Being a Villain is My True Calling

“This is precisely the Eclipse Research Division.”

Shortly after leaving Astra’s office, I handed Irene over to Ga-yeon for the moment and went to escort Traitor #1 to the research division.

“Oh…this is almost as big as Z-Biotech’s main project research lab, isn’t it?”
Traitor #1 gazed around in awe at the size of the research division.

“In that case, I’ll leave it to you, Professor.”
“Since you’ve brought such a valuable talent, Maker, I’ll treat them preciously.”
“Don’t treat them preciously, just work them to the bone.”
“Wh…what, Maker?”

Well, he did say he would work himself to death when agreeing to join, didn’t he?

“Then.”
Snap!
“Take him away.”
“Yes sir!!”
“Wahahahaha!!!”
“Wh…what’s this…?”

At the Professor’s snapping command, researchers emerged from somewhere and seized Traitor #1 by both arms.

“Welcome to hell, newbie!!!”
“Gaaahhhh!!”
“Kyaaahhh!!”
“Research feverrrr!!!”

With severely darkened eye bags and bulging eyes, the researchers laughed maniacally, an unhinged glint in their gazes that sent chills down Traitor #1’s spine as he desperately glanced my way.

But I simply smiled and waved goodbye as he was dragged off by the researchers.

‘Really, have fun with that.’

He was likely going to be swamped for a while with the handover process and who knows what else. On top of that, I had also assigned him Irene’s health checkup, so his life might genuinely become hellish enough to make death seem preferable.

In any case, the important thing was that I wouldn’t have to see his face anymore going forward.

“…Maker?”
“Ah, my apologies. Where were we?”

As I grinned with relief, the Professor regarded me quizzically. Quickly regaining my composure, I addressed him.

“…About the analysis of the item you were previously tasked with.”
“The item I was tasked with…?”
“The ‘unidentified tree branch’, I’m referring to.”

The trace of mystery, the unidentified tree branch – the branch of the World Tree, in other words.

Ever since I had procured the item from Two Gob’s auction event, Astra and I had immediately conferred and entrusted the Professor with analyzing it.

“What level of progress have you made so far?”
“If quantified as a percentage, around 30 percent.”

Certainly seemed to be a genuine trace of mystery, given the minimal progress despite roughly two months having elapsed since then. Compared to how quickly he had analyzed that whip, taking less than a week, the current pace was significantly slower.

For a moment, I wondered if he might have been slacking off, but…

Kuwoong!!

“Kill this incompetent fool who has failed to repay your trust, Maker!”

Kuwoong! Kung!

…Judging by that display, it didn’t seem to be the case.

“…Please get up.”

Sighing exasperatedly, I addressed the Professor who was bowing so deeply his head was pressed against the floor.

Kuwoong!

“I cannot do that!”

Despite my words, the Professor shook his head adamantly, slamming it against the floor again.

Bang!!

“Please kill this worthless being!!”
“Get up. That’s an order.”
“Yes…”

At the mention of an ‘order’, the Professor finally raised his head, blood dripping from his forehead.
Were all researchers this unhinged or what?

“Haah…”

An involuntary sigh escaped my lips.

“I fully expected the analysis to take a long time. It is a trace of mystery, after all.”

Countless others had attempted to analyze traces of mystery in the past. As a result, most had made some level of progress.

‘The problem is that after making a bit of progress, they ended up accidentally destroying the trace of mystery itself.’

This caused the already rare traces to become even rarer. And in striving to minimize damage as we were now, the research duration inevitably dragged on.

“Did you happen to damage the trace during your research?”
“Not at all.”

The Professor met my gaze with a stoic expression, as if he would sooner bite off his own tongue than risk such an outcome.

“That’s good enough then. In fact, I’d like to commend you for progressing 30 percent without any damage.”

Other researchers likely wouldn’t have maintained the trace in such pristine condition while achieving that level of progress.

‘And to begin with, analyzing the World Tree’s branch was purely out of my own selfish desire.’

More accurately, in preparation for any potential contingencies. Regardless, as long as it wasn’t outright destroyed.

“So get up already, Professor. I’d like to examine the trace of mystery.”
“…Understood, Maker.”

At my words, the Professor rose to his feet, an oddly moved expression on his face.

Uuwoong-

As we approached the location housing the branch, a gentle and pure aura became increasingly palpable.

“This is the analysis room where we’re studying that trace of mystery.”

Upon entering through the door, I saw the branch exuding an aura with a dignified air, encased within reinforced glass.

“Every time I see it, that pristine aura emanating feels so noble.”
“Noble, you say? It certainly does seem fitting.”
“Indeed. Even though it’s merely a trace now, I can only imagine how much more grandeur the true mystery would have exuded…”

A trace of mystery was what remained from the past mystery that once existed – the decayed remnants of its power, in a sense. Naturally, the original mystery itself would have possessed far greater might.

“If only mysteries still existed, I would love to witness one myself.”

Burning with scholarly fervor, the Professor gazed intently at the branch radiating its aura. Watching him, I let out an amused snort before glancing away.

“Could I take a look at the research materials for a moment? Where are they located?”
“Just a moment, please.”

Whirik-

At my request, the Professor rolled his eyes briefly.

“Hick…huick…you called me, brother…?”

With a trembling body, his subordinate persona Saed emerged.

“Yes, Saed. I wanted to examine the data on this trace of mystery.”
“J,just a moment…please wait…”

Shedding tears, Saed approached a nearby drawer.

Beep-beep beep beep beep-ring! Beep beep beep!!

In an instant, he entered a password sequence dozens of characters long before opening the drawer and retrieving a stack of papers.

“Hick…I printed them out in advance…huwaang…”
“Thank you, Saed.”
“Huwaang…th,thank you for the kind words…!!”

Sobbing uncontrollably once more for some reason, Saed’s tears flowed freely. Seeing him bawling like that contrasted starkly with the Professor’s previously stoic demeanor.

But soon dismissing it as typical behavior, I ignored him and began reading through the documents.

“…I think I know what you’re thinking, brother.”
Rustle…rustle…
“Ah, you must be hoping to use your abilities to replicate the trace of mystery, right…?”
Rustle, rustle rustle…
“Indeed…I’m in awe, it’s a brilliant idea…that way, you could prepare for any contingencies…”
Rustle…
“I’ll do my utmost to live up to your expectations…! Of course, the analysis isn’t fully complete yet, so replicating it now might be risky, but I’ll work hard so you can perfectly replicate the mystery…!”

Tok.

“Alright, let’s give it a try then.”
“…Huh?”

Setting down the research materials, I began channeling my power.

“…What did you think I meant by that!!”
“Hm? Did you say something?”

Having been too focused on the materials to hear anything else, I feigned an innocently puzzled expression, eliciting a somewhat hurt look from Saed.

“…A,anyway, it’s too dangerous…! If you’re skeptical of me, at least call the other brothers so we can all discuss and…”

“Hmm.”

Briefly recalling the contents of the research data.

‘Well…’

What’s the worst that could happen?

Uuwoong-!!

I activated my ability.

“Aaahhhh!!! Y,you madman!! Insane brother!!”

Shedding tears, Saed clutched my shoulders, furiously shaking me back and forth. Though his incessant wailing was grating, his voice gradually grew more distant as I focused my efforts on creation.

‘I can’t just rely on memorizing information.’

Uuwoong-!!

‘I also need to try creating it directly.’

Beyond just studying the limited data, there was undoubtedly understanding to be gained through the process of physically recreating it myself – the difference between mentally grasping the knowledge versus directly experiencing it with all five senses.

My creation ability became more efficient the better I understood what I was trying to create and the more knowledge I had about it.

‘But relying solely on memorized knowledge would be inefficient.’

If perfectly replicating it was unrealistic, I would recreate as much as I could grasp, shaping it manually to reinforce my comprehension.
Simply put, I would create up to the limits of what I had studied.

While rudimentary, this was ultimately the most efficient approach.

Uuuwoong-!!!

Had I possessed complete knowledge like the Training Instructor’s memory sharing, I wouldn’t need to struggle like this…

‘But since I don’t have that luxury, I’ll have to supplement it physically.’

This was how I had always expanded the breadth of my abilities – repeated trial and error, steadily growing my capabilities.

Uwoong-!

Failures were inevitable, but that was fine. It would just drain my mana reserves a bit more than usual.

So a few failed attempts were perfectly acceptable…

…

Uuwoong-!

Uuwoong-!!

Uuwaaang-!!

‘Wait, why isn’t it stopping…?’

My mana was draining at an alarming rate, far beyond my expectations. And I prided myself on having S-rank mana reserves.

‘Something’s seriously wrong here…’

Only belatedly realizing something had gone awry, I attempted to cut off the mana flow. But before I could, my reserves fully depleted, and…

“Puhok…!”

Tok. Tutuduk…

Coughing up a spray of blood from my mouth, I lost consciousness.