Who Is This Person?
211's profiling post blew past 500 upvotes overnight.
The entire atmosphere of the gallery had shifted. Up until yesterday, the consensus was "this anonymous guide-writer is pretty good" — but ever since the hidden dungeon verification, it had flipped completely into "who on earth IS this person?" And 211's post was the one that flipped the switch.
When a profiling post about a specific user pulls 500 upvotes on a gallery, it means that person has become the center of the community's attention.
I woke up in the morning and read through the comments.
223's guide posts are NOT written in the voice of someone with field experience.
A field-experienced hunter writes "don't do ○○" before they ever write "do ○○." They lead with what kills you.
223 writes in the voice of someone who already knows the answer.
As if they're reading off an answer sheet.
Hunter Introduction's analysis sent a chill down my spine. "As if they're reading off an answer sheet" — that was a nearly accurate description. Because what I actually had was the complete strategy database of Ether Chronicle, the original game. The answer sheet itself.
Is this person a reporter? Their analytical instincts suit a detective better than a hunter.
And the fact that 211 agreed with Hunter Introduction's analysis made me even more uncomfortable. If those two put their heads together, they could get disturbingly close to my real identity. Of course, they'd never reach the actual answer — "he's a washed-up game addict who got isekai'd" — but reaching the conclusion that "this person has an abnormal source of information" would be easy.
My anxiety was starting to crank up.
I opened the status window on my phone. Twenty main quests. Not a single one cleared. The hidden dungeon, the Forest Altar, wasn't part of the main quest list — so what I'd done yesterday wasn't quest progress at all. It was pure trust-building.
To actually start the quests, someone would have to clear the first main dungeon, the Crystal Cavern.
Crystal Cavern. A B-rank dungeon. Boss: the Crystal Golem.
I had the patterns memorized cold. The problem was that I needed to recruit a party from the gallery to clear the thing. And honestly — was a party really going to sign up for a B-rank dungeon on the word of some unregistered anonymous user?
...Ah, right. They would. SeoAChamp would volunteer before anyone else could.
She'd probably apply with something like "Mr. Mystery posted the guide, so I trust it!!" — four exclamation marks included, free of charge.
But before that, there was a problem I needed to solve. Because of 211's profiling post, the gallery was actively forming a mob-hunting-for-my-identity atmosphere.
So far I'd been operating on anonymous dynamic IPs, so my identity was untraceable — but if I kept posting, my IP range could narrow down my location. Should I install a VPN? Wait, but if I pay for a premium VPN service, that's money coming out of my 1.95 million won again.
An F-rank's OPSEC has to fight poverty as well as enemies.
After agonizing over it, I installed a free VPN app. The connection was slow enough that every gallery refresh took three full seconds, but I confirmed the IP was changing.
Back in my original world, VPNs were something I only ever used to dodge ads. Who knew I'd be using one in an isekai for identity concealment? An F-rank's survival skill isn't combat, it's network security — is that its own branch of the skill tree or what?
From now on my IP would be different every single time, which would make it much harder for 211 to track me by IP range. Of course, if they started analyzing writing style instead, I was doomed — but that was a problem for future me.
Connected to the gallery under the new IP, I put up my fourth guide post. This one was a guide to the Crystal Cavern, the first main quest dungeon — a declaration that a "long-term guide series" was officially beginning.
The Basilisk and the hidden dungeon were just appetizers.
Going forward, I'll be posting guides to the major dungeons on this gallery as a series.
First up: Crystal Cavern (B-rank dungeon)
Boss: Crystal Golem
[Detailed guide in the next post]
I have my reasons. I've never been wrong.
Long story short: follow me and everything gets cleared.
Since my IP changed, I no longer show up as "223" — I'm "147" now. But the tone is identical. "Long story short." "I have my reasons." "I've never been wrong."
It's a bit funny that my writing style doubles as identity verification, but it's my brand at this point. I can't change it even if I wanted to.
The comments rolled in.
Our guild was already planning to challenge Crystal Cavern,
so as soon as the guide drops, we're applying it right away!!
That said, interested in the series announcement. If the Crystal Golem guide is accurate, I'll assemble a party myself and verify it in person.
175 sniffing out the VPN within ten seconds was honestly impressive, and Kimchi Fried Rice being right about something for the first time in recorded history was worth commemorating.
And 211, as always, was holding their "I will verify it" position. This is the type who hopes my guides are correct but will absolutely never admit it first. They check with their own eyes, verify it themselves, and only then do they grant a "confirmed." Frankly, people like this are the most useful ones to have. SeoAChamp's unconditional "thank you so much!!" is nice and all, but 211 finds the gaps in my guides and feeds me extra information — an actual feedback loop.
Even in gaming communities, the best guides were never written alone. They were forged by the people ripping them apart.
By evening, when I checked the gallery again, new comments had appeared under 211's profiling post.
223's (currently on VPN) posting patterns:
- Posts primarily 9–10 AM, 2–3 PM, and 9–10 PM
- Style: casual speech, "long story short" pattern, strategy-guide terminology
- Notable: mixes modern gaming-industry jargon with old-school gaming terminology
This person is probably not an active-duty hunter.
Active hunters can't spend these hours browsing a gallery.
Either retired, or a non-combat industry affiliate.
They're analyzing the timestamps of my posts. They pulled "not an active-duty hunter" purely from my activity hours.
Accurate. I'm not an active hunter. I'm F-rank and unemployed — that's the whole reason I can gallery-browse all day. But 211 is interpreting that as "retired hunter or non-combat industry affiliate."
Still far from the correct answer of "F-rank jobless shut-in," but the search radius keeps shrinking. If 211's profiling continues, my identity will inevitably narrow down. Swapping my IP is pointless if I don't change my writing style, and changing my writing style destroys my brand. If I stop posting, I can't clear quests; if I post, I get hunted.
What is this — even when you know the guide by heart, you can't write a guide for yourself?
I reopened the gallery, and there was one brand-new post sitting there. From a registered nick I'd never seen: Soyul is Soul.
I did some pattern analysis, and you mostly post around ○ o'clock,
and you're most active on ○days :)
I'll come find you too. I promise :)
The downvotes were triple the upvotes. Apparently even the gallery finds this one a little terrifying.
The gallery's verdict was clear in the comments: 211's profiling is "analysis," and this is "stalking."
Though honestly, looking at the content alone, there isn't much difference between the two. It's remarkable how one little smiley face can flip the entire mood of a post.
Soyul is Soul. A nickname I'd never seen before. I tapped the profile — join date was one week ago, and this was their first post. Then I checked the comment history.
Every comment they'd ever made was on my posts. Every. Single. One.
Cold sweat ran down my back again.
211's analysis is logical, so I can respond to it. This person runs on obsession, not logic. The certainty radiating from those few words — "I'll come find you too. I promise :)" — landed heavier than 211's entire multi-paragraph analysis.
Just as I was about to put my phone down, a DM came in. From SeoAChamp.
I understand that meeting in person is difficult.
But um... my guild is holding an event today. Well, next Saturday, I mean.
It's one of those industry networking parties, and if you could come, even just for a bit...
Ah, of course you don't have to feel pressured!
I just thought I'd ask, that's all!
A guild event. A networking party. This was an invitation to the offline world.
I can't go. If my F-rank status gets exposed, every ounce of trust I've built on the gallery comes crashing down. If the "God of Guides" turned out to be an F-rank jobless guy who scrapes by on convenience-store lunch boxes...
I sent a reply.
After sending it, I flipped my phone face-down on the desk.
211 is analyzing me. Soyul is hunting me. SeoAChamp wants to meet me. An F-rank jobless guy standing at the center of the gallery armed with nothing but a keyboard — if this were a game, I have no idea what phase of the boss fight we're in.
But one thing was certain. The moment I posted the next guide, all three of them would react. And the intensity of those reactions would only keep climbing.
I closed my eyes to sleep — and my phone rang. Gallery notification.
Soyul is Soul had left a new comment. Not on my post — on 211's profiling post.
But I found one more thing.
In this person's writing style, I can see the vocabulary habits of a specific game community.
I'll post the details later :)
"I'll post the details later :)"
Son of a—. Who the hell IS this one??