Chapter 14
[Title : Hunter bro's little sister (17) got pregnant, what do I do?]
Author : ㅇㅇ(777.777)
(A cat picture staring with a look of utter disappointment)
Hunter bro... what were you expecting?
I wrote it as a bait post without expecting much.
But I started getting a ridiculous number of comment notifications.
Wondering what on earth was going on, I checked the comments.
ㄴ What the hell is this guy's IP?
ㄴ What kind of IP is this lol
ㄴ Does this person spend all day on Asgard? lol
“Huh? My IP?”
Only then did the absurd Author : ㅇㅇ(777.777) line catch my eye.
I blurted out a curse.
Damn that old man. You never said it would work like this.
“Ah, what the hell is this...”.
I refreshed the post I had just written and clutched my head.
The old man had definitely said I could become a ghost completely free from tracking.
So what is this?
In the place where an IP address should have been, an odd six-digit number was displayed.
That made me a far more noticeable presence than before.
This was a far cry from the anonymity I wanted.
If anything, it made me easier to identify now.
Was tracking really being avoided with this?
I had my doubts, but there was no way to confirm it right away.
“Since it’s come to this, I might as well get a best post.”
I went ahead and wrote another post.
Figuring it might be another ticket to the best posts.
[Title : I got cursed in the Tower, so my IP got weird]
Author : ㅇㅇ(E88.FD8)
Content : Met a crazy wizard NPC in the Tower.
He said he'd grant a wish, so I asked him to make me untraceable, and this is the result.
Am I supposed to live like this forever now?
ㄴ It’s not even numbers anymore lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Does Wi-Fi work inside the Tower?
ㄴ lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ the average Hunter Gallery user is truly legendary
ㄴ With this much effort, send it to the best posts already
Comments laughing like maniacs.
As expected, that was exactly the reaction I'd anticipated. No one took me seriously.
[Title : Why the Asgard anon is legendary lol]
Even now, world-class scholars with master’s and doctoral degrees still haven’t figured out the Tower’s principles at all
And that very “Tower” supposedly grants one wish itself
He said he didn’t need money, fame, or power, or anything like that
So he asked for the power to troll invincibly lol
A truly legendary life lol
ㄴ He threw away the chance to change his life, but he still deserves the best post lol
ㄴ For real, if it were me I’d have asked for invincible cheat power right away
ㄴ That’s exactly why he’s on Hunter Gallery lol
“You bastards! I wanted a cheat skill too!”
Damn it, I'm screwed. All they want to do here is laugh at me.
Just as I was about to give up and close the window, one new post caught my eye.
[Title : But it really does seem untraceable?]
I clicked the post as if under a spell.
[Author : 나해컨데]
I'm a professional hacker, and I just tried tracing it, but it doesn't work, yeah....
It feels like the record itself is in another dimension.
For the record, my hacking résumé is 18 Hunter Gallery doxxings. 45 rigged best posts.
(Roughly, an ugly frog giving a thumbs-up)
ㄴ Nice, that’s an impressive résumé.
ㄴ We’ve got someone the National Intelligence Service should be recruiting right here lol
ㄴ But seriously, it really does seem untraceable.
ㄴ For real, the IP keeps changing to something that isn’t even numbers—what the hell is that?
“You... bastards...”
I trembled all over from the endless mockery.
Yeah, getting anything serious out of this gallery was impossible anyway.
Without hesitation, I closed Hunter Gallery and logged into Magic Gallery, where my true kindred spirits would be.
***
[Title : I met a weird NPC on the 5th floor, what is this?]
Author : ㅇㅇ(A00.0C0)
I’m seriously losing it.
I went into the hidden piece on the 5th floor and met some crazy old geezer NPC.
He said he’d teach me a spell, so I asked for one to avoid IP tracking, and he cast some spell that changes my IP into this nonsense.
What is this? What am I supposed to do now?
The first to react to my post was p깟쮸.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ I just saw this in Hunter Gallery. I had a feeling, but it really was our newbie lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ 냉장고 : But seriously, I’m curious—why would you do something like that?
ㄴㄴ ㅇㅇ(111.111) : No, I couldn’t help it.
I asked for a cheat skill, but everything came with such strict restrictions that I couldn’t use any of them.
And they only gave me ten seconds.
You try it and see if you can even think straight ㅡㅡ
ㄴㄴ p깟쮸 : The newbie's pouting lolㅋㅋㅋ Cute lol
“Agh! Aaaagh!”
Damn, this place was full of the same kind of people too.
It felt like a dark gloom was piling up inside me.
At this rate, I might go full dark anon.
Should I try wrecking the gallery?
I even got a spell optimized for stirring up trouble....
That was when it happened. At last, normal comments started appearing.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : What on earth happened? Normally there’s only a single skill book there and that’s it.
Finally, someone willing to listen to my story had arrived.
Feeling the darkness that had filled me begin to melt away, I started explaining the whole story.
Maybe these people would know about that NPC.
With hope in my heart, I began typing.
ㄴ 그 NPC에 대해 아는 거 있음? He’s an old wizard, his eyes are pitch black, and he mutters to himself like he’s seriously out of it.
Once my comment went up, nothing was posted in the gallery for a while.
The wizards who had been chattering away fell silent as if by magic.
An ominous silence.
Only after a moment did 풍뎅이 carefully leave a comment.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : ...Could it be you met Makkakno?
ㄴ 냉장고 : Right. From that description, it’s Makkakno.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : That guy only shows up around the 30th floor, doesn’t he? He appeared on the 5th floor? And he wouldn’t say something like that either.
ㄴ 냉장고 : He does show up as a hidden piece on the 15th floor too. The conditions are just insanely strict.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : Hidden piece?? I was the only one who didn’t know again. Just how many hidden pieces have you jerks been hoarding!!! I can’t live with how unfair this is!!!
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : I’ve never seen an NPC that insane aside from him, even up until clearing the 40th floor. He’s so singular that you couldn’t mistake him for anyone else.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : Stop changing the subject and spill the hidden pieces you’ve been hoarding already!!!
The board started buzzing.
I jumped into their conversation.
[Title : Stop talking about stuff only you know]
Author : ㅇㅇ(66C.666)
Hey, what the hell is Makkakno? Why are you guys talking about something only you know?
ㄴ 냉장고 : The Magic-Cutting Old Man. Short for Makkakno.
In short, he’s just a ridiculously dangerous neutral NPC.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Neutral?
ㄴ 냉장고 : If he kills mobs and hunters alike, then I guess that counts as neutral lol.
“What, so I was in serious danger after all...”
My heart pounded.
The horrific pain from when my arm was severed came flooding back.
Come to think of it, he was exactly the kind of guy who could say, 'Shall we try taking your head off instead of your arm?' and make it sound plausible.
I hammered out a reply to hear more details.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Makkakno? Any decent A-rank hunter would run into him at least once.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Starting from the 30th floor, there are floors where NPCs appear and you have to complete quests. You could say that’s when the real Tower begins.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : That’s a long explanation. Makkakno is a random NPC who appears around the 30th-floor range.
If you meet the special conditions, he transforms into a boss monster, and then he kills both mobs and hunters.
You can kill him, but you have to go in prepared from the start.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : What kind of guy is that?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : That’s why so many A-ranks stop climbing around there... pathetic, honestly.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Guess they figure it’s none of their business even if the Tower collapses.
Or maybe they think someone else will help before that happens.
Either way, I don’t like those guys.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : Uh, uh... stop the UFC... that’s scary...
The Makkakno they knew was similar to the one I knew.
A mad wizard who first appears around the 30th floor and gives hunters incomprehensible quests.
If you succeed in the quest, he unlocks a special function called a rune, but because the risk on failure is so high, people avoid meeting him altogether.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : What’s a rune? Ugh, more stuff I don't know keeps coming up.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Restrictions and vows. Geas. That sort of thing. You know what I mean, right?
ㄴ 냉장고 : What are you, an otaku auntie? Who’s supposed to understand you if you put it like that?
It’s a system that lets you grow stronger in exchange for a specific penalty.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Ah, restrictions and vows. I know what that is. It’s that thing from manga about hunters.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : You know that? Kids these days don’t know it... You’ve got some good taste, huh?
ㄴ p깟쮸 : The newbie was an otaku too... and a boomer otaku, at that... This is a huge shock...
Manga, huh. Come to think of it, it wasn’t strange that I didn’t know.
After the Tower appeared, entertainment like manga and movies became rare.
“Now all there is to do is read the self-drawn comics that get posted in the gallery every so often...”
I gave a bitter smile.
Still, I was truly glad the gallery itself had remained intact, both then and now.
I silently sent the admin a surprise worship message.
In a world like this, somehow keeping the server running without blowing it up.
I was reminded all over again how impressive the admin was.
Finally, I asked one more thing.
[Title : So do you think this spell will actually work?]
Author : ㅇㅇ(55H.555)
If I wear this, will it really become impossible to trace me?
I’m uneasy because it’s a spell cast by some old boomer who doesn’t even know what a computer is.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : I can’t guarantee it, but probably?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : The Tower is certain about this kind of thing. NPCs are part of the Tower too.
If the Tower promises something, it will absolutely come true.
I don’t understand the principle at all, but you can probably call it truly untraceable.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : (roughly, a dumpling emoticon giving a thumbs-up)
ㄴ 냉장고 : No, couldn’t you just lay off the gallery posts for a while?
ㄴ p깟쮸 : Wrong. This guy only ever thinks about causing trouble.
The Hunter Gallery users are the pitiful ones now.
What are you talking about?
I’m a good anon who has never once stirred up trouble while using the gallery.
People are slandering me way too much.
“Sigh, I should check the skill book.”
I waited until nightfall.
I was planning to check the Golden - Skill I got from the box for myself.
After confirming no one was around, I climbed over the elementary school wall.
There was a sandbox waiting before me.
I slowly moved the mana in my body.