Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

Before visiting the black market, I called Professor Geum. There were numerous artifacts I required.

“I have a request.”

[Oh? For me?]

“Yes.”

[What did you need to request?]

For some reason, his voice over the receiver sounded rather suspicious, unlike his usual demeanor. Had my request become too burdensome for him?

Just as I opened my mouth to inquire, he spoke first:

[You see, I’ve been extremely busy lately! Instead, I’ll introduce you to some skilled artisans in the black market. I’ll send you the details via text message.]

And with that hasty remark, he abruptly hung up.

—He’s an atrocious liar, that one.

“Indeed.”

Had he concluded it would be better to maintain distance from us? Even so, was such blatant discourtesy truly necessary?

This was precisely why capitalist pigs deserved contempt – feigning affability one moment, then instantly revealing their true colors.

Once again, I felt the simmering fury within me threatening to boil over.

—Isn’t blood inherently red, though?

‘That’s not what I meant. Ahem, never mind.’

—No, explain yourself properly instead of dismissing it!

Ignoring Ray’s demand, I decided it ultimately didn’t matter if Professor Geum distanced himself.

While I would be unable to entrust him with upgrading my mask, which was somewhat regrettable, I could still attempt to reverse-engineer the prototype’s artifact circuits and find ways to adapt them myself.

“I had hoped to save some money, though.”

Without Professor Geum’s assistance, I would have to utilize my personal funds.

Accompanied by Han Seo-hyeon, I made my way to the black market, leaving Kim Jae-ho behind due to his traumatic associations with that place.

Upon arrival, Han Seo-hyeon eagerly scanned his surroundings with wide eyes.

“So this is the black market…”

His overt awe marked him as an obvious newcomer to these locales.

Firmly pressing down on the baseball cap adorning his head, I cautioned:

“If you act so conspicuously naive, others might try to abduct you.”

“Ugh!”

Finally perceiving his blatant demeanor, Han Seo-hyeon turned beet red, clamping his mouth shut. After exchanging all our cash for tokens, we proceeded further inside.

“What will we be purchasing here today?”

“For starters, I plan to acquire new identities for you two, along with some useful artifacts tailored to your abilities. But most crucially, I need to obtain a monster corpse you can contract with.”

Until now, the only beings Han Seo-hyeon could command were diminutive imps and the single skeleton.

He had mentioned his mana reserves seemed to have increased enough to potentially facilitate an additional contract, but we lacked a suitable undead corpse.

Today, I intended to procure such a monster cadaver from this market. My words caused Han Seo-hyeon’s eyes to widen in apparent surprise.

“A m-monster corpse? Wouldn’t those be exorbitantly expensive?”

Certainly, pristine monster cadavers commanded astronomical prices. However:

“The cash payment I received for our previous mission was 1 billion won.”

“Kughk!”

“More than enough to purchase a suitable monster for you. So don’t worry about it.”

The remuneration I had received via Baek Do-san had been quite generous.

Considering we had effectively resurrected a nearly defunct organization, 1 billion won could even be considered a modest sum. But for the beleaguered Silver Moon Society reeling from the Anti-Society’s devastation, amassing that amount of liquid funds must have been an immense strain. I gratefully accepted the payment.

“Money is plentiful, so don’t fret. You could even consider a portion of these funds your share as well.”

With those words, I headed towards the location Professor Geum had recommended.

As expected, this area exuded a rather unsavory atmosphere. The pedestrian traffic moved with purposeful haste, all idle chatter strictly prohibited.

Perceptibly unsettled by the cutthroat ambiance, Han Seo-hyeon’s shoulders trembled slightly.

The booth belonging to the artisan Professor Geum had introduced came into view – a man with a distinctive appearance, sporting no less than five piercings along his eyebrows.

“I was hoping to upgrade this mask.”

Accepting the proffered mask, the man inquired:

“What kind of upgrades did you have in mind?”

“Reducing its overall volume and weight, if possible. And making this area more seamless as well.”

The current mask was undeniably rather bulky. Likely due to its numerous embedded functions, it was excessively weighty and thick for a mask.

Moreover, the junction where it met my neck always appeared awkwardly unnatural, necessitating concealment.

My goal was to eliminate these shortcomings.

“Hmm, reducing the volume is feasible, but to eliminate that gap, crafting an entirely new mask would be preferable.”

“Could you manufacture one for me?”

“Well, I lack confidence in replicating this level of quality, to be honest.”

Hmm, perhaps I should attempt some home-made craft instead. As I contemplated that notion, the man retrieved a peculiar material, presenting it before me.

Even at a glance, its malleable, skin-like texture that seemed to adhere seamlessly suggested this was the ‘new material’ he had mentioned.

“Shapeshifter hide. If you use this for the mask’s chin area, it will perfectly camouflage as living flesh. Or you could craft the entire mask from this material.”

Undoubtedly, fashioning a mask from this shapeshifter hide would allow it to meld flawlessly with my face.

“I’ll take all you have available.”

After procuring the necessary materials and settling the payment, I departed that location.

The next destination was a purveyor of basic weapons. Until now, I had relied on an ordinary dagger – sufficient against typical combatants, but I preferred acquiring a proper artifact weapon from this juncture onward.

Additionally, it was time to provide Kim Jae-ho with a suitable armament as well.

The weapon shop I discovered differed significantly from standard fencing operations.

The booth’s proprietor was a burly man bearing a scar across his eye, his very demeanor exuding an intimidating aura – the epitome of an uncompromising disposition, clearly a renowned black market artisan.

Despite noticing my presence, the man remained utterly silent as I surveyed his wares.

Withdrawing the dagger from my waist, I displayed it to him.

“I’m seeking a blade in this general form.”

Indicating the approximate 50cm length and double-edged design I desired, the man inquired:

“Any specific functions required?”

“Sturdiness alone would suffice.”

“No need for weight reduction?”

“No.”

I actually preferred a heftier weight, as it facilitated utilizing the blade as an improvised weighted chain when attached to a wire – more manageable that way.

“Ah, but it would be ideal if the hilt had a ring for affixing a wire rope.”

“Adding a ring is simple enough.”

With those words, the man bent down to retrieve a blade from a container below.

“It’s slightly longer than your specifications, but the width is comparable.”

Accepting the proffered blade, I gave it a few practice swings. The length exceeded my request by around 5cm, but that marginal difference was negligible.

“I’ll take this one.”

“I’ll attach the ring right away, then.”

“Ah, and I’d also like to purchase around five 30cm daggers along with a longer blade around 1 meter in length.”

The man furrowed his brow, remarking curtly:

“You should have stated all your requirements at once.”

“I wanted to ensure this blade met my needs first before proceeding elsewhere.”

My explanation earned a wry chuckle and a nod of acknowledgment from the man.

“Wait here a moment. Let me check our inventory and I’ll bring the rest out. Ah, and those additional items – no specific functions required either, I assume?”

“No.”

Those daggers and longer blade were intended for Kim Jae-ho – expendable projectiles for emergencies and a primary melee weapon, respectively.

It was about time Kim Jae-ho learned proper blade techniques as well, having already received rudimentary combat training from me. Swordsmanship would be the natural progression.

The man promptly returned with the requested weapons.

“And the total cost?”

“Your current dagger is 3,000 tokens. The smaller blades are 500 each, and the longer sword is 2,000. So 7,500 in total. I’ll add the ring for you, just wait a moment.”

Despite lacking any enchantments, the prices were quite steep – a testament to the exceptional metallic composition required to forge blades capable of withstanding monstrous hides.

Ordinary steel would prove woefully inadequate, necessitating these specially alloyed and tempered metals.

For genuine monster hunting purposes, equipping such materially superior weaponry was an absolute requisite.

While considerably cheaper alternatives could likely be found from common fencers, these were intended as gifts – brand new items were preferable in that context.

After waiting briefly, the man handed the dagger back to me. Feigning displeasure, I remarked:

“No service discount? Not even a single token off?”

With an exasperated expression, the man tossed in a complimentary dagger sheath. Grinning, I passed the tokens over to him.

Beside me, Han Seo-hyeon commented in an undertone:

“The blades were far more expensive than I expected.”

“Those prices are actually quite reasonable.”

I elaborated for Han Seo-hyeon’s benefit:

“Incorporating even rudimentary enchantments causes costs to skyrocket exponentially. Purchasing from that shady fence over there would likely require upwards of 5,000 tokens.”

The dagger I currently wielded cost around 30 million won, after all. I certainly hadn’t been stingy in procuring Kim Jae-ho’s equipment either. Hmph.

“Equipment is ridiculously overpriced.”

“Which reflects the immense value of anything obtainable from the Gates.”

Becoming a hunter didn’t automatically guarantee wealth, contrary to common assumption. Everything originating from within the Gates, regardless of its nature, commanded exorbitant prices.

Hence, some even welcomed the emergence of Gates within their territory, oddly enough.

—Even though those very Gates serve as the invasion points for the forces seeking to ravage your world?

‘Most people here remain unaware of that fact.’

Moreover, prior to the world’s impending destruction, the Gates had been relatively well-managed within South Korea.

Oblivious to the underlying deception, the populace had enjoyed an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity.

The vendor section for monster cadavers was located in an entirely separate wing, likely due to their sheer bulk rendering standard booth spaces inadequate.

As we approached the monster corpse vendors, that distinct, pungent odor assailed our nostrils. The first establishment to greet us resembled a perverse butcher shop, with dismembered monster remains neatly displayed for purchase.

Perhaps attributable to Koreans’ tendencies to ingest anything rumored to enhance virility, a sizeable clientele seemed interested in consuming those monster parts.

—Does it actually improve potency, though?

‘No, I’ve witnessed the opposite – impotence from poisoning is more prevalent.’

But such finely diced monster morsels weren’t our objective. I bypassed that butcher shop without pause.

Not far ahead, a particular cadaver caught my eye – the intact corpse of a Bloodhound neatly arranged atop a vendor’s stall.

Bloodhounds closely resembled the German Shepherds commonly trained as police canines, aside from being nearly twice their size. Their thick hides, razor-sharp fangs, and tenacious stamina were their prime attributes.

Even when reanimated through necromancy, the undead tended to inherit many of the base corpse’s original traits. As such, Bloodhounds made rather formidable undead monstrosities.

“How about that one?”

Han Seo-hyeon’s glistening eyes and unspoken eagerness provided the obvious answer before I had even finished asking.

Considering his implicit approval granted, I approached the stall to inspect the cadaver more closely.

While outwardly pristine, if the internal condition proved unsalvageable, it would be wiser to abstain from purchase.

However, the specimen appeared flawless upon closer examination.

“A clean, singular strike.”

A precise stab through the heart had instantly slain it. Encountering such an immaculately intact monster corpse was a true rarity.

Noticing my keen interest, the vendor promptly approached.

“Quite impressive, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, it’s in excellent condition.”

I readily agreed, for haggling over such a pristine specimen seemed pointless. An opportunity this fortuitous was worth seizing without hesitation.

“How much for it?”

“400 million won.”

“Kughk!”

Beside me, Han Seo-hyeon audibly choked on his breath in shock.