Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

On a dark night when even the moon hid behind the clouds, a coldly handsome man was tilting his glass of liquor.

His name was Seol Rok-jin.

According to Kang Yi-sin, he was the seed of evil that would one day bring ruin to this world.

Seol Rok-jin’s mind was rather complicated.

Since becoming aware of his abilities, Seol Rok-jin’s life had progressed ridiculously smoothly. It was the ability to ‘brainwash’ others, nothing more. Everything unfolded according to Seol Rok-jin’s thoughts.

At least, until that day of humiliation on the island near Yeongjong-do.

‘Just what was that guy?’

Was there something special about that mask? No, it didn’t matter if the mask had blocked him. Whether the mask blocked him or not, the fact remained that the man had been prepared to stop Seol Rok-jin.

While pretending it was coincidence, Seol Rok-jin had sensed it in the man’s voice.

That this had all been part of his plan.

‘Otherwise, there was no way he would have tried to stop me alone.’

He had separated his companions beforehand to prevent them from being brainwashed.

Until then, no one had ever noticed Seol Rok-jin’s abilities. Anyone who witnessed his pupils turning yellow had fallen under his brainwashing, becoming his words.

Seol Rok-jin had used his abilities to rise to this position. And he had intended to climb even higher, to obtain even more.

There was the downside that once the brainwashing wore off, the victim either became an idiot or mentally deranged, but Seol Rok-jin didn’t care.

They were just pieces after all. Pieces to be used and discarded.

In Seol Rok-jin’s eyes, everyone appeared as chess pieces. Each with their own assigned value. That one was a precious piece, unusable for trivial tasks. This one had no value, to be used and discarded as needed.

This world was a chessboard, and everything proceeded according to Seol Rok-jin’s desires.

But for the first time, a piece had appeared that didn’t follow his intentions.

And that piece had completely derailed Seol Rok-jin’s plans. Unlike the gate incident where a hiccup didn’t matter much.

Failing to secure Baek Do-san would be troublesome in many ways.

Unlike other criminal organizations devoured by the so-called ‘villains’ after awakeners appeared, the Black Panther organization founded by Baek Bom-jin, Baek Do-san’s grandfather, had reorganized into the current ‘Black Shadow’ organization and survived. No, it was more than just surviving.

With unfathomable skill, the ‘Black Shadow’ had truly infiltrated the shadows of this nation, completely dominating the Korean underworld.

Swallowing Baek Do-san meant having the power to even devour that organization itself.

No matter how powerful Seol Rok-jin was, he couldn’t control that underworld alone.

The only person he could completely turn into his puppet through brainwashing was one. The rest would be freed from the brainwashing once out of his sight.

Therefore, Seol Rok-jin was carefully considering who to make his personal marionette. It was a skill with a six-month cooldown period.

Baek Do-san had been the most suitable candidate to become Seol Rok-jin’s queen piece.

Yet that queen had been snatched away.

Seol Rok-jin gazed beyond his desk. The figure wearing that ridiculous mask wavered like a mirage.

“Fine, I lost this round.”

While his identity had been completely exposed, he knew nothing about his enemy except his name.

It was Seol Rok-jin’s complete defeat.

To the extent that he had burned that ill-fated mask vividly into his mind.

But it was fortunate, in a way.

“The next game will be different.”

After all, there were still many pieces in this world for Seol Rok-jin to make his own.

* * *

“So it seems I’ll need to be away for a few days.”

Upon hearing the circumstances, Han Seo-hyeon looked slightly uneasy.

“You’ll be back, right?”

“Oh, of course.”

Having lost his brother not too long ago, Han Seo-hyeon seemed quite anxious. As I finished packing my belongings to depart, Han Seo-hyeon took something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Take this with you.”

It was the mouse Rat that Kim Jae-ho had been so attached to.

He was openly telling me to take a surveillance agent. I nodded and accepted Rat. Even if it was a dead mouse, it was still rather cute.

“But don’t monitor me too closely.”

“Yes, just contact me through it if there’s any danger. I’ll set it up so a signal reaches me when you call my name.”

“Got it.”

Having someone worry about me was still a rather pleasant feeling.

Professor Geum’s residence was extravagant – a massive three-story mansion. And to even approach the mansion, one had to pass through three layers of security.

The security was so stringent that even with him directly opening it from the inside, it still took a full ten minutes to clear it all.

While impressive, I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Does he really go through this every time he leaves or returns?’

Finally setting foot inside Professor Geum’s mansion, I was utterly awestruck by the sheer grandeur.

Everything visible had been made from monster materials. It was practically a house built from gold.

Since I had never visited Professor Geum’s residence in my previous life, I was just learning how wealthy he truly was.

The guilt I had accumulated from constantly leeching off him gradually lightened.

—You seem to lack quite a conscience.

‘If these capitalist bourgeois pigs had simply shared their wealth with the impoverished working class, the world would be far better.’

Suddenly, I felt a surge of hot, red blood coursing through my veins.

—Isn’t blood always red?

‘What’s making my blood run red now isn’t hemoglobin. It’s the burning spirit of the proletariat.’

—You’re saying strange things again.

Rather than waste my breath explaining my noble intentions to the uncomprehending Ray, I instead focused on observing Professor Geum’s residence.

The Professor, who had opened the door to greet me, extended his hand welcomingly.

“Oh, you’re here!”

“Yes.”

I smiled brightly at his hospitality.

While I hadn’t particularly disliked Professor Geum before, it was still better to stay on good terms with the wealthy.

“Your timing is perfect. The mask is completed. I received help from an acquaintance.”

I examined the mask Professor Geum handed me.

“Whoa, is this a hologram?”

“Yeah. Looks quite realistic, doesn’t it?”

What Professor Geum had given me wasn’t just an ordinary mask. Utilizing holograms and nanoparticles, it could incredibly recreate the face of another person. While the hologram sheen might be noticeable up close in bright conditions, in dim lighting it was indistinguishable from the real thing.

“I couldn’t replicate the texture, but this level of quality is quite decent, isn’t it?”

“It’s more than just decent.”

Of course, being limited to just a mask form, proper utilization would require wearing a hood or staying in the shadows. But it was truly remarkable nonetheless.

Even my future self had never conceived of such a thing.

“For now, I’ve incorporated basic samples of a few individuals, so you can cycle through them as needed. Ah, and since they’re already deceased, you don’t need to worry about identity fraud.”

As Professor Geum said this while waving his hand, his face looked unnecessarily cheerful.

As expected, this man was no ordinary human, having associated with the likes of Baek Do-san.

“More data can be added later on as well.”

“How would I go about adding data?”

I asked with the intention of including Seol Rok-jin’s face, but upon hearing the process, it seemed difficult. Apparently, samples of various expressions needed to be captured in simulators while the person was still alive.

Hmm, I should probably avoid asking how the current samples were obtained.

Professor Geum said he would provide this to me for free.

“You’re just giving this to me?”

In a world where even cloaks that simply copied the surrounding environment cost tens of millions of won.

Recreating such an intricate hologram must have required exorbitantly expensive materials. And it was free?

“Well, it was fun making it, so it’s fine.”

Truly a wealthy man. I take back mentally calling him a capitalist pig bourgeois earlier – he was the embodiment of noblesse oblige.

“Not that I’m asking for a fee, but I’ve been immensely curious about what you plan to create today. Care to share?”

“Can I tell you after completing it? To be honest, I’m not even sure if it will work or not.”

—It will work!

While Ray was confident, I remained doubtful. What if I claimed I would make something incredible, only for it to fail? I would just embarrass myself.

So I decided to postpone my answer for now.

“Alright, show me to your workshop then.”

“Oh.”

Looking around Professor Geum’s workshop, I was astonished.

He had simply called it a hobby, but even accomplished artisans would have difficulty possessing such facilities.

An immense amount of money, effort and time had clearly been poured into this.

Bookshelves crammed with various polishing agents and chemicals, walls lined with all manner of tools.

Especially notable was the furnace embedded with a massive mana stone, radiating intense heat.

“This could melt pretty much anything, couldn’t it?”

“Yes. Cost me a fortune.”

“I should at least pay a usage fee.”

While Professor Geum offered me free use of the workshop, the facilities were too impressive to use for nothing.

“Haha! Just show me what you’ve made later, and we’ll call it even.”

Those words only increased the burden I felt.

‘I really need to make something incredible.’

—He said incredible!

“Then feel free to use any of the materials here!”

Leaving those words behind, Professor Geum departed.

—Alright, let’s create something marvelous!

“I’ll do my best.”

—First, we need a mold. Are you any good at working with clay?

“I suppose I’ll find out.”

Following Ray’s instructions, I crafted two clay molds of identical size. Just making those two took three full hours.

—Your handiwork is truly lacking.

“I’m not an artisan! What were you expecting?”

Next, I used the mortar and pestle on the workbench to grind mana stones into powder, then gathered the iron ingots beside the furnace.

By melting the finely ground mana stones together with iron, a metal highly conductive to mana could be produced. This metal shimmered with a faint mist-like gleam, known as mithril.

In truth, mithril produced this way wasn’t particularly high-quality material. For crafting top-tier artifacts, using the remains of powerful monsters was ideal.

However, mithril had the advantage of being easily workable. By pouring the molten liquid into molds, the desired shape could be immediately formed, utilizing the metal’s heat malleability.

I poured the molten mithril into the molds.

The intense heat flushed my cheeks, but by converting my internal mana into fire resistance, I could withstand it.

After some time had passed, I separated the molds, and two 9-10cm wide cylindrical metal ingots dropped squarely before me.

“Hmm, these sort of resemble medieval shackles criminals would wear, don’t they?”

—Whose fault is it that your skill can only produce such results?

The design didn’t matter, as long as it functioned properly. I had crafted two of them to be worn on both arms simultaneously, allowing mana intake from both sides.

After roughly smoothing the protruding sections, I addressed Ray.

“It seems the basic casting is done, so could you take over now?”

—To think I have to engrave mana circuits onto these crude things. What a waste of my time.

Ray clicked his tongue, dissatisfied with the results, but had no other choice.

—Let me borrow some of your mana for a moment.

Just as he had freely utilized my mana in the labyrinth, Ray began siphoning it away.

And delicate mana circuits began etching themselves onto the bracelets.

—Watch closely as I inscribe these initial lines. This mana circuit will serve to connect the mana stones and artifacts.

Perhaps in preparation for when I would craft artifacts myself in the future, Ray provided quite detailed explanations.

I committed every circuit he detailed to memory without missing a single part.