Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Web Novel KR)

chapter 570 - Protagonist(?) (8)



After obtaining the Earth Mole Knife, our advance picked up speed.

Along the way, we encountered several small packs of earth moles, but thanks to Jung Heewon’s efforts, they were dispatched without much difficulty.
Not long after, each member of the party was able to secure an Earth Mole Knife of their own.
How long had we walked like that?

At last, the sight of Oksoo Station came into view.
“Wow. Seriously… wow.”
Though we had advanced for barely twenty minutes, Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo’s faces were drenched in sweat.

Oksoo Station was an aboveground station.
Seeing faint sunlight filtering in, a thought suddenly struck me.
「I don’t want to die.」

I didn’t know why that feeling suddenly welled up.
The only thing certain was this: someday, I would end up writing that sentence down.
“I’ll go scout ahead. Please wait here for a moment.”
Jung Heewon lightly bounded forward and stepped onto the platform.

Watching her back, Gyeong Sein asked:
“But… is it okay for us to be here? Oksoo Station is aboveground, right?”
If the development followed Ways of Survival, then from the second Main Scenario onward, the surface would be shrouded in the “Poison Fog.”

“It’s fine. Doesn’t seem like there are any ‘Poison Rhinoceroses’ nearby.”
The Poison Fog was, in fact, the fart of a grade 7 beast species: the Poison Rhinoceros.
In other words, as long as no Poison Rhinoceroses were around, there was no risk of exposure to the fog.

Gyeong Sein nodded in admiration.
“You even remembered that… May I ask, how many times have you read it?”
“Quite a lot.”

There was no helping it. Even when writing the first draft, I had to read it at least half a dozen times. Considering the revisions and edits, each chapter was read dozens of times. Some sections, I had read well over a hundred.
“Wait, you’re not someone famous, are you? You’re not from the ‘Seven Apostles’ Society,’ right?”
“What’s that?”

“A club formed by the most veteran readers of Ways of Survival…”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if this was the novel or reality. After all, there was a similar group in Ways of Survival itself.
“They say the world is wide and full of hidden masters… Meeting someone like you, Inho-ssi, maybe my luck isn’t so bad after all.”

“Could you tell me a bit more about what you just mentioned?”
“You mean the Seven Apostles’ Society?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it’s nothing grand. Just a fan club that jokingly gave itself that name—”

Excited, Gyeong Sein started rambling about the “Seven Apostles’ Society.”
It was shocking enough to learn that such a fan group existed for a failed novel, but what really stunned me was that the group had been active for four years.
Since this world was now Ways of Survival, readers with high reread counts had a better chance of surviving.

If we could recruit them to our side, they would surely be a great asset.
“I was even there at the time—”
By the time Gyeong Sein began boasting about the three-day setting war between the Seven Apostles’ Society and the “Misreading Alliance,” Jung Heewon returned from scouting Oksoo Station.

“No survivors. Looks like everyone who made it left for the surface.”
“Thank you for checking.”
“What should we do? Your family members—”

Even now, worrying about others, Jung Heewon made me wonder: did she really need to become the Judge of Destruction?
Did she need to go through that agony again under the pretense of awakening?
There were countless ways to grow stronger. Surely the main story’s path wasn’t the only answer.

“They’re probably nearby. They might even be coming this way right now.”
I looked toward the opposite track that led to Dongho Bridge.
At last, I could meet the main cast of Ways of Survival.

Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung.
Exchanging a look with Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo, I started down the track.
In the distance, the railway leading to Dongho Bridge came into view. The bridge was broken halfway through, perhaps because the River Dragon had gone wild there.
We stopped and waited, gazing in that direction.

The fishy stench of the Han River wafted in.
It was about the time they should be running toward us.
Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung, and Han Myungoh should be crossing the alternate spans of Dongho Bridge, created by the “Deus Ex Machina.”

“That’s strange. I don’t see anyone—”
The moment Gyeong Sein said that—
「Time has stopped.」

In an instant, the world was washed in monochrome.
If time had just stopped, there was only one reason.
A skill, [□□], had activated.

But why?
No one nearby was acting out of the ordinary.
[Someone wishes to take an unexpected action.]

…What?
Letters swirled in the air, and then a snowy landscape appeared.
[Exclusive skill, ‘□□,’ has partially fulfilled its activation conditions.]

[Exclusive skill, ‘□□,’ is now active.]
What? “Someone”?
[Your understanding of this character is absurdly low.]

[Your rank is too low to interfere with this character’s actions.]
So, it was a character I couldn’t intervene with? Where?
[Would you like to check reader {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} feedback?]

Even without me writing anything, the message forced itself open.
I decided to check the feedback first.
+

rlaehrwk37: They all suddenly die here?
+
A chill ran down my spine.

All die?
Here? All of a sudden?
[Exit from ‘Snowfield’…]

A primal sense of crisis surged through me. It was a writer’s intuition.
Whatever the event was, if the “Snowfield” ended here, my party and I would be annihilated.
‘Wait! Just wait a second!’

At my desperate shout, the fading Snowfield scene returned.
[You wish to take an unexpected action.]
This skill activated whenever someone tried to make an “unexpected move.”

[Describe your own action.]
[Consume 5 Probability Points.]
And it worked for me as well.

[Exclusive skill, ‘□□,’ has been re-triggered.]
[Exclusive skill, ‘□□,’ is active again.]
[You have entered the ‘Snowfield.’]

[Please describe Cheon Inho’s next action.]
A window appeared before my eyes.
Cheon Inho’s Wit

「At that moment, Cheon Inho—□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□…….」
Based on current proficiency, you may add up to 160 characters of narration.
+

[You may remain in the ‘Snowfield’ for 3 minutes.]
I quickly typed something along the lines of: “Cheon Inho swiftly responded to the crisis and saved his companions.”
[You have written a vague description.]

[The probability of this narration’s realization is 10%.]
[Would you like to check reader feedback?]
+

rlaehrwk37: As if Cheon Inho could…
rlaehrwk81: Doesn’t even know what’s going on lol
+

What the hell was happening?
I calmed myself and tried to observe. First, the current location, the setting, the characters…
And then I noticed it.

「Cracks were spreading across the tunnel ceiling.」
[Background clue discovered.]
[Additional probability will be secured for narration.]

Now I had some idea of what was about to happen.
I quickly typed:
「At that moment, Cheon Inho noticed the ceiling was about to collapse. He reflexively pulled Jung Heewon, who was walking ahead, then shouted to the others:

“Everyone, get against the wall!”
Moments later, the tunnel ceiling came crashing down. Through the swirling dust, Cheon Inho checked his companions.
Thankfully, none of them were injured.」

[You have written an underdeveloped narration.]
[The probability of realization is 43%.]
The odds were better.

[Do you wish to attempt realization?]
[If you fail, your party will be annihilated.]
Forty-three percent was too uncertain.

The narration lacked sufficient probability…
I modified it, keeping the structure but adjusting the detail.
「Cheon Inho sacrificed the ligaments in his right arm, pushing his companions back with all his strength.」

[You have written an underdeveloped narration.]
[The probability of realization is 67%.]
The chances improved.

I refined it again.
「Cheon Inho sacrificed the ligaments in both arms, pushing his companions back with all his strength.」
[You have written a fairly plausible narration.]

[The probability of realization is 98%.]
[Reader feedback incoming.]
+

rlaehrwk37: Brutal.
rlaehrwk81: They lived, but that’s still screwed.
+

So this was the only way.
Kimdokja81’s comment gnawed at me, but there was no alternative.
[Scene successfully realized.]

[Exiting the ‘Snowfield.’]
As the message appeared, my arms ballooned with pain. Level 10 strength burst beyond its limit.
I grabbed Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo by the waist and flung them backward, then rolled on the ground with Jung Heewon in my arms.

KWA-AAAAAANG!
An earth-shaking boom resounded, and agony exploded through both arms.
The collapsing ceiling rained down, heavy debris grazing my face and limbs.

After several coughs, I barely regained my senses. A faint groan escaped from within my embrace.
Jung Heewon was alive.
Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein had been flung some distance away, but they seemed largely unharmed.

「We survived.」
My whole body trembled. My left arm was limp, probably torn ligaments, and my right was barely responsive, close to paralyzed.
And yet, it wasn’t over.

The intermittent tremors in the ground told me that the true cause of this collapse was approaching.
Rumble… rumble…
Soon, a massive shadow loomed above the shattered tunnel.

I knew that monster all too well.
Grade 7 beast species: the Poison Rhinoceros.
A dreadful certainty struck me. Was this why the feedback had said that?

Even if we survived the collapse, we were doomed to die to this beast.
Its violet eyes locked onto me, and its massive forefoot lifted into the air.
It would crush me.

I tried to move, but my body refused.
“Heewon-ssi! Wake up! Hurry!”
Darkness engulfed my vision.

This was the end.
And then—
「A pale trajectory sliced through the air.」

Even Jung Heewon’s swordsmanship couldn’t compare to this—this was far more beautiful, more transcendent.
The Poison Rhinoceros’s foreleg was severed clean, its blood spraying across me in grotesque unreality.
Drenched in beast’s blood, I could only stare.

And then came the second trajectory.
「Impossible.」
Horn, ears, legs—one by one, they were severed.

The terrifying grade 7 beast howled in agony and collapsed.
「At this point, there shouldn’t exist any incarnation capable of slaying such a monster.」
But as I saw the broad black-clad back wielding the long spear, chills crept across my skin.

「There is one. One person.」
On top of the fallen carcass, a man in a black coat stood.
Just meeting his eyes sent shivers down my spine.

No one needed to tell me. I knew.
He was the one who bore all the tragedies of this world upon his back.
The protagonist of Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World, whom Kim Dokja had read for over a decade.

“What the hell are you doing here?”
Yoo Joonghyuk.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.