Surviving Among the Entities

Sins accumulated on the internet are also misdeeds.
As the conclusion reached by Eastern hell after various opinions and compromises, not only did they judge internet misdeeds as sins, but they even created a separate Internet Hell just for them.

“Should I take a field trip to see what else is here?”

Upon entering the next arena, a massive city greeted me.
A city of a size that could not be built within an arena signaled that the interior space was independent from the outside.

“Hey, you slept around, didn’t you?”
“Damn bastard, ugh! AIDS!”
“This guy must have had smallpox? Get lost!”
“So damn gross. Please don’t touch me.”

Inside the city were countless people verbally abusing and harassing what appeared to be sinners from behind.

“I heard that guy’s parents were murderers.”
“Are you saying you’re a package thief? Dude, why live like that?”
“Hey! Ilbe troll! Going to sell yourself again?”

Taking a closer look at the people, small horns peeked through their hair.

‘They’re goblins.’

The sinners being verbally abused by the human-disguised goblins eventually lost their patience and lashed out.

“I never did any of that! I’ve never sold my body! I’m not a bastard! I don’t have AIDS! I didn’t have smallpox! My parents weren’t murderers! I’m not a package thief! I’m not an Ilbe troll!”
“Well, if you’re not, why are you getting angry?”
“They’re just needling you. If you were normal, you’d try to have a rational conversation instead of getting angry, right? Just like how the farter gets mad.”
“Why would such rumors arise in the first place? When it’s not, there’s no smoke without fire. These rumors must be spreading because you did something wrong.”
“You damn bastards!”

The sinner tried to resort to violence, but the goblins revealed their true nature and viciously tore him apart.
Then, the entire city’s time rewound, and the sinner walked the streets again, unable to remember his previous death.

‘I wonder what sin this is?’

Fortunately, this arena also had a guide signboard.

[Daily Life of False Fact Spreaders]
[The punishment for sinners who spread false facts or exaggerated minor mistakes (針小棒大 – making a tiny mistake into a huge deal), harassing and making others unhappy. They do not realize they are dead and suffer the false facts they themselves spread in their previous lives.]
[They still remember the false facts they spread, so they can escape if they truly repent and reflect, but no one has escaped so far.]

“Spreading false facts.”

So this is where those who tormented others with fake news are punished.

‘The spread of false facts targeting celebrities, internet broadcasters, or famous ordinary people is beyond imagination.’

Even if it has no source and doesn’t make sense, most people just believe it anyway.

‘Because believing is more fun.’

Since scandals and accidents cause greater dopamine release.
This arena punished the illegal providers of dopamine.

“Let’s move to the next arena.”

This next arena was quite lewd.

“Aahh! Save me!”
“Uhuhuh! Stand over there!”

There were men being chased by massive women, and women being chased by massive men.
The chasers had very unsightly appearances from a modern perspective, and judging by the horns on their heads, they seemed to be transformed goblins.

[Chasers of Lewd Images]
[The punishment for those who publicly posted lewd photos, videos, or texts on open forums with the intent of causing disgust in others. The figures appearing in the photos, videos, or texts they posted chase the sinners, and the moment they are caught, they are sexually assaulted.]
[They can escape if they truly repent and reflect on their sin, but no one has escaped so far.]

So the appearances of the chasers here are the figures from the lewd images the sinners uploaded to the internet?

‘What is the standard for a lewd image?’

The uploader may have genuinely enjoyed it.
Is it considered lewd if it causes strong disgust from the general perspective of others?
Or is the uploader’s intent given more importance?

‘Considering why I accumulated misdeeds, the latter seems more likely.’

If I hadn’t resolved my misdeeds, I might have ended up here too.

‘It doesn’t seem too difficult though.’

Even if caught by a chaser, I just need to enjoy it.
Couldn’t I repent and escape by reflecting with empathy and understanding the other’s perspective?

“I should experience it once.”

I leapt down into the arena.
Regrettably, since all my past misdeeds had already been resolved, I was immediately sent back outside the arena before I could even blink.

“What a pity.”

I suppose I can only observe then.

‘But why does my chest feel so heavy?’

An inexplicable tightness weighed on my chest.
It wasn’t severe, so I ignored it.

“Aahh!”

I also witnessed many other arenas.

“Sa, save me! Kuk, kuaahhhh!”

Sinners who posted cruel images or texts, severely traumatizing others, received the “Lewd Accident” punishment, suffering the same accidents as the lewd images they posted until they truly repented.

“Kuk! Please! Please don’t take my memory….. Huh? What was I just doing?”

Sinners who stole virtual assets like Bitcoin, accounts, game items, etc. experienced the “Memory Theft” punishment, periodically having their memories erased until they ultimately lost their sense of self, returning to the beginning and losing themselves again as their memories were stolen.

“Laugh, why won’t you laugh? Did someone threaten you with a knife to come to hell?”
“Ah, no! Of course not!”
“Lie and I’ll kill you, kill you and that’s it!”
“Kuhuk! But I’ll just revive, right?”
“Who’s that?”
“You’re the one who asked! No! I revive only to be constantly tormented! Beaten! Suffering! Why ask when you know!”
“Grr?”

Those who constantly picked fights and deliberately angered others on the internet received the “Conversation in Troll Village” punishment, where the goblins would make nerve-grating remarks without answering while also beating the sinners’ bones with iron clubs.

‘There are quite a lot of punishments.’

Apart from these, there were many other punishments, but the interesting part was that sinners did not receive just one punishment.

“Aah! I’m being moved!”
“Damn it! Please! Something less painful, please!”

The depths of the internet are profound.
One who commits a sin is bound to commit others, and most sinners guilty of multiple sins were moved to different arenas and punishments every 6 hours.

‘No time to adapt.’

But there was another surprising aspect.

“End of 3rd shift!”
“Break time!”
“Ugh, good work. See you in 6 hours!”
“Everyone worked hard!”

Hell itself had break times.
The goblins who had been diligently punishing sinners left for somewhere. The remaining sinners all gathered in one arena and were also provided a break.

[Break Time Registration]
[Only those who have applied for a break in this program can comfortably lie on a bed in a cozy private room, eat delicious food, and take a break without any suffering.]

However, they had to use a computer to apply for the break, similar to requesting a vacation.

“Kuhuk, I’m starving!”
“My body feels like it’s burning up!”
“So, sleepy….. But….. I can’t sleep….. If I lie on the bed, I might fall asleep……”

Without doing so, it seemed they would still experience intense pain, hunger, and fatigue even without active punishment.

‘So each person is provided a computer.’

Small single desks, single desktop computers, and hard wooden chairs were provided.
The sinners rushed to apply for a break.

[Membership registration is required.]
[Please use a certified digital certificate for identity verification.]
[If you do not have a certified digital certificate, click here to obtain one.]

No one could register as a member, so they proceeded to the certificate issuance page.

[Starting certified digital certificate issuance.]
[Please install the security program.]

Countless sinners clicked the security program installation button.
The download speed was excruciatingly slow, taking 30 minutes just to complete.

[Security program installed.]
[Page error, please reconnect.]

They reconnected.

[The keyboard security program was not installed.]
[Please manually install the missing security program.]
“Damn it!”

Some cursed as they manually downloaded and reinstalled the security program.
Another 30 minutes passed.

[Security program installed.]
[Please enter your ID, password, and personal information.]

Everyone entered the information displayed on the screen.

[The password cannot be your name, resident registration number, date of birth, or simple numbers.]
[Please use at least 15 characters combining special characters, complex numbers, and letters/numbers.]
[An error has occurred. Please reconnect.]
“Grrrr……”

Some started foaming at the mouth.
Most of those who gave up here were foreigners.

‘There are many Buddhist countries like Japan, China, and Thailand.’

There were a few Westerners as well, some wearing cross necklaces.

‘What are the criteria?’

Almost all the remaining sinners were Korean.
Being somewhat accustomed to this, Koreans persisted quite tenaciously.

[ID creation complete.]
[Starting identity verification.]
[Please enter your IPin ID and password.]
[If you do not have an IPin ID, click here to create one.]
“Uaaaaaah!”

Even so, more gave up upon reaching this next step, but those who still clung to hope clicked the IPin ID creation button.

[Creating IPin ID.]
[The security program is not installed. Please install the security program.]
[Security program installation will take 34 minutes 27 seconds.]

They had to install a new security program separate from the certified digital certificate.
Almost everyone gave up now.

“This bullshit again!”
“Graaaaaah!”

Judging from the fury-filled cries of those who had lost their sanity, it seemed to be a daily repetition.

“Please, please!”

Still, some refused to give up.
The tiny minority calmly and tenaciously succeeded in registering for IPin and even obtained the certified digital certificate, but…..

“Break over!”
“Punishment resumes!”

Unfortunately, they ran out of time.

“I could have rested this time!”
“Is this even possible to succeed?”
“Damn it!”

From their accounts, it seemed no one had ever succeeded.

‘Even so, the reasons they still tried were either to escape the suffering, even briefly, or they clung to the rotten final straw in their desperation.’

In any case, having witnessed enough, I was about to leave when…

“Hm?”

I ran into a goblin.
The goblin looked above my head, then stood upright and shouted loudly.

“It is an honor to meet the Preliminary King of Hell!”
“Preliminary King of Hell?”
“Yes! That, the name above your head!”
“Um, do you happen to have a mirror?”
“Here it is!”

The goblin took out a hand mirror.
Through the blue name tag pinned to his uniform, I learned his name.

“Thank you, Geum-yuksik.”
“It is an honor to be of help!”

Through the hand mirror, I saw my face.
And the clear “(Preliminary) Seung-hoon” floating above my head.

“My name is in orange.”
“Kings of Hell or King of Hell candidates have their names displayed like that when visiting hell.”
“Hmm.”

For some reason.
There was such a formality?

“May I have the permission to ask the reason for your visit!?”

I was about to respond that it was a field trip, but the feelings that welled up inside me as I toured this place poured out like a fierce downpour.

‘I realized what that tightness in my chest was.’

The endlessly tormented sinners.
The guide signs stating that no one had ever escaped.
The goblins mechanically carrying out their duties for set periods like civil servants.

“Everyone.”

I asked the goblins who had sensed my presence and gathered around.

“Does hell exist to torment sinners, or to reform them?”