Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 261

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 261: Episode 49: Specialty (1)

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Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames ran for two full days and nights with me on his back.

The Constellations chasing us relentlessly attacked again and again, but each time, Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames quite literally threw himself forward to protect me.

[The fable Life-Sacrificing Loyalty repeats its story.]

How much farther had we fled like that? At last, dawn began to break.

[The Sub Scenario, Preliminary Battle, has ended.]

[You have successfully protected the fable core for the duration of the time limit.]

The Constellations chasing me stopped one by one in the distance, while every kind of Indirect Message flew through the air.

[A few Constellations who failed to catch you are disappointed.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband yawns and asks if it's over now.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire rubs sleepy eyes and rejoices!]

[The Constellation Reclining Dragon nods at your strategy.]

[Some Constellations point fingers at your cowardice.]

They could point fingers all they liked. Surviving mattered more here.

Dokgak, who had been looking down at me with displeasure, reluctantly sent me the reward.

[You have acquired 200,000 coins as a reward.]

[You have acquired two Equipment Transcendence Anvilstones as a reward.]

It seemed equipment enhancement items were finally beginning to appear.

Even an item that received an SSS-grade rating in the early regions was nearly scrap by the middle and later Scenario regions. Still, using Transcendence Anvilstones at the right time could keep an item's quality from falling behind.

That wasn't my only gain.

[You have acquired the fable One Who Stood Against the Twelve Zodiacs.]

It was unfortunate that it was only Historical-grade, but the more fables I had, the better.

After all, these small fables gathered together to form the status of the whole. Fables earned through battle, especially, would be useful through "Arbitrary Interpreter" from now on.

[The Constellations who were chasing you retreat.]

Not long after the Constellations disappeared, the exterior of the Yu Junghyeok Industrial Complex came into view in the distance. Industrial citizens who had received the Escape Scenario were entering the industrial complex in a long line. It seemed Hayoung and Myeongoh had handled things well.

I spoke to Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames.

"You can leave now. You don't need to be loyal to me."

It wasn't as if this guy sincerely wanted to follow me anyway. We would be better off parting ways here. Yet even after I turned away, he kept following me with tiny steps.

Pant, pant, pant.

I frowned slightly.

"What? I said go."

Whiiine...

Moisture gathered in the big dog's eyes.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire looks pityingly at the Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames.]

Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames' True name was O-su's Dog. He was the dog that soaked his own body to put out the flames on the lawn and save his drunken master from burning to death. Unfortunately, even this Constellation's True name wasn't his own name.

"...Are you going to follow me?"

Whine!

I hesitated for a moment. Thinking about it, this guy wouldn't be free even if we parted ways.

[Some Constellations look hungrily at the Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames.]

Just as there were many Constellations who targeted Incarnations, there were many who targeted other Constellations. If he encountered someone with modifiers like Wild Dog Hunter or Dog Merchant of Melberg, he would be robbed of his fables and killed without being able to do anything.

The only reason he had remained safe until now was because he had the Twelve Zodiacs gang behind him.

"...Then come with me."

Pant, pant, pant!

"But make yourself smaller. You're too big and you're in the way."

At my words, Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames shrank his Incarnation body. He was now about the size of a golden retriever.

"Kim Dokja!"

Hayoung spotted me and came over, waving from afar.

"Hey! Are you okay? What's with that dog?"

"I picked him up on the way. Where are the others?"

"They're busy guiding the industrial citizens."

Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames licked the back of Hayoung's hand. Hayoung asked,

"What's his name?"

I considered telling the truth, then vaguely brushed it off.

"O-su."

[You have given a name to the Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames.]

[The Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames is deeply moved.]

[The loyalty of the Constellation Dog Who Threw Himself into the Flames has greatly increased!]

...I should've given him a better name if this was going to happen.

Hayoung carefully examined O-su's body, then brightened.

"Great. Senior Sister will like him."

For a moment, I wondered who exactly "Senior Sister" referred to.

"Don't tell me you mean Sky-Splitting Divine Dog? She was female?"

"Did you forget that only women can learn Sky Splitter Sword Art?"

Come to think of it, that was true. Sky Splitter Sword Art was that kind of martial art. There were so many exceptions that I had completely forgotten. Like the one standing right in front of me...

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

I shook my head to clear away the thought. Hayoung's gender identity wasn't important right now.

[The start of the Demon King Selection is imminent!]

The Demon King Selection was about to begin.

"...It's coming."

At my words, Hayoung looked up at the sky, seemingly tense as well.

A tremor that made it seem as if the entire 73rd Demon Realm was shaking. Stars of unfamiliar colors were appearing one by one in the sky. Constellations from all over the Star Stream had come to this Demon Realm to watch a grand event with a Great Fable at stake.

[A large number of Constellations enter the channel!]

[A considerable number of Demon Kings enter the channel!]

Beings whose status could be felt through their gaze alone were appearing in the channel.

[The Constellation Queen of the Darkest Spring looks at you.]

[The Constellation God of Wine and Ecstasy gazes at you.]

[The Constellation Mass Production Maker waves at you.]

Constellations I had met before appeared high in the sky as well. I swallowed my tension and looked up at them.

I had finally made it this far.

There were still many Scenarios left, and they were far away.

But they were no longer beyond reach. At the very least, I had reached a place where I could guess where those lofty Constellations stood within this mountain range.

[The twenty-fifth Main Scenario has arrived!]

[Part of your status is damaged due to excessive Main Scenario skipping.]

I hadn't properly completed the Scenarios in the twenties.

I was beginning the twenty-fifth Scenario right away in that state, so it was unavoidable that I would lose that much Plausibility.

[The Main Scenario, Demon King Selection, has begun!]

Category: Main

Difficulty: ???

Clear Conditions: Form a team with allies and win in the Mythical Battlefield.

Time Limit: -

Reward: Official succession to the Demon King throne, ???

Failure: Death

* You may recruit allies for this Scenario.

* The dokkaebis will provide additional explanations concerning the Scenario's progress.

It had been a while since a Scenario listed "Death" under its failure conditions.

If I lost here, I would die.

That had happened often enough so far, so it wasn't unfamiliar.

[This Scenario will be held on a dedicated stage.]

[There are a total of four main participants in this Scenario.]

[The main participants may recruit allies by mutual agreement.]

[You are a main participant in this Scenario.]

Powerful presences could be felt from the north and west.

[Constellations belonging to the Meledon Industrial Complex show hostility toward you.]

[Constellations belonging to the Berkan Industrial Complex express hostility toward you.]

As the Constellations in the sky flickered with light, a dokkaebi's voice rang out from the air.

[You've waited a long time, Constellations.]

Dokgak and Bihyeong appeared.

[The Demon King Selection will begin shortly!]

With Bihyeong's words, a hologram of an enormous stage appeared on the screen in the air.

[First, we'd like to thank Mass Production Maker, who personally created the stage for this Scenario!]

Exaggerated applause filled the air, and a map made by Mass Production Maker appeared above the hologram.

[The game Mythical Battlefield is loading!]

The battlefield was a vast forest region surrounded by enormous cliffs.

The edges of the forest bore the symbols of industrial complexes to the east, west, south, and north. They likely indicated the starting regions of each industrial complex.

[As you may have expected, this Selection won't be a simple brawl. You will form teams by industrial complex and engage in team play.]

A few surprised Constellations sent Indirect Messages in response to the dokkaebi's words. I wasn't surprised. I already knew through the original work.

[The rules of the game are simple. Each participant may form a team of seven people, including themselves.]

[Each team member will be assigned a different position and take on a unique role in the Scenario.]

The game resembled the AOS games that had once been popular on Earth.

One tank, two melee damage dealers, two ranged damage dealers, one support, and one All-Rounder.

Seven people formed a team and competed. That was the game known as Mythical Battlefield.

[The Constellation Mass Production Maker smiles faintly.]

Just as expected of that modifier, even the game was filled with familiar elements.

The dokkaebi continued.

[There are two ways to win the game. One is to wipe out every participant from the other teams. The second is to seize the opposing team's crest. Well, you'll understand the details once you join the game, so we'll skip them... More importantly, there is one more announcement.]

After talking for a while, Bihyeong glanced in my direction.

[Originally, four teams were scheduled to participate in this Selection... But it appears that one industrial complex was nearly destroyed before the game even began.]

I had a bad feeling. Bihyeong continued.

[After carefully considering the game's fairness, the Administration Bureau has decided to combine the two relatively disadvantaged industrial complexes into one team.]

A message followed from the air.

[You are currently a participant of the Yu Junghyeok-Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.]

It was an unexpected development. I had been worried that Junghyeok and I would be on different teams, but now I had one less concern.

Bihyeong must have pulled some strings.

Still, why was it called the Yu Junghyeok-Kim Dokja Industrial Complex?

Since Kim came before Yu in Korean alphabetical order, shouldn't it have been the Kim Dokja-Yu Junghyeok Industrial Complex?

Whatever.

"Hayoung, where's Junghyeok?"

I looked around for Junghyeok, but he was nowhere to be seen. Hayoung widened her eyes and asked,

"What are you talking about? You haven't run into him?"

"...What do you mean, run into him?"

"He went looking for you."

"What?"

I had a bad feeling. I hurriedly used [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint].

[You are currently unable to connect to the target.]

Damn it. As I wondered how I could find that bastard, something suddenly came to mind.

Fortunately, it was noon.

[You use the item Midday Tryst!]

Midday Tryst.

It was the one-on-one chat item I had linked to him some time ago. I didn't know whether we were close enough for it to work, but it was all I could rely on right now.

[You have 39 unread messages.]

Yet there were already dozens of messages from him.

I hurriedly opened the window. The first message began like this.

- Kim Dokja, I rescued Biyoo. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 47 hours 39 minutes ago

The messages continued, spaced a little apart.

- Then why did you suddenly disappear? / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 46 hours 54 minutes ago

- I don't have time to play along with your childish prank. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 46 hours 39 minutes ago

- If you don't reappear, I'll kill you. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 45 hours 18 minutes ago

- I'm not joking. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 44 hours 39 minutes ago

...

- Kim Dokja. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 41 hours 38 minutes ago

Dozens more messages followed after that.

The final message read as follows.

- I'm coming. / Sender: Yu Junghyeok, 23 hours 14 minutes ago

No, how did this bastard plan to come when he didn't even know where I was?

Dumbfounded, I quickly sent a message.

- Idiot, come back quickly! I'm at your industrial complex right now!

Junghyeok didn't reply. There wasn't even a sign that he had read it.

Instead, a Scenario message descended like a death sentence.

[Please recruit allies within ten minutes.]

[You may recruit a total of six allies.]

All I could see were two dogs, one human of ambiguous gender, and one man suffering from postpartum depression while trembling at the thought that I might pick him... Damn it.

I was struggling to fill seven people, let alone build a proper lineup.

I sighed and opened my mouth.

"...I'll recruit allies."

Even including the two dogs, Hayoung, and, if I were extremely generous, Myeongoh, I still needed two more people. Even if I left one spot open in case Junghyeok arrived, I needed to recruit one more person.

I looked up at the sky.

[All Constellations in the channel listen to your words.]

It was time to test my connections.

Footnotes:

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