LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter Two
Several days passed as I set up traps for wild boars, sprinkled fresh boar blood and hung bones around to ward them off, and removed poison from the meat.
“Make sure to eat the meat.”
“Can we eat that?”
“It can be toxic if you eat it as it is, but I removed the poison. It’s a good tonic for restoring energy, whether grilled or boiled.”
“How do you know that?”
“Just from trying different things.”
It was knowledge gained from being on the run, but I couldn’t give that answer. In the past, I used to make beef jerky whenever I had spare time while being chased. I had survived for a month in winter with just beef jerky.
I even ate raw meat when there was nothing else. The taste of the demon’s poison stinging my tongue was like a delicacy.
“Also, let me know when the effect wears off. I can catch more.”
“Okay. Do well on your exam in Seoul.”
“Say hi to Yoon-hee for us.”
“Will she get along with me?”
“Of course not.”
“Mom, that’s a bit harsh.”
“It hurts more to see the wounds inflicted by my son who was unemployed for two years.”
“That’s understandable.”
Her nagging words were something I had to endure.
By the way, Yoon-hee, the existence of my younger sister, made my heart ache.
She would have shone brilliantly if it weren’t for me being a villain. But she was forced to give up her dream and was trapped under surveillance in the name of protective measures.
I have a debt of gratitude to my family. I didn’t know why I went back like this, but I would be a dependable son to my parents and help my younger sibling towards success.
That’s what I think the reason I went back to the past.
After preparing to go up to Seoul, I got in the car.
It took longer to travel from Cheongju to Seoul this time because there were a lot of villains and monsters on the roads. These villains didn’t listen to the country’s rules, which made travelling longer than it used to be.
Demons were hunted periodically, but villains were variable, as they were essentially monsters in human form. When I was crazy, the only time I agreed with the villains was when I didn’t hesitate to use my hands against them.
If I became a government hunter, I would face villains and at least wouldn’t hesitate to fight them.
The fewer villains there were, the less likely my peaceful life would be disturbed.
The problem is my ability.
What was bothering me while driving was the ability I awakened in my past life.
My ability, called “Blood Absorption,” was a unique attribute Gift that could obtain the abilities contained in a target’s blood. To gain the ability, one must consume the freshest blood squeezed from the target’s heart. Even though I awakened it at a late age in my past life, I was called ‘Blood Master’ because of this ability.
In the end, I lost control and went on a rampage due to not being able to control my power.
No matter how much I think about it, Blood Absorption was a Gift that would make people mistake me for a vampire, so I had no plan to reveal it to the world.
Instead, I could reveal other Gifts.
For some reason, the Gifts that I stole in my past life still existed in me.
Even ten of them.
Was it a blessing or a curse?
It seemed like a pipe dream, but I didn’t want to think deeply about this part.
It’s best to quietly accept the unexplainable good fortune.
If I became a villain again, it would be a disaster for the world, but I wouldn’t make the same mistake after experiencing regret once.
Hmm.
Maybe?
Until just before I went crazy, I was a perfectly harmless normal person. If someone didn’t pick a fight with me or bother me, I would have just stayed quiet.
In the meantime, I finally entered Seoul.
I went to a nearby mart to buy a lot of meat since I had no reason to go to my sister empty-handed. I was a penniless, jobless person, but my parents gave me a lot of allowance to take care of Yoon-hee and myself.
I arrived at my destination with my luggage. It was the same house I lived in two years ago, but it’s been 30 years since I visited if I included my past life.
It’s a villa with two rooms, a place where two people could comfortably live.
As I went inside, I saw a messy scene of things scattered all over the place.
At least there was plenty of space to step on, I thought, and put the ingredients I bought at the mart in the refrigerator and started cleaning the house.
I collected noticeable garbage and separated the laundry, and just like that, an hour passed.
It was a hectic time for Yoon-hee. This year was a close call, but she was likely to pass next year. Even now, she had the ability to go to a large guild if she lowered her eyes a little.
At that time, Yoon-hee entered with the sound of the door lock number being pressed outside.
My younger sister Choi Yoon-hee, who turned 21 this year, graduated from high school with excellent grades and was a talented individual who steadily developed her skills.
She could have blossomed her talents splendidly if not for her villainous older brother.
However, due to the sin of having a villainous older brother, Yoon-hee was constrained and unable to find a job, growing old in solitude.
It’s all my fault.
I smiled bitterly at the sight of my sister’s youthful appearance that I thought I would never see again. And I made a vow. I would never become a villain while intoxicated with power again.
“Oh, you’re here already?”
Yoon-hee’s eyes widened when she saw me.
“I contacted you that I was coming, but there was no response.”
I had been ignored.
“Well, you could have just played games and lounged around as usual, right?”
“Is that how you see me?”
“Well, wasn’t that the case?”
“I was surprised that you were so calm.”
I had imagined all sorts of negative evaluations, like human trash, someone unbearable, a parasite who fed on our parents, cockroaches, maggots, and so on.
Yoon-hee’s expression became odd when she heard the negative evaluations I had made of myself.
“I feel weird even though we were only together for a moment.”
“It’s fortunate that I’m not being treated like a bug.”
“Is that not how you see me? What do you really think of me?”
Yoon-hee let out a deep sigh.
“Anyway, I heard from Mom that you want to become a government hunter. Do you really want to do it?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Well, you know, you never bothered to work unless it was for a big company. Even if it was to gain some practical experience, you just sat around wasting time. So I don’t understand. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t want to be a burden to our family anymore.”
“Really? The same brother who used to sit around like a recluse and cause our parents so much grief is saying this?”
Thinking of parasites, cockroaches, and worms, I felt somewhat relieved to hear such an evaluation from my sister.
“It doesn’t seem bad being a government worker. And I get to take down villains who harm society.”
While big guild hunters usually aimed for many monsters and dungeon conquests, government hunters often dealt with villains who disrupted public safety.
“When did you start feeling fulfilled by taking down villains?”
“The more I take down, the more fulfilling it would be. I suddenly had that thought.”
“I see. They say that hunting humans and hunting monsters require different talents. But how are you going to take the exam? Have you prepared?”
“What preparation?”
“You’re preparing to be a government hunter, right? You should at least buy some related books! You haven’t done anything?”
“Oh, right.”
“...”
To be honest, I thought I could just do what I wanted. What do I even need to study for? Would taking down a single villain get me a passing grade?
As I sent her a questioning look, Yoon-hee snapped her head around.
“I don’t know. Figure it out yourself.”
“Don’t say that. Help me out. Let me see the skills of my talented younger sister.”
“Why me?”
I roll my eyes impatiently, but it’s no use.
“I’ll give you some spending money.”
“Really?”
“How much do you want?”
“You name it.”
When I shout out “500,000,” the guy’s head bobs up and down in excitement.
“Let’s go!”
***
The next day, we headed into the city to buy some books.
Seoul, where awakened people and demons began appearing, was more subdued than before.
They installed emergency shelters throughout the city, and the faces of the people walking on the streets displayed both calmness and wariness.
Although the larger demons were thoroughly blocked outside the city, the problem was the villains.
They hid and waited for the defenses to weaken, and then attacked and pillaged.
It was a world where one could easily die if they were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Therefore, people who came out on the streets were more interested in completing their business quickly than in enjoying themselves.
Despite this, the atmosphere was good. Before the regression, I thought I would never come back to the city again.
“To be honest, if I just awakened, becoming a government hunter wouldn’t be that difficult.”
Yoon-hee’s voice was full of excitement. It was our first time shopping in a while.
It was an era where tens of millions of people were aspiring to become hunters. Those who had the potential to awaken or who had already awakened dreamed of becoming hunters who could make a fortune overnight.
Naturally, the government hunters, who mainly dealt with villains, were not popular. Nowadays, hunters who guaranteed high salaries and incentives if they succeed, working for large corporations or as freelancers, were the trend.
Therefore, the conditions for becoming a government hunter were simple. First, they would need to awaken their powers and undergo a level evaluation. Then they needed to pass the minimum requirements of ethics and personality tests and interviews.
“My brother has to pass that test. And did you awaken your powers?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, more than half of it passed. Do you have a Gift?”
“I do.”
“Really? Wow! You must have worked really hard at home. Then you have a 99% chance of passing.”
“I can prepare for it comfortably.”
“No, you can’t. Even if you pass, you need to do well to be placed in a good department.”
“Are there any good departments?”
“Of course! What are you talking about?”
Yoon-hee looked at me and explained which department I should go to if I became a government hunter.
The ones she said were the National Security Agency responsible for the inner-city security of Seoul, the Foreign Cooperation Agency that served as a bridge between the government and large corporations, and the Demon Defense Frontline that prepared monster hunting permits and countermeasures against them.
“You can only do the job of a government hunter in these departments. The rest are just volunteer positions.”
It was clear that Yoon-hee had done some research for me. I looked at her and thanked her.
“Thank you for caring.”
“Oh, no? I'm just doing it for the money.”
“Still, thank you.”
“Don’t say thank you! I told you I’m doing it for the money.”
With a red face, she quickly turned and went ahead. She felt embarrassed. I followed her and changed the subject, not wanting to make fun of her any further.
“How about you? Is your preparation not too difficult?”
“Me? Preparation is easy. The written exam is a breeze. The problem is the practical exam.”
“Does it get easier if you have a Gift?”
“Yes. But that doesn’t make it easy.”
A Gift was a special ability that came from within. There could be unique abilities where people could do things like create powerful brain waves, caused changes with a sword, or teleport.
However, the percentage of awakened individuals who have Gifts was about 3%. That’s how precious Gifts were.
It's not that precious to me though.
“I just need some blood.”
Blood absorption ability was not only a Gift to take away others' Gifts, but it was also possible to understand the Gifts that the target possessed.
It was important for me not to become a villain, but also to take care of Yoon-hee so that she could fully demonstrate her abilities.
That was the way I could reduce the sin I had committed, even if it was just a little.
To live happily and use her abilities to the fullest.
That was all I wished for Yoon-hee.
Just having talent didn’t mean everyone could succeed. It would require harsh training.
“What did you say just now?”
“Nothing.”
“Clearly, you mumbled something suspiciously.”
After buying the necessary books for the exam, a few simple outfits, and finishing lunch, we arrived at the bank.
“Are you really okay?”
“How much does it cost for utilities?”
My first action was to minimize the number of things Yoon-hee had to worry about in her daily life.
***
Choi Yoon-hee watched her older brother’s back.
He’s definitely changed.
When he was at home, her brother seemed to be possessed by something evil.
He looked lost in anger, not knowing where to direct it. That’s exactly how Yoon-hee remembered him.
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t sorry for him. But on the other hand, she didn’t want to get too close to him.
The feeling of defeat spread like a contagious disease. She believed that if she did well, he would be stimulated and return to his old self.
But her brother, whom she saw again, was different in many ways.
He had lost his restlessness and was now at ease.
Could this be called peace of mind? It was a kind of enlightenment. It felt like experiencing all the ups and downs of life and coming out of it after being unemployed for five years.
When she contacted her parents, they said he changed for no apparent reason.
They asked her to always bring utensils and chopsticks for meals, although she wasn’t sure why.
Anyway, before he came up to Seoul, she heard that he had made his own equipment to hunt demons, including those at level 3.
There’s even a Gift involved in hunting demons?
What happened to her brother?
Joining a mid-sized guild with just the Gift itself was a given. However, she didn’t say anything more because her older brother seemed to have his sights set on becoming a government hunter rather than joining a guild.
Choi Yoon-hee suppressed her curiosity that kept rising up. It was enough that things were getting better.
“Now, all I have to do is to do well myself.”
Not because of the allowance.
No, to be honest, 500,000 won was a pretty big sum for her heart to freeze.
At that time, the outside of the bank became noisy and a group of people poured into the bank.
“Don’t move!”
They were bank robbers, villains, to be exact.
***
“Brother!”
“There are robbers.”
I looked at Yoon-hee, who had leaned back. Perhaps it was because of the sudden situation. I felt her trembling.
Without caring, I looked at the entrance and tried to count the number of robbers.
Ten people, divided into two teams, were moving chaotically. They were professional robbers.
“This is a bank. How can robbers...”
“Banks are a good target for villains with Lockdown abilities.”
Especially for banks located on the outskirts of Seoul, after being robbed, there was no way but to infiltrate the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, where demons might roam.
When I was still a villain, I had received several proposals for bank robberies and was familiar with how they operated.
They had the ability to lock down their surroundings, making communication impossible, and had a merciless hand that dealt with anyone who rebelled. Using this method, the government concentrated bank branches in the center of Seoul, leaving a few branches in the suburbs and alleviating the threat by deploying guilds of large companies to those branches. It was a time when improvements had not yet been made, and the villains took advantage of that gap. It was a timely attack.
“Everyone, hands up and kneel!”
“If you make a useless move, you’ll be killed on the spot!”
“It’s you guys now!”
Bang!
The moment a man resisted, the villain’s gun went off, spewing flames.
The man, with an astonished expression, fell to the ground, bleeding.
“Kneel now!”
At the villains’ shout, the employees and customers trembled and knelt.
The ten villains were quick. Five occupied the entrance, incapacitating the customers, while the other five held the branch manager and headed for the vault.
I looked back at Yoon-hee.
Perhaps because she just witnessed death first-hand.
Fear and anger mixed together, sending violent shivers through her. Yoon-hee was an aspiring hunter. Her body shook as if she would jump in right away. But it was impossible for her, without any real combat experience or proper equipment, to face the villains with guns.
I reached out and gently patted Yoon-hee.
“Stay still. Villains like this don’t discriminate. You have to move when you’re sure.”
“But...”
“Also, remember. There are only two types of villains. Those who should be killed or those who must be killed.”
“What?”
“Watch.”
I moved towards the villains.
***
Honestly, I didn’t have good feelings towards villains.
I think it’s 99% my fault that I went crazy and became a bloodthirsty villain, with 1% of the blame on the villains.
Before I completely lost my mind, I had been abusing my blood power excessively due to my desire for strength. Even though I knew I should stop in my mind, I couldn’t cut off my desire for power.
At that time, the villains around me incited me. They coveted my powers as a powerful newcomer. My inability to stop ultimately led to a rampage and the birth of a villain called “Blood Master.”
It didn’t change the fact that it’s all my fault. But sometimes I had these thoughts. If someone around me had told me to stop at the time, maybe things would have been different?
Looking back, it seemed like I wanted someone to stop me, like a speeding locomotive. It’s funny that I wished for that among the villains.
Although it’s mostly my fault, I was narrow-minded enough to put 1% of the responsibility for becoming Blood Master to the villains. Actually, I want to blame 99% on someone else, but my conscience didn’t allow it.
Anyway, in this world, the more villains one killed, the more praise they received.
I planned to use my 1% evil feelings and sense of social justice.
As I took a step forward, the distance between me and the villains shrunk as if the space had been cut. The trembling villains shouted, “Who are you?”
Bang!
Watching the bullets come at me in slow motion, I leaned to avoid them.
I reached the villain right in front of me and placed my hands on their shoulders.
Crack!
“Kyaaa!”
A terrifying ripping sound echoed out of the villain’s mouth as their shoulder completely dislocated.
This Gift, known as 'landmines’, was created by the Grand Meister Franz of Germany. This Gift caused a violent explosion in the contacted area, earning the nickname “the nightmare of close combat.”
Ten years from now, Franz would die at my hands, who had become a villain. However, things would be different in this life. I might be able to build a different relationship with him than before.
“What, what is it!”
“Scatter!”
The terrified villains tried to distance themselves, but my hand was faster.
Their shoulders shattered like a snack crumb, and their arms twisted in the opposite direction as they were caught one by one.
This was why being normal was difficult.
If I was a villain, I would have pulled their necks without hesitation. Or destroying their brains by poking their heads would also be a sure way.
However, I was a hunter preparing for the civil service exam. Even if the opponent was a villain, if I killed them without justification, I could be mistaken for a villain, too.
As expected, killing is the most convenient way.
If I wasn’t an aspiring government hunter, I would have made an immediate decision with my power, so it was a bit regrettable.
The villains who had entered the vault immediately rushed out upon detecting commotion outside, only to be subdued when I charged.
“Don’t move!”
In the blink of an eye, the four villains were overpowered, and the last remaining one pointed his gun at the manager’s head and shouted, “Hands up and back off!”
“Why should I?”
“What?”
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
“What are you talking about right now?”
Regardless, I looked at the hostaged manager. His complexion had turned pale. However, no matter how fast I was, I couldn’t save the hostage’s life. In situations like this, I had to minimize damage while maximizing efficiency.
“I wanted to save you, but unfortunately, I can’t. I won’t forget your sacrifice.”
“What are you saying?”
“If you’re going to kill him, then do it. I’ll kill you too. By the way, I’ll crush your head. Your brain will be shattered into tiny pieces and will flow out of your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Oh, was I too merciful? I’ll break your arms and legs first and then crush your head last.”
Sacrificing one hostage to take care of one villain was a fair trade.
I approached the villain openly.
***
The leader of the bank robbers, Unlock, seemed to have gone crazy.
Why on earth was this lunatic here?
He was someone whose expertise lay in disrupting communications, unlocking safes, and other similar tasks.
His plan to go on a rampage had gone completely awry.
He, too, was a villain who had faced numerous battles.
He thought there was no hope once he fell behind in momentum, so he tried to threaten the manager’s life, but his opponent was even crazier than he thought.
He thought negotiating would be possible if he could make a hole in the head of the store manager and catch someone else.
But the moment he locked eyes with the approaching madman, he realized.
This guy was an uncontrollable lunatic.
The other thought of himself not as a human, but as a bug that could be stepped on and crushed at any time.
The moment he made a hole in the head of the store manager, the lunatic would crush his own head like a tofu, just as he had said.
Snap.
In the end, Unlock, who was pushed back by his opponent’s momentum, threw away his gun and raised his hands.
“Ahhh!”
The store manager looked scared and ran away, but Unlock couldn’t move like a fish caught in a net.
“You have a good sense.”
The madman, who arrived right in front of him, said.
Crack!
With a gruesome cracking sound, both of Unlock’s shoulders sank deeply. He screamed in pain as his whole body was attacked.
“Why, why on earth?”
“If you’re the only one okay, the others will feel unjust. This level of equality is just right.”
The madman replied nonchalantly.