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“Is this thing good or what?”

(A meme of a rift appearing in a bathroom)

Haha

[5 Upvotes] [102 Downvotes]

– (Frog meme with a thumbs-up)

– Bragging is the worst!

– Sigh…

It was certainly a profit in the beginning having a rift.

In a medieval city where trash disposal was a hassle, the rift was basically a bottomless garbage bin.

In fact, houses with a rift even saw an increase in property value.

Well, that used to be the case.

“Oh lol.”

(A meme of the fifth rift appearing in a bathroom)

(A meme showing a bathroom that’s half torn apart)

Is there a gathering happening in my bathroom, damn it?

[107 Upvotes] [0 Downvotes]

– Lmao damn

– I’ve seen up to two before, but five? What the hell, haha

– If it’s not too rude, can I use the bathroom?

Author) Get lost, hell no

– Hahaha, so polite

– You’re the worst here, lol

“Not anymore…”

The number of rifts has gotten unreasonably high.

With the ability to suck in everything it touches, if one appears in a house, it might even collapse.

Moreover, the frequent waves caused anxiety and headaches.

The rifts were no longer blessings.

“Then we need to get rid of it…”

Previously, the World Tree would often erase them.

So before borrowing the shop’s power, I tried contacting the World Tree directly…

137.7.32: (No response… World Tree meme)

“Huh.”

The response was so bland.

Is it no longer able to erase rifts as easily as before?

Come to think of it, after moving to the Dark Elf City of Rumelin, I haven’t seen them erased.

Head of the Gallery*: Are you unable to erase the rifts?

137.7.32: (Enlightened World Tree meme)

137.7.32: (It’s doomed… World Tree meme)

137.7.32: (World Tree selfie meme)

Then, a sad meme came flying from the World Tree.

Inside the meme was a girl with green hair.

Her pigtails looked like they wouldn’t listen to a horse, with a pouty teenage face that stood out.

“She looks different from before.”

Of course, the girl in the meme was the World Tree.

But she looked a bit younger than before…

With a face that looked like she’d break every toy if she came over during Chuseok.

It seems she powered down while moving.

137.7.32: (Do… do you need help? World Tree meme)

Despite that, she was offering to help, but I shook my head at the meme.

“I can’t afford to be the flea’s liver.”

Even after all the struggle to settle in Rumelin, I couldn’t afford to exert myself further.

Head of the Gallery*: All good now

137.7.32: (Awawawaw World Tree meme)

“I guess expecting help from the World Tree is too much.”

But there were still plenty of options left.

For times like this, I had stocked up on various items from the shop that were already piled up in my room.

[Notice: Urgent Help Wanted]

Author: Head of the Gallery*

Looking for part-timers that can endure work at minimum wage while suffering ^^

[9999+ Upvotes] [0 Downvotes]

– Me, me, me, me!

– Haha, now it’s just random work

– What is this shit? What are you doing? Haha

Author) So you’re not gonna do it?

Author) I already put in my application

All I had to do was pick part-timers who would serve as my hands and feet.

*

The rift demolition campaign.

This was like a campaign to demolish machines.

“The rifts were good when they were mildly stupid.”

While beneficial computers in human life were welcome,

It was like no one expected to desire a Skynet that would take jobs.

Rifts were cool during the age of unlimited capacity toilets, but now they needed to be stopped before they became a threat to life.

So I decided to experiment on one rift.

“Head of the Gallery, is this the right place?”

(A meme of a rift in the northern plains of Kellierhton)

I’m standing where you told me, sure.

[1203 Upvotes] [0 Downvotes]

– Head of the Gallery*) Sure, just hang tight

– Wow, there’s no content, why the upvotes?

– If you get picked for the part-time job, you get cash and concept articles!

– Damn, getting picked for a job here is such a mood

– So what are you writing about?

(North plains of Kellierhton.)

I gathered a few part-timers at one of the numerous rifts.

This was where Penny emerged, and also where chemical weapons had been used.

Plus, since it’s flat, it was perfect for trying various things.

“From now on, your name is Chunsik.”

With the rift I named Chunsik, I started sending out the items I had purchased earlier one by one.

[Drill – Destruction Hammer] – 251 points

[High-Explosive Grenade] – 30 points

[12-Gauge Shotgun] – 139 points

– Author) What’s all this?

– Head of the Gallery*) Choose what you want and use it on the rift.

– Wow

– Please let me try too!

“Well, it should explode eventually, right?”

The rifts weren’t invincible.

But as it stood, I couldn’t use chemical weapons.

“Since it’s uncontrollable, I need to use a different method.”

So I started trying this and that.

Points were overflowing, and I had items in excess.

– Wait, why is this a job?

– What? Let me do it too!

– The competition is like 1,000,000:1, just give up, lol

Thus began the campaign to break the rift in front of everyone in the Gallery.

– BOOM!

The part-timers began using the items one after the other just as I instructed.

From small drills to larger things like shotguns, flamethrowers, and grenades…

– Did it break?

– Damn it

– Why are you even asking that?

“Seriously, still not broken?”

But even blowing up a whole box of grenades only created a deep crater.

The rift remained untouched.

Only a thick fog appeared as the rift momentarily turned black and returned to normal.

– So even the Market’s arms can’t break it?

– What the hell is that? Why is it still fine?

– (Elf meme facepalming)

The Gallums, who were counting on the rift finally shattering, fell into despair.

– Author) Should we try breaking it more?

– Head of the Gallery*) Nah, it’s okay.

“No point in trying, it’ll just make the Gallery more depressed.”

Perhaps they thought that if a crack appeared, it would eventually break.

But since there wasn’t a mark on it, adding more seemed reckless.

“I wonder if physical force just won’t work.”

Of course, there were ways.

[Shop/Nuke]

Even without seeing the result, there’s one weapon that’s obvious.

Head of the Gallery*: lol

Dragon Dragon X: Haaak!

“Nukes are a no-go.”

Rifts were everywhere—in the forest, on the ground, inside the city, and so on.

They weren’t clustered in one specific area, making nuclear use inappropriate.

“It doesn’t seem like any shop items will work.”

Of course, there were still options.

If brute force wouldn’t work, then…

[Shop/Special Shop]

*Special Shop

Buying is discouraged.

We’d need to use something other than physical strength.

“I’ve always just looked at the special shop.”

After the viewing of the nuke, the special shop appeared.

This place was filled with things that normally weren’t dealt with, unlike the regular shop.

“Discomfort with shopping, you say?”

I guessed that the system was warning me about the products collected here.

The products here could be purchased with gallery levels instead of points.

The reason for that was easy to spot.

[Special Shop/Pandemic]

[Smallpox] – Level 6 or higher in Gallery

[Plague Bacteria] – Level 8 or higher in Gallery

[Cholera] – Level 7 or higher in Gallery

These were pandemics infamous throughout human history.

It’s been said that they were completely eradicated after mankind’s conquest.

These products were harvested from pandemic storage labs in various countries.

Behaviors included storing the strains in lab cabinets for sale.

“Hmm…”

No need to think far; the names scream bad news.

“Oh, even smallpox is listed.”

Of course, the names were also supposed to be completely extinct in modern times.

From what I know, the shop sold modern items.

According to modern standards, items that seemed like delusions could not be found even if you searched.

“But the fact that it’s being sold here means…”

It exists in the present.

A few reminders next to the purchase button particularly stood out.

*Risk of indiscriminate infection exists.

Repeated warnings against buying.

I couldn’t ignore the names as I kept looking and subsequently left the special shop.

“Using that should contain the rift.”

I remembered that when the chemical weapon was used, the rift shrank when it came into contact.

Based on that, rifts could get “sick” too.

That could prove effective, but the problem remained the infectious nature.

‘The outside seemed connected as one.’

When I went outside to avoid assassins, the outside world was different than I imagined.

What I saw wasn’t the interior of a dungeon-like cave but one massive world.

If a rift opened there and connected to here…

“Releasing a pandemic will only spread back here.”

Blocking the entrance to this rift wouldn’t mean much.

Those rifts might let infected monsters through.

It was no wonder that the system discouraged purchases.

“So does this mean we can’t get rid of the rift?”

(Meme of tired part-timers)

(Meme of an untouched rift)

It’s been half a day, and those guys still look like that, not much progress at all.

[3398 Upvotes] [1023 Downvotes]

– Don’t say ominous stuff

– But I’m starting to worry, for real, yeah

– If Head of the Gallery can’t handle it, maybe it’s time to seek shelter in the sunny places

– (Treasure Hunter meme)

Seeing the expectations take a tumble, the gallery members began to feel uneasy.

While looking for other solutions beyond chemical weapons or pandemics, I finally realized:

“I’ve been thinking too hard.”

I was so entrenched in the idea that something strong like those two was the only answer.

But I didn’t need to go that far.

[Cement 25kg] – 9 points

“A new world holds the answer…”

Cement, a go-to fix-it thing for brawny movie villains, easy and cheap to deal with.

“The rift reacted to chemical weapons, right?”

Rifts breathe too.

If it acted like human skin instead of armor, the words became easier.

It was time to plaster over the rift.

*

– BOOM!

A massive roar shook the ground.

“Did it break?”

Earth flew in all directions, and dark smoke rose, but the rift remained unscathed.

“Ahhh…”

It had been half a day since Head of the Gallery had said to use weapons.

In the end, a couple of part-timers sighed.

“Is this thing supposed to break?”

“How can it not have a single scratch?”

Even explosions that could wipe out a monster left the rift untouched, and morale plummeted.

– Author*) Thanks for the hard work; that’s enough for now, head back and rest.

“…Tsk.”

With Head of the Gallery’s message, the work ended.

I’d earned unimaginable money and a meal, but I didn’t feel good about it.

But there was nothing more I could do.

As I packed my things, trying to head back to the city, something unexpected happened.

– Stomp, stomp

“Huh?”

With a quick glance, a man who looked to have a considerably larger head began walking over this way.

The sudden appearance caused the part-timers to be flustered as they looked up for a moment.

“…Gallery Doctor?”

With familiar crow mask and a massive build, the part-timers forgot about packing their bags and blinked in surprise.

What was the Gallery Doctor doing here?

As everyone shared that thought, the Gallery Doctor suddenly slammed a container down.

Then he started pouring in water and mixed it vigorously.

“…What are you trying to do?”

A large tub full of purple powder.

One curious part-timer couldn’t contain themselves and asked, but the Gallery Doctor kept mixing silently.

– What’s that?

– It’s getting thicker and thicker?

– What kind of arm can be as big as my head, lol;

With the post still up, everyone’s curiosity peaked at that moment.

“Attention all gallery assholes, keep quiet and watch.”

With a strange tone, the Gallery Doctor began applying the mud from the tub onto the rift.

“What’s this…”

As the part-timer mumbled, taken aback by this incomprehensible action,

– Gooood!

“…!”

Eyes widened as the rift, which seemed unchangeable, began to shift.

 

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