Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 635

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 635: Episode 16: The Fifth Scenario (4)

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My single sentence brought a heavy silence over the concourse.

Dragon-Head Ark Master Cheon Gae's eyes rippled with deep agitation, while the beggars standing behind him widened their eyes as well.

Wonsik, who had been sitting beside me and holding his breath, looked up at me as if wondering what was happening.

I still didn't approve of the Beggar's Sect.

Even so, if their story had moved me, if I found some appeal in this material that had been abandoned without ever being properly read, was that an attachment I shouldn't have as a Writer who had once helped this story along?

After mulling over my words for a long while, the Dragon-Head Ark Master asked, "You'll gladly lose? What does that mean?"

"Let's have a martial arts bout."

"A martial arts bout?"

"Yes. The Martial World way."

The Dragon-Head Ark Master slowly nodded.

"Are you saying you'll let us win the bout?"

"I didn't go that far."

At my smiling reply, the Dragon-Head Ark Master narrowed his eyes.

Still, staring at me like that wouldn't let him see through me.

That was the advantage of being a narrow-eyed character.

The Dragon-Head Ark Master pressed his lips together before speaking again.

"Why should I accept a proposal from the likes of you..."

The stars in the night sky twinkled at that moment.

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband says it is an interesting idea.]

Startled, the Ark Master looked up at the open ceiling of the concourse.

[The Constellation Two-Faced Expert sneers, asking whether the great Beggar's Sect could possibly refuse the proposal.]

[The Constellation Goryeo's Top Swordsman is interested.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God feels nostalgic for old martial arts.]

[The Constellation Bald Army General is delighted at the thought of seeing the Dog-Beating Staff Technique again after so long.]

[The Constellation Rice Cake-Eating Tiger says they used to enjoy martial arts fiction, too.]

[Some Constellations who remember the Martial World wish to see a martial arts bout between the Beggar's Sect and the White Purity Sect.]

[A Bounty Scenario has arrived.]

Classification: Sub

Difficulty: C+

Clear Conditions: Win a martial arts bout against the Beggar's Sect that has appeared in the 8612th planetary system.

Time Limit: 3 hours

Reward: low-grade Martial World elixir

Failure: ―

I could see waves of emotion surging deep within the Ark Master's eyes.

The feeling of returning to this terrible game board once again. The helplessness of becoming an object for the stars' lecherous gaze. And an old longing born from the ancient tradition of martial arts bouts.

The board had been set. All that remained was his decision.

The Ark Master, who had been staring blankly upward as if counting the stars in the sky, finally opened his mouth.

* * *

In short, Dragon-Head Ark Master Cheon Gae accepted the offer.

The Constellations had even put up a Bounty Scenario, so he likely had no grounds to refuse.

For me, it meant that a gamble I'd taken without knowing whether it would work had paid off.

"We'll begin in five minutes."

While the beggars pushed the tables and chairs in the concourse into one place, I reread the Bounty Scenario that had just arrived.

As expected, the reward for completing this Bounty Scenario was a low-grade elixir.

Huiwon checked the Scenario reward and asked, "Inho-ssi, did you know what the reward would be beforehand?"

I shook my head. Even as a Writer, there was no way I could know the reward for a Scenario I was seeing for the first time.

Still.

"I know what the Constellations are like."

Constellations and dokkaebis use Incarnations' desperation to drive Scenarios. That was why I expected a Scenario containing the reward I wanted would appear.

"More importantly, this isn't over yet. We don't know whether that reward is really the one we need."

According to the Scenario, the reward was a low-grade Martial World elixir.

The problem was how low-grade that low-grade elixir would be.

"What do you mean?"

"If it's a low-quality elixir packed with impurities, it might not save Eunho even if we receive it."

"Then..."

"We'll have to obtain the item we need elsewhere."

I looked at the Ark Master sitting cross-legged in the distance.

Dragon-Head Ark Master Cheon Gae likely had hidden elixirs of his own. A Constellation of his level would have prepared elixirs to consume as soon as the Scenario began.

The problem was that getting elixirs from him would be much harder than simply defeating the Beggar's Sect.

What would Kim Dokja have done in this situation?

He probably would've secured every advantage with plausible nonsense while giving the Ark Master of the Beggar's Sect a hard time, too.

[The Constellation Sinister Schemer expects your strategy.]

I wasn't Kim Dokja, so I wasn't confident I could pull off something like that. Still, I had to fight somehow, in my own way.

Huiwon, who had been quietly watching me, said, "...For now, I'll trust you, Inho-ssi."

"Then why do you look like that?"

"Someone I find uncomfortable is coming over."

I turned around to see what she meant. Sergeant Major Jeong Munho was approaching us while earnestly muttering something.

"Good job. Good job."

It seemed he was still practicing the words I had told him to say.

Huiwon glared coldly at Munho before walking toward her younger brother, Jeong Eunho.

I looked back and forth between them, then let out a quiet sigh.

I wasn't in a position to comment on the details of someone else's family history.

For now, I had to deal with the practical problem.

"Reader-nim."

Munho looked at me with a start. He looked like a private standing at rigid attention.

"Yes."

"It seems I'll need your help."

"Yes. You mean playing the father?"

"Keep doing that, too. This time, I need something else."

"What..."

"Are you good at fighting?"

Perhaps sensing something ominous, Munho quickly shook his head.

"I'm not. I'm really terrible at it."

"Good."

"Pardon?"

"We're about to hold a martial arts tournament with the Beggar's Sect."

"And?"

"Please be our first contestant."

"No, I told you I can't fight."

I lightly gripped Munho's shoulder as he asked in disbelief.

"It's fine. You won't die. This isn't a life-or-death duel, so don't be nervous. Just try not to get hurt too badly."

"But if I lose..."

"You can lose. Please lose."

"Pardon?"

Perhaps word of the martial arts bouts had already spread, because a group of beggars was gathering outside the concourse. Sergeant Kim's group, their faces tense, had gathered on one side of the concourse.

As I briefly exchanged glances with Huiwon, who was sitting near the benches, Dragon-Head Ark Master Cheon Gae stepped forward.

"We are ready."

"So are we."

A beggar serving as referee climbed onto the temporary platform in the center of the concourse. The Ark Master said, "Three contestants from each side. It will be best of three, and the first side to win twice wins. Any objections?"

"None."

"You will regret this."

I smiled without replying.

The Beggar's Sect would do its best.

To defeat that arrogant Disciple of Kyrios and take revenge for their past.

"You'll see."

"Our first contestant is one of the Four Beggars."

So the beggars standing behind the Ark Master were the Four Beggars.

"I don't think they're truly the Four Beggars."

"You're a sharp child."

As one of the Four Beggars climbed onto the platform, Cheon Gae said, "He received a fragment of the fable I possessed. I gave him the memories of Heopunggae, one of the Four Beggars."

"You know he isn't really Heopunggae."

"I know."

The Ark Master nodded, then added after a brief pause, "But if I believe he is, then he is the real Heopunggae."

When the referee raised a hand, Munho, representing our side, hesitantly climbed onto the platform.

"The first match begins."

I had been curious about what Skills Munho possessed.

He was Huiwon's father, after all. If he had survived until now, he had to have at least one useful Skill.

"W-wait a moment. I have no intention of fighting seriously..."

The beggar who had received Heopunggae's memories ignored Munho's frantic gestures and charged in at great speed.

"W-wait! Time!"

He swung his staff at Munho's head. Munho hurried backward, wildly waving his arms.

Perhaps considering his opponent's level, Heopunggae didn't use cruel techniques. He merely targeted painful pressure points as if he were toying with Munho.

"Aaargh! Aaah!"

Every time he was hit, Munho jumped like a rabbit.

The beggars snickered as they watched him get beaten up one-sidedly.

When Sergeant Kim swore at them, the beggars on the opposite side made mocking gestures.

I glanced over at Huiwon.

She watched her father's martial arts bout in silence. Her face showed no particular emotion, and one hand rested on the hilt of her sword, ready to strike at any time.

"I-I surrender! I surrender!"

Before a minute had passed, Munho, bruised black and blue, declared his surrender.

The referee raised a hand.

"Stop the match! The Beggar's Sect wins the first martial arts bout!"

Heopunggae smirked and lightly swung his staff toward the spectators. The watching beggars erupted in cheers.

I jumped onto the platform and supported the fallen Munho.

"Are you all right?"

"Ugh..."

"I know you're not hurt."

Munho looked at me as if he had been wronged. Still, he couldn't fool me.

He was barely injured at all.

I could roughly guess what Attributes and Skills he possessed through the information in TWSA.

「An Attribute called [Strong Bones], and even a Skill called [Solid Bones].」

There was a reason this Reader-nim had survived until now.

His actual combat ability wasn't impressive, but he had durability that rivaled Lee Hyeongseong's durability.

I found myself thinking that he truly was Huiwon's father when a sentence from TWSA suddenly resurfaced in my mind.

「In the 84th round, Yu Junghyeok looked at the Berserk Butcher, who hadn't fallen even after being struck by his sword, and muttered.

"Its body seems larger than in the previous round. Could it be someone else?"

But he couldn't be certain. Strangely enough, his [Sage's Eye] didn't work on that Berserk Butcher.」

Feeling my gaze, Munho asked, "W-what is it?"

"No, it's nothing."

I helped him to a bench, then climbed back onto the platform.

The second contestant was already waiting there.

"You're the second one."

"So the Ark Master is the second contestant."

The second contestant was Dragon-Head Ark Master Cheon Gae.

Naturally, he was an opponent I didn't want to fight right now. Even at a glance, his Incarnation body was stronger than mine.

He had even boosted his abilities before the fight. His average overall abilities had risen greatly.

"What did you think of the first match?"

I asked without showing my tension.

"You must have been disappointed. You couldn't have been expecting such a simple martial arts bout."

To someone who had once been a master of the Martial World, the first bout must have looked like children playing around.

The Ark Master quietly muttered in a flat voice, "It was wrong of me to expect anything in the first place."

"It couldn't be helped. Incarnation bodies at the start of the Scenario are too weak to fully recreate the forms of martial arts."

"Of course."

"With that in mind, how about changing the method for the second bout?"

"Changing it? How?"

"Since ancient times, there have been martial arts bouts in the Martial World where no inner energy is used at all. It is a contest that compares the pure forms of martial arts."

The Ark Master narrowed his eyes as if he hadn't expected me to make that proposal.

"You are quite knowledgeable about martial arts bouts. Did Paradox teach you?"

"I didn't hear it from my master, but I've heard that masters often favor this format."

Of course, it was nonsense.

I had never met Kyrios, so there was no way I could have heard that from him.

"With this method, even weak Incarnation bodies from the early stages of the Scenario can compete in the depth of their martial arts."

Even someone who wasn't a professional strategist could probably tell that I was plotting something.

Still, he couldn't refuse my offer.

I was effectively proposing that the White Purity Sect and the Beggar's Sect determine whose martial arts were superior using only pure techniques.

"Very well. I accept. I will not use inner energy in this match."

Just as I thought. Someone as proud as him would naturally accept the offer.

This was the first stage of my plan.

As I watched the referee slowly raise a hand, I readied myself.

[Strength Lv.25 → Strength Lv.40]

[Your Strength Level has greatly increased!]

[Agility Lv.25 → Agility Lv.40]

[Your Agility Level has greatly increased!]

[Constitution Lv.25 → Constitution Lv.40]

[Your Constitution Level has greatly increased!]

[Mana Lv.20 → Mana Lv.40]

[Your Mana Level has greatly increased!]

[You have spent a total of 36,500 coins.]

If this were a contest using inner energy, I would lose to the Dragon-Head Ark Master before we had even exchanged a few moves.

[You have achieved an incredible coin-spending achievement!]

[5,000 coins have been refunded.]

But what if it was a contest of pure physical ability?

The Ark Master let out a mocking laugh, as if he had already seen through my intentions.

"Do you think you can defeat me just because your overall abilities have risen a little?"

"I know. This alone won't be enough."

Even though I had [White Pure Star Energy], my Skill Level was only 1. Defeating the Ark Master with that alone was naturally impossible.

His Skills must have contained as much depth as the years he had lived.

Still, I had one way to imitate the depth of those years.

[Exclusive Skill, Incitement Lv.6 has activated to its limit!]

The moment I pictured the person I wanted in my mind, my senses rapidly expanded.

I became aware of Seoul Station, Yongsan District where Seoul Station stood, Seoul within Yongsan District, the Korean Peninsula where Seoul stood, and Earth, the planet where the Korean Peninsula lay.

I became aware of the solar system, then the galaxy, and dreamed of an infinite universe beyond what I could even sense.

Within a pale blue dot smaller than a speck of dust, I imagined myself, a being imagining the infinite universe.

"The smallest is the greatest."

When I slowly opened my eyes, the darkness of the universe had lifted.

The Dragon-Head Ark Master was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.

"You, don't tell me..."

Perhaps he was seeing the illusion of a familiar man in me now.

「That day, a very short man appeared before the Beggar's Sect's signboard.」

"Is this the Beggar's Sect of the Nine Sects and One Gang?"

「As though evaluating a shabby old tree, the man spoke in a flat voice.」

"It looks more miserable than I heard."

From this moment on, I am Kyrios Lordgrime, the Paradoxical White Purity.