I Woke Up as the Villain

Chapter 25

The next day, Yu-Seong went hunting again as usual. He burned with the desire to achieve the max level of E-rank within a month. He had no need for a break.

The Jin siblings had been following him to his hunting spot for several days now, and they saw him off more calmly compared to the beginning. Perhaps they felt increasing relief from seeing Yu-Seong’s safe returns after going hunting alone.

‘Even so, they never forget to remind me not to let my guard down.’

Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri’s eyes were always filled with sincere worry and goodwill. This was rather surprising since they weren’t actually a part of Choi Yu-Seong’s family. And before possessing this body, Yu-Seong had shown obvious signs of annoyance toward them even though he didn’t outrightly ignore them.

Then, why did the two care so much about Yu-Seong when he had given them enough reason to dislike him? Due to the original novel’s poor settings, there was no way for him to figure out the entire story of Yu-Seong, as he had always been a minor character since the beginning of the story; except for the scene where Choi Woo-Jae was murdered.

‘If there was a backstory, it wouldn't be something ordinary…’

Choi Yu-Seong had also experienced social life, so he knew that relationships between humans were not so simple. Just because one showed favors to another did not necessarily mean that they would receive a proportionate response.

The company had a new employee who seemed to be having a hard time. Yu-Seong tried showing support by being kind to him, but that simply made him a pushover.

Of course, that might have happened because of the particular person’s characteristics, considering that humans were complex. However, it was clear that the two siblings’ enthusiastic support wasn’t done thoughtlessly. This was especially true for Jin Yu-Ri, who had a lot of doubts and was rather cold-hearted.

‘It would be easier to understand if it’s a rational emotion.’

To put it bluntly, there was not an ounce of such emotion in the relationship between Jin Yu-Ri and Choi Yu-Seong. Rather, her feelings were somewhat closer to motherly love as he once recalled.

‘Should I ask her directly later?’

Why in the world would the two of them cherish this character, Choi Yu-Seong, so much? If he tried to ask, his face might turn red with embarrassment and he might not be able to properly bring up the subject.

“...I may have to drink a glass of alcohol,” Choi Yu-Seong mumbled to himself while entering the dungeon.

He was now used to entering it alone. He blinked.

A rather dizzy sensation passed by, and only a dark underground cave revealed itself to him. It was probably because he was near the entrance. If he proceeded a little further, he would find a lot of complicated, tangled tunnels.

From today, Choi Yu-Seong was heading to a level 2 dungeon located in Mokdong instead of the level 1 dungeon he had been in for the past few days. He gained confidence as he got used to hunting alone, and so he had come to a higher-level dungeon for the first time. The higher-level dungeon would give him more experience to accelerate his level up.

"I've heard of it, but it's really a dungeon. It is humid, damp, and a bit sticky…”

The feeling itself was not particularly pleasant compared to the plain field. Yu-Seong checked the portal to return to the earth, which emitted blue light behind his back. Then, he retrieved and opened the map from the deepest part of his battle suit. The map was prepared by Yu-Ri in advance.

'Since it might get ripped during the battle.’

Yu-Seong planned to memorize the shape of the road as much as possible before he started. There was nothing to lose by being thoroughly prepared.

***

Jin Yu-Ri was sitting in a chair, looking at her phone near the ‘Dungeon Square’ building by the Player Association. She raised her head from the cell phone. The Dungeon Square was not noticeable since there were many people passing by and it was located in a busy area, but she noticed that there were quite many hunters entering the Dungeon Square.

“Don’t you think that there are more people than back in our day?” commented Yu-Ri.

“That’s because the number of players increases by the year,” answered Do-Yoon with a nod.

Even about eight years ago, when she had just awakened, the news often reported the increasing numbers of Players. Since eight years have passed since then, it was a given that there would be more players than before. However, the world still wanted more players and hoped that the number of hunters would keep increasing.

It was an obvious thing. A D-rank hunter was considered as a combatant who could fight a fully armed platoon unit. Also, only hunters could fight against the monsters that used bizarre magic. Modern firearms didn’t work against such monsters.

In this era, the hunters who were outstanding in either attacking or defending were an important resource, and they were sufficient to enhance the position of their country.

“It has already been about 3 hours since he went in.”

“I assume that he will take the whole half day,” said Do-Yoon.

"It's fascinating to think about it. I didn't expect Yu-Seong oppa to change so quickly."

“Maybe that was his intention from the very beginning.”

"You sound so positively naive," commented Yu-Ri.

"Well, as you may remember, the young master was originally a person of great caliber." Jin Do-Yoon refuted as Yu-Ri gave a cold smile. His wistful eyes traced the past as if he was recalling memories.

“It’s true that Yu-Seong oppa stood out compared to his peers when he was young. But if he’s really a person of great caliber, he wouldn’t have become crooked like that.”

“A sleeping dragon crouches low and bides for the right time. Young Master must have some big plan that we don’t know about.”

“Absolutely not. I’d rather say that there’s some psychological change in him. Recently, there’s someone who might have influenced Yu-Seong oppa...”

The Jin siblings simultaneously recalled the person with somewhat arrogant eyes, the person who was a rising star of this era.

“No way, did he change because of Kim Do-Jin?”

"...I don't want to admit it.”

"Me neither."

The two felt curiously anxious ever since Do-Jin had first approached Yu-Seong. And even now, that feeling still remained. They just had too many doubts regarding Kim Do-Jin.

Kim Do-Jin was a genius of the era, suddenly appearing like a comet. He had beautiful swordsmanship that everyone truly admired. Although he could be seen as arrogant, his personality was highly regarded. He was a perfectionist who seemed perfect and blemish-free, yet he had taken the initiative to connect with Choi Yu-Seong.

In fact, it was strange for any sense of strong adoration toward someone like Yu-Seong to come about without any good reason. But what if Kim Do-Jin had caused a positive change in Yu-Seong?

‘Did that stuck-up guy make some kind of miracle or something?’

To some extent, the Jin siblings knew what Kim Do-Jin was truly made of. They shook their heads at the same time.

“Jin Yu-Ri, Jin Do-Yoon.” Two men in dark sunglasses and black suits approached the siblings.

“What’s this? Are you pretending to be the Iron Wall?” Yu-Ri spoke leisurely but she was somehow anxious.

‘Who sent these guys?’

They had a tempered body and their eyes glinted coldly beneath the sunglasses. The Jin siblings could tell from their appearance alone that they did not come with favorable intent. Jin Yu-Ri remained smiling as she subtly reached out to try and grab the man’s collar.

Suddenly, the tip of Yu-Ri’s jaw felt a cool and cold sensation. She quickly stopped her outstretched hand. Her mouth twisted up into a smile.

“You have a good sense, huh?”

“You too. You have such sticky fingers, little girl.“ The man looked at Jin Yu-Ri with his hands in his pocket. A blue haze rose from the man’s eyes.

.

A very small blue light was shining sharply under her chin. The light was so small that it could be mistaken to be a harmless dot.

‘This guy’s skill is above average.’

Yu-Ri herself was an A-rank psychic type player. She was confident of her speed even within the same ranked players. However, the opponent’s ability had been almost up to par with hers. The man wasn’t just a decent amateur who simply looked like an expert.

‘Who are they? What’s their intention?’?

Her eyes were filled with doubts and she tensed up slightly.

“Do you want to save Yu-Seong?” asked the stranger.

As soon as Yu-Seong’s name was mentioned, Jin Do-Yoon’s shoulders twitched. Jin Yu-Ri stopped him by raising her hand. Her eyes were also cold. Gone were the curious questions and calculations, having been replaced by fury and anger.

“Think before you speak. From now on, anything you spit out is at your own peril,” warned Yu-Ri.

However, the man did not make a single movement even after the harsh threat. He simply said, “We’ve secured Choi Yu-Seong by releasing our people in the dungeon. If you desire to save his life, follow me quietly.”

“Did you say you messed with the Choi family? You seem to have multiple lives,” sneered Yu-Ri.

When the man seemingly didn’t care about her reaction and turned his back, she frowned at his receding back.

The men walked away without hesitation.

‘It could be a trap.’

No, Yu-Ri was more than fifty percent sure that this was a trap. It would be foolish to believe and act according to these unknown men’s words, but… Even if she would be branded a criminal by entering the dungeon, that was probably the right decision instead of chasing down the men right now.

However, there was too little information. She had to make a rational judgment in such circumstances. It would be much of a relief if the buff men’s words were false.

‘Then, Yu-Seong oppa will definitely be able to come out of the dungeon safely.’

If that happened, she had an appropriate measure prepared.

Yu-Ri pressed the emergency call button on the cell phone from inside her pocket. She made sure that it rang three times before ending the call. With this, a great portion of her anxiety was relieved.

In the case that Yu-Seong returned safely from the dungeon, she would have nothing to worry about. The men in suits may be speaking the truth, however… It was an extremely small possibility, but the Jin siblings could never turn a blind eye to any possibility.

“Let’s go after them,” said Do-Yoon.

“Fuck,” cussed Yu-Ri. With a nod, she got up.

In fact, the two already knew what they had to do. As long as Choi Yu-Seong was involved, they would even walk into something that was bound to be a trap. They could not come up with any other conclusion, even if the men in suits were higher-ranking players than the Jin siblings. The siblings would risk their life if they needed to.

‘If they touched a single strand of hair on Yu-Seong oppa’s head…’

A-rank player? Or some kind of a big organization? It didn’t matter.

‘I'll chase them to the end of hell and kill them all.’

Jin Yu-Ri ground her teeth and chased after the men. Then, she suddenly turned her head. ‘Did it just….’

Do-Yoon also turned and was surprised. They looked at each other and frowned. They seemed to be having the same thought.

“...I am not too keen on this, yet there is no way but to trust it,” said Do-Yoon.

“Agreed.” Yu-Ri nodded.

***

About three hours had passed since Yu-Seong first entered the dungeon. He spent that time adapting to the underground cave-type field, which he hadn’t previously encountered. He was initially worried about the restrictions on movement in the field, but it wasn't as significant as he had thought. The cave was wide enough for four or five monsters to attack simultaneously. It was darker than the land-type field, but he adapted in less than ten minutes thanks to the effect of vision-reinforcement E.

However, he had two unsurprising problems – the moisture and discomfort of the underground environment, and the complicated geography. The difficulty regarding the directions could be solved through the map somehow, but the former was a little different.

‘It’s definitely more uncomfortable than spending time in the wide field.’

Choi Yu-Seong pulled out his spear from the head of the monster Noll and continued thinking. While walking through the cave, he thought that the spear was heavier than usual. He shook off the blue blood running down the blade of the spear and placed it in the back holder attached to the combat suit. Then, he opened the map and checked his location.

‘There’s an open space after a 20-minute walk from here.’

He looked at a blue star marked by Yu-Ri, which made it clear that it was a resting place where monsters usually did not appear.

Choi Yu-Seong made that resting place his first destination.

‘Since I’m slowly getting used to the dungeon, let’s take a short break and activate the History to herding hunt.’?

Still, it was a decision that could be drawn as it was not difficult to deal with the level two monster noll. Perhaps it was due to his hard work leveling up.

“Let’s go.”

Yu-Seong stepped forward and spoke up with a rather light and powerful voice to shake off the dampness of the dark cave. However, he had to stop walking forward after less than three minutes.

He could hear the sound of people’s footsteps from the direction of the open space he was heading to.

Then, three hunters appeared. In terms of numbers, they appeared to be a regular party. However, they had silently walked down the cave only to halt upon bumping into Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong felt a chill run down his back and an unknown feeling of anxiety. He stopped and looked at his opponents. The three seemed to murmur something among themselves. Then, suddenly, they started running toward him.

‘What the heck are they?’?Suspicious, He turned around and ran without hesitation.

Sure enough, the silent men suddenly raised their voices, “Catch him-! He’s Choi Yu-Seong!”

As he ran, Yu-Seong saw two men walking toward him from the front. They took out their respective weapons and ran forward as if they were responding to the shouts. Both his front and back were blocked in the narrow corridor.

‘...It is a catch-22. Stuck between these two groups of men.?’

Yu-Seong had no place to escape. He clicked his tongue and reached behind his back, grabbing the spear. He was surprised but quickly recovered his composure. In fact, there were all sorts of people who would target him: the Villains who wanted money, his siblings who disliked him, and moreover, Kim Do-Jin.

‘I have no idea what’s going on, but I can’t just let them beat me up.’

It was something that Yu-Seong had prepared for when he had first entered the dungeon. The world inside the dungeon was often devoid of the worldly laws. It was a place hidden from the rest of the world. There was only one rule that always stood true in the dungeons.

‘Survival of the fittest.’

Thinking back, this was a familiar situation for him.

‘Ever since my birth, when I became possessed by a novel….’

The guy named ‘Life’ had never ever let Yu-Seong live a smooth life.

‘There is no difference.’

Nothing had changed. And so, he was not afraid.

“Caught him-!”

The men were already at a close distance from him.

Using his spear, Yu-Seong deflected the sword that his opponent had swung with a grin. Then he aimed his spear at the man running at him from the back.

The man freaked out and dodged the attack.

“Ho, how is that possible?!”

“I was told that he was E-rank!”

Choi Yu-Seong broke through the road with small movements, then leaped forward. ‘Better a live coward than a dead hero,’?he thought.

Therefore, even if the current world was unfolding inside a fictional novel, or even if a terrible death worthy of a villain awaited him at the end… he would not choose an easy and comfortable path.

Even if he had to grit his teeth, clench his fists, and crawl on the floor, he would…

“I will survive. I am never giving up.”

This was a way of life chosen by the human Choi Yu-Seong.

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