Villain Hides His True Colors

Why the hell did that old geezer call for me?

Because of the sudden call by the Branch Manager, she had to put aside what she was doing and was now on her way.

Recently, rather than do the job she was assigned to do at the Pyongyang branch preparing for the exam, she was focusing all of her efforts on her plan concerning Noah, so the unscheduled meeting could be said to be quite an annoyance.

If he has something to say, just say it. Why is he telling me to come and go?

Furthermore, she didn’t belong to the Pyongyang branch but was an employee that was dispatched directly from headquarters.

Because of that, she didn’t like the fact that she had to deal with subordinates very much.

In particular, there was an urge to cut off the Branch Manager’s tongue when he had secretly asked her on a date without reading the room.

Huu…I’m so annoyed that I’m going to die! Really.

However, her evaluation depended on the Branch Manager, so she had no choice but to endure it even though she felt awful now.

Standing in front of the Branch Manager’s office, she checked her expression with a hand mirror before knocking on it.

“Branch Manager. It’s Samaria.”

“…Ah, come on in.” 

She held the handle and opened the door.

The reason why she was called wasn’t known to her, but she wanted to finish this troublesome task quickly and return so she could continue making plans to tame Noah.

As soon as she entered the room with that in mind,

Swish–!

Along with a sharp wind, a blade flew toward her.

She reflexively spread her wings. A pitch-black shield wrapped around her.

Boom–!

From the wings that blocked the attack, feathers were pulled out like chicken feathers.

“Keuk! What is the meaning of this?”

She snarled fiercely and stared at the person who had attacked her.

Standing there was a black man in silver armor.

The man’s name was Pamir. He was an A-Rank hero commonly referred to as Paladin and was an Inspector under direct orders of the Hero Association Headquarters.

“Long time no see. Samaria.”

Pamir smiled leisurely as he put away his sword. Samaria continued to glare at him.

“Pamir…Why are you here? Did you come here because you wanted to die by my hands?”

Samaria and Pamir, messengers of God from different dimensions, were famous for their constant conflicts in the past.

In addition, the reason why she was now stuck at the Pyongyang branch was also related to Pamir, so for her, it was like facing an enemy she wanted to tear apart but couldn’t. Samaria’s eyes shone with madness.

Pamir burst into laughter.

“Hoho, you’re finally showing your true self. As expected of a wicked person who worships heresy.”

“…If you wish to die, I’ll kill you right now.”

The two looked at each other in a confrontation for a while. White and black energy filled the room.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the Branch Manager, who was standing between them, carefully spoke out as if he wasn’t seeing anything strange.

“S-say…Why don’t the both of you stop?”

In the end, it was Samaria who let go of power first.

At any rate, she wasn’t sure of victory because her power was currently sealed and she was now at a disadvantage due to the gap.

So even though she didn’t want to admit it, there was no way for her to beat Pamir currently.

She sighed and asked.

“Huu…So why did you come here?”

After the situation cleared, Pamir nodded.

“I’m here to deliver a secret order. Before that…Branch Manager. Can you please leave us for a moment?”

“Hmm…From the standpoint of managing this place, don’t I deserve that much information?”

The Branch Manager said with a covetous look. Pamir asked back in a worried tone.

“Will that be okay? This is a first-class confidential matter, and if you know this information, you’ll be marked from now on to protect future information.”

“D-did you say mark?”

“Yes. Every move, including your private matters, will probably be reported to headquarters. Well, if you don’t mind…”

“N-never mind! No! I thought of something to do in a hurry. I’m going to leave now.”

As if he had something to hide, the Branch Manager hurriedly left the room.

Looking at it, Pamir smiled.

“Haha, you’re working in a really nice place. Samaria. It’s a perfect fit for a heretic like you.”

“…Do you want to test me?”

“Ahah, I was just thinking in my head, I didn’t mean to blurt it out.”

“You!”

As soon as Samaria summoned her wings again, Pamir hit a transparent barrier in the room and solemnly spoke.

“Let’s stop joking around. What I’m going to deliver to you today is related to the Noble Council.”

“?!”

Samaria stopped as soon as she heard the word Noble Council. Pamir asked.

“Even though you’ve fallen to such a place now, you were once a member of it, so you should know the existence of Oracle, right?”

“…What does that matter now? Are you mocking me?”

She recalled the meeting at the round table she had seen in the past.

The current actual rulers of Earth who implicitly dominated this world.

And Oracle, the background in which they were able to solidify their vested interests.

Samaria was one of the few who knew about the existence of this absolute prophet.

Pamir continued.

“Oracle’s prophecy has twisted.”

“…That’s impossible.”

She shook her head.

What Oracle reads wasn’t the small events experienced by an individual but the great fate of the world.

Therefore, no matter how unexpected of an act you make, it was also predicted to happen. In the end, it was said that nothing could escape Oracle’s prediction.

“That’s what I thought. However, a Warrior has appeared in this world. Or…it could be the Beast of Chaos.”

“?!”

Come to think of it, she had heard of it.

An existence that could change fate, the Warrior.

In terms of her life experience, it was a record that had only been handed down as a legend, but it was also evident in the literature of her religion.

If a Warrior has appeared for sure, Oracle’s prediction would be of no use.

She somehow felt refreshed when she thought of the bastards who were always talking in an arrogant manner.

“And to tell you one more thing. Not long ago, another future was predicted by Oracle.”

“What is it?”

“In this year’s hero exam, the devil will appear and countless casualties will occur.”

“You…Are you saying something will happen here?”

“Yes. Currently, headquarters has predicted the highest possibility of the incident being here in Pyongyang.”

“Tsk…Then that means the exam will be suspended.”

Samaria frowned. At a time when her plans to tame Noah were falling apart, another variable had popped up.

However, Pamir shook his head.

“You’re wrong, Samaria. Rather, at times like this, the exam should proceed as normal.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hoho, you’ve lost your touch. If the incident that will happen here is twisted, wouldn’t it be indirect evidence that Pyongyang has a Warrior?”

“…Are you serious?”

“For great justice, a small sacrifice is inevitable.”

Pamir smiled, revealing his white teeth.

* * * * * * * * * *

Um…what’s this?

I suddenly felt my spine chill. Strangely, the feeling wasn’t good.

An ominous sense whenever a crisis came in the past. And rarely was my intuition wrong.

I looked around.

The test site had turned cold compared to the morning. All the candidates for the low-rank hero exam had returned, and among the high-rank candidates, only combat specialists remained and were waiting for their turn.

No matter how much I looked at it, there seemed to be no particular risk factor.

At that moment, the test finally began.

“Let’s start the practical skill evaluation now.”

The dwarf Dr. Jaegal said. The participation order was arranged starting with the lowest exam number.

Standing on a huge square ring was a 17-year-old boy with pale skin.

“Examinee No. 00187. Specialty is…close combat.”

No. 00187.

It was him. The one who looked at me like a dead body this morning.

He seemed to have the lowest exam number among the combat specialists here at the Pyongyang test site.

“If it’s close combat, hmm…This would be enough.”

Dr. Jaegal summoned a robot measuring about 2 meters from his subspace.

The robot had Japanese-style armor and a terrifying long tachi sword on its back.

(TN: Tachi sword is a japanese sword.)

In the case of this test, there were no clear criteria for judgment. The candidates were scored in consideration to various factors such as combat sense and use of abilities.

So rather than just knocking down the target, it could be said that the process of solving was also important.

Come to think of it, this should be my first time seeing that brat’s ability properly.

As soon as I thought as such, the battle began.

The robot brought out its long tachi sword. Then, the blade heated up a bright orange and began to emit heat.

Wielding it in the air, the sound of it burning could be heard.

“Haha, didn’t I tell you? As long as I’m the supervisor of this test, you guys will really have to fight for your lives. If you’re afraid, you can give up even now.”

I didn’t know why he became the supervisor, but he certainly seemed to be here to really bother the candidates rather than to test them.

In that situation, No. 00187 rushed straight at the robot without answering.

A movement like a beast. It was crude but fierce.

As such, the robot attacked the boy. However, he didn’t avoid the blade that was right in front of him.

“You crazy punk!”

Dr. Jaegal twisted the trajectory of the blade. The huge tachi sword cut through the floor and melted it.

Taking advantage of the gap, the boy grabbed the robot’s head.

Creek–!

And without any technique, he grabbed the robot’s neck and pulled. The robot continued to punch the boy hanging from its neck, but he continued to do what he was doing regardless.

And…

Clank–!

Finally, the robot’s head was pulled out. Herculean strength. Damp neural circuits in the robot’s head rattled like a human spine.

Dr. Jaegal’s expression wrinkled and he became furious when he saw it.

“Wh-What kind of crazy guy are you? Hey, brat! If I didn’t intervene, you would be dead!”

“…”

“Huu…This kind of gambling doesn’t work in real life, so I can’t give you a very good score. Step down!”

No. 00187 lowered his head and came down from the ring. Other applicants around him chatted, saying he was lucky given his reckless judgment.

However, while observing the boy’s expression this whole time, I was able to catch on. Just now, he had really rushed in without caring about his body being sliced in two.

There must be hidden means.

As such, the test continued.

Dr. Jaegal continued to summon new robots to match the candidates’ specialty, and each time the candidates would fight using their abilities.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

Some of them were at an ambiguous level to be called D-Rank heroes, while others had specialties worth paying attention to.

A woman with colorful hair was now standing on the ring.

“Examinee No. 04589. My specialty is…Rumble~ Bang, bang!”

When she appeared, other supervisors rushed to surround the area. And then thick barriers were placed around her and the robot.

Rumble boom boom…? What was that?

There had been many candidates so far, but this was the first time someone had introduced themselves in this unusual way. I observed her actions.

“Then let’s get started.”

“Ah, wait! Wait a minute!”

With the robot in front, No. 04589 suddenly began to take off her clothes.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Dr. Jaegal’s face burned red. However, she ignored it and threw her clothes to one of the supervisors outside the ring.

“Phew, good. I’m ready!”

“Wh-what…haa, what the hell is wrong with the candidates this time…”

Thus, the test started. The robot lunged at the woman. However, No. 04589 stood still without any movement.

As soon as the robot’s fist was about to reach her, the woman spoke with a bright smile.

“Boom~!”

The robot heated up white and exploded as it was.

Boom–!

Mushroom shaped clouds soared. Several layers of barriers created by the supervisors broke one after another, offsetting the impact.

And finally, when the flames died down, a huge pit where the floor had melted was revealed.

In the middle of the pit, she proudly raised her hands to her hips.

“Hehe, finished!”

“…”

There seemed to be a lot of restrictions, but it was certainly an amazing level in terms of firepower alone.

“Ouch!”

She crawled out of the pit complaining before getting dressed.

As the candidates looked on blankly, the supervisors could be heard shouting.

“We’re going to start decontamination of radioactivity!”

People in protective suits entered beyond the barriers that were created by the supervisors.

It seemed this woman didn’t need a separate bomb vest.

I thought there would be only lame people, but there were quite a few interesting people.

It was fun.

Since then, more people with extraordinary abilities took the test, but none of them stood out to me.

And…

“Examinee 07942. Specialty is swordsmanship.”

Cheon Eugene climbed onto the ring.

I wonder how strong he had become in the meantime.

If it was like the first round, he would skip one level and be assigned to C-Rank.

Let’s see what happens this time.

I observed the boy who was called a genius.

* * * * * * * * * *

There were numerous forces on Earth that had come from various dimensions, and among them, if one were to point out who was the most successful, then most would say it was the Jaegal clan.

Their clan’s customs, which valued knowledge and information, shone more on Earth than in the murim.

They systematically organized martial arts, and actively accepted various abilities and magic that existed on Earth to further develop their own martial arts.

As a result, they, who were considered the weakest in the past, had now grown into a powerful force that was counted as one of the strongest among several martial art groups.

And… 

In the Jaegal clan, which boasted such dignity, there was someone who was born with a disability…

He was the A-class hero Dr. Jaegal.

Rather than be pessimistic about his body which couldn’t learn martial arts, he accepted new knowledge by using his superior brain.

He was a heretic who wanted to surpass martial arts with science and technology.

After being expelled from the clan, he tried to develop stronger power by digging into the weaknesses of martial arts.

No matter how outstanding a martial artist is, in the end, they’re just individuals.

To solve this problem, he chose the method of mass producing robots and in which a database of martial arts was entered.

And the result.

An army of robots enough to be called a ‘one-man’ army, he was recognized as an A-Rank hero.

In the end, the path he had chosen was correct.

And in fact, the reason why he had decided to be one of the supervisors for the exam this time was also to prove the superiority of science and technology.

Hmm…I heard they raised the difficulty of this year’s questions, but I still see quite a few serviceable guys.

As the test continued and he collected more data, a very young child came onto the ring.

“Examinee No. 07942. Specialty is swordsmanship.”

“Let’s get started.”

At the same time as he finished his words, the robot’s neck was easily cut.

Swish–!

“””Ah!”””

Exclamation burst out among the candidates around them. 

Rather than the skill used, what caught Dr. Jaegal’s attention was the girl’s sword.

Is that…?

If what he remembers was right, then that was the Soma Sword, which was said to be given to the successor of the Cheonma Order.

A child of magong.

(TN: Magong is the martial arts cultivation deviated from the conventional path. Demonic Arts. Not necessarily evil.)

It was an opportunity to obtain data on magong that he usually didn’t come across outside.

An endless longing for knowledge. His eyes shone with greed.

“Wait!”

He called out to the child who was walking down the square ring.

“Is the evaluation not over?”

“Yes. The practical skill evaluation is finished. But do you have any thoughts of fighting again? If you win, I’ll give you this.”

He took out an ampoule containing a yellow liquid.

“This is an elixir that was refined by the now-disappeared Sochungdan of the Wudang Sect. It’s one of the treasures that can immediately improve your qigong.”

“Oh…”

An exclamation flowed out the mouths of the candidates around them. The ampoule he took out was certainly worth it.

Eugene was also aware of that fact.

“…What do I need to do?”

“Haha, it’s simple. Wait a minute.”

At the same time, a mana reaction occurred in the air.

Then, robots summoned from subspace transformed and assembled themselves.

Clunk–clunk–!

A splendid majesty that could appear only in robot cartoons. A steel giant wearing a cape had appeared.

‘HK-MK02.’

An extraordinary masterpiece he had created. It was one of the robots in the Four Heavenly Kings series.

“If you make a significant attack on my body at least once, this ampoule is yours.”

Looking at the overwhelming sight, the candidates, who had been greedy for the ampoule earlier, shook their heads. No matter how much they thought, it seemed impossible to beat such a giant.

However, Eugene nodded to Dr. Jaegal.

“I hope you keep your promise.”

She immediately operated her qigong and ran at the robot.

Boom–!

The overwhelming energy met the robot’s body. However, only a small scratch appeared and no real damage was done.

“…It’s hard.”

“Heuheu, I’m not good at controlling the output, so you’ll have to do your best. Show me everything you have.”

Boom–!

So Eugene did her best to attack Dr. Jaegal. However, the steel giant responded defensively to her attack for a while as if it was going easy.

“Heuk…heuk…”

Not only that, Eugene’s clothes had become wet with sweat. How long has it been? Finally, the steel robot spoke.

“I think I’ve collected enough data.”

And like catching a bug, Eugene was knocked out.

“Keuk!”

Eugene, who fell out of the ring, fainted. Supervisors who were next to her ran to check on her condition.

There was a heavy silence.

Currently, only the high-rank hero candidates remained in the afternoon test. Because of that, they knew.

What kind of grade the child had received prior.

But now, such a child was teased like a toy and lost.

Once again, they were reminded of the gap between them and A-Rank heroes.

Haha, the brat might be able to put up a fight if he inherits magong techniques one day.

The moment Dr. Jaegal thought as such, someone spoke up.

“Excuse me!”

The sound of an immature child who hadn’t even reached puberty. Everyone turned to one place at once.

Standing there was a black-haired boy. ‘No. 13579’ could be seen on his chest.

The boy continued.

“Will you give me that drug if I fight that robot?”

“Hooo…”

Dr. Jaegal looked at the boy with a dumbfounded look.

* * * * * * * * * *

“No. 13579, if you’re going to attack this robot, your evaluation will be replaced with this because we don’t have much time left. Is that okay?”

“Yes! That’s fine.”

“Tsk, doing something foolish because you’re blinded by greed. Hurry up because it’s annoying. Energy is being consumed to maintain this robot.”

The huge robot in front of me shook its palm as if it found me troublesome. I smiled inside while looking at it.

Lucky.

I climbed onto the ring with the eyes of everyone on me. Voices of people calling me foolish came from nearby.

“He’s too greedy. He needs to know his place.”

“I’ve been thinking that he has done well so far, but he was just crazy?”

Well, in fact, from a normal perspective, they may be right.

No matter how talented the candidates might be, the standard level for this exam could be said to be the limit of ranks between D and C.

On the other hand, the giant robot in front of us, as it was an object created by an A-Rank hero, must have at least the same power as B-Rank.

But…

Under such conditions, it was fully worth a try.

[ You’ve encountered a Giant. ]

[ activated. ]

The robot’s huge size was trivial as long as was active.

I slowly walked in front of the robot.

Through Heavenly Body, information on the martial arts used by it earlier came to mind.

I could clearly sense where it would attack and where I should aim to be effective.

“Then, let’s get started.”

At the same time as he said as such, he immediately swung his huge arm. It felt like I was reliving my fight with the giant golem not too long ago. However, the speed and output were incomparably faster.

Immediately, the world was dyed red.

Even in such a slow world, its huge palm was still approaching me at such a high speed.

Seeing it, I operated Inner Heart. Explosive mana ran through my body, and red energy flowed in all directions.

This…It was my first time.

Next, I accelerated my body.

My already pounding heart began to explode like crazy.

Keuk!

It felt as if my body was about to burst like a balloon.

However, my durability had risen to a new level after my stats passed 3. The energy from Inner Heart circled around my whole body and allowed me a very brief window.

But for me right now, that moment was enough.

I took a step forward and the world crumbled like a sheet of paper as it opened up a new path for me.

Behind me, red energy from Inner Heart trailed like a comet.

I could see the robot swinging its fist at my afterimage.

And…

Swish–!

I cut the robot’s neck and passed by as the red colored world returned to its original color. One step later, a huge explosion sounded.

Boom–!

The severed robot’s head dangled for a second before falling to the ground.

Crash–!

And then silence came. Neither the supervisors nor the candidates could say anything.

“…”

In the middle of that silence, I heard a pleasant sound in my ears.

[ Completed Challenge ‘Legendary Candidate.’ ]

[ Gained 3x Random Box (Low). ]

“Easy.”

I smiled brightly at the cut robot.