Anomaly Detector (3)
The anomaly that had occurred in the study was “candle wax flowing.”
When Myeong-yun first saw the study, no wax had dripped from the candle set in the silver candlestick.
Yet on his second visit, wax was flowing down the side.
It was an easy trick to miss.
Normally, a burning candle would drip wax, but the tutorial had established that “every object remains unchanged unless an anomaly occurs.”
Myeong-yun picked up the tablet, selected “Study,” and tapped the “Modify” tab, studying the screen for a moment.
“Hmm. Position shift, state change, door opening, new object, object disappearance, intruder, ghost, monster, chaos… quite the list. Since the wax began to flow, it must be a state change.”
He selected “State Change” on the tablet and pressed Modify. A short buzzer sounded, and the candlestick in front of him was covered in mosaic. Moments later the mosaic vanished, and the candle no longer dripped wax.
The viewers marveled at Myeong-yun’s sharp eye while also being impressed by the developers’ malice. They offered reluctant praise for the sheer spite of turning an ordinary phenomenon into an anomaly.
Creaaak…
That eerie sound came again. Myeong-yun immediately identified its source.
“The living room this time.”
He left the study and entered the living room. Once more, something had changed.
A fireplace and a rocking chair stood in the room, with what looked like a tiger pelt spread across the floor. A crossbow, a rifle, an axe, and a single dagger hung on the wall, revealing that the cabin’s owner was a hunter. The rest of the space was cluttered with miscellaneous items.
This one was not difficult either.
The moment he stepped inside, Myeong-yun spotted the discrepancies. Before opening the Modify tab, he addressed the viewers.
“Is this one not simple? If you observed carefully, even you should be able to find it at once.”
As Myeong-yun predicted, the correct answers appeared quickly. The anomalies in the living room were quite obvious.
“Indeed. This time everyone found them quickly. Seeing two anomalies appear at once, it seems the game is finally gaining momentum.”
Myeong-yun quickly corrected both anomalies through the tablet and moved on to the next room.
The viewers wondered how he could tell an anomaly had occurred in another room.
“How do I know an anomaly happened elsewhere? It is simple. Can you not hear the sound?”
“Do not think that way. Simply listen. Now, can you hear it?”
Creaaak…
Kihiiiiii…
Thud-thud-thud…
Shak-shak-shak…
The viewers turned up their volume and listened. The chilling sounds made them quickly lower it again.
Myeong-yun kindly explained where the sounds had come from.
“Two from the bedroom, one from the study, one from the kitchen. Let us go check.”
He headed straight for the kitchen, the closest room.
The anomaly in the kitchen was the first one that could truly be called “horrific.”
“Dear me. This scene would not be good for children’s sensibilities.”
Inside the pot that had held pale soup, countless multi-legged insects writhed in a wriggling mass. A bug enthusiast might have enjoyed the sight, but Myeong-yun was no such person.
“Well, one anomaly resolved in the kitchen.”
Out of consideration for the viewers, he quickly corrected it and moved to the bedroom.
Upon opening the bedroom door, Myeong-yun’s lips twitched as he spoke.
“This one is not difficult either. I shall give you five seconds.”
The bedroom contained a single king-sized bed with a wooden frame. A thick blanket lay rumpled on the mattress, and clothes hung on the wall. Compared to the living room and kitchen, there was little else—except for the wide-open window, which might count as a feature.
Myeong-yun raised his hand and slowly folded his fingers one by one.
After all five fingers were folded, Myeong-yun revealed the answers.
“The correct answers are the open window and the size of the bed. The window is easy, but the bed was apparently not so simple. Few people got it right.”
“Seeing is believing.”
Myeong-yun lay down on the bed.
Given his considerable height and build, along with the loose clothing he wore, very little space remained on the mattress. The camera operator, Sang-hyun, had a playful idea and adjusted the angle to make it look as though the viewer was lying beside him.
Still lying on the bed, Myeong-yun performed the “State Change” correction. For a moment he and the bed were covered in mosaic, after which a rather comical sight appeared.
The bed had clearly shrunk. Reduced from king to queen size, it now looked as though Myeong-yun’s body was crammed tightly into it.
“What do you think?”
Myeong-yun had only intended to demonstrate the change, yet suddenly people were sending money. Aside from the first donor, several others contributed large sums. The thought that earning money could be this easy crossed his mind.
“…Thank you for your contribution to the cult’s coffers.”
Still lying down, he finished correcting the window anomaly as well, then rose and brushed off his clothes.
At this point it was almost frightening. Myeong-yun, who feared nothing in this world, felt that if things continued this way he might earn money simply by standing still.
He offered a brief word of thanks and headed to the study to correct the next anomaly.
“They keep coming without end.”
No sooner had he fixed the study anomaly than another wave arrived. Myeong-yun moved busily from room to room, resolving each one. Knowing which room an anomaly had occurred in was one thing; knowing its exact form was another. Speed was essential.
Only about ten minutes had passed since the game began, yet he had already resolved more than fifteen anomalies. Most involved objects transforming into different objects or new items suddenly appearing—details that required close observation to notice. Perhaps anomalies like “intruder” were simply easier to detect, though they were not entirely absent.
While in the study, Myeong-yun sensed a new anomaly in the bedroom and immediately moved toward it. The moment he stepped inside—
“Ho.”
He let out a small laugh, as though he had discovered something amusing.
The viewers were a beat late in realizing why he was smiling.
The hand protruding from beneath the bed was most certainly not human. It was far too large, too thin, and deathly pale. It was, in every sense, “the monster under the bed.”
While the viewers panicked at the sudden appearance of the monster’s hand, Myeong-yun walked steadily toward the bed. As he drew near, the massive hand shot out at ghost-like speed, attempting to seize his ankle.
In Anomaly Detector, intruder-type anomalies must never be approached. Leaving them alone or drawing near out of curiosity would result in an attack at a speed no human could react to. A single hit meant instant game over.
Thus, the viewers expected a game over the moment Myeong-yun approached. Instead, he lifted his foot faster than the monster could react, evaded the grasp, and stomped down on the back of its hand.
With a crunch, the monster thrashed wildly to free itself, but Myeong-yun’s foot remained firmly planted.
“How dare a mere insect crawl into the house this seat protects.”
Still crushing the monster’s hand, Myeong-yun operated the tablet and selected “Monster” from the Modify tab. The creature was mosaicked beneath his foot and then vanished entirely.
Once it was gone, Myeong-yun clasped his hands behind his back and spoke.
“When the Total Military Counselor told me this game had strong horror elements, I thought it might not be the case after all.”