The Seoul Branch's 0-Ranked Anomaly and My New Liberation
The Seoul Branch of B.A.R.I. was currently living through an extremely busy stretch of days.
Since BAR-322’s management grade had been measured at Rank 0, five full days had already passed.
At first, every single employee at the Seoul Branch had slipped halfway into panic.
An emergency always triggered the moment even a single Rank 4 or higher anomaly was isolated at the branch. A Rank 0 anomaly? That was simply unthinkable.
From the staff’s perspective, a Rank 0 anomaly was the stuff of urban legends at best—nothing more than rumors. B.A.R.I. had never produced a genuine Rank 0 anomaly in its entire history, and most ordinary people had no idea what such a classification even meant.
So the Seoul Branch employees had quietly prepared themselves for nearly a year of nonstop overtime, working every holiday without fail.
They had even braced themselves for the worst: an outright rampage by a Rank 0 anomaly that could end their careers overnight.
Yet here was the strangest part.
Even after a Rank 0 anomaly had been fully isolated and placed inside the branch, not a single overtime order had been issued. No life-threatening alerts. No panic protocols.
The only command the Branch Director had given the entire branch was this one inexplicable order:
[Treat BAR-322 as a human being.]
Naturally, the entire staff had been thrown into extreme confusion by this incomprehensible directive.
But the Director’s word was absolute. They had no choice but to obey.
From the staff’s viewpoint it was impossible to understand what was actually happening, so the rumors about the Rank 0 anomaly spread like wildfire.
Some claimed the anomaly did not even exist. Others insisted it had already infiltrated the entire organization.
Even wilder rumors reached as far as the Director herself being a subordinate of the Rank 0 anomaly.
These were absurd stories even for B.A.R.I., but the Rank 0 anomaly had become little more than a legendary figure in the eyes of every employee.
The incident itself had occurred on a perfectly ordinary morning.
One of the Seoul Branch researchers had received the order:
Install a micro-bomb in BAR-322.
📍 Location: Seoul Branch Containment Cell
🎁 Reward: Possible promotion to C-Rank
This was the kind of life-or-death mission that normally fell to a D-Rank executioner.
Yet the mad Director had assigned this extremely dangerous task to a valuable C-Rank researcher.
Before meeting the anomaly, the researcher had written farewell letters to her colleagues, composed her own eulogy, and even visited the personnel department to receive confirmation that her family would be supported after her death.
…And she returned alive.
“You… you’re not dead?”
“You’re already brainwashed, right?”
“Whatever happened… ah, never mind!”
While celebrating her safe return, the other staff immediately started bombarding her with questions about the actual nature of the Rank 0 anomaly.
The C-Rank researcher’s answer was pure gold.
“She’s an interesting oppa.”
“Hic…!”
“Oh right, you’re supposed to call her oppa, not she. Yeah, she’s a really interesting oppa.”
“At first I was terrified, but listening to all the old stories he told me really relaxed me.”
“Oh, and that oppa loves sweet snacks! When you meet him later, bring something like chocolate or chocolate-covered snacks. That’s the best way to win him over.”
The staff erupted into chaos once more at this testimony.
Some demanded, “Treating an anomaly like a human being? Are you insane?”
“No, the Director specifically told us to treat them as humans.”
“…Exactly.”
With the Director’s order acting as an absolute cheat code, nothing could be disputed anymore.
Even more testimonies followed as staff continued to interact with the anomaly.
“Surprisingly kind.”
“Description of personality.”
“Her chest is huge.”
Appearance description.
These were impossible accounts of how the Rank 0 anomaly was being treated.
Of course, every single one of these statements had been carefully orchestrated by Director Kim Miryeo.
She had deliberately ordered other staff members to interact with BAR-322 instead of herself, ensuring that genuine human contact could develop between the anomaly and the branch employees.
The deeper that human bond became, the stronger the Seoul Branch would grow—far beyond anything previously possible.
Over the past several days I had met exactly five B.A.R.I. employees.
My overall impression could be summed up in a single line:
Here… this really is a normal world.
I had expected the world to be devastated after centuries of demon rule, but apparently not.
Everyone had initially approached me with shaking hands, but after just a few conversations the atmosphere quickly thawed.
My grade was Rank 0, a special management entity.
I myself didn’t fully understand what that meant.
Yet:
“Being able to speak so casually with the Director proves my usefulness, doesn’t it?”
“…That’s right.”
I continued looking directly at Director Kim Miryeo sitting right in front of me, beyond the glass wall.
“That ridiculous conversation protocol… is it necessary anymore?”
“Dialogue Protocol.”
“No, we have to follow it on a regular basis.”
“Still, everyday conversation has become possible now.”
“Wonderful!”
“I was right to trust Director Kim Miryeo after all!”
Director Kim Miryeo smiled faintly and replied.
“Ara. From now on I will explain your treatment to you.”
“Finally!”
“As a Rank 0 special management entity, you are under special supervision.”
“I hold complete control over you.”
“Without the organization’s approval, I will decide your treatment according to my own judgment.”
“Oooooh, what a delightful sound!”
“I was feeling a bit cramped cooped up inside that cell, but this is perfect!”
“Now I can go outside too, right?”
“That is not possible.”
“The reason is…”
Kim Miryeo paused, then let out a long sigh.
“Trust.”
“Of course I could have died without you, but…”
“Ah, that’s not something I need to explain.”
“For example, if every word I said was a lie from the beginning, just to deceive you all…”
“Director Kim Miryeo, that would be a huge blow to your position.”
“…I see you understand the situation better than expected.”
“Naturally.”
“I never told you? I was the closest aide to the worst tyrant in Korean history for ten whole years.”
“I learned how to read people like an open book.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
If I had been in her position, I would never have trusted me completely either.
Trust is something built over time.
If I continued proving my innocence, one day trust would grow between us.
“Last time you injected me with some kind of drug to control me, right?”
“It wasn’t a drug. It was a micro-bomb.”
“Oh ho.”
“If you reject my control, the micro-bomb will detonate.”
“If you harm a human, the micro-bomb will detonate.”
“If you show even the slightest suspicious behavior, the micro-bomb will detonate immediately.”
Director Kim Miryeo gave me a blank stare and issued a clear threat: “Do anything suspicious and I’ll kill you.”
Heh heh.
Unlike the other anomalies, the leader possessed the dignity one should expect from a true leader.
Indeed, a leader must possess such charisma.
When I simply smiled without a word, Director Kim Miryeo looked puzzled.
“I thought you would be displeased.”
“Not at all! I actually consider it a necessary precaution.”
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Afraid of a mere explosive device?”
“That device is holding your very life in its hands.”
“Doctor, what’s scarier than a person’s words.”
I briefly recalled my past—my former lord—and continued.
“Though that won’t happen, Doctor.”
“If you ever let me serve as your lord for even a single day…”
“You would immediately understand why I fear no weapon.”
“What kind of person was that…?”
“Human imagination has limits, after all.”
I smiled bitterly and changed the subject.
“In that case I will be kept isolated for the time being.”
“That is correct.”
“Ugh… that’s a shame.”
“But there’s one thing.”
I pointed to a corner of the cell I had been kept in and spoke.
“At least the toilet needs to be handled properly.”
“…Ah.”
Kim Miryeo glanced at the temporary toilet in the corner, frowned for a moment, then bowed her head deeply.
“I… I’m sorry about this.”
“…Most anomalies like you don’t menstruate.”
“I will arrange something else.”
“Oooooh, even that is enough for my gratitude!”
“Also, if there is anything required for ‘human life,’ feel free to ask for anything.
“Delicious food, books worth reading… anything at all.”
“That is exactly what I was waiting to hear, Director Kim Miryeo!”
While locked away these past several days, I had spent a great deal of time considering what happiness I could still obtain in this modern world.
And I reached my conclusion.
I would have to fully adapt to the modern era.
The easiest way, in my view, was to blend into modern culture.
Therefore, I would request the very modern inventions I had forgotten.
“Give me games!”
“…Huh?”
“Games, I said games!”
“Do you have any idea how much I suffered while trying to remember my memories for five straight days?”
“Why, aren’t there games you play on consoles, like fishing games?”
“Ah, and I loved fighting games in the past.”
“Since it’s a fighting game, I definitely need a worthy opponent!”
“Please select researchers who will play games with me.”
“Do not let them get too strong! Nothing is less fun than getting beaten.”
“They should be a little weak, but capable of at least putting up a fight!”
“Hmph…”
Director Kim Miryeo looked stunned by my demands yet immediately agreed.
Good.
My path to perfect adaptation to the modern world had finally opened.