Chapter 137
“I’ve had enough of this…”
“Ugh.”
“Hah, I can’t bear the boredom any longer…”
The drying machine tugged at my coat.
I couldn’t dare to resist it.
Faced with a power that humans couldn’t contend with, I had no choice but to comply…
[Hali Gali]
Smash your opponent’s palm and seize victory.
The famous board game, Hali Gali.
“Then we should play Hali Gali.”
“Hali Gali?”
“It’s hard with just two people, so let’s call Penny.”
Fortunately, our bunker had a minimum of players for board games.
Three bored homebodies, to be precise.
There’s a reason Hali Gali was beloved.
With its simple rules and amazing dopamine rush!
Thinking about it, unlike me, Penny and the drying machine didn’t have much to do for fun.
“There weren’t any games here.”
Was it because the world had long since crumbled?
Even the usual card games and board games were absent.
Considering that even books had become amusements for the upper class, having at least one source of entertainment didn’t seem so bad.
I thought of trying it out among ourselves first and, if it went well, posting it in the gallery.
-BANG!
“I won again!”
“That’s cheating.”
“No way, this is just off the charts.”
Every time five fruits appeared, the drying machine obliterated the bell with its otherworldly intellect.
Was it really that strong?
When we first met, it seemed like it couldn’t really wield its power at all.
Winning on one side repeatedly wasn’t much fun.
“…Let’s play again.”
“Alright!”
Thanks to Penny’s strange competitive spirit, the game continued.
Before I knew it, we had been playing Hali Gali from late morning until dusk.
“I think it’s good enough to put on the marketplace?”
It seemed the fun was guaranteed.
It was while I was logging in to check the gallery’s reactions.
[Title: If you feel bad for the dog, upvote, lol]
(Snowy scene in the Fron region pic)
(A hunter frozen like a snowman pic)
First, I went ahead and posted.
[Upvote62] [Downvote0]
– How the hell are you still alive?
– What are you doing there?
– I’m a hunter making money off monsters, and usually, this is how it goes.
– No way, you wait here for 4 or 5 hours, huh.
– Yikes.
There seemed to be a lot of Gallums hanging around bored while waiting in the long queue.
“Good timing.”
I registered Hali Gali in the marketplace.
[New item registered in the ‘Marketplace’!]
– O?
– Hali Gali ← the name is so funny, upvote, lol.
– But I don’t even know what this is for?
– So you’re not going to buy it?
– Of course, we should buy it! It’s a steal!
*
Hunting is a battle against oneself.
Originally, it was about risking your life to fight monsters, but now it had changed.
Since I released the trap series in the marketplace, it had transformed into a meta of waiting drills.
[Title: Breaking News) A monster never seen before appeared… jpg]
(Hunter buried in snow pic)
I analyzed this a bit.
Staying completely still at that spot until the monster died seems to be the exact behavior pattern.
[Upvote2979] [Downvote27]
– Snowman monster, whoa.
– Damn, it’s tough to make a living.
– I’m a hunter too, and it’s super boring.
– But honestly, thanks to the Head of the Gallery, I don’t have to worry about my life, lol.
– I agree with that.
– Complaining would make you an ungrateful fool, lol, for sure.
– Head of the Gallery*) So, would you like to try this?
– Oh, Head of the Gallery!
– Ugh.
– Head of the Gallery*) (Hali Gali pic) I’ll give you this; please try it and give feedback, okay?
– I don’t know what it is, but thanks a ton!!!!!
– Wow, I’m so jealous you hit the lottery.
Of course, I expected the reactions to be flat at first.
“If there’s a board game, who knows…”
This is a post-apocalyptic world.
Let alone board games, even the roots of modern card games had perished.
In a world where even human needs had turned into luxury, there wasn’t room for any sort of game.
So, I thought that accepting this could be quite a challenge…
[Title: Wow, this is super fun, what is this?]
(Capture of a hunter’s group playing Hali Gali at dawn pic)
(Noon capture of a hunter’s group playing Hali Gali pic)
Wow, this is super fun, what is this?
(Evening capture of a hunter’s group playing Hali Gali pic)
Wow, this is super fun, what is this?
[Upvote4474] [Downvote0]
– What kind of bug is this?
– Is this a ‘find the difference’ game?
– Just now, that monster got caught in a trap and died, but they’re still playing, for real, lol.
– Why aren’t they waking up?
– Seems their brains have frozen over, huh.
– Bro, these guys are smiling?
[Title: Hali Gali ← there’s one undeniable reason for the fun… jpg]
(Pic of villagers fighting monsters that have broken through the barrier)
(Dynamic pic of a bear monster with its mouth wide open)
I’m a countryside guard, but
This is so fun that I can’t even see the monsters approaching, lol.
(Villagers cheering in victory pic)
But everyone wins because they didn’t sleep from playing Hali Gali, lol.
[Upvote1042] [Downvote604]
– Hey, was that you?
– So brazen, you crazy one, lol.
– This is just ridiculous, lol.
– You asked for it by putting your hand on the bell and getting thrashed, huh.
Unexpectedly, the response was really good.
“I was wrong about the premise from the start.”
I thought the reactions might be flat because they didn’t know the game.
But here, even the act of having a meal was scarce happiness due to the lack of dopamine.
Hali Gali, enjoyed by modern people, had become an irresistible pleasure for medieval folks.
[Title: Taking the test for a dead board]
(Pictures of the Head of the Gallery’s arms) (Imaginary image of the Head of the Gallery’s body) (Pictures of the Head of the Gallery’s legs)
More upvotes, go go!
[Upvotes9999+] [Downvotes0]
– Solving eating, clothing, and shelter, and even worrying about fun…
– For real, the embodiment of light.
– What the heck, who made this human into a chimera, lol.
– Seriously, at least put a bit of effort into piecing it together; what the heck is this, lol.
“Hey, doesn’t everyone sleep?”
Usually, the gallery’s activity rates drop naturally during the early hours of the morning.
But after Hali Gali dropped, it had similar numbers to the daytime.
Wait, no? It even increased.
– How to enjoy Hali Gali properly… jpg [31]
– Final version of Hali Gali strategy guide [12]
– I’ll teach you how to hit the bell as soon as five fruits are collected, okay? [21]
Unlike what I thought, hunters weren’t the main consumers; the popularity varied.
They started making strategy guides among themselves, practicing in advance, and developing unique training methods for increasing reaction speed.
“What, is that obvious?”
But up to this point, it made sense.
If they were interested in it, strategy guides and whatnot would naturally pop up.
The problem came when bets started slipping in, turning it into a gambling game.
[Title: Is it easy to make money? lol]
(Pic of a box with a thousand mana pills)
I won’t say much; I’m here to help you.
I’ll draw five people from 10 mana pills.
[Upvote102] [Downvote1]
– Please, save me.
– Seriously, I thought it would be light-hearted, but I got stuck for 3000… please help…
– I will never bet recklessly again! Please think of it as saving a life!
– I deposited the money.
– Your face, haha.
“Hmm…”
Once betting started to get attached, naturally, posts boasting under the guise of donations appeared.
Also, comments requesting money began popping up.
You could regard it as one of the worst post templates that could greatly tarnish the gallery.
“It’s only been a day; how is this already happening?”
A day? No, it hasn’t even been half a day.
I thought it would take at least a week before anyone started betting, yet the speed was bizarrely fast.
“I guess it’s time to ban some people.”
Once money mixes into the game, it becomes hard to enjoy it, willingly or unwillingly.
I had to prevent this from transforming into a bankruptcy gallery in Another World from the Gallery of Annihilation.
It hadn’t even been a few hours, but just then, before I could post a warning notification…
[Title: Damn, it’s not my fault.]
(Pic of a hunter lying cold and dead)
(Pic of a mana pill box covered in splattered blood)
This was my money originally.
This bastard used my money to deliberately inflate the stakes. It’s not my fault.
I wasn’t trying to kill anyone. This idiot just…
I never liked this jerk anyways, so just this…
This idiot’s wrong, right, Head of the Gallery?
[Upvote1] [Downvote162]
– Whoa.
– I thought this was a joke, what’s going on here?
– You maniac, you’re definitely going to hell.
– Why are you bringing up the Head of the Gallery? You filthy murderer.
“Wow.”
A murder post had gone up.
*
[Notice: It’s me.]
Author: Head of the Gallery*
I assume you know why I’m posting this.
I had warned you in the instructions not to place large bets.
But I never imagined something like this would happen in less than half a day.
Naturally, it’s permanent exile from the gallery, and I’m going to expose all of your personal information.
For now, we’ll stop the Hali Gali game.
I won’t retrieve anything that the Gallums purchased in advance, but absolutely do not gamble with this.
[Upvote9999+] [Downvote102]
– Whoa, what is this?
– Permanent exile, whoa; might as well just die at this point.
– Serves you right, you crazy person.
– I don’t get it, if Hali Gali is fun, upvote it, lol.
– Dude, please, have some tact.
– Ugh, another dumb post.
There were many discussions in the gallery regarding the game’s side effects.
How they were blinded by money and murdered fellow hunters.
But my perspective was a bit different.
용용죽겠지: I read the thoughts of this person as you asked…
용용죽겠지: It’s all dark and rotten.
용용죽겠지: The game is merely a pretext; it seems they already intended to kill.
주딱*: Okay, thanks.
“Turns out they were just a criminal all along.”
The game was just an excuse; they were always a would-be murderer.
However, that didn’t mean I intended to disregard the game entirely.
If I left it unchecked until it turned into a gambling den, there was a genuine possibility they’d kill someone for money.
“But in the end, money will come into play.”
Hali Gali wasn’t hard to create either.
Having already released it in the marketplace, it was easy to make similar variations of knockoff games.
It was only a matter of time before it became about money.
Simply imposing restrictions was meaningless.
“Then I should start it myself.”
If that’s the case, I might as well get started first to seize control of the market and culture.
After eliminating real board games, I initiated a manageable system within the gallery.
[A new system has been added to the gallery!]
[Gallery Omok]
Engage in 1v1 matches and get ranked!
Countless rewards await you!
– Ooh, what’s this?
– This isn’t a marketplace item; it’s a new system.
– Has my new dopamine come up!!!!
Right away, it was Gallery Omok.
The first online game in Another World.