TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: posted in discord
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The next day was a weekday. Since Yeonwoo didn't have a ho, he stayed in the investigation team's building, arriving early at his desk and sitting in front of the computer.
'Didn't they say my security clearance had increased?'
In the office, bathed in morning sunlight, only the sound of Yeonwoo clicking his computer could be heard.
As he logged into the company system, all the asures and responses related to Pluto's contamination were visible at a glance. From the most recent docunts to the initial discovery.
'The observatory staff should be fine.'
The unaffected employees were to be reassigned to other departnts, while those who had beco anomalous entities were apparently isolated in appropriate departnts.
For example, an employee who loved stargazing and had beco a telescope-like entity was going to a space observation facility.
'The satellite weapon incident was handled as a teorite fall. False information was spread, and it beca just another news story people glance over.'
For the mist appearing on Earth, the outco was relatively good.
After a mont's hesitation, Yeonwoo clicked his mouse. He went back to earlier docunts to look at the research records on Pluto's mist. He had a question.
'Why did the mist that appears when observed show up on Pluto?'
Long records of exploration, experints, and counterasures. Quickly flipping through pages and skimming keywords, Yeonwoo finally found the information he wanted.
"It was because of the company..."
His expression turned strange.
Extraterrestrial teorites that fell on Pluto and Earth.
Following the procedure for dealing with extraterrestrial anomalous entities, the company sealed the teorite on Earth and sent an exploration ship to Pluto.
While searching for the teorite's origin on Pluto, they observed a small amount of mist that had survived a star's explosion, and the mist was summoned to Pluto.
The exploration team quickly reported its characteristics, and the company blocked Pluto's observation by applying noise. They occasionally sent explosives to prevent the contamination from spreading.
Yeonwoo clicked his tongue.
"They're just a bunch of troublemakers."
Investigating and nearly blowing up Pluto. The observatory researcher not receiving the notice, trying to observe Pluto out of curiosity and exploratory spirit despite it not being part of his job.
They work hard, but it seems they cause just as many accidents.
Anyway, he'd just looked at the records out of montary interest. Yeonwoo took his hand off the mouse and leaned back deeply in his chair.
His unfocused eyes stared into space, lost in thought.
'Contamination. Self-awareness. What should I do?'
Although the observatory was gone, he'd gained a lot. He'd wielded enough power and senses to survive while contaminated, and experienced the level he could reach in the future.
Above all, the side effects of the dice. The lost sense of self and the overwhelming wave of information.
'Honestly, I don't mind becoming an anomalous entity. But I need to remain myself. Being swayed by power would be a weakness too.'
Tap, tap, tap, he drumd his fingernails on the desk. Yeonwoo sank into deep thought. Various thods flashed through his mind.
'Should I keep grasping the possibility of maintaining self-awareness? No, that's unrealistic.'
It might work for a while, but in the long run, he'd still lose his sense of self. It was like trying to quench thirst with seawater.
Yeonwoo lowered his head. He looked at his own body. The contamination that had risen in opposition when the dice's contamination had run wild.
He muttered in a dubious voice.
"Human Qualification Certificate?"
If that thing stating "This entity is human" was also an anomalous entity, and if it caused contamination that fixed one as human...
"But that alone feels a bit insufficient..."
At that ti, the contamination had also run wild. And in the future he'd seen then, the dice's contamination had ultimately prevailed.
"Ah, my head."
Yeonwoo frowned, his head aching.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. His mind, already tired, lost focus, and random thoughts popped up haphazardly.
Disorganized thoughts. Ideas that ca up by chance. Among the notions that bubbled up and disappeared like foam, one shone.
'Is sothing like survival instinct also an anomaly?'
Yeonwoo sat up straight. His eyes sparkled. Lightning struck in his mind.
"Ah. Oh."
A strange exclamation of realization escaped his lips.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seed. The abilities that had manifested so far weren't just superhuman strength appearing in crisis situations.
It surpassed the urban legend about cockroaches' IQ rising to 340 when they sense danger. On top of that, hadn't he even detected the house's attack and countered it with an eraser in the house where you die if you ██?
'If this is right, it's actually better.'
It was safer and more suitable than the dice. It matched his preferences and personality, and it shouldn't be a power he couldn't handle.
Unable to contain his excitent, Yeonwoo sprang up from his seat. His face flushed red as he paced around the empty office.
At this mont, Yeonwoo's experience as a company employee and the classified information he had seen blended together, opening a limit to his perception that had been closed.
A new path.
"It doesn't have to be the dice. I don't need to be omnipotent or powerful. It's enough just to survive."
As he muttered to himself, Yeonwoo's eyes suddenly lit up.
"If survival instinct is an anomaly. If I could reach Danger Level 6 with survival instinct."
That power shown by the dice, Golden Omnipotence, the Association President. If he could obtain the power to move the world at will and fix the future through survival instinct.
Yeonwoo, who had been moving restlessly, stopped in place and murmured like a drear.
"This is it. An existence that doesn't die. Dangerous realities move away, and it heads towards a future where survival is guaranteed."
The dice? Not needed. It's just a nuisance that contaminates one's sense of self and brings danger through failures and critical failures.
'Rather, if I reach Level 6 with survival instinct, the possibility of being in danger will move away, so only results favorable to will co out. It's enough to use it as a tool.'
Yeonwoo decided to walk a different path from his future self. A more suitable path.
At that mont.
The door swung open and the team leader arrived for work. He strode in but stopped when he saw Yeonwoo.
Yeonwoo was jumping up and down in place, pacing, and grinning to himself in excitent.
The team leader discreetly averted his gaze.
"Well. Yes. That can happen when you're alone."
"Ah, I just had a good idea. ...How was your lecture?"
Yeonwoo hurriedly changed the subject, feeling embarrassed, and the team leader took off his thick padded jacket.
"Nothing special. Just talked for two hours and ca back."
Then Yoo Ji-yoo arrived for work, and the Anomaly Investigation Team's day began.
---
---
Yeonwoo stared blankly at his computer desktop. He couldn't focus on work, unable to escape his other thoughts.
'How do I reach Danger Level 6 with survival instinct? Is it even possible? Do I need to borrow the dice's power?'
At tis like this, there's no friend as reliable as the dice. The last resort that creates miracles, a dependable secret weapon that protects life.
Couldn't he use the dice to realize the possibility of survival instinct being at Danger Level 6?
'6 feels impossible, but it'd be great if it worked. ...If I could raise the dice, rain, certificate, and instinct all to Level 6, wouldn't I be invincible? Ah, if that were possible, the Artist Association or the Club would've mass-produced them already.'
As he was lost in thought, Yoo Ji-yoo suddenly made a sound of surprise.
"Isn't this about you, Yeonwoo?"
"Huh?"
Yeonwoo snapped back to reality. Yoo Ji-yoo spoke as if she couldn't believe it.
"There's a story about you on the company intranet. Wait, what did you do on that request yesterday?"
"Well, one departnt did get wiped out..."
Yeonwoo scratched his cheek and logged into the intranet. He imdiately saw the post Yoo Ji-yoo ntioned.
Don't request anything from the Gambling Eradication Center, an employee who loves the night sky did a joint experint with that center, and that day the departnt disappeared....
Now only ruins remain where the departnt was, reporters looking for a story are prowling around like wolves, and the unaffected employees are all waiting for reassignnt.
Yeonwoo made a dumbfounded expression.
"I an, I was the trigger, but it happened because of the company's mistake."
Those words. The fact that he didn't deny it and made excuses suggested the exaggerated post wasn't far from the truth. Yoo Ji-yoo quietly pushed her chair away, distancing herself from Yeonwoo.
"...Did it really turn into ruins?"
"Well, so dangerous material leaked, so they had to do sothing like a bombing."
Yoo Ji-yoo was silent for a while, then looked at the team leader.
The team leader had an expression that said he'd expected this, but suddenly he started tapping his fingers on the desk nervously.
'Our office isn't going to explode too, is it?'
How many things had Yeonwoo blown up? He went for interrogation and got robbed by the Club's spy, went to the Intelligence Departnt and a doomsday cultist with an eraser attacked, and even the apartnt building and shelter he was living in peacefully got destroyed.
At this point, it'd be stranger if the office remained intact.
The team leader spoke hurriedly.
"Security staff. We have anomalous equipnt in our building too, should we request security personnel?"
Investigators mainly worked in the field, and since there was no important information or anomalous entities in the building, they didn't have dedicated security guards.
But with anomalous equipnt being supplied, they now t the conditions to request them.
Yoo Ji-yoo opened her mouth to speak but then shook her head.
"I don't think it'll make a difference. ...Yeonwoo, quickly choose the next request! It's the center's first month, we need to work hard!"
Her intention was transparent. If it's a bomb that's going to explode anyway, place it outside. Pass the danger to soone else.
Yeonwoo was about to say sothing in response to this truly investigator-like thinking, but he held back.
'I'm still eating and sleeping here until I find a place to live.'
Yeonwoo looked at the Gambling Eradication Center's request list as if following Yoo Ji-yoo's words. He blinked.
Overnight, the list of requests had shrunk. Perhaps having heard about the observatory incident, several departnts had cancelled their requests.
Of course, there were still new requests coming in. People who still wanted to gamble with the dice. Or ssages sent like this:
- There's a doomsday cultist in your heart. We know. You've caused more damage than most doomsday cultists. Stop deceiving your heart, break free from the company's shackles, and beco a true doomsday cultist.
A recruitnt attempt from the doomsday cultists.
'What nonsense!'
Yeonwoo recoiled in shock and imdiately hit reject, then browsed the list looking for rewards he needed.
'I probably can't find a way to protect my sense of self while resisting contamination. It'd be good to have, though. Since the dice is certain.'
Then he suddenly saw an interesting request. It was a new one, and the term "blessed child" caught his eye.
[Dice Experint Request]
- Wouldn't it be innovative if we could control the risks of the dice? Couldn't it be safely used in all sorts of experints? If a child blessed with luck is nearby, wouldn't unfortunate results not happen?
The ssage continued at length after that.
Our researchers see the dice as a tool for experints, so we decided to find a way to use it well, and so on.
But Yeonwoo was purely interested in the blessed child. Not for the dice, but for himself.
'Wouldn't accidents stop happening if an entity like that was next to ?'
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