WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 640: Episode 17: SSS-Grade Talent (1)
──────
「Anna Croft said,
"Yu Junghyeok. Could the rounds you and I have built up have been nothing more than a storm in a teacup? Could all those years we struggled through dozens of rounds have failed to change even a corner of that night sky?"
Junghyeok silently looked down at the stars reflected on the surface of his tea.
"One day, every star in that sky will fall, and I'll be left alone in this world. If I'm still holding this teacup then."
As though swallowing the night sky reflected in the tea, Junghyeok drained the rest of it.
"Then the world will have changed, too."」
―From TWSA
* * *
This was the second time I had watched someone die right in front of me.
The person who has read this story dies.
The brightness in his eyes faded, and his body grew cold. They were becoming eyes that could no longer read anything.
Ellain Forest Essence.
Demonic Person Pill.
Lesser Restoration Pill.
Or anything else.
It was useless. It was too late.
Even the Great Luo Immortal couldn't bring him back to life from wounds like these.
I knew that.
Still, if I didn't do something, anything, I couldn't bear it.
I blankly looked down at my hand. The hand that had been writing sentences just moments ago was stained red.
"Dad."
Jeong Huiwon spoke in a low voice as she held Master Sergeant Jeong Munho's cold hand.
"Get up. This isn't right."
As if he really might rise again if she said it.
But Master Sergeant Munho never opened his eyes again.
The story was reproduced with a 90 percent success rate.
「Master Sergeant Jeong Munho died.」
All I could do was record this moment.
「Jeong Huiwon was crying.」
Master Sergeant Munho's body dissolved and slowly crumbled away in the demonic energy from the Blood-Point Explosion.
I wanted to ask.
Why had you risked your life for this child?
Why did you jump in for a character you had no connection to at all?
Maybe I already knew the answer.
「Because he was a fragment of Kim Dokja.」
A soul slowly rose from where Master Sergeant Munho's body had vanished.
Little Kim Dokja.
I had witnessed something similar when Jeong Jaewoo died in the Theater Dungeon.
Back then, the pitch-black space split apart, and a white hand had fished Jeong Jaewoo's soul away.
This time, though, a black hand appeared.
The hand shot out in an instant, seized little Kim Dokja's soul, and vanished into a gap in space.
A white hand last time.
A black hand this time.
What kind of beings were taking the souls of dead readers?
Was it Kim Dokja, the Representative I had seen at the banquet? Or the Outer God that had appeared this time?
Why had we been summoned to this world?
「At last, this was the conclusion to the story the Reader wanted.」
Why did a story that no one could possibly want have to continue?
My breathing quickened, and my head spun.
I hated that I was recording this story.
My vision flickered as though darkness were closing over it. My swirling emotions sucked me in like quicksand.
[The Exclusive Skill Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World has activated!]
And there was still a story protecting me.
「Junghyeok said, "It's all right."」
Junghyeok from TWSA was speaking. As I listened to the voice of Junghyeok from some unknown round, I composed myself despite feeling as though I might vomit.
「"As long as you don't give up, there's a way."」
I read that line over and over, muttering it as though brainwashing myself.
Even if an Outer God had abducted his soul, there was a way to get it back.
Just as Dokja had returned after being taken by Secretive Plotter.
Huiwon, who had stopped crying at some point, was gathering Master Sergeant Munho's belongings.
"Eunho. Is there a way to save him?"
Her voice was quiet but weighty. I squeezed out what strength I had left and answered her.
"Yes. There is."
The moment I looked up into the air, messages flew in as if they had been waiting.
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God sponsors you with 100 Coins.]
[The Constellation King Heungmu sponsors you with 100 Coins.]
[The Constellation Bald Army General sponsors you with 100 Coins.]
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire sponsors you with 1,000 Coins.]
[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon asks what happened to that Outer God from earlier.]
.
.
[Your first fable is about to blossom.]
[The Star Stream is evaluating your first fable.]
.
.
[The Bounty Scenario: Nostalgia has ended.]
[You have acquired a low-grade elixir as a reward.]
The reward for the Bounty Scenario arrived alongside an enormous amount of Coin sponsorship.
I immediately opened the wooden box that descended from the air.
The elixir inside was one I knew well.
A Demonic Person Pill.
I immediately called Bihyeong through dokkaebi communication.
‘Bihyeong. Is this the entire reward? Honestly, this wasn't the kind of Scenario that should end with a reward like this.’
This was a Scenario completed by defeating not just any being, but an Outer God. It made no sense for the reward to be just one Demonic Person Pill.
Fortunately, Bihyeong replied right away.
―The Administration Bureau is already discussing it. I put in a request, too. But it'll probably take some time.
An Outer God had appeared before the Fifth Scenario had even begun. The Administration Bureau had to be in chaos by now.
Huiwon looked at the Demonic Person Pill and asked, "Is that medicine?"
"It isn't enough by itself."
The Demonic Person Pill was an inferior version of the Demonic Soul Pill, the prize from the Martial Arts Tournament.
Its effects were good, but if Jeong Eunho swallowed it as it was, he would literally go mad and become a demonic person.
To neutralize the Demonic Person Pill, I needed a pure elixir at least as potent as it was.
"Noona..."
Jeong Eunho, who had regained consciousness, struggled to open his eyes. Huiwon held her younger brother's hand.
"Eunho, it's all right."
"Dad..."
"It's all right, so breathe easy. Don't think about anything else."
Huiwon reached out and closed her brother's eyelids before turning toward me.
There really wasn't much time left. If we delayed any longer, even elixirs wouldn't be able to heal Eunho.
I stood up and climbed onto the martial arts platform.
There was still a way.
I had Coins left, and if it came to it, I could open the auction house instead of the Dokkaebi Compendium and buy an elixir even at a premium.
If fewer Constellations had been watching me, I might have considered that option.
[The Constellation First Emperor Who Dreamed of Immortality says that if you contract with him, he may give you a modest elixir.]
[The Constellation Heart-Aiming Usurer says that 100,000 Coins can be exchanged for an elixir comparable to a Lesser Restoration Pill.]
If I used the auction house now, I was bound to be charged an absurd price.
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God protests that such outrageous profiteering is absurd.]
[The Constellation Merchant of the Daedong River clicks their tongue, saying there are people even worse than them.]
Thankfully, I had considered the possibility of a situation this bad.
I climbed onto the platform and looked at the meteorite guarded by the Ark and the Four Beggars.
As mentioned in ORV, meteorites contained different things according to their colors.
For example, a yellow meteorite contained a guide for preparing against a Calamity, a bright red meteorite contained weapons, and a dark red meteorite contained lesser Calamities.
This otherworldly meteorite had a faint bluish-green glow.
As I recalled, green meteorites contained rare items related to Scenarios.
I reviewed ORV once more in my mind, then ordered Thought of Almost Everything to transform into Broken Faith.
[Thought of Almost Everything has refused your command.]
Had I worked it too hard today?
It wouldn't listen.
[As a penalty, you cannot use Incitement for 10 minutes.]
I picked up a discarded Dog-Beating Staff from the floor and infused it with [White Pure Star Energy].
Could this break the meteorite?
Honestly, I wasn't confident. My limbs wouldn't listen because of the backlash from [Incitement].
"Do I just need to break that?"
I turned my head and found Huiwon standing beside me.
"I'll do it."
Before I could even nod, Huiwon picked up Mikazuki Munechika from the ground.
A moment later, unsettling Mana began to surge through her entire body.
[Deep madness ripples within the character Jeong Huiwon.]
Without the slightest hesitation, her blade slashed vertically through the meteorite.
Screeech!
Despite its considerable size, her Swordsmanship cleanly split the meteorite in two.
Looking closer, I saw a faint black aura flowing from her body.
[A new Attribute is stirring within the character Jeong Huiwon.]
She had already awakened as the Demonbane Judge.
Yet another Attribute evolution was taking place inside her.
The result of this evolution was obvious.
‘Berserk Butcher.’
Master Sergeant Munho's death had ultimately left a deep scar in Huiwon's heart.
「Throughout Junghyeok's repeated Regressions, the Berserk Butcher never made a single Companion. She was always alone, and in the end, she died alone. No one in the world tried to understand her madness, and she couldn't understand anyone, either.」
I didn't want Huiwon to become like that.
To prevent it, I had to save Eunho.
Crrrumble.
A black wooden box lay where the meteorite had scattered apart.
It was a far finer wooden box than the one I had received as a Scenario reward.
The moment I opened the lid, a brilliant golden light flowed out.
There were three Lesser Restoration Pills inside the meteorite.
[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is relieved by your luck.]
[The Constellation First Emperor Who Dreamed of Immortality protests to the Administration Bureau, asking if something is wrong!]
The Lesser Restoration Pill, Shaolin's secret elixir.
Since this meteorite had come from the Third Martial World, it wasn't strange for it to contain elixirs.
"I think this will work."
Huiwon and I immediately helped Eunho sit on the floor.
"This will be uncomfortable, but bear with it a little."
I took out the Demonic Person Pill I had kept in my clothes, mixed it with a Lesser Restoration Pill, and fed it to Eunho.
It was an application of how Dokja had mixed a Demonic Soul Pill and a Greater Restoration Pill in ORV.
[Some ingredients in the medicine have been mixed, and the toxicity has been neutralized!]
Eunho's complexion began to recover quickly.
No matter how severe the injury was, it was still an injury to an Incarnation body.
As long as his foundational fable wasn't damaged, the power of an elixir was enough to heal him.
About five minutes passed.
Then Eunho's body suddenly began to convulse.
"Inho-ssi! Eunho..."
I hurriedly checked Eunho's pulse.
[The Constellation Goryeo's Top Swordsman groans and watches the Incarnation Jeong Eunho.]
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God says that the boy is not yet ready to accept the elixir.]
It was a condition commonly called qi deviation.
「There are two solutions to qi deviation caused by an elixir's side effects. One is for the person suffering qi deviation to attain enlightenment on their own through heavenly luck. The other is for the guardians beside them to bear the rampaging Mana together.」
A passage from TWSA naturally came to mind.
"Huiwon-ssi. I think we need to help him."
The solution introduced in TWSA was something only Martial World masters could use.
But we had no other option now.
Holding each other's hands tightly, we each grasped one of Eunho's pale hands with our remaining hand.
Then.
Rumble.
Like an ocean current flowing backward into a river, Eunho's Mana began pouring through my fingers.
My peripheral nerves slowly heated up, followed by searing pain.
Instinctively, I knew it. If we could overcome this ordeal, Huiwon, Eunho, and I might all become far stronger than before.
The problem was that if we couldn't endure it, all three of us would die.
I gritted my teeth and endured the surging pain.
Rumble!
We didn't say a word to each other, but we never let go until the end.
Huiwon's complexion was gradually turning pale. Her Mana stat was low.
The Mana I thought would settle down quickly showed no signs of exhaustion.
Cold sweat ran down my body, and my vision darkened as though mold had grown over my eyes.
A reality I didn't want to accept was rearing its head.
「Jeong Eunho can't be saved.」
What if I let go now?
Huiwon might survive with serious internal injuries.
Eunho and I would die, though.
At this point, it felt as though some enormous Fate was at work.
「As though someone was determined to turn Jeong Huiwon into the Berserk Butcher somehow.」
As if she had read my thoughts, Huiwon's eyes gleamed like a demon's as she gripped my hand tightly.
I regretted it too late. If only I had learned even a basic [Circulation and Breathing] Skill...
Blood gushed from Huiwon's nose and mouth, and her body slowly tilted.
Just as I was about to let go to save Huiwon at least.
[Your new fable has manifested!]
[The fable Persistent Martial Arts Master begins its story.]
As though a true Martial World master were personally controlling the Mana, Eunho's Mana was restrained.
With indomitable spirit, the fable controlled the flow of Mana. Guided by the path the fable showed, the Mana began circulating through the body's channels.
This was a fable given by a thousand Arks.
A fable containing the essence of martial arts experienced by the Arks from their human days to becoming Constellations.
The flow of Mana that had raced like a runaway train gradually calmed down, and Huiwon and Eunho's complexions gradually improved.
When the Mana flow subsided, I heard Eunho's anguish as he lay in qi deviation.
「Noona. I'm sorry.」
Huiwon replied.
「It's all right.」
What was he sorry for, and what was all right?
I didn't know.
Still, the two of them crossed a boundary with those words. They lost their father, yet accepted that they had to live on once again.
「And Lee Hakhyun recorded every part of that story.」
Where did these sentences I often recalled come from?
TWSA?
ORV?
The Fourth Wall?
The Final Wall?
Or if it was none of those.
「Do you wa nt to kn ow?」
I wanted to know.
Even as I told myself I couldn't lose consciousness, everything before me gradually darkened.
A deep sleep came over me, and soon I heard what sounded like someone waking me up.
When I opened my eyes again.
「You've come again.」
I was lying in a pure white snowfield.
A face as white as his coat.
I called his name.
「Kim Dokja.」
As though he knew everything that had happened, he looked down at me with somehow lonely eyes.
「Drink.」
He held out the teacup in his hand. Warm steam curled up from it.
「It's tea that Junghyeok of the 81st round developed.」
Junghyeok from the 81st round.
This Junghyeok was good at cooking.
I sat up and accepted the teacup.
I took a sip.
It was delicious.
As warmth filled my stomach, my anxious heart gradually calmed.
You could make something like this, too.
Of course you could.
You are the Oldest Dream. You are the god of this world, and anything you imagine becomes reality.
The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.
Dokja silently watched me.
Everything was clearly peaceful.
Even so, I felt an emotion different from usual in this noble world between the lines.
The tea in the cup rippled.
People appeared over the rippling surface. Some screamed, while others wailed.
Among them were Huiwon's face, Master Sergeant Munho's face, Jeong Jaewoo's face, and the Ark's face.
Holding the teacup with both hands so they wouldn't spill over, I asked Dokja.
「Why are you... still having dreams like this?」
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
