WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 608: Episode 11: Work (3)

──────

* * *

I had gained a new companion.

[The Incarnation Lee Seyeon has joined your team.]

ID: Literary Girl 64.

Killer King's younger sister. A fighting prodigy.

A temporary alliance to save Killer King had been formed.

[You have recruited a frontrunner onto your team.]

[You have additionally acquired 500 coins.]

After assessing the situation as calmly as I could, I spoke.

"The [Stone Statue] status condition will last for four hours in the stage's internal time. Time moves faster outside, so we need to proceed on the assumption that we'll finish the dungeon within two hours."

Of course, a miracle could happen and Killer King might hunt the Tier-6 ground dragon species or escape on his own. I dismissed those possibilities.

The surest realistic way to save Killer King was to clear the dungeon as quickly as possible and end the movie's screening.

Literary Girl 64 asked, "Is Yu Junghyeok upstairs?"

"He probably is."

"Couldn't Yu Junghyeok clear the dungeon?"

"That would be nice."

Literary Girl 64 seemed to have noticed something in my tone.

"Is there a problem?"

I nodded. Literary Girl 64 looked as though she was considering what the problem could be.

She could have simply asked. The siblings acted similarly in moments like this.

[You have cleared a stage with adjusted difficulty!]

[You have acquired 3,000 coins as an additional reward!]

[You have acquired an additional die!]

[You have acquired an additional die!]

......

Maybe because we had cleared a fairly difficult movie, we received five reward dice and 3,000 coins.

"Let's roll the dice first."

As I watched the dice spin in the air, I thought of Gyeong Se-in and Uncle Dansu.

How far had they made it?

Were they hurt?

Was Jihye doing her part?

Just as Literary Girl 64 trusted Killer King, I wished I had that kind of faith.

I wanted to believe they would be safe.

[The die has landed on 5.]

[You climb 5 steps.]

[You have arrived at aboveground floor 3!]

[The die has landed on 5.]

[You climb 5 steps.]

......

The dice rolls weren't bad.

Four fives and one four.

We crossed twenty-four steps in an instant. Then...

[You have entered the Room of Rewards on aboveground floor 5.]

At last, the Room of Rewards.

Just as I was about to step inside, Literary Girl 64 stopped me. I quickly understood why.

Beneath the display cases lined with reward items was a headless corpse.

The hairs on my arms stood on end. Literary Girl 64 looked around and said, "I don't think anyone else is here."

We slowly approached and examined the corpse. The man's head had rolled a few steps away from his body.

Suppressing the nausea rising in my throat, I said, "He's from the Misreading Association. The guy who claimed he was a writer."

The cleanly severed cross-section of his neck was chilling. He had been fairly capable, yet he had been murdered in an instant.

If he was dead here, someone must have already gone upstairs.

We didn't have time.

"Let's take the rewards first."

We split up and checked the items we could take as rewards.

[Reward items are limited to two per person.]

In Huiwon's place, I chose a sword and combat suit she could use.

[Mikazuki Munechika - Replica: A-grade sword]

The first thing I chose was the sword she had used in the main story of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. I also selected a combat suit that seemed useful for her.

[Impossible Mission - Replica: A-grade armor]

This should keep me from worrying about Huiwon's equipment for a while. Still, seeing that she hadn't woken up yet, the aftereffects of [Incitement] seemed to last quite a long time.

I'd have to be careful when using it from now on.

After choosing Huiwon's equipment, I examined gear that would be useful to me.

I could take two pieces of equipment, but one wasn't for me. I had to keep my promise to Seventh Apostle Ye Hyeonu.

Let's see.

After looking around for about thirty seconds, I found the item in question.

[Singijeon - Replica: A-grade artillery]

Wow, it really was here.

+

Description: A hwacha made during the Joseon era. It is a multiple-launch rocket weapon capable of firing up to one hundred shots in volleys of fifteen.

It contains the Passive Skill [Firepower Amplification], which greatly enhances the long-range bombardment capabilities of allies within ten square meters when used.

+

I could see why Ye Hyeonu wanted this item just from the description. If Singijeon was combined with Pildu Gong's turrets, the synergy would definitely be incredible.

[You have selected Singijeon - Replica.]

[This item has the Miniaturization function built in.]

I had wondered how I was going to carry it, but fortunately, it could be miniaturized.

I selected Singijeon and put it in my pocket.

After that, I made a full circuit of the room and looked over the useful items. There was a replica version of Mjolnir that Lee Gilyeong had used in the main story, Heracles' Shield, and so on...

"Jjo-ba!"

Thought, transformed into slime, eagerly clung to the displayed items one after another.

Slap, slap.

[The Mimicry proficiency of Thought of Almost Everything has increased!]

[You have acquired a new mimicry form!]

[You have acquired a new mimicry form!]

......

Perhaps because its proficiency had increased, the conditions for collecting forms of A-grade or lower items were no longer particularly demanding.

Over the next five minutes, I collected the forms of most weapons in the [Room of Rewards].

[Thought of Almost Everything is satisfied after devouring forms.]

There were no S-grade or higher mimicry forms, but after collecting this much, I shouldn't lack weapons for a while.

Lastly, I chose a piece of armor.

I could summon weapons whenever I wanted with Thought, but armor had to be worn at all times. I couldn't rely solely on the [Mimicry] function.

[Reinforced Armor Suit - Replica: A-grade armor]

Come to think of it, Kim Dokja had chosen this suit, too.

It didn't seem like a bad choice in the current situation.

When I looked beside me, Literary Girl 64 had apparently thought the same thing and selected the female version of the Reinforced Armor Suit.

Once we finished preparing, we stood before the passage leading upstairs again.

[Your journey with Departure Cinema Tour ends here.]

[From this floor onward, there is no movement bonus exclusive to latecomers.]

[You are the first to complete the Departure Cinema Tour Scenario.]

[You have acquired 2,000 coins as a reward.]

I could no longer skip floors with the dice trick.

Instead, from here on, we had the advantage of following the path a frontrunner had already opened.

Sure enough, when we took the escalator to the sixth floor, we found movie posters torn to shreds.

How many movies had been cleared in such a short time? The sixth floor was practically a ruin.

Judging by the traces left everywhere, more than half of it seemed to be Junghyeok's work.

Come to think of it, he had killed a Tier-7 Monster as soon as he regressed. I couldn't even imagine how much stronger he had become now.

Could I really change this story's conclusion by going up there?

I had lost a little confidence, but this wasn't the time to despair.

"Next is the seventh floor."

We passed through the sixth floor without encountering any movies.

If we were lucky, we might be able to make it all the way to the rooftop like this. We had to hurry.

A little faster. Just a little more...

"Ah."

Had I rushed too much?

[You have been hit by a projection beam.]

[The screening on this floor has begun.]

I flinched at the message.

Where?

There were only torn movie posters everywhere.

"It's under your feet."

A half-torn poster was beneath my feet.

Goddammit.

[This movie poster is damaged.]

[Only part of the movie will be recreated.]

The floor gave way beneath us, and we were sucked into pitch-black darkness. When I came to...

We were trapped inside a room enclosed by white walls on all six sides.

* * *

rlaehrwk99: Isn't that movie Cu■?

rlaehrwk124: How old are you, 99?

* * *

[This movie is not intact.]

[You can escape the movie once you fulfill a specific condition.]

Fortunately, we hadn't entered an intact movie. That meant the clear time might be short.

After striking the inner wall several times with [White Pure Star Energy], Literary Girl 64 said, "We can't break through it by force."

I agreed with her.

"I think I know what movie this is."

A controlled, cube-shaped room. Escape only possible after fulfilling a condition.

It was a movie no creator could fail to recognize.

The problem was the escape condition.

Based on what I had experienced so far, there was a chance the Cinema Master had done something troublesome again.

Then...

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is curious about your story.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire presents the room's escape condition to the Cinema Master.]

Uriel?

[A Constellation that has yet to reveal its modifier is curious about your story.]

[A Constellation that has yet to reveal its modifier presents the room's escape condition.]

There was even a Constellation that hadn't revealed its modifier?

[The Cinema Master accepts the Constellations' proposals.]

I had a bad feeling about this, and the escape condition was revealed right away.

+

Escape condition: Hold a conversation in this room for thirty minutes.

+

A clock appeared in the air.

[30:00].

I stared blankly at the clock.

Really? That was the entire condition?

Additional text appeared.

+

However, if silence continues for more than thirty seconds, everyone in the room will die.

+

A chill ran down my spine.

There were three people in the room: me, Huiwon, and Literary Girl 64.

Huiwon was unconscious, which meant I had to talk with Literary Girl 64 for a full thirty minutes.

It wasn't an exceptionally harsh condition, but it wouldn't be easy.

I wasn't particularly skilled at conversation, and neither was she...

"Even though it's only part of it."

"Pardon?"

"Can this really be called a movie?"

Had she naturally brought up a topic first?

Slightly moved by her consideration, I replied with the first thing that came to mind.

"Short-form content is popular these days. Maybe the Star Stream is following the trend?"

"What's short-form content?"

"I mean, it's when you cut or summarize a video's highlights..."

"Highlights."

Literary Girl 64 thought deeply, then added, "If there are only highlights, there aren't any highlights at all."

"Um... I agree."

Even as I agreed, I felt strangely guilty.

Wasn't my writing similar?

I made compact plots with minimal buildup and crammed in highlights every time.

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon yawns as if bored.]

In a world where everything was a highlight, I had also written while thinking only of highlights. Was that why?

"Um, should I call you Yerin-ssi, too? Or..."

This moment, which was nothing like a highlight no matter how I thought about it, felt a little fresh.

"Yerin is my real name."

"Then..."

"Call me whatever is comfortable."

"Okay."

"Do you like novels?"

"Ah, yes."

"Do you like this novel, too?"

By this novel, she probably meant Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

Could a novelist like the novel they had written? Some novelists probably could.

What about me?

"My brother likes this novel."

"What about you, Yerin-ssi?"

Literary Girl 64 fell silent for a moment.

[You must continue the conversation within 15 seconds.]

I wondered if I should change the subject, but she answered.

"I've never read it myself."

"Ah."

"My brother always read it to me."

I could roughly guess what had happened.

Several clues naturally came together in my head.

「Someone who had listened through Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint more than ten times.」

「The habit of always wearing sunglasses.」

「The young siblings standing against Kim Dokja Representative in the theater.」

The image of the girl clutching the boy's sleeve behind him naturally overlapped with Literary Girl 64's face.

"I can't see in reality."

This time, it was my turn to fall silent.

[You must continue the conversation within 10 seconds.]

Even knowing that I would die if I didn't speak within ten seconds, I couldn't easily find my next words.

Fortunately, Literary Girl 64 continued.

"I can see well now."

"I see."

"So this is what the world my brother always talked about looks like. That's what I think."

"..."

"Did you ask me earlier what I thought about this novel?"

"Ah, yes."

"I..."

Literary Girl 64 hesitated for a moment as she chose her words, then spoke.

"I think it's a poorly written novel."

It hit me where it hurt.

"That's how I felt while listening to it. The characters are somewhat flat, and parts of the story feel artificial."

"..."

"The direction is too emotionally charged. As it goes on, the pattern of development becomes monotonous, too."

Was I imagining it? There was a strange note of reproach in her voice. She even seemed to be speaking faster than before.

Did she actually hate Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint?

That was possible.

There were all kinds of readers in the world. It wasn't strange.

"I understand. Web novels are serialized daily, after all."

At least she was giving me some breathing room.

I smiled bitterly and asked, "Do you read web novels often?"

"Sometimes I ask my brother to read them to me, but they aren't a genre I like."

"What genres do you like? Or is there an author you particularly like..."

Her ID was Literary Girl 64.

Unless Killer King had named it for her, she probably liked novels too.

As if she had been waiting, she spoke.

"Raymond Carver."

Hm?

"Haruki Murakami. Han Kang. William Faulkner. John Steinbeck..."

Her reading taste seemed similar to someone I knew.

Perhaps she had read my thoughts, because Literary Girl 64 nodded.

"I think Yu Sangah has excellent reading taste."

"Ah."

I couldn't tell whether that was a joke, so I smiled uncertainly. Literary Girl 64 didn't smile.

Feeling slightly tense, I asked another question.

"What's your favorite work?"

This was good, anyway.

We had to talk for a full thirty minutes to escape this room. I was happy to have found a topic we could discuss.

I had graduated from a creative writing department. If the subject was novels, I was confident I could talk for an hour or two.

At least, I was until I heard her next words.

"I like 『The Origin of Memory』."

For a moment, I wondered if I had heard something wrong.

What novel did she say she liked?

"Um... You mean the work by that Korean author, right?"

"Yes. Do you know it?"

There was no way I wouldn't.

"I know it, but do you really like that work?"

"Yes."

Because that novel was...

"It's my favorite work."

It was the debut work of none other than me, Lee Hakhyun.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried