Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, Vol. 2, page 12
Huiwon was panting as she looked at me proudly. A T. rex was a strong foe, even among level-7 monsters, so she had every reason to feel proud. A moment later, Jihye ran up to us, grumbling nonstop.
“Come on. I almost killed it.”
“No way. I needed to attack it a lot more,” I emphatically played up my contribution as I wiped my sword.
“By the way, do they ever kill the T. rex in the movie?” Huiwon asked.
“No, but wasn’t this more entertaining?”
“…What?”
“I mean, it’s an action-adventure flick. I say we lived up to that.”
At that moment, a system message popped up.
[The Cinema Master is satisfied with the altered ending.]
“Whaaat?” Huiwon exclaimed in surprise.
That was how this place worked. The key to clearing this dungeon was not to recreate the real ending but to come up with one that’d please the Cinema Master. And he happened to be an extreme enjoyer of fast-paced action and satisfying payoffs.
“Do you get it now? Just destroy everything, and it’ll work out.”
In other words, each movie would naturally end when all the obstacles to the ending were removed.
[You can now move on to the next floor.]
[Make your way to the lab with the helicopter on the roof.]
“Let’s hold off a bit. We need to grab some rewards.”
I then began searching near the T. rex’s body. Soon, we came across one of the men who had arrived before us. The rest of his comrades must’ve been devoured or mauled to death by the T. rex.
“Hey. Wake up.”
“Ugh…”
Blood ran down the man’s back from a wound made by the T. rex’s claws. Judging from his exposed spine, there was nothing we could do for him.
“Take a deep breath.”
“Cough! H-help…!”
I gave him a bottle of water we’d brought. He drank some, then coughed out more blood. As pitiful as he was, I couldn’t hold off questioning him any longer. There were things I needed to ask him urgently.
“How did you find out about this place?”
“Th-the Orac—”
“Who are the Oracles?”
The man’s breathing was growing ragged.
“Th-the ones who received a revelation…”
A revelation?
“I…don’t want…to die…”
He coughed up more blood, then stopped breathing, and his body went limp. Huiwon and the others came up behind me.
“Is he…?”
I looked down at the man and shook my head.
A “revelation,” huh? What fancy-sounding nonsense.
The only person in TWSA with such an ability was Anna Croft, who had the “Future Sight” skill. Then this could only mean one thing.
…So I’m not the only one. But they don’t know as much as I do.
The fact that they tested the waters by sending someone instead of coming here themselves proved it.
“Dokja?”
“Let’s take a break.”
We covered the man’s dead body with large leaves and gathered around the T. rex’s corpse. We needed to hurry if we wanted to catch up with Junghyeok. But if we rushed off without proper rest, we could all die before we even reached him.
I searched the T. rex’s corpse. I checked its head and inside its heart, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find its nucleus. But that didn’t mean there was no reward.
Huiwon was drooling as she stared at T. rex’s body, which was had been seared in spots by my fire-imbued Blade of Faith.
“…Can we eat this, by any chance?”
“Yes, since it’s been cooked by magical flame. You can use a mana brazier to grill the parts that aren’t cooked.”
We sat around the T. rex’s leg. Steam came from the well-done meat as I cut it.
Gilyeong shouted excitedly, “New meat!”
The impatient Jihye took the first bite while the rest of us each grabbed a chunk. It was a lot of meat—the kind of feast I could only dream of when I was an ordinary office worker.
“Ah, this has to be the tastiest thing in the world…,” mumbled Jihye, savoring every bite with her eyes closed.
The meat was delicious indeed. There was just the right amount of fat in between the muscle, so the texture was on another level compared to the meat from a ground rat. With every bite, my mouth was filled with the juicy, chewy taste of heaven… If Sangah were here, she would’ve wept with joy.
As we ate in silence, I could feel my stamina recovering. The meat of a high-level monster species provided special effects, though we had to be careful since certain species weren’t edible.
“Whew… That was amazing. It’s so good, but I can’t eat any more. I’m gonna cry,” Huiwon said, looking genuinely sad.
After resting a bit, we headed directly to the lab located in the middle of the island.
We encountered a few raptors, but having already killed a T. rex, we were hardly bothered by those small fries.
Scattered throughout the lab were flasks and ampoules. There were also small incubators containing dinosaur embryos, as well as pieces of amber with insects embedded within, ready for extraction of blood samples. The only thing missing was people.
Stepping into an inner chamber, I spotted some noteworthy items.
[Stamina Amplification Ampoule]
[Magic Power Amplification Ampoule]
[Agility Amplification Ampoule]
[Strength Amplification Ampoule]
There they are. I quickly picked up the ampoules while the others were distracted. Just like the Angler Dragon’s Nucleus, these items were one of the few ways to increase overall stats in the early scenarios.
Plus, it wasn’t just one or two ampoules here. I counted almost twenty bottles, enough to give me an enormous boost in power. This was why I’d saved up my coins instead of dumping them on stat upgrades. I was expecting this hidden scenario. After all, these ampoules could only be used on stats under level 30.
“Hey, did you just pocket something?”
…Damn, she caught me.
“Huh? ‘Stamina Amplification Ampoule’?”
Jihye snatched an ampoule from me. Her eyes went wide.
“You weren’t trying to take them all for yourself, were you?”
“O-of course not. I was gonna share.”
“Huiwon, look! This guy’s trying to…!”
The others came closer. Huiwon read the item’s information and was taken aback.
“What in the…? There are items like this too?”
“Well, this is a hidden scenario, so…” I couldn’t help but sound a bit annoyed.
Damn it, this is not what I had in mind. Since I didn’t defeat the T. rex all by myself, I did feel a bit guilty about taking all the items. But I didn’t want to share them like this, either.
[A few constellations who are fond of monopolies are displeased with the situation.]
Jihye was staring at the Strength Amplification Ampoules as she spoke up.
“Can I have the strength ampoules? My strength stat’s really low.”
[Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated!]
Show the summarized view.
Name: Jihye Lee
Exclusive Attribute: Scarred Sword Demon (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: [Blade Proficiency Lv.4], [Demon Slaying Lv.1], [Perfect Senses Lv.2], [Ghost Steps Lv.2]
Stigma: [Naval Warfare Lv.1], [Command Army Lv.1]
Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.13], [Strength Lv.17], [Agility Lv.13], [Magic Power Lv.10]
You sneaky little…! Lying with a straight face…
“Huh? Huiwon, can I have it? Pleeease?”
“Hmm, I think Dokja should decide since he found them…”
To be honest, I didn’t mind sharing the ampoules with my group, but I didn’t want a single one to go to Jihye. She’s with Junghyeok, so why should I care…?
[Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire hopes you will do what is fair.]
“What’s fair,” huh…? Right, I know just the game for that.
“How about rock-paper-scissors?” I asked with a smile.
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
“The winner of each round gets an ampoule.”
An expression of pure greed flashed across Jihye’s face.
“I’m in!”
“Well…okay, if that’s what you want, Dokja. But are you sure? One person could end up taking them all.”
“Then they must be very lucky.”
Jihye was jumping up and down in excitement. You’re thinking you’ll nab a few for yourself, aren’t you? Well, it won’t go the way you expect.
“Let’s start with the strength ones.”
I took out those ampoules and turned to Jihye.
“You and me first.”
“Are you sure? I’m really good rock-paper-scissors.”
“Are you now?”
I gave Jihye a radiant smile.
[Exclusive skill “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” Lv. 1 has been activated.]
[Character Jihye Lee is about to play scissors.]
3
[Constellation Secretive Plotter is curious about your trick.]
[A constellation who is fond of monopolies has donated 200 coins.]
The winners were decided in no time. Gilyeong looked a bit excited, Huiwon appeared to be pleased, and Jihye was slumped on the floor looking devastated.
“…This doesn’t make sense!”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t read Gilyeong’s thoughts, so two ampoules went to him.
“You don’t have to give me these…”
“Take them,” I said, patting his head.
I also gave Huiwon two stamina ampoules. She took them with a smile.
“Thank you. I’ve been having a hard time because my stamina was low.”
Jihye was the only one who didn’t win any.
“How could you win eighteen out of twenty? You cheated, didn’t you?”
“I’m just that good at rock-paper-scissors.”
“Did you use ‘Mind Reading’ or something? Lemme just have one. Pleeease…”
“Ask Junghyeok to give you one.”
I emphatically opened an ampoule, staring right back at Jihye’s tearful, pleading eyes. Huiwon patted her on the shoulder. She looked at Jihye’s shiny sword, then back at me.
“Uh, Dokja.”
“Yes.”
Huiwon scratched her head and hesitated before opening her ampoule.
“Thank you for this.”
Taka, taka, taka, taka. The sound of a helicopter. Gilyeong watched as the dinosaur island got farther away.
“Dokja, can I take this guy to the next floor by any chance?”
The giant mantis that had communicated with Gilyeong earlier was sitting on his lap. They seemed to have gotten closer. The mantis was rubbing its antennae on Gilyeong’s chin.
“Sorry, but you can’t.”
Disappointed, Gilyeong held up the mantis as if he was trying not to get too attached.
“…Bye, Titano.”
He had even given it a name. Unfortunately, monsters created for a movie couldn’t leave it. You could only take items with you. For example, the stat ampoules or the one I was holding.
[Tyrant T. rex’s DNA Ampoule]
This little golden ampoule was the reason why I’d chosen this movie. It increased all stats by ten for thirty minutes. The catch was that it could only be used in the Cinema Dungeon, but without it, you couldn’t beat the final floor.
Especially if Junghyeok Yu is in the state I think he’s in.
Gilyeong released the mantis, and it flew off into the night sky as the scenery began to unravel.
[You have reached the first end credits.]
[Cast: Dokja Kim, Huiwon Jeong, Jihye Lee, Gilyeong Lee]
[You have each received 500 coins for your performance.]
I was a bit dizzy when I came to and found that we had returned to the first floor. The poster of the movie we had just escaped from was torn on the wall, an indication that we had safely cleared it. Jihye was already grumbling.
“How many more floors are there?”
“Junghyeok probably cleared a few already, so it won’t be that bad.”
We went directly to the second floor by escalator. With the number of theaters located on the second floor, there wasn’t much room for other stuff up there.
“No change, huh?” asked Huiwon.
We had been waiting a while, but nothing was happening on the second floor. No camera. No movie started, either. When I took a closer look, I saw that the posters on this floor were all ripped. Jihye had a revelation.
“So just the movies with undamaged posters will screen?”
I checked the ripped posters one by one.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim… Wasn’t that the movie with the giant fighting robots? What a shame. If the poster wasn’t damaged, I could’ve received “Reinforced Armor” as a clear reward.
Christopher Nolan’s Inception… Well, I’m glad this one’s already ripped.
“Wow, I wanted to see this movie.”
I looked at the poster Jihye was pointing to.
“Do you like superhero movies?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you should be glad. If the poster was intact, you would’ve ended up hating superhero movies.”
“I guess you’re right.”
The torn poster showed a green monster roaring at us. We continued on to the third floor.
“It’s all cleared here, too.”
As I’d expected, all the posters on the third floor were ripped. There were some particularly dangerous movies on this floor, so I was glad.
James Wong’s Final Destination… How the hell did Junghyeok clear that one?
“We’ll get up there faster than we thought.”
Huiwon sounded excited, but I was getting more and more anxious as we went up. We needed some degree of luck to clear the Cinema Dungeon because not every movie here was mentioned in TWSA. That was because even Junghyeok couldn’t clear some of them.
I heard a system message as we arrived on the fourth floor.
[You have entered the fourth floor.]
A spotlight engulfed us before we could look at any more posters. Huiwon put her hands together as if she was praying.
“Please, don’t be anything with ghosts…”
That wasn’t like Huiwon, so I glanced at her.
“A ghost won’t die even if I stab it with a sword,” she reasoned.
[The screening has begun.]
There was a strange sensation of being transported to a faraway place, and our surroundings shifted. When we opened our eyes again, we found ourselves facing the ocean breeze on the stern of a ship.
“This is…?”
The smell of salt water and a wide open horizon filled my senses. Since work became my everyday life, I hadn’t seen the ocean in several years, or traveled anywhere, for that matter.
“What movie would this be?”
I looked to my side and saw Huiwon, who was wearing a long, flowing dress. From within the luxurious cruise liner, I could hear an orchestra and the chatter of excited passengers. It made for an extremely romantic atmosphere. I found it hard to believe this was a recreation of a movie…
Ah, I think I know what this movie is.
It was at that moment that I heard Jihye’s voice.
“Ugh, I don’t feel so good…”
I looked back to see Jihye throwing up into the air. Huiwon went to pat her back. Jihye gagged and looked like she was about to cry.
“Sorry, I get seasick.”
“It’s okay. Let it all out.”
…I’ve been wondering about it for a while, but how the heck did this girl get chosen by Chungmugong? I mean I know why because I read the novel, but still…
“Anyway, Huiwon…is this movie what I think it is? The one where the ship sinks?” Jihye asked.
“Looks like it.”
“And I guess you’re the female lead?”
Jihye stared at Huiwon’s dress with envy. Then she yelled toward me.
“Does that mean Dokja is your—Barrrrf!”
It annoyed me that she had to puke specifically at that timing. Just then, Gilyeong appeared from behind us.
“Dokja!”
The boy was dressed in shabby clothes. I felt like I’d seen this outfit somewhere… Anyway, everyone was here.
“We don’t have much time, so let’s think of how we should end this movie.”
This ship would soon sink. But, unfortunately, there was no mention of how to clear this movie in TWSA. How could we make a satisfying ending on a sinking ship? Did we need to fight the ocean or something?
Jihye was the first to speak up.
“If the ship’s gonna sink anyway, how about we sink it first?”
“That’s a bit…”
This was hard. If this movie were about killing enemies and blowing things up, we could’ve created a cathartic ending.
“Let’s try defeating the bad guy,” Gilyeong suggested.
I wasn’t sure if there was a definitive “bad guy” in this movie, but I decided to go with it, since there was no better choice.
“Let’s get rid of the villainous characters first.”
We began to move. But how are we going to find the villain anyway? The last time I watched this move was…… Thankfully, I didn’t need to worry about it because a villain came to us. Right. It was then that I remembered there was a character who bullied male lead.
A man in a tuxedo with slicked-back hair was glaring at us.
“Hey, you!”
He wasn’t pointing at me.
“…Me?”
…Oh, it’s you? I sighed as I looked at Gilyeong.
Soon, we kidnapped and confined the man we suspected to be a villain. But the Cinema Master didn’t react. I guess kidnapping wasn’t good enough…
