WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 819: Episode 41: Sophistry (3)
──────
―Youngest.
"I'm absolutely not getting on."
I said as I watched the approaching subway lights.
"It's obvious what'll happen inside. Why would I get on?"
I'll say it again. That subway was definitely the train from the "first Scenario." The very train where everyone who entered was slaughtered, where the 「Proof of Value」 Scenario began.
―It could just be a train. If you get on, we'll arrive faster.
"It's Train 3434 for Bulgwang Station. Have you even forgotten that important train number?"
―Who the hell remembers something like that? And aren't you being too tense? What happened there was only the "first Scenario."
Dokja had a point.
What happened there was only the "first Scenario." Back when my average stats were 1.
Now, my combined stats had long surpassed 100, and I had become strong enough to contend with most Historical-grade Constellations.
"It looks like you've already forgotten, but this is the Fear Realm. Do you really think that's simply the stage of the first Scenario?"
I hadn't checked that subway's Fear grade yet, but some Fears in this world possessed enough control to restrain even Constellations' power. Even the traffic light, a Disaster-grade Fear, had been that powerful. What if that subway was even worse?
What if the first Scenario was about to occur inside, and its suppression was powerful enough to crush even my Status?
―Hmm. Youngest.
"I'm not getting on."
―No, listen to me.
"I'm not getting on."
―I'm telling you not to say that...
"I'm not getting on."
―Don't say it! That's the trigger!
"What?"
[Unnamed Fear has been unlocked.]
[Catastrophe-grade Fear, Strong Denial Is Strong Affirmation, has activated!]
What?
[The effect of Strong Denial Is Strong Affirmation is taking effect!]
The instant I blinked, I was already on the subway.
* * *
rlaehrwk41: Could Yu Junghyeok be on there toooo?
rlaehrwk37: Shut up
......
【Who just said that?】
* * *
Come to think of it, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint was a story deeply tied to subways. The first Scenario began on a subway, and the final Scenario ended on one.
But now that I had boarded one myself, the subway setting began to feel metaphorical.
Maybe every Kim Dokja was destined to never escape this damn subway line.
Clatter.
Holding a subway strap, I looked around. The inside of the car was an ordinary rush-hour scene you could find anywhere.
People sitting in seats, people standing. As though they had made a promise, everyone had their heads lowered, focused on their smartphones.
Were those people real or fake?
I didn't know. Ever since entering the Fear Realm, it had become difficult to tell illusions from reality.
After watching them from the corner of my eye, I subtly turned my gaze and checked the car number.
3807.
As expected, it was the exact car Dokja had ridden in. Damn it.
―Youngest.
The call, which had briefly been cut off, connected again.
I urgently asked, "What the hell was that just now? Why was I suddenly on the subway..."
The moment I spoke, every passenger turned to look at me. My hair stood on end, and my ears began ringing. Along with a faint dizziness...
「Ma king ph one calls」
A powerful urge to vomit...
「on the sub way」
The sensation that the world was flipping upside down...
「is rude man ners」
[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall, has activated!]
As soon as I hurriedly ended the call, the gazes fixed on me returned to their places. The ringing vanished, and the world settled back into place.
After taking several deep breaths to calm my pounding heart, I selected "Me" from my smartphone contacts and sent a text.
'Let's talk like this.'
Fortunately, a reply came back.
―Let's.
'Please explain the situation simply. I don't understand what's going on.'
―The fable that summoned you into the subway is a Catastrophe-grade Fear that wanders the Fear Realm. Its name is Strong Denial Is Strong Affirmation.
'It's a different Fear from this subway, right?'
―That's right.
'Why did that Fear show up now of all times?'
―You were just unlucky. Hmm, there is something bothering me, but we'll talk about that later.
'No. Don't talk about it later.'
―Youngest, since this has happened, let's think positively. What is a subway? It's transportation.
'In this story, subways are direct transportation to the underworld.'
―Don't think so negatively. Maybe we'll get to where we want to go faster.
'Search for related material already. This subway has to be in the book Han Suyeong wrote too, doesn't it?'
I could have searched for and read it myself, but I didn't have the energy to do so right now. My stomach was still churning from the aftereffects of those gazes.
Fortunately, Dokja seemed to understand my condition.
―Wait a moment.
After that exchange, I raised my head and saw pitch-black darkness passing beyond the subway windows. As I stared at it, the things that were about to happen came to mind one after another.
「The "first Scenario" began in this subway car.」
Then a question suddenly occurred to me. If every Fear was a "discarded fable," why did this subway exist in the Fear Realm?
Was it because it had lost its purpose in the Scenarios?
Or perhaps it was the opposite.
What if this train had existed here even before the first Scenario?
My brief question vanished with the vibration of my smartphone.
―Youngest, sit down for now.
It was obvious why Dokja was telling me to sit.
I was standing while holding a strap.
And before me were two empty seats, as if they had been left vacant just for me.
I stared at them and replied.
'I don't want to.'
―Why?
'They look suspicious at a glance. Why would I sit there?'
I'll say it again. This was a rush-hour subway. Rush hour.
Did it make any sense for two seats to be empty during rush hour?
Not only that, none of the people standing even tried to sit there.
―Then you should sit there even more. Something has to start, doesn't it?
So I hope nothing starts, I thought, yet my body was already moving.
Even if my answer had been sarcastic, I knew sitting there was the correct choice.
No. More accurately...
This would be more "interesting."
Was this how people slowly lost their minds? The moment I sat down, my body relaxed as if by magic.
'Wow, this.'
There was no better way to describe it than the feeling of finding an empty seat on a real rush-hour subway.
―I found the relevant page. I'll send it to you, so read it.
I immediately began reading the file Dokja sent.
+
* This document has been partially modified by SVRP.
SVRP. PW ?
Disaster-grade Fear: Rush-Hour Subway
+
Just like the "traffic light" and "Tooth Fin"...
It seemed that the "PW" attached to each document might stand for "Parallel World."
The parallel worldlines of TWSA were based on Junghyeok's regression rounds, so PW 041 would mean the 41st round, while PW 0 would mean the 0th round.
Since this one was marked with a "?", this Fear probably didn't have a particular round in which it appeared.
In any case, I kept reading.
+
A mysterious rush-hour train that occasionally appears throughout the Fear Realm. It takes passengers to their "desired locations" within the Fear Realm.
+
Dokja's guess had been right.
It really was transportation.
But the explanations continued after that.
There was no way an ordinary means of transportation would have such detailed explanations.
I already didn't want to keep reading.
+
Among statistics from records across a total of 872 rounds, the chance of successfully reaching one's destination using this train is 4.5%.
All passengers who failed to reach their destination disappeared.
+
A curse slipped out in my mind.
I quickly turned the page.
Right. Even if only 4.5% survived, they still survived.
Fortunately, there were clear records.
+
A normal clear record concerning this "Fear" has been observed in PW 0838.
[Click here!]
+
When I tapped the screen, a scene playing out in real time appeared before me. The inside of a burning subway. Screams of pandemonium and bloodstains spread everywhere.
From footage that strongly reminded me of the first Scenario, I heard someone mutter.
「"What a bunch of idiots."」
I could tell who it was just from the voice.
Unfortunately, that was all the visual material there was.
I continued reading.
+
It has been confirmed that if even one passenger within a given car is killed, a "High-Crime Area" is immediately declared in that car. The High-Crime Area continues until only one final passenger remains.
......
The surviving passenger of the "High-Crime Area" is summoned to the lead car.
A "High-Crime Area" is declared again in the lead car and continues until only one final passenger remains.
The final passenger may communicate with the "train driver" and get off in a desired area of the Fear Realm.
Final passenger of PW 0838.
Supreme King Yu Junghyeok.
+
I knew it.
Since it was Junghyeok, he could clear a Fear in a way like this.
Let's see. Were there any other records?
+
PW 0912.
All 48 named passengers, including Peihu and Nirvana, confirmed dead.
Final passenger of PW 0912.
Sky-Splitting Sword Saint Namgung Minyeong.
+
Like master, like disciple.
+
Final passenger of PW 01042.
God of Wine and Ecstasy.
+
Wait. The scale was getting bigger.
There was even a round in which one of Olympus's Twelve Gods had participated?
+
Final passenger of PW 01284.
Abyssal Black Flame Dragon.
+
Cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.
Crunch!
I turned toward the sound and saw that a battle had already broken out in the car ahead. A man was slaughtering every passenger in that car. The necks of passengers who rushed at him like evil spirits rolled across the floor like toys.
His broad back strongly reminded me of Junghyeok. His old-fashioned loose hair and familiar hwando. Even through the entrance, I could clearly feel it.
That was a Constellation.
And a powerful one.
A Constellation I knew very well.
―Goryeo's Top Swordsman.
'I think you're right.'
Cheok Junkyung, Goryeo's Top Swordsman, was on this train.
No, why the hell was he here?
―That gentleman is always looking for ways to get stronger. This probably isn't his first time entering the Fear Realm.
For a moment, I considered asking him for help, but that would be suicide.
Once a "High-Crime Area" began, only one final survivor remained on the train.
No matter how decent Goryeo's Top Swordsman was, he would cut my head off when the crucial moment came.
Then a commotion came from the car on the other side as well.
Crash!
It seemed that High-Crime Areas had already begun in most cars except ours.
Despite the commotion, the passengers in Car 3807 remained calm. They buried their faces in their smartphones as though they couldn't hear anything.
My thoughts gradually became more complicated.
Should I start a High-Crime Area too?
―Can you beat Goryeo's Top Swordsman in a fight?
'I can't.'
―Then stay still.
'What if I can't get out like that?'
―It's better than dying. Besides, you haven't finished reading. Keep going.
I soon understood why Dokja kept telling me to read.
+
Additional clear records observed in PW ■■ and PW ■■■.
It has been confirmed that the survivors of those rounds did not use a "High-Crime Area."
+
There were records of clearing it without using a High-Crime Area!
But the records that followed completely betrayed my expectations.
+
[This record has been censored under the spoiler prevention policy.]
[This record has been censored under the spoiler prevention policy.]
+
'Are you kidding me right now?'
―Still, this isn't nothing.
Dokja was right. At least, there was definitely a way to escape without starting a High-Crime Area. Confirming that much was enough.
'Does this Fear have a time limit?'
―There aren't records of one. However, it says that once a High-Crime Area occurred, all cars on the train were cleared in an average of 30 minutes.
Thirty minutes.
As I organized my thoughts, I asked, 'Can you think of any method?'
―I'm not sure. But... there is something a little strange.
'What now?'
―Why did this train recognize "High-Crime Area" as a valid interpretation?
Just as I was about to ask what that meant, the screen gave off a light spark, and a symbol indicating that there was no signal appeared.
Why now of all times?
Honestly, I was flustered, but this wasn't the first time it had happened, so I decided to stay calm.
I couldn't borrow Dokja's wisdom forever.
The Fears of this Fear Realm were unfamiliar even to Dokja. Neither he nor I knew the answer.
「The reason a "High-Crime Area" could be a valid interpretation.」
I focused on the last hint Kim Dokja had left behind.
Every Fear had an "interpretation" connected to the way that Fear originated. Just as the traffic light had, and Tooth Fin had.
Then why did this train recognize a "High-Crime Area" as an interpretation?
Was there some causal connection between trains and violence?
No matter how much I thought about it, I didn't know.
Even when I considered every condition related to violence, none seemed suited to this subway.
If this rush-hour subway recognized a High-Crime Area as an interpretation, there had to be a reason.
My head was starting to hurt.
It didn't have to be Kim Dokja. I wished someone even slightly helpful was with me.
For example, Sangah-ssi.
Wait.
Sangah-ssi?
The moment that thought occurred to me, one of the train doors opened and closed. It happened so quickly that I couldn't even think to run toward it.
A new passenger who had just boarded stood in front of the door, looking around with anxious eyes.
It was a character I knew.
Footnotes:
"rlaehrwk" is "Kim Dokja" typed with a Korean keyboard set to English.
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