Surviving Among the Anomalies - Chapter 39

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 39: The Last Monkey’s Paw

──────

‘What should I use this for?’

After returning to the office, I looked at The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw. The monkey’s paw, with only a single middle finger remaining, had proven through The World Beyond the Right Eye that it possessed far greater power than it did in the game.

‘An Anomaly that grants the wisher’s desire exactly as wished.’

While the original Monkey’s Paw granted wishes according to its own interpretation, The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw was designed to grant the desired wish without twisting its meaning.

‘It even uses the person making the wish as its point of reference.’

The wish Yoo Seong-yeol made in The World Beyond the Right Eye was, 『Make everyone rational and intelligent.』 Yet the people in that world were neither rational nor intelligent by my standards.

‘If anything, they were foolish and irrational.’

If they had truly been rational and intelligent, a world like that could never have come about.

‘They would have weighed the benefits and risks of their actions and made the optimal choices.’

In the process, members of society would have exchanged opinions, introduced laws to reduce risks, and worked toward greater benefits through social consensus.

‘That is impossible in reality because people place greater value on personal gain. But if everyone were rational and intelligent, it would have become a desirable society, one that compromised with reality and temporarily yielded personal interests for the future benefit of the community.’

But that was not the world Yoo Seong-yeol wanted. Rationality focused solely on individual survival, while intelligence existed only to completely reject future risks.

I knew why that world had turned out that way. Yoo Seong-yeol had been consumed by online communities.

‘Provocative posts in online communities are nothing more than posts uploaded to draw other people’s attention.’

After long exposure to every kind of sensational incident and the consequences of foolish human choices he encountered through online communities, he had become pessimistic. The standards of rationality and intelligence in his heart had changed.

“Well, it would have to work that way. If there are seven billion people in the world, there are seven billion points of reference.”

If it did not follow the standards of the person making the wish, it would be no different from the original Monkey’s Paw. The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw had merely matched Yoo Seong-yeol’s standards, a sandcastle built on anger and pessimism. It had done nothing wrong.

“In the end, humans are the problem again.”

There was value in simply keeping The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw without using it. Just preventing anyone from using it carelessly could save the world from danger.

“I should use it.”

Still, I decided to use it. I had thought of the most proper way to use it.

‘There are four ways to use The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw in the game.’

First, strengthen a character. A player character strengthened both physically and mentally would have a much greater chance of escaping Anomalies that posed physical and spiritual threats.

‘The increase was random, from two to four times, but it isn’t a particularly good option for me.’

I ruled out that choice. There was no point, since I could not avoid large-scale disasters occurring somewhere unknown, where I was not involved, like this Monkey’s Paw incident.

‘Even if I became ageless and immortal through a wish, it would not mean much in this world.’

There were beings worse than death.

‘Second, obtain the Anomaly you want.’

I rejected this as well. Used properly, it could protect my life from countless Anomalies, but I still would not survive disasters that crossed the universe and dimensions like this one.

‘Third, remove the Anomaly you want from the game.’

Weak and insignificant Anomalies would be destroyed and permanently removed. Powerful Anomalies would be banished to another dimension for a set period, removing them from the game for years.

‘There is no point in removing just one Anomaly in a world where countless Anomalies exist.’

And the fourth and final option was restoring a broken Anomaly.

‘You could restore a consumable Anomaly for reuse, or restore an Anomaly that was powerful in concept but had lost its strength and make it an ally.’

What I wanted was the fourth option.

“The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw, I will make a wish.”

The target simply was not an Anomaly.

“Restore the Humanity Protection Foundation to its proper state before it was destroyed by the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation.”

＊＊＊

What was the greatest reason humanity had risen to its current position at the top of the ecosystem? It would be simplistic to believe a single result had only one cause, but I was certain cooperation played a major role.

‘Humanity cooperated to build societies and survived beasts physically stronger than itself.’

Wolves, lions, and elephants also cooperated, but human cooperation formed a far more advanced organization. What I needed was the division of labor that came from such a group.

‘I cannot survive Anomalies alone.’

I had thought about it before. If a global, humanity-wide, or universe-wide disaster occurred somewhere unknown, where I was not involved, could I stop it?

‘The answer is no.’

Something could happen while I slept. Even if I were awake, there was a high chance everything would be over before I even recognized the approaching disaster.

‘Dial TV’s help is limited. This time, the timing was good, but there is no guarantee I’ll have the same luck again.’

Then how had humanity endured?

It was because the Humanity Protection Foundation, also known as 「the Foundation」, existed.

‘The group originally created to protect the world from Anomalies.’

They possessed numerous Anomalies capable of predicting the future, and they efficiently used various Anomalies that could protect humanity to defend people from Anomalies.

‘And they are the best partners, capable of finding and dealing with Anomalies I cannot handle early on.’

Their strength differed in every game, but according to the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation, they were very powerful in this world. If I could restore them after their destruction, a tragedy like this would not happen again.

‘Of course, the stronger the Foundation becomes, the more likely it is to violently eliminate anything it finds suspicious...’

I would probably count as an Anomaly by their standards, so they might try to exclude or eliminate me somehow. Still, restoring them was better than disappearing at any moment without even knowing why.

‘If they come for me, I can try to settle things through conversation. Or I can use the Golden Ticket.’

As I made my wish, the one remaining finger of The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw curled.

“!?”

It only lasted a moment. The finger, which had curled halfway, could not move any further as though something had blocked it. After trembling for a while, it fully straightened again.

“Did the wish fail?”

Why? For what reason?

‘I don’t know.’

Although there was almost no chance it would come true, I made another wish as an experiment.

“The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw, I will make a wish. Erase every Anomaly that exists in this world, other dimensions, and beyond the universe.”

The finger bent slightly, no more than a speck of dust, then straightened again.

‘As expected, it was trying to grant my earlier wish but lacked the power to do so.’

Why could it not restore the Foundation?

‘Did the Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation’s destruction erase their very existence?’

I could not figure out the reason. In the end, I gave up on using The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw and decided to store it away for the time being.

‘It would be nice if I could learn why.’

The next day, a few minutes after arriving at the office.

“Excuse me, are you Lee Seung-hoon, the Fixer?”

“Yes, I am.”

Two people in suits had come to see me.

“I see. This is who we are.”

Of the man-and-woman pair, the woman handed me a business card.

[Humanity Protection Foundation: S / Seong Yu-ra]

A completely unexpected business card.

“I am Seong Yu-ra, an S-grade agent from the Humanity Protection Foundation, or the Foundation for short.”

“I am Kim Dong-uk, a C-grade agent from the same organization.”

The Foundation had come looking for me.

“Excuse me, but do you possess The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw?”

＊＊＊

“What would you like to drink? Black tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Ah, could I have milk?”

“Of course.”

While I went to get the tea and milk, I heard them talking.

『Administrator, isn’t that an Anomaly?』

『It is. It must be one of the Otherworld series.』

『We should retrieve it immediately!』

『Are you crazy? He can use Cognition Alteration to forcibly implant the common-sense notion that he is a Fixer into people around the world. And we walked into his lair ourselves!』

The Fixer business cards had English written beneath the Korean, and I had recently used Google ads to spread them across overseas websites. That was probably why they were saying that.

‘Being too effective is a problem too.’

I continued listening as I added milk to the black tea.

『Honestly, even now, his status as a Fixer feels like common sense. Even though I received an S-grade Cognition-Alteration Vaccine! If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t even have been able to doubt it.』

『Sigh. Someone like this used The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw on us. Do you think it was for something good, or something bad?』

『Don’t be certain of either yet. You know an agent’s iron rule, right?』

『Never rule out any possibility. When facing Anomalies, certainty is death.』

『That may be what those above think, but I don’t see it that way.』

Seong Yu-ra had surprisingly reached a favorable conclusion about me.

『If someone capable of Cognition Alteration on a global scale stopped at gaining nothing more than the status of a Fixer, it means he is that much of an ordinary citizen and has little greed.』

『But what if he is concealing his true intentions?』

『That is why we came. To find out whether he used The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw offensively or for another purpose.』

I returned to the office with the black tea, coffee, and milk.

“Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

Despite being wary of me, they drank without any suspicion.

‘Do they have an Anomaly that detects poisons because they are still the Foundation? Or are they so ruined that they lack the ability to even suspect poison?’

Seong Yu-ra was not the type to waste time with pointless conversation.

“First, the Foundation detected that Mr. Lee Seung-hoon used The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw on us. We do not know the details, but our defense system detected it, nullified the wish, and traced it back to this location.”

“That’s impressive. The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw is quite powerful.”

“We are the Foundation. So I must ask, what wish did you make?”

I told her exactly what I had wished for.

“...”

“Administrator?”

“It’s true.”

Judging by how easily she answered, she seemed to possess an ability, or an Anomaly, capable of discerning whether someone was telling the truth.

“Rookie, deactivate it.”

“...Yes.”

Kim Dong-uk took something out of his pocket. It was a small box, and he used a small metal pen to manipulate its surface with delicate, careful movements.

“What is that?”

“An Antimatter Bomb. It has been set to explode immediately if we authorize its activation or if it detects a new wave of Cognition Alteration.”

“Oh, how powerful is it?”

I should take back my earlier assessment.

“It will erase everything within a ten-kilometer radius.”

The Foundation was still the Foundation, even in ruins.

“What a relief. Those words of yours were not Cognition Alteration meant to deceive me. Otherwise, it would have exploded immediately.”

“Ha ha, that’s amusing.”

“...”

“Administrator, it has been deactivated.”

“Uh, uh. Right.”

Before they could continue, I spoke first.

“It seems you intend to rebuild the Foundation with The One Remaining Monkey’s Paw.”

“Yes. The fact that you used it means you know what it can do. Please, could you transfer it to us for humanity’s sake?”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

“Ah!”

“On one condition.”

Seong Yu-ra spoke with a resolute expression.

“If it is within our power, we will grant whatever you ask. Even if it is...”

For a moment, she seemed incredibly alluring.

‘Beautiful.’

Her flowing hair shone like silk, so lovely that my chest would ache if I touched it. Looking into her eyes made me want to spend the entire day gazing back at her.

Her slender, delicate frame made me want to hold her all day. Her scent made my heart race so much that I could not focus at all.

“Even if you want my body.”

Was this love? Perhaps it was.

“I refuse.”

But I did not want it. Love that pursued only the body without an emotional bond, I rejected it.

‘Love must consist of affection built through bonds and time, along with a union of the mind.’

It did not have to be platonic love, but I wanted at least a relationship comparable to it.

My body only reacted to the opposite sex, so I could only find such a person among women, half the population. Still, since they only had to be a woman, I would surely meet such a member of the opposite sex someday.

“...What?”

“...Huh?”

The two of them stared blankly. Kim Dong-uk was even letting the milk he had been drinking spill from his mouth.

“Uh...”

He even shifted slightly away from me, as though trying to put some distance between us.

“Excuse me, but are you gay?”

Seong Yu-ra asked.

“My body only reacts to women, so I am not homosexual.”

“Then why did you...?”

“Because what I want is emotional love rather than physical love. No matter what someone looks like, if they are someone with whom I can form an emotional connection, the physical issue can be resolved as well.”

“...”

After falling silent for a moment, she spoke.

“Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, I reviewed all your past records.”

“My records?”

“Yes. Including the records of sexual material you searched for online.”

“Are those records from when I was between thirteen and sixteen?”

She nodded.

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand their reaction.

“This is embarrassing.”

They had seen records from when I had most obsessively researched sexual love.

“Now you are talking about emotional love...?”