Surviving Among the Entities

“Thank you! Thanks to Seung-hoon Lee’s cooperation, we can now foresee the approach and emergence of extinction-grade entities threatening the world.”

Sung Yoo-ra bowed her head in gratitude.

“No, it was for the sake of humanity. It is no great deed.”
“There are many humans who cannot do that. That is why we operate covertly without revealing ourselves. But you sacrificed an entity that could have satisfied your desires for our sake.”

Setting aside the gratitude, I asked how much the Foundation’s capabilities had increased.

“Now that Sephiroth has been restored, can you detect all impending extinction events on Earth?”
“Previously we could detect almost everything, with few exceptional situations.”
“What exceptions?”

Sung Yoo-ra explained the situations Sephiroth could not detect.

“First would be the Constellations. Until they manifest an Avatar to fully engage, their presence cannot be detected.”
“So that’s how the Foundation was caught off guard.”
“Second are demons. Entities classified as demons are all presumed to possess extinction-grade power, but they can defy causality so Sephiroth cannot detect them. However, separate from their power we have confirmed they have no intention of destroying humanity, so they are measured as low-risk.”
“Is there a third exception?”
“The third is entities skilled at concealing themselves. But most extinction-grade entities possess powerful wavelengths or exert tremendous influence on causality, so such cases are extremely rare.”

Just from her explanation, it seemed there would be no need to worry about sudden extinctions any longer, but there was a flaw in her words.

“You said ‘previously’, implying not the present situation.”
“……Yes. Having lost most of our capabilities, Sephiroth must now simultaneously handle interdimensional interference, defense, monitoring, and managing the entities the Foundation has isolated and excluded. Due to this, we expect the accuracy of detecting humanity’s extinction to drop around 20% compared to before, occasionally missing some cases.”
“I see.”

She spoke with a grim expression.

“You need not worry. We are not a group that solely relies on Sephiroth. Sephiroth merely supports us – there is no need to worry about extinction threats.”

With this, I had achieved all my purposes for coming to the Foundation.

“And please accept these gifts from the Foundation.”

Sung Yoo-ra handed me a book and a small plastic ID card.

“What are these?”
“First, the ID certifies you as a special collaborator of the Foundation.”

On the plastic card was my photo and text.

[Name: Seung-hoon Lee]
[Rank: External Special Consultant]
[The above individual is a special collaborator of the Foundation and an external special consultant dedicated to humanity, as certified by the Humanity Preservation Foundation.]

It was so simple and ordinary that it seemed easily replicable if one merely knew of its existence, but since it was the Foundation’s possession it likely incorporated some special technology or entity’s power unknown to me.

“What can I do with this?”
“You can use Foundation facilities free of charge, or request deployment of Foundation personnel when needed. We will inform you of the Foundation’s facilities and contact methods shortly.”

Next was the book.

“This is the catalog of safety entities in the Foundation’s possession that we promised. Please look it over and let us know if you would like any entities.”
“Understood.”
“Also, contrary to the contract stipulation, you may choose two entities. This is not my personal opinion but agreed upon by all Overseers of the Foundation.”
“Oh, thank you.”

I immediately opened the book. Inside were various entities, some I knew and others I did not.

‘The Foundation setting states they possess and isolate numerous entities, so it’s possible for entities not appearing in the game to exist too.’

Among them, the first entity that caught my eye was:

“I’ll take this one first.”
“The 「Void Pouch」I see.”

As described in the book, she provided a more detailed explanation.

“It’s a derivative entity of 「The Void Fish」. The Void Fish was a solar system-sized fish that devoured everything, measured as an extinction-grade entity. The Foundation observed it but failed to isolate it so we destroyed it.”
“So this is a part of that?”
“Precisely, it’s an entity processed from the remaining fragments. The interior can store an infinite number of objects, and the owner can retrieve any desired object.”
“What about the weight of stored objects?”
“No matter what is stored inside, the weight will not exceed the base weight of 1kg measured for the pouch itself.”
“I’ll take this one then, please.”

The Golden Ability Company only traded in gold currency. But it was fine – the trade items I was interested in required tons of gold payment, so transactions had been very inconvenient until now. This could solve that problem.

‘What should I choose next?’

As I continued flipping through, I found the second desired item.

“The Forgotten Alchemist’s Potion Belt.”

I never expected to find this here.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Let me know whenever you have time for the driving lessons! I’ll prepare according to the schedule.”
“Understood. Please see yourselves out safely.”

On the way back home, it was just Kim Dong-ook and I. With Sephiroth’s restoration, Sung Yoo-ra was unable to join us as she had to deal with the Foundation’s backlogged work.

“Ah! Next week won’t work? There’s new recruit training all next week.”
“I’ll schedule it for after that period.”
“Haha! Thank you! See you then!”

Kim Dong-ook vanished along with his vehicle. I kept watching as his car entered the roundabout interchange, but at some point it seemed to dissolve into the world, disappearing from sight.

‘Hmm.’

In fact, my left eye couldn’t perceive the vehicle at all from the moment it entered the roundabout, only my right eye could see it that way.

‘Reality Restructuring? Is that the kind of phenomenon?’

In any case, I returned home and immediately bathed. While the schedule itself was not long, the density of experiences left me quite physically drained.

-Squawk!

“Maybe I’ll turn in early.”

Before going to sleep, I took out the items I had put in my coat pocket.

‘「Human」, and the tumbler.’

I placed the marble on the desk and looked over the tumbler’s surface as I pondered where to keep it. The stainless steel surface glistened like a mirror.

“!?”

Within it were two humans and one dog.

[“Hey! Original! Fuck! Why are you only taking us out now!”]
[“You took too damn long, didn’t you!”]
[“Woof!”]

Ah, I know who they are.

“Replications?”

[“For you to recognize our identities immediately, you truly are the Original.”]

A Westerner with a goatee extending to his chin puffed on a thick cigar. With the crisp sound of a Dupont lighter igniting it, he deeply inhaled the lit cigar and exhaled plumes of smoke.

[“Yeah, we’re You. Replications, that is.”]
“But you seem quite different.”

The stereotypical cowboy fashion commonly portrayed in media.
The phrase [Make America Great Again] emblazoned on his shirt chest.
His entire macho muscular physique, the shotgun slung across his back, and even his rugged Western appearance while resembling me.

[“Ha! Of course! Any replications identical to You were all deleted when the mirror dimension collapsed! The reason we weren’t deleted is because we’re slightly different from You!”]

I think I understand the situation.

“Mutants created through the square root law?”
[“Aight! As expected of the Original! You get it! I’m the form You would have taken if born in America! Call me American Lee!”]
[“Kururuk! You stink!”]
[“That one’s Satoshi. The form you would have taken if born in Japan.”]
[“Put out that cigarette!”]

The replication called Satoshi looked like he would if I was a bit scrawnier, shorter, shrunken, and hunched over.

[“Hey! The problem isn’t the cigarette but your tone and that gooey T-shirt!”]
[“What’s wrong with my shirt!”]

The T-shirt he wore had various anime characters printed on it.

[“Big-Eyes-Monsters! Just looking at them gives me the creeps!”]
[“Shut up! They’re all my wives!”]
[“Whew, I really dislike these other instances of me.”]
[“Woof!”]
[“Ah, I had forgotten about this one. This is Seunggyeon. Named after you. Seems to like the name.”]

Upon hearing its name, the undocked Welsh Corgi wagged its tail happily.

“Haha.”

As I parted ways with the replications, I felt a tinge of wistfulness.

“It’s good to meet you all.”
[“Yes, it’s welcome.”]
[“Nice to meet you.”]

This is quite a pleasant experience.

[“The Foundation will probably try to isolate us if they discover us somehow. That’s why we’ve been hiding on the surface of your tumbler.”]
“Can you freely move between reflective surfaces?”
[“Any reflective surface! The other guys couldn’t, but we can. This must also be because we’re Mutants.”]

My body was fatigued.

[“Heeek! Don’t ride on my shoulder! You’re heavy!”]
[“Hey! Why are you like that! You’re me in the end too, aren’t you!”]
“That tone and attitude, that outfit is just a stereotype used to mock otaku in online communities. Real otaku are just ordinary people. Even if you are an otaku, that appearance is strange.”
[“Not everyone is like that, but I am! The existence of a stereotype means it was actually witnessed! The fact that its existence is proven means I could actually be like that!!!”]
“Sorry, don’t get so excited. My mistake.”
[“I got it!”]

But my mind was delighted.

[“Hey! You! Broadcast the United States presidential election right now!”]
“You want information on the US elections? Want to watch together?”
[“Heh, only net-right-wingers care about politics like that….”]
[“Woof woof!”]

Having a conversation with these new instances of myself existing within the realm of possibility, even if not perfectly identical.

“Trump won the election.”
[“YES! YES! Make America Great Again! Make America Great Again! Fuck you PC! Fuck you Feminism! Fuck you liberal! HEE-HAW!!!”]
[“Uwaaah! Don’t shoot guns! Scary!!!”]
[“Woof! Woof!”]

Where else could I experience something like this?

“There’s a hole in the ceiling now. Seems to be from the gun you fired? So you can interfere with the outside world, but not exit?”
[“If we could exit we would have long ago! You’re a bit Stupid, You.”]
[“We can interfere but not exit.”]
[“Woof woof!”]
“So you gained abilities by becoming entities as mutants.”

Perhaps an experience I’ll never have again in my lifetime.

“Would I really become like you if I was born in America? Or like that if born in Japan? Or like a dog if born as one? I don’t think so.”
[“Then how do you think it is?”]
“It’s a part of the genetic information innate within me that has awoken. Your appearances are what another potential me could have been born as.”
[“Makes sense. Ancestral information is contained in DNA. Was there Western DNA hidden within your Asian DNA?”]
[“Wait a minute! Then what about Seunggyeon! What did our ancestors do!”]
[“What!? Holy Shit!”]
“It’s just a hypothesis. You could be parallel world instances of me. Or simply random mutants.”

Unfortunately, good times inevitably come to an end.

[“Well then, Good-bye.”]
[“I should get going too.”]
[“Woof woof!”]

They were not me, but had distinct selves and goals they wished to accomplish.

[“I will bring peace to the world for the sake of a great America. I will save ordinary civilians suffering from damned Entities with my Double Barrel Shotgun. That is the duty of a great American and the world’s police force.”]

American Lee’s goal was to save ordinary civilians suffering from entities.

[“I will find the Other World Transfer Series. Find them and inform Seung-hoon. And for those who want to go to another world but couldn’t see the transfer advertisements, I will guide them! That’s what I want to do!”]

Satoshi’s goal was to find other transfer series and lead people unaware of their existence but wanting to go to another world to me.

[“Woof woof!”]
“Did you understand that?”
[“Never.”]
[“I don’t know.”]

Judging from Seunggyeon’s enthusiastic expression, it surely had some goal it wanted to accomplish as well.

“Take care, all of you.”
[“See you again!”]
[“Farewell!”]
[“Woof woof!”]

And so the other instances of ‘me’ departed.

“It’s quiet now.”

But I didn’t feel saddened, since I would see them again eventually.

“I hope you all can accomplish your goals.”