WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 685: Episode 22: Name (7)
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* * *
"We leave in an hour. Once you're ready, come to the Gwanghwamun throne."
After delivering that one-sided notice, Yu Junghyeok sat cross-legged again and closed his eyes.
I immediately left Junghyeok's quarters and headed for the Gwanghwamun tent village, where everyone had gathered. On the way, I had a brief conversation with Dokja.
―That's an interesting ability. You can't see the main text, only the comments?
‘Yes.’
Dokja, the Demon King of Salvation who shared my field of vision, had been busy examining the platform app linked to my smartphone.
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Episode 22: Name (3) +[8]
Episode 22: Name (2) +[11]
Episode 22: Name (1) +[14]
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It seemed the app had also been shared to the smartphone I received as a constellation artifact. Dokja seemed to have figured out what was going on after only a quick look.
―Your story is being serialized here in real time.
‘That's what it looks like.’
Come to think of it, Dokja had experienced something similar before. Back then, it hadn't been the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint side story, but the revised version of TWSA.
―There was quite a long break between Episode 21 and Episode 22.
The hiatus between Episode 21 and Episode 22 had lasted exactly 45 days.
‘That's the same amount of time I was unconscious.’
Which meant this serial was only recorded while I was awake.
‘Who's writing it?’
The original author of TWSA and Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint was Han Suyeong.
Then was she the one writing this serial too?
Of course, Han Suyeong had died right in front of me.
But... there was no way she was really dead. If she was the Han Suyeong I knew, she surely wouldn't be.
―How would I know that?
‘You can observe every universe.’
―That's what the Oldest Dream does.
Come to think of it, my current Patron was the Demon King of Salvation.
A strange feeling came over me.
‘Patron-nim, what grade are you?’
―What grade?
‘Are you Historical, Fabled, or Mythical?’
In the original work, Dokja's final grade was Mythical.
Yet according to the Demon King of Salvation, the Dokja I knew had been split apart based on his modifiers.
Which meant...
―Let's read the comments first. Use a free pass.
The way he changed the subject made me think he wasn't Mythical.
[One Daily Free Pass has been deducted.]
Either way, the suggestion to read the comments wasn't a bad one. I needed as much information as I could get right now.
I tapped the comments on the latest episode.
[One comment from the relevant episode will be revealed at random, regardless of order.]
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―Demon King of Salvation! Demon King of Salvation! Demon King of Salvation!
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I saved the commenter as "Demon King of Salvation Villain" before checking the next comment.
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―Zeus, Poseidon, Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and... the Demon King of Salvation.
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Another Demon King of Salvation Villain?
I had no idea what he found so amusing, but I could feel Dokja smiling inside my head.
I immediately checked the third comment.
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―That's not the Demon King of Salvation I knew...
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"Finally, a normal comment."
I didn't know who wrote it, but they were truly wise.
I thought I'd finally gotten one over on Dokja, but his reaction was unexpectedly indifferent.
―Well. Everyone's idea of ‘me’ must be different.
‘You admit that easily?’
―My impression of Yu Junghyeok changed too, between the first time I read TWSA and later on.
‘Yu Junghyeok again?’
―Junghyeok is soft now, but later on, there were times when he seemed like a real psychopath. He got especially sensitive whenever he ran out of coins...
This Demon King of Salvation certainly resembled the cynical Dokja from the early days of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.
A salaryman who was afraid to buy even a single convenience store lunchbox. A man whose daily pleasure was leaving work on the dot and reading TWSA, living for life's simple pleasures.
―Still, Junghyeok has his own sense of loyalty. From what I've seen, the forty-first round isn't completely hopeless...
He had been saved by Yu Junghyeok's story and loved TWSA more than anyone. Sometimes selfish and occasionally fond of cruel pranks, but still someone who had a fragment of warmth for humanity.
―If you make good use of that in the forty-first round, no matter how bad your situation is...
Dokja didn't possess an extraordinary Sense of Justice, but he would protect anyone who entered his circle by any means necessary.
―Are you listening to me?
‘Yes. Let's see the last comment.’
I used the final free pass.
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―They're in danger of dying again. At this point, I almost feel sorry for them. Well, that must be why their Patron had to be the Demon King of Salvation...
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We fell silent at the same time. It was far too obvious who was in danger of dying.
‘What is this?’
―Hmm.
‘Could it be related to the Seventh Scenario?’
Junghyeok had said he would be with Anna Croft at the end of the Seventh Scenario.
That meant the Final Chapter of this Scenario would become a kind of national cooperative battle, like peace land...
What would happen there?
Dokja, who had been deeply considering something, asked,
―How much of a gap do you think there is between the narration's point in time and ours?
‘They're almost the same. I think the latest episode describes the near future, slightly ahead of us.’
―So it has an effect like Anna Croft's short-term future vision. Its analysis accuracy is a little lower since we have to infer things from the comments.
‘Yes. Something like that.’
―How fast does each episode progress?
‘From what I've seen, it's not particularly fast.’
―Then this crisis might not be related to the Scenario.
That was true too.
Then what was this crisis?
At least it seemed I'd avoided being beaten to death by Junghyeok.
―Haven't you felt anything strange since you woke up?
It seemed my Patron had something in mind.
‘Something strange?’
―I thought it would be about time for ‘that’ to start.
‘Could you stop using ominous expressions like that? Just tell me exactly.’
―I thought the same way when I was an Incarnation, but saying it like this costs less Plausibility.
‘Does it cost Plausibility even through Midday Tryst?’
―Do you think it's easy for a Constellation to convey information? I think by now, you...
‘What?’
Dokja's voice crackled, as if it were full of static.
Tsutsut...!
The smartphone sparked lightly.
[Midday Tryst has been interrupted due to a temporary error.]
I immediately checked the smartphone. I wondered if the constellation artifact was defective, but it didn't seem to be.
"Hello?"
Dokja didn't answer. I couldn't hear any Indirect Messages either.
Had he suddenly been struck by Plausibility Backlash?
That was possible.
Even if the Demon King of Salvation wasn't Mythical, a Constellation was still a Constellation.
There was a reason people used up Plausibility just by calling their names, referring to them by their modifiers instead.
Yet I had been chatting with a Constellation in real time.
Even if the constellation artifact shared the Plausibility burden, it certainly couldn't have been easy for Dokja.
In any case, this was troublesome.
It seemed he had been about to say something important at the end...
As I turned these thoughts over, I entered the tent village before I knew it.
"Mister?"
A girl had been waiting for me at the entrance.
"Ah."
It was Shin Yuseong.
* * *
I remembered the last time I met Yuseong. We had met in the solo dungeon Nagak's Den and explored the Star Gem Dungeon together.
「"If you just say the word, Mister, I'll kill them all."」
The Yuseong from then definitely hadn't been the Yuseong of the forty-first round.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"Yes!"
I carefully watched Yuseong as she answered brightly. Her distinctively pale, innocent face told me everything after only a quick glance.
She didn't feel the same as before.
I could no longer sense the golden radiance that made chills run down my spine just from facing her.
Then had Yuseong's Possession ended?
If it had, why?
Ominous thoughts flooded my mind.
Maybe something bad had happened to Kim Dokja Company.
"Do you remember what happened in the Star Gem Dungeon?"
I wasn't expecting much when I asked. I was simply curious about the child's condition.
If the Yuseong of the 1,864th round had possessed this child, what state had she been in while the Possession continued?
"Of course. I remember everything."
She remembered?
"Do you remember taming the Ancient Nagak too?"
"Of course! But..."
After hesitating for a moment, Yuseong continued.
"That wasn't me."
"What?"
"No, I was me, but... I guess you could say I was a slightly different me..."
My heart began to beat slowly.
She remembered what happened while she was possessed.
"What do you mean?"
Yuseong hesitated for a long time, as though she didn't know how to explain it.
"Um, do you know the skill [taming]?"
"Yes."
"If I had to describe it... it felt like me from another world tamed me and moved me around... It sounds strange, doesn't it?"
Yuseong twisted her hair around her finger, then lowered her head as she glanced at me nervously.
I held the child's small shoulders.
"No, it doesn't sound strange at all."
"Really?"
"Yes. I believe you, Miss Yuseong."
Yuseong's eyes shone brightly. They weren't golden like when the forty-first round possessed her, but perhaps they were even clearer than before.
Her cheeks faintly flushed, Yuseong spoke again.
"Ah, I thought Mister might believe me. The other me... said that too."
"What did she say?"
"That Mister could be trusted."
"..."
"And that she probably wouldn't be able to come for a while. She also said to take good care of you, Mister..."
I didn't know why Yuseong's Possession had ended. Still, even in the last moment before it was released, she worried about me.
Yuseong looked up at me and cautiously asked, "Mister? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
I hurriedly raised my head, hiding my eyes.
Yuseong asked in an innocent voice, "Mister. Can I ask you just one thing?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Who is Kim Dokja?"
Where had this child heard that name?
"Kim Dokja is..."
A ringing filled my ears, and everything around me spun.
"Mister?"
Yuseong hurriedly caught me as I staggered.
What was this? For some reason, there was no strength in my arms and legs.
"M-Mister! Blood...!"
Yuseong urgently called to me and pointed at my neck. Without thinking, I reached for it.
When had it appeared?
Blood was flowing from a small wound on my neck.
Looking closer, it wasn't blood. The blood on my fingers was breaking apart into tiny fragments of fable.
A fable?
"Get away!"
The moment I reflexively shoved Yuseong aside, sparks began flying from my entire body.
[<Star Stream> has determined the grade of the fable that will be bestowed upon you.]
Dokja's words came to mind.
His advice that my crisis might not be related to the Scenario.
「I made a contract with the Demon King of Salvation in the Scenario Exclusion Area and killed an Outer God.」
The achievement I had made 45 days ago was truly absurd.
And now, that achievement was returning to me as a fable.
Yet not every fable always brought only beneficial effects to its owner.
[A new fable related to you is being born!]
[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name has been born!]
"Successor of the Eternal Name."
That was the name of the new fable I had gained.
[The temporary grade of this fable is quasi-Mythical-grade.]
[The fable's grade may be reassessed later.]
[Your current Status cannot bear this fable.]
Once, on the Island of Reincarnators, One-Punch Invincible Yoo Hoseong had said something like this.
Someone who couldn't control their fable would eventually be devoured by it.
「You agreed to be come 49%, so you sh ould take thi s too.」
In that moment, I remembered what kind of being the 49% Dokja had been.
He was the 49% Avatar, with 49% of the memories.
A safeguard the 51% had left behind for his companions' happiness.
‘Wait, no way.’
In the 1,864th round, the 49% Dokja developed an illness that caused his fables to gradually collapse.
[The composition of your body is extremely unstable.]
[Your body's durability is rapidly decreasing!]
This was the price of declaring that I would become Kim Dokja.
[You are currently an incomplete Kim Dokja.]
[You must acquire an additional Kim Dokja Fragment to survive.]
I saw my Allies, who had spotted me from afar, running toward me. Uncle Dansu, Gyeongsein, and even Killer King.
But I couldn't welcome them.
[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name smacks its lips.]
The fable inside me was ordering me.
[If you do not acquire a new Kim Dokja Fragment within 50 minutes, you will die.]
To become the one and only Dokja, I had to annihilate every other Dokja.
[Time remaining until death: 49:51]
Footnotes:
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