Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Obsessed Rival
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(10)
1 billion.
It wasn't the first time seeing such an amount, since the previous quest had rewarded me with tens of billions from stocks.
Still, looking back on those days when I was so broke I couldn't even afford a motel room in this world, the emotions hit fresh all over again.
Now I could take Min-ji to a five-star hotel.
The kind with a pool and chandeliers dangling from the ceilings.
"We'll deposit this gold bar—generously, bonus included—straight into your card. In exchange..."
Violet shook a thick stack of papers.
"Can you let us have this?"
It was covered in dense writing, but nothing but incomprehensible scribbles that made no sense whatsoever.
"That's..."
"Weaknesses on heroes and villains alike. Including mine. Which you already know about, I'm sure."
Violet's weakness.
If it was something I knew, it had to be that she had a foot in both the hero and villain worlds.
Truth be told, I wasn't particularly curious about the weaknesses of other heroes or villains.
"Take it."
I didn't need it anyway.
And I couldn't turn down Violet's offer here.
She was someone I absolutely needed as an ally to pass the hero exam.
"Good. Then I'll stay quiet during the hero exam."
She flashed a smile and gave her word.
It made me a little uneasy, but I had no choice but to trust her.
Now the basics were set.
All that remained was beating Kang Seok, dominating the hero exam with overwhelming scores, and earning Choi Ga-eun's recognition as a strong man.
Right now, her mind probably saw Kang Seok and me side by side as viable men.
Once I beat him, I'd be the only one recognized as the strong man who satisfied her fetish.
After leaving the bar, I stopped by the same info broker I'd visited before.
This time, to dig up dirt on Kang Seok.
"Hmm..."
The man pondered for a moment before holding up five fingers.
"Fifty."
It was definitely pricier than last time, but pocket change for me now.
I'd long since left behind that empty apartment for hotel beds anyway.
I handed over my card, and he pulled out a reader, swiping it with practiced ease to complete the payment.
Villains back on Earth always seemed like cash-only types in my mind, but not here.
Of course, the records were nicely altered.
My statement would show a charge from "Sentimental Tavern," not the info broker.
Payment done, he fetched a file from the corner bookshelf, just like before.
This was a bit surprising.
I figured Scorpion had a thick file from years of activity, but Kang Seok was supposed to be a recent hero prospect.
And yet, the file had some real thickness to it.
The reason became clear the moment I opened it.
Bottom line: Min-ji had been right.
Kang Seok was a villain.
And had been for quite a while.
Come to think of it, the file was actually on the thin side for someone so long in the game.
Not much content for all that time active.
Which made sense.
He'd been a powerless villain from the start.
Most people awakened with powers at birth, but rarely, some bloomed late.
Kang Seok was one of those late bloomers.
The instant his powers awakened, he ditched the villain life.
Not out of some burning sense of justice to become a hero, that much was clear.
Probably some other motive.
And then I read one line.
[Special Notes: Frequently participates in battles against Guardian-affiliated heroes.]
News to me, but apparently most villains teamed up in groups.
Post requests on boards, villains sign up, handle jobs together.
Kang Seok jumped on every Guardian-related gig without fail.
Strange.
Guardian was a hero agency.
Heroes with top-tier powers and looks across the board, but sharp personalities that drew as many haters as fans.
Villains avoided them like the plague—too strong.
Especially powerless ones.
Yet Kang Seok hunted down only their jobs.
And after getting powers, he quit villainy altogether, declared he'd become a hero, and went straight to Choi Ga-eun.
Fanboy crush or something darker.
I was starting to get a feel for it.
Then I eyed his powers.
"This..."
I read blankly until I hit his abilities, then let out a hollow laugh.
"No way I lose."
A bit early, but victory was certain.
Time passed, and the hero exam day drew near.
Kang Seok rose and checked his appearance in the mirror.
His bulky frame, built up since his villain days, rippled with power.
Condition: peak.
"Guardian—"
He muttered the name of the hero agency.
Those heroes had been catching his eye for ages.
Overwhelming strength, beauty that set them apart from the rest.
What others called flaws—their sharp edges—felt like pure appeal to him.
That's why, ironically, he'd chosen to become a villain.
To glimpse them up close, touch them, satisfy those dark urges.
Powerless normals couldn't become heroes.
Hero exams were brutal gauntlets, always won by the powered.
No chance for him.
Villain? Anyone could, just set morals aside.
Once in, he took only Guardian jobs.
Fueled by fandom and lust, he clashed with them.
Beaten down, insulted—it never dulled his fire.
If anything, it grew.
Then opportunity knocked.
Powers awakened. Strong ones.
Now he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder as a hero.
Emotions boiling, he quit villainy on the spot and stormed Guardian.
Guardian's ground-floor cafe.
The one spot they could freely haunt.
Choi Ga-eun and Min-ji were kicking back with coffee.
He charged in, high on excitement.
Choi Ga-eun's kick connected.
Without preemptive armor from his powers, it'd have been the ER.
Power unbelievable from that petite frame.
"...You endured?"
Her first words upon seeing him.
Psycho bitch.
But he liked it that way.
Imagining her squirming beneath him later made her current attitude forgivable.
"Endured" was wrong.
He was barely upright, gasping for air.
"...Who the hell are you?"
Not the question after landing a kick.
And shocking besides.
'Doesn't remember me?'
They'd crossed paths dozens of times.
Though he'd been crushed instantly each time, he never dreamed she'd forget.
He'd prepped expecting recognition, ready to announce his villain exit.
No need.
Not one Guardian hero remembered him. Choi Ga-eun included.
"Hero prospect? Huh."
No sliver of doubt.
But interest flickered in her eyes.
Post-endurance, she showed little pushback to his bold moves.
Unlike Min-ji and the others, she even entertained him a bit.
Went so far as offering a meal for good exam scores—first from her lips.
Huge deal from Choi Ga-eun.
Things progressed smoothly.
Until that guy showed up.
Passing Guardian as usual.
Detoured to the cafe for Choi Ga-eun chat, but there was a visitor.
He knew the heroes' faces well.
Saw a random guy approach.
He snickered.
Learned later: villains ambushed the cafe sporadically, so she was hyper-vigilant around strangers.
That guy was in for a kick, just like him.
"...Huh?"
It didn't happen.
Min-ji gave the man a faint smile.
"..."
A subtle shift only a longtime fan would catch.
The shock hit harder for it.
Min-ji, smiling at him?
And the shock didn't stop there.
"...Wh-what!"
The two kissed.
Ignoring stares from Choi Ga-eun and the other hero, lips locked without a care.
A deep, sloppy tangle of tongues.
"..."
He waited.
For Min-ji to shove the guy off and bind him with telekinesis.
Waited desperately.
But nothing.
Instead, she tilted her head for an even deeper kiss.
No shove—instead, her small white hand on his back pulled him closer.
A torturous scene.
But he couldn't tear his eyes away.
That man embodied everything he'd dreamed of becoming.
Powers finally his, he'd thought his chance had come—
The long kiss ended, and the man's gaze shifted to Choi Ga-eun.
His spine chilled.
An intense, sticky stare.
At least that's how it looked to him.
"Can't let even Choi Ga-eun get stolen..."
Trembling legs carried him to the training grounds.
To grow stronger, even a little.
And that effort would soon shine.
"Won't forgive you."
Recalling the man, he clenched his fist tight.