Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: I'm Becoming an Influencer
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The Active Hunter Gallery was currently abuzz with talk about me. The main topic of debate was whether the proof posted on the Awakening Gallery was real or fake. Some were starting to feel that the situation was strange, while others still insisted it was a fabrication.
Apparently, they were an Awakening Gallery user who recently awakened as an A-rank.
Utaha is with the Nova Guild right now, so it's possible the new A-rank joined Nova immediately.
“Mwahaha.”
Yes! Keep talking about me all day. In the end, the truth that I really met Utaha and Maxy will be revealed anyway...
“Huh...?”
Wait, now that I think about it. Most people know through the grapevine that Utaha and Maxy are together, and I posted a verification shot on the Awakening Gallery that I asked Utaha to take for me...?
Then later, if Maxy posts the picture we took together on Instagram, won't the face of ‘LifeIsntRuined’ be revealed...?
“Umm....”
“Eve! Is something wrong?”
As I sat at the table pondering, Maxy, who had a mountain of plates stacked beside her, suddenly leaned in close. If the photo with Maxy gets posted on Instagram, the publicity effect would be enormous, but....
“Maxy... when do you think you’ll post the picture?”
“The one we took together? Hmm~ Let’s see? When should I post it?”
Preferably after she returns to Mexico... Ah, but since the background is the Shilla Hotel, it wouldn't make much of a difference. What do I do? It’s true I want to become famous, and I need to build up recognition because of my ability, but....
The biggest problem is that I don't want to be posting on the forums with my face exposed. No matter how famous you are, forum posting is best done when nobody knows each other's faces and can speak freely.
But I can't just ask Maxy not to post the picture we went to the trouble of taking... and more importantly, my face being immortalized on Maxy's Instagram account? As a fan of Maxy, that’s something I absolutely cannot pass up.
“Eve, what are you worried about?”
“Ah, Do-hee....”
“What, is it because of what they're saying about you on the Active Hunter Gallery?”
The Active Hunter Gallery users are always complaining about the Awakening Gallery, saying those guys start so many flame wars they could kill people with them, that they're taking murderous steps, and all sorts of other nasty things... but in the end, the people on the Active Hunter Gallery also form their own cliques and routinely engage in targeted harassment of Hunters they don’t like.
And I'm not weak enough to have my spirit broken by some online harassment!
“No, that’s fine....”
“Why don't you go talk to them directly?”
“Huh? Go where?”
“The Active Hunter Gallery. You're a Hunter, aren't you?”
“Ah...?”
Come to think of it, that's right. The Active Hunter Gallery is for people who are currently active as Hunters. Or, contrary to its name, former Hunters can also post there.
And me? I'm an A-rank Hunter recognized by the Yongsan Center. Before, if I posted on the Active Hunter Gallery as a non-Awakened, I would've been instantly banned, but not anymore.
“You can just go and post there yourself, right?”
Han Do-hee remembers most of my years spent on the Awakening Gallery. After all, Do-shyung-jwak was a pretty old, well-known registered user...
A long, long time ago, maybe back when I was in my first or second year, I got into a serious flame war with another registered user who was a fan of male Hunters, a duel where we both put our forum post histories on the line... and with my ultimate supreme keyboard battling skills, I crushed them completely.
The Active Hunter Gallery has a slightly more pretentious atmosphere, so having survived the pandemonium of sarcasm, backhanded compliments, provocations, and checkmates, there's no reason I'd lose a keyboard battle there.
Besides, I actually met Maxy and Utaha and even had a meal with them. What are those jealous folks on the Active Hunter Gallery going to do about it?
“U-umm....”
But then again, I need to build a positive public image, so I wonder if there's any reason for me to stir up trouble by getting into fights. Whatever the case, it's only a matter of time before my face is revealed because of the picture with Maxy.
So now, ‘LifeIsntRuined’ will be linked to the real ‘Eve,’ which means I should avoid keyboard battles as much as possible and not make enemies. I can't even call the male Hunter fans homosexuals anymore.
“Ophelia, what should I do...?”
“Is this a question regarding the Active Hunter Gallery?”
“Yeah....”
Ophelia gently closed her eyes for a moment, perusing the Active Hunter Gallery on her internal internet. Then, she immediately nodded.
“If that is what you wish, my lady, I can do it.”
“Huh? Do what?”
“The 12 registered accounts that have posted negative evaluations of you, Your Highness... I can perform what is colloquially known as ‘targeted harassment.’ I possess their personal information and past activities.”
“Uh....”
Han Do-hee, who was listening from the side, suddenly bit her tongue.
“Maxy! Utaha! It was great meeting you today!”
“Eve! See you again next time! Come visit me in Mexico!”
“Ahaha... if I can....”
Utaha's Instagram account is apparently co-managed by her guild, so it's not a personal account where she can post whatever she wants.
She said she'd look into it after returning to Japan and then decide whether or not to post about ‘LifeIsntRuined’.
“Eve, see you next time.”
“Huh? Next time?”
“If we have reason to.”
“Ah... yes! Okay!”
Since I was just heading home after our meal at the Shilla Hotel, it was time to part ways. Chae-ah had to leave early because she was busy, so we returned home in Han Do-hee's car (a Maxcruz something or other).
“By the way, Do-hee, do you meet other S-rank Hunters often...?”
“Not really often, no. Just... see them from time to time.”
“I see.”
Han Do-hee was much more of a show-off than I thought. Having one of only two S-rank Hunters in Korea as her cousin, being a B-rank Hunter herself, and being part of the Awakening Gallery's inner circle that I thought didn't exist.
Then what does that make me, who fought a lonely battle all this time...!!
“U-unni. By the way. About my old forum posting days.”
“Ah... yeah, go on.”
“What kind of image did I have...?”
“Hmm.”
Han Do-hee thought for a moment while holding the steering wheel, then glanced at Ophelia beside her.
“Ophelia, could you cover your ears, please? We're having a very personal conversation.”
“Yes, understood.”
The blue light at the tip of Ophelia's ear-antenna blinked a few times before switching off with a soft *click*. After that, Han Do-hee hummed in thought for a moment before speaking with some difficulty.
“Well... I thought, ‘This one's the real deal.’”
“The real deal?”
“Yeah, like, ‘She seems like she's really going through it. Better not mess with her,’ that kind of feeling?”
“Hmph.”
“No, no, there were plenty of others worse than you... and besides, you're young, right? You had that whole ‘I've completed my military service’ persona on the forums, but still.”
Actually, that wasn't a persona, it was real, but Han Do-hee probably doesn't know that. And now that I'm in this body, I have no way of explaining it.
“Is the way you treat me so casually also because of what I did on the forums?”
“Hmm... I was honestly a bit surprised, but yeah, right? To think that the kid who was always complaining about how their life was ruined, lurking in the late-night forums and getting into flame wars, was actually such a cute little girl.”
“Hmmphh....”
“Pfft, what was that? That's cute.”
About three days passed. The buzz on the Active Hunter Gallery didn't last long and quickly died down. I went back to my usual forum posting without mentioning Utaha or Maxy, and the Awakening Bros seemed to forget about it after a while.
After returning to her home country, Maxy posted the picture we took on her Instagram and tagged me. As a result, my Instagram followers started increasing at an incredible rate.
Mexico City, where Maxy lives, is 15 hours behind Korea, but in any case, the post went up around 9:30 AM Korea time. I had just woken up and finished showering, still feeling very groggy and sleepy, when suddenly I started getting a flood of DMs from strangers.
“Ugh... what is this...?”
While my hair was being dried by the warm, gentle breeze from Ophelia's blow dryer function, I saw the post Maxy had uploaded to her Instagram. It was the picture we had taken the other day. It said it was posted 17 minutes ago, and to my surprise, my follower count was...
“Th-thirty-two thousand...!”
“Congratulations.”
A simple calculation showed that I had gained nearly 5,000 followers in 20 minutes. Then the rank of my Issue Command skill must have gone up a lot...!
“Hah...! It's B-rank!”
“Yes, a remarkable achievement. It appears the Summon skill has also risen by one rank.”
“Heehee.”
It wasn't that I was desperate to use Instagram. I mean, I'm an Awakening Bro, and Instagram is totally for popular kids, right? I honestly thought it wasn't for me.
But with around 32,000 followers, it's safe to say I'm practically an influencer. Maybe I should start posting pictures of my Roblox gameplay. I've been really into Dragon Adventures lately, and it'd be nice to have friends to play with.
“Your Highness, how about a brief outing?”
“An outing? Why? Where to?”
“Now that a new channel for follower influx has been established, it would be wise to upload a new post with new photographs.”
“Umm... just to take a few simple pictures?”
“That is correct.”
Well, I was starting to find this fun anyway, so okay. Watching my Instagram followers shoot up is kind of exhilarating.
“I have prepared a selection of women's autumn apparel, carefully chosen to suit Your Highness. As social media is a place seen by many, I have prepared several outfits with a safe, inoffensive style to avoid any controversy. Please do not worry.”
“S-several outfits?”
Isn't one or two outfits enough...?
“Additionally, I have scouted and shortlisted several spots that are ideal for photography. The plan is to take photos, return, change outfits, and then proceed to another candidate location.”
“H-how many locations....”
“There are 83 candidate locations.”
“Woah.”