Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

I followed the others as they moved. The inside of the gate, from which many resources had already been extracted, was so desolate it could be called ruins.

Walking along the barren path without a single plant remaining, a massive mound of earth soon came into view. The people took off their backpacks there and took out their mining equipment.

You might normally think of mines when it comes to mining, but this place was different. Everything in this otherworldly dimension rich with mana was different from our world.

The miners each staked out their spots and took out their pickaxes.

I also reached into my backpack and took out a pickaxe.

Extending the collapsible handle and connecting it to the pickaxe head, the pickaxe was assembled.

Though it looked flimsy, from the pickaxe head to the handle, it was made entirely of gate byproducts.

Ordinary metals start corroding the moment they cross dimensions, and when they come into contact with the minerals here, they crumble like tofu. Costing millions of won, but it’s a pickaxe miners have to buy.

After assembling the pickaxe, the real mining began in earnest. The quota was 15kg. Any mana stones mined above that could be taken as our personal share, so everyone was digging the ground with fierce determination.

Of course, no matter how hard one worked, it wasn’t easy to meet that quota and take a personal share unless they had some special ability.

I quietly closed my eyes and focused my mind.

Perhaps because I possessed a psychic talent, I was unusually sensitive to the aura of mana. Especially after being overworked using my ability while with Seol Rok-jin, I became even more sensitive to mana.

Every object inside the gate contained mana. Even the air here contained mana to the point that ordinary senses couldn’t detect the mana stones alone.

But I could. Calmly sensing the mana, I distinguished its concentrations. As if peering into this world with sonar, I felt the locations of the mana stones buried underground.

Found them.

After digging with the pickaxe for a while, something caught on the tip.

I reached out and pulled out a mana stone.

The mana stone was transparent enough to allow sunlight to pass through it. In fact, the term ‘mana stone’ isn’t an accurate expression. Though it looks like a hard rock, this thing isn’t a mineral ore but energy coalesced into a solid form.

When mana stones first appeared, the person who discovered them is said to have exclaimed ‘eureka’ upon realizing the immense energy stored within them.

Before the formula to precisely control mana stone output was introduced ten years ago, mana stones were only used as an energy source for power plants.

Back then, it ended with the government taking the lead in the energy business and procuring mana stones.

But now that the output can be controlled, all sorts of everyday tools are being released with mana stones attached. Unlike other energy sources, they don’t cause environmental pollution, and since they can be supplied endlessly from gates, humans called this resource a blessing from God. Of course, there were also laborers whose lives were threatened by mana exposure during mining, but no consumers cared about that.

Mana stones were by far the most popular product among gate byproducts.

Since ordinary machinery didn’t work inside gates, mana stone mining relied entirely on manual labor. Normally, miners would spread out and comb the areas where mana stones were found.

But since mana stones were literally saturated with mana, I, being sensitive to mana, didn’t need to use such crude methods.

I put the mana stone into the pouch I had taken out of my backpack.

One down.

Since I could pinpoint their locations as if grasping them in my hand, filling the pouch was quick work.

In the past, I would have stopped here, but I took out another pouch. I didn’t intend to mind what others thought anymore.

“Huff, huff.”

Until the allowed five hours were up, everyone dug the ground relentlessly, breathing heavily.

When the mining time ended, the alarms we had set all went off simultaneously.

Only then did the people straighten their backs.

“Damn, it feels a little short.”

“If they gave us one more hour, wouldn’t that make a difference?”

“It’s because of the mana addiction, you know.”

Everyone had dissatisfied looks, but the time allotted to us was already over. Im Hyeon-su, who had approached me, clicked his tongue as he looked at me.

“Oh, wow. You really worked hard today, huh?”

“Haha, I was just lucky.”

While others barely filled one pouch, I had filled nearly two and a half pouches. Twice as much as the others.

No matter how clearly I knew the locations, I didn’t retrieve that much since there was a physical limit to how quickly I could dig the ground.

Im Hyeon-su muttered in a low voice as he looked at me:

“This isn’t just luck.”

As if echoing his words, people around me raised their voices while looking at my pouches.

“See, it’s like he found his own vein or something.”

“Do mana stones even have veins?”

“No, they’re formed by absorbing the surrounding mana, so they’re scattered individually. That’s what makes this even more strange.”

Sensing the piercing gazes around me, I silently turned away without a word.

Anyway, once I make money, I’m out of here. It didn’t matter to me what they were yapping about.

The years I had spent with Seol Rok-jin had considerably thickened my skin.

“Did you learn some special method we don’t know about?”

The experience from back then also helped me casually ignore Im Hyeon-su’s mocking laughter that seemed to scratch at my temper. Ignoring the people whispering about me, I followed the guide’s instructions out of the gate.

With a sensation of something sweeping over my body, I was suddenly outside.

As the hot and humid air disappeared, it really felt refreshing. The cool breeze pleasantly chilled my sweat-drenched body.

“Please place the mana stones you mined here.”

At the man’s words, we all took off the pouches from our backs and placed them on the scale. Our daily quota for mined mana stones was 15kg. Not many people exceeded that quota to receive additional incentives today either.

On the other hand, there were also those who failed to meet the quota.

“Um, could you please take a look just once more?”

It was Han Jo-hee. He didn’t look too well, it seemed. It appeared he had failed to meet the quota.

Han Jo-hee had only collected 12kg. Since he was 3kg short of the quota, the man shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. As you know, I’m just an employee too…”

“Oh dear, poor Jo-hee. His daily wage will be docked.”

Im Hyeon-su clicked his tongue next to me. I looked at my pouches. For me, who had filled two pouches to the brim, 3kg wasn’t much.

But was my situation good enough to help someone like this?

For now, I was struggling myself. Ah, whatever. My plan was to make quick money here and then leave anyway.

Helping that person wouldn’t improve anything. He’s someone unrelated to me, after all.

The thought that suddenly made me flinch was one the old me would have had, not me now.

The original me was meddlesome. Rough around the edges, but unable to refuse the hand of someone who said they needed help.

And Seol Rok-jin hated my meddlesomeness. He used to say that if I went around showing compassion here and there, I would eventually get into big trouble. And he personally ‘corrected’ my ‘bad habit.’

Seol Rok-jin gradually ruined the original me like that.

For a moment, a fierce rage welled up inside me.

Screw Seol Rok-jin.

“Wait a moment.”

I stepped forward and placed a few mana stones from my small pouch onto Han Jo-hee’s pouch.

“Huh?”

“Is this okay?”

“Well, it’s not that it’s not allowed…”

I gave Han Jo-hee a sidelong glance and quickly retreated. Han Jo-hee, who had been frozen with a dazed expression, belatedly looked at me and expressed his gratitude.

“Th-thank you.”

I shrugged and returned to the line. As soon as I rejoined the line, Im Hyeon-su grabbed my wrist and said,

“Are you out of your mind?”

I almost blurted out a curse without realizing it.

He must be angry because I interfered with Han Jo-hee, whom he had been seasoning, but to show it this openly.

Catching my gaze, Im Hyeon-su quickly added:

“You’re struggling to make a living yourself, so why help someone else?”

“I’m alone. I have more leeway than someone supporting a family.”

“Still, you shouldn’t do that again. It won’t improve anything by helping him like that. In fact, it would be better for him if you didn’t help.”

On the surface, it sounded like words said with my well-being in mind, but knowing Im Hyeon-su’s true nature, I could see right through him. Im Hyeon-su must be displeased that I helped Han Jo-hee. Because for him to be able to sell his ‘salvation’ trap, Han Jo-hee needed to fall deeper into the abyss.

“I just got lucky today.”

As disgusting as he was to the point of inducing curses just by looking at him, I couldn’t outwardly show it. We wouldn’t be seeing each other for long anyway.

Carrying my pouches, I followed to receive my wages.

The amount I received today was 1.3 million won.

It was a large sum for a day’s work, but considering the amount of mana stones I had handed over, it was by no means a large amount.

A mana stone the size of a fist would easily fetch over 100,000 won.

Even if I had given Han Jo-hee 3kg of mana stones, I had handed over more than 30kg.

To only receive this much for that many mana stones…

How much were they skimming off as ‘gate usage fees’?

I inwardly sighed.

I should go home and reconsider whether to continue this gate mining job.

Inside the truck headed back to the office, Han Jo-hee bowed his head to me several times in gratitude.

“Thank you. To be honest, when I realized I couldn’t meet the quota, I felt like the world was crashing down on me. As I mentioned earlier, there are suddenly a lot of places my money has to go these days…”

“I told you, I just got lucky today. I gave you some in case I jinxed myself by keeping it all.”

I drew a line. The reason I had helped Han Jo-hee was because I planned to soon leave this place. Unlike before, not minding what others thought was the reason I scooped up so many mana stones as well.

But even with my indifferent words, Han Jo-hee still seemed grateful to me.

“Let’s have dinner together. My treat.”

I was about to refuse, but free food wasn’t bad.

If I went back to that beggar’s dorm, all I could eat would be ramen anyway.

“Oh, can I join too?”

At Im Hyeon-su’s words, I quickly responded with a smiling face.

“Oh, Senior Hyeon-su. Since Senior Jo-hee is treating me, it might be a bit awkward if you join us.”

“Ah, Jo-hee only said he’s treating you. I’ll tag along and pay for myself.”

“If you’re there, Senior, it’ll be hard for me to enjoy the free meal comfortably, you know?”

At my words, Im Hyeon-su looked at me with a bewildered expression. The me he remembered must have been an inarticulate loser.

The others who had been watching stepped in between us.

“Come on, Hyeon-su. If you’re going to have dinner, let’s all go together. Maybe grab a drink too?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Even as he left with the seniors, Im Hyeon-su kept glancing sideways at me and Han Jo-hee.