WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 90: Episode 18 - A Reader’s Fight (3)

In this world, death was recorded as nothing more than a few lines of text.

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is moderately satisfied.]

[The constellation Secretive Plotter nods with slight discontent.]

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is greatly delighted by your story.]

[Someone has recommended your scenario to the <Star Stream>.]

[You have been gifted 25,000 coins.]

I stood up and slowly surveyed my surroundings. It was the desolate view of Gangdong-gu in ruins. Despite just one disaster passing through briefly, all the ground-level facilities were destroyed, and the tall buildings had completely collapsed.

Some people clutched their wounds, choking back sobs, while others wiped away tears. There were also those who bowed their heads toward me. However, most of the people lay cold and lifeless on the ground.

I thought I had thoroughly read TWSA. I believed I had understood each of its settings, analyzed its meaning, and finally grasped the author's intent. But nowhere in TWSA was there a sentence describing the deaths of these people.

Turning my head, I saw that Yu Junghyeok was also witnessing the same scene as I was. Perhaps Yu Junghyeok had experienced this sight alone countless times.

"Yu Junghyeok."

Yu Junghyeok turned to look at me. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before deciding against speaking.

"…It’s nothing."

The scenarios would continue, and I would face these moments repeatedly. I would encounter sights that could never be expressed in text.

A translucent window appeared in front of me, accompanied by an unexpected message.

[The dokkaebi Dokgak is inviting you to his channel.]

...Who’s inviting whom now? Surprised for a moment, I decided to feign ignorance. Yet the message appeared once again.

[The dokkaebi Dokgak is inviting you to his channel.]

Looking up at the sky, I saw a group of dokkaebis staring down at me.

There was a one-legged dokkaebi grinning with an annoying smile. Behind him was Bihyeong, cringing as he darted his gaze between me and Dokgak with a miserable expression.

Even among dokkaebis, there was a clear hierarchy.

…Well, I think I understand the situation.

Taking a short breath, I deliberately spoke in a trivial tone.

"What are you doing? Aren’t you going to hand over the reward?"

Dokgak’s sparse eyebrows twitched at my words.

[Ah, of course. My apologies. I seem to have made a minor mistake.]

Dokgak was a fearsome dokkaebi. Unlike the bumbling Bihyeong or the haughty mid-grade dokkaebis, he was fundamentally different. Not just anyone could become a storyteller for a major channel.

[The sub scenario – SSS-grade Hunt has been completed.]

[Calculating rewards.]

[You have received 50,000 coins as a reward.]

The sudden influx of coins lightened my mood a bit.

To think I earned 50,000 coins from just one scenario.

Considering that sub scenarios were often determined by the whims of the dokkaebis, most of these coins probably came from Dokgak’s own pocket. I thought he’d be seething with frustration, but Dokgak simply smiled slyly instead.

[Watching an interesting story is the greatest joy for dokkaebis. How could I not be delighted?]

He muttered as if reading my mind. Well, with his dominance over giant channels like the Tokyo Dome, such a loss was probably insignificant to him.

Who might be flourishing in Tokyo right now?

Considering the time frame before the historical figures gained prominence, it’s likely someone like Oda Nobunaga[1] or Miyamoto Musashi[2].

Yeah... His Incarnations must be raking in the profits for him.

"So, why don’t you quickly hand over the additional rewards? This can’t be all, right?"

[Ah, of course. Naturally, you deserve them. After all, you made this scenario so intriguing.]

His sarcastic tone only made me angrier.

If not for him, the "Catastrophe of Questions" scenario could have ended much more smoothly. Bihyeong, who was cautiously observing from behind, sent me a telepathic message.

―Hey...

But before he could finish, Dokgak cut him off.

[Bihyeong, prepare the rewards.]

Bihyeong jumped in surprise, blurting out.

[Huh?]

[Prepare the rewards. Must I repeat myself?]

What a bastard.

Hesitant, Bihyeong spoke again.

[But, Dokgak-nim, you’re the one in charge of this Sub Scenario…]

[Bihyeong.]

As if to put on a show, Dokgak unleashed an overwhelming aura that pressed down on Bihyeong’s entire body. A dokkaebi’s power was directly proportional to the size of their channel.

[So, your channel has grown a bit recently, has it?]

At Dokgak’s calm tone, Bihyeong shrank even further.

[No, no! That’s a misunderstanding!]

[Wasn’t the sixth scenario supposed to involve Korea and Japan together? Did you forget?]

[My apologies! I’ll prepare it right away!]

[Start now.]

[Y-yes!]

Though I disliked Bihyeong groveling, it felt slightly unpleasant to watch him being humiliated like this. In Bihyeong’s case, Dokgak probably resembled Song Minwoo, the bully who used to torment me during high school.

[Calculating additional rewards..]

[You have obtained the Parasite’s Talisman as a basic reward.]

[Additional rewards of your choosing are available.]

[You were the highest contributor in this scenario.]

[You have the priority to choose the additional rewards.]

A translucent catalog appeared before me.

It seemed they intended to offer some decent items, considering I took down a catastrophe.

SSS-grade items.

I carefully examined the options.

The ‘Infinite Dimensional Subspace Coat’ had a special pocket with the "Subspace" attribute, allowing me to carry numerous items.

The ‘Black Flame Half-Gloves’ significantly amplified the effects of skills with darkness and flame attributes.

The ‘Sylphid’s Leaping Boots’ allowed the wearer to use the special skill "Leap" three times a day.

While they weren’t constellation artifacts, these items were still highly valuable and useful well into the tenth scenario.

To someone unfamiliar with this world, the idea of SSS-grade items being limited to the tenth scenario might sound absurd. But this was just how TWSA worked.

The item grades in Star Stream tended to escalate rapidly, resulting in a significant performance gap between items acquired early and those obtained later.

Still, obtaining an SSS-grade item now didn’t mean it would inevitably become obsolete later. With the right materials, items could undergo "Equipment Transcendence."

The beauty of constellation artifacts was that they required no transcendence. As scenarios progressed, they naturally regained their original powers, breaking free of Probability constraints.

[...Choose your reward.]

A dejected Bihyeong spoke to me. The poor guy looked like he’d been drained of all his energy after being bullied. However, his dokkaebi communication came through to me.

―Personally, I’d recommend the ‘Infinite Dimensional Subspace Coat.’ It has a unique properyu. Plus, it’s easier to transcend later.

At least he was doing his job as my manager.

But Dokgak quickly noticed Bihyeong’s actions and glared at him.

[Bihyeong?]

[...Y-yes!]

[Don’t forget to explain the items to the constellations. Did you forget?]

[A-ah, I understand!]

As Bihyeong began explaining the items to the Seoul Dome’s constellations, I turned to Yu Junghyeok.

"Junghyeok, which one are you going to choose?"

Since I had the priority, I figured I’d let him choose first. After all, he had been a great help.

...And no, this wasn’t because I hoped he might stop punching me so hard.

"Yu Junghyeok?"

He didn’t respond.

He only stared at me silently.

"Are you standing up asleep again?"

I waved my hand in front of his face several times, but his gaze didn’t waver.

[The character Yu Junghyeok is using the skill Recovery Hibernation Lv.3.]

...Well, no wonder. It was a miracle he even moved like that with his body in such a state.

Given that he had resorted to using Recovery Hibernation, his condition must have been abysmal.

Using Midday Tryst, I left him a simple message. Han Suyeong, who had been observing nearby, suddenly spoke up.

"…Can I choose for him, then?"

"Only if you’re okay with getting beaten up by him later."

Suyeong instantly went quiet. I turned back to Bihyeong.

"I’ll take the ‘Infinite Dimensional Subspace Coat.’"

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t Bihyeong who replied but Dokgak. He snapped his fingers, and the catalog disappeared.

[You’ve made a great choice. Now, let’s move to the reward location.]

Reward location?

[Additional rewards cannot be distributed here due to procedural requirements.]

What was this nonsense?

"Where exactly are we going?"

[I’ll escort you to my ‘Dokkaebi Gamtu.’]

In traditional folk tales, the Gamtu was a hat worn by government officials, but the "Dokkaebi Gamtu" wasn’t just a cap. It was a kind of space—a "room" where dokkaebis concealed their true forms.

"That’s inconvenient. I’d rather you hand it over here."

It was risky to enter his Gamtu. Who knew what could happen inside?

Furthermore, as far as I knew, there was no rule requiring a visit to the Gamtu to receive additional rewards.

Bihyeong’s nervous gaze darted toward me.

Dokgak’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

[Hmm... If you keep complaining, I might just cancel the reward.]

"Go ahead."

The Star Stream was meticulous about scenario rewards. Even in sub scenarios, which depended heavily on dokkaebi discretion, rewards couldn’t be rescinded after the scenario concluded.

A wide smile spread across Dokgak’s face.

[How amusing.]

—I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

The dokkaebi’s communication buzzed through the air as Dokgak slowly began to speak. His voice interweaved, echoing with two distinct tones.

[Kim Dokja, I’ve heard much about your stories. You’re so renowned that even the constellations across the peninsula know of you.]

—Let me get straight to the point. Join my channel.

[They said you were bold even before dokkaebis. Now I see that reputation wasn’t a lie.]

—I’m planning to expand my channel’s reach to include the Korean peninsula. Whatever terms you want, I’ll accommodate them.

How amusing. For him to make such an offer now.

Dokgak’s proposal was equivalent to being scouted by a top-tier European football team while playing in a mid-tier Asian league. On the surface, it was a tempting offer.

The problem was what happened after.

I knew what kind of being Dokgak was.

“You must be mistaken. I’m actually a coward. Even talking to you like this is terrifying for me. So just hand over the item and get lost.”

For the first time, Dokgak’s confident expression hardened.

[How fascinating. You’re humble as well.]

—Your arrogance knows no bounds. But don’t worry, you’ll soon learn to be humble.

“…What are you talking about?”

—The channel managed by Bihyeong won’t be around for much longer.

A peculiar smile curled on Dokgak’s lips.

—If that’s your attitude, I have no choice. Originally, I planned to make this announcement after handing over the rewards…

Announcement? What announcement?

Dokgak turned his gaze skyward. Looking at the radiant constellations, his voice reverberated across Seoul like a loudspeaker.

[To the constellations who have been watching this scenario with great interest, I regret to deliver some unfortunate news.]

The lower-grade dokkaebis surrounding Bihyeong quickly retreated. Bihyeong stood frozen, confused. When dokkaebis acted this way, something terrible was bound to happen.

[Unfortunately, among the channels operating in the Seoul Dome, one has been found guilty of illegal scenario manipulation.]

[Many constellations are paying attention to Dokgak’s declaration.]

[The channel in question is dokkaebi Bihyeong’s channel #BI-7623. Upon investigation, it was concluded that excessive manipulation within the channel’s scenarios has severely violated the Probability framework.]

…Wait, what?

[Therefore, on behalf of the lower-tier dokkaebis in Seoul Dome, I formally request the Bureau to initiate a ‘Plausibility Review’ of this channel.]

Footnotes:

[1] Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese daimyō and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the Tenka-bito and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven".

[2] Miyamoto Musashi, born Shinmen Takezō, also known as Miyamoto Bennosuke and by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. 

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