Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint – Side Story - Chapter 16
——————
Chapter 16. Protagonist(?) (6)
I carefully examined the newly added chapters one by one.
Surprisingly, another chapter was added while I was going through them.
+
Episode 3. Protagonist(?) (6) +[21]
Episode 3. Protagonist(?) (5) +[24]
…
Episode 2. Rewrite (1) +[49]
Episode 1. The World After Completion (2) +[41]
Episode 1. The World After Completion (1) +[63]
Prologue. This is not an announcement +[98]
+
A total of 568 episodes.
What on earth happened?
Upon closer inspection, there was even an event side story inserted.
Come to think of it, I vaguely remember writing such a side story for Yoo Joonghyuk’s birthday event in the past.
But did I serialize that?
Anyway, it would be good if I could confirm the content.
After hesitating for a moment, I decided to check the comments on the recent serialized episodes.
[A daily free pass will be deducted.]
[Regardless of order, one random comment from this episode will be revealed.]
Free pass?
—1st place.
The visible comment was just one participating in a ranking game, and the rest were all covered in blind and not visible.
What’s going on?
I revisited the comments from episodes serialized long ago.
Upon closer inspection, comments up to episode 552 were all accessible.
The problem was with the comments from the episodes serialized after that.
[Comments from episodes after 553 can be checked for free up to 3 per day.]
[Currently holding 2 daily free passes.]
[When the free passes are exhausted, you can use coins to check comments.]
[3,000 coins will be deducted per comment.]
It was unbelievable.
An additional 3,000 coins for each additional comment?
No way, that’s my entire fortune right now.
I decided to start with the free passes given.
First, starting from episode 553.
[A daily free pass will be deducted.]
—Oh?
I felt a sense of injustice. I pressed on episode 556.
[A daily free pass will be deducted.]
[All the daily free passes given today have been used.]
—Wow, is this a story where the author is possessed by Cheon Inho?
Fortunately, this time there were comments that could be inferred from the main content.
As expected, the content of the serialized side story undoubtedly matched my current situation being possessed.
My mind was in confusion.
Who on earth is serializing this?
Is someone writing this story in my name instead of me?
If this were a novel, are my thoughts being described as they are?
‘If that’s the case, am I the one thinking, or is it being written by the author?’
I don’t know.
At this moment, there was nothing I could be sure of.
“Hey.”
Jung Heewon came to find me during a break after the food distribution.
“Can I sit here for a moment?”
“Oh, sure.”
Jung Heewon sat on the bench where I had been sitting.
However, she didn’t immediately strike up a conversation.
I didn’t feel it earlier because my mind was in chaos, but it felt strange now that the character I wrote was sitting next to me.
Certainly, this person is not fictional.
The white skin, long hair, and deep eyes looking at me were all real.
Jung Heewon was truly present before my eyes.
“I apologize for earlier. Sein said it was a misunderstanding. It seems she thought you resemble someone she disliked a lot….”
“Oh no, it’s easy to get confused. It’s okay.”
It’s not a resemblance; I am the real deal.
I pulled out a canned drink from my pocket and offered it.
“Would you like to have it?”
“Oh, thank you.”
We sat side by side, sipping the canned drink.
Looking at the empty tracks together, it reminded me of the main storyline in the web novel.
Come to think of it, Kim Dokja also had a conversation with Jung Heewon at the Geumho Station platform.
Jung Heewon spoke, “The train won’t come now, will it?”
No matter how long we waited, the train wouldn’t come.
The next train, and the one after that, would probably be the same.
However, the absence of trains didn’t mean people were dying immediately.
“Now we need to get used to walking.”
Jung Heewon glanced at me, saying, “Inho-ssi, you seem calm. I just can’t do that.”
“I usually have a lot of strange imaginations.”
At the mention of strange imaginations, Jung Heewon gave a wry smile.
“It’s interesting. Sein said something similar.”
In the distance, Kyung Sein was teaching squats to Dansoo ahjussi.
Straighten your back, don’t let your knees come out too much, in a world like this, you need strong legs to survive, and so on…
“If it weren’t for Sein, I might have died.”
According to Jung Heewon, she and Gyeong Sein were trapped in the same zone in the first scenario.
I vaguely knew the details.
She told me that, as she panicked, Kyung Sein caught a bug her, and that’s how they survived.
“Fortunately, there were many bugs.”
“There was only one bug.”
“What?”
Come to think of it, we were lucky to have vending machines in our area, but I’m sure not all areas had.
Surely, there were zones with almost no bugs.
“I’m the only one who survived by bugs.”
“Then what about Sein-ssi?”
“It was self-defense. She was a person with nothing to say even if she died.”
The expression on Jung Heewon’s face as she said that, somehow reminded me of the ‘Judge of Evil’ from Omniscient Reader that I knew.
But Kyung Sein killed someone?
It didn’t seem possible at first glance.
“By the way, Cheon Inho-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Do you happen to know me?”
“What?”
“Both what you mentioned earlier and…”
What did I mention earlier?
“That… No, it’s not like that.”
“I love you, Heewon… Seriously…”
Suddenly, chills ran down my forearm.
“Oh, that.”
Thinking about it, it wasn’t strange that Jung Heewon misunderstood me in that kind of situation.
“Just forget about it.”
“Should I?”
“Yes.”
I thought I felt a strange gaze in the distance, but it was Kyung Sein who had stopped squatting and was staring at us.
Jung Heewon sighed in relief.
“I’m relieved. I was worried that you might be a strange person.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
I’m afraid of what Ji Eunyoo will say if she finds out.
Where would you find an author confessing to a character they created?
Jung Heewon scratched her cheek at my strong denial and smiled.
“Anyway, keep up the good work. I was a bit surprised to watch you distribute food to people earlier, I didn’t expect that.”
[Character ‘Jung Heewon’ has a faint sense of trust in you.]
Finally, I understood why Jung Heewon approached me.
[More than half of the people in the current area consider you their leader.]
[You have conquered ‘Geumho Station.’]
[Sub-scenario rewards are given.]
[You have gained 500 coins.]
[If you survive until the fourth main scenario, you can receive additional benefits due to the completion of sub-scenarios.]
[The Constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ says your strategies are quite effective.]
Wow, there were rewards like this too?
Cheon Inho didn’t get to enjoy any of this and died right away in the main story.
I should treat Kim Dokja well when I meet him.
Yeah, Kim Dokja.
It was about time to go and meet the real Kim Dokja.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes.”
“Just a little more, please wait.”
——————
HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
——————
Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi each held a pipe wrapped with cloth as a temporary weapon for us.
“But are you going to leave the Cheoldoo group here? I thought you made a group to lead the way in times like this.”
It wasn’t a wrong assumption.
However, it might create a more awkward situation if I randomly carried the Cheoldoo group and happened to run into Kim Dokja or Yoo Joonghyuk.
Kyung Sein nodded, seemingly understanding.
“Well, it’s just asking for misunderstandings. But, speaking of which, isn’t Cheon Inho’s existence a problem?”
“If you think about it that way, I can come up with some excuse for just myself.”
“What are you going to say?”
“It should be Sein-ssi who says it. Do you think Kim Dokja or Yoo Joonghyuk would listen if I said something?”
“Oh, right. Will it be like that? Uh… What should I say? I’m not good at talking. By now, where do you think those two are?”
“They probably just finished the ‘Even Bridge’ scenario.”
In the original story, Kim Dokja’s group scattered as Dongho Bridge collapsed.
“Kim Dokja is probably about to be eaten by Ichthyosaur, so we have a higher chance of meeting Yoo Joonghyuk, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Gilyoung first.”
Logically, that makes sense.
Of course, assuming the scenario unfolds in a similar way to the main story.
“We might be able to meet Han Myungoh.”
The one who said that was Dansoo ahjussi.
Finally, it seemed that the old man was ready to leave, and something was sparkling on top of his head.
It looked like he received some rewards from the constellation.
Fortunately, it seems the Constellation is not too bad.
[The Constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ looks forward to incarnation ‘Lee Dansoo.’]
“Are the three of us really going? Is it okay?”
Dansoo ahjussi had a strangely worried expression.
Actually, I was worried too.
Right now, we only had a man with a naturally muscular body and a girl with the soul of a muscular man.
“Do you happen to have any combat skills, like [Weapon Training]?”
Both Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi simultaneously shook their heads.
[Weapon Training] was the most basic weapon skill in the original story.
We didn’t even have that basic skill.
However, Kyung Sein was confident.
“Even so, we should be able to handle a few rats, right? With a jackal.”
I agreed with her.
Who were we?
I am the author of Omniscient Reader (though Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi still didn’t know), and a party of readers.
After all, it’s a story where the author, reader, and protagonist work together to reach the ending, so there’s nothing we can’t do.
“But, can we talk about novels like this? The Constellations—”
“It should be fine. Even in Omniscient Reader, all the stuff about Ways of Survival is filtered out at the beginning.”
“But there’s no guarantee that it’s the same here—”
[The Constellation ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’ grumbles, asking what the hell we’re talking about.]
[The Constellation ‘Pig Living in a Brick House’ protests that the conversation filtering seems to be applied incorrectly.]
Kyung Sein shook her head in admiration.
“Wow, really. It’s indeed Omniscient Reader.”
Was that an insult or a compliment?
I didn’t bother to ask.
We headed straight for the tunnel leading to Oksu Station.
As the darkness of the narrow tunnel enveloped us, suddenly, the sound of breathing became prominent.
One step, two steps.
With each step, the chilling air seeped through our ankles.
The sense of being exposed to real danger transmitted through our skin.
Though it seemed like all three of us were thinking the same thing, no one voiced their thoughts.
Eventually, the first to speak was Kyung Sein, the woman with the soul of a muscular man.
“Shouldn’t we just turn back? Honestly, we could wait at Geumho Station and still meet them. Is it necessary to go looking for trouble?”
“It’s better if we go. We don’t know what might have happened.”
“Well… the content of the first scenario did change.”
“Let’s go first, and if it seems dangerous, we can run away.”
Of course, there was no intention to run away.
For the sake of future safety, meeting the main characters at this time was the best option.
The worst-case scenario would be if Kim Dokja and other main characters died.
However, even if they all died, one person would still be alive – Yoo Joonghyuk.
The true protagonist and the most powerful incarnation in ‘Ways of Survival’.
If things turned for the worst, someone had to face Yoo Joonghyuk in place of Kim Dokja.
Persuading him, manipulating him, somehow reaching the end of this disastrous scenario was essential.
‘But who among us can handle that task?’
After a brief contemplation, I returned to reality, hearing the conversation between Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi.
The two seemed to have become quite friendly, squatting together.
“Did you also sign a contract with the Constellation?”
“Yes.”
“With whom did you sign the contract?”
“Sneaking Schemer.”
“Sneaking Schemer?”
“Yes, a famous Constellation.”
Despite my clear instructions not to mention it, Dansoo ahjussi couldn’t contain his pride and proudly blurted it out.
By the way, Dansoo ahjussi was still confusing ‘Sneaking Schemer’ with the most powerful Constellation in Omniscient Reader, ‘Secretive Plotter.’
And just now,
“That’s not that Constellation?”
He found out that this Constellation was not the one he originally thought of.
“Did you casually skim through the novel?”
Dansoo ahjussi asked with a voice full of suspicion, Kyung Sein responded with a frown.
“What are you talking about? I’ve read it thoroughly. I’ve also read the ‘Encyclopedia of Omniscient Reader’ compiled by ‘RepresentativeKimDokja’ at least ten times. How many times have you read it, Dansoo ahjussi?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Alright, you’ve said enough. The Constellation you’re talking about is ‘Secretive Plotter,’ not ‘Sneaking Schemer.’ How can you confuse them?”
“That can’t be….”
Dansoo ahjussi’s pupils shook as if there was an earthquake.
“Su-surely Jiyoon said this Constellation is the best….”
“Because of Jiyoon or whoever, you’re completely ruined, Dansoo ahjussi. It clearly looks like a strange Constellation.”
“Jiyoon is my daughter.”
I watched the conversation with interest, but suddenly realized that there was no message from ‘Sneaking Schemer.’
Speaking so openly about oneself usually prompts a comment.
Did they leave the channel?
I suddenly felt uneasy.
If we had made Bihyung’s channel less popular, the planned stream contract talks could fall through.
‘Bihyung. Are you there?’
Even when trying to initiate a conversation, there was no response.
It couldn’t be that the communication was cut off, right?
[A few constellations are talking about who is ‘Sneaking Schemer’.]
I realized that the channel wasn’t dead, as there still was a response from the constellations.
I put aside the complicated thoughts for later; now was the time to act.
“Shall we pick up the pace a bit?”
“Sure.”
“Let’s do it.”
And after one minute passed, “You all have slowed down.”
“Inho-ssi, you should take the lead. You’re the leader.”
This party was not a powerful party of a writer and two completionists.
It was just a party of cowards.
At this rate, it would be difficult to arrive at Oksu Station even if we walked all day.
“Hey, guys.”
Unexpectedly, it was Dansoo ahjussi who came to the rescue, looking like he was thinking about something.
“If it’s okay, I think it would be better for me to scout alone.”
“What? You’re going to get yourself killed, ahjussi. Your sponsor isn’t Secretive Plotter.”
“I know. My sponsor is Sneaking Schemer.”
For some reason, at that moment, Dansoo ahjussi looked dignified again, resembling Kim Dokja.
“So, there’s something I can do.”
Dansoo ahjussi touched the ground quietly, muttering something with his mouth.
After a while, dozens of cockroaches gathered on the floor.
“Ah, yuck!”
Kyung Sein clung to me.
I stepped back to avoid Kyung Sein.
The cockroaches that had gathered around Dansoo ahjussi seemed to communicate with him, moving their antennae as if in response.
Soon, they formed a single fine line and started moving towards Oksu Station.
Shaking, Kyung Sein asked,
“Dansoo ahjussi, isn’t that [Diverse Communication]? How did you learn that skill? Isn’t it a trait of an insect collector?”
As far as I remembered, there were only a few main characters in the original novel who had that skill.
Dansoo ahjussi wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, “I received it from the Constellation.”
From the Constellation?
Did Dansoo ahjussi’s Constellation really give him such a skill as a gift?
[The constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ rejoins the channel.]
[The constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ expresses surprise, saying he just finished eating and you’re already here.]
In a very short moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
[The constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ chuckles contentedly while looking at the cockroaches.]
No way…
It can’t be, right?
——————