Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Intellectual Play
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"You're first."
The first subject I chose was the Rubber Duck.
Before starting, I finalized the experimental procedure since the setup was crucial.
"Weaken it with the weakening potion. Observe the results at one-hour intervals until administering the purification potion to check if it's permanent. Once confirmed, purify with the purification potion, then strengthen with the strengthening potion, and repeat the process."
Experiment design complete. I immediately dripped a drop of weakening potion onto the Rubber Duck.
"Oh."
The Rubber Duck, which had been the size of my fist, shrank to half a palm. Its appearance fully changed from a bright yellow rubber duck to a pale yellow chick.
-Peep!
"The cry changed too, along with its anomaly."
The cry now matched its form—a chick's peep.
Unlike before, when it cried even if not watched in the same space, now it only peeped when poked with a finger.
-Peep! Peep!
"Let's check if it persists."
One hour later, the Rubber Duck hadn't reverted to its original state.
"Permanent application, huh."
I dripped the purification potion. It turned back into the original yellow rubber duck.
"Next, the strengthening potion."
When I dripped the white strengthening potion, its size grew tenfold, transforming into a white rubber goose.
-HoooNK!!!!
It had thick, angry-looking eyebrows drawn on like glued-on ink, and even without touching it or watching it, it let out a booming cry.
"The cry is incredibly loud."
The table where I'd placed it was vibrating from the sound.
-HoooNK!!!!
-HoooNK!!!!
-HoooNK!!!!
-HoooNK!!!!
-HoooNK!!!!
One hour later, it was permanent again, so I restored it to normal with the purification potion.
'My ears are a bit numb.'
My head hurt a little too, so I took a short break.
-Quack!
After a quick nap, my head felt clear. While looking for the next subject, "Dial TV for You" caught my eye.
"Will this work too?"
The subject was presumed to house egos—multiple egos, at that.
Curious if it would work, I dripped weakening potion on it.
'No change.'
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than, in the blink of an eye, the TV vanished, replaced by a spherical radio.
"Weakening the TV turns it into a radio, huh."
I turned on the radio and tuned the frequency. A familiar man's voice came through.
"This is the host of Dial Radio for You, the announcer. Why host and not just announcer? Because we haven't given up on TV broadcasting yet!"
It was Announcer, Announcer's voice.
"First and last news! A tremendous misfortune is headed for Mr. Lee (25) from the outskirts of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province! If you don't turn this radio back into a TV right now, this news will become reality, and unimaginable horrors will befall you!"
"Kyaa! Senior! The station! This is totally a shack!"
"Intern! Calm down!"
"Hello, this is Reporter, who couldn't make it to the scene. Today, we're covering a radio station—a once-beloved medium now treated like a relic..."
"Uwaaaah! Everyone, shut up!"
The radio turned off. I fiddled with the dial, but no more broadcast came.
"Permanent application again."
Just before applying the purification potion, curiosity struck.
'What if I leave it like this? How bad would the massive misfortune be?'
Probably not instant death. They need me to restore them.
So, likely a string of painful misfortunes that don't threaten life.
Rattle-rattle-crash-!
A sudden noise drew my attention outside.
"...So that's how it is."
I stepped out to find flocks of birds—hundreds, thousands—shitting all over our roof before flying off. The red tiles were painted white.
'Better restore it before it gets worse.'
I turned the Dial Radio for You back into a TV and dripped strengthening potion. I thought there was no change at first, but in a blink, the Dial TV disappeared.
'Where'd it go?'
Looking around, I went to the living room and found a massive wall-mounted TV.
'Over 100 inches?'
I turned it on. It showed a huge studio like a major foreign media news broadcast, with a glamorous city visible through the back window.
"No one's here."
The studio was empty, but signs filled the space, each with different messages.
["Well, bad luck canceled! Haha! Too bad, but the station remodel isn't done yet, so 'Wall-Mounted TV for You' is on hiatus for now! -Announcer, Announcer"]
["Whoa! I finally have my own room! My own room! No more sharing with the Snore King! Heehee! Thanks, Mr. Lee! -Reporter, Reporter"]
["(ღ'ᴗ'ღ) ٩(๑>∀<๑)۶ (❁´▽`❁) -Intern, Intern"]
["Thank you so much for your support, viewer. Thanks to you, our station can bring more news. We promise to keep delivering helpful info to the world. Please understand our brief hiatus for expansion and new hires. -Deputy Director, Deputy Director"]
["Let's grab a drink sometime. -Director, Director"]
There were five of them so far.
'Wonder how the broadcasts will change... Hmm, can't watch right now?'
Of course not. Instead, I tested the wall-mounted TV's functions.
"It's different now."
When not doing prophecy broadcasts, it functioned like a normal TV. Despite no cable subscription at home, I could access every paid channel.
'Domestic and international broadcasts too.'
I confirmed all the wall-mounted TV's features. Next, I pulled out the Otherworld Transfer Book.
"It says not to use on dangerous entities if possible..."
But it's friendly toward me, so maybe okay.
'Here goes...'
I dripped weakening potion on the Otherworld Transfer Book.
"A bookmark?"
A bookmark-like thing popped out from the middle.
'Weakening potion on the Otherworld Transfer Book doesn't change the book itself—it spawns a derivative.'
On closer look, it was a coupon.
["Want to go to another world? Tired of soft, happy otherworlds? Crave danger and terror? Prove your worth! Use this now and claim amazing rewards!"]
["On use: Transfer to a medieval fantasy world in your current body."]
["You learn the world's language."]
["Your appearance won't seem off to locals."]
["World features 5-10 random elements from below:"]
[1. Demon King (not female, not chaos-good sacrificing secret-keeper, not cute, can't polymorph to girl, not kind—pure evil alien monster loving human slaughter) invades the moment you arrive.]
[2. Horrific plague spreads (native disease nonexistent on modern Earth).]
[3. Cultists lurk in shadows seeking sacrifices.]
[4. Fallen gods become monsters, rampaging sporadically—go active on your arrival.]
[5. All nations' rulers utterly corrupt and incompetent.]
[6. Average morality across all races (humans, demons, beastkin, elves, dwarves etc.) under 3/10.]
[7. All nations at war—total annihilation or bust.]
[8. If male, extreme misogyny; if female, misandry.]
[9. Insane mages everywhere treating normals as guinea pigs.]
[10. Outer Gods exist, watching your world.]
["Gain average mana and aura talent."]
["Awaken both within 1 year via effort."]
["Safe start: 1 year secure from invasions/events."]
["Survive 30 years: Victory."]
Each one was hellish.
[1. Return to Earth, 1 day after use.]
[2. Full physical/mental restoration.]
[3. Random EX-Grade Skill (e.g., Adamant Body, Heavenly Martial Physique, Replicating Hand, Absolute Hypnosis, Akashic Record Access).]
[4. Immortality: Healthy to 200+, up to 1,000 with care.]
[5. 1 trillion won bank account, no issues.]
["Use this coupon? [Yes] <- Press any finger firmly for 3+ seconds."]
"Hmm."
Of course, it held zero appeal for me.
"Who'd actually use this?"
Someone would. After an hour with no disappearance, I decided to store the coupon.
'Give it to some thrill-seeker later or sell to a trader.'
Next, I applied strengthening potion to the Otherworld Transfer Book.
"A coupon again."
But unlike the last, this was a great one.
["Frustrated by a sudden hiatus in your fave series? Want to befriend characters? Tired of the protag—want to take over? This coupon's for you! Use now!"]
["Works on comics, novels, movies, anime etc."]
["Hold the work in front: Possess into it."]
["Hiatus irrelevant—world continues as real, living place."]
["Characters are real beings, not ink/paper."]
["Plot holes auto-fixed for coherence."]
["No odd looks for your appearance; learn language auto."]
["Gain A-Grade talent."]
["A-Grade: Effort-based rival/protag-level prowess in martial arts, magic, academics, arts etc."]
["Survival guaranteed even in dangerous worlds via effort."]
["Use this coupon? [Yes] <- Press any finger firmly for 3+ seconds."]
"Not bad."
Compared to the 5% fluffy luck win before, the ceiling was lower, but near-100% survival and choice of work scored high.
'Sell this to a trader or give to someone too.'
That finished experiments on all my entities. The Great Author's Legacy was off-limits—messing it up would shatter my fixer identity.
'Same for the Toy Well.'
Still six uses left—what to try next?
'Wait, come to think of it...'
The belt was the Potion Belt of the Forgotten Alchemist.
It had alchemist-related properties.
'Alchemy, huh.'
Meaning its creator made it for alchemy.
'For what?'
Alchemy's ultimate goal was gold, but it was infamous for something else.
"Creating humans without borrowing a woman's womb."
Alchemists called such creations this.
"Homunculus."
Blood surged with excitement.
"Homunculi know all truths, right?"
I couldn't help grinning.
"Guess I have to make one."