Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Anomalous Phenomena Tear People Apart
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I'm still haunted by the shock of that day.
Not just me—every living soul on the planet feels the same.
Ten years ago, that summer.
[Anomalous Phenomenon] and [Item]s burst into the world without a single warning.
Humanity had no clue what they really were.
But one thing was crystal clear.
Anomalous Phenomena and Items...
...completely ignored every universal scientific law we'd ever known.
It was the moment when thousands upon thousands of laws—painstakingly pieced together over centuries, twisting our bodies and minds in the process—came crumbling down in a single day.
The terror of something utterly beyond human comprehension was indescribable.
But as if some god had reached out with a saving hand...
At the exact moment Anomalous Phenomena and Items appeared, a select few humans evolved into Awakeners.
These Awakeners mustered their courage, reaching out to touch the Items and Anomalous Phenomena. Before long, humanity reached two conclusions.
Anomalous Phenomena led us down the path to extinction—they were toxic.
Items, on the other hand, were to our advantage.
If one word could sum up an Anomalous Phenomenon...
It was disaster.
Popping up randomly across the globe, they reduced cities and villages to literal wastelands.
Crimson thunderclouds rained down not water, but a sticky, viscous dark red blood.
This blood melted everything it touched—people, buildings, nature...
A massive wormhole, fifty meters wide, sucked in the shadows of everyone nearby.
Those stripped of their shadows could no longer face the sun.
A gigantic bloodshot eye sprouted on the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The eye watched people. It dominated them. It drove them insane.
The Han River turned pitch black overnight, like the River Styx from Greek and Roman myth.
Thousands of black hands burst from the water, dragging passersby under to drown.
Anomalous Phenomena transcended human understanding and imagination by leaps and bounds.
No knowledge or technology we had could combat them.
But what kind of creature is humanity?
Our adaptability and survival instincts surpass any animal on Earth.
To conquer Anomalous Phenomena, we didn't need science or military might.
We needed Awakeners and Items.
Armed with superhuman power, Awakeners used Items as tools to resolve one Phenomenon after another.
Ironically, Items got their official name because they matched the traits of 'items' from video games exactly.
Weapons, accessories, clothes, tools—they came in all forms with all sorts of effects.
And they became humanity's one and only powerful salvation against Anomalous Phenomena.
Ten years can change mountains and rivers.
Now, humanity could somewhat handle the endless stream of Anomalous Phenomena using Awakeners and Items.
Peace had arrived after just a decade.
How peaceful is it now?
Peaceful enough that nobodies like me—no Awakeners—could dig for boogers without a care, binge-watching VTuber streams, free from the fear of being swallowed by a Phenomenon.
At first, I thought, The world's kinda doomed anyway, so what's the point of doing anything?
But that mindset didn't last.
Sure, great power comes with great responsibility.
But what difference could one puny, powerless guy like me make, even if I stepped up?
Nah, I'll just keep living my worthless life, glued to VTuber streams.
Thanks, Awakeners. You've got this.
The Anomalous Phenomena are in your hands—rest easy, folks.
...
...
...
"..."
But then.
What the hell is that black smoke right in front of me?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I've seen posts like this before.
📰 Breaking News Title: What If You Actually Encounter an Anomalous Phenomenon Nickname: Anonymous 💬 Comments (32+) — Anonymous Just die. — Anonymous Die lol — Anonymous Make a big resolution or something. — Anonymous Just die, what else you gonna do? — Anonymous Just report it to the Anomalous Phenomenon Containment Office, right? Why's everyone freaking out? — Anonymous ↳ Reply Lmao, clueless noobs always yapping ↳ Reply Phenomenon looks like a total joke? ↳ Reply For real lol. Think you could even twitch a finger if you met one? — Anonymous Encountering one for real? Pointless hypothetical from the start. — Anonymous ↳ Reply Yeah. They only spawn in designated zones anyway. ↳ Reply Higher chance of winning the lottery jackpot lol ↳ Reply Lion vs tiger, who's stronger? Bat-wielding baseball player vs monster-physique MMA fighter, who wins? Total nonsense like that. Oh wait, lions and tigers don't even throw down in the wild lol ⭐ Top Comment — Anonymous The baseball player with the bat is stronger. — Anonymous What bullshit lol. Dodge the swing, choke him out, game's over. — Anonymous Ugh, these idiots at it again As communities always are.
It was just a dumb humor post, like 'Would you lick your friend's balls for 10 billion won?'—a situation that'd never happen in reality.
For regular folks like me, witnessing an Anomalous Phenomenon was practically impossible.
Unlike the old days,
humanity had learned to channel them into specific zones using Awakeners and Items.
...But.
This black smoke surrounding me at my desk...
Anyone could see it was an Anomalous Phenomenon.
Guess I was a traitorous scum who sold out my country in a past life.
How else could one just pop up out of nowhere in a regular home?
If I'd somehow wandered into a Phenomenon zone, that'd be one thing.
But this is my house.
A bolt from the blue while I was superchatting Ayase's stream with 1,000-won punches.
Haa.
Haa.
C-Calm down.
They say even if you're dragged into a tiger's den, keep your wits and you'll survive.
"..."
No.
On second thought, I'd take the tiger's den.
At least there's a slim chance of surviving a tiger kidnapping.
But facing an Anomalous Phenomenon? Even if I attained enlightenment and nirvana, survival odds approach zero.
That's a fact.
That's an Anomalous Phenomenon.
So.
What do I do now?
Call it in?
My phone's charging by the bed outlet.
To reiterate, this unidentified black smoke has me completely surrounded.
Moving rashly in this death trap is like begging the Phenomenon, 'Kill me please.'
One twitch and I'm dead.
Scream for help?
Our house is an old build—soundproofing's crap.
Like, we can hear the newlyweds three doors down going at it raw.
If I yell my head off, sure, the neighbors above and below would curse me out to shut up...
But who knows if this black-smoke Phenomenon reacts to noise.
No one knows a Phenomenon's trigger till it hits—even your mother-in-law wouldn't know.
In the end.
Nothing left but to sit here waiting for death.
This sucks.
What did I do wrong?
Is it abandoning my oshi for another indie VTuber, Ayase Mitsuko?
No, I didn't spam a 5,700-character essay like those yandere simps.
Just dropped a million-won donation at the end with a 'Live well, eat well.'
And that corporate VTuber I ditched?
Forced graduation a few months later over some scandal.
She abandoned me, not the other way around.
"..."
Fuck.
Why am I dwelling on this crap with a people-shredding Phenomenon staring me down?
Guess I'm losing it right before death.
[Thanks for the 50,000 won donation, Ayase Who Farts in Regular Homes! ...Dude, change your nickname already! I never farted in a home!] Pfft.
Ayase's cute voice didn't match the dire situation at all—I let out a hollow laugh.
Yeah.
Bottom line, only two choices.
One.
Wait here eternally until I starve to death.
Two.
Reach out to this black smoke—whether it kills me or feeds me.
You never know.
This black smoke...
Might not be a Phenomenon. Could be an Item.
What makes [Anomalous Phenomenon]s scary isn't just that you can't predict their traits beforehand.
The real kicker? No one in the world can tell an [Anomalous Phenomenon] from an [Item].
Sometimes a grotesque, vomit-inducing two-headed octopus turns out to be a boon for humanity.
Other times, a legendary sword glowing gold from a rock is revealed to rip throats.
...So.
I'll believe this black smoke is an Item, not a Phenomenon.
[Ayase's gonna sing for her duckies~!] Here it comes—Ayase's macro number one.
Terrorizing viewer eardrums with song.
I'll take getting shredded by a Phenomenon over Ayase's godawful singing any day.
And so, I reached out to the black smoke.
And.
And.
And...
...
...
...
I became a woman.
"...?"
What the fuck.
Fuck.