Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 598

Chapter 598

***

598 Episode 9. Words That Can’t Be Said (4)
[You have entered the ‘Snowfield’.]

In a world drained of all color, every shade of blood appeared identical. There was no crimson, no azure. Only a uniform, dull gray.

A profound sadness settled over me.
Somewhere in this vast existence…
[The exclusive skill ‘⬜⬜’ resonates with your emotions.]
…there wasn’t a single page reserved for the extras.

# Words That Can’t Be Said

「⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜…….」

* At your current skill level, you can write a total of 260 additional characters.

[You can remain in the ‘Snowfield’ for 3 more minutes.]

I started to write. This wasn’t a tale for any particular audience.
Some stories are like that. They hold no artistic merit or excitement, yet you feel compelled to put them to paper regardless.

[You have described something that cannot be evaluated.]
[The reproduction success rate of this story cannot be assessed.]
[The probability you have been granted cannot be measured.]
[Checking the reader’s feedback.]
[There is no reader’s feedback.]

No feedback was offered.
And yet.

[rlaehrwk37 recognizes your story.]
Someone had undoubtedly read it.

[rlaehrwk61 recognizes your story.]
[rlaehrwk99 recognizes your story.]
[rlaehrwk73 recognizes your story.]
…….
[You have earned probability from a certain number of referrals.]
[Successfully recreating the scene.]
[Leaving the ‘Snowfield’.]

My eyelids fluttered open, and the hues of the world rushed back in.
Before me, a ground rat was savaging a person who had stopped breathing.

「 Lee Hakhyun understood. He knew why the extras were never mentioned. 」
I understood better than anyone.
It is the writer, and no one else, who writes the extras out of the narrative.

「 Because their stories have already been told. 」
An unnamed ground rat had killed an unnamed man.
Driving my thorn into more nameless ground rats, a thought occurred to me.
「 These pages, which nobody will ever read, are their story. 」

The world, once a gray expanse of snow, was now smeared with red and blue blood.
Stories that go untold because they are too common.
Death occurring between the lines that were never written.
「 There are no sentences for extras. 」
It was an inevitability.
The instant you write a sentence for an extra, they transform into a protagonist.
And when one person becomes the protagonist, all others are relegated to extras.

«Somebody, help—»
«KKuaaak!»

I managed to save one person, only for another to perish.
I never learned the names of the dead. Even standing beside them, I failed to witness their final moments.
The deceased stared with open eyes, as if in silent protest.
Damn it, even in this moment, I was still a writer. A heartless recorder, attempting to inscribe a sentence onto the blank space their deaths had created.

「 Even so, someone must leave footprints in this snowfield. 」
A ground rat’s teeth sank into my thigh.
「 Someone must inevitably be the protagonist. 」
I flung it off, and a second one clamped onto my arm.
「 That is the purpose of this snowfield. 」
I smashed my arm down, crushing its skull. But for every one I killed, two more took its place; when I shook them off, three more attacked.

«N-no—»
«Inho-ssi! Stop! Inho-ssi!»

Glancing back toward the stairwell, I saw the anxious faces of Kyung Sein, Dansoo ahjussi, and Ye Hyunwoo.
Gong Pildu and Jung Heewon were still unconscious.
Lee Jihye was fully occupied, fighting off the monsters surging from the staircase.
Many people still hadn’t reached the safety of the stairs. The fortifications had been completely destroyed, and the survivors were being driven into a corner.
If this continued, Chungmuro Station would be annihilated.

I reached a decision.
I had no idea if it would work.
«Idea.»
But I had to try.
«Let’s go.»

‘Thoughts of Almost Everything’ flowed like liquid into my bracelet.
I issued my command.
[The exclusive skill ‘Incite Lv.5’ is activated.]
«Become the Ever-changing Stealth Suit.»

The Ever-changing Stealth Suit.
It was the disguise item that ‘RepresentativeKimDokja’ had used.
Back then, I had met the condition of ‘being struck 10 times’ to acquire its appearance, allowing me to add this item to my ‘mimicry list’.

[Putting on the ‘Ever-changing Stealth Suit’!]
‘Transform into a ground rat.’

A brilliant flash of light later, my form shifted into that of a ground rat.
The creatures that had been lunging at me suddenly halted.
They sniffed the air, circling me cautiously.
A few bared their fangs, radiating intense hostility.
Their suspicion was natural, having just seen me as a human.

I directed my [Incite] toward them.
«I am a ground rat.»

A few rats approached, sniffed me, and then scurried past, one after another.
Miraculously, the plan was working.
I moved backwards through the horde of ground rats, swiftly advancing toward the center of the platform.
I could see two giant centipedes roaring at the ceiling.
I just needed a little more time.

All around, the ground rats were shrieking wildly.
And then.
「 …… …… 」
A peculiar voice reached my ears.

I turned, searching for its source.
[Your exclusive attribute is activated].
[You understand the language settings.]
[You are interpreting the language of the ground rats.]

「 Go up 」
A ground rat was speaking.
「 Runrunrunrun 」
「 Stayclosetomommy 」
「 Justalittlebitjustalittlebit 」
「 Upupup 」

One rat rushing past me stopped to look in my direction.
「 Notthatway 」
It looked directly at me and added.
「 Runthisway 」

I asked it.
«Why?»
「 BecausethatstheorderBecausethatstheorder 」

An order. From whom?
The ground rat shuddered, glanced nervously toward the tunnel, and resumed its frantic dash past me.
I didn’t hear an answer, but I understood why they were running.
Humans aren’t the sole participants in these scenarios.
Everything in this world belongs to the ‘scenario’. That included the ground rats around me.

「 Mommy 」
「 Helphelphelp 」
「 Cantbreathecantbreathe 」

My gaze fell to the floor. It was littered with the bullet-riddled corpses of ground rats.
There were dozens for every human corpse.
「 The extras, they don’t even realize they’re extras. 」

A massive shadow fell over me.
「 You 」
I hadn’t noticed its approach. A giant centipede was now coiled over my head.
「 Why did you come this way? 」

I surveyed my surroundings without replying.
This was the station’s epicenter.
The people were nearly at the top of the stairs. The crucial thing now was to buy enough time for Gong Pildu to reactivate his [Armed Zone].

[The exclusive skill ‘Incite Lv.5’ is activated!]
«Look over here!»

In response to my [Incite], a group of ground rats turned toward me.
「 Whatwhatwhatwhat 」
「 Wherewherewherewhere 」
It wasn’t sufficient.

I shouted again.
«This way!»

[The exclusive skill ‘Incite Lv.5’ is being used to its limit!]
[The level of the exclusive skill ‘Incite’ has increased!]

*Pshh—* Blood began to trickle from my nose.
This time, far more of them turned to look. Some that had been charging forward, others that had leaped onto the stairwell to attack people—they all now focused on me.

「 Whatwhat 」
「 Whowhowho 」
「 Whywhywhywhywhy 」

I was suddenly reminded of the ‘outer gods’ from Omniscient Reader. They were the extras who had perished as the ‘Nameless Ones’ within the worldview of ‘Ways of Survival’.
I was not Kim Dokja, so I lacked the power to save them.
Instead, I was forced to kill them all to conclude the scenario.

‘Idea.’
I invoked it, and the forms of the items I had collected so far materialized in my mind.
Magic Power Recovery Bracelet.
Damaged Samyeongdang’s Bamboo Stick.
Ever-changing Stealth Suit.
Magic Power Stove.
And…….
I had hoped to avoid using this until the end. The platform would become a toxic wasteland for a time.
But now, I had no other option.

«Become a ‘Poison Bomb’.»

The Poison Bomb. An item left behind after our battle with the Misreading Association.
A biochemical weapon crafted from the anal gland of a poisonous rhinoceros.
I had retrieved one of the spent canisters and added it to my possible mimicry list.

[The consumed item is restored by the effect of ‘Thoughts of Almost Everything’.]
[A rare instance of shape evolution has occurred!]
[The form of the item has evolved to a higher level!]
[‘Thoughts of Almost Everything’ has turned into ‘High-Level Poison Bomb’.]

A moment later, a bomb emitting a faint glow materialized before me.
[This item is a consumable item.]
[Once the item is used, you will be unable to assume this form again.]
[The effect of the ‘Ever-changing Stealth Suit’ will be lifted.]

As I reverted to my original form, the ground rats snarled, their hostility resurfacing.
Yet, none attacked. Even the giant centipede maintained a cautious distance, its gaze fixed on my hand for a reason.
They knew.
If I detonated this bomb now, every monster in the station would be eradicated.

「 Ohnomommyimscared 」
「 Hidebehindmom 」

I observed them for a long moment.
「 Whatsgoingon 」
「 Humanhumanhuman 」
「 IdontwanttodieIdontwanttodie 」

I slowly began to speak.
[The exclusive skill ‘Incite Lv.5’ is activated.]
«You don’t have to die here like this.»

My gaze swept over the ground rats, the giant centipedes, and the grolls.
«Stop hurting people and retreat. If you do, I won’t kill you either.»

[The constellation ‘Nail-Eating Rat’ admires your boldness.]
[The constellation ‘Rice Cake-Eating Tiger’ is astonished by your suggestion.]
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ marvels at your integrity.]

I knew the odds were minuscule.
But in theory, monsters and humans could resolve this scenario without further bloodshed.

[There are 7 hours and 12 minutes remaining until the end of the Emergency Defense Battle.]
I continued.
«The Emergency Defense Battle is a time-limited scenario. It will conclude eventually, even if no one is harmed.»

I could sense the growing agitation among the ground rats.
「 A story where no one is the protagonist, perhaps. 」
The extras had died in sufficient numbers. Both monsters and humans understood this.
[The ground rats are confused by your ‘Incite’.]

Monsters are incarnations, too. They also fear death.
They have families. They have companions.
They have lives.

*Tsuchuchuchuchut!*

Sparks suddenly crackled in the air.
[Some dokkaebis perceive your attempts as a threat to the scenario.]
[Many constellations are eager for the scenario to proceed swiftly!]
[The probability of the <Star Stream> is moving.]
[Your ‘Incite’ has been lifted.]
[Emergency Defensive Battle will resume.]
[A few constellations laugh at your reckless behavior.]

Reading the messages, a thought crystallized.
「 In the end, isn’t this entire world one vast instigation? 」

One of the ground rats looked at me and stated,
「 Thereisnosuchstory 」
With those words, the entire mischief of ground rats surged toward me.

I replied.
«Yes.»

A deafening explosion followed. A blizzard of poisonous gas, reeking of a foul odor, engulfed the platform.
The screams of monsters filled the air. Giant centipedes and ground rats fell, their bodies convulsing as they spewed black blood.
I watched as monsters deeper in the tunnel also collapsed. Observing their deaths, I thought.
「 If the monsters hadn’t died here, this story might have been interesting. 」

[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ cheers for the mass murder.]
[The constellation ‘Rice Cake-Eating Tiger’ states that monsters are best when dead.]
[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ admires your idea.]
[The constellation ‘Dragon Lying Down’ appreciates your strategy.]
…….

I staggered, struggling to remain upright. I felt on the verge of collapse, but it wasn’t time yet.
I swallowed small amounts of Poisonous Rhinoceros’ Horn Powder and began to walk away.
One step, then another.
I walked on and on through the fog-choked landscape, meticulously stabbing every ground rat that approached.
I fought down rising waves of nausea. Several times, I tripped over corpses, only to push myself back up.

A faint cry reached my ear. It came from a dying ground rat. I raised my thorn to deliver the final blow.
*Kking.*
I realized the ground rat was already dead. Instead, I found a tiny pup squirming in its embrace.
It was a baby ground rat.

I stared down at it, stunned.
「 In the end, every story has a protagonist. 」
The pup fought for each labored breath, a desperate struggle to live.
I could see the tip of its nose blackening from exposure to the gas.
I bent down and gently gathered it into my arms. I carefully poured a small amount of the remaining Poisonous Rhinoceros’ Horn Powder into its mouth.
Its pained whimpers slowly subsided.

[The constellation ‘Sneaking Schemer’ is watching your story.]
I crossed the platform, the pup cradled in my arms. The dense fog made it difficult to see.
[The constellation ‘Lotus Blooming Under the Moonlight’ is watching your story.]
I walked endlessly, guided only by the faint whispers of the constellations.
Gradually, my consciousness began to dim.

I could hear voices calling out in the distance.
They were searching for me.
My foot caught on something hard. The stairs. I needed to climb.

[A constellation who hasn’t revealed their modifier is watching your story.]
I glanced back absently.
The countless bodies of monsters and humans were now completely obscured by the thick fog, invisible.
I took a step up the stairs, leaving a single imprint behind.
[You have achieved an impossible feat.]
It was a footprint of deepest black.
[Your first ‘story’ is germinating.]

I ascended the stairs.