WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 002

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Addicted to Defeat (2)

“Ughh!!”

As I screamed and tried to get up from the horrifying experience of my body being reconstructed into code, my leg caught on the desk in front of me and I tumbled over.

Thud-!

My vision flashed, and a dizzying pain shot through my leg and face.

“Hey, Dean? Are you alright?”

As I groaned in pain, unable to move, a middle-aged man’s flustered voice reached me from a distance.

The click-clack of shoes echoed around me, and as the pain subsided, I cautiously opened my eyes.

“Get up now. Don’t disrupt the class.”

Before me, a middle-aged man in a high-quality suit was extending his hand to me, an annoyed expression on his face.

“…”

Intimidated by his sharp gaze, I carefully took his hand and stood up. He said nothing more and descended the stairs again to stand before the blackboard.

‘…Where is this place?’

I tentatively sat back down in the seat, trying to blend in, but I had no idea where I was.

From what I could tell, it looked like a classroom in a university or similar institution.

A scene I had never seen in Desperado Reunion, it raised questions.

It was too peaceful a sight for a world based on a dark fantasy setting.

The middle-aged man who had spoken to me when I fell was probably a professor.

He was passionately explaining some formula I’d never heard of, scrawled on the blackboard, but to me, who knew nothing of this world’s knowledge, it was just noise.

…Was this what university life was like?

The professor was clearly lecturing diligently, but I seemed to be distracted.

A familiar scent in the atmosphere eased my tension slightly.

Being possessed in the game was truly bewildering, but it was a million-dollar stroke of luck to be alive and well.

However, having woken up in a place I hadn’t seen in the game, it was too difficult to deduce what I should do.

Coincidentally, I was sitting by the window, so I shifted my gaze and looked out at the scenery.

Gloomy storm clouds had gathered, but the sky was peaceful, and below it, the school’s vast, circular grounds stretched out.

‘…?’

As I absently surveyed the sprawling grounds, one area caught my eye that looked exactly like a boss field I’d seen in the game.

A rectangular training ground built for sparring.

‘Could this be…, the Abandoned Academy?’

The Abandoned Academy, an area where one had to activate a warp magic circle to proceed to essential regions.

Unlike the landscape where plants had overgrown the destroyed buildings,

it now maintained a truly pristine appearance.

Did my possession in the game occur at an earlier point in the timeline?

I had my doubts, but I couldn’t be sure.

There was always the possibility it was just a similar-looking area.

“That concludes the lecture. Now, let’s head to practical training.”

At that, upon the professor’s announcement that class was over, students simultaneously began to leave the classroom.

Seeing students moving in groups, as if by arrangement, with their close friends, and others beginning to stretch and warm up, I hastily followed them out.

‘…It really seems like it is the Abandoned Academy.’

As I quietly walked down the corridor, blending in with the boisterous stream of students, familiar sights became clearly visible.

Original statues of the broken ones occasionally seen in the game, and architecture that was both luxurious and minimalist.

The interior of the building, which had only remnants in the main story, was exactly like the atmosphere of the Abandoned Academy I remembered.

It seemed I had definitely been possessed at an earlier point in the timeline than the main story.

It might even be fortunate that I was possessed at this point.

Because in the main story, most of the civilization built by humans were destroyed, and death had descended upon the land.

Anyway.

As I quietly followed the procession to practical training, breathing a sigh of relief.

A female student with light blue bobbed hair gradually approached me.

Drawn by the subtle aura that grew stronger the closer she got, I naturally allowed her near.

“Nice to meet you.”

She looked into my eyes and gave a beautiful, bright smile in greeting.

“Ah, nice to meet you too.”

I was mesmerized by her pale, faded eyes, momentarily forgetting myself, and realizing I had been rude by not returning her greeting, I immediately responded.

“Class was boring. Thanks to your interesting little stunt, I got a bit of a break.”

“…Ahem.”

Embarrassed by her mention of me falling flat on the floor during class, I cleared my throat awkwardly.

Only I was flustered by my situation; to the other students, I must have seemed like an idiot who suddenly woke up from a nap and flailed around.

That thought sent a wave of embarrassment over me, and my face turned bright red.

Still, I couldn’t undo the past, so I took a deep breath and regained my composure as much as possible.

Taking this opportunity, I decided to ask her about the class and opened my mouth.

“The professor just mentioned practical training. What’s that?”

“Practical training is… a class where you gain real combat experience by sparring with other students.”

With a seductive curve of her eyes, she flashed a smile and kindly informed me.

“Sparring…”

At the word ‘sparring,’ a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘…Is there no status window?’

When possessed in a game, in some novels or comics, you could check your abilities with a status window.

Flash-!

《 STATUS WINDOW 》

Name: Dean

Level: 10

Perk: Addicted to Defeat ( - Upon death, opponent’s level increases by +10)

Stats:

• HP: 4

• Stamina: 7

• Mana: 6

• Intelligence: 3

• Strength: 1

Reacting to the thought of a status window, a window suddenly flashed before my eyes.

Upon a quick look, since I couldn’t inherit the level 999 I had achieved in the 1st Playthrough, my level was naturally set to the default of 10.

《- Upon death, opponent’s level increases by +10》

Moreover, the perk called Addicted to Defeat, acquired as a 2nd Playthrough special bonus, caught my eye.

‘It’s not that I gain 10 levels by winning…, but that my opponent gains 10 levels if I die?’

As I let out a hollow laugh at the utterly useless and absurd perk.

“Are you looking at the status window?”

“…Huh?”

She, who had been intently watching my face, brought up the word 'status window'.

“You… you can see it?”

“Don’t worry. You can’t peep at someone else’s status window.”

She, seemingly also capable of using a status window like me, smiled gently and waved her hand as if to emphasize that she hadn't peeked.

I was about to ask if she, too, was someone who had been possessed into the game. But upon closer inspection, all the surrounding students seemed to be looking into thin air, as if checking something.

‘…So in this world, everyone can use a status window.’

I had thought I might have awakened a status window as a reward for being unjustly possessed, but the realization that it was all wishful thinking brought a bitter smile to my face.

Ultimately, unable to check the status window further, I turned it off out of frustration.

Putting aside the fact that the window disappeared just by thinking of closing it, I looked at her, who was still following me.

“Do you have something to ask?”

Quickly noticing my gaze, she offered a subtle smile and spoke first.

“Um… what’s your name, by any chance?”

I naturally asked her name.

Since I couldn’t recall her appearance, she must not have been a prominent NPC in Desperado Reunion.

Of course, most of them wore armor that covered their faces, so I wouldn't have known their faces anyway.

And besides, I had killed every single one I met…

“My name? …Hehe. I’m Eirene.”

“Eirene… That’s a pretty name.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

She, who revealed herself as Eirene, responded to my compliment with a light smile.

The name sounded a bit familiar, but because I couldn't recall it immediately, I furrowed my brow.

…Was she a character I’d seen in the game?

“Have we…, perhaps met before?”

I asked Eirene, wondering if we might have already met in the game.

“No. We haven’t met.”

Eirene’s demeanor suddenly and noticeably darkened as she replied coldly.

“…Oh, sorry.”

Fearing she might have seen me as someone flirting on our first encounter, I immediately apologized and averted my gaze.

As I continued to walk down the corridor, I found myself arriving at the sparring ground, a boss battle arena.

Naturally, no boss suddenly appeared, and students took their positions around the professor who stood in the center of the sparring ground.

‘The boss that appeared here was really grotesque.’

The boss of the Abandoned Academy had truly been grotesquely hideous.

A gigantic mass of flesh that squelched as it moved, a bizarre boss with spellbooks and staffs embedded in its flesh, if I recalled correctly.

Of course, with my level 999 power, I had sent it to its doom in just two hits.

“Alright, everyone. Focus.” 

As the professor took his place and called for attention, the bustling students all fell silent.

“I will call students at random; the named student should choose their sparring opponent.”

The professor then randomly called about ten students and had them designate their opponents.

“Eirene. Come out and name your opponent.”

Eirene was called for the last turn.

“I will choose, Dean.” 

Eirene, who naturally pointed to me, her only acquaintance, sent a lingering gaze my way for some reason.

Unable to understand the meaning behind her gaze, I simply averted my eyes, embarrassed by having made eye contact with the opposite sex.

“From now on, sparring will proceed in the order of the named students.”

Thus, practical training began.

Practical training was less boisterous than I had expected.

It felt more like choosing a weapon before a match, then slowly exchanging blows after the sparring began.

I had been worried the students might use powerful magic or techniques.

But even I, who had briefly learned kendo as a child, could probably handle the level of sparring, so I felt relieved.

One by one, the surprisingly ordinary matches proceeded.

“Alright, this is the last match. Eirene, Dean. Step forward.”

Our turn came, and I naturally picked up a longsword, familiar in my hand, and stepped onto the sparring ground.

Unlike me, who chose a longsword, Eirene drew a slender dagger.

Even though it was training, we had to clash real blades, which made cold sweat trickle down my back.

I desperately tried to imprint the rule, to stop my attack just as it was about to connect, into my mind.

“Alright. Sparring, begin!”

As I kept my gaze fixed on Eirene, who had taken her stance with the dagger, the professor announced the start of the match.

At that moment.

Crrr-ack-!

“…?!”

An ice patch shot from Eirene’s foot, creeping up my legs as if corroding them, and my legs froze.

Startled by the incomprehensible situation, but only for a moment.

“Cough…!”

The dagger blade plunged deep into my neck.

The cold sensation of metal spread, soon followed by an intense, burning pain.

“Finally, my revenge.”

As Eirene’s eyes curved into a wicked smile, entering my vision.

I remembered the true identity of the déjà vu I felt from her name.

《 Inheriting memories and stats from 1st Playthrough.

Target - Eirene, Carmen, Maeve, Altair, Sigrun 》

The information I had seen just before being possessed.

One of the five people who inherited the memories and stats from the 1st Playthrough.

It was Eirene.

…Which meant.

“You killed me like this back then too, Dean?”

Eirene was a returning NPC, meaning she had the memories of being killed by me during my 1st Playthrough, when I was playing the game.

The moment she twisted and pulled out the dagger, I lost all strength in my body and collapsed onto the floor.

It was hot, and every time the wind brushed against the wound, it was excruciatingly painful.

The surprise attack was so sudden that neither the professor nor the students could bring themselves to help me; they merely gaped.

…To die like this felt too unfair.

The reason I had indiscriminately killed NPCs back then was simply because it was a game.

From the start, the game was designed so that if you wanted an NPC's equipment, you had to kill them and take it.

I had merely followed the game’s design.

Feeling wronged, I cursed the god who had possessed me into this place.

Gradually, the light faded from my eyes.

《 Perk ‘Addicted to Defeat’ activated! 

- Target ‘Eirene’s’ level increases by 10. 》

《 Resurrecting at checkpoint. LOADING… 》]

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