WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 302: Episode 57: Glorious Return (1)

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[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has strongly activated!]

The moment Secretive Plotter stared at me, [The Fourth Wall] stirred.

[The Fourth Wall] growled like a wild beast protecting its young.

「Be care ful, Kim Dok ja.」

When I first came here, Secretive Plotter had called [The Fourth Wall] a Final Wall Fragment. There had never been any information about it in the original story, but it wasn't as though I had no guesses. Several kinds of walls existed in TWSA, including Jang Hayoung's Unidentified Wall.

"I came to claim my reward, Secretive Plotter."

Even after I spoke, Secretive Plotter didn't answer.

Tzzzzt, tzzzzt...!

Sparks flew around Secretive Plotter. The pitch-black darkness covering his face in place of an expression seemed to question me in anger.

【Demon King of Salvation, why did you make that choice?】

"What?"

There was no way I could understand what he meant when he asked me that out of nowhere.

Secretive Plotter asked again.

【Why did you refuse to return to the third round? That worldline wasn't even your round.】

"That world saved me once. That's all."

【If you had left him alone, he could have found rest.】

"That isn't rest. Secretive Plotter, why did you send me to that worldline?"

The sparks around Secretive Plotter grew even fiercer, as if his existence itself were becoming unstable.

Secretive Plotter spoke with a sigh.

【Everything was a story that had already been decided. You don't know what you changed.】

White holes bored into the places where his eyes should have been looked at me.

【I will give you the reward I promised.】

I nodded.

There were three rewards promised for this Sub Scenario.

An item, a fable, and a Skill that could be obtained in the 1,863rd round.

【Which item will you take?】

"This coat."

A little tense, I held out the white coat Han Suyeong had given me.

Secretive Plotter's eyes, which had been leaking light, narrowed. As expected, deceiving an Outer God wasn't easy.

Secretive Plotter had promised me one item. Yet this coat's inner pocket held more than one.

【...Fine. One fewer flower will be returning anyway, so the total Probability should be about the same.】

[You have received Infinite Dimensional Void Coat as a reward item.]

Fortunately, Secretive Plotter overlooked Suyeong's coat.

Next came the fable.

【The fable you will take is naturally "that," correct?】

"That's right."

To begin with, the only fable I had obtained in the 1,863rd round was the one Yu Junghyeok had given me.

If I acquired this fable here, I would have to alter part of my plan, but it didn't matter.

What mattered was seeing the end of the story I had chosen.

[You have received the reward fable.]

[This fable will be properly applied after you return to your original worldline.]

The last reward was the Skill.

【What will you do about the Skill? You haven't acquired a new Skill.】

"That's right. Could I receive the reward in this form instead?"

I began explaining it to Secretive Plotter. After listening to me for a while, he nodded.

【That is possible.】

[You have received the reward Skill.]

[This Skill will be properly applied after you return to your original worldline.]

That was everything I needed to obtain.

Something unexpected happened just as I finished checking everything and was about to ask Secretive Plotter to return me to my worldline.

Amid powerful sparks, someone was trying to breach this space from behind. I recognized the kind of Status I felt beyond it. It seemed the Administration Bureau had discovered that Secretive Plotter was behind this incident.

In other words, the one trying to break in was likely a Great Dokkaebi of the Administration Bureau.

【Leave now, Demon King of Salvation.】

Secretive Plotter lightly moved his fingertips, and a swirling portal appeared beneath my feet. I hurriedly asked him,

"Wait! How many years have passed in the worldline I'm returning to?"

Secretive Plotter looked back at me.

【Some stories are read quickly, while others are read slowly.】

The chill in that voice made me try to speak. But my lower jaw was already passing through the portal.

【Demon King of Salvation. Do you think the story you vanished from will be read quickly, or slowly?】

Something like a playful laugh came from somewhere. The portal fully activated, and my vision warped completely.

【When we meet again, I hope you will be the proper master of that Wall.】

* * *

Maybe because it wasn't my first time crossing a worldline, I was able to keep hold of my consciousness even amid the torrent tearing through my mind.

[The Fourth Wall has strongly activated!]

[Father's Dimensional Gate has set the coordinates of space and time.]

The scenery of the Star Stream flowed past.

Among memories rising like buoys, I thought only of the things I needed to do.

[Father's Dimensional Gate has closed.]

When I came to my senses with that message, I was lying on the floor.

Dim lamps hung from the ceiling of a broad room. It sounded as though voices were murmuring somewhere.

...Where was I?

It didn't seem to be Earth yet. Why? Why had I suddenly come here?

[The Star Stream has detected your presence from the worldline!]

[The Star Stream has recognized your modifier again.]

[The Star Stream has assigned you the Nexus of the Constellations.]

[The Administration Bureau is assessing your Status.]

I thought I understood what had happened.

I had left the Scenario of my original worldline through the Otherworld Covenant. Returning to the original Scenario required a price.

As the muscles throughout my body convulsed, messages continued to appear.

[The Administration Bureau has completed its assessment.]

[You are not suitable to return to your original Scenario.]

[The Administration Bureau is reviewing a Scenario suited to your level.]

[The review has been completed.]

I let out a sigh as I watched the messages that followed. I had expected this might happen. More accurately, it was bound to happen.

I had left the worldline where I originally lived and gone to another world. Their circumstances might differ, but all beings like me, who had strayed far beyond their original Scenarios and returned, were called by the same name.

[You have acquired a new fable!]

[You have acquired a new Attribute!]

[You have gained the qualification of a Returnee.]

[A new Scenario for you is being prepared.]

I had become a Returnee.

When I slowly got to my feet, I saw several men and women talking nearby. They were all Returnees like me.

"Ha ha, I can finally return to Earth! It's been ten years!"

"For me, it's been twenty."

"Where did you go? From the look of you, you seem to be from Murim."

"I'm from Gratus. Ever heard of it?"

That was when someone waved at me.

"Oh, you're the last one, I see."

He was a man dressed in black martial robes. He wore a mask, but his visible eyes and overall impression seemed familiar. When I gave him a brief greeting, he spoke again.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Earth."

"No, that's not what I meant. Who here isn't from Earth? I'm asking what planet you went to through dimensional travel."

The man smiled as he spoke in a friendly tone. Then I realized who he was.

「His cheeks bulged like pouches, his narrow eyes were suited for night vision, and half an eyebrow remained, as if crows had pecked it away.」

I almost laughed to myself. It was already time for this man to appear.

"The place I went to was Earth too. An Earth in a different parallel dimension."

"Hmm, is that so? You're quite a peculiar man."

The man held out his hand to me.

"I should introduce myself first. My name is Wang Weirong. In the Second Martial World I visited, I am called the Flying Fox."

Wang Weirong, the Flying Fox. He was one of the people who would later become Yu Junghyeok's Companions.

"My name is Kim Dokja. My nickname is, um... let's call it Demon King of Salvation."

Several Returnees who had been listening nearby burst into laughter.

"Demon King of Salvation? Kahahaha...!"

"That's quite the grand title. Looks like you went to some third-rate fantasy world."

Hands patted my back. Most of them were Returnees from Murim or medieval-style otherworlds.

Weirong smiled.

"That's an impressive nickname."

"It's nothing."

"Still, it seems you already received Returnee Attire."

"Ah, yes."

I looked down at the Infinite Dimensional Void Coat I was wearing. I had forgotten that this attire had originally been made specifically for Returnees. Myeong Ilsang, the Disaster of Questions whom I had fought before, came to mind. He had probably been summoned to Earth through a process similar to mine.

Just then, dokkaebis appeared in midair and began handing coats to the Returnees. A few Returnees who received their coats looked back and forth between theirs and mine before protesting.

"Hey, dokkaebi! That man's coat looks better than mine!"

Of course it did. It would make no sense for a coat from the 95th Scenario to be worse than a standard-issue coat. Several dokkaebis who noticed me looked shocked and seemed to report something to their superiors.

Had Bihyeong learned I had returned by now?

I wanted to see the Allies on Earth as soon as possible. How many years had passed? They all had to be doing well.

After receiving his own Returnee coat, Weirong grinned broadly.

"Ah, that outfit suits you. What will you do first when you get back?"

"I'm going to look for some people first."

"Oh, do you have a lover waiting for you?"

I smiled.

"When I return, I'm going to live large. I finally have martial arts techniques, so I won't have to cower before those bastards who used to throw their weight around. Hardship is over, happiness begins!"

"It won't be nothing but good times. Earth must have changed a lot, too."

"You're already talking like you've lost. After suffering all that in another world, what could we possibly fail to do after returning to Earth?"

[Returnees, please pay attention.]

Once the commotion settled down, the intermediate dokkaebi in charge of the Returnees spoke as their Representative.

[The return to Earth will begin shortly. You will be assigned a Returnee-only Main Scenario, which you will carry out in your hometown. Please think of it as a simple amusement and enjoy it.]

"A Returnee Scenario? Tell us the details properly!"

[Please check the Scenario window for details. Ah, and since this is a group Scenario, there will be a leader. The being with the highest Status among you will automatically be chosen as the leader, so keep that in mind.]

"Then it will naturally be me."

"That Murim man over there looks pretty strong."

Everyone seemed curious about who would become the leader of this group.

[The return to Earth has begun.]

With a burst of dazzling light, nearly ten Returnees began moving through space at once. My vision rippled for a moment, and when I opened my eyes again, we had landed in the middle of a vast city.

Pavement blocks lay in scattered patches. Buildings under reconstruction formed the skyline. It was unmistakably Earth.

"Where is this? Those letters..."

"It's Korea! Korea!"

A Returnee from the Korean Peninsula began jumping around. Recalling what I knew about the Returnee Scenario, I shouted,

"Wait. Everyone, calm down and gather for a moment."

The Returnees were already out of control. A few impatient Returnees grabbed passing civilians and asked,

"Excuse me, where are we? And what year is it now?"

I sighed.

[Returnee Trigger has activated!]

"They asked me what date it was! Those bastards are Returnees!"

"Aaaah! Returnees! Everyone, run!"

"Report this to the Alliance!"

At the word Returnee, the entire street erupted. The crowd fled like an outgoing tide, while the Returnees wore bewildered expressions.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

[A new Main Scenario has arrived!]

[Main Scenario #45 - Glorious Return has begun!]

I saw my reflection in the building's glass wall. As sparks leaped from my body, my outward appearance changed.

I looked like a horrifying monster, teeming with tentacles and filth. Though that wasn't my actual form, I looked like a small Outer God to anyone watching.

Every person on Earth would probably see me that way, too. To the people of Earth, every Returnee was a Calamity.

Earth's Incarnations approached one step at a time, their eyes filled with hostility.

When I turned around, Weirong's blank face came into view. His trembling lips parted.

"M-mister... What is this...?"

"I told you it wouldn't be nothing but good times."

[The summoning of the 163rd Returnee Group has been completed!]

[You are the King of the 163rd Returnee Group.]

Footnotes:

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