Chapter 10
- I've sorted out today's money-related bait.[3]
- Pouring Coke into a tuna can is surprisingly tasty.[5]
- I haven't been able to sleep for a while
- How to make marketplace food taste even better...jpg[12]
“The gallery is peaceful today, too.”
I killed time pointlessly by reading the countless posts that went up or lurking around.
Now that I'd picked a sub-mod, I wanted to reduce the burden of managing the gallery and focus on gallery life, but that was still difficult.
[Administrator Chat]
- Head Mod☆: Hey, sub-mod, what are you doing instead of working? Can't you see the tactical nukes piling up?
- FullHPElf: Managing the gallery is too hard, dae-yo. ...You're the lunatic who grabbed an elf who said they didn't want the job in the first place!!
- Head Mod☆: Sigh. All rookies are like that. Let's work hard.
- FullHPElf: Waaah!!
It was all because the rookie was incompetent.
“This is why there's no point treating everyone well at first. They only think about quitting. Tsk, tsk.”
Elves these days have no fighting spirit. No fighting spirit.
The new sub-mod still had a lot to learn.
Perhaps it was especially because of FullHPElf's past atrocities.
- LOL, sub-mod, clean this up too~
- It's too sweet~ Gallery life is so much fun~~
- FullHPElf: I like looking at tactical nukes
If anything, there seemed to be even more tactical nukes.
- Head Mod☆: If you have time to post, then work instead
- FullHPElf: I didn't write that, dae-yo!! Who would like something like that in the first place, dae-yo?
I felt the need for a new sub-mod.
And just then, I found a post that caught my eye.
Title: I Haven't Been Able to Sleep for a While
Author: VampireTillDeath
For many years, I cannot sleep
This is truly a curse. I wish to be freed
But that bastard who started the curse will not free me
Not source, fuck
The curse has taken away my language
Oh, curse-source bastard. Source, source, source!
Ugh, another painful day today
Upvotes 0 Downvotes 0
[Comments 0]
“What the hell is this one?”
Among the flood of posts was a single incomprehensible one.
Even after looking through the user's history, their comment count was explosively higher than their post count.
But the strange thing was that no one showed any interest in them—to a frightening degree.
Their view count was only one, too.
It was the sort of post one might click out of curiosity, but no one had mentioned VampireTillDeath at all.
So I left a comment.
- Head Mod☆): What's your deal? Why is nobody commenting?
ㄴ Author): Oh! Interaction after a long time. But I do not know that either. Curiosity or sadness?
ㄴ Head Mod☆): This gimmick is seriously intense
ㄴ Author): Not a gimmick. I used several methods, but failed. This is painful.
The interesting thing was that VampireTillDeath didn't particularly cause trouble.
“No tactical nukes, either. No callouts. No record at all?”
How could someone in the gallery not have a criminal record?
I admired that quietly, then suddenly had a good idea.
ㄴ Head Mod☆): Hey, would you consider becoming a sub-mod?
ㄴ Author): Question
ㄴ Head Mod☆): I have a feeling you'd be good at it if you became a sub-mod.
ㄴ Author): An incomprehensible attempt
ㄴ Head Mod☆): But there are benefits, too. If you become a sub-mod, nobody can ignore you anymore
ㄴ Author): Oh, excitement! No, not excitement, excitement. Not excitement, departure. Departure! Departure!
“The gimmick itself is intense, but whatever.”
My instincts had been right.
Clearly, if VampireTillDeath became a sub-mod, the gallery thrown into chaos by FullHPElf would return to normal.
But what if VampireTillDeath was abnormal, too?
“Then I'll apologize when the time comes.”
Act first, report later.
★Sub-Mod List
- FullHPElf
- VampireTillDeath
- ?? What's that thing up there?
- A new sub-mod joined?
- As long as it's not me! Huh?
- Ah, wait, fuck, Head Mod, you bastard!!!!!!!!
For now, I made VampireTillDeath a sub-mod.
*
Several years ago, a ghost-story post appeared in the gallery.
Title: Never Go to the Abandoned Castle Mariaca
(A creepy image of the abandoned castle Mariaca)
First off, it's so fucking ominous-looking that I doubt any gallery user would approach it
But even if you were brave enough to try to salvage something, I advise you to turn back immediately
I'm saying this as a local of Mariaca, but people even say this isn't a place you should look at, not even as a joke
They say the progenitor of vampires, who has lived for over a thousand years, resides inside
There's also a rumor that it's where countless masses of curses have clumped together
But one thing is certain: anyone who goes there will definitely die
Never. Absolutely never go to the abandoned castle Mariaca.
Upvotes 444 Downvotes 44
[Comments 44]
- So you're saying we should definitely go?
ㄴ Author) You bastard.
- I'm a treasure hunter, and I was planning to go today, so why are you telling me not to? It's probably just a rumor, right?
ㄴ Author) Go ahead if you don't value your life
ㄴ Wait, the way you're saying it makes me curious;
ㄴ It does look fucking creepy just from the outside
- That's a place even monsters don't go.
- It looks like it's telling you not to come, just from the outside.
It was a ghost story about the abandoned castle located in Mariaca, in the territory of the Kingdom of Kelton.
An old abandoned castle that had existed since before the Great War, it wasn't known even within the kingdom.
The one certain thing was that everyone kept quiet about it.
Even after monsters descended following the Great War, the fact that they wouldn't go anywhere near the castle only fueled the fear.
But the problem began because of that post.
- I'm going to the abandoned castle today
- The author told me never to go, so I'm going
- Looking for a castle party, 1/4
Being told never to go meant you absolutely had to go.
The fine specimens who refused to break that rule headed to the abandoned castle, hoping to salvage something from the ruined world.
[This post has been deleted.]
[This post has been deleted.]
[This post has been deleted.]
- Wow, fuck ㄷㄷ; this is terrifying
- Wait, where did all these guys go?
Every last one of their IPs was deleted.
And then a new post appeared in Featured.
More specifically, a post with zero recommendations—one that no one had recommended—appeared in Featured.
Featured) Hello, everyone.
Author) VampireTillDeath
The ten children who set out woke me from my sweet sleep.
Why ignore my warning?
The curse stirs my appetite
I shall sate my hunger by drinking wicked blood
But all of this, everyone brought upon themselves
Upvotes 44 Downvotes 44
After that ominous Featured post, nearly a hundred IPs began being deleted every day.
Humans, beastfolk, elves, and dwarves alike.
The IP massacre continued for a full week before finally stopping, leaving deep roots in the gallery.
Never respond to VampireTillDeath's posts.
That unwritten rule had been upheld until now, but Head Mod had not only touched VampireTillDeath's post, he'd made VampireTillDeath a sub-mod.
Featured) Head Mod, you fucking bastard!!!
Why did you have to pick the censored one of all people?
I can tolerate literally anything else, but not this
Fuck, I'm seriously warning you: cancel it now
If neither you nor I wants to die, please cancel it!!!!!!
Upvotes 44 Downvotes 44
[Comments 44]
- Wait, wow. Why are the upvote, downvote, and comment counts like this?
ㄴ It's always been like this, at least when the censored one gets involved;
ㄴ No, we're seriously fucked.
- What the hell is Head Mod thinking?
- Ah, seriously, he took it way too far and completely fucked everything up.
ㄴ Author) I'm seriously guaranteeing you this: if Head Mod doesn't retract what he said, I'll really come find him
ㄴ LOL, how are you going to find him?
ㄴ I'll find him somehow. This is genuinely serious enough to warrant it;
ㄴ VampireTillDeath★) What are you guaranteeing? Why threaten Head Mod? Are you a bad person?
ㄴ Holy shit;
ㄴ Uh
ㄴ VampireTillDeath★) Answer.
ㄴ VampireTillDeath★) Answer.
ㄴ VampireTillDeath★) If you ignore my demand again, I will spam 999-day bans
ㄴ Author) SorrySorrySorryIwon'toffendyouwithnonsenseagain
*
“Wait, it was this bad?”
Looking back, VampireTillDeath was a troublemaker.
The problem was that VampireTillDeath was a troublemaker in the real world.
But I was more puzzled than anything.
[Administrator Chat]
VampireTillDeath: Hello, everyone. Thanks to Head Mod for appointing me
Head Mod☆: Hey hey, looking forward to working with you
FullHPElf: ...
VampireTillDeath: Leave it to me. Everything is for Head Mod.
VampireTillDeath: But a question. Why does FullHPElf ignore me?
FullHPElf: ...
VampireTillDeath: If unable to use language, that is understandable. I will visit and converse face-to-face.
FullHPElf: Huaaang... Head Mod, help me, dae-yo...
The new sub-mod, VampireTillDeath, followed my instructions well.
And what about gallery management?
Perhaps VampireTillDeath's past of being ignored sometimes came to mind; VampireTillDeath did threaten to spam bans if ignored, but at least when it came to gallery management, VampireTillDeath was incredible.
- Look at all the tactical nukes disappearing
- Wow! The gallery can be this clean?
- Ah; now I can't launch tactical nukes;; I even got a new version ready
ㄴ Fuck you, don't get that shit.
It was because VampireTillDeath herself was a powerful deterrent.
No gallery user existed who dared throw a tactical nuke at a walking ghost story.
And so, just as the gallery was settling into an ambiguous atmosphere that seemed both good and bad...
“Come to think of it, I think VampireTillDeath said she'd killed someone.”
Seeing VampireTillDeath playing with FullHPElf now, VampireTillDeath didn't seem like the sort who would commit murder.
If I was curious, I only had to ask.
I asked in the chat why no one had asked about it.
Head Mod☆: But, VampireTillDeath. Did you really kill people?
FullHPElf: Gasp
FullHPElf typed as if checking the mood for a moment, but VampireTillDeath didn't pay much attention to the question.
VampireTillDeath: It was all the curse's fault. I entered eternal sleep to stop it. But some humans broke it.
Head Mod☆: Then that means you killed them, doesn't it? Murder's a bit much.
VampireTillDeath: There is no need to worry. I only drink wicked blood. It is also very sweet.
So VampireTillDeath was saying VampireTillDeath was a good person?
But VampireTillDeath had grounds to feel wronged.
VampireTillDeath had forcibly suppressed the vampiric urges and entered eternal sleep, only for humans to forcibly wake VampireTillDeath, didn't they?
Head Mod☆: Hmm, okay for now
If VampireTillDeath turned out to be a problem after I kept an eye on VampireTillDeath, I could just remove the sub-mod status.
After buying a pile of exorcism salt from the marketplace in advance, I turned up the lamp's brightness.
“Scawy.”
It absolutely wasn't that I was scared or terrified.
*
Inside the abandoned castle Mariaca, built atop a sheer mountain.
A languid-looking woman sat on the throne in the audience chamber that no one visited anymore.
...
Cloudy white hair, red eyes, pale skin.
Her blood-red dress contrasted with them, and together with the vast audience chamber, it lent the scene a bizarre air.
[Hehe]
An ominous laugh echoing inside her head filled the audience chamber.
Erzebet, the owner of the abandoned castle, was the progenitor of vampires who had lost her language and sleep to a curse.
She was also VampireTillDeath, who had recently become a sub-mod.
[Head Mod, you are interesting.]
What on earth was he thinking?
She regarded Head Mod, who had made her a moderator, with interest and took a sip of Coke.
[Mmm! This black water is delicious no matter when I drink it.]
Her eyes automatically screwed shut, and a refreshing sensation coursed through her entire body.
Each time, she even felt as if she could briefly forget the curse that had been tormenting her.
It was so intense that she could even momentarily forget that dreadful bloodlust.
[If I have received something, it is only natural that I repay it.]
Head Mod, her benefactor whose very name sounded nice.
Erzebet diligently clicked through post after post, fulfilling her duties as a moderator.
Then it happened.
Title: Head Mod, Listen Up
Author: Frederick
The Adrian Empire prohibits the sale of alcohol.
And yet, how dare you violate this?
Do you not know that the imperial family reigns above all creation?
To sit idly by and watch this has gone too far.
Ban everything related to alcohol among the goods listed in the marketplace.
This is both a warning and an order.
Amend it by tomorrow morning.
Upvotes 504 Downvotes 999+
[Comments]
- Ah, damn that Crown Prince bastard!!
- Enough with these one-sided sanctions...
- It's been ruined for ages... Should I just defect?
- Adrian? Isn't that the place whose territory was mostly eaten by monsters?
- LOL, as long as it's not my country~
- You humans fight among yourselves again? LOL
ㄴ Yeah, still better than elves.
[Oh, really?]
Erzebet discovered a subversive post.