I Woke Up as the Villain

Opening a small pink-colored door, Ping Pong confidently and majestically strode in, or so he thought. To the eyes of a third party, though, the way he walked was adorable. He toddled and wagged his tail, only raising his hand when he saw Choi Yu-Seong. He greeted with a lively voice, "Choi-Hi! It means Choi Yu-Seong, hi!”

Ping Pong’s round black eyes sparkled when Yu-Seong quickly peeled off the wrapper and handed over a lollipop that he had prepared in advance.

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"Ping-Hi! It means Mr. Ping Pong, hi."

"Woo hoo hoo... Choi Yu-Seong, you're quite the playful one. Just wait a moment. I'll finish this and start with business," said Ping Pong. Perhaps he liked that Yu-Seong had used a similar greeting because Ping Pong’s tail was wagging so much. This was a rare sight. He eagerly munched on the lollipop.

Watching Ping Pong incessantly licking the candy, Yu-Seong suddenly muttered to himself, "Isn't just watching you eat candy itself part of starting business...?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Ping Pong.

"It means you are cute."

"What! How dare you, Choi Yu-Seong! Using such an expression for a powerful and dignified Lion Bear Clan member like myself! It’s very disrespectful!"

"...Is it really that disrespectful?" asked Yu-Seong.

"Of course." With that, Ping Pong swallowed part of the candy whole and stood up, puffing out his chest. He added, "Especially for one who has figured out my exact taste..."

"Alright, fine. Just finish eating your candy first, Mr. Ping Pong. Otherwise, you’ll have a cut on the roof of your mouth.”

Not able to properly enunciate while eating candy, Ping Pong rolled his eyes and nodded. He continued to chew on the rest of the lollipop.

‘Even so, he must like the taste of the candy.’

As Yu-Seong gazed at Ping Pong's tail that puffed up, Ping Pong said, "Hm, well… In any case, since you, Choi Yu-Seong, understand my taste, I'll let you off the hook. But from now on, be more careful with your words!"

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, is the candy enough?" asked Yu-Seong.

"How can you think that I would be addicted to mere candy..."

When Yu-Seong pulled out five more lollipops from his pocket, Ping Pong’s eyes widened. He trembled, and his cheeks turned red. In no time, his tail that only just stopped wagging started moving from side to side again. It also became even more puffed up.

‘That's why the Lion Bear Clan cannot lie. What a cute creature.’

Not voicing his true thoughts, Yu-Seong handed over the five more lollipops to Ping Pong. Then, he finally got to the main point of Ping Pong’s visit. He said, "By the way, I was thinking about trying that thing out.”

"Hmm? What thing?" Ping Pong asked. Then, realizing what Yu-Seong was talking about, he said with a smile, "You're thinking about using the free lottery ticket!"

"Correct."

Choi Yu-Seong hadn't used the free lottery ticket he had obtained from leveling up before dungeon racing with Bernard Yoo only because of one reason.

‘If I spend 2000 karma points to upgrade the free lottery ticket, I can get a Treasure-Class item.’

The free lottery ticket Yu-Seong had originally obtained would only give him a chance to get a Rare-Class item at best. However, by upgrading it with 2000 karma points, he could increase his chances of obtaining a Treasure-Class item.

‘In other words, if I am unlucky, I could still get a Rare-Class item.’

This was why, despite having accumulated over 2000 karma points, Yu-Seong prioritized investing in skill rank upgrades. As a result, he currently held all skills at D-rank or higher, excluding the special skill 'Dancing Electric Doll.’

There were two reasons why Yu-Seong did not rank up the remaining skill, 'Dancing Electric Doll'. First, he believed that the attack power of 'Dancing Electric Doll' was still sufficient. Yu-Seong judged that 'Dancing Electric Doll' was a more effective skill in large-scale battles than in one-on-one battles. It was more useful for dealing with a large number of small monsters than with a single powerful monster. Therefore, there was no need to seek a higher power from 'Dancing Electric Doll' in his current situation.

‘Since I can use Lance Charging when I need a big offensive power.’

The second reason was that Yu-Seong did not lack offensive power.

‘If possible, I should try to enhance my defensive capabilities by getting abilities or items that would boost my defenses.’

For that reason, Yu-Seong had utilized the empty skill slot to learn D-rank Protective Shield skill, Natural Healing skill, and Bleeding Resistance skill for emergency situations. However, these were not enough to block all threats.

'There are countless resistance skills, such as Poison Resistance, Fracture Resistance, Curse Resistance, Burn Resistance, and so on…’

The fact that there were so many resistance skills meant that there were many situations that could prove to be dangerous.

'To some extent, it could be solved with basic physical abilities as a hunter, but having resistance skills is much better.'

Even so, there was a simple reason why Yu-Seong did not fill most of the empty slots with resistance skills.

'It's due to the limitations of the Eye of Replication skill.' 

Most resistance skills were passive skills, but they would become active skills upon being brought over with Eye of Replication skill. This was due to the penalties. For example, burns or frostbite could be dealt with an active type skill by recognizing one’s surroundings or the opponent's abilities. However, in cases of poison or curses, those were often not easily recognizable as they came with little warning. Therefore, resistance skills were always better as passive skills.

‘The problem is, I was born without any resistance skills.’

In this case, there were two solutions. First, to gain support from the gods for resistance skills. Second, to overcome it by wearing items, and this was what Yu-Seong was trying to do right now.

‘In the original novel, there was an Insignia of Protection among the Treasure-Class items…’

For Yu-Seong, the Insignia of Protection could be considered the best for a resistance ability type.

With a clear goal in mind, Yu-Seong licked his lips and looked at Ping Pong while stretching out his hand. “Upgrade, please.”

Ping Pong put his small round front foot on Yu-Seong’s hand. After trembling briefly, he absorbed a bright purple gas that flowed through Yu-Seong’s palm into his paw. He shouted, “2000 karma points, received well!”

Then, Ping Pong pulled out a free lottery ticket from his pocket, which originally shone in blue, and the room was suddenly filled with a scarlet light. Yu-Seong blinked from the brief glare of light.

Ping Pong smiled and handed over the ticket that now shone in scarlet. "Alright, now all you have to do is tear this, Choi Yu-Seong.”

Looking at the random lottery ticket, Yu-Seong’s heart raced. He held the edges of the ticket, which looked like an old movie ticket, with slightly trembling hands and tugged.

Rip-!

As the Treasure-Class free lottery ticket was being torn, something enormous suddenly burst forth. A huge commotion took place with a popping sound.

Charrrrrrrrrr-! Pampaba-!

As if baby angels were playing trumpets atop a roulette machine at some casino, the loud melody echoed throughout the room. Time seemed to slow down as Yu-Seong was completely distracted by the spectacle.

In fact, Yu-Seong had a great deal of knowledge about lotteries as a game developer.

'The cause of all lotteries is nothing but to bring revenue to the company!' 

It was a ruthless business model created by corporations and chairmen of great companies to make money. Needless to say, the lottery had no rules or regulations. Instead, it relied on percentages and probability based on a system. Occasionally, some unscrupulous companies would manipulate the odds of the lottery, but it was unlikely for the roulette machine operated by the Dimensional Merchants to do the same.

'In other words, the result of the lottery is based on luck!' 

Boldly grasping the roulette machine’s lever, Yu-Seong looked at Ping Pong. He said, "I'll spend an additional 100 karma points to buy the Luck Potion!"

"Hmm? I don't recommend it, Choi Yu-Seong. The Luck Potion is like a city legend among Dimensional Merchants. There’s a saying that almost nobody has actually seen its effects..."

"Mr. Ping Pong, trust me," said Yu-Seong with gleaming eyes.

Ping Pong pulled out a small vial of red liquid and handed it over to Choi Yu-Seong with a somewhat suspicious look. He said, "This is for free.”

As expected, the Lion Bear Clan had good business skills. Yu-Seong laughed and grasped the roulette handle tighter, then stared straight ahead. He was taking a long time to prepare, but he only had this one chance!

‘Kim Do-Jin never truly benefited from this lottery.’

However, that was not a big deal for Yu-Seong.

‘I have a feeling that I'll be different.’

With the same unfounded confidence as most people who failed at lotteries, Yu-Seong grasped the roulette handle without hesitation. As he pulled the lever with a thud, the numbers on the roulette wheel began to spin wildly. The numbers that came up were predetermined to be 777. However, that did not mean that good items always came up.

‘Please, please, please. Give me the Insignia of Protection. Please.’

Yu-Seong prayed desperately with his eyes closed and hands clasped together. His heart pounded with anxiety. He unintentionally frowned.

- A Joke-loving Prankster looks at the agitated Choi Yu-Seong with a disdainful eye.

Even though it had been a while since Loki's message had come, Yu-Seong didn't even notice it as he had been focused on his prayer with his eyes closed.

After a moment, the numbers stopped at 777, and the bottom of the roulette machine opened. With a thud, the machine spat out one item before making a loud bang noise and disappearing.

Even though he already knew it was over, Yu-Seong found it difficult to bring himself to look at the results. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Ping Pong's expression.

"Wow..." Ping Pong had a look of slight awe as he smiled at Yu-Seong. "Congratulations, Choi Yu-Seong. You seem to have better luck than I had anticipated."

Yu-Seong knew then that the outcome was at least not unfavorable.

'Just because it's a Treasure-Class item doesn't mean it is always going to be a good one, but at least the item is above average.' 

Would it be the long-awaited item—Insignia of Protection— that he had been hoping for? Yu-Seong quickly looked at the object that had rolled across the floor and held it in his hands. He then widened his eyes.

The object was a small bead that emitted light as if it was burning. There were so many colors being mixed together, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

"At first glance, you wouldn’t know what it is, Choi Yu-Seong. That is a treasure called the Insignia of Protection. The usage is..."

Choi Yu-Seong clearly knew the usage of the item.

"Jackpot!"

Convinced that this was the item he had been waiting for, Yu-Seong quickly put the bead in his mouth and swallowed it.

"Really? You already knew about it?" asked Ping Pong.

"Of course. I've been wanting it," said Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong’s left clavicle began to heat up as he answered. He moaned slightly from the intense pain, but he knew that it was worth it. An angel-winged shield with a cross was now tattooed across his left clavicle. He looked at it with a wide smile.

‘The engraving item, the Insignia of Protection.' 

The Insignia of Protection could be considered the best among all Treasure-Class items, granting the effect of obtaining all resistance skills that matched the Player’s rank.

'It costs 30,000 karma points to officially purchase it!' 

It truly was a sweet deal.

'No, it's like a gorgonzola pizza with honey poured all over it, it tastes fantastic...' 

Yu-Seong was caught in a fantasy of happiness as his mouth curled into a contented smile.