Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Web Novel KR)

I began skimming through the newly added table of contents.
And while I was doing so, another one popped up.
Episode 3. Protagonist(?) (6) +[21]
Episode 3. Protagonist(?) (5) +[24]
……
Episode 2. Rewriting (1) +[49]
Episode 1. The World After the Ending (2) +[41]
Episode 1. The World After the Ending (1) +[63]
Prologue. This Is Not a Notice +[98]
In total: 568 chapters.

What the hell was going on?
Looking more closely, there was even a special event side story included.
Now that I thought about it, I did remember writing some side story for Yoo Joonghyuk’s birthday as an event.

But… did I ever upload that as part of the main serialization?
Well, whatever. As long as I could check the content, it didn’t matter.
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to check the comments on the most recent upload.

[One daily free ticket will be consumed.]
[One random comment from the selected episode will be revealed, regardless of order.]
A free ticket?
— First place.

Only one comment showed up, a rank-game style comment. Everything else was hidden behind a blind screen.
What the hell?
I tried checking comments on much older chapters.

As it turned out, up to chapter 552, all comments were visible.
The problem started with the serialized uploads after that.
[Comments from chapter 553 onward: You may check up to 3 comments per day for free.]

[Currently in possession of 2 daily free tickets.]
[Once daily tickets are used up, you may pay Coins to view comments.]
[3,000 Coins will be deducted per comment.]

I was dumbfounded.
Three thousand Coins for a single comment?
That was basically my entire fortune right now.

For the time being, I decided to use the free tickets first.
Starting with chapter 553.
[One daily free ticket will be consumed.]

— Oh?
Something about it left me feeling resentful.
So I clicked on chapter 556.
[One daily free ticket will be consumed.]

[You have used up all of today’s daily free tickets.]
— Wow, then does that mean the author is possessed by Cheon Inho in the story?
Thankfully, this time it was a comment that gave me a hint about the actual content.

Sure enough, the serialized side story was exactly what I was living through right now.
My head spun in confusion.
Who on earth was uploading this?

Was someone else writing under my name in my place?
If this really was a novel, then were even my thoughts being written down word for word?
「Then am I thinking these thoughts… or am I being thought?」

I had no idea.
There was nothing I could know right now.
“Excuse me.”

Jung Heewon approached me just as I was taking a break after finishing food distribution.
“Mind if I sit here for a moment?”
“Ah, of course.”

She sat down on the bench beside me. But she didn’t speak right away.
Earlier I had been too preoccupied to notice, but now that I thought about it—
one of the characters I had written was sitting right next to me.
It felt strange.

This person wasn’t just print on a page.
The pale skin, the long hair, those deep eyes staring into mine—
all of it was real.
Jung Heewon truly existed here in front of me.
“Sorry about earlier. Sein explained it was a misunderstanding. She said you just looked exactly like someone she hated…”

“No need to apologize. Mistakes happen. It’s fine.”
Not that I resembled him. I was literally that very person.
I pulled a canned drink from my pocket and offered it.

“Want one?”
“Oh—thank you.”
We sat side by side, sipping from our cans.

As we gazed together at the empty train tracks, the events of the original story surfaced in my mind.
Come to think of it, Kim Dokja had once sat here on the Geumho Station platform, talking with Jung Heewon.
She spoke.

“The trains aren’t coming anymore, are they?”
No matter how long you waited, the trains would never arrive. Not the next one, nor the one after that.
But that didn’t mean anyone would die just because the trains stopped running.

“We’ll have to get used to walking from now on.”
Heewon glanced sideways at me.
“You’re awfully calm about all this, Inho-ssi. I can’t manage that at all.”

“I tend to imagine strange things a lot.”
She gave a wry smile at the word strange.
“Funny. Sein said almost the same thing.”

Off in the distance, Sein was teaching Uncle Dansoo how to do squats—
telling him to keep his back straighter, not to push his knees too far forward, that in this world you needed strong legs to survive…
“If not for Sein, I probably would have died.”
According to Heewon, she and Sein had been trapped in the same zone during the first scenario.

I already knew the rough outline.
When Heewon panicked, Sein caught a bug for her. That was how the two survived together.
“Lucky there were plenty of bugs in your zone.”

“There was only one bug.”
“…What?”
Come to think of it, my zone had been fortunate to contain a vending machine, but not every zone would have had that.

Some areas surely had almost no bugs at all.
“I was the only one who survived by using a bug.”
“Then Sein must have…”

“It was self-defense. The kind of person who had it coming.”
The expression on Heewon’s face as she said it reminded me, strangely, of the Judge of Destruction I knew from the story.
But Sein, killing someone? From her appearance, she didn’t seem capable of it.

“By the way, Inho-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Have we met before?”

“…Sorry?”
“The things you said earlier.”
Earlier?

「Heewon-nim… I love you… I really do…」
A chill ran down my arms.
“Oh, that.”

Now that I thought about it, it was no wonder Heewon misunderstood.
“Forget about it.”
“Should I?”

“Yes.”
I felt a strange stare from afar—Sein, mid-squat, glaring this way.
Heewon let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. Honestly, I was worried you might be… strange.”
“No need for that kind of worry.”
If Yoo Joonghyuk ever found out about this, he would never let me live it down.

What kind of author confesses to their own character?
Seeing me strongly deny it, Heewon scratched her cheek and smiled faintly.
“Anyway, I look forward to working with you. I was a little surprised earlier when I saw you handing out food to the others. I never even considered doing something like that.”

[Character ‘Jung Heewon’ feels a faint trust toward you.]
Finally, I understood why she had come to speak with me.
[More than half the people in this area now consider you their leader.]

[You have conquered ‘Geumho Station’.]
[You have received the Sub Scenario Reward.]
[You have gained 500 Coins.]

[If you survive until the 4th Main Scenario, you will receive additional benefits for completing the Sub Scenario.]
[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, says your scheming isn’t half bad.]
Wait, there were extra benefits like this?

So Cheon Inho had died in the main story without ever enjoying any of this?
I really had to treat Kim Dokja well when I met him.
Yes—Kim Dokja.

It was about time to go find the real Kim Dokja.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, sir.”

“Wait, just a moment.”
Sein and Uncle Dansoo each gripped a length of pipe, the handles wrapped in cloth. These would serve as our temporary weapons.
“By the way, are we leaving the Cheoldoo gang behind? I thought the whole point of recruiting them was to send them in front.”

Not an unfair remark.
But if I dragged the Cheoldoo gang along and happened to run into Kim Dokja or Yoo Joonghyuk, things could get unnecessarily complicated.
Sein nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, that would cause misunderstandings. But then again, isn’t the biggest problem your existence itself, Inho-ssi?”
“If it’s just me, I can manage an excuse.”
“And what excuse would that be?”

“That’s for you to handle, Sein. Do you think Kim Dokja or Yoo Joonghyuk would believe a word out of my mouth?”
“Ah, true. Ugh… what should I even say? I’m terrible at talking. Where do you think they are by now?”
“They’ve probably just finished the ‘Even Number Bridge’ scenario.”

In the original story, Kim Dokja’s group was scattered when Dongho Bridge collapsed.
“Since Kim Dokja got swallowed by the crocodile dragon right after, we’ll probably encounter Yoo Joonghyuk, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung… maybe some of the others first.”
That was the logical expectation—
assuming the scenarios were playing out just like the main story.

“We might even meet Han Myungoh.”
That came from Uncle Dansoo.
It seemed he was finally done preparing too, since something gleamed above his head—likely a perk from his sponsor.

Good. At least his sponsor wasn’t completely useless.
[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, looks forward to the performance of their incarnation ‘Lee Dansoo’.]
“So it’s just the three of us? Will that really be okay?”

Uncle Dansoo looked worried.
Honestly, I was worried too.
After all, we were just two average men and one girl with the soul of a musclehead.

“Do either of you have combat skills? Like [Weapon Proficiency]?”
Both Sein and Uncle Dansoo shook their heads.
[Weapon Proficiency] was the most basic weapon skill in Ways of Survival.

We didn’t even have that.
Still, Sein was confident.
“Well, at least we should be able to handle a few tunnel earth rats, right? We’ve got experience.”

I agreed.
Who were we?
The author of Ways of Survival (though they didn’t know it yet), and a party of full readers.

The whole novel was about author, reader, and protagonist working together to reach the ending. Surely we could manage it too.
“By the way, is it really okay for us to talk openly about the novel like this? Won’t the Constellations—”
“It’s fine. Even in Ways of Survival itself, talk about the Destruction Method got filtered out at the start.”

“But there’s no guarantee it works the same here—”
[Constellation, ‘Monarch of the Small Fries’, grumbles, asking what on earth you’re all talking about.]
[Constellation, ‘Pig Living in a Brick House’, protests that the dialogue filters seem broken.]

Sein nodded in awe.
“Wow, it’s real. Just like in Ways of Survival.”
Was that a compliment or an insult?

I chose not to ask.
We stepped into the tunnel toward Oksu Station.
As the darkness closed in, every breath sounded louder.

Step by step.
With every footfall, a chill crept up our ankles. The raw sensation of being exposed to danger prickled on our skin.
We all felt the same, but no one said it out loud.

Finally, the first to break the silence was Sein, with the soul of a muscle-bound man.
“Should we just go back? We’d meet them eventually at Geumho Station anyway. Do we really have to go looking?”
“It’s better to meet them halfway. Who knows what might have happened.”

“True… since the first scenario already diverged.”
“Let’s just try, and if it gets too dangerous, we run.”
Of course, I had no intention of running. For our safety going forward, it was best to establish contact with the main characters now.

The worst-case scenario would be that Kim Dokja and the others had already died.
But even if that happened, there was one person who would definitely still be alive.
Yoo Joonghyuk.

The true protagonist of the Destruction Method, and the strongest incarnation in Ways of Survival.
If things really went to hell, someone had to face Yoo Joonghyuk in Kim Dokja’s place. Someone had to persuade him, coax him, and somehow reach the end of this cursed scenario.
「But which of us could possibly do that?」

I returned from my thoughts to hear Sein and Uncle Dansoo chatting as they did squats together, apparently growing closer.
“Uncle, did you make a sponsor contract too?”
“Yes.”

“Who with?”
“The Sneaking Schemer.”
“The Sneaking Schemer?”

“Yes. A famous Constellation.”
Even though I’d told him not to blab, Uncle Dansoo proudly declared it.
The problem was, he was still confusing the Sneaking Schemer with the true strongest sponsor, the Secretive Plotter.

And right now—
“You mean [N O V E L I G H T] that wasn’t the same one?”
He finally realized they weren’t the same Constellation.

“You didn’t skim the novel, did you?”
Uncle Dansoo’s doubtful tone made Sein frown.
“What are you saying? I read it super carefully. Plus I went through the ‘Omniscient Reader Encyclopedia’ compiled by ‘DokjaRepresentative’ at least ten times. How many times did you read it?”

“…What encyclopedia?”
“Never mind. Anyway, the one you mean is the Secretive Plotter. Not the Sneaking Schemer. How could you mix them up?”
“That can’t be…”

Dansoo’s pupils trembled like an earthquake.
“B-but Jiyoon told me that sponsor was the strongest…”
“Whoever Jiyoon is, thanks to her you’re screwed. That Constellation is obviously shady.”

“Jiyoon is my daughter.”
I watched their exchange with interest—until I realized something.
The Sneaking Schemer hadn’t sent a single message in reaction.

Normally, if they were being talked about this blatantly, they’d say something. Had they left the channel?
A sudden anxiety struck me. If our chatter made Bihyung’s channel lose popularity, the “streaming contract” deal might fall through.
‘Bihyung. You there?’

Even when I reached out, there was no reply.
The connection wasn’t cut, was it?
[A handful of Constellations murmur, asking who on earth the ‘Sneaking Schemer’ is.]

So there were still reactions—meaning the channel wasn’t dead.
I’d worry about it later. For now, we had to move.
“Let’s pick up the pace.”

“Alright.”
“Got it.”
One minute later.

“You’re all slowing down.”
“Inho-ssi, you should take the lead. You’re the leader.”
This wasn’t an overpowered party of author and full readers. It was just a coward party.

At this pace, it’d take us all day to reach Oksu Station.
“Hey, friends.”
Unexpectedly, the savior who spoke up was Uncle Dansoo.

“If it’s alright, I think it’d be best if I scout ahead alone.”
“What? You’ll get yourself killed, Uncle. I told you, your sponsor isn’t the Secretive Plotter!”
“I know. My sponsor is the Sneaking Schemer.”

And in that moment, Uncle Dansoo once again looked strangely dignified, like Kim Dokja himself.
“Which means there are things only I can do.”
He crouched down, placed his hand on the ground, and muttered something under his breath.

Moments later, dozens of cockroaches scurried toward him.
“U-ugh! Gross!”
Sein clung to me in fright, and I sidestepped away.

The cockroaches swarming near Uncle Dansoo twitched their antennae, as if communicating with him, then organized into neat ranks and marched toward Oksu Station.
Sein asked with trembling hands,
“Uncle, isn’t that [Multi-Species Communication]? How did you get that skill? Is your Attribute Insect Collector?”

From what I remembered, even in the main story, there weren’t many protagonists who possessed that skill.
Uncle Dansoo wiped sweat from his brow and said,
“My sponsor gave it to me.”

His sponsor?
That sponsor gave him a skill like this?
[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, has re-entered the channel.]

[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, marvels that you’ve already made it this far while they were away eating.]
For the briefest instant, a thought crossed my mind.
[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer’, smiles fondly at the sight of the cockroaches.]

…No. That couldn’t be.
Right?