Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 145

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 145: Episode 28 — The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb (3)

Our group arrived near Gwanghwamun with about thirty minutes to spare before the appointed time. Even as we walked, the same message kept flashing through my mind.

[You are currently the strongest incarnation in Seoul.]

Damn it, I'd appreciate it if the system would stop reminding me, I get it already.

Honestly, I felt flustered every time I saw it. Right now, even if I went all out, I couldn't guarantee victory against Junghyeok, and I could barely defeat Nirvana by exploiting attribute advantages. So why the hell was I considered the strongest?

But in the 51st chapter of TWSA, there's a passage that goes like this:

「In the Star Stream, strength and weakness have nothing to do with the magnitude of power or the mastery of techniques. All measures of strength originate from stories.」

That was exactly what Nirvana had told me, too. Stories ultimately determine strengths and weaknesses.

"Dokja-ssi!"

In the distance, Hyeonseong and Huiwon were approaching, supporting each other. Perhaps because of the incident from before, the trust between them felt even more solid than usual. Huiwon waved her hand and said, "We heard your declaration of war. It was quite spectacular."

"How are you both feeling?"

"I'm fine. Hyeonseong-ssi got a bit injured though..."

"I'm completely fine!"

"Always with the bluffing."

Hyeonseong thumped his chest confidently as if to prove there was nothing wrong. It seemed exaggerated, but calling it a mere bluff would be unfair. Now that Hyeonseong had begun properly inheriting the fable of the Master of Steel, I could already sense the weight of that fable emanating from him. He'd probably become one of the top five incarnations within the Seoul Dome by now.

In this world, strength is determined by the grade of one's fable.

The reason I was ranked as the strongest incarnation was probably because all the fables I'd accumulated in this life were of an impossibly rare grade. Of course, the fables that the regressor Junghyeok and the reincarnator Nirvana had built up were nothing to scoff at either, but their stories ultimately belonged to their past lives.

In the distance, the scenery around Gwanghwamun began to come into view.

I checked the time. Three hours and forty minutes had passed since the first wave hit. With monsters flooding in every four hours, the second wave would arrive soon.

"The Tier-5 monsters will be coming soon. Will the other incarnations be alright?"

"They should be fine here."

The crowd had grown noticeably larger than it had been ten minutes ago, and people kept pressing closer together.

"This is..."

Even Huiwon seemed to realize it now. Shouts echoed from all around. Every incarnation in Seoul was converging on Gwanghwamun.

"Defeat the Salvation Sect's leader!"

"We have to kill him to end this scenario!"

People wielding weapons shouted their slogans.

No one talked about freedom or equality. Seoul was too wretched now for such grand concepts. People had gathered for survival.

"Follow the Supreme King!"

"Destroy the Salvation Sect!"

Hyeonseong watched them with a complicated expression. "Dokja-ssi, you knew it would turn out this way."

"I expected as much."

No matter how many new incarnations had entered, and no matter how much the Salvation Sect was running rampant, the vast majority of Seoul's population was still existing incarnations. They just needed a rallying point. Watching the surging crowd, Pildu muttered, "Korea really has gone to hell. Damn it. Did all the government bastards who should be returning my land just die?"

"Old man, you can still say that in this situation?"

When Jihye clicked her tongue, Pildu smirked. "Aren't you going to save Sangah? I heard the Salvation Sect's leader captured her."

"I will save her. But not now."

I couldn't rush things. Even Nirvana wouldn't carelessly touch a terminal of Olympus.

Not unless they wanted to start an inter-nebula war.

A sparkling message appeared in the air just as Gwanghwamun filled with the incarnations' fervor.

<Hint 2>

Currently, Seoul Dome's ninth strongest incarnation is Insect Boy Lee Gilyeong.

Gilyeong's eyes sparkled when his name was called. "Hyung, it says I'm ninth place!"

"...There's no way I'm weaker than that brat."

"Everyone stop chattering and prepare to engage."

The group all nodded at once. The announcement of the second hint meant the second wave was beginning. A thunderous roar echoed from Seoul's outskirts, followed by the eerie howls of monsters.

Starting from Tier-5, monsters that could be classified as small catastrophes in certain cases would appear. In other words, they'd reached a level that ordinary incarnations would struggle to handle. Fortunately, since Seoul's incarnations had all gathered near Gwanghwamun, it wouldn't be an impossibly disadvantageous fight. The narrower the area to defend, the more advantageous it was for the defenders.

"We need to settle this within four hours. If it goes beyond that, Tier-4 monsters will start appearing. Then it's over."

The group nodded. Even small catastrophes were terrifying enough; no one wanted to see monsters from a higher tier running rampant. I asked Pildu and Hyeonseong to lead the incarnations and form a defensive line.

"Leave it to us."

"Hmph, but once the scenario ends, Gwanghwamun is mine."

I smiled bitterly and replied, "Sure, do whatever you want."

Sadly, once this scenario ended, the prime real estate of Seoul that Pildu wanted wouldn't exist anymore.

I led the rest of the group toward the center of Gwanghwamun. A massive, unfamiliar dome structure had been erected at the center. It seemed like a temporary building that the Salvation Sect had put up. The dome was opaque, making it hard to see inside, but looking closely, I could see someone giving a speech from the top.

"Fellow incarnations, who is our real enemy? Why are we now pointing spears and swords at each other?"

Huiwon frowned when she heard the voice. "It's the Neutral King."

The Neutral King Jeon Ildo was using a voice amplification skill from atop the dome, speaking as if he were some kind of dokkaebi.

"I understand the feelings of everyone who has come here. But whether it's the Salvation Sect or any other faction, we're all just weak humans. We're all victims swept up by the scenarios. You all know it too. Fighting each other here is meaningless! That's exactly what those dokkaebi bastards want!"

"Shut up! The Salvation Sect started the fighting first!"

"That's right! Kill them!"

Ildo laughed lightly.

"Everyone, you know monsters are about to flood in, right? If we fight each other, Seoul will fall."

"So what are you suggesting!"

"This scenario says everyone can survive if just the strongest incarnation is sacrificed."

With a whooshing sound, the opaque stadium's exterior became transparent, revealing the interior. On a stage bathed in brilliant spotlights, two figures stood.

"Two heroes who have personally stepped forward for the incarnations of the Seoul Dome! Allow me to introduce the candidates for the strongest incarnation!"

The Salvation Sect members gathered on the opposite side of the dome erupted in cheers.

"Yu Junghyeok! Yu Junghyeok!"

"Nirvana! Nirvana!"

I could see the incarnations hesitating, flustered by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"What, what's that!"

"Are they already fighting?"

For a moment, I could see right through people's minds.

"What if we could clear the scenario like this?"

"Whether the strongest is the Supreme King or the Salvation Sect's leader, if they both die through this fight, wouldn't that be good for us?"

All humans are cowards. And Nirvana knew exactly when humans become the biggest cowards—when they try to grasp a future that hasn't arrived yet. Some people, already swayed by the sweet words, had lost their fighting spirit and begun looking for a way to survive.

I approached the dome and struck the wall.

[The character Jeon Ildo has activated the stigma Fair Duel Lv.3.]

[Everyone except the duel participants cannot enter the stage.]

So he'd already activated Gwanghaegun's stigma.

This meant everyone except Junghyeok and Nirvana, the actual participants, would be physically unable to intervene in the battle.

I spoke to Huiwon and Jihye. "Kill Ildo."

The next moment, an explosion erupted from inside the stadium. The fight between Junghyeok and Nirvana had begun. As if a dokkaebi had intervened, a massive screen floated above the dome.

[You're staging something interesting. This looks like it'll be a fascinating fight, so I've prepared it for everyone to watch.]

On the screen in the sky, I could see Junghyeok wielding two swords and Nirvana crossing arms filled with white mana.

Crash!

Junghyeok's Sky Splitter Sword Art carved through the air, while Nirvana's Mandala blocked the storm of sword energy pouring down and exploited openings.

Dozens of exchanges happened in mere moments. Amidst the lightning-fast offense and defense, a meticulous battle of moves continued. A battle of moves to read each other's transmitted or inherited skills and figure out their opponent's cards.

This was the clash between a regressor and a reincarnator.

Nirvana was the first to reveal their hand. Spinning rapidly like a top, Nirvana's Mandala gushed out mana in clouds. The rotating threads split into tens, then hundreds of strands of mana waves that directly assaulted Junghyeok's entire body.

Junghyeok barely dodged the white mana bundles and leaped into the air. At first glance, it seemed like a bad move. The white mana bundles were surging upward following his movements. Junghyeok rapidly spun his blade to deflect the Mandala's mana, but unfortunately, he missed two bundles.

Whoosh!

Blood gushed from his left shoulder and thigh. Regretful groans burst from the incarnations' mouths. Ildo, who had been fleeing from Huiwon, made a fuss.

"Ah, it looks like the match might be decided right here!"

But Junghyeok remained calm. Having leaped close to the dome's ceiling, Junghyeok pointed the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds downward and began a rapid descent. Blue mana blazed like fire around the blade. But Nirvana had already finished preparing their defense.

"Come, Junghyeok!"

In that instant, the size of the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds cutting through the sky changed dramatically.

The blade, which had been just over two feet long, transformed into a massive sword and soon grew to the size of a small building.

The arm Junghyeok used to grip the sword did the same.

It was like the right arm of a giant.

[Gigantification]

Nirvana, caught by surprise, tried desperately to escape the blade's radius, but it was already too late. The weight of the blade splitting the sky struck Nirvana directly to the ground.

Crash!

An explosion that seemed like it could tear through the mantle rang out, and gray dust filled the entire stage.

"Krrgh!"

Nirvana was receiving Junghyeok's blade from within a crater dug dozens of meters deep. The incarnations exclaimed in admiration. Countless arms rising from his Mandala.

[Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara]

The hands of Buddhism that uphold truth were locked in a contest of strength with the giant's sword. A collision of pure force that would have already destroyed the entire area if not for the dome. The incarnations were mesmerized by the surreal spectacle.

"This is the battle to determine Seoul's strongest."

Well, I'm supposedly the strongest, but I felt somewhat bitter about it.

I swallowed the bitterness and activated Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint at full power. On the surface, it looked like they were simply engaged in a contest of strength, but even in this moment, fierce exchanges of thought continued inside Nirvana and Junghyeok's minds.

"Did his mental barrier level increase? The mana wavelength got stronger."

"His close combat skill proficiency is lower than expected. What did he inherit?"

"He's acting like his left shoulder is injured, but that's a trap."

"Gigantification has a short duration. I'll settle this within ten exchanges."

A battlefield landscape that only I could see in this world. The battle of moves in their minds painted an as-yet-unrealized battlefield in my mind, too. A rough battlefield of thought, like a sketch with only outlines remaining. I admired it purely and tried to envision its completion in my mind. It was a duel with a predetermined outcome.

I leaped up and headed to the rooftop of a nearby quiet building. Then I spoke.

"Han Suyeong. I know you're watching, so come out already."

The space behind me split open, and Suyeong emerged from pitch-black darkness.

"...What, how did you know?"

Suyeong was wearing a tight-fitting blue combat suit.

It seemed to be a hidden item she'd obtained from Peace Land.

"Because there's no way you wouldn't have come after hearing the megaphone."

"Tch."

[The constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon bares its teeth at you.]

So that creature had become Suyeong's patron after all. Suyeong swaggered over and dangled her legs over the railing.

"So, it was getting really interesting. Why'd you call me?"

"Did you come to spectate? You should be thinking about clearing the scenario."

"Hey, I need to know who's strongest to clear it... Wait. You know?"

I nodded.

"Which one is it? Don't tell me it's Junghyeok?"

"No."

Suyeong breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. If that bastard dies, the world will regress, and that'd be troublesome."

Suyeong pulled out a dagger from her jacket. "The Salvation Sect's leader. I just need to kill them, right?"

Suyeong had already finished preparing to dive toward the stadium when I shook my head.

"They're not the strongest."

"They're not? Then who do I kill?"

I silently stared at Suyeong.

After a moment, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"...You can't be serious?"

I nodded.

"It’s time to decorate this scenario's finale."

Footnotes:

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