Chapter 1 – Regression

Chapter 1 – Regression

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 1 – Regression

I am the absolute evil.

The world decided so, and everyone believed it.

Nowhere was my opinion heard, but I didn’t really care about it.

After all, I’m just an outsider.

In the end, I will leave this world and return to the world where I originally belonged.

— 「Main Quest」 —

◆ Absolute Evil

: Because there is darkness, there is also light. Your death is inevitable for the salvation of the world. Embrace a villain’s death.

◆ Scenario Progress

: 0%

‘This is mind-blowing, no matter how many times I see it.’

A translucent system window floating in the air.

A world inside a mobile game that I enjoyed playing all night long, just a few days before my discharge from the military service. Not only was I transmigrated into the body of the only villain, but now I have to die like a villain too.

At first, I thought it was some kind of sick joke.

However, I couldn’t easily ignore that damn quest.

The reason was...

◆ Reward

: Return to the original world

...Because only that damn quest is the only way for me to return to my original world.

Not as the villain in an unfamiliar game, but as my real self, the person I have lived my whole life as.

‘I want to eat *gamjatang...’

[*”Gamjatang” is a spicy Korean soup made from the spine or neck bones of a pig.]

I want real Korean food with plenty of seasoning, not medieval food without flavor.

I miss my friends who always helped me without expecting anything in return.

The smile of my rough but affectionate parents still lingers in front of my eyes.

And most of all...

‘Dopamine. I need dopamine.’

This damn world is too boring for a modern person like me.

The only somewhat enjoyable leisure activity is a crude and poorly made play.

Does this even make sense?

And so, I made a resolution.

I will somehow pretend to be the villain, return to my real body, no matter what.

So I rolled and rolled for years.

I lived as the only villain in the game world.

I endured the resentment and hatred of countless people.

And in the meantime, to progress the scenario somehow, I ran around taking care of the protagonist and his party.

As a result...

[Scenario Progress: 95%]

Finally,

I succeeded in reaching the end of the long, long story.

“What are you thinking?”

A soft voice rang coldly.

I slowly turned my head in the direction of the voice.

At that moment, I met the severe gaze of a woman staring at me.

Shiny blonde hair that looks as if it was made by melting gold.

A wall as cold as a glacier.

Skin as white as snow.

Her beauty is so unreal that it made me furrow my brows.

Indeed, it’s a face I can never get used to no matter how many times I see it.

“Can’t you hear me?”

Isabel Yustia.

The darling daughter of the Count Yustia family.

The only woman who can purify the ‘Black Mist’ that devours the continent.

And a candidate for the main heroine of the original work.

I didn’t bother to respond to Isabel’s question.

Whatever answer comes out of my mouth, her gaze towards me won’t turn into something warm anyway.

It’s best to just keep my mouth shut and remain silent like this.

“Maybe you’ve caught some sort of speech impediment in the meantime... Well, do as you please.”

Despite her soft voice, her tone was quite aggressive.

“Cough...!”

It didn’t take long for the poison to take effect.

Soon, my cells in my entire body started contorting, and fresh blood began to trickle down from my lips.

As she watched me in such a state, Isabel smiled with tears in her eyes.

[Scenario Progress: 98%]

The end was approaching.

“Keuk...!”

Eventually, I vomited coagulated blood from my mouth.

In the agony I experienced for the first time in my life, the muscles on my entire body began to convulse uncontrollably.

“...I curse you.”

Isabel gritted her teeth, and clenched her trembling fists, watching my writhing figure until the end.

As if she had been waiting for this day for a long time.

[Scenario Progress: 99%]

My breath became shallow rapidly.

The sharp pain that was once vivid gradually began to dull.

And then.

[Scenario Progress: 100%]

[Scenario has ended]

Ah.

It’s all over.

As I turned my head to look at Isabel for the last time, her surprised face trembled.

She held her chest tightly with trembling hands.

With a voice mixed with a lot of breath and trembling helplessly.

—...do it...

She murmured something as her lips moved.

‘Why like that?’

Curiosity arose for a moment, but quickly subsided.

Anyway, I will soon return to my real body.

Not the body of the only villain in the game, Kyle Winfred, but the body of a college student named Lee Seung-jun.

That was when it happened.

[Settlement complete]

[Synchronization rate: 98%]

[Synchronization rate below threshold]

The system window was suddenly updated.

My mind, which flashed white, worked slowly.

‘It clearly said it’s below the threshold...?’

Why.

Why would it say it’s below the threshold now, just before completing the scenario?

Did I miss something?

I imitated every trashy behavior of Kyle without missing a single one that I could remember?

Moreover, just a few minutes ago, it clearly said it was the ending scenario...!

[Notification]

[Clear failure]

I wanted to scream immediately, but I couldn’t even control my breath.

My body stiffened gradually, as if tied up with a rope.

In my increasingly hazy consciousness, I saw the system window updating sporadically.

[A penalty has occurred!]

[□□□□□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□]

‘...Huh?’

Wait, a penalty?

What the hell is this situation...!

[Initiating Regression]

The word ‘regression’ poured into my mind like a torrent.

For a moment, I gritted my teeth at the unreasonable regression.

Beeeeep—

With a distant ringing in my ears, my vision narrowed.

Then, an overwhelming sense of displacement enveloped my whole body.

After a moment.

[Best of luck]

The ceiling seemed distant.

And then, I lost consciousness.

[Translator – Peptobismol]