Villain Hides His True Colors
Chapter 3

I slowly looked around after opening my eyes.

A half-basement where no sun came in. Yellow-colored wallpaper and sticky floorboards.

And even the sour smell of drugs that stimulated the tip of my nose.

It was a memorable scene.

Was this when I was still living in the slums?

Rather than feeling happy, an unpleasant feeling washed over me as I looked at the basement.

It seemed that I had gone back 20 years to when I was about 12 years old, before I had run away from my father.

I observed the reflection in the mirror to be sure.

Skinny enough where my ribs showed, and about 130cm in height.

The messy hair that grew randomly and the face that looked so beautiful one could mistake it for a girl.

And…Even the purple eyes I had inherited from my mother.

Perhaps because I didn’t remember exactly how I had looked in the past, but the sight reflected in the mirror felt quite unfamiliar.

I was smaller and younger than how I recalled, and above all, my expression was too gloomy.

It was an unpleasant look.

Clicking my tongue, I checked my status window out of habit.

Body: 0.59

Dexterity: 1.35

Mana: 0.18

Spirit: 1.12

*0 Fragment of Growth

My levels and skills were reset as if I had created a new character in an RPG game.

It was to be expected…

From the moment I used ‘One Coin,’ I had already guessed to some extent that this would happen.

However, I couldn’t help but feel dejected when I looked at the empty status window.

Where do I even begin to get it all back again?

I forced myself to swallow a sigh that was about to leak out and began to check the functions of the system one by one.

Just like when I had first awakened my ability, most of the system’s functions were locked.

It seemed to be so…Was it the same this time?

As soon as I was about to close the status window, an unfamiliar word caught my eye.

[Inherit]

It was a function I had never seen before. In addition, this function wasn’t in a deactivated gray color but a selectable white color.

Maybe…?

One hypothesis crossed my mind. If the meaning of the word ‘inherit’ was the same as what I know, in general, there was only one such case found in games.

Ignoring my pounding chest, I selected the option.

Then, unlike the usual blue window, a strange red window appeared.

[ On your 2nd playthrough, one of your skills from the 1st playthrough can be inherited. ]

[ One of the following skills can be inherited. ]

(1)

Classification: General

Grade: B

(2)

Classification: Mortal

Grade: C

(3)

Classification: Magic

Grade: B

(4)

Classification: Ability

Grade: D

Skills that I could choose from unfolded before my eyes.

General, Mortal, Magic, and even an Ability. Except for Special Skills, all kinds of skills were displayed one by one.

Their grades weren’t very high, but they were some of the best skills I had until the very end.

“So it’s like this as well.”

Sometimes there were games like this. The types of games developed under the assumption of having infinite rounds right from the beginning.

And most of such games were designed to allow the players to retain some of the abilities they had gained from the previous rounds.

As my ability ‘Gamer’ reflected most games, perhaps this part also seemed to have a similar function.

This…wasn’t it going to be easier than I thought?

No matter how much experience and knowledge I had, I was only a child with humble stats.

However, it would be a different story if I could get a decent skill from the start.

I couldn’t help but think of how to use this opportunity to its fullest.

Naturally, it wasn’t as good as the destructive skills I had used in the past, but the skills here were still good enough to be used.

Perhaps revenge will come a little quicker.

Looking over the list of skills, I agonized over which one to inherit. When I was deep in thought, a familiar voice came into my ears.

Bang–Bang–!

“Choi Noah! Come out right now!”

(TN: Last name – First name. Choi is pronounced similar to chweh or ch-way.)

It was my father’s voice. Like a dog that had been trained for a long time, my body reacted reflexively before anything else.

“I’ll be right there!”

As soon as I opened the door and was about to run out, I suddenly saw my reflection in the mirror next to me.

In the mirror, the boy was smiling brightly as if he had met the person he was most glad to see.

* * * * * * * * * *

Guangcheng District. In other words, ‘The City of Light.’

This district, which would make you think it was a very sacred and beautiful place from its name, was actually one of the world’s most lawless areas.

The origin of the name was also because the lights from the slums that were built along the mountain looked like a large fortress when viewed from the city at night.

This place was filled with all kinds of villains who were hiding from the eyes of heroes and illegal migrants who had come from the different worlds.

As such, my father who was living here was no ordinary person either.

He was working for the Turbak Brotherhood, a notorious drug cartel. And although his rank was low, he was a villain with the power of acceleration.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

For this reason, even in Guangcheng District where power was everything, he was able to survive for quite a long time.

The same father was now looking at me.

“Noah.”

Whenever he would ask me to do something unreasonable, he would call me by anything other than my last name.

He would use my identity as a child for his various activities. For example, delivering drugs to avoid check-ups or leaking false information to the police who were looking for him.

“There’s something I want you to do.”

Sure enough, he wanted me to run an errand.

Now, such things seemed too insignificant, but I still wanted to hear what he wanted me to do.

“What should I do?”

Recalling the memories of the past, I tried to make a scared expression.

What was the expression of being scared? It had been a long time, so my facial muscles moved awkwardly.

However, he only said what he had to say as if he wasn’t interested in such acting.

“Take this first.”

He stuck out a brown paper bag. I thought it was a drug delivery, but it was heavier than I had thought when I received it.

I could feel the hard touch of metal over the thin bag.

“Go to Hairy’s house.”

As soon as I heard that, I immediately realized. Today was the day.

In that case, did it mean he was still alive?

In fact, Hairy was a police officer who was investigating the Turbak Brotherhood and had infiltrated their organization.

Naturally, the organization had gotten wind of it and was going to eliminate him.

And as a result, I, who couldn’t be subject to legal punishment, was now being mobilized to kill him.

Thinking about it now, I may have to thank my father.

Because of this event, I was able to realize the truth that life was a game.

Hiding my innermost thoughts, I asked casually.

“What should I do there?”

“There’s a handgun in the bag. It’s a gun with a weak recoil, so you can handle it easily. So go now and kill Hairy with that gun.”

Instead of answering, I took the handgun out of the bag and looked at it. The sleek automatic handgun caught my eyes.

The tool I had used for my first murder. It was as if I was looking at a basic item provided to beginners. I even felt happy seeing it.

When I was looking at the handgun without saying a word, perhaps because my father had misunderstood me, but he added in a tone that seemed as if to reassure me.

“If you kill Hairy, I’ll let you meet Helena.”

“…Mom?”

Ah, that’s right. He had also said this back then.

“Yeah. The reason why Helena suddenly disappeared was because of Hairy’s harassment. Don’t you know his temper? So if you take care of this well, your mom will be able to come back without worry.”

“…”

In fact, I could roughly guess where my mother was. Probably rotting somewhere in an unknown hill by now.

I had only found out later, but I heard that my father and the organization easily found her the day she disappeared.

In a way, it might have been obvious because she was playing games with me in a relaxed manner instead of running away.

And the result was that she had died after being cruelly tortured.

Unfortunately, however, when I had come back here after learning about it, my father and all other cartel members had already been wiped out.

Whether it was at the hands of a hero, or in a conflict with another cartel, I wasn’t too clear on the matter.

As such, I had always felt uneasy because of this…I couldn’t believe I was getting another opportunity.

I felt like I was going to lose control and laugh. Giving strength to my lips that crept up, I replied.

“Okay. You can count on me.”

“Yes. I’m so proud of you! Your mother would be proud to see you like this. By the way…Do you know how to use a gun?”

Perhaps afraid that things might go wrong, he was looking at me with uncertainty. So I reassured him with a confident smile.

“Of course. Do you want me to show you?”

I grasped the handgun with both hands. As expected from the body of a child, this small gun felt quite heavy.

“Oh! You’re pretty good! When did you learn how to hold a gun?”

He looked quite pleased, perhaps because he felt my posture was passable.

Just like that, I turned the gun towards him.

“W-wait a minute! You can’t carelessly point a gun at people like that!”

“Really? Hmm…But can I try shooting it once to practice?”

“What?”

“It might not hurt if you get hit lightly.”

“Y-you crazy punk!”

Bang–!

It simply happened in an instant.

He accelerated his body to try and dodge the bullet.

“Keuk!”

But no matter how fast a person was, could it be faster than a bullet? He fell to the floor bleeding.

“…Y-you punk! I’ll kill you!”

He tried to force himself to stand up while holding the area where he had been shot. Seeing the tendons sticking out of his forehead, it seemed to be very difficult.

Bang–!

“Kueaak!”

I shot him once more–this time in the leg–so he could comfortably lay down. He rolled around on the floor with an unsightly look.

Looking at him in such a state, I was reminded of the old days.

In the past, it had been me in his position.

I approached my father who was wailing like he was about to cry. And, with a different attitude than before, he begged me.

“Heuk! Noah! Why are you doing this…? How can a son shoot his father?”

His eyes shook pitifully. It was a familiar expression people would always make while looking at me.

As expected, a single bullet works better than a hundred words. Fast, economical. How great was it?

“Come to think of it, I remember what father used to say whenever you hit me.”

Click–

I checked the bullet chamber. Well, there were still enough bullets.

“I think…what father said at that time…The law of the world was you do what the strong tell you to do.”

“N-Noah…?”

His face was colored with fear. What little hope he had left gradually turned into despair.

I had always liked to watch the dramatic changes on people’s faces. After all, the production of the game called life was too detailed.

“Hmm…No matter how I look at it, I think I’m stronger than father.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Yeah, why did you abuse me when you were weaker than me?”

“H-hold on, Noah! I’ll explain everything…”

Bang–!

Bang–!

It sounded like he wanted to say something, but I was too lazy to listen, so I just put one more bullet into his head and chest.

I tended to skip cutscenes that were clingy even when I played games.

My father breathed his last breath.

“Ha, refreshing.”

It felt like I had completed a quest I had accidentally passed when I was a beginner.

I had always been serious about games, so if I missed something like this, I wouldn’t be able to sleep well because it would feel uncomfortable.

“Hmm…”

Thinking about the hardships I had faced in the past, I suddenly felt disgusted.

Bang–!

Bang–!

Bang–!

So, I put a few more bullets into the body until it became like a punctured teabag.

And as a result, messages that I had been waiting for appeared.

[ Level has risen. ]

[ Level has risen. ]

[ Gained a Fragment of Growth. ]

“Oh, a considerable amount of experience came.”

Perhaps because he was a villain with an ability, or because he was a person with some notoriety.

My level went up by as much as 2. Sure enough, early quests were generous.

As soon as I thought as such, another window popped up in front of me.

[ Gained achievement title ‘Immoral.’ ]

[ Next selectable skill will vary depending on your achievements. ]

“Hmm?”

This was an unexpected outcome.

In fact, in the first round, I had killed excessively, but I had never killed a person who was blood related.

So I didn’t even know about this achievement…

Trait: Bad Karma

Description: To kill even the one who had given birth to you…What an irredeemable villain you are!

I had a good feeling about this round.

“Huu…I’ve solved my overdue homework, so shall I make plans for the future?”

Every game had its own goal.

In the case of ‘War of Stars,’ the goal was to knock down the other race, and in the case of ‘Raising a Princess,’ the goal was to raise your daughter into a princess.

So, what was my goal in this game?

Revenge? Well, no.

Rather, the word ‘punish’ may be better suited. Because I didn’t really have a huge grudge against anyone.

I just wanted to kill those who had interrupted my game.

However, there was still a long time left before the demon invasion.

What should I do until then?

Honestly, for now, there was no specific plan except to grow stronger.

First of all, it would be for the best to get a hero license, right?

In the past, I thought it would be nice not only to have a license, but also to have a high reputation as a hero.

Recalling the first round, it was much more difficult to deal with a revered hero than those who were simply strong.

This was because such heroes were the driving force behind gathering people in times of crises.

“Okay. I’ll first replace a way to become a hero, and if possible, I can come up with a strategy to build up my reputation as well.”

And ultimately, in order to punish the demons, I needed colleagues on my side.

Honestly, I didn’t dare to deal with so many troops alone.

Therefore, it was necessary to raise potential heroes and improve humanity’s power.

I was going to be busy in the future.

After organizing my thoughts, I suddenly became hungry.

Looking at my current physical condition, I seemed to have been starved for several days because I had done something wrong.

There was a cold sandwich and coke left by someone when I opened the refrigerator.

After putting the sandwich in the microwave, I activated my status window.

The list of inheritable skills that I didn’t have the chance to pick earlier due to my father’s interruption was displayed again.

[ On your 2nd playthrough, one of your skills from the 1st playthrough can be inherited. ]

[ One of the following skills can be inherited. ]

(1)

Classification: General

Grade: B

(2)

Classification: Mortal

Grade: C

(3)

Classification: Magic

Grade: B

(4)

Classification: Ability

Grade: D

“Well, I should finish this matter.”

In fact, these were all skills that were too good to throw away. In my skill window that was plastered with S-Grade skills, these skills had also occupied a spot in the past.

But…If I had to choose only one of these, the answer was already set.

After a moment of contemplation, I inherited a skill.

[ You’ve learned the skill Phase Change. ]

Along with the feeling of something flowing into my body, the information and senses that made up the skill became engraved in me.

And above the list that was completely empty, a skill had appeared.

“Good.”

Looking at the window, it somehow felt like I was reliving the spirit of a beginner.

If I was given the same chance in the past to pick a skill, I might have chosen another skill with a higher grade.

But now I know better. That the competence of the person was more important than the absolute grade of a skill.

“This skill is only D-grade, but…”

For me in the second round, more than anything, it’ll be a powerful weapon.