Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 599

Chapter 599

Episode 9. Words That Can’t Be Said (5)

A vast expanse of white. A hollow, vacant void, like a blank sheet of paper waiting for words.

My consciousness flickered like a cursor on a screen.

「 «Inho-ssi, how did you become a writer?» 」

Jung Heewon had asked me that while we were imprisoned within the ichthyosaur.

It was strange, but the answer didn’t come to me right away.

How had I become a writer?

That memory felt ancient and blurred.

「 You’re here? 」

I managed to open my eyes to a sky filled with falling snow.

I knew instantly where I was.

A snowfield, blanketed in white.

As I slowly pushed myself up, I saw the familiar face of the protagonist.

「 Kim Dokja. 」

Kim Dokja gave a slight nod. Just like our last encounter, he was standing by himself in the middle of the snowy plain.

He offered a small wave, then knelt down to stare intently at the ground. His focus was so absolute that I felt compelled to go over and ask.

「 Is there something there? 」

Kim Dokja shook his head with a faint smile. His finger pointed downward.

There was a single, stark black footprint.

It wasn’t part of the original scene.

It looked freshly made.

I glanced down at my own feet, then back at the print.

Slowly, I knelt beside Kim Dokja.

「 I wanted to be as strong as you. 」

I’m not sure why I said it; the words just escaped me.

「 Like you……. 」

「 You see, 」

Kim Dokja said.

「 I’m not actually that strong. 」

As he spoke, he turned to look back at the faint, meandering trail of footsteps stretching out behind him.

Kim Dokja, seeming to count each one, said.

「 I only continued to walk forward. 」

Just kept walking.

Kim Dokja went on.

「 Things are going to get much harder from here. 」

「 …… 」

「 It will be lonely. 」

Hearing that, a profound loneliness washed over me. I said.

「 This story won’t end happily. 」

Kim Dokja was silent for a beat.

We both looked at the footprints. Those that had vanished. Those being formed. And those yet to be made.

Kim Dokja asked.

「 Will you be okay? 」

I gave a slow nod.

「 As long as you don’t stop reading. 」

Kim Dokja’s gaze remained fixed on me. Feeling self-conscious, I looked away.

He said.

「 Well, that’s not how it’s meant to be. 」

He paused, searched through his coat pockets, and placed an object in my palm.

「 Take this. And……. 」

 

I awoke with a sharp intake of breath.

I was back at Chungmuro Station.

«Inho-ssi!»

I placed a hand on my forehead and pushed myself up. Kyung Sein’s face was the first thing I saw.

«Everyone…….»

«It’s alright, everyone is safe.»

Kyung Sein gripped my hand tightly.

«Hey, Inho-ssi.»

Just then, Dansoo ahjussi came over. He knelt down and studied me intently.

His expression seemed torn between reprimand and concern.

But he didn’t ask any questions, simply pulling me into a quiet embrace.

Then Kyung Sein, beside us, suddenly began to cry and wrapped her arms around both of us.

Held in their arms, I looked out at the scene within Chungmuro Station.

I could see the faces of the survivors.

Gong Pildu, Ye Hyunwoo, and others were constructing a barricade at the base of the stairs.

A large tarpaulin had been draped over the stairwell entrance to block the poisonous gas from drifting up.

Injured people were being treated on a bench.

Some incarnations had fallen asleep after consuming [Elaine Forest Essence].

I could see Jung Heewon lying on the ground and Lee Jihye seated on a bench, her eyes fixed on the tarp.

[3 hours and 39 minutes remain until the conclusion of the ‘Emergency Defense Battle’.]

[The ‘Bureau’ is currently deliberating an early termination of the ‘Emergency Defense Battle’.]

A soft cheer rose from the people working on the barricade.

An early end to the scenario.

It was an option the Bureau was weighing.

[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ complains about having to watch a foregone conclusion.]

[Several constellations are inquiring if the outcome is already decided.]

The constellations were growing bored with the scenario, and it was evident that more time here wouldn’t alter the result.

Even now, beyond that tarp, monsters were continually succumbing to the poisonous fog.

I stared at the thin barrier separating human life from monstrous death.

«Ah, Inho-ssi.»

Ye Hyunwoo noticed me and waved. I waved back hesitantly.

«You.»

A large shadow fell over me. I looked up to see a head gleaming under the station lights.

Gong Pildu frowned as his eyes scanned my arms and legs, each marked with scars from ground rat bites.

«What would you have done if you’d died?»

«I believed I wouldn’t.»

Gong Pildu stared at my face for a long moment, as if dissatisfied with my response.

«Thanks to you, we all survived.»

I swallowed thickly.

This was Gong Pildu. One of the Ten Evils of Chungmuro Station. The second most arrogant person in all of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.

He had just thanked me.

But Gong Pildu’s expression soon shifted to one of curiosity.

«What is that?»

I turned and saw a ground rat pup nestled against my side, breathing peacefully.

Several people nearby started at the sight.

It was understandable.

They had just fought a desperate battle against these monsters, and now a baby one was in their midst.

Seemingly frightened by their stares, the pup burrowed into my arms.

Gong Pildu demanded.

«Why did you bring that here?»

I rested a hand on the trembling pup’s head and considered my answer.

I could have claimed it was out of pity, or a sense of remorse.

I could have reasonably argued that no one here today had fought by choice, and the same was likely true for the monsters.

«Do you like dogs?»

Gong Pildu was silent for a time.

As if sensing the mood, the pup peeked out and looked at him.

Gong Pildu stared back, then asked.

«Are you going to keep it?»

I hadn’t considered that.

I wondered if I even could.

Gong Pildu slowly bent down and crouched.

«Max.»

Gong Pildu said in a low, gruff voice. He repeated it, with a brief pause.
«Max.»

With a tiny whimper, the ground rat pup cautiously crept forward. After a moment’s hesitation, it sniffed Gong Pildu’s hand and began to wag its tail.

A faint tremor passed through Gong Pildu’s eyes. A fleeting glimpse of yearning surfaced in his weathered face before fading away.

I asked.

«Did you have a dog once?»

Instead of answering, Gong Pildu gazed at the tarp-covered stairwell for a long moment.

«A dog is good for guarding territory.»

 

After taking the ground rat pup, Gong Pildu addressed the group.

«We’re keeping this one.»

Max let out a big yawn in Gong Pildu’s grasp.

«As you saw from how they fought, these monsters are tenacious and strong. We’ll train it to be a guard dog. If anyone objects, speak now.»

One of the men, who had been glowering at the pup, raised his hand in protest.

«What if it isn’t trained properly and turns on us?»

«Then I will personally see to its end.»

Gong Pildu stated firmly. Several men nodded in agreement. A few even ventured closer to get a better look at Max.

«The pup is oddly cute.»
«Huh, will it look like that when it’s grown?»

Dansoo ahjussi, watching from the side, remarked.

«When Jiyoon would lock herself in her room to read web novels.»
«What?»
«I’d be in the living room, watching old movies.»

It was rare for Dansoo ahjussi to talk about himself; this was a first in a long while.

«What kind of movies?»
«King Kong, Godzilla, King Kong vs. Godzilla…….»
«Oh.»

The daughter read Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint in her room, while the father watched King Kong vs. Godzilla in the living room. A firmly shut door between them.

«In those monster films, there’s always someone who feels sorry for the creature and tries to raise it.»
«…….»
«Sometimes, Jiyoong would walk past and say, ‘No one is really like that. How could people who were almost eaten want to keep the monster?'»

In the distance, Gong Pildu was teaching Max the ‘shake’ command. Max looked up and licked his hand.

«I wish I could have shown her this.»

Gong Pildu scowled, and the people of Chungmuro Station smiled wryly.

They were laughing, like actors relaxing after a performance. As if everything that had happened beyond the tarp was just a story.

Some were hurt, some had died, but others found reasons to laugh.

They understood that if they didn’t, they wouldn’t make it to the next act.

«Mate.»
«Yeah.»
«I don’t want to watch a movie where my mate dies.»

I watched the laughing, talking people, unable to formulate a response.

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ has sponsored you.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]

 

As a consequence for risking my life, I endured a lengthy scolding from Kyung Sein.

«Inho-ssi, you’re just like Kim Dokja.»
«What?»
«No, I mean, who in their right mind jumps into a horde of ground rats like that? Are you actually Kim Dokja? Do you have the King of No Killing attribute or something?»

That remark stirred complicated feelings within me.

I mean, I admire Kim Dokja, but this was somewhat…

—Hey.

A small spark crackled in the air, and Bihyung’s voice called out.
—Are you awake?

It seemed Bihyung had also been waiting for me to regain consciousness.
‘Yes, I’m up.’

Bihyung cleared his throat several times before continuing in a grave tone.
—I’m genuinely shocked this time. I never expected you to start a story.

As he spoke, a flood of system messages I’d missed appeared.

[You have accomplished a feat never before achieved.]
[You are germinating your first ‘story’ within the 3rd scenario.]
[A few constellations are skeptical of your accomplishment.]
[Some constellations have taken an interest in your achievement.]
[A very small number of constellations have become aware of your existence.]
[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]

An achievement that made the nebulae take notice.
For only the third scenario, it was a significant feat.

—Don’t let it go to your head. Ah, do you even know what a story is?
‘I have a basic idea. Collecting them makes you stronger.’
—Well, knowing that much is fine for now… Anyway, stay humble. You don’t have a full story yet, just the seed of your first one, understand?
‘Yes.’

I couldn’t help a wry smile; it was like he was calming down a writer thrilled by an unexpected success.

Truthfully, as Bihyung said, I couldn’t afford to be arrogant.
My first story was still a seed, and I didn’t know if it would ever bloom. And even if it did, it might turn out to be a bad one.

—You’re the worst because you seem so compliant on the surface. Damn it.

As I listened to Bihyung grumble, I recalled the beginning of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.
The novice dokkaebi Bihyung had been both shocked and terrified by Kim Dokja’s actions.

—Anyway, there will be extra rewards once the scenario officially ends, since no other incarnation has cleared the ‘Emergency Defense Battle’ like you did.

What ending awaited this world’s Bihyung?
Would he become the Dokkaebi King here?

—Ha, but this is truly unusual. I can’t believe three people have already started germinating stories.

I paused before asking.
‘There are others?’

Who could it be? Yoo Joonghyuk?
—Yes. They’re becoming quite well-known now. One is dark, one is white…

The dark one was surely Yoo Joonghyuk.
But who was the white one?
‘Can you tell me who they are?’
—I obviously can’t give out that information, but I think they’re a bit insane. They keep buying lemon candy from the ‘dokkaebi bag’. It costs 200 coins per piece.
‘Lemon candy?’
—Anyway, I have to go. Other areas are getting noisy. Damn, I shouldn’t have opened the Hidden Dungeon at a time like this…

With that, Bihyung’s presence vanished.

I turned back to Kyung Sein, who was still comparing me to Kim Dokja.
«Sein-ssi. Has Yoo Joonghyuk returned yet?»
«No, and you’re still asking about Yoo Joonghyuk. Inho-ssi, you’re really—»
«Sein-ssi.»
«That bastard never showed his face. Why?»

As far as I could deduce, there was only one place Yoo Joonghyuk could be if he wasn’t participating in the ‘Emergency Defense Battle’.
「 The Theater Dungeon. 」

A sense of foreboding settled over me.

Naturally, Yoo Joonghyuk is powerful in this world; he shouldn’t die in the ‘Theater Dungeon’.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to be.
「 Yoo Joonghyuk is stuck on the sunfish route again 」

That comment from hours ago replayed in my mind.

I glanced around and discreetly checked my phone. The battery was nearly dead.
[A new chapter has been updated!]

A new chapter already?
I absently scrolled through the list and froze at the title of the new episode.

Episode 10. Writer (1)

Seeing it, Bihyung’s words echoed in my head.
「 They keep buying lemon candy from the ‘dokkaebi bag’. 」

I unconsciously shoved my hand into my pocket.
Since when had it been there?
In my pocket was an object I had never placed there.
「 Take it. And……. 」

Too late, the words from my dream returned.
I pulled the object from my pocket. A cold chill crept down my spine.
A small piece of candy wrapped in yellow paper.

Surely, this is what Kim Dokja meant.
「 Give it to him. 」