RVHF chapter 2

* * *

He massaged his tired neck and got onto the shuttle bus.

Being late, there were plenty of seats.

His body felt as heavy as a drenched towel.

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Despite feeling exhausted from overthinking, he couldn’t sleep.

“Hah…”

He eventually turned on his smartphone and opened a novel-reading app.

It was a story a colleague had recommended to him because he enjoyed hero genres.

“Wanna try it? It’s about hunters with superpowers.”

He couldn’t say the story was particularly interesting—disjointed sentences, a chaotic plot, and so on.

Yet, he kept reading it.

Why?

Because one of the characters shared his name.

It turned out his colleague was the author and had whimsically borrowed his name.

“Sorry! But it really was the perfect fit.”

There wasn’t much he could say about that.

Thankfully, he liked the character’s role, which kept him reading.

In the story, he was a senior the protagonist met at a training school, a kind figure the protagonist looked up to.

He hoped his character would continue being a supportive ally.

Though he couldn’t match the protagonist in looks or powers—supporting characters existed to highlight the hero, after all.

Today, he was finally going to discover the true identity of the villain that had been hinted at for so long.

With anticipation, he began reading.

“What the…?”

His jaw dropped.

The long-hidden villain turned out to be none other than the trusted senior the protagonist admired.

“Really, Senior Park? You said it was a good role?”

But to make him a villain, and a deceitful one at that?

“I knew the villain’s backstory was too good.”

That’s why he hadn’t noticed.

A tragic past, betrayal by an unfair government agency, losing loved ones, and descending into darkness to amass great power and wealth.

Even the villain’s followers had exceptional abilities, making him secretly look forward to the showdown between the villain and the protagonist.

‘This is too much.’

Grumbling, he flipped through the chapters, hoping he was mistaken.

But his intuition was right.

“Wow… the betrayal.”

By chapter 150, when the protagonist uncovered the truth, and the villain’s cruel smirk was described, he could feel his head throb.

“That’s enough for today.”

Any more, and he’d end up sending a fifty-line angry text.

He shut off his phone, sighed, and leaned back.

He still had thirty more minutes until his stop.

‘Might as well sleep.’

Crossing his arms, he closed his eyes.

‘Damn, Senior Park, you really did me dirty.’

Unable to shake off his irritation, he dozed off.

Then suddenly, as if the author had heard his grumbling—

“Na Doyoung, stop dozing and get up! The new Espers are here!”

A hand shook his shoulder, snapping him awake.

Blinking in confusion, he noticed something strange in his vision.

A translucent blueish box.

[Na Doyoung’s tutorial mode has been activated! Adapt successfully to your new life and world through the tutorial. ~(≧▽≦)~ Completion: 0% Time limit: None]

‘Is this… a system window?’

His jaw dropped.

◇◆◇◆◇

At first, he thought it was just a dream.

‘Of course it’s a dream.’

He’d fallen asleep on the bus, and now this was happening.

But as days turned into weeks, the vividness of the experience made him accept reality.

“I’ve reincarnated… as the villain.”

“Guess I’m paying for my complaints.”

He stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror.

His sharp, upturned eyes gave him a cold look, a stark contrast to the friendly and approachable man he was known as.

“How was this ever considered a kind, supportive senior character…?”

Ridiculous. Sure, if he smiled, he might look different. But on this face, a smile seemed more like seduction than friendliness.

‘I’m not trying to conquer the world with my looks.’

Though being 180 cm tall, with lean muscles developed from exercise and an impressive level of stamina, had its advantages.

But that wasn’t the point.

At first, not knowing if it was a dream or not, he’d focused on grasping the situation.

But now that he was sure where he was, he could no longer afford complacency.

“So, what do I do next?”

He recalled the behavior of villains typically depicted in hero stories.

The outcome was always a glorious downfall.

Even so, changing his actions entirely and claiming, “I am no longer who I was yesterday,” was impossible at this point.

He had already made a name for himself as a villain, flaunting his presence in society and commanding his subordinates.

So, the wise course of action was to adhere to his role while gradually seeking a way to survive.

And if there was one person who played the greatest role in his eventual downfall, it was the protagonist.

‘To do that, I need to find Beom Sinje first.’

He had to be somewhere, but he had yet to reveal himself.

All awakened espers received three years of formal training at government-run educational institutions.

These training schools were regional, and naturally, one was located near where Beom Sinje lived.

So, when he awakened, he would surely be assigned here.

“For now, let’s clean up my surroundings before he appears.”

He finally understood why a system window displaying “tutorial” and other prompts appeared as soon as he opened his eyes.

It likely meant he needed to understand his current status before Beom Sinje made an appearance.

And so, from that day, he began diligently investigating his surroundings.

Here’s what he found out:

His name was Na Doyoung.

He was twenty-four years old.

According to official records, he was an A-rank telekinetic esper and a second-year trainee.

“And also the leader of Antithesis, Zero.”

The problem was that Doyoung had not yet met them directly.

Tap. Tap.

The hesitation didn’t last long.

It was as if the system sensed his conflict, as a window popped up.

[Tutorial Mission Triggered!!

Greet your subordinates.

This is an opportunity to bond with the companions who will assist you in future missions! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ]

“Ha…”

He had forgotten about it until now, but it appeared at such a moment.

Thanks to this, Doyoung finally headed to Antithesis, something he had been putting off.

Meeting with his subordinates went more smoothly than expected.

With his mask on, hiding his expressions was easy, and since they didn’t meet frequently, no one noticed anything different.

Thus, for a while, Doyoung had to be active, juggling the roles of both student and leader of a criminal organization.

He was so preoccupied that he only realized the cherry blossoms had bloomed and withered, the leaves had turned green, and autumn had come and gone when the snow finally covered the ground in white.

“Damn. When will he show up?”

A rough expression that didn’t match his refined face made his comrade chuckle softly.

“Whoa, whoa, Zero. Relax. What’s got you so riled up?”

“Shut up.”

Pretending to placate him only annoyed him more.

He scowled deliberately, trying to appear meaner.

Of course, with the mask on, only his eyes could reveal his true emotions.

He glanced at a nearby subordinate.

Fortunately, they didn’t seem to find anything off.

“Give me the report.”

Doyoung sighed secretly and issued a sharp command.

“There’s still no news about that guy awakening as an esper.”