I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

The next day, we arrived at the center of Murcia City, located on the western edge of the Empire’s territory. This city served as a hub of trade between the Empire and the Kingdom of Thrasia. The narrow sea separating the two nations was called the Murcia Strait, home to a total of forty islands.

”Buy this Quality fabrics all the way from the land of Kuwalid! ”

”Cheap magic potions here! Potions for enlargement, potions for muscle growth — we’ve got it all!”

I was standing in the harbor market of Murcia City. The academy students would spend one night here before sailing to one of the islands in the Murcia Strait. In the game, however, this group of academy students would be ambushed by a band of pirates.

Some would be killed; others kidnapped and held for ransom.

I was the one who had designed this event in the game — an opening set piece for players before the start of the Survival Exam.

Right now, I was heading to the harbor to find a sailor who could take me somewhere.

”Greetings, Is there something you need here?”

A man wearing a sailor’s cap suddenly approached me.

”Do you offer sea transport services?” It didn’t matter who — I just needed a boat to take me to the pirates’ hideout.

”Of course, my lord! How many ships do you need?” the man asked.

”Just one will do.” I didn’t need many hands to wipe out those pirates. ”Does your ship carry a lifeboat?”

”Certainly, my lord. It’ll cost 20 Silver to rent one ship for a day,” the sailor said.

I handed him a single Gulden coin. When he tried to give me change, I stopped him.

”Keep the change.”

”Th-thank you so much, my lord! My ship will sail wherever you wish!” the sailor exclaimed, clearly excited.

Hearing his words, I gave him a wicked smile. ”We’re heading to Rocky Island tonight, Captain.”

At the mention of the destination, the sailor’s face suddenly went pale.

”B-but my lord, that island is notorious as a pirate hideout.”

That was precisely the point — to stop the pirates from being able to sail out and attack the fleet carrying the academy students.

”That’s exactly why I’m paying you extra, isn’t it?” I said, pointing to the gold coin in his hand.

The sailor thought for a moment before deciding. ”Very well, I’ll take you there,” he finally agreed. ”But I’ll only get you within two kilometers of the island.”

I nodded, accepting his condition. Besides, it would draw far too much attention if I approached the island on a large ship anyway.

With the boat secured, I then made my way to the residence of Count Juan de Murcia to meet Elena, who currently had business with him.

Earlier, I had told Elena about Count Juan de Murcia’s smuggling of a rare mineral called Bagermith Stone into the Kingdom of Thrasia.

Bagermith Stone was banned from export by the Empire, since it was essential for crafting S-rank Mana Cores — the core material for powerful artifacts used as Imperial weapons.

Yet Count Juan had been secretly selling it abroad at ten times the price to the Kingdom of Thrasia, which had very little Bagermith Stone mining of its own.

In the game, this exposure was a side quest triggered by miners fed up with the Count for failing to pay them fairly for their labor.

I’d asked Elena for permission to negotiate with Count Juan on her behalf. My plan was to threaten the Count — support Princess Elena, or I’d report his illegal dealings to the Empire’s Minister of Trade.

But Elena had insisted on trying it herself.

As far as I knew, she wasn’t particularly skilled at diplomacy. Elena had an honest, courageous character — the type who tended to lose her composure at the sight of injustice or wrongdoing.

Arriving at the gate of Count Juan’s residence, I saw Elena just stepping out of the Count’s house. She spotted me and walked over.

”How did the negotiation go?” I asked Elena, whose face looked distinctly troubled.

”Um... well, you see...”

Seeing her expression, I already suspected the negotiation had failed.

”The negotiation failed, didn’t it?” I asked her.

”Ah, no — the negotiation itself went fine. The Count will support me in the upcoming succession.”

Huh? Then why was she acting so strangely right now?

”It’s just... you see, Count Juan wants to give me money from his smuggling operation to fund my campaign,” Elena said, her voice heavy. ”Doesn’t that make me the worst — profiting off the proceeds of a crime?”

Well... so that’s what’s been weighing on you. I suppose it’s understandable, given Princess Elena had only just turned seventeen. Back in my world, kids her age weren’t exactly occupied with matters of state politics.

I supposed this was to be expected. When someone commits wrongdoing within a government, they need to pull others in with them if they don’t want their crimes exposed too quickly.

I didn’t think we should take Count Juan’s sweet promises at face value. He might well have already struck a deal with another candidate first. Offering Elena both promises and money was likely just his way of buying time, to see how the succession race developed.

I was fairly certain that if the candidate he was actually backing started pulling ahead, he’d withdraw his support for Elena the moment he had guarantees from the other side.

Was this what people called playing both sides?

”President, I don’t think we should accept Count Juan’s offer outright.”

”Huh? Why not? Wasn’t it your idea from the start to threaten him into supporting us?” the Chief asked, looking confused.

I thought it would be wiser for us to first find out who Count Juan actually intended to back.

Hmm... should I start giving Karl a specific assignment — placing his agents in this city to dig into the Count’s ties with other candidates?

”For now, I’d suggest you write to the Minister of Trade, requesting a team be sent to inspect the mining trade in this city. With your status as the Emperor’s daughter, you can at least do that much, can’t you?”

This way, Count Juan would be forced to reach out to whichever candidate he truly supported, asking for help.

”Yes, I can certainly do that,” Elena replied, nodding in agreement with my suggestion.

If the plan went smoothly, we’d find out whether Count Juan was a noble we could recruit into our faction or not. If he came to Elena for help, it would mean he had no strong ties to another candidate, making him fair game for recruitment. But if instead he went running to another candidate for help, then he was one of the nobles we’d need to bring down.

”By the way, President.” I remembered that the real reason I’d come to see Elena wasn’t to discuss politics. ”Do you happen to have a Supreme-rank lightning spell scroll?”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A spell scroll was a magical rune inscribed on enchanted paper. Anyone could cast the spell contained within it, provided they had enough mana. However, crafting a spell scroll was quite difficult unless the mage truly understood the underlying magical formulas.

”I have three of those,” the Chief answered, looking puzzled. ”What could you possibly need a scroll worth a hundred Gulden coins for?”

Hearing her question, I gave Elena knowing smile. ”I’m going fishing tonight.”

.

.

.

That night, I was walking toward the harbor with one member of the disciplinary committee. I needed her particular skills for this mission.

”Captain, what are we doing out here at this hour? Isn’t this supposed to be rest time before tomorrow’s exam?” asked Viera — an archer and member of the disciplinary committee.

”Don’t worry about that. Let’s see the results of all your training so far.”

We soon spotted a caravel tied up at a dock, and the sailor I’d spoken to that morning was leaning against the ship’s bow.

”Ah, my Lord. You’ve arrived!” the sailor called out.

A few crew members could be seen hauling up the anchor, preparing to set sail.

”Are you ready to take us there?”

”Of course, my lord — climb aboard!”

Viera and I began climbing a rope hanging from the ship’s hull. The crew then unfurled the sails and set course for Rocky Island — where the pirates were hiding.

”How long until we arrive, Captain?”

”About four hours!” the sailor answered.

If I remembered correctly, a caravel could reach speeds up to 8 knots. That meant Rocky Island was nearly 60 kilometers from the harbor.

Once aboard, I explained my plan to destroy the pirate ships at Rocky Island to Viera. She looked stunned when she heard I intended to fight hundreds of pirates on that island.

”But Captain, how could you possibly fight that many pirates?” Viera asked, doubting my plan.

”Well... Viera, tell me this — who would win in a fight between one big tiger and a hundred men?” I asked her, trying to teach her something.

”The humans would win, of course!” Viera answered, her logic sound.

”But a month ago, a tiger attacked a village and killed twelve people. By the time the patrol guards arrived, the tiger had already fled into the forest. What do you think that means?”

Viera fell silent for a moment, as if turning something over in her mind. ”Ah — panic! Panic threw the people into chaos, making them easy prey for the tiger!”

”Exactly. Given the right conditions, one person can defeat a hundred with ease,” I said, rather pleased at how quickly she’d caught on. ”We’re going to get within 150 meters of where their ships are anchored. You’ll fire flaming arrows at their fleet from the water.”

Hearing this, Viera’s expression shifted slightly. Shooting from a rocking sea surface was bound to be far harder than shooting from steady ground.

”If the pirates start coming after you, don’t stop shooting. I’ll be hiding, ready to hit them with a surprise attack — understood?”

Viera simply nodded in response to my instructions.

After four hours at sea, we finally spotted an island in the distance, wrapped in the darkness of night. The glow of a bonfire lit by the pirates illuminated the shoreline.

”We can only take you this far, my lord. Any closer, and those pirates will spot our ship easily,” the sailor said.

”Understood. But we’ll be borrowing one of your lifeboats.”

The crew lowered a small boat into the sea for us to ride toward the shore, where numerous pirate ships lay anchored.

Viera and I began rowing the small boat.

”Alright, Viera. I’m going to hide behind their ships now. Wait for my signal before you start shooting.”

”Understood, Captain.”

After giving Viera her instructions, I began swimming toward the shore. The pirates were clearly drunk and celebrating. I also spotted several women who had been kidnapped by them. But rescuing the captives wasn’t my mission tonight.

Once on the beach, I began creeping forward, moving without making a sound. There were five pirate ships total anchored at the island.

”Hey, is it true we’re getting a big haul tomorrow?”

”Yeah, I heard the boss has been planning this raid. Plenty of noble kids we can take hostage if it all goes well tomorrow.”

I overheard two pirates at the bow of a ship discussing the attack they were planning for the next day.

I then signaled to Viera, still in our small boat, to start firing flaming arrows at the ships.

Viera lit a flame and dipped a straw-wrapped arrow into oil. She raised her bow toward the sky and released the arrow.

”Hey, isn’t that a shooting star?” one of the pirates asked, pointing at the arrow Viera had launched into the air.

”Hmm... you mean a flaming arrow heading straight for us?”

A moment later, they exchanged glances and realized they were under attack.

- Splash!

Viera’s flaming arrow tore through a ship’s sail and set it ablaze. Soon after, more arrows landed on the hull, and the pirate ship began burning.

”We’re under attack! We’re under attack!”

”Put out the fire, you idiots!”

Some of the pirates scrambled to douse the spreading flames engulfing their ship. Others waded into the sea to go after Viera, who was still firing flaming arrows at their fleet.

”There she is! Kill that woman!” one pirate shouted, swimming toward Viera, who wasn’t far from shore.

Seeing the pirates entering the water, I pulled out the spell scroll I’d borrowed from Elena earlier that day.

Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two...

Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two... I figured that was plenty.

I began channeling mana into my palm and pressed it against the scroll. I felt something like a massive pull, draining my mana rapidly.

A moment later, a rune appeared on my right hand.

Pointing my right hand toward the pirates, I began chanting the spell.

”The wind blows through the air, the dragon roars like lightning in a storm...” A flash of yellow lightning began to crackle across my right hand. ”Lightning Burst!”

A bolt of lightning struck toward the pirates. Being in the seawater, their bodies took the electric shock far harder than they would have on land.

Smoke poured from the mouths and ears of the pirates. There was no doubt — they were all dead.

Roughly thirty pirates died instantly.

I then leapt onto one of the pirate ships to take down those still trying to fight the fire.

”Huh? Who are you?!”

”He’s an intruder! Kill him!”

Four pirates charged at me, swords drawn.

One lunged with a thrust; I shifted my body aside and slashed at his arm, severing it clean off.

”Aaaghhh! My arm! Aaaaaah!” the man screamed hysterically.

The remaining three pirates attacked me in turns, giving me no opening to counter.

I leapt backward to put some distance between us and settled into a stance. The three pirates charged after me.

Stamping my foot hard, I surged forward using a Charging technique straight at the three of them. They looked stunned to suddenly find me right in front of them.

- Slash!

Three heads flew through the air — I’d cut through all three necks in a single stroke.

- Crack!

The sound of splintering wood echoed from the burning pirate ship. I hurried to leap onto another ship, where several pirates were struggling to put out flames climbing up the mast.

I moved quickly, cutting them down before they even noticed me.

After finishing off those pirates, I spotted an enormous man standing on the beach. Our eyes met, and he leapt onto a boat, landing at its bow.

”Who are you, trying to destroy my fleet, stranger?” the man asked. He was the captain of this band of pirates.

”Your killer,” I replied, settling into a fighting stance.

”Nonsense!” the big man roared, drawing his sword.

He was Captain Zack — the boss for the pirate-raid event in the game Path of Destiny. In the game, he had two health bars and was level 20.

He had immense Power but weak Agility. I’d set his Stamina stat quite high, which made things difficult for players who tried an Attrition strategy against him.

The fastest way to beat him was to play aggressively without being too greedy — otherwise you’d die to his fast special combo.

That combo tended to catch players off guard, since most assumed Zack had no quick attacks.

A one-on-one duel on the deck of a burning pirate ship — this would have made for a thrilling boss fight, if only the boss battle music from the game were playing right now.

”I’ll carve you into pieces and leave nothing behind!” Zack bellowed, charging at me.

His massive sword was intimidating.

I rolled left to dodge his strike and slashed at his leg, but the wound wasn’t deep enough. He must have already activated Steel Body magic, hardening his flesh like iron.

That meant ordinary attacks wouldn’t be enough to pierce him. But I was the one who’d created that spell — I knew exactly where its weakness lay.

”Ora, ora, ora, oraaa!”

Zack attacked wildly. I kept rolling and leaping to dodge, searching for an opening to strike back.

”Die!”

Zack swung his sword in a horizontal arc. I ducked to avoid it — the powerful swing split the mast clean in two.

I then rolled forward and slashed at the joint of his right leg.

”Aaaaargh!” Zack howled in pain, then tried to attack me again.

I hurried to dodge, and Zack now struggled to keep his balance on both legs.

”Damn you!”

Well... Steel Body was a spell for hardening the body. But if the user wanted to remain mobile while it was active, they couldn’t afford to armor their joints with it.

That’s exactly why a knight’s armor was divided into separate plated sections — so they could still move freely while wearing it.

”Get over here, you little brat!”

Zack tried attacking me again, but it was all futile. I could read his moves easily and counter by cutting into his joints each time.

”You’re nimble, kid!”

Zack’s breathing grew ragged. Cuts now marked every joint on his body, blood soaking through, making him look increasingly gruesome.

”But this isn’t over yet — Uwahhhhh!” Zack tore off his shirt and began pounding his chest.

Berserk mode, was it? He’d entered the second phase of the boss fight.

In this state, he could ignore pain entirely while his Power and Agility stats surged.

His skin turned red, every hair on his body standing on end. Zack picked up the broken half of the mast.

Was he planning to use it as a weapon?

”Grahhhhh!” He swung the massive beam with startling speed.

I tried to dodge his attack. A thunderous crash followed, wood splintering and flying everywhere, a testament to the sheer force behind his swing.

He didn’t stop there — Zack came at me again. This time, dodging proved considerably harder.

Zack then swung the beam low. I instinctively leapt to dodge. But Zack quickly reversed the beam and swung it back around.

”Damn it, Repel...!”

Bam!

I was sent flying from the impact of his attack. My arm went numb from absorbing the force of that powerful swing.

I landed on the shoreline. Zack leapt high into the air and landed right in front of me.

”I won’t let you escape, brat!”

I had barely any mana left after using the spell scroll earlier... I needed to kill him with this one attack.

”Sterben...”

My sword began to glow. I channeled as much mana into the blade as I could and held it there.

”Oraaa...!”

Zack swung the massive beam vertically at me again. The end of the beam was on fire, making the attack all the more terrifying.

I dodged left, then leapt onto the beam. Using the Charging technique, I closed the distance in an instant, appearing right in front of Zack’s startled face.

”Aaaargh! My eye, my eye...!”

I drove my sword into his eye, sending him thrashing wildly out of control.

”Release...”

The moment I uttered the incantation, Zack’s head burst apart. My clothes and face were splattered with his blood, foul and warm.

His massive body then collapsed to the ground.

”Th-this can’t be... the boss has been defeated...”

Seeing their captain killed, the remaining pirates dropped their weapons and fled deep into the forest.