Surviving Among the Entities

The reason safety grade entities are safe has nothing special to it. Unlike other dangerous entities, their abilities and peculiarities are simply not dangerous.

[Gangneung Arboretum]

Of course, there are entities that are benevolent towards humans, but those are just as rare as the Childu-sa, so they’re an exception. In any case, since they lack distinctiveness, they should have lacked popularity too, and since they lacked popularity, there shouldn’t have been many of those entities either.

[Arboretum Gift Shop]

But there were quite a variety of safety grade entities despite their lack of popularity. That’s because the game registered on Steam had challenge quests, and the creator had included encountering or collecting safety grade entities as part of those quests.

“Do you have a yellow and pink half-and-half painted flower pot? One with the Horn of Plenty drawn along the boundary between the colors?”
“Huh? Horn of…Plenty?”
“A large basket-shaped vase, with fruits inside it.”
“Ah, let me check the storage.”

When “Surviving Among the Entities” was still a game, I hadn’t paid much attention to the challenge quests, so I didn’t deliberately go around collecting safety grade entities. But now that it had become reality, I had spent the past two weeks searching for them.

“Found it! It was in the corner of the storage. How did you know to look for it?”
“I remembered seeing it before. How much is it?”
“5,000 won!”

With this, I had acquired all the safety grade entities that appear in fixed locations and can be obtained immediately since their spawn points are clear. I brought the flower pot I purchased at the arboretum home and arranged all the safety grade entities I had acquired so far in the living room.

“Just five, huh.”

I examined each one from the leftmost.

“Rubber Rubber Duck.”

A small rubber duck doll that occasionally goes “quack” if you’re in the same space but not looking at it.

“Peace to the Big Toe.”

A nail polish that instantly cures ingrown toenails and prevents them from ever occurring again.

“Mr. Ando Chef’s All-Purpose Sauce.”

A sauce bottle that transforms any food it’s poured onto to have the most complementary flavor, and never runs out no matter how much is used.

-Quack!

“WK Special Tumbler.”

A tumbler with the ‘WK’ brand engraved, that maximizes carbonation when filled with a carbonated beverage and prevents the carbonation from dissipating over time.

“The Bountiful God’s Flower Pot.”

A flower pot that causes any plant grown in it to randomly bear different flavored and shaped fruits once a month.
These five safety grade entities were more befitting the description of peculiar, wondrous items rather than entities.

‘I’ll be using these in my upcoming trade with the Suspicious Merchant.’

-Quack!

The Suspicious Merchant.
A dubious merchant beyond suspicion, who in the game would trade the user’s collected safety grade entities for other special entities, entity by-products, rare items or organisms.

“There were many entities and items that could only be obtained through the Suspicious Merchant.”

Since his spawn location was random, I had been unable to meet him until now when the All-Capable Gold Corporation provided his location.

“Have you finished eating?”

After tending to the entities, I checked inside the plastic terrarium on the shelf. The seven-headed snake with a bulging belly was breathing heavily from overeating.

“You’ve already finished it all, huh?”

While not implemented in the game, according to the wiki the Suspicious Merchant also traded rare flora, fauna, and items in addition to entities.

“I’ll have to put you up for trade too.”

I had grown slightly fond of it, but no more than liking a nice cup – not to the level of a pet.

-Quack!

‘Let’s depart tomorrow.’

I put all five safety grade entities including Rubber Rubber Duck into a bag and headed to the bedroom. Since it was already late evening, I planned to sleep early and set out for the Suspicious Merchant’s location in the morning.

‘A letter? An invitation?’

There was a single letter lying on the pillow.
I immediately opened the envelope to check its contents.

[Mr. Seung-hoon Lee, having made contact with many entities and survived, your strong abilities are deemed sufficient to trade with me, so I am sending you this invitation for a pleasant trade. If you go outside while holding this invitation, you can come to our store.]

There was no need to wonder who sent it.

“He did say he would send an invitation soon.”

That’s why I had been waiting.

-Quack!

I had no choice but to go right away.
Holding the bag containing the entities and the Childu-sa along with the invitation, I exited through the front door. The entrance that should have led to a front yard instead connected to another interior space.

“You’ve arrived.”

A cramped store filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
And seated at the counter greeting me was a freak with six arms.

“Welcome, Mr. Lee.”

Seeing the freak who looked exactly like the game’s illustration, I set down my bag and extended my hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Merchant.”

His voice was different from what I had expected, but that only made it more intriguing.

-Quack!

The Suspicious Merchant could not be simply called well-featured.

“I’m pleased to have a guest after so long.”

His excessively pale skin that looked like it had been coated with chalk dust did not have a single hair. His eyes were narrowly slit, small and thin, and his mouth and nose were so minuscule that if you didn’t look closely, it seemed he lacked facial features altogether.

“Is the tea to your liking?”

More unexpected than anything was his voice.
Befitting an indie game, “Surviving Among the Entities” did not have voice actors for its characters, the Suspicious Merchant included.

“Yes, I like it. But what kind of tea is this?”
“It’s brain tea, brewed from human brains.”
“I see.”
“You don’t appreciate jokes, do you? It’s just ordinary milk tea.”

The Suspicious Merchant had a woman’s voice. A clear, refreshing, pleasant voice to listen to.

“Are you an entity?”
“You ask quite directly. From your perspective, if you consider me an entity, then I am one. Perspectives are relative, so from my perspective, you are the entity.”
“Word games.”
“Indeed, word games.”

As we conversed, I examined the merchant’s body. Unfortunately, it was obscured by a thick coat like one train conductors in cold regions would wear, revealing nothing.

“But more importantly, I wish to trade.”
“Yes, but first please read the rules.”

The merchant’s six hands gestured towards the counter.

[General Store Trade Rules]
[1. Trades are conducted with goods, not currency.]
[2. If the subject is a living thing, it cannot be traded without its consent.]
[3. After a trade is completed, the merchant is not liable for any harm caused by the received goods.]
[4. Anyone causing physical or mental harm to the merchant will not be held responsible by the merchant for any subsequent events.]
[5. Gold is not accepted.]

“I’ve read them all. But why don’t you accept gold?”
“To avoid trouble from the company.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Now, please present the goods you wish to trade.”

I took out the safety grade entities from my bag. The first was Rubber Rubber Duck.

“An intriguing entity.”

The merchant’s narrowly slit eyes suddenly widened. With pupils dilated enough for billiard balls to fit, the merchant’s eyes kept adjusting like a camera aperture as his six hands grasped and rotated Rubber Rubber Duck this way and that.

“But there are two issues. First, I enjoy tranquility. This child lives for the amusement of disrupting peace, so I’m reluctant to accept it considering the stress until it’s sold.”
“I understand.”
“Second, this child does not wish to come to me.”
“You mean it doesn’t want to be sold?”
“Yes. It wants to stay with you. It was trying to surprise you, but since you never reacted, it’s piqued instead.”

Fascinating. Even an insignificant entity like Rubber Rubber Duck has a sense of self.

“Oho, this is…..”

Next, he appraised “Peace to the Big Toe.”

“One of Dr. Janus’s early products. But I have no nails, and it doesn’t seem like other customers would appreciate it either.”

Next, he appraised the WK Special Tumbler.

“Merchandise from the 1,000th anniversary event of the WK fast food chain’s opening. Unlike their other products, this is just a participation prize with little significance. It doesn’t seem appealing enough for other customers.”

Next was Mr. Ando Chef’s All-Purpose Sauce.

“Ah! Mr. Ando Chef’s sauce! The sauce bottle from the legendary chef who has a 100-year reservation waiting list, this has good merchantability!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, there are many customers seeking fine cuisine, so this will satisfy numerous customers. I may even have to hold an auction, it’s been that long.”

Finally, a tradable entity had appeared.

“Is there anything in particular you desire? If not, I will present goods of equivalent value at my discretion. I swear on a merchant’s honor that I will not undervalue them.”
“There is something I want.”

I gestured towards the fountain pen tucked into a pencil case behind him.

“Isn’t that perhaps a great author’s heirloom?”
“You have a discerning eye. Yes, that’s correct. Would you like to trade for that? It’s far less valuable, but…”
“Yes, I’ll take that.”

I exchanged the sauce bottle for the fountain pen.

‘With this, I’ve acquired an identity.’

Next was the Bountiful God’s Flower Pot.

“This too is appealing. While it loses points for containing the power of a foolish transcendental being, the great strength of bearing completely different fruits regardless of what plant is grown is undeniable.”

He had mentioned having many customers seeking fine cuisine, so it’s no surprise this is highly praised too.

“I’ll trade this as well. How would you like to proceed this time?”
“There’s something I want.”

Something I had been considering since deciding to come here.

“I want to enter the Shattered Ark. Is that possible?”

The merchant nodded.

“It’s possible.”

From the moment I learned of the future one month away through Dial-A-TV, I had pondered how to survive.

What was the identity of the hostile entity.
What were its weaknesses.
What characteristics did it have in the game, and how could I escape if encountered.
What information was written in the wiki, and so on.

Putting everything together, to survive I absolutely had to enter a place called the Shattered Ark, and the only way to enter was through the Suspicious Merchant.

“This is the place.”

Because the Shattered Ark was a fixed entity owned by the Suspicious Merchant.
The merchant led me inside his store. Past various items, we arrived at a warehouse storing a small wooden room that seemed forcibly torn away from somewhere else.

“Do you know what this is?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”

The Shattered Ark.
According to the wiki, it was the ark built by Noah, but in later times was corrupted by the Antichrists and became cursed.

“It may be a burden for humans to enter.”
“It’s fine. I need the time inside.”
“Well, I suppose it will be fine for you.”

If you enter and close the door, you are transferred to a special space where you become trapped for one year.
While inside, time does not flow in the outside world – users referred to this entity used for ability training as the Room of Mind and Time.

‘Depending on what training you chose before entering, those abilities would be greatly enhanced.’

The only regret was that it could only be used once in a lifetime.

“If I enter this time, I’ll see you again in a year.”
“I suppose so. I’ll prepare some tea for you.”
“Then……”

Finishing our conversation, I opened the old wooden door.
As I entered and closed it behind me, I was immediately transferred somewhere other than the store.

“So this is Noah’s Ark.”

Before I knew it, I was standing on the deck.
The deck of an immense ship sailing across the boundless sea.

“It’s far larger than any aircraft carrier.”

Like a moving island.

“Well, I suppose it had to be to carry pairs of every animal in the world.”

On the deck were two bowls and a cup filled with food.

“Rye bread, milk, and cheese.”

The taste was neither good nor bad.
After finishing the food, when I blinked my eyes the dishes and cup were refilled.

“Just as described.”

After observing the sea once, I took out My Mind’s Notebook from my pocket.

“It’s fortunate I have the great author’s heirloom.”

The entities sold by the merchant appear randomly each time the game is run, so I had been worried they might not have it.

“If they didn’t, I would have had to purchase entities or items that could endlessly replenish ink instead.”

The great author’s heirloom was an exquisite fountain pen.
Aside from the ON/OFF button on top, it didn’t look like an entity at all.

“In reality, as long as you don’t press the button, it’s simply a fountain pen with infinite ink.”

Using this to acquire an identity was a task for later.
For now, infinite ink would suffice.

“Alright then……”

I lay on the floor and opened My Mind’s Notebook.

“If I want to finish writing everything within a year, I won’t have a moment’s rest.”

I began preparing countermeasures to survive against the entity Dial-A-TV had spoken of.