Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 557
Chapter 557
557 Episode 2. Rewrite (2)
In the story ‘Omniscient Reader’, there is a moment when Kim Dokja is stuck inside a subway car and receives a text file of ‘Ways of Survival’ from tls123.
It seemed that ‘RepresentativeKimDokja’ was now creating a similar situation.
Under normal circumstances, I might have found it amusing, but now was not the time for laughter.
I was in real danger of dying.
Was that person the one who introduced me to ‘Omniscient Reader’?
I couldn’t be sure. Still, the situation suggested there might be a link.
I tried to send a response.
[You cannot reply to this message.]
I should have expected it, if this was really like ‘Omniscient Reader’.
I focused on the gift Kim Dokja had mentioned.
If Kim Dokja received the ‘Ways of Survival’ text file, then I probably got something comparable.
But no matter how far I scrolled, there were no attachments.
—We’re sending you a small gift in anticipation for your series.
That was all the message said. No files were attached, and I didn’t feel any new skill awakening within me.
So what was it?
I noticed the message had been delivered through a web novel platform.
It was the same app I had always used.
Wait, does this app exist in this worldline too?
Most features were unusable since the app wasn’t native to this world, but I could still access my own novel without issue.
Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint – 551 chapters
-Author Lee Hakhyun
The familiar layout of the platform appeared, displaying the list of episodes.
……
Episode 1. Starting the Paid Service (4) +[117]
Episode 1. Starting the Paid Service (3) +[164]
Episode 1. Starting the Paid Service (2) +[158]
Episode 1. Starting the Paid Service (1) +[332]
Prologue. Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World +[681]
……
So this was the so-called gift from ‘RepresentativeKimDokja’.
Just as tls123 sent Kim Dokja the file of ‘Ways of Survival’, I had been given ‘Omniscient Reader’ by ‘RepresentativeKimDokja’.
It wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for, but it was better than nothing. After three years, even the author is bound to forget some details of their own story.
I grew curious about Kim Dokja in the early stages of the first scenario.
What would he be doing right now?
It should be around chapter 4 or 5.
I tapped on chapter 5.
ᅳHow can the protagonist be so composed? Wasn’t he a total failure in life?
But instead of the story, a reader’s comment appeared.
I tapped the screen again.
ᅳThe scenario is way too hard…
Another comment.
At first, I assumed it was a glitch.
But after repeated attempts yielded only more comments, I understood the true nature of this “gift.”
No way.
Some comments felt vaguely familiar; others I didn’t recall at all.
It made sense. Three years had passed.
Wow, I’m really going to die in the first scenario.
My thoughtless scrolling began to feel weighted with significance.
After a brief hesitation, I scrolled upward.
ᅳHmm… I don’t think I could do that.
ᅳOnly the main character can pull that off. An ordinary person would’ve died already.
The damp, still air of the underground seemed to cling to my senses.
Suddenly, I was back in the theater at Chungmuro.
I read through the comments left by readers on the screen.
Some of those readers were in elementary school then, some in middle or high school, some in college, some working jobs… Some were preparing for military service or employment.
The history they lived through was still preserved here.
ᅳI don’t think I could kill anyone… I’d probably just wait quietly for the end.
I thought of ‘Judge Heewon’, who solved the quiz with bright eyes, and the young reader who was so concerned about Kim Dokja’s fate.
The reader who expertly explained the significance of the number 1,863, the one who remembered the total count of ■…… and all the other readers whose faces I never knew.
«It won’t budge! What do we do?»
«Shut up and push harder!»
Those readers who had entered the theater, taken the quiz, and vanished into the light behind the curtain.
«Somebody, do something!»
What if—
«Please, let me out! I need to get out of here!»
What if it wasn’t just me? What if other readers were here too?
«Help me! Somebody help!»
[There are 27 minutes remaining.]
I knew this wasn’t the time for such thoughts. My survival was at stake; I had to find Kim Dokja, no matter what.
Kim Dokja.
«Hey.»
Somehow.
«Maybe.»
I had to meet him…
«Bugs……»
I turned toward the voice, startled.
A man who appeared to be in his forties stood there. His eyes were a deep brown, his eyebrows strong and defined.
I was certain I didn’t know him.
What had he just said?
Trying to steady my racing heart, I forced a tone of casual boldness.
«Excuse me? What did you say?»
He studied me for a moment before speaking.
«I asked if you could show me how to catch bugs too.»
I observed him silently.
His expression was unreadable.
I could feel others glancing in our direction.
Drawing the wrong kind of attention here could jeopardize the entire scenario.
After a brief pause, I blinked slowly, then tilted my head toward the base of the vending machine.
«Ah.»
He let out a soft sound of understanding.
I added quietly but firmly,
«Don’t attract attention. I’m not sure how many are left.»
He nodded thoughtfully, then crouched down and began searching beneath the vending machine.
I shifted subtly to block him from view, pretending to be disinterested.
I wondered if saving him was the right decision.
This choice could create a branch偏离 from the main storyline. But……
«I found one. Thank you.»
It didn’t take long for him to find a bug.
It was tiny—so small it was hard to tell if it was even carrying eggs.
«Kill it. Now.»
He nodded and crushed the bug immediately.
«Ah.»
A soft light glowed briefly in his hand before fading.
The man’s gaze grew distant as he stared into empty space.
He had likely cleared the scenario.
Fortunately, the “bug hunting” method still worked.
«Yeah, really. This is……»
I stared at him in disbelief, then decided to test him.
«1,863.»
«What?»
«1,863.»
I needed confirmation.
If he had truly read ‘Omniscient Reader’, he would understand.
The middle-aged man paused, then spoke.
For a moment, I felt disappointed by his seemingly blank expression.
Maybe I had imagined it.
But then he continued,
«If you mean 1,863…… is it from ‘that novel’……»
I looked at him sharply. He was watching me too.
I could see a faint blend of relief and despair in his eyes.
«Am I right?»
So he was a reader of ‘Omniscient Reader’. I didn’t know if he had been in the event theater with me, but like me, he had been pulled into this world.
His lips trembled as he whispered,
«How did this happen……»
«This isn’t the time for details. Keep your voice down.»
«Ah, yes. Do you think there are others?»
«If there are, they’ll likely make themselves noticeable.»
He didn’t strike me as particularly sharp.
Even so, he had recognized this as the first scenario of ‘Omniscient Reader’, and he noticed when I captured the bug.
Other readers would likely do the same.
At the very least, they would be watching me and this man, or searching for bugs on their own.
[There are 25 minutes remaining.]
We observed the others for a while. No one stood out or did anything unusual.
The man asked,
«What about the others……?»
«The others?»
«Those people.»
I knew who he meant.
The ones clutching their phones in terror, and those still desperately pushing against the invisible barrier.
«There’s no doubt this is real, right?»
«……»
«If this continues, they’ll all die.»
I understood what he was implying. If he was a reader of ‘Omniscient Reader’, his concern made sense.
But I wasn’t just a reader.
«We can’t save everyone.»
I kept my voice low to avoid being overheard by constellations or others.
«If we want to clear this scenario safely, we can’t deviate too much from the plot. You know that.»
«The bug you caught earlier……»
He hesitated, then asked,
«Why haven’t you killed it yet?»
This guy was surprisingly perceptive.
I replied in the sternest tone I could manage,
«Even Kim Dokja wouldn’t save them. You know what they’re like.»
«Kim Dokja……»
The man’s eyes grew distant for a moment, as if sifting through old memories. He smiled bitterly.
«My daughter adored that character.»
What had brought this man here?
An old question resurfaced in my mind:
「If Kim Dokja were back in the first scenario, what would he do?」
«Hey, you!»
Someone was charging toward us like a wild boar.
It was the large man who had been shoving against the barrier earlier.
«What are you doing? Can’t you see everyone else working hard?»
Before I could answer, he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me violently toward the vending machine. His strength was overwhelming—he must have had a strength stat of at least 7.
I let out a sharp breath as my feet left the ground.
So this was how Kim Dokja felt.
Alarmed, the man grabbed the large guy’s arm.
«Wait, you can’t do that.»
The large man frowned and looked down at him as if he were an insect.
He released me and slapped the man across the face. The man groaned faintly and collapsed to the floor.
«Didn’t you hear me? Everyone over there is trying! Did you think I wouldn’t notice you hiding here like rats?»
I steadied my breathing and stepped toward the large man.
It was my first time witnessing such raw violence up close. Blood stained the floor, and the man reached out to me pleadingly.
Of course, someone should stop this.
It’s common sense.
Such violence has no place in the world.
«You should’ve helped when we asked. Tsk.»
«They hid to save themselves?»
«They had it coming.»
When I turned, they averted their eyes as if they had said nothing.
「I’d foolishly forgotten. This world is fiction.」
I thought, gripping the bug in my pocket tightly.
Would killing it for a few coins be enough to save him?
The large man’s physique was far superior to mine or the man’s.
Then I remembered the system messages.
[You can use the possessed person’s exclusive attributes.]
[You can use the possessed person’s exclusive skills.]
I was inhabiting someone else’s body.
And this character… was someone unfamiliar.
‘I’ll use it.’
I didn’t know.
Anything was better than being “Lee Hakhyun”.
[The possessed’s exclusive attribute has been activated.]
[The possessed’s exclusive skill has been activated.]
As the system message appeared, my mind grew calm. What to say and what to do became clear.
「Don’t be afraid. This is actually fun.」
I took a breath and punched the vending machine as hard as I could.
Bang!
The startled crowd stepped back.
Bang, bang!
I struck the vending machine repeatedly.
A new bug emerged from underneath. Not a grasshopper or cockroach, but a small, nameless insect.
I stared at it for a moment.
«What, you want to die?»
The large man, who had been beating the older man, glared at me.
The slowly gathering crowd turned their attention toward me.
I spoke.
«Everyone.»
[The effect of the exclusive attribute is effective.]
This scenario could have been easy.
But the constellations know, the readers know, and I know—easy scenarios aren’t entertaining.
«I have something to tell you.»
I might be drawing unnecessary attention and making myself a target. I might be acting foolishly and ruining everything.
But I had to do this.
I didn’t particularly want to be a hero. This was simply the last shred of pride I had left.
「»Author-nim.»」
Ji Eunyoo’s voice echoed in my mind.
The man looked up at me, bleeding.
As I helped him to his feet, I thought:
Maybe this man was one of the readers in the theater. Or perhaps his daughter was.
I tried to picture the audience. But the theater had been too dark; I couldn’t see their faces.
「»Have you written anything?»」
So I decided to imagine the Kim Dokja I knew.
A man with a thin face and a cheeky grin.
A friend who loved stories more than anyone. He was willing to become the protagonist of my story, and in the end, he became the story itself.
I sold his stories, made money, and survived.
«Now, if you trust me and follow my instructions.»
I had to return what I had received from Kim Dokja.
«I will save all of you.»
With a story Kim Dokja doesn’t know yet.
.
.
.
[A constellation who hasn’t revealed their modifier is interested in your story.]
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