Chapter 255

A burning pain was felt from my cheeks several times .

“Kim Dokja! Hey! What is this?”

My vision blinked and my consciousness slowly rose to the surface .

[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is strongly activated!]

“Uh…”

My voice didn’t sound like me . It was only a moment but it felt like I had become a different existence and came back . A terrible sensation remained in my entire body . The shoulders being touched by Jang Hayoung’s fingers trembled .

“What’s wrong with you?”

I couldn’t clearly remember what had happened . I asked the Fourth Wall to check the Attributes Window and then I heard a voice…

I rubbed my temples and asked, “…How did I faint?”

“I don’t know! I came running because of a sudden lightning bolt!”

“Lightning?”

“Do you know the sparks that appear when you break the probability? That…”

“Did it strike like lightning?”

Jang Hayoung nodded . “It was the first time I had seen something so big . ”

My coat and other clothing were charred black . I couldn’t believe that the coat with the automatic restoration function was damaged like this… The ceiling of the office looked like it had been hit by a meteorite .

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine . Of course, I’m fine…”

Rather, I felt lighter . It was impossible . My body was burnt like this but my spirit was clear . The power of my stories felt fuller .

[The effect of the exclusive skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ has increased understanding . ]

I saw the message and a previous memory emerged . That’s right . I had obviously seen such a message .

[Your understanding of the character ‘Kim Dokja’ has increased . ]

The message marked me as a character . It was something that never happened before . Cool energy filled a corner of my chest .

I had seen the presence of ‘characters’ many times . ’ They were those who came from outside the original novel but was eventually assimilated with the original . They were mostly those who stopped reading the novel .

I urgently summoned the Attributes Window . ‘Attributes Window . ’

However, the Attributes Window didn’t easily open . The reason was obvious .

[The Fourth Wall is looking at you . ]

I started sweating .

「 Kim Dok ja look ed for 15 se conds . 」

‘I’m sorry, really . ’

Who knew who much time had passed? In fact, 10 or 15 seconds to look at the Attributes Window was a tight time frame .

「 I wi ll no t see you for the mo ment . 」

‘Wait, let me ask you something . ’ I grabbed the Fourth Wall before it was about to disappear . ‘What the hell is behind that wall?’

It was a vague memory but I definitely saw something before I fainted . I looked a bit closer and it seemed I had been talking to someone . There were clearly a few shadows .

「 …Sleep y . 」

Then the Fourth Wall fell asleep . The function was still working but the consciousness had turned off . Shit .

[You have acquired a new story!]

[The story ‘Looked into the Abyss’ has been acquired . ]

[This story doesn’t have a rating . ]

I stared at the messages in the air with blank eyes .

Looked into the Abyss . I knew the existence of this story from the original novel . I couldn’t prevent the goosebumps .

Unrestrained questions flooded my head . Why did I get this story here? What was the relationship between that story and being called a character? Was I now a character or was I still a reader? I… Was I still able to change the future?

“Kim Dokja?” Jang Hayoung was staring at me with emotional eyes .

How much better would it be if my situation was as clear as his eyes? If I could read myself like I read these eyes…

At this moment, there was a flash in my head .

「 What if I use Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint on myself? 」

I never thought of it before . There was clearly something lurking inside me that I didn’t know . I didn’t know if it was something the author left behind or if it naturally permeated me during the process of the world changing . The obvious thing was I needed to figure out what it was .

However, I hesitated to use Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint .

…Could I figure it out using this? In the first place, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint was a skill that read the thoughts and movements of the target…

[…Kim Dokja? Are you okay?]

I barely escaped from the mire of thoughts thanks to the dokkaebi floating in front of me . “Bihyung?”

I stared at Bihyung with a stupid expression . Didn’t he say he was leaving earlier? Bihyung started stammering .

[Ah… after the sudden storm…]

He said he was busy but he must’ve been observing in the vicinity . In any case, he was a sneaky fellow . I couldn’t trust him .

[D-Don’t get me wrong . I forgot to tell you that I came back . ]

As I spoke to the dokkaebi with calm eyes, Jang Hayoung looked over here with the frightened eyes of a rabbit . I patted his shoulder with a gentle gesture and asked Bihyung . “What aren’t you saying?”

[As you know, the Demon King Selection will be a very big event . ]

It was already expected . The story of what happened at the Gourmet Association must be spreading between the constellations . Some of those present would certainly participate in the Demon King Selection .

[It isn’t just getting bigger, there is also a fight over the broadcasting rights . You might’ve expected it but I’m not the only one dispatched to the Demon World . ]

“Then?”

[You know the dokkaebi on the other side . ]

I knew the dokkaebi?

[It is a guy with a huge grudge against you . ]

There were two of them . However, one was in Murim so there was only one more left . “…Is it Dokgak?”

[Yes . ]

Dokgak . The dokkaebi, who was in charge of the Japanese channel, had been humiliated by me and Bihyung .

I was lucky at the time but now it was different . Among the dokkaebis mentioned in Ways of Survival, Dokgak was a person with outstanding talent regarding channel management . If he was chosen as one of the dokkaebis to lead this ‘Demon King Selection’, the future schedule would never flow smoothly .

[In any case, be careful . The channel management is good so… wait a minute . What about your dokkaebi?]

“Dokkaebi?”

Come to think of it, I felt very lonely . Through the cracked ceiling, the constellations shining in the sky could be seen . It was strange . I might’ve ordered the blocking of the channel but I should be hearing their complaints . Yet I didn’t hear any messages .

“Biyoo?” I called out a name with an uneasy heart .

Biyoo didn’t appear . At first, I thought she was sleeping again . However, minutes passed and there was no Biyoo . An ominous premonition struck me .

…Don’t tell me?

“Biyoo!”

Biyoo had disappeared .

***

[A new constellation has entered the #BI-90594 channel . ]

.

.

[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ is greatly moved by your return . ]

[The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ is welcoming you with a smile . ]

[Many constellations are welcoming your return!]

I entered Bihyung’s channel and familiar names greeted me . I couldn’t rejoice at all despite the baptism of cheers .

[The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is asking the whereabouts of the dokkaebi ‘Biyoo . ’]

Some of the constellations answered immediately .

[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ is wiping his head like it is difficult . ]

[The constellation ‘King Heungmu the Great’ is coughing and placing his thumb and index finger together . ]

[Some constellations say they are willing to answer if you give them coins . ]

…It turned out that the constellations of the Korean Peninsula had little money . I rummaged for coins in my pocket while Jang Hayoung opened his mouth . “Perhaps she was caught in the storm?”

Biyoo wasn’t from the bureau and didn’t have a mighty story to protect herself from a great storm . I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she was swept away by the storm . However—

“It can’t be . There were no signs . ”

If that happened, terrible debris could be seen . However, there were no traces of Biyoo . It felt as if someone had completely ripped away Biyoo’s existence . Who was it? Who took Biyoo…?

Bihyung looked up from where he was biting his nails . Our eyes met and we realized that we had the same idea . Biyoo was the only dokkaebi with an independent channel .

[Fuck, it’s those guys . ]

“The wenny people . ”

The sentences of the original novel flowed into my head .

「 The only scenario area that isn’t under the jurisdiction of the dokkaebis . It is the Demon World . 」

As written in Ways of Survival, the Demon World was essentially the area of the wenny people . In such a zone, they confirmed there was a dokkaebi who wasn’t a member of the bureau .

-The soul is mine .

The first time we met, he had coveted the Dokkaebi Egg . The value of an independent channel was so large that it couldn’t be calculated at present .

A giant story event was currently taking place in the Demon World . There was no way the wenny people would miss something happening in their sphere of influence . They had definitely stolen the channel for the Demon King Selection .

The wenny people were inherently resistant to probability . Thus, they would’ve been able to take Biyoo when I was unconscious and there was a storm around me . Dammit… why at this point?

[Leave it to me . I’ll find them . ]

I could see anger in Bihyung’s eyes .

[The dokkaebis’ honor is at stake . She might not be a member of the bureau but I can’t see this . ]

“Let’s go together . ”

Bihyung shook his head .

[It isn’t long until the Demon King Selection . In the meantime, aren’t there certain things you should be doing?]

That’s right . The remaining time was really short . If I misused this time to find Biyoo, I might be defeated at the start of the competition .

“…Why are you doing this?”

[You belong to my channel now . ]

Bihyung avoided my gaze while replying .

[I’m just moving for my channel . You have to win . That way, the constellations will like you and my channel will become bigger . ]

Then Bihyung disappeared into thin air .

Jang Hayoung asked, “…Is it okay to believe in him?”

There was nothing as stupid as a question about believing a dokkaebi . Putting aside my belief in Bihyung, there was no race as mysterious as the dokkaebis in all of the Star Stream .

I sighed briefly . Yoo Jonghyuk’s situation wasn’t good right now and Jang Hayoung wasn’t strong enough to pursue Bihyung .

A presence that could help me was in the night sky but the problem was that I was now in Bihyung’s channel . In other words, all messages I sent through the channel would be inevitably read by Bihyung .

If so… there was only one way . “Jang Hayoung, call the wall . ”

***

There were quick footsteps in the darkness .

[Baat, baaaat!]

Biyoo burst out crying as she was trapped in a cage .

[Baaat! Baat…!]

An elderly man with a small lump on his left cheek was running along a dark road . There was an excitement in his urgent steps . The old man was in a very good mood .

[The age of the dokkaebis will now end . ]

The old man was excited at the thought of showing off his achievement to the other wenny people . He couldn’t describe how envious he was when a fellow colleague recently came up to him bragging about gaining the ‘story of beating up a dokkaebi . ’ Now he brought not a story about beating a dokkaebi but a dokkaebi itself . The old man patted Biyoo’s cage like it was adorable .

[My child, you will be the first ‘wenny person’ with a channel . ]

This was the long wish of the wenny people . It was to take back the dominance of the story from the dokkaebis .

[■■’s streamer . From the hell of this terrible scenario, I will free the slaves…]

The lump on the old man’s left cheek swelled greatly . The lump wriggled excitedly as it touched the cage containing Biyoo . Biyoo stared at the lump with terrified eyes and urgently looked around . She searched for help but unfortunately, there was no person to rescue Biyoo present .

[Hey . ]

To be precise, it wasn’t a ‘person . ’

[Won’t you put that lump away?]

TL: Rainbow Turtle