Chicken (Part 1)

I opened the gallery with trembling hands. My main account was still there, but...

Indeed, a Head Mod account had been granted to me.

"You want me... to manage this cesspool?"

"Uh... what if I say no?"

Ah, she's terrifying.

"I'll... do it."

"Then, can I ask you just one thing...?"

I took a deep breath and spoke.

"What do I get out of being the Head Mod?"

Even if this was a fantasy world, and even if the Operator was rumored to possess transcendent power, making someone an unpaid janitor cleaning up disgusting images for a single piece of chicken was a violation of basic business ethics. Well, it was my fault for scarfing it down without asking first, but still.

I nodded.

"Really?"

I swore I'd never wear the admin armband again...

But the promised reward was just too big to pass up.

"Alright, let's give it a shot."

"Well, that's easy enough."

It wasn't a difficult task. Not only did I have the memories of being a gallery addict in my past life, but I also had the memories of Derek, who was a local user of the Cheerful Demon Realm Village Gallery. As a native of this forum, I could spot the trolls from a mile away.

Just reading the titles made my head spin. Thanks to my past life's experience, a quick glance was enough to tell what was a troll post and what was genuine, but without checking them one by one, even I couldn't know for sure. Why?

"These cowardly bastards turned off the image preview."

Disgusting image trolls didn't earn their reputation for nothing. They were malicious jerks who lived to watch people suffer after clicking on their vile uploads. Of course they would disable any safety features.

For starters, I swept away all the posts that clearly seemed to contain disgusting images.

Immediately, a message from the Operator arrived.

"Points?"

I had half-guessed on some of them, but it seemed they were all trolls. Then again, this gallery had been a playground for trolls for at least a century. It was safe to assume there were virtually no normal posts left.

"Sure."

I banned the authors of the deleted posts as instructed.

"Where do I spend these points?"

"Hmm."

Following the Operator's instructions, I scrolled down.

"Point Shop? Is this it?"

"Why is there so much stuff?"

That meant it included the memories of my past life as well.

"There's literally everything."

From all kinds of food to gasoline, compact generators, and even solar panels. First, I checked the food category, which was what I needed most.

"Chicken is pretty cheap? They give out points more generously than I thought."

It felt like 1 point was roughly equivalent to about a thousand won in my past life's currency.

"Ah."

Why did they have to make it so tedious? With a measly 120 points, I couldn't even eat a single piece of chicken.

"Wait, deleting a troll post is 10 points, and banning a malicious user is 20 points. Maybe I can gather them surprisingly fast?"

What kind of place was the Demon Realm Gallery? It was a place crawling with insect-like trolls, just like the Great Wetland of the Demon Realm. There were endless malicious trolls waiting to be caught and executed.

"If I play this right..."

Maybe I could secure a steady food supply just by managing the gallery, without ever having to step foot outside.

"I don't have to leave the house!"

It was absolute paradise. Thanks to my mother, who was a highly successful barrier mage, those damn 'pureblood' demons would never be able to bully me as long as I stayed indoors. Inside this house, I was a god, completely invincible! Well, as long as I didn't go outside to buy food like yesterday.

"Alright, to make sure I can smoothly supply myself with food using points..."

A brilliant idea struck me. I posted a global announcement to the gallery, which was currently in a state of panic after the sudden wave of mass purges.

The native demons of the gallery, who had mostly been lurking to avoid the trolls, slowly began to show themselves. On the other hand:

It seemed quite a few people were displeased by my sudden appearance and declaration to 'kill all trolls.' It was obvious. They had to be human, elf, and dwarf trolls.

"Well, if that's what they want, I should oblige."

Deleting comments and banning trolls. Doing both at the same time brought in a very handsome amount of points.

By nature, trolls are malicious creatures who will do exactly what you tell them not to do, and refuse to do what you ask. So, all you had to do was provoke them slightly by telling them not to do something, and then...

"Shall we earn some points?"

...and perform a glorious sword dance of bans. Now that the memories of my past life had returned, the trolls of this gallery were a joke.

"Is this all you've got? Come back when you've grown a bit more."

"This doesn't even qualify as a disgusting image. Do you think I haven't seen terrorists beheading people in GIFs back in my day?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. That's not going to upset my stomach. I've dealt with all kinds of bizarre villains."

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...

"Pathetic."

There was no troll here who could stop me now.

In my past life, I was an extreme gallery addict. I was a madman who haunted countless galleries and channels morning, noon, and night. Because of that, I received love calls from numerous communities. Sometimes, unable to withstand threats of being put on ban lists or targeted for fixed nickname public executions if I refused, I ended up serving as a Head Mod or Sub-mod dozens of times, half of my own will and half against it.

Some might ask if I had reached the level of someone who genuinely enjoyed it, but my answer was absolute.

"Who the hell would want to do this? Anyone who volunteers to be a Head Mod is either a troll, a psychopath, or both."

Those guys who confidently shout, 'Make me Head Mod!' or 'Make me Sub-mod!'? They are 100% trolls. I've seen it over five times where someone begged for the position, immediately started trolling, got banned, and then created dozens of alt accounts to perform a shadow clone jutsu.

Honestly, I didn't want to do it at first. But I had no choice but to accept.

"The gallery Operator literally threatened to banish me from the Demon Realm if I didn't take the Head Mod position. What choice did I have?"

But there was definitely a silver lining.

"I can get food just by sitting here and clicking on the forum!"

The fried chicken she had thrown as bait. Its taste was violently delicious.

"Sigh, I'm getting hungry again."

But there was no need to worry. I had plenty of points farmed over the last few hours.

"Just looking at it makes me feel secure."

Since it crossed my mind, I unlocked the 'Fried Chicken' item and ordered a box.

"So from now on, it'll only cost 30 points, right?"

Since chicken was something I'd eat often, the 1,000-point unlock fee wasn't a waste at all.

Whoosh!

"Wow, this is seriously delicious."

Chicken alone felt a bit lacking, so I also unlocked a 2-liter bottle of cola.

It was around 3 or 4 in the morning. Having slept plenty after passing out earlier, I planned to make up for the meal I missed. Even as I tore into a chicken drumstick, I kept working.

"Caught another elf bastard."

I managed the gallery in between bites.

"The points are literally printing themselves!"

All for the sake of a rich, shut-in life where I never had to leave my room.

"My goodness."

She had never imagined he would do such a spectacular job. Because her current power was severely weakened, the most she could offer him was a single summon coupon for any food of his choice.

"And yet, he's working so hard."

If she could, she wanted to support him generously in the future. He was a diligent man who handled his work flawlessly.

"He's incredibly experienced. As expected of a veteran."

The woman, who was watching the Head Mod with a pleased expression, suddenly paused.

"But what is that... did he call it 'chicken'?"

Gulping, she closely watched the Head Mod greedily devouring a food she had never seen before. Having observed the demons for hundreds of years, there was absolutely no food she didn't know of. Until she saw what the Head Mod had ordered.

Beneath the golden, crispy skin lay tender, white meat. As he tore the surface, hot, savory juices ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flowed out. The Head Mod ate every single bite, not letting a single drop go to waste.

Gulp.

She swallowed hard without realizing it.

"I... want to try it too."

It would ruin her mysterious, divine aura, but how could she resist?

She carefully sent a message.

"Man, that was incredibly delicious."

Looking at the pile of bones, it looked like a miniature grave.

"I'll browse the gallery a bit more to digest, then head to bed."

But right then—

Ding!

"?"

The Operator had started begging me for chicken.