I Woke Up as the Villain

"The external boundary is much weaker compared to just a few days ago. It's possible that they may already be thinking that we have left Pyongyang," said Helen.

Yu-Seong was surprised but soon shook his head and hardened his expression. He said, "It's intentional. They would have a general idea of what your intentions are.”

Since it was Helen Mirren who was searching for the Philosopher's Stone, they would not assume that she would give up so easily since it had been her quest for such a long time.

"It's just a suspicion, not a certainty. Besides, they may believe that I've taken a step toward making a more bold move,” said Helen Mirren.

"It is not suspicion but certainty. They would not have sent that villain, Vincent, to us if it were just simple suspicion. And if they were capable of thinking in such a way, it's likely that they would also know about seonbae-nim’s hasty nature," said Yu-Seong.

Helen broke into a meaningful smile.

'Look at this kid. Even though he was tense when he first arrived in Pyongyang...' 

Despite facing significant danger, Yu-Seong was more calm and collected than anyone else.

'Definitely. This kid is the real deal.' 

Once again, Helen Mirren was confident that she had made the right choice.

"Honestly, I have the same thought. They let down their guard simply because they are angrier now," said Helen.

"What’s certain is that the fearsome figure inside Juseok Palace is superior to the villain, Vincent,“ said Yu-Seong.

There was no way Vincent would have taken action if he was the leader. It was important to remember that there was a formidable enemy hiding inside Juseok Palace.

“I agree. After all, Vincent was an S-rank hunter. He was also known among the Demon King worshipers for his formidable reputation and ranked in the Top 100. If there were someone capable of commanding him like a lackey…” said Helen.

"It would be the Twelve Dark Kings or the Hexagram Master," said Yu-Seong with a cynical smile.

Regardless of who it may have been, Yu-Seong did not wish to meet them as an enemy.

‘The Twelve Dark Kings and the Hexagram Master are indeed strong enough to be compared with the Demons.’ 

That went without saying. Rachel, who single-handedly killed a Demon King in the original novel, was introduced as one of the Twelve Dark Kings. She was, of course, a formidable presence among them.

From Yu-Seong’s perspective, this was the problem.

‘If someone who ranks between 1st to 3rd among the Twelve Dark Kings is inside Juseok Palace, this operation would be absolutely impossible from the outset.’

The reason the Demon King Worshipers could commit crimes with impunity around the world was their immense strength. In particular, the Godfather, boss of the Demon King Worshipers, two of the Hexagram Masters, and the top three ranks of the Twelve Dark Kings were already beyond human at this point.

It would be impossible for Yu-Seong to escape from such an opponent with the Philosopher's Stone in hand, even with Helen Mirren by his side.

"Besides the Hexagram Master, there are only a few who know the existence of the Twelve Dark Kings… I guess Choi told you," said Helen.

"If those in the higher ranks are in Pyongyang, then you must give up on obtaining the Philosopher's Stone immediately," Yu-Seong said.

"You can probably do that, but that’s impossible for me,” stated Helen.

"Seonbae-nim."

"So you must also take a risk and help me. If you are really scared of dying, you can run away. But by the time we reach that point…” Helen wrapped her robe around herself and clicked her tongue. She said, "Enough useless talk. There's no reason not to take advantage of any weaknesses they have shown, even if they were intentional.”

“...the Philosopher's Stone is beneath Juseok Palace,” said Yu-Seong.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"That's what I expected. It is a precious treasure that has to be kept close. What’s important is the exact location,” said Helen.

Yu-Seong tried to recall the original novel’s description as best he could about the Philosopher's Stone and Helen Mirren.

"In the underground bunker, inside the room with a hexagram drawn on the entrance..."

"Is that all the information you have?" asked Helen.

"Yes," replied Yu-Seong.

"It's surprisingly vague," said Helen. As she raised her hand to the ceiling, she added, "Even so, it shouldn't be too difficult to find. You can follow me, right?"

"Of course. But wasn't my job originally to draw attention?"

"Do you think you can manage it on your own?"

"Honestly, I don't think it is possible."

If Kim Do-Jin was with Yu-Seong, they could handle even the appearance of another S-rank hunter in just a few hours. However, if Yu-Seong was alone, the task would be absolutely impossible. It seemed inevitable that they would have to use a Return Stone.

"So there's a change in plans. Your new task is to assist me. You can do that much, right?"

"Understood."

Even if he couldn’t, Yu-Seong had to do it. Since he had come this far, he wanted to help Helen Mirren in any way he could.

"Let's go then," said Helen with a firm nod.

A bright energy flowed out of Helen's hand and rose to the ceiling like haze. It melted the ceiling before another form took shape below Helen’s palm.

Looking on, Yu-Seong found the sight rather familiar.

‘A submachine gun?’

It was a K2.

Before having been possessed by the original novel, Yu-Seong had served in the military, so he was well aware of the rifles that were commonly used by the Korean army.

In fact, there was more. Every time Helen Mirren moved her hands, new objects appeared.

‘Magazines, bullets, grenades.’

Weapons that could only be used in the military were appearing out of thin air. The secret space that had served as Yu-Seong’s place of rest was now becoming an enormous arsenal.

Despite all of this happening, Yu-Seong could sense no additional presence around him. As Helen had said, the enemies had chosen to become less vigilant and more complacent.

Just then, Helen loosened her robe to release steam into the darkness. The steam clouds slowly took on the shape of a human.

‘Homunculus!’

Yu-Seong widened his eyes. This was his first time seeing artificial life forms being created by alchemy.

As if they had a will of their own, the artificial life forms began to arm themselves. They had no eyes, nose, or mouth. All of their movements were under Helen’s control.

Helen skillfully controlled hundreds of Homunculus without a care in the world. Then, she put on her own protective gear and turned toward Yu-Seong. She asked, "Hey, do you know how to use a gun?"

"I can handle a submachine gun..." replied Yu-Seong.

"So it is true that almost all adult men in South Korea are required to complete military service, and so can handle guns. Get equipped, then," said Helen.

In fact, Choi Yu-Seong had not yet gone to the military in this world. He should not have been able to handle a gun.

‘Come to think of it, since I became a hunter, I have always been exempted from military service.’

Regardless of that, the original Yu-Seong had served in the military. Therefore, he knew how to handle basic weapons such as submachine guns and grenades.

Yu-Seong picked up the submachine gun by its strap and loaded the magazine. Then, he equipped himself with hand grenades.

'Going into the Juseok Palace dressed like this...' 

Yu-Seong felt strange. Wasn’t this similar to the North Korean guerilla assassins he had heard of in the old days?

Helen looked at Yu-Seong wearing the military uniform with a satisfied expression. She said, "The opponent is not a monster but a human, so it is much more efficient to use weapons and not abilities. It would be good to learn how to handle them properly.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn this,” said Yu-Seong.

"Good. Then, we should go. Don't miss me. I don’t go easy even on kids."

Once Yu-Seong nodded at her, Helen vanished into the darkness. The Homunculus that surrounded her protectively also had great speed, following her closely.

Yu-Seong was shocked. He tried to follow Helen by taking bigger steps, but the distance between them kept widening.

There was a great difference between S-rank and C-rank. No matter how narrow the gaps between each rank were, the gaps themselves could never be eliminated. Moreover, Helen was known to be a skilled performer within the S-rank.

In the end, Yu-Seong had no choice but to watch from a distance as Helen and her troops clashed with the military of Pyongyang. Not once did Helen look back. She fully expected Yu-Seong to take care of himself.

After activating the skill, Yu-Seong could instantly accelerate his movement for nine steps.

‘I can’t chase her as a D-rank.’

In that short time, Yu-Seong invested 5000 Karma points that he had gathered from the battle with Vincent and immediately pulled up the Wind Control to C-rank.

『Special Skill: Wind Control D → C.

Fusion not possible.

Inheritance not possible.

At the end of 18 steps that flow like a wave, a dragon that catches the wind travels through the clouds. This is a skill that has been completely inherited. You can only use seven → nine out of eighteen steps due to the current low grade.

It is easier to dodge opponent’s attacks.

You can kill some of your presence.

For nine steps after skill activation, you can instantly accelerate your movement.

Immediately after skill activation, you can create a short illusion using all five steps.

If you use an illusion 3 → 5 or more times in a row, a cooldown time of 20 minutes (30 → 20) will be needed for reuse.

*New C-rank perk – You can transform the stepping method “Wind Control” to “Wind Flow”.

In this case, most of the functions of the Wind Control will be sealed.

The restriction on walking will disappear.

Mana will be continuously consumed.

The movement speed will increase dramatically.

In case of entering battle, it will automatically change to Wind Control.』

Yu-Seong did not hesitate after checking the newly evolved skill.

‘Transform to Wind Flow.’

The wind immediately enveloped Yu-Seong from behind, carrying him away with a breeze. Yu-Seong felt like he was flying, passing by his surroundings at a speed several times quicker than before. He followed Helen, who was running ahead after collapsing dozens of soldiers in Pyongyang alone.

‘This is…’

It was indeed a movement skill. Although its efficiency would decrease during combat due to its predictable pattern, Yu-Seong could automatically switch it back to Wind Control. In other words, Wind Flow was most suitable for chasing and fleeing. In a way, it was a skill that Yu-Seong had been wishing for.

'From now on, I can use Wind Flow to escape whenever I’m in danger!'

Most importantly, Yu-Seong no longer had to struggle to catch up to Helen.

Helen noticed that Yu-Seong was following her. Her eyes twinkled and she revealed an enigmatic smile. "Amazing. I wanted to see your limits, but you actually managed to show up when I told you to. How many things are you hiding?"

Yu-Seong was at a loss for words. In fact, he was unable to respond.

'This...' 

As he tried to speak while manipulating the Wind Flow, Yu-Seong could feel a sense of burden. He struggled to move, much less speak. It seemed that the nature of his ability required him to balance both his physical and mana abilities in respect to his speed.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to admit that you deliberately kept it hidden, would you? You cunning kid. Now I understand why Choi treats you so nicely," Helen said.

Once again, Yu-Seong was left speechless.