Surviving Among the Entities

Four days after the events at the Foundation, I was still not going to the office and resting at home.

“I wish it would come sooner.”

Even if I went to the office, my mind would be too excited to concentrate on work, so it was better to just stay home.

‘I never expected it would take time to prepare the 「Forgotten Alchemist’s Potion Belt」.’

They told me that since it was an important entity highly valued by the Foundation, multiple protective measures were in place so it would take about a week to retrieve it, asking for my understanding.

‘Well, if that’s the case I can understand.’

It’s not like I carelessly wanted the Forgotten Alchemist’s Potion Belt.

‘From the Foundation’s perspective, just storing it can avoid risks while sometimes being useful.’

Of course, from my perspective it was a triple-boon entity that could satisfy intellectual pleasure while sometimes being useful for creating things, as well as facilitating periodic trades with shady merchants.

‘The wiki had so little experimental data that I was frustrated, but if I directly own it I can conduct many experiments?’

I’m already looking forward to it. Though I tried passing time with such thoughts, the anticipation made time seem to crawl excruciatingly slow.

‘It’s been a while since I visited online communities.’

Nothing makes time fly faster than online communities. I browsed existing communities in case any new interesting posts had appeared, and found an amusing one.

[A martial arts master appeared in Busan?]
[He appeared around Geumgang Park in Busan!]
[But is that person really a martial arts master? Or just some weirdo?]

I immediately checked the most popular related post.

[Is it true a martial arts grandmaster appeared in Busan?]
Apparently an old man who used some strange technique to destroy a natural monument tree in Seoraksan. Real martial arts? Or did he just saw through it?
└No, there’s video evidence. It’s real martial arts.
└Link[https://tjfakdlrjfgotjrgksmstkfkadmsdjqtrpTwl?]
└Wow, for real?

Entering the link played a video of Kim Go-deuk, the Seoraksan martial arts master, breaking a 600-year-old pine tree.

[Hyeolhwayeompogeum!]

With just a single punch, the pine tree cracked and split apart.
The comments were in complete chaos.

[He probably just trained his fists like Choi Bae-dal? Or the pine was rotten inside.]
└No, I went to check and it wasn’t a rotten tree. It’s a natural monument so it had to be properly maintained and intact.]
[Even if it’s real martial arts, so what? It’s so weak. No chi? No energy blasts? No Heaven Horse Technique? No Heaven Horse Deathbeam!?]
[That’s not real martial arts? More like Three Disasters Fist Technique lmao. Go eat a Woongi brunch.]

And I found another post.

[One Busan streamer is currently outdoors IRL streaming at Geumgang Park!]

This post also had a link, so I followed it to watch the streamer’s broadcast.

[Could a real martial arts master really be living here? The eyewitness accounts said he was somewhere over there.]
[Hey! Don’t go so fast!]
[Ah Kim Miri! Why are you so slow!]

I heard a familiar name.

[Not my sister, I swear!]
[Swear? Swear what? You wanna get beat up?]
[Hey! I’m the boss now, remember? Don’t want your daily pay? Huh? Huh?]
[You’re dead after this broadcast ends.]

The viewer count was 5,000.
Just as the viewers were mocking the bickering pair instead of the martial arts grandmaster, Kim Go-deuk suddenly appeared on screen.

[Uwah!]
[He startled me!]

Kim Go-deuk’s abrupt appearance like a ghost caused the comments to flood with “Is he really a martial artist?”, “Did he use a technique?”, “Quick interview him!”.

[Heheh.]

Before the man could regain his composure and start the interview, Kim Go-deuk spoke first.

[You are a woman of fortitude.]
[Pardon?]

His subject was not the male broadcaster, but his sister Kim Miri.

[Your body is plain but your spirit is remarkable.]
[Um, pardon?]
[You have amassed merit. No, you should have amassed merit. But the merit you should have amassed did not accrue, leaving you an empty vessel – this signifies rising rank and the potential to open the Intermediate and Upper Realms!]
[Don’t, don’t come any closer!]
[How is such a thing possible? Did your destiny of living thousands, no tens of billions of lives change? Is that why the merit you should have amassed did not, yet the vessel remained?]

The camera shook violently.

[Lady! Please become my disciple! With your aptitude you could quickly open the Intermediate and Upper Realms, even achieving Physical Enlightenment! Though your body is plain, your soul’s rank differs so transforming your flesh would be no issue!]
[Uwah! Crazy old man!]
[Please! Inherit this old man’s martial arts, the Supreme Five Element Technique! I implore you!]

After shaking a few more times, the broadcast ended with Kim Go-deuk’s beseeching face.

“What an amusing matter.”

Would Kim Miri inherit his martial arts?
Could Kim Go-deuk accept her as his disciple?
If trained in martial arts, could Kim Miri surpass Kim Go-deuk?

“I suppose I’ll find out later.”

Seung-hoon, I’ll be there to get you soon.

On the fifth tedious day, I received a message from Kim Dong-ook.

“It’s been a while.”
“I was told it would take a week, but it seems it finished sooner than expected.”
“Yes, all thanks to the security team’s efforts.”

I settled into the comfortable seat of the Foundation vehicle.

“Ah! And regarding the driving lessons, the preparations are also complete. How would you like to proceed?”
“Let’s do them together while I’m visiting.”
“An excellent choice. But just for today, understand? New recruit training hasn’t fully finished yet. Today is my day as a training instructor, but from tomorrow it will be processed as paid leave.”
“May I also attend?”
“Hmm, it’s education on entity-induced Reality Restructuring, so there shouldn’t be an issue.”

As a non-official agent, attending new recruit training brought back fond memories.

‘Memories of auditing university lectures come rushing back.’

I had officially requested permission from professors and attended, so it wasn’t auditing per se.

‘Those times were enjoyable too.’

Memories from back then replayed in my mind.

[“Alright, that’s where we’ll end today’s class.”]
[“Professor, before we end I have one question. Plato’s Theory of Forms is quite similar to the concept of information in science. And later mathematical philosophy too – isn’t science not just a purely mathematical and computational discipline, but with philosophical concepts inherent in its fundamentals?”]
[“Heheh, an interesting perspective. What do you all think about this?”]
[……]
[“Tsk tsk, more ignorant than the auditing student! Submit reports on Plato’s Theory of Forms, mathematical philosophy, and the connection between philosophy and science by next week.”]

The classes I attended always demanded report submissions, which was quite enjoyable.

‘But it eventually ended due to the students’ vehement objections.’

Ah, the cruelty of capitalism!
Where has the Korea that said book stealers weren’t really thieves gone?

“We’ve arrived.”

Lost in reminiscing, I hadn’t noticed we had reached the Foundation.

“Would you like to observe right away?”
“Yes.”

Following Kim Dong-ook’s guidance, the lecture hall we entered was no different from an ordinary university lecture hall.

“Observation seating is available at the very back row.”

After around 30 minutes, people who seemed to be new recruits poured into the hall.

‘Quite the diverse bunch.’

The Foundation’s new recruits did not discriminate based on race or gender.

‘They must all be exceptional. This is the Foundation, after all.’

Shortly after, the familiar Kim Dong-ook took the podium.

“Hello everyone. I am Kim Dong-ook, in charge of the lecture on entities and Reality Restructuring.”

As Kim Dong-ook operated the remote, a large screen turned on and the lecture began.

“Many agents will have experienced Reality Restructuring through education. Reality Restructuring refers to a kind of mind control phenomenon where our perception of the subject differs from reality or physically changes, but without any sense of dissonance. It also includes physical changes without any dissonance.”

Photos appeared on the screen.

“There are two methods for this. The first is Reality Restructuring through mental contamination. This occurs when the subject’s mind is exposed and contaminated by an entity’s power, with the characteristic that only the contaminated individual’s perception changes.”

It was a photo of a man bathing in tomatoes.

“This method occasionally involves mental contamination spreading through specific conditions or contact, transmitted via documents, videos, sounds and such, so be cautious. You have all received Reality Restructuring vaccines, so you can mostly avoid mental contamination-induced Reality Restructuring, but ‘mostly’ does not mean ‘all’ so remain vigilant.”

The next photo was of a Hawaiian pizza.

“Next is physical Reality Restructuring. In this case, an entity’s power physically alters the subject’s perception, but no one feels any dissonance. There is no vaccine effective against this method of Reality Restructuring.”
“Then how can we block it?”

Kim Dong-ook answered a recruit’s question.

“There is no way to stop it once it occurs. This is a top priority for Sephiroth to detect along with potential human extinction events, so you need not worry too much.”
“Excuse me, but why did you show the Hawaiian pizza photo?”

I was also curious about this.

‘Hawaiian pizza.’

Wasn’t that a revolting pizza with pineapple that was universally mocked around the world?

‘In Korean communities it was so overused that the meme was practically declared dead.’

Wait, could it be…….

“I expected that question. Most people around the world dislike Hawaiian pizza. But did you know? Until 50 years ago, everyone loved Hawaiian pizza.”

Kim Dong-ook changed the screen, each time displaying unbelievable photos in succession.

‘Incredible.’

Americans happily stacking and eating Hawaiian pizzas together.
Soldiers in trenches eating Hawaiian pizzas and laughing.
People delivering Hawaiian pizzas to an orphanage, with children merrily eating them.

“Impossible!”

And even an Italian Prime Minister officially declaring “Hawaiian Pizza Day” as a national holiday, with cheering Italian citizens.

“This is an insult to pizza! Don’t laugh! Those must be photoshopped! Cut the bullshit!”
“They are not photoshopped, but rather photos the Foundation barely managed to preserve amidst Reality Restructuring.”

Kim Dong-ook continued his explanation.

“The great catastrophe 50 years ago caused by our failure to stop the entity 「I Hate Pineapples!」 is still remembered as one of the Foundation’s gravest mistakes. I would like to provide more details, but due to time constraints the information can be accessed at the records department.”
“Instructor, what about mint chocolate……”
“Mint chocolate is not Reality Restructuring, but rather a food with inherently polarized preferences.”

The British-looking recruit dejectedly lowered his hand.

“Next, we will examine the damage caused by an entity that began activities amidst the Foundation’s crisis 3 months ago, ultimately engraving Reality Restructuring upon the Earth before disappearing.”

The screen displayed artwork from some game.

“A hero shooting FPS genre centered around aliens, it achieved Game of the Year status just 3 days after release.”

A muscular red-haired alien.
A scrawny alien holding a revolver.
A massive vacuum cleaner robot-like alien.

“A game that excited hundreds of millions of gamers worldwide, reaching 100 million peak concurrent players.”

Ending with an illustration of a purple afro-haired black woman in sunglasses throwing a sword, the screen paused.

“However, due to the entity 「Reward」, its perception descended into ruin and the game was subjected to Reality Restructuring, being shut down just 2 weeks later.”

Among the new recruits, those knowledgeable about games looked at the screen in shock.

“From now I will explain in chronological order how what was considered the greatest game in history, an unprecedented masterpiece of the universe, came to be mocked, as well as the dangers of Reality Restructuring entities.”

Kim Dong-ook’s lecture was enjoyable.

“I can’t believe that game ended up ruined like that……”
“Haha, but wasn’t it actually released 7 years ago with a world tournament and everything?”
“Yeah, and Korea won it 5 years in a row? There were even photos.”
“But to think Reality Restructuring changed it into a game released 3 months ago that shut down after 2 weeks, it’s unbelievable.”

I could hear the conversations of the game-loving recruits.

‘Fascinating.’

While the lecture was interesting, the Foundation’s capabilities were even more fascinating.

‘They’re all speaking different languages, but I can understand them all translated.’

When I asked Kim Dong-ook about this, as expected it was due to an entity’s power.

“It’s the power of an entity called the 「Cornerstone of the Tower of Babel」. Unfortunately it only works within the Foundation, so agents operating externally must learn at least 5 languages.”

After the day’s lectures ended, I joined Kim Dong-ook for drinks and stayed the night at accommodations he had arranged.

“Well then, shall we begin the driving lessons?”
“I’ve been waiting.”

On the way, Kim Dong-ook mentioned the previous night’s drinks.

“Seung-hoon, you said you’re always concerned about your surroundings while driving?”
“Isn’t it natural to be cautious in anticipation of potential accidents?”
“That’s true, but from what you said it seems you’re concerned about too many things.”

That was certainly a fair point.

“Constantly checking the rear-view mirror, side mirrors, watching for anything emerging from parked vehicles, being vigilant of the front and rear, and so on – I counted quite a few things just from what you mentioned over drinks.”
“But……”
“Isn’t it counterproductive to be overly concerned about too many things?”

As we spoke, we arrived at some building.

“Please enter through here.”

Upon opening the door inside the building, another entire city was unveiled within.

“This is a special independent dimension space. I rented one by requesting the researchers. As a direct subordinate of the Overseer, I can utilize various things.”
“Oh……”
“I’ve prepared a city and roads, so it should feel like actual road training. And most importantly, the vehicle is……”

In the location Kim Dong-ook guided me to, there was an ordinary-looking vehicle.

“It may seem ordinary, but it’s actually safer than a tank. The vehicle’s metal absorbs 100% of impacts.”
“It must be an exceptionally safe vehicle.”
“Unless hit by dozens of Scud missiles, it absolutely won’t break. And the passengers inside will also be completely safe, of course.”

I got into the vehicle. It had been a long time since I last gripped a steering wheel, feeling quite unfamiliar.

“So today’s first lesson! Seung-hoon, you’re far too tense. Your constant vigilance against accidents is actually what invites accidents. You know how it goes – being overly concerned can make the very thing you’re worried about happen.”
“Self-fulfilling prophecy, making a rash for oneself. That saying.”
“Yes, so I will now command you.”

Kim Dong-ook fastened his seatbelt.

“Step on it with all your might. Throw all notions of safe driving out the window and stomp the pedal to the metal, shedding the burden of driving anxiety.”
“With all my might……”

I too fastened my seatbelt.

“You’ve never really done that before, have you?”
“No.”
“Try it this time! Unleash your inner beast! Imagine you’re a racer and step on it with everything you’ve got!”
“With everything I’ve got.”

Not once had I ever done something like that before.

“Unleash my inner beast.”

I stepped on the accelerator.

“And set it free.”