WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Surviving Among the Anomalies ◈
Chapter 92: The Forgotten Alchemist's Balance of Equivalent Exchange
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The Chief Justice’s dream was an equal judicial system.
Because the Chief Justice had no way to maintain it until humanity’s extinction, the Chief Justice entrusted the role of judges to Higher-Dimensional Anomalies, only to be erased because of it in the end.
“An equal judicial system can’t be achieved by any means.”
Those who make laws are human.
Those who enforce them are human.
Those subjected to them are human.
Humans are imperfect by nature, so no matter what method was used, loopholes were bound to appear in the end.
‘If those who make laws have loopholes, unjust laws will result. If those who enforce them have loopholes, false accusations will occur. If those subjected to them have loopholes, fraudsters will exploit gaps in the law.’
First, I made a wish to the Balance of Good and Evil.
‘May all humanity receive the fair and equal judgment of fair and equal laws.’
The balance’s will was conveyed to me.
『No time limit has been specified.』
『With your current good karma, this wish can be maintained for a maximum of 14 years, 6 months, 12 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes, and 27 seconds.』
『Will you grant this wish?』
When I shook my head, the balance’s will ceased.
“If chaos will return after fourteen years, it’s better not to try.”
At the very least, I wanted it to last until Earth was destroyed.
No, until humanity was destroyed.
‘That’s why the Chief Justice didn’t grant the wish directly.’
Even with my good karma, it would only last fourteen years. For them, there had been no answer other than Higher-Dimensional Anomalies.
“So the Balance of Good and Evil can’t do it.”
I tried taking a slight detour and asking for the location or information on an Anomaly that could grant the wish, but this time, it said I lacked the good karma to grant it at all.
“In the end, I have no choice but to use this.”
I set the Balance of Good and Evil aside, and a new balance took its place.
“The Forgotten Alchemist’s Balance of Equivalent Exchange.”
Equivalent exchange was an economic term referring to the exchange of goods of equal value, or goods and currency.
“It’s also the law of alchemy that says you must pay an equal price to obtain something.”
Putting that aside, I tried using it myself.
When I held the balance in my hand, a system message appeared in my mind.
[Welcome to the Alchemy Balance.]
[Please select the item you wish to enter.]
[1. Cost]
[2. Reward]
I selected reward.
[What reward do you desire?]
[Reward: ]
I entered the reward into the message.
I could enter the reward with my thoughts alone, and like typing on a keyboard, I could stop midway or make revisions.
[Reward: Information on the Forgotten Alchemist’s Balance of Equivalent Exchange]
[Reward has been entered.]
[The system is currently scanning for things the user can pay that have equivalent value to the requested reward. The scan may take up to 30 seconds.]
A new message appeared after only a few seconds.
[Scan complete.]
[Three means of payment have been selected that are equivalent to the requested reward and can be paid by the user.]
[Please select one of the following three payment methods.]
[1. Loss of taste for three months]
[2. Inability to sit in a chair for three months]
[3. 300 million won]
There was nothing to think about.
‘I’ll pay with number three.’
At that moment, information poured into my mind.
“...So that’s how it works.”
After retrieving Notebook in My Head, I wrote down the information that came to mind.
[The Forgotten Alchemist’s Balance of Equivalent Exchange]
[A balance made by the Forgotten Alchemist. It can exchange costs and rewards according to the law of equivalent exchange.]
[Once held in your hand, the balance’s ego will kindly assist you in using it, so do not fear using it.]
[There are two methods of use: entering the reward first and entering the cost first.]
While I was writing, I heard Sarang-i’s voice.
『Lee Seung-hoon, 300 million won has vanished from one of your accounts under borrowed names. It was neither withdrawn nor lost through an error. Its very existence has disappeared, as though the money had never been there from the start.』
The price could not be avoided.
That was what it sounded like.
[When the reward is entered first, the system checks the costs the user can pay.]
[Costs take the following forms.]
[1. Physical costs the user can pay.]
[2. Conceptual costs the user can enact.]
[3. Material costs the user can pay.]
[Costs may involve temporary loss, permanent loss, reversible change, irreversible change, and more.]
[When the cost is selected first, three rewards appropriate to that cost are selected.]
[Rewards take the following forms.]
[1. Material rewards.]
[2. Conceptual rewards.]
[3. Random rewards.]
[Rewards may include things that do not exist in the user’s dimension or things that may harm the user, so careful selection is recommended.]
In short, it was a balance that offered rewards appropriate to the cost.
Or costs appropriate to the reward.
“I should try entering the cost first too.”
This time, I entered a cost.
Among the categories of my own body, concepts, and possessions, I selected my body.
[Cost: Loss of taste for three days.]
Three types of rewards appeared.
[1. 240,000 won in cash]
[2. The ability to undergo a health examination, including an endoscopy, without fasting. Three-day duration.]
[3. One box of Buldak stir-fried noodle-flavored Choco Pies. Twelve pieces.]
I selected number three.
“It really came out.”
A red-and-black box sat on the desk.
On its surface, a chicken breathing fire from its mouth shouted, “Deliciously spicy! Buldak! Cock-a-doodle-doo!” Above it was written, “Finally released! Buldak Stir-Fried Noodles and Choco Pie Collaboration!”
“A product from another dimension, I guess?”
I tried one, but since I had paid with three days of lost taste, I couldn’t taste anything.
“Would you like to try one?”
“Huh? What is this?”
“Wow, that’s fascinating!”
I went to a park and handed them out.
Perhaps because it was such a strange collaboration product, everyone was interested.
“Argh! Spicy!”
“Wow! This isn’t just Buldak, it’s Nuclear Buldak level!”
“It’s even spicier than Nuclear Buldak! The spicy cream sticks to my tongue and won’t go away!”
The reward was genuine.
Now that I knew how to use it, it was time to achieve what I wanted.
‘The usual method won’t work. I’ll only end up following in the Chief Justice’s footsteps.’
The costs seemed to follow absolute standards.
Even with my vast amount of good karma, the Balance of Good and Evil could only grant the wish for a limited time. Equivalent exchange would likely be the same.
‘Still, I should try it once.’
For now, I simply checked.
[Reward: A world where all humanity receives fair and equal judgment under fair and equal laws until humanity’s extinction]
[Please select one of the following three payment methods.]
[1. You do not possess a physical cost that can be paid to obtain this reward.]
[2. You do not possess a conceptual cost that can be paid to obtain this reward.]
[3. You do not possess a material cost that can be paid to obtain this reward.]
[This transaction will be canceled.]
The transaction was canceled automatically.
If I lacked the ability to pay, entering a reward would not make a transaction happen.
“So perfect judicial justice really is impossible.”
It might be possible if I reduced the duration and lowered the standards of fairness and equality, but that was exactly what the current judicial system was. It would be meaningless.
‘If we lower the bar, why are we angry at a broken judicial system?’
The reason was simple.
It was exactly what the judges from the Private Judicial Relief Organization had said.
“Because evildoers are not rightly judged, and good people cannot rightfully enjoy their rights.”
Evildoers who should be punished walked around with their heads held high.
They lived wickedly, yet became richer, healthier, and enjoyed life more than ordinary people.
“Meanwhile, good people often don’t.”
Someone helps another person, suffers a head injury, falls into a vegetative state, and lives a painful life.
Someone devotes themselves to their country, only to be discarded by it like a worn-out shoe when they are injured.
Someone makes kimbap for others and gives it away for free, only to be sued over alleged food poisoning and forced to pay a large settlement.
“We want good to be rewarded and evil to be punished.”
Complete justice in the judiciary might be impossible.
But perhaps that much was possible.
[Reward: A world where good is rewarded and evil is punished]
Just as before, I lacked the ability to pay the cost.
[Reward: A world where good is rewarded and evil is punished, even if only in part]
The result was the same.
[Reward: Information on a method I can use to bring even a small measure of good being rewarded and evil being punished into the world]
At last, it succeeded.
[Please select one of the following three payment methods.]
[1. Loss of the liver, pancreas, cerebellum, diencephalon, and spinal cord]
[2. All good karma currently possessed]
[3. Permanent forfeiture of property rights. You will be unable to own property from now on.]
“A good option showed up.”
I selected number two.
I felt something within me disappear in vast amounts. A brief emptiness lingered, then faded.
“I can build up good karma again.”
And if I didn’t, so what?
Wouldn’t it be a good experience to visit hell?
‘Oh.’
Information poured into my mind.
Before long, I learned an interesting fact.
“If I offer ten drops of Enhancement Potion as a cost to the Forgotten Alchemist’s Balance of Equivalent Exchange, I can obtain one drop of Special Enhancement Potion?”
Perhaps because they were both part of the Forgotten Alchemist series, an Easter egg like this had been hidden within it.
I took out an Enhancement Potion and tried it immediately.
When I offered ten drops, one month’s worth of Enhancement Potion, as the cost, a single drop of golden liquid formed inside the potion bottle.
“And then I pour this over the Balance of Good and Evil.”
The moment the golden liquid fell onto the balance, a brilliant light burst forth.
『I am the Balance that governs the good and evil of this world.』
I couldn’t see.
Within the blinding light, the Balance of Good and Evil’s will was conveyed to me.
『Punishment for the wicked.』
『Salvation for the good.』
The light gradually faded.
As it vanished, the balance’s final will reached me.
『One person every hour.』
『An evildoer’s happiness shall vanish.』
『One person every hour.』
『The fortune taken from an evildoer shall pass to a good person.』
When the light disappeared completely, the Balance of Good and Evil vanished as well.
“It worked.”
So it meant it would take fortune from evildoers and give it to good people.
One person every hour meant twenty-four people a day, and 8,760 evildoers would become unfortunate every year.
Conversely, 8,760 good people would become happy every year.
“It isn’t perfect, but unless someone destroys the Balance of Good and Evil, it should continue.”
The next day, I came across several interesting news stories online.
[American serial killer exposed through an absurd mistake.]
[Arrived at police station dead drunk, confessed to every crime while believing it was a dream?]
I didn’t know whether it was true.
Perhaps it was simply something that would have happened by chance.
[Firefighter who had been in a vegetative state for three years miraculously experiences neural activation and can walk again.]
[A photograph of the firefighter smiling during rehabilitation.]
The world was vast, and there were many strange things in it.
Still, I wanted to believe that all of these had happened because of the specially enhanced Balance of Good and Evil.
[King of lease fraud dies of acute appendicitis on a plane while fleeing overseas.]
[Philanthropist Mr. Lee, bankrupted after being swindled by relatives, wins first prize in the lottery. “I’ll donate again. The world is still warm, isn’t it?”]
That way, I could imagine 8,760 good people smiling happily every year.
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