WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 643: Episode 18: A reader's fight (1)

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「"Dad's face? I don't remember it anymore. It feels like he was never there to begin with. What does it matter? We have you, Mister."」

―Beast Lord Shin Yuseong.

* * *

I wanted to hear Ye Hyunwoo's explanation, but the connection cut off immediately, so I couldn't ask.

I headed straight for Gwanghwamun. Fortunately, Seoul Station and Gwanghwamun were only two subway stops apart.

I could make it there in thirty minutes.

Grrrr...

If I hadn't run into a pack of Groll on the way.

Bzzzz!

I changed Thought into Broken Faith and activated Blade of Faith.

Being able to continually restore a consumable item like this was one of Thought's greatest strengths.

Graaah!

The Groll pack was quickly dealt with.

I could definitely feel that I had grown stronger. My overall abilities had increased sharply, but the unexpected opportunity I gained while treating Jeong Eunho had also played a major part.

[The Attribute Circulatory Limbs has activated!]

Circulatory Limbs.

It was an unexpected gain I had acquired while enduring Jeong Eunho's qi deviation with him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the famous martial arts Attributes, like the Heavenly Martial Body or Taiji Yin-Yang Body. Still, its ability to improve Mana circulation efficiency made it quite useful to me right now.

[The Constellation Goryeo's Top Swordsman takes an interest in your rate of growth.]

Now, even if I maintained Blade of Faith at maximum output until Broken Faith broke, I wouldn't run out of Mana.

After sweeping through the Groll pack, I looked around the nearby streets and called out loudly.

"Don't hide. You can come out and take these!"

Then the Incarnations hiding between the buildings cautiously poked their heads out.

When I put away my weapon to show them they had nothing to fear, one relieved Incarnation approached and asked, "Can we really take them?"

He looked down at the Groll parts suspiciously.

At the beginning of the Scenario, beast species made useful food ingredients. Groll horns could also be processed into fairly useful weapons, so they were welcome prey for Wanderers.

"Yes. Take them."

"Thank you."

At the man's gesture, three sturdy men appeared from somewhere and quickly began butchering the Groll.

While Dokja and his Companions broke through the Main Scenario, other Incarnations must have survived like this.

As I watched them butcher the Groll, I pointed out a few cutting points mentioned in TWSA.

"Here? Ah...!"

The man seemed to understand immediately and nodded several times.

As he looked at the neatly removed Groll horn, he said admiringly, "You know a lot about beast species."

"I've dressed them a few times."

After hearing that, the man hesitated for a moment before turning around and shouting, "Everyone, come out! Say hello!"

Apparently, the three sturdy men weren't the only people in his group.

Women and children appeared belatedly and hesitantly, then bowed toward me.

"Thank you!"

They all looked shabby from their harsh lives on the streets.

Could there be a Reader among them, too?

I activated [Reader Comment List], but there were no Readers.

"Um, may I ask your name?"

"I'm Inho Cheon."

"I'm Kim Nakmun. The people behind me are my friends and cousins."

"I see."

Judging by their route, they were clearly Incarnations who had come down from Gwanghwamun.

They might know what was happening there.

Kim Nakmun hesitated as he studied my appearance, then asked cautiously, "By any chance... are you a King?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Your skill in defeating those monsters, for one. Ordinary Incarnations rarely travel alone. More importantly... you seem to be heading for Gwanghwamun."

He had inferred that I was a King from just that information?

This person's name was Nakmun, right?

No matter how much I thought about it, he wasn't a character who had appeared in TWSA.

「Kim Nakmun the Insightful One.」

With a tingling sensation, information from TWSA surfaced in my mind.

「The Insightful One worked as Yu Junghyeok's strategist alongside Flying Fox in some rounds.」

Text flowed before my eyes like a video.

「"I'm sorry, Captain. I don't think I can join you in this Scenario. I have to protect my family."」

It seemed this man had originally been Junghyeok's Subordinate.

The reason Junghyeok hadn't chosen him in this round was probably his love for his family.

Nakmun, who had been watching my reaction, spoke again.

"You may already know, but Kings from all over are gathering at Gwanghwamun. We came from there, too."

Had the Kings already begun to move?

The Kings who heard the information spread by the Readers were probably gathering at Gwanghwamun one after another.

Things were progressing even faster than in the original story.

"I'm only telling you this because you're our benefactor, but if possible, don't go there. The atmosphere in Gwanghwamun is dangerous right now."

Nakmun stroked the back of his trembling hand as if he were afraid of something, then continued.

"A powerful King in northern Seoul has gathered his forces. He's planning to wipe out all the other Kings at once. It should have started by now."

A powerful King.

I named the first person who came to mind.

"Is that King's name Yu Junghyeok?"

"Yu Junghyeok...?"

Judging by his expression, it wasn't.

Well, Junghyeok's principle was solo play.

Then who was it?

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the King's name..."

Only then did I notice the faint purple sparks flickering around his body.

They weren't Plausibility sparks.

"Did you escape from the King's group?"

Traces of Punishment remained all over their bodies.

They were escapees who had left the King's group despite the Punishment penalty.

The King had probably imposed a special restriction so escapees couldn't say his name.

Nakmun silently lowered his head. As I watched him, I spoke carefully.

"If you have nowhere to go, try heading to Seoul Station."

"Seoul Station?"

Nakmun suddenly raised his head and asked me, "Could you be... the King of Seoul Station?"

I smiled lightly.

"Tell them I sent you. You don't have to join the group if you don't want to. The people there will accept you without discrimination."

Nakmun hesitated before lowering his head in thanks.

Nakmun the Insightful One.

I didn't know whether he would join the Seoul Station Group.

Either way, it wasn't a bad thing to form a connection with a character from TWSA.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, I arrived safely at Gwanghwamun.

As I looked at the familiar cityscape, memories from my days as Lee Hakhyun came back to me for the first time in a while.

When I majored in literature, I often visited the large bookstore in Gwanghwamun with my university classmates.

Could any of those classmates have possessed someone in this world, too?

There was no way.

I could still vividly remember their expressions when I told them I wrote web novels. They probably hadn't even read it, so naturally, they couldn't be here.

As I looked at the horrific sight on the street, I thought it was fortunate they weren't.

Gwanghwamun, once occupied by protesters and riot police, was now covered in monster blood.

Vehicles had been wrecked beyond recognition and left where they were. Uncollected corpses were a common sight.

Many had died to monsters, but the closer I got to the center of Gwanghwamun, the more corpses I saw that had been killed by weapons.

As I entered the road leading past the plaza toward the National Palace Museum, I began to see large tents.

Makeshift flags fluttered above the tents. They were probably temporary camps set up by each King's forces.

Incarnations near the tents watched me with wary eyes.

Just as Kim Nakmun said, the atmosphere was hostile.

Some of the Incarnations looked powerful at a glance.

In particular, the Incarnation sitting on that bench had an unusual presence.

A massive bow was slung across his back, and a hwando hung at his waist.

The moment our eyes met, I realized who he was.

[The Constellation The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol is watching you.]

Chu Wangin, the Incarnation of Gyebaek.

He was an Incarnation who had lost his life to Dokja in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, but it seemed he had somehow managed to survive in this round.

I observed the forces of the Kings settled throughout Gwanghwamun.

Could my editor, Ji Eunyoo, be somewhere around here, too?

At the last Banquet, I promised to meet her at Gwanghwamun.

But now that I thought about it, Gwanghwamun was far too large.

We should have set a specific meeting place, like in front of the bookstore.

I considered calling Eunyoo's name, but then thought it might be better to shout a code only the two of us knew.

But what did only the two of us know?

After thinking for a moment, I decided to try shouting this.

"...Genius Editor!"

Genius Editor was the nickname Eunyoo had used at Kim Dokja's Banquet.

Had my attempt to draw attention worked?

A few groups reacted when they heard my voice.

One group in particular showed an unusual reaction.

A man leading a gang strode toward me, put on a fierce expression, and spoke.

"Hey, you."

Feeling a little afraid, I asked, "Ji Eunyoo-ssi?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

What a relief.

I said brightly, "What do you need?"

"Which group are you from?"

"Seoul Station."

At my answer, the man looked me over as if he hadn't expected that.

"Seoul Station. That place with the beggar group?"

He lightly stroked his chin, then continued as if he had made up his mind.

"Come under us. You look like an escapee. Our group can crush Seoul Station without any trouble."

"Who's your group Representative?"

"Maitreya King-nim. You've heard of him, haven't you?"

Maitreya King Cha Sanggyeon.

Of course I knew him.

He was the Incarnation of One-Eyed Maitreya and one of the Seven Kings of Seoul.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then there'll be one more pitiful devil in the world."

The men surrounded me, releasing a vicious aura.

If they couldn't have me, they would destroy me immediately.

Was it true that by the fourth Scenario, everyone was already unfazed by murder?

Keeping my distance from the men, I prepared to use Mimicry on Thought, which had transformed into a bracelet, at any moment.

In the past, I would have quickly backed away, but now I didn't particularly feel like avoiding them.

Since the fourth Scenario had begun anyway, it might not be bad to seize the initiative here.

"Hold it."

That was when a low, heavy voice sounded from between the men.

A purple flag fluttered brilliantly.

Incarnations stood in formation as if guarding the flag.

And a Ground Rat ran around them, yapping happily.

Yap! Yap!

The Ground Rat circled the Incarnations as though performing tricks, then rubbed against the leg of a middle-aged man near the flag.

The men saw the middle-aged man's face and immediately scattered, shouting in terror.

"The Bald King!"

I could tell what group it was just from the King's name.

When I happily waved, Ye Hyunwoo, who had been beside the Bald King, ran toward me.

"Inho-ssi!"

The Chungmuro Group.

Fortunately, our Reader had safely secured a place at Gwanghwamun, too.

But then.

[The update to Character Profile has been completed.]

The moment I saw Ye Hyunwoo, a strange message appeared.

[This character's update has been completed.]

[Would you like to view this character's information?]

Until now, it had been impossible to use [Character Profile] on people possessed by Readers.

"Inho-ssi, are you okay?"

Ye Hyunwoo, who had completely adapted to this world, held both my hands with a worried expression.

But I couldn't smile back at him.

Since when had this happened?

[Character Profile has activated.]

The Seventh Apostle, Ye Hyunwoo, had become a character.

Footnotes:

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