WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 600: Episode 10: Writer (1)

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* * *

Thirty minutes later, I sorted through the items I had obtained from hunting the Giant Centipede.

[Giant Centipede Core].

[Giant Centipede Carapace Fragment].

It was a miracle I had managed to grab these two amid all that.

Since I had no immediate use for them, I put them up at the auction house through Bihyeong.

The centipede's core was used as an ingredient for elixirs, so Chinese Incarnations like Peihu might buy it.

Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten about overseas readers.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint had been translated abroad, too. Maybe there were foreign readers in this world through Possession as well.

"Inho, we're ready."

When I turned around, Gyeong Se-in and Uncle Dansu were waiting for me, fully prepared.

"All right. Let's go."

We went straight to find Ye Hyeonu.

When we explained why, Hyeonu reacted exactly as I expected.

"You're going to the Theater Dungeon now?"

Hyeonu thought for a moment, then asked Gyeong Se-in and Uncle Dansu to give us some privacy.

Once they stepped away, Hyeonu lowered their voice.

"Does this have something to do with Yu Junghyeok?"

As expected of the Seventh Apostle.

I gave a brief nod.

"The Theater Dungeon is the only place Junghyeok would go now."

"Mm, I suppose so."

Hyeonu's gaze turned toward the upper levels.

Somewhere up there, Junghyeok, having entered the theater, was probably cutting down beasts even now.

"I heard this from Se-in last time. Junghyeok in this world is from the 41st round, right?"

"That's right."

"Which 41st round?"

"What do you mean, which one?"

"There were two 41st rounds. One before Shin Yuseong became the Catastrophe of Floods, and one after."

I smiled bitterly to myself.

Hyeonu really wasn't an ordinary reader.

"You can pretend not to know. I won't use Lie Detection."

The cheerful smile on Hyeonu's face drained some of my strength.

What a clever reader.

"Probably the former."

"Then this is the 41st round that appeared in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. The one where he failed the Scenario and turned Shin Yuseong into the Catastrophe of Floods... And you're still going to the Theater Dungeon?"

When Hyeonu put it that way, I had nothing to say.

"You saw it yourself, Inho. He's the one who destroyed every Green Zone and tried to kill us."

That was true. We had nearly been wiped out during the Emergency Defense because of Junghyeok.

But...

「"If you're truly Inho Cheon, you should be able to handle this much alone."」

Was I just getting my hopes up if I thought he had done that because he trusted me that much?

"If you go to the Theater Dungeon now, you might end up fighting Junghyeok."

"I know. I'm still going."

Hyeonu let out a quiet sigh.

"Will the three of you be all right? Should I send some support with you?"

"You're willing to help?"

"I can't lose you in a place like this, Inho. And..."

Hyeonu hesitated before adding,

"I saw you talking to Junghyeok on the tracks. I don't know what happened between you two, but it looked like you could communicate with him."

Had Hyeonu seen even that?

"We'll be fine without support. The Scenario isn't over yet, after all. More importantly, I'm sorry to leave the cleanup to you."

"No, it's fine. I was planning to skip the Theater Dungeon anyway. Just sorting out the rewards here is overwhelming enough. Besides... I've already received more than enough sponsorship."

Hyeonu had certainly earned a fair amount of coins with that new technique, Infinite Ouroboros or whatever it was.

It didn't look like Hyeonu had even chosen a Patron yet, so there probably wouldn't be any need to worry about sponsorship for a while.

I found myself looking forward to seeing which Patron Hyeonu would choose the next time we met.

"Oh, Inho. I was surprised when you used a Virulent Poison Bomb."

There wasn't the slightest hostility in Hyeonu's voice, so I didn't understand what Hyeonu meant at first.

"As far as I know, only the Readers' Association knows how to make those bombs."

Hyeonu looked at me calmly. I answered as casually as I could.

"I picked one up when I fought the Readers' Association with Killer King last time."

Hyeonu smiled.

"It's not that I think you're part of the Readers' Association. I just..."

I tensed a little.

Had Hyeonu seen me use the Thought of Almost Everything?

Thought of Almost Everything wasn't an item that had appeared in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, but Hyeonu was quick-witted. Hyeonu might have noticed something in that instant.

"Inho."

"Yes?"

"If it's not too much trouble, could you get me one item from the fifth floor of the Theater Dungeon? I'll buy it from you."

"What?"

Well, well.

"What item do you want?"

The fifth floor of the Theater Dungeon was the [Room of Rewards], where replica items could be found.

After thinking for a moment, Hyeonu said,

"Singijeon."

Singijeon. I knew roughly what kind of item it was.

The problem was...

"I don't know if that item will be there..."

"Definitely! It will be there. It was even made into a movie. It didn't appear in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, but there's no way it won't be there. It has to be."

Hyeonu spoke seriously, staring intently at the Thought of Almost Everything around my arm.

"I absolutely need it for the fifth stage of my Invincible Castle Lord tech tree."

I'll say it again. Hyeonu really was a clever reader.

* * *

"What did you talk about with the Seventh Apostle?"

"Nothing much. Since we're going to the Theater Dungeon on our own, we agreed to get him an item if we found one."

"Ah."

I briefly told Uncle Dansu and Gyeong Se-in about what had happened.

"You did well. There's no harm in maintaining a good relationship with someone like the Seventh Apostle."

"I agree."

I felt the same way.

More than anything, Hyeonu didn't seem like a bad person.

"All right, then..."

I walked over to my last Companion, who was staring blankly into space.

"Huiwon."

Jeong Huiwon, who had been sitting on a bench, listlessly raised her head. For some reason, she looked strangely dejected.

"Inho."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

Her sudden apology caught me off guard. I soon understood why.

"If I had been a little stronger."

Huiwon scraped the subway floor with the tip of her Ground Rat Sword. She must have been doing it for a while, because the floor around the bench was covered in scratches.

"That's vandalism of public property."

I had meant it as a joke, but it didn't work very well.

[The character Jeong Huiwon feels guilty toward you.]

Guilt. Huiwon was probably blaming herself for failing to save me.

"Huiwon."

Kneeling on one knee, I took Huiwon's sword-holding hand in both of mine. She must have swung a sword countless times by now. Her hand was rough and hard.

I carefully took the sword from her hand and began drawing on the subway floor. Using the scratches Huiwon had made as hair, I quickly drew a person's face. Then I added a small speech bubble beside it.

「T T」

When I finished, I couldn't tell whether it was a person or a dumpling.

Huiwon stared blankly at the doodle, then muttered,

"You said it was vandalism of public property."

I looked at Huiwon and said,

"Huiwon isn't the one who should be sorry right now."

Huiwon had done her best.

I was the one who had fallen short.

「All that '□□' lets me know is 'my danger.'」

It was frightening to think about it again. What if a beast species stronger than the Giant Centipede had appeared?

「Jeong Huiwon could have died.」

Maybe I had become too immersed in the story on my own.

I wasn't Kim Dokja.

I wasn't as lucky as him, and I wouldn't be loved by the stars, either.

Even so, I had to keep living through this story.

"We're Companions."

"..."

"I'll grow strong enough that Huiwon won't have to protect me. I won't keep hiding behind you forever."

Huiwon's pupils shook as she looked at me.

[The character Jeong Huiwon feels hurt by you.]

Feels hurt?

I quickly returned the Ground Rat Sword to her.

"But that also means I'll hide behind Huiwon a little longer until I get stronger."

Huiwon's mouth opened slightly.

"..."

[The character Jeong Huiwon is happy with your words.]

[Your understanding of the character Jeong Huiwon has increased.]

I understood Huiwon's state.

Maybe this was how she endured this insane world.

"So I'll need Huiwon's help again this time."

"Where are you going now?"

Huiwon asked as she carefully wiped the Ground Rat Sword clean with a strip of cloth.

To think she had cut down the Giant Centipede with that old sword.

Huiwon was Huiwon no matter where she was.

Come to think of it, she had changed to a new weapon around this point in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, too.

"I'm thinking of going to the theater upstairs."

"The theater? At a time like this?"

"You need a new weapon soon, big sis. I heard there are good items upstairs, so let's go take a look together."

Gyeong Se-in smoothly changed the subject at just the right moment.

"Oh, that's why we're going? But my sword is still good."

"Come on, that girl named Lee Jihye had something pretty impressive. You should have one too, big sis..."

As we headed upstairs, someone blocked our path near the turnstiles.

There was no need to ask who it was.

"Jihye."

Lee Jihye was leaning beside a vending machine. She glared at me, then snapped,

"Why? What?"

"Thanks for earlier."

She clearly hadn't expected to hear that. Her eyes wavered.

"I only did it because my master asked me to."

Then she sharply turned her head away.

A kid was still a kid.

"You saved other people, too."

Even in the chaos, I had seen it clearly.

Jihye had acted coldly, as though she wouldn't help anyone, but she had still saved dying people whenever she could.

Rounds changed and worldlines changed, but a person's essence didn't change much.

"Come with us."

"Where?"

"Where your master is."

"You know where my master went?"

"I do."

Jihye's eyes trembled.

"Didn't Junghyeok tell you anything?"

Jihye didn't answer. She only bit down hard on her lip.

「Junghyeok went to the Theater Dungeon and left only Jihye behind?」

It was a decision I couldn't understand.

Jihye's Patron was the Naval Warfare God, Admiral Yi Sunsin the Great, and many areas of the Theater Dungeon used naval battles as their setting. Yet Junghyeok had left only Jihye behind.

Not in his third round, but in his 41st round.

Even though, when Jihye had died,

「"Naval battles will be difficult from now on."」

Junghyeok had said that much.

"He just... told me to guard this place well. To watch whether that uncle dies or not."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I'm dependable?"

She said that, but there was no confidence in her voice. I didn't know the exact circumstances, but it was an opportunity for me.

[The Exclusive Skill Incitement Lv.6 has activated!]

Should I play the villain for a moment?

"Then your mission ended when the Emergency Defense ended."

"That's true, but..."

"Junghyeok is so selfish, isn't he? He treats only you like a kid. Right?"

Jihye tapped her toe against the floor.

"Shut up. What do you know?"

"Come with us."

"Why should I..."

"I have information on higher-grade items. If we get one, I'll give you one too."

"..."

"Don't you want a new weapon? You use a sword, too. If you get a new sword, Junghyeok might take you along with him."

Jihye paused at the mention of swords.

"What?"

"It's your sword that's weak, not you."

Jihye bit her lip.

"We'll only be gone for a little while. We can come back before Junghyeok does."

At last, the innocent girl gave a small nod.

[The character Lee Jihye has a faint favorable impression of you.]

Was gathering Kim Dokja Company easier than I thought?

* * *

A little later, we arrived at the theater entrance.

"Where did you learn to use a sword, big sis?"

"At my school's kendo club."

"Wow, I taught myself. What do you learn in a kendo club?"

"How to win without killing."

Jihye, who had ended up joining our allies, was having a brief conversation with Huiwon.

Huiwon answered mostly in a blunt manner. Jihye seemed to like even that bluntness, sticking close to Huiwon's side without leaving.

Come to think of it, those two had gotten along well in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, too.

"We're almost there. Everyone, get ready."

[You are approaching an out-of-bounds area. Take care not to leave the Scenario area.]

The dungeon entrance appeared on the first basement floor. Gyeong Se-in murmured,

"I never thought we'd come here again."

It felt strange, now that I thought about it.

This theater was the very theater where Kim Dokja's Banquet had been held in reality.

[You have discovered Hidden Dungeon!]

[This dungeon has already been discovered by someone else. You cannot obtain the first discovery achievement.]

[A new Hidden Scenario has arrived!]

+

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: A-

Clear Conditions: Defeat the master of the Theater Dungeon.

Time Limit: None

Compensation: 4,000 coins

Failure: ―

+

[You have entered the Theater Dungeon!]

The Scenario messages sounded as if they had been waiting for us.

We immediately entered the dungeon entrance.

Then, at that moment.

"Stop."

Uncle Dansu halted our allies. It seemed a cockroach had told him something.

"There are others besides us."

Only then did I hear signs of people nearby as well.

They weren't only on the first basement floor.

There were people on the way up to the higher levels.

And voices could be heard from the first floor aboveground, too.

Gyeong Se-in and Uncle Dansu looked at me at the same time.

In Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, only Kim Dokja and his allies, Junghyeok, and some prophets had entered this Hidden Dungeon.

Since the world we'd entered through Possession was not Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint but TWSA, there naturally were no prophets.

"Inho. Those people..."

"Yes."

At a glance, more than a dozen people were hiding on the first basement floor alone. Including those aboveground, there might be thirty, maybe over forty.

My expression hardened.

"They're all readers."

Footnotes:

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