Surviving Among the Entities

Two weeks had passed since enhancing the Scales of Good and Evil to add new rules to the world.

[Drug cartel boss dies of hypertension while defecating in the bathroom]
[Veteran Japanese entertainer embroiled in sexual misconduct scandal suffers serious injury from slipping on stairs on a rainy day, ruptured testicles as karmic retribution?]
[Granddaughter of chaebol involved in workplace bullying scandal chokes on rice cake while lying down, currently in critical condition]

The wicked have their fortune taken away and become embroiled in unlucky accidents.
The virtuous receive fortune, with unexpected opportunities presenting themselves.

Simply observing these incidents and accidents was quite enjoyable, so I added checking online news daily to my routine.

“I don’t know if it’s the work of the Scales of Good and Evil or just coincidence, but it’s enjoyable to watch.”

However, there were hardly any stories about the virtuous.

‘Modern news is marinated in sensational dopamine hits, so the misfortunes of the wicked are more entertaining than virtuous tales.’

And the fortune received by the virtuous is unlikely to be prominently featured in the news, making it harder to see.

“Hmm.”

Should I count this as positive karma too?
They said karmic deeds are not calculated when entangled with transcendent beings.

‘Since the Scales of Good and Evil had a self, karma may not be calculated, but from the tool aspect, it may be calculated.’

I took out the Forgotten Alchemist’s Equivalent Exchange Scales to check.

[Price: All positive karma you currently possess]

Three rewards matching the positive karma I possessed appeared.

[1. One 355ml can of Zero Cherry Pepsi]
[2. The ability to directly peel a Nori seaweed sheet and have 2 sheets of Dashima seaweed inside]
[3. One autograph of a random ordinary person living in Los Angeles]

As expected, rather unremarkable rewards.

“Well, if it worked out, I could’ve endlessly copied positive karma.”

The fact that I could even receive these was likely because I had been helping visitors to my office.

“Should I try using the Forgotten Alchemist’s Equivalent Exchange Scales to help people as well?”

The next day, I went to the office.

“Ugh, I’m worried about my hair loss. What should I do?”
“I’m a university student taking the CSAT this year. To be honest, I’ve been slacking on studies, but my parents said they’ll buy me a car if I get into Seoul National University. Please help me!”
“……The novel series I was enjoying got canceled. Please, revive it somehow!”

I introduced the Forgotten Alchemist’s Equivalent Exchange Scales to the visitors.

“What a great item! I’ll give it a try!”
“I’ve heard all the precautions! Yes! I’ll use it well!”
“Ehehe, with this, I can read the canceled novel series again!”

There was little I could assist with when using the scales.
The equivalent exchange price was material or conceptual possessions the person could pay.
The usage method also had the person operate it directly, so all I could do was provide prior explanations and warn if the price may cause irreversible changes.

“Ahahahaha! My hair is growing back! I’ve escaped hair loss! If it weren’t for hair loss, I could easily give up a few inches of height!”
“Heheh! Giving up 10 years of lifespan for Seoul National is a steal! Isn’t this a complete jackpot?”
“There’s an announcement that the canceled series is resuming! And they’ve even stockpiled enough for the full completion! Huh? The price? It’s nothing. I just can’t eat my favorite food for 10 years!”

Instead, I could provide guidelines.
I had quite a few people use the scales and investigated the prices offered, using this to create guidelines for the six most common concerns people sought help for.

[The following is a table of prices required for these rewards.]
[Prices may vary depending on the individual, so please use this as a reference only.]

[Reward: A healthy body equivalent to a diligent 20-year-old]
[Prices]
[1. The altered body will age 30 years faster]
[2. Unable to consume fried or flour-based foods for life]
[3. 2 billion won]

[Reward: 2 billion won]
[Prices]
[1. Body will age 30 years faster]
[2. Unable to use the internet for life]
[3. 2 billion won]

[Reward: IQ 150 brain]
[Prices]
[1. Removal of all erogenous zones in the body]
[2. Unable to masturbate or have sex for life]
[3. 5 billion won]

[Reward: Meeting and marrying one’s ideal partner]
[Prices]
[1. Knees that feel stabbing pain when it rains]
[2. Become a lightweight who tears up from foods over 300 Scoville units]
[3. 500 million won]

[Reward: Getting hired at desired workplace]
[Prices]
[1. Ingrown toenails on both big toes for 10 years]
[2. Unable to eat food made by others for 3 years]
[3. 1 billion won]

[Reward: Family happiness and peace]
[Prices]
[1. All 4 wisdom teeth regrow once a year]
[2. Unable to consume alcohol, smoke, or gamble for life]
[3. 3 billion won]

I posted the guidelines in the office lounge and at desks.

“I guess since it’s an entity, the material monetary aspect isn’t perfectly equivalent.”

3 billion won for family happiness and peace?
Some humans would exchange that even for 30 million won.
Some would pay 1 billion won instead of 500 million to meet and marry their ideal partner, and some would pay 10 billion won instead of 2 billion for health.

“The value of money is a human metric, not an entity’s.”

In any case, thanks to the Equivalent Exchange Scales, I could help quite a few people.
Interestingly, unlike the Scales of Good and Evil, helping people with the Equivalent Exchange Scales increased my positive karma.

“The self of the Scales of Good and Evil was quite human-like. The Equivalent Exchange Scales feel like an outdated AI reciting set manuals. The difference between a transcendent being and a tool, perhaps.”

The more the merrier for me.
However, one concern arose.

[Mission: Win first place at an international art competition or contest]
[Deadline: 60 days]

Soon, the penalty for the Quest Ticket will arrive.
Precisely one month from today, the mission deadline will end.

“I shouldn’t have accepted it if I knew this would happen.”
[I clearly told you.]

Sarang woke up and nagged me.

[Quest deadlines start counting the moment the ticket’s mission is accepted, so for an international film festival where winners are notified in advance, the optimal judgement was to accept it then.]
“But that’s proof of having no confidence in one’s work. I didn’t want to do such a cowardly act.”
[So what was the result?]
“……Sometimes I think, what if I was born about 100 years later?”
[Even 100 years later, Seung-hoon’s works would not gain public recognition.]

Ouch, that stung.

[However, there is a possibility that a certain group would highly praise Seung-hoon’s work ‘Possibilities.’ I have sent the film to that group.]
“Really? When?”
[When the previous incident ended, so it should be any moment now……]

No sooner had she finished speaking when Sarang received a call.
Switching to speaker mode, text appeared on the screen saying ‘Translating’ indicating it was a foreigner.

-Mr. Seung-hoon?
“Yes, speaking.”
-Hello.

From beyond the smartphone, the unnamed person spoke to me.

-We sincerely congratulate you on winning the Grand Prize at the World Porno Festival!

[World Porno Festival]
[A global event jointly hosted by internationally renowned adult film festivals like the Erotic Film Festival (FICEB), Venus Berlin, LA EroFest, Sexpo, Japan Adult Expo, and AVN Adult Entertainment Expo.]

[A sort of Pornographic Olympics that will select the most creative, obscene, sensual, alluring, and outrageous porn as the Ballon d’Or of the porn world.]

[The first edition is scheduled for the first half of 2025.]

I looked up information about the World Porno Festival online.

“……So that’s where I submitted it?”
[Yes. After analyzing ‘Possibilities,’ this was determined to have the highest probability of winning among international film festivals. And you did indeed win.]

Winning was nothing special, really.
It just meant my work would be screened in multiple theaters.
For something created jointly by various international groups, there didn’t seem to be an award ceremony or many prizes, but Sarang’s investigation indicated it was a newly established festival with various internal issues leading to poor coordination.

“I suppose they’ll do better next year. More than that, I want to see the audience’s reaction.”
[Hacking and translating audience reaction footage, playing now.]

Footage played of various foreigners evaluating ‘Possibilities.’

[Wow! Truly amazing! This is a newly born Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom for the 21st century!]
[A feast of every human fetish! Damn! I had a constant erection throughout!]
[Aptly named ‘Possibilities,’ encapsulating all human sexual possibilities, the only flaw is the overly long runtime!]
[Not just eroticism, but also containing human history, philosophical and beautiful. Through this work, I gained insight into humanity’s obsession with anal, the incest taboo of group societies, human progress, and future new sexual orientations. First thing I’ll do when I get home is try the exhaust pipe.]
[A harmony of philosophy and sublime visuals. Feeling the film’s philosophy brings tears above, appreciating the visual beauty brings tears below.]

The audience reviews were excellent.

[A new discovery in porn, simultaneously treading the path of convention and new frontiers.]
[Six straight hours of beauty. Constant dopamine rushes giving me a headache.]
[If you haven’t seen this yet, you have no right to watch porn.]
[The Citizen Kane of porn.]

Needless to say, the judges’ reviews matched the grand prize status.

“I was reported at ordinary film festivals. But here, I was recognized.”

What was needed for recognition was not time, but the audience.

‘What caused this difference?’

The perspective had changed.
Whether my work was seen as an ordinary film or as porn.

‘Those who saw it as an ordinary film only felt discomfort, unable to grasp the philosophy within. Conversely, those who saw it as porn read my philosophy hidden within the eroticism.’

Ordinary films require cultivation.
Called Stúdĭum, one strives to evaluate the subject from others’ perspectives, attempting interpretation from societal norms and a collective human aspect rather than personal intent.

“That’s why people share films. They want to see if their experience and appreciation aligns with others’, finding stable Stúdĭum by sharing similar appreciations with the masses.”

But porn is different.
In modern society, porn belonged to an extremely private realm.

“Porn can only be fully understood when viewed from personal, subjective experiences, not cultivation.”

By discarding social cultivation.
Only after removing the ordinary person’s mask could one truly perceive my work.

“Punctum.”

Not general understanding,
but the profound impression and realization instantaneously received through personal tastes, experiences, the subconscious, and so on.

“It seems modern people could only understand my film through Punctum.”

Of course those attending a porn festival would be avid porn viewers.
Their Punctum was superb, and by shedding cultivation, they recognized the true value of my work.

[No, Seung-hoon? Isn’t that an over-interpretation……]
“I must write down these feelings.”

I immediately turned on the computer and accessed online communities.
Still blocked from most communities, but I could not hold back these feelings at all.

“I’ll use Tor.”

I am innocent.
As a debater, I only wanted to engage in discussion, but was unjustly blocked.
As an innocent person, bypassing IP would be admitting guilt despite my innocence, so I had refrained from using it. But I could no longer hold back from leaving these feelings in writing.

“No, I don’t even need Tor. Sarang, a request.”
[……Yes, I will unblock the existing ID.]
“Unblock the suspensions from all communities.”
[All communities, you said?]
“And send all the highlight scenes from ‘Possibilities’ I prepared earlier to the computer.”
[Seung-hoon?]
“Ah, everything I write from now on, please simultaneously post it to every community I’m a member of.”

The flame of debate was ignited.

[Author: IAmDebater]
[Title: Philosophical Discussion on Stúdĭum and Punctum, Personal Desires and Societal Desires, Porn and Daily Life, Their Boundaries and Art]

It’s been a while since I’ve written.

[Who is IAmDebater?]
[Posted obscene material to every Korean online community, extremely dangerous, horrifying, and disgusting photos.]
[Disguised as philosophical writing, but actually meaningless drivel.]
[Numerous netizens currently suffering trauma, side effects including headaches, chills, and nausea.]

“It seems my writing was insufficient to change the world of Stúdĭum.”

Unfortunately, people did not recognize that the film I used as screenshots was ‘Possibilities.’
No one had interest in the World Porno Festival, and thanks to the Scales of Good and Evil, the previous arrest was nullified with no evidence remaining.

[The writing wasn’t lacking……]
“But alas, it can’t be helped. More importantly……”

The moment I received the award message,
an indescribable power surged through my entire body.

“I should try driving.”

Then, the doorbell rang.

“Ah! Resolver Mr. Seung-hoon?”
“Yes, that’s me.”

The visitors were police officers.

“Did you come about IAmDebater?”
“Huh? No? That’s not us, but the Sexual Violence and Cyber Terror Investigation divisions?”
“I see.”
“We came to request your assistance on another matter. You weren’t at the office, so we shamelessly came to your residence……”

Darn.
I wanted to test my driving skills first.

“Please come in for now.”

But helping those in need comes first.

“Should I serve you tea or coffee?”