Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 583

Chapter 583

Episode 5. Villain (8)

The Misreading Association began as a community for collectors of rare books.

It was a small club where people could read books that had gone out of print in Korea, untranslated classics, and share their thoughts with one another.

But as its membership expanded and the platform grew larger, issues started to emerge.

“Certain members began illegally sharing not just rare books, but also regularly published manhwa and novels without authorization.”

As rumors spread that paid content could be accessed for free, the site’s popularity surged, and it gradually took on a commercial shape. Adult advertisements covered the site, and funds from illegal gambling began to flow through it.

A few more years passed, the original founders vanished, and the site transformed completely into an illegal file-sharing platform.

After hearing Kyung Sein’s full explanation, I was puzzled.

“You mentioned that the Seven Apostles previously fought against the Misreading Association.”

“Ah, yes.”

“So the Seven Apostles were fighting an illegal website?”

“Well, that’s…”

Kyung Sein glanced at Killer King before adding softly,

“The Seven Apostles clashed with anonymous readers who turned out to be people reading the novel illegally through the ‘Misreading Association’.”

Finally, it made sense to me.

They were talking about individuals who read and distributed pirated copies of the novel.

Apparently, in this world, those who accessed the story through such means had also been transported here.

Killer King spoke up.

“I don’t know about you, but many writers quit creating or even took their own lives because of the Misreading Association.”

“……”

“They illegally consumed something that someone poured their life into. Many of my favorite authors vanished because of them.”

In truth, some of my own writer friends had stopped writing due to illegal sharing.

“Is that why you fought them?”

Killer King shook his head without giving an answer.

I have to admit, I was moved.

As a writer, I’ve often felt helpless about the fight against piracy, but to see a reader like Killer King take such direct action…

He was risking his life, not just leaving comments online.

I suddenly found myself wondering what kind of comments Killer King would have written.

[The exclusive skill ‘Readers’ Comments List’ has been activated!]

ID: killer_king
Platform: Sirius, Paper books
Total Comments: 491
Reader Level: 99
Number of Readers: 99.8 times

* You may use coins to view comments left by this reader.
* Number of comments currently available for free: 3.

I clicked on [View Comments] without a second thought.

I am Yoo Joonghyuk.
—Upvotes 0 / Downvotes 1
(Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, chapter 1)

I am Yoo Joonghyuk.
—Upvotes 0 / Downvotes 1
(Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, chapter 23)

I am Yoo Joonghyuk.
—Upvotes 0 / Downvotes 1
(Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, chapter 77)

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Sensing my stare, Killer King frowned at me.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, it’s just…”
“If you keep staring like that, I’ll kill you.”
“You really do sound like Yoo Joonghyuk.”

With a low grunt, Killer King pushed himself up and turned away, pretending to be uninterested.

He reminded me of a pouting younger cousin, and I was about to tease him again when a voice spoke up behind me.
“Hey, thanks for saving me.”

Literary Girl 64, who had finally come to, bowed her head weakly.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“No, we were just lucky.”
“You were lucky,” Killer King added, with a tone that somehow made me feel pleased.
“They didn’t take the random item box.”

At that, we all turned our attention to the gleaming box the Ratmen had left behind.

Killer King and his sister had likely come here for that box, too.

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to grow awkward, Killer King spoke again.
“I’ll let you have it.”
Literary Girl 64 nodded in agreement.

I could see Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi’s faces light up.

Even so, I shook my head.
“No, thank you. We’ll just take the remaining items.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. The other items are enough for us.”

I looked down at the items scattered on the ground.

Among them were the D-grade items Kim Dokja had acquired in the main story, as well as others that never made an appearance in the narrative.

As if offering one last chance, Killer King asked again,
“Did you not read the novel properly? Don’t you understand how valuable this item box is?”
“Really, the rest is plenty. Please, don’t insist.”

Killer King hesitated briefly, then took the item box, a clear desire in his eyes.
“I owe you. I’ll pay you back for sure.”

With that, Killer King turned and began to walk away.

Literary Girl 64 bowed once more before hurrying after her brother.

I asked Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi to sort the items, then walked Killer King back to the entrance of the Edge of Darkness.

Just before stepping across the boundary, Killer King paused.

From here, neither Dansoo ahjussi nor Kyung Sein could hear our conversation.
“I tried to kill all of you.”
“You did, and it was a terrible thing to do.”
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
“But you didn’t actually kill us, did you?”

Killer King frowned at me, as if he couldn’t quite figure me out.
“You, what’s your name?”
“Cheon Inho.”
“That Cheon Inho?”
“Yes.”

For some reason, that name always seems to get the same reaction from everyone who hears it.
“I can’t believe you’re possessing that bastard. I hope you’re not using the Cheoldoo Group to murder people.”
“If I were, you’d be dead already.”
“You… Who exactly are you?”

I shrugged and smiled.

For a moment, black energy flickered in Killer King’s eye. He had activated the stigma [Eye of Sin].

Suddenly, I felt curious.
“What do I look like to you?”

In his eyes, ‘Cheon Inho’ was labeled as ‘the murderer of 15 people’.

「 I am Lee Hakhyun. 」

Then what does ‘writer Lee Hakhyun’ look like?
“What…?”

The next instant, Killer King’s eyes widened, his entire retina turning deep black, as if filled with ink.

I wondered—what sins did his eyes see in me?

[The constellation ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos’ is startled!]

Tsuchuchuchuchut!

[The stigma ‘Eye of Sin’ has been forcibly terminated.]

Groaning in pain, Killer King looked at me with the eye that had used the stigma.
“What in the world are you? No… that’s impossible. Something must be malfunctioning.”

Muttering to himself, Killer King looked at me and said,
“There’s no way a villain like you could exist in this world.”

Killer King was looking at me with clear eyes, free of the [Eye of Sin]—eyes that had likely read Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 99 times.
“I wish you the blessing of the story.”

With those final words, Killer King walked away without turning back.

His younger sister glanced in my direction a few times before following her brother into the darkness beyond.

I stood still, waving until they had completely disappeared from view.

I hoped that they, too, would be blessed by the story.

—

Among the items gathered by Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi, some were more useful than I had expected.
“You should take this shield, Sein-ssi.”
“As expected, the ‘Old Iron Shield’ is a tanker’s standard.”

Old Iron Shield.

An item Lee Hyunsung used in the original story.

Among our group, it was the most suitable for Kyung Sein to wield.
“I’ll give you the Magic Power Recovery Bracelet.”
“Are you sure I can take it…? Thank you.”

Ahjussi slipped the bracelet onto his wrist as if it were a luxury watch and smiled contentedly.

That bracelet should be quite useful for someone using [Diverse Communication].

Aside from those, we also found rings with faint anti-demonic properties and gloves that offered a slight boost to defense.

It wasn’t everything we might have hoped for, but for this early stage, it would suffice.

The last item that caught my attention was something that looked like spoiled jelly.

[Item Information]
Name: Unformed Idea
Rating: D
Description: A formless weapon from the past. It could have become anything, but in the end, it became nothing.

Now that I thought about it, I had once designed an item like this. It was just a setting; I never imagined it would actually be here.

Once again, I felt certain:

This world contained countless ‘settings’ that never made it into the main story but remained in my notes.

「 So, did I create those settings, or did Han Sooyoung tell me about them? 」

It was then that Kyung Sein spoke up.
“By the way, Inho-ssi.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you give up the random item box?”

I was surprised she hadn’t asked sooner.

Judging by her expression, she’d been holding back for a while. To anyone else, it might have looked like I’d turned down a winning lottery ticket.

Well, to me, this was more important than any lottery.
“Actually, I was wondering the same thing, mate.”

Dansoo ahjussi cautiously raised his hand.

No wonder it seemed strange from their perspective.

It wasn’t just any item—it was the ‘random item box’.

An essential item for restoring Kim Dokja’s star relic, Unbroken Faith.

My reason for letting it go was simple.
“That box—I wouldn’t have been able to use it anyway.”
“What?”
“Someone else already used it.”
“No way… Who?”
“Did those Misreading Association people secretly use it?”

I shook my head at Dansoo ahjussi’s words.
“Someone was here before us.”

I was sure of it. It was only for a moment, but I had opened the item box myself to check. The item inside had already been used, reduced to nothing.

Dansoo ahjussi asked,
“Was there another reader who arrived before us?”
“We started at Geumho Station and only got here today. Our friend who read Omniscient Reader 99 times also arrived today.”
“Then who could it possibly have been…?”
“Common sense says there’s only one person who could have done it at this point.”

As if realizing who I meant, Kyung Sein swallowed hard and said,
“Yoo Joonghyuk.”

I nodded.

It was only about a stop and a half from Oksu Station to here.

If it was the same Yoo Joonghyuk who could take down a 7th-grade monster species with a single strike, he could have made it here in an hour.

Kyung Sein, lost in thought, murmured,
“Yes, in the third round, Yoo Joonghyuk stole all the treasures, but I don’t remember him knowing about the ‘random item box’ back then.”
“There’s a mention that he learned about it from the Heavenly Maid Hori in the 6th round. Since this is the 41st round, he definitely knew.”
“Ah…”

Kyung Sein lowered her head with a disappointed expression.

Dansoo ahjussi, wearing a serious look, also shook his head.
“It’s certainly very different from the 3rd round with Kim Dokja.”
“Very different.”

Even though this was only the 41st round, the Yoo Joonghyuk here had experiences far beyond those of the 3rd round.

It was safe to assume that many of the items Kim Dokja used early on would be taken by Yoo Joonghyuk first.

Suddenly, Kyung Sein looked up and asked,
“Wait, so the box Killer King took earlier…”

He must be furious that the villain tricked him. Kyung Sein asked with a hint of admiration,
“Wow… Inho-ssi, when did you plan all that?”
“When I realized the box had already been looted.”
“You’re so cunning and clever.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad I’m on your side, Inho-ssi. Even if it’s a shame about the box…”

Dansoo ahjussi spoke up, looking over the items we had acquired.
“Still, we got quite a lot of things.”

It wasn’t a total loss—we had obtained some useful early-game items, including the ahjussi’s bracelet and Kyung Sein’s shield.

But it felt lacking to just take these and move on…

I thought for a moment, then looked back at the spot where the ‘random item box’ had originally been placed.

It was around here.

I crouched down and began digging into the ground.

Dansoo ahjussi and Kyung Sein looked puzzled by my sudden action. I turned to them and said,
“If you don’t mind, please help me. Something’s been bothering me.”
“Did Omniscient Reader say there was something else here?”
“No, I don’t think so.”

I wasn’t entirely sure either, but it was better to check than to wonder.

「 “Author-nim. I think it’s a little… no matter how popular this trope is nowadays.” 」

Ji Eunyoo’s voice echoed in my memory.

It was from five years ago.

She was diligently reviewing the first draft of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’.

「 “If you give something like this from the very beginning, there’s no tension.”
“Then what should I do?”
“I think it’s better to go with the first draft.”
“You think that’s better, right?” 」

I don’t know how long the three of us dug.

Then my fingers brushed against something solid.
“Ugh, what is this?”

[The constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ widens their eyes.]

We brushed away the soil, lifting the object out of the hole together.

A moment later, the dark earth slid away, revealing what we had unearthed.

[The constellation ‘Rice Cake-Eating Tiger’ opens his mouth.]

[A constellation who has not revealed their modifier is surprised.]

What we found was a black box with a familiar appearance.

Dansoo ahjussi and Kyung Sein stared down at the box in disbelief, then turned to me and asked,
“Inho-ssi, is this…?”

I remembered Ji Eunyoo’s words.

Originally, more than one ‘random item box’ had been hidden here.