Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint – Side Story - Chapter 4
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Chapter 4: Rewrite (2)
In ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,’ there’s a scene where Kim Dokja is trapped in the subway, and tls123 sends him the text file for the ‘Three Ways to survive in an Apocalypse.’
It seemed like ‘Kim Dokja Representative’ was parodying that now.
Normally, I would have chuckled at this, but the situation didn’t allow it.
Because it was a situation where I could actually die.
Did this guy somehow possess me in ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’?
I don’t know. Considering the circumstances, there seemed to be some connection.
Anyway, I decided to check the gift that Kim Dokja Representative claimed to have sent.
Let’s see.
Kim Dokja received a text file for the ‘Three Ways to survive in an Apocalypse,’ so I might have received something similar.
But no matter how much I scrolled down, I couldn’t see any attached files.
―I sent a small gift in anticipation of the author’s serialization.
That was the end of the note.
There were no attached files, and I didn’t feel like I gained any new exclusive skills.
Then what is it?
I realized belatedly that the note was sent through a web novel platform.
Moreover, it was the app I originally used.
Wait a minute.
Does this app exist here too?
Most menus didn’t function properly, perhaps because it was an app that didn’t belong in this world.
However, the feature to check the novel I wrote worked correctly.
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Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint – Total 551 episodes
―Author Lee Hakhyun
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The episode list of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ with a familiar platform screen.
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…
Episode 1. Paid Service Starts (4) +[117]
Episode 1. Paid Service Starts (3) +[164]
Episode 1. Paid Service Starts (2) +[158]
Episode 1. Paid Service Starts (1) +[332]
Prologue. Three Ways to Survive in a World on the Brink +[681]
…
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It seems like this is the gift from ‘Kim Dokja Representative.’
Just as Kim Dokja received the text file for the ‘Three Ways to survive in an Apocalypse’ from tls123, I received ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ from Kim Dokja Representative.
It was a bit disappointing, but it was better than nothing.
Even if you’re an author, you tend to forget some of the in-story settings after three years since completion.
I suddenly became curious about Kim Dokja from the ‘First Scenario.’
What was he doing at this point?
By now, it should be around Episode 4 or 5.
I immediately clicked on Episode 5.
―Why is the protagonist so calm? Wasn’t he a loser before?
But what appeared before my eyes was not the text of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,’ but rather comments.
Did I click on the wrong thing? I clicked on the text again.
―The scenario is too difficult…
Another comment.
At first, I thought it might be a bug.
However, after clicking several times, only comments appeared.
It was only then that I realized what the ‘gift’ I received was.
No way.
There were comments that vaguely remembered and comments that I had no memory of at all.
It was only natural.
It was already three years ago.
―Wow, I might die in the first scenario.
As I absentmindedly scrolled, it suddenly felt like something heavy was hanging from the scroll.
After hesitating for a moment, I pushed the scroll up.
―Hmm… I don’t think I can do this.
―It’s because he’s the protagonist; if it were an ordinary person, they would have died by now.
The air felt dark and silent, as if I had returned to the theatre in Chungmuro.
I read the stories of the readers preserved on the screen.
Readers who were still in elementary school, in middle and high school, college students, and office workers…
Their histories were all vividly recorded.
―I really don’t have the courage to kill someone… I’ll just quietly wait till the end. Haha
As I contemplated, my gaze brightened, thinking about ‘Judge Heewon’ solving quizzes and the young reader asking about Kim Dokja’s life.
Readers who eloquently explained the secret of 1,863, readers who remembered the total number of ■…
Readers I didn’t recognize, sitting there with unknown faces.
“They’re not budging at all! What should we do?”
“Just push harder!”
The readers who came to the theatre, after answering the quizzes, disappeared into the light behind the curtain.
“Someone, please help us!”
If, hypothetically.
“Please bring us out! We need to leave from here!”
If not only me but other readers came here, what would happen?
“Save us! Please save us!”
[Current remaining time: 27 minutes.]
I know it’s not the time for such thoughts.
Now my nose feels like a stone.
I have to survive somehow to meet Kim Dokja.
Kim Dokja.
“Hey.”
Somehow.
“Perhaps.”
To meet…
“Bugs…”
I stared dumbfounded at the place where the voice came from.
In the direction I turned, a middle-aged man in his 40s stood.
Thick eyebrows and deep brown eyes.
Certainly, I didn’t know his face.
What did this man just say?
Trying to calm my pounding heart, I boldly spoke with an exaggerated tone.
“Yes? What are you talking about?”
The man glanced at me for a moment and then asked.
“Could you please tell me how to catch bugs?”
I glanced at the man for a moment.
A face that I couldn’t read.
I felt people turning their heads away from a distance.
I knew that drawing attention here could ruin the entire scenario.
After a moment of thought, I slowly blinked and turned my head to indicate the bottom of the vending machine.
“Ah.”
As if understanding from that alone, the man let out a small sigh.
I warned him,
“Don’t attract too much attention. We don’t know how many are left.”
The man nodded cautiously and began to reach under the vending machine, carefully, not to draw too much notice.
I subtly shifted my body to shield him from the view of others.
I questioned whether saving this person here was the right choice.
This decision could lead to a complete divergence in the ‘ORV’ storyline from the main one.
However…
“Found it. Thank you.”
Not long after, the man also found the bug.
It was a tiny bug, barely discernible, and impossible to gauge if it was pregnant or not.
“Kill it immediately.”
The man nodded and promptly squashed the bug.
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In that moment, a faint light appeared and vanished in the hand of the man who killed the bug.
His slightly relaxed eyes stared into some unknown space, probably where the scenario-clear message appeared.
Fortunately, ‘Killing the Bug’ still seemed to be effective.
I silently observed the man who had just killed the bug, then asked abruptly, “1,863.”
“Yes?”
“1,863.”
I wanted to make sure.
If this person really read ‘ORV,’ it was a number that had a significant meaning.
The middle-aged man smirked for a moment before responding,
“What does that mean?”
Staring at the puzzled look in the man’s eyes, I felt a bit disappointed.
Was it just my mistake?
However, the man added,
“1,863, is that related to the ‘novel’ by any chance?”
I reflexively looked at the man, and he was looking at me.
His eyes showed a faint mixture of relief and despair.
“Is my assumption correct?”
Indeed, this man was also a reader of ‘ORV.’
I wasn’t sure if he was with me in the event theater, but like me, he seemed to have suddenly found himself here.
The man mumbled with trembling lips,
“How could such a thing happen?”
“It’s not the time to discuss the details. Lower your voice a bit.”
“Oh, yes. Are there others here, by any chance?”
“If there are, they will undoubtedly behave conspicuously.”
In my observation, the man didn’t seem particularly sharp.
Despite that, he managed to realize that this world was the first scenario of ‘ORV,’ and he didn’t miss the scene where I caught the bug.
Then, other readers would likely be similar, at least observing us and making efforts to find the bug themselves.
[Current remaining time: 25 minutes.]
We observed people for a while, but there was no one displaying conspicuous behavior.
The man asked,
“What about the rest… What do you intend to do?”
“The rest?”
“Those people. You know who I’m talking about.”
In truth, I already knew who he was referring to.
People terrified, clutching their phones, and those still struggling to push against the transparent wall.
“No matter how you look at it, this is reality. Isn’t it?”
“…”
“If we leave it like this, those people will all die.”
I understood what the man was saying.
If he was a reader of ‘ORV,’ it made sense for him to speak that way.
However, I wasn’t a reader.
“We can’t save everyone.”
I spoke quietly to ensure this conversation didn’t reach the Seongjos and other players.
“To safely clear the scenario, we shouldn’t drastically change the course of events. You must know that.”
“I asserted as the man hesitated.
“Why haven’t you killed the bug you caught earlier?”
The man asked, interrupting my words.
The assertion that this man was clueless was now revoked.
In the most resolute voice I could muster, I replied,
“Kim Dokja wouldn’t have spared them either. Don’t you know who those people are?”
“Kim Dokja…”
For a moment, the man’s gaze became hazy.
Opening his mouth as if sifting through distant memories, he chuckled bitterly and said,
“My daughter really liked the protagonist.”
I wondered what kind of story led this man to be drawn to this place.
Suddenly, the previous question came to mind:
“If Kim Dokja returns to the first scenario, what would he do?”
“Hey, over there!”
Someone was rushing toward us like a wild boar.
It was the burly person who had been instructing others to push against the transparent wall.
“What are you guys doing? Can’t you see everyone’s working hard?”
Before I could respond, the burly person grabbed my collar, pushing me roughly toward the vending machine.
It was an incredible force, as if his strength level was at least 7.
In an instant, my feet left the ground, and I struggled to breathe.
This must have been how Kim Dokja felt.
The surprised man grabbed the burly person’s arm.
“Wait, you can’t do th—”
The burly person scowled, turning to face the man with a gaze as if looking at an insect.
Letting go of my collar, he struck the man’s face.
The man emitted a faint groan as he fell to the ground.
“Didn’t you hear me? Can’t you see others working hard over there? Did you think you could just hide like mice here among yourselves?”
I approached the burly person and the man, breathing steadily.
Witnessing this kind of realistic violence up close was a first for me.
Blood sprayed on the ground, and the man, reaching out as if pleading for mercy, was ignored.
Someone would surely intervene.
That was common sense.
Violence like this shouldn’t be tolerated.
“When everyone is helping, you should have helped too. Tsk tsk.”
“Are you comfortable hiding among yourselves?”
“It serves you right.”
“Everyone, lend a hand when others are in need. Tsk tsk. Hiding away just to make yourselves comfortable, huh? Serves you right.”
As I turned my head, people avoided eye contact, as if questioning when it had become like this.
‘Stupidly, I had forgotten. This world is a novel,’
I thought while gripping the bug tightly in my pocket.
Could I save the man by killing the bug and earning a few coins?
The burly person’s physique seemed far superior to mine or the man’s.
[You are currently in a ‘possession’ state.]
The system message popped up then.
[You can use the exclusive characteristics of the possessed target.]
[You can use the possessed target’s exclusive skills.]
I was in a possession state, and this character was someone unknown to me.
‘Use it.’
I decided.
Anything would be better than ‘Lee Hakyun.’
[The possessed target’s exclusive characteristics have been activated.]
[The possessed target’s exclusive skills have been activated.]
Along with the system messages, my mind suddenly cleared.
It felt as if the words I needed to say and actions I could take were neatly organized.
‘Don’t be afraid. It’s become interesting.’
I took a deep breath and swung my fist with all my might toward the vending machine.
Thud!
Startled people took a few steps back.
Thud! thud!
How many times did I hit the vending machine?
From underneath, a new bug emerged.
Not a grasshopper or a cockroach, but an unknown small insect.
I glanced at the bug for a moment.
“What? Do you want to die?”
When I raised my head, the burly person who had been beating the man glared at me.
The gathered crowd discreetly focused on me.
I spoke,
“Everyone.”
[The effect of the exclusive characteristic is activated.]
It was an easily accessible scenario.
Subtly, the gathered people were focusing on me.
However, easy scenarios are not interesting, and the Constellations, the readers, and I all knew that.
“I have something important to say to all of you.”
Unnecessarily drawing attention could make me a target.
I could risk ruining everything with a thoughtless act.
Nevertheless, I had to do it this way now.
I didn’t particularly want to be a hero.
This was just a last remnant of pride for me.
‘Author.’
Ji Eunyu’s voice echoed in my ears.
The man, bleeding, looked up at me.
I supported the fallen man and pondered.
Perhaps he was one of the theatre’s readers.
Or maybe one of the readers in the theatre was his daughter.
I imagined readers in my mind.
But the theatre’s darkness was too deep, and their faces didn’t come to mind easily.
“Are you hurt?”
So, I decided to imagine the Kim Dokja I knew.
A guy who often smirked arrogantly.
A friend who loved stories more than anyone else.
He willingly became the protagonist of my story, and eventually, the story itself.
I sold his story for money and ate meals.
I survived.
“From now on, if you believe and follow what I say…”
I had to return what I received to Kim, who still didn’t know about the story.
“I will save all of you.”
Still, with a story that Kim Dokja doesn’t know yet.
[Unless you reveal the modifier, an unknown Constellation will show interest in your story.]
Author’s note:
Surely, it can’t be Kim Dokja, right?!
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