WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 312: Episode 59: Kim Dokja Company (1)

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"Yu Junghyeok, you crazy bastard!"

I nearly screamed as I charged at Junghyeok. I was so startled that I couldn't even control the power of my Skills. [Electrification] and [Way of the Wind] activated simultaneously through [Bookmark], and my figure shot forward like lightning, crashing straight into Junghyeok's body.

Kwoooong!

The Mana of [White Pure Star Energy] colored the air, and the "star" atop the display stand flew into the air before rolling across the floor.

Junghyeok, having withstood my Mana, said without looking at me.

"Move aside."

"Move? Why should I? Are you seriously out of your mind?"

It was absurd. It would be one thing if it were another character, but Junghyeok knew everything. I couldn't believe he was touching the "star."

"Don't you know what the 46th Scenario is? Didn't you read the Scenario properly?"

Of course, there was no way he hadn't read it.

"I did."

"If you take that, it's over for all of us!"

"Not necessarily. Most people acquire that star and move on to the next Scenario."

Junghyeok slowly turned to look at me. There wasn't the slightest hint of unease in his expression.

This wasn't his first time in the 46th Scenario.

「Only those who belong to the same nebula, or those acknowledged as 'companions,' can participate in the 46th Scenario together.」

In the previous round, Junghyeok had calculated everything before entering the 46th Scenario. He hadn't joined one of the great nebulae because he didn't want to be restricted. Instead, he gathered the companions he had assembled and challenged the Scenario. He had also actively used the information up to the 41st round that he had received from the future Shin Yuseong.

Still, there was one person even Junghyeok hadn't anticipated. Someone who had adapted to the new future he had created and appeared as his Companion.

「"I trust you, Yu Junghyeok."」

Prophet Anna Croft.

In the previous round, she had been Junghyeok's Ally.

I held him back with one hand and said,

"Yu Junghyeok."

I thought Junghyeok had gotten better. I believed he'd changed after living a life completely unlike the previous round. We'd saved each other's lives time and again to get here, so I'd mistakenly thought trust had formed between us.

"I'm not Anna Croft. I won't betray you."

「"I trusted that you wouldn't betray me."」

Junghyeok had failed the 46th Scenario because of Anna Croft. He had lost his Allies and everything he possessed.

He survived, but he hadn't truly survived. Anna Croft took everything from him, subjugated his very existence, and he lived like a slave after the 46th Scenario until he died.

Junghyeok looked at me.

"Kim Dokja, you said you were a prophet."

Coldness settled into Junghyeok's expression.

"I don't like you. I've felt that way from the beginning."

Kwooooo!

The aura of a Transcendent burst from Junghyeok's entire body. Junghyeok drew [Black Heaven Demon Blade] and struck without the slightest hesitation, while I pushed the power of [Electrification] to its limit.

Krrrrk!

A shockwave tore through my grip, sending my body flying like an insect.

Now I was truly angry.

"You damned bastard!"

[You have released the Status of the Demon King!]

After [Electrification], [Demon King Transformation] followed.

I concentrated all the power I had to counter Junghyeok's strength. This was the beginning of the second bout we hadn't been able to finish before.

I glanced at the "star" rolling far away after being swept up in the collision of our Statuses and shouted.

"We've come this far, and you're going to give up here? Are my Skills and fables really that tempting to you?"

Junghyeok didn't answer.

Biting my lip, I swung my sword as if struggling for my life. "Unbreakable Faith" and the "Black Heaven Demon Blade" collided, creating a screech sharp enough to split my eardrums.

It wasn't that I couldn't understand him. Junghyeok had been betrayed by a prophet in the previous round. Maybe the power he wanted most was prophecy itself.

And he still mistook me for a prophet.

「Kim Dok ja is stu pid.」

What?

[The Exclusive Skill The Fourth Wall has activated!]

[The Fourth Wall shudders as it laughs.]

In an instant, my mind turned cold as if I'd been doused in icy water.

Was Junghyeok really trying to kill me because I was a prophet? Was he doing this to obtain my Skills and fables? Had he acted all this time just for this moment?

[Unread messages remain in Midday Tryst.]

The item held traces of the past three years.

I blocked Junghyeok's sword strike and activated Midday Tryst.

[There are ??? missed messages.]

[The messages are damaged and cannot be read.]

Damn it.

「Shall I hel p?」

With those words, the messages in my head began to arrange themselves.

[Damaged messages have been partially restored by the authority of The Fourth Wall.]

The messages Junghyeok had left began to replay imperfectly through the mouth of [The Fourth Wall].

「Lee Gil yeong Shin Yu seong an noying brats.」

「Lee Hyeong seong fool ish sol dier.」

What ridiculous notes. Did this bastard use the chat window as a memo pad?

「Jeong Hui won Han Su yeong bad re la tion ship.」

「Lee Ji hye block head.」

「Yu Sang ah need less ly cle ver.」

Anyone seeing this would think he'd only written insults about his Allies. But I knew Junghyeok well enough to understand. He never even mentioned people he didn't care about.

「Kim Dok ja.」

For a moment, dizziness struck me as if I'd been hit in the head with a hammer.

"Yu Junghyeok, you..."

This Scenario could only activate when someone was acknowledged as a Companion in the first place. If he hadn't trusted me, if he hadn't acknowledged me as a Companion, I couldn't have even entered this Scenario.

[Your understanding of the character Yu Junghyeok has explosively increased!]

[The Exclusive Skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has activated!]

I stared blankly at Junghyeok. He didn't want my Skills or fables.

At last, he opened his mouth.

"I'll only tolerate your reckless behavior up to this point."

The "Black Heaven Demon Blade" was aimed precisely at my neck.

"You acted however you pleased and wasted three years. I won't let that happen again."

"It was necessary. There was no other way if I wanted to reach a proper ■■."

"No one knows whether the ■■ you seek is truly the right one."

"So now you're saying you'll take my control over life and death?"

Quiet fury burned in Junghyeok's eyes.

"At least this way, you won't try to sacrifice yourself whenever you please, and the others won't do anything pointless either."

[The Fourth Wall] continued reading the sentences in Midday Tryst.

「Lee Ji hye her own life too light ly.」

「Lee Hyeong seong de lib er ate ly jumps into the midst of mon sters.」

Only then did I realize what pointless things my Allies had been doing.

I spoke as if making a declaration.

"I'll never do something like that again."

"..."

"Who wants to die? I didn't want to do it there either."

Junghyeok didn't lower his sword. His gaze said he didn't believe a word I said. In the end, I had no choice but to change my approach.

"Yu Junghyeok, if you use that star, you might gain my control over life and death, but you'll obtain the fable “Betrayer Fable.”"

"Betrayer Fable."

"If you obtain that fable, you won't be able to earn your Allies' trust even if you move on to the next Scenario. No one will believe you anymore. Is that what you want?"

Nobody wanted to be hated. Even Junghyeok, the cold-blooded regressor, was no different. Especially now that he had finally gained proper Companions.

"It doesn't matter."

"What?"

Junghyeok looked at me. Through [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], I could hear his thoughts.

「I wish I were you.」

It was a thought that the Junghyeok I knew would never have.

The moment my feet froze, Junghyeok's figure moved toward the star.

Suddenly, everything around me slowed as if someone had pulled apart the two poles of time.

―But is the Junghyeok in your worldline still all right?

Within the slowed time, I heard the voice of Han Suyeong from the 1,863rd round.

―The Junghyeok here is worn down beyond measure, but the third-round version's mind should still be pliable, right? If someone like you appears and starts making a fuss, his confidence will definitely be crushed.

Junghyeok's expression as he approached the star was no longer that of a protagonist. The arrogant, confident Junghyeok I remembered was gone. Instead, he looked afraid of something.

「Kim Dokja is needed in this world.」

「And by the other Allies, too.」

「I'm not the one who can clear the Scenarios to the end.」

[The Fourth Wall] spoke.

「You want ed this too.」

My ears buzzed, and everything I'd done so far flashed through my mind. My history of taking what Junghyeok should have obtained and stealing the places where he should have stood passed before me like a panorama.

「"I am Yu Junghyeok."」

The words I'd babbled like a joke were returning to me exactly as they were.

The histories I'd taken without much thought had made the Junghyeok of today.

「You want ed to be come the pro tag o nist.」

No.

[The Fourth Wall] spoke.

「You are Yu Junghyeok.」

I'm not Yu Junghyeok.

「Kim Dokja is Yu Junghyeok.」

What I want isn't to become the protagonist.

「Then why are you go ing through the Sce nar ios?」

Why was I going through the Scenarios?

I saw Junghyeok reaching for the star.

I muttered inwardly.

If I could explain something like that with words, why would I have risked my life clearing the Scenarios?

[The Fourth Wall is showing an unknown reaction.]

Crrrraack.

The sound echoed in my mind. A tiny but unmistakable crack was forming in something hard. Listening to it, I ran toward Junghyeok. As if he'd been waiting, Junghyeok turned and unleashed his Status at me.

The power of a Transcendent who had attained full mastery. Junghyeok had grown stronger over the past three years.

[The character Yu Junghyeok is telling the Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm.]

"You're no match for me."

"That might be true."

Junghyeok had become strong enough that even I, after visiting the 1,863rd round, couldn't defeat him. It was hard to understand why someone who'd become this strong lacked so much confidence.

"But I know someone who can defeat you."

Junghyeok was afraid. The information he'd received from Shin Yuseong of the 41st round had to be running out. Soon, stories he didn't know would begin.

[You have unlocked the fable received as the reward for Otherworld Covenant.]

So I had to tell him.

You weren't limited to just that. The places you could reach didn't end at the 41st round.

[You possess a Mythical fable.]

[This fable was transmitted to you by someone.]

Messages exploded in my head along with dazzling rays of light.

[A Single Fable reacts to your Mythical fable!]

[This Mythical fable is sufficient to replace a Great Fable!]

[Your first Mythical fable has completed part of the Succession.]

[Due to the disappearance of part of the fable during transmission, the Succession could not be completed.]

[Acquire another Mythical fable or Great Fable.]

Originally, I hadn't planned to obtain this fable.

I hadn't expected a fable from the 1,863rd round to become part of the story I would create. Still, since things had come to this, using this fable wouldn't be a bad idea.

[The size of this fable vastly exceeds your story capacity.]

[With your reading level, you can interpret only part of this fable.]

Blood flowed from my nose, and my whole body shook as if I'd been electrocuted.

Pitch-black shadows gathered around Junghyeok and me. The room's scenery changed, and the smell of sulfur drifted in from somewhere. Hot hellfire and the scent of blood covered the floor.

I heard Junghyeok shout something in alarm.

Ignoring him, I looked at the countless shadows waiting for me.

[Determining the rounds that can be interpreted at your current reading level.]

Numbers rapidly passed across my vision.

[The highest round of Yu Junghyeok that you can interpret is the 41st round.]

[Would you like to select the 41st round?]

As I slowly nodded, Junghyeok's emotions filled my mind.

Overwhelming despair and helplessness. Emotions worn away by grueling Scenarios.

Depression so intense it could drive someone mad took shape and attacked me, while mocking laughter rang out one after another.

I endured all of it.

[The talent of Yu Junghyeok from that round is settling within you.]

Amid a profound loneliness, a shadow looked at me.

Yu Junghyeok of the 41st round. The merciless man who had sent Shin Yuseong to his past self.

He spoke to me.

「My specialty is the spear.」

A pitch-black shadow in the shape of a spear appeared before me.

Without hesitation, I gripped the spear.

[The fable Eternal Hellscape begins its story.]

Footnotes:

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