WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 81: Episode 16 - The Fifth Scenario (5)

I cautiously stepped back from Junghyeok, who lay bleeding on the ground, and pressed Bihyeong floating in mid-air.

‘This is your doing, isn’t it?’

Even if Junghyeok had truly been nearby, it was too convenient for him to have been discovered at this exact moment. It was clear that Bihyeong had activated a sub scenario through someone nearby to bring Junghyeok here.

―Why is it always me you suspect? Got any proof?

I had no solid evidence, but my instincts told me otherwise.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire holds her breath in suspense over your judgment.]

[You have been gifted 500 coins.]

See? That’s evidence enough.

Suyeong, staring dumbly down at Junghyeok’s battered body, whispered to me.

“…Found him. So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to save him, right? He’s the protagonist, after all.”

Of course, I had to save him. But saving this guy would undoubtedly get me killed. Suyeong seemed worried that Junghyeok might wake up at any moment.

“Got anything that can restrain him?”

“Nothing works on Junghyeok.”

“Then what if we lock him up somewhere…?”

“He’d just kill himself.”

“Well, since he can regress, it’s no big deal for him… Damn it, but if he regresses, what happens to us?”

Suyeong seemed to realize it just then. What would happen to this world if Yu Junghyeok regressed? That was my biggest concern too.

“For now, we can’t let him do it. Who knows what’ll happen?”

When faced with the unknown, it was best to prepare for the worst. If this world were reset, my existence might disappear altogether.

But this guy… who the hell beat him up like this?

I examined his injuries more closely. The wound spread out from his abdomen in a circular pattern, and his ribs and internal organs were thoroughly crushed. Someone had hit Junghyeok with a single, overwhelmingly powerful strike…

I absently stared down at my fist.

“What’s with your face? You look so guilty all of a sudden.”

“…It’s nothing.”

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. After all, he’d taken a punch from me—a punch backed by level 100 strength. That meant he’d been lying here in this condition for two days.

A pang of guilt slowly crept up my spine. If I wasn’t careful, this might ruin any chance of repairing our already fragile relationship.

As I moved my gaze from his abdomen toward his face, I froze in terror and stumbled back several steps.

Junghyeok was glaring at me, his eyes wide and bloodshot, with tears of blood streaming down his cheeks.

His lips were moving soundlessly, but it was obvious what he was trying to say—something along the lines of “I’ll kill you, Kim Dokja.” Even Suyeong, who had been standing nearby, had fled a good distance away. I called out to Junghyeok from a safe distance.

“Hey, can’t you let it go already?”

“…”

“It was a fair fight! Don’t be such a sore loser. You were trying to kill me too back then.”

Junghyeok’s gaze remained unrelenting.

Damn it… I didn’t have a choice. Whether he killed me or not, Junghyeok had to survive right now. Without him, even if I stopped the [Catastrophe of Questions], I wouldn’t be able to stop the other catastrophes, and the world would fall to ruin.

Why did the protagonist of TWSA have to be someone like this? If it had been Lee Hyeonseong or even Jung Huiwon, the story would’ve been much easier to navigate.

…This wasn’t the time to complain.

I decided to activate a skill. I could guess what he was thinking, but better safe than sorry.

[You have activated the exclusive skill Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Level 2.]

And then, something astonishing happened.

「Kim Dokja.」

I stared at Yu Junghyeok in disbelief.

…Did he just call me?

「You can hear me, can’t you? After all the nonsense you’ve pulled so far…」

…What?

「Answer me. If you don’t act now, this world will…」

I watched in stunned silence as he struggled to speak.

「…I knew it. Just my imagination. Damn it.」

Junghyeok’s eyes slowly closed. After hesitating briefly, I moved closer to him. Judging by his condition, he had no strength left to fight me. There wasn’t even any hostility in his gaze.

“Junghyeok, can you hear me?”

His eyelids fluttered before closing again.

Something was wrong. With injuries this severe, his [Resuscitation] should have activated automatically. Why hadn’t it?

[The exclusive skill Character Profile has been activated.]

[There is too much information about this figure. The Character Profile will be modified to a Character Profile Summary.]

+

<Character Profile Summary>

Name: Yu Junghyeok

Exclusive attributes: Regressor <3rd round> (Mythic), Pro-gamer (Rare), Supreme King (Heroic)

Exclusive skills: [Sage's Eye Lv.8], [Close Combat Lv.9], [Advanced Weapons Proficiency Lv.9], [Tiger God Aura Lv.9] [Mental Barrier Lv.8], [Hundred Steps Godly Fist Lv.6], [Phoenix Walk Lv.6], [Sky-Splitting Qi Lv.5]…

Stigma: [Regression Lv.3], [Transmission Lv.3]

Overall stats: [Vitality Lv.60], [Strength Lv.60], [Agility Lv.60], [Mana Lv.60]

* The character is currently under a status abnormality.

* The character is currently poisoned with [Thousand Spirit Poison].

+

His stats were fine. Yu Junghyeok remained one of the strongest Incarnations in Seoul, and his skills had even improved since the last time we met.

The problem was the status abnormality.

Even someone like Junghyeok didn’t yet possess skills like [Thousand Poison Immunity] or [Ten Thousand Poison Immunity], which made poison one of his few weaknesses.

So, he was in this state because of the poison.

Looking closer, I noticed his veins bulging with an eerie blue hue. The poison hadn’t been in his system for long.

Luckily, he could still be saved.

But a question nagged at me. At this point in the scenario, there was only one entity I could think of capable of poisoning Junghyeok with the Thousand Spirit Poison…

A woman standing a short distance away, watching nervously, spoke up. She was the one who had brought Junghyeok here.

“Um… are you Kim Dokja?”

Caught off guard, I nodded.

“On the way here, he kept asking to be brought to you…”

Junghyeok? I looked down at his face, which was even greener than before. My mind started racing.

Suyeong, who had cautiously returned after fleeing earlier, jabbed me in the shoulder and spoke.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Her tone was impatient, but I didn’t respond.

After a brief moment of thought, I turned to Bihyeong.

‘Bihyeong, open the Dokkaebi Compendium.’

―See? I told you I didn’t have anything to do with this.

‘Just open the Compendium.’

Checking the coins I had left, I began searching for items to treat Yu Junghyeok. If he was poisoned by Thousand Spirit Poison, simply using [Ellain Forest Essence] wouldn’t be enough to detoxify him. After quickly reviewing the necessary ingredients, I purchased the items from the Compendium.

[You have purchased 1 Midday Tryst.]

[You have purchased 1 Old Barbara’s Branch.]

[You have purchased 2 Novice Daltun’s Horns.]

[You have purchased 1 Detox Potato.]

[You have purchased 2 bottles of Purified Water of Einter Temple.]

[You have purchased 1 Ellain Forest Essence.]

[You have spent a total of 7,370 coins.]

The sudden drain on my coins hurt. I asked the survivors nearby for a small bucket, then lit a fire using a mana brazier and poured the ingredients into the bucket.

Suyeong crouched next to me and asked.

“What are you making?”

“An antidote.”

“So, you’re saving him after all?”

I nodded and replied.

“It looks like he came to find me on purpose.”

“On purpose? Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe he came to ask for help? Even Junghyeok wouldn’t crawl over here in this state just to kill you.”

“Yu Junghyeok would.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Adjusting the fire under the brazier, I focused on the concoction.

Blue flames danced under the bucket as the mixture began to boil. Judging by its color and texture, it looked like something that could be called “Failed Goblin Stew.” Despite its grotesque appearance, this soup was a powerful antidote.

Suyeong, peering into the bubbling mixture with her hands on her knees, commented, “You know, was Yu Junghyeok really that bad in Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse?”

“…What?”

“I mean, now that I think about it, wasn’t he actually a pretty decent guy? He saved a lot of people, did some good deeds. Sure, he acted like a psycho sometimes, but in the end, he was fighting for the greater good. He was trying to save the world, wasn’t he? As much as I hate to admit it, he only killed me because I was a villain.”

Thinking about it, she wasn’t completely wrong.

I chuckled and replied.

“You of all people defending Junghyeok, after running farther away than anyone else? Very convincing.”

“That’s beside the point. I’m just saying people aren’t so simple that you can judge them by one side of their personality.”

Her unexpected argument made me glance up at her. She smiled coolly and continued.

“Just like how no matter how much you call my work a ‘rip-off,’ it’s obvious my work wasn’t completely influenced by TWSA.”

“…You were almost convincing until you brought that up.”

I tried to dismiss her comment, but the unexpected topic left me deep in thought.

Who was Yu Junghyeok, really? Could I honestly say I knew everything about him? Until now, I would’ve confidently answered yes—I was the only reader who had finished the Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.

But as I stared into the boiling soup, I felt like the answers I had were dissolving into the mixture.

Was the Yu Junghyeok I knew the entirety of who he was?

Before long, the soup was ready.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is moved by your good deed.]

[The constellations aligned with Absolute Good nod in approval.]

[You have been gifted 3,000 coins.]

Rarely did sponsorships not cover my expenses. Damn it.

Carrying the soup, I approached the unconscious Junghyeok. Suyeong fetched a spoon from a nearby shop and handed it to me. I cooled the soup by blowing on it and began feeding it to him. Watching this, Suyeong smirked.

“You look like a devoted wife.”

“Do you want to do it instead?”

“No thanks.”

Not that I would’ve let her, even if she offered.

After all, every time I gave Junghyeok a spoonful, system messages popped up.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is moved by your good deed.]

[You have been gifted 500 coins.]

Every spoonful earned me coins. This was turning into quite the lucrative venture.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is moved by your good deed.]

[You have been gifted 500 coins.]

What I thought was a loss turned out to be an unexpected jackpot. It pays to be kind sometimes. But after ten spoonfuls, I started feeling uneasy.

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is moved by your good deed.]

[You have been gifted 500 coins.]

…Was she really moved by my kindness?

Eventually, the entire bowl was empty. I waited for a while, and Junghyeok groaned faintly as his eyes began to open. His condition was still poor, but the poison had started to clear. Wasting no time, I took out another item.

[You have used the item Midday Tryst.]

[Requesting the target’s consent to use the item.]

The [Midday Tryst] allowed one-on-one communication with a chosen target for a set duration. If I’d had more coins, I would’ve learned the [Telepathy] skill instead. But this was the best I could afford.

[The target has consented to communication.]

[Midday Tryst begins.]

When I initiated the connection, a small messenger window appeared before me.

―Hey, can you hear me?

The link worked perfectly.

There were three reasons I’d bought this item. First, Junghyeok’s tongue was paralyzed from the poison. Second, I wanted to prevent Suyeong from overhearing anything unnecessary.

The third—and most important—reason was that I didn’t want Junghyeok to suspect I could read his thoughts.

Soon, a reply appeared.

―Move east immediately.

Footnotes:

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