The Witches' Breakthrough

Witches (2).

Juveniel, the President of the Witch Association. Although she was over eighty years old, she looked like she was in her twenties, thanks to her success in brewing the notoriously difficult Elixir of Youth. That was how exceptionally skilled Juveniel was at potion-making.

But.

"Sigh."

The research into Time Acceleration Magic, passed down since her master's generation, showed no progress. To make matters worse, the Demon King's army had been pushed back on all fronts over the past few years, turning the Great Wetland into a battlefield. Not only was their sanctuary in jeopardy, but securing key potion ingredients had also become a nightmare. Days filled with endless worry and stress dried out her skin, leaving her with nothing to do but sigh day in and day out.

Just then.

"A gallery, you say?"

"Yes, Madam President! You have to see this!"

They had heard a rumor that some archmage on the Cheerful Demon Realm Village Gallery had successfully bottled this magic into a potion. Gathering their courage, the witches logged onto the gallery.

However.

"Waaah..."

"What is the matter?"

The apprentice witches trembled as they pointed at the gallery screen.

"It... it seems everyone hates us so much..."

Once upon a time, in the distant past, Juveniel had also dabbled in forum browsing. Of course, it hadn't ended well.

"Is the gallery not a place for us either?"

"...It cannot be helped. Misunderstandings and prejudices against witches have accumulated over a very long time."

Just as everyone's hearts sank.

The administrator of the gallery, the Head Mod himself, had stepped forward to protect the witches. And then.

He had confidently comforted the witches, telling them to come and enjoy the gallery. But the witches still worried about their sudden influx.

"Would we just be a nuisance?" they wondered, and so they asked.

He replied that he didn't mind at all. In fact, he answered with a benevolent lie, claiming it would help him, and embraced the witches who were hated by the entire world.

Embracing the witches would only bring him loss. Why would he do such a thing?

The most rational theory regarding his motives slipped from the mouth of an apprentice witch.

"He is the one who completed the grand magic we failed to achieve, right? Surely, he must have some deeper intention?"

"Ah—"

The witches realized it then. The Head Mod was looking at a value far greater than mere money. For instance.

"Harmony through the gallery, perhaps?"

Harmony among the various races and factions of the Demon Realm.

"It reminds me of a very old, noble mission."

An ideology of a great figure who had raised the banner of the 'Great Unification of the Demon Realm,' a concept long forgotten by modern folk.

"How long has it been since we felt such warm goodwill..."

To repay what is received, whether it be a favor or a grudge. That was the witches' creed.

"Let us do our best!"

"Yes, Madam President!"

Moved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to tears, the witches swarmed into the gallery with burning enthusiasm.

"Uh..."

The incoming witches began posting all at once. The sheer quantity and quality of their posts were staggering.

The regular gallery users writhed in agony, complaining that their hands and feet were curling up from cringing at this bizarre, unfamiliar way of speaking.

"Uh..."

The witches were far more eccentric and insular than I had anticipated, and the gallery users were absolutely having a seizure over their influx. The overwhelming number of upvotes on that post was proof enough. Besides.

"Seriously, what is up with their tone?"

Look at those sentences ending in cute, whiny tones, the baby-talk, and that bizarre "hello-hello-ring." It was a pure, unadulterated language of their own, completely isolated from the rest of the world. Seriously...

"This is rough."

I could understand why the gallery users were suffering. But.

"So what?"

Wasn't there a famous saying from my past life?

"Don't attach your identity to a gallery."

A community is just a community. It means don't get overly invested. Just because some newcomers who don't fit your taste arrive, you're going to gatekeep and try to kick them out? How childish can you get just because you've browsed the forum a bit longer?

"Sing-Ma-Gal belongs to everyone in the Demon Realm."

Over time, the witches would eventually blend into the gallery's atmosphere. New users need to post and comment to boost activity. That's how the gallery levels up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and unlocks more features.

"Just deal with it."

I watched the situation unfold for about two days. The impatient gallery users, despite my warnings of bans, were burning up with rage.

"Well, I figured as much."

I earned points by banning the users who violated the warnings, and the synergy between the new influx and the existing users paid off.

The gallery leveled up. Getting insulted about my parents was a small price to pay for such a massive profit. And then, the highly anticipated new feature was added.

"Oh?"

It was exactly what I needed right now.

With the gallery leveling up, an incredibly broken feature had appeared.

"Money into points, and points into money?"

The ability to convert one bronze coin into 1 pt, and vice versa. If that was the case.

"I can just sell items for money."

No, actually, selling them was better. The number of trolls I could ban in a day was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠limited, after all. I could make up for any point shortage with actual money.

"Should I release some items in the shop?"

Lately, the only thing I had uploaded to the shop was the Archeinia relief supplies (free). If I released the caffeine drinks the gallery users had been begging for, it would liven things up and hopefully distract them from attacking the witches. The problem was.

"How should I set the price?"

According to Derek's memories, coffee didn't exist in this world. The closest thing was tea, but since the Demon Realm was geographically located in the northern part of the continent, tea leaves were a luxury item smuggled from the south, reserved exclusively for high nobles. In other words, since coffee occupied a similar position to tea.

"I could probably sell it at a premium."

Under normal circumstances, I would have. But the problem was that the current public sentiment was a bit savage.

"What is this now?"

"Look at this guy."

In a gallery where so many people came and went, there were bound to be guys like this. It was the same in my past life. Usually, the brainless, idiotic gallery users would just drool and go, "Uuuh~ hehe~ boobies so big~" but the moment things went south, they suddenly transformed into super-elites, acting like cyber-investigation units and counterintelligence agencies that put the police and the NIS to shame, digging up everything online. In fact, thanks to these heinous, time-rich "Time Bill Gateses," incidents that would have been buried were often brought to light.

"The problem is, this time, I'm the target."

Getting on the bad side of these guys was a massive headache. They would grind away their time just to cause you harm. If he went rogue and started trolling in every possible way, the sub-mods would suffer too.

"And it's not like I can just ban him."

The guy was thorough. Since he logged out, moved to another region, and connected with a different IP, banning him now would be pointless. Therefore.

"Right, let's release it cheap to completely turn the gallery's opinion around."

Of course, I couldn't release it for free. Points didn't grow on trees, and since the trolls had been laying low lately after getting unbanned, my point income had been rather dry. So.

"I won't be greedy, I'll just charge a tiny bit more."

I priced the 1 pt items at 3 bronze coins, and the 2 pt espressos at 6 bronze coins, registering about 10,000 of them in the gallery shop.

The reaction was good. However, I noticed some comments about the price.

"Is it really that expensive?"

Three bronze coins could buy several loaves of bread. It was definitely not a price range that ordinary peasants could easily afford. So, I asked.

"No, what are you doing with an energy drink..."

And then, a completely unexpected reaction popped up from elsewhere. The next day.

"...Wait, they made what?"

I had clearly only released coffee and energy drinks, but news arrived that the witches had actually created a real Time Acceleration potion.

"Is this for real?"