· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
Translated by BiasNil
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
A picturesque mansion.
This majestic mansion with a white exterior is full of modern, refined details.
This place is crowded with rich people, as if they wouldn't allow any working-class person to walk in.
…Somewhere nearby, I was hiding.
The guy I'm aiming for is an A-class villain, Teleporter.
He is good at teleporting.
Unlike my flawed teleportation, that guy's teleportation is much better.
So he has true "teleportation" with no side effects after traveling—though there seem to be some distance limits.
In a way, this can be seen as a broken ability. No, I'm sure it is. I have no idea if this Teleporter is a coward or an idiot, but he only uses his power to steal money from banks.
Well, at least for now.
If I compare my current period with the original work, I think I'm at issue 5? Almost the beginning of the comic. Only 5 out of 200 issues.
Honestly, that's a relief. If I'd dropped in during the latter part of the comic—around issue 100 or later—it would already be chaos. The early sloppy villains (because the writer couldn't balance powers) are gone, and those monsters who can bring down the world start to appear.
Seo-eun was the last villain to appear in the Great Depression arc, which ended around issue 150 at first. She only tried to conquer Korea, so it ended there—but she could've taken down the world's information network if she wanted.
This Teleporter—he's a persistent one. He fought Stardust in the beginning. Stardust somehow caught him off guard and sent him to prison with an anesthetic. But he teleported out as soon as he regained consciousness.
This guy, nabbed as a petty criminal early on, revived spectacularly in "The Great Escape," where all the villains broke out of prison. He became Stardust's most annoying enemy.
He used to be the type of villain who burned through money chasing small but certain happiness. But after years of being drugged and locked up by Stardust, he broke out…
He lived only to get back at Stardust for catching him. He got worse.
He teleported, of course. It's perfect for hit-and-run. In later episodes, whenever he did anything, he'd pop out, hit, run, then hit and run again…
If [Stardust!] were a webtoon, readers would be demanding his head while calling him a "sweet potato" (Korean slang for someone frustrating). Since it's a printed comic, you can't see real-time reactions—but I bet many readers were furious.
And of course, I was one of them.
So this guy—I should kill him while I can.
Now, back to the mansion.
I was waiting with my car parked nearby and contacted Seo-eun with my in-ear communicator.
Normally, I can handle things alone without bothering Seo-eun. But this time, the guy isn't so simple.
"Seo-eun, should we go in now?"
[Wait, you haven't gone in yet? Hurry up and get inside.]
"Hold on—so I just teleport straight to the living room, right? What if he's in the living room?"
[Haa. I told you many times. Then throw the tracking device at him and shoot at the same time. He'll probably teleport to avoid the gun. Even then, the tracker will be faster than the bullet because it uses a spider-web thread, so it'll stick to him.]
"What do you mean a web-based tracking device is faster than a bullet… I don't get it."
[Bullets are factory-made. The tracker is handmade by me. Of course mine's faster. It ejects from a threading port on the tracker's side, so there's less physical resistance… Even if I explain this, you won't get it since you studied liberal arts, right? So just don't ask questions…]
"Hey… I can still understand things even if I studied liberal arts. Maybe. Anyway, I don't understand. Can't we do it like those spy movies? Just bump into him and stick it on by 'accident.'"
[…He uses teleportation instead of walking on the street, and getting caught on CCTV would be worse. This is the most accurate method. I researched his routine and planned it out. When he leaves home, he mostly teleports—and it's impossible to predict where, so we have to eliminate variables like this.]
"But still… there should be a better way to attach the tracker."
[There are more reasons than I just told you. So please do as instructed. Haa.]
Seo-eun sounded like I was pathetic, so I wilted. You rude brat… I'm almost ten years older than you…
"...Okay, I get it…."
I could tell Seo-eun was a bit startled by my sulky tone.
[Hey, what's wrong? Don't start sulking. We already talked through something similar and you're doing this again…]
As she spoke, I heard noise beside her. Su-bin, who's with her, seemed to say something.
I heard a few "Okay… okay…" and then Seo-eun came back.
[…I'm sorry. Just return to your position. We don't have time to lose.]
"Okay, got it!"
She's been confusing me by calling me both "hyung" and "oppa," so I wanted to ask her to pick one. But this wasn't the time, so I held it in.
…And if I make her pick, she'll keep calling me "hyung." Judging from how she behaved the first day we met, she's a little afraid of men, so she insists on calling herself a boy and me "hyung" on purpose. Maybe all the researchers in that lab were men.
Luckily, she's gotten better over the past few months—probably realizing I'm harmless. Even without the original comic, anyone could tell she's a girl… She seems to think a short haircut makes her look like a boy. It's kind of cute.
Honestly, the best solution would be to sneak in at night and kill him, but that won't work.
Because of "Shadow Walker," one of the few A-class heroes in Korea alongside Stardust.
If I do something at night, he'll catch me.
He's responsible for stopping almost all the nighttime terrorism in Korea.
Such a bad guy. Without him, I could handle villains easily. He's a hero, so I'd feel guilty eliminating him—and it would create bigger problems—so I operate during the day.
I'm having all sorts of thoughts as I'm about to jump into a real fight. Like how random thoughts pop up when you sit at your school desk.
I adjusted my half-mask.
Okay. Time for action.
[You didn't forget the plan, right?]
"Yeah."
I'll teleport to his nearby living room.
If he's not in the living room, I search quietly and shoot from cover.
If I get spotted? With the tracker attached, we go to Plan B.
"I'm going in."
I took a deep breath and prepared to teleport.
And—go.
***
I teleported into Teleporter's living room.
The first thing I saw the moment I arrived was…
Someone's face?
"Oh, shit!"
"Gah!"
[Hyung, shoot!]
Startled at the same time, I fired with my right hand and hurled the tracker with my left.
—BANG!
After the shot, the guy vanished.
No idea if I hit him.
Why was he in the living room? He ran the instant he saw me.
Since it turned out like this, it's Plan B.
"Seo-eun! Did the tracker stick?"
[Yes! Su-bin, call out his location!]
[Okay! Right now… 500 meters to the east!]
[You heard her, right? Hurry!]
"No, if I keep teleporting like this, the side effects…"
[Hurry up!]
"O-Okay!"
I moved fast.
***
I estimated roughly and jumped 500 meters forward.
Wait—this is downtown.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
"W-What the—!"
I was disoriented as I suddenly popped into a crowded place.
Wait, this is a busy street!
People freaked out when a guy in a black cape and mask appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh, who is that…?"
"Oppa, isn't that Egostic?"
"Oh? That's right!"
The citizens started recognizing me.
Cold sweat beaded from embarrassment—then Seo-eun's voice hit my ear.
[On your right!]
The right?
I looked, and in the distance…
A man was clutching his stomach, blood dripping down.
Oh, there you are.
You got shot too.
I couldn't help but smile.
Alright. Sometimes things are this easy.
I was about to teleport to him, but the moment he saw me, he staggered and disappeared again.
"Alright. You're challenging me, huh?"
An impromptu teleport-chase began in the middle of Seoul.
***
"…Yes, this is the Hero Association of Korea. How may I help you?"
"What? Egostic appeared in the middle of town?"