Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Magical Gallery (2)
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Someone might raise a question.
Why do they keep burning down the gallery?
Why not just run it quietly and peacefully?
But no.
The armband's salary isn't handed out for free. The more the gallery thrives under your management, the more money and prestige you rake in.
That's why there's such a thing as the Daheung Gallery rankings.
Everything has its reasons.
That's why the trolling never stops.
For the greater good of keeping the gallery active, the armbands sometimes turn a blind eye. And some trolls are even run by the armbands' own alt accounts.
It's a necessary evil, you see.
Of course, even necessary trolls have to be put down without mercy if they cross the line.
Just like right now.
"Who the fuck is this asshole stirring shit up?"
A post that's pure clickbait from the title alone—obviously a hate pic. And the poster's a throwaway account.
No need to even read the contents.
Deleted. User banned.
At that moment, Les suddenly messaged me.
"Hetero, was that you who just deleted it?"
"No way it's you, right?"
This fucking bitch.
I shot her a glare loaded with curses, and Les hurriedly added,
"No, not that—but why delete it so fast?"
"Oh, that?"
Phew. Relief.
At least Les wasn't a troll.
"Some troll posted a hate pic, so I took it down."
"Really? How'd you spot it right away?"
"I didn't wanna know."
But I did anyway.
For a second there, did I look pathetic? Les gave me a sympathetic look and patted my shoulder a couple times.
"Uh... whatever it was, sorry."
"It's fine..."
Of course, it didn't mean a throwaway account's hate pic was that devastating.
Compared to the "weapon" I had, it was nothing. Honestly, this part puzzled me.
The world was half-destroyed and came back, so maybe that backlash wiped it out.
But why was it on my phone?
Specifically, the phone that somehow ended up with me the moment I returned from that other world.
Practically a weapon unique to me.
Moonlight Sword fits, I guess. A bit dirty, though.
Anyway.
Setting aside the inexplicable vibes, it wasn't something to let slide, so I mercilessly banned the throwaway.
Mod work like this demands way more effort than it looks.
Not hard, mind you.
Just tedious and annoying.
And if I had to add, that includes quelling user complaints.
Sora brought it up right on cue.
"Sunbae, what should we do about this?"
"What is it."
"Take a look."
【Why's Magical Gallery so boring? Nothing to do?】
【Poster: Magical Dopamine Addict】
No need to spell out the contents. A few lines, but summed up in one: bored 'cause nothing to do.
"Surprisingly lots of agreement, and they're all blaming the Magical armbands' incompetence."
Sora seemed worried the gallery's vibe might turn sour.
But.
"Pfft. No big deal."
"Really?"
"Sora, watch closely. I'll fix it quick."
This kind of complaint's easy. Just remind them of the precious reality they're missing.
Without delay, I dropped a comment.
Nothing to do? Then close the gallery and do something else. Read a book, call your family. You telling me your life's so empty without this place?
Where you live?
Take it down, take it down, take it down.
Wanna die, fucker?
They all seemed to snap back to the preciousness of reality at my words. Such intense reactions.
"See, Sora?"
"...Sunbae, I'm just deleting the post."
"Wait, why!"
But Sora shook her head and ruthlessly wiped it out.
"No matter how I look, it's a Magical disruption starter."
A bit unfair, but I let it slide for now.
It's a Magical Gallery, so rules might differ from what I know. Sora's a mod too—best to respect that here.
Anyway.
That's mod work in a nutshell.
A string of tedious but not difficult tasks.
Followed by massive wealth and immense fame.
All it takes is pure skill—no degrees or connections needed.
No wonder everyone's dying to be a mod. It's the dream job.
Here, someone might wonder.
If armband's such a sweet gig, why do the actual armbands all talk like the world's ending?
But don't fall for appearances.
The real meaning's different.
It's a wabi-sabi etiquette thing.
Suppose you become armband and immediately celebrate. What happens?
You get labeled a greedy pig and insta-murahachi'd. Murahachi's the shady social lynching.
Reject it once to add that air of reluctance, and then you're qualified for the job.
This ritual, built over years, is an unspoken barrier keeping the gap between armbands and regular users rock-solid.
Anyway.
I'd done it before, so the mod work felt familiar. Not too tough.
Except for one issue.
"Fuck, why are there so many trolls?"
The gallery was impossible to manage.
Started off manageable, but at some point, it spiraled out of control.
Ban one troll, two pop up.
Ban two, four appear.
The more you ban, the more trolls swarm in to shitpost.
"This is insane."
No matter how skilled I am, there's a limit. Can't block endless trolls solo forever.
Even hot galleries have limits. Too many trolls, and it doesn't just heat up—it burns to ash.
Obviously, that's why there are multiple mods. This Magical Gallery had more than my old one, numbers-wise.
But.
"Sora, aren't the other mods doing jack shit?"
"I'm kinda wondering too. They're not active at all. Not like usual."
Only two of us actually working.
Me, forcibly modded today.
Sora, on her last day.
That was it. The rest? Zero modding.
Maddening.
If I'd just slacked off too, I wouldn't feel this pissed.
I tried everything worth doing.
But.
Cut the shit before I perma-ban you all.
Fuck off, asshole lololol
Magical bell-throw, total blast lololol
Try me! Throwaway Magical incoming~!
Trolls just rampaged harder.
Hey, any mods around? Manage this shit.
Yeah, handle it yourself.
(Cat casually flipping off image)
I know exactly who you are. Spin your wheels alone, fucker lololol
Call the online mods? All mockery and slacking.
Arrrgh! You fucking armband bitch! Please! Just a little!
Your mom.
Don't post here, fucker.
Oh.
And Whitey pisses me off again in the chaos.
I could forgive regular users' bullshit a hundred times over, but the mods shirking duty? Unbearable.
Who the hell wants to do this shit?
I'm someone who could just not bother.
But regardless of my feelings, trolls kept popping up, grating my nerves.
Some mods even forgot to log out, shitposting on their mod accounts.
That's when something snapped in my head.
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped.
Everyone's playing it like this, huh?
Leaving me to suffer alone?
Fine. Then there's only one answer.
"You're all fucked, you pieces of shit."
Let's burn it all together.
"Nobody come into the gallery from now on."
I messaged the dorm crew without hesitation. Basically a one-sided order.
"O-okay..."
"S-sunbae, your eyes are kinda scary."
"Jungseng? What are you planning...?"
"Uh... I'm out first."
The whole dorm crew made uneasy faces and yanked their eyes from their phones.
I was gonna persuade more, but they sensed something in my tone. Way quicker than expected.
Good.
"Sora, you get all your mod pay?"
"Y-yeah, Magical settlement's done. Today was just service."
"Perfect."
No fallout for Sora either.
Ideal. Time to go full throttle.
"Didn't wanna bring this out, but..."
Unbanned all trolls.
Allowed all fluid images.
Throwaways and fluids loaded.
Prep complete.
Finally sensing the shift, the gallery started buzzing.
Too late.
"Hoo."
Finally, I made one last post.
This was the spark.
A tiny spark that'd become an unquenchable wildfire.
"Enter the gallery carefully from now on."
【Grandma Grandpa CBRN 6-District Drill Start】
Let's go till we drop dead.