WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 684: Episode 22: Name (6)
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At first, I naturally thought it was a joke.
―Try hitting the back of Yu Junghyeok's head once.
“Excuse me?”
No sane person would make a suggestion like that.
―Then I'll help you.
No, seriously?
Why?
―Because I want to see it.
“Why do you want to see that?”
It was a question I didn't need to ask.
He wanted to see it because it would be funny. The Demon King of Salvation was a Constellation, after all.
No, even before he was a Constellation, that man had always enjoyed hitting Junghyeok in the back of the head.
Not only in the third round, but even in the 1,863rd round, he had hit Junghyeok in the back of the head and made him eat dirt. He was a truly atrocious man.
Come to think of it, it was strange.
Why had Kim Dokja done such things?
Was he naturally sadistic?
―What? Can't do it? You asked for my help without even having that much courage?
“Having courage and being insane are two different things.”
―If you can't do it, forget it. You don't need my help, right?
“N-no! I do need it! I need it!”
I calmed myself and considered the proposal once more.
Thinking back, every one of Dokja's actions throughout the Scenarios had been thoroughly calculated. From every item he picked up during a Scenario to every move he set up in advance, Dokja was someone who acted with the distant future in mind.
That person had told me to hit Junghyeok in the back of the head.
There had to be a reason.
Smack!
That was what I believed, until the crisp sound rang out from my palm.
The moment my eyes met Junghyeok's as he slowly turned his head, I realized what I had done.
His gaze was terrifying enough to freeze my heart. His pupils, roiling with dreadful heat, stared directly at me.
To be clear, I hadn't properly hit Junghyeok in the back of the head.
More precisely, I had only struck the Mana barrier between the back of his head and my palm.
[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok is activating tiger god aura Lv.10.]
Tiger god aura at Level 10 in the seventh Scenario.
He wasn't someone a blow to the back of the head could possibly work on.
‘What do I do now?’
Either way, I had kept my promise to Dokja.
From here on, it was Dokja's turn.
―Wow, you really did it.
‘Excuse me?’
―I didn't think you'd actually do it.
Was he insane?
Another piece of information about Dokja came back to me too late.
Dokja was a Reader who planned everything with painstaking care.
But had this man been so calculated when he hit Junghyeok in the back of the head too?
“What do you think you're doing?”
My back stiffened, and my knees went weak. I was certain I'd die like this.
What had I done?
Why, out of all the backs of all the heads in the world, had I hit Junghyeok's?
The guy already had a grudge against me...
[Your Exclusive Attribute has activated!]
Perhaps because I had been driven into a corner, my head suddenly cleared and my mind sharpened.
Live. I had to survive somehow.
Right now, I was Inho Cheon to Junghyeok.
If I were Inho Cheon, what would I say to Junghyeok right now?
[Exclusive Skill Incitement Lv.10 has activated!]
I slipped into ultimate Inho Cheon mode, narrowed my eyes, and let my lips curl into a gentle arc.
“Your skill proficiency is impressive. In your previous life, you wouldn't have been able to block it.”
Junghyeok's expression changed completely as he glared at me.
“You bastard, have you regained your memories from the previous round?”
I only shrugged instead of answering. Junghyeok's reply was unexpected.
“Stop acting. I already know you're not Inho Cheon.”
I swallowed my surprise.
I knew Junghyeok suspected me.
Still, I hadn't expected him to say it so openly.
“Why do you think that?”
“If you were the real Inho Cheon, you would have aimed for a surer vital spot.”
“Then let's say I'm a fake Inho Cheon. It isn't really important who I am anyway, is it?”
“It wasn't. Ordinarily.”
As he spoke, Junghyeok put on the black coat hanging from the back of the chair.
He then dropped into the chair and began gulping down the drink on the table. Even while drinking, he didn't take his eyes off the clear sky beyond the window.
I knew what Junghyeok was looking at.
At the center of the cloudless sky remained a trace, as if someone had grabbed space itself and torn it open.
It was the scar left forty-five days ago where the Great Hole had disappeared.
Beyond that sky, Junghyeok and I had fought Asmodeus. We had faced the Founder of the Absolute Throne.
Did Junghyeok remember that day?
―Just as I thought.
Dokja, who had been watching Junghyeok with me, spoke.
―He isn't killing you.
I was dumbfounded. Had he made me hit Junghyeok in the back of the head just to test that?
―Now you know he probably won't kill you. This is important. Who knows how many more times you'll have to hit that guy in the back of the head?
‘I won't be doing that again.’
Perhaps he sensed our gaze. Junghyeok set down his glass and spoke.
“Fake Inho Cheon.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you stop me from taking the Absolute Throne?”
“You took it in the end.”
“I know what you did.”
The aura of the Supreme King flowed throughout Junghyeok's body as he slowly turned toward me.
Still, it was only an aura. It didn't actually exert any influence over me.
It proved that the Absolute Throne couldn't function properly in this round.
“How did you kill the Outer God?”
“I was lucky.”
“Why did you do that?”
“If you take the Absolute Throne, you can't see the proper conclusion.”
“How do you know that?”
“You call yourself a regressor but don't even know that?”
Had the Demon King of Salvation's way of speaking already rubbed off on me? A glib reply escaped me before I knew it.
Junghyeok's reaction was immediate.
“You bastard.”
This time, Junghyeok raised his killing intent as if he truly meant to kill me.
I involuntarily swallowed.
―Don't be scared. He won't kill you.
I agreed with Dokja.
Junghyeok couldn't kill me now.
That was how things stood.
Sure enough, the killing intent directed at me slowly subsided. Junghyeok had made his decision.
It was better to use me than kill me here.
―Things aren't completely hopeless. You've earned Junghyeok's recognition, haven't you?
I'd earned Junghyeok's recognition.
It sounded like I hadn't lived my life entirely wrong, so I didn't feel too bad about it.
Junghyeok continued.
“That day, there was someone other than you who stopped me.”
I immediately knew whom he meant. He was talking about Han Suyeong.
“That woman planted certain memories in my head.”
“What memories?”
“Memories from another worldline.”
Even though I had expected it, chills ran down my spine again.
Not just any Junghyeok, but Junghyeok of the forty-first round had learned of the worldline of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.
I wondered how Dokja had reacted, but he didn't say a word. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
“Do you know that worldline too?”
“I do.”
For a moment, I became curious.
How did Junghyeok of the forty-first round see the world of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint?
What had he felt after seeing that world's story?
“Can you do something similar to what that woman did?”
“Excuse me?”
“I'm asking whether you can plant memories of that worldline in my head.”
Unlike Han Suyeong, I didn't fully possess the fable [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint].
Still, if all I had to do was implant memories of the events of that worldline, I might be able to imitate something similar.
Because I had [Incitement].
“If you turn off [Mental Barrier], I can imitate it to some extent. Have you grown curious about that worldline's story?”
For an instant, I became worried.
If Junghyeok said he wanted to know that worldline, would I have to tell him that story?
What would happen to this forty-first round then?
“I'm not curious about some story.”
After saying that, Junghyeok frowned again, as if something had occurred to him. Then he spoke as though letting out a light sigh.
“Anna Croft contacted me earlier.”
It was a name I hadn't heard in a long time.
Anna Croft.
Asgard's Representative Incarnation and the Representative of the American group.
“The final battle of the seventh Scenario will be fought alongside her group.”
“Zarathustra?”
“You seem to know about them too.”
I nodded.
I had actually spoken with Anna Croft briefly using a Specter Spirit Stone.
“Are you planning to join forces with her?”
Honestly, it was unexpected.
I didn't know what had happened in the fortieth round, but the Junghyeok I knew would never join forces with Anna Croft.
Of course, the situation changed in the later rounds of TWSA, but this was only the forty-first round.
Could Junghyeok, who hadn't forgotten a single tragedy from the previous round, cooperate with Anna Croft of all people?
“When I meet Anna Croft, I'll probably try to kill her.”
With those words, a strange sensation stirred throughout Junghyeok's body.
The sensation of an unsettling fable.
At the same time, Dokja's voice rang out.
―Damn it, he engraved that on himself as early as the seventh Scenario?
It seemed Dokja had recognized Junghyeok's fable.
“Anna Croft is still useful. At the very least, she has work to do before this world is destroyed. So if I try to kill her...”
Junghyeok slowly drew breath, as if calming his fable, and looked at me.
“You stop me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Implant memories of another worldline in me.”
“What do you mean? If I do that...”
“Then I can stop.”
Chills slowly rose along my spine.
Only then did I begin to understand why Junghyeok had kept me alive.
“The reason is unclear, but when I receive those memories, I stop acting.”
“Happy Memories.”
I didn't know what had happened within Junghyeok after he received those memories.
Still, Junghyeok was saying this.
“I don't know whether you are Inho Cheon or not. Stay by my side, and when I command you, stop me.”
When he gave the command, I was to stop him.
“That is what you're useful for.”
I understood what Junghyeok meant.
That was why I couldn't believe it.
―Congratulations, rookie. It looks like things are going well.
Just now, I had officially earned Junghyeok's recognition in the forty-first round.
“This is an order. Join this Scenario.”
Become his companion to stop this world's destruction.
‘Patron-nim.’
―Yes.
For the first time, a ray of light shone into the world of the forty-first round, which had been filled with nothing but grim prospects.
Perhaps the forty-first round wasn't too late yet.
This story could still be changed.
Dokja seemed moved too. He spoke in an even more excited voice.
―Next time you hit him in the back of the head, let's try implanting the memory of making him eat dirt.
Ignoring Dokja's nonsense, I checked my smartphone. It had vibrated at just the right moment.
[A new chapter of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has been updated on the platform.]
Come to think of it, I had forgotten I possessed this ability.
The ability to check the comments on chapters uploaded to the platform. If I used it, I could gain clues about not only the events of the past forty-five days, but also what would happen in the future.
With that thought, I tapped the platform app...
What was going on?
The installments published during the forty-five days I had been unconscious didn't exist.
Footnotes:
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