Chapter 25
--
[So, to sum it up, this is what happened?]
During the lockdown, the doors won't open, so you can't go outside. But you took advantage of the delivery person briefly opening the door when you ordered food.
You ordered Set A, then, the moment the door opened, drew the photo-taking anomaly's aggro with a photograph and brought it inside.
Then you fought it after agreeing, under international 1v1 rules, that the loser would become female?
As expected of our Daebung.
Anomaly hunting is Daebung.
[Comments - 10]
Anonymous 1: I understand perfectly now.
ㄴ Anonymous 3: Me too.
Anonymous 2: This has to be it ㅋㅋㅋ How can a human use mental attacks ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Anonymous 4: That's a bit exaggerated. The loser didn't agree to become female. The loser—“anomaly”—agreed to become female. Our Daebung gets offended when you call him human, you know ㅡ ㅡ
ㄴ Poster: Sorry, Daebung.. My knowledge was shallow.
Anonymous 5: Ah, I thought Daebung had used a mental attack again ㅋㅋ
ㄴ Anonymous 1: Seriously, I almost misunderstood that~
Anonymous 6: What Daebung explained: “I actually have an item that lets me use mental attacks.”
ㄴ Anonymous 6: What we understood: “Anomaly? I just beat the shit out of it.”
ㄴ Anonymous 3: The latter is correct.
--
When I explained the mental attack ability I had kept tightly hidden from the anomalies as much as possible.
The people in the community immediately began spreading a smokescreen like the one above so that the anomalies wouldn't learn anything meaningful about me.
Or maybe they just wanted to make jokes.
Either way..
‘Should I press the Return button now?’
The administrator had already finished configuring things so that I would wake up inside the house again when I pressed the Return button.
I could simply press the Return button and go back to where the others were gathered, but..
‘No. No, that's not it.’
This was Belliard Library.
And.. it was Belliard Library with a new librarian working there.
‘What if someone else is working here?’
If someone else was working here, couldn't I give that person the various pieces of information I knew?
There had already been several times when the community had saved my life, after all.
I wanted to make sure the librarian working here could also receive help from the community.
And to be completely honest..
‘Ahem.. Well, if I'm helping anyway, it would be nice if she were.. pretty.’
Now that I was living a life with a full stomach and a warm back, I had a natural desire to meet people.
And if I was going to meet someone, wasn't it only natural to hope that person would be handsome or beautiful?
When my work at Belliard Library ended, someone could suddenly open the door and emerge—a huge-breasted, black-haired, S-rank beauty from this region, for all I knew.
First, I would tell her about the Status Window and slowly get to know her—
Creak—
‘She came!’
Perhaps she needed to use the bathroom, because the librarian's door began to open even though it wasn't yet time for her shift to end.
Since things had turned out this way, I could talk to the new librarian working here—
‘A giant bug!’
Without hesitation, I pressed the Return button on the Status Window.
“...”
Through my vision as it gradually turned cloudy.. I saw a huge insect wearing a librarian's vest and walking on two legs, trudging toward the bathroom.
‘I suppose.. If they had to replace one librarian every week, the Earth wouldn't survive if they hired only humans.’
Apparently, countless different species I knew nothing about lived in this universe.
‘At this rate, furries really do exist after all.’
…
Five days passed without incident after the photo-taking anomaly died.
I ate, sold Mentality for DOLL, and snickered while reading the community.
While I couldn't upload photographs to the community, I was spending peaceful days here that were no different from the days I had spent here before.
--
[(Notice) We have confirmed that the signal of the anomaly currently checking the photo gallery has disappeared.]
--
When I immediately clicked the notice posted by the administrator..
--
[(Notice) We have confirmed that the signal of the anomaly currently checking the photo gallery has disappeared.]
We have confirmed that the signal of the anomaly whose access we had been blocking has disappeared.
After completing additional checks, we plan to reassess and experiment with whether photographs can be uploaded to the community again.
[Comments - 3]
Anonymous 1: Kyaa, the administrator really does his job well. I'll give you a two-DOLL bonus later.
Anonymous 2: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Only two DOLL? Tsk, tsk. I'll give you 20 DOLL, admin. Good work.
Anonymous 3: The administrator is seriously considering banning two people in real time right now ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
--
I had heard the rare good news that, if things went well, we might be able to use photographs in the community again.
‘What the hell does the administrator actually do?’
Whenever I saw posts like this, I found myself wondering.
I wondered how the community administrator could possess such tremendous abilities..
‘..Is he really an anomaly?’
How did the administrator, who presumably had no item that raised Mentality, take on such difficult tasks and handle them all so effortlessly?
‘What kind of ability does he have?’
To be honest, saying I wasn't curious would have been a lie.
But since other people said he wouldn't answer even if I asked, I was able to come up with various hypotheses on my own.
Of those various hypotheses, the most likely one was..
‘Maybe he gets help from anomalies.’
The administrator might be receiving help from anomalies in managing the community and maintaining security here.
There were several pieces of evidence supporting this hypothesis, but the one I considered almost certain was the reaction of the people who had found me cute for being a newbie when I was surprised that Belliard's side delivered Set A meals.
‘There's a good chance this place itself is a space where anomalies protect us.’
Each person here receives help from different anomalies.
Whether through deliveries or by buying some daily necessities with DOLL, that is.
When we went outside during Interaction, there would surely be several shops here where we could use currency.
Isn't that why the limb-restraint gallery user who mainly enjoys eating Anonymous 1 spent so much money?
‘Maybe they protect us because we're customers.’
Perhaps the community administrator pays DOLL to the anomalies protecting this place and receives various forms of help in return.
‘I should ask him later.’
Interaction would come again in three days, after all.
When that time came, I decided I would meet the administrator in person and resolve my questions about this.
‘I should eat something.’
Today, I ordered delivery through FY because I wanted to eat Set E.
Unlike usual, when the food always arrived within one or two minutes, I could tell that the delivery was a little late today.
‘What's going on? I wonder if something happened.’
So I wondered whether something busy had come up on Belliard Library's end.
After about five minutes had passed.
Knock knock knock
The knock of the Belliard Library anomaly, which had come carrying the food despite being a little late, finally reached me.
As the front door slowly began to open, I was about to thank it again for the delivery—
“Thank you again tod—”
--
:>
--
Behind the Belliard Library anomaly, something I had never seen before was being dragged along.
I could tell at a glance.
Having seen so many anomaly corpses, I could now even be certain.
The thing being dragged along by the Belliard Library anomaly.. was the corpse of an anomaly that had already died.
“Wow..”
A pure exclamation of admiration escaped my mouth.
So that's why the delivery was late.. ?
‘I thought it only worked inside the library. So it hunts outside, too..’
Of course.
The corpse had nothing in particular to do with me.
So I was about to continue building favor with a few flattering words again when..
“I'm indebted to you again.. You saved my life last time, and now you're even looking out for our safety..”
For the first time, I was able to see it.
--
#
:>
#
--
The Belliard Library anomaly looking shy, as though its cheeks had turned red from embarrassment.
‘..Why is it cute..?’
I had reached the point where anomalies actually looked cute to me.
But I rationalized that it was only natural for it to be cute, since it was the benefactor who had saved my life.
I accepted the E-Set lunchbox and carried it to the dining table.. ..Huh?
Drag.. drag.. drag..
The library anomaly dragged the anomaly's corpse into the house for me.
“..Huh?”
I was a little flustered by the Belliard Library anomaly's behavior.
But the moment it brought the corpse inside, it closed the door without hesitation and left as though its work were finished. From that, I realized..
“..Wow.. I really never imagined this..”
I had just received a gift from an anomaly.
Building favor was this important.
If I tipped now and then and always thanked it, the anomaly would deliver an anomaly corpse as a free service.
Was this that.. spirit of the service industry or something?
Anyway.
‘I really have to make a crossbow out of that guy.’
I resolved that this time, I would definitely make a crossbow out of an anomaly.
As I stared at its corpse, wondering how I could give a crossbow shape to it..
‘..What is this? Why does it look familiar?’
I realized that something about the anomaly's appearance was a little familiar.
Why?
Why would it be.. ?
I definitely didn't remember ever seeing an anomaly that looked like that.. but perhaps it was the colors that seemed familiar.
Like..
“..Huh? The photo-taking anomaly..?”
Like the photo-taking anomaly that had attacked this place five days ago.
“..No way..”
With a feeling of surely-not-surely-not, I immediately opened my inventory.
As soon as I opened it, I clicked the item I had made from the photo-taking anomaly.
--
[Half Camera]
This is a half-finished camera.
You can take photographs.
--
When I took the item out and compared its colors with those of the fallen anomaly's corpse..
“..Why is this actually the same thing?”
--
[(Notice) Please be careful]
We have confirmed that the last location of the anomaly that was attempting strange phenomena through the photo gallery is near us.
It seems to be showing signs of trying to enter this place and run amok, so everyone, please be careful.
[Comments - 18]
Anonymous 1: It came here to kill itself, huh?
Anonymous 2: Seeing it crawl in even though it knows it's going to die, I don't think it's all that smart.
Anonymous 3: Ah ㅋㅋ The one Daebung beat to death was the brains, and this guy was just a lackey ㅋㅋㅋ
Anonymous 4: Uh.. Administrator.. Uh.. Well.. Uh.. The corpse of the anomaly checking the photo gallery seems to be.. ..in my house.. (Edited) (Deleted)
ㄴ Anonymous 1: Daebung, what a joker~
ㄴ Anonymous 1: ..That was a joke, right?
ㄴ Anonymous 5: Daebung's joke skills have improved a lot ㅋㅋㅋ But it's best to refrain from jokes that might interfere with the administrator's work.
ㄴ Anonymous 5: It was a joke.. right?
ㄴ Anonymous 4: Uh.. Well.. Could you perhaps just confirm whether the coordinates where the anomaly disappeared for the last time are my house..? (Edited) (Deleted)
ㄴ Administrator: One moment.
ㄴ Administrator: ?
ㄴ Anonymous 1: The admin's broken, isn't he?
ㄴ Anonymous 6: He had been used for a long time.
ㄴ Anonymous 7: The administrator's ability: locating anomalies.
ㄴ Anonymous 7: Daebung's ability: kidnapping anomalies into his house and tearing them to death.
ㄴ Anonymous 1: That's not an ability for Daebung. Killing anomalies is his hobby.
ㄴ Anonymous 2: Ah.
ㄴ Anonymous 5: Why is this actually real????
--
After the community administrator confirmed that it really was the anomaly that had been checking the photo gallery.
Without hesitation, I immediately combined the photo gallery anomaly's corpse with the Half Camera through crafting.
‘I had been thinking about throwing away the camera since there was no way to save photographs, but now I get to use it again.’
The Half Camera item was simply a camera that could take photographs.
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find anywhere the photographs were saved, so it was an item I had left buried in my inventory because there was no reason to use an item that didn't even raise Mentality..
‘Could it be?’
Since the Belliard Library anomaly had gone out and caught the photo gallery anomaly for me.
At last, this item was about to become useful.. Huh?
--
[Sigh.. Typical Daebung]
--
When a post suddenly appeared in the community, I wondered if I had done something wrong and clicked it..
--
[Sigh.. Typical Daebung]
And then he claims he didn't kill it again.
At this point, does he think we're idiots and is he making fun of us?
[Comments - 9]
Anonymous 1: Seriously.
Anonymous 2: A fucking gaslighter. He is Ancient Daebung.
Anonymous 3: ???: “I didn't kill it, though?”
ㄴ Anonymous 4: ???: “It killed itself, though?”
Poster: Daebung, just be honest already. We won't ostracize you just because you hunt anomalies.
ㄴ Anonymous 1: It's an established academic theory that he sent a message to the note anomaly, then beat it to death at home.
ㄴ Anonymous 5: Ah! So that's what happened. I thought he used a mental attack on the note anomaly.
Anonymous 6: In a nutshell, Daebung seduced an anomaly and locked it up, huh?
ㄴ Anonymous 7: This is it.
--
No.. I mean, it's true..
I didn't kill it this time, either..
When I kill something, I say I killed it.. I say I killed whatever I killed..