WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 632: Episode 16: The Fifth Scenario (1)

──────

「"I am not the Berserk Butcher. But someone has to wear this mask, because people want it."」

- Berserk Butcher

* * *

To get straight to the point, my Allies and I entered Seoul Station without resistance or bloodshed.

The spacious Seoul Station building had collapsed at its center, leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling. Perhaps a flying monster had appeared, or something had fallen from the sky.

"Let's talk for a moment."

The one who led us was Master Sergeant Jeong Munho, Jeong Huiwon's father, who had become the Beggar's Sect's strategist.

He left the rest of my Allies in the shelter and led me to a small room deeper inside.

"You must've had a difficult journey getting here."

"No, not really."

I didn't know whether my bluff about being a White Purity Sect Disciple had worked. One thing was certain, though. Just before the Beggar's Sect and I came into conflict, Master Sergeant Munho had mediated between me and them.

"For now, I haven't reported what you said earlier about being a 'White Purity Sect Disciple' to the higher-ups."

Munho began with that, glanced outside anxiously, then continued.

"If I did, a real war would break out. You know that."

A real war.

I didn't know what the real Master Sergeant Munho had been like. Still, this gave me some idea of what kind of person my Reader was.

[Exclusive Skill, Reader Comment List, has activated!]

+

ID: rhwkd1123

Platform: Sirius

Total Comments: 2

Reader Level: 4

Number of Completed Reads: 1

+

Just as I thought.

Jeong Huiwon's father was a Reader. A Reader who had completed it once.

This person had only read it once, yet somehow survived this long.

Maybe it was because I'd seen monsters like Killer King and Ye Hyeonu, but Readers with only one completed read seemed cute now. Let's see what kind of comments he had written.

+

I'm enlisting soon. Will I be able to finish it...

- Recommended 0 / Not Recommended 0

(Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Chapter 1)

+

Had he been possessed just before enlisting?

I felt a little sorry for him, but it was still better than being possessed right before his discharge. I read the next comment.

+

Read this novel because of a girl I like. Going to confess to her tomorrow.

- Recommended 4 / Not Recommended 3

(Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Chapter 551)

+

I could roughly guess what had happened.

To sum it up, it was something like, 『I was going to confess to the girl I liked before enlisting, but I was suddenly possessed by the novel she was reading』.

"But the war has already begun."

Unfortunately, the world he had been possessed into wasn't suited to a sweet title like that.

"Capture the Flag is that kind of Scenario. People won't hesitate to hurt one another. They'll do anything to get what they want. This is a world that permits it."

As those words left my mouth, I realized how much I had changed in such a short time. Just three Scenarios had made me this way.

I could now speak as shamelessly as Inho Cheon without even using [Incitement].

"The stronger groups will exploit the weaker ones, and defeated groups will be forcibly subjugated. People will keep dying as the Scenario moves forward. Someone will become a king, while the lucky ones might become shining stars in the sky."

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband says that is what a Scenario is.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire says anyone can ascend if they refuse to give up until the end.]

[One Constellation, who has yet to reveal its modifier, smiles bitterly.]

To stars who had lived in the world of Scenarios, this logic was only natural.

It wouldn't be for a Reader who had lived in peace until a month ago.

"I-I, I can't do it. I can't watch people die anymore. Th-this is completely insane."

Master Sergeant Munho must have watched his subordinates get mercilessly struck down by the Beggar's Sect's masters right before his eyes. He must have felt death looming before him. He must have struggled to survive. He must have made choices he didn't want to make.

"Did you hide in the Beggar's Sect because you were afraid of that?"

"It's not like I did it because I wanted to. I..."

Munho trembled as he clutched his shoulders. I watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Why don't you tell me what you really want to say?"

"Pardon?"

"You even set up [Soundproofing]. Isn't there something else you want to tell me?"

[You are in a location where Soundproofing has been activated.]

He clearly had something he needed to tell me before the Beggar's Sect's Ark Master noticed the situation.

Munho stared blankly at my face, then tears suddenly began streaming down his cheeks.

"Please don't cry."

"D-do you have any idea how hard this has been for me?"

Not every Reader adapted to this world as exceptionally as Killer King or Ye Hyeonu. There must have been many more Readers who died, and most of those who survived were probably in the same state as Munho.

After barely swallowing his tears, he asked in a trembling voice.

"K-Kim Dokja-nim... right?"

"What?"

In that instant, I realized what he had misunderstood.

Wait a second. How could he possibly misunderstand that?

I hadn't used [Incitement], nor had I used the Myriad Transformations Stealth Suit through Thought.

"F-from the moment I saw you from afar, I knew right away. That white coat, those eyes that curve into that strange smile! And the nerve to confidently lie that you're a White Purity Sect Disciple..."

"Uh..."

"You look a little different from the cover, but novel covers never look exactly like the real thing, do they? It looks like you dyed your hair, too..."

The moment I saw the desperate look in Munho's eyes, I understood what state he was in.

「Anyone could tell that I wasn't Kim Dokja.」

My hairstyle was different, and so was my face. My speech and clothing might have been similar, but anyone who watched me closely could easily tell that I wasn't Dokja.

Any Reader who had properly read the novel couldn't possibly miss it.

「But Munho believed that I was Dokja.」

More precisely, he had chosen to believe it.

To him, I had to be Dokja.

He had suddenly been possessed and lost the world he lived in. He had seen countless deaths. He had lost his subordinates and even abandoned the children who called him father.

To survive, he had betrayed his remaining companions and surrendered to the enemy.

He had somehow kept his drifting life afloat, but that was his limit. His mind had completely collapsed, and he needed someone to tell him that every tragedy surrounding him was fake.

Someone to tell him that he hadn't done anything wrong, and that it was finally time to wake from this terrible nightmare.

A magic phrase that would return him to being a Reader.

He wanted to hear those words from Dokja.

I looked at my Reader and slowly opened my mouth.

"Munho-ssi. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

Instead of telling him that I wasn't Dokja, I briefly explained what was happening in this world because he didn't seem to know anything.

"M-me? There are other Readers who were possessed by the novel besides me?"

Munho's eyes widened. He muttered, "Yeongin," in a dazed voice, then suddenly raised his head.

"Have you met other Readers, too?"

"Of course I have. Weren't you invited to Kim Dokja's Banquet as well?"

"What banquet?"

"You know, the one hosted by that Kim Dokja Representative..."

"Kim Dokja Representative? What's that? What is Kim Dokja representing?"

Judging by his expression, he didn't seem to be lying.

I wondered if there might be Readers who hadn't been invited to that banquet. Then Master Sergeant Munho let out a small gasp.

"Come to think of it, I did have a dream about going to a strange theater a while ago..."

It seemed he'd been summoned while sleeping.

"Yes. It wasn't a dream."

Munho's face turned pale as he touched it.

"Then what happens to me now? Do I have to live here forever? Am I going to grow old and die as some old soldier?"

Seeing Munho sob uncontrollably made my chest ache.

If someone asked whether this person was innocent, I couldn't nod with certainty. He had killed people, abandoned Jeong Huiwon's younger brother, and run away...

"I-I..."

I grabbed Master Sergeant Munho's shoulders as he crumbled.

"Pull yourself together. Please stop crying."

"Y-yes."

"Munho-ssi, listen carefully to me now."

I wasn't Dokja.

So I probably couldn't accomplish what Dokja had.

"Bloodshed will soon sweep through this station. It might not happen if the talks go well, but there's a strong chance they won't."

Still, couldn't I at least save one Reader in danger?

"A-are you going to fight? But it's still early on. You're not even a Constellation yet. The Beggar's Sect's Ark Master is incredibly strong."

"I'll handle that, so don't worry about it."

Looking into Master Sergeant Munho's wavering eyes, I activated [Incitement].

"Munho-ssi, you don't need to fight anymore. You don't need to kill people or stand against monsters. You only need to play one role."

"W-what role is that?"

"Jeong Huiwon and Jeong Eunho's father."

Master Sergeant Munho froze at my words. Then, exactly ten seconds later, he became greatly alarmed.

"J-Jeong Huiwon? The Judge of Evil?"

It seemed he really didn't know anything.

"Yes. That Jeong Huiwon."

"What exactly do I have to do?"

Perhaps this round's Jeong Munho had been destined to die beneath Jeong Huiwon's wooden sword.

Fortunately, this Jeong Munho was a fake, and because he was a fake, there might be something he could do.

"Do your best to become a good father."

Master Sergeant Munho looked confused.

"A good father?"

"Yes."

"How... am I supposed to do that? I haven't even gotten married or had children yet..."

A good father...

I didn't know either.

Neither TWSA nor Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint had ever properly covered something like that. So, for the first time in a while, I recalled my memories from when I was Lee Hakhyun.

The people who had let me, always unable to adapt to reality and drifting through life, live as Writer Lee Hakhyun.

My parents, who had helped a child's delusions become The Work.

"Praise them for whatever they do. Tell them they did well."

* * *

While Master Sergeant Munho practiced saying "You did well" into the air, an ominous mood began to spread through Seoul Station.

Judging by the whispers all around, it felt like something was about to happen.

One Beggar's Sect Disciple who had been lingering in the distance approached me and asked,

"Are you a Disciple from that White Purity Sect place?"

Master Sergeant Munho's face went white at the question.

It seemed the words he hadn't reported had already spread among the beggars. As expected of the Beggar's Sect, the faction with the greatest information network in the Martial World.

"Come with me. The Ark Master is looking for you."

Footnotes:

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