I Woke Up as the Villain

During the three days that Choi Yu-Seong had been in the hospital, there had been one thing he contemplated as he looked over the various data and reports Jenny brought him

‘What should I do to take as much as possible from Choi Min-Seok?’

The easiest way was to share the information with his siblings. If they knew that Yu-Seong had gotten Choi Woo-Jae’s permission, they would target Choi Min-Seok to take everything he had since he had been living above the familial social standing. Min-Seok would soon lose the shirt on his back and be kicked out of the house even before he could react.

But that was the problem.

‘Then all I could get would be a piece of meat.’

The only benefit from that would be completing the work easily and being allied with one of his siblings. However, the latter's gains weren't important to Yu-Seong.

‘It's an alliance that can break at any time.’ 

There was definitely a limit to how much he could grow if he borrowed help from others. But more importantly, there was a higher chance Choi Woo-Jae would be disappointed.

He also thought about revealing Choi Min-Seok’s faults to the media.

‘It'll be the stupidest decision, but….’

Since Min-Seok would then be judged by the law and considering the crimes he had committed until now, it would be the neatest way to deal with the whole situation. However, that plan could damage the entire Comet Group. Choi Min-Seok was also part of the Choi family, so it could not be helped.

It was the most desirable situation for Choi Yu-Seong himself, but Choi Woo-Jae would be shouldering a loss. Similar to the first method, there were not many benefits for Choi Yu-Seong, who stood more to lose than gain since he would only be able to nibble on the scraps.

‘I can put this off a little longer.’ 

Thus, Yu-Seong chose the third method.

‘If I want it all for myself, then the best thing to do would be to give Choi Min-Seok some breathing room and use him as much as I can.‘

After all, it didn’t matter what one ate. Everything could cause indigestion if eaten too quickly, and Yu-Seong considered Choi Min-Seok's wealth and power to be no different.

‘I’ll need to chew it slowly and digest it well.’

Having made his decision, Yu-Seong went to visit Choi Min-Seok with the information, and the results were pretty good. Exactly two days later, Choi Yu-Seong looked at the data Choi Min-Seok brought to his house in Hannam-dong with satisfaction.

‘As expected, Choi Byung-Chan was managing the slush fund separately.’

Having specialized in illegal operations in Korea, Byung-Chan had quite a lot of money tucked away secretly. About 100 billion won was hidden in accounts in countries like Europe and the United States under other people’s names. Fortunately, there was only one person who managed his money.

Yu-Seong liked how the manager was timid and had not touched any of this money even after Choi Byung-Chan's death. He confirmed this fact and focused on what was next on the agenda.

‘The board of directors and outside forces that supported Byung-Chan have already been split between the third, fourth, and fifth brothers and sisters.’ 

This was already expected, and Choi Yu-Seong had no intention of reaching out to them even if they remained.

‘This is still too big a portion for me to take.’

To make an analogy, it would be like starting a fire on the oil of rising vigilance.

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong had been requesting data from Choi Min-Seok so he could identify the exact opponent if an attack targeted him.

‘It's not 100% reliable information, but….’

It was better than nothing. Min-Seok was still a member of Choi's family, so he wasn’t completely useless.

“It’s not completely useless,” said Choi Yu-Seong to Min-Seok.

At Yu-Seong’s final evaluation, Choi Min-Seok’s face lit up. His tense expression gradually fell away as he said, "I-I'm glad.”

"I'll give you the next mission. Take all these slush funds out so that I can use them anytime."

Even if that money was ill-gotten gains, it would eventually be used for another illegal and immoral business or be hidden forever if it was kept hidden.

Choi Yu-Seong decided to take it for himself. He said, "I'll give you a month for this.”

It would take time to persuade the manager, integrate money from all over the world, and launder it.

When Choi Min-Seok looked somewhat relieved at his words, Choi Yu-Seong smiled insidiously and put aside the document Min-Seok had brought. He said, "I won't take your house, car, and property right away.”

"Then you mean...?" asked Min-Seok.

"Do a good job and behave yourself. If the other siblings make suspicious moves or approach you, report it immediately."

Choi Yu-Seong's remarks sounded almost like forgiveness. It made Choi Min-Seok's eyes widen as they moistened with tears. Unable to control his overwhelming emotions, Min-Seok shouted, "Yu…Yu-Seong… Cough!"

Choi Yu-Seonghad immediately kicked Choi Min-Seok in the face with a frown. He barked, "How dare you address me like that? Do you want to die?"

"I, I didn’t mean..."

"Listen, you said you'd do everything you were told, right? Choi Min-Seok, you are just like my slave from now on."

Choi Min-Seok gulped as he trembled. His pride was hurt.

‘Well, even that wouldn’t last long….’

Choi Min-Seok was very proud, but he was not mentally strong enough to protect that much pride. If he continued to be used and ignored, then he would eventually adapt. It was just like how he had so far surrendered to his other siblings.

‘I know exactly what people like you are like. Strong against the weak, weak against the strong. You'll never be able to climb up above me.’ 

To be honest, Yu-Seong didn’t care about getting caught by the other siblings while using Min-Seok like this.

‘Who would like a guy who used to be a spy?’

At that time, the person who would be abandoned would be Choi Min-Seok himself. Thus, Yu-Seong could use him as much as he wanted before abandoning him, just like the original Choi Yu-Seong did.

‘Choi Min-Seok, I will give you a break to make you suffer more than the number of people you killed.’

After Choi Yu-Seong sent Choi Min-Seok off with a new job, he checked his cell phone. He had a message from Chae Ye-Ryeong.

- Boss! I'm over level 50.

After she had Re-Awakened, Ye-Ryeong’s growth rate was surprisingly fast. Considering that she couldn't go to a dungeon for about two days since she had to wait for the hunter's test, only about six days had passed. However, she still exceeded 50 levels.

Even if Choi Yu-Seong had provided her with the Hunting Experience Boost potion, the growth was faster than he thought. In fact, it was also hard for Choi Yu-Seong to get used to this ridiculous speed at first, so he had asked Kim Jin-Young to film Ye-Ryeong with magic tech drones. It was because he wondered how she hunted to have such an exponential growth rate.

‘It’s much faster than when I was in E-rank.’

This was not just a matter of gaining a lot of experience points. Through the video, Yu-Seong could figure out the secret of Chae Ye-Ryeong's level growth rate.

‘How could all monsters die with a single shot of an E-rank level 1 hunter?’

Moreover, Chae Ye-Ryeong was the player who used the Projection skill, so all she had to do was to shoot her skills wherever she wanted without having to move. Of course, she didn't need the help of a party member. As a result, the monster was not taken away by anyone else and was hers entirely.

By the time she reached level 20 in the E-rank, Chae Ye-Ryeong had moved to a rank 2 dungeon, where she also exhibited a one-shot one-kill show. In other words, the hunting efficiency itself was overwhelmingly better than Choi Yu-Seong when he had been in E-rank.

It wasn't that Yu-Seong didn't understand this.

‘This is the power of the villain who even Kim Do-Jin, the original novel’s main character, struggled to strike down with his supporters!’

This was a real villain’s growth potential. It was different from Choi Yu-Seong, who, in the original novel, was the villain with a supporting role who was abandoned after being used in the beginning and eventually died.

There was a saying that the real power of the main character’s group was ganging up and teamwork. Although it would not be possible due to the novel's balance, Yu-Seong suddenly thought that Kim Do-Jin might have lost if Chae Ye-Ryeong was not alone but had a colleague.

‘On top of that, I supported Chae Ye-Ryeong even before she Re-Awakened, so…’

Ye-Ryeong was already spending her days drinking a lot of gray mana extracts. In addition, there was also the mana received from the yellow and orange mana stones during the Re-Awakening incident. In other words, the Chae Ye-Ryeong was currently full of mana. She was also using the powerful skill, which in the original novel, even the main character and his group struggled with.

At the time of the hunter's test, Chae Ye-Ryeong had said that she got the top passing grade even though she was gentle in case her opponent got hurt. Her words seemed almost unbelievable.

‘In fact, at that time, she could also avoid them with a single shot…’

It was not difficult to shake off the countless guild scouts who chased after her with a single-minded focus. This was because Ye-Ryeong immediately declared it with a big smile to the reporter who came to the interview.

「I've already signed a contract with president Choi Yu-Seong!」

With that declaration, the Republic of Korea was once again in chaos. It started with the phrase "The Comet Group's monopolization of talent" to the story of “Choi Yu-Seong's individual competence”. In conclusion, the rumor spread and evolved. It was thanks to Park Jin-Hwan and Kim Jin-Young, both of whom were hired by Choi Yu-Seong.

‘I can't share what is mine, not even with Father.' 

Choi Yu-Seong thought that Choi Woo-Jae would also be pleased with his actions. Based on the original novel, Choi Yu-Seong gradually came to understand the world of the rich.

***

For more than a week, Choi Yu-Seong had not gone on a dungeon hunt. There were two reasons. The first reason was the absence of both Jin Yu-Ri and Jin Do-Yoon.

‘It's dangerous to walk around without them.’

Choi Yu-Seong valued his life more than his greed for growth in recent years. He did not want to be in trouble from walking around alone. Jenny was a reliable person, but she had a lot of other work to do. He couldn't spend 24 hours together with her like he used to with the Jin siblings.

However, that did not mean he had just lazed around. He drank mana extracts every day and trained in the morning and evening. In particular, he spent more time than usual on spear training. There was one clear reason for this.

‘How Geom-Gui moved back then.’

Apart from being an A-rank villain, Geom-Gui had boasted quite excellent swordsmanship.

‘Something different from Kim Do-Jin.’

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

It looked rough and straight, but it was flexible. For some reason, Choi Yu-Seong felt that Geom-Gui’s sword technique was not unfamiliar. To be exact, it seemed to be just out of his grasp and out of his sight. Maybe it was something he could feel because he had watched Geom-Gui’s swordsmanship through the Insight skill, which he had only two trials left.

Or, it might be due to extreme concentration forced by the worst situation where his neck was on the line. In any case, Choi Yu-Seong found a certain flow in Geom-Gui's swordsmanship, which could be combined with his own spear skills. Yu-Seong pursued that and focused on training, with results showing exactly on Day 8.

As always, Choi Yu-Seong went out early in the morning with a clear mind. He wielded a spear in the front garden. He felt that the feel of the spear wrapping around his hand today was different from usual.

‘The spear’s blade feels especially sharp today.’

His movements could be clearly seen, as if he were observing them from a third person's point of view. What kind of harmony would this be? Even before questioning deeply, Yu-Seong fell into a trance.