Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 559

Chapter 559

For a long time, I gazed at the insect’s remains.

It was illogical. The <Star Stream> system had to be malfunctioning if it continued to classify this bug as ‘alive’.

«We did what you asked. Now we just wait, right?»
«Hey, we finished the task, let us go!»

Why was there no notification of the scenario’s completion? The moment the bug was eliminated, a system alert should have appeared.

[A critical issue has been detected within the main scenario system.]

With a crackling static noise, Bihyung materialized from nothing. He turned to look at us, his expression deeply troubled.

[Well… folks.]

The instant I saw his face, I understood what I had overlooked.

I had been a fool. How could I have missed it?

—Looks like someone else is also being clever.

Bihyung had said that earlier, in the dokkaebi communication channel.

It implied that I wasn’t the sole individual approaching the scenario in an unconventional manner.

My initial assumption was that he meant Kim Dokja.

But I had failed to account for one possibility.

There was more than one ‘reader’ in this scenario.

Bihyung, his lips twitching, spoke in a voice full of reproach.

[You all seem to believe this is a simple game of exterminating pests. This scenario is truly unusual. How can the same event occur simultaneously in so many places?]

I looked over at the reader ahjussi. He appeared to be reaching the same conclusion.

«It can’t be……»

Somewhere in the world, there were others who had read ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ just like him.

They knew the solution to the first scenario, just as we did, and had chosen to clear it by killing bugs.

What we hadn’t anticipated was that this solution had been used by far too many people.

[The Bureau has identified an anomalous manipulation of the scenario’s flow.]
[The balance of Probability is beginning to shift.]
[The will of the <Star Stream> is stirring.]

A trope that had been overused to the point of losing all its originality.

[I must admit, humans are impressively cruel, slaughtering defenseless insects to ensure their own survival…]

My eyes fell upon the bug carcasses scattered across the station floor. Miserably crushed and trampled bodies.
The acknowledgment of bugs as ‘living beings’ suggested they too were ‘participants in the scenario’.

So what did that make us, in their eyes?

Bihyung looked at the bug remains on the ground, shook his head, and turned away.

«W-what does that mean?»
«I thought we had to kill bugs to survive?»
«It’ll be okay, he’s just trying to frighten us, right?»
«Exactly, we followed the rules!»

In this world, the rules of the ‘scenario’ were absolute.
The ‘Main Scenario’, in particular, held an authority that not even the dokkaebis could defy.
No matter how much Bihyung disapproved of the situation, the main scenario could not be altered unless the entire Bureau acted.

*Tchuchuchuchut.*

It had to be that way.

«U-uaaah! What’s happening?»

This had never occurred in ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’.
Not even when <Kim Dokja’s Company> reached the 1,865th cycle with the Group Regression.

I instinctively looked upward.
I couldn’t see any stars through the ceiling, but somewhere in that hidden sky, constellations were undoubtedly watching our struggle underground.

[The Probability of the <Star Stream> is in motion.]

I recalled the grand principle of the <Star Stream> that I had forgotten for the last three years.
‘The Probability of the <Star Stream> flows toward whatever the stars find most interesting.’

[The contents of the main scenario have been altered.]

It felt as if the very axis of the universe was tilting.
And with that shift, I could hear the laws of the world being rewritten.

[For the duration of this scenario, ‘bugs’ are no longer classified as ‘living creatures’.]
[For the purposes of this scenario, ‘killing a bug’ will no longer be recognized as ‘killing a living thing’.]

Screams erupted from all around.
In the dark reflection of a window, I saw my own face.
A strange man was smiling back at me through the glass.

「 Now this feels more like the true ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’. 」

I once wrote that a story becomes a different story when you read it again. I still believe that.
But I never meant it like this.

<Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value>
Clear Conditions: Kill one or more living creatures.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Reward: 300 coins
Failure: Death
* For this scenario, ‘bugs’ are not considered ‘living things’.
* The clearance conditions for this scenario are now locked and will not change again.

Upon a second reading, the scenario had truly been transformed.
The ‘bug killing’ method Kim Dokja used was now forbidden.

«H-how can you change it just like that!»
«Did anyone get a different message?»

Judging by their panicked faces, no one else had received a clearance notice.
I glanced toward the reader ahjussi, and he spoke in a hushed tone.

«It says I cleared it.»

Fortunately, the reader ahjussi had been the first to kill a bug, and his clearance was still recognized.
«Don’t draw attention. Act like you failed too.»
«Alright, but what about you…?»

I shook my head, and his face lost all color.
He must have been blaming himself for my impending death.

«Oh no. Then—»
«Don’t worry about me. I’m not the one you should be concerned for.»
«What?»
«The rules have changed. The person who was supposed to live might now die.»

The person who was supposed to live.
Namely, those who had survived by ‘killing bugs’ in the original Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

«It’s not possible.»

The reader ahjussi seemed to have realized it too.

「 Kim Dokja could die. 」

We didn’t know yet if these new rules were localized or applied to the entire scenario area.
But we had to prepare for the worst. If, by some chance, this change resulted in Kim Dokja’s death, then—

「 Someone will have to take Kim Dokja’s place. 」

The reader ahjussi asked, his lips quivering.
«What do we do now?»
«We need to think. I don’t have an answer yet.»

The terrified crowd began shouting into the air.
«We killed a living thing! What is this?»

[A handful of constellations are chuckling with amusement.]

It was the first message we had received from the constellations.
The stunned people looked around in horror.

Deacon Kim Cheolyang rushed over and grabbed my shoulders.
«Brother, what do we do? Is there another way besides the bugs?»

Not just Kim Cheolyang, but everyone who had been hunting bugs now surged toward me.
«You got us into this! What are we supposed to do now?»
«Take responsibility!»

They yelled at me. As if I were the one to blame for this entire situation.
I responded calmly.

«Because of me?»
«Y-yeah, you’re responsible! You’re the reason we’re all going to die!»
«Stay calm. No one is going to die. Just because the bug method failed doesn’t mean there’s no way out.»
«He’s right. I could just kill you instead.»

The large man who had stopped stomping on bugs was now walking toward me, dragging his sneakers.
I looked at him and spoke.

«Certainly, that is an option. If you’re prepared to handle the consequences.»
«What consequences?»
«After it’s over, people will remember the one who did the killing.»

If he were Kim Namwoon, this logic wouldn’t have worked.
But this large man wasn’t as unhinged as Kim Namwoon, and he halted his advance.
In the future, only murderers would survive. However, that wasn’t a conclusion ordinary people could easily reach.
It was this lack of imagination that I exploited.

«Then what? We need to kill a living thing to survive.»
«We can kill something. Just not a bug, and not a person.»
«What if the conditions change again? We already failed once.»
«They won’t change this time.»
«How can you be sure?»
«Have you actually read the scenario window?»

I could see people frantically pulling up the scenario message.
«He’s right, it says the conditions are locked now.»
«Can we trust that?»

I hadn’t planned to go this far, but the momentum was now on my side.
«There will be a prime ministerial address on the news soon. A Level 1 National Disaster will be declared.»
«What?»
«This is what he’s going to say.»

I spoke like a news anchor, reciting the opening lines of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ that I had revised countless times.
«To all my fellow citizens, unidentified terrorists are currently active in an unspecified number of areas, including Seoul.»

At my words, people opened their phones and began searching the internet.
I quickly added before they could find the live broadcast.

«For your information, the president is already dead, and the prime minister will be killed during his speech.»

Less than ten seconds later, someone shrieked.
«The prime minister is really speaking!»

The prime minister’s voice emanated from phones throughout the station.
—To all my fellow citizens, unidentified terrorists are currently active in an unspecified number of areas, including Seoul.

They were the exact words I had spoken. The next sentence was identical.
The current government will fight against the terrorists with all means and methods, and there will be no negotiations. Therefore, the people should go about their daily lives with peace of mind…….

As the Prime Minister continued, the people stared at me as if bewitched.
Then.

«U-uaaak!»

A citizen screamed and dropped his phone.
The prime minister was dead.
His head had exploded on live television.

«What in the world is this……!»
As events unfolded exactly as I had predicted, the large man stammered.
«You must have looked it up online secretly.»
«W-what are you talking about, it was a live broadcast!»
«How did you know that, brother?»

I didn’t answer.
A few gunshots rang out, and Bihyung’s face replaced the prime minister’s on the screens.
Gulps of fear could be heard all around.

[Everyone, I’ve told you already. This isn’t a game or an act of ‘terrorism’.]

I was certain other readers were witnessing the same thing I was.
But from this moment on, they were about to see a different story.
Normally, at this juncture, the remaining time would be cut by ten minutes, and if the first kill didn’t happen within five minutes, a penalty would activate, erasing all life in the vicinity.
This would not happen now.

「 Because the scenario’s clearance conditions are now permanently locked. 」

After the Bureau intervened once to exclude ‘bugs’ from the scenario, the first scenario’s conditions were completely fixed.
Consequently, the ‘time penalty’ would not be triggered.

[There are 20 minutes remaining.]

With a beep, a timer materialized in the air, and Bihyung laughed.

[Twenty minutes remain. If you wish to live, I suggest you get motivated. Especially if you don’t want to share your leaders’ fate.]

With those words, the screen displayed the heads of National Assembly members exploding.
People recoiled in horror.

«What kind of nightmare is this—»
«U-uwaaa!»

A profound sense of dread blanketed the entire station. Strangely, this horror ignited a deep excitement within me.
Suddenly, I had an overwhelming urge to write.

「 We gained 10 extra minutes, so killing those bugs wasn’t a complete waste. 」

If I survived this, I might just write that side story after all.

[Your ‘exclusive skill’ is growing more active.]