WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 602: Episode 10: Writer (3)

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The person who wrote Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

His declaration threw the scene into chaos.

"Could it be true?"

"It doesn't look like Han Suyeong at all..."

"Then is he the writer from our worldline?"

Jeong Huiwon and Lee Jihye looked as though they had no idea what anyone was talking about.

Jihye asked, "What's everyone talking about? Is he famous?"

"I'll go take a quick look around."

"Ah, I'll come with you, unni."

Huiwon glanced in my direction before leaving as if she had no interest. Jihye followed after her.

Come to think of it, there had been a passage like this in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

「"Actually, I once went around telling Seongguk and a few other characters that this place was inside a novel, as a test. But they couldn't understand it at all. Like they were NPCs... No matter how seriously I explained it, they only took it as a joke."」

When prophets told characters about TWSA, the characters acted as though they couldn't understand.

Maybe that was why Huiwon and Jihye showed so little interest right now.

Gyeong Se-in, who had been watching the situation, quickly approached me.

"Do you think that person is really the writer?"

A man stood before us in a plausible white coat, carrying a sword that appeared to be Broken Faith.

He could've picked up the white coat anywhere, and if he had claimed the sword quickly enough, he could've obtained it.

In other words, those items proved nothing about whether he was the writer.

Still, I couldn't be certain he was lying.

There was a chance another writer besides me had entered this world through Possession. Maybe there was an Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint writer from another worldline.

Fortunately, I had a way to check.

[You have used Reader Comment List on the target.]

When the system window appeared before me, I doubted my eyes.

Huh? Wait a second.

This bastard...

As I checked his information through Reader Comment List, Se-in unexpectedly stepped forward.

"Writer, I sent you instructions on how to stretch. Do you remember them?"

Come to think of it, Se-in had sent something like that.

The writer bastard answered, "Well... I don't remember every message. You each send me one message, but I receive several thousand."

It wasn't entirely wrong, but anyone would remember receiving a message about how to stretch.

I still did those stretches sometimes.

"I'm sorry I don't remember."

"Ah, no, it's fine."

Se-in lowered her hand with a disappointed expression.

The self-proclaimed writer added, "Still, if I'd known they were sent by such a beautiful woman, I would've remembered them, of course."

"Huh?"

Se-in looked blank.

It gave me chills for more than one reason. I was just thinking I should say something for the sake of my reputation when...

"Are you really the writer?"

The woman with the iron club beat me to it.

"How are you going to prove it? Anyone can get something like Broken Faith without being the writer."

Right. She was correct.

"If you're really the writer, shouldn't you at least have made Unbreakable Faith?"

Well... even the real writer couldn't make that.

The writer bastard replied, "Even a writer can't control every situation. That's why I couldn't obtain the Random item Box. Perhaps one of the readers here used the box."

At his rather logical explanation, Uncle Dansu and Se-in glanced at me.

"Wouldn't using [lie detection] tell us?"

The person who had earlier shouted, "Has anyone read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint?" spoke up.

A few readers nodded.

"Oh, right. [lie detection]."

"But does anyone here even have that skill...?"

No one stepped forward. It seemed there were no Incarnations here with [lie detection].

Then again, apostles like Killer King and Ye Hyeonu were unusual cases.

Normally, no one obtained [lie detection] this early.

Then the writer bastard signaled to the woman beside him.

She had pulled her hood low and covered her face with a mask.

[Someone is using Lie Detection.]

The message was heard by everyone.

Startled, the people began murmuring. The writer bastard opened his mouth.

"I'll prove it. I am the person who wrote Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint."

[Lie Detection has confirmed that statement is true.]

The readers were shocked.

"It was real?"

"He's really the writer?"

Excited voices followed.

Yet there were still readers who didn't believe him.

The woman with the iron club spoke again.

"Wait. Are you really the writer who serialized on Sirius and Textpia? Say it again."

Even her tone had changed. She was flustered, too.

"That's right. Prove it again!"

"He already proved it. I think he really is the writer."

The readers began to disagree among themselves.

At the center of the argument, the writer bastard wore a sorrowful expression.

"I know that those who won't believe me won't believe me, no matter what I say. What good would it do if I proved it again and again?"

He let out a soft sigh and slowly looked around.

Whatever else might be true, his acting was fairly good.

Did they teach people how to talk like writers somewhere these days?

"But I can promise you one thing. From now on, I'll bring every reader who joins me to the Scenario's Final Chapter, no matter what it takes."

[Lie Detection has confirmed that statement is true.]

The [lie detection] confirmation came at just the right moment.

As though putting the finishing touch on a novel, the writer bastard added, "I have more complete information about Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint than anyone else. If you trust me, I'll lead you down a path without a single wrong answer."

A brief silence fell over the scene.

In the excited atmosphere, the readers looked at one another.

"It seems to be true."

"Well, we can trust [lie detection]."

"Isn't that enough proof?"

"Wait a minute. You're going to believe him that easily? [lie detection] isn't always accurate..."

The woman with the iron club and a few others still voiced their doubts, but public opinion gradually leaned toward the writer bastard.

Was it time to step in?

"I'm curious, Writer."

[You have activated the Exclusive Skill Incitement Lv. 6!]

At my words, every reader turned to look at me.

Of course they did. I was a Level 6 inciter now.

Even if I farted instead of speaking, everyone would look at me.

"You're not Han Suyeong, Writer. Do you truly have complete information about this world?"

The readers suddenly looked as sharp-eyed as people who had caught the scent of a fart.

"Come to think of it..."

"Wasn't the premise for Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint in our worldline that he simply transcribed what Han Suyeong wrote?"

As public opinion subtly shifted, the writer bastard's expression changed.

I added, as if loosening the leash slightly, "Ah, but since you're the writer, you might know information we don't. For example... the identity of Kim Dokja Representative."

Someone quietly drew in a breath.

The writer bastard answered, "Unfortunately, even I don't know that much."

Not bad. He knew to say he didn't know information he truly didn't know.

Probably because Lie Detection couldn't verify it otherwise.

Still, he made one mistake.

"Hmm. You don't know that either... You do know more about Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint than we do, right?"

The corner of the writer bastard's mouth twitched.

"Of course."

"Then may I ask you a few simple questions about Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint? I'll only ask things a writer would naturally know."

His eyes shifted upward slightly.

He was probably looking at that manuscript in his head.

"Go ahead."

"Good. Here's the first question. Yu Junghyeok regresses 1,863 times in TWSA. What does 1,863 symbolize?"

"Huh?"

For the first time, his expression changed.

"Symbolize? That isn't..."

"You don't know?"

Of course he didn't. I hadn't known either.

"It seems you don't. Let me tell you the answer. 1,863 was the year the first subway opened."

Someone nearby snickered.

There were probably people here who had attended Kim Dokja's Banquet that day.

The writer bastard protested, "How am I supposed to get a question like that right?"

"Was that too difficult for you, Writer? Then I'll make the second question easier. How many times does ■ appear in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint?"

The laughter around us grew louder.

At last, the writer bastard opened his eyes wide.

"Are you trying to joke around right now?"

That was right. Until now, I had been joking.

The final question was what mattered.

"Was that too difficult, too? Then I'll ask the final question. If you get this right, I'll acknowledge you as the writer. It's a very easy question. The answer appears openly in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint."

"I hope this will be a proper question."

"Here's the third question. Even if the rest of you know the answer, don't say it."

I lightly looked around at the readers before asking the final question.

"In which round does Yu Junghyeok realize that if he uses the Absolute Throne even once, he'll never reach the Scenario's conclusion?"

A few readers looked as though they knew the answer.

Readers who had paid close attention would know the answer to this question.

If he really was the writer of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, there was no way he could fail to know it.

The writer bastard actually answered with a strange smile.

"The 14th round."

I clapped.

"Wow, that's amazing."

"Then now..."

"Wrong."

Soft murmurs spread through the scene.

The writer bastard frowned.

"What... It's the 14th round. There's no doubt about it. It appears in Chapter 72 of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint."

"That's right. It appears in Chapter 72."

I let out a low sigh before continuing.

"More precisely, it appeared in the version of Chapter 72 before the manuscript was corrected."

I saw his expression slowly stiffen.

"That information was corrected because it was a typo. A correction notice was even posted later. Yu Junghyeok learns the secret of the Absolute Throne not in the 14th round, but in the 41st round."

The atmosphere in the scene rapidly turned cold.

"I'm curious. Why do you remember the version from before the manuscript was corrected, Writer, when you wrote the correction notice yourself?"

The writer bastard's face turned pale. His lips trembled several times before he opened his mouth.

"Th-that..."

At this point, whether he was the writer or not no longer mattered, because that esteemed writer knew less about Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint than an ordinary reader.

The moment I saw the writer bastard's eyes after he raised his head, I felt like I knew what would happen next.

"How can I believe that? Who here remembers information like that? Who are you?"

"I..."

Why did I remember it?

I could reveal it quite easily now, but I had no intention of doing that.

Because this wasn't a story about a writer.

"I've read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint over a hundred times."

The writer bastard snickered.

As if there was no way such an absurd person could exist, he signaled to the woman beside him.

Then, the next moment...

[Lie Detection has confirmed that statement is true.]

Everyone stood there with their mouths hanging open.

To play along, I opened my mouth as well.

"You don't have any information that only a writer would know, and some of what you know is even wrong... At this point, I'm curious."

I swept my gaze over the readers, then grinned at the writer bastard.

"Just what did you write, Writer?"

* * *

[Cinema Journey will begin in 1 minute.]

While I checked my equipment, a few readers came over to greet me.

"You were amazing earlier."

"Did you really read it more than a hundred times?"

I answered only with a faint smile.

In the distance, I could see the writer bastard glaring this way.

The profile information I had checked earlier came to mind.

+

ID: tls456

Platform: Sirius,

Total Comments: 0,

Reader Level: 8,

Number of Completed Reads: 1,

This reader has accessed Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint* through an abnormal route.

+

He clearly knew the contents of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, yet his platform, total comments, reader level, and number of completed reads weren't displayed normally.

Most importantly, there was the line saying he had accessed Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint through an abnormal route.

My conclusion was simple.

「That guy is with the Misreading Association.」

He wasn't even an ordinary Misreading Association member.

After all, his claim to be "the person who wrote Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" had been verified as true through Lie Detection.

In other words, that bastard was...

[The Constellation Plague-Bringing Rat is glaring at you.]

A person who had uploaded a text copy he had written to an illegal site.

Footnotes:

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