#005 — Kill the Mod

"Ha... I'm so busy I could die."

Hyeon Gyeongju, the head moderator of Hunter Gallery and the hunter in charge of Gyeonggi Province, stared hole-through her smartphone with eyes ringed by deep, shadowy dark circles.

Being the Gallery's head mod was no small burden. The trolls that squirmed back out no matter how many times she banned them, the sexual harassment, the floods of spam. No one in their right mind would do this job for free.

And yet she had accepted the crown of thorns atop this cesspit. All of it traced back to her awakening.

Her awakening was the Gallery itself. A bullshit ability whose power grew stronger the more people crowded into the Hunter Gallery she had founded — an undeniable, genuinely formidable force tied to the most absurd condition imaginable.

Granted, if the Gallery failed to stir up drama, her strength waned. But Hunter Gallery was currently so swamped with 404 threads that her bigger worry was the server exploding first, so that was hardly a problem.

"Gyeongju, put the phone down and cut that thing for me, please? This is an emergency right now."

"Yeah... yeah, fine. Quit nagging me. This is work too, you know. You know that better than anyone, Para. Ever since that 404 thing or whatever showed up, just keeping the Gallery running is a nightmare..."

Lee Para, long blue hair spilling down her back, frowned at Hyeon Gyeongju's words.

"I have to juggle Gallery management and hunter work too, you know?! On top of that, those Hunter Gallery sonsof— fine, those users keep posting disgusting photos!"

"That's why she hired you, remember? Eight million won a month as a sub-mod — I'd say you're doing alright."

"Shut up! Who's going to miss me if I quit? Just hire more sub-mods!"

"Ugh, fine, fine. Enough."

"Then hurry up and cut that mycelium thing already."

Ha, being in charge of Gyeonggi Province means getting treated like the neighborhood errand girl, huh? I'm an S-rank hunter, you know...

Grumbling, Hyeon Gyeongju drew the blade hanging at her hip. The famed sword, Chadan — Ban. True to its name, a razor edge cold as death glinted into view, sharp enough to sever anything.

"Hah! Hah!"

Despite the unimpressive battle cries and the clumsy swings from her tiny frame —

shff-shff.

Oh, it's actually cutting.

Even the mycelium gave out after about ten swings. So 404 really is bursting the Gallery at the seams. Anew, Hyeon Gyeongju felt just how much attention 404 was drawing. Chadan was powerful, true — but something an industrial cutter couldn't slice through shouldn't fall this easily. That was how hot the 404 hype train was running.

"Thank you! We'll begin the search right away!"

"...Right. Good luck."

Hyeon Gyeongju gave the officials a half-hearted wave and never took her eyes off her phone. She could hear Lee Para sighing heavily behind her, but it didn't matter. This was her real job — and the moment her true ability came into play.

Her awakening held one more power. If a person had entered the Gallery even once, she could forcibly view their identity, no matter how strong they were. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When the conditions were met, her tracking and enforcement were second to none — it had never once failed. It was also the reason she was so deeply connected to the government.

Just in case, Hyeon Gyeongju tried it.

There's no way 404 has actually entered the Gall— oh. There is? That's a Tower IP? So they're still climbing right now? If I drop an identity thread once the 404 hype cools down, it'll catch fire all over again, right? Hehe...

Suddenly, information began pouring into her mind.

Physical description is—

In that instant —

'To pursue Her with such cheap tricks shall surely become a calamity, one that returns upon your own head.'

"Wh... what?"

A woman's voice that should have been impossible to hear rebuked her.

'For Her every movement is the very order of the world, and thus Her identity shall never be revealed to you.'

The woman's words sounded like the cringe-kid power of some bizarre comic book. Hyeon Gyeongju ignored them. What kind of ability in this world cursed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you remotely just for tracking information?

"What kind of bullshit is that. This isn't a Stand or whatever—"

Before she could even finish, thousands upon thousands of images crashed into her mind like a tidal wave.

With every single image that brushed past, her body shook violently.

These were no ordinary pictures —

They was a collection of every horrific, gut-churning cursed image she had ever wanted to forget from her years of gallery browsing.

Drip.

"Aaah...!"

The shock slammed into her brain was so immense it defied description, and blood came surging from Hyeon Gyeongju's nose.

"KYAAAAAH!"

She flung her two-and-a-half-million-won imported phone across the room.

"Wh-what's wrong with you?!"

Lee Para came sprinting over the moment Hyeon Gyeongju collapsed, convulsing.

"Th-that thing! Para! You do it for me! You're good at looking at cursed images!"

"...Excuse me?"

Even under Lee Para's contemptuous glare, Hyeon Gyeongju made up her mind. She would report this to the people above her.

"Eeek, granny's done with this for gooood..."

She would never dig into 404's information again. The word 404 alone was enough to give her trauma just from saying it.

But I still want to post, though...

Even after all that, she was a gallery rat to the marrow.

"Good... very good..."

The name 404 was getting famous.

Not just Hunter Gallery — Twatter, where people made accounts just to follow the reactions, the real-time trending searches, Outstagram, even the brand-new breaking news. Everyone was calling that name, sending out every kind of reaction and attention.

Originally she'd planned to post a no-equipment verification shot to the Gallery, but her no-equipment account had been banned, and judging from the heat, revealing herself right now would be a waste.

"Your Majesty. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There were insolent fools attempting to access Your Majesty's Grimoire, so I drove them off."

"Oh, really? Good job."

So she probably blocked some hacking attempts or spam texts, right?

"You honor me too much! Furthermore, utilizing the so-called 'burner accounts' of Hunter Gallery, I hacked the users' accounts and took measures to ensure a favorable public opinion toward Your Majesty."

Wait, what.

"Did you rig the hot posts too, by any chance?"

"Yes. Through what is called 'upvote manipulation,' posts favorable to Your Majesty were elevated to the hot posts, while the false claims slandering Your Majesty were deleted after I deduced their passwords."

"Aigoo, you didn't have to go and do all that~"

Say what she might, there was no stopping the corners of her mouth from curling up. Should I pet her again?

The hot-post threshold on Hunter Gallery was brutally high — even quality strategy guides or Gallery literature got buried, and it stung every time...

"But still, don't overdo the hot-post rigging."

Ride the freeloading train too hard and the whole thing loses its flavor.

"I shall engrave your words upon my heart, Your Majesty."

Speaking of which.

"How much time do we have left?"

"Three minutes remain until your forced expulsion from the Tower."

What? It felt like she'd browsed the Gallery for barely a minute, and twenty had already passed?

Hmm.

Leaving the Tower right now seemed like a poor choice. Besides, if she cleared Floor 2 back-to-back, Hunter Gallery and the real-time trends would blaze white-hot with the name 404.

Above all, there was something she absolutely needed to make, per the original plan: the Unknown Necklace and Invisibility Powder she'd browsed in the Grimoire.

The Necklace's effect distorted the perception of anyone who laid eyes on the wearer, making them see a different appearance. The Invisibility Powder was, as the name suggested, a powder that turned you invisible for five minutes — good for about five uses per batch.

Two necklaces' worth required two magic stones of B-rank or higher, and the powder needed maiden's blood and a woman's mushroom. Magic stones would presumably come as floor rewards, and... hmm? Her appearance had changed, so she should count as a maiden now — a little blood draw would do it.

"Hmm..."

I stared intently at Enuk.

"Wh-what is it, Your Majesty?"

"This 'woman's mushroom' — would that be a mushroom that grows on a woman's body?"

The Grimoire's descriptions were so roundabout they were impossible to parse.

Suddenly I remembered the time I'd pinched the mushroom on Enuk's head. If it was that sensitive, there was no way it could just be plucked off—

"Ugh."

Snap!

Gritting her lower lip, Enuk had self-castrated the mushroom off her own head — and I couldn't hide my shock.

"Here it is. For Your Majesty's sake..."

Grateful as I was, well... it was appreciated.

"Thank you."

"I-I merely did what was natural. Your Majesty."

Sproing!

Contrary to my worry, the mushroom on Enuk's head grew right back in no time.

Eating it in front of her now would be awkward — I'd clear Floor 2 first, then have it.

"Yes."

The instant I pressed it, Enuk and I passed through what felt like a dimensional gate.

Floor 2, arrived. And more importantly than any of that —

"This is... incredible."

Even counting money alone, it was a staggering haul. Ten thousand gold was roughly one hundred million won at current market rates. The A-rank magic stone needed to be burned as crafting material, but even so, it carried a value of around one hundred million. And they said Platinum skills, depending on what you rolled, included ones that couldn't be priced in money at all.

Beside my status window, a lever and a hologram gacha machine rippled into view.

"Come on, gimme something good!"

Praying with all my heart, I pulled the lever. Before long, a colorless bead popped out of the machine.

Ugh... if it's that color, it's a total dud. Things like that are always blanks or consolation prizes. Disappointment washed over me, but it was my first pull, so I opened my status window to check what it was anyway.

"Oh?"

I thought it was a dud, but these were pretty solid options, weren't they?

In a life-or-death fight, your condition mattered enormously. There was a reason manga heroes argued over a single bead of sweat about who had the advantage in a standoff, right?

Plus, judging from the description, there was no "doesn't work on the strong" caveat. Could I take it to mean that regardless of an enemy's strength, it would at minimum inflict the Tension state?

The speech-pattern change did bother me a little, though...

"Your Majesty will be able to handle it just fine."

"Yeah. You're right."

This time, I wasn't going to let it just ride the bus.

I immediately pressed the option to ascend to Floor 2.

What would I be able to grab on this floor, I wondered.

"Kieeek!!"

How tedious. Not a single speck of dust shall be permitted to touch Her Majesty's body.

Enuk detonated the goblins — near-identical to the ones on Floor 1 — with magic. At her feet, the corpses of monsters already felled the same way were already piled into a mountain.

Her attention belonged solely to the safety and profit of the Queen she served. Everything else was beneath notice.

Then, mid-slaughter—

"The Tower is testing the user?"

Her Queen was reading a line off her status window, her voice threaded with puzzlement.

And then—

What in the—?! This is absurd!

Armor-clad goblins materialized out of nowhere around the Queen.

"Kek!"

They instantly moved to bury their axes in the Queen. The goblins' strike arrived one step ahead of Enuk's incantation — a spell that, given a single second, would have torn them limb from limb.

It was a situation as irrational as the Tower itself having decided to murder the Queen.

"No...!!"

Enuk had served at the Queen's side, singing Her praises, yet with nothing but that meager self-defense implement, defeating the monsters before her seemed utterly impossible.

And then—

Shff.

A fountain of blood erupted from a cleanly severed neck.

"Phew. That was close."

The one still standing was not the goblin — it was Her Queen.

"The Sword Saint...?"

For once, the words weren't spoken in praise of her Queen.

The Queen's draw just now rivaled the technique of the Sword Saint — the S-rank hunter already dead and gone.

Please imagine Hyeon Gyeongju and Lee Para as looking something like this, thank youuu~