Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 45

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 45: Episode 10 - Future War (3)

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The scenario had barely started, and already this was happening?

I tried to recall the original story, but I didn't remember the invasion beginning this early. It meant a variable had appeared. Soon, the headlights went out in the darkness, and I heard people murmuring.

"Ah, we finally broke through Chungmuro."

"Seriously, it took forever just to clear a scenario like that."

"Hey, keep it down. They'll hear everything. And don't you know the scenarios differ from station to station?"

At my signal, my companions picked up their weapons and stood. In battle, the important thing was to seize the position first.

I stepped forward first, with Lee Hyeongseong and Jeong Huiwon after me, and Yu Sangah bringing up the rear. Lee Gilyeong was still asleep, so I left him alone.

A few seconds passed. Then I saw four people, men and women, walking toward us out of the darkness. I opened my mouth.

"Stop right there."

"Oh? Well, well."

He saw the blade I had aimed at him and stopped in surprise. I could make out the white gleam of a bike. I heard weapons being drawn in the darkness, but the man's voice came first.

"Just a moment. Let's all calm down. At this rate, I'm too scared to even talk."

"Put your weapons down and come this way slowly."

The man obediently set his weapon on the floor and approached with both hands raised. Under the light, his impression wasn't bad at all. A reasonably likable face. His narrow eyes curved in a soft arc.

"Please don't be so wary. We didn't come here to fight."

"Then...?"

"I should introduce myself first. My name is Kang Ilhun, and I'm the Vice-Representative of the Dongdaemun Group."

Kang Ilhun? It wasn't a name that came to mind right away. And the Vice-Representative of Dongdaemun... This was unfolding strangely.

[Exclusive Skill, Character Profile, has activated!]

If the skill was working, then he was definitely a character from the novel.

Name: Kang Ilhun

Age: 31

Patron constellation: Talkative Schemer

Exclusive attribute: Rumor Specialist (Common)

Exclusive skills: [Weapon Honing Lv.2], [Eloquence Lv.3], [Spreading Rumors Lv.1]

Stigma: [Causing a Commotion Lv.1]

Overall stats: [Constitution Lv.12], [Strength Lv.13], [Agility Lv.13], [Mana Lv.10]

Overall evaluation: Unfortunately, he met the wrong Patron constellation and couldn't blossom, but he has decent stats for use as an ordinary soldier. Since he spreads rumors without distinguishing truth from lies, caution is advised.

A rumor specialist... So it was already time for bastards like this to start running wild.

Kang Ilhun looked at me with a slightly uneasy expression.

"And your name is...?"

"Kim Dokja."

"Ah, Kim Dokja...?"

For an instant, a puzzled look crossed Kang Ilhun's face when he heard my name. But it really was only for a moment.

"Nice to meet you, Kim Dokja. Since you have the flag, I assume you're this station's Representative?"

"That's right."

He studied my appearance closely, then swept his gaze over the companions around me. He was probably checking our side's strength. He had a pretty sharp eye, but unfortunately, he had met the wrong opponent.

"If you're done looking, let's get to the point."

"Ha ha. My apologies. We also need to be careful for our own safety."

Kang Ilhun continued without losing composure.

"As I said, we didn't come here to fight. You could say we came to offer you a... good proposal."

I looked over the people with Kang Ilhun. None of them seemed to have a flag.

"Why should I believe that?"

"Hmm, if you've checked the rules, then you should know, right? If we'd come here to fight, we would have brought our Representative with us. After all, only each station's Representative can do the flag-planting."

That was true. Definitely true, but still.

"What's the proposal?"

"We came to request an alliance."

At the word alliance, the group from Chungmuro began murmuring among themselves. Kang Ilhun spoke lightly.

"Ah, Chungmuro Station was only just opened, so I suppose you wouldn't know yet. In fact, the Fourth Scenario has already been underway for two days."

"...Two days?"

Yu Sangah muttered reflexively. Kang Ilhun nodded.

"Yes, the Third Scenario differs a little from station to station in both content and duration... Were you not aware?"

"Ah..."

Our Third Scenario had only just ended, so there was no way we could have known something like that. Even in the original story, Chungmuro entered the scenario later than the other stations.

In other words, we were starting at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to information.

In that sense, Kang Ilhun's alliance proposal was a timely temptation. We needed information, and they needed our strength. The problem was what scheme they had on their side.

"It's not an offer I can accept so easily. There's no way for me to know whether you have some other motive."

"Hmm, Mr. Kim, you're absolutely right. If I start off by abruptly talking about an alliance, of course you won't believe me, so I suppose it's better if we show our hand first. To be blunt, Chungmuro Station is not our target station."

"Why should I believe that?"

"You may believe it or not. But think it over carefully. If Chungmuro were our target, we would have brought the main force with us. To be honest, the time right after a station opens is when the flag-planting is most vulnerable."

It wasn't entirely unconvincing.

"What if our target station is Dongdaemun?"

"Ha ha, we have no worries about that. We already know which station is targeting ours. We didn't come looking for you for no reason."

"So because each of us is aiming for a different target station, we should help each other and clear the scenario together... Is that what you mean?"

"That's right. At times like this, wouldn't it be nice if we helped each other survive?"

Kang Ilhun smiled and nodded. While I remained silent for a moment, it was Yu Sangah who spoke up.

"Um, I have one question."

"Yes, what is it, miss?"

"...Why did you come to Chungmuro specifically? If you came from Dongdaemun, you could have formed alliances with other stations too."

It was a sharp point. In fact, Kang Ilhun looked slightly flustered.

"Ah, well... As I said, Chungmuro Station was just opened. What I mean is... um. The other stations have already formed alliances. But I thought Chungmuro probably hadn't... Ha ha, just in case, may I ask whether you've already formed an alliance with another station?"

Hmm...

"No, we haven't."

At my answer, Kang Ilhun looked genuinely relieved.

"Then please form an alliance with our Dongdaemun. You definitely won't regret it. More than anything, we have a guaranteed solution for this scenario."

"A guaranteed solution?"

"Yes. In fact, our group knows the hidden secret of this scenario."

Smiling faintly, Kang Ilhun drove in the final nail.

"If you agree to an alliance with us, we'll tell you the details."

* * *

A short while later, I had Yu Sangah, Lee Hyeongseong, and Jeong Huiwon sit down, and we were exchanging opinions. Yu Sangah spoke first.

"What should we do? Would it be better to form an alliance with them for now?"

"I'm against it. I don't trust them. Something about this feels off."

As soon as Jeong Huiwon finished speaking, Lee Hyeongseong immediately added his objection.

"Still, if they know information about this Scenario, then it might not be a bad idea to learn more about them. Like Huiwon-ssi said, they don't seem trustworthy, but..."

At last, everyone looked at me. I shrugged.

"Then for now..."

Once we had made our decision, we called Kang Ilhun and the Dongdaemun Group back in while they were looking around Chungmuro Station.

"We decided we'll make our decision after meeting your Representative."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Where is your Representative?"

"On the Dongdaemun side. If you'd like, I can guide you there..."

"Let's do that."

We climbed onto the back seats of the bikes they had ridden in on. The people I brought with me were Lee Hyeongseong, Yu Sangah, and Jeong Huiwon. I had deliberately left Lee Gilyeong behind with Pildu Gong. He had used up too much mental strength because of [Inter-Species Communication], so he still hadn't woken up. Of course, I also hadn't forgotten to leave an order that Lee Gilyeong was to be protected.

"Then we'll be heading out."

With the sound of engines starting, the bikes began to move. About twenty seconds later, I opened my mouth.

"By the way, Kang Ilhun."

"Yes?"

"Didn't those people say anything else about Chungmuro?"

"Yes? What do you mean by that...?"

"For example, that if you came here, there would be a terrifying man named Yu Junghyeok..."

"Ha ha, I'm not quite sure what you-"

Taking my words as the signal, my companions and I jumped off the backs of the bikes almost at the same time.

"Sangah!"

Yu Sangah's [Thread Binding] shot out and tied up the spokes of all four bikes at once. Their paths tangled together, and the bikes crashed with a thunderous roar.

Kabooom!

"Uwaaaagh!"

The Dongdaemun Group members who had been riding ahead were flung off with screams.

Fortunately, my group was hanging safely in midair, clutching the threads Yu Sangah had tied to the ceiling. You could call it a kind of seatbelt. It was such an acrobatic feat that I would've believed it if someone told me Yu Sangah's Patron constellation was Spider-Man.

Rolling on the ground and covered in dust, Kang Ilhun shouted.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!"

"What am I doing? That's what I want to ask."

I looked toward the front of the tunnel as I spoke.

"If you were going to launch a surprise attack, you should've raised your stealth level a little more."

This was bad enough to get caught by even me, and I didn't have [Perfect Senses]... Realizing something had gone wrong, Kang Ilhun yelled.

"Attack!"

Almost at the same time, the people hiding all around the tunnel sprang out.

I knew it. So they really were after my flag.

[The character Jeong Huiwon has activated the Exclusive Skill Hour of Judgement.]

[The constellations of the absolute good alignment have approved the use of the skill.]

[Hour of Judgement has been activated.]

"Huh? I thought it wouldn't work... They really do whatever they want, don't they?"

Jeong Huiwon grinned as if she found it unexpected.

"It's damn hard to find the bad guys."

With that chilly voice, Jeong Huiwon's sword swept through the dark tunnel. All that could be seen were the red eyes of [Demon Slaying] flickering in the dark. Every time a blood-red flash of her sword tore through the darkness, somebody's scream rang out.

"What, what is that?!"

"That crazy bitch... Uaaagh!"

Slash!

Slaaash!

There had to be at least ten of them, but Jeong Huiwon cut people down without giving an inch. It was a sight that showed just how much her stats had risen after clearing the Hidden Dungeon.

I also subdued Kang Ilhun with [White Pure Star Energy] without difficulty.

Just a few hours ago, I had been facing none other than Yu Junghyeok. There was no way suppressing trash like this would be difficult.

"Dokja, Chungmuro...!"

When I turned around at Lee Hyeongseong's shout, a commotion was already breaking out in Chungmuro too. They must have been the bastards who ambushed Chungmuro the moment we left. After asking Yu Sangah to bind Kang Ilhun, I immediately ran back to Chungmuro.

A chaotic melee had already broken out on the platform.

But I decided to watch the situation for a moment. There was something I needed to confirm first.

"What the hell are these bastards?!"

Dozens of group members who had come running from the Myeongdong side were wildly swinging weapons at the people of Chungmuro. But when I looked more closely, the weapons they were holding seemed oddly familiar.

"Th-that weapon is the one Mr. Kim was carrying!"

It seemed the landlord coalition that had gone toward Myeongdong had already been taken down by those bastards. Well, to people like them, Wanderers who had lost their groups would look like nothing more than living lumps of coins.

The most conspicuous of the charging enemies was the bastard with a red flag tied around his head like a bandanna.

"Subdue them later! Once we plant the flag, it's over!"

I see. That bastard was the Representative.

Footnotes:

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