Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 572

「Thus, we are each other’s past, each other’s future.」— Prophet Anna Croft.

***

Even after pouring coins into Stamina just before hitting the water, it felt like I was going to lose consciousness.

[You invest 1,800 coins into ‘Stamina.’]

[Stamina Lv.4 → Stamina Lv.10]

[Stamina level has increased greatly!]

[The durability of your body rises significantly!]

[Remaining Coins: 1,800C]

From the nape of my neck to the tips of my toes, there wasn’t a single part of my body unscathed from the impact. My ears rang; I felt my body temperature plummeting.

What kept my fading consciousness tethered, absurdly enough, were the constellations’ messages.

[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer,’ praises your tenacity for survival.]

[You have received 500 coins.]

[Constellation, ‘Rice Cake-Eating Tiger,’ supports you!]

[Constellation, ‘The First Cow,’ supports you!]

[Constellation, ‘Nail-Eating Rat,’ supports you!]

[Constellation, ‘Dog That Throws Itself Into Fire,’ supports you!]

[You have received an additional 800 coins.]

The animal constellations’ modifiers were back.

[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon,’ enjoys your ruthlessness.]

[You have received 300 coins.]

[Constellation, ‘Commander of the Red Cosmos,’ commends your repentance.]

[You have received 100 coins.]

Even the Black Flame Dragon and Jophiel.

I clenched my teeth.

I just had to survive this.

[Remaining Coins: 3,500C]

Holding my breath, I calmly scanned the surroundings. Jung Heewon’s figure wavered in the water.

She had completely lost consciousness; her body was sinking into the depths.

Kicking furiously, I swam toward her. But with my torn ligaments, my arms couldn’t pull her up. There was only one way.

I bit down on her arm.

River water flooded my mouth, suffocating me. My eyes bulged. Even so, I couldn’t let go.

If Jung Heewon died here, this round was finished.

Strength drained from my body. Breath faded, yet I didn’t release her arm.

Wake up. Please.

That was when a powerful current surged around us.

As my breath caught in my throat, a massive beast loomed from afar.

An Aquatic Dragon.

Grade 7 beast species, Sea Serpent.

Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed in front of me. Then, black silence swallowed my vision.

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rlaehrwk25: Nostalgic.

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“Inho-ssi! Inho-ssi!”

Something slapped against my cheek. Slowly, consciousness returned. The first thing I saw was the blinding flash of a phone and Jung Heewon’s face.

“Heewon-ssi?”

“Ha… seriously.”

She let out a sigh of relief. As I staggered upright, the ground tilted beneath us.

She grabbed my shoulder.

“Careful. You’ll fall off.”

The black river slapped against us in the darkness.

Looking closer, we were perched on fragments of a plastic structure. Probably debris from a rescue yacht on the Han.

The air was damp. As I turned on the flashlight, crimson walls surrounded us on all sides.

Then the memory returned.

We had been swallowed by the serpent.

“Why do you look so relieved? We’re about to die.”

I spat water, forcing a bitter smile.

The phone’s light revealed our shadows cast against the serpent’s crimson stomach lining.

“Heewon-ssi.”

“Don’t.”

As though already knowing what I would say, she continued without looking at me.

“You’re a strange person, aren’t you, Inho-ssi?”

“I suppose I am.”

“Always saying weird things.”

First claiming you loved me, then saying I wasn’t your comrade.

She must be confused.

If my friend had been Cheon Inho, I’d have cut ties long ago.

“Still, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I only said that so he would let you go.”

“Is that guy a psychopath?”

I thought for a moment, then answered.

“Yes.”

“A friend?”

“Not a friend.”

“But someone you know.”

I gave a slight nod.

She went quiet, then muttered like a complaint.

“Anyway, it hurts like hell. Just how hard did you bite me?”

Her right forearm bore a vivid human bite mark.

Flustered, I replied:

“I’m sorry.”

“Still, you saved me. It hurt so bad it jolted me awake.”

“Are you okay otherwise? From earlier, when you fought—”

“It’s fine. Just a shallow stab.”

…Shallow? From that Yoo Joonghyuk?

“So, what now? We’re trapped.”

I gauged the size of the stomach around us. Fortunately, it wasn’t the Sea Commander-class serpent that had swallowed Kim Dokja.

“In a way, this is better. Safer than the Han River outside.”

“We’ll just dissolve in stomach acid.”

“We’ll get out before then.”

“How? We’re not Pinocchio.”

“Pinocchio?”

“You don’t know?”

“No, I know.”

The wooden puppet whose nose grew with every lie.

“Pinocchio got swallowed by a whale and escaped, right?”

Come to think of it, I had read that fairy tale long ago.

Jung Heewon clearly thought this was similar.

[Constellation, ‘Long-Nosed Liar,’ nods approvingly.]

I stared blankly at the message, then refocused.

“Let me think. I need a plan.”

“Fine. And what should I do?”

“If you remember how Pinocchio escaped, let me know.”

“Will that help?”

“You never know.”

Of course, Pinocchio wasn’t the one to show us how to escape.

「That was Ways of Survival.」

While she pondered deeply, I closed my eyes and recalled how Kim Dokja had done it.

But this method required help.

Bihyung.

I felt the connection to the dokkaebi communication.

—Haa… so it’s come to this.

Bihyung’s tone was resigned.

—I don’t know why so many strange things are happening this season.

‘Have you thought about my proposal?’

—I sent a message agreeing to the contract. You didn’t get it?

With those words, a window opened.

1. Incarnation Cheon Inho (hereafter “A”) shall enter into an exclusive contract with Dokkaebi Bihyung (hereafter “B”) until either the scenarios end or A perishes.

…

Seeing this contract again felt surreal.

—I’m really making an exception here. I wasn’t going to.

It wasn’t hard to guess when he’d decided.

Probably right after seeing my standoff with Yoo Joonghyuk. Judging by the influx of coins, the constellations had enjoyed that show as well.

I scanned the contract, flagging suspicious clauses, overlooking what I could accept.

—You seem awfully skilled at this.

‘Contracts are all the same.’

In truth, this Stream Contract resembled the management contracts I used to sign.

I remembered my rookie writer days. I’d been scammed more than once.

—The split is 8:2. You get 8, I get 2.

‘I won’t complain, but isn’t it normally 7:3?’

—Seeing you work, I figured you deserved more.

He was worried another dokkaebi might snatch me away.

A wise decision. But that meant the bargaining chip was in my hands.

‘Then, one more request.’

—No more changes to the split. This is final.

‘Not the split. A scenario.’

—Scenario?

‘There’s a hidden scenario here, isn’t there?’

Silence.

—How do you know that?

‘Does it matter?’

He sighed again, muttering about the Administration Bureau, plausibility, sanctions.

—Fine. Someone already claimed it anyway.

Already claimed?

[A new Hidden Scenario has arrived!]

I opened the window.

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Category: Hidden

Difficulty: B

Clear Condition: Kill the Aquatic Dragon Sea Serpent and escape from its stomach.

Time Limit: 5 days

Reward: 4,000 coins

Failure: Death

+

The reward wasn’t as grand as Kim Dokja’s, but the difficulty was lower.

Even injured, Jung Heewon and I could manage this.

—So, no objections? Need anything else?

‘I’ll need access to the dokkaebi bag.’

The dokkaebi bag.

This was the greatest benefit of the Stream Contract.

Bihyung immediately pulled up the interface.

‘Won’t there be ads?’

—Ads?

‘If I’m caught using the bag, wouldn’t that be trouble?’

He sounded annoyed at my fuss.

—It’s not illegal. And there are others with bag privileges, so no one will care.

Indeed, the constellations didn’t raise a fuss.

[Constellation, ‘Pig Living in a Brick House,’ wonders what you will buy.]

On the contrary, they seemed eager to watch my purchase.

Different from the main story indeed.

Anyway, I’d gathered what I needed.

‘Let’s stamp it.’

[The Stream Contract has been concluded.]

[You have received 1,000 coins as a signing bonus.]

A bonus, without me even asking.

Maybe Bihyung wasn’t so bad.

Perhaps Kim Dokja was the villain for swindling such an honest dokkaebi.

—I need to check other regions. Call me if something happens.

He had many other areas to manage.

Oddly enough, I was reassured.

It meant more readers had survived.

‘Take care.’

When the communication cut off, I opened the bag.

[Product search function is now available.]

[Search is limited to 5 times per day. Additional searches cost 100 coins each.]

Still stingy, just like the main story.

I recalled the list of good early items.

The Heart of an Ancient Dragon, the Eye of a Great Demon… a few others I’d only created in settings. But the first thing to search for was obvious.

[Product search complete.]

The martial technique Kim Dokja had first obtained from Baek Cheongmun.

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Baekcheongangqi — Out of stock.

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Already sold out?

Another reader must have opened the bag before me.

“I was thinking about Pinocchio,”

A sudden voice made me turn.

Jung Heewon muttered seriously:

“If he lied really hard, and grew his nose really long, he could pierce a hole in the whale’s belly to escape, right?”

I stared at her blankly.

She was still thinking about Pinocchio.

“That’s a great idea.”

She squinted.

“No, it’s not.”

“No, really. That’s similar to what I had in mind.”

I reopened the bag, searched for items.

Slime of a Hammer Seahorse. Sharp Spines of a Stonehog.

These were the exact items Kim Dokja had used to escape the serpent.

He had bought four of each.

I bought eight.

[You have spent 1,600 coins.]

I wanted to search for more, but my funds were limited.

I tucked a spine into my waistband with my weak right hand, then handed the rest to Jung Heewon: seven spines, eight pouches of slime.

“Take these.”

Startled, she asked:

“Where did you get these all of a sudden?”

“This is the core of the Pinocchio plan.”

“…What?”

I couldn’t do this alone.

[Constellation, ‘Sneaking Schemer,’ watches you with interest.]

My arms were practically useless.

So the one who would drive these spines into the stomach walls had to be someone else.

I looked up at the digestive ducts around us.

“Think of these spines as Pinocchio’s nose.”

At least this time, I could borrow Kim Dokja’s wisdom.

***

That night, I dreamed.

Not that I tried to sleep—more like I fainted.

Dreams are often named by their contents. If pigs appear, it’s a pig dream. If a dragon appears, a dragon dream.

Then this dream too deserved a name.

It was,

「Cheon Inho.」

a Kim Dokja dream.