WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 753: Episode 31: Yu Junghyeok (5)
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* * *
“Dokja-ssi, I heard the support rate passed 80 percent?”
Gyeong Sein and the others had each gone around Area 13 to win additional support, so they didn't know what I had discussed with the bear people.
“Wow, how did you convince those bears?”
“I don't know if you could call it convincing them.”
Not every bear had been convinced.
The former leader, the Bear Who Lets You Live If You Pretend to Be Dead, had rejected my Incitement and vanished.
The beast person who inherited his fable and became the new leader of the bears said,
“The boss fulfilled his duty. He felt this place was his ■■.”
■■.
Could even those who had lost their dreams have an end to their path?
“Don't feel guilty. The boss only entrusted us to you. You just need to keep your promise.”
The others wore solemn expressions after hearing my story.
“I don't know what to say. I suppose you can't force the same dream on everyone.”
The bears had been enemies we had fought just days ago, but there was no longer any hostility in Gyeong Sein's voice.
Friend or enemy, everyone was ultimately only a part of this enormous fable. That was the lesson we had learned while building our fables here.
“Kim Dokja. When are we leaving?”
At Killer King's question, I checked the system messages floating in the air.
[You can attend the Twelve Zodiac Ball.]
[Choose the companions who will attend the ball with you by midnight tonight.]
[The eighth Scenario will automatically end upon attending the Twelve Zodiac Ball.]
“Midnight tonight.”
Midnight tonight.
At last, we were going to meet the Constellations of the Twelve Zodiacs.
Perhaps nervous about heading to a new Scenario area, Gyeong Sein asked with a stiff expression, “Is it okay? Yu Junghyeok still hasn't woken up.”
“It's fine. If he doesn't wake up, I'll smack his butt until he does.”
“Like you did to the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint?”
We looked at each other and laughed.
“But what exactly is the Twelve Zodiac Ball?”
“It never appeared in Revelation.”
As Chae Yerin said, the Twelve Zodiac Ball was certainly an event that didn't appear in ORV.
I could only guess that it would be something like the Constellation Banquet.
“It wouldn't hurt to find out some information beforehand.”
“How?”
I nodded toward a corner of the inn. A small rat beast person was tied up tightly there.
[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat looks at you while trembling.]
* * *
Kim Su-gyeom first became aware of the possession phenomenon half a year ago.
‘An unfamiliar ceiling.’
The moment he realized that, Su-gyeom shuddered.
He had learned the usual conventions of possession stories through comics, novels, and animation. The unfamiliar ceiling surprised him, but he wasn't flustered.
‘I've waited for this moment.’
For someone retaking the college entrance exam, or rather, someone who had retaken it, failed the CSAT, and was about to take it for a third time, this possession felt like a kind of salvation.
The problem was what he had possessed.
[Squeak.]
Of all things, why did he have to possess this?
[Squeak.]
The one consolation was that this ‘squeak’ was not “squeak,” but [Squeak.]
[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat squeaks.]
The moment Su-gyeom read the Constellation-whatever floating in the air, he realized what world he had possessed.
[You made it, Su-gyeom.]
[Squeak... Huh?]
Even more surprisingly, his friends had possessed beings before him.
[I knew you'd come too.]
There were two friends who had possessed beings alongside Su-gyeom.
Their modifiers were as follows.
Pig Who Lives in a Brick House.
And Rice Cake-Eating Tiger.
+
Gyeong Sein: Wait, you were originally friends with Rice Cake-Eating Tiger?
+
Su-gyeom was thrilled.
He wasn't alone!
He hadn't been dropped alone into this godforsaken setting!
Since they had possessed Constellations, they decided to call each other by their Constellation names.
Rice Cake-Eating Tiger was Tiger.
Pig Who Lives in a Brick House was Pig.
And Su-gyeom was Rat.
He didn't like the title, but there was nothing he could do about it. Tiger was the one who chose it.
[But why did we possess beings in this novel of all places?]
Rat answered Tiger's question.
[Because of you. You liked this novel.]
[You read it too, Rat.]
[I didn't like it that much.]
But no matter how deeply they thought about it, the possession phenomenon itself wouldn't change.
[Which Scenario are you all on?]
[I'm on the 69th. Rat's on the 63rd.]
[I'm on the 71st. I'm the farthest along. But honestly, looking at the Scenario difficulty, I don't think we can reach the Final Scenario on our own.]
[It was the same in the original.]
[Why did we have to possess animal Constellations? It would've been nice if we were Son Wukong or Hades.]
[What are we going to do now?]
[We need to find Kim Dokja.]
However, it didn't take them long to realize something.
[I think we're ■ now.]
There was no Kim Dokja in this world.
But they didn't despair.
What if there was no Kim Dokja? Then they would make one.
[What do you think? Who should we sponsor?]
[How about that one?]
[Isn't that person originally a villain?]
[They are a villain, but... Huh? D-Don't you think something's strange?]
[Huh? Huhhh?]
[Squeak!]
After the first Scenario ended, the three friends realized it the moment they saw Inho Cheon, who had survived Geumho Station.
[I've chosen you.]
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Lee Dansu: Ah, was that during the patron selection...!
+
From then on, Su-gyeom and his companions began sponsoring people.
Unfortunately, all three failed to become Inho Cheon's Patron Constellation, but as Historical-grade Constellations, they were hardly in a position to hope for that anyway.
In the meantime, they learned there was another Constellation in the same situation.
[The Constellation Primordial Cow shrugs.]
They also learned that some Constellations were plotting vile schemes.
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Chae Yerin: Odok-hyeop.
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What more was there to say?
The two factions immediately came into conflict.
One side wanted to sponsor the protagonist's group and see the ending. The other wanted to wipe out the protagonist's group and become the protagonists of this world themselves.
[The Constellation Rice Cake-Eating Tiger roars!]
[The Constellation Snake Who Cuts Its Tail lets out a strange cry!]
[The Constellation Pig Who Lives in a Brick House builds a brick house.]
[The Constellation Rat Who Brings Calamity begins gnawing through the bricks.]
They fought every time they met, so eventually the Constellations decided to gather in one place and negotiate.
Of course, there was no way the negotiations would go properly.
[Snake. I'm warning you. Don't interfere with the story carelessly, unless you really want to die.]
[Pathetic. Are you really going to let people like that take control of the story? We are Constellations. As Constellations, we should...]
[You ■ who only pirate novels are all talk―]
[So did all of you buy every novel you read?]
[Of course we...]
[Swear on the Star Stream. Say you've never once read a novel on a piracy site.]
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Killer King: So who was it that didn't swear?
+
They spent several months bickering, fighting, and grabbing at each other like that.
Over those months, many changes came over them. They began speaking like Constellations, thinking like Constellations, and acting like Constellations.
[The Constellation Rice Cake-Eating Tiger cheers for Inho Cheon.]
Thinking about it, it wasn't such a strange change.
[The Constellation Primordial Cow admires Jeong Huiwon's majesty.]
Hadn't they lived similarly even before becoming Constellations?
[The Constellation Pig Who Lives in a Brick House finds Yu Junghyeok frustrating.]
They enjoyed watching the Incarnations' Scenarios. They felt sad and angry, and sometimes they were moved.
Then, at some point, they forgot the Scenario they themselves had to clear.
Some of their friends even exceeded their allotted Plausibility to help the protagonist's group.
Rice Cake-Eating Tiger was one of them.
In particular, after sponsoring a Demonic Species Core as material for Unbreakable Faith, Rice Cake-Eating Tiger's condition began to worsen noticeably.
[Tiger. Are you okay?]
[Hm? Rat. What's wrong?]
[I'm asking because you look pale.]
One week, then two weeks, then a month.
Time continued to pass.
Su-gyeom didn't want to be left out among his laughing and crying friends, so he occasionally used Indirect Messages. But whenever he wrote one, he felt that something was going wrong.
[The fable Rat Who Craves Incarnations urges you to find a new Incarnation.]
[The fable Back-Alley Thieving Rat commands you to lick up the fables that have fallen to the ground.]
[The fable Gluttonous Rat wants to devour new fables.]
When had the fables begun speaking to them?
Or had they been speaking from the beginning, and the three of them simply hadn't realized?
Was sponsoring the protagonist and devouring the protagonists' stories all a command from the fables?
If so...
[The fable Nail-Eating Rat looks at you.]
Weren't they being devoured by their fables now?
Terrified, Su-gyeom abandoned his fables and fled.
The fables chased after him wherever he went, but fortunately, he was a Rat, skilled at running away. The fastest Rat among the Twelve Zodiacs.
Unfortunately, his friends weren't Rats.
* * *
After hearing Rat's entire story, Killer King nodded.
“So that was what happened.”
Only after hearing the story did I understand why Rice Cake-Eating Tiger had changed so much.
Probably not only Rice Cake-Eating Tiger, but most of the animal-shaped Constellations above us were in the same state.
They had ceased to be readers.
[I-I came to tell you this. Never come up here. The stars of the Twelve Zodiac Ball are all insane. And the ones who were part of Odok-hyeop...]
The moment Rat said that, his mouth suddenly froze.
[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat screams!]
Along with Rat's terrible scream, dreadful sparks began striking his Incarnation body.
[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat has suffered massive damage and exited Area 13.]
It happened in an instant, before we could do anything.
I looked down at the small claw left where Rat had been.
Killer King asked, “That just now...”
“I don't think he was simply devoured by his fables.”
Even if he had lost his own Status, he was still a Historical-grade Constellation.
If he had disappeared after being controlled by fables like Rice Cake-Eating Tiger, there should have been other symptoms.
I looked up at the darkening night sky.
“Someone is there.”
This was undoubtedly the work of someone in a higher Scenario.
Someone who could defeat the Historical-grade Constellation Nail-Eating Rat in a single strike.
「There is a being comparable to a fabled-grade Constellation at the Twelve Zodiac Ball.」
Normally, this was the moment when Gyeong Sein or Uncle Dansu would say something in fear.
But this time, no one said anything.
They already knew there was a powerful enemy up there.
“Let's start getting ready to go up.”
* * *
Exactly one hour later, we had finished preparing and gathered in the central courtyard of the Fox and Crane Hotel.
A small bonfire burned in the center of the courtyard. The Crane innkeeper must have prepared it beforehand.
We naturally sat around the fire.
“This is the end of Area 13, too.”
Everyone looked lost in their own thoughts.
Once again, Gyeong Sein was the first to speak.
“Dokja-ssi, I have a question.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Are you... a Constellation now?”
I answered with a bitter smile.
“I'm only filling in.”
“Filling in? Is that possible?”
I briefly explained my situation.
“Then you'll be able to act as a Constellation for the time being.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Are you okay, Dokja-ssi? Do fables speak to you like they did to those Constellations earlier...?”
“Ah, me.”
[The fable Heir to an Eternal Name grumbles at you.]
“Sometimes some of them pick fights with me, but I'm fine. It's about the same as what Kim Dokja went through.”
After hesitating for a moment, Gyeong Sein added, “Somehow, things are developing similarly to Revelation. I think Kim Dokja gained the qualifications of a Constellation around this point in Revelation too.”
That had happened.
It really did seem to be around this time.
“If Dokja-ssi is playing Kim Dokja's role, then we must all have our own roles too, right? I'm probably Lee Hyeongseong. And Uncle Dansu is... Han Myeongoh?”
“No, Sein.”
“Obviously, Yerin is Jeong Huiwon, and then...”
Gyeong Sein hesitated.
They were probably thinking of Ye Hyeonu.
Killer King cut in at just the right moment.
“Of course, I am Yu Junghyeok.”
“Sure. Then the Second Apostle must be Kim Namwoon.”
“You bastard.”
The group broke into quiet laughter.
Uncle Dansu spoke as though wrapping things up.
“We're just ourselves. I don't think we need to compare ourselves to anyone else. I'm absolutely not saying this because I was compared to Han Myeongoh.”
He was right.
We couldn't become Kim Dokja Company.
Uncle Dansu, who had been awkwardly rubbing his knee, added, “Still, honestly, I think we're no less capable than Kim Dokja Company by now.”
That was also right.
More than anything, everyone had learned [Way of the Wind]. Even individually, their growth wasn't bad.
Gyeong Sein could now tank as powerfully as Lee Hyeongseong at the same point in time, while also possessing far quicker reflexes.
Uncle Dansu had the Patron Constellation Cunning Schemer and the King of No Killing Trait.
There was no need to even mention the sheer talent of Chae Yerin, who had mastered [Way of the Wind] first.
And Killer King...
“Kim Dokja. You're looking at me with unpleasant eyes.”
More than anything, we had Yu Junghyeok of the 41st round.
Our protagonist, whose potential fighting power was more terrifying than that of any other round.
“And it isn't as though we don't have friends like Jihye, Hyeongseong, Huiwon, and Yuseong. Isn't this round pretty formidable?”
I had forgotten about them for a moment.
When it came down to it, major figures such as Lee Jihye, Lee Hyeongseong, and Kim Namwoon were also here, so the forces of the 41st round could be said to be stronger than those of any other round.
Come to think of it, where had the other figures like Jeong Huiwon and Shin Yuseong gone? Ji Eunyoo and Anna Croft were nowhere to be seen either.
Judging from the situation, they seemed to have landed in areas other than Area 13...
Perhaps we would meet them if we attended the Twelve Zodiac Ball.
[The fable Between Truth and Lies looks at you.]
The humming fable was speaking to me.
I had the feeling Yu Junghyeok had woken up.
It was a signal that it was time to leave.
Perhaps sensing the fable's presence, Killer King asked, “Is that a new fable you acquired?”
“Yes.”
His gaze seemed somehow envious, perhaps even admiring.
Killer King continued to stare at the fable floating over my head for a long time.
Then his lips moved several times before he slowly spoke.
“I am Chae Seongwoo.”
Chae Seongwoo.
At that low voice, the others looked at one another.
The name of the person Killer King had possessed was Kang Ilhun. But Killer King called himself Chae Seongwoo.
“My name is Noh Gyeonghwan. Though I'm sure you all already knew that.”
Uncle Dansu spoke next.
I had already known his real name, but now its weight sounded different.
As sparks lightly rose from the bonfire, someone else took the baton.
“My name is Sung Minwoo.”
Judge Huiwon, alsdn0905.
The person we had called Gyeong Sein until now smiled shyly.
“This is the first time I've said my name, right?”
As they scratched their cheek awkwardly, LiteraryGirl64, Chae Yerin, spoke beside them.
“I'm Chae Yerin.”
Chae Seongwoo, Noh Gyeonghwan, Sung Minwoo, and Chae Yerin.
The names of the people who had shared Geumho Station, Chungmuro Station, Gwanghwamun, and all those arduous Scenarios with me.
As I hesitated, Chae Yerin said, “You don't have to tell us your name. We only wanted to tell you ours.”
At that moment, I realized something.
「They know.」
Since when?
I didn't know.
But they knew who I was.
And yet, they had never asked.
Who I was. Where I had come from. Why I was with them.
There was only one name allowed to me in this world.
“I am.”
But could that name fully explain me to the people before me now?
I looked down at my hands.
The warmth of the bonfire reached the fingertips that had written those sentences.
Every story in this world was fiction that existed for one person.
Even so, the warmth of this moment was never false.
I opened my mouth.
“My name is.”
Time would pass, and the bonfire around which we had gathered would become ash.
This warmth, this scene, even the fact that we had shared this story together, all of it would be forgotten forever.
Still, that was fine.
“My name is Lee Hakhyeon.”
At least at this moment, we were reading this story together.
Footnotes:
Odok-hyeop is an in-group Korean-style abbreviation used as the name of a rival faction.
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