Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: 14th Floor (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Title: [Notice] Temporarily Blocking Floating IPs.]
Posted by: HeadMod
Right now, floaters are going wild and the gallery report board is exploding.
Moderation is getting too tough, so I'm blocking posts and comments from floating nicks for a bit.
Just make a fixed nick already. Takes one minute.
"This is insane, right?"
I muttered while staring at the monitor.
The king of the gallery, HeadMod, had drawn his sword.
Of course, it was obvious who that sword was aimed at.
I was the one trying to get one last hit before the VPN vanished.
But wasn't this too much?
Crippling the entire gallery just to catch one troll?
This was an outrage against democracy, the start of a dictatorship.
Us million floating anons, proud citizens of advanced democracy, could never stand for it.
Sure enough, the gallery erupted in flames in an instant.
Fixed nicks with zero likes—clearly rushed jobs made after floaters got blocked—started setting the boards ablaze.
[Title: Isn't the mod losing it?]
[Title: No fucking way, does blocking floaters make the gal work?]
[Title: Kinda suspicious what school that mod went to.]
[Title: Dug up HeadMod's old posts.]
[Title: Can't the mod just delete troll posts faster?]
Posted by: ??123
Content: Jobless loser staring at the gal all day and can't even do that?
> For real, unpaid eraser acting all high and mighty.
> Hurry up and normalize the gal already.
For the record, that last post was mine.
The gallery was a total inferno.
[Title: Why is this the #1 Humiliation Gallery?]
[Title: A fight? Gotta join in.]
Even people from neighboring galleries showed up out of curiosity, and things snowballed out of control.
Raw insults and mockery poured nonstop at the mod.
"Everyone's going too far."
HeadMod and ViceMod were human too.
Considering they volunteered unpaid, it was way too harsh.
But what could you do? That was the gallery, and that was the weight of being mod.
In the end, it was all just WWE smackdown.
[Title: But honestly, isn't it your fault for falling for the bait?]
Posted by: ??123
The IP's so obvious, aren't you dumb for clicking anyway?
Just ignore it, right?
(Photo of scratching head)
> For real lol, why click and blame the mod if you just don't?
> But honestly, how do you resist that title?
> Title aggro skills are top-tier. Agreed.
> For real... Your hand moves first, and by the time it's loading you're like "oh shit" but too late.
> This place full of finger-faster-than-brain types?
> Nah, you think anyone thinks before posting here?
The gallery split into factions viciously brawling: one cursing the mod, the other cursing users too dumb to dodge bait.
The fierce protests dragged on.
A while later, the mod finally waved the white flag.
[Title: [Apology] I was short-sighted.]
Posted by: HeadMod
The floater block was my unilateral decision.
Sorry for the inconvenience to gallery users.
I'll lift the floater block temporarily.
Handing HeadMod over to someone else.
HeadMod's surrender declaration.
Drunk on victory, I leaned deep back in my chair.
Then, bold as brass, I dropped a reply under his apology.
> ?? (777.777): Alright, now that the gallery's back to normal, shall we restart the party?
Replies piled on my comment in seconds.
> Whoa, this guy's a real demon?
> For real, inhuman move.
> Why pull this shit?
> Why? Cause it's *fun*.
"Haa... I'm beat."
Dopamine crash hitting hard after the rush, exhaustion rolled in.
I flopped onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow.
Part of me wanted to keep trolling through the new HeadMod selection.
Like claiming ViceMod was secretly HeadMod's bastard child for aggro.
But I was too wiped.
Felt like I'd burned through my daily troll quota.
One realization from the recent chaos.
By count, about one in ten times.
For a split second, I reverted to a normal Earthling IP.
The magic from the mad old mage was weakening bit by bit.
Of course, the moment I noticed, I wasn't angry—I shivered with new possibilities.
"Then I can pull off even crazier trolls."
Perfect anonymity alternating with instant identity leaks.
If I could swap between those two?
I put the idea into action, and the gallery exploded for real.
But now it was time to seriously check something.
The magic the mad old mage cast on me.
I'd thought it was just a simple VPN, but it was actually freedom from tracking.
I stood before the full-length mirror, gazing at myself.
Through my new Insight skill, the magical flows wrapping my body appeared crystal clear.
One look and I knew: this was leagues beyond the tracking magic on the tower.
The tower's tracking spell must've been high-level.
It looked beautiful to my eyes.
But the mad old mage's magic was far from beautiful.
The tower wall's tracking was intricate.
But ultimately, an artificial construct bound by human rules—predictable, comprehensible.
This thing coiling around me was different.
Too primal and chaotic to even call "magic."
Living black vines enveloped my body like an egg.
No pretty geometric patterns flowing gracefully.
The periodic weakening and strengthening pulses mimicked heartbeats.
The IP reverting to normal? Right at the heartbeat's weakest throb.
Honestly, some unknown crap stuck to my body felt pretty gross.
And with my abilities, forget removing it—I couldn't even fully understand it.
But no choice.
Just moments ago, I'd seen it clearly with Insight.
Faint purple mana arrows flying at me from empty air.
Similar color and texture to the tower's.
Unmistakable tracking magic.
But it never touched me.
The tracking spell bounced harmlessly off the ominous black shell around my body.
Even when the barrier was at its weakest.
After one bounce, it gave up and never returned.
But the worry didn't vanish.
"Who knows when it'll come back—can't just ditch this."
If anything, I needed to reinforce it.
Hated it, but no options.
15th floor.
Had to meet the mad old mage again there.
I logged into the Wizard Gallery.
Needed more info on that crazy old man.
[Title: Mad Old Mage 15th Floor Hidden Piece Info Plz]
Posted by: ?? (A2C.222)
Heard he shows up on 15 too—less crazy there?
The one on 5 was hopeless.
First reply to my post, as always: Fridge.
> Fridge: 15th floor version was fine. Totally different from the one after 30.
> Fridge: Just clear the quest quietly, get reward. I got a skillbook. Gold grade.
> ?? (A2C.222): For real? What's the quest? Not "bring severed limbs," right?
> Fridge: Nah. Mine was just fetch Trent fruits. Kinda annoying.
> Fridge: Bigger issue is the meet condition's tricky.
> ?? (A2C.222): What condition?
> Fridge: Well...
Fridge's ensuing dull, pretentious explanation.
I nodded.
"This seems doable...?"
Still, you never know.
I'm on Extreme. Who knows what curveballs.
Thinking of facing that crazy old man again already gave me a headache.
Didn't want a repeat of last time's arm-ripping.
"Would be nice to have an emergency escape method..."
Wonder if some convenient spell drops from the sky.
A sudden idea hit me.
What if I turned my whole body to sand and scattered?
Could dodge any attack, right?
I immediately sat cross-legged and tried.
Focusing my mind, familiarly, fingertips to shoulders crumbled to sand and slid away.
But that was it.
Torso and legs stayed solid flesh and bone.
I looked inward.
The god rooted inside me.
Still in my exact shape.
Only difference: both arms fully turned to sand.
Guess can't fully sand-ify until I convert this guy's whole body.
"At this rate, 50 years..."
Meditating daily to slowly sand-ify bits of the god.
But the pace was brutally slow.
Needed another way.
I scoured my old masters.
Dug through IndiaTube, even Beetle's first comment.
Zero related info.
"Man, where the hell did Beetle find this stuff?"
How's there not a single scrap?
Felt like I was the only one walking this path in the world.
Right then, memory from meditating on 13th floor surfaced.
Inside the tower, meditation efficiency crushed the outside world.
Mana recovery, mana vein growth—both leaped noticeably.
"Alright... Next magic training spot: 14th floor."
I steeled myself.
***
Next dawn, I headed to the 14th floor.
Packed serious today.
Small bag with days' water and emergency rations.
Thought about sand-ifying food to carry, but some nagging unease stopped me.
Not like I had room to talk after a month of dirt, but vibes are vibes.
Planned to stay as long as possible this tower run.
The fragrant jungle scent welcomed me.