WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 377: Episode 71: In fifty years' time (4)

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"Catch them! Catch the First Prince first!"

"They're taking the Fourth Prince!"

On the screen, enraged Reincarnators rained down arrows and sword strikes.

Two men ran through a mountain of blades and a forest of swords, cutting through the hazy smoke.

Yu Junghyeok and Kim Dokja.

[Baat, baaat!]

Biyoo bounced through the air like a glutinous rice cake, her face full of worry.

Arrows skimmed dangerously close over Dokja's head. Several flew straight for his back, but the First Prince swiftly swung his sword and blocked them.

"Retreat!"

The Revolutionary Group members withdrew all at once.

Constellations watched the scene.

[The Constellation Father of the Rich Night gazes upon the Kaizenix Archipelago.]

[The Constellation Queen of the Darkest Spring watches the Heir of the underworld.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon roars in frustration!]

However, their messages couldn't reach the Incarnations in the channel.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire pleads for someone to deliver just one message!]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire pleads for permission to send an Indirect Message...]

[Baat. Baat.]

Biyoo sadly shook her head.

Dokkaebis controlled the broadcast settings for channels, but this Island of Reincarnators was a special case.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire glares at Mandala's Protector.]

Mandala's Protector, the owner of the Island of Reincarnators, had provided the Scenario stage for the Great war of Angels and Demons.

Mandala's Protector couldn't participate in the Scenario directly.

However, for this Great war of Angels and Demons alone, Mandala's Protector held the same degree of Scenario interference rights as the other high-ranking dokkaebis.

[Young angel, your request cannot be granted. Unless you choose this opportunity to embrace Buddhism.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire sulks.]

[Be careful of your anger. Those with much anger will eventually be consumed by it.]

[Many Constellations vent their frustration!]

Whether the Constellations were frustrated or not, Mandala's Protector merely watched Dokja on the screen with lonely eyes, as though seeking some profound koan in his face.

[Nearby channels have been temporarily frozen!]

Someone appeared in midair amid a sudden burst of sparks.

Mandala's Protector turned an indifferent gaze toward the newcomer.

[Did I grant an Administration Bureau dokkaebi permission to enter?]

[The matter is serious this time, King of Reincarnators, so I came in person.]

It was the high-ranking dokkaebi Bihyeong. After politely offering a Buddhist greeting, Bihyeong immediately began questioning Mandala's Protector.

[I understand that the Buddha has ten names. The World-Honored One, Shakyamuni, Shakya, Tathagata, Buddha, Buddha... Which one are you?]

Mandala's Protector's expression shifted subtly at Bihyeong's words.

Mandala's Protector. Depending on the name borne, Mandala's Protector became a different being.

[I am Shakyamuni.]

[Shakyamuni, please cancel the abnormal Scenarios assigned to Kim Dokja Company.]

[That differs from our agreement. Didn't you hand over control of the preliminary Scenarios to me?]

[Buddhism was meant to remain neutral in this Great war of Angels and Demons.]

Bihyeong's sharp gaze turned toward Shakyamuni. As the warrior monk calmly met that gaze, the mandala in the warrior monk's pupils reversed its rotation.

[Well, it seems I am not the one who broke neutrality.]

[What do you mean?]

[I've heard there is a high-ranking dokkaebi who has recently been favoring the Incarnations of a particular nebula.]

At Shakyamuni's evasive tone, Biyoo sprang up and draped her soft belly over Bihyeong's head.

[Did you come here on behalf of the Administration Bureau, or did you come of your own accord?]

Bihyeong lightly bit his lip and didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Dokja, who was fleeing through the smoke on the screen.

[The trial you gave them is excessive. It may be an instant by a Constellation's standards, but it is an entire lifetime by human standards.]

[I, too, was once human. This is a necessary Scenario, if they truly wish to reach ■■.]

[Shakyamuni.]

[Dokkaebi, the final festival will soon begin.]

The mandala rotated within Shakyamuni's pupils. The figures of Kim Dokja and Yu Junghyeok faintly appeared above the spinning mandala.

[Which ■■ will you vote for?]

* * *

With Yu Junghyeok's help, I safely escaped the audience chamber. The Royal Guard's pursuit had been relentless, but at the cost of several Revolutionary Group members, Junghyeok and I managed to flee to a safe hideout.

Junghyeok threw the unconscious Billston, or rather, Lee Hyeongseong's Possession body, onto the floor and spoke.

"Why did you come so late?"

"It's not like I wanted to be late."

[The world is suspicious of your conversation.]

[Midday Tryst has been activated!]

Junghyeok fixed me with his usual murderous gaze for a moment before beginning his story.

"I came here two years ago."

I quietly listened to him.

He had suddenly become the First Prince of the Kaizenix Archipelago, then gone through an equally sudden wedding. In the middle of it all, he got caught up in an incident of usurpation of the throne and was driven from the palace.

Junghyeok had been suddenly thrown into the center of that storm and began fighting to survive.

He escaped the royal castle, formed the Revolutionary Group, and searched for the other Allies.

"When I arrived, Lee Hyeongseong, Jeong Huiwon, and Han Suyeong were already like that."

"Are those three all there are? What about the others?"

"I couldn't find them. Those three are likely the only Allies summoned here."

Junghyeok possessed [Sage's Eye]. In some ways, it was a Skill that could glimpse more detailed information than my [Character Profile]. He must have used that Skill to search for the Allies all this time. He had probably found me by the same logic, since [Sage's Eye] couldn't detect me.

I looked down at the collapsed Hyeongseong.

Junghyeok said he had come here two years ago. Then how long had Hyeongseong been trapped in this world?

"Did they all get consumed by the Great Fable?"

"Probably."

"Are you really unaffected?"

"Do you think a few years can break me?"

I was reminded all over again just how incredible Junghyeok was. Even dependable Hyeongseong, fierce Huiwon, and even Suyeong had broken down.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago glares disapprovingly at the Incarnation Yu Junghyeok.]

Yet Junghyeok remained unshaken.

Thinking about it, that was only natural.

The way this world's Great Fable broke us was through time. Junghyeok, though, had greater resistance to time than anyone in this world. He had even trained for hundreds of years in the Dark Stratum.

[The world expresses confusion at your long silence.]

I looked up at the sky.

This Scenario was ruled by the laws of its world.

Junghyeok also seemed to have realized how we needed to act from then on.

Once I had prepared myself, I spoke.

"Brother."

Junghyeok's face crumpled.

"Don't make that face. It's only for this Scenario. Do you think I like it?"

The lava-like blaze in Junghyeok's eyes barely settled down.

This bastard was going to have it rough. If Ricardo's memories were right, the First Prince's original role was that of a kind and gentle older brother.

Junghyeok spoke.

"Speak, Ricardo."

"What do we do now? From the look of it, the revolution failed. No, why did you even show up at the execution grounds?"

"I intended to kill the king."

[The character Ricardo von Kaizenix is shaken.]

He probably meant it. If he was the Junghyeok I knew, he would absolutely try something like that.

But that wasn't my way.

"Can you do that? She was originally your wife."

"More precisely, she was the woman who was meant to become my wife. The usurpation of the throne occurred on the first day of the wedding."

I see. So that was how things had gone. I felt a little relieved.

Still, making Suyeong and Junghyeok a couple? Kim Dokja Company had never permitted office romances.

An unexpected message rang out then.

[The world finds your statement interesting.]

[The genre of this Scenario has slightly shifted toward Romance.]

The genre shifted?

Junghyeok continued.

"She was beyond saving anyway. She had been tainted by corrupt magic and lost her original personality."

Oh?

[The world finds the Incarnation Yu Junghyeok's statement interesting.]

[The genre of this Scenario has shifted slightly toward Fantasy.]

I gave Junghyeok a meaningful look.

"You hear it too, right?"

Junghyeok nodded.

"Anyway, both you and I are too late. We can't save everyone."

"It's not too late. There are at least two of us."

I looked down at Billston, who was still deeply unconscious, and continued.

"Three."

"Those three are all there are."

"Who knows? There could be more. Maybe a miracle will happen, and someone who crossed over from another dimension will help us."

[The world finds your statement interesting.]

[This Scenario has gained the possibility of the Fusion Fantasy genre.]

Then, Scenario messages appeared before us.

[A choice branch for the Sub Scenario Genre Selection has appeared!]

[A Scenario message has arrived!]

We checked the Scenario.

+

Category: Sub

Difficulty: ???

Clear Conditions: The world you were summoned to is eligible to participate in the Great war of Angels and Demons. Choose the genre of the world you belong to and guide it toward its conclusion. A world that reaches its conclusion gains the right to participate in the Great war of Angels and Demons.

Time Limit: None

Reward: Participation in the Great war of Angels and Demons, 300,000 coins, ???

Failure: Your existence will be bound to the Island of Reincarnators.

+

1. Romance

2. Fantasy

3. Fusion Fantasy

* The more you continue taking actions suited to a genre, the stronger that genre's traits become.

+

"So that's how it works."

When I looked up, Junghyeok wore an equally incredulous expression.

I had a rough idea of how we needed to progress through this Scenario.

The problem was that it was hard to tell which genre was the right choice.

"We don't have enough information. It would be nice if we knew how this world's original story went..."

We had no way of knowing what ending each choice would lead to.

What I wanted was to save every Ally and leave for the next Scenario.

If someone died because I chose a certain genre...

"It doesn't seem to be in your precious book, either."

I flinched before answering.

"Would I know something even you, the regressor, don't?"

"I know."

"Know what?"

"The progression of this Scenario."

I stared at him in surprise.

Junghyeok knew how this Scenario progressed?

That couldn't be true. If I remembered correctly, Junghyeok of the third round had never experienced this Scenario. Nor would he in the future.

"I read a book."

"What book?"

For a moment, I thought he was talking about TWSA, but I quickly realized that couldn't be it.

Even TWSA had no detailed information about this Scenario.

"I read the diary written by Han Suyeong of the 1,863rd round. Suyeong of that round experienced this Scenario too."

"Suyeong of the 1,863rd round? Why do you have that diary?"

"I acquired it through a special method."

I glared at Junghyeok for a moment.

I felt a strange, complicated sense of betrayal.

Suyeong of the 1,863rd round had never told me anything about this Scenario.

Why? Did she think I wasn't supposed to know about this Scenario? Or did she just want to screw me over?

My thoughts were a mess, but I shook my head and pushed them aside. That wasn't important right now.

"If you had information like that, you should've told me earlier, you bastard. So how did Suyeong of the 1,863rd round clear this place?"

Having information about this Scenario mattered, no matter what. Information meant there was a set route to clear it.

Junghyeok's expression darkened.

"This world has already strayed from the original route."

"What do you mean?"

"There was no event like a usurpation of the throne in this world's original story. In other words, the event where the current king became king never happened."

"Then..."

"Someone changed the course of the story before we even came to this world."

I was flustered. Neither Junghyeok, the regressor, nor I, a reader of TWSA, could predict what would happen.

There had been times when events diverged from TWSA before, but this was the first time I had no idea what lay ahead. The TWSA I knew didn't contain a solution for a Scenario like this.

「Sh ould I have read the Fi nal Ver sion after all?」

Regret came flooding in too late.

Someone knocked on the door then.

"Come in."

At Junghyeok's command, the door flew open and Revolutionary Group members entered with an older man bound.

"He's the king's envoy. He said he came looking for the commander."

The man was the butler who had offered me water when I first possessed this body.

The butler's mustache trembled as he bowed to us.

"First Prince, and Fourth Prince... Th-the king has sent an item for you. More precisely... The king from forty years ago..."

...Forty years ago?

Junghyeok and I looked at each other at the same time.

The butler searched inside his robes and handed something to us.

It was a book.

『Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined Scenario - Written by Han Suyeong』

Footnotes:

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