I Woke Up as the Villain

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Woo-Gon. And you are...?"

Before Yu-Seong could even respond, Kim Woo-Gon quickly recognized him and exclaimed, "Choi Yu-Seong? From the Comet Group?"

Yu-Seong's eyes widened in surprise. He answered, “Yes, that’s right.”

His popularity, which had spread through social media and even landed him in newspaper articles, made it inevitable for him to be easily recognized.

Then, he tried to recall where he had heard of Kim Woo-Gon before.

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‘Kim Woo-Gon, Kim Woo-Gon in the Tower of Heaven… It’s not unfamiliar…’

Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with anything.

As Yu-Seong pondered, Kim Woo-Gon suddenly bowed his head and greeted him again. "Oh my, it's a pleasure! I'm a big fan of yours, Mr. Choi Yu-Seong. I had no idea we would meet here."

Before Yu-Seong could respond, Chae Ye-Ryeong made a puzzled expression and said in a strange voice, “What?”

"Did something happen?" asked Yu-Seong.

“Oh, so…”

"Are you part of the group? I'm sorry. I think I made a few mistakes along the way." Kim Woo-Gon, with a somewhat flustered expression, quickly bowed deeply to Chae Ye-Ryeong, Jin Do-Yoon, and the others.

He went on to say, “It’s difficult to share food with unfamiliar people in such an enclosed space. I somehow ended up representing the group and making mistakes due to my cautiousness. I hope you can forgive me with an open mind.”

Ye-Ryeong frowned and looked at Yu-Seong. She seemed to have a lot to say, but she hesitated to speak up. After all, Yu-Seong was standing right in front of her.

"I’ll ask my party about the situation. Could my party talk in private for a moment, Mr. Kim Woo-Gon?" Yu-Seong asked.

"Oh, of course, it's an honor to see you again. Sincerely," Kim Woo-Gon said with a bright smile and moved away from the group.

"Boss, that guy is really a bad guy. Don't trust him!" Ye-Ryeong blurted out, finally giving voice to what she wanted to say.

"Slow down, tell me what happened after you came here," Yu-Seong said.

Chae Ye-Ryeong then tried her best to convey what she had seen, heard, and experienced as objectively as possible, despite her excitement. She used rather emotional language at the beginning, but quickly focused on talking about Kim Woo-Gon’s behavior towards the end.

As Chae Ye-Ryeong's story drew to a close, Yu-Seong suddenly remembered something.

‘Oh, right. I remember now.’

Unlike the Tower's Demon King, Adam Smith, who had become famous after entering the Tower, Kim Woo-Gon was already a well-known figure outside of the Tower.

‘Villain name: Trickster.’

Kim Woo-Gon was an S-rank villain, one of the three Demon King Worshipers’ leaders hiding within South Korea.

‘So, at this point, this guy is acting as a king here.’

In the original novel, Kim Woo-Gon's appearance came only after the Tower had been conquered halfway.

He was known for his persuasiveness and ability to lead people astray, acting as a preacher who propagated new Demon King Worshipers inside the tower. Ultimately, he became a well-known supporting character in the original novel who would be exposed for his true nature and killed by Kim Do-Jin.

Realizing this fact, Yu-Seong couldn’t help but snort.

‘Did he say he’s a fan of mine?’ 

That statement itself might not be entirely incorrect. By now, the Demon King Worshipers within the Tower might have started to pay attention to Choi Yu-Seong. This wouldn’t be a strange thing at all.

‘They would want to recruit me, but my father's gaze would be too intimidating.’

In other words, Kim Woo-Gon's shift in attitude towards Yu-Seong's group stemmed from their desire to exploit the current situation to their advantage. It was an opportunity for them as the Tower was a place beyond Choi Woo-Jae's gaze. How amazing would it be if they could recruit a talented and promising person from a great family as a Demon King Worshiper?

‘For Demon King Worshipers, they would be able to easily shake the entire South Korea.’ 

In fact, there were quite a few people in the Demon King Worshipers who were at the center of wealth or power. However, in South Korea, there were few cases where such influential people were affiliated with the Demon King Worshipers. Considering the fact that about 30% of famous people in Europe, the United States, China, and other countries were somehow associated with the Demon King Worshipers, the situation in South Korea was surprisingly good.

‘It's probably because they thought there was nothing to gain from this small country… Especially after already occupying Pyongyang.’

Now that Pyongyang had fallen, it was time for the Demon King Worshipers to reconsider South Korea, which they had somewhat disregarded in the past. Therefore, Yu-Seong had become an increasingly alluring prospect for them.

After organizing his thoughts, Yu-Seong turned his gaze towards Kim Woo-Gon, who was leading a group of more than ten people.

Kim Woo-Gon noticed Yu-Seong's gaze and smiled widely. When he waved his hand, Yu-Seong responded with a smile and a wave of his own.

"Boss?" Chae Ye-Ryeong asked Yu-Seong with a surprised expression.

"I originally planned to leave directly for the third floor, but it seems like we have something to do. Please wait for a little longer, and trust me."

The saying that a crisis was an opportunity rang true, and Kim Woo-Gon's notion of seizing an opportunity certainly applied to Yu-Seong as well.

***

“Can we talk for a moment?”

Since Yu-Seong approached him first, Kim Woo-Gon’s face brightened up with an even wider smile.

‘This kiddo has taken the bait.’ 

Yu-Seong shrugged his shoulders at the obvious ploy. He commented, “It’s a little risky here… It’d be nice if we could be alone.”

“Come inside. It's dangerous deeper in, but it's fairly safe near the entrance.”

Kim Woo-Gon stood up. As if he had been waiting, he was ready to lead the way.

Yu-Seong noticed that Woo-Gon had signaled some of his men before getting up, but he pretended not to know. He thought to himself.

‘He’s definitely up to something.’

Kim Woo-Gon entered the far left of the five stone doors, and Yu-Seong quietly followed him. It was a narrow hallway with walls on either side, not a maze. Aside from being dimly lit, an inexplicable sense of discomfort wrapped around Yu-Seong, and the stale air that smelled like a basement pricked his nose.

“You may or may not know, but most physiological needs are taken care of here. At first, I was a little concerned about the buildup, but... After a certain amount of time, anything done near the entrance disappears without a trace. It's like a miracle. There's got to be a reason the gods called us to the Tower.”

Although Yu-Seong didn't respond, Woo-Gon continued speaking to himself as he walked a little further away from the entrance. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around, facing Yu-Seong with a smile. His crescent-shaped eyes slowly came into focus in the darkness.

“This should be far enough. I actually wanted to say something to you too, Choi Yu-Seong. This is great timing.”

“You can go first.”

“Is it okay?”

Once he saw Yu-Seong nodding lightly, Woo-Gon did not refuse it. He said, "Originally, it should be kept a secret, but truth be told, I have been entrusted with a certain secret mission. Ah, don't worry, it's not some suspicious organization with an unknown name."

Yu-Seong almost burst out laughing involuntarily.

‘If you're on a secret mission, how can your organization not be suspicious?’

It was indeed a paradoxical remark. Even in the midst of it, Kim Woo-Gon was mixing in the truth strangely. After all, there were few people in the world who did not know the Demon King Worshipers’ name.

“I see,” Yu-Seong replied shortly.

As Yu-Seong patiently waited for his elaboration, Woo-Gon went on to say, "While our organization is not entirely without suspicion, we believe that this tower is undoubtedly an opportunity that the gods have given us to help humanity. It's a joyful thing. And going a step further, we believe that humans' greedy nature often causes them to miss opportunities and cause problems."

"That’s why you're gathering people," said Yu-Seong, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to chime in with his own thoughts.

Yu-Seong had a vague and rough idea of Kim Woo-Gon's and the Demon King Worshipers' plan, but he didn't know the exact details.

‘Many guys besides Kim Woo-Gon have come into the Tower to act as preachers for the Demon King Worshipers.’

And they would continuously cause incidents and accidents within the Tower. Some of those incidents would cause an incredible number of deaths, and if possible, Yu-Seong wanted to prevent those incidents from occurring. The problem was that he didn't know when they would start their activities.

‘Because, in the original novel, the problems are often resolved after the incidents have occurred.’

Yu-Seong continued to wonder if there was a way to extract information from Kim Woo-Gon.

“Yes, that's correct. We want peace, and we believe we need a security force to maintain it. In this situation, we think that with someone like you, Mr. Choi Yu-Seong, who has a fairly well-known name outside, the job could be made easier. That's why we're sharing this secret and asking for your help,” explained Kim Woo-Gon.

“I see. I understand.”

“Oh, so you've decided to help?”

After Yu-Seong nodded, Kim Woo-Gon quickly followed up with persuasive words. He wanted to persuade Yu-Seong to become a Demon King Worshiper. For him, this first step had to be taken cautiously.

“Why wouldn't I help you when you're doing a good thing?” answered Yu-Seong carefully.

“It's nice that the conversation is going better than I thought,” Woo-Gon said.

By then, other people’s presence could be felt from the other side of the hallway. As Yu-Seong looked across the darkness with a wary gaze, Kim Woo-Gon shook his head and said, “No need to be too careful. They're my people.”

Sure enough, the men looked familiar.

‘They are the guys who received eye contact from Kim Woo-Gon earlier on.’

There were three of them.

‘These guys are also Demon King Worshipers.’

Either they had followed Kim Woo-Gon into this Tower from the beginning, or they had discovered each other's identities and began to cooperate within the Tower.

"But how did they come from the other side?"

"As a matter of fact, the left and right doors are somewhat connected. We just found out recently."

"I see. One more question… Why are they…?"

"Well, actually, there's one more thing we want to ask of you, Mr. Choi Yu-Seong."

"One more thing?"

"As you know, the plan is so confidential that it needs to be carried out secretly. Maintaining security is the most important thing,” said Woo-Gon.

Yu-Seong sensed that the air around him was growing colder.

‘No wonder, he seemed too docile for a Demon King Worshiper.’

When Yu-Seong stepped back after thinking so, Kim Woo-Gon pulled out a small, black, and round pill from his pocket. He explained, "No need to be afraid. It's just a small token to ensure security.”

“What's that?” asked Yu-Seong.

"As I said, it’s a small token to ensure security and to mark the promise between us. If you consume this, you'll be able to keep secrets with no problems," said Woo-Gon.

"Keep secrets with no problems?"

From different directions, the three men were approaching Yu-Seong as if they were trying to catch him.

"Yes, I'd appreciate it if you could think of it in the sense that…you'd be with us forever."

When he heard those words, Yu-Seong had a twinkle in his eyes. He commented, "So that’s the famous Magic Total Pill."

The four men's eyes widened in surprise.

The Magic Total Pill was only carried by the Demon King Worshipers. In other words, Yu-Seong was revealing the fact that he had figured out their true identity.

"If you take the Magic Total Pill and fail to keep the promise you’ve made, you will be killed without exception. It's actually a highly sought-after item. I was wondering whether you brought it, and it looks like you did," Yu-Seong said.

With such a drug, there was no need to use any trickery.

Noticing Yu-Seong’s change in attitude, Kim Woo-Gon and the other men had interesting shifts in their expressions. Their initially bewildered and clueless expressions soon became cold and sharp.

"Choi Yu-Seong... It doesn't matter how you’ve figured out our true identity. What's important is that this is a narrow passage where no one comes...and there are four of us."

Due to the Reset, all the players had gone back to the same starting line. Adding the one-versus-four situation, anybody would have thought that Yu-Seong was at a serious disadvantage.