Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 642

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 642: Episode 17: SSS-Grade Talent (3)

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The next morning, I gathered the people of Seoul Station in one place.

Amid the unsettled atmosphere, the people looked up at me standing on the sparring platform.

I saw the beggars who had followed Cheon Gae, the Dragon-Head Ark Master, and the soldiers who had followed Master Sergeant Jeong Munho. There was also the freckled boy Myeong Wonsik and his father, Myeong Seun.

Myeong Seun had now been completely freed from the Dragon-Head Ark Master's Possession restraints.

―Thank you so much. Son, you should thank him, too. I don't know how we could ever repay this kindness...

―Thanks, big brother.

They'd thanked me early that morning.

The Ark was still his Patron, but he would no longer exploit Myeong Seun as a possession vessel like before.

The Ark had seen the story he wanted to see here.

[67 Incarnations have left your group during the night.]

[You may invoke Punishment on them using the authority of the purple flag.]

I didn't bother invoking [Punishment] on those who had left.

What was the point of forcing people who wanted to leave to stay?

I looked over the gathered people one by one before slowly opening my mouth.

"I'll be honest with you."

There were still over two hundred Incarnations here.

I'd talked a good game to the Ark, but I honestly wasn't confident I could lead all of them.

"I can't take responsibility for all of you. I can't tell you that you'll be safe if you stay with me. Those who wish to leave may do so. I won't use [Punishment] on you, so if you don't wish to remain here, I'd appreciate it if you left the station now."

The people stirred at my declaration. I could even hear some of them openly whispering.

"Let's just go. I don't think this is the place for us."

"I heard there are decent groups around Dongdaemun and Dobong Station. All the homeless people in that area have gone toward Dobong District."

I didn't know much about Dongdaemun, but I had an idea about Dobong District.

That was where the Tyrant King was.

"The new Ark seems pretty strong, too."

"He was just lucky. My Patron said that guy's actual abilities are nothing special."

"Wasn't that woman with the sword pretty strong? She seemed to be one of his subordinates."

Huiwon, who still hadn't regained consciousness, was sleeping inside a makeshift tent Sergeant Kim had prepared.

Thankfully, her internal injuries weren't serious. If anything, she'd absorbed the effects of the elixir, so she'd be much stronger once she woke up.

I saw Jeong Eunho, who had woken before his older sister, poke his head out of the tent.

"We'll only die like dogs if we stay here. In times like these, a leader is what matters."

"That's right. You need to stay under someone strong who can lead people. That young man... Honestly, he looks like a con man."

Public opinion at Seoul Station was beginning to split.

The beggars who had decided to leave made up about half the people there.

A man representing them came forward with a chuckle and bowed.

"Representative. Then we'll be going..."

I lightly nodded and let them go.

Most of them were middle-aged men, the Incarnations with the strongest combat power at this point. It was regrettable to lose them.

The people who remained were mostly children and elderly people with no one to rely on.

In a sense, they were the real Beggar's Sect.

"What will happen to those of us who stay?"

The one who raised her hand was a girl standing with Eunho.

They were children who had made a habit of robbing adults.

Children with nowhere else to go were looking at me.

"Those who remain will become members of my group. The Seoul Station Group was originally called the Beggar's Sect, so you can continue operating as part of the Beggar's Sect."

A faint disappointment spread through the children's eyes.

"Then we'll just be raiders again..."

"However, the new Beggar's Sect won't turn children into raiders anymore."

Their eyes widened at my words.

"The new Beggar's Sect won't follow the old ways. The Beggar's Sect is no longer a den for beggars. If any of you stayed because you were thinking of the old Beggar's Sect, I ask that you leave the station immediately as well."

Another dozen or so people left the station.

We were in a situation where every pair of hands mattered, but I needed to be firm now.

That would ultimately be for the people who remained, and for the children.

"As you know, you can't survive through begging in this new world. Constellations don't give out free charity."

"Th-then what are we supposed to do now?"

"Build your own fables."

The group members looked baffled, as if they had no idea what I meant.

Well, they didn't even know what a fable was yet. It was no different from telling children who didn't know what dreams were to have big dreams of their own.

"Don't worry too much. You can take it one step at a time."

They could slowly learn what it meant to build fables and have their own stories.

For now, all I could do was teach them how to hold a pen so they could write their first sentence.

I lightly clapped my hands.

"Let's start by eating."

At my signal, Sergeant Kim and the soldiers appeared at the entrance to Seoul Station.

They were carrying food prepared outside. Ground Rat barbecue and Groll soup, cooked using the heat of a Mana Brazier.

The children gasped at the smell and rushed over.

"We'll be handing out food, so everyone line up at the front!"

Under Sergeant Kim's direction, the cooks began serving the meal.

I received a plate of barbecue and soup from Sergeant Kim as well.

"You're a good cook."

"Not at all. I used to work in food service."

I'd asked Sergeant Kim to cook early that morning.

As soon as I woke up, I bought parts from beast species listed cheaply through the auction house and asked Sergeant Kim and the cooks to prepare breakfast for everyone.

"More importantly, how did you know these recipes?"

"Someone I know taught me."

The monster recipes followed Yu Junghyeok's recipes from the eighty-first round of TWSA.

As expected of a Junghyeok who was serious about cooking, he'd created excellent dishes using only basic ingredients like Groll and Ground Rat.

"By the way, did you add the elixirs I gave you to the food?"

"Yes, of course."

What made this meal unique was that Martial World elixirs had been mixed into the sauce.

"Those elixirs... Did the Ark leave them behind?"

"Yes."

Myeong Seun, who had come to find me early that morning, gave me three roots of Hundred-Year He Shou Wu.

I immediately recognized them as the elixirs the Ark had originally intended to give me.

But Eunho's internal injuries had already been completely healed.

After considering it for a while, I decided to put all three roots of Hundred-Year He Shou Wu into the food and give them to the group members.

"Wow, this is really good. Can I have another bowl?"

"Mr. Park, don't your biceps look bigger all of a sudden?"

"Hoho, what a joke. Though I do feel warm inside."

The expressions of the people chattering noisily were much brighter than before.

The Hundred-Year He Shou Wu was an elixir the Ark had left behind for the Beggar's Sect.

I still had two Lesser Restoration Pills left, so I wanted to use these elixirs to improve the group members' chances of survival.

[Constellations from the Martial World admire your chivalry.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God nods at your consideration.]

[You have been sponsored 1,000 Coins.]

After enjoying a hearty breakfast for the first time in a while, the group members looked far more at ease.

"I'll teach those of you who remain the skills and hunting methods you need to survive."

Of course, I had no intention of teaching them my own skills. I didn't have any skills worth teaching in the first place.

Fortunately, the Ark of the Beggar's Sect had stockpiled a large number of Beggar's Sect skills, including [Dog-Beating Staff Technique], in Seoul Station's storage lockers.

It seemed he had planned to teach them in earnest once the Beggar's Sect members had grown a little stronger.

The Beggar's Sect martial arts were a few tiers behind Kyrios's [Electrification] or the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's [Sky Splitter Sword Art], but they were still skills that could reach the peak of the Martial World through continuous training.

"Sergeant Kim."

"Yes."

Sergeant Kim, who had learned martial arts from the Skill Books I'd given him in advance, held a Dog-Beating Staff and gave a brief demonstration.

The people sitting in the front row cried out in admiration.

Martial arts that only the Ark and the Four Beggars had been able to use.

Now, everyone could learn them.

Sergeant Kim lightly cleared his throat before speaking.

"From now on, I'll personally be your martial arts instructor. I'll teach you the skills and help you master them."

The people looked at one another uncertainly. They didn't seem confident.

"Can we... really learn something like that?"

"There's no problem. I learned it in a single day myself."

In this world, children and the elderly could grow stronger if they set their minds to it.

What the Beggar's Sect members, who had spent their lives relying on an organization, needed most was the confidence that effort could change them.

「Soon, the Absolute Throne War will take place at Gwanghwamun.」

When the time came, they would have to stand at the forefront of the Scenario whether they wanted to or not.

I didn't know how many of them would survive in that world, but I still wanted to leave a small spark here.

This spark probably wouldn't change the world.

Even if a few of them trained in martial arts, learned skills, and gained Patrons, that wouldn't suddenly make an impossible Scenario possible.

Everything was only a storm raging inside a teacup, and the ending of the forty-first round might not change.

"One! Two! One! Two!"

Even so, as I watched the children quickly imitate the forms, I thought of the water swirling inside an empty teacup and Junghyeok, who had repeated more than 1,863 lives.

Perhaps the world inside the teacup really wouldn't change easily.

But the world of someone who read their stories would surely change.

At least, that was what I believed.

* * *

"I'll leave Seoul Station in your care for the time being, Sergeant Kim."

"Are you sure I'm enough for this?"

I nodded.

"You trusted me enough to leave the flag with me, too."

[You are using the Representative's unique authority.]

From the purple flag onward, I could appoint as many Vice-Representatives as I wanted.

If Master Sergeant Jeong Munho had been alive, I would have made him Vice-Representative, but this man was the best choice for now.

[The Representative Inho Cheon of Seoul Station has transferred part of his authority to group member Kim Heonyeol.]

[Group member Kim Heonyeol has become Seoul Station's Vice-Representative.]

[From now on, group member Kim Heonyeol may administer Punishment to group members in place of the Representative.]

Kim Heonyeol.

That was Sergeant Kim's name.

Name: Kim Heonyeol

Age: 33

Patron: None (Currently, 1 Constellation is showing interest.)

Exclusive Attribute: Righteous Soldier (Rare)

Exclusive Skills: [Bayonet Combat Lv.3], [Camouflage Lv.1], [Sense of Justice Lv.2], [Camaraderie Lv.1], [Leadership Lv.1]

Stigma: None

Overall Attributes: [Constitution Lv.23], [Strength Lv.21], [Agility Lv.20], [Mana Lv.19]

Overall Evaluation: An overall evaluation has not yet been written.

Righteous Soldier. It was an Attribute that somehow reminded me of Lee Hyeongseong.

This man would take good care of the station until Huiwon woke up.

"Are you really leaving like this? Wouldn't it be better to leave with Huiwon after she wakes up?"

Normally, I would have waited a little before moving.

But I'd already spent too much time around Seoul Station, and more importantly, the Hidden Scenario had already arrived.

[The Hidden Scenario has arrived!]

[King's Path has begun!]

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: A

Clear Conditions: Claim the black flag within the time limit.

Time Limit: 10 days

Reward: The King Attribute will blossom.

Failure: If you fail to meet the conditions within the time limit, you and all of your group members will die.

The Scenario was somewhat different from the one in the original story.

More precisely, it was more difficult than it had been then.

From now on, not only my life but the lives of my group members as well rested on my shoulders.

[A new King candidate has begun walking his path!]

Fortunately, if I combined the stations occupied by the Ark and Sergeant Kim, we'd secured quite a few stations.

[Current occupied areas: Seoul Station (home base), Chungjeongno Station, Aeogae Station, Namyeong Station, City Hall Station, Samgakji Station, Hyochang Park Station, Sookmyung Women's University Station...]

[A total of 12 stations have been occupied.]

We had already occupied twelve stations.

Yet my flag was still purple.

How many more flags would I have to claim to make a black flag?

I didn't know.

Either way, I would now have to fight the Representatives of other stations.

"Big brother."

When I turned at the hand tugging at my sleeve, Jeong Eunho was looking up at me.

I lightly patted his shoulder.

"Take good care of your sister."

Eunho looked at me with an uncertain expression, then silently nodded and let go.

Behind him, Wonsik and the other children had come to see me off.

I gave them a small wave.

Eunho and the children would become the protagonists of the Scenarios to come.

All I could do was hope the destruction of this world would be delayed, even a little, so they could explore their fables for longer.

As I finished saying goodbye and turned away from Seoul Station, the phone in my pocket suddenly rang.

―Inho-ssi. Are you there?

When I opened my phone, I saw Ye Hyunwoo's name. We'd exchanged numbers before parting just in case, and it seemed the internet was somehow working.

Just as I was about to reply, an explosion echoed from afar.

A deafening roar, like an entire building collapsing.

Smoke was rising in a haze.

It came from Gwanghwamun. More precisely, from the direction of the National Palace Museum.

―We failed to secure the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword. It seems no one will be able to use that sword this time.

I quietly looked down at Ye Hyunwoo's message.

‘We failed to secure the Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword.’

The Four-Tiger Evil-Cutting Sword was the sword Kim Dokja had used to break the Absolute Throne.

Kim Dokja knew that using the Absolute Throne would prevent him from reaching the right conclusion. So he broke the Absolute Throne and became the King of a Kingless World himself.

But in this round, there was no weapon that could break the Absolute Throne.

When I looked up, the stars in the sky were circling and swirling.

「The destruction of the forty-first round will begin once the owner of the Absolute Throne is born.」

This story wanted the birth of a king.

Footnotes:

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