The Protagonist Complex
Shanette froze in place as if turned to ice.
A thin line of cold sweat trickled down her spine.
“What are you doing just standing there? Aren’t you going to teach me?”
Lee Minchan approached from behind her.
Before she could even react, the door burst open.
“What are you doing out here?”
Kang Yoonsoo poked his head through the doorway.
Dressed in light clothes, he grabbed Shanette’s wrist with an indifferent expression.
When she was pulled inside in a daze, he closed the door behind them.
“Th-the boy in the hallway was named Lee Minchan. Is he really a serial killer?”
“He is.”
The room was pitch dark because the lamp had been turned off.
Shanette waved her hand around, searching for the lamp, but all she grasped was empty air.
“You’re saying that kid is actually a serial killer? He didn’t look particularly kind, but he seemed way too calm for someone who rapes and murders women.”
“He’s always been like that.”
For some reason, Kang Yoonsoo spoke as if he had experienced this exact situation before.
It was hard to believe his words were false.
While there were occasional moments when he seemed unreliable, everything he said was always the truth.
As Shanette continued groping through the air, her fingertips finally brushed against something.
It was the lamp.
She lit the wick and brightened the entire room.
Kang Yoonsoo was already sitting on the edge of the bed with his greatsword strapped to his back.
“If you don’t want to die, you need to prepare for tonight.”
“If I don’t want to die… what do you mean?”
Kang Yoonsoo spoke as if it were obvious.
“If there’s a serial killer in this inn who only murders beautiful women, who do you think his target will be?”
The world exists solely to revolve around me!
That was Lee Minchan’s motto.
Just a few months ago, he had been a timid eighteen-year-old high school student.
Getting bullied by the school delinquents from the back row was routine, and holing up at home watching anime while giggling to himself was his idea of happiness.
He had nothing he wanted to do.
He had no friends.
While others studied or chased their dreams, Lee Minchan slept at his desk or read fantasy novels.
He loved fantasy novels.
Especially ones where the protagonist crushed every single annoying trope with satisfying revenge. Reading those always left a refreshing feeling in his chest.
His absolute favorite type of protagonist was the “transported-to-another-world-and-raising-hell-as-a-high-schooler” archetype. Those isekai delinquent stories were his ultimate guilty pleasure.
His parents’ sighs grew heavier, and worries about his future began to surface.
Then, without warning, Lee Minchan was transported to a strange new world.
The place he arrived at was none other than a dragon’s lair.
“Traveler from another realm, I must soon enter my slumber. Receive my magic and prepare for the crisis that will soon come to this world.”
The dragon with rough scales bestowed mysterious magic upon him and fell into a deep sleep.
Lee Minchan had obtained a top-tier skill at level one—something others could barely dream of acquiring.
And he had gotten it for free, without any effort at all.
“Holy shit! This is exactly like those isekai stories!”
Lee Minchan was ecstatic.
In reality, he had been ignored every day and never had a single friend he could share his true feelings with.
Reality was boring. There was nothing he wanted to do.
His nagging parents and the teachers who constantly hounded him about studying were all annoying as hell.
The terminal he had been wearing when he was summoned displayed a message: if he killed the Demon Lord, he could return to reality.
“Why the hell would I go back?”
The world had changed.
Lee Minchan loved this new world.
Because now he could go full delinquent protagonist mode, just like the ones in those fantasy novels!
“Good thing I never studied. If I was going to end up here anyway, it would’ve been pointless. I almost listened to those adults and regretted it. Seriously, there’s nothing good about listening to old farts.”
The magic the dragon had given him was brainwashing.
As long as certain restrictions weren’t triggered, he could freely manipulate people’s hearts and control them.
“Jackpot. I’m going to use this however I want!”
Fight against the evil of the world?
With such an amazing ability? Why would he?
He had always found it frustrating whenever protagonists with powerful abilities wasted them while preaching about morality.
The moment Lee Minchan left the dragon’s lair, he began snooping around the village.
Using his brainwashing magic, he only targeted pretty girls.
Will you brainwash the flower-selling maiden Irina?
Recite the spell that pierces the target’s heart. Irina’s spell is: “Didn’t your ex-boyfriend run away with your engagement ring?”
Brainwashing magic is more effective on people with intense emotions and fragile minds.
Conversely, it is less effective on those who have lived long lives or possess dry personalities.
Lee Minchan made himself appear as an impossibly handsome man to the beautiful women he brainwashed, despite his own plain looks and mediocre physique.
However, the brainwashing magic had many limitations.
He could only control one person at a time.
“This is so damn frustrating. What kind of magic has so many restrictions? I can’t even build a harem like this.”
So whenever he found a pretty girl in a new village, he would replace his current female companion without hesitation.
Of course, the women who lost their memories after being brainwashed were left with nowhere to go and became lost souls, but Lee Minchan didn’t care in the slightest.
“Who cares? I’m an isekai protagonist now. I do whatever I want. I’m only going to travel with pretty girls. Women are all about looks anyway.”
Lee Minchan wanted to become overpowered.
The strongest being who could rampage through the world without fear.
So he took his beautiful companion monster hunting.
But his only magic was brainwashing.
While brainwashing was incredibly powerful, it had no effect on monsters.
At first he faced several life-threatening situations, but Lee Minchan shamelessly used his female companions as shields to survive.
“Kyaaaaa! Help me! Don’t leave me behind!”
“No thanks, idiot. I’m the protagonist and you’re an extra. So obviously I have to live.”
Lee Minchan thought without a shred of shame.
He was the main character.
Had anyone ever read a fantasy novel where the protagonist died in the early chapters?
Even if he had to sacrifice others, he had to survive no matter what.
Besides, there were plenty of women.
Why didn’t everyone do this?
If they were useless, just throw them away!
When hunting proved harder than expected, Lee Minchan changed his approach.
He decided to team up with other travelers who had come from the same reality.
The first time they went on a joint hunt, they acted like total assholes.
“Dude, Minchan. You’re supposed to swing your sword there. If you just stand there you’ll die!”
“Hey, you moron! Are you trying to get yourself killed? If your level is low, stay in the back like you’re supposed to. Who the hell do you think you are trying to kill monsters?”
“What? This girl can’t even use a dagger, let alone a spear? Look, I hate to say it, but what’s the point of being pretty? This is a hunting ground. At least bring someone who can actually fight instead of just a pretty face!”
Lee Minchan’s mood soured instantly.
He was an isekai protagonist.
How dare they treat someone like him this way?
In fantasy novels, didn’t every protagonist need at least one loyal friend who would throw an arm around their shoulder even if they were just walking down the street?
After being cursed out by the travelers, Lee Minchan skipped meals for an entire day, seething with rage and whining to himself.
He needed something to relieve his stress.
After thinking it over, he snapped his fingers.
“Oh right. I still have you, don’t I?”
Lee Minchan bought a riding whip.
Every night, the boy would whip the women.
At first he hesitated and only hit them lightly, but when he saw them screaming in agony, an inexplicable thrill ran through him.
The sense of superiority that came from being overwhelmingly above them was incredibly satisfying.
“It’s fine. I’m an isekai protagonist after all.”
Protagonists could justify anything.
Besides, these days people preferred selfish, self-indulgent protagonists over virtuous ones who valued life.
So it was perfectly fine for him to do whatever he wanted.
Crack!
“Kyaaaaa! Please spare me!”
“Ugh, why the hell did that dragon bastard only leave me one brainwashing skill? If he was going to give me something, he should’ve handed over some broken artifact like in the novels!”
Whenever Lee Minchan returned from hunting, he relieved all his accumulated stress by beating the women.
He hunted frequently, but his level barely increased.
His physical abilities were terribly lacking to begin with, and his motor skills were pathetic.
If he had put in more effort to build up his stamina it might have improved, but Lee Minchan found even that bothersome and stayed lazy.
After hunts, he would secretly mutter curses about the others, which completely destroyed his reputation among the travelers.
After several months, not a single traveler party was willing to accept him.
“Why… why won’t anyone let me join their party?”
“Your personality is way too shitty.”
Lee Minchan clutched his head with both hands and ground his teeth.
These idiots. I’m the protagonist!
That day he was so furious that instead of the whip, he picked up something else to beat the woman with.
It was a large club.
While he was venting his stress, Lee Minchan suddenly realized the woman had stopped breathing.
She was dead.
He dropped the blood-soaked club and trembled with guilt.
At that moment, a new message appeared on his terminal.
Experience has increased due to the Kinslayer synergy.
This is your first murder. Additional experience is granted.
A criminal record will increase if witnesses appear.
A high criminal value may result in penalties during investigator inspections.
Your level has increased by 2.
His level had gone up!
Only then did Lee Minchan realize it.
Killing people also gave experience.
In fact, the efficiency was even better than killing monsters!
After that, Lee Minchan began seeking out the travelers who had cursed him during hunts.
He brainwashed them one by one and killed them all.
The magic the dragon had given him to fight against the world’s evil ironically turned out to be the perfect tool for committing crimes.
The skill level of his brainwashing magic had grown considerably as well.
At first he could only brainwash frail people, but gradually he became able to control even sturdy adults.
Well, he could still only control one person at a time.
With his criminal value rising, he could no longer stay in one place.
Lee Minchan slipped into a small city called Hilledan.
Even after arriving here, he continued to brainwash and kill women.
He believed he had no reason to feel any guilt.
Because he was an isekai protagonist.
When protagonists cheated or committed evil deeds, people found it fresh and entertaining and liked them even more.
So what couldn’t a protagonist do if it benefited him?
However, killing them the same way every time started to feel monotonous and boring.
So Lee Minchan cast his brainwashing and gave an order.
“Smile. Like you’re really happy.”
When he said that, the women he was about to murder would laugh like maniacs right up until the moment they died.
No matter how much pain they were in.
That made killing them even more fun.
Lee Minchan considered it a form of mercy.
At least they didn’t die crying, right?
Nearly a month had passed since Lee Minchan arrived in Hilledan.
His level hovered around the early thirties.
He wanted to kill more and grow stronger faster, but he had to avoid the investigation net.
If he hadn’t used brainwashing magic to escape every time he was inspected, he would have been caught long ago.
He was resting at the inn when a man and woman entered through the front door.
Both of them looked shabby and unkempt.
But the woman with the reddish-brown hair was beautiful.
The burn scar on the left side of her face was a shame, but she was still excellent.
She was easily the prettiest woman he had killed so far.
Tonight, it’s her.
When night fell, Lee Minchan was returning from the bathroom to his room when he saw a woman walking toward him and let out a sigh of admiration.
It was the same woman who had arrived earlier that day.
She must have just taken a shower; a pleasant scent wafted from her.
Her well-proportioned figure and milky skin captured his gaze completely.
The small burn scar on her face barely registered anymore.
They exchanged a few words, but she went into her room without even telling him her name.
Lee Minchan felt a pang of disappointment but didn’t dwell on it.
Well, she’ll be mine soon enough anyway.
He returned to his room and checked his equipment.
It had been a while since he found such a beauty.
He planned to play with her for a long time, not just for pleasure but for torture as well.
He had been running low on ways to relieve stress lately.
Lee Minchan tucked a whip, a club, a dagger, and other tools into his clothes.
“I’ll play with her for a while, and when I get bored, I’ll just kill her.”
To Lee Minchan, people were nothing more than common toys scattered everywhere.
Things you tormented until you got tired of them, then threw away.
After all, extras existed only to be used and discarded by the protagonist.
I can do whatever I want.
Because I’m an isekai protagonist.
Dawn arrived.
Lee Minchan walked toward the room where she was sleeping.
The door was unlocked.
After finishing his preparations to use brainwashing magic, he grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.
At that moment, a hand shot out from inside the room.
The grip violently seized a handful of Lee Minchan’s hair.
“Huh…?”
Just before Lee Minchan could let out a short scream, Kang Yoonsoo dragged his head forward and slammed it straight into the window.
Crash!
“Aaaagh—!”
Blood poured down.
The shattered glass fragments tore into Lee Minchan’s face, digging in savagely.
“M-my face…!”
“Still intact.”
Kang Yoonsoo remained completely indifferent.
He swung his bare fist and smashed it into Lee Minchan’s face with brutal force.
Thud!
Lee Minchan’s nose bone shattered as blood exploded outward.