I Woke Up as the Villain

When a crowd started to gather, the cheers grew many times louder than before.

“Prince of Reversals!”

“Monster!”

“Burning Hero! Death Dancing!”

“The Prince’s guardians!”

“Demonic Beast Tamer! Water Fairy! Even the Saintess!”

“Wow!”

The crowd, including the reporters themselves, had voices that seemed to pierce the sky. There were far more people who wished for the success of the raid than those who wanted it to fail. Of course, this was an unsurprising sight.

‘If we successfully accomplish the raid… Korea will be the first country to do so under such conditions.’

Korea would become the first country to clear a Rank 7 dungeon with an average raid party member rank of B.

A successful raid would bring Korea one step closer to becoming a premier player country, which was currently considered the most important economic value in the world. This was the reason why most of the crowd were expressing cheers of support at the scene.

‘I feel a strange sense of responsibility. I wonder if national athletes feel this way?’ 

Yu-Seong calmed his nerves, took one last look behind him, and lightly waved his hands. Then, he entered the dungeon square.

“Wow!”

“So handsome!”

“I hope you succeed this time, too.”

Carrying the expectations of his family, friends, and many others, Yu-Seong felt a great change in his heart.

‘This feels more than just a novel’s world…’

This world was no longer different from his real life; it had become his everything.

***

Right after entering the dungeon square, things became busy and hectic.

First, Yu-Seong had to change out of his plain clothes and put on a battle suit that had been custom-made for the raid.

Wearing a suit that had the Comet logo and had cost over 50 billion won to make, Yu-Seong was startled to see an unexpected detail. He muttered, “Huh…?”

The brand logo of the Cheon-Ji Guild was attached to his chest under the Comet logo. Even Do-Jin’s Eclipse Guild’s logo had been stitched onto the sleeve of his right arm.

The support team leader quickly offered an answer after seeing Yu-Seong’s surprised expression. “It was the boss’ order.”

The support team leader was referring to the Comet Guild’s boss, Mi-Na. However, there was no way Mi-Na would have made such a decision by herself.

‘Father took action.’ 

Yu-Seong was certain that Woo-Jae had met the Cheon-Ji Group’s chairman and had probably signed some sort of agreement. It must have been something in the works after Yu-Seong had reported the list of members in his raid’s attack team.

The party members all expressed different emotions after putting on the battle suits that prominently displayed the various sponsors’ names. In particular, Ah-Rin seemed overwhelmed with emotion, saying, “I heard this would happen, but I didn’t expect the logo to be so prominent. I’m very grateful to the boss.”

On the other hand, Do-Jin frowned as he saw the Eclipse Guild logo stitched on the right sleeve of his battle suit and the logo of the Comet Guild on his chest. He probably assumed this detail had been done under Woo-Jae’s directive.

‘Although it might be a bit distasteful, you shouldn’t frown so much. Isn’t this a good thing in the end?’

Yu-Seong sighed with that thought in mind while looking at Do-Jin’s reaction. It was times like these when he was reminded of Do-Jin’s unyielding grudge against Woo-Jae, his father.

‘Friends and family.’

Yu-Seong did not want to give up either side; he needed to find a resolution.

While Yu-Seong was having such thoughts, the attack team continued their preparations. The support team was also busy with their own preparations, having used a drone to film and record information regarding the dungeon structure and monsters to create a database.

“We couldn’t figure out the boss monster. Sorry.”

It hadn’t been an easy task to film with a drone while avoiding the eyes of the dungeon monsters.

This initial reconnaissance was different from the information gathering and recording that would happen when the attack team or party members were engaged in battle.

While everyone else was busy preparing for the raid, the Comet Group’s support team members were finishing up their recon and were able to provide a fairly detailed map of the dungeon.

In truth, the skill level of such a recon was considerable and rather impressive compared to any other recon team in Korea, or in the world, for that matter.

“Thank you.”

Upon receiving the database and map, Yu-Seong’s eyes sparkled.

‘I kind of expected as much, but…’

Being familiar with this dungeon, Yu-Seong naturally had a smile on his face.

“The transport drones are ready. We’ve stocked them with food, supply gear, and additional treatment kits, just in case.”

As the support team leader gave his report, Yu-Seong nodded. Then, he realized another truth.

‘From an advanced party that does recon with drones to transportation drones and supplies…’ 

Yu-Seong could not help but feel that this level of preparation was drastically different from normal dungeon hunting; this was the preparation necessary for a raid. With the preparation having been done, he did not feel tense even though this was his first time experiencing such a massive hunt.

The entire preparation phase took a little over an hour to be completed.

‘13:59 and 12 seconds.’

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

Since Yu-Seong had decided to enter the raid dungeon at exactly 14:00, there was less than 50 seconds left on the countdown clock.

Everyone in the party stood at the entrance of the huge dungeon, which exuded a deep darkness that seemed to want to suck people inward.

After looking at such a familiar yet unfamiliar scene, Yu-Seong glanced around him. He wanted to see if anyone was being overly nervous or excited. However, he saw that every party member’s expression was calm and stable.

‘Well, Chae Ye-Ryeong and Yoo Jin-Hyuk seem a bit excited.’ 

However, Yu-Seong was not concerned about their level of excitement.

“Ten seconds left.”

Just when the supply team leader shouted out the remaining time, Yu-Seong nodded in acknowledgment.

“10, 9, 8… 3, 2…!”

As the supply team leader gave the final countdown, the initially calm surrounding began to enliven. Yu-Seong also refocused on what was ahead rather than on his companions.

“0!”

Once the last number was stated, Yu-Seong, Do-Jin, and everyone else in the party dived into the dungeon.

This was how Yu-Seong’s first raid started.

***

Even after the start of the dungeon raid, the dungeon square remained as busy as before. The filming crews were the busiest, preparing their drones for filming. They were eager to take pictures and film the activities of each raid member who had entered the dungeon, the entire raid team’s performance, the counterattack of monsters, and everything else in-between. No one wanted to make a mistake.

‘Well, that should be expected since everything will be broadcasted live.’ 

Jin-Hwan unconsciously snorted as if he was influenced by the bustling fervor around him.

Possibly because this raid had raised such a public issue, there were more people than expected who wanted to watch the raid, and the raid party’s attack strategy unfold live; moreover, Yu-Seong had approved of the live transmission. Therefore, if anyone made a mistake or had a misstep, it would be captured live on a video feed.

Hence, while gritting their teeth and focusing on their drone operation and filming, the reporters felt a sense of tension that spread throughout their entire bodies.

Thankfully, that initial feeling of tension did not last long. To be precise, the fervor and heat remained but no longer originated from a sense of anticipation.

“How far have they progressed within the dungeon?!”

“They’ve progressed through 20% of the map that was created from the initial recon.”

“What is the projected attack time before raid completion?!”

“1 hour 11 minutes and 36 seconds.”

“Oh my god…!”

The reporters exclaimed as they heard the communication between the Comet Group’s support team leader and the party team members.

‘The average clear time for a Rank 7 raid dungeon is 15 hours!’

However, this current raid, which had a relatively lower average party member rank, was progressing through the dungeon at a much faster pace than other Rank 7 dungeon raids.

Considering that all the monsters inside the dungeon were elite, the progression speed was unbelievably fast.

Moreover, none of the attack team members were showing any signs of exhaustion. The team members worked well together and progressed smoothly through the dungeon.

‘Kim Do-Jin and Choi Yu-Seong…’ 

In particular, the teamwork between these two, who led from the forefront, was amazing.

Famous for being tricky monsters to deal with, the lizardmen of the swamp area died without putting up much of a resistance whenever Do-Jin and Yu-Seong swept past them. The pair lived up to their names as the most promising star players in the Korean scene.

‘Is it because they’re rising stars?’ 

The reporters could not help but marvel at the ease with which Do-Jin and Yu-Seong were clearing through the elite Lizardmen, monsters famous for requiring at least A-rank players to properly contend against them.

“Have they already reached S-Rank? Perhaps they just haven’t gone through the rank promotion review?” a reporter unconsciously said aloud the exact thought that Jin-Hwan was having.

In fact, it was a thought that had popped up in every reporter’s mind.

The two were seriously overwhelming for B-Rank players. Even if one searched through the records of all the players in the whole world, one would not be able to find anyone comparable.

‘There might be one or two similar cases, but…’

At least, officially, no such similar player record existed.

Soon, the gathered reporters’ doubts became a sense of astonishment. Then, that sense of astonishment turned into admiration.

“If those two are really B-Rank players…”

“What will happen when they reach S-Rank?”

Right when all of the Korean viewers were daydreaming of the day when Do-Jin and Yu-Seong became S-Rank transcendent realm players, Do-Jin and Yu-Seong slowed down, took a step back, and allowed a new vanguard to come forward.

“Burning Hero! Death Dancing!”

At the vanguard position were now Bernard and Meghan. Of the two, Meghan’s skill clearly stood out.

‘I’ve heard of the Death Dancing skill in passing, but it’s so gorgeous to see firsthand!’

As Meghan danced around with her two longswords, the surrounding monsters were literally shredded into pieces. She also threw herself into the swamp, which was often called the worst dungeon field, without any hesitation and slaughtered the now fleeing Lizardmen.

‘The class of a top S-Rank player is certainly different.’

Meghan was in the upper-middle class amongst the United States’ S-Rank players.

As shown by Meghan’s performance, talented players were not unique to Korea. The power of the United States, which was famous for being the greatest player power in the past and present, was enormous, and every viewer was reminded of this very fact as they watched Meghan’s display of skill.

Bernard was also holding his own, performing admirably. Although his attacks looked simple, the results they produced were inarguable and captivating. Every time he powerfully sent a punch flying out, the Lizardmen on the receiving end exploded and died; watching such explosions, many of the gathered reporters could not help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Furthermore, it was not just these four who were performing admirably in the raid. Although Do-Yoon, Yu-Ri, Ye-Ryeong, and Jin-Hyuk did not stand at the vanguard, they performed solidly in the party formation’s flanks and rear positions.

The majority of the raid party members were clearly displaying abilities that exceeded the limits of their respective ranks. That alone was something to be in awe of. However, the player who gave every viewer goosebumps was Yu-Seong, who thoroughly commanded such a talented group of players.

‘The timing on the replacement of the vanguard and the arrangement of the rear formation are thorough and solid.’

No matter how talented a hunter was, the longer one stayed in the humid swamp environment and faced the constant attacks from its inhabiting monsters, one’s concentration level would eventually drop due to exhaustion.

However, whenever such a time was imminent, Yu-Seong shrewdly changed the position of his party members within the formation or yelled out words of encouragement to further motivate the party members.

In other words, Yu-Seong, the leader of the raid, was the main reason why the current raid team was able to exert greater power than their expected output.

When Jin-Hwan first looked at the list of attackers that Yu-Seong had publicly presented, he had doubts about whether they would be able to work together properly. However, seeing the overwhelming results on the battlefield, Jin-Hwan could not help but chastise himself inwardly.

‘You idiot. You still haven’t learned.’

Jin-Hwan was reminded once again that Yu-Seong was not a person who could be judged under the same lens as others. As always, Yu-Seong went beyond his perceived limits and surprised everyone with his unimaginable actions and results.

‘Sometimes, being too cool-headed and rational makes one stupid.’

Being overly rational and critical were not always a good thing. Occasionally, there were times when one was so deeply buried in such emotions that one would miss the clear truth that existed right in front of one’s own eyes.

Moreover, this was not just the case for Jin-Hwan. Many of the gathered reporters had their own expectations, anxieties, concerns, or dissatisfactions regarding the raid party; however, after witnessing such an unbelievable scene, these reporters could not help but self-reflect and feel a burning sense of passion in their hearts.

“Keep going.”

“Show me how awesome you all are.”

Proof of this emotional sentiment was illustrated by the growing number of reporters who clenched their jaws and concentrated on filming while unconsciously mumbling words of encouragement.