Surviving Among the Anomalies - Chapter 74

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈

Chapter 74: School Ghost Stories

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The boy or girl staring into empty space snapped their fingers, then froze in that pose.

When nothing happened, the tall woman asked,

“Doctor, what are you doing?”

“I activated the 「Smacking」 function of 「Stalker Gets a Smacking」. If it had worked properly, I thought Frankenstein might have appeared at the target’s location.”

“Huh? Really? Then they’d be as good as dead.”

“Probably?”

“Why are you talking entirely in hypotheticals?”

The doctor, who looked like either a boy or a girl, let out an aggrieved, distressed sigh.

“There wasn’t enough time or budget to add the 「Smacking」 function. Isn’t that truly regrettable?”

“Then why did you strike that pose?”

“I hoped my assistant would see it and approve the budget.”

“No.”

“Well, that pose was a waste. More importantly, we should head back soon. I don’t want to stay somewhere we’re being watched by someone whose identity and purpose we don’t know.”

The space around them began to warp again.

“It’s a shame. I had already made an animal here for submission.”

“What? When did you make it?”

“When we did that special racing training before? It seems the students who attended this school liked urban legends. The high density of Information Anomalies made it such a fine environment for raising urban legend-type creatures that I ended up conducting an experiment without realizing it.”

“Then you didn’t come here to make one today?”

“That’s right. Today was its expected birth date, so I came to collect it. It’s easiest to tame it right after it’s born. Anyway, we don’t know when the stalker will disappear, and if we miss the right time, taming it will become difficult. I’ll have to make a new creature elsewhere.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame… How much did it cost?”

“Ten percent of this year’s first-half budget?”

Soon, the two figures began to fade.

“Honestly, Dr. Janus, you waste far too much!”

“Call it an unforeseen accident.”

“I’m deducting it from this month’s allowance, so keep that in mind!”

“Drat! I was going to make 「Contact Lenses That Let You See Discontinued Works Through to Their Endings」 when we got back!”

“Still no!”

＊＊＊

The sight in my right eye vanished.

‘There’s a mountain of things I want to know.’

Was that child really Dr. Janus?

What were Information Anomalies, and was the creature he had made already active?

They had mentioned urban legends earlier. Could the creature he had made be an Anomaly related to urban legends?

He had said it was easiest to tame right after it was born, but how did one do that?

‘And why did my right eye show me Dr. Janus?’

Until now, it had only appeared when I found the first sign of destruction. Was Dr. Janus’s creation dangerous enough to destroy the world?

‘Come to think of it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the world.’

The bad endings in 「Surviving Among the Anomalies」 included many kinds of destruction besides the end of the world.

‘The destruction of a city, a country, humanity, or the universe. This incident might have shown me the first sign of destruction on a city or national scale.’

I wouldn’t find an answer by worrying alone.

There was no reason to keep it secret, so I met with the others and told them what I had seen.

“Dr. Janus? I’ve never heard that name before.”

『It wasn’t even on the list of persons of interest we learned about during Foundation agent training.』

“The important thing is that someone named Janus made an Anomaly here.”

Humans were social animals. Once we shared the information among several people, things moved quickly.

“I learned about Information Anomalies from the Foundation. Information and beliefs shared by humans sometimes remain behind as information particles. Information related to terror and fear remains in the world in greater quantities and for longer. When an Anomaly’s influence or some incomprehensible force affects those accumulated Information Anomalies, an Urban Legend-type Anomaly is created.”

『They said Anomalies like Red Mask, Hasshaku-sama, and Backrooms-type Anomalies were all born that way.』

“Ho ho. They have said since ancient times that the mouth is the source of disaster. Our ancestors’ words were true after all.”

After putting together the information we had gathered, we could make a guess about the type of Anomaly here.

“Could it be a school ghost story?”

“An Anomaly related to a school legend.”

『A ghost story passed down among the students must have turned into an Anomaly.』

The problem was that the school had already closed, and there was no one connected to it here. We had no way to learn what ghost stories had existed.

“The important thing is that Urban Legend-type Anomalies depend heavily on conditions. If it’s a school ghost story, ninety-nine percent of its unusual effects will occur on school grounds, so we’ll be safe as long as we remain outside.”

『Right, and most of them happen at night. Like how King Sejong’s statue does calisthenics if you go to school late at night, or a hand holding red and blue toilet paper jumps out of the bathroom.』

“Hmm, in my day, it was the Chalk Ghost. They said that if you stayed in a classroom late at night, chalk would move on its own and write the name of the person who would die the next day on the blackboard.”

To sum it up, the Anomaly here was likely related to school legends and ghost stories, and it would probably only be active inside the school grounds at night.

“Let’s head outside for now. As long as we’re outside the grounds, we probably won’t become its targets.”

『That sounds good. Outsiders can still approach from the other side of the fence.』

“Tsk. I had hoped to exchange a few moves with a ghost.”

“Master, you can do that with Mr. Yeong-mun.”

『Huh? Me? Why?』

Dr. Janus had said that the best time to tame an Anomaly was right after it was born.

Still, there wasn’t much time left until dawn, so I followed the agents’ opinion.

“But aren’t there school ghost stories where the ghost follows you home even after you leave school?”

『Probably? Hong Kong Grandma appears at elementary schools, but they say it follows you home and kills you.』

Kim Mi-ri and Shin Yeong-mun spoke.

Other unnamed agents stood behind them, and I was with them as well.

『What if that happens here too?』

“Hmm, then we run to the Foundation. It won’t chase us across dimensions, will it?”

Kim Mi-ri, Shin Yeong-mun, and Kim Go-deuk climbed over the main gate and went outside.

The other agents followed, and I went out with them.

“……”

Then all of us climbed back over the main gate and found ourselves inside the school again.

“Well, well!”

Kim Go-deuk laughed.

“We’re trapped between a rock and a hard place!”

＊＊＊

『Aaaah! I’m a ghost! Even a ghost can’t get out!?』

Shin Yeong-mun charged through the main gate with all his strength.

Every time, he somehow ended up back inside.

We climbed over the walls and tried going through the back gate, but no matter what we did, we returned to the school.

“Contact the outside immediately! We need to find out about Deokcheon High School’s ghost stories and legends! Send an investigation request now!”

“Yes!”

Kim Mi-ri asked the other agents to prepare for confronting the Anomaly.

“If something happens, I’ll step forward first. You should focus on identifying its anomalous properties from behind.”

“Understood!”

Kim Go-deuk kept watch over the surroundings in case of an emergency.

‘They said they were all new recruits, but they’re organized and good at directing the others.’

I had heard that agents started at C-rank. That was proof of just how capable they were.

‘This might be an opportunity.’

The Anomaly here had only recently been born.

Dr. Janus had said that right after birth was the best chance to tame it.

“We can’t get through! Interdimensional communication is down!”

“What? Then we can’t get any information!”

Should I go look for the Anomaly?

At the same time, I was worried about their safety.

“You who follow the wicked, heterodox path, what are you so worried about?”

Kim Go-deuk approached me.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes. You have gained power by relying on wicked energy, so are you not one who follows a wicked, heterodox path? Anyway, why do you look so concerned?”

“I want to enter the school to investigate, but I’m worried about all of you.”

“As expected of one who follows a wicked, heterodox path, you’re foolish.”

Kim Go-deuk snorted.

“We have all prepared ourselves for death. From the moment we entered the Foundation, we were ready to lose comrades at any time, and we swore to risk our lives for humanity. Yet even when you need to move to resolve the situation, you say you can’t because you’re worried about us?”

He quietly came up behind me and pushed me forward.

“That is an insult to us. And you are in greater danger. Common sense says the inside of the school is more dangerous than the playground, doesn’t it?”

“Understood.”

Excessive consideration could sometimes be an insult to the other person.

Without realizing it, I had been insulting them.

“Then I’ll investigate.”

On my way into the school, I asked Sarang-i,

“Sarang, can’t you communicate with the outside either?”

『Yes, it is currently impossible for me as well. However, the degree of dimensional distortion differs by location. I believe it may be possible somewhere with weaker distortion.』

“Where do you think the distortion is weaker?”

『In cases like this, it is highly likely to be at the point where the distortion began, like the eye of a typhoon.』

If communication had been possible from outside, the other agents could have investigated Deokcheon High School’s ghost stories and told me about them.

‘Whether I want to learn the ghost story or tame the Anomaly, I have to enter the school either way.’

I passed the reviewing stand. Beyond its flower bed, several statues seemed to be looking down at me.

[King Sejong]

[Admiral Yi Sun-sin]

[Girl Reading a Book]

[The Thinker]

I opened the main building’s entrance and went inside, beginning my search in earnest.

“All right, let’s find it.”

＊＊＊

『Ugh, did Mr. Seung-hoon go inside?』

“Yes. He’s a Special Advisor, so he should be fine, right?”

『Probably… but that doesn’t mean it’s definitely safe outside. Should I follow him…』

“Inside or outside, it’s all the same. When have school ghost stories happened only in classrooms? The playground is no different, right?”

“Everyone, gather around.”

Kim Go-deuk called the agents together.

“Do not despair just because we cannot contact the outside. School ghost stories are superstitions that were popular among students at the time, so even if you did not attend this school, similar ghost stories must have circulated at your own schools. Everyone, share a ghost story.”

“Any of them?”

“Since we are outside right now, ghost stories that can affect the playground would be best.”

Kim Mi-ri, who had graduated not long ago, spoke.

“If it’s a ghost story common to nearly every school, it has to be that one, right?”

『What is it? Ah, wait, I think I know too!』

Kim Mi-ri, Shin Yeong-mun, and the other young agents shouted at the same time.

“The Statue Urban Legend!”

“A Statue Urban Legend? What’s that?”

“Most schools have statues, right? It’s a ghost story about those statues coming alive and moving at night.”

“Hmm, like that one?”

Kim Go-deuk pointed toward the reviewing stand.

[The language of our nation differs from that of China, and our people suffered because of it. Therefore, I created Hangul.]

King Sejong’s statue looked down at them.

“Oh no!”

“A preemptive strike wins!”

Kim Go-deuk was the first to kick off the ground.

“Blood Flower Flame Cannon: Metal!”

His fist struck the statue, and a thunderous boom like an explosion rang out. Yet Kim Go-deuk was the one thrown back, while King Sejong’s statue was completely unharmed.

“Urgh! It’s harder than ten-thousand-year cold iron!”

[Then I ask you, my people, are you using Hangul properly?]

Shin Yeong-mun shouted faster than anyone else.

『Yes! We are using it well! Thank you very much, King Sejong! It would have been so difficult to live without Hangul! Because Hangul exists, we have learned and gained understanding, living rich and fulfilling lives!』

[Hmm. That is truly fortunate.]

At King Sejong’s response, the other agents shouted as well.

“Long live Hangul! Long live King Sejong!”

“Damn it, Hangul! I really love you!”

“Hangul is the writing system that shocks America and makes Japan jealous!”

After nodding in satisfaction for a long while, King Sejong opened the scripture he held.

It was clearly a scripture made from a single piece of cast bronze, yet its pages turned like those of a real book.

[Then from this moment on, I shall administer a test.]

Before anyone noticed, all the agents were seated at desks as if they were taking an exam.

[If you truly love Hangul, surely you are confident in dictation? One hundred questions, one point per question. The passing score is seventy.]

Thump, thump!

King Sejong loomed right before them, moonlight casting a massive shadow.