Chapter 138
“Die!”
“Squeak!”
The arrow that flew swiftly pierced the fleeing rabbit clean through.
“That's it!”
One of the hunters let out a cheer at the sight.
“I won fair and square, so pay up as agreed.”
“Yeah, take it. Take it all.”
The man who had successfully hunted the rabbit received a small amount of money from his fellow hunters.
This was known as rabbit hunting.
It was a hunting game created by hunters who had discovered the thrill of Halli Galli at the village chief's house.
They bet on who could catch the rabbit first, wagering a small amount of money.
But.
“Hahaha... ha. Phew.”
“...Tch.”
It wasn't fun.
For people who had already discovered the thrill of Halli Galli, a game like this was far too dull.
To begin with, what kind of game could hunters make out of rabbit hunting?
“It doesn't have that satisfying feel, that feel.”
“It should have the exhilarating smack of hitting the bell.”
But they had failed to buy Halli Galli,
and it had long since been removed from the market because of some lunatic.
They had tried making similar games like this, but there was no way they could produce the same kick as Halli Galli.
Comparing a modern card game with a medieval game that had only just begun was embarrassing to begin with.
“How many more hours do we have to keep doing this?”
“...About six hours?”
“Fuck.”
The average hunting time was eight hours.
It was at this desperate moment, as they wondered how to fill the long hours remaining, that—
[A new system has been unlocked. - Gallery Omok]
Compete one-on-one and get listed in the rankings!
Countless rewards await you!
“What the?”
At that moment, a new system appeared in the gallery.
Hunters who had once tasted dopamine pressed the accept button immediately, without a second thought.
*
Omok.
A simple game guaranteed to be fun, in which you win by lining up five stones.
“The problem is getting players, though...”
No matter how fun you made it, it was meaningless if nobody played.
So merely succeeding in securing a user base meant you were halfway there.
- Open it right now!!!
- We should start immediately.
- This is your final warning. If you tease me any longer, I'm going to shit myself right here.
ㄴ The gallery isn't a bathroom.
ㄴ I'm eating, you son of a bitch.
“I'm already halfway there.”
Thanks to Halli Galli's prestige, securing a user base had been incredibly easy.
All that remained was to get people interested in Omok before their interest faded.
Things are more fun the more you know about them.
Normally, people learned little by little through general rooms or explanations,
but unfortunately, everyone here was a newbie.
“Then I guess I'll have to step in.”
It was time for my past-life gallery username—and alter ego—to make its entrance.
“Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost, deploy.”
[Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost has opened a one-on-one room!]
[Room title - Scrubs only lol]
- ?
- This guy's a newbie too, so where does he get this confidence?
- Ah lol, just wait there. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you lol.
If you made a room title that prodded at people's competitive spirit a little, someone was bound to enter eventually.
[Canned Tuna Queen has entered the room!]
“Huh?”
The problem was that a rather familiar username had entered.
“Should I open a new room?”
I thought about it for a moment, but shook my head.
Competition was always cold and ruthless.
More than anything, I needed someone to set an example in advance so I could establish the rules going forward.
Even if I had run into someone I knew, I couldn't abandon my identity as an alter ego.
Canned Tuna Queen: Hi
Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost: lol
Canned Tuna Queen: ㅇuㅇ?
As everyone's attention in the gallery converged on it, the game began with tickets on the line.
[Both sides pay 1 ticket.]
[The winner takes all the tickets.]
[Tickets can be used in the market.]
- Oh, what is this? Is this also played for money?
- But it calls them tickets.
- They put a strict monthly limit on it. But it looks like you can buy them cheaper in the market?
Tickets were game money, plain and simple.
The items available for purchase were limited too; they were designed merely to stimulate competitiveness.
There was no risk of spending a fortune on them or going bankrupt.
Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost: Newbie goes first lol
Black goes first.
Canned Tuna Queen had the first move, but true to her newbie status, she made the mistake of placing her stone in a corner.
“Well, it's her first time. It happens.”
Still, I had no intention of going easy on her.
Even if my opponent were a kindergartener, I would still do my best.
Canned Tuna Queen: Eek, eeeeek...
- Wow, no way, he's fucking good.
- What the hell is Black? Where did he learn to play?
- Wow, he's toying with her like crazy lol.
ㄴ If I were on the receiving end, I'd actually go find him.
I blocked all three-in-a-rows Tuna Queen made without too much trouble.
I deliberately spread my white stones around the board.
Canned Tuna Queen: I did it! Three stones!
- Congrats.
- But aren't you supposed to get five stones for this?
- Upvoted hard because she's cute.
Fortunately, after a long, difficult struggle, Tuna Queen succeeded in making three stones...
But the higher you climb, the harder the fall.
I immediately placed a stone and formed a double-three.
Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost: lol
Canned Tuna Queen: o O o
“Game over.”
A stone formation that could never be blocked, no matter where a stone was placed.
Canned Tuna Queen gritted her teeth and tried diligently to block each corner, but there was no chance.
[‘Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost’ has won!]
[Acquired all of the loser's tickets!]
One ticket was worth one can of tuna.
Canned Tuna Queen had just lost a can of tuna.
Canned Tuna Queen: Ahh...
Seeing Tuna Queen sitting there in a daze made my heart ache.
- Boo, you piece of trash.
- If you have a conscience, give it back.
- Pay your humiliation fee and leave, you bastard.
- Aren't you afraid of the hundreds of thousands of Kellierton's guardians???
Naturally, the spectators were also provoked by the behavior of my alter ego.
But the world of competition was always cold and ruthless.
To attract more Omok players, I had no choice but to make a decision.
[Title: I'm Sorry... I'll Return Your Ticket...txt]
Author: Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost
(GIF of a frog laughing wildly)
There is no such thing, gallery bro lololol.
(GIF of two tickets held in a hand)
The one ticket you wagered on the match?
(GIF of the ticket exchange booth in the market)
The can of tuna you threw on the ground???
(GIF of a frog making an obnoxious face)
No matter what happens!!!
Never!!!!!
It's never coming back, gallery bro lololol.
(GIF of a frog dancing with the image flipped horizontally)
Lmaooooo
Lmaooooo
Lmaooooo
[Upvotes 1412] [Downvotes 9999+]
- You fucking bastard.
- Fuck, this post is hilarious lololol.
- This is fucking funny lolololol.
- Should I try it too?
- Win or lose, the dopamine is definitely real.
- Looking for a newbie to smash heads with in a one-on-one.
Fortunately, the gallery users learned the rules of Omok and successfully became interested in it.
- Looking for a newbie for a one-on-one.
- 33-ban room: using a double-three means automatic disqualification.
- Host's rigged map, black goes first.
And through the double-three trick I had demonstrated firsthand, I naturally taught them the rules as well.
I managed both to get them to understand the rules and to make Gallery Game a hit!
Canned Tuna Queen: Head Mod...
Head Mod*: Yeah?
Canned Tuna Queen: That established user named Secret of the Liberal Arts Ghost—could you tell me where they live?
Of course, Canned Tuna Queen's unusually strong competitive spirit had led to an obsession.
Head Mod*: Since it's just a game, that might be a little difficult, haha;
Canned Tuna Queen: I'll find them no matter what...
“It wasn't as if there was any reason for me to get caught anyway.”
I casually brushed it off and checked the Gallery Omok system.
[Number of rooms opened - 1,942]
[Ticket sales revenue - 4,032 gyeongdan]
Free rooms with no tickets at stake were also possible, but revenue had already started coming in.
However, the monthly limit per person was 10 gyeongdan.
In other words, 50 tickets.
I set the maximum at 1 ticket per game and created a separate source for obtaining tickets.
“Now, whenever we hold an event in the gallery, we can give out tickets as rewards.”
It was meant to prevent excessive spending before it could happen.
Since the game had originally been created for use in events, it was worth hoping it would be effective.
- You fucking bastard, I said 33 was banned, ah lol [42]
- Why White Is Better Than Black.txt [31]
- Fucking Head Mod, You Need to See This Right Now [132]
- Ten tickets, yummy lol [31]
“Hmm?”
But among the new popular posts, one strange post caught my eye.
There were usually plenty of troll posts like that, but the number of comments displayed beside it was strange.
The views and comment count were bizarrely high for a mere troll post.
Something like this had happened a few times before, and I had just clicked the post because it seemed strange when—
[Title: Fucking Head Mod, You Need to See This Right Now]
Author: Live Long and Thin
(GIF of a rift dozens of meters across)
It's on the outskirts of Rondel Village in southern Adrian.
It's on the outskirts of Rondel Village in southern Adrian.
It's on the outskirts of Rondel Village in southern Adrian.
It's on the outskirts of Rondel Village in southern Adrian.
[Upvotes 4021] [Downvotes 0]
- Fuck, what the hell is with the size of that rift?
- This doesn't look like bait; it seems like a real situation.
- At least post it so Head Mod can see it.
- Upvote the fuck out of this, fuck.
“No, how can it be that huge?”
It was larger than any rift that had appeared so far.
No, “large” wasn't enough to describe it.
A rift dozens of meters across had appeared and sucked in everything around it.
Faced with its overwhelming size, all that remained in the post was a frantic repetition of the location information.
- Head Mod*) Hey, are you okay? Can you chat right now?
[Delivered 1 ‘12-gauge shotgun’ and 3 ‘bullets’!]
I couldn't determine the author's condition, but it was obvious things weren't looking good.
So I sent a chat message however I could, but no reply came back.
“He isn't dead, is he?”
The post was still there.
Since all of a user's gallery logs are deleted when they die, they weren't dead yet.
Just as I was wondering whether I should send some other kind of support if they couldn't reply—
Live Long and Thin: .
Head Mod*: Oh, can you chat right now?
Live Long and Thin: .
Live Long and Thin: .
Live Long and Thin: (GIF of a fiend peering into the gallery)
Live Long and Thin: (GIF of Live Long and Thin, unconscious and dying)
Live Long and Thin: (GIF of a fiend smiling in a horribly unpleasant way)
[The post has been deleted.]
[This IP address does not exist.]
The entire post was deleted along with the ominous images.
A fiend had used the gallery.