Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 142

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 142: Episode 27 — Something That Cannot Be Read (4)

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[Your body awakens from a powerful shock.]

[Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3 has been deactivated.]

Sensation gradually returned, and I felt my consciousness settling back into my body. But something was off. Why wasn't the revival message appearing?

[Because the connection to First-Person Supporting Character's Viewpoint is unstable, you cannot receive the reward of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3.]

As the pain in my solar plexus slowly came back, the weight of my body began to feel real.

Something had gone wrong. I forced my eyes half-open and saw Yu Junghyeok glaring down at me. Damn, that startled me.

"Kim Dokja, are you dead?"

I was starting to understand what had happened. I understood why there had been no revival message, and why I hadn't received the reward for Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3. I had never died in the first place.

"Kim Dokja."

I had just been punched in the solar plexus hard enough to feel like dying.

That damned bastard. What happened to all that talk about killing me? Why hadn't he gone through with it?

「...Should I have just killed him from the start?」

At the unexpected message, I shut the mouth I had been about to open. [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] had activated on its own. Yu Junghyeok's thoughts poured out like a waterfall.

「Everything has been twisted because of this bastard.」

「It has already become too different from the previous rounds I knew. The amount of information I can use is far too limited. At this rate, I won't be able to save the world.」

Well, look at that.

「What happened with the Salvation Sect Leader was because I overused the Time Rift in the last round. Spending a hundred years training there was a mistake. My mental energy was permanently damaged, and that was how he got me.」

「Or perhaps the mistake was failing to obtain the Absolute Throne.」

「At this rate, it would be better to start over from the beginning...」

Damn it, his regressor's depression was flaring up just because he had lost once. Was it because of the mental attack? Worried he might get the wrong idea, I shouted through the pain.

"It hurts like hell, you bastard!"

At my provocation, Yu Junghyeok glanced at me and asked in a sunken voice, "You were the one who told me to hit you hard enough to kill you. Did it work?"

"More or less. The immediate fire's out."

Yu Junghyeok's expression didn't look bright at all, so while rubbing my aching solar plexus, I told him part of what I had learned.

How I had contacted Lee Hyeongseong, and how I had rescued Jeong Huiwon.

Of course, I carefully left out everything about [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint].

Normally, he would have picked apart a story this flimsy, but Yu Junghyeok was half out of his mind and only nodded gloomily.

"So that happened. What are you going to do now?"

"I haven't thought that far yet. But the situation is actually very optimistic."

"That woman Yu Sangah must be important to you, so finding her first is the priority. Did the Salvation Sect Leader take her?"

"Probably. Either way, this is definitely a hopeful situation."

"What's so hopeful about it?"

"Junghyeok, we can save the world. You know that, right?"

At that, Yu Junghyeok glared at me.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I thought I might have made it too obvious, so I added an excuse.

"What I mean is, if my guess is right, Nirvana wouldn't have laid a finger on Yu Sangah. Not the Nirvana I know."

"...Don't tell me you know about the Reincarnator too."

Yu Junghyeok's eyes gradually narrowed.

I started wondering if I had pushed it too far, but just then Min Jiwon, who had been standing nearby, cut in. She looked startled.

"You two have gotten quite close."

"Close? More importantly, are you alright?"

"Thanks to you. I almost ended up becoming part of the Salvation Sect."

The encounter with Nirvana seemed to have left deep trauma behind, and Min Jiwon's pretty lips trembled. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to spare for her circumstances.

"King of Beauty, I think we're going to need your help."

* * *

I began gathering our scattered companions with the King of Beauty's Hwarang.

The urgent priority was stopping any additional damage caused by Nirvana's [thought infection]. If someone like Lee Jihye, whose mental energy could rival a sunfish's, got infected by some bizarre ideology, a major disaster could break out, with the [Ghost Fleet] appearing on the Han River and turning Seoul into a wasteland.

Fortunately, Lee Gilyeong and Shin Yuseong were bickering somewhere nearby, and it wasn't hard to find Pildu Gong either, even though he had occupied an entire building and was carrying out some bizarre sit-in.

"I wanted to stay in that land."

"You mean peace land?"

"Goddamn it..."

Pildu Gong looked genuinely bitter that the Scenario had ended. Well, he had been playing king over there. Han Suyeong had been a "goddess," no less, so I was curious what she was feeling right now.

"Supreme King-nim! Please take us in!"

"We respect you!"

I was wondering what this ear-splitting level of flattery was about, but they were all new Incarnations who had flowed into this Scenario.

It seemed word had already spread that we had returned from peace land.

I looked to the side and saw that Yu Junghyeok was frowning too.

「Even if there were a hundred truckloads of people like that, they couldn't save the world.」

「As expected, the answer is regression...」

"Alright, alright. Our Supreme King is in a bad mood right now, so everyone get lost. You want to die?"

I personally stepped in and removed the causes of his depression. The new Incarnations glared at me like stalker fans being chased off by a manager.

"Who's that bastard?"

"I heard he's some Ugly King or something."

These little bastards, seriously. I was just about to say something when, unexpectedly, Yu Junghyeok spoke first.

"If you want to join me, come back after becoming someone who can actually be useful to me."

Unlike usual, his cold voice carried a strange depression within it. Still, insulting people was insulting people, so I figured his fans would all scatter now, but somehow...

"Holy shit, that's cool... that brooding, dark voice..."

Every last Incarnation, male and female alike, looked completely smitten.

"He's so chic! I'll get stronger! I'll definitely be useful to you!"

Why was the world so unfair? And why were they only looking for Yu Junghyeok?

Had everyone already forgotten that I was the one who subdued the Salvation Sect Leader?

Just then, someone spoke up.

"Hey, but looking at it earlier, didn't that 'Ugly King' guy seem stronger?"

"Huh? Really?"

I didn't know if it was really true, but I wanted to tell them I was pretty strong too.

"Hey, idiot. Are your eyes on the back of your head? Obviously the Supreme King did all the work and that guy just stole the final blow."

"I knew it."

My two trembling fists were starting to feel heavier by the second, and then I realized Shin Yuseong and Lee Gilyeong were hanging off both my hands.

"I think ajussi is handsome."

"Hyung, a man's face isn't everything."

As expected, only the kids were on my side... No, only Shin Yuseong was.

Still, Ugly King? It seemed that sort of thing had somehow become my official nickname. Honestly, I couldn't understand it. Before the destruction began, I had never once heard someone call me ugly to my face.

At this rate, I was the one who ought to be suffering from depression, not Yu Junghyeok.

"Ugly King? Puhahaha."

At the teasing voice, I raised my head and saw Lee Jihye.

With this, aside from Jeong Huiwon and Lee Hyeongseong, who were farther away, and Yu Sangah, whom we couldn't bring back for now, almost all of our fighting strength had gathered.

Grrrrroooar!

At the howl coming from somewhere, Yu Junghyeok reacted first.

"A large monster species. Grade 6."

"Come to think of it, they said a Scenario was still in progress here, right?"

Lee Jihye was right. The seventh Scenario, Monster Hunt, was an event Scenario for Incarnations who hadn't been able to participate in peace land, as well as for new Incarnations.

...But had Grade 6 monster species appeared in the seventh Scenario?

The one who answered my question was Min Jiwon.

"I'm sorry, but the seventh Scenario already ended."

"...It said it was still in progress a little while ago."

"You must have come in while the rewards were being tallied. The progress itself had already wrapped up. The Salvation Sect Leader received the top reward."

As expected of the Salvation Sect Leader. Come to think of it, when I met Nirvana earlier, there had been signs that the Salvation Sect followers had just come back from hunting monster species.

"Then where did that come from?"

"Everyone, get ready. There isn't just one or two of them."

As Yu Junghyeok drew the Sky Shaking Supreme Sword, the rest of the companions also raised their weapons. Then, almost at the same moment, the building ahead collapsed and monster species with gigantic forelegs came charging out.

[Grade 6 monster species, Heavy Hound, has appeared in the Scenario!]

At a glance, there were well over ten of them.

"Monster species at Grade 6 don't move in packs like this. What the hell are these things?"

We all swung our weapons at the monster species. Lee Jihye activated [Demon Slaying], and Pildu Gong deployed [Armored Fortress]. Add Yu Junghyeok's [Sky Splitter Sword Art] and Shin Yuseong and Lee Gilyeong's [Inter-Species Communication] on top of that, and there was hardly anything left for me to do. Our companions really had grown stronger.

Graaaah!

We wiped out ten Grade 6 monster species in an instant, but that didn't solve the situation.

Pildu Gong shouted, "More are coming!"

"Everyone, get over here!"

We had to reduce the damage no matter what, so I evacuated the new Incarnations while severing a Heavy Hound's neck with the Blade of Faith. Of course, I didn't forget to collect the monster species' cores whenever one dropped.

[The Constellation Secretive Plotter wants to see your deduction skills.]

But something felt off.

This development didn't exist in the original third round. Not in the 4th round, not in the 5th round... not even in the 10th round.

It felt like I was missing something important.

Think, Kim Dokja. When had a Scenario like this appeared?

[Your memory has increased due to the effect of your exclusive attribute.]

...No way?

[Attention, Incarnations of Seoul Dome.]

As if it had been waiting for that moment, a broadcast message from a dokkaebi rang out.

It wasn't Bihyeong. It was a voice I had never heard before.

[You were startled by all these monsters showing up out of nowhere, weren't you? Ooh... As you probably guessed, the next Scenario has started. We wanted to give you some time to rest, but unfortunately that didn't work out. This Scenario isn't being run under us dokkaebis' supervision. It proceeds automatically.]

[A new Main Scenario has arrived.]

[Main Scenario #8 - The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb has begun.]

It was a different name from the eighth Scenario I knew.

I immediately opened the Scenario details.

Category: Main

Difficulty: S

Clear conditions: Survive the surging monsters (please note that the monsters' grade increases every 4 hours in this scenario).

Time limit: —

Rewards: ???

Penalty for failure: Death

* There are additional clear conditions.

* Hints will be provided every four hours.

[Oh, and just so you know, Grade 6 is only the beginning. In four hours, Grade 5 will come pouring in, and then four hours after that, Grade 4 will come pouring in. And then four hours after that... Heheh, well. I don't need to tell you the rest, do I?]

At that, one of the Incarnations shouted, "What the hell? What kind of Scenario is that?"

"Huh? It doesn't even show a time limit?"

[Time limit? Hahaha. There's no such thing.]

I knew those words were true. Nirvana, the Salvation Sect Leader, had appeared out of nowhere, and Yu Junghyeok and his companions had grown stronger than they were in the original third round...

Something came vaguely to mind.

I was sure TWSA had once had a development like this too.

[This is all because you've all become too strong. Honestly, for only the Korean Incarnations to become this absurdly unbalanced... couldn't you have shown a little more restraint with your greed? This Scenario automatically activates when the Incarnations of a particular dome become excessively strong.]

The Incarnations of Seoul Dome murmured in confusion.

[I'll tell you this in advance. There are only two ways to solve this Scenario.]

Then additional conditions appeared in midair.

Additional Clear Conditions (choose 1):

1. Half of Seoul Dome's incarnations must die.

* Current number of incarnations [107,624].

The dokkaebi spoke as if impressed.

[Hm, this many of you are still alive? Nice. It's even, too.]

"Hey! Don't talk bullshit!"

"So you dokkaebi bastards are telling us all to die?!"

The dokkaebi laughed and added:

[Calm down. There's a second condition too.]

Additional Clear Conditions (choose 1):

2. Seoul Dome's strongest incarnation must die.

...I understood.

So that was why this Scenario was called The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb. In other words, even if half of Seoul Dome's Incarnations didn't die, the Scenario would still end if just the single strongest Incarnation died.

"The strongest Incarnation? What? Who are they talking about?"

"How are we supposed to know if you don't tell us who it is?!"

[Hahaha, we can't tell you that. Where would the fun be in that? Well, the strongest person probably knows best who they are.]

The dokkaebi spoke teasingly.

[Now then, try your hardest to find them. Or who knows? Maybe that strongest Incarnation is an apostle of justice who'll gladly lay down their life for all of you. Ah, but leaving it at that would be a bit dull, so I'll give you a hint. May the story's blessing be with you all.]

Currently, Seoul Dome's tenth strongest incarnation is Naval Commander Lee Jihye.

"Wow, what? No way. I'm only tenth?"

Lee Jihye grumbled. But among the companions, there wasn't a single person who could laugh at her act. That was because everyone was too busy staring at one particular man. In other words, the one whose thoughts I was busily eavesdropping on right now.

「Everything has become too twisted.」

「At last, a Scenario I know nothing about has appeared.」

Please, Yu Junghyeok...

「I can't think of any way to set this right immediately. At this rate, in this life, I'll have to regress...」

Damn it, what was supposed to happen to me if he regressed? There was no way I was going to accept becoming some powerless existence who got swept away and died like this.

I gritted my teeth and glared at him, clenching my fists tight.

It seemed the moment had finally come for me to step in.

Footnotes:

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