Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Proof Post
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Returning home, I dragged my exhausted body to the computer desk.
My whole body felt like its joints were creaking, but my mind was clearer than ever.
No, clearer didn't even begin to cover it.
Dopamine was surging through me more than at any other time.
“Gotta let the world know about this great achievement right away.”
The soul of a gallery addict was urging me to post quickly.
I transferred the proof shots I’d taken during the tutorial to my computer.
From those, I picked photos that wouldn’t reveal my identity.
Deleting the photo metadata as a basic precaution against any mishaps.
I also routed my IP through a VPN.
The one I chose was a slightly blurry shot stamped with the word “EXTREME.”
Perfect.
I immediately logged into the Hunter Gallery and hammered at the keyboard.
[Title: Proof] Cleared Extreme Difficulty.
Just broke out of the Tower tutorial, and turns out there’s an Extreme difficulty.
As a Korean, picking the highest difficulty is national rule, right?
So I did, and from floor 1, goblins started popping out ten at a time.
Seriously thought I was done for;
But who am I?
Future S-rank hunter.
Just swept them aside easy.
(Score table screenshot)
After posting and hitting refresh, comments started pouring in instantly.
Exactly the reaction I expected.
ㄴ ?
ㄴ Lol fake.
ㄴ What’s with the fake difficulty (=ㅅ= con)
ㄴ Ten? You think we’re kids lol. Hard only has two.
ㄴ Make your score table composites less obvious. Font’s all messed up.
“What the hell is that last guy?”
Sure enough, there’s always some know-it-all everywhere.
I snorted and took a swig of cola.
Treated like a regular troll.
This was within my expected range too.
The thrill of flipping reactions like this is the true joy of gallery posting.
That’s when I was about to post another proof shot with a time delay.
A defense post went up.
It wasn’t mine.
[Title: Wait, isn’t that guy the one who just changed the floor 1 rankings?]
Just checked the floor 1 rankings after entering the Tower, and the #1 nickname changed to ‘ㅇㅇ’.
Timestamp’s just now too.
This seems legit?
ㄴ What? For real?
ㄴㄴ [Link] Hunter Association official ranking site. Go check. It’s really ‘ㅇㅇ’.
ㄴㄴ Holy shit. It’s real. Score’s insane.
From that post, the gallery’s vibe did a complete 180.
[Title: All you doubters, attention! lol]
Told you it was real, right?
ㄴ Hater birds out
ㄴ (‘Knew it’ and bolts meme con)
[Title: Demigod water rocket’d lololol]
#1 score right now is 14,000 points
#2 Demigod has 4,000
That’s a full 3x gap lol
Demigod <<< Suddenly looks like a water rocket, upvote lol
ㄴ Me first lol
ㄴ (Demigod face photoshopped red af con)
Comments on my original proof post started exploding too.
ㄴ This guy’s at least SSS-rank.
ㄴ On holy pilgrimage. Let me win lotto jackpot pls.
ㄴ Sorry for calling you a troll bro. Spare me.
ㄴ Pls party with me. Healer. Girl.
Explosive reactions.
Praise and worship pouring in.
I leaned back deep into my chair with a satisfied smile.
“This is why we gallery.”
I was basking in the pleasure, savoring the flood of comments for a good while.
That’s when the Mage Gallery crossed my mind.
Wonder what their reaction’s like by now.
Swollen with anticipation, I headed to the Mage Gallery.
But what awaited me there wasn’t praise.
[Title: Newbie, what’re you planning?]
Writer: PoopBeetle
That post in Hunter Gallery, that’s you right?
What’re you thinking posting proof like that?
[Title: Farewell~]
Writer: pKkaChuu
Poor newbie’s destined to get dragged off by the government for experiments now~
Reactions not what I expected.
Panicking, I hurriedly added a comment.
ㄴ Thought this much wouldn’t dox me so went for it, should be fine right?
If I were a regular netizen, maybe not.
But with my 10 years of gallery experience, I handled IP bypass and photo metadata deletion perfectly.
I figured pinpointing me from this was impossible.
ㄴMagicIsFirepower: Server’s in Paraguay, you’re not getting too cocky?
ㄴPoopBeetle: If the state really wants you, you can’t hide.
ㄴFridge: NIS Hunter Management Team’s more competent than you think.
Seeing their reactions, anxiety suddenly started creeping in.
I deleted my proof post from Hunter Gallery first.
Tears of blood.
No, my post...
[Title: But seriously, would the state really come after me? It’s just floor 1]
ㄴPoopBeetle: Why wouldn’t they? Of course they will.
You don’t get how big a deal #1 ranking is.
ㄴFridge: Government might surprisingly leave you alone. But Demigod? He’ll hunt you down. Guy’s obsessed with #1.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: That’s scarier than NIS coming for me...
ㄴpKkaChuu: Too late now~. Whole neighborhood knows already~.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Deleted the post for now.
ㄴpKkaChuu: Server logs remain even if you delete~. Farewell~.
Am I really screwed?
My vision went dark.
Just became a mage thinking I could live easy now, and bam, getting hauled to NIS from the start.
All sorts of horrific scenarios flashed through my head.
That’s when PoopBeetle dropped a new comment.
ㄴPoopBeetle: ...If the government really contacts you, tell me. I’ll handle it.
ㄴpKkaChuu: Grabbing pose too hard in front of newbie?~
ㄴPoopBeetle: Nah. My fault for not explaining properly.
Should’ve told you how starved the government is for strong hunters.
ㄴFridge: Well, PoopBeetle could handle it easy.
“Is this guy the sole S-rank?”
Korea’s one and only S-rank, Kim Suho.
His class: Windstorm Mage.
“Come to think, nickname’s PoopBeetle. For real?”
This powerhouse offering to help me?
Without even knowing me?
I couldn’t quite believe it, but no choice now.
Suspect his unexplained goodwill, but don’t push it away.
A bit relieved.
With an S-rank hunter who can negotiate with the state handling it, what could go wrong.
Anxiety subsided, and calm returned.
That’s when a post on a different topic went up.
Seemed like an attempt to lighten the mood.
[Title: So? Anything for hitting #1 ranking?]
Writer: MagicIsFirepower
That previous #1 Demigod was bragging everywhere.
ㄴpKkaChuu: That guy lives for bragging~. Would’ve bragged insane even without #1~.
The S-rank hunter I stole #1 from today. Nickname: DemiGoD.
“Living up to his nick.”
S-rank hunters. Superhumans so rare there’s barely a dozen worldwide.
Among them, the guy always claiming #1 in raw power. Demigod.
I got curious what fellow S-ranks thought of Demigod.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: But what’s Demigod actually like? Could other S-ranks gang up and still not win?
ㄴPoopBeetle: Monster. Honestly, shouldn’t lump him with other S-ranks. He’s SS-rank human.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Personality?
ㄴPoopBeetle: Personality? Asshole. Nickname says it all? Thinks he’s a real god... Well, if I were that strong, might feel the same.
ㄴpKkaChuu: Just a crazy attention whore~. Posts on SNS every 5 mins, attention addict~.
“Hm? That’s me though.”
Mine’s anonymous, not real name of course.
Hearing stories of S-rank hunters straight from those who’ve met them was intriguing.
But that wasn’t important right now.
People were curious about me.
[WHAT DID YOU GET FOR #1 CLEAR REWARD!!!]
Writer: MagicIsFirepower
Don’t tell, I’ll shit in Han River and set it on fire. For real.
ㄴFridge: (Fist incoming emoticon)
ㄴpKkaChuu: Pathetic~. Act your age~.
I grabbed the keyboard again.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Got a reward yeah.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Upgraded my skillbook color.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: And Extreme was first clear too, so that gave another skillbook color upgrade.
My comments went up, and the comment section exploded again.
ㄴMagicIsFirepower: What? Twice?
No wait, skillbooks are level-up rewards, how’d you get one on floor 1?
ㄴPoopBeetle: If he took out 10 goblins like he said, hitting level 2 makes sense.
ㄴFridge: Wait, so you pulled a rainbow skillbook? I only have one myself? On floor 1!?
ㄴPoopBeetle: Huh yeah. For real? You got a rainbow rank now?
At their excited reactions, I scratched my head.
Time to pour cold water on the hype.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Nah. Gold. They were all shit-brown at first.
ㄴPoopBeetle: Still impressive. Nobody gets a skillbook on floor 1. And gold too.
ㄴFridge: Yeah. Gold-rank skill’ll be huge early game.
ㄴMagicIsFirepower: Know how vital skillbooks are for mages without me saying?
We’re a skill-dependent class.
Their encouragement puffed me up. Yeah, gold’s nothing to sneeze at.
Plus I’m only on floor 1. Endless growth potential.
ㄴFridge: So what’s the skill?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Honestly not sure if it’s good.
ㄴMagicIsFirepower: We’ll judge. Spill it quick. What?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Sand Bog.
With that comment, time in the Mage Gallery froze.
The lively comments cut off like a lie.
Silence.
To break the awkward hush, I posted again.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Why’s everyone quiet?
Then, like they’d been waiting, super awkward comments started rolling in.
ㄴPoopBeetle: Uh... good skill! Sand Bog! AoE CC!
ㄴpKkaChuu: Good pull for first skill~. Fine~.
ㄴMagicIsFirepower: Not total trash! Just don’t use it!
...For some reason, I had a strong hunch I’d pulled a dud.
But I tilted my head.
‘Feels like a total cheat skill to me... Why’re they calling it trash?’