WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 694: Episode 24: Expert (4)

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How could Asgard of the forty-first round know about the Demon King of Salvation?

Had they learned the information through readers who had undergone Possession?

That was highly unlikely. Just as in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, most of what the readers said would have been filtered.

Or perhaps Asgard was the “great nebula” that had killed Kim Dokja before.

Still, could even Odin, the One-Eyed Father and Asgard's strongest Constellation, kill Dokja?

Damn it. It wasn't as if I'd ever seen a Mythical Constellation.

Honestly, neither theory made sense to me right now.

To begin with, I wasn't even sure the “demon king” they were talking about was Dokja.

Holding my breath, I focused on the two people's conversation.

“Christina, could it be that you were polite to Mr. Inho Cheon because...”

“That's right.”

Christina's lips twitched in displeasure in the rearview mirror.

“He smells like a demon king. I couldn't sense it at all at first, but ever since I woke up after passing out, I've smelled it clearly.”

“Then does that mean Incarnation Inho Cheon is a vassal of a demon king?”

“Probably. I met one when a demon king's symbolic form appeared in Las Vegas a while ago. I felt the same chills then.”

Psychics, including hypnotists, naturally had senses far sharper than other Incarnations.

If Christina Page, who considered herself among the best, had sensed a demon king's distinctive aura, it wouldn't have been strange.

After all, Dokja was half demon king himself.

“Which of the seventy-two Demon Kings do you think it is?”

“I don't know that either.”

“Didn't Asgard send any other messages?”

“None at all. Their messages completely stopped after that question.”

The two women glanced my way, then continued their conversation with only their lips.

[Group Chat].

There must have been something they didn't want anyone to hear.

The only thing outside during the ensuing silence was a desolate desert landscape, so I passed the time thinking about the Scenarios ahead or watching my sleeping, snoring face.

The more I looked at this face, the more it sometimes felt like my real one.

But did I really look that much like a con artist?

Yuseong did say I was handsome, though...

Should I buy a skill like [Humidity Preservation], like Dokja did, or find a Fable Fragment such as “Face Skin of the Casanova Who Died in Bed” and change my image a little?

Come to think of it, Dokja seemed surprisingly thorough about taking care of himself.

I could tell just by looking at the neck pillow he'd propped under his head in that short time, perhaps worried about tech neck.

...A neck pillow?

A strange feeling struck me, and I checked the item's information.

+

Name: SSS-grade Neck Pillow

Grade: SSS

Description: A “neck pillow” made by Mass Production Maker. Its defining feature is the cute dokkaebi drawn on it.

The user of this pillow won't have any dreams and can enjoy recovery effects equivalent to consuming Ellain Forest Essence while sleeping.

If a dangerous situation arises, its [Alarm] function activates and forcibly wakes the user.

* This item is bound to Incarnation Inho Cheon.

+

It was obvious whose coins this man had used to buy a pillow.

Thinking it was only a pillow and couldn't possibly cost much, I checked the price and my eyes nearly popped out.

[The price of this item is 10,000 coins.]

After checking every part of the Dokkaebi Compendium's refund policy and return procedure, I firmly decided to charge Dokja for it.

[The Exclusive Skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has activated.]

- Whew, I slept well.

What impeccable timing.

I fired questions at him like a machine gun.

'When did you buy this pillow?'

- Before I fell asleep earlier.

'Try convincing me before I really get angry.'

Dokja had already grasped the situation. His eyes darted around before he began speaking.

- Humans spend a third of their day sleeping.

'We don't need that much sleep anymore.'

- Yu Junghyeok and Yu Sangah-ssi also used this item.

Junghyeok used this item?

This item with a cute dokkaebi face drawn on one end?

- That bastard is popular, so someone probably gave it to him as a gift. Anyway, it's useful for us. We pass out a lot.

'And?'

- Let's make sure to put it under our neck before we collapse. It would be a disaster if we got a concussion.

'...'

- And read the option carefully. It says it has effects similar to consuming Ellain Forest Essence while you sleep.

I did the math in my head.

One Ellain Forest Essence cost 500 coins.

Which meant...

- You make your money back after using it twenty times.

'How many times can it be used?'

- Who knows. It should last quite a while if you use it sparingly. It says they offer after-sales service too.

'Fine. I absolve you of your sin.'

This was an incredibly cost-effective item.

The thought that I'd made such a satisfying purchase brightened my mood.

After a restful sleep, Dokja stretched lightly and looked out the window.

Las Vegas was beginning to come into view.

[The seventh Main Scenario is currently in progress.]

[The eighth Main Scenario is currently in progress.]

The system messages appeared one after another.

It was strange.

The eighth Scenario was underway even though the seventh hadn't ended?

- It happened once in the third round too.

I remembered it as well. While the fourth Scenario was in progress, part of the fifth Scenario, the Calamity Scenario, had been unlocked.

But that had been a temporary situation. It wasn't like two Main Scenarios had been openly progressing at the same time.

'I think something's wrong.'

Dokja nodded as if he agreed.

'The seventh must be the Beast Invasion Scenario. What about the eighth?'

For reference, Korea's eighth Scenario in the third round had been “The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb.”

- That was Korea in the third round. We don't know what it will be like here.

'That's true.'

“The Strongest Sacrificial Lamb” was a brutal Scenario that could only end when half the Incarnations in the region died, or when the strongest Incarnation died.

I hoped this forty-first round's Scenarios would be uneventful.

“We've arrived. You're already awake.”

“Thanks to you, I slept well.”

Selena Kim snickered at Dokja's shameless answer.

In the distance, I could see the entrance to a casino hotel, a symbol of Las Vegas.

Perhaps because it was still daytime, the darkened hotel district had an eerie atmosphere that didn't suit a gambling mecca.

[The Constellation Bald Army General wipes his head with a curious expression.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God shakes his head, saying the buildings lack integrity.]

[The Constellation King Heungmu boasts that they can't compare to the architectural style of the Korean Peninsula.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon clicks his tongue at the Constellations of the Korean Peninsula.]

The entire world had already become a gambling table for Constellations. How meaningful could human gambling dens be now?

Christina parked in front of the largest hotel on the casino strip.

So this was Zarathustra's base.

When the doorman opened the vehicle's door, I noticed a crowd gathered at the casino hotel's entrance.

They were people of multiple ethnicities, each armed with weapons.

Dokja grinned.

“Are they here to welcome us?”

“They aren't from our group.”

Selena and Christina stepped in front of Dokja, as if shielding him.

The local situation in America had never been revealed in the main story, so I found this somewhat strange.

Dokja, though, already seemed to know who they were.

- Looks like the Las Vegas civil war isn't over yet.

'Do you know who they are?'

- A Las Vegas gang.

Like an American Ironhead Gang.

- They're a far more elite organization than those guys.

'But America has the Absolute Throne too. Wouldn't their power have been unified?'

- Have you already forgotten what we did?

Only then did I remember that Dokja and I had killed the Founder of the Absolute Throne.

What if America's Absolute Throne had lost its power too, just like Korea's?

With the throne's absolute authority gone, there would naturally be no one with absolute power.

- Anna must have a headache too.

Of course, what filled the void left by the throne was overwhelming force.

Force powerful enough to claim the title of king.

We soon identified the leader of the rapidly approaching group.

A Hispanic man wore a long fur coat, a T-shirt with a skull on it, a silver cross necklace, and a cowboy hat fit for a Western. One glance was enough to tell that he was no ordinary man.

“Who is he?”

When Dokja asked, Selena answered.

“Jacob Martinez. The ‘king’ of northern Las Vegas.”

Once the man had come close enough, Selena stepped forward.

“Mr. Martinez.”

The man nodded to Selena.

“It's been a while, King's Guardian.”

“What brings you here?”

“I came to see the Prophet.”

They seemed to have business with Anna Croft just like we did.

Judging by the grim atmosphere, it didn't look like they had come for a pleasant reason.

Christina, who had been watching, intervened.

“Sorry, but Anna has plans today. Why don't you come back another time?”

“Move.”

“If it's that urgent, tell me what you need. I'll pass it along.”

Martinez stared coldly at Christina.

“We came to demand compensation.”

“Compensation? For what?”

“Our group suffered too many losses during the subjugation of the grade-4 species. We demand compensation for that.”

Grade-4 species.

It seemed a beast species of a similar grade had appeared in America as well.

“Everyone suffered major losses.”

“We lost our entire home. Your precious Prophet led the disaster species toward northern Las Vegas.”

“That wasn't Anna's fault. Even Anna can't do anything about natural disasters.”

“Are you saying the Prophet couldn't read the future?”

“Hey.”

“She must have clearly seen northern Las Vegas being wiped out with those future-seeing eyes of hers. Even so, the Prophet didn't give us any warning.”

“...”

“If we had responded even a little later, all the women and children would have been swept away and killed.”

By then, both Dokja and I were listening closely to their argument.

Anna must have had her own reason for not revealing everything she knew about the future.

But if someone else died because of it, whose responsibility was that?

How much responsibility did a prophet who knew the future have to bear for not speaking of it?

Christina frowned.

“Compensation is out of the question, but we'll discuss coin support. So leave it at that, unless you want this to become a big problem.”

“It looks like I'll have to meet the Prophet after all.”

Click.

Martinez drew a handgun from his holster.

At the same time, the group guarding him aimed their weapons at us.

It was a situation that could lead to a large-scale armed clash.

Yet Christina didn't look tense.

She already held a pocket watch in her right hand.

Martinez spoke.

“I already know all about your hypnosis.”

“...”

“Will your watch swing first, or will my bullet put a hole through your head first?”

“Why don't you try it now...”

Everything happened in an instant.

Had the fur coat fluttered first, or had the man who had been the doorman until moments ago transformed into Martinez first?

Ahead of us and to the left, two Martinezes spoke at the same time.

“Looks like you've forgotten who I am, hypnotist.”

Martinez's handgun was already pressed against Christina's left brow.

Biting her lip hard, Christina raised both hands over her head and slowly dropped her watch.

Impressed by Martinez's technique, I asked,

'How did he do that? Avatar?'

[Avatar] was a Writer's unique skill.

Did that mean Martinez was a Writer too?

- He's a magician.

A magician?

“Hypnotist. I'm going to kill you now.”

“Martinez, wait.”

“If anyone moves, I'll shoot.”

Martinez glared at Selena, then added in warning.

“I'll count to three. If your leader is truly a ‘Prophet,’ she'll come out on her own. She must have seen the future where her subordinate dies.”

Martinez immediately began counting.

His count was cold, without the slightest hesitation.

Yet even when the count reached one, Anna Croft didn't appear.

“Looks like the Prophet's reputation was fake. Unless...”

The handgun's trigger moved.

“Unless she doesn't value you at all.”

Someone moved a little faster than the trigger.

“Anna won't come out.”

As expected, everything happened in an instant.

No, perhaps it was a remarkably long and leisurely interval for something that occurred in an instant.

Dokja slowly raised his arm and gently wrapped his fingers around the handgun's front sight, as if he were holding a teacup.

“She can't see the future right now.”

Even so, no one but me could witness what he had done.

Christina, Selena, and Martinez all stared in shock.

Their faces showed they couldn't believe such a thing was possible.

[The Constellation Humanity’s First Magician is astonished.]

Only I knew the method Dokja had used.

It wasn't a trick or magic.

[The fable Stone and Me ends its story.]

Martinez came to his senses and urgently pulled the trigger.

Click. Click.

But the handgun didn't fire.

[The fable Gun and Me continues its story.]

Dokja snatched the handgun away in an instant, then pulled the trigger into the air as if playing around.

“Because I came.”

Bang!

The celebratory gunshot announcing our Las Vegas debut rang out.

Footnotes:

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