Chapter 11 : Real Time Best

Minor Bulletin boards.

Simply put, they were small forums where people with shared interests could converse. Unlike official forums, users managed and set the rules themselves.

This type of community had its pros and cons… but one thing was certain: it was incredibly efficient to manage.

‘Mr. Knowledge, watch over me!’

I mentally saluted the entrepreneur from my past life, known as the ‘Father of Minor Forums’, and added the minor forum creation function.

It was a system where users applied to create a forum, and I granted permission, the forum was created.

I didn’t plan to restrict topics. The purpose was simply to prevent a proliferation of forums on similar topics.

“Oh, lots of applications already.”

As soon as the announcement about minor forum creation went up, dozens of applications poured in.

Some applied just because there was a new function to try, while others had genuine visions and purposes for their forums.

[National Merchants’ Union Minor Forum]
[Purpose of Creation: Sharing beneficial information and cooperation among merchants nationwide.]

[Adventurers’ Guild Minor Forum]
[Purpose of Creation: Sharing information on monsters, dungeons, treasures, labyrinths, etc.]

[Devil Worship Minor Forum]
[Purpose of Creation: To spread the will of the Great One.]

[Magic Tower Minor Forum]
[Purpose of Creation: Sharing knowledge about magic, presenting research results, discussions, etc.]

“Devil worship? What’s that…? Well, the topics don’t overlap, so I’ll approve them for now.”

One purpose of minor forums was to act as a containment area, preventing those with unusual tastes from causing chaos.

If people who liked pure love and those who liked NTR used the same forum, it would be a disaster. Of course, raiding each other’s forums was a daily occurrence, but separating them in the first place was effective enough.

In that sense, it was better to let them create forums, whether they were devil worshippers or devil lovers.

“This should be enough for the minor forums for now… Should I create a Real-Time Best list?”

Ah.

This was the ‘Abyss of Humanity’.

It showed how monstrous humans could become behind the veil of anonymity.

The Empire. National Merchants’ Union.

Marcohoff, a merchant who had made enormous profits by riding the recent surge in Mana Stone prices, looked at the ‘Network Magic Tool.’

He hadn’t won it in a giveaway.

Marcohoff had bought up Mana Stones during the price surge and then dumped them on a rival trading company right before the crash, making a huge profit. He used that profit to buy this magic tool. It cost him enough gold to buy a small manor, and he was only able to get it because he acted quickly.

Now, they were completely out of stock, and even selling his entire trading company wouldn’t be enough to buy one.

“If I sold it now, I could make enough money to buy a decent estate… but I need to think long-term.”

The unknown Archmage had said that anyone within a 10-meter radius of the magic tool could use network magic.

That was a diameter of 20 meters. If he stacked buildings multiple stories high, he could cram in about 1,000 people, maybe. Realistically, it would be a few hundred.

So…

He could rent out the space and charge by the hour.

“The more desperate a merchant is for publicity, the more they’ll want to use this magic tool. Nobles seeking to elevate their family name, mages interested in new magic, wealthy people curious to experience magic… anyone could be a customer.”

30,000 magic tools?

It seemed like a small number, but considering there was no distance limitation and they were spread worldwide, their effectiveness for publicity alone would be beyond imagination.

Moreover, being able to access information from other countries first meant he could acquire necessary goods in advance and profit from the difference.

He had bought the magic tool at a high price, but… it didn’t matter even if the mage released millions more and the price dropped. He was confident he would make more than enough profit in the meantime.

“To do that, I need to understand the demands and interests of the forum users.”

Fortunately, ‘minor forums’ were perfect for grasping users’ interests.

A space to discuss topics of interest…

Wasn’t this practically a platform handed to him for advertising and information gathering?

“Hmm? Real-Time Best? What’s this?”

And so, merchant Marcohoff began exploring the minor forums, and when he came to his senses…

“Haha! I made that person angry! I can control emotions! …Huh? What time is it?”

…He had stayed up all night.

And…

Aside from being possessed by the specter of internet communities…

“Mana Stones, I need to buy Mana Stones!”

Marcohoff was a merchant.

The demand for Mana Stones had decreased with the end of the message contest for the magic tool giveaway, and the price had crashed.

Now was the time to buy again.

Because from now on, the price of Mana Stones would only go up.

Tutankhamun Desert.

The ruins where the ancient emperor was sealed.

[Free Forum]

“Woo-hoo!!!”

The hero had successfully obtained a ‘Network Magic Tool.’

It wasn’t because he’d miraculously won the lottery… The mage had implemented a sort of regional quota system to diversify and stimulate the internet environment, and the hero, being in the barren Tutankhamun Desert, had been selected.

Wasn’t that rigging the odds?

Yes, it was.

There was no Fair Trade Commission in this world to fine me billions, so a little manipulation was fine.

“Wow! Forums! Wow! Music! Wow! People!”

The hero was happy.

After months of digging alone in the ancient king’s tomb, he could finally communicate with people properly.

[Free Forum]

[Title: Hello!!!]
[Author: Anonymous (333.123)]
Hello!
I’m the Hero!
Nice to meet you all!

The hero posted his message and waited.

…There was no response.

“Huh? Why is no one answering?! There are so many people on the forum!”

The hero posted again.

[Hello!]

Still no response.

[Hello! Is anyone there? Please leave a comment!]

This time, a comment appeared.

The hero checked it excitedly.

• Buying Mana Stones unlimited. Find Marcohoff in the Imperial Capital.

“…It’s an ad.”

Disappointed, the hero posted again.

[What do you all do?]

Again.

[Where are you all? I’m in the Tutankhamun Desert!]

Again.

…

[Hey you fingerless morons what are you doing]

• What moron

• Why are you so angry

• ㅗ (*TL Note: Korean equivalent of the middle finger.)

• Searching for treasure in the Great Labyrinth

• Let’s use kind and polite language

“Aha! Finally, comments!”

After several trials and errors, the hero figured out the kind of language that got the most comments in online communities.

The hero had awakened to the art of ‘trolling’.

[Real-Time Best Forum]

“Wow, it’s already a mess.”

Did human malice truly remain unchanged even in a different world?

I had just created online communities, and already all the familiar sights from the internet of my past life were appearing: widespread trolling, instigators, comment spammers…

Yes, this was the internet.

At least there were no ‘image spam attacks’ yet.

“Still, this is within my expected range.”

I had no intention of trying to create a ‘healthy internet culture’ by controlling users.

On the contrary, I wanted the internet to be an infinitely free space.

Of course, I would have to crack down on harmful actions like spamming that disrupted usage, but other than that, people could use the internet as freely as they liked.

“The music sharing platform is working properly too.”

Bards’ songs, musicians’ performances, even advertisements introducing products…

Various audio content was being uploaded and downloaded.

It was only audio for now, but I planned to expand it to a video sharing platform like YouTube in the future.

Internet communities and content creation and sharing platforms.

Weren’t these two the essence of internet culture?

“Then, I should encourage people myself, right?”

[“Hello friends! The mage is here again today. Are you using the Network Magic Tools I sent you? Those who didn’t receive one might be disappointed, but I’ll be holding events periodically to give away more Network Magic Tools, so don’t worry too much. Ah, and the Marcohoff Trading Company in the Empire is running a space where you can experience the ‘Network Magic Tool’ for a fee, so if you’re interested, check it out.”]

[“And I’ll be playing various music during the broadcasts from now on. The music can be downloaded and played on the ‘Music Sharing’ site of the Network Magic Tool, so if you have a magic tool and like the music, you can listen to it yourself.”]

[“Also, I’ve created an official ‘Mage Broadcast’ forum. Please recommend music you’d like me to play during the broadcast, or functions you’d like me to add.”]

[“And we’ll be starting a new segment on our broadcast, ‘Let’s Read the Best Posts.’ For those who can’t access the magic tool, I’ll be selecting and reading a few of the ‘Real-Time Best’ posts that have received many recommendations. From informative posts to funny humor and touching stories, there are all sorts of best posts, so look forward to it.”]

[“That’s all for the explanations, let’s start the broadcast.”]