Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Self-Destruct Bug (Boom)

Blink—

I closed my eyes, hoping this was just a dream, and opened them again.

The only thing before me was the map showing the world of the novel, and I let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha, this isn't some kind of joke, is it?"

No, it could very well be a joke.

A joke from the gods.

You wouldn’t understand unless you’ve experienced it firsthand.

Honestly, it doesn’t make any sense, does it?

All I did was enjoy reading a novel.

Sure, I admired the world of the story, but that was only when I imagined myself as the overpowered protagonist.

In a situation like this, it was no different from a death sentence.

That’s how bad the situation in front of me was.

Death.

In reality, I worried about what to do tomorrow, what to eat, but I’d never once had to worry about death.

But that wasn’t the case here.

If you screw up, you die.

And there’s a pretty high chance of that happening.

‘Out of all the characters, why did I have to become an assassin?’

In [When Villains Grow Stronger], assassins were nothing more than punching bags for both the villains and the heroes alike.

The ultimate patsies.

In a wuxia novel, they’d be like the random bandits you encounter. In a fantasy novel, they’d be the goblins that appear at the very beginning.

Of course, even an assassin could survive if they were prepared beforehand, but...

‘Target for assassination: Prince Kamel.’

The wheel of death was already spinning around me.

What kind of insanity was this? They want me to assassinate that Kamel?

If I go through with this mission, I’m dead for sure.

‘Think, think!’

My first thought was to run, but I immediately abandoned that idea.

They said I was on a mission.

The moment I run, they’ll chase me down like a pack of wild dogs to prevent any leaks of information. And once they catch me?

‘Then I’ll definitely die.’

Even though my current body was much stronger than my previous one, I was still just a regular office worker with zero combat experience.

Plus, I didn’t know the layout of the area.

I had no confidence I could outrun them.

The only good news was that the memories of this body were gradually becoming imprinted in my mind.

It was a small bit of luck in an otherwise dire situation.

If the other assassins hadn’t left me alone earlier, they might have suspected something and killed me on the spot.

Assassins hate variables, after all.

Within a day or so, enough of the body’s memories would return, and with my office worker’s sense of survival, I might be able to avoid suspicion.

‘Why is the memory update so slow?’

In other novels, memories flash by in an instant like a movie reel, but here, they were trickling in at a snail’s pace.

Only now were fragments of this body's childhood memories starting to surface.

Abandoned by his parents, he was an orphan.

Starvation, abuse.

As I absorbed the unpleasant memories of this body’s childhood, I recalled the storyline of the novel.

‘If it's Kamel, that’s Chapter 1.’

[When Villains Grow Stronger] had several chapters, with each chapter featuring a different main villain.

Of course, toward the later parts of the novel, all the villains would appear, fighting and killing each other in a bloody power struggle. But early on, the story focused on the growth of each villain.

And among them, Kamel was the villain representing the first chapter.

The story involving Kamel.

As I remembered the plot, a wave of dread washed over me.

‘I’m screwed.’

I knew the rough outline of this novel’s story.

The problem was that the story centered around the protagonist. There was no way I could know what happened to insignificant assassins like me.

In other words, I had to deduce my fate based on the plot of the novel.

‘They said he’s still a Prince. That means Kamel hasn’t inherited his land yet, so it’s the early part of the story.’

Kamel Blazer.

The bloodthirsty tyrant who drowned the entire continent in blood.

He would expand his power from Blyer Territory and later embark on his path as a mass murderer.

Since he was still a Prince, he hadn’t yet inherited his territory. This was the very beginning of the story.

‘And the assassin organization I’m part of is trying to kill him.’

How many enemies does a villain have?

For people like them, assassins are a constant nuisance.

But there was only one assassin organization that would target Prince Kamel during this early stage of his life.

Crux.

The moment I remembered Crux, this body’s memories began shifting from childhood to adolescence.

A vivid memory related to Crux imprinted itself.

Being captured by slave traders and dragged to the slave market before being sold off to someone.

That someone gifted him a dagger.

"A dagger?"

I checked the handle of the dagger.

A howling wolf emblem was engraved on it.

It was the symbol of Crux.

My identity in this body became clear.

Among the lowliest of the low assassins, I was part of the weakest and most infamous group—an assassin from Crux, an unscrupulous and utterly despicable organization.

"Shit."

Even some random lackey in Romance of the Three Kingdoms had a better fate than me.

The moment a curse slipped from my lips—

Creak—

The door to the warehouse opened, and a man in a ragged hood walked in, his steps shuffling as he moved.

He spotted me, paused, and with a slightly surprised expression, said, "Oh, there’s someone here. My apologies."

Polite words.

But before he could finish, I hurriedly replied.

"I thought this was a stable as well."

It was a password.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

Thankfully, memories of Crux had surfaced just in time. If I hadn’t recognized the code, this guy would have killed me on the spot.

The man’s slightly surprised expression turned to indifference as soon as I spoke the correct passphrase.

‘Damn, this is like walking on a tightrope.’

The man glanced around the room before casually sitting on a wooden board. Lighting a cigarette, he asked,

"Where are the others?"

"They went out to scout the area."

"You’re a face I don’t recognize."

"I’m new."

"Ah, a newbie, huh?"

His reaction shifted slightly when I said I was a newbie.

He seemed to know who I was, or at least, what my situation was.

The man offered me a cigarette, and I quickly moved forward, respectfully taking it and lighting up.

Cough—!

It was incredibly harsh, but I did my best to smoke it calmly while standing before him.

I didn’t know who this guy was, but my trembling body knew. He was far more dangerous than the three who had beaten me earlier.

The man remained silent, quietly smoking his cigarette without saying much else.

A prolonged silence.

Ten seconds felt like ten years.

Just when the oppressive silence was about to suffocate me, the man pulled out a small box.

Inside the box wriggled an insect.

No way…

"Don’t chew it, just swallow it."

"Pardon?"

"I said swallow it. If I have to repeat myself, I’ll rip your tongue out."

"Y-yes!"

"And make sure it doesn’t die, either."

"Understood!"

I shouted confidently and grabbed the insect.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—

...What kind of bug makes a horror-movie sound?

It was about the size of two fingers, with dozens of legs wriggling in all directions, looking like a house centipede from hell.

The squirming thing was utterly repulsive.

Even if I were a streamer offered a million won in donations, I wouldn’t eat this thing. The visuals alone were too extreme.

But this wasn’t the kind of bug you should eat, not for millions or even billions.

"What are you waiting for? Are you going to make me wait?"

But with this dangerous man staring at me, dagger in hand, what choice did I have?

Gulp!

With tears in my eyes, I had no choice but to swallow the bug whole.

The moment it slid down my throat, I felt the urge to throw up.

I took a long drag of the cigarette. After a few deep pulls, I felt lightheaded, but then my mind suddenly snapped back to clarity.

‘Is this some kind of drug?’

"Here, take this."

The man handed me a bundle of cigarettes, saying they might come in handy during the mission.

After spitting out his own cigarette, he dusted himself off and stood up, giving my body a brief inspection.

He smiled warmly while checking around my heart and then patted me on the shoulder, handing me a map.

"The assassination will take place in three days, the moment the mansion’s defenses are neutralized. I’ve marked the room where the target will be staying."

It was a detailed map of the mansion, complete with the positions of the guards.

"Newbie."

"Y-yes!"

"Make sure you succeed on your first assassination. There are many brothers in the organization who have their eyes on you."

"Th-thank you! It’s an honor!"

Honor, my ass, you bastards.

Crux was notorious for treating its members like disposable parts. In other words, the mortality rate for newbies in this group was ridiculously high compared to other assassin organizations.

The bug he gave me? I was starting to understand why.

"See you later with a smile."

After patting my shoulder, the man disappeared like a puff of smoke.

Witnessing this magical sight, I could only laugh bitterly.

"Heh, heh heh..."

I felt like an old man who had reached enlightenment after seeing the end of the world.

I was screwed.

I should have run for it, even if it meant death.

But now that I’d swallowed that bug, there was no turning back.

‘I never thought I’d be the one to eat it.’

Boom.

That was the slang for the bug I had swallowed. As its name suggested, the bug would settle inside its host, only to explode on command.

The result? The person becomes a walking bomb, sending shards of bone and flesh flying to damage the target.

A suicide bombing.

The kind I’d only ever seen in places like Kabul, Afghanistan.

I couldn’t hide the gloomy expression on my face as I touched my chest, where the bug had settled.

Now, whether I tried to escape or faced my target, I’d end up dead either way.

"See you with a smile? Next time I see you, I’ll rip that smile off your face."

It had only been a short time since I’d entered this novel world, and all I’d gained so far was resentment and curses.

The title of the novel was [When Villains Grow Stronger], but for me, it felt more like [Surviving in the Villain’s World].

‘How many assassination attempts have there been so far?’

The more attempts there were on Kamel’s life, the tighter his security would become. In other words, the later I was in line, the higher my chances of dying.

I had no idea how to survive this.

***

"I can do this! I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!"

The desperate cries of a man left alone in a warehouse.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, fencer Park Sang-young famously chanted "I can do this" to himself before winning a gold medal, inspiring countless people who were ready to give up.

That was exactly how I felt right now.

Sitting here and waiting wasn’t going to save my life.

I had to carve out my own path to survival.

‘Give me courage!’

I banged my head against the wall, desperately wracking my brain, which usually wasn’t used much.

Just as I was racking my brains for a way out, the guys who had beaten me earlier returned.

‘Has it already been a day?’

So this is what it feels like to live with only three days left to live.

Time was flying by.

Thankfully, I had absorbed most of this body’s memories by now.

Looking at the situation, it was clear—

‘I need to stay off their radar.’

To seize any chance of survival, I had to act like the most obedient newbie they’d ever seen.

I rushed over to greet them enthusiastically.

"W-welcome back!"

"Hey, newbie. You’ve been keeping the place safe?"

"Yes, sir!"

"We’re starving. Go out and get some food."

"Leave it to me!"

There had been three of them when they left, but now there were six.

These must be the assassins who had joined us for the mission.

Aren’t assassins supposed to be silent and cold?

They all looked more like street thugs.

From what I overheard, including myself, there were seven assassins in total assigned to take out the target.

...Wait, seven?

As I was about to head out, I froze.

The main villain’s first appearance.

When Kamel Blazer made his debut in the novel, he was being ambushed. And the number of assassins at that time?

Exactly seven.

No way...

And then there was that one unforgettable scene.

[Boom!]

‘A surprise self-destruct attack!’

I remembered thinking how cool it was when one of the assassins flung themselves at the protagonist and blew themselves up.

Shit. Could that be me?

It turned out that I had just been cast as Kamel Blazer’s first kill in the story.