Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Designer II
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Shin Noah
4
The thought of, ‘They said the headquarters is in Hawaii? Then how about we casually swing by Hawaii for some fun?’
was way too bold for the me of the 46th regression.
In your average webnovel, people might react to a regressor who’s made it to the 46th loop with, “Oh, total veteran, huh? But failing to save the world by then? Kinda incompetent.”
But in my tale, the 46th regression was still fresh-faced newbie territory—green as a vitamin-packed lime.
Anyway, the me of the 46th regression was like most Koreans bragging about overseas trips: my extent was a quick hop to Japan or China.
India? America? Europe? I only knew them from rumors—no dirt from those places had ever caked my shoes.
Ah, Old Man Show once flashed his teeth promising to show me his hometown someday, but promises between guys have a shelf life, and I doubted it’d last over a thousand years. That dog of an old man.
*-This is Sector 7, *crackle*. I’m Martin Russell, sector chief. *Static*, the bunker’s food stores are slowly depleting.*
*-Weren’t the Foundation’s projects for preparing against world’s end activated? Or have they already kicked in, and this place is just remnants of the world left behind?*
*-Either way… *crackle*, I’ll keep logging entries, holding onto the belief that my voice files might one day help. Martin Russell, sector chief. Day 677 of survival.*
The broadcast continued.
I dubbed this phenomenon the “mysterious Foundation radio broadcast”—shortened to “Foundation Broadcast”—and classified it as an anomaly.
After a long time, I succeeded in figuring out quite a few details about the “Foundation Broadcast.”
1. The broadcast never plays if anyone besides me is near the radio.
Pretty bizarre, so I called over Sim A-ryeon and Seo-gyu and had them sit down, but the radio stayed dead silent.
In the end, the two just shook their heads like, “Ugh, the Guild Leader/Big Bro’s messing with another anomaly……”
What? I wasn’t trusted that much? Why? How come?
As a test, I even asked the Saintess to use Clairvoyance and listen with me, but even that counted as a “listener”—the radio remained mute.
*-Um…… Mr. Undertaker, even if you’re bored, pulling pranks with anomalies is honestly kinda troubling. Please show some restraint.*
“……”
I felt wronged.
2. No matter the regression, the “Foundation Broadcast” always happened, and the “old man” always broadcast from Sector 7 bunker on Molokai Island, Hawaii.
However, this anomaly only appeared on the antique Zenith K731 radio I personally collected. No other radios ever picked up the “Foundation Broadcast.”
Why? No idea.
Anomalies’ ecology is full of mysteries, after all.
*-This is Martin Russell. Uh, um. Escapees are still mostly concentrated in North America…… Damn. Already day 1203. Did humanity survive? Am I really the last survivor?*
Broadcast times were all over the place, but mostly 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. If the broadcaster was indeed in Hawaii as claimed, that’d be 6 a.m. to noon local time.
Right in the awake hours.
And the most crucial part……
3. Every regression, the broadcast content subtly changes.
In the 46th, he clearly said an entity called the “evil dragon” appeared in Sector 7 and wiped out the Foundation, but in the 49th, for example:
*-Gods! The moonlight! Ahh, Parmenides’ goddess has finally gone mad! Urgent broadcast: under no circumstances contact the moonlight! Unless you want to melt like candle wax!*
*-Total annihilation? Really, all Foundation branches wiped out? Backups? Oh god. Oh god, why. Why this worst-case scenario……*
He wailed about the so-called “moonlight” exterminating humanity.
Each regression shifted the world’s end method ever so slightly.
I sipped my café au lait and gave a wry smile.
“If this is true, North America’s a bona fide hellscape on the Indian subcontinent level.”
I figured it was probably lies back then, though.
I had no plans to exterminate the “Foundation Broadcast.” It only whispered to me via radio—no harm to humanity otherwise, right?
If anything, it made great BGM for boredom relief.
Let me say it again: entertainment was scarce back then. A radio channel that changed content every time? Pure gold.
Stepping further, the “Foundation” lore the old man casually dropped each regression gave me tons of inspiration. Educational in many ways.
What did I learn……?
5
“Standardizing information.”
Back in the 562nd regression.
O Dok-seo tilted her head with a blank look. Mozart’s symphony lazily flowed from the radio on the table.
“Information…… standardization, what?”
“They call it the ‘Foundation,’ and they classify entities with insane detail—ranks and rules. Hmm. Take gremlins, for example.”
Gremlins are anomalies that latch onto electronics and bizarrely wreck them.
Once, in South Gyeongsang Province, rumors flew that gremlins only infected TVs and radios, leaving phones fine.
In North Gyeongsang, phones were the biggest danger.
Even in Gyeonggi, everything but CCTV was supposedly safe. Believable?
All fallout from humanity’s info networks collapsing.
“This makes sharing intel tough even within Korea. Back when civilization was intact, sure—videos, visuals, whatever. But……”
Now, mass media was gone except radio. SG Net served as an info hub, but it wasn’t perfect.
“Anomalies’ traits all over the map is the least of it. How do you quantify ‘how strong’ one is?”
“Uh……”
“S-rank? A-rank? What’s the gap between S and A? How dangerous? Combat power 1000? 2000? Say 1200. Does that intuitively mean anything?”
“…No.”
Exactly.
So, inspired by the radio’s “Foundation,” I launched a fictional group: the Library Society.
Simple setup: an ancient secret society researching anomalies, having set “professional classification standards”—aka “standards.”
In truth, a database infused with regressor Undertaker’s experiences and knowledge.
An Akashic Record forged from countless regressions, battles, my blood and sweat.
The Library Society’s “standard”—anomaly threat levels—was thus:
Lv.1: Village. Village-level.
For anomalies that could wipe out a single village.
“Basically the baseline for ‘dangerous anomaly’ treatment. Filters out the small fry too.”
Scribble scribble. I jotted examples in my notebook and showed her.
Literary girl that she was, maybe hooked on this “setting bible”? O Dok-seo’s shocked eyes somehow followed my writing.
“One goblin? Not worth ranking. But 30? 40? Village-level material.”
“Aha……?”
“In other words, even the lowest rank—Village—means ‘extremely dangerous’ from that moment. Civilians run no matter what; non-combat Awakeners should generally avoid. Yeah, you, O Dok-seo.”
“……”
Indeed, most Awakeners lose their heads one-on-one with Village-levels.
Even “Puppeteer” Lee Ha-yul lost an arm in some regression charging a Village-level on overconfidence.
To me, the “Foundation’s” threat names sounded cool but left laymen going, “So exactly how dangerous?”
I prioritized intuitiveness in naming. “Village-destroying danger = Village-level.”
“How’s that? Simple, right?”
“…Yeah. Simple.”
“Next levels go beyond personal survival threats.”
Lv.2: Polis. City-level.
These turn a city to ash the moment they appear. Absolute monsters.
“Ten Tribes are the poster child.”
The “Chaos” and “Greed” I mentioned from my China volcano trip? Also City-level.
Those two racked up nearly ten million casualties. Estimates, sure.
Ten Tribes seem laughable now, but early regressions? Solo-wiped the peninsula. City-level is a wall Awakeners weep at.
Most culprits resetting modern nations to Iron Age? City-level.
“Civs or Awakeners—if unprepared, run for your life. Though odds of escape are low.”
“Wow…… Seeing you one-shot them makes it not hit home……”
“Tsk tsk.”
That’s why I hold back in Ten Tribes raids, letting other Awakeners handle.
“Anyway, next.”
Lv.3: Continent. Continent-level.
If City-level is human despair, Continent-level is humanity’s.
“From here, Homo sapiens survival gets seriously threatened.”
“……”
World Tree “Udumbara,” baiting immortality to zombie-virus East Asia.
“Meteor Shower,” seven years of optimism turning the world gray.
The ones making modern humans yell, “This is bullshit, fuck!”
“Wait, Uncle.”
“Hm?”
“If Meteor Shower’s just level 3, then higher levels exist, right?”
Odd question, but her [Prophecy] peeked at ~40 chapters of the novel…… By my count, pre-20th regression stuff.
Makes sense she wouldn’t know.
I twirled my pen.
“Yeah. Obviously.”
Lv.4: Five Oceans. Ocean-level.
“Ocean-level……”
O Dok-seo murmured at my notes.
“…The novel showed you in a bloodbath with Ten Tribes, hot-blooded protag style…… Kinda surreal.”
“Ah—miss those days. Thought I’d save the world by 30th regression max.”
“…What anomalies are Ocean-level?”
“I’ll describe, but you probably won’t get it. No illustrations from Sim A-ryeon yet.”
Japan’s “Eight Million.” India’s subcontinent to deadliest void: “Asura,” “Astra,” “Ganges Sands.”
I joke about Korea’s peninsula being Fire Peninsula or Hell Peninsula, but compared? Paradise.
Pleading again: no overseas travel these days.
After my rundown, O Dok-seo paled.
“Y-You fight those? Me too?”
“Don’t freak. 561st you endured. 560th you. 559th. 557th.”
“……”
“This regression’s you will too.”
“…Hold up. Why skip 558th me? What happened?”
“……”
“Why’d you skip it!”
I looked away.
“No…… Aack! Uncle! I only have [Prophecy]! Why drag a non-combat to the frontlines!”
“Whoa whoa, calm down. I wouldn’t drag you unprepared. You’re a multi-ability Awakener, O Dok-seo. Awaken your second, and any battlefield’s fine.”
“…Really?”
“Sigh, for real. 100% survival in warzones guaranteed. Just follow the custom curriculum I verified over regressions. Trust me.”
“…I really just trust you?”
“Yep.”
(Except it’s brutally tough, and 558th you crossed the Jordan mid-training from bad luck combo—won’t repeat. Sure.)
“Ugh. How’d I end up with this psycho uncle…… Shouldn’t have read that webnovel……”
“Not all anomalies are brute force. Start with fun easy ones like ‘Trolley Problem’ or ‘Hero Syndrome.’ No worries.”
“How’re anomalies fun and easy? Your senses are warped…… Fine. Weirdest anomaly you’ve faced so far?”
“Tell you later.”
I left despairing O Dok-seo and sipped my café au lait. Coffee cooled during storytelling, but the mouthfeel was still top-tier.
――Judging by her face, better not mention I never said levels end at 4.
Lv.5: Alienation. Alienation God-level.
Final level. My true nemeses as regressor. Forced near-eternal loops on me.
No need to dump it all on O Dok-seo at once.
We had plenty of time.
“Ah.”
O Dok-seo stood.
“Sorry, bathroom break.”
“No need to announce.”
“Ugh. Around you, I drink too much coffee……”
As she grumbled off:
The vintage maple radio—Zenith K731—playing Mozart switched to *crackle*.
*-*Crackle*, this is Sector 7 chief Martin Russell. Damn. Zombie virus hit California, confirmed by scopes. Nukes…… What? What’s the Foundation doing? Why’s the missile aimed…… My god! No! Stop! Oh god, mercy on humanity……*
“……”
I silently prayed for North America’s humanity, facing new doom this regression too.
6
Epilogue time.
Seems like the episode ends here, and yeah, in 562nd, that’s where my chat with O Dok-seo wrapped.
But the Library Society had lingering mysteries.
I vowed maximum honesty with you all, so I must confess this riddle here.
It was the 924th regression. Way, *way* later.
“Uh, hyungnim.”
“Yeah?”
“Come check this out.”
At our SG Guy Seo-gyu’s call, I approached the computer. He was managing the community.
“What’s up?”
“Y’know, you told me to make that Library board?”
“Yeah.”
“Its traffic spiked…… *hard*. Wondered if you were working it.”
“Hmm. Probably A-ryeon.”
“Sim A-ryeon? Her?”
“Yeah. Handed her the Library Society board management.”
Seo-gyu still looked weird even after.
“No…… Even if she’s a community ghost NEET, this much……?”
“She’s no ordinary ghost.”
“True, but still. This defies logic? Look, hyungnim.”
He showed the screen close. Mouse scroll up—posts poured down.
Like a downpour.
“Today alone, 400 posts. Oh, another. See?”
“……”
“Not crap posts. Mostly secret, but admin peek……” Look!
I looked.
――――――――――
[Library Society Anomaly Encyclopedia]
‘Illustrator’
Alias: Illustrator, Fanart
Threat Level: None
Contamination Level: Unknown
Habitat: SG Net (internet community)
Countermeasure: Library Society info—all but inevitably lost docs—safely migrated to SG Net Library Society Anomaly Encyclopedia board.
Then, at some point, docs gained “attachments.” All “illustrations”—image files.
Illustrations depict anomaly forms, cross-verified by librarians as “highly accurate.”
Anomaly spreads Void Poison not just via real thing but copies like photos/videos. These illustrations are extremely hazardous.
Burning Squad tried 501 burns but failed to delete illustrations. Officially, all Library Society docs contaminated by “Illustrator.”
Appended: Burning Squad librarian advice & Forbidden Book Management Squad orders.
[Burner V]
Best was adding [Open/Hide] to all illustrated docs.
Illustrated docs unlocked from secret, now public to civilians—confirmed.
Librarians: do NOT casually open illustrations. For checks, formally request Burning Squad approval.
[Thousand Sea Pavilion M]
Forbidden Book Management Squad notice: All librarian activity logged, including illustration views.
Prophecy Squad “Painter Self-Portrait” who violated Burning Squad rules viewing illustrations 41 times unauthorized: personal info & past community history public to civilians.
Includes alias & anonymous activity. Scope: access times, post contents, comments.
Painter Self-Portrait: ordered cohabitation with Burning Squad librarian. LSO procedure suspended.
――――――――――
“……”
A post with never-before-seen content sat there bold as day.
‘Burner? V? What’s this?’
Library Society was definitely a setting toy from hundreds regressions ago.
Thousand Sea Pavilion, Black Book Squad—all my masks. I never left such posts.
Above all:
No “Burner” in my setting bible. V…… Viscount? Barony?
‘My settings growing on their own without me?’
Seo-gyu spat excitedly beside me.
“Right? All proper posts. Hyungnim, even if Sim A-ryeon’s a mad ghost, how’s she posting this fast?”
I stayed silent. Partly no answer, but mostly massive shock.
‘……First time for this.’
Again: 924th regression.
Truly, brand-new events rarer than diamond shards on Ganges banks.
“Plus language translation. Hyungnim, [Language Select] button? All world languages translated?”
“…Some AI auto-posting?”
“Maybe…… But how? Non-Awakeners can’t access SG Net. Unless someone awakened ‘AI Use’ or ‘Auto-Post,’ impossible.”
“…You’re right.”
“Checked IPs with admin: all legit SG Net registrations. If Awakener, needs [SG Net ID Creation] too…… Possible?”
“…If [Internet Troll] skill bundles all that, yeah.”
“Ah.”
“But definite anomaly. Report to Saintess for location track. Seo-gyu, keep monitoring. Good call.”
“Yes, hyungnim.”
Soon, Saintess replied.
[Can’t track locations.]
“What?”
[My Clairvoyance can’t see those IPs’ Awakeners. Mr. Undertaker, do they really exist?]
“……”
Chills crept up my spine for the first time in ages.
Hypotheses clashed: skills nulling Saintess’s Clairvoyance; anomalies crossing worldlines into SG Net; even anomalies accessing SG Net……
I eyed the monitor. Refresh—board spawned new docs in real-time.
“Then…… If not real humans, where do the posters uploading hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands—maybe hundreds of thousands—in real-time on that site…… exist?”
[…….]
Saintess had no answer.
…Again.
This world still brimmed with unknowns even to me.
- Designer. End.