Surviving Among the Anomalies - Chapter 10

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

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◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 10: Side Story - No Entry

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“Phew, haaah~”

Sixty-seven-year-old Park Yong-ha, who lived in Seoul, loved the mountains.

“As expected, the city’s air can’t compare to this, can it?”

The fresh air and nature unavailable in the city, and the view of the world below from a mountaintop, made everything seem small and insignificant. All the stress he had accumulated from being battered about by society vanished.

“Goseong isn’t bad either.”

He had not even begun climbing, yet he already felt good.

‘The stress from getting all the way here has completely melted away.’

He had enjoyed hiking his entire life. Rugged mountain paths, high peaks, and trails branching in every direction felt new no matter how many times he climbed them. Whenever he scaled a rough slope, he felt like a great explorer.

“Still, Seoraksan is better.”

Seoraksan had many off-limits areas, commonly called unofficial hiking trails. Yong-A Ridge, famous for claiming at least one life every year, was his favorite route. The danger only heightened his adventurous spirit and the sense of accomplishment he felt after completing the climb.

“I want to go to Yong-A Ridge.”

Unfortunately, he could not go now. He had been caught climbing Yong-A Ridge several times over the years and eventually received a fine. As the fines kept increasing, he had lost his motivation and given up hiking for the past few years. Even if he wanted to go now, climbing it would be difficult unless he regained his old instincts and stamina.

“A mountain like this should be perfect for rehabilitation training.”

That was why he had come to Unbongsan in Goseong, Gangwon Province. It was not too high, and few hikers visited, making it a good place to climb alone at his leisure.

“Being able to go sea fishing afterward makes it even better.”

After climbing for a while, he reached a three-way junction and leaned against a tree.

“Ah, this is nice.”

He pulled a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, casually lit it, and took a deep drag. A pleasant dizziness washed over him.

“It tastes even better somewhere with a view like this.”

Even while smoking, he kept looking around. Cigarettes tasted especially good in the mountains, but smoking there also attracted plenty of busybodies.

‘Why does everyone have to stick their noses into other people’s business?’

What if the mountain caught fire? What kind of lunatic smoked in the mountains? Just thinking about it irritated him. He had been reported several times and even paid fines for it.

“Seriously, why does everyone have to tell other people what to do? I’ve smoked while hiking my whole life and never once caused a forest fire.”

After finishing his cigarette, he dug lightly into the ground beneath some dry leaves and buried the butt. As Park Yong-ha got up to resume hiking, he belatedly noticed the sign hanging above the tree he had been leaning against.

[Caution - This direction is an extremely dangerous section where accidents occur every year. Hiking at the risk of your life brings misfortune to your family. Use the regular trail.]

‘Keep out?’

There was no visible path beyond the sign. Only an unmarked mountainside.

‘Oh? There’s an unofficial trail in a place like this?’

He smacked his lips. It meant there was a dangerous trail ahead that no one had walked.

‘How dangerous could a tiny mountain like this possibly be?’

Ignoring the sign, he pushed through the fallen leaves and headed up the ridge. Of course, since it was an unofficial trail, he did not forget to stay alert.

‘It’s not even that dangerous. People make such a fuss over the slightest risk these days.’

When I was young, we risked our lives protesting to make this country better.

We worked ourselves to the bone at companies for our families.

For the honor of the nation, we kept striving, never slacked off, and ran and ran.

‘That’s why South Korea is what it is today.’

It’s all thanks to us!

But what are kids these days like?

‘The moment anything happens, all they do is complain.’

Their standards are too high, so they refuse to work unless it’s for a major corporation.

The moment work gets a little hard, they hand in their resignations because no one is giving them whatever work-life balance is supposed to be.

Their minds are so weak that if someone says a few harsh words for their own good, they whine about old fogeys and whatever else.

“Ugh, this country coddles them too much. They need to bring back the Samcheong Reeducation Camp, crack down on long hair, make military service three years again. That’d straighten them out.”

The problem was a country that made a fuss over places that were not even dangerous, just like the route he had taken.

‘But why haven’t I reached the summit?’

Park Yong-ha sensed something strange two hours after passing the sign.

‘This wasn’t supposed to be such a high mountain.’

Two hours should have been more than enough time to reach the summit. Yet it still shimmered far away, while the scenery around him remained a rugged mountainside with no path in sight.

‘Am I lost?’

His steps gradually quickened. As time passed, thoughts of being stranded and the chilly early-autumn weather filled his head.

‘I can’t stay out any longer.’

Once night fell, hypothermia could put his life at risk. Growing desperate, he pulled out his phone, only to be greeted by the words, “Service Unavailable Area.”

“What the f...?”

KakaoTalk, texts, calls, nothing worked.

“Huff, huff.”

How long had he been wandering?

After roaming the mountain for so long that he could no longer remember how much time had passed, the scenery finally changed before Park Yong-ha.

‘A valley?’

A valley in a place like this? At least it looked like a good place to shelter from the wind, and since he had never seen it before, perhaps it led to the summit.

“Hello?”

Park Yong-ha entered the valley and encountered a young girl.

“Nice to meet you. You’re the second human to come here.”

＊＊＊

‘Am I dreaming right now?’

A little child in a dress on such a rugged mountain?

‘Could she be a mountain spirit?’

He remembered the stories he had heard as a child, adults telling him mountain spirits lived in the mountains and helped people who got lost.

“I’m not a mountain spirit.”

“G-Ghost!”

She had read his mind! Startled, Park Yong-ha stepped back.

“Don’t be like that. This is my first attempt. I thought I might try getting a little friendly with humans, like that brat. You’re the second person I’ve met, but the first person I’ve tried this with.”

“...Tried?”

“Yes. An attempt to give you a blessing.”

Was she a being that benefited humans, like in the tale of the golden axe and silver axe? Some of his fear faded.

“What blessing?”

“If you touch my hand, your Dexterity improves. If you hold me in your arms, your Physical Ability improves. If you carry me on your back, your Spiritual Insight improves.”

His ears perked up.

“And if you look into my eyes, you’ll come to know all things in creation.”

Park Yong-ha considered it seriously.

‘Dexterity? Spiritual Insight? Physical Ability? All things in creation?’

Normally, he would have dismissed it as a joke, but every time he heard the girl’s voice, he found himself naturally accepting that her words were true.

‘Maybe this is what it means to be bewitched by a ghost.’

In any case, Park Yong-ha made his decision.

“Then I’ll choose all things in creation.”

He wanted his Physical Ability to improve, but he was more curious about what it would feel like to awaken to all the knowledge in the world.

“Alright. Come here, then.”

Park Yong-ha approached the girl. Her closed eyes slowly opened.

‘Huh?’

His first impression upon seeing the girl’s eyes was that they were pitch-black. Like the night sky, there was nothing but black, as though her eyes had been entirely painted with black ink.

‘Ah.’

He did not find them frightening. Rather, the moment he looked into her eyes, he understood at once everything about the girl that he had not known until then.

‘This girl is a being from a higher dimension than us.’

That body was being used like a terminal to make contact in order to observe us, beings of a lower dimension. He could not explain how he knew that.

Just as a child instinctively burst into tears, he instinctively understood from the moment he saw the girl’s eyes.

Once his fear faded, he became more deeply absorbed in her eyes. The more he did, the more countless things that made up this universe became knowledge and assimilated into his consciousness.

‘Atoms, quarks, neutron stars, bananas, black holes, quantum fluctuations.’

Park Yong-ha had lived a life far removed from science, but in an instant, he came to understand every modern scientific theory.

‘Oh.’

Beyond that, he learned secrets of the world that even scientists had yet to uncover.

The planet closest to Earth that was home to life was Enceladus.

A cure for hair loss could be made by mixing bananas, guacamole, salt, pepper, and genetically modified peanuts in perfect proportions, then baking it at 180 degrees.

‘Oh, ohh.’

It was not simply knowledge. Those pieces of knowledge came together as one. He now understood the principles of the world and realized the solutions to every problem.

Earth’s climate crisis could be solved by awakening ■■■■■ in Antarctica.

For humanity to overcome death and live forever, they needed to raise three altars at Ayers Rock, gaze at the North Star, and perform the dance of ■■■■.

To recall memories of their past lives, humans needed to drink alcohol mixed with ■■ and perform ■■■■.

‘Oh, ohohohoh!’

Then he learned the secrets of the world and its undiscovered principles.

There were countless afterlives.

The end of the universe existed, and the end of the universe was infinite.

The number of civilizations living in this universe was ■■■■■■■. It was increasing even now.

‘Ohohohohohoh!’

He learned the secrets of the universe and understood the principles of the world. His consciousness regressed into the past, traveling backward through time.

‘More, I need to know more!’

The farther back he went, the more he acquired forgotten, long-forgotten, vanished, and transferred knowledge.

The process by which the solar system was created.

Why the Milky Way developed distinct characteristics from other galaxies as it formed.

What led to the creation of the Sloan Great Wall.

What led to the formation of the Canes Venatici Supervoid.

‘More, more!’

The principle behind the creation of ultramassive black holes.

What lurked beneath neutron stars.

The nature of dark matter.

The nature of dark energy.

‘More, more, more!’

How an individual could reverse the expanding universe.

What happened during the first second after the Big Bang.

As he continued traveling back through time, his consciousness rushed toward the moment of the Big Bang.

‘What lies beyond this?’

What happened before the Big Bang, and what knowledge awaited him?

Soon, his consciousness regressed to the moment before the Big Bang.

‘Ohhh, ohohohoh, ohohohohohoh!’

And...

And

was

one.

3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 53594 ‘Ple’ 08128 4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489 5493038196 4428810975 665933 ‘ase’ 4461 2847564823 3786783165 2712019091 4564856692 3460348610 4543266482 1339360726 0249141273 7245870066 0631558817 4881520920 9628292540 9171536436 7892590360 0113305305 4882046652 1384146951 9415116094 3305727036 5759591953 0921861173 81932 ‘get’ 61179 3105118548 0744623799 6274956735 1885752724 8912279381 8301194912 9833673362 4406566430 8602139494 6395224737 1907021798 6094370277 0539217176 2931767523 8467481846 7669405132 0005681271 4526356082 7785771342 7577896091 7363717872 1468440901 2249534301 4654958537 1050792279 6892589235 4201995611 2129021960 8640344181 5981362977 4771309960 5187072113 4999999837 2978049951 0597317328 1609631859 5024459455 3469 ‘me’ 083026 4252230825 3344685035 2619311881 7101000313 7838752886 5875332083 8142061717 7669147303 5982534904 2875546873 1159562863 8823537875 9375195778 1857780532 1712268066 1300192787 6611195909 2164201989 3809525720 1065485863 2788659361 53381 ‘out’ 82796 8230301952 0353018529 6899577362 2599413891 2497217752 8347913151 5574857242 4541506959 5082953311 6861727855 8890750983 8175463746 4939319255 0604009277 0167113900 9848824012 8583616035 6370766010 4710181942 9555961989 4676783744 9448255379 7747268471 0404753464 6208 ‘of’ 046684 2590694912 9331367702 8989152104 7521620569 6602405803 8150193511 2533824300 3558764024 7496473263 9141992726 0426992279 6782354781 6360093417 2164121992 4586315030 2861829745 5570674983 8505494588 5869269956 9092721079 7509302955 3211653449 8720275596 0236480665 4991198818 3479775356 6369807426 5425278625 51818 ‘here’ 41757 4672890977 7727938000 8164706001 6145249192 1732172147 7235014144 1973568548 1613611573 5255213347 5741849468 4385233239 0739414333 4547762416 8625189835 6948556209 9219222184 2725502542 5688 ‘.’ 767179 0494601653 4668049886 2723279178 6085784383 8279679766 8145410095 3883786360 9506800642 2512520511 7392984896 0841284886 2694560424 1965285022 2106611863 0674427862 2039194945 0471237137 8696095636 4371917287 4677646575 7396241389 0865832645 99581 33904 7802759009 9465764078 9512694683 9835259570 9825822620 5224894077 2671947826 8482601476

＊＊＊

“Oh dear.”

Park Yong-ha’s body vanished.

“Your consciousness was pulled by the gravity it gained and crossed through space-time?”

The girl closed her eyes again.

“The information on all things in creation gathered around a human consciousness eventually gains substance.”

I should try a little more. It would be a shame to end it after just one attempt.

“I hope someone else comes.”

The next day, an astronomical discovery threw the astronomical community into an uproar.

[Ultramassive black hole believed to have formed during the earliest days of the Big Bang discovered.]

[Estimated to be at least 1.6 trillion times the mass of the Sun, though some suspect a measurement error.]

[A black hole suddenly appeared where none had existed before. Only discovered now due to advances in measurement technology?]