I Woke Up as the Villain

In a way, the story of how the three of them had lived over the past three years wasn't all that different from Yu-Seong's.

"So, you kept entering dungeons to raise levels and rank, as well as to gather money?" Yu-Seong asked.

"It wasn't exactly money we needed, but dungeon by-products," Rachel replied with a grin as she twirled her blonde hair.

"So, you're saying you were selling those by-products to make money?" Yu-Seong asked again.

"It’s the opposite. We were collecting these by-products and mana stones to prepare to build something. The research was taking more time and resources than we thought, and we were struggling...due to repeated failures," Helen said.

"I see. May I ask what kind of research it is?"

At Yu-Seong's question, Helen leaned back in her chair with a faint smile. She said, "It's a training facility equipped with a mana amplification field.”

"A mana amplification field?" Yu-Seong asked as he blinked in surprise.

"We, the players, live in an era where rank and level are defined by a standard. No matter how talented the player is, they can never exceed the limits of rank. Everyone says that, but...." Helen looked at Yu-Seong with her eyes slightly narrowed. "You, Kim Do-Jin, and this guy next to me, Bernard Yoo, showed that rank is just a number."

Yu-Seong was secretly amazed. In fact, it took the entirety of Part 1 in the original novel to reach this conclusion. Until then, the world measured the player’s strength predominantly by 'rank’ and 'level.'

The first person to shatter that idea was Do-Jin. And with Yu-Seong, Bernard, and even Rachel added into the mix, Helen's thinking had clearly changed.

"I became more convinced after experiencing the Tower of Heaven. If we can put more effort into training through the mana amplification field, we might be able to transcend rank. No, we could even produce transcendent skills," Helen remarked.

Yu-Seong nodded. "That's a valid point. I, too, think the potential is high. But, I didn't expect that you would have pondered over this for such a long time, Helen.”

"However, I didn't want the effect to be simply limited to mana amplification. Additionally, I thought it would be better if it could cause some temporal rift with the external world," Helen said.

"So, you need to make it possible to have more time within the mana amplification field, right?" Yu-Seong asked.

This bore some resemblance to Gabriel's Time Dilation. In essence, Helen's research was similar to scientists' long-desired development of a time machine.

"The difficulty is high. I was also scared of its possibility, so I have been putting it off and focusing on other things. But after hearing your story, I’ve now gained confidence," Helen said.

"So, if it's not impossible, does your alchemy have the ability to control time?" Yu-Seong asked.

"It's not my alchemy. I've scouted all the talented scientists, magicians, and artifact researchers for various experiments...." Helen replied.

"But there must be a reason for the continuous failures, right?"

"The mana amplification field isn't the problem. No mana stone could withstand the penalty for time adjustment and would simply collapse. That's what we need, in the end," Helen said. "The Philosopher's Stone."

It seemed about time as Yu-Seong took out the treasure that Helen had been desperately searching for from his possession.

"That is....!" Helen exclaimed.

"Of course I brought it. It's yours, isn’t it?”

"Oh my goodness!" Helen's eyes shone brightly as she quickly received the Philosopher's Stone with an admiring expression. She said, "With this... it's possible enough.”

Helen was a thorough researcher. To clarify, the reason she wanted the Philosopher's Stone was literally to reach the 'ultimate' in alchemy. Needless to say, the Philosopher's Stone was the treasure that would allow her to reach the end of that research.

"I've finally kept a long promise," Yu-Seong said.

It was indeed a promise that had taken a long time to fulfill. Helen looked at Yu-Seong with a contented expression, nodded, and then spoke with sparkling eyes.

"We've put in a lot of effort over the past three years, but we haven't been able to help you, who had grown this much. But if this training field is completed... the situation will be very different."

The eyes of Rachel and Bernard, who had both been struggling for a long time alongside Helen, also shone brightly.

"I appreciate your thinking of me that way."

Seeing the three people who were strengthening their firm will made Yu-Seong feel reassured.

'I need to go through the Twelve Dark Kings and Hexagram Masters to fight Eveheim.' 

And even after defeating all of them, there was no guarantee of victory when meeting Eveheim. Yu-Seong had obtained a power close to a transcendent being, but he was not yet a complete entity on his own.

That was how it was for humans. Since primitive times, humans had formed societies; inevitably, a time would come when they would need each other's strength. How reassuring would comrades like the three people in front of Yu-Seong be in such times?

'Ah, excluding Rachel.' 

After nodding inwardly, Yu-Seong asked a question as if he had suddenly remembered something. "I have one more question. I've heard about the others, but I still have no idea about one guy.”

"Are you talking about Kim Do-Jin?" Bernard stepped forward as if he had been waiting for the question.

"Yeah. He hasn't been active at all for the past three years... He couldn't possibly have died, right? Haha."

Yu-Seong's laughter, filled with jest, gradually awkwardly disappeared. It was because the vibe of the three people in front of him became unusually heavy. He muttered, "No way...?"

It seemed impossible. Wasn't Do-Jin the protagonist of the original novel that Yu-Seong had read?

Observing Yu-Seong's perplexed expression, Bernard pressed on with his words and said, "I don’t know whether he's alive or dead.”

"You mean all three of you have no news of Kim Do-Jin?"

"It's not just us three. No one knows. He disappeared after returning from Pyongyang and hasn't appeared since."

"...But Kim Do-Jin should be fine, right?"

Despite his somewhat anxious heart, Yu-Seong spoke with a hopefulness.

Bernard, with his usual cool expression, nodded with a smile. "He should be. Granted, he may come off as a bit self-assured, but there's no denying his strength, right?"

Indeed, Do-Jin should be okay. Despite this, Yu-Seong couldn't understand why the smile on Bernard’s face seemed awkward.

'I have a bad feeling about this...' 

Shaking off his emotions, Yu-Seong sent a text message to Jenny, whom he had met in Korea before heading to the United States.

~

[First and foremost, find out about Kim Do-Jin's whereabouts. It's very important, so contact me urgently whenever you get information.]

~

***

Two people sat across from each other at a table positioned in one corner of a large room. They were sipping tea. The man among them, Ji-Ho, checked a message on his suddenly ringing cell phone.

"I've received a message from Yu-Seong," Ji-Ho said.

"I got one too."

The woman seated across, Mi-Na, let a bewildered smile creep onto her face. She exclaimed, "He's asking for help to find Kim Do-Jin?"

"Same here."

"Is this all about finding some man who has suddenly disappeared? It's not like he's searching for a lover or something," said Mi-Na with a smirk.

Ji-Ho gave a gentle smile as he replied, "If it's someone truly dear to him, he might.”

"I still don't understand. What sort of creepy thing are these men doing together, ugh...!" Mi-Na said with a shiver. Then, turning to Ji-Ho with a suddenly enlightened expression, she asked, "Right. Didn't you say you saw Kim Do-Jin last night?"

"...I didn't actually see him directly. It was just my future foresight kicking in," Ji-Ho explained.

"Either way, you saw him. How about passing that on? Your cute little brother is making such a fuss trying to find his lover," Mi-Na said.

"I think Yu-Seong might get mad if he hears that, you know," Ji-Ho said.

"Anyway, what did you see?"

As Ji-Ho furrowed his brows, Mi-Na tilted her head at his thoughtful appearance. She asked, "Is it a story that needs that much consideration?"

"It's not that, but the problem is it wasn't very clear. What I saw was…just a red mask resembling a demon, a black uniform, and corpses scattered around."

"That sounds ominous. It might be better not to share it, after all." Mi-Na clicked her tongue and tilted her head. "But how do you know that was Kim Do-Jin? You said he was wearing a mask?"

"It was thanks to his face briefly appearing at the end of the premonition when he took off the mask. I was wondering why I wanted to tell you this today...."

There was a clear reason why Ji-Ho had invited Mi-Na to his house: Do-Jin and his terrible appearance. In front of the man laid countless fallen bodies, among which Ji-Ho thought he saw a quite familiar face.

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Initially unsure, Ji-Ho grew more certain as he continued to converse with Mi-Na.

"...I'm not certain, but among the bodies near Kim Do-Jin, I think I saw yours."

"What? Hahaha!" Mi-Na burst out into a big laugh. "Do you think I'd die that easily?"

In fact, Ji-Ho knew that Mi-Na was not someone who would perish easily. However, he couldn't be certain that even she could escape the clutches of the Grim Reaper.

"I'll think carefully about it since you told me, oppa. But, you know, right? I don't believe in any predetermined fate," Mi-Na said. Her determined eyes shone as she lifted her teacup once more.

Just then, a call came in on the screen of the cell phone lying in front of Mi-Na. Looking over at the lit up screen, Ji-Ho asked, "Ja(子)… Is it a person within the Special Police Force?”

"Yeah. Seems like there's some incident?"

Mi-Na picked up the phone with an excited face and nodded. "What's up? You need me? Uh, yes. …What?"

Mi-Na's face turned stiff at her slightly surprised utterance. She answered quickly, "Sul(戌) and Oo(午) were attacked? Got it. I'll go right away.”

Then, she quickly hung up the phone and stood up abruptly from her seat. She said to Ji-Ho, "As you can see, it seems like a big event, so I'm going to go."

"Don't forget what we just talked about."

“Another nagging…”

Mi-Na, with a chuckle, spoke confidently as she headed toward the door. "Don't worry. I'm Choi Mi-Na. I won't die easily."

With those final words, she left the room and began to run with a focused gaze.

'I'm relieved, though. If I were to die, at least it seems there's someone who would genuinely grieve for me.' 

As she moved through the darkness that flickered with red lights, a smile unknowingly graced Mi-Na's lips.

***

Even within the Player Association of South Korea, the Special Police Force was renowned for its formidable influence and strength. Only the most skilled individuals were able to join this organization. In fact, it was quite common for members to get injured or die while carrying out special tasks.

Indeed, the current Leader of the Special Police Force, Kim Seo-Jun, had inherited his position from his deceased predecessor. However, it was unprecedented for five members to be attacked in less than an hour.

'Strangely, none of them are dead...' 

A strange monster wearing a red mask was wreaking havoc on the entire Special Police Force. Moreover, there were reports of people being attacked by the monster in various parts of Seoul. Indeed, it was a strange incident.

According to information provided by the last of the Zodiac signs, Hae, the monster seemed to behave like a mindless animal.

'Such a creature seems likely to go on a killing spree...' 

Yet, strangely enough, there had been no reported murders thus far. Likewise, based on accounts from Oo, the horse-masked individual who had sustained injuries and withdrew from the front line, it appeared as if the monster was engaged in a disjointed battle with its own consciousness and kept muttering to itself.