FAQ
This blog is used solely for posting about the ORV Retranslation Project that some fans are working on.
Please read the full FAQ before sending requests to access the retranslation.
Q: What is the ORV Retranslation Project?
The web novel Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint currently has a few available translations in English, the main ones of which are official ones done by Izepress (though incomplete at this time 8/5/25), and the old official one (that has been complete for years). There are other English fan translations versions being TL'd and posted that are incomplete at this time as well. While we are grateful for any and all of them, both main translations fail on a couple fronts that leave us feeling like English audiences are missing out on an authetic ORV experience. But most importantly, we want to make one clean, consistent, and complete version of ORV the likes of which we have yet to find in other English translations. As such, we have taken it upon ourselves to retranslate ORV by going back to the Korean raws to do the hard work ourselves.
Q: What does retranslating it do?
We are attempting to keep as close as we can to the original text of ORV and maintain its core feeling with as little changes to it as possible. We want the authors' intent and artistry to come through. The main established official translation (the only English version of ORV that is complete that we know of, not Izepress's) appears to be mostly machine translated (MTL) and loses the "voice" and personality. It is also full of so many grammar mistakes that it is difficult to read, and it turns many people off from ever trying to read ORV because of it. At best, it is difficult to read. At worst, it is completely wrong (and even adds or removes lines from the actual text.)
The latter half of this completed version is a translation done (we believe) by someone who translated it themselves that seems to have taken some creative liberty with the story that does not maintain accuracy that changes the "voice" and characterization, and appears rather far into the novel (it starts more than halfway through it, requiring someone to read 362 chapters before they get there). It also comes with its own share of flaws that we feel we can improve upon. This is the version we use as a reference, for transparency. As far as we are aware, this is the version originally from webnovel that is now on archive.org.
The official English by Izepress has changed a lot of the "voice" of the story and localized it quite a bit (in ways that are too subtle to put into words, but build up to a completely different tone and feeling when you compare it to the original) so we feel it does not capture the story well either. This is not to dissuade people from reading it, but we feel it misses a lot of the "true" ORV and wish to try our hand at creating a version that feels closer to the original text in tone, as well as keep the interesting historical context and characterizations lost in the official's translation processes.
Basically, all of the English translations of the Main Story we have found so far have either localized too much, have grammatical and/or translation flaws that hinder the reading, is kind of a mess in one way or another or some combination of the three. Our team had already planned to create a version for ourselves, but we have decided to share it with the fandom as well.
We understand it's not possible to capture everything due to nobody on our team being native speakers and because some nuance will always be lost in translation, but we plan to do our best.
Q: Is it the full novel? Is it the ebook or the original?
We will be making the novel available by volume (There are a total of 22 for the Main Story. Not confirmed for the Side Story) when we finish retranslating and cleaning up our edits. We are retranslating the original version, not the ebook version. If you want the ebook version, please purchase it from official sources.
However, our version will contain some ebook edits within it where applicable. So, it is not "purely" the original. The parts we take from the ebook will not change the integrity of the original and will be minimal, for the most part, and with rare exception.
Q: How do we access it?
We will be posting the link to the Drive where the documents are stored here for 24 hours upon the release of a new volume, and then we will delete the posts. We recommend following this blog and keeping an eye out for when we warn a new volume will be released.
If you miss one of the release windows, please feel free to contact us at one of the sources below, and we can go from there.
Q: Does it cost money?
We only request two things from the people who wish to read the retranslation as a "payment": Please purchase from official sources (whether IzePress's official English, or the Korean raws) in order to directly support the authors SingNSong (if at all possible), and do not repost the link to the Drive or associated documents on public platforms (including social media or any public archives) or repost our retranslation on AO3. Otherwise, it's completely free. No need to show us proof of purchase of the official sources either. We do not want any money for this translation.
Q: I'd like to support you guys to thank you for your hard work! Is there anywhere to donate?
We greatly appreciate it! Nothing would show your support more than positive feedback, excitement over the changes to the reading experience, and supporting the authors by purchasing from official sources.
We'd love it if people used a tag like #ORVReTL or @ our blog here or something so we can see when it is discussed, or if people want to use it to live react. Our entire team loves to see reactions.
Q: How do we contact you for the link to the Drive?
Email: [email protected]
Our DMs and ask box are open as well. You will need to be off of anonymous so we can respond privately to the asks.
Q: Can we share the link with others?
This retranslation is for the free use of fans. But due to copyright concerns, we ask that you only share the links to the Drive and/or individual volume documents PRIVATELY. Meaning, please share through discords, email, private DMs, etc.
We encourage you to link either this tumblr or this post to those who wish to find the retranslation and need access.
Please do not repost the Drive or associated documents on public platforms like twitter, tiktok, reddit, tumblr, public archives etc.
Sharing screenshots on public websites are fine, though. Our main concern is that we'll be forced to take down the retranslation.
Do NOT post our retranslation anywhere on AO3 or any similar fanfiction or text websites. Simply don't repost the text ANYWHERE in public.
If we find our links posted on public platforms, or our retranslation posted on AO3, we will no longer post future retranslations of the volumes and will delete the Drive and all the documents. Please be considerate and discrete. The community already has one strike for breaking our rules, and the next strike will be the last.
We may change our stance on this later pending how things play out. For now, please play nice.
Q: Does it have the official art from BlackBox in the documents?
Yes, the official art by Blackbox from the novels is located throughout each volume at the end of each applicable chapter. For example, the art of Lee Hyunsung opening the doors in Volume 1 is located at the end of the chapter where this scene occurs. We have only included the art that is officially in the Korean volumes.
Q: Will there be footnotes or end notes?
There are footnotes throughout every volume for various purposes including definitions, lore/historical backgrounds and information of famous figures, notes about jokes or sections that cannot be translated but we want readers to know about, and we have also included the original Authors' notes from SingNSong. The footnotes will also have links to the sources (usually wikipedia) wherever applicable for credit, and so people can look into it more themselves if they are curious for more information beyond what we put since we don't want the notes to get too long. These are explained in the Editor's Notes at the beginning of the volumes.
Q: What is the difference between the "standardized" spelling and the "old" spelling of the characters' names (ie "Yu Junghyeok" vs "Yoo Joonghyuk")?
Most of the existing fandom who has read the old English official translation of ORV are used to the versions of the names that RainbowTurtle originally used in their translation. These spellings are not standardized, meaning, though they are spelled correct phonetically, these are not how the names should actually be spelled. For example, "Yoo Joonghyuk" should actually be standardized as "Yu Junghyeok". The (new) Official English by IzePress uses these versions.
However, because these versions of the names have been used in the Western fandom for so long, these are the versions that most fans know and use. New fans who are entering the fandom may be confused by the difference in spelling.
Our Project has a copy of each of the available volumes for fans, both new and old, to choose whether they want to read ORV with the "old" spelling or the standardized ones for their reading pleasure. If you are reading the "old" version, each first instance of a major/relevant character's name will have a footnote to show you what the standardized version is. Please feel free to download and save whichever version you would like as both are available in the Drive.
Q: Are you going to be translating the ORV Side Story or the extra content stories?
No. We are only planning to do the Main Story at this time. We knew someone who was doing the Side Story that we tried to direct those interested to, but they have since taken them down due to someone reporting their translation to official sources.
Q: Is there ever going to be an epub version?
The short answer is: Not now.
The longer answer is: Our team has collectively decided, due to numerous reasons, to wait until we finish retranslating ORV in full before we create an epub version of the final full novel (or, possibly, for each Part instead. We haven't decided yet). This is because we go back to edit the documents often, which causes us to have to recreate a new epub each time, and epubs take up time for our team to make that we could devote toward getting a new volume out. Please have patience with us, as we will do our best to create an epub further down the line.
Until then, anyone and everyone are welcome to create their own. The documents are available for download in any format you'd like.
Q: Can we use your retranslation to create a fan translation of ORV into a different language?
Please see this post.
Q: Can you list all of the volumes and chapters for us?
Please see this post.
Q: What is the progress so far? What's available to read in the Drive?
Part I
Volume 1: Completed and Posted 8/5/25
Volume 2: Completed and Posted 10/17/25
Volume 3: Completed and Posted 12/6/25
Volume 4: Competed and Posted 1/3/26
Volume 5: Completed and Posted 2/15/26
Volume 6: Completed and Posted 4/12/26
Volume 7: Translation In Progress