Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 596

Chapter 596

596 Episode 9. Words That Can’t Be Said (2)

[Gong Pildu’s stigma ‘Armed Zone Lv.5’ activates!]

A fully realized Level 5 Armed Zone.

Gong Pildu’s artillery rained down with chilling precision, silencing every ground rat in its path.

Dududududu!

Yet more ground rats surged forward, trampling over the corpses of their fallen comrades.

“They’re breaking through! Be careful!”

In less than ten minutes, the front barricade gave way. As the ground rats poured through the breach, several people panicked, their formations breaking as they screamed.

“No! Hold your positions! Don’t run!”

One man was seized by the arm and yanked forward, dragged away like a caught fish.

“Aaaaagh!”

His desperate, belated reach for help was futile; he was swallowed by the swarm of rodents. His screams were cut short almost immediately.

Kyung Sein, standing in the front line, felt his shoulders tremble slightly.

“Inho-ssi.”

He spoke, his eyes fixed on the person who hurried to fill the gap left by the dead.

“Yes.”

“To be honest, none of this has felt real until now.”

Blood was splattered everywhere, and screams filled the air.

People were dying even as they spoke. People whose names they had never even learned.

“Even after coming into this story and seeing people die, I couldn’t believe it. A part of me kept thinking this was all a nightmare, that I’d eventually wake up safe in my own bed. That’s what I kept telling myself.”

Another person fell, and another immediately took their place.

“But now I understand.”

Kyung Sein stated, shoving back a charging ground rat.

“I truly don’t want to die.”

I thought I understood why his perspective had shifted so suddenly. Perhaps it was because circumstances had changed.

“I want to live… I want to survive and return home.”

It was the budding hope of returning to his original world that fueled this new resolve.

「 Prevent its predestined destruction and develop a new story. 」

“I’m going to break through every scenario, no matter what it takes, and go back.”

He drove a thorn through a ground rat that had crossed the line of fire.

Killing, again and again, and then again.

He had lost count of how many he’d slain in such a short time.

Catching his breath, Kyung Sein continued.

“The moment I get back, I’m turning on my computer. I’ll go straight to the forum and post about all of this. I’ll boast about it. ‘I was really transported into the world of Omniscient Reader.’”

“……That’s the first thing you’ll do when you return?”

“That’s where I first read about Jung Heewon, Cheon Inho, and Yoo Joonghyuk. No one will believe me, but I’ll tell the story one day for sure.”

While he was still pondering a response, the man fighting ahead of them died. Without hesitation, someone else moved to fill the empty space.

“And I’ll definitely read the side stories for Omniscient Reader, too. The author mentioned a planned series.”

I gave a faint, bitter smile.

I might be the first one to boot up my computer upon returning.

“We’re losing ground again! Molotov cocktails, now!”

As the second defensive line began to buckle, Ye Hyunwoo issued the signal.

Several men in the rear pulled empty soju bottles from their pockets.

“Throw them!”

At Ye Hyunwoo’s command, the Molotov cocktails sailed through the air. Gasoline from the shattered bottles ignited, setting the center of the platform ablaze.

Kieeee!

The ground rats scattered in confusion, only to be met by a renewed barrage from Gong Pildu’s turrets.

To prepare Molotov cocktails so quickly—the 7th Apostle was certainly formidable.

“Don’t yield any more ground! Rebuilding the [Armed Zone] will take too long!”

The cornerstone of their defense was Gong Pildu’s [Armed Zone].

If the line collapsed further, the [Armed Zone] would have to be deconstructed, and their current strength couldn’t compensate for that loss of firepower.

As the ground rats’ advance slowed, if only slightly, a man guarding the front fort turned and shouted.

“More Molotov cocktails! We’ll push them back and burn them all!”

Something burst through the man’s stomach.

It was the horn of an 8th grade underground species—a groll.

“Ghk, Keheok! Kuaaaak!”

“P-pull it out! Hurry!”

“Elder Pildu! Help us!”

“Everyone, clear the way!”

Dududududu!

The groll, with the man still impaled on its horn, was hit by gunfire and sent reeling.

8th grade species and above were barely fazed by Gong Pildu’s bullets.

A monster that required at least four or five direct hits to take down.

And there wasn’t just one. They were emerging all across the platform, charging the barricades like armored tanks.

To make matters worse, Gong Pildu’s artillery fire ceased.

“Dammit, I need to reload! Everyone, buy some time!”

The defensive line was on the verge of total collapse.

“Sein-ssi.”

It was finally our turn to step up.

“Yes!”

As Kyung Sein, who possessed the overpowered skill [Average Correction] and had maximized his physical stats, braced himself with a determined shout, Dansoo ahjussi sent a swarm of cockroaches into the groll’s eyes.

Kuooo?

Jung Heewon’s blade sliced deep into its back.

The groll’s head was severed clean off.

As three or four grolls fell in rapid succession, Gong Pildu’s reloaded turrets unleashed their fury across the platform.

Dududududu!

The monsters at the forefront were obliterated by the [mini turrets’] firepower. A wave of relieved cheers rose from the survivors.

“Those guys are something else, huh?”

“Everyone, protect Brother Pildu!”

“We can do this. Just hold on!”

The immediate crisis was averted, but the overall situation remained grim.

Only thirty minutes had passed. Gong Pildu’s face was already etched with exhaustion. His energy was depleting rapidly.

In Omniscient Reader, Kim Dokja had supplied him with a large quantity of Intermediate Magic Power Recovery Potion, but now…

[The constellation ‘Defense Master’ looks on with concern.]

A little more time passed, and the number of ground rats shaking off direct hits and rising again began to increase.

I wondered if I should open the ‘dokkaebi bag’ now.

“Kid.”

Gong Pildu wiped the sweat from his brow and called to Ye Hyunwoo. Silently, Ye Hyunwoo moved behind Gong Pildu, clasped his hands together, and a brilliant blue light enveloped his small frame.

I recognized the skill immediately.

It was a technique that restricted movement but drastically accelerated magic power recovery.

I could feel an immense surge of magical energy emanating from Ye Hyunwoo.

Uuuung.

That was an astonishing amount of magic power for someone in only the third scenario, easily surpassing level 30.

He had clearly ignored all other attributes—strength, agility, physique—and invested everything into magic power. A choice only someone utterly focused would make.

“Here we go, Ahjussi.”

The moment Ye Hyunwoo’s small hand made contact with Gong Pildu’s back, a faint thread of magic connected them.

It reminded me of when Yoo Joonghyuk transferred his magic power to Kim Dokja during the fight against the ‘Disaster of Questions,’ Myung Ilsang, in the original story.

Soon, a rich flow of magic power began circulating through Gong Pildu’s Private Property.

The firing rate of the [mini turrets], which had slowed, returned to full force.

Dududududu!

Ye Hyunwoo had effectively turned himself into a ‘magic power battery.’

“This is the fourth stage of the ‘Armed Castellan at Home’ tech tree.”

After meeting my gaze, Ye Hyunwoo wiped the sweat from his brow and declared with confidence.

“This is ‘Infinite Uroboros.’”

A combination of high-level magic power, [Magic Power Recharge], [Magic Power Sharing], and [Armed Zone].

I was impressed by the precise mechanics, but also stunned that a person could actually achieve this.

Kim Dokja would have been just as amazed were he here.

[A constellation who hasn’t revealed their modifier is astonished.]

[The constellation ‘Rice Cake-Eating Tiger’ is appalled!]

[The constellation ‘Dragon Lying Down’ nods in agreement.]

Lee Jihye, watching from the stairwell in the rear, let out an impressed whistle.

“Wow, that’s incredible? I want one of those.”

With the [mini turrets] firing at an increased rate, the battle regained its momentum.

Jung Heewon and Kyung Sein were sufficient to handle the occasional grolls, freeing up others to reinforce the collapsed barricades.

The men preparing fresh Molotov cocktails muttered among themselves.

“This is going better than I expected?”

“Yeah, if we keep this up, it should be—”

No, wait.

[The ‘Emergency Defense Battle’ has entered a new phase.]

The message echoed through the air as if it had been lying in wait.

I wondered if the word ‘smooth’ was somehow forbidden in this world.

[A new monster species has appeared in the ‘Emergency Defense Battle’!]

A message that never appeared in the original. The Emergency Defense Battle wasn’t a scenario with distinct phases.

[A 7th grade monster species has appeared!]

A massive shadow loomed from the railroad tracks. The sound of metal scraping against the ground, like a subway car being dragged. The ground vibrated under our feet.

“What, what is that?!”

It wasn’t a subway emerging from the tunnel. It was an enormous monster, at least 15 meters long.

‘Giant Centipede’.

At the sight of the hundreds of legs skittering beneath its iridescent carapace, the men’s morale broke, and they scrambled back toward Gong Pildu.

“Aaaaah! This is insane!”

“H-how are we supposed to fight that thing—”

It could be done. Yoo Joonghyuk would have been able to.

The only problem was, he wasn’t here.

I glanced over and saw Ye Hyunwoo’s expression had turned to stone. His panic was understandable.

“Inho-ssi.”

It seemed he had no more tricks left.

I stepped forward.

“We’ll handle this.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“We’ll have to confront it directly and take it down, I suppose.”

“Like that? How?”

“I’m not sure… Stab it, perhaps?”

“Inho-ssi… I don’t know how many times you’ve read it, but that’s not just any 7th grade monster species, it’s a ‘king.’ It’s a creature even the 4th stage of my Invincible Castellan tech tree can’t handle. I’m telling you this as someone who read it fifty times—”

I didn’t answer, instead looking to the side. Jung Heewon, who had just finished off another monster, was approaching.

“Heewon-ssi.”

Wiping the blood from her knife, Jung Heewon nodded.

“Stay hidden. I can’t guarantee your protection this time.”

She tapped my shoulder and walked past.

Ye Hyunwoo, watching her blankly, gave a strained smile.

“Jung Heewon, I know she’s one of Kimcom’s strongest in combat, but even she can’t possibly—”

“Well, I’ve also prepared a tech tree of my own.”

“What?”

In truth, I had nothing prepared.

But things don’t always work out just because you’ve prepared.

It was the same when I wrote novels.

Sometimes, the episodes conceived spontaneously turned out far more compelling than those planned long in advance.

“Let’s see.”

Jung Heewon was one such ‘spontaneous idea’ for me.

[All constellations in the channel consent to the use of ‘Hour of Judgment’.]

An ‘idea’ that came to me when I had resigned myself to everything.

[The character Jung Heewon has activated ‘Hour of Judgment’!]

Radiating a dazzling light, Jung Heewon charged toward the centipede.

Watching her, a thought crossed my mind.

If this entire scenario were to conclude and I could return to reality,

「 Perhaps I would be writing about this very moment. 」

Just then, my phone vibrated.

[A new chapter of ‘Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’ has been updated on the platform.]