WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 689: Episode 23: Fragment of a God (4)

──────

An enormous amount of Mana drained through my right hand, and a bright light swirled above my head.

Weakness and dizziness washed over me.

I could feel the stars' gazes from the heavens.

The severed head of the Grade-5 monster dragon species stared up at me as if it couldn't believe what it had seen.

[You have defeated the Grade-5 monster dragon species Variant Imugi Bracky!]

······

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God is astonished by your martial prowess.]

[The Constellation Goryeo's Top Swordsman sends praise for your courage.]

[The Constellation Bald Army General gives a thumbs-up, saying you are truly a descendant of the Korean Peninsula.]

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is interested in your method of combat.]

······

[Some Constellations are interested in the Demon King of Salvation's proposal.]

[You have received sponsorship of 5,000 Coins!]

In the distance, Bang Cheolsu and the people of Geumho Station cheered in my direction.

[30 seconds remain until death.]

It occurred to me that dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

[Your synchronization rate with your Patron has increased.]

[The possibility of a new fable blossoms.]

"Maknae."

"Yes."

"You don't really want to die, do you?"

"Twenty seconds remain."

Was there a way for me to survive right now?

Honestly, I didn't know.

Should I feed myself to the Successor of the Eternal Name one more time?

Would that method work again?

[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name refuses to devour you.]

As expected, it wouldn't work.

Then I had no other way.

All I could do now was trust Dokja.

"Let's see. It should've fallen somewhere nearby... Oh, there! The head!"

"The head?"

"The fallen head! Hurry!"

Looking closely, I saw items scattered around the monster dragon species' fallen head.

One was the Grade-5 Aberrant Dragon Core, and the other was...

"This is..."

I picked up the item on the ground in surprise.

More precisely, it wasn't an item. It was a fragment that looked as if countless tiny letters had been crudely clumped together.

[You have acquired the Fable Fragment A Reader Has a Reader’s Life.]

Why did a monster dragon species have this?

"Phew, I knew it would be there."

No, why was this...

"Just feed it already. If you keep dawdling, you're really going to die."

"You want me to feed it this?"

"That's a Kim Dokja Fragment too."

Just from the name, it was clearly a Kim Dokja Fragment.

[5 seconds remain until death.]

There was really no time left.

[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name is interested in the Fable Fragment you acquired!]

"Want to eat it?"

[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name greedily opens its mouth.]

Soon after, I heard a sound like tough meat being torn apart, and smoke rose from my hand in wisps.

[The time limit has elapsed.]

Had it worked?

Could I keep living?

As if answering my question, a series of sentences flowed through my mind.

「"It's all right, Yu Sangah-ssi."

"Yes?"

"Even if you tell me about that app, it won't do any good."

The genre of my life was clearly realism.

"Because a reader has a reader's life."

And in this genre, I wasn't the protagonist, but a reader.」

So this scene was the Fable Fragment A Reader Has a Reader’s Life.

Then I heard the fable that had finished devouring it burp lightly.

[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name has succeeded in devouring it.]

[The Status of the fable Successor of the Eternal Name has increased slightly.]

[The fable Successor of the Eternal Name is somewhat satisfied.]

[One day has been added to the time limit.]

One day!

My lifespan had increased by an entire day.

"See? I told you that you wouldn't die here."

I stared blankly into the air.

How did Dokja know this monster dragon species had a Kim Dokja Fragment?

"Does this monster dragon species appear in TWSA too?"

"It does, but not like this. No matter what event in TWSA you assume, this monster dragon shouldn't be here."

The monster dragon before me was one that shouldn't have been here.

"But in this forty-first round, an event occurred that doesn't appear in any round of TWSA."

I immediately understood Dokja's words.

There was only one event in this world unrelated to TWSA.

My existence, and that of the other readers who had read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.

I looked down at the dead monster dragon's head and muttered, "No way..."

Could this monster dragon have devoured a reader I didn't know?

If it had evolved beyond its natural Status through the fragment it gained that way...

If that was true, how many reader fragments existed in this world? And how many readers had...

"Don't overthink it. Maybe it happened to pick one up and eat it."

"Something like this couldn't just be lying on the road."

"Well, one thing is certain."

In the distance, I saw the Grade-4 earth dragon fighting Jeong Huiwon to the death.

"That bastard has a bigger fragment."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I can feel it now."

A bigger fragment.

In other words, if I dealt with that thing, I could gain more lifespan.

[The Grade-4 earth dragon Earth Python has activated Devastating Footsteps!]

The area shook violently, and enormous seismic waves erupted from beneath its feet. Bright red lava overflowed through the cracks in the split ground.

When I leaped into the air using [Leap], I could see Huiwon and the Grade-4 earth dragon's fierce battle through the thick dust and steam.

Huiwon had injuries to her thigh and shoulder.

But the earth dragon's wings had both been severed, and one ankle was seriously injured, making it difficult for it to move.

As if she intended to settle this, powerful Mana surged from Huiwon's blade.

Aether Blade.

The blade of pure Mana, forged through relentless training, lengthened, and Huiwon's figure vanished in an instant.

[The Incarnation Jeong Huiwon has activated Swordsmanship Lv.10!]

Huiwon appeared in the sky and drew a horizontal arc toward its neck.

Even a Grade-4 species couldn't evade that strike with injuries like those.

It was certainly Huiwon's victory.

But then.

Ssssst.

The Grade-4 earth dragon's form scattered like smoke.

Huiwon looked startled.

Before I could warn her, the earth dragon took position behind Huiwon and struck her with its massive tail.

Crash!

Huiwon's figure plummeted to the ground.

The clever earth dragon had saved one final move until the very end.

"Huiwon-ssi!"

I repeatedly used [Leap] with all my strength and caught Huiwon as she fell.

Dark red blood trickled from her mouth.

"Huiwon-ssi! Stay awake!"

The auras of [Hour of Judgement] and [mad] still flowed from her body, as if she hadn't lost her will to fight.

But I could tell just by checking her pulse.

Huiwon was no longer in any condition to fight.

I looked toward the rear lines, where things had mostly been settled.

Fortunately, there was no penalty for running from this Scenario.

I had to escape now.

While the Grade-4 earth dragon was having trouble moving, I had to get as far away as possible...

"No. We kill that bastard."

It was Dokja's voice.

"We don't know when we'll encounter another one with a fragment. This is our only chance."

I knew this was an opportunity.

But could I do it?

Could I kill something even Huiwon couldn't defeat?

"You have a chance. 「Stage Transformation」 hasn't ended yet."

As the dust cleared, the Grade-4 earth dragon's bright eyes were revealed.

Dokja was right.

A faint fear reflected in its eyes.

It was afraid of me right now.

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God watches your courage.]

"If becoming the true Kim Dokja is what you want, fight prepared to die, maknae."

At that moment, Bang Cheolsu and Dayeong's mother came running from behind.

"Hyung! Huiwon-ssi!"

Instead of looking at Cheolsu, who was carrying Shin Yuseong on his back, I looked at Dayeong's mother.

"Please take care of Huiwon-ssi."

Without hesitation, Dayeong's mother lifted Huiwon onto her back.

Perhaps she was still conscious, because Huiwon's eyes were wide open and she was moving her lips as if trying to speak to me.

I gave her a small smile, then spoke to the others.

"Leave Gwanghwamun with everything you've got."

"Hyung! You should come with us too..."

"Bang Cheolsu. I can get myself out somehow. Protect the people who trust you first."

Cheolsu's eyes reddened, and he finally lowered his head. He knew there was no other way.

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!"

After Cheolsu and Dayeong's mother fled into the distance, I turned toward the earth dragon.

It growled as it stared at me, as if it had also finished preparing for the decisive battle.

[The time limit for 「Stage Transformation」 is approaching.]

[The power of 「Stage Transformation」 is weakening.]

This was a problem.

I couldn't let the scene end already.

"I..."

As I prepared [Incitement] once more, Dokja spoke.

"Recreating the same scene consecutively has less effect. You know that, right?"

I knew.

A scene once recreated through 「Stage Transformation」 wouldn't make the same impact on the stars.

[Few Constellations ask if you are showing them the same fable again.]

That meant I couldn't confront it this time just by borrowing the power of Kim Dokja, who had hunted Yamata no Orochi.

"I know."

But it didn't matter.

Because...

「The one I would recreate this time wasn't Kim Dokja.」

Even if the content of the fable was the same, it became a different story if its protagonist was someone else.

The person I would recreate now was...

"I am."

In some ways, a protagonist who surpassed even Dokja.

"I am Yu Junghyeok, who defeated the Sovereign of Eight Heads in peace land."

Pages turned in my mind, and the image of Junghyeok fighting Yamata no Orochi became vivid.

[The Fable Fragment Mad Soldier Yu Junghyeok writhes.]

In response, an unknown fable of Junghyeok, one I didn't know when I had acquired, writhed within me.

[The fable One Who Hunted the King of Catastrophes responds to the Fable Fragment Mad Soldier Yu Junghyeok.]

I felt like I could do it.

Not the Junghyeok who unleashed streams of Ultimate Techniques from [Sky Splitter Sword Art], but the Junghyeok from that instant when he faced Orochi.

Goooooo!

The aura of [sky splitter], infused with the power of fables, settled over the trail of brightly burning [White Pure Star Energy].

Startled by the tyrannical momentum, the earth dragon staggered backward.

I slashed apart the Breath it desperately spewed out one after another and leaped through the air. A wave of Mana imitating Junghyeok's [Gigantification] swelled around Unbreakable Faith.

It wasn't easy. Even with everything I had, reaching that Junghyeok felt impossibly far away.

"I am!"

"I am."

Still, I wasn't the only one shouting those words now.

"Yu Junghyeok!"

"Yu Junghyeok."

[Your synchronization rate with your Patron has increased!]

[The fable's reproduction rate has increased slightly!]

The earth dragon's yellow pupils narrowed vertically.

It was truly horrified. Overwhelmed by the fable of the Supreme King, it began to believe the sight before it more than the damage it would actually suffer.

When I was within reach of its neck, its frightened form scattered through the air.

The ability it had used on Huiwon, [Mistification].

"You fell for it, bastard."

[The special option of Unbreakable Faith has activated.]

Mistification's weakness was elemental attacks.

[The Aether attribute has been converted to Flame.]

Using [Nagak Breathing], I held my breath and spun like a top, swinging my flaming blade.

The creature's particles, struck by the flames, began to melt after suffering devastating damage.

Kraaaaaah!

The earth dragon regained its form and crashed to the ground with half its body burned away.

Bleeergh!

At the same time, I vomited everything in my stomach.

It was the price of enduring my Patron's fable for too long after stacking [Incitement].

[「Stage Transformation」 has ended.]

When the scene ended, the actor left the stage.

[The fable One Who Hunted the King of Catastrophes has ended its story.]

Supporting myself on the ground, I barely raised my head.

The earth dragon, which had collapsed, was getting back up.

Was this as far as I could go?

It could no longer use the [Mistification] ability, but it was still going strong.

The air around us seemed to thin.

It was preparing its final [Breath].

[The Fable Fragment Mad Soldier Yu Junghyeok looks at you disdainfully.]

Junghyeok's contempt made me rise.

I wouldn't fall.

I couldn't die here. Never.

I had to protect the people.

I had to buy time for Huiwon, Jeong Eunho, Sergeant Kim, and the people who had saved me to escape.

[Your synchronization rate with your Patron has increased!]

Then, at that moment.

"You did well, maknae."

A warm energy began to spread from deep within my chest.

[Your synchronization rate with your Patron has reached a certain level.]

[You have acquired a new Stigma.]

The power of my Patron spread through my entire body.

[The Stigma Will to Sacrifice Lv.1 has activated!]

At last, Dokja's first Stigma blossomed.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried