Chapter 10

Troublemaker Ⅰ

Today, Old Man Scho's coffee was delicious as ever. In that vein, like the chapter before last, I think I'll unravel another tale from the 50th cycle.

The 50th cycle marked the first creation of SG Net by our SG-Man, Seo Gyu. SG Net represented a turning point in the Awakener community. Until then, the Awakeners had formed their own guilds and operated independently. Although they occasionally united for major Gate conquests, the guilds were essentially exclusive to each other.

But SG Net offered them a new horizon.

-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Seeking peace of mind? Join the Satisfaction Guild! Our main base is in Daejeon!

-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: Busan City. Prefer Awakener under 40 with levitation skills. Magic users also preferred. Contact via whisper. Whispers not checked between 11 PM and 9 AM.

-[Baekhwa] SixthGrader: ★Looking for new friends to join the Baekhwa camaraderie club★ >_<)!

SG Net was exclusively for the Awakeners. Guilds, desperate to recruit as many high-quality Awakeners as possible, were naturally turned upside down. They actively promoted their guilds, and soon, guild members began to denote their affiliations in [brackets] before their nicknames, a practice that was solidified on SG Net.

We appreciated the ease of accessing information about other Awakeners, and they were pleased to have a means of freely promoting their guilds.

However, SG Net's influence wasn't entirely positive.

-OldManGoryeo: Idiots flock together.

OldManGoryeo, also known as the villain, was among the first to join SG Net as a full-fledged member. He also hadn't joined any guilds. In reality, he might very well have been affiliated with a guild, but his display name at least didn't include any mention of a guild.

Over time, more 'lone wolves' who insisted on solo-playing emerged alongside this villain. They typically kept to themselves and stayed out of the spotlight and, on SG Net, mostly participated as non-members.

-OldManGoryeo: Heard a Gate opened in Chungju yesterday? If people die, gettin' food's going to be easy, sweet.

The standout feature of OldManGoryeo's history was his blatant refusal to conceal himself. He not only donned his nickname without shame but also blatantly spewed profanities.

By virtue of being a site created by a transcendent Constellation, SG Net had very few trolls on its site. Even if someone wanted to curse, they'd do it as a non-member, anonymously.

With an ecosystem like that, OldManGoryeo, who behaved as if he didn't give a damn about Constellations or anything, inevitably drew people's ire.

-OldManGoryeo: Baekhwa? A camaraderie club? The world is in chaos, and you talk about camaraderie. Fuck camaraderie. Those hairless kids should just hurry up and flee abroad. This country is doomed.

└[Baekhwa] SixthGrader: Huuu, that's too harsh (ㅠ_ㅠ).......

└[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Words are a reflection of thoughts, and thoughts are like mist on a cloudy day, concealing oneself. Why not try using clearer and brighter language?

OldManGoryeo actively picked fights not just with individuals but with entire guilds.

He didn't discriminate between the weak and the strong, most particularly targeting the Baekhwa Guild, which would later become one of South Korea's most infamous mega-guilds.

But that was something only I as a regressor knew for now.

Understandably, the other members were less than pleased.

-Anonymous: Crazy bastard.

-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: Can't we just block that kid?

-Anonymous: just ignore him, he's not worth the engagement

-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: Honestly, he's disgusting.

-ZERO_SUGAR: Dear member, you're going to get yourself hurt.

Yet the more attention OldManGoryeo received, the more he seemed to enjoy it.

-OldManGoryeo: fuck off lmfao

As the world began to collapse, the big communities withered away. The internet reverted to a state reminiscent of decades past, fragmented into small, insular communities. The water had risen, and the troll fishermen were unhappy.

For them, SG Net must have seemed like a paradise built anew.

-OldManGoryeo: Honestly, if they have even a crumb of conscience, all the old people should just kill themselves.

-Yeah, the government has already run out of the food reserves, and they're pushing the kids to the front lines with guns.

-In times like these, what use are useless old folks who only leech off the young, sucking their marrow dry? If you think you're a burden to your children, please just die already.

OldManGoryeo seemed to harbor a particularly intense hatred for the elderly. He made it a point to post daily about how all the elderly should end their lives. These were his so-called steady stream of posts.

A few Awakeners agreed with him.

-Anonymous: Hmm

-Anonymous: This guy's an idiot but he's right about the old being disgusting

Most members, however, detested OldManGoryeo's posts.

-Son'sLove: You seem young, but your words are too harsh...

└OldManGoryeo: Are you old? Look at your disgusting nickname. Why don't you just die? It must be nice leeching off your son's spine.

-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: These youngsters are insane.

-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Brother, if you ever have a secret you can't tell anyone, feel free to consult me anytime. People are killed by their fellow man, but people also live by them.

└OldManGoryeo: Please just fuck off.

└Anonymous: This bastard is being rude even to CookingQueen. Sigh.

-Anonymous: These guys act like they have no parents.

-[Baekhwa] SixthGrader: Huu, guys, don't fight (ㅠ_ㅠ).......

-ZERO_SUGAR: Dear member, you're going to get yourself hurt.

└OldManGoryeo: fuck off lmfao

As one anonymous non-member pointed out, the only solution to dealing with attention-seekers like him was to pointedly ignore them. However, it seemed that for many Awakeners, this was their first experience with internet communities.

"Wow, this guy is really disgusting..."

Among them was Seo Gyu, the site administrator.

"Hyung, can't I just block this guy?"

"No."

My immediate response made Seo Gyu furrow his brow. "Why not?"

"Because you can't appear human."

"Excuse me?"

"......"

I took a moment to formulate my thoughts.

As the cycles of regression prolonged my life, my words became increasingly succinct, so I made a conscious effort to try to speak at greater lengths.

"The administrators of this site are the agents of the Constellations, the apostles of the only-just-revealed Constellation in Korea. If you, as one of them, succumb to human displays of anger, sadness, or outrage, you might gain immediate sympathy, but ultimately, it would undermine your authority."

"Ah..."

"Seo Gyu, you must appear to be from another dimension. The only time you should step forward is if an 'unknown nameless Constellation' is insulted. OldManGoryeo has never insulted the Constellation, so leave him be."

Seo Gyu looked puzzled, probably not fully understanding.

Nevertheless, that was irrelevant. The fact that he hadn't blasted OldManGoryeo with a retaliatory notice post was evidence enough that he was fulfilling his role.

"So what do we do? Just leave it as it is?"

"No. It just means you shouldn't intervene," I murmured as I poured the coffee. "Things in the world remain unknown until you look into them."

"......?"

Then one day.

-iJoinedToday: Fuck, my father just died.

Several years after SG Net was established, a lengthy post appeared on the board.

The content was as follows:

-I usually post anonymously but joined to post this.

-I went out to hunt monsters and bought glutinous rice blood sausages on my way back to where I'm staying, only to find my father gone and a letter left behind. The letter asked me not to look for him, but how could I not?

-So, I spent the last four days frantically searching our neighborhood. Finally, I found him by a stream in the outskirts of the next town over. How a man with a bad back and legs managed to get there, I have no idea.

(Image attached)

-Since everyone here has likely seen the end of a person's life, I didn't blur the images.

-In the old days, there were a few crematories, but nowadays, they are gone. Now when people die, they just toss the bodies in the fields for the monsters to devour. Fucking great, huh? Haha.

-I begged someone I know who uses fire magic to help me because she always complained that she cremated more bodies than she burned monsters. She said people treated her like a human crematory, and I never thought I'd be asking her for this kind of favor.

-My father was also an Awakener, F-rank. His ability wasn't useful for anything, but at least he could spend his time chatting on SG Net. His nickname was 'Son'sLove,' not sure if anyone knows him.

-Coming back from meeting my acquaintance yesterday, I read every post and comment my father wrote, and fuck, OldManGoryeo's posts really got to me. He practically made a ritual out of hoping for my father's suicide?

(Image attached)

-I know you didn't kill my father, but just the fact that someone like you exists disgusts me.

-I will give everything I own to anyone who can kill OldManGoryeo or tell me where he is. No joke. Send me a whisper.

-I see you're confident enough to run your mouth on SG Net as a registered member, let's see if you can keep talking when your face meets an axe.

The post by 'iJoinedToday' caused a stir on SG Net.

-Anonymous: Oh dear...

-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: May the deceased rest in peace.

-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: I pray for the departed soul.

-Anonymous: This can't be true.

-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: I can't imagine your grief. I don't know what to say to comfort you in your loss, but I'm sure your father has moved on to a happier place.

-[Baekhwa] SixthGrader: Huhu (ㅠ_ㅠ).......

-Anonymous: Is this for real?

-dolLHoUse: Condolences.

The post quickly became popular. It surpassed 300 upvotes and garnered hundreds of comments.

99% of the comments mourned the poster's father.

This meant there was 1% that did not.

-OldManGoryeo: Idiot. I'm an expat in Canada, how are you going to kill me? Come if you dare. Just another old fart to cut down hahaha.

└Anonymous: Seriously, disgusting to the end.

This shameless response incited widespread outrage among the members.

"Hyung, do you think he's really an expat in Canada?"

"I highly doubt it." I shook my head. "Of course he's lying. He joined SG Net as soon as it was launched, right after receiving the Constellation's message, and the Constellations don't send messages to Canada."

"Ah."

"It's not impossible that he moved to Canada afterward... But judging by his login times, it doesn't seem likely."

My guess was spot on.

"He's still living in Korea," the Saintess confirmed her eyes closed.

It was easy to tell which ability she was using. If her hands were together, it was Telepathy, and if her eyes were closed, it was Clairvoyance.

Even S-rank abilities came with certain restrictions to their use.

"I will guide you directly via Telepathy."

"Thank you. Also, could you locate where 'iJoinedToday' is living?"

"Just a moment... Yes, I've pinpointed it."

"Hmm."

The usefulness of the Saintess and Seo Gyu spoke for itself once again. Without them, even gathering such minor information would have required considerable effort.

The Saintess murmured, "But this OldManGoryeo..."

"Hmm? What about him?"

"...His identity is multi-faceted. He's a bit of an unusual person." She sipped her coffee expressionlessly.

I shrugged and then logged onto SG Net with my official member ID to post a final piece of advice to OldManGoryeo.

-ZERO_SUGAR: Dear member, you're really going to get yourself hurt.

Ding.

The response was immediate, as if he had been waiting.

-OldManGoryeo: fuck off lmfao

I nodded.

That figures. The young these days really lack netiquette. Managing such troublemakers swiftly was the right thing to do, especially to protect the ambitious SG Net project.

I was potentially the oldest human alive if all the regressions were added up, so it wasn't because such remarks grated on me.

Absolutely not.

Footnotes:

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