Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

“I’m ruined, completely ruined.”

As much as I’d like to think positively, I’m too ruined to salvage anything. If things had gone according to my original plan, I could have slipped away without drawing anyone’s attention.

But things became hopelessly tangled, and even Jeong Ho-san found out about my misdeeds. After searching online, I could only slap my forehead upon confirming the full details of the case.

He got caught up in this while investigating my disappearance.

Ah, if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have at least kept in regular contact with him.

—So what will you do now that they know everything was your doing?

At Ray’s words, I shrugged my shoulders.

“One thing is certain. I can’t just keep lying around like this forever.”

—That’s rich, coming from someone who’s been bedridden for the past three days.

“I told you I needed to stay quiet, didn’t I?”

—But your name didn’t come up in the news. Do you really need to remain in hiding like this?

Initially clueless about this world, it had eavesdropped on me and gathered quite a bit of knowledge. But it was still half-baked.

“With the guild involved, it doesn’t matter if they’re not openly issuing a wanted notice.”

While the news didn’t mention me, it was obvious. Kim Myeong-cheol of the guild was famous for never compromising with criminals under any circumstances.

Even if Jeong Ho-san had prevented my name from being fully publicized, he would have definitely reported it to the Awakener Crimes Team.

The moment my name was registered with that division, I would no longer be able to walk around freely with my face exposed.

Especially if my name reached that mad Do Chae-hee… Ugh, just imagining it makes my skin crawl.

—You can’t stay cooped up in this motel forever, even while wearing that ridiculous mask.

At Ray’s words, I glanced at the mask on the table. The smiling mask was something I had purchased as soon as I entered this black market. An artifact with facial recognition jamming capabilities, it would be accompanying me from now on.

—Why did you have that smiling mark engraved on it?

“Doesn’t smiling bring good luck?”

—Like hell it will.

“Well, the real reason was for aggro.”

—Aggro?

“Yes, I needed a striking image that wouldn’t be easily forgotten. Something to turn my image into a mascot, you could say.”

—For what purpose?

“Since my existence has already been exposed, I’ll have to change my approach.”

Originally, I had wanted to maintain a shadowy, unnoticeable presence, but that plan had already gone awry. Kang Yi-sin was now an exposed identity. My existence had already been etched into the minds of the very people I never wanted to be known by – Seol Rok-jin, the guild, the Awakener Crimes Team. Completely severing their pursuit would be nearly impossible.

Then what should I do?

I absolutely couldn’t let them realize I was Kang Yi-sin.

And yet, I needed to create one distinct image. As if some formidable villain had appeared in this world.

—Is there really a need to go that far?

“Yes, I plan to pull off a grand deception.”

While everyone would know my abilities, no one would be aware that I had acquired an artifact and developed a new talent.

“Theoretically, I can now wield the mana of any attribute.”

—That’s right, your body now has all mana circuits inscribed.

“How would that appear to others?”

—Extraordinary, no doubt.

Although there was the drawback of my mana output being abysmally low, as long as I didn’t let that weakness show, I could appear to possess an unprecedented, prodigious talent never before seen in this world.

“And that smiling mask will become the symbol of that prodigy.”

—Heheh.

Having spent time under Seol Rok-jin’s tutelage, I had learned how to ‘look the part’ to some extent. Didn’t the proverb say, ‘A dog attending village school for three years can recite poems’? How about someone who had endured for ten years by the side of the villain who had utterly devoured this nation?

“No one would fear the disgrace Kang Yi-sin from Babel Academy. But that smiling mask will be different. The deeds I commit while wearing that mask will be another story entirely.”

—So that’s what you’ve been thinking about these past three days lying in bed?

“Yes.”

I sat up from the spot.

The mana stones and artifacts I had sold amounted to 800 million won in total. With that much money, I could do just about anything for the time being.

I planned to use that money to build up my strength.

—If you know your own strength is lacking, you should train instead!

“Training won’t help my current state. My mana capacity is simply too low from the start. If I use just a few elemental charges, I’ll be completely drained, so training would be meaningless right now.”

That was a harsh reality I had realized at Babel Academy. There was nothing that could overcome innate talent.

—Do you need to be so negative?

“I’m speaking from experience, after having tried it all.”

The only reason I had been able to handle those guys last time was because their ranks were low and they were weak.

“With my current strength, defeating even Seol Rok-jin’s underlings would be impossible, let alone the man himself.”

But with money, there was nothing in this world that couldn’t be achieved. Wasn’t the very first thought I had of raiding Seol Rok-jin’s gate also for the sake of securing funds?

The foundation had now been laid. All I needed to do was choose the cornerstones to build upon it.

—By the way, what happened in your previous life to make you bear such a grudge against that man?

Caught off guard by the sudden question, I blinked.

“Did you suddenly develop an interest in me?”

—Like you said, whether we like it or not, we’re in the same boat now.

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

Had it grown a bit of affection for me?

—You seemed reluctant to talk about it, so I didn’t ask. But I’ve been curious.

For an artifact, it sure acted human-like. Well, given its capacity for reasoning, it wasn’t too different from a human. Since it would be accompanying me in my future plans, I suppose I could oblige it.

“You might have guessed it, but I too had gone to that illegal gate as a miner, having been thoroughly deceived by that bastard Im Hyeon-su.”

—To earn money?

“Yes, that was part of it. Back then, I had all sorts of grievances piling up. Despite being a B-rank awakener, the money I earned as a miner was mere peanuts. In any case, when I was told I could earn a bigger sum, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I had been warned about the dangers, but I thought, ‘If it’s me,’ yes, if it was me, I would be fine.”

However, it didn’t take even an hour for me to realize how mistaken that thought was. The moment I entered that illegal gate, the ominous atmosphere made me feel like a complete goner.

“As you saw, that place was hell, a living hell. The scum overseeing it, devoid of any semblance of humanity, were the ‘supervisors’. They didn’t even properly allocate time for sleeping or eating. Ah, and since no one could leave the gate, people started collapsing one by one from mana poisoning. While others at best lasted a week or ten days, I was a bit unlucky in that regard.”

Despite being a B-rank awakener, I had been confident the mana poisoning wouldn’t be enough to floor me.

—How long did you last?

“One month.”

That one month was truly hellish.

Watching the person I had been conversing with wither away and die right next to me, I was practically driven to the brink of insanity. Unable to do anything as people died around me, I even tried to attack those ‘supervisor’ bastards out of sheer desperation. But I had already lost all my strength by then and was no match for them.

“I wish I had just died back then.”

—How did you get out of there?

“They released me, those bastards.”

Despite being certain I would die in there, they released me outside. I should have realized something was amiss then.

But my senses had been completely numbed, leaving me utterly oblivious to the abnormality.

The only thought dominating my mind at that moment was that I had to somehow let the world know about the hell I had endured, no matter what.

“The moment I got out, I immediately called the person I trusted the most. I couldn’t even rely on the police.”

I would have been better off reporting it to the police back then.

—That trustworthy person, don’t tell me…

Jeong Ho-san. The person I had called then was my one and only friend, Jeong Ho-san.

“They released me to bring me before Seol Rok-jin. The brief window of time they gave me was just their amusement. They must have been confident they could deal with me no matter what I did. My surroundings were filled with supervisors keeping watch.”

If they hadn’t been certain they could control me, they would never have released me.

Seol Rok-jin had a twisted sense of entertainment. As someone who could brainwash others at will, of course he would want to witness heartfelt despair. In any case, the reason they released me was precisely for that.

And their plan succeeded in breaking me.

The moment I saw Jeong Ho-san being dragged before me, I realized with utter devastation what I had done.

“With my mind half-gone, Seol Rok-jin laid out his plan to me.”

Seol Rok-jin’s goal was to brainwash me into committing an act of terrorism. My role was to die in a suicide bombing along with innocent civilians.

—Why would he do such a thing?

“So that people would grow to hate awakeners. The more people hated awakeners, the more popular the anti-awakener Seol Rok-jin would become, you see?”

For that sole reason, Seol Rok-jin had planned a terrorist attack to occur on a commuter bus during rush hour traffic. The sheer depravity of it was unforgivable.

The reason he had chosen me was simple.

“A B-rank awakener who had graduated from Babel Academy, what a perfect title. But Seol Rok-jin had overlooked one crucial obstacle – his brainwashing didn’t work on me.”

Perhaps it was because I possessed a psychic talent. I had an S-rank psychic passive skill.

The ‘Indomitable Will’ skill. Until then, I had never seen any use for this skill. Well, as an awakener who couldn’t even enter gates, how many occasions would I have had to utilize a ‘psychic skill’?

Thanks to it, I was able to resist Seol Rok-jin’s brainwashing.

But unfortunately, there was one more high-rank awakener present at the scene besides me.

“Under normal circumstances, Jeong Ho-san would have shaken off Seol Rok-jin’s brainwashing. But the moment Seol Rok-jin took me hostage, that foolish guy just succumbed to it.”

—Your friend…

“Was recorded as a terrorist responsible for immense casualties.”

My friend’s name was utterly disgraced, even in death. Jeong Ho-san’s life had plummeted into the abyss at that very moment.

Jeong Ho-san, who had become a hunter to save others, who had joined the guild in the hopes of living a second life – his life had been utterly flushed down the toilet.

“So for his sake, it would be far better for me to become a wretched criminal instead. The more he hates and distrusts me, the less chance there is of him sacrificing himself for my sake again, isn’t there?”

At my words, Ray fell silent for a long while.

After that prolonged silence, Ray asked in a trembling voice:

—That man, you said he was the boss you served? You, you became a subordinate of the man who ruined your friend’s life like that?

“Yes.”

Letting out a bitter laugh at Ray’s words, I spoke:

“In my previous life, I was a piece of trash, no, a waste product unworthy of even being called trash.”