Surviving Among the Anomalies - Chapter 49

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 49: Intellectual Amusement

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“You’re the first.”

The first subject I chose was Rubber Rubber Duck.

Experimental design was important, so I had already decided how to proceed before beginning.

“I’ll weaken it with a Weakening Potion. Until I administer a Purification Potion, I’ll observe it at one-hour intervals to see whether the effect is permanent. After confirming the results, I’ll purify it, strengthen it with an Enhancement Potion, then repeat the process.”

Experimental design complete. I immediately dropped a single drop of Weakening Potion onto Rubber Rubber Duck.

“Oh.”

Rubber Rubber Duck, which had been the size of my fist, shrank to about half the size of my palm. Its appearance also changed from a distinctly yellow duck into a pale-yellow chick.

-Chirp!

“Not just its cry, its anomalous properties changed too.”

Its cry matched its appearance, the chirping of a chick.

Unlike before, when it cried whenever no one was watching it in the same space, it now cried when poked with a finger.

-Chirp! Chirp!

“Let’s see if it lasts.”

An hour later, Rubber Rubber Duck had not returned to normal.

“So it’s permanent.”

I dropped a Purification Potion on it. It changed back into its original yellow rubber-duck form.

“Next is the Enhancement Potion.”

When I dropped the white Enhancement Potion onto it, it became a white rubber goose ten times its original size.

-HONK!!!

Thick, dark eyebrows like pasted-on seaweed were drawn in an angry expression. Even though I was watching it and had not touched it, it let out a booming honk.

“That cry is incredibly loud.”

Its honking was loud enough to make the table it sat on vibrate.

-HONK!!!

An hour later, the effect was permanent again, so I restored it with a Purification Potion.

‘My ears feel a little muffled.’

My head hurt slightly too, so I took a short break.

-Quack!

After a quick nap, my head felt clear again. As I looked for another test subject, Dial TV for You caught my eye.

“Will this work too?”

The target was an Anomaly suspected to possess consciousness, perhaps even multiple consciousnesses.

Curious whether it would work, I dropped a Weakening Potion onto it.

‘Nothing changed.’

The instant that thought crossed my mind, I blinked. In that brief moment, the TV vanished and an old-fashioned radio took its place.

“So weakening a TV turns it into a radio.”

I turned on the radio. Once I found the frequency, a familiar man’s voice came through.

[This is Announcer, Announcer, host of Dial Radio for You. Why am I Announcer, Announcer instead of Host, Host? Because we haven’t given up on television broadcasts yet!]

It was Announcer, Announcer’s voice.

[Our first and final news report! A great misfortune will befall Lee (25), who lives on the outskirts of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province! If you don’t turn the radio back into a TV immediately, this news will become certain, and an unimaginably terrible misfortune will strike!]

[Ahhh! Senior! The station! This place is nothing but a shack!]

[Intern! Calm down!]

[Hello, this is Reporter, Reporter, a reporter unable to go on location. Today, I would like to report on the reality of radio broadcasting, which was once loved by everyone but is now treated as obsolete...]

[Ahhh! You’re all so loud!]

The radio turned off. I turned the dial repeatedly, but the broadcast did not return.

“It’s permanent this time too.”

Just before spraying it with a Purification Potion, I grew curious.

‘If I don’t change it back, some huge misfortune will come. How bad will it be?’

It would not be instant death. I needed to restore them.

Then painful misfortunes that did not threaten my life would come one after another.

Plop, plop, plop!

At the sudden noise, I looked outside.

“...So this is how it works.”

When I went outside, I found that a flock of birds had relieved themselves all over my roof before flying away.

It was not just one bird. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, had done it, turning the red roof white as if it had been painted.

‘Let’s change it back before it gets worse.’

I turned Dial Radio for You back into a TV and dropped an Enhancement Potion onto it. At first, it seemed nothing had changed, but when I blinked, the Dial TV vanished.

‘Where did it go?’

I looked around, then went into the living room and found an enormous wall-mounted TV.

‘It must be a hundred inches.’

When I turned it on, a huge studio appeared, like the flagship news program of some foreign media giant. A dazzling city could be seen through the window behind it.

“There’s no one here.”

Nobody was in the studio. Several signs occupied the space instead, each bearing a different message.

[Well, the bad luck is canceled! Haha! Sadly, since the station’s renovations are not yet complete, 「Wall-Mounted TV for You」 will be closed for the time being! -Announcer, Announcer]

[Oh! I finally have my own room! I do! I don’t have to sleep with the Snoring Demon King anymore! Hehe! Thanks, Lee! -Reporter, Reporter]

[( ღ'ᴗ'ღ ) ٩(๑>∀<๑)۶ (❁´▽`❁) -Intern, Intern]

[We sincerely thank our viewer for the support. Thanks to you, our station can deliver even more news. We promise to keep striving to provide information that helps the world, and ask for your understanding as we take a short break to expand the station and recruit new staff. -Deputy Director, Deputy Director]

[Let’s have a drink sometime. -Director, Director]

There had been five people so far?

‘I’m curious how the broadcasts will change. Hmm, I can’t watch them right away?’

Naturally, that was impossible. Instead, I tested the wall-mounted TV’s functions.

“It’s different from before.”

When it was not broadcasting prophecies, I could use it like an ordinary TV. Even though my house did not have a cable subscription, I could watch all kinds of paid channels.

‘It can receive overseas broadcasts too.’

After checking all the wall-mounted TV’s functions, I took out the Otherworld Transfer Book.

“They said not to use it on dangerous Anomalies if possible, but...”

It might be fine since it seemed friendly toward me.

‘All right, then...’

I dropped a Weakening Potion onto the Otherworld Transfer Book.

“A bookmark?”

Something like a bookmark protruded from the middle of the book.

‘Rather than changing the book itself, the Weakening Potion for the Otherworld Transfer Book creates a Derived Anomaly.’

Upon inspection, it was not a bookmark but a coupon.

[Otherworld Challenge Coupon for You]

[Do you want to go to the Otherworld? Do you want to experience somewhere more dangerous and terrifying than a soft, happy Otherworld? Do you want to challenge such a place and prove your abilities!? Then use this right now! Prove your abilities and obtain incredible prizes!]

The coupon still sent someone to the Otherworld, but it was a challenge rather than a simple transfer.

[Upon use, you will be transferred to a medieval fantasy world in your current body.]

[Upon transfer, you will learn the language of that world.]

[Upon transfer, people will not find your appearance strange.]

Up to that point, it was the same as before.

[Five to ten of the following elements will be randomly applied to the world you are transferred to.]

The characteristics of the destination world were different, though.

[1. A Demon King (not female, not a chaotic-good being who knows the world’s secrets and seeks to sacrifice itself, not cute in appearance, unable to polymorph into a woman, not kind, an evil and pure monstrous being that loves killing humans) begins invading the world the moment you are transferred.]

[2. A dreadful plague spreads throughout the world. It is a disease native to that world and does not exist in modern times.]

[3. Heretics lurk in the shadows, searching for living sacrifices.]

[4. Fallen gods become monsters and constantly threaten humanity, beginning full-scale activity the moment you are transferred.]

[5. The ruling class of every nation is extremely corrupt and incompetent.]

[6. The average morality of all humanity, including humans, Demonkind, beastfolk, elves, dwarves, and more, is below three out of ten.]

[7. Every nation begins a war. It is a war that will never stop until everyone destroys everything the others possess.]

[8. If you are male, it is a world where women are revered and men are despised. If you are female, it is a world where men are revered and women are despised.]

[9. Numerous magic-crazed mages exist and see ordinary people as nothing but test subjects.]

[10. Outer Gods exist, and they are watching the world you are transferred to.]

Every single one was a hellish condition.

[Upon transfer, you will gain ordinary talent for Mana and aura.]

[Depending on your efforts, you can awaken Mana and aura within one year.]

[Your starting location will always be safe, and there will be no outside intrusions or major incidents for one year.]

Fortunately, it offered a little help as well.

[If you survive for thirty years in that world, you win.]

Even so, I wondered who would use something like this. As expected, there was bait.

[Benefits granted upon victory.]

[1. Return to Earth one day after the time the coupon was used.]

[2. All physical and mental problems healed and restored.]

[3. One random EX-grade skill provided. Examples: Diamond Body, Heavenly Martial Physique, Copying Hand, Absolute Hypnosis, access to the Akashic Records, and more.]

[4. Eternal youth and longevity. You can live healthily to at least two hundred years old, or up to one thousand years depending on how well you manage yourself.]

[5. A bank account in your name containing one trillion won with no strings attached.]

“Hmm.”

[Would you like to use this coupon? [Seal] <- Press any finger firmly for three seconds or longer.]

Of course, it held no appeal for me at all.

“Will anyone use this?”

Someone would. I waited an hour, but the coupon did not disappear, so I decided to store it separately.

‘I can give it to someone with an unshakable spirit of challenge later, or sell it to the Mysterious Merchant.’

Next, I applied an Enhancement Potion to the Otherworld Transfer Book.

“A coupon again.”

Unlike the earlier coupon, though, this one was incredibly good.

[Possession-at-Will Coupon for You]

[Did a work you were reading suddenly go on indefinite hiatus? Do you want to enter that work’s world and become friends with its characters? Are you frustrated by the protagonist of the work you are reading and want to take their place? This is the coupon for you! Use it now!]

Rather than transferring me somewhere at random, it was a coupon that let me possess someone in a work that existed in reality.

[It can be used on comics, novels, films, animation, and more.]

[If used while the work is in front of you, you will possess someone in that work.]

[Whether the work is on indefinite hiatus does not matter. A work on hiatus will not end at that point in time. It is an existing reality, so it will continue.]

[The characters in the world you enter are not fakes like text or drawings, but living beings.]

[Deficiencies in the work’s plausibility, such as sudden acceleration, random developments, or wild swerves, will automatically be made plausible.]

[People will not find your appearance strange, and you will automatically learn the language of that world.]

“Not bad.”

On top of that, depending on my efforts, survival was guaranteed even if the work was dangerous.

[You will be granted talent equivalent to A-grade in that world.]

[A-grade talent: Talent that, depending on your efforts, can put you in the position of the protagonist’s rival or a main character.]

[It applies in every field, including martial arts, magic, academics, art, and more.]

[Would you like to use this coupon? [Seal] <- Press any finger firmly for three seconds or longer.]

Compared to the original soft, happy 5% lucky draw, its maximum potential was lower. Still, I rated it highly because its chance of survival was nearly one hundred percent and because the user could enter a work they wanted.

‘I should sell this to the Mysterious Merchant too, or give it to someone else.’

With that, I had finished experimenting on every Anomaly I possessed. I also had the Legacy of the Great Novelist, but if something went wrong with it, my identity as a Fixer would disappear, so I decided not to touch it.

‘For the same reason, I shouldn’t touch the Toy Well either.’

I still had six uses left. What should I try this time?

‘Wait, now that I think about it...’

The belt’s name was the Forgotten Alchemist’s Potion Belt.

It was an Anomaly with a premise related to alchemists.

‘Alchemy.’

If so, the being that made this belt had made it for alchemy.

‘For what purpose?’

Alchemy’s ultimate goal was creating gold, but there was another thing it was famous for.

“Creating a human without borrowing a human woman’s womb.”

Alchemists had a name for humans created that way.

“Homunculus.”