Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Web Novel KR)

The Demon-like Judge of Fire.
At the long-forgotten epithet, a wave of nostalgia washed over me.
Archangel Uriel.

Together with the Prisoner of the Golden Headband, the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, and the Secretive Plotter—one of the “Four Old Hands” of Bihyung’s channel.
And the constellation who loved Kim Dokja more than anyone else.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, makes a disinterested expression.]

Perhaps because Kim Dokja wasn’t here, Uriel, who had just entered the channel, didn’t seem to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» care about the incarnations at all.
Maybe that was Uriel’s true self before meeting Kim Dokja.
From a distance, I saw Gyeong Sein waving toward me after spotting Uriel’s entrance message. Judging from his lips—

“Hurry, do something! She’s here!”
That’s what he seemed to be saying.
But really, what could I possibly do?
Kim Dokja was born to be loved by all things, but I was Cheon Inho, one of the Ten Evils.

[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is looking at you.]
Staring like that won’t change anything. I don’t have anything to show.
Want to try being incited?

[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incite Lv.4’, is activated!]
「I am Kim Dokja.」
I tried inciting myself into believing I had become Kim Dokja.

But aside from a few “Annihilation Law” settings surfacing in my mind, I didn’t feel any particular change.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, looks at you with a strange gaze.]
Looking around, I saw the middle-aged ahjussi, Dansoo, resting on the platform, worn out from sword practice.

“Mister.”
“Friend.”
For some reason, his expression looked unusually dark.

“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but…”
He trailed off, but by now, I could guess even without him saying it.

He was thinking about Jiyoon again.
Dansoo ahjussi gave me a weak smile and murmured absently.
“I wish she had liked stories that were just a little less dangerous…”
For a moment, my heart grew heavy.

We sat side by side, staring into the darkness of the platform.
“Did your daughter always like novels?”
“She read sometimes, but she especially loved this one.”

“What could she have liked about a story like this?”
“Well…”
Ahjussi made a grim face, as if he were Yoo Joonghyuk hesitating over a regression, then answered seriously.

“It must have been because there were so many handsome boys.”
“Ah…”
“She once told me that she liked how the handsome friends kept saving each other.”

I had no words, and just stared blankly at the darkness of the tunnel.
That was… one hell of a summary.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is curious about what you are talking about.]

From elsewhere on the platform, the voices of people laughing boisterously drifted over.
After a pause, ahjussi continued.
“I just hope… that right now, Jiyoon also has such friends by her side.”

“She definitely will.”
No matter what words of comfort I offered, they wouldn’t reach ahjussi in his current state.
Even so, Dansoo ahjussi gladly accepted my paltry comfort with a faint smile.

“I’m really glad I met you, Inho-ssi. If you hadn’t saved me back then, I would already be dead.”
“That’s not true.”
Dansoo ahjussi was the first reader I ever met. Maybe that was why, more than anyone else, I wanted him to meet his daughter again and safely return to reality.
I stood and reached out my hand to him.

“I’ll keep working hard to save you. Until the day you reunite with your daughter, I promise.”
He grasped my hand and rose, nodding.
“Yes. I’ll work hard to help, too.”

Looking at ahjussi’s warm smile, I felt something warm stir inside me as well.
And then, a message appeared.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, has sponsored you with 100 coins.]

I tilted my head up toward the air.
…Why was I sponsored just now?
***

Just before leaving the station, we exchanged farewells with the others.
Bang Cheolsoo, who had come to see us off, was the first to speak.
“Hyungnim. You’re leaving?”

“Yeah.”
“Won’t it be dangerous? Wouldn’t it be safer to wait here and move together…”
“I have business. You remembered everything I told you, right?”

“Yes.”
The coins earned from the “Secure Food” scenario amounted to only 500. At the daily survival fee, it was barely enough for five days.
“To escape the survival fee penalty, you’ll have to move eventually. Finish the sub scenario as fast as you can, then bring everyone to Chungmuro. I’ll clear as many monsters along the way as possible.”

“Hyungnim…”
The Cheoldoo gang all bowed their heads to me. It was embarrassing, as if I really were their boss.
Bang Cheolsoo continued.

“To be honest, I doubted you at first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know how you can read people’s faces. You looked kinda cowardly, and your silly grin was annoying.”

“…”
“I still don’t trust you completely. I’ve lived in this world too long to trust anyone easily.”
Bang Cheolsoo rambled on unusually long for him.

“But watching you, hyungnim, I reflected a bit. People shouldn’t be judged by appearances alone…”
I almost smacked him on the head but stopped. Not judging by appearances alone…
Did I have the right to hear those words?

After all, I had judged Bang Cheolsoo by the few lines written in Ways of Survival. That thought brought a strange feeling.
Just how much truth did Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint actually contain?
“Enough. We’ll see each other again, so don’t waste words.”

[The constellation, ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’, is impressed by your noir-like mood!]
[You have received 100 coins.]
“And this.”

“What is this…?”
“The magic brazier I used earlier. Manage it and use it during meals.”
It was the only cooking device in this place.

From his face, Bang Cheolsoo immediately understood the significance of me handing it to him.
“Hy-hyungnim…”
I turned away without further words.

Before long, Gyeong Sein and Dansoo ahjussi, finished with their own farewells, rejoined me.
“Stay safe, hyungnim!”
Leaving the Cheoldoo gang’s chorus behind, we walked toward the tunnel of Yaksu Station.

“It feels bittersweet.”
Maybe he had grown attached to the people, as Dansoo ahjussi kept looking back.
Gyeong Sein, also glancing back repeatedly, called out to me.

“Inho-ssi, but…?”
I already knew what he wanted to say, so I answered simply.
“They’ll be coming soon.”

Footsteps followed us from behind. I didn’t even need to look to know who it was.
“Knew you’d come.”
Turning around, I saw Jung Heewon standing there, sulking.

“Shouldn’t you at least ask if I wanted to come with you?”
Instead of answering, I just swept my gaze over our group: two flimsy men and one girl whose muscles only existed in spirit.
Jung Heewon let out a deep sigh.

“Honestly.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not free.”

She hesitated, then added—
“Inho-ssi seems smart, so I’ll stick with you for now to benefit from it.”
“…”

“What are you staring at?”
“Nothing. Just… a little moved.”
“What’s there to be moved about…”

Jung Heewon pouted toward the front. For some reason, Gyeong Sein looked at me with envy.
Dansoo ahjussi trailed a step behind us, smiling warmly.
Perhaps uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Jung Heewon suddenly turned and asked:

“So where exactly are we going?”
At her question, a thought struck me.
「How far can we really go?」

The endless dark tunnel ahead spread out like a pitch-black snowfield.
Only Kim Dokja, who would one day read this story, would know what lay beyond.
“For now, let’s head to Chungmuro.”

It was about time to meet the second .
+
Category: Main

Difficulty: E
Clear Condition: Traverse the tunnel and meet the survivors at the first base area.
Time Limit: None

Reward: 500 coins
Failure: ???
+

[The next ‘Main Base’ is ‘Chungmuro’.]
Halfway through the tunnel, a new scenario window appeared.
At last, the second scenario had officially begun.

We casually dispatched the occasional mole crickets and soon arrived at our first waypoint, Yaksu Station.
“Looks like there aren’t any survivors here.”
As in the third regression, Yaksu Station was empty this time too.

At the center of the platform lay traces of corpses gathered and burned.
“Wait, here…”
Among the scattered ashes and clothing scraps, we found writing scrawled in charcoal:

—I miss Mom and Dad.
Gyeong Sein whispered.
“There wasn’t anything like this in Ways of Survival, right?”

I nodded.
Maybe it was left behind by a reader who had possessed someone here.
Dansoo ahjussi lingered long over the scribbles.

After a quick check of the surroundings, Jung Heewon returned.
“It’s all empty.”
“Let’s move straight to Dongguk Univ. Station. We’ll regroup there.”

“Got it.”
Jung Heewon took the lead, and we moved on.
Gyeong Sein whispered.

“Inho-ssi, you remember Dongguk Univ. Station, right?”
“Yes. I know.”
After about thirty or forty minutes of hard marching, the platform of Dongguk Univ. Station finally came into view.

No trace of survivors here either.
Perhaps because we had cleared two stations much faster than in the original, even Jung Heewon looked slightly fatigued.
“Tougher than expected.”

Naturally so.
On the way, she had single-handedly exterminated a hundred and fifty mole crickets.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is showing interest in the incarnation, Jung Heewon.]

To fight this well without even using [Hour of Judgment]—her combat ability was astounding. At this level, aside from Yoo Joonghyuk, no current incarnation could rival her.
“Let’s rest a bit. Meet back here in twenty minutes.”
“Wonder if the bathrooms still have running water? I’ll just wash my face. Sein, wanna come?”

Gyeong Sein flailed in alarm and waved her off. Jung Heewon nodded lightly and headed for the restroom.
“See you soon.”
Once she was gone, Gyeong Sein and I exchanged glances.

“Ten minutes should be enough?”
“Five.”
[A constellation who has yet to reveal its epithet is intrigued by your plan.]

Only Dansoo ahjussi, who had forgotten most of Ways of Survival, looked puzzled, not understanding our exchange.
***
Moments later, we stood before Exit 6 of Dongguk Univ. Station.

[You have been exposed to Poison Fog.]
We downed the powdered horn of the Poison Rhino leftover from treating Killer King, then sprinted up the escalator leading to Dongdae-ro.
“There it is!”

Gyeong Sein was the first to spot it.
A bluish-gray statue visible in the distance.
Dansoo ahjussi noticed and let out a gasp.

Statue of Great Master Saimyung.
No doubt about it—the statue of Saimyung Daesa, who in the original story bore the epithet, Bald Volunteer General.
This was where Kim Dokja had smashed the statue to obtain a hidden skill and item.

“As expected, someone’s already broken it.”
But the statue we found was already shattered.
[A constellation clad in straw matting glares at you.]

[The constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, chuckles at your misfortune.]
Looking at the statue cut cleanly in half, I let out a bitter laugh.
Whoever it was, they had split it with surgical precision. It could have been Yoo Joonghyuk’s work, or maybe Killer King, or another veteran reader.

With a pale face, Gyeong Sein called to me.
“Inho-ssi…”
“I expected this.”

“Huh?”
There were countless readers in this world, not just us.
Someone else had cleared the Evil Dragon Scenario. The Broken Faith had been sold out by the queue system. Even [Baek Cheongganggi] had been outright stolen.

So of course, Saimyung’s secret techniques would already be claimed.
I slowly lifted the statue’s upper body from the ground.
[A constellation clad in straw matting wonders at your actions.]

Thanks to Strength Level 20, I could now lift what once would have been impossible.
[A constellation clad in straw matting reveals their epithet.]
[The constellation, ‘Bald Volunteer General’, realizes your intent and is surprised.]

Pointing at the other half, I said—
“Sein-ssi, could you grab that side?”
He hesitated, then stepped forward.

“L-like this?”
“Yes. Now lift it above your head.”
“O-okay. Hup.”

Together, we raised the statue’s upper half above our heads.
In these past few days of scenarios, I’d realized something.
If you followed Ways of Survival exactly, you would never survive this world.

“Dansoo ahjussi, climb up on the statue and hold it steady!”
After a few minutes of struggle, we managed to set the upper half back onto the lower half.
I tore strips from clothes I’d saved from Geumho Station and bound the broken waist tightly.

“All done.”
The statue now looked as though it had a bandaged waist. Not a bad appearance, really.
Finally realizing my intent, Gyeong Sein’s jaw dropped.

“Inho-ssi, don’t tell me this is…”
“Yes, exactly.”
This world was the .

A world where everything became a story.
It wasn’t only by smashing and destroying that an entertaining story was created.
Smiling, I pressed my palms together briefly toward the statue.

[The constellation, ‘Bald Volunteer General’, is deeply moved by your sincerity!]
Lifting my head, I saw something glitter fall from the sky.
For the sake of readers who might later possess characters, let me state this clearly.

[The constellation, ‘Bald Volunteer General’, has bestowed a sponsored item upon you.]
This—was how you survived in this damned .