The Past.
When anomalies first began to appear in the world.
Anomalies were treated as a kind of great calamity.
Although some humans awakened special abilities at the same time as the anomalies emerged, no matter how powerful an awakened individual was, they were like a bug trying to act big in the face of an anomaly.
Many awakened individuals died.
Many civilians were sacrificed.
However, from the moment humans realized how useful ‘items’ could be as tools,
humanity became capable of resisting the anomalies.
Anomalies were no longer a catastrophe.
The combination of an awakened individual’s ability and an item did not simply add up to double the power.
It was not one plus one equals two.
It was one plus one equals at least five, or maybe more than ten in synergy.
In that sense, Yoo Isul’s ability, immune to mental attacks, and the item ‘Iron Sword No. 3,’ which could cut through all ‘properties,’ was, theoretically, an invincible combination of the strongest spear and the strongest shield at the same time.
Now,
Here’s a question.
If the strongest awakened individual, Yoo Isul, who possesses the strongest spear and shield,
also knows in advance the information about the anomaly— how much synergy would that create?
“Is it activating?”
“No, we need to get closer.”
I see it.
As I climb the hill, I can spot a golden piggy bank and a diffuser in the distance.
They’re too far to see their shapes clearly.
It would be ideal if my ability could activate at this distance, but unfortunately, I need to get much closer to the anomaly to use my ability.
Yoo Isul said to me,
“Where should we head first?”
“…Can I decide?”
“Yeah. Anyway, we can’t tell if it’s an item or an anomaly until we get close. Whether I pick or you pick, it’s the same.”
“Is it better to go to the item first, or the anomaly first?”
“Of course, the item. Just trust your luck.”
“…I’m the unluckiest person in the world.”
In South Korea.
No,
on Earth, is there anyone else besides me who became a fanatic and had their gender swapped
because they encountered black smoke while watching a VTuber stream in their room?
I hesitated briefly, wondering which to approach first.
And then, I made my decision.
“Let’s start with the piggy bank.”
“Alright, lead the way. I’ll cover your back, so don’t be scared.”
“I’m not scared anymore.”
I decided to put some trust in my sturdy body.
I’m not entirely sure, but it feels like Bright Star cares about me quite a bit.
After all the countless blasphemies I’ve committed, I’m still alive and in one piece, aren’t I?
Of course, the ‘Duty of the Chronicler’ that Bright Star bestowed upon me is harsh for someone who used to be an ordinary person.
But my duty is simply to document the wiki.
Dealing with anomalies isn’t my job.
Let the experts handle the anomalies.
All I have to do is provide Yoo Isul with the information about them.
So please, Bright Star, if you have a conscience, protect me a little.
You’re keeping me alive because you need me, right?
If so, how about bestowing some kind of blessing or protection?
Eventually, I got closer to the golden piggy bank.
Its appearance up close was…
What the—
“That’s ridiculously cute!”
Is it even okay for a piggy bank to look this cute?
As I got completely engrossed in admiring the piggy bank’s appearance, Yoo Isul shouted at me.
“What are you doing! This isn’t the time to be zoning out. Gather the information and get out of here!”
“Oh… right, yes.”
I had been bracing myself for an anomaly, expecting something terrifying.
But when I finally faced it, its unexpectedly adorable appearance completely disarmed me.
Once I got within range to use my ability, I activated it.
Ah.
Damn it.
“It—it’s an anomaly!”
At that moment, as soon as I finished speaking, the golden piggy bank’s eyes glowed a bright crimson.
Then, it began summoning dozens of blades around it.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Scythes.
The types were varied, but every single one of them looked razor-sharp, enough to freeze me in place.
Humans.
That is, ordinary people who spend their lives watching VTuber streams without ever worrying about encountering anomalies.
When faced with a swarm of weapons threatening their lives, they freeze up.
The blades move.
Dozens of weapons, all aimed precisely at me, fly toward me at high speed.
I didn’t think about anything.
My thoughts stopped completely.
Ah.
So this is how I die—
Thwack!!
“Ugh!”
Yoo Isul kicked me with all her strength.
Thanks to her, I managed to avoid the incoming blades.
Wait a second.
If Yoo Isul saved me, then does that mean she took the blades instead—
“What are you doing? Get up already.”
She deflected them.
No, she didn’t just deflect them—she cut through them.
She sliced through their essence.
However, just because she cut the blades didn’t mean the golden piggy bank got any weaker.
It summoned more blades again.
“Running away seems out of the question now. It’d be safer if you stuck by me. Give me the intel.”
“The intel… Ah, yes!”
There’s no time to space out.
I quickly reviewed the information from the wiki.
[Golden Piggy Bank (Anomaly)]
Overview:
A Catastrophe-level anomaly that takes the form of an ordinary piggy bank but exhibits an extremely dangerous nature.
It dissects living creatures to extract coins (gold coins) from their bodies.
Features:
Appears as a golden piggy bank, with origins and history that remain unclear.
Despite its cute appearance, it is an extremely hazardous anomaly.
The golden piggy bank can dissect living organisms to extract coins (gold coins) from within their bodies.
The extracted coins can be inserted into the slot located on its back.
The more coins accumulated within its body, the stronger it becomes.
The cutting power of its blades is proportional to the number of stored coins.
I quickly relayed the information to Yoo Isul.
Her face remained calm, even in the face of this absurd situation.
She gripped the Iron Sword No. 3 tightly, prepared to counter the anomaly’s next move.
At this point, the number of blades it can summon corresponds to the number of coins (gold coins) stored within its body.
Containment Level (Danger Level):
The real reason the Golden Piggy Bank is classified as a Catastrophe anomaly is that it can store coins (gold coins) infinitely.
If the accumulated coins are few, it is easier to handle compared to anomalies classified as Cosmos level.
However, if it has accumulated a large number of coins, it becomes impossible to resolve the anomaly through conventional methods.
Resolution Methods:
Attack the Golden Piggy Bank at close range.
If the attack is successful, one of the coins (gold coins) stored inside its body will eject from its snout.
When all accumulated coins are depleted, the Golden Piggy Bank loses all its power.
What the hell.
I thought it was just an adorable piggy bank, but it turns out to be a psycho-killer piggy bank.
I summarized the information from the wiki as concisely as possible and relayed it to Yoo Isul.
While deflecting the blades fired by the piggy bank, Yoo Isul responded.
“Forget everything else! Just give me the solution again, quickly and simply!”
“Attack it! Up close! Ranged attacks won’t work!”
The number of blades summoned by the piggy bank was about several dozen—
I couldn’t count exactly, but it seemed to be around 30.
In other words, we’d have to hit that piggy bank 30 times to resolve this situation.
“You can’t just attack an anomaly recklessly! Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure! Attack it! It gets weaker every time it’s hit!”
“Understood.”
Once she was convinced it was safe to attack—
“Ugh.”
Yoo Isul suddenly grabbed me by the collar.
With one hand dragging me like a dog and the other wielding her sword, Yoo Isul slowly advanced toward the piggy bank.
However,
whether it was because of me being dead weight, or the sheer number of blades summoned by the Golden Piggy Bank,
getting close to it was no easy feat.
Still, she managed to approach it and successfully landed a strike on the piggy bank.
Clink!
With a crisp sound, a single coin fell from the piggy bank’s snout.
It was a cartoonish sight reminiscent of a certain blue hedgehog game.
The coin wasn’t gold but bronze in color.
As the wiki had stated, one blade disappeared.
Yes.
Just one.
In the end, we had only reduced the number by one.
This was far from over.
Slashhh!
“Ah, shit…”
Yoo Isul took a hit from one of the blades.
It seemed to have grazed her side.
The wound wasn’t too severe, but—
just as described in the wiki, a coin fell out of the torn area of Yoo Isul’s wound.
The fallen coin was immediately sucked into the coin slot of the Golden Piggy Bank with a plop.
Another blade appeared.
This meant Yoo Isul was losing her stamina for nothing.
While deflecting the incoming blades, Yoo Isul paused to think for a moment before saying to
Me:
“Hey, this isn’t going to work.”
“What?”
“Try surviving on your own.”
“Th-that’s so irresponsible—”
“No, listen. After taking one hit, I’m sure of it. You won’t get cut. But if my injuries keep accumulating…”
“…the cutting power will keep increasing, right?”
“Exactly. And by the time it gets too strong, it’ll be too late. Even you will get sliced. So if you’ve understood, you’re the bait now. Do your part, at least as a decoy.”
“But isn’t making me the bait a bit too sudden—”
Whoosh!
“Ahhh!”
Before I could finish my sentence, Yoo Isul threw me directly at the Golden Piggy Bank.
Dozens of blades came flying at me.
I instinctively shut my eyes tightly.
Yoo Isul, you insane lunatic!
Thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk!
I expected to be turned into a pincushion…
but the horrible scene I imagined didn’t happen.
It stung a bit, sure.
But I was still fine.
No coins came out of my body, either.
What kind of body do I even have?
To think I can survive being stabbed by blades…
It was at this moment I truly understood how harsh the “price of blasphemy” was.
Thanks to Yoo Isul and me creating some distance, the blades split evenly—half targeting me and half targeting her.
“This is it!” Yoo Isul exclaimed.
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
The number of blades targeting Yoo Isul decreased.
With me acting as the decoy and out of her way, Yoo Isul literally started flying around.
In just 30 seconds, she managed to land three hits on the Golden Piggy Bank.
Even though I knew I wouldn’t get hurt,
“Waaaahhh!”
the blades were still terrifying to face.
“Your performance is solid. You’re more useful than I thought,”
Yoo Isul remarked.
“You psycho lunatic!”
I shouted back.
“Hey, Lee Ji-ah, was it? Try harder to draw aggro. This is all good experience. While you’re at it, how about getting closer to that piggy bank and landing a punch or two yourself?”
“There’s no way I could possibly—”
…Wait.
Actually, maybe I could.