I observed Han Seo-yeon once more after hearing Aria’s words.
She looked completely different from before. I even rubbed my eyes without realizing it. Her current aura was entirely different from when she was being chased by the ghost.
The clumsy, fearful girl was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was on high alert, scanning her surroundings with every nerve on edge.
She had become a completely different person.
‘Is she like a single lone wolf?’
“What is this? Was her earlier behavior just an act to bait subscribers?”
“Guardian, were you thinking the same thing?”
“…You too?”
Looking closely, the area around her was an old religious building with plenty of places for cover, making it a suitable spot to hide from someone’s gaze. Even while eating, Han Seo-yeon never let her guard down.
Suddenly, she looked like a battle-hardened veteran soldier.
“What is this? Is she Jekyll and Hyde?”
“Why don’t you just ask her?”
“Ah. Right.”
I used the Rocket Store to send her a message.
— Are you the same person from earlier?
Upon seeing my message, Han Seo-yeon stopped eating and sank into thought for a moment. Soon, she began to tell her story in a low voice.
[Don’t you know?]
Know what?
[If you — Anomaly, your mind gets polluted. It depends on how — the — of the Anomaly is and how — you are when you — it.]
“Mental pollution? What’s that? More importantly, why can’t I hear her well? Aria, is it the same for you?”
“Yes! It sounds like there’s noise cutting in every now and then.”
Was the system having trouble broadcasting? There was no way that could be happening.
**[Would you like to pay an information usage fee to check information regarding Mental Pollution in the Other Side? (Usage Fee: 10,000 coins)]**
So that was it.
**[10,000 coins have been paid as the information usage fee. Displaying relevant information.]**
It seemed there was common knowledge in this world that I wasn’t aware of, much like the Halflings’ off-season for their sense of taste.
**[Mental Pollution of the Other Side]**
**Mental Pollution refers to a phenomenon where the mind and thought systems are warped due to exposure to the negative, non-material energy emitted by Anomalies. Prolonged exposure to an Anomaly’s energy amplifies internal anxiety and fear. Depending on how dangerous the Anomaly is and how long the Mental Pollution has accumulated, one may experience panic, terror, illusions, auditory hallucinations, personality distortion, and loss of cognitive ability.**
“Panic, terror, illusions, auditory hallucinations, personality distortion, and loss of cognitive ability?”
Every single symptom sounded terrifying just reading about them. She went through this every time she encountered an Anomaly?
‘So that means she wasn’t in her right mind until now.’
Comparing these Anomalies to simple monsters was an insult. Was each one of them essentially a boss monster?
Unlike my first impression of her, Han Seo-yeon now looked remarkably different. It was simply amazing that she could endure and survive in such a world alone without going insane.
Since I had purchased the information, the noise in her voice disappeared.
[Depending on how dangerous the Anomaly is and how close I am to it, my mind gets polluted. When that happens, the version of me that was weak right after I fell into this world comes out without me realizing it. My current self is the one that has adapted to this world.]
“I… completely misunderstood.”
“Me too.”
In short, it seemed the earlier behavior was a manifestation of her past, fragile self because her mind had been polluted by the Water Ghost.
— How do you resolve that Mental Pollution?
[If you defeat the Anomaly that caused it or get far away and rest, it gradually decreases. Thanks to you, my mind returned to normal quickly this time. Thank you.]
— No, no. Don’t mention it. More importantly, I took a look at the information just now. It said you were cursed.
[You can see that too? It’s true. The first Anomaly I met took the form of a young girl… She had a wicked hobby of toying with humans. She played with my two friends who fell into this world with me like they were toys before killing them. She only left me alive on purpose, leaving this curse so she could watch me struggle.]
“How horrible! How could anyone do that? Anomalies must be as evil as the undead!”
Aria, completely immersed in the story, got angry as if it were her own problem.
— How do you escape that world? Is there an end?
[I don’t know the details. But that Anomaly really liked games. She hated cheating, too. She said if I increase my subscribers and defeat Anomalies, I’ll be able to meet her again. She said she’d send me home then.]
— Do you believe her?
[I’m not sure. I just don’t know any other way.]
“Ah.”
I let out a short sigh so she wouldn’t hear. Only then did I realize why she risked her life and never let go of the camera. It was all a desperate struggle for survival.
— I’ll help you.
[I’d appreciate that. To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to a person, so I’m enjoying myself. The subscribers don’t really talk to me, even if they send donations.]
That part was also cruel.
While a chill ran down my spine, a question welled up. The fact that the Rocket Store was connected to Han Seo-yeon’s smartphone was surprising enough, but were there no Towers or monsters in the Other Side?
— Are there no Towers or monsters in your world?
Han Seo-yeon tilted her head at my question.
[Towers? There’s nothing like that. By monsters, do you mean Anomalies?]
I expected as much, but still. I realized that in the Other Side, there were no monsters, let alone Towers. Instead, she was risking her life against these bizarre beings called Anomalies.
— Then how are you living?
[Usually, I get coins by defeating Anomalies or through donations. I use them to buy food, pills to lower Mental Pollution, and disguise tools from the smartphone shop. Sometimes they sell items useful for defeating Anomalies based on the clues I find. I’m not really sure why the Rocket Store was added.]
I understood everything else. But what were disguise tools?
[There are no people in this world. Instead, low-risk Anomalies act somewhat like humans. They can communicate in a clumsy way, and there are ordinary-looking villages and cities. If I use disguise tools, low-risk Anomalies don’t notice that I’m human.]
With that, Han Seo-yeon showed me the disguise tools. Every single one of them looked like special effects makeup from a horror movie. If a child saw them, they would burst into tears immediately.
— Do you usually walk among the Anomalies wearing those?
[Yes. The Anomalies I have to defeat are all high-risk. I have to collect information. The quests instruct me to do so, too.]
— Quests?
[They started appearing after I was cursed by the first Anomaly I met. It must be that creature’s doing.]
— Have you ever seen other people?
[I have.]
— You have?
Wasn’t that the only good news so far? But why wasn’t she traveling with them?
[I saw them being hunted by the Anomalies in the village. It was unfortunate, but I didn’t have the strength to save them.]
“No. That’s…”
How could she say something like that so calmly? I couldn’t even begin to imagine the emotions and experiences Han Seo-yeon had gone through until now.
My heart began to race. I was someone who could watch almost any horror movie without batting an eye, but Han Seo-yeon’s situation was far too desperate.
[But don’t worry too much. I’ve survived in the Other Side for over a year like this.]
Could she hear my thoughts? It was the same with Leon, but why were all the people from other worlds living in such desperate conditions?
I felt like I wanted to help her however I could. At first, my goal was only to save the world I lived in, but as my interactions increased, it felt like my goals were multiplying.
“My late parents always told me to help others if I had the means.”
— Then, is there a specific way to use the items like those traces of lingering thoughts you sent me earlier?
[Actually, I carried them around thinking they’d be useful someday, but I haven’t figured it out yet.]
— If you have any byproducts or strange items left over from catching Anomalies, could you show them to me? I think I might be able to purchase them.
After seeing my message, Han Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment. Then, she began rummaging through her backpack and taking out items she had obtained from defeating Anomalies one by one, showing them to the camera.
[…They’re all bizarre collectibles, but I’ll take them out for now.]
The bag must have had a special function like an inventory, as items larger than the bag itself came pouring out.
The first was an old clockwork pendulum.
[I got this after defeating an Anomaly that looked like a grandfather clock. The clock stopped, but every time I touch it, I get a weird chill, so I was going to throw it away. I can feel an ominous energy from it.]
The second was a chilled pebble left behind by a shadow.
[Do you know about the Anomalies that vanish, leaving only their shadows? This is a pebble left in the spot where they were. It’s cold to the touch, so I used it for cooling in the summer. I’ve just been keeping it as a souvenir now.]
The third was the Whispering Mask.
[It’s a mask worn by an Anomaly that appears in the middle of the night. If you put this on your face, you can understand the nonsensical sounds the Anomalies utter. But every bit of it was eccentric nonsense. It actually amplified the Mental Pollution. I don’t need it.]
The last was the Dew of the Ghost Flower.
[I collected this from a garden I found after defeating a plant-type Anomaly. There are flowers that only bloom at night, and this is like the dew that falls from them. It was so pretty and didn’t look ordinary, so I kept it in a bottle.]
“That’s the one!”
As the small bottle containing the dew appeared on the screen, Aria, who was watching the hologram beside me, suddenly cried out.
“Guardian! That! We absolutely need that! Ghost flowers are so rare that I’ve almost never seen them even in Terra. Especially that dew—it’s like a nutrient that helps the World Tree grow!”
I gulped. They might be useless ghost story collectibles to Han Seo-yeon, but to me, every single one of them looked like an extraordinary item.
“I know, I know. I was planning to buy them all anyway.”
I immediately sent her a message.
— Would you be willing to sell all the items you just showed me to me? If you do, I’ll send you the supplies you need.
Han Seo-yeon nodded with a bright face.
[Of course! They’re useless items to me anyway! I look forward to working with you!]
I immediately sent the promised reward.
— Understood. As payment for the trade, I’ll first send you some white rock salt and spare holy water. I’ll also send proper food and water regularly. If there’s anything you need right now, please tell me.
Han Seo-yeon’s eyes widened when she saw my message.
[I’ve already eaten, so… chicken feet! I want to eat chicken feet!]
Chicken feet, of all things. It was an unexpected request, but I readily agreed. In addition, I sent some goat milk. Since spicy chicken feet might cause heartburn, the savory and smooth goat milk would be helpful.
A moment later, Han Seo-yeon appeared on the screen, looking delighted as she held the chicken feet.
[Wow! It’s really chicken feet! It’s been a year since I’ve had these! And this isn’t regular milk, is it? It’s so savory and delicious!]
— That’s goat milk from goats raised by a Satyr. I’ll provide it whenever you want in the future.
It wasn’t an empty promise. I meant it.
[A Satyr? The half-man, half-beast from mythology?]
— The Rocket Store trades with various races from different dimensions besides humans.
[That’s amazing.]
Was that all the reaction I got? It was a Satyr! And I just said I trade with even more races! Then again, considering that Han Seo-yeon had adapted to the Other Side and her emotions had run dry, that might be a natural reaction.
[Well then. I should go down to the village and sleep now. See you next broadcast!]
After giving her sign-off, Han Seo-yeon rummaged through her backpack, pulled out the disguise tool that looked like special effects makeup, and put it on her face.
…I couldn’t help but find it grotesque no matter how many times I saw it.
After finishing her disguise, Han Seo-yeon cautiously stood up and began walking. Immediately after the hologram cut off, the Rocket Delivery arrived.
When I opened the delivery box, the old clockwork pendulum, the chilled pebble left by a shadow, the Whispering Mask, and the small bottle containing the Dew of the Ghost Flower—all of which I had traded with Han Seo-yeon—revealed themselves.
“Guardian!”
“I know.”
Because Aria was pestering me, I picked up the bottle of Dew of the Ghost Flower first. But wait, what was this?
**[Hidden Value of the Dew of the Ghost Flower]**
**This item is a substance formed from the condensed energy of the Other Side. If used as a material, a skill to purify corrupted mana will manifest.**
A material that guaranteed a skill? This was no ordinary thing.
“Guardian?”
How much could I get if I sold this? I hesitated for a moment.
“Guardian?”
“Here.”
No. I still had three more items left. I decided to hold back my rising greed.
“Thank you! I’ll sprinkle it on the World Tree right away!”
As Aria carefully sprinkled the Dew of the Ghost Flower onto the roots of the World Tree, the previously quiet tree began to emit a fierce light. It was a starkly different sight from usual.
The light was even more intense, and an eerily cold energy from the Other Side seeped out from the trunk of the tree. Was this the energy of the Anomalies that Han Seo-yeon felt?
I watched the scene with bated breath.
“I feel that the World Tree is just as happy as when I pruned it, despite how strange the energy feels.”
I looked at the remaining delivery items.
‘None of these are ordinary.’
The traces of lingering thoughts I had sent first were one thing, and the Dew of the Ghost Flower that made Aria jump with joy was another.
It was time to check the hidden values of the remaining materials.
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