episode_0016

“Hmm…”

As I woke up from my sleep, I found myself embracing something soft in my arms.

Lowering my head to the pleasant sensation, I hugged it tighter, and a small voice was heard.

In the gentle and peculiar scent, I unknowingly felt warm and almost drifted back to sleep.

Of course, the owner of this softness was Hanna.

Instinctively snuggling into her embrace and taking a deep breath, Hanna also woke up with sleepy eyes, blinking.

And with a slightly embarrassed expression, she twisted her body and asked me.

“Um… does it smell bad?”

Hanna asked with concern.

“No? It’s actually really nice. Kind of alluring.”

“Then it’s okay.”

Hanna smiled bashfully.

The word ‘alluring’ was a compliment between us.

Embracing each other, we woke up from our sleep but remained lying on the couch, spending time together.

I opened the quest board casually.

And I reread the quests I had looked at before.

[Corrupting the Hero]

[Taming in the Zombie World]

Corruption and taming, interesting quest names that stimulated the imagination.

And the reward for both was the same, 3 million won.

I couldn’t know the details, but judging by the quest titles, I would probably have to fight either a hero or zombies.

“Hmm…”

I was in a dilemma.

The hero would undoubtedly be strong, but as a hero, he probably wouldn’t threaten my life, and the zombies might not be as strong as the hero, but they would show no mercy.

What would happen if I died while on a quest?

The quest board only revealed the rewards.

It didn’t tell me what would happen if I failed or died.

But I didn’t have the courage to experiment by failing the quest or dying.

After much thought, I chose to corrupt the hero.

If the hero was a true hero, even if I became a villain in the quest, he probably wouldn’t kill me.

That’s probably how it would go.

…Come to think of it, there were quite a few works in the hero genre recently where the hero was the main villain.

Once I made up my mind, I became even more anxious.

*Sigh.*

“Ah… it tickles…”

As if it were a sedative, smelling Hanna’s scent made my heart calm down magically.

It felt like I could get addicted to it.

I wanted to do this for the rest of my life, but that wasn’t possible.

Unlike me, who was unemployed, Hanna had a schedule today and had to go to the filming location by lunchtime.

“A training suit advertisement came in.”

Hanna said with a hint of pride.

It was an advertisement for a well-known sports brand.

Hanna’s SNS, which had become more expressive and lively as her numbness decreased, was explosively growing just by that.

Hanna’s sincere smile, which had always been the same, was enough to attract many followers.

And as the news of her breakup with her boyfriend Kim Taeyang, who could have been considered a thorn in the side, spread, the male fans who had disappeared also returned, accelerating her growth.

Hearing that Hanna was doing well, I couldn’t help but feel happy.

But Hanna’s expression was somewhat regretful.

“What if I get too busy and lose this time?”

“What are you saying? Is it okay if this video goes viral? If I call, you should cancel your schedule and come running.”

I jokingly threatened Hanna, holding up my phone.

Of course, it wasn’t a real threat.

It was just a playful remark, reminiscent of the moment when I had threatened Hanna because of our twisted encounter.

As if conceding to my threat, Hanna smiled and hugged me, smiling.

“In truth, it would be okay if it went viral.”

…

That statement sent a chill down my spine.

Until we couldn’t delay any longer, we embraced each other, and Hanna left home to make her schedule.

And I entered a quest.

Into [Corrupting the Hero].

“Hoo, hoo…”

I endured the dizziness that seemed unfamiliar no matter how many times I experienced it.

And suddenly, I heard a bustling noise around me.

This time, I was not inside a house but in a busy street.

From the street food emitting a violent smell to couples laughing and chatting, and foreigners carrying large bags.

When I saw the crowded commercial buildings, memories of Hongdae, where I often visited in quests, came to mind.

That was it.

Although it was a hero world, there was nothing particularly outstandingly different—

“Oh, there it is.”

All the models on the advertisement boards in the commercial area were heroes.

It was obvious.

Just by looking at their outfits, it was clear that they were saying, “I’m a hero,” with their flashy and burdensome attire.

Especially the female heroes’ outfits were like that.

Tight-fitting clothes or revealing outfits.

It was a typical hero outfit in a way.

But unlike in cartoons, in reality, it was excessively provocative.

It wouldn’t be strange if villains got distracted while fighting.

[Corrupt the Hero]

[Reward: 3 million won, Quest Board Upgrade]

An additional reward was added.

I didn’t know why, but for me, it was a good thing.

First, I went into an alley and searched around for a bit.

I found a wallet and a phone I had never seen before.

The wallet was empty.

My familiar ID and one debit card were all that was inside.

I also checked the phone.

Unfortunately, this time, I wasn’t a stock billionaire.

Or rather.

“It’s not easy…”

A reality even bleaker than mine was revealed.

The balance on the debit card was 600 won.

Enough to buy one piece of junk food.

No, these days, with the rising prices, I might not be able to buy anything with 600 won.

“Sigh…”

Just a while ago, I was a billionaire in stocks, but now I had to live the most miserable life in the world.

I was busy corrupting heroes, yet I looked like I was starving.

“Hey, come here quickly.”

As I checked my phone in the alley, someone greeted me warmly.

When I turned my gaze to where the voice came from, a bald man popped out from deep inside the alley.

If it were just that, I wouldn’t have thought much of it, but his black T-shirt and the Irezumi tattoo on his exposed arms created a visceral aversion.

A thug, a hoodlum.

Or considering this quest world, he could be a villain.

In the past, I might have been terrified of that appearance, but now I had a skill.

…Although I didn’t actually have a weapon, could I use my phone as one?

Suddenly, my confidence wavered.

“Do you have the goods?”

“…Goods?”

The bald man asked with a weighty tone, but it was obvious that I had nothing to offer.

The only substantial thing I had was between my legs.

However, one thing was certain.

The goods this bald man was talking about were definitely illegal.

“Hurry up! Or else that woman will—”

As I stayed still, the bald man urgently shouted, and in that moment, a gust of wind was felt, followed by a thud, and the bald man disappeared before my eyes.

“Huh?”

As if he had never been there.

Let’s look around to find the bald man who suddenly disappeared. The bald man was lying next to a trash can in a corner of an alley, and standing next to him was a short-haired woman with fair skin and red hair, which didn’t quite match the narrow and gloomy alley.

With a jacket, gloves, and somehow exposed lower body, it was easy to tell that she was a hero just by her outfit.

The woman who suddenly appeared lightly jumped and perched on the building.

It was a low building, about two stories high, but her unbelievable jumping ability was impressive.

She alternated between looking at her phone and me, and asked, “Who are you?”

“Me?”

“Weren’t you with the villain?”

I looked at the fallen bald man.

Sure enough, he was the villain.

And the woman in front of me, with suspicion in her eyes, was questioning me, who was having a friendly conversation with the villain in the alley.

“I, I don’t know him.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

Believe it or not, that was the truth.

But I couldn’t prove it.

I felt unjustly accused, and I didn’t like the way she suddenly switched to informal speech.

Of course, the injustice and dissatisfaction were somewhat masked by her appearance and revealing outfit.

And out of habit, I glanced at her status.

[Status: Strong Man]

Simple, but difficult.

A strong man, huh.

“…Since you’re not on the list, there’s nothing I can do.”

The woman clicked her tongue once, then came down from the building and effortlessly lifted the fallen bald villain with one hand.

I don’t know how such power comes from those slender arms.

Is she really a hero?

She clearly had a target in mind, but I couldn’t see a way to defeat that strong man.

Stronger than that?

“If we meet again in a place like this, even if you’re not on the list, I’ll consider you a villain.”

“…”

As if giving a warning, she glared at me once and then disappeared in an instant, just like when she appeared.

Her disappearing act felt a bit arrogant.

Perhaps it was because the two women I recently encountered were somewhat submissive, or maybe my personality had changed.

Although our meeting was brief, I felt a desire to correct the woman’s arrogant behavior.

“…Phew…”

Of course, it seemed impossible now.

As I pondered what to do next, I suddenly remembered my ID card.

It looked exactly like my original world’s ID card, but the address written on it was different.

This address must be where my house is in this world.

“Let’s go.”

Even on the way home, thoughts about the woman didn’t stop.