Chapter 10
"There are all kinds of portal sites. They gather all sorts of things in one place."
Exploring the internet on a PC for the first time was a fresh experience, different from climbing the Tower.
But there were blogs, forums, email, video sites, and events...
There were still a lot of things I couldn't understand because I hadn't experienced them for myself yet.
For now, I visited one of the sites that sold games. I had to sign up and download the game, too, which was a pain.
The fishing game I'd played for the past few days, completing every achievement including the DLC ones, was sold here, too.
How should I put it? The game is made by one company, and the sales site distributes it, or something like that.
Anyway, it's asking me to verify my age again. What a pain... Huh? What's this?
"Why are they all naked?"
Their expressions were strange, too. Some were tied up with weird tentacle-like things.
I wondered why there were so many games showing so much skin, and it turned out most of them had an 'Adult' tag.
'Can't I hide these?'
While poking around, I almost deleted my account, but luckily there was a setting to hide things like this, so I clicked it.
...That's a little better.
I searched for and downloaded the game I'd played before. Some games cost money, and buying all the DLC would add up, but my account was already full of money I'd earned climbing the Tower, so it didn't matter.
If I'd still been living my old life, I couldn't have even imagined doing this.
But then...
'Streamers? Oh, they mean streamers.'
When I went to a site with a white triangle in the middle of a red rectangular box, it had all kinds of videos.
There were other video sites, too, but I didn't go to them because so many games showed people undressing, which made me uncomfortable.
Some streamers showed their real faces, while others used characters instead.
Is this what they call a virtual YouTuber?
'More than that, they even have a whole backstory. Is a streaming character's setting called RP?'
"Huh?"
What's this? A gallery?
What does 'featured post' mean?
[Raising a Vampire: Day 14 (99+)]
[Posted by: NotTheNanny]
(A photo of a girl lying under a blanket in the dark, using her smartphone)
She doesn't seem as wary of me when I visit anymore.
When I went over and asked if I could take her picture, she gave a brief "Yeah..." and immediately went back to being absorbed in her smartphone.
She'd be an incredible beauty if she got rid of the dark circles under her eyes and changed her clothes, but that still seemed a long way off.
The post was like a diary entry, so I tried leaving a comment under the username Anonymous.
From what I could tell, people who hadn't chosen a proper username just entered Anonymous, and a number appeared beside it.
-Anonymous: ? What kind of raising game?
-Anonymous: It's nothing special, just a diary about taking care of a vampire who became a shut-in.
-I Am Empire: She was such a cute girl when I saw her before...
-Future Archmage Pro: Even in that state, she's giving off such intense decadent beauty. She's really something.
-Clacker Maniac: I'm 120% sure one reason that vampire got bullied was that people were jealous of her looks.
-Environmental Protection: (Sad emote)
There were all kinds of other posts in the Awakened gallery, too.
Like someone hooking something really heavy while fishing in a river, barely reeling it in, and finding an orc on the line. (Why?)
Or someone nearly drowning while surfing in the sea, only to be rescued by a mermaid.
Besides things like those, there were guides to Tower monsters, rare metal compendiums, and other things related to the Tower and the Awakened.
Then I saw a post in the announcements section with an orange mark beside the poster's name.
-
[Title: This Is the Awakened Minor Gallery.]
A gallery for sharing information about the Tower and its monsters, as well as anything related to the Awakened.
Posting obscene images or insults and slander targeting specific Awakened will result in immediate action.
Please help us keep the gallery clean and enjoyable.
-
"So the orange mark means head mod, and the blue mark means deputy mod."
After fiddling with my smartphone a little, I found out I could visit the gallery on my phone, too.
...Maybe I should take a picture and post it.
[Newbie.]
[Posted by: Fire Chicken]
(Photo)
I was looking around the internet for the first time and found this place.
Nice to meet you.
(Ding!)
(Ding!)
(Ding-a-ling!)
"What's that?"
Not long after I posted the photo, a bunch of notification sounds started going off.
-Is this actually real?
-What, Fire Chicken? For real?
-How is this real?
-Looks like it's only a matter of time before this place gets defiled again.
-Posting granny porn in celebration!
└You bastard, cut it out!!!
└You son of a bitch!!!
Things got kind of chaotic.
-Fire Chicken: Hey.
-Clacker Maniac: What? You joined the gallery, too?
└Fire Chicken: Yeah.
-But why haven't we seen you around until now?
└Fire Chicken: I wasn't interested. Then I got the internet and came across it while looking around.
-I Am Empire: ? So you lived without a computer this whole time?
└Fire Chicken: Yeah. It didn't really affect me. I had a bankbook and a card, but no money to use them until I became Awakened. Now I use them all the time.
└Future Archmage Pro: Fuck, you really were a primitive savage.
└Fashionista: Hey, hey, hey~
-Environmental Protection: So what brought you here?
└Fire Chicken: The director bought me a smartphone and dragged me to the director's place. We tried streaming once, then built a computer together.
A new comment appeared whenever I blinked.
It was a pain to keep summarizing things, but I was surprised that people could have a conversation through posts like this.
-Deep Sea Diver: So where'd the director go?
└Fire Chicken: Dunno. She left early this morning, looking like she didn't want to go, saying she had something urgent to do. She was wearing a suit.
-I Am Empire: Oh, the Management Bureau's regional offices are having their regular meeting today.
-Dragon Chicken: Ugh, I can't be bothered with this meeting.
└I Am Empire: What are you doing instead of attending the meeting?
└Dragon Chicken: Secretly using my phone. The host talks so damn much that some people are already asleep.
└Anonymous: LMAOOOOOO
└Turtle King: Meetings are such a pain, lololololol
└Caw Caw: From the way you're talking, the host's that Holy Sword guy, lololol
Meetings must be incredibly boring and annoying. I learned something new today.
Then I suddenly got curious about something.
-Fire Chicken: So what's granny porn?
-I Am Empire: Pictures of old women.
└Fire Chicken: ?
└I Am Empire: The problem is that they're naked.
-Fire Chicken: I used to wash old men and women, so it doesn't bother me.
I found a picture that I guessed was granny porn.
Is this edited?
-Fire Chicken: Why did they edit it like that? If someone had lived that long, their bones would be in bad enough shape that they couldn't pose like that. Even if they could, they'd definitely tear a muscle or something.
└I Am Empire: What, you went and looked?
└Fire Chicken: Yeah.
-Anonymous: First time I've seen someone lecture a granny-porn addict.
-Clacker Maniac: If they ask you to be a deputy mod because of this, will you accept?
└Fire Chicken: Is there a salary?
└Clacker Maniac: I don't think so.
└Fire Chicken: Then I won't do it.
-I Am Empire: Why not?
└Fire Chicken: The director said never to do something for free if you're good at it.
└I Am Empire: How long has it been since I heard that line?
-World Peace: You should do it, though, right?
└Fire Chicken: ?
And then, a little while later.
[Gallery access suspended for 99,999 days.]
"Huh?"
So you can get suspended here, too.
Then someone who seemed to be the head mod sent me a private message.
World Peace: If you agree to be a deputy mod, I'll lift the suspension.
I see.
[Title: I Got Suspended for Being Told to Become a Deputy Mod.]
[Posted by: Anonymous]
(Photo taken from a height where the cars look like dots)
Goodbye. Later.
-I Am Empire: ?
-Clacker Maniac: What the fuck?
-Future Archmage Pro: Is this fake, or is it happening right now?
-World Peace: Of course it's fake, you idiots, lol.
└Environmental Protection: Are you serious?
-Future Archmage Pro: You fucking head mod, what if they actually fall and die?
└World Peace: It's fake, okay? Have you ever seen anyone actually die after posting something like that?
-Environmental Protection: Then if they really fall, lift the suspension.
└World Peace: Yeah, okay, okay.
(A little later)
[Title: Oh.]
[Posted by: Anonymous]
(A heavily pixelated photo)
I still couldn't die.
-World Peace: Huh?
-I Am Empire: Aaaaaaagh!!!
-Clacker Maniac: TOWER AAAAAAAGH!!!
-Turtle King: Fuck, is this real?
└Anonymous: For the record, that white thing at the very top is my arm.
└Turtle King: Don't explain that, you lunatic.
-World Peace: Don't bullshit me. If you were dead, how could you post?
└Anonymous: Because I revived.
└World Peace: ?
-Environmental Protection: I don't know what happened, but after they went that far, why not just lift the suspension?
└World Peace: N-no, it's fake anyway. Do you have proof?
[Title: Head Mod, You Fucking Bastard. Look.]
[Posted by: I Am Empire]
(A photo taken just before something hits the ground)
(A photo of the ground, pixelated)
(A photo of something like a ball of fire appearing over the mosaic)
(A photo of Joo So-jeong, revived with her clothes restored and intact)
(Another photo of Joo So-jeong fiddling with her smartphone and grumbling that she couldn't die again)
Just got this hot off the press, you son of a bitch.
-World Peace: Oh.
-Clacker Maniac: Guys, this is on the news, fuck. (Link)
-Turtle King: Holy shit, she really did fall?
-Deep Sea Diver: There's an Awakened whose passive is resurrection???
-Environmental Protection: Just lift the suspension, you senile old mod, you crazy bastard.
-World Peace: N-no, it doesn't count. Dying and then reviving doesn't count.
└Environmental Protection: What a pathetic loser.
└Fashionista: Wow, you still won't lift the suspension after all that? Stubborn as hell.
-Anonymous: Well, can't be helped, then.
└World Peace: So, will you be a deputy mod?
└Anonymous: No.
└World Peace: ?
[Title: Let's Try a Movie Scene.]
[Posted by: Anonymous]
(Photo of a subway entrance)
I watched movie reviews on a video site about people dying in all kinds of ways, and there was a scene where someone gets flung out of a moving train, hits a wall, and gets ground to pieces. It made me want to try it.
-World Peace: Oh.
-Dragon Chicken: What the fuck?
-Anonymous: I'll try it once, and if I revive again, I'll post about it.
└I Am Empire: I'm telling you not to go dieeeee!!!
-Clacker Maniac: TOWER AAAAAAAGH!!!
And so, the suspension wasn't lifted until evening.