1 – Villain Mode
The ending credits roll up slowly.
“… Whoa, is this achievement finally achieved?”
Kang Hyuk put on a relieved expression and leaned against the back of the chair.
Game 『Hero of the World』.
『Hero of the World』 is a story about becoming a hero and saving the world, and boasting extreme freedom and rich quests.
Because of this, Kang Hyuk was able to enjoy 『Hero of the World』 so much over the years. One choice creates hundreds of branching points, so it can’t be fun.
However, that pleasure seemed to have come to an end. That would also be the case, because just before, Kang Hyuk had finally cleared all the achievements of Hero of the World by seeing the final ending of the game. Now that the achievement rate was 100%, it could be said that there was nothing more to enjoy in 『Hero of the World』.
‘I feel relieved and regretful… So, what kind of game are you starting from now on?’
Kanghyuk stared blankly at the ending credits.
To be relieved was to be relieved, and to be regretted was to be regretted.
To be honest, at this point, I can say that there is no game comparable to 『Hero of the World』… ! So what game is he supposed to be playing from now on?
“Should I install a mod… ?”
Kang Hyuk, who had been absent-minded, accessed the Hero of the World gallery as if possessed.
『Hero of the World』 had a lot of different modes like a god game, and Kanghyuk decided to install the most popular 『Villain Mode』 among them.
To briefly summarize the description of 『Villain Mode』, this mode was a mode that made it possible to play the game as the villain, not the hero.
‘Hmm… Villains can gain experience every time they kill, and they can use that experience to strengthen their skills and stats. And unlike the hero, the villain’s characteristics are freely selectable…’
After reading the description of the mode carefully, Kang Hyuk ran the game again.
He originally did not touch the game with 100% achievement rate, but no matter how much he thought about it, 『Hero of the World』 was a game that was too disappointing to let go like this. So from now on, he intended to play 『Hero of the World』 with 『Villain Mode』 installed again.
‘The character name is set to Kang Hyuk, the same as my name. He is 180cm tall and has a good-looking face. And the length of the cock… .’
After Kang Hyuk roughly finished the customization, he moved on to the next screen.
As expected, he was able to select the character’s characteristics himself, probably because he installed the “Villain Mode”. Originally, the character’s characteristics were determined randomly.
‘Character traits are really important. The direction of the skill tree is determined by the characteristics you have… !’
Kanghyuk slowly scrolled down his mouse.
Acceleration, gigantism, mind reading, clone magic, clairvoyance, hacking, resilience… !
Numerous other characteristics caught Kanghyuk’s eyes, but Kanghyuk passed them all off. Each of them were powerful traits, but for some reason, none really touched my heart.
“… uh?”
But that was when he had been looking at the characteristics for such a long time. At some point, Kanghyuk tilted his head and checked the characteristics at the bottom.
That trait was none other than 『Creation』, but to sum up the explanation briefly, it could be seen as ‘the ability to create all sorts of things using mana’.
“No, did the game have this characteristic? I don’t think this is a trait I haven’t played in three years… .”
Kanghyuk furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.
But his worries were only fleeting. He soon realized something and readily chose the 『Creation』 trait.
Seeing that there was no description of the 『Creation』 trait in the description section of 『Villain Mode』, it was clear that this 『Creation』 trait was a ‘special trait’ that only opened when the achievement rate reached 100%.
Originally, character traits were determined randomly, so it would have been very difficult to play with these traits.
However, thanks to the installation of the 『Villain Mode』, Kang Hyuk was able to play with the 『Creation』 trait without much difficulty. As soon as the achievement rate reached 100%, installing 『Villain Mode』 seemed like a really good thing.
“good. Then let’s try playing!”
Kang Hyuk finally started the game with high expectations.
How fun would it be to play as a villain?
And what are the characteristics of creation specifically?
Pew!
“… !”
However, such expectations are short-lived.
When the computer suddenly exploded, Kanghyuk opened his mouth.
The last words he uttered in this life were none other than ‘f*ck!’
***
I could feel the taste of blood in my mouth.
“… Ugh.”
Kanghyuk groaned and slowly raised his upper body.
What the hell is this?
And where else are you?
Feeling pain and confusion, Kanghyuk slowly looked around.
The place he woke up was a huge, unknown underground parking lot, and what was surprising was that there were many people lying around it.
Dreadful-looking people in suits… !
And the blood and flesh soaking them… !
“… Ooh, ooh!”
Kang Hyuk couldn’t hold back his vomiting for a moment and vomited. Looking at it, it seemed that he was the only person alive here.
Was it a gang fight between gangsters? If that’s true, then why the hell did he, an ordinary unemployed man, wake up here?
‘f*ck, what the hell is this… ! Let’s see… I was definitely trying to play 『Hero of the World』… .’
Kang Hyuk began to retrace his memory step by step.
Finally achieving 100% achievement rate in 『Hero of the World』, installing 『Villain Mode』, which is the most popular among mods, selecting the special feature 『Creation』, and suddenly the computer exploded. Even what I threw away… !
“… hey.”
But that was just then.
When he suddenly heard a voice calling him, Kanghyuk was startled and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
The owner of the voice was a man with a skull tattoo all over his face.
“Could you pass me one cigarette? I can’t move my hands.”
“… .”
At the man’s words, Kanghyuk checked his hand.
Both of his hands were neatly cut as if they had been cut off by a sword.
“Please. He’s going to die soon, so can you do that for me?”
“… Sorry, but I am a non-smoker.”
“Okay. Because the cigarette is in my arms.”
At the man’s words, Kang Hyuk felt quite conflicted. After a while, however, Kanghyeok approached the man as if he couldn’t help it.
“Where are you? And who are you? Why was I down here?”
“what… ?”
“I lost my memory. I’ll pass you the cigarette, so answer my question instead.”
The man looked up at Kanghyeok with strange eyes, but as soon as the cigarette bit in his mouth, he nodded. Kang Hyuk asked him carefully once again.
“Where are you?”
“It’s the underground parking lot of the Yongsanpa building.”
“Who are you?”
“He’s Cerberus’ executive.”
“Then who am I?”
“… I don’t know what the hell you’re doing. Aren’t you a member of the damned Black Dragon Society?”
The man made an expression that he wanted to see all kinds of crazy people. However, Kang Hyuk couldn’t pay attention to such a reaction to him. That would also be the case, because Cerberus and the Black Dragon Society were rival organizations as the villain organizations appearing in 『Hero of the World』.
‘f*ck, what is it? So you’re saying I’ve become a character in “Hero of the World”? what the heck is this… .’
Kang Hyuk felt extremely confused. To think I was possessed by a game character… ! What in the world is this stupid thing… !
“Whoa… That should be enough.”
Poududeuk!
“… !”
However, it was when Kanghyuk was feeling extremely confused. When the man suddenly raised his upper body, Kang Hyuk was startled and stepped back. All of a sudden, both of the man’s hands were neatly ‘regenerated’.
“My cigarette contains a lot of high-level stimulants and high-performance restoratives. Thanks to you, I am alive.”
“That, is it? Then that means I am your lifesaver.”
“Since it’s a lifesaver, let’s make it not particularly painful.”
When the man spoke coldly, Kang Hyuk shouted ‘f*ck’ inwardly. Just in case, it was the same. If I had known it would be like this, I should have just let her die… !
“die!”
Pod!
The man took out a dagger from his bosom and charged at Kanghyuk.
Kang Hyuk hurriedly rolled on the floor while shouting ‘f*ck’ again.
I can’t die like this!
But luckily, as soon as he hit the floor, a pistol he didn’t know belonged to was clutched in his hand. Kang Hyuk quickly loaded the pistol and fired it at the man’s forehead in an instant. Taang! It was a hit.
“Ouch… !”
… Courage!
When the bullet lodged between his eyes, the man collapsed to the floor with an expression of disbelief.
Kanghyuk immediately felt his heart beat like crazy.
The gun he fired as if possessed without even realizing it… !
And the first murder that resulted… !
[Teeling!]
[Your level has risen!]
[Agility stat increases!]
[You can choose your skill!]
“… her.”
But it was just that moment. Hearing the familiar notification sound in his head one after another, Kang Hyuk unknowingly burst out laughing.
His consciousness was soon sucked into the pure white space.
If his hunch is correct, this space must be a ‘skill selection space’.