Chapter 2
Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Boss Mob Gallery
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I thought I'd live a life with no connection to Hunters.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Awakener Kim Do-yoon, we sincerely congratulate you on awakening your mana. Your identity has been automatically classified by the Association as 'C- Rank' potential grade, and you have been designated as a registration candidate for the [Seoul Gangnam Hunter Association Branch] based on your current location. "...Ah."
It had finally come.
Awakener registration.
Anyone who awakens mana and gains skills must automatically take the Association's registration exam.
It was a huge waste of two whole years, and on top of that, I'd have to get drafted somewhere and work?
But fortunately, the treatment was much better than the military.
In simple terms, the pay was on another level entirely.
Soldiers were the nation's dogs, but Awakeners were diligent workers.
At least it meant your efforts and achievements were guaranteed.
But the problem was...
Boss Mob Gallery
...this vile skill floating right in front of my eyes.
One day, it just popped up in mid-air.
At first, I jumped for joy, thinking my life was finally turning around, but then I saw the skill name and my brain froze.
Gallery. But with Boss Mob attached.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Welcome to the Boss Mob Gallery. This is a place where the lords of each tower stage floor can freely exchange opinions. You, 'Kim Do-yoon', can interact with gallery users here and use various privileges. "What?"
💬 Posts [How far has the current raid team gotten?] [Current list of most popular Hunters] [Anyone got some Hunter memes?] [For fuck's sake, raid it this time] [So which of you is the strongest?] Just looking at the posts made my head spin.
Since it manifested through a skill, it was obviously different from the galleries I knew.
Still, the disconnect from reality kept nagging at me.
I decided to dive in, driven by a familiar sensation.
(My Post) Title: What is this place? -Newbie here, what is this place? What the hell is it doing popping up in my skill window? Frustrated, I hammered out the post, and soon comments started trickling in, one by one.
— Anonymous Oh yeah, a newbie's here? — Anonymous Newbie's... talking casually? — Anonymous Sees "skill" right away, this guy's not normal either lol — Anonymous Like there's any normal guy in this gallery lol — Aged Wine is... Hueee...! A newbie has arrived...! — Anonymous Mod entered the gallery lol After a bit more back-and-forth, the mod jumped in to sort things out.
Title: Newbies, read this. — Paper Enthusiast -Newbies are usually supposed to shut up and listen, that's the rule. But it's been a while since we had one, and I'm in a good mood, so I'll explain briefly. This is a gathering of guys like you who rule their tower floors, sharing tips and advice to avoid getting ejected from the tower. Now get lost once you're done reading. — Anonymous ...What did we even read? — Anonymous LOL — Anonymous Damn, what a straightforward explanation — Aged Wine is... Hueeet, it's sinking in so clearly...! — Anonymous You already know everything; — Aged Wine is... Aww, Wine-jjang knows nothing at all Tower floors? Ejection?
Words that seemed totally unrelated to my life made me feel like I was lost in a maze.
(My Post) Title: Newbie question #2. -So you're all the monster bosses stuck in the tower? Enough with the ejection this, floor that, insider weeb talk only you guys get. So what can you do for me? — Anonymous This guy's so bold wtf — Anonymous Don't call us monsters, it hurts our feelings — Anonymous Uh... what are we supposed to do...? — Paper Enthusiast What a cheeky bastard after so long. Want a taste of the mod punch? — Anonymous Gasp — Anonymous lol — Aged Wine is... Huee...! The arrogant newbie-jjang must bow his head and offer words of apology at once...! "...No."
Since it came from a skill, there had to be some benefit for me, right?
The messages were already urging me to take the Awakener exam, but I had to go bare-handed like this?
(My Post) Title: Hear me out. -You guys don't seem to get what I'm saying. If you don't help, I'm in deep shit? I have to take the Awakener exam next week—should I just show them this gallery? Wanna see a newbie get wrecked for being a total noob? So please, show me something useful. — Anonymous Getting boring; — Anonymous What the hell's this guy on about? Awakener exam? — Anonymous Isn't that what outsiders take? — Anonymous Wine-level roleplay lol — Aged Wine is... Comparing that trash roleplay to me is an insult — Anonymous Agreed; — War God *beep boop* — Anonymous Mod's gonna go nuclear today lol Title: You really want the spicy treatment, huh — Paper Enthusiast -If that's what you want, I can't say no to a block. But this is your last chance. Prove your bullshit posts right now. Chicken? Account nuke incoming? — Anonymous LOL can he even prove it lol — Anonymous Active Hunter here, upvoted lol — Anonymous Not human... — Anonymous Tbh this level of aggro is a success — Anonymous Success my ass lol — Anonymous Fr, kinda jealous of the talent; pulling this much aggro on first post; "I'm losing my mind."
The board was instantly flooded with talk about me.
Newbie what the hell, no manners, loser becomes the bitch... what was that last one.
It felt just like any other gallery, but this was still happening inside my skill window.
The topic was singular.
Proof of my existence.
[Newbie, you hiding?] [Total nofun] [No hiding from us lol bye~] [Not going far~] [But if he's really human, then what?] [As if lol] [Hueet...! I-if real, I'll drain and store all his blood...!] [Gasp] If I got blocked like this, I'd end up as a powerless normie.
Since I'd become an Awakener anyway, shouldn't I at least make a splash once?
'Can't get blocked.'
With that thought, I grabbed my phone and snapped a photo of my hand.
A plain guy's hand with the middle finger extended.
I didn't forget to write 'Boss Mob Gallery' on the back of my hand.
"...How do I even send this?"
The photo saved to my phone, but there was no way to upload it to the skill's gallery.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Condition unlocked! You can now upload saved photos to the 'Gallery'. As if it was waiting, the message popped up, and I immediately posted the photo to deliver some harsh lessons.
(My Post) Title: All you bastards who talked shit earlier, come here -(My middle finger photo) Especially that Paper Enthusiast fucker, get ready to delete your account lol This proof enough? Now for fuck's sake help me already The stagnant views started climbing one by one, then exploded.
— Anonymous ? — Anonymous ??? — Anonymous Wait, for real??? — Anonymous Why is this real? Real human? — Paper Enthusiast Whoa, a hand — Anonymous Lololol mod lost it — Anonymous Got chills just now; photoshop? — Anonymous Wild how a human got in here — Anonymous Dumbasses, obviously fake — Short-Eared Goblin Hrng... not fake~ My mana sense detects nothing unusual — Anonymous Goblin Queen appears lol The gallery was on fire.
It wasn't the bait I intended, but it ignited instantly, with posts respawning nonstop.
Half doubt, half curiosity.
Honestly, whether they believed me or not didn't matter.
All I cared about was getting some help for next week's Awakener exam.
[Newbie I'll help you lol] [Wtf is going on in the gallery rn?] [Hueet, newbie-jjang, I'll support you...!] [Account nuke... gotta do it?] [Where'd that mod who was picking fights go? Lololol] [Got bodied instantly? Couldn't do shit? Lol] ['Real' human in Boss Gallery...? Possible.] [Don't care if human or not. New bait's fun, upvote lol I'll go first] For now, I clicked on a random post that seemed urgent.
Title: What can I help you with? — Anonymous -(Grinning goblin photo) I'll serve you loyally, so come on over? — Anonymous Fuck off; — Anonymous Newbie's gonna run lololol — Anonymous Face is straight-up menacing — Anonymous Never gets old — Poster Fuck off roms — Anonymous Got salty lolololol — Anonymous I'll help better than this guy lol — Anonymous Fr lol help from this guy = dark wizard job change confirmed lol; — Anonymous Lololololololol "Ugh, fuck."
Okay, monsters, got it—but how the hell were they gonna help?
— Anonymous Got nothing lol (My reply) — Me ....? — Anonymous Realistically how tf we gonna help lol just cheer from inside the tower with pom-poms — Anonymous Lol cheering? Lol — Anonymous Or come here and we'll host you right away — Anonymous Full tower course on arrival lol — Anonymous Obvious he's fresh Awakener, no way he can enter — Anonymous Yeah lol — Aged Wine is... Hueeng ㅠㅠ I wanna meet newbie-jjang in person too ㅠㅠ — Anonymous Sis wanna meet me? — Aged Wine is... Ei, mod punch! — Anonymous Instant block lol So they couldn't actually help in reality?
Unless I got a super-fast tower entry pass, there was nothing for the Awakener exam.
Truly despairing news.
Title: I know~ — Short-Eared Goblin -We can just use our own images, right? Hunters want to beat us anyway, to keep world peace~ — Anonymous Only I don't get it? — Anonymous Explain for dummies pls (My reply) — Me You can help? — Anonymous Lol look at him pop out right after no reaction Title: So basically this, right? — Paper Enthusiast -Awakeners including newbie's goal is tower clear, right? Normies can't even enter obviously So we'll pre-adapt him so he can enter the tower~ That's it — Anonymous Aha — Anonymous So what? TL;DR pls — Anonymous If you can't get even this... (My reply) — Me So wtf you saying; — Anonymous He doesn't get it either lololol — Anonymous Something about mana adaptation? — Paper Enthusiast Bingo lol; — Anonymous Ah yeah that'll work — Anonymous You're a genius? — Anonymous Goblin came up with the idea lol — Aged Wine is... Huee...! I understood completely...! "Huh...?"
They were chatting among themselves again, leaving me behind.
What kind of help was this?
Mana? Adaptation?
Any help would do—as long as I didn't embarrass myself at next week's exam.
Then, the post I'd been waiting for appeared.
Title: Newbie-jjang, newbie-jjang, please read my post! — Aged Wine is... -(Photo of a woman with long white hair smiling sweetly) To adapt inside the stage, best to imprint the stage lord's image, me~! That'll reduce mental strain, make adaptation easier, and help with the Awakener exam! — Anonymous Ooh yeah... — Anonymous My eyes aaaah dyingggg — Anonymous How long's it been since we saw Wine-jjang pic — Anonymous Fr;; newbie hard-carrying — Anonymous This the tower lord pic you see once a century? — Anonymous Yup~ — Paper Enthusiast Yeah. Newbie can send pics, so we can too. — Paper Enthusiast Awakener exam etc. is just to check if you can operate in the tower, right? — Anonymous Checking aptitude lol — Anonymous Say it right lol — Short-Eared Goblin Yeah~ — Anonymous So what's that got to do with seeing goblin and wine pics? — Paper Enthusiast Obviously important — Anonymous Eye candy good for me lol — Anonymous Get out — Anonymous Some kinda exploit? Not seeing in person, just pics = indirect mana resistance boost; — Anonymous Hmm... maybe? — Anonymous Hmm if you don't know stfu lol "Ah."
I snapped out of staring at Wine Lord's photo like I was entranced.
This was a boss mob photo.
For a lord of a terrifying place, she exuded breathtaking, seductive beauty.
'That's it?'
Just one photo click?
Disappointment welled up from deep inside, but better than nothing.
(My Post) Title: Alright, taking your word for it—starting the grind? -No idea what it is but just stare holes through the pic? Lol? No effect = nuke the gallery, get going — Aged Wine is... Not free—pay me back later...! (My reply) — Me OK — Anonymous What can fresh newbie give lol — Anonymous Lots to give... — Anonymous ?? — Paper Enthusiast Awakener exam review pls — Anonymous Fr — Anonymous Ditching would suck lol What else to prep for the exam?
All I could do now was save the photo and stare, plus basic stamina training.
"Hmm."
Title: But this pisses me off? — Anonymous -Why only Wine Lord sends her pic? I'll send mine too, hmph (Tentacle-filled boss monster photo) "What the fuck."
I flinched.
No matter how chummy we were chatting, shouldn't you warn before dropping gross pics like this?
As if echoing my sentiment, victims started popping up everywhere.
ㄴ Ah fuck my eyes
data-start="4513" data-end="4516">ㄴ Fuck!!!!!!!
data-start="4529" data-end="4532">ㄴ Sir please use turn signals next time
data-start="4571" data-end="4574">ㄴ Mod, delete this post right now!!!
data-start="4610" data-end="4613">ㄴ Paper Enthusiast*) Newbie, don’t be picky—look at every pic that comes up here at least once
data-start="4707" data-end="4710">ㄴ My post) Do I really have to…?
data-start="4742" data-end="4745">ㄴ Paper Enthusiast*) You don’t have to… no, just look
data-start="4800" data-end="4803">ㄴ My post) ;;
data-start="4816" data-end="4819">ㄴ Forced image injection ㄷㄷ
data-start="4846" data-end="4849">ㄴ But from the newbie’s perspective, each of these boss mob pics is basically medicine yeah
After that, I had to keep looking at the many horrific boss mob photos uploaded to the gallery.
After seeing so many, after a certain amount of time, no matter how novel the appearance was, I could just let it slide.
..
…
“Warning! Mental contamination has reached a critical level!”
“Resisting…”
“Resistance complete!”
“Skill acquired: ‘Mana Resistance (C)’.”