I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

No need to overthink it.

Mana powder was a drug, and there was approximately 10 kg of it in the middle of Seoul.

This drug not only brought extreme pleasure to ability users but also enhanced their mana.

Weren’t you not supposed to touch a corpse?

The state was strictly managing it and keeping guard, and it reached S-rank, so would it be possible to secretly stash it?

Those who thought like that didn’t come here.

And even if they did, those who thought, “If it succeeds, it’ll be a jackpot,” rushed over here.

Bang.

A small gunshot rang out.

“Guh-huh.”

The man wearing a baseball cap collapsed to the side.

Though he sprawled alone in the alley, his companion quickly fled backward.

[Where do you think you’re going?]

I immediately sprinted forward and swung my goblin bat at the back of the fleeing man’s head.

Smack!

The sound of my blow hitting the back of his head was louder than the gunshot, but aside from these two men, there was no one else around.

[Did you kill him?]

[No way. I held back.]

Even though they were D-rank and scavengers trying to dig up corpses, I didn’t kill recklessly.

[He’ll probably feel like he’s dying when he wakes up with a headache, though.]

I tossed the man who had been shot in the forehead by Hyeon Se-rin’s bullet next to the other man, and then I placed them both against the streetlight post and tapped my bat on the ground.

[We’ll figure out the rest later.]

After tying the two men to the streetlight post with black rope generated by my goblin bat, I dashed in the direction Hyeon Se-rin pointed, running up the wall of a four-story apartment building.

[Hey, do you always have to run up the wall like that?]

[I need my hands free for weapons.]

[You can just grab a pipe or railing to climb.]

[Even if I had to put my hands in my pockets, I’d still run up buildings using just my feet. It’s a matter of style.]

[Isn’t that just showing off?]

[It’s not.]

It’s simply a skill.

[You’re even moving around like me now.]

[…Well, I admit it looks cool.]

Hyeon Se-rin leaped forward.

I matched her pace as we jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

We didn’t roll with any acrobatics.

As if nothing was an obstacle, we darted from building to building, searching for the “flies.”

[There’s another one over there.]

[Is it just one? I’ll handle it.]

Hyeon Se-rin immediately launched herself to the side.

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Swish!

Like a bullet, Hyeon Se-rin kicked off the air and swiftly closed in on the woman in the trench coat, striking the back of her neck before she could react.

“Guhk.”

The woman collapsed.

Unlike the others we’d dealt with before, I could sense B-rank mana emanating from her.

[Didn’t I tell you last time? Striking someone’s neck like that won’t knock them out.]

[It’s my special skill.]

[If it’s a skill, there’s nothing I can say. But… tying her up might be tricky.]

I checked the condition of the woman Hyeon Se-rin had knocked out.

Since she hadn’t used up any mana, she’d definitely regain full use of it when she woke up.

Using B-rank restraints on a B-rank was a waste.

So there was another way to deal with this.

[Wow, what a scummy villain you are.]

[If I can’t restrain her with magic, I’ll use society’s norms. At least I kept some decency.]

I ripped the woman’s clothes off, leaving her only in her underwear, and pushed her into a corner where no one could see.

[She’s an adult. She should take responsibility for her actions.]

I checked the wallet inside her trench coat and tossed it behind her back.

[She’s a woman who spends all her B-rank earnings on drugs. No sympathy necessary.]

[You really can’t be a hero, can you?]

[I wouldn’t have walked the villain’s path if I wanted to be a hero.]

I tapped the smartwatch on my wrist.

It wasn’t a regular Taeguk Watch. This was a special item made just for me, immune to the satellites up in the sky. If I had to name it, I’d call it the “Secret Watch.”

[There are still a lot of worms out there. Some are even trying to grab Nut Crusher’s corpse to suck the last bit of mana out of it.]

“This looks like a case for a villain report.”

Someone appeared atop the wall.

“A man and a woman chatting after undressing a woman? Ha, this is rich.”

[Are you going to report us?]

“Well…”

Bang.

“If I tried, I’d be dead before the report goes through. That lovely lady there has a gun to my head. How could I report?”

[Don’t call her ‘lovely lady.’]

“What, she’s not? Didn’t you use to let it slide?”

[I’ll let this one slide, but just call her my lover, not ‘lovely lady.’]

“You’ve got some weird new concept going, but fine, it doesn’t really matter.”

Wearing a loose, flowing white robe that swayed like a shaman’s, the figure looked like a medium or fortune teller.

[What are you doing here? Are you trying to act like a worm too?]

“That’s what I should be asking you.”

A sly grin spread across her face.

“Aren’t we pros at stepping up for national interests?”

When the fortune teller took off her mask, the face of a rather young girl was revealed.

“Countries all over are playing tricks to steal the corpse, so are you saying the Secret Society is planning to smuggle out Korean resources?”

At that time, Ganghwa Island, Incheon.

Splash, splash.

On the northern side of the island, a group of people in diving suits emerged from the water with small splashing sounds.

Wearing diving suits that covered them head to toe, they each had a single oxygen tank strapped to their backs and began approaching a collapsed hut near the beach as they started to remove their suits one by one.

“Ugh, this is so annoying. We used to be able to just enter through Incheon Port.”

“Stop talking about the past. Things could get even worse later on.”

The people who had taken off their diving suits were young Asian men.

Although they were speaking Korean, their appearance didn’t quite match, making it hard to say they were Korean just by looks.

“If it gets worse, where do we go?”

“Daedong River.”

“Daedong River instead of Nakdong River? Damn, it’s tough enough crossing the sea, and now we have to run from Pyongyang to Seoul? Jeez.”

“Watch your mouth.”

One of the men, now completely naked after removing his diving suit, pulled out a plastic bag attached to the back of his suit.

“Get dressed.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The young men all changed into clothes from the plastic bag.

Since they were already wearing shoes inside their diving suits, they dressed themselves in underwear, thin shirts, and dress pants pulled from the bag, making them look presentable at the very least.

“Our target is at Haegneul General Hospital in Seoul. The target is in the basement. Even if we can’t get everything, getting just a single rib would count as a success.”

“If we’re going for success, why not aim big? Human bones barely weigh 40kg even if you take them all out, don’t they?”

“Human bones don’t weigh 40kg. Even if you take them all out, it’s not that much.”

“…Have you actually taken them out before?”

“Shut up.”

The man, who seemed to be the leader, gathered the diving suits into one place and extended his hand towards them.

Rustle.

The ground under the diving suits sank, creating a large pit, and soon the pile of dirt that had built up around the hole collapsed, burying the suits underground.

It was an obvious manifestation of superpowers.

Naturally, these people were ability users.

“Listen up. If we succeed, it’s A-rank, but if we fail, we’re headed to South America.”

“And what if we run into Goblin?”

“Goblin wouldn’t kill people just for trying to steal villain mana powder.”

“But isn’t it possible the execution standards have gotten stricter or something? Heh heh.”

“Are you scared?”

“…Of course not.”

The young men strapped smartwatches to their wrists and looked southeast.

“If we succeed, we could become someone like Cheonma, and if we fail, the Party will probably bail us out after a few months in prison.”

“Yeah. …As long as we don’t die.”

The young men put on black masks and headed toward the nearby village.

“Remember. Remember.”

“No Chinese.”

Three sedans were parked near the slate-roofed house, an unusual sight for the countryside. The young men approached the cars and opened the doors.

“Huh? Boss, this one’s locked.”

“…That’s not the prepared vehicle.”

“Oh. Damn… not a fan of sedans.”

“Quit whining and get in.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young men got into the cars and naturally started the engines.

And the cars began driving southeast, towards the end of Ganghwa Island.

“Ah, this is Seong Dogong. Seong Dogong here. Please respond.”

[You’re late. Get to Seoul as fast as possible. The festival has already started.]

“A festival, you say… wait.”

Screech.

As they were crossing a bridge off the island, the group stopped the car and looked at a figure standing on the bridge.

“…What is that?”

There, on the bridge.

A shadowy figure stood.

Upon closer inspection, they could see it holding something that looked like a blade or a piece of metal in its hand.

“What is that, exactly…? A Grim Reaper…?”

Step, step.

The figure, with a black robe fluttering like that of a Grim Reaper, walked toward the car, gripping a sharp dagger.

“Are you guys here for the A-rank mana powder too?”

“This voice…”

As the voice echoed—

Slice.

The blade slashed through the car, cutting it in half.

“Damn, get out!”

The young men leaped out of the car, clenching their fists and preparing for battle.

“Why is that guy here…!”

“Villain or not, that belongs to Korea.”

The Grim Reaper-like figure walked out from the shadows into the light cast by the headlights and said,

“I won’t let you hand it over to the Chinese.”

The man had dark skin.

“Damn it, why is a Black guy—”

“A Black guy?”

Slice.

“No.”

Red blood splattered onto the man’s black skin.

“Even if Nut Crusher was a villain, he’s still Korea’s villain.”

“And since foreign countries are eyeing the corpse, we have no choice but to step in.”

“Yeah, we have to handle this.”

The girl spread her arms to the sides, brought her hands together, and bowed.

“I, Seon Mudang of Hwalbindang, am requesting a temporary alliance with the Secret Society’s Goblin and Doul.”

Seon Mudang, the girl, pointed toward the sky.

“First and foremost, we must prevent the corpse from being taken out of the country, right?”