WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 23: The Foundation

──────

It had been a month since I posted an advertisement promising to send willing people to an otherworld. Many had come, but even those who made the trip turned back out of fear of death. In the end, only ten remained until the very end and headed to an otherworld.

‘The preparations paid off.’

Even so, three out of ten had died. I had succeeded in achieving a survival rate of seventy percent.

‘Those three only died because they were unlucky early in their transfer.’

It was regrettable, but making the survival rate one hundred percent was impossible. All I could do was chalk it up to their own luck.

“Isn’t that just how life is?”

I waved away my bitter feelings and leisurely drank tea in my office.

‘The tea smells nice.’

- Quack!

Until then, I had only known black tea as knowledge and had never experienced it myself, but after having tea with the Mysterious Merchant last time, I had developed a taste for it.

“This is why experience matters.”

Do not let things pass by without experiencing them. Who knew whether one of them might become the best thing in your life?

‘But why is there no news?’

I ate a Marmite cucumber sandwich and searched my name online.

[Is it true that Fixer Lee Seung-hoon sends people to an otherworld? If it is, I’m going right away lol. Academy, just you wait! A principal who’s suspiciously strong but can’t stand up to a student, just you wait! An imperial princess under an absolute monarchy who falls head over heels for a commoner classmate, just you wait! A busty female professor who’s one of the strongest in the setting but suffers from past trauma, just you wait!]

└[You believe that? Says a lot about your intelligence.]

└[Someone said they give you gold as a gift just for going.]

└[It’s obviously a scam. Someone must be using Lee Seung-hoon’s name.]

└[But if it’s Lee Seung-hoon, couldn’t it be possible? He’s a Fixer.]

└[Maybe it is possible. He’s a Fixer.]

└[??? Who’s Lee Seung-hoon? Why is everyone talking nonsense???]

Posts about the otherworld travel service appeared from time to time. The reality-altered common sense of the Fixer was blending naturally into society, but people still rarely came to see me.

‘Normally, people would come at least out of curiosity.’

I spoke to the black book sitting alone on my desk.

“Was this your doing too? Did you arrange something so that people who are not truly prepared cannot come?”

There was no answer.

‘That is not what matters.’

What mattered was that my existence was spreading through the internet.

[I want to meet Fixer Lee Seung-hoon. If I report a strange, surreal incident, he’ll come running right over, won’t he? I want to meet him.]

└[He might get angry if you call him over something trivial. And calling a Fixer with a false report is not legally a crime, but morally, it is.]

└[Ah, right. That is common sense.]

└[??? Are you people talking about some novel? A game?]

The situation was clearly strange. The Fixer, a profession that had not existed, was becoming common sense, but not everyone knew about it yet. Two sets of common sense were colliding.

‘It is strange that they have not stepped in under these circumstances.’

I quietly spoke their name.

“The Foundation.”

An organization that protected humanity from dangerous Anomalies.

“Why are they being so quiet?”

＊＊＊

I had thought about it before, but Creepypasta fundamentally could not exist in reality.

‘Large-scale incidents are easily exposed in modern society, where social networks are tightly connected.’

Massacres, mass disappearances, mysterious accidents, and monster sightings would inevitably spread among the public, becoming the catalyst that brought incomprehensible beings into the open.

‘And yet, why can people in worlds of that genre live without knowing anything?’

Because there were people who isolated humanity from dangerous beings and protected it. They hid behind the scenes, safeguarding humanity from dangerous entities and concealing information for humanity’s peaceful daily life.

‘「Surviving Among the Anomalies」 had an organization like that too.’

With authority that transcended nations, it controlled the media and covered up incidents.

With force that transcended nations, it isolated and destroyed dangerous Anomalies.

With wealth that transcended nations, it achieved whatever it wanted.

With Supernatural Abilities that transcended nations, it occasionally adjusted the world itself.

‘It was called the 「Humanity Protection Foundation」.’

It was an organization known simply as the 「Foundation」.

‘According to the wiki lore, they were incredibly powerful.’

They controlled and isolated countless Anomalies. At times, they used Anomalies to stop or destroy other Anomalies, and at other times, they used them to provide positive help to humanity.

‘Still, they were fanatics who would do anything to protect humanity.’

Naturally, they appeared in the game as well. Their power varied randomly each time a new game began, affecting the game’s difficulty and play style.

‘If the Foundation is weak, dangerous Anomalies are more likely to appear.’

Instead, the chances of receiving the Foundation’s help or cooperating with it increased. It also allowed players to attempt 「Toward the Administrator」, a hidden route where they joined the Foundation to protect humanity.

‘On the other hand, if the Foundation is strong, dangerous Anomalies are less likely to appear.’

Instead, it regarded a player’s continued survival of Anomalies as a Supernatural Ability manifested as an Anomaly. It would move to eliminate or isolate the player, forcing them to confront the Foundation as an enemy.

“I wanted to know how they would act now that they had become real.”

Avoiding them whenever possible was best, but I would meet them someday. I thought this incident might bring them out, yet there had been no news at all.

‘Golden Omnipotence Corporation said troublesome people kept interfering with them. That was why they moved locations regularly. It must have been the Foundation.’

In the game, when the Foundation was strong, it also attacked Golden Omnipotence Corporation and made trading difficult.

‘But I do not know why they are not coming for me…’

They would come eventually.

‘Still, they said they would show me their location if they moved.’

I took out the business card I had received from Golden Omnipotence Corporation. No location was written on it.

‘Since even the original location is not recorded and it is blank, does that mean it cannot be accessed at all?’

Why had the Anomalies obsessed with gold still not contacted me?

‘That, I do not know either.’

It was not a question with an answer, and thinking about it any longer would only lead me deeper into a maze. After quietly finishing my tea, I put the Rubber Rubber Duck and the Otherworld Transfer Book into my bag.

“Let’s head home.”

After returning home, I spoke with Shingu Hoerang through the Toy Well.

[Ah, this is driving me crazy. I had only heard rumors, but I had no idea Final School had this much homework! Even seventy-six hours in a day would not be enough!]

[If you are too busy, you can pause our trading schedule for a while.]

[No. Learning is nice, but I like money more.]

After taking a leisurely shower, I lay down in bed.

“…”

One possibility came to mind.

‘The bad endings that appear in the game affect not only the player, but the world itself.’

It began with the death of a single player, then extended to the destruction of a city, a country, humanity, the world, Earth, and even the universe.

‘A country’s destruction is one thing, but humanity-level or greater destruction would inevitably affect the Foundation too.’

If they survived, they would somehow restore the world. In that case, the word destruction would not have been used.

‘That means the Foundation is ultimately destroyed in bad endings involving humanity-level or greater destruction.’

If the game became reality, how would scenarios involving humanity-level or greater destruction unfold?

‘A powerful Anomaly destroys the world, and the Foundation responds too late and fails.’

Or the Foundation responds first, fails, and the world is destroyed in the end.

‘The latter is overwhelmingly more likely.’

Based on what I had learned through the 「Toward the Administrator」 route, the Foundation possessed Anomalies that informed it of future threats, like Dial TV for You. It should have been able to easily foresee humanity-level or greater disasters.

‘Does that mean the Foundation has already suffered irreparable damage while fighting a humanity-level or greater disaster, and that is why it has no room to come after me?’

Was a humanity-level or greater disaster unfolding somewhere I did not know about?

“…”

Unable to sleep, I went up to the rooftop. While smoking, I browsed internet communities on my smartphone to find out anything I could.

[I found something crazy on a livestream lol. Is this person a magician? They are pretty good?]

└[I have been watching for a while too, and their skills are insane lol. I think they are going to change the history of Korean magic.]

└[Post the link. I want to see.]

I looked through one community from top to bottom.

[Today’s magic by a no-name streamer.jpg]

└[Whoa, what is that? Levitation? How do they do magic like that?]

└[This is insane. What is the trick?]

└[Typical Koreans who cannot enjoy magic as magic. Tsk tsk. Please enjoy magic as magic, like foreigners do.]

I checked another community.

[Wow, this one will escape being a no-name streamer soon. Their content is completely amazing.]

└[They only do magic. What is so amazing about that?]

└[No, the magic is seriously insane. It is on the level of slapping David Copperfield across the face.]

└[Grandpa… Your dentures are clacking!]

Then I checked another community.

[Today’s new streamer, BJ Constellation.jpg]

└[Did ice come out of their hand?]

└[Isn’t that magic, not a magic trick?]

└[They made fire too, not just that lol.]

└[Why are they called both a BJ and a streamer?]

└[They are a no-name, so they stream on both platforms. They are also streaming on YouTube.]

‘…’

I searched for 「BJ Constellation」. After finding the site and address where the broadcast was taking place, I immediately opened it.

『My brothers! My sisters! Thank you for coming! Now then, as the only Avatar on Earth blessed by the Constellation, I will show you magic!』

On the other side of the screen, a man around my age waved a hand through the air.

『Hoit! Hoit!』

Flames continuously burst from the man’s right hand, while thin ice scattered from his left, leaving long trails in its wake.

『You are asking what the trick is? Come on, there is no trick. This is all real magic!』

A chill ran down my spine.

『What? Did I learn it at the Sanctum? Hahaha, Mirror Dimension! Just kidding. Ah, I do not even know how many times I have said this today. Should I put up a notice? Let me explain one more time. I did not transfer to an otherworld! And I did not learn magic from some hidden secret society! Though I did fight a secret society. I will talk about that later…』

The man on the screen snapped his fingers. The screen instantly changed to the night sky, and he floated there as he smiled at the camera.

『I am the only Avatar on Earth chosen by the Constellation.』

The chat flooded in wildly. With my enhanced eyesight, I could see that half of them still did not believe it.

『How is it being filmed with a camera when I am in the sky? Cutting. Edge. Technology! I teleported, then used magic to turn the camera into a drone camera. Anyway, I really am a mage. More precisely, I am the Constellation’s Avatar, one who can use magic too.』

I did not recognize the man’s face.

But the keyword 「Constellation」 was stored in my mind.

『Haa, broadcasting like this really makes me feel better. I have had a hard time lately. I wanted to make the world peaceful in accordance with the Constellation’s will, but the Foundation? Or whatever it was, that weird secret society tried to kill me, you know? Seriously, wow. They had alien-like technology, weapons whose bullets were nuclear bombs, people with superpowers, monsters, seriously, wow! How am I even supposed to explain it?』

The developer had a rigid development philosophy.

『I nearly died several times, but I barely survived, you know? Then I turned the tables and thoroughly trashed those bastards. I could not wipe them out completely, but that much is fine. I can erase them when I have time later.』

One day, that developer created an Anomaly.

「Everyone, when you make Munchkin Mary Sues and keep telling me to add them to the game, there is such a thing as moderation. I made an Anomaly out of how I feel whenever I see that and added it to the game.」

An Anomaly added to the game with those words.

『What? You are asking for the Constellation’s name?』

The man spoke.

I spoke as well.

『It is the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation!』

“The Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation.”

I could not stop chain-smoking.

‘Right. This is not a game.’

Spawn chance: 0.000012%.

The same odds as winning first prize in the lottery.

‘Probability does not mean anything. If it exists, it will appear.’

Five turns after it appeared, the Earth would be destroyed.

“Hmm.”

Its spawn chance was low, but there was no way to stop it.

Its very existence was achievement fodder, a way of teabagging players to show they had used up lottery-level luck, and an Anomaly made to mock users who kept creating Munchkin Mary Sue Anomalies.

“No matter how I think about it…”

By the time I had chain-smoked an entire pack, I reached a conclusion.

“I cannot see any way to survive.”

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried