Surviving Among the Entities

A month had passed since advertising that I would send those who wished to other worlds. Many people came, but those who did come turned back out of fear of death, and ultimately only ten people remained until the very end to head to another world.

‘The preparation I had them do was worthwhile.’

Still, out of those ten, three died – achieving a 70% survival rate.

‘The three who died simply lacked luck in the beginning.’

Since making the survival rate 100% was impossible, I could only attribute it to their luck.

“Isn’t that just how life goes?”

I brushed off the bitterness and leisurely drank tea in my office.

‘The tea aroma is nice.’

-Quack!

Until recently I had only known black tea through knowledge, never experiencing it. But after having a tea party with the Suspicious Merchant, I had developed a taste for it.

“That’s why experience is important.”

Don’t just pass by without experiencing things. Who knows if it could become your favorite?

‘But why haven’t I received any news?’

Eating a cucumber sandwich with Marmite, I searched my name online.

[Is it true that the resolver Seung-hoon Lee can send people to other worlds? If so I’m going right away lol harem protagonist at an academy setting! Highly skilled headmaster who can’t lay a finger on his students! Absolute princess who falls for a commoner classmate! Top-tier world’s strongest but suffers trauma from her past, senior female professor harem protagonist!]
└[You believe that shit? Delusional levels.]
└[I heard he even gives out gold as a gift just for going.]
└[Obviously a scam. Looks like someone is taking advantage of Seung-hoon’s name.]
└[But if it’s Seung-hoon, maybe it’s possible? He is a resolver after all.]
└[It might actually be possible, since he’s a resolver.]
└[??? Who is Seung-hoon? Why is everyone spouting nonsense???]

There were occasional posts about the other world transfer service. The accepted truth of me being a ‘resolver’ naturally spread among people, but there were still few who came to find me.

‘Ordinarily curiosity alone should bring people over.’

I spoke to the plain black book sitting on my desk.

“Was this your doing too? Did you work some trick so only those truly resolved could come?”

There was no answer.

‘But that’s not the important thing.’

The important thing was that my existence as Seung-hoon was becoming known through the internet.

[I want to meet the resolver Seung-hoon Lee. If I report an unusual, surreal incident, will he rush over right away? I really want to meet him.]
└[Calling him over frivolous matters could anger him. And while not legally a crime, making false reports to summon a resolver is unethical.]
└[Ah, right. That’s just common sense.]
└[??? What novel? Game? Story are you all talking about?]

It was clearly an unusual situation. The non-existent occupation of ‘resolver’ was becoming accepted truth, but since not everyone knew it yet, the two truths were clashing.

‘In this situation, it’s suspicious that they haven’t made a move.’

I muttered their name in a low voice.

“The Foundation.”

The organization that protects humanity from dangerous entities.

“Why are they being so quiet?”

As I had thought before, creepypastas fundamentally cannot happen in reality.

‘In modern society with dense social networks, major incidents are easily exposed.’

As such, mass killings, mass disappearances, mysterious accidents, monster sightings – all would inevitably spread publicly, acting as a catalyst to reveal the existence of unfathomable beings.

‘And yet in the genre’s worldview, the reason people can remain unaware.’

Is because there are those who isolate and protect humanity from dangerous beings. Hiding in the shadows of the world, they safeguard humanity from dangerous beings and conceal information to preserve our peaceful daily lives.

‘In “Surviving Among the Entities” there was such an organization too.’

Manipulating media with power transcending nations to cover up incidents.
Isolating and destroying dangerous entities with force transcending nations.
Achieving their desires with wealth transcending nations.
Occasionally adjusting the world with abilities transcending nations.

‘Called the “Humanity Preservation Foundation”.’

An organization abbreviated as “The Foundation”.

‘In the wiki setting, they were extremely powerful.’

Not only controlling and isolating numerous entities, but sometimes using entities to block or destroy other entities, or using entities to provide positive aid to humanity.

‘However, they were also portrayed as a fanatical organization willing to do anything to protect humanity.’

Of course, they appeared in the game as well. Particularly, their strength changed randomly whenever starting a new game, an element that influenced the game’s difficulty and playstyle.

‘If the Foundation’s power was weak, the probability of dangerous entities appearing increased.’

Instead, the probability of receiving their aid or cooperation rose, and you could further challenge the hidden route “Towards Administration” to become a member protecting humanity.

‘Conversely, if the Foundation’s power was strong, the probability of dangerous entities appearing decreased.’

Instead, since the user’s ability to survive against entities was judged as an entity-like ability itself, the Foundation would move to eliminate or isolate you, making them an enemy to face.

“I was curious how they would move if they became reality.”

Avoiding them as much as possible would be ideal, but eventually we were bound to meet. So I had expected them to reveal themselves through this incident, but there had been no news until now.

‘The Omnipotent Gold Corporation had said those troublesome guys kept interfering, which was why they periodically changed locations. They must have meant the Foundation.’

In the game too, if the Foundation’s power was strong they would attack the Omnipotent Gold Corporation to hinder trade.

‘But the reason they haven’t come for me…… I don’t know.’

They would come eventually.

‘Speaking of which, they said they would provide their location if I moved addresses.’

I took out the business card I had received from the Omnipotent Gold Corporation. There was no location listed on it whatsoever, only blanks.

‘Considering their original location wasn’t recorded either and was just blank space, does that mean they are completely unreachable?’

Why haven’t those gold-crazed entities contacted me yet?

‘I don’t know about that either.’

It wasn’t a problem with an available answer, only leading me into a labyrinth if I thought about it more. After quietly finishing my tea, I put Rubber Rubber Duck and the Other World Transfer Book into a bag.

“Time to call it a day.”

Returning home, I conversed with Singu Hwerang through the toy well.

[Ugh, I’m going crazy. I had only heard rumors, but Final School’s assignments are really this demanding! 76 hours in a day feel insufficient!]
[If you’re too busy, you can pause our trade schedule for a while.]
[No, learning is nice but money is nicer.]

Afterwards, I leisurely showered then lay down on the bed.

“……”

One possibility came to mind.

‘The bad endings appearing in the game impact not just the user, but the entire worldview itself.’

Starting small with the death of a single user, to city annihilation, national annihilation, humanity annihilation, world annihilation, Earth annihilation, and even universal annihilation.

‘While national annihilation is one thing, for annihilation above the level of humanity, even the Foundation could not avoid being impacted.’

If they did survive, they would somehow restore the world, so the word ‘annihilation’ would not have been used.

‘That means in bad endings above the level of humanity’s annihilation, the Foundation is ultimately annihilated too.’

If the game became reality, how would scenarios above the level of humanity’s annihilation unfold?

‘The world is annihilated by a powerful entity, and the Foundation belatedly tries to respond but fails.’

Or the Foundation tries to respond first but fails, ultimately leading to the world’s annihilation.

‘The latter possibility is overwhelmingly higher.’

From investigating the Foundation’s abilities through the “Towards Administration” route, there were even entities like Dial-A-TV that could warn of future threats, so calamities above the level of humanity’s annihilation should be easily foreseeable.

‘In other words, the current Foundation suffered irreparable damage while trying to counter a calamity above humanity’s annihilation level, which is why they lack the capacity to come for me?’

Then is a calamity exceeding humanity’s annihilation happening somewhere unknown to me?

“……”

Unable to sleep, I went up to the rooftop. Smoking a cigarette, I browsed internet communities on my smartphone to try gleaning some information.

[Found something strange on InBang lol Seems like a magician? Doing some magic?]
└[I’ve been watching too, his skills are insane lol He might change the history of Korean magic.]
└[Drop a link so I can go watch.]

I thoroughly checked one community.

[Today’s HahKo streamer performing magic.jpg]
└[Woah, what is that? Levitation? How did he do that magic?]
└[So strange. What’s the trick?]
└[Typical Korean unable to enjoy magic as magic lmao Please just appreciate it like foreign fans do.]

I checked another community as well.

[Wow, will this person escape from HahKo soon? The content is completely bizarre.]
└[He only does magic, what’s so bizarre about it?]
└[No no, the magic is seriously next level, David Copperfield jaw-dropping stuff.]
└[Ok boomer…….dentures clacking!]

And another community.

[Today’s new streamer BJ SungJwa stills.jpg]
└[Did ice come from his hand?]
└[No, this isn’t magic but actual sorcery, right?]
└[He also made fire appear besides this lol]
└[But why is he called both BJ and streamer?]
└[He’s broadcasting on both HahKo and YouTube simultaneously.]

‘……’

I searched “BJ SungJwa”. Finding the broadcast site and address, I immediately accessed it.

“Brothers! Sisters! Thank you for coming! Now, as the sole avatar blessed by the constellations gracing this earth, I will demonstrate sorcery!”

Beyond the screen, a man around my age wildly waved his hands.

“Hoyt! Hoyt!”

Flames continuously spewed from his right hand, while trailing icicles fluttered from his left, leaving long tails in their wake.

“Asking what the trick is? Ay, there’s no trick. This is all real sorcery!”

Chills ran down my spine.

“Huh? If I learned it from Slytherin? Haha, mirror dimension! Just kidding, ah, I don’t even know how many times I’ve explained this but should I leave it as a notice? Let me explain again. I did not transfer to another world! Nor did I learn sorcery from some secret society! Although I did deal with a secret society! But I’ll talk about that later……”

The man on screen snapped his fingers. The scene instantly changed to a night sky, the man now floating in the air as he smiled at the camera.

“I am the sole avatar chosen by the constellations gracing this earth.”

The chat exploded with comments. From my enhanced eyesight, I could see half still did not believe him.

“How am I being filmed in the sky, you ask? Simple. Technique! I instantly teleported while using sorcery to switch the camera to a drone camera. Anyway, I am a real sorcerer. More precisely, I am the avatar of the constellations who can even use sorcery.”

The man’s face was unfamiliar to me.
But the keyword “constellation” was stored in my memory.

“Haah, broadcasting like this really feels refreshing. The truth is, until recently I’ve been struggling. I wanted to follow the constellations’ will and bring peace to the world, but this strange secret society called the Foundation? Or whatever, tried to kill me! Seriously wow, alien-level technology? Weapons with bullets like nukes, psychics, monsters, wow! How do I even explain it?”

A stubbornly principled game developer.

“I nearly died so many times before barely surviving, you know? Conversely, I completely stripped them down too. Couldn’t eliminate them entirely, but I think I can take care of the rest when I have time later.”

Who one day created an entity.

“Alright, I’ll take questions now! Ask me anything you’re curious about!”

Saying “You all keep asking me to add that munchkin Mary Sue entity to the game when creating new entities, but there’s such a thing as boundaries. Every time, I couldn’t help but make an entity representing my feelings into the game.”

The man spoke.
As did I.

“The constellation’s name is Munchkin Mary Sue!”
“Munchkin Mary Sue Constellation.”

I couldn’t stop chain-smoking.

‘Right, this isn’t the game anymore.’

Appearance probability 0.000012%.
The same probability as winning the lottery grand prize.

‘Probability is meaningless. Its existence is its appearance.’

Effect upon appearing: After 5 turns, Earth annihilation.

“Hmm.”

An extremely low appearance probability, but no way to stop it once appeared.
Its very existence was meant as an achievement unlock, a taunt against users who wasted lottery-level luck to create the Munchkin Mary Sue entity.

“No matter how I think about it……”

By the time I had finished chain-smoking an entire pack of cigarettes, I had reached a conclusion.

“There seems to be no way to survive.”