I Woke Up as the Villain

"Dragon Egg?"

His eyes widening in surprise, Jackson, who had a massive build, raised his voice.

"Shh, what if someone hears us…?" said a young man with a small stature and a frail body who quickly scanned his surroundings.

"So what if they do hear us? Do you think they'll compete with me?" said Jackson, snorting arrogantly and looking around with pride.

Sure enough, no one dared to meet Jackson’s gaze. Even though they had all experienced the reset phenomenon and were limited in their abilities within the Tower, Jackson's powerful aura remained unchanged.

In fact, he seemed even more wild and untamed than he did outside the Tower. It was only natural that most people wouldn't even dare to meet his gaze.

"What should we do, Godfather? If you give the order, I'll go and take it right away," Jackson asked.

With a hint of hesitation on his face for a moment, Eveheim smiled and shook his head. "A Dragon Egg... I'm not saying that I'm not interested, but let's give up on that for now.”

All six Hexagram Masters had their eyes wide in surprise. They knew that their boss was someone who always had a strong desire to obtain anything he wanted. In the past, there was nothing that Eveheim had expressed a desire for and not been able to obtain. Therefore, the fact that he was willing to give up on something was highly unusual and unexpected.

"I know who has the Dragon Egg, or at least I have an idea regarding that," said Eveheim.

"Is it...Choi Yu-Seong?" Jackson asked.

Eveheim smiled strangely and nodded to Jackson’s question.

"Do you mean Choi Yu-Seong has the Dragon Egg? Is he someone we should be wary of?" Talia asked in surprise.

Jackson smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "He's someone we need to be cautious of and someone we're considering recruiting. Anyway, we need to start preparing for the next Black King soon…"

"Is it already time to replace the Black King?”

"There have been a lot of rumors lately."

"Come to think of it, that woman, Rachel..."

"That's enough."

All of a sudden, the six Hexagram Masters who had been causing the earlier commotion fell silent with their mouths tightly shut. Despite everything, Eveheim was the absolute ruler within the Demon King Worshipers. Thus, no one wanted to deny Eveheim.

"It's not a topic that we need to keep secret, but perhaps we've already said too much. So, Godfather, are you really planning to give up on the Dragon Egg?"

After all, the Dragon Egg was something beyond ordinary. Talia, who was quite disappointed that they were giving up, asked the question again. However, Eveheim never wavered from his decision.

"Sometimes, it's important to repay your debts to those who have helped you, and that requires knowing how to control your own desires," Eveheim said.

Eveheim then turned his gaze toward a small tavern in the distance. People were gathered there. As he examined their faces, a smile formed on his lips.

‘Hm, Korea…’

It seemed like there were more and more reasons for him to stay and not leave Korea for a while.

***

Yu-Seong's group, including Jin-Hyuk and Ye-Ryeong, was soon joined by Yu-Ri and Do-Yoon within an hour. As more people gathered, Do-Jin, who had already seemed somewhat distant, got up from his seat with a cold expression and quickly disappeared.

‘But perhaps he'll still be nearby after all…’

In any case, neither Yu-Seong nor anyone else bothered to catch Do-Jin since his face clearly showed his discomfort and unease.

‘That's the nature of individualism in a main character.’

Yu-Seong laughed inwardly as he spent the night drinking with his companions, Bernard and Meghan, before bustling around busily from early morning.

‘We need to open the gate to return to Earth.’

In the first place, opening the Dimensional Gate to return from the 10th floor of the Tower of Heaven to Earth was not difficult. It was not opened simply because no one had tried. All they had to do was press a hidden button on the fountain in the center of the city.

With such a simple act, Yu-Seong opened the huge blue Dimensional Gate. His companions watched him with twinkling eyes.

"Wow..."

"As expected, Yu-Seong hyung is amazing."

Yu-Seong simply shrugged at the admiration from Ye-Ryeong and Jin-Hyuk.

1. You are the first one to open the Dimensional Gate to return to Earth.

2. Special reward is given: Emergency Return will now be available to you immediately.

A new hidden-piece that Yu-Seong was not aware of had been opened.

‘Huh? Emergency Return?’

In fact, the ability was simple.

‘At any time, I can open a Dimensional Gate to return to Earth from anywhere. The reuse waiting time is one year…’

It could be used only once a year, but he could return to Earth from any point, not just from a return point. This was clearly an unexpected benefit.

‘This is indeed a surprising gain.’

Yu-Seong couldn't help but smile as he looked at his companions’ happy faces.

When he had told them that they could return to Earth from the 10th floor, they had all been excited. It was easy to understand why. Growing within the Tower of Heaven was mysteriously satisfying, but staying there without being able to go home could be tiring. It was like constantly staying inside a dungeon, but finally, the gate to return had opened.

"Then, shall we go back home now?" Yu-Seong asked.

Then, the group turned their heads toward him and then threw themselves toward the gate to return to Earth with Yu-Seong in the lead.

‘This is just the beginning.’ 

Many people would return to Earth, and a lot would change. At this point, curiosity began to take hold of Yu-Seong’s mind.

‘How will my father deal with this?’ 

The original novel’s Choi Woo-Jae did not get to experience this situation.

'Since he died before the Tower of Heaven opened.' 

The Tower of Heaven had opened earlier than originally planned, so it would indeed bring many changes. At this point, Yu-Seong had no choice but to make one decision.

‘I would have thought it wasn't the right time, but...I have to meet her.’ 

Making up his mind, Yu-Seong closed his eyes and opened them again to find himself in the middle of a street in Myeongdong, Seoul.

***

The stories of the returnees from the Tower of Heaven to Earth had recently become the hottest issue. Many people felt curious about the sudden appearance of the Tower and the vanished gods, wondering what had happened inside and what could be gained or lost.

At this point, most of the information had been given by Yu-Seong himself.

‘The contents up to the 10th floor of the Tower will be revealed soon anyway.’ 

In addition, he had slowly uncovered some hidden-pieces that he considered to have little use. Naturally, the price of information increased significantly when it was rare. Therefore, unbeknownst to Choi Woo-Jae, Yu-Seong had earned a considerable amount of money.

‘The more money, the better.’ 

The more money he had, the more he could do at once. For example, Yu-Seong had started investing more money in Yu-Ri's Hidden Team to expand its scale.

‘Simply gathering information and engaging in small-scale combat won't be enough.’

There might be bigger fights in the future. That was why Yu-Seong decided to invest a lot of money in the Hidden Team, who were working solely for him and not for Choi Woo-Jae. They definitely returned the money he poured in, and obviously the more money he put in, the higher the returns would be. Yu-Seong didn't doubt it.

In the meantime, he made an effort to combine the power he had gained in the Tower of Heaven with his abilities on Earth. Sometimes, he paid attention to the Dragon Egg, hoping that it would hatch soon. However, unlike Do-Jin's prediction that it wouldn't take long, the egg remained quiet and unresponsive.

Also, at this point, Do-Jin's guild, Eclipse, declared full-scale activity. Similar to Yu-Seong, it seemed that Do-Jin had also gathered quite a bit of funds.

After about a week had passed, Woo-Jae called for Yu-Seong, as always, to the same quiet and dimly lit office. Although, Yu-Seong felt a different feeling from usual as he entered the office.

‘It's a space that remains associated with a really scary memory, but…’

Somehow, he couldn't help but feel cozy in this space.

‘Come to think of it, is it because Father isn't here?’

Woo-Jae hadn't arrived yet. Yu-Seong had permission to come in first, but the feeling of an office without Woo-Jae was quite awkward and strange.

‘Also, surprisingly, the light is quite good here…’

Sunlight poured into the room through the window, which had been partially blocked by Woo-Jae's small yet broad back before. Was that the reason? Yu-Seong picked up books from the bookshelf in the office, reading them quite naturally.

Soon, the office door opened and Woo-Jae walked in. Startled, Yu-Seong quickly put the books back on the shelf, and Woo-Jae asked with a smile, "What were you reading?"

"Ah, the title of the book is... The Devil's Deal..."

"It's a pretty good book. It'll be helpful in running the company. Take it."

"What?"

"I've memorized everything anyway, so I don't need it."

Woo-Jae sat in his usual spot, smiling wryly as he turned his back to the sun. At that moment, Yu-Seong felt a darkness settling into what had previously seemed quite bright.

‘As expected… Does this place have its own unique vibe only when Father is here?’ 

Yu-Seong couldn't help but smile slightly, but he also unconsciously tensed up and lowered his head shortly.

"Thank you, I'll read it well," Yu-Seong replied.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

"If you have any other books you want to read in the future, feel free to take them. I'll allow you to come in here even when I'm not around."

"...Pardon?"

"Why, don't you like my gift?"

“Of…Of course I like it.”

Rather, Yu-Seong was very happy with the gift. It was because of what had been written in the original novel.

‘Choi Woo-Jae hides some really important things in this office...' 

While there were some ordinary management books among the books on the bookshelf that Yu-Seong had picked up, there were many more extraordinary things, such as the bribery list of politicians, the scandals and secrets of entertainers, and even the weaknesses of the company's executives! It could be said that there were more precious things in this office than any other ancient relics.

‘These are truly treasures that can be called the power of a Comet Group...’ 

Yu-Seong's eyes brightened as he unknowingly looked around the office.

Woo-Jae flipped through a report on his desk and asked casually with a smirk, "Still, you got quite a lot by going to the Tower of Heaven, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes. I think it was a pretty good experience."

"It seems like it. Just looking at your momentum, it seems like you’re at the same level as a decent A-rank hunter. You're a B-rank hunter now, right?"

"...yes."

"It’s interesting. Many studies have been conducted on how to break the limits of a player, but there has never been an exact result. Although, it is quite common in exceptional individuals known as Irregulars..." Woo-Jae quickly flipped the report he was looking at and smirked as he met Yu-Seong’s gaze. "I've never seen anyone with your ability grow so quickly, Yu-Seong..."

"You flatter me," responded Yu-Seong.

"Don't try to be too humble. Your abilities continue to exceed my expectations…and the information you obtained from the Tower of Heaven has certainly earned you a lot of money," said Woo-Jae.

Perhaps the report that Woo-Jae had been reading was related to Yu-Seong.

"Oh, yes. I thought that if information could be turned into money, it would be best to sell anything I didn't need as soon as possible."

Yu-Seong nodded slightly, as he knew that he couldn't hide this piece of information from the beginning.

"And that money is now flowing out to a place where I can't track it through a Swiss bank account..."

"...”

Woo-Jae was talking about the funds going to the Hidden Team. In fact, it was a considerable amount of money moving around. There was no way to avoid getting caught at this point, no matter how careful Yu-Seong was.

'But I thought I could hold out a little longer...' 

Woo-Jae had found out faster than Yu-Seong expected. It was at this point that Yu-Seong was quietly worrying about Woo-Jae's reaction to the unexpected situation.

"Excellent. You truly are my son. The Choi family should at least be capable of this, shouldn't they?" Woo-Jae looked at Yu-Seong with a pleased smile.