*
"Tsk."
This was unexpected.
[This ID has been banned by an Infinite Regression manager.]
[Ban Duration: 1 hour] / [Reason: Gross pic!!!!!!!!]
[Moderator: Not an Eraser]
My post had been deleted less than a minute after I made it.
I got hit with a ban combo on top of that, but honestly, I couldn’t say it was unfair this time.
‘Fair enough.’
I opened my photo album and frowned as I looked at the ghost again.
It hadn’t been intentional, but it definitely looked startling enough.
Even the head mod must know bans were meaningless. I could make an alt account with a single tap, but I decided to just wait.
I could behave myself for an hour, at least.
Looking at the reason, it did seem like some of the head mod’s personal feelings were mixed in there... but whatever.
[Infinite Regression Gallery]
[The proof that he cleared Floor 30 should be getting more attention, what the fuck lol]
[Fuck, I was about to sleep, but now I can’t]
[Everyone taking pictures in the Mindscape Tower should be permabanned]
[The fact there are people who enjoy looking at stuff like that is even creepier;]
[Damn, though, it’s fucking impressive. He’s already on Floor 30?]
[I miss my mom]
[Ah lol, the Mindscape Tower is the only one I have left this run, and I already hate it]
"Mm-hm."
It wasn’t my intention, but I’d livened up the gallery as a result. I, Han Seol, am stimulating the gallery economy.
‘So this is how the people who post ghost pics feel.’
I nodded and smiled at the silent cheers directed my way.
Normally, I would have been the one getting baited and cursing, but somehow I had become the perpetrator. It wasn’t such a bad feeling.
As I watched the gallery, half insults toward me and half speculation over my identity, one post immediately caught my eye.
[I’m a newbie, so why aren’t they recruiting more managers?]
[Author: Anonymous]
I’m only on my third run, but there are fucking tons of people here.
Why don’t they recruit more managers? Isn’t it rough for the head mod to manage everything alone?
‘That’s true.’
This wasn’t some tiny backwater community where people just laughed and chatted. There were thousands of people living in this gallery in real time.
My featured post from yesterday had long since passed ten thousand views, so it made sense to assume there were at least several thousand people trapped in the towers.
‘Even conservatively, around three thousand?’
That was definitely too many for one head mod to manage alone.
‘Though their responses are fast, and they seem good at handling things.’
Other than banning [Irregular], they seemed well-regarded and competent.
Maybe because they felt guilty, but they had been nice to me, too.
‘Is this the cute-girl buff?’
I had never seen them, but I decided the head mod in my mind was a cute girl.
They said I would never get to meet anyone else anyway. I might as well imagine it.
[Comments]
dd: You need to have Irregular to become a manager.
┗ Anonymous (Author): Ah, really? Then it makes sense there aren’t any.
┗ Anonymous (Author): But then did the head mod get Irregular and decide not to leave the tower?
┗ dd: There’s no official word, but everyone thinks that’s probably what happened, yeah;
Anonymous: It’s not that they don’t want to do it... they can’t...
322: Would you do it if they let you?
┗ Anonymous (Author): Do I look insane?
Baldness Not Stopped Even by a Ninth-Circle Archmage: The gallery only exists because of Irregular in the first place.
┗ Anonymous (Author): Oh, huh. It was fascinating since I’d never seen anything like it before, but I guess that explains it.
┗ Anonymous (Author): But how do you know?
┗ Baldness Not Stopped Even by a Ninth-Circle Archmage: There was no gallery back in my day.
┗ Anonymous (Author): Wow, no wonder you went bald.
┗ Baldness Not Stopped Even by a Ninth-Circle Archmage: You little shit.
‘Only people who obtained Irregular can do it...’
I didn’t know exactly how the head mod had become one, but it seemed to be common knowledge among users who had been in the gallery for a long time.
According to the wiki, the gallery had been created by the wish of (Restricted), the one who held the star. Maybe that person had been the first head mod.
I definitely remembered seeing the head mod write in an announcement that they were the second head mod.
‘Then can I do it too?’
I didn’t know whether I had to wish to become a manager through Irregular, or whether simply obtaining Irregular fulfilled the condition.
I considered asking the head mod directly, but after searching, I found dozens of similar posts—and the head mod had not said a word on any of them.
‘It feels like they’re deliberately avoiding the question.’
The head mod left quite a few comments on other question posts and tip posts, but never answered anything related to mod status.
"Not that I’d do it even if they offered."
I was the kind of person who dirtied up the gallery, not the kind who cleaned it.
An eraser? A deputy mod? The head mod’s slave? Did I look crazy enough to do that?
Unless some genuinely cool, beautiful, S-rank virgin head mod with a great body personally asked me, I had absolutely no intention of becoming a deputy mod.
As I lay blankly on my bedding and browsed the gallery, a new post from the head mod went up.
[Everyone, please read the announcements...!!!!]
[Author: Not an Eraser🔸]
The reasons for bans!! The types of posts you aren’t allowed to post in the gallery!!
I wrote it all down!! Why aren’t you following them!!!
Are you all idiots?! Are you stupid?!
Can’t you even read posts?!!!!
[Comments]
Anonymous: Being insulted by a cute-girl head mod... This is precious, you know...
Water > Fire: Water mages are all idiots by nature.
┗ Anonymous: Why isn’t that guy commenting?
┗ Water > Fire: Check the moderation log. That bastard got banned lol.
Anonymous: It’s fine. I’ve never read an announcement once, and I haven’t been banned in three hundred years.
┗ 500 Achieved: For real. You learn by getting hit.
Anonymous: No, but your post is honestly kind of bad too;;
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): But I edited it...!!
┗ Anonymous: It’s still kind of bad even after the edit;;
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): (Angry grotesque creature sticker)
┗ Anonymous: Even angry, it’s still kind of bad;;
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): Banned for one hour. Don’t get cheeky.
┗ dd: Gasp.
┗ Anonymous: Gasp.
┗ Anonymous: Abuse of power;
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): Do you have a complaint?
┗ Anonymous: (Head-mod worship sticker)
"Heh heh... Do I really need to read the announcements?"
I chuckled at the head mod’s iron fist and muttered to myself. I still had quite a few things I was curious about.
Like whether there were more secrets hidden in the hideout where bread, water, and bedding had been laid out. Or the notorious reputation of the Tower of Fate, which had taken first place in the poll.
Since the wiki only worked when I personally entered a search term, it did seem necessary to read the announcements and fill in my basic knowledge.
‘An hour has already passed.’
My ban had been lifted while I rolled around and browsed the gallery.
I snickered at the sight of the head mod huffing and puffing while leaving replies everywhere, then casually wrote a comment.
KingGodWiki: I’ll really read the announcements this time.
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): Ah, your ban has been lifted. You mustn’t do that again next time...!!
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): Please, please read them all!!
┗ KingGodWiki: (Grotesque creature nodding sticker)
┗ Not an Eraser🔸 (Author): Ah! That sticker is cute, isn’t it!!
"..."
Wait, she had been using that because she thought it was cute?
I had just downloaded and used it without much thought, but it felt like I had heard something I shouldn’t have.
*
[I really want to flick the head mod on the forehead hard;;]
[Author: KingGodWiki]
I actually read about half the announcements, but I can’t read any more, fuck.
Upvotes 33, Downvotes 1
[Comments]
Anonymous: That downvote is fucking obvious.
Anonymous: The fact you read even half of them is more impressive??
Not an Eraser🔸: You said you were really going to read them!! Please read all of them!!!
dd: For real, the head mod has no conscience. Who could read all that?
Superiority of Dual Swords: Even I stopped reading because I didn’t know what it meant.
┗ Anonymous: That’s because you’re stupid.
┗ Superiority of Dual Swords: Shut up!!
Anonymous: You little shit, apologize for the ghost picture first.
┗ KingGodWiki (Author): Sorry lol!
┗ Anonymous: “Sorry lol!” my ass. Makes me want to stomp you to death lol.
┗ KingGodWiki (Author): I apologize, sir. I will be more careful from now on.
┗ Anonymous: Good. Keep at it.
In the end, I gave up after reading nearly half the announcements.
There wasn’t just one or two of them. There were five announcement posts alone, and by the time I reached the third, all the energy drained out of me.
‘I think I got enough information, though.’
Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether any of it was useful information.
I had skimmed over plenty of parts in the announcements I was reading, too.
‘I thought there were a lot of people, but I guess there really aren’t.’
Apparently, around a hundred newbies entered these “towers” every year.
That made a thousand in ten years, ten thousand in a hundred, and a hundred thousand in a thousand.
I had been fairly surprised that there were thousands in the gallery, but that thought vanished after reading the head mod’s announcement.
There was even a fixed-nickname user called 6373, which meant at least six hundred thousand people had entered this place.
The gallery had been created around three thousand years ago.
Frankly, that was a span of time I couldn’t even comprehend, but there had surely been people who entered and left these towers before 6373.
‘And out of hundreds of thousands, at best only around ten thousand survived.’
In reality, there were probably not even ten thousand. The number of people left in the gallery now was not high at all.
Excluding the few Ascendants, they were people who had died and died again, yet survived solely through their own ability.
The number of newbies entering every year was cut in half within a year, then cut in half again within ten years.
They said that once you passed your hundredth run, it was normal for everyone who had entered alongside you to be gone except for you.
‘It gets harder with every regression.’
That one magical sentence, which I had seen both in the head mod’s announcement and in anonymous users’ summary posts, revealed the towers’ cold reality.
[Newbie question]
[Author: KingGodWiki]
The head mod’s announcement says that if you fill all 400 floors of the towers, you can move on to the next run immediately. Is that right?
Is there any benefit to moving on while you still have time left?? If the remaining time carries over, then sure, but you said it gets harder.
Maybe hideout rewards? Can you get those early?
Also, does the bread and water in the hideout reappear when the timer hits midnight?
As soon as the questions came to mind, I posted them in the gallery.
It still felt far off for me, but with the wiki, wouldn’t I at least make it through one run?
The announcement had clearly said that the hideout changed little by little after a certain number of regressions.
It also said that rewards were tailored to the individual, like my [Internet], so I didn’t know what I would receive, but I was looking forward to it a little.
Ding!
[New comment from Not an Eraser]
‘Does this person seriously live in the gallery?’
I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of a truly dedicated head mod commenting the instant I posted.
[Comments]
Not an Eraser🔸: There is usually only one reason to move on to the next run while time remains. Some people move on right away because they want to obtain Irregular even a little faster and don’t want to waste time.
┗ Anonymous: That is true, but they’re an extreme minority, so ignore it.
Anonymous: Wait, you actually read that??
I Want Meat: Yeah, just think of the hideout as resetting to how it was at the start whenever a day passes. That’s not exactly right, but close enough.
┗ I Want Meat: By the way, you have to eat nothing but that bread for the rest of your life. Good luck.
┗ Anonymous: Before climbing a tower, empty your water bottle halfway and put bread in it. Once it gets soggy, it’s more edible.
┗ I Want Meat: What the fuck is that disgusting food combo;
┗ Anonymous: Eating that hard shit is worse, fuck you.
535: Early runs are fine. The real thing starts at 500. You start filling out all your time because you want to live.
┗ 2200: Acting like 500 runs is the real thing lol.
┗ 535: You’re the scrub for still being trapped after over two thousand runs, though?
┗ 2200: This is your future hehe.
Anonymous: Moving on because of hideout rewards is insane... Don’t expect anything...
┗ Anonymous: The odds of Irregular showing up are the same anyway. Regressing earlier doesn’t make the towers easier either... Just use all your time while climbing. You’ll regret it later...
In the end, all the comments were saying the same thing.
Don’t waste time trying to get Irregular or hideout rewards. Just get some proper rest.
It wouldn’t appear anyway. The people it would appear for would get it even if they moved on a little later.
Since this was a place where your body never aged, they were saying there was no need to push yourself.
‘The strain on your mind must be the bigger loss.’
At least no one aged to death here.
‘Honestly, I don’t know if I can endure as long as everyone else...’
I had a feeling the wiki alone would not be enough to keep me alive for long.
Even Floor 10 of my first run had been quite overwhelming. Put bluntly, unless another miracle like Irregular appearing happened, there was a limit to what an ordinary human could do.
[???]
-Its functions are currently restricted. Once the conditions are met, ‘???’ will become available.
-Rewards continue to accumulate even while restricted.
Unless this incomprehensible icon was going to give me a future, the road ahead looked bleak.
"Let’s go."
I forced myself to chew through a hard piece of bread, then left the hideout.
I still had more questions after reading the announcements, but I had rested enough. It was time to move.
[Going to try the notorious Fate Tower, yeah]
[Author: KingGodWiki]
Sorry for posting that Mindscape Tower picture.
It was so shocking that I wanted to share it..
We’re basically one body, aren’t we?? I just wanted to share this memory with you all..
Will you accept my apology?
[Comments]
Anonymous: Fuck off.
Anonymous: It’s fine. The instant I saw it, I downvoted and closed without looking.
Anonymous: “Share,” my ass. You posted it just to tell us to eat shit.
┗ KingGodWiki (Author): You misunderstand.. I was really shocked, so I posted it ㅜ.ㅜ
Mindscape Tower Lover: It was kind of cute, though.
┗ Anonymous: The newbie?
┗ Mindscape Tower Lover: No, the anomaly.
┗ Anonymous: Fuck;;
Anonymous: Ah, but I’m really fucking looking forward to this guy in the Fate Tower lol.
┗ Anonymous: For real. I think he’ll either crash and burn hard or clear it ridiculously easily. One of the two.
Rabbit Hops: I’m looking forward to seeing you climb the Fate Tower easily too!!
┗ Rabbit Hops: (Rabbit nodding wildly sticker)
┗ Dog That Barks at Idiots: (Dog barking like crazy sticker)
Anonymous: Since you’ve come this far, climb all ten floors within 24 hours and set a new record.
"Heh heh..."
[Tower of Fate]
I looked up from the rapidly scrolling comments.
The last, fourth tower.
The tower the gallery called the absolute worst.
A place where one hundred percent pure luck—utterly unrelated to one’s abilities—decided everything.
[Tower of Fate]
Face the judgment of fortune.
┗ Concept: The most unreasonable, yet fairest tower.
┗ Characteristics: Effort, talent, and skill are meaningless here. Doors that open by probability, lots that decide life and death, randomly changing mazes—everything is ruled by “fate.” Only those chosen by the heavens are permitted the path forward.
"With good luck, you can reach Floor 100 in a week. With bad luck, it takes a month just to reach Floor 10."
I muttered softly as I read the wiki’s description.
I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears, though I couldn’t tell whether it was excitement or fear.
Absurd good luck, or absurd bad luck.
People with strong bodies, brilliant minds, or unshakable wills—none of that meant anything here.
‘Luck, huh...’
In my original world... on Earth, I had been unbelievably unlucky.
I rolled orphan right from the opening of life’s gacha, then got beaten like hell at the orphanage and couldn’t even eat proper meals.
"Ha ha... fuck."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
My luck had never even been average in games, yet now I had to stake my life on a gamble relying solely on it.
"You’ve got to come through for me, Wiki."
This little phone app was the only thing I had to believe in.
"What’s the worst that can happen? I die."
Just as I had always done while standing at the entrances to the Tower of Trials, the Tower of Wisdom, and the Tower of Mindscape, I stepped forward after telling myself to take it easy. Easy.
Whatever happens, happens. Had my life ever once been on my side? There was nowhere lower to fall, so what was there to worry about?
Whether this tower would laugh at my life to the very end, or become the turning point of my magnificent life, remained to be seen.
Rumble...!!!
Flash!
The door closed, and I squinted as dazzling lights brightly filled the tower’s interior.
"..."
Far ahead, two doors had appeared where there should originally have been only one.
I had no idea what lay beyond them or what would happen if I chose the wrong one, but—
"Nice and simple."
I smirked at the sight, which seemed to need no explanation whatsoever.
Ding-!
It was time to test my real luck.
[Tower of Fate]
- First Run, Floor 1 Strategy:
"...Nothing’s showing up?"
Wiki...?
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