Surviving Among the Entities

The new year had dawned. Since I had entrusted Sarang Industries to professional managers, I no longer needed to commute there urgently unless it was to quickly recharge Sarang, so I spent the new year at the office.

“I hope I don’t get entangled with high-level entity incidents as much as last year.”

I made a new year’s resolution, but since mere wishes can’t always be achieved, I added another resolution.

“I hope I can live this year helping people as a Resolver.”

Although it had started as a mere tool to obtain a perfect identity, being a Resolver had now become a profession I had grown fond of, so I reflected on how I had neglected it.

“There were so many incidents happening.”

So I decided to focus on Resolver work and spent my days and nights at the office for the time being.

“Resolver, please help me!”

Curiously, many people started visiting me from that very day.

“It’s the new year now, right? So I started dieting, but it’s too difficult! Help me lose weight!”
“Oh, since it’s the new year, I tried quitting smoking, but it’s too hard. Make me quit smoking.”
“I started studying for a certification this time! Help me easily obtain a certified public accountant license!”

Originally, I hardly had any visitors unless it was a mystery case or someone hoping to be transported to another world. A few ordinary people with regular concerns had visited when I had the wish-granting tickets, but after using up those tickets, the visits ceased.

‘Could my mindset toward Resolver work be reflected in how the profession of Resolver is perceived?’

When I had the tickets, I thought I wanted to help others using them.
So the perception of a Resolver may have shifted from “a profession that resolves mysterious incidents” to “a profession that resolves any concern,” which is why ordinary people seeking help started visiting.

‘So even now, people must perceive it as “a profession that listens to and resolves any concern,” leading them to visit.’

While this peculiarity wasn’t mentioned on Wiki, I didn’t know if it was a peculiarity that emerged after prolonged influence or if it was a peculiarity that arose in combination with my enhanced physique obtained through the blindfolded girl.

Momentarily surprised by the unpredictable peculiarity of entities, I set out to resolve the visitors’ concerns.

“This is called Wegobe. If you take this while dieting, you’ll easily succeed.”
“These are smoking cessation aids. Use these whenever you crave a cigarette. And remember, if you can endure the craving for just 3 minutes, it will subside, so keep that in mind, and quitting will be easy.”
“Here’s a good reference book for the certification. And if you call this number, you can talk to someone who has been working in the field for over 10 years. I’ve already paid for the tutoring fees, so just schedule sessions and receive the tutoring.”

Although I helped them at my own expense, their responses were lukewarm.

“Ah… thank you.”
“Um, yes, I’ll try it.”
“Ugh, thanks.”

As the visitors left, I overheard their muttered comments outside the office with my enhanced hearing.

“Isn’t a Resolver supposed to just resolve everything instantly?”
“He calls himself a Resolver, but he’s just giving generic advice, isn’t he?”
“How is that different from saying you can get into Seoul National University if you just study hard in math, Korean, and English?”

It seemed the visitors had high expectations of a Resolver.

‘It would have been better if I had an entity that could provide actual help.’

A few minutes later, a new visitor arrived.

“Delivery!”

It wasn’t a visitor, but a delivery, and there was no sender information written.

[A New Year’s gift for the external special consultant.]

Although the sender wasn’t stated, I could tell who it was from based on that line, so I opened the box. Three objects greeted me from within the styrofoam packaging.

“These aren’t ordinary miscellaneous items, are they?”

They were likely entities.
As I read the included manual, my assumption proved correct.

[To welcome the new year, we would like to present the external special consultant with 3 safe-class entities currently under the Foundation’s preservation. The external special consultant’s advice and solutions regarding the interdimensional invasion war aligned perfectly with the profession of a Resolver……]

Along with various polite phrases, it was a gift from the Foundation meant as additional compensation for the previous incident and to strengthen our friendly ties.

‘In that case, I should accept it.’

I examined each entity described in the manual one by one.

“A mechanical keyboard containing a graduate student’s ideas.”

When used, the user’s fingers would move on their own to automatically write a thesis, capable of producing a 100-page thesis within an hour without any typos.

“However, since it cannot include knowledge the user doesn’t possess, those lacking knowledge cannot utilize it.”

I had thought it could help graduate students, but if one could skillfully use this, wouldn’t they already be a doctorate holder?

“A live headset for fans.”

When listening to a song, it creates the effect of directly attending a live concert where the singer performs the song at their peak ability.

“While a singer’s voice tone and audio quality are important, the atmosphere of the concert venue is equally crucial.”

Even if the singer’s condition is poor and they cannot properly sing, that itself becomes a cherished memory of that day, a unique experience that can never be replicated, so this didn’t seem particularly appealing either.

“The Bathroom God’s Blessing.”

When placed in a bathroom, it automatically cleans the bathroom once a day, and when using that bathroom, it prevents constipation and diarrhea while ensuring the user doesn’t need to wipe, as it will automatically be 100% clean – an air freshener-shaped entity.

“One should clean with their own hands. Not cleaning is said to be the first step toward depression.”

If this became a habit, it could lead to not cleaning one’s room either, further increasing the likelihood of developing depression.

“They’re all rather ambiguous, aren’t they?”

The manual also mentioned that since I seemed to be collecting entities, they added these as well.

“Well, I suppose these could still be useful.”

“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed, it has.”

I visited the shady merchant after a long absence. The six-armed woman still had the appearance of a freak, but the curves of her body exuded a feminine vibe.

‘If she was 90% masculine before, now it’s around 80%.’

If I continue to satisfy her through our transactions, will her masculine aura gradually decrease further?

“What thoughts occupy your mind?”
“I was pondering how to conduct a good transaction.”
“It’s not difficult. You could simply continue bringing the coupons you brought last time. Those alone would raise your rating by another level.”
“So there’s demand for the ‘Challenge to Another World Coupons for You’.”

She nodded her head. Her needle-like pupils momentarily expanded to the size of baseballs before shrinking back.

“Among the customers who visit here, there are those who find life dull, so the challenge coupons have become quite the source of entertainment for them.”
“To use them despite their extreme difficulty, they must truly find life unbearably boring.”
“Humans who enjoy all forms of entertainment inevitably develop some self-destructive tendencies. Their arrogance in viewing themselves as special is a bonus.”

I was curious if they had succeeded, but since derivative entities are not linked to the Other World Transfer Book, no such information was included.

“Did you bring them today as well?”
“Yes, here they are.”
“Very good.”

I handed over two pre-made Other World Challenge Coupons, and I also traded the three safe-class entities given by the Foundation.

“They may not be exceptional, but I’ll accept them.”
“I wish to conduct a transaction, but I’m not sure if you have the desired item.”
“Please tell me.”
“I can’t specify a particular item, but ordinary visitors have been frequently visiting my office lately……”

As I explained my concern, her six arms reached under the cabinet.

“I have entities in storage for such visitors.”
“Tickets, huh?”
“Yes, I’ve collected them just in case. There are a total of twenty. How about we conduct this transaction with these?”

Twenty ordinary people I could help – as I had that thought, another idea came to mind.

“Are there any golden or platinum tickets besides the ordinary ones?”
“There are two golden tickets and one platinum ticket. If you wish to receive golden tickets, I’ll conclude the transaction with two. If you want the platinum, it will be one ticket.”
“I’d like the platinum, please.”

She handed me the platinum-colored ticket.

“While not as powerful as the Monkey’s Paw, it can still grant quite remarkable wishes. But if your aim is to help ordinary people, wouldn’t 20 ordinary tickets be more efficient?”
“I have an idea I want to experiment with.”
“If you intend to request an increased number of wishes or an entity that can grant people’s wishes, I strongly advise against attempting it.”
“I won’t; I already have a similar precedent.”

In the Mirror Dimension, my clone used a cloned ticket, only for a warning to appear, so any related wishes would likely either be rejected or cause the ticket to disappear.

“What I intend to do is different.”

‘The invitation’s appearance hasn’t changed.’

After concluding my transaction with the shady merchant, she handed me the next invitation before I left.

‘It’s just a fancy invitation, but it has a single rose engraved on it.’

So this is the change. I wonder what form it will greet me with next time?

“More importantly, I’m not sure if this will work.”

I took out the platinum ticket I had obtained from the transaction. While not as powerful as the Monkey’s Paw, it should be able to miraculously grant wishes one level below that, but my purpose isn’t to use it.

“The Forgotten Alchemist’s Potion Belt.”

I was curious about what would happen if I enhanced or diluted this.

‘There are three possible expected outcomes.’

Like the Other World Transfer Book, a derivative entity could emerge.
In this case, while maintaining the original, I could continue producing enhanced or diluted derivative entities.

‘The outcome I desire most.’

The second possibility is no change at all.
If it’s an exceptional entity that cannot be enhanced or diluted, I could still use the original.

‘Not satisfactory, but not bad.’

The third and final possibility is that the ticket itself becomes enhanced or diluted.
In this case, the experiment would conclude with using the enhanced ticket, and the expected power of the ticket would likely be similar to the remaining Monkey’s Paw, wouldn’t it?

“Okay, here goes.”

I dropped an enhancement potion onto the ticket I had placed on the desk.
At that moment, the platinum ticket disappeared.

‘Where did it go?’

I surveyed the office and discovered a medium-sized vending machine flush against the wall.

“A ticket dispenser?”

The screen of the machine, which wasn’t even connected to a power source, lit up as if it were a ticket vending machine automatically dispensing tickets like those found in movie theaters.

[Enter the desired reward.]

Using the celestial, terrestrial, and human touch pad keyboard below, I entered the reward.

[Information on an enhanced platinum ticket that grants enhanced wishes through an enhancement potion.]

After finishing the input and pressing the confirm button, a printing sound occurred as a ticket was dispensed.

[Reward: Information on an enhanced platinum ticket that grants enhanced wishes through an enhancement potion.]
[Task: Hold your breath for 3 minutes.]
[Deadline: 24 hours.]
[(Signature Line)]

I simply held my breath. While my enhanced physique easily endured the 3 minutes, nothing happened.

“So it only activates after signing, huh.”

Rather than signing, I tried pressing my fingerprint and holding my breath for 3 minutes to see if it would work another way.

“It worked.”

Before I knew it, the ticket had disappeared, and a sheet of A4 paper with information was in my hand.

[Reverse Quest Ticket Dispenser]
[Rating: Safe]
[Information: A dispenser that issues tickets that assign random tasks of equal difficulty to the value of the entered reward. The value of the reward and the difficulty of the task follow an absolute standard.]
[Depending on the difficulty of the task, a deadline is set, and if the deadline is not met, the ticket is destroyed.]
[The moment the task is completed, the reward is automatically granted.]
[The reward is provided to the task completer in a safe manner.]
[The task does not activate and the deadline does not begin until the signature line is signed.]

“Truly an interesting entity.”

[Upon failure to complete a task, a corresponding penalty is imposed.]
[The severity of the penalty is directly proportional to the value of the reward.]
[Once a task is failed, the individual cannot attempt another task for one month.]

“And it could potentially help many people as well.”

[In cases of severe penalties that could drastically reduce quality of life or even cost lives, it is recommended to choose rewards suited to one’s abilities, and to think carefully at least three times before signing.]

People kept visiting to make new year’s resolutions, after all.

“I should experiment with it first.”