Chapter 43
[Title: I Didn't Want to Know]
(Frog meme sobbing while pointing a sword at itself)
I absolutely did not want to know.
Living as a dull-witted idiot who knew nothing of the truth might have been several times happier.
I might have imagined the cute-girl Head Mod worrying about me, handing out marketplace items, and sharing unusual goods.
But that future no longer existed.
- Gallery bro...
ㄴ Head Mod, why did you open Pandora's box?
ㄴ My motivation suddenly plummeted. I don't want to do anything. Work, appetite, just...
ㄴ Fuck!!!!!
ㄴ Damn Head Mod!
[Title: Don't Be So Sad, Everyone ^^]
(Rabbit beastfolk extending an arm toward the screen and making a V with their fingers meme)
Head Mod, you're handsome.
There's even a gap between reality and the Gallery!
You talk sharply, but you're so shy when we meet in person ><!
As long as it tastes good, does gender really matter?
- Wow... look at him.
- My shattered heart... feels a little warmer.
- Fuck, that just makes me even sadder!!!
ㄴ For real, what's the point of seeing a handsome man?
ㄴ Cute-girl Head Mod >>>>>> man >>>>>> handsome-man Head Mod
ㄴ On the contrary, if he's a handsome man... I hate it because it makes me feel inferior...
ㄴ On the contrary?
ㄴ ??
The impact was greater than I'd expected.
I'd given the cultists a red pill and told them to exercise restraint, but the entire Gallery had sunk into depression.
Even in the midst of all this, only some female Gallery bros and rabbitfolk still liked me.
“Why is everyone so desperate to dig through my information?”
- So what does Head Mod look like?
- Head Mod, show your face already!
- Fuck, Head Mod bastard, who the hell are you to hide your face and make a fuss? Think you're somebody??
ㄴ Is Head Mod your friend?
ㄴ Little troll~ Please ask again politely~
ㄴ You insolent little Head Mod! I'm curious enough to want to know Head Mod's face—could you reveal it?
ㄴ LOL, as if he'd reveal it.
ㄴ Did the red pill make him lose his mind?
Of course, I had no intention of showing my face.
I was the Gallery administrator, not a public figure.
Besides, even if I were a public figure, I had no reason to reveal it.
“NEVER REVEAL.”
The problem was that the Gallery bros weren't the only ones curious about my face.
[Admin Chat]
Full-Life Elf: Head Mod, Head Mod.
Head Mod*: ?
Full-Life Elf: Can't you post a selfie meme just for us? I'm curious what you look like, yeah.
Dying-While-Still-a-Vampire: Same. I'm curious.
The two of them timidly approached me.
Maybe it was because I'd been working hard to manage the Gallery without chatting very often, but this was more unexpected than I'd thought.
Head Mod*: Oh, are you really curious?
Head Mod*: Then I'll tell just the two of you specially.
Full-Life Elf: ?! Really, yeah!
Dying-While-Still-a-Vampire: Really?
Full-Life Elf: Head Mod! Head Mod! Head Mod! Head Mod!
Head Mod*: (Frog holding a wineglass and smiling mysteriously meme)
Head Mod*: What that means is~
Head Mod*: I sent it to you by email~
Of course, I had no intention of telling even the sub-mods.
Dying-While-Still-a-Vampire: ?
Full-Life Elf: You bastard!!!
Dying-While-Still-a-Vampire: ...I'll go see you in person.
Head Mod*: No no no no;
I hadn't expected the sub-mods to be curious about my face too.
Anyway, I had no intention of revealing it.
“Every piece of bait is welcome.”
Of course, except me.
- But isn't Head Mod an archmage?
- Reasons Head Mod is actually a cute girl...jpg
- Official) Head Mod is the result of the Transcendent Fritz Haber. Gender reversal is nothing.
ㄴ Oh, then?
ㄴ Don't lose hope.
ㄴ Cute-girl Head Mod! Academy tsundere villain-role Head Mod! Taming the Villain Head Mod!
ㄴ ?
- Orange Faction) The cute-girl Head Mod theory... is still alive...
ㄴ We won't give up...!
With the Gallery busily turning its hope circuits, I shifted my gaze to the marketplace.
[Owned – 51,230p]
“Who am I? A holder of 50,000 points...”
For this moment, at least, I wasn't jealous of billionaires.
I'd finally reached my target of 50,000 points.
It had been worth patiently enduring it when they used me as bait and diligently banned all the over-the-top posts.
With a light flick of my fingers, I entered the bunker category.
[Normal Bunker] 50,000 points
[Advanced Bunker] 100,000 points
.
.
[Nuclear War Apocalypse Bunker] - 10,000,000 points
[Normal Bunker] - 50,000 points
- Effective against shock magic!
- It absolutely cannot be breached with ordinary blades!
“Flex.”
[You have purchased ‘Normal Bunker’!]
I completed the purchase without a moment's hesitation.
Almost simultaneously, a new message appeared from the system.
[Would you like to apply this item to your residence?]
I wasn't sure how it would be applied, but there was no harm in following the system's instructions.
And the moment I pressed the accept button—
“Huh?”
Rumble, rumble.
The entire warehouse began shaking violently.
*
The system's application was simple.
It forcibly expanded the inside of the warehouse.
The relatively cramped, undivided, stuffy warehouse began changing in real time.
The interior expanded overall, and a living room, storage room, and shower room appeared one after another.
All the old wooden pillars vanished, and the interior was painted white with modern marble and paint.
“This is... my home?”
All the items that had been in the warehouse were neatly arranged without even needing to be organized.
Vrrr.
The swords that had already been there went to the wall-mounted racks and found their places as if satisfied.
A legendary legend.
“Still, you have to keep working.”
...Vrrr.
I naturally took the holy sword from the rack, hung it from the ceiling, and looked around the interior.
It was a home that inspired nothing but awe.
Of course, it was lacking compared to an ordinary house, but considering my previous life, it wasn't bad.
“So it's practically invincible against external impacts.”
As long as I didn't open the door, there was no risk of being attacked or kidnapped like before.
Of course, it might not withstand even stronger impacts or various types of magic, but this was still pretty good.
I dashed to the room that doubled as a living room and bedroom and flung myself onto the bed.
Amazing! I'm so proud!
“But now that I think about it, I'm in bed every hour—does having the space even mean anything?”
I suddenly felt that the tour of the bunker I'd just taken had been meaningless.
While I sat frozen like that for a moment, a new Featured Post appeared.
[Featured Post: Let's Learn About the Spooky Rift.jpg]
“Oh, whatever.”
I lay on the bed, rummaged through the marketplace for something to eat, and continued browsing the Gallery.
*
[Featured Post: Let's Learn About the Spooky Rift.jpg]
(Thumbs-up hedgehog emote)
Greetings, Gallery bros.
Today, I'd like to talk about the pet lava known as a Rift, which suddenly appeared at some point.
(Meme of someone throwing trash into a Rift)
As you know, Rifts were initially harmless.
They served as simple trash cans that disposed of all kinds of garbage—nothing more.
But as time passed, the problem began to grow.
(Frog emote clutching its head)
(“Hug me.” Demonized crop emote)
They caused headaches, and afterward inflicted the serious debuff of crop demonization, didn't they?
So countless Gallery scholars, myself included, researched them, but there was only one result.
(Meme of someone bombarding a Rift with magic while it remains unharmed)
Magic absolutely cannot destroy a Rift.
It may seem possible to destroy one, but its mana resistance is so powerful that it's practically impossible.
Q. Can't you just break it with physical force?
Of course, some of you may have that question.
(Meme of a knight swinging his sword, only for the sword to break)
But even ordinary physical force can't destroy one.
If you believe your steamed-bun fists are stronger than iron, then give it a try.
But this bastard has one useful feature!
(Meme of a mercenary group gathered around a Rift)
(Meme of crops turning into monsters because of a Rift)
(Meme of beating them down before they completely transform and harvesting “monster meat”)
Wait for the crops to become demonized, then time their transformation and harvest a large amount of meat!
With the MSG sprinkled by the Head Mod, monster meat is extremely tasty, so try it if you're hungry right now or need a large supply of food.
[Recommendations 9999+] [Dislikes 152]
- Thank you, World Tree Wiki!
- This method is genuinely amazing. It's a hassle, but doing it once can get you a week's worth of food, totally doable.
-https://gall.isegyemyeolmang.com/mgallery/board/view/?id=dontstarve&no=666
ㄴ What's this?
ㄴ A guide to farming monster meat.
ㄴ Fuck, why are you already running a factory?
One day, a post appeared on the Featured Posts.
The post contained various observations about Rifts and demonstrated food production using them.
The fertilizer distributed by the Head Mod had entered the world, but it had yet to become widespread.
The races too busy just surviving used that method to obtain protein.
And an elf in Elrad was using that method too, just like every Gallery bro.
“Hngh...”
The problem was that things had gone a little—no, a lot—awry.
- Grrk, grrkgrrkgrrkgrrk
“Ugh...”
The elf Lydia was a skilled archer.
Unlike the so-called low-HP elves, she had made a living through hunting, and so she used this method.
But something was strange.
The crops weren't simply becoming demonized around the Rift; tentacles had emerged from the Rift.
- Grrrk, grrrrk
- Huh?
A tentacle as thick as a human arm emerged from the Rift.
It then touched the pumpkin she had been growing and began injecting something into it in great quantities.
That was the beginning of the nightmare.
The pumpkin soon became a giant humanoid monster wielding a sickle, and it came after Lydia.
“Ah, it hurts. I don't want to die.”
Her grass-colored hair was stained with blood, and blood kept pouring from her left arm.
With her vision growing hazy, she hid behind a fallen tree, but was that the end?
- Grrrk.
She suddenly realized that the pumpkin monster was staring down at her.
As though it were enjoying itself by playing with its prey before killing it.
The sickle slowly rose over her head.
Just as despair settled over Lydia's face, a bright, lively notification that didn't fit the mood rang out.
[A comment has been added to the post ‘Ah, this is my final request. Would you [avenge] me in my place?’!]
- What the fuck is this?
- What kind of monster is that now?
- That pumpkin looks fucking malicious.
‘No, not comments like these.’
Lydia clenched her teeth and clung to her lifeline.
It wasn't hope that she would survive.
She knew the sickle would soon fall on her head, but she had to buy even a few more seconds.
Because the Head Mod was active in the Gallery every hour, every minute, every second.
- Head Mod*: Screenshot taken.
And, just as she'd hoped, the Head Mod appeared.
- Head Mod*: Even if the post gets deleted, the photo will remain.
- Head Mod*: You did well holding on. Thanks for the report too. I promise I'll take revenge. Rest easy now.
ㄴ I'll Become an Elf Archer Master: :)
“You're finished now.”
A faint smile appeared on her exhausted face.
She had no lingering regrets.
The Head Mod would pull out all kinds of bizarre items and turn the pumpkin monster into pumpkin porridge right before her eyes.
‘A little disappointing, too.’
Many users vanished from the Gallery every day, but she'd never imagined she would be one of them.
- Grrrk?
Crunch!
The monster swung its sickle with an expression of incomprehension.
ㄴ This comment has been deleted.
A well-liked regular disappeared just like that.