Chapter 48 : How to Deal with Absurdity

Thanks to Yui seul, I managed to complete the mission.

If the mission had come with all sorts of extra conditions… I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish it even after 24 hours.

For example, something like “Get a win with just 1 kill,” or “Win after dealing at least 100 damage.”

My aim was just that terrible.

What’s so hard about clicking a mouse to shoot a gun?

Even I don’t understand how it got to this point.

After pocketing the mission rewards without a hitch, I finally closed out the battle lounge.

I started streaming at 7 PM, and it’s already 2 AM.

Time to wrap up the stream soon.

Right before ending, I chatted briefly with my viewers.

Unsurprisingly, the conversation revolved around my gaming skills.

[User ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won.]

“Since you’re so f**ing trash, quit gaming ASAP” — NOPE NOPE NOPE, no toxic comments allowed.

“You’re the worst, lololol”

“Just straight-up roasting him, lololol”

“But seriously, it’s kinda concerning”

“Not human…”

“Not human—just a devout fanatic.”

“Well… I still won, didn’t I?”

“?”

“????”

“You have a conscience?”

“Excalibur  Nuna hard-carried your a* to that win.”

“Thought you had a conscience pouch—turns out it’s a shameless pouch;;;”

“Winning while lugging around Lee Jiah’s ‘bomb necklace’? Could low-key become a trend among streamers…?”

“Pro gamers, prove you can win with Lee Jiah.”

“If you joined a tournament, you’d monopolize the forum drama lololol.”

“No joke, joining a tournament would actually spark controversy.”

“…I’ll admit it.”

Even I think my joining a tournament would stir up chaos.

It’s not just battle lounges—same with Loadena or other games.

On my streaming platform, creator tournaments are pretty frequent.

At least one major tournament per quarter, and if you include smaller ones, there’s practically one every month.

If I joined one of those.

Like the viewers said:“What did my teammates do to deserve this?”

[User Lee Jiah Enthusiast donated 3,000 won.]

“Guess we’ll never see the Cult Leader in tournaments now ㅠ”

“No, if they invite me, I’ll go. No question.”

“?”

“But you said you’d be a liability, dude.”

Being a liability doesn’t mean I won’t do it.

Gotta do what I gotta do.

Being trash at games isn’t a crime.

If balance debates blow up, that’s the organizers’ fault, not mine.

So.

If they want to invite me, they’d better be ready for the balance drama.

…

…

…

The moment I flopped into bed after ending the stream, ready to crash immediately.

Yui seul called.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

Her voice crackled through the phone with an icy edge, startling me.

Was she pissed because I sucked…?

“It was fun.”

“Oh.”

Nope.

She was just being tsun.

“I had fun too. Thanks, Seul. You’re the reason I finished the mission—”

“Call me ‘ Seul unnie.’”

“…”

“So. When are we handling the anomaly? You said we have to do it at least once a month.”

Yui seul wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

Anomalies.

Right.

I hadn’t figured out the timing either.

“I don’t have a solid plan yet. But I’ve been swamped with streaming—”

“Let’s go this week.”

“…This week?”

“Yeah. If the Awakened Association reaches out, say yes. No excuses.”

“Wait, hold on—this is too sudden…”

[Call ended.]

Click.

Just like that, the call dropped.

Same old Seul—drops the call the second she’s done talking.

Ugh, damn it.

I’m not mentally prepared… But if I want to avoid getting “disposed of,” like Seul said, I have to resolve at least one anomaly this month.

There’s a saying: “Better to take the hit early.”

Wrong.

The longer you delay the hit, the better.

There’s only one reason I want to push anomaly duty as far back as possible:

My “post-stream collapse” is blocked.

For example—Imagine the Awakened Association calls tomorrow: “Anomaly detected.”

Right at 7 PM—just as I’m about to start streaming.

I had to make a choice.

Either stream for exactly 30 minutes before heading to the anomaly zone,or finish resolving the anomaly first and come back to stream the rest.

Choosing the first option risked delays in solving the anomaly, creating unknowns.

Choosing the second… worst case, the anomaly could drag on past midnight.

Both paths had risks.

No.

Honestly, this is…Shouldn’t the system be fixed?

No matter how I look at it, this patch is absurd.

Are you telling me to stream or handle anomalies?

I can’t do both at once.

Fix it.

Please.

Then, right there in bed, I launched into a spontaneous prayer.

I’m not being dramatic—this is a genuine emergency.

After praying fervently, I checked the [Archivist’s Oath] with hope.

[Archivist’s Oath]

Stream or die.

Fail to stream at least once daily?

Get yeeted back to the Omnia Archive.

1-1. Once you start streaming, you must continue for at least 30 minutes.

1-2. Hit 500+ followers this month.

[Oath Fulfilled]

Write one new [Item] document per month.

Write one new [Anomaly] document per month.

Fail any duty?

Immediate revocation of Archivist status + disposal.

Duties update in real time.

Nothing had changed.

“Ugh, this is so f**ing petty*!”

Consequences be damned, I vented my grievances aloud.

Even for a god, this is too unreasonable.

Wait—no.

The entire [Archivist’s Oath] is built on absurdity.

If you’re gonna force absurd rules, at least make them doable.

Are you telling me to stream or fight anomalies?

Pick a lane.

Screw the gods.

Screw the stars.

Screw the Omnia Archive!

I tightly shut both eyes, bracing for the imminent retribution of blasphemy.

“…”

But.

No matter how long I waited.

The divine punishment never came.

What could this mean?

Was it proof that my rage had been fully understood?

If not that, then.

It’s late at night.

Could it be… that even gods sleep, or perhaps indulge in solitary pleasures…?

Thud!

“Ghk…!”

Seems it’s the former explanation.

“Justified anger” is forgiven, but “baseless fabrications” are met with swift divine judgment.

Fine, I get it.

The fact that my duties remain unchanged, even if my rage was acknowledged, means.

This is beyond their control too.

“Sigh…”

What can I do?

I’ll just endure a little longer this week.

It’s not like there’s no way to prepare for these obligations.

Eventually, I returned to my computer desk.

Booted up the PC.

Set up the camera.

And started streaming.

?

?????

What’s happening?

Why are you here, Snowy?

Weren’t you just slacking off?

“I couldn’t sleep. I’ll stream for 30 more minutes and leave.”

Couldn’t sleep?

What a lie.

My eyes were drooping shut from exhaustion.

Ah.

I almost wish the anomaly would descend on me tomorrow.

…

…

…

The moment I dared to think it—[Jiah, it’s an anomaly! Are you…?]

The next day arrived.

Kim Jung-hwan from the Awakened Association called, as if sensing my thoughts.

Without hesitation, I replied: “I’ll go.”

I’d already fulfilled today’s obligations during the early morning stream, so there was no issue.

“Is Yuiseul coming too?”

[Yes. Yuiseul insisted you must join her…]

“Where’s the location?”

[The anomaly zone in Seoul.]

Close by.

The anomaly zone in Seoul was just a 10-minute bus ride from my apartment.

Soon, I hastily threw on some clothes and headed out.

Oh, right.

I forgot to buy new clothes again.

Damn it.

Once more, I ended up in a skirt.

What kind of lunatic fights anomalies in a skirt?

Wait.

Actually…Maybe this works in my favor?

If I show up to an anomaly zone in a skirt, even the journalists wouldn’t suspect I’m an Awakened.

Like I said.

Who’d believe a crazy bitch in a skirt could resolve anomalies?

Of course, practicality matters when tackling anomalies.

Yuiseul, for instance, always arrives in custom-tailored combat gear.

Hmm.

Maybe wearing something flashy to an anomaly zone isn’t entirely a bad idea.

…

…

…

10 years ago.

When the First Anomaly Occurred.

Landmarks across the globe became inexplicable targets of anomalous phenomena.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris grew a massive, bloodshot eye.

The Statue of Liberty transformed into a Statue of Madness, her laurel wreath now sprouting writhing tentacles.

In South Korea,the Han River and Namsan Tower were among the affected.

The Han River morphed into a river of death, teeming with thousands of black hands clawing from its depths.

As for Namsan Tower.

I’m not sure.

No records exist.

It’s bizarre.

How could such a colossal landmark undergo transformation without a single trace of documentation?

That alone feels like part of the anomaly.

Regardless, ten years have passed.

Namsan Tower is now gone,its former site replaced by an Anomaly Zone.

Seoul’s Anomaly Zone.

Namsan.

We’ve arrived.