583 Episode 5. Villain (8)

Misreading Association (誤讀協).

Initially, the site started as a community of people collecting rare books.

It was a small club where members read books that were discontinued in Korea or were otherwise unavailable, or untranslated classics, and exchanged opinions.

However, as the number of members gradually increased and the site grew, problems began to arise.

"Some of the members started to share illegally not only rare books, but also manhwa and web novels that were actively being serialized without permission."

As word spread that paid content was available for free, the site ballooned, eventually taking on the form of a business. Adult ads were plastered across the pages, and illegal gambling money began to flow in.

A few years later, the founding members disappeared, and it became a completely illegal sharing site.

After listening to Kyung Sein's full explanation, I was confused.

"You said the Seven Apostles fought the Misreading Association before."

"Ah, yes."

"Then did the Seven Apostles fight that illegal site?"

"Well, that's......."

Kyung Sein looked at Killer King, and then added quietly.

"The Seven Apostles got into a fight with anonymous readers, who turned out to be people who had read the novel illegally on the 'Misreading Association'.

I finally understood what was going on.

They were referring to people who read and shared illegal copies of the novel.

Apparently, in this world, people who read the novel through that route were also transmigrated.

Killer King said.

"I don't know about you, but many writers stopped creating or even took their own lives because of the Misreading Association."

"......."

"They illegally consumed content that someone dedicated their life to. A lot of my favorite authors disappeared because of them."

In fact, some of my fellow writers had stopped writing because of illegal sharing.

"Is that why you fought them?"

Killer King shook his head without answering.

Honestly, I was impressed.

As a writer, I had often been frustrated by the lack of success in combating illegal sharing, but to see a reader like Killer King being so proactive was surprising.

He was fighting in real life, not just in the comment section.

I suddenly wondered what kind of comments Killer King would have left.

I clicked on [View Comments] without hesitation.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Feeling my gaze, Killer King frowned at me.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, just......."

"Keep looking at me like that and I'll kill you."

"You really sound like Yoo Joonghyuk."

With a light groan, Killer King sat up and looked away.

He reminded me of a sulky younger cousin, and I was about to tease him one more time when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey, thanks for saving me."

LiteratureGirl64, who had finally regained consciousness, lowered her head helplessly.

I waved my hands and said.

"No, I was lucky."

"You were lucky."

Killer King added with a nuance that somehow made me feel good.

"They didn't take the random item box."

With that, we stared at the shiny box the Ratmen had dropped.

Killer King and his sister were probably here for that box, too.

Just as things were starting to get uncomfortable, Killer King spoke up.

"I'll give it to you guys."

LiteratureGirl64 nodded in agreement.

Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi's faces lit up.

Nevertheless, I shook my head.

"No, thank you. We'll just take the rest of the items."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. The other items are enough for us."

I looked down at the items on the floor.

I saw the D-grade items that Kim Dokja had picked up in the main story, as well as other items that hadn't appeared in the main story.

As if to give me one last chance, Killer King asked again.

"Didn't you read the novel properly? Don't you realize the value of this item box?"

"Seriously, the rest is enough for us. Go ahead."

Killer King hesitated for a moment, then took the item box in his arms, his eyes filled with desire.

"I owe you. I'll pay you back."

With that, Killer King turned around and began to walk away.

LiteratureGirl64 bowed her head and ran after him.

I asked Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi to sort through the items, then escorted Killer King and his sister to the entrance of the Edge of Darkness.

Just before we crossed the edge, Killer King paused.

Neither Dansoo ahjussi nor Kyung Sein could hear us from where they were.

"I tried to kill you all."

"You did, and it was a really bad thing."

"Why didn't you tell them that?"

"But you didn't kill us."

Killer King frowned, unable to figure me out.

"You, what's your name?"

"Cheon Inho."

"That Cheon Inho?"

"Yes."

For some reason, this name elicited the same reaction from everyone who heard it.

"I can't believe you possessed that scumbag. I hope you're not using the Cheoldoo Group to kill people."

"If I were, you'd be dead too."

"You...... Who the hell are you?"

I shrugged and laughed.

For a moment, Killer King's eye flickered with black energy. He had activated the stigma [Eye of Sin].

I was suddenly curious.

"What do I look like to you?"

In his eyes, 'Cheon Inho' was marked as 'the murderer of nineteen people'.

Then what does 'writer Lee Hakhyun' look like?

"What......."

The next moment, Killer King's eyes widened, his entire retina turning pitch black like it was full of ink.

I wondered.

What did my sins read in his eyes?

Tsuchuchuchuchut!

Groaning in pain, Killer King looked at me with the eye that had used the stigma.

"What the hell are you? No...... that can't be. Something must be broken."

Muttering to himself, Killer King looked at me and said.

"There's no way such a villain exists in this world."

Killer King looked at me.

He was looking at me with clear eyes that weren't using [Eye of Sin], eyes that had probably read Omniscient Reader 99 times.

"I wish you the blessing of the story."

With those last words, Killer King walked away without looking back.

The younger sister glanced back at me a few times, then followed her brother into the darkness beyond.

I stood still and waved until they were completely out of sight.

Hopefully, they too would be blessed by the story.

Among the items that Kyung Sein and Dansoo ahjussi had gathered, there were some that were more useful than I thought.

"You can have this shield, Sein-ssi."

"As expected, 'Old Iron Shield' is the rule for tankers."

Old Iron Shield.

An item used by Lee Hyunsung in the original novel.

Among us, it was the most suited for Kyung Sein to use.

"I'll give you the Magic Power Recovery Bracelet."

"Is it okay if I take it...... Thank you."

Ahjussi put the bracelet on his wrist as if it were a luxury watch and smiled happily.

That bracelet would be quite useful, since he used [Diverse Communication].

Other than that, there were rings with faint anti-demonic abilities and gloves that provided a very slight defense boost.

It was a bit lacking, but this early in the scenarios, it was good enough.

The last thing that caught my eye was an item that looked like spoiled jelly.

Come to think of it, I had designed an item like this. It was just a setting in my notes, and I never expected to find it here.

Once again, I felt certain.

There were countless 'settings' in this world that hadn't made it into the main story, but had remained in my notes.

It was then that Kyung Sein spoke up.

"By the way, Inho-ssi."

"Yes."

"The random item box, why did you give it up?"

I had wondered why she hadn't asked that yet.

By the look on her face, she had been agonizing over it. One might think I had just thrown away a winning lottery ticket.

Well, my reasons were more valuable than a winning lottery ticket.

"Actually, I was wondering the same thing, mate."

Dansoo ahjussi raised his hand cautiously.

No wonder it looked strange in their eyes.

It wasn't just any item, but the 'random item box'.

It was an essential item to restore Kim Dokja's star relic, Unbroken Faith.

My reasoning for surrendering the item box was simple.

"That box, I wouldn't be able to use it anyway."

"What?"

"Someone else already used it."

"No way...... Who?"

"Did those Misreading Association guys secretly use it?"

I shook my head at Dansoo ahjussi's words.

"Someone already came here before us."

I was sure of it. I had checked the item box myself for a brief moment, and its usage count was already at zero.

Dansoo ahjussi asked.

"Was there a reader who came before us?"

"We started at Geumho Station and only got here today. Our friend who read Omniscient Reader 99 times only arrived here today."

"Then who the hell could have......."

"Common sense tells me there's only one person who can do this at this point."

As if realizing who I was referring to, Kyung Sein swallowed hard and said.

"Yoo Joonghyuk."

I nodded.

It was only about a stop and a half from Oksu Station to here.

If it was the same Yoo Joonghyuk who could defeat a 7th-grade demonic species in a single blow, he could have made the trip in under an hour.

Kyung Sein, who was thinking about something, muttered.

"Yes, in the third round, Yoo Joonghyuk stole only the treasures, but I don't remember him

knowing about the 'random item box' back then."

"There's a description that mentions he heard about it from the Heavenly Maid Hori in the 6th round. It's the 41st round, so of course he knew."

"Ah......."

Kyung Sein lowered her head with a dejected expression.

Dansoo ahjussi, who had a serious look on his face, also shook his head.

"It's certainly a lot different from the 3rd round with Kim Dokja."

"Very different."

Even though it was only the 41st turn, this Yoo Joonghyuk's experiences were vastly different from the 3rd turn.

It was probably safe to say that Yoo Joonghyuk would take many of the items Kim Dokja had utilized in the beginning.

Kyung Sein suddenly raised her head and opened her mouth.

"Wait, so the box Killer King took earlier......."

Thinking he would be angry at being tricked by a villain, Kyung Sein asked in admiration,

"Wow...... Inho-ssi, when did you plan that much?"

"When I realized the box had been robbed."

"You're so mean and smart."

"Thank you."

"I'm glad I'm on your side, Inho-ssi. Although it's a shame about the box......."

Dansoo ahjussi said, looking at the items we had obtained.

"Still, we got a lot of stuff."

It wasn't all fruitless though, as we got some useful items in the beginning, including the ahjussi's bracelet and Kyung Sein's shield.

But it's a shame to just take these.......

I pondered for a moment, then looked back at the spot where the 'random item box' had been placed.

It was around here.

I crouched down on the ground and started digging.

Dansoo ahjussi and Kyung Sein looked puzzled at my sudden movement. I turned to them and said.

"If you don't mind, please help me. Something is bothering me."

"Did Omniscient Reader say there was something else here?"

"No, I don't think so."

I wasn't sure either, but it was better than not checking.

I heard Ji Eunyu's voice in my head.

It was a memory from five years ago.

She was working hard on the first draft of 'Omniscient Reader'.

I don't know how long the three of us dug.

I felt something hard on my fingertips.

"Ugh, what's here?"

We shook off the dirt, lifting the object in the hole at the same time.

After a moment, the pitch-black dirt slid away, revealing the object we had pulled out.

What we found was a black box with a familiar appearance.

Dansoo ahjussi and Kyung Sein looked down at the box in a daze, then turned to me and asked.

"Inho-ssi, is this......?"

I remembered Ji Eunyu's words.

Originally, there was more than one 'random item box' hidden here.

Author's Note

If I keep digging, will it keep coming out?

T/N: I'm paying for the chapters, so if you can, please support the authors by buying them on Naver or Munpia.