WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 38: Episode 9 - Omniscient Sunfish (2)

The moment those bright yellow eyes locked onto us, an ear-splitting roar echoed.

[The Tier-7 Earth Dragon Species Tyrannosaurus Rex has recognized you.]

[Tyrannosaurus Rex has activated the skill Predator’s Fear!]

[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has blocked the effects of the skill Predator’s Fear.]

Thanks to [The Fourth Wall], my mind stayed calm, but I couldn’t stop the goosebumps from creeping up my skin. This must be what prey feels when faced with a predator.

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

Huiwon and Jihye, who had been momentarily frozen, snapped back to their senses. I grabbed Gilyeong and ran backward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive tail swept through the forest, smashing everything in its path.

“Gaaah!”

The men who had been running ahead were struck in the back and coughed up blood as they were flung to the ground. Fortunately, Huiwon and Jihye managed to escape the danger zone just in time. I set Gilyeong down and shouted,

“Gilyeong, stay back! Huiwon-ssi, Jihye, scatter to the sides!”

It was then that a message popped up beside me.

[The character Lee Gilyeong has activated the skill Dinosaur Encyclopedia!]

...Huh?

“Tyrannosaurus is quite agile for its size, but its narrow field of vision makes it vulnerable to attacks from blind spots.”

“What?”

“I read about it in an encyclopedia when I was younger.”

“When you were younger?”

“...Younger than I am now.”

Well, this wasn’t the time for pointless questions.

[The exclusive skill White Flash Qi has been activated!]

I started waving my glowing blade to catch the T. rex’s attention. Neither Jihye nor Huiwon was built to tank, and Gilyeong was even less suited for it. That meant I was the only one who could take the risk here.

“While I distract it, move to its—”

I didn’t even finish my sentence before both Jihye and Huiwon were already running to the back of the T. rex. Quick to catch on, as always.

[The Tier-7 Earth Dragon Species Tyrannosaurus Rex has targeted you.]

I barely dodged the incoming jaws, but then a hind leg came swinging at me. Before I could even raise [Unbreakable Faith], the tail swished just above my head. A shiver ran down my spine. My vitality level was over 20, so I wouldn’t die from a single hit, but it would still be painful.

Maybe I’d been lucky up until now. It wasn’t Yu Junghyeok who was the ‘sunfish,’ but rather me.

Slash!

Meanwhile, Huiwon and Jihye were doing their part, landing steady hits from behind. A combination of [Swordsmanship Training] and [Swordplay]. Their sharp strikes cut into the T. rex’s thick legs. With [Demon Slaying] activated, it might take some time, but we could take it down.

“Hyung! I’ll draw its attention!”

I told him to stay back, but he wouldn’t listen.

“No, Gilyeong, you—”

“I can do it!”

Suddenly, Lee Gilyeong stepped forward, signaling with unknown hand gestures. Before I could figure out what he was doing, a giant praying mantis flew in from somewhere and poked at the T. rex’s eyes before darting away. It was the same Titanopteran from before.

Grrrrraaaah!

The mantis’s movements confused the T. rex, its eyes darting around frantically. Judging by Gilyeong’s precise hand motions, he was controlling the mantis. I glanced down at him, impressed.

That encyclopedia from earlier, and now this... Wasn’t this kid a total cheat character? No wonder Junghyeok was interested in him.

Grrr, Gwoooar!

Thanks to Gilyeong’s efforts, the tide of the battle shifted. The T. rex was sluggish, and Huiwon and Jihye’s eyes began to gleam with a dangerous light.

[Demon Slaying].

Though it had a weakness against mental attacks, [Demon Slaying] was a fantastic skill that boosted combat strength as excitement increased. Watching the two women glide through the jungle with their eyes blazing was a sight to behold.

Seeing it like this, it stung a bit that Junghyeok had snatched up Jihye. But in terms of potential, Huiwon was still superior. The attribute ‘Judge of Evil’ was that valuable, and Huiwon hadn’t even signed a patron contract yet.

The T. rex’s health was dwindling. Time to go for the finishing blow.

[Activating Blade of Faith!]

I began to channel my remaining mana into the blade. I didn’t have a patron constellation, nor was I as agile as Jeong Huiwon or Lee Jihye. But that didn’t mean I was weak in combat. I had the items to overcome such limitations.

[The special property of Unbreakable Faith has been activated.]

[The ether attribute has changed to Fire.]

Flames coiled around the blade, which extended over a meter long. A massive drain of magical energy left me feeling drained, but I charged straight toward the T. rex from behind.

“Everyone, get back!”

As the lumbering T. rex hesitated, I ran up its tail. Without [Balance Sense], I almost slipped several times, but by driving the blade into its skin, I managed to keep myself from falling.

Grooooaaar!

The T. rex, bleeding profusely, thrashed on the ground. I kept stabbing my blade into its hide. Wherever I withdrew it, flames erupted from the wound.

The creature, panting in agony, fixed its yellow eyes on me one last time before they rolled back.

[You have successfully hunted the Tier-7 Earth Dragon Species Tyrannosaurus Rex for the first time!]

[You have obtained 1,000 coins as a reward.]

“Wow... We actually did it.”

“I told you we could do it.”

Huiwon, panting heavily, gave a proud smile. For a tier-7 monster, the T. rex was among the upper ranks, so she had every right to be proud. Jihye, who arrived a bit late, grumbled at me.

“What the heck, I did most of the work!”

“What? You still had a lot more to go before it would’ve died.”

I nonchalantly wiped my sword as I spoke. Huiwon asked,

“Was there even a T. rex fight in this movie?”

“There wasn’t, but this way is more fun, don’t you think?”

“...Huh?”

“If it’s a fantasy action adventure, it has to be like this.”

At that moment, a system message flashed in my head.

[The Cinema Master is pleased with the modified ending of the film.]

Huiwon shouted in disbelief.

“What?”

Exactly. The way to clear the Cinema Dungeon wasn’t to see the ‘real ending.’ If that were the case, Yu Junghyeok would have never been able to clear this dungeon. The key was to create the ending the Cinema Master wanted. And this particular cinema owner had a penchant for ‘cathartic’ climaxes.

“Now do you get it? Just destroy everything.”

In other words, eliminating all obstacles to the ending would naturally lead the movie to its conclusion.

[You can now proceed to the next floor.]

[Move to the helipad on the research lab's upper floors.]

“Let’s wait a bit before we move. We should gather our rewards first.”

I started examining the area around the T. rex. It didn’t take long before I spotted one of the men who had entered the dungeon ahead of us. The others had likely been torn apart or devoured by the T. rex.

“Hey, wake up.”

“U-urgh...”

Blood was still pouring from his back. The gashes were deep, probably from the T. rex’s claws. With bones exposed, recovery was out of the question.

“Breathe slowly.”

“Ku, kuh... Save me...”

I gave him some water, which he gulped down before coughing up more blood. I decided to ask the urgent question.

“How did you know about this place?”

“The... Prophets...”

“Who are the Prophets?”

The man’s breathing grew more labored.

“People... who receive... revelations...”

...Revelations?

“I... want to... live...”

With a sickening sound, blood gushed from his mouth. The man collapsed, lifeless. Jeong Huiwon and the others approached from behind.

“What happened to him?”

I shook my head and looked down at the fallen man.

‘Revelations,’ huh? What a strange notion.

In Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, the closest thing to a similar ability would be ‘Foresight,’ and only Anna Croft possessed that. So, the answer was clear.

...There were others like me. But they weren’t as knowledgeable.

The fact that they hadn’t come themselves, opting to pass on information to test things, proved as much.

“Dokja-ssi?”

“Let’s take a break before we continue.”

We covered the dead man with a large leaf and gathered near the fallen T. rex. We needed to hurry to catch up to Junghyeok, but if we rushed without proper rest, we might be wiped out before even reaching him.

I began to search the T. rex’s body.

I checked the head and heart but found no core. Still, it wasn’t a total loss. Huiwon, staring at the well-cooked T. rex, gulped.

“...Do you think we can eat this?”

“It was cooked with magical flames, so yes, it’s safe. We can use the Mana Brazier to finish cooking the uncooked parts.”

We sat around the T. rex’s legs, cutting off portions of the well-done meat. Steam rose from the succulent pieces. Gilyeong gasped.

“New meat!”

Lee Jihye, impatient as always, took a bite first, and the rest of us followed, grabbing large chunks. Meat this big was a luxury I could only dream of in my office days. Lee Jihye closed her eyes and sighed in bliss.

“Oh, this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted...”

It really was delicious. The lean meat was marbled with just the right amount of fat, a far cry from the texture of ground rats. Each bite had a satisfying chew to it... If Sangah were here, she’d probably be crying tears of joy.

After eating in silence for a while, I could feel my energy returning along with a sense of fullness. Higher-tier monster meat had special restorative properties. Although, not all were safe to eat, so it was always best to be cautious. Huiwon sighed regretfully.

“Hah... That was delicious. I wish I could eat more.”

After resting up, we headed to the central research lab on the island.

We encountered a few raptors along the way, but after defeating a T. rex, raptors were hardly a threat.

Inside the lab, flasks and ampoules were neatly arranged. Small incubators held embryonic dinosaurs, and amber stones used for extracting blood samples were scattered about. There was only one thing missing—people.

In the inner wing, a few items caught my attention.

[Strength Enhancement Ampoule]

[Mana Enhancement Ampoule]

[Agility Enhancement Ampoule]

[Vitality Enhancement Ampoule]

Just as I thought. While the others were distracted, I quietly began to collect the ampoules. Like the Sea Dragon’s Core, these were rare comprehensive stat-boosting items that could only be obtained in the early scenarios.

There were nearly twenty ampoules in total. With these, leveling up our stats could be done quickly. The reason I’d been saving coins instead of spending them on stat upgrades was because I’d anticipated this hidden scenario.

These ampoules could only be used if your stat was below level 30.

“What are you taking, old man?”

...Damn, she’s sharp as ever.

“What is that? A Strength Enhancement Ampoule?”

Jihye, having snagged one, gaped at the item.

“You’re not going to keep all of these for yourself, are you?”

“Of course not. I was going to share.”

“Unnie, look at this! This guy is...!”

The commotion brought the others over. Huiwon checked the items and exclaimed,

“Oh my gosh... These actually exist?”

“Well, it is a Hidden Scenario.”

I replied a bit reluctantly. Damn, this was tricky. I couldn’t keep everything for myself since we all contributed to taking down the T. rex, but I was still reluctant to share.

[Some constellations who favor hoarding are displeased with the situation.]

Jihye, eyeing the Strength Enhancement Ampoule, was the first to speak.

“Can I have the Strength Ampoule? My strength is really low.”

[The exclusive skill Character Profile has been activated.]

Summarized with stigma and comprehensive stats included.

+

<Character Summary>

Name: Lee Jihye

Exclusive attribute: Scarred Sword Demon (Rare)

Exclusive skills: [Swordsmanship Lv.4], [Demon Slaying Lv.1], [Perfect Senses Lv.2], [Ghost Walk Lv.2]

Stigma: [Naval Warfare Lv.1], [Army Command Lv.1]

Overall stats: [Vitality Lv.13], [Strength Lv.17], [Agility Lv.13], [Mana Lv.10]

+

This cheeky kid was lying about her strength...

“Unnie, can I have this?”

“Well, since Dokja-ssi found them, he should decide...”

Honestly, I didn’t care if the others took some, but I was hesitant to give any to Jihye. She was aligned with Junghyeok, after all.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire hopes for your fairness.]

Fairness, huh... I knew the perfect way to handle this. I grinned and said,

“How about a game of rock-paper-scissors?”

“Rock-paper-scissors?”

“Whoever wins in the end gets to take one.”

Greed flashed across Jihye’s face.

“Deal!”

“Well... if Dokja-ssi insists. But are you sure? Someone might end up taking everything.”

“If that happens, then it’s their luck.”

Jihye was practically bouncing with excitement. She must have thought she had a good chance to snag a few, but it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Let’s start with the Strength Enhancement Ampoule.”

I held out the ampoule and faced Jihye.

“You’re going against me.”

“I’m good at rock-paper-scissors, you know. Are you sure?”

“Oh, really?”

I smiled as I looked at her.

[The exclusive skill Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Stage 1 has been activated!]

[The character Lee Jihye is preparing to throw scissors.]

Footnotes:

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