"That was delicious, Rein-nim. I'll handle the cleanup, so please rest easy."
"Thanks, Sora-ssi. I'll leave it to you then."
The bunker meal had just wrapped up. The pups were devouring their third refill, apparently still hungry. I patted my stuffed belly and plopped onto the sofa, shifting my gaze to the Gallery screen.
This routine had been repeating for two days now. Subjugation ops could go sideways in a million ways, after all. So far, though—aside from soldier fatigue—everything was smooth sailing.
[Saintess's Latest Update]
[Brunhilde Graywarden Here, Mid-Horde Purge!]
[lol my legs are numb af from all this]
[Mages are weaklings. No more denying it]
[South's detouring tomorrow—where's North at?]
[Mod what kinda drink? Tasted it and it's weird]
[Fertilize fall harvest fields for winter planting?]
[99% Chance of Cute Cat Pic]
[Muscular Orc Using Slogmar for Sticky Relief.txt]
[Adventurers weren't farmers? They're stupid strong??]
The madness had mostly died down. With performance rewards kicking in, the troll posts were even more visible now. The Gallery was finally regaining its peaceful vibe—trolls aside, that is.
No real issues popping up. Just keep lurking like usual.
I clicked on the drink test post I'd dumped on Duke Adrian.
[Mod what kinda drink? Tasted it and it's weird]
Finance Ministry drone getting ground to dust here.
Was bummed after 4 straight overtime nights, then Duke summoned me and I chugged a drink from the Mod.
Heard it's for subjugation troops.
Three types total—I went with the beer-looking one.
No effect at first, so I was like huh?
But it's been ~4 hours now?
Heart's pounding like crazy, focus is insane.
Body was wrecked from day-night-day-night sub prep cycles, but now work's flying—screw fatigue.
Was stressing over unfinished piles since no nap (pic of desk buried in parchments/paper stacks).
Thanks to it, I can actually rest
♥ 461↻ 5
— What'd you eat to make a corpse move?
(OvertimeIsHell) Dunno lol but it was tasty? That fizzy kick was premium
↳ CanEvenEatBooks
Insane focus? You know any magic?
↳↳ (OvertimeIsHell)
Basic stuff yeah. Tutor quit on me for no talent lol
↳↳ (CanEvenEatBooks)
Step out and try a spell when you can. Magic's all calc + focus
↳↳ (OvertimeIsHell)
Might tank my ego lol. Got it tho
↳ (CanEvenEatBooks)
Thx thx. Lemme know the review later
— Moderator
Uh... that stuff makes rest hard? You super tired?
↳ (OvertimeIsHell)
Tired yeah but condition's fine? Why can't I rest?
↳ Moderator
Kinda an awakening agent—won't crash til effect wears off;;
— So it revives zombies and grinds 'em finer?
A Gallery post straight out of an energy drink ad. Folks were cheering the dramatic effects.
Items prepped for the deadline-crunch Galls: tonic, energy drink, pup milk coffee—three-pack set.
Feasible plan, just needed a nudge. They'd pull through.
Rest later, right?
Thus, caffeinated drinks hit the sales slate. Sent samples by type for rough pricing.
Originally eyed energy drinks for sale. But this world's folks? Caffeine virgins in mortal bodies.
Unexpected side effects possible. Insomnia for days?
Didn't want half-dead troops fighting.
Results by morning, surely. Experiment on track—time for other posts.
Next click: bait troll surge.
[99% Chance of Cute Cat Pic]
(Cute cat baking bread pic)
You hit the 99% jackpot! Congrats!
Ignore that 1% tho and next time it's big pain.
May luck fill your future
♥ 1↻ 411
— New trolling style unlocked
(Author) Glad you like
— WorldTreeGuardian☆
I'm watching you. Be careful.
(Author) See you in that room! Looking forward haha
— FireBreathHoldingMaster☆
Humans are so hard to grok. Eons watching and still baffling.
(Author) (But I'm an elf? Elf kon)
— FunTeasingTheCaptain
No lies pls. Elves don't post bait.
(Author) Vice Captain, how's that left arm? Hurt bad pre-dispatch.
↳ FunTeasingTheCaptain
? Who dis
— WorldTreeGuardian☆
Why would an elf post troll bait? Can't comprehend...
(Author) Captain try it! So fun! Shell game bait!
Elf Gall dropping three-card monte bait. New fact: human trolls mostly fixed nics, elf/dwarf mostly throwaways.
Humans boldly troll with real IDs. Elves stay anon, dwarves even tweak speech to hide race.
Self-promo trolls vs. pure prank trolls?
"Humans attention whores, dwarves schemers, elves sneaky..."
Racial traits bleeding into trolling. Not info I wanted.
Post-auto-hunt, troll count rose but deletion speed skyrocketed too. Excellent system.
"Right? Fast cleanup's a win."
Sora had finished tidying and switched to cat form, naturally settling on my lap.
Positive from Sora—time to drop it. Feeling her purring vibes, I clicked another.
M
GonnaBeAMaterialCraftsman
Real Deal
[Adventurers weren't farmers? They're stupid strong??]
West Lake North Gall here (selfie vs lake backdrop).
Backwoods hellhole crawling with undead/mabeast hordes.
5 adventurers hit village, crashed overnight.
Curious why "farmers" outing, grilled 'em pre-dep.
Turns out targeting sub-troups-skipping hordes.
Cleared east horde already, west today.
Lost it laughing at "five guys did all that"—vibe went murder (brown-haired girl glaring pic).
Scared shitless froze, then she hoisted me to west horde site.
Dropped me, solo charged. Big horde—wiped it solo, too stunned for pics;;
Why were powerhouses farming til now? Asked frfr
♥ 1172↻ 228
— Gigs need rewards, famine baseline—no takers;;
(GonnaBeAMaterialCraftsman) But they've held on—some gigs?
Yeah but...
Starving folks got no rewards—pure volunteer vibes
Our city's branch cleared hordes max pre-pullout. Saved tons...
Gritted thru other branches' pullouts
— PrettyAndStrongAF
Uncle, letting this slide once. Got it?
(PrettyAndStrongAF) Dragged for pic—no pic sigh.
— LoveAdventuring
Pls, plssss no civilian threats—how many times??
lololol top pic girl this nic??
(PrettyAndStrongAF) Yup! Horde purging on gig! Check my post!
Fireball babe lol Adventurer!
Adventure girl's feats logged. Collab with adventurer guild from last pass—looks like it landed.
Figured meh skills after farmer rep... but survivors were legit elites holding the line.
Keep this up, tons of Galls might try adventurer path?
Farmer life forced by famine. Fertilizer fixes that—Galls flock to new jobs.
No one farms for fun.
Adventurer revival seemed tough. Might be easier than thought.
