I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 183: law-abiding citizen (1)

"Filing a lawsuit for violation of portrait rights will be difficult."

This was the advice Da-eun received when she consulted the lawyer.

With a confused expression on her face, she heard the calm voice of the lawyer.

"This, that... once the discussion reached the legal domain, Da-eun’s eyes began to spin."

"...So, you're saying I can't punish them with just this post?"

Da-eun, struggling to stay afloat amidst the flood of technical terms, finally managed to speak up.

The lawyer shrugged.

"Since they haven’t gained any commercial profit from it, and it's hard to say that the content of the post defames anyone’s reputation, the only thing we could latch onto is maybe a sentence at the end..."

"So, you’re saying that even that wouldn’t be enough to legally punish them?"

"Exactly."

"Ugh..."

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

The lawyer looked at Da-eun, who seemed deep in thought.

Though he had said this, with enough time and effort, proving guilt wouldn’t be impossible.

However, that would be inefficient... or in other words, not worth it.

If the goal was simply to harass the other party and drain their energy, that would be one thing, but it seemed like his client didn’t want that.

"So, how about we change our approach?"

"Change our approach?"

Da-eun’s face turned confused again, clearly not understanding what was being said.

"What if, since they’re skirting the line, we respond the same way?"

To use the law, you need to know it well.

On the flip side, knowing how to avoid it is just as important.

"Wow..."

Da-eun let out an exclamation.

"Can a lawyer say that?"

"Why not? No one’s listening. And as for that... well, it’s better I don’t say more."

"Who cares? No one’s listening."

Da-eun returned his words with a mischievous grin.

It seemed her curiosity was piqued, but the lawyer shook his head, and changed the topic.

"If the goal is to bury the post, then there’s no need to get bogged down with legal issues. If we go that route, it might even draw more attention, like you’re worried."

"Feels like I’m talking to a detective instead of a lawyer."

"Doing the job is pretty similar."

"...Really?"

Da-eun nodded, though her face showed a trace of doubt.

The lawyer, after getting approval from his client, slowly spoke.

"...Make them out to be liars."

There’s nothing permanent in this world.

Even emperors who once wielded supreme power, and who turned rivers and seas into their dominion, couldn’t escape the coming of death.

A flame that seemed to burn forever would eventually be extinguished.

The man understood that.

So it was natural that the comments on his post were gradually declining.

Naturally, though.

"...What?"

The man’s phone kept vibrating, distracting him from his game.

At first, he ignored it, but after the third or fourth time, he couldn’t ignore it anymore and reluctantly checked it.

"Ah."

While his eyes briefly glanced at his phone, his character died and the screen faded to gray.

At the same time, a flood of chat messages appeared.

There were the usual inquiries about what he was up to, some heartfelt wishes for his parents’ well-being.

How warm.

"Shit."

Not one to just take without giving, the man decided to respond warmly to the well-wishers, then grabbed his phone to answer.

What could have possibly driven his parents away?

He sought the answer.

"What is this?"

The culprit for his distraction and the relentless greetings was an app on his phone.

It was a community app that notified him whenever a comment was made on his post.

It had been fairly quiet until a few days ago, but now it was buzzing again for some unknown reason.

The man felt a strange sense of anticipation as he clicked on the post.

Soon enough, he was faced with countless mockeries and jeers.

And it was nothing like what he had expected.

"...?"

The man stared blankly at the words on the screen, his character unmoving in the game, unaware of the team members’ friendly messages in the background.

"...What’s going on?"

His mind, which had been momentarily distracted, returned.

Having spent quite some time not playing, a "You’re Away" message appeared on the screen.

He had indeed been absent for a while, but if he focused now, he might still have a chance to win.

However, instead of closing the message and diving back into the game, the man opened a browser window.

He didn’t like what he was seeing anyway.

‘They shit their pants and now they’re blaming me.’

Though his character had died more times than he’d killed enemies, it was all because of his teammates.

If his teammates had followed his lead, he wouldn’t have died so many times, and the game would have been over by now.

Instead, the game was in shambles because of them.

"You guys don’t deserve to win."

Even if he received a penalty for abandoning the game, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Unlike those who make a game their life, he wasn’t going to foam at the mouth and start a match because he wasn’t playing for a bit.

He turned away from the game and focused on finding the reason.

And then, he found it. His surprise was palpable.

"What? Fake?"

The controversy about manipulation had existed for some time.

It just hadn’t gained enough traction until now, so he had ignored it.

But now, for some reason, it had reignited.

The flames, which had been blazing hot, were dying out, and the man, who had started them, was scrambling to find fresh fuel.

The cause was a post by a user who had dissected every aspect of his post, even claiming the photo he had taken was manipulated.

The post was so organized that for a moment, the man thought, ‘Could that be true?’

"...No! What the hell is this?"

The photo had deliberate smudge marks, and the background didn’t match.

The post, which used various arguments to claim the photo was doctored, made the man scowl.

"If you take a photo quickly, it can get smudged!"

What really infuriated him was the people who agreed with the post.

The flimsy and weak evidence, yet they all rallied around it, agreeing that it was manipulation.

He even recognized a few familiar usernames among them.

Just a few days ago, they had praised his dedication, and now, they were washing their hands of it, pretending it never happened.

The man tried to turn the public opinion around, but it was futile—he was swept away by the flood of comments.

"You idiots...!"

Confusion, shock, embarrassment, anger.

A single word that contained all those emotions.

But what the man didn’t know was that the posts targeting him were almost identical to the one he had written.

No, in fact, considering the maliciousness, his own post was worse.

Perhaps he had chosen to turn a blind eye to that fact.

"..."

The man steeled himself.

Then, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

Ring, ring...

Listening to the cold tone as he waited for the other party to pick up.

"Yeah, why?"

It didn’t take long before the phone connected, and a familiar voice greeted him.

"I can’t play the game right now."

"Who said anything about playing a game?"

"Is there anything else you’re calling for? Or you want to go out drinking today?"

"...No, damn it, hold on!"

"Well, whether it’s yes or no, why are you swearing?"

He had cursed first, though.

The man swallowed the words that nearly escaped his mouth.

"Anyway, you have that camera, right? The one you were bragging about buying the other day."

His friend, the one on the other end, liked taking pictures.

When he had bought a camera he had wanted for so long, the man had clicked his tongue, but now it might come in handy.

"...Yeah, I have it. Why?"

The voice on the phone had a note of concern.

"Can I borrow it for a bit?"

"No way."

The answer came back without hesitation.

"I’m hanging up."

"Hey, hey! Wait a minute!"

Desperately, the man rushed to stop the call as the voice on the other end seemed like it was about to hang up for real.

After a few minutes of persuasion, the voice softened a little.

"I don’t know what’s going on, but you won’t even be able to use it properly."

"Doesn’t matter. Just press the shutter and it’s done, right?"

"Then why not just use your phone camera? You want a fancy camera, huh?"

"..."

"This one’s not available, but I’ll lend you a decent one. It’s better for light shots."

"Okay, thanks."

The man was relieved as the rejection had turned into acceptance.

"But this one’s expensive, so don’t break it."

"How much is it?"

"More than you. It’s an older model, but even now, it costs over several dozen."

"What the hell? How is it more expensive than me?"

"Whatever, just buy me drinks later."

"Okay. Thanks."

The man put down the phone after the call ended.

"Manipulated photos, huh?"

Alright, I’ll show them how it’s really done.

If I’m going to take a photo, I’ll make sure to capture everything clearly—no one will have anything to say after that.

And then, once I show them, they’ll stop criticizing and start praising me.

"Not a chance."

The man had already taken a screenshot, expecting this outcome.

When the curtains fell, he would be ready to exact his revenge.

And his actions would become a legendary tale, spoken of for years to come.

"You’ll see who’s the amateur here, me or them."

The man muttered an old saying.

The game that had once been popular had now failed miserably, but he was confident he wouldn’t face the same fate.

With that thought, the man closed the internet browser.

Your account has been suspended for 7 days due to a disconnect penalty.

The result, which ended in defeat, and the message stating that his account had been suspended greeted him.