Villain Hides His True Colors

Elizabeth and I were heading to Rastus’ laboratory.

I had felt it when I was crawling through the ventilators a while ago, but as expected, the mansion was uselessly spacious and complex.

There were many rooms in the hallways where you couldn’t even begin to guess their purposes. The mansion’s structure intertwined and blended like a maze, making it very confusing and easy for a person to lose their sense of direction.

It was the right choice to have this woman guide me.

I might have had to waste a long time here otherwise.

Soon, I heard Elizabeth’s discrete voice.

“W-we’ll reach the backyard once we pass through there.”

She spoke to me through a plant’s voice as if it was natural.

To summarize what she had told me earlier, Rastus has been remodeling her body for a long time.

Because of that, dozens of plant genes were now dormant in her body, and among them was one called ‘Flower of Shadow,’ which was the reason why I was here now.

To put it simply, it was a mission to come here and find her.

The fact that the Challenge had updated once I entered her room was evidence enough.

But to be honest, I felt like I was being cheated.

Well, originally, tasks in the exploration category were often twisted like riddles, so this situation felt quite familiar.

As soon as I was organizing my thoughts, I heard her voice again.

“B-but this, d-do we have to move around like this?”

Hmm?

I was currently underneath her clothes in my liquid form wrapped around her.

Although she had said there were no other employees beside the gardener, I wasn’t going to risk myself running into Rastus.

I shaped a small mouth and whispered.

“Bear with it a little longer.”

“B-but…it feels so weird.”

Our skin, which was against each other, was already a little warm, but it felt as if it had gotten warmer.

As expected, this woman still had a long way to go. I couldn’t believe she was saying something so pointless even in this situation.

Anyway, she walked with her body twisted like a worm. We finally arrived in the backyard shortly after.

“I-it’s here.”

She pointed to a corner in the backyard.

Looking outside through her clothes, I noticed a large glass greenhouse. It was a lot bigger than most greenhouses.

Since the Challenge said it was a laboratory, I thought it would have been a more traditional laboratory.

“Then, I’ll go in…”

I felt the hot and humid air around my whole body as I hanged onto Elizabeth.

Everywhere was filled with all kinds of plants, and fortunately or unfortunately, only the usual voice of wanting to reproduce was heard from them.

Elizabeth looked through the interior of the greenhouse and spoke.

“I-I don’t think my uncle is here. It’s okay to come out now.”

I slipped off her body and slowly looked around.

Then…

What caught my eye was a huge, mysterious distillation device.

I could see mysterious green particles gradually crystallizing inside the transparent flask.

“What’s this…?”

“This is what I meant earlier. And…after my uncle is done with the last preparation, he plans to terrorize the city with this powder.”

“Really…”

Listening to her, I recalled an article I had read a long time ago.

Nampo’s biological terror incident.

A rare terrorist attack that had raised Rastus, an ordinary botanist, to an S-rank villain overnight.

He had spread a large number of biological warfare weapons he had developed over Nampo City, which was located near Neo Pyongyang City, and as a result, in the mouth of the Taedong river, where a large number of trade ports were located, a primeval forest was created.

Even for me, who was living in Pyongyang, for me to hear of it, it could be said to be a very big event at the time.

On top of that, dealing with him, who could freely control plants, was like fighting an entire huge forest…

I heard that they eventually solved it by using nuclear weapons a few years later.

These particles, which were falling little by little in front of my eyes, was probably the weapon he had used for his terrorist act at the time.

“Wh-What are you going to do now?”

She looked at me with a restless look.

Instead of answering her, I took out some bombs I had in my inventory.

“That…what are those?”

“It’s a very useful solution to most problems.”

I generously installed bombs here and there around the flask. As a bonus, I also attached some to the electronic devices next to it.

Well, it wasn’t completed anyway, so there shouldn’t be any problem if the particles were released now.

After completing the necessary work, I asked her.

“Do you know where the sapling of the World Tree is?”

“World Tree…?” 

“If you don’t know, is there any plant here that’s the most important?”

“Hmm…”

She looked to be thinking for a moment, and soon after, she let out a small exclamation.

“There’s a plant that my uncle always keeps separately. Is that what you’re talking about? Hold on.”

She led my hand into the depths of the greenhouse.

There, I saw a bright device that resembled an incubator with a slender tree planted inside.

“This is it.”

At a first glance, it was a tree that looked valuable. I opened the incubator and grabbed the sapling.

Next, the voice of a feisty woman came into my ears.

“Who are you?”

“…”

“How dare you touch this tree’s body? Impudent.”

It was a rather rude plant. I roughly pulled it out of the dirt.

“Kueaak! Y-you punk! What the hell are you doing?!!”

Some of the soil that was clung to the roots fell to the ground.

The sapling was chattering next to me, but I didn’t want to listen to it anymore, so I stuffed it into my inventory as was.

Immediately after, the message I was waiting for appeared before my eyes.

Ding–!

[ Condition for the Challenge – Sapling of the World Tree (Chain Quest) has been met. ]

[ Infiltrate the laboratory of the botanist ‘Rastus’ and steal the sapling of the World Tree (Completed). ]

[ Challenge updated. ]

[Challenge – Sapling of the World Tree (Chain Quest)]

Condition: Transfer and plant the sapling in the ‘land to the east.’

Time: 20 years. 

Reward: 1x Skill Selection (High).

Hmm…20 years.

It was a longer task than I had thought. In addition, I couldn’t guess the place called ‘land to the east’ mentioned here.

It seemed that it wasn’t a problem that could be solved right now.

If I were to think of it like a game, I guess it would be like an item to start a quest.

I was done with everything I had to do here.

All I had to do now was get out of here before Rastus arrives and detonate the bombs.

I led Elizabeth out of the greenhouse and immediately detonated the bombs.

Boom–!

With a roaring sound that almost burst my eardrums, fragments of glass exploded in all directions.

And after a while, even the steel frames that were supporting the greenhouse tilted and fell to the ground, spewing dust everywhere.

I spoke to Elizabeth who stood still as if mesmerized.

“There won’t be any terrorist attacks by noona’s uncle now.”

“U-uh…Okay. Th-thank you…”

Was it because the problem that had troubled her for a long time was solved with just a few bombs?

She had a puzzled look, as if she still couldn’t believe it.

Well, it was none of my business how she felt right now…

Anyway, why didn’t the Challenge update?

Despite me completing her request for help, the status of the Challenge remained the same.

[Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest)]

Condition: Save ‘Elizabeth.’

Time: 3 months.

Reward: 1x Random Box (Medium).

Save Elizabeth.

Save how? In RPG games, usually, everything was resolved once you listened to the person’s request.

Was this not enough to save her?

After thinking for a while, I drew up an answer in my own way.

Like I had thought, killing Rastus seemed to be the only solution. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try to kill a few more people.

As soon as I was organizing my thoughts, I heard someone scream behind me.

“H-how dare you!!!!!!!”

A voice as if he had lost his child.

Turning my head, there stood Rastus vomiting blood and screaming.

“Elizabeth!!! Wh-why did you!!!”

“U-uncle…”

Elizabeth next to me trembled and took a step back. Rastus began to stagger towards her.

And I, who had been watching him closely, called out to Elizabeth.

“Noona.”

“Y-yes?”

She didn’t look to be in the right state of mind no matter how I looked at it. Her whole body was shaking like a tree and sweat was flowing down her forehead like rain.

I asked her bluntly.

“Can I kill your uncle?”

“U-uh…O-okay…W-wait, what did you just say?”

I pulled a gun straight out of my inventory before she could finish.

Well, I think I’ve gotten permission, so I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t get a reward later.

“W-wait!”

Elizabeth reached out in a hurry to stop me. But the speed of me pulling the trigger was faster.

Bang–!

“N-no!!”

The bullet that flew away went exactly through Rastus’ body.

* * * * * * * * * *

“Keuk!”

Rastus fell to the ground because of the terrible pain that struck his stomach.

What the hell happened?

He was just approaching Elizabeth, so why was he lying on the ground now?

Blood slowly flowed out of his stomach. His white gown became stained with blood.

When he looked up, he saw a young boy aiming a gun at him.

He made eye contact with the boy. The child was smiling.

Immediately, a loud alarm rang in the back of his mind.

D-dangerous!

He immediately took out a seed and cast a spell.

*Rapid Growth

The seed that fell to the ground germinated in an instant and grew into a barrier of hard ebony.

In the next instant,

Bang–!

Bang–!

Bang–!

Continuous bullet struck the barrier and was blocked. As it happened, he could feel a deep killing intent from the boy that showed he definitely wanted to kill him.

Dangerous…

Where the hell did this boy who had suddenly appeared in his garden come from?

He had thoroughly prepared for all external invaders.

A large amount of money was spent to install magic traps throughout the fences, and there were even trees that didn’t sleep being used as watchmen in the garden.

So why…

Perhaps the gardener who had been loyal to him was already dead. And perhaps it was the boy who had burned his garden.

And now…He had destroyed his wishes that he had been preparing for decades. 

Kik–

He gritted his teeth. What kind of resentment did the boy have for him to do such acts of terrorism against him?

I must catch him alive to find out…

On the other side of the barrier, the boy was seen carrying a large fuel tank on his shoulder.

?!

A dreadful image that could only be seen in war movies.

Recognizing what it was, Rastus rolled across the ground and threw himself to the side.

“Keuk!!!”

It felt as if every spark in his brain went off when his wounded stomach grazed the ground.

But there was no time to hesitate. Again, he sprinkled seeds on the ground and cast a spell.

*Rapid growth

Thick vines grew in a blink of an eye on the ground. Rastus grabbed one of the stalks and soared up.

Woosh–!

Hot flame swept under his feet. He would have become a black lump of coal if he had hesitated for a few seconds.

Cold sweats rolled down his spine. The weapon the boy was using was at odds with his abilities.

It’s dangerous if this continues…I need to find a way…

As soon as he was thinking hard with the little amount of time he had,

Creak–

The stalk of the vine he was supporting on dried up and turned yellow as it began to helplessly fall sideways.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

Soon, he crashed to the ground. Colliding with the ground, blood burst from his mouth.

“Keuk!”

Through the blurry view, he could see the boy aiming the flamethrower at him again.

I-I have to move…

He didn’t live until now just to die. He still had work to do.

Mentally enduring the pain, he sprinkled more seeds on the ground.

*Rapid growth

Thick red vines quickly rose up.

Cinderwood.

It was a tree that grew up eating fire from a volcano in the otherworld.

He didn’t stop there after having grown the cinderwood. Squeezing out all of his remaining mana, he cast another spell.

*Summon Ent

“Keuk!”

Blood burst out of his mouth again as a large amount of mana was exhausted. As a result, his eyes immediately turned dark and he couldn’t see anything.

Fortunately, however, the spell was successful, and the cinderwood tree stuck on the ground took root and began to stretch.

The cinderwood ent defended Rastus, blocking the flames that erupted again.

Luckily, the flame couldn’t penetrate the cinderwood tree.

“Wow, the tree isn’t burning?”

The boy put down the heavy fuel tank and tilted his head.

Realizing that his attacks were useless, the boy began to rush directly at Rastus.

“B-block him!!”

At Rastus’ desperate cry, the ent pulled out a vine and attacked the boy.

And against that fierce attack, the boy was tied up helplessly.

“Finally…I got you.”

The boy simply lowered his head once his whole body was bound. Rastus struggled to stand up as he approached the boy.

And then…

Thud–

Something fell down near the boy’s body. A sphere made of metal.

“Hmm?”

What’s that?

The moment he was worried about the strange object, he saw the boy’s face. He was still smiling.

Thus…

Rastus came to realize the identity of the object that fell on the ground.

“Ah, no…”

Boom–!!

The ent that had wrapped up the boy exploded. Fragments scattered in all directions and some even stuck to Rastus’ body.

“Keuk!!”

Like a hedgehog made of splinters, Rastus flew far away before collapsing.

There were ringing sounds in his ears, and he couldn’t feel the sensation below his waist.

In such a state, he stared blankly at the clear sky.

Why…

Having checked on Elizabeth this morning, he never could have imagined that this would happen.

Just the same day as yesterday. A peaceful daily routine that repeats every day.

But this…why is he here…

He couldn’t believe what was happening around him.

The garden was gone. And a broken wish.

The future…There’s really not much time left.

A shadow hung over his face.

“Hm…you woke up earlier than I thought.”

The boy, who had shattered with the ent a while ago, was looking down at him, still alive.

Rastus forcibly squeezed out his voice.

“W-why…”

“I have to save her to get a reward.”

The boy said and pointed a gun at him.

Rastus could see the black gun covering the sky and the boy slowly pulling the trigger.

He sensed his end. But at that moment,

“N-no!! You can’t shoot!”

Elizabeth suddenly came running. Then, she stopped the boy by grabbing the gun that was pointed at Rastus.

“What’s wrong? You said I can kill him.”

“N-no! H-he’s still my uncle…W-we don’t have to kill him.”

“Killing him now is the surest thing.”

“B-but that’s…”

Rastus heard the sound of two people bickering. But more than that, what the boy had said bothered him more.

Kill…me?

He came to understand the whole situation.

The reason why the boy was able to get here was all thanks to Elizabeth’s help. It all made sense when he thought about it.

E-Elizabeth, why…

They had even made a promise to live together in the new world.

Like his sister, she was going to leave him behind.

And her choice was wrong. Like his sister who had fallen for human ideology, Elizabeth would also face an unfortunate end someday.

Keuk–!

Not yet…I can’t die…

There was something he must do. He couldn’t die in vain like this here.

I didn’t know…I would use this one day…

He squeezed out his last remaining energy and pulled out an ampoule he had hidden. It contained a brightly shining purple liquid.

The day his beloved sister died, a strange being passed on the secrets of the ancient elves to him.

And the being had also handed him this drug that day.

[This is on the house. But if possible, I recommend using it only at the last minute. Because you can’t turn back after using it.]

The warning the being had left behind lingered in his mind. It must be a dangerous kind of drug.

But it didn’t matter anymore. Even if he had to give everything, and even if the road became a thorny path that he walked alone.

I’ll achieve my goal at all costs.

Rastus absorbed the ampoule. His body began to swell in the blink of an eye.

“Keuk!”

His bones twisted and his flesh burst out.

At the same time, the branches of the cinderwood tree that were scattered around him began to stick to his body one by one as he grew in size like a snowball.

“Keuaaah!”

And at some point, he had turned into a huge ent.

“This…”

Rastus slowly looked down at his own body. A stronger body than steel with overflowing power.

He felt a sense of omnipotence that he had never felt before. His own body, which was weak in the past, no longer comes to mind.

If it was this body, then it was possible, he thought. No, rather, he would be able to complete the great goal he had wanted faster.

“Keukeu…good.”

“U-uncle!!”

Elizabeth who stood in front of him was approaching.

The wretched traitor.

“Wh-why is your body…”

He thought…If he left it like this, she would be corrupted again and go the wrong way.

So he couldn’t leave it like that. Rather, if she could be inside him, then they would be together forever and she would never make the wrong choice.

“Elizabeth…”

Rastus slowly raised his arm. His arms, thicker than a dense tree, loomed over her.

In front of the overwhelming sight, Elizabeth became frozen and couldn’t move.

“Be my nourishment.”

Tens of tons of mass was about to hit her.

Her hair fluttered under the typhoon-like wind pressure, and she closed her eyes tightly as the sight of a huge tree covered the sky.

But at that moment,

“Fuck!”

As the little boy next to her swore, he pushed her out of the way.

The boy was able to save her, but because of this, he was hit by the edge of the tree.

Boom–!

Flying dozens of meters, the boy’s body bounced up and down the ground as if he were a pebble skipping across a pond. Then, like a corpse, there was no movement.

“Keukeu…Come to think of it, he was there.”

The mastermind behind all of this. The human who had ruined his great work, and someone who he could never forgive.

“I’ll mince your body well and use it as manure.”

Rastus approached the boy step by step.

* * * * * * * * * *

I couldn’t move. Every bone in my body seemed to be broken.

“Keuk!”

I vomited pieces of my intestines. There was so much blood that it was hard to even breathe.

Boom, boom–

The vibration was transmitted through my back and I could feel Rastus approaching.

I was going to die soon if I didn’t do anything.

The bastard was really prepared.

I was too greedy. I couldn’t believe I had risked my life for a medium-grade box.

It would have been a wise choice to abandon my lingering hope.

Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t have any faith. As it had been so far, I thought it would have been okay if I changed to liquid.

But…Unfortunately, Rastus had a high-density of mana hidden under his shell. He was just as wicked as he looked.

Like I had thought, it was right to kill him immediately.

To speak of the cause in the first place, the source of the trouble was I hesitated because of Elizabeth.

If it wasn’t for the ambiguous condition of ‘save,’ I would have just ignored it and shot Rastus. I really didn’t expect to get caught up in this.

Boom–! 

Boom–!

He was getting closer and closer. My body moved up and down with each step he took.

This…I was going to die in this beginner zone.

It had been a long time since I had felt this way. The word ‘game over’ crossed my mind.

The feeling was similar to when I was a C-Rank villain and was surrounded by the heroes from the Hero Association.

If there was just one difference from the past, it was that Elizabeth had saved me, who was on the verge of dying, at that time, but this time, however, I was going to die while trying to save her.

Things always seem to get twisted when I get involved with the witch.

Boom–! 

Boom–!

A shadow gradually loomed over my head. It was like a big hill walking in front of my eyes.

“Keukeu…you still have a breath left.”

Rastus looked down and laughed at me. I wanted to laugh with him when I saw the ugly bastard, but I couldn’t breathe well.

I could see him raising his arm to kill me.

How far was he going to raise his arm? It seemed to rise higher than a crane.

“I’ll make sure there’s not even a trace left!”

And soon he dropped his arm at a high speed toward me. A small typhoon was created around it, and the terrible sound of the wind echoed.

Like that, as his arm was about to completely block my view, the world began to slow down.

What’s this?

However, I had to hold my doubt for the time being because I soon heard a very pleasant sound in my ears.

Ding–!

[ Condition for the skill has been met. ]

[ is active for the next 5 minutes. ]

[ Randomly borrow a latent skill. ]

[ Obtained . ]

[ New skill temporarily registered. ]

[ Randomly borrow a latent stat. ]

[ Obtained 7 points in Body. ]

[ New stat temporarily registered. ]

Body: 7

Dexterity: 1.35

Mana: 1.08

Spirit: 1.12

Numerous messages covered my eyes, and I immediately recovered from all of my injuries.

Beyond the message boxes, I could see Rastus’ huge arm coming down.

Time was still slowed even though the awakening was over.

Has the world always been this slow?

No. It wasn’t that the world had slowed, it was that I was faster.

The sudden rise in my physical ability had forced my senses to become twisted.

I slowly stood up in the world that had stopped.

Rastus’ arm was still coming down. His expression was colored with shock a step later when he saw me.

I put my hand on his arm. Then, along with the flow of the arm’s trajectory,

*Jiu-jitsu – Throw

The giant bastard was thrown to the ground.

Boom–!

A huge impact that caused the buildings to move up and down.

At the same time, soil scattered in all directions as time began to flow again.

Along with the ground collapsing and a huge sinkhole forming, the place where Rastus was stuck became like a meteorite.

I took a deep breath when I saw it.

“Haa…Now he looks more natural.”

An overwhelming presence that was incomparable to before.

Yet, this was just a C-Grade skill and 7 points in Body. I couldn’t believe my body felt so free.

I punched the air as a test. And…

Woosh–Boom!

With a deafening roar, a sonic boom that cut through the air was formed.

“Good.”

A feeling from the past that I had forgotten for a while had returned.

Fun. This was fun. I wanted to play more.

It felt as if I had received a toy that was forcibly taken away. Perhaps that was why a chuckle kept leaking out of my mouth without me realizing it.

No way, it won’t end like this, right?

I tried hard to suppress my discomfort and looked at the sinkhole where Rastus was stuck. At that moment,

“Agh!!!”

Rastus let loose a scream as he bravely revived.

And when I saw it, after failing to conceal my joy, a low laughter leaked from my mouth.

“Haha…It’s great that ahjussi is strong.”

I hope I can enjoy this feeling a little more, or at the very least, I hope Rastus can hold out for 5 minutes.