Anomaly-12: Chairs of Arrogance and Rage

Riiiing~ Riiiing~

The new alarm clock I'd gotten last night started blaring with a deafening roar.

"Urghhh..."

I groaned in agony at the noise, reluctantly peeling myself away from the cozy blankets and bed.

I shuffled straight over to the alarm clock and shut off the obnoxious ringing.

-Meeeong...

Now that Baekgu's threat level had dropped enough that they finally allowed him to stay overnight with me, he'd fallen asleep beside me—but now he stirred with a tired look, yawning hugely.

I rubbed his fur gently with my hand and said,

"Puppy!"

-Meeeong...

"Time to snag those square blocks!"

There was a good reason I'd gotten up so early today.

It was the day I was scheduled to face off against the mysterious Anomaly-12.

I stroked Baekgu's fur while flashing a big circle sign at the CCTV camera peering down at me.

A moment later—

-Chiiiik.

The heavy iron door slid open with a hiss, and the heavily armed agent uncles greeted me.

"Hiya!"

I thanked the hardworking agent uncles for the day by placing a hand on my belly and bowing deeply.

"..."

They were still doing their best to avoid talking to me directly, but since we'd seen each other so often lately, they weren't as guarded as before. I was satisfied with that.

Emboldened, I declared cheerfully,

"Alright, let's head out...!"

Clack-clack-clack.

Even in their bulky suits, their footsteps were perfectly synchronized without a single waver.

I enjoyed the eye candy of their flawless marching as we kept walking.

About twenty minutes later?

"Ughhh... this place is too faaaar..."

My legs were starting to ache, and walking was getting tough.

What kind of base was this huge, anyway?

I pouted and grumbled.

Then Baekgu, walking beside me, let out a woof.

And wagged his back invitingly.

Wait... no way...

"You want me to ride on your back...?"

Baekgu nodded, as if confirming I'd gotten it right.

A dog offering his back like that? In this world?

I never passed up an opportunity like this.

"Up we go!"

I quickly placed my hands on Baekgu's back and hopped on.

-Woof!

Sure, my body had shrunk, but he still had to carry the full weight of a person.

Even if my Baekgu was tough as nails, it had to be a hassle—but he marched forward steadily without complaint.

"You're amazing...!"

A dog carrying a person like this? If I could post it on SNS, we'd be instant stars.

"..."

The agent uncles walking around us shot uneasy glances our way.

Such kind uncles, worried I'd fall off.

I reassured them brightly.

"Our puppy's ride is super comfy! No need to worry!"

"..."

"Let's go! Puppy!"

Being escorted by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all these armed uncles made me feel like some conquering lord—it was thrilling.

As we chatted away with Baekgu, a nameplate reading [Anomaly-12] came into view.

"Good job! Puppy!"

Arriving at the destination, I hopped off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my trusty autonomous ride and stood on tiptoes to peer inside the containment cell.

The interior was decked out like a middle or high school classroom, with the two chairs I'd seen in the briefing facing away from each other.

It seemed a bit lacking for containing an anomaly, but...

According to the report Han A-young had given me ahead of time, this anomaly posed no problem as long as you didn't sit in those chairs.

Trusting that, I nodded to the agent uncle preparing to unlock the door.

He immediately started the authentication process.

A moment later—

-Rumble rumble thoom.

With a majestic groan, the sealed iron door slowly creaked open.

Once it was fully open and I'd stepped inside, it sealed shut behind me.

For a normal anomaly, the agents would come in with me, but for this one, it was actually safer if I went alone.

Anomaly-12 was the real-world manifestation of that old urban legend about the 1st and 2nd place chairs.

Those chairs induced an overwhelming urge in nearby people to sit in them—and the moment someone sat in both the 1st place and 2nd place chairs, the anomaly's effect triggered.

The moment it triggered, the sitters were assigned roles as 1st and 2nd place naturally.

The one assigned 1st place became arrogant and nitpicky, with skyrocketing self-esteem, obsessive cleanliness, and a massive intelligence boost.

The 2nd place assignee lost all anger control, developed extreme hostility toward the 1st placer, and got a huge physical ability upgrade.

Of course, these buffs lasted only a month before fading, but I'd heard the Agency was very interested in them.

There were plenty of anomalies that helped humans, but ones that directly boosted intelligence and physical prowess were rare.

They said they were sending me just for intel-gathering this time, but the ultimate goal was probably negotiating with the two spirits attached to it for side-effect-free buffs.

Since I'd taken the mission, my top priority was securing those spirits' cooperation.

And if I exceeded expectations...

The dream of unlimited internet...!

I might even score unlimited internet access in my containment cell.

"Ahem..."

Imagining that happy future, I forced my smile down and stood before the two lonely chairs.

Arms crossed confidently, I shouted,

"Let's negotiate!"

-...

But no response came.

A twinge of embarrassment hit me, but I'd known it wouldn't reply right away.

Instead of getting discouraged, I closed my eyes.

Trying to sense the dark energy.

Wriggle. Wriggle.

Focusing my senses with eyes shut, I felt it—the dark energy.

That dark, sticky aura.

'First things first, let's peel it off.'

Like with the other anomalies, I planned to strip away the dark energy and leave just the core.

But...

'Urk... why is it so tough?'

I managed to grab the dark energy, but it wouldn't tear off easily.

I was definitely hitting it, but the resistance was fierce—meaningful progress seemed impossible no matter how hard I tried.

"Ughhh..."

You need the courage to admit the impossible quickly.

Acknowledging that my current power wasn't enough to rip it off, I started thinking of alternatives.

-Woof woof!

Invisible to me now, but Baekgu could apparently see them—he was barking furiously at thin air.

-Grrrr...

He rarely bared his teeth anymore since I'd thoroughly tamed his dark energy, so seeing him like that meant he was in a stare-down with the spirits.

'I need to see their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faces to even talk...'

You can't negotiate without knowing the other side's intentions.

But Anomaly-12 wasn't even showing up, let alone negotiating.

"Umm..."

How could I make Anomaly-12 reveal itself...?

As I pondered, I remembered the crayons I always carried in my pocket.

The ones I'd used last time to list items on my sketchpad for the CCTV.

Just in case I needed to write something.

Maybe they'd come in handy now.

"Hmm..."

After a brief hesitation, I pulled out a crayon.

The 1st place role caused obsessive cleanliness.

The 2nd place one wrecked anger control.

Would they really stay hidden if I graffitied all over their precious seats?

"Worth a shot!"

I decided to give it a try.