I first came across the terms high school debut and college debut in a short story collection by Filkrum, whom I’ve long lost contact with.
It refers to students who, during their middle or high school years, were unremarkable and largely unnoticed. But when they enter a new environment with a fresh set of people, they shed their unimpressive past selves and transform into popular, charismatic figures.
What happens in reality tends to happen on the internet as well.
A user who was virtually unknown on Board A might suddenly become a household name on Board B.
Now, as someone who’s fairly well-known on Viva! Apocalypse!, there’s no real reason for me to do something like that. But the truth is, I’ve been feeling dissatisfied with Viva! Apocalypse! lately.
To be blunt, I’m getting sick of it.
According to Da-jeong, our resident internet expert, people start getting disillusioned with their online communities when the number of users they dislike outweighs the ones they enjoy interacting with.
Honestly, there aren’t many users I like on Viva! Apocalypse! these days.
There are a few I’m friendly with, but being friendly with someone isn’t the same as actually liking them.
The ones I did like—John Nae-non, DragonC, that anonymous user who used to post handmade wool-felt dolls—they’re all dead now.
On the other hand, let’s list the ones I don’t like.
Dongtanmom, mmmmmmmmm, FoxGame, Rocajiji, Dies Irae, Melon Mask, Keystone, Berkut_Break, Dolsingman... The list goes on and on.
It’s no wonder my activity on the board has become half-hearted and obligatory. There are just too many people I can’t stand.
In this state of internet fatigue, the emergence of a new trending site is an excellent alternative.
Leaving Viva! Apocalypse! and migrating to Blinder, the ambitious project of General Kim Byung-cheol, might be the most natural course of action for me.
Of course, simply moving over wouldn’t be enough.
I want to make my debut in style—one worthy of a big-name user like Skelton.
*
Blinder is an open site.
It can even be accessed via our satellite equipment.
Of course, since it runs on the Legion Faction’s servers rather than Viva! Apocalypse!’s, logging in requires logging out of Viva! Apocalypse!, entering a complex code to switch to a different physical server, and adjusting satellite transmission settings.
Following a manual I downloaded from FailNet, I configured my equipment and attempted to connect.
Being my first time, I ran into a few hiccups, but before long, I had set foot in this new world called Blinder.
At first glance, the site was clean and well-organized.
It had a “Hot Topics” board featuring trending posts, along with neatly categorized discussion boards on various subjects.
With my years of internet experience, it didn’t take long for me to grasp the site's nature.
“Hmm.”
This board...
It reminds me of a place I once briefly visited before the war.
I clicked on a random user’s post.
Samgeon Construction / Ma****:** Ha... I can’t believe I have to go back to work...
The title was unimportant.
Just a run-of-the-mill complaint.
What mattered was how users identified themselves.
The user’s workplace, Samgeon Construction, was displayed first, while their personal username appeared afterward, partially obscured by asterisks.
“······.”
Before the war, I wasn’t particularly invested in the internet.
I had come across sites like this before but never gave them much thought.
FailNet briefly experimented with a similar system once, but it was such a short-lived feature that there wasn’t much to reference.
One thing was clear—this replacement site Kim Byung-cheol had created... didn’t suit me.
Even the “Introduction” board for new members was telling.
Daegwallyeong Dairy Center / x*****:** Hello, new member here!
Unemployed / Pyeong****:** Just saying hi. (No further content.)
Wonju General Hospital / Ne****:** Greetings!
Samgeon Construction / Ma**:** Nice to meet you all.
Unemployed / M*:** Came from FailNet!~
Gangwon Forestry Cooperative / Cha***:** Hello, new member here.
Changsu Food / A***:** Didn’t know this place existed. Nice to meet you all!
...
The only thing that stood out was users’ external status—their workplaces.
Personalized usernames were nearly irrelevant, buried beneath this rigid structure.
I couldn’t adapt to Blinder at all.
So, I adjusted my satellite equipment and logged back into our old board.
SKELTON: (Question from Skelton) Anyone tried logging into Blinder?
Even if I wasn’t thrilled with Viva! Apocalypse!, I had been active here for almost five years.
In a way, it was like home.
Besides, plenty of FailNet users still hung around, so I was expecting some helpful responses.
I had long noticed that the number of replies a post received depended on the user’s reputation and likability, but above all, it was the relatability of the topic that mattered.
If other users found the question intriguing or relevant to their experiences, they were more likely to engage.
And considering Blinder’s status as the new rising platform, there was no doubt my post would get attention.
Soon, multiple replies flooded in.
ㅇㅇ: ㅇㅇ
ㅇㅇ: It’s shit.
ㅇㅇ: It’s a pain in the ass, but what choice do we have? FailNet might go under any day now.
ㅇㅇ: If you’re unemployed, it’s not a great place to be.
ㅇㅇ: They’ve been running it since they holed up in Gangwon.
I gathered several key pieces of information.
First, Blinder had been around for quite some time. It wasn’t a new site—it was essentially the Legion Faction’s FailNet.
Second, the Legion Faction had been working with corporations for a while, which explained why so many companies were still running.
Third, military personnel couldn’t use Blinder.
And finally, being unemployed meant you had virtually no say on the platform.
The fact that Blinder wasn’t brand new was somewhat disappointing. But since it was absorbing a massive number of users from Incheon, it might as well be considered new in practice.
The real issue was “employment.”
I currently had no job.
If I were in Legion-controlled territory, I could visit a Job Center, take an aptitude and background test, and get placed into a job through the faction’s employment network.
But I wasn’t in their territory.
I had no way of reaching a Job Center.
That meant that if I signed up for Blinder now, I’d be permanently marked as Unemployed.
“······.”
Frustrating.
Infuriating, even.
If I could just display my username, even with the Unemployed tag, I’d still cause a significant stir.
Wait.
There is a way.
*
Blinder Requires a Mandatory Account
Unlike FailNet, Blinder requires every user to create an account.
This removes the anonymity of being able to post as ㅇㅇ whenever you have an internet connection. While it restricts the freedom of spontaneous, anonymous posting, it does help maintain a cleaner community.
Not that I ever mentioned it outright, but FailNet was overrun with all sorts of grotesque and obscene images—sometimes a combination of both.
For anyone lacking a strong stomach, even clicking on a post could be a gamble.
On top of that, crime-planning threads and crime confession posts were a regular occurrence.
If even the Pioneers—those absolute pieces of human garbage—were able to create their own forums, then anything was possible.
John Nae-non, back when he was alive, had agonized over how his creation had been corrupted by human malice.
In honor of his legacy, I made my account.
Username: Skelton.
To be honest, I was surprised.
I had fully expected someone to have already taken my name.
Yet somehow, Skelton was still available.
I decided to take it as a small reward for all the goodwill I had shown others over the years.
Of course, given Blinder’s system of automatically appending a * to usernames, it didn’t hold much significance.
This was purely for my own satisfaction.
Now came the most important step.
The Job Verification Process Begins.
The alpha and omega of Blinder was employment status.
Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.
<You have entered the Job Verification Chatroom.>
<Please follow the administrator's instructions to complete the verification process.>
Before the war, predecessor sites used business cards and company phone numbers for verification.
Now, three years and six months post-collapse, the only option left was an internal vetting process.
I took another bitter sip of post-apocalyptic reality and started the chat with the administrator.
Blinder013: Hello?
S: Hello!
Blinder013: You're Park Gyu, correct? That’s what you put in your profile.
S: That’s right.
Blinder013: But the job you listed...
Blinder013: Skelton? Is that even a job?
S: Oh, I just put that down. It’s my nickname. It’s well-known, so I figured it was worth a shot.
Blinder013: I see. So what do you do? Are you employed by a company, a factory, or a collective farm? Let me know, and I’ll verify your job status right away.
S: Well... I don’t currently work anywhere.
Blinder013: So, unemployed. Alright, I’ll mark you as unemployed.
S: Wait.
Blinder013: Yes?
S: I’m actually a hunter. Guard Division, 13th batch. Old-school, but still active.
Blinder013: That’s something you’ll need to bring up at the Job Center. We only verify employment based on official Job Center records.
S: Callsign PROFESSOR.
Blinder013: ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Marking you as unemployed. ~
<The administrator has left the chat.>
“······.”
Well. That’s how it turned out.
Not unexpected.
Which is why I had already prepared a countermeasure.
The Introduction Board
Tap, tap, tap.
Unemployed / S: (Skelton) Greetings, everyone. ㅎㅎ
“······.”
This was my strategy to bypass the Unemployed status.
If my username wasn’t visible, I’d just reveal myself.
A simple yet effective idea.
How many people in Korea’s current internet landscape don’t know who Skelton is?
Whether I was unemployed or not, it didn’t matter.
I was Skelton.
The only named user on Viva! Apocalypse! who had ever worn a moderator’s armband.
No unemployed tag could erase that history.
A Step Into the Unknown
Unlike FailNet, Blinder didn’t rank its popular boards by activity.
But it wasn’t hard to figure out where the most people were.
The board with the most real-time posts was, naturally, the most popular.
And that was the "General Discussion" board.
As expected of FailNet’s second coming, posts flooded in at rapid intervals.
I checked the job titles first.
Most people were employed in factories, industrial zones, or collective farms.
Some had positions at legitimate companies like Changsu Food.
And just like its pre-war predecessor, this site also had doctors.
Doctor / M*****:** This isn’t something I should be saying as a doctor, but hospitals are out of painkillers. Just grow poppies, people. It’s easier to get your hands on.
Judging by the responses, doctors had retained their pre-war niche—an irreplaceable, high-status profession.
I let out a shallow sigh.
This wasn’t my kind of place.
But I wasn’t satisfied with Viva! Apocalypse! anymore.
I wanted a fresh start in a new community.
I had been on Viva! Apocalypse! for five or six years now, and three years and six months seriously. It was natural to feel burnt out.
This was my first step forward.
Tap, tap, tap.
Unemployed / S: (Skelton) Hello, everyone?
A milestone.
I wasn’t expecting a hero’s welcome, but I hoped at least someone would recognize me.
And yet...
Unemployed / S: (Skelton) Hello, everyone?
My grand debut post drifted away like a paper boat down a stream—drowned in an endless tide of new posts, with not a single reply.
“...Huh.”
I tilted my head.
This wasn’t what I expected.
I tried again.
Unemployed / S: (Skelton) The one and only Skelton from Viva! Apocalypse!, the only named user to ever wear a mod armband—has officially landed on Blinder!
It was blatant self-promotion, but these people lived in the age of shorts and snappy content.
Sucking up my pride, I went for a quick and effective approach.
And yet, once again, no one responded.
“What the hell?”
Did I miscalculate something?
Was there some invisibility setting applied to unemployed users?
I knew Kim Byung-cheol’s real intention behind the Unemployed tag.
He wanted to pressure people into finding a job, forcing them to visit a Job Center to get officially employed.
But still—this was overkill.
Drowning in mounting suspicion, I suddenly spotted a post that caught my eye.
Hunter / Cho***:** I am so pissed at my husband right now.
“Hunter?”
I clicked on it.
I work too, but my husband pulls all-nighters at the hospital performing surgeries, so I try to handle all the housework.
But my husband won’t let me.
He insists on doing everything himself.
He’s already overworked as it is!
Even when I offer to take care of the kids, he says it’s fine because there’s a daycare at the hospital.
So what am I supposed to do?
I know he’s just trying to be nice, but it makes me feel useless.
I’m a mother, too!
I’m so frustrated and angry that I had to post about it.
“······.”
No way.
This... wasn’t Kim Daram, was it?