WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 426: Episode 80: Our Strongest Ally (4)
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Only I Know the Ending of "Journey to the West"?
It was another introduction that felt strangely familiar.
I decided to enter and check the room's status first.
[Player8 has entered the waiting room for fable room 6731.]
Fortunately, the fable didn't seem to have started yet.
Well, they couldn't start the fable without anyone cast as Sun Wukong.
When I entered the room, the scenery changed and a large circular desk appeared.
Instead of people, square windows hovered over the chairs around the desk. Each window showed the player assigned to a role.
[Player1 has selected the role of Zhu Bajie.]
[Player2 has selected the role of Sha Wujing.]
[Player6 has selected the role of Xuanzang's White Horse.]
Every player's face was displayed as a question mark, apparently to protect their real identities.
Still... with this many players, no one had chosen Sun Wukong?
―Player8: Hello, everyone.
Maybe everyone was away, because no one posted in the chat after I entered. Just as I was about to leave, thinking this room really was a lost cause...
―Scenario Master: hi
―Scenario Master: what role you here for?
I immediately typed a message into the central chat.
―Player8: Is the role of Sun Wukong still open?
―Scenario Master: yep open
―Player8: That's unusual.
―Scenario Master: someone was gonna do it but said they'd be late... you wanna play Sun Wukong?
This person had a habit of not finishing their sentences.
Just as I wondered whether I could trust someone like this as the Scenario Master, another message appeared, as if they had read my thoughts.
―Scenario Master: i know the genre well. don't worry about the Scenario's quality.
Their way of speaking didn't inspire confidence at all. I decided to test a few things first.
―Player8: About the room title, "Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong."
―Scenario Master: yep i made it
―Player8: Why are there five S's?
―Scenario Master: need that many to grab attention.
Did they actually know what they were doing?
The casual speech now and then was a little irritating, though.
―Player8: Sun Wukong is the protagonist, right?
―Scenario Master: yep yep
―Player8: Isn't keeping the original protagonist too predictable? These days, it's trendy to make supporting characters or extras into protagonists.
I thought I had hit the mark, but the master's response was calm.
―Scenario Master: oh looks like you did some market research
―Player8: I only looked around a little.
―Scenario Master: like you said stories about extras are the trend. but if we're gonna win Sun Wukong has to be the protagonist. imagine you're a "Journey to the West" judge
―Player8: Hmm...
―Scenario Master: what matters isn't who the protagonist is, it's how unfamiliar the character is. and there are way too many stories about extras right now
Would you look at them?
They sounded like they were saying whatever came to mind, but they weren't wrong.
Surprisingly, at times like this, the winner was often a conventional protagonist. Peihu's "True Journey to the West" also had Sun Wukong as its protagonist.
―Player8: So that's why you made a retired Sun Wukong the protagonist?
―Scenario Master: yep yep
―Player8: What does a retired Sun Wukong do?
―Scenario Master: nothing
―Player8: ??
―Scenario Master: if i tell you now it's a spoiler. so you doing it or not?
I hesitated.
―Scenario Master: if you're not, leave quickly. there's no time anyway. answer in 5 seconds or i'll kick you
A retired Sun Wukong as the protagonist... I was curious about it, too.
[The fourth fable room list will close in five minutes!]
There wasn't much time to choose another room now.
Damn it. I had no choice.
No matter what the Scenario was like, I just had to do well.
―Player8: I'll do it.
―Scenario Master: hmm then i got a question too
―Player8: What is it?
[The Scenario Master wishes to verify you.]
[Please select the information you wish to disclose.]
They wanted to see my information?
―Player8: Do you really need to see it?
―Scenario Master: only gonna see your name.
My name...
I disclosed some information.
[Player8 is a Constellation.]
[Player8's modifier is Watcher of Light and Darkness.]
[This information has been disclosed only to the Scenario Master.]
The Scenario Master was silent for a moment.
The bastard must have been shocked.
―Scenario Master: huh? you're a Constellation? why join a crappy room like this???
I replied quickly.
―Player8: I may not look it, but I'm a decent fighter. I really want to play retired Sun Wukong.
―Scenario Master: sounds kinda suspicious
―Player8: Isn't the real fun in building up an unpopular fable from the start?
―Scenario Master: but what's with that dumpling?
A dumpling?
[Your pet Murim Dumplings is currently accompanying you.]
Damn it. I had forgotten this thing was here too.
―Scenario Master: can't give pets roles though?
―Player8: It's just a dumpling. It's not a pet or anything.
―Scenario Master: hmm this is awkward. what do you guys think??
To my surprise, the Scenario Master asked the other players for their opinions.
[Player1 says, "I don't mind if it's Murim Dumplings."]
[Player4 says, "Do whatever you want, Master."]
[Player3 says, "I want to start the game already."]
Fortunately, none of the other players objected.
―Scenario Master: ok then. since we're doing this i'll look into some martial arts product placement
―Player8: Thank you.
―Scenario Master: go go
A moment later, the countdown began.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
[The story of fable room Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong has begun!]
[The fable room's development will follow the Scenario Master's plot.]
[Judges or viewers may interfere with the fable room's major developments.]
[Journey to the West Remake has begun!]
Rays of light flashed, and my vision turned ash-gray.
《 Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong 》
Ornate letters appeared in the darkness.
I would now become Sun Wukong, the protagonist of this story, and begin playing in earnest.
Honestly, my heart raced a little. I was really becoming the protagonist of a story...
「Kim Dok ja jum ped the gun」
After [The Fourth Wall] spoke, another message appeared before me.
[The prologue has begun.]
[The prologue will be presented as a flashback.]
[Characters can only speak their assigned lines in this section.]
[The Scenario Master's narration has begun.]
Then a voice rang out from the darkness.
(After a long journey with Sanzang and his Allies, Sun Wukong finally arrived in the western world and succeeded in obtaining the scriptures.)
Oh, it was starting.
The scene changed, and before I knew it, I had possessed Sun Wukong in the story. People who seemed to be my Allies were nearby, but perhaps because it was a flashback, I couldn't make out their faces. Then my mouth began speaking on its own.
"Finally, retirement... It was such a long journey."
At the same time, Sun Wukong's memories flashed before my eyes.
Being chased away by Xuanzang, betrayed by Zhu Bajie, and abandoned by Sha Wujing, then leading those motley Allies, who were no help at all, fighting monsters of fable alone and ending up covered in blood...
Watching it made me feel a little sorry for him.
So this was what "Journey to the West" felt like from Sun Wukong's perspective.
Then a voice spoke.
【Are you really going to end it here?】
Looking down, I saw the scriptures speaking.
【Are you truly satisfied with a story like this?】
I was a little impressed.
Was this how the story would unfold?
Sentences kept appearing over the scriptures.
【Doesn't it feel unfair? Sanzang banished and persecuted you countless times for no good reason.】
【And that isn't all. You were tortured with the Golden Headband for sins you didn't commit.】
【Even though you could have arrived in an instant on the Cloud Somersault, you had to continue that arduous journey while protecting Xuanzang in the name of Buddhist practice.】
"Journey to the West" certainly had been a little harsh on Sun Wukong.
【After all that hardship, your only reward is to take refuge in the Western Paradise. Does that really not feel unfair?】
Listening to it, it did feel a little unfair.
【You can start everything over.】
"Start everything over?"
【You can begin this journey again from the very beginning.】
At that point, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Damn it, was this a regression story?
My mouth began speaking on its own again.
"No, do you know how hard it was for me to get this far? You want me to go through all of that from the beginning again?"
【Don't put yourself through that.】
"What?"
【Use your companions for all they're worth and become someone who saves no one. Become a demon king who lives only for himself.】
At that moment, a brilliant light spread from the scriptures.
[The flashback has ended.]
[The main play has begun!]
Apparently, that had been the prologue. The proper episode was starting now.
As if it had been waiting, the letters for Episode 1 appeared.
Then I was horrified.
~ Episode 1: Demon King of Salvation ~
What?
As if it had read my mind, the narration began.
(Though it isn't widely known, Sun Wukong was once called the Demon King of Salvation.)
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Still, I decided to hear it out.
(This small stone monkey had a hobby of sacrificing his life to save others without permission, and many beings suffered emotional pain because of those unwanted rescues.)
(The gods and bodhisattvas of heaven condemned him, but this stone-headed fool continued throwing away his life to save others, again and again.)
No, wait a second.
(The Jade Emperor and Buddha could no longer tolerate Sun Wukong's atrocities, so they locked him inside a stone coffer beneath Five Elements Mountain.)
(And every story begins right here.)
[The judge King of Stone Monkeys likes this backstory.]
[Some judges have awarded bonus points for a development that reflects recent trends.]
[You have acquired 2 points.]
The message saying it reflected recent trends caught my eye.
Ah, was it because of this?
[The first episode has begun.]
[The free dialogue section has begun.]
[Create an exciting fable with dialogue suited to your role.]
I shuddered and came to my senses. My entire body felt chilled, and my back hurt like it was about to split apart. I heard pitch-black soil pattering down around me, and only my head was barely sticking out of the mountain.
[You are currently sealed within Five Elements Mountain.]
It seemed I was trapped beneath Five Elements Mountain.
[The viewers are curious about your reaction.]
(The Scenario Master urges you to speak.)
This was the first scene after the protagonist had just regressed.
It was such a familiar situation, one that appeared often whenever I read novels, but now that I was in it, I had no idea what I should say.
I decided to say something, at least.
"Where am I? Wasn't I returning with the scriptures?"
No normal person would say something like that to themselves.
"Five Elements Mountain? My god, did I regress?"
Even so, I couldn't believe I was actually spouting lines like this.
[The viewers have grasped your situation.]
(The Scenario Master nods at your sense for dialogue.)
(The Scenario Master acknowledges you.)
Damn it, I wanted to hide in a rat hole.
[Some viewers anticipate the next development.]
I recalled what happened next in "Journey to the West."
According to the original, Sun Wukong waited beneath Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years.
Five minutes passed, then ten.
No way, right?
(Hearing lively voices in the distance, Sun Wukong listened closely.)
I breathed a sigh of relief.
According to the original, the first person Sun Wukong would meet was Xuanzang.
(As he saw familiar figures approaching, Sun Wukong recalled old memories.)
Two children were walking toward me.
They wore cute Buddhist robes and toy-like crowns.
(The memory of the day he first met Sanzang.)
(Sun Wukong sank into old memories.)
A chill slowly crept down my spine. The faint sense of déjà vu I had felt was becoming reality.
[The Fourth Wall] hummed as it asked,
「Did you real ly not kn ow ?」
I couldn't answer.
The premonition that had crossed my mind when I first saw the five S's. Even as I thought it couldn't be true, part of me had been hoping it was.
Gritting my teeth, I barely steadied my blurring vision.
"Ah, there he is. I think that's the man."
"I'll ask him."
The two smallest Sanzangs in the world.
Lee Gilyeong, gripping my hair, asked me,
"Are you that bastard Sun Wukong, the Demon King of Salvation?"
Footnotes:
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