walls.
Dark corner, junk rations, dirty onaholes to fend off solitude.
Not a happy life.
No urge to get close.
Plus, iamjesus rejected others outright.
Saw a now-gone user try once.
RealKorean: Refugee-hater. Lived in Paju, shared fate with others there—vanished suddenly, gone forever.
He tried multiple times.
iamjesus never took the hand.
Short, sharp reply ended it.
Ironic: Craves attention, posts endlessly, but turtles when offered.
Post-RealKorean, iamjesus stuck to his Bible-rapture-daily routine like white noise.
My interest waned; stopped watching.
Then this background noise became the board's hottest topic.
User reactions to iamjesus's auth pic split two ways.
Clueless on the phenomenon.
Those in the know.
And...
The worldly hermits.
Anyway, four total noobs among the knowers: Anonymous777, CrunchRoll, armeegruppe_B, inevitable.
Seriously, never seen 'em before.
Watchlist from the interested: Dies_irae69, collective survival rep.
Knew he wasn't normie, but spotting Alpha Awakening? Bold pitch too.
He's using our board as a tool for his "kingdom."
But not the only one DMing, for sure.
Amid the post flood, underground scramble for God's chosen iamjesus is clear.
First time in nearly three years this "crazy" kid gets this much spotlight.
Two openly admitting contact. That desperate.
But...
"...Hmm."
Won't be easy.
Year ago, I sized him up.
Dual nature: Craves connection, rejects it.
His rejection took an unexpected turn.
Screenshot all DMs, blasts them publicly!
Six DMers total.
Cheapest? Baek Seung-hyeon.
Porn? Seriously? Not middle school.
How's porn snagging a breakout star?
"Whoa, this guy's skipping the nyam nyam this time..."
Swallowed the curse, checked the rest.
Dies_irae69: Textbook collective pitch. All about the group.
CrunchRoll, total unknown, drops a jaw-dropper with pics.
Eye-covered women in skimpy bikinis, holding booze and unopened convenience store frozen foods, finger hearts.
No wonder unicorn18 freaks. Unprecedented in 2-3 years of Viva! Apocalypse!
Dwarfs my Defender bro's girl act.
But beyond the eye-candy, two snag my eyes: inevitable and armeegruppe_B.
Inevitable: Manryugwi cultist who wrecked China, lurking here.
Armeegruppe_B: Pics of tanks, APCs, helos. Dozens.
No doubt: Legion faction main base southeast, seen by me and Defender.
Legion brass—or connected—reaching out directly.
"......"
Knew heavy hitters hid here.
Wu Min-hee was active too.
But the shadows? Bigger than expected.
Org with women, Legion, Manryugwi cult—all operating.
iamjesus ain't normal, though.
OG Four Madman. Forges his path, no matter what.
Slick amid the hands: steady posts,
Declares noble neutrality.
True oldbie class.
Actually blocked 'em all.
Underground powers (dongtanmom aside) clinging hard.
Makes sense.
Alpha Awakener value: immeasurable.
Old-school me's just combat fodder; they're strategic assets.
Hence the desperation.
"......"
But watching pisses me off.
Another scrub getting VIP treatment over me?
What makes him better...
Couldn't hold back, tossed a DM at the center.
No thought behind it.
Like picking a fight with Baek Seung-hyeon outta nowhere.
Pure impulse.
Then, shock: He replied.
Man ignores powerhouses, responds to this Skeleton.