Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Troll Seed I
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Shin Noah
1
Old Man Show's coffee was delicious today as well.
In that sense, just like the episode two installments ago, I figured I'd spin another tale from the 50th round.
2
The 50th round was the one where our SG Guy, Seo-gyu, ended up founding SG Net for the first time.
In many ways, SG Net became a turning point in Awakener society.
Before that, Awakeners had formed guilds separately and operated independently. They would occasionally band together to tackle large gates, but guilds were fundamentally exclusive toward one another.
SG Net, however, opened up new horizons for them.
-[Satisfaction]Cooking Queen: Seeking peace of mind? Join Satisfaction Guild! Main base is Daejeon!
-[Three Thousand]Witch Judge: Busan. Under 40. Preference for flying Awakeners. Preference for magic Awakeners. Inquiries via whisper. May not check whispers from 11 PM to 9 AM.
-[Hundred Flowers]High School 6th Year: ★Recruiting fated companions for the camaraderie club Hundred Flowers from now on★ >_<)!
SG Net was basically restricted to Awakeners only.
For guilds desperate to recruit as many high-quality Awakeners as possible, it was only natural that their eyes would bulge.
They actively promoted their guilds.
At some point, guild members started prefixing their nicknames with [brackets] to indicate affiliation, and it became established custom on SG Net.
We benefited from easily accessing Awakener information, and Awakeners gained a reliable way to promote their guilds.
Of course, SG Net didn't only have positive effects.
-Goryeo Jang: Bunch of retards circle-jerking.
The infamous Goryeo Jang villain.
He joined as a full member right after SG Net launched. He wasn't part of any guild.
He might've actually been in one, but at least he didn't display a guild name.
As time passed, there were plenty of other "lone wolf" Awakeners who stuck to solo play besides the Goryeo Jang villain.
But those types usually kept a low profile, staying out of sight.
Even on SG Net, lone wolves mostly lurked as non-members.
-Goryeo Jang: Heard a gate blew up in Chungju yesterday? Fewer people means more food rations. Sweet deal.
What made Goryeo Jang villain unique was his complete lack of intent to hide.
Not only did he join as a full member with his nickname displayed, he lived with trash-talk perpetually on his lips.
SG Net inherently had few aggro-pullers by nature. After all, wasn't it a site personally created by the transcendent Constellation?
Even if someone spewed abuse, it was standard to do so as the non-member "Anonymous."
In that environment, Goryeo Jang villain—who acted like he didn't give a damn about Constellations or whatever—couldn't help but draw aggro.
-Goryeo Jang: Hundred Flowers? Camaraderie club? World's gone to shit, what the fuck is this camaraderie bullshit. You hairless brats, don't live long enough to turn into retards—get the hell out to another country quick. This one's done for.
└[Hundred Flowers]High School 6th Year: Huueeng. That's too muchㅠ_ㅠ).....
└[Satisfaction]Cooking Queen: Words reflect thoughts, and thoughts are like fog on a cloudy day wetting oneself. How about trying clearer, brighter language?
Goryeo Jang villain went beyond a rough mouth, actively picking fights with other members.
He targeted strong and weak alike.
Hundred Flowers Guild in particular would later become a mega-guild representing South Korea (in a bad way). Only I, the regressor, knew that for now.
Other members' reactions were predictably poor.
-Anonymous: Psycho bastard.
-[Yuldo Nation]Sword Marquis: Can't we just block that punk?
-Anonymous: Everyone, just ignore; aggro cost-performance is insane.
-[Three Thousand]Witch Judge: Honestly sick of looking at him.
-ZERO_SUGAR: Member, you'll regret that.
But the more aggro he pulled, the more Goryeo Jang villain thrilled.
-Goryeo Jang: ㅗ
As the world began crumbling, major communities dried up. They just hogged traffic uselessly.
The internet fragmented into small, closed communities like decades ago. In the tamed waters, aggro fishermen wore long faces.
For them, SG Net must've been like a newly rebuilt paradise.
-Goryeo Jang: Any with a conscience, all old folks should just kill themselves.
-Yeah, even the government's stockpiled food's run out, and they're shoving guns into kids' hands and pushing them to the gate frontlines.
-In this mess, useless old geezers freeloading off the young, sucking them dry to the bone? Brain cells dead and conscience gone too? Seriously saying it again: if you feel like a burden on your kids, please die one day sooner.
He especially seemed to despise the elderly.
Goryeo Jang villain posted daily on the theme "all old people must die," as if determined to live up to his nick.
A so-called steady post.
Some Awakeners even agreed.
-Anonymous: Hm.
-Anonymous: Fucked up, but yeah, old farts are gross.
Most members, however, loathed Goryeo Jang villain's posts.
-Son Love: Young guy, but your words are too harsh......
└Goryeo Jang: Old fart? Look at that disgusting nick. Why haven't you croaked yet? Loving sucking your son's spine dry?
-[Yuldo Nation]Sword Marquis: Wet-behind-the-ears brats have lost it.
-[Satisfaction]Cooking Queen: Brother, if you have a secret you can't tell anyone, consult me anytime. People kill people, but live by people too.
└Goryeo Jang: Piss off please.
└Anonymous: This fucker's rude even to Cooking Queen. Sigh.
-Anonymous: Seems like he has no parents.
-[Hundred Flowers]High School 6th Year: Huueeng. Oppas, don't fightㅠ_ㅠ).....
-ZERO_SUGAR: Member, you'll regret that.
└Goryeo Jang: ㅗ
As some anonymous non-member pointed out, ignoring was the only answer for aggro addicts.
But many Awakeners seemed to be experiencing internet communities for the first time.
"Wow, this guy's really disgusting......"
Among them was site operator Seo-gyu.
"Bro. Can't I just ban that guy?"
"No."
Seo-gyu tilted his head at my immediate reply.
"Why not?"
"Because you can't look human."
"Huh?"
"......"
I assembled sentences in my mind.
The longer my life grew through repeated regressions, the shorter my words became. So I consciously tried to speak at length.
"To Awakeners, this site's operator is the Constellation's proxy. The apostle of the one revealed Constellation in Korea. If you show human anger, sadness, or rage, you might get cheers short-term, but long-term, it'll undermine your authority."
"Ah......"
"Seo-gyu, you need to seem from another dimension entirely. Appear only in one case: when the 'nameless Constellation' is insulted. Goryeo Jang villain never insulted the Constellation. So leave him be."
Seo-gyu wore a puzzled expression.
He probably didn't fully get it.
But it didn't matter. The mere fact he hadn't blasted a public notice like "You fucker! What bullshit is that!" meant he'd fulfilled his role.
"So what do we do? Just leave him?"
"No. I mean don't step in yourself."
I muttered while brewing coffee.
"You never know till you look into the world."
"......?"
Then one day.
-Joined Today: Fuck, my dad killed himself.
A few years after SG Net's creation, a long post appeared on the board.
It went like this.
-Joined to post this, was anonymous before.
-Came back from hunting monsters, bought some glutinous rice blood sausage after ages, got to lodging—dad gone, just a letter. It said not to look for him. Like I have a choice?
-Spent last 4 days crazily searching neighborhood. Finally found him in the stream three neighborhoods over. Guy couldn't even walk properly with bad back and legs—how'd he drag himself there?
(Attached photo)
-Any Awakeners here have seen plenty of dead bodies, so mosaic's half-assed.
-Used to have a few crematoriums running, but now? Trend's to dump corpses in fields for monsters to eat, right? Fuck lol.
-Know a big sis who uses fire magic, begged her. She always complained at drinks how she's burned more bodies than monsters, everyone treats her like a human incinerator—never thought I'd ask her that too.
-My dad was an Awakener too. F-rank. Ability useless as shit, but he passed time chatting on SG Net. Nick was "Son Love," maybe some know him.
-Coming back from sis yesterday, read dad's posts and replies—then "Goryeo Jang" that fucker caught my eye. He'd practically held a ritual to make dad suicide?
(Attached photo)
-I know you didn't kill my dad directly. But your existence alone is revolting.
-I'll give all my fortune to whoever kills Goryeo Jang fucker or tells me where he is. No bullshit. Whisper me.
-Full member trash-talking like that, seems confident in skills. Let's see you spout bullshit with an axe in your skull.
The post by "Joined Today" caused a stir on SG Net.
-Anonymous: Aigo......
-[Yuldo Nation]Sword Marquis: May the deceased rest in peace.
-[Three Thousand]Witch Judge: May the deceased rest in peace.
-Anonymous: No cap.
-[Satisfaction]Cooking Queen: How great the sense of loss must be? Don't know what to say for comfort. Father surely went to a happy place.
-[Hundred Flowers]High School 6th Year: Huueengㅠ_ㅠ).....
-Anonymous: This real?
-dolLHoUse: Condolences.
The post hit popular status in no time. Likes surpassed 300, comments in the hundreds.
99% mourned the poster's father.
Meaning there was a 1% exception.
-Goryeo Jang: Retard. I'm Canadian expat, how you gonna kill me? Come if you dare. Cut one old fart lol.
└Anonymous: Holy shit, disgusting to the end.
That shameless response sparked outrage among countless members.
"Bro. Is that guy really a Canadian expat?"
"No way."
I shook my head.
"Obviously a lie. He joined right when SG Net launched. Got Saintess's message and logged in immediately—Saintess can't send messages to Canada."
"Ah."
"Possible he went after, but...... nah. Login times say otherwise."
My guess hit the mark.
"He's in Korea."
Saintess said with eyes closed.
I could tell what ability she was using. Hands clasped: Telepathy. Eyes shut: Clairvoyance.
Even S-rank abilities came with constraints.
"I'll guide the way directly via Telepathy."
"Thanks. Oh, and scout where 'Joined Today' lives too?"
"Wait...... Got it."
"Hmm."
Saintess and Seo-gyu's utility sank in anew.
Without them, even this trivial info would've taken effort.
Then Saintess murmured.
"But this Goryeo Jang......"
"Hm? What's up?"
"...Multiple identities. A bit unusual."
Saintess sipped coffee expressionlessly.
I shrugged once, logged into SG Net with my full member ID, and left a reply for Goryeo Jang villain.
Final warning, so to speak.
-ZERO_SUGAR: Member, you'll regret that.
Ding.
Notification came instantly, as if awaited.
-Goryeo Jang: ㅗ
I nodded.
Of course. Kids these days have no netiquette.
Had to manage trolls like this pronto. For the ambitious SG Net project to succeed, at least.
Absolutely not because, calculating my entire regression life, I was by far the oldest person in this world and got rubbed wrong by Goryeo Jang villain's antics.
Never.