A Day in the Life of the Hunter Gallery Moderator

South Korea—actually, the entire Earth—entered the era of the Great Cataclysm three years ago. Suddenly, gates that had only existed in novels opened in the sky, and fantasy worlds like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the murim, the Empire, the Kingdom Alliance, the Magic Tower, and the Demi-human Alliance merged with Earth. At the same time, monsters from countless worlds began devouring the planet.

Of course, the world's major powers initially resisted with every piece of cutting-edge modern weaponry they possessed. But those proud missiles and armor-piercing rounds proved meaningless against the monsters' thick hides. Even a rain of shells couldn't pierce the muscles of an orc five times larger than an average human, and they couldn't even scratch a dragonkin covered in scales. In the end, as common sense and the laws of physics were thoroughly trampled, humanity was driven to the very brink of extinction.

However, at the exact moment Earth was about to be completely consumed by the otherworldly invaders, something miraculous began awakening inside people's bodies. It was called Awakening. Some conjured flames from thin air, others shattered boulders with their bare hands, and still others unleashed sword auras. These abilities, born from despair, were humanity's only card to fight back.

Exactly six months later, the one-sided slaughter ended, and a strange stalemate settled in. Once the overwhelming gap in power was bridged, politics and diplomacy took over in the name of survival. Some nations formed pacts with murim sects that had crossed through dimensional gates and adopted their martial arts. Others signed agreements with the Magic Tower and received advanced magitech. In the chaos where yesterday's enemies became today's allies, Earth achieved a bizarre form of coexistence.

Yet among all the miracles and anomalies brought by the Great Cataclysm, the most absurd one was something else entirely. Excluding mindless monsters and beasts, every intelligent being in this mishmash of worlds could now connect across borders and dimensions through a miraculous network—the emergence of the World Integrated Community.

And now, in the third year of the Great Cataclysm era, I opened my eyes early this morning and immediately clicked on a post.

“Ah, this crazy bastard. Did he really awaken some kind of multi-clone ability? How many damn accounts does he keep making?”

That's right. I was the third Padak of that insane community, and now one of only two remaining moderators of the World Integrated Community.

…Hm? More importantly, what the hell is this post?

“This fucking bastard. Nobody wants to see the shit you took.”

***

The trait of being a Padak—or rather, a “community moderator”—was so overwhelmingly powerful that even I, who didn't know much about hunters or Awakeners, immediately recognized it as cheating. It was the ultimate trait, one that could easily be called a munchkin ability. Every time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you banned 100 troublemaking users, you randomly gained stats and coins. You could also receive traits or skills as gifts from certain fixed-nickname users—leaders of factions that had settled on Earth or powerhouses of similar caliber—or from Earth's S-rank hunters. On top of that, while other hunters had to risk their lives clearing the first floor on Hard Mode just to earn 100 coins, I received 500 coins every week just for breathing. At 10,000 won per coin, 100 coins equaled 1 million won. Adding the extra bonuses that came from managing events or suppressing gallery riots, I was literally raking in money with a shovel.

That was why I could keep managing the community while enduring all sorts of disgusting images that rotted my eyes and brain. And the moment I refreshed the community, the board was already on fire.

- ImperialGuardianSword: Stop spouting nonsense… One Aura Blade and your metal tanks are all sliced up.

ㄴPatriotKimSuho: Yeah right, kid. America's the best~

ㄴCountAltainer: You're already begging the Empire for help to clear the Tower's 60th floor, yet you still talk trash.

ㄴPatriotKimSuho: What'd you say, you container count bastard.

ㄴCountAltainer: What? You insolent commoner…!!

- M16IsHiding: Lololol You'll get your head blown off by a sniper from 1km away before you even wrap yourself in aura. America's doing great these days~ Their tech is on a completely different level from three years ago, you know?

ㄴPrincessGongnyeo: Still only cleared up to the 60th floor though? Idiot~

- HuashanSectYoungest: But wouldn't our sect leader's sword aura just clean up both sides? Lmao

ㄴTexasFirefighter: You stay out of this, you stinky wuxia addict.

ㄴHuashanIsTheBest: How dare you speak so crudely to our youngest! I'll issue a kill order on you immediately!!

- DemonicCultBloodIsSweet: How dare a dog of the righteous faction run its mouth? When the Heavenly Demon descends, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you'll all be reduced to bloody mush…

In that brief moment when I let my mind wander for just one minute, the board had instantly turned into a complete mess. However, there was nothing I could do right now. I wanted nothing more than to use my authority to delete the posts immediately, but according to the damn system rules, once a flame war started, I had to observe how the bait played out for at least five minutes. It was the system's shitty way of making me determine whether this was bait that would naturally die down or a bomb that would completely paralyze the gallery.

Anyway, with nothing to do for three minutes and forty seconds, I quietly observed the atmosphere. The argument that had started with the U.S. military versus the Empire's knights had somehow drawn in the Huashan Sect Leader and the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and before long, even the Magic Tower's 7th Circle Archmage and the guardian spirit of the Elf Forest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had joined in, evolving beyond a keyboard battle into a full-blown text UFC.

If left alone, the entire gallery would obviously turn into an otherworldly world war. Still, the time when a Padak could intervene was approaching. The exact moment five minutes passed, I quickly deleted the flame war post and wrote an announcement, pinning it at the very top.

The moment the notice went up, angry user comments began pouring in.

“Impeachment, my ass.”

As a Padak, I was simply exercising my legitimate authority and working for the community. How dare a bunch of fixed-nickname nobodies open their mouths? I immediately handed out one-hour bans to the users spouting pad-rips and impeachment incitement, then began searching for my next target.

Thanks to the Padak trait, my vision—capable of perceiving countless posts in an instant, almost like slow motion—caught a new post.

A sense of foreboding crept over me, but driven by a moderator's sense of duty, I reached out and opened the post.

(Rough image of a dwarf who looked easily 180cm tall, with a slender build that seemed forcibly stretched, fluttering a bushy beard while striking a seductive pose in a string bikini.)

“Aaaaaagh!! My eyes!! My eyes!!!!”

I shot up from my chair and screamed. Among all the disgusting images, this was top-tier—a horrific visual assault that directly struck the optic nerve, making me feel like I was about to vomit stomach acid. Another peaceful day for the competent Padak.