Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 41

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 41: Episode 9 - Omniscient Sunfish (5)

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The solid impact clung to my fingertips, and it cleared my head all the way through. Damn bastard, I'd wanted to hit him so badly. But... something was strange.

"...Yu Junghyeok?"

The bastard wasn't turning around.

A gray-white aura was flowing out of Yu Junghyeok's body. It was so endlessly ominous that just looking at it made the fine hairs on my skin stand on end.

Instinctively, I took a step back. Looking closer, the aura was connected to an old man sitting in a chair deeper inside the eighth floor. The moment I saw that old man, I understood everything.

[Cinema Master Simulation has revealed itself.]

...Damn it. So it had come to this after all.

Yu Junghyeok, spewing gray-white aura, slowly turned toward me.

This was the worst possible outcome.

[Cinema Master Simulation has control over the character Yu Junghyeok.]

A terrifying killing intent was spreading from the bastard's entire body, stripped of reason.

There wasn't a single "character" in the world who could stop him now.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated Force Palm Lv.4.]

I barely managed to speak.

"Hey, wait a second!"

A violent pain spread through my abdomen, and my consciousness blurred. The scenery shot away in an instant, and pages of memory flipped through my mind on their own. I let my guard down.

「...The Yu Junghyeok of the 8th round didn't die in the Cinema Dungeon because he was weak. Strictly speaking, Yu Junghyeok was unlucky.

Because the boss of the Cinema Dungeon was the worst possible matchup for the regressor Yu Junghyeok......」

My breath came back.

"Kgh... huff."

[Your Reinforced Armor Suit has been damaged.]

[Your defense has partially decreased.]

Clutching my stomach with trembling hands, I forced myself back to my feet. This combat power was absurd. I'd taken that many ampoules, and I ended up like this from a single hit?

That one blow had done so much damage that I'd been sent flying straight into the side of the rooftop.

[The character Jeong Huiwon has activated Demon Slaying Lv.2!]

In the distance, I saw Jeong Huiwon charging in with blazing eyes. I needed to stop her, but my body wouldn't listen.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated hundred-step godly fists Lv.2.]

There was no way Jeong Huiwon, as she was now, could match Yu Junghyeok. She seemed to hold out for a few exchanges thanks to [Demon Slaying], but blood soon burst from her lips as internal injuries set in.

Yu Junghyeok was far stronger than I'd expected.

[Exclusive Skill, Character Profile, has activated!]

[There is too much information about this figure. Character Profile is being converted to Character Summary Profile.]

[Only categories arbitrarily designated for the user's convenience will be displayed.]

Name: Yu Junghyeok

Exclusive attributes: Regressor <3rd round> (Mythic), Pro-gamer (Rare)

Exclusive skills: [Sage's Eye Lv.8], [Close Combat Lv.8], [advanced weapons proficiency Lv.5], [Mental Barrier Lv.5], [hundred-step godly fists Lv.2], [phoenix walk Lv.1], [sky splitter Lv.2]......

Stigma: [Regression Lv.3], [transmission Lv.1]

Overall stats: [Constitution Lv.28], [Strength Lv.27], [Agility Lv.26], [Mana Lv.25]

* This character is currently in a state of lost reason.

Damn bastard. Just as I thought, a new Stigma was activating.

Stigma [transmission]. It was a Stigma that gradually awakened the skills Yu Junghyeok had possessed in past rounds. Through this Stigma, Yu Junghyeok would become a full-fledged monster.

"Master!"

It was then that Lee Jihye came up from the lower floor. The fist that had been flying toward Jeong Huiwon veered toward Lee Jihye.

"Aaagh!"

Maybe it was Chungmugong's protection, or maybe it was her improved [ghost walk], but Lee Jihye narrowly avoided the blow. I shouted at her.

"He's being controlled! Go for the Cinema Master!"

But Lee Jihye didn't seem to have the room for that. In the end, unless Yu Junghyeok was dealt with first, there was no getting close to the Cinema Master.

For one split second, Jeong Huiwon and Lee Jihye's eyes met. Their swords moved toward Yu Junghyeok at the same time.

A combo of [Kendo] and [swordsmanship]. But even the combo that had taken down a T. rex didn't work on Yu Junghyeok.

"Kgh!"

Hit in the face by Yu Junghyeok's [hundred-step godly fists], Lee Jihye coughed up blood and was thrown back.

[The character Jeong Huiwon has activated Hour of Judgement!]

[The constellations of the absolute good alignment are silent in response to Jeong Huiwon's request.]

[The skill activation has been canceled.]

Jeong Huiwon spat out a curse.

"Damn it... this won't work either?"

Of course it wouldn't. Yu Junghyeok might be ruthless, but at his core there was clearly a greater cause.

Struck by the crushing fist, Jeong Huiwon lost her sword and rolled across the floor. In that desperate moment, Lee Gilyeong, who had been behind us, used his special skill, "Mjolnir's Thunder."

[The character Yu Junghyeok nullifies the impact of the attack with Electric Resistance.]

Yu Junghyeok turned to look this way.

Goddamn it. I knew he'd be strong, but... this strong? I braced myself on Lee Gilyeong's shoulder and staggered forward.

"Gilyeong. I'm asking you. You know what to do, right?"

Quick on the uptake, Lee Gilyeong nodded at once.

"Yes, hyung."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Lee Gilyeong immediately began muttering something under his breath. His eyes slowly rolled back. I hadn't wanted to go this far, but now I had to use every card I had.

[You have used Tyrant T. rex's DNA Ampoule.]

[All stats will increase explosively for 30 minutes!]

Yeah... let's do this, you sunfish bastard.

[Constitution Lv.24 → Constitution Lv.34]

[Strength Lv.24 → Strength Lv.34]

[Agility Lv.20 → Agility Lv.30]

[Mana Lv.15 → Mana Lv.25]

[Energy surges through your whole body!]

[Your muscles' latent potential explodes!]

[You can move faster than before!]

[An unknown energy is boiling up from your heart!]

What I lacked in skills, I would make up for with an overwhelming gap in stats. If Yu Junghyeok's [transmission] had already been fully realized, this would have been a hopeless gamble, but with his skill levels still low, there was a chance.

Even if it was only for a moment, that one instant was enough.

[Exclusive Skill, White Pure Star Energy Lv.1, has activated!]

[Proficiency has accumulated, increasing the level of White Pure Star Energy!]

[White Pure Star Energy Lv.1 → White Pure Star Energy Lv.2]

The sensation of mana coiling around my fingertips had changed. I didn't even need to charge first. He was already rushing toward me. Maybe he realized my momentum wasn't ordinary, because for the first time, he pulled the sword from his back.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated sky splitter Lv.2.]

Sparks burst from our blades. Neither Yu Junghyeok nor I gave an inch. Tremendous pressure poured through the hand gripping my sword. The vivid blue ether blazing from his blade. At this point, it went beyond admiration. It was almost awe-inspiring.

In the world of TWSA, the leading digit of your stats creates an absolute gap in power. Right now, my leading digit was 3, and Yu Junghyeok's was 2. Even so, he wasn't being pushed back by me at all. No, if I slipped, I'd be the one driven back. I gritted my teeth.

[Exclusive Skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 2 has activated.]

The moment the skill activated, Yu Junghyeok's chaotic thoughts flooded into my head.

「It hurts.」

「How many more times from now on.」

「Do I have to keep repeating this.」

Anger surged inside me. This bastard, already?

"Get a grip, you bastard!"

With all my strength, I knocked his sword aside and threw my fist toward his jaw. It was a crude attack, but thanks to [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], I could read his movement.

Smack!

My fist grazed his jaw by a hair, and for the first time, he staggered from the hit.

「When the regression begins, everything returns to the beginning once more.」

「The Companions all lose their memories, and every history I've lived through is erased.」

"Idiot!"

「And then everything repeats again.」

Anyone who knows knows this, but sunfish are actually incredibly sturdy creatures. They don't die easily because their bodies are weak. They die because they're vulnerable to stress.

Just like the bastard in front of me now.

The reason the Cinema Master had been able to dominate Yu Junghyeok was because Yu Junghyeok's mental state was unstable. The Cinema Master was weak in physical ability, but it possessed top-class mental attack skills. If Yu Junghyeok's [Mental Barrier] had been above Lv.8, it would never have gotten this bad.

「What am I living for.......」

Yu Junghyeok's eyes had gone hazy. Watching the bastard sink into this half-baked philosophy sent my anger right through the roof.

"Are you really the protagonist?"

This was, in a sense, the righteous fury of a reader who had read the 3,149 chapters of TWSA.

"You've only regressed three times and you're already like this?"

Once more, I smashed him in the head with all my strength. Was it a miracle? His movements dulled a little. I didn't miss the chance and kicked him in the chest.

"Do you really think that? Have you already forgotten the resolve you had the first time you regressed?"

「In this world, I'm the only one alive.」

A lonely voice.

"You said you wouldn't sink into that kind of sentiment!"

I shouted as I knocked away the sword flying at me.

"If you can't find meaning in the life right in front of you, you decided you'd live for the greater cause at least, didn't you?"

[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall, is trembling.]

I didn't know who I was even saying it to. Hot sparks flew from the colliding blades. The skin around my eyes stung, and my flesh was being cooked by the heat. In the rush of breathless words, maybe I too had briefly lost my reason.

「I'm alone.」

As if I'd become Yu Junghyeok. Or as if I'd lived as Yu Junghyeok myself. My chest felt so tight it was suffocating.

"......Alone?"

「I.......」

"How did I make it all the way up here if you're alone?"

「I.......」

Our sword strikes crashed together, tearing open the flesh of my grip. Blood ran, flesh ripped away. Like a madman, I swung my sword, then swung it again. My teeth ground together.

"Why are you alone? Even when you died like an idiot in the Cinema Dungeon, when you cried your eyes out clutching your dead sister, when the Prophet stabbed you in the back and you died! Even when you first had a child with the person you loved......!"

As I said those words, strangely enough, other memories were rising inside me. One letter, and then another. The long memories of my life spent reading TWSA.

"When you went mad and rampaged after that child died!"

The tangled mess of my family, and the memories of my teenage years getting beaten by bullies.

"When you fought the Demon King, and stood against the returnees!"

The nightmares of military life, worn down by the absurdity of my seniors.

"When you helped the otherworlders, and fought those damned Reincarnators! When you finally stood before the constellations!"

The days I struggled to find work, enduring each day by groveling to my bosses. Only to survive. Only to live through another day.

"Watching you struggle like hell just to survive!"

And even so, on the way home, I would feel relieved knowing there was a novel waiting for me to read.

"So did I."

The hand gripping my sword trembled. Pathetic. I'd gotten too worked up. Damn it. All I had to do was stall for time. I steadied my ragged breathing and looked ahead. But... something was strange.

Was I imagining it?

Only for a moment, but a faint light was returning to Yu Junghyeok's pupils.

「You.......」

There are things you can't understand even if you can read someone's mind. The moment I saw Yu Junghyeok's expression, my chest lurched.

[Due to excessive immersion, The Fourth Wall is shaking.]

Yu Junghyeok's eyes were looking straight at me.

「Who... exactly are you?」

Footnotes:

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