Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 695

Chapter 695

Of course. Here is the paraphrased chapter:

***

**695 Episode 24 Expert (5)**

We waited for Anna Croft in the casino hotel’s lobby.

Christina, who had hesitantly brought us refreshments, bowed her head when her eyes met Kim Dokja’s. Evidently, her ‘Korean colleague’ had taught her the greeting.

“I owe you a debt from earlier. I survived because of you.”
“Congratulations on making it.”
“I’m being serious.”
“I am sincerely congratulating you on your survival.”

Christina nodded, as if his earnest tone struck her as a little odd.
“Thank you. Anna should be here shortly.”
“Tell her to hurry. I don’t enjoy waiting.”
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“No.”
“Did you know the King of the North by any chance?”
“I saw him for the first time today.”

Even before arriving in Las Vegas, I’d had a feeling something would happen with Kim Dokja.

It seemed inevitable after making a contract with the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.

A magician was performing flashy tricks in front of him, and that magician happened to be an ‘obstacle’ preventing his meeting with Anna Croft.

But if he possessed the power to remove such obstacles, Kim Dokja was not one to let the chance slip by.

[Some constellations are amazed at your feat!]
[You received 500 coins.]

Because this was a world that paid coins for such spectacles.

The issue was that the ‘obstacle’ he removed had an unexpected reaction.

—Are you… Korean?
—And?
—Your name?
—Cheon Inho.

Why? The moment he heard the name, Martinez’s expression shifted.
—Look, friend, let’s head back now. I’ll return in half a day.

That was the entirety of the ‘magician incident’ from earlier.

Kim Dokja had dismantled Martinez’s magic and confiscated his pistol.

Upon hearing my name, the magician seemed to realize something and made himself scarce.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I’m missing a crucial piece of information.’

Maybe my reputation had somehow reached Las Vegas without my knowledge?

But no matter how I considered it, that seemed impossible.

—There are other Koreans more famous than us.

‘Ah.’

If Yoo Jonghyuk had been talking from the moment he arrived, it made sense that they’d be wary of Koreans. However, I didn’t think Yoo Jonghyuk would have told them to leave other Koreans alone, yet he had retreated far more obediently than anticipated.

—I don’t know that much either. Do you know which god I am?

Right, a god.

—And it’s more entertaining not knowing.
‘It’s the same when you’re a tourist.’

As Kim Dokja and I exchanged thoughts, Christina and her men started moving the parts of the Earth Dragon species.

I could feel the incarnations passing by watching us with curiosity.

Young men hauling entire wyrm bones, children peeking out at us from behind the reception desk.

They were likely all members of Anna’s ‘Zarathustra’.

Perhaps uncomfortable under her colleagues’ gaze, Selena Kim spoke to him.
“I apologize, Cheon Inho-ssi. Our headquarters is still a bit disorganized.”
“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t just a polite reply; it truly was okay.

The ‘Demon King of Salvation’ generally enjoyed being the center of attention.

[The constellations of Las Vegas are focusing on the incarnation ‘Cheon Inho’.]

Although it depended on the type of attention, of course.

Kim Dokja was also observing the people with interest, probably because it was his first time seeing ‘Zarathustra’ in this era.

“It looks like you’ve only recently settled here.”

Selena Kim gave a slight nod, seemingly surprised by Kim Dokja’s perceptiveness.
“Yes. We just relocated to the Las Vegas Dome.”
“You were originally based at the ‘Washington Dome’, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What’s the situation in Washington?”

The main scenario centered on the capital ‘Dome’ of each country.

Just as Korea had the ‘Seoul Dome’, the U.S. scenario would have progressed around the ‘Washington Dome’.

However.
“Washington is already…”

Selena Kim’s expression darkened.

What could have happened in America in the meantime?

And why had they left the Washington Dome for Las Vegas?

Did they move to a different ‘dome’?

‘Constellation-nim.’
—Hm.
‘Will the Las Vegas Dome actually open at this time?’
—The building itself isn’t the problem.

According to the lore of ‘Ways of Survival’, additional domes were created or more people were summoned for certain countries as the scenario advanced.

Considering that extra people had been summoned to Korea starting from the ‘seventh scenario’, it wasn’t shocking that a new ‘dome’ had opened in the more populous United States.

The real issue was this.
—The problem is that restrictions on moving between countries have been lifted.

Originally, ‘Dome’ area restrictions weren’t lifted until after the tenth scenario was complete.

Of course, there were global scenarios like ‘Peace Land’ where you could meet incarnations from other countries, but in those cases, the stage was usually another planet, not Earth.

However, the target region for this scenario was ‘the United States’.

[For this scenario only, ‘zone restrictions’ will be temporarily eased.]
[You are participating in this scenario as a ‘mercenary’.]
[You will be assigned a new seventh main scenario.]

A scenario requiring ‘mercenaries’.

This meant the bureau itself acknowledged that American incarnations alone couldn’t clear this ‘main scenario’.

“Where is Yoo Jonghyuk?”
“He should be near the scenario area. The King and his party went straight there upon arrival.”

From the mention of a ‘party’, it seemed Yoo Jonghyuk hadn’t come alone.

Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Kim Namwoon, Lee Seolhwa… Probably other members, like Ji Eunyu, had come too.

What about the others?
Were Dansu ahjussi or Kyung Sein safe?

Perhaps because Yoo Jonghyuk was mentioned, Selena Kim asked curiously.
“Are you close to the King?”
“We are companions who have faced life and death together.”

Selena Kim seemed to ponder what that meant for a moment.

Kim Dokja didn’t appear to expect much of an answer anyway. His gaze was fixed on the Earth Dragon parts being carried into the hotel.
“Processing the Dragon species parts won’t be easy.”
“We can manage. I can demonstrate if you wish.”
“Good. Let’s take a look while we wait for Anna.”

We walked through the hotel’s marble halls.

This had to be a five-star establishment.

Before the world fell apart, I wouldn’t have dared to step into a place like this; life was truly strange.

When we opened the door at the hallway’s end and entered, a massive hall was revealed.
“Bring the head over here!”
“Start with bone number four, one at a time!”
“Gather the leather in front of shelf eight!”
“Eyeball! Where is the eyeball?”

Craftsmen were dismantling the Earth Dragon species parts in real time, and artisans were processing the disassembled pieces.

They all appeared to be older incarnations.

Selena Kim introduced them.
“These are the ‘supporters’ that ‘Zarathustra’ takes pride in.”

Even in the <Star Stream>, where anyone could grow stronger with effort, innate abilities existed.

Older incarnations inevitably had lower initial stats and were more likely to fall behind in the scenario or be eliminated from the competition.

There were also incarnations who simply had no desire to fight, regardless of age.
“Not everyone can take part in a combat scenario. Each incarnation has a specialty; some are better suited for support.”

I was somewhat impressed. Selena Kim’s words were obvious, but some ‘obvious’ truths weren’t so obvious to everyone.

‘Zarathustra’s reputation is well-deserved.’

The group’s strength was clear, no matter how weak individual members might be.

It was not an easy choice to develop their support skills despite their recent loss of power.

Yet, Anna Croft had boldly gambled on a future that might never arrive.

She must have been confident that their usefulness would eventually yield greater rewards.

However, it seemed we Korean swindlers weren’t too pleased with the Las Vegas gambler’s decision.

Kim Dokja was staring with incomprehensible eyes at a mound of soil that took up one corner of the workspace.

People were sprinkling what looked like fertilizer onto the bowl-shaped pile of waste.
“Are you growing crops?”
“Yes. We need to prepare food for the future soon.”

Selena Kim continued, as if reciting a prepared statement.
“One day, when the scenarios are over, humanity will have to grow its own food again. Anna is preparing for that time.”

The plants growing there were species not native to Earth.

A plant from another world, like ‘Yanaspleta’, which had appeared during the Kronos erosion.

Kim Dokja looked down at a plant stem, then bent and lightly took a handful of the gray soil. The moment it touched his hands, the soil rapidly decayed and crumbled.
—It’s not earth from this world.
‘Soil from another planet.’

Currently, ‘soil from another world’ had only one condition for existence: ‘planetary invasion’.

In other words, this soil was a remnant from the fifth scenario, the ‘disaster scenario’.

‘It’s strange. If the fifth scenario was cleared normally, all this soil should have vanished.’

Why did this ‘soil’ still remain in the United States?

Kim Dokja lightly brushed his hand clean and looked around the hall again.

The Earth Dragon parts, having undergone basic processing, were being made into blunt-looking weapons.

Observing the questionable usability of the weapons, Kim Dokja sighed.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but 4th grade monster parts are not cost-effective materials. They’re harder to process than other parts of the same class, and their sharpness is inferior. Honestly, they aren’t worth 630,000 coins at this stage.”

Abruptly, Kim Dokja confidently admitted to fraud.
“Normally, it’s standard to buy the highly efficient bones of a ‘5th grade fire dragon species’ even if the grade is lower. But you bought the 4th grade earth dragon species. You even wasted money.”

However,
“I know. Anna said the same thing.”

Being aware of a scam means it’s no longer a ‘scam’.

Kim Dokja, unexpectedly cleared of the fraud accusation, continued.
“If you bought it knowingly, it means there was a reason it had to be 4th grade. I think so.”

As he spoke, Kim Dokja picked up a handful of powder that had fallen during the processing.
“I believe it’s probably because of this.”

He then sprinkled the powder onto the contaminated soil.

[The ‘Purification’ effect occurs.]
[The eroded soil has been purified.]

In that instant, everyone in the hall froze.

The craftsmen cutting bones, the artisans tanning leather—all stopped their work to stare at Kim Dokja.

Some incarnations were seen subtly reaching for the weapons at their waists.
“Selena Kim. I think you’re a decent person.”

Kim Dokja’s eyes now held a cool, sharp light.
“I’m going to ask a few questions. I hope you remain a decent person, and that nothing goes wrong here.”

Several artisans jumped up from their seats. Selena Kim lightly raised a hand, stopping them.

Kim Dokja asked.
“Selena Kim. Anna isn’t at ‘headquarters’ right now. Is that correct?”
“…”
“You brought me here to kill time, to stop me from interfering with your plans.”

Selena Kim lowered her head, as if realizing concealment was futile.
“That’s right. I’m sorry.”
“Is it true you cleared the fifth scenario normally?”
“That—”
“Where is Anna right now?”

It was then that a faint roar echoed from the hotel entrance.

[The constellation ‘Ender of War’ enters the channel.]
[The constellation ‘Thursday Thunder’ enters the channel.]
[The constellation ‘Guardian of the Big Horn Bridge’ enters the channel.]

I felt the presence of constellations with familiar modifiers entering the channel.

Outside the window, a portal shimmered into existence at the hotel entrance.

A gateway to another area.

A figure was emerging from the portal.

We rushed straight down to the hotel entrance.

On reaching the first floor, I saw dazzling blonde hair flowing in the air outside the lobby.

Aloof red eyes shone through the blonde hair.

The prophetess Anna Croft was there.

She appeared injured from the scenario, blood steadily flowing from her left arm.

Anna Croft spoke to Selena Kim, who quickly began applying a tourniquet.
“What about the Earth Dragon species parts?”
“They’re here. A small amount can be used immediately. Even now—”
Anna Croft shook her head.
“It’s too late.”

Selena Kim’s face paled.
“No way—”
“The operation failed. I don’t know why, but [future vision] shows me nothing. I suppose we must abandon the Washington Dome.”

Several pieces of information rapidly connected in my mind.

The 4th grade Earth Dragon species and its [Purification] trait.
The Washington Dome.
The disaster scenario.
And… companions.

My heart began to pound loudly.

It couldn’t be. Surely not.

「 «He smells like a demon king. I didn’t notice it at all at first, but I definitely smelled it after he woke up from fainting.» 」

Why had Anna Croft returned ‘alone’ through that portal?

With Christina’s voice echoing in my head, a sense of dread surged.

I wasn’t the only one who felt it.
“Anna Croft.”

The moment she heard that voice, Anna Croft’s expression stiffened.

She slowly turned her rigid neck.
“You… how are you here?”
“Where is Yoo Jonghyuk right now?”

The ‘Demon King of Salvation’ I had known until now felt more like an unemployed guy from the neighborhood than a constellation.

He hated boredom, wasn’t terribly serious about most things, and seized every chance to tease people.

But now,

“I’m asking you. What happened to Yoo Jonghyuk?”

He was truly furious.