Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 6

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 6: Episode 1 - Launch of the Paywall (5)

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Watching the insects dart all over the train car, people panicked.

"H-hey! Why would you do that?!"

While everyone else stood there in stunned shock, a few quick-witted people shoved past me.

"Just you wait, you bastard."

"...You'd better start looking. There are only three minutes left now."

At those words, people lost their reason and started tearing through every corner of the subway seats like beasts.

"Got one! Aaaagh!"

The joy of the people lucky enough to get their hands on an insect mixed with the malice of the others attacking them, and the car descended into chaos.

"Hey, why'd you do that? You could've just handed over the insects."

When I turned, Kim Namwoon was getting back to his feet. I answered while keeping an eye on him as he suspiciously rolled his neck.

"There are twelve people left in this car."

"...Huh?"

"And there were three insects left in the collecting case."

Kim Namwoon stared blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Twelve against three? Hahahahat! Right. So everyone can't survive anyway, is that it? That's why you threw it over there?"

"Yeah."

"Don't make me laugh."

"...?"

"If you had any common sense, you wouldn't pull something like that for a reason like that."

The smile on Kim Namwoon's face deepened.

"Be honest. You just wanted to see this, didn't you?"

I thought of the Kim Namwoon I knew from TWSA. That was when a message rang in my ears.

[The exclusive skill Character Profile has been activated.]

Then a window rose on its own before my eyes. I still didn't know exactly what my attribute was, but looking at the notification window in front of me, I felt like I was starting to get the general idea.

Name: Kim Namwoon

Age: 18

Patron constellation: None (There are currently two constellations showing interest in this person.)

Exclusive attribute: Chuunibyou (Common)

Exclusive skills: [Abnormal Adaptability Lv.3], [Knife Fighting Lv.1], [Blackening Lv.1]

Overall stats: [Constitution Lv.3], [Strength Lv.4], [Agility Lv.6], [Mana Lv.4]

Overall evaluation: A Chuunibyou who underwent Blackening after a unique trigger. I recommend not getting involved with him.

Most of the Chuunibyou[1] who appeared in TWSA couldn't endure the nightmare that had become reality and killed themselves. But the Kim Namwoon in front of me was different.

Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon.

The young man who would later be called by that nickname wasn't an ordinary Chuunibyou. He had spent so long waiting for the world's destruction that he had adapted to this world at an abnormal speed.

"Let's team up. What do you think?"

That young man was making that offer to me right now.

[The character Kim Namwoon is showing favor toward you.]

[Your understanding of the character Kim Namwoon has increased.]

If I joined hands with Kim Namwoon now, my survival would be guaranteed for the moment. If I hadn't read TWSA, maybe my choice right now would've been a little different.

"Sorry, but I prefer being alone."

"Really? Hm, that's too bad."

Kim Namwoon lightly smacked his lips and stepped right up to me.

"Then move, will you? I've got business with that old lady in the back."

At the words old lady, I looked behind me. The grandmother who had collapsed there was still barely breathing through the blood she had lost.

"You're not going to catch an insect?"

"An insect? Why the hell would I catch something like that?"

Kim Namwoon gave me a grim smile.

"There's already a bug I've caught."

Kim Namwoon's killing intent brushed right up against me. A character who had only existed as lines in a novel was now standing before me with vivid madness in his eyes. Maybe that was why I felt a little awed.

Kim Namwoon really was exactly the kind of person I had imagined.

[The character Kim Namwoon is showing slightly less favor toward you.]

"What are you looking at? I said move."

"That's going to be difficult."

"What?"

"I said I can't move."

"Haha, what, are you going to play righteous crusader now? Do you have a split personality or something?"

I didn't answer. A shadow slowly fell over Kim Namwoon's face. The eyes that had been gleaming with favor were growing cold.

"No, wait. Did you throw the collecting case over there from the start because of this? Really?"

"..."

"To save that old lady? Hahaha! Amazing! Seriously amazing! No way, right? Huh?"

I didn't answer. Seeing him this close brought back old memories.

"So that's what this is. Turns out you're exactly the type of person I hate most. Old bastards really are all the same."

While I read TWSA, this bastard had pissed me off more times than I could count.

[The character Kim Namwoon despises you.]

"I told you to move."

I had been waiting for the right timing, and I ducked. His fist flew at me before he'd even finished speaking.

"Oh? Not bad."

Even though I had clearly seen it coming and dodged, I still felt a hot rush above my head. It wasn't an ordinary punch.

[Blackening Lv.1]

A dark aura rose from Kim Namwoon's whole body. It was the exclusive skill of the Chuunibyou attribute.

Normally, it was rare for someone to unlock a skill before the end of the first Scenario, but Kim Namwoon had already manifested one. There was a reason the protagonist had recruited this guy despite his psychopathic personality.

Thwack!

A violent spasm shot through the shoulder Kim Namwoon had hit. If I fought him head-on like this, I had no chance of winning.

...Should I use that now?

Just as I was calculating the time in my head, another message came.

[Your understanding of the character Kim Namwoon has increased.]

[You are close to meeting the conditions to use the exclusive skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 1.]

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint?

What was that?

[You have met the conditions to use the exclusive skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 1!]

Kwaang!

Kim Namwoon's fist slammed into the floor.

"Haha, what? I'm pretty strong, aren't I?"

A faint mark remained where his fist had hit the floor. Kim Namwoon was slowly starting to realize his own strength. Punch after punch slammed down with enough force to break bones in a single blow. Kim Namwoon snapped in frustration.

"Ah, why won't you get hit?!"

Of course I couldn't get hit. It was all thanks to my second skill.

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

The moment the skill activated, I could clearly tell the direction of Kim Namwoon's attacks, as if I were reading his thoughts. For example, like this.

「Right flank.」

I quickly twisted my body and slipped back into the blind spot of his attack.

「Right eye.」

I dropped my waist and avoided the fist flying at me in succession.

"You're really not getting hit, damn it!"

Because of my pathetic athletic ability, counterattacking was impossible, but I could at least avoid most of his blows.

「Left thigh.」

This was enough to hold out. The important thing was buying time. As I dodged Kim Namwoon's incoming fists, I pointed at the clock in the air.

"Two minutes left, kid."

Kim Namwoon's gaze flicked between me and the grandmother.

"Shit...!"

At the moment of decision, Kim Namwoon's eyes fixed on the grandmother. I had no choice but to grab her and roll.

If the grandmother died, Kim Namwoon would clear the Scenario. No matter what happened, I couldn't let a guy like him advance to the next one.

"Haha, I knew you'd move like that."

I suddenly had a bad feeling. Kim Namwoon was already pulling something out of his bag. The blade gleamed white under the fluorescent lights. A portable MacGyver knife. I had forgotten. This guy was a hardcore military otaku.

Shiiik!

The combination of the technique-type skill [Knife Fighting] and the enhancement-type skill [Blackening]. The direction of the blade was obvious.

「Heart.」

An attack I couldn't dodge even if I knew where it was going. I made a quick decision. If I couldn't avoid it, it was better to take it head-on. If possible, with minimal damage.

The blade barely missed my heart and carved deeply across my shoulder.

It hurt. It really hurt.

So this was what it meant for pain to feel like your skin was burning. My vision shook, and death suddenly felt much closer.

"Haha, now die already!"

There was 1 minute and 30 seconds left until the end of the Scenario. I glanced at the grandmother. I felt sorry for her, but now I really had no choice except to use that.

"Kim Namwoon, second-year student at Cheongil High School. Let me ask you something."

"...What?"

"Are insect eggs living beings or not?"

I pulled the grasshopper corpse I had killed earlier out of my pocket. The swollen egg sac bulged heavily.

With a wet pop, fluid burst out.

A disgusting sensation spread across my palm, and a message rang in my ears.

[You have killed a living being.]

[You have obtained 100 coins as a bonus.]

[You have killed a living being.]

.......

[You have killed a living being.]

[You have obtained 100 coins as a bonus.]

Countless messages battered at my ears.

Kim Namwoon frowned.

"Insect eggs? What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden? Buying time?"

"You could say that."

"How the hell would I know? I always slept through biology class."

Kim Namwoon looked at my blood-soaked shoulder and smiled as if he were having fun.

"But there's one thing I know for sure. Want to know what it is?"

"What?"

"That you're about to die right now!"

Before I could answer, Kim Namwoon's MacGyver knife moved. As expected, it was another attack that was hard to avoid.

[You have obtained a large number of coins! Would you like to check the coin usage guide?]

I skipped the explanations ringing in my ears. I already knew them, so there was no need to listen.

"No, the one who's going to die is you."

The words left my mouth, and at the same time, I muttered something inwardly.

[You have invested 2,700 coins in Constitution.]

[Constitution Lv.1 → Constitution Lv.10]

[Your Constitution level has greatly increased!]

[Your body's durability has greatly increased!]

Kim Namwoon's MacGyver knife drove toward my heart.

More precisely, it only looked like it did.

My skin, scratched as if the blade had scraped solid rock, bore only a shallow mark. Kim Namwoon's eyes filled with shock.

"How?!"

"I'll tell you the answer to the question from earlier. The answer is, eggs are living beings."

"W-what?"

"And grasshoppers in mating season lay more than a hundred eggs at once."

Eggs. Living beings. One hundred.

Unfortunately, the dimwitted Kim Namwoon didn't have enough time left to understand what that meant.

"What the hell are you saying?!"

"I didn't expect you to understand. One minute left now."

Only then did fear begin to show on Kim Namwoon's face.

"Aaaah! Die! I'll kill you!"

The MacGyver knife slashed for my throat. I deliberately didn't block it.

Kagagak!

Maybe because it was a more vulnerable spot than my chest. The cut was a little deeper than before, but it didn't hurt much.

"Kim Namwoon."

Behind Kim Namwoon, I could still see people grappling with each other while looking for bugs. People willing to hurt one another as long as it meant surviving themselves.

"You were right earlier. I'm the same kind of person as you."

Maybe they were people I could have saved.

"What the fuck?! Why won't you die?! Why aren't you dying?!"

55 seconds. 50 seconds. 45 seconds.

The knife kept leaving scratches and nothing more. Blood ran, but the blade couldn't dig beneath my flesh. Kim Namwoon spoke again when 30 seconds remained. He had dropped the knife and was kneeling in front of me.

"P-please, spare me."

25 seconds.

"I'm begging you! Please! Please spare me!"

"Why should I?"

20 seconds.

"A human life matters! That's obvious, isn't it?!"

"That's the law of the old world. You said it yourself. A new world needs new laws."

10 seconds.

"No, no! I don't want to die! Aaaaargh!"

5 seconds.

Shrieking, Kim Namwoon charged at me and aimed the knife at my eye.

Just as the blade was about to pierce my retina.

[The time limit has expired.]

With a series of exploding pops, Kim Namwoon's head burst apart.

[Paid settlement has begun.]

Starting with Kim Namwoon, heads were exploding all around the car.

One, two, three, four...

Heads bursting like fireworks announcing a new age.

I watched that scene with a little exhilaration, a little guilt, and a sense of detachment I couldn't understand.

Why was that?

Why could I stay this calm while watching a sight like this?

As if I were watching a novel.

[You have massacred a total of 124 living beings.]

[Massacre report: 1 grasshopper, 123 grasshopper eggs]

[Due to the killing of living beings incapable of resistance, the resultant earnings have been halved.]

[You have obtained a total of 6,200 coins.]

[Coins used to level up stats will be automatically deducted.]

[You have obtained a total of 3,500 coins.]

[Due to your excessive massacre, you have attained the Mass Murderer achievement.]

My face was reflected in the subway's pitch-black window.

An expression I had never once seen before, no matter how many mirrors I had looked into.

I rubbed at the bloodstain near my cheek. It didn't come off. Then I realized the blood was on the glass.

The train tilted. Then it started moving again.

Rattling as it ran.

Before long, light flooded in and the darkness retreated from the window. It was the aboveground stretch of Line 3 heading from Apgujeong to Oksu. Beyond the glass, the scenery of Seoul, including the Han River, came into view.

Ah.

Someone let out a swelling groan. It was a groan filled with the deep relief of having survived. But it didn't take long for the meaning of that groan to change.

Ah, ah...

The scenery outside the window was no longer the Seoul we knew.

The city lay in ruins under smoke and dust.

The bridges spanning the Han River had collapsed.

The Han River was red with soldiers' corpses, and between the fallen buildings, monsters were trampling K1 tanks like toys.

[Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value has ended.]

[You have obtained 300 coins as the base clear reward.]

[100 coins have been deducted for the channel usage fee.]

[Additional reward calculations have begun.]

One world was collapsing, and a new world was being born.

And I was the only reader who knew the ending of this world.

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