The World's Greatest Troublemaker

Chapter 2

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the warm sunlight streaming through the window. And beyond the window, a nostalgic landscape. From this, I could tell two things.

First, that it was daytime. And second, something far more important.

‘I succeeded. I succeeded in traveling between dimensions!’

The room was unfamiliar, but the scenery outside was not. The trees, the wall, the sky. It was the landscape of my hometown I had dreamed of. A smile spread across my face on its own.

As I casually raised a hand to get up, I flinched in surprise. A fair, smooth hand. A hand I’d never had in my entire life.

“Ugh! My head!”

Suddenly, my head throbbed as if it were splitting apart. Someone else’s memories came flooding in like a tidal wave. They must be the memories of this body’s original owner.

It felt like something was being forcefully shoved into my head. It was painful, but at the same time, my heart swelled with emotion. The original owner’s memories confirmed it. This place was where I had lived. It was the Central Martial World.

“Finally.”

It had taken a truly long time. I had been dying as a ronin, then was dragged to a strange world where I fought the Demon King for hundreds of years. To return to my homeland after all that… the feeling was simply indescribable.

It was then. A voice suddenly came from my side.

“Happy now?”

Startled, I turned my head to see a familiar face. The Vampire Lord. His face was terribly gaunt. No, he was practically just skin and bones, glaring at me.

“Seeing you act like that, I guess your soul made it into that body just fine.”

“So you came here too.”

The guy let out a hollow laugh.

“‘Came here too?’ Is that all? For a situation this serious, don’t you think that’s a bit of a half-hearted response?”

“Well, you should have gotten out faster before I activated the magic circle.”

There was nothing I could have done. I was about to die, what did he expect? Call me shameless, but what of it? Things like that can happen when you’re just trying to survive.

“And since the Demon King revived, isn’t it better for you to be here anyway?”

“Hey. You crazy bastard. What about all my research materials back there? Huh? All that data I spent my entire life collecting and organizing!”

The Vampire Lord was a madman when it came to research. He was a being close to a god, possessing an immortal body. I used to find it strange that he was so obsessed with research.

But being in a similar situation myself, I soon came to understand. To live for such a long time, you need a purpose in life. For me, that purpose was defeating the Demon King, and for him, it was the pursuit of the unknown.

“Since it’s come to this, just adapt to this world.”

What could be done? There was no way to return to his original world.

“Wow. Aren’t you being too much? Hah. All that research data. My research data.”

“No need to be so pessimistic. Honestly, you’d already done all the research you could over there.”

“What are you talking about? There was still so much left to study.”

Though he said that, I could feel his resolve wavering slightly in his tone.

“This is a new world. Just think how much there is to research here.”

“Uh… I suppose that’s true.”

“I’ll definitely help you. So you can research to your heart’s content here.”

Whether it’s a kindness or a grudge, I always repay it in full. That’s my creed. I owed this bat-like fellow, so I would do my best to help him.

His expression changed, his interest piqued by my words.

“Hmm. Research to my heart’s content?”

As he said that, the corners of his mouth even turned up slightly. He seemed to be imagining something.

My proposal must have been tempting. I had touched upon the thing he loved most. Perhaps because of that, his deliberation wasn't long.

“Fine. I can trust your words.”

The Vampire Lord smiled and extended his hand. With my still-unfamiliar hand, I shook his.

“Consider yourself lucky. That this noble master of the night and of noble blood has graciously consented.”

“A wise decision.”

He really was an interesting guy. To have such incredible power, yet be so weak for research.

“Uuugh…”

The headache returned. Various memories of the body’s owner resurfaced. A moment later, when the pain stopped, I knew a little more.

“Mok Wigeon?”

The original owner of this body was named Mok Wigeon. He was the third son of the Mok family. The current time was about a hundred years after the era I had lived in.

“The owner of your body. Seems like he’s from a good family, with lots of money.”

The Vampire Lord had apparently arrived about a day before I woke up. So it seemed he had done some investigating on his own.

And he was right. According to the memories, the Mok family was a house that wielded great influence.

“A power comparable to the Five Great Families in terms of martial strength. Whew. This is a more impressive family than I thought.”

The Nine Factions and One Union and the Five Great Families were the leading powers of the Martial Alliance. To be on par with one of the Five Great Families? That meant the Mok family was one of the top powers in the entire Martial World.

“If your stories about the Martial World are true, that’s an amazing family.”

“It seems so. It’s not just good, it’s incredible luck.”

I had been worried, since there was no way of knowing what kind of body I would end up in. But to have entered a body with such good conditions… it was worth the effort of coming back.

The Vampire Lord wandered around the room. He looked at the porcelain, stroked the decorations here and there, and muttered to himself.

“Lots of interesting things here.”

It seemed he was already looking for things to research.

“Since it’s a rich family, it won’t be hard to get things like that.”

“Good. Money is important in any world.”

That was a given. You need money for everything. So, the more money, the better. As long as you have the power to protect it.

“Thinking about it makes me mad. Ugh, all that gold and treasure I worked so hard to collect.”

Mountains of gold and treasure. I had gathered it all to enjoy life to the fullest after defeating the Demon King. But to lose it all without even getting to use it… Annoyed, I tried to sit up, but a strange sensation touched my hand. A soft, rustling silk blanket.

It was a strange feeling. I knew from the memories that the Mok family was wealthy, but that was just a thought. It was only when I felt the texture of the blanket and clothes that it finally felt real. I stroked the blanket, touched the clothes.

“This certainly feels nice.”

“More than anything else, I like your face.”

“My face?”

There was a bronze mirror right next to me, so I looked to see what my face was like.

“Quite handsome.”

A fair, smooth face looked back at me. It looked pale from the lack of blood, but it was a rather good-looking face.

“Hey. Honestly, was that face you had before even a face?”

“Was it that unsightly?”

“It was covered in sword scars, torn and busted, a mess of wounds. How could it possibly look good?”

Was it just my face? Sword scars were the basics. My body, too, was split and covered in wounds. The traces of a hard and painful life were etched directly onto my body.

“It’s an unfamiliar face, so it’ll take some time to get used to. It doesn’t feel like my own.”

I touched my face here and there, fascinated, when the Vampire Lord came over and asked cautiously.

“By the way, is there anything wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me?”

The Vampire Lord studied my complexion carefully as he asked.

“Your body’s condition. Don’t you feel anything strange?”

“Is there a problem?”

He nodded with a slightly stiff expression.

“I took a look beforehand, and the inside of your body is a complete mess.”

At his words, I hurriedly examined my body. I hadn't noticed it when I first woke up, but my body definitely felt strange.

“Poison.”

While fighting the Demon King, my medical skills had also reached a master level. I couldn't diagnose the fine details, but I could at least tell this much. And the poison wasn't all.

“This is… a curse. I’ve even been cursed?”

The poison wasn't a common type either; most physicians wouldn't even recognize it. They would be even more clueless about the curse.

“Since it’s a successful family, I wonder if there’s a succession dispute?”

From Mok Wigeon’s memories, that was a high probability.

Someone had made a move, and because of it, Mok Wigeon’s soul had been extinguished. Thanks to that, my soul was able to enter this body.

“It’s hard to even move properly right now.”

My body had no strength at all. I could barely manage to move. The curse was the biggest problem. I needed to do something about that first.

It seemed I would have to call some people and talk to them. My memories weren't fully intact yet, but maybe talking would jog them.

“But who should I call?”

I couldn't remember. But I couldn't just wait indefinitely for someone who might or might not come.

Just then, a commotion erupted from outside.

* * *

“You can’t! You bastards!”

“Hey, what’s with this guy? Move it!”

An elderly-looking man was blocking the front of the warehouse with a club. It was Steward Wang of this detached villa. He was surrounded by sturdy-looking warriors.

“Hey. Steward.”

The man who appeared to be the leader of the group stepped forward, annoyed.

“This is all ours anyway, isn’t it?”

“What makes you think this is yours? You can’t take it until the young master gives his permission. You bastards!”

“Hah. This guy just doesn’t listen.”

The men behind the leader snickered and shouted.

“Hey, what kind of permission is a corpse going to give?”

“Didn’t you hear what the physician said? He’s as good as dead.”

It had been five days since Mok Wigeon, the third son of the Mok family, had suddenly collapsed. They had called all the most skilled physicians from the vicinity, but they all just shook their heads.

People said Mok Wigeon had suffered a sudden death and would die soon.

“So move it. Before you get hurt for no reason.”

The men trying to take the goods from the warehouse belonged to the second son, Mok Wipyeong. Since Mok Wigeon was on the verge of death, they were rushing to secure his things.

Both the eldest and second sons had been eyeing the warehouse of this detached villa. It was known to store precious items that Mok Wigeon’s mother, Lady Son, had brought from her family home before she died ten years ago.

“Who says our young master is dying?”

The voice was so loud it startled the warriors. But once they saw who had shouted, they all laughed. It was Mok Wigeon’s wet nurse.

The wet nurse, holding a kitchen knife, took her place beside the steward.

“And you have no right to touch the things in here!”

The leader of the warriors let out a deep sigh.

“The two of you are making a real scene.”

But he couldn't delay his task just because a steward and a wet nurse were blocking the way. Things would get complicated if people from the eldest son’s side arrived, so he had to finish quickly.

“Hey. Let those tiresome folks get some rest.”

At the leader’s command, warriors armed with swords and clubs stepped forward. More than twenty of them swaggered toward the steward and the wet nurse.

“Aaaaaaaah!!”

Suddenly, a scream came from behind. The leader, startled, turned around to see one of his own men screaming.

“What’s with you now?”

But the leader’s annoyed expression quickly hardened. Something unbelievable was happening.

“Uh…”

From the direction the warrior was looking, Mok Wigeon was walking toward them. With a pale face, Mok Wigeon staggered as he approached.

Everyone froze in place like stone. They all knew that Mok Wigeon was supposed to die any moment. But here he was, walking.

In their eyes, it was a corpse that was moving.

“Who are you people? What gives you the right to be so loud in someone else’s house?”

(End of Chapter)