The Management Bureau
The Management Bureau
[Amor Fati <- If you can't even remember how you managed the IR Gallery without this newbie, then it's okay lol]
[Writer : PoisonCoated]
Fixed results changed?
Inter-dimensional trading is possible?
Traded items follow you through regression?
Hahahahahahahaha
All you IR Gallery members who are looking forward to when the next trade opens, hit that like button quickly
└Martial God) Can't help but hit like on this
└Vampire Princess) Upvote, and another upvote, it is
└Archmage) Hahaha! Following through regression, that's already three laws broken!
└Puppet Master) ......Upvote
└Solo Hero*) This bastard is always acting prickly, first time seeing him this hyped up
└PoisonCoated) Then why wouldn't I be in a good mood? A happy ending is actually within sight, isn't it?
└Solo Hero*) Agreed lol
I returned to my studio apartment, finished showering, and was watching the IR Gallery while drying my hair.
Seeing the excited reactions of the IR Gallery members, my mood improved as well.
"Look how good you look when you smile."
I had been worried deep down.
If the chocolate bar I sent to Dungeon Rogue hadn't followed through the regression, I would have felt like I did something truly awful.
'Because giving something and then taking it back is the worst.'
But fortunately, items traded through my trading function follow through regression.
Thanks to that, half the gallery posts were plastered with Dungeon Rogue's flexing, but everyone was in a celebratory mood.
I went through and hit 'like' on every single one of Dungeon Rogue's flexes, genuinely rejoicing with him.
Then, suddenly, I noticed that there were no 'Best Posts' visible in the IR Gallery.
"Why did I only notice this now?"
Usually, if you look at a gallery menu, the 'Best Posts' tab should be right next to the 'All Posts' category, but in the IR Gallery, the 'Best Posts' button wasn't visible at all.
"On the left is 'All Posts', and right next to it is 'Notices', and that's it? The tags are 'Chat', 'Tips'... 'Creative Writing' too? They have stuff like this, but no 'Best Posts'?"
It was only after scrolling past a bunch of meaningless tags for a long time that the 'Best Posts' button shyly revealed itself at the very end.
Out of curiosity, I clicked on 'Best Posts', and the last post uploaded was a whopping 700 years ago.
"My god."
I left a comment out of curiosity.
└Amor Fati) Guys, but why are there no Best Posts? Everyone is hitting like like this, but not a single one is going up?
└Heresy Purger) There is a sad legend behind that, brother, sob
└Solo Hero*) The cut for a Best Post is 15 likes, but with the current number of people, we can't reach the cut
└Amor Fati) Damn lololol
└Amor Fati) Can't you adjust the cut? You're the Head Admin
└Solo Hero*) When the previous Head Admin passed the authority to me, there was a bit of an issue, so I can't adjust the Best Post cut
It was the IR Gallery, a gallery sad because there were no Best Posts.
"Ha, if only I could get a Best Post, I'd be copying the Best Posts."
The cool star mark was a shame, but it couldn't be helped.
Still, I wasn't super disappointed.
Anyway, just me writing a post was practically a Best Post.
I finished drying my hair and threw my body onto the bed.
"Whoa!"
The sense of fulfillment from clearing one floor.
The fact that I had become a beacon of hope for the IR Gallery members who yearned for a happy ending.
And above all, the feeling of my heart burning with the fact that I could change a future where doom was certain.
I had only cleared the tutorial, yet so many things had changed.
So, it was time to rest a bit today and seriously think about the growth direction of the character that is 'me'.
In any case, you can only enter the stage once a day.
You can enter the Tower itself, but if you go, that white space is all there is.
At least that's how I remember it.
With nothing else to do.
I stared at the Snake Dagger on the desk and pondered.
'Normal 10th-floor boss in the tutorial.'
The Infinity Difficulty Tower had blocked my strength—future information—from the very beginning.
It meant I couldn't predict at all what kind of difficulties would lie ahead.
What if I built myself as a melee strength character, and a long-range sniper with infinite physical defense appeared?
That would mean wasting time and starting all over again.
'Then is a hexagon character the answer?'
An all-rounder character capable of dealing with as many situations as possible.
In other words, a mixed-bag character that can't do anything properly.
'But I am an Infinite Regressor.'
In other words, again.
'A ridiculously huge hexagon character is the answer.'
Becoming an OP character that needs an emergency patch right away.
'Looking at it this way, it seems like it's leaning towards Battle Mage, just like Master said.'
Based on movements mixed with the essence of martial arts, deal with close combat with a dagger, and take care of main damage dealing with magic.
Listening to Master, once I move on to the property conversion and then the incantation stage, it transitions into true magic.
"Heh."
My body itches just imagining it.
It's fun, so much fun.
From the moment I awakened as an Infinite Regression player, there was no room for the word 'boredom' to intrude into my life.
'What will appear on the next floor?'
It's good to cheese it based on future information, but there's also a charm to banging your head against a wall when you know nothing.
I calmed my swelling heart and went to sleep.
Tomorrow is the day to clear the long-awaited 1st floor.
Condition management is a professional's essential virtue.
So—
"Just, 5 more minutes and then sleep."
I turned to my side and turned on the IR Gallery.
[Newbie can't sleep...]
[Writer : Amor Fati]
Post a goodnight meme.
Around the time I was giggling and waiting for the IR Gallery members' comments.
Martial God commented first.
└Martial God) By the way, Newbie, is your original job okay? I heard you're a celebrity. Retiring won't be easy. Are you okay with things like penalty fees?
└Martial God) I also dipped my toes into the Black Path when I was a newbie, and I had to cut off a finger to sever ties.
I shook my head while looking at Martial God's comment.
"It's not like it's a Yakuza group, cutting off a finger..."
Seeing that, I felt that the Martial World really wasn't a place for people to live.
└Puppet Master) Martial God is right. You need to clean up your existing job neatly to move easily as an Infinite Regressor. If it's hard to sever ties, I'll help.
Seeing that even Puppet Master, let alone Martial God, was worried about me, a laugh came out naturally.
"Hahat."
Geez, they all treat me like a child, don't they?
I understand.
Since I haven't been awakened as an Infinite Regressor for long, I must look like someone who hasn't ripened yet to the worn-out gallery members.
They probably think of me as a fresh graduate who is scared of contract penalty fees or can't easily quit their job because of a soft heart.
'But the fact is, a pro gamer from an orphanage has surprisingly faced all sorts of life's storms.'
From jeonse fraud to the famous slave contracts of the pro-gaming scene.
I, who had no parents and no connections, learned how the world works while getting beaten up.
In other words, I knew my worth better than anyone else.
Especially if I was in the position of 'Gap', I knew how to wield it properly.
└Amor Fati) I'm the one in charge, so it's fine
└Martial God) You're the 'Gap', not the employer? Hard to believe, but then that's a relief, yeah
└Puppet Master) I don't know how the Newbie's worldview works, so I'm saying this, but are you really sure it's okay?
└Amor Fati) I don't know how the IR Gallery translation works, but do you know what FA is?
└PoisonCoated) Oh lololololol If that's the case, then Newbie is definitely the 'Gap' lololololol
FA (Free Agent).
A free status where the contract period with the original team has ended, and one can freely sign with another team.
For pros without skill, the term 'end of contract period' would feel heavy.
"But not for me."
To put it bluntly, my market value was whatever I called it.
Actually, in my first regression, I transferred to another team during this period.
After that, I walked a path of success with wings on my back, though I did retire after catching 'Tower-longing Syndrome'.
"What are they going to do if I retire now?"
Even if they grab my pant leg and hang on, I can just wave and enter the Tower.
Stay on the team out of attachment?
I'm sorry, but I wasn't the kind of person to be swayed by attachment to that extent.
'They're just coworkers anyway, so what.'
If there was a team where I could unleash my abilities more fully, I wouldn't hesitate to swap the emblem on my chest.
In that sense, where I needed to be right now wasn't the pro-gaming scene, but the Tower.
The Tower, Monolith.
The great surreal game that was my lifelong wish.
There were even countless reasons to enter the Tower.
'Enjoying popularity as a pro gamer and earning a little money VS Growing as a savior of the world with IR Gallery members and earning tons of money.'
It's idiotic not to choose the latter!
Of course, this is only the superficial reason.
I just don't want to do anything other than enter the Tower.
"Ah, since I thought of it, should I just finish it?"
Since I was wide awake anyway.
Strike while the iron is hot.
I didn't want to spend time on real-life problems forever.
I immediately contacted the club owners who had sent me love calls.
"Um, I'm retiring!"
The Presidential Office of the Republic of Korea.
Figures who could truly be called the leadership of South Korea, including the President, the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of the Interior and Safety, and the Director of the National Intelligence Service, were gathered there.
The first to break the heavy silence was the President.
The President ran a hand through his hair and threw the document onto the table.
"Does this make sense? Something like that rose up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and we don't even know its identity yet. On top of that, what 'Doomsday Timer'? 'Player'? It's not like they're playing children's games."
At those words, everyone gathered there began to sweat profusely.
How would I know?
The world turned into a mess overnight.
Just looking at the US, the national system is on the verge of paralysis due to information control.
The President pointed to a young soldier who was trembling like an aspen tree and asked.
"So, is it true that the Doomsday Timer has been reset? I heard it's a Korean?"
Drrrk!
The young soldier, who had stood up with perfect posture, shouted vigorously.
"I, Private Kim—"
"Ah, never mind. Just get to the point."
"Ah, yes! This morning, claiming to be an Awakened, a translucent window that only I... I mean, probably only visible to players, appeared in my eyes—"
Bang, bang, bang.
A dry sound rang out in the Presidential Office, cutting off the soldier's words.
"Listen here. I told you to just get to the point."
"I, I will correct it! With the message that Korea's Infinity Difficulty clearer had cleared the tutorial, the Doomsday Timer has been reset!"
"I got it, oh my, my ears are going to fall off. Sit down, sit down."
"Th, thank you!"
Then, the Minister of National Defense, who was sitting next to the soldier, expressed his opinion to the President.
"Mr. President, a conclusion has already been reached in the US. That Tower is not made of materials that exist in this world. Furthermore, they say it is continuously scattering unprecedented energy waves all over the world... Scientists say that if it just explodes, the power would be incomparable even to a nuclear bomb."
The President wiped his face as if tired.
What on earth is the identity of that Tower, and why do they call players to the Tower?
The inside story was unknown.
The only fact that could be known was that the threat of human extinction was not an empty threat.
Rather than armchair theories about what that Tower is, it was a time when realistic countermeasures were needed.
"So, how many points?"
"I, Private-, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I will correct it!"
Private Kim's survival instinct detected the Minister of National Defense's eyes narrowing.
"If the Doomsday Timer runs and we don't collect 50,000 points within a week, we go extinct! 1 point is given when clearing one floor, and the points themselves are structured for players across the country to collect together!"
The pronunciation became clear in an instant.
Seeming to like the answer, the Minister of National Defense and the President nodded.
"50,000 points. Our Private Park, have you been inside the Tower?"
Private Kim did not bother to let them know that his surname was Kim.
"I'm sorry! I was too scared to go in!"
"No, no. You don't have to be sorry. Well, it's natural for a human. Besides, you said it was 1 point anyway."
Tap, tap, tap.
The President, who was tapping the desk, continued speaking again.
"Infinity Difficulty. They say the player of that difficulty can reset the Doomsday Timer just by clearing a floor?"
"Yes! That is correct!"
The President buried his body deep into the back of the chair.
"So you're saying an unidentified individual who cannot be controlled by the military or police holds the survival rights of humanity in their hands."
Then, a heavy silence descended on the Presidential Office.
It was the President who broke the short silence again.
"Our Private Choi, you said you awakened and became a psychic."
"Yes, that is correct! Like a crosshair in a game, the impact point has become visible to my eyes!"
"I can't understand you if you talk about difficult things."
"I will correct it! The point where the bullet will reach is marked with a red dot!"
A psychic.
A real superhuman who only appeared in movies or comics.
That superhuman existed right in front of them.
Clear evidence that the flow of the era was turbulent.
The era of superhumans was just opening its doors.
It was obvious that the existing social system would collapse.
That much had to be prevented.
"Minister of the Interior and Safety. That organization I mentioned earlier. Can it be launched immediately?"
Then, a dry-looking man with an emotionless impression stood up.
"Yes. It can be launched immediately. I prepared the name as 'Tower Strategy Headquarters'."
"What is 'Tower Strategy Headquarters', 'Tower Strategy Headquarters'. The name is too stiff."
The President, as if a good idea had occurred to him, raised one index finger and continued speaking.
"Look at our Private Lee. He said he was too scared to even enter the Tower. If it's like this, will the Awakened, I mean, the players, go anywhere to clear it? Change the name. Shouldn't it give off a strong impression of protecting and managing? Just keep it simple. Bam! 'Awakener Protection Bureau'. How is it? Much better, right?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Ah, and regarding administration, judiciary, economic power, I'll hand over all necessary authority, so keep this one thing in mind."
No one refuted the crazy idea that a mere organization would take over all administrative, judicial, and economic powers.
They also knew.
That the future era would revolve around superhumans, that is, the Awakened.
"I will listen carefully."
"That friend who cleared the Infinity Difficulty... Find that friend first. By any means necessary, they must come into our hands. Do you understand? The first mission of the launch of the Bureau is the securing of the Infinity Difficulty clearer."
The butterfly's wing flap was creating a storm.